984 
Extradis from the Port-folio of a Man of Letters. 
[Jan. 1, 
§ \ort- iver 10WN: —thatevery moment muft almof every rank saa defeription, A 
Sink with its emblem, aid confume to duft. 
But Thomfon needs no artift to engrave, x 
From dumb obiivion no device to fave ; 
Sich vulgar aids let names inferior afk, 
Nature for him ailumes herfelf the tafk ; 
The feafons are his monuments cf cae 
With them to flourih, as from them it came. 

RETROSPECTIVE STATUTES. 
Retrofpective ftatutes are in all cafes 
unconftitu.ional: nething indeed can ex- 
cufe them except an extraordinary emer- 
gency ; and no emergency whatever fhould 
allow them a place in the penal code. 
There are two inftances of retro! (pective 
fiatutes in our lax. The one was inthe 
223 year of Henry the Eighth; from the 
preamble of which it appears, that one 
Fobn Rafe | a cook, had thrown poifon 
into a pot of grucl, oh: ‘ch was prepared 
for the bifhop of Rochetter’s family, where- 
by he poifoned feventeen perfons, two of 
whom died in confequence. ee Roofe, 
therefore, is declared guilty of high trea- 
fon, and ordered to be thrown into boiling 
water. The other cafe occurred in the 
2d and 3d of Philip and Mary. The 
preamble of the aét recites a malicious 
and groundlefs appeal of robbery by one 
Bennet agantt Giles Ruford, on which 
Rufford paving been acquitted, and having 
afterwards procured a conviction of Bennet 
for a malicious profecution, Benet not 
only paid gol. to two men for the a@ual 
murder of Rufford, but likewife fupplied 
them with javelins and a dagger for that 
purpole. Horrible as thig offence was, 
yet Bennet, not having been prefent at the 
commiffion of the murder, could cnly be 
confidered as an acccffary ; and theretore, 
as the Jaw flood, would have been j:titled 
to the benefit of clergy, of which there- 
fore he was by this flatute deprived, 
Now, in the cale of Reo, this ftatute 
was in every refpect improper and unne- 
ceflary ; it was not only retrofpeétive, but 
was making a confafionof crimes,which the 
Jegiflacure thould always avoid;andwithout 
it, Zohn Roofe was punifhable by the ex- 
ifiing laws, although he might not by 
them be boiled in hie own ketde. Adin 
the cafe of Bennet, however juft the in- 
dignation of the legiflature againft him 
was, it fhould never have induced them fo 
far to violate the principles of legiflation, 
jn order to add to the punfhment of an 
individual. 

° VOLTAIRE, 
During Voltaire’s laft vifit to Paris, he 
was fatigued with the congratulations of 
young author, who had a much larger 
ftock of vanity than of merit, thought it 
his duty to do homage to the Nefior of lite. 
rature. On being introduced, he thus be- 
gan his complimentary addrets :—* Great 
man, to day I am come fo falute you as 
Homer ;—to-morrow I will falute you as 
Sophocles ;—next day as Plato: —he would 
have procecded, but was interr apted by 
Voltaire faying, ** Little man, T am very 
old ; could you not pay all ycur vifits in 
one day ?” 

POETICAL IMIVATION. 
Whether the following well-known and 
beautiful lines be the produ€tion of Shake. 
fpeare, or fume other child of harmony, it 
may syebupie be a gratification to fome 
readers to fee the fame, or very fimilar, 
ideas cloathed in the lyric larguage of 
Gallus—For the fake of facilitating the 
comparifon, I fhall tranferibe the verles of 
bo:h authors, 
TAKE, ch! take thofe lips away, 
That fo fwéetly were forefworn ; 
And thofe eyes, the breals of day, 
Lights that do miflead the morn: 
_ But my kiffes bring again, 
Seais of love, tut fealed in vain. 
Hide, oh ! hide, thofe hills of fnow, 
Which thy frozen bofom wears ; 
On whofe tops the pinks that grow 
Are of thofe that April wears ; 
Bat firit fet my poor heart free, 
Bound in thof- icy chains by thee. 
PassioNATE PILGRIM, %Vil- 
Lydia, bella pella, candida, 
Quz hene fuperas lac, & lilium, 
Albamque fimu! rofam, rubidam 
Aut expolitum ebur Indicum. 
Pande puella, pande capillulos 
Flavos, lucentes ut aurum nitidum 5 
Pande puella colium candidum, 
Produétum bene candidis numeris. 
Pande puclla fteilatos ocuios, 
Flexaque fuper nigra cilia. 
Pande puella genas rofeas, 
Pe:fufas rubro purpura Tyrie. 
Porrige labra, jabra corallina, 
Da coiymbatim mitia bafia : 
Sugis amentis partem animi: 
Cor mihi penetrant hac tua bafia! 
Quid mihi fugis vivum fanguinem ? 
Conde papillas, conde gemipomas, 
Compreffo laéte quz mod6 pullulant 
Sinus expanfa proffert cinnama : 
Undique furgunt ex te delicia. . 
Conde papiflass que me fauciant 
Candore, & luxu nivei pectoris. 
Seva! non cernis quod ego langueo 
Sic me deftiiuis, jam {emimortuum 
. . QRIGINAL, 
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