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Charles Martel, A. D. 700, to Char-

lemagne, A. D. Soo.-XIII. From

the Crowning of Charlemagne Soo,

to the Death of Alfred A. D. 900.-

XIV. From the Death of Alfred,

A. D. 900, to the Foundation of the
Turkish Empire under Tangrolipix,
A. D. 1000.-XV. From the first
Founding of the Turkish Empire
under Tangrolipix 1000, to the Time
of the first Crufade, A. D. 1100.-
XVI. From the Year 1007, first
Crufade, to the Middle of the twelfth
Century, A. D. 1150.-XVII. To
the Year of our Lord 1200.-XVIII.
From the Year 1200 to 1230. -XIX.
Second Portion of the thirteenth
Century.-XX. To the Year of our
Lord 1300.--XXI. From A. D.
1300, to the Year 1350, or nearly
fo.-XXII. Ending with A. D. 1400.

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from 1492, to 1525.-V. Popes, and other European Princes, to A.D. 1550.-VI. Progrefs of Science, Progrefs of Difcovery, and Turkish Empire reviewed, from 1550 to 1600. -VII. Italy, Germany, Spain, Eugland, France, and the North-Progrefs of Reformation-From A. D. 1550 to 1600.--VIII. First Portion of the feventeenth Century; its Effects on England, Scotland, Holland, France, and Portugal; with a Sketch of the Changes in common Life, and Progrefs of Science.--IX. Portugal, Perfia, India, China, Turkey, Africa, and Rome, to 1650.-X. Sweden, Germany, France, and America, down to 1650.-XL. Great Britain only, to 1659.-XII. France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, from 1650 to 1700.

-XIII. Eft, Weft, and North, from 1650 to 1700-Progrefs of Science, Manners, &c.--XIV. Spain, Portugal, Germany, Holland, and Great Britain, from 1650 to 1700. -XV. Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Ruffia, and Turkey, from 1700 to 1725-XVI. France, England, Spain, Holland, Italy and Auftria, from 1700 to 1725.-XVII. America, Afia, Africa, and general Sketch of Improvements in Europe, from 1725 to 1750-XVIII. Sketch of the Situation of Auftria, Turkey, Ruffia, France, and Italy, from 1725 to 1750-XIX. Great Britain, Ireland, and America, from 1750 to 1780.-XX. Sketch of the Situation of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Germany, from 1750 to 1780. XXI. Review of Tranfactions in the Eaft and North, from 1750 to 1780.-XXII. General Retrospect, from 1780 to 1790.-XXIII. Sketch of Events from 1790 to 1796.-— XXIV. Laft four Years of the Century, from 1796 to 1800.

EXTRACT FROM THE PREFACE.

"IF the Rambler is right when he fays, That no man ever obtains more from his moft zealous endeavours, than a painful conviction of his own defects,' how ftrongly muft that conviction prefs upon her

mind, who having collected all these facts together, prefents them as an object of Retrofpection to the public! Of those who turn them over, how

different, how numerous will be the vourite hero, his beft-remembered in→ cenfures! while each expects his facident, to be dilated and brought forward; inftead of which, others` perhaps appear, and take the lead.

tree.

"Different obfervers attach to every object different degrees of importance. Taking a country walk one day in a remote province, the fteward advised fpeedy removal of an ugly ftag-horned company who was taking views 'pray Oh!' cried out a gentleman in 'fpare the favourite feature in my landscape.'-' You have been, Sir, a 'friend to the diftreffed,' faid another of our party, who profeffed natural philofophy, in faving from the axe thofe old dry boughs; for there are birds which will not perch among thick foliage, making rather a ftag. horned tree like this, their feat of delight all fummer.'

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"This conversation has come often to my mind; but the die is now caft, and complaints are vain. If, however, Ifhould have made improper choice of facts, and if I fhall be found at length moft to refemble Maifter Fabyan of old, who writing the Life of Henry V. cock fet up on St. Paul's fteeple during lays heavieft ftrefs on a new weatherthat eventful reign; my book muit fhare the fate of his, and be like that forgotten: reminding, before its death perhaps, a friend or two, of a poor man living in later times, that Dr.. Johnfon ufed to tell us of; who being advised to take fubfcriptions for a new Bolt Court and begged advice. There, geographical dictionary, haftened to having liftened carefully for half an hour, Ah, but, dear Sir!' exclaimed the admiring parafite, if I am to make all this eloquent ado about Athens and Rome, where thall we find place do you think for Richmond or Aixla-Chapelle ? The perplexity was laughable enough: yet fuch are the perplexities of a compiler; and for a quarto volumes, the apology must be mere compilation ftretched to two a ferious one. It will be found howfo far from laughable and ludicrous, ever, but among things and fituations that they appear even awfully impreffive.

