hand. To afk them of the emperor was a fort of homage, at the very idea of which his haughty foul revolted. He conceived a project, worthy of his times, of his country, or perhaps only of himfelf: it was to commence a war against Greece, and by force of arms to extort inftruction, priests, and the rite of baptifm. No fooner had he formed the defign than he prepared for its execution, raised a formidable army, felected from all the nations of which his empire was composed, and repaired to the Cherfonefe, under the walls of Theodofia, now called Kaffa. If we give credit to one chronicle, he put up this prayer: O God, grant me thy help to take this town, that I may carry from it Chriftians and priests to inftruct me and my people, and convey the true religion into my dominions!" He laid feige to the city, deftroyed the adverfaries, loft a great number of his foldiers, and thoufands of men were defroyed, because a barbarian would not fuffer himfelf to be Chriftened like an ordinary perfon. However, after carrying on the fiege for fix months, Vladimir had made no progrefs: he was even threatened with being obliged to raife the fiege, and was in great danger of never becoming a Chrif tian. But a traitorous citizen, according to fome it was a priest, tied a letter to an arrow, and hot it from the top of the ramparts. The Ruffians learned by this paper, that behind their camp was a fpring, which, by fubterraneous pipes, was the fole fupply of fresh water to the befieged. Vladimir ordered this fource to be fought out; it was found; and, by breaking thele channels, fubjected the town to the horrors of thirst, and forced it to furrender. Being in poffeffion of Theodofia, he was mafter of the whole Cherfonefe. In confequence of his victory, it was his own choice to receive baptifm in the manner he defired. But this facrament was not the fole object of his ambition: he afpired to an union by the ties of blood with the Cæfars of Byzantium. As was the cafe with most of the princes who adopted Christianity, fo here political reafons had at leaft an equal influence with devotion; and when Vladimir, was baptifed at Korfun, a town of Greece, in 988, and married Anna, the fister of the Grecian fovereign, it was as much his intention by this match to acquire a claim upon the Grecian empire, as by his baptifm to have pretenfions on the kingdom of heaven. Vladimir then liftened to fome catechetical lectures, received the rite of baptifm and the name of Bafil, married the young princess Anna, restored to his brothers-inlaw the conquefts he had recently made, and brought off no other reward of his victories than fome archimand rites and popes, a few facred veffels and church-books, images of faints, and confecrated relics. As At his return to Kief, his mind was wholly intent on overthrowing the idols which but lately were the object of his adoration, Perune was the greatest of deities to the idolatrous Ruffians, it was him that Vladimir, after his converfion, refolved to treat with the greatest ignominy. He had him tied to the tail of a horle, dragged to the Boryfthenes, and all the way twelve vigorous foldiers with great cudgel, cudgels, beat the deified log, which was afterwards thrown into the river. Nothing can more ftrongly mark the character of Vladimir than this conduct, alike brutih in worthipping a mishapen block, and in thinking to punish the infenfible mals for the adorations he had la viled upon it. People in a low state of civilization have too few ideas for acquiring a ftrong attachment to any religion. Thus the Rulians eafily abandoned the worship of their idols: for, though Vladimir caufed it to be published that thofe who hould perfevere in idolatry fhould be regarded as enemies of Chrift and of the prince, it does not appear that Ruffia underwent any -perfecutions, and yet it foon became Chriftian: of fuch force was the example of the fovereign. At Kief he one day iffued a proclamation ordering all the inhabitants to repair the next morning to the banks of the river to be baptized; which they joyfully obeyed. "If it be not good to be baptifed," faid they, "the prince and the boyars would never fubmit to it." Such a change was wrought in Vladimir afterwards, in this and many other refpects, that the hiftorians of that time are at a lofs for words fufficiently ftrong to exprefs their admiration of it. If before he had, befides five wives and eight hundred concubines, taken alfo women and girls wherever he would, yet, after his baptifm, he contented himfelf with his Christian fpoufe alone. If, as a conqueror, he had caufed many drops of inno cent blood to be shed, and fet a very low value on the life of a man, yet, having adopted the religion of Jefus, he felt uneafy at fentencing one highway robber to death, of whom there were many at that time; and, as we read in the chronicles, exclaimed with emotion on fuch an occafion) "What am I that I fhould condemn a fellow-creature to death!" As his delight had been before in ftorming towns and obtaining battles, he now found his greatest pleasure in building churches and endowing schools. Anecdotes of Mr. Robert Bloomfield, Author of the Farmer's Boy, a Poem. * Abridged from a Letter from his Brother George to Capel Loft, Efq. ROBERT was the younger child of George Bloomfield, a tailor, at Honington. His father died when he was an infant under a year old.