reality, when the adventures of Edward Bomfton reached us, a wish to comprehend more accurately the author's plan, perhaps the recollection of the pleafures we once felt in reading the eccentric work of Roufleau, induced us to recur to it. The parts which we formerly read with delight, now appeared inipid; and what we once paffed flightly over as uninteresting, attracted us with peculiar force. We perceived, however, or we thought that we perceived a new clue to guide us through the labyrinth of this inexplicable work. It was certainly not the object of Rouffeau to write a novel: a ftrong mind, an ardent ungovernable imagination, and reflection, continued till it embodied every vifionary fancy which that imagination fuggefled, difplayed the world and its occupations in new and more interesting lights. Various fituations might produce un common remarks, and these as they occurred were either stored in the mind or their outlines were sketched on paper. The ftory was afterwards adapted to thefe independent differtations, and the outline filled with too little care to render the whole probable, and too little anxiety to leave the moral perfectly unexceptionable. Such, we are convinced, was the origin of Julia; for the diff rent parts are filled up unequally, and the whole is impertect, while felect paffages are laboured with unufual care. The adventures of lord Bomston (lord B, in the English translation) are mentioned flightly, and our prefent author fupplies the defect: indeed they are fo flightly hinted at, that the imagination was at full liberty, to make the most daring flights.

Though this volume appears in French, the author is a German; yet it is not clear, from the equivocal fiyle of the dedi cation, that the work was ever printed in that language. It is not I (fays M. de S.) who dare to walk in the footsteps of the inimitable Rouffeau; it is not I who have the temerity to finifl a picture from the sketch of fo great a mafter. No: your friend knows but too well his inability ever to hope for the power of imitating the genius of John James: it is a German, it is M. de W***** that I have followed.'

Our author afterwards tells us, that instead of tranflating literally, he has imitated the German work: in reality, adds he, I have omitted many letters and added others; I have formed new scenes and created new fituations; I have even changed the event: in short, my imagination was fo heated that I strayed, without being aware of it, from thofe limits which a tranflator ought to fix for himself. I dare not hope to meet with general approbation, but may my friend approve of the attempt! May fome feeling hearts applaud me! I should be too happy if this little, work, the fruit of my lifure evenings, fhould interest them, and employ fome of their moments agreeably, Such are the author's hopes, fuch the eager enthusiasm of his feelings. We trust he will not be difappointed.

The adventures of this little novel are not numerous. Lord B. meets

B. meets in Italy with the marchionefs Malatefta; he loves and marries her. They had not been long united when he learns that fhe is not a widow as the pretended, but that her husband is alive in the Austrian fervice. He immediately refolves to con fider her no longer as his wife. Yet he lives with her, and she employs every art to feduce him again to her arms. She is, by turns, loving and fentimental, ardent in her paffion, and an apparent enthusiast in the colder delights of Friendship. Neither plan fucceeds; when, to roufe the dormant paffion of love, the introduces to him a courtezan, Laura Dianna. Laura had been the early victim of feduction, yet the fees Edward, and love for the first time teaches her a timid modefty, inspires her with an abhorrence of vice; with his affiftance, and a pention procured by him from her feducer, a cardinal, coulin to the marchi onefs the retires to a convent.

. The bufband of Laura, who had heard of her misconduct, arrives in hafte, and challenges Edward: though the innocent caufe of her errors, he feems to think it neceffary to fight, and, from his eagerness, the Auftrian officer is wounded. He returns to Auftria and foon after dies. The marchioness informs Edward of this event immediately, and offers him her hand. He, fhuddering at the indelicacy of her clofing the eyes of her hufband with one hand, while fhe offers the other to his fucceffor, declines her propofal, expreffing at the fame time fome apprehenfions that the wound might have occafioned his death. A letter arrives from the phylician who attended him, affuring Edward that he died of a putrid fever; but this is foon difcovered to be a new attempt of the marchionefs. He continues to reject her, and the foon dies from difappointment. He refcues Laura by an uncommon and not very probable accident from affaffination by bravos, hired by the cardinal; and though juft going to take the veil by the fuggeftion of St. Preux, as related by Rouffeau, he changes her refolution and marries her. This feems to be the conclufion which the Swifs author has altered.

