Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1818-05-05
yHE REVIEW OF YHisL7Ps's ELoQuKNcE.
Con:iaRed.

bast Of this orator, in multitude of fur
ther instances, the Edinburgh Reviewer
proceeds thus 49,
Mr.. Phillips has but little talent for
wit or humor.-The following piece of
violent absurdity is, we presume, meant
for specimen Of his powers in that line.
- Only just admire this far-famed secu'
rity bill-this motley compound Of oaths
and penalties. which under the name Of
emancipation would drag your prelates,
with a halter about their necks, to the
vulgar scrutiny Of every village tyrant,
IN order 10 enrich few political traders,
and distil through some state alembic
the miserable rinsings, Of an ignorant,
dscaying, and degenerate aristocracy!
Only just admire it! Originally engen
dered by our friends the opposition, with
= cuckoo insIdiousness, they swindled it
into the nest Of the treasury ravens, and
when it had been fairly hatchsd with the
beak of the one and the nakcdness Of the
other, they sent it for its feathers to
Monseigneur Quarantotti, who has obi
gingly transmitted it, with the hunger Of
its parent, the rapacity Of its nurse, and
the coxconbry Of its plamassier. to be
baptized by the bishops, and received
Uqao sratoqne amino, BY the people Of
Ireland !! y thou sublimeIy ridiculous
quarantOtti. oh thou superlative cox
comb of the conclave! What an estimate
hast thou formed of the mind Of Ireland
Yet why should / blame this wretched
scribe Of the propaganda
"The speech, however, in the case Of
Blake Us. wilkins is full Of riba dry and
the transitions from vulgar, and coarse,
or silly jokes, to extravs kant pompous
defamation, ia MIR. Phillps's worst
bombast, make this, perhaps, the worst
thing in the collection His quotations
are chiefly from DibdiR's songs. Some
times he gives the words Of the original
exactly-as when he cites from Captain
IYaft.e and Miss Roe - sometimes he
parodies-as in quoting Poor Jack
which furnished, we presume, the orisi.
nal Of the following motley passage"
Alike to him the varieties Of season,
or the viclssitudes of warfare. One save
rsigo image monopulizcs his sensibilities.
Does the storm rage ? the Widow Will
kins outsighs the whirlwind. Is the ocean
calm its mirror shews him the lovely
Widow Wilkins-Is the battle won, he
Trims his laurel that the Widow Wilkins
may Intervene the myrtlcs. Does the
br,adside thunders he invokes the Wi.
dow wilkins!
A s,sss, little cherub, she sits up alOft
To keep wztch for the life of poor Peter
" And he gives an elaborate adaptation
Of Alley-Croker in the same style. We
really cannot give any more specimens
OF this production. But the vulgar sto-
ry, SO badly, as we'll as aippantly told
of Mr.. Fox, in page so, and which we
will venture to assert has no earthly
foundation, except in the jest.bOok it was
taken from, where we dare say it was at
least told comparatively well, surPasses
any thing ia this volume, tor low and un-
successful attempt at humor."
"hfter the idea which the foregoing
pages must have conveyed Of Mr.. Phil
lips's Judgment, it can hardly appear
wonderful that we should now mention
as amongst the most prominent OF his
faults. an injudicious choice OF bis topics,
and . manner Of handling them which
generally sacrifices the sense to the
sound. In fact, he never appears for a
moment to have in view the object which
alone he ought constantly to aim at, con-
viction or persuasion. To strike, to daz
zle, is his perpetual effort; to bring for
ward the speaker, and let the subject
fare as it may, is the manifest purpose,
net only OF every speech. but Of all the
particular passages. To be sure, the kind
Of speaking in which he seems chiefly to
have practised. leads naturally enough
to this grand defect, When gentleman
.nI ... 81. ~. -. g.. q a.,ao,h