ART. XIV. The Cabinet. By a Society of Gentlemen. Vol. 11. 8vo. 318 pp. 55. March, Norwich; Jordan, London; 1795. OUR UR account of the firft volume of this work may be seen in p. 389. Vol. V. of our Review. The writers have at least the virtue of confiftency, and pursue without deviation, the plan they originally chalked out. This plan is diftinguifhed by an unrelenting animofity against the prefent minifters; a partiality in favour of the French adminiitration, which becomes puerile by its undifcriminating warmth of praife; and a leaning towards Democratic principles, very thinly difguifed beneath an affumed veil of candour and benevolence. Indeed, the prejudices of this publication are fo violent and fo ftrong, urged with fo much enthusiasm, and repeated with fo much zeal, that we could not help being reminded of the country juftice, who defired to hear but one of the parties in a controverfy, leaft his faculties fhould be perplexed, and his judgment difturbed. A very large portion of this volume is occupied by a hiftory of the war; of which we may fay that it is not ill written, but in which fo much is recorded of French, and fo little of British gallantry; fuch encomiums are found on the French, and fuch cenfures on British meatures, that fome of our readers will be inclined to think it fabricated in the of fices of Tallien, and fent here to be tranflated and dispersed. There are but few papers of a mifcellaneous kind; but of thefe it may be faid, without fcruple, that they are by many degrees the belt. There is, however, fome exquifite poetry, from which we have great pleasure in making the following extracts. "MARTILMASSE DAYE*. "It is the day of Martilmaffe, "We can tell what we have seene While the hedge fweete-breere was greene; Who did hide i' th' barley-mow, Waitinge for her love I trowe; Said to be taken from a MS. found in repairing the old Prince's Head in Norwich,. Whofe Whofe apron longer ftringes did lacke, "Nel hath left her wool at home, Before return of Martilmaffe." P. 75. "Yet needlefs were his words to prove "And, oh! believe his Jeffy's breaft ART. XV. An Epitome of Hiftory in a concife View of the most important Revolutions of Events which are recorded in the Hiftories of the principal Empires, Kingdoms, States, and Republics now fubfifting in the World; alfo their Forms of Govern ment; accompanied with fhort Accounts of the different Religions which prevail, their peculiar Doctrines, Cremonies, Worship, Conftitutions, and Ecclefiaftical Government. By John Payne, Author of the Syftem of Geography, and of the Naval, Commercial, and general Hiftory of Great Britain. Defigned for the Youth of both Sexes. Volume II. 536 pp. 75. Johnson, 1795. IN δνο. N our Review for September, 1795, we noticed the preceding volume of this work, and commended the fidelity, diligence, and perfeverance of the author, in extracting from the vaft mafs of European history, fo amufing and inftructive a collection of historical details as that epitome must afford to the rifing generation. In the volume before us we find no reason to alter our opinion either of the author, or his publication; for, in difcuffing the more complex and extenfive events which the wider field of Afia affords, he preferves, throughout his narration, energy and perfpicuity of ftyle; his felections are made with the fame judgment, and his authorities are equally refpectable. Indeed, in the perufal of this volume we have been ftruck with the diligence of research which is every where apparent, and extended to authors and documents of no common occurrence, and fometimes scarcely attainable. Thus, in Mr. Payne's account of the government, religion, and manners of the people of Japan, he derives his information, not from the vague and doubtful narrations of the Jefuits, but from the authentic and elaborate work of Kampfer; his hiftory of the Chinese, alfo, is 'not fervilely and folely copied from Du Halde, and other hackneyed writers, but is taken from the most approved modern authors, compared with the accounts of the miffionaries, as De Guignes, Renaudot, and the Abbé Grofier's modern and valuable publication; that of Tibet, principally from Mr. Turner's recent journal of an embaffy thither during Mr. Haftings's adminif tration, and inferted in the Afiatic Refearches. The selections relative to Hindoltan are from Dr. Robertson, Major Rennel, and other still more recent authors: thofe illuftrative of Perfia, from Sir William Jones's fhort Hiftory of Perfia, the best extant; Egypt and Abyffinia are defcribed after Volney and Bruce; South America, from Robertfon; and North America, from apparently very correct information of his own, obtained on the spot. With fuch