‘ 
374 
essential to pay particular attention to the statues and exquisite paintings which 
they contain, and which, without these notices, might elude the enquiry of the pain- 
ter or amateur. So far they have our praise ; and it is to be wished, that they 
would extend their search to the libraries in which are deposited books and manu- 
scripts of inestimable value, unknown to the literary public, and not unfrequently 
even to their own proprietors. 
Art. I. Antiquities, historical, architectural, chorographical, and itinerary, in Notting- 
hamshire, and the adjacent Counties: comprising the Histories of Southwell, (the ad Pon- 
tem,) and of Newark, (the Sidnacester of the Romans ;) interspersed wit biographical 
Sketches, and profusely embellished with Engravings. 
Parts I. and II. forming Vol. I. 
Dickinson, Esq. 
THIS work is an altered and enlarg- 
ed edition of “a History of the Anti- 
quities of the ‘Town and Church of South- 
well, in the County of Nottingham. By 
William Dickinson Rastall, A.M.” 4to. 
1787. 
The first was dedicated to the present 
Archbishop of York; but the work now 
before us is laid at the feet of the Presi- 
dent and Fellows of the Society of An- 
tiquaries. 
The author observes, that it has long 
been considered a pleasapt and useful 
inquiry, to determine the roads and 
stations of the Romans in this island; 
some ofthose are still buried in obscurity, 
others are the subject of conjecture; but 
“ Southwell certainly, Newark with great 
probability, present a most exuberant field 
for examination.’’ In this field our au- 
thor has chosen to labour, hoping to pro- 
duce a crop of conjecture, and certainly 
worthy the consideration and acceptance 
of the learned in antiquity. The stu- 
pendous church of Southwell! was a pri- 
mary object in the field ; bearing ‘* the 
distinguishing characteristics of Ro- 
man, Saxon, Danish, Norman, and Go- 
thic architecture,” in perfect condition, 
and pointing out the minutest gradations 
from each style to the next. This may 
be very truc, though we strongly suspect 
it; but the treatise upon ecclesiastical 
architecture is totally distinct from Ro- 
man roads and stations, and ought not 
to have been “ agglomerated” with a dis- 
sertation on them, 
The author, having explained his in- 
tentions, wanders into a digression found- 
ed upon the contradictions of those au- 
thors who have written on antient ar- 
chitecture; and endeavours to reconcile 
what never was, and never will be recon- 
ciled, the discordant opinions of men 
ypon any given subject; but the con- 
cluding paragraph of the preface is well 
BRITISH TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES. 
Ja four Parts. 
pp- 472. 
By Wirriam 
expressed. “ Through the whole eco- 
nomy of nature the same rule ever does, 
and ever must obtain. The efforts of 
imbecility will always precede the e 
tions of maturity ; conjecture is the fi 
step toward (towards) certainty, an 
speculation the infancy of real know- 
ledge.” 
‘The introduction commences with an 
eulogium on antiquarianism ; which Mr. 
Dickinson calls, not inaptly,.the mother 
of history. 
From antiquarianism the author springs 
to architecture, which he supposes to be 
coeval with the®globe itself. Undoubt- 
edly so, if we are inclined to permit a 
covering’ of leaves, strewed on sticks set 
upright in the earth, to be denominated 
architecture. But would not the eulo- 
gium on antiquariarism, and the origin 
of architecture, however well written, © 
have been more appropriately affixed to 
the first volume of an archeologia, and 
the works of Palladio or Vitruvius, than 
to asearchafter Roman stations, and a 
history of Southwell ? 
Another objectionis still more powerful. — 
This introductionisincreased enormously 
by the labour of others ; for instance :— 
«In pursuance of my plan, then, the 
outline of which I have already suggest- 
ed, I shall place first, in my catalogue of 
critiques on ancient architecture, the ob- 
servations of Stephen Riou, esq. publish- 
ed several years since, under the title of 
«* Historical Remarks on ancient Archi- 
tecture.” He accordingly quotes three 
quarto pages, adding two notes; one ex- 
planatory, the other combating an infe-_ 
rence, that Gothic architecture was de- 
rived from the Arabians. 
“So far this writer, who isat least ene 
titled to great attention from the plausi- 
bility of his account. We shall see what 
others have saidon the same subject. Inv 
Horace Walpole’s celebrated work, be+ 
‘ 
/ 
