the count his advice upon them, hardly ever indeed to take it, but to be able to blame his minifters when they were unfuccessful. The king, to prevent his, committing himself with them, took care that the letters which he wrote should be conftantly returned to him."

LOUIS DAUPHIN, SON OF LOUIS XV.

"This prince," fays the Abbe Brotier, was virtuous and enlightened. At his death he obtained in the fecond rank of the ftate what powerful fovereigns do not always obtain in the firft, the univerfal regrets of a great nation. Perfectly well acquainted with the duties of his fituation, he ufed to fay, that a dauphin fhould appear quite a cypher in his country whilft the fovereign fhould endeavour to make himself un homme univerfel."

When, after the battle of Fontenoy, he faw the field covered with the dead and the wounded, he said to his Aid decamp," How much must even a victory coft a prince who has the leaft fpark of humanity!" He used to fay, that a fovereign fhould do all in his power to avoid going to war, without being afraid of it; and when he had the misfortune to be engaged in a war, to fupport_it without growing fond of it, and to be the firft to put himself into that danger which his foldiers incur; to have no fcruple about expofing his own perfon, and to be very fcrupulous in hedding the blood of his people.

When fome of the perfons about his court advised him to afk for a larger revenue than he had, and told him that his predeceffor the dauphin, the fon of Louis XIV. had a larger, he replied, "I fhould moft certainly be well pleaf ed to have a larger revenue, if the augmentation of it was not raised upon the people."

When he was made knight of the Holy Ghost in 1742, and the thousand crowns that were paid to him in that capacity were brought to him, he faid, "this money is really my own, I can do with it as I pleafe. I will give fome of it to fome of the perfons who have ferved me faithfully."

prince the greateft defect in a fovereign. "It feldom happens," faid he, "that a king in cool blood intends to make flaves of his people: Humanity oppofes this, as well as the fovereign's own intereft. Ignorance now and then caufes this folly; hence every mifchief"

When he one day, in the parish church of Verfailles, fhewed his children their names infcribed upon the baptifmal regifter, like thofe of the meaneft perfons, he told them, "My dear children, you fee your names pla ced without distinction among those of the poor and of the indigent. Religion and nature put every one upon an equality, and perhaps the perfon, mean as he is, who immediately precedes you in this book, will be a greater man in the eyes of God, than you will be in the eyes of the people."

Like Germanicus," fays Brotier, "his death was regretted by the neighbours and the enemies of his country. Doctor Maty on that event writing to M. de Nivernois, fays, "Were the dauphin to caft one look upon the earth, he would at prefent behold every heart become a French heart."

ABBE DE ST. REAL.

This Abbe's famous novel on the confpiracy of Venice has given rife to one of the moft excellent tragedies in our language. His novel of Don Carlos, the unfortunate fon of that gloomy tyrant Philip the Second of Spain, affords materials for as exquifite an effort of dramatic art on a domeftic fubject, and has never been attempted with any fuccefs by any of our tragic writers, who complain very much of the dearth of fubjects for tragedy. Even Otway himself has failed in his tragedy of Don Carlos, and, by way of infuring his want of fuccefs, he has written it in rhime. There appears, indeed, no fubject more interesting than that of Don Carlos; a prince, a beauty, an honeft minifter, fuffering by the injuftice and cruelty of a father, a lover, and a tyrant.

One of the grandeft modern latin inferiptions

feriptions is that made by St. Real for the celebrated pafs over the Alps near Echelles in Savoy.

CAROLUS EMANUEL,

Dux Subaudiæ, Piedmontiæ Princeps,
Publicá felicitate pariâ,
Singulorum commodis intentus,
Breviorum fecurioremque viam
Naturâ occlufam, Romanis intentatam,
cæteris defperatam,
Dejectis fcopulorum repagulis,
Equatâ montium iniquitate,
Præcipitia pedibus fubfternens
Eternis populorum commerciis
patefecit

Anno M.DC.LXX.

SIR RICHARD STEELE.

It is among the fingularities of Steele's life, that though a good scholar in other refpects, he did not understand one word of Greek. He often lamented his neglect in this branch of learning to fome of his moft intimate friends, and more than once refolved on fitting down to the ftudy of it; but habits more preffing, together with his love of pleafure and indolence, always prevented him.

To a man of his talents and high reputation as a periodical writer, it was perhaps neceffary to conceal this defect from the public; he did fo, but not, at times, without being put to fome difficulties, as the following anecdote will thew.

