'f I *0 \ x'^ DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY treasure %oom -7 '7 ^ ^ LETTER XLVII. Page 31. Made Prifoner by feme of Hyder Alli's Troops. Humanity of a Lafcar. Hardlhips. Meets a Friend. Mr. Hall. ■' LETTER ( ^v ) LETTER XL VIII. Page 38. Mr. Hall's Mifevy aggravated by the Lofs of a Miniature which hung at his Bofom. Sent under a Guard up the Country. LETTER XLIX. Page 45. Arrives at Hydernagur, the Capital of the Province of Bidanorc. Brought before the Jemadar. Committed to Prifon. LETTER L. Page 55. Hiftory of Hyat Sahib. Called upon to enter into the Service of Hyder, and offered a Command. Peremptorily refufes. Another Prifoner, a Native. Court of Juftice. Tortures and Exaftions. Mr. Hall declining faft. LETTER LI. Page 63. Mr. Hall's afFefting Story. LETTER LII. Page 70. Prefled to enter into the Service of Hyder Alli. Refufal. Threatened to be hanged. Aftually fufpended, but let down again. Still perfifts in a Refufal, and determined to undergo any Death rather than enter. Projefts a Plan to excite a Revolt, and efcape. LETTER LIII. Page 77. Projeft to efcape defeated. Laid in Irons. Intolerable Hardlhips. Death of Mr. Hall. LETTER LIV. Page 83. Melancholy Situation. Cuelty. Releafed from Prifon. Acc:-unt of Hyder, and Eaft Indian Politics in general. c 2 LETTER LETTER LV. PageSS. Eaft Indian Politics continued. LETTER L^^I. Page 96. Account of FlYDr.R., an 1 Indian Politics continued. General M.^thews's De- fcent on the Malabar Coaft. Mounts the Ghauts. Approaches towards Hydemagur. Author's Delight at getting iato the open Air. Delivered by an unexpected Encounter from his Guards. LETTER LVII. Page 103 Returns to the Fort, and prop^fes to the Jemadar to give it up to the Englirti. Proceeds to the Englifh Camp. LETTER LVIII. Page no. T^Iecting with General Mathews. Returns to the Fort with a Cowl. De- livers it to the Jemadar. Leads General Mathews into the Fort, and brings him into the Prefencc of the Jemadar. Englifh Flag hoifted. Vin- dication of General Mathews from the Charge of Peculation. '£,- LETTER LIX. Page i 18. Sets off for Bengal. Cundapore. Unable to proceed. Letter from General Mathews. Proceeds in an open Boat for Anjengo." Stopped by Sicknefs at Mangalore. Tellicherry. Anjcngo.- Travancore. Dancing Girls. Palamcotah. Madura. Revolt of Isif Cawn. LETTER LX. Page 132. Trichinopoly. Tanjore. Burning of Gentoo Women with the Bodies of their Hufbands. Negapatnam. LETTER ( xvii ) LETTER LXI. Page 149. ■Leaves Negapatnam. Taken by a French Frigate. SufFREiN. Chafafter of Tippoo Sahib. Efcape. Horrible Reflexions. Arrives at Madras. LETTER LXII. Page 149. Paflage to Bengal. Negociation for Hyat Sahib. Mr. Hastings. Sir Johk Macpherson. Hear from Macauley, Sir John's Secretary, of the Servant I loft at Triefte. Jagranaut Pagoda. Vizagapatnam. LETTER LXIII. Page 167. Mafulipatam. Arrives at Madras. Determines to proceed on Hyat's Bufi- nefs to Bombay. Reaches Palamcotah. Takes fick. Recovering, crawls to Anjengo, and thence to Bombay. Rcfolves to return again to Madras Adventure with a young Lad]'. Surat. China. Bath. Conclufion. If ERRATA PART I. PART III. r. L. p. L. 9- 2. Tot Jiroucf, rez6ijlire'j.'d. 16. 18. Vox friov/, xtiA Jlorm. 24. 2. For le berqiie, read la barque. 18. 7- For ^5/7i, read /njr^j. 30- 3- For conqucrcus, read conquerors. 21. 10. For rolling read bailing. 40. I. For berque. read barque. 24. 4- After /o, infcrt i^-. 41. '5- For brrquc, read barque. 30- 2. For /, read //. 138. 18. For /, read //. 71- IT- For confcienff, read convenience 147. 14. For pro/pccJ, read appearance. go. S' For or, read/sr. 156. 8. For 5'wirz, read i'wfz. 108. 24. For o«^, read ten. 162. ^S- For r^_f?/, read regret. 122. 1. Yovjhcwed, reddyieivn. 165. IS- For exporlum, read emporium. 129. iq. For Trcop, read Company. JOURNEY TO INDIA, &c. PART L JOURNEY TO INDIA, &c. LETTER I. My dear Frederick, 1 H E tendernefs of a fond father's heart admonlfhes me, that I fhould but poorly requite the affedlionate foHcitude you have fo often expreffed, to become acquainted with the particulars of my journey over land to India, if I any longer with- held from you an account of that lingular and eventful period of my life. I confefs to you, my dear boy, that often when I have endeavoured to amufe you with the leading incidents and extra- ordinary viciffitudes of fortune which chequered the whole of that feries of adventures, and obferved the eager attention with which, young though you were, you liftened to the recital, the tender fenfibility you difclofed at fome paffages, and the earnefl delire you A -expreffed ( 2 ) expreffed that " I- fhould the whole relate," I have felt an almoft irrefiflible impulfe to indulge you with an accurate and faithful nar- rative, and have more than once fat down at my bureau for the pur- pofe : but fober and deliberate refledlion fuggefted that it was too foon, and that,. by complying with yqur defire at fuch a very early period of your- life, I Ihould but render the great end that I propofed by it abortive, fruflrate the inilruflion which I meant to convey, and imprefs the mere incident on your memory, whUe the moral deducible from it muft neceffarily evaporate, and leave no trace, or rather excite no idea, in a mind not fufficiently matured for the conception of abftradl principles, or prepared by pradice for the dedudtion of moral inferences. I am aware that there are many people, who, contemplating only the number of your days, would confider rny undertaking this arduous talk, and offering it to your refledlion, even now, premature : but this is a fubjedl on which I have fo long and fo deliberately dwelt, which I have difcufled with fo much care, and examined with fuch impartiality, that I think I may be acquitted of vanity, though I fay I am competent to form a judgment on it. The refult of that judgment is, that I am determined to indulge you without further delay ; and I truft that you will not, on your part, render it an empty indulgence, but, on the contrary, by turning every circumftance to its beft ufe, by con- verting every feeling which thefe pages may excite in your heart into matter of ferious reflection, and by making every event ( s ) event (as it happens to deferve) an example to promote either emulation on the one hand, or circumfpedion and caution on the other, juftify me in that opinion of you on which I found this determination. I remember, that when, at an early age, I entered upon that ftage of claffical education at which you are now, at an earlier age, arrived — I mean, the yEneid — I was not only captivated with the beautiful flory of the Hero, in the fecond Book, but drew certain inferences from parts of it, which I fhall never forget, and which afterwards ferved to give a dired:ion to the growth of my fentiments on occafions of a fimilar nature : above all, the filial piety of /Eneas made a deep impreflion on my mind, and, by im- perceptibly exciting an emulation in my bofom, augmented con- fiderably the natural warmth of my affedtion and refpedl for my father. It is under the recolleftion of this fenfation, and a firm perfuafion that your heart is fully as fufceptible of every tender impreffion, and your underflanding as fit for the reception of ufeful hiflory, as mine was then, ' that I overlook your extreme youth, and write to you as though you were an adult. If there be a thing on earth of which I can boafl a perfedl knowledge, it is my Frederick's heart : it has been the objedl of my uninterrupted ftudy almoft fince it was firft capable of rnanifefting a fenfation j and, if I am not very much miftaken in it indeed, the lively intereft he feels in the occurrences of his father's life, is the refult, not of idle curiofitv, but unbounded filial affeftion. Such an amiable A 2 motive ( 4 ) motive fliall not be diiappointed In its end ; and while I difcharge the duty of a parent in gratifying it, I fliall be encouraged and fuflained under my labours by the fanguine expeftation, that he will derive from my exertions the moft folid advantages in his future progrefs through life. As thofe advantages are expected alfo to extend to my dear boy John, whofe tender years difqualify him from making the fame immediate refledlions on the various fubjedis as they occur, my Frederick will perceive that it be- comes his duty, not only as a good fon, but as an afFedtionate brother, to afTift and enforce them upon his mind, to explain to him the difficulties, and furnifh him with his reafonings and in- ferences on them, fo as that they may make, as nearly as pofTible, equal impreffions on the heart and underftanding of both. " Felix quern faciunt aliena pericula cautum : " And though few have the felicity to be warned by other men's misfortunes or faults, becaufe they feldom make deep imprefTions on their feelings, I am convinced that my fufFerings and errors, as they will interefl my Frederick's heart, and gratify his cu- riofity, cannot fail to enlarge his underflanding, and improve his condudt. I am my dear Frederick's, &c. D. C. LETTER ( ^ ) LETTER II. Having, in compliance with your reiterated folicita- tions, determined to give you a narrative of my journey to the Eaft Indies, and the Angular turns of fortune w^hich befel me there, I think it neceffary, on reflection, to prepare you ftill further for the reception of it, by propofing certain terms to be fulfilled on your part -, and as, in my laft, I told you that I exped:ed you, and, w^ith your affiftance, your brother, to turn my relation to a more ufeful account than the gratification of mere idle curiofity, by letting the moral deducible from my errors and misfortunes ftrikedeep and take root in your mind — fo there are other things, which, though not fo extremely important, are too weighty to be negledted ; to which I defire to diredl your attention. I believe you muft have already perceived, that the wellbeing of yourfelf and your brother is my firfl — I might, perhaps, with- out trefpaffing much upon truth, fay, my only objedl in life ; that, to the care of your education, and the cultivation of your mind, I exclufively devote my time and my thoughts -, and that, to infure your future happinefs, I would facrifice every thing. I have ( 6 ■) have a right to difpofe of, and riilc even life itfelf. The time, I truft, is not far diftant, vi'hen your brother will be as well qua- lified to underfland this as you are now — when both will feel alike the important duty it enforces on you — and when your only emu- lation will be, who lliall produce the moll luxuriant harveft to reward the labours I have taken — to reward yourfelves. In order, therefore, on my part, to give every thing I do a tendency to the great objeft of my willies, and induce you, onyour's, to con- tribute your fhare to it, I Ihall give you, as I proceed in my narrative, a topographical defcription of the various Countries through which I fliall hav€ occalion to condudl you, and, as concifely as may be, an account of their manners, policy, and municipal inftitutions, fo far as I have been able to colledt them ; which I hope will ferve to awaken in you athirll for thofeindifpenfable parts of polite education, Geography and Hiftory. I exped that you will carefully attend to thofe fciences, and that you will not fuffer yourfelf, as you read my Letters, to be carried away by the rapid ftream of idle curiofity from incident to incident, without time or difpofition for refleftion : you mull take excurfions, as you go along, from my Letters to your Geographical Grammar and your Maps — and, when necel- fary, call in the aid of your Tutor, in order to compare my ob- fervations with thofe of others on the lame places, and by thofe means to acquire as determinate an idea as polTible of their local fituation, laws, and comparative advantages, whether of Nature or Art. You will thus enable yourfelf hereafter to conlider how Society ( 7 ) Society is influenced, and why fome Communities are better di- redled than others. Here I muft obferve to you, that as Geography is a fcience to which rational converfation, as fupported by Gentlemen of breeding and education, moft frequently refers, the leaft ignorance of it is continually liable to detedlion, and, when detedled, fubjedts a man to the moft mortifying ridicule and contempt. The ingenious George Alexander Steevens has, in his celebrated Ledture upon Heads, given a moft ludicrous inftance of this fpecies of ignorance, in the charader of a Citizen, who, cenfuring the incapacity of Minifters, propofes to carry on the War on a new plan of his own. The plan is, to put the Troops in cork jackets — fend them, thus equipped, to fea — and land them in the Mediterranean : When his companion afks him where that place lies, he calls him fool, and informs him that the Mediterranean is the Capital of Conftantinople. Thus, my dear fon, has this fatirift ridiculed ignorance in pretenders to education ; and thus will every one be ridiculous who betrays a deficiency in this very indifpenfable ingredient in forming the charadier of a Gentleman. But a ftory which I heard from a perfon of ftridt veracity, will ferve more ftrongly to {hew you the fhame attendant on ignorance of thofe things which, from our rank, we are fuppofed to know j and as the fear of fliame never fails to operate powerfully on a generous mind, I am fure it will ferve to alarm you into induftry, and application to your ftudies. During { 8 ) During the late American War, about that period when the King of France was, fo fatally for himfelf, though perhaps in the end it may prove fortunate for the interefts of Mankind, manifefting an intention to interfere and join the Americans, a worthy Alderman in Dublin, reading the newfpaper, obferved a paragraph, inti- mating, that in confequence of Britilh cruifers having ftopped fome French veflels at fea, and fearched them, France had taken umbj-age! The fagacious Alderman, more patriotic than learned, took the alarm, and proceeded, with the paper in his hand, diredlly to a brother of the Board, and, with unfeigned forrow, deplored the lofs liis Country had fuftained, in having a place of fuch confe- quence as Umbrage ravifhed from it ! — defiring, of all things, to be informed in what part of the world JJmbi'age lay. To this the other, after a torrent of inveftive againft Minifters, and con- dolence with his afflidled friend, anfwered that he was utterly un- able to tell him, but that he had often heard it mentioned, and of courfe conceived it to be a place of great importance ; at the fame time propofing that they fliould go to a neighbouring Book- feller, who, as he dealt in Books, mufl neceiTarily know every thing, in order to have this gordian knot untied. They accord- ingly went ; and having propounded the queflion, " what part of the globe Umbrage lay in ?" the Bookfeller took a Gazetteer, and, having fearched it diligently, declared that he could not find it, and faid he was alniofh fure there was no fuch place in exifience. To this the two Aldermen, with a contemptuous fneer, anfwered by ( 9 ) by triumphantly reading the paragraph out of the newfpaper. The Bookfeller, who was a fliroud fellow, and, like moft of his Countrymen, delighted in a jeft, gravely replied, that the Gazetteer being an old edition, he could not anfwer for it, but that he fup- pofed Ufubrage lay fomewhere on the coaft of America. With this the wife Magiftrates returned home, partly fatisfied : but what words can exprefs their chagrin when they found their error — that the unlucky Bookfeller had fpread the flory over the City — that the newfpapers were filled with fatirical fquibs upon it — nay, that a caracature print of themfelves leading the City- watch to the retaking of Umbrage, was ftuck up in every fliop — and finally, that they coul-d fcarcely (albeit Aldermen) walk the ftreets, without having the populace fneer at them about the taking of Umbrage ! Thus, my child, will every one be more or lefs ridiculous who appears obvioufly ignorant of thofe things which, from the rank he holds in life, he fhould be expedled to know, or to the know- ledge of which vanity or petulance may tempt him to pretend. I am fure I need not fay more to you on this fubjed: -, for I think you love me too well to difappoint me in the firft wifli of my heart, •and I believe you have too much manly pride to fufter fo degrading a defect as indolence to expofe you hereafter to animadverfion or contempt. Remember, that as nothing in this life, however trivial or worthlefs, is to be procured without labour — fo, above all others, the weighty and invaluable treafures of erudition are only B to ( 10 ) to be acquired by exertions vigoroufly made and unremittingly continued. ** Quid munus Rei/'ublicse majus aut melius afFerre poffumus " quam fi juventutem bene erudiamus." — Thus faid the matchlefs TuLLY. If, then, the education of youth interefts fo.very deeply a State, can it lefs powerfully intereft him who ftands in the two- fold connexion of a Citizen and Parent ? It is the lively anxiety of my mind, on this point, that obliges me to procraftinate the commencement of my narrative to another Letter, and induces me to entreat that you will, in the mean time, give this the confideration it deferves, and prepare your mind to follow its in- ftrudtions. LETTER III. A VARIETY of unpropitious circumflances gave rife to my journey to the Eaft Indies, while domeftic calamity marked my departure, and, at the very outfet, gave me a foretafte of thofe miferies which Fate had referved to let fall upon me in the fequel. The channels from which I drew the means of fupporting my family in that ftyle which their rank and connections obliged them to maintain, were clogged by a coincidence of events as unlucky ( n ) unlucky as unexpe»5led : the War in India had interrupted the regular remittance of my property from thence : a fevere fliock which unbounded generofity and beneficence had given to the affairs of my father, rendered him incapable of maintaining his ufual pundtuality in the payment of the income he had afligned me ; and, to crown the whole, I had been deprived, by death, of two lovely children (your brother and fifter), whom I loved not lefs than I have fince loved you and your brother. It was under the prefiure of thofe accumulated afflidtions, ag- gravated by the goading thought of leaving my family for fuch a length of time as muft necelTarily elapfe before I could again fee them, that I fet out for India in the month of May, in the year 178 1, with a heart overwhelmed with woe, and too furely pre- diftive of misfortunes. From the gloomy cave of deprefllon in which my mind was funk, I looked forward, to feek, in the future, a gleam of comfort — but in vain : not a ray appeared — Melancholy had thrown her fombre fliadow on the whole. Even prefent affli(flion yielded up a fliare of my heart to an unaccountable difmal prefenliment of future ill ; and the difafters and difappointments I had paffed, were loft and forgotten in ominous forebodin2:s and inflinftive prelages of thofe that were to come. Ot all the weaknelTes to which the human mind is fubjedl, fu- perllition is that againft which I would have you guard with the utmoft vigilance. It is the mofl incurable canker of the mind. B 2 Under ( 12 ) Under its unrelenting dominion, happinefs withers, the under- flanding becomes oblbured, and eveiy principle of joy is blafted. For this reafon I wifli to account for thofe prclages, by referring them to their true phyfical cauies, in order thereby to prevent your young mind from receiving, from what I have v^Titten, any injurious impreflion, or fuperflitious idea of prefentitnent, zs it is fafhionably denominated- If the mind of Man be examined, it v^^ill be found naturally prone to the contemplation of the future — its flights from hope to hope, or fear to fear, leading it infenfibly from objedts prefent and in pofleiTiony to thofe remote and in expedlation — from pofi- tive good to fuppofitious better, or from adtual melancholy to imaginary misfortune. In thefe cafes, the mind never fails to fee the profpeft in colours derived from the medium through which it is viewed and exaggerated by the magnifying power of fancy. Thus my mind, labouring under all the uneafinefs I have defcribed) law every thing through the gloomy medium of melancholy, and, looking forward, foreboded nothing but misfortune: accident afterwards fulfilled thofe forebodings ; but accident, nay, the mofl trifling change of circumftances, might poliibly have fo totally changed the face of my fubfequent progrefs, that good fortune, infl:ead of mifadventure, might have been my lot, and fo all my foreboding been as illufory and fallible as all fuch phantoms of the imagination really are. Thus I argue now — and I am fure I argue truly J but if reafon be not timely called in, and made, as it were, an ( 13 ) an habitual inmate, it avails but little againfl: the overbearing force of fuperftition, who, when fhe once gets poffeffion of the mind, holds her feat with unrelenting tenacity, and, calling in a whole hofl: of horrors, with defpair at their head, to her aid, entrenches herfelf behind their formidable powers, and bids defiance to the aifaults of reafon. Thus it fared with me — Under the dominion of gloomy pre- fentiment, I left London ; and my journey down to Margate^ where I w.is to take fliipping, was, as Shakspeare emphatically fays, " a phantafm, or a hideous dream — and my little flate of *' Man fuifered, as it were, the nature of an infurredtion :" — the chaos within me forbade even the approach of difcriminate refleiftion ; and I found myfelf on board the Packet, bound to Oftend, without having a lingle trace lett upon my mind, of the intermediate flages and. incidents that happened fmce I had left London. It has been obferved — and I wi(h you always to carry it in memory, as one of the bell: confolations under afflidion — that human fufFerings, like all other things, find their vital principle exhaufted, and their extindlion accelerated, by overgrowth ; and that, at the moment when Man thinks himfelf mod miferable, a benignant Providence is preparing relief, in fome form or other, for him. So it, in fome fort, happened with me ; for I was for- tunate enough to find in the Packet a fellow-pafTenger, whofe valuable converfation and agreeable manners beguiled me infenfibly of ( 1* ) ■of the gloomy contemplation in which I was abforbed, and afforded my tortured mind a temporary fufpenfion of pain. This Gentleman was General Lockhart : he was going to Bruffels, to pay his court to the Emperor Joseph the Second, who was then fliortly expefted in the Low Countries, in order to go through the cere- monies of his Liauguration. As Bruffels lay in my way, I was fluttered with the hopes of having for a companion a Gentleman at once fo pleafing in his manners and refpecftable in his charad:er, and was much comforted when I found him as much difpofed as myfelf to an agreement to travel the whole of the way thither together. Thus, though far, very fai- from a ffate of cafe, I was, when landing at Offend, at leaft lefs miferable than at my coming on board the Packet. As this Letter is already fpun to a length too great to admit of any material part of the defcription I am now to give you of Offend, and the Country to which it belongs, I think it better to poftpone it to my next, which I mean to devote entirely to that ffibjedt, and thereby avoid the confufion that arifes from mixing two fub- jedls in the fame Letter, or breaking off the thread of one in order to make way for the other. Adieu, my dear boy ! — Forget not your brother John. That you may both be good and happy, is all the wiili now left to, 6cc. LETTER ( 13 ) LETTER IV. That Country to which I am now to call your atten- tion — I mean, the Netherlands — is marked by a greater number of political changes, and harraffed by a more continued train of military operations, than perhaps any Country in the records of Modern Hiftory. It may truly be called the Cockpit Royal of Europe, on which Tyrants, as ambition, avarice, pride, caprice, or malignity, prompted them, pitted thoufands, and hundreds of thoufands, of their fellow-creatures, to cut each other's throats about fome point, frivolous as regarding themfelves, unimportant to Mankind, and only tending to gratify a diabolical luft for do- minion : Yet, under all thefe difadvantages, (fuch are the natural qualities of this Country), it has, till lately, been in a tolerably flourifhing ftate ; and would, under good government and proper protedlion, equal any part of Europe for richnefs. Flanders, Brabant, and the Country now called the United Netherlands, were in general known by the name of Netherlands,, Low Countries, or Pa'is-bas, from their fituation, as it is fuppofed, in refpedt of Germany. Anciently, they formed a part of Bclgic Gaul, of which you may remember to have read an account in the ( 16 ) the Commentaries of Julius Cut's ar, who defcribes the inha- hitants as the mofl: valiant oi' all the Gallic Nations — " Horum " omnium Belgs funt fortiffimi." They afterwards were fubjecft to petty Princes, and made part of the German Empire ; and, in the fixteenth century, became fubjedl to Charles the Fifth of the Houie of Auflria } but, being opprefTed beyond endurance by his fon, Philip the Second of Spain, (that blind and furious bigot), they openly revolted — liew to arms toaffert their freedom; and, after a ftruggle as glorious in effeCt as virtuous in principle — after performing prodigies of valour, and exhibiting examples of fortitude, to which none but men lighting in the Godlike Caufe of Liberty are competent — led on by the wifdom and valour of the Prince of Orange, and aflifted by the Sovereign of Great Britain — they at length fo far fucceeded, that thofe now called the United Netherlands, entered into a folemn league, and forced the gloomy Tyrant to acknowledge their independence. But that part to which I am now particularly to allude, continued annexed to the Houfe of Auftria. In 1787, they revolted, and made a temporary ftruggle to difengage themfelves from the do- minion of the Emperor ; but, owing to fome cabals among themfelves, and the temperate condud: of that Prince, they again returned to their allegiance, and were rewarded with a general amnefty. In 1792, they were over-run by the French Army under General Dumourier — opened their arms to thofe Re- publicans, and were rewarded for it by oppreffion, tyranny, and injuftice. ( 17 ) injuftlce. The French, however, were driven back out of the Country ; and, wonderful to relate, they again received their old Mafler, the Emperor, with ftrong demonftrations of joy, and manifefted their loyalty and attachment to him by every expref- fion that abjed hypocrify could fuggefl. " O ! how unlike their Belgic Sires of old ! " Here, could I flop with flridl juflice, I would — But, behold ! the French again came ; again they opened their gates to receive them ; and again they were, with tenfold fury and rapacity, pil- laged, oppreffed, and infulted ; and at the very time I am writing this, the Guillotine is doing its office — enforcing the payment of the moft exorbitant and enormous contributions, and compelling, it is faid, one hundred thoufand of the ill-fated inhabitants to take the field, as foldiers of the Republic. Human opinion is fo chequered and uncertain, that two very honeft men may in certain cafes adl in diredl contradidlion and hoflility to each other, with the verybeft intentions — He, therefore, muft have but a cold heart, and a contradted underftanding, who cannot forgive the man that adls in fuch cafes erroneoufly, when he adts from the exadt didlates of his opinion, and upon the prin- ciple which he has confcientioufly adopted : but when a whole People are feen whifking about with every guft of fortune, and making a new principle for every new point of convenience, we C muft ( 18 ) niuil: deipire tliem even when they happen to sdt right, and can fcarcely afford them fo much as pity in their calamities. The Auftriah Ivretherlands are now in thatftate; and, without prefuming to fay in which of their tergiverfations they were right, I will venture to pronounce that they deferve punifhment, and I believe they are in hands very likely to give them their due. To return — Oftend is a fea-port of Auilrian Flanders, and is fituated in the Liberty of Bruges. It was, at one time, the ftrongelt town in Flanders : but a double ditch and ramparts, which con- ftitutedits flrength, are now deftroyed j and in the place where the former flood, docks, or rather bafons, extremely capacious 'and commodious, are formed, for the reception of fliipping. The ground about the town is very low and marfliy, and cut into a number of fine canals — into fome of which, fliips of the largefl fize may enter — and in one of which, veffels of great burthen may ride,"even dole to Bruges. The harbour here is fo fortunately circumftanced, that it was once thought, by Engineers, entirely fecure from a blockade ; and its priftine fhrength can in no way be fo well defcribed, as by a relation of the defence it made in the four firft years of the feventeenth century — though, near the clofe of the fixteenth, it was no better than an infignificant fifhing town. It held out againft the Spaniards for three years, two months and fixteen days. Eighty thoufandmen loft their lives before it, while fifty thoufand were killed or died within. It at laft furrendered, but on good terms j and not for want of men or provilions, but for ( 19 ) for want of ground to fland on, which the enemy took from them, at an amazing lofs, ftep by ftep, till they had not room left for men to defend it. Three hundred thoufand cannon-balls, of thirty pounds weight each, were fired againft it ; and the befieged often filled up the breaches made in their rainparts with heaps of dead bodies. Such, my dear boy, are the -miracles that men, animated with the all-fubduing fpirit of Liberty, can perform — Liberty! that immediate jewel pf the foul — that firft moving principle of all the animal creation — which, with equal power, influences the bird to beat the cage with its wings, and the lion to tear the bars of his imprifonment — the infant to fpring from the tender con- finement of its nurfe, and the lean and ihrivelled pantaloon to crawl abroad, and fly the warmth and repofe of his wholefomc chamber — Liberty ! which, for centuries enthralled by artifice and fraud, or lulled i|ito a flumber by the, witching fpirit of Priefl- craft, now rifes like a giant refreflied with wine — in its great efforts for emancipation, defl:roys and overturns fyftems — but, when find- ing no refiilance, and matured by time, will, I fincerely hope, fink appeafed into a generous calm, and become the blefling, the guardian and protedtor of Mankind ! It is your good fortune, my dear children, to be born at a time when Liberty feems to, be well underftood in your own Country, and is univerfally the prevalent pafllon of men. It is almofl need- lefs, - therefore, for me to exhort you to make.it the groundwork C 2 "of ( 20 ) of your political morality : but let me remind you to guard, above all, againfl the defpotifm of certain Tyrants, to whom many of the greateft advocates for Liberty are ftrangely apt to fubmit — I mean, your paffions. Of all other Tyrants, they are the moft fubtle, the moft bewitching, tlie moft overbearing, and, what is worfe, the moft cruel. Beneath the domination of other Defpots, tranquillity may alleviate the weight of your chains, and foften oppreffion ; but when once you become the flave of your paffions, your peace is for ever fled, and you live and die in unabating mifery. LETTER V. The pride of the Englifli is remarked all over the globe, even to a proverb ! But pride is a word of fuch dubious meaning, fo undefined in its fenfe, and ftrained to fuch various imports, that you fhall hear it violently execrated by one, and warmly applauded by another — this denouncing it as a fin of tl^ firft magnitude, and that maintaining it to be the moft vigilant guardian of human virtue. Thofc differences in opinion arife not fi-om any defedl in the intellects of either, but from each viewing the fubjedt in that one point in which it firft ftrikes his eye, or beft fuits his tafte, his feeling, or his prejudices. I have no doubt, however, but a fiill confideration ( 21 ) confideration of the fubjed would fhew, that pride, as it is called, is only good or bad as the objedl from which it arifes is mean or magnificent, culpable or meritorious. That noble pride which ftimulates to extraordinary adts of generofity and magnanimity, fuch as, in many inftances, has diftinguiflied, above all others, the Nobility of Spain, exadls the homage and admiration of Mankind : But I fear very much that our Englifla pride is of another growth, and fmells too rankly of that overftrained commercial fpirit which makes the bafis of the prefent grandeur of Great Britain, but which, in my humble judgment, raifes only to debafe her — by flow, fubtle degrees, poifons the national principle, enflaves the once bold fpirit of the People, detradts from their real folid felicity, and, by confounding the idea of national wealth with that of na- tional profperity, leads it in rapid ftrides to its downfall. In fhort, we are approaching, I fear, with daily accelerated fteps, to the difpofition and fordid habits of the Dutch, of whom Dodlor Gold- smith fo very pertinently and truly fpeaks, when he fays, " Ev'n Liberty itfelf is barter'd here ! " Without leading your mind through a maze of difquifition on this fubjedt, which might fatigue with abftrufenefs and prolixity, I will bring you back to the point from which the matter flarted, and content myfelf with remarking, that the pride of the Englifh,, Ipeaking of it as a part of the national charadter, is the meaneil of all pride. The inflation of bloated, overgrown wealth, an over- weening < : J ( 22 ) weening aftedlon for money, an idolatrous worfhip 6f gain, have abfblutely confounded the general intelleft, and warped the judgment of the many to that excefs, that, in eftimating men or things, they refer always to " what is he worth ?" or, " what will it fetch r" This fordid habit of thinking was finely hit off by a keeh fellow, the "native of a neighbouring kingdom, who, for many years, carried on bufmefs in London, and fkiled :— Sitting one day in a coffee-houfe'in theCity, where fome wealthy Citizens were difcuffing a fubjedl not entirely unconnected with calh con- cerns, one of them obferving him rather attentive to their conVer- lation, turned to him, and faid, " What is your opinion, Sir, of the matter ?"—" 's blood. Sir!" returned he, peevifhly, "what opinion can a man have in this Countiy, who has not a guinea in his pocket ?" Under the influence of all the various caprices infplred by this unhappy purfe -pride, I am forry to fay bur Countrymen do, when they go abroad, fo play the fool, that they are univerfally flattered and defpifed, pillaged and laughed at, by all perfons with whom they have any dealing. In France, Mi Lor Anglois is, or at lead was, to have fix times as' great a profufion of every thing as any other perfon, and pay three hundred per cent, more for it ; and the worfl of it was, thait a Mi Lor was found fo conducive to their interefl:, that they would not, if they could help it, fufTer any Englifhman to go without a title — nay, would fom.etimes, with kindly compulfion, force him to accept of it,"' wliether he iVould or ( 23 ) or not : but. if an Engliflinia,n be, above all others, the objedl of impofition in foreign countries, certainly none pillage him fo un- mercifully as his own Countrymen who ai-e fettled there. In all the places through which I have travelled, I have had occafion to recnark (and the remark has been amply verified by every Gen- tleman I have ever converfed with on the fubjedl), that the moft extravagant houfes of entertainment are thofe kept by Englifh- men. At Oftend, as well as other places, it was fo : therefore, as economy, when it does not trefpafs upon the bounds of genteel liberality, is the befl fecurity for happinefs and refpedt, I advife you, whenever you fhall have occafion to vifit the Continent, in the firft place to avoid all appearance of the purfe -proud oflen- tation of John Bull ; and, in the next place, to avoid all Englifli houfes of entertainment. - +" It is a lingular circumftance, and belongs, I fhould fuppofe,, peculiarly to Ollend, that the charity-children of the town are permitted to come on, board the veflels arrived, to beg of the paf- fcngers, one day in the week. Befare I bid adieu to Oilend, I muft remark one heavy difad- vantage under which it labours — the want of frefh water ; all they ufe being brought from Bruges. In going from Oftend to Bruges, a traveller has it in his choice to go by land, or water — If by land, he gets a good voiture for about ten Ihillings of our money ; the road is about fourteen or fifteen miles — If by water (the mode which I adopted, as by far the cheapeil and the pleafanteft), he ti-avels ( 24 ) travels in a vefTel pretty much refembling our Lord Mayor's barge, fometimes called a trackfchuyt, but often le berque, or barke : it is, in truth, fitted up in a ftyle of great neatnefs, if not elegance ; ftored with a large flock of provifions and refrefhments of all kinds, and of fuperior quality, for the accommodation of the pafTengers ; and has, particularly, a very handfome private room between decks, for the company to retire to, in order to drink tea, coffee, &c. &c. or play at cards. In this comfortable, I might fay, delightful ve- hicle, as perfedlly at eafe as lying on a couch in the beft room in London, are paffengers drawn by two horfes, at the rate of about four miles an hour, for about ten pence, the fame length of way that it would coft ten fliillings to be jumbled in a voiture over a rough paved road. The country between Oftend and Bruges is very level, and of courfe dcflitute of thofe charms to a mind of tafle, which abound in countries tofTed by the hand of Nature into hill, dale, mountain and valley : the whole face of it, however, is, or at leafl then was, in fo high a flate of cultivation, and fo deeply enriched by the hands of art and induflry, aided by the natural fertility of the foil, that its appearance, though far from flriking or delightful, was by no means unpleafant ; and on approaching the town of Bruges, we pafTed between two rows of trees, beautiful, fhady, and of lofty fize — forming, with the furrounding objedls, a fcene, which, if not romantic, was at leafl pidlurefque. In ( 25 ) In paffing through Countries groaning beneath the defpotic fcourge of unlimited Monarchy, where fublidies are raifcd, and taxes laid on ad libitum — where guilty diftruft and fufpicion, with the eyes of a lynx and the fangs of a harpy, fland fentinels at every gate, to fcrutinize the harmlefs pallenger, awake him to the clanks of his fetters, and awe him into compliance, a free-born Briton feels a cold horror creep through his whole frame : his foul re- coils at the gloomily ferocious and infolently Urid: examination, with which a fentinel, at the entry of a town, flops, inveftigates, demands a pafTport; and, in lliort, puts him, pro tempore, in a ftate of durance, with all its hideous formalities and appendages, its gates, its bars, its armed ruffians, its formal profefTions of laws, and its utter violation of reafon and of juftice. Entering the town of Bruges, we were flopped by a fentinel, who, with all the faucy, fwaggering air of authority, of a Have in office, demanded to know, whether we had any contraband goods ? whether we were in any military capacity ? whence we came ? and whither We were going ? with a variety of other interrogatories, to my mind equally imper- tinent and deteflable, but which feemed to make no greater im- prefTion on the good Flemings themfelves, than demanding the toll at a turnpike-gate would make on an Englifh waggoner. Talking over this fubjeft, fince that time, with a Gentleman who is well acquainted'with all thofe places, he informed me, that in the war between the Emperor and the States General, fome French ofEcers, travelling through Flanders to join Count Mail- D LEBOIS, ( 2S ) LEBOis, were ftopped at the gate of Bruges, and, by order of the Emperor, fent to his army, turned into the ranks, and obliged to do duty as common foldiers, — Here, my dear Frederick, was an adt, not only defpotic in itfelf, but aggravated by circumflances of collateral profligacy, of fuch enormous magnitude as bids de- fiance to all power of amplification, and leaves eloquence hopelefs of defcribing it with greater force than it derives from, a fimple narration of the fad : on the one hand, the inroad upon the j ufi: perfonal rights of the individual ; on the other, the rights of a Nation violated. Some men in England, judging from their own conftitutional fecurity, may difbelieve the fadt : but let them con- fider, that the Marquis de la Fayette, an alien, taken upon neutral ground, is now, even now, held in illegal, unjuft thral- dom and perfecution — let them, I fay, remember this, and let their incredulity ceafe. Blefs your ftars, my dear boy, that you were born in a Country where fuch outrages as thefe can never be perpetrated by any, and will never be approved of but by afew^ LETTER ( 27 ) LETTER VI. In my laft, I carried you paft a ferocious, impertinent fentinel, into the town of Bruges ; and now, having got you there, I muft endeavour, from the loofe materials I have been able to collect, to give you a fliort defcription of it. I had heard much of Bruges, its grandeur and its opulence ; you will guefs my furprife then, when, on entering it, I found nothing but an old-fafliioned, ill-built, irregular town ; the ftreets, in general, narrow and dirty, and moft of the houfes ftrongly ex- preffive of poverty and fqualid wretchednefs : yet this was an- ciently a moft flourifliing city. Did the difference between the town at this time, and its ftate as it is reprefented of old, confift only in its external appearance, we might readily account for that, in the great improvements made by the Moderns in the art of houfe-build- ingj but its prefent inferiority goes deeper, and is the refult of de- parted commerce — commerce, that fludtuating will-with-a-wifp, that leads States in hot purfuit after it, to entrap them ultimately into mires and precipices, and which, when caught, ftays till it D 2 extinguiihes ( 28 ) extinguilhes the fpirit of Freedom in a Nation, refines its People into feeble flaves, and there leaves them to poverty and contempt. Perhaps there is no fubject that affords an ampler field for a fpeculative mind to expatiate upon, than the various, and, I may- fay, incongruous revolutions which have chequeied the progrefs of human fociety from the firft records of Hiftory down to the prefent time. It is indeed a fpeculation which noj only tends to improve the underftanding, by calling in experience to corredt the illufions of theory, but is highly inftrudlive in a moral point of view, by pointing out the inftability of the very beft ftridlures of himian wifdom, and teaching us how little reliance is to be placed upon human cafualties, or earthly contingencies. Look to Greece, once the fountain-head of Arts, Eloquence, and Learning, and tlie mother of Freedom — her Poets, her Legi- flators, her Soldiers, and her Patriots, even to this day confidered the brigheft examples of earthly glory ! — fee her nov/ funk in flavery, ignorance, lloth, and imbecillity, below any petty Nation of Europe. Look to Rome — in her turn, the queen of Arms and Arts, the land of Liberty, the nurfe of Heroes— the ftage on which inflexible Patriots, accomplillied Philofophers, and a free People, adted for centuries a drama that elevated Man almoft above his nature! — fee her now reduced to the laft flage of contempti- bility— even below it, to ridicule and laughter— fwayed by the mofh contemptible impoilure, and funk into the mofl defpicable enflavement, ( 29 ) enflavement, both of perfon and opinion — the offices of her glo- rious Senate performed by a kind of heterodite being, an herma- phroditical impoflor, who, deducing his right from the very dregs and Oifscourings of fuperflition and fanaticifm, and aided by a kt of difciples worthy of fuch a mafter, rules the People, not with the terrors of the Tarpeian rock, nor yet with that which to a Roman bofom was more terrible, banifliment — but with the horrors of eternal damnation! — fee her valiant, vigorous Soldieiy converted into a band of feeble fidlers and muiic-mafters, and the clangor of her arms into fhriil