622 Retrofpec? of Dome/ftic Literature—Mathematics and Biography 
takes the refponfioility of the narrative on 
himfelf.. It is well known that the gal- 
lant. admiral, on more occafions than one, 
fuffered feverely from the clamours of the 
public, who, as they often miftake rafhnels 
for courage, on the other hand, are too 
prone to. brand a praifeworthy caution 
with the opprobrious name of cowardice. 
Mr. Mafon has defended the noble Admi- 
ral from {uch ungrateful and difonoura- 
ble alperfions, and enriched his narrative 
with a. number of anecdotes illuftrative of 
Lord Howe’s courage and intrepidity, of 
his coolnefs, his judgment, and his fore- 
fight. Mr. Mafon’s flyle of compofition 
is reprehenfible for its coarleneds. 
‘6 Public Charaéters @f 1802 and 1303.” 
This work. proceecs: with the. fame in- 
teret, which. at. fir dittingutfhned it: the 
characters are drawa wi ith as much im- 
partiality as can be expected. © The ac- 
count, of Mr. Watt, which is ‘given in 
this velume, is particularly valuable. 
‘6 Memairs of .the Life of the Right 
Hon.; Six Fames Eardley Wilmot, Kut. late 
Lord Chief a altice of the.Court of Com- 
mon Pleas, Gc. c.. with fet Original 
Letters.” 
..This life was drawn. up Py his fon, 
now one of the Matters in Chancery, for 
the purpofe of prefix:ng it to a work con 
taining the Jegalapinions 0 of) Sir) Eardley ; 
but being deemed too large tobe annexed 
toa profs <fional bock, xt too interciting 
to be much cuneapleds it is now fepa- 
rately publifhed. . Sir aro a very 
eminent lawyer and a very honourable 
man. He was appointed Chief Juftice of 
the Common Pleas 1n'n766, and prefided 
there till his refignation 19 1771, having 
twice refufed the high office of Chancel- 
lor. Hedied, at the age of eighty two, 
February ,5,..4792- 
“© Penale Biography; or, Memoirs of 
illujtricus and celebrated Women of all 
4ges aid Countries. Alphabetrealty Or - 
ranged, by Mary Hayrs; 6 ols.’ 
In thele volumes we contemplat e the 
laudable and fuccefsful exertions of a fe- 
male to refcug her ‘cx from the charge of 
beiag endued with iicrior powers of 
mind. The lords of tae creation may, in 
thefe ente:taining and 
lumes, read the lives of above 280 females, 
who have been celebrated for virtue, wit- 
dom, or fortitude, by authors of various 
nations. The autncrities are, chic “fly, 
Baliard, Bayle, and Gibbons; the Die- 
tionaire Hittorique, Biographium Femi- 
neum, and fome individual hiforians.— 
The msn who enjoys not the love of the 
fair lex is forlorn and folitary in th¢ bo- 
well written vo 
fom of fociety: he who deferves not their 
love, who returns its kind offices with 
fcorn, unki ndneis, or neglect, is a mon- 
fter ! 
“The Life of Poggio Braccioliat. By 
the Rev. WILLIAM SHEPHERD.” In his 
preface Mr. Shepherd oblferves that the 
lervices rendered to the caufe of literature 
by Poggio Bracciolini, have been noticed 
with due applaufe by Mr. Refeoe in bis 
celebrated Life of Lorenzo de Medici. 
‘¢From the perufal of that elegant , ublica- 
tion, I was Jed to imagine, (he continues) 
that the Dives of Poggio muft contain a 
rich fund of information re!pecting the re- 
vival of letvers. A curfory, examination 
of the Bafil edition of his works convinced 
me that I was not mittaken; and I felt a 
with to direét the attention of the public 
to the. merits of an author, whofe pro- 
ductions had afferd-d. me no {mall degree 
ci-pleafure.’? Sach were the motives which 
induced Mr. Shepherd to collect materials 
for a. detailed account of the life and 
writings of this emiment -reviver of li- 
terature; and it is due to him-to ac- 
knowledge that he has diref&ted his re- 
fzarches into whatever volumes could 1l- 
luffrate the literary, civil, and ecciehaiti- 
cal hiftory of the period of which he 
treats, introducing into his elegantly writ- 
ten narrative fuch extracts from the writ- 
ings of Poggio as tend to illuftrate not 
only his own character, but that of the 
tines‘in.which he lived. 
$6 Fike Lith and Pofthumous Writings of 
Williant .Cawoper, . Efe With an. tatro- 
auctory ewer to the Right Hon. Eorl 
Cocuper, by WiLLiam HayYLey, Esq.” 
Mr. Hayley has contrived to find In the 
hiftory of the lite_of a poet—a fkudious, 
folitary, and. agrefiic {poet—materials for 
two quarto volumes! He has alfo coz- 
trived to make thefe books, as it thould 
f.em, without any grat labour of his 
own. Large extraéts from the private 
and uninter sping correlpondence of the 
poet are flightly connected by his biogra- 
pher; to whom, however, we are under 
obligaticns for nut having produced two 
volumes more, which he probably could 
have done with the fame facility! Bat in 
fo much reverence do we hold the name 
of Cowper that we can bring ourfelyes to 
xcule this fufpicious and tedious prolixi- 
ty of his biographer ; and, if we mutt 
have two expentiyc quarto Tone eS) pre- 
fer the carelels chit-chat of Cowper tothe 
affected, artificial, and involved ftyle of 
Mir Hayley, ale oe lite the unhappy 
poet was difappointed in his affections: 
his biographer iniinuates that the deep 
gloom 
