SdeSi Communications from various Book-Societies, 665 



Tlie prefent colle6lion contains no lefs 

 than 200 of them ; and therefore, o^" 

 couife, ttiey are of every poffible del'crJiJ- 

 tion, including the Auacrcoiitic, the fu- 

 tirical, the convivial, 6iC. txc. But he 

 appears to excel m the chcmfon anvcdo- 

 tiijve, a fpccies which he has in fonie 

 uiealure created. 



M. de Piis is a member of the legion 

 of honour, and fccreiary-geueral to the 

 prefecture of the police. 



" Ode fur Ics Victories de Napoleon 

 le Grand, Ike." — Ode to tlie Victories of 

 Napoleon the Great, &c. 



This is a collection of congratulatory 

 verfes on the victories achieved by Bo- 

 naparte in Germany, particularly the 

 battle of Aufterlitz. 



" Nouvel Alnianacb des Mufes, pour 

 I'an Grei^orien 1806." — A New Almauac 

 of the Mufes, for the year 1806, accord- 

 ing to the Gregoriuii calculation. 



The French have been accuftomed, 

 for a long time pad, to coIleCt various 

 pieces of light fugitive poetry, and pub- 

 lilh them under the fonn of Almanacs, 

 New Year's Gifts, &c. Among the 

 pieces which form the prefent article, 

 are an ode by P. Lehruii ; another on 

 the recent vi.-fiiries obtained by Bona- 

 parte ; an epiitie to Eugeuius; a ihort 

 poem entitled " Winter, 6zc." 



M. de Huillar, author of a little poein 

 entitled " L'Otnbre d'un Sage," has chofea 

 Plutarch for his hero, and he makes this 

 Greek nhilolopher deliver a lecture on 

 " independfeiicc" in very good French 



"LaNapoleide, Poeine en Six Chants." 

 — The Napoleomad, a Poeni iu Sis Can- 

 tos, by M. do G. 1 vol. 8vo. 



Tliis Frencbinan, writing doubtlefs to 

 pay court to Bonaparte, has here under- 

 taken the very diificult talk of compoliiio- 

 an epic {:oem to his honour. 



6ELECT COMiMUNICAT10Ns/r07« MEMBERS ofvartOUS BOOK-SOCIETIES, 



in REPLY to tin: enquiries of dis. simpson. 

 Vide Monthly Magazine, Vol. 21, p. 489.* 



affords a ftriking example of what may 

 be etfedted by perfeverance, with very 

 fmall means. A few gentlemen, not ex- 

 ceeding ten in the firft inftance, fub- 

 fcribed a guinea each to purcbafe a few- 

 books, which were kept at a llaiioner's 

 Ihop, and delivered out to the members 

 for a limited time, as they applied for 

 tliem, and at t!'e end of the year were 

 Ibid. A tew plain rules were drawn up tor 

 the government of the infant Society, and 

 a fublcnption ot hah-a-crowu a quaiter 

 entered into for its future fupport ; new 

 members paid a fee of half-a-s;uinea at 

 their admiffion, and were entitled to the 

 ufe of all the books then in the poffellioii 

 of the Society. After a few years, as the 

 numbers and refources of the Society in- 

 creafcd, it became a practice to retain 

 the molt valuable works from year to 

 year, and at length to fell only fugiti\e 

 works, the mere cphemeri of the day, or 

 fuch works as having been inadvertently 

 admitted, were f)und not to po(Vcfs fuf 

 ficient merit to be retained ; and as the 

 ■ftock of books incrcafed, the admilfion* 

 fee was alio incrcafed to one guinea. In 

 the year 179',), it being f nmd inconve- 

 nient to keep to conliderable a collection 

 of books, us the Society liad then become 

 poli'elfed of, at a llationer's lliop, and the 

 perfon who had iutherto had the ca:c of 

 tliom declining bufmels, the Societv re 

 fulvcd to rent a room in the houle of 



foiue 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



E\"ERY meafure which tends to pro- 

 mote the acquirement, or increafe 

 the circulation of knowledge, is io truly 

 praifeworthy, and of fuch great public 

 importance, tliat tlie warmeft thanks are 

 due to thofe v. ho undertake, as well as to 

 thofo who encourage the profecution of it. 

 Of all the nieans of dilfeminating know- 

 ledge, none perhaps is more generally 

 ufeful than the eftabliflnnent of Book-So- 

 cieties; and I ijave always thoughc it by 

 no means the iealt valuable part of the 

 jjlan of your refpectable publication, that 

 you lia\e from time to time invited, and 

 given place to commuuicatioiis on the 

 I'ubject. I am particularly led to this 

 reHedion at prefent, by the letter of Dr. 

 Simpfon, which appeared in your lall 

 Number; and having been many years 

 .1 membei" of a Society, from my connec- 

 tion with wliich I have derived much 

 pleafure as well as profit, T am induced 

 to fend you an account of its inlUlution 

 and progrefs, for the information of your 

 correfpoudent and his friends. 



The Rook-Society at tlii* place was 

 iufiitutcd about eighteen years ago, and 



• Sliould we be favoured with further 

 Praiflicul Mints on this important fubjcift, we 

 will .ippropriate a few pajies to thern in our 

 jiLxt iiuppitmeatatj' Nunjbcr. 



