f YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. LETTERS O F A TRAVE LLER, ON THE VARIOUS COUNTRIES OF EUROPE, ASIA, AND AFRICA: CONTAINING ~ SKETCHES OF THEIR PRESENT STATE, GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS; WITH SOME ORIGINAL PIECES OF POETRY. EDITED By ALEXANDER THOMSON, M. D. LONDON, PRINTED FOR JAMES WALLIS, No. 46, AND WYNNE AND SCHOLEY, No: 45, PATER-NOSTER-ROW. 1798. CONTENTS. EUROPE. LETTER L PAGE REENLAND and Iceland. - - - i LETTER II. The SuhjeB Concluded. - , - - 9 LETTER IIL Norzvay. - - - - 15 LETTER IV. Denmark. - - - - - 24 LETTER V. Lapland. - - - - 32 A Lapland Ode. LETTER VL Sweden. - ' - - 7 - - 40 LETTER VIL RnJJia. - - ¦¦;- - 4S LETTER Vm. Shetland, Orkney, and Wejlern Iftes of Scotland. 64 LETTER IX. Scotland. _-_--- ^6 LETTER X. England. - - - - 91 LETTER XL 1^/:'^ Siibjfdi Concluded. . . - - 104. LETTER VI. CONTENTS. LETTER XIL page Ireland. - - - - ii8 LETTER XillL France. - - - - - ".^3° LETTER XIV. Netherlands. - - - 142 LETTER XV. Germany. - ~- . - - - \i^3 LETTER XVL Pi'ujfta, Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland. -. - 1 65 LETTER XVIL Switzerland. r t - - - 183 [Anecdote of Monf. Voltaire. LETTRR XVm. Spain. - - - - igz LETTER XIX. The SuhjeS Conduded. ¦, - - 1215 LETTER XX. Portugal. - r - - 227 , LETTER XXL Italy. - *¦ - - - - . , 2/^.2, . Comjiarifon of Hannibal with Julius Cafar. LETTER XXIL Italy Continued. - - - 2Ci Verfes on Semiramis. LETTER xxm. The SubJeS! Continued. - . . ^ ^.ej LETTER CONTENTS. VlU LETTER XXIV. PAGE The SubJeSi Continued. 268 LETTER^XXV. The SubJeSi Continued. - ¦¦278 LETTER XXVL The Subje£l Concluded. 289 LETTER XXVIi. Italian Iftands. . . . ¦'500 LETTER XXVIII. The SubjeU Concluded. - -- 310 Verfes addrejj'ed to the Knights of Malta. LETTER XXIX. Greece. - - - • 318 LETTER XXX. The SubjeSl Concluded. An Ode. 340 ~ . LETTER XXXL Iflands of Turkey in Europe. 3it ASIA. LETTER XXXIL NatoHa. - - - 3% -LETTER XXXm. Syria, and Palefiine, or Judea. 390 LETTER XXXIV. Other Provinces of Afiatic Turkey. - 399 LETTER XXXV. . Tartary. - - - 408 LETTER viii. eoNTENTS. China. LETTER XXXVL LETTER XXXYIL PAGE 417 Continent of India. - - ' 428 Perfia. LETTER XXXVm. 438 Arabia. LETTER XXXIX. AFRICA. LETTER XL. 455 Egypt.: - - - - 465 LETTER XLL The SubjeE Conthfued. - - 475 LETTER XLir. The Subject Continued, - - - 485 LETTER XLin. The SubjeSi Concluded, - - 494 LETTER XLIV. States of Barbary. - - - - 5^^ ' * Erratum, Fpr agmire, -p. 479* read dgminet. LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, ^c. LETTER L: I S I R, N compliancs with your de£re, I now commence a Series of Letters on the dif ferent countries of Europe, Afia, and Africa, thofe great divifions of the globe, which are ufually denominated the ancient world. It is a fubjeft of vaft extent, and, from its nature, ,pix)du£tive of rational entertain ment, as well as information. It has ne ver yet been the lot of any individual to vifit all thofe countries ; and therefore in fuch an undertaking as the prefent, it be comes neceffary to have recourfe to the ac cumulated fund of obfervations made by travellers of the moft approved difcern- B ment 2 LETTERS t)F A TRAVELLER. ment and veracity. In refpedt of the countries which I have vifited in perfon, I I know that you will be fatisfied with my own authority ; ahd in treating of the others, I fhall faithfully adopt the account delivered by the lateft travellers of the character above defcribed. As fuch an excurfion will properly com^^ mence froiri one or other of the extremi ties of the globe, I ftiall begin with thofe regions which form the limits of the northern hemisphere, and thence purfuing my courfe fouthward and laterally, explore the numerous objects which particularly court the attention. ' Imkginatioti alone can fupply the mind .with a piiSture of the inhofpitable fcene .which exifts.. between the 8 ift or .Sad de grees of north latitude and the Role, where a frozen ocean, and exceffive cold have placed eternaf-bai^riers to the farther ap^ proach of navigators. Near the boundary of this tremfendoBs profpedt lie Eaft and -Wdft .Greenland ; on the coafts' of which, and of Iceland, the entrerprizing fpirit of commerce has puflied its bold refearches ih the. fiftiing for whales. The fields of float ing ¦ tET. I.] GREENLANp AND ICELAJ^D. ^ ing ice, amidft which they venture drl thofe oceans, are frequently more than a mile in length, and upwards of a hundred feet in thicknefs. , How terrible muft be the fpedlacle, when thefe enormous maffes are put into motion by a llorm ! By a dreadful cataftrophe, refulting from fuch an incident;, no lefs than thirteen Dutch fhips were crufhed to pieces in one feafon. It often happens that the wood which is drift- fed, along between thefe floating mountains, is fo much, chafed, and preffed with fuch violence together, that it takes fire ; a circumftance which has excited an errone* ous opinion that the ice was in flames. In Weft Greenland, though the winter be inaredibly fevere, the country is not uninhabited ; and the natives experience^ jn the fummer, the temperature of the oppofite extreme : for in the longeft days it is fometimes fb hot, that they are obliged to throw off their garments. There are various kinds of whalfes on the coaft of Greenland, fome of which are black, and others of a white colour ; but the former are moft in efteem, on account of their magnitude, and the great quantity Bz of 4 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER* of fat, or blubber, which they afford. The toftgue of this huge animal is about eighi teen feet long, enclof6d on each fide with 250 long pieces of what is called, "ivhale- isone ; which are covered with a kind of iiair refembli^ig that of horfes. He has no teeth, and is commonly between fixty and eighty feet -lon^ ; exceeding thick about the hfead,°''bu? tapering thence to the tail. Me is ge'neraTIy firft known to the feamen by fpoWtihg water in the air ; when the akrmi fall! falH being inftantly^iven, evdry one haftens from the fhip to his baat. Six or eight men ¦ are appointed to this vehicle ; and four or five boats ufually belong to one fhip. On approaching the whate, V the ;harpdoner ftrikes him with hil harpoon, made in the form of a barbed dart ; when the monfter, eorifeious of be-^ ing x^^ounded, runs fwiftly down tnto the deep, and would inevitably carry the boat along with him, if they did Tiot give him line faft enough. After having- dived feme hundred fathoms, he is forted ' to come up for air, when the noife he makes with fpouting is fo loud, that it has been compared to the firing of cannon. He no fooner LET. I.] GREENLAND AND. ICELAND. 5 fooner appears on the furface of the water, than another harpoon is fixed in him ; upon which he again plunges into the deep, and when he next comes up, they pierce him with fpears in the vital parts, till he fpouts out ftreams of blood inftead of water. He now beats the waves fo iriuch with his tail and fins, that the fea is all in a foam ; the boats continuing all the while to follow him fome leagues, till his ftrength is exhavifted. Then, turning himfelf upon his back, he is drawn on fhore, or to the fhip, if they are at a dift ance from , the land. Thus perifhes this enormous animal, which is then cut in pieces, and communicates its ftrong fmell to the fhips, which either bring home the blubber barrelled up in pieces, or, if they have convenience, extract tb^e oil from it: on fhore. It is computed that every fifl^ yields between fixty and a hundred barrels £)f oil, amounting each to the value of three Of four pounds. The large wh^le refembles a cod, with fmall eyes, a d.ark marbled fkin, and \yhite belly : They fpout out the water which they take io by infpjration thrpugh tvy^p B 3 hol6& 6 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. holes or openings, in the head. They co pulate like land animals, ftanding upright in the fea. A young whale, when firft produced, is about nine or ten feet long ; and the female fometime brings forth two at a birth. The whale devours fuch an in credible number of fmall fifh, that his belly is often ready to burft ; in which cafe he makes a moft tremendous noife from pain. The fmaller fifh have their revenge ; forrie of them faften on his back, and inceffantly beat him ; others, with fharp horns, or ra ther bones in their beaks, fwim under his belly, and fometimes rip it up ; fome arc provided with long fliarp teeth and tear His flefh. Even the aquatic birds of ^rey declare war%is:ainft him when he comes near the furface of the water ; and he has been known to be fo tortured, that he has beat himfelf to death on the rocks. It may appear furprizing, that though Iceland is fituated fo far to the north, earth quakes and volcanoes are more frequent than -in many of the fouthern countries. Many ofthe fnbwy mountain? have alfo crta- dtiaily become volcanoes. Among thefe one ®^.!^^ principal ' is Hecla, fiituated in the fouthern LET. I.] GREENLAND AND ICELAND. 7 fouthern part of the country, about four miles from the fea-coaft. This mountain rifes at the top into three points, the higheft of which is that in the middle, computed to be more than five thoufand feet above the level of the fea. Its eruptions were particu larly dreadful towards the end of the laft century, and have been feveral times repeat ed, though with lefs violence, fince the mid dle of the prefent. While the country has been occafionally defolated by thefe calami ties, in feveral parts, it has made in others an acquifition of territory from the bofom of the ocean. In 1783, the inhabitants of Iceland obferved a phenomenon of feme- thing rifing and flaming in the fea, to the fouth of Grinburg. It was afterwards dif covered to be a new ifland, daily increafing in dimenfions, and from two eminences of which there iffued great quantities of fire. Unfavourable as this country may feem to the genius ofthe mufes, we are told that po etry formerly flourifhed in Iceland, and the names of five or fix are nqientioned as piirticularly eminent. The art of writing however, was not much in ufe before the eleventh century ; though the Runic cha- radera 8 LETTERS OF A TjlAVELLEft. raders were known in the country at a time preceding that period, and were pro bably brought thither from Norway. But this alphabet which confifts only of fixteen letters, gave way to the introduftion of the Latin charaders, after the reception of the Chriftian Religion. It appears from the ancient chronicles of Iceland, that from the beginning of the eleventh to the four teenth century inclufivCj the fciences of morality, natural hiftory and aftronomy were much cultivated in this country ; and we are affvired that more knowledge may be found among the lower clafs of people in Iceland, than is to be met with in moft other countries. Like the Highlanders of Scotland, many of them can repeat the works of fome of their poets by heart ; and befides being well inftruiSled in , the princi ples of religion, they are acquainted with the hiftory of their own country : a know ledge acquired by the frequent repetition of their traditional hiftories, which confti- tutes one of their principal amufements. I am, &c. T LETTER LET II.] ICELAND. LETTER IL Ai .MONG the natural curiofities in Ice land, the moft worthy of attention are the hot fpouting water-fpringsj with which the country abounds. Some of them fpout co* lumns of water, of feveral feet in thicknefs, to the height of many fathoms ; and, as fome affirm, of feyeral hundred feet. They are of unequal degrees of heat. From fome^ the water flows gently as from other fprings, and it is then called a bath ; from others, it fpouts boiling water with great noife, and is called a kettle. But though the degree of - heat be unequal. Dr. Van Troil affirms, that he does not remember ever to have obferved it below i88 degrees of Farenheit's thermometer. At Langer- vatin, in the ground, at a fmall hot cur rent of water, the thermometer rofe to 213 degrees. IO LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. degrees. It is very common for fome of the fpouting fprings to ceafe, and others to rife up in their ftead. In feveral of thefe hot fprings, the inhabitants who live near them, boil their viduals, only by hanging a pot, into which the flefh is put, in cold wa ter, in the water of the fpring. They alfo bathe in the rivulets that run from them, whi^h by degrees become luke-warm, or arc cooled by being mixed with rivulets of cold water. The cows that drink of thefefprings are faid to yield an extraordinary quantity of milk ; and the water is likewife efteemed very wholefome, when drunk by the hu man fpecies. The -largeft of all the fpouting fprings in Iceland is that at Gayfer, about two days journey from Mount Hecla. In approaching towards it a loud roaring noife is heard like -the rufhing of a torrent precipitating itfelf from a ftupendous height. The water here fpouts feveral times a . day, but always by ftarts, and aftc" certain intervals. Some tra vellers affirm, that it fpouts to the heio-ht of fixty fathoms. The water is thrown up much higher at fome times than at others. When Dr. Van Troil made his obfervations upon LET. II.] ICELAND. 1 1 •upon it, the utmoft height to which it mounted was compiited to be ninety- two feet. •<-' Another natural phenomenon, very com mon in Iceland, is Bafaltine Pillars, fuppof ed to be the production of fubterranean fires. They have generally from three to feven fides ; are from four to feven feet in thick nefs, and from t\yelve to fixteen yards in length, without any horizontal divifions. In fome places they are only found fcattered among the lava in the mountains ; but in others they extend two or three miles in length without interruption. The lov/er fort of people imagine thefe pillars to have been piled upon one another by giants. Great damage is done to this country every year by immenfe maffes of ice, which alfo affefl the climate, and commonly ar rive with a north weft wind from Green land. What is called the field-ice is of two or three fathoms thicknefs, is feparated by the witids, and lefs dreaded thaiv the rock or mountain ice, which is often feen to the height of more than fifty feet above the water, and is at leaft nine times the fame 4:epth belo\v water. Thefe prodigious maffes 12 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. maffes of ice are frequently left in fhoal water, fixed as it were to the ground; and in that ftate remain many months, it is faid even years, undiffolved, chilling all the circumambient part of the atmofphere to the diftance of many miles. In i y^^ and 1754, the ice caufed fo violent a cold, that horfes and fheep dropped down dead on account of it, as well as for want of food. Horfes were obferved to feed upon dead cattle, and the flieep to eat of each other's wool. Along with the ice. there arrives yearly a number of bears, which corrimit great ravages, particulg;rly among the fheep. Irnmediately on their appearance the na tives attempt to deftroy them, and fome times drive them back to the ice, with which they often float off again. The government of Denmark encourages the people to de ftroy thefe animals, by paying a premium of ten dollars for every bear that is killed : and their fkins are alfo purchafed for the king. It is commonly obferved that- wood thrives well in Iceland ; nay, there are very- few trees to be found in the whole ifland, yet indubitable proofs exift, that wood for merly grew there in . great abundance. Iji General vegetation is remarkably deficient. Corn LET. II.] ICELAND. 1 3 Corn cannot be cultivated here to any ad vantage ; though cabbages, parfley, tur nips, and peafe, may be met with in five or fix gardens, which are faid to be all that are upon the whole ifland. Notwithftanding all the difadvantages of the climate, the nuniber of inhabitants of Iceland is computed at about fixty thoufand. This however is by no means adequate to the extent bf the country, which is com puted at four hundred miles in length, and an hundred and fixty in breadth. It has been much more populous in former times, but great numbers have been deftroyed by contagious difeafes ; and many parts of the ifland have alfo been depopulated by famine, chiefly occafioned by the Grenland floating ice, which, when it comes in great quanti ties, prevents the grafs firom growing, and puts an entire ftop to fifhing, the principal occupation of the inhabitants. To the honour of the Icelanders, though they enjoy the comforts of life in a far lefs degree than moft other nations, they are much inclined to religion. They never pafs a river, or any other dangerous place, with out X.4 LETTERS, OF A TftAVfiLLEE, put previoufly taking ( off their hats, and imploring the divine protedlion ; and they are always thankful for their prefervation when they have paffed the danger. I wifh I could fay as much in favour of the general piety and fenfibility of the .people of our own country; where, with a genial temperature of climate, we enjoy in an extraordinary degree all tbe phyfical bleffings of ^ivine Providence, and live under a political con- fHtution which is the admiration and envy of the world. LETTER LET. III.]- ; ,., , NORWAY. /, 1 5 J ,) .. . nu LETTER III. ROOEEDING from Iceland towards the fouth-eaft, we come to Norway, which fkirts the north- weftern extremity of the continent of Europe. The climate of this country varies according to its extent and its pofition towards the fea at Bergen, which lies in about the 6oth degree of latitude.The winter is moderate, and the fea is prafticable at that feafon; but in the eaftern parts of Nor way, which are commonly covered with fnow, the cold generally fets in about the middle of Oftober withintenfe fever ity, and continues till the middle of April, the wa ters being all that time frozen to a confider able thicknefs. As to the more northern part;s of this country, called Finmark, the cold is fo intenfe that they are but little known. The air is fo pure in fome of the inland parts, that it has been faid the inha bitants i6 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. bitants live fo long as to be tired of life, and caufe themfelves ta be removed to a lefs fa- lubrious air. A Norwegian of an hundred years of age is not accounted paft his labour; and in 1733, four couples ^Y^^'s married, and danced before his Danifh Majefty, at Frederickftall, whofe ages, when joined, exceeded eight hundred years. y. Even froft and fnow have here their con- Veniencies, as they facilitate the convey ance of goods by land ; but fudden thaws, and fnow-falls haye fpmetirmes dreadful ef- fe&s, and deftroy whole village^. , , ,, No country experiences greater viciffi- tudes from the re volution of the earth round the fun. At Bergen, the longeft days con- fif^ of nineteen hours, and the fhorteft of about fix. In fummer the inhabitants can read and write at midnigiit by the light of the flcy ; and in the mofl northerly parts, about midfummer, the fun is continuallv above the horizon. In thofe parts, howj- ever, in the middle of winter, there is only a faint glimmering of light at noon^ for about an hour and an half, owino- to the refleftion of the fun's rays on the moun- .tains. Nature, notwithftanding,, has been fo LET. iil] NOfeWAY. ij fo kind to the Norwegians, that in the midft of their darknefs, the fky is fo ferene, and the moon and the aurora borealis fo bright, that they can carry on their fifhery and v/ork at their feveral trades in the open air. Norway is reckoned one of the moft mountainous countries in thfe world, con taining a chain of unequal mountains run* ning from fouth to north ; of which that cf Dofrefield is accounted among the high eft in Europe. They are interfefted by ri vers and catarafts, which fall down dread ful precipices, and are paffable only by flight tottering wooden bridges, which ren der travelling in this country exceedingly terrible and dangerous.. But providence haS endowed the inhabitants with ah intrepidi ty proportioned' to their exigencies. This, ap pears from their aftonifhing aftivity in reco vering fheep and goats, when penned up through a falfe ftep, in one of thofe tre mendous precipices. The owner direft* himfelf to be lowered down from the top of the mountain, fitting on a crofs ftick, tied to the end of a long rope ; and when he arrives at the place where the creature C ftands. 1 8 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. ftands, he faftens it to the, fame cord,^ and it is drawn up with himfelf. In the mountains of Norway there are caverns of fuch prodigious extent as fur- paffes all that we meet with ih the accounts. of other countries. One of them, called Dolfteen, was in 1750, vifited by two cler gymen, who reported that they proceedec][ in it till they heard the fea dafhing over their heads ; that the paffage was as wide and as high as an ordinary church, the^ fides perpendicular, and the roof vaulted ; that they defcended a flight of natural ftairs, but when they arrived at ano ther, they durft not venture to proceed, but returned ; and that they confumed two candles going and returning. The rivers and frefh-water lakes in this , country are numerous, well ftocked with, fifh, and navigable for fhips of confiderable. burden. Some of thofe lakes contain floatr ing iflands, formed by the/cohefion of roots of trees and of fhrubs ; and, though torn, from the main land, bear herbage and trees. » Elxtraordinary inftances. are related of the formation of fome of j;he fmaller lakes. In 1 702, the noble family-feat of Borge, near; Frede- LET. m.] i^OfewAY. 19 Fredericffcadt, fuddenly funk with all its towers and battlements, into an abyfs an hundred fathoms in depth ; and its fcite vi^as inftantly occupied with a piece of wa^ ter, which formed a lake nine hundred feet in length, and about half as broad. This melancholy accident was occafioned by the foundation being undermined by the waters of a river. , The moft apparently fabulous accounts of the ancients, concerning fea-monfters, are rendered credible by the produftions of the Norwegian feas ; and the fea-fnake, or ferpent' of the ' ocean, is no longer ac-^ counted a chimera. In 1756, one of them was fhot by the maftef of a fhip. It's head refembled that of a horfe ; the mouth and eyes were large and black, and a white mane hung from its neck. It floated on the furface ofthe water, and held its head at leaft two feet out of the fea. Between the head and neck were feven of eight thick folds, and the length of the fnake was more than an hundred yards, fome fay fathoms. They have a remarkable aver- fion to the fmell of caft-or ; fof which reafon fliip - mafters provide themfelves with quantities of that drug, to prevent beino* C 2 overfet ; 20 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. overfet; the ferpent'solfaftory nerves being endowed with great fenfibility. The parti culars related of this animal would be incre dible, were they not attefted upon oath. Wc are informed by Eg'ede, a very reputa ble author, that on the 6th of July, 1734, a large and frightful fea-monfter raifed it felf fo high out of the water, that its head reached above the main-top-maft of the fhip ; that it had a long iharp fnout, broad paws, and . fpouted water like a whale; that the body feemed to be co-» vered with fcales ; ¦¦ the, fkin was uneven and wrinkled, and the lower part was formed like a fnake. The body of this monfter is faid to be as thick as a hogfr head ; his fkin is variegated like a tortoife- fhell ; and his excrement, which floats on the furface ofthe water, is corrofive, and blifters the hands of the feanten who hap* pen to touch it. But a more wonderful produftion yet remains to be mentioned — the Kraken, or Kerven — which nothing but the ftrono-eft proof of its exiftence could admit into the catalogue ofthe animaL kingdom.; Its.^bulk is faid to be a mile and a half in circumfe->. rence ; and whgn part of it appears above the •ET. III.]- NORWAY. 21 the water^ it refembles a number; of fmall iflands and fand-banks, on which fifh dif- port themfelves, and'fea- weeds grow. Up on its , emerging further, there appears a number of pellucid antennae, each about the height, form,- and fize of a moderate maft ; and^by their aftion and re-aftion he gathers his food, which confifts of fmall. fifhes. When hejfiriksi whigh he does gradually, a dangerous. fwell of the fea fhcceeds, and a. kind of whirpool is immediately formed in the water. In i68oj ayoung kraken pe rifhed among the rocks and clefts at Alfta- hong, and his death was attended ,by fiich a ftench, that the channel where it died was impaffable. On the coaft of Norway, in lat. dy deg. is that dreadful vorte± or whirlpool j called i by navigators the. Navel of the Sea, and by < fome Maleftrom, or Mofkoeftrom. The ifland Moflcoe, from whence this ftrearn de rives its na-me, lies between the mountain Hefleggen in Lofoden,-! and the ifland Ver, which are about one- league dd'ftaht ; and be tween the iftand and coaft on each fide, the ftream -makes its way* Between- Mofkoe and Lofoden it is nearfour hundred fathoms. C 3 deep ; 22' LETTERS OF A THAVELLER, deep ; but between the former and Vet, is fo fhallow as not to afford paffage for a fmall fhip.^ — When it is flood, the ftream runs up the country with a boifterous rapidity ; and when it is ebb, returns to the fea with a vio lence and noife unequalled by : the loudeft cataf afts. It is heard at therdiftance of many leagues ; and fo violent is the current, that if a fhip comes near, it is immediately drawn irrefiftibly intO' the vortex,, and car ried down to the bottom- in a moment, when it is dafhed to pieces againft the rocks: -and juft at the turn of the ebb and flood', when the water becomes ftijlfor about a quarter of an hour, it rifes again in fcattered fragments, fcarcely to be knoWn for' the parts, of a fhip. When it is agitated by a ftorm, it has reached veffels at the dif tance of more than a Norway mile, where the crews' have thought themfelves in per- fedt fecurity. ' Even animals, which havie come too near the vortex, have expreffed their utmoft torrior, i whten they find the ftream- irrefiftifele. .^Whales are frequently carried- away ; arid the moment -they feel the foree.of the watery they .ftruggle ao-ainft it withall their mirght, -howling and bellow^ mg LET. III.] NORWAY. - 2^ ing in a frightful manner. The like happens frequently to bears, which attempt to fwim to the ifland to prey upon the fheep. The Norwegians themfelves are almoft as extraordinary as the country which they inhabit. Every native is an artizan, and fupplies his family in all its neceffaries with his own manufadlures ; fo that in Norway there are very few trades by profeffion. From being formerly the moft turbulent and refraftory, they are now the moft quiet and loyal fubjefts in Europe ; which may be ac counted for from the barbarity and tyranny of their kings, when a fepar^te people. Since the union of Calmar, which united Norway to Denmark, their hiftory and in- terefts are the fame with thofe of that kiiig- dom ; the fovereign of which derives from them an annual revenue of near two hun dred thoufand pounds, chiefly from the pro duce of the immenfe foreft with which the fountry abounds. C 4 LETTER 24 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. LETTER IV. P- ASSINGtheScaggeneSea, orCategate, on the fouth of ]^^orway, we arrive in Den mark, vvhich is divided into two parts. One of thefe is the peninfula of Jutland ; and the other the iflands at the entrance of the Baltic. It deferves to be, remarked, that though all thefe colleftively conftitute, the kingdom of Denmark, yet not anyone of them is feparately called by that name. 'Copenhagen, the metropolis, ftands in the iflaind of Zealand. Jutland is the largeft, as well as tnoft fer tile, of all the provinces of this kingdom, and produces abundance of all forts of grain and pafturage. A great number of fmall cattle are bred in this province, and after wards tranfported into Holftein, to be fed for the foreign markets. Zealand is for the moft LET. IV.] DENMARK. .^ 25 moft part a fandy foil, but not unfertile in. grain and pafturage ; and is agreeably varie gated with woods and lakes. Spring and autumn are feafons fcarcely known in Den- rxiark, on account of the fudden tranfitions- from cold to heat, and from heat to cold, which diftinguifh the, climate of this king dom. In all the northern provinces of Den mark the winters are extremely fevere, and during thofe feafons all the harbours are frozen up. The feudal fyftem ftill prevails in this country, in a degree moft; injurious^ to the interefts of the people. The greatefl part of the lands in Denmark and Holftein, are fiefs; and the ancient nobility, by grants which they extorted at different times from the crown, acquired fiich a power over the peafantry, and all thofe who refided upon their efta,tes, that at length they reduced them to a ftate of extreme flavery. The liquation of the people has indeed been ren dered fomewhat lefs grievous by modern edifts, but they ftill are fubjeft to the op preffion of ariftocratical tyranny ; continu ing to be difpofed of at the will of their lords, many of whom retain the power of - . life 26 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. life and death upon their eftates. Nothing is more common in this, country than to fee an induftrious peafant, after labouring feve ral years to cultivate a poor farm, with a view of enjoying at laft the profit of his toil, removed by his rapacious landlord to another fpot of a fi'milar defcription, where the fame ungrateful talk, and the fame dif- appointment again await him. This perni cious praftice throws the greateft damp up on the efforts of induftry, and prevents thofe^ improvements in agriculture which would otherwife be introduced ; the confequence of which is, that nine parts in ten of the in habitants are in a ftate of great poverty. By an aftual numeration made in 1759, ofhis Danifh majefty's fubjefts in his do minions of Denmark, Norway, Holftein, the iflands in the Baltic, and the counties of Oldenburgh and Delmenhorft in Weftpha lia, they were faid to amount to 2,444,000 fouls, exclufive of the Icelanders andGreen^ landers. However difpr6porl:ioncd this number may feem to the extent of the Da nifh dominions, yet it is greater than could be expefted from the uncultivated ftate of the country, ¦ The LET. IV.] DENMARK. 27 The ancient irihabitants of Denmark pof- feffed a degree of courage which approach ed even to ferocity ; but they are now great ly declined from that enterprifing fpirit, which, in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, ren filver, weighs about four |>QUnds, and is called Co/^«i^ Oldenburgicum. This, they fay, was prefented to Otho, firft, Duke; of Oldenburg, by a ghoft ;: hut the, more probable opinion is, that this veffel. was made by the order of Chriftian I. , King o/ Denmark, the fiift ofthe Oldenburg race> who occupied the- throne about; the middle. of the fifteenth century. This mufeum is likewife furnifhed witha.prodigious number i of afironomical, optical, and mathematical' inftruments. Many curious ;aft-fonomical- inftruments are likewife placed in the round- tower at Copenhagen, which. is fo contrivedi that iaj^coach may drive to its top* With-; this e:>itraordinary ftrufture the name of; Tycho Brahej the celebrated aftronomer of Denmark, and) one of the- greateft men it :1 ever LET. IV.] DENMARK'. 29 ever produced, obtrudes itfelf upon our re membrance. Among the curiofities in Denmai-k-are the ancient infcfiptions upon rocks, which are mentioiied both by antiquaries and hif- torians. Thefe charafters are Runic, and fo imperfeftly underftood even by the learned, that their meaning is extremely uncertain* They are however conjeftured to be hifto- rical, and to be the old and original manner of writing, before the ufe of paper of ^nf kind, and waxen tables was known. The village of Aftglen, lying between Kenfburg and Kefwick, is alfo efteemed a curiofity, as giving its name to the Angles, or Anglo- Saxon inhabitants of Great Britain, and the anceftors of the bulk of the modern Eng- lifh. In contemplating fuch an incident in the hiftory of our country, I know not whe ther the national pride of an Englifhman receives addition or abafemeiit ; and it would feem, that to determine the point, he muft have a more perfeft acquaintance with his genealogy than ever can be acquir ed. To thofe, however, who efteem them felves defcendants of the Anglo-Saxons, it may afford fome pleafure to refl'eft, that the purity '^O LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. purity ofthe Latin language Was revived iri Scandinavia, in the perfon of Saxo-Gfam. maticus, at a time (the twelfth century,) when it was dormant in all other parts of the European continent. This northern Hiftorian, like his cotemporaries, : has adopted the moft ridiculous abfurdities of re mote antiquity ; but he has enobledtheni by a ftyle which gives dignity even to the extravagance of fiftion. We learn from him, at the fame time, that the ancient Danes had their bards, who recited the mi litary atchievements of their heroes ; and that their firft hiftorical produftions were compofed In verfe. ¦ The famous city of Hamburg lies, geo- o-raphically fpeaking, within the limits of Ducal Holftein, the property of the King of Denmark ; but it is an imperial, free, and Hanfeatic city, having the fovereignty of a fmall diftrift round it, of about ten miles in circuit. It is one ofthe moft flou rifhing cbmmercial towns in Europe ; and though the kings of Denmark ftill lay claim to certain privileges v/ithin its walls, it may be 'Confidered as an independent common wealth. The number of its inhabitants amount Let. IV.] DENMARK. ,,j . ^t amount to near 200,000. Befides a vaft va riety of noble edifices, both public and pri vate, it has two fpacio,us harbours, formed by the river Elbe, which runs through the town ; and no lefs than eighty-' four bridges thrown over its canals. > LETTER 32 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. LETTER V. JL HE country next in my rout is Lap land, partof which belongs to the Danes ^ the moft valuable to the Swedes ; and the eaftern diftrift to the Ruffians. But the Swedifh Lapland is the objeft chiefly confi dered by authors in deferibing this country. . Frorri the northern fituation of Lapland, you will eafily conceive, that for fome months in the fummer, the inhabitants! have perpetual day, and during winter,: their night is of fimilar duration ; but in the latter feafon they are fo well affifted by^ the twilight and the aurora borealis, that: they are never obliged to difcontinue their work on account of darknefs. The heats of fummer are exceflive for a fhort time ;' but fuch is the fe verity of the winter cold^ that it is no unufual thing for the lips to be frozen t£T V,] tAfLAND. 53 frozen to the cup in attempting to drink ; and the limbs of the inhabitants are very often e^tpbfed to mortificatiori from extreme frigidity > Laplattd confifts of a vaft mafs of moun tains, irregularly crowded together, but in- terfefted by rivers and lakes, containing aii incredible nuiriber, of iflands, forne of which are exceedingly pleafant, and regarded by the natives as the terreftrial paradife. Duf- ky fotefts, unhealthy moraffes, a:nd bairren plaitisi conftitute a great part of the flait couritry, where the ftate of the inhabitants, notwithftanding the powerful influence of habitj muft be extremely Uncomfortable. If ariy thing can compenfate the inteihpera- ture of thbfe dreary climates, it is when a froft, fucceeding a temporary thaw, pre fents the Lapkndef with a fmooth level of ice, over which he travel^ with a rein-deer in a fledge, at a rate of prodigious' rapidity. This cclebi'ated anim.al has a great referh- blande td the ftag, only it foniewhat droops tKe head, arid the horns pfbjeft forward. On thoviftg its legs, it makes a crocking lidife. Which is attributed to the feparating, and aftfirWatd^ bringing together the divi- D fions 34 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. • fioris of the hoof, the under part of which is entirely covered with hair. The fame ne ceffity which dbhges the Laplander to ufe fnow-flioes, makes the extraordinary for- maltion of the rein-deer's hoof to be equally eonvenient in paffing over fnow, by pre venting it from finking too deep, which would unavoidably be the cafe, did the weight of the animal's body reft only on a fmall point. In fummer the rein-deer provide them felves with leaves and grafs, and in the win ter they live upon mofs. This they have a wonderful fagacity in finding out ; and when found, they fcrape with their feet the fnow that covers it. It is inconceivable on how fmall a quantity of food they fubfift, and the length of journey which they are neverthelefs able to perform. The rein deer isharneffed to a kind of fledge, fhaped like a fmall boat, in which the traveller, well fecured from cold, is laced down ; holding in one hand the reins, and in, the other^a kind of bludgeon,' to keep the vehi cle clear of any impediments from ice or fnow. The rein-deer are fo fafe and trac table, that the driver is at little of no trou ble LET. V.j LAPLAND* 2$ ble in direfting them ; their iriftinft in choofing the road, and fhaping their courfe, t)eing affifted by their acquaintance with the country during the fummer months, when they live in the woods. At night they look out for their provender ; and fcanty as is their ufual fare, their milk often helps towards the fupport of their mafter^ Their flefh is a.well-tafted food, as are likewife their milk and cheefe ; their fkin forms ex cellent cloathing; both for the bed and. the iaody ; and their inteftines and tendons fup- ply their mafters with thread and cordage* With all thefe excellent qualities, the r^in-deer have their inconveniences : they are fometimes buried in the fnow, and they frequently grow reftive on their journey, to the no fmall danger of the driver. The Laplanders ha've neither writing nor letters among th,em, but a number of hiero**, glyphics, that they ufe in their Rounds^ a fort of fticlcs which ferve them for an alma nack. Thefe hieroglyphics they alfo ufe. inftead of fignatures in matters of law. An attempt -has been made to introduce among |hem the Chriftian rehgion, by ny.fiionafies P ^ frori* 36 LETTERS Ot A TRAVELLED. from thofe pafts of ScalndinaVia, where the light of the gofpel has reached ; but thcjr cannot yet be faid to be Chriftlans, thougtt the king of Denmark has inftituted fome' religious feminaricB among them. The ma jority of the inhabitants praftife as grofs fu perftitious and idolatries as are to be found amongft- any people ; and thofe of a na;- turc fo abfurd, thatthey fcarcely defervg" to be mentioned, were it not that the num ber and extravagance of thein have induced the northern traders to believe that they' are fkilful in magic and divination. To fa vour this deceit, their magicians, who are a peculiar fet of men, employ what they call a drum, made of the hDllowfid trunk of a fir, pine, or birch tree, one end of which is covered with fkin. On this they draw with a kind of red colour, the figures of their own gods, as well as of Jefus Chrift^/ the apoftles, the fun, moon, ftars, birds, and rivers. To fome of thefe they loofelf attach one or two brafs rings, which, wHeri the drum is beaten with a little hammer, dance over the figures ; and, according to their progrefs, the forcerer forms .his prog- noftications, Thefe wHimfical ceremonies are LET. v.] LAPLAND. ^7 are ufually performed for gain ; and the nor thern fhip-mafters are fuch dupes to the arts of thefe impoftors, that they often buy from them a magic cord, containing a number of knots, by loofening which, ac cording to the magician's direftions, they have the weaknefs to expeft that they fhall obtain what wind they defire. The Lap landers ftill retain the worfhip of many of the Teutonic gods ; but have likewife amongft them great remains of the Druidi- cal inftitutions, and they .believe the trans migration ofthe foul. To this account of Lapland I have to fub- join the tranflation of an ode, compofed, as you will fee, by a young peafant of that country, on the courtfhlp of his miftrefs ; and I am perfuaded you will efteem it as no fmall curiofity. It is written -in the verfe which we call the Sapphic. A LAPLAND ODE. What mean thefe tedious forms and w^s. That ftill by frefh and frefh delays, , Protraft a lover*s paia? Five5rears I've woo'd my Orra fair, Five ycfirs my fighs have fill'd the air. But woo'd and figh'd io vain. D3 Of Is LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, Of brandy-cags almoft a fcore. Of beaver's tongues a hundred more, I've giy'n her kin by turns : But neither cags their hearts can warm, Nor tongues prevail to foothe the charm, , With which wy bofom burns, . The longeft night that Lapland knows, The -longeft day that ever glows. Though they for months endure; Are nought, compar'd to one fad bout, In which my heart i^ rack'd with doubtj That Orra's not fecure, Q! could I but obtain confent. And lead her fmiling with content, ' '. ' Home in ; her bridal: gown ; No {wain in Lapland could outgo The. joy, the raptures , I fhould know, Whep Qrra was my own ! Our happy days and nights would then, Pafs noted 'midft the haunts of men, In a delightful round j Smooth as the ice, fwift as the race, When rein-deer in the rapid chace, O'er frozen vallies: bouijd» . . When LET. v.] LAPLAND. 3^ When years on years had flown away, At laft we'd feal pur clofing day With a perpetual kifs; And lips to lips adhering faft, / As a Cup * by the northern blaft. Expire in mutual blifs ! * An explanation of this will be found in the preceding account of Lapland, where mention is made of the extrenae Severity of the cold. LETTER 40 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEJ. LETTER VI. .ETURNING from Lapland we enter the kingdom of Swedc*\, the face of which refembles much that of the neighbouring countries, in mountains, marfhes, and bar ren plains ; with this difference, that it has the advantage of a few navisjable rivers. It. is computed to be in length eight hundred-; miles, from fouth to north, and in breadth . five hundred. The foil is much the fame, with that of Denmark, and fome parts of-, Norway, generally very poor, but in other ; places furprizingly fertile. The riches of , Sweden are chiefly in the bowels of the - earth, having mines of filver, copper, and iron, which exceed any in Europe. The firft gallery of one filver mine is a hundred fathoms below the furface of the earth : the . roof is fupported by prodigious afhen beams, and LET. VI.} SWEDEN. 41 and from thence the miners defcend above forty fathoms to the loweft vein. This mine is faid to produce 20,000 crowns a year. The produce of the copper mines is uncer tain. The iron mine employs a vaft num ber of fmelting houfes ; but this manufac ture begins to fuffer confiderable diminu tion, by the importation of American baf iron into Europe. The whole of the Swedifh mines is loaded with vaft taxes tp the government, the'exigences of which are chiefly fupported by the jefources arifing from tliofe fubterranean treafiires. The Swedes, till of late years, were ex tremely negligent of tillage, but they now begin to follow the agricultute of France and England ; and, according to fome ac counts, they raife almoft as much corn as is jieceflSary for internal confumption. Goth land produces wheat, rye, barley, oats, peafe, and beans ; and in cafe of deficiency the people are lupplied from Livonia an^. the Baltic provinces. The national charafter of the Swedes has varied greatly in different ages ; at oij? time bold, maitial, enterprizing ; at an other, languid, inaftive, and unambitious : fome- 42 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. fometimes high-fpirited and jealous of li- herty; at other times paffive and fubmiffive. At prefent the bulk of the people are a heavy plodding race of men, ftrong and hardy, but without any other ambition than that of fubfifting themfelves and their fami lies as well as they can ; but to whatever objeft they apply, their perfeverance is in defatigable. The nobility and principal gentry of Sweden are brave, polite, and, hof- pitable ; have high notions of honor, and are jealous of ther national interefts. They are in general more converfarit in polite li terature, than thofe of many other more flourifhing ftates. '- Stockholm, the capital of the kingdom, ¦ftands upon fix contiguous iflands ; and is huiltupon piles. The caftle, which is co vered with copper, has neither ftrength nor beauty ; but is commodious, and accom modates the royal court, as well as the na tional courts and colleges. The harbour is fpacious and convenient, , though difficult of accefs; and the city difplays all the extcr rior marks of magnificence. But the com parative poverty of the kingdom muft ap pear in an unfavourable light, when we ' know tET. VI.} SWEDEN. 43 know that the capital of the national bank fcarcely amounts to half a million fterling. An academy of arts and fciences was fome years fince eftablifhed at Stockholm, and flourifhed under the patronage of the late king, whofe unmerited fate reflefts difgrace on the annals of the country. It is proba ble, however, from the education of the prefent fovereign, that he will extend to fuch an inftitution the fame benefits of the royal influence with his illuftrious prede- ceffor. ' The principal univerfity in Sweden is that of-Upfal, inftituted about the beginning of the fifteenth century, and patronized by feveral fucceffive monarchs; particularly by the great Guftavus Adolphus, and his daughter Queen Chriftiana, who emulated the glory of her father by her liberal encou« ragement and example, in promoting the arts of peace. There are in this univerfity near fifteen hundred ftudents; but for the moft part they are extremely indigent, and lodge five or fix together in very poor ho- vek. The profeffors in different branches of literature are about twenty-two, but their -falaries in General are fmall. There is an- *¦ other 44 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. Other univerfity at Abo in Finland, but lefs flourifhing than the preceding. A" third, which formerly exifted at Lunden, in Schonon, is now fallen into decay. In eve? ry diocefe a free fchool is eftablifhed, where the youth are qualified for the univerfity. Sweden, like the northern countries in general, can boaft of few antiquities, or ar tificial curiofities ; and thofe of the natural clafs are likewife not numerous. A few leagues from Gottenburg, there is a hider ou€ precipice, down which a dreadful catar raft of water rufhes with fuch impetuofity, that large mafts and other bodies^pf timber . that are precipitated, difappear, fome for half an hour, and others for double that fpace, before they are recovered. The bot tom of this abyfs has never yet, been found, though founded by lines of feveral hundred fatthorns in length. In the fouthern part of Gothland, there is a remarkable flimy la^^e, which finges things put into it. That powerful inftinft, which attaches animals, as well as the human fpecies, to the climates of their native country, is #rongly evinced in Sweden by various tribes of the birds .gf paffage. The Swedifti hawks^ LET. VI.] SWE'DEM. 4_$ hawks when carried to France have been kriowh tote -vifit the Scandinavian fhores ; as appears from orie that was killed in Finland ¦with an infcription on a fmall gold plate, importing that it belong'd to the French King. - ^ I cannot avoid mentioning the inconVe- riieHce experienced in this country from the nature of its coin, which bririgs to one'$ rinind the iron money of Lycurgus. Cop* per is here the chief medium of commerce. Large pieces of this metal bear upon them the ftamp of their current value. Some of them are as large as tiles, and a cart or' whcel-barrow is often required, to carry. home a moderate fiim. The annals of SWeden have been in fe deral ages, illuftrious by the atchievementi of heroic princes and a 'martial people; yet the forces of the country confift Only' of a regulated militia. Calculated at pre fent at about forty thoufand men, but be^- fore the lofs of Livonia, at fixty thoufand. The cavalry is cloathed, armed, and main tained, by arateirapofed upon the nobility arid gentry, in proportion to their eftateS ; and the infantry by the peafaots. Every farm 46 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER^ ^3.: farm of fixty or feventy pounds per annum^ is charged with a foot foldier, furnifliing him with diet, lodging and ordinary cloaths, and about one pound a year in money. Ih lieu of this a little wooden houfe is fome times built for him by the farmer, who air lows him hay and pafturage for a cow, and ploughs and fows land enough to fupply him with bread. In former times, Sweden has likewife made a confiderable figure as a maritime power, and fitted out forty fhips of the line ; ^ but of late years, their fhips, as well as their docks, have been greatly neglefted. Chriftianity was introduced into Sweden in the ninth Century, and the people are now, of the Lutheran church ; the tenpts of which were propagated amongft them. by Guftavus, Vafa, about the year 1523, So great is their gverfion to popery, that caftration is the fate of every roman-ca- tholic prieft difcovered in their country* A converfion to popery, or a long ,continu- ance under excommunication, which can^ not pafs without the King's permiffion, ig, punifhcd by imprifonment and exile. The LET. VI.] SWEDEN. 47 The afcendency acquired by France fome years fince, in the councils of Swe den, in confequence of an annual fubfidy, has had a pernicious effeft upon the interefts of that kingdom, and proved the caufe of much domeftic jealoufy among the friends of the conftitution. To this, doubtlefs, the Swedifh crown was ftrongly induced by the deficiency of its own finances, and the defire of fecuring an, alliance which a might proteft it againft any hoftile defign* from Ruffia and Denmark, LETTER 4S LETTEllfrS OF A TRAVELLER. -ik— alliaiMa LETTER VII. A H E Country comprifed under thdf iame Ruffia, comprehends the northern parts of Europe arid Afia ; ftretching from the Baltic and Sweden on the Weft, to Kamtfchatka and the Eaftern Ocean ; and on the North, from the Frozen Ocean, to the 47th degree of latitude. It is of an extent nearly equal to all the reft of Europe, and greater than that of the Roman Em pire in the zenith of its power. The ex tremes both of climaj:e and foil, are exem plified within the limits of this vaft 'domi nion. The cold at St. Peterfljurg, during the months of December, January, an^ February, is ufually from 40 to 52 degrees b^low the freezing point ; though com- ipqnly, in the courfe of the winter, it is far a week or ten days fome degrees Iqw^f^ ¦ ,.-'v.., Yoy L^ti VII.^ . ' RUSSIA. . -if ji 49 You iriay fortn fome idea of a cold fo greatj on being told, that when a perfon walks out in th^t fevere' feafon, the cold makes .the eyes , water, and that water fre.ezing^ hangs in little icicles ou the eye- LfKes. As the commCin peafants , ufually wear their beardsj you may fee them hang ing at. the chin like a folid lump of ice. Even iri this ftate, however, the beard js foui^ very ufeful iri protefting .the glands pf the throat ; fo that tl;ie foldiers Who dp riot wear their beards, are obliged to lie a handkerchief undet the chin to fup ply the. defeft. When the thermoriieter has ftood at 25 iegrees below o^ boiling- ¦Watet, thirbWn up ^nto the air by an engine^ which made it fpfead, has fallen . down j)ef feftly dry, and forri:ied into ice* N0lwithffa.nding this feverity df the cold in Ruffijlj the inhabitants are furnifhe4 with fuch var&ius liieans to gUard againfl it, that they fuffer much lefs th^n might be expefted* They warm their houfes by an oven conftrufted With feveral flues, and thef country bounds with w pod, which is the common fuel* They can regulate the Vrarmtiii in their apartments by the ther- E mometet, 50 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLElt: mdrfieter, with great exaftnfefs ; ''opeiiing or fhuttirig the flues, to increafe 6r dirrii- riifh the heat. 'Add" tb this, that' the' win dows in the huts of the poor are vefy fmall, that as- little cold may be 'admitted ^s pof fible ; while in the houfes of perfonS of condition, the windows- are caulked' up a^gainft winter, and have commonly' doit - ble glafs frames. ' ' " '/' ' ' ¦ Such is 'the fituation of the Ruffians Within doors ; and when they go Out, they are cloathed fo warmly, ' and 'covered W^ith furs, ^t hat they almoft bid defiarice to froft and fndw. It is obfeiVable,' befides, that the wind is feldom violent in winter ; but vi'henit blows muchj the cdld'ls exceediiigly- piercing.' ^ ' '' ' ¦ The Ruffians derive from the rio-5f'of o - - their' climate, one ad'vkntage unknown to the inhabitants of other natioris^" which is that of preferving provifions " by the froft. About the end of Oftober, it is 'tiftial for good houfe wives to kill their poultr^, a'rid keep them in tubs packed up' with k' layer' of fiiow hetween them, and then take them' out for ufe as occafion req^iires?*^ By this means, they likewife' fate the 'ASH^- rifhmcnt LET. VII.] 1 It^"! ^ RtJSSIA. -I-.;:., ^ 51 rifhment of the animal for feveral inonths* Frozen provifions. are brought iri this way even from thte diftance of Archangel ; and the markets in^eterfburg are fupplied with them in ^winter,": af^ a cheaper 'rate .than would-, othemife be poffible. j .One may there fee; vaft ftacks of whole, hogs, fheep, fifh ,> and other, animals, which are piled up in the markets for fale. ii'J *' The method they have of thawing frozen provifions is by -immerging them .in cold water, by which the ice feems to be ex-^ trafted out of the hody, and forms a tranf- parent incruftation round it. The fame end has been attempted by the means of heat, but fuch a procefs occafiotis a violent fermentation, and almoft' a fudden putre- faftion of the body immerged. In- the warmer provincesof Ruffia grain grows in great plenty ; but in thofe to-' wards the north this article -6f life, fo com mon inmoft other countries, is extremely defeftive. In fome parts, the inhabitants,. like the people of Scandinavia, ufe, infteadi of bread, a kind of faw-duft, and a prepa ration of fifli bones* In others, they, are. kilown to fubfift chiefly on mufhrooms, :-,.'*- E 2 which 52 , LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. which the fini produces in great ahundance. In a word; the bulk of the people are hi therto miferably fed, though the moft lau dable efforts have been made by Peter ths Great, and the fubfequent. foverelgns, to promote an acquaintance with agriculture. This exteirfive country is particularly fa voured by nature in one refpeft,. I mean, the vaft communication by means of rivers, which the inland parts of' the nation have with each other. The imoft confiderable efthefe are the Wolga, or Volga, rimning eaft and fouth, which, after traverfing the greater part of Mufcevy,, and winding; a courfe of 3000 EngliiH mile«, difcharges itfelf irito the Cafpian fea. What deferves. to be remarked, there is not in the whole of this courfe, a fingle cataraft to interrupt the 'navigation. While it produces all kinds of fifh, it fertilizes the lands on each fide with the richeft trees, fruits, and vege* tables of various kinds ; increafing likewife in its progrefs the benefits it communicates, by dividing itfelf, in the end-, into "more than feventy branches, hy which it entei^- the Cafpian. . By means of this noble river, the city of Mofcow preferves a- comm-uaai*' cation LET. VII.} RUSSIA., ^3 cation, not only with all the fouthern parts of Ruffia, but even with Perfia, Georgia^, Tartary, and many other circumambient countries. 1 Next to this is the Don, orTanais, which icparates the moft eaftern parts of Ruffia from Ana. In its courfe towards the eaft, it comes , fb near to the Wolga, that th^ Czar Peter had projefted a communication between them by means of a canal ; but this grand defign was fruftrated by an irrup tion of the Tartars. This river difcharge? itfelf into the iPalus Maeotis, or Sea of ^zoph ; -andexcluftve of its turnings and windings, runs a courie of .four hundred miles. The Borifthenes^or Dnieper, whi'ch - is likewife one of the largeft rivers in Eu rope, runs through Lithuania, the country «f fome tribes of the Coffacs, and of the Tartars, and fells into ifhe Euxine, or Bkck Sea, at Rinburn, near Oczak(3»3¥' ; exhi- bifing thirteen cataraftsi at a finall diftianee from each other. To thefe .may be.idd^l', the two Dwiiias, one of which difcharge^ itfelf at Riga into the Baltic;; the; other, dividing itfelf into two branclhes near Arch angel, falls there into the White Sea. E3. kuffia 54 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLeIr. " Ruffia is in' general a fla;t level' country, except towards" the riorth,' where lie the Zimnaporas tnouritains, fuppofed to be the famous Montes Riphaei of the ancientSi On the weftern fide of the Diiieper, a part of the Carpathian rnfountkins extends' ; and between the Black Sea arid: t he. Cafpian; ^ount Caucafus borders-; a range of vaft plains ftretching to the Sea of ' Oral, The northern and iiorth-eafternj' provinces are in a manner defart ; but in. general, forefts abound over the face of this: extenfive couiir try I and thewildnefs of 'i' the fcenes is equalled by that of the irihabitants^ who in many paits may juftly be accounted. Pagans rather than Chriftlans. ¦ .'. -.: ' ' r.^n -'> Amongthe 'fpecies of iifhes with* which na:ture has plentifully ,pi-ovided the Ruftians, is' that haalled; Beluga, which refembles .a ftuigeon, 'It is' cdmmonly from twelve to -fifteen rferet-in lerigth,.fweighifag from nine to fiMeeh n-dr - eighteen : hundred, weight. The -flefh is white and.delicate, and of the roe^of it i® ' rriade . the famous cavear, fp much efteemed for its richiiefs and: flavour. The -nuptiaLceremonles of the Ruffians are peculiar to" thbmfelves ; 'and formerly confifted LET. VII.] RUSSIA. ^^ confifted, ; of J fopae very whimfiqal., rites, many of. whiph are noW; fallen into difufe. Matches are . frequently made- by the par fents, without the parties ever feeing each other. After the preliminaries haye been fjettled, the brid-e is examined ftark naked by a certain number of females, who have the charge c^f correfting, If poffible, any (Jefefts that may be difcovered in her per fon. On the day of folemnizing the mar riage, fhe is crowned with a garland of wormwood ; andi after the prieft has per formed his part pf the ceremonial, his clerk pr fexton throws a handful of hops upon the head of" the bride, expreffing at the fame time a wifh that fhe may prove as fruitful as. that plant. She is then condufted Jiomje to.the houfe of the bridegrom, amidft abundance of ribaldry and indecent gefti,-> jjulation.s, which are now, however, daily declining gYen among the loweft ranks. The barbarous treatment of wives by their .Jii^fb^nds, which formerly exteijded.eyen to fcourgingj or broljing theni tQ death, is now ; eiflT,er . exprcffly prohibited by law, or by particular ftipulatipns in the marriage cpntfacStg. ,; ¦ ..-,;&;¦ .,,,,; ' The e6 LETTERSfOFjA TRAVELLER. The inhabitants of this country, * like other uncultivated people, entertain many falfe notions with regard to the ftate of de^ parted fouls. Among^ the better fort of in habitants, the dead body is ufually kept above grpund for eight pr ten days ; during which time the prieft, who is hired to pray for the foul of the deceafed, fprinkles the body frequently with holy water. When it is carried to the grave, which is done with a parade of lamentation, the prieft produces a ticket ftgned by the biftiop and and another clergyman, as a paffport to heaven. This being put into the cofflri between the fingers of the corpfe-, and the interment concluded, the company return to the deeeafed's ho-ttfe, where there enfues a fcene of intoxjcatioii, which, among perfons of condition, continues, with few iritermiffions, duririg - the fpace of forty day^ ; the prieft' ev^ry day fayiligi- prayers bver the grave pf the deceafed. ; The barbarity of the Ruffians is in no thing more confpicuous than in the feverity of tjtieir' Icorporal 'punlfhments, which, how ever are fi'eqtie^tly undergone with afto- .pifhing infenfibility, The finglpand dtju* .y-- ble LET. VI*. J ' ^ ^ RUSSIA.