ity of California lern Regional 'ary Facility BIOGRAPHIANA BY THE COMPILER AN EC DO T E S OF DISTINGUISHED PERSONS. VOL. II. -vario d1vfrsa palato. Hor. LONDON: PRINTED FOR. J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. M,DCC,XCIX, v. 7L. [ 289 ] BIO GRAPH IAN A BOILEAU. BOILEAU was one day vifited by a noble and unprofeffional perfon, who reproached him with not having returned his firft vifit. " You " and I," faid the fatyrift, ' ( are upon different *' terms. I lofe my time when I pay a vifit; you te only get rid of your's when you do fo." Yet when Menage called upon him one day, and, on finding him at his ftudies, begged his pardon for interrupting him, he replied, " Sir, one man " of letters can never interrupt another." Under the ancien regime of France, the man- ner of paying vifits in that country was attended with no inconvenience ; no time was loft, nor any interruption occafioned. Thofe perfons that were not upon very intimate terms with each other were contented with giving in their names to the fervants, who kept a vifiting-book; this they called fefaire inferire chez tin tel, and the compliment was returned in the fame manner. No one can tell what the prefent French do in thefe cafes, as they have in general appeared to treat each other with as little cerem'ony as they have clone their neighbours. vol. 11. u ABBE 290 BIOCRAPHIANA. ABBE DE ST. PIERRE. This honeft politician made the chriftian rule, of doing as you would be done by, ap- ply even to politics. too eoneifc, *•' and wants cleamefs. J knew tin- IVciident *' well,' added lie ; f the defcel of his it vie. " arofc from his phy ileal imperfections. He • « was BIOGRAi'HIANA, £99 ." was nearly blind, and fo extremely vif t " that in general he forgot what he wifhed " to diclate ; fo that he was obliged to con- " fine himfelf within the narroweil fpacc " poflible. " M. BufFon was very anxious that I fhould * go to mafs on the Sunday I was with him. (i He always goes himfelf on that day and " gives a Louis d'Or to the poor. His fa- " vourite principle is, that religion fhould be (i refpecled ; and that in final 1 towns where " a perfon is obferved, he fhould give offence te to no one in that refpecl. I am perfuaded/ faid he, ( that in all your public fpeeches you t( have acted in the fame manner. I have u them in two ways ; by a diet compofed too much ofvege- " table food, and by expoftng them too much to the cold." 4 glory BIOGRAPHIANA. 301 glory and reputation. When under the fatal guillotine he exclaimed, " Citoysns, je " me nomme Buffon" MARSHAL BELLEISLE, to accufrom himfelf to contemplate that great dignity to which he arrived, or to raife in his mind that paflion for glory which afterwards fucceeded fo well, ufed to walk about his room every morning exclaiming for half an hour together, " I am refolved to be a great " general, and Marfhal of France." LE COMTE DE GELIN was implicated in the unhappy bufinefs of La Charctte, and brought before the military commiflion. Being afked by one of his judges whether he was married or not, " I am mar- " ried," laid he, " to the daughter of mine 4C and of your mailer." [He had married a natural daughter of Louis XV.] Before he was executed he exclaimed, " I die lor my '*' God and my king." SENECJI 30Z .£I0GRAPHIANA* SENEC4I $ wrote fome lines which he called * The Irrefo- lute Man ;' they have been thus translated by an ingenious youth, who felt but too fenfibly the ill confcquences of the folly defcribed in them : THE IRRESOLUTE MAN. While Jack too long deliberates Which lot of life 'tis beft to draw, Or arms, or phyfic, church, or law. And ilill his choice procraftinates ; Neglected Time with rapid wing In filence fweeps the liftlefs hours, Each idly crops life's frefheft flow'rs, Which knows, alas ! no fecond fpring ; For foon old age with wintry hands Shall freeze the current of the foul, Her ardent energies controul, And bind the powers in icy bands : Yet Jack has mcm'iy, tafte, and wit, In learning prompt, in fpeaking ready ", But, wav'ring, doubtful, light, unfteady, For ev'ry fhite is now unlit. While floating on each wand'ring wave Of pafhon, chance, caprice, and whim, Death comes and ft rait decides for him, To fix his Ration in the grave. The , BIOGRAPHIAXA. 