of your intimate friend! how dreadful this sounds to some ears! Even mine were startled at first, till I called reason to my assistance. Then I had an other difficulty to combat...to own, and own unmasked, a passion to the object of it, would shock the delicacy of those who are governed by common forms, and who are slaves to vulgar prejudices; but a little philosophy liberates our sex from the tyranny of custom, teaches us to disdain hypocrisy, and glory in the simplicity of truth. Adieu, dear and amiable Gabrielle. These things aré managed better in France qu OLIVIA. Upon Olivia's imagining her - conquest complete, she determines to go with the husband of Leonora Lectures on the constitution and laws of England withd com dame de P very well expresses her spirit of universal conquest, - upon receiving her friend's intelliAgence of this. Letter LXIX -on his embassy to Russia, Ma-mentary on magna charta, and tl lustrations of many of the English statutes. By the late Francis Stoughton Sullivan, LL.D. royal professor of common law in the And now, my charming Olivia, raise your fine eyes as high as ambition can look, and you will perhaps discover my grand object. You do not see it yetLook again-Do you not see the emperour of Russia? What would you think of him for a lover? if it were only for novelty's sake, it would really be pleasant to have a czar at one's feet. This novel is well calculated to second the object of ridiculing the "high sublime of deep absurd," in the late fashionable philosophisti cal, metaphysical French system of morality; in which MARRIAGE and DIVORCE Cross over and go six hands round," while virtue and vice, chastity and prostitution, and religion with atheism are seen erwalsing" together in harmonious 2: concert. The epidemick fury, with which this doctrine was given and received, seems somewhat to be abated. We do not at present hear, so many declaimers about the srights of woman, &c. &c. &c. &c. Our boarding-school misses have becomeless eloquent, and more university of Dublin. To which authorities are added, and a discourse is prefixed, concerning the laws and government of England. By Gilbert Stuart, LL.D. First American édition, in two volumes 8vo. Portland. Tho's B. Wait & Co. 1805.* PLAST VEין THIS edition is printed with unusual neatness, on good paper, and with a fair type, from the 2d English edition, 4to. of 1776, from which we have not observed any essential variations. In justice to the publisher, and on account of the merit of the performance, we recommend it to the perusal of American students. It is a posthumous publication: but whether • This work was first published in 1772. The monthly reviewers highly commend it, they speak of it as an interesting and very instructive performance, and of the author as a learned and ingenious writer and a zealous friend to the original freedom of the British constitution. 1 from the care of the learned author, or from the diligence of his friend Dr. Stuart, it is presented to the publick in a style of perfection, which is not frequently found in works, which have been publish ed after the decease of their author. 1o The mode of conveying knowledge by lectures has many advantages. It is true, that the lecturer must pursue a scientifick method, so that a course of lectures may comprehend a general survey of his science in its natural order and divisions. But if he has fancy, he is permitted to indulge it, even on a grave subject, in exciting and relieving the attention of his pupils. His views of subjects may be general, without an accumulation of minute particulars, and select, so as chiefly to embrace the more pleasing and interesting branches. This admirable mode of instruction has been adopted in all ages. It bears some affinity to the philosophical conversations of the Grecian sages, in their academies and literary retreats. It has been adopted in the most celebrated universities of Europe and America; and it is happily calculated to inspire the noble youth with a love of study and labour. ingenuity of the artist, the learning of the scholar, the fruits of husbandry, and the rewards of commerce? Our system of jurisprudence was formerly dispersed throughout a multitude of books, and was to be collected from distionaries and abridgments, written in a barbarous dialect, obscured with technical terms, and exhibited to the eye in a formidable black text, reminding us of an ancient knight-errant equipped for battle. But since the publication of the Lectures of Judge Blackstone, which display, in a style of incomparable elegance, and in a most just and philosophical arrangement, the whole system of English security and rights, the science, of the law has become a fashionable branch of study. We shall not now be deemed paradoxical in asserting, that the education of no gentleman is complete, till his mind is enriched with a general knowledge of the laws of his country. I Some have doubted, whether, since the publication of the lectures of Blackstone, the profession can boast of so many eminent lawyers as in former times. Most students are content to glean from his elegant pages, and