contains two documents of no trifling importance; the Will of Gower, and the copy of a Deed, dated in 1346, which appears to prove that he was of the house of Gower of Stitenham; copied from the original in the library of the marquis of Stafford. The third division of the Illustrations contains "An Account of some valuable Manuscripts of Gower and Chaucer," which Mr. Todd has had an opportunity of examining. The fourth exhibits "Extracts from Gower's Confessio Amantis." The fifth contains Chaucer's Prologue to the "Canterbury Tales," and "The Floure and the Leafe;" accompanied by numerous Notes. The Sixth presents us with "Some Poems supposed to be written by Chaucer during his Imprisonment;" found at the beginning of lord Stafford's Manuscript of the Canterbury Tales, on two leaves before the prologue. To strengthen his opinion that they are the composition of Chaucer, Mr. Todd has selected several parallel passages from the genuine writings of the poet. The first of these poems opens:

At the end of all is a valuable glossary of
In placing Gower before
eighty pages.
Chaucer, both in what relates to the
manuscripts of his poetry, and in the
extracts made from his works, Mr. Todd
has merely consulted chronological pro-
priety. Prefixed to the title is a full-
length portrait of Chaucer, from lord
Stafford's manuscript. In another part
of the work are accurate engravings of
the tombs of both poets.

Another valuable work, though of a humbler description in the miscellaneous class, will be found in Mr. MORTIMER'S Grammar, illustrating the Principles and Practice of Trade and Commerce; for the Use of Young Persons intended for Business." It opens with a few general definitions, followed by an enumeration of the principal branches of trade and manufacture in Great Britain and Ireland. An alphabetical list of merchantable commodities is next introduced; followed by a collection of commercial towns, usages, and institutions; a list of the principal ports of every trading nation throughout the world, with the branches of commerce peculiar to "Halfe in dede sclepe, not fully revyved, each; a list of the canals of Great BriRudely my sylfe as I lay alone,

With troubled dremes sore was I mevyd,
All worldly joy passed and overgone :
Me semyd full sore I made my mone;
Mynde, thought, resonable wythe had I none;
Thus I lay sclomberyng a owre to my dome.
As thus I lay avexed full sore

In such thynges, as of right by the agayne

sure;

on

Awake, awake, of comfort full blynde."
On the tenth of these verses, Mr. Todd
observes, "The Commentators
Shakespeare will be delighted with this
poem, if it be only for the sake of placing
the exclamation in this line under that
of Macbeth:

Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no
more!

Macbeth has murder'd sleep."

The conclusion of the second poem is
not less deserving the reader's perusal :

Go lytell balade, full of rude composicion,
Softe and mekely no thynge to bolde;
Pray all, that of the shall have inspexion,
Thy derke ignoraunce that they pardon wolde;
Sey that thow were made in a pryson colde,
Thy makir standyng in dysese and grevaunce,
Which cawsed hym the so symply to
avaunce!"

MONTHLY MAG. No. 201.

tain and Ireland; an account of all the real and imaginary monies in the world, with their values in British sterling; a table of the agreement which the weights of the principal places in Europe have with each other; commercial marks and characters; a commercial nomenclature of the denominations of the chief articles of trade, in twelve different languages; maxims of experience, and ques

tions.

Here also we shall give a place to Major CHAMBERLIN'S "Practical Instructions to Young Officers, relative to the interior Discipline of a Regiment of Foot." They appear principally de signed for officers commanding local militia and volunteers, and for young officers in general, whose opportunities of becoming acquainted with the interior economy of a battalion have been few.

In the miscellaneous class also, as it has no companion to accompany it in its own class, we shall place Dr. DICKSON'S "Grammar of the First Principles of Agriculture;" furnishing a means by which to instil useful and important facts into the minds of young persons, who are likely to pass their lives in rura! occupations, whether as country gentlemen, At the end is a or practical farmers. glossary of terms.