^ - -'^7 He knout are both remarbably excruciating. The boring arid cutting out of the tongUe are likewife punifhments not Uncommon'; and Peter the Great ufed to fufpend riie robbers upon the Wolga, and other parts of his dominions, by' iron hooks fixed to their ribs on gibbets, where they Writhed in Agonies, to the number of hundreds, nay J:houfands at a time. You may well imagine, that to travel over the defarts of Ruftia, in their naked ftate-, muft be both Very tedioUs and fa tiguing ; but in winter, when they are co vered with fnow, this is performed With great facility. The fnow being frozen hard enough to bear them, the people travel in fledges, lined, with thick felt, and mariy of them drawn by rein-deen In the interior parts of Ruffia, however, horfes are ufed /or the purpofe, The fledge-way becomes fo well beaten towards Februaryj that they ereft'upon thofe vehicles a kind of coach, in which they may lie at full length, and fb travel night arid day, wrapped up in good furs. In this manner they often perfofnl a Journey of about four hundred miles, fiifcrh ss that from Peterfburg to Mofcow, in three days ^B LETTlSS^S-PF^yi TRAVELL£R,-y .XSJ * days and nights-. Herniate imperial rjaajefiy, in her winter journles, was draiwnby twenty- / four poft horfes. In an ,ereftIon made of timber, which contained fufficie^it conveiii- encies to accommodate four perfons. .^.^ ,. Learning has for a confiderable time be gun to be cultivated in Ruffia, ,an(i, rnade particularly great progrefs under the, ^ufpi- ces of the, late Emprefs, Peter th^ Great founded threecolleges at Mofcow ; one -for claffical learn(ing ,and philofophy, the, fe cond for mathematics, and the third for navigation and aftronomy: fince which time an univerfity has likewife beeij fpundr ed ill, that city.; The late Czarina. .fpunded an univerfity at Peterfburg, to' whiph fhe invited fome of , the moft learned foreigners iri. every faculty, and . fettled upon them haiudfome ;falarles. ,Sh,e; therp alfo infti? tuted, a military academy, where the young nobility', and. the fons^ of officers, are in,j ftrrufted. in the af t of war. ,^ Peterfljurg, ^he modern capital of this v^^ empire, is fituated in latitude ^o, on both fides of the river. Neva, at its junftion with the lake of Ladoga. -About the beglnnjng .pf-the prefent century, it confifted , of ^a^fpiv I' '-. - ' fmafi L.tr. vir.} -. : Russia. 59 fmall fifliinghuts, on a fpot fo fwampy, that the ground was formed into nine iflands; ; but "'fiich is at prefent the ftate- of this wond.erful emporium', that It rivals in mag nificence the moft- celebrated cities in Eu rope. Among the public ftruftures worthy of notice, I cannot forbear mentioning a convent, in which four hundred and forty young ladies were educated at the expence ofthe late; emprefsi . Two hundred of thefe were of fuperior rank, and the others, daughters of citizens and tradefmen ; who , after: receiving a fuitable education, were prefented with a fum of money, to procure themfelves a proper livelihood on quitting the convent. Peterfburg is fuppofed to contain about four hundred thoufand inha bitants,' and is ornamented with thirty-five great churches.'. It alfo contains five pa laces, fome of which are fuperb, particu- larlyrthat which is called, the New Summer Palace, fituated near" the Triumphal; Port, an elegant, piece of archltefture. The num ber of foreign fhips trading thither in the fummer time is prodigious ; and in winter three thoufand one-horfe. fledges are em ployed for paffengers.in the ftreets. Before ^0 LETTERS'OF AiTRAVELLER. :Bef<^re the eftablifhment of Peterfisurg; ¦ the city of Mofcow was the capital of this vaft empire, and though now declined from Its former grandeur, it ftill continues to make an eminent figure among the firft cities in Europe. The houfes pf the inhabit ants In s;eneral are mean ftruftures of tim- ber: but the palaces,* churches,; convents, and other public edifices, of which there is a great number, are fpacious and lofty. The Krimlin, or grand Imperial palace, is one of the nobleft edifices in Europe. ,"," Having-mentioned the convent erefted at Peterfburg by the late emprefs, I cannot pafs over In filence an inftitution of a fimi lar nature in Mofcow, promoted likewife by her patronage, and fupported by volun tary contributions, legacies, and other cha ritable endowments. What I allude to is the Foundling Hofpital, an iriamenfe pile oi|- I>uilding, of a quadrangular fhape, co^ntain- ing at prefent upwards of three thoufand foundlings ; arid when tbe eftablifhment is completed, It is intended to contain eight thoufa'nd. , ? Iil ;Ruffia having only lately emerged frmn barbarifm j we Cannot here look for any of thofe LET. VII.]' .:¦ RUSSIA. .^r'^^',' ^^ thofe antiquities uftially met with in J^ia.- tions ¦which have long been in a ftate of cultivation. She exhibits, however, fome ftupendous monuments of the public fpirit of her foverelgns ; partidularly the canals rriade- by Peter the Great for the benefit of commerce': and I am perfuaded you wuli agree with me that fuch peaceful atchieve ments confer more real glory, as well as fa- tisfaftion, than that which is fought for ami^^the din of arms, and. the brilliancy of conqueft. With regard to the memo rials of remote times, however, Siberia is not unproduftive* It abounds with old fe pulchres of an unknown people, whofe in ftruments and arms appear to have been all made of copper. In the cabinet of natural hiftory at Peterfburg, there is fhewn a rhinoceros, which was accidentally dug up en the bianlcs of the river Valui. The fkin, with' the hair upon it, is entire. The city of Mofcow is diftinguifhed by containing the largeft bell in the world. It is nineteea feet high, twenty-three In diameter, and is laid to .be 443,772 pounds* weight. By a fall received in confequence of the beam on which it hung being burnt, a large piece fs 62 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLElRi-V-' •/ -^ • is broken out of it. -K-By this accident,' i has fince kin ufelefs, to the no' fmaU re gret pf the inhabitants of that capital,- .wht are remarkable for a -peculiar attachmenti tc the ringing of -bells. IS . ; .-.li;;!-,*^©*'.^ '(ei! *i t^The. building of Peterfburg, with its .fud' den tranfmntation from a. few fifhing hut: into a pppulous and'giceat capital:, is.' an in cident perhaps not V to be parallelled in thf hiftory ofthe world.; If we:except the ad joining fortrefs of Cronftadt, which is;aJp,.ofl impregnable. Thefe wonderful objefts. equal In magnitude of defign, but infinite!} fuperior in utility, to the pyramids of Egypt, employed, for fome years, .without any in termiffion even during night, three hun dred thoufand men in driving piles, and lay ing their ftupendous foundations. • Yet; aftonifhing to. fay, 'the whole plan of thofe works was drawn by the hand of Peter him felf. with a very little afliftance from fome German engineers. But the extraordinar,)i merit of this prince was not confined to greatnefs of conception ; he united, aftiylty with invention ; and wrought in perfon not only iu thofe vaft undertakings, but In the eftablifhment of' a naval force, which he raifed by a fudden creation. LET. Vn.] - ¦ RUSSIA. 63 The eftablifhed religion of Ruffia is that ofthe Greek Church ; _ft)r the tenets of which I refer you to theological writers. It is fufficlent for me to fay, that the Ruffians deny the fupremacy of the pope, and dif- claim the worfhip. of Images. They retain, however, many idolatrous and fuperftitious cuftoms. LETTER 64 LETTER GF A TRAVELL^tl!^ LETTER VIII. h ¦' i wfa ¦ ^ K 'UR northern excurfion will recei fome relief, from quitting the vaft extc of the Ruffian plains, for a trarifitory V: to the numerous iflands of Scotlani which are thofe of Shetland, Orkney, a the Hebrides^ or weftern ifles* The She land iflands are forty*fix in number, b ibatiy of ihem uninhabited* The large which is that of Mainland, is fixty miles length, and twenty in breadth ; but t whole number of families in the ifland dc not exceed five hundred. On this iflai the t)utch begin to fifh for herrings at mi fummer, and their fifhing feafon lafts f moriths. Ofthe Orkney iflands, which are abo thirty in number, many are likewife nnir habited. The largeft is Pomona, abo- thir LET. VIII.] SCOTLAIW). >¦ 6^ thirty-three miles in length, and its breadth is infome places nine. It contains nine parifh churches, and fome excellent harbours. The cathedral of Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkneys, is a fine Gothic building, de dicated to St. Magnus, but now converted into a parifh church. Its roof is fiip- ported by fourteen' pillars on each fide, and its fteeple, which has a good ring of bells, by four-large pillars. The three gates of the church are ehecquered with red and» white polifhed ftone, emboffed and ele gantly flowered. The "VVeftern Ifles are more numerous. than either of the preceding, and fome of them large. Sky is forty miles long, and in fome places thirty broad ; fruitful and well peopled. The ifle of Mull is twenty four miles.long, and in fome places almoft as broad. Lewis, or Harries, forming bothibut one ifland, is a hundred miles in length, and thirteen or fourteen in breadth, j Bute, which is about ten miles long, and three or four broad, is famous for contain ing ike caftle of Rothfay, which gave the title of Duke to the eldeft fons of the kings . 66 , LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. of Scotland, as it now does to the Prince of Wales. Befide thefe, are Ha, Jura, Urft, St. Kil-. daj, and a numerous lift of inferior iflands ; among which I muft particularly mention the famous ifleof Jona, or St. Columb-kill, once the feat and fanftuary of learning in the weft, and the burying-place of many kings of Scotland, Ireland, and Norway. This place is ftill confpicuous for the relics of a fanftimonlous aptiquity. The church of St. Mary, which is built in the form of a cathedral, is a beautiful fabric ; within which are fome Gaelic infcriptions, and the bodies of the kings abovementioiied. The tomb of Columba, who lies buried here is uninfcrlbed. The fteeple is large, the cu pola twenty-one feet fquare, the doors and windows are curioufly carved, and the lat ter is of the fineft marble. Innumerable infcriptions of ancient cuftoms and ceremo nies may be obferved in different parts of the ifland. The ifland of Staffa exhibits a moft beau- ¦ tiful fcene of the Bafaltis, rifing amidft the waves, in the form of a new Giant's Caufe- way, For a mile in length, and half a mile LET. vm.] SCOTLAND. 67 mile in breadth, the end of this ifland is fupported by ranges of natural pillars, moftly above fifty feet high, ftanding in colonnades, according as the bays or points of land have formed themfelves. Sir Jofeph Banks, who vifited this ifland in 1772, in forms us, that upon a firm bafis of rock above thefe, the ftratum which reaches to the furface of the ifland, varied in thick nefs as the ifland itfelf formed Irito hills or vallies ; each hill. Which hung over the columns below, forming an ample pedi ment. Some of thefe, above fixty feet in thicknefs, from the bafe to the point, formed;; by the floping of the hill on each fide, almoft into the fhape of thofe ufed in architefture. Proceeding further to the north weft, " You meet (fays Sir Jofeph Banks,) with the higheft ranges of pillars, the magnificent appearance of which is paft all defcription : Here they are bare to their very bafis, and the ftratum below them is alfo viftble." ^ In fome parts of Staffa, inftead of being placed upright, the pillars were obferved to be on their fides, each forming a feg- ment of a circle; but the moft ftriking F 2 objeft 6S LETTERS OF A TRAVELIeR. ohjeft in this field of fcenery is Fingal'S Cave, which is defcribed In the following terms: "We proceeded along the fhore, treading upon another Giant's Cay.feway, every ftone being regularly formed in a certain number of fides and angles, 'till in a fhort time we arrived at the mouth of a cave, the moft magnificent, I fuppofe, that has ever been defcribed by travellers. The length of this cave from the arch without, is 371 feet; the breadth at the mouth 53 feet; and the height in the fame part 317 feet. The mind can hardly form an ide^ more magnificent than fuch a fpace, fup ported on each fide by ranges of columnsj and roofed by the bottoms of thofe which have been broken off in order to form it ; between the angles of which a yellowifh ftalagmitlc matter had exuded, which ferves to define the angles precifely, and at the fame time vary the colour with a great deal of elegance. To render it ftill more agreeable, the whole is lighted from with out ; and the air within being agitated by the flux and reflux of the tide, is perfeftly dry and wholefome, free entirely from the damps of vapours with which natural ca verns . LET. VIII.] SCOTLAND. 69 Verns in general abound." Sir Jofeph Banks has affured me, that nothing he had ever feen afforded him greater pleafure than the furvey of this Ifland. In general the iflands annexed to Scot land exhibit many pregnant proofs in their ehurches, the veftiges of old forts and other ¦buildings, both facred and civil, that they were formerly more populous than at pre fent. The ufe and conftruftion of fome of thefe works cannot now be eafily accounted for. In a gloomy valley in the ifland of Hoy, one of the Hebrides, is a kind of hermitage, cut out of a ftone, called a dwarf ftone, thirty-fix feet long, eighteen broad, and nine high; in which is a fquare hole, about two feet in height for an entrance, with a ftone of the fame fize for a door ; within ia the refemblance of a bed, with a pillow cut out of the ftone, large enough for two men to lie on ; at the other end is a couch, and in the middle a hearth, with a hole cut out above for a chimney. I fliould tire you to recount the various Veftiges of the Druidical temples remaining in thefe iflands ; fome of which muft have been raifed with prodigious labour, and, are F 2 ftupendous 70 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, ftupendous ereftions, of the fame nature as the famous Stone-henge, near Salifbury. Others feem to be memorials of particular perfons^ or aftions, confifting of one large ftone ftanding upright. Some of them bear the marks of having been fculptured ; and others have ferved as fepulchres, and are compofed of ftones cemented together. Cairns, or barrows, as they are called in England, are frequent in thefe iflands, and the monuments of Danifh and Norwegian. fortifications might afford ample room for defcription. The gigantic bones found iri many burial places here, afford room to be lieve that the former inhabitants were of larger fize than the prefent. It feems like-^ wife probable, from fome ancient remains, particularly catacombs, and fome filver fibu lae or clafps, found at Stennis, one of the Orkneys, that the Romans were well ac quainted with thefe parts. There is not a doubt but one of the iflands on the north of jof Scotland, was thpir Ultima Thule. It has been the opinion of many learned men, that the Hebrides, being the moft; wefterly iflands where the Celts fettled, their language muft remain there in its, greateft purity : Lfet. VIII.] SCOTLAND* /'t |jurity : but this opinion, though Very plau*- fible, is contradifted by experience. It is' true that many Celtic words, as well as cuf- toriis!, ate found in thefe iflands ; but the great intercourfe which the Hebrides had ¦with the Danes, the Norwegians, arid othet northern people, Whofe language is mixed with Sclavonian and Teutonic,- the latter of which has^ no aflfinity with the Celtic, has rendered their language a compound ; fo that it approaches in no degree to tbe pu rity of the Celtic, commdnly called Erfe, which was fpoken by their neighbours in Lochabar and the oppofite coafts of Scot land, the undoubted defcendants of the Celts, among whom their language remains more unmixed. There is very little difference ifi the cll- ttiate of thefe iflands, the air being keen, piercing, and falubrious ; fo that many of the natives live to a great age* In the Shet land and Orkney iflands they fee to read at midnight in June and July ; and during four af the fummer moriths they have fre quent communicationsj both for bufinefs and curiofity, with catch other* The reflr »f the year, however, they are almoft inac- • ccffible^ 71 LETtERS OF A TRAVELLER. ceffible, thrpugh fpgs, darknefs, and ftorms* It is a curious faft, that in May, 1689, a Scottlfh fiflierman was imprifoned in the capital of the Orkney iflands, for pub- lifhing the account of the Prince and Prin cefs of Orange being raifed to the Britifh Throne the preceding November : and he would probably have been hanged, as a po litical ^impoftor, had not the news been confirmed by the arrival of a fhip. It does not appear from hiftory, to whom the Shetland and Orkney iflands were fub-* jeft before the clofe of the eleventh cen tury ; but they were conquered by the Normans in 1099, fome years after the re- duftion of England by William the .Con queror. In the year 1263, they were in the poffeffion of Magrius of Norway, who fold them to Alexander, king of Scots, and he gave them as fiefs to a riobleman of the name of Speire. After this period, they became fubjeft to" the crown of Denmark. Chriftian I. In the reign of James III. cbn- ¦veyed them in property to the crown of Scotland, as a marriage portion with his daughter Margaret, and all future preten fions were entirely ceded on the mar riage LET. VIII.] SCOTLAND. '^^ riage of James VI. of Scotland, with the Princefs Aftne, of Denmark. It iriight be thought unpardonable to give an acPount of the Hebrides without menti- bning the fecond fight, for which the inha bitants are faid to be remarkable. If^is pretended, that there fwims before their eyes, either real or typical, reprefentations of certain events Which are to happen within the fpace of tWenty-four or forty- eight hours. The truth perhaps is, that thofe highlanders by indulging themfelves in indolent habits, acquire vifionary ideas ; and thefe giving birth to extravagant phan toms, they miftake the latter fo'r the refult of fatidical or prophetic revelations. They therefore begin to prophecy, and there be ing a great chance that amidft many thou- fands of prediftions, fome or other fhou^ld happen to be fulfilled, one Well-attefted in- ftarite of accompllfhment confers credit on the general imputation. I fhall, however, relate to you one faft of this kirid, which I had myfelf from a reputable fchoolmafter on the borders ofthe Highlands, when I vifited that part of the country, and it is among the • *' • moft L ^4- LETTERS OF A tRAVELLlft* moft remarkable inftances of the kind that I have heard ori the fiibjeft. Mr. M-^ went one evening atjout fom6 bufinefs into a fmall houfe adjoining his own, where there happened to be an elderly woman from Glenlion. On feeing hint enter fhe uttered in the Gaelic Janguao-e fome expreffions which indicated furprize ; and fixing her eyes on his legs, exclaimed with a. look of aftonifhmpnt, ¦ 7"^ chafs ! te chafs! that is, " your leg, your leg.'* He thought no more of the incident till next ' night, when returning home from a houfe in the neighbourhood, a beetle was maliei* oufly thrown at him by a worthlefs perfon who had formerly been his pupil, by which one ofhis legs was fraftured. Recolleftins the incident of the preceding evening, he was told by thofe who had been prefent on that occafion, and underftood the Erfe, that one of his legs appeared to the woman of Glenlion to be broken and bloody, and fhe was aftonifhed to fee him walk in fuch a condition* I told this anecdote to the late Dr. Samuel Joli^fon, who wifhed he had known it before the pubhcation of his Tour to the Hebrides, The LET. vm,] SCOTLAND. ^5 The inhabitants of the Hebrides, like the Highlanders on the continent of Scotland, are a hardy and martial race of people ; and had they come within the verge of Ho mer's defcription in the Iliad or Odyffey, it is -probable that many of thefe iflands would have been no lefs diftinguifhed by their lords or chieftains, than Ithaca by tJie celebrated Ulyffes* LETTER 7& LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER* LETTER IX, I COME now to the continent of Scot land, a country celebrated both for the martial atchievements of its inhabitants, and the genius of many of its writers. The air of Scotland is more temperate than could be expefted in fo northerly a climate. This arifes partly from the variety of its hills, vallies, rivers, and lakes ; but ftill more, as in England, from the vicinity ofthe fea, which affords thofe warm breezes that not only foften the naturalkeennefs of the air, but by keeping it in perpetual agi tation, renders it pure and healthful. The foil in general is not fo fertile as that of England ; and. In many places, lefs fitted for agriculture than for pafture. Yet there are particular plains and vallies ofthe moft luxuriant fertility ; and the whole of the eaftern t£T. IX.J SCOTLAI^D. 77 eaftern coaft, for many miles up the couii- try, is abundantly fertile. Scotland contains feveral capital rivers^ fiich as the Forth, the Tay, the Spey, the Tweed, and the Clyde ; with many of an inferior fort, well provided ^ with falmon, trout, and other fifhes, which equally en rich and beautify the country. Its princi pal mountains are the Grampian Hills, which run from eaft to weft, almoft the whole breadth of the kingdom. Two other chains of mountains, towards the fouth, run in the fame direftion ; befides which, 1 may mention the Cheviot or Tiviot Hills, on the borders of England. The face of Scotland is agreeably dlverfi- fied by a charming intermixture of natural objefts. The great inequalities of_ the ground, in many parts, though unfavour able to the labours of the hufbandman, are particularly pleafing to a traveller, and af ford thofe delightful fituations for country- houfes, of which many of the Scottlfh no bility and gentry havefojudicioufly availed themfelves. I do not exaggerate when I affure you, that Scotland contains a greater number of ancient yS LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. » ancient caftles and noble edifices than are commonjy to be met with in countries of an equal extent. This is owing not only- to the general tafte of the nobility and gentry, but to the cheapnefs of the materials for building ; by which their paffion for archi tefture may be gratified at a moderate ex- pence. Many of thefe feats are cmbelliflied with beautiful pleafure-grounds, where art and nature feeni to have vied in the pro- duftion of agreeable profpefts. To form an adequate idea of thofe fcenes, you muft vifit Dunkeld, and Blair in Athol, the refi dence of the Duke of that name ; but you will find all the charms of local beauty yet more happily united, fome miles towards. the weft, where Taymouth, the incompa rable feat of the Earl of Breadalbane, dif plays all her attraftions to the view. Ver bal defcription can but faintly exprefs the delightful affemblage of objefts by which this place is diftinguifhed. Hill and valley, wood and water, form the general inter mixture of topographical Variegation ; but here the effeft of them is enhanced with peculiar felicity. The pofition and fhape of the hills are not only highly advantage ous, ^^ m^ LET. IX.] SCOTLAND. 79 ous, but they are ornamented with natural rocks, pifturefque both in form and fitua tion, and adorned with hermitages, or ruins, or towers, or traces of antiquity, that afford the moft pleafing profpefts. The vallij^s are ftretched in an expanfe fb agreeably romantic, that for a juft reprefen- tationofthem I refer to your own concep- tidns of the celebrated Tempe. The woods are delightfully mixed in variety as well as arrangement ; and the river Tay, befides the profpeft of a beautiful lake, pro ceeds in fuch meanders as feem to have been accommodated by nature to the per- feftion of a landfcape. To, all thefe circum- cumftances let ids add, the temples and cafcades, the walks, the terraces, and the nutting-paths, which in extent, variety, and beauty, furpafs all I ever met with in travelling. You have heard, perhaps, ofthe Maiden, an inftrument of decapitation, introduced into Scotland by the Earl of Morton, who was himfelf the firft who fuffered by it ; and you are fufficiently well acquainted with the Guillotine, which difgraces the annals of France; but I queftion whether you ever 8d ' LETTERS OF* A TRAVELLfiS. ever have been informed of a fimilar in ftrument, called the Lochabar Axe. This I have feen where it Is depofited, in the pe netralia of Taymouth. It was employed for extirpating the clan of M'Gregors, whofe outrages rendered them univerfally fo obnoxious to government, that thofe among them who wifhed to avoid a capital punlfhment, were obliged to change their name ; which, I have been told, was not, tin lately, revived in the country. Scotland abounded anciently with mag nificent Gothic cathedrals, and other reli gious edifices, but they were moftly demo- lifhed by the fury of the mobs at the time of the reformation. The Carthufian Ab-, bey at Perth, which was alfo a royal refi dence, and where James I. was murdered, is celebrated for the grandeur of its archi tefture. The cathedrals of Elgin in Mur ray, Dunkeld, Dumfermline, Kelfo, Mel- rore, Jedburg, and-Qthers, with the Gothic Chapel at Roflin, about four miles from Edinburgh, are beheld with veneration and pleafure by , every traveller. Many of thofe edifices were founded by King David, who was remarkable for his piety and liberality to LET. IX,] SCOTLAND. 8 1 to religious inftitutions ; but the ftruftlire laft mentioned was founded towards the rniddle ofthe fifteenth century by William St. Clair, Prince of Orkney, and Duke of Oldenburg. Exclufive of romantic fituation, it is confeffedly one of the moft curious pieces of workmanfhip in Europe. The palaces of the Scottlfli kings, in ge neral, were likewife magnificent buildings. That of Dumfermline, the refidence of the famous king Malcolm, has long been in ruins ; but there ftill exifts, clofe by it, a memorial of Celebrated royalty. Under the pulpit of the ancient cathedral, are interred the remains of the great King Robert Bruce, whofe heart, at his own defire, was carried at his death to Jerufalem. The pa lace of Scone, where the kings of Scotland were ufually crowned, is diftingufhed by an elegant fimplicity ; while that of Falk land exhibits a magnificence correfponding to the dignity of a crown ; and the palace of Linlithgow, the favourite refort of James V. has been the admiration of ftibfe- quent ages for the beauty of its architec- turer G , Edin- Sa LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, Edinburgh, fince the addition of the new town, may be regarded as one of the hand-» fomeft cities in Europe ; and the new Uni verfity, when completed, will be a ftrufture proportionably noble. Between the old and new town, lies a narrow bottom or vale, at the weft end of which the caftle, fituated on a folid rock, near two hundred feet high, looks down with awful magnifi cence ; and the eaftern extremity is bound ed by a lofty bridge, the middle arch pf which is ninety feet high ; erefted for the purpofe of joining the new buildings to the city, and of rendering the defcent on each fide the vale more commodious. Facing the caftle, at the diftance of a mile, ftands the palace of Holyrood-Houfe, commonly called the Abbey. It is a quad rangular building, of magnificent architeci ture, begun by James V. and finifhed Isy Charles I. Round the quadrangle runs an ?ircade, adorned with pilafters ; and the infide contains noble apartments, r^ow occu pied by different noblemen, The chapel belonging to this palace was an elegant piece of Gothic architefture, It had a very lofty rpof, and- two ftone galleries, fupport- §4 LET. IX.] SCOTLAND. 83 ed by curious pillars. The infide was de- molifhed and rifled of all its rich ornaments by the fury of the mob at the Revolution. They even broke into the repbfitories of the dead, and difcovered a vault, tlft then not generally known, which confained the bo dies of James V. his firfl queen, and Henry Darnley. The walls and roof of this beautiful chapel gave way and fell down in 1768, occafioned by the enor mous weight of a new ftone roof, laid over it fome years before, which the walls were unable to fupport. The hofpital founded by George Herlot, goldfmith to James VI. for the education of poor children belonging to the citi zens of Edinburgh, is fituated fouth-weft of the caftle. It was planned by Inigp Jones, who went to Scotland as architeft to Queen Anne, wife of James VI. and is the fineft fpecimen which he has left us of his Go thic manner. Befides the Univerfity of Edipburgh,^ there are in Scotland three others, which are thofe of St. Andrew's, Aberdeen, and Glafgow. Even befpre the time of Charle magne, the Scots began to be fignalized by G 2 their. 84 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. their literary purfuits ; and of their fuc-< cefsful progrefs we meet with ample docur ments in the writings of Adamnarus, and other authors. Who were nearly contempo rary with the period of the Norman Inva fion. Barbour, a Scottlfh poet, is cele brated eVen prior to the time of Chaucer ; and the Latin ftyle of Buchanan's hiftory is hitherto regarded as one ofthe moft claffical of modern produftions. Indeed, claffical learning feems to have been more cultivated even at the court of Scotland than at any other in Europe 5 as appears from the letters of the Scottlfh kings to the neighbouring princes, which are incomparably the moft elegant compofitlons pf the times in which they were written. The difcovery ofthe logarithms, fo ufe-, ful in the fcience of navigation, will ever render the name of Napier of Merchef-: tone one of the moft confpicuous in the catalogue of memorable inventors. In ma thematical fciences, Keil, Gregory, Mac- laurin, Simfon, and Stuart, are particularly eminent ; while in philofophy, hiftory, and the belles-lettres^ feveral naitives of Scptlariid hav($ tE-T. IX.] SCOTLANIJ. 85 have fhone likewife with diftinguifhed luftrci So numerous are the Roman and other antiquities found in Scotland, that a mi nute account of them might extend to many volumes. The moft remarkable for extent is the Roman Wall, called by the people of the country Graham's Dyke j but by others named the Wall of Antoninus, under whofe direftion it was completed, though firft marked out by Agricola. It ftretched the whole way from the Clyde to the Forth, croffing the country in the nar- roweft part. The courfe of it is ftill dif- cernible, but the ftrufture has long fince vanifhed, with the neceffity of its conti nuance. Near the weftern extremity of this wall, at Duntocken, fome labourers, in digging a trench on the declivity of a hill, upon which are feen the remains of a Roman fort, turned up feveral uncommon tiles, which led to the difcovery of a fuhter raneous building. The tiles are of various fizes, the fmalleft being feven, and the largeft twenty-one inches fquare. They are from two to three inches iri thicknefs, of S6 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. of a reddifh colour, and in good preferva tion. The fmaller tiles compofed feveral rows of pillars, which form a labyrinth of paffages about elghteeri inches fquare ; and the larger tiles being laid over the whole, ferved as a roof to the ftrufture. The building is furrounded by a wall of hewn ftone. From the bones and teeth of animals, with a footy kind of earth found in the paffages^fome have conjeftured that this building ferved as a hot-bed for the ufe of the neighbouring garrifon. One of the moft entire and beft preferved of any Roman antiquity in North-Britain, is fituated at Ardoch in Perthfhire. It has five rows of ditches and fix ramparts on the fouth fide ; and of the four gates which led into the area, three of them, viz. the prse- toria, decumana, and dextra, are ftill -very dlftinft. Upon the banks of the river Cafron, in Stirlingfhire, there ftood a Roman temple, or building, in the form of the Pantheon at Rome, but which has lately been demo- lifhed by its Gothic proprietor, for the pur pofe of mending a mill- pond. Its height , was twenty-two "feet, and Its external Cir cumference tEt. ix,] SCOTLANiJi 8^ cumference at the bafe eighty-eight feet ; fo that upon the whole it was one bf the moft complete Roman antiquities in the World. As it ftood near the northern boun dary of. the Roman empire in Britaiiij it is thought to have been built by Agricola, or fome of his fucceffors, as a temple to the god Terminus. Near it are fome artificial concealments of earth, bearing ftill the name of Dunipace, or Du^i pads ; which feem to confirm that thete was a kind of folemn compromife between the Romans and the Caledonians, that the former fhould not attempt to extend their empire beyond thofe limits. By infcriptions' found on ftories near the Wall, we are made acquainted with the names of the legions that built it, and the particular departments of each. The re mains of Roman highways are frequent in the fouthern parts of Scotland. Near Auchtefarder, in Perthfhire, there is a barrow, refembling the figure of a fhip, with the keel uppermoft. It appears to b^ of remote antiquity, and is the moft beau tiful of the kind I have ever feen. As it lies not many miles diftant from the fcene of 88 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEaj. of Agricola's operations, there may be room for conjefturing that it was erefted to. the memory of fome Britifh prince, who afted as auxiliary to the Romans. There are in Scotland fome buildings of a very extraordinary conftruftion, and fup pofed to be of., Piftifh origin, from their ftanding within the dominions of that peo ple. One of thefe is at Brechin in Angus, and the other at Abernethy in Perthfhire. Both of them are columns, hollow in the infide. That of Brechin is the moft en tire. It is covered at the top with a fJDiral roof of ftone, and has three or four win dows above the cornice. It confifts of fixty regular courfes of hewn ftone, laid circu larly, and regularly tapering towards the top. Upon it are fome fculptures, denoting it to be of Chriftian origin ; but thefe, per haps, are of a later date than the bulldlno-. At a place called Aberlemno, near Bre chin, there are ftill to be feen four or five ancient obelifks, called the Danifh ftones of Aberlemno.' They have been erefted to commemorate the viftorles of the Scots over that people ; and are adorned with bas- LET. IX.] SCOTLAND. ^9 bas-reliefs of men on horfeback, with ma^ ny emblematical figures and hieroglyphics. But there ftands near the town of ForraS in Murray, a column, which furpaffes all others in grandeur. It rifes about twenty- three feet in height above the ground, and is faid to reach about twelve or fifteen feet below ; fo that the whole height is at leaft thirty-five feet, and its breadth near five. It is all one entire ftone. Many figures in relievo have been carved upon It, fome of which are ftill vifible ; but the injury of the Weather has much affefted thofe of. the upper part. It is probable that this monu ment was erefted in commemoration of the final expulfion of the Danes out of Murray, where they occupied their laft fettlement in Scotland, after the great defeat they had received from the celebrated King Malcolm. At Sandwick, in Rofs-fhire, is likewife a noble ancient monument, furrounded at the, bafe with large well-cut flag ftones, formed like fteps. Both fides of the column are enriched witha variety of fculpture ; among which is a fumptuous crofs, with a figure of 9^ ^ LETTERS OF A TRAVfiLLES. of St. Andrew on each hand, and the repre- fentation of many birds and animals. The ruins of the cathedral of Elginftill^ exhibit a remarkable grandeur in their ap^ pearance. The weft door in particular is highly ornamented, and there is much ele gance in the fculpture* Among the remains of ancient caftles de ferves to be mentioned that of Keldrummy, in the north of Scotland. It was formerly a place of great ftrength and magnificence, and often reforted to, as ari afylum, by noble families, "in times of civil wars. Inverugie Caftle, the ancient feat of the Earl Mar-^ flials of Scotland, fituated on a fteep rock upon the bank of a river, is a large and lofty pile. The front is terminated by two high towers, which, even in their decaying ftate, give the building an air of much grandeur and antiquity* LETTER LET. X.] ENGLAND. 9I LETTER X. I NEED not inform you that the tranfi- tion from.North to South Britain, is imper ceptible to a traveller, unlefs he croffes the river Tweed, which feparates the two countries only for fome, miles towards the eaft. In other parts they are contiguous alohg an extenfive frontier ; and they feem not more happily adapted to forhi one united kingdom, by geographical fituation, than by the habits, commercial intercourfe, and interefts of each. If we entered Scotland with emotions of triumph, on account of its civilization and ancient celebrity, we fhall find the fame reafon to congratulate ourfelves on our arrival in England, where arts and arms have long been cultivated with pecu liar fuccefsj and the glory of her military atchievements Q2 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER^ atchievements is dirriiniflied only by thd^ facility with which fhe repeatedly fubmitted to the yoke of foreign powers. But let us draw a veil over tranfaftions the apparent incongruity of which was alleviated by the circumftances ofthe times. * She has, fince the laft of thefe conquefts, difplayed fuch feats of valour, as will ever throw luftre on her annals. In refpeft of the temperature of the air, perhaps no country in the world is, upon the whole, preferable to England. But it is peculiarly expofed to fudden viciffitudes of the Weather ; and the fucceffion of the different feafons is in moft years Very irre gular. Its infular fituation fubjefts it to all the variety of winds that agitate the face of the furrounding ocean ; while to compen fate this difadvantage, riot a current of a.it can blow from any point of the compafsj in which many of her ports are not open to the benefits of commerce. The nu merous canals made within the fpace of half a century, have extended her internal navigation to ari aftonifhing degree ; and fo great are fhe improvements in agriculture and manufaftures, that the profperity of her |:ET. X.] ENGLAND. 9 j| her traffic is unrivalled In every quarter of the globe. The Rivers in England add greatly to its beauty as well as Its opulence. The chief of thefe are the Thames, the Medway, the Trent, the Oufe, and the Tyne. , There are here but few lakes ; though It is evident from hiftory, and indeed, in fome places from the face of the country, that meres and fens have been frequent in England, till drained and converted into arable land. Though moft parts of the country are full of delightful rifing grounds, yet it contains few mountains. The moft noted , are the Peak in Derbyfhire, the Endle in Lanca- fhire, the Wolds in Yorkfhire, the Cheviot Hills on the borders of Scotland, the Chiltern in Bucks, Malvern in Worcefterfhire, Elf- wold in Gloucefterfhire, and the Wreken in Shropfhire ; to which may be added, thofe of Plinlimmon and Snowdon in Wales. In general, however, Wales and the nor thern parts may be termed mountainous. > v In ancient times England contained large woods, if- not forefts, of chefnut trees, which exceeded all other kinds of timber for the purpofe§ of buildipg, as appears from many 94 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. many houfes ftill ftanding, in which the chefnut beams and roofs remain undecaycd, though fome of them are above fix hundred years old. The firft Norman Kings, partly for political purpofes, and partly from the wantonnefs of power, converted immenfe trafts of ground into forefts, for the benefit of hunting. The number of thefe amounted at one time to no lefs than fixty-nine ; but by degrees they have all been disforefted ex cepting four, which are thofe of Windfbr, New Foreft, the Foreft of Dean, and Sher wood Foreft. Among the minerals in this country, the tin mines in Cornwall defervedly take the lead. They were known to the Greeks and Phsnicians, the latter efpecially, fome ages before that of the Chriftian aera. London, the capital of the Britifh Em pire is of great antiquity. It appears to have been founded between the reigns of Julius C?efar and Nero, but by whom is un certain. It was firft walled about with hewn ftones and Britifh bricks, by Conftan tlne the Great ; and the walls formed an oblong fquare, in compafs about three miles, with feven principal gates. Lojidon is . LET. X.] ENGLAND. 95 is now the emporium of commerce ; and enjoys, by means of the river Thames, on which it is fituated, all the benefits of navi gation, without the danger of being fur prifed by foreign fleets. Of the extent of this city, Weftminfter included, an idea may be formed from the number of edifices devoted to the fervice of religion. Of thefe, befides ^t. Paul's Cathedral, and the collegiate Church of Weftminfter, there are a hundred and two parifh churches, and about feventy chapels of the eftablifhed re-- ligion, exclufive of a vaft number of cha pels appropriated to the ufe of foreign ers, and independent meetings of various kinds. The Cathedral of St. Paul's is, beyond doubt, the moft capacious, magnificent, and regular proteftant church in the World. It is built, you know, upon the model of St. Peter's, at Rome, but greatly inferior in extent ; the whole length of this cathe dral meafiiring no more than the breadth of the latter. The length within the walls is five-hundred feet ; and its height from the marble pavement to the crofs, on the top pf th© cupola, is three-hundred and forty. The 9^ LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. The expence of re-building it, after the fire of London, was defrayed by a duty on coals, and is computed at a million fterling. Monuments to eminent " perfons are now begun to be erefted in this Cathedral ; and it has likewife been re cently decorated with the trophies of naval viftorles, obtained over our different ene mies, in the laft three memorable engage ments. Weftminfter-Abbey, or the collegiate church of Weftminfter, is a venerable pile of building, in the Gothic tafte. It was origirially erefted by Edward the Confeffor. King Edward III. rebuilt it from the ground ;' and to the eaft end of it was added by Henry VII. a fine chapel, in which is the burying-place of the Royal-Family. The walls of this abbey are now almoft entirely occupied with the accumulated monuments of perfons cither high in rank, or cele brated for extraordinary aftions in arts ot arms. Weftminfter-hall, though it difplays no grandeur of appearance without, Is a noble Gothic building, two hundred and twenty feet long, and feventy hi-oad. It is fuppofed tP J-ET. X.]" ENGLAND, 97 to be the largeft room in the world, the roof of which is not fupported by pillars. The ftately column, called the monu ment of London, erefted at the charge of the city, to perpetuate the memory of the great fire in 1666, is worthy of atteiition. It is of the Doric order, two hundred and two feet in height, with a ftaircafe in the middle to afcend to the balcony ; whence there are other fteps leading thirty feet higher.^ to the fummit, which terminates in the form of an urn, with a flame iffuing from it. On the bafe of the monument next the ftreet, the deftruftion ofthe city, and the relief given to the fufferers by Charles II. and his brother,, are emblematically repre fented in bas-relief. When fuch monuments are erefted for the purpofe of mere commemoration, what may not be expefted from thofe which are deftined to public utility ? Gf this kind are the three noble bridges over the Thames'; thofe of London, Weftminfter, and Black- friars. The firft was huilt about the middle of the twelfth century in the reign of Henry II. by a tax laid upon wool, which in courfe of time ^ave rife to an erroneous H idea n8 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, idea that it was founded upon wool-packs. It has nineteen arches, each about twenty feet wide, but the centre one is confiderably larger. Weftminfter-brldge is reckoned one of the moft elegant ftruftures of the kind. It ftands at a place where the river is twelve hundred and twenty-thrbe feet broad, which is about three hundred feet more than at Loridon-bridge. On each fide is a fine baluf- trade of ftone, with places of fhelter from the rain. It confifts of thirteen large, and two fmall arches, all femicircular ; that in the centre being feventy-fix feet wide,^ and the reft decreafing four feet each from the other. This ftrufture. was begun in 1738, and completed in 1750, at the ex- pence of three hundred and eighty-nine thoufand pounds, defrayed by the parlia ment. Black-frlars-bridge, in point of workmian- fhip is not inferior tothat of Weftminfter ; bui- the fituation of the ground on the; two fhores, obliged the aichlteft to employ ellip-. ti :al arches. This bridge was begun- in ^760; and finifhed in ten years, at the ex- peince.pf about a hundred and fifty -three z:..i: thoufand LET. X.] ENGLAND. 99 thoufand pounds, to be difcharged by a toll upon the paffengers, which is now taken off. Eaftward of the monument, at the dif tance of almoft half a mile, ftands theTower of London, which was anciently a royal palace, and has been for many ages the for- .trefs of the city. It is fuppofed to have been originally built by William the Con queror, about the year 1076, when it con fifted only of that part called the White Tower, which was new built in 1637, ^^^ 1638. A great number of other buildings have been fince added. Here are now a church, the offices of ordnance and of the mint ; thofe of the keepers of the records ; of the jewel office, the Spaniffi armoury, the horfe-armoury, and the new or fmall armoury ; with barracks for the foldiers of the garrifon, and handfome houfes for fe veral officers who refide here. In 1098, King William Rufus furrounded the Tower with walls, and a deep ditch, infome places a hundred and twenty feet wide ; but on the weft fide it is narrow. In this quarter is the principal entrance, by two gates, one , within the other ; both large enough to ad- H 2 mit TOO LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. mit coaches-, and parted by a bridge, built over the ditch. In a part of the Tower, feveral lions, and other foreign animals are conftantly kept for the gratification of the curious, at the expence ofthe crown. Tower-hill has been lately embelliffied with an elegant building, called the Tri- nity-Houfe, for the accommodsition of thp Trinity-company at their meetings: a Com pany which, confidered both in a commer cial and nautical point of view, is of great utility to the public. Among the late decorations of the capital is a noble pile of buildings, erefted at the public expence, in the Strand, where for merly ftood Somer fet- houfe. This magni ficent edifice is appropriated to public of fices, and affords likewife elegant apart ments for the ufe of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and the Society of Antiquaries. I ffiould exhauft your patience were I to - defcribe to you all that ' is remarkable in this celebrated capital, pertaining either to the purpofes of government, thofe of great -commercial companies, or of private indi viduals ; and fhalJ therefore mention only one LET. X.] ENGLAND. lOI one more ftrufture, but fuch a one as unites fcientlfic improvement with na tional grandeur ; I mean the Britlffi Mu feum, depofited in a noble edifice, which had been built by the Duke of Montague for his town refidence. Sir Hans Sloane, who died in 1753, may not improperly be called the founder of this vaft treafure of curiofities, which, with his valuable library, he left to the public, on condition that the parliament would pay to his executors twen ty thoufarid pounds, about a third part only of the fum which the v/hole had coft him. To this colleftion Were added the Gottonian Library ; theHarleian Manufcripts, colleft- ed by the Oxford family, and purchafed likewife by the Parliament, and a colleftion of books, the property formerly of Dr. Mead. His late majefty was gracioufly pleafed to enrich the repofitory further, by a donation of the royal libraries of books and manufcripts collefted by the feveral kings of England. The catalogue of the whole of this vaft colleftion occupies a number of large volumes. In the royal library juft now mentioned, is the moft ancient manufcript of the Old and I02 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. and New Teftament that is extant. It is written in Greek, on parchment, and cal led the Alexandrine manufcript, from the place where it was found. This valuable piece of antiquity was fent In the year 1628 to King Charles I. a prefent from Cyrlllus Lucaris, then patriarch of Conftantinople. An account of it is ¦wrritten in Latin, at the beginning of the firft volume by the donor, importing^ that it was the work of Thecla, an Egyptian lady of quality, who lived about the time ofthe council of Nice. It is probable that this manufcript was written before the year 396 ; for, except the Evaii- gelifts, none ofthe books of this New Tef tament are divided Into chapters, that cuf tom not having been introduced till the above period. We may therefore conclude, thefe manufcripts to be upwards of fourteen hundred years old. The gofpel according to Matthew is moftly wanting. A beauti ful fac-fimlle of this celebrated manufcript was publlffied a few years ago. I had the curiofity to examine fome of the poetical manufcripts in the Mufeum, among which I foujtad a ffiort Latin poem, written by John Seward, in the time of Henry LET. X.] ENGLAND. I03 Henry V. who conquered Charles VI. of France ; with which, and a tranflation of of it, I ffiall clofe my prefent letter. It e per extremam Tanain,ftigrofque Triones, lie per arenlem Lybiam, fuper ate calores ¦ Soils, y arcanos Nili deprenditef antes, Herculeumque finum, Bacchi tranfcurrite met as; Angli juris erit quicquid compleSlitur orbis. Anglis rubra dabunt pratiofas aquora conchcis, Indus ebur, ramos Panchaia, vellera Seres, Dum viget Henricus, dum nqfter vivit Achilles. Eft etenim laudes longe tranfgrefius avitas.. G-), where the ftreams of utmoft Tanais roll, "Where endlefs winter reigns around the pole ; Go, where the fands of fcorched Lybia glow. And hidden fources of the Nilus flow : ,^ : In glorious conqueft, prefs beyond the bounds Where Fame the deeds of ancient heroes founds : To England's empire fhall the nation's bend, . Far as the limits of the world extend. To her, the fea, on Egypt's eaftern fhores, Shall pay the tribute of its pearly ftores, Arabia Ipices, India ivory, yield. And Cathay, golden fleeces from each field i While Henry lives, while our Achilles' name Shines forth traiifcendeiit in the lifi of fame. LETTER 104 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, LETTER XI. I ,T is probable that civilization was in troduced into England by the Rohnans ; and there is no doubt biit the Latin Lan guage was cultivated in this country while it continued to be a province of that em* pire, The night of darknefs, which fuc ceeded the extlnftlon of the Roman poWer, involved England with the other nations in the general wreck of learning ; but this country was among the firft to difpel the bb- fcurity ; and fo early as the ninth century, an attempt towards the reftoration of fci ence, amidft all the obftruftions arifing from barbarifm, was made by the great King Al fred. H,e it was who firft inftituted,the fe minary which has :fince encreafed to the famous Univerfity of Oxford ; and Cam bridge, in a fubfequent period, claims like- wife Let. xl] :england. 105 wife the diftinguiffied honours of literary renown. I forbear giving any account af thefe Univerfities, as the fubjeft would prove too copious for my prefent defign ; and ffiall proceed to take a fuccinft view of the antiquities found in England. Thefe are of different periods, correfponding to thofe of the particular people, who, for the time, were mafters of the country ; and may be divided into Britlffi, Roman, Sax on, Daniffi, and Normanic. The chief Britlffi antiquities, like thofe of moft other nations, are fuch as have a conneftion with the religious inftitutionsof the early inhabitants of the country. They confift of circles of ftones, which were pro bably places of worffiip in the times of the Druids. The moft celebrated of thofe is that called Stonehenge, which is fituated on Saliffiury Plain, fix miles north of the city of that name, in Wlltfjiire. It is a pile of huge ftones, concerning the origin, ufe, and ftrufture of which, antiquaries are much divided in opinion. The name Stone henge is purely Saxon, and fignifies Aang- ing-fiones, or a fione gallows: It probably alludes to the difpofition of feveral of the ftones I06 LETTERS OF A traveller. - ftones of which this extraordinary fabric confifts. Some, however, conjefture the name to be Stonhengefi, and fuppofe the ftones to be a monument erefted by Ambro- fius, a Britiffi King, in memory of the Bri tons flain at or near this place, by Hengift the Saxon. But Dr. Stukely, who has written a learned treatife on this piece of an tiquity, endeavours to ffiew. that the original name of Stone-henge was Ambres, whence he fuppofes the ancient town of Ambref- bury to have been denominated. The an cient Britons called it Choir-gaur, which Dr. Stukely Is of opinion fignifies the great church, or cathedral. The Choir-gaur of the ancient Britons was by the monks Latinized Chorea GIgantum, or the Giant's Dance, a name ffiited to the ffiperftltlous notions they entertained of its ftrufture. Stone-henge confifts 'of the remains of two circular and two oval ranges of rough ftones, having one common centre; The outer circle is a hundred and eight feet in diameter, and when entire, confifted of thirty upright ftones, feventeen of which are yet ftanding, and feven more lying upon the ground, either whole or in pieces. The upright LET.XJ.] ENGLAND. I07 upright ftones are from eighteen- to twenty feet high, from fix to feven feet broad, and about three feet thick. Being placed at the diftance of about three feet and a half from one another, they are connefted at top by impofts, or ftones laid acrofs, with tenons fitted to mortlfes In the uprights. Of the impofts, or crofs-ftones, fix are yet ftand ing, each of which is feven feet long, and about three feet and a half thick. The up right ftones have been wrought a little with achiffel, and are fomethlng tapered to wards the top, but the impofts are quite plain; All the uprights are fixed In a kind of fockets, dug in a chalky foil, with fmall flints rammed between the ftone and the focket. The inner circle, which never had any impofts, is a little more than eight feet from the infide of the outward one,, and confifted originally of forty ftones, the ge neral pr(^ortions of which are half the di menfions of the above-mentioned uprights every way. Of the forty ftones which ori ginally compofed this circle, about nine teen remain, and of thefe only eleven are ftanding. The fpace between the two cir cles loS LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. eles is three hundred feet in circumference, and from this fpot the ftrufture has an aw ful effeft on the beholders. At the diftance of about nine feet from the inner circle, is the outer oval range, which is fuppofed to be the principal part of the work, and by moft writers is called the Cell, or the Adytum. The ftones that compofe it are ftupendous, fome of them meafuring thirty feet in height. This range confifts of five compages, or trili- thons, as they are fometimes called, being formed of two uprights, with an impoft at top, like the outer circle ; and of thefe corn- pages three are entire, but two fomewhat decayed. The inner oval is compofed of twenty ftones, each about fix feet high ; and near the eaftern extremity of this oval, is a ftone of eoarfe blue marble, about fix teen feet long, and four broad, which lies flat upon the ground, is fomewhat preffed into it, and fuppofed to have been an altar. This work is enclofed by a deep trench, near thirty feet broad, and upwards of a hundred feet from the outer circle. Over this trench are three entrances, the moft confiderable of which faces the north-eaft. At LET. xl] ENGLAND. IOC At each entrance, on the outfide of the trench, there feems to have been two hiige ftones fet up in the manner of a gate ; and parallel to thefe, on the infide, two other ftones, of a fmaller fize. The whole num ber of ftones originally compofing this ftruc- ture, is computed to be exaftly a hundred and forty. The rude magnitude of Stone-henge has rendered it the admiration of all ages ; and the ufe and origin of this work has been the fubjeft of various conjeftures. The opinion moft generally received however is, that it was a temple of the Druids, built, as Dr. Stukeley thinks, before the Belgaecame into Britain, and not long after Cambyfes invaded Egypt, where that Prince commit ted fuch horrid outrages among the priefts and inhabitants in general, that they dif perfed themfelves into' all quarters of the world, when fome of them, it is imagined, arrived in Britain. The heads, of oxen, deer, and various animals, with wood-affies, and other appa rent relics of facrifices, have been dug up in and about thefe ruins. Around them is alfo a great number of barrows, or monu mental IIO LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER mental heaps of earth thrown up in the form of a bell, and each enclofed with a trench, from a hundred arid five, to a hun dred and feventy feet in diameter. The barrows extend to a confiderable diftance, but are all fo placed, as to be feen from the fuppofed temple. In fuch bar rows as have been opened, fkeletons, or the remains of burnt bones have been found. In one of them was an urn, con taining affies, fome bones, and other fub ftances, which the funeral pile had not con fumed. Upon the whole, the moft probable con jefture is, that Stone-henge has been a temple In fome remote period ; and anti quaries muft ever regret, that a table of tin, with an Infcription, which was difco- covered here- in the reign of Henry VIII. and might probably have confirmed this opinion, ffiould not be preferved. But as the charafters were not underftood by fuch as were confulted upon the occafion, the plate was deftroyed, or at leaft thrown by and loft. Monuments of the fame kind are to be met with in many parts of England, as /Well LET. XI.] ENGLAND. 