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PREMIUMS PROPOSED FOR LITERARY ESSAYS, &c, 



Fl R ST. For lie Itft -wnHen, and lie mijl claraaerijlk Jhttci if tit lift rf any of lit grtat mm cr fbilc/hfitrs lial follow ; viz. Galllln; Columtui ; Don HtnrJ 

 of Porttigi'l ; Tycbo Brabt : Friar Bacon; Alfred; Charlemagne; Crfmo, or Loren-zo de Medicis ; Cardinal Ximenti ; Giifavui Vafa ; The Csar Peter tit 

 Great ; Bann Lord rerulam,; The Bifbc/> of Chiapa ; TLt ylUe de Suinl Pierre ; cr any other great JIalefman or fhihfofher -who appeared in Europe hel-wem 

 tic revival of letltri, and tie teginning of the prefent cenlvry ; A COLD MEDAL, — or FIVE GUINEAS. 



In thefe JletcLei, Jlriiitig charaaerijlical trait:, expreffiiie of the peculiar gtniui and cajl of mind of the perfon, contrajled -with the prevailing manners of the people 

 tnd model of thinking at the time, ■will ie chiefly valued. Brevity and force ■will be high recommendations ; but pompom panegyric -will be viewed in a very differetH 

 Jighl. Let fads jpeab for themfelves : For it is fa^s, -when fairly reprefented, that conjiitute the chief, and indeed the only excellence of the tied of painting here aimed at, 

 Tiefrm bo'dncfs and accuracy of the touches, not the allurements of gaudy colouring, are here ivanlcd. 



Second. For the irfl and moj! Jlriiing charallerijlical ftetcb of any eminent flatefman, pbilofopber, cr artlfl now living,or ivho has died tuitbin lie prefent century; 

 A GOLD MEDAL, Or FIVE GUINEAS. 



In thcfe Jietcbes, originality and firength of thought, and an exaB Inoviledge of the human mind, imll be principally fought for : Brevity and elegance in the 

 file and manner ■will be greatly efliemed ; but ■rvithout candour and impartiality, they cannot be admitted. The cenfure and the praife of party -writert tend alike to defaet 

 a'.t truly charaHcri/lical traits, and to difguife in/lead of elucidating tbefuhjia. This mujl be here avoided. 



Third. For the iefl original mifcellaneous efiy,flory, apologue, or tale, illuflralive of life and manners ; crejfufion or dlfquifiticn on any fubjea that tends to intere/l tbt 

 heart, and amufe the Imagination, in prife ; A GOLD MEDAL, — or FIVE GUINEAS. 



An original turn of thought; a correflnefs and purity of language; eafe anjelegance of arrangement, and fprightlinefs ofjlile, -when devoid of affeaatlon ; ■will ieacccuntei 

 frlncipal excellencies. Subjeils that are cheerful and fportlve ■will be preferred to tbnfe that are gra'M andfalemn. But let not affeaatlon be mif.akenfor eafe, nor pertnefi 

 for ■wit and humour : Neither fhouldfelemnity ie coilfounded -with pathos ; for the truly pathetic can never fail to pteafe. 



He begs leave to repeat, that in thefe Jhetcbes or ejfays, comprehenfive brevity Is principally required. It is not by quantity that the editor of this mifcellany means to 

 efimate the value of the performances offered to him ; but much the reverft. Tbofe ejfays ■which comprebend much in fmall bounds ■will therefore be al-ways deemed the mofi 

 ^Hlluable. He can never be at a lof, for materials to fill his pages ; ai:il therefore is anxious that the ejfays offered to him fbould be nmpreffed into as fmall a fpace as it 

 aiijijient ■with elegance and ferfpictiily. 



Fourth. For the bejl original effay, in verfe ; ode, tale, eplJile,fonnet, or ftort-^cetlc effufion of any kind ; A SILVER MEDAly— or Two GOIKEAS. 



Fifth. For the mojl fpirlSed tranjlaticn, cr elegant imitation of any feled poem in foreign languages, ■whether ancient cr modern ; A silver medal,— or TWO 



GUINEAS. 



