Mag. Compendious Hifiary of France. In mayor of the palace, Plectrude retired with Theudoalde to Cologne; but her grandfon did not long furvive the battle. the mean time, Charles Martel escaping from prifon, repaired to Auftrafia, where the people received him as their duke; and he collected a good number of troops from the scattered remains of the army which had been defeated. Dagobert was employed in making preparations for driving Plectrude from Cologne, when his expedition was fruftrated by his death, and his crown devolved to his only fon, a child at the breaft, furnamed Thierri of Chelles, from the place of his nativity. Rainfroy and his adherents having occafion for a king of fome courage and capacity, fet afide Thierri, and bringing from a convent Daniel, the fon of Childeric II. befowed upon him the crown, with the appellation of Chilperic. This prince, though an ecclefiaftic, manifefted great fpirit and addrefs. All his efforts were directed against Charles Martel, who inherited all the qualities and ambition of his father, and had by this time compromifed all differences with his mother-in-law Plectrude. peric having fecured the alliance of the Frifons, who levied an army to co-operate with him in the field, marched in perfon into Auftrafia; while they gave battle to Charles Martel, and gained an advantage over him. This check enabled Chil peric to effect a junction with the conquerors, and undertake the fiege of CoFogne. But Plectrude having gratified his allies with a confiderable fum of money, they retired to their own country, and the king was obliged to defift. In his retreat, he was harraffed by the forces of Charles Martel, who at length attacked his camp in the foreft of Arden, and obtained a victory, which augmented his credit and reputation to fuch a degree, that he foon found himself at the head of an army fufficient to act upon the offenfive against his enemies. Chil [An. 717.] Thus reinforced, he marched towards Cambray, where Chilperic and his mayor had established their head-quarters; and a battle enfuing in the neighbour hood of Arras, both fides fought with uncommon obftinacy; till at length, victory declared for Charles Martel, who made the best ufe of his good fortune; 655 ravaged the country as far as Paris, and [To le continued.] An Account of a new Tragedy entitled Hecuba. .... HIS tragedy confifts only of three acts, but thofe fo long as to render the time of its reprefentation nearly equal to that of a five act tragedy. The flory of it is from the history of the Trojan war, at the period, when after the facking of that famous city, the Grecian fleet lay wind-bound at Cherfonefus, and the conduct of the plot is as follows. The first act is opened by Ulyffes, (Mr. Davis) who in the courfe of a converfation with a Greek named Talthybius, (Mr. Caftle) and of a i foliloquy, gives the audience to understand, that Hecuba the widow of king Priam, and her daughter Polyxnea, are now captives in the Grecian camp; but that an embaffy is arrived from Pyrechmus, king of Pæonia, to treat with Agamemnon for their ranfom...... This, however, he appears to be strongly against complying with, from the apprehenfion that a new progeny may fpring from Polyxena, which may again refume the caufe of Troy, and give disturbance to the Greeks. ..... Something, moreover, myfterious appears, with respect to the Pæonian ambalador, a youth named Eriphilus, (Mr. Holland) who comes under the tutelage and guardianship of a reverend fage, of the name of Melanthus, (Mr. Havard.)....The youth foon appears, and in a converfation first with Ulyffes, and afterwards with Polyxena, (Mifs Bride) confirms the fufpicion that he is more interested than an abfolute stranger could -be in the concerns of Hecuba and her family, particularly in the last of these conferences, he vows to revenge the murder of a fon of Hecuba, named Polidore, who for the fake of his treasures had been put to death by Polymestor, his brother-in-law, to whofe charge he had been committed by his mother. The queen next appears, (Mrs. Pritchard) whofe griefs being fo great, as to feem beyond the reach of any relief, the is with difficulty perfuaded even to fee Eriphilus: at length, however, convinced by his eloquence, and urged by tenderness for her daughter, the is prevailed on to accept of Pyrechmus's friendly offer, and take refuge in the Pronian court; and with this determination the act concludes. however, this dawn of hope is converted into defpair, by a decree of Chalcas the Grecian prieft, who had declared, that the adverfe winds which detained their fleet, would never find an alteration till Polyxena should be facrificed to the manes of Achilles, whose shade had appeared, and demanded that attonement for his death.....The queen's diftrefs is now beyond all bounds, and a fine fcene enfues, in which, notwithstanding the tendereft and most fubmiffive pleadings of Hecuba with Ulyffes, (who had moreover been indebted to her for his own life, when Helen difcovered him in difguife in the court of Priam,) Polyxena is borne off to facrifice. After fome little time, however, which is paffed by the queen in the various extremes of grief and rage, news is brought that as the princefs was conveying to the temple, Eriphilus, with his Pæonian guards, had refcued her from the Greeks, and was haftening with her to his fhips, to which there was hope they might arrive before they could be overtaken by a party of the Greeks, which was in pursuit of them. The queen now earneft to know further particulars of this heroic youth, who had, as the herself expreffes it, made himself a brother to her daughter, is at length informed by Melanthus, that he is indeed her brother, being that long loft Polidore, which he had fuppofed to be flain by Polymestor, but whom he himself, whofe real name is Eumelus, had preferved and trained up. .To confirm this, he produces a wreath wrought with her own hands, which the child had on when delivered to Polymeftor..... Her grief is now converted into an extafy of joy; but on the entrance of Ulyffes, who comes to perfuade her to recal Eriphilus and Polyxena, telling her, that perhaps the life of the former may be accepted instead of the latter, fhe is near betraying