The German Theocritus, by profession, and, as it were, by birth a printer and bookseller, found leisure in mature life to cultivate the art of painting. His own works, which were printed at his own press, were also decorated by his own graver. Gessner was alike successful in the employment of his pencil and his pen if he was considered as the first of pastoral poets, the most correct, elegant, and chaste, he was also numbered among the best artists in Germany. His letter on landscape-painting, addressed to Mr. Fuesslin, his countryman, and himself a painter, shews, as we have remarked in another place, the attention with which Gessner had studied the works of the first artists, and the felicity with which he had united and blended the tastes of the painter and the poet. His son Conrad was born with a portion of his father's genius, and imbibed all his enthusiasm: his father, amiable, indulgent, and judicions, spared no expence or labour to perfect him in his profession, which, in return, the young man pursued with unremitting assiduity and deserved success. All these letters are on the subject of painting; those from the father contain advice and instruction resulting from his own experience and observation, and do great credit to his taste and his judgment. Those from the son breathe the ardour of genius in the bosom of youth; they also contain remarks on the various styles of different masters, and indicate his own improvements. A few letters are also incorporated, of masculine sense and strong maternal affection, from the pen of Madame Gessner to her son: indeed the collection altogether is interesting. The young artist will profit by the perusal; he will find a great many hints which may help to improve his taste, direct his studies, and advance him in his profession. Their value, however, is not limited to the students of the academy: as exhibit ing a picture of domestic felicity, of filial and parental love, they must be universally interesting. Take the following as a specimen, from the delicate and pleasing pen of Madame Gessner : "You will, no doubt, read more than once, my dear son, the letter which your father has just written to you. The instructive observations of an able artist are united with the affectionate advice of a tender father, who wishes to encourage the ardour of h son, and give him those directions whe will be most useful to him. Your lett prove, that you know how to profit fr shew me your whole heart undisguised, both. There are passages in them wh which are of inestimable value to mine am not capable of judging of your talents, an artist; but I observe in your conduct principles of a good and honest man, wi is the most solid foundation of my per comfort. This, believe me, is the swe recompence which a mother can expenc merely bringing them into the world, " from her children, who, not satisfied v... the duty and pleasure of her whole hte a useful to them on every possible occas Continue as you have begun, my dear and we shall one day owe to each other mutual happiness. "Feer has given you lessons in arch ture; do not omit, therefore, to recompen him for his trouble in a suitable manner this separation from the friend of your think with sorrow of his departure, bec must be very painful to you. Arm yo with courage, and endeavour to moder too lively affections of your heart. The frequently remarked, with some regte excessive attachment you indulge to those, who see and feel as you do youn and the total neglect with which you ser treat every one else. I should repro pass his life in a small and unvarying c man with such a fault, who was destin but in an artist, who has a great obie view, and whose country is the whole w this disposition seeins to me likely to prain a great immber of inconveniencies. "Alas, my son! the life you have hithe led in your father's house has been in int pastoral life, and not such a one as w cessary for the education of a man, destiny summons him into the world. it but too strongly; your daily commer your father, the angelic goodness of his h the friendliness and soft simplicity of he racter, which preserved an habitual ser and innocent gaiety round his firesid select circle of friends which a confor taste and sentiment, and a real lart that is good and noble, so strongly 1102 40 him; all these were sources of the the remembrance of these happy day! degree of pleasure for your youth: and remain impressed on your mind! it w procure you many enjoyments, and, all, an advantage of great importance to that of rendering you more difficult formation of new friendships; the op and sincerity of your character will, no e often make you feel embarrassed in the a world, until experience has taught m art of living in it; but never forget, m child, that in this world you must be by your head, and not trust to your alone; the union of them is what cons ! y estimable man, and renders him usesociety, but in that, as well as in thing else, your father will be your best "Adieu, my dear son; I am your affectionate mother." III. An authentic Account of the late unfortunate Death of Lord Camelford; han Extract from his Lordship's Will, and some Remarks upon his Character. By Rev. WM. COCKBURNE, A. M. Svo. pp. 16. ART. IV. A Letter to the Rev. W. Cockburne, &c. 8vo. pp. 16. E