Ong-Nquien-Chung, the emperor now on the throne, and no doubt the most brilliant character that occurs in this history. Thefe heroic fugitives retired into the woods, where, during feveral months they remained concealed in a lofty tree, a few trufty adherents fupplying them with provifions in the night. Hence they were at length refcued by a Chriftian miffionary, dignified by the title of Bishop of Adran, a truly venerable character, who greatly influenced all the fubfequent memorable events, and effentially contributed to the restoration of the legitimate race to the throne of these kingdoms. Nquien Chung, not with. out much difficulty, found means to collect an army of 40,000 men. He feized fome country veffels, and purchased others of larger fize from the Portuguese; with this force he had every profpect of fubduing the rebels; but the Portuguese having deferted him on the day of battle, his expedition proved unfuccefsful, upon which, in the year 1781, Nhac becoming more audacious, affumed offenfive meafures, and obliged the king to take refuge in Cambodia, whither he was purfued, and in an action in which he had nothing to oppofe to a number of elephants let loofe against him, was again defeated. He withdrew fecretly with his family to Pullo-Vay, a fmall defert ifland in the gulph of Siam. The Tay-Sons, having fent a force to feize him in this place of refuge, he fled to Siam, where he met with a friendly reception, and was allowed a body of auxiliaries to be employed againft his enemies, in which 4000 Cochin-Chinese contributed greatly to the vigor of his exertions. To this army he now added a levy of 10,000 men, and led the whole into Cochin-China. Here the Siamese foon betrayed their prevalent love of plunder, which induced Nquien-Chung, who was unwilling to countenance fuch rapacity, and was determined not to be acceffary to the miferies of his people, to relinquish his enterprize, and once more to feek refuge in Siam. The Tay-Sons now prevailed for a confiderable time; and Nquien-Chung, who had in vain folicited further aid from the king of Siam, and had alfo fome reafon to fufpect the intentions of that faithlefs prince, returned to the island of Pulio-vay together with his family, and about 1500 Cochin-Chinese, who had joined him in Siam. Here he fortified himself and found means to draw provifions from the oppofite coaft. He now com mitted the education of his fon to the Bishop of Adran, who conveyed him to Paris, and there negociated a treaty, according to which Louis the 16th was to fupply Nquien with a fquadron of twenty fail, feven regiments of infantry, and a fubfidy of five millions of piaftres, payable in the courfe of four months. The reciprocal terms were moft advantageous to France, the most important being the abfolute poffeffion of the bay of Turon. Encouraged by this proferred fuccour, Nquien re-entered CochinChina, and feized on a part of Cambodia and Laos; but his fon foon foon after arrived from France, without any of the promised auxiliaries or fubfidy, the troubles in that kingdom having already paralyfed its energies. A few French officers, however, repaired to his ftandard, and fuccefsfully exerted themfelves in difciplining - his troops, and meliorating his tactics, and fome European merchants fold him a few fhips of force. He now fortified the towns he had reduced, according to the fcience in which he had lately been inftructed, and built more fhips fimilar to thofe he had purchased. He fell fuddenly upon the fleet which the Ufurper, now called Quan-trung, had found means to fit out, and took several of his forts and fhips; but hearing that a ftrong body of enemies were advancing against him, which he doubted his means to cope with, he loaded all the veffels that could be removed, deftroyed the reft, and returned to his ftrong holds. The next year he made a fresh incurfion, and even befieged the Ufurper in his capital; and after feveral fevere and fanguinary ftruggles, during which he was once more driven into Cochin-China, he at length, in 1796, re-entered Tung-quin, and took poffeffion of the Capital; when the people, feeing themfelves free from danger and apprehenfion, feized on the leaders of the rebellion, and the Mandarins who had adhered to the Tay-Sons, and delivered them to the conqueror. Nquien Chung now fet up a claim to the kingdom of Tung-quin, which he founded upon the right of King Lé, who had taken refuge in China, where he was reported to have died, without leaving any defcendents; from this event, Nquien-Chung, who declared himself the next of kin, confidered himself as the rightful poffeffor of the vacant throne. No one offered to conteft this claim; he was univerfally acknowledged, and formally invefted by the Emperor of China, from whom he now afferts an absolute independence, having himself affumed the title of Hoang-de, or Em peror, and taken the name of Gia-Long, which bears a refem. blance to that of the Chinese monarch.