might be properly attended, till he fhould hear further. Then mounting Bronzomarte, he fet out with a guide for the place he had left, not without a thoufand fears and per plexities, arifing from the reflection of having left the jewel of his heart with such precipitation. [To be continued.] 13 HISTORY of the Vizier MoU AFFAC. An Eastern Tale. VER the kingdom of Cafmire eyes of Alla, and of his holy proreigned formerly a prince phet Mahomet. You have made many wife inftitutions, and your fubjects pray daily, that your reign may be prolonged: but there is one crime that you have neglected to make proper iqquiry into. Murders have, with impunity, been committed in your dominions: thirty leagues from your capital lie interred the bones of the rich Rufvanzchad, who was treacherously ftabbed by his gueft." OVER the of Cafance named Solyman, who, in courage and abilities, furpaffed all the monarchs of his age. His chief care was to chufe wife and able minifters, and he long fought, but fought in vain, for a vizier capable of affifting him in the weighty affairs of government. An adventurer, named Mouaffac, appearing at his court, foon attracted his attention: the luftre of his eyes denoted a fuperior genius; and the king, upon converfing with hin, difcovered fuch fagacity in his anfwers, that he promoted him to the place of vizier, and found him capable of managing affairs of the highest importance. The administration of Mouaffac was unexceptionable; and he foon became fo popular, that the people, in their addreffes to the holy prophet, joined to their prayers for the fultan Solyman, prayers for the good vizier Mouaffac. But vilJains, when poffeffed of fhining talents, can eafily affume the mafk of virtue. In the space of a few years the virtuous Solyman found that he had received into his palace, and loaded with favours, a man guilty of the blackeft of all crimes. One night the angel Gabriel appeared to Lim in a dream, and fpoke to him as follows: Solyman, your goed intentions have procured you favour in the This vifion made fuch an impreffion upon the mind of Sol man, that he went the next day, with his vizier Mouaffac, in order to difcover the place. When they had proceeded about thirty miles from the capital, the king, perceiving a cavern, immediately refolved to enter it, in a perfuafion that the murdered perfon was interred therein. Having defcended, he, by the light of torches, discovered the bones of a man; and turning to Mouaffac, faid, " May Allah and our holy prophet, who have directed me to the bones, point out the villain who committed fo enormous a crime. Mouaffac, who, through policy, adhered to virtue, but was intirely void of piety, thinking himfelf fecure, antwered, with the utmost unconcern, "My lord, perhaps he flands before you." Hereupon a voice was heard from the ground, which uttered words that fuck all prefent prefent with horror and aftonifhment: "The man, whose bones lie here, was murdered by the traitor Mouaffac, and the villain Aly, his affociate, who, by that cruel deed, poffeffed themselves of the treasure of the too credulous Rufvanschad. Oh, Solyman, revenge his death! " The fultan immediately ordered Mouaffac and Aly to be feized; but the former, having taken poison as foon as he heard the voice, dropt down dead: the latter met with the punishment due to his crime, being impaled alive. This furprising event amazed the vulgar, whilft the fages of Cafmire received from it new conviction, that all the evil which happens in the world is fuperintended by an over. ruling Providence, whofe ways are not to be traced by fhort-fighted mortals. COMPENDIOUS HISTORY OF FRANCE. [Continued.] [An. 495.] CLO Lovis, having embraced the chriftian religion, concluded a firm peace with his great rival, Alaric, king of the Goths, which was effected by the mediation of Theodoric, king of the Offrogoths, an aged monarch, renowned for his wifdom and humanity. This treaty was in a little time fucceeded by a coalition of the fubjects of Clovis with the Arborici, inhabiting that country which is now called Brabant, and the bishopric of Liege. Thefe people, who were alfo Chriftians, acknowledged the dominion of Clovis; and the Roman garrifons, on that extremity of Gaul, furrendered their stations and fortreffes on a capitulation, importing, that they fhould live according to their own laws and cuftoms; and, in cafe of a war, be allowed to carry their own enfigns. Thus the Rhine, from its mouth as far up as Strasbourg, and all the country contained between this river, the fea, the Loire, Bretagne, and the kingdom of Burgundy, acknowledged the fway of Clovis. Having, by this acquifition, fecured February 1761. his kingdom from behind, extended his dominions, and augmented his power, he liftened to the proposals of his queen's uncle, Gondegifile, who reigned at Geneva, over a small territory allotted to him by Gondebaud, king of Burgundy; who, as we have already