destroy the actions and life of the folids, destroy alfo the power of coagulation in the blood.

In this enquiry into the nature and properties of the blood, there is a very valuable collection of facts which may afford materials of the utmost importance to those who mean to confider this fubject, and in that point of view it may be pronounced an useful acquifition to medical science.

In confidering the blood veffels, the obfervations of most importance refpect the mixture of mufcular and elaftic ftructure, by which their action is carried on; the more common actions, being the effect of elasticity, the more uncommon of mufcular action, and the large trunks being chiefly compofed of elaftic fubftance, but as the branches become finaller, the arteries are made up of a greater portion of mufcular fubftance, till at last the finaller veffels are entirely fo. The truth of thefe pofitions is afcertained by a feries of experiments.

Upon the heart we have many anatomical and phyfiological remarks, refpecting its tructure in different animals and its use; and the different caufes of its action are confidered, but all thofe generally affigned are fhown to be inadequate. Many of our readers may confider that offered by the author as equally unfatisfactory, fince he refers it to the act of neceffity; by which we are to understand, that the fympathetic connection between the heart and the body at large, is fuch as to influence the action of that organ. However we may differ from the author in the conclufions, the facts and obfervations he adduces, of the evident influence the actions of the lungs have upon the heart, and a stoppage of the heart producing a ceffation of the actions of the lungs, are very interesting, and may affift others in profecuting this enquiry, and bringing it to a more fatisfactory conclufion.

The valves of the arteries, the ramifications of arteries, the increase of their number in a part, in proportion as a fupply of blood is wanted, and many other circumitances both in the arteries and veins, are very minutely defcribed. The mode in which the valves of the aorta are fhut by the dilatation of the aorta, appears to be the most curious. The coats of the aorta being elaftic, and the edges of the valves not being fo, the valves are fhut by the fame action which diftends the artery.

Here concludes the first part of Mr. Hunter's work, the analyfis of the reft must be referved for next month.

ART. XIII. The New Annual Register; or, General Repofi tory of Hiftory, Politics, and Literature, for the Year 1793. To which is prefixed the Hiftory of Knowledge, Learning, and Tafte in Great Britain during the Reign of James I. Part 1, 8vo. 633 pp. 8s. Robinfons. 1794.

WHE

WHEN a work is announced that profeffes the utmost impartiality, and is introduced with a folemn declaration," that no circumftance of moment is omitted, and that the most minute has not been wilfully mifreprefented," we are naturally led to expect a fair detail of every tranfaction that is related. Experience indeed will guard the mind against an implicit confidence in profeflions; but even jealousy is difarmed, when there feems to be no adequate motive for mifrepresentation; and when a tenacious adherence to truth is ftrongly, and repeatedly infifted on. The New Annual Regifter for the year 1793 is now before us; and if we affert, that the hiftorical part is difgraceful to the compilers of it; that it conveys chiefly the trite objections of party; and that it is not, what it claims to be, a faithful relation of facts, but a distorted delineation of politics, we fhall prove our affertions, by an examination of various particulars. In the outfet of this work (p. 4.) it is declared, "that the Whigs faw with fatisfaction, that the British conftitution was the avowed model on which the firft affembly of France profeffed to establish their new form of government." The fact, however, is directly contrary to this declaration; for all the writers, who lived in France at the commencement of the revolution, have concurred in obferving, that the French in general decried the British conftitution, that they deemed the intervening and reftraining power of the Houfe of Lords ufelefs and pernicious; and that the topic of declamation among the first reformers in France was, that the revolution in this country, in the preceding century, was fo incomplete, that at this day we required a renovation as much as they did. When it is afferted, as in p. 4." that the first part of the Rights of Man was approved by many, whofe fentiments in general were by no means favourable to republicanism," we are astonished at the hardinefs of fuch a declaration. We well recollect, though our critical labours had not then commenced, that the book, entitled the Rights of Man, was a fubject of much difcuffion; but among the approvers of the work, we do not remember to have found any, except thofe, who in many ways proved, though they did not openly avow, their diflike to our prefent

happy

happy conftitution, and who eagerly fheltered themfelves under a writer, whofe fole object was to excite difcontent.

How the fimilarity of the new fyftem in France, to that of Great Britain, can be traced, (p. 5) we cannot divine. So far as liberty was profeffed, there might be a concurrence in fentiment; but in the new formation of the conftitution of France, there was nothing to claim the admiration of those true whigs, who are equally adverfe to the undue extenfion of the prerogatives of the crown, and to the incroachments of the people. When the Tiers Etats annihilated a long-fubfifting, and an effential part of the French conftitution, they, in no respect, imitated our prefent form of government. They copied only that fyftem, which proved fatal to our dearest interests in the laft century; and they engendered a plan, which has proved to them, as it did to us, to be pregnant with confufion and de. struction. We fhould pafs by the reflections on Mr. Reeves, as the projector of thofe laudable affociations, to which we owe the defeat of many republican efforts, if the writers of the New Annual Register had not infinuated, (p. 6.) that the measures at the Crown and Anchor were originally inftituted by gentlemen connected with administration. If the compilers of the Annual Regifter, who ought not to be partydeclaimers, but juft relaters, will recur to the names of the committee of that fociety, they will find it compofed chiefly of men connected with trade, or otherwife independent; or, if they will take the pains to make a real enquiry, they will know that Mr. Reeves took up the plan of affociating without any kind of participation with minifters, or their adherents, on the fubject; that he founded the measure, on an apprehension of real danger to the exifting government; and if any vindication be required of the measure, a more complete one cannot be adduced, than the general adoption of it by almost every man of property in the kingdom. The grofs and vulgar abuse on Sir James Saunderfon (p. 9) is the mere effufion of party fpleen. We well remember, that the fpeech of that magiftrate, fo far from being " remarkable only for bad grammar and broad affertion," was very generally commended: and if a Lord Mayor of London cannot boast of the eloquence of the first speakers, he will always be much more attended to than any orator whatever, fo long as he confines himself to facts. The public look not for eloquence in a man educated in trade; but with refpect to the gentleman here fatirized, adequate teftimony reports, that he fpeaks both fluently and fenfibly; and the activity of his exertions has been cenfured by thofe only, whofe pernicious fchemes of innovation were defeated by his manly interference. With what

