1

FOREIGN LITERATURE*.

ART. LXXV. La Franciade, &c. i. e. The Franciad, or Ancient
France: a Poem, in Sixteen Cantos. By M. VERNES the Younger,
Citizen of Geneva. 8vo. 2 Vols. pp. 320 in each. Laufanne. 1789.

M. VERNES, as we learn from the introduction, is a very
young man; and like other young men, he looks back
with tender regret on the better days which have gone by.
Seated on the banks of the Lake of Geneva, he fees, in vifi-
onary perfpective, the long-loft delights of the golden age;
and, while his tongue repeats the love-fraught ftrains of the
admiring fhepherd and languishing fhepherdefs, he, arrived at
the winter of twenty years, fighs for the fpring of fifteen?
O mes quinze ans, ou etes vous! Abandoning himself to his
delirium, he beholds, in the ecftatic wanderings of his ima-
gination, cities and villages turned into men and women: he
talks of old Lutece, and his fon Paris: Aldee, Lyons, and
Tours, are in love with Mademoiselle Geneve: they all en-
gage in a boat race, but Love whispered Aldee to convert the
veil of his miftrefs into a fail; the fignal for starting is given;
Aldee fuffers his competitors to ftrive among themselves;
Lyons is fure of victory; the fail is unfurled: the veffel shoots
through the water, like lightning. Does Aldee fly? does he
touch the waters? he has fcarcely ftarted.... he has reached
the goal!' Aldee, in confequence, receives the hand of Geneve
as the reward of his victory: he had long poffeffed her heart,
for they were conftant lovers, and infeparable in the dance;
one of which, of their own compofition, has been handed
down to us under the name of Allemand -Lyons, however,
conceiving that the victory was unfairly fnatched from him,
abfented himself from the games, till accidentally meeting with
a horfe, the use of which animal was not then known, he re-
turns, juft as the Francs were about to celebrate the sport of
the race, and fubjects his competitors to the fame mortifying
defeat, which he had before undergone. The victor proudly
demands Geneve for his prize, which being refused, he feizes
her, and, placing her on the horse, gallops away. The con-
fequence is a war, which, when it is confidered that this was
in the golden age, proves a very bloody one. At length, it is
decided by fingle combat between the two lovers. Aldee, hav-
ing thrown his enemy to the ground, is on the point of killing
him, when he is difarmed by an arrow fhot from the hand of
the lovely Aloife, the charming but neglected mistress of Lyons.
The conclufion is obvious: Aldee and Lyons become friends;
*This article was intended for our Appendix, but was omitted
for want of room.

Aldee poffeffes Geneve, and Lyons once more vows fidelity to the injured Aloife. Such is the outline of this epic-paftoral allegory; which, by the helps of the epifodes and exclamations, is fwelled to an enormous fize. Of the cpifodes, which are, indeed, the most confiderable part of the book, a judgment may be formed from the following fpecimens of the history of the creation for M. VERNES is not fatisfied with the common account of this occurrence, though, perhaps, fome oldfashioned readers may think that it was quite as well related by Mofes.

After the Deity had created the earth, (which, however, was left in a mere rude ftate,) he created man. The name of the firft man was Omen, not Adam. As man was to live for the purpofe of loving, fo all his enjoyments were to be derived from love. Omen lived by himself in a tolerable state of comfort, till going by chance to the fea, he there faw the reprefentation of himself in the waves: he thought it another being: Oh! if that charming figure could leave the water, and dwell with me on the earth, my existence would be doubled !' Love formed the wifh, and it was heard. A light vapour rofe from the water, and condenfing, prefented to Omen a majestic figure, which to the noble proportions of man, united numberlefs delicacies of its own: but alas! it was without animation, without colour!-Omen, enraptured, called it Ali, or delight of life.

Omen preffed Ali to his bofom. Her cheeks were white as alabafter ftill they invited Omen's kiffes, and each kiss tinged them with the glow of the queen of flowers. The ardent lover next impreffed his kifles on her bofom: but multiplying them too faft, the roses had not time to blow, but remained there in the beautiful form of opening buds!

