them is forced; and they feem defigned to bear an invidious reference to the exifting adminiftration. As an abstract propofition, it is undoubtedly true that minifters, who have plunged their country into unjuft and unneceffary wars, might do well to record a confeffion of their guilt and it is equally true, though Mr. P. has omitted to notice the truth, that a confeffion of guilt would be a "teftament politique" no lefs becoming fuch oppofitions as have endangered their country, by an unpatriotic refiftance to wars that were juft and neceffary. The leading principle inculcated in this Effay, namely, that a houfe may fitly be connected by architectural decorations with the garden, is certainly juft; and many of Mr. P.'s obfervations on the modes of applying that principle are judicious: yet we cannot but think him fomewhat too partial to terraces, jets d'eau, and ftatues. Not that we defpotically profcribe any of these appendages. A terrace, ferving as a platform to a grand and ancient edifice, may be magnificent and in place. Remove it further, and the evils of its formality can scarcely fail to preponderate. An upright fountain, projected from a fuitable ftructure, may be an appropriate architectural ornament in the public fquare of a city, or the court of a palace: ftation it among trees and vegetation, and its unnatural effect (for jets d'eau are totally unknown to nature in England, whatever may be the cafe in Iceland) will be offenfive. Even in the highly embellished flower-garden (p. 187) a stream gushing like the Fons Blandufie from a ftony cleft, richly overhung, in conformity to the genius of the fpot, with kalmias and rhododendrons, and trailing plants of beautiful leaf and bloom, would be more captivating than if fquirted into the air from a decorated fhrine, and received into a marble cistern. With refpect to ftatues, their unfheltered appearance accords fo little with our climate, that nothing but the vicinity of architecture reconciles us to their occurrence out of doors. When they are placed in a garden, they commonly feem as if they had strayed out of their knowledge: and when we fee Hercules himself with his face green from weather-ftains, and his limbs overfpread with lichens, we feel a fympathetic inclination to lend him an umbrella. The third Effay treats of Architecture and Buildings, as connected with scenery. Mr. P. enlarges on the fuperior beauty of a manfion, rifing pre-eminent amidst inferior appendages, with its lines broken from different points of view, by fome trees growing near it, when contrafted with the fquare, naked, edifices which are not uncommon; and confirms his opinion, by referring to the happy combinations of trees and architecture displayed difplayed in the productions of eminent painters. He complains of the little attention fhown, in a picturefque light, to the fummits of modern buildings; difcriminates, on the principles laid down in his former volume, between the grand, the beautiful, and the picturefque, as relating to his prefent fubject; dwells at great length on the different fpecies of architecture, preferred by the feveral great mafters of painting, in these compofition; and concludes with diftinct and detailed obfervations refpecting bridges, cottages, and villages. As a fpecimen of Mr. P.'s ftyle, we felect from this Effay the following extracts, chiefly because they relate to a celebrated English structure, by an English artist. Sir Joshua Reynolds is, I believe, the first who has done juftice to the architecture of Vanbrugh, by fhewing that it was not a mere fantaftic ftyle, without any other object than that of fingularity, but that he worked on the principles of painting, and has produced the moft painter-like effects." P. 251. "In walking about Blenheim, 1 have been repeatedly ftruck with the excellence of the principle difplayed by Vanbrugh, in all that regards the fummit, whatever objections may be made to many of the parts in detail. Wherever the smallest portion of it was to be feen, and from whatever quarter, whether between, or above trees, the grandeur, rich. nefs, and variety of it, never failed to make a strong impreffion, and to fuggeft to me, how infipid a bit of flated roof and a detached chimney, would have been in the fame view. It certainly appears to be the most obvious of all reflections, that as the highest part of an object is the moft feen, the form of it fhould be the most studied; but look at our houfes, and you would fuppofe that it had feldom occurred to the builders, or that it was confidered by them as a matter of little confequence. On this