The editor, ■when he offers thefe t^wo Irjl premiums, dees it not -.vithout far andbefilatlon. All the fine arts are pteafmg and attraUlve ; but ncne of them, be believes, Is ft 

 irneralh fedualvc to youthful mliuls, as the allurements of poetry. IVljlle Imagination is ■warm, and before a faculty of chferving things accurately, has formed a Jifl 

 ■tafie for imitative beauties, a facility in mating verfes Is often mljlaken for a poetic talent ; and the feduSions cffrlflove keep up the illuffion. To thefe caufes, be Isfenfible, 

 ive vwe tbofe numerous unlnteref.ing verfes that are perpetually iffulng from the prefs, ■whlcbferve to difguj! the man of tajle,and makehim turn from tbefight of v«fe, 

 though he ivould be enraptured toith genuine \^c\Xf , fbould It fall In his ■way. Should thefe fmall allurements call forth a number of trifles of this fort, the editor ■would 

 Jiel be had placed himfelf in very difagreeable circumfanca ; for if it be unpleaftng even to read fuch things, it ivould become in this cafe extremely dlflrrffing,f,om the 

 unavoidable recoltefflon, that pain mifl be given by rejeding them. The picafure, ba-aiever, be -would feel at calling forth, -were It but a/ingle line of genuine poetry 

 that modef merit might have cther^wlfe fapprejfed. Induced him to fropofe thefe fmall premiums. The effeS they produce •will determine ■whether in future they fiail 

 be continued or ivithdraiun. 



It may not be improficr alfo to hint, that it ivlll ie requljite that iranjlations and imitations from the poets in foreign or dead languages, be made chiefly from fucb paf- 

 faaes as have not already appeared In Engllfh, A repetition of ■what has already been done cannot be admitted, unlefs it poffefs very fuperlor excellence. There is afpirlt, 

 and fire, and heroic ardour, conjpicuous in " The Songs of a Prijfian Grenadier" by Glelm ; and a yet higher degree of artUfs energy In " The Songs of an Amascon" 

 h l^'ijpt '*"' "'«"''' *' highly captivating to mojl readers, -were they knotun ; and among the Lyric pieces of Metafafo, there Is a brevity, afimpliclty, an elegance and 

 f.ithos, that lai leenfcldom Imitated in the Engllfh language. It has perhaps been thought the genius of the language did net admit of It. Neither ■was It thought that a 

 ionnct could be ■written in Engllfh, that could poffefs thofe fedudive charms that bad been admired for t-wo hundred years in the ■writings of Petrarch, tilt a lady, well 

 .inoivn in the annals of polite literature, very lately fbe^wed, that for this fpecies of poetry, no language -was more happy than our ontn. Under the plajlc power of genius, 

 language becomes an Injlrument capable of every thing : kVhere genius is ■wanting, it is a tool of very clrcumfcrlbcd po'wcrs. 



,*, Ejfays intended for this competition, nvrltten in the Engllfh langiiage, ■will be received any time before the ijl of January \'J<)\,addreffed, pof. paid, to the Editor 

 at Cue printing houfe of Mundell and Son, Edinburgh. To each effay muJI be prefixed a fe-w -.vcrds at a motto ; the fame motto, in the fame hand ivriting, being in- 

 fcrlbed upon a kiled paper inclofd in it, containing the name and adjrefs of the competitor, or fuch name and addrefs as he pleafes to put in itsjlead. If be ■wifhes to re- 

 main unkno-.i'n. The fealed paper belonging lo each of tbofe ejjays to ■which the premiums fhall be adjudged, -will be opened ■when the premiums are a-uardej, and the effa^j_ 

 be publljbed In this mifcellany. The other effays 'will be returned if defired or they ■will be feverally publlfhed. If approved by the judge* to toiom this matter fbatl be 

 referred, and If agreeable to tie nuriter. At any rale, botftver, none eflbe fated papers, unlefs it be tijcfe belonging lo the effayt lo lobicb premiums are adjudged, fiall be 

 Opened; but ivlll be returned, if defired, to any ferfin isbo fhall call for ibem : Or, If not called for within fix months after the premiums fhall ie adjudged, they will 

 then be burnt, in the prefence of refpeSable witnejfes, whojhall atteji that tie feats mere unopened. TheJIrlHeff honour in this refpea may be depended on. 



*i* Orders or communication smay he occafionally addrtffcd to the editor, under cover, to Sir John Sinclair, Baronet, M. P. Edinburgh. ' I 



M. B. Whoever fhall procure twelve fuhfcrlhers for this work, and rmit the price, at the end of each volume, to the editor, will be furnifhed with a copy fer 

 tls.i,jelvei regularly as publified, S'^in; and fo In proportion for any greaternumber. 



