the map. With regard to Canada, e very one knows, that, for four or five months of the year, all access to it is cut off by the ice; and for the other months, which are the lighteft, every ship must pass either by the gut of Can fo, or between Cape Breton and New foundland, or by the ftreights of Belleifle. The gut of Canfo is not above two or three miles over, and confequently one cruifer would prevent a fin, gle fhip's paffing that way. The paf fage between the easternmost point of Cape Breton, and the westernmost point of Newfoundland, is not fifty miles over; and therefore four or five cruifers ftationed there, would render it almoft impoffible for a fingle ship to pafs; and a fleet could not approach either of thofe paffages without being discovered by fome of our fishing veffels up on the banks, and intelligence thereof given to our fquadron at Louifburg. The only paffage then left is by the ftreights of Belleifle, and that paffage lies fo far north, that it can never be attempted but in the height of fummer; and, during that time, a man of war or two, with a small cruifer from Louifburg, ftationed at the fouth-west end of thofe ftreights, would probably intercept every fhip that attempted to pass, as the ftreights are not above ten miles over, but are above fixty in length. Thus, Sir, we might, in two or three years time, by mere famine alone, reduce the French colony of Canada; especially if, at the fame time, all fupplies were in a great measure prevented from being fent to the colony of Miffi. fippi; which might be eafly done, by a few fmall cruisers stationed upon the north fide of the bay of Mexico, under the protection of our fquadron at Jamai ca: for in that bay, the air is almost constantly so ferene and clear, that no ship can pass within fome miles of another, even in the night-time, without being discovered; and this colony too would foon be reduced to the utmoft distress, if they had no fupply of provifions from France, or of ammunition for enabling them to get provisions for them felves. I therefore think it evident, Sir, from the very nature of things, that if we had taken this method of beginning and profecuting the war, we might, in two or three years, have fo diftreffed their colonies upon the continent of North America, that they would have been glad to have furrendered to us their colony of Canada, in order to fave their colony of Miffifippi and their fugar iflands; for thefe too would have been reduced to great diftrefs, because our privateers would have fwarmed fo about them, that it would have been very difficult for them to get any fupply of provifions or ammunition: and thus we might, in a few years, have put a glorious end to the war, without any great expence, and without expofing our armies to the fatigue and danger of marching two or three hundred miles, by land, through a wild, defert, and impracticable country, to attack the forts which the French have lately built in America; and which, if reduced, could be of very little advantage to us, unless we likewife fubdued the colony of Canada itself. But, by our reprisals, we have given the French the alarm, fo that by this time I reckon they have fo well furnished all their colonies with troops, ammunition, and provifions, that we cannot propofe to reduce any of them by famine; and I believe we fhall now find it both difficult and expenfive to reduce any of them, especially Cape Breton, by force of arms. This will of course make the French lefs willing to agree to any reafonable terms of peace than they would otherwise have been; from whence any one may foresee, without being a conjuror, that a war is not only unavoidable, but that it will be an expenfive and a tedious war. Thus we may fee, Sir, what an unfortunate fituation we have brought our felves into, by fhewing an extreme, and, I think, unneceffary concern, left any of the allies of France fhould look upon us as the aggreffors in the war; and as feamen will be fo much wanted in the profecution of the war, I fhall not, for fuch a reafon, be against doing, or for delaying to do, what will contribute to wards wards encouraging feamen to enter into the government's fervice, or towards encouraging landmen to betake them felves to the fea-fervice; both which will, I am convinced, be the effect of the bill proposed; and therefore I fhall moft heartily agree to the Noble Lord's motion. [This Journal to be continned.] I ha To the author of the SCOTS MAGAZINE. SIR, Perthshire, Feb. 1757. Noculating for the Imall pox is found fo useful, that I cannot but it regret fhould, because of the expence attending it, and their distance from furgeons, be out of the reach of poor highlanders; among whom, in a neighbouring parifh, this dreadful difeafe makes great vock. Might not inoculating be learned, as well as