fifty, fixty, or feventy paces diftant, it then becomes neceffary to aim at least half a foot before the head. The fame practice fhould be obferved in fhooting at a hare, rabbit, or fox, when running in a crofs direction, making due allowance for the distance, and for the swiftness of the pace, which is not always the same. It is alfo proper in shooting at an object very distant, to take aim a little above it, because fhot, as well as ball, have but a certain range in point blank, beyond which each begins to defcribe the curve of the parabola. When a hare runs in a ftraight line from the fhooter, he should take his aim between the ears, otherwife he will run the hazard either of miffing, or at least of not killing dead, or, as it is fometimes called, clean.' A true fportfman, who has the ambition of shooting well, is not content with only breaking the wing of a partridge, or the thigh of a hare, when he shoots at a fair distance; for, in fuch cafe, the hare or the partridge ought to be, fhot in fuch a manner, that it should remain in the place where it falls, and not require the affiftance of the dogs to take it. But, if he shoots at a great distance, it is no reproach that the partridge is only winged, or the hare wounded, fo that it cannot escape. any • Practice foon teaches the sportsman the proper distance at which he fhould fhoot. The diftance at which he ought infallibly to kill kind of game, with patent fhot, No. 3, provided the aim be well taken, is from twenty-five to thirty-five paces for the footed, and from forty to forty-five paces for the winged game. Beyond this diftance, even to fifty or fifty-five paces, both partridge and hares are fometimes killed; but, in general, the hares are only flightly wounded, and carry away the fhot; and the partridge, at that dif tance, prefent fo fmall a furface, that they frequently efcape untouched between the spaces of the circle. Yet it does not follow that a partridge may not be killed with No. 3, patent shot, at fixty, and even feventy paces diftance; but then these shots are very rare." The author's next object is to deliver inftructions for training pointers; after which he treats of the various kinds of game, viz. the hare, rabbit, partridge, pheasant, groufe, woodcock, fnipe, and wild-duck. On the whole, we may recommend the work as a most useful practical treatise on this part of the sportsman's occupation. ART. ART. X. A Sermon preached before the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, at their Anniver fary Meeting, in the Parish Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, February 20th, 1789. By the Right Reverend Samuel, Lord Bishop of Gloucester. 4to. Is. London, 1789. A MONG all the dogmas of infidelity, which owe much of their celebrity to the fafcinating fophiftry of a Bolingbroke, there is not one which he labours more ftrenuously to establish than the want of univerfality in the original publication of the gofpel. Having, by a partial view of the fubject, wrought himfelf into a conviction of this favourite hypothefis, he infers, with his ufual temerity, that the gofpel of Chrift is one thing, and the gospel of St. Paul another; that the gofpel of Chrift was meant for the Jews only, and the other extended also to the Gentiles.' The drift of the elegant fermon before us is to expofe and repel this opinion, and justify the concern which it becomes us to feel for the honour and fuccefs of our holy religion. This the learned prelate has performed in a fatisfactory manner, by correctly ftating the fentiments both of Chrift and his apoftle on the point in queftion; by afferting and illuftrating the propriety of Chriftianity commencing among the Jews, from the nature both of the Old and New Teftament difpenfation; and by demonstrating the liberal genius and intent of the latter, from the promise made to the fathers, from Chrift's express declarations, and from the vaft and comprehenfive object both of the miffion which he delegated to his immediate difciples, and of that which he received himself from the Father. In explaining and applying this argument the economy of Divine Providence is beautifully difplayed, and a brief epitome given of the fortunes of the Chriftian church in a series of great and regular events,' to ufe his lordship's words, through its fhifting fcenes of alternate fuffering and fuccefs from the apoftolic age down to the prefent time.' Thefe ftriking obfervations are naturally followed up by fuch an account of the end and operations of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts as demonftrates how aptly the inftitution is calculated for promoting the purposes of deffeminating the gofpel. The preacher, on this part of the subject, takes an opportunity to difcriminate the objects of that exalted charity which it is the purport of his fermon to recommend. And here the intemperance which has inadvertently crept into the argument for the abolition of the flave-trade is glanced at with juftnefs, and delicacy. Slavery, as his lordship obferves, is by no means repugnant to the precepts of fcripture. And to represent reprefent it in this light to a deluded public is injuring the caufe we mean to ferve by an imprudent manner of defending it, and is both impolitic and unjuft. We have been the more particular in our analysis of this compofition; as whoever will take the trouble of giving it a difpaffionate perufal will not regret either the time or expence it may coft. For it is not very common, even in these enlightened times, to meet with such a rich display of rational piety, and in fo brief a compafs, as is to be found in the performance before us. ART. XI. The Botanic Garden, Part II.; containing the Loves of the Plants; a Poem. With Philofophical Notes. Vol. II. 4to. 12s. boards. Johnfon. London, 1789. [ Concluded. ] THE HE paffages we have selected are not to be confidered as preeminent; there are few inferior; we have only studied variety, and given our readers fome foretafte of the pleasures they are to expect from the perufal of the whole. In the next interlude our author enters into a difcuffion of the effects the horrid