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the ftrictness of tranflation, in order to elucidate doubtful pasfages, and to diverfi y the flyle of the narrative; and he has, perhaps, rendered his verfion as pleafing as the nature of the The fenfe is often given fomeoriginal work would admit. what diffutely, but commonly with fufficient fidelity; as the learned reader will perceive by comparing the two following articles with the original,-the latter of which deferves a better title than a ftratagem:

PHALARIS.

The people of Agrigentum having determined to build a temple to Jupiter the governor within the calle, both becaufe the ground there was the firmeft and hardest, and therefore the most proper for the foundation; and also because the fite was the not elevated, and as fuch properet for the temple of the Deity: Phalaris undertook to fuperintend the work; and at a fixed fum engaged to finish it, employing the ableft workmen, and fupplying the beft materials. The people from his occupation, which was that of a publican*, fuppofing him a proper perfon for conducting the work, accordingly contracted with him for it; and paid into his hands the money. With this he hires a number of ftrangers, farms the prifoners, and buys a quantity of flones, timber, and iron. As foon as he had laid the foundation, he pretends his materials had been stolen; and directs proclamation to be made, that whoever would difcover those who had tolea the ftones and iron from the cafile, fhould receive a fum of money in reward. The people expreffed great indignation at the theft and gave him the leave which he requested, in future to prevent fuch larcenies, to fortify the caftle, and throw a trench round it. He then truck off the prifoners' irons, and armed them with battle-axes, hatchets, and ftones; and, while the citizens were intent on celebrating the feaft of Ceres, fuddenly fell upon them, flew many of the men, made himself mafter of the perfons of the women and children, and poffeffed himfelf of the fovereignty of Agrigen

tum.'.

GESCON.

Amilcar, one of the ableft generals the Carthaginians ever had, commanded their forces in Lybia: but after a feries of great fucceffes, became obnoxious to a faction, who envied him his reputation; and charging him with defigns against the liberties of the people, procured him to be condemned, and executed. And his brother Gefcon was banished. New generals were then appointed; under whofe conduct the Carthaginian arms met with nothing but repeated defeats: till their very existence became a matter of doubt. In thefe difficulties what could they do? They could not raife Amilcar from the tomb. They therefore addrefied a penitential letter to Gescon; recalling him from exile, conftituting him general of their armies, and engaging to deliver up to him his own, and his brother's enemies, to

* The Tiλovai, or publicans, were thofe that received the fines due for the celebration of public worship. They were at Athens ten in number; and chofen out of the metaxosquidipu.....'

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be punished at his difcretion. Gefcon, on his return to his country, ordered his enemies to be brought before him in chains; and commanding them to lie down upon their bellies on the ground, he thrice put his foot lighly upon their necks; and faid, he had by fuch humiliation of them taken fufficient revenge for his brother's death. This done, he difmiffed them; adding, I will not return evil for evil, but repay evil with good. This conduct procured Gefcon a general efteem, and the ready obedience of all partics, both of friends, and enemies; as a character equally amiable and great, And their public affairs foon took a different turn, his courage conquering; and the sweetness of his manners engaging the vanquished to him.'

Whether this publication will be found ufeful to the commanders of armies, in the degree which the tranflator expects, we are inclined to doubt: but, as a tranflation of an antient claffical work, containing many curious fragments of hiftory, it is an acceptable prefent to the public.

ART. XXI. A Ramble through Holland, France, and Italy. 12mo. 2 Vois. 12s. Boards. Cadell. 1793.

THIS

HIS rambler may be very properly characterized as The Merry Traveller. Wherever he goes, inftead of fretting at accidents which are unavoidable, he finds in every occurrence at occafion of mirth. His gaité de cour appears at the opening of the work, in a humourous and witty dedication to his Grace Duke Humphrey; at whofe table, he fays, he first conceived the thought of fending his tour into the world, and to whofe Attic entertainments he attributes the fpirit of the performance. The pleafantry which runs through every page of this narrative we have found abundantly fufficient to "unfurl the wrinkled front" of criticifm; and though our fenfe of decorum has now and then prompted us to frown, it has by an irresistible impulfe been immediately converted into a fmile, and not unfrequently into that vulgar convulfion, a downright laugh. We shall not anticipate the pleasure which the reader will derive from thefe amufing volumes, further than by quoting a fingle paffage. We felect the author's humourous account of a religious ceremony performed at Rome:

What to do with my fhallow domeftic, Abel, I know not-the fellow hath been perverted by an Irish renegado, and is croffing his forehead and beating his breaft before every Virgin Mary he pailes : -if I take him to a church there is no getting him away; and if I leave him at home I am obliged, when I return, to go to the churches to find him.

