hurtful to the public weal of the kingdom, than the worst of his vices.' The third volume of Lord Lyttelton's hiftory confifts entirely of notes, and of an appendix containing state-papers. Some of the notes are curious and important; especially thofe which relate to the antiquity of the Commons in parliament; and to the ancient conftitution of the kingdom. Upon the whole, our noble author's hiftory of Henry the Second, fo far as it has been carried on, is a performance of great merit. It gives a fuller and more enlarged view of the tranfactions of that monarch's reign, and the events connected with them, than can be expected in our general hiftorians; and it is founded on the most indubitable authorities. His Lordhip is particularly commendable for the uniform regard and attachments which he fhews to the caufe of ational religion and of civil liberty. His ftyle is generally clear and manly; and fome parts of the work are wrought up in a very mafterly ftrain. There are, however, various inftances wherein the language might admit of an amendment in point of accuracy, perspicuity and elegance. The amendment, too, might, in feveral cafes be eafily effected, by merely tranfpofing the members of a fentence, or by other fuch flight alterations, that, it is to be hoped, they will not be neglected in a fecond edition. The public, we doubt not, will be glad to be favoured, as foon as poffible, with the remainder of the history. K--s. Short Hymns on felect Paffages of the Holy Scripures. By Charles Wefley, M. A. and Prefbyter of the Church of England. 12mo. 2 Vols. 6 s. Bristol printed by E. Farley. AVING been frequently called upon, by a correfpondent HA who figns himself CANDIDUS, for an account of the Rev. Mr. Charles Wefley's Hymns, printed in 1762; and having at length, by means of this correfpondent's directions, procured a set of these delectable hymn-books,-we fhall now (without troubling the public with any apology for having fo long overlooked fo important a publication) proceed to give our Readers fome idea of the manner in which Mr. Wefley has fpiritualized both the Old Teftament and the New, from Genefis, to the Revelations. In the ninth hymn, compofed on Gen. ii. 21. God took one of his ribs, &c. Mr. W. thus takes occafion to manifeft his high regard for the fair-fex: Not from his head was woman took, As made her husband to o'er-look, Not from his feet, as one defign'd This is very handfomely faid; and many a fair profelyte might the gallant and pious author juftly expect to gain, by fuch a compliment to the fex. But he is not always in fuch good humour with the ladies; for in his 445 hymn, he has the following angry invective against those mothers who do not fuckle their own children *: Not like the mothers in our day, Who of all care themselves divest, Does not this indifcriminate cenfure, by the way, bear too hard on the poor females? Is it not well known that many of them cannot, were they ever so defirous of it, perform the office of wet-nurfe? And ought they, therefore, to be repre'fented as having divested themselves of all care for their offfpring BMr. W's gallantry totally forfakes him, in No 906, where Solomon's homely fimilitude gives him the cue to addrefs himself, in very uncourtly phrafe, to those ladies who have the misfortune to be endowed with more beauty than diferetion. Prov. xi. 22. As a jewel of gold in a fwine's fnout, so is a fair woman which is without difcretion: thus paraphrased : Of beauty vain, of wisdom void, What art thou in the fight of God? A flave to every base defire, A creature wallowing in the mire! Go, gaudy pageant of a day, Thy folly with thy face difplay, Put all thy charms and graces out, And fhew the jewel-in thy fnout! Leaving this piece of fpiritual Billingfgate to the animadverfion of our fine ladies,-who will perhaps infift that he must be an hog of a poet, indeed, who could treat them in fo brutish a manner, we turn now to hymn 105; which will make the reader ftare, at leaft, if not admire, at the dexterity with which I * From 1 Sam. i. 23. The woman gave her fon fuck, untill fhe weaned him. a Methodist or Moravian can typify, turn, and twift the plaineft paffages of holy writ, to adapt them to their myftical fyftem: Exod. iii. 2. • Behold the bush burnt with fire, and the bush