principal object which Mr. ourne seems to have had in view e publication of these few pages, state in general terms that lord ford, who had made himself so cus by the eccentricities of his chaand the irregularities of his conwas possessed of a generous disn; that his feelings were very that, although a stern adversary, the kindest and most generous of His benevolence was active, appeal was ever made in vain to manity. The paragraph quoted ord Camelford's will strongly the nobleness of his disposition: ere are many other matters which at time I might be inclined to mention, I say nothing more at present, than he present contest I am fully and enaggressor, as well in the spirit, as in of the word; should I therefore lose a contest of my own seeking, I most forbid any of my friends or relathem be of whatsoever description y, from instituting any vexatious gs against my antagonist; and notwithstanding the above declaramy part, the laws of the land be put gainst him, I desire that this part ill may be known to the king, in this royal heart may be moved to s mercy towards him." econdary object of this publicato expose the negligence of the of the police: Townsend was quainted with the intended duel, Opera, about ten o'clock, and a Information was lodged at Marlstreet before nine. Yet to the my knowledge, says Mr. Cockno steps were taken to prevent the meeting till near two o'clock, when some officers were placed at lord Camelford's door, but alas, too late! In consequence of this charge, Mr. Neve, one of the magistrates of the public office in Great Marlborough street, has addressed "A Letter to the Rev. W. Cockburne, occasioned by his Pamphlet," &c. It is written with considerable acrimony; with acrimony arising, as it seems, from a sense of gross and wilful injury. Mr. Neve has made it appear that the officers of Marlborough street, though defeated in their exertions to prevent the unhappy duel, were indefatigably active on the occasion; he has made it appear, too, that lord Camelford, from the eccentricity of his character, was an object of their particular solicitude, and on several former occasions had been indebted to this office for the care of that reputation of which himself had been so negligent. We are sorry to add, that it appears too from this pamphlet, that although Mr. Cockburne was informed that the statements which he had made relative to this office were altogether unfounded; and although he had been required by one of the magis trates, Mr. Conant himself, to recal, or at least stop the distribution of, his pamphlet; he has nevertheless wilfully persevered in the propagation of a calumny. To avoid the suspicion of baving been actuated by some sinister motive, it was clearly incumbent on Mr. Cockburne to have stated the reasons which could have induced him to turn a deaf ear to the facts communicated to him by Mr. Conant. Mir. Neve has completely exonerated the magistrates from the charge of inattention. The Historie and Life of King James the Sext, written towards the latter End of the Sixteenth Century. 8vo. pp. 294. historiographer to queen Anne, Crawfurd of Drumsoy, found ted the fragment of a life of he sixth of Scotland, and the England, which is here for the e published from the original manuscript. It extends from 1556 to 1580, and appears to have been drawn up about the year 1590, as the marriage of king James is alluded to as a recent event. The superintendence of this edi tion has been undertaken by Malcolm "Thair was Robert Dowglas, earle of Buchan, lieuteunent for the regent, chacit with three hundred horsmen in his company: thair were taken prisoneris nine scoire and ten gentillmen or thairby, and this was done upoun the fyft day of July, a littil eftir middnyght. "Then he cawsit bring all the preasoneris befoir him, and spake unto thame in this manner. Gude contreymen, ye knaw that all victorie lyes in the hand of God, to whais holy name be all laud, praise, and honor for ever. And albeit ye haue thir dayes by gane stubburnly resistit to the queene's inaiestie's lawful pouer, and me hir lieutennent, I will not use onie seuerity againes you at this time, for onie euill example offerit unto me be the tyrannie usit be the regent. But be ye contrare, I will offer you all humanitye that I may, provyding that fra this day furthe, ye will behaue yourselues as dewtieful subiects to the queene, and neuer cum in the contrare: quhilk I beseek you to do, and promeis this unto me, as ye will answer to God. And they all, with a joyful voyce and cheerful countenance, be halding up thair handis, promittit faithfullie to do that, and presentlie ilk ane of thame promittit to be gude for utheris, be thair subscriptiounes then maid; and so he demittit thame freely. "Thairefter he cum toward the toune of Monrose, and pitched doune his campe in the syght of the toun. And the magistrattis fearing his invasioun, sent out twa honest men to enquire of him, quhat he meant to cum sa narr thair in warlyk manner; and giff he intendit to do thame onie skayth or not. He ansrit, that he desirit simplie, that first they should acknawledge him as the queene's lieutennent be lettre patent, quhilk he than shew unto thame; secondly, that thai should neuer oppon thameselves in word or deed againes the queene's authoritie, but