1789. Sul-malla of Lumon. A Poem. bow. Why doft thou wander in deferts, like a light through a cloudy field? The young roes are panting by their fecret rocks. -Return, thou daughter of kings; the cloudy night is near. It was the young branch of Lumon, Sulmalla of blue eyes. She fent the bard from her rock, to bid us to her feaft. Amidft the fong we sat down in Conmor's echoing hall. White moved the hands of Sul-malla on the trembling ftrings. Half heard, amidft the found, was the name of Atha's king he that was abfent in battle for her own green land.-Nor abfent from her foul was he he came amidst her thoughts by night: Ton-thena looked in from the ky, and faw her toffing arms. The found of the fhells had ceafed. A. midft long rocks, Sul-malla rofe. She fpoke with bended eyes, and asked of our courfe through feas; "for of the kings of men are ye, tall riders of the wave." Not unknown, I said, at his ftreams is he, the father of our race. Fingal has been heard of at Cluba, blue eyed daughter of kings.-Nor only at Cona's stream is Offian and Ofcar known. Foes tremble at our voice, and thrunk in other lands. On Not unmarked, faid the maid, by Sulmalla, is the fhield of Morven's king. It hangs high in Conmor's hall, in memory of the paft; when Fingal came to Cluba in the days of other years. Loud roared the boar of Culdarnu, in the midst of his rocks and woods. Inis huna fent her youths, but they failed; and virgins wept over tombs, Careless went the king to Culdarnu. his fpear rolled the ftrength of the woods. He was bright, they faid, in his looks, the first of mortal men.-Nor at the feaft were heard his words. His deeds paffed from his foul of fire, like the rolling of vapours from the face of the wandering fun. Not care lefs looked the blue eyes of Cluba on his flately fteps. In white bosoms rose the king of Selma, in midft of their thoughts by night. But the winds bore the ftranger to the echoing vales of his roes.-Nor loft to other lands was he, like a meteor that finks in a cloud. He came forth, at times, in his brightness, to the diftant fwelling of foes. His fame came, like the found of winds, to Cluba's woody vale. Darkness dwells in Cluba of harps: the race of kings is diftant far; in battle is Conmor of pears; and Lormar king of ftreams. Nor darkening alone are they; a beam from other lands is nigh: the friend of ftrangers in Atha, the troubler of the field. High from their mifty hills, look forth the blue eyes of Erin; for he is far away, young dweller of their fouls.-Nor harmlefs, white hands of Erin is he in the : 627 skirts of war: he rolls ten thousand before him in his diftant field. Not unfeen by Offian, I faid, rushed Cathmor from his ftreams, when he poured his ftrength on I-thorno, ifle of many waves. In ftrife met two kings in I-thorno, Culgorm and Suran dronlo: each from his echoing ifle, ftern hunters of the boar ! They met a boar at a foamy ftream: each pierced it with a fpear. They ftrove for the fame of the deed: and gloomy battle rose, From ifle to ifle they fent a fpear, broken and ftained with blood, to call the friends of their fathers in their founding arms. Cathmor came from Bolga to Culgorm, red-eyed king: I aided Suran-dronlo, in his land of boars. We rushed on either fide of a ftream, which roared through a blasted heath. High broken rocks were round, with all their bending trees. Near are two circles of Loda, with the ftone of power; where fpirits defcended by night, in dark-red ftreams of fire.-There, mixed with the murmur of waters, rofe the voice of aged men, they called the forms of night to aid them in their war. A Meditation on a Walking-Stick. In Imitation of Dean Swift's Meditation on a Broom-flick. S walking is the most natural, agreeable, and healthy exercise which man can ufe, therefore every thing which contributeth, to promote that exercife with propriety, muft, and ought to merit our particular regard. I fpeak from my own experience, and the experience of others will allow it, that a walking stick is a very useful companion, and I may venture to fay, thou art my friend. It is of thee, my faithful companion and guide, I defire to peak in praife! -O thou useful companion, it is to thy aid that my weary tottering limbs are very often supported! It is to thee I owe my expedition in my morning and evening walks! It is to thee, my dear supporter, that I am enabled to defend myself against the furious attacks of fnarling curs and terrifying maftiffs! It is by thy affiftance that I have often defended myfelf against the violence of robbers, and the fons of infolence, by applying thee in due feafon. Wert thou