firmly refused the moft feducing of fers, and, dreading his folicitations, refolved to leave Mofcow by night, without acquainting her parents. Taking fome provifions and a little money with her, fhe travelled feveral miles on foot, and at laft reached a fmall village, the abode of her nurfe. She discovered herself to her fofter fifter, whom the informed of her intention to remain concealed. Her nurse's husband, a carpenter by trade, conducted her to a neigh bouring wood, where, on a little rifing ground, furrounded by a morafs, he haftily built a hut for her refidence. The day after her flight the Czar fent for her parents, who were inconfolable for her lofs. He, at first, thought it a concerted scheme; but the violence of their grief undeceived him, and he promiled a large reward to any one who fhould difcover the fugitive: all fearch, however, was vain, and her parents went into mourning. A year after, an accident, a little uncommon, occationed her dilcovery. A colonel, who was abfent from his regiment on leave, made his way into the midst of the wood in purfuit of game, came to the morafs, and met the lady. Struck by her beauty, he became immediately enamoured of her, and, after a few queftions, found that he was the perfon whofe lofs had made fo much noife. He confoled her by telling her, that the Czar's heart was engaged elsewhere; offered to wait on her parents, and concert with them the means of taking her from her folitary abode. She confented to his propofal, and accepted his affiftance with gratitude, that led the way to fofter fentiments. Her parents, overjoyed at finding their VOL. XXXI. daughter, determined to apply to Mrs. Catharine; for this was the name then given to the celebrated woman whom Peter afterwards placed upon his throne. Catharine fpoke to the Czar, and reprefented, in fuch lively colours, all that a delicate girl must have fuffered, fhut up for a whole year in a hut in the midst of a morals, that he was much affected, reproached himself severely with the pain he had given her, and determined to make her amends. He defired to fee her, her parents, and deliverer; to the latter of whom he prefented her-", Receive from my hand," faid he, "the most amiable and "virtuous of women: I fettle upon "her and her heirs three thousand "roubles a-year." This refpectable woman went often to court in full poffeffion of his favour, and the veneration of the public." I have the ftory from "her own mouth," fays the chevalier Bruce, from whofe memoirs it is borrowed. Letter of Peter the Great, written on the Field of Battle, at Pultora, the 27th of June, 1709, at nine o'Clock in the Evening, to Admiral Feodor Matweitfch Apraxin. This is to inform you, that, by God's bleffing, and the bravery of my troops, I have juft obtained a complete and unexpected victory, without much effufion of blood.Thele are the particulars of the action. This morning the enemy's cavalry and infantry attacked my cavalry, which gave way with confi derable lofs, after a brave refift ance. D The The enemy then formed themfelves in line of battle exactly oppofite our camp. I drew immediately our infantry out of the entrenchments to oppofe the Swedes, and placed our cavalry on the two wings. The enemy, on feeing this, made a movement to attack us. Our troops advanced to meet them, and received them in fuch a manner, that the enemy deserted the field of battle after little or no refiftance, leaving us in poffeffion of a number of cannon, colours, and ftandards. Field-marthal general Reinfchild, generals Schlippenbach, Stackelberg, Hamilton, and Rofen, are among the prifoners; as are alfo count Piper, prime minifter, feeretaries Imerlin and Cederheilm, and feveral thousand officers and foldiers. I will fend you, in a little time, a more circumftantial account; prefent I am too busy to fatisfy your curiofity entirely. In few words, the enemy's army has met with the fate of Phaeton. I can give you no account of the king, not know ing whether he be in the number of the living, or gone to fleep with his fathers. I have fent prince Galitzin and Bawer with part of the cavalry, in purfuit of the runaways, I congratulate you on this good news, and beg all the magiftrates and officers of my empire to confider it as a happy omen. at PETER. P. S. Thank God the foundations of Petersburgh are firmly laid. Tranflated from the original in the Ruffian tongue-by Jacob Stæhlin. Character of Jofeph Baretti, Efq.Extracted from the Gentleman's Magazine, for 1789. [OSEPH Baretti was a native JOSEP of Piedmont, with little patrimony, except his education. To his education he was indebted for his knowledge of the Latin language. To his own induftry, for the acqui fition of French, English, Spanish, and Portuguefe. Greek he was not acquainted with, and was never afhamed to confefs and lament it; nor is it improbable, but that the faci lity he naturally experienced in acquiring modern languages, added difguft to the difficulty of making a proficiency in Greek. In the languages he did poffefs, his knowledge was not merely fuperficial or colloquial, but accurate and critical to a great degree; and though his coun trymen have fometimes denied him the credit of poffeffing the Tufcan purity in his Italian writings, he failed poffibly in thofe little niceties of the dialect, which none but a native can difcover; and certain it is, that he had laboured fo earnestly to attain that