should fortifie and assist hir and hir lieuten nent with all thair might; thridly, that for observing and acknawledging of thir promiess's, they should giue in some of thair burgess unto him to remane with him as ostages; and last of all, becaus they hade offendit in time bygaine, that they should offer him a certane pecuniatt sum, in recompence of thair remissioun to be grauntit for the same. "The twa men acceptit the petition verrie humlye as messengeris, and des sa fe convoy from the campe to the to that thei myght report the same to the ca sall, and thairefer to bring anser. quhen the magistrattis, with the assist of their counsall, hade redd and cen the petounes, thai thoght gude, for! ing of the iminent present danger, to 1tennent humblic and earnestlie that he of the queene's authoritie, to desire the not burden thame with ostages, secingi." a thing not usit in this comonwell, and difficill a thing it were for them to perf seeing na man wald willingly graunt unto, and to send them bund, it shoul thoght againes all christian huma quhilk they hopit his heart did abhorre; a thaireftir, in respect of the pouertie ef toun, that he wald nominat some s but harme of the pure. Quhen thir sowme unto thame, that might be col were with all humilitie and renerence sentit unto him with monie words of and lamentatioun, he acceptit of thame that same forme, and tauld thame qu broght unto him: Quhairupoun he depa sowme he requyrit, and this was qu with his campe toward Glenbervie azThe novallis of thir proceedings were maid his proclamatiouns, willing all we to the regent; and he cuming northwa follow him: and they being ableist te queene's lieutennent bot so laitlye of bet absentit thaimselues at that time; q was the cheef cans of his suddaine ret quhairby the said lieutennent triumphit list, without onie impediment." whe From the account of the queen's ness at Jedburg, the author appears have been a roman catholic, and to inclined to the Hamilton party; the account of the death of Mary been detached by the prejudice of t tion, or was never composed, may haps be ascertained by future rese for the manuscript terminates in s rupt a manner, that a continuation surely oncé have existed. How honourable it is to the liter zeal and industry of Scotland thus publish the manuscripts of their librar and to illustrate their national ant ties: while at Oxford, at Cambr and in the British museum, so many printed chronicles and poems, Sa and Norman, and Oriental, are shum ing in useless invisibility, or moulder into irrevocable oblivion! laT. VI. Mmoirs of Charles Macklin, Comedian; with the Dramatic Characters, Manners, Anecdotes, c. of the Age in which he lived: forming an History of the Stage during almost the whole of the last Century: and a chronological List of all the Parts played by him. 8vo. pp. 44. THE appearance of this volume a litsurprises us, as we perfectly well reember to have read, about five years o, two octavo volumes of memoirs of is dramatic Nestor, compiled from his en papers and memorandums, by Mr. irkman, of Lincoln's inn. That work, the present, contains Macklin's criisms on, and characters and anecdotes Betterton, Booth, Wilks, Cibber, mick, Mossop, Sheridan, Foote, Quin, try, &c. &c. We have not compared two works, but from recollection we inclined to believe that Mr. Kirka's biographical narrative is more relar and connected than the present, d contains moreover several original ters from Macklin to his children. ose letters did infinite honour to icklin as a father and a husband: senle of his own indiscretions, but good bottom, his instructions and advice aced the warmest solicitude for the pectability, the strict integrity, and our, of his children. Only one letter, d that of no interest, is introduced e. Our present memorialist also has en guilty of an unpardonable omission not even alluding, in the remotest inner, to the most prominent and ununate incident in the whole life of acklin, namely, that he "was indicted the wilful murder of Thomas Halm, by thrusting a stick into his left eye, ad thereby giving him a mortal wound the breadth of a quarter of an inch, ad depth of one inch and a half, May he 10th, 1735, of which wound he lanuished till the next day, and then died." This was the unhappy effect of Mack lin's violent and passionate temper: it was committed in a momentary fit of anger, without premeditation or malice, and the jury very properly brought in a verdict of manslaughter. The compliment, too, paid by lord Mansfield to Macklin, when the latter convicted Messrs. Clarke, James, Leigh, and others, of a conspiracy and riot at the theatre, is omitted in these Memoirs. The defendants, it appeared, had, with the most malevolent and unprovoked intentions, meditated the utter ruin of poor Macklin : he convicted them in the court of King's Bench, extended his mercy towards the fallen culprits, and exempli fied throughout the business such spirit, generosity, and general good feeling, that lord Mansfield complimented him in open court: "Mr. Macklin, you have met with great applause to-day; you never acted better." If the volume before us is, in some respects, deficient of matter which Mr. Kirkman justly thought worthy of introduction, it is on the other hand free from a great deal of very