CRITICISM.

"Nulli negabimus, nulli differemus justitiam."

NUBILIA in SEARCH of a HUSBAND; standard of Celebs, and vice versa. including Sketches of Modern So- Celebs, notwithstanding the stiffciety, and interspersed with Moral necked, methodistical cant which and Literary Disquisitions. 1 vol. pervades the work, possesses eminent 8vo. 9s. pp. 400. Sherwood & beauties, to which Nubilia must yield Co. 1809. the palm; on the other hand, Nubi

WHEN Don Quixote appeared lia on certain points as far exceeds in Spain, the field of literature Celebs. The foundation of both may immediately after swarmed with Dons be equally good, though varying in of all descriptions, who, like the the superstructure; one may shine in knight of La Mancha, sallied forth in the gloomy grandeur of the gothic quest of adventures; and when the age, where amongst the echoing aisles first tale of chivalry (Der Ritter von superstition and bigotry reared their Felsheim) appeared in Germany, all altars; the other may stand in the the knights of high and low renown, airy lightness of modern times, where rich and poor, brave and cowardly, midst hallowed shades genuine piety were called from their tombs to tell, and religion walk hand in hand.' "in all the pomp of verse," their As Celebs and Nubilia may now mad exploits. Thus it appears, that be considered as the gemini in the when a star of a particular magnitude zodiac of literature, in the consideraappears in the zenith of literature, it tion of one, the attention is naturally is quickly followed by others, which drawn to the other; and although in attempt to vie with it in splendour, regard to the former, we can say with and, if possible, to eclipse it. Horace, "Quodcunque ostendo mihi

This remark will hold good in re- sic incredulus odi," yet in giving gard to the work now under our con- our just applause to the latter, we sideration, which trod so close on the must not be supposed to detract from heels of its prototype, that they may that merit to which the former is enalmost be called beings of the same titled.

day. Calebs had run but a very Celebs sets forth on a Quixote limited part of his course, when in the expedition to find a female possessed same hemisphere Nubilia burst upon of certain qualities, which never did, our gaze, her splendour not so dazz- never can, nor ever will exist in one ling, but not less pleasing. Calebs person. But at the very outset he flamed through his career for a time took the wrong road; for, instead of with uninterrupted lustre, till, by travelling from Westmoreland to the piercing eye of wisdom, it was Hampshire, he should have driven discovered that he was attended and straight to the tabernacles and congoverned by the baneful satellites of venticles of the metropolis; and there puritanism, methodism, and fanati- in point of sanctified appearance, the cism. Nubilia moves with a milder chances are a hundred to one in his radiance, and we will now attempt to favour that he would have found the discover the satellites with which she object of his wishes. Nubilia, howis attended. ever, enters upon her search (if it can The task of comparison is, how- be called a search) with very different ever, an invidious one; nor is it just views; and we are not detained with to try the merits of one work by the a most prolix and ridiculous enumestandard of another. Both may have ration of trifling qualities, which the their respective merits, but in depart- fortunate man must possess, as the ments not in the least analogous. It sine qua non of the possession of her were wrong to affix the same stand- hand': on the contrary, she introard to Shakspeare and Milton, though duces herself to our notice illustrating in themselves both are eminent: the the system which her father adopted same rule of conduct will hold good in her education, the basis of which in regard to Calebs and Nubilia; it was consistency of character. To the were unjust to try Nubilia by the system in general we give our de

cided approbation: and it were to be wished, that the principles on which the father of Nubilia acted were more attended to, and the same endeavours used by the preceptors of youth, to give consistency to a character, rather than to form a vague, unsettled, and wavering character.

experience teaches us, that a ballroom is the hotbed of the most degenerate vices.

Dancing," said he, "affords, beyond any other kind of amusement, the strongest facilities and, I may add, the strongest temptations to vice. I despise the futile declamation which would persuade us that it is an innocent relaxation or pleasure. It never can be innocent, if it be social. Corruption is sucked in at every recking pore of the body as it glides along. The eyes are panders to the soul, and every sense is depraved. In a ballroom the common decencies of life are absolved and forgotten. Actions, from which the modest female would shrink alarmed in any other place, are here tolerated, are here necessary. The timid eye of chastity is closed, and all the meek reserve of virgin purity is lost. Intemperate wishes fill the bosom, and thoughts, far remote from virtue, take possession of the mind.