concerts of fqueaking caftratoes ; thofe places where her Cicero poured forth eloquence divine, and pointed out the paths that led to true morality — where her Brutus and her Cato marflialled the forces of Freedom, and raifed the arm of Juftice againil Tyrants, over-run by a knavifh hoft of ignorant, beggarly, bald-pated Friars, vomiting, to a crowd of gaping bigots, torrents of fanatical bombail, of miracles never performed, of Gods made of wood or copper, and of Saints, that, like them- felves, lived by impofture and deception ! — fee her triumphs and military trophies changed into proceffions of Priefls linging pfalms round wafers and wooden crucifixes ; and that code of Philofophy and Religion, which operated fo effedually upon the morals of her People that there was none among them found fo defperate or fo bafe as to break an oath, exchanged for the Roman Ca- tholic branch of the Chriftian Faith — for difpenfations for inceft, indulgences for murder, fines for fornication, and an exclufive patent ( 30 ) patent for adultery in their priefthood. Then look to England ! — fee her, who once ftooped beneath the yoke of Rome, whofc Chief, Caractacus, was carried there in chains to grace his conquerous triumphs, while herfelf was made the meaneft of the Roman Provinces, now holding the balance of the world, the unrivalled mifhrefs of Arms, Arts, Commerce — every thing. It was in this irreiiftible mutation of things, that Bruges funk from the high ftate of a moil flourifliing city, where there are ftill (unlefs the French have deilroyed them) to be feen the re- mains of feventeen palaces, anciently the refidences of Confuls of different Nations, each of which had diftindt houfes, magnifi- cently built and furniflied, with warehoufes for their merchan- difes : and fuch was the power and wealth of the Citizens in thofe days, that it is an indubitable fad:, they kept their Sovereign, the Archduke Maximilian, prifoner, affronted his fervants, and abufed his officers j nor would they releafe him until he took an oath to preferve inviolate the laws of the State. Even fo late as the time I was there, Bruges had fome trade — indeed as good a foreign trade as moft cities in Flanders. The people feemed cheerful and happy, and the markets were tolerably fupplied. Several fine canals run in a variety of directions from Bruges : by one of them, boats can go, in the courfe of a fummer's day, to Oftend, Nieuport, Furnes, and Dunkirk ; and veffels of four hundred tuns can float in the bafon of this town. Another canal leads to Ghent, another to Damme, and another to Sluys. The water ( 31 ) water of thofe canals is ilagnant, without the leafi: motion ; yet they can, in half an hour, be all emptied, and fredi water brought in, by means of their well- contrived fluices. This water, how- ever, is never ufed for drinking, or even for culinary purpofes ; a better fort being conveyed through the town by pipes from the two rivers Lys and Scheldt, as in London ; for which, as there, every houfe pays a certain tax. Although the trade of this city has, like that of all the Low Countries, been gradually declining, and daily fucked into the vortices of Britifh and Dutch commerce, there were, till the French entered it, many rich Merchants there, who met every day at noon in the great market-place, to communicate and tranfadt bufinefs, which was chiefly done in the Flemifli lan- guage, hardly any one in it fpeaking French ; a circumflance that by this time is much altered — for they have been already made, if not to fpeak French, at leafi; to fmg Ca-ira, and dance to the tune of it too, to fome purpofe. The once-famed grandeur of this city confifted chiefly, like that of all grand places in the dark periods of Popery, of the gloomy piles, the oftentatious frippery and unwieldly mafles of wealth, accumulated by a long feries of Monkifli impofture — of Gothic ftrudlures, of enormous fize and fable afpedl, filled with dreary cells, calculated to ftrike the fouls of the ignorant and enthufiaftic with holy horror, to infpire awe of the places, and veneration for the perfons who dared to inhabit them, and, by enfeebling the reafon ( -^^2 ) reafon with the mixed operations of horror, wonder and rever- ence, to fit the credulous for the reception of every impofition, however grofs in conception, or bungled in execution. Thofe are the things which conftituted the greatnefs and fplendor of the cities of Ancient Chriftendom j to thofe has the fturdiefl human vigour and intelledl been forced to bend the knees : they were built to endure the outrages of time ; and will ftand, I am fure, long, long after their power fhall have been annihilated. What a powerful engine has fuperftition been, in the cunning management of Priefls ! How lamentable it is to think, that not only all who believed, but all who had good fenfe enough not to believe, fhould, for fo many centuries, have been kept in proftrate fubmiflion to the will and dominion of an old man in Rome ! — My bluflies for the folly and fupinenefs of Mankind, however, are loft in a warm glow of tranfport at the prefent irradiation of the human mind; and though I can fcarcely think with patieijce of that glo- rious. Godlike being, Henry the Second of England, being obliged by the Pope to lafh himfelf naked at the tomb of that faucy, wicked Prieft, Thomas a Becket, I felicitate myfelf with the refleftion, that the Pope is now the moft contemptible Sovereign in Europe, and that the Papal authority, which was once the terror and the fcourge of the earth, is now not only not recognifed, but feldom thought of, and, when thought of, only ferves to excite laughter cr difguft. LETTER ( 33 ) LETTER VII. The town of Bruges, although the flreets be, as I have already defcribed them, fo mean, narrow, dirty and irregular in general, contains, neverthelefs, fome fewftreets that are tolerable, and a few fquares alfo that are far from contemptible. — I fhould think it, neverthelefs, not worth another letter of defcription, were it net that the Churches, and Church-curiofities, demand our attention -, for you will obferve, that in all rich Popifh Countries, every Church is a holy toy-fhop, or rather a mufeum, where pic- tures, ftatues, gold cups, filver candlefticks, diamond crucifixes, and gods, of various forts and dimenfions, are hoarded up, in ho- nour of the Supreme Being. This city having been for centuries the See of a Bifliop, who is Suffragan to the Archbifliop of Mech- lin, and at the fame time Hereditary Chancellor of Flanders, it is not to be wondered at, if ecclefiaftical induftry fliould have amaffed fome of thofe little trinkets which conftitute the chief or only value of their Church. The mitre of this place conveys to the head that wears it a diocefe containing fix cities, from the names of which you will be able to form fome fmall judgment of E the ( -1' ) the opulence of one poor fon of abltincnce and mortification, — Thofe cities are, in the firfl: place, Bruges itfelf, then Oftend, Sluys, Damme, Middleburgh in Flanders, and Oudenberch — not to mention one hundred and thirty-three boroughs and villages; and if you could compute the number of inferior Clergy with which the ftrcets and highways are filled, you would be thunder- ftruck. There, and in all thofe Popifh Countries, they may be feen, with grotefque habits and bald pates, buzzing up and down like bees, in fwarms, (a precious hive !) — and, with the moft vehe- ment proteflations of voluntary poverty in their mouths, and eyes uplifted to Heaven, fcrambling for the good things of the earth with the eagernefs of a pack of hounds, and the rapacity of a whole roll of lawyers ! With loaded thighs (I might fay, loaded arms too, for they have large pockets even in their fleeves, for the conceal- ment of moveables), they return to the great hive, where, con- trary to the law of bees, the drone lives in idle ftate, and he plunders them: contrary, too, to the habits of thofe ufeful infeds, they banilh the queen-bee, and fuffer no female to approach their cells, but keep them in contiguous hives, where, under cover of the night, they vifit them, and fulfil in private that which they deny in public — the great command of Providence. The firft building in nominal rank, though by no means the firft in value, is the great Cathedral, which has at leaft bulk, an- tiquity and gloominefs enough to recommend it to the Faithfiil. It is by no means unfurnifhed within, though not in fo remarkable a manner { 33 ) manner as to induce me to fill a Letter with it. In a word, it is an old Popifh Cathedral, and cannot be fuppofed wanting in wealth : at the tinie I write, it has been ftanding no lels a time than nine hundred and twenty-nine years, having been built in the year 865. The next that occurs to me, as worthy of notice, is the Church of Notre Dame, or that dedicated to our Lady the Virgin Mary. This is really a beautiful ftrudture of the kind— indeed magni- ficent. Its fleeple is beyond conception ftupendous, being fo very high as to be feen at fea off Oilend, although it is not elevated in the fmalleft degree by any rife in the ground -, for, fo very flat is the whole intermediate country, that I believe it would puzzle a fkilful leveller to find two feet elevation from high-water-mark at Oftend up to this city. The contents of this Church are cor- refpondent to its external appearance — being enriched and beauti- fied with a vafl variety of facerdotal trinkets, and fine tombs and monuments. As to the former, the veflments of that fame Thomas aBecket whom I mentioned in my laft, make a part of the curiofities depofited in this Church : this furious and in- flexible impoftor was Archbifliop of Canterbury ; and his fliruggles to enflave both the King and People of England, and make them tributary to the Pope, have canonized him, and obtained the very honourable depot I mention for his veftments. To do juftice, however, to the fpirit and fagacity of the Holy Fathers who have fo long taken the pains to preferve them, it muft be commemo- E 2 rated. ( 36 ) rated, that they are, or at leall were fet with diamonds, and other precious ftones ! Probably, among the many Priefts who have, in fo many centuries, had the cuftody of thofe divine relics, feme one, more fagacious than the reft, might conceive, that, to lie in a Church, and be feen by the all-believing eyes of the Faithful, a little coloured glafs was juft as good as any precious ftone, and wifely have converted the originals to fome better purpofe. If fo, it will be fome confolation to Holy Mother Church to refledl, that flie has bilked the Sans-ciilottes, who certainly have got pofleflion of Saint Thomas a Becket's facerdotal petticoats ; and, if they have been found enough to ftand the cutting, have, by this time, converted them into comfortable campaigning breeches. O mon- ftrous 1 wicked ! abominable ! — that the Royal Mary, fifter to the great Emperor Charles the Fifth, fhould, fo long ago as the Reformation, have bought at an immenfe price, and depolited in the treafury of the Church of our Lady the blefled Virgin Mary, the veftments of a Saint, only to make breeches, in the year 1794, for a.French foldier ! The time has been, that the bare fuggeftion of fuch facrilege would have turned the brain of half the people of Chriftendom : but thofe things are now better managed. Of the tombs in this Church, I fhall only mention two, as diftinguifhed from the reft by their coftlinefs, magnificence and antiquity. They are made of copper, well guilt. One of them is the tomb of Mary, heirefs to the Ducal Houfe of Burgundy;. and ( 37 ) and the other, that of Charles (commonly called the Hardy)^ Duke of Burgundy, her father. In Bruges there were four great Abbeys, and an amazing number of Convents and Nunneries. The buildings, I prefume, yet ftand ; but there is little doubt that their contents, of every kind, have been, before this, put in requ'ifition, and each part of them, of courfe, applied to its natural ufe. The Church once belonging to the Jefuits, is built in a noble ftyle of architecture : and that of the Dominicans has not only its external merits, but its internal value ; for, befides the ufual fuper- abundance of rich chalices, &c. it poffeffes fome very great cu- riofities — As, finl, a very curious, highly wrought pulpit — beautiful in itfelf, but remarkable for the top being fupported by wood, cut out, in the moft natural, deceptive manner, in the form of ropes, and which beguile the fpedlator the more into a belief of its reality, becaufe it anfwers the purpofes of ropes. Secondly, a pidiure — and fo extraordinary a pi6lure ! Before I defcribe it, I muft apprife you that your faith muft be almoft as great as that of a Spanifh Chriftian to believe me — to believe that the human intellect ever funk fo low as, in the firfl inftance, to conceive, and, in tiie next, to harbour and admire, fuch a piece. But I miftake — it has its merit ; it is a curiofity — the Demon of Satire himfelf could not wifli for a greater. This ( 58 ) This pi(flure, then. Is the reprefentation of a Marriage! — but of whom? why, truly, of Jesus Christ with Saint Ca- tharine of Sienna. Obferve the congruity— Saint Catha- rine of Sienna lived many centuries after the tranfla:ion of Jesus Christ to Heaven, where he is to fit, you know, till he comes to judge the quick and the dead!— But who marries them? In truth. Saint Dominic, the patron of this Church! The Virgin Mary joins their hands — that is not amifs — But, to crown the whole. King David himfelf, who died fo long before Christ was born, plays the harp at the wedding ! My dear Frederick, I lliall take it as no fmall inflance of your dutiful opinion of me to believe, that fuch a pidiure exllled, and made part of the holy paraphernalia of a Temple confecrated to the worfliip of the Divinity: but I allure you it is a fact; and as I have never given you reafon to fufpeft my veracity, I expedl you to believe me in this inftance, improbable though it feems: for fuch a farrago of abfurdities, fuch a jumble of incongruities, impoilibilities, bulls and anachronifms, never yet were com- preffed, by the human imagination, into the fame narrow compafs. I protradt this Letter beyond my ufual length, on purpofe to conclude my account of Bruges, and get once more upon the road. The Monaftery of the Carthufians, another Order of Friars, is of amazing fize, covering an extent of ground not much lefs than a mile in circum-erence. The Carmelites, another Order, have ( 39 ) have a Church here, in which there is raifed a beautiful monu- ment, to the memory of Henry Jermyn, Lord Dover, a Peer of England — But the Monaftery called the Dunes, a feO: of the Order of Saint Barnard, is by far the nobleft in the whole city : the cloifters and gardens are capacious andhandfome; the apartment of the Abbot is magnificent and flately, and thofe of the Monks themfelves unufually neat. Thofe poor mortified penitents, fe- cluded from the pomps, the vanities and enjoyments of life, and their thoughts, no doubt, refling alone on hereafter, keep, never- thelefs, a fumptuous table, fpread with every luxury of the feafon — have their country-feats, where they go a-hunting, or to refrefli themfelves, and aiSlually keep their own coaches. Among the Nunneries there are two Englifh : one of Au- guflinian Nuns, who are all ladies of quality, and who entertain Grangers at the grate with fweetmeats and wine; the other, called the Pelicans, is of a very UriQ: Order, and wear a coarfe drefs. To conclude — In the Chapel of Saint Basil is faid to be kept, in perfeft prefervation, the blood which Joseph of Are- methea wiped off with a fponge from the dead body of Christ. Flm's coronat opus. I fancy you have, by this time, had as much of miracles as you can well digefl: : I therefore leave you to refledt upon them^ and improve. LETTER ( 40 ) LETTER VIII. As I was going to the berque, at Bruges, to take my departure for Ghent, the next town in my route, I was furprifed to fee a number of officious, bufy, poor fellows, crowding round my efFedls, and feizing them — fome my trunk, fome my port- manteau, &c. I believe two or three to each : but my allonifliment partly fubiided when I was told that they were porters, who plied on the canal, and about the city, for fubfiftence, and only came to have the honour of carrying my baggage down to the veflel. Noting their eagernefs, I could not help fmiling. I know there are thofe, and I have heard of fuch, who would blufler at them : but my mirth at the buftling importance which the poor fellows aftedled, foon funk into ferious concern ; I faid within myfelf, " Alas, how hard mufl be your lot indeed!" and my imagination was in an inftant back again in London, where a porter often makes you pay for a job, not in money only, but in patience alfo, and where the furlinefs of independence fcowls upon his brow as he does your work. Every one of my men demanded a remuneration for his labour : one man could have ealily done the work of five — but ( 41' ) but I refolved not to fend them away difcontented: he is but a fordid churl that would ^ and I paid them to their full fatisfadtion. Here, my dear Frederick, let me offer you (fmce it occurs) my parental advice on this point — from the practice of which you will gain more folid felicity than you can poflibly be aware of now: never weigh fcrupuloufly the value of the work of the Poor; rather exceed than fall fhort of rewarding it: it is a very, xtvy fmall thing, that will put them in good humour with you and with themfelves, and relax the hard furrows of labour into the foft fmile of gratitude-— a fmile which, to a heart of fenfibility fuch as your's, will, ofitfelf, ten-thoufand-fold repay you, even though the frequent pradlice of it fhould abridge you of a few of thofe things called pleafures, or detradl a little from the weight of your purfe. Being again feated in my berque, I fet off for Ghent, a city lying at a diftance of twenty-four miles from Bruges. I mufl here remark to you, that the company one meets in thofe vefTels is not always of the firfl rank; it is generally of a mixed, motley kind : but to a man who carries along v/ith him, through his travels, a love for his fellow-creatures, and a defire to fee men, and their cuftoms and manners, it is both plealant and eligible — at leaftl thought it fo, and enjoyed it. There were thofe amongfl us who fpoke rather loftily on that fubjecl: I faid nothing; but it brought to my. mind a refleftion I have often had occafion to concur in, viz. that a faftidious uiurpation of dignity (happily F ' denominated ( 42 ) denominated ^ate/mefs) is the never-failing mark of an upftart or a blockhead. The man of true dignity, felf-eredl and ftrong,. needs not have recovirfe, for fupport, to the comparative wretch- ednefs of his fellow-creature, or plume himfelf upon fpurious fu- periority. You will underftand me, however ! When I fay, " the man of true dignity," I am far, very far, from meaning a lord, a fquire, a banker, or a general officer — I mean a man of intrinfic worth — homo emunftcc naris — one who, in every ftation into which chance may throw him, feels firm in the confcioufnefs of right — who can fee and cherifli merit, though enveloped and con- cealed behind a fhabby fuit of clothes — and who fcorns the blown- up fool of fortune, that, without fenfe or fentiment, without virtue, wifdom or courage, prefumes to call himfelf great, merely becaufe he pofTefres a few acres of earth which he had neither the induftry nor merit to earn, or becaufe his great-great-great-grandfather purchafed a title by perfidy to his Country, the plunder of his fel- low-citizens, or the flaughter of mankind. Although the face of that part of the Country through which we are now paffing, like that of the preceding flage from Oftend to Bruges, wants diverfity, it has its charms, and would be particu- larly delightful in the eye of an Englilh farmer ; for it is covered with the thickeft: verdure on each lide of the canal, and the banks are decorated all along by rows of ffcitely trees, while the fields in the back ground are cultivated to the highefl degree of per- fection, and bear the afped: of producing the mofl abundant harvefl.. You ( 43 ) You will be able to form a judgment of the trifling expence of travelling in this Country, from my expences in this flage of twenty-four miles. I had an excellent dinner for about fifteen pence of our money ; my paiTage coft me but fixteen more, amount- ing in all to two fliillings and feven pence : compare that with travelling in England, where one cannot rife up from an indifferent dinner, in an Inn, under five fliillings at the leaft, and you mull be afloniflied at tlie diiproportion. Ghent is the capital of Flanders, and is to be reckoned among the largeft cities of Europe, as it covers a fpace of ground of not lefs than (even miles in circumference. ; but there is not above one half of that occupied with buildings, the greater part being thrown into fields, gardens, orchards, and pleafure-grounds. Situated on four navigable rivers, and interfefted into no fewer than twenty-fix iflands by a number of canals, which afford an eafy, cheap and expeditious carriage for weighty merchandife, it may be confidered, in point of local advantages for commerce, fuperior to moft cities in Europe ; while thofc illands are again united by about a hundred bridges, fome great and fome fmall, which contribute much to the beauty of the city. To a man accuffomed to mould his thoughts by what he fees in Great Britain, the ftrong fortifications that fuiTound almoft all towns on the Continent convey the moft difagreeable fenfations — reminding him of the firft mifery of Mankind, War ! — denoting, alas ! too truly, the difpofition of Man to violate the rights of his F 2 fellov/- ( 44 ) feUow'-creatui'cs, aad manifefling the tyrannous abulc of power. On me, though trained and accuftomed to military habits, this " dreadful note of preparation" had an unpleafing effed: 3 for, though born, bred and habituated to the life of the Soldier, I find the feelings of the Citizen and the Man claim a paramount right to my heart. Ghent was once extremely well fortified, and calculated, by^ nature as well as by art, to repel encroachment. It had a very flrong caftle, walls and ditches ; and now, though not otherwife flrong, the country may, by ihutting up the fluices, be, for above a mile round, laid in a veiy fhort time under water. It was for- merly fo populous and powerful, that it declared war more than once againli its Sovereign, andraifed amazing armies. In the year 15S7, it fuffered dreadfully from all the ravages of famine, under which a number not lefs than three thoufand of its inhabitants perifhed in one week. This town is dillinguiflied by the nativity of two celebrated characters : one was the famous John of Gaunt, fon of King Ed- ward the Third of England j the other, the Emperor Charles the Fifth, who was born there in the year 1 500. It was in this city that the Confederation of the States, well known under the title of the Pacification of Ghent, which united the Provinces in the mofl lafting union of intereft and laws, was held : this union was chiefly owing to the vigorous, unre- mitted efforts of William the Fii-ft, Prince of Orange, to whofe ( 45 ) whofe valour and virtue may be attributed the independence of the United States, In this city there were computed to be fifty companies of Tradefmen, among whom were manufactured a variety of very curious and rich cloths, ftufrs, and filks : it is certain, that the woollen manufacture flouriflied here before it had made the fmalleft progrefs in England, whofe wool they then bought. There was alfo a good branch of linen manufaClure here, and a pretty briflc corn trade, for which it v/as locally well calculated. You will •bferve, once for all, that in fpeaking ef this Country, I generally ufe the paft tenfe j for, at prefent, they are utterly undone. Ghent was the See of a Billiop, who, like the Bifhop of Bruges, was Suffragan to the Archbifhop of Mechlin. Thus, in moil Chriftian Countries, are the intelleCls, the confciences, and the ca.Cn too, of the People, fhut up and hid from the light, by Prieft within Dean, and Dean within Bifhop — like a ring in the hand of a conjurer, box within box — till at iafh they are enveloped in the great receptacle of all deception, the capacious pocket of the Arch- bifl:iop. Let not fceptered Tyrants, their legions, their fcafFolds, and their fwords, bear all the infamy of the flavery of Mankind ! Opinion, opinion, under the management of fraud and impofture, is the engine that forges their fetters ! ! — Jansenius, from whom the Janfenifls took their name, was the firfl Bifliop of this place ; and the late Biihop, I think, may be reckoned the laft. The ( 46 ) The Municipal Government of this city is correft, and well calculated to fecure internal peace and order. The chief magi- ilrate is the High Bailiff; fubordinate to whom are Burgomafters, Echivins, and Counfellors. Ghent is not deficient in ftately edifices -, and, true to their lyftem, the Holy Fathers of the Church have their fliare, which, in old Popilh Countries, is at leaft nineteen twentieths. In the middle of the town is a high tower, called Belfort tower ; from whence there is a delightful profpedl over the whole city and its environs. Monafteries and Churches, there, are without number ; befidcs hofpitals and market-places : that called Friday's market, is the largeft of all, and is adorned with a iiatue of Charles the Fifth, in his imperial robes. The Stadthoufe is a magnifi- cent ftrufture — So is the Cathedral, under which the Reverend Fathers have built a fubterraneous Church. What deeds are thole which fliun the light ! Why thofe Holy Patriarchs have fuch a de- fire for burying themfelves, and working like moles under ground, they themfelves beft know, and I think it is not difficult for otliers to conjedlure. This Cathedral, however, is well worth attention, on account of fome capital piftures it contaiiis. The marble of the Church is remarkably fine, and the altar-piece fplendid beyond all polli- ble defcription ; and, indeed, in all the others, there are paintings, eminent for their own excellence, and for the celebrity of the mafters who painted them. In ( 47 ) 111 the Monaftery of St. Pierre, there is a grand library, filled with books in all languages ; but it is chiefly remarkable for the fuperlative beauty of its ceiling, one half of which was painted by Rubens. Thus you may perceive, my dear Frederick, the charity of. the Clergy ! — how, in pure pity for the fins of Mankind, and in paternal care of their fouls, they exad: from the Laity fome atone- ment for their crimes, and conftrain them at leafi: to repent — and,, with unparalleled magnanimity, take upon themfelves the vices, the gluttony, the avarice, and the fenfuality, of which they are fo careful to purge their fellow-creatures ! LETTER IX. Oaving given you a general outline of the city of Ghent, I fhall now proceed to give you an account of one of the moft excellent, and certainly the moft interefting, of all the cu- riofities in that place. It is indeed of a fort fo immediately cor- refpondent to the moft exalted fenfations of humanity, and fo peried:ly in unifon with the moft exquifitely fenfible chords of the feeling heart, that I refolved to refcue it from the common lumiber of ( 48 ) cf the place, and give it to you in a frefli Letter, when the ideas excited by my former might have faded away, and left your mind more clear for the reception of fuch refined impreffions. On one of the many bridges in Ghent fland two large brazen images of a father and fon, who obtained this diflinguiflied mark of the admiration of their fellow-citizens by the following in- cidents : Both the father and the fon were, for forae offence agaiafl: the State, condemned to die. Some favourable circumllanccs appearing on the fide of the fon, he was granted a remiiTion of liis fliare of the fentence, upon certain provifions — in fhort, he \\'as offered a pardon, on the moll criiel and barbarous condition tliat ever entered into the mind of even Monkifli barbarity, namely, that he would become the executioner of his fither ! He at firfl: refolutely refufed to preferve his life by means fo fatal and detell- able : This is not to be wondered at ; for I hope, for the honour of our nature, that there are but few, very few fons, who would not have fpurned, with abhorrence, life fuftained on conditions fo horrid, fo unnatural. The fon, though long inflexible, was at length overcome by the tears and entreaties of a fond father, wlio reprefented to him, that, at all events, his (the father's) life was forfeited, and that it would be the greatefl: poffible confolation to him, at his laft moments, to think, that in his death he was the inllrument of his fon's prefervation. The youth confented to adopt the horrible means of recovering his life and liberty : he lifted the axe; ( ^^9 ) axe; but, as it was about to fall, his arm funk nervelefs, and the axe dropped from his hand ! Had he as many lives as hairs, he would have yielded them all, one after the other, rather than again even conceive, much lefs perpetrate, fuch an aft. Life, liberty, every thing, vaniflied before the dearer interefts of filial afiedtion: he fell upon his father's neck, and, embracing him, triumphantly exclaimed, " My father, my father ! we will die to- gether!" and then called for another executioner to fulfil the fentence of the law. Hard muft be their hearts indeed, bereft of every fentim.ent of virtue, every fenfation of humanity, who could ftand infenlible fpedators of fuch afcene — A fudden peal of involuntary applaufes, mixed with groans and fighs, rent the air. The execution was fufpended; and on a fimple reprefentation of the tranfadlion, both were pardoned : high rewards and honours v/ere conferred on the fon; and finally, thofe two admirable brazen images were raifed, to commemorate a tranfadtion fo honourable to human nature, and tranfmit it for the inftruftion 'and emulation of pofte- rity. The flatue reprefents the fon in the very ad: of letting fall the axe. Lay this to your mind, my dear Frederick; talk over it to your brother; indulge all the charming fympathetic fenfa- tions it communicates : never let a miflaken fhame, or a falfe idea (which fome endeavour to imprefs) that it is unmanly to melt at the tale of woe, and fympathize with our fellow-creatures, G ftop ( ^'0 ) ilop the current of your fenfibility — no ! Be afTured, that, on the contrary, it is the true criterion of manhood and valour to feel; and that the more fympathetic and fenfible the heart is, the more nearly it is allied to the Divinity. I am now on the point of condudling you out of Auftrian Flan- ders — One town only, and that comparatively a fmall one, lying between Us and Brabant: the name of this town is Aloft, or, as •the Flemings fpell it, Aelft. From Ghent to Bruffels (the next great ftage in my way), I found, to my regret, that there was no conveyance by water : I therefore was obliged to go in a voiture, and ftopt at Aloft, as an intermediate ftage ; and mathematically intermediate it is — for it lies at equal diftance from Ghent and Bruffels, being exadlly fifteen miles from each. This is a fmall, but exceeding neat town, fituated on the river Dender ; and being a remarkably great thoroughfare, accommoda- tions of every kind are tolerably good in it. It would be idle to fuppofe, that Catholic zeal had left fo many fouls unprotefted and undifciplined, where there were fo many bodies capable of drudgery to pay for it. In truth, there has been as ample provilion made for the town of Aloft in the way of facerdotal bufinefs, as for any other town in the Netherlands — regard being had to its bulk i for there were feveral Convents of Friars, and of courfe feveral of Nuns : befides, there was a Jefuit's College of fome note. { SI ) note. How they all fare by this time, it is difficult for me to de- termine. The Church of Saint Martin could boaft of fome excellent pidlures, particularly a mofl capital piece, " La Pejie," by Rubens. In a Convent inhabited by a fet of Monks, denominated Gu- lielmite, I faw the tomb of Thierry Martin, who firfl brought the art of Printing from Germany to that place. His name and fame are tranfmitted to us by an epitaph upon his tomb, written by his friend, the ingenious Erasmus. This tomb of Thierry Martin ftands a monument, not only of his merit, but of the fhort-fightednefs and folly even of Monks. Alas, filly men ! they little knew, that when they granted Thierry Martin the honours of the Convent, they were har- bouring, in their hallowed ground, one of their greateft enemies, and commemorating the man who was contributing to the over- throw of their facred Order: for the art of Printing, wherever it reached, illuminated the human mind, and firfl kindled up that light, before which Prieftcraft, and all its pious impoftures, like evil fpedtres, have vanifhed. To the art of Printing is human fo- ciety indebted for many of the advantages which it pofTefTes be- yond the brute or favage tribes — for the perfection of arts, the extenfion of fcience, the general enlargement of the mind, and, above all, for the emancipation of perfon and property from the fhackles of defpotifm, and of the human intelled: from the fet- G 2 ters C ^2 ) ters of blindnefs and ignorance with which facerdotal fi-aud liad chained it for centuries to the earth. The territory of this City is of pretty large extent>and is called a County, having, in ancient times, had Counts of its own ; and the whole of it is extremely fruitful in paflure, corn, loops, flax, and moft other produftions of thofe climes. I made but a very fhort flay at Aloft, when I proceeded on to Bruffels ; and, having thus brought you through that part of the Netherlands called Auftrian Flanders, I think I ought to give you a general account of the Country at large, as I have hitherto cbnfined myfelf merely to the cities and towns of it; but as this Letter is already of a length that will not allow of any great addi- tion, I Ihall poftpone my intended defcription to my next- LETTER X. VV ERE Mankind to be guided by moderation, reafon, andjuftice — were there no luft for territory in particular States — no ambition or defire in Kings for an undue enlargement of their power — no unjuftifiable infradlions attempted by one State or Po- tentate upon the peace and poflellion of another — no Armies to carry ( ^3 ) carry defolation and plunder through the world, nor Church- men more mild, but not more moderate, to drain them with their fubtle deceptions — were the hulbandman, the fiflierman,. the manufadburer, and the labourer, permitted to make, by their induflry, the befl ufe of the foil on v/hich chance or nature had planted them, and to lift the fruits of their labour to their own lips — no people were more happy than the inhabitants of Au- ftrian Flanders. This Country?' is bounded, to the North, by the Scheldt ; to the North-weft, by the Northern Sea; to the South, and South- weft,. hy Artois, one of the fineft Provinces of France j and to the Eaft,. by Brabant. Its greateft length is feventy-five miles ; and its greateft breadth, fifty-five. The air is good ; but it is faid to be better in proportion as it recedes from the fea.. The Winters are- fometimes long and fevere, and the Summers fometimes wet and - fultry ; yet, in general, the climate is agreeable. The foil is in moft parts fertile, and in fome to a degree equal to that of any part of Europe. It is chiefly famous for its pafturage ; in confequence of which, great numbers of black cattle, horfes and flieep, are- bred in it, aj:id immenfe quantities of butter and cheefe made.. It is, befides, abundantly produdlive of all forts of culinary vege- tables — fruit in great, quantities — corn and flax, which laft is not only raifed in great plenty, but is celebrated for the finenefs andfti-ength of its ftaple. It is true, that in fome parts they have, not corn fuificient for theinhabitants ;,but.this is well recompenfed by ( ^^ ) by other produdtions, with the redundance of which they purchafc the fuperiiuous grain of their neighbours — for, where the inha- bitants do follow tillage, the produce is unequalled, and the fuper- fluity muft of courfe be great. The fuperior fecundity of the Iheep of this Country is very remarkable, and difficult, perhaps, to be accounted for — a ewe here bringing forth conflantly three lambs at a birth, fometimes four, fometimes five, and fame have been known to produce as many as fix and feven — no fmall inftance of the prodigality of Nature in providing for this fpot. At fome diftance from the fea-coaft, the face of the Country is decorated with a profufion of v/ood, fitted either for timber or for fuel J and towards the coaft, where Nature has been rather niggard of that blefling, the inhabitants fubflitute, in its ftead, for fuel, a kind of turf, which they find at the depth of four or five ieet from the furface of the earth, and which makes a fire, not only cheerful, pleafant and hot, but remarkably wholefome, being free from the deflruftive fulphureous and bituminous vapour at- tendant upon coal. Perhaps no part of the world is better fupplied than this Pro- vince with all forts of filh, as well thofe of fea as frefli. water : fowl and venifon were extremely plenty and reafonable ; and a great •deal of excellent beer was brewed in it. It is waflied by feveral rivers, four of which are noble flreams, namely, the Scheldt, the Lys, ( ^3 ) Lys, the Scarpa, and the Dender ; and there are feveral canals^ the chief of which is that between Bruges and Ghent. Thus, in whatever way it be confidered. Nature feems to have made ample provifion for the happinefs of the People : how far they are fo, you Ihall hear when I come to give a general view of the Netherlands— that which is applicable to Auftrian Flanders being equally fo to all the other parts of the Netherlands, except- ing thofe under the dominion of the Republic of the United States. The States ot this Country, according to the Conftitution it once poffefTed, confifts of the Clergy, the Nobility, and the Com- moners. The Clergy were the Bifhops and Abbots : the Nobility was compofed of certain families holding hereditary Offices or Ba- ronies, to which that privilege was annexed ; and the Commoners were made up of the Burgomafters, Penlioners and Deputies of the Cities and Diflridls. But the only religion profeffed or tolerated in this Country, was the Roman Catholic. Of the People of Auftrian Flanders, a celebrated Author gives the following account, which I tranfcribe for your ufe, the rather as my ftay there was too fliort to enable me to make any material obfervations on them, or their manners. — " With refped: to the perfons and characters of the inhabitants," fays he, " they are, generally fpeaking, lufty, fat, and clumfy — " very induftrious, both in cultivating their lands, and in their " trades and manufactures — lovers of Liberty, and enemies to " Slavery — and not defcdive in good fenfe or judgment, though " tliey { S6 ) " they have not fo lively an imagination as fome other Nations, " Their women are fair, handfome enough, and honeft by their " natural conftitution, as well as from a principle of virtue : as " they cannot pretend to wit and repartee, they do not make " themfelves ridiculous by the naufeous afFedtation of them. Both *' fexes are great lovers of public diverfions j and every city, town, " and village, have their kermifles, or fairs, in which all forts of " iliews are exhibited." Many arts which now enrich other Nations, and the import- ance of which has excited contefts and ftrug^les of the moft ferious kind in the political world, were invented or improved in that Country. Weaving, in general, though not invented, was greatly improved ; and the art of forming figures of all forts in linen was firft invented there. To the Flemings we are alfo indebted for the arts of curing herrings, dying cloths and fluffs, and oil-colours. But thofe arts, and the manufadures, have gradually Hid away from them, and left but a fmall fliare behind, when compared with their former flourifliing flate : they have flown to a Land of Li- berty and Security, where hoftile feet never tread, where Slavery corrupteth not, where War devoureth not, nor Priefts nor Defpots break in and ftcal. Neverthelefs, filk, cotton and woollen fluffs, brocades, camblets, tapeilr}', linen, and lace, are fhill manufadlured here to fome fmall extent. This Province had Counts of its own, from the ninth century up to the year 1 369, when it was made over, by marriage (like a farm ( ^7 ) a farm of cattle) to the Dukes of Burgundy ; and afterwards, again, was by them made over, in like way of marriage, to the Houfe of Auftria. In 1667, France feized the Southern part; and the States General obtained, the Northern, partly by the Treaty of Munfter, and partly by the Barrier Treaty of 171 5. To reckon upon the natural endowments of this Country, one would fuppofe that it fhould be a terreflrial paradife : yet fuch is the wickednefs of Man, and the outrageous fpirit of Power, that it is almoft the laft Country in Europe in which I would have pro- perty, and fix a permanent reiidence. Juft now, while I am writ-^ ing, Ihave before me an account, that the French, to whom they opened their gates, have plundered them to the laftatom of their moveable poffeffions ; and that the property of the unfortunate people is now in waggons, on its way to Paris. Once more, my boy, I fay, blefs your God, that planted you in a Country cheered by the voice of Freedom, defended by Britiih Valour, and, what is of more confequence, furrounded by the. Ocean. H LETTER C ^8 ) LETTER XI. iriAViNG condudled you through that part of the Ne- therlands called Auftrian Flanders, we are now to diredl: our at- tention to that called Auftrian Brabant, of which part, as well as of the Netherlands in general, Bruflels, where I arrived the fame day I left Ghent, is the capital, giving its name to a quarter or territory that furrounds it. In all parts of the Netherlands through which I travelled, I could not help admiring the uniform decorations of the roads, rivers and canals, with rows of lofty trees, which form a moft agreeable fhade from the Summer's burning fun, and yet do not obftrud: any great extent of profpeft, the Country is fo extremely flat. And one thing I remarked, and which certainly feems at firft view extraordinar}^ is, that in the great extent of Country through which we have hitherto paffed, from Oftend to Brulfels, being lixty-eight miles, I fcarce faw one Nobleman or Gentleman's feat — nothing above the houfe of a hufbandman, a curate, or fome perfon of fmall fortune : and yet the Country is extremely rich ; and I faw many fpots, as I went along, charming beyond defcription. C ^9 ) defcription, and fuch as would tempt, I fliould think, a man of tafte and opulence to fettle in them. This muft appear unac- countable to thofe who do not recolledt, that in a Country fubjedt like this to the ravaging incuriions of contending armies, fortified towns are confidered as the moft pleafing, becaufe the moft fecure retreats of opulence. As I approached the city of Bruffels, I was flruck with a mixed fenfation of furprife and delight at the appearance it made — none that I had ever feen being comparable to it, and not one in Europe, by the account of travellers, being in that refpedt fu- perior to it, Naples and Genoa only excepted: like them, however, it, when entered, falls far fliort of the expedlation raifed by its external appearance, being all compofed of hills and hollows> which not only fatigue, but render the appearance of the ftreets, though well built, contemptible and mean. Bruffels flands on the beautilul little river Senne, on the brow ef a hill. The city is about feven miles in circumference, has feven gates, with extenfive fuburbs, and is encompaffed with a double wall made of brick, and ditches j but its fize is too great for flrength, as a face of defence of fuch extent could not poflibly hold out a long fiege — a great and infuperable defed: in fuch a. country as I have defcribed. Great as is the extent of ground on which this city flands, it is neverthelefs very well built, and extremely populous. It is ornamented with no fewer than feven fquares, all of them remark- H 2- ably ( eo ) ably fine, particularly the great fqvtare or market-place, which is reckoned to be perhaps the finefi: in Europe. Around it are the halls of the different trades, the fronts of which are adorned, in a fuperb manner, with emblematical fculpture, with gilding, and a variety of Latin infcriptions. One quarter of this fquare is entirely occu- pied by the town-houfes, a noble pile of building, in which there were apartments where the States of Brabant met, finely adorned with tapeftry in gilt firames, and fome admirable original paint- Ligs. At the time I was there, the whole city was in motion, preparing for the Inauguration of the Emperor, who was thea impatiently expedted, and whofe approach made fuch a buflle, and promifed fuch a fpedtacle, as made me regret the neceflity I lay under of proceeding on my journey. The town-houfe was put into the higheft order, and fubfequently fell a facrifice to the great and important event for which it was prepared. The fteeple of this building is of a moft flupendous height — three hundred and fixty-four feet j and on the top of it is eredted a ftatue of Saint Michael kilUng the Dragon, of the enormous height of feventeen feet : this Coloflal ftatue is fo conftrud:ed as to ferve for a weather-cock ; and being made of copper, well gilt, is at once confpicuous, magnificent, and ornamental. The public buildings of Bruflels, particularly the Palaces and Courts of the feveral Princes, Counts, and other perfons of diftinc- tion, (and, you may be fure, the Churches and Cloiilers too), are fpacious, expenfive, and magnificent. Behind the Imperial Palace, which ( 61 ) which flood in the higheft part of the city, but was burnt down many years ago, is a park, well ftocked with deer, and planted with trees, like St. James's-park at London, for the inhabitants to walk in. At the farther end of it is a fine pleafure-houfe, built by the Emperor Charles the Fifth, after his abdication. The Palace is a magnificent ftrudure : the rooms of it are finifhed in a ftyle far fuperior to thofe of any Palace in England, and enriched with many fine paintings : that of the Family of Hector, in the Council Chamber, lays claim to the firft rank of eminence. Of the other buildings (the grandeur of which en- title them to the names of Palaces), thofe of the Prince de la Tour and Taxis, and the Britifli Earl of Aylefbury, are diftin- guifhed by great beauty and magnificence. Indeed, in all the Palaces, there are colle arc ( 62 ) are ihewn : I could fee nothing either novel or interefting in them a ftrong mark, I prefume, of my want of tafte ; but I confefs my organs are not fo refined as to feel any extraordinary emotions at the fight of a heap of inert matter, merely becaufe it once en- veloped the carcafe of a Tyrant : neither were they fo very coarfe or dull as not. to undergo very pointed fenfations at the fight of the armour of Montezuma, the injured Emperor of Mexico, the victim of avarice and rapine, under their ufual mafic, religion. Why Montezuma's armour fiiould make a part of the trophies of a Popifii State, and be triumphantly exhibited, is hard to account for in human folly : why that ftiould be exhibited which is a fi:ain of the deepefii-damned black, in their black code of faith, is afi:o- nifliing, unlefs we allow the truth of the old faying, " Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementatj" and that, after having violated every principle of virtue, morality, and human feeling — after having furpafi*ed in cruelty all that we know of the worfi: mon- fters of the earth, or of the deep, the fell hyena, or the ravening fliark — after having fuccefsfuUy emulated the worfi: efix)rts of the mofi: malignant fpirits that are faid to hold counfel for the ruin of Mankind in Hell— they were defirous to tranfmit the fpoils of their ravages to pofi:erity, to tell them what glorious things have been achieved in days of yore, for the love of Christ — to de- monilrate what benefits are to be derived from a religion which has, for fo many hundred years, given fanftion to every enormity that ftrikes the foul of Man with horror, and thereby to make converts ( 63 ) converts to their principles. Monfters ! fools ! Away with your idle cants, ye hypocrites, who would brand the cruelties of the prefent days, the maflacres of the Jacobins, with the crime of infidelity, and attribute thofe much lamented defeftions from hu- manity to a falling off from the Chriftian Faith. Look to Mexico ! — fee a monfter, a HighPriefl: of your religion, collecting, by fair promifes and fweet perfuafion, a people round him ; and, when a plain was filled, commanding his bloodhounds, armed with fword and crucifix, to fall upon and murder them — becaufe one poor creature, who knew not what a book meant, had accidentally dropped a bible from his hands ! — fee him not fparing age or fex, but butchering all, for the love of Christ !