Nymphs, announced the repose of the God of the universe.

Nevertheless, when his first teeth began to appear, he became a very bad little boy, and squalled from morning until night with all his strength. Upon this, the priests (named Corybantes) invented a species of dance called dactyle, in which they struck against each other with brazen bucklers. The clattering of these instruments, prevented Saturn and Titan from hearing the cries of Jupiter. But nothing appeased him so completely as the breast of his nurse. This was the goat Amalthea. People tell us that goats-milk makes the head light: Jupiter's character rather tempts me to believe that it gives that quality to the heart. In truth, no modern Mirabel ever wooed more Orianas or Phillises, than Jupiter deceived mortal and immortal beauties. I will not even undertake to give you a list of them. The most celebrated were Autiope, Alcmena, Danae, Lɛda, Semele, Europa, Egina, || and Calisto. I shall hereafter speak more particularly of these ladies; at present let us return to the isle of Crete.

Jupiter having been weaned, being desirous to recompence the goat Amalthea, his nurse, changed her into a constellation; but he retained one of her horns, which he presented to the Nymphs by whom he was educated. This was the famous horn of Plenty, which passed so often from hand to hand, that now we know not where to find it.

Jupiter was scarcely out of his infancy, when he bacame a hero. His first exploit was the war against the Titans. I have informed

was called the silver age, but even then we are told it was mixed with some alloy. In truth, crimes began to appear, and Jupiter was obliged to punish them with exemplary severity in the person of Lycaon, King of Arcadia.

This cruel Prince massacred every stranger that passed through his states. Jupiter presented himself at his gate, and demanded hospitality. Eager to insult his supreme power, Lycaou ordered the limbs of a slave to be served up for the master of the Gods. The incensed Jupiter reduced the barbarian's palace into ashes, and changed him into a wolf. Doubtless it was upon this occasion that Jupiter was adored under the name of Jupiter Hospitalis, as having avenged the rights of hospitality.

Soon after this he bore the name of Jupiter Ammon: listen attentively, I am going to speak Greek to you. Ammon signifies gravel or sand. Travelling one day over the sandy desert of Arabia, Bacchus was seized with a burning thirst, and the God of wine could not find even a drop of water. In this extremity Jupiter suddenly appeared under the form of a ram, and striking the earth with his hoof, made a copious spring gush out from the stroke. Bacchus, in gratitude, erected a temple upon the spot, and dedicated it to Jupiter Ammon; that is to say, Jupiter of the Sand.

This God had another temple yet more celebrated, situated in the forest of Dodona; it was thence his oracles were issued. Under the sacred shade of ancient oaks was concealed a deep grotto; not even the brightest day could ever dissipate the horror of its gloomy wind

Gods abandoned him; but his own courage was his best ally.-Unassisted and alone, he conquered all his enemies, and buried them under those mountains which they had heaped together to scale the heavens. Enceladaus was overwhelmed by Mount Etna; and now every time that he sneezes, a volcano flames up in the clouds: when he stirs, all Sicily is turned inside outwards.

The second exploit of Jupiter is not so bonourable to him as the first. It was the defeat and the exile of Saturn. It is certain that the latter had his faults; but his son might have found for him a more august retreat.

After seizing the throne, Jupiter espoused || his sister Juno, and lived with her for some time very harmoniously. During the early part of his reign he was adored by his people. Then commenced the age which succeeded to that of gold; that is to say, when Virtue ruled the earth, but with less power than during the preceding era. This second age of Virtue,

beneath its sombre arch. There might at once be seen Hope with her smiling air, Ambition with his brazen front, Fear with wavering eyes, Suspicion, Interest; in short, such a groupe an often throngs the anti-chamber of a prime minister. The portal opens, the crowd shudder and enter; they hope, they fear, they scarcely respire; the vault trembles! at that instant the priest approaches, and distributes to each their destiny, written upon a leaf of the oak, which a breath of wind has brought towards the temple.

At Rome they adored Jupiter Stator. This surname comes from the Latin word stare, which signifies to stop, in memory of Jupiter having once suddenly stopped the Romane flying before the Sabines.

In the same city they worshiped Jupiter Lapis, or Jupiter Stone. It was this stone which Rhea had substituted for the God, and which evidently Saturn had not digested. There was also Jupiter Capitolinus, because he had

This last title originated in the following incident. While offering a sacrifice, Hercules was assailed by a swarm of flies that were at

In the early times, the race-ground was but one stadia in length, that is to say, about six hundred feet. The competitors ran on foot, completely armed; but in the ninth Olympiad

But the most illustrious title of Jupiter is that of Olympus, because mount Olympus was his favourite residence. It was there that the Olympic Games were celebrated, and became famous throughout the universe.

The King of the Gods is always represented seated upon his eagle, or on a throne of gold, at the foot of which are two vases, which pour forth good and evil. His brow is shadowed with dark clouds; his threatning eyes sparkle under black brows; his chin is covered with a majestic beard; he holds a scepter with one hand, while with the other he launches the thunder. The Virtues are ranged by his side. The Gods tremble in his presence, and I am told that the Goddesses are silent, that, of course, is an idle fiction; he is usually attired in a golden robe. Dyonisius the tyrant, deprived one of his statues of this robe, saying that it was too warm for summer, and too cold for winter; he therefore replaced it by habits for the four seasons.—Adieu.

LETTER IV.

