He was a Member of both the affemblies of Notables which Louis the Sixteenth convened in 1786 and 1788; and in the laft, he declared, with energy, his inviolable attachment to the old principles of the Monarchy which the Court itself betrayed a difpofition to abandon. In 1787 he was appointed Commandant en Second of the Province of the Three Bishopricks, and when the Revolution began, in 1789, he retained his commnand, contrary to the general example of the times. In 1790 he was entrusted with the command, not only of that province, but of Alface, Lorraine, and Franche-Comtè; and he was afterwards appointed to the command of one of the four divifions of the newlyconstituted French army. The Memoirs which he published in London, in 1797, and which, as Mr. MALLET DU PAN fo justly obferved, " are written with the veracity of a man of honour, and the frankness of a foldier," give a faithful account of his conduct and his efforts in circumftances of extreme difficulty. It will be fufficient to remark, that, in the midst of general diforder and confufion, he maintained order and difcipline around him, and always extorted respect from the troops under his command. He ftifled in its birth, by the adoption of decifive measures, the infurrection of the garrison and inhabitants of Nancy, on the 31ft of Auguft, 1790, and, by the vigour which he difplayed on the occafion, he difconcerted, or, at least, re tarded, the plans of the Jacobins. In short, calm and moderate amidst the violence of contending parties, by all of whom he was equally courted, and only listening to the voice, and only attending to the fervice of bis unfortunate Sovereign, he maintained himfelf, by his own perfonal exertions, in a difficult and dangerous poft, in order to wait for the moment when he might be of use to his master. He adopted the means propofed by the King for his efcape in 1790; and, in 1791, he had prepared a retreat for him in the district which he commanded. But here fortune forfook him, and made him for ever regret that she had not referved for this event all the favour which fhe had lavished on him before. From that time M. de Bouillé partook of the exile and misfortunes of the other Royalifts; and, without making any provifion for the future, faithful to thofe difinterested and honourable principles which had ever actuated his conduct through life, he paid to the brothers of the King the money which he had received from his Majefty, to make the neceffary preparations for his escape, to the amount of 32,000l. fterling. It The confideration in which his fervices and his attachment to his Sovereign were holden was not confined to his native country. procured him fore brilliant offers both from the Emprefs of Ruffia and the King of Pruffia; but being, at the fame time, folicited by Guftavus the Third, King of Sweden, the antient ally of France, who projected a defcent in Normandy of which M. de Bouillé was promifed the command, the defire of ftill ferving, and, if poflible, of faving Louis the Sixteenth, made him reject every other propofition in order to attach himself to that unfortunate Prince. In 1791 he attended the conferences at Pilnitz and followed the Emperor Leopold, at his own defire, to Prague, to concert with the Auftrian and Pruffian Generals, the measures to be taken relative to R 2 the the ftate of France. In 1792 the King of Pruffia, being on the eve of declaring war against France, fent for him to Magdebourg to confult with him on the operations of the campaign. He accompanied the Duke of York, in the campaign of 1793, during which he was folicited by the Vendeans, and urged by the French Princes, to place himself at their head; but conceiving that the allied powers had no intention of affording effectual affittance to his loyal countrymen, and defpairing of fuccefs, without such affiftance, he declined the invitation. He came over to England foon after, when he was confulted by government, on the reduction of the French iflands, and being employed by them, on different occafions, he received marks of their confidence, liberality, and efteem. The laft years of his life were paft in fufferings, in which he dif played as much courage as he had formerly manifeited amidst the dangers of war, which he had so often braved. He died, on the 14th of November, 1800; with a firmnefs conformable to his actions, and with that tranquillity which refults from the confcioufnefs of a wellSpent life. The modefty which marked his character was evident in his regulations refpecting his funeral; and in his laft exhortations to his child.n to practice virtue more than he had practiced it himself. SIR, JUNIUS AND BURKE. Jan. 1801. YOUR cerning the author of the Letters of Junius, 1 thought the following account might not be unacceptable to you. I, therefore, take the liberty to fend it you, for