ing down branches of trees is really admirable, but it is hardly poffible to form an idea of the manner of doing it without a defcription. This work it performs by encircling the branch with its bills, the points of which it faftens well into the wood, and turning round it briskly by the ftrength of its wings, which make a loud buzzing noife, it in a fhort time faws the branch afunder. They are by many called elephant flies, from the great refemblance of their heads to that animal; they are perfectly harmlefs, and are caught only to be kept as curiofities.

The blacksmith fly, is fo called from its making a noife refembling in found the ftriking on iron. In the centre of its back is a projecting horny point, and a crevice of the fame nature on the hind part of the head, near the shoulders, which being ftruck together by a jerk of the head and body, make a tingling noife, that may be heard at a confiderable diftance; and fo elastic is the membrane which joins the bead and body together, that, if the infect is laid on its back, it will fpring to a tolerable height upwards, and fall directly on its legs. It differs very little from the beetle in shape or fize, excepting in its elaftic powers, and making fo fingular a noife.

The fire fly is a wonderful infect, for it has a luminous quality ip its head (above the eyes) under each wing, and in its tail; which, when the infect is flying, has the appearance of fo many lights of candles moving in the air: or the lights of a coach or poft-chaife, in a dark night, travelling towards you at a brifk

rate.

Some of thefe flies are as big as the top-joint of a man's thumb, others are much smaller; and the latter have that luminous quality only in their tails. They have a charming effect on the eye at night in the groves of the woods, where they are feen flying in all directions, like fo many theuland fparkles of fire; forming one

of the grandeft fpectacles of the kind that can be conceived, in Dominica's woods" that nightly fhine with infeet lamps."

The larger fort are often caught for the novelty of the light they give ;~ if two or three of them are put into a glafs, placed in a dark room, you may fee diftin&tly any object there: or by holding a book close to the glafs in which they are, you may fee plainly to read the fmallest print.

There is another quality remarkable in the fire flies, which is, that feveral of them being killed and mashed together will produce the fame effect, and be as vifible in letters marked out on the walls of a dark room, as if done with artificial phosphorus ; and this for a confiderable time after the flies are dead.

The loggerhead fly is a fpecies of the moth, from which it differs only in the uncommon largeness of its head, and a fingular quality of transparency in its body; which latter is very remarkable, for placing this fly near to the light of a candle, you may plainly diftinguish every part of its vitals, and diftinctly count every movement of them.

The

The Spaniard fly and free-mafont fly are both of the wafp kind, but they differ from each other in fize, fhape, and alfo in the fubftance and curious manner of making their nests. firit is of the shape of a fmall bee, and builds its neft of a waxy matter, in the form of a fmall flat button full of holes, which it fufpends by a filky ligament to the cielings of houfes, or to the boughs, of trees, where it has the benefit of the wind to vibrate to and fro.

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up when finished with numbers of various coloured fmall fpiders, which they alfo bring in their mouths for food to their young when hatched. That which is further remarkable of thefe flies is, that it appears they qualify the fpiders, by fome means, for remaining a long time in as perfect a ftate as the first day they were immured in their cells; I have feen fpiders, fo immured for feveral weeks, as whole and perfect in fize, fhape, and colour, as when alive.

There is another species of these flies, called galley wafps, which is double the fize, and of a bright lightblue colour. Thefe have very long ftings, which are plainly to be feen when they are flying, with which they wound very feverely, caufing the blood to spout out, as from the prick of a

⚫ lancet.

The fting of these flies is very painful, and perfons have been thrown into fevers by being ftung feverely by them; but they are feldom offenfive, unlefs difturbed.

The wood horfe, called by the negroes the fairy-horse, is a very fingu

lar infect. Its head is like that of a grafshopper, it has two horns, confiderably longer than its own body, which is about three inches, and of one continued thicknefs, like a large caterpillar. It has fix legs, which are raised and doubled above its body, like the fpringing legs of a grafshopper, but they have not the fame power, ferving it only to walk with, which it does very fast. It has no wings, is of a deep green colour, and is perfectly harmless.

The vegetable fly is a remarkable infect. It is of the appearance and fize of a small cockchafer, and buries itfelf in the ground, where it dies, and from its body fprings up a fmall plant, which refembles a coffee-tree plant, only its leaves are much finaller. The plant which fprings from this infect is often overlooked, from the fuppofition people have of its being no other than a coffee plant; but on examining it properly, the difference is eafily diflinguifhed, from the head, body, and feet of the infect appearing at the root, as perfectly as when alive.

TH

HE Comte de Bernis is a man of quality of the old race. He was deftined to the church from his infancy, and was firft Canon and Count of Brioude.

After having paffed fome of his juvehile years at St Sulpice, with as little fortune as most of the younger fcns of noble families who afpire at and who attain the mitre, he entered into the chapter of Lyons, whither he went only to undergo the ceremony of admiffion, and immediately returned to Paris.

Refpectable by birth, with an amiable figure, an open countenance, a deal of wit and chearfulness, a found judgment and steady character, Ber

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nis was courted by all companies; there he lived fashionably; but his air of diffipation difpleafed old Cardinal de Fleury, the friend of his father, and who had promised to take care of the fortune of the fon. He fent for him, and told him frankly that he had nothing to expect while he (the Cardinal) lived. The young Abbé making a low how, replied," my Lord, I will wait," and retired. The old minifter fmiled at the anfwer, and even related it to many people, but continued inflexible, not deeming a pleasantry a fufficient title to a benifice.

