other in astonishment, but preferved the strictest filence. At the command of the Caliph, the third man stood forth." Muffulman," faid Haroun Al Rafchid, in fomewhat of a lefs intimidating tone, let us hear thy tale of forrow."" Commander of the Faithful," faid the man, "I perceive that thou already knoweft the forrows which opprefs my heart; neverthelefs, at thy command, I, without hefitation, repeat, in the hearing of the Court, that a profligate fon has been the difgrace of my manhood, and is now the torment of my age.' "Take that honeft fellow," faid the Caliph, "and immediately give him a thoufand fequins." A third time did the Imans, the Emirs, the Grandees, and the Court look at each other in aftonishment, without venturing to enquire the reafon of the Caliph's moft extraordinary decifion.

Haroun Al Rafchid, after looking upon them for some time with complacency, rofe from his throne, and thus expreffed himself :

"Children of Alla," faid the Caliph, "the judg→ ment which I have this day pronounced, appears to some of you harth and fevere, and to all of you inexplicable: hear, then, my motives, and confefs the juftice and beneficence of your prince. There is but one God, and Mahomet is his prophet. Shall Muffulmen indulge in bitter exclamations against Alla for inconvenience and trouble, which their own exertions can remove?

"Shall our holy Prophet be wearied with tears and lamentations, which are only occafioned by his fervants" indolence and pufillanimity? The first man whofe cafe I heard, and whom I punifhed as he deferved, impeached the goodness of Providence, and the juftice of my government alfo, for an evil which he himself could have effectually removed. He had a bad and unjust neighbour. Granted-but was it not in his power to have changed his refidence, and to have followed his occupation as a merchant in fome other place?

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"The

"The fecond alfo was alike intemperate in his complaints. But why arraign Alla or his Prophet, when he himfelf poffeffed the remedy of his fuffering? He had a bad and worthlefs wife; but could he not immediately have gone with her to the Iman, given her a writing of divorce, and fent her away?

"As to the third man, confult your own hearts, and confefs my juftice. From an ungracious child who can fly? From that forrow, what change of place, or what decifion of the law, can preferve us? It follows us abroad, it wounds us in folitude, it difturbs our meals, and haunts our pillows. In this cafe, pity is the flightest boon we can beftow, and liberality is no more than juftice."

The Imans, the Emirs, the Grandees, and the Court were no longer aftonifhed, but confeffed aloud the wif dom of the Caliph.

RETROSPECT OF POLITICS,

FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 1793.

TOTHING could be more aufpicious, than the manner in which the fun entered the balance: the British scale preponderated, and the French one kicked the beam. Our enemies had loft their courage, their towns, and their breeches, and the brave Auftrians threatened to ftrip the skin over their ears. We had done much for the Emperor; the crowns we gave to the King of Sardinia were enough to confole him, even if he had loft his own; and the Prince of Heffe Caffel was forced to confefs, that if many of the fwinifh multitude had been flaughtered, he had nevertheless brought his pigs to a fair market!

But though, like generous hofts, we began by helping our friends, it was ftill neceffary to do fomething for ourfelves. A law Lord, who remembered, that the wifeft thing he ever did was to quit his own

country,

country, thought that the French would readily retire from Dunkirk; and that we fhould be great gainers. by taking a town, which one of our Kings had fold for two hundred thousand pounds, if it were only to fell again! Some Military Counsellors thought otherwise; but cedant arma toga was the word; and, in pursuance of his advice, the French were to be ferved with a writ of ejectment. But, fome how or other, it proved a. writ of error!

The bravest army in the world carried on the fiege, and as brave a one covered its operations; but as there was nothing to cover the covering army, the perfidious French, whofe punic faith is notorious, fell upon it unawares, killed great numbers, and, that they might no longer be called Sans-Cullottes, were bafe enough to ftrip the dead of their galligafkins.

