perceived the poifon which they frequently contain; trusting to the moral, which often operates faintly, and many will not attend to, he has allowed himself to relate facts and defcribe fcenes, which the vicious only will regard, and, under the aufpices of virtue, may undermine and fascinate even the best refolutions. His works, merely philofophical, can do no great injury though our author loves humanity, man, in fociety, is his averfion; yet his reasoning, we believe, never drove any one to the banks of the Miffiflippi or the Ohio. The angle of the conflux of these mighty rivers might furnish an admirable retreat for a philofopher of this kind; and, in a series of ages, it will perhaps afford the fite of the first commercial city in the univerfe. But to return.

The baronefs feems to admire Rouffeau; and, though not blind to his fingularities and his illufions, feems occafionally inclined to admire and defend even his failings. She delineates Rouffeau's character from his works: we fhall begin with it. In his confeffions this lady thinks that he drew from himself; that, confcious of his own goodness, he was not afraid of defcribing his faults, or that, in reality, to him they did not feem faults.

Rouffeau must have had a figure not remarkable on a tranfient view, but which could never be forgotten when once he had been observed fpeaking. He had little eyes which had no expreffion of themfelves, but fucceffively received that of the different impulfions of the mind. His eyebrows were very prominent, and feemed proper to ferve his morofencfs, and hide him from the fight of men. His head was for the most part hung down, but it was neither flattery nor fear that had lowered it; meditation and melancholy had weighed it down like a flower bent by the form of its own weight. When he was filent, his phyfiognomy had no expreffion; neither his thoughts nor affections were apparent in his vifage, except when he took part in conversation; but the moment he ceased speaking, they retired to the bottom of his heart. His features were common; but when he spoke they all acquired the greatest anima tion. He refembled the gods which Ovid defcribes to us, fometimes quitting by degrees their terreftrial disguise, and at length discovering themfelves by the brilliant rays emanating from their countenance.'

His mind was flow, and his opinions were the refult of reflection rather than quick impreffions: his genius was creative when left to operate without impediment or controul, and this habit of reflection, with a prepoffeffion that all mankind was combined against him, gave that fable hue to all his opinions, and all his actions. Trifles light as air, were to him confirm. ations ftrong as proofs of holy writ.' Our author is of opinion, page 102, that imagination was his greatest faculty, and abforbed

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forbed all the reft: fhe adds, in the page next but one, that, though Rousseau was not a madman, one of his faculties, his imagination, was infane:' again, in page 116, fhe obferves, that he could be paffionately fond of nothing but illufions.' All these confeffions amount, we think, very nearly to infanity. The baronefs feems to believe that his death was a voluntary one; and, though she is contradicted by the countess de Vassy, who was near Ermonville, and had confequently the beft information, the observations, joined to Rouffeau's difpofition, render the fuppofition very probable. If we were to give a fhort character of Rouffeau, we should fay, that he poffeffed every excellent quality of the mind except judgment; that his perception and his imagination were acute and vivid; his reflections clofe and pointed. So far as thefe went he was fupreme; but thefe qualities, without ftrong judgment, would lead to paradoxes, to fancies, to fophiftry, perhaps to fuicide. Add to all, a morbid conftitutional melancholy, which clothed every thing in a gloomy veil, and we fhall find a Rouffeau, in the world, querulous, impatient, petulant, and captious; yet, left to himfelf, brilliant, inventive, interefting, inftructive.

The remarks on Rouffeau's different works, form a kind of continued commentary. We have already given the baronefs's ́opinion of the author and his productions. We fhall confequently conclude our article with a fpecimen of the style of her criticisms, which is in general fo animated and pleafing as to make her work very entertaining. The paffage which we fhall transcribe relates to the New Heloife; and the defence is a very ingenious one.

