and killed every foul in the tent, except herself and three other young women. Among those whom they killed, where her father, mother, and husband. Her young child, four or five months old, the concealed in a bundle of clothing, and took with her undiscovered in the night; but when the arrived at the place where the Athapufcow Indians had left their wives (which was not far diftant) they began to examine her bundle, and finding the child, one of the women took it from her and killed it on the Spot.

ing ftory, which fhe delivered in a very affecting manner, only excited laughter among the favages of my party.

In a converfation with this woman foon afterward, fhe told us, that her country lies fo far to the weftward, that he had never feen iron, or any other kind of metal, till fhe was taken prifoner. All of her tribe, fhe obferved, made their hatchets and icechifels of deer's horns, and their knives of ftones and bones; that their arrows were fhod with a kind of flate, bones, and deer's horns; and the inftruments which they employed to make their wood-work, were nothing but beaver's teeth. Though they had frequently heard of the ufeful materials which the nations or tribes to the east of them were fupplied with by the English, fo far were they from drawing nearer, to be in the way of trading for ironwork, &c. that they were obliged to retreat further back, to avoid the Athapufcow Indians, who made furprifing flaughter among them, both in

This laft piece of barbarity gave her fuch a difguft to thcfe Indians, that notwithstanding the man who took care of her treated her in every respect as his wife, and was, fhe faid, remarkably kind to, and even fond of her; fo far was the from being able tɔ reconcile herself to any of the tribe, that fhe rather chose to expofe herself to mifery and want, than live in eafe and affluence among perfons who had fo cruelly murdered her infant. The winter and fummer. poor woman's relation of this fhock

I

Sir,

RESEMBLANCE between CONVERSATION and à DRAMA.

< All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players.'

To the Editor of the Univerfal Magazine.

HAVE often amufed myfelf by tracing a comparison between converfation carried on in private company, and a drama performed on the public ftage, and I think there may be found a whimsical, if not a real refemblance between them, in many refpects. In converfation, the parts are generally divided according to the particular merit or forte, as it is called, of the performer, yet, as on the ftage, we frequently find a conceited actor intruding himfelf into a line of acting very unfuitable to his talents; as for example, when we fee a plain citizen affecting the town rake, or a philofopher attempting the part of a beau. In converfation, too, the greateft performers acquire the highest applaufe,

SHAKS.

have the greatest number of lengths in their parts, and yet fometimes condefcend to act leffer characters on purpose to affift a young actor, divest him of his fears, and render converfation eafy and familiar to him. Converfation is fometimes of the tragic and fometimes of the comic kind, but most generally partakes of that mixed drama, the hiftorical kind, in which Shakspeare fo much excelled, who drew his plans from nature, and very jully confidered that no human action is in all its parts tragic only. Converfation is not tied down to the unities of time or place, nor divided into a certain number of acts, but the parts are fo equally divided among the ftrength of the company, that no per

former has more than he is able to go through, unless he chooses to fatigue himfelf and his audience withoutHeroding Herod,' and performing with that extravagance of action, which diftinguishes fome new performers, before they have had their manner corrected by the criticisms of a judicious audience.

In converfation, the audience is certainly compofed of the performers, who remain on the ftage, as is the custom at dramatic rehearsals, and is not a diftinct and independent body, like the ladies and gentlemen who fill the pit, box and galleries. Of them, however, it is wifely contrived that there are always a fufficient proportion who are properly auditors, or who have not talents fuperior to the delivery of a meffage, or the ringing of a bell. And these, although they feem to contribute fo little to the intereft of the drama, are in fact great helps to the principal performers by their filence, filence being in converfation equivalent to clapping upon the stage. As to hiffing and pelting with half-eaten oranges and pippins, it is confided to the latter only, or to be found occafionally only in companies of very low converfation-performers.

The filent performers, too, are thought by fome to play the moft difficult part, that of liftener being a character to which a great many have very violent objections. It certainly is a part which requires a great command of the paffions, great patience and much attention, and confequently they who go through it with kill, fo as to give pleafure to the audience, must be allowed a very confiderable portion of merit. I have obferved that we have fewer female performers in this line than in any other, which I am furprised at, because they would certainly acquire a diftinguished fame. As to drefes, there is not much refemblance between the private and the public drama; except that the principal performers are allowed to difplay their own tafte in both in a certain degree. There is no neceffary connection between the parts of a conver

fation, and the drefs of thofe who perform them, except that it is not ufual to have a fwearing part gone through by one in the garb of a quaker, nor do we much approve of a rakish dialogue between perfons dreffed in black.

