Curious Anecdote of Queen Mary, THIS play, which is certainly one of the best of Dryden's drama. tic efforts, was much decried, both by his enemies and the adherents of the Duke of York, on its first representation. The former said it was mostly stolen from other authors; and the latter thought it trenched too much on the Popish religion. The witty Charles, however, thought otherwise he said in regard to the latter, that knaves in every profes sion should be alike subject to ridi. cule; and as to the first he exclaimed, "God's fish! steal me such another play any of you, and I'll frequent it as much as I do the Spanish Friar.” This play, however, being upon the stock list when King William ascended the throne, the queen unwittingly ordered it for representation at the time the king was in Ireland, and she was left regent; but the confusion arising from so many supposed allusions to her new situation, which occurred in the representation of it, was such as, perhaps, never occurred from theatrical accident before. The facts are so curious, we shall lay before our readers the following letter, written by Daniel Finch, second Earl of Nottingham, to a person of fashion, name unknown, announcing the particulars; a copy of which letter was in the possession of Dr. Percy, Bishop of Dromore, some years ago. "I am loth to send blank paper by a carrier, but am rather willing to send some of the tattle of the town than nothing at all, which will at least serve for an hour's chat, and then you may convert the scrawl to its proper use. The only day her majesty gave herself a play, it happened to be" The Spanish Friar," the only play forbid by the late king. Some unhappy expressions, amongst which those that follow, put her into the greatest disorder, and frequently forced her to hold up her fan, and often look behind, and call for her palatine and hood, or any thing that she could think of, whilst those who were in the pit before her constantly turned their heads over their shoulders, to see how she bore the application of what was said. "In one place, where the Queen of Arrogan is going to church in procession, it is said, by a spectator, "Very good! she usurps the throne, Keeps the old king in prison, and, at the same time, Is praying for a blessing on the army." be originally intended, it furnished the town with talk till something else happened which gave much occasion for discourse; for another play being ordered to be acted, the queen came not, being taken up with other diversions as follow: "She dined with Mrs. Gradens, the famous woman in the Hall who sells fine laces and head-dresses; from thence went to the Jew's who sell Indian things; thence to Mrs. Ferguson's, De Vit's, Mrs. Harrison, and other Indian houses, but not to Mrs. Potter's, though in her way; which caused Mrs. Potter to say, that she might as well have hoped which he asked her, If she meant to make her her example.' "More was said upon this occasion than ever was said before; but it was borne with all the submission of a good wife, who leaves all to the discretion of the king, and diverts herself with walking six or seven miles per day, looking after her buildings, making of fringes, and such like innocent things, and does not meddle with government, though she has a better title to do it than the late queen had." for that honour as another, consider. History of the Buccaneers, from the ing that the whole design of bringing in the king and queen was managed at her house, and the consultations held there; so that she might have thrown away a little money in raffling there, as well as at the other houses.' But it seems that my lord Devonshire has got Mrs. Potter to be laundress, and that she has not much countenance from the queen -her daughter still keeping the In. dian house her mother had. "The same day the queen went to one Mrs. Wise, a famous woman for telling fortunes, but could not prevail with her to tell any thing, though to others she has been very free, and has foretold amongst other things, that king james shall come in again, and the Duke of Norfolk lose his head-the last, I suppose, will be the consequence of the first. All these things, however innocent, have passed the censure of the town; and, besides a private reprimand gi ven, the king gave one in public, saying to the queen, that he heard she dined at a by-house, and desired the next time she went that he might be of the party.'-She replied, She had done nothing but what the late queen did.'-Upon 6 Abbè Raynal. " is rather to squander away life than “to preserve it.” The Spanish colonies flattering themselves with the hopes of seeing an end to their miseries, and reduced almost to despair in finding themselves a perpetual prey to these ruffians, grew weary of navigation. They gave up all the power, conveniences, and fortune their connections procured them, and formed themselves almost into so many distinct and separate states. They were sensible of the inconveniences arising from such a conduct, and avowed them; but the dread of falling into the hands of rapacious and savage men, had greater influence over them, than the dictates of honour, interest and policy. This was the rise of that spirit of inactivity which continues to this time. This despondency served only to increase the boldness of the Bucca. neers. As yet they had only appeared in the Spanish settlements, in order to carry off some provisions, when they were in want of them. They no sooner found their captures begin to diminish, than they determined to recover by land what they had lost at sea. The richest and most popu. lous countries of the continent were plundered and laid waste. The culture of lands was equally neglected with navigation; and the Spaniards dared no more appear in their public roads, than sail in the latitudes which belong to them. Among the Buccaneers who signalized themselves in this new spe. cies of excursions, Montbar a gentleman of Languedoc, particularly distinguished himself. Having, by chance, in his infancy, met with a circumstantial account of the cruel. ties practised in the conquest of the new world, he conceived an aversion that he carried to a degree of phrenzy against that nation that had com mitted such enormities. Upon this point a story is told of him, that when he was at college, and acting in a play the part of a Frenchman, who quarrelled with a Spaniard, he fell upon the person who personated the Spaniard, with such fury, that he would have strangled him had he not been rescued out of his hands. His heated imagination continually represented to him innumerable muí. titudes of people massacred by savage monsters who came out of Spain. He was animated with an irresistible ardour to revenge so much innocent blood. The enthu siasm this spirit of humanity worked him up to, was turned into a rage more cruel than that of religious fanaticism, to which so many victims had been sacrificed. The names of those unhappy sufferers seemed to rouse him and call upon him for vengeance. He had heard some account of the Buccaneers, who were said to be the most inveterare enemies to the Spanish name: he therefore embarked on board a ship in order to join them, In the passage they met with a Spanish