600,000 men. Encouraged by this manly conduct on the part of Alexander, and alarmed by the continually progressive encroachments of Bonaparte both on his territory and independence, and perhaps also by some fresh requisition not yet known to the public, the king of Prussia has suddenly and unexpectedly assumed a warlike aspect, and the most strenuous efforts are making by him to be prepared for the dreadful alternative to which he is likely to be reduced, of contending with the overgrown power of France for his capital, if not for his crown.

The prepara

tions of Saxony and Hesse appear to be equally active. And Austria, though more silently yet probably no less sufficiently, is pursuing measures which may put it in her power to avail herself of any opportunity of recovering her power and consequence. It has been reported that Bonaparte, in consequence of these movements, has declared war against Prussia. That report is probably premature. He ap. pears, however, to have countermanded the return of his troops from Germany.

This state of things producing a community of interest between Prussia and Sweden, has naturally produced a compromise of their late dispute. The duchy of Lauenburgh which the Swedish troops had been forced to evacuate, has been restored to their occupancy; and its ancient administration have resumed their fanctions in the name of his Britannic Majesty. In consequence of this arrangement which removed the immediate cause of hostilities between the two powers, the blockade of the Prussian ports has been raised by Sweden, and the embargo taken off all Prus sian vessels. Sweden may therefore be expected to join cordially in any new confederacy which may be formed against France.

While these important events have been passing in the North of Europe, events of a character probably not less important, certainly of a kind not less interesting to British bosoms, have occurred in the South. A British force under General Sir John Stuart, amounting to about 4,500 men, landed in Calabria, about the end of June. General Regnier advanced for the purpose of attacking and defeating them, The attack, however, was anticipated by our troops; and although the French force consisted of 7,000 men, and was most advantageously posted, yet the attack terminated, after a short but desperate struggle, in its total defeat. The particulars are thus related by Sir John Stuart. "After some loose firing of the flankers to cover

the developements of the two armies, by nine o'clock in the morning (4th July) the opposing fronts were warmly engaged, when the prowess of the rival nations seemed now fairly to be at trial before the world, and the superiority was greatly and gloriously decided to be our own. The corps which formed the right of the advanc ed line was the battalion of light infantry commanded by Lieut. Col. Kemp, consisting of the light of the 20th, 27th, 25th, 58th, 61st, 81st, and Walleville's, together with 150 chosen battalion men of the 35th under Major Robinson. Directly opposed to them was the favourite French regiment 1er, legere. The two corps at the distance of about 100 yards fired reciprocally a few rounds, when, as if by mutual agree ment, the firing was suspended, and in close compact order, and awful silence, they advanced towards each other till their bayonets began to cross. At this momen-. tous crisis the enemy became appalled. They broke, and endeavoured to fly, but it was too late they were overtaken with the most dreadful slaughter."-" The enemy fled with dismay and disorder, leaving the plain covered with their dead and wounded." The left wing were equally successful, and an attempt made by the enemy to recover the day on that quarter was entirely discomfited. Our loss on this occasion was small compared with the magnitude of the victory. It consisted of one officer, three serjeants, and 41 men killed; 11 officers, eight serjeants, and 233 men wounded. The loss of the enemy, in the engagement and subsequent pursuit, is estimated to have amounted in killed, wounded, and prisoners, to be between five and 6,000 men. And the effect has been, that both Calabrias have been delivered, for a time at least, from the French yoke. Cotrone, which was their principal depôt, where they had also been collecting the stores and ordnance necessary for the invasion of Sicily, surrendered on the 29th of July. A proclamation of the king of Naples has constituted General Stuart his vicegerent in Italy, a trust which ' that brave officer has well earned, and which he has employed in endeavouring to alleviate the horrors of the species of warfare which has raged in Calabria, and which, on the part of the French, and after their example, on the part of the Calabrian peasantry, has consisted in indiscriminate pillage, couflag ation, and massacre.