You have heard of the jousts and tournaments at which, with his lance in its rest, and vizor closed, the Knight, burning with love and glory, combated to woo some icy fair, who commonly paid him for the loss of an eye, au arm, or a broken leg, with an old bracelet or girdle. Such, very nearly, were the Olympic Games. But glory alone animated the combatants there; for women were a long time excluded under penalty of life. In defiance of this law, however, several of them obtained admittance in the disguise of men; a few even dared to enter the lists, and having carried off the prize, opened the barrier of the Olympic Games to the remainder of their sex. From that period love and glory were inseparable.

Religion also was associated to these sentiments, for the Games were uniformly preceded and followed by a sacrifice in honour of the Gods, but especially of Apollo. After the re

then established; and in the twenty-fifth they joined to it that of chariots. Cynisca, daughter of Archidamus, Prince of Macedon, carried away the prize of this last. Excited by such an example, the other Macedonian womeu crowded to the lists, and several times obtained the crown of myrtle, of oak, or of olive.

Wrestling succeeded to the race. The wrestlers encountered each other quite naked ; they rubbed the limbs and the body with oil, to give them more pliancy, and to render it difficult for their adversary to retain his hold. After anointing themselves they entered the lists, and eagerly grasping together, each essayed by force, or by address, to overthrow his opponent.

The cestus was the most painful and the most dangerous of all the exercises. The combatants were armed with gauntlets, composed of several plies of leather, heavily leaded, a single blow of which, falling upon the bead, sufficed to knock down the strongest man; besides this, the most violent means to obtain su success were permitted.

Arrachion having vanquished all his antagonists but one, the latter threw him on the earth and strangled him; while, by an effort of rage and despair, the expiring Arrachion seized his ear with his teeth, and broke it off. The pain of this bite was so acute, that the conqueror called for quarter, and the judges placed the wreath of victory on the brow of the dead Arrachion.

The discus was a quoit of stone or of metal, of which the form and the weight varied according to the agreement of the competitors. The conqueror was he who, poising himself in equilibrium upon the point of a cone, threw his discus to the greatest distance.

These games generally terminated by others, which by turns exercised address and agility.

The judges appointed to distribute the prizes were nine in number; they made a noviciate of ten months before they ascended the tribunal, taking a solemn oath to observe the most rigorous laws of equity.

The establishment of the Olympic Games is attributed to five brothers, named Dactiles (the word signifies finger), on account of their union and number; the games were celebrated

every five years, and these intervals served during ages, for the epochs of chronology. Thus, instead ef saying as we do now, the year one thousand seven hundred, or the year seven, &c. they said, the first or the second year of the twentieth or thirtieth Olympiad.

The athletii who were the most distinguished at the Olympic Games, were Theseus, Euthymus, Milo, and Polydomas. Theagenes, who was born at Thasos, a small town in the neighbourhood of Lacedemon, bore off the prize twelve times; his fellow-citizens erected a statue to his honour. A person that envied him going one night to lash the statue with a whip, it fell upon him and crushed him to death. The children of the deceased cited the statue before the judge; for the laws of Lycargus ordained the punishment even of senseless things, when they injured the life or the peace of a citizen. The Lacedemonian judge condemned the statue to be thrown into the sea; but a famine quickly following the exe cution of this sentence, the Thasians consulted the Oracle, which ordered them to fish up aud re-establish this monument; ever since that period Theagenes was placed in the rank of a demi-god.

Euthymus merited the same honour, upon the following occasion:-Ulysses, in the course of his long wanderings, having disembarked at Themessus, an Italian city, one of his companions who had violated a young maid, was massacred by the inhabitants; and the King of Ithaca, informed of his crime, hastily set sail without rendering the funeral duties to his remains. The ghost of the unhappy gentleman, being deprived of sepulchre, ran furiously over the country, carrying ravage and desolation wherever it appeared. The Oracle was of course consulted; and the inhabitants were told, that the spirit would compose himself, and behave well, upon condition that they would annually deliver up to him the most beautiful virgin in the province.

The wretched Themessians had paid this fatal tribute for the third time, when Euthy

mus, already celebrated by his numerous triumphs at the Olympic Games, arrived in Italy. The hero encountered the ghost, made him vanish eternally, and delivered the amiable victim, whose heart and hand were afterwards his reward.

More celebrated yet, but more unhappy, Milo of Crotona surpassed all the athletii of his time. He was seen at the Olympic Games bearing upon his shoulders a bull of two years old, carrying it the whole length of the area without taking breath, then striking it dead with a single blow of his clenched hand, and eating it the same day. This anecdote gives a sufficient idea of his extraordinary strength. But these peculiar gifts which nature sometimes bestows, are not of long duration. Milo, in advanced age, walking alone in a remote wood, perceived a tree which the wind had cleft from its summit; remembering his ancient vigour, he tried to separate entirely the two parts; but the arm of Milo was grown old. The tree being but just split, on the first pull it sprung back, and closed upon the hand that held it.. All the efforts of the athleta could not disengage him from this dreadful vice; and the conqueror at the Olympic Games, waiting death in a desert, became there the prey of wild beasts.-Polydamas, his rival and his friend, perished like him, the victim of rashness. This athleta in his childhood had strangled a lion upon Mount Olympus; with a single blow he struck down the strongest adversary; with one hand he could stop a chariot drawn by six horses. One day while drinking in a cavern with some of his friends, the vault of it shook, and the party took to flight. Polydamus alone remained, believing himself strong enough to sustain the enormous mass; but the rock rolled down and crushed him to pieces as it fell.

Such are the dismal consequences of presumption; the wise man avoids danger, the fool braves it, and sinks under it. With this sage observation I leave you Adieu. (To be continued.)