think of executing a fcheme which the had long in agitation.--She faw Maria treated by every-body with the greatest respect, and beheld her own daughter, tho' dreft out in all the fashionable foppery of the times, and infinitely more attended to, received with a degree of infipid civility that bordered upon contempt. -The fhameful neglect which Maria experienced at home, gave a conftant luftre to her merit when abroad, and if the found no kind of countenance in her own family, fhe met with the highest in every other place. This was a circumftance which galled Mrs. Webley to the very foul, and being moreover fearful that the regard fo univerfally fhewn to Maria, would be a means of obstructing any favourable addreffes which might be made to her own daughter, she took a speedy opportunity of quarrelling with that unhappy young lady, and being, as the generality of thofe of her principles most commonly are, both mafter and miftrefs of the house, very fairly turned her out of doors,—Maria was not however deftitute of a protector, tho' she had loft a father, A young fellow, with a good underftanding and a fplendid eftate, who had long folicited her favourable opinion, and gained it, took that opportunity of preffing for her hand, and was made the happiest of men. Maria was married about five years, during which time, though he had often entreated for a reconciliation, he never could be admitted to the presence of her father; when, taking up the Gazette, one Saturday-evening, he met with his name among the lift of bankrupts, and inftantly fainted on the floor: fhe was however foon brought to herfelf, when, forgetting in a moment how he had been turned out upon the charity of an inhofpitable world, and expofed to the moft pinching poverty and difgrace; how for a series of years he had been treated as an alien to her father's family, and even denied the moft trivial neceffaries, while ftrangers were rioting on her mother's fortune; the flew to her husband, whofe happiness was centered in obliging her, and painting out the miferable fituation of her father, obtained his confent to fettle three hundred a year of her pin-money on him, to alleviate fo diftreffing an incident with this the immediately took coach, and proceeded to her father's. The door was now thrown open at her approach; and being introduced to the old gentleman's prefence, they gazed upon one another for fome moments, and then burst into a mutual flood of tears. Mr. Webley's misfortunes had opened his eyes to the ftrangeness of his conduct, and nobody could be more ready to condemn it than himself. What then must we judge his emotions to be, when a daughter whom he had left deftitute of bread came to offer him a genteel allow. ance for life; and the fame eyes which he had fteeped in tears of the keenest distress, came to fill his with drops of unutterable joy? his gratitude as a man, his feelings as a father, inftantly rufhed upon his foul; he dried his eyes, looked full in his daughter's face for fome moments, then capering about the room with the phrenzy of a bedlamite, burst afreth into tears. Suffice it, however, that his affairs were fettled, he retired into the country, upon this yearly allowance, but did not live long enough to enjoy the first quar ter: the mortification of being a bankrupt, A Relation of the Conspiracy against Peter III. the late Czar of Muscovy, extracted from a fuppreffed Book, entitled Ruffian Anecdotes. PETER III. was at Oranienbaum, attended with a fplendid court; the Empress was at Peterfhoff with a small retinue. Prince George of Holftein, the Emperor's uncle, was returned to Petersburgh with his family, to give fome orders relative to the Emperor's approaching voyage into Germany. The whole city of Petersburgh enjoyed that profound tranquillity, and was wrapped in that filence and repofe, that often precedes great revolutions. All of a fudden the storm arofe, and spread univerfal terror among all ranks and orders. In the midft of this confufion the Empress appeared escorted by a company of guards, who cried continually, Long live the Emprefs Catharine! while the brutal multitude joined in the cry, without knowing or enquiring what it meant. Prince George of Holftein hearing the noife, obferving the cannons placed before the Imperial palace, and feeing all things in confufion, mounted his horfe in order to join the Emperor at Oranienbaum, attended by a fingle huffar. He was stopped by a troop of the horfeguards; one of these barbarians pulled him off his horfe, and another had his piftol cocked to fhoot him through the head, had not a third, more humane, prevented it. He was brought in a wretched carriage to the gate of the palace, where an order was given to conduct him to his houfe, and to keep him prisoner there with his whole family. At his return home, he found his house plundered, his children robbed and ftripped almoft naked, and his officers and fervants fhut up in a cellar. In the mean time all the other regiments, with the clergy and colleges, were affembled in the palace by an order from the Emprefs. Aftonishment, terror, difcontent, dejection, and malice, were