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pointed, had fuffered fimilar punith ment,and were now,after a long period, in the fame manner, and at the fame inftant, released. Would any remains of their old animofity fill lurk in their bofoms, and fill darken their hearts? Or, rather, crrd of the ambition which had formerly fet them at variance, would they not regard one another with fome complacency? would they not feel as if they had met in heaven? and, defp fing the littlenefs of their former diffenfions, would not the recollection unite their affections? Such, perhaps, would have been the tendency of their feelings, if the prefenfe of fo many fpectators, who beheld them with gazing curiofity, had not impreffed their minds with the dread of impropriety, and fo reftrained their emotions. The circumstances were indeed difagreable; and the emperor, by whofe clemency they were reflored, would have thewn a delicate, inftead of a whimlical.generofity, if he had prevented a fituation fo very painful. I am indeed perfuaded, by the following anecdote, that if the heart of Munich had been allowed to flow unrefrained, it would have flowed in a full stream of complacency. Soon after his return to St. Petersburgh, the perfon who had fo maliciously informed again the officer who had fhewn him fo much attention in Siberia, fought an early opportunity of waiting upon him, threw himself at his feet, and craved his forgivenefs. "Go," faid the old man," were my heart like yours, perhaps I might feek for revenge; but as Ian out of your reach, you have no reafon to be afraid.".

JUSTICE fwayed by MONEY.

[From the bifery of the ARADS.]

N Arabian Merchant had an excellent dog, which hunted for him in the day, and kept a frict watch atnight. No dog could be fo faithful to his maller, and he was therefore

greatly carefied by him. The dog happening to die by fome accident, the merchant was inconfolable; but, to mitigate in fome measure bis grief, he wrote an epitaph, and erected a tomb for him in his garden. In the even. ing he invited his friends to an enterfainment; during which, he expati ared largely on the animal's praifes, and fo pur an end to the ceremony. The next day, fome malicious perfons made a report to the cadi, or judge ra chief of the place, of all that had paffed the night before; and they added, to verify the fact, a detail of all the funeral ceremonies of the Muffulmen, which, they faid, had been practifed at the dog's interment. The cadi, greatly fcandalifed at this action, fent his em ffaries to apprehend the accufed; and, after feverely reprimanding, he asked him, if he was one of those infidels that adored dogs? Becaufe he had done more honour to his, than had been paid to the dog of the feven fleepers, and to the afs of Eldras. The dog's mafter answered him, without the leaft emotion: Good Er, the hiftory of thy dog would be too long to recount to you; but there is a thing which you have not, perhaps, been told: He made a will, and, among other matters which he has difpofed of, he left you a legacy of 200 afpers, which I have brought to you, on his part. The Cadi, hearing money fpoken of,turned towards his folks,and faid: "Mind how honef men are expofed to envy; and, what has not been faid to this man's prejudice?" Then, addrefing himself to the ac cufed: "Since you have not offered up any prayers for the deceased, I think it adv:fable that we should be. gin them together." This expretion, in the Arabian language, is equivocal, fignifying equally to begin prayers, and justices, fays the Arabian author and open a bag of money." Judges who tells this flory, were formerly baked fwords, which made the mich es to be dreaded by the wicked; but they are now become empty scabbards, as feeking to be filed up with the money of the parties.

TO

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HERE is nothing which ought to be more earnestly recommended to the female world, than a deaf ear to adulation, though I know it is pleafing, or rather infinuating, when couched in the fmooth language of a fenfible, and defigning man.

Flattery is always the incenfe offered to female beauty, and love, the only language that it hears. But, there are women whofe judgments are not to be impofed on. I remember to have heard a very fenfible remark of a lady, who, by the greateft mental accomplishments, recompenced for the deficiencies in her perfonal ones, to a gentleman, whom he had reafon to beleive was paying his addreffes more for the poffeffion of her fortune than her heart, and who confidered flattery as a neceffary auxilary to his purpofe. "If fir, faid fhe, you form fo improper, so unmerited an opinion upon my perfon, which every one who hath folely the bleffing of fight, can judge of, what conclufion can I expect you will form of the qualities of my mind, which it requires impartial good fenfe to draw? lad I merited the encomiums you have been pleased so frequently to pafs upon my perfon, I fhould not have confidered your telling me as any compliment, but as I do not, I must treat your addreffes in future, with that negle which every woman fhould do thofe of a man who has fo weak an

opinion of his miftrefs's good underflanding as to fuppofe fhe is to be won by palpable falfehood."

Many of my readers will no doubt urge that we are all fond of flattery; and fo graterul is it to our ears, that we are unwilling to confider how fallaCious it is, but it is the nurse of crimes. To that,do many parents owe the deftruction of their daughters, --to that has many a fair virgin been (acrificed, to that has many a villain owed a base triumph over credulous innocence.

