in reverie for a few moments, he sat upright again in his chair and exclaimed, as he looked round

"Son! did not somebody say that word? Who is so cruel to say that word before me? Nobody has ever spoken of him to me but once, since his death! Do you know, Sir," said he, fixing his eyes on Count O'Halloran, and laying his cold hand on him" Do you know where he was buried; I ask you, Sir? do you remember how he died?"

While we admire the talent, thus variously displayed, we are more permanently indebted to Miss Edgeworth for her wisdom, concentrated, and neatly packed for use, in laconic remarks, and pointed conclusions; over which, those who read for improvement will pause with solid satisfaction, and, if they brush away the chaff, will carefully preserve these precious grains. Of this nature are the following, which must conclude our numerous extracts.

It is a great inconvenience, a real evil, but an individual cannot alter a custom.' He fancied that he could extricate himself in a moment, and with the slightest effort, and under this persuasion, he neglected to make even that slight effort, and thus continued from hour to hour in voluntary captivity. People are much more apt to repent of having been guided by the judgement of another, than of having followed their own; and this is most likely to be the case with the weakest minds. Strong minds can decide for themselves, not by the opinions, but by the reasons that are laid before them; weak minds are influenced merely by opinions, and never, either before, or after their decision, are firm in abiding by the preponderating reasons. To this end, to this miserable end, must all patriotism come, which is not supported by the seemingly inferior virtues of prudence and economy.'-Russel was absent, the keeper of his conscience, the supporter of his resolution, was not at hand. Wo to him who is not the keeper of his own conscience, the supporter of his own resolution! Those who receive, and those who confer favours, are both in difficult situations; but, the part of the benefactor is the most difficult. Strong emotions of the heart are transient in their power; habits of the temper permanent in their influence.'- Justice is sometimes felt as the greatest possible obligation; especially by those, who have experienced the reverse. Obligations may command gratitude, but can never ensure love.'- Those, who have not traced the causes of family quarrels, would not readily guess from what slight circumstances they originate; they arise more frequently from small defects in temper, than from material faults in character.'-Selfish gratifications may render us incapable of other happiness, but can never, of themselves, make us happy. We can judge better of people by their conduct towards others, than by their manner towards ourselves.'

Should our estimate of the benefits likely to accrue to som ciety from Miss Edgeworth's writings, be inferior to some that have been made, it is obvious that we do not under-rate, either the talent or intention which she discovers.

Few have

entered upon public service more superbly accoutred; and few aim more directly, though (for reasons at which we have already hinted) many more successfully, at moral improvement. With a single exception, Miss Edgeworth appears to be furnished with every important requisite for the task she has undertaken-with a sound and cultivated understandingconstitutional freedom from the diseases of sentiment—a clear, discriminating perception of character, acting with instinctive precision, and stamping, rather than tracing, her animated portraits-assisted by a quick sense of the ridiculous, restrained to temperate exercise. To these, we must add genius; but, whether as a distinct possession, or as the perfection and harmony of all, like pure light produced by combining every variety of colour, we are, happily, not obliged to determine. With these natural advantages, Miss Edgeworth unites a comprehensive fund of general knowledge, and that acquaintance with human nature, in its diversities of character and expression, which results from steady, alert, and varied observation. The tact of her mind, like a finely attenuated web, catches every mote that flies across it; while her judgement, (we do not say spider-like) sits always prepared to select or refuse with expertness and decision."

But among these splendid qualifications originate some of her faults. From the diversity of incident by means of which she illustrates character, passing it in and out through every variety of test, results a degree of excess and entanglement. Her machines are, in general, wheel within wheel, to the no small embarrassment of those who attempt to trace the operation; though certainly every tooth and pin has its use, and tends through a series of movements to the great effect. There is no difficulty which some contrivers will not surmount, except that of contriving neatly but we must not work a watch by a steam engine, even to gain the truest time. In the same way, the healthiness, or, if we may use the expression, the wholesomness of her tone of sentiment, degenerates into occasional dryness; and point becomes manner. Particularly in the canon characters, the Mr. Russels, and Miss Sidneys, who make their appearance, under different names, in many of her tales, there is a short, arid, regular style of virtue and wisdom, which requires a little easing to look like nature. They have the the misfortune, at times, to be deaf and dumb; and have too much the air of glass-case personages to be mistaken for real men and women. This fault has grown up in Miss Edgeworth's sandards from their infancy. We observed it, when they were children at play, in the Parent's Assistant,' and we ob

serve it hanging about them still. In such characters, indeed, as they represent the author's opinions, a degree of sameness may be expected; but, for this reason, greater care should be employed to give them an air of nature; or they will be regarded only as the speaking moral; as invissible oracles, alternately wise and silent.

A more serious charge, and one which we are sorry to alledge, is that of profanity. We cannot realize the act, in a woman, in a lady, certainly not in a Christian, of writing an oath; the distinction between which, and speaking it, is far too nice for us to discern. With the reader, unfortunately, there is no distinction at all. He must either pronounce it unembarrassed, which, would Miss Edgeworth advise?—or make a break in her sentence, and destroy its only beauty, the dashing effect. Why not, therefore, abandon a practice, which, to set against being positively wrong, is only disgustingly natural. Nature could be represented without it; to the best of our recollection, Miss Porter has shewn that it can; and Miss Edgeworth, who ascribes so much to association, should be willing to make any sacrifice, rather than familiarize the ear to the language of vice.

