on geometrical Principles; and a mechanical Method of Perfpective and Designing invented, for the Benefit of fuch as are Strangers to Mathematics. Illuftrated with a Variety of Copper-plate Figures. To which are annexed, the Art of painting upon Glafs, and drawing in Crayons; with Directions for making them, after the French and Italian Manner: Alfo the Art of Etching, and that of Japanning upon Wood, or any Metal, fo as to imitate China; with Inftructions for mak-ing black or gilt Japan-Ware, both beautiful and light; and for making the hardest and most tranfparent Varnishes; and, to which is added, a Method of Cafting Amber in any Form. 12mo. Is. Keith.

This is a collection from other authors; but it may be of ufe to those whofe opportunities will not admit of their perufing larger treatifes.

B.

XIX. A new Method of placing the Golden Numbers in four Columns, whereby Eafter Full-Moons may be found according to the mean Lunations, for afcertaining of Eafter, according to the Gregorian Account. By James Green. 8vo. 4d. Johnson, Fenchurch-freet.

Fontenelle fomewhere obferves, that the fame of Sir Haat Newton's writings had induced feveral to attempt to confute them, merely with a view to the honour of oppofing fo great a man. Something of the fame kind feems to have been the motive which produced the pamphlet before us. Not but that the full-moons may be found more accurately by Mr. Green's method, than by that at prefent in ufe; but, in this matter, the greatest accuracy does not feem to be required; the golden numbers, as now placed in the calendar, being fufficiently near the truth, for the purposes intended.

Our author is alfo diffatisfied, that at the late regulation of the ftyle, the feast of Eafter, &c. was not fixed, like that of Christmas, to a particular day. Christmas, the birth of the Saviour of the world,' fays he, is celebrated and confined ⚫ to one particular day; while the other two grand feftivals, viz. the crucifixion of the Lord of life, and the penticoft, or ⚫ the defcent of the Holy Ghoft, are varied and governed by the 'moon.' But he should have confidered, that it was in conformity to the custom of the Jews, (who were commanded by God himself, to celebrate the paffover in the first month, 'and at the fourteenth day of that month at even) that the fathers of the chriftian church ordered, the fourteenth day of the moon, which followed the vernal equinox, fhould be called the pafchal full moon; and that the Sunday after (becaufe our Saviour rafe on the day after the Jewish fabbath) fhould be Eafter-day..

B

We wonder that Mr. Green fhould miftake the crucifixion, which is a fuft, for a festival!

XX. Fenny's Whim; or a Sure Guide to the Nobility, Gentry, and other eminent Perfons in this Metropolis; being á genuine Account of their Town-Refidence, very different from the romantic Pocket-Companions, Court and City Kalendars, &c. Books that only ferve to lead Strangers aftray. 4to. 6d. Kinnersley.

The reader will readily perceive, that the piece to which the above title belongs, is of the jocofe kind. It is a whimsical lift of eminent perfons, to whom the author has fatirically affigned lodgings in streets, fquares, &c. having names fuitáble to fome characteristic, or known circumftance of note, be longing to, or fuppofed of, each perfon. Thus Lord Anfon lives at the World's End; Lord Macclesfield, at Turnflyle; Dr. Hill, at Hungerford; Lord Mayor, behind the Compter--thefe are conundrums of a new stamp; but not much wifer than those with which the public were fo delightfully bepuzzled fome

years ago.

XXI. The Dancers damn'd; or the Devil to pay at the old House. 8vo. 6d. Griffiths.

A flight attempt in vindication of Mr. Garrick, with relation to his introducing French dancers on the flage, at a time when the whole nation were become Antigallicans. The author reprefents the party who fo violently oppofed the appearance of the foreigners, in the entertainment called the Chinese Feftival, as a blind, ignorant, and taftelefs mob, deaf to the voice of reafon, and determined on the riots they raised, rather for the fake of rioting, than from a laudable principle of public fpirit, or generous refentment against the enemies of their country.