305 The character of Aliger, fo finely depicted bv Dr. Johnlbn in ' The Rambler,' is l'ai d to have been that of the late learned Mr. Flovcr Sydenham, the tranfiator of the Dialogues of Plato. FATHER GERDIL favs of education, fC that it is indeed an art, " but one of thole which are directory, pro- " ducing nothing apparently at the time. " The increafe is molt aflurcdly How ; thcad- " vantage r.ot readily fecn, and at a diftance. " It is like the lhadow of a dial which is fall " Spine: on, vet no eve fees it move." Is;no- rant parents do not know ull'j/it quanlce r/I, humanam conch re menltin ; how difficult and how tedious a bufinefs it is to build up (he fabric of the human mind to advantage; and by their folly and precipi- tation, in not filtering the foundations to be laid deep and lblid, not unfrequently render it a building of land, inftcad ot a fabric of ft one; and '.villi (o pluck the fruit from the tree before the blolibm is let. I-ONTENELLE 304 BIOGRAPHIANA, FONTENELLE had one day drawn The King on the Jour des Rois, Twelfth-day; and being afked whether he would be a defpot, anfwered, " A fine " queflion indeed!" RACINE. Every line in this poet is excellent. Vol- taire fays, " that a comment would be made " with great eafe on his Works, for that there " would be nothing more to do than to write " under every pafTage beautiful, fublime, ex- iy were burnt in a fire at M. de Vaiincour's houfe. vol. i. x and, 306 BIOGRAPHTANA. and took immediately to his bed, forgetting what he had advanced in his tragedy of Either : What bufmefs has that man at Court, Who cannot many a flight fupport > Nor knows each feeling to beguile, And hide thofe griefs in many a fmile, Which his fad aching heart opprefs With ev'ry pang of wretchednefs. He went afterwards to Court at the re- queft of Madame de Maintenon, but ap- peared very melancholy and unhappy there, in fpite of the notice the king affected to take of him. He died foon afterwards, and told his friend Boileau, who came to lee him in his ill— ncfs, " I love you fo much, my dear friend, that " I am really glad to die before you. I do not " know how I could have lived without you ;'" and in. the fame ft rain of ardent friendfhip, when on his death bed he applied for the ar- rears of his own penlion for the fake of his family, he delired his fon to alk for thofe due to Boileau at the fame time. c£ We mull " never be feparated," faid he ; " and I am " anxious to let him know that I conti- " nued his friend to the laft moment of « my life." Racine BIOGRAPHIANA. 3O7 Racine was an excellent fcholar. His So- phocles and Euripides were full of marginal notes on the dubious paflages of thofe tragic poets, and were preferved in the king's library at Paris. The Memoirs of the Life of Racine arc written by his fon, who added to them fome account of his father's friends, Boileau, Mo- lierc, and la Fontaine. " My father," fays young Racine, " to difguft " my brother from writing verfes, and from " fear that he fhould attribute to my father's " Tragedies the attention that was paid to " him by the men of rank about the Court, " faid to him, " Do not fuppofe that my verfes " procure me all this notice. Corneille writes " much liner verfes than I can do, yet no one (i pays him the leaft attention. He is only " admired in the mouths of the aclors. So " inltead of tiring a company with reciting " my own verfes (about which I never talk), " I content myfelf with converting with them " in the way they like, and talking of things " that amufe them. My bufinefs with them " is, to tell them how clever they are ; fo that " fometimes when the Prince of Conde has " palled many hours with me, you would be x 2 " afloniflied, 3C8 BI0GRAPH1ANA. " aftonifhed, were you prefent, to obferve that I " have not fpoken five words ; but by degrees I " lead him on to talk, and he goes home much ** better pleafcd with himfelf than with me.' 1 LE CLERC. The candour and modefty of this great fcho- lar were not lets remarkable than his erudition. When his judgment was matured by age, he became afhamed of what he had written in his youth on the fubject of Generis. He made a public recantation of his error, by annexing afterwards to his Commentary on Genefis a Differtation concerning Mofes, the writer of that book of the Pentateuch, in which he ac- knowledged very fairly the errors he had given into in the firft edition of his Commentary. " However," fays the learned and pious Dr. Huntingford, '• the cenforious may be in- li clined through malevolence to attribute a " change of fentiments to improper motives, (i yet in the ettimation of candid judges, ha- " bituated to reflection, it fullies no man's " honour to abandon a miftake and adopt a " right principle. It degrades no man's un- " derflanding to acknowledge that he has t( thought BTOGRAPHIAXA. 3O9 thought erroncoufly ; but that after mature enquiry he has changed his opinion; for very little do they anfwer the purpofc >f . if- ing age, who become not \ .viler as they grow older. 