Lorenzo was the only fon of a wealthy baronet in the weft of England. Chrinda was the daughter of a neigh bouring farmer. He was a man of gallantry GENTIL and BIEN FAIT. Her features were elegant, her perfon was beautiful, and her fkin exceeded the lilly and the rofe Lorenzo, from the refpectability of his father, and his proximity to Rufticus (for that was the name of Clarinda's parent, her mother the had loft in her infancy) foon found means to be introduc'd. Her father was pleafed at the parti ality fhewn Clarinda he encouraged the vifits of Lorenzo, and they were pretty frequent. The poor old man had buoyed himself up in hopes of a very advantageous match for his only child. Lorenzo was at firft difagreable to her; but flattery, and the entreaties of her father, rendered him by degrees more and more pleafing. At every meeting he repeated his paffion with additional tendernefs and fervency. She believed him a man of virtue, as he vowed his foul was enraptured with an honourable love. He called her by every endearing name, love itfelf could have fuggefted. She never beföre had heard her charms to pleasingly depicted. She liftned to it with avidity. It gave her the only vice the knew it gave her PRIDE- She thought all he faid, was true: He fwore fo frequently to the fincerity of his intentions, that he was at length perfuaded to believe, that, without reciprocal love on her fide, he would be wretched. She refolved to encourage his addrels, partly in obedience to her father partly out of gratitude arifing from his promises of love and friendfhip; but chiefly from the impreffions which flattery had made in her unguarded heart. Thefe confiderations prompted

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On the Coluber Ceraftes, or horned Viper of Egypt.

prompted her to give him every affurance of her regard and efleem. Innocent freedoms, with a mixture of the moft tender and delicate expreffions paffed between them, at every interview. But mark the dreadful fequel!

(To be continued.)

A Letter from John Ellis, Efq; F. R S. to the Prefident, on tre Coluber Ceraftes, or Horned Viper of Egypt, with the true Figure of it, engrav.

ed.

T

From the Univerfal Magazine.]
My Lord,

HE Coluber ceraftes, or horned viper of Egypt, which I have the honour to prefent a fpecimen of to this illuftrious Society, I am informed, is very rare, and fcarce to be found in any of the cabinets of natural curtofities in Europe. Befides, the authors who have treated on the ceraf-' tes, as Alpinus and Bellonius, have given fuch unfatisfa&tory defcriptions of it, and inaccurate figures, that I thought an exact drawing from nature, together with the beft and latest fyftematical account of it, would be argreable, as well to the lovers of antiquity, as natural hiflory.

The ancient Egypt ans, moft cer tainly, eneemed it an hieroglyphic of fome importance; for, when we examine their monuments of the greatest antiquity, fuch as their obelifks, temples, flatues, palaces, and even the'r' mummies, we are almoft fure to find many reprefentations of it on them. Tuofe two immenfely large ftones, Järely brought from Alexandria, in Egypt, now in the court yard of the British Mufeum, which appear to be part of the grand cornice of fome magnificent pa race, have many figures of the ceraftes curiously engraved upon them.

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and Cairo, and who was fo kind to prefent me with two fpecimens of it.

Dr. Lunæus, in his Syftem of Nature. p. 217, calls it Coluber cer.res.

Dr. Haffelgurt, in his Iter. p. 3151 Coluber cornutus; the folowing is an extract from his defcription:

The head, between the horns, is much depreffed; the cheeks are (webed oul, fo that the hinder part of the head is confiderably thicker than the neck the fout is short and blunt; the outward front of the upper and under jaws have a small ca vity, r deprefion, in both; the rof. trils project like those of a pug dog.. The eyes have a perpendicular par row and black pupil; the irisis of a yellow fh gray colour; the orbits of the eyes are neatly fet round with fmall hemifpherical feales.

The tongue is divided at the extremity into two parts.

The teeth. In the upper jaw there'

are no teeth, but two bones placed lengthways in the pallate; in them are fixed feveral fmill teeth, generally about ten they are harp, of an 'equal length, and bend a little to. wards the throat. On the fides of the under jaw, near the fnout, are, placed three or four teeth; but none quite in the fore part, or hinder part, The horns. Juft above the eyes, Deat the upper part of their orbit, are two tentacula, which we call horns, about a quarter of an inch long; they are not fraight, but bend a little outwards; they are channelled lengthways, harp pointed, but not very hard; their bafis is furrounded with a circle of fmall erect (cales. The body is narrow towards the neck i the diameter of the thickeft part of the middle about one inch; the tail grows fuddenly taper, and ends in a tharp point.

The colour. The top of the head, the back, and upper part of the tail, are variegated with large irregular fpots, of a bright ochry colour, or reddifh prown; the throat, belly, and under part of the tail, a whitifh. The length of this fpecimen is as follows from the nofe to the anus 23 and half inches, the tail 3 and half inches; fo that the whole ferpent! is 26 incheslong.

The belly is covered with 145

broad

fcales,

J.Norman Sc.

The Coluber Cerastes or Horned Viper of Egypt

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