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fuperftitious whofe expreffions were the most awkward and incoherent, and whole religion was impiety, perjury and immorality. We may well conceive how powerfully thefe illiberal farcains operated in rendering the natives defpicable, even in their own opinion. That folicitude to render us contemptible, which the English betrayed at home and abroad, became foon the f fhion among fome of our own countrymen, who fupported English caterefts to gain English preferment. Hence our poor people left that national pride, which is the firit foundation of national honour and national profperity; they were filent wile they were mifreprefented in every part of Europe, and our men of genius shrunk from every controverly; but the English did not confine themselves merely to reprelenting as a nation of blunderers and blockheads; they took every precaution their crooked policy could devife to prevent the growth of literature in this island, because they were aware of its influence on the fpirit of nations, and how clofe the connexion of the sciences is with the riches and happiness of a people. When we turn our eyes to thofe objects, that are worthy of the research of men, we will own, that it is to letters we owe their discovery; letters which banish darkness from legastion, and arraign before their tribunal the crimes of the great as well as of the

poor.

THE

OGYGIAN TALES.

Mr. O'Conor was not yet known as an author, but he began about this tinte to be known at least as an ingenious man. The first acquaintance, with whom he opened a literary correfponder c, was Dr. Fergus, the next was the Rev. Mr. Thonias

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I had this anecdote from Mr. O'Conor, who often faw the Major, at Contarine's houfe, and enjoyed his fociety fo much, that he repeatedly fpoke of him, even in his laft yea.s, as a perfon whom he never could forget on account of the vivacity of his temper, and the affecting emotions, with which he would tell the hiftory of his own adventures.

Near yonder copfe where once the garden fmiled,

And still where many a garden flow'r grows wild,

There where a few torn fhrubs the the place difclofe,

The village preacher's modeft manfi on rofe;

A

man he was to all the country dear,

And paffing rich with forty pounds a

year;

Mr. O'Conor's correfpondence with this gentleman cannot be traced up to its origin. The oldeft letter I could procure, is dated April 24th, 1743 The fubject of it is a work Mr. O'Coner undertook at this time, entitled the Ogygian Tales. The editors of the Anthologia Hibernica, whofe industry in collecting every curious fragment relative to Irish antiquities has been indefatigable, have asked what became of this work, who it was that published propofals for printing it by fubicription, and why after raifing the curiofity of the public to a great height, ffiould have forfeited if not the praife, at least the emolument, that would certainly refult from a work, fo anxiously withed for at that time. They have alfo reprinted in their ninth number, propofals for printing by fubfcription, the hiftory of Ireland by Henry Brooke, author of Guttavus Vafa; and asked with the fame industry, what became of this intended work. The following fhort narrative will fatisfy their laudable curiofity.

A Mr. Robert Digby cf Rofcommon, a relative of Henry Brooke, feeling himself preffed by indigence formed a defign of becoming author,

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as Mr. contarine expreffed it, to procure a livelihood. Among the various fubjects which prefented themfelves to his anxious mind, none could afford fuch golden hope as that, which which was likely to catch the fancy of the times, and pleafe the generality of readers, who aim more at amufement than instruction. The rapid fale of feveral works published with the title of tales, as the Arabian, Perfian, and Peruvian, induced Digby to give his intended work, whatever it might be, that airy name; and the natives of this kingdom at home and abroad, went fo much on Milefianifm, that nothing could be devifed happier for a frontispiece than the found of Ogygian tales, but Digby's parts were not equal to the undertaking, and the affiftance even of Brooke, could not fave him from the fhame of having printed propofals taken in fubfcriptions, and abandoned his defign.

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After he had languished fome time under reproach and defpair, Contarine, who was more bent to raise the wretched than to rife" introduced him to Mr. O'Conor as to the only man who could fupply materials for executing the talk he had been obliged to abandor. Mr. O'Conor, liked the idea, and being in the vigour of youth, undertook to execute what the other gentlemen were not able to perform. New propofals were printed on a new plan, with an anonymous letter of Mr. OConor's, dated from Galway, June 21, 1743, and the work was executed by him (as Mr. Contarine expreffes it)

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giving the genuine history of Ireland in an entertaining drefs," He entrusted his M. S. to Digby, who was to attend the printing in Dublin, and enjoy the emoluments, but leave the merit of the compofition to him that was entitled to it. (To be continued.)

