tafk is always painful, but by no means the leaft neceffary, or useful part of criticism. While unborn ages rife, and call you blest. p. 15. l. 346. The untamed forest bowed beneath their toil. p. 17. l. 422. Unbounded deferts unknown charms af fume. p. 18. l. 453. Their uncomb'd locks loofe floating on the wind. p. 56. l. 230. Our innate springs and energies of foul. p. 104. l. 266. The epithets, here marked with italicks, have all the accent on the penultimate, contrary to the practice of the best English authorities. These authorities we are bound to obferve, whilft we employ the language, as we have no American standard. If every one has a right to accent as he pleases, and ufe whatever words are current among his affociates, unknown to good authors, as Noah Webfter and other conceited innovators affert, the language will foon degenerate into a Babylonish dialect, and be fit only for the loweft of the populace. If the reader fhould think thefe remarks on words trifling, let him remember, that a falfe quantity in poetry is as great an offence, as a falfe concord in profe. Or drag the wild beast struggling from his den. p. 11. l. 426. The tame brute fheltered, &c. &c. The green waves blacken, &c. The rank grafs ruftling, &c. p. 60. I. 361. How teems the freb mould, &c. p. 111. l. 357. The broad fun rifen, &c. p. 174. I. 383. And clip his dim orb, &c. p. 184. 1.772. In thefe lines, the emphatick word, in every inftance, is the adjective, contrary to the ufage of the beft writers, and the obthe fubftantive is evidently of vious laws of propriety; because more importance than the epithet. Churchill, in his Rofciad, cenfures this impropriety in the delivery of a player. "To epithets allots emphatick state, « Whilst principal ungrac'd, like lacqueys, wait." Swords turn'd to shares, and war to rural toil, The men, who faved, now cultivate the foil. In no heroick age, fince time began, Appear'd so great the majesty of man. His ardent attachment to his country doubtlefs betrayed the author into this affertion, which is not ftrictly conformable with the truth of hiftory. The foldiers both of Greece and Rome, in the zenith of their republicanifm, were citizens, levied, by the executive, to ferve during the exifting war, and were discharged on its termination. Cincinnatus was fummoned from the plough to be invested with the infignia of a Dictator, which, after having accomplished the wishes of his country, he laid afide, and returned to the plough. Is the majefty of man lefs apparent in this celebrated Roman, than in our general? The obstructed path, beneath the frequent tread, Yields a fmooth chrystal to the flying freed. There is no inftance in English poetry of the accent, in exquifite, being placed, as it is here, on the penultimate. It is always placed on the antepenultimate, as in this line of Dryden, « In jewels set, and exquifitely gay." No cynick bard from licit joys restrains. p. 104. l. 280. There is no fuch word as licit, and we cannot allow the author, refpectable as he is, to coin lanIllicit is an authorized guage. word, and yet, in no degree better than unlawful. Soon would my fong, like fongs of Tirteus old. This is the first time that we ever faw the old martial bard degraded to a diffyllable, and we hope that it will be the laft. A dipthong may be revolved, by diærefis, into two vowels, but a dipthong and a vowel cannot by any fyranefis be contracted into one fyllable. Týdeus may be either a diffyllable, or a triffyllable, but Tyrteus must be the latter, because the penultimate is a dipthong. Tularos, or as the Latins write it Tyrtaus, cannot be lefs than three fyllables, and the fecond fyllable must be long. Having thus reviewed the poetry of this volume, we recommend it to the reader, notwith are common to almost all modern poets, as the work of an apparently good and fenfible man, and true American. It would be abfurd to compare him with the great poets of England, nor would the author himself tolerate fuch grofs flattery. But on the American Parnaffus he makes no mean figure. If he has less fire than Dwight, he has also less fmoke; if he has lefs accuracy than Barlow, he has alfo lefs coldness. His first poem we think his beft; and the comparative inferiority of the others may be reasonably accounted for, by their being compofed in foreign counauthor enjoyed few opportunities tries, where, for many years, the of converfing in his own language. We have endeavoured, in our remarks, to be at once candid and juft, and hope, that, in criticizing the author, we have given no offence to the man, for whofe character and talents we entertain the highest refpect. The volume comprizes nearly 400 octavo pages, is printed on woven paper and with a neat type, and ornamented with a neat engraving of the author, generally esteemed a good likeness. THOUGH the love of money flanding thefe flight faults, which be one of the ftrongeft of human paffions, no eloquence is fo generally interefting, as that which is exerted to obtain relief for the unfortunate, and no fatisfaction fo perfect as that, which results from the remembrance of distress which we have alleviated. The purpose of forming the affociation before which the addrefs of Mr. Gray was delivered, was to relieve fuch as may fuffer by fire, and to ftimulate genius to useful difcoveries, tending to fecure lives and property from destruction by that element." The inftitution is deferving of the patronage which it has liberally received. After an introduction explanatory of the object of the fociety, Mr. G. proceeds to illuftrate the remark, that," from