We need not point out the improbabilities of this ftory. The character of lord B. is, however, well preferved, generous, and enthufiaftic in friendship, but cool, philofophical, and difcrimi nating in love. Reafon generally conquers fentiment, when fairly oppofed to each other, though in more fudden and violent meatures he fometimes lofes fight of his guide. The cha racter of Laura is not perhaps diftinguifhed with equal care; yet thofe fcenes connected with her reformation are touched with a masterly pencil. We fhall tranflate fome paffages from that part of the ftory, where Edward, almost overcome by the feductions of the marchionefs, is ready to fall into the fnare which she has spread for him: the defcription is in a letter to St. Preux.

The marchioncfs, encouraged by my continuing with her, as well as by the recollection of our past enjoyments, made me every day the fport of her fafcinations; the had almost-extin

guished

1

guished in my foul the flame of virtue. The danger was preff ing; I was yielding to the force of nature, the refinement of an imaginary delicacy' (ah, my lord, an imaginary delicacy) 'would have been destroyed in a moment. I went to vifit Laura: on entering her chamber, I was ftruck with the astonishing neat nefs which prevailed in every part of it, a neatnefs which is feldom met with in Italy, particularly in fuch houfes. She was fitting at her employment, and ftarted at fecing me. I faluted her politely, and with an air of familiarity which the circumftances feemed to authorife. She returned my falute with modefty and timidity, without ftirring from her chair, which made me think he was one of thofe amiable cunning damfels who had learnt from experience that fenfuality itfelf is more pleafing when covered with the veil of bathfulne's and modefty. On examining with more attention, I difcovered on her counte nance an air of forrow which I had not obferved before. You are fad, Laura, faid I-"alas, my fituation is much more depiorable." I hoped that my vifit would have pleafed you and you fee that it adds to my diftrefs." Yet I have a remedy for forrow which feldom fails: this ring, added I, taking a diamond from my finger of no flight value, has a great fympathetic virtue. You think me more fuperftitious than I am, replied the, withdrawing her hand brifkly: I have no faith in thefe fympathetic qualities, and I beg you to keep the remedy for fome one more credulous than I am.

I put the ring on the table, fhe returned it. Growing impa tient from this conduct, which I took for a ridiculous affectation, I embraced her in fpite of her refiftance. She begs, the defends herself, the weeps, the fcreams, and by one effort darts to the other end of the room. Kill me, if you please, exclaimed fhe in an altered tone, my death only can render you victorious. Her look, her action, her gestures were no longer equivocal. Scarcely able to believe what I faw and heard, and wishing to have this furprising refiftance explained, well, fays 1, Laura, in a calmer tone, be eafy, I will diftrefs you no longer; come near, do not be afraid. I advanced towards this unaccountable girl, I placed her on the fofa, fat oppofite to her, and waited in filence for the catastrophe of this strange scene.

She faid nothing, her eyes were caft down, her refpiration was interrupted, her bofom heaved, and every thing fhowed the violence of her agitation. I at laft fpoke-can I be deceived? are you not Laura Difanna? Would to God, faid fhe with a trembling voice-what then, faid I with a farcaftic fimile; perhaps you have renounced your courfe of life-alas, no-I am ftill the fame; it is not fo eafy to escape from the gulf into which we have fallen. Her lips trembled while fhe pronounced thefe words, her cheeks glowed, but the found of her voice was fo tender and affecting-I knew not what to think. It occurred to me at last that the girl was mad-Why then, charming Laura, why am I the only one who am deprived of your favours? tell

me

me what has led you to hate me. Hate you, cried fhe with vivacity, I never loved thofe whom I entertained, and I could admit all the world except yourself. But why Laura? explain your meaning, I do not understand it.-Ah! I understand myfelf; I only know that you fhall never touch me.-No, the again cried out with vehemence, you shall never touch me: the fingle idea that you would embrace me as a common woman would kill me with grief. Her complexion was animated, and I difcovered in her eyes figns of agony and defpair. I felt myfelf greatly moved, and I endeavoured to encourage her, by treating her with more decorum, propriety, and friendship. She avoided my eyes, and concealed her face: I took her hand with an expreffion of the moft lively intereft; fhe preffed mine with tendernefs, raifed it to her lips, fighed, and fhed a fhower of tears. This language, though fufficiently clear, left, however, fome doubts: I wished to explain them. Speak, Laura, continued I, look at me, read in my eyes the interest which your fituation infpires; depend on me, and tell me, my dear Laura, what torments you fo feverely. She lifted her up eyea lids, bathed in tears, and with a lock of her beautiful flowing hair, wiped away a tear which she saw on my hand.'