Memoirs of Michel Adanfon, Member of the late French Academy of Sciences, and of the National Infiitute, born in 1727, died in 1808.

This celebrated traveller was born in Aix, in Provence, and finished his education at Paris, in the colleges of St. Barbe and Pleffis. Here he obtained the first prizes in Greek and Latin poetry, on which occafion he was prefented with a Pliny and an Ariftotle, and it is probable the read ing of these two authors contributed towards the developement of his tafte for natural history, with which he was occupied during the whole of his life. So early as the year 1740, when fcarcely thirteen years of age, he had written fome important notes thefe ancient naturalifts, but he foon relinquished books for the purpose of fludying nature herfelf. At that time naturalifts confined the catalogue of fpecies to fourteen or fifteen thoufand; but to him, his collection of thirtythree thousand seemed ftill too defec

tive.

on

Being refolved to complete it, he found himself under the neceflity of travelling, particularly to Africa. Accordingly in 1748, he failed to Senegal. In 1749, he vifited the Canary idands, and tranfmitted an account of his discovery to the Academy of fciences, which, in 1750, elected him one of its correfpondents. In Senegal, that rich, but little known country, he difcovered, during a refidence of five years, by his unwearied exertion and obfervations, an immense number of natural productions, which had not been defcribed before. But not fatiffied with these scientific difcoveries, he likewife wished to exert himself for the promotion of the arts and of commerce. In confequence of this refolution, he visited the moft fertile, and beft fituated parts of Senegal, drew a map of them, purfued the courfe of the Niger, and with the view of form.

155

ing a colony there, furveyed a diftrict of feven leagues, on the maps of which he marked the woods, falt-fprings, mufkl-banks, lakes, &c. His refearches led him to the discovery of the two genuine Arabic gums; and after numerous experiments, he fucceeded in extracting from the indigenous indigo-plant of Senegal, which differs from the American, a Skyblue colour; a valuable discovery, which had escaped the most expert indigo manufacturers fent by the French Eaft India company, at different times, to Senegal In 1753, Adanfon, by the delire of the company, drew up a plan of the colony, for the purpose of deriving greater advan tage from that country, in which he fhewed that the culture of indigo, cotton, tobacco, rice, coffee, pepper, ginger,, and the fpices of the Nolucca iflands, might, by the heat of the climate, be brought to an uncommon degree of perfection. He likewife fhewed, that by a proper conduct towards the king of Galam and Bambuk, permiffion might be easily obtained to work the gold-mines of this country, which were made more productive than thofe of Mexico or Peru; that they would yield an annual income from ten to twelve millions of livres, and even in cafes of neceffity, three times the fam; that the gums would produce from eight to fourteen millions; the trade in negroes, fenna leaves, dye-woods, falt, raw hides, maize, &c. feven or eight millions. his plan, however, was not carried into execution.

On the 6th of October, 1758Adanfon returned to France with an immenfe collection of philofophical, morol, political, and economical obfervations on the government of the very different nations whofe country he had vifited; and with observations on almost thirty thousand non-defcript natural productions, which, with the

U

thirty

thirty-three thousand before known to him, give to Natural History a bafis of fixty-three thousand species, which as he frequently informed his friends, was afterwards increased to above ninety thousand.

Soon after his return from Senegal, he was appointed by Louis XV. fuperintendant of the botanic garden at Trianon, with the title of royal naturalist, and soon after admitted a member of the Academy of Sciences, in the third clafs, as adjunct botanift; and the hiftory of the academy bears teftimony to the zealous activity with which he contributed towards the promotion of the fcience.

When he was invited in 1760, by the emperor to Louvain, for the purpofe of erecting an academy of Natural history, according to his plan, he was at the fame time honoured by a letter from Linnæus, offering him a place in the academy of Upfal, which he declined. In the following year a propofal of quite a different nature came from England, which, as tending to the difadvantage of his country, he rejected with indignation. After the capture of Senegal, Lord North being deeply interested in the English African company, fent Mr. Cumming, who next to his lordship, had the greatest fhare in it, to Adaufon, for the purpose of obtaining from him, if not the originals at least copies of his papers on the productions and trade of that country.

In 1762, by defire of M. Choifeul he employed his talents for the benefit of his country, by drawing up a plan for the new regulations of the colonies of Cayenne and Guayana, and another for Goree, for which important fervices, however, he received no reward.