But where there is no reference to Christian principle, the deficiency will of course betray itself; and it is labour lost to destroy the berries of the nightshade, and leave the root. During several years that Miss Edgeworth's writings have been before the public, while its admiration has been liberally paid to the talents they display, a steady, consistent, and by no means solitary complaint, has been made of this radical defect. Not the outcry of a few ignorant enthusiasts, it has prevailed in the most polite and intelligent circles; has been urged by professional critics of different (character and connection; and will pass down to posterity, as the subject of pointed remark and concern, in one of the most elaborate philosophical works of her age*. To all this, Miss Edgeworth cannot be, and to us it is obvious from minute indications in the volumes before us, that she is not, indifferent. Her opinions may unfortunately remain the same; she may not even have taken the trouble to revise them; but it is unpleasant, it is almost startling, to become the object of such general and serious reprehension. A man, an infidel man, might encounter it without blushing; but for a woman to stand unembarrassed, when thus arraigned, requires more masculine courage, than with Miss Edgeworth's good sense, she could wish to avow.

1

For a woman, to whom religion appears a necessary grace, if it were nothing more, whose trials demand it for consolation, and whose characters require the possession of that principle which it is her office first to instil, aud to render, by her 'chaste conversation,' winning and lovely, for a woman, to strike the public eye, and incur public censure, as irreligious, cannot be otherwise than painful, must be felt as derogating from the first character she has to sustain,-the character of sex, to the proprieties of which, talent can offer no indulgence. We perceive, accordingly, a somewhat awkward attempt, in the present volumes, to conciliate conscientious readers. One or two instances have been already noticed, and others might be adduced, in which the words, religion,' 'providence,' and the like, make such an unexpected appearance as we can satisfactorily account for, upon no other principle. But they have too much the air of interpolation and design to produce the desired effect. Some half-dozen qualifying phrases were to be thrown in, but the ingredients are refractory, and will not coalesce. A chance, or a studied word, is no substitute for prevailing principle; and Miss Edgeworth has conceded just enough to be awkward, and too little to satisfy those to whom the concession is made. This, after the first surprise, is the only light in which we can view it; although, we should much rather believe of herself, what she says of Miss Nugent, that she was quite above all double dealing; had no mental reservation, no metaphysical subtleties, but with plain, unsophisticated morality, in good faith, and simple truth, acted as she professed, thought what she said, and was that which she seemed to be.'

Art. II. The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, abridged, from their Commencement, in 1665, to the Year 1800. With Notes and Biographical Illustrations. By Charles Hutton, LL.D. F.R.S. George Shaw, M.D. F.R.S. F.L.S. Richard Pearson, M.D. F.S.A. 18 Vols. 4to. with many Plates. Price 381. 6s. 6d. bds. Baldwin. 1803 1809.

Art. III. History of the Royal Society, from its Institution to the end of the eighteenth century. By Thomas Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. L. & E, Member of the Geological Society, of the Wernerian Society, and of the Imperial Chirurgo-medical Academy of Petersburgh. 4to. pp. vi. 552. xci. Price 21. 2s. bds. Baldwin. 1812.

WE place these two titles at the head of one and the same general account, because the books are intended to constitute together one complete work. In the Abridgement, the mathematical department, (including astronomy, geometry,

optics, mechanics, &c.) and the general editorship, were undertaken by Dr. Hutton; the department of Natural History, including Zoology, Botany, and Mineralogy, was allotted to Dr. Shaw; and that of Medicine, including Anatomy, Chemistry, Physiology, Surgery, &c. to Dr. Pearson. These gentlemen have so arranged their plan, that the subjects and papers are presented in the same order in which they originally appeared. The more important of the dissertations are reprinted in the style and language of the respective authors, with the sole difference of the adoption of the modern instead of the ancient orthography. The less important and valuable papers are, of course, considerably abridged: and when papers occur which have been afterwards re-published, in the works of the authors of such papers, their titles only are given with a reference to the work where the individual article may be found, either in its original or an improved state. The general principle is, that every article shall be noticed; and in this, the present abridgement differs from all that have been previously attemped. The title of every paper is given at the head of the Abridgement, as well as the number, volume, and page, at which it is to be found in the original Transactions: while the running titles at the tops of the pages, show at once the date in which the articles were first published, and the volumes in which they are contained. Such papers as appeared in the Transactions, in foreign languages, are here translated; except in a very few instances, such as anatomical or medical papers of a peculiar nature, where there seemed a propriety in leaving them untouched. To many of the papers which needed elucidation, critical and explanatory notes are attached; and when, as is often the case, the subjects are resumed and better treated in subsequent parts of the Transactions, the corresponding reference is made in a note. Biographical notices accompany the first mention of any principal contributor to the original work;' with a very few exceptions of the more illustrious names, which it was intended should be noticed more fully in a supplementary volume. With each volume of the abridgement are given two tables of contents, one corresponding with the "numbers" as printed, the other according to a scientific classification of the subjects. Copious general indexes are added at the end of the 18th volume.

From this brief account our readers may form some estimate of the nature of the present Abridgement of the Philosophical Transactions. It is just such a representative of that grand national work, as we should imagine every friend to the sciences, of competent means, would wish to possess; and we hope it will soon be deemed a requisite part of the libraries of our colleges, academies, and public institutions. As far as our