Fuca; on the Padoricas, or Welsh Indians; or on any one of the many other fubjects which are introduced in it; and on which, bating a rambling inquiry into the name, of which we fhall hereafter fpeak, almoft as much is faid as on the Straits of Anian. It is a fact, though fome may deem it a ftrange one, that, after we had read the memoir with all poffible attention, we fhould have been at a lofs to know where the author intended to place the Straits in question, if he had not luckily inferted the name in his map. That our readers may not be fo much at a loss, we fhall inform them that, according to the idea of our author, the inlet, which Captain Cook called Prince William's Sound, forms the southern entrance into these straits; whence he supposes them to run about N. by E. till they fall into the Northern Ocean in latitude 691° N. and longitude 133° W. Mr. G. appears to have been induced to fix on this fituation, partly by the account of a voyage made by a Mr. Mackenzie, (one of the Canadian traders,) down a river which, running out of the Great Slave Lake, as they call it, empties itself, according to Mr. Goldfon, into the Northern Ocean at that point; and partly from the voyage of Maldonado, brought forward by M. Buache:-for, as Mr. Mackenzie is reprefented to have proceeded in a direction which was north, fomewhat wefterly, from Canada, till he met the Northern Ocean in latitude 69° N. and 133° E. longitude, it is manifeft that no part of the traits in queftion can poffibly lie to the eaft of his track; because, if it did, he must have met with them. On the other hand, as Maldonado is faid to have made his exit into the Pacific Ocean, in a fouth-westerly direction, in latitude 60° N. and longitude 143° E. it is equally plain that the northern entrance into the ftraits cannot lie much to the weft of the point at which Mr. Mackenzie met the Northern Ocean : our author has, therefore, placed it at that point. This, at leaft, appears to us to be the manner in which Mr. Goldfon reafons: but we wish not to be understood as afferting it in too pofitive a manner; for he no where lays down this mode of argument, and his readers are left to pick it up from many different, and diftant parts of his memoir.

Admitting Mr. Goldfon's authorities to be exactly as he reprefents them, little could be objected to the conclufion here drawn: but we fcruple not to declare our doubts that any such voyage as the pretended one of Maldonado was ever performed; at leaft near to the track which is affigned to it by Mr. Goldfon:-our reasons will be seen in the fequel. With respect to Mr. Mackenzie's voyage, circumftances appear to us ftrangely contradictory. We do not find that Mr. Goldfon has ever feen the journal of this voyage: he only fays that it was fub

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mitted to the perufal of Mr. Arrowfmith, who has delineated his track on the map of the world which he has lately published.' To the geographical labours of Mr. Arrowsmith, as far as we have yet feen, every commendation feems due; and therefore we refpect his authority: but, unfortunately, this in a great measure contradicts what is advanced by Mr. Goldfon, who every where reprefents Mr. Mackenzie as arriving at th fea in latitude 691° N. and who fays that he called an island on which he landed, Whale Island, from the great number of whales which he found there. Now Mr. Arrowfmith exprefsly calls the place a fresh water lake. He indeed calls the island Whale Ifland: but not a word is said of any whales being seen there. Little doubt can be fuggefted that the place in which he was communicates with the fea: but as little can be entertained of the fea being at fome diftance, because it is faid that the tide rose 16 or 17 inches; whereas it has generally been obferved that the tide rifes confiderably on the fea coafts in high latitudes.

In fpeaking of Mr. Goldfon's differtation on the origin of the name, Anian, we cannot refift the temptation of treating our readers with a fpecimen of conjectural criticism on geogra phical fubjects.

