little vifited, on account of the difficulty of coming at their habitations, are very plain in their manners, and pure in their morals; they have feveial customs entirely new; fome of them admit of polygamy, without any diminution from the innocency of their morals; others, under the name of Chriftian Schifmatic Greeks, abfolutely profefs Judaifm. One of the moft remarkable things obferved was, one family, confifting of zco individuals, who all fubmitted to the great-grandfather as their chief; he is an old man of 109 years of age, but with the perfect ufe of all his intellects; he is both their high-pricft and legiflator, his name is Dodofka; he lot his fight about a year ago. This family is a complete picture of a patriarchal life; their flocks are their riches, and furnish them with both food and raiment; they alfo cultivate the ground, but with fo much negligence and fo little profit, that they feem rather to make it matter of exercife than emolument.

Stockholm, March 5. The Barons Cl. and Jean d'Alitromer, one a commander of the order of Vafa, and the other director, have caufed a medal to be ftruck to the memory of Doctor Solander; on one fide of which is reprefented the buft of that naturalist, with the flower folandra, the infcription Daniel Solander; the following legend is on the reverfe," Jofepho Banks, Effigim Amici Merito, D. D. D. Cl. & Job. Altromer."

In the year 1724, Mr. Juftice Norman, of Norwich, by his will directed that the fum of 4cool. fhould be given to build a charity-school,ixty years after his deceafe; the fchool to contain 120 boys; and he directed that every boy fhould on Sunday have one pound of roast beef for his dinner, and 10 ounces of plumb-pudding for his fupper-on Monday a pound of boiled beef for dinner, and 10 ounces of fuet-pudding for fupper- every Tuefday morning beef-broth for breakfast; and at dinner a pound of mutton or veal-every Wednefday pork and peas every Thurfday mutton or veal-every Friday beans or

peas-and every Saturday fish, well buttered, &c. There were alfo a number of curious items, and he appointed the bifhop, the chancellor, the dean, the two members for the city, the two members for the county, and eight worthy churchmen befides, to be his perpetual trufees. The term of the donation expired in May laft; and the original legacy, with fimple and compound intere, amounts now to 74,000l.

M. Caffini, the French mathematician, having prefented a memorial by the French ambaffador in London, praying that fome perfon would undertake to carry triangles from Greenwich to Dover, to meet the French at Calais, in order to determine the exact distance between the obfervatories of Paris and Greenwich, his Majefty, who is ever ready to patronife ufeful schemes, immediately granted a thoufand pounds for carrying it on, and General Roy was, by his own confent, fixed upon for the undertaking.

A medal has lately been truck, to perpetuate the memory of Captain Cook, the execution of which is equal to the fubject. On one fide is a bold relief of Captain Cock, with this infcription, IAC. COOK, OCEANI INVESTIGATOR ACCERRIMVS: immediately under the head is exprefled, in fmaller characters, Reg. Sec. Lond. Socio juo. On the reverfe appears an erect figure of Britannia ftanding on a plain. The left arm refts upon an hieroglyphick pillar. Her fpear is in her hand, and her fhield placed at the foot of the pillar. Her right arm is projected over a globe, and contains a fymbol, expreffive of the celebrated circum-navigator's enterprifing genius. The infcription round the reverfe is NIL INTÉNTATVM NOSTRI LIQVERE; and under the figure of Britannia fpicis Georgii III.

The above medal was engraved at the expence of the Royal Society. Six impretiions have been ftruck in gold, and two hundred and fifty in filver. The gold medals are difpofed of as follows:

One to his Britannick Majefty, under

whofe

whofe aufpices Capt. Cook proceeded on his difcoveries.

One to the King of France, for his great courtefy, in giving a fpecific charge to his naval commanders, to forbear fhowing hoftility to the Refolution and Difcovery, the two floops under Capt. Cook's command, and to afford him every fuccour in their power, in cafe they fell in with him.

One to the Emprefs of Ruffia, for her great hofpitality to Captain Cook, when he touched at Kamfkatika.

One to Mrs. Cook, the Captain's

relict.

One to be depofited in the British Museum; and,

One to remain in the college of the

Royal Society.

The filver medals were diftributed among the members of the Royal Society, fome particular Lords of the Admiralty, and a few other diftinguished perfons.

