Several worthy perfons have laid down rules for the compofition of letters; but I fear it is an art which nature only can teach. I remember in one of those books, written by a German, there was a strict injunction not to mention yourself before you had introduced the perfon of your correfpondent; that is, you must never use the monofyllable I before the pronoun you. The Italians have stated expreffions to be used to different ranks of men, and know exactly when to fubfcribe themselves the devoted or the most devoted flave of the illuftrious or moft illustrious person to whom they have the honour to write. It is true, in that country they have foclogged correspondence with forms and civilities, that they seldom make use of their own language, but generally write to one another in French.

Among many inftances of beautiful letters from ladies, and of the contrary from our sex, I shall select two, which are very fingular in their kind.

The comparison is not indeed entirely fair; but when I mention fome particulars of the male author, one might expect a little more elegance, a little better orthography, a little more decorum, and a good deal lefs abfurdity, than seem to have met in one head, which had seen so much of the world, which pretended to so much literature, and which had fo long worn one of the firft crowns in Europe. This perfon was the Emperor Maximilian,grandfather of Charles V. His reign was long, fometimes fhining, often profperous, very often ignominious. His fickleness, prodigality, and indigence, were notorious. The Italians call him Pochi-denari, or the pennylefs; a quality not more habitual to him than his propenfity to repair his shattered fortunes by the most unbecoming means. He ferved under our Henry VIII. as a common foldier, at the frege of Terouenne, for a hundred crowns a day he was bribed to the attempt against Pifa, and bribed to give it over. In fhort, no potentate ever undertook to engage him in a treaty without firft offering him money. Yet

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this vagabond monarch, as if the annals of his reign were too glorious to be defcribed by a female pen, or as if they were worthy to be described at all, took the pains to write his own life in Dutch verfe. There was another book of his compofition in another way, which does not reflect much more luftre on his memory than his own Dutch epic; this was what he called his livre rouge, and was a register of seventeen mortifications he had received from Lewis XII. of France, and which he intended to revenge the firft opportunity. After a variety of fhifts, breach of promises, alliances and treaties, he had nearly duped his vain cotemporary Henry VIII. with a propofal of refigning the empire to him, while he himself was meditating, what he thought an acceffion of dignity even to the imperial diadem: in fhort, in the latter part of his life, Maximilian took it into his head to canvas for the papal tiara. Several methods were agitated to compass this object of ambition: one, and not the leaft ridiculous, was to pretend that the patriarchal dignity was included in the imperial; and by virtue of that definition he really affumed the title of Pontifex Maximus, copying the pagan lords of Rome on his way to the fovereignty of the Chriftian church. Money he knew was the forest method, but the leaft at his command: it was to procure a fupply of that neceffary ingredient that he wrote a letter to his daughter Margaret, dutchefs dowager of Savoy, and governess of the Netherlands. The whole piece may be feen in the fourth volume of the letters of Lewis XII. printed at Bruffels in the year 1712. It is writtenes, very bad old German French, and therefore unneceffary to lay it before the reader; it will be fufficient to obferve, that his imperial majefty acquaints his beloved daughter, that he defigns never to frequent naked women any more; but to use all his endeavours to procure the papacy, and then to turn prieft, and at length become a faint, that his dear daughter may be obliged to pray to him, which he thall reckon a matter of exceeding glory He

may break what the heaviest could not reach.

Aqua fortis in Nucleus's apartments is continually eating up his Majesty's halfpence; and aqua regia now and then feeds upon a half guinea; while copper-fillings and spirits of hartfhorn, brafs and fea-falt, treble diftilled vinegar, fpirit of tartar, and an hundred more, are dying his ivory tobacco-ftoppers with all the colours of the rainbow. You need not doubt but he has a skeleton in a box, and a fcull on a shelf, two globes with red leather nightcaps, and thermometers and barometers in abundance. In fhort, his house is one continued neft of manly toys and playthings, and he himself is always diverting himfelt among them.

This Nucleus is yet ftiled a man of knowledge, and is in truth a modern philofopher, one who is fond of the means, without troubling himself about their end and design; and is not unlike the countryman, who coming to a gaudy fign post to drink with a friend, stood without, gaping and wondering at the Duke of Cumberland's head, and fuffering his companion within to drink up all the liquor.

But, after all, fo little do they know, who really feek knowledge, and fo much lefs do they, who only play with thefe natural experiments, that I think Nucleus is very little better than king Pepin in Bedlam, who is always wearing a ftraw crown; or the boy at the head of the canal, who fhews you the refiftance of the water, by making his ftones dive and rife again, like ducks and drakes in a pond.

Would Nucleus be an useful philofopher, let his expences and experiments be rather turned to the improvement of arts and sciences; let him apply his powers, and not idle them away; let him bless mankind with ufeful difcoveries, or at least difcover where they are not to be expected; for of the two philofophical madneffes which have been the fashions of the prefent and the laft century, I think the old fyftem the most rational, tho' it aimed at a vain chi

mera, the philofopher's ftone; fince by a continued variety of experiments fomething curious and useful (as was the cafe) might be accidentally ftruck upon, while the fame fet of trifling experiments daily repeated, can have no other end, than in rendering Nucleus, and all his imitators, under the masks of fcholars and philofophers, mere pedantical bauble-hunters, and puppetthew men.

