the fame fum to provide for them alfo.* An effectual remedy for thefe evils will never be difcovered, until Schools and Charities are founded upon national establishments. So deeply is my mind impreffed with this truth, that I hope a degree of warmth will be pardoned in me when fpeaking on the fubject. Children are called the children of the late, but is not that ftate an unnatural parent, which refents only its children's preternatural death, and does little else for the prefervation of their lives; which beholds the deaf, and the lame, and the blind unprovided for, together with numberlefs children who are made "To die fo flowly that none call it murder." COLERIDGE. Have not all governments mistaken one of the first principles of govern ment, when out of millions expended in other channels, they beltow not a ingle farthing on thefe ill-fated fufferers-thefe blights of the creation," whose claims more particularly apply to the state. But ftates, like individuals, keep themselves poor by extravagance; for what ftates can afford to affume the paternal character, and at the fame time undertake their favourite wars, which not only fill the land with mourning, and fend thousands and tens of thousands to an untimely grave, but in a few years occafion the expenditure of a fum fufficient to ameliorate the condition of all the poor in Europe. I cannot, however, but indulge the hope, from the improving philanthropy of the age, that the time is fait approaching, when every poor man will receive a ftipend from the 1 government under which he lives, rifing in proportion to the number of his children. This would be a politic meafure in every country, as well as the most effectual means to correc the morals of the lower orders, by making them attach the idea of comfort to the word home: morality also would be effentially promoted, as it would encourage them to marry, from the recollection that fome affittante would be dealt to them to defray the expences of a rifing family. At prefent, the claffes to which I refer, in marrying obey the impulfe of the moment, rather than the dictates of their understanding; and when their minds become divested of former impreffions, they are ready to curfe their folly, and to confider the children which God fent them in mercy, as fo many fubtractions from their happinefs. And truly they are fo, prefenting nothing to the parent's eye but comfortlefs penury, and exciting nothing in his mind but the recollection of wants he cannot fatisfy t. A fufpicion that I might not again have fo fit an opportunity of declaring these fentiments, has induced me to embrace the prefent occafion, though aware at the fame time, that I am fubjecting myfelf to cenfures, which are difregarded only from the fuperior intereft, the fubject excites in my mind. 1, however, request the reader to obferve that in commenting, on the effects of extreme poverty, I have been influenced by no other motive than a defire of finding a cure, by exciting dormant feelings in the minds of the good, and not from a querulous difpofition to detect evils which cannot be removed. REMINIS An avaricious Farmer once told the writer, that he had almoft conftantly remarked a gradation of changes in thofe men he had been in the habit of employing -Young men he said were generally neat in their appearance, active and cheerful, till they became married, and had a family, when he had obferved that their filver Buttons, Buckles, and Watches gradually difappeared, and their Sunday's Clothes became common without any others to fupply their place. But faid he, fome good comes from this, for they will then work for whatever they can get." It fhould be remarked that the wages in this place were one fhilling per day. These refl.ctions were occafioned in fome measure by visiting a poor Family refiding 16 I REMINISCENCES. From the Works of H. Walpole, Earl of Orford. (Concluded from our last, p. 416.) AM tempted to drain my memory of all its rubbish, and will fet down a few more of my recollections, but with lefs method than I have used even in the foregoing pages. I have fail little or nothing of the king's two unmarried daughters. Though they lived in the palace with him, he never admitted them to any fhare in his politics; and if any of the minifters paid them the compli ment of feeming attachment, it was more for the air than for the reality. The princess royal Anne, married in Holland, was of a moft imperious and ambitious nature, and on her mother's death, hoping to fucceed to her credit, came from Holland on pretence of ill health but the king, aware of her plan, was fo offended, that he fent her to Bath as soon as the arrived, and as peremptorily back to Holland -I think, without fuffering her to pafs two nights in London. Princefs Amelia, as well-difpofed to meddle, was confined to receiving court from the Duke of Newcastle, who affected to be in love with her, and from the Duke of Grafton, in whofe connection with her there was › more reality. Princefs Caroline, one of the most excellent of women, was devoted to the queen, who, as well as the king, had fuch confidence in her veracity, that on any difagreement among their children, they said, Stay, send for Caroline, and then we shall know the truth.' The memorable Lord Hervey had dedicated himself to the queen, and certainly toward her death had gained great refiding in a wretched Hovel on the Herefordshire fide of the Malvern Hills, and near the road at the bottom of the Herefordshire Beacon. The Family confifts of a Hufband, Wife, six small and half-ftarved Children, together with an aged Grandmother. The Husband is a Labourer, and in the best season of the year, earns from feven to ten fhillings per week. It is no uncommon thing for fuch Families to kill one Pig in the year, and by partaking of it on particular days only, to make it laft the whole of the following year. This was exactly the cafe with the prefent family. As I entered the door the pot was boiling over a small wood fire, round which the fix ragged but innocent looking children, with the old Grandmother, were seated, watching