ly, benevolent, and humane. His of the fervice. The ftrict econo perfon was above fix feet high; and though a good-looking man, he was plain both in addrefs and appearance. His head was fmall; his hair, which was of a dark brown, he wore tied behind. His face was full of expreffion; his nofe exceedingly well fhaped; his eyes, which were fmall and of a brown caft, were quick and piercing; his eyebrows prominent, which gave his countenance all together an air of aufterity. He was beloved by his people, who looked up to him as to a father, and obeyed his commands with alacrity. The confidence we placed in him was unremitting; our admiration of his great talents unbounded; our efteem for his good qualities affectionate and fincere. In exploring unknown countries, the dangers he had to encounter were various and uncommon. On fuch occafions, he always difplayed great prefence of mind, and a fteady perfeverance in pursuit of his object. The acquifition he has made to our knowledge of the globe is immenfe, befides improving the art of navigation, and enriching the fcience of natural philofophy. He was remarkably distinguished for the activity of his mind: it was that which enabled him to pay an unwearied attention to every object my he obferved in the expenditure of the ship's ftores, and the unremitting care he employed for the prefervation of the health of his people, were the caufes that enabled him to profecute difcoveries in remote parts of the globe, for fuch a length of time as had been deemed impracticable by former navigators. The method he difcovered for preferving the health of feamen, in long voyages, will tranfmit his name to pofterity as the friend and benefactor of mankind: the fuccefs which attended it, afforded this truly great man more fatisfaction than the diftinguished fame that attended his difcoveries. England has been unanimous in her tribute of applause to his virtues, and all Europe has borne testimony to his merit. There is hardly a corner of the earth, however remote and favage, that will not long remember his benevolence and humanity. The grateful Indian, in time to come, pointing to the herds grazing his fertile plains, will relate to his children how the first stock of them was introduced into the country; and the name of Cook will be remembered among those benign fpirits, whom they worship as the fource of every good, and the fountain of every bleffing. Some Account of the Comte de VERGENNES. THE Count de Vergennes, formerly known by the name of Chevalier de Vergennes whilft he was ambaffador at Conftantinople, is the youngeft fon of a prefident in the parliament of Dijon (which place anfwers to the rank of a judge in this country). His family name is Gra vier, and his ancestors, for feveral generations, have ranked in the province amonft the nobleffe de robe (gentlemen of the law). His eldest brother, who has lately been promoted to the rank of an ambaffador to Switzerland, was himself prefident of the fame court, till the * pro mo The idea of a British parliament differs very much. The one is entirely a political body, and the other is merely a court of judicature. Some Account of the Comte de Vergennes. motion of his brother to the miniftry of foreign affairs. Mr de Vergennes received the firft rudiments in politics from Mr de Chavigny his uncle, a man known in the beginning of this century as the firft politician in Europe. After having been employed in feveral embaffies, Mr de Chavigny was confulted by the French miniftry in every occurrence where experience and knowledge were requifite. Mr de Vergennes was brought up under the tuition of that celebrated negotiator, who died a few years ago at the of 96. His nephew, Count de Vergennes, is now about 65 years old. age Count de Maurepas, who has lately been above ten years the firft minifter of France, after having been twenty-five years in exile, and before that twenty years a minifter, was the bofom friend of Mr de Chavigny. He appointed Count de Vergennes to the refidence of Treves (Triers), which was his firft appointment; then to the diet of Ra tifbon; from whence he was recalled after his patron's difmiffion, but foon afterwards appointed to the embaffy of Conftantinople. Sunk in a kind of oblivion in the Turkifh empire, Mr de Comte de Vergennes employed the time he paffed there in ftudy; and has been often heard to declare, that he is indebted to that kind of confinement for all his political knowledge. The war between the Ruffians and the Turks being of great confequence to France, whenever there is any difpute on the continent, Mr le Comte de Vergennes, at the breaking out of the late German war, embroiled fo well the Divan and the Cabinet of Peterfburgh, and has left fo good instructions to his fucceffors, that, ever fince that time, the Divan has been entirely fubfervient to the views of France, whenever she 83 has had occafion to prevent the joint efforts of the Northern Confederacy against her allies. Three fuccessful attempts of Mr de Vergennes have ftamped his plans with the admiration, if not the approbation, of all the world. During his refidence at Conftantinople, Mr de Vergennes was united to a Grecian lady of great beauty and talents, by whom he has had two fons, who are both in the mili tary line. At the end of fourteen years, whilft Mr de Choifeul was the first minifter of France, the Count de Ver- . gennes was recalled from Constantinople at his own defire, and foon after chofen by that minifter, who knew the extent of confidence that could be repofed in him, to go to Stockholm, to detach certain men, by his political influence, from the