which we fhall be glad to fee, that there are many more typographical errors than are noted in the Table of Errata. Thefe faults will, we doubt not, be corrected, fhould the opportunity not be wanting; and it is hardly to be imagin ed, that a subject at all times of the highest concern to mankind, and more peculiarly fo at this crifis, treated as it is under the different forms, and each made interefting, of Poetry, Philo- ' fophy, and Literature, fhould fail to attract a more than ordinary share of the public attention. DROSSIAN A. ANECDOTES of ILLUSTRIOUS and EXTRAORDINARY PERSONS, A THING OF SHREDS AND PATCHES! NOSTRADAMUS. ONE of the luckieft of this pretended prophet's predictions is that which was applied to Henry the Second of France, flain in a tournament by Montgomeri, the lance piercing his eye through his golden vizor. Le Lion jeune le vieux furmontera The elder Lion fhall the younger en gage, And him, alas! in fingle combat flay ; Shall put his eyes out in a golden cage, One wound in two: hard, hard to die in fuch a way. May we not apply to the pretenders to prophecy in our times what the Roman orator fays of those who in his time pretended to divination? Furor ifte quem divinum vocatis, ut quæ fapiens non videat, ea videat infanus, et is qui humanos fenfus amiferit, divinos affecutus fit." "That fury which ye call divine.that fury, I mean, by which a madman affects to fee what the wifeft men do not pretend to fee; that fury, by which a man who has loft all human intellect imagines himself poffeffed of that tranfcendant degree of it which belongs to the Deity alone." The oracle of moral and political human wisdom, Lord Bacon, in his Chapter upon Prophecies, fays, fpeaking of modern prophecies," My judgment is, that they ought all to be HAMLET. defpifed, and ought to ferve but for winter talk by the fire fide. Though when I fay defpifed, I mean it as for belief; for otherwife the spreading or publishing of them is in no fort to be defpifed; for they have done much mifchief. I fee many fevere laws made to fupprefs them. That which hath given them fome grace and fome credit confifteth in three things. First, that men mark when they hit, but never mark when they mifs, as they do generally. The fecond is, that probable conjectures or obfcure traditions many times turn themselves out prophecies. The third and laft(which is the great one) is, that almoft all of them, being infinite in number, have been impoftures, and by idle and crafty brains merely contrived and feigned after the event paft." CARDINAL DE SARDIS. When this Prince of the Romish Church went to Rome, as a prelate, to folicit the dignity of Cardinal (the well-known mark of which is a red hat), he returned to Paris difappointed, and with an extremely bad cold. Boifrobert faid, that it was no wonder M. de Sardis had a cold, as he had come ali the way from Rome to Paris without his hat. This Cardinal being asked by a Lady why the principal virtues are called is becaufe we Cardinals are ever fuppofCardinal virtues, replied, "Madam, it ed to poffefs them. The following lines were addreffed to a very young Lady (a niece of the Writer's), Writer's), who had gained a prize given by her fchoolmiftrefs for the best theme on the fubject of the Cardinal virtues. LINES TO MISS E. K. So foon, my girl, to gain the prize, vade. 66 of Wiltshire not long before the abdication of King James the Second: he entitled it, Monarchy the beft Government, and the English above all others;" in which he fays, "I am apt to believe, that thofe perfons who are not contented with the Government of England, have not confidered aright what a Common-wealth is. A Common-wealth makes a found and shadow of Liberty to the people, but in reali ty is but a Monarchy under another name. For if Monarchy be tyranny under a fingle perfon, a Common. wealth is tyranny under feveral per fons as many perfons that govern, fo many tyrants; but let it be the beft that can be, yet the people under any Common-wealth enjoy not that liberty which we do. "Gentlemen, as the excellency of the English Government is an argument fufficient to diffuade any of us from the leaft attempt of alteration; fo experience has taught us, that no fort of Government but that under which we live, will fuit or agree with England. Let us but confider the late trou. bles: how many feveral kinds of Government were then fet up, one after another! All ways were tried, but nothing would do, till we were returned to our old and ancient way." In the fame Charge, his Lordship gives fome excellent directions refpecting the choice of a Member of Parliament.The Works of the Right Honourable Henry late Lord Delamer, and Earl of Warrington, 8vo. 1694. Lord Warrington was a man of moft exemplary private