menaces; and declared he would punish, with the utmost feverity, all thofe who dared to quit the harbour without his leave. But, notwithstanding all thefe threats, Vafconcelo with fome more officers, weighed anchor and failed in the night. As foon as the viceroy was informed of this, he difpatched fome of his galleys and long-boats, with a detachment of men, to order Vafconcelo and thofe who accompanied him, to return, and, upon refufal, to fink their fhips. These accordingly followed with great expedition; and Vafconcelo not complying, they began to batter his fhip with great fury. They brought down her main fail yard, killed two of the failors, and threatened to destroy every foul on board, if Vafconcelo did not immediately return to the harbour. Thus forced by neceffity, he at last returned to Goa, where he was put under confinement. A council of war being held upon this occafion, it was refolved he should be fent to Portugal in fetters. One of the officers, who had been extremely active in this affair, and had fhewn an extraordinary contempt of Albuquerque's orders, was condemned to have his head ftruck off. The rest of the officers were ordered to be hanged. Two of them accordingly fuffered death, and the others would have undergone the like fate, had they not been faved by the interceffion of the king of Narfingua and Cambaya's embaffadors. He accordingly gave them their lives, but deprived them of their commiffions, and fent them home to Portugal.

After the affairs of Goa were fettled, and the island fortified with a strong garrifon, Albuquerque failed against the Sultan's fleet towards Arabia; but the wind continuing contrary, it was refolved to give over this expedition, and proceed for Malacca; whither he arrived on the first of July 1511.

• Malacca is fituated at the mouth of a fmall river, in the peninsula to which it gives name. It was at that time one of the most celebrated eastern marts, being in length about four miles, but its breadth inconsiderable. The river divided it into two parts, which were joined by a bridge. The walls and buildings of the town were extremely elegant; the people were of a tawny complexion, and very much civilized in their manners and way of living, and their language was much esteemed for its fweetnefs. The prince of this city and country round it, was formerly tributary to the king of Siam, but had then for fome time maintained his independency, partly by force of arms, and partly by bribing the king of Siam's minifters.

• The

"The king of Malacca being a bigotted Mahometan, had maffacred fome Portuguese belonging to Admiral Sequire, a few years before, who had failed thither with five large fhips, in order to establish a trade with the Malaccans. Some of them likewise had been detained prifoners, and it was to take vengeance for this infult, that Albuquerque was now come with a fleet of twenty three large fhips.

Next day after his arrival, Mahomet, for that was the king of Malacca's name, fent deputies to the viceroy, in order to clear himself of the mischief done, to the Portuguefe. Albuquerque made anfwer, that if the king was fincere, and really disapproved of the unjust treatment of Sequeire and his men, he expected his majesty would set the Portuguese in his cuftody at liberty, and make reftitution of the goods taken from them. To this the king replying in an evasive manner, Albuquerque ftormed and took the city, after a bloody and vigorous defence on the part of the enemy. The plunder, was confiderable, Emmanuel's fhare, which was only one fifth, amounting to two hundred thoufand ducats; befide three thousand brass and iron cannon.

Albuquerque, in order to fecure this new acquifition, built a strong fort: and, by his wife regulations, induced great numbers of people to flock into the city. He made laws for their government, and coined money of gold, filver and tin, with the arms of Emmanuel upon them. This he fettled as the current coin, and affixed a fevere punishment on those who should make ufe of any other.

• Whilst these things were tranfacting at Malacca, the Portuguese settlement of Goa was reduced to the laft extremity being attacked by one of Zabaim's generals, with a numerous army. However, they found means to hold out, and at last even to diftrefs the enemy; who were entirely driven out of the inland on the arrival of Albuquerque from Malacca, who concluded a peace with Zabaim Idalcam. Soon after this Albuquerque likewife made peace with the Zamorin of Calicut, who allowed the Portuguefe to build a fort; which being finished, the viceroy fet fail for the red fea, having first appointed Peter Mafcaregn governor of Goa, as he had Roderick Brittio governor of Malacca, at his departure from that city.'

These atchievements bring down the history to Book IX. which with the remaining three, is equally full of no less daring, tho' not quite fo glorious performances, as the conquefts of Goa and Malacca. But of these we have not even room to give an abstract, and fhall therefore content ourfelves R 4

felves with laying before the reader the following account of Albuquerque's death, and the endeavours of his enemies to ruin him in the efteem of Emmanuel: This we fhall give in the tranflator's own words.

"It is the misfortune of princes to be often furrounded with a number of perfons, who delight in envy and detraction; thus it happened that Emmanuel had fome prejudices inftilled into him against his viceroy in India. Albuquerque had at this time brought all the Indian coaft from the river Indus to Cape Comorin, under the Portuguese power. He had also conquered Malacca, and fettled every thing in the ifland of Ormus on a fure footing. In fhort, by his prudence and bravery, he had fpread the name of Emmanuel far and near: Nor could the Indian nations help thinking, that the king, who had a general of fuch extraordinary abilities, muft himself be fomewhat of a divinity.

