160 
The word Haram in Arabic fignifies 
a pyramid. Jusereu has obferved, that 
there is a triangular fruit at Madagafcar 
in form of a pyramid, which bears the 
fame name; and this trifling coincidence 
has been confidered by fome of the French 
Savans, as a proof, that the Arabs were 
the conquerors of Madagafcar. ; 
A Ruffian of the name of KarRamMsiN, 
a native of Mofcow, publifhed fome years 
ago inthe Mofcow Faurnal (of which he 
was editor) in a feries of lettets, the diary 
of his Travels through Germany and 
fouthern Europe; which were received 
with general approbation ; even Catherine 
read then with great pleafure, as they 
were written in a claffical ftyle in the 
Ruffian language, which the Emprefs 
herfelf fpoke ina mafterly manner. Thefe 
letters have been collected by the author, 
and publithed in 6 fmall volumes, and this 
form attracted ftill more general attention. 
‘The work has been tranflated into Ger- 
man by John Richter, a German, refiding 
‘in Mofcow, to whom we are indebted for 
an interefting §* Sketch of the Manners of 
Mojfcow,’? with cuts, Leipzig, 1799.— 
‘The tranflation of Koramfin’s Travels 
under the title Briefe eimes reifenden Ruffen, 
wvonKaramfin, &c.likewife made its appear- 
ance at Leipzig in 3799, in 2 vols. with 
cuts, 
Another volume of Notices tirées des 
Manufcrits dela Bibliotheque Nationale has 
‘at laft appeared, after being feveral years 
in the prefs. More than one half is by 
Sylveftre de Sacy, and was finifhed feveral 
‘years ago. 
On the 6th and 22d of Vendemiaire, year 
vili, the new Inffitute at Paris, which 
ftyles itfelf Pemtique Républicain, held their 
firft fittings. ‘The fituation of the place 
of meeting, the ci-devant church of St. 
Philippe du Roule, nowrebaptifed ** The 
‘Temple of Concord,” is very inconve- 
Nient, as it ftands in one of the outermoft 
juburbs, quite out of the circle of the Pa- 
rifian world. But then the rent of this 
church was fo much the lfefs, and this 
‘is a ‘very important circumftance for 
the purfes of the Afociées, as the moft of 
them are poets, and thole not even the 
favoured by government. The poet, Pzzs, 
is properly the founder of the fociety. 
Ta conjunétion with him fevera! others of the 
difcontented citizens of Mount Parnaflus, 
have declared themfelves in a ftate of in- 
furrection. Of the number are Parzy, 
who was not able to open to himfelf the 
gates of the National Inftitute, by the 
‘© War of the Gods,” in writing a con- 
Literary and Philofophical Intelligence. 
[March z, 
tinuation of which he is now engaged 5 
Cubieres, Sauvigni, Planchée Valcour. 
In one of the carriages difpatched from 
Turin to Paris, loaded with the monu- 
ments of the arts and fciences colleéted in 
Piedmont, was the Ifiac table, which ma 
be confidered as deferving to be placed in 
the firft rank of them. There are very 
few Egyptian relics better preferved. Te 
appears to be of a faétitious metal, covered 
over witha plafterin imitation of brownifh 
marble, fpotted with red. The figures are 
defigned by filver-wire incrufted in this. 
matter ; fome few bits of this wire have 
been taken away, and this is the only in- 
jury this antique table has fuftained. Tes 
edges are covered with hieroglyphice, 
‘Next to the above table, the French a 
pear to place the Albanian tables, thofe of 
which the naked figures have been covered 
with drapery. The opinion that this in- 
jury was without remedy turns out to be 
erroneous. The French artifts conceive no 
difficulty in taking off thofe veils which a 
barbarous tafte only would have made “a 
of. Among other valuable paintings o 
the above en are two very intereft- 
ing ones of Luther and his wife, by Hol- 
beins. ‘Thefe are confidered as hiftorical 
monuments. Luther is painted at fome- 
thing more than forty years of age; he 
appears to be a man full of vigour and 
health ; a full firm eye, frefh colour ; and - 
with an air of refleGtion. His wife is 
older, fhe appears to have paffed fifty ; 
has deep wrinkles in the face, which retains 
the traces of loft beauty; her head is 
dreffed in a very difagreeable manner, after 
the mode of the peafants in the weft of 
France. The fame conveyance alfo brought? 
thirty manufcript volumes of Pirro-Ligo- 
rio. ‘The publication of the moft interefts 
ing part of them has been fuggefted. 
The amphitheatre of Nifmes, the fineft 
monument of the kind in France, anid, as 
manyaffert, even in Italy, is about to be 
cleared of its extraneous buildings and rub. | 
bifhwhich hide it from the view of publie 
admiration. 50,000 livres are faidto be em- 
ployed in this great, and, as it will be 
generally deemed, laudable work’; fo that 
after feventeen centuries and more of inu- 
tility, it is defigned this arena fhall ferve 
the purpofes of gymnattic exercifes, or 
contribute to the convenience and fplen- 
dour of the public feafts, and other points 
of national glory. 
The aftronomers at Paris had an oppor- 
tunity of well-obfervirig the’ lait conjunc- 
tien of Vents with the fun; the conjunc= 
tion took place on the 16th of Oétober, 
17990 