1 he Spaniib proverb fays, A wife man alters Ins opinion, but a fool never does ; and Lord Chief Juftice Mansfield often fuel, that to ac- knowledge' that you were ycftcrday wrong, is but to let the world know that you arc wifer to-day than you were yefterday." MONTESQUIEU. The poithumous Works of this writer were published in 1783. In a preface to an Orien- tal Tale, intitled ' Arfacesand Ifmenia,' printed in them, he fays, " He wrote that Tale " from a detire that he had to make even def* Ci potifm agreeable to his countrymen ; bein^ " perfuaded in his mind that a limited " monarchy (winch, from the instability " of human affairs, was but too apt to dege- " ncrate into defpotifm) was the government -' beii fuited to the country of France.*" Of * Through how many different changes of government iav- the French pafLd Grce the ; deftroyed the regal one ! x 3 la 3IO BIOGRAPHIANA. Of this opinion wastheilluftrious Thuanus, who thus concludes that matter-piece of hu- man compofition, the Introduction to the Hif- tory of his own Times : ts O God, preferve " his majefty the King (Henry the Fourth), <( and the Dauphin; for in their fafety are in- t( eluded the peace, the concord, the fecurity, te and every thing that can be ufeful and falu- " tary to France. Direct the councils of him ie (who has faved his country from ruin, and fe who now flourifhes like a verdant tree near " a gentle ftream) to the promotion of peace, " to the encouragement of good learning, and " of all thofe arts that render a kingdom great * and refpectable. Permit good order, fo ; low that man," laid M. de Salo to his fervant, '• without his obferving you ; foe " where he ft ops, and return and let me " know." The fervant did as he was or- dered, followed the robber through three or four narrow li reels, and law him go into a baker's lhop, where he 'nought a large loaf of bread and changed one or his Louis. He then went into an alley at the alliance of a tew paces, ran up a pair of flairs that led to a garret, and on entering it (where there was no light but that of the moon)- he threw his loaf into 314 BIOGRAPHIANA. into the middle of the room, and exclaimed with fobs to his wife and children, " Eat, eat ; " this loaf has coft very dear ; fatisfy jour " hunger, and do not torment me as you have tc done to procure you another. I fhall be *' hanged one of thefe days, and you will be " the caufe of it." The wife, who was in tears, appeafed him as well as the could, picked up the loaf, and divided it amongft her four children, who were nearly ftarved to death. The fervant, who had taken exact notice of all that pafled, returned to his mafter, who went the next morning according to his directions to vifit the poor man's habitation. In his way up flairs he enquired of the lodgers what character he bore, and was told that he was a ihoemaker, an honeft and a worthy man, ever ready to ailifl his neighbours, but burdened with a large family ; and fo poor that they wondered how he was able to live. M. de Salo knocked at his door and was imme- diately let in by the poor man in rags, who, inftantly recollecting him as the pcrfon that he had robbed the preceding day, fell down at his feet, requefting him not to ruin him. " Do not make yourfelf uncaiy, my * c good friend," faid M. de Salo ; " I am not i( come to do you any harm I promife you. *' You follow a very wretched profetfion I " aflure BIOGRAPHIANA. 315 ** affure you, and one that will in a fhort " time bring you to the gallows if you do " not leave it off. Take thcfe ten guineas, " they will buy you fome leather; fo work " as hard as you can, and fupport your chil- " drcn by your honeii induflry." This incident gave rife to an affecting French drama called UHumanite, and will, in the minds of pcrfons of benevolence and charity, give rife to reflections that will end in fomcthing more real. It has been faid, that many thoufand perfons died of hunger under the ancien regime of France. Mr. Saunders Wclili, an active and intelligent magiilrate of Middlcfex, told Dr. Johnlbn, he had good realbn to think that in fome years two thoufand perfons died of want in London *. England * A faftidious perfon was one clay obferving to Dr. Johnfor. how much (he was affected by the fmell of vidtuals in palling through Porridge Ifiaud, near St. Mai tin's church {a place filled with cooks' fhops, that adminilter fuup and meat to the neccfiitous and labouring poor of this metro- polis), " Madam," laid he, " let us have no fneering at what " is fo ferious a thing to fo many perfons. Hundreds of " yur fellow-creatures turn another way that they may •* not be tempted by the luxuries of Porridge Ifhnd to wifh *' fur gratifications winch they are not able to obtain. You " are certainly not belter than all of thefe ; give God thanks " that. 3 16 BICGRAPHIANA* England may with great juftice bbaft of its poor-laws ; a fyftem without rival in the world for its excellence