ART. IX. A Treatife of the Pleas of the Crown. By Ed ward Hyde Eaft, Efq. of the Inner Temple. Vols. 1.and II, 8vo. 1126 pp. il. 18s. Cooke, Dublin; Butterworth, London

MR. R. EAST informs us, that the late Mr. Juftice Buller furnished him with copies of moft of the cafes, which have been fince published in Mr. Leach's Reports, and encou raged him to undertake the publication of them, provided "he could obtain the confent of the other Judges". That,

"in the year 1789, Lord Kenyon, by the confint of the whole bench, gave him permiffion to take a copy of that collection of cafes of which, as Chief Juftice of the Court of King's Bench, he was the depofitary. That, from feveral of the other Judges, he also received the noft liberal communications of their own MSS. and particularly from Mr. Juftice Gould, whofe venerable years and indefatigable profeffional labours had given him more opportunity than any other of making a large collection of cafes within his own time."

Of the fcope and conduct of the work, he gives the following account.

"In drawing the outline of this Treatife, I have endeavoured, as much as poffible, to clafs together kindred offences. This has led me, in fome inftances, from the more ufual arrangement; but the conve nience in practice, from bringing together approximating offences into one view, and in the fame volume, will, I truit, compenfate for fuch deviation from the beaten path. For this purpose, I have firit claffed together all offences against religion and the church establishment, Next, fuch as touch the perfon and majefty of the King, and the alle. giance due to him as the fupreme magistrate of the state. This class, of course, includes feveral offences inferior to high treason, though of the like tendency, which we noticed in the progrefs of the principal enquiry. Next are claffed offences immediately against the perjan; among which, I have arranged fuch as relate to forcible, clandeftine, and illegal marriages, for the reafons hereafter fuggefted. I hen follow offences immediately againit property, beginning with those, the principal object of which is the gain of the offender, and which are faid to be done lucri caufâ, and ending with thofe inftigated by mere malice, including fuch as are of a mixed nature. Thefe conclude the two first volumes which are now published. A third volume, which is in confiderable forwardness, will include the offences of which I have not already treated; and conclude with a general view of the practical progrefs of criminal proceedings, from the arrett of the offender, to the final confummation of the law."

It would be an injuftice to the learned author of this Treatife, to inftitute a direct comparison between it and the invaluable productions of Lord Chief Justice Hale and Mr. Ser

jeant

jeant Hawkins. The admirable arrangement and perfpicuity of these authors, never to be excelled, perhaps not to be equalled, must always entitle them to precedence, as works from. whence the ftudent is to derive his rudiments and principles of knowledge in Crown Law. But to the lawyer who practifes in courts which entertain cognizance of criminal matters, the prefent Trearife will be of the greatest utility. The cafes are taken from MSS. of the highest and moft indifputable authority. They are generally arranged according to the plan of Lord Hale's Summary. Mr. Eaft, in treating of each offence, begins with a definition of the crime, traces it through its various rainifications and diftinctions, and then difcuffes the form of the indictment, the nature and effect of the evidence neceflary to fupport it, the defence, trial, verdict, and judg ment, by which the offender is punithed, in proportion as the law eftimates the fize and quality of his guilt.

The cafes cited from the Judge's MSS. are reported at full length. By thefe means, the author has loft fome advantage, both as to arrangement and perfpicuity, and has confiderably fwelled his work. But he has ingeniously and fatisfactorily urged, in defence of the fyftem which he has adopted,

that

"the cafe itself could not, with any propriety, have been omitted, without affuming to myself an authority which all might well difpute, who wished for inore authentic information of the decifion, and many would regret, on account of lofing the precife and formal precedent, which has its ufc,"

A few trivial inaccuracies, incident to every firft edition, may be discovered in the work. Thus vol. i. p. 444, Lord Audley's and Lord Caftelhaven's cafe are confidered and cited as two diftinct cafes, although they are in fact but one. These were different titles of the fame perfon; and the miflake originated from the feveral reporters having happened to dislin. guth this wretched nobleman, who, if guilty, was an abomnination to manhood and to nature, fume by one and fome by the other title. Bat we have difcovered no error of importance; and we can venture, without any hazard to our judgment, to recommend this work to all branches of the profeffion, as containing the moft ufeful information, derived from fources of the most unqueflionable authority.

We cannot conclude without remarking, that the paper and print are remarkably good. It would have been idle to notice this circumftance ten years ago; but the law printers have of late fo totally difregarded all pretence to credit in this par

icular,

ticular, that we should not be furprised to see the most va luable law works printed with types, ink, and paper which have hitherto been exclufively appropriated to ballad.

makers.

ART. X. A Picturesque Reprefentation of the Manners, Cuftoms, and Amusements of the Ruffians, in One Hundred coloured Plates; with an accurate Explanation of each Plate, in English and French. In Three Volumes. By John Auguftus Atkinson and James Walker. Vol. I. Folio. 51. 5s. Boydells. 1804.

THE publishers of this fplendid work pertinently obferve,

that while of late years, tours and defcriptions of Greece, Italy, and Switzerland have been multiplied without end, Ruffia, which is of fuch high weight and authority in the scale of nations, and promises to be much more fo, has been very partially inveftigated, and is very imperfectly known.

The object of this work is to remedy, in fome degree, this defect; and we may truly pronounce it a valuable and important undertaking, which we fhall be glad to fee accomplifhed in a ftyle correfponding with this firft fpecimen.

The drawings are certainly flight, but they fhow the hand of a master, and fatisfactorily elucidate what they are intended to reprefent. It is true that the artist takes the lead of the writer, but both together furnish an agreeable and interefting whole.

One fhort fpecimen of the mode of execution may fuffice.

