The fixteenth difcourfe is concerning the fate of literature and the arts among the ancient Greeks, as deduced from the names and attributes of the mufes and other deities. In the feventeenth, the Profeffor gives an account of a manufcript Corpus Juris glassatum, in the library of the univerfity, which he supposes was written in the fourteenth century.

The eighteenth differtation is concerning the opinion afcribed to the Arcadians, that they were of greater antiquity than the men. This difcourfe was occafioned by a paffage in an Effay en comets by M. Dionis du Sejour, in which he quotes Lucian and Ovid to prove that the Arcadians believed that their ances tors had inhabited the earth before it had a fatellite;" which has induced fome philofophers to fuppofe that the moon was originally a comet. M. du Sejour has indeed refuted this hypothefis; but the Profeffor goes further, and maintains that the opinion, as here defcribed, was much too refined for a people fo uncultivated as the Arcadians. He thinks that the appellation of Profeleni, or Antelunares, has no relation to aftronomical difcoveries, as fome have fuppofed; but was only used to exprefs the great antiquity of this nation by an allufion to their rude and fabulous mythology, according to which, the Goddess Luna was faid to have been born in Arcadia. He takes this opportunity of cenfuring, what he calls, the vifionary notions of Meff. Gebelin and Bailly, concerning the great antiquity of aftronomical knowlege.

The three laft differtations contain a description of a collection of Roman medals, prefented to the university by his prefent majesty.

AR T. XIX.

Hiftoire d'Elizabeth, Reine d'Angleterre. i. e. The Hiftory of Elizabeth, Queen of England. By Mademoiselle de Keralio. 8vo. Vols. I. II. and III. continued [See our laft Appendix]; and Vols. IV. and V. which conclude the Work. 8vo. Paris. 1787, and 1788.

F impartiality be the most effential characteristic of an hiltorian, this authorefs, as we before obferved, will claim a high rank in that department; for this is the feature that peculiarly diftinguishes the prefent work from many other hiftorical compofitions, that poffefs no fmall degree of merit in other refpects. Mademoifelle de Keralio fpeaks from the beginning, concerning Elizabeth, with a degree of refpect approaching to admiration, which would difpofe fome readers to fufpect that The meant to reprefent her as the heroine of the piece, to exalt her virtues, and to throw the weaker parts of her character, and the blameable circumftances of her conduct, into the fhade. This, however, is far from being the cafe. If the bright fide

of

of her character is difplayed with the moft flowing and unreftrained freedom, the dark parts of it are pourtrayed with equal ftrength and juftice. Never before did we meet with an hiftorian who could fo juftly claim the merit of fidelity, prescribed by Shakespeare,

"Speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, nor fet down aught in malice."

Nor was this an easy task in that period of hiftory; for not only the fovereign herfelf, but many of the inferior perfonages of the drama, who figured in thofe active scenes, require to be drawn with the ftrongeft lights, and particularly with the deepeft fhades; and we are disposed to think that however individuals who have formed unreasonable prejudices, may be difpleafed, the public will in general be fatisfied that the painting is fingularly faithful, and the refemblance juft, in the highett degree.

The events which diftinguished the reign of Elizabeth, are too well known to require to be here particularized. The general train of incidents which then occurred, are neceffarily the fame in the prefent work as in other hiftories of the times; and it is only from the manner in which they are developed, that the peculiarities of an hiftorian can be remarked. Each individual transaction would feem to have attracted the special notice of our hiftorian. Authorities have been fearched for with care, examined with attention, and faithfully collated. Thefe authorities, as we formerly hinted, are always quoted with precifion and though, in the notes, the authoreis has had frequent occafion to point out the inaccuracies, or to correct the unfaithfulnefs, of former hiftorians, this is always done without difcovering either a malevolent rancour of mind, or an over-weening felf-conceit. Nothing feems to have been in view but the difcovery of truth, and that once attained, the fubject is no longer continued. In the text itself, the narration is always clear, concife, energetic, and frequently rapid. Tirefome digreffions are never introduced, nor is the reader fatigued with trite moral reflections, ufelefs remarks, or witticifms tending to render the author confpicuous. She proceeds right forward in her courfe, without deigning to amufe herself with the little objects that have too often attracted the attention of even our graveft hiftorians, and made them turn afide, to indulge themselves in conceits that might better have been omitted.