character, a very good conftitutional lawyer, and firmly attached to the Champion of our Liberties, the illuftrious William the Third. * Cardinal is derived from the Latin cardo, a hinge. me memoriæ, judicium expectans," was Sous cette cafaque noire, Scuderi fpeaks of it as written on a man not dead but afleep. If Bentley then applied it to Barnes, he ftole it. Voltaire fays on this paffage, “it is pleafant enough to fee Scuderi treat ing Corneille as a man without judg. ment," 66 MR. GIBBON. Gudin, in his Anfwer to Abbe Mably's Maniere d'Ecrire l'Hiftoire, fays, that he dined one day at Paris, at M. de Foncemagne's, in company with the Abbe and Mr. Gibbon. The converfation turned chiefly upon Hiftory. The Abbe, who was a profound politician, brought it upon Government during the time of the deffert; and as by character, by difpofition, and from the habit he has of admiringLivy, he efteems no form of Government but that of a Republic, he began to praife Republics in general, perfectly convinced in his own mind, that the learned Englishman would approve of what he faid, and admire that profundity of genius which even made a Frenchman foresee the advantages of that form of Government. But Mr. Gibbon, well knowing by experience the inconve niences of a popular Government, was by no means of the Abbe's opinion, and generously took upon himself the defence of a Monarchical Government. The Abbe was defirous to convince him that he was wrong, from Livy, and from fome arguments made ufe of by Plutarch in favour of the Spartans. Mr. Gibbon, bleffed with the happieft memory, and having all the facts prefent to his mind, foon took the lead in the conversation. The Abbe waxed angry, grew violent, and faid fome coarfe things. The Englishman, pre ferving the phlegm of his country, took his advantage, and preffed the Abbe with more fuccefs, in proportion as he became in a greater paffion. The converfation grew very warm, and M. de Foncemagne broke it off, by get. ting up from table, and by going into the drawing-room, where no one of the company was tempted to renew it." PENELON, ARCHBISHOP OF CAMBRAY, This celebrated writer, who in early life had been Confeffor to many women of rank in France, in a letter of his, not generally known, makes thefe remarks on the femmes fçavantes et cu rieufes of his time. "Une femme curieufe, & qui fe picque de feavoir beaucoup, fe flatte d'être un genie fuperieur dans fon toke. Elle fe fçait bon gré de meprifer les ornaments & les vanites des autres femmes. Elle fe croit folide en tout, & rien ne la guerit de fon entêtement. Elle ne peut d'ordinaire rien scavoir, qu'à demie. Elle eft plus eblouié, qu' eclairée, & eclaircie par ce qu'elle fçait. Les femmes font eloquentes en converfation, & vives pour maniere une cabale. Les vanités groffieres des femmes font beaucoup moins à crain dre, que les vanites ferieufes & refi nées. Tout eft perdu fi un femme s'entête du bel efprit, & fi elle fe degoute des affaires domeftiques. La femme forte de l'Ecriture file, fe renferme, dans fon manege, fe tait, croit, & obeit." “Avis du Fenelon à une Dame de Qualité, fur l'education de Mademoiselle fa fille." The Reverend George Herbert, the celebrated Rector of Bemerton, in his Book of Proverbs, appears to have a moft terrible dread of a learned lady. He fays, "A morning fun, a winebred child, and a Latin-bred woman, feldom end well." He fays again, "Take heed of a young wench, prophetess, and a Latin-bred woman; they and the civil wars have made a million of bastards, and thirty thoufand witches." Fenelon, with great candour, ufed to tell his friends, that being one day at chapel at Verfailles with Louis the Fourteenth, as his almoner, after din ner, he fell fast asleep during the fer. Supplement à la Maniere d'écrire l'Hiftoire, par M. Gudin, 12mo, p. 125, VOL. XXVII. May 1795. Uu mon. embraced a monaftic life, was appointe ed the Director of all the law-fuits which the Monaftery was fo unlucky as to have. He loft fo many of them, that in a fit of aftonishment he went to the Guardian of his Convent to request him to appoint another perfon in his place; and to affure him, that he could only attribute his want of fuccefs to his having become an honeft man fince he had taken to a religious life. Over the great door of the High Court of Civil Juftice is this Infcrip tion, kindly put up there by fome oppreffed fuitor, or perhaps by fome lawyer who had retired from bufinefs; In caufarum controverfiis Inimicitia oriuntur, Fit amiffio expensorum, Labor animi exercetur, Corpus quotidie defatigatur, Multa et interefta crimina deinde. confequuntur, Et qui fæpe credunt obtinere fuccum bunt, Et fi obtinent, computatus laboribus e expentis, nihil acquirunt, In all Lawfuits Quarrels arife, Much money