Being at Button's coffee-house one morning during the publication of "The Tatlers," a difpute arofe between two gentlemen relative to the tranf lation of a paffage in Homer. Neither of them were willing to give up their opinion: -at laft, feeing Steele at the upper end of the room, they agreed to be decided by him. They accordingly ftated the cafe, and after making the proper apologies for applying to a tranger on this occafion, they begged his decifion. Steele parried the requ:ft for fome time, but at last, being much preffed, and thinking his reputation as a Greek scholar in danger, he, with great prefence of mind, afked one of the parties to repeat the paffage, and then give his sense of it, which he ac

:

cordingly did he then, with the fame gravity, requefted the other to do the fame; which being complied with, he paufed for fome time, as forming fome kind of judgment of the matter; and then told them, "that although there were fome grounds for juftifying both tranflations, he thought that gentleman (pointing to the one whom he had the beft opinion of, from his manner of reciting the paffage) was neareft the author in his original meaning." Both gentlemen bowed to his decifion, and Steele, dreading a rallying point, quitted the coffee houfe foon after.

As foon as he left the coffee-house an intimate friend, who was with him, afked him how he could poffibly rifque doing what he did, knowing his own infufficiency. Why," fays Steele, "I confefs I was a little embarraffed at firft; but then I confidered, that if it once got abroad in the world that I did not understand Greek, the fale of my Tatlers would foon be at an end."

The above anecdote has been often related by a gentleman who was with Sir Richard at the time, and lived in the greateft habits of intimacy with him. This gentleman was then an Irish barrifter, who had the fingular felicity of enjoying good health, a fine imagination, and a plentiful fortune, to the very advanced age of ninety-two. He died in the year 1774.

In the habits of Steele's life he mixed much in the world, and was acquainted with various claffes of people. His occafional refort in the city was Batfon's coffee houfe, where, amongst others, he got intimate with an old gentleman, who looking up to Sir Richard as a man of confequence, and one to whom it was an honour to be known, often made profeffions of friendfhip to him in the pecuniary way, if ever he should have occafion for his fervices. Steele looked upon fuch a man to be a fure friend in any hour of difficulty and diftrefs. He accordingly having had occafion for two hundred pounds, applied to his old friend for the loan with much confidence; but how much was he turprifed to find the other shuffle it off, by telling him "how forry he was he could not oblige him, as he

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never had any thing like that fum unemployed,"

Steele was not to be put off in this manner, but gravely told him, that as from his promises he had drawn the fecret from him that he was in want of money, he would not put it in his power to expofe him, therefore, the alternative was, the fulfilment of his promife, or a duel." The other was much em. barraffed for fome time, but recollect ing that the confequences of a duel might deprive him of all his money, he thought it better to part with fome than lofe the whole, and his life into the bargain; he accordingly lent him the money, which Sir Richard paid a. his convenience, but immediately cut the acquaintance.

Swift liked Steele for his wit, though of different parties, and often ferved him, yet either from the spleen of party, or thoughtlefsnefs of temper, Steele did not make fuitable returns. Swift writes to Mrs. Johnson of him, in the year 1710, in the following manner: "We have had but fcurvy Tatlers of late, fo don't fufpe&t me. I have one or two hints I intend to fend him, and never any morg-he does not deferve it. I never faw him fince I came here, nor has he made me any invitation. He is governed by his wife moft abominably, and either dares not do it, or is fuch a tis dull fellow that he never minds it. So what care I for his witfor he is the worst company in the world till he has a bottle of wine in his head."

DR. FRANKLIN.

In the early parts of Dr. Franklin's life, when he was even a journeyman printer in New York, he reforted to difputing clubs, and was always con fidered as a leading character in thofe focieties. From an old clergyman now refiding in England, who formerly attended thefe meetings with him, we have been informed of many particulars relative to his conduct upon thefe occafions. He was at no time of his life a very rapid or fluent fpeaker; feldom ornamenting his difcourfe, or diverging from the subject matter, other wife than in short anecdotes or familiar

allufions. When a subject was started, he never was amongst the first to dif-. cufs it, but generally waited till it had been pretty nearly exhausted; he then rofe with great deliberation, and, having a very found judgment, he selected fuch parts from the rest of the speakers, either to ftrengthen or refute, as generally decided the queftion, and gained him the reputation of wisdom and difcernment.

