recourse to fuch a measure, we must confider this as the effect of defpair raifed by Spanish perfecution.

We cannot stop to difentangle all the confufion of the chemical differtation on chalk, gypfum, and nitre, beginning at p. 87; we fhall only obferve, that the cafe of acids forming a conftituent part of hard, compact rocks, going deep into the bowels of the earth, is perfectly different from that of nitrous and marine falts, formed on the furface of loose foil, or in places exposed to the atmosphere. And we will venture to obferve, that no fuch law as gypfum being found in place of chalk in proportion to the quantity of fun,' obtains generally in nature, whatever countenance a comparison of England, France, and Spain may, at firft view, give to fuch a supposition. It does not hold in France itself.

From Granada our author proceeds to Carthagena; of which fea-port, its dockyard, fifheries, manufactures, efpecially that of barilla, his account is valuable and inftructive.

Among a variety of ingenious political remarks we find the following piece of intelligence, which we quote, as it so nearly concerns ourselves:

This abfurd practice of employing convicts in the public fervice is no longer confined to Spain. We have adopted it in our more enlightened ifland, as may be seen at Portsmouth, where the maftergeneral of the ordnance finds employment for two or three hundred criminals, who are better fed than the most sober, honest, and laborious of our peafants. Their daily allowance amounts to more than eighteen ounces of bread, with nearly a pound of butcher's meat, an ounce of cheese, a quart of foup, nearly a quart of beer, and plenty of potatoes. Thus fed, with good clothes, a comfortable lodging, and light work, is not their condition to be envied by the industrious poor? Yet fuch, to the nation, is the expence, that the charge for each individual is more than fufficient to maintain a family.'

The remaining places which our traveller vifited are Murcia, Alicant, and Valencia, whence he returned to Barcelona through Morveidro, Benicarlo, Tortofa, and Tarrogona. During his refidence in these cities, and his paffage from one to the other, he treats feveral important points of political economy and natural history in the fame accurate and judicious manner as in the preceding part of his work. Annexed to this volume we find three plates reprefenting various ploughs, of which the defcriptions are scattered over different parts of the journal. An index clofes this, as well as each of the preceding volumes; and we could have wifhed to have found them much fuller. But in modern works no part is executed with so much negligence.

The

The traveller takes leave of this interefting country by expreffing an high fenfe of the excellence of the character of its inhabitants. They are very kindly difpofed towards the English nation; and, we are told, defire with much ardour that a matrimonial connexion fhould take place between the Infant Don Antonio and one of our princeffes; and to this union he thinks the different modes of religion ought to form no obstacle.

Thus it appears that our author has gathered, from a wide field, a plentiful harveft of obfervations. He has approved himself an excellent obferver of common life; the arts that intereft the welfare of the bulk of mankind, and the civil and ecclefiaftical inftitutions that ftamp the character of nations, he has well appreciated. His remarks defcend to objects not often noticed, becaufe not understood by travellers, though they are of an importance far exceeding architecture, antiquities, the fine arts, and whatever merely polishes and adorns a people.

In his philofophical, chemical, and mineralogical obfervations we do not think him equally happy or equally interesting. In placing M. de Luc at the head of modern writers on the philofophy of the mineral kingdom, we differ totally from him; nor do we entertain the fame high expectations from the theory of the earth, which he announces from another quarter. Nevertheless we are very grateful for the pleasure and inftruction the whole of the work has afforded us; and we are of opinion that if other travellers were equally affiduous and intelligent, we fhould foon be able to eftimate, with great exactness, the condition of the human race under different governments, and to afcertain the portion of happiness or mifery produced by each individual law or ufage. Another benefit of no mean importance to be derived from travellers, who, like this author, furvey common life with an eye of enlightened obfervation, is, the diffufion of thofe finall improvements which expedite the daily task of menial duty, or remove fome inconvenience out of the round which every man conftantly treads. Some fuch contrivance of humble usefulness every nation may learn from every other, because their several inventive powers have been turned towards different objects, according as their climate and fituation rendered fome particular nuifance more offenfive, or called with greater urgency for fome particular gratification.

"

14

FOREIGN

ART. XVIII. Le Prisonnier d'Etat, ou, Tableau Hiftorique de la Captivité de J. C. G. le Prévot de Beaumont, durant vingt deux Ans deux Mois. Ecrit par lui-même.

*

ART. XVIII. The State Prifoner; or, Hiflorical Picture of the Imprisonment of FJ. C. G. le Prévot de Beaumont, during Twentytwo Years and Two Months. Written by himself. 8vo. pp. 184. Paris, 1791.

THOUGH the adventures of Baron Trenck and Mafers de

la Tude were more marvellous than thofe of M. le Prévot de Beaumont, their fufferings were not more extraordinary. M. le Prévot was fecretary to the French clergy, and excited the jealoufy of defpotifm by his intention to denounce to the parliament of Rouen what he calls a pact of famine, concerted between the comptrollers-general of finances, the minifters, their first clerks, the lieutenants of the police, the intendants of provinces, and the governors of the ftate prifons, with whom were affociated a great part of the high court of parliament of Paris. This pact, if we may believe M. le Prévot, exifted from the year 1727, and was renewed every twelve years, being virtually a leafe by which the kingdom of France was let to the above affociation, whofe object was to enrich themfelves by eftablifhing methodically a fcarcity and dearth of corn at alltimes, and, in the years when the crop was but moderate, a famine throughout the whole kingdom every year they' amaffed in the provincial magazines, caftles, and forts, and in the granaries of the royal domains, all the grain bought ftanding or threshed out, being the greatest quantity it was < poffible to conceal; and at the end of fix months, when this monopoly had occafioned a scarcity of corn, and an increase in its value, they fold it out in fmall quantities, at the highest price they could obtain.'