Ali had not yet fhewn any figns of life, though Omen, by the warmth of his careffes, endeavoured to transfufe his foul into her breast' at length a figh efcapes from her, and Omen determines that, ever afterward, a figh fhould be the first token of love: a figh,' obferves the author, penetrates into the foul of the lover deeper than a fmile; it more immediately belongs to it; it comes more directly from the heart.' Omen's tear, (for he cries with joy and with fadnefs,) falling on the chin of Ali, leaves a dimple there. Enfin, Ali s'anima, au feu des tranfports d'Omen!' At first, the returns his carefles, till, after a time, she starts up, and runs away: (the poet has not informed us of the motives of her flight:) Omen follows, and endeavours, with all his power, to stop her-de peur d'une chute! but finding the attempt to be vain, and being fearful left the hard ftones fhould hurt Ali's feet, he defires that the

earth

earth may receive a fofter covering; and, behold, it was clothed with grafs! ftill, however, Omen had not stopped the course of his better half; he therefore orders parts of the earth to elevate themselves among the clouds, and mountains were formed; and then, by way of diverfion to Ali, (croyant plaire Ali,) he afks for a little thunder: but this unfortunately a frightening the lady, Omen ordains that it fhall come feldom, and always be preceded by a flash of light... afin d'y preparer la femme-de-la, l'eclair! Omen next forms flowers, and dreams, and trees to fhade Ali, and the air, that it might gently agitate Ali's flowing locks, which covered a thousand beauties from his eyes; and fo on, to the end of this long lift of metamorphofes, in the management of which, the author evinces all the quibbling powers of Ovid, without any of his occafional elegances of fancy, or graces of compofition.

When it is added, that there are fixteen cantos of a fimilar complexion, filled with infipid details of paftoral amours in the golden age; and thefe, too, defcribed in bombaft language, which is neither verfe nor profe; we think that our readers, though they might, for a fhort time, fmile at the conceits of the writer, will not regret that they are not required, with us, to read the whole of the volumes.

CORRESPONDENCE.

The great length of the letter which we have received from Medicus, relative to our account of Mr. Adams's Effay on Vifion, prevents our complying with his request, and our wish, to print it entire.

Having no other view in our remarks than the promotion of truth, we are always as ready to acknowlege our errors, when convinced of them, as to point out those of others: but, in the present cafe, as we do not fufficiently comprehend the force of our Correfpondent's reafoning, either to acquiefce in it, or to diffent from it; all we can do is, to give what we take to be the fubftance of his obfervations, and leave it to others to form their own opinions on them.

The interior rays of every pencil, fays Medicus, are refracted to a point within the eye, more remote from the cornea, than that to which the exterior rays of the fame pencil are refracted. A fmall pupil receives only thefe interior rays. Rays, therefore, which proceed from an external point, placed beyond the ordinary bounds of diftinct vifion, may form a diftin&t image when they pafs through fuch a pupil whereas, if the pupil had been larger, the image would have been confufed by the more numerous exterior rays forming a more vivid image which alone would be attended to. Ín this way, fays Medicus, a fmall pupil may occafion long-fightedness; though, adds he, in a degree only cognizable by theory.

When

When we affirmed that a fmall pupil was more likely to contribute to fhort, than to long fight, Medicus conceives we must have forgotten, that if the pupil be fmall, the furface on which the rays fall, will be nearly plane with refpect to the point from which they proceed; and when the pupil is large, the greater divergency of the rays will be more than compenfated by the increafed obliquity of the furface on which they fail.

As a proof from fact, that large pupils are of differvice to shortfighted people, he remarks, as Mr. Adams had done before him, that when fuch perfons wish to view accurately any object beyond their sphere of diftinct vifion, they nearly close their eyelids: but do they ever close them fo much as to cover any part of the pupil? Do they not merely furround, without encroaching on, or diminishing, the aperture of the pupil? May not the defign, and effect, of fuch conduct be, to exclude, by the projecting prominence of the eyelid, fuch rays from adjacent objects, as would be apt to enter a large pupil fo abundantly, as to weaken and disturb diftin&t vifion? And may not the clofing of the eye-lids, by leffening the quantity of admitted light, become the means of dilating the pupil?

