at length fubdued POMPEY, the great rival of his growing power, and ftill purfuing his favourite maxim, "That he had rather be the first man in a village, than the fecond in Rome," he aimed at the imperial dignity; in confequence of which the friends of the civil liberty of the republic affaffinated him in the senate-house. In the Spada palace at Rome is kept the very ftatue at whose feet Cæfar fell, and those who fhew it never fail to relate his care to die gracefully; which was likewise the last defire that occupied the mind of Lucretia. The "matchlefs BRUTUS-the laft of Romans," as Thomfon ftyles him, was one of the principal confpirators. His character, uniting feverity of principle with gentlenefs and humanity of dif pofition, added to firmness in virtuous action, is finely drawn by Shakespeare. This was the nobleft Roman of them all; And common good to all, made one of them. So mix'd in him, that nature might stand up, Cæfar is faid to have fought 50 pitched battles, in which 1,920,000 human beings were butchered. The affaffination of this " beft of cut-throats" took place 42 years B. C. How long is that ago this prefent year 1795? Anf. 1837 N. B. The defeat and death of Brutus and Caffius at PHILIPPI, in Macedonia, where thefe brave and ftrenuous republicans engaged the Cæfarean party, commanded by Octavius Cæfar an1 Mark Anthony, put a final period to the popular government at Rome, foon after the death of Julius Cæfar. The wife of Brutus was PORTIA," a woman well reputed, CATO's daughter." She had formerly wounded herself feverely, to extort from her husband the caufe of his apparent uneafinefs; and now, fcorning to furvive Brutus, and perceiving that every weapon of deftruction was removed from her reach, fhe embraced death by fwallowing burning coals. Thus has Portia left behind her an everlasting argument, how far a generous treatment can make the tender fex go even beyond the refolution of man, when we allow that they are by nature formed to pity, love, and fear; and we with an impulfe to ambition, danger, and adventure. Hiftory has moreover recorded other fimilar inftances of conjugal affection and fortitude in the fair fex. We fhall content ourselves with felecting the two following. The affectionate Panthea plunged a poignard into her heart, and expired upon the dead body of her hufband Abradates, who had been flain in battle. They were both buried upon the fpot in one common grave, and a monument was erected for them by Cyrus, which was tanding in the time of Xenophon, When When Pætus was condemned to death for having been concerned in a confpiracy againft Claudius, his confort Arria, having in vain folicited his life, perfuaded him to destroy himself, rather than fuffer the ignominy of falling by the hand of the executioner; and in order to encourage him to an act, to which it seems he was not much inclined, fhe fet him the example. Drawing a dagger fhe plunged it in her breaft, and then prefented it to her husband with that memorable, I had almost said, fays Pliny, that divine expreffion, Pætus, it is not painful. Martial has celebrated this heroic action in the following famous epigram : "When from her breaft chafte Arria fnatch'd the fword, And gave the deathful weapon to her lord; My wound, fhe faid, believe me does not smart ; No, 25. BATTLE OF ACTIUM. Actium was a fmall city on the Ambracian gulf, north of the island of Cephalonia, Turkey in Europe. It is rendered memorable by the decifive victory which the navy of Octavius, afterwards Auguftus Cæfar, obtained over the conjoined fleets of Anthony and Cleopatra. This event happened 31 years B. C. How many years have intervened between that period and the prefent year 1795? Anf. 1826 years. N. B. Octavius was nephew to Julius Cæfar, mentioned in the preceding question. Mark Anthony was another celebrated Roman general and triumvir; that is, one of three perfons who govern abfolutely, and with equal authority, in a ftate. There were two famous triumvirates at Rome; POMPEY, CÆSAR, and CRASSUS, established the firft; and AUGUSTUS, ANTHONY, and LEPIDUS, the fecond. This latter