as all the other productions of the
Edgeworth family; and will, I hope,
do much good.
One remark however,
neither liberal nor just, has struck me in
its perusal, which, as I do not believe
the author would knowingly be either
illiberal or unjust, I shall take leave to
notice, in the hope that in any future edi-
tion it will be omitted or modified.

As an illustration of the difference be-
tween "useful order, and vain finical
precision," (page 225) Mr. E. contrasts
the arrangements of Buffon and Linnæus
with what he calls "the curious imper-
tinence of Lyonet, who wrote a quarto
volume on the anatomy of a caterpillar."
Little did poor Lyonet think, when he
had exerted every faculty in the produc-
tion of a work which the amiable Bonnet
termed "l'etonnante et admirable che-
nille de Lyonet," and which has called
forth universal astonishment and admi-
ration, that his labor would be branded
with the name of curious impertinence
by any man of an enlightened under-
standing. And what is the ground of Mr.
E.'s epithet? Does he mean that it was
impertinence to write at all about the
anatomy of a caterpillar; or that the
impertinence consists in writing a quarto
book on what ought to have been dis-
patched in a pamphlet? I cannot admit
the first supposition.
Mr. Edgeworth
is not one of those who measure the im-
portance of natural objects by their cu-
bical capacity; and believe, that because
an elephant is bigger than a caterpillar, it
must be of more importance in the scale
of creation. If he were, I need but
refer him to the remarks of his friend
Dr. Darwin, in his Phytalogia, on the
aphidivorous fly, to convince him that
the destruction of an insect so mean, so
minute, would cause a greater gap in
nature than even the annihilation of the
race of elephants;-I need but refer him
to some late volumes of the Linnean So-
ciety's transactions, where it is shewn
that our reaping a single acre of wheat is
dependent on the friendly exertions of an
ichneumon not bigger than a pin's head.
Yet though I cannot suspect Mr. E. of
the vulgar folly of estimating things by
their size, I cannot conceal, that I do
not believe that if Mr. Carlisle or
Mr. Home had written a quarto vo-
Jume on the anatomy of an elephant, he
would have sneered at their labor, or
We
called it curious impertinence.
must recur then to the second supposi-
tion: Mr. E. objects to writing a quarto
But is this
volume on such a subject.

MONTHLY MAG. No. 197.

either wise or consistent? Can it be
doubted, that every contribution to our
present imperfect knowledge of compara
tive anatomy is important? and if it be
worth while to do a thing at all, is it not
worth while to do it well? Lyonet discover-
ed and dissected four thousand and forty-
one muscles in the cossus caterpillar, a
number much greater than has been dis-
covered in the human body. Was it
likely that this astonishing assemblage
could be described in less space than a
quarto volume? and was it desirable that,
for the sake of avoiding the "curious
impertinence" of writing more than au
octavo on such a subject, he should
have left half of them undescribed, or
described the whole imperfectly? So, I
will venture to assert, does not the ce-
lebrated Cuvier think, who has himself
spent much time on the anatomy of in-
sects, who has had his labor much faci-
litated by Lyonet, and regrets only that
he has not been preceded in this almost
untrodden path by more Lyonets. Mr.
E. has judiciously directed the parents
of youth to turn their attention to such
wonders in nature as the fourteen hundred
lenses in the eye of a drone bee: why not
add to this the still more astonishing fact,
that an animal so small and despised as a
caterpillar should have been furnished
with no less than four thousand muscles?
And was Lyonet, for furnishing us with
this fact, to be called a "frivolous pe
dant," and his work a curious imper-
tinence? We praise a Heyne, who spends
his days in illustrating and investigating
the works of a classical poet; and are we
to ridicule a man who occupies himsel
in exploring the works of nature?

