To culprit clowns explain what's juft and fit, Go! the cold lenitives of care refign; Go! while you may, wear wisdom's wreath divine; Has union heal'd the bick'rings of the Great? K The laft War of the Beafts. A Fable. To ferve for the Hiftory of the Eighteenth Century. In two Parts. Tranflated from the original French of the Author of Abaffaï. fewed. Seyffert. TH 8vo. 3s. HIS entertaining Writer has given us a fabulous hiftory, in which the purfuits and follies of most of the European powers, are represented in the ftrong light of ridicule. The different nations are thus characterized.- The Lion,' fays our Author, was noble, generous, and strong; but he was alfo vain, arrogant, and outrageous. The Leopard was poffeffed of equal ftrength, and equal dignity; but he was fo inflamed with love of liberty, that he was favage and untractable; too fierce to endure even an equal. The Camel was laborious; but of a heavy difpofition, and of a mercenary • mind. The Elephant had a thoufand valuable qualities; his worft fault was his heavy figure. The encumbrance of Alesh • had almost buried in him the gifts of nature, and often shewed him in the light of ridicule. The Bear was friendly, and of < a bufy difpofition; but oftentatious, il calculated for enterprizes, and obftinate in his purposes. The Wolf was brave, and difficult to be refifted; but he was naturally cruel, always. • in the extremes of diffidence or rafhnefs. Of this creature there were many kinds; as alfo of the Bears. The Horfe was ufeful and agreeable; but too haughty: his ftrength could < never answer to his pride. The Dog was faithful, affiduous, and vigilant; but furious, and difficultly managed. The Fox was wife and politic, but difhoneft; full of tricks and frauds; a cheat, and an impoftor, who could ufe the loweft artifices. Thefe creatures peopled a vaft corner of the foreft, which their ◄ ancestors had fome ages before conquered: thefe, their anceftors, had united courage, with the other qualities inherited by AD • by their defcendants. As they were mixed with several other • kinds of animals, they differed from one another in many leffer • respects; but the national character was always predominant. They were diftinguifhed according to thefe accidents by par• ticular names. That peculiar kind known by the name of Beavers, were the most efteemed: thefe were spirited and industrious; but • if they were useful to the public by their talents, they were not lefs dangerous from the levity of their tempers. Their inconftancy became mifchievous, by the jealoufy and diftrust which were i confequences. The Dromedary, honeft, and free, and ferviceable; was yet haughty, wrong-headed, and aukward. The Tyger, whofe character never was juftly known till this great period, under the prefent perilous circumftance, difplayed a genius equally great and fingular: he had collected in himself all the good qualities of the other creatures; and • could command alfo their worft. One or the other of these he • employed as his affairs required, and his reigning quality was • difcernment.' Perhaps our Readers will not be pleafed to find the Lion appropriated to the French, and the Leopard to the English. And certainly had not the Writer been of the French nation, he would have found, that the Leopard was more defcriptive of his motley countrymen: and that the King of Beafts was more fuitable to the ftrong and generous Briton. But it must be allowed, that, by the Tyger, the character of the heroic King of Pruffia, is, in few lines, marked in the moft ftrong and lively colours. The American contest between us and France, is defcribed with great propriety and humour. The favage creatures," (meaning the Indians) fays the Writer, commonly followed the fortune of their new mafters, whether conquerors or conquered; and they became conftantly the flaves of that nation which had fubdued the other. The Leopards found vaft difadvantages in these changes. They were as jealous of an unbounded authority among others, as of equality among themselves. It feemed, that they defigned to claim among the creatures, an exclufive right to liberty. The Lions, on the other hand, fixed in their antient habita<tion, fought only to lighten the chains with which they had loaded the natives of the New Foreft' (meaning America). Their generofity led them to attempt the procuring for others. ⚫ those benefits which they did not enjoy themselves. • The The Savages felt the difference of these two degrees of subjection, and attached themselves to the Lions. The Leopards, offended at this choice the natives made for placing their good-will, far from attempting to gain their friendthip by deferving it, drew their hatred more and more upon them. Thefe who had condemned the cruelty of the Horfes,' (meaning the Spaniards) now imitated it: they fet a price upon the heads of thofe creatures who had preferred the Lions to them: but if they fometimes forced their tongues by this C means to diffimulation, they rendered their hearts irreconcilable. The ftrongest of all averfion is always that which is ⚫ founded on constraint. • of rage I have observed, that the New Foreft was always the scene and blood among the creatures, when they commenced war in the Old. When they made peace, their poffeffions in this place became of confequence a confiderable article in the treaties. After the war commenced for giving a King to the Horses, the Beafts, in full aflembly, made that famous article of peace, which has been the fource of the war. It was con<ceived in these terms: "The King of the Lions yields to the "Leopards the Ifle of Gridelin; the field of twelve hundred 66 paces, or of one thousand and two hundred paces, according "to the antient admeasurement: as alfo the green Hut; and, " in general, every thing that belongs to the places thus yielded "up; there to feed and drink without ever being disturbed by "the Lions, who fhall not come within one hundred paces of "these territories, measuring from the hill towards the left; the King of the Lions transferring to the Leopards all the rights his fubjects may have acquired