wailing the fate of a youth to whofe bravery he had been fo highly indebted. The deceased, however, proves afterwards not to be Arfetes or Pharnaces, but his friend Araxes, whom the former had fent to fill Arfetes's place in the combat, and who greatly refembled him in perfon. The Bythinians, headed by Orontes, endeavour by a fally to furprise the camp of Artabazus; but the arms of the latter proving victorious, Lycomedes and Cleonice are brought before him in bonds. He instantly unlooses them, and intreats their friendship, which they refuse to give to the perfon who killed Polemon, brother of Cleonice, and whofe fon likewife flew young Arfetes. Artabanus affures them, that Arfetes and Pharnaces are the fame. While these things are tranfacting in the palace, a combat takes place between Pharnaces and Orontes, by the former of whom Orontes is mortally wounded; who, in the prefence of Lycomedes and Cleonice, who enter during the combat, confeffes with his dying breath, that he murdered Polemon, who would otherwife have recovered of the wound which he received of Artabafus. The tragedy concludes with the union of Cleonice and Pharnaces, to whom Lycomedes refigns the crown of Bithynia. The intricacy arifing from the difguife of Pharmaces in the court of Bithynia, under the name of Arletes, gives an air of artificial conftruction to the fable, which the author has not uniformly supported. For almoft all the incidents are tranfacted behind the fcenes, and are liable to the charge of improbability. Admitting that a youth under twenty years of age could have attained fo great renown in war, by the atchievements performed both under his real and fictitious name, it is not likely that he would exert himself as the champion of the inveterate enemy of his country; and is equally improbable that his perfon could be mistaken by Zopyrus, to whom he must have been perfectly well known. An objection of the fame nature lies against the conqueft of Bithynia, which is reprefented as far too eafy and fudden, confidering that the revival of the war was expected, and even provoked by the Bithynians, at the expiration of the truce. We may add, that the conclufion of the piece. betrays a languor, unfit to gratify the expectation which had been raifed in fome previous fcenes. After making these remarks, we shall present our readers with a fpecimen, taken from the fifth act. • Enter Orontes retreating before Pharnaces, a party of Orontes driven off by the foldiers of Pharnaces. Phar. Enough, my friends; enough-this life demands My fword alone-for thee, whofe murderous guile With feeming manhood, drew me from the fight • Oron. Deceives my aim Fortune at length but be it fo→I fcorn To deprecate thy vengeance-well thou know'f Pale, trembling daftard! finking by thy arm, Forbid me now to risk an equal combat, • Phar. Behold, thou double traitor ! The grove and temple where Araxes fell: Where now thy followers lurk'd in fatal ambush To enfnare Pharnaces-tremble now, while justice • Phar. Enter Artabafus and Agenor. (fights (Oron. falls • Arta. Art thou then safe ?—my fon! my fon! Phar. My father! Enter Lycomedes, Cleonice, and Teramenes. Cleon. [Entering.] Death has been bufy-fure the battle's tumult Rag'd here but now Pharn. [turning.] 'Tis Cleonice's voice! Lycomedes. He lives indeed! 'tis he !the guardian genius That watch'd Bithynia's fafety→→→ • Cleonice. Heavenly powers! And yet it cannot-fpeak,-O fpeak, my father, Ere this lov'd phantom • Pharn. Still Arfetes lives; Behold him here;-[kneels]-No more unknown, who now Afferts the lineal honours that await A kingdom's heir and Artabafus' fon. • Cleon. Pharnaces rife,-fure 'tis illufion all! What then was he, whose pale and lifeless corfe Arta. The youth whom late you mourn'd for flain Arfetes, Was in his ftead deputed for the fight. • Phar. Orontes and Zopyrus have confess'd Lycom Lycom. Orontes!-where! then where is virtue, Gods! Now only living with Bithynia's foes! Why, Artabafus, did Polemon fall! Or fall by thee! Oran. [raifing himself.] Hear, moft unhappy father; • Oron. By thee he fell, Watch'd his returning life-at that fell moment, Uplifted then, with murderous weapon ftruck Lycom. What do I hear!-my blood brother!- • Tera. Yet hold-tho' great your woe, -the guilty wretch Already gafps in death, and shivering ftands On that dread brink, where vast eternity Unfolds her infinite abyfs. • Lycom. My murder'd boy! • Oron. Polemon! O thou bright fun! whose beams Thy head in night, while Nature, thro' her works --O Lycomedes!- .(dies." With respect to the characters in this tragedy, they are not of fo diftinguished a nature, or fo difcriminated, as to claim particular obfervation. In every circumftance, this production is inferior to what might have been expected from the author of Cyrus and Timanthes. X. An Account of the laft Expedition to Port Egmont in Falkland's Islands, in the Year 1772. Together with the Tranfactions of the Company of the Penguin Shallop during their Siay there. By Bernard Penrofe. 