north of Ireland. The event of the engagement which took place is too well known to render a repetition necessary; but a circumstance which occurred during the encounter, reflects too much honour on the judgement of Mr Pasley to be omitted. The Lolus had fallen on board the French coamodore's ship, the Bellisle of 44 guns, the bowsprit hanging over that ship's quarter deck, and was consequently not only left exposed to the whole weight of the enemy's fire, without being able to bring a single gun to bear on her antagonist, but also compelled to engage the Blonde, of 36, at the same time with her aftermost guns, that frigate having fallen on board the Æolus. In this perilous situation Mr Pasley called the men from the foremost guns, which he at that time commanded; and having boarded the enemy at their head from the bowsprit, made himself master of the deck, and obtained entire possession of the ship. As soon as this conquest was atchieved, he sent on board the Æolus for an English jack, which he immediately hoisted on board the prize, as her signal of surrender.Captain Elliot, soon after his arrival at Portsmouth with his prizes, was removed into another ship, but Mr Pasley retained his station under captain, now Lord Hotham, who was appointed to succeed him, and with whom he continued till the year 1762. In the Æolus, Mr Pasley returned to his former occupation of cruizing, but was not concerned in any advantage more material than the capture of five or six privateers of insignificant force, and of a valuable French ship outward bound, from Bourdeaux to St Domingo, called the Formidable. On the return of the Æolus to England, Mr Pasley had the satisfaction to find that he had been promoted, during his ab-, sence, to the rank of commander, and was appointed to the Albany sloop of war, a vessel employed in convoying ships to and from the port of Milford After some continuance in that sloop, be removed into the Weasel, in which he had before served as a midshipman, and proceeded to the coast of Guinea, From the Weasel he was appointed to the Pomona, of 18 guns, and was or dered to Greenock, on the impress service, in consequence of the apprehended rupture with Spain respecting the Falkland islands. In 1771, he was promoted to the rank of PostCaptain, and being appointed to the Sea-horse, of 20 guns, he sailed to the West Indies, where he rendered material service during the contest with the Caribs. Having returned to England the ensuing year, and the Seahorse being put out of commission, he continued unemployed till 1776. He was then appointed to the Glasgow, and sent out to the West Indies, to convoy thither a valuable fleet of merchantmen, consisting of 120 sail. This charge he executed so much to the satisfaction of all concerned, that he received the thanks of the cities of London, Bristol, and other ports, and a handsome piece of plate was presented to him, as a more substantial proof of the approbation of the merchants. On his return to England, Captain Pasley performed a similar service; and, with the exception of the present, he had the satisfaction of receiving similar honours. Soon after his arrival in England, he was appointed to the Sybil of 28 guns, and sent with Admiral Edwards to the Newfoundland station. In 1780, he was promoted to the Jupiter of 50. guns, and at the commencement of the ensuing year, sailed with Commodore Johnstone on a secret expedition. In the attack made on the British squadron by M. de Suffrein, in Porto Praya Road, the Jupiter was particularly distinguished for the power and force of her fire; and amidst the torrent of abuse which was undeservedly thrown on some persons concerned in that encounter, the conduct of Captain Pasley was very justly ap plauded plauded by all parties. The subsequent operations of the British squadron were, as it is well known, confined to the capture of a fleet of Dutch India ships, surprised in Saldanha Bay. On its return, the Jupiter was, in May 1782, ordered to proceed to the West Indies with Admiral Pigot, who was sent out to supercede Lord Rodney, in the chief command of the fleet employed in that quarter. The Jupiter, soon after her arrival, was ordered on a cruize off the Havannah, and Capt. Pasley had the good fortune to take five out of thirteen vessels which he fell in with. The crew of one of these prizes, however, having risen on the English that were put into her, succeeded in their attempt, and carried her into the Havannah, where they informed the Spanish Admiral of the situation of the Jupiter, which had struck upon a shoal. He accordingly dispatched a ship of 84, and another of 64 guns, to take or destroy her. Captain Pasley had, meanwhile, succeeded in getting the Jupiter afloat; but almost immediately fell in with the Tiger, the largest of the Spanish ships. The enemy immediately gave chace, and gained considerably on the Jupiter, which had sustained considerable injury. At the dawn of day, the Tiger, being within gun - shot, and Captain Pasley finding escape impossible, called together his crew, to whom he addressed a short but spirited harangue. He declared his intention of attacking, the enemy, which was warmly approved by three hearty cheers. The Jupiter brought to, and prepared for action. The enemy, probably in timidated by this appearance of resolution, immediately hauled their wind, and suffered the Jupiter to continue her voyage unmolested. Captain Pasley immediately sailed for Antigua, to refit; and hostilities ceasing soon after, the Jupiter proceeded to Chatham, where she was put out of com mission. The five years which immediately