Stanislaus Auguftus, king of Poland, and grand duke of Lithuania. lany, we fhall run briefly over them in this fketch. Soon after his election, he received letters of congratulation from all the courts by whom his caufe had been efpoufed. The moft remarkable is that from the celebrated king of Pruffia. From the matter and the occafion, as well as of the character of the writer, it is extremely worthy of preservation. It runs thus, Your Majefty muft reflect, that as you enjoy a crown by election, and not by defcent, the world will be more obfervant of your Majefty's actions, than of any other potentate in Europe; and it is but reasonable. The latter being the mere effect of confanguinity, no more is looked for (though much more is to be wifhed) from him, than what men are endowed with in common; but from a man exalted, by the voice of his equals, from a subject tó a king, from a man voluntarily elected to reign over thofe by whom he was chofen, every thing is expected that can poffibly deferve and adorn a crown. Gra-. titude to his people is the firft great duty of fuch a monarch; for to them alone (under Providence) he is indebted that he is one. A king, who is fo by birth, if he acts derogatory to his station, is a fatire only on himfelf; but an elected one, who be haves inconfiftent with his dignity, reflects difhonour alfo on his fubjects. Your Majefty, I am fure, will pardon this warmth. It is the effufion of the fincereft regard. The amiable part of the picture is not fo much a leffon of what you ought to be, as a prophefy of what your Majefty will be.' In 1766, he refifted with great firmnefs the reprefentations of Ruffia and Pruffia, enforced with arms, in favour of the proteftants in Poland. His answer to the Ruffian minifter was conveyed in thefe remarkable words: I have not forgotten the obligations I am under to the Emprefs of Ruffia, among the means which Almighty God made ufe of to raise me to the throne; but when I came to it, I promised the exact obfervation of my religion throughout my kingdom. If I was weak enough to abandon it, my life and my throne would be exposed to the just resentment of my fubjects. I am threatened with forcible means to oblige me to do what is afked of me, which would reduce me to an extremity equally unhappy. I perceive danger in whatever refolution I may take; but I had rather be exposed to such as my duty and honour induce me to make choice of; and from this time, I join with my country, in defence of our holy religion. This event, however, was the occafion of confufion and devaftation, during the years' 1769, 1770, and 1771, by which the whole face of the country was defolated. The fituation of the king was truly critical, being expofed alternately to the jealoufy of the contending parties. Inclined to govern with juftice and moderation, while he endeavoured to hold the balance between the parties, he loft much of his confequence. On November 2, 1771, his Majefty was carried off by a party of the confederates, as they were called, under Koczwifki, from Cracow to Willanow, but efcaped by their falling out among themselves, and was preferved by their leader, who was encouraged by the hope of pardon and a reward. The king interceded for the regicides, but feveral were executed. As the life of this monarch is clofely interwoven with the hiftory of Poland, if we were to detail every event and action at length, it would -extend this article beyond all reafonable bounds, and as the leading events have been from time to time given in the historical part of our mifcel C 2 In the following year 1772, it appeared ་ peared that the king of Pruffia, the Emperor, and Emprefs-queen, and the Empress of Ruffia, had entered into an alliance to difmember Poland, which breach of faith and juftice they found it easy to accomplish in the cafe of a weak and defencelefs power. The courts of London, Paris, Stockholm, and Copenhagen, remonftrated against thefe ufurpations, but that was the only expreffion of their indignation. Poland was forced to fubmit, and the partition was ratified by their diet, under the bribes and threats of the three powers. From this time little occurs in the life of our fubject, until 1785, when à general confederacy was formed against him, and he had fome thoughts of abdicating. In 1787, he had an interview with the Emprefs of Ruffia, relative to an exchange of Polish Ukraine for part of Ruffian Poland, Next year, however, the Poles made fome endeavours to affert their inde. pendence. The diet met, and the king propofed a confederation, which was acceded to, and the army reinforced to 100,000 men, but thefe events were symptoms of approach ing defolation. In May 1791, a most important revolution took place, when the king planned a new conftitution, founded partly on that of England, which the diet adopted, but it met with great oppofition in the king. dom. The diet of 1793, made great ceffions to Pruffia at the inftigation of Ruffia. The diet of 1794, annulled the proceedings of that of 1788, and the Poles and Ruffians engaging in war, the new conftitution was entirely