• When bufinefs or parties of pleasure do not prevent Ayder Ali from going to reft at his ufual time, which is after mid night, he rifes with the fun, that is to fay, about fix o'clock. As foon as he is rifen, the majors of the army, who have been on duty the preceding day and night, and likewife thofe who: relieve them, enter, make their reports, and receive orders to be tranfmitted to the minifters and generals, who themselves have the privilege of entering his drelling-room, if they have any thing extraordinary or preffing to communicate. The couriers> that have arrived during the night, or in the morning, alfo come and lay their difpatches at his feet. It may be esteemed a weakness in a prince fo occupied, that his toilet takes up a confiderable part of his time. It lafts commonly two or three hours; and is chiefly taken up by his barbers, who pluck the hairs from his beard.

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But justice requires us likewife to obferve, that when any military operation requires his attention, the toilet is no more thought of.

Between eight and nine in the morning he quits his apartment, and repairs to a faloon, where a number of fecretaries wait for his appearance. Into their hands, according to their refpective departments, he puts the letters received; giving them at the fame time inftructions for the answers. His fons, his relations, and thofe lords who are honoured with his intimacy, enter; and if it be nine o'clock, they take the ufual refreshment. If he has leifure, he appears at a balcony, and receives the falute of his elephants, that are led before him, as well as his horfes. His tigers of chace likewife pay him a vifit. They are led by hand, and are covered with a mantle of green and gold hanging to the ground, and a bonnet on their head, of cloth embroidered with gold, with which their eyes can be immediately covered, if they fhould chance to prove mifchievous. Ayder himself gives each of them a ball of fweetmeats, which they take very adroitly with their paws, being exceedingly tame. These are the fpotted tygers, and their keepers lead them every day into thofe places where the greatest crowds are: but the grand tiger, or tiger royal, has never been tamed by any attempts yet made.

After the repaft, which ends about half after ten, Ayder enters into the hall of audience, or the grand tent, if at the army. He is feated on a fopha beneath a canopy, and very often in fome balcony that fronts an open place or court of the palace; and some of his relations fit on each fide of him. All perfons who have permiffion or accefs, of which the number is very great, may come to this audience; and thofe who have affairs to tranfact, may either request admittance by means of the fouquedars, or put their requeft into the hands of those officers by whom it is carried to their chief, who is always prefent, and who places it at the feet of the prince, where it is immediately read and answered.'

The

The court of Ayder is reprefented as the most brilliant in India. There is every night a comedy, which commences about eight in the morning, and lasts until eleven. It is intermixed with dances and fongs; and the performers, who are all females, are not only remarkable for their beauty, but theatrical accomplishments, which both together render them extremely fascinating to the fpectators. We are informed, however, that the entertainments of the stage feemed very indifferent to Ayder, with whom it was usual, during their exhibition, to difcourfe with his minifters or ambassadors ;fometimes paffing into a cabinet to speak with more fecrefy, and continuing to difpatch bufinefs, as in the morning. The economy of his theatrical entertainments, as far as regards himself, afford a strange mixture of political avocations aud perfonal frivolity.

• Almost always, we are told, before the end of the per formance, flowers are brought in a basket of filigram, out of which he himself gives a few to the lords who are about him; and afterwards the basket is carried into the apartments of the theatre, every one taking a small flower from them, and returning a profound reverence to the prince. This takes place even to the lowest fecretary. When Ayder wishes to give a particular mark of his esteem, he himself makes a collar of jafmine flowers, knotting them with filk as he converfes, which he himself adjusts round the neck of the happy mortal to whom he gives this glorious mark of his esteem and favour. He has feveral times conferred this honour on the chiefs of his Europeans, knowing well that the French, above all nations, efteem themselves well paid by this fort of money. He who has received this honour is vifited the following day by the first people of the court to compliment him.’

In the first volume of this hiftory, the author delivers a curfory account of the different wars in which Ayder Ali had been engaged against the Marattas, the English, and other enemies; because not having joined the army of the nabob before the time of the war on the coaft of Malabar, he could not speak copiously of fuch military operations as he could only know from the communications of others. But, in the fecond volume, he recites with greater minutenefs, and from his own perfonal knowlege, the various tranfactions during the war which commenced between Ayder and the English. in 1767; giving firft an account of the military force of both parties.

E

The author has given no detail of the operations of Ayder in the late war, having no other authority for such a narrative than the relations of the English, on which, he obferves, we can place little dependence, because they are fabricated

in

in India to deceive the English government, and afterwards arranged in Europe according to circumftances, and the ne-ceffity of impofing on the people.' How far this obfervation is juft, it is impoffible for us to determine; neither can we, without authenticated documents, decide with any certainty' concerning the fidelity of the hiftorian. He appears, however, to be an unprejudiced writer, and we have no reason to fufpect him of misreprefentation.

Memoirs of the Protectorate-House of Cromwell; deduced from an carly Period, and continued down to the present Time. By Mark Noble, F. S. A. Two Volumes. 8vo. 125. in Boards.. Baldwin.

IN the preface to thefe volumes the author obferves, that

whatever elucidates our hiftory is deferving the attentionof a Briton; and that little apology, therefore, is neceffary for offering the work to the public. We entirely agree with him in respect to the juftnefs of the former claufe of this propofition; but cannot fo readily give our concurrence to the application he has made of it. Those who are converfant in the literary productions of the last twenty years will recollect many inftances in which, from a mistaken idea of this principle, fuch works have been obtruded upon the public as could have no claim to its attention. A narrative of births, marriages, and deaths, continued through a series of ages, is certainly well accommodated to the purpose of a parishregister; but is utterly incapable of answering any useful end of hiftorical knowlege. It feems to us a very improper conclufion, that becaufe one or two perfons of a family have drawn the attention of the world, the whole of their genealo-. gical connexions, fo far as they can be traced from any re cord, muft likewife have a claim to public notice. If the moft diftant degree of confanguinity to any celebrated character, fhould be deemed a fufficient foundation for perpetual remembrance, it would often happen that the page of hiftory would fink into the annals of Newgate; and the reward of honeft fame be conferred upon perfons whofe memorials ought to have perifhed with them.