As to the Abbé de Bernis, he continued to live as he used to do, with

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out having any thing to reproach himfelf with when he confidered his fellow candidates, except being a little more gay and having lefs hypocrify. His answer to the Cardinal de Fleury was fmart, but to make it true, it was neceffary that he fhould not deceive himfelf by waiting. After the Cardinal de Fleury was dead, the fortune of the Abbé de Bernis was not advancing. He gave himself no trouble about it, trufting that among the great, numbers of whom were his relations, and many who courted him, there would be fome one who would ferve him with effect: but it feemed to be nobody's business. Every one contented himself with faying, that certainly no man of quality ever fupported the poverty of his condition with ́more dignity than Bernis, for he fhowed no fymptoms of chagrin, and behaved even with gaiety; as if fortune were a thing not worth his care.

Chance having connected him with Madame de Pompadour, the conceived for him the highest honour and efteem. The first use he made of fuch powerful influence was in favour of others. He was of the French Academy, and the title of Academician was the only thing which, without actually giving him place or precedence, ferved him instead of both. He was of ufe to fuch of his fellow academicians as he had it in his power to oblige; gi ving places to fome and drawing others from indigence. His friends were obliged to hint to him the neceffity of atrending at laft to himself. A proof of the moderation of his defires was the bounds he fet to his ambition. Boyer, the old Bishop of Mirepoix, had at that time the difpofal of all benefices, and never was man more mafter in his department than that scarecrow of a minifter; a man without birth, of zeal without knowledge, and drawn from the cloister to be decorated with the mitre, by the intereft of a few old devotees of the Court.

Both church and state at this day feel the effects of his weakness.

The

Louis XV. deigned to recommend to him the Abbé de Bernis. Boyer, who could not disobey a recommendation which he knew had the effect of an order, found means to elude it. He propofed to the Abbé de Bernis to take orders, and promifed soon to nominate him to a bishoprick. Abbé replied, that not feeling in himfelf the difpofitions neceffary for fuch a function, he would content himself with an abbey. Boyer refused this, and gave the king to understand that the property of the church, could only be beftowed on those who did actual duty; but he praised very much the fincerity of the Abbé who was no hypocrite. It would feem that Boyer had never met with any but men of fuch a character, fince he was fo much furprised at the conduct of Bernis. The king being able to obtain nothing, gave the Abbé a penfion of fifteen hundred livres. This fum not being fufficient for his neceffary expences, he endeavoured to procure fome small benefices; and I am certain if he had been able to extend his fortune to the fum of fix thousand livres, he would have been content. But meeting with continual obstacles, of which I was often the witnefs, he refolved to make a large fortune because he could not attain a small one, and in this he was fuccefsful. Few fortunes indeed have been made fo rapidly. He was named ambassador to Venice where he became loved and refpected. Soon after he was made counsellor of State in his abfence. The Marquis de Puifieux (Brular,) then minifter of foreign affairs did not oppofe him; he did not have men of noble families, for he was of one himself. St Contest (Barbe rie) having fucceeded the marquis, was not fo favourable to Bernis from another reafon, and efpecially from that fecre: hate which fools bear to men of genius. St Conteft died before the

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return of the Abbé, and it was well for public affairs and for private fociety that he did fo. His father was a man of merit, and that was all that could be faid in favour of the fon.

The Abbé de Bernis at his return from Venice attained the highest credit in all affairs.

Among the employments that were defined for him, the embaffy to Poland was one; but the king, advised by fome minifter, or out of his own head, would not confent to it, from an idea that that embaffy would procure a Cardinal's hat to the Abbé fooner than his majefty intended. The embaffies to Spain and Poland are confidered as of much greater importance than the other. The

hope of being a grandee in the one, and of obtaining a Cardinal's hat in the other, infpires the ambaffadors with more complaisance than is neceffary in thefe two ftates. A negociation in the heart of the kingdom procured the hat for Bernis fooner than the embaffy to Poland would have done. The contests between the parliament and the court had never been more violent than they were when the Abbé de Bernis entered the council on the 2d of January 1757; contests which began in the regency of the Duke of Orleans, and which continued long to harafs the government of France. Clement XII. (Rezzonico) raifed him to the dignity of Cardinal.

THE

HE women here feem to have arrogated to themfelves the department and privileges of the men. Contrary to the ufage of all other countries, the eldest daughter here inherits, and the fons, like daughters every where elfe, are portioned off with finall dowers, or, which is ftill ·worfe, turned out, pennylefs, to feek their fortune. If a man has two daughters, the eldest, at her marriage, is entitled to all her mother's poffeffions, which are by far the greater part of the family eftate, as the mother, keeping up. her prerogative, newer parts with the power over any portion of what fhe has brought into the family, until fhe is forced into it by the marriage of her daughter, and the father alfo is compelled to ruin himfelf by adding whatever he may have fcraped together by his induftry.The fecond daughter inherits nothing, and is condemned to perpetual celibaey. She is filed a Calogria, which

fignifies properly a religious woman or nun, and is in effect menial fervant to her fifter, being employed by her in any office the may think fit to impose, frequently ferving her as waiting maid, as cook, and often in employments still more degrading, She wears a habit peculiar to her fituation which the can never change, a fort of monaftic drefs, coarfe, and of dark brown. One advantage, however, fhe enjoys over her fifter, that whereas the elder, before marriage, is never allowed to go a broad, or to fee any man, her neareft relations only excepted, the Calogria, except when employed in domeftic toil, is in this refpect at perfect liberty. But when the fifter is married, the fituation of the poor Calogria becomes defperate indeed, and is render ed ftill more humiliating by the comparifon between her condition and that of her happy miftrefs. The mar ried fifter enjoys every fort of liberty the whole family fortune is her's,

and