Demofthenes, the celebrated Greek orator, thought it fo abfolutely neceffary to speak well, that though he naturally ftuttered, and had weak lungs, he refolved, by application and care, to get the better of those dif advantages. Accordingly, he cured his ftammering, by putting fmall pebbles into his mouth; and ftrengthened his lungs gradually, by ufing himself every day to fpeak aloud and diftinctly for a confiderable time. He likewife went often to the fea-fhore, in ftormy weather, when the fea made moft noife, and there fpoke as loud as he could, in order to use himself to the noife and murmurs of the popular affemblies of the Athenians, before whom he was to fpeak. By fuch care, joined to the conftant ftudy of the beft authors, he became at last the greateft orator of his own or any other age or country, though he was born without any one natural talent. for it.-Adieu! Copy Demofthenes. DEAR BOY, LETTER XXVI. Account of Marfeilles. Marfeilles, September the 22d,. OU find this letter dated from Marfeiiles, a feaport town in the Mediterranean fea.. It has been famous and confiderable, for these two thousand years at leaft, upon account of its trade and fituation. It is called Mafilia in Latin, and diftinguished itself, in favour of the Roman 'liberty, againft Julius Cæfar. It was here, too, that Milo was banifhed, for killing Clodius. You will find the particulars of thefe facts, if you look in your Dictionary for the articles Marfeilles. and Milo. It is now a very large and fine town, extremely rich from its commerce; it is built in a femicircle round the port, which is always full of merchant. fhips of all nations. Here the king of France keeps his gallies, which are very long fhips rowed by oars, fome of forty, fome of fifty, and three-fcore oars. The people who row them are called galley flaves, and are either prifoners taken from the Turks, on the coast of Africa, or criminals, who, for various crimes committed in France, are condemned to row in the gallies, either for life, or for a certain number of years. They are chained by the legs, with great iron chains, two and two together. The profpect, for two leagues round this place is the most pleafing that can be imagined, confifting of high hills, covered with vineyards, olive trees, fig-trees, and almond-trees, with above fix thousand little country houses interspersed, which they call here, des Basti des. Within about ten leagues of this place, as you will find in the map, is Toulon, another fea port town upon the Mediterranean, not near fo big as this, but much tronger there moft of the French men of war are built and kept, and likewife most of the naval ftores, fuch as ropes, anchors, fails, mafts, and whatever be longs to fhipping, If you look into your Geographical Dictionary for Provence, you will find the hiftory of this country, which is worth your reading; and when you are looking in your Dictionary, look for Dauphiné too, which is the next province to this, and there you will find when Dauphiné was united to the crown of France, upon condition that the king of France's eldest fon fhould always be called le Dauphin. You fhould, in truth, omit no one opportunity of informing yourself of modern hiftory and geography, which are the common fubjects of all converfation, and confequently it is a fhame to be ignorant of them. Since you have begun compofition, I fend you here another fubject to compofe a few lines upon : Nil confcire fibi, nulla pallefcere culpâ §. Whoever obferves that rule, will always be very happy. May you do it!-Adieu ! To have a clear confcience, and to have no crime to blush ats LETTER XXVII. Modern Hiftory....Origin of the prefent Governments of Europe: DEAR BOY, SINCE you are now in modern history, it is neceffaryyou should have a general notion of the origin of all the prefent kingdoms and governments of Europe, which are the objects of modern hiftory. The Romans, as you very well know, were masters of all Europe, as well as of great part of Afia and Africa, till the third or fourth centuries, that is, about fourteen or fifteen hundred years ago; at which time the Goths broke in upon them, beat them, made themfelves mafters of all Europe, and founded the feveral kingdoms of it. Thefe Goths were originally the inhabitants of the northern part of Europe, called Scandinavia, north of Sweden; part of which is to this day called Gothland, and belongs to Sweden. They were extremely numerous, and extremely poor; and finding that their own barren, cold country, was unable to fupport fuch great numbers of them, they left it, and went out in fwarms to feek their fortunes in better countries. When they came into the northern parts of Germany, they beat thofe who oppofed them, and received thofe who were willing to join them, as many of thofe northern people did-such as the Vandals, the Huns, the Franks, who are all comprehended under the general name of Goths. Thofe who went weftward were called the Vifigoths; and those who went eastward the Oftrogoths. Thus in creafing in numbers and ftrength, they entirely fubverted the Roman empire, and made themfelves maf ters of all Europe and hence modern hiftory begins.. That part of the Goths, who were called the Franks, fettled themfelves in Gaul, and called it France; the Angli, another fet of them, came over here into Britain, fince which time it is called England. The Goths were a brave but barbarous nation. War was their whole bufinefs, and they had not the leaft motion of arts, fciences, and learning on the contrary, they had an averfion to them, and deftroyed, wherever they went, all books, manufcripts, pictures, flatues, and all records and monuments of former times; which is the cause that we have fo few of thofe things now remaining and at this time, a man that is ignorant of, and defpifes arts and fciences, is proverbially called, a Goth, or a Vandal. The Gothic form of government was a wife one; for though they had kings, their kings were little more than generals in time of war, and had very little power in the civil government; and could do nothing without the confent of the principal people, who had regular affemblies for that purpofe: whence our parliaments are derived.. Europe continued, for many centuries, in the groffeft and darkest ignorance, under the government of the Goths; till at laft, in the fifteenth century, that is about three hundred years ago, learning, arts, and fciences, revived a little, and foon afterwards flourished, under Pope Leo X. in Italy, and under Francis I. in France what ancient Greek and Latin manufcripts had efcaped the fury of the Goths and Vandals were then recovered and published; and painting and fculp ture were carried to their higheft perfection. What contributed the moft to the improvement of learning, was the invention of printing, which was difcovered at Haarlem in Holland, in the fifteenth century, in the year 1440, which is just three hundred years ago. Adieu ! Look in your Dictionary for the following articles; Goths, Vandales, Alaric. LETTER XXVIII. General Defcription of France. FRANCE, take it all in all, is the finest country in Europe; for it is very large, very rich, and very fertile the climate is admirable; and never either too hot, as in Italy and in Spain; nor too cold, as in Swe den and in Denmark. Towards the north, it is bounded by the Channel; and, towards the fouth, by the Mediterranean fea: it is feparated from Italy by the Alps, which are high mountains, covered with fnow the greatest part of the year; and divided from Spain by the Pyrenean mountains, which are also very high. France is divided into twelve governments or provin ces, which are The French are generally very volatile; but it is a brilliant fort of volatility: they are very brave. The government of France is an abfolute monarchy, or rather defpotifm; that is to fay, the king does whatever he pleafes, and the people are abfolutely flaves. Picardy. Picardy is the most northern province of all France. It is an open country, and produces hardly any thing. but corn. The capital town is Amiens. Abbeville is another town in that province, confiderable for the manufactory of woollen cloths establifhed there. Calais is also another good town, and a fea-port: there we ufually land, in our paffage from England to France. Normandy. Normandy joins Picardy; its largeft towns are Rouen and Caen. This province produces vaft quan tities of apples, with which they make cyder. As for wine, there, as well as in Picardy, they make but little; because, being fo far northward, grapes will not ripen. The Normans are reckoned litigious, and fond of law-fuits. If they are asked a question, they never return a direct anfwer; fo that when a man gives an evasive answer, it is become a proverb to say, He anfwers like a Norman, |