1 I I well as in Scotland and the Ifles ; parti cularly in Anglefey, which appears to have been the laft afylum of Druidical fuperfti- tion in the weft. , Of the Roman antiquities in England, the moft confpicuous are the veftiges of roads, many of which ferve as foundations to our prefent highways. The remains of Roman camps are difcernible in various parts of the country. There is one in par ticular, very little defaced, near Dorchef- ter, where likewife is a Roman amphithe atre ; but the moft amazing monument ofthe Roman power in England, is the Wall of Severus, commonly called thePift's Wall. It begins at Tinmouth, on the eaf tern coaft, and running weft ward through Northumberland and Cumberland, termi nates in the Soleway Frith, a courfe of about eighty miles in length. At firft, this prae- tenture confifted only offtakes and turf, with a ditch ; but Severus built it with ftone fdrts, and turrets at proper dlftariceS ; fo that intelligence could be fpeedily com municated along the whole of its e'xtent. It was attended from one end to the other by a deep ditch, or vallum, on the north fide. 1 1 2 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER;. fide, and on the fouth, a military highway. In fome places, the wall, the vallum, and the road, .are plainly difcernihle ; and the latter has been employed as a founda tion for a modern work of the fame kind. Other Roman antiquities In England con fift chiefly of altars, urns, and monumental infcriptions ; and many private cabinets, as well as public repofitories, contain a vaft number of Roman arms, coins., fibulas, and a variety of domeftic utenfils. The Saxon antiquities in this country are- m.oftly thofe. of ecclefiaftical. edifices, and places of ftrength. At "Winchefter is ffiewn the .celebrated Round Table of King Arthur, wi,th thenames ofhis knights. The antiquity of this relic is difputed .by feveral Writers, but if not of Britifh,, it is undoubt edly of Saxon origin. The cathedral of Winchefter was ufed. as,.,the, burying-place of feveral Saxon kings. JMany monuments of Saxon antiquity prefent themfelves ail over the kingdom, though they a,rp qften not to be diftinguiffied .from thofe ^of Nor man ereftioii ; and numerous Saxon char ters, figned by the Jiing and ,his,np.^e|, .»-.... with Let. XI.] ENGLAND. 113 with a plain crofs, inftead of their names, are to be met with in different parts. The Daniffi ereftions, which are alfp numerous, are hardly difcernible from the Saxon. The form of their camps is circu lar, and they are generally built upon emi nences, but their forts are fquare. All England abounds with monuments built under the reign of princes of Norman e?ctraftion. • Wales, the refuge of the ancient Britons, likewife difplays many anti^qulties. Seve ral of its caftles are ftupendoufly large ; and in fome, the remains pf Roman architefture are plainly difcernible. Some appear to be partly Britiffi ,and partly Roman. Among other artificial curiofities, is King Offa's Dyke, which Is faid to have been a boun dary between the Saxons and the Welch, or Britons. Charphilly Caftle in Glamor- ganffiire, is accounted the largeft in Great Britain, next to Windfor ; and the re mains of it ffiew that it has been likewife a beautiful fabric. One h;^lf of a round tower has fallen quite down, but the, other over hangs its bafis more than nine, feet, and is I . deemed 114 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLElt. - '^ * '¦ deemed as great- a ctiriofity as the leaning tower of Pila in Italy."" - " ' ' :- Among the natural curiofities in Wales, t fhall only mention the high rriountain of Penmanmawr, in Carnarvonffiire. Acrofs the edge of it the public road is fo remark-; ably fituated, that it occafions no fmall ter mor to many travellers. On one hand, the impending rock feems ready eyery minute to cruffi them to pieces ; while the vaft precipice beloW, which harigs over the feai, is fb hideous, and till very lately, wherl a wall was raifed on the fide of the road, full of danger, that^one falfe ftep would have been produftive of fatal confequence. I have referved for the conclufion of my letter an account of One of the greateft an- ti(|ulfieti in the World, arid which rio wiles depofited in the Univerfity of Oxford ; I mean fhe Parian Chronicle, otherwife called the Arundelian marbles. The Parian Chroriicle, engraved on a marble tablet of crinfiderable extent, is fiip- pofed to haVe been written 264 years be fore the Chrlll:ian aera/ In itsperfeft ftate, it -contaIfied''a chronological detail of the .... D " ¦ principal LET. xl] m- ¦ ENGLAND., ¦ t:_t,. H^ principal events of Greece, during *; period of 1318 years, begitinirtg .with Cecrops, be fore Chrift. 1582 years^ and ending with the archonffiip x>f Diognetus. But the chronicle of the laft ninety years is loft; fo that the part now remaining end& at the archonffiip of Diotimus, 354 years before the birth of Chrift ; - and in this fragmenl^ the infcriptipn is at prefent fo much cor roded and effaced, that the fenfe can only be difcovered by very ledrned and induftri-^ ous antiquaries, or, perhaps rhore properly fpeaking, fupplied by their conjeftUres; The date pf the Chronicle coincides with the twenty-firft year of the reign of Pto-t lemy Phil^delphus in Egypt> the fplendid age of the Poetarum Pie las ^ and the reign in which ehrpriologers ufually place the Seventy Interpreters* _ .This Chronicle, and mariy other I'eliCs of antiquity, were purchafed in Afia Minor^ in Greece, or in the iflands of the Archi'- pelagp, by Mr. William Petty, who in the year ]f 624 was fent by the Earl of Arundel^ for the purpofe of making fuch eolleftiPns for him , in the Eaft. They were brpught into England about the beginning of the I i yeaf Il6 * LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. year 1627, and placed iri the gardens be longing to Arundel-houfe in London. Sbon after their arrival they excited a general curiofity, and were viewed by many inqui fitive and learned: men ; among others, by Sir Robert Cotton, who went immediately to Selden, and entreated him to exert his abilities in explaining the Greek infcrip tions. Selden readily complied with his requeft ; but defired the affiftance of their common friends, Patrick Young, or, as he ftyled himfelf in Latin, Patricius Junius, and Richard James. The next morning, thefe gentlemen met in Arundel-gardens, and commenced their operations, by cleaning and examining the marble, containing the league, which the cities of, Smyrna and Magnefia entered into, in favour of Seleucus Callinicus, king of. Syria. Afterwards, they proceeded to the Parian Chronicle, and other infcrip tions. The following year Selden publlffied a fmall volume in quarto, including twenty- nine Greek, and ten Latin infcriptions, copied from the marbles; with a tranfla tion, and a commentary. ^ In LET. XI.] ENGLAND. t- - 117 In the turbulent reign of Charles I. and the fubfequent ufurpation, Arundel-houfe was often deferted by the illuftrious owners ; and in their abfence, fome ofthe marbles, which were depofited in the gardens, were defaced or broken; and others either ftolen, or Aifed for the ordinary purpofes of archi tefture. The upper part of the chronolo gical marble, cpntalnlng almoft half of the infcription,. is faid to have been worked up in repairing a chimney in Arundel-houfe : but a cppy of it has been luckily preferved by Selden. In the year 1667, the Hon. Henry, flo ward, grandfon of the firft col- leftor, on the application of John Evelyn, Efq. prefented thefe curious remains of an tiquity to the Univerfity of Oxford. LETTER 'l 1 1 LETTERS' 6f 'A TRAVELLiEk, "Mim^T^^ LETTER XII, c, /ROSSING from England the Irifh . fea, we foon reach the ffipres of that coun try, which it has becom? ufual with mahy to .4enominate the Sifter Kingdom. The climate of Ireland differs little from that of England, excepting that it is more moift, and more frequently produftive of rain. The foil in gejieral is rocky, but in many parts extremely fertile ; and requires only a greater attention to agriculture, to im prove its natural advar^tages. l^he bogs of Ireland, however, are very extenfive ; that of Allen extends no lefs thari eighty iriiles, and is cpmput:ed ^o contain three hundred thoufand acres. There are others alfo which occupy la^ge grafts; and bogs of fmaller extent are fcattered over the whole kingdpm : but it has been obferved, that there are in general riot more than are wanted LET. XU.] IRELANDt , J r^ wanted for peats and turfs, the common fuel of the countiy, where wood and coail are fcarce. Many theories have been invented to account for thefe phenomena in the natu ral hiftory of this country. It is obfervable that in thefe bogs, various roots of trees, fome pf them of a great fize, are generally .found, and ufually at the bottom ; the common Jrinds being oak, fir, arid yew. The roots of thefe trees are faft in the earth. Some of the trees feem to be broken off, pthei-g^ have the appearance of being cut ; but more of them bear the marks of fire. Under fome bogs, of' confiderable depth, are yet to be feen the furrows of land once ploughed. The black bog is a Jfolid weighty mafs, which cuts almoft like butter, and upon examination, appears to refemble rotten wood. Under the red bdgs is always a ftratum, npt quite fo folid as the former fpecies, but makes as good fuel. ,Bpth kinds of bog. are covered with a fpongy ¦vegetable mofs, which is thicker on the_ furface of the black. The fponta neous growth is moft commonly heath, with fpme bpg-myrtle, riifhes, and a little Te^gy I20 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. fedgy grafs. ' The depth of the bogs is va rious, many of them having been fathomed to that of fifty feet, and fome are faid to be 3^et deeper. '' They differ extremely frorri the bogs in Englandin the inequality of the Turface ; the Iriffi being rarely 'le vel, but rifing into hills. '•' Ireland rears Vaft numbers of blaek cat tle and ffieep ; and the prodigious quantities . of' butter and fait provifions, exported to all parts of the world, afford the ftrorigeft proof of the natural fertility of the'^ Iriffi foil. In forne of the northern parts of the kingdom, hemp and flax are greatly culti vated ; from the latter of which- the country has, for many years, been farrious fof the linen manufafture. - - A notion has been induftrioufly propa gated, that Ireland is entirely exempted from noxious animals ; but this opinion feems not to be founded upon any juft ob- fefvatlon of her naturalhiftory, which ^fo far as my enquiries have reached, is fimilar to that of the neighbouring countries?. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, ¦ ftands about feven miles from the fea, at the bot tom of a fpacious bay, .to which it gives name LET. XlK] lUEIiAl^D. 121 name, upon the river LIffey, which divides it almoft int^ " t"Wo 'equal parts. In point of riiagnitude, and -the • number of inha bitants, it may "be regarded as the fecond city "^ in hih Majefty's dominioris. The en- creafe of it within the laft" thirty years is incredible. Over the LIffey are tWo hand fome bridges, lately built, of ftone, in im itation of that of Weftmlfter ; befides three others of an inferior kind. There has likewife been erefted a new exchange, which is an elegant ftruftmre of white ftone, richly embelliffied with pilafters of the Corinthian order, a cupola and other ornaments. " The parliament houfe, which was com pleted about fixty years ago, at the expence of forty -thou fand pounds, is a fuperb ftrufture, of the Ionic order. The portico, in particular, ismuch admired; and the manner in which the building is lighted, difcoVers ' great ' ingenuity in architefture. But one of themoft laudable and public fpirlted undertakings that diftingulffi the prefent age, is the building a ftone wall, about tne breadth of a moderate ftreet, of a prdpoftioriable' height, and three miles in length ..tS.% LETTERSlOr^ «IAVELLK1V -: .. . rlength, :ta confine the channel .lof the bay^ and to ffielter veffels in^ftormy weather. _ . . In fpeaking of the public ¦ buildings -of ;this kingdom, one's attention is excited by the numerous barracks where thp foldiera are lodged. This meafure has,, by fome, been confidered as unfavorable . to. liberty ; but it contributes equally, tp the eafe and convenlency of 'the inhabitants, ^ which. are circumftances effentially iconnefted l with the enjoyment of pubhc freedom. It muil Tikewlfc, be admitted, that the refraftory :dlfpofitibu of the lower claffes of the Iriffi in many parts, .renders expedient fuch means as are calculated for the jpeedy fup- .preffion of any tumults which, may. arife. The great fource of political calamity in .Ireland is the ignorance of thC; people, the bulk of whom are urider the influence of Romiffi priefts, who inftil into theif: minds the moft pernicious prejudices, both civil -and religious. But it is to be hoped that this evil will abate with the growing prof perity of the country. \xi the interior parts of the kingdom „fpriie . pf the pld uncouth cuftoms ftill prevail, par- ^ipvdarly their funeral howlirigs \ h^it., the fame ' LET. XIl4'-:-" ¦ lEEL^AJSED. ' HS^ v-feme Temainsi of barbarifm may- be traced infome countries on the Continent. Their diforderly meetings on Sunday afternooi;, with dancing to the bag-pipe, and the '^b*awlings in which they commonly ter- .jninate, are offenfive to every ftranger. My firft vifit to Dublin happened on a Sunday evening ; and though I had, from previous information, in fome degree an ticipated the fcene, I really was ftruck with equal aftonlffiment and difguft. The ex tremely tattered, or naked coridition -of the lower people, the barbarous fiercenefs of their manner, the jargon, the oaths which they uttered, the favage tone of their ex clamations, ^.nd the general inebriety which feemed to prevail, afforded altogether fuch "a piftufe of wretchednefs an4 prpfligacy as I had never before, feen realized in any Country* The celebrated Pean of St, Pa trick's hasj you kpow, been charged with mJfanthropy : whethpr juftly or not I leave to others- to determiii^e ; but it muft be pwned, that thefe odious examples of hu man nature in ^ ftate of barbarifn^, of which he jvas daily an eye witnefs, afford '-'^ ftrong apology for prejudices the mdft unfavorable 124 LETTERS OF AITRAVELLER. unfavorable to the fpecies. But let. me at the fame time obferve, that to counter balance fuch prejudices, he enjoyed the friendffiip of men who were ornaments of the age in Which they lived. He might 'tranfport himfelf In-imag'ination toTwick- 'enham, or ; Batterfea,' and partake with Pope and Bolingbrpke a flow of fentiments "c'dngenial with his own. ^^ '-". '- In various parts of Ireland we meet with 'caverns, romaritic profpefts, catarafts, and Other pleafing and uncommon natural ob- ' jefts. Of artificial rarities, the chief a*e 'the round Pharos, or ftone towers, on dif ferent parts of the coafts. They are fup pofed to haVe been erefted by the Danes and Norwegians in their piratical incurfions, to ferve them as light-houfes or beacons. The greateft natural curiofity in Ireland "is th6 Giant's Caufeway, in the county of Antrim, about eight miles from Colerain. -It is compofed of pillars all of angular ffiapes, from three fides to eight. Each pillar con fifts of feveral joints or ftones, lying one upon another, from fix inches to about one foot in thicknefs. ' The pillars are from one to two feet in diameter, and»generally confift LET. XII.] ¦: IRELAND. 12$ Cbrifift of about forty joints. From the Cliff where it begins,, it extends upwards ef four hundred feet, till it is loft in the Sea. 1 The cuffs themfelves exhibit likewife an extraordinary appearance. From the bot tom, which is of black ftone, to the height of about fixty feet, they are divided at equal diftances by ftripes of a reddiffi ftone, about four inches iri thicknefs, refembling a ce ment. Over this lies another ftratum of the fame black ftone, with a ftratum of the red" five inches thick. Then follows a ftratum of the red ftone" twenty feet deep, over which is a ftraturn of upright pillars. Above this lies another ftratum of black ftones twenty feet high ; above this again another ftratum of upright pillars, rifing in fome places to the tops of the Cliffs, in others not fo high ; and in others again above it, where they are called the Chimnies. The face of ^ thefe Cliffs extends about three Engliffi miles. A difference of opinion has prevailed with refpeft to this extraordinary pheno menon, fome imagining it to be really the work of human art, and others conjefturing with t±6 LETTERS 6V A T%AVEtLE^* "'^ "' '^ ^ With' greater probability,'th4t it is the effe<5!; of natural operation. When we confidei'^ every clrcumftance relative to this produC--- tion, fuch as its total inaptitude to any ufe-- ful purpofe, and the analogy which it bears to other objefts of a fimilar kind, which have never been regarded as faftitious, we- cannot hefitate a moment to join in opinion with thofe who afcribe it entirely to natural caufes ; and this feems to be fully con firmed ty the appearance of the Cliffs. ' <-> It reflefts honor on the memory of Queen Elizabeth, that ffie founded a univerfity at Dublin, before which time- the advance ment of learning in Ireland' muft have been' greatly obftrufted. This feminary confifls- now of two Iquares, and is named Trinity-*- College. Three fides of one of the fquarea •are of brick, and the fourth is a fuperb li brary ; but being built of bad ftone, it is unfortunately mouldering away. '»The in fide is commodious, and embelliffied with bufts of feveral ancient and modern wor^- thles. The New Square, three fides . of which have been built more than thirty- years by parliamentary bounty, and thenee^ called Parliament- Square, is of hewn flone;; ... •''¦s^' , . having LET. XIl]t ¦^^ .¦• .- ^ IRELAND. ; r^ ?t%-j: , tl"; having the front of it towards the City of Dublin ornamented with pilafters, feftoons, and other' architeftural decorations. ..,^urfn ¦Learning feems to have been cultivated in Ireland at an early period ; though we cannot admit the hyperbolical affertion of One of her hiftoriansj that the Iriffi ap- ' pear to have been, from the moft remote antiquity, a poliffied people ; and that with propriety they may be- called the " Fathers of Letters." We are even told, by the fame authority, that Egypt received arts and , letters from Niulus the Phaenician, who is reprefented as the great anceftor of the Irifh nation. But this is repugnant both to analogy arid the moft credible hiftorical documents. Little doubt can bc entertained that Ireland was firft peopled from Great-Britain. • According to the rrioft general account, St. Patrick, the titu lar Saint of Ireland, was a Scotfman ; and no literary monuments have yet been dif-* covered in. Ireland previous to the intro" duftion of the Chriftian religion by him in the fourth century. The evidence, there-* fore, of all tranfaftions preceding that period, refb entirely on the credit of Iriffi ; bards-. 128 LETTERS OP A THAVELLES* bards, upon whofe authority, in matters "of faft, it would be very abfurd to rely. In modern times, however, the Iriffi have undoubtedly diftinguiffied themfelves in the republic of letters. Archbiffiop Uffier ftands high in the lift of literary fame. Dean Swift, whp will ever be re nowned in the walk of humour and fatire, was alfo a native of this country ; to which are likewife to be afcribed the refpeftable names of Farquhar, Sir Richard Steele, Biffiop Berkley, Parnel, Sterne, and Goldfmitbc LETTER feET. XIII.] FRANCE, lip LETTER XIII. r r ¦¦¦ -' ^ ETljRisriNG to thecdntinent, 1 fhall take my rdute by France^ as the neareft iri fituation to England. But,' Good God ! — how much is it changed fince firft I vifited that country ! I then beheld it a great and united nation, warm ih its attachment to the kingi and fiouriffiing iri the bleffings of commerce. No more now a kingdom, it has torii up monarchy by the roots, and carried to fuch a length its deteftation of the ancient gpvernrhent^ as to raze even the niiriuteft memorial of regal power frorri the annals of the nation. Not content With the extinftion of the crown, and even of the life of the foverdlgn, the peo ple, in the frenzy of revolution^ have pro ceeded to the iriipietyj unparalleled in mo dern times, of attempting to abolifti the ¦\v©rffiip> and I know not whether I may K nst 130 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER.^ . not add, to deny the exiftence of God him felf! Through what a deluge of blood have they waded, to eftabllffi a fpecies of temporary government, neither fuited to the extent of the ftate, nor to their own inherent difpofitions J But I am weary of the profpeft. Let us turn, our attention from the people, towards the country itfelf, which forms an extraordinary contraft. France, from its great extent, compre hends a variety of climates; but though the air is more clear and fettled than in England, it is not, upon the whole, efpeclally in the interior parts, more falubrious than that of our own country. In the fouthern pro vinces, the fummers are fometimes immo derately hot,, and In the northern, the winters are more intenfely cold than with us ; the inhabitants, at the fame time, being not fo well fupplied with firing, which In France is chiefly of wood. The country, however, is happy In an excellent foil, and the animal and vegetable produc tions, are found in great plenty. The country Is watered by the Loire, ihe Rhone, the Garonne, the Seine, aijd other confiderable rivers ; thp advantages of LET. XIII.] PRANCE. 13! of which, in point of commerce, are won derfully improved by the artificial rivers and canals, which form the chief glory of the reign of Lewis XIV= That of Lan- guedoc was intended for a cdmmunicatlon between the Ocean and the Mediterranean, for the fpeedier paffage of the French fleet, but though carried dn at an immenfe ex- pence, for a hundred miles, over hills and vallies, and even through a mountain in one place, it has not anfwered that purpofe* By the canal of Calais, travellers eafily pafs thence by Water, to St. Omer, Grave- line, Dunkirk, and other places. The ca nal of Orleans is another noble work, and runs a courfe of eighteen leagues, to the immenfe benefit of the adjacent parts of the countrys Befides thefe, there are other canals, which render the inland navigation of France extremely commodiouSi The reign of Francis I. was aufpicious to the literature of the country ; arid many learned men then diftinguiffied themfelves by their writings : among whom was the celebrated Rabelais. But Lewis XJV* may be confidered as tl^e Auguftus, of France. The proteftiori he gave to letters^ and the K 2 penfipns j_32 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. perifions he beftowed on learned men, hoth at home and abroajd, which did not how ever amount to above twelve thoufand pounds per annum, have gained him more glory than all the military enterprizeSy upon which he expended fo inany millidns. Then arofe among others, the famous tragic poets, Racine and Cornellle; the formeif diftinguiffied for fkill in moviiig the paf fions, and the latter for peculiar elevation' of fentlment and language. The facetious Moliere ffione confpieuous in comedy j and in works of fatire and criticifm Bdileau dif played claffical abilities. As a hifk>riarf i)e Thou is entitled to high praife. The Writings of Pafcal place him ainongft the moft eminent bcnefaftors to religion y and the works of the amiable Archbiffiop of Cambray breathe alike the diftates of mo-- Y'als and the genius of poetry. M"ontef(|uieu, as a political phllofopher ; may be faid. to be unequalled. I- fay nothing of D'Argensy Voltaire, and others whp- have written mif^* cellaneous produftions. Their works are comparatively recent and generally known. It has been remarked that fculpture is iil general better underftood in Frarice than 1" i^ tET. XIII.] FRANCE. 1 33 in moft countries of Europe. Their trea- tifcs pn ffiip-building, and engineering ftand unrivalled in didaftic obfervation; but happily, in praftice they are both out done, by our own country. Few countries, if we except Italy, dif- piay more valuable remains of antiquity than France, i^ome of the French anti quities belong to the time of the Celts, and confequently, compared to them, thofe of Rome are modern. At Rheims, and in other parts, are to be feen triumphal arches; hut the moft entire is at Orange, erefted on account of the viftory obtained over th© Cimbri and Teutones, by Caius Marius and Luftatius Catulus. After Gaul was re duced to a Roman province, the Romans induftrioufly adorned it with magnificent edifices, both civil and facred; fome of which are more entire than any to be met with in Italy itfelf. The ruins of an am phitheatre are to be found in Chalons, and likewife at Vienne, Nifmes however, exhibits the moft valuable remains of ancient architec ture of any place in France. The famous PonI du Garde was raifed in the ^ 3 Aguftaa ^34 LETTERS dF A TfiAVELLER Auguftan age by the Roman colony pf Nifmes, td convey a ftream of water "be tween the two mountains,' for the ufe of that city, and Is at this day as entire as any modern building. It cOftfifts of three bridges, ori tiers of arches one above an other.'' The height is ^a' hundred and' fe- venty-four feet, and the -length" extends to feven huridr-ed and twenty- three. Many other ruins df antiquity are found at Nif- rries' ;''but the chief are, the Temple df Di ana-, the'veftiges of which are ftill -rerrialn- irig ; "^the Amphitheatre, which is thought td be the' fineft and moft entire ofthe kind •of ariyin Europe ; but, above all, the houfe erefted by the erriperor Adrian, called the Malfon'- Carree. The architefture and Sculpture-" -'of -this building are exquifitely beautiful, and, what is extraordinary, are very little affefted by the ravages' of time. At Paris;' in La Rue-de la Harpe,' may be fee?i the remains' of a pala-cfe, or'thermse, fuppofed to have been built by Julian,' fur- named'^the 'Apoftate, about the year -356, after the- faine models' as-the baths of DIon elefian. -The remains- of this ancient edi-? fice donfift of many -arches, and within them S^ large faloon. It is fabricated of a kind Let. xiii.] France. 135 kind of maftic, the compofition of which is now unknown, intermixed with fmall fquare pieces of free-ftone and bricks. At Aries, in Provence, is to be feen an obellfk of Oriental granite, fifty-two feet high, and feven feet diameter at the bafe, but all of one ftone. Roman temples are frequent in France. The moft remarkable are in Burgundy and Guienne. The paf fage cut through the middle of the rock near Briancon in Dauphiny, is thought to be a Roman work, if not of greater anti quity ; and the round buckler of maffy fil ver, relative to Sclpio, taken out of the Rhone in 1665, is Imagined to be coeval with that great general. It Is twenty inches in diameter, weighs twenty-one pounds, and contains the celebrated anec-^ dote relative to Sciplo's continence. It would be endlefs to recount the dif ferent monuments of antiquity to be found in France, particularly in the cabinets of the curious ; and the colleftion muft be greatly encreafed by the depredations which the French have lately committed among the moft celebrated of the portable antiqui ties at Rome. It is, however, the pride of conqueft, more than any tafte for the arts, that 136 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEJS. that' has e-xcited them to this outrage on the prefcrlptiye rights of that capital ; and fliould.thofe elegant fpecimens of Roman genius efcape the peculation of their new poffeffprs, they will, in addition to their former purpofe, remain tp future ages, iT^onuments of the violence and rapine which aftuated the revolutipnary banditti of France. It may perhaps be imagined, by the poll-? tical enthufiaftg of that country, that the celebrated rarities of ancient Rome will transfer, like a palladium, to the new re public, the feat of fovereign empire in the weft ; pr, if their ambition cannot be gra tified with fo flattering a diftinftlon, that they will at leaft attraft to Paris the curious of pther nations, by the inagnet of Roman antiquity. In the latter pf thefe notions, their expeftation indeed may be fulfilled ; and a democratical conftitution of citizens. will doubtlefs require fome adventitious !at- traftiori, to cpmpenfate the luftre of which the nation has been deprived by the defo- latlng hand of equality. Paris, with all its advantages, will not he^ a cpmparifon with London, in the more LET. xiii.] France. * -r-rr ' 137 more effentlal circumftances of public prof perity and comfort. By thefe I mean a thriving foreign and domeftic trade, the cleannefs of the ftreets, the elegance ofthe houfes, efpecially within, the plenty of wa ter, and that of a better quality than the Seine. The Parifians, however; as well as the natives of France in general, are tem perate in drinking ; but whether from any regard to fobriety, as a virtue, or from a natural propenfity to more fantaftic mod^s pf diffipation, I ffiall not take upon me to determine. Happy were it for them, had they been as little difpofed to intoxication from the Daemon of civil'rage, as they are from the exceffes of Bacchus. Though Paris and Verfailles be no new objefts to you, I cannot conclude my letter without giving fome account of them. Paris is ufually divided into three parts ; the largeft of which, called the Town, ftahds on the north fide of the river Seine ; the City, which is the moft ancient part, confifts of three fmall iflands in the middle of the river ; and the other part, or the Univerfity, is feated on the fouth fide of the P^eine, having in it feveral Uttle hills. The whole 138 ILETTERS OF A TRAVELLER-. whole town is of a circular form, and about eio-hteen miles in circumference ; but tho', o according to this computation it occupies more ground than London, it is not near fo populous, the inhabitants of Paris not amounting to more than feven hundred thoufand, whereas thofe of the. former are ftippofed to exceed this number, in the pro-^ portion of almoft a third part. ¦ The houfes of Paris are built of white hewn ftone, five, fix, or feven ftories high ; and there are a great many palaces, with beautifurgardens, which formerly beldnged to the nobility ; but being ffiut up frorii the ftreets by high dead walls, they rather in creafe the bulk, than add to the embelllffi- ments of the city. The ftreets are gene rally narrow : till within thefe few years there was no -where any pavement for foot paffengers ; and they were illuminated by lamps fufpended on ropes placed acrofs. About twelve miles fduth-weft of Paris ftands Verfailles, fituated on an eminence in the midft of a fine fporting country, and encompaffed with' hills. It confifted ori ginally of a Caftle built by Lewis Xlllth, as a hunting feat, which was afterwards converted LET. XIU.] '^*'^'* FRANCil. " "^ J39 converted into a magnificent palace, by Lewis XIV. who alfo annexed to it a hand fome town. The avenue leading to the palace divides the town into two parts ; one of which is called Old Verfailles, the other the New Town. On the fide towards Pa ris this avenue forms^ three vlftos, that iit the middle being- ftxty feet wide, and the Others thirty feet each, all planted with elms. The great court of the palace is four hundred and eighty feet long, with a large pavilion at each corner. It is enclofed with an iron baluftrade and two large buildings that form the wings on each fide, which have balconies fupported by columns, and adorned with fine ftatues. Thefe wings with the pavilions, ferve for offices, and have behind them others for the fame purpofe. From this court is an afcent of three marble fteps, into a large landing place, and thence by five more into a little court paved with black and white marble ; in the middle of which is a marble fountain and bafon, with ftatues of copper, gilt. The front and wings are of brick and free-ftone, adorned with marble bufts and .brackets ; ^nd before this front is a balcony, fupported by I40 LETTERS, OF A TRAVELLER, by eight marble columns of the Doricprder, with red and white fpots like jafper, and their bafes and capitals of white marble. In the two angles of the wings in the front, are hanging pedeftals, which fupport two cldfets, encompaffed with gilt iron cafes ; and underneath are two bafons of white marble in the form of ffiells, where young Tritons fpout water. The middle building has three gilt iron doors in the porch, with apartments on the right and left. On quitting the great court, thrpugh an open porch, we afcend by a ftair-cafe eighty pne feet long, and thirty broad. From the porch an entrance leads to two painted halls. The cielirig of one of them is fup ported. by eight marble columns ofthe Doric ordef, with red and white veins. The ca pitals and bafes are of a greeniffi colour, and the columns, of which there are four on each fide, divide the haU into three parts, On the fides oppofite to each co lumn, are pilafters that fupport a cornice under a platform ; and fronting th? win dows are nicbps with ftatues. The other hall is fupported by twelve columns of. the Ipnic order, which have beliin4 t£T. XIH.] FRANCE. '' 14! behind them marble pilafters, with red, black, purple, and yellow veins, their ca pitals and bafes being of white marble. From this we enter a third hall of the fame dimenfions, J:he cieling of which is an oc tagon, with twelve double pedeftals of fine marble, on which are placed emblematical figures of the twelve months, in gilt cop per. All the parts not hung with tapeftry are lined with marble. The royal apartments are extreriiely magnificent, and richly ornamented with fculptures and paintings. Their furniture, even to the bedfteads, baluftrades; and rails, Confift chiefly of maffy plate. Such was the palace of Verfailles in the days of regal fplendor ; but in what con-' dition it is at prefent, or to what ufe ap propriated, I know not. It-was faid, fome time ago, that, owing to the defolated ftate of the place, the valuable tapeftry wag greatly injured by rats. The maffy plate^ without doubt, has become the prey of the rapacious revolutlonifts ; who we may be affured, have indulged themfelves in efery democratical outrage, againft a fabriq which had long been the favorite habitation of royalty, CHAR 143 LETTERS OF AT&AVELLER^ LETTER Xiv* QUITTING the ancient limits of France, we ftep immediately into a coun try where we find the revolutionary fyfterri operating with all its concomitant train of violence and diforder. Here the Emperor is relinquiffiing his hereditary dominions i there the Stadtholder is abdicating an efta bllffied government. On one hand, we behold ten extenfive provinces, which had been confirmed to the houfe of Auftria by a long fucceffion of ages ; on the other, a whole confederated heptarchy, which has withftood the affaults of the ocean, by the ftrength of its dykes ; all giving Way to the irrefiftlble inundation of French principles and politics. On the waving of the three-;' colourd flag, as by the magical wand of Circe, fee Infatuated provinces dance to the frantig: tET. XIV.] NETHERLANDS;. I45 frantic found of Ca., ira ; while with a fa tality, to which nothing but popular • de* lufion could be blind, wherever the tree of liberty is planted, that inftant, flavery takes place. We thenceforth behold thofe people nothing more than the mifera ble vaffals of ufurpation ; bereaved of their Independence, defpoiled of their pro perty, and reduced to maintain a ffiadow of political exiftence, at the mercy of the ci tizens of France. Thefe are the precious fruits that enfue from the hug of fraternity! from the deceitful embraces of men wh6 have laboured to eftabllffi their own power by a ferles of enormous crimes ; who have induftrioufly rent afunder the facred bands of civil fociety, and impioufly trampled on all laws both divine and human. The feventeen provinces have obtained the general name of the Netherlands, , or Low Countries, from their fituation in ref peft of Germany. The northern contains the feven United Provinces, ufually known by the name of Holland ; and the fouthern, thofe which were hitherto the Auftrian, iand French Netherlands. . . . -u. The 144 LETfERS OF A TkAVELLEft* The fprmer of thefe Countries is only i narrow flip of low fwampy land, lying be tween the mpuths of feveral great rivers, and what the inddftry ofthe inhabitants has gained from the fea by irieans of dykesj which have been raifed, and are ftill fup ported, with incredible labour arid expence. On account of this fituation, the air df the United Provinces is foggy and grofs, until it is purified by the froft in winter ; when the eaft wind ufually fets. in for four months, and their harbours are frozen up. The foil is unfavorable to vegetation,^ butj by the induftry of the inhabitants in ma king canals, it is rendered fit fPr pafture, and in many places eVeri for tillage^ The whole face of the country, when viewed from a tPWer Pr fteeple, ( for there is no natural eminence, ) has the appearance of a cofttlnued marffi or bog, drained, at cer tain dIftariPes, by innumerable ditches ; and many of the canals which in that country ferve as high roads, are in the fummef months no better than dffenfive ftagnated Waters. I The chief rivers are the Rhine,- the Maefe, tbe Scheld, and the Veeht. There are tET. J£IV.] NETHERLANDS.' i4j are .few good harbours in the United Pro vinces. The beft are thofe of Rotterdam, Helvoetfluys, and Fluffilng : for that of Amfterdam, though one of the largeft and fafeft'in Europe, has a bar at the entrance of it, over which large veffels cannot pafs , without being lightened. But with all the natural difadvantages of the Seven United Provinces, they are perhaps the beft peopled of any fpot of the fame extent in the world. Though the inhabitants are in general of a phlegmatic temperament, Holland has the honor of producing many men diftinguiffied for their genius and learning,' At the bead of thefe. ftand Erafmus and Grotlus ; and in medicine, the celebrated Boerhaa-^e.^- Haerlemi difputes with the Germans the invention of printing ; and the moft elegant editions of the claffics have come from the preffes in this country. • The greateft curiofities iri fhe Unlteci Provinces, abftrafted from thofe in the mu- feums, are the prodigious dykes, conftrufted by the Dutch to guard their country againft inundation, from which it forniierly fuffered L much. 146 LETTERS OF A TSAVELtfifi. much. Some of thefe are ftupendous moles, and hardly to be equalled. Amfterdam, the capital of Holland, is thought to be, next to London, the moft commercial city in the world. Its corive- nieney for trade, arid the grandeur of its public works, are almoft beyond defcription. It labours, however, under two great difad-* vantages; namely, thofe of bad air, and the want of freffi wholefome water, which obliges the inhabitants to preferve the rain water in refervoifS. Rotterdam is next to the preceding iri refpeft of commerce and wealth ; but con tains not of inhabitants above a fourth part of the number. Leyden and Utrecht are both cities, and celebrated for their univer fities. The feat of government in Holland, was formerly at the Hague, which, though but a village, is diftinguiffied by the mag nificence and beauty of its buildings, and during the time of the Stadtholderian con- fiitution, was regarded as the emporium of politics. So great is the induftry of the Dutch, there is fcarcely a manufafture ;which they d© IeT. xiv.] ¦'*"•'' NETHE^LANlfs. i4;^ dd ndt carry ori, or a ftate in the world to which their traffic does not extend : I fpeak of the peri-bd before the commencerhent of the prefent war. In this they .are favored by the populoufnefs of their Country, the cheapnefs of their labour j and above all,' the water carriage, which, by rtieans df their carials, gives them advantages beyond all other nations. It is doubted, however, whether the riches and luxury of Indivi- dvials have ndt damped the general Indiiftry of the inhabitants ; for there is reafon td think that their cornmerce, navigation, rha- nufafttireS, arid fiffieries have not been for feveral years in fo flouiiffiing a ftate as they were in the beginning of the prefent century; The fouthern Netherlands are a beautiful traft of country, as well as remarkable, in many parts, for the ridhnefs df the foil; Flanders alone has been reckoned the gra nary of France, Germany, and forrietiriaes likewife of bur own country. The fociety of Jefuits fdriheriy produced the trioft learned men iri the Auftrian Ldw Coun-^ tries, in which they had inany comfortable / fettlementSi Their works related chiefly L2 to 148 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, to theology, and the civil and canon lawj but among their publications, were likewife latin poems, and plays. Sfrada is diftin guiffied for the elegance of his compofitlons, both as a poet and hiftorian. The Flemiffi painters and fculptdrs have likewife great merit, and form a fchool by' themfelves,. The works of Rubens and Vandyke are ce lebrated whereyer painting is known. Some Roman monuments of temples and other buildings are to be found in thefe provinces ; but the fcenes moft interefting, to a Britiffi traveller are thofe where the valour of our anceftors ffione forth with unparalleled luftre, in the reign of Queen Anne. I formerly furveyed thofe memo rable fields with a degree of enthufiafm ; but were I again to vifit that country, it is probable that the fentiments of triumph would be mixed v/ith refleftlorirS of a dif ferent nature. I ffiould be filled with re gret, to behold that all the blood which had been fpllt, and all tbe wonderful exertion s- of courage and conduft, which were dif played, could not perpetuate the obje.ft- of our glorious eferts even to the end of the cientury. . We ought not, however, fronv contingent LET. XIV.] JsTETHERLATSTDS. 1 49 contingent events, to condemn the policy which aftuated the Britiffi nation at that period. Let modern patriots affeft to ri dicule the balance of power as a chimerical idea; but thofe who eftimate more juftly the interefts of nations., will admit that the aggrandizement of any one power beyond a degree compatible with the Interefts of others, muft ever prove highly dangerous to the general fafety. Since the days of Charlemagne,* the truth of this propofition was never more evident than at prefent. ^ — View France, which was formerly confined towards the north, within her provinces of Luxemburg, Hainault, Cambrefis, Artois, and her diftrift of Flanders, extending her dominion over the whole of the Nether lands, and on the eaft, not only to the banks of the Rhine, but within the empire of Germany; and fay, whether- fuch an ex tenfive ufurpation is confiftent with the general interefts of Europe, or even with the interefts of any individual power, ma ritime or not maritime. The profecution of this fubjeft might perhaps excite in a real patriot fome unfa vorable apprehenfions ; but to preclude all L 3 fuch I ^p LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, fuch,- let us indulge ourfelves in the animae ting refieftion, that on the coaft of thi? fame country of which I am writing, the Britiffi fleet, under the command of Adr miral, now Lord, Duncan, obtained, on thp eleventh of Oftober, 1797, the moft deci- five and glorious naval viftory, of which there exiflis an account in the annals of any i-iation. Haying juft now had occafion, to mention the fortuitous fucceflion of events in hu man affairs, I cannot forbear from reciting to you an anecdote of tlie fame kind, which the name of Lord Duncan has fuggefted tp my remembrance. To the medical fkill of the Uncle of this great Admiral? the Hon. Charles Fox is indebted for hi? life. When an Ififant, I believe, of about two years old, he was attacked wl|:h thp meafles, and no hopes were entertained of his recovery. A lady, who vifited in the: family, told his mpther. Lady Carpline Fox, -that ffie bad knowri much benefit received from the advice of Dr. Duncan, and exr preffed a defire that he ffiould be called. The propofal was immediately acceded to, aiid Dr. Duncan was requefted to attend a confultation LET. XIV.] NETHERLANDS. 151 confultation of the ordinary phyficians at an hour which was fixed. Amongft them was the celebrated Dr. Mead, with two or three others. They all of them looked with a jealous eye on their new affociate ; and having before prefcrlbed, without any good effeft, every thing which they thought moft likely to remove the complaint, they with a fupercilious air defired Dr. Duncan, if he could think of ariy thing elfe, to men tion it. He told them, that in his opinion, there was only one thing neceffary, and he doubted not but as foon as it was ufed, they ffiould find the child to be much better. — ¦ On being defired to prefctibe it, he ordered blood-letting in a proper quantity ; which being performed, the infant patient quickly recovered, and his life was protrafted to be come a celebrated man. This anecdote! had from Sir William Duncan himfelf. Much as the power of France muft be encreafed, by the acquifition of the Auftrian Netherlands, and the fubjeftion of the Dutch ; much likewife as the general inde pendence of Europe has been affefted by the defertion of our allies, let Great Britain and Ireland only remain true to themfelves, and 1^2 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, and with the bleffing of God upon our arms, we ffiall be able to fruftrate all the efforts of our Implacable enemy againft us. While the known valour of our country bids de fiance to their menaces, and the vigilance of adminiftration continues to guard us from the danger of improvident fecurity, we may reafonably hope ftill to preferve our'national independence, and to compen fate the preponderancy of power on the Continent, by afferting the empire of the ocean. To take my farewel of the Nptherlands ; were I to pafs the remainder of my life abroad, there is no fpot I ffiould fooner chufe for my refidence than fome part of the fouthern Provinces ; and almoft none which I ffiould more diflike than any part of the northern. LETTER LET. XV.] GERMANY. ' 1 53 LETTER XV. I N performing our next excurfion, we have to *pafs the Rhine, that noble river which rifes in the country of the Grifons, in Switzerland, and running northward, and towards the weft, difcharges itfelf by different fchannels Into the German fea. No bridge, however, conftrufted like that of Caefar, is neceffary to tranfport us into the German empire. This extenfive traft of country is now divided into nine circles ; three of which are in the north, three in the middle, and three in the fouth. In the whole, it com prehends about three hundred princes, each of whom is arbitrary with regard to the go vernment of his own eftates ; but they all form a great confederacy, governed by po litical laws, at the head of which is the Emperor.' 154 LETTER? OF A TRAVELLER. Emperor. It is doubtlefs the moft extraor dinary affemblage of independent potentates ever exhibited to the world ; and it was only by fuch a confederacy that fo great a number of princes, differing extremely from each other In the extent of their ter ritories, could ever be fo long preferved from becoming the prey of thofe who were the moft powerful amongft them. The fupreme power in Germany is the Diet, which is compofed of the Emperor, or, in his abfence, of his commiffary, and of the three colleges of the empire. ' The firft of thefe is the Elcftoral College ; the fecond the College of Princes ; and the third, that of Imperial Towns. In this colleftlve body, the power of the Emperor is only executive ; but even this gives him extra- prdlnary influence. Under the race of Charlemagne the em pire was hereditary, but afterwards became elefti%'e ; at which time all the princes, no bility, and deputies of cities enjoyed the privilege of voting ; but in the twelfth century, under the reign of Henry V. who was a weak and wicked prince, the chief officers pf the empire altered tl:|e mode of eleftlon LET. XV.] GERMANY. 1 55 eleftion in their bwn favor. A few years after, the number of eleftors was reduced to feven ; fincp which period, two others jhave been added to that body. The power of the Emperor is regulated by the capitulation which he figns at his eleftion ; and the perfon who in his life time is chpfen King of the Romans, fuc- ceeds to the vacancy of the empire without a new eleftion. T^he Emperor can confer titles, and enfranchifements upon cities and towns ; but he can levy no taxes, nor make war pr peace, without the confent of the Diet. When that confent is obtained, every prince mull contribute his quota of men an,d money, as valued in the matricu lation roll, though, perhaps, as an indivi dual, he may efppufe a different fide from that of the diet. Of this there happened a curious inftance withiri our own memory. George II. of Great-Britain, as Eleftor of JIanover, was obliged to furniffi his quota againfl the houfe of Auftria, and alfo againft the King of Pruffia, while he was fighting for them both. The Emperor, as the head of fp great a jDonfederacy, claims a precedency for his ambaffadors 156 letter! OF A TRAVELLER. ' ambaffadors in all foreign courts. His an nual income, however, as Emperor, does not exceed fix thoufand pounds fterling, and arifes from fome inconfiderable fiefs-In the Black Foreft. The dignity of the em pire has for fome centuries been conferred on the houfe of Auftria, as being the moft powerful of the Gerrria'n princes ; but of late years the aggrandizement of the King of Pruffia feems to prognofticate a rivalffiip between thofe princes Iri a future period ; and, what may prove yet more fatal to the Empire, an Infringement of its ancient conliitutlon. The fymptoms of the latter of thefe events are already fo threatening, that they cannot fail to excite apprehenfi ons for the future tranquillity ofthe empire. Some of the German princes have much larg-er revenues than others ; but it is im- pofhble to fpeak with any precifion on the fubjeft. 'i he Auftrian revenues, however, before the prefent war, "were thought to amount to feven millions- fterling in Ger many and Italy ; ' and it is probable, that by the revolutionary partition, lately con cluded, they will be confiderably Increafed. This is fuch a fum as goes far In Germany-. To Let. XV.] GERMANY. 157 To behold the magnificence of many of the German courts, a ftranger is-apt to conceive very high ideas of the incomes of their princes. ; which is owing to the high value of money In that country, and confequently of the low price of provifions and manu faftures. It is unfortunate for the empire, that the petty princes affeft the fplendor of the more powerful In all their domeftic arrangements ; to fupport which pomp and parade, many of them opprefs their fubjefts to an extreme degree. In fome parts the burghers of Germany enjoy great privileges. In Franconia, Swabia, and on the Rhine, the peafants likewife are gene rally a, free people, or perform only cer tain fervices to their fuperiors, and pay the taxes ; but in the marqulfate of Branden- burgh, Pomerania, Lufatia, Moravia, Bo-- hemia, Auftria, &c. they may juftly be de nominated flaves, though m different de-* grees. The climate of Germany, as in all large trafts of country, differs greatly, not only on account of fituation, but according to the improvements of the foil, which has a great effeft on the temperature of the air. The 158 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. The moft mild and fettled weather is found in the middle of the country, at an equal diftance from the fea and the Alps. Upori the whole, there is no great difference be tween the feafons of Germany and thofe of Great-Britain. But there are more wood^ and chafes yet ftanding in Germany than iri moft other countries ; owing to the paffion which the inhabitants have for hunting the wild boar. The Herdrilan foreft. Which iri Caefar's time was nine days journey in lengthy and fix in breadth, is now cut down in many places, or parcelled out into woods, which have all their different names. Moft ofthe woods confift of plrie, fir, oak, and beach. There is a vaft num ber of forefts of lefs note in almoft every part of the Country ; there being fcarcely a riobleman or gentlerrian, who has not a chafe or park adorned with pleafure houfeS', and well ftocked with game, fuch as roe bucks, ftags, hares, foxes, and boars. Tke German wild boar differs in colour from our coriimon hogs, arid is; four times as large ; but its fleffi, and the hams made of it, are by many fireferred to every Other of the kirid, both for flavour and grain* L£T. XV.] GERMANY. *59 grain. The glutton of - Germany is ac counted the moft voracious of all animals. It feeds on almoft every thing that has life, which it can procure ; but its chief prey is birds, hares, rabbits, goats, and fawns. On thefe he feeds to fuch an excefs, that he falls into a kirid of torpid ftate, and not being able to move, he is killed by the huntfmen. His colour Is a beautiful brown, with a faint tinge of red. The Germans are naturally a frank, ho- neft, hofpitable people ; but the higher or ders are ridiculoufly proud of titles, an- ceftry, and ffiew. Induftry, application^ and perfeverance are the great charafter- iftics of this people, efpeclally the mecha nical part of them. They have been charged with intemperance in eating and drinking, and perhaps not unjuftly, owing to the vaft quantity of wine, and provifions of every kind, which the country produces* But thofe praftices feem now to be wearing out. At the greateft tables, though the guefts drink pretty freely at dinner, yet after three or four public toafts have been given, the repaft is commonly finiffied by coffee. No people, however, have more feafting l6o LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEft. -- feafting at marriages, funerals, and on. birth days. In no country is there to be found a greater tafte for reading than in Germany. Printing is encouraged even to excefs.^- Books are therefore multiplied without number ; and almoft every man of letters is an author. There are in Germany thirty- fix univerfities, of which feventeen are proteftant, feventeen Roman catholic, < and two which partake of each religion. Many of. the Germans have diftinguiffied thern- felves in various branches of learning ;, but it was not till. about the year 1730', that they began to write with elegance in their own language. It is however, ari unfa- vourable circumftance for the literature of this country, that the French language ffiould be fo faffilonable in the German courts. Even Frederic the Great, King of .Pruffia, or.dered the philofbphical tranfac- tions of his royal fociety at Berlin, froria the beginning of its inftitution, to be pub llffied in the French tongue. With refpeft to the fine arts the Germans are by no means- deficient. This country has produced fome good painters, archi- tefts, fculptors and engravers. They even pretend LET. XV.] GERMANY. t6l pretend td have been the firft inventors of engraving, etching, and mezzotinto. Print ing, if firft invented in Holland, was foort after greatly improved in Germany. The Germans are generally allowed to have been the invento^rs of great guns, as alfo of gunpowder in Europe, about the year 1320. Germany has likewife produced fome ex cellent muficlans, at the head of which ftands the immortal Handel. The cities in Germany being fo nume rous, I muft content myfelf with giving a very ffiort account ofthe principal amongft them, Berlin is now accounted the capital of his Pruffian majefty's dominions, and af fords the moft extraordinary example of fudden improvement, of any place that I know. It is fituated on the river Spree ; and befides a royal palace, has many other fuperb edifices. .The king's palace, arid that of Prince Henry, are magnificent buildings. The opera-houfe is alfo a beau tiful ftrufture ; and the arfenal, which is handfomely built in the form of a fquare, is faid to contain arms fpr two hundred M thoufand l6z LETTERS OF -A TRAVELLER.^ thpufand men. The ftreets a-nd^fquares-are- fpacious, and built in a very regular manner, Drefden, in the eleftorate of Saxony, is beautifully fituated on both fides of the Elbe ; and in the magnificence of its palaces and public buildings, is unequalled, It is like- wife the fchool of Germany for -ftatuary, painting, enamelling, andfcarving ;• not to mention its mirrors, -.and founderies for bells and cannon, and its foreign com merce carried on by means of the Elbe. The Eleftorate of Saxony Is indeed, by nature, the richeft covintry in Germany, if not in Europe. The city of Leipfic, in upper Saxony, forty-fix miles diftant from Drefden, ftands in a pleafant and fertile plain on the Piaffe, It has long been diftinguiffied for the liberty of confclence allowed tp perfons of differ rent fentiments in religion ; but that efta? -bliffied in the place is the Lutheran, Here is a Univerfity, which is ftill very confider able. -The exchange is an elegant building j and in this city there is an annual fair, dur ing feveral days, to which great numbers |efort from all quarteis pf the Germanic Jl^npv?]-, tET. Xy."