vessel, attacked it, and as it was usual in those times, immediately boarded it. Montbar, with a sabre in his haud. fell upon the enemy, broke through them, and hurrying twice from one end of the ship to the other, levelled every thing that opposed him. When he had com. pelled the enemy to surrender, leav. ing to his companions the happiness of dividing so rich a booty, he contented himself with the savage pleasure of contemplating the dead bodies of the Spaniards, lying in heaps together, against whom he had sworn a constant and deadly hatred. Fresh opportunities soon occur. red, that enabled him to exert this spirit of revenge, without extinguishing it. The ship he was in arrived at at the coast of St. Domingo; where the Buccaneers on land immediately applied to barter some provisions for brandy. As the articles they offered were of little value, they alledged in excuse, that their enemies had overrun the country, laid waste their settlements, and carried off all they could. "Why replied Montbar, do you tamely suffer such insults ?" "Neither do we, answered they in "the same tone; the Spaniards bave "experienced what kind of men we "are, and have therefore taken ad64 vantage of the time when we were engaged in hunting. But we are going to join some of our companions, who have been still more "ill-treated than we, and then we "shall have warm work." "If G you approve it, answered Mont"bar, I will head you, not as your commander, but as the foremost "to expose myself to danger." The Buccaneers perceiving, from his appearance, that he was such a man as they wanted, chearfully accepted his offer. The same day they overtook the enemy, and Montbar attacked them with an impetuosity that as tonished the bravest. Scarce one Spaniard escaped the effects of his fury. The remaining part of his life was equally distinguished as this day. The Spaniards suffered so much from him, both by land and at sea, that he acquired the name of the Exterminator. His savage disposition, as well as that of the other Buccaneers who at tended him, having obliged the Spaniards to to confine themselves within their settlements, these freebooters resolved to attack them there. This new method of carrying on the war, required superior forces, and their associations in consequence became more numerous. The first that was considerable, was formed by Lolonois, who derived his name from the sands of Olones the place of his birth. From the abject state of a bondsman, he had gradually raised himself to the command of two canoes, with twenty-two men. With these he was so successful, as to take a Spanish frigate on the coast of Cuba. A slave having observed that after the engagement, all the men who were wounded were put to death, and fearing lest he should share the same fate, wanted to save himself by a perfidious declaration, but very consistent with the part he had been destined to take. He assured them, that the governor of the Havannah had put him on board, in order to serve as executioner to all the Buccaneers he had sentenced to be hanged, not doubting in the least but they would be all taken prisoners. The savage Lolonois, fired with rage at this declaration, ordered all the Spaniards to be brought before him, and cut off their heads one after another, sucking at each stroke the drops of blood that trickled down his sabre. He then repaired to the Port-au-Prince, in which were four ships, fitted out purposely to sail in pursuit of him. He took them, and threw all their crews into the sea, except one man, whom he saved, in order to send him with a letter to the governor of the Havannah, acquainting him with what he had done, and assuring him, that he would treat in the same manner all the Spaniards that should fall into his hands, not excepting the governor himself, if he should be so fortunate as to take him. After this expedition he ran his canoes and prize ships aground, and sailed with his frigate only to the island of Tortuga. (To be continued.) Anecdotes relative to the matrimonial to an insurrection, who led by her injured husband, routed her in many battles, and in the end compelled her to fly the kingdom. But surely the above single instance, and that in the royal line, can be no proof against the general custom: as we have the authorities of Cæsar, Dio, and other repectable ancient writers, that the Britons enjoyed a community of wives_ amongst certain numbers, and by the common consent of all." THE chastity of the ancient Britons (according to the idea we have of that virtue at present,) perhaps, has never been defended by any historian, however partial he otherwise may be to the honour of his country, except the late Dr. Henry, who upon a bare supposition that a promiscuous manner of living may mat pro. duce a promiscuous intercourse of the sexes, and the case of Cartisman. dxa, Queeen of the Brigantines, being driven out of her kingdom for her in fidelity to her husband, concludes that the laws of matrimony appear to have been held sacred, and of the viola-"One custom there was amongst tors of them as odious amongst the ancient Britons as among the Germans and other nations. But Dr. Henry, in giving this solitary instance of the ancient British people resenting the infidelity of Car rismandua, should have likewise given as the many concurrent reasons which determined her subjects to make her this particular object of their detestation: beside this, the character of the royal family required a particular law in respect to themselves, to ascertain the right heirs to the throne. Cartismandua, Queen of the Brigantines, was married to Venutius, a prince of great honour and integrity; but forgetting what she owed to her own station, as well as her country, she first besrayed Caractacus to the Romans, to adern the triumphs of the Emperor Claudius, and then des rted her own husband by marrying Vellocatus (a trumpeter of the household) and conferred on him (by the assistance of the Romans) the kingdom of the Brigantines. So odious and degrading an action as this, no doubt, roused her subjects Sir William Temple, who has written a very elegant introduction to the History of England, describes this ancient usage of his ancestors in the following words: the Britons which seems peculiar to themselves, and not found in the stories of any other nations, either civil or barbarous; which was a society of wives among certain numbers of men, and by common consent. Every man married a single woman, who was always after, and alone, esteemed his wife; but it was usual for five or six, ten or twelve, or more, either brothers or friends, as they could agree, to have all their wives in common; love encounters happening amongst them, as they were invited by desire or favoured by opportunity. Every woman's children were attributed to him who had married her; but all had a share in the care and defence of the whole society, since no man knew which were his own. "Though this custom," continues Sir William Temple, " be alledged as a testimony how savage and bar barous a people the Britons were, I know not why it should appear more extravagant than the community of women in some other countries; the deflowering of virgins by the priest the first night of their marM riage |