The Edinburgh Review (Volume 8, No. 15); Or Critical Journal (Paperback)

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1808. Excerpt: ... the British navy, and the general prosperity of the empire. Though we have ventured to disfer from him in a few speculative points, his practical conclusions meet our entire acquies* cence. We cannot fay much for the arrangement of the work, or the elegance of its composition; although the style is, upon the whole, perspicuous, and without asfectation. The work is adorned by a good map of the islands, and views of the most interesting objects, which, so far as we were enabled to judges are not only elegant, but correct. -- Art. VIII.--Memoirs of Richard Cumberland: Written by himself. Containing an Account of his Life and Writings, interspersed %vith Anecdotes and Characters of several of the most distinguished Persons of his Time, with whom he had Intercourse or Connexion. 4to. pp. 533. London, i806. Ttte certainly have no wish for the death of Mr Cumberland; * * on the contrary, we hope he will live long enough to make a large supplement to these memoirs: but he has embarrassed us a little by publishing this volume in his lifetime. We are extremely unwilling to fay any thing that may hurt the feelings of a man of distinguished talents, who is drawing to the end ot his career, and imagines that he has hitherto been;j-l used by the world: but he has shewn, in this publication, fuch/an appetite for praise, and such a jealousy of censure, that we artt;afraid we cannot do our duty conscientiously, without giving him essence. The truth is, that the book has rather difappointed us. '$Vre expected it to be extremely amusing; and it is not. There isWoo much of the sirst part of the title in it, and too little of the 1M. Of the lise and writings of Richard Cumberland, we hear feiore than enough; but of the distinguished persons with whom he lived, we have many fewer characters and an...