1 concealed, and a wild tale was dif. fufed among the populace, that he had withdrawn from the world into fome magical region, from which, at a future crifis, he was to re-appear, and to lead the Cynmry in triumph through the island. Why this fiction was invented we may now enquire in vain. It could not reprefs the ambition of the Saxons, becaufe the temporary abfence of Arthur was fuffi cient to favour their wishes; and if his living authority could not prevent British infurrection, was it probable that his refidence in another region would avail; yet Talieffin induftriously fang, that Morgana promised, if he remained a long time with her, to heal his wounds: and it is notorious, that the return of Arthur was a fond hope of the people for many ages. Perhaps it was, an, illufion devised to avert the popular vengeance from those who, by aiding Medrawd, had contributed to produce the lamented event: perhaps the kings, inculpated by Gildas, had participated in the rebellion; or, perhaps fome, affecting to reign in truft for Arthur, conciliated the pub. lic prejudice in favour of their government, by-thus representing that they governed only for him. Of the family of Arthur we know little: : we hear of Noe in Carmarthenshire, reputed to be his fon, ano. ther fon, Llechan, is celebrated as an accomplished warrior. His fifter Anna married Llew, brother of the famous Urien, and fon of Cynvarch: the traitor Medrawd was her fon. The marriage of Anna united the kings of the northern Britons in confanguinity with Arthur; but this connection, instead of cementing the bond of patriotism, by the addition of relationship, ultimately deftroyed, the great bulwark of the island. But though the friends of Arthur concealed the place of his interment, a future age difcovered it. In the year 1189, when romance had begun to magnify his fame, his body was diligently fought for in the abbey of Glaftonbury. Henry de Soili, the abbot, at the folicitation of Henry II. and others, profecuted the fearch. The king had often told him, that he had heard from the Welsh bards, that Arthur lay buried between two pyra mids, very deep. The monaitery contained two tone pillars, with many infcriptions, illegible from the injuries of time, and the antiquity of the writing. The ground between thefe was dug to a great depth, and about feven feet below the furface a leaden crofs was found under a ftone, with the infcription. Hic jacer fepultus inclitus rex Arthurus in infula Avallonia. The abbot prefented the cross, and Giraldus read the infcription. Nine feet below this, the remaius of Arthur appeared inclofed in. oak: of this formidable warrior nothing but duft and bones were vifible. Some, yellow female hair indicated that his fecond wife had lain near him. The bones of Arthur were as extraordinary as his reputed actions: an eyewitnefs declares, that the abbot applied the tibia, or leg-bone, to the leg of the tallest man then prefent, and that it rose three fingers breadth above his knee. His fcull was equally prodigious; the space of a hand expanded between the bones which had been covered by his eyebrows. Ten wounds marked the head, which had concreted into fears, except one that difplayed an unclosed chaẩm, the avenue of fate. The revered relics of this hero were re-interred with magnificence. His fword, his caliburno, as a precious gift, was prefented by Richard the first to the king of Sicily, and his crown was taken away by Edward from Caernarvon. The publication of Jeffry's British Hitory, an interpolated translation of the compofition of Tyffilio, diffufed the fame of Arthur with new but but extravagant splendour through England, through Europe, and the world. By doing Arthur this juftice, he faved nature fome trouble, for had men been filent about Ar thur, the mountains, rocks, and ftones of Wales, would have been perpetually proclaiming his name. Such is the infeparable attachment of glory to virtue.' ANECDOTES OF MIRABEAU AND LA FAYETTE, [From M. Bertrand de Moleville's Annals of the French Revolution.] 'I KNEW M. de Mirabeau,' fays myfelf to you as an honest man, You are connected with Mr Neckar and M. de Montmorin; you must know their intentions, and whether they have a plan or not. If they have a reasonable plan, I will fupport it.' This declaration made a great impreffion upon me, and it was fufficiently rational for me to believe it fincere: Mirabeau's intellects were found; he did not choofe mifchief for mifchief's fake. Upon feveral "important queftions, and particularly upon the conftitution of the commons, in a national assembly, his opinions were feen to be monarchical. I yielded to this explanation with a kind of confidence I told him frankly that I thought as he did; that I had no doubt of the neceffity for a plan of reform, and of a conftitution that might fatisfy the reafonable expectations of the nationbut that I did not know, and very much doubted, whether or not the minifters had any determined plan; that the hesitation I had perceived in them had alarmed me, as much as the arrogance of many of my colleagues. Well,' faid he, will you propose to them, to fee and confer with me ?? M. Malouet, only by his character, from which I was greatly inclined to fhun him. We took different fides from the firft fittings of the (national) affembly, and I little expected to be fought for by him, when M. du Roverai, with whom I was acquainted at Geneva, and who was then at Versailles, told me from him, that he wished very much to confer with me. I accepted an appointment at M. du Roverai's, where I found another perfon from Geneva, a M. Dumons. This was in the end of May 1789. My diftruft of M. de Mirabeau, kept pace with my prepoffeffion against him. I confidered him as one of the most dangerous innovators, and was very much aftonished at the manner