Game at Whift readily concur with me. In the prefent difficult times, when invention is put to the rack, in order to devife fome new object of taxation, to defray the expences of government, I am of opinion no folid objection can be made to a tax upon hounds, greyhounds, pointers, fetters, &c. &c. but leaft of all on those envied little animals who receive the careffes and recline upon the bofoms of old maids. The doating fair one, who feeds her pretty favourites on cream and chickens, will not regard the farther trifling expence of a few guineas annually. A tax alfo upou Squir. rels, but most particularly upon monkeys, fhould accompany these provifions. In taxing these instruments either of abfurdity or of luxury, though the fecurity derived from the vigilance and fidelity of the house-dog ought not to be impaired, there are ways without any legislative interference, in which these useless curs may be got rid of, who ferve only to devour a part of the provifions of the poor. Liverpool (my native place) has fet an example, which ought certainly to be followed through every part of the kingdom, namely— "To exclude all perfons keeping dogs from receiving any relief either from their parishes, or charitable fubfcriptions and contributions." Liverpool, March 2, 1796. CANINO. THE PUGILISTIC CONTEST, OR AMAZONIAN WATERFALL. In the American army during the laft war with that country and England, a moft ludicrous circumstance took place by the obftinacy of an old man upon guard. He would not permit a woman, who was a true campaigner, to go beyond him; great altercation enfued, in which the lady difplayed much of the Billingfgate oratory; but at length finding her antagonist too powerful, the had recourfe to her pugiliftic abilities, which proved more fuccefsful. The old man was fo irritated as to prefent his firelock; the woman immediately ran up, fnatched it from him, knocked him down, and, filing over the proftrate hero, in the exultation of triumph, profufely befprinkled him, not with Olympian dew, but that which is elteemed Rr 2 as 320 Ventriloquist.Crops." as emollient to the complexion and 'faith, fomething more natural; nor did the quit her poft, till a file of sturdy ragamuffins marched valiantly to his relief, heavy roads, fir." None of these questions producing a word of anfwer, the fociable man made one more effort. He ftretched out his hand, and feeling the other's habit, difpoffeffed the Amazon, and ena-exclaimed "What a very com bled the knight of the grifly caxon to look fierce, and re-shoulder his mufquet." VENTRILOQUIST. The following is one of the many well attefted, but fingular anecdotes, told of the late extraordinary ventriloquift:Tommy (as he was called) a few years ago, going to a fish ftall in Sheffield, afked the price of a tench, which being told him, he took the fish in his hand, and, cramming a finger into its gill, opened its mouth, at the fame time afking, was it fresh?-to which the fifh-woman replied, "I vow to God it was in the water yesterday!" Tommy immediately threw a found into the fifh's mouth, which articulated, "It's a d -d lie!-I hav'n't been in the water this week, and you know it very well!" The woman, confcious that he had been telling an untruth, fell to the floor as flat as a flounder; the felt it with all the force of a miracle, and fuch was its wholefome effects, that she has never heen known to ell a lie about her fifa fince. The following incident really fell out in an Effex ftage-coach a few years ago. Two paffengers fet out from their inn in London, early on a December morn, It was dark as pitch; and one of them not being fleepy, and wishing for a little converfation, endeavoured, in the ufual travelling mode, to ftimulate his neighbour to difcourfe. "A very dark morn, fir. Shocking cold weather for travelling. Slow going in thefe fortable coat, fir, you have got to travel in!" No answer was made, and the enquirer, fatigued and difgufted, fell into a found nap, nor awoke until the brightest rays of a winter's fun accounted to him for the taciturnity of his comrade, by prefenting to his aftonified view a huge bear, (luckily for him, muzzled and confined,) in a fitting posture ! CROPS. Great effects fometimes proceed from little caufes.-Being an ardent admirer of the ladies myself, I am of opinion, that men of rank fhould therefore hefitate before they adopt a fashion, which may render them unpieafant in the eyes of the ladies, whofe influence in fociety is beyond all things powerful.-Obedient to the injunctions of his clergy, Louis the Seventh of France, cropped his hair fhort -Eleanor, his queen, confidered him thus metamorphofed, very contemptible, and, to revenge herself became fomething more than a coquette, The King obtained a divorce, and Eleanor married the Count of Anjou, who fhortly after afcended the English throne. She gave him for his marriage dower, the fertile plains of Poitou and Guienne, and this was the origin of those wars, which for three hundred years ravaged France, and coft the nation three millions of men, all which probably had never taken place, if Louis the Seventh had not been fo rafh as to crop his hair, and thus difguft the fair Eleanor. On the Mufic and Dancing of the Eaft. On the Music and DANCING of the EAST. (Extracted from Niebuhr's Tra A vels.) MONG the Turks and Arabs, a man of rank would think it a difgrace to learn mufic, A certain aufterity in their manners, too, renders this people infenfible to the charms of harmony. The -contempt in which the art is held, extends to its professors, and muficians are accordingly little esteemted and ill-paid. An art thus defpifed by the great, cherished or admired by no connoiffeurs, and not fitted to conduct either to fame or fortune, cannot make any rapid advances. The mufie of the Eaft, which is thus neglected, is not of the fame character as ours. It is grave and fimple, without any complexity of modulation. The fingers, to gratify the national taffe, are obliged to fing flow, that the fenfe of the words may be understood. I have heard feveral fchiecks fing fome paffages from the Alcoran, in an eafy natural key. There was fomething pleafingly affecting and folemn in thofe pieces of mufic, joined with the words that accompanied them. In my voyage up the Nile, I