Every one expected that he would now either retract his errors, or at least apologize for them but nothing of the kind was heard from him: he declared plainly, that he had nothing to retra&t. He launched out into an high encomium of Hufs; calling him a holy man; and lamenting his cruel and unjuft death. He had armed himself, he faid, with a full refolution to follow the fteps of that bleffed martyr; and to suffer with conftancy whatever the malice of his enemies could inflict. The perjured witneffes (faid he) who have appeared against me, have won their caufe: but let them remember, they have their evidence once more to give before a tribunal, where falfhood can be no difguife.'

It was impoffible to hear this pathetic fpeaker without emotion. Every ear was captivated, and every heart touched.— But wishes in his favour were vain: he threw himself beyond a poffibility of mercy. Braving death, he even provoked the vengeance which was hanging over him. If that holy martyr (faid he, fpeaking of Hufs) ufed the clergy with disrespect, his cenfures were not levelled at them as prielts, but as wicked men. He faw with indignation thofe revenues, which had been defigned for charitable ends, expended upon pageantry and riot.'

Through this whole oration he fhewed a most amazing ftrength of memory. He had been confined almost a year in a dungeon; the severity of which ufage he complained of, but in the language of a great and good man. In this horrid place he was deprived of books and paper. Yet notwithstanding this, and the conftant anxiety which must have hung over him, he was at no more lofs for proper authorities and quotations, than if he had spent the intermediate time at leisure in his ftudy.

His voice was fweet, diftin&t, and full: his action every way the most proper either to exprefs indignation, or to raise pity; though he made no affected application to the passions of his audience. Firm and intrepid he ftood before the council; collected in himfelf; and not only contemning, but feeming even defirous of death. The greatest character in ancient ftory could not poffibly go beyond him. If there is any justice in history, this man will be admired by all posterity. -I fpeak not of his errors; let these reft with him. What I admired was his learning, his eloquence, and amazing acutepefs. God knows whether these things were not the groundwork of his ruin.

Two days were allowed him for reflection; during which time many perfons of confequence, and particularly my lord cardinal of Florence, endeavoured to bring him to a better.

mind. But perlifting obftinately in his errors, he was condemned as an heretic.

With a chearful countenance, and more than ftoical conftancy, he met his fate; fearing neither death itself, nor the horrible form in which it appeared. When he came to the place, he pulled off his upper garment, and made a fhort prayer at the stake; to which he was foon after bound with wet cords, and an iron chain; and inclofed as high as his breast with faggots,

Obferving the executioner about to fet fire to the wood behind his back, he cried out, Bring thy torch hither; perform thy office before my face. Had I feared death, I might have avoided it.'

As the wood began to blaze, he fang an hymn, which the violence of the flame fcarce interrupted.

Thus died this prodigious man. The epithet is not extravagant. I was myfelf an eye-witness of his whole behaviour. Whatever his life may have been, his death, without doubt, is a noble leffon of philofophy.

But it is time to finish this long epiftle. You will fay [ have had fome leifure upon my hands: and, to say the truth, I have not much to do here. This will, I hope, convince you, that greatnefs is not wholly confined to antiquity. You will think me perhaps tedious; but I could have been more prolix on a fubject fo copious.-Farewell my dear Leonard.'

The life of Zifca, which concludes this volume, is fo well known, that we need not make any extracts from it. We fhall only obferve of the execution of this work, that the file is concife, terfe, and perfpicuous; that the reflections are pertinent, the characters well drawn, and the incidents generally exhibited in an agreeable and interefting point of view

III. A new and complete Syftem of Practical Husbandry; containing all that Experience has proved to be most useful in Farming, either in the old or new Method; with a comparative View of both; and whatever is beneficial to the Husbandman, or conducive to the Ornament and Improvement of the Country Gentleman's Eflate. John Mills, Efq. Vol. III. Pr. 55. Johnfon.

By

IF F Mr. Mills fuppofes that any cenfures we paffed on the two fift volumes of his work, were dictated either by ill nature or partiality, he does us great injuftice; if he errs, it is neceffary his errors fhould be pointed out, as they might otherwife be of very dangerous tendency, by leading the practical reader

aftray;

aftray; and if he is guilty of plagiarifin, it is but doing justice. to the original authors to mention how much he is indebted to them.

To obviate all future objections, we think it neceffary in this place to obferve, that the writer of the feveral articles containing animadverfions on Mr. Mills's Syftem of Husbandry, never, to his knowledge, had the pleasure of being in company with, or even feeing that gentleman; he has heard that Mr. Mills is a man of fenfe and learning, but knows no more of him, than what may be learned by an attentive perufal of his works. Can, then, the writer of these articles be thought partial? or can be reasonably be fuppofed wantonly to cenfure the works of a man whom he never faw, and who never, he believes, did him the leaft injury? Let our intelligent readers refer to the work itfelf, and we flatter ourfelves, they will find our cenfures not ill founded, being fuch as muft naturally occur to every mind capable of judging.

We have the fatisfaction of being able to inform our readers, that Mr. Mills's third volume, now under confideration, contains near thirty pages of original matter, exclufive of the preface, part of which was written by our author, the remainder by the editor of the third volume of The Memoirs of the Berne Society. The original matter above-mentioned, we fhall be careful to diftinguish in the courfe of the prefent article.