We will suppose an ingenious gentleman, whofe drift it is to prove that these celebrated ftraits had the name of Anian given to them by Maldonado, in 1598, reafoning in this manner: "It does not appear that any ftraits were known by the name of Anian before the beginning of the feventeenth century-for, in the first place, Burgo-mafter Witfen thinks the name was given to them by Van Uriez and Schaep, who commanded the Caftricom and Brefkes, in 1643: now, although this conjecture is not true, yet if a man, of such extenfive reading and knowlege as Witfen poffeffed, thought that they derived their name from a discovery made fo late as 1643, it is reasonable to conclude that they were not known by that name long before. The Straits of Anian are, however, mentioned, though in very vague terms, by Purchas in 1614, wha then acknowleged that he knew nothing certain concerning them; and it is evident that, when he published the second edition of his work, in 1629, his information on this head was very much improved :-as Purchas was a man who made it his bufinefs to inquire after things of this kind, it is obvious that the name must have been very little known in 1614. Lastly, we find the name of Anian given to the country which borders on thefe ftraits by Wythiet, in an edition of his description of the New World, publifhed fo early as 1607. I am, therefore, of opinion that the knowlege of thefe ftraits was brought to Eu

rope by Lancaster in 1603, who had, no doubt, heard of Maldonado's voyage, juft then performed, in the Eaft Indies; and founded on it his report of a paffage being difcovered in the latitude of 62° N.”

Let us fuppofe, farther, that this ingenious gentleman's differtation had fcarcely made its appearance in the world before one of those formidable beings, called critics, armed with teeth and claws, as all critics are, introduces himself with- Sir! in the first edition of Wytfliet, published in 1598, the Straits of Anian are inferted, with the name at full length, on a general map of the world; and the date engraven on the maps in that edition is 1597, one year before your boasted voyage by Maldonado was undertaken! Ergo, your argument is without foundation."

It would be natural here to fuppofe that the critic's triumph was complete but, alas! nothing is certain in this world. A third perfon fays, "You, Sir, are utterly mistaken: it is not the ingenious gentleman's argument, but his authorities, which are without foundation: Maldonado's voyage was made, if it were ever performed at all, in 1588; and, confequently, his conclufion may be either true or falfe, notwithstanding your antient edition of Wytfliet, or the false premises from which he has reasoned."

Such is the certainty of conjectural geography! for the circumstances here related, however ludicrous, really happened. The ingenious gentleman is Mr. Goldfon, the fubftance of whose reasoning we have truly reprefented. The dreadful critic that attacked him may be the writer of this article, who had actually made the remark which is afcribed to him: but, meeting with an opportunity of inquiring concerning the MS. account of Maldonado's voyage faid to be found in Spain, he learned that fuch a manufcript really exifts in the new library forming for the ufe of the marine in that kingdom, but that it is acknowleged to be modern. It is, however, afferted to be copied very correctly from the original, which is faid to be in the library of the Duke del Infantado: but where that Duke refides, or how the original came into his library, are points to which, unfortunately, our information does not extend. The title of the MS. is "An Account of the Discovery of the Straits of Anian, performed in the Year 1588, by Lorenzo Ferrer de Maldonado." So much for the Straits of Anian,

Mr. Goldfon's 2d memoir, on the discoveries of De Fonte, is not lefs objectionable than that of which we have hitherto been fpeaking; being equally defultory, inapplicable, and full of inconfiftencies. We fhall mention a few, by way of justifying what we fay of it, and then take our leave of a publication

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which has given us much trouble, fome amufement, but not equal fatisfaction.

In the first memoir, Mr. Goldfon concludes that the Straits of Anian have their entrance from the Pacific Ocean at Prince William's Sound, in latitude 60° N. and longitude 147° W. and, paffing thence, enter the Northern Ocean in latitude 692 N. and longitude 133°, or 134o, Weft. In the second memoir, he tells us that he gives credit to Peter Pond's account, in the Gentleman's Magazine for March 1790, who thinks that there can be little doubt that Cook's River, which runs into the Pacific Ocean in latitude 59° N. and longitude 153° W. has its fource in the Great Slave Lake, which terminates in latitude 64° N. and longitude 125° Weft; without confidering that these two conclufions cannot both be true, unlefs Cook's River runs across the Straits of Anian. The fame may be obferved of the Straits of De Fuca and thofe of De Fonte, if they have the pofitions which are affigned to them by our author.

