cers, to fufpend the courts of juftice, and then,-at the clofe of the Seffion,-condefcended at laft to read the terms held out. No change, no modification, was propofed in them, but they were crudely rejected in the terms of difrefpe&t and infolence and rancour, we have already cited.

But this is not all, men who petition in earneft for redress, will wait the event of their Petitions. The laft Petition, addreffed to the King, was drawn up in the month of Auguft, and prefented to the King in the month of September 1775. In the fame month of Auguft, before their Petition had reached the Throne, a boat belonging to the Afia was burnt at New York; two fhips were feized by veffels fitted out in South Carolina. Before they could hear how their Pe tition had been received, St John's was attacked, Montreal attempted, Canada invaded by Arnold, commiffions iffued by Washington to cruize on the fhips of Great Britain, as against a foreign enemy; Courts of Admiralty appointed to try and condemn them as lawful captures.

Can any man after this entertain a doubt whether they were determined on independence? Had an Angel defcended from Heaven with terms of accommodation, which offered lefs than independence, they would have driven him back with hoftile fcorn.'

Our Readers have now feen that this Author is no common pamphleteer, or political Hack; but a refpectable, fpirited, and able advocate for the caufe, in fupport of which he has drawn his pen. His performance is, unquestionably, one of the most elaborate pieces that the Public hath lately feen, on the fubject of American Controverfy; and we do not expect a more complete or more decifive Answer to the famous Declaration which hath given birth to it. The great question, however, of external taxation (the main object of the Colonies) ftill remains, in our opinion, for a more fatisfactory difcuffion; notwithstanding all that has been urged, by the prefent ingenious Writer, with regard to ufage, and the acquiefcence of the Americans, in the infant ftate of their fettlements: fee Art. XVII. with the Anfwer; which we were tempted to extract, but our limits are too narrow.

At the clofe of this work, the Author has given a comprehenfive review of the general difpute; and here he attacks the Preamble to the American Declaration, exploding the theory of Government which the Congrefs feem defirous of introducing. He concludes, that in the tenets which they have advanced, they have outdone the utmoft extravagance of all former fanatics' even the German Anabaptifts,'-and have put the axe to the root of all Government.'

He finally takes leave of his Readers, with a repetition of his hope,' that we fhall now unite as one man, and acquiefce in the neceffity of fubmitting to whatever burdens, of making whatever efforts may be neceffary, to bring this ungrateful and

rebellious

rebellious people back to that allegiance they have long had it in contemplation to renounce, and have now at laft fo daringly

renounced.'

ART. VII. The Works of Andrew Marvell, Efq; Poetical, Controverfial, and Political. Containing many original Letters, Poems, and Tracts, never before printed. With a new Life of the Author, by Capt. Edward Thompfon. 4to. 3 Vols. 31. 3 s. Boards. Becket, &c.

WE

1776.

E are very glad to fee fo handfome an edition of the works of fo refpectable a WRITER, and fo excellent a MAN, as Andrew Marvell; the affectionate friend of Milton, the ardent lover of his country, and the undaunted champion of the common rights of mankind.

Of the Editor's motives for undertaking this work, and of the affiftance which he has received, in order to its completion, the following account is given in the preface:

I have ventured, fays Mr. Thompfon, to give the excellent compofitions of this great and exalted character, because they have never been given to the world but in a mutilated and an imperfect ftate. His political and controverfial works were never yet collected. The late Mr. Thomas Hollis, of honourable memory, had once a defign of making a collection of his compofitions, and advertisements were published for that purpose.'

Our Editor proceeds to inform us, that all the manufcripts and scarce tracts collected for Mr. Hollis's intended edition, have fallen into his hands; and that the additional Letters on the bufinefs of Parliament (which Mr. Marvell addreffed to his conftituents, the corporation of Hull, in a courfe of 18 years correfpondence) gave him fresh encouragement to perfevere in an undertaking, to which he had been first prompted by his early respect and veneration for the Author's memory *.-These letters were found in the poffeffion of the corporation; by whose permiffion Capt. Thompson tranfcribed them; and they are given to the Public, in the first of thefe volumes: they amount, in number, to 256.