On the first view, the father of Nubilia appears a rigid moralist, rivetted to a set of principles founded on his own individual opinion, and strictly adhering to them, without consulting the natural dispositions of the subject on which they are to be engrafted; but on a closer inspection of his character, he appears to have fundamentally studied the principles on which he acts, to have observed in others the fatal consequences of a neglect of them, and moreover to be guided to the practice of them by the purest motives of religion and virtue, We would particularly recommend to the perusal of every parent the excellent line of conduct pursued by the father of Nubilia in the correction of her errors. The future happiness or misery of the child often hangs on the mode of early correction. It is not sufficient to be alone the parent of the child, but in the parent the friend should be combined: they are two distinct and separate relations, and the world can too plainly evince how seldom they are united. The "I would exhort that parent, who friend uses the mild, persuasive tone, exhorts, admonishes, reproves: the parent speaks with the voice of authority, commands, insists, and will be obeyed. The one penetrates to the heart, calls all the finer feelings into play, and the repentant sinks on the breast of the gentle chastiser. The other terrifies the trembling culprit; abashed with downcast looks it dare not raise its head to meet the terrors of a parent's frown. The noble, generous, and amiable dispositions of the heart are checked; and the germs of filial love nipped in the bud at the moment when they are going to expand.

The objections of Nubilia's father to admit dancing as a part of her education deserve to be transcribed; and although many of our female readers, aye and male ones too, may inveigh bitterly against them, they are nevertheless founded on truth; and daily

"Think not, my child, that I exaggerate the danger. Experience has taught me the existence of evils, from which I hope to shield you by counsel. The Lacedemonians guarded their children from the bestial vice of drunkenness by exposing their slaves to them in that state. Let me secure you from vice by admonition.

thinks dancing a harmless pleasure,
to divest himself, for a moment, of
prejudice and the power of custom,
and examine what are its concomi
tants. Let him note the orgies of a
ball room. Let him consider what are
its established rules. Let him view
his daughter successively the property
Let him
of every man in the room.
view her with arms mutually en-
twined, bosom to bosom, heart to
heart; let him remember the facili
ties thus presented for personal con-
tamination: let him not repose confi-
dence in the virtue of his child when
every external circumstance combines
to undermine that virtue: the blaze
of light that enchants, confounds, be-
wilders the senses; the exbilirating
sounds of music; the dazzling novel-
ty, perhaps, of a numerous and elegant
assembly; the general joy that thrills
through the frame; the heated blood
that flows in burning course through

E 2

the veins; the pride of excellence in the display of graceful attitudes, in the rapidity of motion, in the accuracy of step; the natural vanity of emulation: what are all these? And what is the barrier that she can oppose against them? But this is not all. With the heart and mind thus prepared, what ravages may not other passions commit? The exultation of humbling a rival mistress: the applause of contending adorers, the smooth, guileful tongue of seduction, may prevail at such a moment. Or, if virtue still make a stand, yet, how may its power be insulted or weakened, by the open attacks of the profligate; by him who seizes the opportunity of closest contact, to communicate infection that may spread with dreadful rapidity. She will not seek redress by complaint, for she fears to be thought conscious of a meaning that half alarms her; but she is couscious: and if she smile, her adversary hails the signal with impure, unInanly rapture.

swell with self importance: their healthful look, their cheerful mien, their hardy, invigorated frame, their carols, their coarse but feeling mirth, all tell me that the sanctuary of human bliss, the heart, is unviolated."

