in the Grey Friars church yard Edinburgh, but is now so much obliterated as not to be legible. This copy of it has been furnished by his daughter, who preserved it with care, and is entirely authentic.

EPITA P H.

On Mr Aikman and his only Son John Aikman, by Mr David Mallet Author of Eurydice, &c.

Dear to the good, and wise, disprais'd by none,
Here sleep, in peace, the Father, and the Son;
By Virtue, as by Nature, close ally'd,

The Painter's genius, but without the Pride;
Worth unambitious, wit, afraid to fine,

Honour's clear light, and friendship's warmth divine?
The Son fair rising, knew too short a date;
But oh! how more severe the parent's fate'
He saw him torn untimely from his side,
Felt all a father's anguish, wept, and dy'd.

Allan Ramsay, who had the misfortune to sura vive his friend, paid also a poetical tribute to his memory.*

Mr Aikman left behind him two daughters; Margaret, married to Hugh Forbes Esq. advocate, lately one of the principal clerks of sefsion in Scotland, and brother to the gallant general Forbes who took fort Du Quesne from the French in the war 1758, and Henrietta, married to William Carruthers Esq. of Dormont in Galloway.

In his stile of painting Mr Aikman seems to have aimed at imitating nature in her pleasing sim

* An Eclogue to the memory of Mr William Aikman our celerated painter-published in his works.

plicity: his lights are soft, his fhades mellow, and his colouring mild and harmonious. His touches

have neither the force nor harshness of Reubens ; nor does he seem, like Reynolds, ever to have aimed at adorning his portraits with the elegance of adventitious graces His mind, tranquil and serene, delighted rather to wander, with Thomson, in the enchanting fields of Tempe, than to burst, with Michael Angelo, into the ruder scenes of the terrible and the sublime. His compositions are distinguished by a placid tranquillity and ease rather than a striking brilliancy of effect, and his portraits may be more readily mistaken for those of Kneller than any other eminent artist; not only because of the general resemblance in the drefses, which were those of the times, they being cotemporaries, but also for the manner of working, and the similarity, and bland mellownefs of their tints.

There are several portraits painted by Mr Aikman in Scotland in the pofsefsion of the Duke of Argyll, the Duke of Hamilton, and others.

There is also a portrait of Mr Aikman, in the gallery of the Grand Duke of Tuscany painted by himself, and another of the same in the pofscfsion of his daughter, Mrs Forbes in Edinburgh, whose only son now represents the family of Aikman.

The portrait given along with this number has, by the favour of Mrs Forbes, been taken from the painting here mentioned, which he thinks is a striking likeness of her father. She has another portrait VOL. Xviii.

B

of Mr Aikman in a Turkish drefs, done by himself while in Turkey, but it was never quite finished; nor does Mrs Forbes think the likenefs so exact.

ORATION

TO THE MEMORY OF PETER THE GREAT, DELIVERED BEFORE THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT ST PETERSBURGH, ON THE 26 OF APRIL 1755, THE ANNIVERSA– RY OF THE CORONATION OF THE EMPRESS ELIZABETH, BY MICHAEL LOMONOSSOFF.

Translated from the Rufsian language.

Continued from vol. xvii. p. 314.

PEACEABLE neighbours!* to you I now direct my discourse. When you hear these praises of the martial fkill of our Hero; when you hear of victories gained over yourselves by the Rufsian troops, consider it not as your reproach, but as your honour. It is more glorious to have resisted a long time the power of Ruf ia; to have resisted Peter the Great; a man sent by God to be the admiration of the universe, and at length to be overcome by him, than to have conquered undisciplined troops under a weak leader. You reckon the bravery of your hero Charles your

*The orator in this apostrophe add refses himself to the Swedes, formerly the enemies but now the peaceable neighbours, in fact in some measure the vafsals of Rufsia; for so much had they been exhausted by the over strained exertions of Charles, that they had beenobliged to purchase peace from Rufsia at the expence of some pro vinces then wrested from them-which they have not yet forgotten

chief glory; and you call in testimony the consent of the whole world, that scarce any one could have stood before the face of his anger, had not the wonderful council of providence raised up, in our native country, Peter the Great to oppose him. His brave legions, regulated by discipline he himself had introduced, manifested by subsequent victories, how ardent their zeal, how great their martial skill, acquired by wise instruction and prudent example. Pafsing over numerous victories which Russian troops are wont to reckon by the number of engagements; nor counting the great number of towns and strong holds subdued, we have ample testimony in the two glorious victories at Lesnoi and Poltowa. Where has God more eminently manifested his favour to us? Where did the advantage attending the blessed undertaking and industrious prosecution of the plan of establishing a regular force more evidently appear? What more strange, what more improbable could possibly have followed? An army accustomed to order; levied in provinces famous for audacity in battle; under leaders trained from infancy to military exploits; an army plentifully provided with warlike necefsaries, declines an encounter with the new legions of Russia, inferior in number. They, giving no rest to their opposers, by a rapid march, overtook them, fought them, and conquered. Their chief leader with the small remains of his troops scarcely escaped captivity, that he might carry the melancholy tidings to his master; who, although staggered with the news, yet actuated by a manly and impetuous spirit, still whetted himself against

"

Rufsia: He still trusted that the infant troops of Peter could never stand against his own virile forces, led on under his own direction; and, relying on the impudent afsurances of a faithlefs rebel, he did not hesitate to march into the Ukrain borders of our native country. He viewed Rufsia with haughty conceptions, and imagined he already held the North under his foot. But God rewarded the uninterrupted toils of Peter, by a complete victory over this despiser of his solicitudes, who, contrary to all expectation, was made eye witnefs to the incredible succefs of our hero in military affairs; and who even by flight could not escape the remembrance of the well established bravery of the Russian legions.*

Having established the fame of his army by such eminent victories, our great monarch fhewed that it was instituted for our safety; for he not only ordained that it should never be disbanded, even in the time of profound peace, as was frequently done by former sovereigns, to the great diminution of the power and glory of our native country; but determined to maintain it always in perfect readinefs. O real paternal attention! He often recommended to his, confidential and trusty subjects, kissing them and begging them with tears, to take care that the transformation of Russia, prosecuted with so much pains, and accompanied with such wonderful succefs, particularly

* When Peter sent to Charles to treat of peace, Charles returned this contemptuous answer, that he would talk of that business in Moscow. Tell your master, said Peter, that though he wants to play the Alexander, he will not meet with a Darius in me.