quaintance with Greek literature, and his select attention to the modern philosophic politicians, must bestow confidence on his narration, and consequence on his commentary, and secure to the History of Athens a lasting place among the British classics. From this work the mere English reader will learn more of Athens than from any other of home growth. The man of taste will gladly be led by it to revisit the most celebrated arena of literature and fine art; the friend of liberty and virtue will find in it his sympathies continued, and his habits corroborated. ART. XII. The History of the Honourable Artillery Company of the City of London, from its earliest Annals to the Peace of 1802. By ANTHONY HIGH MORE, Solicitor; Member of the South-East Division of the Company. 8vo. pp. 600. THIS is a very copious, and from the authorities referred to at the bottom of the pages, we doubt not a very accurate account of the rise, progress, Constitution, and proceedings of a company which has the honour of enrolling the names of peers and princes among its members, and the far greater honour of having distinguished itself on all political occasions, for its zeal in defence of the constitution of this kingdom. The work is dedicated to his royal highness the prince of Wales, who is captain general of the company; and in an address to the president, vice-president, &c. Mr. Highmore expresses his obligations to them, for having entrusted to his inspection the original documents of the company. Sanctioned by such patronage, we presume the work is to be depended on for strict accuracy. It is not an object for the exercise of literary criticism: Mr. Highmore is well known and respected as the author of several loyal tracts. ART. XIII. The History of the Revolutions of Rusia. By HENRY CARD, of Pembroke College, Oxford. 2d edition. 8vo. pp. 700. Frederick the Great of Prussia, on the contrary, judged of him less favourably. Ce czar, says he in one of his letters, n'avait aucune teinture de magnanimité, d'humanité, ni de veriu. Mr. Card has preferred the extravagant idealization of an epic poet, to the weighed criticism of an experienced sovereign. He relies on the romantic panegyric of Voltaire, even when he is correcting it. We invite a severer investigation of the personal and political character of Peter: surely it will be perceived that he was in fact insane, and, when loose from his keeper, Lefort, dangerous both for caprice and for cruelty. His pretended reforms, like the boreal dawn, glittered at a distance, but were succeeded by no effectual sunshine: his best ukases effected little, what he realized was chiefly injury. 7. XIV. A Refutation of the Libel on the Memory of the late King of France, published by Helen Maia Williams. By A. F. BERTRAND DE MOLEVILLE. Translated from the original Manuscript, by Ř. C. DALLAS, Eq. 8vo. pp. 102. IN our first volume. (page 300) we ticed Mr. Bertrand de Moleville's annals of the French Revolution; and our second volume (page 275) the translation, by Miss Williams, of the Political and Confidential Correspondence of Louis XVI. As this correspondence affects the precision of some statements in the Annals, M. de Moleville has thought fit to attack Miss Williams for the publication. There must have been less refinement, less real gallantry, under the old court of France, than in England, since a gentleman, there so exalted, is found capable of condescending to such scurrilous and peevish scolding at a woman, who has herself shewn no want of urbanity. He was probably galled by the narrative of Mehée de la Touche, and vents on poor Miss Williams his anger at the Alliance of the Jacobins.. Miss Williams undertakes to edit both the political and the confidential letters of Louis XVI: those which his secretary drew up by order in a lofty academic style; and those which occasionally, but rarely, the king wrote in his unofficial individual personal capacity. Of the latter, or confidential class, M. de Moleville allows seven to be genuine, viz. vol. I. p. 1, 22, 125, 127, 134; and vol. III. 82, 90. Of the former, or political class, he adduces reasons for believing seven to be forgeries: vol. I. p. 246; vol. II. p. 229, 241, 276, 316, 330, and 337; and he speaks of the who sixty-four as fabricated. We suppose however, that by fabricated he only mean composed by a secretary; for of the lette dated, in Miss Williams' collection, D cember 3, 1791, and corroborated b the testimony of the Baron de Breten M. de Moleville disputes only the dat and thinks it was written in the yea 1790. We do not give much importance t the points at issue. Miss William charges Louis XVI. with insincerit Who can suppose him a very cheer actor in many of the scenes, which ministers, at first, and his people, at las required him to perform? The letter if all were genuine, would prove more than an internal reluctance to f vour the progress of the revolution, a a disposition to become the instrume of a party able to reverse it. And sure if