It is impossible for a Christian to contemplate the transactions which we have now recorded, without emotions of deep re

gret and lively commiseration. And yet, impressed as we are with the goodness of the cause in which we have unsheathed the sword, there are views in which they may justly excite feelings of gratitude to the great Disposer of all events; who, in blessing his Majesty's arms by land with so signal a victory, has probably do more for the security of our highly favored island, than any additional naval success could have done. The event of the battle of Maida must convince Bonaparte that whatever success may have attended the French when opposed to other forces, they are not invincible when they have to contend with the valour with which it has pleased the Almighty to nerve the hearts of British soldiers, and the skill which he has bestowed on those who lead them on to bat tle. Is less heroism, than the plains of Maida have witnessed, to be expected from us, in case we should have to combat on our own soil, and under the full influence of all those heart-stirring considerations, which the names of mother, wife, and children, which the idea of our liberty, our laws, our social conforts, our religious privileges, are calculated to inspire? Let us be true to our God, and our God, who hath hitherto so signally aided and supported us, will not desert us in the hour of

our need.

Lord St. Vincent, with a squadron of men of war, has suddenly appeared in the Tagus, and diffused a very general alarm throughout Lisbon. The precise object of his mission to that place is not known: but it is presumed to respect its security from some menaced attempt of the French. One of the first acts of the reign of king Louis has been to suppress the paper called the Amsterdam Evening Journal, and to prohibit the conductor of it from being henceforth employed in any periodical work. This has been done by the mere fiat of Louis. The reason assigned for it is his having pretended to write from authority, and having spoken on a certain day in July, in a light and unjustifiable manner, of governments with which Holland is at peace. It is at the same time declared to be unlawful to speak in the name of the sovereign, or to censure different governments, otherwise than in speech, and that entirely within the domestic circle. All who break this law shall be punished as open disturbers of the public peace, and transgressors of their duties to their sovereign.

MALTA.

On the 13th of July a magazine at Barmola, opposite to La Valetti, blew up with

a dreadful explosion. About 370 barrels of gunpowder, and about 1,600 shells, caught fire, and the consequent destruction, as might be expected, was dreadful. The adjacent houses, though built of stone, and immensely thick, were thrown into ruins, and about 1,300 persons are supposed to have perished, or to be dreadfully maimed. Immense stones were thrown to a great distance, and did considerable injury to the shipping in the harbour.

BUENOS AYRES.

Accounts have been received of the cape ture of this colony by his Majesty's forces under Major General Beresford and Commodore Sir Home Popham, on the 27th of June last. The number of men employed on this expedition, did not exceed 1,500; yet, although the force opposed to them was much greater, the conquest was atchieved with very little difficulty, and with the loss of only one man killed, and ten or eleven wounded. By the terms granted to the colony, all bona fide property of individuals, Churches, &c. is to remain unmolested, the public archives to be preserv ed, the taxes to be collected for the present as formerly, the Catholic religion to be respected, the coasting vessels (of which there appear to have been 180 from 150 tons and downwards, valued at a million and a half of dollars) to be given up to their owners, and all public property to be delivered to the captors. These terms, which were voluntarily conceded on the part of the cap tors, are stated to have had a great effect in impressing on the minds of the inhabitants a high sense of the generosity and bu manity of the British Character. The pub lic treasure which had been taken, is stated to have amounted to upwards of a million and a half of dollars. Since the intelligence of this capture has arrived, an order of council has been issued, placing the com merce between this newly acquired colony and Great Britain, on the same footing as the trade of our other West India colonies, and reducing the duties on imports (Ger man linens excepted) from 34 per cent. ad valorem (the amount of the Spanish du ties) to 12 per cent. We were happy to find that the order of council strictly prohibits the importing of any slaves for sale into Buenos Ayres, or any of its dependencies, ander pain of the forfeiture of all such slaves, together with the vessels and their cargoes from which such slaves were landed. We regard this prohibition as a satis factory proof of the consistent attachment of his Majesty's present ministers to those sound principles by which they have uni

ground for anticipating a favourable result from the promised agitation of that question in the ens ng session of parliament.

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.

THE negociations with France are not yet (Sept. 27), brought to a close, although the general sentiment seems to be that they cannot long continue. The state of things on the Continent of Europe, seems to diseourage the hope of peace at present.

