diftinguished by the names of Kemenetes, Kenekin, aud Karaicks, were of the common fize, but broader breafted and painted all over; and that there was another tribe, which he called Ti riminen, who were of a gigantic ftature, being 10 or 12 feet high, and continualy at war with the other tribes.

This boy gave an account of the cloathing and appearance of the inhabitants of this country, very different from thofe already tranfcribed; for he faid the men wore their hair long, that the women were shaved, and that both went naked except a cloak of Pen. guin's skins, which reached to their waist."

Sebald de Weert, another Dutch. man, failed to the Streights of Ma. gellan in the year 1598, and in his account are the following par. ticulars. He detached two floops to an island near the mouth of the Streights, to catch fea-dogs. When thefe floops came near the fhore, they perceived feven canoes, with favages on board, that were ten or eleven feet high, of a reddifh colour, and with long hair. They are farther defcribed as being naked, except one who had a feadog's fkin about his fhoulders; and it is remarkable that de Weert was on this coaft in May, which is there a winter month.

In the account given of the voyage of George Spilbergen, we are told that on the coaft of Terra del Fuego, which is to the fouth of Magellan's Streights, his people faw a man of a gigantic fta. ture, climbing the hills to take a view of the fleet, but, though they went on fhore, they faw no other

human inhabitant; they faw, howe ever, feveral graves containing bodies of the ordinary fize, or ra ther below it; and the favages they faw from time to time in ca noes, appeared to be under fix feet high.

In the hiftory of the voyage of Capt. Cowley, an Englishman, which was undertaken in 1683, we have an account of giants indeed, but in a country very diftant from Patagonia. In lat. 13 deg. 30 min. north, and about 143 caft longitude, lies the ifland of Guam, it is one of the Ladrone Islands, and was then in the pof feffion of the Spaniards, who had a governor and garrifon there. The Indian inhabitants of this ifland, Cowley fays, were all well made, active, vigorous, and fome of them feven feet and an half high. Capt. Cowley took, as he fays four of thefe infidels prifoners, which to be fure, being himfelf a good chriftian, he had a right to do; and it appeared by the fequel of the account, that he treated them as other good chriftians had treated infidels, which ftrength or cunning had put into their power. their power. "We brought them on board, fays he, tying their hands behind them, but they had not been long there before three of them leaped overboard into the fea, fwimming away from the ship with their hands bound behind them; we fent a boat after them, and found that a strong man at the firft blow could not penetrate their fkins with a cutlafs. One of them had received, in my judgment, forty fhots in his body before he died, and the laft of the three that was killed had fwam a good En

glish mile, though his hands were not only tied behind him, but his arms pinioned.”

Thus it appears that these three poor naked wretches were all murdered in cold blood, because they endeavoured to escape from thofe who, without provocation, had in. jurioufly and cruelly feized them by violence, in their native country; and were carrying them as flaves into exile. Harris tells the ftory, without the leaft intimation that any thing had been done to thefe infidels, which a good chrif. tian might not juftify:

In an account of Capt. George Shelvoc's voyage, which was undertaken in the year 1719, there is the following paragraph." M. Friziere gives us an account that the Indians inhabiting the continent to the fouth of this ifland (the island of Chiloe, which lies off the coaft of Chili, about lat. 42 S. and long. about 72 W. of London) are called Chronos; that they go quite naked, and that in the inland part there is a race of men of an extraordinary fize, call ed Cacahues, who being in amity with the Chronos, have fometimes come with them to the dwellings of the Spaniards at Chiloe. He adds, that he was credibly informed by feveral who had been eye-witneffes, that fome were about nine or ten feet high. Who Frezier was, Mr. Harris, though he quotes him, does not tell us. His ftory is certainly fabulous, for the whole coaft of Chili, and the island of Chiloe, having been long in poffeffion of the Spaniards the existence of a gigantic race in thofe parts, if real, would have been long out of doubt. The fame objection lies against the ac

count given of the Indian natives of Guam, by Cowley. The giants, four of whom he fays he took pri foners, and three of whom he murdered, must have been familiar to the Spaniards, and confe quently, their exiftence recorded by Spanish writers of credit, so as to make the fact as well known and believed as the exiftence of the island itself. Of the other accounts, our readers muft judge for themselves.

Gatherine Vade's Preface to the Tales of William Vadé. From the French of M. de Voltaire.

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"What

Still lament the death of my coufin William Vadé, who died, as all the world knows, fome years ago. He was attacked by the fmall-pox: I nurfed him, and faid to him with tears, "Ah! my coufin; fee the confequence of your not being inoculated: It coff your brother Anthony his life, who was, like you, one of the lights of the age." would you have me fay replied William; "I waited for leave from the Sorbonne, and 1 am convinced that I muft die for having been too fcrupulous." "The ftate," anfwered I, "will have a dreadfallofs." "Ah!“ cried William, "Alexander and brother Bertier are dead, Semiramis and Tillon, Sophocles and Danchet are duft and afhes."'"Yes, my dear coufin, but their great names will live for ever. Would you not furvive in your nobleft part? Will you not allow me to give the public, for their confolation, thofe old-womens stories with which you amufed us

laft

last year? they were the delight of our family; and Jerom Carrè, your first coufin once removed, valued your works almoft as much as his own: they will without doubt please all the world, that is to fay, about thirty readers who have nothing to do."

William had no fuch ambitious views: he anfwered me with a modefty very becoming an author, but very uncommon, "Ah! my coufin, do you think, that, among the 90,000 pamphlets pub. lifhed in Paris within these ten years, my trifles can find a place, and that I can float upon the river of oblivion which every day fwallows up fo many excellent writings!"

Though you fhould live but fifteen days after your death," re. plied I, "even that would be a great deal; there are few who en joy that advantage. The fate of moft men is to live unknown, and those who have made the moft neife are fometimes forgotten the day after their death; you will be diftinguished from the croud, and perhaps the very name of William Vadé having the honour to be printed in one or two journals, may be tranfmitted to the lateft pof. terity. Under what title would you have me publish your mifcellanies?""Coufin," faid he "I think the name of Trifles moft fuitable to them; most of the things that are done, faid, or printed, well deferve that title."

I admired my coufin's modefty, and was extremely affected by it. Jerom Carre then entered the chamber. William made his will, by which he left me abfolute miftrefs of his manufcripts. Jerom and I asked him where he would be

buried; and he made the following reply, which will ever be fresh in my memory.

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"I am

very fenfible, that, having never been exalted in this world to any of thofe dignities which produce grand fentiments, and which elevate a man above. himself, having been neither a privy-counsellor, nor a fheriff, nor church-warden, I fhall be treated after my death with very little ceremony. I fhall be thrown into the charnel-houfe of St. Inno cent's, and nothing will be placed on my grave but a wooden cross, which has already ferved for others; but I have always had fuch a tender regard for my country, that I am very averfe to being buried in a church-yard. Certain it is, that, dying of the difeafe with which I am attacked, I shall stick

horribly. This corruption of fo many corpfes that are buried at Paris, in or near the churches, neceffarily affects the air, and as young Ptolemy fays, much to the purpofe, when he was deliberating whether he should grant Pompey an afylum,

Their putrifying bodies taint the air, And with the living wage perpetual

war.

This ridiculous and odious custom. of paving the churches with the dead, occafions in Paris, every year, epidemical difeafes, and all the deceafed contribute, more or lefs, to infect their country. The Greeks and Romans were much wifer than we; their buryingplaces were without the cities; and even now there are many na tions in Europe where this falutary cuftom prevails. What pleafure would it afford a good citizen,

I