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farther thoughts of his daughter Selinda, on her part, promifed in the moft folemn manner never to think of any other for a husband, notwithftanding any perfuafions, or even threats her father might make ufe of to induce her to the contrary. They flattered themselves, that this cruel feparation could not last long, ere death, by taking away Severus, who was now near fourfcore, and miferably afflicted with the gout, would thereby remove the fole obftruction to their happiness.

"But alas! how easily do our inclinations impofe upon our judgments, and how readily do we credit what we wish to be true? The lovers imagined that Severus was effectually blinded; but in this, alas! they were highly mistaken. Old age is naturally fufpicious; he began to have fome, apprehenfions on that head; but without taking the leaft notice of it to Selinda, (which he rightly judged, if it were fo, would only make her the more cautious), by placing private fpies on her conduct, and by corrupting a favourite maid of hers, whom the had made her confident, he at laft came to know all. No fooner was he mafter of the fecret, but, bridling the natural impatience of his temper, he refolved to take fuch meafures as fhould punish her difobedience, and fruftrate her paffion for Eudocius; and all this too, without letting her know he was at all acquainted with the matter. In order to carry on the scheme he had formed, he suffer ed the three or four firft letters which Eudocius wrote to Selinda, to be fafely delivered her, the laft of which was dated from Paris; (and the contents were, that fome reafons inclined him to continue there for iome time). After this, Severus

having it in his power, conftantly intercepted them for the space of three months; during which time, you may imagine, the lovers fuffered the most intolerable anxiety. Severus thought it now time to put his defign in execution: he inftructed a fellow for that purpofe; and having furnished him with a dress and equipage fuitable to the appearance of a perfon of diftinction, he brought him to his own house, as a gentleman from Landon, who made him a visit. At dinner, Severus took occafion to afk him for news: I am, faid the ftranger, about a fortnight ago, come from Paris, and the day before I fet out, Eudocius (who, I am informed, is your neighbour in this part of the country) was married to a lady of that city, of great quality, and an immenfe fortune.' Scarce had he pronounced those words, ere Selinda fell from her chair upon the ground: fhe was immediately conveyed from thence to her chamber, and from that minute was feized of a fever. Her father, who imagined her illness might be foon removed, was overjoyed at the fuccefs of his plot: but this fatisfaction was overturned in a very few days, by the physicians acquainting him that it was impoffible to fave Selinda's life. Stung with the thoughts of having murdered his daughter, he ran to her bedfide, where, on his knees, and with a flood of tears, he discovered the whole contrivance, producing at the fame time the intercepted letters from Eudocius, and conjuring her, if poffible, to make herself easy on that head, and to forgive him. In the midst of this unhappy scene a letter was delivered him from Eudocius, who, unable longer to bear the pain of a feparation from Selinda, joined with that cruel uneasiness

arifing

dying without a will, descended to a person who was a very distant relation.

arifing from his not being able to hear from her, was arrived the day before privately at his own house, where, receiving information of Selinda's being at the point of death, he wrote to her father in the moft moving terms, to intreat his permiffion to see her. Severus gave orders he should be admitted immediately, and notwithstanding Selinda's extreme illness, he caused them that evening to be married in his prefence. But alas! this indulgence came too late; for although the next day he appeared fomewhat better, yet the day after the disease returned with fuch violence, that towards evening the unhappy bride expired in the arms of her beloved Eudocius.

"Extream grief and vexation, in about a fortnight's time, carried off Severus, whofe vaft eftate, by his

"Eudocius, to divert, in fome measure, his exceffive melancholy, caufed his old family feat to be pulled down, and in its ftead erected, after the Italian manner, that structure you fo much admire. 'Tis here, that perfectly retired from the world, he paffes his days in a continued solitude, fcarce feeing any company, and never suffering a woman to come within his doors. He confines himfelf wholly within the compass of his own gardens, where he spends his time moftly in ftudy, and the perufal of the antients; and yet, in spite of all his wisdom and philofophy, gives way to an immoderate grief, and fruitlefly bewails the lofs of his Selinda."

I am yours, &c. T. W.