Moft hiftorians, in modern times, feem to found their hopes of fuccefs either on the peculiarities of their ftyle, the depth of their political remarks, the quaintnefs of their expreffions, or the theories of human nature which they take the opportunity of developing. Inftead of narrating events as they occurred, with a distinctness and perfpicuity, their works would too often

feem

feem to confift of a set of aphorifms, the truth of which was to be fupported by the facts they had occafion to relate. Facts must therefore be bent to fupport the theory, or so ftated as to be imperfectly known; and hence the reader, though fometimes entertained, is frequently misled, and often finds, to his great mortification, that after having spent a confiderable time in ftudy, he is very much at a lofs with regard to the real nature of the events which are the main subject of the work. Mademoiselle de Keralio feems to have been so fenfible of these defects, that he has even declined to feek for fame by the less blameable practice of portrait-drawing, which has been univerfally adopted in modern times, to give a brilliancy to the works of the hiftorian which it was not thought they could otherwise have poffeffed. Her chaftened judgment, no doubt, enabled her to perceive, that the rhetorical portrait, on many occafions, differed fo much from the character which the reader would have formed, from the facts narrated, of the fame perfonage, as not to bear any striking resemblance; or, where this defect is not fo obvious, the has probably confidered thefe portraits as a mere redundancy, an ufelefs excrefcence, like thofe fongs in fome modern operas, which are merely a repetition, in other words, of what had been expreffed before. However this may be, our authorefs, in general, declines the task of drawing particular portraits, though, from the few touches of this fort that fometimes occur, it is evident that she could have executed them with great fucceís, had he been so inclined.

No potentate was ever more admired by his fubje&s than Elizabeth was, during her own life, by the people over whom the reigned and the panegyrics they beftowed on her having defcended to pofterity, they have, in many respects, influenced the pens of later hiftorians. She had the fingular advantage of being trained up in adverfity herself, and with the good Henry of France the could fay,

Non ignara mali, miferis fuccurrere difco.

But the natural violence of her temper frequently overcame thefe feebler influences of education. She had also the advantage of fucceeding the fanguinary reign of her weak and bigotted fifter, which formed a contraft to the milder tranfactions of her government; and this made her fubjects admire, as gentle and humane, thofe procedings which more enlightened pofterity have deemed harth and fevere, if not cruel and impolitic. Our fair hiftorian, with an unbiaffed fidelity, places the tranfactions in their true light, without either gloffing over the weakneffes, or exaggerating the defects, of this fingular princess.

In no particular do the character and talents of Elizabeth appear to fo much advantage as in her conduct with regard to

the

the ftates on the continent of Europe. At that period, from a peculiar concatenation of circumftances, the aid of England could frequently be of the moft material fervice to her neighbours; and though Elizabeth was unwilling to give unneceffary umbrage to any fovereign power; though he was at all times defirous to avoid war, and extremely circumfpe&t in regard to the expenditure of money; yet thefe confiderations did not prevent her from acting with firmness in fupport of those whom he deemed worthy of her aid; and it will be admitted that her political views, with regard to affairs on the continent, were generally liberal and juft, and the means the pursued for infuring fuccefs were fingularly judicious and proper for the occafion. In confequence of this conduct, Elizabeth foon became extremely respected abroad, and her friendship was courted by all unfortunate ftates. To her the diftreffed seldom fued in vain, though they as feldom could prevail on her to become the dupe of their policy. She was to them a fteady fupport; but her cautious parfimony made her act with a circumspection that effectually prevented them from ever having it in their power to abuse her favours.

This part of her character is here brought forward, as a confpicuous feature in it. To do this fully, it was neceffary to give a very diftinct view of the tranfactions of the neighbouring ftates at that time, particularly of France and Spain, and the Low Countries. Our authorefs has, indeed, entered, on fome occafions, fo minutely into the hiftory of thefe foreign ftates, that a faftidious critic would fay, perhaps, that he wants the art of glancing at collateral events, fo as to give only a concife, general view of them, and thus to make them appear as fubordinate, but not as principal, parts of the hiftory. But had this brevity, with refpect to foreign affairs, been the character of her performance, it certainly would have wanted much of the clearness and force which it now poffeffes.