As Mr. Mills's preface contains a fummary of the contents of the volume, we fhall permit him to fpeak for himself:

Not having been able to comprife in my fecond volume every article relative to the management of grain; I have, in this, treated first of the enemies to corn, beginning with weeds, than which no one requires more the attention, industry, and perfeverance of the farmer, who must extirpate them before he can have complete crops. I then point out the feveral kinds of vermin most noxious to the husbandman, and indicate the moft approved methods of guarding againft, or destroying them. Here, a full account is given of that formidable infect which has long defolated, and had at length almost entirely laid waste, a whole province in France. The nearness of our fituation to fome parts of that kingdom, and the parity of latitude between France and fome of our colonies, where the fame circumstances in the air may be productive of the fame effects, if any of its eggs fhould unfortunately chance to be brought here, or carried thither, rendered it neceffary to expatiate on the means of deftroying that amazing pernicious brood and this I have done the more readily, as the fame precautions bid fair to extirpate every other infect that breeds in corn. When fay, that my guide in this bas been Mr. Duhamel, the reader

will justly expect that accuracy which diftinguishes his works, and that fuccefs which here happily attended his labour.—The prefervation of corn, both in granaries, and in tranfporting it in fhips, an article of confiderable importance to every maritime nation, concludes the fecond part of this treatise.

Paftures, taken in a much more extenfive fense than the generality of writers on agriculture have hitherto confidered them, are the fubject of my third part; in which, comprehending under that name whatever is, or may be, properly used for the food of cattle, I begin my firft chapter with treating of fuch plants as may be cultivated interchangeably with corn of pulfe. Almoft the whole of this is new, in the light here reprefented, and therefore will, I hope, be of proportionably greater fervice; because it creates a fund of pafture, hitherto little known in this country.-The fecond chapter treats of what is commonly called artificial grafs: an article from which our farmers have of late experienced many great advantages, but which they have not yet carried to near the perfection of which the experiments here related prove it to be fufceptible.

In the third chapter of this part, I have endeavoured to draw a fair comparison between the old husbandry and the new, by relating facts, which speak for themselves, and feem plainly to fhew, that though the advantages of the horse-hoeing method may not be immediate, or very ftriking, in the culture of corn; they are indifputable in that of pulfe, of roots, and of various articles which have lately enriched the effential article of paftures. Thus much is evident, even from the few trials that have been made of it in this kingdom.-I am forry to fay the few but hope my countrymen will foon fet examples, which (excepting the experiments communicated by three patriots only, in all this kingdom!) I have hitherto been obliged to borrow from foreigners.

As almost every country, efpecially if the climate differs, has its particular forts of natural graffes, which are the fubject of my fourth chapter; I have here pointed out the means of afcertaining the comparative value of each, and have given particular defcriptions and drawings of fuch as promise the best fuccefs in this country.

The appendix at the end of this chapter was occafioned by a letter with which I was honoured by that excellent patriot the marquis of Turbilly, who, with that admirable greatnefs of mind which ftudies to extend every part of ufeful knowledge, was pleafed to fend me a particular account of the culture of the great Anjou cabbage: but too late to be inferted in a more proper place.

My fifth chapter treats of a part of hufbandry in which the
English

English have hitherto greatly excelled every other people: I mean, the inclofing of land; from which we daily reap fuch vaft advantages, as leave room only to wonder, that there fhould yet remain amongst us prodigious tracts of now abfolutely wafte, though in fact, highly improveable, land.-How immenfely might the power and wealth of this nation, the fplendor and revenues of the crown, and that most important object, population, the true bulwark of the ftrength and glory of a ftate, be increafed by inclofing, and cultivating, many parts of the extensive forefts, heaths, and commons, in this puiffant kingdom! The infinite benefits that would accrue therefrom, are evident to a demonftration.

I close this volume with a fubject truly interefting to every inhabitant of the country, viz. the choice of proper fituations to live in for on that the health, and confequently the welfare, of them all muft greatly depend.'

The weeds which Mr. Mills enumerates as enemies to corn, are bind-weed, by fome called with-wind; to which are annexed Mr. Lifle's method of deftroying it, and an enumeration of feveral foreign fpecies of this plant (not English weeds) mentioned by Mr. Miller in his dictionary. Next follow blue-bottle, knapweed, matfellon, or centaury, all names of the fame plant; and chickweed, with cockle or darnell, colts-foot, (with Mr. Lifle's obfervations on it) cornflag, and corn-marigold. Our author next mentions couch, couch-grafs, quick-grafs, knotgrafs or dog-grafs, and devil's-bit, dock, dyers-weed, groundivy, may-weed or morgan, mugwort, mullein, nettle, filverweed or wild tanfey, thiftle, chickweed (the common, the first mentioned being that fometimes called fpatling poppy) charlock, cow wheat, devil in a bush or fennel flower, fenugreek, groundfel, hares-foot trefoil, ftraw-berry trefoil, melilot, spurrey, wild-garlick, crow-garlick or cow-garlick, wild-oats, wild poppy or red-weed, and wild-vetches.

The vermin Mr. Mills mentions, are moles and birds, as rooks, fparrows, and pigeons; with infects, as ants and pifmires, which our author obferves do great damage to corn in hot countries; fnails and flugs, the grub, large maggot or rook-worm; worms; together with fome small infects, which he mentions from the writings of Du Hamel, De Chateauvieux, Lifle, Poupart, and Tillet: but the most important of thefe infects is that described by Meff. Du Hamel and Tillet, which has done fo much damage in the Angoumois. As it is not impoffible but this infect may, fome time or other, infeft England, Mr. Mills has kindly extracted as much of Meff. Du Hamel and Tillet's treatife, as fills about forty-five pages of his work.

In chapter IV. where our author treats of the prefervation

of