1. A moft fignal victory obtained by 3. Clairfait is again attacked by the the British fleet, under Lord Howe, over French, and defeated.-9. Bois-le-Duc the French fleet near Ufhant.-Great re- furrenders to the French.-ro. The Polish joicings, and a fubfcription opened for the army under General Kofeiufko defeated wounded, &c.-2. Upwards of 500 of the by the Ruffians; and Kofeinfko wound- moft refpectable inhabitants of Edinburgh ed and taken prifoner.-15. Robert Watt enroll themselves as conftables.-4. Port- executed at Edinburgh-Downie refpited. au-Prince furrendered to the British.-15.-18. The French crofs the Maeft, and An earthquake at Naples, attended by an attack the advanced pofts of the allies, eruption of Mount Vefuvius.-16. The and beat them in.-23. The head quar- Prince of Orange defeats the French near ters of the British army removed to Arn- Charleroi.-17. Ypro furrendered to the heim.-27. La Revolutionaire French fri- French. Lord Moira's army embarks at gate of 44 guns taken by the Artois frigate Portsmouth for Oftend.-20. Corfica for- Capt Nagle.-28. The Spaniards defeat- mally united to the crown of Great Bri- ed by the French near Pampeluna in Na- tain.-24. Charleroi taken by the French. varre. Hardy's trial for high treafon com- -30. The digging of the Crinan canal 4. Tournay taken by the French.-6. A new arrangement takes place in the Cabinet: The Duke of Portland, Earls Fitzwilliam and Mansfield, Mr Windham &c. come into office.-11. Parliament prorogued.-18. Namur taken by the French. Seventeen fail of East Indiamen arrive in Ireland.-29. Revolution at Ge- neva, at the inftigation of the French com miflioners. Valenciennes, Conde, Lan- drecy, Bruffels, Oftend, and all the other towns of the Netherlands, fucceffively e- vacuated or furrendered by the allies.- 23. A dreadful fire broke out at Radcliffe (London) which confumed more houses than any one conflagration has done, fince the memorable fire of London.-28. The two Robespierres, St Juft, Couthon, Vi- 14. The commiffion of Oyer and Ter- Corfica furrenders to the British. 3. Robert Watt convicted of high trea- fon-D. Downie the fame, but recom- mended to mercy.-27. The Edinburgh Volunteers receive their colours from the Lord Provoft.-29. Several perfons ap- prehended on fufpicion of a defign to af- faflinate his Majefty;-as appears after wards, on falfe information. Lord Mac- artney returns from China. General Clair 4. Maeftricht furrenders to the French. A fortie made by the farrifon of Nime- guen, in which the gallantry of the Bri- til troops is confpicuous.-6. The Alex- ander, a British 74, taken by a French fquadron.-8. Nimeguen evacuated by the allies. The efpoufal of the Prince of Wales to the Princess Caroline of Brunf- wick announced at Court. The French Convention pafs a decree pardoning fuch infurgents (royalifts) in La Vendee, as fhall furrender in a limited time. Warfaw fur- renders to the Ruffians under Gen. Suwar- row.-17. Horne Tooke's trial commen- ces; ends on the 22d-Not guilty.—19. Parliament further prorogued to the oth December.-24. The Edinburgh Voiun- teers reviewed by the Duke of Buccleugh in Burntsfield links.-25. Mr Bell's exten- 1. Thelwall acquitted of treafon, after five days trial. The terms of the loan fettled; 18 millions to be borrowed for Great Britain, 6 millions for the Emperor of Germany. The Pylades floop of war loft off Shetland. Officers and crew fa- ved.-18. Several privates of the first bat- talion of the Breadalbane fencibles brought prifoners to Edinburgh, in confequence of mutinous behaviour at Glasgow. Chatham refigns as firit Lord of the Ad- miralty; Lord Spencer fucceeds, refign- ing the feals to Lord Chatham. Mansfield made Prefident of the Council Earl SCOTS MAGAZINE, For JANUARY 1794. OF THOUGHTS ON POETRY. Fall the fciences which afford matter of fpeculation to the mind of man, there is fomething in Poetry that not only diftinguishes it from every other fpecies of knowledge, but that bears a bout it the marks of divinity and infpiration. The poffeffion of this talent is looked upon, even in these days of degeneracy, as an emanation of the Divine Spirit; and it is well known that the Bards and Minftrels of antiquity were venerated by the Pagans with a fentiment of adoration, that bore all the marks of that zeal which diftinguishes the Chrif. tian world in their reverence of their Prophets and their Saints. The antiquity of Poetry is univerfally allowed, but the origin of it is varioufly accounted for. Mr Pope coin cides with the opinion of Scaliger and Fontenelle, and lays it down as arifing in the calm occupations of rural life, and celebrating, in paftorals, the happinefs and tranquillity of a fhepherd's days. But it is more natural and more rational to fuppofe, that the first poems were hymns or odes made in praife of the Deity, who, by the Royal Poet, commanded his people to praise him in the ymbals and dances. And this conjecture feems to be ftrongly favoured by thofe beautiful fragments that are fcattered through the facred writings, and especialby the fongs of Mofes, which are the very foul of grandeur and fublimity. There can be no doubt but that Poetry, in its infant ftate, was the language of devotion and of love It was the voice and expreffion of the heart of man, when VOL. LVI. ravished and tranfported with a view of the numberlefs bleffings that perpetually flowed from God, the fountain of all goodnefs. When the first-created pair found themselves in the garden of Paradife, amidst an infinite number of crea tures, fo fearfully and wonderfully made; when they faw every herb, plant, and flower rife up for their ufe and pleasure, and every creature fubmit to their will; when they heard the morning's dawn ufhered in with the orifons of birds, and the evening warbled down with notes of thanks and gratitude; when all nature exulted in praise of the omnipotent Creator; when the morning fars fang together, and all the fons of God fhouted for joy; that fpirit of devotion which feemed to breathe through the univerfe, infpired the human heart, and these happy objects of divine love -join'd their vocal worship to the choir Of creatures wanting voice.