tedious and dull detail which is there given of theatrical broils, the petty-fogging intrigues of managers, and the jealousies of actors and actresses. This volume is written with a good deal of spirit, abounds with anecdote, theatrical criticism, characters, &c. and is altogether exceedingly amusing. If we consider it, also, as affording an historical sketch of the stage during the lapse of a century, it is entitled to rank higher than a work of mere amusement. ART. VII. An Account of the Life of James Beattie, LL. D. Professor of Mural 8vo. pp. 240. student of divinity. In 1758 he got elected to the grammar-school at Aberdeen, probably through the interest of lord Gardenstone, who early distinguish ed the assiduity and acquirements of Beattie. His poems, many of which had appeared singly in Scotch maga zines, were first collected in 1761, and published by subscription: but the advertisement announcing the collection had appeared in 1760, and had been handed through lord Gardenstone to 1803. government, with strong recommenda- at Aberdeen on the 18th of August, tions of the author as an object of patronage. Similar solicitations had been made in behalf of a Mr. Skene. Two vacancies occurring at once in the professorships at Aberdeen, two patents came down at once filled up alike, the one appointing Mr. Beattie, and the other appointing Mr. Skene, to be professor of philosophy. This vague word would do for either chair,—the lecture ship on natural and civil philosophy and history, or the lectureship on moral philosophy and logic. The gentlemen were both universal geniuses, adapted for either department; but both preferred the latter, as it was a course more in vogue, and therefore more profitable. They drew lots for the place; and Beattie became professor of moral philosophy. There is a passage which we must quote, because we cannot decypher. "Mr. Beattie had the honour of seeing him (Mr. Ferguson) in Aberdeen, in the month of October, 1766. For he then married Miss Catharine Burnet, daughter of Mr. James Burnet, merchant there, who was nearly related to Dr. Joseph Black." Whether this paragraph narrates the marriage of Mr. Beattie, or of Mr. Fer guson, we cannot guess. In 1770 a degree, granted by King's College, transformed Mr. into Dr. Beattie. About this period his prose works appeared successively. Dr. Beattie survived two promising sons, and died Dr. Beattie's reputation is on the wane: it was artificially heightened in order to obtain and to justify the patronage of majesty. Of his poems the Minstrel is the best; it is harmonious, but it wants incident and drift: the author loiters in endless description, and laments in common-place sentences, so as to excite in his readers an action between a yawn and a sigh. His prose is feebler than his poetry: the style is clear; but it is the clearness of stagnation, through which one discovers a muddiness of thought at bottom. The theory of language, particularly the chapter on prosody, retains some hold, if not some claim on attention. But we are forgetting, over Dr. Beat tie, his biographer, who has performed his monumental task very much at length, and hopes to make a giant of his hero, by causing him to overspread in his death fourteen sheets of letter-press. Of Scotch schools, Scotch colleges, and Scotch celebrity, copious accounts are interspersed; and if one is not very anxious for the principal character, at least one does not hear much about him. The criticism at page 215 is a profanation of the ashes of Burns: to put Beattie in competition with a poet of that rank, is to compare the millener's paper geraniums with nature's mountain daisy. ART. VIII. Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Correspondence, of Sir William Jona, By Lord TEIGNMOUTH. 4to. pp. 531. OF the literary characters which have adorned the present age, it would not be easy, perhaps, to produce a single one so generally accomplished and universally estimable as the late sir William Jones. To a vigour of intellectual faculties that has scarcely ever been surpassed, he joined the elegance of cultivated life, together with a manly independent spirit, and a heart open to all the social affections. His writings, in an almost unprecedented degree, unite profound and recondite literature with fine taste and a lively imagination; and while no man was ever more awake to subjects of learned curiosity, he devoted his most serious attention to the discharge of his professional duties. The memoirs of such a person cannot but be highly interesting; and the task of giving them to the public has happily been undertaken by one, whose intimacy with the deceased afforded him every opportunity of accurate information, while his very respectable character and elevated rank are a warrant for the truth of his repre sentations, and the propriety of his sentiments. Lord Teignmouth has adopted that mode of biographical composition, con sisting of narrative interspersed with letters, which has been sanctioned by v lous late examples. Of this mixed mode we have given our opinion at some length in our account of Mr. Hayley's Life of Cowper (Ann. Rev. vol. ii. 457), and we shall not here repeat it. Whatever be its defects, we are sensible that it is capable of producing a deservedly popu lar work. |