members thereof, in decline of life, are infufficient for that purpofe, and even the Provident Society, which, in this letterwriter's opinion, is founded upon the moft rational plan of any, if they comply with their terms now propofed, will not, with their whole fund, be able to provide for more than eleven years, which is, till fuch of their members, as shall be still living, have attained the age of 61 years; at which time their whole investments will be all funk, and there will remain 222 out of 445 of their members ftill living and unprovided for at 62 years of age. The arguments advanced by the author, in fupport of this, and indeed every other affertion of any confequence throughout the whole performance, are, in our opinion, very far from being fatisfactory, as will appear by the following extract, relating to the impropriety of admitting to fubfcribe for more than one fhare on each life. "For as any given life, fays our author, with more fhares than one has an equal chance of living with the one fhare life; it may happen, that in lieu of a certain number, according to the courfe of nature falling, the chance may turn on the fingle fhares and the others fubfift; it has not only this inconveniency that attends it, but another, which is the decreafing the number of lives, and by that means decreafing the number of chances; for as by the rules of the fociety any life may be nominated, the nominee fixing his own for one, has a much greater certainty on the other three, than on one life, in the proportion of two out of four, and the fociety is benefited by the increafed number of chances, in the proportion of four to one; to explain this, a life of 40, has an equal chance of living to 62, and at that age has another equal chance of obtaining years longer annuity, at which age of 73, he may ftill hope to fee 79, and has then a chance to reach 33. Now, as I obferved before, the chance on any one given life is equal, and of courfe contrary to the intereft of the fociety, to benefit the faid life more than its proper proportion; and the fubscriber, by fixing on three other nominees, has for himself a much better chance in the proportion, as an annuity of four lives has never been difputed to be of much greater value than one, the whole benefit of this fociety to its members, depending on the just diftributions of its fhares ; for in that cafe fomething near an exact calculation may be made but to explain this ftill further, fuppofe that only 225 fhould be fingle-fhare members, and the remaining 220 fhares fhould be held by 55 members, no perfon acquainted with the chances of lives would fay, that it was of equal benefit to the fociety, to be compofed of 280, or 445 members, though their fubfcriptions would amount to equally the fame; for each of the 55 have the fame chance as each of the 225 of attaining 83, and the proportion in favour of the fourfhare members is as 225 to 55. Was the value of each fubfcribing life calculated, and depended on itself, then it could not be of any confequence to the fociety if the annuity was eighty or twenty pounds; but as the whole depends on equal chances, an denominations, ufed to take refuge and find concealment, if not protection, amongst the Morifcos; and that thofe Mahometans, though long fubdued, ftill looked upon themselves as lawful mafters of the whole country, and would in confequence of that perfuafion, co-operate openly or fecretly with the French, the English, the Africans, and with every enemy to Spain, and thus keep it in inceffant difquiet, fufpicion, and alarm. Confidering only this with impartiality, can we really blame that edict, which only drove them to their original country? Nay more, can we forbear to praise the Spaniards for their great moderation in only banishing the Moriscos. It is true that by acting as they did, the Spaniards de prived themselves of a vaft number of artists, husbandmen, and foldiers. But ftill they acted as the governor of a citadel would do, who believed a part of his garrifon refolved to revolt and fide with his befiegers the moment they should come to a general affault. I muft, fays the governor, either drive thefe traytors out of these walls, or put them all to death, or perish myself. If I put them to death, the world will tax me with cruelty; and if I drive them out, they will augment the army without. Brother-foldiers, what must I do? Let us not embrue our hands in fo much blood-but they are traytors, and we must get rid of them. They will go and encrease the army of our enemies and leave our garrifon incomplete; but thofe that remain will act with unanimity: We shall then have only our enemies to fear: we lofe numbers, but we get ftrength. This in all probability was the reafoning of Philip and his council when the expulfion of the Morifcos was refolved upon. One of the two great evils was to be fuffered, and the leaft was chofen. Why they are to be called barbarous for it, is beyond my comprehenfion.' In this quotation there is a ftrange mixture of modefty, confidence, and gloomy politics, deteftable to every fon of Britain. After the moft cavalier treatment of Voltaire, and all the philofophers of the age, the diffident, timorous gentleman is afraid to offer a fyllable in defence of this violent measure of Philip III.-It is very probable, that the Moors hated the Spanish government; but it is likewife very probable, that this hatred proceeded from the bigotted tyranny of their maf ters to people of a different nation, and a different religion. Had the Moors been treated by the Spaniards as men, their Equals, ought to have been treated, we may almost infallibly pronounce that they would have proved good fubjects of thes Spanish monarchy. Human nature is not fo bad as Mr. Baretti feems to think it; though inconfiftently with that opinion, he declares himself to be no morofe philofopher. Ufe 47. A Practical Treatife on Brewing: Containing various Inftructions and Precautions, &c. zd Edit. By William Reddington, late of Windfor, Brewer. