Philocles, in exalting and ftrengthening his valour, is characteristic.

In the dialogue between the two female friends, which opens the fecond act, we find much tenderness and elegance, particularly in Dione's speech:

Say, my Anthemoe, fhall the happy days
Of childhood-fports and charming indolence
Again return-when we have led the dance
Near crystal Pamifus, and bath'd our limbs
In the foft yielding lymph, or cropt the flow'rs
That with their lively hues diverfify'd
His bank; our archetypes, which, emulous,
The loom should rival, while in festive fong
The hours uncounted flew ?-&c.

The renewed converfations of Ariftodemus with Philocles are mere repetitions of the former.

There is much to praife in the third act. We are told, however, that the defcendants of pytus are very numerous : furely the anxiety of their parents, which is here the chief source of intereft, would have more propriety if they were few.

The scene in the fourth act, in which Ariftodemus acquaints Dione with his intention of devoting her, poffeffes great merit. His Call me not father,' would be completely admirable, were it not followed by unmeaning and cold amplifications: but the fucceeding fcene between Philocles and Dione, which fhould naturally have furpaffed this in tendernefs and pathos, (Philocles being wholly deftitute of fenfe of dignity which fubdues the expreffion of violent emotion,) disappoints us.

In the fifth act, the hymn to Artemis, which precedes the facrifice, is too full of placid imagery for the occafion. The cataftrophe may ferve as a farther fpecimen of the author's

manner:

Phil. Oh forgive

The blafphemous afperfions of my love,

And vain defire, that fondly caught at hope
Of wrefting thee, by falfehood, from thy fate.
Not the Caftalian fprings, that bathe the lips
Of the Pierian maids; not fnows, that reft
Unfunn'd on Rhodope, are clear and spotlefs
As thy pure nature. The malignant founds
My flanderous tongue hath utter'd back recoil
On my own head, like bold impieties
Against th' immortal gods.

Arif. My darling-child,

I thank thee, that with nobleness of mind,
A fortitude divine, thou canft forgive

that

The cruelty that vindicates thy fame.

I love thee more than life. Th' all-feeing gods,
To whom thy faultlefs fpirit foon fhall wing
Its bleffed way, know, what my spirit feels
In lofing thee. The blow, my fatal hand
Aim'd at thy bofom, thrills thy father's heart,
With fharper pang than thine. My days to come.
Will prove a blank, a dream of parted blifs.
Thy pallid form, thus bleeding at my feet,
Shall evermore be prefent. Sweetest bud,
That promis'd golden fruit, and, had the gods
Indulg'd thee length of days, hadft dignified

The foil that gave thee birth. Oh, loft for ever!
Dio. Ye guardian gods, that o'er Melone reign,
Accept this free libation of my blood;

I feel, it is the price of victory.

I

pour it on the laurels that adorn'

Our warriors brows, and never fhall they fade.

And chief, my father, on thy rev'rend head,

Immortal fhall they bloom. The gods, the gods
With care peculiar, guard thee. Philocles,
Weep not; nor turn afide thy face, nor droop,
O'erwhelm'd with fhame; the gods have thus decreed,
The camp expects thee; haften to the palms
Referv'd for thee. Sparta fhall bite the duft.
'Tis paft,'tis done. From woody Manalus,
To meet thy vot'ry, come, thou virgin huntress;

I rife from earth. Oh father! Philocles!

Phil. O ftay, chafte virgin, I will follow thee!

In death allied, ennobled, and complete;
Concord harmonious of our fates. One foul,
One love, one forrow, one untimely tomb.'

[She dies.

The reader will perceive that the ftyle has neither the fimplicity nor the pregnant fententioufnefs of the antient drama; although it is far from wanting beauty. The Greek manner feems neither to have been attained nor attempted. On the whole, however, this tragedy is by no means one of the leaft fuccessful English attempts to work up a Grecian story.

The author promises a third volume, in which will be contained a new edition of his Democratic Rage,' a tragedy; an account of which occurs in our xiiith volume, New Series, p. 308. This Political Tragedy did not meet with our unqualified applaufe: but, if we discovered in it fomething to blame, we found more to commend..

