A kind of tennis play is alfo a favourite diverfion among them, and they are very hardy and dexterous at it. They strike the ball with their feet, knees, or elbows, whither they choose, and receive it back; thus keeping it for fome time in continual motion, without its touching the ground. The ball is generally of the fize of a man's head, hollow, and made of matted reeds. "Their manner of falutation confifts in touching the forehead, with the right hand, accompanied by a flight inclination of the body. "The Mahometan religion is predominant over the whole island. It is faid, that far inland, over the mountains, towards the south fide .of the ifland, there are still fome of the aboriginal idolatrous nations to be met with. Mofques, or places of prayer of the Mahometans, are erected all over the island; there is a very famous one near Cheriton, but I did not fee it. They are very particular and nice about the tombs of their faints, and will fuffer nothing unbecoming to be done upon, or near them; an inftance of which has been already related. "They have both male and female physicians, who have been known to effect very furprizing cures, by means of their knowledge of the medicinal and vulnerary herbs, produced in their country. They have fometimes greater practice among the Europeans, at Batavia, than those physicians, who have been regularly bred, and come over from Europe; yet they have no knowledge whatever of anatomy. Much friction in the affected parts, is one of their chief means of cure. This is done with two fingers of the right hand, which are preffed down by the left, and paffed continually downwards after having firft anointed the part with water, mixed with fine ground wood or oil. "For the purposes of agriculture, they ufe buffalos inftead of hor fes; though there are enough of the laft, but of a diminutive fize. Thefe buffalos are very large animals, bigger and heavier than our largest oxen, furnished with great ears, and horns which project ftraight forward, and are bent inwards. A hole is bored through the cartilage of the nofe, and thefe huge animals are guided by a cord, which is paffed through it. They are generally of an afh grey co. lour, and have little eyes. They are fo accustomed to be conducted three times a day into the water to cool themfelves, that without it they cannot be brought to work. The female gives milk, but it is little valued by the Europeans, on account of its acrimonious nature.” In defcribing Batavia, the author gives an account, both of the place itself, and of the Afiatics, with which the European fettlers have the most frequent intercourfe. Among others, he particularly mentions the Chinese; of whom his opinion. is by no means favourable. "The Chinese quarter" (he fays,)" is the moft popular of all, and seeins itself à city, with numerous streets; yet their houses are mean and little. It is crouded with fhops, containing all kinds of goods, as well thofe of their own manufacture, and fuch as they re ceive ceive annually from China, as what they buy up of thofe imported from Europe. The number of the Chinese, who live both within and without the walls of the city, cannot be determined with precifion, but it must be very confiderable, as the Company receive a poll-tax from them of more than forty thoufand rix-dollars. "Every Chinese, who has a profeffion, is obliged to pay a monthly poll-tax of half a ducatoon; women, children, and those who have no trade, are exempted from the tax, fo that their number can only be guefled at. They are under a chief of their own nation, who is known by the appellation of Chinese Captain; he lives within the walls, and has fix lieutenants under him, in different diftricts. A flag is hoifted at his door, on the firft or fecond day of every month, and the Chinese liable to the tax are then obliged to come to him to pay it. "Like the Jews in Europe, they are very cunning in trade, both in the largest dealings and the moft trifling pedlery. They are fo defirous of money, that a Chinese will run three times from one end of the city to the other, if he have but the profpect of gaining one' penny. In doing any bufinefs with them, the greatest care must be taken to avoid being cheated. Their ftature is rather short than tall, and they are, in general, tolerably fquare, They are not fo brown as the Javanefe. They fhave their heads all round, leaving a bunch of hair in the middle of the crown, which is twisted with a ribbon, and hangs down their back. Their drefs confiits in a long robe of Nankeen or