1802. ] 
he willingly reficned the government of 
the kingdom, for the purpofe of attend- 
the conclave, at Venice. 
A French new(paper, at the time, gave 
a hint that, on the acceffion of the new 
Pope, the Cardinal was fufpended by him 
in the exercife of the epifcopal and facer- 
dotal tunétions, and obliged to afk ‘abfo- 
Jution for having taken arms,'command- 
ed troops, and authorifed executions and 
bloodfhed, againft the canons and the 
fpirit of the church. The ftatement, we 
prefume, is incorret; as M. Ruffo is a 
Cardinal-deacon, and it is not in our 
knowledge that he: was ever ordained a 
prieft or confecrated a bifhop. If, how- 
ever, the fact were true, we fhould ad- 
mit that it refleéts much honour on the 
heart of Pius the VIIth. and that it is wor- 
thy of the apoftolic piety of the primitive 
ages. But it would be, we hope, no mark 
of difrefpect to his Holinefs to put a quef- 
tion :—Whether the canon laws, as well 
as other human inftitutions arenot very of- 
ten controuled by itern neceifity and com- 
mon fenfe ? 
Another public paper lately Rated that, 
when the bufinefs of the Pope’s election 
was over, the Cardinal was not anxious 
toreturn either to Naples or to Rome, and 
that he rather chofe to repair to Vienna, in 
the capacity of a Nuncio Extraordinary. 
In that capital, fubjoined the paper, he re- 
mained till the laft week of January, when 
he took leave of her Sicilian Majetty, ftill 
reliding there, and was preparing to re- 
turn to Italy. This ftatement alfo is no- 
torioufly erroneous, as the prelate of the 
fame name is another perfon (D. Luigi 
Ruffo), already an ordinary Nuncio at 
Original Poetry. 
$54 
Vienna, and appointed a Cardinal by 
the reigning Pope, in the late general 
promotion of the twenty-third of Febru- 
ary,.1801. The editor of the paper 
would, in all probability, have avoided 
the miftake, if he had been aware that, ac- 
cording to the ftanding etiquette of the 
Court of Rome, no cardinal is ever fent 
on miffion to foreign potentates with an 
inferior character to that of plenipoten- 
tiary negociator, or to that of legate a 
laiere. 
The worthy, active, and well-deferving 
Prelate, upon whom we. have beitowed, 
this biographical article, although he may 
be guilty of fome errors in bis public or 
domeftic life,, has,already infcribed his 
name in the moft interefting page of the 
hiftory of his times. Had he been allot- 
ted to perform his martial exertions ina 
lefS calamitous period, his memoirs would 
be placed by pofterity on the {ame ho- 
nourable fhelf. with thofe'of . Kimenes, 
Richelieu, or others of his warlike prede- 
ceflors. In the narrative of fo many ra- 
pid, complicate, and awful events which 
have afflicted Europe, he will, perhaps, | 
be thrown into the back-ground of the 
hiftorical piture. But, in no cafe what- 
ever, will he ceafe to be recorded as hav- 
ing been highly inftrumental in explod- 
ing diforder, anarchy and irreligion, from 
his native country. 
Cardinal Fabrice Ruffo' is fifty-eight 
years of age, of middle fize, rather pale . 
complexion, funcommonly piercing eye, 
fmiling countenance, cheartul and lively 
temper, popular manners, and a polite~ 
nefs and affability bordering upon famix 
liarity. 
The DISTRESSED COTTAGERS. 
FoR moments departed—=ah ! will they re- 
turn ? 
For paft {cenes of blifs unavailing we mourn; 
. When ourfelves and our little-ones, blooming 
with health, 
Were objeéts of envy to indolent wealth 5 
When innocent fports, at the clofe of each 
day, 
Could banifh our carés and our forrows away. 
Ah! when will fweet paftime revifit the 
plain,. 
And joy and content fmile around us again? 
Since toil can no longer fubfiftence fupply, 
We depend upon aids, which to think of, we 
figh— 
ORIGINAL POETRY. 
— ae 
Tis hard of the bounty of others to eat, 
The bread of our labour, if homely, is 
{weet : i 
But penury’s blaft fuch dread ravages makes, 
What charity offers, neceffity takes. 
Ah! when will fweet paftime re-vifit the 
plain, 
And joy and content {mile around us again ? 
But joy and content from our dwellings are 
fled, ; 
And want and difeafe are our inmates in- 
ftead. 
With no gleam of hope our dark profpedts ta 
cheer, , 
The herds on the wafte haye a fate lefs fe« 
yere 5 
4 They 
