to think how his timorous hand could deal fuch mortal blows; but he cleared up his amazement, fighing: Ah, my dear cafket! my dear mother! The remainder of the voyage was without any moleftation, He lands in the harbour of the city where he was born. With his cafket under his arm, and muffled up in his cloak, he enquires where he may find his mother. Being come to her wretched lodging, the nurfe, who opened the door, would not let him in till he had the patient's leave, and went back to know her pleafure. Mrs. D.fbures was furprized to hear that any one wanted to fee her. The diftrefs fhe was in had long fince kept away all thofe who, in the course of the world, are called friends, and charity alone now beflowed fome visits on her; the therefore defired the nurfe to afk the perfon's name who was at the door. Her fon, who overheard her, in the heat of emotion cried out, It is Jacquo; and pufhing open the door, hafted to his mother's bed, where, throwing himself on his knees, without being able to fpeak, he killed one of her hands. Ah, fon! cried his mother, your prefence and tenderness increases the distraction of my heart. I own before that juft God, who punishes me for my unjust harshness, that I did not deferve fo virtuous a fon. More he would have faid, but her fon ftopped her mouth with a rapturous embrace, the first time fuch & favour had been permitted him; and fuch a lively fenfe had he of it, that he was fcarce himfelf. The pricft and the phyfician coming in, interrupted the affecting feene. Jacque, with the greatest humility, thanked them for the kindness they had thewn to his mother, conjured them to fave her, and affured them that he was able to pay them for their attendance, pointing to his dear cafket, dearer to him on account of the ufe for which it was defigned. If the son's extafy was a moving fight, the mother's confufion and felt-accufations could not be heard without pity. She openly charged herself with barbarity, and wished for life only to expiate her former guilt, by all the tendernefs which fuch fon so well deferved. The priest and the phyfician added their tears to thofe which nature and repentance had drawn. The very fame day Jacquo had his mother removed to a more decent place, where the was attended with the greatest care; and the joy of having fo excellent a fon, difpelling the black humour which infected her blood, he was foon out of danger. Jacquo was fupremely happy in the fortunate fituation which he had fo ardently defired; yet his being at fo great a distance from a perfon whom he efteemed no lefs than he loved, would not long allow him the full enjoyment of his happinefs. His mother, who now was become more fond of him than ever he had been of her elder fon, faw, with concern, that Jacquo had fome fecret uneatinefs; the urged him to disclofe his heart to her, and learnt what he had forfaken in order to come to her affiftance. Her affection for him redoubled, and the offered to go with him to Martinico. cquo, who would never have taken on him to a fuch a favour, received it with tranfport. They left France foon after; and the beautiful widow, who had withitced the great matches offered to her during her lover's abfence, at his firit vilit confented to go with him to the altar. Her or generous behaviour endeared deared her to Mrs. Defbures, who, being reformed by adverfity, now refolved to employ the reft of her life in the careful difcharge of what fhe owed to the generous widow. On the other hand, this lady, confidering her as a mother, omitted nothing to make her forget Europe. Thefe three perfons, during a long .courfe of years, found true happiness to be infeparable from a cordial difcharge of the duties of their calling; and Mrs. Defbures efpecially was made fenfible, that mifery, vexation, and defpair, are interwoven with the violation of thofe facred duties. Account of Mr. Macklin's New Piece called The True-born Scotchman, lately performed at Dublin. SIR IR Pertinax Mac Sycophant is a Scotfman of very fmall original fortune, who has obtained a baronet's patent, and arrived at a high pitch of power and intereft, by cringing and fawning on the great men at the helm in England. He has two fons, the eldeft of whom, on fome family dispute, he has difinherited; the youngest has been left an ellate of three or four thoufand a year, by a relation of his mother's, on condition of bearing his name of Egerton. This young gentleman is fuppofed to have been educated in England, and to have nothing of the Scotíman about him. His father, whofe thoughts are entirely employed in contriving fchemes for the aggrandizement of his family, projects a match between his fon and lady Rodolpha, daughter to lord Lumberhead, a young English lady, who had been brought up in Scot land from her childhood, at the defire of her grandmother, from whom fhe has inherited a large fortune.