tamely to adopt the leading measures to their subjection to the court of Verfailles, is kifling the rod that is preparing to fcourge them.

But fetting afide the honour of nations, it is certainly very impolitic for us to follow their fashions, and wear their manufactures. The French always confult their policy and convenience in the fashions they eftablish. When they were in poffeffion of the Canadian fur trade, they judiciously promoted the wearing of beaver hats; but fince that trade has devolved to us, they wear very small hats, and these are chiefly made of filk. Were they in poffeffion of Jamaica, they would, doubtless, from the fame motive drink rum in preference to brandy; but as it is, our policy is glaringly defective in encouraging the vent of French brandy in this kingdom. They import our fineft horfes to improve the breed of their own, and run our fheep and wool to fupplant us in the woollen manufactures; but they purchase no commodities that they can do without, in preference to their own of the fame kind. A Frenchman has invariably the intereft of his king and country at heart; and though he may not always approve of the measures of the minifter, he never hints at any impropriety of conduct in the grand monarque, who is confidered by every Frenchman, as the greatest and most perfect being upon earth. I do not recommend to Englifhmen the example of the fabjects of a defpotic prince; but furely fome refpect is due to royalty, and the perfonal virtues of Louis XV. are certainly eclipfed by thofe of George III.

If fawning, cringing, infincerity, and hypocrify conftitute politenefs, the French are certainly the most polite people in the world. Their profeffions are mere words, their civilities mere air, which are never thought of after they are vented. I have feen two

Frenchmen meeting upon the Pontneuf, pay each the higheft compliments, and to the next they met reprefent each o

ther as two of the greatest villains upon earth. Their converfation is made up of compliments, which they repeat without thinking about what they lay: this may be politenefs, but if it be, it is a very ufelefs commodity in the traffic of the world, and like bafe coin ferves only to impofe upon the ignorant and credulous. Their flattery certainly tickles the ears of women, who expect a general adulation from all mankind: but it is impoffible for a man of fenfe to be pleased; for it is in general fo grofs and barefaced, that it muft naufeate a perfon of any difcernment. They confider English travellers as their property by prefcription, and fancy that their cringing and flattery is an adequate barter for our guineas. Amongst the traders, it is a fettled point never to fell an Englishman any commodity at the price it is fold to natives; even when a pretended friend recommends you, he winks at the deceit, and thinks you a proper fubject for impofition. As they confider themselves as ftandards in all matters of taste, their decifions upon thefe occafions are always arbitrary, and even their falfe politenefs cannot give way to their fuperiority of judgment; and an Englishman would be confidered as a prefumptuous Jack roast beef, if he were to pretend to diffent from their determinations upon these occafions.

I am in hopes, that these few reflections may open the eyes of fome of our countrymen, and prevent them from flinging away their money amongft thofe who only laugh at them for their folly. I am, &c.

ANTIGALLICUS.

of the Germans his particular ftudy, informs us, that every one of that nation, excepting only a small number of the chiefs or leading men, contented himfelf with one wife, and that of all the barbarians in the world, they were the ftricteft obfervers of the matrimonial laws. We have therefore reafon to believe, that the Suiones, Æftii, Cimbri, Teutones, and other nations of whom the Normans and Eafterlings of after-ages must have been defcended, had not a plurality of wives in his time; and it does not appear from good authority that polygamy became fashionabie among the pofterity of these nations, in the period intervening between the time of Tacitus and the introduction of christianity.

But even allowing, without any neceffity, that polygamy was common in Scandinavia, ftill it is doubtful, from the hiftory of nations who give into that custom,whether a plurality of wives increase population or not. As the males of Scandinavia were always engaged in war at fea, there is indeed reafon to believe that the accidents from enemies, and thofe arifing from a rude. navigation, carried off a greater proportion of them than of the males of any other nation; and therefore it may be fuppofed that a greater number of women fell to the furvivors. But, when we confider that the women of the North always attended their husbands and friends in their expeditions, we muft allow that they were fubject to the fame accidents with the males. In this way therefore it is impoffible to account how the Northern Europe could cover the Southern divisions of it with fuch deluges of barbarous adventurers. The old Norwegians and Swedes,before their converfion to chriftianity, were addicted to piracy, and esteemed

it a glorious occupation. The wild tribes who lived near the gulph of Bothnia, Finland, and Livonia, followed the fame practice. The maritime nations inhabiting the Southern coaft of the Baltic were led by the example and fuccefs of those rovers to try their fortune in the more wealthy divifions of the South of Europe. If to thefe numerous nations of plunderers we add those of Denmark, Holftein, Saxony, and Friesland, all the way to the mouth of the Rhine, we do not make the country of thofe Northern rovers, who have done fo much mischief in former ages, more extensive than history affirms. It is alfo extremely probable that those who dwelt in the more inland districts of the kingdoms of the North joined the freebooting inhabitants of the fea coafts in their expeditions. In a divifion of Europe fo extenfive, it could have been no difficult matter to mufter up fwarms of adventurers, fome thirsting after glory others rendered defperate by poverty, and all of them animated by the fnccefs of their neighbours or predeceffors in emigrations of the fame kind.

