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52 ANNUAL REGISTER [pro]nouncing any of the French nasal vowels, and most of the consonants, he was at least thirty years old; that his memory had never been exercised by any kind of study, nor had his mind ever been at work; that he had not, like all Europeans, such a grammar as the French, nor were his moral, physical, political and social ideas, the same with theirs. However, though Aotourou could scarce blabber some words of French, he went alone every day, and passed through the whole city, without once missing or losing his way. He often made some purchases, and scarce ever paid for things beyond their real value. The only diversion which pleased him was the opera, as he was extremely fond of dancing. He knew perfectly well on what days it was performed; he went to it by himself, paid at the door like other people, and his favourite place was in the galleries behind the boxes. Those persons who were obliging to him, he always distinguished with the warmest returns of gratitude; in particular, the Duchess of Choiseul, who loaded him with favours, and testified for him great friendship and concern, to which he was much more sensible than to presents; and, therefore, of his own accord, he always visited this generous benefactress, when he heard of her being in town... The comet which was seen at Paris in 1769, was noticed by this islander; and his countrymen, it seems, are well acquainted with these stars, which do not appear again, as Aotourou said, till after a great number of moons. The people of Taiti annex no sinister ideas to them; the the meteors which we call shooting stars, they call evil genii. Without being astronomers, they have names for every remarkable constellation, know all the phases of the moon; and (without being taught by Fontenelle) positively believe that the sun and moon are inhabited. Aotourou left Paris in March 1770, and embarked at Rochelle, on board the Brisson, for the isle of France, being entrnsted [[entrusted]] to the care of a merchant, who was a passenger, and also one of the owners of the ship. The ministry gave orders to the governor and intendant of that island, to send Aotourou home from thence to Taiti; and M. de Bouganville very minutely described the course that must be taken in order to go thither, and gave 36,000 francs, (about 1500l. sterling) which is the third part of his whole fortune, towards the equipment of the ship which is to make the voyage. The Duchess of Choiseul, too, has been so humane, as to appropriate a sum of money for sending to Taiti a great number of the most necessary tools, a quantity of feeds, and various kinds of cattle; and the King of Spain has allowed that this ship, if necessary, may touch at the Philippines. "O may the bold Aotourou (M. de Bouganville concludes) soon see his countrymen again!" In this wish we heartily concur, and of his safe arrival there, our English navigators will, it is hoped, at their return, inform us. The above, together with many other particulars in this voyage, do great honour to the humanity, as well as understanding of this philosophical commodore, and answer to the expectations that might justly have been formed of a disciple of M. d'Alembert. Character For the YEAR 1772. 53 Character of Dr. Burnet, by a foreigner; from Grosley's Observations on England. Our Author says, that a great gallery of the palace of Lambeth, contains all the pictures, at full length, of the several bishops who, since the Reformation, have possessed the see of Canterbury, and of some prelates whose talents have done an honour to the English clergy *. To these are joined certain ancient portraits, amongst which one, which is the work of Holbein, deserves particular notice: it is the picture of an archbishop contemporary to the painter: though the features are shocking, there is something very expressive in the physiognomy. Amongst the modern portraits, that of Dr. Burnet is one which best of all exhibits a countenance as noble and pleasing, as the works of that celebrated writer are the reverse. The memoirs of John Macky contain certain anecdotes of that personage, whose character was an odd mixture of violence and complaisance, which he made alternately subservient to promoting his fortune. He was concerned in all the great changes, and had a hand in all the intrigues, which agitated England from the year 1680 till his death. Ever varying his principles according to circumstances, he was unshaken in nothing but his hatred to the house of Stuart. This hatred it was that excited King William to promote him to the episcopal dignity, and to confer on him the place of chancellor of the order of the garter, and that of preceptor to the Duke of Gloucester. He was afterwards as warm a partizan of the house of Hanover, as he had been of the prince of Orange; but death did not give him time to reap the fruits of this new attachment. In the memoirs just cited, we meet with two consultations of this doctor, which afford the most extraordinary proofs of his talent at suiting his principles to the times and occurrences. The barrenness of the queen consort to Charles the Second, gave occasion to these consultations, which have all the authenticity that can be desired in acts of this nature. In the first he laid it down as a maxim, that barrenness in a wife is a just cause of divorce; and in the second he maintains, that even under the gospel dispensation, there are certain cases which may justify polygamy. Yet the doctrine displayed in these consultations, by a divine who had acquired a reputation for rigid virtue, had no effect upon the principles of honour, which reigned in the soul of a prince the most sensual and voluptuous of the age in which he lived †. A chaplainship to a nobleman of the Hamilton family, was Dr. Burnet's first step to fortune. He, in secret, won the heart and received the hand of a niece of the chief person of that family, lady Margaret Kennedy, daughter of the Earl * I was indebted for the sight and examination of the curiosities at Lambeth, to Dr. Ducarel, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, author of some works replete with erudition, and commissary of the city and diocese of Canterbury. † Sanctiores erant aures principis quàm corda sacerdotum. "The ears of princes were more religious than the hearts of priests." of E 3
