ciety of agriculture eftablished at Limoges, by directing their efforts to important objects: he opened a mode of public inftruction for female profeffors of midwifery: he procured for the people, the attendance of able phyficians during the raging of epidemic difeafes: he establifhed houfes of induftry, fupported by charity (the only fpecies of alms-giving which does not encourage idleness): he introduced the cultivation of potatoes into his province, &c. &c. While M. Turgot proceeded with unremitting activity and zeal, in promoting the good of the people over whom he was placed, he meditated projects of a more extenfive nature, fuch as an equal diftribution of the taxes, the conftruction of the roads, the regulation of the militia, the prevention of a scarcity of provifion, and the protection of commerce.

We should exceed our bounds, were we to give the particulars of the many great actions which are here recorded, during the thirteen years in which he held this office: fuffice it to fay, that we do not remember to have often read of a man in power, whofe fole and great object was the happiness and welfare of the people.

At the death of Louis XV. the public voice called M. Turgot to the first offices of government, as a man who united the experience refulting from habits of bufinefs, to all the improvement which study can procure. After being at the head of the marine department only a fhort time, he was, August 24, 1774, appointed Comptroller General of the Finances. During his difcharge of this important office, the operations he carried on are aftonifhing-He fuppreffed twenty-three kinds of duties on neceflary occupations, ufeful contracts, or merited compenfations-He abolished the corvée for the highways, faving the nation thirty millions of livres annually-He fet afide another kind of corvée, which refpected the carriage of military ftores

functions of his office. But he is the officer of government, and poffeffes its confidence. Government fees but with his eyes, and acts but by his hands. It is on the information he collects, on the memorials which he difpatches, and on the accounts he renders in, that minifters decide on every thing, and that in a country where every political power centers in adminiftration, and where a legiflation, imperfect in all its parts, compels it to unintermitted activity, and to reflection on every fubject.'

*The word corvée feems to be derived from cura via, i. e. the care of the roads. It fignifies the call made on individuals to furnish labour and materials in kind for the conftruction and repair of roads. The fame exifts to this day in England, under the name of ftatute duty. It is indeed with us under proper reftrictions, but in France, where there are no turnpikes, all the roads, which are very good, are made and repaired by the corvée alone; whence it becomes an intolerable burden to the labourers.

and baggage-He abated the rigour in the adminiftration of indirect impofitions, to the great profit of the contributors, the king, and the financiers-He foftened the mode of collecting the territorial impofts-He ftopped the progrefs of a plague among cattle-He fuppreffed a fedition conducted with artHe provided for the equal diftribution of fubfiftence-He gave the utmost encouragement to the cultivation of the three chief productions of France, viz. wheat, cattle, and wine, and to the commerce thence refulting-He reformed a number of abuses, fome of which yielded a profit to the place he filled — He abolifhed, as much as he could, the fale of offices-He formed many useful eftablishments-He paid the penfions of the poorer fervants of the ftate, who were four years in arrear-He fupplied the expences of a coronation, the marriage of a princess, and the birth of a prince-He facilitated payments as far as India-He fettled a part of the colony debts, and put the reft in order-He found the public borrowing at five and a half per cent. and reduced the rate to four-He leffened the public engagements eighty-four millions-He found the revenue nineteen millions deficient, and left a furplus of three millions and a half.All these he accomplished within the fpace of twenty months, during feven of which, fevere fits of the gout totally incapacitated him from bufinefs. Such had been the operations, the labours, and the conduct of M. Turgot, when the king demanded his refignation. The courtiers were convinced that they had nothing to expect from the minifter. They forefaw that if ever he obtained the power of extending his economical reform to the expences of the court, that many of their places would be annihilated. The financiers knew, that under an enlightened minifter, folely intent on fimplifying the receipt of taxes, the fources of their enormous wealth would foon be dried up. The money-dealers felt how useless they should become under a minifter who was the friend of order, and of the liberty of commerce. Pecple of all conditions, who had contracted the habit of living at the expence of the public, without ferving it; all these men, alarmed and terrified, formed a league, powerful by its numbers, which removed this great man from an office, in the dif charge of which, the happiness of the people and the good of his country were his ultimate objects.