are averse to reading the old books. But it Lectures are peculiarly favour-must not be forgotten, that the able for inspiring a taste for the study of the law, a science, which interests all beings "mortal and immortal, natural and voluntary," and which is applicable to the infinitely. diversified occasions of life. Anciently, poetry and musick employed their respective powers in works of Lord Coke are the forest, from which this author collected materials for raising a structure, which probably, like the Roman and Grecian classicks, will survive the nation, whose glory it is designed to perpetuate. Students should be reminded, that the com diffusing the knowledge and in-mentaries of Blackstone are in spiring obedience to the laws; and indeed, what science is more worthy of the charms of eloquence, than that which looks with an equal eye on men of all degrees, and which is the protector of the tended only as an introduction to the science, and that so far as an excellent map is calculated to give us a true general idea of a country, to make us acquainted with its boundaries, and with the relative connection of its parts, they are calculated to aid us in our juridical researches. The lectures of Dr. Sullivan are a production of secondary importance, but admirable in their kind, and most worthy of being read. They are addressed to young gentlemen, yet strangers to the study. He varies from the plan of Blackstone in commencing his lectures with the law relative to things, and justifies himself in -ohin this respect by the opinion of Sir Matthew Hale, that the young student must begin his study with this branch of the law. We do not think it of essential importance, whether he commences with the law of persons or with that of things. It is certain however, that neither can be thoroughly understood without some acquaintance with both. L " " A As the law of real property in England had its origin in the feudal system, the lecturer gives an historical account of its origin and progress, till it became the common law of Europe. He describes the various species of feuds, their gradual revolutions, and the rise of what are denominated the modern English tenures. Estates in land among the Germans, who undoubtedly were the authors of the feudal system, were anciently temporary, annually granted at the will of the prince to his companions, and generally on condition, that the tenant should perform certain military services. As that people led a wandering life, living principally by hunting and pasturage, they were in the practice of removing from place to place, and, having no local attachments, they had no desire to possess a permanent interest in the soil. Their manners and principles on the subject of property continued for some time after they had extended their con quests into the Roman empire. But as they begun to depend for subsistence on the tillage of the land, and became sensible of the comforts of a fixed habitation, they likewise became anxious to enlarge their estates in the soil, and from holding them at the will of the lord and by sufferance, the custom arose of obtaining grants for life, and afterward, of estates transmissible by descent and by devise. The principal part of the se cond volume is less interesting to us than it must be to Englishmen, as it contains a minute but learned account of the various orders of their nobility and citizens, the constitution of their Parliament, the state of justice among them at different periods of their history, the institution and jurisdiction of their various domestick tribunals, and the gradual progress of civil and political liberty, till it became settled and fortified under their present constitution.k The seven concluding lectures contain a valuable commentary on magna charta, which has for mits end, as expressed in the preamble, 1. the honour of Almighty God; 2d. the safety of the King's soule, 3d. the advancement of holy church; and 4th. the amendment of the realm. This statute, which was passed 9 Hen, IIIbis declaratory of the principall grounds of the fundamentall laws of England". It is an amusing and useful exercise for the student to compare many of its principles with the declaration of rights prefixed to the constitution of Massachusetts. The best commentary on magna charta is contained in the second institute. Should we be asked, why we recommend to the American student a book on the feudal system, we answer, that it is impossible to try, without a knowledge of this system. The originals of many of the laws, customs, and modes understand the English writers, through the medium of whose productions we must seek for the law and practice of our own coun-institutions, which remains for the of administring justice, which prevail at the present day, are to be traced to very remote times, when the feudal system was regarded from the extent of its sway, as the law of nations. Though now encrusted with antiquity, it is yet a venerable subject of contemplation. If it is true, as Littleton and Coke assert, that no man can merit the honourable appellation of a lawyer, who is not perfectly acquainted with