pofition, I fhall furnish you with the To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, will not omit to print; and I heartily UNI with others of your readers may do the A. J. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. I SIR, WAS glad to fee the Memoirs of the late Mr. Hugh Farmer announced in your last number. But fome of your readers were rather furprised to read the notice given of their being accompanied with a piece of this learned author never before published," said to be the only one of his MSS. preserved from the flames." It is certain, that his order to his executors in his will was, to burn them all without infection, and there can be no doubt of their punctual compliance, for which, indeed, they have been cenfured, as one or two of the pieces had been fully prepared for the prefs. Dr. Kippis, who had perufed fome of them, very much lamented their deftruction, and in the Biographica Britannica, after a review of his printed works, he exprefsly fays, "Here cioles our account of Mr. Farmer as an author; for though he pursued his literary inquiries, nothing more ever did or ever CAN make its public appearance." It may therefore admit of a Query, (if the piece announced be really the production of Mr. Farmer's pen,) whether the intended editor came poffeffed of it in a fair and honourable way? and, if fo, whether it be prudent or just to bring it forth to the public, after Mr. Farmer had fo exprefsly ordered all his MSS. to be deftroyed? I, for one, among others, fhould be glad to fee this matter clearly explained and fatisfactorily vindicated, who am, Sir, Your's, &c. QUERIST. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, M Y attention, the other day, was arrefted by the omiffion of the augment in the word " duuxnos," in verfe 270 of the Edipus Tyran. of Sophocles. As this was contrary to the Canon of Porion," the polar ftar of Grecian lore," I confulted the Preface of his Hecuba, in hopes that I might find it in the lift of exceptions, but was disappointed. I fhall, therefore, be obliged to your learned readers for any information, but particularly for reference to any commentator who has noticed this paffage. The infertion of the above in your valuable Mifcellany will oblige, your's, &c. Barnet, Feb. 20, 1804. WM. MARR. 【NDERSTANDING that Mr. Benjamin Flower, of Cambridge, has it in contemplation to publifh, by fubfcription, the Mifcellaneous Works of the late Mr. Robert Robinson, and that a part of widow, I beg permiflion to make a rethe profits is to be appropriated to the mark or two on N. N.'s Letter, in your last month's Magazine; conceiving, that it has a tendency, though, I doubt not, with tings of Mr. Robinfon, and, confequently, out N. N.'s intention, to difcredit the writo defeat the aim of Mr. Flower, which is, to benefit the widow by this publication. Mr. Cole on one hand, and in the CantaI fhall pass over what has been faid by brigiana on the other; and shall only no. tice what N. N. fays relative to OidmixRobinson, in his Syllabus of Lectures on on, and to the credulity and fcurrility of Nonconformity; at the fame time, giving perfect credit to N. N. for his claim to man. the character of a moderate and judicious Of Oldmixon, to whom N. N. alludes Syllabus of Lectures, it should be recol- him kim moft in that particular view of his character. But in the work alluded to, Sir, he was reviewing the perfecutors of a particular period and directing his violence against men acting as perfecutors; and not against men acting as clergymen, or as bishops. It is but juftice to obferve, that he makes this diftinction in his Preface. In the fame Preface, alfo, he certainly fpeaks very feverely against the Established Church, but not till after he has been calculating what he apprehended to be its injurious effects on the happiness, principles, and liberties, of the country. At the fame time, he puts in a caveat against any misconceptions of his object; intimating, that if he had the whole Eftablished Church at his difpofal as much as any fovereign defpot had his flaves, he would not deprive it, by force, of one rite, of one ceremony, or of ene prayer; that he would only prevent it from impofing formularies and creeds on others, and from doing injury to other focieties: in fhort, that he would feparate the church from the state, and leave principles, creeds, and prayers, to fhift for themfelves. Had Robinson's violence been directed against men acting merely as clergymen, or bishops, and not as perfecutors; had it been groundless attack or indiferimicate cenfure, I should not have taken notice of N. N.'s Letter; but, taking into the account the times of which Robinson was writing, and the facts to which he appeals, I conclude that his language was violent only againft intolerance, and betrayed no malignity of heart. I am, Sir, your's, &c. G. DYER. P.S. The writer of this Letter certainly do s not believe nor approve many things that will be maintained in Robinfon's mifcellaneous works: but, independently of a wifh for the intereft of his widow, he is convinced that this Mifcellany will give proof of very benevolent feelings, and many liberal fentiments He has, therefore, taken the liberty of dropping these hints. The work will be contained in four volumes, price to fubfcribers twenty-four fhillings: money to be paid on the delivery of books, Names are taken by of both in a fuperior degree, will be more effectually ufed by the man