Tork’ 
of information that we were poffeffed of 
concerning the country lying between the 
Calpian and the Black Sea. It has hi- 
therto been thought almoft impoffible to - 
render the roads which crofs the Caucafus 
practicable for artillery. In the ** Hifto- 
rical and Topographical Defcription” of 
this mountain, by ReineGcGs, itis affert- 
ed, that Catherine Il. formed this great: 
undertaking, and erected three fortreffes 
to enfure its fuccefs; but that an inun- 
dation of the Terek, ia 1735, deltroyed all 
thefe operations, which had ‘been carried 
‘en with fo much Jabour, end an: immenfe 
expence. The author of the prefent tra- 
vels, however, refutes this relation, and 
afferts that he did not find much difficulty 
even in tranfporting artillery in  thefe 
roads, and did not {pend more than ten 
thoufand roubles in the neceflary opevations. 
The country inhabited by the Offes ap- 
peared to promife much advantage to the 
Ruffian poffefions. The mountains fur- 
nifh metals, the vallies pafturage, the 
plains are good arable land, and the chain 
ef Caucafus mountains oppofes a natural 
barrier ta enemies and robbers. 
SCHILLER’ late work, entitled a%*Gal-. 
lery of interefting Perfonages,” contains a 
view of the characters, actions, and fitua- 
tion in life, of many illuftrious men, of an- 
tient and modern times. The {pace al- 
tted to each in this mixed affemblage of 
characters is not always proportionate to 
their relative importance to fociety, and 
“the age in which they lived, and is in ge- 
neral rather defective in incident. It is 
chiefly, however, in delineating charaéter, 
that the author thews the precifion and 
fpirit of his pen, The following of ULaic, 
of Hurren, will ferve as an example. 
“* Ulric of Hutten was low in flature, but 
ef arobult make. -He had hardened his 
mind againft all the blows of adverfe for- 
tune; and he defpifed every advantage, 
every pleafure, which was to be purchaled 
ty the lealt {acrifice of his principles and 
his freedoms His foul was high and daring, 
that braved every obftacle, and which 
nothing could fetter; vehement in aétion 
as in {peech, fteady to the caufe. which he 
had once adopted, and faithful to -his en- 
gagements ; but always, however, ready 
to give up bis deareft friendfhips and moft 
valuable connections to the caufe of truth. 
and juftice. A conftant firuggle with 
misfortune, indigence, difeafe, and the 
‘Numerous enemies which his love of truth 
drew upon him, at length foured his difpo- 
fition, and rendered him at times fierce and 
ivaicible, but never leffened his zeal for 
maintaining the rights, and promoting the 
Literary and Philofophical Intelligence. 
—34t 
welfare of his brethren and his country.. 
He bore a mortal hatred to impofture of 
every kind, to all finifter defigns, and 
want of integrity. ‘To thefe noble and. 
.manly virtues was added the advantage of 
being one of the moft learned, enlightened, 
and eloquent men of his age ; and Heaven, 
as if to counterbalance the misfortunes 
which affailed him through life, endowed 
him both with courage, and with a confci- 
oufnefs of the energy of his own mindy 
which ever prevented him from finking 
under calamities which would have irre- 
coverably overwhelmed a man of ordinary 
mould.”? 
Some of the French journalifts complain 
much of what they call zeologi/m, and the 
demagogic fyjiem, that is, a vitiated pro- 
nunciation, introduced fince the Revolu- 
tion, both in profe and verfe, at the theatres, 
and in public leétures, &c. and particular 
ly with refpect to the letter r, at the end 
of infinirives in er. According to the 
rules of ResTauT, the Abbé pD’OLIVET, 
De Beauzee, and other approved gram- 
marians, itis proper to omit the pronunci~ 
ation of the r, at the end of infinitives in 
the frft conjugation, when it is not fol- 
lowed with a vowel ; but, according to the 
new. principle of declamation, it is the 
faihion to bear very ftrong on the letter -r 
of infinitives, and even before confonants. 
This new mede is complained of, as intro- 
ducing a guttural letter, which few palates 
can pronounce without producing a very 
difagreeable found, and which good writers 
would feek to avoid as much as poffible. 
The only reafon aftigned, namely, the dif- 
tinguifhing the infinitive from the parti- 
ciple paffive in thefe verbs, is alleged to 
be unneceflary and frivolous, as in the 
conftruction of a fentence, thefe two tenfes 
can never be confounded with each other. 
This is ftated as an abufe which requires 
to be correfted, and particularly to prevent 
the harth, difcordant found produced by an 
vr before hard confonants, fuch as P, Q, 
K, and F; and, above all, when 7 comes 
before another r—for inftance, in the line, 
La douceur du fiyle fait aimer Racine; on 
le wit errer rarement.—Another more re 
markable abule has, it feems, been intro- - 
duced into theatrical declamation, by Cit. 
Mos’, wherein he has been imitated by 
his pupils, and efpecially by Damas ; and 
that is to found the 7 at the end of all 
words, fo that it may be fuppofed to be 
followed by.an e mute, pronouncing ceur; 
douleur, plaifr, as if they were written 
caure, douleure, plaifire. This vicious 
mode of pronouncing in declamation is re- 
presented, as tending to deftroy, in peetry, 
the 
