1806. J Statijlical Viexo of the Pru/p an Dominions. 



317 



made of another perfonage of the fame 

 D;i.ino, the aged and dying Moitiuier, 

 introduced into the fecoud aCt of the 

 fii-it part of King Henry Vf. as a prifoner, 

 and who declares " iluit he v.as next by 

 birtli and parentage to King iliciiaid II. 

 and rightful licir of the crown ; that fin- 

 this caufe he had been detained all liis 

 flowering youth ni a dungeon, and thut 

 the Earl of Cuiibridge, who married his 

 filler, had loll his head in his great at- 

 tenijjt to reinltate b-ini in his diadeni;." 

 Tills defcription is equally irrcconciieable 

 witli all perfons, period?, and events. 

 To make confuhon worfe confounded, 

 Mr. Theobald, in a note upon this fcenc, 

 is pleafcd to inform us, " that lias Ed- 

 mund Mortimer, when King Kichavd II. 

 let out upon his fatal Irifli expedition, was 

 declared by tliat prince heir apparent to 

 the crown ; for which reafon King Henry 

 IV. and King Henry \ . took care to keep 

 hii'iin priCjn during their whoie reigns:" 

 . — intelhgence \xhieh fcems, in part, de- 

 rived from the fcene itfelf, .ind in part 

 lupplied by his own happy invention. 

 For his own miilake, thus fuperaddcd ta 

 thofe of the poet, Mr. Theobald alone is 

 anfwerable ; but it is highly improbable 

 that Shakefpeur, who is in general fo ex- 

 act a follower of the untient chronicles 

 in refpeft to fafts, Ihould deviate fo 

 widely and waiitouly, not merely from 

 the truth of hiltory, but from every fea- 

 ture of the portrait of Mortimer for- 

 merly delineated by iiim. And I confefs 

 that iHy fentiments entirely concur with 

 thofe who think that the contemptible 

 " drum and trumpet thing," ftiled " Hie 

 Firft Part of King Henry VI." was never 

 written, — no, not a line of it, — by the 

 immortal bard to whom it is generally 

 aicribed. It certainly does not exhiljit 

 the moft diltant trace of refeinblance to 

 his genuine productions; and it is in all 

 likelihood (as an«excellent critic has con- 

 jedtured) one of that feeble feries of hif- 

 toric plays, of which the flage was in 

 pofleClion long before the time of Shake- 

 fpcar ; and of which he has probably 

 made more or lefs ufe in all his hiliorical 

 dramas. 



I am fenfible that the length and tedi- 

 oufnefs of thefe remarks call for an apo- 

 logy : but thofe who know the perplexity 

 and confufion ariling from the inattention 

 of historians to the di(iiiic(ion of perfcjns, 

 and the cxactncfs of names and dates, 

 will, 1 flatter myl'elf, think me entitled to 

 pardon. 1 rcirtaiil, <kc. . 



hcdjotd, Sept. iO, ia0(j. 



W M. Belsiiam, 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 

 siu, 



AT the moment when the King of 

 PruHia IS leaf ling an army famed 

 for difcipline and valour, Hga'jilt the bold 

 and countlels warriors of Fiance, I hope 

 you will deem a lliort StatilUcal View of 

 the Prullian Dominions, extracted chieliy 

 from Krug's aut';eatic Account, not alto- 

 gether uniutereiling ; — and ihould you 

 judge it worthy of being mferted in your 

 valuable publication, I beg you will per- 

 mit me to inform thole of your readers 

 who may ni'.li for more minute nuj'airies, 

 that 1 intend leading ii winter courle of 

 lectures on Statif lies, upon the plan of the 

 German uni\ertiries,iii winch I Ihall more 

 fully elucidate the prefent liate of PruC- 

 lia, Sweden, Denmark, and Ruilla. 



Pruflia poiVelfes a tcr:-itory of about 

 25,300 Engliili fquare miles, 69 to a 

 degrf'c ; but the extent oi' its connctted 

 pro\ iuces, on whicii its pohiical ftrength 

 chtetly depends, is only 2b,(jlG Engiifli 

 fquare miles, viz. /(). mila 



1. The kingdom of Pruffia, to- 

 gether with the new acquititions 



in Poland ------- li,011 



2. Silcha ------ 3,151 



3. Brandenburg - - - - 3,004 



4. Ponierania - - - - 'Zfi'Z3 



5. Magdeburg, Halberltadt, 

 Hildelheini, &c. - - - - 1,122 



The Weftphalian provinces, Eaftfricf- 

 land, and Buireuth, contain the remain- 

 ing 1,684 miles. 



T!ie climate, upon the whole, is fiihi- 

 brious and mild ; except in tlie ealtera 

 parts of Pruflia, wliere the cold in winter 

 is fometimes excefhvely fevcre. ihe foil 

 varies, but is in general fertile, and pro- 

 duces abundance of wheat, rye, barley, 

 and oafs ; all forts of pulfe and garden 

 fruits, behdes limber, hemp, and ilax. 

 The cattle are but indifferent; and tiie 

 horfes fmall, excepting tliofe of Fall 

 Pruflia and Frieliand. 



Pruliia's population may be reckoned 

 at nearly ten millions, of which 



1. Pruflia itfelf ontains 4,000,000 



2. Silefia ----- 2,100,000 



3. Brandenburg - - - 1,300,000 



4. Poinerania - - - 700,000 



5. Magdeburg, Halberftadt, 



■- ^Vc. ----- 900,000 

 and the unconnocicd ftate^ about oiio 

 million : fo tliat each Englilh fquare mile 

 has upon the average a pojiulation oP 

 more than 380 perfons ; whilll, according 

 to Ncwnhain's inquiry, England reckons 

 only 189 on the fame fpace. 



Pruffia's po[)ulatign is rapidly incrcaf- 