and humanity, by which the rich arejuftly obliged to-afUfl: the fuffering poor ; and in which, perhaps, one alteration might be made with great propriety, that would render them as perfect as we can expect any thing to be that is done by man. The poor, who are honeitly and worthily employed in another parim, fhould not in cafe of fick- nefs be compelled to go to their own for af- fiftancc. A claule from the militia act might be eafily adopted for this falutary and bene- volent purpofe *, SUJA *' that you are happier." Noble and exalted fentiments like thefe have lately, in the midft of a diffipated and lux- urious metropolis, given rife to an affociation which bears this honourable title, " The Society for lettering the Condition ** and increafng the Comforts of the Poor." * The treafurer of the county in which the fick militia- man happens to be, is empowered to draw upon the trea- furer of the county where the man's legal fettlement is, for the expences that his illnefs has occaficmed. An excellent magiftrate, in ins charge to the ovcrfcersand churchwardens of the hundred of Stoke, Bucks, fays wifely and humanely with refpeel to the removal of labourers belonging to other parifhes, " Confider thoroughly what you may lofe, and i( what tlie individual may fuffer by the removal, bc- M fore you apply to thejultices on the fubjeCl. When you «« have BIOGKAPIIIANA. 317 SUJA AL DOULAIL Tins energetic and active Indian Prince is thus defcribed by the ingenious Mr. Dow ; c " lie is extremely handfome in Ins perfon, " about five feet eleven inches in height, and " lb nervous and ftrong that with one ftroke " of a fabrc he can cut off the head of a buf- iC falo. He is active, paffionate, and ambi- " tious. His penetrating eye teems at firtr. ki fight (o prouyfc uncommon acutenefs and li lire of mind ; but his genius is too volatile " for depth of thought, and he is eonfe- " qucntly more fit for the manly excreifes of " the field than for deliberation in the elofct. i( Till of late he gave little attention to bufi- rs el iefhlhr.eis. vol. r. v MARSHAL 32,2 BIOGRAPHIANA, MARSHAL SAXE. This great commander faid on his death- bed to his phyfician, " My dear Senac, life is " a dream ; I indeed have had a very fplendid " dream. Pray take care that my body be con- " fumed by quicklime. I wifh nothing to remain " of me but my memory amongfl my friends*." The dhlblution of the human body by thefe means would be productive of many advan- tages. It would prevent much occafion of contagion ; the rites of fepulture would not be violated in the difgufting manner in which we have feeu them in our times ; and the awful fentence palled upon mankind, of " duft " thou art, and to dull thou (halt return," would be as completely fulfilled as by the or- dinary method of burial. y. y. rousseau, the legiflator of the modern French, thus defcribes the government which they have * Philip Verteyer, a celebrated anatomift of Louvain, defired to be burial in a field, and a ftonc with this inferip- tiori to be put over his grave : •' I, Philip Verteyer, have chofen this fpot as my placr " of fepulture, from fear of profaning the facred lite of " a church, and iafedtir.g the air of the city with unwholc- -'•' forre vapours." chofen* BIOORAPHIANA. 323 chofen, as they fuppofe upon his recommen- dation. " There is no government fo fubj eel w to civil war and internal diflentions, as a " democracy, or popular government. There " is no one that tends fo ftrongly, and fo con- " tinually to change its form, nor that requires " more vigilance and refolution to be maiii- w tained in it." Halemus ergo confitentem reum ! A man too honeft to difguife the mifchiefs of the fonn of government which himfelf recommends. GUST4VUS ADOLPHUSy KING OF SWEDEN. This prince was of a very hafty difpofition. He gave Colonel Seaton a flap on the face for fomcthing that he had done to difpleafe him. Seaton demanded his difmiffion from the army, obtained it, and fet off for the frontier of Denmark. The king, afhamed of the infult he had put upon a brave and an excellent offi- cer, foon followed him on a fleet horfe, and overtook him. " Seaton," faid he, " I fee " you are offended, and I am the caufe of t£ it. I am forry. for it, as I have a very great u regard for you. I have followed you hither " to give you fatisfaction. I am now, as you y 2 " well 3^4 BIOGRAPHIC Is A. " well know, out of my own kingdom ; fo that " at prcfcnt Guiravus and Seaton are equals. " Here are two piftols and two fwords, avenge " yourfelfif you pleafe." Seaton immediately threw himfelf at the king's feet, and told him what ample fatisfaction he had already given him for what he had done. They returned to Stockholm together, where Guftavus told' this adventure to all his Court. Marfhal Gaffion told Guftavus, " That the " kings of France did not expofe thcmfelves fo " much in battle as he did.'