— Enraptured thus with the love of God, and filled with an awful idea of his power, glory, and goodness, the foul, incapable of finding words in common language fuitable to its lofty conceptions, and difdaining every thing low and profaic, was obliged to invent a language of its own. Tropes and figures were called in to exprefs its fentiments, and the diction was dignified and embellished with metaphors, beautiful defcriptions, lively images, fimiles, and whatever elfe could help to exprefs, with force and grandeur, its paflion and conception: Difdaining all common thoughts and trivial expreffions, it foars, like a being of fuperior faculties, A in into a diftant region, and afpires at all that is fublime and beautiful, in order to approach perfection and beatitude. Nor was this fufficient: The mind diffatisfied with culling only the moft noble thoughts, arrayed in forcible and luxuriant terms, and perceiving the sweetness which arofe from the melody of birds, called in mufic to its aid; when thefe illuftrious thoughts, dignified and dreffed with pomp and fplendor, were fo placed as to produce harmony: the long and fhort, the fmooth and rough fyllables were varioufly combined to recommend the fenfe by the found, and elevation and cadence employed to make the whole more mufically expreffive. Hence Poetry became the parent of mufic, and indeed of dancing; for the method of meafuring the time of their verfes per Arfin et Thefin, and of beating the bars or divifions of mufic, gave rife we may fuppofe, to this art, and taught the poet alfo to exprefs the tranfports of the foul. And this will in fome meafure account, not only for the great antiquity of dancing, but for its application to religious ceremonies even in the first ages of the world. Poetry, mufic, and dancing, were all used by the Ifraelites of old in their worship, and are thus employed by many of the eaftern nations, and by the Indians of America, to this day. What has been faid of the origin of Poetry will account for the neceffity there is for that enthufiafm, that fertility of invention, thofe fallies of the imagination, lofty ideas, noble sentiments, bold and figurative expreffions, harmony of numbers, and indeed that natural love of the grand, fublime, and marvellous, which are the effential characteristics of a good Poet. The Poet, not fatisfied with exploring all nature for fubjects, wantons in the fields of fancy, and creates beings of his own. He raifes floating islands, dreary defarts, and inchanted caftles, which he peoples by the magic of his imagination with Satyrs, Sylphs, and Fairies; and, as Shakespeare fays, as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the Poet's pen Turns them to fhape, and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. (To be continued.) VISIT TO THE HAREM OF THE PRINCE OF MOROCCO. IT was with the greatest pleasure that in about a fortnight after my firft attendance on the prince, I obferved an amendment in his complaint. His eye now evinced a 'difpofition to recover its former pofition; at firft he was only able to difcern light from darkness, but he could now diftinguifh an apple at about ten yards diftance. Thefe flattering appearances entirely removed every prejudice which at first arofe in the minds of the prince's attendants; and his highnefs himself acknowledged that he had been too hafty in forming his opinion of me. The confidence which this fuccefs occafioned, induced the prince to admit me into his Harem, where there were feveral ladies who had occafion for my fervices. Though this afforded me an opportuity of feeing the Harem, I thall wave a particular defcription of it, as it only differed from that of the emperor, by being upon a smaller scale. Upon receiving the prince's orders to attend his ladies, one of his friends was immediately difpatched with me to the gate the Harem; with directions to the alcaide (an officer in the general idea of the word) of the eunuchs to admit myfelf and interpreter whenever I thought it neceffary. The eunuchs, who have the entire charge of the women, and who in fact live always among them, are the children of negro flaves. They are generally either very fhort and fat; or else tall, deformed, and lame, their voices have that particular tone which is obfervable in youths who are juft arriving at manhood; and their perfons altogether afforded a difgufting image of weakness and effeminacy. From the truft repofed in them by their mafters, and the confequence which it gives them, the eunuchs exceed in infolence and pride every other clafs of people in the country. They difplayed indeed fo much of it towards me, that I was obliged, in my own defence, to complain of them once or twice, and to have them punished. At |