thin filk, with wide fleeves, and under it they wear drawers of the fame, which cover their legs. "The Chinese are of a very luftful temper. They are accused of the most deteftable violations of the laws of nature: and, it is even faid, that they keep fwine in their houses, for purposes the most shame ful and repugnant.” He proceeds next to give an account of the Dutch government of Batavia, and enters into a detail of its component parts. This, however, though juft and accurate, has not inuch in it of novelty. Of the mode of living of the Euro peans, at Batavia, the following is Stavorinus's account. "Europeans, whether Dutch, or of any other nation, and in whatever ftation they are, live at Batavia, nearly in the fame manner. In the morning, at five o'clock, or earlier, when the day breaks, they get up. Many of them then go and fit at their doors; but others stay in the houfe, with nothing but a light gown, in which they fleep, thrown over their naked limbs. They then breakfast upon coffee or tea; afterwards they drefs and go out to attend the business they may have. Almost all who have any place or employment must be at their proper ftation at, or before, eight o'clock, and they remain at work till eleven or half paft. At twelve o'clock they dine; take an afternoon's nap till four; and attend to their business again till fix; or take a tour out of the city in a carriage. At fix T 2 o'clock, o'clock, they affemble in companies, and play or converfe till nine, when they return home; whoever chooses to stay to fupper is wel come, and eleven o'clock is the ufual hour of retiring to reft. Convivial gaiety feems to reign among them, and yet it is linked with a kind of fufpicious referve, which pervades all stations and all companies, and is the confequence of an arbitrary and jealous government. The leaft word, that may be wrefted to an evil meaning, may bring on very ferious confequences, if it reach the ears of the person who is aggrieved, either in fact or in imagination. I have heard many peo ple affert that they would not confide in their own brothers in this country." (To be continued.) ART. V. Two Biographical Tracts: Firft, Obfervations on Mr. Holliday's Life of William, late Earl of Mansfield : . Second, Thoughts on the judicial and political Life and Character of the faid Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench illuftrated with a Variety of Notes and References. By an ancient Member of the Inner Temple. To be comprized in two Volumes, and published in four Parts. Vol. I. Part I. 8vo. Pp. 216. Price 4s. Murray and Highley. London. 1799. MR. R. HOLLIDAY's work, upon which the prefent author makes his "Obfervations," has already been reviewed in the British Critic; it has alfo received fome animadverfion in "The Purfuits of Literature," and has been laughed at, in verfe, by the waggifh provider of Salmagundi, and of Bubble and Squeak, Mr. H.'s publication was before the commencement of our labours: if it had fallen upon us to give a judgement upon it, we fhould have felt ourselves bound to pafs one much less favourable than that of the British Critics. It feems to us, that Mr. H. brought to this undertaking lefs of the qualifications of a writer than we ever witneffed; the title of the work, and the fimple confidence with which he delivered it to the public, plainly fhew, that he is wholly unacquainted with books, and knows nothing of the taste or expectations of those who read them. The writer of thefe "Obfervations" paffes a cenfure on Mr. H.'s performance, and calls in queftion his fidelity as an hiftorian : he means himfelf to give a life of Lord Mansfield; but we are forry to fay, that the ancient Member of the Inner Temple feems to be as little verfed in matters beyond the record as Mr. H. the conveyancer; and it is a very fingular fate attending the life and fame of Lord M. that they fhould be committed committed to the difpofal of thefe two gentlemen, who have feemingly fet up authors for this purpofe only, before they have learnt one tenth part of their trade; but let us hear what they fay of one another. The ancient Member tells us, that a more appropriate title to Mr. H.'s book would have been this:-" Selections from the Works of Sir James Burrows, interfperfed with a few Converfations between Earl Mansfield and the Reporter; to which are added Notes, by John Holliday, Efq. an enthufiaftic Encomiaft "It is a fort of refentment at the unmerited (as he thinks) and indifcriminate panegyric bestowed by Mr. H. that has excited the prefent