painted in their faces; a manifefto was drawn up to exhort the people to thank heaven for having infpired them with perjury and treafon, and the oaths were taken to Catharine, who, the fame evening, marched with her guards and a train of artillery, to feize the perfon of the Emperor, and difarm his German troops. This prince had paffed the night very quietly at Oranienbaum, and the next morning went to Peterfhoff, with an intention to dine with the Emprefs; fome fay, with a de fign to fecure her perfon-and this is not improbable. Surprifed not to find the Emprefs there, he gueffed at the mystery, though all poffible precautions had been taken to cut off all intelligence from him. His firft refolution was to oppofe force to force, and to defend himself with his German troops; but by old Munich's advice he repaired to Cronstad, where the fleet lay. Here he was told by an officer, that there was no Emperor in Ruffia, and that the reins of government were in the hands of Catharine. It was unluckily but about half an hour before his arrival, that the officer had received orders from the Emprefs to make the whole garrifon take the oath of allegiance to her alone. The Emperor returned to Oranienbaum, and though he had with him 300 huffars and dragoons well mounted, and ready to spend the laft drop of their blood in his fervice, though the road to Livonia was open, and a formidable army, in which he could confide, was ready to receive him in Germany, though his retinue was more than fufficient to triumph over all the obftacles he could meet with in his way, yet he furrendered himself to the Emprefs in a manner more humbling and painful to a generous mind, than death itself in its worft form: for nothing can be more ingloricus than the abdication of the throne, which he was forced to fign when he fell into the hands of his amiable confort, an abdication which prudence ought to have hindered his enemies to publish. After this, he was brought to Peterhoff, where he was feparated from his favourite Hudowitz, and his mistress the countefs Woronzof, and was fent from thence to Robich, an old caftle about 18 as from Peterburgh, where none, even of his menial fervants, were permitted to follow him. As foon as the news of the Emperor's imprifonment reached Petersburg, and the people had time to return from their intoxication, repentance, fhame, and difcontent, difcovered themselves in many who had been concerned in this revolution. The guards, more particularly, were ashamed of their perfidy, accufed each other of treafon, and only wanted a bold leader to fet Peter at liberty, and to reftore him to his throne. His fu Our author mentions no more of the circumftances of the death of this prince than the dreadful cries that were heard from his chamber the day he expired, which intimated the most violent torment. neral pomp was fuch as would rather have fuited an infamous malefa&or, than the grandfon of Peter the Great, whofe only crime was a want of prudence on certain occafions. A regimental-coat, and four wax-candles, compofed the whole of his funeral state. Strangers were invited to fee the traitor, as fome of his barbarous and ungrateful fubje&s affected to call him; and his body was placed, by four domeftics of the court, in a vault between those of the unfortunate princeffes, Anne and her daughter. The voice of fame attributes the fudden, painful, and violent death, of this unfortunate monarch, to the orders of a certain princefs, whom our author defends very weakly, and perhaps not very fincerely, against this horrid charge. He attributes, indeed, this deteftable crime to thofe who had been employed in dethroning him, and who muft naturally have dreaded the effects of his juft refentment, had he lived and been lucky enough to have made his peace with the Emprefs. Mag. The HERMIT of LEBANON. ATALE. MOST travellers that have vifit ed the eastern parts, agree, that the prefent inhabitants are remarkably ftupid and illiterate; and, that ignorance has drawn her tenebrous mantle over the countries where formerly the lamp of wifdom fhone with diftinguished luftre. This obfervation, however true it may be in general, is not just with regard to every individual. There are till fome perfons whofe minds are illuaminated with the rays of science, and who study, and, I dare fay, practife too, the precepts of virtue and religion. Several of this kind I have feen in my travels, particularly an aged hermit, whom I fortunately met with, when I vifited the celebrated mountain of Lebanon in 1746. It would be foreign from the intention of this letter, to attempt a particular defcription of this famous mountain, from whence the cedars were brought for building the temple of Solomon, the moft fplendid ftructure the world ever faw; but time has ftrangely changed the face of this country. The extenfive forefts of Lebanon, which contained fuch multitudes of fpreading cedars, are reduced to one fingle grove of about a mile in circumference, con. taining about eighteen large cedars, a confiderable number of small ones, and a few pines. While we were viewing the cedars, an aged hermit approached