lady, his relation, defiring her, by a perfon whom she could truft, to return it into the queen's own hands; but her husband, who was one of the earl's greatest enemies, and to whom he had imprudently told the circumftance, would not fuffer her to acquit herself of the commiffion; fo that the queen confented to the earl's death, being full of indignation against so proud and haugh ty a fpirit, who chose rather to die than implore her mercy. Some time after, H% HISTORY OF OWEVER naturalifts may doubt of the reality of mermaids and mermen, we have teftimony enough to establish it; though, how far these testimonies may be authentic, we cannot take upon us to fay. In the year 1187, as Lary informs us, fuch a monfter was fifhed up in the county of Suffolk, and kept by the governor for fix months. It bore fo near a conformity with man, that nothing feemed wanting to it but fpeech. One day it took the opportunity of making its efcape; and, plunging into the fea, was never more heard of. In the year 1430, after a most violent tempeft, which broke down the dikes in Holland, and made way for the fea into the meadows, &c. fome girls of the town of Edam in Weft-Freezeland, going in a boat to milk their cows, perceived a mermaid embarraffed in the mud, with a very little water. They took it into their boat, and brought it with them to Edam, dressed it in womens apparel, and taught it to fpin. It fed like one of them, but could never be brought to offer at fpeech. Some time afterwards it was brought to Haerlem, where it lived for fome years, though still showing an inclination to the water. Parival relates, that they had given it fome notion of a Deity, and that it made its reverence very devoutly whenever it paffed by a crucifix. Délices de Hollande. In the year 1560, near the island of Manar, on the western coaft of the ifland of Ceylon, fome fishermen brought up, at one draught of a net, (even mermen and mermaids; of which several Jefuits, and among the the admiral's lady fell fick, and, being near her death, fhe fent word to the queen that she had fomething of great confequence to communicate before the died. The queen came to her bedfide, and, having ordered all her attendants to withdraw, the lady returned, but too late, the ring, defiring to be excuf ed that the did not return it fooner: on which the queen immediately retired, overwhelmed with grief and remorfe. THE MERMAID. reft F. Hen. Henriques and Dimas Bofquez, physicians to the viceroy of Goa, were witneffes. The phyfician, who examined them with a great deal of care, and made diffection thereof, afferts, that all the parts both internal and external were found perfectly conformable to those of men. See the Hift. de la Compagnie de Jefus, p. ii. tom. iv. No. 276. where the relation is given at length. We have another account of a merman, feen near the great rock called Diamond, on the coaft of Martinico. The perfons who faw it gave in a precife defcription of it before a notary. They affirmed that they faw it wipe its hand over its face, and even heard it blow its nofe. Another creature of the fame fpecies was caught in the Baltic in the year 1531, and fent as a prefent to Sigifmond king of Poland, with whom it lived three days, and was feen by all the court. Another very young one was taken near Rocca de Sintra, as related by Damian Goes. The king of Portugal and the grand master of the order of St. James, are faid to have had a fuit at law to determine which of them these monsters belonged to. In Pontopidan's Natural History of Norway, alfo, we have accounts of mermaids; but not more remarkable or anyway better attefted than the above. In 1613 a mermaid was taken in the harbour of Cherbourg, after a violent ftorm, and was carried by the mayor of that place as a prefent to the French Court; but dying before it reached Verfailles, it was afterwads fhewn publicly in the streets of Paris. TRAITE TRAITE ON GEN. DUMOURIER. [With a fine PORTRAIT.] GENERAL Dumourier, is now in rear to fire upon his own men, and iftor their retreat. They were them obliged to turn, though thousands had fallen by this time, and the Austrians had scarcely lost a man. A fecond time the center gave way, and the Auftrians.incautiously left their entrenchments to purfue them. This was what Dumourier wifhed, and with his own flanks he turned the wings of the Auftrian army, and got behind them in their entrenchments. Here great flaughter was made of the Auftrians, who loft in all about 3,500 men. The French loft about 14,000, who were left dead on the field of battle.