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ments to the Cafes of Hindon and Shaftesbury; with an Appendix, containing the ftatutes relative to the mode of judicature. The whole forms a valuable compilation on this important fubject, interesting not only to lawyers, and members of parliament, but to every gentleman who would study the constitution of his country.

Letters from Lord Rivers to Sir Charles'Cardigan, and to other English Correspondents, while he refided in France. Tranflated from the original French of Madame Riccoboni, by Percival Stockdale. 2 vols. 12mo. 5. ferved. Becket.

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N accomplished young nobleman, and a young lady, who had been placed under his protection, are in love with each other. The former conceals his pathon, from a determination not to expose himself to the difdain or the tyranny of beauty. The latter thinks it inconfiftent with female delicacy and decorum to be in love, or to discover her attachment, before the man, who is the object of her peculiar efteem, is infpired with a reciprocal affection, and has avowed his paffion. In this interefting, this critical fituation, thefe two lovers continue for fome time; till their friends and their own hearts make a full difcovery of their mutual inclinations. Their happiness is then completed by their marriage.

It is ufual with fome fplenetic writers to declaim against the depravity of the prefent age, as if it were more corrupt and wicked than any former one. Our author very properly explodes thefe groundless declamations :

Whence have you adopted the idea, that formerly men thought, or acted, better than they do at prefent? You certainly took it not from hiftory. I allow that the oldest writer we know treats his cotemporaries as a degenerate race; and that in every age the prefent progeny are charged with new, and depraved manners; with häving loft all the glorious virtue of their ancestors. But read the dismal annals of human nature; they will present to you in all times, at leaft, fubftantially, the vices which now fubfift; the virtues which are now exerted. Different ages have been distinguished by different errors. Our forefathers have fucceffively changed their laws, their cuftoms, their notions, their prejudices, and their modes. But his nature, Charles! can man change his nature? Is it not the last extreme of folly to fuppofe that he can ?

• Attached to the age in which I was born, I will not join my voice to the clamours of thofe pretended fages, who decry the prefent times merely from irritability, and impatience of

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temper. I anticipate, with pleasure, the encomiums with which pofterity will honour the present æra; encomiums which are now denied it, only because it exifts. Our defcendants, I doubt not, will praife our modefty, our difintereftednefs, our equity, our intellect, and our wit :-the regularity of our manners;-perhaps the aufterity of our principles: and in imitation of their predeceffors, will propofe us as refpectable models of every quality that is good, and of every talent that is great.'

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In a subsequent letter the ingenious author purfues the subject, and accounts for men's partial estimate of the manners of the times.

• Sir Maurice hath feen four generations: and he hath seen them grow abominably perverfe, and corrupt.-They fucceffively funk beneath each other in degeneracy. And can you gravely affent to this prejudice? Can you write a ferious dif fertation on this dotage?

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Might we not, my friend, more juftly fuppofe a revolution in the ideas of your great uncle, than this extreme depravity in his cotemporaries? Is it not more probable that the tone of his mind is changed, than that all men are pufillanimous, and licentious? If I fee a traveller ftumble, at almost every step, on a road, in which others, and myself walk with out any impediment, shall I think it rough, and unpaffable ?

Believe me, my friend, during the courfe of a long life, our defires, and our paffions are the changeable objects. The world; I mean, mankind, and other external objects, are the fame; but from our predominant difpofition of mind, while we furvey them, they derive a temporary complexion and afpect. We determine their character as they are reflected on our prefent fentiments :-we forget our paft affections; and we do not anticipate those that we fhall feel in a lapfé of time.

As we feel before we think, fo we enjoy before we estimate. When we first go abroad into the world, we look around with curiofity, and pleasure; and we admire before we examine. The charm of novelty makes every thing enchanting to youth for the folace of that gay season of life, nature feems to be difplayed, animated, and adorned. Every object tben flatters; every object then interefts our felf-love. vivacity of the fenfes; the active emotion of the paflions; the powerful attraction of pleafure, multiply our defires, and our enjoyments. One pleasure enjoyed promifes a greater! What an Elyfian world is prefented to our view! What various and tranfporting delights it yields to its inhabitants!

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By degrees, we are not fatisfied with real and immediate pleasure the meteors of imagination lead us aftray from truth;

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we are feduced, and dazzled by the fplendour of brilliant chiThe image of future blifs weakens the happiness that we feel. We are agitated by intereft, and ambition; thoughtlefs joy is fucceeded, by corroding care; anxiety, and tumult of mind are fubftituted for pleasurable fenfations. Avarice, and pride continually expofe the foul to painful, and violent paroxyfms. We wish, we hope, we fear. Sometimes we are fuccefsful; we are often unfortunate. At length we find that good is blended with evil. The world has loft its vivid hue; but it is yet tolerable. As, in the series of our life, adverse or propitious events are more numerous, we form, and inculcate our opinion of the world. Thus, by à calculation, which is relative merely to ourselves, we decide on the merit of men, and ages. If the sum of our pains exceeds that of our pleafures, either the world was always evil; or it is greatly corrupted fince we were born. And if we are provoked by any cross, but common accident, we fay with fir Maurice, "This age is the refufe of ages."

The ftyle, in which thefe Letters are written, is lively and animated; the sentiments are just and delicate; the moral unexceptionable but the ftory does not abound with interesting events, fufficient to excite the reader's curiofity, or to warm and intereft his affections with energy and spirit.

The Difcipline of the Light Horse. By Captain Hinde, of the Royal Regiment of Forefters (Light Dragoons.) Illuftrated with Copper Plates. 8vo. 8s. Owen.