human calamities, however numerous and melancholy, emanate most of our virtues. From War, that patriotifm which devotes a man to death for his country. From Pefilence, the generous fympathy which fees no danger of contagion in watching the fick man's bed. From Famine, that gene rofity which divides the morfel with a tarving friend. From Fire, thofe exertions which, at the risk of life, often fnatch the victim from a burning grave." He then propofes," without repeating, what has been faid on the fubject of benevolence, in the cafe of fire, but ftill keeping in view the object of the day, to take a general but diftin&t view of the mileries of life, of which fire is, indeed, a terrible part." From the catalogue of human calamities, he has elected "External war, internal commotion, famine, peftilence, defpotick rule, national decline, and fire." His reflections on each of thefe are few, but appropriate and interefting. The ftyle is fuited to the fubject; and though it do not, in any instance, rife to the fublime, it is throughout perfpicuous; and is neither fwoln by affectation, nor degraded by meannefs. The punctuation is erroneous. The concluding paragraph was a happy appeal to the fympathy of thofe who heard it. From whom, my refpectable auditors, can this fociety folicit relief for fufferers by fire, more properly than from you; who mourn the lofs of no relation flain in war-who lament no brother fallen by a brother's hand, by internal commotion-who have heard of famine, but never felt it-who for years lent national conftitution and governhave not known peftilence-whofe excelment fecures you from long defpotick rule -whofe country is increafing in wealth and population; but, alas! whose deftiny conftantly calls you to ftruggle with fire. Whatever be your fituation in life, (fo various are its changes,) that, perhaps, what you give liberally to-day, you will, hereafter, joyfully receive; or, if not yourselves, perhaps thofe equally ther, ftill your reward will be great, dear to you, your children; or, if neifor you will find it where the virtuous man always looks for it, in the deed. You will think of it, in your last hour, with delight; and at that interesting period, be affured your God will re member it. The Conflitutionalift; addressed to men of all parties in the United States. By an American. "Towards the prefervation of your government and the permanency of your prefent happy ftate, it is requifite: not only that you difcountenance irregular oppofition to its acknowledged authority; but alfothat you refift, with care, the fpirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretext." WASHINGTON. Philadelphia: Maxwell, 1804. THE object of this little pamphlet is to expofe fome of the wild, political herefies of the prefent day. It is addreffed to "men of all parties," but it is more particularly defigned for the meridian of Pennfylvania, where the whirlwinds of democracy rage without control, and threaten to sweep away in their course every veftige of the republican principle. The author endeavours to elucidate and establish, in this work, the truth of the following pofition that the judicial department of government, in this country, poffeffes the legitimate power of declaring null and unoperative any act of the legiflature, which is contrary to the conftitution. He fupports this doctrine by the authority of judge Tucker, of Virginia, in his learned and elaborate notes on the commentaries of Sir William Blackftone; by the opinion of Mr. Patterson, one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, expreffed in his charge to the jury in the cafe of Dorrance, leffee against Sanborn; by an appeal to the hiftory of other nations; and by ftrong and animated reafoning. In the courfe of this work, the author mentions a curious experiment, which is worthy the attention of politicians. By the firft conftitution of Pennfylvania, a tribunal, denominated the council of errors, was created for the fole purpose of preferving the conftitution. It was the duty of this Vol. 1. No. 11. Rrr to inquire, "whether the conftitution had been preferved inviolate, and whether the executive and legislative branches had performed their duty, as guardians of the people, or exercifed other or greater powers than those, with which they had been conftitutionally invested." This tribunal accordingly undertook, at various times, to fpecify cafes, in which they judged, that the conftitution had been violated. Many of the alleged infringements were perpetrated by legislative acts. But this cenforial tribune did not anfwer the purposes of its inftitution. A temporary dependant body, chofen immediately by the peo ple, with the right to complain, but without the power to reform publick abuses; it was regarded with contempt in proportion to its weaknefs. This experiment demonftrated to the framers of the prefent conftitution of Pennsylvania, the wifdom and neceffity of vefting the power of judging laws as well as offenders, in men, permanent by the tenure of office, and independent of the other branches of government. The Roman cenfor could degrade from the patrician rank any member, whose conduct merited expulfion. In like manner, there ought, in every state, to be a fupreme judicial power, co-ordinate with the other departments of government, invested with authority to blot from the judicial code every unconftitutional act. The author of this pamphlet, fhews the neceffity of fuch a power by the opinions of political writers, and by the experience of hiftory. Wherever the legiflature arrogates to itself the power |