it boil with a folicitude that made them filent. The Mother was bufily engaged in mending a garment that had been mended a hundred times before. She appeared to be a woman of good natural fenfe, and spoke like one who had known what grief was; her manner was fpiritlefs, and I could not help believing that the was unhappy, not from the evils the herself had felt, but from the anticipation of what her children muft feel. It may be supposed that it was impoffible for me to address her with any ill-timed expreffions of pity, which inftead of comforting her mind would rather have confirmed her forrow. I enquired of the Grandmother if fhe received any affiftance from the Parish, the replied in a fhrill and faultering voice, that the had often required it, and had as often been refused by the Overfeers, unte is fhe would confent to give them the little Hut, which had formerly been plaiftered up by her deceafed husband, and in which the and her defcendants ftili contrived to live. "How, Sir," faid he, "could I part with the only thing in the world lean call my own?"This is parochial Law! Oh, Howard, I venerate thy benevolence, but could wish that thine own country had poffeffed its full exercise, then mighteft thou have been living, and haply this injuftice have been remedied.. If in confequence of this remark any of the vifitors to Malvern Wells should notice this poor and interefting Family, it will afford me confolation to reflect that one human being is the better for the present publication. It must however be confessed, that this is one only of many thousand inftances which prefent the fame or greater claims on our compaffion, but if we withhold our good till we have discovered the most deferving object, it is manifeft that our design is to do no good at all, great afcendance with her. She had made him privy feal; and as he took care to keep as well with Sir Robert Walpole, no man ftood in a more profperous light. But Lord Hervey, who handled all the weapons of a court, had alfo made a deep impreffion on the heart of the virtuous pripcefs Caroline; and as there was a mortal antipathy between the Duke of Grafton and Lord Hervey, the court was often on the point of being difturbed by the enmity of the favourites of the two princeffes. The death of the queen deeply affected her daughter Caroline; and the change of the miniftry four years after diflodged Lord Hervey, whom, for the queen's fake, the king would have faved, and who very ungratefully fatirifed the king in a ballad as if he had facrificed him voluntarily. Dif appointment, rage, and a diftempered conftitution, carried Lord Hervey off, and overwhelmed his princefs: fhe never appeared in public after the queen's death; and, being dreadfully afflicted with the rheumatifm, never ftirred out of her apartment, and rejoiced at her own diffolution fome years before her father. Her fifter Amelia leagued herfelf with the Bedford faction during the latter part of her father's life. When he died, she established herself respect ably; but enjoying no favour with her nephew, and hating the princefs dowager, she made a plea of her deafnefs, and foon totally abstained from St James's. The Duke of Cumberland never, or very rarely interfered in politics. Power he would have liked, but never feemed to court it. His paffion would have been to command the army; and he would, I doubt, have been too ready to aggrandize the crown by it. But fucceffive difgufts weaned his mind from all pursuits; and the grandeur of his fenfet and philofophy made him indifferent to a world that had disappointed all his views. The unpopularity which the Scotch and Jacobites fpread against him for his merit in fuppreffing the rebellion, his brother's jealoufy, and the contempt he himself felt for the prince, his own ill fuccefs in his battles abroad, and his father's treacherous facrifice of him on the convention of Clofter-feven, the dereliction of his two political friends Lord Holland and Lord Sandwich, and the res buffing spite of the princess dowager; all thofe mortifications centering on a conftitution evidently tending to diffolution, made him totally neglect himself, and ready to fhake off being, as an incumbrance not worth the attention of a fuperior un derstanding. From the time the Duke firft appeared on the ftage of the public, all his father's minifters had been blind to his royal highnefs' capacity, or were afraid of it. Lord Granville, too giddy himfelf to found a young prince, had treated him arrogantly, when the king and the earl had projected the match for him with the princefs He had broken with Frederic Prince of Wales on having fhared the favours of his mitrefs, Mits Vane, one of the queen's maids of honour. When he fell in las hour at St James's, and was delivered of a fon, which fhe afcribed to the Prince, Lord Hervey and Lord Harrington each told Sir Robert Walpole that he believed himfelt father of the child. †The Duke in his very childhood gave a mark of his fenfe and firmnefs. He had difpleafed the queen, and the fent him up to his chamber. When he appeared again, he was fullen. " William,' faid the queen, what have you been doing?" Reading. Reading what? The bible. And what did you read there?" About Jefus and Mary.' And what about them? Why, that Jefus faid to Mary, Woman! what haft thou to do with me?? Ed. Mag. July 1799. C princess of Denmark. The Duke, accuftomed by the queen and his governor Mr Poyntz to venerate the wisdom of Sir Robert Walpole, then on his death-bed, fent Mr Poyntz the day but one before Sir Robert expired to confult him how to avoid the match. Sir Robert advised his royal highness to ftipulate for an ample fettlement. The Duke took the fage counfel-and heard no more of his intended bride. The low ambition of Lord Hardwicke, the childith paffion for power of the Duke of Newcastle, and the peevish jealoufy of Mr Pelham, com bined on the death of the prince of Wales to exclude the Duke of Cum. berland from the regency (in cafe of a minority) and to make them flatter themselves that they fhould gain the favour of the princefs dowager