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The Repofitery for detached Remarks, Anecdotes, Et

FILIAL AFFECTION.

677

A Jew named Ishmael was thrown. into the prifon of the Inquifition at Seville in Spain, with his father who was a Rabbi. They had been confined together four years, when Ifhmael, having made a hole in the wall of his dungeon, made. fhift to climb to the battlements of the tower, and, by means of fome ropes he had provided, let himself down the wall, with a great deal of hazard. When he arrived fafe at the bottom, he could not but reprove bimfelf, for having abandoned his father: and, without confidering the riik he had just run, and without confidering that his father and he were to be tortured in the fevereit manner at Madrid, he generously, and with the utmost difficulty, rea

fcended the tower, entered once more the horrid dungeon, and, after having dragged his aged father from it.

then efcaped himself.

natural and móral world. And as different minds happen to be more or lefs exquilite, they are. more or lefs fenuble of being charmed with what is beautiful, or feeling averfion at what is wrong and deformed. It is chiefly this fentibility that contitutes a genius; to which a found head and a good heart are as effential as a delicate imagination, and a man of true genius mult acceffarily have as exquifite a feeling of the moral beauties, and of whatever is great or b.autiful in the works of nature, or masterly in the arts which imitate nature, in poetry, painting, ftatuary, or mufic. On the other fide, where the heart is very bad, the genius and tafte, if there happen to be any pretenfions to them, will be found hocking and unnatural. Nero would be nothing less thin a poet, but his verfs were what one may call most villainously bad, His cate of magnificence and lux-conveyed him firft fecurely down and ury was horribly glaring, extravagant, and unnatural to the laft degree. Caligula's taste was fo outrageoully wrong, that he de efted the works of the fweet Mantuan rget more paffionately than ever Mccanas admired them; and if Virgil had unfortunately lived down to thofe times in which that moniler appeared, he would probably have teen tortured to death for no other crime but that he wrote naturally and like an honeft man.-True genius may be faid to confift of, a perfect polish of foul, which receives and reflects the images that fall upon it without warping or distortion. And this fine polifh of foul is attended with what philofophers cali the moraltroth.-There are minds which receive objects truly, and feel the impreffions they ought naturally to make, in a very lively manner, but want the faculty of reflecting; as there are people who, I fuppofe, feel all the chiris of poetry without being poets themfelves. Lays by Launcelot Temple.

COURTLY COMPLIMENTS.

Cardinal d'Eftrees, when he became old, had still a fine fet of teeth, which the largenefs of his mouth expofed to view. When he was one day dining with Louis XIV. his majefy, who was fond of his conversation, complained to him of his want of teeth. "Ah fire!" returned his eminence, fmiling, "Who has teeth?"

Louis XIV. took cardinal Polignac to Marli, and thewed him his gar dens which was a great favour. A fhower coming on the king expreffed himself forry to fee him exposed to the rain in a very unfuitable dress. The cardinal exclaimed "Ah! fire, at Marli rain does not wet a perfon." One of these repartees is lively the other intipid. Anquetil's Memoirs of the Court of Louis XIV.

ROYAL CONDESCENSION.

At the time when the repeated

victories

victories of Marlborough and the allies had reduced Louis XIV. to great diftrefs for money, to carry on the war, there was at Paris á famous banker, Samuel Bernard, the richest man in Europe, whofe extenfive credit, could he have been prevailed with to favour the king with it, would have been a great refource amid the difficulties of the state. But as his majefty already owed him a great deal, and had often broken his word with him, he refused to accommo. date him with either money or bills. He was a man with whom the farmer general, receivers, and treafurers of the revenue, had oftener occafion to do business than he had any defire to fee them. He knew his confequence, and neceffity made them treat him with great deference, and much respectful attention. Defmarets in vain reprefented to him the urgent neceflities of the ftate, and reminded him of the profits he had made of his dealings with the king. Bernard remained inflexible." How`ever," faid the minister to the monarch" none but he can affift us. I know the flate of his affairs; he is very able, could we but overcome his infolent and pertinacious oblinacy. He is a man of foolish vanity, and would your majesty but condefcend to flatter him, might be perfuaded to open his purfe." The king confented; and, in order to try the expedient is as delicate a manner as poñible, it was agreed between them that Defmarets fhould invite Bernard to do business and dine with him at Marli. He prefented him to the king, as his majesty was going out to walk. Louis received him in the kindest manner, and, after fome obliging expreffions obferved: "So you have never feen Marli? Come with me; I shall bring you back time enough to Defmarets. Bernard attended. During the wa'k, the king tpoke to nobody but him, asked his opinion, pointed out every thing

to him, and explained all the beau-
ties of the place, with that graceful
condefcenfion, and in that enchant-
ing manner which he knew fo well
how to affume, when he chose to
overpower with his kindness. The
banker, when he returned to the
comptroller general, was actually at a
lofs for words to exprefs his admira-
tion of fo great, fo good, so affabie
a prince. In the extravagance of his
emotions, he would rather, he faid,
hazard ruining himself, than fee such
a monarch at a lofs. Defmarets took
him at his word, and obtained more
than he had expected. Anquetil

SUPERSTITIOUS WEAKNESS.

The count de Montreuil, a mar* fhal of France, diftinguished for his wit and courage, and a great favourite with the ladies, was fubject to more than feminine credulity. Previous to his departure for Alface, where he was appointed governor, he went to dine with Biron, after wards, duke, peer, and marshal of France. A falt-feller happening to be overturned on him, he inftantly became pale, and in violent trepidation cried out that he was a dead man. Being carried from the table to his own house, he was feized with a fever, and died in four days after. Anquetil.

Books of Love and DEVOTION.

