113 THE BEE OR LITERARY WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER, FOR WEDENSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1793. THE AMERICAN GOLDEN CREEPER. THIS rare bird has never been noticed in any British publication. It was sent over from Cayenne to the society of Natural History of Paris, by M. le Blond, and was described by M. de Bofk, in VOL. Xiii. U + la Journal d'Histoire Naturelle, No x. from which our figure and description are copied. TROCHILUS Smaragdulus. T. Curvirostris, viridi-auratus, remigibus retricibusque fusco, violaceis, jugulo aureo nitente. Habitat in America meridionali. DESCRIPTION Head, neck, belly, thighs, back, rump, and superior coverture of the wings, of a golden green, very bright. Throat, changing gold colour. Under covertures of the wings, and inferior feathers of the tail, rusty. Wings, and superior feathers of the tail of a brown verging to violet. The feathers of its body. brown at their base. These of the throat brown at their base and white at their extremity.. Total length five inches. inch. Length of the bill one This bird, on account of its brilliant colours, must be one of the most beautiful of its species. As you have desired your correspondents in your Prospectus to communicate original pieces, characteristic and illustrative of life and manners, I send you a translation of a genuine addrefs to the late general Cornwallis, governor of Nova Scotia, from an Indian chief, which was written in the language of his tribe, and in French, and presented at Halifax. I will not insult the understanding of your readers by suggesting reflections on the perusal of this singular and affecting epistle; but conclude with subScribing myself. A CONSTANT READER AND ADMIRER OF THE BEE. 1 THE TRANSLATION OF THE ADDRESS. LIEUTENANT OF THY KING! THE place where thou art; the place where thou dost lodge; the place thou dost fortify; the place thou wishest to establish; the place thou desirest to make thyself master of ;-that place is mine. I am sprung from this land as does the grass. I that am a savage, was born there, and my fathers before me. This land is mine inheritance; I swear it is! The land that my God has given me to be my country for ever and ever. I tell thee plainly the thoughts of my heart concerning thee; for the works thou makest at Chebuc, which thou callest Halifax, in Nova Scotia, afford me matter of serious reflection. My king, and thy king over the great waters, have agreed among themselves upon a certain distribution of lands, and therefore are at peace. For my part I can neither enter into an alliance, nor make peace with thee. Show me where I, an Indian, can retire. It is thou that chasest me. Show me where thou wilt that I take refuge. Thou hast taken pofsefsion of almost all this coun try; in so much that Chebuc is my last resource; yet thou enviest me even that spot, and would drive me from it. Jan. 30. This convinces me that you will oblige me never to desist from war against thee ;-never to bury the hatchet, or think of the wampum and the calumet.Thou gloriest in thy riches and thy great numbers. For my part, who am poor, and a very small number, I cannot do better than trust in the great God of my fathers, who will judge between us with power, and with vengeance, but with justice. The worm that creeps, knows to defend itself when it is attacked: and I surely, savage as I am, am better than a worm, and must know to defend myself when I am attacked. I fhall come to see thee soon. Yes, trust me, I will see thee; and I hope what I fhall hear from, thy own mouth will afford me some comfort. Farewell. RUSSIAN ANECDOTE BY ARCTICUS. on TH HE grand chancellor Osterman* was so well served abroad, as to get intelligence of a scheme formed in the court of Versailles, to send over an insinuating elegant gamester, to attack the duke of Biron his weak side, (a violent rage for play,) and by that means to render him probably more tractable on some point they wanted to gain, when lefs overflowing with ready money than he generally was. To communicate this information, the chancelor called on the haughty duke, then all-powerful; and suspected he was at home, though declared abroad by his porter. This real or supposed affront, * Who was chancellor during the reign of emprefs Anne. For an account of this extraordinary man, see Bee, Vol. vi. p. 135 the chancellor took a most humerous mode of revenging, which was wrapping himself up in flannels, as if attacked by a violent fit of the gout, to which he was subject, and then writing a note to Ann, to inform her majesty that he had something of moment to communicate, but was unfortunately unable to move from his couch with his ordinary complaint. This produced the very visit he expected; and the duke was announced as coming to speak with him from the sovereign. Osterman received his visitor extended on his sopha, wrapt up like a mummy in flannel, and pretending to be unable from pain, to utter any thing, but the usual involuntary exclamations of a man in violent sufferings. When he had made the duke sit in eager curiosity to hear his secret, long enough to be revenged on him for the supposed refusal at his door, he seemed to articulate with great difficulty, that the French were sending over a gamester,-and then stopped again with excefs of pain. The duke on hearing the mountain thus delivered of a mouse; and being unable to draw any thing farther from the gouty chancellor, went off in a pet, probably thinking it a joke on his prevailing pafsion for gaming, and informed the emprefs that count Osterman had nothing to reveal, but was delirious with a violent fit of the gout. Here the matter rested, and was forgot by the duke. Some months afterwards, the political gamester actually arrived, under the form of an elegant, easy, difsipated French marquis, with a large credit on a house of the English factory. He presently insinuated. |