XXII. An Epiftle from Mr. Theo. Cibber, to David Garrick, Efq; to which are prefixed, fome occafional Verfes, Petitions, &c. 8vo. 6d. Griffiths.

Mr. Cibber accufes Mr. Garrick of having ungenerously ob. ftructed the continuation of that permiffion which Mr. Cibber had fome time ago obtained, for exhibiting theatrical entertainments at the little theatre, in the Hay market. The verfes,&c. prefixed, are addreffes to the Duke of Grafton, as licenfer of the stage.

XXIII. The Country Coquet; or Mifs in her Breeches: A Ballad Opera, as it may be acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane. By a young Lady. 1s. Reeve, &c.

As it may not be acted at the theatre-royal in Drury-lane, we judge, would be the true reading of the above title-page. Were we affured, that this opera was really wrote by a lady, yet in her teens, (as we are told, in a line fucceeding a very indecent one, of the prologue) we should be lefs ftrict in our examen of it; as allowance may be made for youth, and a limitted eduHh 2 cation:

cation: but the generality of title pages deferve little credit; Without any regard, therefore, to the author's pretended sex or age, we think ourselves obliged to intimate, that in this piece every effential beauty of a dramatic poem is wanting; the poetry is poor, and the language inelegant but, what was leaft to be expected from a young lady, even decency of expreffion is fo little regarded, that one would be apt to imagine our mis, in dropping her petticoats, had alfo laid by her modelty, the chief ornament of her fex.

B....t XXIV. The Devil upon Crutches in England: Or Night Scenes in London. A fatirical Work. Written upon the Plan of the celebrated Diable Boiteux of Monfieur Le Sage. By a Gentleman of Oxford. 8vo. Is. 6d. Phil. Hodges.

This pamphlet attacks the vices of the age, in a manner which, if it had been our Oxford-gentleman's invention, would have done fome honour to his genius; but here the claim of the French writer mentioned in the title-page being allowed, this copyift muft expect no praife on that fcore. His performance is divided into nine chapters. The firft is an introduction. The fecond, third, and fourth, are intended to give us an idea of the ridiculous pleasures of people of quality. Tho' we own that there is but too much ground given for this kind of fatire, yet the author seems rather to have taken his defcriptions from report, than from personal obfervation. The fifth chapter contains a view of the theatres, wherein the author glances at Mr. Garrick as facrificing too much to gain : a charge which has no other foundation, as we conceive, than what arifes from this inimitable actor's being a better manager, in every fenfe of the word, than thofe of his profeffion generally are.

In the fixth chapter, we are, not difagreeably, entertained in Westminster-Abbey.

The feventh prefents us with a view of Newgate; from whence, in the eighth, we are conducted to Bedlam. The ninth and laft, is a furvey of the city, whores, pickpockets, and authors.

Upon the whole, the book is not unentertaining, nor the language altogether defpicable.

B....t

XXV. The Utility and Advantages of broad high Wheels demonftrated rationally and mathematically, fo as to be under flood by the meanest Capacity. Humbly intcribed to the Commithoners and Truffees of the feveral Turnpike-Roads, and Surveyors of the High-Ways in Great Britain. By Mofes Wickham, of Hatfield in the County of Hertford. 8vo. is.

Scott.

The theory of wheel-carriages, and the advantages of high wheels, have been confidered and demonstrated by various au

