That gentle heart, foft as the trembling dove, PROLOGUE 10 ZORAIDA, by a Friend. IN days long paft, when every Mufe was young, Perfuafion dwelt on every poe's tongue; Hard as the task appears, new dangers rife To guard the conquest of the tragic prize; When bere fo late l'halia's fav'rite fon Crown'd with your faireft wreaths his courfe hath run; And while with justest aim his glitt'ringspear Here pride difdains the forrow's plaintiveflow, Thefe lines were omitted on the flage. Where paffions, fir'd by nearer funs, impart» hour Decides his fate, from your acknowledg'd power, Your candour trusting, as he knows your skill, EPILOGUE, by the AUTHOR of the PIECE. Spoken by Mr. Yates. WEattern bride, WELL, thank my ftars! no more an With joy I lay my pageantry afide, 1 Defpotic rules, while woman must obey; While effenc'd coxcombs with unblushing face But, jeft apart, tho' custom here has given age, His peaceful mind was uniformly good: His truft in God the fame throu, h every stage, Cheerful and firm, the valiant christian stood. His heart was tender as an infant's eye; Sweet Charity had there her foft abode; There Grace, and Faith, and Truth, were ever nigh; And there the folemn Temple of his God. A Quaker there, he heard the word reveal'd, And from its dictates never dar'd depart; There all his pureft worship was conceal'd; God's Houfe of Prayer is in a humble heart. The world's vain taunts from men of different creeds Ne'er rais'd his anger, nor awak'd his fear; The wrongs, that Pride and Perfecution breeds, His patient fpirit long had learnt to bear, Mild were his manners as the fummer's breeze; Correctly regular, as planets move; Equally kind to men or all degrees; And facred was his Friendship and his Love. No joys he knew but what were safe to taste; The Love and Fear of God corrected all : Made all his converfe holy, purs, and chaffe, And govern d'all his actions, great and fmall. Belide his humble hearth the good man fat, Pleas'd with the rifing race he call'd his own; There spent his ev'ning hours in harmless chat And calm contentment, for he envied none. His wicker-chair was better than a throne; For no ambition ever harbour'd there: There oft he fat, and smok'd his pipe alone In meditation, free from worldly care. There, 10 the last, his constant visits paid, Till fourscore years and four were pafs'd away; And thither torter'd, on his death-bed laid, To take his laft view, on his dying day. There look'd around on all the long-known fcene, Then back return'd fupported; and, undrest, He laid him down, and with a foul ferene Biefs'd all his children, and retir'd to rest. It was not death the good man never dies. O'er Nature, Death, and Hell, he triumphs Without a fear, or shadow of furprize, [free, And leaves this wicked world, vain man, to thee. Dec. 18, 1779Thank you for the curious Memoirs of Mr. Mill in your Magazine for November last, and fend you an infcription for another artist, of whom I know nothing, and of whom you may perhaps entertain the public with fome notices. I tranfcribed it from a flat stone in Amesbury Church, Wiltshire, in July laft. Sacred J. C. In Memory of the Rev. Thomas Holland, Who for half a century was the minister of this parish, A small living; yet he never folicited for a greater : Nor improved to his own advantage. His marvellous talents in applying the Powers of Nature to the ufeful purposes of Life: the most curious and compleat engine Which the world now enjoys for railing Water, being invented by him. By him lyeth Sufanna- Frances his eldest Mr. URBAN, A S the following lines (placed under the first stone of a parfonage houfe, lately rebuilt, in the fmalleft county in England) may perhaps afford fomething better than amufement to your readers, they are at your fervice. C. D. Quemcunque his cellisdonavero parjetis auctor, Affidue, obteftor, fervet ovile Dei. Ufque domum hanc fugiant vitium, mentisque turores, Et quodvis, valeant si mea vota, nefas. Parva licet, Pater alme, tuo confurgat honori, Parva licet parvo fit modo fautta gregi. Tuque O! cui condo, domubus coletub is olim, Qam tamen indignum! me,Deus,accipias. reign ; Nor can the boundless ocean aught furvey, But wrecks of fhips destroy'd, and coarses of the flain. Say, does this fiend, with front of brass en- So oft employ'd of unrelenting fate, To fnap the vital threads that hold our warrior's years. Inhuman Difcord, red with carnage, shakes And death, defpair, and treason, all the Which follow and avenge fuch cruel deeds, Øerspread with cypress all our desolated climes. What tranfports feize my foul! what fudden fires! [fpires; Some God my fenses steals, some God inTis Phœbus felf, his heav'n-born genius deigns, To teach my feeble voice immortal strains. Ye Kings, ye people, liften to my lay, Ye judges of mankind, their Gods by birth, Ye proud oppreffors of this wretched earth, Tho' by your hands dire thunderbolts are thrown, [groan, Though in your chains thefe captive people Reftrain the rigour of refiftless force; [feel; These are your children, feel what fathers From