After the death of Mr. Hollis (whofe lofs is much lamented by the best friends to the liberties of this country) our Editor fays, he was favoured, by his fucceffor, with many anecdotes, manufcripts, and fcarce compofitions of our Author,' fuch as Mr. Thompson was unable to procure any where else;' and by the attention and friendship of Mr. Thomas Raikes, he has

Mr. Thompson, it feems, is a native of the place which had the honour of being fo long reprefented by Mr. Marvell.

• been

been put in poffeffion of a volume of Mr. Marvell's poems, fome written with his own hand, and the rest copied by his order. This valuable acquifition was many years in the care of Mr. Robert Nettleton; which ferves now (in his own words) to detect the theft and ignorance of fome writers.'-And here our Editor (on the authority of the above mentioned MS. volume, and in virtue of Mr. Nettleton's remark) proceeds to reclaim, in behalf of Marvell's poetical fame, certain admired pieces of poetry, which have been given to other authors. The firft of thefe is the celebrated hymn originally printed in No. 453 of the Spectator,

When all thy mercies, O! my God,

My rifing foul furveys, &c.

This hymn being found in the aforefaid book, our Editor fcruples not to affert Mr. Marvell's property in it, as being its real author; but we do not apprehend the circumftance to be of fufficient weight to juftify this claim. The internal evidence, we think, is ftrongly against it: the modern air and polish of the verfes, plainly fpeak a later pen than that of Marvell.-Mr. Thompfon, however, does not charge the Spectator with any literary felony on this occafion: he only fays, with decency enough, How thefe [the verfes] came to Mr. Addifon's hands, I cannot explain; but by his words' [fee his prefatory introduction to the poem] they feem to be remitted by correfpondents, and might perhaps come from the relations of Marvell,'

.

The next piece here brought into queftion, is a tranflation of the 114th pfalm, which is given in the Spectator, No. 461, by Mr. Tickell (not Tickle, as our Editor writes it) who, fays Capt. T. apologifes as a correfpondent, compliments the Spectator on his former hymns, and then fays he has a mind to try his hand; and as the 114th pfalm appears to be an admirable ode, he will try to turn it into our language.'-' Whether this is Mr. Tickle's or not,' fays our Editor, it is very extraor dinary that he should take fo much pains to hide his theft,' &c. Without infifting on the inaccuracy of this obfervation, which may be merely a flip of the pen, we would only, in friendly fort, remind Capt. T. of the incivility which he has fhewn to the memory of Mr. Tickell, at the fame time that he has, poffibly, been attempting to rob him of his juftly acquired fame. For, after all that our Editor has faid, with respect to Marvell's claim to the Spectator's verfion of the 114th pfalm †, we apprehend that the internal teftimony is here, also,

+ And which, now, appears to have been the late Dr. Watts's property, from its being printed as fuch in the Doctor's celebrated book of the Pfalms, as fung in the Diffenting congregations.

as

as well as in the former cafe, totally against him; and amply fufficient to overthrow all his prefumptive evidence, drawn merely from the circumftance of a tranfcript, made by no one knows who, nor from what original.

A third poetical prize here contended for, is the beautiful ode in No. 465 of the Spectator, beginning with

The fpacious firmament on high

This piece is here, likewife, reprinted, as Marvell's, on the fame authority on which our Editor founds his Author's claim to the hymn and the pfalm abovementioned; and which we beg leave to reftore to Mr. Addifon, on the fame grounds on which we ventured to diffent from Capt. T.'s opinion, with refpect to the other difputed articles.