-Here terminates this difaftrous conflict, productive, during a period of twenty-eight years, of the most deplorable wretchednefs to a numerous popu. lation, with the inceffant devaftation of an extenfive, and by nature most fortunate country; and all this owing to the am bition and cruelty of a few deteftable tyrants. Nquien-Chung, now called Gia-long, was, in the year 1807, fifty-one years of age, he is of the middle ftature, and of a robuft make and conftitution; he had seven children, but only one legitimate fon by the Emprefs. No prince, till he became quiet poffeffor of the throne, difplayed greater firmness in adverfity, nor greater magnanimity in the hour of fuccefs. No one knew better how to discharge the arduous task of a ruler of mankind. His filial piety towards his mother, his conjugal af fection, his parental love, fhone forth on all occafions; without his fuffering, however, thefe fentiments to influence or interfere with his public duties. In various inftances, during his struggles, he gave fplendid examples of humanity and forbearance; in his private life he was temperate and frugal, yet ever maintained the dignity that belonged to his ftation. His time he portioned out with methodical regularity; and in a word, he may in every refpect be held up as a pattern to all those who are intrufted with the happiness of nations. Virtuous minds muft feel a deep regret when they are told that this monarch, who was fo bright an example of excellence while he was struggling with difficulties, has, fince the dawn of his profperity effentially deviated from the conduct, which procured him the love and admiration of all who yielded to his guidance. Soon after his re-inftatement and accellion, he loft his best friend and adviser, the venerable Bishop of Adran; and with this faithful monitor, his love of glory feems to have for. faken him. His vigilance too, and folicitude for the welfare of his people, has yielded to a love of ease and pleasure. Dramatic exhibitions are become his favorite amufement; he is grown difficult of accefs, and is taxed with ingratitude towards those who faithfully adhered to him during his troubles. His taxes are oppreffive. He openly profeffes irreligion. Inftead of refiding at the Capital of Tung-quin, which on many accounts ought to be the feat of Government, he has taken up his abode at Phu-xuan in Cambodia, where he may indulge in his luxuries with lefs reftraint. His feverity of late, has in many inftances, bordered upon cruelty; and thus he throws away the love of his people, who of late have shown feveral symptoms of discontent. His fon, who had been in France, died fince his return, leaving two children by a woman of a fecondary order: his lofs indeed need not be lamented, ás no favourable expectations could be inferred from the qualities he difplayed. Gia-Long is difpofed to declare a fon by a concubine his fucceffor on the throne, but in this he is strenuously oppofed by the Emprefs, who maintains, that. her deceafed fon having been declared heir to the Crown, his. fons had the prior right to the fucceffion. In acknowledging all thefe deviations from the virtuous conduct which had raifed this Prince to a degree of admiration which few men have compaffed, the author thinks it incumbent on him to point out various circumftances, which, if they do not obliterate, at leaft palliate the aberrations which there is fo much caufe to lament: and, at any rate, it is but fair to contraft thefe derelictions with the fublime features of character which this monarch repeatedly difplayed in his difaftrous days." 2. Recapitulation. As we do not think ourselves juftified in Jengthening this article, which, we fear, will already be thought to exceed the bounds we ought to have prefcribed to our report report, we fhall not here enter into a fecond review of the contents of this work, which are recapitulated in this chapter under the heads of Refumé des faits, and Refumé des Caufes; although we must admit that they are here prefented to us under different aspects, from which various obfervations are derived well worthy the attention of the philofopher and politician. From a collective view of the qualities, defects, virtues and vices, of the inflitutions, the fcientific acquirements, the arts, and pleafurable purfuits of this people; the due compenfation between the advantages they enjoy, and the evils to which they are expofed; and a fair comparifon of their