} GERMANY. , 1 63 Hanover, the capital of that eleftorate* ftands on the river Leins, and is a neat, thriving, and agreeable city, containing about twelve hundred houfes, among which is the elcftoral palace. At the diftance of a few miles lie the palace and elegant gardens of Herenhaufen. The whole population of the eleftorate of Hanover is computed to amount to about feyen. hundred and fifty thoufand perfons ; befides which, there are about fifty thoufand inhabitants belonging to Bremen and Verden, two dif- trifts purchafed by the Eleftor, at an early period of the prefent century. The towns in thefe dominions are not without trade and manufaftures ; but the whole of the Eleftorate has fuffered much by the acceffion of the houfe of Hanover to the crown of Great Britain ; notwithftanding a refpefta ble civil and military eftabliffiment is con ftantly maintained, out of the revenues of the country. The fecularized „biffiopric pf Ofnaburgh,,now held by the Duke of York, lies feventy-five miles weft of Haiji- over, between the rivers Wefer and Ems. The chief city of this territory has been long famous all over Europe, for the manoifac- M 2 , tures 1^4 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLJ^R. tures knpwn by the name of Ofnaburgh^ and likewife. for that ofthe beft Weftphalia hams. The whole revenvie of the blffiop- rlc is eftimated at thirty thoufand pounds per annum. " , - Breflau, the capital of Silefia, lies on the river Oder, and is a free city, where all fefts of Chriftlans and Jewl are tolerated, but the maglftracy is Lutheran. The ma nufaftures of Silefia have been greatly im proved, fince the Country fell under the do minion of the' houfe of Brandenburg. It has been faid to yield his Pruffian majefty ^ revenue of near a million fterling ; but this eftimate is probably exaggerated, as the houfe of Auftria never drew from it above the half of that fum ; and I cannot think that the reyeque is dpubled fince that period. There are in Gernaany, you know, two cities of the name of Frankfort : one of them lies ori the Oder, and is fubjeft to the king of Pruffia ; but the other ftands on both fides the river Maine, and is: an Im perial cify ; I mean by that appellation a ipvereign ftate, poffeffing a pbnfiderable territory around it, and governed by its own IET. XV.] GERMAN-^i 165 own magiftrates. In the Stadthoufe, or Guildhall pf this city, the eleftorS affemble for the choice of ari eniperor, and here i^ prefei'ved the \vritten iriftrument Called the Golden Bull, which contains the fundamen tal laws of the empire. It is a fortified city, of a circular fdrrri^ withdut any fu- burbs. It is adorned with feveral magnifi cent buildings, ahd three priricipal fquares ; butj in general, the ftfeets are narrow, arid the houfes riloftly built of timber and plafter^ and covered with flate. Vienna iS the capital df the Circle of Auftria, and being the refidence of the Em peror, is regarded a^ the capital df Gerrfia- ny; It would be eridlefs to enumerate the many palaces iri this rriagnificerit city, two of which ate Imperial* Here is alfo an ex cellent univerfity, arid a ritinaber df rich converitS. Among thpfe is one fdr the Scottiffi' nation^ biiilt in horior df their countryman, St. Colmaui the patfdn df Auftria ; and orie of the fix gates of this city is called the Scots' Gate, Iri remem brance of fome figrill eicpldit performed there by the troops of that nation. The inhabitants of Vienna, iricluding the fu- burbs^ 166 LETTERS OF A" TRAVELLED* bUrbs, which are larger than the city, are computed at about three hundred ilhoufarid. In tbe number of fuperb ftruftures Vienna is doubtlefs remarkable ; yet after all, I muft abate frdm this general eulogiiirii of its grandeur. The ftreets, excepting thofe in the fuburbs, are narrow * and dirty ; the houfes and furniture of the citizens are greatly difproportloned to the magnificence of the palaces, fquares, and other public buildings ; but above all, the exceffive im pofts laid by the houfe of Auftria upon every commodity in its dominions, muft always keep the manufafturing part of their fub jefts in a ftate of poverty, as is but too Vi fible In the -capital itfelf. Of late years, however, the condition of the Auftrian fub jefts has been greatly meliorated, and the beft effefts will foon be found" to arife from this prudent change of fyftem. With refpeft to antiquities and curiofi ties^ there is not a court in Germany but produces a cabinet of curiofities, artificial and natural, ancient arid modern. Every city of any note has likewife Iri it a valua ble public library. The vaft Gothic palaces, cathedrals, caftles, and- above all, town- . ' """ houfes LET. XV.] GERMANY. l6^ houfes in Germany, are ftriking objefts to every traveller. They exhibit the fame ap pearance of rude magnificence as they did four hundred years ago ; and many of them have an effeft fuperior even to that of Greek architefture, Among the artificial curiofities, I nyjft riot opiit mentioning the celebrated ton at Heidelburg, which con tains eight hundred hogffieads^ and is gene rally full of the beft Rheniffi wine, with which they neVer fail to regale ftrangers who are not averfe to the invitation. Ainong the chief riatural curiofities in Germany are caves and rocks* Near Black- enburg, in Hartz Foreft, there is a cave, of which it is faid that none has ever yet found the end, though many, we are told, haVe advanced .into it for twenty mlleSi But the moft remarkable curiofity of that kind is near Hammelin, about fifty miles from Hanover, where, at the mouth of tbe cave, ftands a monument^ which comme morates the lofs of a hundred and thirty children, who were there fwallowed up In 1284. This faft, though ftroiifly attefted^ has been difputed by fome writers. I cannot l6S LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER* « - I cannot take my leave of Germany with-* out expreffing a fervent wiffi, that a confti tution which has fo long refifted the en- croachments of foreign powers, and endea voured to maintain its internal tranquillity, may continue to preferve among its mem bers that rriutual union which can alone fe cure their profperity and independence. Great Britain and the Proteftant part of Ger^ many are linked together by peculiar con nexions. We have received from that country an illuftrious family, which has fwayed the fceptre with great advantage to the nation. We have interchanged with each other princeffes, whofe virtues are an ornament to royalty ; and I doubt not but the connexion will be yet more ftrongly ce mented, by a matrimonial alliance of more of our amiable princeffes with fuitablc princes of that empire. LETTEfl LET. xvl] PRUSSIA 169 LETTER XVL . Y prefent letter ffiall be devoted to the kingdoms adjoining Germany, which are thofe of Pruffia, , Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland. Pruffia, confidered as a kingdom, is dlf tinft from Germany, which however it re fembles in all its natural produftions, as Well as in the manners of the inhabitants- The Pruflian monarch,, by means ofthe ad vantageous fituation of his dominions, and the wife political regulations which have been introduced, derives a vaft revenue from this country, which, about a century and a half ago, was the feat of boors and barbarifm. It is faid that amber alone brings him in twenty-fix thoufand dollars annually. His other revenues arife from ijis, demefnes, his duties of cuftoms and tolls, 170 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER* tolls, with the' fubfidies yearly granted by the feveral ftates ; all which muft amount to a very confiderable fum, exclufive of thofe which arife from the partition of Poland. Hitherto the kings df Pruffia have all paid particular attention to the improve ment of their military force. The army, even in time of peace, confifts ufually of a hundred and eighty thoufand of the beft difciplined troopS in the world ; which is the means by which that kingdom has lately attained to fo great confideration on the Continent. But this large military force, though it aggrandizes the import ance of the fovereign, is extremely inju-' rlous to the interefts of the people. What-' ever number of fons a peafant may have, they are all liable to be taken into the fer vice, except one, who is left to aflift in the management of the farm. The reft wear badges frpm their childhood, to mark that they are deftined to be foldiers^ and obliged to enter into the fervice whenever they are called upon. This has oCcafioried fuch a drain from populatiPn,/arid fo mUch dimi- rilftjed the exertions of agriculture, that ¦ Frederick LET. XVI.] BOHEMIA. lyl Frederick II. endeavoured in fome degree to fave his own peafantry, by drawing as many recruits as he could from other coun tries. Thofe foreign recruits remain con ftantly with the regiments In which they are placed ; but the native Pruffians have every year" -fome months of furlough, during which they return to the houfes of their fathers or brothers, and work at the bu finefs of the farm, or in ariy other way they pleafe. The air of Bohemia, which is alfo dlf tinft' from Germany, is not thought fo wholefome as that of the latter ; though in general its foil and produce are pretty much the fame. This kingdom Contains rich mines of filver, quick-filver, copper, iron, lead, fulphur, and feltpetre. Prague, the capital of Bohemia, is one of the moft mag nificent cities in Europe, as well as very extenfive, and famous for its noble bridge over the Muldaw. It is hoWeVer a place of little or no trade. '^ Of the old Bohemian conftitution there now remains nothing but the form, the government under the houfe of Auftria be ing now defpotic. Their ftates are com pofed, 172 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. ^^ ,^ - pofed of the clergy, nobility, gentry, an^ reprefentatives of towns. In general the "people have an averfion towards the Auf trians ; on which account, of late^ the Auf^ trian princes have been cautldiis of pro voking them by ill ufage. The revenues of this country are whatever the fovereign is pleafed to exaft from the ftates of the kingdom, when they are annually affem bled at Prague ; and their amount may be about half a million fterling. * v'i The kingdom of Hungary may be divided into the upper and lower Hungary, td which may be added Temefwaer, which has been confidered as dlftinft from Hungary^ becaufe it was formerly governed by an in dependent king. The air in the fouthern parts of Hungary is unhealthy, on account of its numerous lakes, ftagnated waters, and .marffies ; but the northern parts being mountainous and barren^ the air is falu brious. No country in the world can boaft a richer foil than that plain which extends three hundred miles from Preflburg to Bel-^ grade, and yields variety of produftions. Corn is therein fuch plenty, ,that it fells for one fixth part bf its price in Eng-^. lands LET. XVI. J HUNGARY. 1 73 land. The Hungarian bath's and mineral waters are efteemed the mpft fovereign of anyin Europe ; but their magnificent build ings, raifed by the Turks when in poffeffioil of the country, are fuffered to go to decay. The Hungarian wines, particularly Tokay, are preferable to thofe of any other country in Europe. Jt w^s late before the Northern barba-» rians drove the Romans out pf Hungary ; and fome of the defcendants of their legl-^ onary forces may ftill be diftinguiffied in the inland parts, by their fpeaking of Latin. In the country of Temefwaer there are many faraons or gypfies, fuppofed to be the real defcendants of the ancient Egyptians, whom they refemble in their features, in their propenfity to melancholy, and in ma ny of their manriers and cuftoms. I had no opportunity of afcertaining the faft by ocular demonftration, but have been af fured, thgt the lafcivious dances of Iris, the worffiip pf pnipns, many famous Egyptian fuperftitionS, a;nd the Egyptian method of hatching eggshy means of dung, are ftill in ufe amongft the ferriale gypfies in Te mefwaer, One 174 LETTERS OF A. TRAVELLER^ One of the_. moft remarkable natural cu riofities In Hungary, is a cavern in a moun tain near Szelitze. The aperture, which fronts, the ibuth, is eighteen fathoms- high, and eight broads Its fubterranean paffa,ges confift entirely of folid rock, ftretching farther than has, yet been, difcovered. , As far as it Is praftlcablc to go, the height is found to be about fifty fathoms, and the breadth twenty- fix. The artificial curiofities of this coun try confift . chiefly of its bridges. The Bridge of .Eff^cjc, built Over the Danube, and Drave, is, properly fpeaking, a conti- ¦nikatlon of bridges, five miles in length, fortified with towers at certain diftances. A bridge of boats runs over -, the - Danuhe., half a mile long, between Buda and Peft ; and about, twenty Hungarian miles diftant from, Belgrade, are, the remains of a bridge .erefted by the Romans,, judged to be" the moft magnificent of any in the world. The Hungarian ;governn:ient preferves the remains, of many checks upon the reo-al power. They have a Diet or Parliament, befides the Gefpan Ghafts, refembling our Juftice§ LET. XVI.] T-— POLAND, I75 Juftices of the peace ; and every royal town has its fenate. Both Bohemia, and Hungary have under gone great changes in their ancient confti- tutlon ; but no kingdom has been more un fortunate than that which 1 am now on the point of entering ; I mean Poland. Bleffed by nature with a healthful cli mate, and , a foil remarkable for its ferti lity ; yet the happinefs of the people has been perpetually obftrufted by a pernicious conftitution of government ; nominally re gal, but in faft an' arlftocracy, and that of a kind the moft oppreffive. When I fpeak ofthe common- wealth of Poland, you will readily conceive that I allude to that form of government which exifted before the partition of the country ; for there now re- pialns np traces of its former ftate, nor in deed of its exiftence as a dlftinft nation. The king was then nominally, as I before obferved, the head of the republic ; and he was elefted by the npbility and clergy, 011 horfeback, in the plains of Warfaw. One diffentient voice, pronouticing Feto, was fufficlent to invalidate the eleftion. When a minority proved refraftory, the majo- . rity 1 76 LETTERS OF A "TRAVELLER, rity had no other means of enforfcing the eleftion, than by'cutting their opponents in, pieces With their fabres ; but if the mi nority was fufficiently ftrong, a civil war enfued. Immediately after the eleftion, the king figned the faSla conventa of the kingdom, by which he engaged to intro duce no foreigners into the army or go vernment. He was henceforth only prefi- dent of the fenate, which was compofed cf the primate, the archbiffiop of Limbufg, fifteen biffiops and a hundred arid thirty laymen, confifting of the great officers of ftate, the Palatines and Caftellaris, who were the grandees of the kingdom. ' The Diets of Pdland were ordinary and extraordinary. The former met once in two,' arid fometimes three years: the latter was fummoned by the king upon critical eriiergencies ; but here likewife one diffen' tient voice rendered all their deliberatioris^ ineffeftual. The king could nominate the great officers of .ftate, but they were ac countable only to the fenate ; and he Could not difplace them when once appointed. ¦ Such are the outlines of this motley cori- ftitutidn, which changed its fprm with aU niofl LfeT. XVI.] POLAND. 177 moft every, hew king, accordirig to the ftipulatioiis which he Was obliged to figtiat his acceffion. The tribunitial Feto was founded Upon Gothic principles, repugnant to the diftates of civilized and rational ju- rifdiftion ; and what greatly increafed Its bad effefts, it was fo, far from being exer- fcifed from any motive of patriotifm, that it always originated in the influence of fome of the neighbouring powers, who were in terefted to foment anarchy and confufion in t^e councils of Poland. Nor was this i matter of any difficulty ; fof many of the firfb nobility did not fcruple to receive pen- fions frorri foreign Courts, whofe views and interefts, confequently, it became their bu finefs to promote; This ancient common wealth has at length been dlfrriembercd by the three great Potentates of Ruffia, Pruf fia, and Auftria ; and it feems at prefent to be determined that no veftlge of its former government ffiall be allowed to exift. But this tranflation of the territory and jurifdic- tion of Poland, however arbitrary and vio lent, can very little affeft the interefts of fhe bulk of the nation; for they have hitherto lived in a ftate of fuch fubjeftion and flavery N to .178 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, to their mafters, as never was furpaffed even during the moft barbarous periods of the feudal ages. The chief rivers of Poland-are theViftula, or Weyfel, the Niefter, Nieper, or Borif- thenes, the Bog, and the Dwina.- Some of the vegetable produftions of Poland are pe culiar to itfelf, particularly a kind of manna (If it can be called a vegetable), which in May and June the inhabitants fweep into fieves with the dew, and dreffing it in vari ous ways, make ufe of it for, food. In Li thuania, which country was annexed to Poland, great quantities of yellow amber are frequently dug up, ih pieces as large as a man's fift, fuppofed to be the produftion of a refinous pine. The forefts of Warfovia contain great numbers of Uri, or buffaloes, the fleffi of which the Poles reduce to a powder, and efteem it an excellent diffi. The fleffi of the Poliffi elk is likewife much admired by the natives, and forms a principal part in all their great entertainments. The body of this animal refembles the deer, but exceeds it both in thicknefs and length : the legs are high, I the feet broad and clpyen, .the . - - horns tkt. •!KVR] POLAKb. if(^ horns large, rough and broad, like thofe of a wild goat. Naturalifts have dbferved, that upon diffefting an elk, there were found in its head fome large flies, with its brains almoft eaten away ; and it is a faft well attefted, that in the large woods and forefts of the north, this animal is attacked, chiefly towards the winter, by a large fort of flies, which, through its ears, attempt to take up their winter quarters in its head. This perfecutlon is thought to affeft the elk with the falling-ficknefs, by which means it is taken ; an event which would other* wife not be eafily accomplifhed. Among the natural curiofities of Poland, I ffiall mention an ambiguous fpecies of animal, which has all the form of huma nity, but is deftitute of its properties. It is beyond a doubt, that fuch beings haVe been found in the woods of that country. When taken, they generally, it is faid, went on all fours ; but this circumftance I ffiould much queftion, confiderlng that the forma tion of the human knee and feet is ex tremely unfuitable to fuch motion. It is further faid, that fome of them have, by proper management, attained to the ufe of N 2 fpeech, iSo LETTERS OF A TKAVELLEE* S fpeech. Of the hiftory of thefe creature* "We can only form a conjefture. It is pro bable that tbe frequent incurfions of the Tartars, and other barbarous nations into Poland, have forced the women fometimes to leave their children expofed in the woods ; but how thofe miferable objefts could afterwards fubfift, we can account for only upon the fuppofition, that they were nurfed by bears, or other wild beafts. I once had occafion to fee one of thefe hu miliating fpeftacles in a village in Germany. Under the mountains adjoining, to Riow, in the deferts' of Podolia, are feveral grot tos, where a great number of human bo dies are preferved., They are fuppofed to have lain buried through a long fucceffion of ages ; but are neither fo hard, nor fa black as the Egyptian mummies. Among thena are two princes in their ufual habitsv It is thought that this preferving cfuality is owing to the nature of the foil, which is- dry and fandy. The falt;mines pf Poland confift of won derful .caverns,, feveral hundred yards deep,' at. the bottom of which are many intricate windings and labyrinths. Out of thefe are Ul.- , , ' Nothing can be more delightful to a tra- veller than the fummer months in Switzer land ; and the beauties of the country are heightened by the agreeable charafter of the inhabitants, who are diftinguiffied by a na tive fimplicity of manners, and an open uii- affefted franknefs. Even the common people are far more Intelligent than the fame rank of men In moft other countries ; and, bpfides an air of general content and fatisfaftion, they difcover in their houfes, their LET. XVIL] SWITZERLAND, I9S their perfons, and their drefs, a cleanlinels not to be found in- the neighbouring na- tions, which are under a defpotic goverft- ment. On the whole, I cannot but ap prove the tafte of thofe who refort to this favoured country for the enjoyment of pure air, delightful fcenes, cheapnefs of living, and the rational pleafures of fociety. On all thefe accounts, my friend Mr. Gibbon had a great attachment to Switzerland, P. S. Before clofing this letter, I have fhe mortificatiori to learn, that the Swifs have fubmitted to the imperious diftates of the French. Their behaviour on this oc cafion Is far from correfponding to their former valout and magnanimity ; but their union and firmnefs were previoufly weak ened by the emiffaries and principles of that infatuated people ; and now the riches of the country, whatever they are, will be come the fpoil of the invaders. LETTER i(^i Letters OF A TfiAvELLERd LETTER XVilL I NSTEAD of croffing the Alps at pre^ fent, I ffiall direft my courfe towards the Pyrenees, and pais from a land where li berty reigned triumphant, to the gloomy regions of a defpotifm, equal. If not greater in feverity, to any that ever exift ed. You will anticipate, from my circum-* locution, that I mean the kingdom of Spain* With' hovV ftriking a contraft does thl3 tranfitlon prefent rrie I In Switzerland^^ the ¦inhabitants, have fur mounted, by Induf try, every obftruftlon which foil, fituatidn, and climate, had thrown in their -way; while In Spain, a fatal indolence has ren dered ineffeftual all the local advantages of the country. The former have refcvied from barrerinefs the very rocks, and the fummits of mountains ; the latter, abandons ta LET. XVIII.] SPAIN. 193 to fterlllty large trafts of plains,"^which are capable of high cultivation. Such, how ever, is the natural fertility of Spain, in ma ny places, that it produces, almoft fponta- neoufly, the richeft and moft delicious fruits that are to be found in France and Italy ; fuch as oranges, lemons, prunes, citrons, almonds, ralfins, and figs : at the fame time that their wines, particularly fack and ffierry, are in high requeft among other nations. Even fugar-canes thrive in this country ; and it yields faffron, ho ney, and filk. In great abundance. No country produces a greater variety of aromatic herbs, which renders the tafte of their kids and ffieep exquifitely delicious. Some of the mountains of Spain are cloathed with rich trees, fruits, and herbage, to the tops ; and Seville oranges noted all over the world. In ffiort, few countries, as I have already intimated, are more indebted to nature than Spain, and lefs to induftry. This country however, is much Infeft ed with locufts. They have fometimes appeared in the air in fuch numbers as to darken the fky. Their fenfe of fmelling, it is faid, is fo delicate, that they can difco- 0 ver 194 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, ver a corn-field, or a garden, at a confider able diftance ; and which they will ravage almoft in an inftant. Some travellers are of opinion, that the Spaniards, by timely at-. tention, might deftroy the eggs of thofe pernicious Infefts, and thereby totally ex tirpate them. The chief mountains in Spain are the Py renees, which extend two hundred miles in length, from the Bay of Bifcay to the Mediterranean. Over thefe mountains there are only five narrow paffages to France ; one of which, in particular, namely that which feparates Roufillon from Catalonia, has been greatly improved. Here It formerly required the ftrength of thirty men to fupport, and nearly as many oxen to drag up a carriage, which four horfes now do with eafe. The Cantabrlan mountains are a kind of continuation of the Pyrenees, and reach to the Atlantic Ocean, fouth of Cape Finifterre,. No Briton is unacquainted with Mount Calpe, now called the Hill of Gibraltar, and in an cient times, one ofthe pillars of Hercules. But among the mountains of Spain, Montferrat is one df the mofl remarkable in LET. XVIII.] SPAIN. 195 in the -world for fituation, compofition, and ffiape. It ftands in a vaft plain, abovit thirty miles from Barcelona, and nearly in the ceritre of the principality of Catalonia. It is called by the inhabitants of the diftrift Monte Serrado, which fignifies a cut or fawed mountain, and it Is fo called from its extraordinary and fingular form. For it is fo broken and fubdivlded, and fo crowned with an infinite number of cones, that viewed at a diftance, it has the appearance of being artificial ; but upon a nearer ap proach, of being evidently the produftion of nature. Each of the conical fummits appears then of itfelf a mountain ; and the whole compofe an enormous mafs, about fourteen miles in circumference, and com puted to be in height three thoufand three hundred feet. It is a fpot fo admirably adapted for retirement and contemplation, that it has, for many ages, been inha bited by monks and hermits, whofe firft vow is never to forfake it. There is erefted on the mountain a convent, dedicated to our Lady of Montferrat, to which pilgrims f onftantly refort from the fartheft parts of O 2 Europe, 196 LETTERS OF A TRAVELtER.. Efirope. All the poor who come thither are fed gratis for three days, and all the fick received into the hofpital. Sometimes, on particular feftivals, feven thoufand perfons arrive In one day ; but people of condition pay a reafonable price for what they eat. On different parts of the mountain arc a number of hermitages, all of which have their little chapels, ornaments for faying mafs, water-cifterns, and moft of them little gardens. The inhabitants of one of thefe hermitages, which is dedicated to St. Benato, has the privilege of making an annual entertainment on a certain day, to which all the other hermits are invited ; v/hen they receive the facrament from the hands of the mountain vicar, and after di vine fervice dine together. They meet alfo at this hermitage, on the days of the faints to whom their feveral hermitages are dedicated, to fay mafs, and converfe with each other. At all other times they live in a very reclufe manner, perform va rious penances, and adhere to very rigid rules of abftinence, nor do they ever eat fleffi. They are not permitted to keep within their walls either dog, cat, bird, or any Let. XVIII.] SPAIN. 197 any living creature, left their attention ffiould be drawn from heavenly to earthly affeftions. I made enquiry with refpeft to the lon gevity of thofe monaftic Inhabitants of Montferrat ; and I was told that moft of them live to a great age. This, doubtlefs, is owing not only to their habitual tempe rance, but to the purity of -the air, which in this fituation cannot but be highly fa lubrious. The rivers of Spain are the Duero, the Tayo, or Tagus, the Guadiana, Guadal- qulver, the Ebro, and the TInto. The laft of thefe is fo named from giving a tinge to its waters, which are as yellow as a to paz, hardening the fand, and petrifying it in a furprizing manner. If aftone happens to fall in, and refts upon another, they be come in a year's time perfeftly united. This river withers all the plants on its banks, as well as the roots of trees, which it dies of the fame colour as its waters. No fiffi live in its ftream. It kills wprms in cattle when given them to drink ; but In general, no animals will drink out of this river, exceptipg goats, the fleffi of which, neverthelefs, I9S tETTERS 6F A TRAVELLER. neverthelefs, has an excellent flavour. Thefe fingular properties continue till other rivulets run into it, and alter its nature. Spain abounds both in metals and mine rals. The Spaniffi iron, next to that of Damafcus, furniffies the b^ arms in the world, and in former times brought in a vaft revenue to the crown. Even to this day, Spanifli gun-barrels, and fwords of To ledo, are highly valued. In ancient times, Spain was celebrated for gold and filver mines. The latter was in fuch plenty, that Strabo informs us, that when the Car thaginians took poffeffion of Spain, their domeftic and agricultural utenfils ¦U'^ere of this metal. Thofe mines have now dif appeared ; but whether by their -being ex- haufted, or through the indolence ofthe in habitants in not working them is uncertain. The Spaniffi horfes, efpecially thofe of Andalufia, are thought to be the handfomeft of any in Europe, and at the fame time very fwift. The country likewife fur niffies mules and black cattle ; and is fa mous for the. ferocity of its wild bulls. Wolves are the chief beafts of prey that ' pefter Let. XVIII.] SPAIN, 199 pefter Spain, which Is well ftored with all the game and wild fowl ufual In other countries. Sheep are In fuch plenty in Spain, efpecially In the northern parts, that according to fome late information, the number of fliepherds amount to forty thou fand. Hiftory affures us, that in the time of Ju lius C^far, there were in Spain no lefs than fifty millions of fouls. Before the difco very of America, in 1492, the number was computed at twenty gnllllons. This difcovery however drained the kingdom of almoft half Its inhabitants ; to which na tional lofs was added the expulfion of a million of Moors, about the fame period, with another million in 16 10 and 161 2. At prefent, it is computed, that the num ber of perfons who are of age to receive the facraments, is about fix millions and a half. But in this computation there are included fixty-feven thoufand monks, and half that number of nuns, who are a ufelefs burden upon the ftate. Including children,"^ it is probable, that the whole inhabitants of the kingdom do not amount by feveral mil lions, to the number at which they were rated 200 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. rated in the beginning of the laft century f an evident proof' of the declining ftate of this once powerful monarchy. The Spaniards are remarkable for enter taining ideas of felf- importance beyond that of any other nation ; but this pride, how ever ridiculous, is not without its good ef fefts. It infpires them fo much with fen timents of honour, that a Spaniffi noble man, gentleman, or even trader, is feldom guilty of a mean aftloii. But the common people who live on the coafts, partake of all the bad qualities that are to be found in Other nations ; of which, indeed, they are, for the moft part, a motley affemblage. After all that has, been faid ofthe Spa niffi ladles, their beauty reigns chiefly in their novels and romances, which are filled with extravagance ori this fubjeft. The country doubtlefs produces fOrne as fine wo men as any in the world ; but beauty by np means forms their general charafter. In their perfons they are commonly tall and flender ; but they are faid to employ much art in fupplying the defefts of nature. Their indlfcriminate ufe of paint, not only upon their faces, but their necks, arms, and hands, LET. XVIII.] SPAIN. 20 1 hands, undoubtedly injures their com plexion, and ffirlvels the fkin. It is, how ever, generally admitted, that they have a great deal of wit and vivacity. The Spa niards, among their many good qualities, are remarli^able for fobriety in eating and drinking. They frequently breakfaft, as well as fup, in bed. Their breakfaft is ¦ufually chocolate, tea or coffee being fel dom drank. Both fexes ufually fleep after dinner, and take the air in the cool of the evenings. Dancing is fo much their favo rite entertainment, that it is no uncom mon thing to fee a grandmother, mother, and daughter, all in the fame country dance. I did not fee the Fandango, which Is faid to refemble a dance at Otaheite, as de fcribed by the voyagers ; but it prevails oidy among the lower kind of people. The ufual time for their vifits, as in Other hot countries, is the evening. At this time the men meet abroad In public places of refort, and the ladies vifit each other at their houfes', where the floors of the apart ments are covered with rich carpets, and pufhions of filk or velvet ; they yet retain ing 2t03 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. ing the cuftom of the Moors of fitting on the floor. They never addrefs one another hy any diglngulffilng title, as, your hlgh- nefs, your grace, &c. but fhe title of donna is given to ladles of every rank. Thofe of diftinftlon, however, pay their vifits in great ftate. They are carried in a. chair by four men, of whom the two foremoft are uncovered. Two others attend as a guard, and a feventh carries a lantern, A coach drawn by mules immediately follows, containing her women, and another the upper male domeftics, feveral menial fer vants walking after. The whole procef fion is very flow, conformable to the gravity of the people. Few coaches, ex cept the king's, are drawn by horfes, though hardly any country affords a .finer breed for the purpofe. Every town in Spain has a large fquare for the purpofe of exhibiting bull-fights. As I believe you have never feen any of thofe fpeftacles, I prefent you with an ac count of one which occurred to my obfer vation In paffing through Spain. On the fpot where any of thofe are ex hibited, fcaffolds are previoufly erefted for the LET. XVIII.] Spain. 203 the fpeftators, and the beafts are ffiut up in ftalls, made as dark as poffible, to render them the fiercer on the day of battle. Every thing being ready, the bulls remained to be driven acrofs the area ff om the ftables in which they were confined, to a fmaller, be hind the amphitheatre, where they were to be kept apart from each other. The firft ftable was almoft clofe to the amphitheatre, and a wall of boards fix feet high was put up on each fide of the way by which the bulls were to pafs. At a quarter paft four in the afternoon, ten bulls were let into the area, in order to be put into the ftables at the oppofite door ; a man on foot lead ing before them a tame ox, which had been bred with the bulls, to decoy them into thofe receptacles. Three combatants on horfe-back placed themfelves at fome dif tance, one on each fide of, and the other oppofite to the door at which the bull was to enter. A trumpet was then founded, as a fignal to let in a bull, and the man who opened the door got behind it immediately. During a quarter of an hour preceding this period, the bulls had been teazed by pricking them in the back. This is done by 204 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER-, by perfons placed on the cieling of the fta bles, which was low, and conftrufted in fuch a manner as to afford convenience for the operation. The bulls were diftinguiffi ed by a fmall knot of ribband fixed to their ffioulders. The bull made direftly at the firft horfe- man, -who received it on the point of his fjpear, held In the middle tight to his fide, and paffing under his arm-pit. This wea pon making a wide gaffi in the bull's ffioul- der, occafioned it to draw back, the blood in the mean time ruffiing out in a torrent. The force with which the bull attacked the man was fo great, that the ffiock had nearly overfet both hirii and his horfe. A freffi bull now entered the amphithe atre, where it ftared about, frighted by the clapping and hallooing of the multitude. It then ran fucceflively againft the two other combatants on horfeback, and from each received a deep wound. A fignal was now given with the trumpet for the horfe men to retire ; and the men on foot began their attack, who ftruck barbed darts into every part of the animal's body. The trurnpet again founding, the matador ap- vn: pearedj LET. XVlin.] SPAIN. ^©5 peared, carrying in his left harid a cloak extended on a ffiort ftick, and In his right a two-edged fword, the blade of which was flat, four inches broad, and a yard long- At the moment when the bull ran furioufly at him, he plunged his fword into its neck, behind the horns, by which it Inftantly fell down dead. If the matador miffes his aim, and cannot defend himfelf with the cloak, he is almoft fure to lofe his life, as the exafperated animal exerts its remaining ftrength with almoft incredible fury. The dead bull was immediately dragged out of the area by three horfes on a full gallop, whofe traces were faftened to its horns. Another bull was then let in, more furi ous than the former. The horfeman miffed his aim, and the bull thruft his horns into the horfe's belly. The latter becoming ungovernable, the rider was obliged to dif mount and abandon it to the bull, which purfued it round the area, till at laft the horfe fell, and expired. Four other horfes were fucceffively killed by this bull, which only received flight wounds, till the laft of the horfes kicked its jaw to pieces. One of the horfemen broke his Ipear in the bull's neck, jlp6 letters of a traveller^ neck, and the horfe and ridet fell to the ground, when the latter breaking his leg, was carried off. The footmen then fet to work again, and afterwards the matador put an end to his life.- The third bull killed two horfes by goring them in the belly. On this occafion, ten bulls were maffacred, and the fpeftacle concluded in two hours and a half. The bulls fleffi was immedi ately fold to the populace at ten quartos a pound, which amounts to about three pence. The Romans were not more delighted with the combats of the gladiators and wild beafts, than the Spaniards are with thofe en tertainments, which are, however, of late years, become far lefs frequent than for merly. Another diverfion almoft peculiar to the people of this nation, is that of ferenading their miftreffes. It is performed either with vocal or Inftrumental mufic, the latter of which Is extremely rude. In this amufe- ment, however, there is hardly a young fel low who fpends not the beft part ofthe night, though perhaps almoft utterly unacquainted with LET. X"VIlI.] SFAIN, . 207 with the lady to whom the compliment is paid. Spain has not produced learned men in proportion to the excellent capacities of Its natives ; but a few of the Spaniffi writers ,/ are diftinguiffied by extraordinary merit. The memorable Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, does immortal honour to the country, by his humorous fatire, which had the happy effeft of exploding the ridiculous fpirit of knight-errantry, that univterfally prevailed in that nation. This extraordi nary man was born at Madrid, In 1549. He enlifted In a ftation little fuperior to that of a common foldier, and at laft died neglefted, after fighting bravely for his country at the battle of Lepanto, in which he loft his left hand. He was in prifon for debt, when he compofed the firft part of his hiftory, Quevedo is alfo well known for his Vi- fions, and fome other produftions of the humorous and fatlrical kind. He was contemporary with Cervantes, and equally excelled In verfe and profe. Poetry appears to have been cultivated in Spain at an early period ; I mean, however, pofterlor to the f time ao8 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER.; time of the Romans, though under them there were feveral Latin poets in Spain^ After the Saracens had fettled in this king dom, they introduced into it their own lan guage, religion, and literature ; and the oriental ftyle of poetry then very generally prevailed. The Spaniards had before this epoch addifted themfelves much to Roman literature ; but abandoning that purfuit, their tafte ran fo much towards oriental produftions, that they could write Arabic with remarkable purity, and compofed verfes in that language with as much flu ency and elegance as the Arabians them felves. ' About this time alfo the Spaniffi Jews made a confiderable figure in litera- rature ; for the purpofe of promoting which, they brought over men of learning from Babylon, where they maintained aca demies at their own expence. The Spa^ niffi Jews had alfo fiouriffiing fchools at Seville, Granada, and Toledo; from whence arofe the numerous Hebrew proverbs, and modes of fpeech, that have crept into the Caftillan language, and form a confpicuous part of its phrafeology. The LET. Xyilli] Si'AINi 209 The Spaniffi writers alfo boaft of their Troubadours as far back aS the twelfth dr ' thirteenth centuries ; the Provengal and Galician dialefts being then very prevalenti Many other Spaniffi poets, fince that tlme^ Jiave gained confiderable reputation : but the moft diftinguiffied dramatic poet of this country was Lopez de Vega, who was con temporary with our Shakefpeare. His works difcover an imagination aftoniffiingly fer tile, but not fufficiently reftrained within the bounds of probability. He indeed wrote too much to be correft* His lyric compofitlons, and fugitive pieces, with his profe effays, form a colleftion of fifty vo lumes, befides his dramatic works, which amount to twenty-fix volumes more ; ex-^ clufive of four hundred fcriptural dramatic pieces, called in Spain Autos Sacramentales. His genius, fuch as it was, he exerted with indefatigable induftry ; and this qua lity appears predominant in feveral other Spaniffi writers. Teftltus, a theologift of that nation, was the moft voluminous that ever wrote ; but his works have long been diftinguiffied only by their extraordinary bulk. Herrera, and Solis, in particular, P with 2IO LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, with a few other writers, have difplayed hiftorical abilities : but at prefent, a tafte for literature of any kind, is far from being prevalent in Spain. There are, however, in this country, no lefs than twenty-four uni verfities, the chief of which is Salamanca, founded by Alphonfus, king of Leon, in the year 1200. Some Spaniards have likewife difHn- guiffied themfelves in architefture, fculp ture, and, painting ; of which arts we meet v.'lth many excellent fpecimens in the cities and palaces, particularly the Efcurial. Spain contains feveral antiquities, both of Roman and Mooriffi origin. Near Sego- via, a grand aqueduft, erefted by Trajan, extends over a deep valley between two hills, and Is fupported by a double row of a hundred and fifty-two arches. Other Romaii aquedufts, theatres, and circi, are to be found at Terrago, and different parts of Spain. Near the city of Salamanca are the remains of a Roman way, paved with large flat ftones ;' it extended to Merida, and was thence Continued to .Seville. At Toledo, once the metropolis df Spain, are tlie remains of an old Romair theatre, • - ^ which LET. XVllt.] SPAIN* "211 which is now converted intP a cathedraL The roof is fupported by three hundred and fifty pillars of fine marble, in ten rdvvSj forming eleven aifles, in which are three hundred and fixty-fix altars, and twenty- four gates ; every part being richly adorned with the moft noble and coftly ornamentSi At Martorel, a town fome miles from Bar celona, there is a very high bridge, biiilt in 1768, out of the ruins of a decayed one, which had been erefted by Hannibal, and exifted 19S5 years. At the north end is a triumphal arch, or gate-way, faid to have been raifed by that general. In honour ofhis father Hamilcar. It is ftill almoft entire, well proportioned and fimple, without any kind of ornament, except a rini or two of hewn ftone. In the neighbourhood of Murviedro, the ancient Saguntum, are fome remains of a Roman theatre, an exaft femicircle, about eighty two yards in dia meter. Some of the galleries are cut out of a folid rock. Among the Mooriffi antiquities in Spain, the moft diftinguiffied, as well as the moft entire, is the royal palace of the Alhambra, M Granada., It was built in 128P, by the ¦ P % fecond 212 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER," fecond Mooriffi king of Granada ; and in 1492, was taken by the Spaniards. It is fituated on a hill, which is afcended by a road, .bordered with hedges of double or imperial myrtles, and rows of elms. On this hill, within the walls of the Alhambra the Emperor, Charles V, began a new pa lace in 1568, which was never finiffied, though the ffiell of it remains. It is built of yellow ftone. The outfide forms a fquare of a hundred and ninety feet. The infide confifts of a grand circular court, with a portico of the Tufcan, and a gallery of the Doric order, each fupported by thirty-two columns, made of as many fingle pieces of marble. The grand entrance Is ornamented with columns of Jafper, on the pedeftals of which are the reprefentations of battles, in inarble baffo relievo. The Alhambra itfelf Is a mafs of many houfes, and towers walled round, and built of large ftones of different dimenfions. Almoft all the apartments have flucco walls and cielings, fome carved, fome painted, and others gilt, and covered with various fentences in the Arabic lan guage. Within are feveral baths, the .walls floors, and cielings of which are of white marble. Let. XVIII.] spain. 213 marble. The gardens abound with orange and lemon trees, .pomegranates, and myr tles. At fhe end of the gardens Is another palace called Generallph, fituated on a more elevated ftation than the Alhambra. From the balconies of this palace Is one of the fineft profpefts I ever beheld, over the whole fertile plain of Granada ; bounded .by the fiiowy mountains. The Moors to this day regret the lofs of Granada, and ftill offer up prayers to God for the recovery of the city. Many other noble monuments, erefted in the Mooriffi times, remain in Spain, fome of them in tolerable preferva tion, and others exhibiting fuperb ruins Spain Is not remarkable for natural curi ofities ; but a royal cabinet of natural hif tory was opened at Madrid, for the ufe of the public, by the King's order in 1775. Every thing in this repofitory is ranged with neatnefs and elegance, but the colleftion of birds and beafts, at prefent is not large. The cabinet contains mauy fpecimens of Mexican and Peruvian vafes and utenfils, which evince that the arts had made con fiderable progrefs in thofe countries. In 2114 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, In blowing up the rock of Gibraltar, many pieces of bones and teeth have been found incorporated with the ftone ; fome of which have been brought to England, and depofited in the Britifh Mufeum. On the weft fide of the mountain, is the cave called St. Michael's, eleven hundred and ten feet above the horizon. Many pillars of various fizes, fome of them two feet in diameter, have been formed in it by the droppings of water which have petri fied in falling. The water perpetually drops from the roof, and forms an infinite number of ftalaftitaj, of a whitlffi coleur, compofed of feveral coats or crufts, and which, as well as the pillars, continually increafe in bulk, After furveying *fo much of Spain in my prefent letter, I ffiall fufpend the farther account of that kingdom till my next ; and in the mean time enjoy the hofpitable en tertainment afforded to a Britiffi traveller on the pelebrated fpot pf Gibraltar. LETTER LET. XIX.] SPAIN. ;.... 215 LETTER XIX, I N my progrefs through Spain, I ftopped feveral weeks In the capital of the king dom, Madrid, which by means of the im provements made lately In point of cleanli- nefs, Is now become a much more com fortable refidence than formerly, when the weather Is not too hot. This city is envi roned, at fome diftance, with very lofty mountains, the fummits of which are fre quently covered with fnow, as they were during a part of my excurfion. It is fur rounded by a mud wall, and contains about three hundred thoufand, inhabitants. The ftreets are. fpacious and handfome, and it is now well paved and lighted. The houfes are of brick, and laid out more for ffiew than convenlency. For one muft generally pafs through two or three large apartments of 21 6 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. of no ufe, to come at a fmall room* at the end, where the family fit. The windows, befides haying a balcony, are grated with iron bars, particularly the lower range, and fometimes all the reft ; fo that the houfes in general look more like prifons, than the habitations of people at their liberty. Se parate families commonly inhabit the fame houfe, as in Paris, and Edinburgh, Fo reigners are often much diftreffed for lodg ings at Madrid, as the Spaniards are not fond of receiving ftrangers into their houfes, efpeclally when known to be pro teftants, Provifions here are cheap, but in the whole city there is neither tavern nor coffee-houfe, and the only newfpaper is the Madrid Gazette, the perufal of which can afford very little entertainment. The royal palace ftands on an eminence, on the weft fide of the city. It is a fpacious and magnificent ftrufture, confifting "of three courts, and commands a beautiful profpeft. Each of the fronts Is four hun dred and feventy feet in length, and a hun dred high. No palace in Europe is fitted up more fuperbly. The great audience chamber is a hundred and twenty feet long, and Let. XIX.] spain. 217 and hung with crimfon velvet richly em-* broidered with gold. It is ornamented alfo with twelve looking glaffes, each ten feet high, and with twelve tables of the fineft Spaniffi marble. The other royal palaces round the capital are defigned for hunting- feats, or houfes of retirement for the royal family. The chief of thefe are Buen Re- tiro, Cafa del Campo, Aranjuez, ^and St. Ildefonzo. The firft two are not confpi cuous, and Buen Retiro is now ftripped of all its beftplftures and furniture. The pa lace of Aranjuez itfelf is rather an elegant than a magnificent building, but its gar dens are extremely delightful. Here Is alfo a park many leagues round, cut acrofs in different parts, by alleys of two, three, and even four miles extent. Each of thefe al leys is formed by two double rows of elm- trees on each fide, '¦ which afford a very agreeable ffiade in the fummer months. The alleys are wide enough to admit of four coaches abreaft ; and between each double row there is a narrow channel, through which runs a ftream of water. In the intervening fpaces of the park, there are thick groves of fmaller trees of various kinds ; 21 8 LETTERS OF A TRAVELiER. kinds ; and thoufands of deer and wild boars wander there at large, befides num- berlefs hares, rabbits, pheafants, partridges, arid feveral other kinds of birds. The ri ver Tagus runs through this place, and dii^ vides it into two unequal parts. The pa lace ftands in the centre of this great park, and is partly furrounded by the gardens, which are exceedingly pleafant, and adorn ed with fountains and ftatues. The palace of St. Ildefonfo- is built of brick, plaftered and painted, but no pare of the architefture is agreeable. It is two ftories high, and the garden front has thir ty-one windows, and twelve rooms in a fuite. The gardens are Mi a flope, on the top of which is a great refervoir of water, which fupplies the fountains, and is fur niffied by the torrents which pour down the adjacent hills. In the gardens are twen- ty-feven ,fountains, ;-The bafons are of white marble, and many of the ftatues are admirable. But the Ijpaft ofSpainis the Efcurial, one of the largeft edifices in the world. It is faid to have been built by Philip II. of Spain, in confequence of a vow he made to St, Laurence, LET. XIX.] SPAIN. 219 Laurence, before the battle of St. Quintin, which was fought on rhe loth of Auo^uft, 1557. According to the Spaniffi accounts, fix millions of ducats were, expended upon its conftruftion. It confifts of feveral courts, and quadrangles, which altogether are dif pofed in the ffiape of a gridiron, the inftru ment of the martyrdom of St. Laurence. The building is an oblong fquare of fix hundred and forty feet by five hundred and eighty. The' height up to the roof is all round fixty feet, except on the garden fide, where the ground is more taken away. At each angle is a fquare tower two hundred feet high. The number of windows in the weft front is two hundred, in the eaft three hundred and fixty-fix. The orders em ployed are the Doric and Ionic ; but the outward appearance of this vaft mafs is ex tremely plain, and far from being gratify ing to the view. With its towers, fmall windows, and fteep floping roof, it cer tainly exhibits an uncouth ftyle of archi tefture ; notwithftanding which, the domes and the prodigious extent of its fronts, ren der it a wonderfully grand objeft. The 226 lEAVTTERS OF A TRELLER. The church, which ftands in the centre of this vaft convent, is large, awful, and richly, but not affeftedly, ornamerited. The cupola is bold and light. The high altar Is compofed of rich marbles, agates^ and jafpers, of great rarity, all of them the produce of Spain. Two magnificent Ca- tafulquas fill up the fide arcades of this fanftuary. On one, the emperor Charles V. his wife, daughter, and two fifters, are reprefented in bronze, larger than life, kneeling ; oppofite are the effigies of Philip II. and his two wives, of the fame mate rials, and In the fame devout attitude. Underneath is the burial place of the royal family, called the Pantheon. This maufoleum is circular, thirty-fix feet dia meter, and incrufted with fine marble, in an elegant tafte. The bodies of the kings and queens lie in tombs of marble, in niches, one above another. There are twenty-fix of thefe urns, but as yet only thirteen are filled ; the laft two kings, and all the queens that died without iffue, be ing burled elfewhere. The plan of thefe fepulchres is grand, and executed with a princely magnificence ; but the whole may ap-' LET. XIX.] SPAIN. 221 appear too light, and two delicately fitted up for the idea we are apt to form of a re pofitory of the dead. The colleftion of piftures difpofed about various parts of the church, &c. is equal, if not fuperior, to any gallery In Europe, except that of Drefden. It was formed out of the fpoils of Italy, and the wafted cabinet of Charles' I. of England ; and con tains fome ofthe moft capital works ofthe greateft painters that have flourlffied fince the revival of the art. Amongft thefe is the celebrated Madonna del Pefca pf Ra phael, one of the moft valuable piftures in the world. The perfonages that compofe the fubjeft are, the Virgin Mary feated, with her fon in her arms. On her right the angel Raphael introduces Tobit, who kneeling prefents the fiffi, which gives name to the whole. On the other fide ftands St. Jerome, in the habit of a cardi nal, kneeling near a lion. Seville, the Julia of the Romans, is next to Madrid, the largeft city in Spain, but is greatly decayed both In riches and popula tion. The walls appear to be of Mooriffi on, This is a branch of a high mountain, formerly called the Mountain of the Moon, and at prefent MoUnt Cintra ; on the top of which is a fine monaftery, dedicated to our Lady of the Rock, and a church, whither people refort in great numbers, to perform their devotion for nine days. . Both the church and cloyfter, with an inn that ftands near them for the accommodation of the devotees, are hewn out of the folid rock. This lofty fituation commands one of the moft beautiful prof pefts Jn the world. At fhe foot of the, mountain, on the promontory, are the ru ins of an ancient temple, dedicated to the Sun, and Moon,, on one of the pillars of which, a part of a Latin infcription is ftill vifible- About twenty-two miles to the fouth ward, of LIffion, at the bottom of a fine bay, ftands Setuhal, commonly called St. Ube's. It is a modern town, built out of the ruins of the ancient Cetobriga, which ftood LET, XX,} PORTUGAL. 23J ftood a little to the weft ward, and had in it a temple dedicated to Jupiter Ammon, of which there are yet fome rem.ains. Here is a great manufafture of white fait, which is exported to the north countries of Eu-^ rope, and to America. The capital of the province of Alentajo is Ebora, fituated about fixty miles fouth-eaft of LIffion, on a hill encompaffed with mountains. It is three miles in circumference, furrounded by an antique wall and towers. This city is faid to have been built by the Phoeni cians, who gave It the name of Ebora, in allufion to the fruitfulnefs of the foil.' Ju- liua Caefar changed its name to Liberalitas Julia, as appears from an ancient infcrip tion. This was a confiderable town in the time of the Gothic kings. It remained under the dominion of the Moors till the year xi66, when king Alphonfo retook it, with the' other towns ofthe province. The vallies in this part of the country are exceeding fruitful, and there are mines of ^Iver in the mountains. Eftremos ftands near twenty miles north- eaft of Ebora, on a hill, and is divided into the Higher and Lower town, the former. ferving 234 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. ' ferving as a caftle to the latter. The houfes of the people of condition are built of white marble, and make an elegant' appearance... Here is a manufafture of fine red earthen ware, and without the town is a fountain, endowed with the quality of petrifying al moft whatever is thrown into it. , ¦ On a hill, about twenty-four miles to the eaftward of Eftremos, lies Elvas, near the frontiers of the Spaniffi- Eftremadura, It is well-built, is defended by a caftle,. and ftrongly fortified. Here is a cifternfo large, that it could hold water enough to fupply the whole town for fix months. This place is of great antiquity, and was formerly cal led., Helvis, from a people of Gaul who built It. It is at prefent efteemed one of the ftrongeft fortreffes in the kingdom, and the neighbouring country affords fome of the beft wines in Portugal. In the northern part of Portugal, the principal town is Braga, This is a very an cient city, and was known to the Romans by the name of Bracara Augufta. When the Suevi came from Germany, and made a. conqueft , of Galicia and Portugal, this was the feat of, their governn^ent, and con-. , : _ 1" tinued LET. XX.] PORTUGAL. 235 tinned to be the capital of a kingdom under their fucceffors the Goths. The houfes are generally old ftone buildings, without much elegance. Even the cathedral and arch- blffiop's; palace are more admired for their antiquity and magnitude, than the beauty of their architefture. This prelate Is both fpirltual and temporal lord of the place ;; on which account he: has a f^^ord as well afr. a crofs carried before him. He difputes the primacy with the archbiffiop of Toledo ip, Spain. j , i CImbra ftands on an eminence on the ndrth-fide of the , ; river Mondego. The bridge of this place is a. fine ftone fabric, confifting of two.: rows of arches, one above another, and forms a covered way, through which people pafs, without being expofed to the weather.. The- aqueduft which- brings water to the town is alfo much ad mired. ^ The cathedral, and other churches and monafteries, are handfome buildings, but the private houfes not elegant. The city is diftinguiffied by one of the tribunals of Inquifition, and the moft celebrated uni verfity in Portugal ; in the latter of which there are fifty profeffors. There 23^ LETTERS , OF AfTRAVELLER. There is in this country a great number of other towns, befides thofe above men tioned ; and amongft them I muft not omit. Oporto, which contains about thirty thoufand inhabitants, and is reckoned the fecond city in the kingdom. The chief ar ticle of commerce here is wine, of which our own country is allowed the diftin'ftion of confuming by far the greater part. Half the ffiops in this place are thofe of wine- coopers. In the principal flreet the mer-^ phants affemble daily to tranfaft bufinefs | and they are protefted fom the fun by awn ings hung acrofs from thc-houfes on each fide. Here are feveral Engliffi families, who; are chiefly concerned in the wine-^ trade. Since the difcovery of the rich mines ini Brazil, and the fuppreffion of the Jefuits . and other religious inftitutions, the reve nues of the crown are computed to be worth near four millions ; notwithftanding which the forces of the kingdom are very incon- fiderabie. The military eftablifhment, tho' now improving, cQnfift:ed for many years pnly ef a raw and undlfciplined mili tia ; and with refpeft to naval force, . the. < Portu*. LET. XX»] .PORTUGAL. ^37 Portuguefe are the leaft formidable of all the maritime powers. Their fecurity againft the encroachments of Spain, feems to de* pend chiefly on the matrimonial connexions of the two crowns ; and on the commercial alliance which it is always the intereft of Portugal to maintain with the Britiffi nation. . About the middle of the fixteenth cen tury, and for fome time after, the Portu guefe were more eminent for the knowlege of aftronomy, geography, and navigation, than aU other nations put together. But learning of every kind is now at an ex-* treme low ebb in Portugal ; owing not to any defeft of genius, but to the want of proper education. There are, however^ amongft them a few univerfities, viz. that of Cimbra, before-mentioned, founded in J 29 1 ; Evora, about the middle of the fix* teenth century ; and a pollege at LIffion, where the young nobility are educated. The Lufiad of Camoens may be faid fcsl be the only work of genius ever produced by a natiVfe of this country. In general, the fine arcs al-e uncultivated ; and with J«fpeft to that of paintings in particular, there 238 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER.'