was not confumed.' See here the miracle renew'd, A bush that doth the fire abide, A burning bush, bedew'd with blood, A church, preferv'd in Jefu's fide! The above makes but an odd figure for a hymn: would it not do much better as an ænigma? His 931ft hymn is a much prettier and more complete piece of Moravianifm. It is given as a comment on Tell me, O thou zuhom my foul loveth, where thou feedeft, where thou makest thy flock to reft at noon: SONG of SOL. i. 7. Thou Shepherd of Ifrael, and mine, For clofer communion I pine, I long to refide where thou art; Where all who their Shepherd obey, Are fcreen'd from the heat of the day. Ah, fhew me that happiest place, To fuffer, and triumph, with thee, To lie at the foot of the rock, Or rife to be hid in thy breaft; To thofe who can read of a crucified God, without being shocked, and who have no objection to the author's scheme of divinity, the foregoing hymn will not appear in a very contemptible light, as a poetical compofition.-But here comes another, in a fublimer ftrain: Behold I will make thee a new sharp threshing inflrument. If. xli. 15, 16. Thee will I wield by grace renew'd, A weapon for my ufe defign'd: Go, thou fharp, iron-flail of God, 1 The flubborneft and strongest beat And chafe the curfed chaff to hell: The author of the learned treatife on the Bathos, would have been much delighted with Mr. W's having fo well improved on the ingenious Lards who alternately made the most fublime of all Beings a chemift, a baker, a fuller, &c. &c. Here we have him transformed to a thresher; and, in the fubfequent hymn he is a Smith Jer. xxiii. 29. Is not my word like an hammer? If thou doft thy gofpel blefs, If thou apply the word. The hammer of the Lord: Fully, Lord, thy hammer ufe, Force the nations to fubmit, Smite the rocks, and break, and bruife What frange imagery has the good old Prophet innocently put into the head of this poetical myftic! but, to make the indignant reader fome amends, we fhall next prefent him with fomething in the folly, Bachanalian strain : * Ye thirty for God to Jefus give ear, And take thro' his blood The power to draw near, His kid invitation, Ye finners, embrace, Sent down from above Who governs the kies To us at thy feet The Comforter give, The foregoing fpecimens will, probably, be thought fufficient to fhew the manner in which Mr. W. like his Moravian. brethren, hath unhappily, though doubtlefs, undefignedly, buriofqued the facred writings. Seriously, (for though it is fometimes difficult to refrain from Jaughing at the absurdities of fanaticifm, it is really fhocking to fee cligious fubjects thus exposed to ridicule) may we not ask Parodied from If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. John vii. 37. thefe h thefe rhyming enthufiafts how they dare to take fuch li- Indeed, the irreverent treatment which the bible continually G. The Connexion of the Roman, Saxon, and English Coins, deduced W E have lately had occafion, on account of Mr. Bryant's Differtations, to affert the honour of the present age, and of our own country in particular, with regard to the existence among us of the profoundeft literature. A freth reafon for maintaining the fame claim is furnished by the work now before us, which is as eminent as Mr. Bryant's for its great learning, though exerted and difplayed in a different way. The fubject which Mr. Clarke hath chofen, promifes, upon the very face of it, much curious and difficult enquiry; but he has extended his views ftill further than could, at first, be expected. Some of his difquifitions might, indeed, on a hafty judgment, be thought to fly too far from his main point; but, when we take in the whole object he has in view, we shall find that they rife out of it, and are connected with it in a peculiar manner. The appearance of the following fheets from the prefs, fays our leaned Author in his preface, is entirely owing to the discovery, made by the late Martin Folkes Efquire, of the old Saxon pound. Without this previous knowledge, any work of this kind had been but a vain amufement, or very little more than arbitrary and precarious conjectures. For had there been no ftandard to have recourfe to, no fure ground for forming the neceffary calculations, how was it poffible to take a single step, E 4 that from/ from |