blood-letting, midwifery, &c. without the knowledge of the other parts of furgery? or might not perfons of prudence and difcretion, by the help of fome general directions, perform this operation? Humanity would, one fhould think, induce thofe who have it in their power, to contribute to the faving fo many lives; and public fpirit fhould be a further inducement, at this time, when they are draining the highlands of fo many men to ferve in his Majefty's army. Could the bad effects of this terrible difeafe be prevented, the highlands might, like the northern hive of old, pour forth fwarms fufficient to fupply the lofs of fuch as are killed by war abroad or by luxury at home.If a hint to this purpose were inferted in the Scots Magazine, it might poffibly fall into the hands of fome, who, bleffed with com paffion, public fpirit, and power, might contribute towards fo good a defign. STANZAS written by Lord CAPEL, when a prifoner inthetower during Cromwel's ufurpation. Bswell, curled waves, high as Jove's roof; Eat on, proud billows; Boreas, blow; Your incivilities do plainly fhow, That innocence is tempeft-proof. A private clofet is to me: To keep rogues out, and keep me in: Into this private room I'm turn'd; The falamander fhould be burn'd: 4 Or, like thofe fophifts who would drown a fifli, I am condemn'd to suffer what I wish. Naked on frozen Caucafus: . I'm in this cabinet lock'd up, Like fome high-prized margarite; I as my mistress' favours wear; Thinking to make his purpose fure; Did only wound him to his cure: Neither in perfon, nor in coin; That renders what I have not, mine: Her boughs are trees, her cage a pleasant grove. · I am that bird which they combine Thus to deprive of liberty; my And though my corpfe they can confine, My foul is free as is th' ambient air, Which doth my outward parts include; Whilft loyal thoughts do ftill repair, To 'company my folitude. What tho' they do with chains my body bind ? My King can only captivate my mind. In fome copies of this poem the following stanza is inferted between the feventh and eighth : When once my prince affliction hath, Profperity doth treafon feem; And for to fmooth fo rough a path, I can learn patience from him. But now to fuffer fhews a legal part; (fmart. When kings want eafe, fubjects must learn to But this ftanza utterly deftroys the uniformity of the poem, and is inconfiftent with every other part of it. The defign of the whole is, to reprefent as benefits, what bad by his enemies been intended as punishments; and to fhew, that " Malice wants wit to effect its purpofe." But this fianza contains an acknowledgment, that Malice has effected its purpose upon him; that he fuffers; and that it is fit be fhould fuffer. For this reafon, and because it is not in all copies, it is omitted in this, either as compofed by the author, and afterwards rejected, or as interpolated by fome other. Gent. Mag. N. B. Our readers have formerly feen another copy of this poem, ascribed to a loyalist of our own country. [x. 278.] To the Lords of the A- Y. [45.] My Lords, 'T IS the humble opinion of us the courtmartial, (A court of all courts most surely impartial !) That A- L BG his utmost did not To engage and adjudge him for that to be hot. But to palliate his crime, with def'rence we fhew, In our fentence, diftinctions quite subtle and new: That 'twas prov'd he ne'er fhew'd any tokens of fear, (And how the plague could be-fo far in the rear!) Or, more clear to refine it, we've fhewn in effect, On Mr PITT's being indifpofed with the gout. For be to Putt's activity a foc. LY, Gout, and feize the lazy Papal toe, Ye gods! he afks no more than firm to fland: Give him a foot, he'll fix the tott'ring land. ( Extract from a poem on the barbarities of the French, and their favage allies and profelytes, on the frontiers of Virginia. By Sam. Davies, A. M. Ong had a mungrel French and Indian brood tifh blood. There Horror rang'd, and her dire enfigns bore, Alarm the flumb'rers, and break off their dreams. And roufe the terrors of the loweft hell: But fee! on Mononghala's fatal banks, Now Now horrid fhrieks, and dying groans and cries, And favage beafts carous'd and howl'd by night. PROLOGUES and EPILOGUE to Douglas. PROLOGUE I. Spoken at Edinburgh. IN of came when Fredian word, N days of claffic fame, when Perfia's lord Flourish'd the ftate of Athens; small her ftore, Such proud pre-eminence not valour gave, Above the reft the tragic Mufe admir'd, Each Attic breaft with nobleft paffions fir'd. In peace their poets with their hero's fhar'd Glory, the hero's, and the bard's reward. The tragic Mufe each glorious record kept, And o'er the kings fhe conquer'd, Athens wept' Here let me cafe; impatient for the scene, To you I need not praife the tragic queen. Oft has this audience foft compaffion fhewn, To woes of heroes, heroes not their