to pull down Pompey's pillar. But whether he gave them credit for their refpect to the Roman warrior, or to the Turkish government, he left them to themselves; and politely answered, that the English were too great patriots to injure the remains of Pompey. He knew little, however, of the difpofition of the people who were engaged in this undertaking. Had the Turkish empire rofe in oppofition, it would not perhaps at that moment have deterred them. The kite was brought, and flown fo directly over the pillar, that when it fell on the other fide, the ftring lodged upon the capital. The chief obftacle was now overcome. A twoinch rope was tied to one end of the ftring, and drawn over the pillar by the end to which the kite was affixed. By this rope one of the feamen afcended to the top and in lefs than an hour, a kind of shroud was constructed, by which the whole company went up, and drank their punch amid the fbouts of the astonished multitude. To the eye below, the capital of the pillar does not appear capable of holding more than one man upon it; but our feamen found it could contain no

THE

lefs than eight perfons very conveniently. It is aftonishing that no accident befel these madcaps, in a situation so elevated, that would have turned a landman giddy in his fober fentes. The only detriment which the pillar, received was the lofs of the volute before-mentioned; which came down with a thundering found, and was carried to England by one of the captains, as a prefent to a lady who commiflioned him for a piece of the pillar. difcovery which they made amply compenfated for this mischief; as without their evidence, the world would not have known at this hour, that there was originally a ftatue on this pillar, one foot and ancle of which are ftill remaining. The statue must have been of a gigantic fize, to have appeared of a man's proportion at so great an height.

The

There are circumftances in this ftory which might give it an air of fiction, were it not demonftrated beyond all doubt. Besides the testimonies of many eye-witnesses, the adventurers themfelves have left us a token of the fact, by the initials of their names, which are very legible in black paint just beneath the capital.

and even

REMARKABLE ACCOUNT OF THE LAND CRAB. [Extracted from Dr. Sibly's Wonders of Nature.] whatever obftacles intervene ; if they meet with a houfe, they will attempt to scale the walls to keep the unbroken tenor of their way. But tho' this be the general order of their route, they, upon other occafions, are obliged to conform to the face of the country; and, if it is interfected with rivers,. they are then feen to wind along the courfe of the stream. The proceffion fets forward from the mountains with the regularity of an army under the guidance of an experienced commander. They are commonly divided into three battalions; of which the first confifts of the ftrongest and boldest males, that,, like pioneers, march forward to clear the route and face the greatest dangers. These are often obliged to halt for want of rain, and to go into the most convenient encampment till the weather changes. The main body of the army is compofed of females, which never leave the mountains till the rain is fet in for fome time, and then descend in regular

HE land-crab inhabits the Bahama Islands, as well as most parts between the tropics, and feeds upon vegetables. These creatures live not only in a kind of orderly society in their retreats in the mountains, but regularly once a year, march down to the fea-fide in a body of fome millions at a time. As they multiply in great numbers, they choose the month of April or May to begin their expedition; and then fally out by thoufands from the ftumps of hollow trees, from the clefts of rocks, and from the holes which they dig for themselves under the furface of the earth. At that time the whole ground is covered with this band of adventurers; there is no fetting down one's foot without treading upon them. The fea is their place of deftination, and to that they direct their march with right-lined precifion. No geometrician could fend them to their deftin ed itation by a fhorter courfe; they neither turn to the right nor to the left,

7

regular battalia, being formed into columns of fifty paces broad, and three miles deep, and fo close that they almoft cover the ground. Three or four days after this, the rear-guard follows, a ftraggling undifciplined tribe, confifting of males and females, but neither fo robuft nor fo vigorous as the former. The night is their chief time of proceeding; but if it rains by day, they do not fail to profit by the occafion; and, they continue to move forward in their flow uniform manner. When the fun fhines and is hot upon the furface of the ground, they then make an univerfal halt, and wait till the cool of the evening. When they are terrified, they march back in a confufed diforderly manner, holding up their nippers, with which they fome times tear off a piece of the fkin, and then leave the weapon where they inflicted the wound. They even try to intimidate their enemies; for they of ten clatter their nippers together, as if it were to threaten thofe that come to difturb them. But though they thus strive to be formidable to man, they are much more fo to each other; for they are poffeffed of one moft unfocial property, which is, that if any of them by accident is maimed in fuch a manner as to be incapable of proceeding, the rest fall upon and devour it on the fpot, and then purfue their journey.When, after a fatiguing march, and escaping a thousand dangers, (for they are fometimes three months in getting to the fhore,) they have arrived at their deftined port, they prepare to caft their fpawn. The peas are as yet within their bodies, and not excluded, as is ufual in animals of this kind, under the tail; for the creature waits for the benefit of fea-water to help the delivery. For this purpose the crab has no fooner reached the thore, than it eagerly goes to the edge of the water, and lets the waves wash over its body two or three times. This feems only a preparation for bringing their spawn to maturity; for, without further delay, they with draw to feek a lodging upon land; in the mean time the fpawn grows larger, is excluded out of the body, and sticks to the barbs under the flap, or more properly the tail. This bunch is feen as big as a hen's egg, and exactly refembling the roes of herrings. In this