‡ His mother was a fchool-miftrefs, and inftructed her own children with the others. He thus learned to read as foon as he learned to speak. Though the mother was left a widow with fix fmall children, yet, with the help of friends, the managed to give each of them a little fchooling. Robert was accordingly fent to Mr. Rodwell, of Ixworth, to be improved in writing: but he did not go to that school more than two or three months, nor was ever fent to any other; his mother again mar J * Of which we have given a specimen in the poetical part of this volume. This village is between Eufton and Trofton, and about eight miles N. E. of Bury. Our author was born Dec. 3, 1766. rying when Robert was about feven years old. By her fecond husband, John Glover, he had another family. When Robert was not above eleven years old, the late Mr. W. Auftin, of Sapifton, took him. And though it is cuftomary for farmers to pay fuch boys only 1s. 6d. per week, yet he generously took him into the houfe. This relieved his mother of any other expenfe than only of finding him a few things to wear and this was more than the well knew how to do. "She wrote, therefore, to me and my brother Nat (then in London) to affift her; mentioning that he, Robert, was fo fmall of his age that Mr. Auftin faid he was not likely to be able to get his living by hard labour." Mr. G. Bloomfield, on this, informed his mother that, if he would let him take the boy with him, he would take him, and teach him to make fhoes: and Nat promifed to clothe him. The mother, upon this offer, took coach and came to London, to Mr. G. Bloomfield, with the boy for fhe faid, fhe never fhould have been happy if the had not put him herfelf into his hands. "She charged me," he adds, as I valued a mother's bleffing, to watch over him, to fet good examples for him, and never to forget that he had loft his father." Thefe are Mr. G. Bloomfield's own words; and it would wrong all the parties concerned if in mentioning this pathetic and fuccefsful admonition, any other were to be used. He came from Mr. Auftin's, June 29, 1781. Mr. G. Bloomfield then lived at Mr. Simm's, No. 7, Pitcher's Court, Bell-alley, Coleman-ftreet. "It is customary," he continues, in fuch houfes as are let to poor people in London, to have light garrets, fit for mechanics to work in. In the garret, where we had two turn-up beds, and five of us worked, I received little Robert. "As we were all fingle men, lodgers at a fhilling per week each, our beds were coarle, and all things far from being clean and fnug, like what Robert had left at Sapifton. Robert was our man, to fetch all things to hand. At noon he fetched our dinners from the cook's fhop: and any one of our fellow workmen that wanted to have any thing fetched in, would fend him, and aflift in his work and teach him, for a recompence for his trouble. "Every day when the boy from the public-houfe came for the pewter pots, and to hear what porter was wanted, he always brought the yesterday's news-paper. The reading of the paper we had been ufed to take by turns; but after Robert came, he moftly read for us, be caufe his time was of leaft value. He frequently met with words that he was unacquainted with: of this he often complained. I one day happened at a book-ftall to fee a fmall dictionary, which had been 'very ill ufed. I bought it for him for 4d. By the help of this he in a little time could read and comprehend the long and beautiful speeches of Burke, Fox, or North. One Sunday, after an whole day's ftroll in the country, we by accident went into a diflenting meeting-houfe, in the Old Jewry, where a gentleman was lecturing. This man filled Robert with aftonifhment. The houfe was amazingly crowded with the moft genteel people; and though we were forced to ftand fill in the aifle, and were much preffed, yet Robert always quickened his fteps to get into the town on a Sunday evening foon enough to attend this lecture. "The preacher lived fomewhere at the weft end of the town, his name was Fawcet. His language, was juft fuch as the Rambler is written in; his action like a perfon acting a tragedy; his difcourfe rational, and free from the cant of Methodifm. "Of him Robert learned to accent what he called hard words; and otherwife improved himself; and gained the most enlarged notions of Providence. whether the editor of our paper would give them a place in the poet's corner. And he fucceeded, and they were printed. "I remember," fays Mr. G. Bloomfield, continuing his narrative, "a little piece which he called the Sailor's Return: in which he tried to defcribe the feelings of an honeft tar, who after a long abfence, faw his dear native village firft rifing into view. This, too, obtained a place