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From the Port-folio of a Man of Letters. 
a 
BURNING OF HERETICS. 
HE practice of burning alive for 
Herefy, began in England with 
Henry the Fourth. The parith-prieft of 
Saint Scytha the Virgin, in London, was 
the firft who fuffered under the flatute, 
then newly made, intitled, ‘* De Heretico 
comburendo.”’ 
BASKETS. 
Wicker-bafkets are the earlieft manu- 
factures we read of in Ancient Britain, 
If we aie to credit Juvenal, the fatyrit, 
they were elegantly wrought ; and he rec- 
kons them amongft the mott extravagant 
articles of Roman furniture in his time. 
Adde et Bafcaudas, &c. Sat. 12, v. 46. 
Martial exprefsly mentions, that the 
Bafcauda (wicker-bafket,) came from 
Britain, in the ggth epigram of the 14th 
book. His words are, 
Bagbara de pid?is venit BaseauDa Britannis. 
GEORGE BUCHANAN. 
Camden fays of Buchanan, that he 
was born, 2s he himfelf has written, zec 
calo, nec folo, nec feculo erudito, that is 
to fay, neither in a climate, age, or coun- 
try of learning, yet happily arriving at 
the top and perie&lion of poetical fkill, 
foas he may be defervedly reckoned the 
prince of poets of his own times. 
GRACIAN. 
Whofoever wifhes his works fhould go 
down to pofterity, fays Balthafar Gracian, 
muft cenfure like Tacitus, record words 
and aétions like Valerius Maximus, mo. 
ralize like Florus, arrange his matter Jike 
Paterculus, make ufe of allufions»and 
antitheses like Cicero, be as fententious as 
Seneca, and as pleafing as Pliny Junior. 
A THIEF EXECUTED FOR STEALING 
HIS OWN GCODS. 
In the reion of David Bruce, King of 
Scotland, a law was made that all im. 
plements of hufbandry !eft without doors, 
and ftolen, fhould be made good by the 
fheriff of the county, who was: enjomed 
either to caufe the fame to be reftored, or 
to pay for them out of his own purfe. 
In confequence of this law diligent watch 
was had, and fuch crimes in a great mea- 
fure prevented ; but a.country fellow, 
much inclined to pilfering, fince it was 
fo difficult to fleal his neighbour’s goods, 
bethought himfelf of ftealing his own. 
Accordingly he took away and'concealed 
his own plough, and thereupon claimed 
the value of the fheriff, as of goods he 
had loft. The ftricteft fearch being made, 
the truth came to light, and the country- 
man conviéted of the theft, who was theres 
upon hanged. 
ECCO IL FICO! 
In the year 1161 the empre{fs Beatrix, 
confort of Frederic Baibaroffa, being on 
a vifit to Milan, the citizens thereof be- 
haved to her in a cruel and indecent man- 
ner, They placed “her on a mule with 
her face to the tail, which fhe was com- 
pelled to take into her hand: and thus 
was fhe led out of the city, the gates of 
which were immediately fnut againft her. 
To revenge this grofs infult, the emperor 
laid fiege to the town, and having taken 
it, he condemned the citizens to death 
unle{s they redeemed their lives in the fol- 
lowing way : a bunch of figs was tied to 
the tail of a fkittifh mule, which they 
were to fnatch off with their teeth. This 
they fubmitted to in fpite of many @ 
kick anda thump. From this circum- 
ftanee arofe the cuftom amongft the Ita- 
lians, when they would mock each other, 
to place the thumb betwixt their two fin- 
gers, and cry Eccoil Fico! 
FATHER PETAU, THE JESUIT. 
When the King of Poland fent in the 
year 1645 a plendid embafly, to demand 
in marriage the Princefs' Mary of the 
Houfe of Mantua ; the ambaffadorial train, 
filled by the mof illuftrious perfons in Po. 
land, came to the Jefuits’ College : which 
they entered and exclaimed, Volumus videre 
clari“#d+ Petavium. Father Petau atthe 
tim Was“ delivering a leSture in theology, 
w'4.~ portfolio under his arm: as foon as 
it was ended, hedefcended from the chair, 
and complimented in Latin that would 
have called forth applaule in the Auguftan 
age. 
QUEEN JOAN, 
Joan, Queen of Sicily and Naples, was 
the eldeft daughter of King Robert, bro- 
ther of St. Lewis. She married her coufin 
german Andreafle, brother of Lewis, 
King of Hungary, whom in 1346 the 
caufed to be hanged. Immediately after 
the death of her firtt hufband, fhe married 
another coufin, who was Prince of Ta- 
vento. He fell a facrifice in three years 
afterwards to her inordinate paifions. 
Her third hufband was James de Taren- 
3Ma2 ceny 
t 
