Here Eloifa glances with great modesty and delicacy, at the irreparable misfortune of her mutilated lover, which she always mentions with regret. I queftion whether it may be improper to alleviate the dryness of these critical remarks, with the following story; which I wish had fallen into the hands of Fontaine. "THE Greeks waged war upon the duke of Benevento, and made him very uneasy. Thedbald, Marquis of Spoleto, his ally, marching to his affistance, and having taken fome prisoners, ordered them to be castrated, and in that condition fent them back to the Greek general, with orders to tell him, that he had done it to oblige the emperor, whom he knew to be a lover of eunuchs; and that he would endeavour to fend him, in a short time, a much greater number of them. The Marquis was preparing to be as good as his word, when one day a woman, whofe hufband had been taken prifoner, came all in tears tears to the camp, and begged to speak to Thedbald. The Marquis having afked her the cause of her grief, my Lord, fays fhe, I wonder that such a valiant hero as you fhould trifle away your time in warring with women, when men are unable to refift you. Thedbald replied, that, fince the days of the Amazons, he had never heard that war had been made upon women. My Lord, answered the Greek woman, can a crueller be made upon us, than to deprive our husbands of what gives us health, pleasure, and children? When you make eunuchs of them, it is mutilating us, not them you have lately taken away our cattle and goods, without any complaint from me but this being an irreparable lofs to several of my neighbours, I could not avoid imploring the compaffion of the conqueror. The whole army was fo pleased with this woman's ingenuous declaration, that they reftored her husband to her, and all they had taken from her. As fhe was going away, Thedbald asked her, what she would be will ing should be done to her husband, if he was found in arms again. He has eyes, faid fhe, a nofe, hands, and feet: these are his own, which you may take from HIM if he deferves it; but leave him, if you please, what belongs to ME *." A HINT in the Letters has been beautifully heightened, and elevated into exquisite poetry, in the next paragraph. Eloifa fays only, "Inter ipfa miffarum folemnia, ubi purior effe debeat oratio, obfcœna earum voluptatum phantafmata ita fibi penitus miferrimam captivant animam, ut turpitudinibus illis, magis quam orationi, vacem.-Nec folum quæ egimus, fed loca pariter & tempora +," &c.Let us see how this has been improved. What scenes appear, where'er I turn my view, Rife in the grove, before the altar rise Then follows a circumftance peculiarly tender *Bibliotheque Universelle, Tom. XI. p. 10. Epift. II. Heloiff. pag. 67. + V. 251. and 1 and proper, as it refers to a particular excel lence of Abelard, *THY VOICE I feem in every hymn to hear, With every bead I drop too foft a tear. To which fucceed that fublime description of a high mass, which came from the poet's foul, and is very striking. + When from the cenfer clouds of fragrance roll, One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight, I BELIEVE few persons have ever been prefent at the celebrating a mass in a good choir, but have been extremely affected with awe, if not with devotion; which ought to put us on our guard, against the infinuating nature of fo pompous and alluring a religion as popery. Lord Bolingbroke being one day present at this folemnity, in the chapel at Verfailles, and feeing the archbishop of Paris elevate the *V. 269. + V. 259. the hoft, whispered his companion the Marquis de *****, « If I were king of France, I would always perform this ceremony myself." ELOISA now acknowledges the weakness of her religious efforts, and gives herself up to the prevalence of her paffion. ** Come, with one glance of those deluding eyes, Take back that grace, that forrow, and these tears, Suddenly, religion rushes back on her mind, and she exclaims eagerly, No fly me, fly me! far as pole to pole !- Forget, renounce me, hate whate'er was mine. * V. 280. + V. 300. This |