compofure and refignation he meets it! Look in the face of a dying king, or a plundering and blood-thirsty minifter-what terrors the fight of their velvet beds, adorned with crimfon plumage, muft bring to their affrighted imagination. In that awful hour, it will remind them of the innocent blood they have spilt; nay, they will perhaps think, they were dyed with the blood of men fcalped and maffacred, to fupport their vanity and ambition. In fhort, while kings and ministers are torn to pieces by a thirst after power and riches, and difturbed by a thousand anxious cares, this poor hermit can have but one, left he should be removed (as the prior of the convent has a power to do) to fome other cell, for that is fometimes done, and very properly. The youngest and most hardy conftitutions are generally put into the higher hermitages, or thofe to which the accefs is moft difficult; for the air is fo fine in the highest parts of the moun fain, that they fay it often renders the refpiration painful. Nothing therefore can be more reasonable than that, as thefe good men grow older, and lefs able to bear the fatigues and inconveniences the highest abodeş unavoidably fubject them to, they should be removed to more convenient dwellings, and that the younger and ftouter men fhould fucceed them. As the hermits never eat meat, I could not help obferving to him, how fortunate a circumftance it was for the fafety of his little feathered friends; and that there were no boys to difturb their young, nor any sportsman to kill the parent. "God forbid," faid he, that one of them fhould fall, but by his hands who gave it life!" "Give me your hand," said I, "and bless me." I believe it did; but it fhortened my vifit: fo I ftept into the grot, and ftole a pound of chocolate upon his stone stable, and took myfelf away. If there is a happy man upon this earth, I have seen that extraordinary man, and here he dwells! His features, his manners, all his looks and actions announce it; yet he had not even a fingle maravedi in his pocket. Money is as ufelefs to him as to one of his blackbirds. Within a gunshot of this remnant of Eden, are the remains of an ancient hermitage, called St. Pedro. While I was there, my hermit followed me; but I too coveted retirement. I had just bought a fine fowling piece at Barcelona; and when he came, I was availing myfelf of the hallowed spot, to make my vow never to use it. In truth, there are fome forts of pleasure too powerful for the body to bear, as well as fome forts of pain: and here I was wrecked upon the wheel of felicity; and could only fay, like the poor criminal who fuffered at Dijon-O God! O God! at every coup. I was forry my hoft did not understand English, nor I Spanish enough, to give him the fenfe of the lines written in poor Shenftone's alcove. "O you that bathe in courtlye blifs, Of him that bides contented here." I forgot the other lines, but they conclude thus: "For faults there beene in busy life From which these peaceful glennes are free.” EXTRAORDINARY INSTANCES OF THE EXACT OBEDIENCE WHICH SOME HAVE YIELDED TO THEIR SUPERIORS. WHEN Metellus had difinherited his fons, they chose rath er to have no share in his eftate, than to admit of any difputation about the force of his will: and fome have freely. parted with liberty and life itself, when either has come into competition with the commandment of their fuperiors. 1. Tiribafus was a ftout and valiant man; and when fome Perfians came to lay hold on him, he drew his fcymeter, and manfully defended himself. His aggreffors thereupon fearing to be worfted by him, cried out, "That what they did was by the King's command." Tiribafus no fooner heard this, but he threw away his weapon, and gave his hands to be bound by them. 2. The great Baffa of Aleppo, who was alfo an emir or here ditary prince, the year before my coming thither had revolted from his emperor, and fighting the Baffas of Damascus and Carahemen, overcame them. The year following, and in my being there, the Grand Signior fent from Conftantinople a Chiaus and two Janizaries in embaffage to him. When they came to Aleppo, the Baffa was in his own country of Mefopotamia; the meffengers made haste after him, but in their journey they met with him coming to Aleppo, accompanied with his two fons and five hundred horfemen. Upon the highway they delivered their meffage, where he stood still and heard them. The proffer of Sultan Achmet was, that if he would acknowledge his rebellion, and for that treafon.committed fend him his head, his eldest fon fhould both inherit his poffeffions and the Baffafhip of Aleppo; that otherwife he would come with great forces in all expedition, and in his own perfon would extirpate him and all his from the face