I

From the UNIVERSAL MUSEUM.

On the Antiquity of the Venereal Difeafe. T is an opinion univerfally received, that we owe the veneral disease to the difcovery of America. But this is a vulgar error. Don Sanchez, a learned Portuguese physician, now living at Paris, formerly first physician to the Emprefs Ann of Ruffia, published a work a few years ago, in which he proves, from authentic papers, that before Columbus's voyage to America this diftemper was known in Europe. It is acknowledged, that it has been more taken notice of fince the fiege of Naples in 1494, becaufe at that time it made great havock among the French who had criminal commerce with women who had been infected by the Spaniards. But that this distemper is of a much earlier date is evidently proved by the Treatife of Surgery wrote at Paris, by Lanfranc of Milan, in 1296, a very fair MS. in the French king's library. The author, in the 11th chapter of the third doctrine of his third tract, exprefly. fays, that bubo's, chancres, and ulcers, which appear on certain parts of the body, proceed ex commixione cum ea muliere,quae cum cgro talem habente morbum de novo coierat. Could he have expreffed more accurately the contagious principle which is communicated from one man to another, by the intervention of a third perfon? Lanfranc goes farther: he prefcribes a prefervative for him qui recedit à muliere quam habet fufpectam de immunditiâ. Nothing, furely, can

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account, are detained at Harwich, having miffed the packet-boat.

Caffimbuzar, faid to be taken from us in the Eaft-Indies, is an island in the river Hughly, on which are Cutwa fort and town, and which was taken in the year 1757, by the admirals, Watson and Pocock, and colonel Clive. It before that belonged to the French, and was then governed by M. Law. At that time the Nabob, Suraja Dowla, was in the French intereft; over whofe army, confifting of 20,000 men, lord Clive gained a complete victory, and made an amazing booty. After this, Jaffier Ally Cawn was raised to be Nabob of that province, at the inftance of the English; on which he agreed, that all the country before belonging to the French fhould be the property of the English, and the French never be permitted to settle there, which has fince been ratified by the late treaty of peace. Since the above affair happened, our good friends the Dutch made fome claims, and three Indiamen came to blows with them, for their refusing to deliver up five or fix English veffels they had seized in the above river, which has caused several memorials to pass between our court and the Dutch: but what was the iffue, the public knoweth not.-How. ever, there are people who think, Jaffier Ally Cawn is at length become Dutch.

Near Patna, (the other place taken higher up the river) on Jan. 15, 1761, the Mogul's troops, faid to have confifted of 80,000 men, headed by Shah Zadda, and supported by a small number of French troops under M. Law, were totally defeated, by major John Carnack, at the head of 500 Europeans, 2500 Seapoys and 20,000 black troops, with 12 pieces of cannon. M. Law, and most of the French were taken prisoners. Wednesday, Feb. 8. There was no advice received yesterday, at court, of the yachts with the prince and princefs of Bruniwick on board, fince they failed from Harwich.

His royal highnefs the duke of Cum berland is laid up with a fevere fit of the gout, in Grofvenor-iquare; on

which account his highness's levee, which fhould have been this day, is deferred till this day se’ennight.

Laft Saturday afternoon the fteward of Mr. Wilkes arrived in town from Paris, which gave occafion to the report, that he himself was arrived; he left his master in a very fair way of recovery when he quitted France.

It is confidently faid, that a lottery, attended with annuities for life, the proprietors of which are to enjoy the benefit of furvivorship, will foon take place, in imitation of the Tontines of France.

The importation of Irish tallow, free of duty, is found to be of fuch importance to the nation, that it is faid the fame will be continued a further limited time.

It is faid, that a perfon who was lately an eminent merchant in this city, was concerned in procuring a ship to be fraudulently loft, on which account he has abfconded, and diligent fearch is making after him, in order to bring him to justice.

On Saturday last 6040 beaver, and 3562 deer skins, for Spain; 445 ditto, 104,427 lb. of tobacco, for France; 100 qrs. of wheat, for Portugal; 500 ditto of wheat, and 800 ditto of oatmeal, for Bremen, were entered for exportation.

The commiffioners of the Cuftoms are going to take in an additional number of warehouses, and also an additional number of clerks, on account of the increafe of trade, fince the increase of our colonies by the late treaty of peace. Extract of a letter received on Monday.

by Mr. Wilkes from his Brother.

Paris, Hotel de Saxe, Jan. 15,1764"I am too ill at prefent to be fure of any fixed time for my return, and I had better keep my room (as I am forc'd to do) here, than on the road to Calais, which would be the infallible confequence of my fetting out.

"I wrote to the Speaker laft poft, and inclofed, I believe, an unexceptionable certificate of my ill ftate of health. My eager defire is to return to

my