The times of arcadian innocence are, alas! no more. From the city to the town, from the town to the village, from the village to the hamlet, the same spirit of fashionable frivolity prevails. Formerly the peasant girl, clad in her russet gown, hailed the return of the Sabbath as a day sacred to rest and prayer; now it is welcomed as an opportunity in which, at church, she can display her clumsy attempt at fashionable dress. Formerly she went to pray, now she goes with the hope of attracting attention; and whilst the "holy man" is preaching contempt of the vanities of life, her eyes are bent on her superiors, to notice the fashionable folly of the day. Formerly the youthful peasant at the close of his labour re"Are not these the dangers of a of his family; but now, the young tired to his home to enjoy the society ball-room? But thousands will call squire of the parish is just returned them visionary, and thousands will from London, a proficient in the disbelieve them some will acknow- elegant and accomplished art of boxledge their possibility, and others will ing: the village soon resounds with despise them: I, however, am satisfied the names of the pugilists of the of their existence; and, believing that, day; the youths lay down their flails, hold myself bound in duty to shield and ape the scientific attitudes of the you, my child, from their influence. squire; every breast burns to be the The benefits which the human fame champion of the country; feuds and can derive from dancing, may be ob discord rage where formerly peace tained at less hazard. It may be in- and happiness reigned; the limited vigorated by other exercises, and it society of the village availeth nothing; may be rendered erect and firm by the contagion of the city is introduced, attention. That grace which it is in and spreads like a baneful pestilence, the power of a dancing master to be- poisoning every stream of morality stow, is but vulgar mimickry of a and virtue. It is now in vain to look vulgar model. True grace is the off- for the purity and innocence which spring of the mind." once characterised the villagers. Society since those days has undergone important changes; the barriers of distinction are in a degree broken down; luxury has crept into the hovel of the peasant, and old men shake their heads when virture is talked of. As the embellishment of a picture, Nubilia's sketch may pass with praise, but when surveyed with the microscopic eye of truth, its blemishes are discerned, and the falseness of its colouring is made conspicuous by the glaring contrast.

In the second chapter we find Nubilia conversing with her cousin, Sophia Wilmot, who had been educated in the vortex of fashion and dissipation, on the pleasures and advantages of a country life; and, as might be foreseen, the arguments of Nubilia have their due weight on the mind of her cousin but to the latter part of the following passage we cannot subscribe our assent:

"I cannot look down upon the smiling villagers as they pass me, and

The father of Nubilia descants with

great justice and well grounded seve- veiled from public sight. Parents rity on that ridiculous custom so uni- themselves seem not aware of the versally practised by parents, of shew- feelings it excites; indeed they caning their children forth as paragons of not, for such is the morality of civievery thing that is perfect and good, lised life, that we hold it as a part of although every moment some vicious our duty to throw a gloss over our action or imbecility of mind intrudes real thoughts, and to present them itself to point out to them the infatu- only under certain lights and shades. ation under which they labour. The He would be considered as brutal who following excerpt cannot fail of being should not reflect the smile of a faacceptable to our readers :ther's delight, when he presents his

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hardiest champion of truth would not

dare to maintain that there exists an

"And here I cannot but remark, hopeful offspring to the eyes of adhow rare it is to meet with a rational miring guests. While this complaparent. We bave often discoursed cency continues to be the creed of together upon the disgusting conduct Polished life, the evil admits of no of those, who, blind even to fatuity, remedy; we must patiently endure the hold up their poor children to the follies that insult our understanding; world, as paragons and models. With and believe, upon the credit of fathers the exception of yourself, I never yet and mothers, that every child is beausaw that father or mother, who did tiful as opening day. Draw your not, in this particular, offend against inductions from their data, and the common sense. How many blockheads have I heard praised for city; how many infantile frivolities ugly darling on the face of the earth." have I seen admired as delightful; As we proceed we find the opinions how many tales have I heard repeated of Nubilia's father inclining strongof lovely boys and charming girls, at ly to Godwinism; but considering which politeness itself could not consistency of character, and consesmile, nor adulation pour forth one quently of opinion, to be the aim to applauding word; how many rude, which all his endeavours tend, we pert, and disgusting children have I were not a little surprised to meet known so bepraised and so admired, with the following inconsistency in for their sweet manners and pretty in- his own opinions. Speaking of the nocent openness, that I have feit early education of children, p. 90, he ashamed to see such broad marks of says "Even so in my opinion we folly written upon the brow of man; receive in our mother's womb the how often have I seen the sickly, puny germ of some master passion, that offspring of a cold, diseased embrace, lends a colour to every action of our led forth to public notice, and life." In illustration of this position, pously exhibited with the poor hope he says, "Cæsar would have been of hearing them flattered; and when the first man in a country village, if a that hope has been frustrated by the fortuitous concurrence of causes had strong dictates of unbending truth, not made him the tyrant of Rome." their parents have not blushed to With the same parity of reasoning it extort assent to their own lavish com- might be said, that the world would mendations. Sad, yet wise condition not have existed, but for a fortuitous of human nature that our very du- concourse of atoms. This is the very ties can be performed only by the essence of the Godwinian philosophy, operation of self-delusion. Nature's and shuts out all idea of a predispokindly law has so ordained it, that a sing cause. The tyrant is an instruparent's eye shall know no deformity; ment in the hands of the Almighty, a or were it not so, where would poor scourge, wherewith to work the hidand helpless infancy turn for mercy den purpos of his will. He is like and protection? Yet, why obtrude a storm, which, though it may effect this feeling upon the world? Cherish partial evil, is still sent for the general it, and let its operation be as effective good; but that storm is not the effect as the interests of nature and huma- of a fortuitous combination of elenity demand; but as it contains, in ments, it is the act of a divine being, its very essence, an infatuation which and that alone establishes the absence must offend every sober eye, let it be of all chance.

