at an inn, has given me just cause of affliction. That death is at this moment, and will continue while I live, fresh in my memory; and I am ftill able to defcribe all the circumftances which attended it. But before I proceed farther, you must receive from the widow of your friend the double reproach of having too long forgotten her, and of not confulting her before you wrote concerning him. On the day of my hufband's death, which was not the 2nd but the 3rd of July, 1778, he rofe at his ufual hour; but he did not go out that morning. He intended, however, to go to give a leffon of mufic for the first time, to the elder Mifs Girardin. With this intention he made myself, or the fervant, get ready the different articles neceffary for dreffing himself. We fat down to breakfast; but he would eat nothing. He had dined, on the preceding evening, at the caftle of Ermenonville, and, whether it was owing to over-loading his ftomach or not, he felt himself indifpofed on his return. As foon as breakfast was over, he told me that the locksmith, who had put the doors of our place in a serviceable ftate, had demanded payment. I went out to carry his money to him; I returned before ten, and was afcending the ftairs, when I heard the plaintive cries of my husband. I rushed into the room, where I found him lying on the floor. I called aloud for affiftance, but he defired me to refrain, faying, that as I had returned myself, he had no occafion for any other perfon. He then begged me to fhut the door, and to open the windows. Having done fo, I affifted, with all my ftrength, to put him to bed. I caufed him to take a few drops of l'eau de Carmes. It was himself that poured out the drops. I then propofed that he fhould take a clyfter; be at first refufed; but on my infifting a little, he gave his affent. I administered it according to the best of my ability. When it began to operate, he came out of bed without my affiftance, and went into the water-clofet. I went after him, however, and took hold of his hands. At the moment when I thought him fufficiently relieved, he fell forwards on the floor with fuch force as to throw me down: I · rofe up, and cried loudly for help; the door was fhut. M. de Girardin, (not madam Girardin), who had a pafs-key for our apartment, entered. I was covered over with the blood which flowed from the wound in my husband's forehead. He expired with my hands clasped in his, and without fpeaking a word. I folemnly declare to you,-to my fellow-citizens, and to pofterity, that my husband died, in the manner which I have now defcribed. He did not take poifon in a cup of coffee; nor did he fhoot himself through the head with a pistol. A very short time after my husband's removal to Ermenonville, he began to entertain fears from his continuing to refide there; and communicated them to me, in order to convince me of the neceffity of our returning to Paris. Groundlefs as they appeared to me, I shall never forgive myself for my obftinate perfiftance in remaining at Ermenonville. Tears ftream from my eyes at the remembrance of it. The earnest entreaties of M. de Girardin, who often begged on his knees that I would not confent to his return to Paris, and the neceffity of paying over again the enormous expence which attended our removal, have appeared to me but feeble excuses, fince his death. Rr 3 No No fooner was my husband dead, than, forgetful of all he had faid to me, I abandoned myself to the direction of the man, (M. Girardin), who earnestly requested the management of my affairs. I gave him all the ready money in the houle. I permitted him to take poffeffion of his manufcripts on botany, his mufical pieces, and every article of our property. With the rapidity of an eagle in his flight, this man haftened to Geneva, and, without ever confulting me, without allowing me time to recover myself, difpofed of all my effects, for bills of exchange, which were never paid to me, but which I have fince negociated for an annuity for life. I ought not to omit informing you, that the money which I gave him, on condition of maintaining me for the remainder of my life, has been repaid to me in affignats. To the widow of your friend-the widow of Jean Jacques Rouffeau there remains no other fource of fubfiftence, than a fmall life-rent from fome private perions at Geneva, which is but ill-paid, and a penfion of 1500 livres, granted by the nation, but which is five years in arrear, and is now