who has not other arms to depend upon, or to encumber him. Amongst other improvements on the arms of the British foldiers, the lergthening the bayonet ought to be adopted, as it would increase the advantage which they have ever had over their enemies in the ule of it: the bayonets should also be ferewed on, instead of the present mode of fixing them. The locks, which are the most effential, are in every particular objectionable; to remedy this, an advanced price must be given, and the trifling additional expence of five fhillings would be fufficient. Our flints are the worlt in Europe, and indeed in the world; for the correctness of which affertion, I appeal to all foldiers who have had an opportunity of comparing them. The powder is much better than what was formerly iffued for the use of the army, but it is not fo good as it should be; at any rate I would recommend a priming of the beft to be put into every eartridge, by which the touchhole and pan would not be so soon clogged as they ufa. ally are, I think it would be a good plan to have one of the divisions of the tin-magazines filled with cartridges, the balls of which to be cut nearly through into four equal peces; which at clofe quarters must have great effect, because they would feparate as foon as fired, and do the business of four bullets. I cannot agree with your friend, that the charge is a favourite movement with the French; on the contrary, I think it is notorious that they feldom offer it to us, and commonly decline it, fans ceremonie, when offered to themfelves by an equal body of British foldiers. Your's, &c. TIM. SKIVER, fejeant. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, Mr. Benjamin Flower, at Cambridge; and by Amber, mentions, that Chatterton CORRESPONDENT, in your laft Mr. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-yard. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, BSERVING in your Magazine for Senfe, I will trouble you with a few Obfervations on the fame fubject. Experience has proved that a foot-foldier fhould not have either fword or piftol; and that the firelock combining the properties was buried at Pancras. I always underftood that he was buried in the burialground of the work-house to St. Andrew's, Holborn, in Shoe lane. I visited his grave fpot at the right-hand fide of the lower end of the inclofure. Some boards covered the pit, (for fo the keeper of the work-house called it,) and he faid that it was then, (in 1792,) quite full, fo that they had occafion occafion to open another near it. The controversy about the authenticity of Rowley's Poems, is, I truft, now at an end; and there are few who do not attribute every line of them to the imagination of that wonderful genius and unfortunate youth, who, under a happier train of circumstances might have lived in happinefs and honour, beloved, courted, and admired; and whose remains might have been borne in folemn pomp to the grand fepulchre of all our worthies, amid the rears and respect of the good and great, but who died in despair, and was thrown undiftinguished into the burial-pit of a work-house. There is one internal piece of evidence, that the Poems were written by Chatterton, which has never been taken notice of by any commentator, and which might be drawn out into a long analyfis, but I fhall confine myself merely to the hint, as any reader may make an experiment of the justice of my remark. It appears to me that Chatterton wrote the Poems firft in modern English, and then altered the spelling, and Sprinkled them with ancient words, acco:ding as he could find ancient words which would fuit the meafure and emphasis of the line. What leads me to this idea is, that in nineteen inftances out of twenty, the ancient word may be fupplied by a modern one of the fame meaning, and exactly of fo many fyllables as will fall in with the metre of the line. I have fometime had an intention of publishing an edition of Rowley's Poems, in a modern drefs, which could easily be done by merely altering the spelling, and fubftituting modern words in room of the obfolete, which would confirm my hypothefis, and perhaps gain Chatter on more readers than he has at prefent. I conceive that my hypothefis diminifhes "The wonder of jo young a man being fo perfectly acquainted with the language of antiquity as to write it with perfelt familiarity and eafe" I think he did 20t write it with eafe. I think he wrote his Poems in modern English, and then looked into his gloffary for old words, and where he found old words which would exactly fupply the place of the modern, he adopted them. My meaning will be perfectly understood by those who are judges of Latin compofition; it is a comnon faying, that "to write good Latin, we mult think in Latin," the idioms, the tone, the style mult be Latin; and therefore youth are instructed by judicious mafters to put down their first thoughts in Latin, and not to write them in English firft, and then tranflate their own English; for, if they do, it will inevitably appear EnglishLatin patch-work. In the compofition of one scholar, we can fee that he is perfect mafter of the Latin language, while in that of another, (though there be no falfe concord, no error,) we can evidently fee that he has confulted his dictionary for every word. Now this appears to me to have been exactly the cafe with Chatterton. His late editor obferves, (vol. z. p. 517,) that the deeds which are to be found in the third