As the holy week is at hand, pilgrims are flocking in from all parts of the globe.

Previous to their partaking of the general pardon, it is required that they shall have paid their adoration to the crucifix at the top of the flair-cafe that was brought from Jerufalem; and which is faid to

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A Ramble through Holland, France, and Italy:

be taken from Pontius Pilate's house; being the fame that our Saviour frequently afcended to undergo examination.

I have practifed myself to look at the Catholic ceremonies with temper; but this fcene was fo infinitely ridiculous, that, without any evil intentions, I threw a whole body of pilgrims into the utmost confternation.

The ftair-cafe confifts of eight-and-twenty marble fteps; each of which may hold about ten people abreaft, and at this feason of the year it is conftantly crowded. The pope himself durft not mount it on his feet.-Upwards of two hundred pilgrims were at this inftant afcending, to pay homage to the crucifix, on their knees, and in this attitude moving on from step to ftep towards the top - Figure to yourfelf this group-They first appeared to me to be afflicted with the hip gout-they moved like horfes with the ftringhalt-I could ftill have borne it all, had I not feen Abel grubbing on in the midst of them, which made me burst into fuch a fit of laughter, that the holy ones were thrown into such a scene of confufion as you have never witneffed. Suddenly recollecting the expence of plush breeches, I commanded Abel to defcend.-Enthufiafm had deafened him to every worldly confideration; and, what added to my chagrin was, that the pilgrims had greatly the advantage of him, ten out of eleven being fans culottes-fo finding all remonftrance ineffectual, I waited to fee the conclufion of the ceremony.

The holy receptacle at the top contains a fplendid crucifix, furrounded by about a dozen portable faints, which are shewn off by a ftrong light in the back ground; and it has much the appearance of a magic lantern. As the pilgrims advance they batter their foreheads against the upper ftep, more or lefs according to their fuperftition, or the weight of fin that overwhelms them; and then, as the fame method of defcent, being as I have informed you, upon their knees, might poffibly be more rapid, they go off at the top through two narrow paffages or defiles that look like a couple of cracks in the wall; which, I fuppofe, are intended to anfwer the purpose of a weighing machine, to afcertain how much they are wafted by fasting and praying.

It was evident that they had not used the fame artificial means of reducing themfelves, that a Newmarket jockey does, by wearing a dozen flannel waistcoats at a time, for most of them were barely covered with the remnant of a shirt-what fafting might have done I know not, but am apt to give very little credit to the effect of their prayers. Indeed there was a more natural way of accounting for their leannefs, as most of them had walked fome hundreds of miles previous to the ceremony; and we may difcover a caufe for the trange attitude which they ufed on the occafion, by conjecturing, that being leg-weary, they had recourfe to their knees by way of a change.

Thefe narrow paffages did well enough for a mortified taper catholic, (one or two of whom I have feen towards the conclufion of Lent, reduced to fuch a point that one might almoft have threaded a bodkin with them) but in nowife anfwered the purpose of your portly well-fed proteftant; fo Abel, as was eafy to forefee, ftuck faft in the

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middle-feveral of them endeavoured to pull him through, till at laft he was fo completely wedged in that he could neither get backwards nor forwards-Finding him in this fituation, the pilgrims were fuddenly difarmed of fufficient ftrength to withstand the temptations of their old pilfering fyftem; fo one ran away with his hat, another clawed hold of his hair, and had very nearly fcalped him, fuppofing it to be a wig-In fhort, after a violent exertion, Abel effected his efcape, and promised to make no more religious experiments for the prefent; but is perfuaded that he fhould never have got through, had it not been for the interference of the crucifix and portable faints.'

Our only advice to the reader, with respect to this work, is, not to fit down to it after he has been regaling with Duke Humphrey, but to take it up when a good dinner and a chearful glafs have difpofed him to be pleased with what he reads, " he knows not why and cares not wherefore."

