emigrated into Upper Canada, and their principal village is now si tuated on the Grand River, which falls into Lake Erie on the north side, about sixty miles from the town of Newark or Niagara; there Brandt at present resides. He has built a comfortable habitation for himself, and any stranger that visits him may rest assured of being well received, and of finding a plentiful table well served every day. He has no less than thirty or forty negroes, who attend to his horses, cultivate his grounds, &c. These poor creatures are kept in the greatest subjection, and they dare not attempt to make their escape, for he has assured them, that if they did so he would follow them himself, though it were to the confines of Georgia, and would tomahawk them wherever he met them. They know his disposition too well not to think that he would adhere strictly to his word. • Brandt receives from Government half pay as a captain, besides. annual presents, &c. which in all amount, it is said, to £. 500 per annum, We had no small curiosity, as you may well imagine, to see this Brandt, and we procured letters of introduction to him from the governor's secretary, and from different officers and gentlemen of his acquaintance, with an intention of proceeding from Newark to his village. Most unluckily, however, on the day before that of our reaching the town of Newark or Niagara, he had embarked on board a vessel for Kingston, at the opposite end of the lake. You may judge of Brandt's consequence, when I tell you, that a lawyer of Niagara, who crossed lake Ontario in the same vessel with us, from Kingston, where he had been detained for some time by contrary winds, informed us, the day after our arrival at Niagara, that by his not having reached that place in time to transact some law business for Brandt, and which had consequently been given to another person, he should be a loser of one hundred pounds at least. Brandt's sagacity led him, early in life, to discover that the Indians had been made the dupe of every foreign power that had got footing in America; and, indeed, could he have had any doubts on the subject, they would have been removed when he saw the British, af. ter having demanded and received the assistance of the Indians in the American war, so ungenerously and unjustly yield up the whole of the Indian territories, east of the Mississippi, and south of the lakes, to the people of the United States; to the very enemies, in short, they had made to themselves at the request of the British. He perceived with regret that the Indians, by espousing the quarrels of the whites, and by espousing different interests, were weakening themselves; whereas, if they remained aloof, and were guided by the one policy, they would soon become formidable, and be treated with more respect; he formed the bold scheme, therefore, of uniting the Indians together in one grand confederacy, and for this purpose sent messengers to different chiefs, proposing that a general meeting should be held of the heads of every tribe, to take the subject into consideration; but certain of the tribes, suspicious of Brandt's designs, and fearful that he was bent upon acquiring power for himself by this measure, opposed it with all their might. Brandt has in consequence become extremely obnoxious to many of the most warlike, and with such a jealous eye do they now regard him, that it would not be perfectly safe for him to venture to the upper country. • He He has managed the affairs of his own people with great ability, and leased out their superfluous lands for them, for long terms of years, by which measure a certain annual revenue is ensured to the nation, probably as long as it will remain a nation. He wisely judged, that it was much better to do so than to suffer the Mohawks, as many other tribes had done, to sell their possessions by piecemeal, the sums of money they received for which, however great, would soon be dissipated if paid to them at once. Whenever the affairs of his nation shall permit him to do so, Brandt declares it to be his intention to sit down to the further study of the Greek language, of which he professes himself to be a great admirer, and to translate from the original, into the Mohawk language, more of the New Testament; yet this same man, shortly before we arrived at Niagara, killed his only son with his own hand. The son, it seems, was a drunken good for nothing fellow, who had often avowed his intention of destroying his father. One evening he absolutely entered the apartment of his father, and had begun to grapple with him, perhaps with a view to put his unnatural threats into execution, when Brandt drew a short sword, and felled him to the ground. Brandt speaks of this affair with regret, but at the same time without any of that emotion which another person than an Indian might be supposed to feel. He consoles himself for the act, by thinking that he has benefited the nation, by ridding them of a rascal. Brandt wears his hair in the Indian style, and also the Indian dress; instead of the wrapper, or blanket, he wears a short coat,' similar to a hunting frock.' A great variety of interesting and amusing particulars, concerning the manners, customs, present state, and internal policy of the American colonies, are to be found in this work: but, unable as we obviously are to follow the author through all these minute details, we have rather chosen to submit to thereader Mr. Weld's account of a few prominent objects; and we shall conclude by observing that Mr. W.'s summary and decided opinion of America may be perceived from the few following words, with which he terminates his book: I shall speedily take my departure from this continent, well pleased at having seen as much of it as I have done; but I shall leave it without a sigh, and without entertaining the slightest wish to re-visit it.' The composition of Mr. Weld is frequently inelegant and incorrect; but his work affords considerable entertainment and information. It is ornamented by a map of part of the United States of North America, and of Upper and Lower Canada; a plan of the city of Washington, and the city of Quebec, and` twelve neat descriptive engravings. Gell.....d. Art. 17. The Elements of Mathematical Analysis, abridged for the Use of Students. With Notes, demonstrative and explanatory; and a Synopsis of Book V. of Euclid. By Nicholas Vilant, A. M. F. R. S. Edinb.; and Regius Professor of Mathematics in the University of St. Andrew's. 8vo. pp. 160. 