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been pride,lust, ambition,and avarice. From thele principles flow thofe numerous evils that have disturbed the repose of mankind, and deluged the world with blood. But how blind is ambition! How difproportionate is the end of its vaft projects to the hopes it had formed! Can the conqueror infure the affections of the conquered? It is true, the perfonal wisdom and virtues of a Mo narch may keep an empire together fome time; but Monarchs are not always wife, nor always virtuous; and its diffolution muft, fooner or later, take place. Riches, and a confequent corruption of manners, will most affuredly effect its ruin, independent of every other caufe. The hardy conquerors of rich and fertile countries, rude and unpolished in their manners, temperate in their diet, and fimple in their apparel, are soon enervated by their conquefts, and invite other nations, lefs corrupt and braver than themselves, to make a conqueft of them in their turn. This is fully exemplified in the history of the Af fyrian empire, which was fubverted by the Babylonian; the Babylonian by the Medes and Perfians; and the Perfian by the Macedonian, which, upon the death of Alexander, was fplit into four monarchies.

Having investigated the caufes of foreign wars, let us endeavour to trace those which are more immediately productive of civil ones. And what are they? On the one part, infractions of laws and privileges, and oppreffive and unequal taxes. On the other, factions, raised by ambitious and difappointed men, who watch every occafion to distress the government of their country, by aggravating the errors of their Governors, and imputing to them the most finifter defigns; traducing the chief Magiftrate, and vilifying his Minitters; appealing to the paffions and prejudices of the people, and inflaming their refentment by the propagation of fpecious tales, or downright talfhoods; who, because they are excluded from the direction of the state-veffel, would hazard its shipwreck to gratify their refentment. How dereftable is the conduct of fucb men! How much have they to answer to God and their country for fuch parricidical conduct. Factions, it is true, are inherent to free conftitutions; and, when conducted with temper, and directed by upright principles, are productive of the molt beneficial effects: but when perfonal intereft, vanity, and ambition, are the motives of conduct, every evil that can afflict a country is to be dreaded.

But if war is attended with thefe com

plicated evils, flavery is attended with worse. It is repugnant to our nature, and degrades man (who is made in the image of his Maker) to the condition of a brute. The ravages of war may be repaired; commerce and arts may again rear their drooping heads; the land may again be cultivated; cities may be rebuilt; our perfons and properties may again be fecured from violence and outrage; and harmony and friendship be again restored: But flavery knows no remiffion of its toil, no end of its duration; it imbitters even the nuptial embrace, from the confideration that the partner of their bed, the tender object of their love, is in the fame ftate of vallalage with themselves, and that the fruit of connubial love is but the propagation of endless flavery and confequent mifery. And what is the crime of these unhappy beings, that they are torn from their native country and friends, from the embraces of a fond parent, or affectionate wife or husband, and fold, like cattle in a market, to the best bidder; to unrelenting tyrants, who treat them at the best but hardly, oftentimes with cruelty; and with-hold from them every kind of inftruction, but what tends to their own immediate profit? Are not the unhappy, foory fons of Africa men, endowed with the fame feelings as the more polished European, or the European-American, those strenuous affertors of the equality of mankind, and the unalienable rights of human nature? And more particularly, how can they who pro fefs the religion of Jefus Chrift, which breathes the spirit of univerfal love to mankind, carry on an infamous traffic in their fellow-creatures; and, what is ftill worse, neglect their inftruction in the principles of that holy religion themselves profels, but to which fuch practices are a difgrace? It is in vain to alledge, that the condition of these unhappy people is bettered by the change. No compenfation can be made for the lofs of liberty; they were happy in their native country, because they were free; and would be happier ftill, were it not for the diabolical conduct of Europeans, who, by exciting wars among them, increafe the number of victims to be facrificed upon the altar of Avarice. Nor is the plea, that the labour in which they are employed could not be performed by any other people fo advantageously, any reafon for depriving them of their liberty, and frequently of their lives, as a very great proportion of them perifh in the voyage from Africa to America, or the West-Indies, by contagious difeales; nor

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is that plea, perhaps, altogether wellfounded.