obferved, had deftroyed his other two brothers, Gondomar and Chilperic, which last was the father of Clotilda. Gondegifile, difcontented with the fmall portion which Gondebaud fuffered him to enjoy, folicited Clovis to make war upon that prince; and offered to become his tributary, provided he would aflift him in obtaining poffeffion of the kingdom of Burgundy. Clovis embraced the propofal, and began to make preparations. Gondebaud fufpected his defign was to invade Burgundy: but he entertained no diftruft of his brother Gondegifile, whofe affiftance he de-* manded. Accordingly, as foon as Clovis entered Burgundy, the two brothers joined their forces near Dijon, and advanced, each at the head of his own army, to give battle to the invader. The charge was given on the banks of the Oufche, a fmall river that runs into the Saone. While Clovis attacked the Burgundians in front with great fury, Gondegifile fell unexpectedly on their flank. They were immediately routed with great flaughter; and Gondebaud, with the remains of his army, hardly made shift to escape to Avignon, whither he was purfued by the victor. After a vigorous defence, he obtained a capitulation, by which he agreed to pay a perpetual tribute; and confented that Gondegifile fhould retain poffeffion of Vienne, and feveral other places, which had furrendered to him after the battle. Clovis, having rendered the Burgundians tributary, left five thoufand Franks with Gondegifile, to affift in maintaining his conquefts, and then returned to his own dominions. His back was no fooner turned than the perfidious Gondebaud, forgetting the treaty he had signed, affembled a body of troops, furprised Vienne, murdered Gondegifile at the altar, made the five thoufand Franks prisoners, and sent them as a trophy to Alaric, and gave Clovis to understand that he would pay no tribute. Clovis, fuppofing that he depended upon receiving affiftance from Alaric, thought proper to counterballance this auxiliary, by engaging in a league, offenfive and defenfive, with Theodoric, king of the Oitrogoths, who was a crafty prince, and would have been extremely forry to fee Clovis in poffeliion of Burgundy. Nevertheless, he ftipulated that whatever conquests might be made, even before the two armies joined, fhould be divided between them; and be gan, very flowly, to put his troops in motion. [An. 500.] Clovis, with his ufual impetuofity, invaded the dominions of Gondebaud, whom he defeated after a very obftinate difpute, and immediately reduced a good number of towns to his obedience. The Oftrogoths, hearing of this fuccess, advanced with redoubled expedition, and claimed their share of the conqueft, which he gave up without hesitation. Gondebaud being once more humbled into fubmiffion, the king of the Franks refolved to execute a more important plan, which he had long in fecret projected; namely, a war against Alaric, king of the Goths, at whofe great power and credit he could not help repining. They were nearly of the fame age; and as Clovis excelled the other princes in the art of war, fo Alaric furpaffed them all in prudence, moderation, and managing the reins of government, fo as to render his people happy, and preferve the tranquillity of his kingdom. These two kings beheld each other with the eyes of emulation and jealousy, even while they maintained the appearance of friendship. Several embaffies paffed between them, and they had a perfonal interview in an ifland of the Loire, near Amboife. They were both wife enough to fee each other's drift; and each, while he ftrove to amufe his rival with profeffions of friendship and esteem, was privately employed in taking meafures for a rupture. At length, Clovis having received intelligence that Alaric treated underhand with Theodoric, and in the mean time had fet on foot military prepara tions, in order to invade the kingdom of the Franks, refolved to anticipate his purpose. He forthwith formed a confiderable army, and, entering Poitou, was met by Alaric in the plain of Vouille. Both armies being ranged in order of battle, the two kings, in riding along the ranks to encourage their men, happened to meet in the front of the line, and immediately rushed to the encounter with great fury, while their respective armies waited in filent fufpence the iffue of this remarkable combat. After a violent conteft, in which they redoubled their blows with equal vigour, Clovis made one thrust at his antogonift, which penetrated his armour, and proved mortal. Alaric fell dead from his horfe. His army forthwith gave way, and were flaughtered without mercy. [An. 507.] The victor immediately detached his eldest fon, Theodo ric, with a choice body to improve the advantage he had gained, by extending his conquefts. Accordingly that young prince proceeded with great rapidity of fuccefs between the Dordogne, the Garonne, and the Rhone. He fubdued the countries of Albi, Rouvergne, and Auvergne, and invefted