1 who affumes more than his fhare of the difcourfe, intrenches upon the natural liberty of mankind, and confequently is a public nuifance. Secondly, Let us not (on the other hand) apply ourselves thereunto with a fpruce affectation, and an effeminate delicacy, unnatural to the English nation.-A grave folemn movement, efpecially where the feveral parts accompany each other in folemn counterpoint (as the musicians term it) feems beft adapted for the common ufe of a popular congregation. A quick tranfition in any of the parts is improper, for reafons drawn from the nature of man, and from the nature of founds. All perfons have not a genius alike adapted to mufic; and thofe who have the leaft knowledge in any science, are frequently apt to make the greateft fhew of it. This would create an infufferable jarring in the divine worship, if the performance depended upon any nice modulation in point of time or of voice. Befides, as I faid, it is inconfiftent with the nature of founds. Sound doth not pafs inftantaneously, but moves in comparifon by flow advances. In a church of any confiderable dimenfions, a fhort note is over at one end of the church, before it is heard, and confequently before it is begun at the other end. And this is the caufe, why a perfon at the low end of a church is always behind the rest of the congregation in his refponfes. And a variation in finging, in the point of time, if it were but for half a note, caufeth as great a jumble, and difcord, and confufion, as if the difference were as far as between heaven and earth. For it is in mufic as in other things, that the most agreeable is parted by a very narrow interval from the moft difagreeable. And as too much air, although perhaps agreeable in itself, ought to be excluded out of the compofition; much more ought all affected air to be excluded out of the performance. This fpoils all harmony at all times, and in all places. Where two founds or more do coincide and are agreeable, any one of thofe founds variegated with a tremulous exaltation or depreffion, although but for a very little, is capable to make the coincidence molt fhocking and monftrous; and being befide the compofer's intention, ought not to be introduced by perfors who probably understand not the first principles of compofition. And as all unnatural decorations ought to be avoided between the individual notes, much more ought all meretricial ornaments (as I prefume to call them) between the feveral parts of the performance. And this is often the cafe where that noble inftrument an organ hath been introduced. It is not of fo much concern to the congregation, to know how nimbly the artift can move his fingers, as it is that they fhould not be interrupted in the most folemn part of their worship of almighty God. Sixteen impertinent preludes and interludes, in finging two ftaves of David's pfalms, is too much for any purpose of devotion. And it is just as natural, as for a man to walk fteadily and fedately for fix or eight paces, and then run, leap, and dance as falt as ever he can for fix or eight more, and fo on for a quarter of an hour together. In Speaking it would be equally ridiculous, and even in finging; if a man fhould go about to fing the very identical notes which are played upon the intrument, with the alternate and almost instantaneous changes, from quick to flow, from 3 light light to grave, it would excite a very different kind of fenfation from that of a folemn, grave, and ferious act of religious adoration. Lastly, and to conclude all; Let it be remembered, that the finging of pfalms, although it is a commendable and ufeful appendage of religious worship, yet it is but an appendage of it. I'vill bave mercy, faith God, and not facrifice. Wherewith fhall I come before the Lord (faith the prophet) and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of oil?-He hath fhewed thee, O̟ man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? A good life, above all other things, is the best handmaid to devotion; and is especially neceflary for that branch of it, which I have been all along fpeaking of. I have in this difcourfe deduced all my arguments from nature. Mufic itfelf is but the fcience of nature; and the rules of compofition are nothing but obfervations drawn from nature, of what is agreeable or difagreeable to the fenfation of hearing. What is agreeable to nature will always hold, and what is difagreeable is the fame yesterday and to-day and for ever. But above all the contradictions to nature which I have obferved, this one thing is the most unnatural, for a man with an evil confcience to go about to fing. It feemeth a little abfurd for a man, who perhaps hath been guilty of a debauch over night, to fet up to fing to the praise and glory of God next morning. As a mind loaded with oppreffion is unfit for the triumphs of fong, much more fo is a confcience burdened