Bountry an inundation may be pre#ented.

One great fource of the riches in Holland is the herring-fishery, which they exercise upon our own coafts of Shetland. This is carried on in veffels of about 100 tons burden, upon each of which a bounty of 401. is given at its first building They fail from their own coaft fo as to reach their deftination before the 24th of June, which is the first day that they are allowed to throw their nets. Each of the buffes is manned with 15 people. The falt they use is the best bay-falt boiled again in fea water: they will not bestow it but on the prime fish; all thofe of inferior quality they im

SIR,

mediately throw back into the fea. The veffels which return firft to their own ports receive a confiderable bounty, befides having the advantage of the firft market. The Hollanders are so fond of the new herrings, that when they expect their arrival, they`. will command their fervants to awake them, even in the middle of the night, that they may be among the first to enjoy so great a luxury. It is proverbial among them, that the doctors lose their business as foon as the new herrings arrive.

If these few mifcellaneous obfervations afford any entertainment to your readers, I may perhaps fend fome more on the fame fubject. T. R.

TEAR the road between Wooler haugh head and Morpeth ftands the pillar commonly called Piercy's Cross; the plate of which I herewith fend you. Upon what particular occafion this pillar was erected, I am at a lofs to determine; but if we may believe the tradition of the country, it was in memory of the famous battle of Ho meldown, fought on the 14th of Sep tember 1402, in the reign of King Robert III. of Scotland, the battle which gave rife to the well-known ballad of Chevy-chafe. The leaders of the English army were the Earl of Northumberland, his fon Henry furhamed Hotfpur, and George Dun bar Earl of March. The Scottish leader was Archibald Earl of Douglas; who, notwithstanding his brave

defence, was totally overcome, himfelf taken prifoner, together with Murdoch Earl of Fife, fon to the Duke of Albany, the Earls of Murray, Angus, and Orkney, the lords of Montgomery, Erfkine, and Craham, with fourfcore other knights, besides efquires and yeomen, whofe number was not known. There were flain of Barons the Lords Gordon and the Lord John of Swinton. The pillar abovementioned is about nine feet high; it had ouce a capital, which I remember to have seen, but which has within these few years been taken away by fomé perlon refiding in the neighbourhood, on account of a difpute with the family of Northumberland as to the property of it. I am, Yours, &c. Auguft 6.2

1785. S

A. C.

time in 1732. It was the first of Voltaire's dramatic works in which he gave himfelf up altogether to his natural fenfibility. The idea had

ftruck

Aruck him of contrafting in the fame picture, honour, birth, country, religion, with the moft tender and unfortunate love; Mahometan with Chriftian manners; the court of a Sultan with that of a King of France and for the first time to make Frenchmen appear upon the tragic scene. The defign was excellent, and the author accomplished it in 18 days. But a work fo fpeedily conceived, and executed with fo much rapidity, could not be perfect. The critics were of that opinion.

They found that Orofmanes was more of the French courtier than the Turkish Sultan; that it was contrary to all probability that a Turk fhould check the violence of his paffion for a flave till fanctified by the rites of hymen; that Zara's call to Chriftianity was not fufficiently marked; that her reasoning on the fubject of religion was extremely frivolous; that even at her death fhe continued irrefolute, and it was impoffible to discover whether at that awful moment fhe felt the fentiments of a true Christian, or rather a total indifference to religion of every kind: that the latter, on which the cataftrophe depended, was a trifling conceit, &c. In fhort, there was no end of their criticisms; but their praise was no less profufe. What an exquifite scene where Lufignan difcovers his children! No tragedy of Racine is more tender, more affecting; never did the performance of any piece caufe fuch torrents of tears to be fhed; and though the ftyle is in fome places too neg ligent, it more commonly poffeffes that elegant smoothness which is the mark of true genius.

The author fpared no pains in correcting what feemed amifs after each night's performance; but the actors could not reconcile themselves to thefe frequent alterations. Dufresne, tired with receiving new corrections every day, at last would not admit she messenger who brought them in

to his houfe. M. De Voltaire made ufe of a fingular ftratagem to get them received: Understanding that the actor had invited a number of his friends to an entertainment, he caufed a patridge pye to be made, and fent to Dufrefne's houfe, with ftri& charges to the bearer to conceal the giver's name. The pye was eagerly opened; and what was the surprise. of the guefts, to behold twelve partridges, each of them holding in their bills feveral written notes containing the verfes which fell to be added, retrenched, or altered, in the part of Dufrefne! The company then readily understood from whom the prefent came; and they all joined in extolling his new and ingenious method of rendering his corrections acceptable to the actors.

