Alfred. Forthwith thev fhall. Elbelfrida Are all thy fongs of melancholy strain? Eibelfwida. Then thou haft lost thy love; There liv'd a youth, by filver Thames, Bt icofe, at large, the rover rang'd, We must not with one cenfure level all. Some men are true of heart, but very few. Thofe live not long, they die before their time. Hinguar. A how'r of tears Faft falling calms the tempeft of her mind. Alfred. 'Tis a deep-rooted malady. [walks afide. We perfectly agree with the ingenious Writer, that preferv. ing ancient foundations, as the piers of his bridge, the Author may bend his arches, and finish the fabric, according to his tafte and fancy. His tafte however may be cenfured as faulty, or inelegant; and his fancy may be too incorrect or eccentric. In the prefent inftance, notwithstanding the folidity of the main piers, we cannot, without referve, praife the bridge we go over. The centre arch, turned on the difguife of Alfred, and the collateral arches, refting on the loves of Alfred and Ethelfwida, are tolerably regular and beautiful; and the language is carved out into an elegant and ornamental balluftrade; but the jealousy of the Danish Queen-confort, Ronex, and the intrigues of the attendant, Edda, form a clumfy abutment that calls off the eye from the beauties of the reft of the pile. To drop the metaphor, we think that a better fable might have been raised on the received and popular circumftance of Alfred's venturing into the Danish camp in the habit of a minftrel. The drama, as it now ftands, requires much more improvement than can possibly have been effected by the alteration of ONE fcene.' The whole character and epifode of Ronex is unpleafing, and the chamber maid conduct of Edda is ridiculous. There is alfo here and there an infelicity of expreffion in the language, though the diction is, on the whole, much above the ordinary ftyle of modern tragedy. We are inclined to believe that the fable was haftily put together, and the dialogue as haftily written; but the ftory is fo well calculated to receive further embellishment, and the Poet fo capable of beftowing it, that we should rejoice to fee a drama on the fubject of Alfred, built by the fame hand, on a more correct plan, and formed of materials more durable. With fuch an alteration, the tragedy might be refumed and revived;' for fuch an alteration would moft powerfully contribute to heighten its effect.' C. ART. XIII. Review of the Canadian Freeholder. Concluded. See Review for December. A N argument ftrongly infifted upon by the Americans, to justify their pretended exemption from taxation, is their want of representation in the British fenate. But this unluckily proves nothing, or proves too much. For as there are not above three hundred thousand voters in the whole kingdom of England, by whofe fuffrage the reprefentatives of the people are nominated, it would follow upon these principles, that the English nation itself not being adequately reprefented, ought not to fubmit to be taxed. The Americans are fenfible of the force of this obfervation, and endeavour to elude it, by faying that however unequally the Houfe of Commons is conftituted, yet, that every portion of land in England to the value of forty fhillings, qualifying an elector, the representation always bears a certain proportion to the poffeffion of property; and confequently, that justice, and the spirit of the conftitution, require that these privileges fhould be extended upon the fame terms to America, to place it upon an equal footing with the mother country. But this diftinction is, according to our author, more fpecious than juft; fince the Queftion is not an enquiry into the abstract fpeculative nature of government, but must be decided by an historical examination of the conditions, upon which the first fettlers in America emigrated from their own country. But as thefe original fettlers claimed neither right nor property, except by the permiffion of the crown, and as the crown was by no means obliged to model the American, by the pattern of English tenure, it is very evident that there is, in this refpect, no analogy between the two countries, and confequently that this argument is defective. Another objection made by the Americans, is their distance from the feat of government, and their having no methods of reftraint upon the legiflators; from which reafons they conclude, that they should be perpetually expofed to fee their intereft neglected or facrificed. But when it is confidered, that the in tereft tereft of one country is fo intimately blended with that of the other, that it can never either fuffer or profper alone, the intercourfe which the two nations have by means of commerce, and the difficulty, which a British government could not be ignorant it would meet with, to enforce any oppreffive act in the colonies, the fears arifing from thefe confiderations will appear vifionary. Experience has evinced, that nothing is fo difficult as for the different houfes of affembly which govern the colonies, to concur in any general project of impofing a tax, even from the most important motives; and as juítice and reafon require, that every part of an extenfive empire, should Contribute to the common defence, our Author thinks, that the power of raifing the neceflary contributions, can no where be fo ufefully and fecurely depofited, as in a British parliament. How far thefe arguments may be conclufive upon the fubject, or how far the acquiefcence of one country under a govern ment, which has evidently departed from its original principles, by confining to a small part of the people, that power of chufing its own governors, which the whole nation has an indifputable right to fhare, ought to be a precedent for another, it is not our bufinefs to determine. But although, we wish rather to add additional force to the arguments which are alleged in favour of our country, than diminith their efficacy, our refpect for truth obliges us to obferve, that the right which nature has given to every portion of mankind, to judge for themfelves, and repel oppreffion, can neither be deftroyed nor limited by precedent. Should there ever arrive a time, when government being corrupted at its very fources, the liberties of this nation fhould be infamously expofed to a feptennial auction; fhould the reprefentatives of this people, openly become the penfioners and fycophants of the crown, inftead of the afferters of the people's rights; fhould