than the three first have been pub fifhed. This poem is the more curious, as it informs us of fome circumstances of Chaucer's life little known.

A fair tranfcript or tranflation of Lydgate's paraphrafe into English verfe, of Boccace's treatife De Occafu principum, illuminated and embellished with hiftorical miniature paintings; being the author's prefent-book to Humphrey dake of Gloucester, by whofe command he undertook the work.

Lydgate's lives of St. Edmund and St. Fræmund, with divers of his other poems, illuftrated with 120 very elegant hiftorical pictures of different fizes; befides other embellishments of illuminated letters, &c. fo as to render it the finest manufcript of the English language, written in the time of king Henry VI. whofe book this was, being prefented to him by its author.

A large and beautifully illuminated copy of the Confeffio Amantis of John Gower, containing a collection of the principal pieces of Chaucer and Gower, finely written and ornamented.

An hiftorical, political, and moral poem, confifting of 320 ftanzas; the fubject is the unfortunate reign of king Edward II. whofe ghoft is introduced as relating his tranfactions and difafters. The author, who is fuppofed to be Mr. Edmund Spenfer, addreffes this poem to queen Elizabeth. Alfo the fame poem revised and corrected by many alterations, and fitted up for the perufal of king James: I.

A very fair and beautiful tranfcript of the celebrated poem entitled Le Roman de la Rofe, begun

in French verfe, by William de Lorris, continued and finished by John Clopinel, alias John Moone, of Mewen upon the river Loyer, This manufcript is richly ornamented with a multitude of miniature paintings, executed in the moft masterly manner. It is probably the copy which was prefented to Henry IV. the blazon of his arms being introduced in the illuminations, with which they first page of this work is embellished.

A

Many original poems by John Lydgate, Gower, Trevifa, &e..

XXI. A large collection both of ancient and modern mufical compofitions, with curious anecdotes relating to their authors, written for the most part by Mr. Wanley, by whom they were amaffed, he being not only a great judge of mufic, but a very able compofer.

XXII. Books of architecture, geometry, gunnery, fortification, fhip-building, and military affairs; particularly a large volume written in High Dutch, foon after the invention of fire arms, being a treatife on military affairs, illuftrated with a great number of fine drawings in water colours, reprefentiug the proper forms of marches, encampments, and difpofitions of armies; orders of battle, attacks, fieges, and ftorms of forts, towns, and caftles; draughts of fhips of war, firefhips, and fleets, bridges of timber and ftone, hydraulic engines, tools, inftruments, and warlike machines of every kind; the form of the ancient British chariot.

XXIII. Natural history, agriculture, voyages, travels, &c. particularly, an Herbarium, written in Saxon, and in the tenth century. And,

try, and having no means of fubfiftence, he, with a few accom. plices, betook himself to robbing on the highway. He foon became famous and powerful, for he robbed only the rich, and, by generofity uncommon in fuch a character, liberally beftowed to fuch as were in want. He never killed, or even hurt any perfon, unless compelled to fuch outrages in his own defence. This behaviour fo raised his reputation, that all the idle fellows in the country enlifted themselves in his gang, and he became at laft fo troublefome, that the governors of the fouthern provinces fent out troops to apprehend him; but he being informed of their defign, withdrew from the land, and procuring boats upon the Volga, commenced pirate. Being attacked here also, he was forced to cross the Cafpian fea and fhelter himself on the Perfian fhore, where he paffed for a merchant. Being again difcover ed, he was obliged by the Perfians to quit their coaft; and now his only refuge was to return to the Volga, where he behaved with great circumfpection, often lurk ing in woods and villages: and, being in no want of money, he paid liberally for every thing he needed. Forefeeing, however, that fuch a numerous gang could not be long concealed, he took the refolution of leaving the Volga, and fteered his courfe up the river Kama at that time little frequented by the Ruffians, or any other na

tion;

here he hoped to find, at lealt, a fafe retreat during the winter. Yarmak, therefore, with his followers, amounting to 200, continued their voyage up the Kama, till they were ftopped by the

ice at no great distance from z large village. The inhabitants were alarmed at the fight of fo many armed men, whom they were not able to oppofe, they therefore gave them a hofpitable reception, Yarmak demanded only provifions and winter-quarters for his men, promifing to leave them unmolested in the fpring. In confequence of this declaration, he and his followers paffed the winter very quietly in that remote place, afraid, however, at the approach of fummer, of being difcovered by the government, and uncertain what course to fteer; it was at last determined to cross the mountains of Verchaturia, and go to the eastward, in hopes of finding fome uninhabited country, at leaft, a fafe retreat.

Having paffed the mountains, they arrived at the river Tur; and, finding it navigable, foon made a fufficient number of canoes for the whole gang. After rowing for fome days down the Tur, they discovered feveral villages of Mahometan Tartars, who were furprised at the fight of fuch a number of ftrangers, of whom they had before never fo much as heard. Yarmak having got what intelligence he could procure of the fituation and government of the country, purfued his voyage to the river Tobol; where he found the towns populous, and the land well cultivated. His approach alarmed the king of the Tartars, who affembled a numerous body of horfe and foot, armed with bows and arrows, and lances, and other fuch weapons, with whom our adventurer had many kirmishes, and defeated great multitudes by means of his fire-arms, which had never before

been

been known in thefe parts. The poor Tartars were as much amazed and terrified at the fight of the Ruffians and their arms, as the inhabitants of Mexico on the arrival of the Spaniards in America, to which Siberia may, in many refpects, be compared.