ENTOMOPHILUS.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

N answer to the first question proposed

Ia Me. Hall, in yques magazine for

last August, it will be sufficient to observe,
that the custom of placing the altar at the
eastern end of the sacred edifice, appears
to be coeval with the regular establish-
ment of christianity. That position was
assigned to the altar, in order that, during
the celebration of the mass, the eyes of
the congregation might be directed
For this purpose it
towards Jerusalem, the actual scene of
the crucifixion.
was thought sufficiently accurate, in those
countries which first composed the La-
tin church, to have the building erect-
ed due cast and west; and when chris-
tianity
2 E

tianity was introduced in this island, our ancestors,who were better skilled in archi. tecture than in geography, blindly followed what they observed to be the practice in those countries from whence they received their faith; probably without inquiring into the origin of the custom, or, if they did, without considering that in this latitude the true bearing was widely different. Mr. Hall will find some ingenious remarks on this subject, in White's History of Selbourne.

their co-operation. In the former year, (1595,) England had seen with indifference the Spaniards masters of La Capelle, Catelet, Cambray, and even of Dourlens. This part of Picardy was too far from England to excite any interest; but in 1596, the Spaniards, under the conduct of the archduke Albert of Austria, preparing to besiege Calais, Elizabeth saw, that honour and interest did not permit her to let her enemies thus lay hold on the possessions which the English had so long held in France; places besides, which, from a greater vici nity to England than any other, furnished an easy method of insulting that island, and which, by their situation between England and the Low-countries, fitted to annoy trade, then very brisk and beneficial between the two powers, Henry, on his side, saw the new preten sions, which his necessities, his misfortunes, and especially the alarms of England, gave him towards obtaining the succours that Elizabeth had the year before refused. Accordingly he sent into England Sancy, of the house of Harlay, to whom he soon after joined the W. W. Z. marshal de Bouillon, in order to solicit

With respect to the position of the officiating minister, I must refer Mr. Hall to his prayer-book; and on consulting it, he will find that the rubric prefixed to the communion-office directs cer. tain portions to be read, "the priest standing at the north side of the table." The fanciful analogy Mr. Hall imagines he has discovered, certainly never entered the heads of the compilers of the liturgy; who merely wished to vary the reformed communion-office as much as they possibly could from the Roman-catholic ritual, according to which the priest stands at the front (i. c. the west side) of the altar during the celebration of the mass.

For the Monthly Magazine. ACCOUNT of the NEGOCIATION of MESS. DE BOUILLON and DE SANCY, in ENGLAND, in 1596, for a LEAGUE, OFFENSIVE and DEFENSIVE, against SPAIN; from a MANUSCRIPT in the NATIONAL LIBRARY at PARIS, marked MANUSCRITS DE BRIENNE, vol. 37. Extracted by M. GALLIARD, and now first published in

ENGLAND.

TIS negociation occupies the second part of the volume, which in the first is filled by the negociation of M. de Lomenie, in 1595. Between these two negociations, there is a visible connection; both had the same object; that is, to obtain the succour of Eng land against Spain: and it may be said, that the negociation of M. de Lomenie, although it had not succeeded, had nevertheless led the way for that of Mess. de Bouillon and de Sancy, which had more success. He was besides sent sometimes to England, during the course of this last negociation, in order to assist the new envoys, and urge the succours which they solicited. It would be needless to repeat what is said in the other memoir, of the joint interests of Henry and Elizabeth, to act against Spain; or to mention here the obstacles which impeded

were

these succours anew, and accelerate their arrival. Sancy found England agitated and unresolved: there were some troops at Dover, ready to embark; sometimes the order was given, sometimes revoked; now the levies at London were expedited, and again disbanded; it was to be feared that Calais would be taken before they arrived, and so it happened. The news was soon spread in London, that it was taken, both town and citadel: in consequence, the indignation was excessive,

as

and the public outcry violent against the French; they were reproached, having neglected every thing necessary for the preservation of so important a place: the more they complained amongst themselves, the less disposed were they to assist them. Sancy, who had no information concerning Calais, took upon him, according to the relation in the manuscript, to throw out, that he had authentic information, that the citadel still held out, and had promised the king to wait for the succours from England. This produced, for the moment, the effect of occasioning orders for the en barkation of the troops. Upon the evening of the same day, (April 20) arrived the sieur de Champeron, who had left the king upon the Thursday before at Saint Vailery, and brought the capitulation of the citadel of Calais; which was, a

truce

truce of six days, during which there was to be no act of hostility upon either side: so that what the said seigneur de Sancy had athined, without having any advice of it, turned out true. They informed the queen of it; and sent off on the morrow morning the said sieur de Champeron to bring advice to the king, that the succours were marching.

