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mark of nobility, as having a feudal aflufion (the French term it, à nomme de terre) it was, of course, omitted on the

extinction of titles.

Mad. Lafayette is an eminent inftance of the inftability of greatnefs, the mutability of fortune, and the inefficacy of wealth. Defcended from an ancient lineage, united to an amiable and it luftrious husband, who poffeffed eftates in Europe, America, and the Weft Indies; the, neverthelefs, has not been exempted from the most bitter calamities that can afflict fuffering humanity. When Lafayette refifted the commands of the fole remaining legitimate power in France, his "widowed wife" was arrefted. Under the defpotifm of Robespierre, fhe escaped death only by a miracle, (part of her family was actually immolated to his vengeance) but what to fome will appear more terrible, the experienced an unremitting captivity of fifteen months, during which, the fuffered all the horrors of a clofe confinement, being immured within four walls, fubjected to a fcanty and precarious diet, fecluded from her children, and prohibited even from the light of heaven.

On the death of the tyrant, the voice of humanity was once more heard, and the was liberated, and reftored to the arms of her afflicted daughters. But fhe was a wife as well as a mother! and her beloved hufband was ftill in bondage; for he who had endeavoured to avert the execution of Louis XVI. (fuch is the gratitude of courts) was languishing in an Auftrian prifon!

She accordingly repaired to Ham burgh, accompanied by her children only, for fhe had not wealth fufficient to hire a fingle domeftic, and the poffeffes a lofty fenfe of independence, which taught her to reject pecuniary allistance, even from her few remaining friends. As foon as her health was a little reftored, the posted to Vienna, and prof trated herfelf at the feet of the emperor.

Francis 11. is in the flower of his youth. The chilling hand of age has

not yet rendered him morofe; and furely victory cannot have blunted his feelings, and made him at once haughty and infenfible! No!no! there is not a prince of his houfe, from the obscure Count de Hapfburg, of a former period, to the late powerful tenant of the Imperial diadem, who has had more occafion to find and to feel that he is a man.

Weeping beauty did not fupplicate in vain; the German monarch raised her from her lowly posture, and promised better days. With his permiflion, she flew on the wings of affection, and, ftrengthened by conjugal love, knocked at the gate of the fortress that confined her dearly beloved husband, whofe speedy deliverance (vain idea!) The hoped inftantly to announce.10.

The maffive bolts of the dungeon give way, the grating hinges of the iron doors pierced the ears; she and her virgin daughters are eyed, fearched, rifled, by an odious and horrible goaler; and thofe who, but a moment before, deemed themselves deliverers, now find them felves captives!

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Reclining in the bottom of thy dungeon, these tears cannot be seen, these fighs cannot be heard, nor can the quick decay of youth and beauty, cankered in the bloom, and diffolving amidst the horrors of a German prison, be contemplated. But the heart of fympathy throbs for you, ye lovely mourners; the indignation of mankind is aroufed; the prefent age fhudders at your unremitted fufferings; and pofterity will shed a generous tear at their recital. Anguifh may not yet rend the bofoms of your perfecutors, but a dreadful futurity awaits them, and, were it poffible to efcape the fcourge of offended heaven,' they will yet experience all the vengeance of indignant hiftory!!

NECKER, Houpac

A native of Geneva, a banker of Paris, and for fome time partner to an eminent merchant of London (Louis Texier). This celebrated man was deftined to rife from the desk of a compting-house to one of the highest employments in 4 Z 2 Europe

Europe, that of minister of finance to the French monarchy. Vanity, egotifm, oftentation; thefe are faid to be his failings; but, on the other hand, a good husband, a good father, a good citizen; he is in poffeffion of all the public and private virtues. If he evinces lefs ability than his rival Calonne, be it remembered, that he can boast of a fpotlefs integrity. Sufpicion has never blafted his fair fame, with the charge of unaccounted millions. A man of bufinefs in office, a philofopher in difgrace; he never allowed himself to be elevated or depreffed, by either the fmiles or frowns of a king; he ftill remembered that he was a citizen of Geneva !