— When have the deluded and enfrenzied mob of France perpetrated, in the full torrent of popular frenzy, fuch atrocities as this cruel Prieft: com- mitted in cold blood ? when have they hunted down their fellowT creatures, maffacred children, and given their yet panting mem- bers to their dogs for food, as pious Chriftians, headed by a pious Prieft, have done in Mexico? Never! never ! —Learn wifdom, then, ye hypocrites ! and if you cannot convince your enemies by rea- fon, or conquer them by force, and if their predatory and wicked progrefs is not to be flopped, do not fandify their enormities, or palliate their crimes, in the eye of reafon, by a comparifon with thofe of a deeper 4ye;*. T^niember, that " not to be the worft.ftands infome rank of praife," and that the Jacobin cruelties of Paris, horrible though they were, were pity and tender mercy, compared ' with { 6* ) with the CSiriftian butdiery in Mexico, in Europe, in Alia, in every place where Popery ever fet its bloody hoof. You are not, from what I fay, to infer that I entertain any illiberal animofity to Popery, as many men, and more women, do, merely becciufe its articles of Faith differ from thofe in which I was bred ; I f ruft my heart and underftanding are above fuch very degrading prejudices : but I abhor every thing that militates againft human happinefs— every thing that crufhes the operations of in-r telledt— every thing that flops the current of opinion, and pre- vents its courfe from enlarging and meliorating our condition : I dshor the impertinent and hypocritical intrufion of all Churchmen upon national or domeftic concerns j the more, when that in- trufion is mifchievous ; and more ftill, when it aflumes the mafic of piety — for that is at once a fraud upon Man and an abufe of God. All thofe caufes of abhorrence attach, more or lefs, to all fe£ts of the Chriflian Religion, the Quakers only excepted — but to Popery rather more than to any of the others ; for it is obferved» that while the very firfl principles of Chriflianity, as originally laid down in theory, are peace and good- will towards men, war- fare, perfecution and Woodihed, have pradlically marked its foot- ftcps wherever it has trod, and its very efTence been perverted by its own Miniflers, who, entrufled with the key of the Temple, ileal the veflments from the altar, to cover the deformed, crooked back of vice. But the rays of dawning reafon now break with fuller light upon Mankind j and it hallens to meridian refplendence, before i 65 ) before which thofe phantoms raifed by pious jugglers will vanilh, and, " like the bafelefs fabric of a vifion, leave not a wreck behind." LETTER XII. In the Arfenal of Bruffels was another curiofity, which I overlooked in my laft — a model of a cannon, conftrudled fo as to throw feven balls at once. It is fome confolation to philanthropy to refledi, that of all the abominable engines and inftruments which the inventive faculties of Man have difcovered to increafe the cruelty and carnage of war, not one has been of late times adopted. This model lies here, therefore, only as a memorial of the diabolical genius of the inventor. The Opera-houfe of Bruffels, accounted the noblefl and largefl in Europe, is built after the Italian manner, with rows of lodges or clofets, in moll: of which are chimneys. One of thofe, which be- longed to a Prince, whofe title I now forget, was hung with look- ing-glaffes, in which, while he fat by the fire, took refreshments, or reclined on his couch, he could iee the whole reprefentation, without being expofed to the view of either the adtors or the audience. I The ( GG ) The markets of Brufi'els are very remarkable. Tiie Dukes of St. Pierre paid no lefs than forty thoufiind florins, or upwards of three thouiand pounds flerling, for four pictures of them, painted by Rubens and Synder — Lewis the Fourteenth of France offered an immenfe fum of money for them ; but they found, their way at laft into the colleiSion of the Britifh Earl of Orford. The value of them is faid, by connoiffeurs, to be beyond computation. Bruflels is extremely well fupplied with water; for, befides the river, it has twenty public fountains, adorned with ftatues, at the corners of the mod public ilreets ; and the lower part of the city is cut into canals, which communicate with the great one, extending from Bruffels to the Scheldt, fifteen miles : by means of this canal, which was finifhed in 1561, and cofl: the city eight hundred thoufand florins, aperfon may fail from Bruflels to the North Sea ; and barques do actually go twice a day to Ant- werp, and back again. This city is full of Churches, of which the mofl; remarkable is that of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, commonly called the Cathedral. It is a fuperb, old Gothic ftruclure, and, from its cele- brated fituation, a moft beautiful ornament to the city. It is not only grand in its external appearance, but finely adorned withim The pillars which fupport the roof are lofty and elegant : and againft each is a fl:atue of ten feet in height. There are no lefs than fixteen Chapels in it ; and each Chapel is enriched with abundance of fplendid ornaments, altar finery, candleflicks, cru- cifixes. ( 67 ) cifixes, &c. and with fonie excellent pidlures too : a pidlure of Jesus Christ prefenting the keys of Paradife to Saint Peter, which is reckoned among the chef-d'oeuvres of Rubens, hangs in one of thofe Chapels. There are feme monuments, alfo, of very great merit, in the choir of this Church. But that which I think by far the greatefl and moft admirable curiolity (I mean of human workmanfliip) in the Church, is a pulpit — one of the richefl and moft exquifitely wrought pieces I have ever feen : at the bottom are feen Adam and Eve as large as life, reprefented as at the moment when the Angel drove them out of Paradife : in both of their faces are deeply and expreflively marked the traits of a mindagonifed with anguilh and remorfe : behind Eve is a figure of Death, which follows them j and on the top of the pulpit are. feen the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary crufli- ing the head of the Serpent. The ftrong exprelTions in the faces of all thofe figures, and the exquifite turn of the workmanfliip, is the more remarkable, as it is all cut out of oak wood. Of fupernatural curiofities, one of the Chapels in this Cathe- dral contains fome, that, for miracle, yield to none in the long catalogue of Monkifli devices. Three hofts or wafers are daily worfhipped by the People ; which hofls or wafers, the Priefts firmly affert, and the People as firmly believe, were, fo long ago as the year 1369, flabbed by a Jew, and bled profufely. They are expofed on every feftlval, in a chalice richly fet with dia- monds ; and on the firfl Sunday after every thirteenth of July, I 2 there { GS ) there is a yearly proceffion in memory of this ilabbing and bleed- ing, when the hofts are carried in great ftate round the city, em- bellilhed with all manner of precious ftones, and attended by all the Clergy, fecular and regular, the Magiftrates, the Courts of Juftice, and even by the Governor of the Province : the Chapel where they are kept is of marhle, and the altai- of fohd filver. Great God ! what an opprobrium to the human underftanding, that, at the time when the mind of Man is fuliiciently enlightened to avoid the weaknefs of fhameful credulity, a whole People fliould ftoop to fuch extravagant impofition ! what a fhame to juftice and honefty, that thofe who are trufted to guard the rights of a People, and who certainly are too well informed to yield their belief to fuch trafli, fhould yet join in, and give the weight of their autho- rity to fo grofs, fo wicked a deception on a Community ! The Ma- giftrates, the Courts of Juftice, and the Governor — they walk, too, in company with the bald-pated impoftors — Good God ! can more be faid ? volumes of comment could not elucidate or render it more confpicuoully abfurd than the bare recital of the fadl itfelf. It is impoftible for me to recount to you the number of Nun- neries, of various Orders, in which unfortunate women were cloi- ftered up, fome from bigotry, and others by force, in this city. There were, however, two of them Enghfti — one of Dominicarr Ladies, founded by Cardinal Howard, in the reign of Charles the Second, of which a Lady of the Noble Houfe of Norfolk was always ( 69 ) always Abbefs : the other is of Benedidline Nuns ; the Beguinage of the latter is like a little town, furrounded with a wall and ditch, and divided into pretty little ftreets, where every Beguine has her apartment ; the number of them amounts in general to feven or eight hundred, lometimes more. If population he the true ftrength of a Nation, this part of Popery is very impolitic. The fucceffion of women in this one Convent fince the rei^n of Charles the Second, muft amount to many thoufands. Had thofe been married, and, on an average,, had only two children each, with the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, down to the prefent day, in all the ramifi- cations of defcent, there is not a doubt but their number v/ould equal that of the whole people of fome extenfive Provinces. What, then, muft be the lofs to the population of the earth, arifing from the celibacy of fo many millions af males and females as have been configned to fterility in the Catholic Countries, ever fince that extraordinary doftrine came firfl into fafhion ? It is out of the reack of calculation : not but, now and then, they may have children — indeed they certainly have ; but thofe are generally difpofed of in a way not to bring lliame on the frail Sifterhood, or their Con- feffors. In wading through fuch a torrent of offenfive ideas as the in- numerable abfurdities and deceptions of Popilh Countries conti- nually raife in the mind, it is a pleafing circumftance to be relieved by the contemplation of fome really ufeful, humane inftitution i. and ( '0 ) and luch a one prefents itfelf now to my recolledlion : At Bmflels, and, I am told, at all great towns of the Netherlands, there is a public office for lending money at a very moderate interefl upon pledges : it is called the Mount of Piety ; and was eflabliflied nearly io8 years ago by the Archduke Albert, and Isabella, his wife. By this inftitution, the Poor are faved from the fleecings and frauds of Pawnbrokers : and, to render it fiill more perfedt in accommodation, there are private paflages for entrance ; fo that thofe who would wilh to conceal their necelTities, are exempted from the mortification of being feen publicly going in, or coming out. You have read, I prefume, that in the days of Heathenifm, the Deities of that curious Mythology were fuppofed to rejoice in the number Three. The Popilh Code has fixed upon Seven as the lucky number. Thus they have feven facraments, {even deadly fins, &c. &c. Bruflels has improved upon that; and, tak- ing the hint from their blefied Liturgy, has feven grand flreets; feven parifh-churches ; feven Patrician families, out of which the Ma- giftrates are or were eledled; feven large fquares; feven midwives, licenfed and fworn by the Senate ; and feven gates, leading to feven places of recreation and exercife, one to a place proper for fowl- ing, a fecond to a place for filhing, a third to one for hunting, a fourth to pleafant fields, a fifth to paftime grounds, a fixtli to fprings and vineyards, and a feventh to gardens. Befides all which fevens, they boafl of having once had the great good fortune of ( -1 ) of entertaining, at one time, feven Crowned Heads, with feven thoufand horfe belonging to their retinue. If there were any fpell in the number Seven, the People of Bruflels furely muft have been fecure from all mifchief j but the' Sans-culottes have broken the- charm, difperfed the necromancers, and lowered poor number Seven to its mere arithmetical value. The Inns, or eating-houfes, in this city, were equal to any in the world : a ftranger might dine there better and cheaper than in any place, perhaps, on earth. The wines, alfo, were excellent and cheap J and coach-hire beyond expedlation reafonable — And here I rccolledt to remark to you, that, all the way from Oftend to Bruflels, one is obliged to fit, dine, &c. in bed-chambers ; a circumflance which is extremely difcordant to the feelings of thofe who have been ufed to Britifli Inns, although the bed-chambers are, to fay the truths large and commodious. At the very walls of Bruflels begins the famous wood of Sogne, from which the inhabitants were allowed to cut wood for fuel : as fafl: as the trees were cut down, frefii ones were planted in their ftead ; by which means the wood was preferved,. and it aiforded a continual fupply to the Poor. Bruflels is fo very remarkable a place, that I have taken more than my ufual fcope of defcription of it. Jull: as I had finiflied it, I read a paragraph in the public papers, flating that it is likely to be annexed to the territories of the French Republic. LETTER i '2 ) LETTER XIII. Hitherto, as I have proceeded on my travels, I liave been purpofely very particular in my defcriptions of the towns through which I paffed on my way to India, in order to give vour mind a difpofition to inquiry, and point out to you an over- flowing fource of improvement and delight. Having fo far fhewn you how amply you will be rewarded, even in amufement, by the trouble of fearching into books, for the accurate topographical defcriptions of towns, cities, building, &c. &c. I think I may fpare myfelf that labour for the future, and confine myfelf to thofe points that more immediately apply to the enlargement of the mind — I mean, the government, laws, manners and character of the People of each Country ; and only ufe the former as fubfer- vient to the latter purpofe, at leaft until I come to thofe places where, the ground being but little trodden by Britifli feet, mor6 precife defcription may become necefTary. But, before I leave the Netherlands, I mufl: make a few re- marks upon the Country and People, which it would be unpardon- able in me to omit, after having been already fo minutely par- ticular in things of inferior merit to the fcope of my plan. Altliough ( -3 ) Although perlbnal appearance be, in the eye of Moral Philofo- phy, a very inferior confideration, and mind the proper ftuHy of Man; yet, in defcribing a People, I cannot think it altogether unnecefTary to include their perfonal appearance, as it will be found that there exifts a greater analogy between the perfon and the mind of Man than is genei'ally perceived. Thus the lively hilarity, fche reftlefs activity, the levity and fantaftic charafter of the French, are ftrongly pourtrayed in the national perfon. In like manner, the lufty, fat, clumfy and misfliapen perfon of the People of the Netherlands, is ftrongly illuftrative of the temper and habit of their mind, intellecls and fpirits : induflrious and heavy ; dull of underftanding, but not defedive in judgment ; flow in v.-ork — but, perfevering in effort, and unerring in the procefs, they are generally fuccefsful in the end: in war, cold and backv/ard at offenlive operations, but inflexible and terrible in refulance; like the boar of the forefl:, they feek not the combat with any, but will not go out of their way to decline it with the mofl: powerful : their appetites and deflxes cooler than other Nations, but lefs fub- jecfl to change or caprice : never violently in love, but rationally attached to their wives ; and both men and women faithful to their conjugal vow, as well from natural temperament, as from a prin- ciple of virtue. Thus confliituted by Nature, the effedls of their induftry are wonderful in every thing, but chiefly in their canals and fluices, which ferve not only for the fupport of their commerce, and the K facility ( 74 ) £iciiity of intercourfe, but for their defence againft enemies : this was in other times; but, alas! the former of thefe ufes, commerce, has fo entirely abforbed all their intelleft, and pofieffed their very fouls, that they feem almoft entirely negligent of the latter ; and from being, of all People, the moft wife and vigilant in determining and afcertaining their rights, the mofl zealous aiferters and defen- ders of their independence, the mofl ardent friends to Liberty, and the mofh determined enemies to Slavery, they are become a fort of ftrange, inconfiftent, hotch-potch politicians, whom ingenuity itfelf would find a difficulty in defcribing. They retain fo much of their ancient and noble vigilance as ferves to make them fufpi- cious — fo much of their independence as difpofes them to change — lb much of their jealoufy as ftimulates them to refift- ance — but not one particle of their former wifdom, to inftrud: them where they flieuld attach themfelves, where refift, or where refolve to adl — nor of their courage to carry any refolution they might form into effedt. In the year 178 1, the Emperor Joseph the Second came to Bruflels, in order to indulge his paternal feelings as a Monarch with the contemplation and view of his Subjedls, and alfo to be inaugurated; and perhaps upon no occalion that has ever occurred in the moft volatile Nation, was there greater joy more univer- fally expreifed. For fome time before his arrival, the whole Country was in motion; and, even with them, domeftic induftry ftopped its ufual perfevering pace, fufpended in the eager, anxious expedlation, ( 75 ) expedatlon of his arrival. Every thing in the birth, education, natural difpofition and perfon of the young Emperor, united to imprefs his Subjects with the mofl: exalted opinion of his goodnefs, and to infpire all ranks of people with the moil; fortunate prefages of a wife and beneficent government. Nor did he difappoint them : his condudt, when among them, is handed over to remem- brance, by a variety of aits of benevolence and condefcenfion, which fhewed that the grandeur of the Monarch had not made him forget the nature of the Man, and that his heart was better fitted for the mild, domeftic enjoyments of a Subjed:, than the ftern and unbending hardihood fit for a King : for I am perfedlly of opinion with the celebrated Junius, that there are virtues in a private Man which are vices in a King ; and that the Monarch of a Coun- try, in order to preferve refpedl, iliould avoid familiarity, and keep his perfon facred from too general obfervation. Shakspeare has put into the mouth of his Henry the Fourth, a beautiful ex- preffion on this fubjeft, well worth the attention of Kings— " Had I fo lavifli of my prefence been, *' So common hackney'd in the eyes of men, " Opinion, that did help me to the Crown, " Had ftill kept loyal to poffeflion, " And left me in reputelefs banifliment, " A fellow of no maVk, nor likelihood. *' By being feldom feen, I could not ftir, " But, like a comet, I was wonder'd at: " That men would tell their children, This is he," K 2 Of ( 'G ) Of the number I have heard, I will mention one anecdote only, and one remarkable exprelTion of Joseph's, which will ferve to fhew in its true light what his difpofition was; and when you conlider them as the adt and fentiment of a young man nurfed in the lap of defpotifm and pride, you cannot but confider them as marvellous. In his journey to the Low Countries, he vifited Wurtzaurg; and, in his perambulating alone and incog, flopped at a little public-houfe, where the people were bulily employed in enter- taining themfelves : he went in, and inquired why they were fo merry — " Sir," faid one of the country people, " we are cele- brating a marriage." " May I be permitted to join the com- pany?" faid the difguifed Emperor. The hofl obtained that per- million for him. When he entered the room, the married couple were prefented to him, and he received them with great gaiety, fat down, drank their health, and, having informedhimfelf of their fituation, took leave of the company: but what was their aftonifh- ment, when, on lifting up a bottle of wdne, they found a draft for fix hundred florins, figned Joseph, and payable for the ufe of the married couple ! At Luxembourg, when the People called aloud on Heaven to fhower down bleffings on him for his affability, he made ufe of this remarkable expreflion, while his feelings moiflened liis eyes : " I wifh I could make you as happy in my care, as I am in your affec- tion!" The ( 77 ) The aifability of Monarchs has often been magnified by the foolifh, and often blamed by the wife : But, if all the inflances of condefcenfion pradiled by Kings were like that I have recited of Joseph ; if they arofe from a found, unqueftionable fpirit of philanthropy, not from gaping curiofity, broad folly, or a puerile inquiiitive habit; and if, inftead of conceiving thofe they vifit paid for their intrufion with the honour of having converfed with Majefty, and leaving them churlifhly, they would generoufly pay them with hard cafh, as the good Emperor Joseph did; then, indeed, their affability might defy the exaggeration of fools, and muft certainly command the applaufe of the wife. On the 13 th of July, the ceremony of Inauguration took place at Bruffels. Nothing could equal the fplendour of the place but the general joy of the People : the crowds were beyond all conception immenfe, and every thing was carried on with regu- larity till evening, when, in playing off fome fire-works, that noble building the town-houfe took fire, and was burnt : fix unfortunate perfons loft their lives, and twenty were dangeroufly hurted : thofe who perifhed were abfolutely roafted, and their cries were beyond defcription piercing. To fuch a temperas Joseph's,. you will readily conclude that this muft be a moft afflidting cir- cumftance — it was fo j and he left Bruffels under the preffure of very different feelings from thofe with which he entered it, and was followed by the prayers and blelling of all the People. But ( '8 ) But now we are to view the reverfe of the medal. The found of their prayers for his welfare, and pralfes of his goodnefs, had hardly died away upon their lips, ere their minds turned to revolt and rebellion. I will not fay that they were not right in one or other, or which of thofe two extremes : certainly they could not be right in both; much lefs can their fubfequent condudl be juf- tiiied, or accounted for, in any principle of human nature, but that of the moil abjedl meannefs, daftardly feeblenefs, and grofs folly. They returned to their allegiance, and befought forgivenefs : that forgivenefs was granted. How they have behaved fince, I have already informed you, (See Letter IV.) ; and I have now to add, that, pillaged by the French, and likely to be left unprotedled, they have again held their necks out, foliciting the protection and the yoke of Auftria, and have ad:ually offered to raife 1 00,000 men for the Emperor, ^he will again drive the French out of their terri- tories — An excellent word that if ! How a People, once formed for manly pith and love of Free- dom, could bend fo low, is unaccountable. It is a queftion hard to be determined, whether an obitinatc adlierence even to a bad caufe, is not more refpedtable, than a fickle, alternate derelidiion, and adoption of right and wrong, as it fuits the caprice or conve- nience of the moment ? Of two things lb very contemptible, I jthink the former the leafl odious and leaffc unmanly. At the fame tim.e, my obfervations on the Country led me to conceive, that under the name of Freedom, they groaned under the ( 79 ) the yoke of Tyranny ; for, though the Country was, as I have de- fcribed it, charming, its fecundity unfurpaffed, its face decorated with the be;t gifts of Providence — I mean, fmiling fields and bleating plains — though Ceres profufely repaid the labours of the hufbandman, though every field had the appearance of a garden,, and though, upon inquiry, I found that land which would bring in England five pounds an acre, rented at eight, nine and ten {hil- lings of our money at mod — yet, in fpite of all this, the farmers were rather poor in general — not even one of them to be found rich or fubftantial, like the middle rank of that clafs of men in England. They wanted the great ftimulus to induftry — fecurity of their property : they were liable to be turned out by their land- lords at pleafure, and to be plundered when it Ihould pleafe fome Monarch to make war. The firft of thefe, however, you will obferve, is not the op- preffion of the Emperor : it is the tyranny of that worfl of all con- ilituent parts of a State, an Ariftrocracy — a vile Ariftocracy ! — that univerfal, that every-day defpotifm, under which all places groan^ more or lefs — which is exercifed in all the various gradations of life that chequer fociety, from the great man who, under the name of Mmifter, domineers over the Peer, to the country fox- hunting favage, who puts a poor wretch in jail to pine for years, (his family, the while, fupported by the parifli charity), only for doing that which makes the enjoyment of his own life, killing a partridge or a hare ! — that Ariftocratic tyranny which is feen fcowling: ( so ) fcowllng on the brows of a fwaggering fellow in power, adopted by his fecretary with increafe, by him handed down to an upflart fet of fellows in office, dependent on his fmile, and by them dif- pkyed in all the naufeous, defpicable forms which awkwardnefs and ignorance, lifted above their ftation, never fail to alfume — the cold referve, the afFedled ftare, the lifUefs nod, the feigned deaf- nefs, blindnefs, abfence, and other falliionable perteftions, which ferve as vents for upftart arrogance, and indemnify the fycophant for the vile homage and fubmiffion which he has before paid fome wretch mean and arrogant as himfelf ! — I tell you, my dear Fre- derick, it is this Ariftocratic ufurpation of power, where power exifts not, nor is neceflary — this infulting affumption of fupe- riority, this hidden petty oppreffion which rears its head in every manor, nay, almoft every town and village in the Kingdom, that puts the Nations out of tune, mars the harmony of fecial arrange- ment, and renders power in tlie aggregate obnoxious. Why, our very women have their fiucy, Ariilocratic, fupercilious front, their haughty flare, their contemptuous titter ; and barter the winning foftnefs of the fex, the dimples where the loves fhould dwell, for the haughty tofs of the head, the ill-natured fneer, and the in- fulting Heftor's frown— And thus the fpirit of Ariftocracy, like a poifonous weed, grows and expands from one to the other with baleful luxuriance, gradually overfpreading the whole face of hu- manity, flopping the wholefome current of the focial atmofphere, .and ( 81 ) and choaking up the lefs rank but more ufeful plants— Thus it goes round in fhameful traffic ; and, as the Poet fays, " The wh — re ftie kicks her cully, " Court- waiters are kick'd at call ; " We are all kick'd, yet bully « While int'reft kicks the ball." I am perluaded, that if the grievances of the moft defpotic States were feirly eftimated, and affigned to their real authors, the Princes of fuch States would be found refponfible for a very fmall fhare indeed, when compared with the Ariilocracy : and by Arif- tocracy, I mean not merely Lords, but all men who convert the wealth which Providence has bellowed upon them to the purpofes of Tyranny, Exad:ions, Impofition, and Oppreffion — under which four heads we will again find, not only imprifonment for begging alms, imprilonment for fliooting a partridge, but often fedudtion, adultery, and perfecution for refilling or reforting to law for punilli- ment of that fedutflion or adultery. Of all thofe things, the proofs, I fear, in all Nations, are abundant : I am fure they are fo in the bell governed State in Europe — I mean, England — =- « Qui capit, ille facit." I have thrown up a fool's cap : how many are there who m-111 privately put it on ! L LETTER ( 82 ) LETTER XIV. As the time of my departure from BrufTels approached, I found the bitter fenfations with which I left London, in fome meafure, returning. My fortunate encounter with General Lock- HART had afforded me a temporary refpite j but now I was once more to face an unknown country alone, without the chance of again meeting a friend to folace my mind, or mitigate my woe, on this fide of India. Having feen as much of BrufTels as my time and occafions would at all allow, and, in truth, having rather trefpafled on my plan, for the reafons juft mentioned, I determined to pufli forward as faft as it was poffible, and took pofl for Liege, where I arrived, after pafUng through a beautiful, fertile, well-cultivated country, to the charms of which the renewed agony of my feelings rendered me almoft infenfible. As we have now almofl the whole length of Germany before us to travel through, it will be proper, before I proceed further, to give you a general idea of the Conflitution of this vaft Empire — over all which, while one great Monarch nominally prelides, there are ( ^ > are fpread a number of petty Potentates, who really rule after as diHindl forms of Government as almoU: any two Governments, how- ever remote, in Europe. Confidering the nature of Government abftracSledly, one would fuppofe that it arofe from the general will of the fociety governed, and was formed for their ufe and benefit alone : but if we view the different fyftems fcattered over the civilized part of the earth, we fliall find that they originated from force and fraud ; and that, in their firft formation, when bodily prowefs, not intelledtual power, bore fway — when he that could carry the ftrongeft armour, and ftrike the heavieft blows, was fure to govern — when mere animal ftrength and ferocity difinherited reafon of her rights, and robbed her of that afcendancy to which the invention of gunpowder, aided by the art of Printing, has fince in fome fort reftored her — the bafis upon which Governments were raifed was, one man, not the whole fociety ; the point then was, how this or that ftrong ruffian could colledt mofl Haves about him, not how this or that fociety fhould choofe the heft head : if he had ftrength to carry havoc through the ranks of their enemies, and then to overawe them- felves, he was fure of dominion over the people, and left it to his fon ; but if it fo happened that he did not alfo bequeath to him bodily prowefs to preferve it, the next ftrong ruffian feized the reins, flung him from his feat, and kept it till he, or fome one of his heirs, was again ferved fo in his turn by fome other ufurper. Hence arofe the cabals and intrigues of courts, the fpirit of party, L 2 and ( 84 ) and inteftine commotion ; till at length the People, for their own fecurity, and to avoid the horrors of civil war, made choice (from difmal neceffity) of feme one family to rule them. As fociety advanced, and opulence held forth temptation, fome greater ruffian, followed by a horde of needy, famiflied barbarian?, made incurfions on thofe rulers ; and being irrefiilible, as well from numbers firmly connedted, as from the powerful impulfe of necefiity, under whofe banners they generally robbed and ravaged, was fubmitted to on terms, and became Lord Paramount of a number of petty Sove- reigns, who did homage to him, and fleeced the miferable fubjedls, to keep him in humour ; and thus, in a feries of time, the power of both took root, and remained immoveable, unlefs when torn up by fome violent tempeft that convulfed the State, and fhook it to its foundations. Reading this account, you will very naturally exclaim, "Good God! howabfurd! how irrational!" Yet fo it is; and from this fource, muddy though it be, is modern honour, and modern great- nefs, and modern high blood, derived : from this foul and turbid fountain have moft of the Governments of the world ifllied; from thofe ftrong men of yore have moft of our modern governors de- fcended : and as it generally happens (fo equally has Providence diftributed the gifts of Nature) that the flrength of the intelledlual part is in the inverfe ratio of the animal, perhaps that is the reafon why Monarch s are formed, in general, of greater bodily vigour than mental endowments, and better fitted for the Field than the Cabinet — ( 8^ ) Cabinet — and for this reafon are obliged to take from the puifne ranks of their Subjedls fome afliftant, fo far removed from the great ilandard of antique dignity, as to poffefs underftanding enough to govern. Upon a retrofpedlive view of the Hiftory of Europe, it will be found, that for a long time after the birth of Christ, Germany- was divided among fuch petty rulers as I have defcribed, who each held his little State in fovereignty, and was called Frinceps irt Latin, or, in plain Englifli, Prince. After the downfall of the Weftern Empire, a Nation called Franks, from that part called Franconia, over-run a great part of Gaul and Germany, and in the fifth century took pofieffion of that part of Gaul which lay North of the river Loire. In the ytzx 800, Charlemagne, the fon of Pepin, their King, formed an immenfe Empire in the Weft, comprehefiding a great part of Germany, France, Italy, and a part of Spain. About eighty years afterwards, the petty Princes of Germany fliook off^ the French Carlovinian race, and elected an Emperor of their own from the Houfe of Bavaria. At laft Henry the Fourth, having difpleafed that grand arbiter the Pope, was put under the ban, and in confequence de- pofed by the States; on which occafion His Holinefs had the addrefsto make that great dignity elective, he having uncontrouled power over the eledlors ; fince which it has continued fo, with fome modifications, and under certain regulations, formed by Charles the Fourth, at the Diet of Nurunberg. The eledtion, however,. ( 8S ) however, has been always (o managed, that it has never departed from the regular line of fucceffion but when there was an adtual want of heirs. In a Country over which the Pope had fuch influence, it might reafonably be fuppofed that intolerance is carried to a great length ; but it is not fo, as a review of each particular State fhews. The eflablillied religion, in general, is Popery. Joseph the Second, that good and wife Monarch, difplayed a greater fpirit of toleration than any other Catholic Prince iince Henry the Fourth of France. He was not murdered by a Friar for it, it is true — thofe days of pious barbarity are pafl; but he was vifited on the occafion by His Holinefs, who, after a variety of remon^ ftrances againft the relaxation he gave to religious feverity in his own dominions, finding him unmoved by papers, refolved to at- tack him in perfon: but, whether it was that the pontifical amulet loft its charm when out of the air of Rome, or that His Holinefs was not properly anointed before (like Hecate in Mac- beth) he took his flight, or that he forgot fome of thofe relics which were expedled to operate on Joseph's mind, fo it was, " that the good Emperor continued inflexibly attached to his former refolve ; and, after kifling His Holinefs' toe, and a thoufand" other pretty politenefTes, fent him back to Rome again with his finger in his mouth ; and a ftory to relate, that would, at one time, have fet all Europe in a flame, and lent the good Mo- narch, like Henry the Second of England, to lafli himfelf naked ( 87 ) naked over ihe rotten remains of ibme vagabond fraudulent Prieft. In the eledion of Emperor, the laws of the Empire have laid down no qualification but that which ought to be the Jine qua non of all Princes, namely, that he be jiifius, bonus, et iitilts— Neither have they made any limitation in regard to religion, na- tion, ftate, or age; neverthelefs, the majority of eledlors being Papifts, a Roman Catholic Prince is always chofen. The rank of the Emperor is very great : he is looked upon by all Crowned Heads as the firft European Potentate ; and, as fuch, precedence is always given him and his ambaffadors : he is the fupreme Head of the German Empire; but his power in the adminiftration thereof is very limited indeed. In ancient times, the Emperor had confiderable domains and incomes ; but warfare and prodigality have diflipated the greateft part of them, and they have been fucceffively alienated or mortgaged, fo that his revenues were very inconfiderable lately, and now, fnice the French war, are almoft as nothing. The prefent Emperor Francis found the Empire, when he was elected, incumbered with difficulties of the moft enormous magnitude — a war on which the exillence of every Monarchy in Europe feemed to depend, an exhaufted treafury, and a difpofitioa to revolt in a part of his dominions, the Netherlands. At this prefent time, his fatuation is, beyond that of every other Prince, .lamentable :— almoft all his refources .gone, and an infolent, for- midable. ( 88 ) midable, triumphant enemy, proceeding and carrying conquefl by rapid flrides through his Country. He called upon his People to lupport him. The States of the Netherlands, inftead of affift- ing him to ftop the progrefs of the enemy, invited and opened their gates to them, put them in their bofom, and were Hung. Of the other States, fome refufe their aid, while fome have re- courfe to feeble expedients j and, to evade the weight, temporife, procraftinate, and fliuffle, till at length will come the French Army, and force them to do for their enemy ten times more than (if done timely, and with a good grace) might fave the Em- pire and themfelves. The King of Prussia, one of thofe States, on being called upon, fays he is bufily employed in fecur- ing the plunder of Poland, and cannot come — while the tyger is glutting in the blood of the harmlefs flocks, the huntfmen are coming upon him, to cut him oft. As an Engliihman, zealous for the welfare of my Country, I wifh the King of Prussia may not, by his attention to Poland, facrifice all Germany to the French. As an honeft man, I cannot help entertaining a wifli, that the fcan- dalous and outrageous wrongs done to Poland, and this treachery to the Allies whom he himfelf brought into the prefent difficulties, may be expiated by any calamity, however great, that does not extend to the intereft or wellbeing of Europe. It is a maxim in Courts of Equity, that a man coming to demand redrefs, fliould come with clean hands, and, feeking equity, fliould do equity. This maxim has unfortunately never yet extended to deciiions ( 89 ) decifions between States : power is their right, and force decides — Yet, in a conteft like the prefent, the very foundation of which is hoftility to Kings, and which is carried on in the twofold way of arms, in the open field and private negociation for infurreftion ; when, for the intereft of the caufe they efpoufe, as well as their own perfonal fafety. Kings fliould affume at once their beft form to appreciate themfelves, and difcredit their enemies in the eyes of Mankind — in fuch a ftate of things, I fay, for the King of Prussia and the Empress of Russia to take the part they have done with regard to Poland, is fo extravagant, that we can only account for it in the will of the Almighty predifpofing them for fome extraordinary crifis. No one would expedt them to de- part from their accuftomed crooked path of policy, if fafety did not loudly call upon them to proceed in the diredl road. It is monllrous to fee beings endowed with common fenfe, expending themfelves in an unjuft flruggle for aggrandizement, while the fword of extindlion is fufpended by a hair over their heads. But to return — In this ftate is the young Emperor at this mo- ment, deferted by his People in the Low Countries, unaided by his Continental Ally, and fupported only by Great Britain. What the iflue may be, God alone can tell : but every one poffeffing a heart of feeling, or a fingle fentiment of honour or juftice, muft wiHi that young Prince a fortunate delivery from the difficulties which the impolicy and wickednefs of others have led him into, and which the treacheryof fome of them make more formidable, if not utterly infuperable. ^ LETTER ( 90 ) LETTER XV. 1 H E various diftridls or territories into which Germany is