your private fatisfaction. You may, however, make what ufe of it you please. I am, Sir, your conftant reader, And most humble fervant, A. B. THE more attentively I confider the remarkable phraseology of the three following extracts (fo remarkable, in my opinion, that I much queftion, whether any thing fimilar to it is to be found in any other publication *), and the refemblance in the general air and manner of style between the whole of the three paragraphs, the more I feem to be convinced they proceed from the fame pen. I have, however, no doubt, but this piece of criticism may be thought by fome to be vague and futile; and enough may be faid against the poor critic, who could be vain enough to flatter himself with having difcovered a fecret of fuch magnitude, after fo many years concealment and fo much inquiry, by means feemingly fo trivial-one folitary internal proof. But before the laugh is carried too far against him, he hopes the laugher will call to mind the old. Latin proverb-Ex pede Herculem. "From whatever origin your influence in this country arises, it * I confefs, that it is on this circumstance the strength of my argument chielly refts. is a phenomenon inthe hiftory of human virtue and understanding Goo men can hardly believe the fact: wife men are unable to account for it religious men find exercise for their faith; and make it the laft effort of their piety not to repine against Providence." Junius's Letter to the D. of Grafton, Vol. ii. 1. 51. "Every project of a material change in a government fo compli cated as our's; combined at the fame time with external circumstances still more complicated, is a matter full of difficulty; in which a confiderate man will not be too ready to decide: a prudent man too ready to undertake: or an honeft man too ready to promife." Thoughts on the Caufe of our prefent Difcontents, P. 99, 3d edit. "I really think for wife men this is not judicious: for fober men not decent for minds tinctured with humanity, not mild and merciful." Mr. Burke's Speech, March 22, 1777, P. 49. 3d edit N. B. The punctuation is exactly conformable to the originals. I mention this circumftance with a particular view to the colons in each of the three extracts. This remark will, probably, appear to you, Mr. Editor, very trifling, and of no weight in confirmation of what I had laid before. Indeed, I lay very little ftrels upon it myfelf. But I thought there would be no harm just to mention it. P. S. A Mr. Dyer, bofom friend of the orator in queftion, dies, Junius dies with him. Mr. Dyer was, therefore, the author of the Letters of Junius. Not quite that. He was not the author; but there are strong reafons for believing he was a great help-mate to the author, and the manager for him, refpecting the printing thele letters, &c. The writer of the above was, with five or fix more, at fupper in a house in Leicester-fields, when Mr. B. came into the parlour. He told us, with great emotion and concern (his eyes full of tears), that Dyer was dead. He then took a paper out of his pocket (which was handed round the table *), containing a character of his decealed friend, which he laid he intended to get inserted in the public prints. VERAX. *This was occafioned by Mr. Burke's wanting a word in ex change for one he had wrote, which he disliked. One of our company hit upon one, which Mr. B. adopted. I SIR, THE NEW CENTURY. AM very fenfible, that what I am now going to offer is contrary to the general opinion, particularly to that of the celebrated aftronomer, La Lande. This makes me ftrongly suspect, that I am mistaken; although I cannot discover where the miftake lies. And this, on the other hand, tempts me to venture my troubling you with it, trusting to your candour, in cafe my fufpicion fhould be juft. Yours, &c. A. B. AN argument tending to prove, that the year when first dated R 3 on the ift of January is then complete; that it is a cardinal, not an ordinal, number. To prove this, I cbferve, that the Golden Number is a Cycle of 19 years complete. Now in order to find the Golden Number for any year, the rule is, to divide that year by 19-the remainder is the Golden number, which is the number of years complete fince the beginning of the then current Cycle. For example-To find the Golden Number for the prefent dated year 1801, I is first to be added to it, which makes 1802; which divided by 19, thus * 19 | 1802 | 94 Cycles fince the beginning of 171 92 76 the year preceding the birth of our Saviour. 