succeeded the cessation of hos tilities, were passed by Captain Pasley in the relaxation of domestic retirement. In 1788, he was invested with the chief command in the Medway, and hoisted his broad pendant on board the Vengeance. From this station he removed, first into the Scipio, and then into the Bellerophon. In the latter, he was ordered to join the Channel fleet, in consequence of the apprehended ruptures with Russia and Spain. These disputes being compromised, he repaired to Chatham, where he continued during the customary period allotted to such a command.Retiring for a time from the service, he again remained unemployed till the commencement of the war with France in 1793. He was then appointed, as an established Commodore, to hoist his broad pendant on board his former ship, the Bellerophon, and ordered to join the main fleet, under the orders of Lord Howe. On the 12th of April 1794, being advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the White, he hoisted his flag on board the same ship to which he had been so long attached. In the partial affairs, which preceded the glorious 1st of June, as well as in the engagement on that day, the Bellerophon took a conspicuous part; and towards the conclusion of the conflict, Admiral Pasley had the misfortune to lose his leg. He had, however, the satisfaction to receive every palliative to his wound, which the attention of his sovereign, his commander, and his country, could bestow. His Majesty conferred on him the dignity of a baronet, accompanied with a pension of 10001. a-year. The personal injury he had sustained necessarily deprived the nation of his farther services in an active capacity. In 1798, in consequence of the mutiny at the Nore, Sir Thomas was appointed for a short time commander-in-chief in the Thames and Medway; but relinquished this station as soon as the trials of the mutineers were concluded. In 1799, he was appointed Port-Admiral at Portsmouth, 1 mouth, where he displayed the same activity and ability which constantly marked his character, while the unimpaired state of his body permitted him to engage in a more interesting department of the service. Sir Thomas married Mary, daughter of Thomas Heywood, Esq. Chief Justice of the Isle of Man, who died in 1788, and was buried at Avignon, in France; by whom he had two daughters, Maria, married to Captain Sabine, of the Guards, and Magdalen. He died at his seat, near Alton, Hampshire, aged 74. Had I the slightest previous intimation, been turned adrift, with my helpless family, to all the horrors of want. had any other resource, probably I might have saved them the trouble of a dismission; but the little money I gained by my publication, is almost every guinea embarked, to save from ruin an only brother, who, though one of the worthiest, is by no means one of the most fortunate of men. In my defence to their accusations, I said, that whatever might be my sentiments of republics, ancient or modern, as to Britain, I abjured the idea: That a CONSTITUTION, which, in its original principles, experience had proved to be every way fitted for our BURNS's Letter to MR ERSKINE of happiness in society, it would be insa MAR. From “ Reliques of Robert Burns." SIR, Dumfries, 13th April, 1793. DEGENERATE as human nature is said to be; and in many instances, worthless and unprincipled it is; still there are bright examples to the contrary: examples that even in the eyes of superior beings, must shed a lustre on the name of Man. Such an example have I now before me, when you, Sir, came forward to patronise and befriend a distant obscure stranger, merely because poverty had made him helpless, and his British hardihood of mind had provoked the arbitrary wantonness of power.My much esteemed friend, Mr Riddel of Glenriddel, has just read me a paragraph of a letter he had from you.Accept, Sir, of the silent throb of gratitude; for words would but mock the emotions of my soul. You have been misinformed as to my final dismission from the Excise; I am still in the service. Indeed, but for the exertions of a gentleman who must be known to you, Mr Graham of Fintray, a gentleman who has ever been my warm and generous friend, I had, without so much as a hearing, or nity to sacrifice to an untried visionary theory:-That, in consideration of my being situated in a department, however humble, immediately in the hands of people in power, I had forborne taking any active part, either personally, or as an author, in the present business of RF.FORM. But that, where I must declare my sentiments, I would say there existed a system of corruption between the executive power and the representative part of the legislature, which boded no good to our glorious CONSTITUTION; and which every patriotic Briton must wish to see amended. - Some such sentiments as these, I stated in a letter to my generous patron Mr Graham, which he laid before the Board at large: where, it seems, my last remark gave great offence; and one of our supervisors general, a Mr Corbet, was instructed to enquire on the spot, and to document me-" that my business was to act, not to think; and that whatever might be men or measures, it was for me to be silent and obedient." Mr Corbet was likewise my steady friend; so between Mr Graham and him, I have been partly forgiven; only I understand that all hopes of my getting officially forward, are blasted. Now, Sir, to the business in which I would more immediately interest you. The partiality of my countrymen, has brought me forward as a man of genius, and has given me a character to support. In the poet I have avowed manly and independent