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Richardfon and Urquhart Though the Reviewers are perfectly fkilled in the difference between good and bad beer, as far as fuch knowledge can be obtained from tafting it, yet are they most thoroughly unac→ quainted with the methods of preparing that friendly liquor. All books that treat of the noble and useful sciences of eating and drinking, are fure to draw mortifying confeffions of ignorance from our pens; and we heartily with, that the publishers of fuch works would furnish us with opportunities of seeing the experiments tried which they fo confidently recommend, before our Monthly Court of Criticism is obliged to pronounce fentence upon them. The knowledge which we have derived from Apicius, Juvenal, and Horace, can by no means be applied to modern cookery. The ancients were alike ignorant of the rapture arifing from the embrace of a foaming pot of porter, and a bowl of aromatic punch; of the happy repletion caused by turtle, well seasoned with Cayenne, and the speedy digeftion of barbicue thoroughly impregnated with Madeira. To conclude, we indeed, have not even experience fufficient to difcover whether the beer we drink derives its intoxicating quality from Coculus Indicus, or potent Malt; and must, therefore, leave this treatife to ftand or fall by its own merits or demerits, among those who are no ftrangers to the quality of fuch ingredients as we must blindly fwallow; obferving, at the fame time, that this work may be of fervice to the public, even after a perufal of the more regular and compendious performance of the late ingenious Mr. Combrune, CORRESPONDENCE. An author, who figns himself A YOUNG MAN, has lately addreffed a letter to us in the St. James's Chronicle; and very angry he seems to be that we forebore to quote any of his verses in our Review for January last. We really were of opinion, that good advice would prove more falutary to him, as well as more convenient for his reputation, than any fpecimen we could have produced from his works. We likewife believe him to bę mafter of fome more beneficial trade than that of fcribbling poetry invita Minerva; and make it our conftant rule never to encourage thofe, who feem to have no talents adequate to the execution of that which their vanity too often urges them to una dertake. I nunc, et verfus tecum meditare canoros, with the particular notice which we have taken of this part of Mr. Baretti's book. It is prefumption to defend, however indirectly, upon British ground, in the land of liberty, and generofity, fuch counfels as have been agitated in the cabinet of pope Alexander VI. or king Philip III. Thefe ftrictures are not the refult of a defire to reprehend, but of our love of truth, and the indefeafible privileges of man. A great part of this fecond volume deferves the attention of the reader. His account of cardinal Acciaioli; his anecdotes of figniora Merofio; and his description of Toledo, Aranjuez, and Madrid, are fenfible and entertaining. His hints to those who may travel from Lisbon to Madrid, are judicous and ufeful. We fhall difmifs this fecond volume with a curious extract from his XLIXth Letter on the Spanish Improvvisatori, or extempore poets. Defiring to reach Toledo betimes, I rofe long before the fun but as my people were not ready, I went part of the way a-foot, taking a lad of the pofada to fhow it me. The weather was delightfully calm and cool, and the moon could not be brighter. The lad had taken his guitar with him, and played as we went on. Having liftened a while' to his playing, I asked if he could fing; but instead of an answer he gave me a long ftring of Seguedillas or Coplas. The first I took immediately down, and it was thus: A thought fo happily and fo delicately expreffed, made me judge it to be the beginning of fome compofition univerfally known; and I was just going to admire his ingenuity in applying it fo quickly to the prefent circumftance, when he went on without hesitating the tenth part of a minute. Un rato de paffeo Bien de mañana Si la gente no miente Es cofa fana,' This was eafily expreffed likewife, though not fo elegantly as the first; yet it began to ftartle me more than that. He went on too faft for my pencil to follow; and of the many ftanzas that fucceeded, I could only catch this, which was the laft of a confiderable number. La Virgen del Rofario Mi Cavallero Accompañe de paffo Hafta Toledo. • My R 3 He propofes to divide his work into four books, containing as many periods, the British and Roman-British, the Saxon, the Danish and Norman Danish, and the modern. Three of these periods he has already completed; and the first he now prefents to the public. We need not wonder, that, as he Informs us, the History of Manchefter has been a principal object of his attention for many years; when we confider the various materials of which it is compofed, acceffible only to indefatigable diligence, and acute penetration. The reader, as we have already observed, must not expect in this work merely the uninterefting history of a single town. It is enriched with whatever curious particulars can with any propriety be connected with the annals of Manchefter. Whatever ferves to illuftrate the general antiquities of the county, or the kingdom, to mark the polity of our towns, to lay open the causes, and the circumftances, of any momentous events which affect the interefts of Manchester, the author propofes to examine and explain. He intends clearly to fix the position of all the British tribes; and to ascertain the extent of all the Roman provinces in our iland: arduous difcoveries, which have hitherto eluded the fearch of the antiquarian. He will investigate, and he flatters himself he will evince the commencement of our present towns, by tracing them back to the rude ftations of the Britons in the woods. He will elucidate the curious fyftem of polity that was established among the ancient Britons, and their domeftic economy. He attentively marks the progrefs of the Roman genius on the fubjection of the Britons, in planting fortreffes, and conftructing towns to command the country, and in civilizing the natives. The period of our hiftory before the Conqueft, is very interefting and important. It fixes the attention by the quick fucceffion, and active variety of its incidents, and by the decifive greatness of its revolutions. That period fhould be the grand object of modern politicians, for in it our conftitution received its genuine form. That golden æra our author propofes to redeem from obfcurity and error, to unfold the origin and history of the Picts, the Scots, the Saxons, and the Danes, and the momentous hiftory of Arthur and of Alfred. He intends to point out the commencement of counties and hundreds, of townships, and of manors, of parishes, of feudal tenures, and of juries. In perusing this book, the mind of the reader is often agreeably diverted from the minute and jejune labours of the antiquary, by the picturefque defcriptions of the poet, by the judicious and useful obfervations and reflexions of the philofopher. He prefents to the fancy many pleafing pictures of domeftic and rural life, in the happy ages of |