But let us contrast these difmal feenes of war and flavery with the bleflings of liberty and peace. And here a wide prof pect opens to our view! But the limits of your Magazine would fail to indulge an Inclination in traversing the enchanted ground. We of this happy country enjoy them in fo eminent a degree, that the talk is in a great meafore fuperfluous. We are in poffeffion of a well cultivated country, crowned with golden harvests, and covered with flocks and herds of cattle; abounding, with rivers, into whofe harbours every tide conveys the riches of the most diftant parts of the globe; enriched with villages, towns, and cities, adorned with the most stately structures, crouded with industrious inhabitants, skilled in every branch of the most ingenious

manufacture; of an extenfive commerce and flourishing arts; and, above all, of the beft form of Government in the world, and the greatest degree of civil and religious liberty.~ And shall we not then with these bleffings to be extended to the rest of mankind, to the extremities of the earth, to every individual of the human race; that they, as well as ourselves, may each fit under his own vine, and under his own figtree, no one making them afraid?' I am perfuaded every Reader will join in the be nevolent apoftrophe of the Poet, expreffed in the motto of this Effay to which I fhall fubjoin, as a conclufion, the fublime fentiment of the Evangelic Prophet, They fhall beat their swords into plow-fhares, and their fpears into pruning-hooks. Nation fhall not lift up fword against nation, neither fhåll they learn war any more."

Defcription of the Grecian Island of SIPHANTO; illuftrated with a Domeftic Representation of a Woman and her Children of that Ifland.

S

IPHANTO is an ifland of the Grecian Archipelago, to the weftward of Paros, to the north-east of Milo, and to the fouthwelt of Serphanto. The air is fo wholefome here, that many of the inhabitants live to the age of 120; their water, fruits, wild-fowl, and poultry, are excellent, but more especially the grapes. It abounds with marble and granite, and is not only one of the most fertile, but of the beft cultivated of these iflands. The inhabitants employ themselves in raifing olive trees and capers, and have very good filk. They trade in figs, wax, honey, onions, and ftraw-hats; and their number may amount to about five thousand. The ifland is fituated in 38 deg. north latitude, and 25 deg. eaft longitude.

The drefs of the women of Siphanto, is much lefs difagreeable than that of fome of the neighbouring iflands; and bears a little refemblance to the true Grecian habit. The plate exhibits the representation of a

woman attending the concerns of her young family; copied from a drawing taken from the life. This woman had an agreeable countenance, but he was fhort and corpulent; in which refpect the dif fered from the reft of her country-women, who in general are tall and genteel. All the circumstances, added in the engraving, were exactly defigned on the fpot. Hammocks are used for young chil dren in many of the islands in the Archipelago; but the beds are higher, larger, and more aukward, in Siphanto, than in any other. The women plat their hair with woollen bands; and, turning up the ropes thus formed, faften them on the crown of the head; but this is easier conceived from the figures on the plate, than from any verbal description. When they travel into the country, they skreen their complexions from the heat of the fun, by covering their faces with ftrips of linen faftened under the chin.

ANECDOTES of the late DAVID GARRICK, Efq; continued from Page 286 of our last.

MR. LACY knew that the poffeffion of a patent was of little avail without the power to make it advantageous to him. He faw that the great theatrical loadstone was Mr. Garrick, who could always draw after him the bett company, and fill the boxes. Lacy having too, about this

time, prevailed on the Duke of Grafton to promise a renewal of the Drury-lane patent, he wifely thought, the best way to fecure fo valuable an acquifition as Mr. Garrick would be to offer him the moiety of it. This he well knew was a propo fition worthy of acceptance, and, in cafe

Y Y

he

he closed with the offer, would render the
other moiety of greater value to himself
than the whole would be without such a
partner.