The meeting of parliament, it is sup posed, will not take place till November. It has been prorogued from the 9th to the 29th of October.

The lamented death of Mr. Fox, which took place on the 13th instant*, has necessarily occasioned some changes in the Cabinet. Lord Howick (Mr. Grey) is appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Mr. THOMAS GRENVILLE succeeds Lord Howick at the Admiralty; Earl FITZWILLIAM gives up the Presidency of the Council on account of his infirm state of health, and his place is to be filled by Lord SIDMOUTH; Lord HOLLAND succeeds Lord SIDMOUTH as Lord Privy Seal. The President of the Board of Controul is not yet named.

This event it is our intention to notice in our next number, with more particulari. ty than our limits will now permit us to do.

Dr. Warburton has been promoted to the Bishoprick of Limerick, with the united Bishoprick of Ardfert and Aghadoe.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

Jerome Bonaparte has contrived to elude all the squadrons which were sent in pursuit of him, and to effect his escape into a French port. He parted from the rest of his squadron soon after leaving the West Indies, and in his way home fell in with the Quebec convoy, six of which he captured. He was chased for a considerable time by an English 80 gun ship, which had already come within cannon shot, when the unfortunate loss of a mast obliged the English vessel to give over the chase. No certain account has yet been received of the fate of the other ships of Jerome's squadron. The Moniteur has published a flaming bulletin of the successes which have crowned the cruize of this future Admiral of France, who seems to be completely reinstated in his brother's imperial favour. He has been created a prince of the blood since his re

turn.

Our China and Jamaica filcets have arrived safely in this country.

The Leeward Island fleet consisting of near 300 sail has reached the Channel.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. CORRESPONDENT having faA voured us with a sketch of the life and character of Sir Matthew Hale, (taken from Bishop Burnet's account of him) we insert it with the exception only of such parts as have been anticipated in the review of Mr. Thirlwall's new edition of the works of Sir Matthew Hale, in our last number.

ACCOUNT OF SIR MATTHEW HALE.

MATTHEW HALE was born at Alderly, in Gloucestershire, the first of November, 1609. He was the only son of Sir Robert Hale, a Barrister of Lincoln's-Inn; a gentleman of great piety. He was early deprived of the care and instruction of his parents his mother died when he was under three years old, and his father survived her but two years. Thus was he left an orphan, and cast upon the providence of God, before he had attained the fifth year of his age. He was committed to the care of Antony Kingscot, Esq. who took great pains with his education, and sent him in his 17th year to Magdalen Hall, Oxford, intending to bring him up as a divine. He had been an extraordinary proficient at school, and for some time continued his studies with great ardour at Oxford. He had not, however, resided long in college, before he began to be allured by the gaieties of the world; and the university afforded him full scope for indulging the bent of his inclinations. He appears indeed to have always abstained from gross immoralities, and to have preserved CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 58,

a great share of integrity and probity of mind; but he became so ex tremely fond of the pleasures of gay life, and especially of attending plays, that he was totally unfitted for the pursuit of severer studies. He quitted the university after a residence of three years, with an intention of entering into the army; where it is not improbable that his ruin would have been completed. But providence had designed him to fill a more important station, in which his superior talents might have greater scope, and be exercised more to the glory of his Creator and to the good of mankind. By the wise persuasion of his friends he abandoned the thought of being a soldier, and in the twentieth year of his age was admitted into Lincoln's-Inn. Here the current of his youthful pas sions was providentially arrested; and he began to be deeply sensible of the folly of mis-spending life as he had hitherto done, and applied himself to the study of the law with an assiduity which is almost incredible. He is said for many years to have studied at the rate of 16 hours a day. The occurrence which about this time was instrumental in producing an entire change in the character of Mr. Hale was this. Having been invited with some of his fellow students to a party out of town, one of the company drank so immoderately of wine, that he fell down as dead before them. The whole company was much alarmed, and Mr. Hale was particularly af fected. He went into another room, and shutting the door, fell down on his knees, and prayed earnestly to 4 H