218 
at the Mauritius, or Isle of France ; 
where, contrary to a passport granted 
him by the French and their allies, and, 
contrary to the law of nations, honour, 
and humanity, he was detained, together 
with his books, his papers, and the most 
valuable and extensive collection of charts 
which have appeared since the days of 
the immortal Cock. __ 
But,. since the period of the French 
revolution, since the time when anarchy 
and confusion have trampled upon mo- 
rality and: virtue, could we wonder at 
any thing, it would be, that the British 
government has not yet made any re- 
gular clain: of the subyect they employed 
on such an enterprize, and the fruits of 
whose labours they ought to possess. It 
is said, by a gentleman who resided in 
the Isle of France, that General De 
Caén desires to receive orders, by which, 
to terminate Captain F’s. imprisonment, 
and gives, as a reason, for the con- 
tinuance of this detention, “ that no off- 
cial demand from the British government 
had been made ’for his deliverance.” 
Surely there must be some mistake in this 
gentleman’s statement ! For the sake of 
humanity, and the encouragement of 
useful knowledge, let us hope that some 
man of science and political informatien 
will oblige the world, by throwing some 
light on the above subject in the next 
number of the Monthly Magazine. 
September 2, Your's, &c. 
1807. ScRUTATOR. 
= vee Bae = 
To the Editor of the Monthly Megazine 
SIR 
€N the Monthly Magazine, No. 160, 
I p. 4t, it is stated mn the Lyceum of 
Ancient Literature, that the Editio Prin- 
ceps of Virgil was printed at Venice in 
1470; and though this is also asserted 
by Fabricius and De Bure, yet the true 
first edition of Virgil was printed at 
Rome, by Sweynheym and Pannartz. It 
is extremely rare; and the only copy that 
was ever brought into England, is at pre- 
sent in the Library of Earl Spencer. It 
contains. the. Eclogues, Georgies, and 
Z¥neid, on two hundred and seven leaves 
of paper in folio, containing thirty-two 
lines on each page. It presents us also 
with some minor poems, among which 
at the latter end of the volume, is an Ex- 
tract of the ‘* Lusus Poetarum in Pna- 
pum.” The characters are beautiful, and 
a specimen of them is given in the Cata- 
logue, “de la Valliere.” The comma 
and semicolon are not used, nor do the 
letters y, v,@, or @, appear in the whole 
work.. The gis of a singular form, ex- 
actly resembling the figure 8, with a dot 
: A 
Mr. Savage, on the first Edition of V irgil. 
[Oct ly 
at the top on the right hand. The types 
are evidently those first used by Johr 
Mestellin, at Strasburg. Though the 
date of this edition of Virgil cahnot be 
exactly fixed, there is little doubt but 
that it was printed’ between 1466, and 
1469. 
This edition is thought to be the 
scarcest and most valuable of all the 
first editions of the ancient classics, It 
was unknown to Maittaire, Fabricius, 
De Bure, and. Denis,. and. has: been im- 
perfectly mentioned by Laire and’ Harles, 
It is the first edition of a Latin poet, © 
published by Sweynheym and Pannartz, 
and is consequently anterior to the Lu- 
can, which was printed by them in 1469. 
The copy which belonged to the Duke 
de la Valliere, was sold at his sale for 
410% livres. eee 
It may be necessary to observe, that 
the edition of Virgil called the Editio 
Princeps in the Lyceum of Ancient Li- 
terature, is the first with adate. Itisa 
very rare book, and a copy is also in 
Lord Spencer’s Library. There is a copy 
of this edition in vellum, in his Majesty’s 
brary, which may be ranked as one of 
the gems of literature. Your’s, &cew 
London Institution, J. SAVAGE © 
August 5, 1807. be 
ap Iseiaie : 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine, 
SIR, 
NOME years back, you admitted into 
many successive numbers of your 
widely eirculated and valuable miscel+ 
lany, many extracts from letters, written 
by my son, then secretary to the state 
and governor of Kentucky, but since ap- 
pointed a district-judge in the Mississippi 
Territory, by the president of America. 
The inclosed paper relates to part of that. 
country, and I coneeive will be thought 
interesting and curious, as containing 
original information, It comes from the 
pen of a gentleman, resident there, not 
my son indeed, but who is married to his 
daughter. It may, therefore, be pro- 
perly regarded as a sequel to the former 
communications ; and your miscellany 
appears, as having conveyed them to the 
public eye, to be entitled to this piece, 
if you judge proper to allot it a place. 
Birmingham, Your’s, &c. 
3d Sept. 1807. Josnua TOULMIN. 
A short Sketch of the Mobille Country 
in a Letter from a Gentleman at Fort 
- Stoddert,on the Mobille River, Mississ- — 
ippi Territory, to his friend. . 
From the city of Mobille to Name — 
rahubba Cut-off, the junction of the Tom- 
_bigby 