joined with the failors in finging amorous fongs, by alternate couplets, in which they compared their mistreffes to the cucumbers of Damafcus, and the eyes of the gazelle ; and praifed their beautiful yellow hands and red nails. This chorus of fingers afforded us no fmall entertainment. If the mufic of the Eaft be not to the taste of the Europeans, ours is not less disagreeable to them. Mr. Baurenfiend and I often played upon the violin before Arabs of diftinction, who came to fee us. Although they did not openly or directly exprefs their difapprobation of our mufic, yet they faid enough to let us un 321 derstand that it was not agreeable to them, and that they preferred their own country mufic, as more mafculine, and confequently more excellent. At Bagdad I heard the drum beat in the European fashion; a lady at Alexandria put on filver nails, and beat it with her fingers. The caftanet is to be reckoned among their mufical inftruments: it is carried by the public dancing girls; beggars, too, and fome orders of mendicant Mahometan priefts, carry different horns and drums, which they found when they atk alms. The military mufic of the Turks is beginning to be known in Europe. That which is to be heard through the East, however, affords nothing but an unpleasant jarring noife, and would be entirely unworthy of notice, did it not ferve to mark the diftinctions of rank. A Pacha of three tails is preceded by a greater variety of mufical inftruments, playing martial mufic, than a nobleman of inferior rank dare ufe, so that a perfon's employment may be known by the mufic which goes before him. The principal inftruments used in these martial concerts, are a fort of trumpet, exceedingly noify, which is called in Egypt, furma; the tabbel, or great lurkish tabour, which is held horizontally, and ftruck upon both fides; a hautboy of an acute found, another that founds not unlike our bafoon Laftly, they have plates of fonorous metal, which they ftrike one against another, to mark the cadence. A refpectable Mahometan, who fhould indulge in dancing, would. difgrace himfelf in the eftimation of his countrymen. The women, however, value themfelves upou excellence in this exercise, and practice it without fcruple, reckoning it their duty to contribute to the 322 On the Mufic and Dancing of the Eaft. the pleasures of their hufbands, by every little art in their power. When by themselves, too, in an affembly, confifting only of women, on occafion of a marriage, or any other folemnity, they vie no lefs before their husbands in dancing. No woman would prefume to appear in an affembly, if The were not handfome and magnificently dreffed. If the enter. tainment happens to be in the houfe of a family of rank, fifty of the greatest beauties in the city affemble, all dreffed out in great fplendour. In their train, they bring the handsomest flaves, who attend in a feparate room to take care of the coffers containing their mistresses clothes. After the ladies have been feated for fome time, and have been served with refreshments, young girls are called in to divert the company with vocal and inftrumental mufic. The moft diftinguished lady in the company then rifes, dances for a few minutes, and paffes into the next apartment, where her flaves are waiting to change her drefs. She lays all afide, even her flippers, embroidered with gold and filver, and retains only her head-drefs and bracelets, which are richly ornamented with jewels. In the mean time the reft dance, and in their turns leave the room to change their drefs; and this is fucceffively repeated fo long that a lady will fometimes change her dress ten times in one night, and put on fo many different fuits, every one richer than another. They firive all to command admiration, and their endeavours eud as among us, in jealousies and grudges. The men difdain to practise this exercife, but amufe themselves fometimes with feeing dancing girls exhibit, who go about and dance for hire, either in places of public refort, or in private houses upon festive occa Gons. Those dancers are called, at Conftantinople, Tichingane or Gypfies, and at Cairo, Ghafie. They are young married, or unmarried women, belonging to a separate and defpifed clafs of the lower people, who intermarry only amongst themselves; their parents are commouly farriers by trade. They are attended only by one man, who plays only upon the femenge, and sometimes by an old woman, who plays upon the tambourine, and appears to watch over their conduct; they are faid, however, not to be of the most demure and rigid virtue, yet no mar. ried Mahometan incurs any obloquy by carrying them to dance at his houfe; and they go wherever they are well paid. But an unmarried Mahometan dares not invite them to his houfe; and we ne ver met with any of them in the houfes of any of the French merchants, who, by a regulation of their fovereign, are all restricted to celibacy. At first, we never saw them but by accident, at a publichoufe without the city; but to wards the conclufion of our stay in Egypt, we had better opportunities of gratifying our curiofity. A great part of the houses in which the Europeans live, ftand along the great canal which paffses through Cairo; and thofe Ghafie accordingly derive their best profits from dancing oppofite to these houses in the canal, when it is dry before the opening of the dyke. At that period we made fometimes one troop, fometimes another dance before us. Yet however much difposed to receive entertainment, they did not please us at first; their vocal and inftrumental music we thought horrible, and their perfons appeared difguftingly ugly, with their yellow hands, fpotted faces, abfurd ornaments, and hair larded. with ftinking pomatum. A Sweepstakes of 20gs each, for all ages.-2 miles. Mr. Wentworth's bay filly, Flyer, by Highflver, out of Tulip, 4 yrs old, 8ft. 2lb. Sir C. Turner's chefnut colt, Sir Solomon, by King Fergus, dam by Garrick, 4 yrs old, 8ft. 2lb. Mr. Pierfe's grey colt, Why-not, by Highflyer, dam by Young Marik, 4 yrs, 8ft. 2lb. Mr. Garforth's chefnut colt, by Phonomenon, dam by Pacolet, 4 yrs old, 8ft. 2ib. Mr. Jolliffe's bay colt, Monkton, by Pofthumous, dam by Eclipfe, 4 yrs old, 8ft. 5lb.. Mr. Milbank's ch. horfe, Hydaf- Middleham, Yorkshire. 323 Sir |