rited, fuch was his mean avarice, that he immediately devoted to the axe fome lofty rows of venerable trees, for many fucceffive centuries the greateft pride and ornament of the caftle of Clairville. We now return to Albert, who foon gained that introduction, at the cottage of Bernard, which he fo anxiously fought, and by frequenting the fociety of this worthy old man, he had daily opportunities of feeing, and converfing with, his lovely daugh. ter.-Powerfully charmed at first fight by her perfonal attractions, he now found, on acquaintance, an irre fiftible fascination in the fuperior beauties of her mind. Nature had formed her fentiments juft, delicate, and virtuous, and her education had for two years received great advantage from a frequent intercourfe with a lady of birth and diftinguished talents, who had, on the decease of her hufband, retired into a fmall habita. tion, fituated in a vale near Bernard's cottage this amiable widow had lived many years in the great world, and had partaken both of its profperity and adverfity, fulliciently to fhew her the inflability of fortune: with her beloved lord, the had had loft the fuperfluities of life; but fatisfied with competence, the devoted the remainder of her days to folitude and religion. She conceived for Emma, then just fifteen, a ftrong attachment, and eafily obtained Bernard's permiffion for his daughter's frequent vifits. The good woman delighted in cultivating a mind whofe capacity and genius promifed every fuccefs. Emma read aloud for hours, uninterruptedly, to her kind patronefs, and read with an attention, that impreffed upon her memory every thing worthy to be retained; and the fubjects were conftantly calculated to improve the morals and enlarge the understanding. At the end of two years, death top. ped the progrefs of Emma's educa tion, by fuddenly depriving her of this most excellent friend; her little income reverted to the family of her husband, and he had nothing to leave the child of her adoption, but the fimple furniture of her little dwelling. Emma mourned with affectionate regret, a lofs fo great, but determined to perfevere in those fludies, for which he had acquired fo correct a tafte, and which she was happily enabled to do, by becoming the poffeffor of the valuable and felect collection of books, which formed the fmall library of the deceafed. By rifing very early in the morning, Emma was enabled to pursue her favourite employment, without trefpaffing on those hours, when her filial duties or domeftic cares demanded her attention. Young Albert foon difcovered in the converfation of Bernard's lovely daughter, a well informed mind, and an understanding which blended the artless fimplicity of rural life, with the more refined fentiments of cultivated education. The mental accomplishments of Emma completed the conqueft which her beauty had begun in the heart of Albert; nor was it long ere a reciprocal and gentle flame was com unicated to her bofom. The ardent lover, in the first flattering moment of afpiring hope, declared his paffion, and offered at her feet his honourable vows. She blushed modeftly, and referred her affent to her father's will. The heart of Bernard, at this unexpected proposal, felt all a father's rapture; but the ftrict rectitude of his fentiments checked the momentary joy, and with that fincerity which marked his character, he declined fo unequal an alliance, and reprefented to his young friend the impropriety of his forming any union unfanctioned by his family. "Accept our gratitude," faid Bernard," for the honour which you intend us: were you lefs dilin guished guished by rank and fortune, I fhould be proud to call you fon. Emma's only dower is virtue, and her birth is too humble for her to become your wife. Never fhall falfe vanity, or fordid intereft, betray me to an action at which my confcience would revolt. I will still be worthy your efteem, and the child whom you have honoured with your love fhall merit, at leaft by her conduct, the rank to which you would generously raife her. But you must meet no more: this is the itern decree of unfullied virtue and irreproachable honour. Return to your native country, with every with that grateful friend ihip can beftow." Albert had liftened in filent admiration to the words of Emma's venerable father: when Bernard ceafed to fpeak, he thus replied, "Could I offer a diadem to your incomparable daughter, fhe would, by accepting it, confer, and not receive the honour. I would not have prefumed to folicit her affections or her hand, could I have admitted a doubt of my father's approbation of a choice directed by reafon and fanctioned by virtue. I will renew no more my humble fuit till quthorized by him to demand the hand of Emma: Fare well! my return hither shall be as