This work begins with a table of the pedigree of the Cromwells, from Glothian, the fifth lord of Powis, who lived a little before the Norman conqueft, to Gregory lord Cromwell, fon of Thomas, who was created earl of Effex by Henry VIII. Mr. Noble confirms the account that the original name of the Cromwells was Williams, and that they derived their origin" from Wales. It would be fuperfluous to

give any detail of the various perfons mentioned by our author in his narrative of this family, as many of them have no other pretenfions to a place in the temple of fame, than having been the ancestors or other relations of the protector; and vix ea noftra voco is no lefs applicable both to progenitors and collateral kindred than to defcendants. We fhall therefore content ourselves with prefenting to our readers a letter addressed to his highness Richard lord Cromwell, as a fpecimen of the few original documents which Mr. Noble has adduced in this work. It is copied from a manufcript in the poffeffion of fir Thomas Heathcote.

My lord,

We com

Give me leave, after my long filence, to prefent my moft humble respects, as to yourfelfe, fo to your most honourable and ever honoured confort, having you both daily in remembrance before the lord, as one who have beene fenfible of your many and greate exercises in the midst of ye great changes, which of late, have paffed over us, in which our convulfion fits come fo fait, that many feare we cannot hold out long, onely, the state hach, hitherto, beene upheld fomewhat like the embleme of Geneva; a city in the ayre, upheld by an hand from heaven; for bafis, we have none, but what that divine hand doth afford us, and how long it will continue thus to fupport us (our fins encreafing daily upon us) we have no fmall caufe to feare. For the tranfgreffions of a land, many are ye princes thereof. All thefe paroxifmes and feaverifh distempers are ye fruits of many provocations; this is the originall of our many concuffions, & yt our Ifrael is fmitten as a reed is fhaken in y water. plain yt your fences are broken downe, & your plants rooted up, but our fins have let in both ye bores and foxes, & whileft we are crying out of bad times, we have more caufe to complaine of worfe hearts, & lives; & whileft we fall fowle with evill inftruments, we confider not yt ye controversy against us lyeth in heaven. As for yourfelfe, my lord, I hope your present retirement & privicy hath given you an acceptable opportunity to study ye creature's vanity, and ye emptines of height, greatnes, power, worldly glory, popular acclamations, & profeffions, &c. And as to this point, this joint of time hath taught you very much, which well to learne will do you more good, then it is poffible for men to do you harme. And were you to make your choice againe, either of your late ftation, or prefent condition (the public good fet afyde) ye election were foone made by him that had tryed both. As for ye first of them, befides your freedome from meany temptations, you are exempted from ye daily incumbency of over-bearing neceffary cares & burdens, which (moft probably) in a few years would have exhaufted your fpirits, & have rendered them a facrifice to an ingratefull generation, as it befell your renowned father before you. Wherefore, my lord, rejoyce in your portion, & be ambitious of fpirituali exaltation,

which admits not of ye variableness to which fecular honours are obnoxious. One God in Chrift, hath more honour, & glory, & riches, & delights, than a thousand worlds, were there fo many. How gladly fhould I fee & ferve you, my ever hon lord, if an infirme body would give me leave! I fometimes vifite ye Cockpit, & bestow my labours there on ye Lord's day, I hope not in vayne. I yet poffeffe ye Savoy, though, not long fince, heaved at, by Sr. A. H. upon ye account (I fuppofe) of my fervice to your father & yourselfe. I have found it good to be sensible of the common concuffions, as to all our earthly concernments. Let' me prefume in ye close, to prefent my humble fervice to muchhonourd mr. Major, and mrs. Major, & then I have no more but unfeignedly to recommend you, with all belonging to you, to the most-rich grace of God in Jefus Chrift, & to subscribe myfelfe,

My lord, your most humble servant,

WILLIAM HOOKE."

Though it is not probable that this work will prove interesting to the public, it must have colt the reverend author no fmall degree of pains and attention. It bears indifputable marks of uncommon research, and what is yet more honour, able, of a liberal exemption from prejudice. Nor can we refrain from wishing that fo much induftry as Mr. Noble appears to be endowed with, fhould be employed on fubjects better adapted for general entertainment and information.

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Biographia Britannica: or, the Lives of the most eminent Perfons who have flourished in Great Britain and Ireland, from the earliest Ages to the prefent Times. The fecond Edition, with Corrections, Enlargements, and the Addition of new Lives. By Andrew Kippis, D. D. F.R. S. and S. A. with the Affiftance of other Gentlemen. Vol. III. Fol. 17. 11. 6d. Bathurst. N the preface to this volume, Dr. Kippis apologizes for the lateness of its appearance, in a manner fo ingenuous and fatisfactory, that no purchaser who has the leaft degree of candour, will think he has any reafon to complain. Though the proprietors are as liberal as their profits will allow, the emolument which the learned and ingenious editor derives from the publication is very inconfiderable, compared with the time and labour which are fpent upon it. Nearly one half of this volume confifts of fresh matter;' and every one who is qualified to be a judge in this cafe, that is, every man who knows and reflects, what extensive reading, what a number of enquiries, what investigation, what fagacity, what at tention, what accuracy, are required in conducting this work, will, inftead of cenfuring the author, admire his industry and

per