Yarmak finding his enemies daily more numerous, the nearer he approached the refidence of the Tartar king; having alfo loft many of his men in continual encounters, and spent the greateft part of his ammunition, knowing, befides, of no place of fafety, where he might pafs the winter, which is both long and fevere in this quarter, at laft determined to retreat. He therefore fteered his courfe to the weft, up the Tobol, and Tur rivers. The Tartars gave him no reft, but harraffed him perpetually from the banks. He himself, and a few more, escaped with a confiderable booty, and returned to the village where they wintered before. The inhabitants, on feeing the rich fars and other fpoils, gave them a welcome reception; and Yarmak did not forget to difpenfe his favours liberally among thofe who had entertained him in his diftrefs, when he fled from juftice.

Our adventurer had now time to reflect on his miferable circumRances. He confidered, that his lurking in thefe parts, though remote from any town, could not be long kept a fecret; to make another attempt against the Tartars with a handful of men, ill provided with arms and ammunition, might perhaps be ruinous, and certainly unfuccefsfnl. He therefore refolved to fubmit himself to the Czar's clemency, in hopes of obtaining a pardon for himself and his ac

complices, on condition of pointing out the way to a rich and eafy conquest of a country which he had difcovered. The propofal was made at court by a friend, and was of too great importance to be neglected. In fhort, Yarmak was brought to Mofcow under a fafe conduct, where he communicated the whole affair. He begged his majefty's pardon, and afked a certain number of troops, which he promifed to lead to glorious conqueft. His majefty granted him a pardon, approved of the expedition, and gave orders for the troops to attend him. They marched to Solikamfki, where they paffed the winter in making preparations for their enterprife.

During this interval, Yarmak behaved with furprising prudence and activity, and difcovered himfelf to be a perfon of uncommon genius. He collected fuch of his former followers as remained, and formed them into a company, in whom he could confide on all occafions.

At the proper feafon, the troops fet out towards Siberia. On coming into the inhabited part of the country, they found many ftraggling parties of Tartars in arms, ready to oppofe them, and a number of boats upon the rivers, full of armed men; the king of the Tartars himself was on board one of thefe veffels. This expedition was of fhort duration, and fully anfwered the expectations of the Ruffians. The Tartars in the boats, being purfued by the Ruffians, a battle enfued on the river Irtifh. Yarmak obferving the king's barge, ordered his crew to board her, which he endeavouring to do at the head of his men, jumped

fhort,

fhort, fell into the river, and was drowned, to the great grief of all his followers. Thus fell poor Yarmak! Notwithstanding this misfortune, the Ruffians gained a complete victory. The brave king of the Tartars loft his life alfo in the action. His fon, and the reft of the royal family, were taken prifoners, and fent to Moscow, where they were honourably received by the Czar, and treated according to their quality. The prince had an extenfive property granted him in Ruffia, which the family now enjoys, together with the title of Sibirsky Czarewitz, or prince of Siberia.

An account of a remarkable monument found near Afbford in Derbyshire; by the Rev. Mr. Evatt of Afford. From the Philofopical Transactions for the year 1762.

N the year 1759, as fome people were making a turnpike road through the village of Wardlow, near this place, they thought proper to take out of an adjoining field, an heap of ftone, that had lain there time immemorial, and without any tradition, that I could find, why it was thrown together in that place, although it was manifeft it was a work of art. Here, to their great furprife, upon removing the ftone they found a monument, to the memory of 17 perfons, or more, who had been there interred.

The bodies appeared to have been lain upon the furface of the ground, upon long flat ftones, and their heads and breafts protected from the incumbent weight of stone, by small walls made round

them, with a flat ftone over the top, excepting the two capital ones, which were walled up, and covered from head to foot, in the form of a long chest, with a stone cover over each.

Upon removing the rubbish, many bones, fuch as jaw-bones, teeth, and the like, were found undecayed; but none at all of the larger bones of the body that i could learn. The heap of ftones that covered them was circular, 32 yards, in diameter, and about five feet high; and the stones, forming the coffins or tombs, appear, very plainly, to have been taken from a ftone quarry, about a quar ter of a mile diftant. A part of the circle is vacant, but probably it was not fo originally, as there were found feveral bones and teeth in that fpace; the caufe might be, that as the part lay next the road, it might have met with an accidental disturbance, or, what is yet more likely, the people that came to clear the ftone away, beginning on that fide of it, deftroyed that. part before they were aware that it was any ways remarkable, or worthy note.

There is one circumstance that feems to denote the monument to have been rather modern, which is this: One of the walls inclofing the field, in which this circular monument ftands, runs through it within a few feet of the circumferance; and it appears, from the beft obfervations I could make, that the wall was erected before the monument was made, as I think it hardly probable that the perfons who built it would be at the trouble to remove that part of the circle that was without, for the fake of building a field-wall entirely