This he, bold, adron, and successful, was a trick for which any negociator, under similar circumstances, might take great credit; and it is singular, that Sancy imself does not mention it in a memoir which he presented, under the regency of Mary de Medicis, for reimbursement of the expenses which he had contracted on account of government. This memoir, in which he takes the tone of a minister deprived of his ancient favour, renouncing any recompence, and continuing himself to the claim of justice; and where, in consequelice, he rather exaggerates than diminishes much less forgets, even the smallest service that he has been able to render; is printed in the third vol. of the Memoires d'Etat, en suite de ceux de Villeroy, under this title, "Discours fait par messire Nicolas de Harlay. Checalier, Seigneur de Sancy, &c. Conseiller du Roi en ses conseils d'estat et privé, sur l'occurrence de ses affaires." This discourse contains some very cu rious details upon his embassy in England, and the negociation bere aliuded to; but there is no mention whatever of the fact, the relation of which, in the manuscript, does him so much honour.

The succours could not arrive in time: the poliuc queen teazed (fit passer) the French vivacity by a long round of delays, reproaches, refusals, menaces, and promises: she breathed nothing but peace and amity; notwithstanding which, her ministers perpetually created difficulties, which the queen appeared always desirous of removing, but did not do so. [See the reasons below.]

All these incidents are well exposed in the relation given in the manuscript. The progress of the negociation is marked day by day. The author of this relation is a person who assisted at all the consultations, and was united with the two negociators; because the said seigneur de Sancy might be necessitated to depart before the treaty was concluded, and then he could relieve the said seigneur de Bouillon. It was the famous Will. de Vair, afterwards bishop of Lisieux, twice gurde des sceaur in the reign of

Louis XIII.; who died in 1621, in the possession of that dignity. He was at the time of the negociation counsellor of state; and the two ambassadors styled him,"confidential servant of the king." It would be unnecessary to analyze this relation, because it is printed at the end of the works of Will. de Vair, together with all the other pieces, relative to this negociation, which also occur in the manuscript; with the exception of one only, which is here wholly transcribed: it is a letter of Henry IV. to queen Elizabeth, written during the course of the negociation; and upon an important incident, which removes a strong difference between the recital of Du Vair and that of Sancy upon the same fact.

It is observed, in the account of the embassy of M. de Lomenie, how much Elizabeth regretted the possession of Calais, lost by the English under the reign of her sister Mary; that she had herself lost it, when offered in exchange for Havre; and that she had made the cession of it, repeatedly, a condition of aiding Henry. In 1596, Elizabeth, seeing Calais besieged by the Spaniards, conceived new hopes. She thought that they could not avoid ceding the place to her, while she offered either to defend it when it was yet but attacked, or to retake it if it should be captured by the Spaniards: she said nothing of this, or even hinted any thing of the kind, to Sancy, when he pressed the council for the departure of the succours; she promised to give the requisite orders, and sent Sidney to visit Sancy. This was on the 20th of April. On the night following, she ordered Sidney to set out for France. Sancy, who was informed on the next morning by his friends of the departure of Sidney, thought that it was only to advertise the king of the succours; and to inform his majesty, that the said succours were prepared before the coming of the said sieur de Sancy, on purpose that the king might take it better of her majesty. It was doubtless what she wished Sancy to believe, if he should hear of the precipitate departure of Sidney; she meant that Henry, on receiving through Sidney the proposition of abandoning Calais to England, should remain sull uncertain of the succour which he solicited, on purpose that this uncertainty might make him resolve upon it. The next day, on the 21st, Sancy had an audience of the queen; she did not mention Sidney, but negli

