Eglifo Gentleman refident at Rome. JHEN Arts first rofe in Egypt's happy land real power could e'er her force with empires equal periods know, one, then thele mult ceafe to grow. Diyebb, behold the nation fall, ks, and deaf to honour's call. dalis, Grecce the infant arts convey'd, Lisovelluttre they difplay'd. part marble Egypt's fons could give em-the Grecians bade them live. armpts, fuch foftnefs is exprefs'd, as to prefs the swelling breast; ich bids admiration rile, Asing which to truit, our hands or eyes, loom, cold as Alpine fnow, treat bids unfeign'd ardour glow. rans alone-in arms renown'd, Netherfetters to the world around, Bantung Egypt felt the chain, t, her armies fought in vain, Grece the imperial fceptre hold, he was fubdued by luft of gold. fed her venal itatues come the palaces of youthful Rome. th the glowing fculpture buysto Greece's tall, and Latium's rife. SONNET, X. Smile then propitious on my feeble lays, And make them equal to my Cloe's praife, In that just mean inftruct my verfe to flow, Not harthly rough, nor languishingly flow, But graceful eafy numbers let me bring, Graceful and eafy as the nymph I fing. Then, when with envy future bards enquire What powerful charms fuch numbers could infpire, With pride and pleafure fhall I own, that you Who made the lover made the poet too. IN CUPID and SOPHIA. Addreffed to Mrs. W. Ut vidi ut perii N am'rous mood, the God of Love, 'tis faid, Drew back the curtains of Sophia's bed; The lovely maid, unconfcious, fiept ferene, Nor dreamt the rofy boy to near had been: "What charms (he cries) what wond 'rous charms are here! Venus, my mother, is not half fo fair!"— ELEGY. J. W. W. Θηλών θηλω φιλησαι. ANACREON. To every deity, to every fprite, That views with pity mortal cares. Say, ye, who know, why endless griefs annoy, And doom to woe, my youthful breast; Where every happy thought once teem'd with joy And pleafure was a conftant gueft? O fay, ye fairy elves, ye fpirits, fay, Who dwell in facred grots, unfeen, Nor mortal foouteps dare advance; To pleasure now, and now to pain? Yet I'm content-tor fee, how brightly glows And hear what folid fenfe her lips difclofe, For Tazm-Abbey, of which an account is given in our Magazine for July, 1783. + Chepstow-Castle. For ah! conjoin'd to thofe exterior charms, Then let me, raptur'd, own the nymph divine, Which love and beauty join'd infpire. Still let me love, nor with my bofom free, Still let my paffion every grief beguile: Still let me hope the may approve; And, blissful thought! perchance may favouring fmile, And with compaffion blefs my love. The fculptur'd image yields to Time's rude hand: Thefe perith-but that heavenly fmile impreft, In fenatu, Regi, patriæque Vulgi obftrepentis contemptor anim Domi inter mille mercature negati Literarum elegantiam minime ne Amicis quocunque modo laborant Conciliis, auctoritate, muneribus, Inter familiares, comites, convivas, Tam facili fuit morum fuavitate Ut omnium animos ad fe alicer Tam felici fermonis libertate, Ut nulli adulatus, omnibus place Natus 1722. Obiit 1781. Confortes tumuli habet Rodolphum p nuum fortemque virum et Henricum cum quem fpei parentum mors inopinad proripuit. Ita Domus felix et opulenta quam Avus, auxitque pater, cum nepote Abi, Viator, Et vicibus rerum humanarum perf Æternitatem cogita!* A youthful stranger to this fatal grove; Oh! if thy breaft can feel too fort a fan And with thee wanders fome unguarded Fly, fly the place-each object thru” Ch Pertuades to love, and in this cottage What cannot, may not, will not Love pe See to yon oak how close the woodbine And twines around its luxury of leaves. Above, the boughs a pleafing darkncisi Beneath, a downy couch fott fleeces t Or fofter herbage forms a living bed. Do fpies approach? fhrill bells the foun. And from the entrance fcreams the cont Nor from thefe walls do rigid buftos Or philofophic cenfors threat in stone: But Venus felf does her own rights ar In naked itate, and thro' the raptur d Breathes the fweet madness of exceffive. *We shall be obliged to any of our learned readers for a tranflation. + We are not certain who was the author of thefe verfes. They have been attributed to W and to Horace Walpole. 