divided, go under a variety of defignations, not known among us as independent titles to power — Principalities, Seigniories, Counties, Electorates, Margravates, and Biflioprics lay and fpi- ritual. Of the lay Biflioprics, Ofnaburg, the Prince Bifliop of which is our Duke of York, makes one : and Leige, whei'e we are now arrived, is the territory of a Bifliop lay and fpiritual, or fpiritual and temporal, one of the fairefl kind of that clafs — for he poflefTes temporalities, and enjoys them; whereas their Lordfliips merely fpiritual, enjoy and have the ingratitude and impudence to renounce them: but no matter for that; the Bifhop of Liege pof- fefles a Bifliopric, fruitful in corn, wine, wood and pafhure, with air extremely pleafant and temperate } and while the latter gives his terreftrial clay health and appetite, the former afford him the means of preferving the one, and indulging the other, with true fpiritual comfort, and high ecclefiaftical voluptuoufnefs. In cafes of repletion, too, the mineral waters of the Bifliopric, particularly the well-known one of Spa, offer their aid ; and fome of the beft beer in ( 01 ) in the world, which is brewed in thefe territories, diverfifies his fpiritual Lordfliip's cup, and, with its pungent bitter, fends back his palate to his wine with renovated relifli. It isaftonifhinghow inconfiftent with themfelves, and how dif- cordant in their conftituent principles, fome very wife inftitutions are. Thus Epifcopacy, and all other branches, polls or ranks, high or low, commifTioned or non-commiffioned, of the Churcii, publicly and fyflematically profefs poverty, abftinence, and an utter indifference to temporal concerns, while their livings are enor- mous, and themfelves overfed. Nay, fo cautioufly has ecclefiaf- tical law provided for that, even in our liberal eftablilhments,, that a Bifliop, at his inllalment, poiitively declares, in the face of God, at the holy altar, that he is averfe to being a Bifliop — ?2o/o Epif- copari. Under fuch conditions, what muft not the charity, the condefcenfion, the mortifying fubmiffion of a Divine be, to floop to a Bifliopric, and fuffer fuch a heavy load to be heaped upon his back — againfl his will! Affuredly, the impofing a Bifliopric upon him muft be a great acft of violence on his inclinations : for I can- not think it poflible that a Chrifl:ian Divine would, in the firft place, commit the crime of fimony by feeking preferment, and gaining it by proflitutionj much lefs can I believe that he v/ould be guilty, at the holy altar, of a folemn ad: of perjury, by fwear- ing nolo Epifcopari, if he was not adtually, and bonajidc, averfe to a. Bifliopric. M 1 The ( 92 ) The Bifliop of Liege, however, may be fairly acquitted on the fcore of his temporal half, for the fliare of tranfgreffions committed by his fpiritual half. And unqueftionably, as a Chriftian Divine, he muft groan in fpiritual humiliation, when he reflefts that his title is emblazoned with the gorgeous vanities of Prince of Liege, Duke of Bouillon, Marquis of Franchemont, Count of Looz, &c. Such a fet of proud worldly titles are of themfelves fufficient (put- ting the wine and beer, and repletion, out of the queftion) to annihilate the fpiritual merits of the Bifliop, and expunge the grace of God from his name here, if not from himfelf hereafter. Of all kinds of Slavery, that Nation groans beneath the worfl:, which has the name, without the effence, of a free Conftitution; and Germany abounds with fuch. By the Conftitution of this Bilhop- ric, the Government confifts of three States: the firilis the Chapter of Liege; the fecond, the Nobility; and the third, the Deputies of the towns and capital. Thefe, however, are very feldom called together, except to raife taxes, or on fome fuch extraordinary emergency : but there is a Committee of the States who meet three times a week, and in time of war daily; they are always about the Prince Bifhop, to make remonftrances, and demand the redrefs of grievances — from whence we may reafonably infer, that the People are well protefted, or at leaf! well governed; the continual inter- courfe between the Committee and Billiops, no doubt, tending to promote a very happy influence in favour of the People ! In ( 93 ) In forming this Conftitution, fpecial care has been taken to give the firfl State a great preponderance. The Chapter is to con- iill: of fixty perfons, who muft: either prove their Nobility for four generations, both by father and mother, or have been Dodors or Licentiates of Divinity for feven years, or of Law for five years, in fome famous Univerfity, before they can be admitted. How is it that the profeffion of the Law fhould bear fuch potent fway in almoft all Countries — that, even in Liege, a Catholic Country and Ecclefiaftical Government, five years ftudy of the Law fliould be deemed an equal qualification to feven of Divinity ? In England, and its dependencies, the afcendancy of the Law is ftill greater; and even in America, that profeffion is the firfl ftep to State honours. The truth is, that the fcience of the Law, which, however defpicable in pradtice, is the nobleft of human fciences, quickens and invigorates the underftanding more than all the other kinds of learning put together; while the ftudy of Divinity (I do not mean real Divinity or Morality, but that whimfical jumble of miracles and incongruities, of fulfome cant and fenfelefs rhapfody, called fo by Churchmen) contrails the underftanding, and bends it into a kind of crooked cunning. Formerly, the Clergy were the dilpenfers of the Laws, and they alone ftudied it — Happy times! happy People ! When the united powers of both Lawyers and Priefts were lodged in the fame perfon, it is no wonder that they were able to enflave the perfons, when they had got pofTeflion of the underftanding, of the People — that we at this day fee fo many ftupe ndous ( 9* ) ilupcndous monuments remaining of their pride and power, and that the bloated load of Epifcopacy flill has its votaries and fup- porters. The Bifhopric of Liege is very populous and extenfive, contain- ing many large Towns, many Baronies and Seigniories, feventeen Abbeys for men, who muft be all gentlemen, and eleven for ladies, exclulive of fwarms of inferior note. In this diftribution of the Abbeys, male and female, I do not think that fufHcient regard has been had to equality of numbers : I really think the Fathers have been ill ufed. The ladies, though, I dare fay, are well enough contented with the arrangement. Although, as I have already apprized you, I do not mean to enter into a minute defcription of towns, fo very eaiily found in many volumes of Geography and Hiftory, there occalionally occur certain curiofities in fome of thofe towns, which it would be un- pardonable in me to pafs over, as they may not perhaps be found in fuch books of thofe fciences as fall in your way. Liege, the capital of the Bifliopric, is unqueftionably a beau- tiful city, of immenfe fize: its opulence, its pleafantnefs, its plenty and falubrity, may be calculated from the name it has long been expreflly called by way of eminence — the FaradiJ'e of Priejis. — Indeed, it muft needs be a holy and a happy city; for it is chiefly occupied with Convents, Churciies, and other religious foundations. The Paradife of Priejis! — Excellent ! Why, if the Genius of Senfuality himfelf were to torture his invention for centuries, to ftrike ilrike out an appellation for the grand emporium of luxury, volup- tuoufnefs and fenfual enjoyment, he could not have hit on one fo Angularly appropriate as tie Paradife of Priejis. In a grand Cathedral here, are five great filver chefts full of re- liques, befides feveral filver ftatues of Saints ^ and a Saint George on horfeback, of maffy gold; and in Saint William's Convent, without the city, is the tomb of the famous Englifh traveller. Sir John Mandeville, from w^hom all lying travellers have been fince proverbially called Mandevilles — an appellation which, I promife you, I will hazard the imputation of dullnefs rather than incur. I fuppofe it was for his truly prieftlike powers in the mar- vellous that he was honoured with a birth among their Reverences. They have thought it neceffary, however, to entreat, by an infcrip- tion in bad French, all perlbns who fee it, to pray for his foul. In truth, poor Sir John's marvellous ftoi-ies were as harmlefs as ever were invented, and entertaining to boot. If fo much could be faid for their Reverences, they might venture to reft their fu- ture fafety on their own innocence and God's mercy : but I fear their miracles cut deeper, and will be found to go to a much more important and ferious account. In the Bifliopric of Liege, twenty mil'es fi-om the capital, ftands the famous town of Spa, fo renowned for its excellent waters, that it has become a vulgar name for almoft all mineral waters whatfo- ever. Thofe are faid to open obftrudlions, concodl crudities, dry up excelTive moifture, and ftrengthen the nerves and bowels ; and Hich ( 06 ) fuch is their reputation, that prodigious quantities of them are carried into foreign countries. Fortunate coincidence, to have fuch a choice and eafy panacea for intemperance attached to tbe ParaJife of Priejis ! LETTER XVI. Aix-la-Chapelle — The imperial city of Aix-la- Chapelle, by the Germans called Achen, lies at the diflance of twenty-fix miles, nearly Eaft, of Liege. As it was a moderate ftage, the weather fine, and the face of the country around beautiful, I found my journey extremely pleafant, and entered that famous city in as good a difpofition to be pleafed with it, as circumflances and refledtions fo melancholy as mine (which, in fpite of every effort, would intrude themfelves) may be fuppofed to allow. It is cer- tainly a very fine city, and well deferves the reputation it has in all parts of the world. Perhaps no city in Germany has a fairer claim to antiquity than Aix-la-Chapelle J for it was femous, even in the time of the ancient Romans, for its waters, and was by them called Aquifgranum, or Urbs Aquenjis, It was deflroyed by the Huns, who, like the French now, deflroyed and trampled under foot every i 97 ) every veflige of refinement, wherever they carried their conqueftsj and it lay in ruins till it was rebuilt by Charlemagne, who made it the feat of his Empire on this fide the Alps. By him it was ordained, that the Kings of the Romans fiiould be crowned there : and it has been famous, fince that time, for Councils and Treaties, particularly that famous one between France and Spain in 1663, and another lately between France and Great Britain. Although there are many Proteflants, both Lutherans and Calvinifts, in this city, they are obliged to go to church two miles off, at a place called Vaels, in the Dutchy of Limburg ; fo that Popery prevails with fome portion of its intolerance. Here, as in all other places fubjedl to its power, it has raifed the Gothic gloomy pile, accumulated enormous mafies of wealth, and hoarded up treafures, under the gulling pretexts of religious paraphernalia: a golden cafliet, fet with precious ftones of inefti- mable value, is hoarded up, not for the adlual value of the move- able, but as the only fit receptacle for a relique it contains — a curi- ous one, too, of even its kind — a bit of earth ! — A bit of earth ? yes ! a bit of earth, common earth ! — only with this fortunate circumftance in addition, that a drop of the blood of Saint Ste- phen fell, or is faid to have fallen, upon it, as he was floned to death! think of that, mailer Frederick! Why, when thofe things occur to me, I feel myfelf agitated by a whimfical tumult of fenfations, fcrious and ludicrous, forrowful and merry, that it is impofilble to defcribe— fomething like that ftate in which the fpirits flutter N when ( OS ) when a perfon whimpers between a laugh and cry. But, to carry the matter farther, when we recoiled: that fome of the wifefl: and brighteft of Mankind, fome of the bravell Warriors, fterneft Phi- lofophers, and ablefl Statefmen, that ever exifted, have been the dupes of thofe (hallow artifices, and ad:ually have knelt in devout homage to thefe bits of earth, bone, flicks and ftone, &c. we muil allow that it anfwers a great and noble end, by pointing out to us. the infirmity of our nature, and fhewing us, to ufe the words of one of our brighteft luminaries, " what fliadows we are, and what fliadovvs we purfue !" We have already had, and are likely yet to have, fuch a clumfy load of Cathedrals to attend to, that I fliould not mention that of Aix-la-Chapelle (a large, gloomy, dreary, old-fafhioned, Gothic pile), were it not that it carries along with it fome matters worthy of notice. What think you, then, of an Emperor, a Pope, and three hundred and fixty-five Bifhops, in one company ? Oh ! precious affemblage ! But where, I hear you afk — where, in the name of God, colledl the Bifhops ? a Pope and Emperor are eafily had ! My dear Frederick, three hundred and fixty-five Bifliops might eafily be picked up in Chriftendom, and leave more behind, too, than would ferve any ufeful purpofe to the world. — Yes, the Emperor Charlemagne, and three hundred and fixty-five Bifhops, were prefent at the Confecration of this Cathedral by Pope Leo the Third. That Emperor lies now in great ftate under the altar of the choir: Pope Leo rots in Rome; and for the ( 99 ) the Bifhops, they are gone, perhaps, as Hajnkt fays, " to flop a beer barrel."— " Th' imperial Cjesar, dead, and turn'd to clay, " Might flop a hole, to keep the wind away." From fuch a fplendid and opulent attendance at the Confe- cration, one would naturally expedl that this Cathedral would have been, at the very outfet, enriched with coftly and valuable trappings : but no — one image of that of Liege would purchafe the whole. It fhould be recolle£led, however, that they were all, excepting the Emperor, Churchmen — a clafs, whofe charity, ge- nerally fpeaking, has, like a ring, neither end nor beginning ; or at leaft ends and begins in itfelf, where nobody can fee it ; or, ac- cording to the old proverb, begins at home. To compenfate, however, for thofe worldly, worthlefs vanities, gold, filver and jewels. His Holinefs, and tlieir three hundred and fixty-five Graces, prefented the Cathedral with fome exqui- iite pieces of relique, of more ineflimable value, by their account, than the mines of Potoli or Golconda : the firfl, an old covering — it would be folly for me to fay, whether gown, petticoat or Oiift — 'but they, that is to fay, the Priefts, fay, and the Faithful be- lieve them,^ that it was the fhift worn by the Virgin Mary at the birth of Christ — how their HolinefTes came by it, is hard to conjedture : — in the next place, a piece of coarfe cloth, which, they alfo fay, and are believed when they fay, was girt about N 2 Christ ( 100 ) Christ on the Crofs : — thirdly, a piece of cord, with which they fay he was bound : — fourthly, fome of the blood of Saint Stephen, now eighteen hundred years old : — and, fifthly, a pidlure of the Virgin and Child, embofled on a jafper, by Saint Luke. With all due deference to their Reverences' knowledge, I fhould think a dozen ftatues in gold of the Apoftles would be rather a more valuable gift, and more ornamental, than thefe rags and cords, which I dare fay did not coft altogether fix pence. We talk here of our blue ribbons, our red ribbons, and our flars, as great do- nations ; but I think the prefents of the Pope and three hundred and fixty-five Bifhops to the Cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, beat them out of the fieldj whether we confider the magnificence of the gift:, or the generofity of the givers. But that which, above all things, renders Aix-la-Chapelle worthy of notice, is the falubrity of its waters, which bring from England, arid all other European Nations, a vaft concourfc of va- letudinarians, who contribute at once to the gaiety and opulence of the city and adjacent country. Some of thofe waters are ufed for drinking, and others for bathing, refembling very much, in their quality, the virtues of thofe of Bath in Somerfetlhire, but that fome of them are ftill hotter and ftronger : they are unpleafant to the tafte till ufe reconciles the palate to them, and moil of them have a very offenfive fmell ; but they are often powerful in efFe<5t, and give relief in a great variety of maladies ; and they are rendered ftill more palatable by the commodious neatnefs of the baths, the excellence ( 101 ) excellence of the accommodations, and the great plenty of provl- fions, which are at once good and reafonable in this city. I ftaid fo fhort a time at Aix-la-Chapelle, that I could not, without the aid of fome of the miracles wrought by the Saints of the Romifh Church, or Sir John Man d evil le, acquire a fuffi- cient knowledge of the People, to attempt a dcfcription of them, or their manners — but it and Spa are fo well known, that you cannot have much trouble in finding a defcription of them already written. As far as my obfervations enabled me to judge, there was no- thing in the German charadter that had the power either to create intereft, or excite great attention. —They are rather to be approved than admired ; and, wanting thofe prominent features that fo whim- lically chequer other Nations with the extremes of bad and good, majcftic and ridiculous, afford little fubjed: to the traveller for the indulgence of fentimental refledlion, or to the philofopher for the exercife of moral fpeculation. LETTER ( JOS ) ► 1 LETTER XVII. Bidding adieu to the famous city of Aix-Ja-Cha.- pelle, which, very untraveller-like, I paffed without drinking of its waters, I pufhed on, and foon arrived at the city of Juliers, the capital of a Dutchy of that name, fixteen miles from Aix. The Country itfelf is wonderfully fruitful, teeming with abundance of all forts of corn, wood, paflure, woad, coal and cattkj above all, a moll excellent breed of horfes,. of which great numbers are ex- ported. As to the city, though a capital, there was not^iing in it that I thought wortli attention — that of neatnefs is its greateft praife. It is not, like Liege, overloaded with enormous church edifices ; but, what is much better, the People are opulent, the Poor well fup- plied, and all happy. In all likelihood, this is owing to the inhabitants being a mixture of Proteftant and Roman Catholic ; for, by a treaty between the Ele, if you could, would moil certainly alter for the worfe. I fat ( 126 ) I lat abforbcd in refleftion — The Friar, after fome paufc, proceeded — " Errors ariling from virtuous difpofitions and the love of our fellow-creatures, take their complexion from their parent motives, and are virtuous. Your wifhes, therefore, my fon ! though erro- neous, merit reward, and, I truli, will receive it from that Being who fees the recelles of the heart; and if the truths I have told you have not failed to make their way to your underllanding, let your adventure of to-day imprefs this undeniable maxim on your mind — fo limited is Man, fo imperfedt in his nature, that the extent of his virtue borders on vice, and the extent of his wifdom on error." I thought he was infpired ; and, juft as he got to the laft period, every organ of mine was opened to take in his words. " 'Tis well, my f?n!" faid he — " I perceive you like my dodtrine : then (changing his manner of fpeaking, his expreffivc countenance the whole time almoft anticipating his whole words) take fome more of it," faid he gaily, pouring out a frefh glafs. I pleaded the fear of inebriety — " Fear not," faid hej " the beer of this Convent never hurts the intelled." Our converfation continued till near dinner-time; for I was fo delighted, I fcarcely knew how to fnatch myfelf away: fuch a happy melange of piety and pleafantry, grave wifdom and humour, I had never met. At length, the Convent-bell tolling, I rofe: he took me by the hand, and, in a tone of the mofi: complacent admo- nition, faid, " Remember, my child ! as long as you live, remember the ( 127 ) the Convent of the Carmelites j and in the innumerable evils that certainly await you if you are to live long, the words you have heard from old Friar Augustine will afford you comfort." " Father!" returned I, " be affured I carry away from you a token that will never fuffer me to forget the hofpitality, the advice or the politenefs of the good father Augustine. Pooras I am in natural means, I can make no other return than my good wiflies, nor leave any impreirion behind me : but as my efteem for you, and perhaps my vanity, make me wifh not to be forgotten, accept this, (a feal ring, with a device in hair, which I happen- ed to have on my finger) ; and whenever you look at it, let it remind you of one of thofe, I dare fay innumerable, inftances, in which you have contributed to the happinefs and improvement of your fello>v-creatures." The good old man was affefted, took the ring, and attended me to the Convent gate, pronouncing many bleffmgs, and charging me to make Augfburgh my way back again to England if poffible, and take one glafs more of the Convent ale. LETTER ( 128 ) LETTER XXI. Leaving Augfburgh, I travelled through Bavaria a long wray before I reached the Tyrol County, of the natural beauty of which I had heard much, and which I therefore entered with great expectations of that fublime gratification tlie beauties of Nature never fail to afford me. I was not difappointed; indeed, my warmefl expeftations were exceeded. The firfl thing that ilrikes a traveller from Bavaria, on entering it, is the fort of Cherink, built between two inacceffible rocks which feparate Tyrol from the Bifhopric of Freifingen. So amply has Nature provided for the fecurity of this Country againll the in- curfion of an enemy, that there is not a pafs which leads to it that is not through feme narrow defile between mountains almoft inaccefilble -, and on the rocks and brows of thofe pafies, the Emperor has conltrudled forts and citadels, fo advantageoufly placed, that they command all the valleys and avenues beneath. After a variety of windings and turnings through mountains of ftupendous height and awful afpedt, I began to defcend, and entered the moil delightful valley I had ever beheld — deep, long, and ( 129 ) and above a mile in breadth — furrounded with enormous piles of mountains, and diverfified with the alternate beauties of nature and cultivation, fo as to form an union rarely to be met with, and delight at once the eye of the farmer, and the fancy of him that has a true tafte for rural wildnefs. From the heights in defcending, the whole appeared in all its glory; the beautiful river Inn gliding along through it longitudinally, its banks iludded with the moll: romantic little villages, while a number of inferior ftreams were feen winding in different courfes, and haftening to pour their tribute into its bofom. Here I felt my heart overwhelmed with fenfations of tranf- port, which all the works of art could never infpire: here Nature ruflied irrefiftible upon my fenfes, and, making them captive, exadled their acknowledgment of her fupremacy : here vanity, ambition, luft of fame and power, and all the tinfelled, gaudy, frippery to which habit and worldly cuftom enflave the mind, retired, to make way for fentiments of harmony, purity, fimplicity, and truth : here Providence feemed to fpeak in language mofl perfualive, " come, filly Man, leave the wild tumult, the end- lefs flruggle, the glittering follies, the falfe and fpurious pleafures which artifice creates, to feduce you from the true — dwell here — and in the lap of Nature ftudy me :" Here, oh ! here, exclaimed I, in a tranfport which bereft me, for the time, of every other confi- deration, here will I dwell for ever. The charm was too finely Ipun, to withfland the hard tugs of fad; and all its precious R delufions ( 130 ) delufions vanilhed before a hoft of gloomy truths — deranged affairs — family far off, with the diftance daily increafing — the hazards and the hardfhips of a long untried journey — and the Eafl: Indies, with all its horrors, in the rear. I hung my head in for- row ; and, offering up a prayer to proteft my family, ftrengthen myfelf, and bring us once more together in fome fpot heavenly as that I paffed through, was proceeding on in a ftate of dejection proportionate to my previous tranfports, when I was roufed by my poftiliion, who, pointing to a very high, fteep rock, def:red me to take notice of it. I did fo ; but feeing nothing very remarkable in its appearance, afked him what he meant by diredling my at- tention to it — He anfwered me in the following manner, which, from the Angularity of the narrative, and his ftrange mode of telling it, I think it would injure to take out of his own words : I will, there- fore, endeavour, as well as I can, to give you a literal tranflation of it ; and, indeed, the impreffion it made on my memory was fuch, that, I apprehend, I fhall not materially differ from his words : " You muft know, Sir, (for every one in the world knows it), that all thefe mountains around us, are the abodes of o-ood and evil fpirits, or Genii — the latter of whom are continually doing every malicious thing they can devife, to injure the people of the country, — fuch as leading them aftray — fmothering them in the fnow — killing the cattle by throwing them down precipices — nay, when they can do no worfe, drying up the milk in the udders of the goats — and, fometimes, putting between young men and their fweethearts. ( 131 ) fweethearts, and flopping their marriage. Ten thoufand curies light upon them ! I fliould have been married two years ago, and had two children to-day, but for their fchemes. In fliort. Sir, if it were not for the others — the good ones — who are always employed (and the bleffed Virgin knows they have enough on their hands) in preventing the mifchiefs of thofe devils, the whole place would be deftroyed, and the country left without a living thing, man or goat !" Here I could not, for the life of me, retain my gravity any longer, but burft, in fpite of me, into an immoderate fit of laugh- ter, which fo difconcerted and offended him, that he fullenly re- fufed to proceed with the flory any farther, but continued marking his forehead (his hat off) with a thoufand croffes, uttering pious ejaculations, looking at me with a mixture of terror, diftruft and admiration, and every now and then glancing his eye afkance to- ward the hills, as if fearful of a defcent from the evil fpirits. My curiolity was awakened by the very extraordinary com- mencement of his narrative ; and I determined, if poffible, to hear it out : fo, affuring him that I meant nothing either of flight or wickednefs by my laughter— that I had too ferious ideas of fuch things to treat them with levity-— and, what was more convincing logic with him, promifing to reward him for it— he proceeded with his ftory as follov/s : " Well, Sir, you fay you were not (porting with thofe Spirits— and fortunate it is for you : at all events, Saint John of God be our R 2 guide. ( 132 ) guide, and bring us fafe to lanfpruck. Juil: (o the great Maxi M i l i a w was wont to laugh at them j and you fliall hear how he was pu- niflied for it — and that was the ftory I was about to tell you. The Emperor Maxi MIL IAN, that glory of the world, (he is now in the lap of the bleffed Virgin in Paradife), once on a time, before he' was Emperor, that is to fay, when he was Archduke, was always laughing at the country people's fears of thofe fpirits — and an old. Father of the Church forewarned him to beware, left he fliould- fufFerfor his rafhnefs: fo one day he went out hunting, and at the foot of that mountain a moft beautiful Chamois ftarted. before him^- he ihot at it, andmiffed it — (the firft fhot he had miffed for many years, which you know was warning enough to him) — however, he followed, fhooting at and miffmg it, the animal fhanding every now and then till he came up within fhot of it : thus he continued till near night, when the goat difappeared of a fudden, and he found himfelf buried, as it were, in the bowels of the mountain: he endeavoured to find his way out, but in vain ; every flep he took led him more aftray, and he was for two days wandering about,, Christ fave us ! in the frightful hollows of thofe mountains, living all the time on wild berries : on the fecond night he bethought him- felf of his want of faith, and of the faying of old Father Jeromej and he fell on his knees, and wept and prayed all night ; and the. Virgin heard his prayers, he being a good man, and, above all, an Emperor — God blefs you and me ! we ihould have perifhed — In the morning, a beautiful young man, dreffed in a peafant's habit,, came ( 133 ) came up to him, gave him vidluals and wine, and defired him to follow him, which he did, you may be fure, joyfully — hut, oh bleffed Virgin ! think what liis furprife mufi: have been, when, getting again into the plain out of the mountain, the young man difappeared and vaniflied all of a fudden, juft at the foot of that fteep rock which I fliewed you, and which ever fmce goes by the name of the Emperor's rock — You fee what a dangerous place it is, and what dangerous fpirits they muft be that would not fpare even the holy Roman Emperor. In my mind, the befl way is tO' fay nothing againft thofe things, as fome faithlefs people do, and to worfhip the Virgin and keep a good confcience, and then one will have the lefs to fear." By the time he had ended his narrative, we were in fight of Innfpruck, when I annoyed and terrified him afrefli, by laughing immoderately at the end of his flory — but attoned in fome mea- fure for it, by giving him half a florin. On inquiring at Innfpruck, I found that Maximilian had adtually loft his way in the mountain, and had been condud:ed out of it by a peafant, who left him fuddenly ; the reft was an exag- gerated traditionary tale, arifing from the fuperftitious fears of the country people. LETTER ( I-^^ ) LETTER XXII. I N all Nations under Heaven, and at all times fince the Creation, there have been men formed to make a noile in the world — to increafe or impede, to direft or difturb, the calm, fober progrefs of focial life — and, in the eagernefs and violence of their efforts to reach the gaol of fuperiority, overturn or thrull: out of their ordinary path the reft of Mankind, till either they provoke agaijiil: them a general confpiracy of their fellow-creatures, or, till reaching the point of their purfuit, they become elevated ob- jedls of homage and admiration. Such men are generally com- pofed of great materials for mifchief: — having flrong natural talents and violent ungovernable fpirits -, according to the diredlion thefe get, they are harmlefs or mifchievous — but, like morbid matter in the animal fyftem, if not letloofe by fome channel or other, they never fail to difturb the whole economy of the body they belong to, and produce fatal confequences to it and to themfelves : Colonial pof- feffions have, therefore, in fome views, been of ufe (as America formerly to England) to draw off thole dangerous fpirits, who, though they are in times of peace better at a dlftance, in times of war are found to be the toughed finews of a Nation. The i 13S ) The county of Tyrol, fuch as 1 have defcribed it, formed by Nature for the refidence of the Sylvan Deities, rich in the pro- dudls of the earth, the people contented and happy, and the whole the region of peace ; manufadlures, the firft root of low vices, and commerce, the great inftigator of war, have fcarcely been able to fet their feet there : hence it happens, that there is no channel through which thofe exuberant fpirits I have alluded to can take their courfe, or expand their force. Home, therefore, is no place for thofe of the Tyrolefe, who are curfed or blefl'ed (call it which you pleafe) with thofe very combuftible qualities ; and they are obliged to roam abroad in fearch of opportunities of diftinguifhing themfelves, giving vent to their fpirits, and manifefting their ta- lents. They are found, therefore, fcattered all over the Conti- nent : and as it rarely happens that opportunities occui: in life of fignalifing fuch talents in a dignified line, rather than be idle they do what they can, and apply to chicanery as a wide and appro- priate field for their genius and vigour to work on — the emigrant Tyrolefe are, therefore, by moft Nations of the Continent, rec- koned among the mofl: expert and accomplifhed fliarpers in the world — the people, however, who remain at home, are of a different character — they are, generally fpeaking, tall, robufl and vigorous ; the women ftrong, and very fair ; and both fexes ex- hibit a very pleafing mixture of German phlegm and Italian fpright- linefs J or, to fpeak more properly, they are a mean between thofe two extremes. Innfpruck, ( 13G ) Innfpruck, though a fmall city, is handfome and agreeable, (landing in a very beautiful valley, furrounded with mountains, which, while their lower parts are well cultivated, are capped on the tops with perennial fnow. The caftle formerly the re- fidence of the Auflrian Princes is (lately and magnificent, adorned within with fine paintings, and decorated without by natural and artificial fountains, ftatues, pleafant gardens, groves, walks and covered galleries, leading to five different Churches. A-propos—Let me not forget the Churches ! In a chapel of the Francifcan Church, there is an image of the Virgin Mary as big as the life, of folid filver, with many other images of Saints of the fame metal. If fome of thofe filver Deities were trans- ferred to Paris, I fear their divinity would not fave them from the hands of the facrilegious Convention. One thing, however, is well worth the attention of travellers, particularly thole who willi to wipe away the fins of a deceafed friend, and get them a di- red pallport to happinefs— This Francifcan Church is held to be one of the moil facred and venerable in the world, on account of the indulgences granted to it by feveral Popes j fo that one fingle Mafs ' faid in it, is declared to be fufficient to deliver a foul from the pains of purgatory. When we confider the great and important extent of their power in that refpedl, we cannot wonder if they had all the Saints in the Calendar, and the Virgin Mary to boot, in folid filver, even of the fize of the Colofllis at Rhodes. Hall, the fecond city in Tyrol, lies one league from Innfpruck : it is famous for its falt-works, and for a mint and filver mines, in which ( 137 ) which feven thoufand men, women, and children, are conftantly employed. At a royal palace and caftle called Ombras, lying at equal diftance from Innfpruck and Hall, there is an arfenal, famous for a prodi- gious colledlion of curio lities, fuch as medals, precious ftones, fuits ofarmour,andftatuesoffeveralPrincesonhorfeback, in their old rich fightingaccoutrements -, befides great variety of military fpoils and tro- phies taken by the Houfe of Auftria; in particular, a ftatue of Fran- cis the Firft and his horfe, juft as they were taken at the battle of Pavia, and two others of Turkifli Bafliaws, with the coftly habits and appointments with which they were taken, embellifhed with gold, filver, and precious ftones. But, above all their curiofities, the moil extraordinary is an oak inclofmg the body of a deer: this laft, however unaccountable, is fadtj and equals, I think, any of the wonders in the metamorphofes of Ovid. Leaving Innfpruck, I proceeded on my journey, and foon entered into the mountains, which are there of a terrible height — I was the beft part of a day afcending them : as I got near the top, I was, fhewn, by my driver, the fpot where Ferdinand, King of Hun- gary, and the Emperor Charles the Fifth, met, when he returned from Africa, in the year 1520. It is marked with an infcription to that effect, and has grown into a little village, which, from that circumftance, bears the name of the Salutation. Although this mountain, called Bremenberg (or Burning-hill)j ,is covered with fnow for nine months in the year, it is inhabited S tQ ( 138 ) to the very top, and produces corn and hay in abundance : at the higheft part there is a poft-houfe, a tavern, and a chapel, where the traveller is accommodated with frelli horfes, proviiions, and, if he chooles, a mouthful of prayers — I availed rayfelf of the two firflj but the latter being not altogether in my way, I declined it, for which I could perceive that I was, by every mouth and eye in the place, configned to perdition as a Heretic. Juft at this fpot there is a fpring of water which falls upon a rock, and divides into two currents, which, at a very fmall dif- tance, affume the appearance, and, in fadt, the magnitude too, of very large rivers. The mountain is fbmetimes difficult to pafs, fometimes abfolutely imprailicable — I was fortunate, however, in this refpeci ; for I got over it without any very extraordinary delay, and on my way was regaled with the moil delicious venifon that I have ever tailed in my life; it was faid to be the flefh of a kind of goat. Although it is but thirty-five miles from Innfpruck to Brifen, I was late when I reached the latter; and as it contained nothing worth either the trouble or delay attending the fearch of, I fet out the next morning, and, travelling with high mountains on one fide, and a river all along upon the other, arrived at a town called Bol- fano, in the Bifhopric of Trent. The country all along was thickly inhabited, and the mountains perfedlly cultivated and ma- nured even to their higheft tops. On entering the valley of Bolfano, I found the air becoming obvioufly fweet, delightful and temperate; the ( 139 ) tlie vineyards, and all the trees and fhrubs, olives, mulberries, wil- lows and rofes, &c. all of the mofl: lively green, and every thing marking the mofl luxuriant vegetation. Bolfano is a fmall, but extremely neat and pleafant town — but nothing I faw about it pleafed me fo much as their vineyards, which are planted in long terraces along the fides of the hills, and are formed into the moft beautiful arbours, one row above another. From Bolfano to Trent, is fifty-one miles, a good day's journey: almofl the v/hole of it lies through the valley of Bolfano, a moft fruitful and pleafant — indeed, delightful road, which made the day's journey appear to me much fhorter than it really was. Perhaps no part of the habitable globe is, within the fame com- paratively fmall compafs of earth, fo wonderfully diverfified by the hand of Nature in all her extremes, as that through which I have juft carried you. There, under almofl the fame glance of the eye, were to be feen the flupendous, the rugged, the favage, and the in- acceffible — the mild, the fruitful and the cultivated. Here, the m-ountain capped with perpetual fnow, gradually falling in blended gradations of fliade, far beyond the reach of the artift's pencil, into the green luxuriant valley j and there, the vineyard, the olivary, and the rich corn-field, burflingat once from rugged rocks and inaccef- fible faftneffes: the churlifh afpeft of the tyrant Winter for ever prowling on the mountain's head above — perpetual fpring fmiling with all her fafcinating charms in the plains below. Such fcenes as thefe would baffle all efforts of the poet's pen or painter's S 2 pencil : ( 140 ) pencil : to be conceived, they mull be feen. I fliall therefore clofe my account of them with a flrong recommendation to you, that whenever you travel for improvement, you go through the County of Tyrol, and there learn the great and marvellous work- ing of Nature. LETTER XXIII. Perhaps the learned unwife men of the world, who fpend their lives poring after impoffibilities, have never met with a more copious fubjedl of puzzle-pated enjoyment than the derivation of the names of places. In all difputed cafes on this fubjeft, the utmofl within human reach is conjecSure; but the joke of it is, that, fortunately for Mankind, the certainty of it would not be of a lingle button advantage to them, even if it could be ac- quired by their fearch. Dodtor Goldsmith, in his Citizen of the World, has thrown this matter into high ridicule; and I recom- mend it to your perufal, left this fhadow of literature fliould one day wheedle you from more refpedlable purfuits. Trent has afforded vafl exercife to book-worm conjed:ures in this way ; for, while fome pronounce it to be derived from Tridentum, and for ( 141 ) for this purpofe will have it that Neptune was worfhipped there, though fo far from the fea — others claim the difcovery of its derivation from Tribus Torrentibus, or three ftreams which run there. Now, as to the iirft, exclulive of forcing Neptune all the way from the Gulph of Venice to their temples, I cannot find any fuch fimilarity in the found of Trent and Trident to warrant the inference; and as to the Tribus Torrentibus, they might as well fay that a primmer or hornbook was found there, and that thence it was derived from the Alphabet, fince the fame analogy fubfifted between them, namely, that the letters t,r,e,n,t are to be found in both. But, in the name of God, what fignifies what it was called after? Its name is Trent; and if it had been Putney, or John o' Groat's houfe, the town would be neither the better nor the worfe, nor the treafures of literature fuifer any defalcation from the difFerence. The Bifliopric of Trent is about fixty miles long, and forty broad — fertile, and abundant in wine, oil, fruit and pafture — and pleafant, the beautiful river Adige meandering through the whole of it from North to South. The inhabitants are bigoted Roman Catholics — you will the lefs wonder, then, that the Bifhop fliould have fo extenfive a Principality, and an annual revenue of forty thoufand crowns. As I receded from Germany, and advanced towards Italy, I found the air, the perfons and the manners of the People, to dil- play a very great difference, and to referable thofe of the Italians more 4 ( n2 ) more than thofe of the Germans. Though Popifh bigotry be pretty (Irong in many parts of Germany, it no where there afllimes tlie gloomy, deteftable afpedl that it does in Italy. And now, fmce I have happened to mention the charadlers of thofe two People, I may as well, once for all, more particularly as we are got to the verge of both, give you them in full; in both which I am warranted in faying, that all who know the tv/o will agree with me. Perhaps contrafk was never more perfedlly exemplified than in a comparifon between the Germans and Italians j and that contrafl flrikes more forcibly and fudder.ly in paffing from one Country to the other, than it would in fo fhort a fpace between any two Peo- ple exifling. The Italians, jealous, revengeful, treacherous, dilfem- bling, fervile, vicious, fanguinary, idle andfenfual. The Germans, on the contrary, open, good-natured, free from malice and fubtlety, laborious, fincere, honeft and hofpitable — and, with thofe valuable qualities, properly complaifant. So happy is the charafter of this People, that to be German-hearted has long been a phrafe figni- fying an honeft man who hated diffimulation: and their hofpitality was, even in the days of Junus C^sar, remarkable^ for we learn from him, that their houfes were open to all men — that they thought it injuftice to affront a traveller, and made it an !