At

stage of pregnancy they once more feek the fhore for the laft time; and shaking off their fpawn into the water, leave accident to bring it to maturity. At this time whole fhoals of hungry fifh are at the shore in expectation of this annual fupply; the fea to a great diftance feems black with them; and about two thirds of the crabs eggs are immediately devoured by thefe rapacious invaders. The eggs that escape are hatched under the fand; and, foon after, millions at a time of the little crabs are feen quitting the fhore, and flowly travelling up to the mountains. The old ones, however, are not fo active to return; they have become so feeble and lean, that they can hardly creep along, and the flesh at that time changes its colour. The most of them, therefore, are obliged to continue in the flat parts of the country till they recover, making holes in the earth, which they cover at the mouth with leaves and dirt, so that no air may enter. There they throw off their old fhells, which they leave, as it were, quite whole; the place where they opened on the belly being unfeen. that time they are quite naked, and almost without motion for fix days together, when they become fo fat as to be delicious food. They have then under their stomachs four large white ftones, which gradually decrease in proportion as the fhell hardens, and, when they come to perfection, are not to be found. It is at that time that the animal is feen flowly making its way back; and all this is most commonly performed in the space of fix weeks. This animal, when poffeffed of its retreats in the mountains, is impregnable; for, only fubfifting on vegetables, it feldom ventures out; and its habita tion being in the moft inacceffible places, it remains for a great part of the feafon in perfect fecurity. It is only when impelled by the defire of bringing forth its young, and when compelled to defcend into the flat country, that it is taken. At that time the natives wait for its defcent in eager expectation, and deftroy thousands; but, difregarding their bodies, they only feek for that fmall fpawn which lies on each fide of the ftomach within the fhell, of about the thickness of a man's thumb. They are much more valuable upon their

return

return after they have caft their shell; for, being covered with a skin refenibling foft parchment, almost every part except the ftomach may be eaten. They are taken in the holes by feeling for them with an instrument; they are fought after by night, when on their journey, with flambeaux. The inftant the animal perceives itself attacked, it throws itself on its back, and with its claws pinches most terribly whatever it happens to faften on. But the dexterous crab-catcher takes them by the hinder legs in fuch a manner that the nippers cannot touch him, and thus he throws them into his bag. Sometimes alfo they are caught when they take refuge in the bottoms of holes in rocks by the fea-fide, by clapping a tick to the mouth of the hole, which prevents

RYNSAULT AND SAPPHIRA;

HEN Charles duke of Burgun

ed over fpacious dominions, now fwallowed up in the realms of France, he heaped many favours and honours upon Claudius Rynfault, a German, who had ferved him in his wars against the infults of his neighbours. The prince himself was a perfon of fingular huma nity and juftice; and, being prepoffeffed in favour of Rynfault, upon the deceafe of the governor of the chief town of Zealand gave him that command. He was not long feated on that government before he caft his eyes upon Sapphira, a woman of exquisite beauty, the wife of Paul Danvelt, a wealthy merchant of the city, under his protection and government. Rynfault was a man of a warm conftitution, and violent inclination to women. He knew what it was to enjoy the fatisfactions which are reaped from the poffeffion of beauty; but was an utter stranger to the decencies, honours, and delicacies, that attend the paffion toward them in elegant minds. He could with his tongue utter a paffion with which his heart was wholly untouched. In fhort, he was one of those brutal minds which can be gratified with the violation of innocence and beauty, without the leaft pity, paffion, or love, for that with which they are so much delighted,

Rynfault being refolved to accom. plish his will on the wife of Danvelt,

their getting out; and then foon after, the tide coming, enters the hole, and the animal is found, upon its retiring, drowned in its retreat.-Thefe crabs are of various fizes, the largest about fix inches wide; they walk fide-ways like the fea-crab, and are shaped like them: fome are black, fome yellow, fome red, and others variegated with red, white, and yellow, mixed. Some of thefe are poifonous; and several people have died of eating of the crabs, particularly of the black kind. The light-coloured are reckoned beft; and, when full in flefh, are very well tafted. In fome of the fugar iflands they are eaten without danger; and are no fmall help to the negro flaves, who, on many of thefe iflands, would fare very hard without them.