introduced more into public ufe, thy merits would be great and laudable indeed, when our high-fpirited military men are determined to difpute a point of honour, were each of them to be provided with a good lufty ftrong walking stick, inftead of fwords and piftols, they might then drub each other fufficiently, without any imminent danger of putting a period to their own exiflence. Yes; yes, by the help of thee, they might Kkkk 2 bruife 628 Hiftories of the Tete-a-Tete. duftry.infolence and impertinence would experience thee to be a good monitor and inftructor. If the unmerciful critic, and partial cenfurer, were to receive a little chaftifement from thee, they would certainly become more candid and charitable whenever they paffed their judgment on men and manners; then they would do it with caution, prudence, and difcretion, and not cenfure indifcriminately without due and mature deliberation and examination.O thou ftaff of my old age, and fupporter of my feeble frame, to thee I would fain offer up my beft thanks, and defire to eftem thee as thou real ly delervelt, my friend, and conftant companion! Hiftories of the Tête-à-Téte annexed; or, Memoirs of Mercator and Lucinda. TERCATOR is one Mwhich, like the of those charact of plants, Ipring inftantaneously into notice from the heat of ordure. His fpirit being enterpriling, though his means were feanty, be fortunately made what the gentlemen on the Royal Exchange term a bit, by entering into feveral defperate infurances. Having 'acquired cash and credit, he married into a Jamily in every respect fuperior to his own, Dec. kept a town and country houfe, and sported a handsome carriage. Mrs. Mercator was in perfon neat, in countenance pretty, but the wanted anima tion and fenfibility. Fruitful, however, the was in the extreme; yet the increase of her children kept her continually on the fret, and fhe was literally, from her attention to nursery duties, little better than the upper fervant in the house. She was one of those who must have a hand in every thing, and truff nothing to their domeftics. This difpofition was by no means conge. nial with the inclinations of Mercator. He was fond of life and pleasure, the enjoyments of which being denied him at home, he fought it abroad, till an object ftruck his eye and attached his heart. Lucinda was a tall ftripling, juft entering her teens when Mercator firft faw her. It must have been her conversation that engag ed his attention, for to beauty fhe has no claim. Nature was not favourable in her original formation, and the fmall pox creafed the plainnefs of her face; but her perfon was well formed. Mercator was fafcinated, he laid a regular plan for the fe duction of Lucinda, and he fucceeded. 4 in Being married, he was under the neceffity of appearing a bachelor, and to ensure the perpetration of his plan, he took a lodging near the habitation of his mistress, where he affumed a feigned name. The fcheme of feduction commenced by his feeing Lucinda frequently on vifits to his landlady; and as he was liberal in the ex treme to her, the spoke of him when abfent as the moft generous foul breathing, a cha racter which never fails affecting a woman's heart. of Parties to the play and other places public amusement were propofed and accept ed Mercator's landlady was old, and her prefence protected the reputation of Lucinda. On thefe parties the foft nonfenfe of love was infinuated into the fair one's ear; as nothing difhonourable was even hinted at virtue was off her guard, and the poifon flattery infufed without fufpicion from the fuffering party. and Private affignations now commenced, till under the protection of her fubtle admirer at laft the unfufpicious Lucinda ventured to make a fhort excurfion into the country, Women are flesh and blood-are endowed and to keep natural defire within bounds is what conflitutes female virtue. But if a girl of fixteen, confiding in a man the loves, and whom the believes loves her, ventures under his protection into a fituation where importunity finds opportunity to cx. ercile its powers; is it confiftent with na ture that juch a girl can have power to repel 1 1789. Account of the Countefs de Valois de la Motte. the ardour of a paffion which the reciprocates-This flep may be termed imprudent, but cannot be confidered licentious. Such was the fituation of Lucinda at an inn eight miles from London, where the was carried by Mercator. At this inn they dined, and at dinner Lucinda was prevailed upon to take an extraordinary glass of wine. There needs no farther elucidation of the confequences Mercator fucceeded, and Lucinda loft her