Mahomet, which was firft reprefented in 1742, placed Voltaire in the fame rank with Crebillon, as Brutus had done with respect to Corneille, and Zara to Racine. Mahomet is, in the opinion of the best critics, a mafter-piece of eloquence and poetry. The mad rage of fanaticism, the tranfports of ambition and revenge, have never perhaps been painted with greater force; but it is difficult to find actors and fpectators worthy of this piece.

If in the fourth act one could find young performers capable of all the emotions and tranfports of the most impaffioned minds, a Seide, who knew at once to be enthufiaftic and tender, naturally gentle, but rendered fierce by fanaticism; who could at once difplay the effects of rage mingled with tears of kindness: a Palmira, animated, compaffionate, fhocked at the crime she is going to commit; feeling already horror, repentance, defpair at the moment of its commiffion: a father, truly such, who posfeffes the voice, the countenance, the ftrong paternal feelings; a father who acknowledges his two children in his murderers, who embraces

them, and fhedding tears with his blood, mingles his forrows with theirs; who raises himself up to clafp them in his arms, falls, fupports himself upon them; in fhort, whatever Nature and Death can furnish to fuch a picture fuch fcenes would furpafs every thing that has been represented upon the stage.

:

But if the fuccefs of Mahomet was doubtful, that of Merope, first acted in 1743, was very brilliant. This piece poffeffes an advantage over the Andromaché of Racine in the fimplicity of the fubject. We cannot too much admire the infinite art with which Voltaire has been able to intereft us fo much in a piece where love is totally excluded, and where all the fentiments and circumftances turn folely upon the tender affection of a mother for her fon: in place of which, in Andromaché, the love of Oreftes for Hermioné, which is too much in the ftyle of epifode, forms the principal bufinefs of the play.

Our young poets, infatuated with romantic and unnatural scenes, cannot hear it too often repeated, that Meropé owes all her fuccefs to her exhibiting nature herfelf; and if this piece had a fifth act, it would be the firft model of the drama. What an example of maternal tenderness ! what mother ever difplayed more lively fentiments! what alarms for the life of her dear Egyftus; what tranfports of joy when the beholds him again; what fears to lofe him; what cares to establish him on the throne of the Heraclides his ancestors!

The part of Meropé conftituted the triumph of Mademoifelle du Mef nil. What exclamations of tenderness and admiration did fhe not excite, when, with mild looks, her voice half choaked, lifting her trembling hands, fhe went to facrifice her own fon, when Narbas ftopt her, when letting fall the dagger, fhe fwooned away in the arms of her attendants, and returning from that ftate of Vol. II. N° 8.

death with the furious transports of a mother, fhe instantly darted a look at Polyphontes, and croffing the whole ftage in a moment, tears in her eyes, palènefs on her face, with violent fobs and extended arms, fhe cried out, "Barbarian, he is my fon!"

This tragedy was lefs approved of in the closet than on the stage; which gave occafion to a very juft remark of M. de Fontenelle's," That the performance of Meropè had done much honour to Voltaire, and the printing of it to du Mefnil."-The ftyle was cenfured as being too carelefs: "There are certainly in this piece, (fays the Abbé de Fontaines,) a great number of harmonious verfes; but there are also some very indifferent, and even bad. M. de Voltaire, in all his works, resembles Tintoret the famous painter of the Venetian fchool; of whom the Italians obferved, that he had three pencils, one of gold, another of filver, and a third of iron. It is with these three pencils that the Henriade has been wrought; Oedipus alone is the work of the golden pencil: but if M. de Voltaire does not always make good verfes, he is conftantly the man of taste and the great writer; he poffeffes the art of being eloquent in verfe, a character at once the most difficult and rare."

Voltaire having fhown the manufcript copy of Meropè to the Abbé de Voifenon, he expreffed his admiration of it in the strongest terms. "And yet (fays Voltaire) the manager has rejected it." It was not long rejected; and the great merit of the play itself, joined to the admirable performance of Mademoiselle du Mefnil, procured it the higheft applaufe. Voltaire wrote to M. d'Anguberre. "What would you fay of an actress who made the audience fhed tears three whole acts! The fentiments of the public underwent a change; they placed to my account fome part of the exceffive pleasure they enjoyed from the per

form.