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Beth thought and wrote before the revolution. In 1788, he published a work, entitled, "Moîfe confidéré comme Legiflateur & comme Moraliste," by way of fupplement to his cmparison between Zoroafter, Confucius, and Mahomet, which conferred fome celebrity on his talents, and breathed throughout a fpirit of liberty and investigation. Such works as thefe, taught the people to think alfo, and they began to be publifhed in great plenty. Even in 1787, M. Mathon de la Cour, a member of the Academy of Lions and Villefranche, obtained the prize from the Academy of Chalons-fur-Marne, by his " Dif cours fur les meilleurs Moyens de faire To the preponderance of the Tiers naitre, et d'encourager le Patriotifme Etat, produced entirely by his means, dans une Monarchie;" in which he France is indebted for her Revolution; difcriminates between patriotism and but for this, the nation would have re- the love of one's country. lapsed into fervitude, and the crown be- tifm, more rare," fays he, "becaufe ing hors de page, into defpotifm. He it is more difinterested than the love of was once banished, and once recalled our country, is an ardent desire of serv from the country of his adoption; his ing our compatriots, and of contributing laft, perhaps final retreat, was voluntary on his part.

He, however, experienced a variety of mortification, for which he indemnified himself, perhaps, by the hope of proving ferviceable to mankind.-Old Maurepas never allowed him to fit in his prefence.

He refides at present at Capelle, a lordfhip purchased by him, and fituated within the territy of Berne. Geneva would fcarcely be a fecure afylum for bim ; at leaft, it would not have been To formerly.

VERGNIAUD,

"Patrio

to their welfare, happiness, and fecurity. This defire, difinterested in itfelf, is fuch as is felt by the noble and virtuous mind; while the most defpicably felfish wretch loves his country only as it concerns his own welfare, the true patriot is always ready to facrifice to it, not only his deareft interefts, but even his life." This magical word patriotifm, which A native of Limoges, and one of began to be known and proclaimed the deputies from Bourdeaux, was an throughout France, contained within it able orator in the convention; in fhort, the embrio of liberty; and Paftoret, he was inferior, in point of eloquence, Condorcet, and Briffot, but developed to no man who has appeared in France the germ, planted indeed by the hands fince Mirabeau. On the 10th of Aug. of nature in the human heart, and only 1792, he occupied the prefident's chair, watered by Rouffeau and Voltaire. and conducted himfelf with an uncommon dignity, on that very critical occafion. He was gifted with a happy delivery, and an eafy flow of words; this enabled him to speak on all fub

On the diffolution of the States General, which had affumed the more modern name of the National Affembly, Paftoret was elected a deputy to the convention, from which he afterwards

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retired in difguft. He is a member of the prefent legiflature, and has lately propofed fome falutary regulations reIpecting the trial by jury, fo far as the intention, or what we technically term the quo animo, is concerned.

During the difputes with the fections, about the re-election of the two-thirds,

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Paftoret was returned a deputy for Paris.
He is confidered in general to be an
Ariftocrat, and his reproaches
against
Condorcet for writing in a newspaper
dedicated to liberty (le Journal de
dea
Paris) will never be forgotten or for-
given by the patriots of 1789.
(To be continued.), b

REMARKS ON THE ORNAMENTS AND NEATNESS OF
THE DUTCH.

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I HAVE flightly mentioned to you fervants are to be feen paddling below, fomewhere the love of ornament among ankle-deep, and fpouting above at the the Dutch, as inconfiftent with the windows as if they were playing off an weight, not to fay heavinefs, of their engine to extinguifh conflagration; alappearance. I think this over-finery is though the great end propofed, is is only to be discovered principally in their live- to wash away the duft that may have ries, which are often gaudy and rich, gothered on the fashes, in the courfe fometimes elegant. It is exhibited alfo of the week. An English traveller who in their furniture, barges, chimneys, comes from the comfort of a dry room, china, and mills. It even fhews itfeif or whose state of health would fuffer in certain indefcribable places, yet, ge- from damps, must reconcile to this desnerally speaking, all these things are fo agrement as well as he can; as he will, out of keeping with their own figures from an intention of civility, be fhewn and fashions-fuch, for inftance, as into an apartment juft washed, he had their deep brown or blue fuits of Dutch better double his defence, by an adhomefpun or Pruffian, their unyielding ditional pair of focks, or ftockings; for features, immence breeches, prepofterous the Dutch landlord would deem it rude petticoats, ftupendous hip-pads, and mea- to take his guest into a room that has fured pace-that they feem as little of a not been laid under water fince the last piece as if the faid homefpun jerkins, company went out of it, and were you &c. were to be trimmed with gold to argue against the thing, he would and filver foils and fringes. fet you down as a dirty traveller, who did not know how to behave yourself in a clean country.