2

truth

truth can it be maintained, "that the whole people of France were disposed to amity with England." (p. 11.) If perpetual revilings on the fuppofed defective parts of our conftitution; if offers to fraternize with our feditious focieties; to new model our government, and to drefs us in the bloody caps of democracy, be proofs of this amity, we are willing to admit that they were abundantly propofed. This wife nation spurned at an offer, which was calculated for its deftruction; and their tree of liberty, which was fo generously offered to be planted in this happy foil, was rightly reputed to be neither pleafant to the eye, nor to be defired to make one wife.

It would lead us too far to follow the writer of this narrative through all his unfair statements; but the refult of our examination is, that we cannot hesitate to condemn a publication which, under the folemn affertion of impartiality, ap'pears in truth to convey not even the most moderate language of party. The general method employed in it, is amply and favourably to detail the fentiments and fpeeches of one fet of men, and to relate thofe of the oppofite fide in few and feeble words. The candour of the writer is no where perhaps better exemplified, than in the pretended apology made in p. 7. for publishing the forged treaty of Pavia, which is in fact more infidious than the thing itself. He only fays, that "minifterial writers are pleafed to deny its authenticity;" and infinuates, that if it was not as there reprefented, it was probably fomething worfe: and all this refpecting a confeffed nonentity!

Such is the most important part of this publication. To the mifcellaneous compilation by which it is followed, we have not much to object: the articles are, in the main, well felected from the literature of the year. Prefixed is an hiftory of knowledge, learning, and tafte in Great Britain during the reign of James 1, written indeed with a strong bias to the Puritanical fide, but without intemperance. One commendation we must beltow upon the author or authors of the original parts of this work, which makes an honourable diftinction for them from many advocates of the French caufe. They feem to have fome religion: and the only paffages we can cite, in which they appear to take a decided part against the proceedings of France, are where they were directed by open impiety. We shall fubjoin one of these.

"The phrenfy of impiety, which has perhaps been the great curfe of the French people, was carried to its highest degree of abfurdity about this period. On the 7th of November a moft indecent scene was acted in the convention. Gobet, the republican bishop of Paris,

with his grand vicars, and other unworthy members of the ecclefiaftical body, entered the hall with the conftituted authorities, and the ecclefiaftics folemnly refigned their functions and the Chriftian religion. Several ecclefiaftics, both catholic and proteftant, who were members of the convention, refigned at the fame time; and the celebrated Gregoire was the only man who had the courage to profess himself a Chriftian, though the emoluments of his bifhopric, he faid, were ready to be devoted to the fervice of the republic. By the tumultuous applaufes of the convention, a number of allegorical divinities, Liberty, Equality, &c. were confecrated as objects of worship. This execrable attempt to revive the abfurdities of paganifm, did not however fucceed equally well with the populace. The refentment of the whole people of Paris was ftrongly excited, by an intolerant decree of the commune, ordering the churches to be fhut up; and on the ift of December they were obliged to reverse this order; and Barrere, by a report from the committee of public fafety, once more proclaimed the freedom of religious worship. The party of Hebert and Fabre d'Eglantine, who were at the head of this execrable confpiracy againit religion, are generally fuppofed to have precipitated their own difgrace by this proceeding; and the popularity which Robespierre Thortly after obtained, is principally to be attributed to his taking part with the people in defence of religion." P. 201.

The laft fentence is untrue, but it is innocent: and when thefe writers will condefcend to be really impartial, they may depend on our commendations.

ART. XIV. Poems by Goldsmith and Parnell. 4to. il. Is. Bulmer. 1795.

THIS

HIS is fo exquifite and beautiful a fpecimen of Typography, that it would be an act of injuftice not to give it a confpicuous place in our articles, tho' thus to diftinguish what is merely a republication, may appear inconfiftent with our general plan. The two great rivals in the art of printing, who leave all others at a confiderable distance, are doubtless Bodoni of Parma and Mr. Bulmer; and it is by no means an easy office to fay to which of thefe the palm should be affigned. The competition is fo ufeful in its confequences and fo honourable to thofe concerned, that either may well be fatisfied with the unqualified declaration, that the productions of their different prefles are very excellent. If Mr. B. intended the prefent volume as his chef-d'œuvre, we think he has fucceeded; for, whether we confider the fabric and colour of the paper, the ink, the form and arrangement of the letters, or