mined to prefer the former to the latte; and, having fignified their feniments to him, Charles came and joined them. All this time Lothaire was advancing, fending his emiffaries on every fide to seek out his old friends, and to draw over, by any means, either fuch as were neutral or affected to his brother's intereft. He found many of both forts; more especially Pepin, the fon of Bernard, king of Italy, Ebbo, the famous archbishop of Rheims, who had prefided in the affembly which depofed his father, with others who had been in his party in his father's time, who had fuffered for him then, and hoped to be rewarded now. Of the latter fort also there were great numbers. Charles was not idle on his fide; but he had fcarce affembled a small army, before he had news, that his competitor Pepin, with a confiderable force, befieged Bourges. He

did not hesitate a moment in marching to the relief of that place, where his mother was in danger of lofing her liberty; and, having beaten Pepin and raised the fiege, he returned again into Neuftria, but with a small force. Lothaire had by this time gained all the country between the Meuse and the Seine; but the nobility about Charles, very happily for him, were fo far from refenting his leaving them, to go to the relief of his mother, that they esteemed him for it, affuring him he might rely upon their fidelity, and advised him to offer his brother battle. He followed their advice; but fighting was not the thing that Lothaire affected moft; he had a fuperior army, and taking the advantage of this, he offered hard terms to his

brother; which, in his prefent circumftances, Charles thought fit to accept, upon condition that all things fhould be finally fettled in an affembly to be held in the month. of May, at Attigni; that Lothaire fhould make no attempts to his prejudice in the mean time; that the truce with the king of Bavaria should be prolonged, and that, in cafe any of the articles were violated, the treaty fhould be void. Lothaire confented to all this, and broke most of the articles as foon as he had made them. He difpofed a great part of his troops along the river Seine; and having augmented the remainder into a confiderable army, endeavoured to furprize Lewis, king of Bavaria; but that prince, who had never confided in him, was in arms, and in a condition to defend his own territories, provided his own fubjects remained faithful. In the mean time Charles, with a small corps of troops, paffed the Seine, in spite of all the care that Lothaire's officers could take, and marched to Attigni. This relieved Lewis, by drawing Lothaire back into France, where he might have fought Charles with a fuperior army; but whilst he endeavoured, though without effect, to corrupt and debauch his forces, Lewis of Bavaria beat the troops he had left upon the Rhine, paffed that river, and marched with great rapidity, to the relief of his brother Charles.. 842 Upon the junction of their forces, Lothaire retired till he was likewife joined by Pepin, who claimed the crown of Aquitaine; then, rejecting all the propofitions that were made him by his brothers, he refolved to leave all to the decifion

of a battle. This was fought in the neighbourhood of Fontenoy, on the 25th of June, and was one of the most memorable, as well as the most bloody, that the French. hiftory records. At length, Lo

GENTLEMEN,

thaire and Pepin were totily defeated, and it is faid there fu on the spot, on both fides, not fwer than one hundred thousand men [To be continued.]

THE following defcription of the extraordinary caves of Donmore, in the county of Kilkenny, near Donmore-house, formerly a country feat of the late duke of Ormond, will, I hope, find a place in your excellent mifcellany.

The entrance into this fubterraneous world (if I may be allowed the expreffion) is into a spacious field, on a rifing ground, from which there is an elegant profpect of the adjacent country. After a difficult defcent, of near one hundred feet, you enter the firft cavern, which cannot fail of striking every spectator with awe and admiration. The fprightly fcenes that prefent. themselves to a perfon alittle before his entrance into this place, render it more horrible than it otherwife would be. Its circumference is not lefs than two hundred feet, and its height about fifty: a number of huge ftones in the top, project beyond each other, and feem to threaten inftant ruin. Here is a fmall but almoft continual dropping of water from over head, and a few petrifactions, somewhat refembling icicles. This is a place of refidence for amultitude of wild pidgeons and other creatures. From hence the guides lead you on towards the left, when after defcending over a multitude of rocks, by a small afcent, you enter

