English literature -- 18th century -- History and criticism; Great Britain -- Intellectual life -- 18th century
Why, as remarked by an ingenious 'Monthly Reviewer,' it should be
necessary to tell 'Mrs. D.' and 'Mrs. O.' (whom the artist shows us
conversing agreeably with Mr. Hanway under an awning in a two-oared
boat) what, having been of the 'Partie,' they probably knew quite as
well as he did, is not explained. But on the other hand, it may be
contended that he really tells them very little, since the 'Moral and
Religious' reflections almost entirely swallow up the Travels. 'On every
occurrence,' says the critic quoted, 'he expatiates, and indulges
in reflection. The appearance of an inn upon the road suggests... an
eulogium on temperance; the confusion of a disappointed Landlady gives
rise to a Letter on Resentment; and the view of a company of soldiers
furnishes out materials for an Essay on War.' The company of soldiers
was Lord George Bentinck's regiment of infantry on their march to Essex;
and one sighs to think with what a bustle of full-blooded humanity--what
a 'March to Finchley' of incident--the author of a 'Journal of a Voyage
to Lisbon' would have filled the storied page. But Mr. Hanway is not
the least penitent; rather is he proud of his reticence. He specially
expresses his gratitude to the hostess 'who gave occasion for my
thoughts on resentment, a subject far more interesting than whether a
battle was fought at this, or any other place, five hundred years ago.'
(If 'Mrs. D.' and 'Mrs. O.' were really of this opinion, they must have
been curiously constituted.) 'Can you bear with this medley of both
worlds?' he asks them on another occasion, and it is not easy to reply
except by saying that there is too much of one and too little of the
other. To pass Bevis Mount with the barest mention of Lord Peterborough;
to come to Amesbury and 'Prior's Kitty' and be fobbed off with 'a pious
rhapsody;' to stop at Stockbridge for which Steele was member when
he was expelled from Parliament, only to enter upon fifty pages of
indiscriminate reflections on Public Love, Self-examination, the
Vanity of Life, and half a dozen other instructive but irrelevant
subjects,--these things, indeed, are hard to bear, especially as they
are not recommended by any particular distinction of matter or manner.
'Tho' his opinions are generally true,' says the critic already quoted,
'and his regard for virtue seems very sincere, yet these alone are not,
at this day, sufficient to defend the cause of truth; stile, elegance,
and all the allurements of good writing, must be called in aid:
especially if the age be in reality, as it is represented by this
Author, averse to everything that _but seems_ to be serious.' 'Novelty
of thought,' he says again, 'and elegance of expression, are what we
chiefly require, in treating on topics with which the public are already
acquainted: but the art of placing trite materials in new and striking
lights, cannot be reckoned among the excellencies of this Gentleman; who
generally enforces his opinions by arguments rather obvious than new,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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