From such a reciprocation of kindness, we shall turn with regret, when we consider that the poet of Twickenham, did afterwards, with unprovoked and insatiable asperity, blacken the fame of a woman of genius, who avowed no competition, but equality of talents, which was a crime not to be forgiven by him.

The court of George I. was modeled after that of Louis XV., and gallantry, or at least the reputation of it, was the ambition and employment of the courtiers of either sex. Lady Mary had the pre-eminence in beauty and in wit, and few follies passed unmarked by her satirical animadversions, which were not detailed in her letters to her sister, lady Mar, and other correspondents, with inimitable raillery. But those who were delighted with her sarcasms were not always secure from their force, when directed against themselves; and she numbered among her acquaintances more admirers than sincere friends. There were many who, in repeating her bon mots, took much from the delicate poignancy of her wit to add their own undisguised malevolence. In her letters she frequently betrays her disappointment in the great world, and declares that her happy hours were dedicated to a few intimates. In her retirement at Twickenham she enjoyed the literary society which resorted to Pope's villa; and was received by them with every mark of high respect. Her high birth, of course, entitled lady Mary to the society and respect of her equals, but her influence in the literary world attracted to her many of the best authors of that day, who solicited not only her patronage, but her critical opinions of the works, they were about to offer to the public. Among these was Doctor Edward Young the celebrated author of " Night Thoughts."

In the year 1739, her health declined, and she took the resolution of passing the remainder of her days on the continent. She left England in the month of July, and hastened to Venice, where she formed many connexions with the noble inhabitants, and determined to establish herself in the north of Italy. Having been gratified by a short tour to Rome, and Naples, she returned to Brescia, one of the palaces of which city she in

habited; and appears not only to have been reconciled to, but pleased with the Italian customs. She spent some months at Avignon, and Chamberry. Her summer residence she fixed at Louverre, on the shores of the lake of Isco, in the Venitian territory, whither she had been first invited on account of the mineral waters, which she found greatly beneficial to her health. There she took possession of a deserted palace, she planned her garden, applied herself to the business of a country life, and was happy in the superintendence of her vineyard and silkworms. Books, and those chiefly English, sent her by lady Bute, supplied the deficiency of society. Her letters from this retreat, breathe a truly philosophic spirit, and evince that her care of her daughter and her family was ever nearest to her heart. No one appears to have enjoyed her repose more sincerely, from the occupations of the gay world. Her visits to Genoa and Padua, were not unfrequent; but about the year 1758, she quitted her solitude, and settled entirely at Venice, where she remained till the death of Mr. Wortley, in 1761. She then yielded to the solicitations of her daughter, afterwards countess of Bute, and after an absence of two and twenty years, she began her journey to England, where she arrived in October. But her health had suffered much, and a gradual decline terminated in death, August, 21st, 1762, in the seventy-third year of her age.

Doctor Smollet, in a review of her works, says, "The publication of these letters will be an immortal monument to the memory of lady Montague, and will show, as long as the English language endures, the sprightliness of her wit, the solidity of her judgment, the elegance of her taste, and the excellence of her real character. These letters are so bewitchingly entertaining, that we defy the most phlegmatic man on earth to read one without going through with them, or after finishing the third volume, not to wish there were twenty more of them."

The era in which she flourished, has been designated by modern envy or liberality, " The Augustan in England," and in the constellation of wit by which it was illuminated, and so honorably distinguished from earlier or successive ages, her acquirements and genius entitled her to a very eminent place. During

her long life, her literary pretensions were suppressed by the jealousy of her contemporaries, and her indignant sense of the mean conduct of Pope, and his phalanx, the self constitutors of the fame and obloquy of that day, urged her to her cabinet and a small circle of friends, effusions of wisdom and fancy, which otherwise had been received by society at large, with equal instruction and delight. She read mankind as she had read her books, with sagacity and discrimination. The influence of a classical education over her mind was apparent in the purity of her style, rather than in the ambition of displaying her acquirements, while it enabled her to give grace of expression, and novelty, to maxims of morality and prudence, which would have lost much of their usefulness, had they been communicated in a less agreeable manner.

