their contraction; and we are rather surprised at Dr. Adair's mentioning it as one of the caufes of their action, fince the fubject has, we apprehend, been often explained. In reality, the expanfile power of the internal air counteracts the weight, as we fee, when it is partially taken off by a cupping glass; or when it is more generally leffened on mountains, or increased, by diving in deep water. Every one who has afcended in balloons, that we have converfed with, complains of no inconveniencies in breathing, from the rarefaction of the air. The late travellers to the fummit of Mount Blanc expressly tell us that they felt no difficulty of refpiration.

In general, however, the Hiftory is properly and correctly detailed. We need not give any regular analysis of the work, fince it will be easily understood of what fubjects it must confift, We shall select a specimen of the author's manner, from what he fays on morbid determination.

I have remarked, §, 48, that as an equal diftribution of the blood to every part of the body is a moft effential cause of health, fo, when in the courfe of circulation, too much or too little blood is tranfmitted by the arteries to any particular organ, many very dangerous difeafes may be produced.

From what has been faid on the fubject of progreffive motion, it may easily be conceived, that when it is too violent, as in fevers, the blood cannot be equally diftributed; hence the great fluthing of the face under violent exercife and high fevers; on the other hand, when progreffive motion is weak, determination must be irregular; an inftance of which we have in dropfical and other cold fwellings.

The proportion of blood fent to each organ does not fo much depend on its bulk, as on its peculiar ftructure, nature, and functions,

Thus the lungs, though not equal in bulk to one-sixth part of the body, circulate as much blood in the fame space of time as all the rest of the body; and baron Haller computes that the brain receives one-third of the whole mafs of humours, though its bulk is only one-eighth of the whole body, It has been already obferved, that the blood does not flow with equal force or velocity to every organ,'

We fhall felect one other short paffage, on account of its utility, and to extend its circulation.

In 1766, when I refided at Andover, feveral of Sutton's pupils inoculated in that neighbourhood. Soon after feveral patients, chiefly women, applied to me.

Their complaints feemed in general to be complicated with hysterical or hypochondriacal symptoms, a few were dropfical and confumptive, Of more than 20 of thefe patients, feveral died; and in all I could trace their complaints up to the Suttonian inoculation. In 1780, I tranfmitted my obfervations on

that

that fubject to my ingenious friend Dr. Duncan, who published them in the 8th volume of his Medical Commentaries, to which I refer the reader; and fhall juft obferve, that baron Dimfdale, in his diary of the inoculation of the great duke of Ruffia, feems to have abated confiderably of the cooling and repellent regimen.

This opinion is confirmed not only by fir William Watson's experiments at the Foundling Hofpital, but by the fuccessful practice of the late Mr. Clarke, at Caftle-Carey, who, instead of purging, gave his patients a gently fweating medicine every night, till the eruption was compleated; fo that the mode of determining the humours to the fkin, more congenial to the nature of the difeafe, feems to have been fully as fuccefsful with refpect to the immediate iffe, and I believe much fafer with regard to future health.'

The late Dr. Dealtry of York entertained, we find, the fame opinion relating to the injurious effects of Sutton's method.