* — "There is," rc- '•• plied the prince, " a great deal of difference " between us; the kings of France are great mo- " narchs, and I am only a foldier of fortune." This prince, not long before he died, bad his horfe fhot -under him. An officer went to help him up, to whom he laid coolly, '•' I " have had a very narrow efcapc, the fruit, tc perhaps, is not qui!?, ripe yet.". He was killed at the battle of Lutzen. He had firft his arm broke with a muiket balk A foldier faw it, and cried out, ." The king is wound- " cd." — " Say nothing about ity my friend," faid the king; " it is nothing; follow me, -and " let us charge the enemy." Then turning towards the. Prince of Saxe Lauemburgh, lie faid BIOGRAPHIANA. 325 laid to him in a low tone of voice, " Coufin, " I believe I have enough of it. I am in very " great pain ; pray try to get me off." At the fame inftant a ball palled through his body, and he fell down dead. This great prince had then his with. He uicd to fay, ci That no men were to happy as thofe li who died in the exercifc of their profeilion." es Guftavus," fays a French writer, " like <£ Sci])io, was much addicted to liudy, and " found time to read a great deal in the midit ;: of his military operations. lie ufed to fay '•' in fport, that he \\as defirous to [hew Gro- " tins the difference between theory and prac- •' tice, and how eafy it is to give political •• precepts, and how difficult to put them in ^ execution." PEllE BUFF IE li. Tins learned jrfuii: wrote a Comedy in Latin iambics, called Dcmoeritus Rex ; or, the Philofophcr King. He exhibits the character ot one ot thofe f,i-difints wife men, who are no lets anxious to reform government than \ } evei >• $l6 BIOGRAFHIANA. every thing elfc. His fovereign takes him at his word, and refigns his crown to him, to enable him to carry his projects into execution. The new fovereign foon becomes bewildered in his unaccuftomed dignity, and deviates from his own principles upon the n>ft occafion. In Ihort, matters turnout fo ill under thisreforming prince, unufed to government, that he refigns the crown to its old poflefldr, and returns to his former fituation, PIETRO PAOLO SARPI appears to have been one of the greateft cha- racters that hiftory has confecrated to the me- mory of mankind. As an hiflorian, he is, perhaps, take him altogether, one of the pureii and molt dignified that ever wrote. No unncceflary digreffions, no ufelefs and affected obfervations fully the fimplicity and correct- nefs of his narration. He proceeds in it, like a temperately-flowing river, neither deluging its banks, nor impeded by any obftacle to its courfe. His defence of the liberties of his country againft the attacks of the fee of Rome, will ever entitle him to the kinder! remem- brance of the manly yet candid patriot. His knowledge BIOGRAPHIANA. 327 knowledge was various and extenfive. He was no lefs a good chemift and excellent ana- tomift, than he was a profound divine. His morals were thofe which even infpired a cloyf- ter with fuperior piety ; and his courage would have done honour to the moll intrepid General. He was buried in the convent of the Scrvitcs (that of his own order) at Venice, his fune- ral being attended by the Doge, and the prin- cipal fenators of the republic. His monument was thus inferibed : AULUS VENETUS SER.VITARUM ORDJNIS THEOLOGUS, Its prudens, ita fastens, ui majorem nee humanoruniy nee di-vi- norum fcientiam, 'Nee intcgi iorem, nee fancliorem 'vltam dejuhrares. Intdligentid per cunfla, permanente Japkntid et affeilus dominan* te praditus, Nulla unquam cupiditatc commotus, nulla anlml agrltudir.e tur- batus. Semper eonjiar.Sy moderates, perfeelus t verum innocentls exem- plar : JDeo mira pietaie, religione, eontinentid addiclus : Rcl public £, in Jut dejlderium concitata, jujlam, jidclem cperam navatu : ( Religiofum hominevx, dum patria fervit, baud a Deoftparar. exijlimans ) Summd coiifilii, rationis vi, libcrd, Integra jvntr, publicum eau- fam defendens : Magnas a Libert ate Vcnetd infidias Jhpientidfuu rcprlkns : t 4 McJm 328 ' BI0GRAPH1ANA. Majus liberiatis prajidium in fe, quam in Arcibus pqfitum, Ve- neris ojlendens : Mortales, an magis amandus, mirandus } venerandus, dubios fac'iens : Ue Nominis apud probos aternitate, cle an'imi apud Deuin im~ m or la lit ate J r e cv.ru s, Iilorbum negligent, mortem contemnens , loquenSy doeens, orans t contcmplans Vi'vorum atliones exercens, LXXI JEt. Magna Bonorum Ploratu, Nan oliit ; Abiit e vita, ad /vita m evolavit. ' jfo. Antonius Venerium Patricius Venetus Mar ens pofuit. Anno. Sal M. DC. XXIII. Father