What is ftill the general spirit of American flave-holders, is obferved in a letter from Philadelphia now before me. As a farther inftance of the inhumanity with which the poor negroes are treated, I will add two advertisements published in the public papers, one of Virginia, the other of North-Carolina. From the Williamsburg Gazette.

Run away on the tenth inftant, a lufty negroe, named Bob.The faid fellow is outlawed, and I will give ten pounds reward for his head fevered from his body, and forty fhillings if brought alive.' From one of the North-Carolina news papers.

Ran away laft November from the fubfcriber, a negroe fellow, named Zeb; aged 36. As he is outlawed, I will pay twenty pounds currency to any perfon who fhall produce his head fevered from his. body, and five pounds if brought home alive. JOHN MOSELY. I am, Gentlemen, your very humble fervant,

JOHN WESLEY.

An anonymous, but very refpectful letter has been received, in defence of Dr. Rowley †, the writer of which has mistakenly prefumed on a late inftance of "interpofition in the fate of Authors.” He might have obferved, that the interpofition to which he refers, came not from an unknown quarter, and that, in the inftance alluded to, we were, in fome fenfe, only giving place to the protest of one of our own body. This, therefore, cannot be urged as a precedent for the admiffion of every covert defence of publications that have undergone the cenfure of the Review; the confequences of which are fufficiently obvious: appeals of this kind would flow in, fo plentifully, from the numerous tribe of dissatisfied authors, that the whole compafs of our Journal would be too narrow to contain them.

Once for all, therefore, we give notice, that no remonfirance will be regarded, unless figned with the name of the writer; nor unless fuch writer fhall alfo make it appear, that he hath just and reasonable cause of complaint: in which cafe, we shall ever be ready to act as candour and juftice require. Where complaints are well-founded, medrefs may be expected; if groundless, the JUDGMENT given will be frengthened and ratified: and, confequently, the credit of the COURT will be the more firmly established.

In the mean time, with refpect to the letter before us, on the fubject of Dr. Rowley's impeachment of Dr. Hunter, we have no doubt that it is written, as the Author declares, to exprefs the gratitude of a man who has experienced the effects of Dr. Rowley's fkill. We are by no means difpofed to question the truth of his affertion, that the Doctor is well qualified for ufefulness in his profeffion; and if (as our Correfpondent affures us) he "is daily doing good to perfons who could otherwife have no relief," we fincerely rejoice that there is fuch a perfon as Dr. Rowley in the world.

+ Vid. account of Dr. Rowley's Letter to Dr. Hunter, in our laft Review.

ERRATUM in our laft:

P. 397, line 25, for they two,' read they too:"

APPENDIX

TO THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

VOLUME the FIFTY-FIRST.

FOREIGN LITERATURE.

ART. I.

The Hiflory of Eudoxia Faderowna, firft Wife of Peter the Great, Emperor of Ruffia. Collected from the Chevalier D'Eon's Works, lately published. See laft Appendix.

TH

HOSE rapid viciffitudes of fortune which the Ruffian Princes have fo remarkably experienced, would almost incline one to think, that Providence had marked out that empire to exemplify the vanity of human grandeur.

Nothing can be a more ftriking inftance of this,' than the hiftory of Eudoxia Foederowna, first wife of Peter the Great. The immortal reputation of that hero ought by no means to have prevented his hiftorians from giving us an account of the woman whom he first made the partner of his throne. It is true, that account is not to be read without tears, nor without refentment of the cruelty of which this, otherwife illuftrious, man was guilty, with refpect to her. But who is there of his own nation, even the moft jealous of his glory, that will not own him chargeable with delinquences humiliating to the man, how little foever the hero might be affected by them?

The few memoirs we have hitherto met with of that unfortunate woman, of whom Peter's hiftorians have affected to say fo little, have not been written with that candour and impartiality to which her fufferings intitled her; with that compaffion, at leaft, which her indifcretions might have claimed, nor with that equity which hurts not the dignity of the throne, while it expofes the errors of the perfon who fills it.

It is well known that Peter I. like his predeceffors, did not afcend the throne till after a feries of catastrophes. A little beAPP. Rev. Vol. li.

K k

fore

fore he came into actual poffeffion of it, agreeably to the cuf tom of the Emperors, he married.

In the first place it was publickly announced throughout all Ruffia, that the Czar Peter had determined to fhare his throne and his bed with the most deferving and accomplished woman in his dominions. Some hundreds of ladies, who to noble birth added the charms of youth and beauty, prefented themfelves, on the 19th of June 1689, at the court of Moscow. The reward of the conqueror was a crown; and the whole artillery of love was levelled at the young monarch.

Eudoxia Foederowna, the daughter of Fodor Abraham witz Lapuchin, a gentleman of the grand duchy of Novogorod, seemed to be lefs folicitous than the reft; and she fixed the inconftant vows of the Prince.

This lady was born at Mofcow, in the year 1670; and it is difficult to fay, which were fuperior, the beauties of her perfon or those of her mind. When fhe was informed of her good fortune, the received the intelligence with that modest pleasure peculiar to liberal minds, which enjoy a kind of divided fatisfaction, on fuch occafions, fomewhat between the pleasure of the preference, and fentiments of gratitude to the benefactor.

Her marriage was celebrated with great pomp and magnificence, and in two years fhe had the fatisfaction of presenting the Emperor with two heirs to his crown. The premature death of Alexander, the eldeft, exempted him from those impending evils, in which the difgrace of his mother would most probably have involved him; at leaft, if we may judge by the fate of the fecond fon, Alexis, who lived to fall the victim to jealoufy and ambition.