guides, the young ftudent may, without danger of delufion, venture upon the otherwife difputable and perilous ground of Afia. As he marks the various viciffitudes attendant on the human race, as well in their national as individual character, he will derive from thofe guides the foundest cepts of prudence, and the moft impreffive leffons of morality. He will learn to check the intemperance of thofe deftructive paffions, unjuft ambition, revenge, and avarice, that alternately fubverted the greatest empires of the eaft, and plunged their vain poffeffors in difgrace and mifery. He will derive caution froin example; and be taught wifdom by the voice of ages haftening rapidly to oblivion. Such is the proper effect which a perufal of the diverfified page of history ought to have upon the juvenile mind; and happy are thofe whofe ftudies are thus at once directed to the improvement of their intellectual powers, and the melioration of the heart. Mr. Payne has judiciously divided the account of each Afiatic empire under various diftinct heads. The ancient and modern history of it, detailed in a fuccinct, connected manner, forms the first head. Under the fecond is difcuffed what relates to its established government and revenues. The third head is devoted to the confideration of the peculiar laws that bind the inhabitants; and the fourth, to an inveftigation of the religious tenets profeffed by them. The hiftorical sections are thofe likely to be the most relifhed by the young ftudent, and from from that of Perfia we thall present our readers with a fpecimen. that may poffibly induce them to confult the work more at large in thofe feafons of leifure which a publication of this nature is fo well calculated to amufe. The extract we give below relates to the celebrated conqueft of Hindoftan by the irrefiftible Nadir, and contains an anecdote or two of that hero not generally known. "The first act of power which the conqueror exercised, was, to monopolize all the corn to be found in that city, upon which he fixed a very advanced price. As the wealth of the richest city in the world was then at his mercy, the inconfiderable profit which fuch a mean trafic could produce, was not likely to occafion fuch an act of oppreffion; and it is much more probable that the true motive was to excite tumults among the poor, who were deprived of the means of fubfiftence by this factitious fcarcity: but, whatever was the cau fuch was the effect of the measure; the populace rofe, and in the first intemperance of their fury killed many Perfians, with fome circumstances of extreme cruelty. Thefe commotions furnished a pretext to the conqueror for permitting a general maffacre and plunder of the city. The carnage continued for feven hours, when the interceffions of the emperor, and his nobles prevailed on Nadir to call off his foldiers. According to Hanway, 110,000 inhabitants perished in this maffacre; and the Perfian hiftorian relates that the enraged foldiery demolished every building by which they paffed. "Whilft Nader continued at Delhi, he caused a filver coin to be ftruck, with which he paid his army; it bore the following infcription: "Nader, the moft fortunate, and the king of kings, is the moft powerful prince upon earth." On the reverfe, “ May God perpetuate his reign." "At the fame time that the royal treasures and wealth were feized, each individual, who was fuppofed to poffefs any property, from the great lords down to the merchants, and even the common people, was obliged to deliver up a large portion of his fortune. In the mida of these exactions, Nafralla, the son of Nader, was married to a daughter of the Mogul emperor; on which occafion the face of joy which appeared, was rather adding infult to the diftreffes which the country felt, than any alleviation of fuch infupportable oppreffions. In less than two months, the Perfian officers had been fo alert in extorting from the Indians their gold, filver, jewels, rich manufactures, and every other fpecies of portable wealth, that the conqueror began to put his army in motion to return home, having previously reinftated Mahommed on the throne of the Mogul empire; for which lenity he obtained a grant of all the territory to the weftward of the Indus. The fpoils which he brought away are fuppofed to amount to about ninety millions of pounds fterling. It is computed that the houfes and goods deftroyed by fire, and the fields that were laid waste, amounted to near twenty crores, or twenty five millions. * We may reckon, upon the whole," fays Hanway," that this Perfian ravager fpoiled the Indians of above 120 millions of pounds; and not less than 200,000 of the natives perished, either in battle, by the 4 maffacre |