fubverted, although inftituted and fanctioned by the king and the diet. His Majefty fought in perfon on this occafion, but the Ruffian arms finally prevailing, the king formally laid down his crown at Grodno, November 25, 1795. On this event, the Emprefs of Ruffia gave the dethroned monarch leave to go where he pleafed, and promifed, with the confent of her allies, to make him a proper eftablishment.. He departed this life, February 12, 1798, at St. Petersburgh, of an apoplexy. He had for several days complained of a head-ach, but in confequence of the ufe of medieines, on the 11th, he found himself much better, and went to the window to obferve the degree of cold indicated by the thermometer, when he felt himself fuddenly feized with a violent pain in the head, attended with great feeblene fs. He was conveyed to bed, and remedies preferibed, but in vain. He requested his chaplain to give him abfolution, and wifhed to repeat with him the peņitential prayers; but his fpeech foon failed him. His Majefty then received the general absolution and extreme unction. About mid night he appeared much better; but, as the morning approached, grew continually weaker, till, about eight in the morning, he breathed his last. A monument to his memory has been erected by the emperor Paul, at Peterburgh, with a Latin infcription, of which the following is a tranflation, To the memory of Stanislaus Auguftus, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, an eminent example of adverse fortune. He was temperate in profperity, and bore adverfity with fortitude. Out of friendfhip to the deceafed, Paul I. emperor of all the Ruffias, erected this monument.' Mr Coxe, the traveller, who knew this monarch well, and enjoyed much of his converfation, has drawn his character, and depicted the caufe of his misfortunes with great juftice. Staniflaus, fays he, feemed calculated, by his virtues and abilities, to raife Poland from its deplorable flate, if the defects of the conftitution had not fettered his exertions for the public good. The fairest hopes were con ceived of his future reign; but these flattering prejudices, at first realized, were foon difappointed by the fac tions of a turbulent people, fomented by the intrigues of the neighbouring powers. Thus the reign of the moft amiable among the Polish fovereigns, was doomed to experience the dreadful effects of that exceffive liberality, which is almoft inconfittent with the existence of government. The first acts of his majesty's reign, were highly adapted to introduce order and regularity into the interior adminiftration, and to refcue his country from her dependence upon foreign powers. The tendency of thefe executive regulations to increafe the power and confequence of Poland, gave umbrage to the adjacent flates, and were likewife vigorously opposed by a strong party within the kingdom. At this crifis, too, religions disputes blending themselves with public cabals, the flame of civil difcord burft forth with a violence which had not hitherto raged even in Poland. It only remains to be added, that Stanislaus having died a depofed mo. narch, no court mourning was ordered upon the occafion. Efteem for his memory, however, will long be cherished by every friend to virtue. His manly and dignified conduct upon every public occafion, ranks him as a good and able prince, and his private virtues have ever been univerfally acknowledged and admired. Rev. Robert Maflers, A writer of confiderable diftinction on fubjects of antiquity and general literature. He was grandfon to Sir William Malters, of Cirencefter, and was born in 1715. He was ad. mitted at Bene't, or Corpus Chrifti college, Cambridge, 1731, proceed ed B. A. 1734, M. A. 1738, 8. T. B. 1746, and was fellow and tutor of that college from 1747 to 1750. He was upward of forty years rector of Landbeach, in Cambridgeshire, to which he was prefented by Bene't college, in 1756, when he married Mifs Corey, daughter of one of his predeceffors in that living, who died Auguft 29, 1764, by whom he had feveral children. In 1753, he published the Hiftory of Bene't College, in two parts: I. Of its Founders, Benefactors, and Mafters: 2. Of its other principal Members. He alfo in this promited an account of their valuable collection of manufcripts which he had arranged, and had new.bound. He published alfo a Plan and Elevation of the new Building, which he claimed the merit of defigning, but which was really due to Mr James Effex, who publifhed his in 1773, with a Letter to his Subfcribers to his Plan and Elevation of this intended Addition, 1748-9, made for Mr Mafters when tutor,' and a paper war was carried on for fome time between the two claimants, in which Mr Effex finally prevailed. Mr Masters also published 'A Section and Ichnography of Pythagoras School, at Cambridge, with the Seal of Merton College, Oxford,' to which it belongs, engraved by William Ste-. phens, an excellent engraver of feals and plates, defervedly patronized by Mr Masters. His next work was Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the late Rev. Thomas Baker, B. D. of