triumvirate gave the laft blow to the already expiring liberty of the republic. Auguftus having vanquifhed Lepidus and Anthony, the triumvirate funk into a monarchy. In the reign of this Auguftus JESUS CHRIST was born. CLEOPATRA was the celebrated queen of Egypt whose extraordinary beauty fubdued Julius Cæfar and Mark Anthony; the latter of whom, it is generally thought, loft the empire of Rome by his attachment to this fafcinating but vicious woman. When Octavius took Alexandria, in Egypt, the year after the battle of ACTIUM, Anthony and Cleopatra put an end to their own lives, and Egypt became a Roman province. Xanthus was the No. 26. DESTRUCTION OF XANTHUS. metropolis of Lycia, a diftrict of Afia Minor, fomewhat N. E. of the island of Rhodes. The inhabitants of this once famous city have acquired great celebrity in ancient hiftory, like thofe of SAGUNTUM and NUMANTIA, fpoken of in the 15th and 16th questions, and on a fimilar account; a renown which time fhall not obfcure, while the love of FREEDOM is efteemed an elevated and virtuous affection. "In liberty's defence, fight constant, fingle Thefe Thefe brave people, when the Romans became masters of their city, 42 years B. C. being determined not to furvive the lofs of liberty, deftroyed their wives and children, fet their city on fire, and perished in the conflagration, as their ancestors had before done, rather than fubmit to Harpagus, Cyrus's lieutenant, or to Alexander, the conqueror of Afia. How long did the deftruction of Xanthus precede the year 1795? Anf. 1837 years. No. 27. BATTLE OF PHARSALIA. Pharfalia was a town of Theffaly, now Janna, which gives name to a province of European Turkey; and in the neighbourhood is a large plain, long famous for the great and decifive battle between POMPEY aud CESAR. The iffue proved fatal to the former commander, who, after a total defeat, fled to Egypt, where he was treacherously flain, by order of Ptolemy the younger, then a minor. See Rollin, v. vii. p. 250, &c. and alfo Plutarch's Life of Pompey. A mercenary wretch, named Theodotus, one of the counsellors who was confulted how this brave commander fhould be treated, observed, “That dead men bite not;" a fagacious fentiment which probably enabled Gray to remark to Queen Elizabeth, concerning the unfortunate Mary, queen of Scots, "That dead women bite not." See Tindal's Rap. v. vii. p. 491.' A poem of LUCAN, in which he gives an account of the civil wars of Cæfar and Pompey, bears the name of PHARSALIA. Lucan was put to death for being concerned in a conspiracy against the "imperial monfter" NERO. The engagement at Pharfalia took place 48 years B. C. How long is that ago this current year 1795? Anf. 1843 years. N. B. After this battle CATO retired to Utica, near Tunis, in Africa; where, not choosing to furvive the liberties of his country, he killed himself. No. 28. A perfon owes to A £100, to B £240 10s. to C £784 12s. 6d. to D £500, to E £25 4s. 7d. and to F £19 195. 6d. what do his debts amount to? Anf. 1670 6s. 7d. No. 29. A man borrowed a certain fum of money, and paid in part £648 18s. 4d. the fum left unpaid was £769 17s. 8d. what was the original debt? Anf. £1418 165. No. 30. Laid out in beef 14s. 10d. . in mutton 7s. 4d. 4, in veal 8s. 10d.. in lamb 5s. 4d. 1. in vegetables 15. 9d. 2. in butter 1s. 4d. . what was expended in all? Anf. £1 19s. 8d. 4. No. 31. Paid a baker's,bill of £2 12s. 6d. a butcher's of £8 75. 6. a cheesemonger's of 18s. 9d. a milliner's of £5 18s. a mantuamaker's of £2 145. 8d. and a hair-dreffer's of £5 10s. what is the amount of the feveral fums? Anf. £26 15. 5d. No. 3. No. 32. Expended in gloves 14. 8d. in gauze £1 35. 7d. in ribands 2s. 6d. in stockings 16s. in lace £4 10s. in cambric £2 12s. 6d. in muflin £3 45. and in filk £5 125. what was the whole fum fpent? Anf. 18 155. 3d. No. 33. Bought 6 yards of mode, at 6s. 4d. per yard; 6 yards of lining, at 35. 