in which he accofted me. I have been anxious,' faid he, for an explanation with you, because in spite of your moderation I discover you to be a friend of liberty; and I am, perhaps, more alarmed than you at the ferment I fee in the minds of men, and at the mischiefs that may flow from it. I am not a perfon to fell myfelf bafely to defpotifm; I wish for a free but monarchical conftitution. I am not for fhaking the monarchy; and if measures be not speedily taken, the very bad heads, the great inexperience and arrogance which I perceive in our affembly, and the inconfiderate refistance and provocation given by the two first orders (the nobility and clergy) make me fear as much as you that there will be dread-great talents announced honelt views; ful commotions. I therefore addrefs who, notwithstanding his immorality, I confented, and informed Mr Neckar and M. de Montmorin of the refult of my converfation. I found them both extremely averse to any intercourfe with Mirabeau, from his immorality, his character, and the little confidence he merited.. I contended against all these objections: I reprefented, that the man who with did not appear to have yet engaged in any party, and would give great weight to that which he fhould embrace; and who, far from offering himself to be a corrupt tool, explained himself in fuch a manner that it was impoffible to propofe to him any fort of conditions, or fictitious part, deferved to be heard. It was agreed that Mr Neckar fhould receive him the next day, and the conference took place. But Mirabeau expected they would open themselves to him, whereas they had only confented to hear what he had to fay. He waited for the communication of a plan, and it is probable that they had not one to communicate. The conference accordingly was dry and fhort: he went away difcontented, and faid to me, as he came into the hall, I go there no more, but they shall hear of me; and he has been but too true to his word. There ended our intercourse, and I was two years without fpeaking to him.' Early plunged by the violence of his paffions, and by the uncommon vigour of his conftitution, into all man, ner of excefs, Mirabeau had fhaken off the yoke of principles, and had fubftituted in their place fyftems ever dependent, as to his conduct, on the fordid calculations of interest. His long and frequent imprifonments had confiderably foured and hardened his difpofition, and in the courfe of them he had alfo acquired the habit of reflecting deeply, of confidering a quef tion under all its points of view, and of fupporting with equal strength the affirmative or negative; whence that readinefs, that fuperiority in reply, which gave him an immenfe advantage over all his opponents. Unfor tunately, the best caufe was always in his opinion that for which he was beft paid, and his elòquence at the fervice of the highest bidder. He has been unjustly accufed of cowardice; . on feveral occafions, when his life oply was at ftake, he has given unequivo cal proofs of courage. But he was often daftardly through avarice or vanity: there was no infult, however ferious, which he could not bear when he had a large fum to receive, or an important fpeech to deliver in the affembly next day; and it feldom happened but that one or other of these was the cafe. Being a royalist oв conviction, he would have fupported the throne very powerfully, had not Mr Neckar fcrupled to purchase his fervices; and it was not till he refused them, that he offered them to the democratic party, who paid much more for them than he would have got from the court. Mirabeau was far from being the author of all the speeches he delivered from the tribune. His attendance at the affembly, and the parties of plea-> fure, or rather of immoderate debauch, in which he was perpetually engaged, left him no time to write them, even had his head been fuffici-> ently at liberty to compofe them. He had at command a certain number of writers, of more wit than fortune, who, flattered by his patronage, encouraged by his promifes, and affifted at times by trifling fums from his purfe, did themselves the honour of working for him. He received them at his houfe at different hours, and employed them all unknown to one another; telling each, under the feal of fecrecy, that he purpofed to make a motion of fuch a nature, but that he had fo little time to beftow upon : thinking of it, that it would be doing him a real friendship to give him fome ideas, fome notes which he might make ufe of, and that he had thought of him for fuch affiftance. There was not one of them but went inftantly to work as hard as he could, to justify the confidence of a man fo celebrated as Mirabeau. When they had all fent in their work, he felected the best paffages of each, forming a whole out of them, which he arranged and enriched enriched in his manner with fome pompous phrafes, and then fet out for the affembly. His fellow-labourers, who got there before him, recognized each the particular paffage he had furnished him with, admired in fecret the advantage he had drawn from it, and never doubted that all the rest of the fpeech was his own compofition: they wondered at his being able to produce fo fine an oration in fo fhort a time, and left the hall, convinced that no man had more talents than Mirabeau. And there is no doubt in fact, that he was very able, without the affiftance of any body, to make as good fpeeches as thofe he thus patch ed up but he had a rarer talent, and the most useful to a ftatefmen, that of appreciating the talents of others, and extracting the great eft poffible advantage from them. Charlemagne could hardly fign his name, and car dinal Richelieu was an indifferent writer; yet the one was the greatest king, and the other the ableft minifter France ever had. It was impoffible, in