to it, that he has made a good ufe of his materi.ls, and has delivered his narrative in a clear and f.tisfactory ftyle. With refpect to the orthography of Wiclif's name, which we have been used to fee differently written, he fays that he has found inftances of fixteen different ways of fpelling the name; but that he has preferred the prafent, becaufe it fo appears in tle oldest document in which his author's nam: is known to appear; namely, in the inftrument preferved in Rymer's Fadera, wherein he is nominated one of the embassy to meet the Pope's delegates, in 1374. This is certainly a sufficient reafon, efpecially when we confider that Wicht himfelf probably wrote it, at different times, in many different ways. It would be of little fervice to give a fpecimen of the tranflation ittelf, the language and spelling are so, obfolete, that few would read over the extract, except thofe who are curious in fuch matters, who are not likely to be satisfied with fo finall a portion. The account of the Saxon versions will be found to contain much matter that is very little known, and we are glad to recommend it to the attention of the curious. The whole volume indeed forms a very meritorious and valuable publication. BRITISH CATALOGUE. POETRY.' ART. 11. Pyche, with other Poems; by the late Mrs. Henry Tighe. 1811. The elegant poem of Pfyche was fo long circulated in one or two private editions, that to defcant upon it as a new performance would be to repeat only what the majority of our readers already know; and to accumulate fuperfluous praife, where abundance has been already beftowed. The fair author is, alas, ro morej and the talents and amiable fer fibility which produced this alle gory, correfponding with the interesting form which is prefixed to this volume, must have left a regret upon the minds of her relatives and friends which no public approbation could alleviate. Turning to her other poems, which are lefs known, we six with melancholy pleasure on the following fonnet, in which the poetefs evidently prefages her own fate; a prefage too fadly realized in the thirty-feventh year of her age. As nearer I approach that fatal day By which hope led the wand'ring cheated foul; Her fighs, and tears, and youth, were spent in vain, P. 229. We are told at the end that she died in blissful peace and hum. ble confidence. ART. 12. Il Paftor Fido, or the Faithful Shepherd, a Paftoral Tragi comedy, attempted in English Blank Verfe, from the Italian of Signor Cavalier Giovanni Battista Guarini. 7s. Black, Edinburgh; Longman and Co. London. 1809. 12mo. 239 PP: If Paftor Fido is to be tranflated in blank verfe, it should be fmooth and fpirited verfe, which this feems to be. Witness the following fpecimen. "Tell me, O Silvio! if in this fo fair Of all their leafy honours, ev'ry hill Bared of its verdure, and the plains around Silvio, would't thou not fay "creation faints, The world is languishing." P. 6. This fpirit is not confined to a few pages, but appears to pervade the whole translation. That it is more literal than rhymed tranflations may eafily be believed. ART, 13. The Tyrolefe Villagers, or a Profpe&t of War, an Epiftolary Tale, with other Poems. By T. Robinson, late of Seaford. Suffex, 12mo. Hookham. 6s. 1810. This little volume of Poems, confifts of tales in verfe, with fome tranflations or rather paraphrafes from the Odes of Horace. They are all indicative of tafte, and an elegant mind, but it is not not eafy to select a fpecimen. The following concludes the book: "TO MR. CHARLES MARCUARD, R.A.S. ON HIS PAINTING THE PORTRAIT OF MRS. Marcuard while painting Stella's charms divine, ART. 14. The Times, or the Prophecy; a Poem. 4to. This is a very fpirited Poem. The Prophecy is a prefumed parallel between Henry V and a certain illuftrious Perfonage, and of the author's powers, the reader can entertain no mean opinion, if he fhall only perufe the following transcript: "If then a Prince would aim at Henry's fame, No carpet generals full of boaftful words, Who'll draw their toothpicks fooner than their fwords, No German counts who fiddlers were at home, No fops from Paris, and no priefts from Rome; Sad monuments of impuder.ce and age, No wit to fet the table in a roar, With hackneyed jefts Joe Miller told before, ART. 15. The Poetical Chain, confifting of Miscellaneous Poems, Co. 1811. The multitude of volumes of poetry, which, to ufe the words of this modeft writer, do not effect any thing beyond mediocrity, has increafed, is increafing, and ought to be diminished. What good refults from their publication, except the gratifica tion tion of the author's, we can by no means determine. The reader who is fatisfied with moderate poetry will find in this volume more than two hundred pages of lines not inferior to these which follow. "ON SEEING A WITHERED OAK CUT DOWN. "The ftately oak long bears the blaft, Mrs. Ritfon's effufions are always moral and well-intended; often pleafing. ART. 16. Squibs and Crackers, Serious, Comical, and Tender. By Jafper Smallbot. 8vo. 75. Harding. 1812. This eccentric volume commences with a cracker, for it bears the date of 1812. We prefume that fome pleafant gentleman having at leaft as much money as wit, chofe to amufe himself by giving a printed christmas box to his friends, for he furely could have no idea of these fquibs and crackers being bought. We fubjoin a fample, perhaps neither the beft nor the worst. 66 COUTEAU ET CHAPEAU. "Mr. Bull who had travell'd from Durham to Mayne, But in all his long journey from thence on to Berne, Their gentle hearts defire; This is a tranflation from the French. NOVELS. ART. 17. Anecdotes Sentimentales, par Madame de Montolieu, Auteur de Caroline de Lichtfield, at Traducteur des Tableaux de Famille. 12mo. 274 pp. Deconchy. 1811. It is very feldom that we can repeat the eulogium of a publifher, as a true character of the work published, but, in the prefent inftance, nothing can be more correct. We give it in the original words. Ces quatre anecdotes pleines de fentiment et de décence, réuniffent au mérite d'être forties de la plume de Madame de Montolieu, celui de la nouveauté, n'etant encore connues en France que par quelques feuilles periodiques." If this, however, be ftrictly true, it is but a fmail part of the truth, for the tales, which are here ftyled anecdotes, are not only perfectly moral and new, but in their conception highly ori ginal, in, their language elegant, and in their incidents fingularly interefting. We have very feldom feen an intricate plot fo well conducted, and fo clearly developed, within a fmall compafs, as in the first tale: the fecond is a ruftic tale, but of much merit. The third and fourth are in fact but one, and introduce to the reader a character perfectly new, but admirably drawn, and difplayed in fituations which fhow its merit in the most pleasing points of view. We have feldom been more agreeably occupied than in the perufal of this fmall volume, to which we have no objection to make, except that it is not larger. ART. 18. The Sorrows of Eliza; or a Tale of Misfortune, being the authentic Memoirs of a young Lady, in the Vicinity of London. By R. Bayley, Ejq. 8vo. 5s. Longman. 1811. This is indeed a tale of misfortune, and related with an earnest and impreffive fimplicity. The heroine Eliza, who feems fomewhat improperly termed a Young Lady, after undergoing a fe ries of extraordinary calamities, becomes finally the victim of cruel artifice, and lofes her reafon. It appears that she is fill alive, and her reafon is reftored. Let us hope that the may never want the foothing relief which her melancholy tale both excites and juftifies. ART. 19. Portraits of Fops; or, Illuftrations of the foppifh Cha sacter in all its various Varieties; with Sketches of fome of our principal |