1796.) 
and retire ; turrets rifing in coverts, and 
ruined arches almoft buried within them : 
mutilated caftles and mouldering abbies 
partially concealed; hamlets, churches, 
houfes, cottages, and farms are blended 
into one general and extenfive f{cene, 
which is wonderfully piéturefque ; while 
the mountains of Glamorgan and Brecon 
melt into a diftant and magnificent hori- 
zon, with an effeét on the mind, which 
nature alone, and nature only in parti- 
cular fituations, can produce.” 
The firft and tweltth fections of this 
Fiftory contain much judicious and ele- 
gant defcription, and will ferve as illuf- 
_ trations of the preceding remarks. : 
By way of conclufion, I beg leave to 
obferve, that, whoever afpires at the cha- 
racter of a poet, fhould, atter all, be cau- 
tious of relying too implicitly on the au- 
thority of books, and of copying them 
too clofely; not merely becaute a topo- 
grapher or tourift may himfelf be inac- 
curate, as a modern writer, of “confide- 
rable tafte in piéturefque beauty, is ac- 
knowledged to be, but becaufe, after all, 
a mere copyift, no lefs than the writer, 
who ftudies,nothing but metre and har- 
mony, is ftill inferior toa genuine poet, 
and cannot be. expeéted to potlefs the 
gay freedom and manly boldnefs of an 
original and attentive obferver of nature. 
_A mere cepyift, whether poet or painter, 
my produce an agreeable picture, but 
fuch only as make ufe of their own eyes 
will arrive at eminence ; and though 
much of the © dime labor,” may be con- 
fpicuous, they will but feebly and im- 
perfectly reprefent the picturefque or 
the fublime: their Prolufones Poctice 
will be little more-(to borrow the lan- 
guage of poetical imitators) than the 
flowers of Parnaffus, and rarely exhibit 
the fruits of genius: MWevrs pany oat, as 
Longinus fays of a part of this character, 
Onhov, we mrzay avOoo syst Te Reoypeayer Ozu *, 
Hence it is, that Longinus is always 
happy to illuftrate his obtervations onthe 
five fources of the fublime from Homer. 
‘Vhis great poet made Nature his model, 
and like his hero deicribed what he 
faw and felt. 
——— mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes., 
Aug. 10,1796. GD: 

Lo the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
: SIR, Me | 
J SHOULD be happy if a few obferva- 
tions that occur to me, upon a fubjeét 
which I know to be extremely interefting 
* Longinus de Sublim, 
MonTHiy Mac. No. XI. 
State of Provincial Coins. 
867 
to many perfons of tafte throughout Bri- 
tain, were deemed worthy of being dif- 
fufed through the medium of your very 
excellent Mifcellany ; as they are hum- 
bly intended to promote improvement in 
an elegant art, intimately conneéted with 
the Belles Lettres; and on which, I will 
venture to fay, the reputation of the pre- 
fent times for induftry, ingenuity, and 
arts, muft, in a great meafure, depend, 
at periods of the lateft pofterity. 
Such of your readers as’ have not ftus- 
died, or contraéted a relifh for the fub- 
jet,‘ may fmile when they learn that 
I allude to the defign and execution of 
the moft common current coin of the pre- 
fent day, known by the name of Provin- 
cal Halfpence ; being iffued by private 
traders for circulation in Great Britain, 
chieHy fince the year 1786, and which, 
in fome difiriéts, have almoit totally (up- 
planted the prefént very bafe and barba- 
rous copper currency. ‘To thofe who 
are not aware of the Numifmatic ftudy, | 
I would recommend, as introduétive to 
to their knowledge in it, Addifon’s Dia- 
logues ; the writings of Folkes, De Car- 
donnei, and Snelling; but efpecially the 
late excellent publication of that ingeni- 
ous antiquary and fcholar, Mr. Pinker= 
ton*, “There are others, in whom the 
bare mention of the topic will excite the 
livelieft attention to my remarks. 
Excepting the coins of the Romans, 
there has nothing occurred parallel to 
to thefe, within fo fhort a period, fince 
the wras of the ancient independent 
fiates of Greece, when, almot every 
city had its diftin€t coinage, as is ele- 
gantly illuftrated by the engravings and 
deicriptions of Dr. Combe+. Our mo- 
dern coins of cities, in Britain, exceed 
the ancient in neatnefs of finith, from 
tne ufe of the mill, and invention of in- 
denting, or of elevating letters round the 
outer edge, as much as they fall fhort of 
them in the high relief, and boldnefs of 
execution, in the reprefentations which 
they bear; but ‘in their great variety, 
and, in moft cafes, appropriate imagery, 
they approach the neareft to the merit of 
the Koman reverfes, of any thing that 
has occurred in the mintages of modern 
times. 
It is, however, deeply to be regretted, 
by every lover of the fine arts, that fo 
ae eT 
* Effay on Coins and Medals. London, 
Edwards, 2d. edit. 2 vol. 8vo. 1789, 
+ Num. veterum populorum ef urbium, 
Ato, Lond. Cadell, 1782, 
"53 yoany 