-Dumourier, during the greater part of the engagement, threw off his coat and waistcoat, and fought as a common foldier; and thus far he refcues his name from the odium that attends the murder of his own men, that on no occafion did he ever fpare himself. The moft difgraceful part of Dumourier's character is that of his apoftacy in deferting to the allies, and in attempting to fuborn his army. There is only one apology that can be made for it, namely, that of faving his head, which was certainly doomed to the guillotine. his fixty-third year, but as active as if he was not above forty. He is a thin man, fomewhat under the middle fize, his nose large and prominent, and his eyes very dark and animated.However celebrated he has been in the field for perfonal atchievement, he is not less remarkable as a negociator, for he has been at the bottom of half the intrigues that have been practifed at Paris, and he was able to purfue, and to manage and to dictate, thefe, in the midst of his moft hazardous enterprizes. Prior to his fucceeding to the command of La Fayette's army, he had a duel with that gentleman. They fought with fwords, and Dumourier wounded him in the fide. Of all the military men that perhaps ever lived, there is no man who has exposed himfelf to more personal hazard than Dumourier. He has had various horfes fhot under him: he has led on regiments, both of horfe and foot, to the very mouth of the cannon of the enemy, and has repeatedly rode from right to left in the midst of a heavy difcharge of artillery, and back again, while the fuite that followed him have almost all For this purpose a decree, orbeen killed.-Yet he never received dering him to appear at the bar, was the fmalleft wound. The particulars carried against him in the convention, of the battle of Jemappe where he moft and Beurnonville, with five of its memfignalized himself, are not generally bers, accompanied by a fecretary, were known: they are as follow:-The ordered to bring him a prifoner to Auftrians were entrenched up to their Paris-Dumourier having intelligence chins upon an eminence. The French of what was paffing, affembled his chowere in the plains below. The Auf- fen troops, which confifted of from 18 trians had 17,000 men in the field. to 20,000 men, and asked them if any The French had 65,000. On the flanks part of his conduct had merited that he Gen. Dumourier put all the old foldiers, thould be condemned as a traitor? They who he was confident would not run all cried with one voice, that he had away. In the center he had all the behaved with great courage, and that Paris volunteers, and all the recruits they moft deferved the appellation who from every part of the country. Be- had called him fo. Soon as the Comhind them he had a range of artillery. miffioners arrived, and Beurnonville Before the onset he let every man had made known their errand, Dumous drink what brandy he chose. They_rier affected to receive them with great began, for the first time, in the afternoon, and were beat back. That night the French lay upon their arms, and the next morning more brandy was given to them, and the volunteers went on with great fpirit up to the entrenchments, and were mowed down by the Auftrian artillery by hundreds. In a fhort time the French gave way in the center, on which General Dumourier ordered the artillery that were in the ་ civility, and envited them to the Place d'Armes, where they had no fooner, come, than he immediately put then under arreft, reproaching them with their folly in having undertaken such a bufinefs. He then took from them their fwords, and fent them under a file of grenadiers to the Auftrian army, as prifoners of war. A reprefentation of this fingular tranfaction, elegantly engraved, is given in this Magazine. POETRY POETRY. The CAPTIVITY of CARACTICUS. tifh Their blood-ftain'd plumage nodding to the gale, The lords of empire darken'd Albion's Chore. His dreary conquest shaggy, waste, and rude, High from the prow the imperial eagle Beneath the proud bird's hateful shade O'er the pale cliffs, that leffen'd to the The bearded Bards, in robes of radient white, With harps that glitter'd to the orb of day, And bade