placed in the lift of the penfions and annuities of the great book. She lives in a cottage, deftitute of almost every thing. I conclude with requesting, that you will remember me to your fpoufe. • Extract from No. 318 of the Journal de Paris. • Anfwer of citizen Rene Girardin, to thofe paffages which allude to him, in a letter from the widow of J. J. Rouffeau, inferted in No. 272 of the Journal de Paris. • Roussean's widow was left, at the death of her husband, with an annuity of 300 livres, payable by Michael Rey, bookfeller in Amferdam. My exertions procured for her, in addition to this fum: ft., 1200 livres of yearly intereft, upon a capital of 24000 livres, produced by a general edition of Roufieau's Works, and vefted in the funds of the typographical fociety of Geneva. 2dly. From 3 to 4000 livres of ready money, the produce of various articles. 3dly. 700 livres of yearly intereft, upon a capital of 14000 livres, which the voluntarily left in my hands, but which the afterwards forced me, by her preffing folicitations, and in confequence of a deed of affignment executed before Gibert, notary at Pleffis-Belleville, on the 6th of april, 1792, to make complete payment of, to citizens Bally and Duval. RENE GIRARDIN, the Elder.' Whatever be the nature of Mr. Duffaulx's publication, we are much indebted to it, for having called forth the interesting anecdotes contained in the pages before us: Mr. Corancez's narrative is fimple and unvarnished, he writes like the friend of Rouffeau, but not like a determined panegyrift: he attempts not to conceal, that he had foibles, or does he attempt to conceal what thofe foibles were. He writes with great modefty and franknefs, and feems only folicitous to develope the truth. L. L. TRANSLATIONS. ART. XV. Fabule Selecta, &o. Gay's Fables, tranflated into Latin, by Chr. Anftey. Efq. 8vo. 140 pages. Price 2s. 6d. Bath, Halard; London, Cadell and Davies. THE fpectacle, exhibited by this publication, of good-tempered and playful age, amufing itself with the ftudies of childhood, and the claflic sports of youth, muft neceffarily intereft the eye, and gratify the heart of philanthropy. A fhort preface informs us, that thefe tranflations, of fome select fables from the popular volume of Gay, originally intended by their author for the ufe of his fons, who at that time were also his pupils, have been already published; but that their first appearance from the prefs, now many years ago, was made under fuch unfavourable aufpices, without the tranflator's name, and blotted with a multitude of typographical errours, that they were thrown entirely from his regard; till a late revifion of his papers, in preparation for the approaching clofe of an advanced life, reftored them to his notice and affection. On this recurrence, in fhort, by recalling his fancy to his fchoolboy days, and thus giving him a relish of rejuvenefcency, they pleafed the cheerful old man, and were deemed worthy by him of being again produced, though in a more correct form, to the public. Pref. P. At quoniam opufcula fua recognofcendi, antequàm e vitâ decedat, fibi otium datur, limatius hoc denuò in lucem reftituit, et jam nepotibus fuis nec injucundum nec inutile fore munufculum confidit. Quòd fi hinc lecturi erudito puerilium fuorum ftudiorum non inamabilis animum fubeat recordatio, aut fi adolefcentulis latinam poeticem difcentibus fimplex hæc interpretatio vel utilitati fit, vel oble&tamento, non modò non editorem pœnitebit humilis adeò operis in fe fufcepti, verùm etiam ille fibi feriò gratulabitur.' Compofitions made under these circumstances, and published with thefe feelings, cannot be regarded as the juft fubjects of rigorous criticism: Mr. A., however, would not perhaps have much to apprehend from us, were we difpofed to bear our faculties ever fo ungently, and to exercife our functions with the most unrelenting feverity. In thefe light fpecimens of Mr. A.'s latin mufe, there is nothing, which can bring into question his long established reputation as a scholar and a man of tafte. His ftyle is eafy, flowing, and correct but it wants compreffion and nerve. For the tranflator of Gay's Fables, Catullus would have been a preferable model to Ovid; whofe diffufion, extended into weak nefs, is generally dif cernible in the pages under our review. The iambic or the hendecafyllabic meafure, would alfo have pleafed us better on this P. 63. Animum capiens [taking heart] feems to be an