^"ticle of their religion to protedl thofe who came under their roof. Did not intemperance in eating and drinking detradl from their virtues, no People on earth would bear comparifon with them ( 143 ) them for Intriniic worth, and particularly for integrity in deal- ing. The city of Trent, though not very large in circumference, is populous. The high mountains which furround it, fubjedl it to all the inconveniences of heat and cold — rendering the air excef- fively hot in Summer, and extremely cold in Winter j befides which, they expofe the town to dreadful inundations — the torrents that defcend from the mountains being fometimes fo impetuous as to roll large pieces of rock with them into it, and having feveral times laid the whole place wafte. There are in Trent many ftately Palaces, Churches and religious houfes. The only one, however, that I will particularize, is that of Saint Mary Major, noted for a prodigious large organ, which can be made to counterfeit all forts of mulical inftruments, together with the fmging of birds, the cries of feveral beafts, and the founds of drums and trumpets, fo exadtly, that it is difficult to diflinguifli between the imitation and the reality. To what an end fuch an inftrument fhould be fet up in a place of worfhip, I am at a lofs to divine, unlefs it be to add to the rich, ufelefs lumber that fills all thofe of Popiih Countries. But that which diftinguiihes this Church ftill further, is, that it is the place where the famous Council of Trent was held, con- cerning the Reformation, at which four thoufand perfons of a public character. Laymen and Ecclefiaflics, afiifted. This Council (at eighteen years before it did any thing: but at lafl the Pope contrived ( 144' ) contrived to get the afcendant; and, after debating and deliberating fo long, not only the Proteftants, but even the German and French Nations, refuled to receive its decrees. Certain of the Clergy, finding the afcendancy that the negociation of the Pope was getting in tliis council, faid that the Holy Ghoft had been fent there from Rome in a cloakbag! Trent once boafted a curiofity — which indeed ftill remains, though out of ufe — that, I think, would be found ferviceable in moft towns in Chriftendom, and elfewhere too, and particularly at Bath, and fuch places. It was a tower on the river Adige, into which the ftream was condudled, for the purpofe of drowning fuch of the Clergy as were convifted of having been too familiar with their neighbours' wives and daughters ! The People of Trent fpeak promifcuoufly, and indifferently, both the German and Italian languages j but whether well or not, I was not adept enough to difcover. My next ftage wasBaffano, a town in the territory of Vincenza in Italy, fituated at the end of a very long narrow valley. It is watered by the river Brenta, which wafhes that veiy rich, fertile, ferene, healthy and plentiful diftridt of Italy, fo celebrated for its admirable wines, as well as for its fine pafture-grounds, rich corn- fields, and prodigious abundance of game, cattle, and mulberry- trees ; from all which it is called the Garden and Shambles of Venice. The ( H'5 ) The next day I arrived at an early hour at Venice, the defcrip- tion of which I fliall not injure by commencing it with the mutila- ted fragment of a Letter, and fliall therefore poftpone it to my next. Al Thus, my dearpREDERiCK, have I, in order to preferve the unity and order of my progrefs, brought you through Germany with a precife regularity, that, if I was not wifliing for your im- provement, might be difpenfed with — yet have left much, very much indeed, untouched, in the confidence that you will yourfelf have the induftry to find it out. I confefs, my dear boy, that I have often, as I wrote, detected myfelf in excurfions from the road into moral refleftion — but I could not ftop : your improvement was my objedl in undertaking the bufinefs ; and I could not refrain from endeavouring to incul- cate fuch lefibns as the progrefs of the work fuggefted, and as impreffed my mind with a conviftion of their truth and utility. You mufl: have obferved, that there are two topics on which I dwell very much — one. Liberty — the other, an abhorrence of Bigotry and Supenlition. But, before I proceed further, I mufl call to your remembrance what I have often faid, that by Liberty I do not mean that which fome people now give that name to — nor do I mean Religion when I fpeak of Bigotry ; for true Liberty is ftill more incompatible with Anarchy than with Defpotifm, and Superftition is the greatefl enemy of Religion. Let the firfi: objeft of your heart and foul be true Morality —the next, rational Liberty : T • but ( 146 ) but remember, that the one is not to be found independent of Re- ligion, nor the other ever to be enjoyed but under the reftraining hands of wholefome laws and good government — fuch as England now boafts. In thefe times, when human opinion is ad:ually polled on the two extremes of political judgment, I know,that to fpeak ration- ally, is to incur the cenfure of both, or to be, as Pope fomewhere fays, " by Tories called a Whig, by Whigs a Tory :" But I care not — I fpeak my opinion with the feir face of independence ; nor would fcruple to tell the King of Prussia my hatred of Defpo- tifm, or the Convention of France my abhorrence of Anarchy — between both of which the true and genuine point of Liberty lies ; and England, thank God ! draws the line. LETTER XXIV. As I approached Venice, I was much delighted with its appearance. Its ftately fleeples and noble buildings feemed as if juft emerging from the fea, and floating on the furface of it ; and it required no great ftretch of fancy to imagine, that it undulated with the agitated waves of its parent the Adriatic. On all the fur- rounding coafls, nature and art feemed to have vied with each other in ( 147 ) in pouring the greateft profufion of their gifts, while thoufands of mafts, fcattered Hke forefts over the furrounding bays, denoted that Venice; not content with her own, fhared in the wealth and luxuries of other climes. It is indeed difficult to conceive a more extraordinary and pleafing appearance than this city makes at a diftance, whether you approach it from the fea or from the continent. Built not like towns in Holland, where immenfe moles and walls pufli the fea forward, and encroach on his dominion, it ftands on piles eredled in the fea; and the foundations of the houfes almoft touch- ing the water, gives it the appearance of floating on its furface. The fteeples are feen at fea at the diflance of thirty miles; and the profpedt becomes more beautiful the nearer it is approached — prefenting in many views the profped: of floating iflands. To eredl a city thus upon the water, while fo many thoufands of acres ftand unoccupied, at firft fight feems extraordinary — but all thofe great and ftrange deviations from the ordinary path prefented by Nature, have their fource in neceffity; and it is not till long after the neceffity has been firft lamented, and afterwards obviated, that experience comes into aid, and demonflrates, that, from her, fecurity and utility have often arifen. Thus it is with Venice, who, fortified by her local fituation (the effort of neceffity), fits fecure, and bids defiance to the world. The place where Venice now ftands, is fuppofed to have been formerly a marfliy ground, on which the Adriatic Sea had gradu- ally encroached, leaving the more elevated parts of it above T 2 water. ( 148 ) Wafer, a!nd thereby forming a vafl: number of little iflands, hence called Lagunes : on thole the fifliermen of the neighbouring fhores built their hutSj and when Italy was invaded by the Goths under Alaric, and afterwards by that barbarous race, the Huns, under Attila, both of whom fpread ruin and defolation wherever they came, vaft numbers of people from the circumjacent fliores of the Adriatic, particularly from Padua and Aquileia, fled hither, and brought alona; with them immenfe wealth. Here thev laid the firft foundations on feventy-two diftinft little iflands, and cer- tainly with huts, of a city which afterwards fl:ood almofl: foremoil in the naval and commercial world: as thofe iflands were built upon, and became over-peopled, they gradually puflied forward their piles, and built upon them again, till the whole became one vail: city, extending to many more of thofe iflands beyond the original feventy-two. As it was indebted, in a great meafure, for its rife and im- portance to the commerce of the Eaft, which then was carried on byway of the Red Sea and Alexandria, when the paflage by the Cape of Good Hope was difcovered, that trade declined, and Venice declined gradually along with it. It is amazing, what an extent of territory and accumulation of power the Venetians once poflelled. Belides their prefent pos- feflions, which comprehend the territories of Padua and Verona* the Vincentine, the Brefcians, the Bergamafes, the Cremafco, the Polefin of Rovigo, Marca Trevigiana, the Patria del Friuli, and Iftria, they had under their dominion the iflands of Rhodes, Scio, ( l^'O ) Scio, Samos, Mytilene, Andros, Candia, die Morea, and the cities of Gallipoli and Theffalonica : befides which, they, in conjunction with France, took Constantinople, and remained for fome time mafters of that part of the Empire ; and difputed the dominion of Sclavonia, Croatia, Morlachia and Dahnatia, with the Kings of Hungary, and contended with the Gehoefe for the empire of the fea : but of a great part of thefe, and their other conquefts, they have fuice been Stripped, almoft entirely, by the Turks. As to the government of Venice, I fhall not enter into any particulars of its hiftory — It is called a Republic, and was once a Democracy. The name remains, while that which gave it is gone. It is, certainly, now a downright Ariltocracy — the pri- vilege of fitting in the great Council being confined to the Nobi- lity; and the Doge, under the name of Head, being no more than a gaudy ilave, loaded with fetters: yet, fuch is the idle fondnefs of Man for fuperficial pomp, that this office is fought after with avidity; lor though his power be fmall, his ftate is very fplendid. Plence it is faid, that the Doge of Venice is a king in his robes, a fenator in council, a priloner in the city, and a private man out of it; and what is more extraordinary, is, that though he may be depofed, he cannot refign — nor even decline the office, if he be once chofen, without expofing himfelf to banifliment, and his effefts to coniifcation. The eltabliflied religion of this State is the Roman Catholic; but the Venetians are not bigots, and rejctS the fupremacy of the Pope. Jews, Armenians, Greeks, and Protcllants, are allowed the exercife ( 150 ) exercife of their religion there ; and, provided they do not inter- meddle with flate affairs, of which they are extremely jealous, even their Priell:s, Monks and Nuns, may take almoii any liberties they pleafe — a privilege that you may be aifured is not negledted by any of them. As few places have excited greater admiration and attention than Venice, fo none have been more copioufly defcribed by tra- vellers, every one of whom may, when he returns to his native country, give a very accurate account of the public buildings, curioiities, paintings, &c. by only tranilating the book given to him by his Valet de Place, or Cicerone, on his arrival there — It is certain, Venice abounds with all thole, particularly paintings ; but I had not the time minutely to inveftigate ; nor fhould I have the inclination, if I did, to defcribe fuch things : they are open to you in many well written volumes, which I recommend to your perufal. Such things, however, as flrike me for their novelty, or difference from thofe in other places, I will, as well as I can recoiled: them, give you an idea of. To their local fituation they owe their fecurity — feparated from terra Jirma by a body of water of five miles in breadth, too deep to be forded, and too fhallow for veffels of force to pafs ; and on the other fides, by fcattered fliallows, the channels between which are marked out by flakes, which, on the appearance of an enemy, they can take away; they bid defiance to hoftile army or navy, and have not been reduced to the neceflity of eredting walls or fortifications for their defence. The ( 1^1 ) The firft peculiarity that ftrikes me, as arifing immediately from their living, I may fay, in the fea, is the total exclufion of all fort of carriages ; for thofe ftreets that are on firm ground are extremely narrow and crooked; and on moft of the canals, fo far from having a quay on either fide to walk on, the water comes up to the doors of the houfes ; fo that walking is but little known, for they get into a boat off their threfliold, and their firft flep out of it again is, ten to one, on the threfhold of another. This circumftance, though in fome refpefts it has its ufes, is, in others, extremely difagreeable, as well as injurious; for, though thofe who have occalion to labour have a fufficiency of exercife, thofe whofe condition exempts them from labour, and who, therefore, in all other countries, i-efort to artificial labour (exercife) for the promotion of health, are here en- tirely cut off from all fuch means of it as we pradlife, having nei- ther hunting, fliooting, riding, bowling, &c. &c. nor can they have them, unlefs they go to the Continent for them. The chief amufe- ments of the Venetians are referved for the Carnival time, which commence about a week after Chriftmas, and which, therefore, I could not fee ; but, from the concurrent teftimony of all travellers and the People themfelves, as well as from the evidence of my own obfervation on the manners of the People, I am well warranted in faying, are feftivals of debauchery, riot and licentioufnefs. This is a fubjed: on which I am, neverthelefs, difpofed to believe, that more has been faidthan truth will bear out — yet, a bare ftatement of /■ ( 1-'^ ) of the truth would, I fear, bear hard enougli upon the moral cha^ radler, or at leafl: the piety, of the Venetians. That mafquerades are the very woril fchools of vice, the private anecdotes of the be,au monde even in England might fuffice to de- monftrate — That courtezans are found loft: to all fenfe of modeft:y, and common decency, the flireets of London afford nightly proofs — Therefore, that mafquerading (which is the chief amufement of the Venetians) ihould cloak many crimes, and that their courte- zans fliould be lliamelefs and their women lewd, is no fuch wonder, feeing, as we do, thofe things in this Northern clime ; but we may, without any illiberality, fuppofe, that, from phylical caufes of the mod obvious kind, they are carried to a greater extent there than here : though one of the moft enlightened and amiable of all travellers fays it would be hai-d to be proved, yet, with deference to him, I think it may be rationally fuppofed. There is an aftive principle in the mind of Man which will not fuffer it to reft: j it muft have fome materials to work upon. Men, enlightened by fcience, have within themfelves a fund, and can never want food for contemplation ; but the many, in thofe hours when a fufpenfion of labour or wordly buiinefs drives them to expedients for the employment of their time, are but too prone to leave the mind to the guidance of the fenfes, and to cogitate on vice till they wifli to pradlife it. Hence that homely but true fay- ing, " Idlenefs is the root of all evil." In England we have a variety ( 1-^3 ) variety of expedients which the Venetians want, whofe minds being beiides naturally more vivid, are more prompt to give a loofe to the warm illufions of fenfual fancy. Thus prepared, they meet the Carnival, when every thing confpires to give circulation to indulgence ; and when thofe operations of the mind which with us have fo many channels to difcharge themfelves, with them, like a vaft ftream fuddenly confined to one narrow channel, burft forth with an irrefiftible torrent, and carry away before them every bond that religion or morality has laid down as reftraints on the exube- rance of human paflion. The cuftoms and habits of the place and time contribute to it; for, while the fevere reftriftions of the fe- male fex for the refl of the year fharpen both inclination and in- vention on the one hand — on the other, the unbounded licenfe, the univerfal change of habits, cuftoms and laws — the total fuf- penfion of all diftindlion, care, or bufinefs which take place at that time, aided by perpetual mafquerade — and thofe moft conve- nient of all receptacles, the gondolas, with thofe moft expert and forward of all pandars, the gondoliers — afford ample fcope to their wiihes, and form altogether a mafs of circumftances in favour of vicious indulgence, not to be found in any other part of Chriften- dom ; to refift which, they muft be more virtuous than any other people — a point never yet laid to their charge by the beft-natured and moft extenuating of all thofe who have written upon that fubjedl. U LETTER ( l'^4 ) LETTER XXV. xROFLiGATE though the People of Loiidon are, I will not allow that it is fo vicious a city as Venice. That there are in it, and indeed in all capitals, individuals who have reached the higheft achme of fhameleis debauchery and depravity, it would be foolifh to deny : but that concubinage is pradlifed in the fame open way, fo generally, or fo fyllematically as at Venice, no one will venture to affert. I truft the day of depravity and indelicacy is far removed from us, that will exhibit a Britifh mother arranging a plan of accommodation for her fon, and bargaining for a young virgin to commit to his embraces — as they do in Venice — not as wife, but as concubine. On that one cuflom of the ^^enetian ladies I reft my pofition ; and have no hefitation to avow, that all the private concubinage of London amounts not to fuch a flagrant confummation of moral turpitude and iliamelefs indelicacy as that pradice to which I allude. The Venetian men are well-featured and well-fliaped — the women, well-fliaped, beautiful, and, it is faid, witty : but I had iiat within which robbed every obje(5l of its charms j and I might fay ( l^^ ) fay with Hamlet, that " Man deUghted not me, nor Woman either." — In ihort, not all the beauties and novelty of the place, not all the pleafures that ilare the traveller in tiie face, and folicit his enjoyment, not all the exquifite looks of the ladies, could roufe my mind from its melancholy, or fix my attention — I grew weary of Venice before I had been many hours in it, and determined to grafp at the very firfl opportunity that offered for my departure. 1 had arranged, in my own mind, a plan to proceed to Lata- chea, a confiderable fea-port town in Syria, and thence to Aleppo, whence, as it was a great Eaftern mart, I entertained hopes that I fliould find a fpeedy, or at leafl a certain conveyance, by a caravan, acrofs the deferts, to Baflbrah, and little doubted but that I fhould find a velfel at fome of the Venetian ports, either bound, or belonging to a fea-port of fuch commerical confequence, upon which I could procure a palfage — But in this I was difappointed ; for, on the fulleft inquiry that I could make, I found that there was only one fliip ready to fail, and no probability of any other for a confiderable time after — I did every thing I could to avail myfelf of this conveyance, but was difappointed, owing to a young lady being pafTenger, who was daughter to the owner of the vefTel — and the old gentleman did not approve of an Englifh Officer being of the party with his daughter. I ufed every argument without luccels, urging the Refident, Mr. Strange, who had behaved very politely to me during my ihort refidence at Venice, to interefl himfelf about it: I likewife eatx"eated Mrs. Strange, an affable, plealant woman, U 2 to ( 156 ) to exert her endeavours, and made her laugh, by propofing to her to give me a, certificate of my behaviour, and to pledge herfclf to the old gentleman that the happinefs or honour of his family would not be difturbed by me during the palfage. Hearing, however, that a fhip lay at Triefle, which was to fail thence for Alexandria in Egypt, I determined to embrace that opportunity, and, inftead of my former intended route, go to Grand Cairo, thence to Suez, and fo down the Red Sea, by way of Mecca, to Moca, and thence to Aden, where company's vefTels, or India country traders are always to be found going to one or other of the Britifli fettlements. I accordingly fet out for Triefte, with all the impatience of a fanguine mind, anxious to change place, eager to pufli forward, and full of the new route I had laid down — the charms of which, par- ticularly of feeing Grand Cairo, theLand of Egypt,and the Pyramids, were painted by my imagination in all the glowing exaggerated colours of romance. The Captain of the veffel was then at Venice, and I accompanied him to Triefte, which is about fixty m.iles from Venice. Soon after our arrival at Triefte, I had the mortification to find, that the veffel was by no means likely to keep pace with the ardour of my mind, and that, owing to fome unforefeen event, her de- parture was to be delayed; fo, after a few of thofe effufions which may be fuppofed on fuch an occafion to efcape a man of no very cool temper hanging on the tenterhooks of exped:ation, I found it ■ ( 157 ) it neceflary to fit down, and patiently wait the revolution of time and event, which nothing could either impede or accelerate. It has often been remarked, and is held as a point of faith by Predeftinarians, that fome men are doomed by fate to difappoint- ment — and that, when they are fo, no wifdom can obviate, no vigilance provide againO:, nor no refolution refift, her decrees j but, that, in fpite of all the efforts of reafon and induftry, a feries of finifter events fliall purfue them through life, and meet them at every turn they attempt to take. Such has been my lot for the greateft part of my life — but I have neither faith enough in Pre- deftination, nor felf-love enough, fo far to blind me to my own faults, as to fuppofe that lady Fate had any thing at all to do with it. No, no; it was often owing to a temper, warm, impatient and uncontrouled, which, in almoft all cafes of momentary embar- raffment, chafed reafon from her office, ufurped her place, and decided as chance diredled. Let every man examine the grounds of all his ferious difappointments in life with candour, and he will find phyfical caufes to which to affign them, without reforting to fupernatural. For my part, when I hear a man fay that he has been all his life purfued by ill-fortune, I diredly conclude, that either he has been a blunderer, or thofe he dealt with, brutes. In the ordinary operation of earthly contingencies, mifchances will happen; but an uniform hfe of mifchance can only arife from mif- management, or a very extraordinary chain of human injuflice — 7^ Thefe ( 1-8 ) Thele reflexions arofe from the following incident : I had procured a fervant to attend me on my journey, who, from my fliort obfervation of him, promifed to contribute very confiderably to my comfort, my convenience, and, indeed, to my fecurity as he was apparently honcft, fincere, adtive and clever in his duty, and mafter of feveral languages, and particularly of the lingua Franca, a mixture of languages, peculiarly ufeful in tra- velling through the Eaft. Finding that I was likely to be delayed at Triefle, and conceiving that in this interim letters from England, for which I moft ardently longed, might have arrived at Venice for me, I imprudently and impetuoufly fent him to Venice, for the purpofe of taking them up, and carrying them to me. But guefs what muft have been my feelings when I found, almoft immedi- ately after his departure, that the veffel was preparing to fail, and that I muft either lofe my paffage or my fervant : anxious though I was to get forward, and grievous though my former delay had been to me, I heiitated which to do; but prudence, for once, pre- vailed over inclination ; and I determined, at all events, to depart, under all the embarraffment attending the want of a fervant and linguift, and all the poignant feelings of having been acceiTary to the difappointment, and perhaps the injury of a poor fellow, whom I really conceived to be a perfon of merit. In our paflage to Alexandria, we touched at Zante, an ifland on the. coaft of Greece, belonging to Venice : it was anciently called Zacynthus — is ( 1-^9 ) is about fifty miles in circumference, and contains fifty thoufind inhabitants. Never before had I tailed any thing equal to the de- licious flavour of the fruits of this iiland — the grapes exquifite, and the melons and peaches of prodigious bignefs and unequalled flavour. The ifland is abundantly fruitful in v/ine, currants, oil, figs and corn, but is very fubject to earthquakes. Near the fea- port which we entered is as great a curiofity in Nature as is any where, I believe, to be found. Two fpring wells of clear frefla water throw up large pieces of real pitch, in fach quantities, that, it is faid, the people coiledt, one year v/ith another, one hundred barrels of it, v/hich they ufe in paying their fhipping and boats. In the firit ftages of melancholy, confolation is rejecfled by the mind as premature. The heart, intent, as it were, upon fupping full of woe, difclaims all advances of comfort, and feeds on grief alone. Hence the truly ikilful in the human heart confider pre- mature confolation as an aggravation of woe, and comfort only with condolence, well knowing that the tide of grief mufl take its courle, and that, until it be firfl full, no hopes can be had of its retiring. The full force of this I began now to feel. The dif- quietude of domefliic embarrafllr^ent — the bitternefs of feparation from all I loved — the folitary fadnefs of my fituation, wandering through unknown countries — myi'elf unknown and unfriended — aggravated at length by the lofs of my fervant, who was a fort of prop to my fpirits — -and n:iy being caft into a fhip among a people vvhofe language I little underftood, without any foul or one circum- fl:ance ( 160 ) ftance to mitigate my forrow, or confole me under it ; all thefe, I fay, had wound up my feelings to the higheft pitch of fortune— - More miferable I could not be when the Ifland of Zante received me, and, for the firft time for a fad feries of days, raifed me with the tranfporting found of an Englifh voice. I have promifed, my Frederick, to give you a candid rela- tion, in hopes that you will improve by it : but if I thought, that, on the contraiy, any thing I faid fliould tend to raife in your mind a fentiment injurious to your principles, or refledlive on your father's condudt, but to be an example and admonitory guide to your own, I fhould condemn my candour and curfe the hour that I wrote — but, I truft to your good fenfe and difpofi- tion, with my care to diredt them; and fhall, but not without hefi- tation, proceed. But, as I have already fpun out this Letter to fuch an extent, I will defer my further relation to another. LETTER XXVL At the time I fet out upon my journey over land to India, I was (though married, and the father of children) very young, naturally of a fanguine conftitution : my attachment to the fair fex was no ways diminifhed by a military education; and a warmth ( 161 ) a warmth of temper, an ardent fenfibility of mind, and a frank unfufpicious difpolition, left me but too often to regret the fa- cility with \<^hich I yielded to the charms of women. But the re- gret for each error was willfully fmothered in vain determinations of amendment — and the promifed amendment again broken in upon by fome new error. Thus it was, till riper years and cir- cumftances of weight ftrengthened my reafon, and gave it in fome greater degree that dominion it fhould have over my actions. Circumftanced as I have in my lafl Letter defcribed myfelf to be, and conftituted by nature and education as I have mention- ed above, I landed in the charming ifland of Zante, where Nature herfelf feems to have confpired againfl chaftity — mak- ing the very air breathe nothing but tranfport and delight. There I met a young lady, a native of England — extremely pretty, highly accompliflied, and captivating in the extreme : fhe had been at Venice for her education — was a complete miftrefs of mufic, and exprelTed an intention of following it profeflionally on her arrival in England, whither Ihe was going paiTenger in a veflel bound there from Zante. To have accident- ally met with a native of England, even of my own fex, in fuch a diflant corner of the world, under fuch circumftances as mine, juft efcaped from the horrid life I had for fome time led, muft have filled me with joy: allowance, therefore, may be made for my feelings on meeting this young lady, and for my thinking of ,X fome ' ( 162 ) fome expedient to prevent our feparation. She laboured, perhaps, under the preilure of feelings as difagreeable as my own, and ex- prefled her fatisfadlion at meeting with a countryman fo very un- expectedly.- Referve was foon thrown off on both fides: we entered into a converfation interefting and confidential, which in- creafed my anxiety to keep her with me, and in order to perfuade her to accompany me, I pointed out in the flrongeft colours pof- fible, the great advantages flie might derive from her accomplifli- ments in India, where her mufical talents alone, exclufive of her various captivating qualities, would be an inxehauftible mine of wealth. In lliort, I fo very eagerly enforced my propofal to accom- pany me, and time was fo very fhort, that fhe confented, and in two hours we had arranged every thing for our departure together — and here with fliame and forrow I confefs (nor fhall ever ceafe to reget it), that this ecclaireciflement communicated the firll; ray of fubftantial pleafure to my heart that it felt lince I left London. Thus far, our projedl failed before the wind : wayward ima- gination had decked it out in the moft alluring drapery that fancy could fabricate, and prevented us from feeing the impracticability of it, as it ftood in the nakednefs of truth j and when it came to be carried into execution, a thoufand difficulties occurred, that the wildnefs of paffion, and the warmth of our feelings, had before concealed from our view. In the firft place, it was necelTary for her to obtain the confent of a lady to whofe care and proteftion fhe was committed : in the next place, accommodations were to be procured ( 163 ) procured for her in the fame fliip with me — a circumftance of moft arduous difficulty; befides which, a variety of other impedi- ments — infuperable indeed — concurred to fruftrate our views, and put an end to our project:. If my pleafure at meeting her was great, my anguifli at parting with her was inexpreffible. I had once more to face the world alone; and, on the fecond day of my fojourning at Zante, embarked with a heavy heart, and fet fail for Alexandria. The laft difappointments we undergo, feem always the heavieft; and this at Zante I thought at that time to be the greateft of my life. But — oh ! (liort-fighted Man ! bubble of every delulive fliadow ! I never reflefted, as I have iince done, what feri- ous mifchiefs, what endlefs mifery, what lofs of time, means and reputation, I may by that providential difappointment have efcaped — for thefe are the almoft never-failing confequences of fuch affairs. It too often happens, that the fyren who deludes a man into her fnares, is the very perfon who inflid;s the deadly wound into his heart. Avoid, my dear Frederick! avoid all fuch, as you would avoid plague, peftllence, or ruin — fteel your heart by timely refledlion againft their advances. In all your tranfactions with women, like a good General in warfare, fecure for your heart a retreat; for it will be too late to find that they are unworthy when your heart is enfnared — and when you find them worthy of your afi^edlion, it will be time enough to give a looie to the fenfibility of your heart. A virtuous woman -is beyond all calculation to be~ valued, when fhe is found; but, alas! in finding X 2 her. ( 164 ) her, you may pafs through fo many fires ordeal, and run ilich dangei', that it is ahnoft a doubt, whether a wife man (if he can fetter his paflions) had not better difpenfe with the blefling, thaa run the hazard of fearching for it. On my arrival at Alexandria, I found, to my frefli mortifica- tion, that the plague was raging all over Egypt — and as, if this was not of itfelf futiicient to block up my intended route, an irruption of the Arabs, who in formidable bodies infefled all the roads, put a period to all my hopes of feeing Grand Cairo, and viewing the curiofities of that Country, which all who, like us, have the Bible put early into their hands, are taught to venerate as foon as they are taught to read. Here I thought lo have viewed the pyramids, whofe antiquity, origin, or intended ufe, have baffled the learned and ingenious inquiries of fo many ages — of behold- ing mount Sinai, the fl:one of Mofes, the track of the Ifraelites, all of which are faid to be clearly pointed out, and Geography by that means brought into the fupport of Sacred Hiflory. Thefe, and many things, I did wilh to fee — they are worth it : but I have had fince reafon to believe, that my ill luck was not fo great as I then thought it; for the fearch is dangerous, and made prodigioufly expenfive by the exadlions of the Mahomedan Magi- fbrates. It is as well, therefore, to travel over this Country in books, which afford us good information, and more of it, at an eafier rate than you could purchafe it in the Country. Alexandria ( 16^ ) Alexandria was built by Alexander the Great, foon after the overthrow of Tyre, about 333 years before Christ, and is fituated on the Mediterranean, twelve miles Weil of that mouth of the Nile, anciently called Canopicum. A very extraordinaiy circumftance is related, as a proofof the fuddennefs of Alexander's refoiutionto build it : After he had diredled the number of public flrudlures, and fixed the places where they were to ftand, there were no in- ftruments at hand proper for marking out the walls, according to the cuitom of thofe times: upon this, a workman advifed the King to coiledl what meal was among the foldiers, and fift it in lines upon the ground, in order to mark out the circuit of the walls: the advice was followed, and the King's foothfayer in- terpreted it to be a prefage of the future profperity and abundance of the city. This prophecy was certainly afterwards verified; for it foon became the exporlum of Commerce, of Arts and of Sciences. By the defcription of Strabo and other Ancients, it appears that this city was built upon a plan well worthy the vaft mind of its founder ; and the fragments of its ornaments afterwards com- pofed a part of the grandefl embelliflim.ents of Rome and Conftan- tinople. In the Mufeum of the Royal Palace, which occupied a fourth part of the city, the body of Alexander was depofited ina golden cofiin — but the detedable Seleucus Cibyofactes vio- lated the monument, took away the golden coffin, and fubflituted a glafs one in its place. This ( 1«6 ) This city, like moft others of antiquity, has been the fcene of terrible maflacres. About two hundred years after its foundation, it was totally depopulated by Ptolemy Physcon — the very few who efcaped flaughter, flying into other Countries. Defirous, however, not to reign over empty houfes, he feduced inhabitants from the neighbouring Countries ; and again, for fome flight offence, determined on a general maflacre of the young men; and accord- ingly, when they were one day afTembled in the Gymnafium, or place of public exercife, he ordered it to be fet on fire, fo that all perifhed, either in the flames, or by the fwords of his mercenaries, whom he had placed at all the avenues. Afterwards, in the year of Christ 2 15, the Emperor Car a call a, having beenlampooned by fome of the inhabitants, ordered a general maflacre by his numer- ous troops, who were difperfed over the city. The inhuman orders being given, all were murdered, without diftincftion of age or fex ; fo that, in one night's time, the whole city floated in blood, and every houfe was filled with carcafes: the monfler himfelf, retiring to the Temple of Serapis, was all the time imploring the protection of the Deity — a proof that practical devotion and the mofl at- trocious inhumanity may meet in the fame bofom. As if this had not been fufficient vengeance, he flripped the city of all its ancient privileges — ordered all ftrangers who lived there to depart — and, that the few who remained mio^ht not have the fatisfadlion of feeing one another, he cut off all communication of one flreet with another, by walls built for the purpofe, and guarded with troops. Not- ( 167 ) Notwithstanding thefe maflacres, Alexandria again recovered its former fplendour — and was again facked by Amrou, the in- famous Saracen — and all the intrepid youth of the city periflied with arms in their hands. The magnificence of the city may be eflimated from the account written by Amrou to the Caliph: " I have taken," faid he, " the City of the Weft j it is of an immenfe extent J I cannot defcribe to you how many wonders it contains: there are 4000 palaces, 4000 baths," &c. &c. The great advantages of the Eaft India trade, which was then carried on by the Red Sea, preferved Alexandria through feveral revolutions ; but having fallen under the dominion of the Turks, and the paflage round the Cape of Good Hope being difcovered, a fatal blow was given to its commerce, and it has fince fallen to decay. It is, however, even now, worth the attention of the claffical traveller. Entering the harbour, we pafled by the Ifland of Pharos, where Ptolemy built the enormous Tower which was once the wonder of the world; and, when riding within the port, nothing could be more gratifying than to fee from thence that mixture of ancient and modern monuments that prefented themfelves to the view, on which ever fide the eye could be turned. Of myriads of antiquities which this place affords for the infpeition of the curious, I lliall mention only two — One,- the Column of Pomp EY, on viewing of which, the remembrance of that great and good man's moil unmerited and cruel fate extradled a figh from the bottom of my heart : this pillar engages the atr tention ( 168 ) tention of all travcHers ; it is compofed of red granite; the capital is Corinthian, wioh palm Iciives, and not indented ; the fliaft and the upper member of the bale are of one piece, ninety feet long, and nine in d.ameter j the bafe, a fquare of fifteen feet on each fide ; the whole column is one hundred and fourteen feet high, perfectly well pohflied, and only a little Ihivered on the Eaflern fide. No- thing can equal the majcfty of this monument : feen from a dif- tance, it overtops the town, and ferves as a fignal for vefl"els j approaching it nearer, it produces an aftonidiment mixed with awe : one would never be tired of admiring the beauty of the capital, the length of the lliaft, nor the extraordinary fimplicity of the pe- deftal. Some years ago, a party of Englifli feamen contrived, by flying a kite, to draw a hne over the pillar, and by that means made a kind of a fhroud, by which they got up, and on the very top of of it drank a bov/1 of punch, to the utter aftonifliment of a mul- titude who came to fee them ; they broke off one of the volutes of the column, but amply compenfated for this mifchief by a dif- covery they made, as, without their evidence, the world would not have known, at this hour, that there was originally a ftatue on this column, one foot and ancle of which, of enormous fize, are ftill remaining. ---The other is the Obeliik of Cleopatra, ofim- menfe fize, and of one fingle piece of granite marble. Here I obfcrved, too, a thick wall, with towers mouldering under extreme age, which contained, in its face, fragments of architecture of the moft exquifite vvorkmanlliip, fuch as broken columns, friezes, &c. ( 169 ) &c. ; thofe were the antique ruins of Ibme fallen pieces of anti- quity, at the time that this antique wall was built : what, then, mufl: be the length of time fince they had firft undergone the hands of the workman ? Thefe circumftances tend to demonftrate, that, far back beyond the reach of our calculation, the Arts flouriflied : and when one thinks of the miraculous mafles of work done in former ages — the magnitude of the pieces of which thofe works were compofed, fuch as whole columns and obeljiks of a fingle block of marble — the Coloflus of Rhodes, made of brafs, one foot of which was placed on one fide of the harbour, and another on the other fide, fo that Ihips paffed between its legs — we cannot help yielding up the palm to the Ancients for ftupendous magnifi- cence, however we may furpafs them for the ufeful, the elegant and the good. At Alexandria I remained about twelve days, till, wearied of the confined ftate I lived in on account of the plague, I refolved to devife fome means, if poflible, to get away, and at length hired a boat to carry me to the ifland of Cyprus, from whence I con- cluded, that I fliould find no fort of difficulty in procuring a con- veyance to Latichea, and fo proceed by my firft intended route. I accordingly arrived at Cyprus in perfedl fafety, where, to my great forrow and aftftnifliment, I found that an epidemical fever, equal in its efFedts to a plague, prevailed : however, there was no alter- native ; I muft ruh the rifque, and I difmifled the boat that carried me from Alexandria. Y Although { 1-0 ) Although the etymologies of the names of places are of very little importance, and mofl frequently uncertain, I think it probable that the Learned are right, who afiert the name of this is derived from KuTT^oj (Cyprus) or Cyprefs — with which flirubs the illand abounds. It had, in ancient times, a number of other names — >4- one of which was Paphia, whence Venus, who was worfhipped in it, was called the Paphian Goddefs. It lies thirty miles Weft of Syria, whither I was bound, ftretching from the South-weft to the North-eaft, one hundred and fifty miles in length, and feventy in breadth in the widefl part of it. This ifland holds a very high rank in claffic lore — It gave birth to fome great Philofophers and confiderable Poets — The ApoftleBARNABAS was a native of it, and, affifted by ST.PAUL,firft introduced Chriftianity among them. Famagufta, a town on the Eaftern part of the ifland, oppofite to the lliore of Syria, is the ancient Salamis, built by Teucer the fon of Tel amon, and bro- ther of AjAX. SymifTo, on the South-eaft, the beft port in Cyprus, is the Amathiis mentioned by Virgil in his ^neid, and by Ovid in bis Metamorphofes. And Baffo, on the Weflern coaft, is the na-po; (Paphos) of antiquity, famous for the Temple of Venus. As the branches of an Empire moft remote from 'the great feat of Government are always more defpotically governed than thofe nearer the fource of redrefs, Cyprus has been continually ruled with a rod of iron fince it came into the hands of the Turks. While it ( ni ) it was under the dominion of Chriflians, it was well-peopled, having no lefs than eight hundred or a thoufand villages in it, belides Se- veral handfome cities; but the Turks have fpread ruin and delolation over the country, and it is now fo thinly inhabited that more than half the lands lie uncultivated. The air of this ifland is now for the moil: part unwholefome, owing to the damps arifing from the many fens and marfhes with which the country abounds — while, there being but few fprings or rivers in the iHand, the want of a plentiful fall of rain, at proper periods, diftreffes the inhabitants very much in another way ; and by means of the uncultivated ftate of the country, they are greatly infefted with poifonous reptiles of various kinds. The moft remarkable mountain in Cyprus is called Olympus — a name common to feveral other mountains in Greece, particu- larly to that in Theffaly, fo famous in the poetry of the Ancients. That in Cyprus is about fifty miles in circumference: great part of it is covered with woods; and at the foot of it are fine vineyards, which produce admirable wine, not only in a fufiiciency for their own confumption, but fome alfo for exportation — And although the greater part of the iHand lies uncultivated, as I have before obferved, it produces a fufficient quantity of corn, unlefs in feafons when their harvefl fails, in which cafe the people are eafily fupplied from the continent. They have, befides, cattle enough for their own confumption — Many parts of the country abound with wild-fowl, Y 2 and ( n2 ) and feveral forts of game, and they have plenty of fifli upon the fea coafts. The trade of Cyprus is not inconfiderable, and carried on chiefly by Jews and Armenians : the commodities in which they deal are wine, oil, cotton, wool, ialt, filk, and turpentine— befides, it pro- duces feveral forts of earth, fit for the ufe of painters, pai-ticularly red, black and yellow. Its mod wonderful produiflion, however, is the famous flone Ao-e-'s-os (Albeftos) inextinguilhable, or \ix.iaf.o; (Amiantos) im- pollutus, fo called from its extraordinary property of refifling fire. It is related that the Ancients made out of this ftone a kind of thread that would remain unconfumed in the mofl intenfe fire. It is even faid, that feme experiments have been made in modern days, which have fufficiently proved that the thing is not a fidtion. la fuch extraordinary quelbions as this, though I do not pofitively contradidt, I always fiifpend my belief, till fomething ftronger than mere affertion is offered to convince me. There is one dreadful mifchief to which this ifland is fubjeft — In the hot feafon, loculls come from the Continent, in fwarms fo vail and fo thick as to darken the iky hke clouds. Thofe would certainly devour all the fruits of the earth, if they were not driven to fea by a North wind that ufually blows at the time of their coming. When that wind happens to fail, which