Mr. ALEXANDER CHALMERS's "His tory of the University of Oxford, includ

4 N

ing

Last of all, in the miscellaneous class, we shall notice TABART'S "Moral rius. Tales," in prose and verse, selected and

HALF-YEARLY RETROSPECT OF FRENCH LITERATURE.

amalgamate with them, so as to attain a portion of their knowledge. The Romans afford a specimen of one of these modes, as they carried light with them wheresoever they went; the children of the North, who precipitated themselves to wards the south of Europe, and carried their darkness along with them, exhibit an instance of another.

"On this, chaos seemed to be reproduced; and it required ten centuries of fermentation before so many heterogeAt neous elements could assimilate. length, however, light was every where seen amidst the darkness. During the three or four first centuries it extended, and made a rapid progress. At length, the culture of Athens and Rome was beheld and practised, not only throughout the whole of Europe, but also at Calcutta and Philadelphia. Rome and Athens, both of which would be astonished at our arts and knowledge, would also admire the humanity of the European, who glories in being a man, and will no longer suffer slavery to exist on his soil."

While treating of modern reformers, the author alludes to the great events of antiquity. He represents Moses as "leaving Egypt at the head of a body of mutinous slaves, who were both sensual and superstitious, yet of whom it was necessary to make obedient subjects; men at once capable of undertaking any thing, and animated against every nation that occupied any land in which they might be desirous to establish themselves. On this occasion, Moses directed the reformation of his people in the best possible manner, for the accomplishment of his designs.

"Mahomet, on the other hand, reformed a free and lofty nation; sensual indeed to excess, but capable of virtue and exaltation. He knew how to impress on them a great character, and reduced to very simple terms the external form of that pure deism which he preached. Both of these amalgamated the religious constitution which ought to appertain to all men, with the political constitution which should appertain to only one nation; and, thus confounding the church and the state, rendered their religion merely local.

"As to Jesus, in conformity to his celestial origin, he separated the cares of the state from those of religion, loudly proclaiming that its empire was not of this world. The divine reform operated by him, in opposition to the other two,

was cosmopolitical or catholic, according to the true etymology of the term, Yet the spirit of Christ was no longer visible in the constitution of the Christian church in the fifteenth century. Every thing was altered and confounded; and a reform, an appeal to the primitive spirit, became necessary, which was produced in part by Luther, the principal and most courageous author of it."

Two objects, we are told, have become particularly dear to mankind, and it is not uncommon to behold them sacrifice all their other interests, and even life itself, to these. The first is the preservation of our social rights; the second, the independence of our religious opinions, or liberty in respect to evil and conscientious notions. Both of these dispositions prevailed in most parts of Europe at the commencement of the 16th century; for every nation, deprived of its civil and religious liberty, began to feel the weight and the indignity of its chains, while those who still enjoyed a certain degree of independence, shud. dered at the idea of its loss.

All the states of the Germanic confederation had been long agitated by the obstinate disputes between the emperors, successors of Cæsar, and the pope's successors of St. Peter: this was a struggle for a unlimited monarchy over the ancient territory of the Roman empire. Both parties affected equal rights over Rome; and it was evident that the master of Rome was also to be the master of the empire; so difficult is it to root out vulgar prejudices! Rome had long been the capital of the world, and a great contest took place in order to determine who should remain in possession of the sovereign city. The quarrel had for object-to which of those two rivals mankind were to submit? the world disputed literally for the choice of tyrants. The modern

successors of Charlemagne called themselves Cæsars, and because the ancient Cæsars had been masters of Rome, and Rome was the mistress of Europe, it appeared an unanswerable argument that they should reign both over Rome and Europe! The claims of the pope's were not quite so clear: as Rome was the natural mistress of all the universe, and the prince who had resided so long at Rome was the chief of the empire, it was deemed evident that the bishop of Rome ought to be at the head of the church! In after times, when Rome was without an emperor, the consideration of the pontiff increased; be

was

(

was then the first person there, and the second when that great monarch was present. He presented the crown to him, and after a while was said to confer it. Having thus disposed of the first of crowns, it was concluded that all the others were equally at his command. Sovereign over an innumerable clergy, who were rich, active, and to be met with every where, he reigned over all consciences by this means, and thus became the vicar of Jesus Christ upon earth; in short, the ruler over kings! If any one withdrew from this authority, which emanated from Heaven, he was anathematised by the pontiff, and repulsed from the communion of the faith ful, while his timid subjects withdrew from him, as if he had been affected with the plague.