Two acts of parliament have lately been tranfmitted here from Ireland, and fubmitted to the confideration of his Majefty's privy-council, one of which relates to the franking of letters, and the other to the erection of a jail, to each of which there is a claufe that ftrikingly exemplifies the happy talent at difcrimination generally attributed to that nation. By the firft of thefe judicious regulations, "All members of parliament are permitted, in cafes of fick nefs, &c. to empower a friend to frank letters for them, provided they mention on the other fide of the paper, in their own hand-writing, the particular reafon which prevented their doing it themselves, as a fecurity against impofitions upon the poft-office."-The claufe to the act refpecting the jail is to the following effect:-"That for the prudent adminiftration of the

public money, the new building for the imprifonment of offenders fhall be erected with the materials which compofe the old one at prefent, which is ordered to be pulled down for that purpofe; and that there may be no additional expence for removal, the prifoners are to be confined in the old jail till the new one shall be finished to receive them." To the honour of the Irish it ought to be remarked, that this laft claufe exhibits an example of public economy that will hardly be imitated by any nation under the fun.

Vienna, May 4. The following is an exact account of the crown of Hun

gary, and the other royal ornaments which have been brought lately from that kingdom to this capital:

This crown, which was fent in the year 1000 by Pope Sylvefter II. to St. Stephen, King of Hungary, was made after that of the Greek Emperors; it is of folid gold, weighing nine marks and three ounces, ornamented with 53 faphirs, 50 rubies, one large emerald, and 338 pearls. Befides thefe jewels, are the images of the apoftles and the patriarchs. The Pope added to this crown a fiiver patriarchal cross, which was afterwards inferted in the arms of Hungary. At the ceremony of the coronation a bifhop carries it before the king. From the crofs is derived the title of Apoftolic king; the ufe of which was renewed under the reign of the Emprefs Queen Maria Therefa. The fceptre and globe of the kingdom are Arabian gold; the mantle, which is of fine linen, is the work of Gifele, fpoufe of St. Stephen, who embroidered in Gold the image of Jefus-Chrift crucifyed, and many other images of the patriarchs and apoftles, with a number of infcriptions. The fword is twoedged, and rounded at the point.

IN univerfities we fee the triumph of learning over wealth-in manufacturing towns, the triumph of wealth over literature.

No age ever gave ftronger proofs of

the certainty of a future ftate than the prefent, by the triumph of vice over virtue and religion.

As religion rifes in fpeculation, it will fink in practice. BIOGRAPHY.

IN

N 1760, Mr. Franklin preached a fermon on the death of King George the Second, which was afterwards publithed. In the following year Churchill publifhed his celebrated Rofciad, in which Mr. Franklin was thus charafterifed:

"Others for Franklin voted, but 'twas known, "He ficken'd at all triumphs but his own."

In this year, alfo, Mr. Franklin loft his mother, who died on the thirtieth of Auguft; and in 1761 alfo commenced a tranflation of the works of Voltaire, which was not completed till the year 1769. Dr. Smollet and Mr. Franklin permitted their names to appear in the title-page, though we have been informed that the portion which thefe gentlemen tranflated was very inconfiderable. In the fame manner did Mr. Foote, fome years before, fuffer the Comic Theatre, which confifted of tranflations of French plays, in five volumes, to be published as his performance, although we are told by the author of the Biographia Dramatica, that the Young Hypocrite is the only one which ought to be afcribed to him in the whole collection. It is notorious alfo that Theophilus Cibber" received a fum of money to allow the prefixing of his name to The Lives of the Poets, although they were principally the labours of another writer.

Mr. Franklin feems now to have applied himfeif principally to pulpit compofition. For in 1763 he was appointed to preach before the fons of the clergy. This difcourfe we find was printed; and in 1765 he gave to the world a volume of Sermons, on the relative duties.

Thefe had been preached at Queenftreet chapel, and St. Paul's, CoventGarden. The fubjects were the duty of children to parents: of parents to children of fervants to mafters: of

mafters to fervants: of wives to hufbands: and of hufbands to wives. On each of thefe important duties our author gave a difcourfe, and introduced them by a fermon on domestic happinefs.