us; and, after making fome remarks on these famous trees, conducted us to the convent of Cannobine, built on the declivity of Lebanon, in the moft retired and romantic fituation that can poffibly be conceived. It stands on the north fide of a remarkable chafm or rupSeptember 1764. ture of the mountain, at the bottom whereof runs a large current rocks in numerous cafcades. The of water, which tumbles down the the hollow found of the wind murmur of these falling ftreams, and the place, and tend greatly to comthe trees, increase the folemnity of among pose the mind, and infpire the foul with reflections worthy of its nature: both fides of this chasm are remarkably fteep, and covered with trees of the most beautiful verdure, many of which, being of the aromatic kind, render the air delightfully fragrant. The church of this conof the windows are three bells, which vent is a large grotto, and in one ferve to call the monks to their devotions; (a favour allowed them no where elfe in all the Turkish dominions.) The convent itself stands at the mouth of a large cave; and, except two or three rooms, is wholly compofed of fubterraneous apartments. fequeftered retreat, the hermit conAfter viewing every part of this ducted us to his cell, which stood on the margin of the fame chaẩm, about a quarter of a mile from the convent. Before the entrance of this ing tree; and on the right fide a homely manfion was a large spreadfmall ftream, which had its rife at the mountain, and here tumbled infome distance above, in the fide of chafm. It is ftill the custom among to the torrent at the bottom of the the inhabitants of the East, to entertain their guefts under a tree; a ciras it refembled the practice of the cunftance the more pleafing to me, ancient patriarchs, and filled my mind with the moft pleafing ideas 3 of of antient fimplicity. After a fhort repaft, we asked the hermit how long he had refided in that folitary habitation; and why he chofe to feclude himself from fociety. To which he was pleased to anfwer, addreffing himself to me; "I am a native of Scio, a famous inland of the Archipelago, and not a ftranger to the customs of Europe, having tudied feven years at Rome; and after my return, lived many years in my native country; but, being defirous of retiring from the world, and spending the remainder of my days in folitude, I repaired to this mountain, where I have now lived above forty years, and experienced more real pleasure and fatisfaction in this fequeftered grotto, than in all the noife, the bustle, and hurry, of this bufy world. Curiofity, my fon, doubtless, infpired thee with a defire of visiting this famous mountain; but that the journey may not be wholly in vain, attend to the inftructions of the aged, and let the hoary head teach thee wifdom. Weigh not the difpenfations of heaven in the imperfect balance of human reafon; but be refigned to the finger of the Almighty. Murmur not at the feeming frowns of Providence, and the diftribution of piches in this imperfect state, for they are continually fluctuating like waves of the ocean, and fooner diffipated than the morning mit. member judgments are not fent in vain, nor mercies befowed without commiflion. The actions of Omnipotence are directed by infinite wifdom, which cannot err. Repine not, therefore, at thy mortal lot, but always take the prefent and future ftate in connection. Re Confider this world is not the whole of exilience; and though thou mayelt want thy fhare on this fide the grave, comfort thyfelf with this pleafing, this animating thought, that if thou art really pious, thou halt have large poffeffions in the regions that be beyond it. These reflections, my fin, will unravel the intricacies of Providence, and folve the perplexing riddles of life. Confider thine adverfities will shortly terminate, and the most poignant afflictions foon reach their period. The clouds of adverfity, darkness, and ignorance, that now fpread a gloom over all the regions of thy breast, will retire at the appearance of the torch of wisdom; and when the fun of religion arifes in his ftrength, they will vanith and be feen no more. If while thy little bark rides on the ocean of this world, rough ftorms and contrary blafts alarin thy fears; yet, remember that the voyage is fhort, and the danger will foon be over; and, though the fkies may darken, and the lowering aspect of the heavens terrify and furprize thee; yet be aflured that brighter fcenes will foon clear thy fight, and more ferene profpects ravish and delight thy foul; tho' the waves may roar, and the billows appear as mountains, yet winds, storms, confufions, and diforders, nay, even death itself, shall all conspire to waft thee to the Impyrean fhore. Let the confideration of the uncertainty of life be a continual memento of thy fluctuating condition; acquaint thyfelf with the monuments of death, and contract a familiarity with the king of terrors. Remember the omnifcient eye of heaven obferves all thy actions, and let not death furprize thee in an unguarded hour. Accumulate not riches to thyfelf, neither be thou covetous of large poffeffions. Lét thy requeft to hea ven |