gently

which you have done him; and you know that there is nothing in the world, in his power, which you might not expect from his generosity: but he is also too courageous to yield to necessity, in a matter unworthy his magnanimity. If ill fortune should compel him to endure any injury, he would support it much more patiently from his enemies, than he would from his friends; and on this account, madam, I supplicate and conjure you, in the name of God, not to hesitate any longer through such scruples, as they are entirely hors de propos at the present moinent."

During these debates, the citadel of Calais was carried by storm, by the Spaniards, on Friday, April 26. The governor (Vidossan,) was killed in the breach. Ardres also was taken some

time after; but these disasters even contributed to the success of the negociation of Messrs. de Bouillon and de Sancy; and on May 26, they concluded a treaty offensive and defensive, between France and England, against Spain. The Eng lish armament, commanded by the earl of Essex, not having been able to arrive soon enough to save Calais and Ardres, at least served to take Cadiz from the Spaniards. Thus, whilst the Spaniards acquired in France a key which had been for a long time in the hands of the English, the latter acquired in Spain a key still more important.

[This attack of Cadiz was a masterly stroke of policy; but the whole shows the vigilance, wisdom, and vigour, of the administration of Elizabeth's reign.]

For the Monthly Magazine.

-No. III.

The LITERARY REPOSITORY of CORNWALL und DEVON.—)
QUADRUPEDS, BIRDS, and FISH.

Basse.

Perch, sea.

Black fish.

(Continued from vol. 26, p. 529.)

BONY FISH.

PERCA Labrax, Lin. Frequent.

Perca marina, Lin. I never saw but one, a fine-flavored fish.
Mr. Jago. Borlase. 271.

I never saw one.

Stickle-back, three-spined. Gasterosteus aculeatus, Lin. In some brooks.

Mack rel.

Tunny.

Scomber scomber, Lin. Plenty.

Scomber thunnus, Lin. I never saw but one.

Scad, or Horse-mackrel. Scomber trachurus, Lin. Very frequent.

Surmullet, striped. Mullus cirris geminis lineis luteis longitudinalibus, Lin. Very frequent. I never saw the Red Surmullet; or Mullus cirris geminis, corpore rubro, of Lin.

Gurnard, grey.

red.

Trigla gurnardus, Lin.

Trigla cuculus, Lin.

-, piper. Trigla lyra, Lin.

Salmon.

Common.

Scarce.

, sapphirine. Trigla hirundo, Lin.
streaked. Cuculus lineatus.

Salmo salar, Lin. In a few of our rivers.
Trout, sea. Salmo trutta, Lin. I take this to be the Salmon Peal.

river.

Sielt.
Pike, gar, or

,saury.

Mullet.
Herring.

Salmo fario, Lin. In most of our rivers in plenty, though small
in size, and the flesh white; in the Loo, near Helston, there are a
species with red flesh, which grow to a large size.
Salmo eperlanos, Lin. Frequent.

Skipper Cornub. Saurus, Rondel. Scarce.

Grey Mullet, Cornub. Mugil cephalus, Lin. Common.

Clupea Harengus, Lin. Plenty on the northern, but not so on the southern, coast.

Pilchard, seltzer. Schonevelde. Generally in amazing shoals.

Shad.

Minow.

Scech Cornub. Clupea alosa, Lin. Rather scarce.
Cyprinus phoxinus, Lin. In some rivulets.

* A fish, which was known by the name of Ceil Conin, or "king of the herrings," was Its length, exclusive of the tail, taken alive at Newlyn, in Mount's-bay, Feb. 23d, 1788. (which was wanting,) was eight feet and a half; depth, ten inches and a half; thickness two and three quarters; and weight forty pounds. Its dorsal fin was of a beautiful rose colour. It was regularly spotted with black,