The critical obfervations, as fuggefted by the most confiderable pieces contained in this collection, evince the general learning, good tafte, and judgment of Mr. Prefton,

ART.

Tay.

!

ART. XIV. Methods propofed for decreafing the Confumption of Timber in the Navy, by Means of prolonging the Duration of our Ships of War; with Obfervations on faltening Ships with Iron Knees: To which are added, fome General Remarks on the prefent Timbered State of the Kingdom; in a Letter addreffed to the Right Hon. John Earl of Chatham, First Lord Commiffioner of the Admiralty." Together with a Letter addressed to the Honorable Commiflioners of the Navy, on the Way of keeping, feafoning, and converting Timber, before it is used in Ship-building. With Obfervations on the Sap of Oak Trees. By Tho. Nichols, Purveyor of the Navy for Portsmouth Dock-yard. 8vo. pp. 76. 1s. 6d. Sewell.

WE 7E are ftrongly attached to profeffional knowlege, arifing from extenfive and long practice; and we are frequently led to beftow, on productions refulting from fuch acquirements, more attention than they may at first fight feem to require.

Mr. Nichols, in traverfing the kingdom as Purveyor for Portsmouth dock-yard, in fearch of timber to fupply the extravagant demands of that arfenal, muft neceffarily have acquired a ftore of information, and a degree of judgment, refpecting what he calls the timbered fate of the kingdom, which few other men can poffefs. In his former letter to Lord Chatham, we found much good fenfe and practical information; and the prefent is equally fatisfactory; though the information which it, conveys is not of a pleafing nature.

The letter commences with a gloomy profpect of the probable fcarcity of fhip timber, in times not far diftant. This being a ferious concern to every member of the community, we are induced to lay before our readers Mr. Nichols's ftrong reprefentation of this important matter: though we hope and truft, from the fpirit of planting and preferving woodlands which has lately gone forth, that the real fcarcity, fhould it take place, will not be of long continuance :

From having by long experience obtained fome knowledge of the timbered state of this country, and the supply of timber which is neceflary to fupport the fhipping of our navy and commerce, I am thoroughly convinced that the demand very much exceeds the. growth; and if fome effectual means are not immediately taken, either to leffen the confumption of oak timber or to increase its growth, I fear that the time is not far diftant when we shall be greatly diftreffed for the want of this ufeful article.

From the account published by the Commiffioners of the land revende, in their eleventh report, there appeared to be, at the end of the year 1788, no less than 413,667 tons of shipping in the navy, which must be built over, at furtheft, in every fifteen years, to maintain that quantity of tons; as it is found that the medium duration of our men of war, which (as stated by the navy board) are built in the

* See Review, New Series, vol. vii. p. 161.

N 3

King's

King's yards, is about fifteen years: and it is found that it will, upon an average, take about two loads of timber to build a ton of King's fhipping: which of courfe will make an annual confumption of 55155 loads of timber. The East India Company's shipping, at the prefent time, (1792) contains 79,913 tons; to fupport which, will make an annual confumption of 8,300 to 10,000 loads. The tonnage of fhipping, in the merchants' fervice, tranfports, victualling, ordnance, customs, excife, and poft-office, on the 30th September 1790, was no less than 1,480,990: to maintain which, will make an annual confumption of 113,074 loads; allowing the whole tonnage to be built over once in every twenty years, and allowing a load and a half of timber to build a ton. So that from this statement (which perhaps is near the truth) it appears, that it will require 177,379 loads of timber, to be fupplied annually, to fupport the whole of the fhipping of this country, in its prefent ftate; which has increafed one-third fince the acceffion of his Majefty in the year 1760. This consumption, together with what oak timber is ufed in houfe-building, mill-work, engines, canals, coopers'-work, lighters, barges, boats, &c. from my own obfervations, and from all the information I have been able to collect, far exceeds the annual growth.

