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and excellent man, to ask himself, with reference to that doctrine, which he has fo learnedly maintained, Cui bono? Of what importance is it to us to know whether the old doctrine of the immateriality of the foul be true or faife, whilft we firmly believe its immortality?

I fhall not trouble your readers any further than just to observe, that the friends of chriftianity ought to be extremely careful not to weaken the credibility of the gofpel by Difquifitions, which, though harmless in themselves, may poffibly thake the faith of fome lefs knowing perfons.

A RATIONAL CHRISTIAN.

Maternal Affection:

or, the Hiftory of CLEORA. [Illuftrated with a Copper-plate.]

HE viciffitudes of this life are

feen, that, without being a profeffed predeftinarian, one might be induced to believe, that fome of the great outlines of our lives are chalked out by Providence; it must be with the greateft difficulty and the moft arduous fortitude that they can be furmounted. At least, actuated by those paffions which are implanted in every human breaft, we must be fomething more than mortal to fubdue all thofe nice feelings, which force themselves upon us at moments that we are the moft unguarded, at thofe critical infiants that almoft determine our future deftiny.

After this exordium, we shall en-" deavour to illuftrate thefe obfervations in the hiftory of Cleora. This young lady was born in Lancashire,, and defcended from an ancient family of the Romish perfuafion. According ly, when he had attained a proper age, fhe was fent to French Flanders, and placed in a nunnery for her education. At that period the knew not that is was intended the should take the veil: her parents informed her that he was to remain there only three years, in order to obtain a Auency in the French language, and

other polite parts of an elegant edu

cation.

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However, during her noviciate, the lady abbefs, who was miftrefs of her profeffion, availed herself of the inAructions the had received to feduce : Cleora to a religious life; and though this kind of feduction is not fo well known, or at leaft underflood, as that of another fpecies, it is equally if not more criminal.

The abbefs called forth all her rhetorical talents to difplay the felicity. of a monaftic career--the heavenly joys that muft neceffarily follow, as no fin was permitted within thofe walls, and even no finful ideas could pervade them. The innocent Cleora liftened with too much attention---the fwallowed the baneful ambrofia of her lips, which tickled, cloyed, and almost ruined.

Cleora had not been above three months a clofe prifoner in the convent, veiled and precluded the fociety of all her former acquaintance---when the discovered how truly wretched was her condition-how the had been impofed upon, beguiled by the artifices of the abbels. It was at this very period,that the flood confessed a perfect woman, and all the paffions that affail a female breaft operated on ber. She had read Abelard and Heloife, and many other performances of a fimilar nature, which tended to fan a flame which ere this had been kindled.

A young abbè of great wit and addrefs, with a happy, a prepoffeffing phyfiognomy, and a manly perton, prefented himself at the grate, one afternoon, when Cleora found her heart fufceptible of every impreffion from the God of love. Their eyes fparkled, as it were, with fympathetic fire; his mellifluous tongue, added to this, conveyed a thoufand Cupids to her heart, which foon furrendered at difcretion to fuch powerful affailants innocent and unguarded.

After a fucceffion of conferences of the most tender, the most impaffioned kind, Lorenzo, for fo we shall call the abbè, propofed an elopement. Cleora, at first, ftartled at the proposal, but the foon found her affections too deeply engaged in the conflict not to confent to the defign. In fine, next night; about twelve, Cleora found means to

elade

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elude the rigorous attention of the abbefs, and reach the garden, on the ⚫utfide of which Lorenzo was waiting for her. He had prepared a ropeladder, which he threw over the wall, by this means the efcaped from bondage. He had a poft chaife ready at a fmall diftance from the fpot, which foon conveyed them to Calais, and from thence they reached Dover in a few hours.

It would only anticipate the reader's fancy to fay, that they paffed for man and wife, and that the natural confequences enfued. Cleora foon became pregnant, and gave the world a fine boy, the fruit of their mutual fondness.

Lorenzo's finances were, at this time, much embarraffed; he did not dare to write to his relations in France, as the ftep he had taken with Cleora had made much noife, and all correfpondence was interdicted between them. Cleora was nearly in the same predicament; her parents, who fill thought her at Douay (for the abbefs did not think it prudent to acquaint them with her elopement, as it might call the vigilance of her feminary in queftion) would not have afforded her any relief, had the written to them. Thus fituated, after the recovery from her lying-in, it was neceffary to think of fome means of fupport. It became expedient to feperate, it alfo was unavoidable to difpofe of the fweet infant: he was accordingly put to nurse. Lorenzo & Cleora parted. He obtained the ftation of an ufher in a grammar fchool, where he taught the Claffics and the French tongue. She purfued the fame line, and became governess at a young lady's boarding fchool fome diftance from town. By there pursuits they obtained a decent fubfiftence, had frequent interviews toge`ther, and confidering their respective fituations, were tolerably happy. But what conftituted Cleora's chief felicity was the vifits she paid her lovely boy, who was at nurfe a few miles diftant from her school. Her raptures upon this occafion are fcarcely to be expreffed, and the reciprocity of fondness on the fide of little George feemed to equal them; we fhall, therefore refer the reader for a proper idea of one of thefe meetings to the fubjoined plate,

which forcibly expreffes their mutual affection.

