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moiselle le chevalier D'Eon, exhibiting, for two shillings admittance, her skill in the art of attack and defence with the single rapier.

Melancholy reverse of human destiny! what a humiliation for the aid-de-camp of marshal Broglio!-for the ambassador, during five years, from the court of France to that of Russia!-for the envoy to ours, and the principal planner and negociator of the peace of 1782!-In the German war, she lived five years in camps and tented fields, amidst the pride, the pomp, and circumstance of high trust and glorious contest. In the American war, she was in five battles, fought against general Elliot, and received six wounds;— and all this before her sex was discovered.

I learned from herself, that a destiny so astonishing, was not originally the result of voluntary choice. Her parents bred her up as a boy, to avoid losing an estate entailed on the heir-male.

She seems to have a noble, independent, as well as intrepid, mind; and the muscular strength and activity of her large frame at sixty-nine, are wonderful. She fences in the French uniform, and then appears an athletic, venerable, graceful man. In the female garb, as might be expected, she is awkwardly, though not vulgarly masculine.

In three days she was to have sailed for France, by the order of the late unfortunate monarch, to have resumed her male dress, and to have taken military command as general, when the massacre at the Thuilleries, and imprisonment of the king, lamentably frustrated that design, and probably dropped an eternal curtain over her career of glory. Adieu! adieu.

LETTER XLVII.

FROM MR. FOX TO MR. WAKEFIELD.

SIR, South-street, Dec. 17, 1796. I RECEIVED, a few days ago, your obliging letter, together with the very beautiful book which accompanied it. The dedication of such an edition of such an author is highly gratifying to me; and to be mentioned in such a manner, by a person so thoroughly attached to the principles of liberty and humanity, as you, sir, are known to be, is peculiarly flattering to me. I am, with great regard, sir, your obedient, humble servant,

C. J. FOX.

LETTER XLVIII.

FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME.

SIR, St. Anne's Hill, Monday. I RECEIVED, on Saturday, the second volume of Lucretius, together with a pamphlet of yours upon Porson's Hecuba, for which I beg leave to return you my thanks. I had received, some time since, your letter announcing to me the present of the Lucretius; but delayed answering it till I got the book, which my servant had not then an opportu nity of sending me, lest there might be some mis

take, from your mentioning Park-street, instead of South-street, for my residence.

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I feel it to be unpardonable in me to take ad, vantage of your civility in sending me your books, to give you all this trouble; but I could not refuse myself so fair an opportunity of getting my doubts upon these passages cleared.

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I am, with great regard, sir, your most obedient servant,

C. J. FOX.

LETTER XLIX.

FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME.

St. Anne's Hill, Friday. SIR, I RECEIVED yesterday your very obliging letter, for which I return you many thanks, as well as for the Bion and Moschus, which I will tell my servant to take an early opportunity of sending down

to me.

I am very sorry more encouragement has not been given to your Lucretius; but I am willing to flatter myself that it is owing to many people not choosing to buy part of a work till the whole is completed. Both the Latin and Greek elegiac verses, in the beginning of the second volume, have given me great satisfaction; but I should fear the inferior rank which you give to our own country will not generally please; and certainly, in

point of classical studies, or poetry, to which the mention of Apollo naturally carries the mind, we have no reason to place the French above us. I am, with great regard, sir, your obedient servant,

C. J. FOX.

SIR,

LETTER L.

FROM MR. FOX TO MR. WAKEFIELD.

St. Anne's Hill, Tuesday, Jun. 30, 1798. I HAVE received the third volume of your magnificent and beautiful Lucretius, for which I take the earliest opportunity of returning you my thanks. I cannot help flattering myself that, now the work is complete, it will be far more patro. nized than it has hitherto been: but it must be allowed that these times are not favourable to expensive purchases of any kind; and I fear, also, that we may add, that the political opinions we profess are far from being a recommendation to general favour, among those, at least, in whose power it is to patronize a work like yours.

I am at present rather engaged in reading Greek; as it is my wish to recover, at least, if not to improve, my former acquaintance (which was but slight) with that language: but it will not be long before I enter regularly upon your Lucretius; and when I do, if I should find any difficulties which your notes do not smooth, I shall take the liberty of troubling you for further information ; presuming upon the obliging manner in which you

satisfied some doubts of mine upon a former occasion. I am, with great regard, sir, your obedient servant,

C. J. FOX.

LETTER LI.

FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME.

SIR, St. Anne's Hill, Feb. 2, 1798. It is an instance of my forgetfulness, but I really thought I had acknowledged the receipt of the publications which you were so good as to send me. Excepting the Pope, which I have not yet looked into, I read the rest with great pleasure; and quite agree with you, that Bryant has made no case at all upon the subject of the Trojan war. I cannot refuse myself taking this opportunity of asking your opinion relative to the 24th Iliad, whether or not it is Homer's? If it is, I think the passage about Paris and the goddesses must be an interpolation; and if it is not, by denying Homer the glory of Priam's expedition from Troy and interview with Achilles, we take from him the most shining passages, perhaps, in all his works. I am, sir, your obedient humble servant,

C. J. FOX.

P. S. Though I have not begun to read Lucretius regularly, yet I have dipped in it sufficiently to have no apprehension of quoting the line of Phædrus. I think the elegiac verses to the poet are very classical and elegant indeed; and, you

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