their monarch's towering foul Catch, O Rome, in fwelling fails rude, 'Mid favage wolves and winter's famish'd bowers; And deluge Tiber's vales, and thatter O Prince, when loos'd from mortal clay Sails darkly fhadowing Britain's naked VOL. I. No. 5. fires; To bear unconquer'd the high mind; In fimple boldness to reveal; In which the forked lightning blaz'd, So Claudius, laid on Tiber's viny mounds, With generous envy toward a captive foe; bowers, Imperial domes and fpiry towers, U His infant limbs had roll'd in Cambrian fnow; That Freedom, near romantic Vaga's tide, Had hung her gleaming faulchion at his While the keen northern blast Maintain'd that inborn nobleness of mind, Firm as Plinlimmon's base, and free as ocean-wind. FOREIGN FOREIGN OCCURRENCES. DUKE of YORK's ARMY. GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY. WHITEHALL, Aug. 28. THE HE following difpatch was this morning received from Col. Sir James Murray, adjutant-general to the forces under the command of his royal highness the Duke of York, at the office of the Rt. Hon. Henry Dundas, his majefty's principal fecretary of State for the home department. Lefferinck's Hocke, Aug. 26. Sir, I have the honour to inform you, that his royal highness intended upon the 24th to attack the enemy, who were still pófted at some distance from Dunkirk, in order to get poffeffion of the ground which it was neceflary to occupy previous to the fiege. They haftened the execution of this defign by attacking the out-posts between the canal of Furnes and the sea. Lieutenant-general Dalton advanced with the referve, which was encamped upon that fide, to their fupport. The enemy, were repulsed, and driven, with lofs, into the town. One piece of cannon and a few prifoners were taken. The ardour of the troops carried them further in the purfuit than was intended, fo that they came under the cannon of the place, by which means a confiderable lofs has been fuftained. This was likelier to happen, and more difficult to be prevented, from the nature of the country, which is covered with trees and ftrong enclosures. Lieutenant-general Dalton was killed with a cannon-fhot towards the conclufion of the attack. The lofs of this excellent officer must be feverely felt. courage and ability, which he has difplayThe ed in the course of many campaigns, raised him to the highest rank of estimation in the army in which he ferved. His royal highness has likewife to lament that of Col. Eld, of the Coldstream regiment, and of other valuable men. The troops behaved with their usual courage. The two British battalions which were engaged were commanded by Col. Leigh and Major Mathews, and the grenadier battalion of Hellians by Lieut.-colonel Wurmb.-His royal highnets is parficularly fenfible of the exertions of Major, general Abercrombie and Major-general Verneck, who were with the advanced. guard, as likewife of thofe of Lieutenantgeneral Wurnb. The army have taken up the ground which his royal highnefs intended they hould occupy the advanced pofts with I HESSIAN S. I captain, 2 lieutenants, 13 rank and file, First regiment of foot-guards: Capt. Wil- J. S. LEGER, Dep. Adj. Gen. ty's fire-fhip the Comet, arrived this FURNES, Sept. 9. Sir, It is with extreme forrow that I event of an attack which the French army, have to acquaint you with the unfortunate upon the 8th inft. The latter was pofted, made upon that of Field-marshal Freytag the left extending towards Leyrel. at Hondfchoote, the right upon the canal, ceding evening, in which they had been The enemy had made an attack the prerepulfed; but upon that day attacking 1 greatest exertions of bravery in the troops, upon every point, notwithstanding the and of ability in General Walmoden, who then commanded them, they succeeded in forcing the centre of his line. He retired behind the small canal which runs from Bulfam to Steenkirk. A royal highness has not as yet received any The lofs has been very fevere. His return, nor have any further particulars been tranfmitted. Many gallant officers have fallen. The whole lofs in the different actions is fuppofed to be near 1500 in ter. in killed, wounded, and mitfing; that of the enemy has been unquestionably grea. Three pieces of cannon, and between two and three hundred prifoners, have been taken. I understand that the Hanoverians have loft the fame number of cannon. Upon the 7th his