are put on horseback. If the journey fhould be two or three days long, as it fometimes happens to be, they are driven or carried to one of the king's villages which lie in the way at night. There they are made to lie. The inhabitants are obliged to turn out for them, or to find them room. The captives are always guarded. In the morning they fet off again. In this way they travel till they get to the king's refidence, which they enter with the found of drums, horns, and other inftruments of their country mufick, which the military take with them from home upon fuch occafions.' That the chief fupply of the flave-trade is this Great Pillage, may be gathered from a fact afterward mentioned; that Daniel, king of Cayor, once fent out four thousand of his foldiers at a time on this business. Though by far the greater proportion of flaves are procured in this way, Mr. Clarkson does not affert, on the authority of his informant, that this is the only fource of flavery: he obferves, that the Africans are reduced to this condition, by private robbery, by war, or by way of punishment for actual or fuppofed crimes; of thefe crimes, adultery appears to be the firft. The Moors, inhabiting the northern banks of the Senegal, contribute to the fupply of the flave market. The following is their mode of feizing and fecuring the negroes: These people go out in bodies of five or fix. They cross the Senegal at Cor, and other places, when they propofe to steal the inhabitants from Oualo. This river they crofs by fwimming, both themselves and their horses. That their arms and ammunition may be kept dry, they make a small bed of straw, in which they place their muskets, piftols, and daggers, and push it before, or drag it after them across the ftream. When over, they mount their horfes, and, galloping across a small part of the country of the independent Poules, they arrive in the kingdom of Oualo. They then advance into the country for two or three leagues, fometimes more, and fometimes less, according to the plan of their expedi tions. If thefe barbarians meet with any negroes in their way, they feize them; if not, the following is the mode purfued. They conceal themselves and their horses in the woods near the different villages where they feek their prey. If folitary men, or if women and children fhould come out, they rush from their hiding places, seize them, and gallop off. If, on the other hand, five or fix men. fhould come out mixed with women and children, they discharge all their muskets at once, kill the men, and gallop off with the reft. In the cafe of women and children, who are made captives, they tie these behind them on horfeback. The body of the woman or child touches the back of the Moor, to which it is fastened by one of their country cords. The Moor, while galloping, has always one of the hands of the woman or child in his own, the fingers of which he bites, either by way of punishment, or with a view of filencing them, fhould they attempt to create an alarm by noise. The The men are often tied by the hands to the tails of the horfes, and pulled along, the riders on the one hand whipping the horfes on, and other Moors following the Negroes with a whip behind, on the other. At other times they are bound to the back of a camel, which these robbers take with them, when their incurfions do not extend far from the river. Carrying off their booty in this manner, they repair as quickly as poffible to the Moorish tents.' The refult of the whole is, that thofe who are made flaves by way of criminal punishment, bear a very fmall proportion to those who are doomed to mifery by treachery and force. In replying to the fecond question, an amusing account is given of the different orders of fociety among the Africans; which are four: the king, the blood-royal, the people, and their flaves; the proportion, however, of flaves to free men, in the countries of Sallum, Sin, and Cayor, is not more than one to fifteen hundred; nor is their condition very diftinguishable from that of their mafters. Now, if this ftatement and calculation be juft, the multitudes annually purchased by the European traders in human flesh cannot all be thofe who were previously flaves; nor can it with truth be afferted, even provided that this was a fact, that the flave-trade does not place them in a fituation worse than their former ftate. Slavery in Africa appears to be happiness itfelf, compared with flavery in the West Indies. By the account, alfo, which is now before us, the Africans are not that indolent race, nor fuch total ftrangers to the comforts of focial life, as they are commonly reprefented. Mr. Clarkfon divides their employments into thofe which are ftationary and thofe which are itinerant. Under the first, he includes agriculture, which is confined to the growth of millet, cotton, and indigo; and in which bufinefs they are occupied for the months of July, Auguft, September, October, November, December, and May; in the intermediate months, they betake themselves to other stationary employments, fuch as manufacturing mats and foap, which latter is made of certain infects and greafe. To thefe may be added, fishing, and making falt. Under the head of the itinerant employments of the Africans, mention is made of workers in gold, or goldfmiths, who work with great neatnefs, and are generally found in the courts of kings; of fmiths, who travel from village to village to manufacture the inftruments employed in hufbandry; of dyers; of comedians to the king; thele alfo work cotton into cloth in their portable looms, and make leather fcabbards for knives, dag gers, gers, and swords, fmall faddles, pouches, fandals, grifgris *, and other articles; and laftly of conjurers. To this account of the state of fociety in Africa, a particular defcription is added, illuftrated with a plate, of the village of Portudal on the coast. On the whole of