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HIS work feems to be a complete treatife on every thing relative to the British cavalry, but more particularly to the light-horfe, with regard to their inftitution, management, and importance. Captain Hinde has not divided his subject into any regular chapters, or fections, &c. nor has he kept the different parts of it fufficiently feparated. However, he has delivered himself in a plain intelligible ftyle, which is easy to be understood, efpecially, by the gentlemen in the service, who are acquainted with the technical terms, and the matters treated of.

We fhall enumerate the articles in the order in which they are placed in the book, and as we collected them in the course of our examination. The author begins with the inftitution of the light cavalry by the duke of Kingfton, in the year 1745, giving a fhort hiftory of their rife, and the manner of it. He then lays down full directions concerning riding, to mount, difmount, exercife, march, &c. with inftructions for teaching.

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the new men and horfes. To manage a fquadron in marching, exercifing, and fighting. The various phrafes or words of command, with the feveral motions and evolutions to be performed on giving them. The quantity of powder and ball to each man for exercise and for fervice. The rules and articles for carrying on difcipline in quarters, with an account of the neceffaries to be found by the colonel, by the captain, and by the men. Methods of encamping. An enumeration of feveral expeditions and fervices performed by the light troops on the coast of France in the year 1758, intended to evince the usefulness of that corps; alfo a lift of the cavalry now in the British service. Of the particular duties in which light cavalry are to be employed; with an account of feveral actions performed in the laft war, in which Elliot's troops in Germany, and Burgoyne's in Portugal were very useful. Captain Hinde obferves, for these fervices in Germany and Portugal, the two regiments of Elliot and Burgoyne, were defervedly made the king and queen's royal regiments of light dragoons.'

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We then meet with a lift of the expences of the horse-furniture, accoutrements, and fitting out the light dragoon regiments at the time of raifing them; with a farther account of the exercise and evolutions, on horfeback and on foot. manual exercise, with full explanations of the words, orders, and regulations on various occafions. Of the funerals of the cavalry, containing the order and forms obferved on all fuch occafions, from that of the general down to the private men. Regulations concerning ftandards, cloathing, &c. with the various devices, mottos, and diftinctions of the feveral regiments. Warrants for regulating the attendance of the officers, and the stock purse fund of the regiments; also an account of military honours paid to crowned heads and to other perfons; with forms of mufter-rolls, reports, returns, orders, attestations, furloughs, difcharges, routes, &c. Regulations for the duty of light dragoons in quarters, relative to the accounts, to arms, furloughs, articles of war, clerks, drills, oeconomy, exercife, farriers, feeding of the horfes, guards, infpections, orders, parades, prifoners, riding, fick, marches, jackets, and to the abfence of officers. Concerning the care of the horfes in time of war, patrols, fecuring the cavalry's quarters in a plain covered country, night marches, the conduct of officers on grand guards, outpofts, and parties. Concerning foraging and foraging parties; the method of embarking and tranfporting horfes; recruiting inftru&tions, deferters, quartering dragoons; the ordinary goards of the cavalry; the officers' commands; the arms and accoutrements of an officer; a new

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faddle,

faddle, with an eftimate of the whole weight of the trooper and neceffaries carried by the horse, and of camp neceffaries. Next follow anecdotes of fome actions performed by the light dragoons in the prefent war in America. Then an account of the pay of all the ranks in the light troops. And, finally; receipts for the cleaning of their clothes, &c.

The following extract from the beginning of the book will be a fufficient specimen of captain Hinde's manner of writing.

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The first inftitution of this useful corps that we know of in England, was during the rebellion in the year 1745, when his grace the late duke of Kingfton raised a regiment of light horse for his majefty's fervice at his own expence, upon an entire new plan, to imitate the huffars in foreign fervice, to act regularly or irregularly as occafion required, without adhering to the ftrict rules of the heavy horfe, but at any time to co-operate with them; they were mounted upon light horfes of various colours, with fwifh or nick'd tails; their whole accoutrements were as light as poffible, of every fort and fpecies; their arms were short bullet guns or carbines, fhorter than thofe of the regiments of horfe, and flung to their fides by a moveable fwivel to run up their fhoulder belt: their piftols upon the fame plan, as they ufed both carbines and piftols on horfeback indifcriminately; their fwords very fharp, and rather inclined to a curve. Their ufe was fufficiently fhown at the battle of Culloden Moor, near Inverness, in Scotland, where his royal highnefs the duke of Cumberland was mightily pleafed with their behaviour and courage, by breaking into the rebel army, and purfuing the fcattered remains of it upwards of three miles from the field of battle with a prodigious flaughter. As it is reported feveral of the light horfe killed fifteen and fixteen rebels each man, with a very trifling lofs to themfelves, and in which action they did great credit to the noble peer who raifed them, and were fo highly approved of by his royal highness the duke of Cumberland, that on their reduction, after the conclufion of the rebellion, he obtained leave of his father, the late king George the fecond, to raife them as his own regiment of light Dragoons. The following order of thanks to them for their fervices at their reduction, fhews the great fervice they performed. viz.

On Monday the fifteenth of September, 1746, the regiment of horse raised laft year by his grace the duke of Kingston, in Nottinghamshire, which did fo much fervice at the battle of Culloden, was disbanded at Nottingham; the common men had three guineas each given them, with their bridles and faddles, and every officer and foldier had a printed copy of the secretary at war's letter to the duke of Kingston, which was as follows:

"My lord,

"His majefty has thought fit to order the regiment of horfe under your grace's command to be disbanded; but as the king

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