In,1766, very advantageous offers were made to him by the empress of Ruffia, to induce him to fettle at Petersburg as member of the academy,

and profeffor of natural history; but thefe offers, as well as a prior invita on of the fame kind from the king of Spain were declined.

In 1767, he undertook a journey at his own expence, to Normandy and Britany, the object of which, was the inveftigation of the natural history of thefe provinces. He continued to purfue his favourite ftudies with undifturbed tranquility, till in the year 775, he had the mortification of feeing the reverfion of Buffon's place given to M. de Angivillier, in preference to himself, whofe feventeen years fervices obtained only a pitiful penfion of two thoufand livres. This disappointment was the more fenfibly felt by Adanfon, as he believed that the poffeffion of that place would have greatly facilitated the publishing of the Encyclopædia of Natural History, in one hundred and twenty volumes, and with feventy-five thousand figures in the compiling of which he was then engaged. On the 15th of February, 1775, he laid before the aca ademy the plan of this work, of which the committee appointed to examine it, gave a very favourable report. He continued to flatter himself with the hopes of feeing this plan put into execution, till the revolution annihilated it.

In 1779, he undertook a journey to the highest mountains in Europe, whence he returned with more than twenty thousand fpecimens of minerals, and drawings of more than twelve hundred leagues of mountainous tracts. At a latter period, though oppreffed with the infirmities of old age, he wished to accompany Peyroufe in his voyage round the world; but his of fer was not accepted.

Being poffeffed of one of the rich. eft cabinets, which contained at leaft fixty five thousand fpecies belonging to the three kingdoms of nature, he had applied for a place in the Lou

re,

vre, fufficient to contain these treafures, confiling of the fpecimens themfelves, of plates and defcriptions, but inftead of it, obtained only an additi. onal penfion of eighteen hundred liTres. Nor did he fucceed to the full penfion of the academy till the death of Fougeroux, in 1789.

At the beginning of the revolution, his experimental garden, in which he cultivated one hundred and thirty fpecies of mulberry trees, was laid wafte by the barbarous plunderers. Still more, however, was he grieved at the total extinction of the hope he entertained of collecting his nume. rous obfervations, and the refults of fuch labour, in the above mentioned Encyclopædia.

His income was now fo much reduced, that for want of fuel and candle, he was obliged to fufpend his ftudies during the long nights of win ter. Some relief was afforded him, however, by the minifter Benezech; and still more, as much, indeed as in thefe unhappy times could be done by Benezech's fucceffor, Francis de Neufchateaux, whofe care for him did not cease when he no longer held the office of minifter. Adanfon, however, was now obliged to live without his accuftomed comforts in a small houfe, or rather hut, fituated in Chantereny-street, which could not fail to prove very prejudical to an old man who, by his long refidence in a hot climate, had become extremely fenfible to the effects of cold and moisture, and who was afflicted with the theumatism.

Here he paffed almoft the whole day in a little fpot where he cultivated plants, fitting cross-leged, for the purpofe of purfuing his obfervations on thefe plants and fome frogs; and at

night he worked with fo much diligence in his cabinet, that his female attendant was often obliged to put him in mind, that for feveral nights he had not gone to bed.

This attendant who had ferved him fince 1783, was an inestimable treafure to him; without her, it is probable that in the laft fourteen years of his life his best labours, perhaps all his difcoveries and his numerous collections of natural productions would have been loft. This worthy woman, who fupplied the place of relations, friends and fortune, waited upon him the whole of the time with provifions, fuel, light and clothes, during the day, and at night employ ed herself in work for the purpofe of procuring him coffee and fugar, without which he could not live, whilft her husband, who was fervant to another mafter in Picardy, fent him weekly a fupply of bread, meat, and garden herbs, and even money to purchafe other neceffaries: and at length when Adanfon,through the accumulated infirmities of age, grew daily more weak, came to live with him, and never after forfook him, not even when reduced to the greatest diftrefs, and all his linen fold. But now his diftrefs had reached its utmoft limits; the Emperor Napoleon having been informed of it, fent him three thousand francs, which the good folks ufed fo econo ically, that when it was hinted to them that on their applying for it the gift would be repeated, they conftantly aufwered they itill had enough left. In this fituation the venerable cultivator of the fciences clofed his laborious life, whichhad merited a more favourable lot.

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