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On Human Life,

FROM funny fcenes, from days of joy,

To hours of dark diftrefs,
Alas! how many fink, among
The hapless human race.

Thrown headlong on a guileful world,
They, artlefs, do not know,
Sincere and fimple in themselves,
They fancy others fo.

Hence do we find that men of worth,
Are oft to want betray'd;
Hence is the hopeful youth undone,
And hence the ruin'd maid.

The world's a wide and thorny wild,
Where many fnares are hid;
And much of caution is requir'd
The devious wild to tread.

To Night, a Sonnet.

I LOVE thee, mournfu! fober-suited night, When the fair moon, yet ling'ring in her wane, And veil'd in clouds, with pale uncertain light Hangs o'er the waters of the restless main.

In deep depreffion funk, the enfeebl'd mind Will to the deaf, cold elements complain, And tell th' embosom'd grief, however vain, To fullen furges and the viewless wind.

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Though no repofe on thy dark breaft I find, I ftill enjoy thee, cheerlefs as thou art; For in thy quiet gloom, th' exhausted heart Is calm, though wretched; hopeless, yet refigned, While to the wind and waves its forrows given, May reach, though loft on earth, the ear of heaven!!

1791.

LITERARY INTELLIGENCER.

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Defcription of the Niffer Werk, or Golden Eagle, from Bruce.

AMONG other benefits that fociety will derive from the publication of Mr Bruce's travels, must be ranked the enlargement of our knowledge in natural hiftory. Various objects in the animal and vegetable kingdom, that were entirely unknown in Europe, are here described and illuftrated by drawings of uncommon elegance,

The bird which forms the fubject of this article, if not the largest in the known world, is at least the largest of the eagle kind. "From wing to wing he was eight feet four inches. From the top of his tail to the point of his beak, when dead, four feet feven inches. He weighed twentytwo pounds."

This noble bird had strength and courage proportioned to his fize. Living in the uninhabited defart, he knows pot the power, nor has he learnt to dread the arts of man, Ignorant of danger, therefore, he fhuns not man, but purfues his prey, without regarding the efforts he may make to deter him. 66 Upon the highest top of the mountain Lamalmon," fays Mr Bruce, "while my fervants were refreshing themselves from that toilfome and rugged afcent, and enjoying the pleasure of a moft delightful climate, eating their dinner in the outer air, with feveral large difhes of bbiled goat's flesh before them, this enemy, as he turned out to be to them, appeared fuddenly: he did not ftoop rapidly from a height, but came flying flowly along the ground, and fat down clofe to the meat, within the ring the men had made round it. A great fhout, or rather cry of diftrefs, called me to the place. I faw the eagle stand for a minute, as if to recollect himfelf, while the fervants ran for their lances and fhield. I walked up as near to him as I had time to do. His attention was fully fixed upon the flesh. I faw him put his foot into the pan, where was a large piece, in the water, prepared for boiling; but finding the smart which he had not expected, he withdrew it, and forfook the piece which he held.

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THE BEE, OR

Jan. 12. "There were two large pieces, a leg and a fhoulder, lying upon a wooden platter. Into these he truffed both his claws, and carried them off; but I thought he looked wistfully at the large piece which remained in the warm water. Away he went flowly along the ground as he had come. The face of the cliff over which criminals are thrown, took him from our fight."

He foon, however, returned, and gave Mr Bruce a fair opportunity of shooting him, which gave occafion for obferving a phenomenon, not a little fingular in its kind. "Upon laying hold of his monstrous carcafe," our adventurous traveller proceeds," I was not a little furprised at feeing my hands covered and tinged with yellow powder or duft. Upon turning him upon his belly, and examining the feathers of his back, they produced a brown duft, the colour of the feathers there. This duft was not in fmall quantities; for, upon ftriking his breast, the yellow powder flew out in fully greater quantity than from a hair-dreffer's powder puff. The feathers of the belly and breast, which were of a gold colour, did not appear to have any thing extraordinary in their formation; but the large feathers in the fhoulder and wings feemed apparently to be fine tubes, which, upon preffure, fcattered this duft upon the finer part of the feathers; but this was brown, the colour of the feathers of the back."