375 METEOR S. the firft volume of the London Magazine in its prefent form, a very and accurate account was given of the various METEORS which had obferved by astronomers and others, during the laft fummer, and alfo an al relation of the circumftances which have been recorded concerning FIRE-BALLS during the laft and prefent centuries. We were likewife red with a copy of Dr. Maskelyne's plan for obferving thefe phenomenat. we have already entered fo largely into thefe fubjects, our readers may expect to find in this work every paper of importance which appears, re to these meteors. On this account we prefent them with a copy of the wing letter to the aftronomer royal. It was publicly addreffed to him in quence of the plan and directions mentioned above, which were diffemiJinto every part of the island. THE HONOURABLE NEVIL MASKELYNE, D. D. F. R. S. AND ASTRONOMER ROYAL. SIR, AVING met with an addrefs from ye to the community at large, it what animadverfions they thave made of the feveral melately feen, I beg leave to favour ith the following, which I have ed from an account given by the concerned. The meteor, or fire-ball, which d on Auguft the 18th, was feen fhermen off Barking, in Ef to imagined it arofe from out of th by the fea fide, as it paffed diover their veffel about three miafter they firft difcovered it, g then N. N. W. from them, taverfed towards the S. S. E. At very fmall, but increafed in he higher it afcended. When it in a parallel with their veffel, they aoife like unto the fizzing of gunpowder when fired. It was about twenty minutes paft when they firft difcovered it; bewithin fhore, they imagined it e from out of the marsh. Its figure at firft was globular and , not fo large as a trap-ball, cong a faint light, but, approaching appeared confiderably larger brighter, about one foot in dia, when directly over their veffel ey heard the combuftion, but the fire then is not to be afcertained, the nation being fo great that they ed inveloped in a blaze. 4. Shortly after paffing by, it feparated into many fmall globes, carrying a tail of a yard long. Thefe fiery globules did not feem to feparate from the main body, but others kindled by the fire-ball in its paffage. 5. The tail difppeared firft; at the time of its burting the body feemed to be repulfed from it, and in about a minute after the body alfo burft, being at this time no larger than a cricketball. The manner of its burfting greatly refembled that of a fire-work, known by the name of a Roman candle abroad, which, after reaching the higheft extent, burfts and feparates into two or three drops, leaving a faint light behind. In the fame manner the fire-ball, after gaining the greateft apparent altitude, burit, leaving a track in the elements. About twenty minutes after its difappearance an explofion was heard from the fame quarter, like unto the rumbling noife of a clap of thunder, increafing and decreafing in the found. It is to be obferved that the ball burft ten minutes after it had pafed them. Obfervations on the Meteors or Fire-balls. The more condenfed the circumambient air or atmosphere, the more pure is that of the upper region, which being fpecifically lighter than the former caufes a precipitation. Suppofe the atmosphere to be in a ftate of conden Page 449 and p. 487. + Page 498. fity, fity, it is a heterogeneous fluid, ftrongly impregnated with the fulphureous exhalations, &c. from the earth, rarefied by the folar heat or fubterraneous fires, which, when higher fublimed, come in contact with diffimilar bodies. A commixture of this kind, viz. inflammable, being formed, when agitated by the winds a collifion of its particles excites an inteftine heat; it next expands and feparates with explofion. From hence I determine the fire-ball to be a vaporous exhalation, or ignis-fatuns fublimed, forming at congeries with other vapours of an attractive quality, previoufly fublimed, and the many fmaller globes a feparation of the congeries, caufed by the wind. From the time they firft difcovered it till its difappearance was about thirteen minutes. The reafon why the report was from the fame quarter where it feemed blended with others; they increafing and decreafing was the ferent reports conveyed from ther feparable parts which difappeare ternately, each paffing off with plofion. I make no doubt but exact time when it was feen at dif places, and the velocity of the and the found could be commun to you in the manner I have here your fuperior genius would fou cover the longitude of places. In confutation of the receive nion, that found moves at the a thirteen miles in a minute, w fuppofe an inflammable substance, component parts are of a differe ture from another though of the magnitude, will admit of a grea plofion; the tremulations caufed air must be fharper and brifker one than the other. Allowing any given account cannot exce jecture, as we muit fuppofe it an inflammable matter, whofe nent parts are not of fuch an e as to admit of the fame exploft for the found to move at the 13 miles in a minute, from the regions, against wind, &c. The report heard after its burfting 20 minutes, as found moves (according to you) only 13 miles in a minute, it muft have been from them at the time of its burfing S. S. E. 260 miles, and when they firft faw it 78 miles N. N. W. It is no wonder they imagined it fo nigh, as its rapid courfe was no less than 26 miles in a minute. The computed diftance between the two points mentioned being 10,800 geographical miles; the velocity of the meteor was fo quick, that in fix hours, 55 minutes, and 23 feconds, it