1801. | 
the Bibliotheque Germanique were at too 
great a diftance to be able to cull the 
frefheft and mof fragrant bloffoms. Long 
extracts from Hagedorn, Garve, and Zim- 
mermann’s Zoological Geography, were 
but ill calculated to fatisfy the Parifian’s 
infatiable curiofity and lickerifh appetite, 
for fomething new and witty. Another 
unfortunate miftake of the editors was, 
that they did not make proper arrangements 
to precure more notices relative to the pro~ 
' grefs of the Germans in {cientific, phyfio- 
logical, and medical purfuits : for in thofe 
‘branches of literature it is that the 
Frenchman confiders the Germans to be 
farther advanced than in the delles-lettres. 
The natural confequence of fo many blun- 
ders was, that a very firong party of the 
leading literati, who gave the ton to 
others, made themfelves merry at the ex- 
pence of the imaginary excellence of the 
German authors, and endeavoured to turn 
the ‘laugh againft fuch of their country- 
men as feemed to be infe&ted with the Teu- 
tomania. Chenier, in the preface to the 
new edition of the tragedy Charles IX. 
exprefled himfelf in the following ftrong 
terms :—** Let them extol as much as 
they ‘pleafe the difgufting abfurdities of 
the Englifh, and the filly drolleries of the 
German, ftage; thefe follies will produce 
no evil confequences ; all that paffes 
away, becoming firft the objeét of ridicule, 
and foon finking into oblivion.”? This de- 
cifion was loudly applauded by the anti- 
German critics. La Harpe, or rather the 
new Mercure Francois, publifhed by him, 
was the principal organ of this party,. 
which feemed at a lofs to find words fuffi- 
ciently ftrong to exprefs their contempt of 
the tude/que productions on the ftage, and 
in hexameter verfe. In this refpeét, the 
author of an article in the eighth number 
of that Journal, entitled ** What cpiaion 
do the German authors themfelves enter- 
tain of their literature ?’? particularly dif- 
tinguifhes himfelf.—On the other hand, 
Citizen Mit iin (confervator of antiques 
in the National Library, and profeffor of 
antiquities) takes great pains to render 
not only the philological works (of the full 
value of which*no one even in Paris 
doubts), but likewife the fine literature of 
the Trans-rhenans palatable to his coun- 
trymen, by giving extracts and critiques 
of them in the Magazim Encyclopédique. 
More effeétual in this refpeét, however, 
are perhaps the eftorts of the writers of 
the Decade -Philofophique. In this latter 
journal extraéts are from time to time in- 
ferted from the German produétions lately 
tran{planted into France. Gothe’s Her- 
z 
Mr, Wakefield's Greek and Englifh Lexicon. 
4gt 
mann and Dorothy, as weakly tranflated by 
Bitaubé, was here criticifed with much in- 
dulgent tendernefs ; and the national pecu- 
liarity, where a feries of fcenes from com. 
mon life may furnith materials highly po- 
etical, but which cannot be done in 
France, pointed out with great knowledge 
and impartiality. ‘The editors of the De- 
cade {ometimes treat their readers likewife 
with an ode from Klopftock, or a fong 
from Vols, tranflated and accompanied 
with a fuitable introdu&tion. Upon the 
whole, however, in almoft all the attempts 
to make the French acquainted with the 
beauties of German literature, two errors’ 
were committed, which could not but pro- 
duce unfavourable effeéts on the public 
opinion. In fele&ting their fubjeéts, the 
tranflators were in general guided neither 
by a good tafte, nor by a fufficient know- 
ledge of what would pléafe or attract at= 
tention in France. 
ee GER 
Yo the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
Y anfwer to your enquiring Cor. 
refpondents, who regret the aban- - 
donment of my Greek and Englifh Lexi- 
con, 1s fhort and intelligible. The number > 
of fubfcribers, which I had originally 
propofed to myfelf, would not now defray 
the expences of publication. The very 
high terms of printing in the dead lJan- 
guages, added to the lately increafed duties 
on paper, render all. adventures in this 
way utterly impracticable at prefent in 
this country, except to thofe, whom difpo- 
fition prompts, and a condition in life 
enables, to facrifice their fortunes to the 
promotion of literature and the fervice of 
the public. G. WaKEFIELD. 
Derchefler Gaol, April 22, 1801. 
_ For the Monthly Magazine. 
DESCRIPTION of all the DEPARTMENTS 
of the FRENCH REPUBLIC, including 
thoje in the CONQUERED COUNTRIES. 
Department of the Ain. 
Sar is one of the four departments 
which are compofed of the ci-devant 
Brefle, Bugey, and Valromey, and the 
principality of Dombes. 
Tt is bounded on the north by the de- 
partment of Jura; on the eaft, by thofe 
of Leman and Mont Blanc ;. on the fouth, 
by the river Rhone, which feparates it 
from the department of Ifere ; and on the 
welt, by the department of the Rhone; 
its fuperficies is about 1,077,432 {quare 
acres, or §4'9,905 hectares; its popula. 
tion 