with guilt. Alas! what hath he to do with finging, whofe portion (unless he repenteth) fhall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. The voice of diftrefs is always broken and inharmonious. Therefore, that we may fing well, we must live well.' Thefe obfervations are very juft, and of the most useful tendency. We have only to add a remark which hath often occurred to us, on this fubject; and which we shall not scruple freely to exprefs, from our genuine feelings, and honeft refentment. We mean this in reference to the difagreeable and unhappy effect of a negligent, flovenly, coarfe, or difcordant manner of performing this otherwise folemn and delightful part of our public worship. Of these grofs defects fome, or all, are too often obfervable, both in our churches and meeting-houses; where, to hear a vulgar, illiterate bellman of a clerk, roaring out Sternhold's ftaves, or Watts's ryhmes, to the praise and glory of God, as he calls it-the congregation joining but to increafe the noife, and altogether GRATING HARSH DISCORD, like Milton's gates of hell,-is an abomination both to the instructed mind and the mufical ear, which no Chriftian patience (one would think) could endure, unlefs to that patience were added downright ftupidity, or a total indifference to the manner in which the worthip of almighty God is performed! Such vile abuse of a moft pious and pleafing inftitution, must rather tend tend to provoke than edify every man of fuperior judgment, tafte, and feeling; and inftead of harmonizing his foul, ferve only to fend him away in a frame and difpofition of mind fimilar to that of Hogarth's enraged mufician. Shame on the clergy, of all denominations, who can stand fo tamely by, and fee their Mafter's houfe, and moft folemn fervice, fo profaned-fo burlefqued! It is not fo, we are fully perfuaded, where the fenfible and worthy Author of the foregoing obfervations on pfalmody prefides as paftor. ART. III. Observations on the Nature and Care of Fevers. By William Grant, M. D. 8vo. 2 Vols 10 S. Cadell. R. Grant's Enquiry into the nature, rife, and progress of the Dfevers most common in London, was firft published in 1771, in one volume; and fome account of it appeared in our Review for November, in the fame year. As the work has been confiderably augmented and improved, with the addition of a fecond part entirely new, we fhall now give a brief fketch of the whole. The Doctor's intention, we apprehend, was to throw fome new light upon the nature of fevers in general; but more particularly to diftinguish each variety of fever from every other kind, in order to afcertain it's peculiar nature, and the fpecial method of cure that hath been found most fuccessful in it. For this purpose he divides all fevers into two claffes; the first clafs confifts of fevers which he had met with regularly, invariably, and annually in London, for the space of 20 years fucceffively. Thefe, he fays, are the natural confequence of the change of feafon; and always have been, and ever must continue the fame, as much as any other natural production of this climate and these he denominates common fevers, as arifing from common caufes only. The fecond clafs of fevers he calls uncommon fevers, not arifing from the ordinary change of feafon, but from fingular combinations in particular places, feafons, or circumstances, producing a new and extraordinary effect upon the bodies of men; thefe, therefore, are not to be met with every year; but appear or disappear irregularly and this he endeavours to prove by the authority of the best English obfervators, added to the teftimony of many people now refiding in London. The first part of this work, as we have already obferved, contains a fhort account of the origin and progrefs of the common fevers, taken from a journal of twenty years practice in London; and illuftrated with cafes, practical obfervations, and quotations from practical authors. In arranging the matter of this firft part, he has followed the example of former writers on the fubject, and divided the common fevers into two claffes, viz. Vernal and autumnal; but he fays fays that the vernal fevers begin in December and laft till July; and that the autumnal fevers begin in July and laft till December: although he allows that the winds and weather may occafion fome exceptions from this general rule. The first chapter of the first part contains a fhort discussion of the ague in general; because, fays he, the ague is a disease equally connected with the vernal and autumnal fevers; but it had been much more to the purpose to have divided this chapter; to have added the vernal ague to the fynochus non putris, and the autumnal ague to the end of the bilious, or atrabilious fever; fo that, instead of being the firft, it ought to have been the laft of the first part: there it might have been introduced regularly in its proper place, and