excellence, as totally to neglect the Piedmontefe, and be come incapable of converfing in it with fluency and propriety. It is no Imall teftimony of his induftry or abilities, that he was a publisher in the Italian, French, and English languages. Of his proficiency in English, we are the best judges; and if we fay that he failed in the manner, rather than the language and phrafe of our beft writers, we muft ftill leave him the merit of being able to amute, delight, and inftru&t; - a merit, perhaps, none will deny him who have read his "Travels "in Spain," or his "Remarks upon "Mr. Samuel Sharpe's Letters from "Italy." His "Travels in Spain" is the work by which his friends would with him to be remembered; and, as he received 5001. for this work from the bookfellers, it might have have been a lesson to teach him, that, where profit was moft attainable, it was most creditable likewife, and ought to have deterred him from commencing that style of invective by which he was ever a lofer. Large fupplies, however, like this, were not the produce of every day. We ought not to be furprized, therefore, if we find Baretti engaged in the humbler offices which almost every man muft fubmit to who has no profeffion but his pen. It was want that compelled him to be a corrector of the prefs for Spanish or Italian works, to frame dialogues for inftruction in thofe languages, or compile dictionaries in the fervice of book fellers, in order to find the means of a regular fupport. The latter labours of his life, which claim the title of originality, were, "A Letter to M. de Voltaire," in French, treating very freely his strictures upon Shakspear his "Tolondron," in English, a fevere invective against Mr. Bowle, the tranflator of Don Quixote,"and fome remarks, in Italian, upon the conduct of the bishop of Pistoia, who is fuppofed to be inftigated by the prefent duke of Tulcany to prepare the minds of his fubjects for throwing off the fpiritual tyranny of Rome: Of the firft of thefe works little need be faid to recommend it to Englishmen, when they are told it is in defence of Shakespeare, the god of their idolatry. Butis in reality a fenfible work, combating the volatile and impetuous Frenchman on his own grounds, and proving, to a demonstration, that, though ignorant of English and Italian, he had, without fcruple, written in the one language, and criticifed the authors of the other. The "Tolondron" contains a series of the grofleft abufe upon 3 Mr. Bowle, which nothing could juftify, unless Mr. Bowle was the author of the publications in the Gentleman's Magazine, imputing the crime of murder to a man affaulted by pickpockets in the streets of Lon don. Baretti certainly thought Mr. Bowle the author of thofe charges, and took therefore this fevere,though perhaps unwarrantable, mode of retaliation. It is not even good of its kind, but muft appear far more reprehenfible to thofe who are not aware of the provocation. The publication in Italian relating to the bithop of Piftoia, the writer of this account never faw, and can therefore país no judgement upon it. Having faid this of his writings, it may be neceflary to add fomething of his fortunes. He has himfelf been heard to fay, that he was induced to come to England firft, about fix and thirty years ago, by an Irish nobleman (Lord Charlemont, it is fuppofed) to whom he had had the opportunity of thewing fome civilities in Italy. What were the profpects held out to him are not fo evident; but certain it is, from his firft fetting foot on English ground (though he has been reproached with not loving the English nation) his attachment to the country and people was fixed, and incapable of diminution. It was after this firft arrival that he returned to Italy, and commenced the publication of his "Fruftra Literaria," which brought him in a confiderable profit, but railed fuch a flame in Venice, as to make his ftay in that country at least disagreeable, if not dangerous. With the profits of this work, and with unabated love to England, he returned to this country, and had the addrefs or good fortune to introduce himself to the acquaintance D 2 acquaintance of Dr. Johnfon,* Mr. Burke, Mr. Garrick, fir Jofhua Reynolds, and most of those who were diftinguifled for their talents or profeffional abilities in the metropolis. How he fupported himfelf before he was mafter of the English language is uncertain; but his fpirit and moderation were fuch, that he was under pecuniary obligations to very few of his acquaintance, that he fought the affiftance of no one by fervility, and, when he received it, was in that abfolute diftrefs which his friends could not fail to discover, and which they were ever more ready to afford than he to except. It was not distress that compelled him to take refuge in the hofpitality of Mr. Thrale (as has been fuggefted :) he had lately received 5001. for his "Spanish Travels," but was induced by Dr. Johnfon (contrary to his own determination, of never becoming a teacher of languages) to undertake the instruction of Mr. Thrale's daughters in Italian. He was either nine or eleven years almost entirely in that family, though he ftill rented a lodging in town; during which period he expended his own 3001. and received in return for his inftruction, the participation of a good table, and 1501. by way of prefents. + contained in those letters is not to be juftified, and the puerility which fometimes prefents itself, in the midft of the fevereft reproaches is a confirmation of what has been already advanced, that though Baretti had obtained the idiom of our language to a fufficient degree of correctness, he had not acquired the manner of our beft writers; he was told this by a friend, whole opinion he afked upon the publi cation of the first letter, who add ed, that he would never read a fecond if written in the fame style. Baretti received the reproof with good-humour, but his mind was too far engaged to alter his plan.