The author next proceeds to consider three points immediately connected with his subject:

1. The political state of the European nations; their internal position; their situation in respect to each other, as well as in regard to the head of the empire; and the church, during the sixteenth

century.

2. The religious state of these same nations, with their greater or less degree of submission to the head of the empire; and that of the church.

And, S. The state of the sciences and of Europe, during the same period. I. Political Situation.

Out of the wreck of the Roman empire in the West, was formed a number of states, governed chielly by those nor thern leaders who had overturned the ancient establishments. By degrees feeble and powerful, they changed their masters and their forms, according to the tide of events, rising, increasing, diminishing, and becoming extinguished, without the remotest idea of an union among the feeble in opposition to the strong; or, in other words, that grand idea by which a balance of power is established. Meanwhile, however, the feudal aristocracy began to lose its consistency; the crusades, and other wars, had impoverished the nobles; commerce and industry had enriched the commercial class; while the knowledge diffused among the latter, and which awakened a sense of the prerogatives of man, and his natural rights, served to produce the establishment of a "civil existence" for the third estate,which gave it influence in every government. The burghers of Some cities which had declared them

selves free, even dared to assume the sovereignty.

Italy was at this period divided into a number of feeble states, some monar chical, and others republican; and being distracted by jealousies or hatred on one side, and the broils of the barons and lords on the other, who affected independence, was still the unhappy theatre of the invasions of powerful neighbours, such as the French, Germans, and Spaniards, all of whom aspired to form establishments, some at Naples, and others at Milan, Mantua, &c. This country, for a long period the richest in Europe, was now on the eve of beholding the source of its opulence exhausted, in consequence of the new discoveries in navigation by the Portuguese and Spaniards.

The Turks had seized on the capital of the Eastern empire, and carried ther victorious arms into the West. Calabria and Hungary were invaded by them, and they had approached the very gates of Vienna.

Poland, at this period, possessed bat little influence, and although governed during the first half of the sixteenth century by Sigismund I. yet she carried within her own bosom the principles of her own weakness. This was increaseri by the jealousy subsisting between the Lithuanians and the Poles, both of whom acknowledged the same head, but manifested (particularly the former of these) an extrenie repugnance to an union. This country was engaged in frequent wars with the Turks and Musonvites, as well as with the Teutonic knights, who, under pretext of converting the infidels, gave birth to the kingdom of Prussia.

Russia was then in a manner unknown to the West of Europe, where she has since acquired such a great ascendancy. The kings of Denmark had subjugated Sweden; but Gustavus Vasa, a hero, shook off the yoke, and became the le gitimate king of the nation which he had delivered: both of these countries, how. ever, were almost in a state of nullity in respect to the southern States.

Meanwhile the north of Germany, governed by the Saxon princes, was par celled out into little territories, and this portion of the empire bebeld a redoubtable league of commercial cities united together by ties of common interest. The Hanse towns formed a league, in order to oppose the pillage of these feudal robbers, who from their castles, or rather dens, infested all the roads in their vi

cinity,

and under him formed a mere province of the Austrian monarchy.

In the mean time, the political system, and the new species of war introduced, became more favourable to the great powers. The invention of artillery rendered petty castles useless, and little princes and states were unable to build extensive fortresses. Europe too, did not seem large enough for its inhabitants, who now discovered the way to America and the Indies; in short, a new epoch seemed to be at hand.