1825.] 
struction, must consider of very little comparative 
consequence,) the Legislature would take measures 
to prevent local interest from diverting the money 
paid by the public traveller from its proper object, 
and would, as in all other cases, make the adminis- 
tration of the public money levied at toll-gates, 
amenable to some impartial tribunal.” 
He wants ‘the Legislature and the 
Goyernment to unite in inquiring into the 
real evils of the present Road Laws,’ and 
talks (what a Radical!) of “‘a saving of, 
at least, half a million annually,” by a bet- 
ter system. ' 
Mr. M‘Adam, however, is like the whole 
multitude of particular remonstrators and 
complainers, —he is a radical only at north- 
north-west: when the wind is in any other 
quarter of the compass, he cannot see a 
hawk from a hernshaw:—that part of the 
law and practice which he has had occasion 
to look into and understand, he finds to be 
very bad; but all the rest, which he has 
not looked into, and knows nothing about, 
he takes upon'common rumour, to be tran- 
scendantly good. 
«« The existing Road Laws do, in fact, form a sin- 
gular exception to the admirable spirit of British 
Legislation, which, while it restrains carefully the 
power todo evil, in those entrusted with authority, 
and lays upon all other Public Trustees the heavy” 
weight of responsibility, at the same time affords - 
eyery encouraging inducement to their zealous exer- 
tions in the behalf of the Country. In the regulations . 
for maintaining the Public Roads, and expending the 
vast revenue assigned to them, the power to do evil 
is as unrestrained and unlimited, as the temptations 
are numerous: while all really patriotic exertions are 
cramped and paralized by the pressure of an injudi- 
cious system of laws, and by the host of enemies 
which is constantly opposed to all good manage- 
ment; from the indulgence afforded by a state of 
anarchy and misrule, to the gtatifications of vanity 
or of self-interest.” 
We advise our readers, however, to look 
into this matter, in‘common with others ; 
and we should not be very much disposed 
to’ enter into recognizences, that some or 
other of them would not be led to look 
somewhat deeper into the evil than Mr. 
M* Adam himself has done. 
Kean vy. 0.P. What can be said for 
Kean? with a view to future 0. P. Occur- 
rences, and a Glance at the Case of Miss’ 
Foote. By A Member or THE Councry’ 
Or ANCIENTS. | 8v0.—With respect to the 
Question, we are disposed to think that 
enough has been said already: With re- 
spect to O.P.’s, we are disposed for no 
more rows about them. And with respect’ 
to his glances, we advise the Ancient not: 
to direct them toward Miss Foote, as we’ 
suspect that the youngsters have not yet’ 
quite done with her. 
‘The Vision of Hades; or, the’ Region In- 
habited by the departed Spirits of the Blessed. 
With Cursory Notes, Theological and Meta~' 
physical. To which is now added, The Vision 
of Nios. 12mo.— This is one of those 
works whieh provokingly disappoint one, 
by raising expectations in title-page and’ 
Monrury Mac. No. 408. 
Domestic and Foreign. 
. from the Bible. 
257. 
preface, which the contents do not satisfy. 
There is, it is true, some very pretty writing 
in it—some descriptions of the imaginary 
regions of angels, saints and martyrs, at 
the beginning, that would slide very well, 
as descriptive embellishments of some- 
thing better, into blank verse. But the 
preface had told us—( fortold, not,foretold 
—for an announcement cannot be said to 
foretell, when nothing comes after) that, 
“‘ The notes on Hades might convey some 
information not to be obtained without 
labour ;” and as the notes are three or 
four times as long as the text, we looked 
in them for the fruits of a laborious re- 
search into oriental and occidental lore, 
sacred, profane and apochryphal, classical 
and Gothic—the traditions of Rabbinical 
divinity, and the sublime mysticism of the 
Platonists, &c. &c. ; but, alas! in all this 
save-labour accumulation of notes, and 
notes upon notes, we found little but what, 
in our boyish days, we had previously picked 
up from suchauthors as Sherlock, and Tillot- 
son, and Stackhouse and Doddridge, &c., 
which, in our grandmother’s days, used to 
constitute a pious old lady’s library. Now 
and then, indeed, a classic Lexicon, or a 
Hebraist, is quoted for the meaning of a 
word; and we have one reference to 
Hayward’s. Hierarchy of Angels, and one 
etymological excursion from the word 
Hell to “ the Saxon Hillan, or Helan, to’ 
hide,”’ and to “‘ Holl, a cavern,” which show 
how little the author knows about the- 
Hela, or Hella, the goddess of death, or 
the grave, or of the Hades, or place of. 
souls, of our Saxon forefathers. The book 
is, in fact, nothing but a pretty little psuedo- 
religious. toy——a specimen of what we 
should call the dandyism of devotion. It 
may please, however, a multitude of readers. 
Light reading for serious people, who think 
it a more rational recreation for immortal 
souls to devote their spare time to ro- 
mances, which picture to us those abodes 
of blessed spirits, relative to which ‘ Re- 
velation has given us no description,” 
than to such as bring us acquainted with ~ 
the hearts and passions and principles of 
our fellow mortals, as exist and act in the 
real intercourses of life. 
Scenes in Palestine; or, Dramatic Sketches 
To which is added, The Fair 
Avenger ; or, the Destroyer Destroyed: an 
Academic Drama. By I. F, PENNir,12mo.— 
“Should this work be fairly brought before 
the public,” says the author in his preface, 
“it will then appear whether the enlight-.. 
ened world be weary of scriptural subjects,— 
to use the words of a celebrated clerical 
poet respecting The Royal Minstrel, or 
not.” Butiof this he proceeds to’ tell us 
he despairs altogether. 
“« For while the professedly-religious’ Reviews and’ 
Magazines, as’ well as the literary and the gay; have, 
by all the ways and means in their power, given to 
blasphemous and licentious works the greatest noto- 
Leis iy reity 