* " ^ there is not, I believe, in the whole king dom, a fingle pifture from any of the Ita lian fchools. ' Antiquities in this country are not nu* merous ; but the Roman bridge and aque-' duft are almoft entire, and defervedly ad-^ rhlred. The walls of Saritareen are like- wife faid to be of Romanereftlon. Some caftles in the Mooriffi tafte ftill exift in different parts. The churCh. and mo naftery near LIffion, where the kings of Portugal are burled, are extremely magni ficent ; and feveral monafteries, in other places are dug out ef the hard rock. The chapel of St. Roch is allowed to be-one of the fineft artd richeft in the worlds The paintings are executed in Mofalc, and fo curioufly wrought with ftones of different colours, as to exhibit an appearance equally delightful and aftoniffiing. Fi In general, the Portugeufe are neither fo tall nor fo well, made, as the Spaniards, but they moftly imitate the habits and cuftofns pf that people. The ladies I think, drefs even more magnificently than thofe of Spain ; and they are taught to exaft from their fervants an homage, which in other iroj:: countiries LET. XX.] PORTUGAL* 239 countries is only paid to royal perfonages. In compeiifation, however, for this fubmif'- fion, they never difcharge any perfon who has been in the fervice of their anceftors ; on which account, in fome families, the number of domeftics is very great. In the houfes of the nobility, the furniture is rich and fuperb to excefs ; but the poorer fort have fcarcely any furniture at all ; and iri imitation of the Moors, they fit always crofs-legged on the ground. As the Spai- niards have relaxed in national induftry fince the difcovery of Ariierica, fo have the Portuguefe degenerated in all their virtues, from the time that the hoUfe of Braganza afcended the throne : for they retain no trace of that fpirit of enterprife which fd much diftinguiffied their forefathers in the fifteenth century. It is fuppofed that their degeneracy is owing to the weaknefs of their monarchy, which renders ' them in* aftive, from an apprehenfion of giving of fence to their more powerful neighbours. This fatal inaftivlty proves the fource of feveral vices ; among which the Portu guefe are particularly charged with trea chery, ingratitude, and an intemperate paf- . - 1 fion, 246 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER* fion for revenge. By the lower people thieving is very commonly praftifed ; and all ranks are accufed of being unfair in their dealings, efpecially with ftrangers, Befides ordinary fervants^ the quality re tain many dwarfs, and they have alfo a train of flaves, both Turks and Moors, each of whom is valued at four or five huntdred Crowns, The mafters formerly had th^ power of life and death over this clafs of their dependantSj but the government now reftrains them from the exercife of capital jurifdiftion, though they continue to infliift corporal puniffimerit with great feverity. Thofe flaves, however, are incomparably the beft fervants in Portugal ; for the other fervants having the common pride of the iiatlon, often prove refraftory, and are apt to be extremely Irripeftinent. Even beg-^ gars afk alms with a tone that favours more of requifition than intreaty ; alledging, that they are defeended from primitive chriftlans, .or the ancieiit Gothic nobility. The ladies here often ride dn burros^ orjack-affts, with a pack faddkw A fet- -vant attends with a ffiarp ftix:k, which he ¦ufes inflead of a whip ; arid for retarding the LET. XX.] |»6RTUGALi 241 the beaft when it goes too quick, the expe dient is to pull it by the tail. Coaches are not fo frequent among the Portuguefe as in Spain, but in place of them the litter or mule is commonly ufed on a jdurney; and in many parts, the moft common way of tra velling is by water. In Portugal, nobility is riot hereditary. The chief order of knighthood is called the Order of Chrift, and was inftituted in 1283. Though worn by the king himfelf, it is often proftituted to the meaneft candidates for royal favour, and is become fo common, as almoft to preclude the diftinftlon which it was meant to confer. R LETTER 242 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, LETTER XXI, -L HE boundaries of Italy have been £xed by nature, but no other country has fluftuated more -with refpeft to its internal divifions. Extraordinary changes have taken place, within the laft two years ; and even at the moment I am writing to you they are ftill proceeding. In what a ftate of fubjeftion is, at prefent, the king of Sardinia, hitherto denominated the Janus of Italy, as being its conftant guardian againft the encroachments of the French I Where is now the republic of Genoa, for merly diftinguiffied for -its opulence and power? And where, the fuperior republic of Venice, one of the moft celebrated fince the extinftion of the Roman ? But greater ftill. In point of fame, Where the Ecclefiaf tical State, the feat of papal hlerarchV, and formerly LET. XXI.] iTAL-if. ii\,^ formerly the capital of the world ? E-ven thither, we find, the revolutionary princi ples and violence of the French have pene trated. They have driven from his throne, without the fmalleft refiftance, a power, whofe predeceffors, fome centuries ago, gave law to the nations of Chiiftendom, and ffiook eftabllffied kingdoms to their foundations with the thunder of the Vati can. Whether thefe great events be really the accdmpllffiment of fcriptural predic tions, as is the opinion of fome, I am not fuch a cafuift as to take upon me to deter mine ; but they doubtlefs afford ufeful leffons both to kings and their people* Tp the former they inculcate moderation in the exercife of power and authority ; and to the latter they proclaim the expediency of the fame virtue, in all attempts to the re fiftance of eithet. A mob may, in the rage of violence, overturn an eftabllffied confti tution ; but the chance is a thoufand to one, that they never will be a£le to ereft any adequate fubftitute in its room ; and when the paroxyfm of revolutionary phren- zy has ceafed, they will experience fuch a relaxation in the political fyftem, as no- R i ^^^% 244 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER- thing will preferve from the moft fatal ef* fefts, but a recurrence to arbitrary powers The country may^ in the mean time, be deluged with blood, and expofed to all the horrors of anarchy ; while In the end, pub lic freedom is found to have been facrificed to a nominal change in the government. In taking a view of Italy I ffiall begin in the moft northern part with the Duchy of Savoy. This country belongs to its own Duke, who, fince the commencement of the prefent century, is better known by the title of Iting of Sardinia, an ifland ia the Mediterranean. From its fituation clofe to the Alps, it is mountainous and barren, but contains fome pleafant fruitful vallies, producing corn, wine, and fruits, and affording pafture to numerous herds of cattle. In this country are the celebrated Gla ciers, which are five in number. They extend almoft to the plain of' the vale of Chamouny,; and are feparated by wild fo refts, corn-fi.elds, and rich meadows; fo that immenfe trafts of ice are blended with the higheft cultivatiori,and perpetually fuC- C'eed to each otjier, in the moft fingnlar and tET. XXI.] ITALY. 245 and ftriking viclffitude. The Glacier of Furca extends at leaft three miles in length, and near a mile in breadth ; ftretch^ ing from the feet of huge ffiagged rocks of great height, and reaching almoft to their ffimmits. This glacier is the principal fource from whence the Rhone takes its rife. That river here foams with amaz ing rapidity, and falls in a continual cata raft at the foot of prodigious mountains. In thefe mountains likewife are the fources ofthe Aer, which rolls down in an impetu ous torrent from the neighbouring glaciers. It is aftoniffiing what a chaos of mountains . are here heaped upon one another ! In the vicinity of this fcene is alfo the fource of the Reichen, which rolls In numerous' cata rafts down the fteep fides of Mount Shel- dec, until it forms a junftion with the Aer. The celebrated fall of the Stoub- back rolls down perpendicularly from a height of nine hundred and thirty feet. One contemplates with aftonlffiment the great central chain pf the Alps ; rocks towering above rocks, and mountains rifing above mountains, not more diftinguifhed for their ftupendous heights/ than for the R 3 immenfe ¦246 LETTERS OP A TRAVELLER. immenfe variety and riidenefs of their forms. Mount Blanc is particularly dif tinguiffied, by having its fummits and fides, to a confiderable depth, covered with fnow, almoft without the inter vention of the leaft rock to break the glare of the white appearance, from whence its name is derived. Turin, the capital of Savoy, ftands at the confluence of the Po and Doria, and I may fay with juftice, is one of the fineft cities in Europe. The ftreets and fquares are fpa cious, the buildings lofty and magnificent, -and the royal palace in particular, abeautifi|l ftrufture. The ordinary income of the king, befides his own demefnes, have been eftimated at half a million fterling; but his revenues are now greatly reduced by the dilapidations of the French. The fate of this venerable prince, (I mean the fathejr of the prefent king)., has a diftant refem blance to that of Priam. He did not, live, indeed, to, fee theejstlnftlon of almoft all his offspring, but he had. the pain to behold a miferable reduftion of his family, and an almoft total annihilation of his crown. Jlis anceftor, Viftor Amadeus, was the laft LET.'xX'L] ITALY, 247 laft prince who gave the world an inftance of magnanimity, by retiring from the ex-. ercife of fovereign power, while his domi nions were in a ftate of profperity, and his own. health and conftitution unimpaired. While I was paffing the Alps, my ima gination recalled to view the celebrated perfons of ancient times, whp had croffed thefe mountains at the head of numerous armies. You will know that I mean Han nibal and Julius Caefar. In cornparing thefe commanders with each other, I remarked a great: diverfity in feveral particulars re- fpefting them, with which. I beg leave to prefent you. The principal motive which Hannibal had for leading his army acrofs the Alps, was a hereditary hatred to the RomanSi, which, when nine years old, at the defire of his father, he fplemAly fwore at the altar never to abandon. But the. motive of Cae far, in his pafiage of thefe mountains, was ambition. They were both great com- noanders ; but Hannibal was a barbarian, Caefar an accompliffied fchpl^r, and^ri elf - gant writer. The 248 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. The Carthagiriian forfeited allhis fiiccefs by not improving his viftory ; the Roman obtained his final and decifive viftory by im proving a defeat. Hannibal fled from the field of Zama, a wretched exile, into Afia; Caefar on the plain of Pharfalla, rofe mafter of the world. The former expired by a voluntary death, after all his military efforts had terminated in difappintment ; the latter by the hands of affaffins, when, to ufe his own remark, he had lived fufficiently long to nature and to glory. I am ftrongly of opinion, from the ge- , neral contrariety of their fortunes, that had Caefar flourlffied during the fecond Pu nic war, Hannibal would never have re mained any confiderable time within the limits of Italy. I ffiall not fay, that in fightihg with . fuch an antagonlft, Caefar would have ufed the laconic terms which he did on mentioning his defeat of Pharnaces, veni, vidt, vici ; but I think, at the fame time, it never cPuld have been faid of him, eun&andoreftituit rem. His natural ardor of mind, his thirft of glory, his well- founded confidence in himfelf, - and the at tachment of his veteran legions ; all thefe caufes Let. XXI.] iTaly. 249 caufes wolild have urged him foon to an en gagement. Between two generals of fuch abilities, and two armies aftuated with fuch inveterate and mutual animofity, the con- teft muft have been fierce and obftinate ; but it Is probable that the military fkill, and good fortune' of Caefar would have procured him the viftory. Hannibal would have been forced to retreat from Italy with precipi tation ; or perhaps his deftiny might have referved him for a more ignoble alternativei, to follow, in ignominious chains, the tri umphal proceffion of his conqueror ; while amidft the general chorus of Io Triumphe I the temples of the gods .would have re- founded with praifes, for the juft retribution of Punic faith. But this would have only been a prelude to a yet more fignal cataftrophe. Caefar, by his eloquence, would have, induced the fenate to retaliate the invafion of their country. A tranfport of patriotifm would have burft from the Roman capital, in ac clamations of vengeance on their inveterate rival ; and the applauding people have join ed with the Patrician order, in nominating • to the important command, the conqueror of 25P LETTERS- OF. A "If^AVELLEfe.' ¦ of Hannibal. With an army fluffied with viftory, he would have immediately croffed, the Mediterranean, as he forlnerly had done the Britifji Channel ; and gathering freffi lau rels on the plains of Carthage, Czefar, and not Sclpio, would have been the Africanus of Rome. — But I have inadvertently led, you into Africa fooner than I intended, and ffiall therefore break off. id' ^-i LETTER LET. XXII.] iTALt. 25 1 LETTER XXII. I HAVE already hinted at the fluftua- tions of government in Italy, both in an cient and modern times. In the former period, thofe changes arofe chiefly from arbitrary, ufurpations of power: but in the latter, to this caufe has been joined the in trigues of the church. It is a mortifying confideration, that the afcendancy acquired by the Roman pontiffs over the nations of Chriftendom, was almoft conftantly em ployed, either in temporizing, for its own advantage, or fomenting jealdufies and di vifions deftruftive to other powers. Arro gating to themfelves an authoaity for dif- penfing with the eternal laws of God, as fuited their own paffions or interefts, they tyrannized over the confciences of menj ^nd under the %ecious mafk of the minifters of 253 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. of peace, were in faft the daemons of difcord. The riext Italian diftrift in our progrefs fouthward, is the Milanefe, which lately belonged to the Houfe of Auftria, but ];ias, in the plenitude of French ufurpation, been converted into a republic, and fufficiently fleeced of its riches. This province, when under its own dukes, gaye law to all Italy ; but what may be its future importance in the fcale of power, or how long it may retain its new form of government, I ffiall not exprefs any conjefture. The beauty and fertility of the country, however, is almoft Incredible. Its former revenue was eftimated at three hundred thoufand pounds. The capital, Milan, contains about thirty thoufand inhabitants, and is furniffied with a magnificent cathedral in the Gothic tafte. To this duchy was incorporated, that of Mantua; and in their united ftate, they took the name of Auftrian Lombardy, I cannot mention Mantua without recalling to mind, by an affociation of ideas, the ad joining village of Cremona, (now Andes)^ which had the honour of gloving birth to the immortal Virgil. Is it not furprizing, that LET. XXli.] ITALY. ' 253 that no monument to his memory lias ever been erefted at this place ? But indeed, he has himfelf raifed one, of greater duration than brafs or marble ; and he was ambi tious of doing fo : Tentanda via efi, qua me quoque pojjim Toller e humo viSlorque vir4m volitare per era. Georg. lib. iii. Let me add, that in Mantua the poet Taffo was born. Continuing our route ftill towards the fouth, we arrive at Genoa, the prefent ftate of which I anticipated in my laft let ter. The city is fuperb, and contains fome Very magnificent palaces, with confidera bly more than a hundred thoufand inhabit ants ; but with all its external grandeur, its maritime power had almoft totally de clined ; and the chief fafety of the republic confifted in the jealoufy of other European powers, who were each appehenfiyc left it ffiould become an acquifition to any other than themfelves. The principal manufaftures of this place are velvets, da- mafks, gold arid filver tiffucs, and paper. The ^54 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLED. The government was ariftocratical, being Veftedin the nobility, and the chief ma- giftrate had the title of Doge, or Duke* He was chofen every two years ; and none could be promoted to this dignity till he was fifty years of age^ The common peo ple of Genoa are extremely wretched, and the foil, of its territory very barren ; but near the fea, fome parts are tolerably well cultivated. The republic, however, pof- . feffed a revenue barely fufficlent to pre-t ferve the appearance of a foVereign ftate. In -my tour through Italy, I had the goo4 fortune to meet, at this place, with aii amiable Engliffi Lady, whom I had for-» merly feen at London, where ffie married ' Mr. Cilefia, a native of Genoa, who had been fome years in England in a public ca- pacityi She was the eldeft daughter of Hr. Mallet, vt^ho ranks high in the lift of Britiffi poets ; and ffie inherited, from her father, a great tafte for poetry i to which ffi'e joined an uncpmmon proficiency in mu- ^c. I found myfelf fo much at home in this familyj for Mr* Cilefia likewife was a moft agreeable and accompliffied perfon, that I came again by 'Ge/ioa, on my return from LET. XXII.] ITALY. 255 from the fouth, and made a ftay of fome week.d. Happening to tell Mrs. Cilefia of what had occurred at Ferney, the humour feized her-likewife of giving me an exercife in po etry ; and ffie requefted that next morning I ffiould produce an addrefs to a lady of thp higheft diftinftlon. To avoid all appear ance of perfonal confiderations in her choice, ffie fixed upon Semiramis, Queen of Babylon. In compliance with her de fire, I accordingly wrote the following verfes, which I fend you for your amufe- ment. O Thou ! whofe luftre gilds Affyria's throne, "Whofe royal cares applauding millions own. Accept the tribute which thy fame infpires. Thy fame produftive of the poet's fires j "Who fcorns alike to taint his gen'rous lays, ¦With venal pomp, or proftltutec^ pralfe. How ffiall the mufe in ardent verfe dlfplay^ The matchlefs fplendor of th' aufpicious day^ ¦Vyhen firft thou, deckt in all thy radiant charffi'S^ ¦With rapture blefs'd th' exulting monarch's arms j When feftive triumph reign'd without alloy. And Babylon's towers proclaim 'd the public joy ? How 256 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLERv. How fliall her ftrains, expanding with her view. Attempt the glorious, fubjeft to purfue ; ¦When cities captur'd, and when king's o'erthrown. Thou ftretch'd thy conquefts o'er a world unknown? Then India's plains beheld thy martial toils, Whilft vanquifh'd nations trembled for their fpoik. Then lofty Baglftan, untrod before. Thy pow'r acknowledg'd, and thy trophies bore. The gods aftoniffi'd faw thy ftruftures rife. And hail'd a fecond "Venus to the Ikies. Long as Euphrates ffiall his waters roll. Long as ffiall ftand the Babylonian Mole, Long as thy empire's glory, ne'er furpaft. Of thine own more than -human works ffidl laft j From envy, rage, and time itfelf fe ure. Thy fame. Immortal princefs ! ffiall endure- LETTER i IeT. xxiil] iTAL-y. 2^y ''¦•^- -¦'^'¦-'«^-"r'^ ¦^¦¦- LETTER xxm. ^ H E republic of Venice is now no more, and 1 therefore can fpeak of it only as it formerly exifted ; but in refpeft of its topographical fituation, I ftill may ufe the prefent tenfe. It is feated on feventy-two iflands, near the end of the Adriatic Sea, and is feparated frdm the Cdntlnent by a riiarffiy lake of five Italian miles in breadth, its chief defence againft any attack from that quarter. Venice, when I was there, preferved the veftiges of its ancient mag nificence, but in every other refpeft, was degenerated. The conftitution of this re*^ public was originally democratical, and the magiftrates were chofen by a general af fembly of the people ; till, after various changes, a body of nobility was formed, which becoming hereditary, took into their S \ , own 258 LETTERS OF- A TRAVELLER^ own hands the whole of the governmentjf both legiflative and executive, and a Com plete ariflocracy was eftabllffied. The no-* bihty were divided into fix claffes, ^amount- ing altogether to two thoufand five hun dred ; each of whom, at the age of twenty- five years, was entitled to be a member of the grand council. Thefe elefted a Doge, or chief maglftiate, who was invefted with great ftate, and with the emblems of fu preme authority ; but fo limited was his power, that he was not permitted to ftir from the city without obtaining leave of the- grand covmcil. The Venetian nobility, like the fenators of ancient Rome, were habited in a man ner different from the other claffes of the people, but hot in the faffiion of the Patri cians. They all wore black gowns, large wigs, and caps which they held in their hands. I was once prefent at the annual ce remony of the t)oge's marrying the Adriatic Sea, by dropping a ring into it from his ftate gondola, or barge. He was accompanied at this folemnity by the whole body of the nobility, in their different barges ; and tho' it was the irioft fuperb exhibition in Venice^ & Let. xxm.] .italy. , 259 I did not think it comparable in pomp even to a Lord Mayor's ffiew. But in the grandeur ofthe city, particularly the public buildings, Venice was almoft without a rival. There are near five-hundred bridges over the fe veral ¦ canals in Venice, and the greater part of them of ftone. The chief manu faftures of this place were fcarlet cloth, gold and filver ftuffs, and above allj fine looking glaffes. The Venetians are a lively ingenious people, and in general fober, though ex travagantly fond of public amufements. I counted eight or nine theatres, including the opera-houfes; It was ufual for great numbers of ftrangers to vifit this city during the time of the carnlvalj and to thofe the natives were always extremely obliging. The cuftom of going about in tnafks at Ve nice was prevalent ; but I could not find that there was fo much ground for the imputation pf licentioufnefs as has been -generally faid. Some centuries ago, the Venetians were the moft formidable maritime power in Eu rope, Towards the end of the twelfth century, they conquered Conftantinople, S 2 hen ±66 LETTERS OF A TR,AVELLE*,' then the feat of the eaftern empire, anJ held it fpr fdme time, together with great part of the Continent of Europe and Afia. For many years they mdnopolized the trade of India ; but the difcovery of a paffage to that country by the Cape of Good Hope, gave the firft bioW to their greatnefs, which was afterwards farther reduced by confede racies formed againft them among the other powers of Europe, Padua is fituated twenty-tWo miles weft of Venice, on a fine plain, watered by the rivers Brintac and Bachiglione, arid is about feven miles In circumference ; but the ground withlri the wails is not half built at prefent. It was formerly, however, one of the moft fiouriffiing cities in Italy. In the time of the Romans, the inhabitants amounted to a hundred thoufand ; but at prefent they do not exceed thirty- thoufand : and the Univerfity, M'hich was fo famous- two or three hundred years ago, is now reduced t-o one college. Here is ftill a ma nufafture of woollen cloth ; and the adja cent country abounds with oil and wine^- aiid the moft delicious fruits : but the peo ple live in great poverty, from the. tyranny of tET, XXIH,] ITALY, 261 of the Venetian republic. They ffiew at this place an image of the Bleffed Virgin, which, according to their legendary creed, flew thither from Conftantinople, when that city was taken by the Turks, Padua was the birth place of the celebrated Ro man hiftorian, Titus Livius ; and we are told by Virgil, that it was originally built by Antenor, AnteHor Jiotuit, mediis elapfus Achivis, Illyricos p£netrare Jinus, at que intima tutus Regna Liburnorum iS fontem fuperare Timavi : Unde per ora novem vafto cum murmure montis It mare proruptum i^ [lelago premit arva fonantl. Hie iamen ille urhem Patavi fedefque locavit Teucrorum, ^ gettti nomen dedit, armaquefixit Tro'ia. There is not at prefent a more fiouriffiing ftate in Italy,- than the duchy and city of Parma, with the duchies of Placentia and Gueftella. Both in Parma and Placentia the foil Is fertile, and produces the richeft fruits and pafturages, The former contains confiderable manufa<^ures of filk. It rs the fea* of a biffiopTic, and an Univerfity ; and ipme of its' magriifi-cent churches are :pa;inted S3 fey 262 LETTERS OF A TkAVELLiEft, J- by the celebrated Corregglo. The city of' Parma is coriiputed to contain fifty thoufarid inhabitants. Hiftory ha-s tranfmitted, with out difguife, that the firft Duke of Parma was natural fon to Pope Paul III. It./Would feem as if the cuftom had not then been introduced of denprriinating a perfon fQ nearly related to the holy father, the Pope's nephew. . : The Duchy of Modena, formerly Mu- tina, is governed by its own Duke, the head of the houfe of Efte, from whom the family of Brunfwick is defcended. The Duke of York, brother tp King Charles II, married the Princefs Mary, fifter to the Duke of Modena, 1673 ; and to this match were afgribed the misfortunes which he in curred after afcending the throne, Lucca is fituated in a fmall delightful plairi, on the Tufcan Sea, and is the capital of a fmall republic. ; the territory of which is fo well Improved, that though the popu lation does not exceed a hundred and twenty thoufand, their annual revenue is computed at eighty thoufand .pounds fterling. Sq much are the inhabitants of this ;"epublic devoted to liberty, that they bear its name upon LET, XXIII.]' ITALY, 263 upon their arms ; and Its image is not dnly impreffed in their coin, but alfo on the city- gates, and all their public buildings. The Duchy of Tufcany Is an extenfive territory in this quarter, being a hundred" and fifty miles long, and about a hundred broad. The capital, Florence, called, on accdunt of its beauty, Florence the Fair, is one of the moft elegant cities In Italy, and fuppofed to contain about feventy thoufand inhabitants. The valuable colleftion of Greek and Roman antiquities In the Grand Duke's' palace, furpaffes defcription, and is the admiration of all travellers. In a room called the Tribunal, ftands the celebrated Venus of Medicis, univerfally regarded as a mafter-plece of ftatuary, and as the ftand- ard of tafle in female' beauty and propor tion, A part of one of its arms has been broken off, but is fupplied with ftucco, painted. So exqUifite is the workmanffiip of this flatue, that foftnefs and animation feem to be united iri the marble. She ftandg jn the attitude defcribed by Ovid : Ipfa Venus pub es, qudties velamina ponit,. frqtegitur lava femiTedu^d mam, The 264 LETTERS OF A^TRAVELLEB, The Infcription on the bafe affi.gns th^ produftion of it to Cleomenes, an Athenian, the fon of Apollodorus, * It Is of w|ilte marble, and furrounded with other admi rable fpecimens of Greek fculpture, fome o|" ¦^hich are faid to be the work of Praxi teles, Indeed every quarter of this beaur tiful city exhibits wonders In the arts pf fta tuary, painting, and architefture. Florence, ftands between mduntains co vered with pllve trees, vineyards, and delightful villas, and is divided by the Arno, Statues ^nd fountains are feen in almoft every ftreet.' The private buildings are lofty, the fquares fpacious; and the churches, the, number of which is prodigious, a,re little inferior to thofe of Rome. Here i^ an Archblffiop's fee, aixd, a Univerfity, as. well as feveral academies,. The Florentines bpaft of the i,mpro.ven:i,ents they have made In the Italian tongue, by means of thp Aca-t demja Pella Crufca, which is doubtlefs 4 ufeful, inftitution, an(l ,h^% ferved to refine the language, of the country. In general, the people of condition in Florence affeft great fla^e ; yet the nobility and gentry fcruple net to drive a retail trade in LET. XXIII.] ITALY, 12.6$, in winesj which they fell from their cellar windows ; and it is not uncommon to fee a broken flafk hang out as a fign of the traf fic. - But wine is not the only commodity in which they deal ; they can likewife fup ply purchafers with fruits, and are even ha-? berdaffiers in gold and filver ftuffs, The other principal towns of Tufcany, are, Pifa, famous for its hanging tower ; Leghorn, and Sienna. Pifa lies on the river Arno, and is now greatly decayed. Sienna is much in the fame fituation, but ftands on an eminence, in a pleafant fruit ful country, and Is elegantly built. Leg horn is a handfome city, well fortified, and has a commodious and fecure harbour. It is a free pprt, and the number of Inha-, ^itantg.is cprnputed at forty-thoufand. Thg Hetrurlans, the .ancient inhabitants pf this country, derived their origin from the remoteft antiquity ; but it is generally allowed, that they were a colony fronci,. Lydia. . — „ „ — ^, — . , . ^ Lydia quondam Gens bello praclara Jugis infedit Ettufds. VlRGIl. It 266 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. It is certain that they flourlffied in Italy before the Trojan war. - Many ancient hiftorians bear teftimony to the fame of this people. DIodorus Siculus calls them ^t^ert^m, lovers .of the arts ; and we are told by Heraclides Ponticus, that Homer made a vifit to their country, in confe quence of the reputation in which they Were held. They were no lefs renown ed for arms than for arts ; and it was not till almoft five hundred years after the building of Rome, that the whole power of the Romans could overthrow them. They were pnuch addifted to fuperftition and divination, though their religious re cords are now loft. But the lofs: of thofe writings deferves little to be regretted, in comparifon oP the -^^ more valuable monu- Hients of their political conftitution, and the famous book on the Tufcan laws, written by Ariftotle. We need no farther evidence of both their civil and military virtues, than that it was by adopting the Tufcan cuftoms, and by the continual exercife of arms in the wars which they maintained againft the Romans, that the latter became qualified to attain the fummit of grandeur, to which they Let. xxiil] italy*. s.6f they at laft arrived. As the people of He-c truria contefted for antiquity with thofe of Egypt, their learning has alfo ffiared the fame fate with the hieroglyphics of that pation ; for the language and the charafters of the Hetrurians are now no more under ftood. ' The republic of St Marino may be ef teemed a political curiofity. The whole of its territories confift of a high craggy moun tain, with a few eminences at the bottom*. The inhabitants boaft of having preferVed their liberties, as a republic, for 1300 years, and it is probable that their poverty may continue to exempt them frpm any change l?y French devaftation. LETTER g68 LETTERS. OF A TRAVELLEK, blfl> k ¦•¦ .'"j'; J'H*/r. ' ( ( nj':':i.-t:< LETTER XXIV, »" JL HE ecclefiaftical ftate is fituated about the middle of Italy, and exhibits, in the llrongeft light, the pernicious effefts of po-. piffi tyranny and fuperftition. Thpfe fpots which under the mafters ofthe world were adorned with elegawt villas, are now Coa- , verted into peftlleutja-I marffies ; and the Campagna di Roma, that formerly contain ed a, million of inhabitants, could not at pre fent, pf itfelf, afford fubfiftence to five hundred. Some late popes have endeavoured to improve their territories, but with little fuccefs. The difcouragement of induftry and agriculture feem to be interwdven with the principles of papal adminiftration, which, by a pernicious policy, is vefted in proud and lazy ecclefiaftlcs, whofe only ob jeft is to fleece the people, and retain them both LET. XXiV.] ITALY. 2.6^ I both in flavery and ignorance. Amidft public poverty, however, the fplendor and furniture of churches in the papal domi nions, are beyond defcription, and partly accounts, for the wretched condition ofthe fubjefts ; though this remark admits of ex ceptions even in the fuburbs of Rome. The reveriues of the apoftolic fee have been varloufly eftimated, but, according td the moft plaufible calculation, in late times, it has amounted to eight hundred thoufand pounds, including both the territorial in come and ecclefiaftical emoluments. It muft, however, have been greatly reduced by the fuppreffion of the order of Jefuits, and ftill more by the emancipation of France from papal jurifdiftion and authority. Modern Rome ftands upon the Tyber, about fifteen miles from the Tufcan fea, and contains within its circuit a vaft number of gardens and vineyards. Being built upon the ruins of the former city, it is feated about fourteen or fifteen feet higher thaa ancient Rome ; fo that it is difficult to dif- tinguiffi the feVen hills on which it was erefted. On this account, the Tarpeian rock, anciently a terrible precipice, from the ^"^O LETTERS OF A TRAVELIJERi; . the top of. which malefaftors were thrown," is not now twenty feet high. Its chief for trefs is the Caftle of St. Angelo, which could not, however, make any long de fence, , were it regularly befieged. The number of inhabitants is calculated at about a hundred and fifty thoufand* This celebrated city contains three hun dred churches, filled with all that is rare iri architefture, painting, and fcuplture. That of St. Peter is the moft aftoniffiing, bold, and regular fabric, that ever perhaps exifted in the world ; and fo perfeft iri refpeft' not only of defign, but of execution, that the moft expert architefts behold it with ad- miratlouj It is incrufted both within and without with marble. The pope's palace, named the Vatican,' is extremely magnificent, fituated on a'ri eminence, one of the feven hills on which the ancient city was built. It is faid to con tain five hundred and fixty rooms. The parts I moft admired were the grand ftair cafe, and the pope's apartment ; but chiefly the Vatican library, the richeft in the world ^ both in printed books and manufcripts.- AriiQrig LfeT. XXIV.] =:;iTALY. ' ''^1^ Among the antiquities of the moft ftrik ing magnificence, are the remains of a remarkable amphitheatre, which Was be gun by Vefpafian, and finiffied by Domi* tian. In the building of it twelve thoufand Jewiffi captives were employed by the former of thefe emperors. In its entire ftate, it is faid to have been capable of con taining eighty- feven thoufand fpeftators feated, and twenty thoufand ftanding. The architefture of this amphitheatre Is remark ably light, and Its dimenfions fo juftly pro portioned, that it appears to the eye much lefs than it really is. But it has been ftrip ped of all its magnificent pillars and orna ments , by different ravagers : the Goths, and other barbarians, began its deftruftion, and thofe who ought to haye been the guar dians of ancient relics, popes and cardinals, have contributed to efface it. The triumphal arches of Vefpafian, Septimiius Severus, and Conftantlne the Great, are ftill ftanding though. decayed. The ruins of baths, palace^ and temples, correfpond to the higheft ideas we can form of the Roman grandeur. The Pantheon, now converted into a modern, church, and which, from its circular figure, is ¦kfi letteSs OF A traveller; is commonly called the rotundo, is mote entire than any other Roman temple at pre fent exifting. There ftill remain feveral of the nifches, which anciently contained ftatues of the heathen deities. Thfe outfide of the edifice is of Tivoli free^ftorie, and within It Is encrufted with marble. The roof of this celebrated ftrufture is a round dome, without pillars, the diameter of which is a hundred and forty-foUr feet ; and though lighted only by ari aperture in the centre of the dome, a fpeftator finds no in convenience from the want of windows. The pavement Confifts of large fquare ftonesi and porphyry, floping round towards the centre, where the rairi Avater falling down through the aperture abPvementiPnedi is conveyed away by a proper drain, covered with a ftone full of holes. The colonnade in the front, which confifts of fixteen co lumns of granite, three feet high, exclu five of the pedeftals and capitals, each crit out of a fingle block, and which are of the Corinthian order. Can hardly be viewed without aftoriiffimerit. The entrance of the building is adorned with columns forty- eight feet high, arid the architrave is form ed LET. XXIVi] ITALY. ' 273 ed of a fingle piece of granite. On the left hand, on entering ^ the portico, is a large antique vafe, of Numidian marble ; and in the area in thcfront, is a fountain, with an aritique bafon of porphyry. , The prifon, which was built by Tullus Hoftiliusj and afterwards enlarged by An- Cus Martins, yet retnains, under the name of II Careera MarpentiriP. iThe moft an cient part of it is a dungepn, to which the defcent is by a few fteps. The walls are exceedingly folid, arid are made to flope inwards pyramidically, while the roof is left nearly flat, in order tp counterbalance the lateral preffure. In this prrfpn-they ffiew theinarkof St, Peter's head againft the wall, and the miraculous fpuritairi which fprung - np for the baptlfm of Jthe prifpners. This is -alfo the place of which Juvenal fpeaks in his third Satire,, and Salluft in his Confpi raey of Catiline. The pillars of Trajan and Antoninc ftill ftand confpicuous in their place ; the former a hundred and feventy-five feet high, and the latter covered with ^^rnblematlcal fculpture. The .fight of thpfe lofty co lumns fills the mind ¦yvith agreeable emo- T tions; i-^^ LETTERS dF A TRAVEJLLS*,f : .' trotts ; but my attention was yet- more ri"^' ~ -vetted on the roftrated columft erefted by Duillius, iri eommemofation of the firf^ naval viftory which the Romans 'gakied over the Carthaginians ; the ftatue of the wolf giving fuck to Romulus and Rem«s, with vifible marks of the ftroke of light ening, mentioned by Cicero j the original brafs plates containing tbe laws of the twelve tables ; arid a thoufand other iden-^ tical antiquities, fome ®f tbem fortunately tranfriaitted entire to the prefent times. About eight or ten miles fouth-eaft frons Rome, are ffiewn the ruins of a palaee,^ faid to have been formerly tbe refidence of Macenes } and a few miles further, at Ti-' ¥oli, the villa of his fovo^rite M^tat^i The Appian, Flamiftian, and .^miUart roads ; the firft, two hundred miles, the fe« cond, a h*uri^dred and thirty, and the thirdy flfty miles in length, are in many pl^e® ftill entire }- and magnificent ruins of vil las, and other ftruftures-, are frequent aU over Italy. Of all the towns in the ecclefiaftical ftate, the moft fiouriffiing is- Bologna, which is a hundred and ninety-five miles north-weft fram tfet. Xxi-^i] v.'v ITALY* :-a fi/S from RomCj ^rid is perhaps? Indebted for its profperity to the diftane^i of ^he fitufetipiu .1 mnft own, that this inference is riot very ionformable io ctJtritiioti dbfervatloa ia refpeft to dtlegated governments ; but that of the ,^ope3 iri moft circumftances is diffe* tent from every other that I kndW* The fucceftrori of the Roman poritiffs bei n g riot hereditary, but /elexiltjyfcij it is more the ftnariy of each irifcmhbent to enrich and ag- grafidize his own family by opjpreflittg the pedple-i thai! to tranfmit, to ari unknown fuGceflocF, the patrimioriy of the church in a: pr©fperdus condition. , His delegates, therefore, in Rome, arid the.adjacent parts, beuig immediately under his infpeftiori, are InorsiJitift and 1 fevere J in their exaftions frran. the papal .flibjeiSts, fchaii tbio>& who are hiore remote froni the capitaL Tjhe govern- merit of Bologna is. alsxfays entrufted to i, cardinal, who i& changed every three years* But if he is motd indulgent to the people than .other governors; 'it is probable thae hii benignity is noturirevsi^ardedby avolun- taifTi&Mrtf^w-, to himfelf. ' Tz The 276 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. . The grandeur of Ferrara, Ravenna, RiJ mini, Urbino,* Ancona, arid many other cities, illuftrious in former times, is now to be. noted only in their ruins andancient hiftory; while Loretto, an obfcute . fpot^ arid unknown in the times of antiquity, has, through the fuperftitious influence of the Romiffi clergy, become the admiration and idol of the Catholic world. They in^ duftrioufly propagated, a belief, that the ' houfe in which the Virgin Mary is faid to have dwelt at Nazareth, was carried thi ther through the air by'a!ngels; boldly af firming dike wife, that on the arrival ofthe facred manfion,^ all the trees in the neigh.* bourhood bowed' with the profoundeft re fpeft. Mecca is . not more , the refort of Mahometan pilgrirtis, than Loretto has been of the;7 Catholic. Two hundred thoufand have been known to arrive in a year. The valuable treaffire of every kind amaffed in this place j is Inconceivable ; but the prodi gious depofit.jhas at laft the art of enchantment, In order to delude the people, ,And I am of opinion, that the.fa- ^3E^pus; ferpent whiph went frpm the temple of Efculapius, in a ffiip to Rome, to cure the, city of a plague, had been for fpme timea, pupil of the priefts of that deity. Nor fh?,ll,I ever believe that the ferpents, which tjip Bacpl^analians twifted rpund their hair, ^. and LET. XXVl] * ¦' •• « r iTALY. ' ^ ' 2^1 and threw upon each other's breaft, for the admiration ofthe multitude, were any other than the moft harmlefs of the kind.; tho' Horace, in his Odes to Bacchus, would in finuate to the contrary. I have been led Into this ffiort dlgreffion by two cavtfes : one is, the country through which I am paffing, is that of the Marfi, who were famous for their power oyer ferpents ; and the other, that one of horfes was bitten by a ferpent, which happened to crofs the road in our jour ney. *& Naples, the capital of this kingdom, ftands on an eminence, rifing gradually from- the fea, which forms here a fine bay, thirty miles in diameter. This city is aftoriiffi- :' jngly ffiperb, and adorned with all the pro- */ufion of art and riches. The houfes are in general five pr fix ftories in height, and flat at the top, on which are placed num bers of flower vafes, or fruit-trees in boxes of earth, producing a very pleafing effeft. Some of the ftreets are remarkably hand fome, particularly thofe which lie open to the bay. In this city; you will find the rich eft aS2 ' LETTERS.OFA TRAVELLER*' ;¦:•'».. eft: and moft commodious conventsr in. Eti-^ rope ; and the moft fertile and bpauitiful hills in the neighbourhood am covered with tiaera. Upon the bay at this place ftoOd one of Cicero's villas ; and fome ruins yet to be feen are faid to be the veftiges of it. The dignified clergy and nobility of this kingdom are very numerous. In the cata- Jogue of the former, we meet with no lef$ than twenty- five archbiffiops, and a hun- 4red and twenty- five biffiops ; and in that of the latter, about three hundred princes, dukes, marquiffes, and carls. A great part of this clafs is comipofed of Genoefe, and other foreigners, who have purchafed titles isn thg kingdom. It is computed that one-. thir4 ofthe dominions pf Naples belongs to tbe clei"gy, and the remainder tp the crowjfi the nobility and gentry refpeftively, Every lord or gentleman who is proprietor of am eftate, is fovereign pf the people who live •upCBi it, imd may be faid to have the ahfo-* lute difpofal of all their effefts. While they pittugh his la^nds, aad plant bis vineyards and olive-yards, they are hardly alkjwed provifiorss! fuffieient for enabling them to. msdergp the toil 5 and the more to encreafe their LET.JCXV.] ITALY, -'_ Z%^ Jheir dependence, they are amenable to th© courts, of their refpeftive. lords, in cvery- cafe that is not capital. The confequenco 0fthlsg#eat oppreffion is, that though. th« 0ountry abounds in filks, the manufafture is very inconfiderable. They fend moft of it. abroad un wrought, and that in fuch a manner as is highly, difadvantageous to the traffic of the nation. For having few ffiipa of their own, as well as being deftitute of the fpirit of commerce, the proprietors pf the lands fell the produce of their eftates to foreigners, who ufiially export them in vef fels belonging to their own country. The king's ordinary revenues are com-. puted at a million a year, arifing from a compofition with the nobility and gentry for certain fums, in lieu of their perfonal fervices, from a duty on houfes, and an al moft general excife.. The crown alfo elaims a power of laying additional taxes, on the landed intereft, according to thenc- eeffities of the ftate. The clergy are fub"' jeft tp uo impofts, but grant a free gift# which however is for the moft part, pro!" portionabie to the taxes on the laity. . . , : About i(,^4- Letters of a traveller. About fix miles eaft of Naples, -ftands Mount Vefuvius, in awful grandeur. Its declivity towards the. fea is every where planted with vines and fruit-trees, and it is equally fertile towards the bottom ; but within a mile and a half of the top, it Is covered with black cinders and ftones. Vefuvius has been a vplcano beyond the reach of hiftory or tradition. Long before the firft recorded epoch of its irruption, it was defcribed by authors as bearing the marks of fire on Its fummit. A moft ani mated defcription of its ravages in 79, is left us by ¦ the younger Pliny. From that time it now and then burft out, and alarm ed the neighbouring country; but feemed ]3y degrees to lofe its vigor, till in the lower ages it fcarcely gave fufficlent alarm tP me rit a place in the chronicles of the times. In 1 63 1, it broke out again with accurriu- lated fury, and fpread fuph devaftation around, as almoft equalled the firft-men- tioned. Sipce that time, it has had its pe-s riods of turbulence and repofe ; and of late years it has fo encreafed its violence, as to toit fmpke continually, and every year^ ^at LET, X^V,] I.TALYj 28 j at leaft,' a torrfent of la-va; It is probable,- however, that with all its terrors, Veffi- vius, open and afti'Ve^ is lefs hoftile to Naples, than it wpuld be, if its eruption? were to ceafe, and its fury confined to it^ bowels. It is completed that about two thirds of the property of this kingdom is in . the harids.of the ecclefiaftlcs; a ftrong tempta tion td his Neapolitan MajeAy ' to reduce thefe emokiments. The nobility here are very numerous, but generally very poorv They' are neverthelefs extremely fond of ffiew and fplendor, which they endeavour to difplay in the. richnefs of their drefs ^ the brilliancy of their equipages,' and the num-' ber of their attendants, ¦; i; Between Naples and Mount Vefuvius ftood the ancient city of Herculaneum^ which was overwhelmed- by a torrent q| lava from that mountain, in the firft year cf the emperor Titus Vefpafian.; The precife fituation of this fubterra* neous city was not known till, the year 1 713, when it was accidentally difcovered by fomp labourers. Little progrefs was made in the - : - . - ' • : f xcavations LETTEEs d^ a TRAVELL^kftii K.'f st excavations till Charles, infant of Spahi, afcended the Neapolitan tht'odej By hisr unwearied efforts and liberality, a very con-» fiderable part of Herculanfeum has' beeiri*ex- plored, and fuch treafures of antiquity drawn out, as form perhaps the moft " curi ous mufeums in the world. It beirig fo ar duous a taffc to attempt the removirig of thd covering, the I king contented hiinfelf with cutting galleries td the principal buildings^ and caufing the extent of one or tw:.ii,v.-'.*' 'a-?fi ¦: o: Since the king of Spain left Naples^ the digging has been continued j~ but with lefs fpirit and expenditure than before* ; Indeed the number ©f curiofities already, eollefted h fo great,, that a relajiatioa ofxisskzt^ aftavity becomes excufablci; iiiiec ;-Tfc = This mufeum contains not. only ,ftatues> bufts, altars, infcriptions, and other orn3« etentai appendages of opulence and luxury^ ~ but alfo an. entire affortment of the domef- ,-^^^: tie. LET, XiiVi] ITALY. iiy tic, mufieal, and chirufgical inftruirientSj ufed by the ancients; tripods of elegant form and ex^uifite workmanffiip, lamps ir* endlefe variety, Vafes and bafons ; of great: dimenfions, chandeliers of the moft beau« tiful ffiapes, pateras, and other appurte nances of facrifice, mirrors of poliffied me tal, Goloufed^lafs fo hard, clear, and well ftained, as to appear emeralds, fapphires, and other precious ftones ; a kitchen com pletely fitted up with copper pans, lined with filver, kettles, cifterns for heat ing water, and every neceflary for culinary purpofes ; corn, bread, fiffi, oil, wine, and flour ; a lady's toilet, completely furniffied with combs,, thimbles, rings, paint, &c* The bufts fill feveral rooms, but Very feW of the originals whom they were meant to delineate, are known. The floors are paved With ancient Mofaic. A more valuable acqulfitiori than bronzes and piftures was thought to be made, when a large parcel of manufcripts was found among the ruins. Hopes were entertairied that many latent works of the claffics were on the point of being reftored to light ; but the difiiculty of unrolling the burnt parch ment, aS^S LETTERS OF A TRAVELLED. inent, of paffing the fragments on a flat ffir« face, and pf decyphering the obfeure letters,- have proved fuch obftaeles, that very littltf progrefs has yet been made in the work. A prieft invented the method of prpceeding,- but it would- require the joijit labours, of many lear;ned men to carry on fo nice and tedious an. operation with any fu(i^elsv LET-rEl^ LET. XXVi.] ITALY, 389 LETTER XXVL A Few miles frPm Herculaneum Is fitu ated Pompeii, which likewife unfortunately periffied by the fame cataftrophe with the preceding. The entrance of Pompeii Is iiear the quadrangular barracks of the Ro man cohorts that compofed the garrifon. A portico runs round the Courtj fupported by pillars of ftone covered with ftucco, and painted. The troops feem to have been ac commodated with every convenience, and even luxury ; for they had both a theatre and ari amphitheatre belonging to their quarters. The excavations have npt been purfued with regularity, but carried on in different fituations, juft as hope or caprice aftuated- the minds of the engineers. The centre of the city is yet hidden under the vineyards, while the principal exertions are made near . U the 290 LETTERS Of A TRAVELLER. the walls and gates. One opening difplays fome houfesj part of a ftreet ; and a temple of Ifis. The outward appearance of the tem ple istheffidft fimple that can be imagined. The penetrate of the temple is a fmall pavilion , raifed upon fteps, under which is a vault that may have ferved for the pur pofes "of oracular impofitlon. A cavity of confiderable extent has laid open part of a principal ftreet, one of the city gates, a length of wall, fome tombs, and a road without the gates. The toWn walls are built with large fquares of lava in irregular courfes, and the ftreets; '• are paved with the fame materials Irregularly laid ; the feci: of horfes and the wheels of carriages have worn deep marks in the lava. The people of this town had paid no at tention to uniformity In building their houfes ; for fome projeft, while others re tire behind theline. The ffiops have ftone feals before them, and over the doors, em blems, in relievo, of the trade of the in habitants. , The houfes are fmall and built round, courts, from which all the apartments re- -iiJ" ,r.-^ ceived LET. XXVI,] ITALY. 29 1 ceived their light. The walls of the rooms are ftuccoed, and painted in a moft beau tiful tafte. The apartments are fmall and fquare, and many had no light but through the door. In the kitchens and apartments of the fervants, a green ferpent is painted upon the wall, before which a lamp was kept burning. The fame divinity was wor- ffiipped near the road, without the walls. Poeftum, or Pofidonia, another ancient city in the neighbourhood, was difcovered in the fame manner, above thirty years ago, and has likewife afforded much gratification to curiofity. One experiences a melancholy kind of pleafure In beholding fcenes which had lain concealed from mortal fight during almoft feventeen hundred years, efpecially when they are memorials of an extraordi nary convulfion in nature ; but nothing gratified my curiofity fo much, as the cele brated objefts which are clofely interwoven with mythology. On the fea coaft adjoining to Naples, I looked with eagernefs for the grotto of the Sybil, amidft the rocks where it is defcribed to have formerly exifted, but i looked in vain. The cave with a hun dred openings is not now to be found ; and U 2 there ^92 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEft^/ there remain no more traces of her fa cred habitation, than of her famous predic tions. Like ^Eneas, however, I went di reftly from the fpot to the lake Avernus, now Averne, which I found In a condition far more agreeable than it was in the time of the Trojan hero. - This celebrated lake is circular, and al moft entirely hemmed In by an amphithe atre of hills on every fide ; charafterlftic marks of a volcanic crater. The land fcape, thpugh confined, is extremely plea fant. The dark blue furface of the un ruffled waters, faid to be three hundred and fixty fathoms deep, ftrongly refleft the tapering groves that cover its floping en- clofiires. Shoals of wild fowl fwim about, and king's- fiffiers ffioot along under the' banks. A large oftagon temple, In ruins, advances majeftically to the brink." ' Its marble ornaments have been long fince re moved, but its form and fize ftill render it a noble objeft. It was probably dedicated to the infernal gods, to whofe worffiip thofe folem-n fcenes were formerly confecrated. Black aged groves ftretch their boughs over the'' watery -abyfs, which they- darkened witJb Let. XXVI.] n -¦italy, 293 with their foliage impenetrable to the rays of light ; while mephitic vapors afcending from the hot bowels of the earth, being de nied free paffage to the upper atmofphere, floated along the furface in polfonous mifts. Thefe circumftances produced horrors fit for fuch gloomy deities, and fuperftition early feized this fpot to celebrate her difmal orgies. Here ffie invoked the manes of departed heroes, and here ffie offered facri fices to the gods of hell, and attempted to dive into the fecrets of futurity. Poets enlarged upon the- popular theme, and painted its aweful fcenery with the ftrong eft colours of the art» But a fudden glare of light Was at laft let in upon Avernus: The axe of Agrippa brought Its foreft to the ground, and gave room for all its malignant effluvia to efcape. The horrors of the place were immediately difpelled, and with theni the faflftity ofthe Jake. The virulence of the exhalations from Avernus, Is defcribed by ancient au thors as very extraordiiiiary : modern writers who know the place in a cleared ftate only, charge thofe accounts With exaggeration ; \)ut it is probable t|iat they w?re founded in faft 5 294 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. faft : for even now the air is not of the pureft kind, as appears from the complexion of the vine dreffers, who have fucceeded the Sybils and the Clmnaerians In the pof feffion of the temple. At prefent, the Avernus abounds with tench, as the Lucrine does. with eels. The change of fortune in thefe lakes Is fingular: In the fplendid days of imperial Rome, the Lucrine was the chofen fpot for the brilli ant parties of pleafure of a voluptuous court. They are defcribed by Spneca as the higheft refinement of extravagance and lux ury. A flimy bed of ruffies now covers the fcattered pools of this once beautiful ffieet of water, while the dufky Avernus is clear and unmolefted, offering a moft alluring fcene for fimilar amufements. Tbe Lucrine Lake, fo famous- amougft the Romans for it§ fine oyfters, and other fiffi, lay near the ffiore, but alriipft the whole bed of It is now occupied by a moun tain, which rofe inftaritanepufly in the night between the ninetieth" and twentieth of September, 1538, during an earthquake, which caufed a terrible devaftation in.. the neighbourhood. The fubterranepus ^fire ')!. ejefted LET. XXVI.] ITALY.- 295 „ejefted by a wide chafm fuch a quantity of ftones, affies, fulphur and fand, as formed the prefent mountain ; the perpendicular height of which is not lefs than four hun dred rods, and the circumference three Ita-. Han miles. Between the lake Agnano and Puzzoli, the ancient Puteoli, lies the village of Sol fatara, fo called from the vaft quantities of fulphur continually forced out of the cliffs by fubterranean fires. Near it is the Grotto del Cani, remarkable for its polfon ous .fteams, and Is fo denominated, from its , fatal effefts on dogs which happen to enter it, if they remain there any confiderable time. The laft objeft in the neighbourhood of Naples which I ffiall mention, is the Grotto of Paufillppo. It pierces through the pro montory of its own name, in a direft, but afcending line from eaft to weft. It is cut in the tufo ftone, is arched, and receives light from the two mouths, and fome dia- gonal apertures In the roof. It Is eighty- nine feet high in the moft elevated part, not rlfiiig in the loweft above twenty-four ; in length exaftly two thoufand four hundred . and 2^.6 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEK. and fourteen feet ; in breadth twenty-two» The fcantlnefs of light here is at all times diftreffing; for that which Is admitted thro' the openings abovementloned, "and the feeble, glimmerings of a lamp burning be fore a pifture in the middle, are no fecurity againft the dangers of being run over, and cruffied to pieces againft the wall, or at leaft hurt by the faggots which affes are continu ally bringing from the wopds. Befides this inconvenience, the duft is' intolerable in ¦fummer, and the nulfance is increafed every time that the King of Naples paffes through, as the road is then ftrewed with a freffi co vering of fand. It is furprifing how paf fengers venture to travel along this fuhter raneous road at all hours, fingly, or in com pany, without any guard, to prevent af faults, or fufficlent light to deteft a lurking affaffin. It reflefts honor upon the national charafter of the Neapolitans, that people have fuch fecurity In a country fo ill pro vided with officers of police. , Different pplriions are entertained with refpeft to the firft openers of this grotto. This kind of rocky fubltence is perforated with forriuche^fe, and the praftice of form ing LET. XXVI.] ITALY. 297 ing fuhterraneous galleries feeiiis to have prevailed at fo very early a period of fo ciety, that fome authors have afcribed the work to the giants or the Cimrherians, who were wont to make caves their place of re fidence, as well as the repofitory of their plunder. Others affirm It to have been ex ecuted by Coccelus, an architeft ofthe Au guftan age ; but this feems to be founded upon the mifconception pf a paffage in Stra bo. From Seneca's expreffioris complain ing of its inconvenience, it appears to have been at that time only open for foot paffen gers. Alphonfus I. widened it for carri ages, and fince hlS reign, It has been con fiderably heightened and levelled; Above the eaftern entrance, on the very brink of a precipice, ¦ a ruinous vaulted building, accompanied with a bay tree, is ffiewn as the tomb of Virgil ; but there is no other authority than that of traditidri, that his affies were depofited in this fe pulchre. Speaking of the neighbourhood of Na ples In generalj I think it the paradlfe of Italy. It has no other alloy than the appre henfion of danger from Mount Vefuvius ; and 298 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. and Hannibal expofed his army to more certain deftruftion, when he fuffered the Carthaginian ardor of difclpline to be re laxed in the voluptuous climate of Capua. But the atmofphere of Naples appears not to have the fame effeft on the natives of the country and foreigners. In different ages, this province of Italy has given birth to men of great celebrity both in arts and arms. Cicero and C. Marius were born within the boundaries of the prefent kingdom of Na ples. To give an account of the illuftrious writers which Italy produced in ancient times, would lead me into an extent of de tail far beyond the Intended limits of my epiftolary correfpondcnce. I ffiould have to trace the hiftory of Latin literature, from the time of Ennlus, to Its extinftion on the downfall of the Roman empire. 1 1 ffiall therefore content myfelf with barely menti oning tjie moft diftinguiffied authors who have arifen In this country. In profe, the writings of Cicero, Julius Caefar, Salluft, Livy, and Tacitus, difplay fuperior excellence In different ftyles : of compofition ; while Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and LET>. XXVI.] ITALY, 299 r and Lucretius, have difputed with the Greeks the palm of poetic celebrity. Since the revival of letters In Italy, Galileo, To- rlcelli, and others, have cultivated mathe matics and natural philofophy with fuccefs. Strada, Father Paul, Guicclardini, Benti vogho, and Davila, who wrote both In Latin and Italian, revived among the moderns the fplrit and genius of ancient literature. But tmong the Italian poets, Dante, Ariofto, and Taffo, are the moft diftinguiffied ; and Metaftafio has acquired great famic by writ ing dramatic pieces fet to to mufic. San- nazarius, Fracaftorius, Bembo, VIda, and other natives of Italy, have written Latin poetry with an elegance, correftnefs, and fpirit, which rival the compofitlons of anti quity. With regard to Italian painters, fculptors, architefts, and muficlans, they have carried their refpeftive arts to the higheft degree of perfeftion. LETTER 300 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. LETTER XXVII, QUITTING the continent of Italy, t go for the ifland of Capri, anciently called Capreae, fituated about eighteen miles fouth of Naples, at the entrance of the Gulf. It extends four miles In length from eaft to Weft, and about one in breadth. Steep cliffs and maffes of rock give It a wildnefs of appearance-, which on advanc ing hearer. Is gi-adually fofteiied by patchy of verdure, and clufters of white houfeS, Ori a ridge between two fugged eminences, which form the extremities of' the ifland, and near their fliaggy fummits, to a tre mendous height, are feen the cupolas and buildings of the epifcopal city ; a confider able placcj apparently, when viewed at a diftance, but afterwards dwindles to a vil lage. From hence there runs an ancient caufeway, Let. XJiVII.] ITALY. 