It is fuppofed by this clergyman, that Franklin did not understand Latin; that is to fay, he was not regularly bred a Latin scholar; but that when he became a man of fome confideration with the world, he had himfelt inftructed a little in the Latin grammar, and could repeat and apply with great facility and judgment a number of Latin fentences, which it is thought he had previously ftudied as auxiliaries to converfation and debate. He, however, always walked over this ground cautioufly, and when he was oppofed by a Latin quotation, he was fcarcely ever known to answer it in the fome language.

Few men ever Rudied with greater fuccefs this precept of Milton :

"To know That which before us lies in daily life Is the prime wisdom,”

than Dr. Franklin.

He had a ftrong intuitive view of the human character, and decided upon it in that familiar, comprehenfive manner, as to meet the general fenfe of the public. He was one day examining a boy (at the request of his father, who had too partial an opinion of him) relative to his ftudies and habits, &c. Upon almost every quellion the boy had fome excufe for his idlenefs; illness prevented him from reading fuch a book as the doctor had recommended to him, want of paper made him neglect his exercifes, and bad pens were to excufe his bad writing, &c. The doctor, having heard him with great attention for fome time, at laft made the following reply: "My young friend, as I cannot fuppofe that you are telling me a parcel of lies, I can only fay, hitherto you have been rather unfortunate,

feek for peace and forgiveness among her family and relations? They are too often hard and inexorable at the moment when the exercife of a little mercy might fave her from perdition. Shall the apply to thofe perfons whofe intimacy fhe enjoyed in her better days? Alas! feelings too exquifite forbid the thought! fhall the commit to the public ear the ftory of her misfortunes? fhe will meet with derifion inftead of comfort. She is an object for the pitilefs hand of icorn to point at. Shall fhe attempt by labour and a fiduity, to procure the means of honeft fubfiftence? To her infinite mortification, the fees the employments proper for her fex USURPED by a fet of beings, whom, if SHAME CANNOT, AUTHORITY SHOVED, compel to do fervice to the community in feme manly character; who devour, in effeminate floth, the bread which thefe wretches might earn with innocence-whofe very industry, if it may be fo called, is more pernicious than the idleness of others. Hence it is that the is menaced by misfortune in all its fad varieties-by hunger and thirft, by cold and nakednefs. Hence it is that, without means of relief or place of refuge, the fees nothing before her but miferable proftitution. Hence it is that, with a foul wrung by anguish, fhe is compelled to affume the appear ance of cheerfulness; that, amidst penury, difeafe, and remorse, the muft mould her features with a faint and melancholy fmile; that, while her half broken heart is perhaps mufing on a difconfolate parent, on the much-loved home whence fhe is exiled, she must join in the noife of revelry, and the fhout fo boisterous intoxication! Surely this is mifery worthy of all compaffion!-It is fuch as human-nature cannot in any other inftance equal.”

Hiftory of the French Revolutionary Tribunal.

HIS Tribunal, which pofterity Till hardly credit could have exifted in the 18th century, in one of the moft polifhed nations of Europe, had its origin in the dark manoeuvres of Maximilian Robespierre, a member of the convention, to deftory his opponents, and to afford him an oppor

tunity of removing every obftacle between him and the crown of France. It was established by a decree of the convention, on the 17th day of August 1792, and terminated its career with the execution of a colleague of its founder and his accomplices, on the 15th of December 1794.

The crimes which it recognized as Revolutionary were, as appears by the fentences-carrying on correfpondence with the enemies of the Republic, oppofing the enlifting of recruits, importing falfe affignats, compofing and publihing writings in favour of royalty, blafpheming the people and conftitution, concealing gold and filver coin, cutting down and defacing the tree of liberty, frauds in the articles of clothing, provifions or forage for the armies, exclaiming Vive le Roi, furnishing money to the emigrants, checking the circulation of affignats, attempting to re-eftablish royalty, trampling on the national cockade and fubftituting the white cockade, ridiculing the decrees of the convention, propofing an Agrarian law, proclaiming Louis XVII. confpiring against the unity and indivifibility of the Republic, &c.

From its inftitution in Auguft 1792, to the 27th day of July 1794, the memorable day when Robespierre was depofed, the perfons who fuffered its dreadful fentence of decapitation were: Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France

The Princess Elizabeth, fifter of the late King

Six Princes