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horses' feet upon the causeway: he therefore said to those near him, 'Gentlemen, keep quiet, make no movement, for I hear the steps of some people; we must know who they are, and what they seek at such an hour. I suspect they are victuallers, who are bringing provisions to the castle, for I know it is in this respect very scantily provided.' The Bégue then advanced, his dagger on his wrist, toward a man who was close to don Pedro, and demanded, Who art thou? speak, or thou art a dead man.' The man to whom the Bégue had spoken was an Englishman, and refused to answer: he bent himself over his saddle and dashed forward. The Bégue suffered him to pass, when addressing himself to don Pedro, and examining him earnestly, he fancied it was the king, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, from his likeness to king Henry, his brother, for they very much resembled each other. He demanded from him, in placing his dagger at his breast, And you, who are you? name yourself, and surrender this moment, or you are a dead man.' In thus saying, he caught hold of the bridle of his horse, and would not suffer him to escape as the former had done.

"King don Pedro, who saw a large body of men at arms before him, and found that he could not by any means escape, said to the Bégue de Villaines, whom he recognised, 'Bégue, Bégue, I am don Pedro, king of Castile, to whom much wrong has been imputed through evil counsellors. I surrender myself and all my people, but twelve in number, as thy prisoners. We place ourselves under thy guard and disposition. I beseech thee in the name of thy gentility, that thou put me in a place of safety. I will pay for my ransom whatever sum thou shalt please to ask; for, thank God, I have yet a sufficiency to do that; but thou must prevent me from falling into the hands of the bastard.' The Bégue (according to the information I have since received) replied, that he and his company might come with him in all security, for that his brother should

not from him have any intelligence of what had happened.* Upon this consideration they advanced, when don Pedro was conducted to the tent of the Bégue, and into the chamber of sir Lyon de Lakonet. He had not been there an hour when king Henry, and the viscount de Rocaberti, with their attendants, but not in great numbers, came thither. As soon as king Henry had entered the chamber where don Pedro was, he said, "Where is this son of a Jewish whore, who calls himself king of Castile? Don Pedro, who was a bold as well as a cruel man, stepped forward and said, 'Why, thou art the son of a whore, and I am the son of Alphonso.' On saying this, he caught hold of king Henry with his arms, began to wrestle with him, and being the strongest, threw him down under him : placing his hand upon his poignard, he would infallibly have killed him, if the viscount de Rocaberti had not been present, who seizing don Pedro by the legs turned him over, by which means king Henry being uppermost, immediately drew a long poignard, which he wore in his sash, and plunged it into his body. His attendants entered the tent and helped dispatch him.

"Thus died don Pedro, king of Castile, who had formerly reigned in great prosperity. Those who had slain him left him three days unburied, which was a pity for the sake of humanity; and the Spaniards made their jokes upon him.Ӡ

The character of Pedro is among the worst that disgrace

"There are different accounts of this affair. Ferreras attributes the capture of don Pedro to Bertram du Guesclin, and not much to his honour; but I cannot believe this, as avarice was not a vice of such gallant men, and am inclined to believe Froissart has been rightly inform ed." Trans.

† Johnes' Froissart, ch. 243. An account resembling this in many particulars, and like this very interesting, may be found in the “Memoires de Bertrand du Guesclin," (in the " Collection universelle des Memoires particuliers relatifs à l'Histoire de France.") ch, 19.

history; though the fourth note to the eighth canto of Constance de Castile intends to vindicate him from the charge of cruelty. His bad actions would have escaped censure had they been few; for the character of the times permitted much that now committed would deeply disgrace the perpetrator. But the title of Peter, viz. "The cruel," the aversion of his subjects, and above all, the facts recorded of him by all historians, must convince any one who reads his history of his enormous baseness. There was such meanness in his vices, and such a destitution of that high spirit and sense of honor which have given splendor to so many crimes, that it is impossible to feel any complacency in Pedro. He was avaricious, treacherous," and "debauched, cruel, cunning, and faithless in a supreme degree;"* he was the murderer of his brothers, and of his queen. The guilt of Blanche of Bourbon is far from being proved by the quotation from Voltaire, p. 190, especially when his testimony is opposed by common belief, and by the uniform testimony of history. See Stevens' Mariana, B. xvii. c. 3. Life of Bertrand du Guesclin.

We wish that Mr. Sotheby had not laid claim to historical accuracy, or that he had possessed more.

• Universal History.

5

A REVIEW*

OF

An Introduction to the Geography of the New Testament ; comprising a summary chronological and geographical view of the events recorded respecting the ministry of our Saviour; accompanied with maps, questions for examination, and an accented Index:

BY LANT CARPENTER, LL.D.

First American edition, 12mo. Cambridge, 1812.

THIS valuable little book is introduced by a modest preface, in which its object and principles are briefly stated. Seventy pages are then occupied with a geographical account of the countries, cities, islands, seas, &c. which are mentioned in the New Testament. It begins with Spain, and proceeding eastward, describes the places in order as far as Persia, and then shortly notices the countries of Africa, ending with Ethiopia. The descriptions are short, but clear; and though minuteness does not seem to have been intended, yet the study of this book would afford sufficient knowledge of the geogra phy of the New Testament for common readers. There are also various remarks interspersed, containing much valuable information. The following accounts of the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem will exemplify Dr. Carpenter's condensed and simple manner.

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"50. The capital city also was called Samaria. [It was "once the metropolis of the ten tribes, who separated from those

* First published in the General Repository for April 1812. vol. i. page 424.

"of Judah and Benjamin, and formed a distinct kingdom, about ❝nine hundred and seventy five years before the christian æra. "When the ten tribes were carried away captive into Assyria,

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number of Assyrians were introduced into their country, "who mingled with those Israelites who were left, and with "those who afterward returned. These people brought with ❝them their idolatry, and taught it to the conquered natives: "but it seems that before our Saviour's ministry, the Samari"tans had returned to the worship of God. They however ma"terially differed from the Jews. They received the books "of Moses only as of divine authority, and they considered "Mount Gerizim as the only place in which worship was ac"ceptable to God.

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"51. The greatest aversion existed between the Jews and "the Samaritans. Both nations probably had some cause for "their hostile feelings; and both certainly exaggerated the sources of their ill-will. The separation of the ten tribes,— "the opposition of the Samaritans to the rebuilding of the Jew"ish temple after the Babylonish captivity,—the erection of a "temple on mount Gerizim,-and their ill-treatment of those ❝who passed through their country to worship God at Jerusa"lem, are sufficient to account for the aversion of the Jews. ❝ No doubt there were equal causes for the aversion of the Sa

maritans; but we have only Jewish historians. It is certain "that the Maccabees seized and destroyed the capital and sub"jugated the country.-It is obvious that the Samaritans were "in expectation of the Messiah; and that they were disposed "to admit the claims of Jesus.

"52. It is not certain that the city of Samaria is spoken of "in the New Testament; the words in Acts viii. 5. should be "rendered a city of Samaria, as in John iv. 5. That city might ❝be Samaria, but of this we can only conjecture."]

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