Paul, in his laft illnefs, occafionetl by a wound * from a fliletto directed by the * On receiving this wound, at a time in which he was writing- againft the papal ufurpations, he exclaimed *' Conofco /ojty'o Romano. " I heard the King James the " Fhft faye, that of late in Venice there was a praftrce of ic a prieft difcovered, which was tj blowc up by a trayne " of powder Pietro Paolo, his books and him ; but that it " was difcovered by a il ranger paffenger, that took excep- " tions to' fee a lyght in a vault at that tyme of night." MS- Liter of the time. Father Paul was well affected to the Proteilant religion, and particularly to that form of it profeffed by the Church of England ; but when exhorted to profefs it openly, he faid, *• That it was better for himfelf, ti like St. Paul, to be anathema for his brethren ; and that < ! he did more fervice to the Proteftant religion by wearing " that habit, than he could do by laying it aiide." 2 court BIOGRAPHIANA. 339 court of Rome, received the vifit of the doge and fenate of Venice in bed. He had juft ftrcngth enough to raife himfelf up on their entrance, and with his hands doled, and his eyes lifted towards heaven, exclaimed, f ' Ejh ' k perfietua : May the liberties of my country " Iaft for ever !" A with to be repeated by every Englifhman, who deferves the bleffings which his country affords him. Father Paul's with gave rife to the. concluding lines of the following Prologue, which was fpoken in the autumn of 1797^ a * ^at excellent feminary of learning, of virtue, and of religion, the fcliool of the Rev. Dr. Valpy, at Reading. PROLOGUE TO THE AMPHITRYO OF PLAUTUS, PERFORMED AT READING SCHOOL FOR THE HENEFIT OF THE PHILANTHROPIC SO- CIETY. YOU, who fo oft this favour'd fpothave grae'd, 1 he kind, indulgent arbiters of taite, Once more our fecnic labours now attend, Once more our ivcll-intcrukd mirth befriend. What happier omens can our efforts greet J Affection, beauty, learning, candour meet. r i his right we tell a tale from days of yore, Deck'd in each elegance of claffic lure. We tell from Plautus how the mighty Jove (ouch is the magic pew 'r of mightier Love' Left 330 EI0GRAPHIAI7A. Left his celeftial realms to viflt earth, And to Alcmena's valiant fon gave birth, To Hercules, through Time's long records known, " The injur'd world's avenger, and his own." Nor leaft this toil ; the Hydra fell he flew, Who from each wound increaftng vigour drew j And as the Hero each dire head fupprefs'd, Another head uprear'd its hiffing creft. O grant, kind Heav'n, in thefe degen 'rate times, With vices fatiate, and profufe of crimes ; Whilft with Impiety's dread flag unfurl'd, A thoufand mental monfters range the world ; Whilft luxury its baleful charms retails, And ev'ry age, and rank, and fex aflails ; See hofts of vot'ries the contagion gain, Whilft reafon, prudence, juftice, plead in vain; See how they tempt the utmoft verge of fate, Till fad experience teaches but too late ; Till ruin's ruthlefs fangs the victims feize, And to each mis'ry doom the fons of cafe : See the curft die each focial feeling blaft, Set fortune, health, and honour on a caft ; Like the fam'd Pontiff's rod, of fov'reign pow'r, Each other pafiion with fell throat devour ; By fury urg'd, the yawning gulph defpife, Nor heed or duty's calls or nature's cries. Whilft love its facred empire now difdains, And links no more two minds in mutual chains : For our convenience now alone we wed, Soon mutual falfehood ftains the nuptial bed ; And the adult'rer, mark'd with no difgrace, Keeps in life's intercourfe his wonted place : Whilft Suicide, the offspring of defpair, , With pallid cheeks, and eyes of lurid glare^ When BIOGRAPHIANA. 33! When dangers threaten, and misfortunes low'ri Dares to ufurp th' Eternal Matter's pow'r, And, with a coward's impotence of foul, Points the (harpfteel, or drains the envenom'd bowl. And, to avoid a moment's fleeting pain, Configns itfelf to Torment's endlefs reign. — O grant, kind Heav'n, a moral Hercules, To bid thefe horrors from the land to ceafe ; With giant arm avert the foul difgrace, And vindicate the honours of our race. Arife, thou facred Genius of the ifie, And, as of old, on thy lov'd country fmile; And O protect with thy benignant wing Her youthful fons, her hope, her pride, her Spring*; May no rank weeds of peftilential pow'rs Deftroy the fweetnefs of their op'ning fiow'rs I May in their hearts no baleful ivy moot, And blaft the promife of the faireft fruit ; Their dawn of reafon no falfe glare infeft, But Truth's bright JEg\s fparkle on their breaft ; Their fouls' foft pow'rs no blandifhments enfnarc. And no fell paflions their young bofoms tear ; But ufeful learning, by true tafte refin'd, Increafe the