volume, written in modern English, were defigned probably to be filled up, like a painter's fketch, the first opportunity. I perfectly agree with the editor; and I verily believe, that the Poems were filled up in the fame manner, though we are not in poffeffion of the first outlines, which Chatterton carefully deftroyed. The deeds add weight to my conjecture, which I had formed long before I had seen them. C. V. L. To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. Y SIR, OUR Correfpondent J. C.'s remarks on the incruftation formed by the New-River water, induced me to make fome experiments; the refults of which, being phenomena not generally, if ever, noticed by chemists, perhaps you may think them worthy infertion. I found that iron-filings very rapidly decompofed a folution of carbonate of lime in carbonated-water; the carbonate of lime being precipitated, and a portion of the iron taken up in its place, by the excefs of acid. Copper filings alfo decompofe this folution, though lefs rapidly, fome of the copper being diffolved in a fimilar manner by the acid. From this experiment it appears, that carbonic-acid poffeffes, in a large degree, the property of diffolving copper, as well as iron; the folution afterwards depofiting the ox de of copper, in confiderable quantity, on the application of heat. It is evident, that either of the above metals, particularly iron, is improper to form cocks to the conductors of water; water generally containing carbonate of lime; and the inconvenience experienced by the New-River Company, from their ufe, will be easily accounted for. But, for domeftic purposes, water, when boilcd, will come equally whole fome from any veffel; as heat, unaffiled by the action of the metal, is always fufficient to occation its purity. I am, &c. R. M. April 14, 1804. To NCLOSED with this letter you will receive an account of fome very im'portant events in the life of the unfortunate Louis XVI. King of France; drawn up by me, from the informations of an eye-witness of the scenes described, quarum pars magna fuit. et This eye-witnefs was M. le Comte de Mouftier, one of the gardes du corps who attended the King on his journey from Paris to Varennes, and who is repeatedly mentioned in the courfe of the narrative. M. de Mouftier came firft to England feveral years ago, from Switzerland, where he had been known, and much regarded, by the late Earl of Northampton. Through the prefent Earl, then Lord Compton, he was introduced to General Melville, under whofe hofpitable roof I then refided. In this way began my acquaintance with M. de Mouftier, whom it was impoffible to know and not highly to value, as a man of the greatest integrity and private worth. The journey to Varennes was a conftant subject of his converfations with General Melville, at which I took every op. portunity to be prefent. Independently of the univerfal fympathy for the unfortunate Louis, General Melville was excited by strong perfonal motives to take a warm interest in whatever regarded him. The General had been employed for feveral months, in the fpring and fummer of 1783, at the Court of Versailles, on a miffion refpecting the island of Tobago, which had been taken from us by the gal lant Marquis de Bouillé, during the American war, and been ceded to France by the preliminaries of the peace, without any ftipulations for many objects of the highest importance to the British proprie tors and inhabitants of the colony. In this fituation General Melville had the beft opportunities, and he failed not to use them, for procuring information concerning the difpofitions and talents of the new fovereign of his countrymen in Tobago. Every day confirmed the opinion which he had early formed, that Louis was a man of genuine humanity, and love of truth, justice, and order; united with great application to, and found judgment in, bufinefs: and that this opinion was well founded, was evinced beyond all doubt, by the fingularly favourable terms granted to the General, for the colony, MONTHLY MAG. No. 114. of which he had been the founder, in the beginning of his government of all the iflands in the Weft Indies, ceded by France to Great Britain by the peace of 1763. M. de Mouftier had drawn up a very full Account of the Journey to Varennes, parts of which he used frequently to read to General Melville and myself. The interest naturally excited by the fubject, but greatly heightened by the ftrong indications of genuineness and truth difcovered in every part of thefe details, produced an ardent with that the whole fhould be given to the public by M. de Moutier in his own name. To this propofal, however, he conftantly refufed to agree; faying, that were he to do fo, he might be fufpected of being influenced by fome view of deriving pecu niary advantage from the publication, (of which, by the bye, with his lady and young children to fupport, he stood in great need,) rather than by a pure difinterested zeal for vindicating the character of his beloved mafter from the atrocious calumnies industriously circulated against him in other countries as well as in France. In these circumstances, on the 11th of December, 1800, I applied, by a letter, to M. de Moutier, for fuch informations as might enable me to form a connected narrative of the journey, with a view to its being made public. This mode being liable to no objection on the part of M. de Mouftier, he readily furnished me with various and ample de tails, from