In one refpect, a great performer in converfation may be accounted a man of far fuperior merit to a great performer on the ftage; namely, that he never knows a line of his part before he comes to act it, that he feldom knows that he fhall ever act it again, and it often happens that he has never acted it before, unlefs, perhaps, in a foliloquy, or in detached fcenes; it alfo happens that the length and difficulty of his part fhall depend upon his being joined by fome able performerwhom he has never before feen, and whom he endeavours to excel. All his efforts therefore must be in a great measure extempore, and without the advantage of previous ftudy. If, notwithstanding thefe difadvantages, he keeps up his accustomed reputation, he may furely be ranked above the moft famous of his brethren on the flage, with whom it is all study and preparation, and who know, not only what they are to fay, but what is to be faid to them.

With refpect to characters, we find as great, if not a greater variety in converfation than we do upon the stage, and we likewife find, in general, more confiftency in the caft. But, truth to fay, in both there are certain performers who attempt fometimes more than they are able to go through, and principally those who ftudy to be great comic performers. In converfation, there are a great many who are continually attempting to fet the audience in a roar of laughter, but always at the expence of their author, or themfelves; and fome of thefe (like certain performers on the ftage) finding that they cannot fucceed in genteel comedy, take to pantomime tricks, fuch as breaking bottles, and glaffes, pulling a chair from under a perfon, who is just about to fit down, making faces, and other tricks and

MINUTES of AGRICULTURE, from the REPORTS of the Agricultural Board: Continued from Page 233

LINCOLNSHIRE.

By Mr. STONE.

The Lower Marbes; being that defcription of low-land which is protected from the overflowing of the fea by embankments. This part of the county is fuppofed to contain above 160,000 acres; and extends along the feacoaft, from the Humber on the north, to Crofs-Keyfwafh on the fouth. The moft confiderable part of this land is in a ftate of pasture, and cf a very good quality for feeding, or fatting, cattle and theep; but not much ufed to breeding, for which purpose it is not well adapted, nor could it be fo profitably applied, as the lambs would be drowned in the ditches, &c.

The fouthern part is more used as arable land, than that toward the north, but no regular fyftem of hufbandry is purfued. Very little land is here let under lease, nor any precife rules for management obferved; but it is used in a manner fimilar to the fen, in refpect of repeated crops of white grain, except that the deftructive practice of paring and burning is more fparingly purfued. In contemplating the husbandry of this part of the marshes, I cannot pafs over the parish of Long Sutton, without cbferving, that the former commons, belonging to this parish, about the inclosure of which fo much oppofition was made in both houfes of parliament, have turned out productive to the parties interested, beyond all calculation of advantage, even of thofe who brought forward the bill all animofities having fubfided, the former contending parties fit down peaceably, enjoying the harvest of a well fought field; the land producing immente quantities of corn, hemp, Stax, woad, and every valuable production. And all this alteration, much for the benefit of the country, though fo violently oppofed, was carried into effect, by the perfeverance of one

:

fpirited proprietor, Joshua Serope, efq. the lord of the manor, upon the petition to parliament, of the smallest majority of proprietors ever known under fimilar circumstances.

Farmers who took undue advantages of the commons, by hiring common-right houfes, and, under colour of fuch rights, turning upon the commons feven or eight hundred sheep in a feafon, and thereby eating up the poor cottagers rights, had addrefs enough falfely to reprefent the cafe, and to prevail upon their landlords, and others in power, to fupport them in this violent oppofition. This inclofure has been followed by that of the adjoining commons of Tydd; and fome thousand acres of common, in the parish of Whaplade, Holbeech. and Fleet, being in this neighbourhood, are now under notices for a bill of inclosure. But while I contemplate the vast advantage arifing from the inclosure of Long Sutton, I cannot but obferve a confiderable quantity of land in that lordship, which was originally gained from the fea, and was, in the first inftance, as productive and valuable as the late inclosed commons, but which, by a feries of exhaufting crops, and every fpecies of mifmanagement, is reduced to a very low condition. And, I fear, the late înclosed commons of Long Sutton are under a fimilar treatment; and, unless the plough be restrained, and a well digefted fyftem of hufbandry adopted, we fhall, in the courfe of ten years, fee this amazing productive track of land, in fuch a ftate, that it will no longer bear exhaufting crops of grain, laid down for pafture, probably but of little more value to the individuals immediately interested, and to the community, than it was in its state of common.

An embankment, of many thou fand acres of falt marth, fronting the parish of Gedney, and its vicinity, is

carrying into effect, which will be of banks, in its way to the outfall, where it cannot get away fast enough, to promote the drowning of the intermediate lands.