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ESSAY on

Warm and bright imagination, when regulated by a folid judgment, and fubfervient to an honest foul, is a faculty that makes a man the object of esteem and admiration; but when unguided by the check of reason, is productive of innumerable abfurdities. Fame, glory, wealth, honour, have, in the profpect, pleafing illufions; but they who come to poffefs any of them, will find they are ingredients towards happiness to be regarded only in the fecond place, The lofs of imaginary poffeffions makes impreffions of real woe. The imagination cannot invent fo many several contrarieties, as there are naturally in the heart of every man. A warm imagination, and quick relish of pleasure, joined to a good judgment, makes the gentleman, Strength

IMAGINATION.

of paffions, and quickness of appetites, generally keep pace with the brightnefs of the imagination; fine parts enable a man to lay down fine precepts of morality, and the ftrength of his paffions tempt him to break through them. The ftrongest imaginations are generally in the weakest heads. Men are tormented with the opinions they have of things, and not by the things themselves. It is the fharpnefs of conceit that gives an edge to pain and pleasure. Every opinion has weight enough to make itself efpoufed at the expence of life. Fruition and poffeffion principally appertain to the imagination. Suffering itfelf does lefs afflict the fenfes, than the apprehenfion of fuffering. It is certain, when a well corrected, lively imagination, and good-breed

ing, are added to a sweet difpofition, they qualify it to be one of the greatest bleffings, as well as plea. fares of life. Dr. Cudworth, in his Intellectual Syftem, fays, that the foul may fink fo far into phantafms, not to recover the use of her free faculty; and that this enormous trength of imagination does not only beget the belief of mad internal apprehenfions, but is able to affure us of the presence of external objets, which are not and what cuftom and education do by degrees, diftempered fancy may do in a fhorter time. Imagination is a power of the foul, chufing at pleasure fuch images as fenfe and memory hath drawn upon the mind, and forming them into fome new compound not yet exifting in nature. The various opinions among the learned about the fame thing, create fear and diffidence among the ignorant. Diverfity of opinion deftroys all harmony; different opinions, in fubjects con

cerning the government, are dangerous to the state. Men believe unwillingly that which they do not like. A man of a polite imagination is let into a great many pleafures, that the vulgar are not capable of receiving. The fight of what is great, uncommon, or beautiful, are pleasures which the imagination receives immediately from fight, and are called primary pleasures. Any thing that is strange, fills the mind with agreeable furprize, gratifies its curiofity, and entertains it with a new idea. Nothing tends fo much to the production of these pleasures as architecture; when the imagination is stocked with ideas, it can enlarge, compound, and vary them at will; and thefe are called its fecondary pleasures: thefe arife from a comparison of the ideas the original gives us, with the ideas we receive from the picture, ftatue, or defcription that reprefents it.

The Story of the ROYAL SHEPHERD, a new English
Opera.

THE rightful king of Sidon (an

HE rightful king of Sidon (an

depofed and murdered by Strato,
who feized the throne; and the
young Abdolonimus, fon of the
murdered king, was taken by Age-
nor, a Sidonian lord, and given to
be brought up by Alcius, a fhepherd,
as a fhepherd, and ignorant of his
royal lineage. Alexander the Great
had turned his arms against the ty-
fant Strato, who, in defpair, had
fallen upon
his sword. Alexander,
who was too noble to derive any
advantage from his conqueft, but
the pleasure of doing good to the
injured, fought out for the heir to
place the crown of Sidon on his

head. Agenor, who, though a Sidonian lord, had followed the fortunes of Alexander, then prefented the true Abdolonimus under the name of Amintas; who is appointed king of Sidon.

Hitherto every thing feemed productive of happiness, but Abdolonimus, while a fhepherd, had been beloved by Eliza, a Phenician lady; and Agenor by Thamiris, daughter to the tyrant Strato. These four lovers are thrown into great distress. by a mistaken goodness of Alexander, who, at the fame time that he raifed the fhepherd to his rightful throne, ordered that he should marry Thamiris; who, as innocent of her

father's

father's crimes, would not then be obliged to defcend from royalty. Agenor, though his heart was torn with love, yet, out of duty to his king, and through the hopes of aggrandizing his mistress, perfuades Abdolonimus to marry her. But when they all appear before Alexander, Abdolonimus refolves rather to lose the crown, than be falfe to a Jady who had loved him when only a fhepherd. Alexander's generous heart is touched with fo much honour, and nobly refolves to make them all happy; which he does by giving Eliza to Abdolonimus, and Thamiris to Agenor, to whom he promises a kingdom.

The music of the Royal Shepherd was compofed by Mr. Rufh. The words of this piece are rather a bald tranflation, with fome few alterations, of the Il Re Paftore of Metaftafio, the mufical Shakespeare of Italy: from which country not only the author of the opera has borrowed his fubject, but the compofer has alfo manifeftly, and not unfuccefsfully, imported his ftile and manner. Whether there is jig enough in the airs, and thunder enough in the choruffes, to ftir the blood and fpirits of English connoiffeurs, we will not venture to pronounce; but are fure that we may safely affert, that Mr. Rufh is A Man that has Mufic in his Soul. The overture is noble and animated: the airs are chiefly in the Italian tafte, and if they have any

TA

ftriking defect in them, it is their want of variety. The performers in general, did great juftice to the piece. We could have wifhed, indeed, that the airs in the part of Alexander, had been more calculated to the fine deep bafs of Mr. Champnefs: Mr. Vernon, however, to make amends, had full room to display his exquifite tafte in finging; and Mifs Wright, that admirable pupil of Mr. M. Arne, fo juftly applauded in the Fairy-Tale, fhewed the fame power of voice, and infufed the fame fweetnefs into several light ballad airs in this opera, one particularly in the Scotch file in the last act.