which the following account has been drawn up; into which no circumftance, however unimportant, has been admitted, but fuch as was supplied by M. de Mouftier; and in which, as much as was practicable, his own expreffions and manner have been fcrupulously preserved. Such notes as appeared to be wanting, for explanation's fake, will be easily dif tinguished from thofe of M. de Moustier. This gentleman left this country in the fummer of 1801; and, when I last heard of him, was refiding with his family at Munich, in Bavaria; where, by the very extensive circulation of your valuable Mifcellany, Mr. Editor, he will foon learn, that his reftless anxiety to render juftice to the character of his unhappy So vereign has not been without avail. I have now only to add, that having lately applied to General Melville for an authentication of what is here ftated refpecting the narrative, and the mode by U u which which it fell to me to prefent it to the public, he has been pleased to do so in the most fatisfactory manner. I am, &c. JOHN DOUGALL. London, March 28, 1804. An ACCOUNT of the JOURNEY of LOUIS XVI. KING of FRANCE, with the ROYAL FAMILY, from PARIS to VARENNES, and of their RETURN to the CAPITAL, in JUNE 1791; drawn up from the INFORMATIONS of one of the KING'S BODY-GUARDS, by JOHN DOUGALL. Louis having at laft refolved to withdraw for a time from Paris, felected three gentlemen of his body-guards to accompany him on the occafion: thefe were M. le Comte de Moutier, M. le Chevalier de Malden, and M. le Chevalier de Valory. He directed M. de Mouftier to repair to the palace of the Thuilleries on Thursday the 17th of June, 1791; and in the mean time to inform the two other gentlemen of the King's wishes; as alfo to provide for himself and them couriers jackets of yellow cloth, round hats, boots, &c. and proper paffports for leaving Paris. When all thefe neceffaries were procured, the three gardes-du-corps were to go together to the palace on the following Monday, the 21st June, between eight and nine in the evening, there to receive further inftructions. At the time appointed, M. de Malden and M. de Valory went thither, by the gallery of the Louvre, which extends along the Seine; but M. de Mouftier took a different way, to a private ftaircafe, which led to the apartment of the King's first valet-de-chambre. There his Majefty was waiting for him, and quickly opening the door, as foon as he heard M. de Moutier coming up, left he should be ftopped by the fentinel in the paffage, conducted him to the apartment of the Queen. There the three gardes-du-corps having met, the King addreffed them in this manner : "You fee, Gentlemen, to what a wretched fituation we are brought. We rely on your fidelity and attachment to refcue us from it, and have made choice of you for this purpose. "Our fate is in your hands, Will you or will you not undertake to deliver us from our prefent mifery? If you refuse to affift us, we are utterly undone." To fuch words, from their unhappy mafter, thofe gentlemen could answer only by their tears, and fome broken fentences, in which they endeavoured to exprefs their joy at the prospeЯ of a deliver ance fo ardently defired by all the French who ftill retained their duty to their rightful fovereign, as well as by every friend of justice and good order. Their Majesties thought it best, in order to prevent interruption or discovery on the journey, to change the names of the three gardes-du corps, affigning to each that by which he was in future to be known.* To M. de Valory was given a letter for Count de Ferfen, Minifter at the Court of France from the King of Sweden: and to M. de Mouftier, two facs-de-nuit, or travelling-bags, one belonging to the Queen, and another to the Dauphin. M. de Valory was directed, at the fame time, to leave the Thuilleries in the fame way by which he had entered; whilft M. de Mouftier was to go down the great ftaircafe, croffing what was called the Queen's Court, to meet M. de Valory under the firft gate-way leading out to the quay of the bridge called the Pont-Royal, oppofite to the end of the palace. M. de Malden remained with the Royal Family, and never quitted them until his imprisonment, on their return to Paris. Count de Ferfen, who was waiting on the quay, no fooner, by a private signal, recognized M. de Valory, than he took the two gardes du-corps in his carriage to an hotel, where M. de Valory took the horse that was to carry him the firft ftage, from Paris to Bondy; and M. de Moustier four other horfes, with which he went to another hotel, where he put them to a travelling-carriage, of a remarkably plain and common appearance. From this laft hotel M. de Mouftier proceeded with the carriage to St. Martin's Gate, where he was speedily joined by the Royal Family, who had come from the court of the Carousel, behind the palace, in a hired coach, provided by Count de Ferfen, with M. de Malden mounted behind it. This happened at half an hour, or perhaps three quarters, pak twelve o'clock at night. When the Royal Family had removed into the travelling-carriage, the hired coach and horfes were overturned, as it by accident, into a ditch near the gate, that the coachman might be hindered from go ing immediately home, and giving an ac count of what he had feen. Before leaving the gate the Queen asked M. de Malden what he thought of the *M. de Mouftier was called Melchior M. de Malden, Jean; and M. de Valory, François. intended |