692 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



tlie Visit, of John Homespun to 



Lodge ; and No. 99, on 



Animal Magnetism, exhibit some 

 well-conceived and successful at- 

 tempts in the walks of ridicule, 

 irony, and broad humour. 



To these papers, which, to excel 

 in their peculiar department, must 

 display a large portion of strong- 

 marked character, we have to 

 add, that the portrait of colonel 

 Caustic, in Nos. 4, 6, 31, 32, 33, 

 and 40, is powerfully coloured and 

 sustained. It is to be wished, 

 liowever, that the delineation had 

 been given upon a larger scale, 

 and had involved more minutiae; 

 for, beyond the fortieth paper, we 

 rhcet with little relative to a per- 

 sonage with whom we had already 

 become so familiarized and en- 

 gaged, as to hope and expect that 

 he would accompany us through 

 the work. Superior to this, how- 

 ever, or to any other portrait, even 

 in the Mirror, is the picture of a 

 Country Dowager, in No. 87 of 

 the Lounger, which, with respect 

 to costume, accuracy, and high 

 finishing, to pleasing and pic- 

 turesque effect, is almost unparal- 

 leled. 



In the province of pathetic nar- 

 ration, the Lounger has not been 

 enriched with so many specimens 

 from our author's pen as are found 

 in the Mirror ; the story, how- 

 ever, of Albert Bane, in No. 61, 

 and especially the history of Fa- 

 ther Nicholas in Nos. 82, 83, and 

 S't, excite a lively and impressive 

 interest, and instil that tender me- 

 lancholy so friendly to the cause of 

 piety and moral rectitude. The 

 didactic papers, too, which blend 

 a fascinating pathos with ethic in- 

 struction, a combination very fre- 

 quent in the essays of Mr. Mac- 



kenzie, will be thought not infe- , 

 rior to those which emanated from I 

 the same mind in the Mirror : as 1 

 instances of this happy union, I 

 would refer to No. 4-8, on t!ie sen- 

 timent and the moral of Time; 

 and in No. 93, on the tender in- 

 dulgence of melancholy in the 

 season of Autumn. 



The pages devoted to criticisnm J 

 in the Lounger are much more 1 

 numerous than those which were 

 allotted to the same province in 

 the Mirror ; and to those Mr. 

 Mackenzie hascontributed a large 

 portion. Besides incidental obser- 

 vations occasionally annexed to the 

 critical strictures of his correspon- 

 dents, he has, in No. 20, pre- 

 sented us with a dissertation on 

 Novel Writing. In Nos. 27 and 

 28, with an examination of the 

 moral effects of Tragedy ; in No- 

 50, with observations on the moral 

 effect of Comedy ; in Nos. 68 ancT 

 69, with critical remarks on the 

 character of Falstaff ; and, in No. 

 97, with an essay on the genius 

 and writings of Robert Burns. 

 These ail display considerable 

 knowledge of the human heart, 

 and of the business of the world, 

 acute feelings, and good taste. 



Among the other members of 

 thisliterary club, Mr.Craig stands 

 foremost as a contributor; he has 

 written fifteen essays ; namely, 

 Nos. 9, 18, 21. 26, 35, 37, 43, 49, 

 52, 57, 71, 77, 86, 88, and 91. 

 Many just observations on life and 

 manners, and some useful lessons, 

 are scattered through these pa- 

 pers ; and the author has shown 

 his critical powers to advantage in 

 an essay on the introduction of 

 ancient Mythology in Modern 

 Poetry, in No. 37 ; by observa- 

 tions on Comedy, in No. 49 j and 