would Gravefend, Jan. 17. have paffed from pole to pole. G. SALLINGER, S A INTELLIGENCE. New arret is iffued by the King of France, concerning the opera of Paris, which is an additional proof of the liberality of the Grand Monarch, and of the wisdom of his minifters.This arret provides a comfortable retreat for the actors and actreffes of that theatre. It excites emulation among authors by the prizes which are to be adjudged to the beft lyric productions, and it encourages the zeal of the principal agents in this rational amufe ment. We have too frequently feen that talents the most refpectable, and exerted with the most laudable ambition, have been treated with fo much cool indifference by the public, a ftead of accumulating the weal which they were intitled, have d their poffeffors to linger out thei without refource, to a decrep unhappy old age. This arre the performers of a certain pr after fifteen years of uninterrupt vice, and if they continue years on the flage, they are to titled to a further penfion, in ent of what their talents may ha duced. Gold medals are to ferred on the lyric poets, and encouragement is affured to ev ccfsful effort of literary talent. eral procedure will enfure the opera Paris an inexhauftible fource of fuband a marked fuperiority over de other theatres of Europe. he perfons who are appointed to the judges for the diftribution of prizes, in the opera, to the author the beft lyric performances give the fatisfaction and confidence to urati. Their number, their inence, their high character, and derated rank as members of the Françoije, give the candidates royal honours full fecurity that forts will be fairly estimated. following is their advertisement ing their acceptance of the , and their arrangement: M. Thomas, Gaillard, ArLille, Suard, Champfort, and le, of the Academie Françoife, g been invited by the minifter, name of the King, to take upon fees the examination of the lyens which may be fubmitted in tion for the prizes eftablished King, according to the article anet of the 3d of January laft, e accepted of this diftinguishrk of the royal confidence, and will beft demonftrate their fenfe high honour, by the zeal, atand impartiality with which fall execute the truft repofed in The authors of the works fubto the competition, muft be fet , and be the ordinary length theatrical piece. They are to poems before the ift of Denext to M. Suard, one of the ers, who has accepted of the of fecretary. The pieces for following year are in like manbe fent before the 1ft of De The authors are to be careful that do not by any means, directly or ely, difcover themfelves; they ly put fome morto or device at tead of their feveral productions, clofe a fealed paper containing to, along with their addrefs. The examiners will meet in the of December, at a convenient and will proceed to the judgeLuXD. Mac. May 1784. ment of the pieces; and they will give their opinion, not only on the pieces which they thall confider worthy of the prizes, and which they fall adjudge to receive them; but alfo on thofe which with corrections appear fufceptible of exhibition on the theatre with applaufe. When the examiners have concluded their examination, and pronounced their judgement, they will tranfmit the decifion to the fecretary of ftate for the department of Paris, who will publifh, in the daily journals, the names of the fuccefsful pieces, and the prizes will be delivered by the minifter to their authors. The examiners will return to the authors their works, along with the obfervations which they have made, and by which, in their opinion, thofe who are not intitled to the prizes may be improved and rendered fit for the theatre. The examiners, defirous of dedicating a part of their time to fecond the views of the Sovereign in giving to the Academie Royale de Mufique the defired perfection for the entertainment of the public and the progrefs of the arts, have procured free admiffion to a box fet apart for them in the opera, and mean to be prefent as often as poffible at the reprefentation of the new pieces, according to the invitation they have received, that they may contribute by their fuggeftions and advice to the fuccefs of the performances." THE ufeful establishments that are every day fixing in France are the greateft difgrace to this kingdom, where we have none by which young men may become acquainted with arts and fciences not taught at the univerfitics. The prefent King of France laft year eftablished a School of Mining. The royal edict appoints two profeffors with ample falaries, one charged with teaching publicly chemistry, and mineralogy. The other teaches phyfics, fubterranean geometry, hydrau lies, the art of piercing, and the whole that pertains to the renovation of air. The courfe of ftudy is three years, each lecture is of three hours, and each profeilor gives three a week. No fcholars 3 C are |