expreffion of doubtful authority; and favouring too much of an anglicifm, Animum fumens or recipiens, would have been preferable. Rr 4 occafion occafion than the elegiac; but this we fuggeft as a mere matter of opinion, on which it would be improper for us to pretend to decide. Were we inclined, on any other ground fupplied by the prefent fmall publication, to conteft the erudition or tafte of the author of the New Bath Guide, we would cite, for the fupport of our attack, not any defects in the compofitions before us, but the unmerited praife, which he has been weakly induced to lavifh on that anonymous and paltry libel, the Purfuits of Literature. The facility, with which a mafs of quotations, on fubjects arbitrarily chofen, may be accumulated by any man, who has only ftept over the threshold of learning, muft be apparent to every fcholar; and we are surprised, that fuch a feat fhould obtain from Mr. A., for the work in which it is displayed, the high title of Opus eruditionis admodum reconditæ. These idle and oftentatious tatters of reading, under the new form of tranflations, and accompanied with a defence of the work, of which, though profeffedly only appendages, they conftitute the principal body, have been again hung up to flutter before the public eye. This effort of the author, to prolong the literary confequence of his malignity, cannot, as we think, be fuccessful. The libel has now loft it's flavour: the ill-nature of the town feems to be fatiated with the fame entertainment; and some new olio must be prepared, with the grofs feafoning of party and perfonal rancour, to excite and gratify it's palate. As a favourable fpecimen of the little work before us, we will prefent our readers with Mr. A.'s verfion of the fable of the Mother, the Nurfe, and the Fairy.' It will be observed in this inftance, that the original lies within a fmaller compass than the tranflation, though in a language which is peculiarly fufceptible of compreffion. Fabula 11. p. 27. 6 MATER, NUTRIX, ET LAMIA. Dii, date filiolum! miffo fibi munere felix Surgit, et Aurorâ lætos referente labores, Contortis ftabat, ceu percita dæmone, palmis Nutrix, fingultu concutiente finus. Hei mihi! nefcio quid malè contigit, en age, quid fit, Ne mihi, ne tribuas, Domina O cariffima, culpam; Adfuit hic lamia: et vità tibi charior infans Hic adverte oculos, deforme hoc afpice monftrum, Fœmina, mater ait, caca eft: en, qualis ocello < Per Per fuperos, refpondet anus, transversa tuetur Unde hæc vana hominum furgunt commenta? quis unquam An noftrum fublime genus mortalibus ægris, Nos quoque progeniem vix æquo lumine noftram The huge and monftrous lamia cannot be regarded as a proper fubftitute for the pigmy and aerial fairy; but it might not, perhaps, be eafy to find a better in a fyftem of mythology fo diffimilar to the gothic as the grecian. According to the accounts of her historians, the lamia would be more difpofed to eat than to exchange a child. Neu pranfæ lamiæ vivum puerum extrahet alvo: Hor. de Arte Poet. One of these translated fables, that of the Perfian, the Sun, and the Cloud, exhibits in it's compofition three different metres: but the effect of these blendid meafures is, in our opinion, far from good; and we cannot compliment the fapphics, with which the tranflation opens, on their poffefling more vigour than the hexameters and pentameters, with which it concludes. W. B. VOYAGES. ART. XVI. La Péroufe's Voyage round the World. OUR Voyagers, leaving Eafter Islands, proceed to the Sandwich Ilands: departing thence, they approach the american coaft, where, by a great river, to which they give the name of Behring's, they enter a very deep bay, which they name Port des François, fituate between the 58th and 59th degrees of north latitude, and 139° of weft longitude. The advantages and the inconveniences too of this port are defcribed; the mineral, vegetable, and animal productions of the country, which it indents; the arts, arms, and drefs of the inhabitants; and what interefts us chiefly, their manners and way of life, as is ufual in all cafes, greatly influenced and formed by climate, which, in this latitude, is inhofpitable, rude, and ferocious. Leaving Port des François, returning fouthward, and ftill exploring the coaft of America, which is described, they arrive at Monteiro, at one period, the capital of the two Californias. It was only in 1770, that the francifcans established their firft miffion here. |