fuppofed to be addreffed, and who may be prefumed to be be as ignorant of English as the London cockneys are of genuine Scotch. What advantage, for example, does Mr. Jamieson obtain by ufing the words a' and fac in the following ftanza, inftead of the corresponding English terms all and fo? "Go to him, then, if thou, canft go; "But there is mufic in his gold We believe it was Burns who fet the example of this lax way of writing; and who juftifies it in fome of his letters, by faying, that he confidered a fprinkling of the Scotch language as the true Doric dialect of English poetry; and the fitteft method of imparting an Arcadian fimplicity to the effufions of the paftoral mufe. But he ought to have considered that when the Greek poets ufed the Doric dialect, they were not fatisfied with employing a fprinkling of it only, but rigorously confined themfelves to its peculiar idioms; and in no other way can we avoid giving the appearance of a motley piece of patch-work, to that which ought to poffefs uniformity of parts and unity of defign. The collection concludes with a few working-fongs, or imitations of thofe fimple lays which have been employed by the labouring clafs of the community, to fweeten and alleviate their toil. The following account which Mr. Jamiefon gives of the occafion on which one of thefe, called The Dey's Sang" was compofed, we think deferving of infertion, as highly illuftrative of the manners of a fimple and innocent flate of fociety. "On a very hot day in the beginning of autumn, the author, when a tripling, was travelling a-foot over the mountains of Lochaber, from Fort- Auguftus to Inverness; and when he came to the houfe where he was to have break fafted, there was no perfon at home, nor was there any place where refreshment was to be had nearer than Duris, which is eighteen miles from Fort-Auguftus. With this difagreeable profpect, he proceeded about three miles -farther, and turned afide to the first cottage he faw, where he found a hale-looking, lively, tidy, little, middle-aged woman, fpinning wool, with a pot on the fire, and fome greens ready to be put into it. She understood no English, and his Gaelic was then by no means good, although he spoke it well enough to be intelligible. She informed him, that she had nothing in the house that could be eaten, except cheese, a little four cream, and fome whisky. On being asked rather fharply, how fhe could drefs the greens without meal, fhe good-humouredly told him, that there was plenty of meal in the croft, pointing to fome unreaped barley that ftood dead-ripe and dry before the door; and, if he could wait half-anhour, he should have brofe and butter, bread and cheese, bread and milk, or any thing that he chofe. To this he most readily confented, as well on account of the fingularity of the proposal, as of the neceffity of the time, and the good dame fet with all poffible expedition about her arduous undertaking. She firft of all brought him some cream in a bottle telling him, "he that will not work, neither shall he eat ;" if he wished for butter, he must shake that bottle with all his might, and fing to it like a mavis all the while; for unless he fung to it, no butter would come. She then went to the croft, cut down fome barley; burnt the ftraw to dry the grain; rubbed the grain between her hands, and threw it up before the wind to feparate it from the ashes; ground it upon a quern, or handmill; fifted it; made a bannock of the meal; fet it up to bake before the fire; went to her cow, that was repofing during the heat of the day, and eating fome outfide cabbage leaves "ayont the hallan," -ἀέιδων καὶ ἀδια πορτιν ἀμελγε. Mofch. Id. 3. finging like a lark all the while, varying the ftrain according to the employment to which it was adapted. In the meanwhile, a hen cackled under the eaves of the cottage; two new-laid eggs were immediately plunged into the boiling kail-pot; and in lefs than half-an-hour, the poor, ftarving, faint, and way-worn minftrel, with wonder and delight, fat down to a repaft, that under fuch circumstances would have been a feast for a prince. "The Dey's fang is supposed to resemble that which the hofpitable matron fung ex tempore," while fhe was milking Hawkie. Like moft fongs of the fame kind, it has a burden tending to footh the cow and keep her quiet; there being generally in these things one line for found, and one for fenfe." P. 359. "THE DEY'S SANG, BEGINS AS FOLLOWS: "Pbroo, pbroo! my bonny cow, (Pbroo, hawkie! ho, hawkie!) Ye *ken the hand that's kind to you; Sae lat the drappie go, hawkie. "* Know." BRIT. CRIT. VOL. XXIX. MARCH, 1807. "Your caufie's fleepin in the pen "The ftranger is come here the day, (Pbroo, &c.} &c. &c." We have inferted thefe ftanzas, not on account of any peculiar beauty which they poffefs, but because of a singular coincidence which they eftablifhed between the manners of fimple people removed from each other by immenfe tracts of the globe, and inhabiting climates of the moft oppofite qualities. In the interclling account, which Mr. Parke published of his travels into the interior of Africa, he informs us, that having been denied admiffion into the town of Sego, the capital of Bambara, and having even vainly folicited. lodging in an adjacent village, he was fain to feek for fhelter under a tree from an impending form of thunder and rain. In this fituation he was found by a poor Negro woman, returning from the labours of the field; who, obferving that he was weary and dejected, took up his faddle and bridle, and told him to follow her. She led him to her cottage, lighted up a lamp, procured an excellent fupper of fith, and plenty