301 caufeway, to the eaftern fummit of Capri, where ftupendous cliffs overhang the chan nel, which feparates the ifland from ^Cape Campanella, anciently Promontorlum Athe-« naeum, or Minervae. The view from this place Is fo extenfive, grand, apd beautiful, that It is impoffible to behold it without emotions of furprife and rapture. At one glance, it difplays a range of coaft exceed ing a hundred miles In length : Naples, with all its hills and fwarming fuburbs, backed by the towering Appennlne ; Vefu vius pouring forth the volumes of fmoke ; at its feet innumerable villages and verdant plains, contrafted with purple lavas ; im mediately below, Minerva's promontory .advancing towards Capri, and dividing the Neapolitan bay from the femicircular bafon of Selerno, at the bottom of which are feen the white ruins of Pseftum. In this part of the ifland ftood the fummer palace of Tibe rius Caefar, where he paffed almoft ten years, hidden from the world, and wallow-' ing in the moft brutal debaucheries. Pro ceeding northward through vineyards and orchards, we come to the palace of La Marina, where the fame emperor had a winter MX LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER^ " ^ winter refidence. Columns, and other frag^ ments of architefture, fcattered in the fandsy remain as memorials of Its fplendor. The: cdndult that fupplied the place with water ftill exifts. The odium attached to the memory of Tiberius proved fatal to his favourite abode; for fcarcely was his death proclaimed at Rome, when the fenate iffued orders for the demolition of every fabric he had raifed on the ifland, which was thence forward deftined to anfwer the purpofes of a ftate prifon. In this ifland, acrofs every break' in the woods, or chafm In the hills, rows .of nets are placed, to Intercept ftock-doves- and quails, in their annual flights ; and the quantity taken of each fort, efpecially of the latter, is almoft Incredible. The iflands of the Syrens, ffippofed to be thofe now called Galli, on the coaft of Calabria, and which Ulyffes paffed with fo much caution and hazard, are five in number, ,and have experienced great revo lutions from the effefts of fubterranean fire. The tradition of Syrens refiding hereabouts^ is very ancient, and univerfally admitted ; but what they really were, divefted of their fabulous LET. XXVfl.] ITALY. ''^^-V 303 fabulous and poetical difguife, is not eafy io difcover. It has been conjeftured, that ou thofe promontories fome female fovereign once dwelt, in times of which no records are exifting. The poft. flie chofe for her refidence was no doubt ftrongly fortified, and well fituated for her piratical fubjefts to dart out upon, and intercept all veffels that navigated thefe feas In ages when it was not , the praftice to fall at any confiderable dif tance from land. Thus they may have rendered themfelves . formidable to man-^ kind by violence and martial exploits ; but it is more natural, and more confonant to the idea generally entertained of them, to veft the power ofthe Syrens In the arts and corruptions of peace. Thefe iflands bear all the marks of having been, formed by ftibterranean fires. Scylla and Charybdis, fo much cele brated by the ancient poets, are now di vefted of all the terrdrs which rendered them dreadful to navigators. Scylla is fitu ated near the Cape of Pelorus. Modern voyagers may glide clofe under thofe dread ed rocks without any apprehenfion of dan ger : for the water fcarce undulates, and V no 304 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. rio furf Is feen to break at the foot of the cliff, nor belloWing heard among its dark caverns. When a tempeft rages, however, the daffiing and roaring of the billows, as they are driven into thefe broken cavities, is truly horrible, and capable of ftriking terror Into the moft intrepid mariner, if his Veffel drives near. A large caftle covers the fummit of this famous rock ; and from it a row of houfes extends on both fides in a _flope to the beech; which is femicircular,, planted with trees, and ffieltered by very high cliffs. What Is now ffiewn as the Charybdis of the ancients, is a kind of whirlpool In the harbour of MfefCma, where voyagers obferve nothing more than a rippling, occafioned by the meeting of the tide and torrents. The bottom of the - ftraits is ffiallo w, and full of rocks ; confequently numberlefs points and cavities muft occur to obftruft and perplex the regular courfe ofthe current j and caufe whirlpools that are dangerous in ftormy Weather ; or even in dead calms, when Vef fels may be embayed, and drawn amon^the ffiallo wSj from which they want wind tp extricate themfelves. It is highly ^proba ble LET. XXVII.] ITALY. 305 ble that the fea has worn itfelf a paflage through the Farp much more eafy and ex panded than it was when Homer compofed his Odyffey, which was perhaps not many centuries after the waves had burft through the connefting Ifthmus between Sicily and the coaft of Reggio. Then Scylla might in deed be a tremendous rock ; and the hol- Ipws under the fea, where the waters yet foaming, and agitated by the refiftance they had met with at Scylla, were hurried and whirled about, muft have been an Irrefift- jble vortex, from which no ffiip , could efcape. The alternate aftlon offwallowing up and vomiting the wreck, was fimilar to that of a pool at the foot of any lofty cafcade. I have already come upon the coaft of Si cily, ancienly called Trinacria, from its triangular ffiape. It is the largeft of the Italian Iflands, being about a hundred and eighty miles long, and a hundred and twelve broad. It lies in a warm, but plea fant and healthful climate, conftantly re- fre^ied by cool breezes from the ocean and mountains. It is feparated from Cala* brian Italy only by the S,trait of Mcffina, X which 306 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. wl^Ich is not feven miles over in the nar- roweft part. This Ifland, once the granary ofthe world for corn, ftill continues to fup ply Naples and other parts with, that com modity ; but its cultivation Is now greatly dimlniffied, and confequently its fertility. Palermo, the capital of Sicily, is computed to contain, a hundred and twenty thoufand inhabitants. The two principal ftreets, and which crofs each other, are very fine. It carries on a confiderable trade, as alfo did Meffina, which, before the earthquake in 1 783, was a large and well-built city, con taining many churches and convents, gene- 5FalIy elegant ftruftures. Religious founda tions are extremely nvimerdus in Italy. Som^e parts of the ifland are remarkable for the beauty of Its female inhabitants ; and there are a great number of remains of an tiquity in ruins, , The contrivance of Dionyfius, the tyrant of Syracufe,. for llftening to the converfa tlon of thofe perfons whom he had thrown intp prifon from motives of jealoufy, is ce lebrated by ancient hiftorians. This famous excavation, which Is eighteen feet wide, and fifty-eight high, runs into a huge rpck ^ifSi in LET. XXVII.] ITALY, 307 in the form of a capital S: the fides are chlffeled very fmooth, and the roof co vered, gradually narrowing to almoft as •ffiarp a point as a Gothic arch. Along this point runs a groove, or channel, which ferv ed, as is fuppofed, to colleft the found jfrom the fpeakers below, and convey them to a pipe in a fmall cell above, where they ¦were heard with the greateft diftinftnefs. But the place ha'ving been too much opened and altered, has now loft its virtue in the interior part ; though the echo at the mouth of the grotto is fo very loud, that the tearing of a piece of paper made as great a noife as a fmart blow of a cudgel on a board would have done. That it was, however, conftrufted intentionally for a llftening place, it is impoffible, after an attentive furvey of the whole, to entertain any doubt; and rings are cut out of the angles of the walls, to which, we may fuppofe, the more obnoxious criminals were faftened. The greateft natural curiofity in this ifland is Mount ^tna, which has' been a volcano beyond the records of hiftory : Monf, Buffon is even of opinion,' that it was fo from the creation ofthe world. Its X 2 figure 308. LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. figure is circular, and," when viewed at ^¦ diftance, appears conica,l. The top of it, however, is a vaft ridge, almoft level, hav ing a rpund eminence at each extremity, and about the middle a forked hill rifing higher than the reft, and furrounding the crater, from which the fmoke afcends. This part alone is of a dark colour, one ffieet of fnow covering all the remainder. At. the foot of this ftupendous ridge lie gloomy vallies of prodigious depth, fepa,rated from each other by mahy mountains ; below. which, moft beautiful woods form a mighty girdle round the frozen region. On a rifing ground, in the defcent, about a mile frorn the crater, are to be feen the remains of a foundation of an ancient build ing. It Is of brick, and feems to have been ornamented with white marble, many frag ments of which are fcattered about. It is called the Philofopher's Tower, and is faid to have been inhabited by Empedocles. As the ancients ufed to facrifice to the celeftlal gods on the, top of -^tna, it. may be the ruins- of a temple which feVved for that purpofe, . ].^_,' Near i.ET, 5£XVn.] ITALY. 30.9 Near the entrance of the woody region tof ^tna, chefnut and oak trees are Inter- riilxed, but afterwards oak alone is to be feen, Sorrie of thefe are of a prodigious fize. One of them meafures twenty eight feet in circumference. But what exceeds all other produftidns of the foreft, hitherto defcribed, is the celebrated chefnut-trecj called from its aftoniffiing fize Caftagno di'~ cento cavalli, as fuppofing it capable of ffiel- tering a hundred horfe under the canopy of its boughs. It ftands fingle, on a gentle rifing. This wonderful produftion of the vegetable kingdom confifts of a trunk, now Iplit to the furface of the earth, but united into drie body at a very fmall depth below. Df this trunk five divifions areformed^ each of which fends forth enormous branches ; iand the circumference of it, at one inch above the grdund, is a hundred arid ninety- fix Epgllfh feet. ./Etna has never been mea fured with gedmetrical accuracy ; but fdme compute the height of it to be twelv© thoufand feet; X 3 LETTER 3IO LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER* LETTER XXVIII. JL HE ifland of Sardinia, which gives a royal title to the Duke of Savoy, lies about fifty leagues weft of Leghorn. It is about a hundred and fixty miles long, and eighty broad. The foil is fruitful in corn, and wine, but the air is bad, on account of marffies ; and this iflarid was therefore a place of exile for the Romans-,^ At Cagliari, which is the capital, there is an univerfity, and an archbiffiopric ; and theie alfo the viceroy refides. But It is hardly an objeft of any great attention In a political vicw^; -for it is thought that his Sardinian majfefty's revenues from this ifland, do not exceed five thoufarid pounds fterling. It was for merly annexed to the crown of Spain, but at the peace of Utrecht,' was ceded to the emperor, and in 1719 to the houfe of Savoy, The -Let. XXVIII.] ITALY. 3 IX The ifland of Corfica lies between Sardi nia and Genoa, to which republic it was m fubjeftion at the middle of the prefent century; but the oppreffion exercifed by the Genoefe excited the Irihabitants to revolt. The ifland was then ceded td the French, who endeavoured to continue the fame tyr rannical forni of government which had been introduced by its former mafters; At length. In an affembly of the people, held in 1794, it was refolved^ that a tender of the crown of Corfica ffiould be made to the king of Great Britain. ^This, was accord ingly done, and the offer accepted by his majefty, whenj as you know, a viceroy was fent out to take upon him the govern- inent of the ifland ; and a military and iiaval force appointed for its proteftlon. I always was of opinion that we ffiould not re tain it lorig ; for the Corficans are an igno rant and refraftory people, neither capable of difcerning their dwn interefts, nor of iacrificing their riatural turbulence to any fixed conftitution of government. This difpofition was probably fomented by the intrigues of the French, which, for once, proved, favorable to the interefts pf Great Britain ; 312 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. Britain ; as it accelerated an event which muft have taken place at a future period, and faved us an annual experice, which the value ofthe whole Ifland, except fo far as it afforded a ftation for our ffiips, was not fuf ficlent to compenfate. The ifland is moun tainous and'woody, containing likewife ma ny marffies. It however produces corn, wine, figs, almonds, olives, and other fruits, befides fome cattle and horfes. The inhabitants are faid to amount to a hundred and twenty thoufand. Malta Is reckoned among the Italian iflands, and I was fond of feeing it on ac count of the fingularlty of its conftitution. It is fituated twenty leagues fouth of Cape Paffaro in Sicily, and is of an oval 'figure, about twenty miles long, and twelve broad. The air is clear, but exceffively hot, occa fioned partly by the drynefs of the foil ; the ifland being compofed of a white rock, co vered with a thin furface of earth. It is however extremely produftive of excellent fruits, and other vegetables, Malta, the capital, confifts of three towns, feparated by channels, which form fo many peninfulas of folid rock, rifing a great LET. XXVIIL] ITALY; , 313 great height abpVe the fea, and have within them fecure harbours, capable of receiving large fleets. No art has been wanting to improve by fortifications the natural ftrength of the place. The ftreets are fpacious, an^ built of white ftone hewn out ofthe rock. Malta has been fucceffively fubjeft to the Phaenlcians, the Carthaginians, and Ro mans ; and was given by the emperor Charles V. to the knights of St, John of Jerufalem, after they had loft the Ifland of Rhodes, which they had bravely defended two hundred years againft all the force of the Turks. They now affumed the title of Knights of Malta, and were attacked in their new fettlement by Solyman, the Turkiffi emperor, in 1566, but he was forced to abandon the Ifland, after lofing thirty thoufand then In the attempt. The' knights of Malta originally confifted of eight different nations, but now only of feven, the Engliffi having withdrawn them felves at the reformation. They have con fiderable poffeffions in the Roman Cathohc Countries on the Continent, and are under the government of a grand-mafter, who iS elefted for life. The lord-prior of th'e order ^14 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. 12 3 order was formerly accounted the prime-ba« foil in England, The knights are in num ber about a thoufand : five hundred are td refide on the ifland, and the remainder in their femlriaries in other countries ; but are bound to make a perfonal appearance when called upon. They are fworn, to de fend the church, to obey their fuperiors^ and to live On the revenues of their order only. They are likewife under vows of ce libacy and chaftity ; but It is obferved that they keep the former much better than the latter. They wear the badge of the order, which is a golden crofs of eight points, enamelled white, pendant to a black watered ribband. On the 1 8th of September there is an annual proceffion at Malta, iri comme moration of the Turks having precipitately I'aifed the fiege on that day, in 1563. It is a day of great feftivlty among the knights, who not being debarred by any vow frdni fatrificing to Bacchus, are the riibre liberal iri their libations, from a hatred df theprin- ciples as -vvell as the perfons of the Turfcsj againfl whom they have been confidered as the great bulwark of the catholic nations on that fide.' i had LET, XXVIII*.] ITALY. 315 I had the honor of receiving an Invita tion to their entertainment ; and havirig got a hint that a poetical compliment from a Britiffi traveller would be acceptable td the knights, 1 wrote the following lines on the occafion. Hail 1 Malta's valiant fons, a glorious band 1 Fara'd for great- deeds o'er earth's remoteft land; "While papal ftates their annual tribute pay, Albion prefents you -with a votive lay : Herfelf a pow'r whom gen'rous pdffions roufe. She loves your valor, though ffie hates your vows j Hates a reftralnt that violates nature's laws. And dreads the profpedt of a perjur'd caufe. Long may your ifle through profp'rous years en dure. In virtue great, from Turkiffi rage fecure 5 Long may the Chriftian faith your zeal infpirej ' And ancient glory fan the facred fire. There happened to be in the company a few who were acquainted with the Englifh language ; and to the others, the fentiments " ton tained in the verfes were haftlly explained in French. "You cannot conceive how much the knights were pleafed with the compli ment I had paid them. The grand-feaft'er inftantly ^t6 LETTEkS ot A TRAVELLER, filled a bumper of wine ; a figria:l for thd company at the different tables to follow his exam.ple. He then gave a toaft, which to the difgrace of Britiffi patriotifm, would be excluded from the public feafts of fome focieties in London that I could name : It was, " Profperity to Great Britain, and " may her' glorious conftitution live fdr *' ever !" The enthufiafm with which it Was univerfally drunk, really warmed my heart to the Knights of Malta, I never vifited the northern iflands in the Mediterranean, though I once had a favor able opportunity. Indeed they contalnno- thing which can much excite the curiofity of a voyager. The moft confiderable of them are Majorca and Minorca^ the Baleares of the Romans. The former is about fixty miles in length, and forty-five iri breadth ; the latter about thirty miles in length, and generally ten in breadth. They are not unfruitful, and fome of their pro duftions are efteemed excellent in their kind. The principal, defeft in Minorca is in refpeft of water, of which, except what is faVed from rain in cifterns, there is little either palatable or healthy. A difeafe ex tremely |.ET« XXVIII.] ITALY. 317 tremely frequent in this ifland Is the tertian fever, or ague, which an intelligent fur^ geon, who refided fome time at Port Ma- hon, Imputes to the Influence of two caufes. One Is the general praftice of wa tering the gardens too much ; which, joined to their being clofely planted with fuccu- lent vegetables, occafions a copious exhala tion of putrid Vapours. Another caufe is, with great probability, fuppofed to be the foft nature of a fpecies of ftone much ufed ^n building, which being eafily penetrate4 \)y water, renders the houfes very un- |}ealthy, LETTER 5 if LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, LETTER XXIX. JL ROM Italy, where I had occafion to fee a great transformation of goverments, fome reduced almoft to a ftate of infignifi- Caiice, fome totally fubverted, and others apprehenfive of a fimilar fate, I now take ¦fxiy paffage over the Adriatic Into Greece, a country once more celebrated for the genius of Its inhabitants than Italy itfelf. But how prodigious a change ! This however is no recent event. The glory of the Gre cian ftates expired with their freedom, which long fince funk under the incumbent weight of the Eaftern empire; and the people have been farther debafed by the barbarifm of their fubfequent mafters, the Turks, Amidft the difafterg of fortune, nature has laviffied on this country a variety of pecu-^ liar bleffings. The foil, though^nnimproved, hrj ' ^ is ^ET. XXIX.] GREECE. 3ig is in rnany parts luxuriant beyond defcrip-' tipii ; the air is falubrious, and friendly to the imaginaripn, unlefs when it is corrupted from the neighbouring countries, or thro' the indolence and uncleannefs ofthe Turk iffi manner of living. The feafons are here regular and pleafant, and have been cele brated from the remoteft antiquity. The very mountains of this country, without deriving any fame from volcanos^ are the moft celebrated of any in the world, and at the fame time, often the moft fruit ful. Mount Athos ftands pn a peninfula running into the Egean fea ; and the mounts Pindus and Olympus, celebrated in Grecian fables, feparate Theffaly from Epi- rus. Parnaffus in Achaia, fo famous for being confecrated to the mufes, is univer fally known. Mount HaemUs is likewife often mentioned by the poets ; but moft of the other mountains have changed their names ; and even thofe above-mentidned have modern names impofed upon them by the Turks. Befides the mountains above-mentioned, pf which the ancients efteemed Olympus the higheft in the world, are thofe of Peiion and 320 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, and Offaji mentioned likewife fo oft.eni by the poets, and not much inferior in height, Between the two laft-mentioned mountains lay the celebrated plains of Tempe, repre fented by the ancients as equal in lo.cal beauty to the Elyfian Fields, and noted for producing fine grapes, with other fruits of a delicious flavour. According to the ac- count delivered by Strabo and ^Ellap, this beautiful vale extended five miles in length, and In breadth near an acre and a half. On the right and left it was bounded by gentle. convexities; the Pcneus' gilded along the middle ; and the furrounding groves were harmonioufly vocal with the mufic of thp fineft birds. Livy, however, mentioning this celebrated place. Informs us, that the Romans, in marching through it, were ftruck with a degree of horror rather than, delight : for befides that the defile was dif- ficult to pafs, there were fteep rocks on each hand, down which the profpeft -wa^ apt to caufe a dizzinefs ; and the awful- nefs of the fcene was heightened, by the noife and depth of the interfluent Peneus. When we confider the various feas which furround this country, ijamely the Euxjne, or Let. XXIX.] GREECE, 321 or Black Sea ; the Palus , M^otis, or Sea of ' Afoph ; the Sea of Marmora, Which feparates Europe from Afia ; the Archipelago, the Ionian Sea^ and the Le vant, we muft acknowledge that no other' country was fo well fituated for univerfal dominion as Turkey In Europe^ particularly that part df.it where the city of Conftanti nople ftands. The Straits of the Hellefpont and Bofphorus are joined to the fea of Mar mora, and are remarkable In modern as well as ancient hiftory. The rivers moft confpicuous in this country are the Daniibe, the Save, tlie Niefter, the Nieper, and the Don ; but many others have been celebrated by poets and hiftoriansiwhich have now alfo changed their names. As to lakes iri this country, they are not numerousj nor entitled to any great applaufe. The Lago di Scutari lies in Albania, arid communicates with the Lago di Plavcj and the Lago di Holtl, The Stymphalus, fo famous for its harpies and ravenous birds, lies in the Morea ; and Peneus, from its qualities, is thought to be the lake from which the Styx iffues, con ceived by the ancient Greeks to be the paf- Y fage 322 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEK. fage into hell. This was in Greece wh^t Avernus was reputed in Italy, Vegetable produftions are excellent all over European Turkey, efpecially when affifted by the fmalleft degree of induftry ; and It produces in great abundance and per feftion oranges, lemons, citrons, pome granates, grapes of. an excellent and uncom mon fweetnefs, figs, almonds, olives, and cotton ; exclufive of many drugs, not com mon in other parts of Europe. Almoft every fpot of ground, every river, and eyery fountain in Greece, prefents the traveller with the ruins of a celebrate^ anti quity. On the Ifthmus of Corinth, the ruins of Neptune*s temple, and the theatre where the Ifthmean games were celebrated, are ftill vifible. Athens, now Setlnes, which coritains at prefent above ten thoufand inha bitants, abounds with the moft magnificent and celebrated antiquities in the world. Of a few of the * moft remarkable of thefe I fliall give you a ffiort account. Among the antiquities of this once fu perb city, are the remjiins of the temple of Minerva, built of white marble, and en compaffed with forty-fix fluted columns of the Let. xxix.] Greece. 323 the Doric order, forty-two feet high, and feven feet and a half In circumference. The afchitraVe is adorned with baffo-re- lievos, admirably executed, reprefentlrtg the wars of the Athenians. The Acropolis is how a fortrefs, with a thick irregular wall,' ftanding on the brink of precipices, and enclofing a large area twice as lorig as broad. Some portions df the an'cierit wall may yet be difcovered on the outfide, and iu many places it is patched with pieces of cpiumnsi and with marbles taken from the ruins ; and the rerifiains of fome of the edi fices extant In the Acropdlls, cannot be be held without admiration. It Is, in particu lar, hot eafy to conceive a more ftriking objeft than the Parthenon j though now a mdre ruin.' Several figures in -alto-relievo are ftill almoft entire ori the fide next Hy- mett^s. Their fubjeft is the battle of the Centaurs and Lapithae. On the freeze of the cell. Was carved, iri baffo-relievo, the folemnity of a facrifice td Minerva ; and of this a hundred and feventy feet are ftand ing, the greater part iri good prefervatipn, containing a pfoceffion on horfeback. On two ftones which have fallen, are oxen led Y 2 as J24 LETTEiiS OF A TRAVELLER. as vlftlms. On another, fourteen feet Ion g# are the Virgins called Canephoroi, who af fifted at the rites, bearing on their heads the facred canlfters, and in their hands each a taper ; With Other figures, one a vene rable perfon with a beard, reading iri a large vdlume, which is partly fupported by a boy. The ruin of the Eritheum is of white marble, the architeftural drnarrieiits of ex- quifite wdrkmanffiip, and uncommonly curious. The columns of the front ofthe terriple of Neptiine are ftanding, with the architrave, and alfo the fereen and portico of Minerva Pollas, With a portion ofthe cell, retaining traces of the partition wall. The order is Ionic. '\. ' The Pandrofeum Is a fmall, but veryj)ar- ticular building, of which rio fatlsfaftory idea cari be dommuriicated by defcription. The" entablafure^ is fupported by wprrieJEi: Called Caryatides. The hill which is fp wards MdUnt Hy- mettus, is indented with the 'fite of the theatre of Bacchus, Where formerly ftood the moft an<:ient tehiple of that deity, and which was- adorried with images of the tra- LET. XXIX.] GREECE. 325 glc and comic poets. Some ftone-work re mains at the two extremities, but the area is ploughed and produces grain. The temple of Thefeus is of the Doric order, a,nd in the ftyle of its architrave greatly refembles the Parthenon. The ruin ofthe temple of Jupiter Olym- plas confifts of prodigious columns, tall and beautiful, of the Corinthian order, fluted ; fdme fingle, fome fupporting their archi traves, with a few maffive marbles beneath. The columns are about fix feet In diameter, and near fixty in height. The number without the cell was a hundred and fixteen or twenty ; feveriteen of which were ftand-^ irig in 1676, » On the fouth-weft pf Athens, is a beau tiful ftrufture, cpmmonly called the Lan tern of Demofthenes. It is a fmall round edifice of white marble, the roof of which is fupported by fix fluted colums:' of ^he Co rinthian order, nine feet and a half high. Ill the fpace between the columns are pan- nels of marble ; the whole is covered with a cupola, carved with the refemblance of fcales ; and on the frieze are beautifully re- prefented in relievo the labours of Hercules. Y3 Here 326 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. Here are alfo to be.feenthe teriipleof the Winds ; the remains of the theatre of Bacchus; the temple of Auguftus; and the magnificent aqueduft of the emperor Adrian. In the conftruftion of thefe various edi fices, .the Grecian architefts were fortunate in having materials of a quality proper^ tioned to their dM'ii tran.fceiidant genius ; for \he marble In Greece is efteemed one of the finefl In the world. A variety of emotions agitated my mind while I furveyed the antiquities of this me- mprable city, the birth-place of philofophy, and of. almoft all polite learning. My imagi nation attached a kind of fariftity to the. ground which had been .trodden by Socrates, Plato, Ariftotle, and Ariftldes. Had Athens. retained her liberty and civilization to the prefent time, even the ruins of their houfes iriiglg: ftill have attrafted the vene ration of pofterity ; and. been preferved with as much folicitude as was, by the Ro mans, the thatch-roofed palace of Romulus. On the banks of the celebrated Ilyffus, a very fmall ftream, there remains not a vef tlge, of the Lyceum, fo famous in the annals rt' of LET. XXIX.] a^-^-c GREECE, ' \Ti:. 327 of philofophy.*'! ( The only memorial that I could difcover, relative to literature, was a plain tomb-ftone, apparently of great an tiquity and faid to be that of the tragic poet ^Efchylus. It Is probable that the fingular manner of his death has contribut ed to Identify this monument. You know • that he was killed by the fall of a tortoife, which an eagle daffied againft his bald head, miftaking it for a ftone. The Turks here are in general more polite, focial, and affable, than Is common to their nation, and partake In fome degree ofthe Greek charafter. The citizens of Athens are yet diftinguiffied by a native quicknefs of apprehenfion, but which, not being duly cultivated, Inftead of producing genius, degenerates into cunning. They are reputed a moft crafty, fubtle, and acute race; and it has been jocofely affirmed, that . no Jew can live among them, becaufe he would be continually outwitted, '„ Provifions of every kind are here good and cheap ; the frequent and fevere fafts having an influence on the markets. Hares, Game, and fowl, may be purchafed for little more than the value of the powder and "im ffiot. 328 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEK. VV rii ffiot, Oranges, lemons, and citrons, grow^ in the gardens : the grapes and melons are excellent;, ^as are alfo the figs, which were, celebrated of old. The wines are whole fome, but the pitch infufed to preferve them, communicates a tafte which proves at firft dlfagreeable to ftrangers. When the olives blacken, vaft flights of pigeons, thruffies, and other birds repair to the groves for food. Wild turkles are here not iincommon, and partridges very frequent... In winter, woodcocks likewife abound j defcending, after fnow has fallen on the mountains. Into the plain, and as fuddenly retiring. In the time of froft, they enter the gardens of the town in great diftrefs, ra ther than crofs the fea, and are fometimes taken with the hand. Snipes, teal, wid geon, ducks, and the like, are alfo found in great plenty. ¦- . ;i Deftin'd to triumph over time, aii-ff By all the world admir'd, VjJ, £ Such were the arts, and heav'nly ftrainS," '' Which fpread o'er Greece's hills and plains,' In thofe trarifcendant daysj' ¦ When all Caftalla's fluices fiow'd. And all the fire of fancy glow'd. With ardor for the baysi With trees and men,' in Homer's page^ Leaves fllll to leaves, and age to agcj Succeed in endlefs ftore ; *Tis nature's impulfe o'er this ball j But oil I when arts and empires fall," They faU to rife no more, LETTER LET, XX^l] r,v^,TURKEY. 35! LETTER XXXI, A Tour through the iflands belonging O DO to Turkey in Europe, is one of the mdft pleafant excurfions which a claffical travel ler can make ; and as you are converfant with ancient hiftory, of which they form a diftiriguiffied part, my prefent letter ffiall be devoted to a brief account of their pre fent ftate* Negropont, the ancient Euboea, lies ori the eaftern coaft of Achaia, or LIvadia, and is ninety miles long, by twenty-five in breadth. Here the Turkiffi gallies gene- tally lie. The moft remarkable circumftance re fpeft ing this Ifland is the tides of the Euri- pus, which have, baffled the inveftigation' of all natural enquirers, frorii Ariftotle to the prefent time. Thofe tides are regular from the / ^^2 Letters of A TRAvELLESi the l,aft three days of the old moon to thd eighth of the new. The ninth they be come irregular, and continue fo to the thir teenth inclufively. The fourteenth they again become tegular, and obferve ftated periods till the one and twentieth exclu- fively, when they return to a variable cOurfe, in which they continue until the twenty- feventh day. When they arc irre gular, they flow twelve, thirteen, or four teen times, ahd ebb as often in twenty-four or twenty-five hours ; at which times the the water is a,bout half ari hour rifing, and three .quarters of an- hour falling. But when the tides are regular, they obferve the fame rule as the tides in the ocean. In the Euripus, however j the tide never rifes above a foot, or little more; The ifland Itfelf is very fertile, producing coi-n, wirie, fruit, and cattle in great abundance, fothat all kinds -pf provifions are extreriiely cheap* ¦ • 'Lethrios, 'dr Italimerie, lies in the notth- erri'^ part of the Egean fea, or Archipeiag(y, and is almoft a fquare of tWenty-five mile^ each fide; It likewife produces corn: and arid Wirie^ but its principar riches afifl" -' " ¦" from Let, xx;xi'.] tvrkey, , 353 from its mineral earth, called Terra Lem- nia, or Sigillata, much ufed in medicine. It receives the latter appellation from being fealed up by the Turks, who draw from it a confiderable revenue. Tonedos is fituated oppofite to Old Troy, and is mentioned by Virgil as the place to which the Greeks retired, and left the Tro jans in a, fatal fecurity. If we give credit to his authority, it Avas formerly an opu lent place. Eft in confpeStu Teiiedos, notijftma famd Infula, dives opum, Priami dum regna manebant : Nunc tantum finus, & ftatio mala fide carinis. , Scire, formerly Skyros, is fituated about twenty miles north-eaft of Negropont, and is eighty miles in circumfbrence. The foil near the coaft is very fertile, but further up, the country is rocky and barren, yielding only pafturage for goats. The number of inhabitants is computed at one hundred thoufand, four-fifths of whom are Greeks, and the reft Jews, Turks, and Catholics. Their wealth confifts in milk, butter, wine, and filk, of which they make annually tp A a the 3.54 letters of a travelled, -r the amount of a hundred thoufand .Crowns. . The rriaftich in this ifland being reckoned the beft in the world, is entirely appropri ated to the ufe of the Grand Seignior's Se raglio, where the ladies chew it, in prder to whiten their teeth, and render their breath more fweet. ,: Partridges are here in great numbers ; fo tame, that they feed all day in the fields like poultry, and at night return to the farmer's hdufe dn the call of a whiftle. This ifland was the country of king Ly- comedes, where Achilles, in the habit of a girl, was educated, and lay concealed, to prevent his going to the fiege of Troy, It was alfo famous for the exile of Thefeus, king of Athens, Pallas, who was protec- trefs of thia ifland, had a temple on the fea- coaft, of which fome cohimns yet remain ing are fuppofed to have been a part. Leffios, or Myteleneis about fixty miles long, and twenty-five broad, and contains upwards of a hundred villages; ^one of which, Eriffo, is fuppofed to be the ErifSis of the ancients. I furveyed this beautiful ifland witli particular pleafure. It iscfa- •:"• - mous Let, xxxi.] " Turkey:'"' "^ - * 3^5 ¦ - hious for*the number of philofophers arid poets which it has produced. Among the moft celebrated of the natives, were Pit- tacus, orie of the wife men ; Sappho, the Jjoetrefs ; and Arion, who is faid to have charmed the dolphin with his mufic* Epi curus and Ariftotle read leftures here. '^It produces corn, figs, oil, arid Wine ; the laft of which was much admired by Ariftotle, - Horace, and Strabo. .(go Engina,- or Engia,. is fituated In the Gulph of Engia, to which it gives name, between' Achaia and the Morea. It is a fruitful country, about thirty miles in cir cumference, and abounds with partridges to that decree, that the people are fummoned anriUally to deftroy their eggs, for the pre fervation of their corn. On the fumrriit of the mountain Panhel- leniiis are the remains of a magnificent tem ple, dedicated to Jupiter, arid vifited from all parts of Greece. It -was of the Doric brder. Twenty-one of the exterior co- luriins are yet ftariding, with two in the front of the Pronaos, and of'the Protlcum, arid likewife five of thofe which formed the ranges within the cell. The fituation of A a 2 this 3<6 letters OF A TRAVELLER* T ;.{ H this ruin on a lonely mountain, at a diftance from, the fea, has ' preferved it from total demolition amidft all the changes and acci dents of numerous centuries ; aiid if lias a' claim to be confidered as the moft ahcient riiohunient ofthe heroic ages, . This Ifland was the kingdom of ^acus,' arid the inhabitants were called myrmi- dones, or a nation of ants, from their great application to agriculture. It formerly vied with Athens for naval power, and at the fea- fight of Salamis' difputed the' palm of viftory with that republic. This rivailhip induced the Athenians fo an aft, that ^ai^^ reproachful to the humanity of a people fo much civilized. They'paffed a decree to cut off the thumbs of all Ivich of the .iEgine- t^ as Were fit fdt fea-ferVice, t , Porus, another iftand in the Gulph df Erigia, is eighteen miles in circUfnference, and remarkable only for the banlffiment of Demoflheiie's, who here polfoned himfell",, to'a-void falling into the hands Of Antipater^ , Coluri, the ancient Salamis, is fituated in the fame bay, feven miles fouth of AtheiYs,'and feparated from the Continent' by a' ftrait about a mile in breadth. This .,;^! -, " little LET. XXXI.]' TURIiEY, ^^j little Ifland, not above ten miles long, and five or fix broad, was the kingdom of xAjax, the fon of Telamon, fo famous in the hif tory of the Trojan war. It was alfo the country of Solon, the celebrated law-gJver of Athens. Scio, or Chios, lies eighty miles weft of Smyrna, and is about a hundred miles in circumference. This ifland, though roCky and mountaiaous, produces oil and excel lent wine, but no corn, and Is fuppofed to contain upwards of a hundred thoufand in habitants ; of whom only about ten thou fand arc Turks, the reft being Greeks, who .have here a great number of churches, T|ie women in this, and almoft all the other Greek iflands", have in all ages been. .jcelebrated for their beauty ; and their per fons have been the moft perfeft models of fymmetry.to painters and ftatuarles. Thofe are ftill the moft ftriking ornaments of Chios, They commonly fit at their doors and windows, twifting cotton or filk, or employed in fpinning and needlework ; and they are not backward, in accofting ftran gers with familiarity. They bade us weir come as we paffed. On Sundays and Holi- Aa3 days 358- LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. TT, days the ftreets are filled with them in groups. They wear ffiort petticoats,, reach ing only to their knees, with white filk or cotton hofe. Their head-drefs, which is,. peculiar to ¦ the ifland, is a kind of turban,; made of linen, extremely thin and white, Their flippers are chiefly yellow, with a knot of red fringe at the heel. Some wear. them' faflened with a thpng. Their gar-' ments of filk are of various colours ; . and their whole appearance was- fo fantaftic and lively, as to afford us much entertainment. The Turks Inhabit a feparate quarter, and their women are concealed. Among the poets faid to be born in this ifland, the irihabitants reckon Homer, and ffiew a little.. fquare houfe. Which they, call Homer's fchool, Samos lies oppofite to Ephefus, on the coaft of Afia Minor, about feven miles from the Continent, It is thirty miles long, and fifteen broad; Befides wine, which is. in high requeft, it produces oil,; pomegra nates, and fjlk. It was the native country of Juno, Samia the Sybil, and Pythagoras, The ruins of Junp's ternple, and of, the an-. ^i^Ii^ LET. XXXI'.] TUJIKEY. 359 cient. city of Samos, are the fineft remains^ of antiquity in the Levant. South- weft of Samos lies Patmos, one of the fmalleft of the iflands in the Archipe^ lago, and extrernely barren. It has, how ever, a commodious harbour. To this place St. Joh^i the Evangelift was baniffied; and the monks who are upon the ifland ffiew a cave where he is fuppofed to have, written the Apocalypfe. The Cyclades iflands lie in a clufter round Delos, the chief of them, which is fituated about midway between the Conti nents of Europe and Afia. Delos is not more than fix miles in circumference, but is one of the moft celebrated of the Grecian iflands,' as being the native fpot of Apollo and Diana. Notwithftanding its ancient glory, however. It is now almoft deftitute of inhabitants ; and we meet with no vef tlge of the temples of either of thofe deities, Paros is one of the Cyclades, Like moft of thei Greek iflands, it contains magnifi cent ruinsfof antiquity.; but is chiefly cele brated for the beauty and whitenefs of Its marble, *as well as for being the birth-place of the famous ftatuaries, Phidias and Prax- iteles« 26o LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER.v- itcles. , Frpm this Ifland were brought the Arundelian marbles, or Parian Chronicle, iv'hich I mentioned in my letter on llrigland. ~ . , .: , Cerigo, or Cytherea, lies near the, Mo rea, oh the eaft, and is between, forty, and fifty miles in circumference, biit,^-ocky and.; rhbuiitainous. It is chiefly remarkable for being the favorite refidence of Venus, and- the native country of Helen, who gave rifo . to the war of Troy. • . rn-' Santorin, forrherly called Califta, -^iid. afterwards Thera, is one of tlie moft fouth-? erly iflands In the Archipelago. . Though" feemingly covered, with pumice. ftores, ^yet bythe induftry of the Inhabitants,- who are about ten thoufand,' it produces, barley and-. ¦wane, with fome wheat. Near- this ifland- ariothef of the Tame name, rofe from the bottom pf the fea, in 1 707. Attjig time of its Afcent there Was an earthquake, attended ' with the moft direadful lightning arid, thun- de*f , and ebullitions ' pf the fea for fpveral- days. ¦''When 'it aro^, it was aftijere; vol-,- cano, but thfe; burning foon, ceafed. It is,;,, elevated about two hundred feet above the, fea,; and ^t the tijl^e of its pn3crging,.,was,.' LET. Xf:ir.]' ¦ ¦* TURKE-S^. ' ' 36! ^byut- five-'inllfe^ in circumference, tut A^ has-fihce incferafed. Several other iflanhvt%- thc ground about the fountain, iti^ob-; ferved by Mr,* Wood, is too fteep andcTugr^ ged for the fituation of a city. Suth a fitu- .. ation, he remarks, cannot be madetpac- eprd with the puifiiit:; of Heftpr, npr.w-ith i^isiM " many LET'. XX5£ir.]^'^ "'¦ ^- " ¦ ASIA. •¦ •- - 371 many dthef incidents in the poem. The diftance alfo of the prefent fource from the Hellefpont is too great to adnciit pf the ac-^ tions pf the day. For thefe reaforis Mr, Wood fixes the fituation of the city lower- down than the fprings of the Scamander; and he likewife Ventures to cut Off fome miles from our ancient map of the Trojan plain, upori a prefumption, fupported by the natural hiftory of the country, that a great part of the plairi^ which extends tO the Hellefponti has been produced firite the time of Homer, It is hot to be qUeftibnedi that iri the coUrfe of hear three thoufand years, the Troad, as well as othef parts on the Ionian coaft, has undergone great alterations ; but it wOuld perhaps; be , precipitate to deter- mine thofe alteiations, from the diflimilarity between thepreferit ftate of this territory, and the reprefentation of it in Homer. No thing is more- probable, than that much of the fcenery in: the Iliad exifted only in the poet's imagiriation ; and that this was the cafe, therfe*lEeein& additional reafori to cdn- clude, from the admired epifode at the be ginning of thetwelfth book, intended to ob- B b 3 TJate 571 letters of a traveller. -"^^ ^ viate the queftion, why no ruins remained of the Grecian wall ? This paffage being fo pertinent to the fubjeft in controVerfy, de ferves to be quoted. " This ftood,, while Hedor , and Achilles rag'd. While facred Troy the waning hofts eng^g'd ; But when her fons were flain, her city burn'd, ^ And what furviv'd of Greece to Greece returij'd i Then Neptune and Apollo ffiook the ffiore. And, Ida's fummits pour'd their wat'ry ftore ; Rhefus and Rhodius then unite their rills, Carefus roaring down the ftony hills, .iEfepus, Granicus, with mingled force. And Xanthus, foaming from its fruitful fource; And gulphy Siiriois, rolling to the main ¦Helmets and ffiields, and god-like heroes flain : Thefe turn'd by Phcebus from their wonted ways, Delug'd the rampires nine contjnuaf days : The weight of water faps the yielding -wall,. And to the fea the floating bulwa,rk^ fall. ,. Inceffant catarafts the thund*rer pours. And half the ikies defcend in flulcy,ffiow'xs.; The god of ocean marching ftern before. With his huge trident wounds the trembling ffiore ; " Vaft ftones and piles frorri their foundation heaves, And~ whelms the fftioaky ruin in the waves. ' Noiv fmooth'd by farid, and levell'd by the flood, -No fragment tells Where 'once the ruin ftood. !.:.3i..- But LET. XX^II.] ASIA. 373 , ,Butwha.tever increafe or change the p^aln may have received fince the fiege of Troy, the adjacent mountains could not eafily, l3;p affefted by the caufe of any fuch alteration. We therefore find that Mount Gargarus, Cotylus, and Leftum? have only changed their names, and continue to make the farne confpicuous figure, which diftingulffi-, pd them in the Iliad. The defcription given by Homer of Mount Ida likewife corref- ponds with its prefent ftate ; fpr its nume rous fummits are ftill covered with pine- trees, and it abounds with fountains, Monf. Chevalier, a Frenchman, pub llffied a few years ago an interefting ac count of the Troad, in which he contends that the prefent fituation of the Plain of Troy correfponds exaftly with the defcrip tion of it in fhe Iliad. It is ftill diverfified by a few barrows ; and into the largeft of thefe, which he conjeftured to be that of Achilles, Monf. Chevalier informs us that he ,made an ppening. He affirms that he fpu.rid in this repofitory the identical urn mentioned by ,Hpmer, which Achilles re-i pelved of his mother Thetis, and deflined ^o contain his own affies, with thpfe of his. :p b 3 friend J74 letters of A TRAVELLEK. friend Patroclus. But I wiffi, that for the. fatisfaftion of the public, Mr, Chevalier, in order to corroborate his own teftimoriy, had procured the attendance of fome re-, •fpeftable gentlemen from Conftantinople, to be witneffes of the difcovery. He doubtlefs might have formed a party for that purpofe aniong the foreign ambaffadors at the Porte, who Would have made fa ffiort an excurfipn with pleafure, to gra tify antiquarian curiofity. According to Mr. Wood's computation j the ancient kingdom pf Priam includes in its circumference about five hundred Eng lifli miles. Of this above two hundred are a maritime traft, waffied by the Propontis, Hellefpont, and ..^Egean Seas. Fe-vy fpots. of equal extent enjoy more natural advan tages. The climate is temperate and health ful ; the hills are covered with woods, and the plains, which are fertile, well watered. The country produces oil ; and in ancient times fome parts of it were famous for wine. There are mineral waters and .hot baths, which the natives ufe for feveral difr prders j and the mountains contain mines, ¦¦ which. LET, XXXII.] ASIA. 375 which probably, might be wrought to ad vantage. In this quarter of Afia Minor, lies Lydia, or Meonia, the kingdom of the celebrated Croefus. The capital city, Sardis, was fitu ated on the river Paftolus, about feventy miles eaft of Smyrna. It was once the fineft city In Afia Minor, and one. of the feven churches raentioned in Scripture ; but be ing demoliffied -by an earthquake, is now in ruins. The fite of it, which at prefent js named Sart, is green and flowery. Com ing from the eaft, we have the ground-plot of the theatre on our left hand, with a fmall brook running before it.; This ftrufture was in a brow, which unites with the hill of the Acropolis. Some pieces of the vault, which fupported feats, and completed the femicircle, remain. Going on we pafs by remnants of maffy buildings ; marble pieces fuftaining heavy fragments of arches of brick ; and more indlftinft ruins, Thefe are in the plain before the hill of the Apro- polls. On the right-hand near the roa^, is a portion of a large edifice. The walls are ftanding of two large, lofty, and very long jpoms, with a fpace between them, as of a paffage. 376 LETTERS 0 |,ET. XXXII.] ASIA, 37gj From this ruin may be feen the Odeum, which fronted the fouth : the feats remain on the fide of the hill. The profcenium Hes in a confufed heap : the whole was of piarble. Sculpture had been laviffied on It, and the ftyle favoured lefs of Grecian tafte than Roman magnificence. On the bank of the Meander we difco ver the ruin of an ancient bridge, confift ing of half the central arch, with on« fmaller arch entire ; and we may obferve fome ftones and veftiges of a building, which Is fuppofed to have been a temple of Menes, called Carour 5 a deity that was worffiiped in a peculiar manner. The teril- ple was between Cafoura and Laodicea, and had once heeii a great feminary of phyfi cians. The river Maeander, which makes fo many windings in this couritry, was anci ently noted for the produftion of new land, occafioned by Its paffing through the ploughed grounds of Phrygia and Cariaj whence collefting much fllmc, it added tO the coaft at its mouth. The Masander was iridiftable for removing" the foil, wheri its margin tumbled in ; and the perfon whd ¦ recovered LETTERS pF A TRAVE^L^R^ . --- x recovered ^damages, was paid from the pro duce of the ferries. Thofe downfalls of the,t[anks were very frequent, and are fup pofed to;be the caufe of the windings fo re markable in the channel of this river. From ,the alterations already effefted at the mouth of the Masander, there is reafon ta believe, that in a ferles of years the ffiore will protrude far into the fea, and perhaps unite the iflands which at prefent lip at a diftance. To the fouthward of this diftrift ftood Miletus, ,a city of great antiquity, faid tp have bepn built by Miletus, the companion of Bacchus, This once flouriffiing empo rium is now a very mean place, but ftill called Palat or Palatia, the Palaces.. The chief relic of its former magnificence is a ruined theatre, which is vifible afar off, ^nd was a moft capacious edifice, meaffiring in length four hundred and; fifty-feven feet. The external face of this vaft fabric is mar^ ble. The profcenium or front has been removed. The feats, ranged, as ufual, pn the flppe of a hill, and a few of therp.; re- ni^in. The vaults which fupported theje^- tfemities, with, the arches or avenues in ' the LET. XXklll] ASIA/ 3§| the two wings, are conftrufted with great folidity. The veftiges of the aricient city are ffieCes of wall, broken arches, ^nd a few fcattered pedeftals, with iftfcriptions, a fquare mar^ ble urn, and feveral fountains. This was the country of Tliales, orie of the feveii Wife men ; of Anaximander, his fcholaf arid fucceffor, the inventor of fun-dials; of Anaximenes, the phllofopher ; Timotheus, the celebrated mufician, and other eminent perfons. Among the numerous trophies of this ancient city, it was famous for its wooL ' — ' quamvis Milefid mdgno Feller a muiantur, Tyrios incoEla rubor es. Myndus is a port town on a bay of the fea, in a part bf the divifion called Doris. This is the city whicli Diogenes the cyiilc obfer-ving to be very fmall, and the gates difproportlonally large, called to the inha bitants to ffiut their gates, tO prevent th? efcape of the town. ' Priehe Was fituated On the fide of mount MyCale, near which the Ipnians celebrated the Panionia, or yearly affemblies iri honoi: of Heliconian Neptune, tt was alfo the Country of Bias, one of the feven wife men ; ^%2, LEtTERg OP A TRAVELLERJ-XX o'^" men ; who, when the place was taken hf the enemy, and the citizens were flying With their mpft Valuable effeftsi, being afked why he did not do as they did ? replied, he always carried his beft effefts With himi meaning his philofophy and wifdom. Being a man of the ftfifteft equity, Juftitid Pri- i?«^«/S^j became proverbial; This city was famous for the temple of Minerva Pollas, the remains of which yet evince its former elegance and grandeur; Wheri entire it overlooked the city. Which was feated on the fide of the mountain, flat beneath flat, in gradation, to the edge of the plain. The areas are levelled, and the communicatlori preferved by fteps cut iri the flopes. Below the temple are broken co lumns, and pieces of iriarble, the remains of edifices of the Ionic and Doric order's. Further doWn is the ground-plot of the Stadium^ by the city wall; The area was narrow, and the feats ranged only ori'the fide facing the plain. The whole circuit of the wall df the city is ftanding, befides^fe- teral portions within it of admirable folidity and beauty. M LET. XXXII.'} -.