there, by what means foever "they were obtained." The memorials of the Commiffaries appointed by both nations to adjust the limits of Nova Scotia, are pleafantly burlefqued in the following conference. After a vaft deal of cavil and conteftation, the two nations agreed, that they would, in a most folemn manner, measure the field together; and, that to this purpose, each of the two Kings fhould fend his furveyor to the place. The day was fixed, the Lions and the Leopards met: but what surprize and aftonishment did they mutually exprefs, when they faw the furveyors the two kingdoms had fent to them! On the part of the Lions, appeared the Tortoife; and for the Leopards, the Hare. What! faid the Leopards, is the field to be surveyed The Author is a Lion. I think his countrymen began this practice. • and and measured Tortoife-fafhion? Are the twelve hundred paces to be the steps of a Tortoife! And you, replied the Lions, did you conceive, that under the name of the one thousand two hundred paces, we intended to give you those of a Hare? It is madnefs to propofe to us fuch a furveyor! The abfurdity is your own, replied the Leopards; look upon your own furveyor: it was a fine ceffion, truly, that of one thousand two hundred steps of a Tortoife! Il language followed thefe < mutual exclamations; and even fome fparring blows were giC ven on both fides: but here the matter rested; they durft not proceed to extremities without the order of their Sovereigns.' Our conduct at the opening of the war is defcribed, perhaps, with more feverity than juftice. The tone of moderation which the Leopards obferved in the Lions, was mif-construed by them. They pretended that the Lions defired neither peace nor war; for that the first would have destroyed their pretenfions, and that they were not in a condition to make them good by the fecond; that in the mean time they exasperated the minds of the favage-beasts, whilft themselves encreased their huts and rafts. Provoked at length with the defigns they imputed to them, deceived by their patience, excited by their own natural violence, they refolved to attack them, without giving them any warning of their defign to attack them. This • procedure was entirely contrary to the cuftoms of the Beasts, who are ufed previoufly to fend one another a polite compliment when they intend to tear one another to pieces; this they call, as well as we, a declaration of war. . The council of the King of the Leopards, esteemed it fuperfluous; perhaps, in fact, it was fo. But it is always wrong to deviate from the common method of proceeding, when that which is preferred to it is not juftified by the most rapid and thining fucceffes. This fort of juftification was certainly in the power of the Leopards. They were inexcufable for not having availed themfelves of all the advantages they had. The Lions were unprovided with rafts, and needed a great number to defend them. They were alfo in want of glow-worms. The Leopards had abundance of both. They fhould have made the most of them, from the inftant they had refolved the ruin of the Lions; and not have hazarded the incurrence of the title of unjust, without the profits of the injuftice. On the contrary, they fought to add to it, full as fruitlefly, a vet more reproachful name. At the time that they might, with formidable for < ces, have crufhed their enemies, they harrafled them flowly, and undertook to deceive them. They have pretended, that • tha this was no more than imitating them. But artifice fo useful to the Lions, to whom it might give breathing-time, became for that very reafon pernicious to the Leopards. Cunning is only allowable to weakness and neceffity; to force it is fhameful and troublesome. This grofs blunder of the Leopards has been attributed to the avarice and inordinate grafp of the favourites of their King. It was rather that fpirit of vertigo, which the fage had breathed into the animals, that had taken poffeffion of the Leopards, as it afterwards did of the Lions. At that time these fuffered themselves to be robbed, devoured, torn to pieces, without defending themselves. Their complaints had on the ears of the < Leopards the effect of the most melodious mufic. They triumphed, whenever they had ftrangled fome miferable Lion < coming to afk peace of them on his knees; or when they took fome defencelefs raft, of which they divided the fpoil.' The Writer very facetioufly fatirizes the ingratitude of the Queen of Hungary, and feems to have reprefented the principles of the court of Vienna, in their true and genuine colours. The Leopards,' fays he, got it propofed to the Queen of the Dromedaries and of the Bears, to join with them against the Lions: all reasons concurred to perfuade them, that she would <close with their propofal. The Bears and the Dromedaries had ever been friends to the Leopards, and enemies to the Lions. The Queen owed every thing to the firft; they had lately facrificed to her their blood, and even their glow-worms. They had faved her from the claws of the Lions, whofe abfolute will it was, that she should not reach any length with her ◄ neck, and that the fhould keep her head stooping down. They < were much furprized at the answer the made them. "Gentlemen," faid fhe, "I wonder extremely at seeing you "infift fo much on the juftice of your caufe, when you can reft "it upon your glow-worms. I have befides decided, that my "allies muft always be in the right: but to become my ally, you must begin to tear out of the Tyger's clutches the finest of all my fields. He would not hold it, if, in the last war had proved ftronger than the Lions. Repair then your fault, or your misfortune, for I declare to you, that whilst "the Tyger fhall graze the herb of my field, I cannot think of yours. you But though our Author's peculiar talent feems to lie in the light vein of ridicule, yet we find many ferious fentiments interfperfed, which are worthy of the Philofopher and the Divine. Thus, fpeaking of the love of riches, which he very pleafantly calls glow worms, he fays, This fhining reptile was the object REV. June, 1758. Na • of |