We are told, on the authority of * Mr. Umfreville, that, during the fummer months, the river, on which Hudfon's Houfe ftands, frequently rifes 10 feet perpendicularly in the Space of 24 hours, without any apparent caufe for it, and then fubfides, gradually, to its ufual height. This is at a place which is, at leaft, 1000 miles from any part of the eaftern fea, toward which the river runs; and we are told that it has its fource in the ftony mountains, which are a continuation of the Andes, and about feven days' journey westward of the place Our author deems it fo evident that this where this happens. rife and fall are caufed by the flux and reflux of a tide, that it can require no obfervations from him to make it plainer! Can it be poffible that any one befides himself will entertain a doubt of this phenomenon being caused by sudden and violent rains, which repeatedly happen on the mountains in which this river has its fource, though none fall, at that time, in the flat coun try where the floods are feen.-Almoft the whole of Mr. G.'s reafoning is fimilar to the preceding argument.

We fhall conclude with informing Mr. Goldfon that the Archipelago of St. Lazarus, fo ftrenuously maintained to be difcovered by De Fonte in 1640, is placed on the west coast of America, and in the latitude of 53° N. in Wytfliet's map of the world, published anno 1598, in his Defcriptionis Ptolemaica Augmentum: forty-two years before De Fonte is supposed to have made the difcovery.

For our brief notice of Mr. Umfreville's Travels, fee M. R. vol. v. New Series, p. 138.

ARTO

ART. IV. Sketch of the War with Tippco Sultaun; or, a Detail of Military Operations, from the Commencement of Hoftilities at the Lines of Travancore in December 1789, until the Peace concluded before Seringapatam in February 1792. In Two Volumes. Vol. I. By Roderick Mackenzie, Lieut. 52d Regiment. 4to. pp. 380. Il. Is. fewed. Printed at Calcutta, 1793. Sold in London by

Sewell.

N UMEROUS are the hiftorians of wars who have themselves affifted to conduct the military operations which they defcribe. The present author, although neither a Xenophon, a Cæfar, nor a Davila, deferves no mean rank in the lift. He thus introduces himself to the reader:

The toil that a Soldier, intent upon his duty, must undergo in the course of an arduous war, where the climate is highly unfavourable to exertions of body and mind, will, of itself, apologife for many imperfections in a defcription of momentous campaigns written chiefly in the field.

Anxious only that his facts may prove incontrovertible, and but little folicitous of literary fame, the Author fubmits to a well informed community, a plain, impartial, and, he trufts, a diftinct fketch of the late war, without any attempt whatsoever at cloathing it in a pompous garb, or at obtaining commendation beyond what is due to a candid narrative of recent and important events.

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He is highly fenfible that the utmost delicacy ought to be observed where the conduct of military men is handed down to pofterity, he therefore carefully avoids every reflection that can unneceffarily tend to affect the reputation of any individual; but, whilft he holds truth and juftice for his conftant and only guides, whilst he employs his beft abilities faithfully to connect and detail momentous military ope- › rations, no influence whatsoever can check the reign of free expofition or divert his attention from his original purfuit.

A witness to most of the tranfactions that he is now about to relate, before he committed his remarks, he conftantly compared them with thofe of fenfible men upon the spot. He fpared no pains to obtain correct information on every occurrence at which he was not prefent; he has been fcrupulously careful not to admit any authorities on matters that were at all in doubt, until he was perfuaded they could bear the teft of fevere fcrutiny; he has anxiously avoided being misled by partiality, or influenced by any improper intent; confequently he trufts that none of his cotemporaries have juft grounds to take offence.'

In an historical work, the praise of fidelity is likely to belong to an eye-witness, who is much lefs occupied in explaining the caufes than in particularizing the incidents of the war: but of this it were hafty to form a pofitive conviction, until a greater number of accounts of the fame events fhall have been given to the public.

1 he nature and importance of the memorable events here recorded are too recent, and too generally known, to render it

neceffary