A fourth poetical performance here afcribed to Andrew Marvell, in oppofition to the hitherto allowed claims of other writers, is the celebrated ballad of WILLIAM and MARGARET, which the late Mr. Mallet has given to the world, as the production of his mufe. This manufcript book, fays our Editor, proves it (the ballad) the compofition of Marvell, written by him in 1670.' He adds, I am forry this truth did not appesr fooner, that the Scots bard might have tried to defend himself; but now the jack-daw must be ftripped of his ftolen plumage, and the fine feathers must be restored to the real peacock. We are forry, too, that Mr. Mallet is not living to vindicate his claim to this beautiful piece of poetry, if his claim were juft which, we acknowledge, is, with us, a matter of fome doubt. Poffibly Capt. T. is right in afferting Marvell's property in it; but, be that as it may, we think his zeal for his Author has hurried him too far, in thus infulting the memory of fo refpectable a writer as Mallet; efpecially in a matter wherein, after all that has been faid on the fubject, there is a poffibility that he may, one day, be found mistaken. We cannot allow the manufcript to be an inconteftible authority, except with relation to fuch poems as can be proved to have been written by Marvell's own hand.

A number of other poems, from the manufcript, are introduced in our Editor's prefatory difcourfe; fome of which have great merit; and all partake, moft undoubtedly, of the genuine fpirit of this witty Writer.

Our Editor, in the courfe of his preface, has the following obfervations refpecting his admired Author:

I have now moft carefully, rendered to the Public every valuable paper written by this illuftrious patriot, and with as much accuracy as poffible; and, as I mean the work to be a teftimony of respect to the Author, I hope it will be found and allowed, that I have fpared no expence in making it, in fome

fmall

fmall degree, equal to his merits; though his compofitions unadorned, are the best obelisks of his virtues: and fince it hath been of late a kind of wicked fashion to decry the pureft compofitions of our nobleft authors, to vainly render patriotifm ridiculous, by attempting to laugh all patriot virtue out of countenance; yet I truft, in the character of Mr. Marvell there will be difcovered fuch proofs to the contrary, that the very Dalrymple, who hath attempted to traduce the glorious names of Sydney and Ruffel, will fail in any malignant efforts to blacken fo fair a page of character; and that one man, even with him, fhall be found to be proof against all bribery and corruption; and that no place in the gift of a king, nor any money in the treasury, could warp his mind to defert his religion when attacked by Papifts, or feduce him to abandon the poft of a faithful and watchful centinel in the hour of ruin and danger.Dalrymple's papers I have ever regarded with horror and detef tation, and attribute their exiftence to that vindictive fpirit expreffed in their national motto, nemo me impune, &c. a maxim fitter for the Indians of Chili and Peru, than of any Chriftian ftate.

One of my firft and strongest reafons for publishing the works of Marvell, was the pleafing hopes of adding a number of ftrenuous and fincere friends to our conftitution; but alas! what is to be expected in this degenerate age, when arbitrary power, by her baneful engines of venality and corruption, is daily putting a check to every notion of rational and manly liberty!

The (late) Rev. Dr. Granger in his excellent Bigraphical Hiftory of England, fpeaks thus of Marvell's character." A. Marvell was an admirable master of ridicule, which he exerted with great freedom in the caufe of liberty and virtue. He never refpected vice for being dignified, and dared to attack it wherever he found it, although on the throne itself. There never was a more honest satirift. He hated corruption more than he dreaded poverty; and was fo far from being venal, that he could not be bribed by the King into filence, when he scarce knew how to procure a dinner *

The first of these volumes contains, befide the Editor's extenfive and mifcellaneous preface, of 57 pages, the large collection of Marvell's letters to the corporation of Hull, in which are many curious anecdotes relative to parliamentary proceedings; familiar epiftles from Marvell to his friends, among which is

An anecdote, explanatory of this paffage, is given in the life of the Author, printed at the end of the third volume. It is fo generally known, that we thought it needlefs to infert it.

a moft