a kind of hole somewhat larger than

the mouth of an oven, which introduces you into a place where, by the help of candles (day-light being entirely excluded here) a broken and furprising fcene of monstrous ftones heaped upon each other, chequered with various colours, inequality of rocks over head, and infinity of ftalactical stones, prefents itself. This aftonishing amfractuous paffage, over rocks and precipices, leads you on to a place nearly fquare, more curious than any of the reft: the top is almost entirely covered with unequal pieces of those ftalactical stones, very white and bright, and many parts of the fides are incrufted with the fame fubitance; which, with the limpid drops that hang from the top, reflet innumerable rays from the candles. Here are curious figures, by the country-people called, the organ, altar, and market-crofs, from the refemblance they bear to fuch things. Thefe owe their origin to water faliing from the upper parts of the cave to the ground, which coagulating into ftone, from time to time, at length became into the form they are now in; or, to an exfudation, or extillation of petrifying juices out of the earth; or they may partake of the nature of fpar, which Mr. Beaumont (in the Philofophical Tranfactions) thinks

to

to be a kind of rock-plant. The firft I judge to be most probable, as thefe figures in colour and confiftence appear exactly the fame as thofe like icicles on the top; which are feen only from the weft parts of the cavern, and in this place there is a greater dropping of water, and a larger number of petrifactions than in any other. After going a little farther, the noise of a fubterranean river is heard, tumbling over rocks and loofe ftones, which form

GENTLEMEN,

aftrange kind of noife in the cavern; but where it has its beginning, or whether it goes, none can tell : here, through fome paffage, a glimmering light agreeably furprises; and the curious are ftopped from proceeding any farther, after having travelled above a quarter of a mile, through the most dismal caverns.

I am, Gentlemen, your's, &c.
P-A-

1

Keep a school for little children, and being ambitious to commence author, I was compofing a new horn-book, &c. A very honourable study, to be fure, is the elements of language; as may be feen by a famous poem. At length, in agree ment with the modern elegance, I was determined to ftrike out k, as an useless letter: and accordingly was writing bac, lac, ftic, and cic, when I received a woful ftroke in the hudibraftic place of dishonor; I turned about in the attitudes which I had learned of Mr. Garrick, in Drugger, when he pleases the upper regions; and what should. I fee but the ghoft of k, fix feet perpendicular, with a monftrous hand and prodigious foot. Thou wretch, he cried, how durft thou expell me from my natural right. Indeed Mr. K, I replied, it is not my fault, it is the public writers that have cut you off from the public. He faid,Oinnovators! ig. norant of the genius of the English language, they tear from its foundations, its ftrengtheners, its props, and bold fupports; and emafculate

poor words like Italians, in hopes of gaining an elegant fweetnefs.Then in came u without horror, and thus he faid: Is it not monftrous!-Ifaid, indeed, Sir, it is. He replied-hold your tongue-and thus went on. Is it not unnatural, that I should be left out of honour and be turned into mere Latin, when the genius of the English language requires that our words, whofe roots are Latin, derived from the French, fhould partake, in general, of a medium between both? for honour fhould not be fpelled honor, nor honeur; and fo on for many other words, which are finking into the decline of newfangeled fashion.If there is not a ftandard for language, it must be declining gradually, after it has reached its perfection: now, as you have no particular ftandard at prefent, till there is one, myfelf joined with k command; that the writings of Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope, &c. as they may be seen in Johnfon's dictionary, be the standard 'till---till when I cried---and he faid-till you have better poets.-I re

plied, we furely have better now, for a prophecy-poem has gained the author more money than ever was gained by Milton: then they burft into a loud fit of laughter, and vanished.

- Now, gentlemen, as you are the

fupreme legiflators of a, b, c, be fö kind as to inform me, of your opinion upon k, and u; and, likewise, about fpelling in general, and you will oblige

Your humble fervant,

ANGELL.

