expences of war, than other Governments, which have either no commerce, or one less advantageous.

We hope our Readers will pardon this excurfory preamble; as it is reprefenting, in as short a compaís, and clear view, as we are able, the fubftance of what our most eminent. A arbor upon Trade and Commerce have wrote; and fhewing the ins portance of these arts and inventions in agriculture, mamulues ture, and navigation, and of thofe laws, eitao. Zackut, tege ciations, and treaties, which conduce to the coma MA eft of the kingcom, and which are the chef fuses, of va Author's learned, judicious, and laborious perfonare. Let in the mod ancient time, and before the agarrar u merce were well underfood, thole nation whot nave lure been reputed the with, were ft fenise of the ut med ka first inventions in agriculture, in naméávo sono amk ver tals, and in masztion, that they not only moda

fied the levemos. We came our turn these bears work, in the areem une vi one wit te est label 300, and grateful receptos from the p23°r.

ments in navigation, colonization, manufactures, agriculture, and their relative arts and branches.

So comprehenfive and laborious an undertaking, therefore, it is to be hoped, cannot fail to meet with a favourable reception, from both the landed and trading Interests of Britain and Ireland, to and for whom the enfuing work is most principally adapted; fo much the rather, as there is not extant, in any language, a work of fo extenfive and complex a contexture, as far as we could ever hear of.'

The Author modeftly declares afterward, that he is far from expecting, or even defiring, any greater indulgence than what all candid and intelligent Readers will naturally allow to an undertaking of this kind, compounded of fo great a number of difjunct and not feldom heterogeneous parts, collected out of fo vaft a number of different diftant, and fome very dark and remote ages, of various countries, abilities, biaffes, and prepoffeffions; from fundry manufcripts alfo, and from an almost endlefs number of smaller tracts and pamphlets, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth downward, and fome even farther back: in the collecting, extracting, and methodizing whereof, all posfible care and exactness has been endeavoured; altho' for the reafons above-mentioned, it can by no means be expected, that either the diction or the periods fhould always run fo uniformly even or fmooth, as might otherwise be expected; more especi ally as, for the fake of ftrictly adhering to the most indispensible rule of a chronological fucceffion, matters of a very heterogeneous nature do often mutually fucceed each other.'

Indeed, the merit of this work is of fo fuperior a nature, as to have little or no dependence upon the ftyle in which it is compofed and it would be unpardonable in us to cenfure it for inaccuracy or inelegance of language. But at the fame time, we can by no means commend this great work to our modern Readers of tafte, who read for amufement, and not for information; and who admire nothing fo much as the polifh of diction, and harmony of periods, nor can comprehend any thing more of an Author's merit. We also strictly prohibit all Pedants, Petit maitres, Beaus, Pretty Fellows, Wits, and Choice Spirits, from perufing a work of this nature, or enquiring into the contents, A ridiculous affair it would be truly, for a Beau, while his hair is dreffing (which is all the leifure he has for reading) to be thumbing over two huge volumes in folio, about Trade and Navigation, and Colonies, and Manufactures, and Stuff! especially as there is not the leaft ingredient of profancnefs, or obfcenity, of calumny, or fatire, to give it a poignancy upon the debauched English palate, which has al

mof

progrefs-and of its modern ftate and condition in the feveral nations of Christendom-and more diffufely of that of the Britifh empire; alfo of the very great importance of our American Plantations-of our manufactures-of the variations in the weight, value, and ftandard of our coins, from the Norman Conqueft downward-and laftly, a fuccinct critical furvey of the geographical, commercial, and nautical knowlege of the Antients. To which introduction is annexed its proper alphabetical index.

Secondly, The main body of our work commences with a fuccinct historical and chronological series of memoirs, from the earliest accounts down to the final overthrow of the western Roman empire, near the clofe of the fifth century,-relative to the firft difcoveries and improvements of the antients, in agriculture, domeftic and manual arts for the conveniency of life, as well as in commerce and navigation-of ancient migrations and tranfplantations of the origin and revolutions of ancient commercial nations and cities-and occafionally of the dates or times of the flourishing of certain eminent perfons in various ages.

Thirdly, From the commencement of the fixth century, the great bulk of our work is divided into thirteen diftinct centuries, to each of which is briefly prefixed its peculiar characteriftic; and from the eighth downwards, each century has alfo prefixed to it, the chronological fucceffion of the Monarchs of the principal nations of Chriftendom, exclufive of the Papacy, and of the old Conftantinopolitan or Greek empire. Which laft-named part being so much more interesting than the two preceding ones, has therefore supplied matter and room for much the greatest part of this work.

Fourthly, To our before-named appendix we have fubjoined what we apprehended would amply compleat our plan, and be acceptat le to all, viz. the Politico-commercial Geography of Europe, or a compendious and comparative view of the various productions, trades, manufactures, exportations, populousness, and power of the feveral Potentates, Republics, and States thereof; and likewife a brief furvey of the commerce, magnitude, and people of their moft confiderable cities and towns.

.

Finally, As our very copious and comprehensive chronological and alphabetical index to the faid four parts of the work, is fo commodioufly framed, as to enable the Reader, with ease, and in fome measure by a mere inftantaneous infpection, to form a juft idea of the value, nature, and extent of this entire work, we need only to refer thereto, for a convincing proof of its great and general utility. And, for the farther cafe of the

Reader,

Reader, we have added two small alphabetical indexes, viz. one to the annexed introduction, as already mentioned; and another to the appendix; as the matters contained in them could not properly be reducible to any chronological order or method, and therefore could not be comprehended in, nor incorporated with the general chronological index.'

Out of fo vaft a quantity and variety of curious and inftructive parts as this work contains, we might be at a loss what to select by way of fpecimen. But as it is natural to suppose, that the introduction of the principal arts and manufactures now established in Great Britain and Ireland, will be most interesting to our Readers, we are determined to select part of our Author's account of the fourteenth century, when England began to apply to arts and manufactures: and then fhall mark the times when each art or manufacture was introduced, together with the dates of some other important incidents relative to com

merce.

Before the reign of Edward the third, in the aforefaid century, The materials of our commerce were only wool, leather, tin, and lead which unmanufactured materials we, for many ages, contented ourselves to exchange, chiefly with the Netherlanders, for their drapery made of our own excellent wool, and for fome linen, and French and Rhenifh wines,