45. sewed. Wingrave. 1798. WE intend not to enter into any particular examination of the ar ticles contained in this treatise, because, as we are informed in the preface, it is only an abridgment of part of a comprehensive system of the Elements of Mathematical Analysis, common and Auxionary, and now almost finished:'-but, although we do not minutely criticise the accuracy and excellence of the methods here to be found, the work itself must be considered. With the learned, this abridgment will be superseded by the more comprehensive one which, according to the author, is soon to be offered to the world. To young students, then, as the title sets forth, the use of this essay is apparently destined. It is desirable to know the object of an author, in order that we may estimate the success of his endeavours to attain it :-Now, if the object of this work be to afford to beginners an introduction to the easy parts and common propositions of algebra, the author may be said to have attained his object: yet we cannot avoid remarking an obvious defect, an unsystematic arrangement, and a want of coherence in the several parts. The work is not distributed into chapters; nor does it follow the order proper to a scientific treatise. The proofs of some rules are not given; of others, the proofs are disjoined from the rules, and placed separately in the notes. These defects might easily have been remedied; and it is to be regretted that a work should labour under the want of essential advantages, which are to be procured at a very moderate expence of thought and labour. The typographical errors also are not few; and the sign of greater and less is injudiciously altered; there is no necessity for placing an r and s after the symbols > and <; every mathematician immediately understands that ab means a greater than b. In regard to the matter of the work, it is very good; the principles of the propositions are clearly laid down, and the proofs are logically conducted. Some of the rules, however, might be changed for others which are more commodious: but we do not recollect to have elsewhere seen the method which the author has given for the resolution of commensurate cubic equations; the resolution is founded on this principle: if x and if x=n, 2n, 3n, 4n, 5n, &c. then X = n y m y=m, 2m, 3m, 4m, 5m, &c. Let2 Now, if x3-40-24, x=4.4 is a root of the Equation. The binomial theorem is demonstrated by means of the formula given by Mr. Landen in his Residual Analysis; which formula is We hope that the author, as he uses the formula of Mr. Landen, has likewise adopted his principles; and that, in the work which is soon to appear before the public, he will not consider Fluxions as an independent science, but will shew that it is a natural branch of the same common stock from which all Algebra is derived. EDUCATION, &c. Art. 18. A Chronological Table, on a new Plan. Comprizing Articles of an Historical, Biographical, and Miscellaneous Nature, for daily Use: to which is subjoined, An Explanation of the se veral Subdivisions of Time; the Origin of the present Names of the Days of the Week and Months of the Year; an Account of the Correspondence of the latter with the New French Calendar; and a copious Index to the Work. Designed for the Use of young Ladies. By William Butler, Teacher of Writing, Accounts, and Geography, in Ladies Schools and in Private Families. 2d Edition, enlarged. 12mo. 5s. Dilly, &c. 1799. The method of arrangement adopted in this plan gives it but little claim to the title of chronological. It is in the nature of a calendar; being an anniversary cominemoration of remarkable occurrences, classed without regard to the year in which they happened, but ac cording to the day of the year, beginning with the first of January and thence proceeding through each particular day. The utility of arranging historical facts in this manner seems confined to the purpose to which it is applied in the Almanack; i. e. to mark the return of feasts and holidays. For the purposes of instruction, it is ill suited; as it breaks into the chronological order of events, and renders them perplexed. The index, which is full, in some measure atones for the defect of the plan; and the work contains several articles which have not as yet found their way into other publications of the same nature. The author's style is flowery, and much interJarded with poetical quotations. Capt. B....y. Art. Wood....e. Art. 19. Letters on Subjects of Importance to the Happiness of young Schools. 12mo. 4d. Vernor and Hood. 1799. To form the children of the poor to industry, contentment, honesty, and all virtue, is a noble object of Christian charity: if it be possible to attain it, the greatest service is rendered to society, as well as to the young people themselves. Much depends on the manner in which attempts of this kind are conducted. It is the de sign of this little performance to assist in carrying on so laudable a purpose; and while these natural and simple tales may be of use to poor children, others in different stations may derive hints from them which may prove of some benefit.-N. B, We observe twice in this tiny volume, pleated instead of plaited. POETIC and DRAMATIC. Art. 21. True Patriotism; or Poverty ennobled by Virtue, a Drama, performed, for the First Time, December 21, 1798, at the Theatre in Louth, with universal Applause. 8vo. 28. Printed at Louth. London, Crosby and Letterman. 1799. We are extremely glad to learn from the title-page, that this home-made tragi-comedy (for it contains blank-verse, and a battle) found much favour in the eyes of our loyal friends at Louth. Yet perhaps it had been as well if they had kept it to themselves; for we believe Hi. Hi. |