Reduced to a private fituation, M. Turgot did not experience that frightful void which is the juft but dreadful punishment of ambitious men when deferted by fortune. The sciences and the belles lettres, which he had cultivated in his youth, afforded him confolation, while an active fphere of life was denied him. Natural philofophy and chymiftry were his favourite pursuits; yet he frequently entertained himself with poetry, especially with tranflating Virgil into French verfe. We know,' fays

his biographer, but of one Latin verfe compofed by M. Turgot, and which was intended for a picture of Dr. Franklin.

Erripuit cælo fulmen, mox fceptra tyrannis.'

The attacks of the gout, under which he had long laboured, becoming more frequent and exceffive, forewarned him of the approaching moment, when in conformity to the laws of nature, he was going to fill, in a higher order of beings, the rank which thefe laws deftined for him. He died March 20, 1781.

Not having the original before us, we cannot fpeak as to the fidelity of the tranflation. The language is in general good, if we except a few Gallicifms, but as thefe rarely occur, they are pardonable in fo large a work. The word perfectibility, which is ufed more than once, is, we think, no way preferable to perfection; but as it is printed in Italics, we fuppofe the original French word to have been peculiar.

We fhall conclude, with recommending this curious and learned performance to the attention of our Readers; we are perfuaded that the liberality of the Marquis de Condorcet's fentiments, and the juftnefs of his remarks, cannot fail of being admired by every perfon whofe foul is not contracted by the narrow principles which defpotifm and bigotry muft neceffarily inculcate, for their own prefervation. R-m

ART. XXIII.

The Hiftory of Mexico. Collected from Spanish and Mexican Hiftorians, from Manufcripts and ancient Paintings of the Indians. Illuftrated with Charts and Plates. By Abbé D. Francesco Saverio Clavigero. Tranflated from the original Italian, by Charles Cullen, Efq. 4to. 2 Vols. 21. 2s. Boards. Robinfons. 1787.

HE difcovery of America may be juftly esteemed one of

the most remarkable eras of the world. The hiftory of that difcovery is interefting and curious. The Europeans, aftonifhed at the extent and riches of the new world, were more furprised to find a rich and flourishing empire; a king on the throne of Mexico, governing, according to the most refined principles of equity, a polifhed nation; the ufeful arts of architecture and agriculture nearly in a ftate of perfection: the fine arts of fculpture and painting made fubfervient to hiftory; feminaries of learning for each fex, properly inftituted for promoting morality as well as knowledge; in a word, an enlightened people, furnished not only with the neceffaries and the conveniences but even enjoying the luxuries of life.

The Abbé Clavigero, as we learn from the Tranflator's preface, is a native of Vera Cruz; he refided near forty years, in the provinces of New Spain; acquired the language of the Mexicans, and other nations; gathered many of their traditions,

and

and ftudied their hiftorical paintings, and other monuments of antiquity. On there accounts he appears well qualified to write the history now before us.

The first volume of this work (the original of which we briefly noticed in our lxvth vol. p. 462.) contains, befide a review of the feveral writers on the fubject, a full hiftory of the kingdom of Mexico, to the time of the Spanish invasion by Ferdinando Cortez. The Author divides this volume into feven books, of which the firft is appropriated to the d feription of the country, its climate, productions, &c. The natural history is throughout vague and unfatisfactory, but omnia non poffumus omnes; and the fuperior excellence of the other parts of this valuable publication, makes ample amends for a deficiency in a fubject which is foreign to the principal defign of the hiftorian.

