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worthy Lord V— were joined together, and that they were the happiest of mortals. Mr. Falkland is acquitted for killing Sir Edward Audley, and fucceeds to an eftate of four thoufand a year. He offers to marry Mifs Arnold, who, we think, from a very abfurd delicacy, refuses hiin, and folemnly devotes the remainder of her days to a fingle life, being now recovered from an indifpofition both of body and mind. Miss Audley and her mother fuffer poetical juftice for their base conduct. The lowness of their circumftances not suffering them to live' in England, they go abroad, where the old lady dies, and. the young one shuts herself up in a nunnery, while Falkland rifes to a confiderable rank in the army.

It would be doing the author injustice not to acknowlege, that in this analyfis we have omitted many particulars which ́ affist the narrative; that the language, tho' pure, is ornamented; the fentiments, fuch as Virtue herself, were she perfonified, according to Plato's wish, might breathe. Perhaps the profligacy of fo young a man as Sir Edward Audley is carried too far; neither do we think that his fifter, who is not much inferior to him in wickedness, is fufficiently punished.

VII. The Hiftory of Mifs Indiana Danby. By a Lady. Vols. III, and IV. 12mo. Pr. 6s. Lowndes.

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N our review of the two first volumes of this performance, we acknowledged this author's abilities for writing, though we thought the applied them to very abfurd purposes; and we are afraid the caveat we then entered against the profecution of her plan, produced the volumes now before us. Tho' we enjoined the lady author that Mifs Indiana might fit eternally in her cloisters, that Beverly might be visited with no return of his affection, and that the marquis fhould not be difproved to be Indiana's real brother; yet she has faithfully adopted and carried into execution every circumftance which we had fo carefully forefeen and prohibited. Mifs Indiana is perfuaded by a bishop that her vow is unlawful; Beverly's paffion for her returns with redoubled fervour; and the marquis, in the hurlothrumbo manner we had predicted, is discovered not to be the brother of Indiana, who has in her heart more manfions for love than one, as fome animals are faid to have two ftomachs in their belly.

Mr. Manly, to whom we formerly introduced our reader, profecutes his love for Indiana with unabating ardour; but

* See vol. xix. p. 467.

fuch

fuch is her afcendency over his difpofition, that the perfuades him to marry Mifs Boothby, an agreeable young lady, with a great fortune. Thus have we conveniently difiniffed two perfonages, who are not extremely neceffary to the principal narrative.

Beverly detects his wife, Lady Caroline, in an intrigue with Lord G. and after running him thro' the body in a duel, pre-. pares to be divorced, that he might be capable of marrying Indiana. The lowyers, however, have the addrefs to perfuade our heroine and all her friends, and at laft Beverly himself, that they are innocent, which puts an end to the divorce for this time. Indiana, notwithstanding all her feeming averfion to love, retains a hankering after the flesh-pots of Egypt, and drops fome involuntary fighs when she thinks of Beverly, who is wounded in his duel with Lord G. and is perfuaded to conceal himself for fome time. Finding Lord G. recovered, he returns to Indiana's houfe, and tho' fhe feels her heart fomewhat affected in his favour, yet fhe checks all fentiments of that kind.

In the opening of the fourth volume we find our heroine in a terrible taking by a brifk revival of Beverly's paffion; but one Sir George Mountague, a gentleman of unexceptionable character and large eftate, declares himself his rival, and offers his hand to the lady in marriage; a prefent which Beverly had not to give. Sir George being encouraged and recommended by all Indiana's friends, fhe, at last, reluctantly confents. Mean time the intrigue between Lady Caroline and Lord G. is fo plainly proved, that he carries her abroad, where the dies, confeffing her guilt..

Now for one of your kidnapping fenes! (vide the last article). The day on which Indiana is to marry Sir George, fhe is carried off by force; by Beverly the reader may be fure. A duel is fought between him and Sir George, in which the former is flightly, and the latter desperately wounded. Mifs Mountague, Sir George's fifter, who is in love with Beverly, inter pofes, and both are conveyed home in chairs from Hyde-Park, where the duel is fought. Mifs Indiana is next delivered from her confinement, which the bears with tolerable patience, after fhe knew that Beverly was her jailor, and receives a penitential letter from him, recommending his friend Mountague to her affections, and telling her it was his dying request. Inftead of returning home, the refolves to bury herself in a monaftery, fituated fomewhere near C-y, (we fuppofe Coventry or Canterbury; for obferve, reader, that this fcene is laidin England, and the whole fuppofed to have paffed about a dozen years ago) where her friend Fanny Fanmore was a profeft nun. Her mother, the marchionefs, joins her in this refolution

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refolution. Their female friends repair to the monastery, that they may witness the performance of the ceremony. Indiana outcants a Theatine monk in her praises of religious retirement. Beverly, who hears of his wife's death, recovers; however, tho' he is now fingle, Indiana cannot be diverted from her intentio. She is led like a victim to the altar, after a most solemn service attended by vocal and inftrumental mufic had been performed; but after fhe had bid the last adieu to her friends, and when the folemn rites were juft beginning, who fhould forbid the banns but the marquis in propriâ perJené? The reader may eafily conceive the agitation into which his appearance throws the whole congregation. After proving himself not to be the brother of Indiana, in a narrative full of inconfiftencies and improbabilities, her mother joins their hands, to the infinite fatisfaction of all prefent, particularly the bride and bridegroom.

Beverly, ignorant of Indiana's marriage, is ftruck' when he hears of it, but bears his difappointment better than could have been expected. The author has forgot to provide a husband for Mifs Mountague: Sir George, however, goes to Bath to wash down his forrows either with water or wine.