— But Egerton has engaged his affections to Conftantia, a beautiful orphan of good family, whom lady houfe, in pity to her diftreffed fituaMac Sycophant has taken into her tion. This virtuous maid returns his love on honourable terms; and he, being refolved to marry her, applies for that purpose to Mr. Sidney the chaplain, who refufes to perform the ceremony, partly from a confideration of his duty to Sir Pertinax, his patron, and partly on account of a ftrong attachment he himself bears to the young lady.— Mean while, every thing being fettled between lord Lumberhead and the knight, the latter thinks it high time to introduce his fon to lady Rodolpha.-This is done, and they are left alone together:-He, with a generous opennefs, declares his pre-engagement to another woman; and the as frankly confeffes her fondnefs for his own brother, who, on his father's difpleafure, had fought helter in Scotland, where the had known him. Sir Pertinax, having no knowledge of this converfation, mentions the matter to Egerton, as a thing in which he had no doubt of his concurrence. The young man refufes refufes to comply, and, after many ftruggles, owns his love for Conftantia, and declares his fixed refolution never to marry any one but her. The father at firft is thunderftruck, but, after recollection, refolves to try the following expedient in order to effect his purpofe. He fends for Sidney, and offers to give him Conftantia in marriage, with a large portion. He, tho' enamoured of her, most generously refufes; the knight then propofes to him to contrive that Egerton fhould debauch her, which would as effectually hinder the match, offering at the fame time to make his fortune more than equal to his moft fanguine expectations. The honeft chaplain rejects all his offers with the highest refentment, and they part not greatly pleafed with each other, Sir Pertinax telling him, that "fince he won't pimp for his mafter, he must never hope to rife in the church." While the knight is revolving these things in his mind, he happens to intercept a letter directed to Conftantia, which, on opening, he finds fubscribed with the name of Melvil, and full of the moft tender expreffions. On queftioning a fervant, he is informed that this Melvil is a concealed lover of the young orphan's, and that it is fhrewdly fufpected he has had unwarrantable freedoms with her, from the prefents he has fent him, and the frequent interviews they have had together. Sir Pertinax, tranf ported with this intelligence, haftens to flew the letter to his wife and fon, who remain in the utmoft horror and astonishment, not being able to account for it otherwife, than by fuppofing Conftantia an abandoned profligate. She is ordered immediately to leave the houfe, without being told her crine, and Sir Pertinax now makes no doubt of his fon's complying with his inclinations, and marrying lady Rodolpha.-In the interim, Melvil, the fuppofed lover, comes to the house, and is found not to be Conftantia's paramour, but her father, by name Harrington, a decayed gentleman, who had borne arms with honour in the fervice of his country. This reconciles all feeming contradictions, and exhibits Conftantia's chara&er in the most amiable point of view; Egerton owns his previous marriage with her, and lady Rodolpha her inclination for Sir Pertinax's eldest fon.-Upon this, not to lofe the advantage of fuch an alliance, the knight declares his intention of taking him again into favour, and the marriage between him and lady Rodolpha is foon agreed on. The moft material objection to this performance, is the tediousness of the dialogue, and the immoderate length of the chief character; for, in order to fhew Sir Pertinax in the greater variety of different views, he has hurried on the catastrophe so as to make it unnatural, by its exceffive fuddennefs, and the want of preparation for it. There feems alfo to be a fault in Sidney's love for Conftantia; by its being difclofed fo early, we are led to imagine, that the poet intends to make ufe of it to thicken the plot; instead of this we hear not one word of it, except what he himself mentions in the fil frene, and it ferves no purpose bet merely to heighten his own character, which is of no great conkquence to the play. This comed's is both local and temporary; for the fatire is confined to the Scotch, t the prefent times, and even to t prefent An; fo that it is t queftion whether the many exquilt ftrokes of humour which it abounds with, will be understood at the diftance of twenty or thirty years. However, upon the whole, I think this laft production of Macklin's is poffefled of fuch merit, as to entitle its author to a place among our best comic writers. Account of the extraordinary Adventure avhich occafioned the Revolution brought about by Zwinglius in Switzerland.