As to the waterfaring men (fresh or falt) they are be-buttoned from top to toe, each button, not excepting those of the waift-band, a third part larger than an English crown piece, and always of folid filver.

I have praised the Dutch neatnefs; it is worthy of praife; but occafionally carried to excefs. It now and then goes into caricature. You have always the fear of the pail and scrubing brushes before your eyes. On the grand cleaning day, which here is Friday, the maid

Through every part of Holland, the natives are great obfervers of symmetry. Is a brush, for example, part of the furniture of a room, it will be found hanging up, equi-distant with another of the fame fize, fhape, and fashion, to

answer it.

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ON THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE BRASILIAN STONE*. OF this very curious and rare foffil, at Paris, in January 1784. Ine fpethe Baron de Dietrich read a description cimen which Dr Hutton examined was before the Royal Academy of Sciences in the poffeffion of the late Lord Gardenston. It was 12 aches lon, 5 broad, and half an inch thick. When

Being the fubftance of Dr Hutton's dccount, published in the Edin. Phil. Tranf. vol.3.

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fupported at both ends in a horizontal that curvature muft, in the prefent case,
pofition, its midle funk more than a be greatly increased, in order to produce
quarter of an inch. The ftone had a the measure of diftenfion among the
porous or fpungy texture, and much particles which neceffarily precedes a
refembled a compreffed ftratum of fnow. general rupture.
Its tranfverfe fection fhewed no traces Dr Hutton conjectues that the Bra
of a fibrous or laminated structure, and zilian stone had originally been attend-
nothing heterogeneous in its compofi- dant on Alpine lime-ftones, and cons
tion: it seemed to confift entirely of folidated by calcareous fpar; and that
pure transparent quartz. On fpliting it the conglutinating fubftance was, in the
longitudinally, however, it fhewed de- lapfe of ages, diffolved by the pene-
cidely a foliated ftratification; and clofe trating influence of a humid atmosphere.
infpection, affifted by experiment, de- This fuppofition is countenanced by the
tected fpecular tranfparent plates of mi- report, that the folitary mineral was ac-
ca, nicely bedded in quartzofe matter. tually found lying expofed on the foil.
Hence Dr H. derives an explication It probably requires a rare concurrence
of the fingular property of the Brazilian of circumflances to produce the Bra-
ftone. He confiders" the particles of zilian ftone: but other stones may exist
quartz, which have little cohefion, as that poffefs the fame property, though
being bound together by these thin in a lower degree. Of this kind is the
plates of mica; and thefe connecting fellflen or geftellfiein of the Swedes and
plates being flexible, this allows a certain Germans, employed by them for build-
motion of the rigid particles among ing furnaces, and compofed, according to
themselves, without a fracture or gene- Cronstedt, of quartze and mica; fince
ral feparation of the stone." In fact, to fuftain the alternations of heat and
the principle is the fame with that on cold, and the fudden and partial ex-
which depends the flexibility of timber, panfions and contractions thereby pro-
and different foffils of the amianthus duced, it must admit of moderate flex-
kind. Those bodies confift of parallel ure. The marble tables preferved in
fibres, feebly cohering together, but of the Borghefe Palace at Rome, under
great tenacity in the direction of their the name of Pietra Elaftica, belong al-
length. The most brittle fubftances fo to the fame fpecies. They contain
bend freely when divided into filaments particles of talc intermingled with the
or thin plates; and this facility of flex- loose confiftence of the marble.
ure we may concifely explain: for the
protraction of the convex fide beyond
the concave is manifeftly proportional to
the curvature and to the interval between
these concentric arcs, and confequently

Our readers in the vicinity of this metropolis may gratify their curiofity, by viewing this fpecimen of flexible flone in Weir's Mufeum, to which it was prefented by the late Lord Gardenston.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SCOTS MAGAZINE.