Carcaffione; but was obliged to raise the siege by Theodoric, king of Italy, who march ed in person to the relief of the place, at the head of a numerous army. In the mean time his father took poffeffion of Touraine, Poitou, Limoufin, Perigord, Xaintonge, and all Angoumois, except Angouleme, which was fecured by a ftrong garrifon of Vifigoths. He reduced Bourdeaux, where he pailed the winter; and opened the campaign with the fiege of Tholoufe, the ca pital of Alaric, which was obliged to furrender. Then he took Angouleme; and, fending his army into France, repaired in person to Tours, where he gave audience to the ambaffadors of Anaftafius, emperor of the Eaft, who sent him the marks and ornaments of the patrician and confular dignity. The emperor's chief aim, in this embasfy, was to foment the war against the Goths, that Theodoric, king of Italy, might have work enough upon his hands, to divert him from any defigns upon the Empire, in which he had lately committed fome hoftilities. Clovis, having dif miffed these ambassadors very well fatisfied with the fuccefs of their negotiation, removed to Paris, where he fixed the capital of his kingdom. His army, however, having laid fiege to Arles, were defeated by Theodoric, and obliged to relinquish all the conquefts they had made in Provence and Languedoc, of which the other Theodoric afterwards got poffeffion. Gondebaud recovered the places he had loft in Burgundy; and a treaty of peace was concluded between the Franks and the Oftrogoths, on condition that Theodoric should retain all his conquests. [An. 508.] Clovis, being at peace in this quarter, turned his arms against Bretagne, then called Britannia Armorica, which he fubdued; and from this period the fovereign of that country was obliged to lay afide his regal title, and be content with that of count. Clovis likewife abolished the appeilation of king among the Alemanni, whofe chiefs afterwards affumed the name of dukes. Indeed, the greatest part of thofe petty princes he cruelly and perfidioufly deftroyed. Some he butchered with his own hand, and others he caused to be barbarously murdered, under different pretences. His ambition increased with his age, and he feemed to become more favage from fuccefs. His great view was to render himself abfolute mafter of all Gaul, and he fcrupled not to facrifice every confideration to this predominant defire. While a Pagan, he had been admired and beloved for the foftness of his manners, and the humanity of his difpofition: fince he became a Chriftian, he was dreaded and detefted as a monster of cruelty. He compounded with the priests for thefe crimes and barbarities, by building churches and founding monafteries. He affembled a council of his bishops at Orleans, the first held in Gaul under the dominion of the Franks, in order to eftablish fome points of ecclefiaftical difcipline, and reform the morals of his people. Two and thirty prelates affifted on this occafion, and among these feveral perfons who were afterwards fainted. They obtained every thing they desired of Clovis, for the advantage of their feveral churches; and, in return for thefe favours, abfolved him of all the crimes he had committed. This is an easy way of quieting the confciences of kings, and an encouragement for them to indulge their most brutal passions. [An. 511. In the year 511, immediately after this council, Clovis died at Paris, about the age of fortyfive, and was buried in the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, now called St. Genevieve, which he himself had built. In this age of barbarism almost all the princes in Europe were little better than savage beasts of prey, let loose upon mankind. The king was a lawless ruffian, and his fubjects were the most abject and miferable flaves. Clovis poffeffed a good natural capacity; was politic, for the times, brave, and enterprifing; and in a more enlightened age, had his talents been cultivated, and his nature humanized, he might have been ranked among the number of illuftrious princes: but his mind being overshadowed by the darkeft ignorance, and his faculty. of reafon little exercised, he acquired but few ideas, and purfued an uninformed luft of power and dominion, with all the violence of favage ferocity. [To be continued.] 147 A Confolatory ADDRESS to a Sick Perfon. How fad a dou ap. ficiently matter our nature, when OW fad a spectacle does the fuffer without murmuring. We fuf pear offer to my fight! What emotions do I feel! How much do your fufferings affect me! But why this obftinate filence? Wherefore do you carry your conftancy fo far as to endeavour to fupprefs your groans? Full of a vain prepoffeffion, you think that a true philofopher fhould we keep our murmuring within bounds. I laugh at the pride of a Stoick, who, though in pain and anguish, ftrives to preferve his ferenity of countenance; and who, amidst all his fighs and groans, has the prefumption to tell us, that pain is not |