the fecret, when the conference is broken by a meffenger, who informs Ulyffes, that Eriphilus has again routed the Greeks who had intercepted him, on which Ulyffes goes himself to the field, and the act ends. The third act begins with Eriphilus in chains, to whom Melanthus foon enters At the beginning of the fecond at, and gives a very fine narrative of the fa 2 crifice crifice of Polyxena, by the hand of Pyrrhus at the temple.. The young hero's rage and grief are here inexpreflible, yet the torment of the latter paffion is greatly heightened by the entrance of the queen, who not having heard of her daughter's death, but on the contrary, imagining he had placed her in fafety previous to his being feized, indulges a joy which he can not bring himself to overthrow, by telling her the fatal truth, .... She is foon however undeceived by Ulyffes, who in order to difcover the mystery of Eriphilus's real character, declares at his entrance, that Polyxena with her dying breath had difclofed the fecret..... This, however, although a falfhood, alarming her for the Safety of her now only child, she, in her fupplications to Ulyffes to preferve him, declares the real truth, and owns him to be her fon. Eriphilus, on this, being attacked by the fword of Ulyffes, endeavours to avenge himfelf with a dagger, which he had just before borrowed of Melanthus, but finding himself too clofely befet by the guards, turns the point on his own breast and falls. This catastrophe compleating the fum of Hecuba's diftreffes, the continues for a time in a state of filent infenfibility, after which she starts up in a rage of frenzy, with which he goes off, and the piece terminates with a short moral by Melanthus, on the instability of human glory. Such is the plot of the play, in which the unities are clofely adhered to.... The time of action being very little, if any thing, more than that of the reprefentafion; the fcene changing only with the acts, the stage being at no time left vacant, and the action, viz. the deaths of Polyxena and Eriphilys, fingle and uninterrupted..... The language appears to be poetical and fentimental; yet in fome places rather too diffufe and prolix, efpecially in the former part of the first act, and in fome of the foliloquies. PROLOGUE to HECUBA. Yet,O ye mighty Sirs, of judgment chaste, Who, lacking genius, have a deal of taste, Can you forgive our modern ancient piece, Which brings no chorus, tho' it comes from Greece; meets, Kind focial chorus, which all humours [streets, And fings and dances up and down the ---Oh! might true taste, in thefe unclaffic days, [plays! Revive the Grecian fashions, with their Then, rais'd on ftilts, our play'rs would ftalk and rage, [stage; And, at three steps, ftride o'er a modern Each gefture then would boaft unusual charms, [ing arms! Prom lengthen'd legs, ftuff'd body, sprawlYour critic eye would then no pigmies fee, But buikins make a giant, ev'n of me. No features then the poet's mind would Written by Mr, LLOYD, and spoken by Mr. Written by Mr. GARRICK, and Spoken by Mits BRIDE. Hey! Prefto! -- I'm in Greece a maiden flain-[Lane! Now!-- ftranger ftill! -- a maid, in DruryNo more by barb'rous men, and laws confin'd, [mind. I claim my native rights to speak my Tho' poring pedants should applaud this piece, Behold a champion,--fee profeft of Greece! I throw my gauntlet to the critic race: [Throws down her glove. Come forth, bold Grecians!--Meet me face to face ! Come forth, ye men of learning, at my call! Learning a little feeling's worth it all! And you of taste, and fashion, I defy ! [Throws down another glove. But hold- -you hate the Greek as much as I; Then, let us join our force, and boldly Speak.. 1. That English ev'ry thing surpasses Greek. 1 An Account of the Dislocation of a Thigh-Bone, and the Manner of 1 154 reflored. Weft Cowes, Isle of Wight, Nov. 13. A Sailor, about twenty-five years of age, whofe horfe had run away with lum, endeavouring to dismount whilft on a full gallop, threw his right leg over the horie's head, and fliding down his fide, was struck fo forcibly on the left thigh by the near hind foot, as to caufe a diflocation of the thigh-bone. Being fent for, I got him laid on his back on a bed, with his right thigh and leg duly extended: on comparing the limbs, I easily faw the defect; for near the fpine of the Os ilium, there was an unusual fwelling, which, by my feeling, and the patient's agony, together with the shortnefs of the limb, an inability of motion, and the knee and foot being inverted, I judged could-be nothing else than the head of the Os femoris; and finding the accident to be quite recent, had recourse to the following operations: As the patient lay near the edge of the bed, I placed a strong man at his left-fide, with his back to the bed's head, his left hand paffed under the patient's buttock, and was met and grafped by the right hand fo as to prevent the patient from ding when the extention should be made; its being then, taking a very long towel, I tied it once round the patient's knee, and giving its ends to two affiftants, bid them draw gradually, and both together; whilst I (feated on the patient's left fide, my face to his, my left hand on his knee, and my right hand near the great trecbanter) when a due extenfion was made, guided the bone, and, by one pufh, was fo happy as found it made, the patient's immediat to replace it, which was confirmed by the relief from his agony, and the equality of this limb with the other. I then embrocated the whole joint, applied a roller, bled the patient in the opposite arm, and recommended reft: the next day I took off the roller, and, renewing the embrocation, rolled it up again. Next morning, to my great furprize, I was told my patient was walked out; and at night, blaming him for his rath and indifcreet behaviour, he told me he could walk as well as ever; and, luckily for him, no tumour, inflammation, or other bad fymptom followed; and he foon after went to fea. ROOKE THOROLD, Surgeon. Abfraz Abstract of the Hiftory of Mr. En's Matrimonial Adventure. According to the account given us of the way, he makes a declaration of his paffi this romantic affair, by the writer of Her on to her in the moft pathetic manner, and |