fact, that there could be the flightest degee of intelligence between two men, who fo cordially detefted, while they thought they defpifed each other. Had they not been divided irrevocably by their conftant rivalry in ambition and po. polarity, they muft neceffarily have been fo by the immense distance at which they were placed, by the dif ference of their character and genius,' if however we may call the petty faculties of M. de la Fayette, by the name of genius. you would be a Grandifon Cromwell. You will fee where fuch a mixture will lead you '—Another time, upon a fimilar occafion, M. de la Fayette. complaining bitterly of the atrocious projects which were formed against him by his enemies, and by Mirabeau himself, the latter called upon him to explain. Weil, then, replied M. de la Fayette, I will tell you, fince you force me to it, that I was thoroughly acquainted with your intention of having me affaffinated'' I, Sir?'- Yes, Sir, in fuch a place, on fuch a day, at fuch an hour; I was fure of it.'-' You were fure of it !· You were fure of it, M. de la Fayette ! and I ftill alive!-What a good crea ture you are! And you think of taking the leading parts in a Revolution!' Mirabeau poffeffed fo robuft a conftitution, fuch extraordinary strength, that it was very generally fufpected he had been poifoned. But he was opened, in prefence of feveral of the faculty, by his own phyfician, who was affectionately attached to him, and not the flighteft appearance of poifon was perceived. For near a month before, his health, which he never took care of, had been much impaired by frequent attacks of the colic, and the diforder that proved fatal was the natural and immediate confequence of a debauch, which he had carried to the greatest exceis. Thus died this man, who was poffeffed of qualities doubtlefs very rare, but the moft fatal when not the moft valuable. He had fufficient energy, In an interview between them,' fufficient ambition, and more talents which had been brought about by than neceflary to fill the higheft oftheir mutual friends to reconcile them, fices with great eminence; in a word, Mirabeau having for the execution of to be a Great Man, if the violence of fome plan propofed means of a vio. his paffions and his love of money, lent nature, M. de la Fayette started, ' had not always rendered him a conand exclaimed; Nay, M. de Mira- temptible one, and often a rafcal. It beau, it is impoffible that a man of would be very difficult to felect a honour can employ fuch means A fingle period of his life, free from erman of honour replied Mirabeau: rors or crimes. If he had not died fo • Ah! M. de la Fayette, I fee that foun, he might, by important fervi 8 cesa ALL the Germanic tribes, that ufe of weapons were the exercifes of fpread themselves over Europe, confitted of warriors: and as the most arduous part of military fervice fell upon the cavalry, it was natural, that thefe fhould amply recompenfe themfelves for their skill in equeftrian accomplishments. Accordingly, a fraternity of horsemen foon arofe, who learned their art in due form ; and as thefe were the attendants of the commander, duke, or king, a fort of miLitary fchool was eftablished where the court refided, in which the bachelor knights ferved their appren. ticeship. When this was accomplished, it is probable, that they were fent in queft of adventures, as the means of rendering them perfect in their trade; and, having well approved themselves on this trial, continued to ferve as mafters of their craft, to the privileges of which they were admitted, or as teachers to inftruct others in thofe arts, which themselves had learned. It is fcarcely poffible, that the order of chivalry should have had any other origin. The Germanic nations, who carried the corporation fpirit into every thing, muft have applied it particularly to an art familiar to themselves alone: and as this was their grand and fole art, they naturally conferred upon it all the honour, which they were too ignorant to beflow on any other. All the laws and regulations of chivalry may be deduced from this origin.. This company of horsemen being trained for the fervice of the prince, the first duty incumbent both on the bachelor and the knight was, to fwear Fealty to him. Horfemanfhip and the their school; whence tilts and tournaments, with other knightly sports, as they were called, afterward arofe. At court the young cavalier was to be about the perfon of the prince and his confort, to be ready for courtly fervices: hence the duty of courtesy toward princes and ladies, which he learned as a trade. And as, befide his horfe and his arms, a little religion and favour with the ladies were neceffary for him, he acquired the former from a short breviary, and obtained the latter as he could, according to his abilities and the fashion of the times. Thus originated chivalry, confifting of a blind faith in religion, a blind fubmiffion to the will of the prince, provided he required nothing inconfiftent with the principles of the confraternity, courteoufnels in fervice, and gallantry toward the ladies: if a knight poffeffed thefe virtues, no matter whether his head contained a fingle idea, his heart a fingle fentiment befides. The lower claffes were not his equals: the knowledge of the mechanic, the artift, or the man of learning, he, as a foldier and accomplished knight, could defpife. It is obvious, that this military trade muft degenerate into unbridled barbarifm, as foon as it became an hereditary right, and the genuine, thorough knight, was a noble in his very cradle. Sagacious princes, who fupported fuch an idle train about their courts, paid confiderable attention to the improvement of this calling, by inftilling into the minds of the noble mafters fome few ideas, and giving them morals, for the fecurity of |