own: This night our feenes no common tear demand, He comes, the hero of your native land! DOUGLAS, a name thro' all the world renown'd, A name that roufes like the trumpet's found! Oft have your fathers, prodigal of life, A Douglas follow'd through the bloody ftrife; Hofts have been known at that dread name to yield, And, Douglas dead, his name hath won the field. * See the Perfai of Aschylus. If they fhall flow, back to the Muse he flies, PROLOGUE II. Spoken at Covent-Garden. When powerful fate decreed one warrior's doom, AN Epilogue I afk'd; but not one word Our bard will write. He vows, 'tis moft The nobleft paffion of the human breast: EPIGRAM. AS dame Religion, in the shade, Deep-mufing hung her facred head, To the author of the SCOTS MAGAZIN TH E The one represents the actions of common life and compofitions of this nature have been the moft liable to abuse; HE ftage has been, of late, the because wit and ridicule are sometimes principal fubject of converfation found to be petulant, and the familiariand difpute in this city [18. 47. 56.]. ty of this ftyle is more eafily mixed with It has likewife occupied the prefs; and indecencies. But the perfection of cothere is perhaps no perfon now living, medy confifts in expofing to juft ridicule who has feen here fo much printed ab- the follies and abfurd vices of ordinary ufe in fo fhort a time. The theatre men: where it fails in this purpose, the has been attacked with rhyme and dog- abufe is manifeft, and will be condemngerel; its defence has been made with ed by every judicious audience. Trathe fame weapons; and perfonal abuse gedy, on the other hand, is ferious, has not been spared on either fide. Cool grave, and majeftic: it reprefents the reafoning has, however, been attempt actions of great men, and their conduct ed in one pamphlet *; and it may not chiefly on great and interefting occafions; be difagreeable to your readers to know their ftruggles in difficult and diftreffing a little of what it contains. It is re- fituations, where the fentiments they markable, that although this difpute exprefs raife admiration or pity, and took its rife from the reprefentation of a where the very faults they commit benew tragedy; yet we have not been recome fo many warnings to the fpectator. ferred to the standards of good poetry for Every tragedy therefore contains a ftory, a decifion, nor have we feen any at- and may convey instruction in the fame tempts in the way of critical reflection manner with a parable or fable. It dif on the fubject. Such indeed may have fers only in the form, and not in the efbeen the train of converfation among fect. In a parable, the ftory is rela people of fenfe; but the chief question ted; in tragedy, the fubject is expreffed with the public has been, Whether we by fome action and conversation which fhould condemn the theatre as an im- is reprefented, and we are left to collect pious and immoral institution? The the story from the fpeeches of the perwriter referred to above, confines him- fons concerned in it. In a parable, we felf to this question; and infists, that no wait for the moral till the story is conclucompofition fhould be condemned mere- ded, when the whole appears to have ly because it is in the form of a play, been an illuftration of fome moral preunless it has an ill moral tendency. He cept; in a good tragedy, we have a proves, that plays may have a tenden- continued moral from beginning to end; cy favourable to virtue; and that there the characters, the fentiments, and the are inftances of regard paid to fuch obfervations, which come from the percompofitions even in holy writ: Paul fons who fpeak, are calculated to move quotes a fentence from one of the Greek and inftruct us; and we are deeply eng poets, As xvii. 28. which shows that gaged by fuch reprefentations, because he was fenfible of the inftructions and we take part with amiable characters, good impreffions we may receive from and become anxious about the event. poetry, and has inferted into the facred It muft appear ftrange, to fay, that etext, 1 Cor. XV. 33. a line from a Greek very ftory, parable, or fable, either in play which now fubfifts: Be not deceived: the form of narration, or in that of a Evil communications corrupt good manners. tragedy, must be a wrong thing in it. He obferves, that perfons who need felf." much information on this head, may likewife need to be told what is the nature of a play; and he gives fome notion "Plays," fays he," are of wo kinds, called tragedy and comedy. * Morality of stage-plays seriously confidered. VOL. XIX. of it. He goes on to illuftrate the inftruction and good impreffions derived from a moral tragedy, by confidering the fcripture-history of Jofeph and his inhuman brothers; which part of his argument he concludes with the following reflections. M "Whilft |