The agreeable Menage has this acuse oblervation on the writings on love and religion.-Books of devotion and thofe of love are alike bought. The only difference I find is that there are more who read books of love than buy them; and there are more who buy books of devotion than read them.

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The Repofitory for detached Remarks, Anecdotes, &c.

Angelo, when it was finished he came to infpect it; and having for fome time fagacioufly confidered it, poring now on the face, then on the arms, the form of the leg, and, at length, on the foot itself; the ftatue being of fuch perfect beauty, he found himself at a lofs to display his powers of criticism, but by lavishing his praife. But he recollected that only to praife might appear as if there had been an obtuseness in the keennefs of his criticifm. He trembled to find a fault, but a fault muft be found. At length he ventured to mutter fomething concerning the nofe; it might, he thought, be fomewhat more Grecian. Angelo differed from his grace, but he faid he would attempt to gratify his taste. took up his chiffel, and concealed fome marble duft in his hand; and feigning to retouch the part, he adroitly let fall fome of the duft he held concealed. The cardinal obferving it fall, transported at the idea of his critical acumen, exclaimed, "Ah? Angelo! you have now given to it an inimitable grace."

Не

When Pope was first introduced to read his Iliad to lord Halifax, the noble critic did not venture to be diffatisfied with fo perfect a compofition: but, like the cardinal, this paffage and that word, this turn and that expreffion, formed the broken cant of his criticifms. The honeft poet was ftung with vexation, for, in general, the parts at which his lordship hefitated were thofe of which he was most satisfied. As he returned home with fir Samuel Garth, he revealed to him the anxiety of his mind. "Oh," replied Garth, laughing, "you are not fo well acquainted with his lordship as myself: he must criticife. At your next vifit, read to 5

679

him thofe very paffages as they now ftand; tell him that you have recollected his criticifms, and I'll warrant you of his approbation of them. This is what I have done a hundred times myself."--Pope made ufe of this ftratagem; it took, like the marble dult of Angelo; and my lord, like the car, dinal, exclaimed, "Dear Pope, they are now inimitable. Curiofities of Literature.

FASHIONS,

The origin of many, probably of moft, fashions was in the endeayour to conceal fome deformity in the inventor. Thus Charles the Seventh of France introduced long coats to hide his ill made legs, Shoes with very loag points, full two feet in length, were invented by Henry Plantagenet, duke of Anjou, to conceal a very large excrefcence which he had of his feet.

upon one

Sometimes fashions are quite reverfed in one age from thofe of another. Thus bags, when first in fashion in France, were only worn en difbabille. In vifits of ceremony, the hair was tied with a ribband, and floated over the fhoulders—all which is exactly contrary to our prefent fashion. Queen Isabella, of Bavaria, as remarkable for her gallantry as the fairness of her complexion, introduced a fafi on of leaving the fhoulders and Part of the neck uncovered.

In England, about the reign of Henry the Fourth, they wore long pointed fhoes, of fuch an immoderate length, that they could not walk till they were fastened to their knees with chains. Luxury improving on this ridiculous mode, it was the cuftom of an English beau, of the fourteenth century, to have thefe chains of gold or filver. A very accurate account of one of this

de

defcription may be found in Henry's Hifiory of Great Britain, in his chapter on Manners, &c. Vol. IV. The ladies of that period were not lefs fantasti al in their drefs; and it must be confefied that the mo cynical fairifts can have no reason, on a comparison with thofe times, to cenfure dur prefent modes.

She was in her twentieth yx, when firth young Lovemore paid bi addieffes to h.r. This youth wai of a very different complexi n from any of her former humile cranky he loved her heartily for her beauty; but he loved her more for her good humour and good-fenfe. He few how completely happy the man mut be, who gained fo rich a prize; and the bare thought of a poffibility of loting her gave him more real unca finets, while it lafled, than it is in the power of i eauty alone to create. She perceived his merit, and obferved how refpectfully he admired her. As it was contrary to the goodness of her heart to keep any one in a fate of fufpenfe, he was no fooner atlured of the equity of his inten

To this article as it may probably arkest the volatile eye of our fair reader, we add what may ferve as a hint for the heightening of her charms. Tacitus remarks of Poppea, the queen of Nere, that the concealed a part of her face: "To the end," he adds," that the imagination having fuller play by ini taring curiolity, they might think higher of her beauty than if the whole of her face had been ex-tions, but he made him both eafy pofed."

The VIRTUOUS FAIR,

LAVIA was left to the care of her own fortune, at the age of feventeen. Her mother, knowing her innate virtue and folid principles, thought thefe her propereft guardians. She thought right. Flivia's beauty and fortune, which were both confiderable, drew trouds of fluttering fops, and fortune-hunting rakes to her frine. The rakes imagined fo much youth and innocence could never refit their refined arts: the beaux depended upon the firiking chaims of their powdered paperfcolls. Had Flavia been so disposed, here was an ample field before her,

and happy, by giving her hand where her heart dictated Thote maxims, which preferved her in her youth, continued and increased her happiness in an advanced age.

Her husband, is for ever extolling the darling of his heart, and expson her virtues; indeed, every tiating one that knows her admires her, and bielings flow from every tongue on the head of the good, the benevolent Flavia.

WINDHAM PRIORY,

NORFOLK.

[With an elegant Engraving.]

HE Priory at Windham, or

in which fire might have fully indul. Wymondham, in Norfolk ged the vanity of her age and fex, and coquetted away, at once, both her innocence and happinefs. She, however, gave all these their anfwers as faft as they came, but with fo much fweetnefs and fenfibility, that the awed the rakes, and delight-weft tower, which laft was built s ed the fools.

was afterwards made an independent abbey. The east part of the nave, at the diffolution, was converted into a parish church, and fill remains with the middle and

1410.

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