It may alfo be fufpected that the piratical Easterlings and Normans, who committed fuch devaftations in the lowGermany, France, Britain, Ireland,and other places, were not fo very numerous as they have been reprefented. Inftead of making war in a regular manner, they generally invaded one particular divifion of a country near the coaft, in flying parties, gathered all the fpoils they could carry away, and deftroyed every thing elfe. They were compofed of feveral bodies independent of one another, and no fooner was one band goue than another came. By this means, the countries exposed to their ravages had fcarce any refpite from their incurfions: this circumftance

muft

muft have greatly fwelled the idea of their numbers in the minds of thofe who were fo cruelly haraffed by them; and as they made a conqueft of fome countries, the writers in the intereft of the old natives, to fave their credit in fome measure, would perhaps have afcribed thofe conquefts to the numbers of the enemy, rather than to their fuperior bravery.

To leave this digreffion, from the hiftory of the dynasty of Man. Olave, king of the ifles, after a long and peaceable reign, was treacherously flain by his own nephews: he was fucceeded by his fon, Godred, whom he had by the daughter of Fergus, Earl of Galloway, the most powerful fubject in Scotland at that time.

Godred had failed to Norway before his father's death, and did homage to king Hinge. In his absence the three fons of his uncle Harold feized on his dominions, and divided them among themselves. But the ufurping affaffins foon met with the fate their crimes deferved. Godred returning from Norway, afferted his title to the kingdom of Man, caufed one of the fons of Harold to be executed, and agreeably to the inhuman cuftom of thofe barbarous times, put out the eyes of the other two *.

Soon after Godred had recovered the inheritance of his ancestors, the Eafter lings of Dublin invited him over into Ireland, and made him their king, Elated beyond measure by this great acceffion of power, he began to rule tyrannically in his own dominions, and regardless of juftice and the laws, deprived the nobles of their eftates. The most powerful among them, Thorfin,the fon of Oler, to gratify his revenge, entered into a league with Somerled, the famous thane of Argyle, and after wrefting many of the ifles out of Godred's hands, by the affiftance of that powerful chief, erected them into a feparate kingdom for Dugal, the fon of his new patron.

* Chron. Man. åd ann. 1143.

The Chronicle of Man calls Somerled Prince of Heregaidel, and informs us further, that he had married a natural daughter of King Olave, and confequently Godred's fifter. By that lady he had four fons: Dougal, of whom came the MacDougals of Lorn; Reignald, the progenitor of all the MacDonalds of Scotland and Ireland; Angus, an ambitious lord, whofe great power and numerous offspring became extinct in a fhort time; and Olave, of whofe actions or iffue neither history nor tradition have recorded any thing memorable.

The King of Man, upon receiving intelligence that Thorfin and Somerled had feized on a part of his dominions, equipped a confiderable fleet, and putting to fea went in queft of his enemiest. Somerled met him with a fleet confifting of eighty fail: after an ob ftinate fight, attended with great flaughter on both fides, they patched up a peace, having agreed to divide the kingdom of the ifles among them. From that day, faith the chronicle, may be dated the downfal and ruin of the kingdom of Man.

Godred,

Either Somerled's ambition was very high, or Godred's perfidy provoked him foon to recommence hoftilities; for he invaded Man with a new fleet about two years after the partition treaty had been concluded. unable to maintain his ground, abandoned the island, fled to Norway, and laid his grievances before the fovereign of whom he held his dominions by a feudal right. He remained in Norway for fix years before his reprefentations had any effect. At length he obtained a confiderable fupply of forces, and returning to Man, defeated his brother Reginald, who had taken poffeflion of the island in his abfence, and re-establifhed himself in his kingdom ‡.

Somerled was killed before this revolution happened. Intoxicated by repeated victories, and his vaft acquifiti

+ Ad. ann. 1156.
Chron. Man. ad ann. 1164.

ons,

formed a defign, if we behronicle of Man, to conotland. Having, in confehat extravagant project, e. Eet of one hundred and fixlanded a numerous army ew in Clydesdale. Here, aronicle, he was, through gence of God, vanquished umber, and he himself, to his fon and a vast multitude , flain §.

land fennachies give a very count of Somerled's death er. According to them, l thane had received many provocations from the ming, Malcolm IV. a Prince erienced, and entirely untion of his fervants. The of Somerled's eftate on the - fay nothing of the acquid made in the ifles, filled rs with a political jealoupted their avarice at the Refolved to humble fo fubject, and to divide his themselves, they compela long series of attrocious take arms in his own dee King's counsellors atand Gilchrift, Earl of Aneft general of that age in as fent with a great mili o render that unjuft fenal; but Somerled fought ough with an inferior arvictory remained dubious. ed during the minority of

