found three wretches endeavouring to conceal themselves. Finding themfelves difcovered, they took the refolution to fall upon the foldier, with daggers in their hands. Wretches," faid he, undaunted by numbers; " and is it thus you have treated the good vicar?" With these words he loft no time; he killed one of the affaffins: he feized the two others, after feverely wounding one of them, and he brought them below. The poor vicar was by this time recovered. "My nephews!" he exclaimed, "and oh, my good deliverer!" "Your nephews! The monsters! I will inftantly deliver them over to the marechauffée." In vain the forgiving uncle implored compaffion on his guilty nephews: the whole village had now gathered to the fpot; the affaffins were delivered over to the hands of justice, and fuffered the punishment due to their atrocious crime.

The vicar would not permit his deliverer to leave him. "My gratitude;" fays he, "is inexpreflible. You are my friend, my relation, my all. My whole life is yours; you have rescued me from death; and we will never part."

The good man haftened to purchace the difcharge of the worthy foldier; and they ever after

lived together. The vicar never recollected his happy meeting with him, without adoring the fuperintending Providence of God; and the foldier, releafed from the hard fare of a military life, had the fatisfaction of seeing a thousand good actions, that endeared to him ftill more and more, the beft of men, the virtuous vicar.

A

AN ANECDOTE.

French Officer being fent from the Camp to the Court, during a hard froft, had no fooner delivered his letters to the King, than the Chamberlain of the Household appointed him a lodging in the Palace, as he was to return to the Camp the next day. But he refused it, faying, "It becomes not me to lie on a bed of down, when my General and the whole army are forced to fleep on the frozen earth." So faying, he ordered some straw out of the stables, and flept in the open air. The King, hearing of the circumftance, made him an handsome present, and recommended him to the General, as one of the bravest men in his army.

MESSIAH.

A

MESSIAH,

Sing a lofty theme, that happy morn

When all mankind were blefs'd, a Saviour

born:

I court no foreign mufe; thou, Truth, infpire,
Conduct my fong, and tune thy facred lyre.
Oh! cou'd I raise my genius and my verfe
To fing, not meanly glories I'd rehearse :
Poets and Mufes fhould their fame refign,
The palm, the olive, and the laurel mine.
Hail facred Truth! the golden period runs,
Prophetic infpiration taught her fons
Of old to fing; when Heroes, Kings repofe,
And nations link in love, who once were foes;
When arms no more deftroy; the fword, the
fpear

To pruning-hooks converted, and the fhare;
When fmiling Peace fhall wave her fruitful wand,
And Justice, Mercy, Love, go hand in hand;
Cimmerian darkness lofe her rigid lore,
And laws direct the world, unknown before;
When fault'ring tongues fhall learn to fpeak aright,
The deaf fhall hear, the blind receive their fight;
When lambs and wolves fhall browse the flow'ry
plain,

One fold the leopard and the kid contain,

The

The calf, the lion, fhare the verdant blade,
And cows and bears divide the friendly shade:
And all the plains rejoice; the defarts glow,
And lucid ftreams from thirsty mountains flow;
The balmy rose breathe sweetness all around,
And myrrh and frankincenfe perfume the ground.
'Twas thus Ifaiah fung; 'twas Heav'n decreed;
And lo! the figns in order bright fucceed,
The glorious feafon rolls; Mankind explore
The mystic caufe, and trembling wait the hour.
When (wondrous fcene!) three fwains, whofe
needful care

Attends their flocks, behold a blazing ftar, Refplendent orb! and angels dancing round; One fpoke, and all the heavenly hofts refound, Shepherd's rejoice, nor fear; this happy morn A Prince, a Saviour, to the world is born; Go, feek his humble mansion; nor delay Your pious care; this light shall point the way; Go, and rejoice, adore your God, and fing Eternal praises to your new-born King." 'Twas fo-they found him in a manger laid, And angels round their facred lyres display'd, Arch-angels fung; and all with rapture teems, All, fave ungrateful man, his love redeems.

ANEC

ANECDOTE

OF

DR. SHERIDAN.

R.SHERIDAN, the celebrated friend of Swift,

DR

had a custom of ringing his fcholars to prayers, in the school-room, at a certain hour every day. The boys were one day very devoutly at prayers, except one, who was ftifling a laugh as well as he could, which arofe from seeing a rat defcending from the bell-rope into the room. The poor boy could hold out no longer; but burst into an immoderate fit of laughter, which fet the others a-going, when he pointed to the caufe. Sheridan was fo provoked, that he declared he would whip them all if the principal culprit was not pointed out to him; which was immediately done. The poor pupil of Momus was immediately hoisted, and his posteriors laid bare to the rod; when the witty schoolmaster told him, if he faid any thing tolerable on the occafion, as he looked on him as the greatest dunce in his school, he would forgive him. The trembling culprit, with very little hesitation, addreffed his mafter with the following beautiful diftich:

There was a rat--for want of ftairs
Came down a rope-to go to pray'rs.

Sheridan