intereft of Ruffia. This negotiation fucceeded fo well, that the moft extraordinary revolution in the government of that country which we have witneffed, was effected by that able negotiator's directions. At the death of Lewis XV. the Count de Maurepas, who was called by the present King to affift him in the government of his kingdom, feeing he could not fupport long his nephew, the Duke d'Aiguillon, as minifter of foreign affairs, thought of Count de Vergennes to fucceed to his department, and pointed him out to his fovereign as the propereft man to fill that high employment. The French monarch having an unbounded confidence in Count de Maurepas, though he had the firmness to reject the Duke d'Aiguillon, the Count's nephew, for whom he had a perfonal diflike, caufed a letter to be written to the Count de Vergennes, then at Stockholm, that he was appointed a Minifter and Secretary of State for foreign affairs. All the world has witneffed, fince the the promotion of Count Vecgennes to the miniftry, the feveral negotiations which he has undertaken, and in which he has but too well fucceeded for this country. The unfortunate revolution of America, and the difmembering of our empire; the detaching Holland from our alliance, and effecting an union of the States General with France; fhow Count de Vergennes's qualifications and talents for the high employment he fills in his country. We need not remind our readers, that, by his being inftrumental in the peace concluded between the Emperor and the King of Pruffia, Count de Vergennes rendered thofe fovereigns neutral fpectators of our unfortunate conteft with America; that, by his exertions, the Turkish empire and Ruffia have been twice prevented from going to war within these few years; that the Armed Neutrality was planned by that mi rifter, and their commerce greatly protected by it during the war. The extent of the commercial concerns of France fince Count de Vergennes's acceffion to the ministry, is a farther proof of his great abilities: his pacific difpofitions, and his talents for infpiring with the fame difpofitions thofe he negotiates with, are peculiarly remarkable. Retired in a fmall but neat houfe near Verfailles, Mr de Vergennes is conftantly occupied in the duties of his office, and every day is in conference with each of the firit clerks in the feveral departments intrusted to his care. Unawed by intrigue, he looks no farther than the line of his duty to emain in place; and with all its frength, a renowned party at the French court has not been able to leffen him in the opinion of his fovereign. It has been obferved, that Mr de Vergennes is rather flow in bufinefs: but when it is confidered that that flowness is perhaps the cause. of his conftantly keeping to bufinefs, and that his perfpicacity to judge is the result of mature deliberation, that defect itself will ap-. pear as a qualification in a place of that confequence. Healthy, ftrong in conftitution, exceedingly temperate, Mr le Comte de Vergennes rides and walks every day for above two hours, and devotes all the rest of his time to bufinefs, or to the private enjoyments of domestic life. His eircle of acquaintance, which might be the most extenfiye in the kingdom, is exceedingly circumferibed by his own choice; and that indefatigable man is feldom to be feen any where but at his own house or office. The minifter with whom he is upon the moft intimate footing is the Minifter of Finance (Mr de Calonne), being himself the fuperintendant of the Counfel of that department. With the other minifters, Meffrs de Caftries and de Breteuil, he is upon a very cool footing, It may even be faid, that, in refpect to the last, their difpofitions are in fome -degrees hoftile; the Baron, on account of the neutral part Mr de Vergennes took in Cardinal de Rohan's affair, having been exceedingly offended. But Mr de Vergennes fears no enemy, and his royal master liftens to no reports cither against him or against Marefchal de Caftries, looking upon them both as the most honeft men he could put at the head of his councils. This difcrimination of the French monarch is equally honourable to his Majefty and the two minifters who have the confidence of their fovereign. Account Account of the Lepus Pufillus, Tarantula, and Cervus Pygargus; from the Defcriptions by the Ruffian Philofophers. F all the little quadrupeds of Ruffia that live in the defarts, the prettiest and moft fingular is the dwarf bare, lepus pufillus, which is no larger than a rat, and yet has all the characters and nearly the colour of the common hare. This little animal lives folitary in places covered with bushes and abounding in plants, where it burrows in the ground, ha ving formed a pretty deep hole, with one or more entrances. Here it lies hid during the day, and ventures abroad only towards the dusk in queft of its food. In the evening and at fun-rise it utters a loud cry, very much refembling that of the quail, and which is heard feveral miles off. It inhabits the borders of the river Wolga. Few of the country people are acquainted with it, or know from what animal the cry proceeds which is fo frequently heard over all the country at the approach of even ing. The female brings forth about five or fix young towards the end of May, which are quite naked and blind for feveral days, though tole rably big, and their growth afterwards is very rapid. These animals during winter make little galleries in the turf below the fnow, for the purpofe of procuring their food. In fummer they prefer the leaves of the cytifus hirfutus, and other fucculent plants, to any other nourishment: Their