Perhaps, both the long and the fhort fighted may be benefited by looking through small holes in pafteboard, or any other fubftance: but the question is, are they both benefited, as the logicians fay, quoad hoc? The very circumftance of the hole being ferviceable to both, feems to fay not: for the fame thing can hardly act as a remedy for oppofite evils. From a common caufe, they may both, in particular cafes, reap benefit from ufing the hole; and fo alfo may those who are neither long nor fhort fighted: but in addition to this common benefit, which they all receive, long-fighted perfons may derive ftill further advantage from looking through a fmall hole, inafmuch as it may tend to counteract the particular defect under which they labour.

Medicus fays he has ground for believing that proper fpectacles not only relieve, but preferve the eyes, by refifting and retarding the increase of both fhort and long fight, in a way different from any he has feen remarked by authors: though he acknowleges that this tendency may be equalled, or even overpowered, by the contrary tendencies of which we have fpoken. As to the strong facts in con. firmation of his opinion, which he found in Mr. A.'s book, is it certain, fuppofing the facts to be indifputably afcertained, that they are to be attributed to the caufes affigned? Did the persons, who delayed the ufe of fpectacles, and whofe eyes were more impaired than thofe who used them fooner, never play tricks, nor tamper, with their eyes? Did they never overstrain and weaken the organs of fight, by fome violent and ill-judged effort to oppofe the growing evil? And in thofe very few cafes where perfons may have regained their former ftate of fight after ufing fpectacles, is it certain that this was not caused by a cafual recovery from fome disease, or defect, in the optical organs, in the removal of which the fpectacles had no fhare nor concern?

We are forry that our ftill fcanty limits, notwithstanding the enlargement of our Work, oblige us to decline the proffered com

munication

munication of Medicus's reafons for his opinion on the effect of
spectacles: but our regret is much diminished by his declaration,
that he means, at fome future time, to publifh his thoughts on this
and other subjects relating to the theory of vifion.
Pe...e.

*+* In a letter which we have received from Mr. Wollafton, that Gentleman obferves that, in our remark, beginning at the first line of page 315 of our Review for July laft, we did not fufficiently attend to the top of the third column in the index; which, by the ufual mark, fhews the zone to which reference is made, to be diftinguished by its refpective degree of North Polar diftance; and not, as we feem to have understood it, by the number of the zone as it ftands in the general catalogue.' On re-confulting Mr. W.'s book, we perceive that he is right.

+++ We shall attend to P. L.'s request.

11 Codrus muft excufe our non-compliance with his wifh, for our judgment on his fample..

§§§ Mr. Franks's letter is received.

¶¶ To Anonymous, who expreffes himself hurt at our faying, in our Review of De Laune's Pif, (fee page 475 of our laft No.) la that there is no regular plan of a church in the N. T. we must reply that we cannot find any thing like a plan in any of the paffages to which he has referred us: but let him not fuppofe we mean, by our affertion, to derogate from the fufficiency of Scripture. All that is neceffary to the real improvement of the mind and heart, is revealed; and what is not neceflary, as for inftance, the particular plan on which Chriflians fhall form themselves into an holy fociety for the purposes of piety and edification, is left to human prudence to be accommodated to the views and convenience of the fociety. General hints and ideas are fuggefted in the N. T. refpecting church order and church government: but we affirm that there is no detailed and regular plan indifpenfably enjoined. Every thing, even to a pin and a ring, was laid down with regard to the Jewish tabernacle: but Chrift has fhewn no fcrupulous exactness as to modes and external circumstances; he has not defcended to mention any of the minutia in the conftruction of religious focieties; nor has he any where faid, after this exact pattern shall my churches be formed.

Moo-y

Mr. Gr-v-le's letters from Bath are all received: but this gentleman forgets to frank them.

Mr. Palmer's and X. Y.'s communications remain for confideration in our next Number.