V

Having been conftantly employed in travelling over different, parts of the kingdom, for thefe laft twenty years, to collect timber, for the navy, I have of late, with grief, obferved a great diminution in the ftock of growing timber, particularly of that which is applicable to naval ufes; fo much fo, that I do not believe that there is onetenth part of the quantity there was twenty years ago. If the timber in the kingdom continues to decrease in this rapid manner, and there is too much reafon to fuppofe it will, as the shipping continues to increase, and as there are no effectual means taken, either on the crown lands or private eftates, to keep up a fucceffion fufficient to anfwer the increased demand for it, the confequence must be obvious and alarming, and calls for fome effectual fteps to be immediately taken to leffen the confumption of timber, or to increase its growth, in order to fecure the fupply neceffary.

The great decrease of the ftock of oak timber ftanding in the kingdom, be affured, my Lord, is not imaginary, but confirmed by all the Navy Purveyors in their Reports made seven years ago, from a general furvey taken by order of Government, as well as by the Commiffioners of the land revenue, in their eleventh report, who have taken infinite pains to afcertain the timbered ftate of the country."

The proposed mode of preventing a calamity so alarming to this country, in addition to what Mr. N. has formerly advanced refpecting the means of increasing the growth of oak timber, is to leffen the confumption of it in the navy; and in the moft defirable way imaginable: namely, by prolonging the duration of our hips of war, from fifteen or twenty to twenty-five or thirty years. This defideratum he proposes to effect, ift, By the proper feasoning and management of the timber, previously to its being converted for immediate ufe;

letting

letting it lie three years in the fap, before it is fided or hewn. 2dly, By building fhips of war in the dry, under fheds, as propofed in his former letter. 3dly, He proposes to let them ftand fome time in their frames before they are planked; and, when planked up, to leave as many of the holes for the treenails open, for at least twelve months, as can be left open with conveniency; alfo, in framing, to preferve a circulation of air between broad furfaces in contact, by means of grooves made acrofs fuch furfaces; as well as to bore holes through the middles of large beams from end to end, in order to dry the timber quickly and effectually; and, after this is accomplished, to promote a circulation of air, under the well-founded idea that, after oak timber is made perfectly dry, and placed in a free open air, it will endure for ages.' 4thly, and laftly, He advifes to keep fhips of war, when laid up in ordinary or other wife, free from ftagnant and humid air, by means of the fire-ftoves which have lately been brought into ufe by order of the Navy Board.

With refpect to iron knees, (which have lately been introduced into fome of the India fhips, and which the French have long been in the habit of ufing,-from neceffity, perhaps, rather than from choice,-) we are much pleafed to find that Mr. N. is decidedly against them. Every man, who has made naval architecture any part of his ftudy, and who has paid any attention to the structure of fhips, will readily feel the force of his arguments in favour of timber knees.

As iron knees have been fuccefsfully introduced as fastenings, in the Eaft India Company's fhips, by Mr. Snodgrafs, instead of oak, the Commiffioners of the land revenue, through him, have been induced to recommend them for faftening of our men of war; but as the adoption of this mode may be attended with very great and serious confequences to our navy, it certainly ought not to take place, in an extenfive manner, but upon the clearest proofs of its utility. From giving this fubject all the confideration in my power, and from attentively examining the ftate of the iron faftenings on board feveral Indiamen, I am perfectly fatisfied that, however well iron knees are manufactured, they are much inferior to thofe of oak; and of this opinion are all the ship-builders with whom I have converfed, except Mr. Snodgrass. As iron knees fpread a much lefs furface, they cannot keep the parts to which they are united fo fteady and firm as thofe of oak; nor is iron fo elaftic as wood, therefore more liable to give way and break; nor can iron knees be fo fecurely faftened as oak, being of a much smaller fubftance; and the holes in the iron must always be larger than the bolts by which they are fecured, and therefore fubject to work loofe, which is exactly the reverfe in those of oak. On the whole, I am not able to perceive that the introduction of iron fastenings into our men of war, as propofed by Mr. Snodgrass and others, can be attended with the leaft benefit, but may be productive