The tender of fo confiderable and valu-
able a thing as the half of a patent was
by no means unpleafing to Mr. Garrick
he confulted his friends, who all advised
him to purchase it on reasonable terms;
and for the moderate fum of eight thoufand
pounds he became joint-patentee of Drury
Jane theatre with Mr. Lacy. This tranf-
action was finished to the fatisfaction of
both parties, about the end of March,
1747.

The patentees divided the business of the theatre in fuch a manner, as not to incroach upon each other's province. Mr. Lacy took him the care of the wardupon robe, the fcenes and the economy of the houthold, while Mr. Garrick regulated the more important business of treating with authors, hiring actors, diftributing parts in plays, fuperintending of rehearfals, &c. Befides the profit accruing from his half share, he was allowed an income of 500l. for his acting, and fome particular emoluments for altering plays, farces, &c.

Such was the confidence which the players had in Mr. Garrick's abilities, that he had his choice of the the most eminent amongst them, except Mr. Quin, who retired to Bath. Mrs. Pritchard, Mrs. Cib ber, and many others, immediately entered into articles with the patentees of Drury-lane. Rich was almost deferted, and did not recover from his furprize and inactivity till very late in the feafon, when he brought out a favourite piece of mummery that drew vaft crouds to it.

While the leading players of Coventgarden were wrangling amongst themselves, the Manager of Drury-lane purfued his bufinefs un emittedly. He was always fure to fill his houfe when he acted; but to give himself fome eafe, and at the fame time to attack Rich in his strongest hold, by the affiitance of Woodward, he, with much care and expence, brought out a new pantomime, called Queen Mab. This was amongst the few farces of that kind which met with encouragement at Drury lane. The people crowded for above forty nights to fee this exhibition, which it feems had a kind of novelty to recommend it from the fable. This decided the victory in favour of Garrick.

The fuccefs of Drury-lane theatre, under the direction of two Managers who knew their intereft, was great and un

interrupted; but Mr. Garrick forefa that the repetition of his belt characters would in time beget fatiety; for while he fee him; he wished, therefore, to coptrive was able to act, the people would expect to fome particular mode of management which would attract their attention with out him. thers amongst his belt comedians, were Moffop, Woodward, and oemployed occafionally in fome revived plays with advantage, and the ufual Christmas fare of a new pantomime had the temporary effect of drawing the high and low vulgar after it; but all arts were taste of the public, unless Mr. Garrick fuppofed ineffectual to fix the wavering made a part of the entertainment. How fixing their attention upon a new obever he fought to divert and win them, by ject.

invited the celebrated Mr. Noverre to enter In the fummer of 1754, Mr. Garrick into an engagement with him for the enfu. ing winter, and to compofe fuch dances as would furprize and captivate all ranks of people.

diverfion, and the reprefentation of it, hoftiBut between the planning of this public France; and as if we had at the same time lities commenced between England and, declared war againft ingenuity and the polite arts, the uninformed part of the people, merit and good fortune is ever difguifed ftimulated by others whofe envy of fuperior nounced vengeance against the Managers, with the fpecious fhew of public spirit, deand particularly Mr. Garrick, for employing fuch a large number of Frenchmen in an English theatre, at a time of open war with their countrymen. Nothing could clufion of the English in preference of fojustify this unexpected attack but an exreigners; but that was not the cafe, for all England and Ireland were ranfacked to fill up the various figures projected by the compofer.

violent, and fo openly divulged against the
The prejudices of the people were fo
Chinese Feftival, that the King was pre-
this entertainment, by a royal command,
vailed upon to give a kind of fanction to
on the first night of representation, but the
prefence of a crowned head was not fuffici-
pifts and Frenchmen, which had feized
ent to curb that ill-placed zeal against Pa-
King, being told the caule of the uproar,
many well-meaning people. The good old
laughed very heartily.
feemed to enjoy the folly of the hour, and

beginning of the dispute, were inclined to
The inhabitants of the boxes, from the

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