innocence. Mercator's being married, every honourable reparation was out of his power-And what refource had the unhappy victim to his illicit paflion? She had none but what the could feek for in his generofity for the foon difcovered he was married, and her friends coming to a knowledge of her offence, with drew their protection. In thort, Lucinda, young and inexperienced in the world, knew not where nor how to feck for bread, and from neceffity became a regular kept mistress to her feducer. In this fituation fhe has lived for feveral years, and has by degrees acquired fuch influence over her keeper, that he not only governs him with fovereign authority, but he is in fact no more than her delegate in his own family; and should his wife die, there is no doubt but he would place her at the head of it, though he has daughters grown up women, and long fince marriageable. Various have been the changes of Mercator's life. An unlucky fpeculation laft war deprived him of his whole property; but his induftrious and enterprising spirit foon fuggefted another means of obtaining bread, and neither of his families have ever experienced indigence. Account of Memoirs of the Countess de Valois de la Motte: containing a juftification of ber conduct relative to the Diamond Neck lace, alfo the correspondence between the Queen of France and the Cardinal de Roban. Tranflated from the French; writ te by Herjel. N details of this nature, where the writer is fo nearly concerned, there is a kind of vulgar illiberality, which, be facts, conceffions, and appearances, what they may, will induce the publick to withhold a general belief of what is ftated. We with always to avoid this miferable mode of cutting up books; a mode practifed by too many of our contemporaries with an infolence and impudence, the most profligate and abandoned. For our parts, we never prefume to proBounce judgment on parties we only review their works; and give them all the credit due to a folemn appeal to the publick, till they are refuted, and that 629 fonal favour, or other biafs. We deem it necessary to make thefe obfervations, because it is become a fort of fafhion to abufe the perfons and principles of writers, instead of giving au impartial review of their books, elpecially in cafes like that before us, involv ing perfonal ftrictures, and political difquifition The diamond necklace, to which, it feems, the Queen of France had taken a Lady's liking, is the principal fubje&t of thefe memoirs. Her majefly, it is well known, has denied all concern in the matter. The countefs, who was on terms of private friendship with her, tells another story; and, if the following paflage is to have the leaft credit, brings this myflerious affair a little farther into day-light. The Queen, talking about the purchate and the cardinal, faid to the Countefs, "He is perhaps ignorant of it, but I tell it you, that i have contracted with the King a formal engagement not to fet my name to any thing without firft communicating it to him; the thing is therefore impracticable. See between you what can be done, or let us give up the idea of a purchase. It appears to me that the writing being only a matter of form, that those people being unacquainted with my hand-writing,--you will confider of it: but, once more, I cannot fet my name to it. However, let the matter end which way it will, tell the cardinal, that the first time I fee him, I will communicate the nature of those arrangements I mean to make with him.”. The Countefs proceeds; "To draw an inference from this converfation, that the Queen should have advised me to commit a forgery, might feem a kind of facrilege. Poflibly the did not form a more exact idea of what the nature of a forgery was, than I the confequences: It is likewife poffible, that myfelf did, before I was made fenfible of the obfervation the made of the jewellers he ing unacquainted with her hand writing, did not mean that another might be fubiti. tuted in its ftead; for, upon further reflection, I found it might have quite another meaning; though the fact is, that I then affixed that meaning to thole expreffions.") After a variety of refictions on the matter, "hurried away in the vortex of courtly com pliance," &c. &c. “I determined, that for form's fake, fomething must be fhewn to the jewellers, which they might take for the Queen's approbation; that the Cardinal muit not be confulted about this meafure, which he would be pleased with me for putting in practice after it had produced its effect, befides, continuing my reverie, -I am fo much the icis in danger of expofing mylelf. as in fact, if the Queen da |