none of the letters be genuine, the is still ground sufficient for attributi to Louis XVI. both a wish and a neg tiation, for availing himself of forei assistance in coercing the factious amo his subjects. ART. XV. Ancient and Modern Malta: containing a Description of the Ports and Ca of the Islands of Malta and Goza; together th the Monuments of Antiquity still rema ing, the different Governments to which they have been subjected, their Trade and Finan As also the History of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, from their first Establis ment in Molta, till the Beginning of the 19th Century. With a particular Account of Events which preceded and attended its Capture by the French, and Conquest by the Ergi By LOUIS DE BOISGELIN, Knight of Malta. 3 vols. 4to. pp. 900. THE work before us is divided into two parts; the first includes a geographical description of the island, together with a brief account of the different monuments of the arts still remaining in it; and of the government, administration, natural history, trade, and finances. The second contains the history of the knights of Malta, from the time of their departure from Rhodes to the beginning of the nineteenth century. This arrangement is bad: the government, administration, trade, and finances, ought to have been brought into the second part, being clearly connected with the history of the knights. Malta, and the neighbouring island Goza, which always shared its fortunes, in its early history was the prey of various powers: Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Arabs, Normans, Germans, French, and Spaniards, were successively masters of this island, which to this day contains some monuments of their respective vereignty. The emperor Charles was aware of the importance of pos sing these islands, and in order to sect them in perpetuity, and avoid the pence of maintaining the necessary rison, he determined to place them in hands of some power which would be terested in preserving them. He ca choice of the order of St. John of Jer lem, which, owing to the disgraceful treacherous supineness of the princes Christendom, had submitted to the a of Solyman II. and been driven t Rhodes, after sustaining a siege sa mendous, that history in its long bloody annals can furnish but tew rallels. In the year 1530, the kni were established by Charles V. as petual sovereigns of the islands of M and Goza, and retained that sovereig till their sudden and unlooked-fox render of it to Bonaparte. The soil of Malta is seldom more the foot above the surface of the rock; it irrigated chiefly by the night dew; but e rock being porous retains the moisre. "The earth is always removed ce in ten years, in order to clear the ck of a thick crust which forms, and events the moisture from sufficiently retrating." The Maltese are a most dastrious people; in the barren parts the island they make a sort of artiial land. • They begin by levelling the rock, which, wever, they allow to incline a little, that pro I superabundant water may run off. They The climate is generally salubrious; French livres, or 125,0001. sterling. The other articles of commerce are insignificant, fruits, preserves, seeds, &c. the Maltese stone is largely exported to Sicily and the Levant. The Maltese are obliged, on the other hand, to im port corn, wood, wine, oil, brandy, &c. The three islands, Malta, Goza, and Cumin, are composed of a calcareous rock, which suffers considerable corrosion when exposed to the air, and still more when exposed to the action of seawater. Over the whole circumference, evident marks of corrosion appear.After reading the following statement, one is almost surprised that the islands are in existence: "The soft kind of stone in Malta and Goza is always more or less inclined to waste and dissolve when exposed to the air; it also undergoes a kind of saline efflorescence, which reduces it to powder, and this effect is hastened by different accidents, and particular situations. The stones exposed to the air towards the south, are much sooner dissolved than in any other aspect; but nothing wastes them in so short a time as the sea-water, one single drop of which suffices to rot them presently; and though only one stone should be touched, it frequently communicates itself to the next, and by this means speedily destroys, not only a whole rock, but a whole building, if a stone thus affected should happen to be employed in its construction, A sort of saline crust, composed of nitre, with alkali at bottom and sea-salt, is formed over the stone, part of which is no sooner crum led to powder, than the crust drops off, and others continue forming, till the whole of the stone is entirely destroyed." The island of Malta contains two principal cities; the Old Notalle City (Ci vita Vecchia), the capital of the island when the knights took possession of it, and still the seat of the bishopric; and La Valetta, which was built by that illustrious defender of his adopted country from whom it took its name. We have no room to describe at large the edifices, fortifications, &c. of these cities, which indeed are already familiar to us, if repeated descriptions can render them so. The catacombs in the old city are, many of them, walled up, lest too curious travellers should lose themselves in their endless ramifications. The principal trade of the island conists in cotton, which, both in a raw and manufactured state, is chiefly sent into pain: the annual produce, upon an The general appearance of the new age of ten years, of cotton in city is light and elegant; the pavement Malta and Goza, exceeded 3,000,000 is new and good; each house has its pri From about $8 to 95 of Fahrenheit.