by cheating her with the femblance of power. The Duke refented the flight, but fcorned to make any claim. The princefs never forgave the infidious homage, and, in concurrence with Lord Bute, totally eftranged the affection of the young king from his uncle, nor allowed him a fhadow of influence. January 13th, 1789. ACCOUNT OF THE LATE KING OF POLAND. STANISLAUS Auguftus Ponia- in genteel life with whom he con towski was born January 17, 1732, and was the fon of count Poniatowski, Colonel of the Swedish guards of Stanislaus, king of Poland, a nobleman of uncommon merit, invincible courage, and perfect calmnefs and prefence of mind, which enabled him to carry off Charles XII, when defperately wounded, from the battle of Pultowa, and to fave him a fecond time at the battle of Rugen. His fon inherited all his virtues, was of a majestic afpect, a piercing eye, great courage, ftrong natural parts improved by education, retentive memory, mafter of feveral languages, and a lover of the arts and fciences. He visited London in the year 1754, remaining in England from the beginning of September to the latter end of December, and when in town, lodged at a Mr Cropenhole's, a private houfe in Suffolk-ftreet, near the Mews. Daring his ftay in this kingdom, he made a tour through South Britain, and examined every thing worthy the attention of an ingenious and curious traveller. He liked England, and was fond of the perfons verfed; but confidered the lower clafs in a very unfavourable light, on account of fome mobs which he chanced to be a fpectator of, and from whence he too haflily formed his opinion of the behaviour of the whole body of the people. He was elected king of Poland, September 7, 1764, under very critical circumflances. At this time, the great political divifion turned upon the queftion whether a native or a fu. reigner fhould be elected. Auftria, France, and Spain, as connected with the houfe of Saxony, were in favour of a foreigner; Ruffia, Pruffia, and Turkey, were for a native. After much confufion and fome bloodshed, the diet declared in favour of Poniatowfki, with an unanimity unknown in the annals of Poland. His own great qualities, his popularity in his country, his powerful connections, the favour of the prince primate, and the countenance of the great potentates of the north, smoothed his way to the throne, which he afcended with the moft aufpicious appearances, and to the general fatisfaction on the day mentioned, by the name and titles of Stan Stanislaus Auguftus, king of Poland, and grand duke of Lithuania, Soon after his election, he received letters of congratulation from all the courts by whom his caufe had been efpoufed. The most remarkable is that from the celebrated king of Pruffia. From the matter and the occafion, as well as of the character of the writer, it is extremely worthy of prefervation. It runs thus, Your Majefty must reflect, that as you enjoy a crown by election, and not by defcent, the world will be more ob fervant of your Majefty's actions, than of any other potentate in Europe; and it is but reasonable. The latter being the mere effect of confanguinity, no more is looked for (though much more is to be wifhed) from him, than what men are endowed with in common; but from a man exalted, by the voice of his equals, from a fubject to a king, from a man voluntarily elected to reign over those by whom he was chofen, every thing is expected that can poffibly deferve and adorn a crown. Gratitude to his people is the firft great duty of fuch a monarch; for to them alone (under Providence) he is in debted that he is one. A king, who is fo by birth, if he acts derogatory to his ftation, is a fatire only on himfelf; but an elected one, who behaves inconfiftent with his dignity, reflects difhonour alfo on his fubjects. Your Majefty, I am fure, will pardon this warmth. It is the effufion of the fincereft regard. The amiable part of the picture is not fo much a leffon of what you ought to be, as a pro. phefy of what your Majefty will be.' lany, we fhall run briefly over them As the life of this monarch is clofely interwoven with the history of Poland, if we were to detail every event and action at length, it would extend this article beyond all reafonable bounds, and as the leading events have been from time to time given in the historical part of our mifcel in this sketch. In 1766, he refifted with great firmnefs the reprefentations of Ruffia and Pruffia, enforced with arms, in favour of the proteftants in Poland. His anfwer to the Ruffian minister was conveyed in these remarkable words: I have not forgotten_the obligations I am under to the Emprefs of Ruffia, among the means which Almighty God made ufe of to raise me to the throne; but when I came to it, I promised the exact ob. fervation of my religion throughout my kingdom. If I was weak enough to abandon it, my life and my throne would be exposed to the just resentment of my fubjects. I am threatened with forcible means to oblige me to do what is afked of me, which would reduce me to an extremity equally unhappy. I perceive danger in whatever refolution I may take; but I had rather be exposed to such as my duty and honour induce me to make choice of; and from this time, 1 join with my country, in defence of our holy religion.' This event, however, was the occafion of confufion and devaftation, during the years 1769, 1770, and 1771, by which the whole face of the country was defolated. The fituation of the king was truly critical, being expofed alternately to the jealoufy of the contending parties. Inclined to govern with juftice and moderation, while he endeavoured to hold the balance between the parties, he loft much of his confequence. On November 2, 1771, his Majefty was carried off by a party of the confederates, as they were called, under Koczwifki, from Cracow to Willanow, but efcaped by their falling out among themselves, and was preferved by their leader, who was encouraged by the hope of pardon and a reward. The king interceded for the regicides, but feveral were executed. C In the following year 1772, it ap 2 peared |