St. John's College, from the Papers of Dr Zachary Grey; with a Catalogue of his Manufcript Collections, 1784. About 1790, he published A Catalogue of the feveral Pictures in the public Library and refpective Colleges of the University of Cambridge.' His laft work was A short Account of the Parish of Waterbeach, in the Diocese of Ely, by a late Vicar, 1795.' He was elected Fellow of the Antiquarian Society in 1752, and about that time published in the Archæologia,, Remarks on Mr Walpole's liftory Doubts,' which did not pass unnoticed by that gentleman. He died in his eighty-third year, July 5, 1798. Dr. Dr Forfier. John Reinhold Fofter, L. L. D. of the university of Oxford, the celebrated navigater, was a native of Dvifchau, in Weft Pruffia, and was born October 1729. He was formerly a proteftant clergyman at Dantzic, whence he went to Ruffia, where he pursued his favourite ftudy, natural history, of which he was profeffor in the univerfity of Halle, at the time of his death, and a member of the Academy of Sciences, at Berlin. From 1772 to 1775, he accompanied captain Cook in his Voyage round the World. On his return he refided at London,. till he was at length invited to Halle, where, for eighteen years, he was a member of the Philofophical and Medical Faculties. His fon, George Forster, who went round the world with captain Cook, and was afterward profeffor of natural hiftory at Caffel, died at Paris in 1792. Dr Forfter died at Halle, December 16, 1798. His works are very numerous. A. mong the earliest is An Introduction to Mineralogy, or an Accurate Claffification of Minerals and Foffils, London, 1768.' In the Archæologia, vol. 2, are his Obfervations on fome Tartarian Antiquities found in Siberia;' and in val. 3, Obfervations on the Parthian Epoch, as found on a Coin in the Imperial Cabinet, at Vienna. Upon Mr Banks and Dr Solander declining the fecond voyage with captain Cook, 1772, on account of the want of fome proper accommodation, the board of admiralty, at the short warning of ten days, engaged Dr Forfter, and the fon we have mentioned, who drew up an account of a Voyage round the World, in his Britannic Majefty's floop Refolution, commanded by captain Cook, during the years 1772-1775, 2 vol. 4to. 1777 Mr Forfter having faid in this work, that Mr Arnold's watch was unfortunately topt, Mr Wales, the attronomer of the voyage, to 6 whofe cuftody it was committed, felt • Ac Flora America Septentrionalis; or, A Catalogue of the Plants of North America, 1771, 8vo. printed with his Tranflation of Boffu's Travels through North America, illuftrated with Notes, relative, chiefly, to Natural History, 1771, 2 vol. 8vo.' Alfo in the fame year, a Translation of Bougainville's Voyage round the World, of Chymical Obfervations and Experiments on Air and Fire, by Charles William Sheele, Member of the Royal Academy, at Stockholm; with a prefatory Introduction by Torbern Bergman to which are added, Notes by Richard Kirwan, Efq. and a Letter to him from Dr Priestley, 8vo.' World, with additional Obfervations, lifhed a tranflation, from the German' and the Chart improved.' Tranfla tion of Ofbeck's Voyage to China and the East Indies, 1771, 2 vol. 8vo. of Kalm's Voyage to North America, 2 vol.' Tranflation of Baron Reidefel's Travels into Sicily, and that part of Italy, formerly called Magna Græcia, and a Tour through Egypt, 1773, 8vo.' dedicated to Thomas Falconer, Efq. of Chefter, Mr Pennant's brother-in-law. Cha. racteres Generum Plantarum, quas in Itinere ad Infulas Maris Auftralis Collegerunt, 1776, 4to,' the first fpecimen of the natural productions of those remote countries in the South Seas, which Dr Forfter and his fon were sent out with captain Cook, at the national expenfe, to collect and describe. It contains feventy-five new genera of plants. Liber fingularis de Byffo antiquorum, quo in Egyptia Lingua res veftiaria antiquorum imprimis in S. codiæ Hebræorum occurrens explicatur. Additæ ad calcen mantifle Egytiacæ v. on Zaphanath, Paaneah, Abrech, Ark, Cherub, the Topaz, 1776, 8vo.' Obfervations made during a Voyage round the World on Phyfical Geography, Natural History, and Ethic Philosophy, 1778, 4to.' tranflated into French, as an additional volume to Cook's voyages. In 1780, Dr Forfter pub At Halle, he publifhed, 1781, in Latin and German, Illuftrations of Natural Hiftory, with fifteen Plates, in fmall folio, engraved at the joint expence of Sir Jofeph Banks, Mr Loten, a Dutch East India governor, and Mr Pennant; with the addition of a Differtation on the Climate, winds, and foil of India, and another on the Bird of Paradife, and the Phoenix.' In 1786, he published in German, which was tranflated into English the fame year, A History of the Difcoveries and Voyages made in the North, illuftrated with new and original Maps, 4to.' an ufeful compilation, without much original matter. When in London, he was employed in the Critical Review, and fupplied many fmall articles in the foreign literary journals. Thomas Pennant, Efq. For an account of this very ufeful and indefatigable writer, fe our lat Magazine, page 428. |