all their bofoms, ftabb'd without remorie, [murderous feel. Streams your own vital flood, and fains the . As a good Shepherd, provident and wife, Defends his darling flock with watchful eyes, From the wolf's ravenous jaws, with gore imbrued, Or the fierce lion, growling for his food, When from the wood the tyrant flies, their fears Remov'd, they foundly fleep or fafely feed, • Inferted in Mr. Sherlock's Letters. + Mr. Sherlock has quoted only the four following ftanzas; but the tranflator has given the whole Ode, And though his sheep with fondling hand he thears, [tims bleed. Yet ne'er beneath his knife the harmless vicA tender monarch like this thepherd (wain, Humane in counfels, in defigus humane, For public good alone prolongs his days, And counts his years by deeds deferving praise : Wreaths ftain'd with blood he nobly scorns to wear, But to his virtue future glory owes; Such was that ancient, that heroic pair, AURELIUS, TITUS thus to deathless honours rofe. Abhorr'dbe these inteftine wars, these brands Leads forth aftonish'd Afia's powerful race, To urge with speedier course the direful work of fate. Barbarians fwarming from Siberia's coasts, Aflaffins nurs'd amidit eternal frofts; Cafpians and Tartars, join'd in dread array, I fee, retain'd'in Dutch and German † pay: This favage rage what dæmon can infpire? Europe no more your fury can fustain, With fierce diffenfion other worlds to fire, A lust for fighting fields tranfports you o'er the main. dentibus; Manufque tendit fupplices, nec invenit folatia, Down her wan cheek for ever flow the tears, The author might have added British! this feems to fix the date of the Ode to the year 1748, when the Ruffians were marching Flanders, which hhaftened the peace. * Vid, Lament. c. 1. p. 1. &c. Ifai. 3. 26. A AMERICAN AFFAIRS, continued from Indeed it fortunately happened, that where On the 13th of Auguft, General Dailing acquainted Sir Henry Clinton, by letter, with the ftrength of Count d'Estaing, and his weakness to oppofe him; and of the little hope of preferving the ifland, without the fpeedieft and ftrongeft reinforcements to oppofe him. About the fame time, Sir Peter Parker acquainted Admiral Byron of the intelligence he had received of the intentions of that enterprizing officer Count d'Estaing, and of the readiness he was in to put his defigns in execution; that at Cape François fix flags were then flying; and that Count d'Eftaing, with a strong detachment from his fquadron, was expected at Jamaica in three or four days. On the 18th of the fame month, the fame admiral acquainted Admiral Byron of the arrival of Count d'Estaing at HifpaBiola the 31st of July, with 26 fhips of the line, ten or twelve frigates, and a number of tranfports and victuallers, with 5000 troops on board, faid to have come from France with Monf. de la Motte Piquet; that 12,000 men more, with 4 or 5000 militia, were preparing to invade Jamaica; and praying fpeedy reinforcements. On the 16th of September, Sir H. Clin ton, in return, affured General Dalling of an intended reinforcement, amounting in the whole to near 4000 men, under the command of Lord Cornwallis. At the fame time, Lord Cornwallis acquainted General Dalling of his immediate préparations, and desired his inftructions how to proceed. On the 17th of September, Vice Admiral Arbuthnot, at New York, acquainted the Hon. Vice Adm. Byron, then on the WeftIndia ftation, with his having fent the Ruffel of 74 guns, the Europa and Raifonable of 64 guns each, being the whole force there, or likely to be there for fome time, as conGENT. MAG. January 1785. 6 41 voy to the reinforcement under Gen. Cornbe returned the moment the fervice in which wallis, and requefting that thofe fhips might they were employed was over, as the fafety of New York depended upon it; at the fame frigates are much wanted. time, he gives him to understand, that two Parker, adding, that to man the Ruffel he To the fame purpose he wrote to Sir Peter had been obliged to unman all the floops and fire fhips in the port of New York, But mark the fudden reverfe of fortune: the island of Jonaica, that was in fo critical a fituation about the middle of September, on the 6th of November was iffing a proan expedition, by which thofe who enlifted clamation for enlifting volunteers to go upon might acquire riches to themselves, and render effential fervice to their conntry. This was, no doubt, the expedition against Omoa, the fuccefs of which, and its importance, were announced in the Supplement to our laft volume. The day before this proclamation Cork, under convoy of his Majefty's ship appeared, a fleet of tranfports arrived from the Leviathan, which had been detained near a month at St. Kitt's, waiting the event of the intended attack by Count d'Estaing-Such were the contents of thofe curious letters from the Jamaica Gazette, which filled the papers about the middle of the current month. The Congrefs have again ftopped the expublicly known. Col. Seymour had the change of prifoners, for what reafon is not misfortune, on a late