The Sun.
London, England, 1822-06-18 00:00:00

(EXTRACT OF A PRIVATE LRTTER:)

" VIENNA, JUNE 2.—We are well satisfied here with the
accounts received from St. Petersburgh. The Emperor of
Russia has agreed to all the propositions made bye= Cabinet;
and' the affair with Turkey may be regarded as arranged. M.
de Tatischeff WiThcome herein ten days, and will 'be charged
to make verbal communications. The period will then' be
fixed for an interview between The .Sovereigns. -will pro-
bably take place about the end of September, in a town of
Italy subject to Austria."

FRONTIERS OF POLAND, MAY 28.—The ac-
,counts which we receive of the army assembled
in Southern Russia say that no changes of any
-consequence have taken place in the positions of
that force. The whole mass -of troops placed in
close cantonment on the right bank of the
Dniester, to the frontiers of Austrian Gallicia, is
estimated at 100,000 men. The number of the
troops on the left bank of that river, in New
Russia, is much more considerable. The corps
of General Sabieneff, said to be from 30,000 to
85,000 men, is in Bessarabia. The dearness
caused by the scarcity of provisions in these
• countries is described' in strong colours ; and
-although the Russian soldier, as soon as he leaves
his usual standing quarters, receives double pay,
-this is not sufficient to procure what he can have
in the interior provinces of the empire for half
the money. These motives, combined with the
importance of the subject, naturally excite in the
:army the most ardent wish that the question may
..be shortly decided one way or the other ; and
when we condsier, besides, that the Government
is equally interested, both on political and finan-
cial grounds, it can hardly be doubted that the
moment of decision is not distant.

PORTUGUESE CONSPIRACY.

;.[Supplement to the:l29th number of the Government Gazette,

Suuday, ,Thire 2.]

lAssoN.—lrrefragable proofs have at last been
'discovered of the truth with which the Minister
of Justice, explained to the sovereign Cortes the
necessity of the 'extraordinary authority which.
,was granted to him for the public safety, and for
the sacred cause of the country. Nefarious
anarchists and ambitious conspirators designed
•nothing less than barbarously to stain with blood
our happy regeneration, to cover the kingdom
with mourning, to depose the King, and to abo-
lish the Cortes. But all their atrocious projects
have proved abortive : the conspiracy was dis-
covered ; and in the night between the Ist and
2d of the month, were seized by the Magistrate
of the district (Rua Nova), the principal instru-
ments of the conspiracy, at the time when they
were taking for distribution from the printing-
office in the street Formosa, called the Liberal,
a great number of incendiary and infamous pro-
clamations, in which, and in the plan of the con-
.-spiracy found on the five traitors now impri-
soned, it appears, that, with a few slight varia-
tions, are contained the following anarchical and
horrible ideas :—To dissolve the present Cortes,
and convoke the old, with some modifications,
such as having two chambers, one of them con-
sisting of hereditary members and of the first
nobility ; to depose the beneficent and magna-
nimous King John VI., who has so faithfully
and openly adhered to the cause of the constitu-
tion and of national liberty, and in his place. to
elevate the Infant Don Michael, at the head of
-a regency, composed of men the most conspi-
cuous and respectable, who have declared them-
selves enemies of the system by which, happily,
we are governed : to assassinate those members
of the Cortes and of the Ministry who are the
most able- and celebrated defenders of the na-
tional rights ; in one word, to throw the whole
nation into•'a state of confusion and civil war, of
bloodshed, disorder, and anarchy, the advantage
of which
,was to be reaped by these infamous
conspirators, and by others like themselves who
probably will be found engaged in the same
plot.---:The persons who have already been ap-
prehended will appear from -the despatch' and
list following :

." Most Illustrious and Excellent Senhor,—lt not being pos-
•Sible for me to give your Excellency circumstantial details of
the diligence with which I repaired to,the printing-house in the
Rua Formosa, •by the command of his Majesty, that your Ex..
ceilency may, lay the same before him, I shall exectite my task
as circumstances- permit, beginning by saying, that on pro-
ceeding with my dfficers and troop to the appointed spot, I
Apprehended, in flagrante delictoi the individuals whose names
are contained in the enclosed list, finding on them the incen-
diary Prodamations, of which I likewise send you copies.—
Going then to a cellar, I found the printing press prepared,
and all the signs of its having recently printed the Proclama-
limn alluded to. I then.. determined to remove the prisoners