native vigour of the mind ! Their innate purity may labour guard, And hcneft fame beftow its earn'd reward ; Religion's panoply their virtues fhield, Then " more than conqu'rors" in life's arduous field. * Pericles, having in one of his Orations occafion to la- ment the death of many of the young men at Athens ilain in battle, fays beautifully, " The year has loft its Spring," the feafon of promife and of expectation ; the feafon of thofe bloffoms that prognosticate the fineft fruit. Each 33 2 "SIOGRAPHIASA. Each noble deed their country's love infpire, * And join the hero's to the patriot's fire ; And in her laws revere the noblefl plan That man's bell wifdom form'd for ruling man; Where mutual ties the peer and peafant bind j And Princes govern but to blefs mankind ; Where fcale of rank but fans the mind's bright flame, And bids it by defert at honours aim ; Bids Virtue, by no preference oppreft, To equal glory rear her manly crefl, Which, like the pyramid, Time's wreck defies, Nor fears or driving dorms, or angry fkies. Where freedom, by gradation ftronger grown, Offers its grateful homage to the Throne ; Which, as the point, bellows the higher grace, Whilfl the blell people form the folid bafe. Then fear not, Britons, though the fons of Franc? Their legions to this happy land advance; Though, flufh'd with conquefl in their mad career* Their courfe through envy to this ifle they ileer ; Sure that, in mercy to a fufF'ring world, Heav'n's vengeance on its fcourges will be hurl'd ; And boldly hope that Holland's recent fate The rafli invader's efforts lhall await ; To Duncan, Howe, andjERVis, fafely trait, Whilfl Britifh valour proves the fkies flill juft. Then with the dying Paolo exclaim, Whilfl hib lafl accents blefs'd Venetia's name, " No foreign foe my country's fafcry blalt, *' And may its liberties for e\ er lait * !" S, * Many perfons have wondered at the attachment of this excellent and liberal-minded man to the government of his country, which was moll affuredly inimical to general li- berty. BIOGRAPHIANA. $3% BEAVMELLE. With what triumph muft an Englishman hear this acute Frenchman lay, " The Englifh '•' pals in the world tor understanding matters " of finance better than any other people in " Europe. It is their Ccnftitution that under- " Hands for them. The folidity of the Ertg- " li(h credit makes that nation draw immenfe " wealth from a method of borrowing that " would detirov a private pcrfon. In Trance (he fpeaks of the anciai regime) a loan " creates a debt, and often a want. In Eng- " land, a loan extinguilhcs a want and at the fi fame time creates a revenue *. b.vtv. Ho mod probably confid red ia affairs of govern- ricnt how difficult a matter it was to arrive at perfection ; ;i id that of a revolution the immediate il! co: ilqucr.c-.. were: :■•• and cc'tam, * lie event compieteiv euvc '• ; - , . \\ the \v< ::v.) of time, and not worth putting into v.:'-: a:.d hazard th ■ prefent advantages winch it afforded. ",'.'. oe, indeed,"' ft; , t ; :e acute Guicearjim', " to all petfbns who are io uu- '• happv as to live in the tune of a revolution !" * '\ iie Patriots cf ancient Greece and Rome gained their renown by loving their countrv, and exalting its advantages. In our time, thofj who wifh to bear that honourable title to it by ai'.e.e.ng to liate theirs, and to depreciate its '•' ' r: ' ;'"', as ir* they had ree: ived their lelTons from the Di- -■ ■■■■. ui l>. r.vi J. R.-p uk. " Kiitdand 334 BIOGRAPHIANA. * c England is a finking proof, that a Confti- " tution which nothing can affect is a blefling " that can never be bought too dear. " The Conftitution of England mud be im- *' mortal ; for a wife people can never be en- " flaved by an enemy from without ; nor " can a free people ever be enflaved by an " enemy from within *. ,c Rome has perifhed, and could not have ct fubliftcd. Its fyftem tended to its great- " nefs, and not to its prefervation. England * e is arrived at that point at which it can never " perifh; for its revolutions, which fhould " have been the definition of its fyftem, " have been the corroboration of it~|~." — Mes Penfees, iimo, Amflerdam> 1752. * " The Conftitution oCEngland," fays a man of images ■one day, '* is like a compafs fet upon jumbles, the needle oi « which, whatever eoncuflions it may have, always turns to *« the true point ; the point on which the real happinefk « and fafety of the country depend." + The great Duke of Rohan fays, »* England is an enor- *' mous animal, which can never die except by fuicide ; un» ,s lefs it kills itfelf." — Interefls des Etcis. PETE P.. BIOGRAI'HIANA. 