faculties and improvements with thofe of other countries, the author infers that Tung-quin is a region highly favoured by nature, the inhabitants of which are liable, neverthelefs, to confiderable inconvenience and danger; that the people are fubjeƐt, indeed, to a defpotic Government, but one, which in tranquil times, is by no means conftitutionally oppreffive; that their fuperftition is at leaft free from bigotry, though pregnant, of course, with errors. That though effimable in various refpects, they are as yet but little advanced in the career of intellectual improvements, which are the chief ornament of fociety; and that they are flill perfect novices in the grand principles of public order and wife adminiftration, which effentially provide for the welfare of a community. Finally, that notwithstanding its pre-eminences are few, and faults many, this people holds a diftinguifhed rank among the Afiatic nations, and is one of thofe, an intercourfe with which, might be materially beneficial to Europeans. In contemplating the caufes of the domeftic, civil, and political ftate of the Tung-quinefe, the author infifts on the influence of climate towards forming the character andhabits of the human fpecies; hence, as from a primary caufe he derives a series of fecondary impulfes which ultimately tend to determine those national features. A moist climate difpofes to inaction, and inclines to the ufe of fpirituous liquors. This inaction is counteracted by the imperious neceflity of paying taxes. The relaxation of the fibres peculiar to this people may be favourable to tranquil meditation, but it incapacitates for ftrenuous mental exertions, and the languor of their intellectual powers may also be in a great meafure deduced from the difficulties their language opposes to accuracy in the communication of ideas; and to the erroneous perceptions and confufed inductions unavoidably derived from idolatry and fuperftition. There are few nations upon whom custom has a greater empire than over the the Tung-quinefe; their profound veneration for their ancestors, and all the inftitutions handed down from them, are causes which inevitably impede improvement; while the nature of their defpotic Government will ever prove a bar to the political inftitutions that effentially benefit the inferior ranks. In a word, the inferiority of this people is more the effect of want of energy than of natural caufes, more of torpor than of wicked propenfities, 3. Profpective views. We may fafely predict that every one, either theoretically or practically engaged in the great fcience of political economy, will be amply gratified by the perufal of this chapter, in which a store of information is clofely blended with deep fagacity and accurate induction. The fallacy of political predictions, both of acute philofophers and the moft fkilful statesmen has, it must be owned, been evinced in too many inftances, not to put us upon our guard against the most plaufible furmifes; and this ground must be ftill more treacherous in countries where the arbitrary will of a defpot baffles all the calculations of wifdom. Yet where is the ufe of experience, if it does not enable us to form fome probable opinion of what is likely to befall us, and in many inftances to derive certain confequences from paft events? No undue rafhness is therefore to be afcribed to the author of this work, if he ventures, after having carefully confidered the internal as well as the relative state of this country, and taken a wide range over the circumstances and inftitutions of most other states, to predict what changes are likely to take place in the future condition of this empire. In the general order of things, an increase of population neceffarily brings on an improve ment in cultivation; and hence, by clearing of woods, draining of marfhy diftricts, and a confequent melioration of the climate, may be expected an increase of all manner of phyfical as well as intellectual advantages. It has been afcertained that the fea gradually withdraws from the eaftern, or in fact the whole coaft of this country, hence a neceffary acceffion of territory, and a probable cause of aggrandife ment. There is reafon to believe that the moral character of this people is progreffively improving, and hence may be expected an equal progrefs in their habitual integrity and public fpirit, fince even a defpotic fovereign muft be aware of the falutary effects of virtuous principles towards the profperity and fecurity of his government. Scientific improvements have fingularly diftinguifhed our age; thefe, by their elaftic impulfe, are moft likely to fpread wide, and will no doubt, in time, reach even these remote regions, and |