A new performer alfo, Signora Cremonini, made her first appearance on this occafion: and it was feared that the fame honeft Englishmen, who can hardly endure a brother Briton from the other fide of the Tweed, would not fubmit to be entertained by a finger from beyond the Alps. Such a report, however, did our countrymen much injuftice; for they first received the fair ftranger with the kindeft encouragement, and afterwards beftowed on her, in the most unreferved manner, thofe applaufes, which her merit fo justly deserved: and if mufic is intended to be made the reigning entertainment of our theatres, if fenfe is to give way to found, and Drury lane and Covent garden to rival the Hay-market, Signora Cremonini is indeed a dangerous firen.

A RECEIPT for curing the FACE from Sun-burn and Tan. AKE any quantity you pleafe of ox's gall, and for every pound thereof take a dram of Rochalum, half an ounce of fal gem, an ounce of fugar-candy, two drams of borax, and one dram of camphire. Mix all together, and shake the bottle for a quarter of an hour; afterwards let it fettle, and repeat the fame thing

three or four times a day during the fpace of fifteen days, that is, till the gall becomes as clear and transparent as water. Afterwards filter it through cap-paper, and keep the liquor for ufe. This liquor is to be ufed when one is expofed to the fun, or goes into the country; the face to be washed at night with common water.

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Some Account of the Life of TORQUATO TASSO, a celebrated Italian Poet, Author of Jerufalem delivered, an Heroic Poem.

Torq

Orquato Taffo was defcended from the illuftrious houfe of the Torregiemi, lords of Bergamo, Milan, and feveral other towns in Lombardy. His father, Bernardo Taffo, whofe fortune was, by family dtreffes, rendered unequal to his birth, was a man of fuperior underftanding and his works in verfe and profe are recorded as monuments of his genius.

His fon, Torquato, was born at Sorrento in 1544; but, as his mother was there only upon a vifit, feveral cities afterwards claimed the honour of his birth.

At three years of age they tell us little Taffo began to ftudy grammar; and at four was fent to the college of the Jefuits, where he made fo rapid a progrefs, that at feven he was pretty well acquainted with the Latin and Greek tongues: at the fame age he made public orations, and compofed fome pieces of poetry, of which the ftyle is faid to have retained nothing of puerility.

After the prince of Salerno's death, Bernardo entered into the fervice of Gonzaga duke of Mantua. As death had deprived him of his wife, he took young Taffo, who was now about twelve years of age, from Rome, that his prefence might in fome measure alleviate the lofs of His mother. Bernardo was furprised at the progrefs his fon had made in learning; for, according to the teftimony of his Biographers, he had compleated his knowlege of the Latin and Greek tongues, was well acquainted with rhetoric and poetry, aad verfed in Ariftoth's Ethics.

At the age of feventeen he was fent to the univerfity of Padua, to March, 1764.

ftudy the laws, in company with Scipio Gonzaga, afterwards cardinal. With this nobleman Tallo contracted a friendship that ended only with his life.

He profecuted his ftudies at Padua with great diligence and fuccefs; at the fame time employing his leifure hours upon philofophy and poetry, he foon gave a public proof of his genius, by his poem of Rinaldo, which he published in the eighteenth year of his age.

Bernardo, though a poet himfelf, faw with regret the fuccefs of his fon's poem; for he was apprehenfive, and not without reafon, that the charms of poetry might draw him from more profitable ftudies. He therefore went to Padua on purpofe to reprimand him. Though he spoke with great vehemence, and made ufe of feveral harsh expreffions, Torquato heard him without interrupting him, and his compofure contributed not a little to increase his father's difpleafure. "Tell me, faid Bernardo, of what ufe is that vain philofophy, upon which you value yourself fo much?" "It has enabled me, faid Taffo, modeftly, to endure the harshness of your reproofs."

In fhort, Taffo refolved to devote himself to the mufes; and his friend Scipio Gonzaga being elected prince of the academy eltablished at Padua, under the name of Etherei, Taflo was, in his twentieth year, incorporated into that fociety, and tock upon himself the name of Pentito, by which he feemed to fhew that he repented of all the time he had employed in the ftudy of the law.

Here he applied himself again to

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