fubject we have received an important leffon, from one whom Swift has reprefented, as an architect, not only without lecture, but without thought*. - Vanbrugh's aim in decorating the fummit of Blenheim, was to produce richness and variety, and ftill to preserve the idea of maffivenefs; and where an artift of genius has any point strongly in view, and purfues it with enthufiafm, he will generally go beyond the mark: what he does produce, however, will not have that worst of faults, infipidity. The enthufiafm of Michael Angelo, which produced the grandeft and most striking attitudes, at other times led him to twift the human figure into fuch fingular and capricious forms, as border on caricatura fo Vanbrugh, by pursuing his favourite ideas, may have made fome of the parts more broken, or more maffive (especially in the fummit) than was neceffary for his own purposes; but his defects should be corrected, like thofe of Michael Angelo, by a Raphael in architeoture, not by a Carlo Marat; and even then, though the ftyle would be purer, and altogether more excellent, it might lofe fomething of ori * Van's genius, without thought or lecture, ginal ginal character; and of that, perhaps, infeparable mixture of excel Lencies and blemishes, which fometimes appear to belong to each other, and to strengthen the general effect. "It was natural that Vanbrugh should fucceed in those points, to which he facrificed fo many other confiderations; but for that degree of richness and diverfity in the fummits, which accords with greater purity and elegance, and for the enchanting effects of thofe fummits when mixed with trees and scenery, we must have recourfe to the pictures of the great mafters, and to many of the magnificent villas in Italy, and in other countries, where our taste for laying every thing open, has not prevailed. Those who have no opportunity of examining the real buildings, may yet, from the numerous representations of them, and from the various architectural inventions and combinations difplayed in the works of painters, find examples of a number of different gradations, from the moft fplendid and varied fummits, to the flat roof with plain unadorned parapets. All of them have their diftinct characters of grandeur, of variety, of richness, of elegance, or of fimplicity; from which the judicious architect, and the judicious painter, will felect what fuits the idea they mean to imprefs." P.263, The fpecific remarks which we have already made, fufficiently how our general opinion of the work. Though we do not affent in every point, we think it highly deferving of the confideration of improvers, and of those who employ improvers. We should have read the anecdote, p. 243, note, with more fatisfaction, had Mr. P. thought proper to omit the profane expletive. We feel it our duty to obferve generally, that nothing is aftronger symptom of a want of habitual and due reverence for the Deity, than the ufe of fuch expreffions. The language of Mr. P. is, in general, eafy and accurate. We meet, however, with the folecifm "leffer;" with " ftrait (narrow) lines"; "frait timbers," instead of straight; and re peatedly with the phrafe "made-water," a most inelegant erm, which we hope Taste will expunge from its vocabu lary. ART. IV. The Annual Anthology. Volume I. 12mo. 6s, Longman and Kees. 1799. THIS publication is profeffedly in imitation of those which have been known both in France and Germany, under the title of Almanacks of the Mufes. We are further informed, that many of these Poems have already been printed in the Morn ing Pft, and that it is the intention of the editor to publish annually a fimilar volume. The names which occur are very familiar to the readers of modern poetry, and are those of Dyer, Southey, Charles Lloyd, Mrs. Opie, Cottle, and Beddoes. The The poems are very varions in their style, subjects, and mefits. Many are entitled to commendation, though not of the higheft kind; all are fufficiently correct; and though none are fublime, a few are beautiful. Thofe of Mrs. Opie are remarkable for a chafte fimplicity, and are, in our opinion, much the belt. We fubjoin a few fpecimens. “To Mr. Opie, on his having painted for me the Picture of Mrs. Twifs. By Mrs. Opie. heart: Hail to thy pencil well its glowing art "Ode to the River Cam By George Dyer While yon ruftic whiftles gay, Sophron ftrays no longer here :" Sleep the partners of my fong; He He the youth of faireft fame, Bending fad befide thy ftream, Grateful bless thee in my strain. "SONG. BY Mrs. OPIE. Think not while gayer fwains invite My faded form fhall meet thy fight, I will |