might have been discussed with lefs trouble and more perfpicuity. All the vernal fevers, according to the Doctor, are inflammatory, but not equally nor fimply fo; for he has obferved, that there is fome other fpecies of morbid matter frequently added to the phlogistic lentor, which commonly requires a coction and crifis peculiar to itself; and that this morbid matter is different at different seasons. To prove this, he divides the vernal fevers into three distinct, epidemic conftitutions, viz. The catarrhous, the fimple inflammatory, and the humoral. Although in each of these constitutions, the morbid matter remains nearly the fame, yet it seems to act differently on different habits, and confequently produces a confiderable variety of symptoms, to which different names have been given. Thus the catarrhous conftitution, which begins perhaps in December, and continues about two months, gives rife, not only to the coryza and catarrhous fever or fluxion on the membrana fneideri and lungs; but alfo to a fpecies of rheumatism, morbus coxyagefis, tfchiadicus, eryfipelas, dyfentery, and other rheums and fluxions incident to that feafon. He has found by experience, that all those diseases eafily yielded to the fame, or a fimilar method of cure to that which agreed with the catarrh; excepting only fome little alteration according to the preffing fymptoms, and variety of the temperaments of the fick and this is true fo long as the catarrhous conftitution remains epidemic. The most genuine inflammations do not begin fo early in the fpring; this conftitution alfo gives rife to a great variety of fevers to which different names have been given, although they all proceed from the fame caufe, and agree with the fame method of cure, making fome allowance for the particular organ chiefly affected. Thus the phrenitis, angina fanguinea, pleuritis vera, peripneumonia vera, paraphrenitis, hepatitis, nephritis, and all the topical inflammations, arife from the fame caufe, and require a treatment nearly fimilar. The The inflammatory conftitution is fucceeded by the humoral, and begins when the warmth of the feafon has partly conquered the violence of the inflammation: this constitution gives rife to the fynochus non putris of the ancients, to which many names have been given by different authors; owing to the great variety of fymptoms in different patients, and the effect of the winds and weather for the time being, viz. The depuratory, fpring fe ver of Sydenham, mefenterica of Baglivi, the hemitritææ, tritæophyæ, and epialos of the Greeks; the febris gastrica, colerica, Hungarica, pituitofa or humoralis; the febricula of Maningham, and the lenta of Huxham. The fame morbid lentor, fuperinduced upon the inflammatory diathefis, occafions the agues, gouts, colics, fluxes, and jaundice of that feafon which is between fpring and fummer; and they all agree with a treatment nearly fimilar, with very little alteration, according to the particular circumftances of each individual. All there three conftitutions together comprehend the fevers of the fpring feafon; they are all partly inflammatory, but not all fimply fo; and sometimes attended with miliary eruptions. But in the month of July, fays our Author, the fcene changes all the spring fevers go off as if they never had existed, and a new morbid lentor takes place, of a very different nature, commonly called the Putrid morbid lentor: this reigns for five months, and may be divided alfo into three epidemic conftitutions, viz. The fimple putrid, the bilious, and the atrabilious ; and each of thefe give rife to many fevers nominally different, but really of the fame nature; arifing from the fame morbid lentor, and agreeing with nearly a fimilar treatment. Thus the fimple putrid conftitution contains the variolous, dyfenteric, petechial, purple fever, and bilious colic of Sydenham; and the fynochus putris of the ancients; all of which are liable to aphtha when improperly treated. The bilious conftitution fets in by the cholera morbus, and contains the new fever of Sydenham, bilious fever of Tiffot; the ague, dyfentery, miliaria, aphthæ, and eryfipelas of the har veft season. And laftly the atrabilious conftitution contains the atrabilious fever, morbus niger Hippocratis, the eryfipelas, aphthæ, and colic of the latter feason, or end of harvest; the morbus hyftericus, hypochondriacus, and melancholia cum materia; the winter fever and peripneumonia notha of Sydenham; with various cutaneous diseases, gouts, and piles, fo common about the beginning of winter. Thefe are the fevers difcuffed in the first part of this work, and, according to the Doctor's opinion, do not contain any real malignity in their own nature; nor are they contagious: but the fevers mentioned in the second part are malignant in their very effence, and are every one contagious, or capable of pro REV. Dec. 1773. ducing Ff |