Writings of Schiller. 
with SCHILLER’s poems, that he ap- 
pointed him one of his Aulic Countellors*, 
and conferred on hima profefforfhip of 
hiftory and philofophy in the univertity 
‘of Jena. Here he compoted his ‘* Hiftory 
of the Thirty Years War in Germcny 5" a 
work of great merit, and, in the opinion 
of fome Germans, not inferior to the 
cgmpolitions of Livy, Voltaire, or Gib- 
bon. This, however, is a pardonable pre- 
judice in favour of SCHILLER, fince his 
countrymen cannot boatt of many good 
hiftorians, and perhaps of none of fuperior 
excellence, or at leaft equal to Hume and 
Robertfon. So muchis certain, that the 
laft mentioned two writers greatly gain 
in the comparifon with the beft German 
hiftorians, namely, Haberlin, the two 
Henrys ( Heinrich » Schmidt, Galetti, 
Buchholz, Wagner, and Baczko. 
The next work of SCHILLER’S is, 
“< The Hiftory of the Netherlands,” which, 
however, -he has not yet concluded ; al- 
though it was begun feveral years ago.— 
Perhaps, the fevere criticifms that ap- 
peared on this work in the German Re- 
views, have difcouraged him from profe- 
cuting this very important fubject+. 
Another work of SCHILLER’S, that 
excited confiderable attention in Ger- 
many, is ** The Hijtory of the moft memo- 
rable Confpiracies.’—But, as a work of 
imagination, difplaying all the powers of 
invention, his “ Gnoft-feer,” may be 
ranked among the principal compofiticns- 
of that kind. It has been very imper- 
fedtly tranilated into Englifh; and many 
fuperficial readers have concluded, that 
the genius of the Germans ftrongly in- 
clines to the marvellous and romantic, 
becaufe this book was received with fuch 
satisfaction by certain clafles of people in 
Germany, that it has been feveral times 
reprinted ; though the firft part of it only 
was pubNfhed by the author. Another 
writer, of inferior talents, has publifhed 

* This isa mere title, attended with no 
other emolument than that of being called 
Her Hofratb, inftead of the fimple word 
Herr, i. e; Sir, or Mr.—The Germans, how- 
ever, are ftill very fond of titles—-being an 
appendage of the o/d feudal fyftem: and as 
the petty fovereigns rarely reward a merito- 
rious literary man in a more effe€tual manner 
than by loading him with an empty title, 
the firft charaters in Germany are reluGtantly 
obliged to fubmit to this farcical mode of re- 
warding literary merit, until a better pro- 
{pect opens. s 
+ Meanwhile, the Bifhop of Antwerp has 
written a molt valuable ‘' Hiffory of the Ne- 
dberlands.” . 
A4X 
afurreptitious continuation of the “*‘Gho/f- 
jeer,” which, notwithitanding its inferi- 
ority, has met with an unmerited degree 
ot fuccefs. 
SCHILLER now conducts a monthly 
publication, which is fupported by the 
firft German writers, among whom we 
find the names of DaLBerG, ENGEL, 
Garve, GLEIM, GOETHE, HERDER, 
HUFELAND, HUMBOLDT, JACOBI, 
MATTHISON, PFEFFEL, ScHUTZ, &e. 
This clafhical Magazine is printed at 
Tubingen, under the title, ** Dze Hozen,”” 
alluding to the three graces, Eunomiay 
Dice, and Irene. 
Befides thefe publications, SCHILLER 
is the editor of an annual poetical alma- 
nack, ( Majin Almanack,”’) which ferves 
as a vehicle for the occafional effufions of 
young bards, who wifh to bring their 
posctical talents to the teft before the pubs 
lic, and to profit by the previous criti- 
cifms and corrections of the editor. In 
this almanack he alfo communicates the 
lateft productions of his own mufe. 
Our poet is {aid to have difplayed a 
ftrong propenfity, in his youth, to what- 
ever had the appearance of eccentricity. 
His drefs, his mode of life, even his 
courtfhips, were as original as his mode 
of writmg. It is, however, not very 
difficult to account for thefe peculiarities. 
It we confider him as a youth endowed 
with a fertile and active mind, with the 
ftrongeft fenfations of virtue and liberty, 
and, at the fame time, checked in his in- 
telleCtual career, within the narrow path 
of a military {chool, where every thing 
moves by the dimenfions of {pace and 
time; his earlier productions, fuch as 
‘¢ The Robbers,” and * The Confpiracy of 
Fiefco,” are, in a high degree, charatter- 
iftic of the fituation and circumftances in 
which he was placed at a time of life, 
when the human mind is iufceptible of 
the ftrongett and moft lafting impreffions. 
We cannot {upprefs a fingular anecdote 
which forms an epocha in the lite of 
SCHILLER. Asa diftinguifhed favourite 
among: the fair, his courtfhips in general 
were more of the paflive than of the active 
kind. Thus it happened, that a young 
lady, of rank and fortune, in the vici- 
nity of Jena, fent him an _ unexpected 
challenge, by offering him her hand at 
the altar of Hymen, This he could not 
eafily refufe, without being guilty of 
great rudenefs and cruelty ; efpecially as 
the enamoured lady would Hedoenely 
have fallen a victim to an affection whic 
he alone could relieve, and which fhe had 
contraéted by the perutal of his poems. 
La Such 