-The greatest want he ever experienced was probably the immediate months after the rupture with Mr. Thrale's family. Spanish family. Like a true author, he had grown indolent under the seducting influence of luxury; his own 5007. was expended-his mind long diverted from labour-his pen long unemployed. The correction of the prefs became his refource, and the hofpitality of his friends one of the means of fupporting life; these refources were fcanty; he wanted little, but that little was not in his power to obtain; and the extre mity of diftrels came upon him fo faft foon afterwards, that, if Mr. Cator had not stept forward to affift him, he must in all probability, have funk under the burden. There is reafon to fuppofe that this gentleman, who was one of Mr. Thrale's executors, had commenced The caufe of mutual difguft, which took place between Mrs. Piozzi and Baretti, is before the public, in the letters addressed to that lady in the European Magazine; the invective * Dr. Johnson's letters to Mr. Baretti, when abroad in 1761 (now extant) are of the moft friendly kind. In a letter from Dr. Johnson to Mr. Bofwell, is the following paragraph, relative to Mr. Baretti's quitting Mr. Thrale "Baretti went away from Thrale's in fome "whimsical fit of difguft or ill-nature, without taking any leave. It is well if he finds in any other place as good a habitation, and as many conveniences. He has got 25 "guineas by tranflating fir Joshua's discourses into Italian; and Mr. Thrale gave him 100 in the spring, so that he is yet in no difficulties." acquaintance acquaintance with him at Streatham, and it is no fmall teftimony to Baretti's conduct, that it met with apprabation from the moft confidential friend of the family. Mr. Cator, in ferving Baretti, clothed the naked, fed the hungry, and relieved the neceffitous; not content with this, he endeavoured to prevent the return of his calamities, and, by his powerful recommendation to Lord Hawkesbury, obtained for him a penfion of fourfcore pounds E a year. This effential fervice to Baretti was accomplished in the latter part of lord North's adminiftration; and let this humble tribute of gratitude be returned to his lordship, and those concerned in the application, for preventing a foreigner, approaching to his feventieth year, from perifling by want. All his own fchemes for averting this evil had failed: among thefe, was that of inducing Mr. Philidore to fet the Carmen Seculare of Horace to mufic; it was Baretti's hope to bring this annually before the public in Lent, and fhare the profit; it was prefented one feafon at Free-Matons hall, and supposed to be fuccefsful; but the profits arifing to Baretti from it did not pay for the clothes he made up for his appearance. After the important bufinefs of the penfion was fettled, he became an independent, and indeed a happy man; his time, for great part of the year, was divided between Mr. Cator's, at Beckenham, and Mr. Gaulor's, at Way-hall; he had in both houfes what he peculiarly wifhed, an opportunity of mixing in company, and his economy rendered his penfion the means of fupport for the remainder of the year almoft to the extent of his wishes. Some difappointments at the clofe of his life poffibly advanced his departure from the fituation of public affairs; his penfion was nearly three quarters in arrear: the Italian dictionary, which was reforming for the bookfellers, and for which he was to receive 100 1. did not become productive so foon as he expected it; Mr. Gaulor and Mr. Cator both stepped in to his relief, by divining his distress; ftill, however, he felt it fo pungently, and magnified the weight of his debts fo much to his imagination, that vexation produced the gout in his ftomach. His perversenefs in fick nefs was well known to all his friends, and, having conceived that ice or cold water was a fovereign remedy in all difeafes, he perfifted in taking great draughts of the latter, till all medical affistance was in vain. The family in which he lodged, and where he was regarded as a friend or parent, were convinced he was finking rather under diftrefs than difeafe: in this extremity a friend undertook to apply for the 501. ftill remaining due on account of the dictionary. Mr. Cadell, upon the firft application, liberally undertook to procure the payment of it. "I went back to "him" (faid his friend, thefe were his own words) "I told him "to be comforted, for the money "fhould be paid him the next morn ing." He preffed my hand with the cold fwent of death upon his palm. " My dear friend,” laid he, "I thank you for your kind offices, "but it is now too late." He fpoke but little after this, except to accufe himfelf for having taught young people to think lightly of medical knowledge, and confetting that by his contempt of it he had been the caufe of his own death. He did that evening, in the seventyD 3 firft |