OR, PERFIDY PUNISHED. left no arts untried to get into a fami

at knew his

character and difpofition too well not to fhun all occafions that might enfnare her into his converfation. The gover nor, defpairing of fuccefs by ordinary means, apprehended and imprisoned her husband, under pretence of an information that he was guilty of a correfpondence with the enemies of the duke to betray the town into their poffeffion. This defign had its defired effect; and the wife of the unfortunate Danvelt, the day before that which was appointed for his execution, prefented herself in the hall of the governor's house, and, as he passed through the apartment, threw herself at his feet, and holding his knees, befeeched his mercy. Rynfault beheld her with a diffembled fatisfaction; and, affuming an air of thought and authority, he bid her rife, and told her the muft follow him to his clofet; and alking her whether the knew the hand of the letter he pulled out of his pocket? went from her, leaving this admonition aloud: "If you would fave your huf band, you must give me an account of all you know, without prevarication; for every body is fatisfied that he is too fond of you to be able to hide from you the names of the rest of the con fpirators, or any other particulars whatfoever." He went to his closet, and foon after the lady was fent for to

an

conclufion of it, he told Rynfault, "Thus far have you done as conftrained by my authority: and I shall not be fatisfied of your kind ufage of her, without you fign a gift of your whole eftate to her after your decease." To the performance of this also the duke

T

SHORT SKETCH

HE inhabitants, in general, of this kingdom, are very far from what they have too often and unjustly been reprefented by thofe of our country who never faw them, a nation of wild Irith. Miferable and oppreffed, as by far too many of them are, an Englishman will find as much civility in general, as amongst the fame clafs in his own country; and, for a fmall pecuniary confideration, they will exert themselves to please you as much as any people, perhaps, in the king's dominions. Poverty and oppreffion will naturally make mankind four, rude, and unfociable, and eradicate, or at leaft fupprefs, all the more amiable principles and paffions of humanity. But it should feem unfair and ungenerous to judge of, or decide againft, the natural difpofition of a man reduced by indigence and oppreffion almost to def peration. Let commerce, agriculture, and arts, but call forth the dormant activity of their genius, and roufe the native fpirit of enterprize, which rather lies torpid within them; let liberal laws unfetter their minds, and plenty cheer their tables; they will foon fhow themfelves deferving to rank with the moft refpectable focieties in Europe.

The bogs wherewith Ireland is in fome places overgrown, are not injurious to health, as is commonly imagined; the watery exhalations from thefe are neither fo abundant, nor fo noxious, as thofe from marfhes, which become prejudicial from the various animal and vegetable fubftances which are left to putrify as foon as the waters are exhaled by the fun. Bogs are not, as one might fuppofe from their blacknefs, maifes of putrefaction; but, on the contrary, they are of fuch a texture, as to refift putrefaction above any other fubftance we know of. A fhoe, all of one piece of leather, very neatly ftitched, was taken out of a bog fome years ago, yet entirely freth; from the

was a witnefs. When these two acts were executed, the duke turning to the lady, told her, "It now remains for me to put you in quiet poffeffion of what your husband has fo bountifully beftowed on you;" and ordered the immediate execution of Rynfault.

OF IRELAND. very fashion of which, there is scarce room to doubt that it had lain there fome centuries. Butter, called rouskin, hath been found in hollowed trunks of trees, where it had been hid fo long, that it was become hard and almoft friable, yet not void of unctuofity; that the length of time it had been buried was very great, we learn from the depth of the bog, which was ten feet, that had grown over it. But the common phenomenon of timber-trees dug out of thefe bogs, not only found, but alfo fo embalmed as afterwards to defy the injuries of time, demonftrates the antifeptic quality of them. The horns of the moofe-deer must have lain many centuries in a bog; for the Irifh hiftories do not recognize the exiftence of the animal whereon they grew. Indeed, human bodies have, in many places, been dug up entire, which muft have lain there for ages. The growth of bogs, however, is variable in different places, from the variety of conditions in the fituation, foil, humidity, and quantity of vegetable food; in fome places it is very rapid, in others very flow; and therefore their altitudes cannot afford any certain measure of time. In the manufacturing counties of the north, peat-fuel has become fo fcarce, that turburies let from five to eight guineas an acre. In fome places they are fo eradicated, there does not remain a trace of them, the ground being now converted into rich meadows and fweet paftures.

If we trust to authorities, we must conclude that Ireland was not originally inferior to England, either in the fertility of the foil, or falubrity of the climate. When this country shall have felt the happy effects of the late conceffions and indulgencies of the British parliament, by repealing feveral acts which reftrained the trade of the kingdom with foreign ports, and allowing

the