He has described a woman married against her inclinations; having for her husband nothing but efteem, and bearing in her heart the remembrance of former happinefs and love for another object; paffing her whole life, not in that vortex of the great world, wherein a woman may forget her husband and lover, which permits not any thought or fentiment to reign, extinguilhes all paffion, and reftores calm by confufion, and repofe by agitation; but in abfolute retirement, alone with M. de Wolmar, in the country, near to nature, and by nature dif pofed to all the fentiments of the heart which it either infpires or prefents to the imagination. It is in this fituation Rouffeau has defcribed to us Julia, creating to herself a felicity from virtue; happy by the happinefs the confers upon her husband, and by the education the intends to give her children; happy by the effect of her example upon thofe about her, and in the confolation fhe finds in her confidence in God. This happinefs is undoubtedly of another kind; it is more melancholy; it may be tafted of and tears still fhed; but it is more proper for beings who are but tranfient upon the earth which they inhabit; after enjoyment is loft without regret; it is an habitual happinefs which we entirely poffefs unabated either by fear or reflec

tion; finally, it is one in which devout minds find all the des lights love promifes to others. It is this pure fentiment, des fcribed with fo many charms, that renders the novel moral, and which would have made it more so than any other had Julia always prefented us, not as the ancients have faid, virtue strug gling with misfortune, but with paffion, ftill more terrible; and if this pure and unfpotted virtue had not lost a part of its charnt by refembling repentance.'

Julia ftill remains to be justified in not having avowed her fault to M. Wolmar. To have revealed it before her mar. riage would have been a certain means to render the marriage impoffible, and to disappoint her father. After an indiffoluble tie had attached her to M. de Wolmar, to destroy the esteem he had for her would have been rifking his happiness. I know not but the facrifice of her delicacy to the tranquillity of another may even be worthy of great admiration. Virtues which in the eyes of mankind differ not from vices are the most diffi cult to exercise. Is not a confidence in the purity of our intentions, and the elevation of ourselves above the reach of opi nion, the character of a difinterefied love of that which is good? Yet how fhould I admire the emotion which gave birth to the refolution to avow all! This I with pleasure obferve in Ju lia, and at the fame time I applaud Rouffeau, who thought it not enough to oppofe in the fame perfon reflection to inclination, but that another perfon was neceffary; that Claire should take upon herfelf to diffuade Julia from difcovering her fault to M. de Wolmar, that Julia might preferve all the charm of her fentiment, and appear rather to be withheld than capable of reftraining herself. Whatever the general opinion may be upon this point, it is at least true, that when Rouffeau is deceived, it is for the most part in attaching himself to a moral idea, rather than to one of another kind; it is between the virtues he chooses, and the preference he gives that he is alone open to attack, or capable of being defended.'

Oeuvres Pofthumes de Frederic 11. Roi de Prufe, en 15 Tomes. 8vo. Berlin. Vofs et Fils, Decker et Fils.

Oeuvres Pofthumes de Frederic II. Roi de Pruffe. Partie I. II. Tom. I. II.

The Hiftory of my own Times. Part I. II. Vols. 1. II. 75. each in Boards. Robinsons.

THE

(Continued from p. 55.)

HE fecond volume commences with the events of the year 1743 and 1744, as well as of those circumstances which pre) ceded the Pruffian war. The king begins with apologifing for the apparent folecifm which he committed of confiding in a reconciled foe, by obferving, that, as his object was the con