the public magiftrates of every rank, inftituted to explain and defend the laws, bafely league themselves to undermine their authority; in fuch a ftate of things, fhould it ever arrive, it may be the interest of a nation, which retains neither courage, honour, nor patriotifm, to fubmit, but fuch an example ought never to be urged, and never can be imitated by a wife and uncorrupted people. Our Author then proceeds to examine the fcheme which has been propofed, by many friends to the two countries, for compofing the prefent unnatural conteft, that of admitting American reprefentatives into the British fenate. This, he thinks fo juft a request, that it would not have been refufed, even, by thofe minifters who first adopted the plan of taxing the colonics. He vindicates it from all the objections, which have been made to it, from the difficulty of execution, as well as from the ridicule with which it has been treated by Mr. Burke, in his pamphlet, pamphlet, called, "Obfervations on a late State of the Nation." Upon the whole, he thinks it equally just and feasible, calculated to filence the moft factious part of the Americans, and to gain thofe who with a lefs determined hatred to the government, are apprehenfive for their country, liberties, and, intereft, although, from the prefent hoftile difpofitions of the two contending nations, there appears little probability, that fuch conciliatory meafures will be propofed by the one fide, or accepted by the other. The next inquiry is, how far it is eligible to attempt to fubdue, and when fubdued, to retain America by violence. And here we cannot but lament that our Author, though he wrote before the mutual jealoufies had terminated in fo fatal a manner, feems to be inspired with a prophetic fpirit. After deciding that nothing can be more inconfiftent, with the generous fpirit of a free country, than to govern by a mercenary. tanding army, that fatal inftrument of every tyrant, that enemy, of human nature, and the common rights of all the fpecies, he foretels that fuch an attempt would prove ineffectual from a variety of caufes which he enumerates; and that even could it fucceed, it must end in the ruin and flavery of the conquerors. Nec lex eft juftior ulla, Quam necis artifices arte perire fuâ. The enfuing pages contain the hiftory of the ftamp-act; the repeal of that act; the impofition of new duties by the prefent miniftry, and the notable ftratagem of furprising the Americans into compliance, by landing teas in their refpective ports, and an irreconcileable hatred lighted up between the two kindred nations, for the honourable purpofe of fupplying the deficiencies which the Eaft India company met with in their fales. The conduct of the Americans upon this occafion, is too well known to need illuftration, as well as of the government, who equally unfortunate both in their compliances, and in their firmnefs, foftered the fpirit of oppofition and revolt, at a time when it might have been effectually crushed, by their wayering and pufillanimous councils; and when it was become irrefiftible, wifely chofe to exafperate inflead of foothing, to unite the dif cordant colonies in the common purpose of felf-defence, by fhewing them that a British parliament efteemed nothing too facred to be facrificed to their revenge, and to fever the vaft continent of America from its parent ftate. Our Author's reAlexions upon thefe fubjects, as well as upon the Bofion port and Quebec acts, are equally juft and liberal; and prove, that if he is a candid examiner of the claims of the revolted colonies, he is no tool of power, nor enemy to human liberty. Here follow many judicious obfervations, upon the mifchieVous confequences of the Quebec and Belton port acts, in alie nating the minds even of that party among the Americans, who were fuppofed to be in the intereft of the government. He then fets forth the neceffity of repealing these obnoxious acts, as a foundation for reconciliation, and either giving up the article of taxation, or admitting American reprefentatives into the British house of commons. The conclufion of this work, contains an hiftory of the 4 per cent. duty, which was attempted to be levied upon fome of the Weft-India iflands, by the authority of the crown. The Author here affembles every circumftance which can elucidate this claim, in refpect to each of the islands feparately, and adds fome propofals of his own, for the future regulation of this branch of the royal revenue, in fuch a manner as may put an end to the complaints, which have hitherto been made against it. But as we have allotted a larger space than ufual to this publication, we fhall refer our Readers to the work itself, for the particulars of this important difquifition. Upon the whole, we recommend this book to fuch of our Readers, as are yet unfated with American controverfy, as a work full of useful information, written in a perfpicuous ftyle, and directed by a fpirit of candour and impartiality. And here. we shall take our leave of the Author, with the hope that he will fulfil his promife, and prefent us with a second part of the Canadian Freeholder, not inferior to the firft. D.y. ART. XIV. Choix des Memoires de L'Academie des Infcriptions et Belles Lettres, en trois Tomes. 4to. 31. 3 s. Becket, &c. 1777. TH HE labours of philofophical and literary focieties open an extenfive field for judicious felection. These performances are extremely voluminous; and the articles which they contain, are not more various in kind, than different in merit. It is expected, that each Academician fhould not only offer to his affociates fome fruit of his ftudies, but fhould exhibit to the public fome proofs of his abilities. Thefe duties, which all are alike called to perform, a part only are capable to fulfil. The productions of a few learned and ingenious men, throw luftre on the body to which they belong. While they acquire the refpect of their affociates, they excite the admiration of their countrymen. They pleafe and intereft by the novelty of their ideas, the depth of their refearches, the elegance of their diction, and the force of their expreffion. It is useful therefore, to collect in one work thofe fcattered rays, which brighten the natural gloom of philofophical and literary memoirs; and, when this task is executed with the judgment and tafte, confpicuous in the prefent felection, it is difficult to offer a more valuable prefent to the public. The |