royal highness fent two battalions of Heffians to Gen. Walmoden's fupport; but, finding that aid to be ineffectual, he was reduced to the neceffity of collecting his whole force, by abandoning the pofition he had taken near Dunkirk. Thirty-two of the heavy-guns, and part of the ftores provided for the fiege, were left behind, there being no means of carrying them off. army marched last night, and encamped this morning near Adinkerque. The It appears that the enemy had collected. force for this enterprife from every quarer of the country, from the armies of the Rhine and Mofelle, and particularly that which had occupied the Camp de Cæfar. They were commanded by Gen. Houchard, who is faid y the prifoners (though with what degree of truth cannot be ascertained) to have been mortally wounded at Rexpoede. A In the retreat upon the night of the 6th, his royal highnefs Prince Adolphus and the field-marthal were, for a short time, in the poffeffion of the enemy patrole of cavalry, which ought to have been in their front, having taken another road, they went into the village of Rexpoede, through which one of the columns was to pafs, but which was then occupi ed by the enemy. His royal highness was wounded with a fword upon the head and arm; but I have the fatisfaction to fay, that no bad confequences are to be apprehended. The field-marshal was wounded in the head, and, I am happy to add, only in the fame degree. He has, however, been unable, fince that time, to take the command of the army. Capt. Ouflar, one of his royal highness's aidesdu-camp, was killed, and another, Capt. Wangenheim, very feverely wounded.From this fituation his royal highnefs and the field-marshal were relieved by the intrepidity and presence of mind of Gen. Walmoden, who, upon difcovering the enemy were in poffeffion of Rexpoede had immediately collected a body of troops, attacked it without helitation, and defeated them with great flaughter. It is with infinite regiet I must add, that Col. Moncrieff has received a wound of the most dangerous kind. The lofs of an officer of fpirit, activity, and genius, like his, must ever be feverely felt, and it is particularly to be lamented at the prefent moment. I have the honour to be, &c. JA. MURRAY. Killed and Wounded of the 2d Brigade of British Infantry. 14th Regiment: 1 ferjeant, 1 corporal, 8 privates, killed; I captain, 1 lieuten ant, 3 enfigns, 1 ferjeant, 1 corporal, i drummer, 35 privates, wounded. 37th Regiment: 1 enfign killed, and 3 privates wounded. 53d Regiment: 4privates wounded. Names of Officers Killed and Wounded. Enfin M'Donald killed: Capt. Garnier, Lieut. M'Kenzie, Enfigns Elrington, Smith, and Williams, wounded. Volunteers Day and M'Grath wounded. GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY. WHITEHALL, Sept. 12. The following difpatch from Colonel Sir James Murray was received this evening. FURNES, September 10. Sir, have the honour to inform you, that in confequence of information received this morning from Ypres, ftating that that important place was attacked, and that it stood in need of immediate affiftance, his royal highnefs determined to go to its relief. The troops were already marched, when intelligence was received of the enemy having fallen back to Bailleul. This retreat feems to have been occafioned by a fuccefsful attack, which was made upon the 8th by General Beaulieu, upon their pofts near Lille. In confequence of this, the troops have returned to their former camp. I have the honour to be, with the greateit respect, &c. JAMES MURRAY. WHITEHALL, Sept. 16.: Capt. Robinfon, of the Brilliant frigate, arrived yesterday evening at the office of the Right. Hon. Henry Dundas, with the following difpatch from Col. Sir James Murray. Dixmude, September 14, 1793. Sir, I take the opportunity of Capt. Robinson of the Brilliant frigate, going to England, to inform you, that the Dutch ports upon the Lys were forced by the enemy upon the 12th. In confe quence of this the troops of the republic have abandoned Menin, and have fall. en back upon Bruges and Ghent. His royal highness means to march this day to Thouroute. Accounts were received this morning that an engagement had taken place at Villers en Couchee, near Quefnoy, in which the French were defeated, with the lofs of 3000 men, and eleven pieces of cannon, and the garrifon taken. U 2 JAMES MURRAY, LON. " |