labours of the fubtle and indefatigable Muratori, fo well defcribed by our author, are an honour to the Duke of Modena, who entertained him in a fimilar ftation to that of Leibnitz, and for fimilar, and indeed principally for the fame purpose.— Our author farther relieves his fubject, little interefting to others than genealogifts, by amufing digreffions to what is most ftriking or captivating in the hiftory of the middle ages. In the ingenious fragment under review, Mr. Gibbon carries down the firft divifion of the work he had planned, The Italian Defcent, to the reigning Duke of Modena, Hercules III, the fole remaining male of the Houfe of Efte; the long current of whofe blood muft fpeedily be loft in a foreign ftream. In the addrefs which concludes thefe volumes, our author difplays a zeal not lefs judicious than enthufiaftic for the collection and preservation of every memorial that might serve to illustrate the hiftory of his country. For an editor of fo laborious a compilation, who must be willing to employ feveral years of his life in affiduous labour, without any fplendid profpect of emolument or fame, he recommends Mr. John Pinkerton, for whofe errors and extravagant fallies he apologifes from his appearing in the character of an author, before his taste and judgment had attained to their maturity, from his ignorance of the world, his love of paradox, and the warmth of his temper; and on whom he bestows the praife of a vigorous mind, endowed with many active and ufeful energies; a fpirit of criticism, acute, difcerning, and fufpicious; a delight in affiduous, hard ftudy; and a generous patriotifm.'-Such a collection is indeed. wanted, and much to be wifhed for: nor do we doubt in the leaft but Mr. Pinkerton is fingularly qualified for making it. There are in this country feveral finecure literary places held in the names of keepers of records, regifters, profeffors of hiftory, hiftoriographers, &c. &c. It might be deemed advifable by government, fhould they take the matter in queftion under confideration, to give directions that fuch nominal office-bearers fhould contribute their endeavours towards the accomplishment of the defign fo warmly recommended by the Roman hiftorian. Much time and industry may be loft in tranflations, and ideal hiftories framed from extracts, combinations of paffages, and conje&ures relative to the meaning and allufions of the writers of remote antiquity. The ftate has a right to direct the labours of thofe who receive penfions, to discharge, as much as they can, the duties of the offices for which they receive them. The court of Denmark fent Dr. Grim Thorkelyn, keeper of the royal archives, and profeffor of civil hiftory in the university of Copenhagen, to travel for a courfe of years in Great Britain and and Ireland, in order to trace and to record the most striking and certain veftiges of the Danes in these kingdoms. Mr. Pinkerton has had the honour of being praifed by one at the head, and railed at by another on the very lowest step in the fcale of literature, if indeed he can be faid to have at all entered on it: and the grand doctrines for which he contends do not perhaps receive greater credit and confirmation from the, liberal commendations of the former, than from the inconclufive reafoning, the inconfiftencies, abfurdities, and ridiculous wailings, of the latter. The Celtic champion to whom we allude is Mr. John Lane, alias Lanne, Macgreigor Buchanan, for an account of whom, fee the English Review for September" 1795. We have already, in the courfe of this brief analysis of the volumes under review, taken occafion to touch on the impreffions ftamped on the different articles of the genius of Mr. Gibbon; and alfo on the natural talents, wonderful affiduity, and acquired accomplishments, of that diftinguished writer. His ftyle and manner, deeply tinctured with the spirit of the French language, in which he received the best part of his education, and in which he was accuftomed to speak, to an English ear has the appearance, in many inftances, of inflation. Nevertheless, the dignity of his ftyle is, on the whole, fupported by the dignity of his fentiments. And, if he has infufed into his writings too great a portion of the frippery of France, he has greatly enriched it with an introduction of idioms borrowed from writers ancient and modern, in profe and in poetry. Of all the ancients and moderns, his ftyle appears to us to resemble, moft, that of Livy. A refemblance to Livy, with regard to his main work, is alfo apparent in his defign. As Livy defcribes the vaft and unwieldy increase of the Roman empire, fo our author traces the caufes of its leisurely and protracted fall +. Like It would appear, from the dedication and introduction of his book against Pinkerton, that he had been commiffioned by the Highlanders to defend the glory of the Celts; but, in a preface to a former publication, Travels in the Hebrides, he pretended to belong to the Society for propagating Chriftian Knowledge; although he was publicly difowned, in the public papers, both by that fociety and the whole church of Scotland. This is not the place, and the English Review has already given a critique on Mr. Gibbon's Hiftory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Like Livy, he avoids minute divifions, and feparates his ample groundwork into fpacious compartments. Thefe obfervations, it is evident, refer to the hiftorical and critical works, whether complete or incomplete, of our author. As to his letters, though not written in an eafy and familiar ftyle, they are far from being affected, or in any refpect difgufting. The ftyle, though out of the common road, is the ftyle of Mr. Gibbona scholar and a philofophical critic, accuftomed to the phraseology as well as conceptions of different ages and nations. A fimilar criticism we had occafion to make on the ftyle of the learned and lively preface, written in Latin embroidered in Greek, to Bellendenus, by Dr. Parr. For what is moft important, the fentiments, they poffefs the delicacy of a gentleman, the novelty of a man of genius and learning, and the benevolence of a mind naturally difpofed to probity, and capable of friendship. Though of an erect fpirit, and abundantly confcious of the advantages of fortune, birth, talents, accomplishments, and virtues, Mr. Gibbon was not vulgar in his pride. With people in humble though decent ftations, he lived and correfponded in an eafy and familiar manner. His friendship as his refpect for poor Deyverdun was fincere and warm. He was great in the republic of letters; and, as is juftly obferved by Lord Sheffield, pleafant, friendly, and amiable, in private life.