-Rev. + 14 of Fahrenheit.-Rev. vate cistern; there are public conduits for the conveyance of fountain water, and subterraneous channels carry off all impurities. The church of St. John is a vast and magnificent building, enriched and ornamented by the rival vanity of succeeding grand masters; its pavement is composed of sepulchral stones of inlaid marble of different colours; some are encrusted with jasper, agate, and other precious stones. The paintings which adorn this church are chiefly by Matthias Preti; there is also a finished picture in the oratory by Michael Angelo. The ceremonies observed here were always performed with great pomp and decorum. The anniversary of the raising the siege of Malta, on the 8th of September, was a festival proudly celebrated with pre-eminent solemnity and splendour. The French plundered the treasury of this church of all its valuable antiquities and specimens of fine workmanship, and suffered nothing to remain which could be converted into ingots! The hotels, or inns of the different languages, are handsome edifices: the defence of a particular post was assigned to each language in case of attack. The palace of the grand master, situated in the principal square, is an immense mass of building, and the gallery contained a great number of pictures by the first masters. The castle St. Angelo, and fort St. Elmo, are of rival celebrity. The island of Goza is separated from Malta by a channel about five miles broad. The grapes here are particularly fine, and corn and cotton are cultivated with great success. There are but few interesting objects in Goza; the ruins of the Giant's Tower are of high antiquity; from its rudeness and irregularity it was obviously not erected by the Greeks. Mr. Boisgelin is of opinion that it was constructed by the Phoenicians; this, however, appears to be a random conjecture. Goza is celebrated for an alabaster quarry, and for its mushroom-rock; in the year 1744 this rock was made inaccessible, and the grand masters had the sole privilege of gathering a fungus, which grows on it abundantly, and is famed for its medicinal virtues, fungus melitensis (cynomorium co neum). "The countenances of the Mal announce an African origin. They short, strong, plump, with curled h flat noses, turned-up lips, and the ce of their skin is the same as that of inhabitants of the states of Barbar They are very industrious, fa thful, nomical, courageous, and the best s in the Mediterranean. In the next tence, however, our author says "they have sometimes recalled the of the Punita fides!" They are also presented as mercenary, passionate, lous, vindictive, and addicted to thier: "The Maltese habit (excepting tha who dress in the French style, and are the ecclesiastics, lawyers, and trades-pec compared to the people at large), consis a large cotton shirt, and a waistcoat likes very large, with silver, and sometimes buttons; to these are added a calan cloak, reaching rather below the small of back; and a very long girdle twisted sertimes round the waist, in which they stantly carry a knife in a sheath: the wear long and full trowsers, with a sor shoe called korch; but they do not o make use of the latter, having almost al both legs and feet entirely naked. This is merely a leathern sole, with strings to i it round the leg. They never wear i but blue, red, white, or striped caps. Pe of casy fortune usually carry fans in hands, and wear blue or green glass sp cles; for such is the excessive heat occasio by the reverberation of the rays of the from the stones, and the white tufa, t notwithstanding this precaution, there many blind people; indeed, the greatest & ber have very weak eyes."