As we think our character of the former part of this novel may be very jufly applied to the prefent volumes, we fhall only add, that befides the improbability of ladies publicly profeffing themfelves nuns in England, and living as fuch all the reft of their lives, many others occur, which must be too obvious to need pointing out to an intelligent reader.

VIII. Noah. Attempted from the German of Mr. Bodmer. In twelve Books. By Jofeph Collyer. In z Vols. Pr. 6s. Dodfley.

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HIS work is a mixture of facred hiftory and romance: It contains a circumftantial account of Noah and his family, the ark and the deluge. Mofes has related these matters in a fummary way, and omitted feveral particulars; but this writer has supplied thefe deficiencies by the help of a fruitful imagination. In fome things he has difcovered ingenuity; in others, a want of judgment. He adopts the theory of Mr. Whiston, and afcribes the deluge to the trajection of a comet. This hypothefis gives him an opportunity to introduce feveral ⚫ pompous deferiptions. Every other part of this work is full of wonderful occurrences. Mofes has given us miracles, and Mr. Bodmer improbabilities. Thefe are promifcuously united; but the affemblage is unpleafing. Scripture and fiction make an unna

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tural mixture; and the ftory is not entertaining, as the outlines are trite, and the catastrophe univerfally known.

The naufeous affectation of expreffing every thing pompously and poetically is no where more visible than in this performance. What ear can bear this affected language?

Sing, O mufe of Sion's hill! the radiant grace benign,, which mov'd the Supreme Judge, when dooming myriads to the rifing deluge, for one righteous man, to bound his wrath, leading him to new habitations, there to enjoy a life divinethere to become the father of nations, whofe fanctity of manners might speak them the offspring of Heaven. Few are the traces of this great event left by the fpunge of oblivion on the tables of time, and fcarce are they to be difcern'd; yet are they known to thee, celeftial Mufe! and mayft thou deign to impart them to the adventurous bard, whom genial Nature, on his natal day, laid on her breaft. Thou, ere the waves o'erSpread the earth, breathing on Elihu's foul, taught him fongs divine taught Noah to raise his grateful praife, while in the floating ark with him afcended lofty Sion to extol his grace who in the Heavens difplay'd his radiant bow, the emblem of forgiving mercy.'

The following paffage is written in the fame ftrain; the ftile is a motly mixture of profe and blank verse...

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Where the rich orchards rear'd their lofty tops; where fruitful autumn bent under the waving ear, where the vine with purple clusters adorn'd the fide-long hill, or the lofty cedar caft its lengthen'd waving fhade, is fpread a general inundation, and drown'd lie herbs, plants and flowers; the lofty trees and fragrant groves, with all their bloom, and all their odours dead. The affrighted birds with feeble pinions skim the thickening clouds, and fly from tree to tree, and hill to hill; till the impetuous ftorms whirl them round and dafh them in the deep. The fturdy elephant and lufty bull, tremė bling, fkim the impetuous waves, and fwimming rife above the fwelling furge in vain. Alas! the birds of the air, the beafts of the foreft and the field, with man, the lord of the creation, finding all their efforts ineffectual, die immers❜d even as the reptile; all drink death in the water, mingled by the comet, with refin, nitre and fulphur.'

As we think Mr. Collyer an ingenious man, we could with, that if ever he attempts to favour the public with a tranflation of any other work of this kind, he would endeavour to avoid this tawdry stile; and confider that it is as great a fault to writę verse in profe, as to write profe in verse.

IX. The

IX. The Georgics of Virgil, tranflated by Thomas Neville,· A. M. Fellow of Jefus College, Cambridge. 8vo.

Cadell.

Pr. 25.

HE Georgics of Virgil are admired by every reader of

Tlearning and tafte. The author has adorned them with

all the graces of poetry. His defcriptions are animated, his verfification harmonious, and his diction exquifitely adapted to the fubject. Mr. Neville very properly recommends this poem to the attention of every one who is folicitous to form a juft notion of chafte compofition. But it ought to be read in the original. The greatest excellencies are apt to be destroyed by the beft tranflators. The following inftance may ferve to evince the truth of this remark. Virgil fpeaking,of the management of bees, gives this direction :

"In medium, feu ftabit iners, feu profluet humor,
Tanfverfas falices, & grandia conjice faxa;
Pontibus ut crebris poffint confiftere, et alas
Pandere ad æftivum folem; fi forte morantes

Sparferit aut præceps Neptuno immerferit Eurus."

Geor. iv. 1. 25.

These lines are plain and fimple, but likely to betray an injudicious tranflator into bombaft. Mr. Addifon has fallen into this abfurdity.

"Whether the neighb'ring water stands or runs,
Lay twigs acrofs, and bridge it o'er with ftones:
That if rough ftorms, or fudden blafts of wind
Should dip, or scatter thofe that lag behind,
Here they may fettle on the friendly ftone,
And dry their reeking pinions at the fun."

A writer quoted by Demetrius Phalereus, gives this pompous defcription of a warp: Κατανέμεται μεν την ορεινην, εισιτήαται δε εις τας κοιλας δρυς. "It feeds upon the "mountains, and flies into hollow oaks." It feems, fays Demetrius, as if the author was fpeaking of a wild bull, or the boar of Erymanthus, and not of fuch a pitiful creature as a wafp. Mr. Addison's concluding line is equally ridiculous. The following tranflation by Mr. Dryden fuggefts the idea of a fhipwreck and a storm at fea.

"With ofier floats the standing water ftrow,
Of moffy ftones make bridges if it flow;
That basking in the fun thy bees may lie,
And refting there their flaggy pinions dry,
When late returning home, the laden hoft
By raging winds is wrecked upon the coaft."

Mr.

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