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queft of Silefia, his refources were not fufficient to enable him to cope long with a powerful kingdom; nor was it neceffary. as he had obtained his purpose, and as it was not likely that France and Auftria could be quickly reconciled. Fleuri died foon after, a minifter, in the king's opinion, who was praised too much during his life, and blamed too much after his death; without the haughtinefs of Richlieu, or the fubtilty of Mazarine, his economical fpirit healed the wounds which the war of the fucceffion and the system of Law had inflicted, while his talents in negociation preferved the kingdom in profperity, and acquired the rich province of Lorraine. The dawn of the emprefs of Germany's good fortune, the retreat of Bellifle from Prague, the affairs in the Baltic, and des fign of George II. to crush the French, already weakened, are next detailed. Frederick's plan would have been destroyed by this laft attempt, and every reprefentation which he could make was employed; but George, from his inveterate hatred to the French nation,' was inexorable. The battle of Dettingen, followed, and is defcribed fomewhat differently from the account hiftorians have given of it. Lord Stair, it is faid, committed the blunder which prevented the fupply of forage; and the king's removal to Afchaffenbourg is reported only to have been an infufficient measure to repair the negligence: in effect, however, it is reprefented as a faulty pofition. The battle followed of courfe, and the defeat of the French is attributed to the movements of the duke de Grammont and the count of Harcourt, to take the allies in flank, which prevented the effect of the batteries that were to play on the rear; as well as to the activity of an Austrian regiment, which took advantage of the confufion among the French troops, when they found numerous lines, occafion.. ed by the neceffity of a narrow front. There are many marks of partiality in this account: in reality, a fingle circumftance would determine the king of Pruffia's bias. When George's horfe was frighted, he obferves, that the king of England fought on foot, at the head of his English forces. Afterwards, he fays, that George flood during the whole time at the head of the Hanoverian battalion, in the posture of a fencing-mafter, who is just pushing in carte. The rest of the campaign was spent in fruitlefs negociations, or pretences of treaties; and the affairs of Ruffia, whofe power the Austrians wifhed to bring to their affistance, as they had drawn with advantage the king of Sardinia to their party, are alfo detailed. The king's defire of obtaining peace, and of affifting the emperor, he tells us, led him to Germany, to obtain what aid he could from the Germanic body. In the mean time, his own VOL, LXVIII. Auguft, 1789.

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works

works of peace, as well as of defence, in cafe of war, went on rapidly. The conclufion of the year 1743, we shall transcribe from Mr. Holcroft: it is tranflated advantageously and accurately.

• Thus ended the year 1743. All Europe was bufied in wars and cabals, the cabinets of princes were more active than their armies; the caufe of war was changed; its first end was the fupport of the house of Auftria, its next was projects of conqueft. England began to gain an afcendency in the balance of power, which prognofticated nothing but misfortune to France. The fortitude of the emprefs-queen degenerated into obstinacy, and the apparent generolity of the king of England into a contemptible intereft for his electorate. Ruffia was fill at peace. The king of Pruffia, ever occupied in keeping an equilibrium between the belligerent powers, hoped to obtain this purpose, fometimes by amicable infinuations, fometimes by threats, and fometimes even by oftentation. But what are the projects of man? To him the future is hidden: he knows not what fhall happen to-morrow. How may he forefee events which a chain of fecondary caufes may within fix months produce? Circumftances often oblige him to act contrary to his intention; and, in the flux and reflux of fortune, prudence has only to conform, to act with confiftency, and never to lofe fight of her fyftem: it is impoffible the fhould forefee all events.'

The ninth chapter contains the negociations of 1744, and is, in reality, a continuation of the latt. The leading feature of it is the fecret alliance between Auftria, England, and Saxony, which certainly brought on the enfuing war. The fecond article, that guaranties to each the territories they ought to poffefs, especially as it was explained by references to treaties exifting previous to the conquest of Silefia, awakened the king's jealousy.

'The tenth chapter contains the campaigns in Italy, Flanders, and the Rhine, as well as the campaign of the king. The campaigns in Italy and Flanders are neither brilliant nor interefting; but we must not pass over the incidental mention of the projected defcent on England from Dunkirk. The king feems to be of opinion, that the only object was to weaken the army on the Rhine, though cardinal Tencin appears to have had a ferious defign of placing Prince Edward' (Charles) on the throne of England, in return for the cardinal's hat which he received in confequence of the nomination of James: it was the leaft return which the pope could make for that prince's renunciation of three kingdoms, in confequence of his attachment to the mafs. When the king of Pruffia was called on by England for his contingency, he promised to come at the head of 30,000 men to the assistance of the king; but the offer was fufpicious, for the reinforcement was too large.

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