ΤΗ

HE French court was extremely anxious for the fuccefs of that expedition, as the becoming mafters of the fort Pemkuit, would establish them firmly in Acadia. The troops were accordingly embarked, and, on the 26th of June, arrived in Spanish bay; where they found letters from the Chevalier de Villebon, with information that three English fhips were lying at the mouth of St. John's river; on which they put to fea again on the 14th of July; and miffing the English fquadron, came up with the Newport of twenty-four guns, and took her witnout the lofs of a man: the other two were concealed by a fog, which fuddenly arofe., Fifty Micmaks, which d'Iberville embarked in Spanish bay, contributed greatly to this victory. The next day the two ships entered the river St. John, where the chevalier de Villebon landed with fifty favages, and on the second of Auguft, put on fhore the ammunition and military ftores they had brought for the fort de Naxoat: after which, the fifty favages who landed with Villebon, embarked on board the Profond, commanded by M. de Bonaventure.

On the 7th they failed to Pentagoet, where they found the baron de St. Caftin, with two hundred

favages, and M. d'Iberville diftributed among them the prefents fent by the French court for that purpose. St. Caftin, with his forces, afterwards embarked in their canoes, with Villieu and Montigny, and twenty-five regulars. On the 13th they came in fight of Pemkuit, and invefted it on the fourteenth.

The fame day d'Iberville and Bonaventure failed to within a league of the place, and having learnt that St. Caftin was preparing to bring up two mortars, and one piece of cannon, they thought proper, in the mean time, to fummon the commandant of the fort, whofe name was Chubb, who received the fummons with a great deal of haughtinefs; and answered, that if the fea was converted into French fhips, and the earth into Indians, he would defend the place to the laft extremity.

On receiving fuch an answer, the favages began to fire: the fort alfo made a grand difcharge of mufquetry, and several pieces of cannon. About midnight d'Iberville intrenched himself, and with the utmost diligence erected two batteries, which were opened about two in the afternoon, and five bombs thrown into the fort. This fpread an alarm, when St. Caftin informed

the

the befieged, that he was preparing for an affault, when, from the known practice of the favages, no quarter could be expected.

That menace had the defired effect: the garrifon, confifting of fourfcore men, obliged the commandant to capitulate. The conditions they demanded were, that none of the garrifon fhould be ftripped, that the governor and all his friends fhould be fent to Boston, and exchanged for an equal number of French and Indians; and that they fhould be protected from the fury of the favages. The whole being granted, Chubb and his garrifon marched out, and M. de Vilheu, with fixty French regulars, took poffeffion of the fort. The prifoners were foon after conducted to an ifland, under the cannon of the French veffels, to protect them from the infults of the favages.

The fort of Pemkuit, though not very advantageously fituated, was capable of making a very ftout defence, and perhaps would not have been taken if the garrifon had done their duty; but, intimidated by the fear of falling into the hands of favages, they gave up the place before a fingle man was hurt: and foon after, part were fent to the governor of New England, acquainting him, that if he was defirous of having the reft, together with the crew of the Newport, releafed, he muft immediately deliver up to him all the French and their allies, then prifoners in his government. At the fame time, he fet out for Pemtagoet, expecting the governor's anfwer; but the anfwer not arriving in the time expected, and provifions 'being very short, he fent one hunMarch, 1763.

died men more to Bofton, retaining only the officers.

On the 3d of September, he failed with Mr. de Bonaventure and his prize; but they had fcarce weathered the idlands at the mouth of the river Pemtagoet, than they perceived feven fail to windward, bearing down on them. D'Iberville immediately hailed M. de Laufon, who commanded the Newport, having the hundred Micmaks on board, to keep as near him as poffible.

The favages, concluding that an action would be the cofequence, requefted the captain not to ftrike, but run on board the largest of the enemy's fhip, chufing rather to die, than to rot in the prifons of Bofton. This Laufon affured them fhould be done; but in the evening, when the English fquadron was coming up, d'Iberville tacked, and ftood towards the land, and coafted along fhore towards the Defert Mountains. At which the English, perceiving they could not come up with him, or being unacquainted with the coaft, did not think proper to pursue him; they altered their coaft, and failed for St. John's river.

The next morning d'Iberville, feeing nothing of the English, flood out to fea, and continued his courfe for Cape Briton. This hindered him from taking on board a number of favages, who waited for him in the harbour of La Have, and were to have went with him to Newfoundland. He even landed at Cape Briton thofe on board the Newport, except three, who were unwilling to leave him; and on the 12th of Auguft, he came to an anchor in Placentia bay. S

In