of corn for his horle; after which, the fpread a mat upon the floor, and faid he might remain there for the night. The only recompence that Mr. Parke was able to make her for this well-timed bounty, was to prefent her with two of the four brafs buttons which remained on his waificoat. The traveller adds, that the good woman having performed the rites of hofpitality towards himfelf, called in the female part of her family, and made them fpin cotton for a great part of the night. They lightened their labour by fongs, one of which was an extempore compofition of which the traveller himself was the fubject; and he fays that the air was, in his opinion, the fweetest and most plaintive he had ever heard. The words, literally tranflated, were as follows. "Sultry." " + Snug." Shelter. "Body." "The "The winds roared, and the rain fell. The poor white man, faint and weary, came and fat under our tree. He has no mother to bring him milk-no wife to grind his corn."Chorus. "Let us pity the white man, no mother has he," &c. &c. Upon the whole although Mr. Jamiefon's collection cannot be placed in the fame rank as the "Reliques of ancient Poetry," or even the "Minftrelfy of the Scottish Border,' it will be confidered as an agreeable fupplement to these works; and will accordingly be acceptable to all the lovers of the rude and fimple lays of our forefathers. ART. X. Anecdotes of Literature, and scarce Books. By the Rev. William Belge, Tranflator of Ilerodotus, &c. two volumes, 8vo. 16s. Rivingtons. 1307. WE E will not pretend that much time can be required to enable us to form an opinion on this book, The Reviewer of it, who certainly, is not the Author, faw the chief part of it before publication, and well knew the origin of the defign, and the progrefs of the execution. Under thefe circumstances, it may be afked, can he give an impartial opinion? He can certainly do this;-he can report the facts concerning what the book contains; and if he gives any opinions, he can add the reasons for them, which will at once enable the difcerning reader to decide on the juftice of his fentiments. Will this give fatisfaction? It undoubtedly will, because our readers are reasonable. The first thing of importance that meets us in the book is the PREFACE; and here the author had certainly a difficult talk to perform. A fevere misfortune had recently befallen him; a misfortune immediately affecting his literary purfuits, and feeming to cut off the principal fource of his researches: misfortune as unforeseen as it was overwhelming; difturb ing all his literary comforts, and deftroying all his domeftic arrangements. Of this it was neceffary for him to fpeak, because it was connected with the very nature of his work, and the prospect of its continuance. But how to fpeak? Not to feel was impoffible; to complain might feem to accufe. He has fhown, that, if he knew not how to efcape misfortune, he knew at leaft how to fupport it. With entire fubmiflion to thofe who had the difpofal of his lot, without murmuring, Z 2 murmuring, without contumacy, he has drawn up a short and fimple narrative, which will not furely be perused by many readers without emotion. He relates the fatisfaction he had in his fituation at the British Museum, the peculiar advantagesiderived to him from it, the ftrange fnare into which he fell, by the ill fortune of meeting with a thief, added to that of having a charge of a totally new and undefined nature; and he concludes with no more impatient expreffions than these: "I acquiefced in the decifion, and retired, but with what anguish of mind I leave thofe to determine who have experienced, or who can imagine, what it is to have all their literary and domestic plans in one unexpected moment overthrown, and to exchange peace, competence, and a fituation moft congenial to their feelings and purfuits, for lofs, anxiety, uncertainty, and, above all, the dread of unmerited obloquy." P. xvii. If we praise this mode of narrative, it is because we think (and let those who think otherwife contradi&t us) that patience, mildness, and respectful fubmiffion to fuperiors, are more becoming in a Chriftian minifter, than anger, resentment, complaint, and efforts, unavailing perhaps, but not unnatural, to procure fome mitigation of a sentence, the operation of which affects every hour of life, and must be felt to its remoteft termination. But we proceed from this melancholy introduction to the work itfelf. The book is entirely mifcellaneous, without attempt at arrangement, except in the fubordinate parts. It is true, that several works of a fimilar kind either exift or are going on, but the materials for fuch compilations being inexhauftible, one author has the fame right as another to employ a part of them. Mr. Beloe has many curious articles of information, refpecting the comparative prices of rare books at different periods; and fome interefting accounts of celebrated collections; fuch as the Garrick Collection of old English Plays, in the British Museum; thofe of Mr. Kemble and Mr. Malone, in the fame line of literature, now fo extremely fashionable; a fashion, which may be attributed very principally to the fame of thefe collections, and thofe of the late Mr. Steevens and Mr. Reed. Under each of the above heads Mr. B. notices fome of the most rare pieces which they contain, with occafional information refpecting the authors of them. The Roxburgh Collection is alfo noticed at fome length, p. 205, Vol. II. At pag: 229 of Vol. I. the reader will find a very copious account of Effays written on the fubject of English Poetry, from that of King James I. printed at Edinburgh in 1585, to |