dung notwithstanding is exceedingly dry, and resembles fmall fhot or grains of pepper. This is the fureft of all indications for finding the burrow of the animal; for it generally depofites its excrement in heaps in the neighbourhood of its hole. There is a remarkable fpecies of tarantula found alfo on the fouthern fide of the Wolga. The holes of this infect are found in fields of a clay foil, and are often two feet deep, dug nearly perpendicularly by the animals themfelves in unploughed land. They come forth at night" to feek their prey. They do not feem to differ in any refpect from the famous tarantulas of Italy, though" they fometimes exceed them in fize; for they fill the whole capacity of the entry to their holes, though a man's thumb may be eafily introduced into them. However, in fpite of this refemblance to the fpider of Tarentum, the dangerous effects of this infect's bites are unknown in these fouthern countries, although the children divert themselves with diflodging them from their holes, and drawing from them the long threads they are furnished with, by which they often receive very painful bites. Mr Pallas himself was bit by one of thefe infects; and the Koffac he employed to catch these and other animals for him, was bit till the blood came; but the only bad confequence that followed was a pretty painful fwelling for a few days. When this fpider finds himself deprived of every means of escape, he ftops fhort, blows himfelf up, and squirts from his back, as from a fyringe, a white liquor to the distance of four feet. The Koffacs affured Mr Pallas, that this liquor had fhown very venomous effects on a woman who, in digging her garden, had irritated with a stick one of these spiders, which immediately discharged its liquor on her arm. This was foon followed by fwelling, inflammation, and intolerable pain; infomuch that fatal confequences would probably have attended the accident, if speedy affiftance had not been obtained, The remedy which is confidered as the most efficacious against the ta rantula rantula is the animals themselves. They are plunged alive into oil, and there preserved for ufe. The method is merely to rub them on the part bitten or befprinkled; and the cure follows without having recourfe to mufic. M. Lepechin having put about twenty of them into a crystal bottle, they immediately endeavoured to free themselves from captivity by weaving a ladder of fpiders web, on which they mounted to the top of the bottle. While each attempted to gain the mouth, they obftructed one another's paffage, which occafioned a very cruel battle. The wounded and the conquered fought fafety by flight, but were purfued with the greateft inveteracy by the conquerors, who ceafed not till their enemies were left dead upon the field. The victorious tarantulas did not stop here, but, like the ancient anthropophagi of America, devoured the dead bodies of the vanquished. Neither did the war itself terminate here; it began again among the survivors, and continued till one only was left to claim the victory. It is faid that the black fheep are the avowed enemies of thefe fpiders, and that they pursue them in their holes by fcraping the earth away, and devour them with avidity. It is for this reafon that thefe fheep are held in great veneration by the Kalmucs, who exceedingly dread the tarantulas; infomuch that they never pitch their tents in places where thefe infects are found, but remove to a distance, however fatigued they and their cattle may be with their journey. That species of antelope called by Pallas the cervus pygargus, inhabits the plains near the Wolga, and the rifing grounds that are covered with fhrubs. They fometimes go in herds: the females bring forth about the beginning of May; and as the young remain feveral days before they are able to fupport themfelves on their legs, they are often taken by the country people. They are eafily brought up, and become fo tame that they follow every where, even across rivers, the perfon who tends them, and are accustomed to come when he calls. When they are pretty well grown, they feek their food, not only round the houses, but ftray into the fields, and attach themfelves chiefly to fuch plants as are rough or bitter to the tafte; and never fail to return home in the evening. The flesh of these animals, while young, or when they are in their wild ftate, would be greatly preferable to that of the roe, if it did not often acquire a ftrong taste of wormwood, which is their favourite food; but this tafte leaves it when: cold after having been roafted. The old ones are infefted with a fpecies of veftrus or gad-fly (veftrus antilopum) that lays its eggs on their back, where they are hatched, and produce a worm nearly as thick as one's finger. The organ of fight is imperfect in thefe animals, the pupil of the eye being obfcured by four fpongy protuberances that rife upon the iris. Perhaps nature meant by this structure to obviate the effects of the glare of light to which they are expofed in the defarts they inhabit ; but the hath amply recompenfed them in the delicacy and ftrength of their organ of smell. This fenfe is fo exquifite in these animals, that when the wind blows towards them, they can perceive by it a man or wild beaft at feveral miles diftance. One thing very remarkable is, that the antelope, which feems to have been formed for running with the greatest fpeed, and on which nature has beftowed a tracheal artery of near two inches in diameter, very large lungs and wide noftrils formed of broad membranes, is nevertheless fooner put out of breath than almost any other animal. Account |