We are forry our limits will not permit us to indulge our readers with farther extracts from the entertaining parts of this work; however, we should think ourselves unpardonable, were we to omit the following. • But there is one thing which is the moft fingular of all, that they even decide their quarrels by finging and dancing, and call this a finging combat. If one Greenlander imagines himself injured by another, he betrays not the leaft trace of vexation or wrath, much lefs revenge, but he compofes a faty. rical poem; this he repeats fo often with finging and dancing in the prefence of his domeftics, and especially the women, till they have all got it in their memory. Then he publishes a challenge every where, that he will fight a duel with his antagonist, not with a fword but a fong. The refpondent betakes himself to the appointed place, and prefents himself in the encircled theatre. Then the accufer begins to fing his fatyre to the beat of the drum, and his party in the auditory, back every line with the repeated Amna aiah, and alfo fing every fentence with him; and all this while he difcharges fo many taunting truths at his adverfary, that the audience have their fill of laughing. When he has fung out all his gall, the defendant fteps forth, anfwers the accufation against him, and ridicules his antagonist in the fame manner, all which is corroborated with the united chorus of his party, and fo the laugh changes fides. The plaintiff renews the affault, and tries to baffle him a fecond time; in fhort, he that maintains the laft word wins the process, and acquires a name. At fuch oppor tunities they can tell one another the truth very roundly and cuttingly, only there must be no mixture of rudeness or paffion. The whole body of beholders conftitute the jury, and bestow the laurel, and afterwards the two parties are the best friends. It is feldom any thing unbecoming occurs at any of their fports; (except perhaps that a man, who has good feconds, carries off a woman by violence, whom he has a mind to marry) but as for this fport, it is more than a mere diverfion, they take this opportunity to excite one another to better morals by expofing. the flame of the contrary; to admonish debtors to pay what they owe; to discountenance lying and detraction; and to execute revenge on every fort of fraud or injustice in their dealings, and alfo on adultery; for there is nothing that keeps a Greenlander in good order so much as dread of publick defamation. Nay this merry revenge keeps back many a one from wreaking his malice in making reprisals, or even committing murder. Yet after all it is difcernible, that the chief ingredient in the whole affair is a voluble tongue; therefore therefore it is common among the Greenlanders, that the most celebrated fatyrifts, and moral philofophers, behave the worst." Great part of what follows relative to the moral and perfonal character of the Greenlanders, especially concerning their religion, conjurations, and divinations, is either trifling, or fhocking to humanity. According to our editor, many of them have been converted from a religion which he calls grofs paganism to Christianity; but with what juftice let the reader who perufes the second volume determine. V. A Series of Genuine Letters, between Henry and Frances. Vols. III. and IV. 12mo. Price 6 s. bound. Johnston. T HIS publication, containing the fequel of the correfpondence between Henry and Frances, confirms the favourable opinion we formerly expreffed of the writers of the two firft volumes of this series of letters *. We here meet with the fame warmth of tender affection, and the fame moral and religious strains, which recommended the former letters though we think with a greater and more agreeable variety of fubjects. The following epiftles prefent us with a proof of the ease with which this correfpondence is carried on. I send you a parcel of French famplers, as a prefent for our friend Mrs. While I was rolling them up, this morning, a thought ftruck me: upon which I immediately, wrote the inclosed extempore, which I defire you to present to her, along with the traced canvas. To Mrs. with a prefent of French samplers. Our natures, like thefe famplers, juft are trac'd To fill, and colour, is the most we can. Happy exception! to the world you shine, See Crit. Rev. vol. III. p. 428. At At once made perfect, in the moral part, Mr. C brought a great number of them from France, when he was there laft, and defigned them for his daughter; but they quarrelled foon after, and he has fent them all as a prefent to you. I have taken a poetic licence with these few, and shall carry you the remainder, in plain profe. You know he is a woman, in every thing, except beauty, and gentleness of manners, and is perfect mistress of the needle. He would force me to take a leffon, upon the manner of working these famplers: All I remember of which, is, that the feveral worsteds, with which the figures are traced, mark the outermoft fhade of that colour that each is to be filled up with. He has made me a present of an empty purse, alo, of his own working; and, if he paid me half what he owes me, he might have filled it; but he pleads poverty to that, and all other demands. The plea is true, in effect; but 'tis his own perverfenefs, that makes it fo. If he would but give, and take, a little, he might foon render himself perfectly eafy; but he feems to have a paflion for difficulties, and distress, and