An heaven-born and immaculate Minister was ftanding ftiff, erect, and mufing over the plan of Dunkirk, in the walls of which he had made a breach with the point of his compaffes-" If we keep it at the peace," said he to himself, "it will be the ruin of the fmugglers-if we give it up, it will be a for-. tune to fomebody!" At this moment a meffenger made his appearance. "Sir," faid the meffenger, "the befieging army has taken"-" Dunkirk, no doubt ?" said the Minifter. "No, Sir," replied the meffenger," the befieging army has taken flight. The covering army,' added he, "has made"-" A glorious ftand, without difpute?" faid the Minifter, interrupting him again. "No, Sir," rejoined the meffenger, "the covering army has made off! As to the fhot and fhells, the French have carried them into Dunkirk, and faved. us the trouble of throwing them over the walls."

The principal advantage gained by the enemy in this affair, was the poffibility of coming at the Dutch, a

The plan of attacking Dunkirk is attributed to Lord Loughborough.

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nation

nation that wears five or fix pair of breeches a-piece, and is therefore the best game that can be pursued by the Sans-Culottes Our worthy allies, at whom we laugh alike, whether they fight or run away, had often manifefted their strength; and it remained for them on this occafion to fhew their speed; which, according to Homer, Hudibras, and other grave men, is not the leait neceffary qualification for a warrior. As Atalanta of old delayed her fleet purfuer by throwing a rich temptation on his road, or, as the Caftor is faid to fatisfy the hunter by leaving his odoriferous burden behind him; fo did the Dutch let drop their breeches in fucceffion, to favour their efcape. The laft pair, rich and redolent with gold of various coinage, was fuch a load to the purfuers, that they gave up chace: the young Prince, who was foremost in the race, went home to be breeched again; and it is fuppofed his troops will follow for the fame purpose.

But let not our countrymen defpond on hearing of. events, which, if properly confidered, are of no fort of confequence. The ground we loft was not our own; the men who were killed were luckily Heffians and Hanoverians, and will foon be paid for ; and the French have promised to send us back our balls.

SIR,

TH

HE following fragment I found among ft fome old records relating to the kingdom of Lilliput: it appears to be a part of the hiftory of that kingdom. If you think it, or any part of it, worth infertion, it is. at your fervice. I am, Sir,

convulfed.

Your humble fervant,

CHARLES GULLIVER.

The kingdom at this time was univerfally The King had iffued out his mandate to affemble the grand Senate inftantly; whilft the national militia were embodied and frightened out of their wits;

as

as an infurrection was fuppofed to exift in the very heart of the kingdom. I fay fuppofed, but indeed there was good proof of it; as a man, with a red night-cap on his head, had been feen to walk feveral times paft the Prime Minister's window, one evening at dusk. Billy Shallow, the Prime Minister, now wrote a very alarming fpecch, giving a horrid account of this infurrection, which the King delivered at the opening of the Grand Senate. The war-whoop of alarm was founded from the throne to the cottage. The nobles trembled for their titles; the whole band of placemen and penfioners ftood aghaft; and the old women locked up their cats, for fear they fhould be eaten by the fwine, for the want of other food. Affociations were formed of placemen, penfioners, informers, and bill-ftickers, for the purpofe of preferving the Conftitution, (meaning their places and penfions,) with Inquifitor Ninny, Efq. at their head, who very fagaciously found out, that ten thousand men, with red caps, and without breeches, were concealed in some gravel-pits near the metropolis of the kingdom; and every man who dared to deny fo evident a fact, was ftigmatized as an enemy to mankind and his country. Debates now ran high in the House of Tools, which formerly confifted of a number of independent gentlemen, freely elected by the people at large to take care of their freedom, and to controul the Government in any act which tended to prejudice the real interefts of the nation: but the Minifters of late years have been fo immaculate, aud fo extremely virtuous, that this check has been become unneceffary. The majority of the Houfe now confifts of men appointed partly by the Minifter, and partly by the great Lords, whofe bufinefs is to give the formality of a legal fanction to the acts of the Minifter, which otherwise would not quite accord with apparent law. A party who conftantly oppose the Minifter, always exifts in the Houfe, which may be divided into three claffes, viz. those who growl because the Minifter won't admit them into place; those who bawl and make a great noise, in

hopes