fortunately is feidom, the ccnfcquence is a total demolition of the fruits of the Country. The ( 173 ) The whole ifland, as well as particular towns, was entirely confecrated to the Goddefs Venus, who thence was called Venus Cypria, or Dea Cvpria, and is reprefented by the Poets as taking a peculiar pleafure in vifiting it — and this unqueflionably arofe from the loofe habits and lafcivious temperament of the women there, who certainly are, at this time, not remarkable for chaflity. I muft confefs, however, that I felt great pleafure in entering Cyprus — it was, as I have already ftated, claflic ground, and dedi- cated to the Queen of Love. But a traveller who vifits it v/ith hopes of amufement, will be much difappointed; for in no one par- ticular did it feem to rne to refemble that Cyprus famed in the Heathen Story and Mythology. Of the Cyprian Queen's favours- the ladies feemed to boaft no one mark, lave the mofl naufeous, difgufling levvdnefs — and the natural fertility of the foil is half loft beneath the oppreiTive yoke of the fervants of the Turkifli Government. Thus, in the extraordinary revolutions that human affairs are inceffantly undergoing, that ifland which for its fuperior beauties was fuppofed to be the reiidence of Love, which gave birth to the Philofophers Zeno, Appollonius and Xenophon, is now a miferable, half-cultivated fpot, peopled with a mixture of wretched Turks, Jews, Greeks and Chriftians — groaning under the tyrrany of a barbarous defpotic abufe of delegated power infefted with locufts which devour the fruits of the earth — and difgraced ( 174 ) dilgraced by a race of ignominious women, who efteem it to be an aft of religion to proftitute themfelves to all ftrangers. Our Richard the Firft made aconquefl of this ifland on his way to the Holy Land, and conferred the Royalty of it on Guy LusiGNAN, King of Jerufalem. The Venetians pofleffed them- felves of it in the year 1480 — but, in the fixteenth century, the Turks difpofleffed them, and have ever fmce kept it under the yoke— -I ihould have remarked that their wine is excellent. Continuing my route, I hired another boat, after only forty- eight hours flay at Cyprus, and proceeded for Latichea, which, as I have fomewhere before mentioned, is a confiderable fea-port town of Syria, built on a promontory of land, which, running into the fea, occafions its being continually refrefl:ied with breezes. For- tune, who had hitherto been not very liberal in her difpenfations, now favoured me; for, jufl as I arrived at Latichea, a caravan was preparing. The Conful of the Turkifli Company at Cyprus re- ceived me with great politenefs and hofpitality — gave me a Letter to the Refident at Latichea j and by his inflruilion and afliftance, after a very fhort flay, I fet out on my way to Aleppo with the caravan. As I (hall hereafter have occafion more particularly to defcribe the nature of thofe caravans, I Ihall, for the prefent, tell you, that this was compofed of no other beads of burden than mules and afles, of which there were not lefs than three or four hundred in number. Mounted ( 175 ) Mounted on a mule, I travelled along, well pleafed with the fertile appearance of the country, and delighted with the ferenity of the air — We were, as well as I can now recoiled, near ten days on the road; during which time we travelled only in the morning early, and in the heat of the day repofed under the fhade of trees. I was informed, that if, inilead of going to Latichea, I had gone to Scanderoon (otherwife Alexandretta), I fliould, in the road from thence to Aleppo, have travelled through a Country, in which the moft lingular and extravagant cuftoms prevail that exift in any Country emerged from barbarifm — Several of thofe I heardj but one in particular was, that the men proftituted their wives and daughters to all comers — and that this originated from a principle of religion, though there was every reafon to believe, that, like many of their religious inftitutions, it was at lail made fubfervient to the gratification of avarice. On my way to Alleppo, I was met by a Mr. , an Englifh Gentleman, who had heard of my coming, and who, in the mofl kind and hofpitable manner, inlilled upon my living at his houfe inftead of the Britifh Conful's, where I fhould otherwife have relided during my Hay there; and his manner of afking me was fo en- gaging, interefting and impreflive, that I found it impoffible to refufe him. As the great public caravan had departed from Aleppo before my arrival, and the expence of forming a private one on my ac- count was too great, as I was travelling on my own account, and had ( 176 ) had no difpatchcs to authorife or enforce my departure, or bear me out in the expence; I was conftralned to remain at Aleppo till fome eligible mode of travelling occurred, or another public caravan was formed — This delay gave me an opportunity of feeing and informing myfelf of the city and furrounding country; the re- fult of which, I fliall, in as fhort a manner as poffible, relate to you in a future Letter. It alfo gave occalion to one of thofe unhappy incidents which I have fo often had occalion to lament, not from any confcioufnefs of direft criminality, but for the fcope it gave to mifreprefentationj^anfl the injury which that mifreprefentation did me in the opinion of fome of my friends. END OF PART I, JOURNEY TO INDIA, Sec. PART IL I'^f JOURNEY TO INDIA, Sec. LETTER XXVII. My dear Frederick, So long as the route of my journey lay through Eu- ropean regions, little prefented itfelf refpe£ting human nature of fuch very great novelty as to excite admiration or awaken curiofity. In all the various Nations through which we have palTed, a certain parity of fentiment, arifmg from the one great fubftratum, Chrif- tianity, gave the fame general colouring to all the fcenes, how- ever they might differ from each other in their various fhadings. Whatever difiimilitude the influence of accident, climate, or local circumftance, may, in the revolutions of ages, have introduced into their manners, cuftoms, municipal laws, and exterior forms of A '2 worlhip ( -i ) vvorfhip — the great Cede of Rtliglon and Moral Sentiment re- mains nearly the fame with all : and right and wrong, good and evil, being defined by the fame principles of reafon, and afcertained by the fame bound^'-ies, bring the rule of conduft of each to fo clofe an approximation with that of the others, that, when com- pared'with thofe we are now to attend to, they may really be coa- fidered as one and the fame people. In the Empire now before us, were we to leave our judgment to the guidance of general opinion of Chriflian Nations, we fhould have, on the contrary, to contemplate Man under a variety of forms and modifications, fo entirely different from thofe to which habit has familiarifed our minds, as at firft to imprefs us with the idea of a total difruption from our nature, and induce us, as it has already the generality of our people, to divorce them from a participation of all thofe fympathetic feelings which ferve to inforce the difcharge ._j.. of mutual good offices among men. Deducing all their principles, not only of moral condudl, but municipal government, from a religion radically different from, and elTentially adverfe to, ours ; deluded by that fyftem into a variety of opinions which liberality itfelf muft think abfurd ; unaided by that enlightened philofophy which learning, and learned men, ad:ing under the influence of compara- tive Freedom, and affifled by the art of Printing, have diffufed through the mafs of Europeans ; and living under a climate the moft unfavourable to intelledual or bodily exertion, they exhibit a fpec- ( 5 ) a fpeftacle which the philofophic and liberal mind muft view with dilapprobation, regret and pity — the illiberal fierce Chriftian with unqualified deteftation and difgufl; : while, on their part, bi- goted to their own principles and opinions, they look on us with, abhorrence, and indulge as confcientious a contempt of, and antipathy to Chriftians, which I apprehend no lapfe of time, v.-ithout a great change of circumftance, will be able to eradicate. Should Maho- medanifm and Chriftianity ever happen to merge in Deifm (but not otherwife), the inhabitants of Syria and Europe will agree to eonfider each other even as fellow-creatures. In Spain and Portu- gal, Jew, Turk, and indeed Proteftant, are without dillindlion call- ed hogs. In Turkey, Jews and Chriftians are indifcriminately called dogs ; each thinking the other completely excluded from the pale of humanity, and well worthy the dagger of any true BELIEVER who would have the pieij to apply it. You will allow, my dear Frederick, that it muft have been, rather an important contemplation, to your Father, to have perhaps two thoufand miles to travel through the immenfe and almoft track- lefs wilds of a country inhabited by fuch people, without the con- folation of any others to accompany him in his journey ; for, unlefs a public difpatch was to overtake me, there was little probability of my having a fingle European partner of my fatigue and perils. However, as the period was not yet arrived at which I was to go forward, or even determine my mode of travelling, I endeavoured to. ( G ) to foothe my mind as much as I could Into content, and to take advantage of my ftay at Aleppo, to acquire all the knowledge pof- fible of the place, that is to fay, of that city in particular, and of the Turkifli government and manners in general. A diftant view of Aleppo fills the mind with expedtations of great fplendour and magnificence. The mofques, the towers, the large ranges of houfes with flat roofs, rifing above each other, ac- cording to the floping hills on which they ftand, the whole varie- gated with beautiful rows of trees, form altogether a fcene magnifi- cent, gay, and delightful : but, on entering the town, all thofe ex- pelled beauties vanifh, and leave nothing in the ftreets to meet the eye, but a difmal fucceffion of high flone walls, gloomy as the re- cefles of a convent or flate prifon, and unenlivened by windows, embellifhed, as with us, by the human face divine. The ftreets themfelves, not wider than fome of the meaneft alleys in London, overcaft by the height of the prifon-houfes on either fide, are ren- dered ftill more formidably gloomy by the folitude and filence that pervade them ; while here and there a lattice towards the top, barely vifible, ftrikes the foul with the gloomy idea of thraldom, coercion and Imprifonment. This deteftable mode of building, which owes its origin to jealoufy, and the fcandalous reftraints every man is empowered by the laws and religion of the place to Impofe upon the women configned either by fale or birth to his tyranny, extends not to the 6 infide ( 7 ) infide of the houfes, many of which are magnificent and handfome, and all admirably fuited to the exigencies of the climate, and the domeftic cuftoms and manner of living of the inhabitants. The city is adorned, it is true, here and there, with mofques and appendant towers, called Minarets, from which cryers call the Faithful to prayers ; and in fome of the ftreets there are arches built at certain diftances from each other, fo as to carry the eye di- redtly through them, and form a vifta of confiderable grandeur : but all thefe are far from fufficient to counterbalance the general afpedt of gloominefs and folitude which reigns over the whole, and ren- ders it fo peculiarly difgufting, particularly at firft fight, to an Eng- Hfliman who has enjoyed the gaiety and contemplated the freedom of a city in Great Britain. The mofques (Mahomedan temples) are extremely numerous in this city ; indeed almoft as much fo as churches and convents in the popifh ^countries of Chriftendom, There is nothing in their external appearance to attraft the notice of the traveller, or indulge the eye of the architect: ; they are almoft all of one form — an oblong quadrangle : and as to the infide, I never had an opportunity of feeing one ; none but Muffulmen being permitted to enter them, at kaft at Aleppo. The next buildings of a public kind to the mofques that deferve to be particularly mentioned, are the caravanferas — buildings which, whether we confider the fpirit of beneficence and charity that firft fuggefted' ( B ) fuggefted them, their national importance, or their extenfive mility, may rank, though not in fplendour of appearance, at leall in true A'alue, with any to be found in the world. Caravanferas were originally intended for, and are now pretty generally applied to, the accommodation of ftrangers and travellers, though, like every other good inftitution, fometimes perverted to the purpofcs of private emolument or public job: they are built at proper diftances through the roads of the Turkifh dominions, and afford the indigent or weary traveller an afylum from the incle- mency of the weather ; are in general very large, and built of the moft folid and durable materials ; have commonly one ftory above the ground floor, the lower of which is arched, and ferves for ware- houfes to flow goods, for lodgings and for Rabies, while the upper is ufed merely for lodgings ; befides which, they are always accom- modated with a fountain, and have cooks fhops and other conveni- encies to fupply the wants of the lodgers. In Aleppo the Caravan- feras are almoft exclufively occupied by merchants, to whom they are, like other houfes, rented. The fuburbs of Aleppo, and the furrounding country, are very handfome, pleafant, and, to a perfon coming out of the gloomy city, in fome refpeds interefting. Some tolled about into hill and valley lie under the hands of the hufbandman ; others are covered with handfome villas ; and others again laid out in gardens, whither the people of Aleppo occafionally refort for amufement. 4 The ( ^ ) The roofs of all the houfes are flat, and formed of a compofi- tlon which refifts the weather efFedually. On thofe mod of tlic people lleep in the very hot weather : they are feparated from each other by walls ; but the Franks, who live contiguous to one another, and who, from their difagreeable circumftances with regard to the Turks, are under the neceiTity of keeping up a friendly and loarmo- nious intercourfe together, have doors of communication, which are attended with thefe fortunate and pleafing advantages, that they can make a large circuit without defcending into the Greets, and can vifit each other during the plague, without running the rifk of catching the infedlion by going among the natives below. There is a caftle in the city which I had nearly forgotten to mention — The natives conceive it to be a place of great flrength. It could not, however, wlthftand the ftiock of a few pieces of ord- nance for a day. It is efteemed a favour to be permitted to fee it j and there is nothing to recompenfe one for the trouble of obtaining permiflion, unlefs it be the profpedt of the furrounding country, which from the battlements is extenfive and beautiful. Near this caftle ftands the Seraglio, a large old building, where the Balhaw of Aleppo refides : the whole of it feemed to me to be kept in very bad repair, confidering the importance of the place. It is furrounded by a ftrong wall of great height : befides which, its .contiguity to the caftle is very convenient ; as, in cafe of popular tumults, or inteftine commotions, the Bafliaw finds an afylum in the B latter^ C 10 ) latter, which commands and overawes the chy, and is never with- out a numerous garrilon under the command of an Aga. Such is the fummary account I have been able to collect of Aleppo, the capital of Syria ; which, mean though it is when com- pared with the capitals of European countries, is certainly the third city for fplendour, magnificence, and importance, in the vail: ex- tent of the Ottoman Empire — Conftantinople and Grand Cairo only excelling it in thofe points, and no other bearing any fort of coi»- petition with it. LETTER XXVIII. rjowEVER fadion may agitate, or abufe irritate the minds of men againft the executive branch of their Government, the People of every Nation under Heaven are difpofed to think their own Conflitutional Syftem the befl: ; and the artful intertexture of religion with Governments confirms them in that opinion, and often configns the underftanding to unalterable error and illiberal prejudice. It would be wonderful, then, if the Turkifh Conftitu- tion, founded on the Koran, was not looked upon with abhorrence 3 by ( ^I ) by the bulk of the Chriflian workl ; and more ^vonderful fall, if the outrageous zealots of tlie Chrirtum Church, who for fo many centuries engroffcd all the learning of Europe to themfelves, ihoukl not have handed down with exaggerated niifrcprclentation every circumllance belonging to the great enemies of their faith. But that, at this day of intelledual illumination, Mankind fhould be en- veloped in luch error and darknefs, with regard to the government of lo large a portion of the globe as Turkey, is extraordinary'' ; and only to be accounted for by a reference, in the firft place, to thofe religious prejudices which we fuck in from our nurfe, and which habit, incelTant document, and every part of our education, tend to confirm in our minds j and in the next, to that indifpofition the human mind feels to part with its old prejudices, and the general indolence and incapacity of men to acquire knowledge by the ardu- ous and fatiguing paths of ftudy. The Turkifh Government is grofsly mifreprefented. Were our opinions to be directed by the general belief of Europeans, v/t fhould fuppofe that the life and property of every being in that vaft Empire were irremediably at the mercy of the Grand Seignior — and that, without laws to proted, or any intermediate power whatever to fliield them, they were entirely fubjedl to the capricious will of an inexorable tyrant, who, ftimulated by cruelty, fliarpened by avarice?! and unreftrained by any law human or divine, did every thing to opprefs bis fubjeds, and carry deftrudion among B 2 Mankind. ( 12 ) Mankind. I firmly believe, that, from the combination of ideas arlf- ing from thofe prejudices, there are few Chriftians who think or hear of the Grand Turk, that do not, by an involuntary a£t of the mind, inftantly think of blood and murder, ftrangling with bow- ftrings, and flicing ofl' heads with cimeters. As there is no part of your education more near my heart than the eradicating illiberal prejudices from your mind, and fortifying you againft their aflaults ; I find it impoflible to refrain from giv- ing you my opinion of the Turkifh Government, which I have been at fome pains to collect, as well from oral information as from the beft authors ; and which, though very far from what a generous and univerfally philanthropic difpofition would wifli them to have, is very different from that which is generally attributed to them, and unqueftionably far more limited in its powers than the Govern- ments of feveral Chriftian countries I could mention. The Conftitution of that country is laid down exprefsly in the Koran. The Emperor of Turkey (commonly called the Grand Seignior) is a defcendant of Mahomet, who pretended he had the Koran from Heaven : and he is as much bound by the inftitutes of that book as any fubjedl - in his realm — is liable to depofition as .they to punifhment for breach of them, and indeed has been more than once depofed, and the next in fucceflion raifed to the Throne. Thus far, it is obvious, his power is limited and under cuntroul. But that is not all — It is equally certain that the Turkifh Government is partly ( 13 ) partly Republican ; for, though the People at large have no fliare in the legiflation, and are excluded by the Koran from it (which Koran has eftabliflied and precifely afcertained their rights, privi- leges, and perfonal fecurity), yet there is an intermediate power which, when roufed to exertion, is flronger than the Emperor'sj and ftands as a bulwark between the extremes of Defpotifm and them. This body is the Ulama, compofi.d of all the members of the Church and the Law,, fuperior to any Nobility, jealous of their rights and privileges, and partly taken from the People, not by eledion, but by profeffion and talents. — In this body are comprifed the Moulahs, the hereditary and perpetual guardians of the reli- gion and laws of the Empire : they derive their authority as much as the Emperor from the Koran, and, when neceflary, a£t with all the firmnefs refulting from a convidlion of that authority ; which they often demonftrate by oppofmg his meafures, not only with impunity, but fuccefs. Their perfons are facred ; and they can, by means of the unbounded refped; in which they are held, roufe the People to arms, and proceed to depofe. But, what is much more, the Emperor cannot be depofed without their concurrence. If, by this provifion of the Conftitution, the power of the Mo- narch is limited, and the perfonal fecurity of the fubjedl afcertained, on the one hand ; the energy of the Empire in its external opera- tions is, on the other, very frequently and fatally palfied by it* Declarations of war have been procraftinated, till an injurious and irrecoverable ( <' ■) irrecoverable atTc of hoftillty has been fiirtalned ; and peace often protraded, when peace would have been advantageous. The Ulama being a numerous body, it has been found always difiicuk, often impoffible, to unite fo many different opinions ; and nothing being to be done without their concurrence, the executive power finds it often impoffible to take a decifive ftep in a crifis of advantageous opportunity. But as this code of laws and government is received as a divine revelation, binding both Prince and People, and fuppofed to be fealed in Heaven, the breach of it would be fufHcient to con- fign even the Monarch to depofition and death. As to the military force, which in the hands of all Defpots has been made the inftrument of the People's flavery, that of the Turk could avail him nothing ; and, whenever it does interfere, adls only to his overthrow. The very reverence they have for his perfon arifmg from obedience to their religion, they are, a fortiori, governed by it, not him. He holds no communication with them ; and the {landing force of the Janifiaries is, compared with the mafs of the People, only a handful. Some wild accounts, indeed, have ftated it at 300,000 ; but the beft informed fix it below 60,000, of which a great part confifts of falfe mufters and abufes — great multi- tudes being enrolled to obtain certain privileges annexed to the office of Janiffary. The fad is, that the chief force of the Empire is a militia compofed of the People ; who, with refpcdl to obedience and fubordination, are fo loofe that they leave their duty whenever they ( 15 ) they pleafe, without r^ceivhig any punifhment. How far the People of Turkey are protecShed from the encroachments of power, will appear from the recital of a fa£t related by one of the beft and moft liberal of our Hiftorians on that fubjedl, and which is of too great notoriety to be doubted. In the year 1755, the Porte, as it is called, or Palace of the Grand Vizir at Conftantinople, was burnt down : in laying the plan for rebuilding it on the former fite, the leading confideration was, how to contrive matters fo as to render it fecure from accidents of a like nature in future ; and it was determined that the only cer- tain means to do fo was, to leave a fpace of clear ground all round it, for which purpofe the contiguous houfes ihould be purchafed from the proprietors, and demoliilied. All the owners of the houfes agreed to the fale, except one old woman, who pertinacioufly refufed : Ihe fdid {he was born, and had lived all her life, in that fpot, and would not quit it for any one. Now, in England, for the conve- nience of a private canal, the Parliament would force her to fell.. But what did they fay in Turkey ? When all the people cried out, " Why does not the Sultan ufe his authority, and take the houfe, ** and pay her the value ?" No ! anfwered the Magiftrates and the Ulama, it is impoffible ! it cannot be done ! it is her property. While the power of the Monarch is thus limited, and the rights of the People thus afcertained by the Koran, and in things manifeft and open to view rigidly adhered to, juftice between man and man: is ( 16 ) Is rarely adminlftered ; for, though the laws themfelvesarc good, the corrupt adminiftration of them difarms their effedl, and diftorts them from their purpofe. The venality of the Judges is beyond corv ccption flagitious and barefaced ; and their connivances at falfe wit- nefles fo fcandaloufly habitual, that teftimony is become an article of commerce, and can be procured with a facility and at a price that at once ftamps an opprobrium on the country, and furnifhes Jr^ matter of wonder to the confiderate mind, how, if Judges are flagi- tious and fhamelefs enough to be guilty of it, the People can bear fuch a pernicious fyflem fo long. Hence flow all the cenfjres on the laws and government of that country — hence moft of the impediments under which its commerce and agriculture languifh ; while the aftual written laws of the realm are, if duly admini- ftered, fufficiently adequate to the fecurity of property, the regula- tion of commerce, the repreflion of vice, and the punilhment and prevention of crimes. In endeavouring to guard your mind againfl: an illiberal, vulgar prejudice, I have ftated to you what the Turklfh Conftitution is, and what the Laws ; but you mufl not carry what I have faid to an overftrained or forced interpretation. I would not have you infer that the People are well governed ; I only fay, that their Conftitu- tion contains within it the means of better government than is fup- pofed. I would not have you infer that property is always fecure ; I barely fay there are laws wiitten to fecure it. This too I wifh to imprcfs ( 17 ) imprefs on you, that the common people are more free, and tliat property and life are better fecured, in Turkey, than in fome Eu- ropean countries. I will mention Spain for one. Like the country we are now contemplating, fear keeps them, as difunited individuals, under paflive obedience in ordinary cafes ; but, unlike the Spaniards^ when notorioufly aggrieved — when their property or religious code is forcibly violated — when the Prince would riot in blood, and perfift in an unfuccefsful war — the Turks appeal to the Law ; they find a Chief; the foldiery join their flandard, and depofe or deftroy him, not on the furious pretext of popular hatred, but upon the le- gitimate ground of the Koran, as an infidel, and a violator of the laws of God and Mahomet — They always, however, place his re- gular fuccefibr on the Throne. Yet, notwithftanding the general venality which pollutes the fountains of Juftice, and notwithftand- ing the great abufe of power to which I have alluded, their in- ternal policy is, In many refpe£ts, excellent, and may be compared with advantage to that of any Nation in Europe. Highway- robbery, houfe-breaking, or pilfering, are little known and rarely pradifed among them ; and at all times the roads are as lecure as the houfes. Ample provifions too are made agalnft thofe petty fecret frauds, which many who carry a fair face In England, and would bring an adlion of damages agalnft one that fhould call them rogues, praflife every day. Bakers are the moft frequent vidtims of juftlce, and are n©t infrequently i'ten hanging at their own doors. They are C mulcted A ( 18 ) mulded and baftinadoed for the firft and fecond offence, and on the third, a ftaple is driven up in their door-cafe, and they are hanged from it. Notwirhftanding which, men are conftantly found hardy enough to purfue the fame courfe of pradice ; and this is the more extraordinary, as the police is fo ftricftly attended to, that the Bafliaw or Vizir himfelf goes ahout in difguife, in order to difcover frauds and detedl the connivances of the inferior officers of juftice. But what will our great Ladies, who confume their nights, deftroy their conftitution, and fquander their hufbands' property in gambHng; who afterwards, to repair their fhattered finances, have recourfe to the infamous expedient of keeping gaming-houfes, and endeavour to recover by degrading means what they have loft by folly, to the difgrace of themfelves and family, and the fhame of their fex and rank — What will they fay when I tell them, that gaming is held' among the Turks to be as infamous as theft, and a gamefter looked upon with more deteftation than a highway robber ? The Turkilli Ambaffador and his train will, on their return to their country, have to tell a curious tale of this much- famed illand, in that and other refpedts. LETTER ( 19 } LETTER XXIX. i REjuDicE, that canker of the human heart, has in- jured mankind by impeding perfonal intercourfe, and thereby clog- ging the channel of intellectual improvement : it forbids that inter- change of fentiraent — that reciprocal communication of opinion — that generous circulation of intelledtual wealth, which, while it en- riches another, advances itfelf — it diffevers the bond of focial union, and makes Man fit down the gloomy, feliilli poffeflbr of his own miferable mite, with too much hatred to give, and too much pride to receive, thofe benefits, which Providence, by leaving our nature fo unaccommodated, has pointed out as neceflary to pafs between man and man : under its influence we fpurn from us the good, if we diilike the hand that offers it, and will rather plunge into the mire tlian be guided by the light of any one whofe opinion is at variance with our own. Thus it is between the Turks and us — the little of their affairs which the prejudices of the Mahomedans have allowed themfelves to communicate, or fuffered others to glean among them, has been in C 2 general ( -^0 ) geneeral fo mifufed, dillorted, and mifreprefented by the prejuulcts of the Chriflians, that it is not going beyond the truth to fay, there exift not a people in the civiHzed world whofe real hiftory and genuine Hate are fo little known as thofe of the Turks : and the worft of it is, that not one mifreprefentation, not one fingle miftake has fallen on the generous, charitable fide ; but all, all without exception tend to re- prefent the Turk in the moft degraded and deteftable point of view. As the purity of the Chriftian does not allow him to be guilty of a wilful, uncharitable mifreprefentation, we fliould attribute it to un- avoidable error, were it not that, till fome late authors whofe libe- rality does them honour, they all walked in the very fame track,, and could hardly have been fo uniformly erroneous from defign. We muft therefore attribute it to religious zeal and miftaken piety; in which, in this inftance alone, they feem to be reputable competi- * tors with the Turks. The morofenefs, the animofity, and the fu- percilious felf-pofleffion of the bigot, each holds in common with ' the other. One ftriking feature in the Gonftitution of Turkey is, that neither blood nor fplendid birth are of themfelves fufficient to re- commend a man to great offices. Merit and abilities alone are the pinions which can lift ambition to its height. The cottager may be exalted to the higheft ofRce in the Empire ; at leaft there is no abfo- lute impediment in his way ; and I believe it has often happened. Compare this with France under its late Monarchy, where no merit could ( ^1 ) QOUid raife a man from the Canaille : this, I fay, is one of the crite- rions of a free Conftitution, and Turkey is fo far democratic. The very flrrt principle ingrafted in the minds of the Mahomedan ehildren, is a high contempt of all religions but their own ; and from the minute babes are capable of dlftinguifhing,. they are taught to call Chriftians by the name of Ghiaour, orlnfid^ this grows up in their manhood fo ftrong in them, that they will follow a Chrif- tian through the ftreets, and even juftle againft him with contempt, crying, Ghiaour! Ghiaour! or Infidel ! Infidel ! — Men of dignity and rank, indeed,, will treat Chriftians with courtefy ; but as foon as they are, gone out of hearing, will call them Dog ! This is mon- ftrous ! But let us recoiled: how a Turk would be treated in Spain. or Portugal, and we. fhall fee that inhuman bigotry may be found in a greater degree among Chriftians than even Mahomedans. In Spain or Portugal they would treat them thus : — the common people would call them Hogs ; they would juftle them alfo in contempt ; and what is more, they would ftab them (it has often happened) par mnor de Dios ; and as to the people of rank, they would very confcientioufly confign them to the Inquifition, where the pious Fathers of the Church would very pioufly confign them to the flames, and coolly go to the Altar, and pray to GoD to damn them hereafter to all ' eternity. So far the balance, I tliink, is in. favour of the Turks. Need I go farther ? — I will. — The . Mahomedans are divided into two Seds, as the Chriftians are - { 22 ) are into many. Thofe are the Se&. of All, and the Se£t of Omar. Now, I have never heard among them of one Sedl burning the other deliberately : but the Roman Catholics, even now, burn Pro- teftants by juridical fentence — burn their fellow Chriftians to death for differing from them in a mere fpecuJative point of do£trine. Which then are the better men ? I am fure it is unneceffary to fay : though bad ai'e the befi:. The Turks are allowed, by thofe who know them beft, to have fome excellent qualities ; and I think, that in the prodigality of our cenfure, which, though little acquainted with them, we are forward to beftow, it would be but fair to give them credit for many of thofe good qualities, which even among ourfclves it requires the greateft intimacy and the warmeft mutual confidence and efteem to difclofe or difcover in e^ch other. That they have many vices is certain. AVhat people are they that have not ? Gaming they deteft ; wine they ufe not, or at leaft ufe only a little, and that by ftealth ; and as to the plurality of women, it can in them be fcarcely deemed a vice, fmce their religion allows it. One vice, and one only, of a dark dye is laid to their charge ; and that has been trumpeted forth with the grievous and horrid addition, that though contradi^Stoiv to nature, it was allowed by their religion. This I have rcafon to believe is one of the many fabrications and artifices of Chriftiau zealots, to render Mahomedanifm more odious : for I have been in- formed from the jnoft competent and refpedable authority, and am therefore ( '23 ) therefore perfuaded, that the deteftable crime to which I alhide, is forbidden both by the Koran and their Mimlcipal Laws; that it is openly condemned by all, as with us ; and that, though candour muft allow there are many who pradife it (by the bye there are too many in England who are fuppofed to do the lame], there are none hardy or Ihamelefs enough not to endeavour to conceal it ; and, in fliort, that it is apparently as much reprobated there as any where ; which, at all events, refcues the Laws and Religion of the: CountTy from that ftigma.. Perhaps there is no part of the world where the flame of pa- rental affedion burns with more ardent and unextinguifhable ftrength, or is more faithfully returned by reciprocal tendernefs and filial obedience, than Turkey. Educated in the mod unaiTedled deference and pious fubmiflion to their parents' will ; trained both by precept and example to the greateft veneration for the aged, and feparated almoft from their infancy from the women, they ac- quire a modefty to their fuperiors, and a bafhfulnefs and refpedtful deportment to the weaker fex, which never ceafe to influence them through life. A Turk meeting a w^oman in the ftreet, turns his head from her, as if looking at her were criminal ; and there is no- thing they deteft fo much, or will more feduloufly fliun, than an impudent, audacious woman. To get the better of a Turk there- fore, there is nothing further neceflary, than to let flip a Virago at him, and he inftantly retreats.. Since.' ( 24 ) Since the arrival of the Turkifh Ambaflador in London, I have had frequent occafion to obferve, that the people of his train have been already, by the good example of our Britilh Belles and Beaux, pretty much eafed of their national modefty, and can look at the women with as broad and intrepid a dare, as the greateft puppy in the Metropolis. Their habitual tendernefs and deference for the fair fex, while It fpeaks much for their manly gallantry, muft be allowed by caa- dour to be carried to an excefs extravagant and irrational. It is the greateft dlfgrace to the charafter of a Turk to lift his hand to a wo- man : this is, doubtlefs, right, wuth fome limitations ; but they carry it fo far as to allow no provocation, be it what it may, fuf.- ficient to juftify ufmg force or ftrokes to a woman ; the urmoft they can do is, to fcold and walk off. The confequence of this is, that the women often run into the moft violent cxcelfes. There have been inftances where they have been guilty of the moft furious outrages ; where they have violated the .laws in a collefted bodv, and broke open public ftores of corn laid up by the Government : the Maglftrates attended, the Janiflaries were called, and came run- ning to quell the riot — but, behold they were women who committed it : they knew no way of refifting them, unlels by force ; and force they could not ufe : fo the ladies were permitted quietly to do their work in defiance of Magiftrates, Law, Right, and Reafon. Among the variety of errors and moral abfurdities falfely 4 afcribed ( 25 ) afcribed to the Mahomedan Religion, the exclufion of Women from Paradife holds a very confpicuous place, as a charge equally falfe " and abfurd ; on the contrary, the Women have their fafts, their ablu- tions, and the other religious rites deemed by Mahomedans necei- fary to falvation. Notwithftanding, it has been the practice of tra- vellers to have recourfe to invention, where the cuftoms of the country precluded pofitive information ; and to give their accounts rather from the fuggeftions of their own prejudiced imaginations, than from any fair inferences or conclufions drawn from the fads that came under their obfervation. LETTER XXX. The fubjed: I touched upon in my laft three letters, and on which this, and probably fome fucceeding ones, will turn, is at- tended with circumftances of great delicacy, and may poffibly bear the afped of at leaft a dubious import, as touching the great point of Religion. I will therefore, before I proceed further, explain to you (left it fhould require explanation) the whole fcope of my meaning. D My ( ^-6 ) My objedl throughout the whole of what I have faid refpefting the Turks, is to war with prejudice, not to draw comparifons : — to Ihew that where the Mahomedans are vicious or enflaved, it is not the fault of their Religion or their Laws : — to convince you, the Turks are not the only people in the world, who, under all the ex- ternal forms of fandity and religion, are capable of the moft de- teftable crimes, and fometimes utterly bereft of all pretenfions to charity — and that, while they have been held up as a perpetual fubje£t of reproach and accufation, they were committing only juft the fame crimes that confcience might have retorted on their ac- cufers. If allowance can be at all made for hiftorical mifreprefenta- tion, we may perhaps be difpofed to confider that of the ignorant Catholic Miflionaries of the early ages, as entitled to fome excufe, or at leaft mitigation. The intemperate zeal of thofe times forbade the full exercife of the rational faculties ; but in this age of illumi- nation and liberality, he that falfilies from polemical malice fhould meet little quarter and lefs belief. And it muft be grievous to all men of virtue and religion to refleft, that churchmen, difciples of the Chriftian Church, which fliould be the fountain of purity and truth, have been foremoft in the lift of falfifiers. The difficulty of obtaining information of any kind in Turkey, is very great ; of their Religion chiefly they are extremely tena- cious ; and as to their Women, it is allowed by the beft-informed men, who have lived there for many years, in departments of life that ( 27 ) that gave them the beft means of obtaining information Europeans can have, that, at beft, but a very imperfed knowledge can be had of them. Yet travellers who probably never migrated farther than *' from the green bed to the brown," have given us diffufe accounts of their religion ; and adventurers who never were beyond the purlieus of Drury, have fcaled Seraglio walls, and carried off the favourites of Sultans. The truth is, my dear Trederick, the Turks, like all other people, have their fhare of vices, but are by no means countenanced in them by their Religion ; and from what I have been able to col- le. ) houfe of Mr. growing extremely critical. That gentleman, of whofe good lenfe, and truly excellent difpofition, I had too mani- fold proofs to call them In queftion, had, though fallen into the vale of years, married his Lady at a very tender age. She was then young, beautiful, full of fenfibillty, and gifted with fuch natural endowments both of mind and perfon, accompanied with al! thofe accoraplifliments which helped to drefs them to" advantage, that flie might well be ac- quitted of vanity, even though fancy fuggefted to her Ihe was fit to grace and confer happinefs on a younger bed; while refledion on the obvious difparity of the match (which the cool temper of fatiety poflibly fuggefted to him) might perhaps have alarmed his mind to circum- ftances of probable danger, that, before wedlock, were all hid behind the deceptive veil of palTion. Whether thefe were the private fenti- ments that influenced both or either of them, I cannot prefume to determine, though I think it probable: for I was not long in the houfe till I plainly perceived they were on a very bad footing with each other, and in fhort that difagreement was become habitual to them. At firft, that is to fay, for a few days after my becoming an inmate of their houfe, decency enforced concealment, and the ebullitions of peeviflinefs were' flifled by the diftates of prudence : but the animofities of the connubial ftate are thofe which of all others are the moft impatient under controul ; and as time, by producing fa- miliarity, relaxed reftraint, the pent-up paffions began to force their way, and open bikering took place in my prefence, K2 It ( 76 ) It is but barely doing juftice to myfelf to fay, that I felt the mod poignant concern at feeing a couple, each fo perfedly amiable in all other refpefts, blading the hours that fhould be given to harmony and love, in jarring, reproach, and recrimination ; and I would have given all I was worth that I had never had occafion to efteem them fo much, or that I could give them that peace which feemed to have flown them for ever. Fain would I caft a veil over the whole tranfadion ; fain would I bury it, even from myfelf, in oblivion : but it has been made by my enemies the fubjed of triumphant flander ; and to do juftice to myfelf, and difclaim the extent of guilt which they would impute to me, I am reludantly obliged to avow tha fhare I had, and declare how the matter really ftood. I muft fpeak the truth, and hope you will not conceive that I defignedly lean too heavily upon any one, to eafe myfelf of my fhare of the load. Whatever domeftic uneafmefs may fubfift between a married pair, the man, if prudent, will endeavour to conceal it j and the woman, if truly virtuous, will take care to do fo : fhould great difparity of age (as in the prefent inftance) be the cafe, the Lady is more parti- cularly bound to conceal any uneafmefs, left it fhould be attributed to that caufe which people are in fuch cafes too prone to fufped, dillike to her hufband ; and before young men, above all, fhe fhould be mofl exemplary, as fhe mufl well know that their natural vanity, combined with the leading idea of her averfion and infidelity to her hufband, fuggeft ideas to them from whence their warm imaginations draw ( 77 ) draw inferences of a nature too pleafing to be parted with, and too probable not to be put in pradice, or at leaft attempted. Here then a woman at once lays herfelf fairly open to the afTaults of illicit love. I think it will not be denied, that the woman who promulgates the difagreements between her and her hufband, particularly if fhe luffers a young man to be privy to it, is either extremely ignorant, or intentionally vicious, or both. That the Lady I allude to may in fome refpedl be acquitted of this imputation, I muft tell you, that flie was only eighteen