is expended, The mind becomes extremely agitated, The body is harraffed by continued fatigue, Many bad and difhoneft actions happen in confequence. Thofe perfons that think they ought to fucceed often fail; and fhould they fucceed, when they have computed their trouble and their expence, they at last put nothing in their pocket. A great Lawyer at Bourdeaux put thefe lines over his country-house neap that city: Faux confeils et mauvaifes têtes From ftubborn heads and bad advice JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS of the FIFTH SESSION of the SEVENTEENTH PARLIAMENT of GREAT BRITAIN. THE HOUSE OF LORDS. MONDAY, APRIL 13. HE order of the day being called for, to take into confideration the Report of the Committee on the Charges of Impeachment exhibited againft War ren Haftings, Efq. and the different Charges being read article by article, on which their Lordships Committee gave it as their opinion, That the Commmons had not made good their charges of Impeachment, Lord Walfingham faid, that from his fituation as Chairman of the Committee, he could not deliver his fentiments on this fubject heretofore, but he should now for a short time trefpafs upon their Lordships attention, in fpeaking briefly thereon. He begged leave to differ in fentiment, on the nature of thofe Charges, with the Noble and Learned Lord (Thurlow) who had fo repeatedly fpoke on them. He agreed with him in general, that their Lordships had done right in leaning to the merciful fide, and in pronouncing the accufed Not Guilty; but there were certainly fome Charges in the Impeachment, of which he thought the impeached not innocent. Lord Thurlow rofe, and moved "that their Lordships do take into confidera tion the Report of the Committee." The Lord Chancellor oppofed the Motion of the Noble and Learned Lord, and thought it improper, and premature, to declare either their apProbation or disapprobation until they id it finally and conclufively in Weft minster Hall. A long defultery and uninterefting converfation took place between the Lord Chancellor, Lords Thurlow, Lau derdale, and Caernarvon, on the propriety and impropriety of giving their opinion in that Houfe on the Report of the Committee; at the clofe of which Lord Thurlow obferved, that if their Lordships wished to get rid of his Motion, they fhould do it by moving the previous Queftion; on which their Lordships divided, when there were for the previous Question, Contents 6; Non-contents 14; Majority 8. Lord Thurlow's Motion was then carried. The Earl of Mansfield moved an Addrefs of Congratulation to the King, on the happy union effected between his Royal Highnefs the Prince of Wales and her Royal Highnefs the Princefs Caroline of Brunfwick; as alfo a fimilar Addrefs to the Queen and Prince...➖ Agreed to unanimously. Earl Spencer moved, That the Houfe be fummoned for to-morrow to vote an Addrefs of Thanks to Admiral Hotham, the Officers and Seamen of the English fleet in the Mediterranean, for their gallant conduct in the late naval action with the French, and for the glorious victory gained over the enemy on that occafion, which was agreed to. TUESDAY, APRIL 14. Earl Spencer (purfuant to his notice of yesterday) moved that the Thanks of the Houfe be given to Vice-Admiral Hotham and the Officers, &c. under his command, for their meritorious exertions in the late action in the Medi terranean. The Earl of Lauderdale obferved, that a report ftrongly prevailed, that the two fhips ftated to be taken by Admiral Hotham, namely, the Cenfeur and the Ca-Ira, were among thofe faid to be burnt by the command of Lord Hood in the affair of Toulon. This very quef tionable and important fact should be afcertained. The Gazette, in one or other of thofe cafes, afferted an untruth. As the ftatement of the Gazette was that night made the ground of a Vote of Thanks, perhaps the honour might be voted, on future occafions, to Officers who had no fort of claim to it in fact. As the Gazette, in the cafes he alluded to, feemed a queftionable authority, he thought their Lordships had better fufpend their Vote of 'Thanks until the facts were clearly afcertained. Earl Spencer replied, that the ships taken by the gallant Admiral who was the object of the prefent difcuffion, were only of the fame names with those deftroyed by a Noble Lord at Toulon; or even admitting that thofe veffels had not been entirely deftroyed, but burnt to the water's edge, or deftroyed to the very keel, furely it could not be faid but that fhips built and completely fitted out from fuch a condition were to all intents and purposes new mips, notwithstanding they might, with pro feffional propriety, as preferving some of the old timbers, retain the fame name, fach as had been the cafe of the Ville Uu2 de |