of the earth. At the hearing of which the Baffa, knowing he was not able to refift the invincible army of his master in his own person, difmounted from his horfe, and went to counsel with his fons, and nearest friends; where he and they concluded it was beft for him to die, being an old man, to fave his race undestroyed, and to preferve his fon in his authority and inheritance. This done, the Baffa went to prayer, and taking his leave of them all, kneeled down on his knees, where the Chiaus ftruck off his head, putting Loo Extraordinary Inftances of the exact obedience which fome it into a box to carry with him to Aleppo. The dead corpfe was carried to Aleppo, and honourably buried; for I was an eye-witness to that funeral feaft.-Lithgow. 3. No monarch had ever the glory of being fo exactly obeyed as was that poor fifher-boy in Naples, vulgarly called Mafaniello. He ordered that men fhould go without cloaks, gowns, wide caf focks, or fuch like; which was univerfally obeyed, not only of the common fort, but the nobility, all churchmen and religious orders, the two cardinals, Filomarino and Trivultio, the apoftolical nuncio and all the bishops in that city. He commanded that all women, of what degree or quality foever, fhould go without their farthingales; and that when they went abroad they fhould tuck their petticoats fomewhat high, that no arms might be carried by them. This order was alfo obeyed. He commanded that all cavaliers fhould deliver their arms, as alfo all noble perfons, to the hands of fuch officers as he fhould fend with commiffion to receive them. It was done. He had at his back an hundred and fifty thousand men; and in the prefence of the viceroy of Naples, he made them cry out, "Let God live, let the holy virgin of Carmine live, let the king of Spain live! live Filomarino and the duke of Arcos, with the most faithful people of Naples !” The people followed him in every claufe; and at last he ended with," Let the ill government die:" which they alfo echoed. This was his firft proof. He made a fecond upon the people; putting his finger to his mouth, there was a profound univerfal filence, and fcarce a man was known to breathe. For a laft proof of his authority, and the people's obedience, he commanded with a loud voice (out of a balcony wherein he was,) that every foul there prefent, under pain of rebellion and death, should retire from the place where they then ftood; which was punctually and presently obeyed, not one remaining behind; fo that the viceroy was amazed at fuch a ready and marvellous obedience. If he faid, "Bring me the head of fuch a one," or, "Let fuch a palace be burnt, and the houfe of fuch a one be plundered," or any other the leaft thing commanded; at the very inftant, without any doubts or replies, it was put in execution. All this was at Naples in the year of our Lord 1647, in the month of July. 4. Thienkius the emperor of China had advanced an Eunuch, called Gueio, to fuch height and power, that he ftiled him by the name of Father, and paffed the abfolute and fovereign command into his hands; fo that perfons of the greatest eminency were put to death by his orders for trivial matters; it was enough if they could not bow themfelves to flatter and fawn upon him. Zunchinius fucceeded in the empire, his brother being dead without iffue, and he having refolved the deftruction of his over-potent eunuch, fent him an order to go vifit the tombs of his ancestors, to confider if any of thofe ancient monuments wanted reparation. He had not gone far upon his journey, but there was prefented to him, by order from the emperor, a filver box, with a halter of Bik folded up in it; by which he understood he was commanded to hang himself, which he accordingly did. 5. Amongst the Perfians before the palace there perpétually ftands a feat of iron with three feet; if it fo fall out, that the King is more than ordinarily displeased with any Persian, he may not fly to any temple or any fanguinary; but standing at this Tripos of the king's, he is there to expect his fentence; and oftentimes, at the diftance of fome days, the king fends one to put an end to his fearful expectation, by taking away his life. ་ 6. In that part of Syria, which the Perfians once held, there is a people called Affaffines, or as Niceras calls them Chafians : these are wont fo to reverence and obferve the commands of their prince, that they perform them with all readiness and alacrity, how dangerous or difficult foever the execution of them be. At the first fign or intimation by gefture of their king, they will immediately caft themfelves headlong from rocks and towers, leap into the waves, throw themselves into the fire, or being fent by him to kill any fuch prince whofe