The Sun.
London, England, 1822-06-27 00:00:00

LITERARY NOTICE.

The HISTORY of JOHNNY QUIE GENUS, the Little
Foundling of the late Dr. SYNTAX; a Poem, in eight
Monthly Numbers. Written by the Author of THE THREE
TOURS of Dr. SYNTAX, in SEARCH of, THE
Plc-
TURESQUE, of CoNsoLATlcog, and of A WIFE ; the
DANCE of DEATH, and-the DANCE of LIFE.
We cannot but feel some degree of self-re-
proach for, having so long delayed to notice, the
work before us, as it afforded us much pleasure
in the perusal, and is a surprising proof of the
strength and fertility of the Author's imagination.
His Doctor Syntax is a work of so entertaining
and moral a nature, that it is likely always to re-
tain a high rank among the poetical effusions of
our country. The easy versification in which it
is convey ed, its benevolent tendency, the virtuous
precepts which it inculcates, its luxuriant but
well governed humour, and the variety of divert-
' ing incidents, and extraordinary characters in
which it abounds, and particularly the admirable
portrait which the author- has drawn of that
whimsical compound of singularity, knowledge,
and benignity, Doctor Syntax,,fully account for
the popularity of the work, and for the many
,ttt-
tempts which have been made to obtrude imita-
tions on the public, under the attractive.jitle of
the original composition. Doctor. Syntax himself
is described as so amiable a character that any
thing connected, with him, 4hen coming from the
author of the original work, cannot but excite an
interest in all who have had the pleasure of pe-
rusing it. Upon this principle the hero of the
present work, Johnny Quce Genus, in having been
patronized by the benevolent Doctor, is naturally
an object of curiosity and attention. The cha-
racter of Johnny seems to shew that it had in a
great degree been influenced by that of his
Worthy patron ; he seems to inherit the benevo-
lent spirit, the unaffected waggery' and 'good
humour,. if not the simplicity, which often
exposed the good Doctor to wanton mis-
chief and interested artifice. Johnny, like Gil
Bias,' passes through a great part 'of his life
in the humble condition of servitude, and his se-
veral employers are properly discriminated, con-
trasted, and described. He is involved in various
adventbres and perplexities, and at length, with
poetical justice, finds in the conclusion a full re-
compense for all his difficulties and his sufferings.
The same .ease, . spirit and humour, the same
benevolent aid moral tendency, which charac.:
terize the several Tours of Doctor Syntax, appear
in the adventures of Johnny Qace Genus. The
rectitude of his mind triumphs over the defor-
mity of his-person, and, while. the Readers enjoy
the oddity of his humour, and are interested in
the vicissitudes'of his fortune, they rejoice In his
final prosperity, and must acknowledge that he
was worthy of the protection of the departed
Doctor. Before we conclude our notice of a
work which has afforded us so much entertain-
ment, and which, as we have said, is so surpriz-
ing a proof of the vigorous mental powers, luxu-
riant imagination, and genuine humour of the
author, at the advanced age of eighty, as stated
in the last Tour of Doctor Syntax, it would be
unjust to Mr. no WLANDSON not to add that the
twenty-four plates, with which he has enriched
Johnny Qum Genus, strikingly illustrate the
Chief incidents of the work, and manifest the
inexhaustible.fertility 'of his sportive pencils

The French Papers contain melancholy de-
tails of the destructive effects of the late storms ;
one of them has the following paragraph:—

" The 14th and 15th June were fatal days to the greater
part of the Agriculturists of the departments of La Dordogne,
Incire and Loire, Loire and Cher, &c. Storms, such as have
not been known within the memory of man, have caused ruin
and devastation in those districts. In several communes there
is no hope of the least harvest ; it will not be thought sur-
prising, when. it is known that hailstones have fallen which
weighed three pounds (at Pouilley one of them even weighed
seven !), and that the country was covered with hail to the
depth of two feet."

LOSS OF A FRENCH FRIGATE.—" Halifax,
May 24.—H.M.C.M.5. Africaine, of 44 guns,
Capt. EPTON, from Martinique for St. Pierre and
Miquelon, the weather thick and foggy, struck
on a shoal on the south side of the Isle of Sable,
a heavy swell then beating on the shore. In less
than half an hour the ship became bilged ; and
the weather lanyards being cut, the masts soon
went by the boards. Part of the crew, in five
boats, attempted to land ; the boats were over-
set, and destroyed in the breakers ; but the
men, with the exception of three or four, were
saved by the exertions of Captain HUDSON,
the keeper, and the people under his direction
on the island; who were ready to afford them
every assistance. Providentially, the schooner
Two Brothers; DARay, was then at anchor on
the north side ; she instantly got under weigh,.
and with great risk and difficulty, having touched
several times on the bar, at length beat over it,
and reached the ship about twelve o'clock the
next night, in time to save the Captain and re-
mainder of the officers and crew, upwards of
250. At three o'clOck on Friday morning last
the wreck of the ship was left, having heeled off
nearly on her beam ends, and the sea almost con-
stantly breaking over her. The Two Brothers
left the island on Sunday last, and arrived here
on Wednesday evening, with about 130 of the
officers and seamen, including the first Lieu-
tenant, Surgeon, and Purser. The Captain, 2d
Lieutenant, several other officers, and part of
the crew,l23 in all, are yet o❑ the island, where
they were left with about ten days' provisions.—
A vessel from the Dock-yard, and the Two
Brothers, will proceed immediately with every
requisite for relief. Two or three of the crew,
attempting to swim from the wreck, perished in
the sarf, which, together with those lost by the
oversetting of the boats, amounted to six per-
sons."

I~iGuw:AY Roaßrny.—Tuesday night,. Miss
MARGARET Assi, of Princes-street, 'Westminster,
returning home from a friend's house in the
King's-road, Chelsea, was met by a soldier in
his morning dress, who snatched off her shawl
and ran off. She called out " Stop thief !" upon
which he returned, knocked her down, took the
ring off her finger and escaped.