sentiments, which I trust will be found in the man. Reasons of no less weight than the support of a wife and family, have pointed out as the eligible, and situated as I was, the only eligible line of life for me, my present occupation. Still my honest fame is my dearest concern; and a thousand times have I trembled at the idea of those degrading epithets that malice or misrepresentation may affix to my name. I have often, in blasting anticipation, listened to some future hackney scribbler, with the heavy malice of savage stupidity, exulting in his hireling paragraphs" Burns, notwithstanding the fanfaronade of independence to be found in his works, and after having been held forth to public view, and to public estimation as a man of some genius, yet, quite destitute of resources within himself to support his borrowed dignity, he dwindled into a paltry exciseman, and slunk out the rest of his insignificant existence in the meanest of pursuits, and among the vilest of mankind." In your illustrious hands, Sir, permit me to lodge my disavowal and defiance of these slanderous falsehoods.Burns was a poor man from birth, and an exciseman by necessity: but I will say it! the sterling of his honest worth, no poverty could debase, and his independent British mind, oppression might bend, but could not subdue. Have not I, to me, a more precious stake in my country's welfare, than the richest dukedom in it? -I have a large family of children, and the prospect of many more. have three sons, who, I see already, have brought into the world souls ill qualified to inhabit the bodies of slaves. Can I look tamely on, and see any machination to wrest from them the birthright of my boys, the little independent Britons in whose veins runs my own blood? - No! I will not! should my heart's blood stream around my attempt to defend it! Does any man tell me, that my full efforts can be of no service; and that it does not belong to my humble statien to meddle with the concern of a nation? I can tell him, that it is on such individuals as I, that a nation has to rest, both for the hand of support, and the eye of intelligence. The uninform'd mob, may swell a nation's bulk; and the titled, tinsel, courtly throng, may be its feathered ornament; but the number of those who are elevated enough in life to reason and to reflect; yet low enough to keep clear of the venal contagion of a court;-these are a nation's strength. I know not how to apologize for the impertinent length of this epistle; but one small request I must ask of you farther-When you have honoured this letter with a perusal, please to commit it to the flames. Burns, in whose behalf you have so generously interested yourself, I have here, in his native colours drawn as he is; but should any of the people in whose hands is the very bread he eats, get the least knowledge of the picture, it would ruin the poor Bard for ever! My poems having just come out in another edition, I beg leave to present you with a copy, as a small mark of that high esteem and ardent gratitude with which I have the honour to be, SIR, Your deeply indebted, And ever devoted humble servant. I General Observations on SCOTTISH Songs, by BURNS. (From the Same.) HOWEVER I am pleased with the works of our Scotch poets, particularly cularly the excellent Ramsay, and the still more excellent Fergusson, yet I am hurt to see other places of Scotland, their towns, rivers, woods, haughs, &c. immortalized in such celebrated performances, while my dear native country, the ancient bailieries of Carrick, Kyle, and Cunningham, famous both in ancient and modern times for a gallant and warlike race of inhabi song set to the same tune in Bremner's collection of Scotch songs, which begins, "To Fanny fair could I impart, &c." it is most exact measure, and yet, let them both be sung before a real critic, one above the biasses of prejudice, but a thorough judge of nature,--how flat and spiritless will the last appear, how trite, and lamely methodical, compared with the wild tants; a country where civil, and par-warbling cadence, the heart-moving ticularly religious liberty have ever And if there is no other scene of being melody of the first. This is particularly the case with all those airs which end with a hypermetrical syllable.There is a degree of wild irregularity in many of the compositions and fragments which are daily sung to them by my compeers, the common people, a certain happy arrangement of old Scottish syllables, and yet, very frequently, nothing, not even like rhyme, or sameness of jingle, at the ends of the lines. This has made me sometimes imagine that, perhaps it might be possible for a Scotch poet, with a nice judicious ear, to set compositions to many of our most favourite airs, particularly that class of them mentioned above, independent of rhyme altogether. There is a noble sublimity, a heartmelting tenderness, in some of our ancient ballads, which shew them to be the work of a masterly hand: and it has often given me many a heart-ache to reflect that such glorious old bards, bards who very probably owed all their talents to native genius, yet have described the exploits of heroes, the pangs of disappointment, and the meltings of love, with such fine strokes of nature--that their very names (O how mortifying to a bard's vanity!) are now "buried among the wreck of things which were." O ye illustrious names unknown! who could feel so strongly and describe so well; the last, the meanest of the muses train-one who, though far inferior to your flights, yet eyes your path, and with trembling wing would sometimes soar after you a poor rus |