In the fecond effay Dr. Adair points out very fully and fa tisfactorily the difficulties of attaining medical knowlege. From thefe difficulties, he fhows how inadequate the knowlege and practice of a quack muft be to the relief of any one disease. This part of his work is executed with great judgment, and displays an extensive knowlege of his profeffion A new noftrum has been lately advertised at Bath; the medicine and its preparer are of courfe fubjected to a fevere criticism. We have feen and examined it: we think, with Dr. Adair, respecting its effects alone; but he fhould recollect that it is joined, in the cure of dropfies, with fome pills, to which much of its power is, we believe, owing: we fufpect them to be Bâcher's tonic pills, which we know to be an ufeful and efficacious medicine. The medicine feems to be pure æther, disguised, as Dr. Adair suspects. It is not, we believe, Hoffmann's anodyne liquor, but Frobenius' æther, quite freed from every particle of acid. The facts relating to the anodyne liquor are, that, in reality, Hoffmann gives no account of the preparation; but only alJudes to it, obfcurely, with all the terrors of an alchemist, whilst he exaggerates its virtues with equal enthufiafm, The receipt came into the hands of his difciples, and we fufpect, was firft defcribed more particularly by Schroeder. The recipe was ordered in one of the German difpenfatories, and then copied into the Paris and Lyons Difpenfatory. It is defigned to be introduced into the new edition preparing by our college. It is not, as our author alleges, compofed of rectified spirit of wine and fweet oil of vitriol, but of æther and the oil. The Sweet oil is what comes over by increafing the heat after the diftillation of the æther; and the Lyons Difpenfatory or ders, that, after a certain quantity of æther is diftilled, the

receiver is to be changed, and the anodyne liquor is then allowed to come over. The receiver is changed at the moment the æther begins to be adulterated with the oil; and the diftillation of the anodyne liquor is ftopped when it is too much loaded with it. The Paris, and the New London Dispensatory, direct it to be made extemporaneously, by adding the oil and æther together in proper proportions. We believe that it has never appeared in the Edinburgh Difpenfatory; at least it is not in the feventh edition of 1783, which we fuppofe to be the laft.

We have enlarged a little on this fubject, because Hoffmann's medicine is not understood. We know Mr. Tickell too well to doubt of his care in the preparation; but a fecond diftillation, with cauftic alkali, is all that it requires. Mr. Tickell's abilities are very good; and we can easily excuse an eager mind, if, when warm in any purfuit, it should rife into a little enthusiasm.

Plays, written for a Private Theatre. By William Daries. 8vo. 6s. in Boards. Faulder.

THI

HIS is not an arraignment from the theatre to the world. I have little right to challenge the attention of either. It is the ftill-born offspring of an almost hidden mufe: a work that owes more to nature that tempted, than to art that might have polished.

Something is due to labour, much to obfervation, but little or nothing to the lopping hand of critical skill. This may be wrong as the world judges, it certainly is not right: but, it is out of my power to mend it. What I obferved, made deep impreffion; and this, in due time, has forced itself into the world.'

This is the author's apology in his account of his defign he tells us that he is difgutted with the plays now reprefented. He wishes to draw the attention of an audience from affected refinement to real life; from the contemplation of manners, either ftrained by fashion, or diftant from common appearances, to natural delineations of character, without a studied and artificial feries of adventures. Moliere is his hero and his guide. Mr. Davies ought, however, to have reflected, that each nation has its peculiar manners, and particular favourites. Moliere has been often held up to view as a model; and, in England, has been unfuccefsful. We mean not to depreciate his merit: we know that, in his peculiar line, it is very confiderable he was the favourite of our earlier years, and is ftill our occafional companion; but he is not the favourite of

the

the English ftage. Our audiences are interefted chiefly by complicated fable, peculiar characters, artificial fituations, and glaring colouring. The fimple fable of Moliere is, to us uninterefting; his undiftinguished characters are infipid; and his little jeux de theatre, the amufement of children. Mott of his plays have been tranflated; but they have feldom pleased: an occafional fcene from him has added to the credit of a play. though the whole has feldom been received with eagerness. The Mifer is an exception to his ufual manner, as well as to the character of his plays which we have affigned, and it fucceeds on our stage. The English Tartuffe owed its fame to political circumftances; and its new form, the Hypocrite, to the fkill, of the reprefentatives of Maw-worm and Charlotte. The MockDoctor fcarcely makes us laugh, by the broad humour of its farcical incidents. The English play, written more in the manner of Moliere than any other with which we are acquainted, the Drummer, is now reprefented to empty benches. Perhaps the example of Addison may defend our author in his ill-judged attempt to revive that ftyle, which never was fashionable, and which is not congenial to an English tafte. He answers the objection which may be made, that, in this way, we fink the dignity of comedy by descending too low for our perfonages, with great propriety: in fact, if we represent nothing vulgar or difgufting, it is a fufficient apology to every objection, that it is a true copy from nature. A scene in Goldfmith's Good-natured Man, viz. that of the bailiffs, in the opinion of fome judges, perhaps too faftidious ones, was faid to fink fo low as to difguft. In the play, when read, it has no fuch effect; but it appears to be written in the manner of Mr. Davies' admired dramatist.