2d. per yard; 9 yards of lace, at 4s. 10d. per yard, and paid for making the cloak 2s. 6d. what is the amount of the whole? Anf. £5 35. No. 34. St. Paul's cathedral coft £800,000; the Royal-Exchange £80,000; the Manfion-Houfe £40,000; Black-Friars-Bridge 152,840; Weftminster-Bridge £389,000; and the Monument £13,000 what is the amount of thefe fums? Anf. £1,474,840. No. 35. MONEY AND COIN. Coin differs from money as the fpecies from the genus. Money is any matter, whether metal, wood, kather, glafs, horn, paper, fruits, fhells, or kernels, which have currency as a medium in commerce. Coin is a particular fpecies, always made of metal, and struck according to a certain process called coining. The precife epocha of the invention of money is unknown; but, from the neceffity and obviousness of the thing, it is fuppofed to have taken place at a very early period of the world. Coins are evidently not of equal antiquity. In effect, the very commodities themfelves were the first moneys, i. e. were current for one another by way of exchange. That purchases were thus made in the time of the Trojan war, we learn from Homer. Each, in exchange, proportion'd treasure gave; POPE'S Homer. Hence it may be inferred, that at the period alluded to, namely, about 1184 years B. C. the trade of countries was carried on by exchange in grofs; brafs, oxen, flaves, &c. Coin is a piece of metal converted into money by the impreffion of certain marks or figures thereon. Money was first made of gold and filver at Argos in Greece, 894 B. C. The firit coining of filver took place at Rome 269, and of gold 206 years B. C. Many filver coins of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kings have been found in England; and regular feries of English coins have been collected even from the reign of Egbert to the prefent time. Shillings were first coined in England by Henry VII. in 1503. Fleetwood, in his Chronicon Preciofum, ftates the first coining of filver crowns and half crowns to have been in the reign of Edward VI. There were English English crowns long before that period, but they were always of gold. Some pieces of gold were coined by Henry III. about the year 1257; but it is from the reign of Edward III. that the regular feries of gold coinage commences. In 1344, that prince firft ftruck florens, fuppofed to be fo called from the beft gold then coined at Florence, a state where the fine arts then began faintly to dawn. The floren was then worth fix fhillings, but it is now intrinfically worth nineteen, from the increafed value of gold, and diminution of the value of filver coins. Gold coins, under various denominations, were afterwards ftruck by our different English princes. Charles II. iffued half guineas, double guineas, and five guinea pieces. The firft money coined in ancient Britain feems to have been copper; but, after the arrival of the Saxons in England, fcarcely any copper money appeared here for many centuries; nor was there a general currency of English authorized copper money till the year 1672. Copper money was firft ufed in Scotland and Ireland A. D. 1340. A confiderable coinage of guineas took place in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. Before the Revolution English money was in a moft wretched condition, having been filed and clipped by natives as well as foreigners, infomuch that it was fcarcely left of half the value the retrieving of this diftreffed ftate of our coin is justly regarded as one of the glories of king William's reign. The British coinage is now wholly performed in the Tower of London, where there is a corporation for it, under the title of the Mint. Political writers confider the increafe of fums coined, as a certain proof of the increase of our national commerce. By George 1. 8,725,921 fterling were coined. In the long reign of George II. 11,966,576; and in the firft 24 years of his prefent majesty's reign, the fums coined amounted to £33,089,274 fterling; what is the amount of these fums? Anf. £53,781,771. SUBTRACTION. EACHES to take a lefs number from a greater, and fhews the difference or remainder. TE EXAMPLES. No. 36. DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. The deftruction of Jerufalem by Nebuchadnezzar has been noticed in the 12th queftion. In the year 536 B. C. Cyrus king of Ferfia publifhed the famous edict |