RetrofpeSl of Domeftk Literature. — Cmmerce, Trade, l^c. 6o7 



Ariofto. A charafttr (o eiitianrJinary, 

 who continues tointereft us in fpJte of all 

 his weaknedss and faults, was a fit fub- 

 jfft for the pen of Mr. Bofcoe. — How it 

 bas been treated vve (hall fiiew hereafter. 



The Life of Milton the Poet has been 

 fo often wriiten, that we cannot fay we ex- 

 pefled another biographer to arife fo foon, 

 But we are now to read the Life of Mii- 

 ton the Patriot, by Mr. Mortimer. — 

 Surely, it is neither •' laudable ambii ion," 

 or reverence for the poet, t'lat can lead 

 any one, at the preftnt day, todiag again 

 to light thofe circuniftances which not 

 only fully the name, but degrade the cha- 

 racTter of Milton. His defence of the 

 people of England againft Salmafius can 

 never be foigo;ten. 



COMMERCE, TRADE, tcc. 



" Aii/ials of Commerce, ManuffSiures, 

 Tijhenes, and Navigation : mjtih Brief 

 notices 'f the Arts and Sciences csnneBed 

 nvith them," Containing the Commercial 

 Transitions of the BiitiHi Empire and 

 other Countries, from the earlielt Ac- 

 counts to the Meeting of the Union Par- 

 liament in 1801 i by David Macpher- 

 SON. 4 vol. 4to. 1805. 



The woik which is now before us is fo 

 truly viluaWIe, that to give a mere gc. 

 neral charaiSler of it only wcuKi be wrong. 

 Mr. Anderfon, in the early part of his 

 Vfoik, unfor.'unately triifted too much to 

 trsnflators ; and betrayed himfJf, by the 

 neglect of the hilforians cf Greece and 

 I^ome, into innumerable errors and omif- 

 fions. Hence it was necelTary for Mr, 

 Macpber.'bn to compofe the hii^oty of the 

 early ages to the difcovtry of America 

 entirely anew. From this period, how. 

 ever, fo 1760, the hiftory of our com- 

 mercial tranlaflions ftands entirely on the 

 authority of Mr. Anderfon. All his 

 facls, and the moft part of his remarks, 

 have been prelerved ; though fome of 

 them, it is obferved, were diilated by the 

 narrow ij/irited jealoui'y of commerce, 

 wfbich in his time pafled for patriotilin. 

 For at leati half a century preceding the 

 commencement of tiie prelent reign, it 

 will be remembered, Mr. Anderfon was 

 ao original author, relating from his own 

 knowledge and obfcrvation th:; commer- 

 cial tranfaflions of the Britifli empire, 

 with which he had every opp:rtiinity of 

 being well acquainted, and in which he 

 was in fome degree engaged, having been 

 in the fcivlce of the SoiiiJi Sea Company 

 for mors than forty yeirs. Hence we 

 find he is quite at home in the aifurs of 

 of that company, and particulaWy in the 

 very extraotJinary tranfai^iona vf the ycjir 



1720, his accourt of which will ever \rt- 

 confidered as the ftaniard lii(fory ot that 

 noted era of frantic avarice and blind ifl- 

 fatuation. 



For the important and eventful peripd 

 from 1760 to iSoi, Mr. Macpherfon is 

 himfelf entirely refponfible. His mate- 

 rials have been ftleitcd as well from pub- 

 lic as from the moll authentic documents i 

 and he appears to have been encouraged 

 in his labour by thofe who had the bell 

 means of facilitating his refca relies. The 

 pains he has taken have been undoubtedly 

 immenfe; and, with the exception of af- 

 fiftance from Mr. Anderfon's work, they 

 have been entirely his own. He fubraits 

 their produit with a re("pe(5tful Iblicitude 

 to the public, and clainris for his work 

 only this didinflion, that it is npt the me- 

 lancholy recoid of human crimes and hu- 

 man calamities as moft other hiftorical 

 works are, but the animating regi:ler of 

 human induftry and ingenuity. The to- 

 pics ot enquiry it purines, calculated ta 

 excite an intereft with e'very reader, are 

 too many to be enumerated here. One, 

 liowever, we cannot pa s unnoticed : it 

 is the Lo.'vDsroisE, which, if we ex- 

 cept the fiiiK by which our daily fire is 

 kindled, is the molt precious of all fto/ics. 

 The Cecret cf its aitra6\ing iron was, qf 

 coiirle, known for ages j but its polarity 

 was a more recent diicovery. Mr. Mac- 

 pherf.m quotes tie eariieft notice of it 

 from two paffages in the works of French 

 writers of tiie twelfth century : the firft 

 of whom, Guiot of Provins, calls it the 

 vianete, and lays, " thereby the mariner 

 is directed in his courfe.'' From thefe 

 pafi'iges he gathers, that the knowledge 

 of the ccmpafs wa.s at that time only >a> 

 its Infancy, at lealt among the Chrillian* 

 cf Euiope 5 and he has not been able lo- 

 dilcover that it is known either (o the 

 Chiiiefe or the Sar^rens at an earlier date. 

 The difcovery of the compsf*, indeed, 

 and its fiibiequeut imjiroveinents, are 

 treated cf iii the trpe fpirit of acute in.-. 

 veftigritinii. It is jufily confidered by the 

 author as giving birth to a rcvv era in the 

 hiftory of commerce and navigation ; and 

 what he has faid of it may be taken as a 

 good fpecuuen of the genera! eKecutioii 

 ot tile work. We haye only to lament 

 that the price of thefe vohimi.'S, iv.'iich is: 

 ftill however hardly comnienfurite wiih 

 their extent, may deter many who would' 

 like to pciTers them from the purchafe. 



Together with fuch copious -annals we 

 are happy to recommend our readers an- 

 other work, which contains (bme exten- 

 live iniorniatiun «n the pra^iul sondiiion 



