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against his minifter had yet been verified, he began seriously to make his reflections. This prince was warm, yet good, and foon recovered his temper. He fent feveral perfons to Sully, to cogage him to open his heart; but he was refolved to keep filent till the king spoke to him perfonally. He thought he had reafon to complain of Henry, who, at length, unable to remain in a state of uncertainty and coolnels, fought an explanation. Sully being at Fontainbleau, and taking his leave of Henry, the king faid to him, "Come here, have you no thing to fay to me?" No," replied Sully. "But I have a good deal to fay to you," the king immediately replied. Then retiring with him into an alley in the park, the king began by embracing Sully twice, after which he thus addreffed him. "My friend, I can no longer endure, after twenty-three years experience, affection, and fincerity, the coolness and diffimulation that have prevailed between us for this month; for to tell you the truth, if I have not unbofomed all my ideas to you, I believe you have alfo concealed yours from me: Such a conduct must be equally pernicious to us both, and might daily increafe through the malice and artifice of those who eavy as much my greatness as they do your favour with me: I have therefore refolved to tell you all the fine ftories that have been related to me, and the arLifices that have been used to produce a misunderstanding between us, and what effect they had upon me; and at the fame time to request you to do the fame, without being apprehenfive that I fhall take any thing amifs, be you ever fo free; for it is my deûre that we retire from hence with hearts quite free from fufpicion, and contented with each other; and as I design to unfold my bojom entirely to you, I

beg you will not difguife your fentiments to me." After fuch a converfation, in which Sully entirely juftified himself, the king appeared fincerely afflicted at having queftioned the attachment of his faithful fervant. Sully, touched to the foul at the noble repentance of his matter, was going to throw himself at his feet, and give him that fubmiffive mark of refpect due from a fubject to his prince. "By no means," faid Henry, "you are a worthy man: We are observed, and it would be given out that I only had forgiven you." They returned from the alley, Henry having Sully by the hand, when he asked his courtiers what it was o'clock. He was anfwered one, and that he had been a long time absent. "I underftand you," said the prince, "I find there are fome to whom this conference has been more difagreeable than to myself; and in order to confole you, I must inform you that I love Rofny more than ever; and you, my friend," he continued, "continue to love and ferve me, as you always have done."

We meet with an anecdote in hif tory, which proves that the inferior patlions which prevail with fuch influence over most men, had no effect upon the fentiments of Sully. The duke d'Epernon had upon many occations declared himself againt this minifter, and therefore thought him his enemy. At the time that marshal Biron, impeached for high treason, was arrested, it was propofed in council alfo to feize the perfon of the duke d'Epernon, who was fuppofed to carry on a correfpondence with the marshal. Sully, who thought him innocent, oppofed this step, and strongly efpoufed the duke's cause. D't pernon was not acquainted with this till a long time after; and Henry himfelf informed the duke of this. circumftance, one day when he

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came to complain of the minifter.
Truly, M. D'Epernon," faid the
king,
66 you are wrong to make
me think he is your enemy; for
there is not a man in France to
whom you have greater obligati-
ons." The king then related to
him what had paffed at Blois.
D'Epernon, though proud and
haughty, was fufceptible of grati-
tude. He immediately repaired to
Paris, waited upon his benefactor,
when he fhowered his thanks upon
him, Sully replied, "That what
he had done did not require any
acknowledgment; that he had on-
ly done his duty in fupporting vir-
tue and innocence in any fubject
whatever, when it was propofed
to opprefs him; that he was never-
theless well pleafed that the occafi-
on had occured to convince M.
D'Eperron, that he was more his
friend than the duke had often been
pleased to fuggeft."

that they have one mafter, without having fo many more to fupport."

This fhort fpeech is fufficient to depict the character and politics of Sully. He justly confidered great cities as the graves of the nation, as they are never formed, but at the expence of the country; and it was his maxim, that labour and agriculture, were the the two great fprings of national wealth. ftrenuously recommended that the nobility fhould live upon their eftates. He also pronounced, "That a multitude of unneceffary offices was a certain mark of the approaching decay of a state."