"BASHKIRS.

"Thefe Nomadic people live upon the borders of the river Ural. Their name fignifies, in their own language, Bees-men, because they particularly attend to the rearing of bees, and making (rather, collecting) honey and wax. They differ from the other wandering tribes in this, that during winter they live in houfes or huts like the Ruffians; in the fummer, they ufe tents or cottages of a kind of felt. A winter village contains from ten to fifty houses, but the fummer never exceeds twenty tents. Both fexes wear shirts of the fame shape made of nettles, wide drawers, and a fort of flippers like the Afiatics: the mens' gown is large, and generally edged with fur, bound round the middle with a belt, to which they faften their fcymetar. In winter, the rich wear a horse's skin, fo contrived, that the mane covers their back, and waves in the wind; their cap is of cloth, and rifes like a cone. They are the most flovenly and negligent of the Tartars; but, in return, they are the molt lively and hofpitable, and very brave, are pafhonately fond of horses, and use bows and arrows. The nation is made up of thirty-fix Veloft,

of

of which the total population is twenty-eight thou fand families or houfes. Their language is a Tartarian dialect. They are bound to find, in time of war, three thousand cavalry, armed with a bow, arrows, a lance, a coat of mail, and helmet; the greater part of them have fabres and piftols; they drefs in whatever colour they pleafe; and have each a led horfe. They attend as light troops, and ferve in the van and rear."

The above account is accompanied with an appropriate engraving, representing the cofiume of this people. We are glad to hear that the work is in fuch forwardness, that a fecond volume may foon be expected.

ART. XI. Obfervations on fome Medals and Gems, bearing Infcriptions in the Pahlavi, or ancient Perfick Character. By Sir William Oufeley, Knight, LL. D. Doctor of Philofophy in the University of Roftock, Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Sciences of Gattingen, and of the Afiatick Society of Calcutta. 4to. 47 PP. With a Plate. Harding. 1801.

IF

F the patronage of Oriental literature kept pace at all with the increase of our power and influence in the East, we fhould certainly fee the author of this book honourably and lucratively employed, in fuch investigations as are congenial to his taste and ftudies. Inflead of that, there appears to be rather a fufpenfion of his labours and pursuits; which, with so much ardour as he has always difplayed respecting them, could only arife, we fear, from want of encouragement. A larger volume promised in this tract, which is so well calculated to excite curiofity, has never appeared: and the author has retired to a diftant province. Under thefe circumftances, we cannot but repent of our accidental filence, and determine that it shall continue no longer; left it fhould, even in the smallest degree, contribute to the effect which we lament.

Sir W. O. profeffes to publifh this tract to prevent anticipation, with respect to the difcoveries it contains; but this apprehenfion is excited by fome enquiries on the continent, not by any thing that is pursued among ourselves. A very diftinct plate, prefixed to the title-page, reprefents the medals and gems which the author undertakes to interpret. The firft is one, which, from the fmallnefs and indiftin&tnefs of the character, M. de Sacy defpaired to interpret; but which, from a more diftinct filver coin, in the Hunterian collection, Sir W. reads to this effect on the obverfe," the worshipper of Ormuzd―

the

the excellent Baharam, King of Kings-of Iran-celeftially defcended from the Gods". On the reverie, "Varhar R Yezdani, or Baharam the divine". The next, which is a gem, he thus explains: "Baharam Kirman (fon of) Shapour, King, of Kings, of the celeftial race of the Gods", or "celeftially defcended from the Gods".

The next gem is an agate, from the Dactyliotheca of Gorlæus. Here, however, the author makes out nothing but the word Shakpouhri, the reft being indiftinct and illegible. The fifth fection describes a gem of Khofru, an amethyft, which belonged to the late King of France, fimilar to one of about half the fize in Taffie's collection of pafles, No. 675. All that the author can with certainty decypher of its infcription, is the name Khofrui; and that exhibits a peculiarity in the writing, which occafions the following remark.

"The reader will perceive that the R in Khofrui is expreffed (as on the gem of Babaram Kırmanshab before defcribed, and on the medals which I fhall endeavour to explain in the next fection) by the character ufually appropriated to the letter L: this confufion or identity of "form has been already noticed by M. de Sacy; and we find on fome infcriptions the familiar words Airan, minochetri, Shahpouhri, Aniran, &c. written Ailan, menochetli, Shahpouli, and Anilan.-In the ancient Zend there was not any ; and in the modern Pahlavi manuscripts one character ferves for and r. On this fubject I fhall offer more particular obfervations in a future analysis of the Pahlavi alphabet." P. 27.

The fixth fection affigns alfo to Khofru five filver medals, four in the Hunterian collection, and one in the British Mufeum, concerning which, only mere conjectures had previously been offered. Sir W. is convinced that he can read on all of them the name of Khofru, and on one, the ufual title of the Saffanidæ, "Malkan malka”, or King of Kings. He offers alfo fome curious conjectures on the word diran, which he thinks he difcovers on a kindred medal belonging to the Imperial Cabinet at Vienna. The 7th and laft fection, treats of fome medals of Vologefes, concerning two of which the author ftrenuously oppofes the opinion given by Dr. Swinton, in the Philofophical Tranfactions, vol. xlix. p. 593.

In feveral parts of this curious tract, Sir W. paufes, and referves a more ample difcuffion of particular points of enquiry, for his intended larger work. Whoever is capable of appreciating, even in the finalleft degree, fuch labours as have led to the production of thefe difcullions, will wifh with us, that the zeal and ingenuity of the author may receive every poffible encouragement; and that the public may at length obtain the benefit of researches too abftrufe and difficult to be undertaken by many enquirers.

ART.