-¦¦ ASIA. ¦- ¦-r'-rTi.l At Ure, about twenty-two miles from Miletus, is the celebrated temple of Apollo Didymeus^ It is approached by a gentle afcent, and feen afar off, the larvd towards the fea lying flat and level. The columns^ yet entire, are vfo exquifitely fine, and the marble mafs fo vaft, arid noble, that it is im poffible perhaps to conceive greater beauty and majefty of ruin. =Halicarnaffus, Price a flouriffiing city, is- now nothing more than a heap of ruins. No veftlge remains of the tomb erefted by Ar- temifia for her huffiarid Maufoleus, though formerly efteemed one of the feven won ders. .Of this city was Herodotus^ called by Cicero The Father ef Hifiory ; and like- Wife Dionyfius, not only a good hiftorian but a critic J Ionia and Eolis form iri corijunftion a long traft of land, extending from fouth to nprth, upon the coaft of the Archipelago. In this territory was fituated Ephefus, the moft illuftrious city of Ionia, and called by Pliuy the bright ornament of Afia. Here ftood the celebrated temple of Dianav which Eroftratus burnt to perpetuate ' his memory, the fame night that Alexander was> 2^4 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER; was born. Many grand ruins are yet to be feen of the Stadium Theatre, Odeum j and other buildings; and fome of them ffippofed to be the remains of Diana's temple, there having been a fecond erefted to the honour of that goddefs^ not inferior to the former^ TheEphefians are now a few Greek peafants, living in extreme wretchednefs and infen fibility ; the reprefentatives of. an illuftri ous people, and inhabiting the wreck of their greatnefs;- fome |:he fubftru£lipn§ of the glorious edifices^ which they raifed ; fome beneath the vaults of the Stadium, once the crowded fcene of their diverfions; and fome, by the abrupt precipice, in the fepulchres which received their affies. Of this place was Heraclitus the weeping phi- lofopher, Hipponax the poet, and Parrha-^ fius the celebrated painter. On the banks of the Cayfter, near Ephe fus, are thick groves of tall reeds, fome of which are more than twenty feet high. This extraordinary luxuriance is perhaps the reafon why the river-god is reprefented on the Ephefian medals with this aquatic, as one of his attributes, Myts LET. XX5^II.] ASIA. 3^5 Myus W-as orig^'iiially feated On a bay of the fea, but the bay being changed into k lake, becahie freffi ; and the town was fo much infelled "With gnats, which fwarmed frofti the Water, that the inhabitants retired to Miletus'. The fite df Myus is as roman tic as its fortune was ektraordlriafy ; and there are here many rertiiiiarits of antiquity to attraft the attention. The city-wall, which was coriftrufted With fquare towers, like that of Ephefus, is ftill ftanding, ex cept on the fide towards the wateri We behold the theatre hewn iri a branch of Mount Titaniis, with fome maffy rem nants of the wall of the Profcenium ; but the marble feats iare removed. The priri cipal ruin is the fiilall temple of Bacchus. It is feated ori ari abrupt rock, with the front only, Which is towards the eaft, ac- ceffible. The roof is deftroyed; The cell is well built of fmooth ftone covered with d brown cruft. The marbles which lie fcat tered about, the broken columns,- and mu tilated ftatiies', all witnefs a reriiote ari- ti<^uity. Without the city afe the cerhetaries of its early Inhabitants ; graves cut in the rock, C e fuited 386 LETTERS OF A TftAVELtEft, fuited to- the human ftature at^ all ages ; with innumerable flat ftones, which ferved as lids. The city of Myus was allotted to Themiftocles, by Artaxerites, to furriiffi his table with fiffi, in which the lake greatly abounds, "f- At the head ofthe lake are veftiges of an ancient building, fuppofed to have been Thymbria, By it was a charonium or fa cred cave ; one of thofe which the ancients imagined to communicate with the infernal regions. At Zelle, the ancient Claros, fome ruins are to be feen, fuppofed to be of the temple of Apollo, who had an oracle at this place ; but there exifts no memorial of the facred ;grove of affi-trees. In the neighbourhood of Claros ftood Colophon, one of the cities which laid claim to the birth of Homer, Teos, riow called Bodrun, is at prefent almoft entirely defolate. The walls appear to have been about five miles in circuit 5 -without which are vaultsof fepulchres ftrip- "ped of their marble, i-Here are the remains of a temple of E^chus, one of the moft ..celebrated ilru.ftures:iaToiiia j and ,athe- -atre is confpicuous , in the fidp . of the hdL :a?I> . a . This Let, xxxri.]: ,-, ¦¦AgiA. 387 This: was 1 the country of Anacreon, the ppetj Hecatasus the hiftorian, and Prota goras the philofopheri The books ofthe latter, as containing atheiftical doftrlnes^ were burnthy order of the Atheriians ; and his father Menander was fo opulent as to entertain Xerxes and his numerous at tendants on his march againft Greece. „_Erythr2e has long been deferted j and even ftripped ; of its rviins, except fome vaults of fepulchres, and. other fragments. The walls of Erythrae were erefted ori two femicircular rocky brows j and had fquare towers at regular diftances. In the .middle was a ffiallow purling ftream, clear ' as chryftalj which now turns a folitary mill in its way to the fea. This rivulet was an ciently named Alcos, and was rem arkable for producing hair on the bodies of thofe who drank of it. Near the mouth is a piece of ordinary Mofeic pavement. By a conical hill on the north, arc veftiges of an ample theatre in the mountain fide* Of the. cele brated temple of Hercules no traces Diow remain* Lampfacus is fituated on the fouthern fliore of the Propontis, and retains its an- C c 3 eienfi 388 LETTERS Of A TftAVELtE^ - . cient name. It was affigued by Artaxerjtes to Themiftocles, for furniffiing his table with wine, in which the cotintry abounded* Alexander ha^ving threatened this city with ruin, /or the favor it had fhewn to the Perfians, it was faved by the addrefs of Anaximenes the hiftoriart, who was fent by his fellow citizens to deprecate the king's difpleafure. The latter being informed of the defign, folemnly declared he would do. the very reverfc of Ariaximenes's requeft ;, who therefore, on - his arrival, begged the king utterly to deftroy Lampfacus ; which he could not do on account of his oath. Smyrna, now called Ifmir, is a con fiderable city, and has the largeft and moft commodious harbour in the Levant. The city is about four miles In circumfe rence, and contains feveral. thoufand inha bitants, ampng whom there is a number of Greeks, Jews, and Armenians. The neigh bourhood of Smyrria is exceedingly plea fant, on account of the gardens and vine yards, olives and orange-groves, with which it is furrounded; and through thefe runS: the river Melus, on the banks of which, according tp the tradition of the place, the poet LET. xxxlf.] Asia. 385 poet Homer W'as born. Many valuable an- tiquities'iare ilill to be feen in the environs of Smyrria ; but the plague, with which it is fo' often vifited, beginning to make its appearance, I was induced' to quit Smyrna fooner than I intended. At this time I had occafion to obferve the fatal prejudice of the Turks with refpeft to predeftiriation. I took the liberty, by means of an interpreter, to fuggeft to them the propriety of having recourfe to medical af fiftance, againft the ravages of that terrible. difeafe ; but a ffirug of the ffioulder, or a ffiake of the head, was all that my remon- ftrance could produce. They are firmly perfuaded that a precife time is fixed for the death of every perfon ; and that it is. in vain to endeavour to protraft this period by any pie^icinal application. Cc3 LETTER 39P LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, LETT i; R XXXUU ROCEEDING fouthward from Afia Minor, I came to Syria, and Paleftlne, or Judea, now prodigioufly altered " from its foffner flate, The Turks are particularly fond of reprefentlng this fcountry in the moft dreadful colours, and have even propa gated a thoufand falfehoods concernlrig it. But it Is admitted by all impartial men who have'vifited the couhtiy, that wefe the Holy Land as well cultivated as in former times, . it would be more fertile than^ the very beft parts of Syria and Phoenicia. Its prefent barrennefs does not proceed from the natu ral unfruitfulnefs of the foil, but from the want of inhabitants, the indolence which prevails among the few who poffefs it, and the perpetual difcords and depredations df the ^etty princes who ffiare amdrigfi; them this LET. XXXIII.] ASIA, 391 this fine country. It is a well-attefted faft, that in this country the huffiandman when fowing, is often accompanied by an armed friend, to prevent his being robbed of the feed ; and after all, it is uncertain whether he ffiall ever reap the harveft. Under fuch extreme difcouragement, it cannot appear furprifing that It ffiould be neglefted. There are ftill in this country many ci ties, but greatly decayed from their ancient grandeur, and have little or no trade. Seandaroon ftands upon the fite of Old Alexandretta, but is now almoft depopu lated. In its. neigbourhood are fuperb re mains of antiquity. Aleppo preferves a refpeftable rank among the cities of Afiatic Turkey. It continues to be the capital of Syria, and is fuperior in its buildings and conveniences to moft of the Turkiffi cities. Its houfes, as ufual in the Eaft, confift of a large court, with a dead wall to the ftreet, an arcade or piazza running round it, paved with marble, and in the middle an elegant fountain of the fame. Aleppo ¦ and its ffi- burbs are feven miles in circumference, ftanding on eight fmall hills, on the hio-heft of which is erefted the citadel or 'caftle, but 392 LETTERS, OF A TRAVELLE?. but -of no great ftrength. -Haying ri^iany gardens within the wall, it i§. furniffied with mpft of the conveniences of life, ex cepting good water, and even that is fup plied by an aqueduft, four miles In extent, and faid to have beeri ere^ed by the em prefs Helena. The city contains fome magnificent mofques and bagnios. The Englifh, French, and Dutch have confuls here. The firft of them is treated witl^ partlculai; diftinftlon ; aud at his houfe I had the pleafure pf refidingduring my ffiort ftay -at Aleppo. The pity of Jerufalem has been fo often. razed tp the ground, and rebuilt anew, that no fcene of Our Saviour's life and fuf- ferings pan no-w be afcertained ; yet the Greek and Arminian priefti in thajt quarter, who, fubfift by the credulity of ft.r angers, pretend to guide trayellers to eyery fpot meiitioiied in the Old ^nd New Teftament. The church of the Holy Sepulchre, as it is called, f^d to be built by Helena, mother to Conftantlne the Great, is ftill ftanding, and of tolerable good architefture ; but its differeut divifions, and the difpofitions made round it, are cliiefly calculated tp, fupport the. LET. x;xxiii.] ASIA. 393 the forgeries of its keepers. Other churches ijullt by the fame pious lady are fcattered pver Paleftlne ; but the altered ftate of the country has left no traces of the kingdom of David and Solomon, under whom it was undoubtedly rich and flouriflilng. Thp ancient cities of Damafcus, Tyre, and Sidon, ftill retain part of their former trade. Damafcus is now called Sham, and the approach to it by the river is inexpref- fibly beautiful. It is about two miles fquare, and encompaffed with gardens highly cultivated. It fiill Is famous for Its ,fteel-work, fuch as fword-blades, knives, :&c, and contains a fine mofque, which was formerly a Chriftian church. The na tives maintain this place to be the feat of ¦Paradlfe, and have a tradition that Adam was formed of the duft of the neighbouring fields, Sidon, now Said, which likewife was within the ancient Phoenicia, has ftill fome trade, and a tolerable harbour. Tyre, now called Jur, about twenty miles diftant from Sidon, which was famous anciently for its purple .dye, is now inhabited by fcarcely any but a few miferable fiffiermen, who |ive in tlie ruips of its ancient grandeur. I was ¦$n LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. I was extremely defirous of feeing BaI-» bee, the ruins of which are fo much cele brated. It ftands on a rifing plain, between Tripoli in Syria and Damafcus, at the foot of Mount Lebanon; and is the ancient He- liopolis of Syria. Here are ftill to be feen the venerable remains of magnificent edi fices. The portico of the temple of Heli- opolis is remarkably fuperb, though disfi gured by two Turkiffi towers. Of the pil lars, which were fifty-four in number, the greater part are broken. The whole length of the building is two hundred and nine feet, and about a hundred and four in breadth. It is furrounded by a beautiful colonnade, the pillars of which are of the Corinthian order, feven feet in diameter, and in height almoft forty-four. They ftand at the diftance of nine feet from each other, and the fame from the wall. The decorations of thefe pillars, together with the architrave and cornices, are extremely magnificent. The length of the infide of the temple is a hundred and twenty feet, and the breadth about half that meafure. AU around it are two rows of pilafters, one above another, and between them are niches, LET. xxkiii.] ASIA, 395 niches, probably for the reception of idols. At fome diftance from the temple, is a row of large Corinthian pillars, of a greater height than thofe in the temple ; and there are feveral other places where fuch pillars had ftood, the ruins of which are now lying on the ground. Making tbe circuit of the edifice on the outfide, one is aftonlffied to behold the pro digious ftones which are the remains of the old wall. They are in general not under fixty feet in length, twelve feet high, and the fame in breadth. Thefe ftones lie conti guous to each other in a rpw, at the height of twenty feet from the ground ; and from the difficulty of accounting how fuch huge bodies could be ranged there in fuch a fitu- atiOn, the people in the : neighbourhood have a tradition that they were brought thi ther by fupernatural agents. ' Not far from the temple, or caftle, as it is now Called, is another ancient edifice, of a round form, confifting of the fame kind of 'ftones as thofe before-mentioned, and which has a ftrong refemblance to the tem ple pf Janus at Rome; The pillars are likewife ^9^ LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. likewife of the Corinthian order, decorated with architraves and cornices of exquifite workmanffiip. Various haye been the conjeftures con cerning the. founders of thefe immenfe buildings. The inhabitants of the country generally afcribe them to Solomon, but fome to the time of Antoninus Plus. Per- -haps they are of different ^ras ; and though that prince and his fucceffors may have re built fome- part of them, yet the boldnefs of their architefture, the beauty of their ornaments, and the admirable excellence ofthe whole, feems to fix their foundation to a period before the Chriftian ^ra, but vrithout afcending to the amcient times of the Jews or Phoenicians, whp probably Isnew little of the Grecian ftyle of ar chitefture. ' Balbec is at prefent a fmall city, encom.- paffed with a wall. It contains abou;t five thoufand inhabitants, chi^y Greeks, who, live in or near the circular temple, in houfes built out of fhe ancient ruins. A free-ftone quarry in the nighbourhoqd, furniffied the ftones for the body of the temple ; and one of LET. XXXIII.] ASIA. •^(^'J of the ftOaies,- not quite detached from the bottom of the quarry. Is feventy feet long,, fourteen, broad, fourteen feet five inches deep^ and reduced to our meafure, is ele ven hundred and thirty- five tons. A eoarfe white marble quarry, at a greater diftance, furniffied the ornamental parts.:'; Near the road leadlrio; from Balbec to Mount Lebanon, at the diftance of a few miles from the city, ftands a pillar of th© Corinthian order, confifting of fifteen blocks of ftone, placed -on each other, to the height of fifty-feven feet, and five feet in diameter. The caufe of its being erefted is utterly unknown, there not remaining on the pedeftal the leaft trace of any in fcription. Mount Lebanon Is ftill .diftinguiffied by cedars, which are remarkable both on account of their great antiquity, and the mention made of them in Scripture. They. feem to be of very different ages: the younger ffioot up vertically, with their branches expanded, all round, but the old ftandards have a low and eoarfe ftem, not above fix feet high to the branches, ' growing 398 LETTEiiS OF A TRAVELLER; growing in figure like fruit-trees^ Some- of thefe are four or five fathoms in cir cumference, with feveral names cut on them* On this mountain are to bc found ftones, which have alt the appear ance of having been formerly mud; con taining the bones of fiffies, and fome en tire fiffies, fuppofed to have been depofited at the time of the deluge* LliTti:!^ tET. XXXIV.] ASIA. 39^ LETTER XXXiy. Y OUR tafte for the Arabian Nights Entertainment will no doubt render you defirous of knowing the prefent. ftate of Bagdad, which was the metropolis of the caliphate under the Saracens. It is built upon the Tigris, and fuppofed to be near the fite of the ancient Babylon, It retains but few marks of its ancient fplendor, but has ftill a confiderable trade. The houfes are generally large, built of brick and cement ; and moft of them have a court yard in front, in the middle of which is a fmall plantation of orange trees. The inhabitants of this place were anciently fa mous for making various figures of earth or clay, with which the country abounded. The fame materials ftill exift in the neigh bourhood ; the clay is of a browniffi colour, and 400 LETTERS of A TRAVELLElfi and bituminous quality, and I obferved feveral chiidferi amufing themfelves with forming imag-es of it. ; ; ~: The ancient Thrievea is noW a heap of ruins,. and the fite of- it is- occupied by Cur- diftolj the capital of a country of the fame name, which Was the ancient Affyrla. As I know the eftimatiori- in Which you hold a certain celebrated critic of antiquity^ Who ffiall hereafter be mentioned, 1 may -. be- affured of your defire to- feceive fomo account of P-almyfa.-' ;**:¦' . . . Palmyra, nof -as-it W^as called by the anci ents, Tadmor in the Defert^ is fituated ii* the wIMs of -Arabia- Petrsea, -aboiii two hun dred miles to the fouth-eaft of Aleppo. Ic is approached through *a narrow plairi^ abbUnding with remains of antiquity^ at the termination of which the eye is pfeferited- With a fig-ht the moft' mag-nlficent that can be imigiried in arehltefturei The Temple of the SUn lies iri ruins ; but the accefs tP it is*' through a vaft number of beautiful Co^ ririthlan •cdlumns of white marble, the grandeur and beauty of which can Pnly be conceived from drawings; and - for this I s muft- refer you td theBaceurate plates pub-' liffied LET, XXXlV.] ASIA. 40]t liffied by Mr. Wood, Superb arches, ama^iing columns, a colonnade extending four thoufand feet in length, terminated by a noble maufoleum, temples, fine porti* cos, periftyles, intercolumniations, and en tablatures, all of them in exquifite tafte, and executed with the moft heautifujL ma terials, appear ori all hands- ; but now fo much disjointed, that it is impoffible from them to forpl ariy adequate idea of th« whole of the ftrufture wheri perfeft. Thefe ftriking remains are contrafted by the miferable huts of the wild Arabs^, -who refide in or near them; Amidft the prefent deiblation of this Wonderful place, there yet exifts in it one of the moft perfeft pieces of antiquity that is any Where to be founds It is a maufo* leum, j^confifting of five ftories, the flpors and ftaifs of which are ftill entire. Aa infcription upon it informs us that it was ¦built by Jambelicus, fon of MocimUs, as a burial-place for himfelf and his family J and the date of it corrdponds With the third year pf the Chriftian aera : fo that it is now 1795 years old. Dd That 4-02 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLeS. That fo fuperb a city, formerly ten miles in circumference, could exift in the midft of what ate now trafts of barren uninha bited fand. Is a faft which appears almoft incredible. Yet nothing is more Certain, than that Palmyra was formerly the capital of a great kijjgdom ; that it Was the empo rium of the Eaftern world, and that its merchants carried on a trade with the Ro mans, and the weftern nations, for the merchandizes and luxuries of India and Arabia, Its prefent alter'd fituation, there^ fore, can be accounted for only by natural caufes,- which have turned the moft fertile trafts into barren deferts. The Afiatics think that Palmyra, as well as Balbec, owes its origin to Solomon, and their opinion re ceives fome countenance from facred hif tory. No mention of it occurs in profane hiftory before the time of Mark Anthony, and Its mpft fuperb buildings are thought to be of the lower Empire, about the time of Galllenus, Odinathus, the laft king of Palmyra, was highly careffed by that Em peror, and even declared Auguftus, His widow Zenobla reigned in great fplendor for feme time, and her fecretary, as you know J .know- was Longinus, the celebrated critit. rl^pX being, able to brook theRbriiah,tyranriyi /ffie^de^cl^r^'d, waf agairift the Em^efoi: Au- .reiiari, who made he"r.priforief, led her iii Iriurnph.tp^Rpme, where he put td death hef; principal .nobility, arid ahiohg Others t^e. ,excellent .Lpngirius, the critic above mentioiied. Fie afterwards look poffeffion x>f her city, and maffacred its inhabitarits; ,hut expended large funis but of ZeriObia's treafure oi\, repair irig the Terriple ofthe Sun. L_-,,^Xu]f|:py.iiv Europe and Afia forms a Very : large ,pmpii;e, but the ppptilatioii Of the . coUntry^S by tig riiearis equal to its extent dr ,fei"tility. It. is Certainly hot fp great as it was ;, before, the chriftian asra, dr even Under the Rpman Emperors. One prm- cipal caufe, bf this declenfion is the tyfaririy - ,uii,dei',^,which. the, inhabitants live; and another their polygamy. That the latter is ; unfavorable to population, rrihy be evinced , frpm mauy reafons; and in faft we find , tliat the i Greeks arid Armettiaris, among whomj it is not praftifed, are incomparably ,;;jm ore- prolific thaii the Turks, riotwith- , llanding the rigid fiibjeftipn iinder which , they are kept by that natipri. Aii additl- i) d i ' ^ ' ' onal 404. LETTERS O.F,A TRAVEtL^Ri^: onal caufe of depopulation is the plague,;; lo frequent in many parts of thefe Cpuntries.; After all, I believe the Grand Seignior^ has more fubjefts than ::¦, anyi two Euj:opean princes; though they are-* a greater mix ture, of people extremely .idiffereiit from each other in religion, than is to, be found in moft other countries.'i >/rhough-this ex-. tenfive empire contains materials for the largeft. plan of induftry arid commerce,: yet.: the Turks content themfelves -with manuj? fafturing cotton, carpets, leaflier, land foapi The moft valuable of their commodities^- fuch as filk, a variety of drugs, :anddying ftuffs, they generally export without giving them much additional value from their own labour ;u a circumftance highly , difad^ari? tageous to themfelves, 'but what renders the commerce with them more. favOrable to other nations. In one article, however, which is that of dying cotton fcarlet, they evince a dexterity beyond eyery other pep- pie In the world. ¦5,. The internal commerce of .the empire is extremely fmall, ' and managed entirely by Jeyvs and Armenians. ^ .In thciritraffic with the,; feveral maritime countries of Europe, the LET. xxsrv.] ^,A ' "' Asia. * - -^ - ^ 405 the Turks are entirely paffive; leaving to thpfe nations the benefit of refortin 2; thither with their comriiodities, and bringing back thofe of Turkey In the fame bpttoms. But the inattention of the Turks to objefts of commerce is perhaps the beft fecurity to their government ; for did they profecute it with an aftivity fuitable to the advantages they enjoy, they would excite in other na tions fuch a jealoufy as might ffiake the Ottoman throne. It is certain that if the Turkiffi dominions were in the poffeffion of Ruffia, or any aftive ftate, the trade maintained at prefent by other nations, would experience a vaft diminution. In gerieral the charafter of the Afiatic Turks is preferable to that of the European, They are hofpitable to- ftrangers; and the vices of avarice and inhumanity prevail chiefly among their great men. Their charity and public fpirit is Confpicuous in their building caravanfaries, or places of en tertainment, on roads that are deftitute of accommodation, for the refrpffiment' of poor pilgrims or travellers. Wjth the fame laudable view, they fearch out the Dd3 ¦ ^^¦¦- beft 406 LETTERS OF ATRAVELLER. beft fprings, and dig wells, for the conve nience of fuch paffengers. The fedent pofture of the Turks Is pe culiar to themfelves. They fit crofs-legged' upon mats, or fofas, not only at their meals but in company. They dine about eleven o'clock In the fprenoon, and fup at five in tbe winter, and fix In fummer,. arid this is their principal meal. Among the great people the diffies are ferved up one by one ; but they have neither knife nor fork, and they are not permitted by their religion^ to ufe gold or filver fpoOns. Their vlftuals arc always high feafoned. Rice Is the common food of the lower fort, and fome times It is boiled up with gravy, but their chief diffi Is pilau, which is mutton and fowl boiled to rags ; and t;he rice being boiled quite dry, the fpup, which is high feafoned, is poured upon it. Their drink is ¦water, ffierbet, and coffee ; and the only debauch they kriow Is in Opium. Guefts of high rank fometimes have their beards per fumed by a female flave. They are fober from a principle of their religion, which forbids them the ufe of wine ; but in pri vate LET, XXXIV.] ASIA. 407 vate, many of them indulge themfelves in the ufe of ftrong liquors. The Turkiffi mode of life is extremely prejudicial to health and the vigor of the conftitution. It is very uncpmrnpn to fee any of the confiderable inhabitants of this vaft empire take the exercife of walking or riding either for health or amufement. They fpend almoft their whole time within doors, converfing with the women, driiikr ing ppffee, fmpaking tobacco, pr chewino; opium. In Afiatic Turkey in particular, nature feems to have brought all her produftions to the greateft perfeftion ; and if the cha rafter of the inhabitants does i^ot bear a juft proportion to the pxcellencc of the ve-r getable and animal kingdoms, it is becaufe they are debafed by the form of their go vernment, enervated by indolence and other caufes, and deprived of all means of ac quiring either ufeful or elegant knowledg;e, LETtlER LETTERS Of A TRAVELLER, I. E T T E H XXXV. I AM riow to write to you. of a country, which having never vifited, (as very few Europeans have done,) I can only defcribo- from the imperfeft accounts which have hl- thertp" been delivered of it by travellers. This country is Tartary, in Afia, a region of prodigious extent. You may well ex- Cufc the defeft pf information pn this fob- jeft, when even the Emperor pf Ruffia, to whom a great part of itbelongs, and his miniftry, are ignorant pf its precife limits with the Chinefe, tj^e Perfians, and other nations. Tartary, taken in its fulleft extent, is bpunded by the Frozen Ocean on the north; by the Pacific Oce^n on the eaft ; by Chi na, India, Perfia, and the Cafpian fea, on the Iputh, ^iid by Mufcpvy oil the weft. 'The L^iy . XX3igK.] -I.aY.JiJ.'S ASIA* ¦¦ '* -¦ -'¦' - . ' '4^ The air of this country is greatly diverfified, by reafon of^ifs vaft extent from north to fouth ; the northern parts reaching beyond the arctifiipolar circle, and the fouthern be ing in the fame latitude with Spain, France, Italy, and part of Turkey. Nova Zembl'a and Ruffian Lapland arc moft uncomfortable regions ; the earth, which is covered with ffiow nine months in the year,' beifig extremely barren, and encumbered with uriwholefome marffies, uninhabited mountains, and impenetrable woods. The climate of Siberia Is cold, but the air ptire and wholefome ; and a pcrfoii of credit who has vifited that country, ob ferves, that its inhabitants, in all probability, would live to extreme old age, if they Were not addifted to an immoderate ufe of intox icating liquors. ;?' Siberia produces rye, oats, and barley, almoft^ to the 66th deojree of northern la- titude. Same of the common vegetables likewife grow tolerably well ; but eyery at tempt tO bring fruit-trees to bear,; has hi therto proved ineffeftual.- There is reaifOn h6\vever, to believe, ; that induftr)r an^ pa- tie^iee may-'in &e ejid ^-V'^c^irib diiS Vude- -' -' , nefs 4iq LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. , nefs pf the climate. There are np bees ir| Siberia, but though it be therefore a land that flows iiot with honey, it is not defti-, tute of milk, for cattle conftitute the greater part of Tartarian property, Aflrachan and the fouthern parts of Tar tary are extremely fertile, owing more to nature than induftry. The parts that arc cultivated produce excellent fruits of almoft; all the kinds kno-wn in Europe, efpecially grapes, which are reckoned the largeft and fineft In . the world, Thp fummers are very dry, and from the end of July to . fhfs. beginning of Auguft, the air ;s: peftered;, and; the foil foinetlmes ruined, by incredi ble quantities of loCufts. No probable conjefture can be formed with refpeft to the number of inhabitarits in Tartary ; but there is reafon tp concludcj that they are far from being proportioned to the extent of the country. They areirji general, ftrong-made ftout men. The beauty of the Circaffian women is a kind of ftaple commodity in- that country ; for pa rents there make, no fcruple of felling their daughters, to recruit the feraglios of the 'great men of Turkey and Perfia* They 'nuuhL "are LET. XX^V.} ¦-'¦ ASIA, 4'-^ -afe purchafed when young, by merchants, aiid taught fuch accompliffiriients as fuit their capacities, to render them mor'e valu? able ag-alnft the 'day of fale. The Tartars are in general a wandering leJ' In their peregrinations they fet put in the. fpring, their nUrnbers in. one body being frequently ten-thdufand, pre ceded by their flocks and herds. Wheri they coriic to an inviting l^ot, they live ¦tippff It till all its grafs and^verdure is eaten up. They have little money, except What they get from their neighbours, the Ruf fians, Perfians, or Turks, iri exchange fof- tattle. With this they purchafe cloth, filk, ftuffs, and other apparef for- their women. There are feW rnechanlcs amongft them except thofe \yho make arms. They avoid all labour as the greateft flavery : their only em|)loyment being to tend their flocks, and :'mahage their hprfes. ' The dwellirigs of the Tartars are huts, half funk in the ground ; they have a fire In the middle. With a hole in the top to let but the fmoke, and benches rpund the fire td*fit or iye upon. In the extreme nor- ^ihern provinces^, during the winter, every &x^ ' family 413- - LETTERS. Of: A TRAVELLER. - .T:l 1 family., burrows .? itfelf asa it . werc^ urader" ground; and they are faid to be fo foci able in their difpofitions, that they make fuhter raneous communications with each- other.' They are immoderately fond of horfe-fleffi^ efpecially if it be young and a httle tairited,^ which makes theii" habitations, extremely riaufeous. Some of fhe northern tribes prefer the fleffi raw, but the. general Avay of eating it, is after it has been fmoaked and dried, ;.gi •:.> ^¦ i-fx; t>B- cj;di-iov.f o The religion of the Tartars is for moft part accommodated s?to that of their neighbours ; for it partakes of the Maho metan, the Geiitoo, the Greek, and Veven^ the Popiffi religions. Some of them arc profeffed idolaters, and b worffiip httl^? rude iinages dreffed up in fags. But the religion of the kingdom of Thibet, and Leffa, a large traft of Tartary bdrdpring; Upon :=' China, is the mofl remarkable.-'*'^ XtiLefe.cpeople are governed by the GraHd; Laixia,.who.m they not-^only acknowledge: as.tlieir/. fovereign, buttheir deity;. and he' i^!:alfo the great objeft of adoration for the' various tribes of Heathen Tartars, who; ,roam through the vaft traft which ftretc|ies ':::ii:^:iiA from Let. xxxV,] iv-X,??* asia. .^'k^T^.i 4,1 3^ from the banks of^the Wolga to Corea on the fea of Japan, He is not only the fo vereign pontiff,'' the vicegerent of the 4e- ity on earth ; but, as fuperftition is eVef the flrongeft where it is moft renioved from its Objeft, the more remote Tartars abfolutely regard him as the deity himfelf. They be-^ lieve i him to be imriiortal, and endowed with all ,6 knowledge and virtue. Every year they come up from different parts to' Worffiip and make rich offerings at his fhtine. Even the'Emperor of China, Who iaaManchou Tartar, does not fail of ac knowledging him inffiis religious capacity, thowgli the Lama is tributary to him. s^Jfff -^Thefe people entertain the notion, that wheii the Grand Lama feems to die either of old age orficknefs, his foul in faft oiily quits ,a crazy habitation, to look for another younger arid better ; and it is difcovered again iri^the body of fome child, by certain, tokens known only to the lamas or priefts j in, Which order he always appears^^'^ Befides- his religious influence and authority,' bh© Grand Lama 0 is poffefledl of "3 unlimited power through his dominions, which arP' very extcnfiye, and horde t on Bengal; ffii" "' i au^h Another t> 41.4 letters OP A TRAVELLER. - •; Another religion vefy prevalent among the Tartars is that of Schamanifm, the profeffors of .which believe in ohe fupreme God, the creator of all things. They be lieve that he loves his creation, and all his creatures ; that he knows every thingj and is all powerful ; but that he pays no atten tion to the particular aftions of men, being tod great for them to be able to offend him, or to do any thing that can be meritorious In his fight. But they alfo maintain that the fupreme being has divided the govern ment ofthe world, arid the deftiny of menj among a great humber of Inferior divinities j Under his comhiand and controul, but who neverthelefs geiierally aft according to their own fancies ; and therefore mankliid cannot difpenfe with ufing all poffible means for obtaining their favor. You will perhaps be furprifed to. fee rrie mention learning among a nation, of Tar tars ; yet nothing is more eertairi than tliat under ZIngIs Khan, and Tamerlane, and their early defcendants, Aftrachan, and the neighbouring countries were the feats of learning and politenefs, as well. as empire and magnificence. The moft fplendid mo dern iEt^ x)txV.] ^'A;ry 'AsrAr--^--''"^'<^ 41 1 dern luxury falls ffiort of that of thofe prin ces; and fome remains of their tafte in architefture are ftill extant, bht in fpots fo defolate that they are almoft inacceffible; Thdugh Tartary, foririerly known by the nime of Scythia, was the nurfery which peopled the northerri parts of Europe, and fufidffied thofe arnazing iiiimbers, which under ¦various names, overturned the Ro man empire, yet it is now but thinly In habited. This muft be owing to the dread ful maffacre made by the tWo abovemen- iioncd princes and their defce'ndants ; for nothing is more coirimoii in their hiftories, c than their putting to the fword three or ¦3 four' hundred thoufarid perfons , in a few "• days. The country of Ufficc Tartary Was once the feat of a more powerful empire than that of Greece or Rome. It was not only the native country, but the favorite refi dence of ZIngIs Khan, and Tamerlane, who enriched it with the' fpoils of India and the eaftern World. Some authors have ab- furdly queftioned the veracity of the hifto rians of thofe great conquerors, "though in ^ reality hyper bole, that however animated their com'po^j fitions might be, they would furniffi a cri tic with more examples of bombaft than of the genuine fublime. Be this. as It may, there certainly is in the Univerfity of Ox ford, a manufcript, containing the lives of. no lefs than a hundred and thirty-five of the fineft poets. One of thefe, named Ferdofi, comprifed the hiftory of Perfia, In a ferles' of epic poems, which employed him near^ thirty years, and which Mr. Jones affirms. to be a 2:lorIous monument of Eaftern o-e- nlus and learning. Two other celebrated Perfian poets are Hafiz and Sheik Sadi ; and , the tombs of both,- which ftill remain, are held in great veneration. That of Hafiz ftands about two miles from the city of Sherauz. It is conftrufted of fine white marble, eight feet In length, and four in breadth. On the top and: fides, of the tomb are feleft pieces from the poet's own works,. moll beautifully cut in the Perfian cha rafter. During the fpring and fummer fea fons, the inhabitants vifit here, and amufe themfelves with fmoaking, playing at chefs, and LET. XXXVIII.] ASIA. ' 443 and other shames ; readlno; alio the works of Hafiz, whofe memory they venerate almoft to a degree of adoration. About three or four miles from the tomb of Hafiz, is that of Sheik Sadi. This is a large fquare building, at the upper end of which are two alcove receffes In the wall, built of ftone. In good prefervation. On the fides of it are engraved many fentences relative to the poet and his works. Sadi- flouriffied about five-hundred and fifty years ago, and his produftions are ' held in great efteem among all the eaftern nations, for their morality, and the ex cellent precepts they inculcate. On the top of the tomb is a covering of painted wood, black and gold, on which is written an ode of the Sheik's, and on removirig this board, is perceived the ftone coffin in ¦wffiich his remains were depofited. This the votaries who come thither, take care to ftrew with flowers, rofaries, and various offerings. - At prefent learning is at a very low ebb gmoiig the Perfians. Their boafted fkill in aftronomy is reduced to a mere fmattering in that fcience, and terrninates in judicial aftrology, 444 LETTERS OF A TRA"VELLER. aftrology, to which' the Perfians are now fuperftltloufly addifted. The learned pro feffion in greateft efteem amongft them is that of medicine, which is at perpetual va riance with aftrology ; becaufe every dofe muft be adminiftered in the aufpicious hour fixed by the aftrologers : a reftriftlon which muft often defeat the fuccefs of whatever has been prefcrlbed. '^ The' moft remarkable' piece of antiquity in Perfia, Is the famous palace of Perfepolis, which ftands at the diftance of between thirty and forty miles from Sherauz. It is fituated on a rifing ground, and commands an extenfive profpeft over the plain of Merdaffit. The mountain Rehumut encircles the palace in the' form of an amphitheatre. You afcend to the Columns by a grand flair-cafe of blue ftone, confifting of a hun dred and four fteps. The firft objeft that- ftrlkes the beholder on his entrance, are two portals of ftone, each about fifty feet- in height. The fides are embelliffied with two fphinxes of an immenfe fize, dreffed out with a profufion of bead-work, and, contrary to the ufual method, they are re prefented ftanding. On the fides above are LET. XXXVIII.] ASIA. 445 are infcriptions in an ancient charafter, the meaning of which no perfon hitherto has been, able to decypher. At a fmall diftance from thefe portals you afcend another flight of fteps, which lead to the grand hall of columns. The fides of this ftair-cafe are ornamented with a variety of figures in baffo-relievo. Moft of them have veffels in their hands ; here and there a camel appears, and in other parts a triumphal car, defigned after the Roman faffiion. Befides thefe, are feveral led horfes, oxen and rams, which diverfify the prpceffion. At the head of the ftair- cafe. Is another baffo-relievo, reprefentlng a lion feifing a bull; and clofe to this are other infcriptions in ancient charafters On arriving at the top of the ftair-cafe, you enter what was formerly a moft mag nificent hall. Fifteen of the colunins yet remain entire, and are mafterly pieces of mafonry. Their pedeftals are curioufly worked, and appear little injured by the ravages of time. The ffiafts are fluted up to the top, and the capitals are adornec} with a profufion of fret work. Proceeding 44^ LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. Proceeding eaftward from this hall, yoit arrive at a very large fquare building, the entrance to which Is through a door of granite. Moft of the doors and win dows of this apartment ^ ftill exift ; they are of black marble, and poliffied like a mirror. On the fides of the doors, at the ,entrance, are bas-reliefs of two figures- at full length, they reprefent a man in the attitude of ftabbing a goat ; with one hand h^ feizes the animal by the horn, and With the other thrufts a dagger into its belly, .One of the goat's feet refts upon the breaft of the man, and the other upon his right arm. This device Is common throughout the palace. Over another door of the fame apartment, is a reprefentation of two men at full length: Behind them ftands a domeftic,. holding in his hand a fpread um brella. They . are fupported by large round ftaves, appear to be in years, have long beards, and a profufion of hair upon their heads. At the fouth-Weft entrance of this apart ment are two large pillars of ftone, upon which are carved four figures ; they are dreffed In long garments, and hold in their '^*i hands LET. XXXVIII.] ¦'' ASIA. 447 hands fpears ten feet in length. At this entrance alfo the remains of a ftair-cafe of blue ftone are ftill vifible, , Vaft numbers of broken pieces of pillars, ffiafts, and ca pitals, are fcattered over a confiderable ex tent ,of ground ; fome of them of fuch an enormous fize, that It is wonderful to think how they qould have been brought whole, and fet up together. The materials of which this palace Is compofed, are chiefly hard blue ftone ; but the doors and windows of the apartments are all of black marble, and fo beautifully poliffied as to refleft an objeft like a mirror. One of the principal things worthy of re^ mark, is the imrnenfe ftrength df the foun dation. The whole of the palace takes in a circuit of fourteen hundred fquare yards ; its front from north to fouth Is fix hundred paces, and from- eaft to weft three hundred and ninety. The height of the foundation, in front, is in feveral parts from forty to, fifty feet, and confifts of two immenfe ftones laid together. The fides are not fo high, and are more unequal, owing, to the vaft quantity of fand which has fallen from the mountain. The 44^ LETTERS OF A TRAVELLEK* The hall of pillars appears to have been detached from the reft of the palace, and to have had a communication with the other parts by hollow galleries of ftone. By the pedeftals of the pillars which remain, the hall feems originally to have confifted of nine dlftinft rows of columns, each containing fix ; making confequently in all fifty-four. The fifteen that remain are from feventy to eighty feet in height, the diameter at the bafe is twelve feet, and the diftance between each column twenty-two. By the pofition of the front pillars, the hall appears to have been open towards the plain ; but four of the pillars facing thp mountain, and which are at forne diftance from the reft, feem to have been intended for a portico, or eiitrance from the eaftl' The materials of the columns are a mixed- fort of red ftone, granular. Tbe hall, fi tuated on an eminence, and commanding an extenfive view of the plain of Mer daffit, Is ftrikingly grand, arid conveys to the beholder the idea of a hall. of audience of a powerful and warlike monarch. When and by whom this palace was ori ginally built, It is impoffible tp determine. Some LET. XXXVIII.] ASIA. ' 449 Some have afcribed it to Darius, the Perfian emperor, who was conquered by Alex;- ander. That it is however pf great anti quity no doubt can be entertained. Behind the hall of pillars, arid clofe under the mountain, are the remains of a very large building of a quadrangular form, — • This may have made either a part of the palace, or perhaps a detached temple ; as it has Withiri-'fide fytfibols emblematicalof re ligious apprdpriatlon. This buildlrig has four priiicipal entrances in different quarters. Notwifhftattding the' magnificence of ,thefei and other ancierit buildings fdund in different parts of .Perfia, they are -yold of ,that elegance and beauty which We admire in the Greek architefture. The tombs of the Perfian kings are ftupendous works, cut out of, a rock, and highly ornamented with fculpture. The - houfes of the meri of quality in Perfia are in the fame tafte with thofe of the Afiatic Tufks. They are feldom above one ftory high, built of bricksj with flat roofs for Walking on, arid thick walls. The doors are narrow and clumfy, the hall arched; aud the room* have no communi- G g cation 450 LETTERS OF A. TRAVELLER. cation but with the hall, the kitchen and office houfes being built apart. Inftead of chimnies, moft: of them have a J-ound hole in the middle of the room. Their fur niture chiefly confifts of carpets ; and their beds are two thick cotton, quilts, which ferve them likewife for coverlids, with car- -pets under them. • • Ifpahan, the capital of Perfia, ftands in a fii).e plain, within. a mile of the river Zenderharid, which fupplies it with water. It Is computed to be twelve miles In cir curiiference; of which thc; rpyal palace occupies a great part. The ftreets^ are nar row and. crooked, and the chief amufement of the; inhabitants Is on the flat roofs of their houfes, where they generally fpend the fummer evenings. There are in If pahan no lefs than . a hundred and fixty mofques, and eighteen hundred caravan- feras. The number of public baths is like- wife very great, ^ - . The Perfians equal. If not exceed: all the manufafturers in the world In filk, woollen, ¦mohair, carpets, and leather. In their ^ar- ;:pets,:rin, particular, they have -the alt of -.jpinin-g fancy, tafte, and elegance, to. rich- jfi:? .. . ' ^- ? V' nefsy Let. xxxviiii] '^iT-"*" AsfA. tai-. '451 nefs; neatnefs, and ffiew ; notwithftanding which they are ignorant of painting, and their drawings are Very rude; Their dying excels that of Europe. Their filver and gold laces, and threads; are admirable for preferving their luftre. Their embroideries^ and horfe furniture are not to be equalled ; nor are they ignorant of the pottery and window-glafs manufaftures. Ori the Other hand, their carpenters are very indifferent Workmen ; which Is faid to be dwiiig to the fearclty of timber all over Perfia. Their -jewellers and goldfmiths are alfo clumfy artlfts, arid they are ignorant of -cldck- ^makinsT, and the manufafture of looking glaffes. But they lie under great difadvan tages from the arbitrary form of government, and the rapacity exercifed by thofe who often afcend the throne by ufurpation* . The irrevocable laws of the ancient Medes and Perfians arc no longer known^ having periffied, it is probable, with the conftitution to Which they owed their ex iftence. At prefent, in Perfia, as In every raahometan country, they have no other law but the koran, and the comments of the ecclefiaftlcs upon it. The priefts enjoy X-*' ¦ G g 2 the 4j2 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER* the privilege of being judges in all Cafes, both civil and religlpus ; but fuch as are criiTiiual, the governors take upon them to decide: not however without this authority being protefted againft by the priefthood. In refpeft to the judgments of the king, pr his viceroys, they are alh arbitrary. The law In cafes df debt Is extremely fevere. If the debtor be unable to pay, he is delivered to the creditor to be dealt with as he ffiall determine ; ,the latter having it in his power to fell him, with all his family, or make -flaves of the whole, if be pleafes. All perfons here plead their own caufe, the women as well as the men ; only the former are veiled, and haye a partiieuiar parJL of the court afligned them to flan d Ip^ The principal bufinefs for .which they ap pear before a judge, is to obtain a divorce. They ufually ground their aftion on the impotence of their huffiands, and are always on thofe oGcafipns extremely clamorous, , Murders and robberies rarely occur in Perfia, guards being placed on every road to prevent them, pr apprehend offenders. Bakers .and cooks have fometimes beeri baked or roafted alive, for defraudiiig the '•. ¦ . ; people LET. XXXVIII.] ASIA. 453 people of their provifions* by falfe weights; but for the moft part, they are only con fined, or coride'mhed to the baftlnado. Though the Perfians profefs the religion of Mahomet, no lefs than the Turks, they differ confiderably in their principles from thofe of that nation; thc latter foUowing^ Abubeker, Omar, ahd Ofman, and the for iner the comriaents of Hali. Such is the antipathy- between thofe two fefts, that, riot content with the moft rancorous ha tred, they even curfe each other In their prayefs. Both parties j however, call them felves Muffelmen, or of the number of the faithful. They have two articles of faithj ri'amely, that there is but one God ; and that Mahomet is his prophet. The com mandments of their religion are, to obferve corporal purifications ; to pray five fives a a day ; to gi-ve alms ; to faft in the morith Ramezan ; and to go on pilgrimage to Mecca. To this fyftem the Perfians add another article of faith, which is, that Hali is the vicar of God. - \ 'Their religion is, if pdffible, in feme things, more fahtaftical andfenfual than that ofthe Turks, and is in many pbihtS mingled G g 3 with 454 , LETTERS Of A TRAVELLEil. '? with Brarnln fuperftitious. Some of them even .maintain the Pythagorean dpftrine of tranfmigration. There are ftill in the country a vaft nurnber of Guebres or Gaurs, who pretend to be the difciples and fuc ceffors of the ancient Magi, the followers of Zoroafter. A combuftible fpot of ground, about ten miles diftant from Baku, a city in the north of Perfia, Is the fcene wh'efe thefe people perform their folemn devotions. There are upon this ground feveral pld little temples', in pnc of which the Guebres pretend to preferve the facred flame of the Viniverfal fire, which rifes from the end of a large hollow pane flick in the ground^ re fembling a, lamp burning with very purp fpirits, ,* - , LETTER LET. XXXIX.] ASIA, 455 LETTER XXXIX, L ROM the kingdom which I laft vlflted, there is an immediate tranfitlon into Arabia, This country is formed into three diyifions, which are Arabia Petrasa, on the north- weft ; Arabia Deferta, in the middle ; ^and Arabia Felix, on the fouth-eaft. It is al moft furrounded with feas, and there are few fountains, fprings, or rivers in this country, except the Euphrates, which waffies the north-eaft limits of it. As a confiderable part of this territory lies under the Torrid Zone, the air is exceffively hot and dry, arid the country is fubjeft to hot peftilential winds, like thofe on the oppo fite ffiores of Perfia, which often prove ' fatal, efpecially to ftrangers, Thp foil in fome parts, is nothing more than immenfe fandsi which, when agitated by the winds, roll like the troiffiled ocean, and fometimes form 456 LETTERS OF A ,TRAVELLEcR. ..-.fi-Js. form mountains, by which whole caravans have been overwhelmed. In thefe deferts the caravans having no tracks, are guided as at fea, by a compafs, or by ths ftars, for they travel chiefly In the night. - :,:: This country, except fometimes at the equinoxes,* is never refreffied with rain ; and the intenfenefs of the cold in the riight, is almoft equal hi degree to that pf the heat ih the day-time. But the fouthern parts of Arabia, defervedly called the happy, is bleffed with an excellent fpll, arid in ge neral, is very fertile. The cultivated lands,. which are chiefly about the tpwns near the fea coaft, produce balm of gllea,d, manna, myrrh, caflia, alpes, franki^ncenfe,, fpike-- nard, and other valuable gums, •,: \^ith cin namon, pepper, oranges, lemops, pome- granates, -figs, and other fruits; Honey arid wax ai e in great plenty, and there is: a, frriall quantity pf corn and wine. This. country is famous for its coffee, and its. dates, the laft of which aje fcarcely found any ¦where in fuch perfe^iou as here and in Perfia, There are few trees fit for timber in Arabia, and little wopd of,any kind. LET. XXXIX,] ASIA.' 45? ¦ The moft ufeful animals in this country ^re camels and dromedaries^, which are ad mirably' fitted by Providence for traverfing the dry and parched deferfs ; for by a pe culiar contrivance in their oeconomy, they can throw up the liquor from their ftomach into their throaty and by that means caii travel fix or eight days without water, ThC' camels ufually carry eight hundred pounds; weight on their backs, Which are alfo peculiarly formed for the fecurity of bur dens,- which are not rempved during the whole journey : for the camels naturally kneel down to reft, arid afterwards rife without difcompofing their loads. The dromedary is a finall camel that will travel manymiles a day. It is a comrnon bbferva- tion among the Arabs, that wherever there arc trees, water is not far off. The camels will fmell a pool at a confiderable diftance, and fet up their great trpt'till they come tp it, I need not tell you, that the Arabian horfes are well kiiown in Europe, and haye contributed to improve the breed of thofe in England, Thp Arabians,; like moft" of the nations in Afia, arc p( a middle ftature, thin, and of a 458 LETTERS OF A TRAVE|.LER, a fwarthy complexion-, wfth their hair.- and eyes black. They are fwift of foot, excel lent horfemen, and in general a martial people, expert at the bow and lance, and, fince they became acquainted with fire arms, 'good markfmen. The inhabitants of the inland country live In tents, after the manner ofthe Tartars, and remove from place to place with' their flocks and herds. But they are in general ffich rob bers, that travellers and pilgrims who' come thither from all nations, through motives of devotion or curiofity, are ftruck with terror on approaching towards the deferts. For thofe banditti, headed by a captain, traverfe the dountry in confiderable troops on horfeback, and affault and plunder the caravans. On the fea coaft they aft like- wife as piraj:es, and make prizes of every vefiel which they- can mafter, of whatever nation. The roving Arabs have all the appearance of banditti. Their habit is a kind of blue ffiirt, tied about them with a white faffi or girdle ; andvfome of them have a veft of furs or ffieep fkins over it. They wear drawers, -and fometimes flippers, but no ^^ '1 , ftockings ; LET, XXXIX.] ASIA. 459 ftockings ; and have a cap or turban Pu their heads. .Many of them go almoft naked ; but, as in the eaftern countries, the women are fo wrapped up, that nothing can be feen but their eyes. Like other Mahometans, the Arabs eat all kinds: of fleffi, except that of hogs ; but prefer the fleffi of camels to any other. Their ufual drink is water, fometimes fweetened with fugar, or ffierbet made of oranges. They likewife .drink, coffee, and even tea ; but ufe no ftrong liquors, The~ Arabians In former times were fa mous for their learning, and fkill in all the liberal arts, particularly that of medicine ; and fcience was known amongft them even during; the period of the darkeft ages in Europe : but there is fcarcely any country at prefent where the people are fo univer fally ignorant. The common language in the three Arabias is the Arabick, or corrupt Arabian, which is likewife fpoken with fome variation of dialeft, over great part pf the Eafl, from Egypt to the court of the Cjfreat Mogul. The pure Arabic whichijs faid to be a dialeft of the Hebrew, and ac counted by the eaftern nations. the moft co pious 400 LETTERS OF A'TRAVELLER, pious and eneTgetic language in the \vbi*ld, is taught in their fchools, as Greek and' La tin among the Europeans, and ufed by Ma hometans in their worffiip ; for as the Kd4 ran was written In this language, they will ^lot fuffer It to be read In any other. The famous Mount Sinai,, is fituated iu Arabia Petreea. From it may' be feen Mount Hpreb, where Mofes kept the flocks of Jethro, his father-in-law, when he faw the burning buffi. On both thefe moun tains . are many chapels and cells, occupied by the Greek and Latin monks, who, like the religious at Jerufalem, pretend to ffiew the very fpot which was the fcene of ariy rhiracle of tranfaftidn recorded In fcripture. What is Called the Defert of Sinai, is a beautiful plairi iiear nine miles long, and about three In breadth. It lies open to the riorth-eaft, but to the fouthward is clofed by feme of the lower pminerices of Mbiint Sinai ; and other parts pf thc mouritaih pflake fuch encfoachments upon the p^ain, as' to divide it in two', each fo capacious, as? to haye been fuffieient to receive the whole camp of the Ifraelltes. The LET. xx^ix.] Asia. 46 f The chjef cities' in Arabia, are Mocha, Aden, Mufcar, Suez, and Juddah, where mpft pf^thfi. trade of this country is carried on. Mocha is well-built, the houfes very lofty, and covered wifh a ftucco which gives them a dazzling whitenefs. The cir cuit pf the walls , is two miles, and there are. in it feyeral handfome mofques. Suez, the Arflnoe of the ancients, is forrounded by the Defert, and is but an Ill-built place, Juddah is the place of the greateft tr^de on the Red Sea. But the capital of all Arabia is Mecca, the birth-place of Ma homet. /There is >here a mofque which is generally accounted the moft magnificent of any temple in the Turkiffi domiinioijiS. Its rdof, which is lofty, 'is raifed in thc faffiion pf a dome, and covered with gold ; having at the end two beautiful towers, of extraordinary height and architefture. The rnofque has two gates, with a window ovf r each ; and the ivhole building within Is decorated with the fineft gildings and ta peftry. The number of pilgrims v/ho yearly vifit this place Is almoft incredible.; every muffelman being obliged by his-reli- 46t LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. glon to come thither once in his- life timej or fend a deputy* - At the city of Medina likewife, to which Mahomet' fled when he was driven out of Mecca, and which is the place where he was buried. Is a ftately mofque, fupported by four hundred pillars, ahd furfilihed with three hundred filver lamps, which are con tinually burning. The Turks give this mojque the name of the " Moft Holy," be caufe In it is placed the coffin of their pro phet Mahomet,eovered with cloth of gold, under a canopy of filver tiffue, which the Baffiaw of Egypt, by order of the -Grand Seignior, renews every year. The camel which brings it, is hcild ifl a fort of verier-; ation, and is never afterwards to be em ployed in any drudgery; Over the foot of the coffin Is a rich golden crefcent, curioufly wrought, ,and adorned With precious ftones. To this place the pilgrims refort, as to Mecca, but not in fuch numbers. '^^"^ From the -licentioufnefs of the Arabs^ and the predatory life which they lead, one would be apt to think that there was no political fubordlnatlon amono-ft them ; but the inland country of i\rabia Is under the government LET. XXXIX.] ASIA. 46J government of many petty princes, ,who are ftyled Xerlfs and Imans, both of them comprifing the offices of king and prieft, in the fame manner as the caliphs , of the Saracens, the fucceffors of Mahomet. They are in faft abfolute ,both in temporal and fpirltual authority ; the fucceffion is here ditary, and they have no other laws than thofe found in the koran, and the comments upon it. The northern Arabs owe fubjec- tioh to the Turks, and are governed by baffiaws refiding among them; but it is certain that they receive large gratuities from thc; Grand Seignior, for protefting the pilgrims that pafs, through thofe parts, from the danger of beino; robbed. The fouthern and inland parts of Arabia have had thp. fingular good fortune not only to maintain their freedom arid independente through all ages, but. to : have made the moft extenfive and rapid conquefts ever at-^ chic ved by any nation. This was,' however, not ,the effeft of valor, or military exertion alone, but of an enthufiafm, inflamed with fuperftition, which bore down every thing before it. An ignorant, but artful impoftor, .Mahomet, a native of this territory, had the addrefs- 464 Letters of a t|iaveller, addrefs to impofe himfelf upon his country men as a prophet fent immediately by God into the world, fpr the purpofe, as he pre tended, not pnly of iriftruftiing mankind in the divine will, but of compelling them to obey it* The refult of the fiftiori exceeded his moft fangulneexpeftatlons. All Arabia inftantly caught the flame of innovation^ and It was fpread in a ffiort time over a vaft part of Europe, Afia^ arid Africa; all fefts of religion were either overawed^ or ren dered profelytes tp fhe belief pf the new doftrlpe; chriftian churches were converted into mofques; a new sera was introduced into the hiftory of mankind ; and in the end an impoftor, who Would have merited the fevereft puniffiment iii civilifed fociety, not only received in his perfon the homage of a multitude of nations, but obtained fuch pofthumous honors as never before were conferred on any rriortal; and has tranfmitted his name, with that of his fpurious doc- rines, to half the habitable worlds. LETTER LET. XL.] AFRICA. 465* Letter xl. .JL^feAVliSlG Afia ori the eali, I entered the third grand divifion of the globe ; and it was optional to take my paffage thither, cither by fea or land : for though the two continents iiow mentioned are, feparated from each other, alortg the far greater part of their extent, by the Red Sea, they are joined towards the north by a neck df land, about fixty rrilles over, called the Ifthmus of Suez, which lies between the extremity df that fea and the Mediterranean. As the equator divides this extenfive con tinent alirioft iri the middle,' and the moft confiderable part of it is within the tropics, thc heat is in many parts almoft Infupport- « able to a European ; it being there increafed by the rays of the Sun reflefted from the vaft deferts of burning fands. The coaft, however, H h and 46-6 LETTERS of!' A TRAVELLEEi - and banks of the rivers, fuch as the Nile, are generally fertile ; and moft parts of this region are Inhabited, though it Is far from being fo populous, as Europe or Afia. In many parts of Africa fnow is generally never feen but on the tops of the higheft mountains ; and the inhabitants have no conception of the pofiibllity of water beirig congealed into the form .of a folid fu4>- ftance. The moft confiderable rivers are the Niger and the Nile, each of which runs a prodigious courfe ; and both of them increafjlno; and decreafing; alike, fertilize the adjacent countries' in a wonderful manner. The greateft mountains on the Continent- are the Atlas, a ridge extendlns; frdm the Atlantic. Ocean as far as Egypt, and had its name from a king of Mauritania, a. great lover of aftronomy, who ufed to obferve -the -ftars from Its fummit; on iwhich ac count the poets reprefent him as. bearing the heavens ori his ffioulders : The Moun tains of the Moon, ¦ extending themfelves betAveen 'Abyffmla and Monomotapa, and are ftill higher than thofe of Atlas : Thofe, of Sierra Lepne, or the Mountain of the iLions, which divide Nigritia from Guinea, r'if .. and Let. XL.] _¦ J ,r« AFRICA. /, 4^7 Jtnd extend as far as Ethiopia. Thefe were ftyled by theancierits the Mountains of God, on account of their heing fubjeft to thunder. and lightning. . The- fituation of Africa for commerce Is extremely favorablcj having a much nearer eommUnicatlon with Europe^ Afia, and America^ than any of the other quarters has With the reft. Yet, though ftored with / inexhauftible treafure, and capable, under proper improvements, of producing many luxuries as well as conyenieiicIeSj within itfelf, iti-feems to be, almoft entirely neg lefted, not only by the natives, but the more civilized: Europeans who are fettled in it.- It is however to be hdped, that the eftabliffiment lately made, at Sierra Leone, by fome -public fpirlted men of our own country, will prove the means of Improv ing thofe benefits which nature has beftowed On this continent, 'Afrita: once contained feVeral kingdoms arid ftateSj eminent for the liberal arts, for wealth and power, and the moft e.x:tenfive bommeree; The kingdoms of Egypt and Ethiopia, In particular, were much; cele brated ; and the rich and powerful ftate of Hh 3 Carthage, 468 letters of a TRAVELLER. Carthage, that once formidable rival of Rome Itfelf, extended her commerce to every part of . the then knowii world. After the reduftion of thefe countries by the Romans, the natives, conftantly plun dered, and of courfe Impoverlffied, by the governors fent from Rome,^ neglefted trade and cultivated no mpre of their lands' than might ferve for their fubfiftence. Upori the decline of the Roman empire, in the fifth century, the north of Africa was over run by the Vandals, who contributed ftill more to the deftruftion of arts and fclenc'es ; . and to add to the calamity pf this continent, the Saracens made a fudden conqueft of all the coafts of Egypt and Barbary in the fe venth century. Thole were fucceeded by the Turks ; and both being of the Maho metan religion, the profeffors of which carried devaftation wherever they came, the ruin of this once flouriffiing part of the world was by that means compleated. "' The inhabitants of this continerit, with, refpeft to religion, may be divided' Into three claffes, namely Pagans, Mahometans, and Chriftlans. The firft are the moft nu merous, poffeffing the greateft part of the country LET. XL.] AFRICA. 