the grounds and *** reasons of the law, it is surely our duty to recommend a work, which is well calculated to aid us in the acquisition of so valuable a portion of professional education. The origin, progress, and fate of systems, which have had an influence on the happiness of mil. lions of human beings, surely is ⚫⚫ no common subject of curiosity. Who is content to be ignorant of the cause of light and darkness, of heat and cold, and of the grate ful revolutions of the seasons ? And who will content himself, like the stupid Egyptians, to enjoy a soil, enriched by the waters of the Nile, and will not, in gratitude to the God of the river, trace him through its windings, and worship him at its fountain ? be possible to preserve the present form of our government, the solitary representative of republican contemplation of mankind. When we speak of preserving the Constitution, we mean not the paper on which it is written, but the spirit which dwells in it. Government may lose all its real character, its genius, its temper, without losing its appearance. Republicanism, unless you guard it, will creep out of its case of parchment, like a snake out of its skin. You may have a Despotism, under the name of a Republick. You may look on a government, and see it possess all the external modes of Freedom, and yet find nothing of the essence, the vitality, of Freedom in it; just as you may contemplate an embalmed body, where art hath preserved proportion and form, amidst nerves without motion, and veins void of blood. Among the most numerous and the most dangerous enemies of our government, he mentions the passions and vices of the people. But considering that evil communications corrupt systems, as well as individuals, he enlarges on the dangers which threaten its well 'being from its foreign relations. Intimately connected as is our country with foreign nations by commerce, which, from its nature, cannot exist without rivalship, he infers the necessity and good policy of granting it a protection, sufficient to defend it from the interruptions and aggressions, which the spirit of rivalship and the injustice of other nations, may dispose them to offer. The want of protection to commerce will be more fatal to our agriculture, than either the drought or the mildew: for, in this instance, were it left to our choice, we should certainly imitate the conduct of David, by choosing "to fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are great) and not to fall into the hands of men." We have seldom read any production of this kind, which has contained more correct sentiment, expressed with so much felicity of fancy and purity of style. It is free from the rancorous colourings of party spirit, which are wholly inconsistent with true eloquence. If there is any fault in the style, it is that the sentences, though not colloquial, are in general too sententious, and expressed with too much brevity for the flow of a publick harangue. We must notice likewise, that the printer has been scandalously inattentive to correcting the press. We add one extract from which our readers may judge of the author's manner. When we turn from Great-Britain to France, we are led to contemplate a nation of very different situation, power, and character. We seem to be carried back to the Roman age. The days of Cæsar are come again. Even a greater than Casar is here. The : throne of the Bourbons is filled by a new character, of the most astonishing for tunes. A new Dynasty hath taken place in Europe. A new era hath commenced. An Empire is founded, more populous, more energetic, more warlike, ⚫ more powerful, than ancient Rome, at any moment of her existence. The base of this mighty fabric covers France, Holland, Spain, Prussia, Italy, and Germany; embracing, perhaps, an eighth part of the population of the globe. **Though this Empire is commercial in some degree, and in some of its parts, its ruling passion is not com merce, but war. Its genius is conquest; its ambition is fame. With all the immorality, the licentiousness, the prodigality, the corruption, of declining Rome, it has the enterprize, the cou rage, the ferocity, of Rome, in the The We have been frequently reminded by the continual appearance and disappearance of the addresses and orations of our countrymen, of the visionary progeny of Banquo, as represented in the play; and have often been disposed, like the irritated Macbeth, to exclaim, we'll see no more :... what! will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?".... Why do you shew us this?" But as there is no plea to excuse us from derogatory duties, which actually belong to the department we fill, we bend to the drudgery of the present review, with as tolerable a grace as we can cleverly assume, persuaded that our readers, let them withhold what they can, will hardly deprive us of the merit of patience. confess, that we are disappointed in being obliged to express an unfayourable opinion of the lucubrations of the gentleman of Salem, and frankly acknowledge that we We expected something better from a scholar, who regards his country as "superiour in seminaries, sci |