16 years complete fince the beginning of the prefent current Cycle. Now, I fay that the above dividend is 1802 years complete fince the beginning of the Cycle current at the time of the birth of our Saviour; and 1801 years complete fince that event, and furely, to fuppofe the dividend an ordinal, when it cannot be denied, that the divifor is a cardinal number, appears to me, I confefs, very much like an abfurdity. P. S. Three years complete from the ft of this month January (1801) will be January the 1, 1804; at which period the present current Cycle of 19 years will terminate. This will make 95 Cycles, or 1805 ears complete fince the beginning of that Cycle, which was current at the time of the Nativity, and, confequently, 1804 years complete fince the beginning of the Chriftian æra. This appears to me a demonftration, that the year, when firft dated on the 1ft of January, is then complete. It is, indeed, the dated but not the current year. *This is done on account of the Cycle, current at the time of the Nativity, beginning first one year before that event. TO THE EDITOR. SIR, HAVING taken in your Review from its first establishment, I may, perhaps, be allowed to claim the privilege which I every month fee exercifed by others, (who do not think with us on the great points of religion and politics,) of foliciting information from yourfelf, Sir, or fome of your correfpondents. The subject of my enquiry is of importance; it is one, which at this moment, is the caufe of much feverish irritation in the country, and to which if any regard be paid to the feelings of the inhabitants of the diftant counties, attention muft, and ought to be given by high authority. I am, Sir, a plain unlettered country gentleman, of fmall fortune, and, conftantly refident in a retired village of one of the midland counties, and, from being the only inhabitant of the parish above the rank rank of a small farmer, fmall I mean compared to the great ones with which this country is now infefted, am frequently referred to for information by my neighbours on matters which fall not immediately within their means of accurate knowledge; and, perhaps, you will give me credit when I affert it, that I am highly delighted when I am able to fatisfy them, and to fatisfy myfelf, in the explanation I may have it in my power to give them, I would not have faid thus much of myself, had it not been neceffary that you should keep conftantly in mind, chat, from a man fo circumftanced, and fo fituated, you are not to expect great vigour of conception, or, what is now more generally acceptable, great ele gance of expression; but, that if you honour me with a page in your work, you must reit fatisfied with the plain thoughts of a plain man, endeavoured to be given in a plain manner. Thas much by way of preface; now to my point. We are weekly, nay daily, informed of the immense importation of all forts of grain in "the river." I fuppofe the Thames is meant by this expreftion; all this is well; but we are alfo informed that this grain is permitted to remain, (nay worfe than permitted, ab folitely detained) there, until it becomes unfit for food, and that it is, in an actual state of putrefaction; thrown into "the river," and not brought to market for fear of a too rapid diminution of the prices. It is alfo afferted, that before this nefarious operation of injection takes place, this grain has been regularly entered at the custom-houfe, and has actually received the bounty for importation; and thus is the country plundered of its money, and what is an additional grievance defrauded of that bread, for the arrival of which it has been, or is to be, extraordinarily taxed, and is still left to the mercy and confcience of commercial fpeculators!! On this fubject cf the arrival, and deftruction of grain, I have been more than once almost " put to the question," and really have not been able to give any satisfactory anfwer. My enquiries hitherto have only produced accounts various and contradictory; fome times, and with the ap pearance of authority, the fact has been abfolutely denied, and as often times as ftrenuously fupported. In this "conflict of opinions," as Johnson called it, "I do (not) delight," I wish the truths to be afcertained, and made public. The feelings of the country should not be outraged. You must be fenfible, Sir, that the prevalence of fuch an opinion may be productive of the moft calamitous confequences; and if you or any of your correspondents are enabled to contradict it, for the fake of the community, I entreat you, or them to do it; I will not fay that Jacobins only affert the fact, but I will fay that it is the part of Anti-Jacobins to disprove it. I have not at this moment leifure to fay more on the subject; but in a future Number if you think me worth your attention, I mean to intrude upon you my thoughts on fome other fubjects, not altogether inconfiftent with the defiga of your work, particularly the caufes, and probable effects of the prefent fcarcity; and among the latter, to confider the extravagant and ill-judged relief in money, which almoft every complainant at this time obtains from the provincial magistracy. Jan, 18, 1801, ETHELBERT. R 4 |