-From Voltaire. T HE Francifcans and Dominicans had been at open variance ever fince the thirteenth century. The intereft of the Dominicans declined very much among the commonalty, for paying lefs honour to the Virgin than the Cordeliers, and denying, with St. Thomas, her being born without fin: whereas the Cordeliers ingratiated themfelves every where, by preaching up the immaculate conception as mentioned by St. Bonaventure. Such was the animofity between these two orders, that a Cordelier preaching at Francfort, in 1503, on the Virgin, and feeing a Dominican come in, cried out, that he thanked God for not being of a fe&t which dishonoured the very Mother of God, and poisoned emperors with the hoft. The Dominican, named Vigan, called out to him that he lied, and was a heretic. Down comes the Francifcan from his pulpit, ftirs up the people, and laying on his adverfary with the crucifix, drives him out of the church, fo that Vigan was left for dead at the door. In 1504, the Dominicans held a chapter, in which it was refolved to be revenged on the Cordeliers, and to put an end both to their interest and doctrine, by employing the Virgin herfelf againft them. The place chofen for tranfa&ting this fcene was Berne; during three years feveral stories were fpread about of the mother of God appearing, and upbraiding the Cordeliers with the doctrine of the immaculate conception, faying, it was blafphemy, taking away from her Son the glory of having washed her from original fin and hell. Against this the Cordeliers played other apparitions. At length, 1507, the Dominicans, having gained over a young lay-brother, named Yetler, made ufe of him to convince the people in their favour. It was the current opinion in the convents of all orders, that a novice, who had not profeffed, quitting the habit, continued in purgatory till the final judgment, unlefs delivered by prayers and donations to the convent. The Dominican prior went one night into Yetfer's cell, muffled in a kind of gown, painted all over with devils, and having heavy chains on him; with him alfo were four ugly dogs, and his mouth, in which had been put a fmall round box full of tow, caft forth flames. This prior faid to Yetfer, that he was an old monk, thrown into purgatory for having quitted the habit, but that he fhould be delivered, if Yetfer would be fo kind as to have himfelf fcourged by the monks in his favour, before the great altar. This Yetler did not fail to comply with, and thus delivered the faid foul from purgatory. Soon after the grateful fou! appeared to him in a white radiant habit, informing him, that it had been freed from purgatory, and admitted into heaven, and recommending to him the honour of the Virgin fo impiously flandered by the Cordeliers. Some days after, St. Barbara, to whom brother Yetfer paid a great devotion, appeared to him: it was another monk that played the part of St. Barbara; fhe told him that he was fainted, and that the Virgin commiffioned him to do her juftice against the blafpheming Cordeliers. At laft down comes the Virgin herself through the cieling, attended by two angels: he ordered him to declare, that he was born in original fin, and that the Cordeliers were her fon's greateft enemies. She tarther told him, that he would honour him with the five wounds, with which St. Lucy and St. Catherine had been favoured. The following night, the monks having given the brother fome opiated wine, they pierced his hands, feet and fide. On his awaking he found himfelf all over blood. He was told that those were the ftigmata promifed him, and made by the bleffed Virgin; and in this condi MR. tion was he expofed to public view at the great altar. In the mean time the poor brother, fimple as he was, conceiving that the bleffed Virgin's voice was no other than that of the fub-prier, began to fufpe& the fraud. On this it was thought proper to dispatch him by poifon; and, at his receiving the communion, they gave him i hoft fprinkled with fublimate cortofive; but the acridity made him caft it out of his mouth; immediately the monks feized him, and bound him as a facrilegious perfon. To fave his life, the poor creature promifed that he would never reveal the fecret, and confirmed his promise on another hoft; but fome time after, finding means to make his efcape, he went, and, on oath, made a depofition of the whole affair before the magiftrates. The process lafted two years, and terminated in the burning of four Dominicans before one of the gates of Berne, on the ift of May 1509, O. S. the fentence being pronounced by a bishop delegated from Rome, ANECDOTE of OLIVER CROMWELL. AR. Jeremy White, one of Oliver Cromwell's domeftic chaplains, a fprightly man, and one of the chief wits of the court, was fo ambitious as to make his addreffes to Oliver's youngest daughter, the lady Frances. The young lady did not difcourage him; but in fo religious a court, this gallantry could not be carried on without being taken notice of. The Protector was told of it, and was much concerned thereat: he ordered the person who told him to keep a frit look cut, promising, if he could give him any fubftantial proofs, he should be well rewarded, and White feverely punished. The fpy followed his bufinefs fo clofe, that in a little time he dogged Jerry White, as he was generally called, to the lady's chamber, and ran immediately to the Protector to acquaint him that they were together. Oliver, in a rage, haftened to the chamber; and, going in haftily, found Jerry on his knees, either killing the lady's hand, or having juft kiffed it. Cromwell in a fury afked what was the meaning of that pofture before his daughter, Frank? White, with a great |