516 
ferves to relifh Schiller. ‘* The In- 
guifitor” is a tragedy\tranflated alfo 
trom the German by the late James Petit 
Andrews, and Mr. Pye the poct-Jaureat ; 
at will naturally be expected to contain 
confiderable merit. Another traniiation 
has appeared of this play as it was per- 
forméd at the Hay-market. Mr. Mur- 
Puy, the learned tranflator of Tacitus, 
has written a tragedy which will not dif- 
credit, though it certainly does not add 
to the reputation of its author. ‘* Armi- 
nius* was the Hero of Germany: “ he 
had not like the kings and generals of a 
former day, the intancy of Rome to cope 
with ; he had to ftruggle with a great 
and flourifhing empire; he attacked the 
Romans in the meridian of their glory ; 
he ftood at bay for a number of years 
with equivocal fuccefs, fometimes victo- 
rious, often defeated, but in the iffue of 
the war, ftill unconquered.”” This tra- 
gedy appeared at the time we were threat- 
ened with a foreign invafion, and its laud- 
able obje€t was to encourage unanimity. 
We could mention the titles of many plays 
and farces which have lately appeared ; 
but it would be an uninterefting cata- 
logue; a few therefore will fufice. Mr. 
MorTon fancies that his ‘* Secrets’ are 
<¢ qyorth knowing 3° we do not think fo. 
Mr. BayLey’s “ Forefer’’ is aftonifhing- 
ly dull; and Mr. Boapen’s hiftorical 
play, ‘* Cambro-Britons” is very little 
better. ‘ Reformed in Time” has been 
performed at Covent-Garden with fome 
fuccefs. It is time we fhould proceed to 
NOVELS AND ROMANCES, | 
of which many have appeared within’ the 
lat fix months. Mrs. CHARLOTTE 
SmituH’s * Young Philofopher”’ is a novel 
which will not impair the reputation 
which that lady has already earned: the 
fidry is interefting, the incidents are well 
managed, and the characters are drawn 
with {pirit. We are forry to add, that 
her attack upon lawyers is vulgar and 
illiberal: we have more than once ob- 
ferved that Mrs. Smita brings her pri- 
vate quarrels—or we will rather fay her 
private fufferings, before the public in 
ler writings. She unqueftionably feels 
confolation in thus giving vent to her 
feelings, and the public for a time would 
fympathize jn her forrows; but fuch 
reiterated mournings and complaints are 
tirefome and repullive; where the lJan- 
guage of complaint too degenerates into 
that of refentment, its appeal is totally 
and defervedly ineflicacious. Mrs. SMITH 
has fuffered by profeffional chicanery—be 
it fo; is it logical to draw a general In- 
Retrofpect of Domeftic Literature. iNovels, Sc. 
[Sur. 
ference from particular premifes? is it 
liberal to utter 2bule againft a profeffiom 
—a learned and {cientific profeffion—be- 
cauie there are fome members in it of dif- 
reputable characier and profligate prin- 
ciples! The feconé volume oi the ** Youag 
Philofopher’’ (there are four) is almoft 
wholly filled with the hiftory of Glenmo- 
nis; occafional and fhort digreffions keep 
alive the attention, but a digreffion fo un- 
mercifully long as this is, interrupts the 
narrative fo much as to weaken our in- 
tereft in it. Notwithftanding thefe faults, 
however, the ‘* Young Philofopher” is a 
novel, which as we before obferved, wiil 
not leffen the reputation which Mrs.: 
SMITH has defervedly acquired in this 
ftyle of compofition. ‘%* Arthur Fitz Al- 
bani’ is not the produétion of a vulgar 
pen; the author’s object is to plead the 
caufe of birth againft fortune, and repre- 
fent loftinefs of fentiment and difinterefted- 
nefs of character as almoft exclufively al- 
lotted to the highborn: this novel is evi- 
dently the effufion of a difcontented mind 
and a gleomy imagination. Not fo Mifs 
PoRTER’s ‘* Oavia’ which is intereft- 
ing and vivacious. ‘** The Mountain Cot- 
tager’ is a fanciful and mmgenious tale, 
tranflated from the German of M. SPEIss, 
by Mifs Anne PLumpTRE. A tranf- 
lation has appeared from the German of 
that original and very interefting novel of 
Auguftus Lafontaine, ‘* Clara Dupleffis, 
aud Clairant ; the Hifiory of a Family of 
French Emigrants”’ The tranflation is 
in three volumes ; it is elegant and fuffi- 
ciently correét. Mr. DuTTon has pub- 
lifhed a third volume of Nicolai’s ** Life 
and Opinions of Sebaldus Nothanker.* 
‘¢ The Hijlory of my Father’? is tranflated | 
from KoTZEBUE;: it is written in imi- 
tation of Sterne. The young author of 
‘¢ Henry Willoughby” difplays himfelf te 
be a man of obfervation and of thought. 
The novel contains a great deal of good 
fenfe, but as there is no ghoft in it, and 
very little about love and murder, it is. 
net likely to gratify a very numerous clafs 
of readers. We are not by any means 
pieafed, however, with the auther’s pro- 
penfity to look on the world witha dif- 
contented—not to fay mifanthropic eye: 
that vice and mifery are engendered in 
civil fociety, is moft true; but to civil 
fociety—netwithftanding Mr. Burke’s fe- 
mi-fericus attack on it—are we indebted 
for a large, a very large portion of our 
felicity and comforts ; for all the treafures 
of literature and {eience. With a very 
few exceptions, the hero of this novel 
meets with ug character but wat is ye 
ana 
