. 
4 
188 Extratis from the Port-folio ofa Man of Letters: [Sept. f, 
VIlIth fwore Par le jour Dieu (By God’s 
light); Lewis the XIIth ufed an oath 
ftill common amonegft the French rabble, 
Diable memporte (The Devil take me) ; 
but the oath of Francis, the firt of that 
name, was polifhed enough for the prefent 
day ; it was, Foi de Gentilbomme (On the 
word of a gentleman.) 
VOLTAIRE. 
Tt was obferved by a certain perfon to 
Voltaire, that the King of Pruffia had 
behaved towards him in a manner fingu- 
Jarly gracious and kind ; *¢ He has given 
you,” adds the remarker, «* a penfion of 
twenty thoufand livres ; and he gave you, 
moreover, akey.”’-—« Yes,” interrupted 
Voltaire, ** but I can affure you, it was 
not the key of paradife.”” 
THE PARISIANS. 
Voltaire, being afked what he thought 
of the people of Paris—** The Parifians,”’ 
aniwered he, ** raife ftatues, and pull themy 
down again; they fpend their time in 
theatres, hifling; and clapping hands ; 
they have lefs ingenuity than the Atheni- 
ans had, with all their faults, and-more 
than double their extravagancies.”’ 
ROBERT CECIL, EARL OF SALISBURY. 
Robert Cecil, Earl of Salifbury, princi- 
pal Secretary of State in the reign of 
James the Firft, was a maii of a hafty 
temper, efpecially when intent upon bufi- 
nefs, and broken in upon unfeafonably.— 
it was, moreover, in his day, no unufual 
thing for noblemen and gentlemen to kick 
and cuff their domeftics when they com- 
mitted faults. It happened that a fervant 
belonging tothe Earl, whofe office it was 
toattend him whilft in his clofet, to ftir 
and keep up his fire, had received a finall 
prefent from a fuitor to put his Lordthip 
in mind of a certain bufinefs, which the 
poor fellow happening todo at a moment 
when Lord Salifbury was thinking of other 
matters, got a hearty flap on the face for 
his pains. As he came out of the clofet, 
he met the fuitor, towhom he faid thus— 
«© Oh! Sir, Thave juft been moving my 
Lord upon your bufinels.’” * «* Yes,” fays 
one who happened to be by at the time he 
received the flap on the face, «*I am wit- 
nefs that he mewed my Lord, and you 
may be convinced of it yourfelf, if you 
only obferve how red his ears are.” 
PRINCELY SWINXDLING. 
The town of Friburg,. in Switzerland. 
was under the dominion of the Houfe of 
Aufiria. After the confederate free Can- 
tons had become powerful and refpeStable, 
the Friburgers on various occaficns fhow- 
ed fuch adifpofition to join with them, 
that the Duke of Auftria was convinced 
ke could not long retain his fovercignty 
overthem. He therefore fent his mafer 
of the houfehold to the town, who gave 
out that he fhortly expeéted the Duke him= 
felf, on which account he defired the in- 
habitants fo lend all their plate, gold and 
filver ornaments, jewels, &c. in order toe 
decorate the town-houfe for his reception. 
Thefe articles he took care clandeftinely 
to convey out of the territory. At length 
the day fixed for the Duke's arrival being 
come, the matter of the houfchold, wirh his 
train, and a number of the principal citi- 
zens, rode out to meet him. ‘They pro- 
ceeded further and further, but no Duke 
appeared ; at laft, however, they meta 
detachment of troopers, who opened their 
ranks, and received the houfchold-officer 
and his party under their protection. He 
then turned about, and, addrefling himfelf 
to the Friburgers, coolly told them, that 
it had been for fome time perceived that 
they were difpofed to throw off their alle- 
giance to their prince in confidence of 
the proteétion of the Cantons; that it was 
juft the prince fliould receive fome emolu- 
ment from them before they executed this 
defigcn—therefore he had made bold to 
carry off the goods he had borrowed of 
them.’ So faying, he rode off, leaving 
the deluded Friburgers in a ftate of ludi- 
crous furprize and mortification. 
TWo SINGULAR PASSAGES IN ARIOSTG. 
The firft of thefe is an inftance of that 
kind of figure for which I do not know a 
proper term, in which great expectations 
raifed by the poet, end in what Shakefpear 
calls ‘* a moft lame and impotent conclu- 
fion.” Hecommences the 12th canto of 
Orlando Furiofo with faying, in very lofty 
verfe, <* that.Ceres, when, on her retarn 
from the valley of Ida to mount /&tna, 
fhe found her daughter mifiing, after 
tearing her hair, cheeks, and eyes, pluck- 
ed up two pines, and kindling them with 
unquenchable fire, carried them with her 
in her car drawn by ferpents, and fearched 
through woods, plains, mountains, vallies, 
ftreams, lakes, land and fea, and at length 
in the depth of Tartarus, for her loft 
daughter. Now (fays he) if Orlando had 
equalled Ceres as much in power as in de-~ 
fire, he would allo have fought Angelica 
through woods, plains, hills, vallies, é&c. 
&c. but not having the chariet and dra- 
gons, he went feeking her as well as he 
couid.”” 
Ma poi che’l carro, e i draghi nonaveay 
La gia cercando al meglio che potea, 
The other is in the 35th canto, where 
St. John ‘relates to Aftolfo in the moon 
the praifes of poets and hiftorians ; ob- 
ferving, that the fame of great men is 4 
tire 