In the fecond book, the Mexicans are laid to be derived from the Toltecas, who were banished from their own country, Huehuetapallan, fituated north-west from Mexico. They began their journey in the year. 596 of our era; and after having been divided into feveral parties, by rebellions and inteftine broils, they peopled the feveral provinces of Anahuac. The Aztecas, or Mexicans, who were the lateft people that fettled in Anahuac, lived till about 1160, in Aztlan, a country fituated north of the gulph of California. A perfon named Huitziton, to whole opinion all paid great deference, perfuaded them to change their country. What route they at firft took, is uncertain. It appears however, from certain records, that they paffed the Red River (called by the Spaniards Rio Colorado) in the latitude of 35, and proceeding in a fouth-eaft direction, arrived off the banks of the river Gila (or, as fome write it, Hila), where they must have remained fome time, as is evident from the ruins of large buildings that have been feen there. They continued their courfe to Cafe Grandi, an immenfe ftone edifice built by them in their peregrination. We cannot mention every particular of their long journey, and the hardships they underwent. In 1325, they began the foundation of their city, on an island in the lake of Tezcuco. Their buildings foon became magnificent; the island was connected to the main land by feveral causeways (the length of thefe raifed roads was fometimes upwards of five miles), and the new colony in a fhort time produced a flourishing and wealthy city.

Until the year 1352 the government was ariftocratical, the ftate being ruled by twenty chiefs. Thinking that royal autho rity would throw fplendour on their nation, they elected, by common confent, camapitzin, the most famous and prudent perfon among them, their first monarch. He entered into alliances with fome of the neighbouring fovereigns; married two of their daughters; and, after many public fervices, died in 1389. For

the

the fucceffion of the kings of Mexico, we refer our Readers to the work.

Montezuma II. was the ninth king. As he was a remarkable character, and reigned at the time of the Spanifh invafion, the following account of his manner of living, and his magnificence, will not, perhaps, be unacceptable.

All the fervants of his palace confifted of perfons of the first rank. Befide thofe who conftantly lived in it, every morning fix hundred feudatory lords and nobles came to pay court to him. They paff d the whole day in the antichamber, where none of their fervants were permitted to enter, converfing in a low voice, and waiting the orders of their fovereign. The fervants who accompanied thofe lords were fo numerous as to occupy three fmall courts of the palace; and many waited in the streets. The women about the court were not lefs in number, including those of rank, fervants, and flaves. All this numer us clafs of females lived fhut up in a kind of feraglio, under the care of fome noble matrons, who watched over their conduct.'—

No one could enter the palace, either to ferve the king, or to confer with him on any business, without pulling off his fhoes and stockings at the gate. No perfon was allowed to appear before the king in any pompous drefs, as it was deemed a want of refpect to majefty; confequently the greatest lords, excepting the nearest relations of the king, ftripped themselves of the rich drefs which they wore, or at least covered it with one more ordinary, to fhew their humility before him. All perfons on entering the hall of audience and before fpeaking to the king, made three bows, faying at the first, Lord! at the fecond, My Lord! and at the third, Great Lord! They spoke low, and with the head inclined; and received the answer which the king gave them by means of his fecretaries, as attentively and as humbly as if it had been the voice of an oracle. In taking leave, no perfon ever turned his back on the throne.

The audience hall ferved alfo for his dining room: the table was a large pillow, and his feat a low chair. The table-cloth, napkins, and towels were cotton, but very fine, white, and always perfectly clean. The kitchen utenfils were of elegant earthen-ware, but none of these things ever ferved him more than once, as immediately after he gave them to one of his nobles. The cups in which they prepared his chocolate and other drinks of cocoa were of gold, or fome beautiful fea fhell, or naturally formed veffels, curiously varnished. He had gold plate, but it was ufed only on certain festivals in the temple. The number and variety of dishes at his table amazed the Spaniards who faw them. The conqueror, Cortez, fays, that they covered the floor of a great hall, and that there were dishes of every kind of game, fish, fruit, and herbs of that country. Three or four hundred noble youths carried this dinner in form, prefented it as foon as the king fat down to table, and immediately retired; and that it might not grow cold, every dish was accompanied with its chaffing-difh. The king marked, with a rod which he had in his hand, the meats which he chofe, and the reft were distributed among the nobles who were in the antichamber.

Before