Such is the impaffioned language, the minute defcription of our author; we wished to give a fimilar fpecimen of the converfations with the marchionefs, whofe character is well fupported. She is in every part fubtle, malicious, deceitful, warm, paffionate, and revengeful. We have, however, only room for one other fhort extract, and we shall select a letter in which the author endeavours to imitate the animated fentimental style of Rouffeau. It is from lord B. to Laura.

It was the tribute, Laura, which I long fince owed you: it was the facred feal by which I have fecured, in the name of virtue, the nobleness of foul which you have recovered. It was the "I love you" which comes from the heart, and which no language can exprefs. It was the last mark, my dear Laura, by which I would appropriate thy beauteous form to myself: it was the eager motion of two hearts towards each other: it was a prefentiment of the reunion of our fouls, the foretaste of the happiness which hereafter awaits us. It was the fecret which mortals have received from the gods in the happy golden age of a world, at once chafte and wife; the fecret, which is till the expreffion, to the innocent lover, of the most delightful tranfports, which vice feeks occafionally to imitate, but of which it is unworthy to feel, and incapable of experiencing the true pleasure. It was-oh Laura-IT WAS A KISS!'

Though the language of these volumes is occafionally warm, we perceive no paffage which can excite a blud, or pain the moft innocent mind. The author is well acquainted with the human heart, and traces the finest emotions with much fkil!: he is in every respect a pleafing and animated writer; but, alas! he is not a Rouffeau.

Idees

Idées fur la Meteorologie. Par J. A., de Luc. (Continued from Vol. LXV. p. 367.)

IT

T is with regret that we must apologise for the long delay of this article; but it was owing to circumftances which would not be interesting if explained, and the force of which few of our readers might perhaps feel. As this work, however, will engage much of our attention, it will not be expedient to fill that space with apologies, which we may perhaps employ more ufefully.

The firft chapter is on rain, a fubject of no little intricacy, though apparently explined with much confidence in every common tyftem of philofophy: the difficulties were either not felt or eluded. Rain has been attributed to the condenfation of vapour; but M. de Luc very properly ob erves, in the beginning, that if the humidity from which rain comes was the immediate product of evaporation, it must make the hygrometer proceed to moisture, in proportion to its abundance; if heat was diminished in a certain degree, humidity must be propor tionally more apparent; while, on the contrary, when heat increafed, the humidity muft diminish; and the introduction of dry hydrofcopic fubftances to a given quantity of air, would produce the fame effect as the augmentation of heat. If thefe pofitions are true, and they appear to be strictly fo, the water which falls in rain cannot be the immediate product of evaporation. When we come to examine the ftate of the air on high mountains, it is found to be extremely dry, and, notwithstanding the diminution of heat, it fcarcely affects the nicest hygrometer; one of two conclufions must, therefore, be neceffarily drawn; either the vapours do not rife fo high, or the water contained in the air is not the immediate product of evaporation. The former conclufion is probably not just, because dew is not uncommon on the highest mountains which have been vifited, and fogs are frequent. M. Sauffure fuppofed, that the vapours rofe in confequence of the heat during the day, and funk again in the night; but this opinion is connected with his fyftem of evaporation, which he fuppofes owing to the union of fire with water, forming vapour, which is diffolved in the air: but neither, in this view, nor according to the fyftem which M. de Luc thinks more probable, viz. that the united fire and water form of themselves a peculiar, distinct, and tranfparent gas, is it probable that the vapours rife or fall more than the air itfelf expands or contracts. The rarefaction of air, which fome philofophers have supposed to contribute to the precipitation of water, has, in our author's opinion, a contrary effect, for a menftruum when diluted' (M. de Luc cannot mean an appropriated menftruum, which holds a fubftance by means of a peculiar attraction), 'fo far from abandoning the fubftance which it has diffolved, holds it more obftinately." According to his own fyftem, the folution of water in fire, it VOL, LXX. Sept. 1790. Z

can