excurfion, to be taken; and his exchange has been refused. HISTÓRICAL CHRONICLE. Dec. 15. rican Congrefs, minifer plenipotentiary to Boston. mond's grooms, was murdered in a copfe at Dec. 17. The cafle of Angers, in France, in which were 800 English prifoners, wat fet on fire, and the whole magazine confumed. It is faid to have been fet on fire by the prifoners themfelves, fome of whom have been lince clofely confined. Dec. 23. Mr. Wilfon, one of the members of the houfe, exprefled his furprize, that the bill Irish House of Commons, on entering that for the relief of Proteftant diffenters had not been tranfmitted to England, and hoped the right right hon. gentleman, whofe office it was, would rife and declare the reason. A profound filence enfued for upwards of a minute, and no appearance of any infor mation from government; when Mr. Wilfon rofe, and declared his aftonishment that gentlemen should hefitate to fatisfy the publick on a point which was known to be fo near to the hearts of Proteftant diffenters. Sir Richard Heron then got up, and owned, that it had not as yet gone over; and Mr. Conolly laid the blame on a certain body of men, whofe inattention sometimes to matters of confequence he would not pretend to deny, or to juftify their right of detaining bills, although he was himself a member of it. The matter ended, with a promise that the bill fhould be tranfmitted. The lord mayor of Dublin having received a letter from Lord Hillfborough, accompanied with the bills for the encouragement of raifing tobacco, hemp, &c. in Ireland, which had received the royal affent, which the people miftaking for the bill for granting to Ireland a free trade, the greatest rejoicing was celebrated in that city that ever was known on any occafion. All the houses, throughout the city and liberties, fhone forth with a blaze of illuminations unparalleled before. The public buildings were ornamented with coloured lights, and the most elegant transparent paintings. In the new poft-office were figures of his majesty on the throne, extending this magna charta of Commercial freedom to Hibernia kneeling--Fame, flying with a free trade over the ocean to Africa, Europe, and America-St. George and St. Patrick giving the pledge of Friendship and Peace by an embrace, and treading on venomous reptiles, while the dæmon of Difcord fkulks behind. Several private houses were likewife decorated with emblematical devifes, very happily deviled and executed. Dec. 29. Commodore Fielding, with the fquadron under his command, flipped their cables, in order to intercept the Dutch convoy with ftores for Breft, Dec. 30. At a very numerous and refpectable meeting of the first perfons of confideration and property in the county of York, held at York, the following petition and refolutions were unanimously agreed to. To the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain, in Parliament affembled. The Petition of the Gentlemen, Clergy, and Freeholders of the County of York, Sheweth, "That this nation hath been engaged, for feveral years, in a moft expenfive and unfortunate war; that many of our valuable colonies, having actually declared themselves independent, have formed a strict confederacy with France and Spain, the dangerous and inveterate enemies of Great Britain; that the confequence of those combined miffortunes hath been, a large addition to the national debt, a heavy accumulation of taxes, a rapid decline of the trade, manufactures, and land-rents of the kingdom. "Alarmed at the diminished refources and growing burthens of this country, and convinced that rigid frugality is now indifpenfably neceffary in every department of the fate, your petitioners obferve, with grief, that, notwithstanding the calamitous and impoverished conduct of the nation, much public money has been improvidentially fquandered, and that many individuals enjoy finecure places, efficient places with exorbitant emoluments, and penfions unmerited by public fervice, to a large and ftill increafing amount; whence the crown has acquired a great and unconflitutional influence, which, if not checked, may foon prove fatal to the liberties of this country. "Your petitioners conceiving that the true end of every legitimate government is not the emolument of any individual, but the welfare of the community; and confidering, that, by the conftitution of this realm, the national pusfe is intrufted, in a peculiar manner, to the cuftody of this honourable houfe; beg leave farther to reprefent, that, until effectual measures be taken to redrefs the oppreffive grievances herein fiated, the grant of any additional fum of public money, beyond the produce of the present taxes, will be injurious to the rights and property of the people, and derogatory from the honour and dignity of parliament. "Your petitioners, therefore, appealing to the juice of this honourable houfe, do moft earnestly request, that before any new burthens are laid upon this country, effec tual measures may be taken by this houfe to enquire into, and corre& the grofs abuses in the |