-Forming our judgment from his voluminous writings and multifarious letters, written without premeditation, on fuch a variety of occafions, we are of opinion that, in his memoirs, he has defcribed his talents, his feelings, and, in a word, himself, with perfect candour. We have only to add a few words concerning the editor.As Lord Sheffield was the fitteft perfon, among all Mr. Gib-. Roman Empire. The prefent editors do not hold themselves refponfible for any criticifms previous to January 1794. The critic of Gibbon's History in the English Review justly obferved, that he was profufe in digreffion, infomuch that his main defign was fometimes loft. To the judgment of that critic, fcarcely inferior in indufiry, learning, and acumen of genius, to Mr. Gibbon himfelf, we pay great deference. It may be thought fome apology for Mr. Gib. bon that the immenfe weight of dry matter which he was obliged to introduce, particularly metaphyfical queftions, required frequent and powerful relief. His long journey, often over arid fands, required long refts, at fome PALMYRA, under refreshing fhades. If the course of the hiftorian, like that of the fubterraneous Nile, be fometimes hid, like that noble river, he bursts on the refreshed and enlivened mind, with increased force. bon's bon's friends, for the office he has undertaken, fo he has discharged it with judgment. A very great portion of the letters contained in thefe volumes, as already obferved, are written to Lord Sheffield himself. The manner in which the editor vindicates his conduct in the publication of thefe, is open, manly, and fatisfactory. If,' fays he, in publishing letters fo flattering to myfelf, I incur the imputation of vanity, I fhall meet the charge with a frank confeffion, that I am indeed. ⚫ highly vain of having enjoyed, for fo many years, the esteem, the confidence, and the affection, of a man, whofe focial qualities endeared him to the most accomplished society; and whofe talents, great as they were, must be acknowledged to have been fully equalled by the fincerity of his friendship.' Lord Sheffield is aware how difgracefully authors of eminence have been often treated by an indifcreet pofthumous ⚫ publication of fragments and careless effufions.' But he fays, in his preface to the second volume, in truth, there ftill remain in my poffeffion many papers which I think equally worth attention. We take the liberty of recommending to his Lordship the recollection of that indifcretion of editors, which, in his preface to the first volume, he justly cenfures. In a few inftances, there is too much published already. ART. II. Hearne's Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort. [ Concluded from our laft Number. ] MR: R. Hearne, with Matonabbee for his guide, fet out, a third time, to go in fearch of the copper-mine, on the 7th of September 1770. He was fitted out with ammunition and every other article which Matonabbee thought could be wanted. He was also furnished, as before, with a small affortment of light trading goods, as prefents to the far diftant Indians. After much toil, and many viciffitudes, as ufual with hunters, of extreme plenty and extreme want, they arrived at a fmall lake, called Thelewey-aza-yeth, or, Little Fish Hill. Agreeably to the Indians proposals they remained here ten days. Mr. Hearne found the latitude of this place to be 61° 30' north, and its To complete the memoirs begun by Mr. Gibbon, as well as to felect and arrange his manufcripts. + An inftance of that barbarifm which has of late tainted the English language. longitude, longitude, according to his account, 19° weft of Prince of Wales's Fort. On the 18th of April 1771, they moved about nine or ten miles to the north north-west, and then came to a tent of northern Indians, who were tenting on the north fide of Thelewey-aza river. From these Indians Matonabbee purchased another wife; fo that he had now no less than feven, moft of whom, for fize, would have made good grenadiers. He prided himself much in the height and ftrength of his wives, and would frequently fay, few women would carry or haul heavier loads; and though they had, in general, a very masculine appearance, yet he preferred them to those of a more delicate form and moderate ftature. In a country like this, where a partner in exceffive hard labour is the chief motive for the union, and the fofter endearments of a conjugal life are only confidered as a fecondary object, there feems to be a great propriety in fuch a choice; but if all the men were of this way of thinking, what would become of the greater part of the women, who in general are but of low flature, and many of them of a most delicate make, though not of the exacteft proportion, or most beautiful mould. Take them in a body, the women are as deftitute of real beauty as any nation I ever faw, though there are fome few of them, when young, who are tolerable; but the care of a family, added to their conftant hard labour, foon make the most beautiful among them look old and wrinkled, even before they are thirty; and feveral of the more ordinary ones at that age are perfect antidotes to love and gallantry. This, however, does not render them lefs valuable and dear to their owners, which is a lucky circumftance for those women, and a certain proof that there is no fuch thing as any rule or ftandard for beauty. Afk a northern Indian, what is beauty? he will anfwer, a broad flat face, small eyes, high cheek bones, three or four broad black lines across each cheek, a low forehead, a large broad chin, a clumsy hook nofe, a tawny hide, and breasts hanging down to the belt. These beauties are greatly heightened, or at least rendered more valuable, when the poffeffor is capable of dreffing all kinds of fkin, converting them into different parts of their clothing, and able to carry eight or ten ftone in fummer, or haul a much greater weight in winter. Thefe, and other fimilar accomplishments, are all that are fought after, or expected, of a northern Indian woman. As to their temper, it is of little confequence; for the men have a wonderful facility in making the most ftubborn comply with as much alacrity as could poffibly be expected from thofe of the mildest and most obliging turn of mind; fo that the only real difference is, the one obeys through fear, and the other complies cheerfully, with a willing mind; both knowing that what is commanded must be done. They are, in fact, all kept at a great distance; and the rank they hold in the opinion of the men cannot be better expreffed or explained, than by obferving the method of treating or ferving them at meals, which would appear very humiliating to an European woman, though custom makes it fit light on those whofe lot |