Prince had taken the reins ot into his own hands, his raged by a difappointed ade it their chief bufinefs him that it was neceffary the overgrown power of at leaft to reduce him to ediocrity. The force of fo fpecious, concurring cility of his own temper, ily with the King to fa

on. Man. ubi fup.

vour their defign. But to have fomething of a plaufible pretence for com mencing hoftilities, it was agreed in council, that a perfon invested with a public character fhould be fent immediately to propofe to the Thane, that in order to procure a remiffion of his crimes from the King, he should renounce his right to the lands held of him on the continent, and fatisfy himfelf with his poffeffions in the ifles.

Inca

Somerled was too confcious of his own ftrength, and too tender of his undoubted right, to acquiefce in a propofal no lefs injurious to his character than prejudicial to his interest. pable of difguifing his fentiments, and fired with a juft indignation, he drew his fword, and told the meffenger that "He would fooner terminate the dif"pute with that weapon, than tamely "furrender any part of his property." After returning fuch an answer to a meffage fent by his fovereign, he had reafon to believe that a violent ftorm would immediately gather, and burit upon him: he therefore armed his numerous vaffals in Argyle-fhire and the ifles, procured a confiderable body of auxiliaries from Ireland, and determined to carry the war into the country of his unprovoked enemies. He landed with an army of fifteen thousand men in the Bey of St. Laurence, now Greenock, and marched directly to Paifley, where the King's troops were encamped. But before he could bring them to an action, he was mot bafely affaffinated by Maurice MacNeil, one of his nephews, whom the King's generals found means to bribe. This is in fubftance the account given by the Highland fennachies of Somerled's difpute with his fovereign, and of the unhappy end of his life, which was the confequence of it. His followers, fay the fennachies, betook themselves to their gallies, upon receiving the news of their leader's fate, and returned home without fuffering any confi derable loss.

The

The account given by the Scottish hiftorians of this matter, agrees neither with the Chronicle of Man, nor with the relation now given. According to them, Somerled's ambition knew no bounds, and his luft of power was infatiable. Led by the dictates of those paffions, he formed an audacious defign of extending the limits of the principality he had by very indifferent means acquired, at the expence of his fovereign. Malcolm IV. a minor, had mounted the throne of Scotland upon the death of his grandfather, David the Saint, and Somerled taking advantage of the minority, rebelled in the very beginning of this reign. He put himself at the head of a numerous army, confifting partly of his own vaf fals, and partly of lawless perfons, whom the love of plunder or a confcioufnefs of guilt had driven from all quarters, to his ftandard, and laid waste thofe divifions of the kingdom which lay next his own principalities. But the celebrated Gilchrift*, Earl of An gus, being fent with an army to oppofe him, gave him a total defeat, and obliged him to fly for refuge into Ireland. (To be continued.)

Le Ventriloque, &c. The Ventriloquift. By M. De La Chapelle, Cenfor Royal at Paris, Member of the Academies at Lyons and Rouen, and F. R. S.

In two Parts, 12mo. London, De'lEtanville. Paris, Duchefne. 1772. (Concluded from page 399. VOL. III.)

rather wonder that this re

multitude, it is easy to figure to one's felf the various mifchiefs that might be occfioned in families, and neighbourhoods,by a wanton,malicious,or unprincipled ventriloquift; who can not only imitate the voice of any of his neighbours, but can likewife make it feem to come out of any quarter he thinks proper to emit it from. We, fhall therefore terminate this article by adding only a few obfervations, tending to explain the nature of this deception, in general. As we cannot afford room for the more diffuse and defultory explications of the author, we shall endeavour briefly to illuftrate this mat

ter in our own manner.

It appears clearly from the Baron de Mengen's account of himself, and from the obfervations made by the author, in his frequent examinations of M. St. Gille, that the factitious voice produced by a ventriloquift does not (as the etymology of the word imports) proceed from the belly, but is formed in the inner parts of the mouth and throat. As to its fingular effect in deceiving even the moft intelligent and accurate obfervers, the following confiderations may perhaps throw a degree of light on the fubject, fufficient to make what feems marvellous in this phenomenon in a great meafure difappear: independent, however, of that truly wonderful flexibility and command of the various and complicated duced. This art, nevertheless, accord organs of fpeech by which it is pro ing to the author, does not depend on a particular structure or organization of these parts, peculiar only to a few

well-intentioned author of this perform ance. Independent of the bad purposes to which a talent of this kind might be applied, when directed fo as to operate on the fuperftition and credulity of the

almoft any one poffeffed of a very ar dent defire to attain it, joined to a very large ftock of perfeverance.

It is evident, we think, that the judg ments we form concerning the fituation

and

See Dalrym