The comedies are five in number; their titles are,.. News the Malady, in three acts.-The Mode, in five acts.-The Generous Counterfeit, in five acts.-Better Late than Never, in five acts. The Man of Honour, in five acts.'

It is unneceffary to examine the ftory of each comedy. In general thefe plays may pleafe in the clofet; but for the stage, the plots appear too barren of incident, the characters not fufficiently difplayed in the conduct of the pieces, nor marked with fuch ftriking colours as to be diftinguished in representation. The dialogue is eafy and correct, often animated and pleafing; the characters, in a few inftances, are well coloured, though we fometimes hope that, like fir Roger de Coverly's head on the fign, the features are diftorted fo as defignedly to prevent too close a refemblance. As this is an exception to our general character of the plays, and as fuch colouring is moft fuitable to the genius of our stage, we shall select a fpe

cimen from a fcene of this kind: we prefer it too, because it requires no previous explanation.

"(Handy going, meets Coffin in a hurry.)

Coffin. I perceive he is gone, Mr. Handy-I am a man of no ceremony, you fee; fo returned, when I faw the coaft clear. I am feldom found guilty of being too late.

Handy. So I fee:-and as I faid before, I fancy the business. of an undertaker must be very profitable, to allow Mr. Finis to give me ten pounds by way of prefent.

•Coffin. Confound the fellow ?-ten pounds! (afide) he can very ill afford fuch a premium; he's but a novice in the branch. But a man of my establishment and reputation must not be outdone by a broken-down bungler neither.-There, fir, a fifteen pound note. (giving the note.)

Handy. Sir, this convinces me that you are a gentleman; and you may reft affured, when the breath pops out of the body -meanwhile this money fhall turn to a better account in my hands than yours, mafter Coffin.

Coffin. (alarmed) What, fir! when the breath pops out of the body!What the devil, is your master not dead?

Handy. In cuftom, but not in law.

Coffin. In cuftom, but not in law! fir, I, I don't comprehend this-the news-paper announced him dead.

Handy. Very true; that made him only dead in custom; but I can affure you, Mr. Coffin, that he is not dead in law. Coffin. (impatient). Confound your law and custom too!-I fay is your malter dead? (very loud.)

Handy. Don't be so loud, moderate your heat; I'm not hard of hearing.

Coffin Ca-can any man in my fituation be filent? Sir, is he dead, I fay, or not dead? (louder.)

'Handy. (low) In custom, as I faid before, but not in law; for the phyfical tribe have only three-fourths done him over yet. Coffin. Well, well, (infinuating) that foftens the matter, my good friend-if the faculty have been tampering with him, I may expect him foon.

6

Handy. Yes, yes, the faculty have pronounced him incurable, and have withdrawn their attendance, and voluntarily too; which is fomething fingular, they fhou'd give up the chace, when the fcent lay fo profitable.

Coffin. True, fir, true, 'tis a very taking profeffion; but it does not become me to rail against the faculty neither, for they are fteady promoters of our branch :-for dispatch is the very foul and principle of our trade; and eighteen patients out of twenty they convey over to us, when the pulfe won't yield a fee, as they call it in the way of bufinefs. Well, Mr. Handy, with your leave I'll take your mafter's dimenfions, (Reclufe farts) and prepare for his depofit, as we call it in the way of bufinefs.

• Handy,