Retrofpe of French Literature.—Drama. 621 
¢¢ Poefies Diverfes.”—Mifcellaneous 
Poety. ‘ 
From this we fhall extra& the Eloge of 
Sulpicia, a tranflation from Tibullus, as 
a {pecimen of the volume .— 
*€ Jllam quidquid agit, quoquo veftigia 
vertit, 
Componit furtim fubfequiturque decor.” 
Tis. Lib. 4. Eleg. 2. 
<¢ C’eft pour toi, Mars, c’eft dans les jours 
Que t’a confacrés ma patrie, 
Qu’on voit la jeune Sulpicie 
Prendre fes plus brillans atours, 
Quitte les cieux, viens fur la terre ! 
in faveur de tant de beauté, 
La reine méme de Cythére 
Pardonne Vinfidéliteé. 
Mais a Vafpeé de tant de charmes, 
Dans un fubit étonnement, 
Crains de laiffer honteufement 
Tomber tes redoubtables armes ! 
L’ Amour allume dans fes yeux 
Le feu dont il brale les Dieux. 
On voit Ja Décence et les Graces 
Préfider a fes gotits charmans, 
Furtivement fuivre fes traces, 
Ec régler tous fes mouvemens. 
Livre-t-elle fa chevelure 
Au fouffle des vents amoureux ? 
La plus réguliére parure 
Ne vaut pas ce défordre heureux. 
Daigne-t-elle orner fa coéffure ? 
Elle a la majefté des Dieux. 
Soit que, vé:ue en fouveraine, 
L’or et la pourpre tyrienne 
Brillent fur fes riches habits, 
Soit que femblable a la bergére, 
Dans fa robe blanche et iégére 
Elle efface Véclat des lys ; 
Toujours elle eft fure de plaire, 
Tojours nos yeux font éblouis. 
Tel heureux amant de Pomone 
Préfente a nos fens enchantés 
Mille et mille variétés 
Dont il embellit fa couronne. 
A toi feule on devrait offrir, 
Belie et modefte Sulpicie, 
es perles, l’or et Je faphyr 
Et la pourpre de Phénicie : 
Pour toi feule on devrait cueillir 
Tous les perfums de l’Arabie. 
Secondez mes faibles efforts, 
Doétes Seurs et Dieu de la lyre ! 
Chantez la beauté qui m’in{pire ; 
Elle eft digne de vus accords, 
_ THE DRAMA. 
‘¢ Pierre le Grand.’’—Peter the Great, 
a Tragedy~-in Five Aéts, by M. Car- 
RION-Nisas; reprefented for the firft 
time atthe French Theatre, 29th Floreal, 
year xii. 
The fubje&t of this tragedy, a fon con- 
demned to death by order of his father, is 
familiar to the French (tage, ic having 
been already adopted both by Campiftron, 
4 A 
in his Andronic, and Voltaire, in his Brue- 
tus. 
In act I. Peter is reprefented not only 
as abfent, but, according to fome ac- 
counts, a prifoner to the Turks, and 
to others, dead. Aklcxis alfo is at a ditt 
tance from the Court, having gone to feek 
an alylum with the Emperor of Germany, 
his father-in-law. In this pofition of af. 
fairs, the conf{pirators afflemble, and Gle- 
boff, a Ruffian Bifop, who is the foul of 
the enterprize, exprefles a wifh to com- 
mence the infurrection withoat delay.) At 
this critical moment Alexis unexpettedly 
makes his appearance, while a warrior is 
at the fame time announced from the camp 
of the Czar. 
It appears in at IT. that this warrior 
is no other than Menzikoff, who informs 
Lefort of the miraculous iffue of the cam- 
paign of Pruth, and of the immediate ar- 
rival of the Emperor. The young Prince, 
notwithftanding this, wifhes to ftrike a 
great blow ; but Gleboff, whwu had heard 
of the Czar’s arrival, advifts Alexis to 
defer his projeét, and feign acquiefcence. 
Peter nimfelf appears in act III. He 
informs Lefort and Menzikoff of his inten- 
tion to crown Catharine ; after which he 
confuits them relative to what ought to 
be done with his fon. Lefort propofes 
that he fhould be deprived of his right ta 
the empire; while Menzikoff wifhed him 
to be confided to his care, on purpofe to 
make war on the rebels of Veronez, under 
his infpeétion. The father confenrs to 
the latter propofition, andinforms Alexis 
of his refolution, who firft advocates the 
caufe of the rebels, but yieids at laft in 
appearance to the intreaties of his father. 
In act IV. Peter places the crown on 
the head of Catharine. This ceremony is 
interrupted by the arrival of an cfficer, 
who had with fome difficulty prevented the 
Strelitzes trom carrying away Eudoxia, 
the repudiated confort of the Czar, and 
mother of Alexis, from the monaltery in 
which fhe was confined. He at the 
fame time brings along with him one of 
the molt furious of the Strelitzes, whom 
he had made prifoner. On being intro- 
duced, he proves to be Alexis himfelf, in 
difguie. He braves his father, menaces 
him, and defies his power ; on which the 
Emperor orders him to be tried for his 
offences, while Catharine endeavours to 
difpofe her confort to clemency. ‘In the 
mean time Lefort enters, and informs the 
Czar that the infurgents had once more 
befieged the convent, and delivered Eu- 
doxia, and that this Princefs had perifhed 
during an engagement, he having at that 
moment 