• Emmanuel of himself was very well difpofed towards Albuquerque, yet by the infinuations of a certain fet of envious detractors, he at laft began to harbour fome fufpicions against this great man. Thefe perfons inceffantly buzzed in the king's ears, that Albuquerque was a rafh hot-headed man, and of the most intolerable ambition, nay, they e-. ven accused him of treacherous defigns; for they said he aimed at fovereignty, and to make himself lord of all India, that by the number of his relations and dependants, and the fame he had acquired among the Indian princes, his wealth and power was already much greater than that of any fubject ought to be; for whilft a man's income is moderate, he can brook a higher authority, but when he arrives at an extraordinary pitch of wealth and power, he then cannot endure the thoughts of a fuperior.

Albuquerque, relying upon his innocence, took no pains to refute thefe calumnies; fo that his enemies at length prevailed on the king to recal him from India, Lopez Suareo Alvarenga being fent to fucceed him. When Albuquerque received this news, he could not contain himself; but lifting up his hands, "O Heavens! faid he, how can I extricate myself from the difficulties which surround me? If I obey my king I incur the odium and contempt of mankind: and if I ftudy to please men, then I fall under the difpleafure of my royal mafter. To thy grave, old man, to thy grave!" Thefe laft words he repeated often, which fhewed the agony and diforder he was in. However, afterwards when his mind came to be more compofed, he expreffed himself in the following manner: "I am perfuaded,

faid he, that the king has a divine foreknowledge in many things, otherwife he could not have acted in the present affair with so much forefight. I am new wearing towards death; and if he had not at this time appointed my fucceffor, the affairs of India might have been greatly endan gered."

Being extremely ill, he wrote the following fhort letter to Emmanuel. "I now write you this laft letter, fetching my breath with difficulty, and with all the symptoms of inevitable death upon me. I have only one fon; him I recommend to your majefty, hoping that in confideration of my fervices, you will take him under your royal protection and favour. What I have done for your honour and interest, the deeds themselves will testify." He foon after died with a great deal of composure and fatisfaction, having always teftified his defire to die in India.

It is not eafy to fay, whether he excelled most in the arts of war or peace. In the former he behaved in such a manner that he was juftly reckoned an expert general, and, in fettling the affairs of India he gave the strongest proofs of his skill in the art of government. His funeral rites were performed with the greatest magnificence, amidst the cries and lamentations of the people of Goa, who lamented his death as that of a tender parent.

• Emmanuel, when he received the news of his death, could not help fhewing the utmost regret; and immediately fent for his fon Blas Albuquerque, whom in remembrance of his father, he ordered to be called Alphonfo; he likewise beftowed on him feveral dignities, and procured him a very honourable marriage.'

ART. XXX. The Female Quixote: or, The Adventures of Arabella. Izmo. 2 vols. 6 s. Millar.

THE

HE character of Arabella is a counter-imitation of that of Cervantes's Don Quixote. As the adventures of the Spanish knight were written to expose the abfurdities of romantic chivalry; fo thofe of the Englif heroine are defigned to ridicule romantic love, and to thew the tendency that books of knight-errantry have to turn the heads of even their female readers. Arabella, however, does not run the extravagant lengths of Don-Quixote, 7, e. does not fancy a flock of fheep to be an army of or take wind-mills for giants. Having had her education

men,

in

in the most retired part of the country, and taken her notions of the world from old romances, fhe perfuades herfelf, that the times the read of, were the fame with those fhe lived in, and that the characters fhe found in her manuals of chivalry, were no other than such as she should meet with, whenever she should quit the recefs she was brought up in. Hence, in her entrance into the great world, to speak in the language of some modern travellers, the is led to conclude, that every man fhe comes nigh, is a hero, or a lover, or a ravisher, or &c. And on occafion of every fancied adventure, fhe conducts herself as Mandana or Statira would have done, in the fame circumstances. Whether a plan, and character, of this kind, be agreeable nature, or to the age and the country we live in, our readers will determine for themselves.

ART. XXXI. A defcription of MAY; from Gawin Douglas Bishop of Dunkeld. By Francis Fawkes, A. M. 4to. Is. 6 d. Whifton, L. Davis, &c.

Prefixed

Refixed to this fhort poem, we have an account of the author; who was nobly defcended, being a fon of the illuftrious family of Angus. He was born about the latter end of the year 1474:

Chaucer and Douglas, as Mr. Fawkes obferves, may be looked upon as the two bright ftars that illumined England and Scotland, after a dark interval of dulnefs, a long night of ignorance and fuperftition, and foretold the return of day and the revival of learning.

This defcription of May, which is extremely picturesque, may serve as an inftance, that the lowland Scotch language, and the English, at that time, were nearly the fame. It is prefixed to Gawin Douglas's tranflation of Virgil's Eneis, and intitled, Ane fingular lernit proloug of the defcription of May. Befide the old Scotch, which is here printed exactly after the Edinburgh edition in 1710, we have an elegant paraphrafe, or rather tranflation, in modern English verfe, by Mr. Fawkes; who from this fpecimen, appears to be a proper hand to modernize Gawin Douglas's tranflation of the Æneid, the beauties of which we have often heard highly extolled by the best judges of the old Scotch language.

As a fpecimen of the performance now before us, take firft the defcription of Aurora or the Morning.

The