4^9 country from the Tropic of Cancer, to the Cape of Good Hope, and thofe are gene rally hlack. The Mahometans, who from their mpre noi-thern fituation are of a tawny complexion, poffefs Egypt, and almoft all pf what is called the Barbary coaft. The people of Abyffinia, or the Upper Ethiopia, are denominated Chrlftlaiis, but retain ma ny Pagan' and Jewifli rites. , There are many Jews in the north of Africa, who manage all the little trade that is carried pn by that part of the country. Having faid thus much of Africa in gCr neral, I proceed to my furvey of Egypt, ,. In April and May the air In Egypt is hot, and pften Infeftlous ; arid the inhabitants are almoft blinded with drifts of fand : but thefe evils are remedied by the rifing and pverflowiug of the Nile. This celebrated river, fupplying the want of rain, of which yery .little' falls in the country, begins to rife when the Sun is vertical in Ethiopia, aiid.the annual rains fall there, which hap pen periodically from the latter end of May to September, and fometimes Oftober, At the height of its flood in the Lower Egypt, which is the northern divifion of Hh3 the 470 LETTERS OF ATfeAVELLER. the country, nothing Is to be feen in the plains but the tops of forefts and fruit-trees^ all the towns and villages being built updri eminences either natural or artificial. Wheri the Inundation of the river is at Itsheight, the Inhabitants celebrate a kind of jubilee, with all forts of feftlvlties. The banks or mounds which confine the waters of the river are cut by the Turkiffi baffiaw, at tended by the chief inhabitants df the country. The water Is then laid into what they call the chalis, or grand canal, which runs through Cairo, whence it is diftributed into cuts, for fupplying the fields and gar dens. This being done;, and the waters beginning to retire, fo great is the fertility of the foil, that the huffiandman has alrnoft nothing to do with cultivation. He throws his wheat and barley into the ground in Oftober and May ; he turns his cattle out to graze in November ; and, you would be delighted with the profpeft which the face ofthe country prefents in about fix weeks; in rifing corn, vegetables, and verdilre'of every kind. The air is perfumed with oranges, lemons, and a variety of friiils, March arid April are the harveft months. The LET, XL.] , ^FRICA. , 471 The Egyptian 'pafturage is equally prolific, moft of the quadrupeds producing two at a time, and the ffieep four lambs in the , Ariftotle informs us, that the new waters of the. Nile, whether drunk, or ufed in the way of a batli, never failed to render the women fruitful ; that they ufually conceived in, July or. Auguft, and were delivered in April or May. According to DIodorus Si- cuhis, they . fometimes were delivered of four children at a birth, fometimes of feven. But I have not been able to find upon the firifteft enquiry, that there is at prefent the finalleft foundation for thofe affertions. The women of Egypt, like thofe of other coun tries, are delivered equally In all months of the year ; nor do they feem any way peculiarly difpofed to the produftion of two or mpre children at a birth. ^ ,,^ The couritry abounds in black cattle ; fo that in all ages the fleffi pots of Egypt have been well fupplied. The Egyptian horfes are very fine.: they never trot, but walk well, and gallop with great fpeed. The breed of the affes is of a large kind,' and upon them the Chriftlans ride: fcr they are not 4/3 LETTERS pF A TRAVELLED. ' not perniitted by the Turks to make ufe cf any other animal ; but this reftriftlon is not extended to travellers. The Hippopotamus, or river horfe, an amphibious animal,- re fembling an ox In Its hinder parts, is com mon in Upper Egypt; and among various other creatures, there is In this country an ape with the head like a dog. The crocodile ¦was formerly thought peculiar tP Egypt; but there does not feem tp be ariy effentlal difference between It arid the alligators of India and America. . The Ibis, a creature forriewhat refemhling a duck, and which was deified by the ancient Egyptians for its deftroying ferpents and noxious infefts,; was alfo thought peculiar tp Egypt ; it appears," however, that a fpecies of thcpa has- been lately difcovered in pther parts* of Africa. Oftrlches are common, here, and are fp ftrong, that the Arabs-fpmetlmes ride uppn< their backs. Egypt is certainly at prefent not near fo. populous as formerly, owing to the oppref fion of the inhabitants by^ the Turks; but. they are ftill very numerous. The def cendants of the original Egyptlaus. are dif-: tinguiffied by the name of Coptis. In' complexipn. LET. XL.] AFRICA, 473 complexion, they are rather fiin burnt than fwarthy or black; and are an ill looking flpvenly people,' immerfed in indolence. Their anceftors^ were once chriftlans, and in general they ftill pretend to be of that re ligion ; b'ut mahometanifm is the prevailing worffiip among the natives. Thofe whp inhabit the villages and fields, at any con fiderable diftance from the Nile, confift of Arabs, or their defcendants, who are of a deep fwarthy coriiplexlon. They pafs their. time In tending; their flocks, and many of them have no fixed place of abode. The Turks who refide In Egypt, retain ail their Ottoman pride and Infolerice, with the Turkiffi habit, to diftingulffi themfelves from the Arabs and Coptis, -vyho drefs very plain. The ordinary drefs of the latter is of blue linen, with a long cloth coat, either pver or under it ; and their chief finery i'g an upper garment of white linen, and llrien drawers. The Chriftlans and Arabs of the meaner fort content themfelves with a linefi. pr Woollen wrapper, which they fold like a blanket round their body. The' drefs of the worrien is tawdry and unbecoming; but their cloaths are filk, when they can' afford it ; 474 LETTER§,-,OF: A TRAVELLER. it ; and fuch of them as are not expofed to the fun, have . delicate complexions. AU Egypt Is over-run with jugglers, fortune tellers, mountebanks, and, travelling fllght- of-hand men. The papyrus Is one of the natural curi ofities of Egypt, and ferved the ancients to write upon ; but we are unacquainted with the manner in which they prepared it.-^ The pith ol" it Is ^ nouriffiing food. The method of hatching chickens in ovens is common In Egypt, and is now praftifed, in fome parts of Europe. But I ffiall fufpend till my next letter the farther account of this country, LETTER |.ET. XLI.^ AFRICA, ^ 47J LETTER XLL E jGYPT abounds more with antiquities than peAaps any other part of the world ; for its cities were very numerous, and re markably fplendid in ancient times. In •many places, not only temples, but the walls of cities, buift before the time of Alexander the Great, are ftill entire, and many of their ornaments, particularly the colours of their paintings, are as freffi and vivid as when firft laid on. Alexandria, which lies feyeral miles' ' weft of the Nile, was once the emporium of all the world ; and by means of the Red Sea, fur niffied Europe and great part of Afia with the riches of India. It owes its name to - the founder, Alexander the Great. It rofe upon the ruins of Tyre and Carthage, and is 476 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, is famous for the light-houfe erefted on thc oppofite ifland of Pharos, for the direftion of mariners, defervedly efteemed one of the wonders of the world. All the other parts of the city were magnificent in pro portion, as may be feen from the ruins, particularly the cifterns and aquedufts.'— Many of the materials O'f the old city, however, have been employed in buildlrig New Alexandria, which at prefent is a very ordinary fea-port, known by the name of Seandaroon. Notwithftanding thc»poverty, ignorance, and Indolence of the inhabi tants, their mofques, bagnios, and other public buildings, erefted Within thefe ruins, preferve a great air of*majefty. Near Alexandria are to be feen the re mains of the maufoleum of Cledpatra. It is the farne in which ffie had depofited the body of Anthony, and where ffie herfelf Was likewife Interi*ed, in confequence of her 1 equeft to Oftavlus 6-asfar, immediately befdre hef death. This ftrufture was begun in her own life time, and completed by the order of Ciiefar. That it wa's very grand, we have the teftimony of hiftorians, and Martial LET. XLI.] AFRICA. 477 Martial alludes to it In the following beau tiful epigrarri, De viper a eleEtro inclufa. Flentibus Heliadum ramis dum vipera-ferpit, ' Fluxit in obftantem fuccina gemma feram. ' Qux dum miratur pingui fe rore teneri, '¦''"• Concretoriguit yinSla repente gelu. .. ' Ne tibi regali placeas, Cleopatra, fepulchro, Vipera fi tumulo noUliore jacet. . Lib. iv., ,Ep. 46* Near this fpot are the foundation and ftately ruins of an ancient ftrufture, which forne affirm to have been Casfar's palace. In the neighbourhopd, likewife, ftands Pompey's pillar, which is a fine regular co lumn of thp Corinthian order, eighty-four feet nine Inches high, and all of one ftone. Including the capital and pedeftal, the height of the whole is a hundred and four- tepu feet.. Rofetta, or Rafphld, ftands twenty-five miles north- weft of Alexandria, corii- ri^apdlng a beautlful.profpeft of the country, or Ifland of:Deka, formed by the Nile near its mouth; and is a place of confiderable trade. Thc 47^ LETTERS OT A TRAVELLER. f The whole country towards Grand Cairo,' is a continued fcene of antiquities, of which the oldeft are the moft ftup'endous,' but the more moderri the moft beautiful. Cairo^ now Mairs, the prefent capital of Egypt^ is a large and populous citf., but dlfagreeable on account of its peftilential air, and the narrownefs of the ftreets. - It is divided Into two towns, the Old and the New, and defended by an old caftle, the Works of which afe computed to be three rrilles In circumference. This caftle is faid to have been built by the famous Saladine, about fix hundred years ago. At the weft end are the remains of very noble apart- mentSj feme of which are covered with domes, and adorned with piftures in mo faic work. The well, called Jofeph's welly is a curious piece of mechanlfm, about three hundred feet deep. You muft krioW that the rriemofy of that Patriarch is ftill re vered in Egypt ; they ffiew granaries, arid many other works -of public utility, that go under his na^me. They are certainly of great antiquity; but Y^'hethcr they have been erefted bv him may ftill be matter of doubt. On the banks of the Nile,' facing -*'-¦' Oairo^ LET. XLI.] AFRICA. 479 Cairo, 'lies' the village of GIzie, which is thought to be the ancient Memphis. A favorite exhibition in this p&rt of the country, is dancing camels, which. When young, they place upon a large heated floor: the Intenfe heat makes the poor creatures caper; and being plied all the time with the beating of drums, the found of that inftrument fets them a dancing all their lives after. But what afforded more gratification to ray tafte, was the opportunity 1 had of fee ing the fiftrum, a mufical Inftrument anci eritly ufed at the Egyptian facrifices ; and with, which Virgil makes Cleopatra affem ble her troops at the battle of Aftlum. Regina in mediis patrio vocat agmire fifira. It is an iron hoop of ax). oval form, about four iiiches long, through which run three moveable crofs bars of the fame metal. It has Ti. wooden handle ; fornewhat refembles a gridiron, and makes a rattling noife on being ffiaken. ¦v.i The other towns of note in Egypt are Damietta, fuppofed tP be the ancient Pelu- fium ; 4§d Letters of A traveller* v fium ; Bulac, vv- here they cut the banks of the Nile every year, that it may fill their canals ; Seyd, on the weft bank of the JMIle, two 'hundred miles fouth of Caird^ laid to be- the ancient Egyptiari- Thcbes>j' where are ftill many remains of antiquity. Would not the greater part of mankind be-ajst to qiieftion my veracity, when I af firm, that I have really feen feveral perfons^ who, if they did not precede the age of Solomon, may have been at leaft his con- lempdraries ? Yoti will feadily underftand that I mean mummies, which I have feeri taken from the catacorrib&of Egypt. There are fuhterraneous vaults hewn ih the rockj ' and ufed by the ancients for burial places. They confift of a vaft number of apart ments, communicating with each other ,- znd eicteridlng to a very great diftarice under ground. Round every apartment ruii three ranges of nkhes, all large enough to con tain a coffin. The rock in which they are' hewi being foft, many of the apartments afe- iii ruins* At the entrance are ftill fotrie-ferriains of fteps cut in the rock ; and .it »^ is-* riot doubted but thefe places were fof- •merly verv magnificent? '^' "-' ' The Let. xLi.] AFHrcA; "^ ' 4Si The bodies which I have feen are painted with hieroglyphical figures, and were prfe- ferVed in cafes made of the fyfcamore tree^ a fort of wood as durable as themfelves;' Near therrij in the cataCorilbs, Were feveral- of the birds Ibis, embalmed in earthen pots.! : Vaft antiquity; of itfelf^ is dpt to excite iri the mind fome degree dfverteratlon ; but this is perhaps more particularly due to the inhabitarits of the catacombs thari td any other natural dbjefts, when we dpiifider-' that they have faffed the foleriih and impar tial trial aftef death, from which even thofp^ df the higheft : quality iri Egypt, were riot exempted ; by which their aftioris and cha- i-after^ vvere fully earivaffed arid .approved, before they could be allowed interment.- Indeed there is reafon to thliils;, that this ferutiny was not carried with fo much rigor into the private fcenes of life; as in the more public fteps of conduft, which might affeft the welfare of the cominunity. The art of embalming amortg the aticient Egyptians has been Very imperfeftly tranf-, mitted by hiftorians. It is doubtlefs more a matter of ciiriofity than. ufe. From the blacknefs of the bones, however j and- the I i pitchy 483 LETTERS QF A TRAVELLES, JX ot ¦! J pitchy fubftance found within them, It would- feem to have confifted in boiling the body in pitch, after having embowelled it, and extrafted the brains through the nofe, as Herodotus Informs us, • -jyo; The praftice of embalming was origi nally founded on the opinion, that after a certain number of years, the foul ffiould be re-united to thc body. ..Whether fiich^prac- tice could really have any influence on the morals of the Egyptians, by keeping in re membrance the virtues of their anceftors, as feme have imagined, is not eafy , to de termine. Perhaps we have attributed .(to that cuftom an effeft, which proceeded ©nly from- the principle on which the cuf tom was founded. It is probable that the greateft advantage which the ftate derived from' its dead, was in relation to commerce. For by a law of Afychls, it was euafted, that no perfon ffipuld borrow money without pawning the -body of his anceftor, which it :Was reckoned the greateft infamy not to redeem. oiButi' ¦whatever effeft uit might have had on the virtue, of Individuals, fl am" inclined to think, that, from the. efteem in .A?v'hichit..was held,;-the cuftom of embalm- ¦ ing LEt. XLI;], T iav/.. AFRICA. : 4^3 BQg muft,' upori the whole, have had a very pernicious influence pn their national cou rage. For they would not readily expofe their bodies to danger, who were fo ambi tious of preferving- them as entire as piof- fiMp, till the time they expefted the refur- reftioti. And in faft we find, that never any people were fo often, or fo eafily con quered as the Egyptians. They regarded the dwellings of the living as inns, which were intended to accommodate them for a ffiort "^fpate of time only, while they called the manfions of the dead their houfes, which they were tp poffefs for a long, revo lution of ages} and provided they enjoyed tbe fecurity of the latter, they were little difpofed to defend the former^ - ThelakeMxris in Egypt is likewife a pro digious excavation; and of all the aricient wonders in this country, it feems to have been the only one which united utility with grandeurs for we are told that it was dug hy order of an Egyptian king, to correft the irregularities of the Nile, and to com municate with that river by canals and ditches which ftill exift, ->'-iiidh\ Ii 2 '.'¦ Adjoining: 484 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. Adjoining to It, was the celebrated laby rinth, which contained twelve magnificent palaces, anfwering to the twelve provinces of Egypt, In each of them was a vaft hall, with an equal number of doors oppofite to each other; fix opening to the north, and as many to the fouth. The number of cham bers In this edifice was three thoufand ; in the lowermoft of which were the fepulchres of the holy crocodiles, and of feyeral of the kings. But what was more aftoniffiing than its prodigious magnitude, was the intricacy which prevailed through thc whole. The paffages between the chambers ran In di reftions fo extremely various, that by no thing but fuch an expedient as the clue of Ariadne was it poffible to unravel them. LETTER LET.XL.il] AFRICAi , 4^5 LETTER XLII, AVING In my laft letter made men tion of the " Holy Crocodiles," I cannot refrain from expreffing my furprife, at the abfurd veneration which was paid by the ancient Egyptians to that animal, as well as to feveral others, as the. cat, the dog, the hawk, and the ibis. Particular lands were appropriated for the maintenance of each fpecies ; and the care of feeding and at tending them was accounted the moft ho norable employment In the kingdom. To thofe animals the Inhabitants folemnly of fered up their prayers; and with fuch pro fufion were thofe ridiculous deities enter tained, that by one man, who had the care of"a number of them, no lefs, we are told by DIodorus Siculus, than a hundred talents were expended. They were kept in con fecrated inclofures, where their vlftuals I i 3 confifted letters of A TRAVELLER, ' " confifted of the greateft dainties. The. moft ufual food was the fineft flour boiled in milk; .cakes of feveral forts made with honey ; and the fleffi of geefe either boiled or roafted, Thofe which fed on faW meat were fupplied with birds of dlffereiit kinds. Thc conduft of the Egyptians In the maintenance of their animals? arid of their own children, difplayed a remarkable con traft. For while they laviffied fuch exor bitant fums on the former, the latter were fed and cloathed at fo fmall an expence, that from birth to thp age of manhood, a boy feldom caft his father more than twenty drachms, or about thirteen ffiillings. They went for the moft part naked; and their ufual diet confifted of the ftalks and roots of the plants which grow in the marffies. This frugal manner in whlcl^ they brought up their children was pro bably one great caufe of the populoufnefs of Egypt. ¦ , . My progrefs now leads me to give ym^ an account of the Egyptian pyramids, which have been the wonder of the worl|l for upwards of three thoufa,nd years, The let. XLII.] AFRICA. ''tTS 4% 3 The greateft of thefe pyramids ard three in nuthber, and are fituated in the neigh bourhood of the ancient Memphis^ The Jargeft ftands on a rock hewn in the form of a camel's back, about. fixty feet hlgh> and traverfes obliquely the bafe of the py- famid from north to fouth. The bafe Is an exaft fquare,,-, each fide meafuring fix hun dred and ninety three Engliffi feet. . The four ffdes face the four cardinal points, and the entrance is pnthe north. The perpen dicular, altitude of this ftupendous ftrufture js fivehuudrpd feet, and the length of its inclofed plain-fix hundred and feventy feet. The ipile is afcended on the outfide, not by regular fteps, there being none, but by ,ihe ftones of the building, thegreat thicknefs of which renders the journey exceedingly troublefome, a The top is covered with fix ftones, each about fix feet in length, but with an interval between each, which would require fix other ftones of equal di menfions to fill up. This circumftance giv4s rife to. a conjefture, either that the pyramid never was completely finiffied, or that fome attempt had been made to pull it down. The pyramid is entered by a nar row LETTERSr OF .A TRAVELLER./ T3J row aperture a little above the level of* the bafe. But before a traveller attempts lo gratify his curiofity by fuch an adventure, it is neceffary to difcharge fpme piftols, to frighten away the owls, bats, fiiakes, and Other reptiles harbouring here^ and which, nn thofe explofions, hafteir away to. their lurking places. -¦ .•:?] .?fj,J .ito jqao^ft^ ..di ' 1 ffiall notMetaIn you with a minute aci. count of the internal arrangements, -but oidy inform you, in general, ^hat, after a defcent of feveral feet, you afcend through two narrpw paffage?, pne pf which is eighty four feet in length, and the pther ulnetyTfix. This leads into a gallery of poliffied marble, the height of which Is twentj^two feet and a half above the pavement ; whenp% you pafs ¦ Into a magnificent chamber,'* built of Thebaic marble, thirty-fix feet In "length; eighteen in breadth, and the fame in height. In this apartment i§ a marble cheft, but without either cover or contents, fuppofed to have been'defigried for the tomb ofthe founder, ij Afcending ftUl higher, through a paffage of a hundred and thirteen feet -in length, you come, to anpther large, apart ment, the finell of which is extremely of-* ebh; ^^^I'l^ve^ LET. XLIL] ...iAMA^JilCA, ferifive, and daubtlefs arifes from the ordure of the multitudes of vermin which infeft this place, : About, a mile from this ftrufture ftands the fecond pyramid, which appears to have been covered with marble, but hitherto the entrance of it has'not been difeovered. It is, except on the fouth fide, well preferved, having iieither chafms nor fiffures; and from- its furfsce being every where fmooth ^iid even, there Is no pofllbllity of afcending it. . Not far thence Is another pyramid, but fomethlng lefs than the preceding : and at fame diftance in the defert, feveral others pf inferior ^Ipierifions. i.Diftprent accounts are delivered by au thors, refpefting the building and objeft of thefe wppderfui ftruftures. Pliny affirms that they were built for oftentation, or to keep : ^ idle people in employment; but others, xthat they werp deftined for the fe pulchres of Egyptian Kings; and this is the .more general opinion. Jofephus tells Hs:that the Egyptians compelled the Ifrael-i ites: to build them; but Herodotus afcribes fhe firft and largeft pyramid to king Cheops, 10 flouriffipd after the Trojan War;' arid adds 49& LETTEBS:0F A TRAVELLER, - T adds, that this king began the building :Df it, in ordet' to vfind, employment for his fubjefts; that it was byilt of ftones dug frpm quarries in the mountains of Arabia, brought thither by veffels on the Nile; and that above a hundred thoufand perfons were employed, thirty thoufand ^very ¦ month. DIodorus Siculus calls the founder of this pyramid Chemmis ; but agrees with Hero^ dotus, with regard to time, though he in- creafes the workmen to three hundred and fixty thoufand ; and both agree with Pliny, that it was twenty years in, building, s. With regard to the fecond pyramid, both Herodotus and DIodorus Siculus make the founder to have been Cephrenes, brother to Cheops, or Chemmis, The third Is generally afcribed tO' king .Mycerlnus, the fecond ion of Chemmis; though others al- ledge that It was built by Rhodope, a fa vorite concubine of king Amafis. ¦ There Is the fame difference between writers, in refpeft of the great pyramid, whether it was ever completed. Moft of them maintain the negative, as feveral ftones are wanting at the top : nor does it ^ppear to have been ever povered with {J- i marble, LET. XLII,] AFRICA. 49I marble, like the fecond. It is added, that this pyramid being built by Cheops, one of the moft tyrannical kings of Egypt, the inhabitants would neither fuffer the pyramid to be completed, nor his body depofited in it ; it being the -general opinion, as already mentioned, that the pyramids were in tended for fepulchres, - Others on the contrary affirm, that this pyramid was completely finiffied ; but that afterwards attempts were made to demollffi it : and accordnigly the marlde with which it was covered, was taken off, and the ftones, which feem to be wanting at the top, were thrown down. It Is certain that feveral modern princes have formed defignS of demoliffiing It, Even in the year 1580', Jbrahim Pafcha intended to blow it up with gun-powder, imagining that he ffiould find amdng the ruins immenfe treafures. But Georgio Emo, then conful from the re- |)ublic of Venice, at Cairo, diverted him from his projeft ; convincing him, that the explofion of fo large a quantity of gun powder as would be requlfite for that pur pofe, and the fragments of ftones which would be violently projefted from the ftruc- ture, .49? LETTERS OF. A TjRAVELLEE, ^ =T:'. ' Jure, would demoliffi at leaft t the greater part of Cairo, and at the fame time, deftroy multitudes of people, '=^^: r'?H That the ftones for building the pyramids were brought from fo great a diftance as is related by Herodotus, notwithftanding the great extravagance, and aftoniffiing* uij- dertakings of the Egyptian kings, feems extremely improbable, . as they might: be fupplied with thofe materials in the nelgh-^ bourhood of the pyramids ; and in faft, thc quarries adjoining them difcover fo much the fpecific marks and charafteriftics of the pyramidal ftones, that they are not to be diftinguiffied from, them. On the whole,' the- pyramids of Egypt are the moft ftupen dous, and, to appearance, the moft ufelefs ftruftures, that ever were created by the hands of men, Near thefe pyramids, on the weft bank of the Nile, is to be feen the famous Sphinx, which confifts of the head and ffioulders of a woman, cut out of the rock, and is forty feet in height. There were ancientlv ma- ny of thefe fphinxes on the banks of the Nile ; they were fymbollcal figures, with the head of a woman and the body of a lion, fignifying LET. XLIl] '^'¦'AFRICA.- 493 fignifying, that the Nile began to fwell In the months of July and Auguft,' when the Sun paffes through the figns of Leo and Virgo. One .of them in particular, cut Qut'of a rock, was remarkable for its pro digious dimenfions. According to Pliriy, the body was a hundred and forty- three feet in length, well proportioned ; and the circumference of the head a hundred arid two feet. LETTER 494- LETTERS OF: A iSRAVELLERo LETTER XLilL r 11 s Ji HOUGH It Is generally admitted, that the Greeks derived the rudiments of feiencP from the ancient Egyptians, and that ThaleS and many other philofophers. vifited Egypt for improvement in knowledge, yet there fcarcely remains a veftlge of It amorig th© prefent inhabitants of the country. The bigotry and ignorance- of their Mahometan mafters might be fuffieient to produce this change; which however j was effefted ma hy ages ago. The Caliphs, pr Saracens, who fubdued Egypt were of three, kinds. The firft, who were the immediate fuc ceffors of Mahomet, made war frpm . prin ciple upon all kinds of literature, excepting the koran; and to this it was owing, that when they took poffeffion of Alexandria, which LET. XLIII.] ('//¦ AFRICA. '4.9-5. which contained the moft magnificent li brary the world ever beheld, its valuable manufcripts were applied for fome months in cooking. their vlftuals, and warming their baths. The fame fate attended the other magnificent Egyptian libraries. The ca liphs of the fecond race were men of tafte and learning, but of a peculiar ftrain. They bought up all the rnanufcripts that furvived the general conflagration, relating to aftronomy, medicine, and fome ufeful parts of philofophy, Ixit they had no tafte for the Greek arts of architefture, fculpture, painting, or poetry ; and learning was con fined to their own courts and colleges, without eVer finding its way back to Egypt. The lower clafs of Caliphs, efpecially thofe who called themfelves caliphs of Egypt, difgraced human nature ; and the Turks have fivetted the chains of barbarous ig norance which they impofed. But we ought not td confound the ftate of learning in Egypt, at the deftruftion of the Alexandrian library, with that in which it exifted in the. time of Thales and other Grecian Philofophers who had vifited that country. For the Alexandrian library con tained LETTERS OF A TRAVELLED, tained not only the Egyptian literature, but that likewife of the Greeks and Romans^ which probably formed the mdft valuable part of the colleftion. Notwithftanding the reputation of learning, which the an cient Egyptians had acquired, there is no fatlsfaftory evidence of their having made much prdgfefs In any ufeful refearch. Ge ometry was the only fcience which they appear to have underftdod in any tolerable degree, For^ though they made obferva tions on the ftars, they were ignorant of thofe principles which are indifpeufible for erefting a fcientifie fyfteni of aftronomy, > And in the knowledge of any addrtidrial feience, if we except the vifionary doc- rines in which they rivalled the Chaldeans ; they were equally deficierit with other natldris, »• Ohe circumftance Was peculiar to the''' Egyptians, and, if I miftake not^ proved^ the caufe of that celebrity which they uni verfally obtained. The priefts, befide the" common alphabet ufed in the ordinary af fairs of life, had, as we are informed by. Herodotus, a fymbolical charafter appro priated to fubjefts of fcience. This being LET. XLlII.] AFRICA. 49,7 a hereditary poffeflion in their families, and acceffible orily to the prlefthopd, it fur niffied them with the means not only of concealing from the world the knowledge which they had really acquired, but of im- pofing upon mankind by a fallacious difplay of learning which had no foundation,— The pretenfions to knpwledgei could not be difproved which were never (fubmitted to invefUgatidn ; and ignorance might fafely bid defiance to deteftion, when the v^ilof myftery within which it lay concealed was impenetrable. .,. Under the management of, the moft learned of the priefthood, this boafted fym- - bolical charafter wass abfolutely incapable of accommodation to the purpofes of fci ence. For, admitting that the reprefen tation which it afforded of ideas was not both too arbitary and ambiguous to be uni- ¦vprfally Intelligible in any definite fignlfi catlon, yet the language muft- have been extremely circumfcribed, which afforded no.' expreffion for any other ideas than fucb. as could be reprefented by the piftures of. mater^ial objefts, numerous as they might be. to any native of the moft extenfive ob- - . K k fervation 4^8 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLfelf; fefVatlon iri Egypt. Such a charafter, fa fat from being ufeful, was Utterly inade quate to every exigence of precifion. It could neither mark the copulation nor dif-' junftion of Ideas. It could exprefs neither prepofitlve nor adverbial fignlficatlon. In a word, it was incapable of deferibing any determinate relations of Ideas, and could never attempt to delineate the abftraft evo lutions of fentlment. To what piirpofe then, it may be afked, did the Egyptian, priefts make ufe of this fymbollcal charafter? The anfwer Is ob vious: they ufed it for the purpofe of that prieftcraft which in thpfe times, univerfally difgraced the principles of men who fub fift ed by popular fuperftition. To this I will add another reafon. The Egyptians were always addifted to oftentation of myf tery : they excited the aftonlffiment of the world by their pyramids, which, though * built as royal fepulchres, never Included the afhes -of any king ; and they affefted to conftr-uft a language, which notwithftanding its arrogated fuperiority, contained not a -tittle of any fcience, ¦.:/.!-;, . :' ' ¦ The Let. kLiii.] ^ AFRICAi 499. . The polity of the ancient Egyptians has been no lefs the ohjeft of adipiration than the fuppofed learning of the priefthood* but I think the excellence of their con ftitution has been greatly exaggerated, -^^ Perhaps the moft falutary of all their laws was that which related to the celebrated trial of the dead; But admitting that this praftice had aftually a beneficial influence on the morals of the people, the inftitution of it proceeded not fo much from any fu perior legiflative wifdom^ as frorii the uni verfal prejudice of the nation. The greateft ambition ariiongft them was, that their bo dies ffiould be preferved as entire as poffible to the end of the world ; and nothing there- fore could offer greater violence to their fondeft hopey than to be denied the privilege of interment. But in my opinion, this fingular mode df trial is a ftrong proof that the adrninif- tratlon of criminal juftice in Egypt was extremely imperfpft. If men had com mitted crimes for which it could be deemed proper to deprive them of what the Egyp tians held as the moft valuable of all human privileges, why were they not brought to a K k 3 legal 500 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. , \. legal trial ? Was it confiftent with com-, mon juftice that men fliould be condemned upon any accufation wh'en they could not be heard in their own defence? Or was it equitable, to puniffi with eternal infamy., offences which had not been thought of fuf fieient magnitude to juftify the Immediate cognizance of tbe laws? In every light , In which this trial can be viewed, I muft con fider It as an abfurd violation of the moft facred rights of mankind, and the refourpe of a leglflature indifputably feeble and capricious. But if the enforcement of morality amongft the Egyptians required fuch an. inftitution' as was unknown to any pther people, the neceffity of that reftralnt affords a fjtrong prefumption that their polity ¦was defeftive in other parts. I am well fup ported by the evidence of hiftory when f affirm, that no nation was ever lefs expofed than Egypt to the perpetration of ,thofe' crimes which prove- moft Injurious tp fo ciety. The extreme fertility of the land, and the fimplicity of cloathing, precluded the ufual temptations to rapine and theft; whilft the unlimited number of wives in which LET. XLIII.] AFRICA. 50I which men were indulged, and the gerieral praftice' of early marriage, equally tended to prevent the unlawful commerce of the fexes. If in fuch afituatipn, therefore, the Egyptians required the moft forcible induceriient to moral conduft, to what principle In their natural or political coii- ffitution ought we to afcribe this neceffity? They Were not more difpofed to voluptu- otifnefs from the temperature of the climate than the irihabitants of many other couri tries. On this fubjeft, there is fome reafori to fufpeft, that ,the morals of Egypt were corrupted by a caufe which has generally beeii donfidered as produftive of falutary effefts. I mean the praftice of introducing the figure of a dead perfon at entertain ments. That the objeft of this cuftom was fp promote, and not reftrain feftlvltyi or rather intoxication, is evident from the words with which the ceremony, as Hero dotus relates, was accompanied : ** Look uppn this, and be merry; for fuch as this is, ffialt thou be when thou art dead;" and it is further confirmed by the acknowledged intertiperance to which the praftice was >ieildered ffibfervient. We are told by thc ' " K k 3 fame $02 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER, authority, that the Egyptians Were remark-: ably addifted to drinking ; and that they ate every night of boiled cabbage, as a pre parative for the greater Indulgence of their favorite vice. In fubjefting men to the employment of the diftaff, and other domeftic offices, whilft the women alone performed all bu"- finefs without doors, the polity of Egypt was a direft 'inverfion of nature. By this prepofterous cuftom the men became fo ef feminate, that they Were ffiamefully van- quiffied by an inferior army of Perfians, and indeed became the prey of every fub fequent enemy who invaded them; It is faid of Sefoftrls that he erefted in Syria feveral ftones, bearing upon them a repre fentation of the private parts of a woman, as a reproach on the imbecility of his ene-^ mies; but one ihlght almoft be induced to fufpeft an error in hiftory, which has con verted into a farcafm dn foreign nations what was meant as a memorial of female valor; that the viftorles of this celebrated prince were obtained not by men, but, the women of Egypt, ¦ The LET. XLIII.] AFRICA. 503 The cuftpm of all trades being hereditary ¦was alfo Hable to ftrong objeftlons. Though it fuited oeconomy, and feempd to favor pro ficiency in the various arts, it fupported a reftralnt detrimental to the' efforts of ge nius, and placed thoufands pf people in fi tuations for which they were unqualified hy nature. • ,, Wheri I confider all thefe circumftances, and the rude feverity of the Egyptian pu niffiments, I ffiall never admit, notwith ftanding the claims of this people to high antiquity, that they afforded any example of .that political ,wIfdom which dlftln- , guifficd, in all other countries, the periods tof refined civilization. Thqir religion was the moft odious mafs of fuperftition ever invented by the ^ hu man mind. Exclufive of geohcietry, and fome aft.ronpmical obfervations, their learn ing, with all its oftentation, I affirm It, was but igijprance iu difguife; and their -polity, their boafted polity, had its foun dations in e??tra vagant caprice. The Egyp tians neverthelefs have had the peculiar fortune not only to impofe upon contem porary 504 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. , porary nations, but even to be venerated by pofterity. That eternity which they wiffied with ardor to their own natural bodies, they have fecured to the farne of thei^ country. The wifdom of the Egyp tians has been echoed from age to age. It is a mighty name, like the pyramids of the nation, but is In faft no more than a name ; and I ffiall now fuggeft to you the means by which it arofe. - Great populoufnefs, and facility of fub-, ftftence have ever been regarded as the fureft figns of a flouriffiing nation. Thefe objefts, being in general, attainable only by wife regulations of governtnent, the countries in which they are moft confpi cuous are therefore fuppofed to enjoy a happy fyftem of polity. Egypt was re markable both for populoufnefs and plenty of provifions : on which account it acquired the reputation of tranfcendant excellence in refpeft of its cuftoms and municipal laws. But the inference -which in all other cafes was juft,. coincided not with truth when applied to the particular circum ftances of Egypt. This LET. XLIII.] rr,? AFRICA.' ^0$ I'r- This kingdom was indebted for its great profperity to the annual inundation of thc Nile ; and the beneficial effefts which pro ceeded entirely from this caufe, were erro- neoufly afcribed by inattentive obfervers to zithe fuperior polity of Egypt. LETTER ^¦o6 LETTERS-0F A TRAVELLER. LETTER XLIV. rnr^ HE next and laft objeft of my furvey, is the States of Barbary, which confift of thofe countries iri Africa that lie on the coaft of the Mediterranean fea. Thefe States, under the Roman pmplrej were juftly denominated the garden of the world. The 'produce of their foil formed the ma gazines which furniffied all Italy, arid great part of the Roman empire, with corn, wine, and oil. Though the lands arc now uncultivated, through the oppreffion and barbarity of their government, yet they are ftill fertile, not only in the abovemen-^ tioned commodities, but In dates, figs, ral fins, almonds, apples, oranges, and other fruits, with plenty of efculent roots and herbs. ¦ In ffiort, the country abounds in all that can add to the pleafures and conye- , : : ^ niences LET. XLIV.] AFRICA. 507 niences of life. ' Neither the elephant nor rhinoceros- are to be found In the States of Barbary; but their deferls abound with lions, tygers, leopards, hyaenas, and mon- ftrous ferpents. The Barbary. horfes were formerly very valuable, but their breed is now not equally good. Among their beafts of burden, which are camels, dromedaries, affes, and mules, there Is a fpecies called kumrahs, a fervlcable creature, begot by an afs upon a cow. Their cows are but fmall, and the _ quantity of milk they give fcarcely proportioned to their fize. Their ffieep yield indifferent fleeces, but are yery large, as are their goats. Bears, porcupines, foxes, affes, hares, rabbits, and all kinds of reptiles are found here ; as are likewife partridges, eagles, hawks, and wild fowl pf various kinds. Vermin, however, Is frequent in this country ; and feldom a night pafl'es but one's repofe Is Interrupted by the bite or fting of the fcorpion, the viper, or the venemous fplder. Thc feas and bays of Barbary abound with the fineft and moft delicious fiffi of every kind, which were preferred by tbe ancients to thofe of Europe, Having 50S LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. Having here had ah opportunity of fee ing the falamander, that famous creature which is faid by the ancients to live in the midft of fire, J was extremely defirous of bringing the faft to the teft of experiment. Ariftotle tells us, that it npt only' lives anildft fire, but eV^en extlnguiffies that ele ment. The truth Is, thaf on being laid upori the fire, there flows from between Its fcales a watery liquid, which at firft pro duces, in fome degree, that effeft ; but af ter this moifture is difilpatsd, the fala mander is no longer capable of refiftin'g the force of fire. ' " The territory of Tripoli was once the richeft, and moft populous of all the ftatPs on the coaft, but it is now much reduced ; though the Inhabitants are ftill computed to amount to between four and five hun dred thoufand. The city of Tripoli con- fills of an old and a new town, the latter of which Is the more flouriffiing, but great inconveniences attend its fituation, ' parti cularly the • want of fweet water. The city of Oran, lying upon the coaft. Is about a mile and a half in circumfefence, and - , - • well ' LET. XLIV.] , AFRICA. , 5O9 well fortified, but commanded by the neigh bouring hills Proceeding weftward, we come to the kingdom of Tunis, which is the moft po liffied of all the Barbary States, and contains the remains of many noble cities, fome of thgm ftill iri good condition. The capital contains about ten thoufand families, and above three thoufand tradefmens ffiops. — Though the men here be fun burnt, the complexion of the women Is very delicate, nor are they lefs neat and elegant in their drefs,; but they improve the beauty of their eyes by art, particularly the powder of fead- ore ; ffippofed to be the fame pigment that Jezebel made ufe of, when ffie is faid to have painted her face : the words of the original being, that flie fet off her eyes with the powder of lead-ore. The better fort of inhabitants, in general, are fober, or derly, and clean in their perfons, their be haviour genteel and complalfant, and a won derful regularity prevails through the whofe _town. The Dey of Tunis is an abfolute prince, elefted by the Turkifh foldiers; but his reign is very precarious, and feldom, of long duration; depending entirely upon the 5lO LETTERS' OF A TRA-VELLfeR.; - the caprice pf thait body,- who are generally compofed of renegadoes, pirates, and the very refufe of mankind; Weftward of Tunis-, lies the territory of Algiers,- which though tributary to the Grand Signlor^ is likewife governed by a Dey, elefted by the foldiers, by whom he is often depofedj or put to death, upon the moft frivolous pretext. The capital of that territory ftands on the fide of a hill rifing gradually from the . ffiorcj It is computed to contain upwards of a hundred thoufand irihabitants, among whom are fifteen thou fand Jews, and two thoufand Chriftian flaveSi The environs of the town are adorned with gardens and fine villas, where the many fountains and rivulets are no fmall addition to the pleafure of the Inha bitants, who refort thither in the hot feafons. ¦None of the gardens here are laid out with any degree of regularity, the whole being a confufed mi.^ture of trees, with beds of cabbages, turnips, beaiis, garvancos, &o. 'nay fometimes of wheat and barley difperfed amongft them. Tbe foil is for the rnoft part of a loofe and yielding na ture. LET. XLIV.]': AFRICA. 51! ture, in fome places black, and in others . inclining to red ; but both kinds are equally fruitful, and impregnated with great quan tities of fait and nitre. The banks of fe veral rivers, to the depth fometimes of two or three fathoms, are ftudded in the fum mer with nitrous and faline particles and exudarions.' To this ftrong impregnation of. fait, we may with juftice attribute the great fertility for which this eountry has ever been fo remarkable, without any other manuring than the burning of the ftubble in a few places. It Is however extraordi nary, that the province of Briaclum, which .was formerly in fo much repute for the- richnefs of the foil, is at prefent the moft barren and unprofitable part of thofe kingdoms. The fait pits of Arzew are enclofed with mountains, encompaffing an area of about fix miles. The pits appear in win ter like a lake, but are dry in fummer, the water being then exhaled, and the fait left behind chryftalllzed. In digging, feVerat different layers' of this fait are difcovered', fome of which are an inch, and others more In thicknefs. The whole area con fifts 5:13 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. fifts of a fucceffion of fimilar ft rata ; arid in the fame manner are the faline pits be tween Carthage and the Guletta, thofe of the Shott, and other places in this quarter. Jebbel Had-Deffa is entirely a mountain of fait, fituated near the eaftern extremity of the lake of Marks. The fait here is of a different quality and appearance from that; of the falt-plts, being as hard and folid a^, ftone, and of a reddiffi or purple colour. Yet what is waffied down from thofe pre cipices by the dews, becomes perfeftly white, and lofes the bitternefs it originally poffeffed in the rock. The fait in the moun-, tains near Lwotaiah and Jebbel-MInifs, is of a blueiffi or grey colour, and without undergoing the like accidental purification as at Had-Deffa, is very agreeable to the^ palate. This country abounds, likewife in hot and fulphureous fprings. In fome of thofe, the waters are little more than luke-warm, others are of a grpater heat, , and very pro per to bathe in, whilft the Hamman-Mef- konteen, and the upper fpring at Mercega are much too hot for that purpofe ; the for-: mer LET. XLIV.] AFRICA. ^IJ mfcr boiling a large piece of mutton very tender In a qu-arter of an hour. •Befides the hot mineral effluvia that are conftantly difcharged by the Thermse,- there remains below the furface an inex hauftible fund of fulphur, nitre, and other inflammable bodies, which frequently prove the caufe of local earthquakes in different parts of the country. Morocco is the moft wefterly of the States on the Barbary coaft, and has the title of an empire ; to the crown of which is now united the territory of Fez, The country is not now fo populous as formerly; ' and the Emperor is faid to maintain eighty thoufand horfe and foot of foreign negroes in his armies, -The crown Is confidered as hereditary, but if there be more fons than one, they ufually fight for the domi nion, on the deceafe of their father, till only one of them furvives. The Emperor is not immediately fubjeft to the Porter yet he acknowledges the Grand Slgnior to be his fuperior, and he pays him a diftant al legiance as the chief rcprefentative of Mahomet, "^^ LI BefideS' 514. LETTERS OF A TRAVEL|:,ER, "^ ' ' '¦¦' Befides the aboVe towns and cities, many Others, formerly of great renOwri, lie feat- tered in the various parts of this immenfe traft of country. The city of Fez, at prer fent the capital of Morocco, is faid to con tain near three hundred thoufand inha bitants. Its mofques amount tP five hun dred; one of them magnificerit beyond defcription, and about a mile and a half m circumference; Maquinez is ndw efteemed the great emporium of Barbary. Sallee was formerly famous for the piracies of its inhabitants. Tangier " was the capital of the ancient Mauritania Tangitana, and is fituated two miles within the ftraits of Gi braltar. This place was 'given by the crdwn of Portugal as part of the dowry of Queen Catherine, conlbrt of Charles the Second, to England; and it muft have been an im portant acquifition, had It remained in the hands of the Britiffi natlori : but the mif- underftanding which fubfifted betWeeri the -King and his parliament, not permitting the King to fupport the charge of malritaintng its^ fortifications, he was induced to blow them up, and demollffi its harbour; fo that ¦from being pne of the fineft cities in Africa, -¦t-'^- it Let. xl.iv.] . . africa.^ ¦ • 515 it I^ ;iOw little better than a fiffiing town. Ceuta, :up the fame ftrait, alrnoft oppofite to Gibraltar^ is in the haiids of the Spani ards, but often, if not always, befieged or blpcked ,up by the Moors, The eftabllffied religion of all the Bar bary States is the Mahometan ; but many fiibjefts of.Morpcco follow the tenets of pn6:.Hamed, a modern feftary, and an enemy to the ancient doftrine of the Ca liphs, All thc northern coafts of Africa, as well as, Egypt, are fond of ideots ; and in fome cafes their pfoteftion fereens of- -fenders from puniffimentS) for the moft notorious crimes. - -There are In thefe countries mariy cu- .rlous remains of antiquity, but lying fcat tered -amidft ignorant and barbarous Inha- hitants, they are difficult of accefs. Some veftiges of the Mauritanlan and Numidian greatnefs are ftill to be inet with, and many ruins which bear evidence of their ancient grandeur and populoufnefs. Thefe point out jthe old Julia Casfarea of the Romans, which was little Inferior in magnificence to Carthage itfelf. A few of the extei,ifive aquedufts of Carthage ilill remain, hut no L 1 a veftiges 5i6 LETTERS' OF A Traveller. -^l r , Teftiges of its walls. The fame is the fate of Utica, and many other renowned cities of antiquity; for fuch Is the barbarifin of the prefent Inhabitants, that the very fites of thofe places are not known, even by their ruins, amphitheatres^ and other public buildings, which remain ftill in tolerable prefervation. Befides thofe of claffical an tiquity, many Saracen monuments, of the moft ftupendous magnificence, are likewife found in this vaft traft. The walls of them form the principal fortifications of the country, both Inland and maritime. ¦//.:> When Rome was miftrefs of the world, ,, the States of Barbary formed the faireft jewels in the Imperial diadem, but their fplendor, power, and glory, have long fince been extinguiffied. And though the Car thaginians, who inhabited this country, had greater fleets and a more extenfive commerce, than any other nation, or than all the people upon the face of the earth, when that ftate flourlffied, yet the prefent inhabitants- have fcarcely any merchant ^ ffiips belonging to them, or Indeed any \ other than what afe fitted out for piracy, ^^Nothlng can afford a more convincing '.'fritesioiu proof let. XLIV.] AFRICA." ~ 51^ proof of the ^pernicious effe6ls: of continual oppreffion, and frequent anarchy, dn the interefts and exertions of men ; tearing up by the roots every motive to induftry arid commerce, which alone conftitute the po litical profperity of nations. This part of Africa was doubtlefs peo pled from Afia, from which It is feparated only by the Ifthmus of Suez and the Red Sea ; but the Phttenicians or inhabitants of Tyre- feem to have preceded all other na tions in fending hither colonies. The firft town they^ built dn the Barbaiy coaft was Utica, afterwards called Byferta ; near which runs the river Bagarda or Bagrada, where we are Informed that AtiliusRegulus, and his whole army, attacked with warlike engines, and flew a ferpent, which meafured a huridred and twenty feet in length. -Carthage is fuppofed to ha-^e been built ftiiich later than 'Utica, riamely, in the year df the world 3120, before the building df Rome a hundred and thirty- five years, and eight hundred and eighty-three before the birth of Chrift. At this time. It is probable, the territory of Carthage was comprehended withiri very narroAV liiriits, till gradually increafing 5iS Letters OF A TfiAvELLEit. , -.-.-, increafing in power by the great extent of tjielr commerce, the inhabitants ftretched their dominion as far as the Atlantic Ocean; According to the defcription of Carthage by ancient writers, it was fituated on three hills in a peninfula, almoft furrounded by the fea. It meafured in circumference twenty-two mlles^ and contained two har bours within its works; one for men of war, and the other for merchant veffels.-^ — On the Ifthmus ftood the citadel, called Byrfa, defended by a triple wall, and towers at proper diftances.. The walls were two ftories high, built upon arches. In the lower arches, were kept three hundred ele phants, with their provifions and warlike accoutrements ; and in- the upper arches were ftore-houfes and ftables for four thou fand horfe, and barracks for twenty thou fand foot. When the Romans Invefted the city, it contained feven hundred thoufand fouls; and there was found In it four hun dred aud feventy , thoufand pound weight of filver, befides what was plundered by the private foldiers, and buried in the ruinsi The religion of the.Carthaginians. appears to , bave been the fame with that of the Canaariites LET, XLIV.] AFRICA. 5 1 9, Canaanifes orPhoerilcians, from whom they d!efeeiided. That they Worffiipped a multi tude of deities is obvious from the preamble of a treaty concluded between them and Philip of Macedon, reciting that the com- paft ' was made in the prefenee of Jupiter,' Juno, and Apollo ; in the prefenee of the daemon or genius of Carthage ; In the pre fenee of Hercules, Mars, and Neptune, and all the confederate gdds of Carthage ; in the prefenee of the fun, moon, earth, ri vers, meadows, &c. The gods which they chiefly invoked, howeyer, were the moon ( called Coeleftis, and fometimes Urania ) and Saturn, named Moloch In facred' hif tory. To the latter they facrificed their Ghtldren, fometimes burning them in a brazen ftatue of Saturn, heated for that purpofe ; founduig at the fame time drums arid trumpets, that the cries of the vlftims might not be heard. It was confidered as a meritdrious piece pf heroifm in their mo thers to affift at thofe facrifices with dry eyes, and without the leaft fymptoms of re gret, the offering not being thought accept able to Saturn, if made with any reluftance. But as thc moft violent fupeffHtion could not ^20 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. not perfeftly reconcile their minds to the horror of thofe unnatural rites, they were ufually contented with making their chil dren pafs through the fire ; iu' which their miferable offspring frequently pcriflied. — ¦ |n great calamities, however, they aftually burnt them, choofing for this purpofe the moft beautiful and nobleft youths of the natipii ; and on thofe occafions, they have facrificed children to their deity from morn ing till night. Some laudable attempts have lately been made by a fociety In London, towards ex ploring the ftate of the Interior parts of Africa; and there is reafon to expeft that important difcoverles may be made by. the prpfecution cf this plan. At prefent,' how ever, our acquaintance with the more fou- ihern trafts of Africa, extends only to thofe parts where fettlements have been efta bllffied by different European Powers. We are ignorant not only of the bounds, but even of the names, of feveral inland coun tries. In many material circumftances, the inhabitants of this extenfive continent. fLgrep with ^ach other. If we except the people of Abyffinia, who are tawn&y and .; profefs Lfet. XLIV.J AFRICA* , - 521 profefs a mixture of Chriftianity, Judaifm, and Paganifm, they are all of a black com plexion. In their religion, except on the coafts, which have been vifited by ftrangers, they are Pagans; -and the form of govern ment is every where monarchical. Few princes, however, poffefs an extenfive jurif diftion ; for as the natives of this part of Africa are groffly ignorant in all the arts of utility and refinement, they are little ac quainted with one another, and generally united in fmall affociations, each governed by its own prince. In Abyffinia, indeed, and fome other parts, we are told of pow erful monarchs ; but it appears, on exami nation, that the authority of thefe princes ftands on a very precarious foundation. In the fucceffion to the throne, force generally prevails over right, and an uncle, a brother, or other collateral relation, is on thj4* ac count commonly preferred to the lineal defcendants, whether male or female. In a country fo prodigioufly extenfive, it might be expefted that there was a great, and regular variation of fertility in the dif ferent climates ; but in faft, there is neither gradation nor medium in this part of Africa, . M m w^th. 5^2 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLER. with regard to the quantity of vegetable produce; and the ground is either perfeftly barren, or extremely fertile. This arifes from the intenfe heat of thc fun, which, where it meets with fufficlent moifture, produces the utmoft luxuiiancy ; and in thofe countries where there are few rivers, reduces the furface of the earth tO a barren fand. Of the latter kind are the countries of Anian and Zaara, which, for want of water, and confequently of all other necef faries, are nothing more than deferts. In thofe countries, on the other hand, where there is plenty of water, and particularly where the river overflows the larid, during part of the year; as in Abyffinia, the pro duftions of nature, both of the animal and vegetable kind, are found In the higheft perfeftion and greateft abundance. Some of the countries in Africa are extremely rich in gold and filVer. The baler metals likewife are foUrid in different parts. But the perfons of the natives make the moft confiderable article in the produce and traf fic of this miferable quarter of the globei Among the negroes, a man's wealth confifb in the number of his family, whom he fells • v.! ? like LET. XLIV.] AFRICA. 523 like fo mariy cattle, and often at an inferior price ; and when fuch is the praftice with refpeft to the neareft relations, what enor mities may wc not fuppofe to be committed, to pirocure thc iperfons of ftrangers fOr this lucrative traffic ? Gold and Ivory, next to the flave trade, form the principal branches of the African commerce, which are car ried on from the fame coaft by feveral of the maritime nations of Europe. Amongft the fettlements eftabllffied by the Britiffi, there is none fo much entitled to commendation as that of Sierra Leone, which, inftead of being undertaken for the purpofe of an unjuftifiablc commerce, has, on the contrary, been made folely with the view of abollffiing the, flave trade, by en couraging, through the means of voluntary labour, the cultivation of thofe artieles by which that commerce fubfifts. In addition to this advantage, it will fet a beneficial example of induftry to the natives In the neighbourhood, and may prove the happy means of introducing among them the ru diments of civilization, which has hitherto never reached thofe fequeftered and inhof pitable regions. Our own country has likewife 5^4 LETTERS OF A TRAVELLED. likewife lately made an important acqui fition, in the Cape of Good Hope, which cannot but prove highly advantageous to the commerce of the Eaft India Company. The poffeffion of it is of great confequence, in a negative, as well as pofitive view : for were It ftill in the hands pf the Dutch, con fiderlng the prefent fubjeftion of that coun try to the poWer of France, it^could not fail of immediately becoming an appendage to the latter, who would render it a fource of great annoyance and depredation upon the ffiips of our Eaft India Company. — • When I mention the Cape of Good Hope, I cannot refrain from congratulating my country on the acquifition of two of the moft important fortreffes in the world ; one in the fouthern extremity of Europe, and the other. In that of Africa. FINIS.