It feems to require a great ftretch of faith to believe that fo many perfons of rank and confequence could engage in fo nefarious a scheme, and that an undertaking of fuch magnitude, which neceffarily required fo many agents, could remain undifcovered for a long feries of years. The only way by which it could be in fome degree masked was, the pretence of the annual provifion of corn made on the king's account for public purpofes. What, however, gives a strong prefumption of truth to M, le Prévot's affertions is, the attention paid to them by the fociety of friends of the conftitution at Paris, who are devifing

means

means to relieve him in his prefent neceffitous circumstances, and who have appointed commiffioners to search in all the public archives for any papers that may ferve to authenticate the exiftence of fo infernal ar extraordinary a combination. That our readers may be the better able to judge for themfelves, we will fubmit to them the author's own recital of the manner in which he made the difcovery that became the fource of fuch poignant fufferings to himself.

In the month of July, 1768, M. Rinville, native of Picardy, and first clerk of Rouffeau, receiver of the domains and forests of the county of Orleans, having invited me to dine with him, in order to confult me about feveral of his concerns, faid to me on my arrival, I beg of you, while I haften dinner, to read this paper I have just brought from my office, and to give me your opinion of it on my return.' I read the paper, confifting of twenty articles, with the greatest aftonishment. For two out of three private matters that he spoke to me of, I drew up memorials that were completely fuccessful. The other required time and confideration.

As to the paper figned Laverdy, which Rinville did not understand, I asked him, before I gave him an answer, whether Rouffeau did not keep up a daily correfpondence, if he did not keep registers; if he (Rinville) could not procure me a fight of one of them; and whether he could not permit me to take a copy of the twenty articles of the paper, that I might place my reflections in the margin, which would give him ample information of all he was defirous of knowing. Yes,' faid he; come to-morrow to my office.'

Inftead of one copy, I took five, and Rinville made a fixth from one of mine, containing my obfervations, which opened his eyes. Another time he took me with him to the houses of the three other oftenfible holders of the leafe, as well as to the Hôtel du Pleix, Rue de la Juffienne, where the great cornoffice was established: he affifted me in collecting all the documents and proofs I defired; and when I had completely drawn up my denunciation, I fent it, not to the parliament of Paris, the greatest part of the members being affociates in the undertaking, but to that of Rouen, which, as well as the parliament of Grenoble, had lately made fpirited remonftrances concerning the monopoly of corn to Louis XV. At this time I was fick, as well as Rinville. We were both defirous of carrying ourfelves the denunciation; and lucky would it have been for us ⚫had we done fo: but who is prudent at all times? My packet was voluminous, and Rinville propofed to me to have it counterbfigned along with his, with the feal and name of Laverdy, in

One

one of the offices of Boutin, intendant of the finances, whom we did not fufpect of being concerned in the combination.' na

Boutin's first clerk opened the packet, and, in confequence of the difcovery, Rinville, and the hapless hero of this work, were fent to the Baftille. There he was tolerably treated, as was customary with those who had a chance of being fet at liberty, and of telling their story to the world; but when the ironhearted minifters of defpotifm had decided that a prisoner's fufferings fhould only end with his life, or, in their own words, that he fhould be forgotten, the torments he endured, and the indignities heaped upon him, knew no bounds or alleviation. As foon as this determination had been taken in regard to M. le Prévot, he was fent to Vincennes. Seven years, and an half of the fifteen he paffed there he was confined in a loathfome dungeon, the greatest part of the time with his hands and feet in fetters; and, during one whole term of eighteen months, his nourishment confifted of no more than two ounces of bread, and a glafs of water, per day. When we add to this the want of air, fire, light, and apparel, the ftench of a damp dungeon, the corrofion of care, and the curfe of not knowing when or whether these fufferings were to end, it seems almost a miracle that he could have furvived. One circumftance, that cannot be read or related without horror, fufficiently proves the mifery of his fituation: he did not even dare to complain that the rats ftole a part of his fcanty provifions, for fear he fhould be deprived of a small fupply of air he received by a hole they had made under his door.

At the expiration of his fifteen years imprisonment at Vincennes, and at a time when his fituation was somewhat bettered, the bafe agents of the police came to remove him to Charenton; but M. le Prévot, fearing his deftination might be Mount St. Michel, or Pierre-en-Cize, and unwilling to leave fome papers he confidered as precious to the mercy of these blood-hounds, refused to let them in, withstood their affaults, and beat them off three times in one day with a shower of bricks and rubbifh. They tried a fourth attack, and this day,' fays he, Surbois came at ten o'clock in the morning, at the head of a troop of banditti in the pay of the police, and preceded by a maftiff of enormous fize: he announced his coming by a terrible buftle, ftorming and ranting like one poffeffed to encourage his rafcally attendants. As foon as my door was opened, they examined the breaftwork I had thrown up for my defence, confifting of a dry wall, built with the materials of my stove and bricks, and of the head of my bed, which overlooked the wall. The window was fecured by two enormous grates, and a blind of planks without. The attack could therefore only be made

8