into secret confinement, sealing up all their effects, and placing
them in good security in the presence of officers of credit and
the troop, whom I continue there till the morning, *hen I pro-
pose to draw up the necessary acts. Having done this, I went
to the Aljube (ecclesiastical prison), where I seized all the pa-
pers relative to Father Mestre Braga. I then proceeded to the
house of the prisoner Francisco de Alpoim e Menezes, where
I acted in like manner ; and, finally, accompanied by my col-
league, the criminal judge of the Castle ward, 1 detailed the
capture of the paymaster of the 16th Regiment of Infantry,
Bernardino Rodriguez. This was executed afterwards by the
above-Mentioned Minister, with all due zeal and activity, leav-
ing nothing to be desired on this head. He concluded this act
with a search in the house, and a seizure of the papers which
had a reference to him. More circumstantial details will be
afterwards given your Excellency. God preserve your Ex-
cellency.
" Lisbon, June 2.
44 To the most illustrious and excellent
" Senhor Jose da Silva Carvalho."

" JOSE JOAQUIM GERARDO DE SAMPAYO."
LIST.

Francis de Alpoim and Menezes, a merchant, aged 32, &c.
- Januarius de Costa Neves, Knight of the Order of Christ,
Officer in the Military Secretariat of the Army, aged 33, &c.
Manuel Ferreira, a servant, aged 19, &c.

John Rodrigues da Costa Simoens, composing apprentice in
the printing-office already mentioned, aged 18.

FOREIGN LITERATURE,

(No. LVII.)

A COLLECTION of GREEK ROMANCES, translated
into French ; to which is prefixed, a Literary Essay, by 1%1-
VILLEMAIN, Member of the French Academy. 15 vols.
16mo. Paris, 1822.

The Greeks have been our precursors and
masters in all kinds of literature. Their quick
and fertile imagination has invented, embellish-
ed, and brought to perfection, every mode of in-
structing and amusing the mind. None knew
better than this ingenious and highly gifted peo-
ple how to deck truth in the veil of fiction—to
paint manners—create characters—and express
the language of the passions. Homer, Siophocles,
and A ristophanes, have inspired their imitators ;
and the Greeks, who opened to us the career of
the epopea and the drama, have also taught us
the art of writing romances.
This species of composition possessed peculiar
charms for them, naturally fond of the marvellous.
Love constitutes the interest of their romances,
because, in depicting this passion, art varies,
without ceasing, its tone, colouring, and effects.
They have represented two unfortunate lovers in
Theagenes and Chariclea ; heroism and conjugal
fidelity are pourtrayed in the recital of the ad
ventures of Abrocomas and Anthia ; while Daph-
ne and Chloe interest us by the simple narrative
of their pleasures, their sorrows, and their inno-
cence. In the recollections and libraries of men
of -taste, Heliodorus and Longus will occupy a
place with Iticleardson, Cervantes, and Le Sage.

The Greek Romances give rise to remarks of
various kinds ; their authors, poets, orators,
sophists,—pagans, monks, and even bishops, as
is asserted without much foundation, have im-
parted to the writings which have descended to
us the impress of their talents, their professions,
and their religious creeds. The wildest and
most luxuriant creatures of imagination are
placed by the side of rigid and pure forms, en-
dowed with reason and taste ; the light morality
and superannuated fables of Greek mythology
contend there to a disadvantage with the auste-
rity of nascent christianity. We like to compare
styles and to contrast ages. The Greek Romances
derive also an additional value from their being
brought into one collection, like monuments of
art which, notwithstanding they are mutilated
by time or the hand of man, nevertheless are
objects of study and pleasure to the amateur
who finds them assembled before his eyes.
All that learning, literary talent, and the fine
arts, can contribute have been bestowed on this
collection, and no fitter moment than the present
could be chosen for its appearance. The contest
in which the Greeks and the Turks are engaged
has attracted attention to the country of Leonidas.
We follow with interest all the efforts of their
descendants to liberate themselves from the
chains of ignorance and barbarism. The cause
of the Greeks is that of intelligence, the arts,
and humanity : the mind, full• of the recollections
of their ancient glory and long sufferings, volun-
tarily-lends itself to the perusal of their works,
to imbibe fresh motives of interest in their fate
and of hatred against their oppressors. C►