335 PETER THE GREAT, CZAR OF RUSSIA. On feei»g the maufoleum of Cardinal Rich- lieu at Paris, Peter exclaimed, " There lies a " man to whom I would have given half my " dominions if he would have taught me to " have governed the other half." He was not appalled by the extraordinary fucceiTes of Charles XII. "I know very " well," faid he, " that the Swedes will beat " us ; but at laft they themfelves will teach us " to beat them." When he fent his propoiitions for peace to Charles, that Prince haughtily replied, " I ;< will treat with Peter in the capital of his " dominions only." When this anfwer was brought to Peter he faid coolly, " My brother " Charles is continually affecting to act the i: part of Alexander ; but I flatter myfelf that *' he will not find in me a Darius." His ftrength of mind increafed under danger and difficulty. When he law his armv o-ive way before Leuenhaupt, lie ran to the rear guard of it, and exclaimed to the Coflacs and ; iC Calmucs, $3§ EIOGRAPHIANA. Calmucs, " I order you to fire directly upon " any one who fhall not keep his pott, and ic even to fire upon me the firft of all if I " fhould be coward enough to attempt to " fly." This intrepid behaviour decided the fate of Charles at Pultowa's calamitous day. When the battle was over, he invited tnfc principal Swcdifh officers to dine with him in his tent ; and after dinner riling gravely from his feat he drank the health of his mailers in the art of war. One of the Swcdifh generals laid, " Pray, Sir, to whom docs your Majefty " give that very honourable title ?" — " To " y ou ; gentlemen," replied the Czar. — " Then " your Majcfty has juft treated your maftcrs " with great ingratitude," faid another of the Swcdifh officers. — iC I will repair that," faid the Czar, u as well as I can," and immediately ordered their Avoids to be returned to them, and treated them with great politenefs and at- tention all the time they continued his pri- 1 oners. In his projects of reform, Peter made gieat ufe of M. Le Fort, a Genevefe captain of ar- tillery, whom he had met with by chance, and with whom his foul immediately accorded by congeniality of talents. The BIOGRAPHIANA. 337 The upper part of the Czar's face was hand- fome ; the lower part, particularly the mouth, was apt to be convulfcd by a natural defect, which was but too much increafed by the vio- lence of his temper, and by thofe impetuous * # In thofe tranfports of anger no one ventured to ap- proach him except his Emprefs, the beauteous and the gentle Catherine. He would occafionally fit down at her feet while he was in thofe paroxyfms of fury, and fuffer her to prefs his throbbing temples with her foft and delicate bands, while the accents of her voice, " like the fweet «* fouth," compofed and harmonized his mind, and he rofe up reftored to the dignity of his nature and the proper ex- ertion of his talents. What a fubjedt for a picture ! It appears aftonifhing that no artift has ever attempted to de- lineate this interefting and affecting fcenf. Rowlie, or Chatterton (it matters not who when he writes fo beautifully), fays in the interlude of 'Ella,* Angells be wroghte to bee of neidher kynde, Angells alleyne fromme chafe defire be free ; Dheere is a fomewhat evere yn in the mind Yatt without woman cannot ftylled bee ; No feyncte in celles, botte having blodde and tere Do fynde the fpright to joie on fyghte of womanne fayrc Albeyte withouten wommen, menne were pheers To falvage kynd and wulde botte live to flea ; Botte womanne eft the fpryghte of peace, fo cheer9 Tochelod yn angel joie hcie angels bee. VOL. I. z tran- 33^ BIOGRAPHIANA. tranfports of anger by which he fuffered him- felf to be too often agitated. Peter in his infancy had a dread of the water. This antipathy he corrected by dint of perfeverance ; and half his time was fpent in exertions of mind upon that very element, the mere fight of which when he was a child u fed to throw him into fits. Voltaire's hiftory of this Prince is very de- fective and fuperficial. He fomevvhere calls him, " moitie /zeros, moitie tygre" a compound of the hero and the tiger ; a compound per- haps highly neccftary to fubjugate the minds and reform the manners of his fubjects ; who, when he came to reign over them, were in a very barbarous and ferocious ftate. The following is an extract of a Letter from the learned Mr. Wanley to Dr. Charlett : " The Czar gave the king's (King Wil- " liam) fcrvants at his departure one hun- " dred and twenty guineas, which was " more than they deferved, they being very " rude to him ; but to the King he pre- " fented a rough ruby, which the greateii " jewellers of Amftcrdam (as well Jews as i " Chriflians) biographiana. 339 " Chriftians) valued at io,oool ftcrling. It " is bored through ; and when it is cut and <( polifhed it mull be fct upon the top of the " imperial crown of England*