To lady Mary belongs the honor of introducing inoculation. for the small pox in England, a practice which saved annually many lives. To her also is England and America indebted for the weeping willows, which hang their pensive boughs over the hallowed graves of the dead. In a basket of figs, which she sent to Mr. Pope from Constantinople, a sprig of the Asiatic willow was found; he set it out in his garden at Twickenham, and from that twig, came all the weeping willows in England and America.

MARGARET, Countess of Hamburgh, daughter and heiress of Florent IV., count of Holland, is famous on account of a ridiculous story repeated by many authors and compilers, viz: that having refused charity to a woman, whom she at the same time accused of adultery, she was brought to bed of three hundred and sixty-five children. Several learned men have endeavored to trace the cause which could have given rise to a relation so extraordinary. M. Struik fixed upon the epitaphs of mother and son, and in conformity to the dates which they bear, he concluded that the countess was brought to bed of twins, on Good Friday, 1276, which was the 26th of March. Now, as the year then began on the 25th of March, there were only two days of the year elapsed, when the countess was brought to bed,

on which it is said, that she had brought into the world as many children as there were days in the year. In fact, only two children are mentioned in history, John and Elizabeth. The enigma, thus explained, is only a common event, wherein there is nothing of the marvelous.

TARQUINIA MOLSA, grand-daughter of Francis Maria Molsa, was celebrated for her learning, her beauty, and her virtues. She was highly esteemed at the court of Alphonsus, duke of Ferrera, and honored with the appellation of singular, by the Roman senators, who bestowed the rights of Roman citizens on her, and the whole family of Molsa. Part of the patent runs thus: "Though it be new and uncommon for the senate to admit women into the number of citizens, whose excellencies and fame, ought to be confined to family affairs, are seldom of service to the commonwealth in public matters; yet, if there be any among them who not only surpass the rest of her own sex, but even the men, in almost all virtue, it is reasonable, that by a new example, new and unusual honors should be paid to unusual merit. Since, therefore, Tarquinia Molsa, a native of Modena, &c., resembles by her virtues those famous heroines, so that she seems to lack nothing, but being a Roman citizen, that this alone might not be wanting to complete her glory, the senate and people of Rome have decreed to present her with the freedom of the city, &c." She was the wife of Paulus Porrinus, but losing him, would never consent to be married again, although then young, and without children. She gave such lively tokens of her grief, hat Patrinus compares her to another Artemisia. Besides translations from Greek, and Latin authors, she wrote some original pieces, and was equally admired for her superior knowledge of music.

JULIA MOESA, grand-mother of the emperor Heliogabalus, a great politician, and a virtuous woman; who, though her ambition was gratified by seeing him seated on the throne, chiefly by her conduct and courage, strove to counteract the bad counsels of his mother, and to bring him back to common sense and duty.

She saw that the Romans would not long bear such a shameful yoke, and to retain the sovereignty in that case to her family, she engaged the emperor, who still retained his respect for her, to adopt his cousin Alexander Severus, for his successor. Thus did the wisdom of Moesa second her ambition, and, while Heliogabalus and his mother were massacred by the soldiers, she attained a happy old age, universally loved and respected, and the emperor Alexander Severus, her grand-son, has placed her on the list of divinities.

MARGARET, the Semiramis of the North, third daughter of Waldemar, king of Denmark, was born in 1353; and at the age of six years, was contracted to Haquin, king of Norway. After the death of her father, she was unanimously elected to the crown of Denmark. Her ambition also grasped at Norway, and she afterwards marched into Sweden, deposed Albert, assumed the reigns of government, and was distinguished by the apellation of the Semiramis of the North.

66

"The queen," says a French author, was magnificent in her pleasures, grand in her projects, and brilliant in her court. She equalled, in the quickness and extent of her genius, the most famous politicians. The king Waldemar discovering in her, while yet a child, a surprising elevation of soul, and mental resources, said 'That nature had been deceived in forming her, and instead of a woman, had made a hero.''

Though merciful, she made the wisest `regulations for strict justice, and to prevent offenders being screened from punish

Private oppressions and abuses she did away, and decreed that all manner of assistance should be given to those who were thrown on her coast by shipwreck or misfortune; for which acts of humanity, rewards were provided by law. She renewed the ancient laws which had slept, and exerted all her power to suppress piracies in her kingdoms; and made such regulations, as laid the foundation for future commerce. in her reign that we first meet with the mention in history of the copper mines of Sweden.

It was

Distinguished at the same time for moderation, sound judg