haps no man that ever lived was more successful in forgetting, or at least seeming to forget, that the plebeian herd of mankind had an equal claim to happiness, with himself. The care of providence, in his eyes, seems alone confined to the royal family of England, and the lords, spiritual and temporal of the realm with their dependencies: and the bishop and his circle being completely easy in their situation and circumstances, he sees no reason why others should be uneasy in theirs. With such a way of thinking, it is scarcely necessary to mention, that during the contest with America, he was a decided ministerialist. This, if he had not told us so, would be deducible from the tenor of his written life, which, by the by, affords a handle to Mr. Gibbon for sonie sarcastic strokes, in revenge for that his lordship, as he tells us, found"The History of the Decline and Fall, rather tedious, the matter uninteresting, the style affected, the testimonies not to be depended upon," &c. &c. But the extreme peril of an old man, in the simplicity and sincerity of his heart, detailing his life and proceedings to the public, is further exemplified, by the unprovoked gibe of the author of the Pursuits of Literature, at the bishop's motives, as declared by himself, for taking a second wife; or, as the satirist chooses to term it, a wife en seconde. Prudent as Newton in domestic care, With no Scriblerian scruples for an heir, It would be in vain, perhaps, for a man who writes his own life, to attempt to persuade the world, that vanity was not the predominant motive to the undertaking; and it is evidence, without doubt, that he has a strong interest in himself, by whatever name this may be called. But this interest, it may be observed, is the cause of all our virtues, as, under a wrong direction, it is the cause also, of our most pernicious vices. Nothing great, is to be looked for, in a person who has lost all regard and respect for himself, and who is wholly indifferent to the good opinion of the world. There is something generous then, in the interest here spoken of, since, although it centers in self, the grati* See the passage, and the very humorous note on it, Page 279, of the Phil. Ed. fication it seeks is of etherial quality, and altogether foreign to what is meant by the term selfish. Nevertheless, in giving their own biography, writers are always solicitous to hide the appearance of self-love, or vanity. Cæsar is supposed to have been peculiarly happy in this endeavour from the extreme simplicity of the narrative of his campaigns, in the third person; and the great Frederick treading cautiously in his footsteps, might have been equally successful, had he not manifested the vanity of likening himself to Cæsar. The splendid actions, however, of these great men, required not the aid of high colouring, to set them off. These reflections have been suggested by a perusal of the life of Mr. Murphy, written by himself. This gentleman, it appears, had two models in his eye; the one of Mr. Hume, the other of Mr. Gibbon. He adopts the first as least ostentatious and most simple, and therefore, as he conceives, most modest and becoming, not reflecting that this his preference evinces a presumption, that his character can sustain itself, and that the literary fame of Mr. Murphy is already so well established, as to give sufficient interest to the mere outline of his passage through the world. But certainly, the requisites are very different in a life of a Homer or a Shakspeare from that of an Alexander Selkirk, or a Baron Trenck. In the one, we should take an interest in merely knowing the dates of his birth and his decease; but in the other, these would be matters of utter indifference; and we should expect to be entertained by extraordinary incident and extraneous matter, and it argues no inconsiderable degree of arrogance in an ordinary man to suppose, that his readers will care a farthing, for what happens to him in common with the herd of those of whom to be born and die constitutes the history. Such a one is far from modest then, when he sets the plain dish of his life before the world, without garnish, or a drop of sauce, or a particle of seasoning. He should reflect, that as in a French ragout, the meat is of no account, and that all depends upon the cookery. But whether Mr. Murphy was in this predicament, I undertake not to decide-I only say, that his choice of mode in giving the world his life, was not the most modest of the two presented to him. LITERARY INTELLIGENCE-FOR THE PORT FOLIO. The Quarterly Theological Magazine and Religious Repository; conducted principally by Members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 8vo. pp 240. Allinson, Burlington, N. J. Vol. I. No. 1. In announcing to the public the commencement of this truly interesting and valuable publication, we must acknowledge the gratification of a high degree of national pride, not only from a conviction of the favourable comparison it would sustain with European publications of a similar nature, but that its editor is a native American. In the choice of the subjects which constitute this literary miscellany, Dr. Wharton, the reverend and learned