rapid as the impatience of love and hope can render it." Thus feparated the venerable Bernard and the youthful Albert; nor could all the moving rhetoric of the latter prevail upon the father of Emma to permit a parting scene between the lovers, He wifely thought the impaffioned adieu of Albert might leave an impreffion too tender on the heart of Emma, and which, as he forefaw, would endanger her peace of mind, if indulged; he therefore determined to use every argument, which could banish the flatterer Hope from her bofum. Bernard returned not to his cottage till Albert had quitted the village: when he entered, Emma advanced to meet him, her eyes furcharged with tears: the prefented him with a letter which Albert, retiring to write for a few moments before he mounted his horfe, had ordered his fervant to leave as he paffed the door. It breathed the language of eternal love, and affured her, that as he quitted her only to accelerate their union, the might foon expect his return to claim her promised hand; Bernard folding up the letter when he had read it, and putting it in his pocket, thus addreffed his trembling daughter, who waited filently her fate; Beware, my child, how you fuffer your heart to betray your happiness; truft not to the proteftations of a lover. An inconfiderate Vow is more frequently broken than kept. -You may be the present object of Albert's affections, but man, by nature inconftant, can eafily transfer his heart to fucceffive objects. The world will, probably, foon efface you from his remembrance; or thould he even fill retain his faith unshaken, can you flatter yourself that his family will admit into their fociety an humble villager, whose birth they would proudly deem unworthy their alliance?-Never hall my Emma's hand be united to a husband unfanctioned by the authority of his parents. Make, therefore, every effort, my beloved child, to conquer a prepoffeffion fatal in its tendency, and hopelefs in its effects. You have never yet deceived me, and I have that confidence in your discretion, which perfuades me you will not deviate from the path of rectitude; nor by a clandeftine conduct, act unworthy of your own fpotless character." Emma funk at the feet of her venerable fire, and embracing his knees," Never, never," exclaimed the, while tears rolled down her pale cheeks, "fhall your child wander from the path of honour!-You fhall guide and direct all her actions, your counfels fhall for fortify the weakness of her heart, and affift her to fubdue every fentiment difapproved by you; and if she cannot immediately forget the confpicuous virtues of her loft Albert, at least, fhe will humble her ambitious hopes, which had the prefumption to foar above her obfcure birth, and aspire to an alliance to which the had no pretenfions, but what the delufive voice of love and Albert awakened in her bofom." Bernard folded her in his arms with all a father's fond delight; and applauded the fentiments, which flowed from a heart capable of facrificing every inclina tion to that duty which he owed him. Emma poffeffed a ftrength of mind fuperior to her years, and tho' fhe tried in vain to forget an object fo tenderly beloved, the fo far reafoned herself into a perfuafion that the friends of Albert would never confent to their marriage, without which he was refolutely determined never to accept his hand, that the renounced every idea of being united to him, and banished the feducing hope of beholding him again. young female neighbours, the Baron de Morenzi paffed by on horseback, and cafting his eyes on the fair Emma, was fo ftruck with her beauty, that he suddenly stopped, and difmounting, approached the wicket. Taking off his hat he complained of a dizziness in his head, for which he politely requested a glass of water: Emma arose, and tripping into the houfe, quickly returned with a chryftal draught, which the presented to him with a native grace that accompanied all her motions. He had, during her short absence, informed himself that he was the daughter of Bernard, who ferved him as underbailiff. He accepted the cup from her hand, and while he fwallowed the contents, he drank, at the fame time, from her bewitching eyes, a draught, which spread an irresistible poifon through his veins. The baron was indebted to nature for a fine perfon, and to art, for that impofing elegance of addrefs, which feldom failed to infinuate his wishes with fuccefs, when the dominion of a tender paffion tempted him to glofs over While Emma was thus meritori- his haughty demeanour with diffemoufly fubmitting to the rigid laws of bled condefcenfion. Just as he was filial duty, fate was haftening to in returning the cup to the lovely Emvolve her in a fnare more dangerous ma, who ftood to receive it, with her than that which he