ecution of Dent's plates: even the drawing is often fo defective that, in plate II. of the Harlot's Progrefs, the head of the Jew is too large by one half. The inaccuracies of fome of Mr. Ireland's numerous anecdotes, and of his ftyle, we fhall not stay to point out, further than to obferve on the latter, that virtuofi for virtuolo, who for whom, Greek verfion of the New Testament, &c. are fome of the smallest errors. What shall we fay to the ' monaftery of St. Benedict in France,' and the monastery of St. Francis,' p. 143? Is Mr. Ireland to learn that the monafteries of thefe orders may be reckoned by hundreds? As a complete fpecimen of Mr. Ireland's abilities in his prefent department, we fhall tranfcribe his explanation of the third plate of Marriage a la Mode, a print which may have puzzled many of our readers. This has been faid to be the most obfcure delineation that Hogarth ever published, and no two perfons agreeing in their explanation, feems to confirm the remark. I think it must be confidered as an episode, no farther connected with the main fubject, than as it exhibits the confequences of an alliance entered into from fordid and unworthy motives. In the two preceding prints, the hero and heroine of this tragedy fhew a fashionable indifference to each other. On the part of the peer, we fee no indication of any with to conciliate the affection of his lady. Careless of her conduct, and negligent of her fame, he leaves her to head the musical diffipatons of his houfe, and lays the scene of his own licentious amufements abroad. The female heart is naturally susceptible, and much influenced by first impreffions. Formed for love, and gratefully attached by delicate attentions, but chilled with neglect, and frozen by coldness; by contempt it is eftranged, and by habitual and long continued inconftancy, loft. To fhew that our unfortunate victim to parental ambition has been driven over this fiery ordeal, and fuffered this mortifying climax of provocations, the artist has made a digrefiion, and exhibited her profligate hufband attending a quack doctor. In the lalt plate he appears to have diffipated his fortune; in this he has deftroyed his health. From the hour of his marriage, he has neglected the woman to whom he plighted his truth. Can we then much wonder at her retaliating. By the viscount she was despised; by the advocate the was adored. This infidious infinuating villain, we may naturally fuppofe acquainted with every part of the nobleman's conduct, and artful enough to make a proper advantage of his knowledge. From this agent of fin the probably learned how her lord was connected, and from his fubtle fuggeftions, aided by refentment, is tempted to think these accumulated infults have diffolved her marriage vow, and given her a right to retaliate. Impelled by fuch motives, irritated by fuch provocations, Ff3 and and attended by fuch an advocate, can we wonder that this fair unfortunate forfock the path of virtue, and plunged into the abyss of vice? To her husband, much of her error is to be attributed, She faw he defpifed her, and the hated him the faw he had be ftowed his affections on another, and fhe followed the example. To fhew the confequence of his licentious wanderings, the author in this exhibits his hero in the houfe of one of thofe needy impoftors, who prey upon the credulity of the public, and vend poifons, under the name of drugs. This wretched quack, being fa mily furgeon to the old procurefs, who ftands at his right hand, formerly attended the young girl, and received his fee, as having restored his patient to perfect health. That he was paid for what he did not perform, appears by the countenance of the enraged noblemen, who lifts up his cane in a threatening ftyle, accompa nying the action with a promife to baftinado both furgeon and procurefs for having deceived him by a falfe bill of health. Thefe threats our natural fon of Æfculapius treats with that careless non chalance, which fhews that his ears are accustomed to fuch founds.. Not fo the fage high prieftefs of the temple of Venus; tenacious of her good name, and trembling alive to any afperfion which may tend to injure her profeffional reputation, the unclafps her knife, determined to ftab him, and wash out this foul ftain upon her honour with the blood of her accufer. "I am Churchill being once afked what he thought was the meaning of this print, faid, that to him it had always appeared so ambi guous, that he once afked Hogarth to explain it; and the artist, like many other commentators, left his fubject as obfcure as he found it. "From this circumftance," added the poet, convinced he formed his tafte upon the ideas of Hoadley, Garrick, Townley, or fome other friend, and never perfectly comprehended what it meant." Such was the opinion of this fevere fatirift; but let it be remembered, that this opinion was given after the publication of John Wilkes's portrait, of the Bruifer, and of the Times a circumftance which fhould lead us to receive it with caution, and a degree of distrust; for the heat of party warps the understanding, and political prejudice difcolours every object which it contemplates. The nick-nackitory collection which forms this motley mu feum is fo exactly defcribed by Dr. Garth, that one would almoft think Hogarth made the difpenfary his model in defigning the print, "Here mummies lie, moft reverendly ftale, Aloft, Aloft, in rows, large poppy-heads were ftrung, In this place, drugs in mufty heaps decay'd, In that, dry'd bladders and drawn teeth were laid." < An horn of a fea unicorn is so placed as to give the idea of a barber's pole; this, with the pewter bafon, and broken comb, clearly hint at the former profeffion of our mock doctor. The high-crowned hat and ancient fpur, which might once have been the property of Butler's redoubted hero, the valiant Hudibras, with a model of the gallows, and fundry non-defcript rarities, fhews us that this great man, if not already a member of the Antiquarian Society, is qualifying himself to be a candidate. The dried body in the glafs clafe, placed between a skeleton and the fage's wig-block, form a trio that might ferve as the fymbol of a confultation of phyficians. A figure above the mummies feems at first fight to be decorated with a flowing periwig, but on a clofe infpection, will be found intended for one of fir John Mandeville's Anthropophagi, a fort of men, "Whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders.” Even the skulls have character; and the principal mummy has fo majestic an aspect, that one