SIR, Edinburgh, July 1796. If the inclofed Obfervations on the Importance of Cleanlinefs in our streets and dwellings, and on the Prejudices to Innoculation, are confiftent with the plan of your mifcellany, I hope you will favour me by giving them a placed ON ATTENTION TO CLEANLINES, AND THE PROPRIETY OF INNOCULATION.

"What I believe, I'll wail;

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2011 G Jude SHAKESPEAR,

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What know, believe, and what I can redress,
As I fhall find the time to friend, I will."
THE general inattention to clean obvious. "The neceffity of ventulat-
linefs, in the towns of Scotland, is vering human habitations, (fays an elegant.

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effluvia of putrid cabbages. He also relates, that at Cork, where a great number of cattle are slaughtered for the navy, the offals being, at one time, left to corrupt in the street, an epidemic fever was produced, which raged from August to January.

tournalist,) has not yet been found by fell, and that there are inftances of our northern neighbours: and even in malignant fevers,, occafioned by the houfes well built and elegantly furnished, a ftranger may be fometimes forgiven, if he allows himself to with for a fresher air ;" and in respect to our villages, although formed but by one street, each houfe has a dunghill in front. Such accumulations of filth, as every town and village in Scotland prefents, corrupts the atmosphere of every dwelling, with the volatile particles of putrid animal and vegetable matter, which being at all times inhaled into the human fyftem, not only pre-difpofes it to putrid diseases, but in fmall-pox will invariably produce that degree of malignancy, which is the fatal cause of fo many deaths.

To confirm the truth of this obfervation, the testimony of many celebrated men may be adduced.

Galen relates, that putrid effluvia of of lakes and marshes, produces malignant fevers; and in this opinion Hippocrates agrees, but imputes it to the humid and close state of the atmosphere, local to fuch places.

Fauftus relates fomething of a plague (now understood putrid fever,) which raged at Venice, caufed by the putrefaction of a fmall kind of fifh, caught in that part of the Adriatic Sea; and records very particularly, that, from the naftinefs of the ftreets, the plague was very frequent at Cologne and Paris.

In the year 1448, Famaguftia, in Cyprus, was vifited by a malignant fever, produced by exhalations from a putrid lake. It is afferted by Profeffor Silvius de la Boe, who practised at that time, that two-thirds of the inhabitants died. Before drains were constructed around Rome, the people were frequent ly attacked by fatal fevers; and when that city, was fubdued by the Goths, who deftroyed all the drains, the whole Roman territory became one continued marth, which, for many years produced extreme defolation.

Dr Roger in his effay on epidemic difeafes, obferves, that vegetables rotting in a clofe place, yield a cadaverous

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Profpor Alpinus relates, that the trid exalations from ftagnant canals, at Grand Cairo, is the annual return of a malignant kind of fmall-pox, and alfo of the putrid and peftilential fevers that prevail in March, April, and May, which are the fummer months of that country.

Clouds of locufts often lay wafte the mild fields of the Tartars; their approach darkens the horizon; and fo enormous is their multitude, it hides the light of the fun; this plague would fpread over countries better cultivated, and Greece and Afia Minor would be more frequently expofed, did not the Black Sea fwallow up most of those fwarms which attempt to pass this barrier. "I have often feen" fays De Totfmemours, "the fhores of the Pontus Euxinus, towards the Bosphorus of Thrace, covered with their dried remains: this produced an infection fo great, that it was feveral days before they could be approached."

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Dr Rufh imputes the origin of the awful yellow fever, which defolated many towns in America, two years fire, to the fermentation and putrefaction of a great quantity of damaged coffee, in the ftore-houfes of Philadelphia.

A few years ago an epidemic fever arofe at Kelfo, from inattention to cleaning the streets, the history of which is recorded in the Statistical account of Scotland, by Dr Douglas of that place.

The teftimony of the preceding authors may be fummed up in the words of an elegant poet, (Darwin's Botanic Garden,)" All contagious matter originates either from animal bodies, or from putrid moraffes; thefe latter produce agues in the colder climates, and malignant fevers in the warmer ones."

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