Our author has not in thefe difcourfes entered into the minuter parts of thefe duties, which vary in every individual, according to their rank, and according to different circumftances. He has only fketched the outline: the picture he judicioufly left to be illed up and completed by the reader.

Several of our ableft divines have written on thefe important duties. Thofe who perufe this volume, therefore, muft not expect novelties. The difcourfes, as we obferved before, contain only general views. This circumftance, however, does not render them fo ufeful and captivating to common auditors as thofe fermons are which are confined to ftriking points and interefling fituations. The language is eafy and elegant, but not remarkably correct. In all this author's publications an inattention to grammatical purity is too obfervable. We do not make this remark through faftidioufnefs, but only from a defire to imprefy the neceffity of accuracy.

We never heard with what fuccefs thefe fermons were published. It was probably not very extraordinary, as, if we except an occafional difcourfe or two, he was never afterwards tempted to publifh his labours in this walk of

literature.

On the 1ft of February, 1765, died Mr. R. Franklin, the printer and book. feller. He had been in bufinefs for a long courfe of years, but never arrived at a ftate of independence. He had unfortunately incurred the cenfure of a public court by fome of the political works which he published, and was

condemned

preffion. But, perhaps, as Swift faid at the conclufion of a long letter, he had not time to write a borter. Upon the whole, it must be ranked among the best of our author's profe writings".

Upon the inftitution of the Royal Academy, in the year 1769, Mr. Franklin wrote an ode which was fet to mufic, and performed on the 1ft of January at the meeting of the members. This piece of poetry was well adapted to the occafion.

We have already obferved, that Mrs. Yates difplayed great powers in her performance of Margaret of Anjou in the Earl of Warwick. The fuccefs of the play, indeed, was attributed in a great measure to the theatrical exertions of that great aftrefs. Mr. Franklin was very fenfible how much he was indebted to her abilities; and in order to repay the obligation, he prefented her with a tranflation of Voltaire's ORESTES, which was perform ed for her benefit, at the Theatreroyal in Covent-Garden, on the 13th of March, 1769,

Voltaire cannot be confidered as an original writer in this performance, as not only the characters, but the plot, and the incidents of the play, are evidently borrowed from the Grecian fage. From the copy of an imitation much cannot be expected, and, indeed, we are not certain that a poetical tranflation of the Electra of Sophocles, if the choral odes were omitted, would not be better intitled to fuccefst.

This tragedy was afterwards incorporated into the complete tranflation of the writings of Voltaire, of which we have already fpoken. We are afraid that little more than this play was cloathed in an English drefs by Mr. Franklin.

On the 6th of July, 1770, our author took the degree of doctor in divinity. After the acquifition of thefe honours, he feems to have spent his time almoft wholly in the calmer plca

fures of domeftic fociety, or in performing the important and neceffary duties of his priesthood. Some hours, however, were ftill allotted to literary purfuits.

It was long before we find the Doctor ftepping forward into public notice. The occafion, at laft, was charitable and laudable: for in the month of March, 1774, he preached a fermon for the benefit of thofe unfortunate perfons who were confined for fmall debts. He feems always to have chearfully lent his affiftance to plead the caufe of the wretched, and to excite compaffion in the bofoms of the humane towards the unhappy.

In the following winter, from fome of thefe changes which fo frequently take place in the theatrical world, Mrs. Yates removed from Covent-Garden to Drury-lane, and made her firit appearance in the tragedy of Electra, which we believe was as merely the Creftes of Voltaire that we have already mentioned.

The choice of this play was probably in compliment to its author. It was not, however, very fuccefsful. The criginal has been reckoned among the dramatic chef d'œuvres of Voltaire, but it appeared cold and inanimate to an English audience. The relation of Clytemnestra's death was not fufficiently ftriking. She fhould have died on the ftage. The paffions of the fpectators would then have been roused, and the laft act would have exhibited more incident, and lefs declamation. The ftory is fingularly melancholy and affecting, which has rendered it, in different ages, fo frequently the choice of dramatic writers. Both the prologue and epilogue to this play were well received. We muft obferve here, that the authors of the Biographia Dramatica, or the Companion to the Playhoufe, feem to be mistaken, in confidering the Oreftes and Electra of Dr. Franklin as two distinct translations from Voltaire. They are certainly the

fame