We shall only add that Cleora's father is lately dead, and has bequeathed her a handfome fortune; we may therefore conclude that Lorenzo and this charming woman, will, at length, be completely happy.

To the Editors of the BOSTON MA-
GAZINE.

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BSERVING, in' your firft and fecond numbers, a very ingenious hiftory of Cold. I have taken the liberty of fending you as a continuation of the fubject, in your next,an account of an experiment performed by the Academicians at Florence. They made a brafs globe about an inch thick, filled it with water, and fitted to the hole a feel fcrew. placed the globe in a mixture of fnow Then they and falt. After continuing it exposed to the cold of the atmosphere for fome time, they, on examination, found it entire; that the fides had been fufficient to refift the expanfive force of the ice: It was delivered to a turner, to take off part of its thickness. They then exposed it in the fame manner as before, and it fill refified the force with which the ice expanded. They delivered it the fecond time to the turner, who reduced the thickness of the globe again; and at laft, upon being expofed to the freezing mixture, the fides of it were burft afunder. The thickness was ftill fo great, that they computed the force, with which the ice expanded, to have exceeded twenty-feven thousand feven hundred and twenty weight. All this force was exerted by a little globe of water, only one inch in diameter

This power, with which water expands, explains many facts and phe. nomena, that we have occafion to ob. ferve; fuch as the burfling of pipes conveying water, when they are not buried at a fufficient depth below the furface of the ground, in frosty weather; and the rifing of the pavements. When a thaw comes on, we find the ftones all loofe, which is occafioned by the expanfive force of the water, which, while it freezes, raises them a little, and, when the ice is melted, it leaves them loofen'd from their beds. The fame principle accounts for the remarkable

remarkable fertility in ground, after repeated frofts; provided they are not continued too late in the fpring.

A divifion of the particles of earth is neceffary, that the roots of plants may feek their way through the foil, and may spread around to a fufficient extent to colle& their nourishment, and nothing is more adapted to this than froft. The water penetrates the foil by means of capillary attraction, is infinuated through the whole, and this water, in the act of freezing, expands very fenfibly, and thereby feperates all the parts from one another. Of this fact we have frequent experiments by the flipperinefs of the ground immediately, when a thaw fucceeds a, hard froft; the particles being fo much loofened, that the whole surface is in a ftate of mud. From the fame caufe proceeds the decay of buildings, and even that decay, to which rocks and mountains are subject.

A great variety of opinions have prevailed in the world, concerning the principle of cold, and I believe the moft critical Philofopher may reft fatisfied, that it is only the absence of heat; and that all fubftances, whether fimple or combined, are fold or Buid, in proportion to the quantity of heat they contain.

I muft beg leave to mention one obfervation on the nature of heat; that although it expands all bodies, and caufes them to fill a greater space, yet it never increases the weight; and experiments have been made on iron, which has been heated red hot, and though it had expanded confiderably, was weighed, and found by the most

accurate attention not to have received the leaft addition to its weight.

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being together. Five years thus paffed, when their fenfations became more ferious. Perrin propofed to Lucetta to demand her from her father: She blushed, and confeffed her willingness. As the had an errand to the town next day, the opportunity of her abfence was chofen for making the propofal. You want to marry my daughter, faid the old man. Have you a houfe to cover her, or money to maintain her Lucetta's fortune is not enough for both. It won't do, Perrin, it won't do. But, replied Perrin, I have hands to work: I have laid up twenty crowns of my wages, which will defray the expence of the wedding: I'll work harder, and lay up more. Well, fad the old man, you are young, and may wait a little : Get rich, and my daughter is at your fer. vice. Perrin waited for Lucetta's returning in the evening. Has my father given you a refufal, cried Lucetta? Ah Lucetta, replied Perrin, how unhappy am I for being poor? But I have not loft all hopes: My circumftances may change for the better. As they never tired of converfing together, the night drew on, and it became dark. Perrin, making a falfe ftep, fell on the ground. He found a bag, which was heavy. Drawing toward alight in the neighbourhood, he found that it was filled with gold. I thank Heaven, cries Perrin, in a tranfport, for being favourable to our w.fhes. This will fatisfy your father, and make us happy. In their way to her father's houfe, a thought ftruck Perrin. This money is not ours: It belongs to fome franger; and perhaps this moment he is lamenting the lofs of it: Let us go to the vicar for advice: He has always 'been kind to me.' Perrin put the hag into the vicar's hand, faying, that at fift he looked upen it as a providential prefent to remove the only obftacle to their marriage; but he now doubted whether he could lawfully retain it. The vicar eyed, the lovers with attention: He admired their honefty, which appeared even to surpass their affection. Perrin, faid he, cherish thefe fentiments: Heaven will blefs you. We will endeavour to find out the owner: He will reward thy honef

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