† The subjection of Malta to so ma different nations will account for polyglot tongue which is spoken the and there only, for the language is c fined to the island. It is a mixture Greek and Arabic, with a dash of Ph nician. Those who unite the Malte patois are obliged, from the want of fixed alphabet, to use foreign characte and of course every one spells as pleases, endeavouring to express, The principal fountain which supplies La Valetta, takes its rise in the southern part the island, the aqueduct, from its cominencement to the square before the grand-master's lace, is 7478 canes in length. A cane is 6 feet. It was built at a vast expence by the gra master Aloff de Vignacourt, and repaired by the grand master Rohan. + Within a few pages afterwards it is remarked of the Maltese, that "they have a v long sight, and perceive falcons and others of the feathered race at a wonderful height in t air!" nearly as possible, the exact pronunciation of the word he employs. Malta produces a very insufficient quantity of corn for the subsistence of its inhabitants. The population of the island is nevertheless "augmented to a degree scarcely ever before known in history, which circumstance," says M. Boisgelin, who feels a deep interest in the honour of his order, "is a stronger proof of the goodness of the government, than any argument ever advanced to the contrary." If intensity of population proves the excellence of a government, that of Malta must have been by far the best in Europe, and the subjects of the emperor of China must indisputably be the happiest in the world! "Where is the country, may I venture to ask, which can boast of such an increase, and such a continual state of prosperity? But the Maltese, who are naturally sober, require but little nourishment; besides, they were so perfectly contented with the mildness of a government which never taxed either the labour of their hands, or any other effort of industry, that they became too much attached to their country ever to leave it, well knowing that, in almost every other, both farmer and artificer were equally subject to burthen some taxes." The riches and generosity of the order are a frequent topic of eulogy with the writer of this history. The island does not produce grain for more than onethird of its population: Sicily and other places supply the deficiency; large storehouses, not only in Malta, but at Augusta, Palermo, Girgenti, and Marseilles, prevent a scarcity; and this factitious abundance is attributed to the wisdom, the humanity, and generosity of the order. The moment the Maltese were acquainted with the preliminaries of peace between Great Britain and France, and found that their island was again to be delivered up to the order of St. John, an extraordinary congress was held at Malta and Goza, consisting of the chiefs of was battalions and representatives of each town or burg. A high-spirited and affecting representation and remonstrance drawn up, and dispatched by the depu ties below-mentioned to lord Hobart, expressing the most rooted antipathy against the order, and the unanimous de termination of the Maltese to perish rather than submit again to their odious authority. Justice listens to both sides; and M. Boisgelin will excuse us, if in employing the language of the remonstrants we are obliged to transcribe some very harsh expressions. The opulence of the order was considerable, and their means of doing good or evil was of course commensurate. But how was this wealth acquired? Let the remonstrants speak: "As to the landed property which it has acquired in Malta, it is contrary to the stipulations, and has been obtained by an usurpation of the property of individuals; and a great part of the fortresses themselves, and the public edifices, were built by taxes imposed upon the Maltese. The university, the Monte di Pieta, and other institutions, belong solely to the Maltese, are the property of individuals, and never did belong to the order. What ever pretensions the knights of the order of St. John might have to the island, they have forfeited them by an act much more conclusive than that of conquest, by the most unworthy treason to their own body, violating the sacred laws of religion, honour, and the statutes of the order which they solemnly swore at the altar to maintain with the last drop of their blood: by this act, according to their own laws, they cease to be menibers of the order, are degraded with infamy, and the sound part of them, (if such there were amongst them,) were obligated to put them to death." It was a favourite plan of the French government to create a Maltese language, and associate it with the order: the support which the success of this scheme would have given to their de Grain was preserved in large pits hollowed in the rock, with beds of wood and straw placed at the bottom, on which it was spread; when these were entirely filled, they were enclosed by a large stone which was plastered over with puzzolana: the corn thus kept from the air might be preserved perfectly good a hundred years. One of these pits was discovered filled with corn which had been forgotten for a great length of time, and the grain near the surface had alone suffered from the damp, the rest being in excellent preservation. The remonstrance is signed by the following names: Testaferrata, Abbe Riccaud, Abbe Malia, Castagna, Malia, Cachia. Deputies of the towns, villages, &c. of Malta and Goza. It was ceded to them by the emperor Charles V. in quality of fief, and as a deposit for arms, and the maintenance of troops, in order to make perpetual war against the infidels. |