creates them to himself, moft induftriously, every day. My dearest HARRY, Adieu! HENRY.' I received your prefent, with the very pretty lines you fent along with it. I delivered them both, without the leaft grudging, I affure you, 'till I saw the manner in which they were both received. She looked over the pieces of canvas carelessly, juft run her eye through the poem, and then, with her usual coldness, laid them on her toilet, as fhe would have done a pair of fhoes, with the receipt. Go to, go to, thou art a very Spendthrift in wit, to fquander it away, upon fuch subjects. Were there merit to deferve the compliment, or tafte to relish the wit of it, I could excufe you. We are all to go to the affizes-They begin next Tuefday-Mr. begs the favour of you to meet him there, time enough to be put upon the grand-jury, for he wants your affiftance toward his new road.- -Do, lay on tax upon tax→→→ To load a country is one way of making it thrive; because it doubles industry. Among the few advantages which our fex has over your's, furely thefe ought to be highly prized, that we we can never be obliged to kill, to condemn, or even to tax a man. God help your poor fouis! Adieu! FRANCES. Dear HARRY, < Mr. called to fee me, this morning, and feems to be but flowly recovering from his fever. He has left his lovely wife, at her mother's, in the county of Wicklow, to lye in, that is, to give birth to a fourth grace. He was not in his ufual fpirits, but extremely agreeable, and polite. He fat with me, for an hour; and seems to have our Series of Letters all by heart; for I think that he quoted, or alluded to, above a dozen paffages in them, as the turn of our converfation happened to fupply the occafions. • He entertained me with a converfation he lately had with Mr., about thefe writings. He faid he was furprized how these letters had obtained fuch a character-For his part, he could perceive no merit in them-That history, or treatises, were works of labour and science; and poetry, or novels, of wit, or invention; but, that letters were the easiest things in the world, as they required neither study, genius, or science. Our friend replied, that letter writing was indeed a very common thing, but an uncommon talent, at the fame time for, that there was a great difference between writing letters for the poff, and for the prefs; that the great excellence of these, is, that they were defigned only for the former; and that he differed much in his opinion of literary works; for he thought it an higher inftance of talents, to be able to write agreeably, without ftudy, or matter, than where one has facts, fcience, or invention, to fupport them..jewe The critic, however, was brought to allow them the merit of ftile, and language; and to confefs that his objections lay not particularly to the Series, but against all letters, in print, which were neither historical, or narrative. Pray make my affectionate compliments to our friends where you are, and tell Mrs. that I fhall write to her as foon I have picked up incidents enough, in this town, to entertain her Not that I imagine fhe would judge like Mr. of my letter, though I fhould write her one upon nothing, • Dear FANNY, tion. I know the character of Mr. FRANCES. the critic you men He is a man of labour, and ftudy, without tafte, or genius. He published a collection of poems, many years ago, which he gave the conceited title of the Nosegay to, and they were ill received. A mediocrity in writing is quicker perceived in poetry, than in any thing else; and I wonder he did not find it out himself, for he is really a fenfible man, but rather tool folid, which is often a disadvantage. I should rather buoy on the furface sometimes, than always anchor in the mud. • This critic lives too much in his study; and the difference between fuch a perfon, and thofe who converfe familiarly in the world, may be compared to the upper fod, and the under Spit, of the earth-The latter may have, intrinfically, the faine powers of vegetation, but wants the action and impregnation of the atmosphere, to fet its fixed falts at liberty to exert themfelves. I do not fuppofe he spoke against the Series, from the envy or malevolence of a disappointed author; but perfons of his ftamp must always have fome matter, for their fubject, and confequently feel no manner of relish for the finer arts, as their beauty refts merely in idea, and is not extended to folid ufe. I agree with him, in his opinion about the merits of such writings as he is inclined to reprehend, that wit is not a merit, but an excellence. 'Tis a natural gift, and can no more be acquired, than beauty. This puts me in mind of a story I heard once of colonel who was an acquaintance of lord T. He had frequently heard his lordship, who was himself a man of lively parts, repeat and commend the bons mots he had heard thrown out among his jovial companions; which mortifying the stupid colonel, he one day remarked, that he faw no manner of merit, in all this A good thing happened to come into their heads, and they faid it; and I fhould have done the fame, added he, if it had occurred to me. I fhall conclude this letter with an epigram, which the fubject of your letter has made occur to me, this inftant. You fay that Macro reads our works with fcorn, Adieu ! HENRY.' The editor admits, that there is not to be expected much connection among his letters': This we regret the lefs, because Vol. XXIII. January, 1767. D it |