is almost tempted to believe it the mighty Cheops, king of Egypt, whofe body was certainly to be known, being the only one imtombed in the large pyramid. By two machines, conftructed upon moft complicated principles, though intended for performing the most fimple operations," we discover that our quack ftudies mechanics. On one of them lies a folio treatife, defcriptive of their ufes; by which it appears that the largest is for re-fetting the collar-bone, the smallest, for drawing a cork; each of them invented by monfieur de la Pilulæ, and inspected, and approved by the Royal Academy of Paris." In the note, p. 229, we find a fingular fpecimen of Mr. Ireland's accuracy: Andrew Millar publishing a work of Hearne! Doctor Hill writing the motto! In plain truth, the epigram given appeared in a note to the Dunciad, before Millar or Hill were at all known. (To be continued.) A Sketch of the Life and Projects of John Law of Laurifton, Comptroller General of the Finances in France. 4to. 45. Jewed. Kearsley. 1791. IN N the introduction to this pleafing little work, the author informs us that he began fome years ago to make collections, concerning the ancient and modern state of his native Ff4 parish parish of Cramond, near Edinburgh, especially biographical and genealogical anecdotes of the most confiderable families. From thefe collections he lately drew up a topographical account of that parish, which had the good fortune to meet with the approbation of, perhaps, too partial judges, particularly of that intelligent fenator who is now affiduously employed in elucidating the real political fituation of the kingdom; and they were pleafed to urge the publication of that work. As, however, the editor is fenfible that it is ftill, in feveral respects, defective, he has thought it more adviseable at prefent, to print a few copies of a part thereof, the following sketch of the life and projects of the most extraordinary character to which, as an heritor, the parish lays claim; in hopes that when his intentions are thus announced, those who have it in their power will have the goodness to furnish him with materials to render the work as complete as poffible.' This introduction is dated at King's Cramond, and figned I. P. W. Our author begins his Sketch by informing us that the Laws of Lauriston derive their defcent from those of Lathrisk in Fife. The first of the house of Lauriston was William Law, who fettled at Edinburgh, and followed the profeffion of a goldsmith, then almost synonymous with that of banker. With the profits of his bufinefs he purchased the lands of Lauriston, four miles to the north-west of the Scottish capital; and died in 1683, John Law, the eldest of five fons, was born at Edinburgh, in April 1671. In his youth he was fo remarkable for elegance of perfon and of drefs, that he was commonly called Beau Law: vifiting London in 1694, he became a favourite of the ladies; and was diftinguished by a duel, in which he flew another beau of the name of Wilfon. Law was apprehended, but escaped; and in the year 1700 we find him at Edinburgh, where in the following year he gave the first fpecimen of his financial talents, in his Propofals for a Council of Trade.' In 1705 he published a work called, Money and Trade confidered,' Our author's analysis of the latter work we shall extract. After preliminary obfervations, tending to fhew the infufficiency of gold and filver to ferve as money, from their increasingin quantity while the demand lefiens, and the fuperiority of land over all othe articles as a foundation for money, being capable of improvement as the demand increafes, and the quantity remaining always the fame; he therein propofes, that commiffioners, to be appointed by, and to act under the controul of parlia ment, fhould have power to iffue notes, and to give them out in ३ any any of these three ways; 1ft, in the way of loan, at ordinary intereft upon landed fecurity, the debt not exceeding half or two thirds of the value of the land; 2dly, to give out the full price of land in notes, and to enter into the poffeffion thereof by wadfet, redeemable within a certain period; and 3dly, to give out the full price of land upon fale irredeemably. Thus, all the notes being firmly fecured on landed property, he afferts that fuch notes would be equal in value to gold and filver money of the fame denomination, and also be preferred to these metals, as not being liable to fall in value like them.' Finding his fchemes neglected in his native country, he vifited Holland, where he remained fome years; and thence paffed to Bruffels and to Paris. At the latter place he prefented a fcheme for reducing the national debt, which was accepted by Defmaretz, the comptroller-general; but was rejected by Louis XIV. because it was proposed by a heretic.' But upon the death of Louis XIV. Mr. Law again vifited Paris, in 1715; and foon acquired the confidence of the duke of Orleans, regent of France. The author narrates the establishment of the general bank in 1718, and thus proceeds to unfold Law's grand fcheme. After the establishment of the General Bank, Mr. Law be. ? gan to develope the plan of that great and ftupendous project he had long meditated, known by the name of the Miffifippi fyftem, which, for a while, turned the heads of the French, and attracted the attention of all Europe; a project that, if carried into full execution, would, in all probability have exalted France to a vaft fuperiority of power and wealth over every other state. The scheme was no less than the vesting the whole privileges, effects and poffeffions of all the foreign trading companies, the great farms, the profits of the mint, the general receipt of the king's revenue, and the management and property of the bank, in one great company, who thus having in their hands all the trade, taxes, and royal revenues, might be enabled to multiply the notes of the bank to any extent they pleafed, doubling or even trebling at will the circulating cafh of the kingdom; and, by the greatness of their funds, poeffed of a power to carry the foreign trade, and the culture of the colonies, to a height altogether impracticable by any other means. The outlines of the plan being laid before the regent, met with the approbation of that prince; measures were taken for the establishment of the propofed company, and directions iffued for making the requifite grants to enable them to begin their operations. Accordingly, by letters patent, dated in Auguft 1717, a commercial company was erected, under the name of the Company of |