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What the ufes of this powder were intended by nature, traveller is at a lofs to fay. He conjectures it may have been intended in fome way to fortify the animal against the rigours of the feafon it would experience in that lofty fituaation: But this conjecture does not feem to be corroborated by the other facts he there ftates. However this may be, it feems to be a peculiarity of this animal of a very uncommon kind, and might well have entitled it to the name of the POWDERED EAGLE, a name which would have prevented the danger of confounding it with another eagle, which has long been known by that of the Golden Eagle,

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HISTORICAL CHRONICLE.

INTRODUCTION.

I a

A Curfory VIEW of the prefent POLITICAL STATE of

EUROPE.

Ruffia.

For many years paft, the Ruffian empire has made a very confpicuous figure in the political affairs of Europe. Ambition, however, rather than wisdom, has characterised the operations, of that court in modern times. The territorial extent of that empire is much greater than to admit of a proper form of government; yet, blind to this great defect, the Empress has long exerted her utmost efforts to extend as far as poffible the boundaries of her dominions; and with that view, has kindled up a war that has been productive of Little does much mischief, and of little benefit to any one, the feem to think that he is thus preparing afar off the means of effectually curtailing the enormous extent of her overgrown dominions.

But though this conduct be not wife in the Empress, who cannot foresee to what point it ultimately tends, it may be very consistent with the views of fome of her counsellors, For feveral years paft, the court of Ruffia has been overawed by the uncontroulable influence of Potemkin; a man of a daring and impetuous difpofition of mind, who has been raifed by the favour of his fovereign from a low state to the highest exaltation of power; a power which is now fo firmly established, as to give his recommendations the force of commands, and his fuggeftions a certainty of being implicitly adopted. This man, who now poffeffes a dictatorial command of the army, and an unlimited power of drawing whatever fums he pleases from the public treasury, has carried on his military operations against the Turks with all the ardour that might be expected from a man of undaunted courage, in the prime of life, who is bleffed with a found conftitution, great bodily ftrength, an unbounded com

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mand of money and of men, with the profpect of conquer ing for himself an independents principality. But, destitute of thofe great military talents which characterife the accomplished general, his attacks have been rather furious than irresistible nor have his fucceffes been adequate to the ardour of his wishes, or the means that were put in his power; and he has now reafon to fear that he may be pres vented, by a general pacification, from establishing, at this time, the defireable fovereignty which has long afforded fuch a pleafing fubject of contemplation to him. com 13 But though it be doubtful if he will be able to do as much as he intended, there feems little reason to apprehend, that he will not be able to obtain for himself fome fort of fovereign independent power, under the apparent controul of the Ruffian empire: And were he not a man of fuch defpotic difpofitions, and arbitrary principles, as to give no hopes of any reafonable fyftem of government ever being adopted by him, perhaps this dismemberment of the Ruffian empire is what all European powers ought to promote. Should a new kingdom be established on the confines of the Turkish and Ruffian empires, adjoining to the Black Sea, under a fyftem of government purely European, founded on commercial and pacific principles, perhaps nothing could contribute fo much to the general well-being of mankind in thofe regions of the earth. The Turk has now felt fo strongly the difagreeable effects of being obliged to contend with! the neighbouring great powers, that little influence would be required to induce that hitherto intractable court to granta to fuch a state thofe commercial privileges that would be neceffary for infuring its own profperity and the fertility of the foil is fuch, and the fituation for commerce fo favour able, that under a wife administration, this kingdom might foon attain fuch vigour as to become refpectable among all

nations.

The time, however, does not feem to be as yet arrived for this happy establishment: nor is Potemkin the man cal-> culated to bring it forward. That he aims at fovereign power is fcarcely to be doubted: That he has fecured great fums of money in foreign countries to be ready at command, is generally believed; but whether he will be able to effect his final etablishment, or whether he will be obliged to conse

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