attend to it; for, the evening before, he had appointed to divert himself for two days beyond the feas with the harmless Ethiopians.

It was the twenty-first day after Chryfeis's arrival at the camp, that Thetis went very early to demand an au dience of Jupiter. The means he used to fatisfy her were, to perfuade the Greeks to attack the Trojans; that fo they might perceive the confequence of contemning Achilles, and the miferies they fuffer, if he does not head them. The next night he orders Agamemnon, in a dream, to attack them; who was deceived with the hopes of obtaining a victory, and alfo taking the city, without fharing the honour with Achiller.

On the twenty-fecond in the morning he affembles the Council, and having made a feint of raising the fiege and retiring, he declares to them his dream; and, together with Neftor and Ulyffes, refolves on an engage

ment.

This was the twenty-third day, which is full of incidents, and which continues from almoft the beginning of the fecond Iliad to the eighth. The armies being then drawn up in view of one other, Hector brings it about that Menelaus and Paris, the two perfons concerned in the quarrel, fhould decide it by a fingle combat, which tending to the advantage of Menelaus, was interrupted by a cowardice infufed by Minerva: Then both armies engage, where the Trojans have the disadvantage; bot being afterwards animated by Apollo, they repulfe the enemy, yet they are once again forced to give ground; but their affairs were retrieved by Hector, who has a fingle combat with Ajax. The gods threw themfelves into the battle; Juno and Minerva took the Grecians part, and Apollo and Mars the Trojans: But Mars and Venus are both wounded by Diomedes.

The truce for burying the flain ended the twenty-third day, after which the Greeks threw up a great intrenchment, to fecure their navy from danger. Coun cils are held on both fides. On the morning of the twenty-fourth day the battle is renewed, but in a very difadvantageous manner to the Greeks, who are beaten back to their retrenchments. Agamemnon being in defpair at this ill fuccefs, propofes to the Council to quit

C 5

the

the enterprize, and retire from Troy. But by the advice of Neftor, he is perfuaded to regain Achilles, by returning Brifeis, and fending him confiderable prefents. Hereupon Ulyes and Ajax are fent to that hero, who continues inflexible in his anger. Ulyffes, at his return, joins himself with Diomedes, and goes in the night to gain intelligence of the enemy: They enter into their very camp, where finding the centinels afleep, they made a great flaughter. Rhefus, who was just then arrived with recruits from Thrace for the Trojans, was killed in that action. Here ends the tenth Iliad. The fequel of this Journal will be inferted in the next article from this place.

St. James's Coffee-house, April 22.

We hear from Italy, that notwithstanding the Pope has received a letter from the Duke of Anjou, demanding of him to explain himself upon the affair of acknowledging king Charles, his Holinefs has not yet thought fit to fend any answer to that prince. The Court of Rome appears very much mortified, that they are not to fee his Majefty of Denmark in that city, having perhaps given themselves vain hopes from a vifit made by a Proteftant Prince to that See. The Pope has difpatched a Gentleman to compliment his Majefty, and fent the King a prefent of all the curiofities and antiquities of Rome, reprefented in feventeen volumes very richly bound, which were taken out of the Vatican library. Letters from Genoa of the fourteenth inftant fay, that a Felucca was arrived there in five days from Marseilles, with an account, that the people of that city had made an infurrection, by reafon of the fcarcity of provifions; and that the Intendant had ordered fome companies of marines, and the men belonging to the gallies, to ftand to their arms to protect him from violence; but that he began to be in as much apprehenfion of his guards, as thofe from whom they were to defend him. When that veffel came away, the foldiers murmured publicly for want of pay; and it was generally believed they would pillage the magazines, as the garrisons of Grenoble and other towns of France had already done. A veffel which

lately

lately came into Leghorn brought advice, that the British fquadron was arrived at Port-Mahon, where they were taking in more troops, in order to attempt the relief of Alicant, which ftill made a very vigorous defence. It is faid Admiral Byng will be at the head of that expedition. The King of Denmark was gone from Leghorn

towards Lucca.

They write from Vienna, that in cafe the Allies fhould. enter into a treaty of peace with France, Count Zinzendorf will be appointed first Plenipotentiary, the Count de Goes the fécond, and Monfieur Van Konfbruch a third. Major General Palmes, Envoy Extraordinary from her Britannic Majefty, has been very urgent with that Court to make their utmost efforts against France the ensuing campaign, in order to oblige it to fuch a peace as may eftablish the tranquillity of Europe for the future.