years of age ; her tender, inexperienced mind had not yet arrived to that maturity which gives found judgment ; and though of good natural talents, highly cultivated (for fhe fpoke fluently Englifh, French, Italian, Arabic, Perfian, and the Greek and Turkifh languages), fhe yet was fimple, innocent, uninformed in the ways of the world, and incapable of reafoning from caufes up to confequences. But unfortunately that fimplicity is attended with as much mifchief, though not guilt, as the wilful mifcondudt of the more experienced ; it has the fame baleful efFeds with the hearers, infpires the fame confidence, emboldens with the fame hopes, and leads to the fame pernicious pradtices. I have already mentioned, and will now remind you, that I was then young. Perhaps it was owing to a congeniality pointed out by our age, perhaps to a compaffionate politenefs amounting to tender- nefs, which I always difclofed on thofe unhappy occafions, joined 4 perhaps ( 78 ) perhaps to'ihe arSem; Took of youth kindled by the imaginations to' which' this imprudent conduct infenfibly gave birth, that the Lady thought proper to take the very hazardous ftep of making a confi- dant of a young man and a foldler — and reveahng to me the whole tale of her grievances, with a pathetic eloquence, that would have made an impreffion upon a much lefs fufceptlble heart than mine. I declai^e it moft folemnly, that though this extraordinary mark of confidence and efleem communicated to my heart ftrong fenfations •of unjuftifiable pleafure j I fo far got the better of myfelf at flrft, as to receive the whole with the fame appearance of tranquillity, as if I had been only a confidential female friend. I pitied, it is true ; — I expreiled my pity; — I advifed, not treacheroully but faithfully; — I faid fuch things as occurred to me to be moll: likely to alTuage and extln- giiifli the flame of difcord, and lead to an amicable adjuftment ; and I parted for that time with her to go to a felf-approving pillow, where, while my fancy was inflamed and tickled by the flattering mark of regard iliewn me by fo all-accompliflied a perfon, I had the foothing delightful confcioufnefs of having, as far as I was able, done my duty, and efcaped the corroding refledion of having violated the rights of hofpitality. Not an opportunity however afterwards ofix^red, that the fame unhappy point was not the fubjedl: of difcufllion, and unfortunately thofe opportunities but too frequently occurred ; till at length we began to feel tbat they were the fweetefl: minutes of our lives, and 3 were ( 79 ) were fought for with induftrlous avidity by both of us. No human refolution was fufficient to withftand fuch an unlucky concurrence of circumftances : from lamenting the grievances, we wiflied to re- move them, from wilhing we proceeded to confider the means, and when we had got that length, the flight was not far to the extreme end — the execution of it. My paffions hurried me before them, my ex- preflions grew gradually more and more unguarded, our converfation became more interefting and warm ; and though I felt and ftruggled to be guided by the ftridt principles of honour, and formed a thou- fand refolutions not to tranfgrefs the laws of hofpitaiity, by injuring the man who had treated me with. fuch kindnefs, the ftruggle became too fevere for me— the defire of pleafing a lovely woman, who had repofed fuch unbounded confidence in me, and who feemed to ex- ped: and require of me to alleviate her mifery, at length bore down all the oppofitions fuggefted by reafon and principle, and I agreed to become the inftrument of her removal from this unhappy fituation. We fell — but not intirely. There is one length to which no earthly Gonfideration — no allurement however dazzling could tempt me — it is now the moft cordial confolation to my mind ; I never fufFered myfelf to think of trefpaffing on the decorum of his houfe, nor did we in any fmgle inftance carry our intercourfe to a direct violation of his bed. Though the tranfports of youthful paffion hurried us into converfations and refledions on the fubjed of her determination to fee feparated from her hufband, yet that paffion was of too delicate i .11 a kind ( ^o ) a kind to fink Into the brutal fordid indulgence of dillidnourable llolen embraces. She wifiied for that feparation, rather as a fubter- fuge from incefTant diurnal mifery, than as a prelude to any vicious or illicit enjoyment ; and we looked with pleafure to the event, but we looked no further. It is thus that, in the down-hill path of vice, we are hurried on ftep by fi:ep, fondly imagining that each fucceflive object, which bounds our iight, will ftop our headleng career ; while alas ! every flep we advance gives additional rapidity to our defcent : like the centripetal force of a projectile, our pace increafes with uniformly accelerated motion — till diidaining all controul, and breaking down every impediment that reafon, morality, or honour throw in the way to refcue us or retard our ruin, we precipitate unexpedledly into the laft gulph of vice and infamy. Fortunately, however, an accident intervened In the prefent cafe, which arrefted our progrefs down this hideous defcent, and referved us both I hope to convi ) Wefteru Iflands ; — defcribing his emotions on vifiting the famous Ifland of lona, or Colombkill, he fays — " We were now treading " that illuftrious Ifland which was once the luminary of the Caledo- " nian regions, whence favage clans and roving barbarians derived " the benefits of knowledge, and bleffmgs of religion. To abftradt " the mind from all local emotion, would be impoffible if it were " endeavoured, and would be foolifh if it were poflible. Whatever " withdraws us from the power of our fenfes — whatever makes the " paft, the diftant, or the future, predominate over the prefent, ad- " vances us in the dignity of thinking beings. Far from me, and " from my friends, be fuch frigid philofophy, as may condudt us in- " different and unmoved over any ground which has been dignified " by wif'dora, bravery, or virtue ! — that man is little to be envied " whole patriotifm would not gain force upon the Plain of Marathon, *' or whole piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of " lona." The city of Dlarbeker itfelf is fituated in a delightful plain on the banks of the river Tigris, and nearly at its head ; it is one of the richeft, moft trading, flrong, and populous cities in Afiatic Turkey ; and is adorned with many piazzas and market places in the Turkifh flyle, and a large magnificent Mofque, formerly a Chriflian church ; for Chriftianity flourifhed over this country fo late as the fixth century. There is even now a feft, whofe Patriarch flili refides here : and they fhew on the road near the town, a chapel where ( 97 ) where the holy man Job is faid to be buried. This city is fupplied amply with water by a canal cut from the Tigris, and has many caravanferas on both fides of the river. Few countries in the world exceed that about this city for natural richnefs and beauty : — the bread and wine are excellent — the fruit beyond conception delicious — and my friend the Tartar took care, under pretence of fupercilious hauteur^ to tear in pieces a couple of fowls, and hand to me now a leg, now a wing, till I made the moll delicious repaft I ever remember to have eat in my life. "i It is computed that there are refident in this city no lefs than twenty thoufand Chriftian inhabitants, fome of whom are of the Church of Rome; — and perhaps it is owing to that mixture, that the fair fex have more freedom, and the men more politenefs and affa- bility, than thofe of any other city in the empire : — the chief bufi- nefs there, is making that fine leather commonly called Turkey leather. Figure to yourfelf, my dear Frederick, my Tartar guide, who was an admirable a(3:or, fitting at a caravanfera in ftate at his dinner, devouring excellent fowls, choice pillaws, and delicious fruit, in as great pomp as a Bafhaw ; and in order to keep up the femblance of authority over me, to favour my difguife, handing to me, who fat at humble diftance, a part of his provifions. — You may form to yourfelf an idea of the fcenc ; but all the efforts of imagination muft fall Ihort of the manner, the figure, the v^'ords, the looks, and the N adions ( 98 ) adions of the 1 artai' ; fometimes afFe£ting contemptuous pity, fome- times fupercilious arrogance ; fometimes brutal fternnefs, and fome- times the gentle blandifhments of confcious fuperiority ; and all in fuch a mafterly ilyle of performance, that I doubt whether Garrick himfelf, with all his powers of countenance, could outdo him. Critical though my fituation was, and mucli as I was harafled with the corrofions of mental pain, the extravagant adtion and ludicrous pompofity of this man frequently overbore my prudence, and com- pelled me to laugh incontinently and loudly ; — on all fuch occafions ■ he would put his hands a-kimbo, draw up his eye-brows to his tur- ban, fcrew down the corners of his mouth in the moll rueful manner, and give a loud whew ! with his eyes fixed in a flare at me, till entirely overcome with laughter, and ready to fink under it, I clapped my face between my hands, and, as well as I could, bowed in token of forrow and fubmiflion ; when threatening me vehemently, and at the fame time uttering a lamentable expreffion of doubt that he was afraid he had had an idiot impofed on him, he would buftle about, dire£l the horfes to be got ready, and order me to get on horfeback, with many denunciations of fevere treatment, and a thou- fand flourifhes of his whip over ray head. As I have rode along mufing upon the contemptible ftratagems to which I was reduced, in order to get through this country, for no other reafon but becaufe I was a Chriftian, I could not help re- fleding \\;ith forrow on the melancholy efferont ?" — " Becaufe," faid I, " he did not aft as comically as you." — " No," returned he, " but becaufe Franks and monkies only laugh for mifchief, and where they ought not. No, Jimmel, you will never fee me laugh at mifchief." — "What," faid ( 136 ) laid I, " not at a poor man's being choked to death !" — " Nay," faid he, " I fcldom laugli, yet I could not avoid it then." That very hour, however, a piippet-fhovp- was exhibited in the fame room, and my grave guide laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks, and liis voice funk into a whining treble. Karaghufe was certainly extravagantly comical, though lilthy ; and frightened a Cadi with a whole troop of JanifTarles, by letting fly at them a fhot or two — ' a parte pojl The next day we fct out well mounted, and puftied on with, renovated fplrits towards Bagdad. HafTan could no more have the aflurance to cenfure laughing ; and, as I was little difpofed to do it in time of danger, we were likely to agree well. In Ihort, we began to like one another's company ; and if I brought him to be a greater laugher than he ufed to be, he gave himfelf the credit of having made me much more ferious than I had been before — I profited by his inftrudions. It would be an effort as Idle and fruitlefs on my part, as unenter- talnlng and unlnterefting on yours, to attempt to give you a regular detail of our progrefs from Moful to Bagdad; the fame general cautions were obferved, with the fame occafional relaxations. Haf- fan ftlU continued to treat me with a repetition of himfelf and his horfe, his own feats and his horfe's feats ; to be filent when ill- tempeued, and loquacious when gay ; to flog the attendants at the caxavanferas ; order the beft horfes, and eat tlie beft vi6:uals, and to give ( 137^) give me the beft of both ; and finally, we had our fallings out and fallings in again : but I had not the mortification of feeing any more women tied in facks on horfes' backs, and excoriated with a ride of fifty miles a day. As we rode along we overtook feveral times ftraggling callenders, a kind of Mahomedan monks, who profefs poverty and great fanc- tity ; they were dreffed all in rags, covered with filth, carried a gourd, by way of bottle, for water — 1 prefume fometimes for wine too — and bore in their hands a long pole decorated with rags, and pieces of cloth of various colours. They are fuppofed by the vulgar to have fupernatural powers : but Haflan, who feemed to have caught all his ideas from his betters, expreffed no fort of opinion of them ; h^falamd to them, and gave them money, however. It was extm- ordinary enough, that they were all in one ftory — all were going on a pilgrimage to Mecca— or, as they call it, Hadje. As foon as ever we got out of their fight and hearing, Haflan fliook his head, and repeated " Hadje, Hadje !" feveral times doubtingly, and grinned, as he was accuftomed to do when he was difpleafed, with- out being able to manifeft anger. " Hadje !" he would cry, " Hadje, Hadje!" I afked him what he meant; and he faid, that thefe fellows were no more going to Mecca than I was. " I have a thoufand and a thoufand times," faid he, " met callenders on the road, and always found them facing towards Mecca. If I am goingfouthward, I always overtake them ; if northward, I meet them; and all the time they are S going A -» f ( 138 ) going wherever their bufinefs carries them. I overtook," continued he, " one of them one day, and I gave him ahns and pafled him by ; he v^as coming, he faid, after me, towards Mecca : but I halted oil purpofe for a day, and he never pafled ; and a merchant arriving at the fame caravanfera informed me, he had met the very fame fellow four leagues farther northward ; who had anfwered him with the fame ftory, and ftill had his face turned towards the fouth." Fifty years ago, no man in Turkey would have dared to hold thii language ; but every day's experience evinces that the light of reafon fpreads its rays faft through the world — even through Turkey ; and furnilhes a w^ell founded hope, that in another half century every monkifh impoftor (I mean real impoftors), whether they be Maho- medan monks, or Chriftian monks, will be chafed from fociety, and forced to apply to honeft means for fubfiftence. TND OF PART IT. JOURNEY TO INDIA, &c. PART III. A i JOURNEY TO INDIA, &a LETTER XLIII. After pafling through an immenfe tra6l of countiy, diftinguifhed by nothing that could lerve even as a circumftance to mark and remember our daily journeys, but which I obferved to grow manifeilly worfe, both in foil and climate, as we proceeded Southward, we came in fight of the famous city of Bagdad, ou the feventh day from that on which we left Moful,. and on the eighteenth from that of my departure from Aleppo ; in which eighteen days we had rode fourteen hundred miles, partly through a route which no European, I have reafon to believe, ever took before. On entering the city, I defired my guide to condufl: me to the houfe of a Merchant, to whom I had got letters of credit and intro- 4u(I:lion. He took me accordingly through the windings of feveral A 2 flreets. ( -^ ) ftreets, and at lafl: Hopped at the door of an Armenian Merchant, or Co/a, where he made me ahght, and come in. I was received with great poUtenels ; and, on producing my letter, found that he was not the perfon to whom it was dire6ted : I accordingly made a fuitable apology, and was for retiring to find the houfe of the proper perfon, for which purpole the Armenian offered me a fervant, when, to my great aftonifhment, ni}' Tartar interfered ; faid that it was to this Merchant he brou2;ht all his froods, and that I mufl remain where I was ; at the lame time ordering the Armenian, in a peremptory tone, to take charge ot me, and ule me well. It was in \'ain that the Armenian endeavoured to ex- plain to him the nature of the l^ufinefs, and that I infifted I muft go to the other Merchant— Hassan was peremptory, and de- clared that I fliould not. It was fo extremely outre and ridicu- lous, that I could not be angry ; and the good Armenian uniting his voice with tliat ot the Tartar, and entreating me to favour him with my compau}', I acquiefced, and indeed remained in his houfe all the time I was at Bagdad. This was proof politi%'e, if any other than I already had m as wanting, that he coniidered me merely as a piece of merchandife, which he was bound (according to the language of Merchants) to deliver in good order and con- dition. I had undertaken, before leaving Aleppo, to give the guide, if he a61:ed conformably to my ^^■ilhes, and behaved v»ell, twenty pounds over and above the hundred provided by the agreement : I therefore ( ^ ) therefore fent for him, to fettle finally, and part. He had hearcf that 1 was a perfon different from what he had fuppofed me to be : but it did not alter his conduft, as might be expefted, or make him ftoop to cringing ; he ftill fpoke with the fame honeft, bold familiarity; and when I gave him the promifed twenty pounds,- he never hinted, cringed for, or even looked as if he expeded more : but when we came to part, the feelings he difclofed, and thofe I myfelf felt, convinced me, that Man is not naturally that brute which prejudice has made him ; and, when left to its owif operations, the human heart would be uniformly kindly, affeftion-' ate, and fympathetic : the poor, rough, unpoliflied Turk, betrayed the flrongeft marks of fenfibility, and I myfelf once more felt the? •uneafinefs of parting. I think this is the proper place to give you my opinion of thtf Turks, while the recoUeftion of honeft Hassan is frefh in my mind ; and I cannot do it better than by quoting the words of an excellent French Writer " The Turks (fays M. du Loir) are naturally a good people, *' which is not to be afcribed to the climate ; for the Greeks born " in the fame climate have very different difpofitions, and retain " only the bad qualities of their anceflors, viz. roguery, treachery, " and vanity. The Tvirks, on the contrary, priding themfelves " on their integrity and modefl'y, are diftinginfhed in general by *' an open, ingenuous fimpliclty of manners.; courtiers only ex-". "' cepted', C G ) t* ccpteJ, who, in Turkey, as every where ehe, are the flaves of * ambition and avarice." The name of Bagdad has been fo renowne^l in Eaftcrn ftor\', and is the fcene of fo many of thofe bewitching tales which wc find tranflated, or pretended to be tranflated, from the Arabic and Perfian, that I felt great pleai'ure in feeing it, and conceived my- felftobe at the very fountain-head of marvellous adventure and romance. Fraught with this idea, I was impatient to go forth into the town; and notwlthflanding the weather was beyond con- ception hot, I paraded a number of flreets : but never did I, in the courfe of my life, fee a place fo calculated to bely the opinion one would form of it from the Eaftern tales. It appeared to me to be amons: the moft dilasfreeable cities of the world, and has no one circumflance that I could difcover to recommend it : the heat is fo great, that in the Summer-time the inhabitants axe forced to keep their markets in the night, and to lie all night in the open air on the terraces of their houfes. The Armenian with whom I refided, did every thing in his power to render the place agreeable to me i and 1 fhall always re- tain a lively fenfe of his goodnefs and hol'pitality :, he was not only generous and polite, but well informed, and plealing in converla- tion. I took occafioa to exprefs to him the difappointment I felt at finding Bagdad fo very difterent from what I expelled ; and told him that I had, when a } outh, learned to think highly of it,. or ( 7 ) or rather romantically, from reading Eaftern tales. This led to a coiiverfation on the Arabian Nights Entertainments, a copy of which he had in the Arabic, and produced it : he then fhewcd me, with great triumph, a French tranflation of them, printed at Paris, which he had read, and declared that the tranflation was nothing at all in comparifon with the original. I believe he was well qualified to judge, for he was a perfect mafter of the French language. We talked of the Eafteni tale of the Glafs Man, who, in a re- verie, increafes his ftock till he gets fo rich as, in imagination, to marry the Cadi's daughter, &:c. &c. and in kicking his wife, kicks all his glafies about, and deftroys the whole of his vifionary for- tune. I prai(ed the humour of it much—" Sir," faid he, " there is nothing in it that may not be experienced frequently in a6i:ual life : thofe waking dreams are the ufual concomitants of opium : a man who has accuftomed himfelf to the pernicious practice of eating opium, is conftantly fubje pable of an effort to be ufeful— all fecmcd more defirous to extin- guifh their calamities by embracing deatli, than willing, by a painful exertion, to avoid it. At about eleven o'clock we could plainly diftinguifli a dread- ful roaring noife, rcfembling that of v/aves rolling againft rocks ; but the darknefs of the day, and the accompanying rains, pre- vented us from feeing any diftance ; and if they were rocks, we might be a61:ually daflied to pieces on them before v/e could per- ceive them. At twelve o'clock, however, the weather cleared up a little, and both the wind and the fea leemed to have abated : the very expanlion of the profpeiff round the fhip was exhilerating ; and: as the weather grew better, and the fea lefs furious, the fenfes of the people returned, and the geiieral ftupefacStion began to de- creafe. The weather continuing to clear up, we in fome time difcovered breakers ai>d large rocks without fide of us ; fo tliat it appeared we mull: have pafTed qnite clofe to them, and were now fairly hemmed in between thera and the land. In this very critical junfture, theCaptain, entirely contrary to mv opinion, adopted the dangerous relblution of letting go an anchor, to bring her up with her head to the fea : But, though no fea- man, my common fenfe told me that fhe could never ride it out,, but muft diredly go down. The event nearly juflifled. my judg- ment ; for fhe had fcarcely been at anchor before an enormous fea rolling over her, overwhelmed and filled her with water, and every ( 21 ) every one on board concluded that {he was certainly finking— Oil' the inftaut, a Lafcar, with a prefence of mind worthy an old EngUfli mariner, took Jtn axe, ran forward, and cut the cable. On finding herfelf free, the velTel again floated, and made an effort to right herfelf; but Ihe was almoll: completely water- logged, and heeled to larboard lb much that the gunnel lay imder water. We then endeavoured to fleer as fafl as we could for the land, which we knew could not be at any great diflance, though we were unable to difcover it through the hazy weather : the Jbre- fail was loofened ; by great efforts in rolling, fhe righted a little, her sunnel was got above water, and we fcudded as well as we could before the wind, which ftill blew hard on fliore ; and at about two o'clock the laiid appeared at a finall diftance a head. The love of life countervails all other conliderations in the mind of Man. The uncertainty we were under with regai'd to the fhore before us, which we had reafon to believe was part of Hyder Alli's dominions, where we fhould meet with the mofl rigorous treatment, if not ultimate death, was forgotten in the joyful hope of laving life ; and we fcudded towards the fliore in all the exulting traiilports of people juil: liiatched from tlie jaws of death. This gfeam of happinefs continued not long : a tremendous fea rolling after us> broke over our ftern, tore every thing before it, flove in the fleerage, carried away the rudder, fliivered the wheel to pieces, and tore up the very ring-bolts of the deck— con- vc\ed ( 22 ) veyed the men who flood at the wheel forward, and r\\'ept thera overboard. I was ftanding, at the time, near the wheel, and for- tunately had hold of the taffarel, which enabled me to refift in part the weight of the wa\"e. I was, howe^'er, fwept otf my feet, and dafhed againft the main-maft. The jerk from the taffarel, which I held very tenacioufly, feemed as if it would have diflocated my arms : howe\-er, it broke the impetus of my motion, and in all probability faved me from being dafhed to pieces againft the maft. I floundered about in the water at the foot of the mail:, till at length I got on my feet, and ieized a rope, which I held in a frate of great embarrafiment, dubious what I (hould do to extricate my- felf. At this inftant I perceived that Mr. Hall had got upon the capflern, and was waving his hand to me to follow his example : this I wiflied to do, though it Vias an enterprile of fome rifk and difficulty ; for, if I lofl the hold I had, a fmgle motion of the vef- fel, or a full wave, would certainly carry me overboard. I made a bold pufh, however, and fortunately accomplifhed it. Ha\ing attained this ftation, I could the better furvey the wreck, and faw that the w^ater was nearly breaft-hlgh on the quarter-deck, (for the veflel was deep-waifted) ; and I perceived the unfortunate Englilh Purfer {landing; where the water was mofl fhallow, as if watching with patient expeclation its rifuig, and awaiting death : I called to him to come to us, but he fhook his head in defpair, and faid, in a lamentable tone, " It is all over with us ! God have mercy upon us !" ( 23 ) us!" — then feated hlrafelf with feeming compofure on a chah* which happened to be rolling about in the wreck of the deck, and in a few minutes afterwards was wafhed into the fea along with it, where he wasibeedily releafed from a ftate ten thouland times worfe than death. During this univerfal wreck of things, the horror 1 V\'as in could not prevent me from obierving a very curious circumftance, which at any other time would have excited laughter, though now it pro- duced no other emotion than furprife— We happened to be in part laden with mangoes, of which the ifland of Goa is known to produce the fineft in the world ; fome of them lay in bafkets on the poop : a little black boy, in the moment of greateft danger, had got feated by them, devouring them voracioufly, and crying all the time moft bitterly at the horrors of his fituation ! The veffel now got completely water-logged ; and Mr. Hall and I were employed in forming conjeftural calculations how many minutes flie could keep above water, and confoling one another on the unfortunate circumftances under which we met— lamenting that fate had thus brought vis acquainted only to make us witnefles of each other's miiery, and then to fee one another no more. As the larboard fide of the veffel was gradually going down, the deck, and of courfe the capftern, became too nearly perpendicu- lar for us to continue on it : we therefore forefaw the neceffity of quitting it, and got upon the ilarboard fide, holding fafl by the gun- nel, ( 24 ) iicl, and allowing our bodies and legs to yield to the fea as it broke ov&r us. Thus we continued for fome time : at length the feverity of the labour fo entirely exhauftedour ftrength and fpirits, that our beft hope feemed to a fpeedy conclufion to our painful death ; and we began to have ferious intentions of letting go our hold, and yield- ing ourfelves up at once to the fury of the waves. The veflel, which all this time drifted with the fea and wind, gradually approximated the fliore, and at length ftruck the ground, which for an inftant revived our almoft departed hopes ; but we foon found that it did not in the fmallell: decree better our fitua- tion-~Again I began to yield to utter delpair-— again I thought of -letting go my hold, and finking at once : It is impoffible, thought I, ever to efcape— why, then, prolong, for a few miiiutes, a painful exiftence that mull: at laft be given up r Yet, vet, the all-fubduing •love of life fuggefted, that many things apparently impoffible had come to pafs ; and I laid to myfelf, Jf life is to be loft, why not lofe it in a glorious ftruggle ? Should I furvive it by accident, life will be rendered doubly fweet to me, and I ftill more worthy of it by perfevering fortinide. While I was employed in this train of retleftion, I perceived fome of the people coUeding together, talking, and holding a confultation— It immediately occurred to me, that they were de- vifmg fome plan for efcaping from the wreck, and getting on fhore : and, fo natural is it for Mail to cling to his feUow-creature for fupport in difficult or dangerous exigences, I propofed to Mr. ( ^3 ) Mr. Hall to join them, and take a fhare In the execfitioii of the plan — obferving to him at the fame time, that I was deter- mined at all events to quit the vefTel, and truft to the proteSion and guidance of a fuperintending Providence for the reft. LETTER XLVL As prodigality of life is, in fome cafes, the excefs of \irtue and courage— fo there are others in which it is vice, mean- nefs and cowardice. True courage is, according to the circum- ftances under which it is to operate, as rigidly tenacious and vigi- lant of life in one cafe, as it is indifferent and regardlefs in ano- ther ; and I think it is a very ftrange contradidion in the human heart (although it often happens), that a man who has the mofl unbounded courage, in feeking death even in the cannon's mouth, fhall yet want theneceflary refolution to make exertions to fave his life in cafes of ordinary danger. The unfortunate Englifh Purfer could not colleft courage fufficient to make an effort to fave him- felf ; and yet I think it probable that he would have faced a bat- tery of artillery, or expoled himfelf to a piftol-fhot, if occafion required, as fbon as any other man. Thus it appears at firft view ; but may not this feemii>g incongruity be explained by faying, that D perlbnal ( 26 > per fbnal courage and fortitude arc different qualities of the mind and body, and depend upon the exercife of entirely different fundtions ? Be that as it may, I argued with myfeif, in the height of my calamitous fituation, upon the fubje^l of fortitude and deje<$lion, courage and cowardice • and, notwithflanding the ferious afpe6l of affairs, found myfeif liftening to the fuggeftions of pride : What a paltry thing to yield, while flrength is left to ftruggle ! Vanity her- ielf had her hint, and whifpered, " Should I efcape by an effort of my own, what a glorious theme of exultation !" There were, I confefs, tranfitory images in my mind, which, co-operating with the natural attachment to felf-prefervation, made me perfevere, and refolve to do fa, wliile one veftige of hope was left for the mind to dwell on. Obferving, as I told you before, the people conlulting toge- ther, and refolving to join them, I made an effort to get to the lee fhrouds, where they were :ftanding, or rather clinging ; but before I could accomplifh it, I loft my hold, fell down the hatch- way (the gratings having been carried away with the long-boat), and was for fome minutes entangled tbere amongfl: a heap of packages, which the violent flu£haations of the water had collected on the lee fide. As the vefTel moved with the fea, and the water flowed in, the packages and I were rolled together— fometimes one, fometimes another, uppermoft ; fo that I began to be appre- henlive I Ihould not be able to extricate myfeif: by the mereft accident, however, I grafped fomething that lay in my way» made a vigorous fpring, and gained the lee Ihrouds.. Mr. HAtL> who. < 27 ) who followed me, in feizing the Ihrouds, came thump againft me with (lich violence that I could fcarcely retain my hold of the rigging. Compelled by the perilous fituation in which I ftood, I called out to him for God's fake to keep off, for that I was ren- dered q\aite breathlefs and worn out : he generoufly endeavoured to make way for me, and, in doing fo, unfortunately loft his held, ai\d went down under the Ihip's fide. Never, never (hall I forget my (enfations at this melancholy incident— I would havd given millions of worlds that I could have recalled the words which made him move ; my mind was Avound up to the laft pitch of an^ guiih : 1 may truly fay, that this was the moft bitter of all the bitter moments of my life, compared with which the other cir- The influence of the mind upon the body has been much infix- ed on by philofophers and phyficians, and I believe will be admit- ted by all wife men. 1 was myfelf, in this inftance, a ftriking proof of it; for, though I had fwallowed and thrown up fo much fiilt water, and though my thirft had exceeded any thing I had ever before felt— yet, finding that water was not to be had or ex- 'peded, I compofed my mind to do without it, diverted my thoughts from it by the contemplation of the many other evils which befet me, and pafled. the night without that horrible agony experienced by the others. Indeed, a night of more exquiiite horror cannot be imagined. The thoughts of being a prifoner to Hyder Alli, was, of itfelf, fufficient to render mc completely unhappy t but my utter want of clothes almoft put me befide myfelf; and lying expofed to the open air, where I was glad to fit clofe to the Lalcars to receive a little heat from their bodies, and ta hold open my mouth in order to catch a drop of the defcending rain, was a ftate that might be confidered as the higheft refinement upon mifery. About four o'clock in the morning, a little cold rice wa&! brought us to eat, and water was dug out of a hole near the fpot for us ; but as all things in this life are good or bad merely rela- tively, this wretched fare was fbme refrefliment to us. I wa& ihen removed to the ruins of a toddy-hut,* feparated from the reft, * A fmall temporary hwt, where /9ch as to make him almoft forget his own misfortunes — anc^ exert'mg all his entreaties not to be feparated from me, they had been fo far indulgent to him, and had brought him- to me, that Sve might be companions in bondage. He added, that out of ele* ven Europeans and fifty-fix Lafcars who were on boards only he add 'I of the former, and fourteen of the latter, were iaved from the wreck, the refi: having been drowned in the attempt, except- ing fbme who, overcome with terror, anguilh and anxiety, and exhaufted with fatigue, had bid a formal adieu to their compa- nions, let go their hold> and calmly and voluntarily given them- felves up to the deep. I here took occafion to remark to him, what I have already faid to you, that thoufands lofe their lives for want of perfever* ance, fortitude, and courage, to preferve them— Had the Englifh Purfer coUedled courage enough to hold fafl till the tide ebbed, he might have been fafe on ihore as we were, as he was fuperiorta either of us in bodily flrength. i "Ah! my friend!" faid he, fhaking his head defpondingly *' is he worfe where he is ? I doubt whether death is not far pre- ferable to our prefent prcfpeds."' « Come^ ( 37 ) " Come, come," faid I, perceiving he was melancholy,, though I myfelf laboured under all the horrors he expreffed— - " come, let us not. think ; all will, yet be well : I forefee it will ; and you muft know I have fomething of the prophet in my nature —-perhaps the fecond light," I then told him my prefentiments on leaving Goa, which much aflonifhed him— -ftill more when I acquainted' him with the formal acls I had' doiie in confequencc thereof, by Mr. HenseTAw's advice, and with his privity. — In facl, bur jby at meeting was reciprocally gireat, and in ifome refpe6t cheered us for the time tinder all our miferies ifrhand, and the dreiry prof^e6it of thoffe yef tb'Corhe; " -^ j-i^h: Perceiving that he ftood as mitch in need' "of" relief 'as' I' did when' the 'Lafcar relieved me By dividing his cloth, I took mine off, tore it in' two^ and gave him half of it : you may well con- ceive otir mifery from this, if other circumftances were" i^^^kntingj that fuch a thing as a rag of linen, not worth fix pence, %as a, "cery material accommodation toHis both. '^ i^ ^^ •^lalimnjsiu ilagnoifi /■■rr '■' 0) Jifisd ha&'2 r. io r;E LETTER ( 58 ) LETTER XLVIIL Your Letter, occafioned by the account of xTay fliip- wreck and fubfequent dtlafter, gave me, my amiable boy ! as great pleafure as thofe difafters gave me pain. Your account, too, of John's burfling into tears on the reading of it to him, had almoft a fimilar effeft upon myfelf: and I truft in the Ahnighty Difpofer of Events, that that excellent turn of mind will be fo fafhioned by the education I give you, as to make it the fource of boundlefs gratification and true greatnefs (by which I mean good- ne{s) here, and of never-fading felicity hereafter. You fay you* cannot account for it, but you found more happinefs at my efcape, than mifery at my misfortunes. I hail that circumftance as the ftrongeft mark of perfe£l excellence of difpofition. A great Moral Philofbpher has laid it down as a maxim, that it is the furer mark of a good heart to fympathife with joy than with fbrrow ; and this inftance only comes in aid of that opinion of you which my fond hopes have always nourished. At the fame time I muft declare to you, that my pleafure at ^fcaping (hipwreck was by no means as great as the agony my xnind underwent at the profped now before me was poignant. I have ( 39 ) have already faid, and indeed with truth,, that I (Iioutd^have with much greater pleafure embraeed death : I, who had been ah'eady fome years in India, and had opportunities of hearing, as well from my Fa- ther as from other Officers in the Service, what the difpofition of the Tyrant in whofe power I had now fallen was, knew too well the horrors of my lituation to feel any thing like hope. The unmer- ciful difpofition of Hyder, and all thofe in authority under him, and the cruel policy of the Eaftern Chiefs,, making the life of any one, particularly a Britiih priibner, at the beft a precarious tenure,. 1 did not know the moment when death might be inflidled upon. me with' perhaps a thoufand'aggravating circumftances: and at all events, the affairs which demanded my prefence in India fo very importunately as to urge me to all' the fatigues and hardfhips of a- paflage over land, were, of themfelves, fufficient to make my- mind uneafy ; but the abjedl ftateof want and nakednels in which it feemed I was likely to remain,- ftruck a deep and damp horror to my heart, and almoft unman'd me.. Mr.. Hall and I,., however, endeavoured, with all our might to. ftem the headlong torrent of our fate— Melancholy preyed deeply and openly upon him, while I concealed mine, and endea- voured to cheer the fmking fpirits of that noble youth, who, T perceived, was the prey rather of extreme fenfibility than feeble-- nelsof mind. Allthe horrors of Ihivering nakednels, though, to a mind delicate like his, and a perfon reared in the lap of luxury, fufficiently goading, appeared.as nothing when compared with one lofe ( 40 ) ]ois he had iuftaiiKcl in the depredations with which fhipwreck is^ conftautly followed up. In the cruel fulpenfe between life and death, \A'liich I have already defcribed, previous to my getting on ihore, this amiable young man had lecured and treafured next hii> heart, as the infeparable companion of his fate, a miniature portrait of a young Lady : it hung round his neck, and was, by the unfeel-f ing villains who feized him on his landing, taken awa}'. Tl\is cruel deprivation was an inceffant corrofive to Iiis mind— the co- pious fource of anguish to his heart — the hourly theme of the mofl pathetic, affli<5iing exclamations. " Had I," he would cry^ *' oh ! had I had but the good fortune to have gone to the bottom while vet it hung about my neck, I fliould have been happy : but now, feparated from the heavenly original, and bereft of the pre- cious image, what is life ? what would be life were I vet fure of it? What plealure, what common content, has the world left for me? None— oh ! none, none! Never Ihall this heart again know comfort !" I did every thing I could to confole him, and, as far as I could, prevent him from dwelling on thofe gloomy fubjeds. Our con- verfations were interefting and pathetic ; but, alas I the pi6i;ure, at every paufe, chafed away the flight impreffions of the preced- ing converfe : no fufFerings of the body could countervail that lofs— no confolation mitigate it ; and amidrt the horrid reflections which unparalleled calamity impofed upon his mind, the lofs of that one ( 41 ) one dear relic rofe paramount to all— and as every thought began, lb it ended, with the pifture. For fome days we lay in this place, expofed to the weather, without even the flender comfort of a little ftraw to cover the ground beneath us— our food, boiled rice, ferved very fparingly twice a-day by an old woman, who juft threw a handful or more of it to each upon a very dirty board, which we devoured with thofe fpoons Nature gave us. At the end of that time, we, and, along with us, the Laf- cars, were ordered to proceed into the country, and drove on foot to a confiderable diHance, in order to render up an account of our- felves to perfons belonging to Government, authorifed to take it. It was advanced in the morning when we moved, v/ithout receiv- ing any iort of fuftenance ; and were marched in that wafting cli- mate eight hours, without breaking our fall: ; during which time we were expofed alternately to the fcorching heat of the fun and heavy torrents of rain, which raifed painful bhflers on our fkin : we had often to ftand expofed to the weather, or to lie down, under the prefllire of fatigue and weaknefs, on the bare ground ; then wait an hour, or more, at the door of fome infolent, unfeel- ing monfter, until he tinifhed his dinner, or took his afternoon's nap ; and when this was over, drove forward with wanton barba- rity by the people who attended us. You, my Frederick ! who only know the mild and merci- ful difpofition of the People of Great Britain, where govern- F mer.t, ( *2 ) ment, religion, and long liablt, have reduced charity and benevo- lence fo completely to a fyftem that they feem to be innate prin- ciples of the mind, can have no conception of a People who will not only look upon the worft human affliftions with indifference, but take a favagc delight in the miferies of their fellow-creatures, even where no poffible advantage can be reaped from their inhuma- nity, and where the only reward they can propofe to themfelves for their cruelty is the pleafure of contemplating human fuifer- ings. Such, forry am I to fay it, is the difpofition of fome parts of the Eaft Indies that I have been in : and although thofe. parts tin- der the dominion of Great Britain owe their emancipation from the moft galling yokes to the Englifli— and though, under their aufipices, they live in a ftate of greater happinefs than ever they did, and greater freedom even than Britons themfelves— yet liich is the wicked ingratitude of many of them, luch the iiiflexible animofity arifmg from a contradl6lory religion, that the death or iuftering of an Englishman, or any misfortune tliat may befal him,, often ferves only as matter of fport or amufement to them. It would be well if it refted there— but unfortunately they are worfe again ; for in general they have the like coldnefs and indifference,, or indeed, to fpeak more properly, the like averfion, to each other's good ; and the lame diabolical principles of felfifhnefs and treachery pervade the greater number in tliofe vaft regions, almofi: boundlefs in extent, and aJmoft matchlefs in fertility. Two- ( 43 ) Two days after this, we were moved again, and marched up the country by a long and circuitous route, in which we underwent every hardlhip that cruelty could inflifl, or human fortitude en- dure — now biiftered with the heat, now drenched with the rain, and now chilled with the night damps— deftitute of any place but the bare earth to reft or lay our heads on, with only a fcanty pit- tance of boiled rice for our fupport— often without water to quench our thirft, and conftantly goaded by the guards, who pricked us with their bayonets every now and then, at once to evince their power, entertain the fpedlators, and mortify us. We arrived at Hydernagur, the metropolis of the province of Biddanore— a fort of confiderable ftrength, mounting upwards of feventy guns, con- taining a large garrifon of men, and poffefifed of immenfe wealth. It was about two o'clock in the morning when we arrived at Biddanore : the day was extremely hot, and we were kept out under the full heat of that broiling fun till fix o'clock in the even- ing, before we were admitted to an audience of the Jemadar, or Governor of the place, without having a mouthful of victuals of- fered to us after the fatiguing march of the morning- While we ftood in this forlorn ftate, a vaft concourle of people colle<51:ed about, and viewed us with curiofity. Looking round through thofe who ftood neareft, I oblerved fome men gazing at me with ftrons: marks of emotion, and a mixture of wonder and concern pourtrayed in their countenances. Surprifed to fee fuch fymptoms of humanity in a Myiorian Indian, I looked at them F 2 with ( 4* ) with more fcrutinizlng attention, and thought that their faces were famiUar to me. Catching my eye, they looked at me fig- nificantly, as though they would exprefs their regard and refpeft for me, if they dared; and I then began to recoUeft that they were formerly privates in my regiment of cavaby, and were then prilbners at large with Hyder. I was not lefs furprifed that thofe poor fellows fhould recog- nife me in my prefent miferable fallen flate, than affeded at' the fvmpathetic feeling they difcloled. I returned their look with a private nod of recognition ; but, feeing that they were afraid to Ipeak to me, and fearing I might injure them by diiclofing our acquaintance, I forbore any thing more. The guilty fouls of deA potic Governments are perpetually alive to fufpicion : every look alarms them ; and alarm or fufpicion never fails to be followed up with profcription or death. Men, when in the fuflnefs of power and pride of office, verv fcldom give themfelves time to refle61 upon the inftability of hi;- man greatnefs, and the uncertainty of earthly contingencies. When, invefled with all the trappings of authoritv, I commanded the regiment to \\ hlch thofe poor fellows belonged, I would have thought that he fpoke -wiHrv indeed who would have alledged that it was pollTble I eould ever become an object of their pitv— that I fhould fraud naked and degraded before them, and the-v be afraid to acknowlede;e me : but, though I fhould have thought fo then, it was yet fome comfort to me, when that unfortunate event ( 45 ) event did come to pafs, to reflect, that, when in power, I matle flich ufe of it as to excite emotions in their bofoms of affecStion and relpedl. Did the tyrant and overbearing infolent Chiefs con- fider this, and govern themielves by its inftruftions, they would go into the field with the conlbling refledtion, that no gun would be levelled at their head except that of the common enemy— a thing that does not always happen. LETTER XLIX. XT. AD we been made prifoners of war in battle againft art enemy, there is no law of Nature or Nations, no rule of reafon or principle of equity, that could palliate fiich treatment as that which we now received: but, caft by misfortune and fhipwreck on their fliore, we were entitled to folace and proteftion. The worft wretches who hang out falfe beacons on the Weftern Coafls of England, to allure Ihips to their deftruftion, would not be cruel without temptation ; and, if they did not expeft to gain fome profit by it, would rather decline knocking their fellow-creatures in the head : but thofe barbarians, without any profit but what a malignant heart derives from the miferies of others, or any pjeafiire but ( 46 ) Iferat wlial proceeds from tiieir pain^ exercifed upon us the moft A\-aiiton cruelty. Compared with fiich treatment, inftant death u'ould have been an a6l of mercv to us ; and we fliould have had reafon to blefs the hand that infli<5led it. Mortifications of one fort or other— the inceflant torturing of the mind on the rack of fufpenfe— the injuries to the animal lyftem, occafioned by conflant expofure to the weather, and the want of food— all conlpired to reduce me to the dimenfions and feeblenefs of a fkeleton. I had grown daily weaker and weaker, and was now nearly exhaufted, and quite faint ; while, on the other hand, my amiable companion in afflidlion was reduced by a dyfentery, which attacked him foon after our fhlpwreck, and which the torments of his mind, the want of medicine and comfortable food, and, above all, the alternate violent changes from profufe peripiration in walkingr to chilling cold at nio-ht, had increafed to fuch an alarming degree, that he was obliged to be carried the two lafl: days journey : —In this ftate, we appeared to each other as two Ipedtres hanging over the brink of the grave : and in truth, perceiving the rapid progrefs he was making to his diflblution, I was afFe6ted to a de- gree, that, while it really exafperated my own worn-down ftate, deprived me of all attention to the rapid decline I was falling into, and almofl entirely engrofled my care. In my progrefs through life, I have had occallon to try feveral men, and have found among them many who were every thing that a good heart could wi(h to find : but this young Gentleman had at once fo much fuavity and C 47 J and fpirit— fuch gentlenefs and fortitude — his fufferings (thofe of liis mind, as well as thofe of his body) were fo exquifite, and he bore them with fuch meeknefs, tempered by fuch uninterrupted good humour, and concealed and managed with fo much delicacy, that I do not tranfgrefs the bounds of truth when I fay I never met one who fo entirely interefted my feelings, and attached my friend- fhip fo tmalterably, upon principles of inftindlive impulfe, as well as reafon. Impelled by the irrefiftible claims he had upon mv approbation and efteem, I entered with all the warmth, of a bro- ther into his fufferings,. and can afTert with truth that they confti- tuted the fevered: trials 1 underwent during my whole imprifon- ment. While we flood in the court, waiting to be brought before the Jemadar, we prefented a fpeflacle that would have wrung pity, one would tliink, from the heart of a tiger, if a tiger was endued with refleflion. At length we were fummoned to appear before him, and- brought into his prefence. I had made up my mind for the occaiion---determined to deport myfelf in a manly, Gandid' manner — and to letno confideration whatfoever lead me toany thing difgraceful to my real charafter, or unwor-tby my fituation in life ; and, finally, had prepared myfelf to meet, without Shrinking,, whatever misfortunes might yet be in ftore for me, or whatever cruelties the barbarous difpofition or wicked policy of the Tyrant: might think proper to inflid^v. ( 48 ) On entering, we found the Jemadar in full Durbar.