"To

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<< To an of profound peace and literary qui fhould have confidered fuch an abridgment as infulting: to our disturbed and bufy days abridgments only can be useful. No one has leifure to read better books. Young people are called out to act before they know, before they could have learned how thofe have acted who have lived before them. Hiftory is voluminous, and fashionable extracts are so perpetually feparated from each other by verfes or by effays, that they leave little trace of information on the mind; a natural confequence, and manifest dif. advantage attendant upon all felections, where no one thing having any reference to another thing, each lofes much of its effect by ftanding completely infulated from all the reft. Our work, though but a frontispiece and ruin, contains between the two fome fhaded drawings, fuch as we find in rudiments of painting, and will, like them, be good for young beginners. Perhaps too, thofe who long ago have read, and long ago defifted from reading hiftories well known, may like to pleafe their fancies with the Retrofpe of what they feel connected in their minds with youthful study, and that fweet remembrance of early-dawning knowledge on the foul." P. iii.

EXTRACTS.

THE FOURTH CENTURY, FROM CON

they fettled, and Cafwallon then obtained (fome fay) the appellation of Draco Infularum. I thought the dragon creft and perhaps rouge dragon had been derived from him; but Pennant, who best knows fuch matters, brings them from Uther Pendragon: he has himself a right to bear it, as I have read or heard, deriving his long-traced lineage from Vortigern; and it should feem that dragons were not new to the world after crufading times, by this; though Warton thinks they were. Yet 'tis hard to believe, becaufe Brofcia Brixia gaye it for an enlign in carly days, if we believe the teftimony of Rubæus. Be this as it may, fcience had certainly begun to dawn among the barbarous nations; and a faint diftant light, as Rome began roiling back towards opacity, might be difcerned to promife day among the Goths, when Athanaricus, the Cecrops of modern ages, fixing in Thrace, encou raged Ulphilus, an Arian biflop, to` invent runic characters, and had the fatisfaction of feeing thofe arts of civi lization fown, which were defined to revive after the grand deluge of darknefs, urged onwards by the Huns and Vandals, fhould be dried off. But be fore then the timid Valens was confumed in a small houfe he had retired to from rage of war, which foon purfued him there and burned with fire. His rugged colleague Valentinian died in an agony of paffion, bursting a blood-veffel with his own violence at seeing himself forced to receive ambasfadors from favage leaders of armies he at once defpifed and feared; but having affociated Gratian his fon and fucceffor, the lofs was felt the lefs; while furious Maximin, a name that ever calls to mind ideas of tyranny, ruled but a little while. One of thefe femibarbarous emperors, I forget which, had for his favourites two fhapeless bears, probably lefs ferocious than himself; and excellent at ridding their mafter of friends or of petitioners he liked not. That nothing may appear impoffible, I can myself recollect hearing of a country gentleman refiding in Lancashire or Chefhire fome threefcore years ago, who had the fame tafte of domeftic amufement; and when more wine was called for than he wifhed to give, Call Dolly in,' faid he, to

STANTINE TO THEODOSIUS.
"WHILST enervate softness marked
the Eaft, a rougher, fcenery difplayed
itfelf in Scotland, whence Eugenius
and Euthodius were cruelly thruft out,
and exiled to perifh with hunger in the
Isle of Man; till Romachus, the petty
tyrant of Caledonia, having offended
his barons by this act of treafon againft
youths of a royal blood, they cut his
head off, carrying it in triumph upon
a pike's end, according to the true
fpirit of fuch irregular and turbulent
times. The fons, meanwhile, of Cy-
netha Weledig, whofe mother Gwawl*
was fifter to St. Helena, ruled on the
fhaggy top of Mona high, where the
Loegrian Britons had retired from
fury and encroachment of the Saxon
chiefs; having firft cleared the island
from piratic rovers from the Irish coaft,

* "Gwawl means Giulia, Julia, Juliana: the Gillian of our English ballads."

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