8vo. 25. Johnson. HOSE who have curiofity to enquire into the nature and productions of Falkland's Islands, may, from this pamphlet obtain the defired information. The writer refided in the fettlement he defcribes long enough to become well acquainted VOL. XXXIX. March, 1775. with with whatever related to it worthy notice, and an air of truth runs through his narrative. It cannot be expected that the adventures of a fhip's compa. ny, in islands inhabited by themselves only, fhould afford much matter for entertainment; of course the most interesting parts of this pamphlet are the accounts of the vegetables and animals with which these islands abound. The different species are however far from being numerous. In reading these we have been exceedingly mortified at obferving the warton cruelty with which some of the people treated the trunknofed feals; thofe truly inoffenfive animals, according to our author's teftimony; on the tails of these animals, fays he, while they have been waddling with a vermicular motion from their dens, among the long grafs to the water's edge, fome of our people were fond of taking rides, and when their fluggish. nefs, in the opinion of these equeftrian gentry, nceded acceleration, the want of a fpur was not uncommonly fupplied by a flath with a knife.' We wish we could add, for the honour of human nature, that examples of like wanton barbarity were not to be conftantly met with in the common tranfactions of life. Among the few vegetables which these islands produce is one of a very fingular kind, of which we have the following ac count. There was also a kind of excrefcence on the furface of the earth to be found on all the island indifcriminately, fo exceedingly different from any thing ever feen by us in other places, that we could only guess it at first to be the work of a mole, or fome fuch fubteraneous operator; but upon examination it was found to belong to the vegetable world. The fize was various according to the different age of the plant and the outward appearance was like that of a round hillock, fometimes two feet in height, and near nine in circumference, covered with a kind of velvet cruft, fimilar to thofe clumps of mofs which grow on the roofs of honfes. This coat was an inch and a half in thickness, and would bear a man to fit on it; but, when broken through, it exhibited to us a fight that at first was surprising; for the whole cavity was filled with an infinite number of fmail ftalks, edged with very diminutive leaves, exactly like those of .the fir, to which it bore a near refemblance in another refpect; viz. that the juice of it appeared very refinous, and the top of each hillock was fpangled with numberless exudations of various magnitudes, from the fize of a large pin's-head, to that of a hazelnut, brown on the outfide, but white within thefe drops feemed analagous both in tafle and fmell to the gum ammoniacum; but we could not difcover, by repeated experiments, that they had any medicinal virtue. Sometimes a few of the internl branches would push through the furface, and then the leaves being more expanded, they looked like myrtles in miniature,'• Our Our quadrupeds, fays the author, were few, but of the feathered tribe we had a greater variety. Penguins, albatroffes, geefe, both of the land and fea kind, wild ducks, teals, hawks, pariews, bitterns, plovers, and gulls, were the principal forts we met with. The chief curiofity refpecting the former, is the manner in which they lay their eggs. This they do in collective bodies, reforting in incredible numbers to certain spots, which their long poffeffion has freed from grafs; and to which we gave the name of towns. Here, during the breeding feafon, we were prefented with a fight which conveyed a moft dreary, and I may fay, awful idea of the defertion of the islands by the human fpecies. A general ftillness prevailed in these towns; and whenever we took our walks amorg them, in order to pro vide ourselves with eggs, we were regarded indeed as intruders with fidelong glances, but we carried no terror with us. Thefe nefts are compofed of mud, and are about a foot high, placed as near together as poffibly can be. The eggs are rather larger thofe of the goofe, and are laid in pairs like the pigeon's. When we took them once, and fometimes twice in a feafon, they were as often replaced by the birds; and prudence would not permit us to plunder too far, left a future fupply in the next year's brood might by thefe means be prevented. The albatroffes begin laying their eggs in October, and continue fomewhat more than a month; at the end of which the penguins come and drive them away and then depofit their burthens, and hatch them, in much the fame manner as their predeceffors.' An accident which happened in one of thefe egg towns was very near deftroying the whole colony. A fpark of fire falling among the dry grafs fet it on a blaze, and the wind blowing hard, the country for feveral miles round was in a flame during feveral days; our colonifts were even obliged to remove most of the things they had on fhore down to the water-fide, left the fire fhould reach them. A heavy rain at length extinguished it, and relieved them from their apprehenfions. Our author is of opinion that were boiling houfes erected on Falkland's Iflands, very profitable returns might be made from the whales in their neighbourhood. At prefent, if fhips are under the neceffity of keeping the fea, they are frequently obliged to cut up the fish along-fide; this was the cafe of a North American veffel, which arrived just before the evacnation of these iflands by the British troops. The evening be-: fore they failed, another fishing veffel arrived, and, as he had fuffered much by bad weather, her crew refolved to thay where they were all winter, fucceeding as tenants to the dwellings and gardens of their English brethren. |