had fo nobly looks bent upon the ground, to avoid overcome. As the was fpinning, the fixed gaze of his penetrating eyes, one fultry day, in a bower of honey. Bernard fuddenly appeared, and af. fuckles, near the gate of their little forded his daughter an opportunity Cottage, accompanied by one of her to retire into the cottage, [To be continued.] RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE DRAMA, DRURY LANE. attempting to dramatize the inci MARCH 5, 4 Trip to Scar- dents created by the pen of the au borough, with the Doctor and A pathecary. March 10, My Grandmother, and the Child of Nature. March 12, The Iron Cheft, a new opera, the plot of which is taken from the novel of Caleb Williams, was performed, for the first time, beforea crowded and elegant audience. thor. of political juftice, Mr Colman had great difficulties to encounter, for the fpectators feem to have been acquainted with the original, and therefore were but too well qualified to compare it with the copy here prefented to their criticism. The length of the piece, alone, had there been no other fault, was calculated to to difguft any audience; and it is not a little furprifing that the author, who, in addition to his own experience, might have added fome hereditary knowledge, fhould have fallen into fo obvious an error. Mr Kemble generously interceded with the audience for a refpite, and ingenioufly attributed their difapprobation to his own indifpofition, altho' it proceeded, in reality, from the drama itself. The mufic is the production of the late Mr Storace; the language an imitation of Shakespear. The fcenery, in general, is good, and the infide view of a library excellent indeed. This opera is withdrawn for the prefent. A judicious curtailment, and a few alterations, may render it tolerable, but it is not likely to prove a favourite. The grand mistake feems to have been in felecting a popular plot, and building up a fuperItructure, from incidents which every body anticipated. March 17, 19, and 21, The Iron Cheft, with alterations, has been again brought forward, but with indifferent fuccefs; and it is reported, that it will be repeated after the holidays. In this theatre, at the prefent moment, the public attention is ftrongly directed towards the expected performance of Vortigern, one of the MS. plays in poffeffion of Mr Ireland, and afcribed to the pen of Shakspeare. COVENT GARDEN. March 1, The new comedy of The Way to get Married, 24th time, after which, the new mufical farce, called The Lock and Key, 18th time. March 2, A grand felection of fa N Apology for the Bible, in Letters to T. Paine. By Bp. Wation. 12mo. 49. fewed, Evans. cred mufic, from the works of Han del. Principal vocal performers, Madame Mara, Miss Fletcher, Mr Nield, Mifs Leak, Mifs Parke, Mr Burdon, Mafter Elliot, Mr Kelly, and Mr Bartleman. OPERA. March 1, A new comic opera, called I Traci amanti, and a new divertifement, with intent to difplay the talents of the two recently imported performers, Rofe and Didelot. The pas de trois introduced in it, had a wonderful effect on the house. The archness of Hilligfburg, the elegant poftures and appofite gefticulations of Rofe, were much admired. fashionable place of entertainment ftill continues to experience public approbation; and luckily for the manager, the difpute between him and a respectable lady of the fubfcribers has been at length amicably terminated. This March 3, La Belle Arfene, with a grand pantomime ballet, called Soliman II, or Les Trois Sultanes. The mufic, partly new, and partly compiled by Mazzinghi, gave great fatisfaction. March 15, A new comic opera, called I Due Gobbi, the mufic by Portugallo. This opera, although performed here for the first time, has been long known on the Italian ftage. Vigagnoni made his debut and was well received; his voice a fweet, although not powerful tenor; his chief excellence confifts in modulation and flexibility. The theatre was crowded with fashion, and the dances rapturoufly applauded. Thofe who are jealous of the good taste of the nation, muft lament to fee mere me chanical exertion fo much patronized. PUBLISHED IN MARCH 1796. Sermons, by the late Bp. Hinchcliffe. 8vo. A Word for the Bible,inAnfwer to Paine's Sermon at Camberwell to reduce the confumption of Wheat. By T. Sampion. IS. Lowndes. A particular Enquiry into the Doctrine of an eternal Filiation. By C. Hawtry. 28. Rivingtons. Twenty Sermons. By W. Draper. 8vo. Obfervations on Chevalier's Defcription of the Plain of Troy. 40. 38. ib. A Journey from Pr. of Wales's Fort in Hudfon's Bay to the Northern Ocean. By Sam. Hearne. 4to. Il. 78. boards. Cadell and Davies. The Chronologift of the prefent War. 45. 6d. Allen and Weft. Oriental Literature. 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