Retrofpett of Domeftic Literature,—Poetry. 
honourably ambitious nation. -It is in- 
tended, we believe, but as an Introduc- 
tion to a Hiftory of the Arts of Elegance 
in England. In the fecond part of the 
prefent volume Mr. Hoare has treated of 
the eflablithment, defign, and progrefs of 
the Royal Academy of Arts, and of its 
“annual Exhibition. The inftitution of 
the Royal Academy, he obferves, was 
the firft meafure of bigh authority which 
tended to refcue the arts of defign from 
their almoft profcribed ttate, from the ig- 
nominy of total public negleé&; yet 
though he admires its adminiftration, he 
{cruples not to point out a few of its defi~ 
ciencies and imperfections : adding, that 
a national fuperintendance would, not 
improbably, enlarge the feale of inftruc- 
tion it affords, and place within the reach 
of the Englith artift at leaft as many ad- 
vantages as thofe offered by the inttitu- 
tions of St. Peterfourg, Milan, Paris, 
Vienna, or Madrid; ot whith academies 
he gives a fhort account. Fhe third and 
concluding part treats on the powers of 
Englifh. genius, conducive to excellence 
in the arts. Oppofite the title is an ele- 
gant outline of the Graphic Mufe, from 
a painting by Sir Jofhua Reynolds. The 
work itfelf is written wih elegance, and 
occafionaily withenthufiafm. Never, fays 
Mr. Hoare, did any art, in any country, 
fir-ve fo long againt perfecution and ne- 
gie&t as the art of defgn in England.— 
Neither prohibition, nor the coldnefs of 
public regard, could wholly extinguihh 
Its fires ; thofe fires which even now ftrug- 
gle in the bofoms of our living artilits, 
and prepare the fplendours of our future 
triumph. 
Mr. DaLLaway’s * Ohfervations on 
Englifh ArchiteGiure, military, ecclefiafti- 
cal, and civil,’ deferve 
praife; though, at the fame time, we 
confefs that in fome parts we have found 
them very far from faultlefs. To enter 
minutely into the contents of the volume 
here, would be impoffible; it may be 
enough, perhaps, to fay, that Mr. Dal- 
Jaway’s opportunities both for the collec- 
tion and the comparifun of information, 
bave been great; and that, generally 
{peaking, his work contains a large body 
of curivus materials. The {pecimens of 
contemporary architecture, which. are 
mentioned in the sift and fubfequent 
pages, however, are not all correct — 
Stewkeley, in Buckinghamfhire, is a Nor- 
man church; and Sherborn-Minfter, in 
Dorfetfhire, pure Gothic. They who col- 
le& priots of ancient architecture will 
' find this a proper work for illuftration, 
confiderable © 
607 
Here too we fhall place. ‘* The Miujficat 
Grammar,’ by Dr. CaLLcorT, which, 
as an initiatory work, will be found emi- 
nently ufeful to the learner. Its defign 
is to compre(s in a fmall volume the lead- 
ing principles of praétical mufic. From 
the great analogy which exifts betweea 
mufic and. language, the author has 
adopted aclaffification, firft fugeefted by 
the German theorifts, and given his work 
the title we have quoted. Inthe Preface 
we are informed that Dr. CaLcorT’s 
defign of compiling a Mufical Dictionary, 
formed nine years ago, is not abandoned. 
The prefent volume is a refpeétable fpeci- 
men of what may be expeéled from his 
labours. 
POETRY. 
In ‘© The Wanderer of Switzerland, 
and other Poems,” by James MonTGO- 
MERY, we recommend a volume to no- 
tice which would do honour to a name of 
e(tsblithed. celebrity. The Wanderer of 
Switzerland, the firit and longeft effay in 
the colle&tion, confifts of an heroic fub- 
je& celebrated in a lyric meafure, on @ 
dramatic plan, founded on hiftorical facts 5 
the fubie&t is interefting ; it comprifes the 
ftory of a Swifs and his family emigrating 
from their country in confequence of its 
fubjugation by the French, in 17985 in 
which the forrows and fufferings of Switz- 
erland are interwoven. Poetical beauties 
may be found in almoft every part 5 but we 
do not admire the meafure which the au- 
thor has chofen; its rapidity is but ill 
fuited to the dignity of the epic. The 
following ftanzas, perhaps, afford the 
faireft {pecimen with which we can pre- 
fent our readers: 
‘High o’er Underwalden’s vale, 
Where the foreft fronts the morn, 
Whence the boundlefs eye might fail, 
O’er a fea of mountains borne ; 
There my little native cot 
Peep’d upon my father’s farm— 
O! it wasa happy fpot, 
Rich in every rural charm. 
There my life, a filent ftream, 
Glid along, yet ferm’d at reft 5 
Lovely as an infant’s dream 
On the waking mother’s breaft, 
Till the form that wreck’d the world, 
In its horrible career, 
Into hopelefs ruin hurl’d . - 
All this aching heart held dear. 
The poem entitled The Lyre is perhaps 
oné of the beft; and there are fome ftanzas 
in The Battle of Alexandria which pleafed 
ushighly ; it opens with an invocation ? 
the 
et ee, 
> 