These were all the children fhe had by the Czar, who, being fome years younger, foon grew tired of her, and sacrificed her to the charms of Ann Moenfen, the daughter of a citizen who lived in the suburbs of Mofcow. This man was a German, and his name Stabode.

The amours of princes are not eafily concealed. But Peter's paffion for his new miftrefs foon betrayed itself by its violence. The Emprefs, who was most interested in this change, was not the laft to difcover it. Her jealoufy was fo violent, that the loft fight of that moderation and decorum her prudence should have fuggefted to her on fo critical an occafion. Inftead of diffembling her refentment, and endeavouring, by a gentle and tender conduct to regain the heart of her husband and fovereign, fhe had recourfe to every fpecies of reproach, haughtiness, and diftraction; which, as ufual, ferved only to extinguish an expiring love.

The mother of the Czar (concerning whom hiftory can never Speak too highly) was no fooner informed of the diffenfion of the

royal

royal pair, than fhe used her utmoft influence to reconcile them. She reprefented to her daughter-in-law, that the Czar's love was rather conftitutional than delicate, that he would foon be difengaged from a paffion which nothing but the ardour of youth had excited, and that by a gracious behaviour, and obliging connivance, he could not fail of bringing him back to his duty.

Eudoxia could not relifh the prudence of this advice. She, undoubtedly, concluded, that as fhe fhared the fovereign authority with Peter, he could not think of fo violent a measure as divorce. But, whatever might be her motive, the rejected the counsel of her mother-in-law, looking upon the moderation by which it was dictated, as the effect of perfonal enmity: and, in a private interview with the Emperor, fhe gave way to all the rage of jealoufy, reproached him with his infidelity, in the harfheft terms, and concluded with declaring, that he would no longer partake of his bed.

Had the, from the time of her marriage, made it her object to study the temper of this severe and impetuous Prince, matters might have ended without violence. For it is certain that he excused and even apologized for the extravagance of her behaviour at this interview, imputing it to the power of her affec-, tion: and one may venture to say, that however odious the idea of ties and obligations might appear to him, he would not, in this inftance, have come to extremities, had not the ill-advised Eudoxia put his favourites upon effecting her ruin to avoid their

own.

In fhort, being informed that Lefort, the great favourite of Peter, endeavoured to foment her quarrel with the Emperor, by pimping for his pleasures, inftead of conniving at this, the loaded him with reproaches, which, however, he affected not to understand. Enraged at this diffimulation, which seemed to cut off every profpect of a reform, the thought the might poffibly fucceed better by humbling the favourite; and the fhewed him that he had every thing to dread from her revenge. This fo far intimidated him, that he inftantly formed a refolution to avail himelf of the first opportunity to ruin her with the Czar.

To give fuccefs to this dangerous project, he doubled his diligence and activity in administering to the Emperor's paffions, and abetting him in the crime of conjugal infidelity. Peter was the more attached to him as he found him an apologift for his irregularities, and faw that he would fupport any violent meafures to which he might have recourfe, in order to be quit of a troublesome wife.

:

In vain were the ecclefiaftics applied to on this occafion in vain were they commanded to find the marriage null and void. Steady in their duty, they told the favourite that there was but

Kk 2

one

one act of authority by which the Czar could rescue himself from the yoke of which he complained, and that this must have, at least, the appearance of Legality.

Eudoxia faw the ftorm arifing on every quarter, and ready to burft upon her head. She concluded herself loft, beyond redemption, when the departure of the Czar, who went to the fiege of Afoph, feemed to give her a little refpite, and delay, which in misunderstandings of this fort is ufually advantageous. But, alas! it was the moment the enemy waited for.

Peter, on whom, by the death of his brother, the whole nominal, as well as real imperial power had devolved, was inftigated by Lefort to difpatch a courier to Leon Narekin, his uncle, with orders for him to fhut up the Empress Eudoxia in a convent; and to fulfil this his pleasure without delay, being refolved never to quit the camp, or return to Moscow, till these orders were executed.

Thus then the defcended from her throne; and without a murmur at this ftrange procedure, fhe was conducted to the monaftery of Saltufky, about 30 miles from Mofcow; where, after changing the diadem for the religious veil, the found herfelf obliged to take the vows, under the order of St. Bafil; and was left to reflect on the inconftancy of fortune; which, having first made use of her charms to conduct her to a throne, foon after employed her jealousy to bury her in a convent.

Peter was no fooner rid of a wife who was a reftraint upon his pleasures, than he gave himfelf up to the uninterrupted enjoyment of his fair Stabodienne. At this time the Emperor was fo paffionately enamoured of her, that, had fhe been inclined to take the advantage, he would infallibly have married her. But we cannot tell how to account for this woman's invariable averfion to a diadem. Ann Moenfen answered with so much indifference to the Monarch's preffing folicitations to marry him, that his jealousy was alarmed. He grew apprehenfive that the complaifance fhe fhewed him, was paid rather to the fovereign than to the lover; and that fhe accepted his favours without loving his perfon.

He who is acquainted with the human heart, knows that the tenderness which meets with no return, does not support itself long. Thus Peter, continuing unacquainted with the fentiments of his miftrefs, the violence of his love began evidently to abate; and he foon came to treat her with indifference. His vifits grew lefs and lefs frequent, till at last he abandoned her totally. She appeared, however, to be under no diftrefs. She had amaffed money enough to make the fortune of M. Kayferlingen, who, though in the capacity of envoy from Pruffia to the Czar, thought it no difgrace to marry the mistress of the powerful Monarch at whofe court he was entertained. I fhall