editor, has displayed much judgment and taste, combining "with a master's hand," the essential properties of a well regulated periodical journal, entertainment, instruction, religious, literary, and philosophical intelligence, in such a manner, as to arrest the attention and edify both the head and the heart of the accomplished Scholar, and the contemplative and devout Christian. The form which is adopted of a quarterly instead of a monthly publication, is justly stated by the editor, in a well written prospectus or preface," to afford more room for ample biographical details, theological discussions, &c. and to present to the reader a full and entire view of many important subjects, which, in monthly publications, inust be frequently interrupted, and, of course, lose much of their interest and usefulness." This number commences with two very interesting pieces of BIOGRAPHY; the life of the pious and learned USHER, archbishop of Armagh, and that of the amiable and eminent archbishop of Cambray, FENELON: in which the most interesting occurrences of their eventful and exemplary lives are recorded. Then follow two of the established HOMILIES; with an intimation, that in every future number of this magazine, one at least of the homilies will be inserted: and " as they contain the opinions of the first reformers of the English church upon all doctrinal points, before any differences arose upon subjects of less importance, it is presumed they will prove acceptable to all pro testant churches, and especially to that church which formally and explicitly adopts them among its standards." These homilies, not having been in general circulation for many years, will doubtless be acceptable to the orthodox, pious, and inquiring Churchman. An eloquent SERMON, by bishop Horsley; several valuable ESSAYS, DISQUISITIONS, and EXTRACTS, succeed; together with REVIEWS OF NEW PUBLICATIONS; SELECTED POETRY; LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL INTELLIGENCE; a list of NEW PUBLICATIONS; RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE, both FOREIGN and DOMESTIC; and a GENERAL VIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS in Europe. The intended statement of DOMESTIc political occurrences, is necessarily omitted, the proposed limits of the magazine having been considerably exceeded by the preceding rich variety of interesting matter: but the editor states it to be his "intention to give such a detail in the next and future numbers of the work, commencing that detail with the first day of the present year, and so to continue furnishing his readers with a retrospect at once concise and lucid, that will assist the memory in referring to the past events of this great and growing empire." We shall conclude these brief and condensed remarks, by a short comment upon that part of the PROSPECTUS which relates to the Articles of the church of England, adopted by the protestant episcopal church in America. It supposes that the private opinions of the English reformers were Calvanistic, although they did not introduce them into the authoritative institutions of the church. This will be considered by some readers as a mistake; and the proof adduced in support of it, by referring to documents of the reign of queen Elizabeth, irrelevant. If the binding authority of the articles and the liturgy were in question, doubtless they rest at present in England on the thirteenth of that queen, when they were reenacted, after having been set aside in the reign of Mary. But, when a question is raised concerning their sense, and recourse is had to opinions less authoritative, they should be such as are found in Edward's reign, and not in Elizabeth's; at which period, those concerned in framing the Articles and Lturgy were no longer living. The writer of this article is of opinion, that if a complete and candid investiga tion of the subject from such documents were made, it would be found, that far from being framed according to the system of Calvin, they were studiously modled after the Lutheran in opposition to the Romish tenets of that day; the system of Calvin be-, ing then little known and less regarded in England. SELECTED POETRY. ROKEBY, A POEM-BY WALTER SCOTT, ESQ. THE very rapid glance which we have been able to obtain of a part of this new and beautiful offspring of the muse of Scott, has not qualified us for an examination of its character, or even a description of its features; and we must therefore reserve any details till our next number, when it will have issued from the American press. The poem is founded on a wild story, the scene of which is laid in the north of England, during the civil disturbances in the time of Cromwell, and is embellished with all the incidents of feudal war, of chivalric gallantry, of romantic affection, and of bloody vengeance, on which the genius of Walter Scott has so often dwelt with poetical enthusiasm. It opens with the description of Oswald Wycliffe's anxious suspence, as he was waiting the return of a soldier whom he had bribed to assassinate his kinsman, Philip of Mortham. THE MOON is in her summer glow, But hoarse and high the breezes blow, On Barnard's towers, and Tees's stream, |