"SHAKSPEARE: King Hen. My Lords, look where the fturdy rebel fits, (Back'd by the power of Warwicke, that falfe peer,) Earl of Northumberland, he flew thy father; And thine, Lord Clifford; and you both vow'd revenge, "MARLOW: Edw. Et tu Brute, wilt thou ftab Cæfar 100: A parle Sirra to George of Clarence.' "SHAKSPEARE • Difiniffed the claffical talk of tu Brute; and only added, a parley is founded.' "MARLOW: Alarms, and then, enter Warwicke wounded. Warw. Ah, who is nie? Come to me friend, or foe, And tell me who is victor York or Warwick ? Why afk I that? my mangl'd bodie fhews, For who liv'd King, but I could dig his grave? My parks, my walkes, my mannors that I had, Is nothing left me but my bodies length.' "SHAKSPEARE: Alarum: Enter Edward, bring forth Warwick wounded. King Edw. So lie thou there; die thou, and die our fear : For Warwick was a bug, that fear'd us all. Now, Montague fit faft; I feek for thee, That Warwick's bones may keep thee company.' [Exit.] And tell me who is victor, York, or Warwick. Why afk I that? my mangled body shows, My blood, my want of ftrength, my fick heart shows, Thus Thus yields the cedar to the axe's edge, Whofe top branch overpeer'd Jove's spreading tree, To fearch the fecret treafons of the world: For who liv'd King, but I could dig his grave? "It is not often that fuch an opportunity has occurred of compa ring the original play, with Shakspeare's copy; the firft sketch, with Shakspeare's improvements; the defects of the author, with the fupplements of the copyift." Pp. 292.-297. We had marked feveral other paffages for the purpose of quotation, but our extracts have already been extended to fuch a length, that we are neceffarily compelled to abridge our fubfequent obfervations. On all the points which Mr. C. has undertaken to difcufs, demonstration will not be expected; but he appears to have adduced fuch proofs as are admiffible in all circumstances of life, i. e. the best proof that the nature of the cafe admits. If then his proofs be not always fufficiently clear to produce inftant conviction on the mind, the deficiency must be imputed to the nature of the fubject, and not to any want of diligence or exertion in the author. In most instances, however, his proofs are convincive; and he has the merit of having thrown great light upon an interefting part of our literary hiftory, which had been, indeed, partially elucidated by fome writers, but which the labours of others, in the line of biography and of comment, had only tended to perplex and obfcure. We perfectly accede to the general pofition laid down by Mr. C. that "we want more facts, not more theories and declamations!" And happy, most happy, fhould we be to fee, in all cafes of religion, politics, and literature, the complete triumph of wisdom over fpeculation, of truth over theory! Juftice demands the acknowledgement, that it has been the invariable object of Mr. C. in all his publications, to contribute to the establishment of fuch triumph. An extraoidinary inftance of our author's diligence in the collection of facts, for the illuftration of his arguments, is exhibited in the following note :— "As an example how much more is to be obtained, by collecting facts, than by dwelling on theories, I beg leave to lay before the rea der an unedited Proclamation about MILTON: "By the King. "A Proclamation for calling in and fuppreffing of two Books written by John Milton, the one intituled, Johannis Miltoni Angli pro Populo Anglicano Defenfio contra Claudii Anonymi alias Salmafii, Defenfionem Regiam; and the other in anfwer to a Book intituled, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majeftie in His Solitudes and Sufferings And also a third Book, intituled, The Obstructers of Juftice, written by John Goodwin. Charles R. "Whereas John Milton late of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, hath published in print two feveral Books, the one intituled, Johannis Miltoni Angli pro Populo Anglicano Defenfio, contra Claudii Anonymi alias Salmafii, Defenfionem Regiam : And the other in an. fwer to a Book, intituled, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings. In both which are contained fundry treasonable paffages against Vs and our Government, and most impious endeavours to jultifie the horrid and unmatchable Murder of our late dear Father of glorious memory. "And whereas John Goodwin, late of Coleman-ftreet, London, Clerk, hath alfo publifhed in print, a Book, intituled, The Obftructers of Juftice, written in defence of the Traiterous fentence against His late Majelly. And whereas the faid John Milton and John Goodwin are both fied, or fo obfcure themfelves, that no endeavours used for their apprehenfion can take effect, whereby they might be brought to legal Tryal, and defervedly receive condign punishment for their treafons and offences: Now to the end that our good fubjects may not be corrupted in their judgements with fuch wicked and Traiterous principles, as are difperfed and scattered throughout the before mentioned Books; We, upon the motion of the Commons in Parliament now affembled do hereby ftrictly charge and command all and every perfon and perfons whatfoever, who live in any City, Borough, or Town Incorporate within this our Kingdom of England, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, in whofe hands any of those Books are or hereafter fhall be, That they, upon pain of our high difpleasure, and the confequence thereof; do forthwith upon publication of this Our command or within Ten days immediately following, deliver, or cause the fame to be delivered, to the Mayor, Bailiffs, or other Ch'ef Officer or Magiftrate in any of the faid Cities, Boroughs, or Towns Incorporate, where fuch perfon o: perfons fo live; or, if living out of any City, Borough, or Town Incorporate, then to the next Juftice of Peace adjoining to his