and diftreffing produce on the paffions. We think his objection against the former in ftatuary is more delicate than juft. The fpectator who views either Marcias or the beautiful group of Laocoon, does not dwell long enough on either to feel all thofe painful affociated ideas a representation of fuch events on the stage would produce. He is at once hurried into the depth of the tragedy without thofe previous introductory steps which are neceflary to make the incident, and more particularly the objects, interesting to him. Befides which, ftatuary being confined to a fingle colour, we have only to admire how fo much can be expreffed by the mere chiffel; and fhould probably not feel ourselves at all interested beyond the workmanship, if the recollection of the hiftory did not obtrude itself upon us. These reflections lead our author to the old inquiries concerning the fource of thofe pleasures we feel at the diftreffes of tragedy, which he seems willing to attribute to our capacity of at any time relieving ourselves from the delufion by a voluntary exertion of our rational faculties. But this, though it may ac count for our being lefs affected than from reality, is not fufficient to account for the fenfation of pleasure. With fubmiffion, we will offer our readers a cause which has not, we believe, been hitherto infifted on. We are ready to allow much to novelty, to o what is called, though it ought to have been defined by those who infift on it, the fympathetic power, and moft of all to the grandeur of the perfonages and events before us. A fingle ftep further will lead us to the contemplation of the most amiable and beautiful fight in nature, that of virtue triumphant over every difficulty and oppreffion; fupporting its votary under every fuffering, and teaching him to submit with calmness to any thing but acting wrong. If it fhould be urged that many tragedies present us with diftrefsful objects without this relief, we might anfwer that fuch as do are rarely esteemed by enlightened minds, unless where fome fignal punishment await the delinquent. We have been the more particular on this fubject because we think our author's third canto is rendered much less interesting by abounding with horror in too quick a fucceffion, and without any relief. Not content with a poetical description of the baneful effects afcribed by fuperftition to Cerca; the convulfive throws of the Pythonefs from the description of Laura; with the account of the deleterious effects of Mancinella, Urlica, Lobelia, Upas, &c. we have feveral innocent plants brought to view to introduce fimilies, or, as the author would with them to be called, epifodes, of every thing horrible. The Laura is somehow made to remind us of Fufeli's night-mare; Lobelia brings to view, it is not eafy to fay how, the dreary profpect of the ruins of Palmyra; Cufcuta, from its property of exifting by entwining itself on fome neighbouring vegetable, prefents us with the ftory of Laocoon and his fons; the Vine, by a tranfition natural enough, and extremely poetical, produces the allegory of Prometheus; the Cyclamen, with a little more difficulty, prefents us with the plague of London, and the hard fate of an amiable female; Taftly, Caffia, a native of North-America, dropping its fruits into the Ontario, which are afterwards found on the coaft of Norway, introduces Mofes committed to the bulrushes; and his relieving his countrymen from flavery gives the poet an oppor tunity of concluding this canto with his opinion of the flavetrade. It is, however, but juftice to allow that every defcription is animated and poetical; but the loves of the plants are fo entirely forgotten, that we feem only loft, or endeavouring to lofe ourfelves, in a dreary reverie, from which the want of connexion and congruity is perpetually recovering us. This canto is followed by another interlude or dialogue with the bookfeller, intended to thew the relative connexion between poetry and its fifter arts painting and mufic; and also between painting and mufic; in all which our author discovers much judgment, good tafte, and a very lively imagination. In the remainder of the dialogue we think him less happy in attempting ENG. REV. VOL. XIV. AUG. 1789. I to to prove that the English language is capable of all the advantages of the Greek. If we admit the poffibility of compounding our words with the facility of that beautiful language, must we not acknowledge the inferiority of its effect in all poetical compofitions? Can we for a moment compare Pope's cloud-compelling Jove to Homer's NegeλEPET CEUs; or where shall we find English compounds which give more than a faint idea of his other beautiful epithets. If we allow too that our words, being fhorter, may leffen the inconvenience of the fhortnefs of our lines, how thall we retain the vigour of our strains, incumbered as we are with a tedious number of monofyllables, from auxiliaries, and articles? It is true an English line may easily be rendered rough by our abundance of confonants; but how fhall we imitate that rapid fucceffion of liquid fyllable which is formed by a line of Greek or Latin dactyles, and this, in the fame pentameter as presents us with a line of harth-founding fpondies. Can we forget how clumfily the mafter of English rhyme fucceeded in his attempt to defcribe the quickness with which Camilla 'flies o'er th' unbending corn, and skims along the main.' There is, however, much ingenuity in all our author's observations; and the conclufion of this interlude, which may be called an apology for modest plagiarism, is extremely well introduced. In the fourth canto the poet refumes his lyre with as much fpirit, and more pleafantry, than he concluded his former ftrains : Now the broad fun his golden orb unshrouds, She feeks with penfive ftep the mountain-bower, 10 15 Bright Pleas'd Lichfield, 1. 11. The fcenery defcribed at the beginning of the first part, or economy of vegetation, is taken from a botanic garden about a mile from Lichfield. Cerea, 1. 15. Cactus grandiflorus, or Cereus. Twenty males, one female. This flower is native to Jamaica and Veracrux. It expands |