He

This great man, born amidst religious wars, had frequent occafion to lament the evils produced by fanaticifm. He often repeated, that compaffion and gentleness were the certain means of advancing religion, and the only taught by it. Zeal was in his opinion nothing more Sully, in the courfe of his admi- than a phrenzy, disguised under aniftration, vigorously oppofed another name. He lived and died number of burthenfome edicts that were defigned; many fmall impofts, which would have been very detrimental to many branches of trade. Moreover, thefe edicts were often intended only as gratuities to courtiers, who importuned the king to make additions to their falaries. Henry one day fent twenty-five edicts of this kind to Sully, who did not approve of any one of them, and repaired to court to make remonftrances upon the occafion. He met with the marchionefs ce Verneuil, who upbraided him for oppofing the king's good intentions. "All you fay, madam, would be right, if his majefty took the money for himself. But to levy fresh taxes upon the trader, the artist, the labourer, and the hufbandman, for people who do not want, is quite unjuft. They feed the king and us all; it is enough

in the Proteftant religion. The pope fent him a brief full of praises upon the wifdom of his adminif tration, and finished his letter like a good paftor, by praying God he would bring back his wandering lamb, and conjured the duke de Sully to make a proper ufe of his understanding to get into the right track. The duke anfwered him in the fame ftyle. He affured the pope that he prayed to God every day for the converfion of his holinefs, or what came to the fame point, that he addreffed his ardent prayers, that it might pleafe him, as being the father of light, to affift and enlighten his holiness, and to give him more and more know. ledge of the truth.

After the tragical death of Henry IV. Sully retired from the adminiftration, and lived retired. As he could not, on account of his reli

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gion, be admitted of any order, he made one for himself. This confifted of a chain of gold with a medal of the king hanging to it. Du ring his retirement, which lafted thirty years, he very feldom appeared at court. Lewis XIII. having fent for him to ask his advice upon fome critical affair, he came, though with reluctance. The young courtiers ftrove to turn him into ridicule, upon the antiquity of his drefs, which he had always continued, and upon his behaviour, which feemed to be that of the former century. Sully obferved them, and faid to the king, "Sire, when the king your father, of glorious

memory, did me the honour to confult me upon great and important bufinefs, he first fent out all buffoons and court-jefters."

This illuftrious man wrote, during his retirements, memoirs under the title of Economies reyales. They have been revifed by a modern author. These new memoirs are, it is true, more agreeable than the oid; but the latter will always be more interefting to the admirers of Sully, and to thofe who would choose to meet with this warlike philofopher in the ancient expreffions of a free and virtuous heart.

A curious French Medical Anecdote.

THE of cold and HE father of chancellor Aliphlegmatic a habit, that all means employed to purge him had long proved ineffectual. His phyfician, however, judging a purge neceffary, called his fervant afide, and gave him the dofe, defiring him, at the fame time, to endeavour to put his master in a paffion, and then to make him swallow the potion. The fervant went into the doctor's scheme, and next morning early entering into his mafter's chamber with precipitation, opened the curtains in a noify manner, and awaked him out of a calm and gentle fleep. Monfieur Aligre, rubbing his eyes, beheld his fervant with out the leaft emotion, and only asked him "what it was o'clock ?" About an hour after, the fervant having once missed his aim, refolved to make a fecond trial: Whilft he was warming his matter's fhirt, he let it fall in the fire, and brought it half burnt to him. Monf. Aligre, with a ferene countenance, bid him warm another. The fervant, beJanuary, 1774.

something yet more provoking in ginning to think that he must do

order to gain his point, threw down, and broke in pieces, fix curious Venice glaffes, of which his master was peculiarly fond. "It is indeed. a pity," said Monf. Aligre, with the molt unruffled calmnefs of voice and mind, for they were very handfome." After this, the fervant despaired of accomplishing his purpose, when a client came in, who had an affair of confequence, which required much thought, to lay before Monfieur Aligre. This client, who was lively and full of motion, had on a coat of taffeta, which made a rustling, difagreeable kind of noife as often as he changed his geftures, and disturbing the attention of Monf. Aligre, put him fo far out of his humour, as to make him fay, with an angry tone, " Pray, Sir, oblige your coat to keep filence, if you have a mind that I fhould hear you." The fervant, feizing the luckly moment, administered the dofe, and it was fuccefsful. B

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THE GOLDEN NAIL.

An Alchymical Anecdote.