in the poet's corner. "And as he was fo young," his brother proceeds, "it fhews fome genius in him, and fome induftry, to have acquired fo much knowledge of the ufe of words in fo little time. Indeed at this time myself and my fellow workmen in the garret began to gather inftruction from him, though not more than fixteen years old. "6 or three "He went fometimes with me to a debating-fociety at Coach makers Hall, but not often; and a few times to Covent-garden theatre. Thefe are all the opportunities he ever had to learn from public fpeakers. As to books, he had to wade through two folios: a Hiftory of England, Britifh Traveller, and a Geography. But he always read them as a talk, or to oblige us who bought them. And as they came in fixpenny numhers weekly, he had about as many hours to read as other boys fpend in play. "I at that time," proceeds his brother," read the London Magazine; and in that work about two fheets were fet apart for a review; Robert feemed always eager to read this review. Here he could fee what the literary men were doing, and learn how to judge of the merits of the works that came out. And I obferved that he always looked at the poet's corner. And one day he repeated a fong which he compofed to an old tune. I was much furprifed that a boy of fisteen thould make fo fmooth verles: To I perfuaded him to try 3 About this time there came a man to lodge at our lodgings that was troubled with fits. Robert was fo much hurt to fee this poor creature drawn into fuch frightful forms, and to hear his horrid fcreams, that I was forced, to leave the lodging. We went to Blue-Hart-court, Bell-alley. In our new garret we found a fingular character, James Kay, a native of Dundee. He was a middle-aged man, of a good understanding, and yet a furious Calvinift. He had many books, and fome which he did not value: fuch as the Seasons, Paradife Loft, and fome Novels. Thefe books he lent to Robert; who fpent all his leifure hours in reading the Seafons, which he was now capable of reading. I never heard him give fo much praile to any book as to that. I think it was in the year 1784 that the queftion came to be de cided "Robert, naturally fond of peace, and fearful for my perfonal fafety, begged to be fuffered to retire from the form. cided between the journeymen cumftance with the character of our fhoemakers; whether thofe who author, follows in his brother's had learned without ferving an apwords. prenticeship could follow the trade. "The man by whom Robert and I were employed, Mr. Chamberlayne, of Cheapfide, took an active part against the lawful journeymen; and even went fo far as to pay off every man that worked for him that had joined their clubs. This fo exafperated the men, that their acting committee foon looked for unlawful men (as they called them) among Chamberlayne's workmen." They found out little Robert, and threatened to profecute Chamber layne for employing him, and to profecute his brother, Mr. G. Bloomfield, for teaching him. Chamberlayne requested of the brother to go and bring it to a trial; for that he would defend it; and that neither George nor Robert fhould be hurt. In the mean time George was much infulted for having refufed to join, upon this occafion, those who called themfelves, exclufively, the lawful craftimen. George, who fays he was never famed for patience, (it is not indeed fo much as might be fometimes wifhed, very often the lot of ftrong and acute minds to poffefs largely of this virtue,) took his pen and addreffed a letter to one of the most active of their committee-men (a man of very bad character.) In this, after flating that he took Robert at his mother's requeft, he made free as well with the private character of this man as with the views of the committee. "He came home; and Mr. Auftin kindly bade him take his houfe for his home till he could return to me. And here, with his mind glowing with the fine defcriptions of rural fcenery which he found in Thomfon's Seafons, he again retraced the very fields where first he began to think. Here, free from the fmoke, the noife, the contention of the city, he imbibed that love of rural fimplicity and rural innocence, which fitted him, in a great degree, to be the writer of fuch a poem as the Farmer's Boy. "Here he lived two months: at length, as the difpute in the trade ftill remained undecided, Mr. Dudbridge offered to take Robert apprentice, to fecure him, at all events, from any confequences of the litigation." He was bound by Mr. Ingram, of Bell-alley, to Mr. John Dudbridge. His brother George paid five thil lings for Robert, by way of form, as a premium. Dudbridge was their landlord, and a freeman of the city of London. He acted mofst honourably, and took no advantage of the power which the indentures gave him. George Bloomfield flaid with Robert till he found lie could work as expertly as himself. Mr. George Bloomfield adds, "When I left London he was turned of eighteen; and much of my happiness fince has arifen from a conftant correfpondence which I have held with him. Y After |