But if the political portrait of Elizabeth is feen to great advantage, in refpect to her connexion with the continental powers, it appears in a very different point of view in regard to her conduct in Ireland. Few potentates could be found who ever acted on lefs liberal principles, or in a more cruel and impolitic manner, than he did through the whole courfe of her reign, with respect to that distracted and unfortunate country. Almoft every part of the hiftory of the tranfactions of the Englifh in Ireland, is full of inftances of perfidy and cruelty that were attended with the worst confequences; but few of these tranfactions are quite fo nefarious as the conduct of Lord Gray and Sir Walter Raleigh; who, having refuted all terms of capitulation, to the fmall fort of Smerwick, which was garrisoned by Spaniards and Italians, who had come to aid the native

Irish, they were conftrained at laft to furrender at difcretion. The difarmed Spaniards and Italians were cut to pieces; and the native Irish were all hanged, except the chiefs, who continued prifoners. Cette affreuse exécution (fays Mademoiselle de Keralio) pénétra tous les efprits d'horreur et d'effrei. Elizabeth fut confternée lorsqu'elle l'apprit; elle en verfa des larmes : mais les pleurs, malheureufement, ne réparent point de femblables crimes.

'Un commandement auffi important n'eft point excufé par les marques d'une tardive fenfibilité. Le feu de la rebellion s'accrut dans toutes les provinces; elles vouloient au moins perir les armes a la main, parce qu'il ne refloit plus d'autres moyens d'echapper a l'infamie du fupplice.' Such was the natural consequence of this deteftable conduct, and such confequences had been often experienced on fimilar occafions. On the prefent, the queen was conftrained to recal the obnoxious perfons, but she did not think of punishing them. Others were appointed to command who were neither protected when they did well, nor punished when they acted wrong.

As a fpecimen of Mademoiselle de Keralio's manner of writing, we thall tranfcribe her account of the conduct of Sir John Perrot, in Ireland, as it affords at once a pleafing picture of what might have been done by a judicious conduct, and a melancholy delineation of what actually was done; while it fhews of how little avail wifdom and integrity are in courts.

• La mort du comte de Defmond [in the year 1593] et de fes adhérens avoit rendu, pour quelques inftans, la paix à l'Irlande; paix momentanée, que le temps et les mécontentemens devoient rompre. Perrat [then governor of Ireland] crut pouvoir profiter de ce calme pour établir dans ce royaume les loix d'Angleterre, et donner aux habitans une idée du bonbeur qu'ils pouvoient jouir fous un gouvernement jufle. Eclairé par fa propre experience fur les vrais moyens de conduire les hommes, il ne s'arma, cette fois, ni de fevérité, ni de reproches imprudens fur le paffé. Ce w'etait plus ce chef defpotique et emporté qui punifoit de mort la defiance et l'incredulité; c'etoit un homme prudent et fenfible, qui excufoit le tumulte des paffions, et ne pensoit qu'à les regler. Il vifita les provinces fans éclat, fans garde, et jans armes, en homme qui, ne voulant point faire le mal, n'en a point à redouter. Cette conduite lui contilia le plus grand nombre des efprits. Dès qu'il n'excita plus la terreur, il inspira le reftet. Mille E'coffois, débarqués dans les provinces du nord, s'etant joints aux Irlandois, Jembloient mediter quelque invafion; il ne marcha point contre eux, et ne parut point redouter leurs armes : en s'occupant à pacifier les provinces, il leur rendoit inutile le fecours de ces étrangers. En effet, ils fe rembarquerent, et Perrot, continuant à montrer des difpofitions bamaines, ne trouva chez les Irlandois que des hommes fiers, à la vérité, dont les mœurs etoient fauvages, le langage dur, mais dont le cœur étoit loyal, droit et fenfible. Plufieurs chefs ayant confentis volontairement à ceder leurs terres, ce que la force n'avoit pu obtenir d'eux, Perrot les leur rendit au nom de la Reine, aux conditions qu'ils les tien