We are alfo informed, that the Pope ufes all imagin. able shifts to elude the treaty concluded with the Emperor, and that he demanded the immediate reftitution of Comacchio; infifting alfo, that his Imperial Majefty fhould ask pardon, and defire abfolution for what had formerly paffed, before he would folemnly acknowledge King Charles. But this was utterly refused.

They hear at Vienna, by letters from Conftantinople, dated the twenty-fecond of February last, that on the twelfth of that month the Grand Seignior took occafion, at the celebration of the festivals of the Maffulmen, to fet all the Chriftian flaves which were in the galleys at liberty.

Advices from Switzerland import, that the preachers of the county of Tockenburg continue to create new jealoufies of the Proteftants; and fome disturbances lately happened there on that account. The Proteftants and Papifts in the town of Hamman go to divine fervice one after another in the fame church, as is ufual in many parts of Switzerland; but on Sunday the tenth inftant, the Popish Curate, having ended his fervice, attempted to hinder the Proteftants from entering into the church according to cuftom; but the Proteftants brifkly attacked him and his party, and broke into it by force.

Laft night between feven and eight, his Grace the Duke of Marlborough arrived at Court. C 6

a

From

From my own Apartment, April 22.

The prefent great Captains of the age, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene, having been the subject of the discourse of the laft company I was in; it has naturally led me into a confideration of Alexander and Cafar, the two greatest names that ever appeared before this century. In order to enter into their characters, here needs no more but examining their behaviour in parallel circumftances. It must be allowed, that they had an equal greatnefs of Soul; but Cafar's was more corrected and allayed by a mixture of prudence and circumfpection. This is feen confpicuoufly in one particular in their hiftories, wherein they feem to have fhewa exactly the difference of their tempers. When Alexany der, after a long courfe of victories, would ftill have fed his foldiers farther from home, they unanimously refused to follow him. We meet with the like behaviour in Ca far's army in the midft of his march against Arioviftus. Let us therefore obferve the conduct of our two Generals in fo nice an affair: And here we find Alexander at the head of his army, upbraiding them with their cowardice, and meanness of spirit; and in the end telling them plainly, he would go forward himself, though not a man followed him. This fhewed indeed an exceffive bravery; but how would the Commander have come off, if the fpeech had not fucceeded, and the foldiers had taken him at his word? the project feems of a piece with Mr. Bays's in the Rebearfal, who, to gain a clap in his Prologue, comes out with a terrible fellow in a furcap following him, and tells his audience, if they would' not like his play, he would lie down and have his head ftruck off If this gained a clap, all was well; but if not, there was nothing left but for the executioner to do his office. But Cæfar would not leave the fuccefs of his fpeech to fuch uncertain events: He fhews his men the unreasonableness of their fears in an obliging manner, and concludes, that if none else would march along with him, he would go himself with the tenth legion, for he was affured of their fidelity and valour, though all the rest forfook him ; not but that, in all probability;

they

they were as much against the march as the reft. The refult of all was very natural: The tenth legion, fired with the praises of their General, fends thanks to him for the juft opinion he entertains of them; and the reft, afhamed to be outdone, affure him, that they are ready to follow where he pleafes to lead them, as any other part of the army.

N° 7.

Tuesday, April 26, 1709.

T is fo juft an observation, that mocking is catching, that I am become an unhappy inftance of it; and am (in the fame manner that I have reprefented' "Mr. Partridge) myself a dying man, in comparison of "the vigour with which I first fet out in the world. "Had it been otherwise, you may be fure I would not "have pretended to have given for News, as I did laft "Saturday, a diary of the fiege of Troy. But man is a creature very inconfiftent with himself: The greatest "Heroes are fometimes fearful; the fprightliefst Wits at fome hours dull; and the greatest Politicians on "fome occafions whimsical. But I fhall not pretend to

palliate or excuse the matter; for I find, by a calcu"lation of my own nativity, that I cannot hold out "with any tolerable wit longer than two minutes after "twelve of the clock at night, between the eighteenth

and nineteenth of the next month: for which space "of time you may still expect to hear from me, but nơ longer; except you will tranfmit to me the occurrences you meet with relating to your amours, or any "other fubject within the rules by which I have pro

46

pofed to walk. If any Gentleman or Lady fends to "Ifaac Bickerfaf, Efq; at Mr. Morphew's, near Sta"tioners-Hall, by the penny-poft, the grief or joy of "their foul, what they think fit of the matter shall be related in colours as much to their advantage, as thofe in which Gervafe has drawn the agreeable Chloe. But

64 fince