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sion is always the same, nor can a difference in the results of it alter the nature of it. If two men run a race, in both ambition is the passion, and gain the motive; but the result changes neither the one nor the other, the passion and the motive are the same both in the winner and the R. H.

[To be continued.]

JOHN DE LANCASTER. A Novel. By RICHARD CUMBERLAND, Esq. 3 vols. 1809.

ancient philosopher was once

asked-What was the easiest thing to be done? his reply was-to give advice. Mr. Cumberland will, perhaps, think with the philosopher

vise him to retire gracefully from the ranks of literature before censure, and what is worse, neglect, compel him to do it. He has written enough for fame, and too much for prudence. Of his works, a part, and a very small part, deserve preservation. The remainder might help to supply Belinda's funereal pyre without any loss to the world.

In the further illustration of the existence of a master passion, he says, p. 91,—“ To say that a child is born with a good or bad disposition is to talk absurdly." He has already given it as his opinion, that in our mother's womb we receive the germ of some master passion: we will use the argumentum ad hominem, and admit the loser. existence of the master passion, although some very cogent arguments might be brought forward to prove its non existence; but the position cannot be contended that, if the master passion do exist, it must either be a good or a bad one. If the ruling passion be bad, the disposition of the child must be also bad, and vice versa. What is passion but a predominant inclination to virtue or to vice? And can the ruling passion in the breast of and act with the world, when we ada child be bad, and its disposition good? And if the passion be bad which is received in utero, must not the child be born with bad dispositions? Can heat proceed from ice? or coldness from the sun? The effect always partakes of the nature of the cause; and it were absurd to say, that a child, who had received the passion of anger in the womb of its mother, were not born with an angry disposition. As a further illustration of this point, he proceeds, "The rich man who risks ten thousands in some adventure and succeeds, is called prudent and praised for his foresight.The poor man, who tries his ten pounds in some speculation equally specious and fails, is branded as an ideot or a spendthrift, who throws away his hard earned gains in the foolish expectation of acquiring wealth by some lucky stroke. Here too the passion is the same, avarice is the motive, but the results differ, and the motive accordingly assumes a different name." It will not be difficult to The plot is very simple and not detect the fallacy of this position. very interesting. Events are too easily The premises are false, and are built anticipated. There is no art, no dexon a very subtle distinction. Avarice terity, in the completion of the cais not the motive, but the passion; tastrophe, or in the texture of the the gain of wealth is the motive, and incidents. And this deficiency is not the rich and the poor man are im- compensated by any elegance of dicpelled by the same passion, viz. ava- tion, elevation of sentiment, or acrice, to the same motive, which is curacy of character. None of the gain of wealth. The success of the characters are consistently drawn, one, nor the failure of the other, through several are well sketched. alter, abstractedly speaking, either Philip De Lancaster is perhaps the the passion or the motive. The pas- best. Robert De Lancaster is learn.

Mr. Cumberland has the art of prais ing himself. They who have read his Memoirs, know how he has announced the present novel to the world. They who have read the present novel, know that his annuuciation is unjustified by the event.

John De Lancaster deserves to be distinguished from the common herd of novels, for it has more learning than a common novelist can display: but it has infinitely less genius than any of our popular works of fiction. Mr. Cumberland seems to have relied upon his erudition and his name, for the success of his work.