We obferve that the author, who is fo happy in the patronage of Duke Humphrey, has a numerous lift of titled friends; his fubfcribers, except a few ladies and divines, are all nobles, baronets, and efquires.

ART. XXII. The Hiftory of France, from the moft early Records, to the Death of Louis XVI. The ancient Part by William Beckford, Efq. Author of a Defcriptive Account of the Island of Jamaica. The modern Part by an English Gentleman, who has been fome Time refident in Paris. 4 Vols. 8vo. 11. 4s. Boards. Jordan. 1794.

BES

ESIDES the English translations formerly published of several French hiftorians, and the original hiftory of France given in the Modern Univerfal Hiftory, the public has lately been presented with two hiftories of France, one written at full length by Mr. Gifford, in four volumes quarto*, the other judiciously abridged in three volumes octavo. It might feem that thefe publications would be amply fufficient to fupply the wants of the public on this fubject. Curiofity is, however, at present so much awakened with respect to the affairs of France, that Mr. Beckford and his affociate have prefumed that there is ftill room for another hiftory of that nation. The work which their joint labours have produced is, however, by no means either a complete or an uniform hiftory. The political character of it is indeed throughout liberal; and the authors are agreed in affixing a deferved ftigma on the tyranny which, with very few exceptions, has difgraced the French monarchy from its commencement to its termination :-but the literary character of the work is very unequal. The antient part, written by Mr. Beckford, which comes down to the end of the reign of Charles VI. and fills the first two volumes and part of the *Rev. N. S. vols. x. and xi. and vols, ii. and iii.

APP. REV. VOL. XVI.

Rr

third,

third, is written with confiderable energy of thought, and with fome attention to the graces of compofition: but the latter part is a dry journal of tacts, enlivened with no embellishments of ftyle. We fhall give a fpecimen of Mr. Beckford's manner of writing, in his review of the ftate of the people in France at the clofe of the Carlovingian line, about the end of the tenth century:

The people, the most numerous, as the most useful clafs of the community, were all, more or leis, flaves, under the arbitrary dominion of the feudal barons. Subjected to the most disgraceful fervices, oppreffed by the most perfevering cruelty, and over helmed by the moft intolerable taxes, there was icarcely any diftinction left between the freeman and the flave. Every lord was the unlicenced tyrant of his demefnes, which was a real prifon to his fubjects. With the name of freemer, they had not the liberty to difpofe of their effects, either by any act during life, or by a teftamentary difpofition at their decease. In default of children, not domefticated in the fief, the baron became the heir of their respective properties. They were not permitted to marry without his confent, and his permiffion was feldom obtained but by purchase. They could not terminate a fuit, once commenced, by accommodation, left it fhould deprive him of the perquifites of his court. If they obeyed not his fummons in time of war, they were liable, with their defcendants, to be reduced to flavery. This precarious ftate of mifery, in perpetual dread of fome additional burden, or fubje&t, upon the most trivial pretences, to a confifcation of all their goods, induced many to make a voluntary furrender of themselves, in the expectation of experiencing lefs inhumanity.

While thofe attached to the duties of hulbandry were thus afflicted by the iron hand of power, thofe refident in the towns were not in a better fituation. Living together without any civil ties, they were cruelly fubjected to the tyranny of the counts, whofe caftles, erected contiguously to their places of refidence, kept them in conflant fubjection to his will. The moft trifling conceffion, although purchased from, their lord, was deemed a favour. They were compelled to fupply their haughty fuperior and his companions, whenever he lived among them, with every kind of neceflary. Their commodities, expofed to fale, were heavily taxed, or, in fome places, interdicted from a public market, or fo monopolized by the baron, as to caufe them to be thereby prevented from receiving any advantage from their exertions, and thus proved an effectual check upon their industry. Even the domeftics of the most potent chieftains took under their protection robbers and banditti.'

The rife of the peerage has been a matter much difputed, its foundation having been attributed to Charlemagne, and with as little probability to Hugh Capet and Robert. Peers, as the Count of Boulainvilliers obferves, were more ancient than the peerage; were coeval with the fiefs, the enjoyment of which conferred a right to execute juftice in conjunction with their equals. Thus the vaffals of the monarch in his court were peers one with another; fo their vaffals in the courts were in the like fituation with each other; and peers implied not, therefore, at that period, any fuperior dignity.

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