thors

募

thors; but in too abftrufe a manner to be underflood by the generality of thofe who are more immediately concerned in machines of this kind. Mr. Wickham has treated the subject in a very different manner, fo that every one may be convinced of the utility of having broad high wheels, without the neceffity of being previoufly acquainted with most parts of the mathematics. Perfons, indeed, who have made thofe fciences their study, will, perhaps, think his reafoning tedious, and his circumlocutions tirefome; but it fhould be remembered, that the piece is principally intended for those who make ufe of wheel-carriages; and in order to convince the generality of fuch, that broad high wheels are preferable to low narrow ones, a writer cannot make use of methods too plain, nor render his reafons and proofs too confpicuous, And we are perfuaded, that if our honeft countrymen would attentively perufe this fmall work, they would be cured of their prejudice against broad high wheels; and be thoroughly fatisfied of their utility.. Our author, however, feems to carry his obfervations too far, with regard to the heighth of wheels; for tho' it be true, that wheels move more eafily in proportion to their height; that they fink lefs into the dirt, prefs down an obftacle more readily, and, at the fame time, have lefs friction; yet when their radit are higher than the breaft of the horse, they are attended with great inconveniencies; for the cattle cannot then apply their whole ftrength;- and befides, by drawing the load directly against the plane, its weight will be increased, and, confequently, the difficulty of drawing it will be increased too. Hence it follows, that where the radii of the fore-wheels of a carriage are equal to the height of the horse's breast, or traces, the load will be moved with the leaft poffible force; because then the force is applied in a direction parallel to the plane on which the carriage moves. B XXVI, Introduction to a Treatife of Conic Sections. By Alexander Campbell, Author of The Chain of Philofophical Reafoning. Nourfe, Dodfley, &c.

This introduction is delivered as a specimen of an intended treatise on conic fections, propofals for the printing of which accompany this publication.

As we must give an account of the tr atife when it appears, it will now be neceffary only to obferve, that in this introduction, the author has traced the progrefs of geometry from its origin, enumerated its defects and defiderata, and briefly hinted how far the propofed work has a tendency to fupply fome of its effential defe&s.

Among thefe defects the author mentions that of fquaring the circle, and fays, that in the following treatife, the reader 'will find an attempt to, measure the area of a circle, with the fame certainty we do that of a parabola, or any o her

Hh 3

*-curve."

"curve.—And presently adds, and I have with great freedom given my opinion of the poffibility of fquaring, not only oval and elliptical figures, but the circle itself, in contradiction to that of thofe two famous mathematicians, Sir Ifaac Newton, and Dr. Barrow.'

The fquaring of the circle is a rock on which mathematicians have often split. Whether our author will add any thing that may tend to remove the obstruction, time must discover, XXVII. An English Exercife Book to tranflate into French, comprising all the Rules of the French Grammar. And other neceffary Obfervations; afcending gradually from the meanest to the highest Capacities. With a Collection of forty diverting Tales, fifty Letters upon different Subjects, twelve Dialogues, and an Index. By J. Daubichon, Profeffor of the French Tongue in Dublin, and Author of a new French Grammar. Dublin printed: London reprinted, 12mo. Is. 6d. Hodges.

Mr. Daubichon's grammatical inftructions are familiar and eafily intelligible; but he has been very unfortunate in the choice of his collection of tales, &c. and his index would have been more properly entitled a vocabulary, tho' a very imperfect one.

XXVIII. The Critical Spelling-Book. An Introduction to reading and writing readily and correctly. In a Manner more commodious than any, and more comprehenfive than all the Spelling-Books that ever were published. Defignd-for a Standard of the Language, and contrivd by a proper Gradation of Inftructions, difposd in a picturefque Manner, for the eafy and expeditious attaining-to a rational Knowledge of it. 12mo. 2s. 6d. Henry and Cave.

The author of this new fpelling-book is faid to be the late Mr. Solomon Lowr, whofe former endeavours of this fort were well received by the public. With regard to this his laft work, we fhall, in fome meafure, enab'e our readers to judge how far it is equal to the character given of it in its title, by laying before them his plan; in which he differs from moft, indeed all, other orthographical writers: upon whom he has bestowed fome juft ftrictures.

Spelling-books,' fays our author, should be modeld on two, principles, and diftinguisht into two parts.-The former for initiating, fhould be as plain and eafy as poffible, and therefore, (1) it ought to contain only fuch words as are founded ac cording to the powers of the letters eftablifht in the alphabet

We have, in the title and extracts, kept ftrictly to our author's manner of fpelling, and where there is any thing peculiar, have diftinguished them in Italics.

and