Retrofpe£l of Domejiic Literature. — Biography. 



ao5 



as theyderominaie thetnfelves. We can- 

 not complimenc him either on the perlpi- 

 cuity or ihe concmlive nature ot his argu- 

 ments. The pnftic^ has found abetter 

 advucate, in the fanne brief and popular 

 fty'e, in the arionymous author of " Ex- 

 fofiticns on the Coiv-Pock and on the Small 

 Pox,'''' in which feveral miftaken points 

 are reffificd, and in which there is much 

 clear and fatisfa^lory reafonlng, addrefled 

 to the minds ot parents, with a fpirit of 

 mild benevolence, that does honour to the 

 writer. 



The vaccine preventive, however, has 

 inet with its arch-enemy in Dr. Rowley; 

 who, with a difpofition worthy of the 

 Brodums and Solomons of the age, has 

 exhibited the title-page of his pamphlet in 

 ^very corner of the metropolis, where a 

 dead wall or adeferted houle afforded him 

 the opportunity. He calculated, no 

 doubt, like thul'e modelt gentlemen, that 

 the increaie of his practice m the (mall- 

 pox, which would hence accrue, would 

 compenfate for the great ex| ence of this 

 inode of ativertifement. He acknowitdges 

 his belief that the greater porinn of inan- 

 Icind are pofTelTed ot an ample fhare of ig- 

 norance and credulity ; and the principal 

 objeft ot his pamphlet appears to be to 

 take advantage of thefe prevailing quali- 

 ties, in Older, firff, to recommtnd the re. 

 introdudion of variolous inoculation, and 

 fecondly, to intimate that he is ()oflclTi.d 

 of a peculiar, " certain, experienced, and 

 fuccelsful me-hod" of treating that dif- 

 eails. We cannot julily characterize this 

 pamphlet, without employing fnch tciins, 

 exprcfTive of our contempt, difapproba- 

 tion, and difguft, as would lavo'.ir too 

 ftrongly of tiiat vulgarity and acrimony 

 with which it is itfcif replete. We aie 

 fatisfied, however, that among the intel- 

 ligent part of the community it has pro. 

 duccd an effeft almoft the reveile of that 

 which the author intended ; and that the 

 number of ihe ignorai t and Ciedulons, 

 whom he hiped to delude and mske con- 

 verts to his tenets, is conliderably lefs 

 than he anticipated. Dr. Rowley has al- 

 ready received fome anlwcrs, erp.;cially 

 fromDr.il. FraCer, and a writer who de- 

 fi^na'es himielf by the title of Aculeus. 

 The latler ha» replied in a vein of iiony ; 

 purpofcly, he inlurnts us, avoiding all ar- 

 gument, as an article in which Dr. Row- 

 ley doe» not ul'ually deal. Upm the 

 whole, his " Letters''' are difTnlt: and fee- 

 ble in ftylc, and his irony is lelilpni veiy 

 acutely pointei. Theirf)ly of Dr. Fra- 

 fcr, ill his halty and rather crude pam- 

 phlet, aims a vcty ineti'c6^U'il blow at the 



oppofition of Dr. Rowley. Some other 

 writers on both fides of the queftion have 

 alfo appeared, but they have excited lels 

 attention than thofe which we have enu- 

 merated. The belt anfwer to the antago- 

 nifts of the praflice confifts in a refuta- 

 tion of their pretended faffs, which in fe- 

 veral inftances has been fully accom- 

 plilhed. 



BIOGRAPHY. 



Among the principal of the biographi- 

 cal works, we notice Mr. Cooke's " Me~ 

 moirs of Satnucl Foote, Efq. With a Col- 

 leilion of his genuine Bon Mots, Anecdotes, 

 Opinions, iSjc. Tnojily original; and three 

 of his dramatic Pieces not puhlijhed in his 

 Works.'' The Memoirs are written in z. 

 pleafing, intercfting manner, and certain- 

 ly fupply a chafm in our literary ami thea- 

 trical hilfory which never was fo well filled 

 up before. Foote's life, trom beginning 

 to end, was a tiffue ot adventure : he ap- 

 pears to have been always thoughtlefs in 

 the extreme. H.ivingwalted two fortunes, 

 and been lucky enough to receive a third, 

 he only wrote this mot'o on his carriage, 

 " Iterum, iterum, iterunique" Of a vo- 

 latile diiJDolition, he appears rarely ta 

 have troubled himielf with deep reflec» 

 tion ; but merely feeking what W3S ridi- 

 culous in each man's chirafler, whom he 

 deemed of lufEcient confequencs, he held 

 it forth, very iVeqiieiitly upon the fiage, 

 and made it fnpply thole deficiencies 

 which unlimited expence occ^fi ned to hi» 

 income. How far the Memoirs sf luch 

 a man are calculated for entertainment 

 miy be eafily dil'covered. Many of the 

 bon tnots and anecdotes are entirely new ; 

 and the editor may chiim fome merit in 

 having fupprefTed a few which would pro- 

 bably have been no honour to ihe publi. 

 cation j (epfiiile that what the hilarity of 

 focial life is back'A-ard to endure, ought 

 never to be obtruded on the public in a 

 piinted form. The title of the firit vo- 

 lume is embellilhed with an e;eg3nt por- 

 trait of Fooic, fr. m an original picture. 



The " Public Char alters of 1 5:05-6" 

 are written much in the fime ftyle with 

 thofe of former volumes. In the preCent 

 the memoir of Mr. Abbot, the S()eiker 

 of the Hou'e of Commons, is one of the 

 moft i. tcrcfting. Such of our readers as 

 are of an amatory turn will probably he 

 plealed with that of Mi . Jolcph Pdflcy, 

 the Greina-Green Paribn. 



" Blographia Scotica, or Scottijb Bio- 

 graphical Di^liwary ; containing a Jbori 

 Account of the Lives and Writings of the 

 tnnft eminent Peifons and remarkable Cha- 

 racJers, Natives of Scotland, from the 

 earticfi 