Hurnifferus, a man of infinite whim and madness, was the author of fome works which fufficiently prove that his natural temper was not much to be relied on. The ftory of his golden nail is curious. Having worked away his fortune in alchymy, and finding his fchemes vain, he had a mind at once to get into the fervice of a certain prince, and to establish a character of himfelf to all the world, as if poffeffed of the grand alchymical fecret. To this purpose he declared, that he had found out a liquor which would immediately convert all metals plunged into it into gold. The prince, the nobility of the place, and all the literati, were invited to fee the experiment; and the chymift having prepared a large nail, the half of which was iron, and the other half gold, well joined together, coated over the gold part with a thin cruft of iron, which he joined fo nicely to the rest of the iron, that no eye could difcover the fallacy. Having this ready, he

To the PROPRIETOR of the

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placed his veffel of liquor on the table, which was no other than common aqua fortis. Then, fending a fervant to a fhop for fome nails of the fame kind, he, by an eafy piece of legerdemain, when he had defired the company to examine them, and fee that they were real nails, took out his own, and after turning it about before the company, plunged it half way into the river: A hiffing and bubling noife arofe, and the aqua fortis immediately diffolved, and washed off the iron coat, and the gold appeared. The nail was handed round to all the company, and finally delivered to the prince, in whofe cabinet it now remains. The gold maker was defired to dip more nails, and other things, but he immediately threw away the liquor, telling them they had feen enough. He was made happy for the rest of his life; but all the intreaties in the world could never get him to make any more gold.

HIBERNIAN MAGAZINE.

throw himself, in a disconsolate attitude, on one of the feats of the walk. I did not neglect the opportunity; but feating myself by his fide, prevailed on him, after fome introductory converfation, to give me his hiftory, which he did in the following words.

"Yes, Sir," faid he, " though my prefent appearance may seem to invalidate my affertion, I affure you I was the fon of one of the most opulent traders in the metropolis. I might at this time have been enjoying all the happiness that affluence can beflow; but now, alas !

I have no where to lay my head, no refuge to which I can fly for comfort. I am abandoned to the wide world without a friend; and one confideration aggravates all my mifery-I have deferved my fufferings, and cannot justly complain." Here he paufed to conceal a tear which was juft bursting from his eyes. After he had a little recovered himself, his countenance gradually grew more ferene, and he proceeded with less emotion.

"When I was at the age of eleven, my father placed me at a celebrated grammar-fchool in the fouth-west part of Kent, which is ftill remarkable for the excellence of its difcipline, and the unwearied attention of its fuperintendant. There I spent the happiest days of my life. Nature had given me parts; I made a rapid progress in claffical learning; all was encouragement, all was hope, and all was happiness. But in the midst of my improvements, my father refolved, in oppofition to the advice of my mafter, to remove me from fchool, and to fettle me in his own accompting-houfe. My tutor urged, that though I might perhaps fucceed in a learned profeffion, yet the vivacity of my difpofition would be an obstacle to my profperity in a mercantile employment. My father, fenfible of the lucrative advantages of an established trade, was deaf to the remonftrances of my amiable mafter; and on a fatal day I entered into engagements to plod at the desk and the compter for feven years.

"But nature is not to be conftrained by indentures. Inftead of cafting up fums, and measuring ells, I employed my time in the perufal of Shakespeare, in compofing epilogues and farces, and in difcuffing the merits of every new dramatic production. Instead of spending my evenings in pofting ac

compts, and examining my ledger' I was always attending the performances of a Foote or a Garrick, At length, by conftantly frequenting the play-houfes, and mixing with contemptible fcholiafts, who called themselves theatrical critics, I became fo enamoured of the stage, as to look upon dramatic entertainments, as the most important bufinefs, and the most agreeable enjoyments of human life. The fhop continually refounded with my rants, in imitation of fome favourite actor; and I went fo far as to treat with the purchasers of a yard of Irish with a theatrical tone, and a dramatic action.

"I had fo great an opinion of my own talents, that, like the immortal Shakespeare, I was ambitious of fhining both as an actor and a writer. Accordingly I finished a comedy with great care and pains, and prefented it to one of the managers, who, after much infolent treatment, returned it upon my hands, with evident marks of contempt. By no means dejected, I was refolved to try my fuccefs as an actor. But, after having, with great difficulty, obtained permiffion to fpeak before the managers, and a circle of their friends, who feemed to enjoy my diftrefs, I was again rejected with all the haughtiness of tyranny.

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Though I could not fucceed at the theatres, I was refolved to exert my oratorial abilities at fpouting and difputing clubs. And here, indeed, I easily made a confpicuous figure; as I had the advantage of a claffical education, and as most of my competitors had the advantage of no education at all. The most important topics of religion, learning, and politics I difcuffed with more volubility than the graveft prelate, the profoundest academic, or the craftieft statesman But I triumphed, as it were, withB 2.

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