death he defires, they fet them felves about it, defpifing all the tortures they must endure after they have performed the murder, or discovery of their intention. When Henry earl of Campania paffed from Antioch towards Tyrus, having obtained a fafe conduct, the prince of this people, called Vetus, gave him a strange affurance of his people's obedience; for he thewed him feveral persons standing upon the top of a high tower: one of thefe he called out by name, who no fooner understood his command, but without any delay he caft himself down from thence in their fight, and, broken in pieces with the fall, he immediately died. The king would have called others out to trial, and was with difficulty diverted from his defigns, by the earneft intreaties of the earl, who was aftonifhed with wonder and horror at the experiment. The Salfidas of Sequimar of Arabia the Happy, perform the fame at their prince's command. ! 7. When Hannibal made war against the Romans in Italy, he at that time had under his ftandard Carthagenians, Numidians, Moors, Spaniards, Baleares, Gauls, Ligurians, and a number of Italian people, and yet the general was of that authority amongst them, that though his army confifted of fo many and different nations, and that the war was drawn out into fo long a continu ance, and that there was fuch a variety of events therein,, yet in all that time there never was known that there was any ftir, tumult, or fedition amongst them. 8. Instead of crowns and fceptres, the ornaments of the kings of Peru, whereby they fhew their majefty, are thefe: they wear certain taffels of red wool, bound about their heads, hanging down upon their fhoulders, almoft covering their eyes, whereat they hang other threads, which they ufe when they would have any thing done or executed. They give that thread unto one of the Lords that attend upon them; by this token they command C c in all their provinces, and the king hath done whatfoever he doth defire. At the fight of this thread his pleasure is by his fubjects. with fo great a diligence and dutiful obedience fulfilled, that the' like is not known in any place of the world: for if (by this way) he chance to command that a whole province fhall be deftroyed, and utterly left defolate, both of men and all living creatures whatsoever, it is done. If he fend but one, of his fervants to execute the fevereft of his commands, although he fend no other power or aid of men, nor other commiffion, than one of the threads of his quifpel, it is fufficient; and they willingly yield themselves to all dangers, even to death and destruction. "Since 9. Xerxes flying out of Greece, the fhip or boat was fo overpreffed with the numbers of fuch as were got within her, that a tempeft arifing, they were all brought to the hazard of their lives. Here it was that Xerxes fpoke to them in this manner: upon you O Perfians! depends the fafety of your king, let me now understand how far you take yourselves to be concerned therein." He had no fooner spoken thefe words, but that having first adored him, most of them leaped into the fea, and by their death freed their king of his prefent danger. PHI THE PHILOSOPHER AND HIS WIFE. It HILO the Philofopher was one day invited, with his wife, to dine at the house of a lady remarkable for two things, which are faid to gratify the first and strongest of the human paffions. She had, at her command, all the power which is conferred either by beauty or by riches.-Philo was fitting at her table, when a fervant appeared loaded with a fack of a confiderable fize. was thrown carelessly upon the floor, and there left to remain, as it were a load of feathers: the folid found hit our Philofopher and his Wife on the nerves, and made them start. Heavens! (faid Philo) that must be money-What a bouncing fum! yet our hoftefs is fo accustomed to receive facks of this fort that it makes no impreffion upon her. What a flap has it given me, who am only a fpectator!" Odds bobs! (cried the Philofopher's Wife, cafting one eye on the fack, and one upon her husband) a third of that bag would make a rich woman of me forever !". "That fum! (replied the lady, with inconceivable fang-froid)—Alas ! A very nothing-fcarce worth telling-follow me." Philofopher and his Wife, in filent wonder, followed the lady, who opened a large portable drawer, and difcovered it full of guineas. "Hem "faid the Philofopher.-Mercy! (cried his Wife, catching up an handful, as much as to fay) oh! that ye were mine." The lady fhut the drawer with the calm hand fhe liaď opened it, and returned in the utmost ease to her feat. ""Tis all a custom (faid fhe, in a tone of voice perfectly fenfible ;) I am fo ufed to receive large fums, and to have thofe drawers filled with |