the evidence here laid before the public, Mr. Clarkson makes fome judicious obfervations in the concluding letter. He combats the feveral arguments adduced in vindication of the flave-trade, reprobates the conduct of the Europeans, and concludes with recommending to the fovereigns of Europe the illuftrious example of the wife and virtuous Almammy, an African prince, mentioned in p. 31. of thefe letters; who, though trained up in a land of flavery, prohibited the fale of the perfons of men, and not only rejected the prefents offered him by the Europeans to induce him to engage in this traffic, but forbade the paffage of flaves from the interior parts through his own dominions. Humanity and juftice feem to demand the abolition of the flave-trade. The more deeply and minutely this fubject is inveftigated, the more odious it will appear: yet it is an evil, in the removal of which the greatest wifdom and prudence ought to be exercised; and we prefume to indulge the hope that the removal, and the measures confequent on it, will occafion as much happiness to Africa, as its continuance has been productive of mifery; and that, as, in the proceedings of Providence, good generally flows out of evil, the flave-trade will be the bitter root whence may spring the bleffings of knowlege and civilization. to a long degraded race, occupying a vaft part of the globe, which Europeans have hitherto vifited only to ftrew with horror and mifery. ART. XV. The Baviad, a Paraphraftic Imitation of the Firft Satire of Perfius. 8vo. PP. 51. 2s. Faulder. 1791. As s there are no plants which are more prone to degenerate, and to throw out wild shoots, than thofe of Parnaffus, they, of all others, require the pruning-knife of criticifm. Even thofe poets, who are far from being deftitute of genius, discover an extreme aptitude to overlook fenfe, for the fake of a pleafing flow of words; and to miflake fuftian and bombaft for elevated diction and true fublimity. To poets, however, this vice in writing is not confined: the imitators of the late Dr. Johnson's nervous and pompous ftyle,-by an excessive use A fort of leathern ornament, which the Africans wear as a charm or protection against injury or mifchief. of of abftract terms,-have wonderfully contributed to deftroy the unaffected ease and fimplicity of our language, and, in spite of Horace's hint, Telepbus et Peleus, cum pauper et exul uterque Projicit ampullas, et fefquipedalia verba, have defcribed the most common things and events with a majefty of expreffion, which, from its being thus employed, becomes highly ludicrous. Against fuch writers, chiefly, the very ingenious author of the Baviad points his fatire; and fome of the inftances of bad writing, which he fpecifies, richly deferve the lash of this poetical critic: but, in criticizing his criticifm, we fhall juft hint that fatire, like panegyric, is apt to be intemperate and indifcriminating, and to draw into its vortex fome who might otherwife have glided, with decent reputation, down the ftream of time. Pope wifhed to multiply dunces, to fwell his DUNCIAD; and he fometimes mifplaced his cenfures, and at other times extended them beyond the truth, in order to create heroes. The author of the Baviad, though he takes Perfius for his text, makes Pope his model : but he cannot plead Pope's excufe for his feverity. As a paraphraftic imitation of Perfius, accommodated to the prefent times, we readily allow this pamphlet great merit; and we fincerely hope that it may contribute to the correction of that falfe poetical tafte, which has lately been fingularly cherished. We do not approve, however, of that ill-natured faftidiousness, which, for the fake of fome defect, would deny all praise; nor can we be pleafed with the tone of fovereign contempt which this author affumes, in fpeaking of the productions of some modern writers. As a fpecimen of this author's ability as an imitator, verfifier, and fatirift, we fhall place before our readers his paraphrase of that part of the firft fatire of Perfius, which begins at the 44th line, Quifquis es, O, modo, &c. and ends at the 56th line, Qui pote? vis dicam? nugaris O thou that deign'ft this homely fcene to fhare Thou know'it when chance (though this indeed be rare) Not mine the foul that pants not after fame; I haunt the facred fount, athirst to prove The grateful influence of the ftream I love. And yet, my friend (though ftill at praife beftow'd Mine eye Yet, when I proftitute the lyre to gain May May the fweet mufe my groveling hopes withstand, Nor think that, while my verfe too much I prize, The great man comes, and fpreads a sumptuous feaft: My friends, he cries, what do the galleries fay, Nor worse will be-till thou fhalt write once more." Befide the perfons exhibited in this extract, our fatirist brings feveral others into his performance; among whom we meet with Mr. Jerningham, and whofe poetry is configned to pastrycooks and moths.' The fatirift is certainly too fevere: but what can Mr. Jerningham and other gentlemen expect, when he does not spare even our lady-writers, but, within the space 'Merry's frantic whine.-In a moft wretched rhapsody of incomprehenfible nonfenfe, addreffed by this gentleman to Mrs. Robinfon, which the in her valuable poems (page 100) calls a charming compofition, abounding in lines of exquifite beauty, is the following rant: "Conjure up demons from the main, Storms upon ftorms indignant heap, How horrible his world can be: While I will GLORY TO BLASPHEMF, The reader, perhaps, wonders what dreadful event gave birth to these fearful imprecations. As far as I can collect, it was-the aforefaid Mrs Robinfon's not opening ber eyes!!! Surely it is moft devoutly to be wished that thefe poor creatures would recollect, amidst their frigid ravings, and common-place extravagancies, that excellent maxim of POPE "Perfift, by nature, reason, tafte, unaw'd; of |