or their dwelling or place of abode; or if living in either of Our Univerfities then to the Vice Chancellor of that Univerity where he or they do refide. "And "And in default of fuch voluntary delivery, which We do expect in obfervance of our faid Command, That then and after the time be fore limited expired, the faid Chief Magiftrate of all every the faid Cities, Boroughs, or Towns Incorporate, the Juftices of the Peace in their feveral Counties, and the Vice-Chancellors of Our faid Univer. fities refpectively, are hereby Commanded to feize and take all and every the Books aforefaid, in whofe hands or poffeffion foever they fhall be found, and certifie the names of the offenders unto Our PrivyCouncil. "And we do hereby alfo give fpecial charge and command to the faid Chief Magiftrates, Juftices of the Peace, and Vice-Chancellors, refpectively, That they cause the faid Books which fhall be fo brought unto any of their hands, or feized, or taken as aforefaid, by virtue of this Our Proclamation, to be delivered to the refpective Sheriffs of thofe Counties where they refpectively live, the first and next Affizes that fhall after happen. And the faid Sheriffs are hereby also required, in time of holding fuch Affizes, to caufe the fame to be publicly burnt by the hands of the Commcn Hangman. "And we do further ftrieghtly charge and command, That no man hereafter prefume to Print, Vend, Sel, or Difperfe any the aforefaid Books, upon pain of our heavy difpleafure, and of fuch further punishment, as for their prefumption, in that behalf may any way be inflicted upon them by the Laws of this Realm. "Given at Our Court at Whitehall the 13th of Auguft, in the Twelfth Year of Our Reign, 1660." "Burnet fuppofes, that Milton was forgotten, at the Reftoration: Johnfon fays, that he was ordered to be profecuted, though perhaps not very diligently pursued. It appears from the Commons' Journal 8 vol. P. 66, that the King was addreffed to iffue his Proclamation, for calling in Milton's two Pamphlets; that the Attorney General was ordered by the Commons to caule effe&tual proceedings to be had against John Milton; it was refolved by the House, that Mr. Milton be fent for in Cuftody, by the Serjeant at Arms. I have lodged the original Proclamation, which was founded on the Refolves of Parliament, in the British Museum, for the benefit of the public. I will only add, for removing all fufpicion, that it was re-published in the news-papers of thofe times: I have a copy of it, which was reprinted in Mercurius Publicus, from Wednesday, Auguft 15th to Wednesday, August 22d 1660. Why will not biographers fearch for fuch documents? We want more facts; not more theories, and declamations"!! Pp. 6.-10. The "Poftfcript" is a distinct performance, and has nothing in common with the body of the work. It was occafioned by a wanton attack on Mr. Chalmers in the Purfuits of Literature; a fpecies of attack in which the author of that fatire has been too much accustomed to indulge. Mr. C. attacks, in his turn, with extreme feverity, and boldly affirms that the anonymous bard is no other than Mr. Mathias. All the the proofs, however, produed for the eltablishment of this fact, go no farther than to fix the charge of publication on Mr. M. which, indeed, would fuffice to render him amenable to the laws for any libel contained in the work, but which cannot, according to our conception of what is juft and proper, make him refponfible for any offenfive matter, in a court of criticifm. Having alfumed this fact, Mr. C. proceeds to fupport it by comparing the Purfuits of Liter ture with other productions attributed to, or avowed by, Mr. Mathias; he infers, from a fimilarity of ftyle and fentiment, that they iffued from the pen of the fame writer; and he then endeavours to fix a number of molt ferious charges upon Mr. M. But the greater part of the public, we conceive, will be difpofed to think with us, that our author undertakes to prove a great deal too much, when he exhibits "proofs of your impertinence"-" proof's of your malignity"-" proofs of your ignorance"-"proofs of your Jacobinifm"-proofs of your nonjenje”— "proofs of your inability to write poetry" and "prays that you cannot write at all!!!" Our limits will not allow us to exhibit thefe "Proofs" in detail; we muit, theretore, content ourselves with a fimple declaration, that it appears to us, from an attentive examination of fuch of them as come properly within the cognizance of the critic, that Mr. C. has pointed out many faults and errors, which, had the work come before us judicially, we fhould not have failed to cen fure; but that many of his remarks are hyper-critical. The omiffion of the " Article," which he fo ftrongly cenfures, is fanctioned by the cuftom of our belt writers, and it muft not be forgotten that grammar is founded on cuitem. The article, in the cafes adduced by Mr C. is as frequently (we might fay more frequently) omitted than inferted." Advertifement to the Seventh Edition;" 66 End of the Pocm." Thefe are two inftances felected by Mr. C. in which he contends for the indifpenfible neceffity of the article; but had he exercised his ufual diligence on this point, he would have found the author of the poem to have been fully juftified by the example of eminent writers; of a Johnfon and a Burke. The article is, at least, as neceffary in the Greek as in the English language, and, indeed, the Greek grammarians, in a manner, infift on the infeparability of its connection with a noun; yet do we not almost invariably, at the end of a Greek book, fee the fubftantive Teo, without the article? The fame obfervations will apply to the ufe of the fubjunctive mood of the verb atter the conjunctions "if" and "though." The rule, in fuch cafes, is conditional, not imperative; in fome inftances, the fubjunctive mood would be improperly em ployed |