requifition, a tyranny before unheard of; that changed the artifans and peasants into a mass of banditti, deluged the country with torrents of their blood, and marked the frontiers with vaft piles of their bodies; that, throwing away the fword of juftice, made the guillotine keep pace with the flaughter of the field of battle, and crowded the prifons with numbers greater than the captives of war; that, mingling priests and nobles, women, children, and peafants, with indifcriminating brutality, made them the wretched victims of its fury, tortured their feelings with the most exquifite and fportive cruelty, and made them drink the cup of mifery to its dregs; that, pillaging alike the church, the palace, and the cottage, banishing thousands of the inhabitants from their country, deftroying villages, towns, and cities, feizing every monument of art, and drying up every fource of commerce, fets up the ftandard of defolation in its own dominions. This is the power which, concealing the dagger of terror under the olive-branch of peace, and pretending to plant the tree of liberty in every country conquered by its arms, or deluded by its profeffions, invariably profanes their altars, exiles or murders their priests, abolishes their most useful and most facred laws and inftitutions, and avails itfelf of their riches and refources, to increase the inftruments of its own domination. This is the power which, not content with hurling defiance at every fovereign on earth, has raised its voice against the Majefty of Heaven; has reviled the Saviour of the world; deftroyed his churches, perfecuted his minifters, forbidden his worfhip; and, to complete the measure of his guilt, has declared, in terms furpaffing the boldnefs of all former impiety, that there is no God. AN AN ANIMAL NOT DESCRIBED BY BUFFON. HE E partakes of the nature both of the bull and the afs; of the bull in ftrength, of the afs in patience. Remarkably fierce when provoked, but not eafily provoked. Brave in battle, eager for conteft; never crouching to animals of foreign breed, but extremely quiet at home. Capable of heavy burdens, but not of long fafting. Fond of luxurious fare; vain-glorious, and thinking himself free even at the time when his rider preffes and curbs him most severely. Eafily led into fnares, and kneels down to have the burden fitted to his back. Rather amphibious; and though he lives chiefly upon land, is particularly celebrated upon water. Other animals are faid to degenerate when they are carried to foreign climates; this animal degenerates in his own. The period of his degeneracy was firft obferved about fifty or feventy years ago; fince that time he has loft his firm tread, and his erect and portly creft. Formerly he was very gregarious, and upon particular occafions large herds used to affemble together. By degrees those affemblies grew lefs frequent, and now are wholly difcontinued; nay, he feems almoft to be afraid of his fpecies. It must be acknowledged, however, that this is in a great measure to be imputed to the intrigues of his rider at prefent he is fo tame that any body may ride him. Animals of foreign breed ufed formerly to hold him in great refpect; his degeneracy, however, has deprived him of that refpect, and he is now univerfally treated with fcorn and ridicule; yet he poffeffes in himself the means of regeneration, though it is hard to fay when he intends to make ufe of them. THE SIR, THE PUZZLED POLITICIAN. [From the Oracle.] YOUR excellent paper, which, about the time of Lord Nelfon's victory, made me a man of confiderable confequence, has been now the occafion of my appearing in a very different point of view. I fhall explain myself. Having been long in the Turkey trade, I a few years ago retired to a fmall property near my native town, where I was foon admitted a member of a very keen Newfpaper Reading Club. From the circumftance of my having been frequently at Alexandria, and once at Grand Cairo, when your paper arrived with the account of the glorious victory of the Nile, and of Buonaparte's expedition to Egypt, I became a kind of oracle, folving many knotty , points, and answering all the questions which were put to me, as well at the Club as in my own family, much to the fatisfaction and admiration of both. But the other day, as bad luck would have it, your paper, full of the accounts of the complicated movements of the armies in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, had been just received by the Club, who, long before I arrived, were hard at it, with their book of maps displayed on the table, which, leaning three deep over one another, in a very hot day, and a very clofe room, they were confulting moft eagerly and most unfuccessfully in vain were fpectacles put on noses which had never been fo faddled; in vain were feveral forefingers travelling flowly, with much circumfpection, and many lateral excurfions, from Rome to Milan, from Milan to Turin, from Turin to Zurich, and from Zurich to Strafburg; but they, poor fouls! could make nothing of it. So many places, rivers, rivulets, mounts, mountains, valleys, lakes, and bridges, every moment occurring in the paper, which they could not find in the map; fo many hard names of Field-marshals, Princes, Count, Generals, Colonels, Majors, Captains, Lieutenants, EnSigns, Sergeants, and Corporals, many of which they could not pronounce, had all together, with the heat of the room, the tobacco, the punch, and the porter, fo bewildered, muddled, puzzled, and perplexed the pates of the feveral members, that, upon my entering the room rather later than ufual, there was an univer fal fhout of" Here is Mr. Snug at laft; we fhall have all cleared up now." I at once faw that it was expected I should know as much about Aleffandria as about Alexandria; about the Thur and Thor, as about the Nile. For fcarcely had the general noife fubfided, when Mr. Liniment, the apothecary, inftantly opened, "Pray, Sir, where is Gargellen, St. Gally Candia, Klofter, and Keeblis ?" But he was inter rupted by Dr. Marrow, the parfon, who, with his wig pushed very far back, and wiping the fweat from his forehead, exclaimed, "Where is Diffentis, Mount Slapin, Flums, Flams, Singen, and Aldenfingen? By the by, Mr. Snug, do you not take this to be an error of the prefs for Algenfingen? Here is Syon, but where is Paradies "Upon my word," anfwered 1, "Doctor, you should know beft." I was at laft addreffed by old Captain Frill, with his dry brown cheeks, fair, bald, fhining forehead, and a thin queue, at the end of which appeared about fix or feven fnow white hairs" I have ferved in Germany in my time, but I'll be shot if ever I encountered fuch names as 66 Pfaffers, Bredtfchneider, and Knarpf; pray, Sir, do pronounce them." Really, Captain Frill, you having, as you fay, ferved in Germany, fhould, in my opinion, rather teach me; but perhaps it may fome error of the printer.' "If this be fo, Mr. Snug, the printer, who is probably in fome corps or other, fhould therefore know better to drill his types; - be he he fhould, I fay, command his confonants to take open order, and poft at the fame time fome of his vowels in the intervals." me 66 out; a "But, Gentlemen," faid I, "have you read that part of the paper, which, from its title, now ftrikes as most likely to be fatisfactory; I mean the Sound intelligence?"--" Sound intelligence!" they roared lift of fhips! we want none of your wit now, Mr. Snug; we want matter-of-fact information; we want to know where are Baduz and Balzers, the two Zolbridges, Sfkirins, Cafa Tifma, Ragatz, Fimmefborg, Murk, Mount Fiola, and Torre di Garrafola." I had now nothing left but to put my fingers in my ears, and to run home; but as I opened the door I could hear these words: "D-n him, let him go; he knows nothing but about your Egypts, your Niles, and Alexandrias." I accordingly arrived, much mortified, in my own parlour, expecting, however, there to meet quietness at leaft; but how much I was disappointed in this, may, perhaps, be the subject of another letter, fhould you relish this one. I am, Sir, your conftant reader, TIMOTHY SNUG. LOYAL SPORTS. [From the Morning Chronicle.] MR. EDITOR, THE glorious news of last Tuesday * very naturally put every thing elfe out of my head; I was otherwife difpofed to address you on the elegant festi W About the time when this was written, a fête had been given at were grinning matches, foaped pigs, &c. |