writer to take up his pen, which feems pointed with severity against the noble Lord, no lefs than his biographer. In" obferving" upon both these objects of animadverfion, he is very mifcellaneous, and even rambling; a more heterogeneous collection of materials we hardly ever faw. When he has proceeded to the 16th page, and is to criticife what Mr. H, has faid of Lord M.'s political fpeeches in Parliament, the first of which is his fpeech in the year 1743, when Solicitor General, on the motion for difmiffing the Hanoverian troops, he complains that the real value of the Proteft, in the Lords, upon that occafion, has not been fufficiently ftated: this defect he undertakes to fupply, by giving a sketch of the character of all the Lords who figned that Proteft; and this review reaches from P. 16 to P. 52. If this be not biography we know not what is!-In P. 64 he notices what Mr. H. has faid of Lord M. making Demofthenes his model in fpeaking; from this circumftance he takes occafion to give a sketch of the Athenian orator's life, and confiders how far his character was a fit model for a Chief Juftice to copy; among other circumstances, he touches upon the fuppofed charge of bribery; from thence he flies off, in P. 79, to the corruption of Lord Bacon; he then fairly gives the whole of Wraynham's cafe, as duly reported as need be-and, expreffing great indignation at the fentence of the Star-chamber paffed upon that gentleman, he next gives a lift of the persons who joined in that fentence, fubjoining a fhort account of their character and conduct, the viciffitudes of their fortunes, and the unhappy ends of fome of them, which he is pleafed to confider as judgements upon them for the aforefaid piece of injuftice: all this employs him as far as P. 112, when he returns, as he tells us, from fo prolix a digreffion again to Demofthenes," confidering Demofthenes as no digreffion at all. Indeed, a few pages after, viz. in P. 119, he makes this "Meinoir," as he terms it, of Demofthenes, a reafon for giving another of Cicero, whom he calls Mark Tully Cicero," (to reduce it, as may be fuppofed, to the analogy of Mark Antony,) which reaches to P. 143. With all thefe excurfions, "The Obferver" had not yet gratified to the full his paffion for biographical sketches; he had a ftock ftill behind that must be exhibited, and there must be a contrivance for tagging on these materials alfo to the end of his book. He comes to what he calls Lord M.'s funeral honours, and quotes the lines that conclude Where Murray (long enough his country's pride) Thus, at once, he obtained as fair a pretence for criticifing the character of Lord Clarendon as he before had for that of Mark Tully, Lord Bacon, Demofthenes, all the Protesting Lords, and all the Lords of the Star-chamber. From Lord Clarendon, he proceeds to the ingratitude of Charles the Second, in promoting rebels and traitors to the prejudice of his father's friends—all of which ingratitude is afcribed to the counfels of Lord Clarendon; and then he produces a catalogue of the perfons alluded to, placing, in oppofite columns, their conduct during the rebellion, and ufurpation, and their promotions by Charles the Second. This "digreffion" upon Lord Clarendon, and the courtier-rebels, is contained from P. 145 to P. 216, which ends the book. Of this last excurfion of the author we have no other complaint than that it is out of place, having nothing to do with the fubject: in other refpects we are obliged to him for it; it is certainly entertaining, interefting, and inftructive. May it be a leffon to all the friends of our eftablished government, to fupport it with their lives and fortunes, while it fubfifts; for if they, pufillanimously, defert their duty, and leave the reins to be once grafped by innovators, thefe daring invaders will trample them to the ground during their ufurpation, and will find means to outbid them upon the patching up of a new fettlement. The restoration of a King makes little compenfation for the paft loffes of individuals. After what has been faid, generally, on the qualifications of this writer, it is unneceffary to enter into a particular cri ticism of his ftyle, language, or manner, all of which are of the most ordinary kind; he certainly has no advantage in thefe refpects oyer Mr. H.-much lefs in that of correctnefs; indeed, though he chaftifes his precurfor fo feverely for errors, and misprints, he has himfelf committed fome of the groffeft fort; in P. 114 are no lefs than three falfe prints in two Latin verfes. But |