* He wai. then occupied with the reading of difpatches, and in tranfacting other public bufinefs. We were placed diredtly : oppofite to him, where we flood for near an hour, durins; which time he never caft his eyes towards us : but when at laft he had concluded the bufmefs ia wliich he was engaged, and deigned to look at us, we were ordered to proftrate ourfelves before him : the Lalcars immediately obeyed the order, and threw themfelves on the ground ; but I contented mvfelf with making a falam, in which poor Mr. Hall, who knew not the Eaftern manner as I did, followed my example. As foon as this ceremony was over, the Jemadar (who was no other man than the famous Hyat Sahib that has made fome noife in the hiftory of that war) began to quellion me. He deiired to know, who I was ?— what my profelFion was?— what was the caule and manner of my approaching the country of Hyder Alh?— To all thofe queflions I gave anfwers that feemed to fa- tisfy him. He then afked me, what news I had brought with me from Europe ?— inquired into the ftate of the army, and number of recruits di(patched in the Ihips of that feafon— was minute and circumfl:antial in his queftions relpe61:ing the nature and luccefs of the war in Europe— and examined me clofely, touching the re- fources of the EafI: India Company. I faw his drift, and was cautious, and circumfpe^t in my anfwers, and at the fame time contrived • Court. ( 49 ) . ecnitrivcd to {peak with an air'$f candour that in Tome foi't fitk- fied him.- Haviiigl exhaufted his' whole ftriug of queftions, he turned the dircotirfe to another fubje6l— -ik) .'iefs thari his great and puiflant Lord and Mafter, HydeR, of whom he had endeavoured to im- prefs me with a great, if not terrible idea— arhphfying his power, his wealth, and the extent and opulence of his dominions— and defcribing to md, in the moft exaggerated terms, the number of his troops— his military talents— his vaft, and, according to his account, unrivalled genius— his amazing abilities in conquering- and governing Nations— and, above all, his many amiable quali- ties, and fplendid endowments of heart, no l«fs than underftand- ing. Having thus, with equal Zealand fidelity, endeavoured toim- prefs me with veneration for his Lord and Mafter, and for that pur- pofe attributed to him every perfe6lion that may be fiippofed to be divided among all the Kings and Generals that have lived fnice the birth of Christ, and given each their due, he turned to the Englilli Government, and endeavoured to demonflrate to me the folly and inutility of our attempting to refift his progrels, which he ^con- pared to that of the fea, to a tempeft, to a torrent, to a lion's pace and fury — to every thing that an Eaftern imagination could fuggefl as a figure proper to exemplify grandeur and irrefiflible power. He then vaunted of his Sovereign's fuccefTes over the Englilli, fome of which I had not heard of before, and did not believe ; and con- G eluded ( ^0 ) eluded by afTuring me, that it was Hyder's determination to drive all Europeans from Indoftan, which he averred he could not fail to do, confide ring the weaknefs of the one, and boundlefs power of the other. This part of Hyat Sahib's difcourfe is Avell worth your remembering, as it will ferve to make a very di- verting contraft with his fubfequent conduft. After having expended near half an hour in this manner, he called upon me to come over near him, and caufed me to feat my- self upon a mat with a pillow to lean upon— encouraged me, by every means he could, by the moft gentle accents, and the moft loothing, mollifying language, to fpeak to him without the leaft referve — exhorted me to tell him the truth in every thing wc Ipoke of— and hinted t6 me, that my falling into his hands might turn out the moft fortunate event of my life. I was at a lofs to what motive to attribute all thofe lingular marks of indulgence ; but found tliat he liad learned whofe fon I was, and knew my father by reputation frora the prifoners, our Sepoys, vvho were now prifoners at large here : and as rank and office are tlie chief recommetidation in the Eaft, as well as elfe- where, or rather much more than any where elle, the fagacious Hyat Sahib found many claims to efteem and humanity m me as the fon of a Colonel Campbell, which he never Avould have found in me had I been the fon of a plain humble farmer or trades- man in En2;hmd. After C ^'1 ) After a full hour's audience, in which Hyat Sahib' treated me with diftinguilhed marks of his favour, confidering my fitua- tion, he difmiired me with the ceremony of beetle-nut^* rofe-wa- ter, and other compliments, which are in that country held as tlic ftrongeft marks of politenefs, refped, and good-will. Leaving the Durbar, I was led to the inner fort or citadel : and the officious zeal of thofe about me, unwilling to let me remain ignorant of that which they conceived to be a mofl: fortunate turn in my affairs, gave the coup de grace to my miferies as I went along, by congratulating me on the favourable opinion which the Jemadar had formed of me, and intimating at the fame time that I would foon be honoured with a refpedable command in Hyder's fervice. If I was miferable before, this intimation entirely deftroyed the laft remnant of peace or hope. I was determined to die a thouland deaths Iboner than ferve anv State hoftilc to Great Britain— -but ftill more a Tyrant, whofe country, nature and prin- ciples I detefted, and could never think of without the greateft horror; and I judged, that if fiich an offer fhould be made, and I refufed it, my life would fall a facrifice to their rage and difap- pointment, or at leafl I fhould live a life of imprifonment, . and never more behold country, family, friends, connections, or any thing that I valued in life. G2 • ^That * An aromatic nut which the Eaft Indians chew ; it is wariri and aftringcnt, and contidered by them a great reftorativc. ( ^2 ) That night the Jemadar feat me an excellent fupper, of not lefs than fix difhes, from his own table ; and although I had been fo long famifliing with the want of wholefome food, the idea of beine enlifted in thcfervice of Hyder ftruck m-e with fuch hor- ror, that I loft all appetite, and was fcarcely able to eat a moutb^ ful. Mr. Hall and I, however, were feparated from the Lafcars, who were releafed, and forced to work. Notwithftandino^ the favourable intentions manifefted towards me by the Jemadar, as I have already mentioned, no mark of it whatfoever appeared in our lodging. This confifted of a fmall place, exaftly the fize of our length and breadth, in the zig-zag of one of the gates of the citadel : it was open in front, but co- vered with a kind of a fhed on the top ; and a number of other prifbners were about us : each of us was allowed a mat aiid pil- low, and this formed the whole of our local accommodations. Upon my remarking it, we were told, that in conformity to the cuftom of the Circar,* we muft be treated fo for Ibme time, but that our accommodations would afterwards be extended, and made more agreeably to our wifliei: even this \N'as better than o\u- fitu- ation fmce we landed. In addition to this luxury, we were allcwed to the value of four pence halfpenny a day for our maintenance ; and a guaid of Sepoys was put over us and a few more prifoners, one of whom was direded to go and purchafe our victuals, a^id do liich like offices for us. ' - ■ Thi$ * Country or Province. ( ^3 ) This guard was changed every week— a ftrong mark of the fufpicious and wary tempers of thofe people, who could fear in- trigues and cabals between wretched prifoners like us and their fol- diers. In two or three days after this, Hyat Sahib fent for me, treated me with great kindnefs, gave me Ibme tea, and furnifhed me with two or three fhirts, an old coat, and two pairs of breeches, wliich were ftripped from the dead bodies that were thrown afhore from the wreck— every tiling that was faved from it being fent to Bidanore. At this interview he treated me with great refpeft— - gave me, befides the articles already mentioned, thirty rupees— and, upon my going away, told me that in a few days a very flat- tering propofal would be made to me, and that my fituation would be rendered not only comfortable, but enviable. It is impoiiible forme to exprefs to you, my dear Freberick ! the horror 1 felt at the idea ef this intended pro}^>ofal— fori knew but too well what it meant. It was the fource of bitter milery tp my mind : neverthelefs, I determined to refift everv eliort that {liould be made, whether blandifhment, intrcaty, or menace-— to lay down my life itfelf, though in obfcurity, with honour— and to carry along with me, go where I would,., the, confcioufnefs of» hav- ing done my duty. I have in the courfe of my life met with many people, who, under the plaufible pretext of liberality and greatnefs of mind, have called themfelves Citizens of the World, and declared that the ( -54 ) the Country where they lived, be that what Country it might, was their's, and demanded their allegiance and protedion : but I have always flirewdly fuipedted, that fuch men aft from a confcioufnefs of being outcafts of their own Country— and, fcorned and re- je6ted by their fellow-citizens, would retaliate by afFefting to denv their natural attachment. There are men who neither love fa- ther, mother, fifter, brother, or conne6tion : fuch, however, are, thank God ! very thinly fown in this world ; but, except it be a few fuch unnatural people, I am convinced that there is no one whole heart does not confefs the patriotic paffion, and burn with a flame, more or lefs ardent, of love for his Country. My predilections that way are naturally fl:rong, and I am now happy to refleft that I evinced them by the moft unequivocal proofs : had I not, I were indeed, in my own opinion, fit for any punifhment, however ignominious ; and to all fuch as lift their arms againft their Country, as to Parricides, I will fay, in the words of the Poet, " Ne ver pray more — abandon all remorfe : " On horror's head, horrors accumulate ; " Do deeds to make Heaven weep — all earth amaz'd . " For notliing can'ft thou to damnation add. m " Greater tlian that." LETTER ( ^5 ) LETTER L. On the evening of that day on which the Jemadar HyAt Sahib had honoured me with an audience, given me clothes and money, and informed me that a propofal, which he called flattering, would be made to me, I was fent for to attend, not at the Durbar, but at the houfe of a man high in office^ As I ex- pefted to meet Hyat Sahib himfelf, and trembled at the thoughts of his expedted propofition, I was furprifed, and indeed pleafed, to find that it was with one of his people only I was to have a con- ference. This man, whofc name I now forget, received me with great kindiiefs, encouraged me, made me fit down with him, and began to fpeak of Hyat Sahib, whom he extolled to the Ikies, as a perfon endowed with every great and amiable quality; in- forming me at the fame time, that he was poffefTed of the friend- Ihip and conhdenee of his Mafter, Hyder Alli, in a greater de- gree than any other perfon---TiPPOo Sahib, his own fon, not excepted : he then gave me the private hiftory of Hyat— faying, that he was born a Gentoo Prince, of one of the provinces of the Malabar coaft, which had fallen beneath the irrefiftible arms of Hyder, and had been by him annexed to the vaft Myforcan Em- pire-i pire. Hyat, he fald, was then only a boy of eleven oi' twelre years of age, of a mofl: promifing genius, and a quicknefs of mind unufually met with In one of thofe tender years. Hyder, who- vi'as in all refpedts a man of unrivalled penetration, thought he faw in the boy that which, if properly cultivated, would turn out of vaft ule to a State ; and as, in all Mahomedan Governments, unconnected, ifolated boys, oft-times flq.ves, are bred yp in the Seraglio tofucceedtothe great offices of the State, Hyder adopted the bov, had him made a Mahomedan, and, in fa(6i, treated him- as if he had been the ifTue of his own loins, and brought him up with all the affe<5fion and tendernefs of a fond parent. I am the more particular in ftating this part of Hyat's hiftory to vou, as fbme refpeftable Hiftorians, deceived by erroneous report, have faid that he was the illegitimate offspring of Hyder. The Sul- tan, however, w^as not difappointed in the expedations he had formed ; for Hyat Sahib had, in zeal, fidelity and attachment, as well as in intelle6hial faculties and talents for governing, even furpafTed the warmeft hopes of his ^Mailer. Having given me this conclfe account of the Jemadar, he pro- ceeded to inform me, that the Arcot Sepoys, whom I have before mentioned to you, had difcovered to Hyat Sahib who I was, given him a full account of my family, and informed him that I had commanded a regiment of cavalry in the fervice of the Nabob of Arcot, together with a corps of infantry and artillery attached to it. In confequence of this report, Hyat Sahib, he faid, had interefted ( -5-7 ) ioterefted hinifelf very warmly in my fqyoi^r, ,an4i ,expfe|Jed an aivxious defire to render me a fervice.. ■-,..-.•. i,...„..n:^,.r.. . ,, Thus far the difcourfe pleafed me. Nothing was faid in it to give me alarm ;. on the conti-ary, I indulged a hope,, that, knowg iiig my rank, and the rank of my father, h^ would no longer en^^ tertain a hope of my entering into the fervice of Hyder,. and» for the time I was to be imprifoned, treat me with fuitable inr dulgence- But I flatteredmyfelf too foon; or, as the old faying ^Jj reckoned without my hoftj' ..^^ ^^ . j^ xiaowJad i When he had finifhed his hiftory of Hyat Sahib; which he overcharged with fulfome paneg}'ric, he told me, witLa face full of that triumphant importance which one who thinks he is conr ferring a great favour generally afTumes, that it was the intention of^PiYAT Sahi3, for and on behalf of his mailer the Sultan, to eiye me the command, of £v.e. thoufand men,— an offer which he fuppofed I could not think of declining, and therefore expedled no other anfwer but a profufion of thanks, aiadflrong manifeftations of joy on my part.. r It is not pofllble. for rae to d,cfcribe -to you my diimay. at this • formal propofal, or pourtray to you the various emotions that took pofTeffion of my breaH:. Refentment had- its fhare— :rthe: pride of the Soldier, not. unaccompanied with the pride ,of Family. and Rank, while it urged me to fpurn from me fuch.a.bafe accommodationi made me. confider the. offer as a- great infult,.. I therefore pa,ufed a Ijttle,^ tp fupprefs my feehngs ; and then told him my firm refolu-. f*^ -fJ • tion,. ( ^ ) tUm, never to accept of fuch a propofal ; an3 upon his exprefling great aftonifliment at my declining a ftatlon fo fraught with ad- vantage, I laid down, in the beft manner I could, my realbns ; amd I muft fay, that he liftened to all the objeftions I ftarted with great patience ; but, in the conclufion, faid he had httle doubt of finding means to overcome my reluctance. ^ He difmifled me for the prefent, and I returned to my prilbn, where I related to my companion, Mr. Hall, every thing that pafled between us : we canvafled' the matter fully, and he agreed with me, that it was likely to turn out a moft dreadful and cruel perfecution. It was on this occafion that I firft felt the truth of the principle, that perfecution never fails to be fubverfive of its owa end, and to promote that which it is intended to deftroy. There is, in the human mind, an iruiate abhorrence of compulfion ; and perfecution always gives new ftrength and elafticity to the foul ; and at laft, when ftrained to its utmoft extent, makes Man (ur- mount difficulties which at firft feem to be beyond the reach of liumanity. Piqued by the idea of perfecution, I began to feel a degree of enthufiafm which I was before a ftranger to : I looked forward, with a kind of gloomy pleafure, to the miferies that brutal tyranny might inflift upon me, even to death itfelf ; and already began to indulge the exultation of martyrdom. " No," faid I, ♦• my dear- Hall J never will I tarnifh the charader of a Britifh Soldier—- never will I difgrace jny blood or my profeffion — never ihall an aa i S9 } aft of mine {uWy the pure fame of my revered Father — never IhaD any fufferings of mine, however poignant, or worldly advantage, however feduftive, tempt me to do that which his noble ipirit would regard with horror or contempt. I may, and I fbrefee I muft te mjferable ; but I never will be bafe or degenerate I" Indeed, I had wrought myfelf up to fuch a pitch of firmnefs, that I am per- fuaded the moft exquifite and refined cruelties which the ingenuity of an Iroquois Indian could have inflifted on my body, would have been utterly incapable of bending the flubborn temper of my mind. The place in which we were lodged was fituated in a way not very favourable to our feelings. Juft within fight of it, the Com- mandant of the citadel held a Court — by him yclep'd a Court of Juftice — where the moft fhocking, barbarous cruelties were hourly exercifed— moft of them for the purpofe of extorting money, and compelling the difcovery of hidden, or fnppofitious hidden tiea- fiires. Indeed, iive fixths of thofe who fufFercd were of this de- Icription ; and the procefs purfued was as artful as barbarous : they iirft began with careiTes, then proceeded to examination and crofs- examination, thence to threats, thence to puniftiment, and, finally, to the moft cruel tortures, Direftly oppofite to us, was imprifoned an unfortunate per- ion, who had for years been- a clofe captive, and the fport aii about fifteen lacks of pagodas ; and then, in the courle of eighteen, months, was degraded gradually, from the high refpedt in which: he was at firft held, down to a moft abjeft ftate— threatened, flogged, punilhed in a variety of \\'ays, and, finally, put to the moft cruel tortures. I myfelf faw him treated with the highelt degree of refpeft, and afterwards brought to the loweft ftage of milcry and humiliation. One thing, however, I mufi: not forget, is the fortitude with which he and all of them bore their punifh- ment : it was truly heroic— indeed, beyond all belief. Nothing could furpals it, except the fkill and inventive ingenuity which the barbarians exhibited in llriking out new modes of torture. My foul fickened with horror at the fight : the amiable Hall could worfe fupport it than his own niiferies, and loft all that fortitude^ in his feehng for others' misfortunes, which he dilplayed in lb unbounded a lliare in his own : and often, very often, we found the rigour and feverity of our own fituation utterly forgotten in Qur anguifh and fympathy for the fufterings of others. Never fliall. ( 61 ) I forget It : never fliall I think without horror of "the accurfed poHcy and -wicked tyranny of the Eaflern Governments, where every fenfeof humanity is extingi]i(hed, and Man, more mercilefs than. the' tiger, riots in the blood of his fellow-creatures without caufe. u. Mr. Hall, notwithflanding the various fufFerings both of mind and body which he had undersrone, beg-an to recruit, and sfet a little better ; and this circumftance, of itfelf, difFufed a flow of fpirits over me that contributed to my fupport. We confoled each other bv every means we could devife— fometimes indul^ins: in all the luxury of woe— fometimes rallying each other, and, with ill- diflembled iprightlineis, calling on the Goddefs Euphrosyne to come with her " quirps and cranks, and wreathed /miles ;" but, alas! the mountain nymph, fweet Liberty, was far away, and the Goddefs fliunned our abode. We however began to conceive- that we might form a fyllem for our relief, and, by a methodical arrangement, entrench ourfelves from the aflaults of grief : to this, end, we formed feveral refolutions, and entered into certain en- gagements— fuch as, never to repine at our fate, if ivc could— -to draw confolation from the more dreadful lot of others, if %ve could \ —and to encourage hope— hope that comes to all ; and, on the whole, to confine our converlation as much as poffible to iubjefts of an agreeable nature : but thefe, like many other rules which we lay down for the conduft of life, were often broken bv necef- , litv, and left us to reeret the fallibility of all human precautionarv iyftems. ;i:iT . The ( 62 ) The youth and ftrength of Mr. Hall was to the full as ade- quate as mine to the fupport of any perlbnal hardfliip : his intel- lectual powers were excellent, his temper incomparable, and his fortitude unparalleled ; yet could I fee, that fomething more than appeared upon the furface wrought within him, and gnawed his heart with hidden pain. United as we were by fentiment, as Well as by parity of fuffering, I felt for him too deeply, not to have an interefting curiofity to know what it was that preyed upon his mind : we had now been, months together, fellow-fufFerers ; and I thought myfelf not without fome claim to his confidence— I told him fo, and defired him to impart to me his ftory ; which he, with his accuftomed fuavity and condelcenfion, agreed to — affuring me that it was not fuch a ftory as could requite the trouble of hearing it, or intereft any one but himfelf, or fome very warm friend indeed : fuch, however, he added, he took me to be ; and, as fuch, would tell it to me. I think it, however, worth relating, and will give it to you in his owxi words ; and, though it be very (hort, muft: defer the relation to another Lettsi.. LETTER < ^5 } LETTER LI. Mr. Hall having, as I told you in my laft, obliging!/ agreed to favour me with a relation of his ftory, I noiv give it t6 you as nearly in his own words as I can remember them. He pro- ceeded thus ; " Although you are iioWt my dear friend J a ^vitnefs to ta^ being the moft perfedly wretched of all created beings, yet the time is not long paft when fortune fmiled upon and gave me pro- mife of as much happinefs as Man in this wretched vale of tears ig allowed by his circumfcribed nature to hope for. I have feen the time, when each revolving fun rofe to ufher me to a day of joy, and fet to conlign me to a night of undiflurbed repofe — when the bounties of Nature, and the productions of Art, were poured with the profufion of fond paternal affeftion into my lap — when troops of friends hailed my rifing firofpefls— when health and peace made this perfon their uninterrupted abode— and when the moft benig- nant love that ever blefled a mortal filled up the meaflire of my blifs. Yes, Campbell ! it was once my happinefs, though now, alas ! the fource of poignant mifery, to be blefled with the beft / parents ( 64 ) parents that ever watched over the welfare of a child— with friends, too, who loved me, and whom my heart cherifhed— and -— O God'!~t}o i think of her, and~Tet retain- my fenfes— with the affections of a young lady, than whom ProA'idence, in the fulhicfs of its power and bounty to Mankind, never formed one more lovely, one more angelic in peribn, more heavenly in diipo- ^tiijn, more rich in iiitelleftual. endowmerlts. Alas ! my friend, ^lj;)'p>ijcap you pardon thofe warm ebullitions of a fond paffion I lifcijiy^ for a moment .ei)ter iiito m\ feelings, and make allow- ance for thofe tranfports ? But how can you ? Your friendlhip and pity may indeed induce you to excufe this interruption ; but, to ijmpathife truly, aad feel as I feel, you muft have known the charming girl herfelf. ..f.TfV^% father, though he did not move in the very firft walk of life, held" the rank of a Gentleman by birth and education, and was relpedtable, not only as a man of conliderable property, but as a perfon who knew how to turn the gifts of fortune to thsir beft account:- he was generous without prodigality, and charitable without oftentation :■ he was allowed by all who knew him to be the mofl tender of hufbands— rthe mofl zealous arid fmcere of friends; and I can bear witnefs to his being the beft of parents. As long as J c.au remember to have been able to make a remaik, the-tender- nefsof both mv father and mother knew na bounds : I feemed to occupy all their thoughts, all their attention ; and hi a few years, as I thank God I never made an unfuitable return for their affec- ^.,-:x-i tion. ( 6o ) ^ . tion, it increafed to fuch a degree, that their exigence feemed to hang upon mine. " To make as much of a child fo beloved as his natural talents would allow, no expence was fpared in my education : from childhood, every inftru6lion that money could purchafe, and every allurement to learn that fondnefs could fuggeft, were beftowed upon me ; while my beloved father, tracing the advances I made with the magnifying eye of afFeftion, would hang over me in rapture, and enjoy by anticipation the fame and honours that, overweening fondnefs fuggefted to him, muft one day furround me. Thefe prejudices, my dear friend ! arifing from the excefs of natural affeftion, are excufeable, if not amiable, and deferve a bettef fate than difappointment. Alas ! my honoured father, vou little knew— and, oh ! may you never know, what fort of fame, what fort of honours, await your child ! May the anguifh he endures, and his moft calamitous fate, never reach your ears !— for, too well I know, 'twould give a deadly wrench to your heart, and precipitate you untimely to your grave, " Thus years rolled on ; during which, time feemed to have added new wings to his flight, fo quickly did they 'pafs. Un- marked by any of thofe fuiifter events that parcel out the time in weary flages to the unfortunate, it flid on unperceived ; and an enlargement in my fize, and an increafe of knowledge, were all I had to inform me that eighteen vears had pafTed away. I It ( 66 ) " It W'as at this time that I firft found the fmooth current of my tranquillity interrupted, and the tide of my feelings fwelled and agitated, by the acceffion of new ftreams of fenfation— In fhort, I became a flave to the delicious pains of Love ; and, after having borne them in concealment for a long time, at length collefted courasx; to declare it. Franknefs and candour were among; the virtues of my beloved : flie liftened to proteftations of alFeftion, and, rifuig above the little axts of her lex, avowed a reciprocal attachment. The meafiire of my blifs Teemed now to be full : the purity of my paffioa was fiich, that the thoughts of the grofTer animal defires never once occurred ; and happy in loving, and in being beloved, we paiTpd our tinie in aU the innocent blandiftiments which truly virtuous Love infpires, without our imagination roaming even for an inftant into the wilds of fenfiiality.. " As I was to inherit a genteel, independent fortune, my father propofed to breed me up to a learned profefllon— the Law ; rather to invigorate and exercife my intellefts, and as a ftep to rank in tlic State, than for mere lucrative purpofes. I was put to one of the Univerfities, with an allowance fuited to his intentions towards me ; and was immediately to have been fent to travel for my further improvement, when an unforefeen accident happened, which completely cruflied all my father's views, dafhed the cup of happinefs from my lips, and brought me ultimately to that, deplorable ftate in which you have now the misfortune to be joined, along with me. < 67 ) *' It was but a few montiis antecedent to my embarking for the Eaftern World, that my father, whom I had for fome time with forrow obferved thoughtful, ftudious and melancholy, took. me into his ftudy, and, feizing my hand, and looking earneftly into my face, while his countenance betrayed the violent agitation of his mind, aiked me emphatically, if I thought 1 had fortitude to bear the greateft poffible calamity ? I was horror- fir uck at his emotion, accompanied by fuch a queflion— but replied, I hoped I had. He then alked me, if I had afFedlion enough for him to forgive him if he was the caufe of it ? I anfwered, that the idea conne61:ed with the -word, for givetiefs, was that which I could never be brought by any earthly circumftance to apply to my father ; but begged him at once to difclofe the worft to me— as, be it what it might, my mifery could not furpafs what I then felt from the myfterious man- ner in which he then fpoke. *'' He then told me that he was an undone man— that he had, with the very beft intentions, and with the view of aggrandizing me, engaged in great and important fpeculations, which, had they fucceeded, would have given us a princely fortune— but, having turned out, unfortunately, the reverfe, had left him little above be^garv. He added, that he had not the refolution to com- municate his lofles to me, until neceffity compelled him to tell me all the tj-uth. " Althou2;h this was a fevere fliock to me, I endeavoured to conceal my feelings from my father, on whofe account, more than 1 2 on ( G8 ) on m\ own, I was aftected, and pretended to make as light of it as fb very important a misfortune would juftify ; and I had the hap- pinefs to perceive that the worthy man took Ibme comfort from my f uppofed indifference. I conjured him not to let fo very trivial a thing as the lols of property, vvliich could be repaired, break in on his peace of mind or health, which could not ; and obfeived to him, that we had all of us {till cnough"-for that my private property (which I pofTefled independent of him, and which a re- lation left me) would amply fupply all our necefiities.. " Having thus endeavoured to accommodate my unhappy fa- ther's feelings to his lolTes, I had yet to accommodate my own ; and began to revolve in 'my mind what was likely to enfue from, and- what ftep was moft proper to be taken in, this dreadful change of circumjftances. That which lay nearell: to my heart firfl: occurred ;. —you Vv'ill readily guefs that I mean my Love : to involve her I. loved more, far more, than my life, in the misfortunes of my fa- mily, was too horrible a confideration to be outweighed even by, the dread of lohng her. I knew not what to do, and I thought upoa it till I became almoft enfrenzied— In this Hate I went to her, and •unfolded the whole ftate of our concerns, together with my refolu- tion not to Involve her in our ruin ;— when— can you believe it ? — the lovely girl infifted on making my fate indifTolubly her's— not, as. file laid, that ihe had the fmallefl apprehenfion lapfe of time or change, of circumftance could make an alteration in our afFeftion, but that file wifhed to gl\e my mind that repol'e which I might derive from. fecurity». ( 69 ) Security. This I would by no means accede to ; and, for the pre» fent, we contented ourfelves with mutual vows of eternal fidelity.. " As loon as I thought my father's mind fit for fiach a converf- ation, I opened to him a plan I had formed of coming to India,, to advance my fortune. His underftanding approved of it, but his heart dilTented ; and he faid, that to. part with me would give the finifhing flroke to his misfortunes : . but, as my interefi was toler- ably good, I reprefented to him the great likelihood I had of fuc- cefs ; and at laft:, with fome difficulty, he confentedi " My next ftep was to acquaint Mifs with my refolu- tiou. I purpofely pafs over a meeting which no power of language can defcribe !— then how can I ?— Oh ! Campbell, the remem- brance of it gnaws me like a vulture here," (and he put his hand upon his heart, while the tears rolled down his cheeks), " and-: will, foon, foon bring me to my end, " Not to detain you with vain efforts to defcribe all. our feel- ings, I will confine myfelf to telling you, that after having made every neceffary preparation, and divided with my much honoured' parents the little property I pofTeffed, I fet fail for India, in a ilate of mind compared with which the horrors of annihilation would have been enviable : the chaos in my thoughts made me infeniible to every obje6t but one.; and I brooded with a fort of flupid, gloomy indulgence, over the portrait of Mifs , which hung round my neck, and was my infeparable companion, till the people •who feized me as I came afliore plundered me of it, and thereby deprived: ( 70 ) vhom I have already mentioned, as having, in the time of the former Sovereign, held the firfl: office in Bidanore, ftill continued oppofite to me ; and he and I at length began to un- derfland each other, and found means, by looks, figns and gef- tures, to exchange thoughts, and hold an inteixourfe of fentiments together. From the circumflance of his being a native, and bet- ter fkilled in the language than me, he had much better intelligence than I could poflibly have, and he was always eager to convey to me any circumftance or news that he thought might be agreeable : fome meffages alfo paffed between us, by means of the Sepoys . who had alternately been his guard and. miner—for our guards- were changed every week. Projefts and hopes of a new kind now began to intrude tliem--- felves on my thoughts ; and I conceived a defign, which I flattered; myfelf was not entirely impradicable, to efFe6l an efcape, and even a revolt in the place. A. variety of circumflances concurred to perfliade me, that the tyranny of Hyder, and his fei-yant Hyat Sahib, was abhorred, though none dared to give vent to .their fentiments. I thought I could obferve, that the native pri- foner oppofite to me was privately beloved, and might, from the, recoik6lion of his former dignities, have confiderable hifluence in^ the ( 75 ) the place. Several Arcot Sepoys and their Officers (Ibme of them belonging to my own regunent) were alfo prifoners at large ; and withal I recollected, that difficulties apparently more ftupend- ous had been overcorhe by Engliflimen— having often heard it af- ferted, that there was not a prifon in the known world out of which a Britifh fubjeft had not made his efcape. Fraught with thofe conceptions, I attempted to found the Of- ficers of the Arcot Sepoys, whether it were not poffible for us to efFecl: our efcape ? So ardent is the flame of Liberty in all men's breafts, fo great is the deteftation of human nature to Slavery, that I perceived a manifefl willingnefs in the people about us to join me in an attempt to procure our liberty, or bring about a revolt in the garrifon. My heart beat high with the hope ; and I began to flatter myfelf, that the day was not far removed when we fhould not only bid defiance to our tyrants, but even make them repent the day on which we were caft afhore on their coaft. Having thus diilantly founded all who I thought were likely to concur, upon the prafticability of the attempt, and found them, as I conceived, difpofed to take fhare in it, it yet remained to confider of the quomodo—znA, after having formed the general outlines of a plan,' to lick it into fhape. The firft of thefe was a critical con- fideration: the fecond required addrefs and management, and was likely to be impeded by the vigilance of the people about, who would not fail to remark, and take the alarm, from any un- K 2 ufual ( 7G ) ufual intercourfe or difcourfe between us ; and without a mutual communication of thoughts, and full deliberation by all parties concerned, as well as knowledge of the fort and its different gates, nothing could, with any profpefl: of fiiccels, be determined- nothing, without the moft imminent hazard, be attempted. 1 therefore held ^arious councils with my own mind, and witli Mr. Hall, on the fubjeft— moft of which were abortive, with- out at all difcouraging us. At lafl I began to think of founding the Bidanore prifoner, ci-devant Governor of the place ; and determined, if poffible, to bring him into our confultations, as I had before hoped to make him a party in the execution of the proje6t : but while I was lettling all this much to my own fatisfa6^ion, an event occurred which extinguilhed all my hopes in that way— -of which you fhall Uave an account in my next Letter. LETTER ( 77 ) LETTER LIII. W HETKER the plan which I mentioned in my lafl: was difcovered or not, or from what other motive it arofe, I have not to this day been able to decide ; but fo it was, that while my fanguine mind was overflowing with the hope of carrying my projecl for an efcape into effect, Mr. Hall and I were one day unexpe61edly loaded with irons, and fiftened together, leg by Leg, by one bolt. This, as nearly as I can compute, was four or five months before my releafe. Of all the circumftances of ray life, it has made the ilrongeft imprefBon upon my mind : it unexpeftedly and fuddenly broke dov/n the mofl pleafing fabric my imagination had ever built. 1 lie iurprife occafioned by the appearance of the irons, and the precautionary manner in which it was undertaken, was indeed great : ftill more was I furprifed to obferve, that the perlbn who was employed to fee this put in execution,, manifefted un- ufual emotions, feemed much affected, and even Ihed tears as he looked on : and while the fuddennefa and cautionary mode of doing it convinced me that fome refinance on ouf part was appre- hended, the forrow which the Officer Avho fuperintended it difclofed,^ portended in my mind a fatal, or at leaf]: a very feflous IfTue. Un- ( 78 ) Unfortunately, poor Mr. Hall had for fome time been afflicted \vit!i a return of his dreadful difordcr, the dyfentery ; and our being fhackled together increafed an unconquerable mortifi- cation of feelings which he had before undergone, from a delicacy of nature that would have done honour to the moft modefl: virgin, be her fenfibility ever fo exquifite, or her delicacy ever fo extreme— And here, my dear Frederick ! I cannot let flip this opportunity of remarking to you, that the man, as well as the woman, who would render himfelf truly amiable in the eyes of his fellow-crea- tures,^ fhould cultivate delicacy and modefty, as the mofl captivat- ing of all the moral virtues : from them, heroifm derives additional luftre— wit, ten-fold force— -religion and morality, the charms of perfliafion— and every perfonal adion of the man, irrefiftible dig- nity and winning grace. From this unlucky event, I received a temporary depreffion ; and the rapidly increafing illnefs of poor Hall rendered my fituation more than ever calamitous; when, again, my fpirits, eagerly prone to grafp at every thing that gave a momentary hope of fiipport, were a little recruited by confufed rumours of the Englifh army having made a defcdtit on the Malabar coaft : and fo powerful is the influence of mind on the animal fyftem, that Mr. Hall enjoyed from the report a momentary alleviation of his malady ; but, having no medical afliftance, nor even fufficient fiiflenance to further the favourable operations of Nature, he relapfed again ; the difeafe fell upon him with redoubled fury : a very fcanty portion of boiled rice, with a more ( 79 ) more fgaaty morfel of ilinkiug fait fifh or putrid flefh, was a very inadequate fupport for me, who, though emaciated, was in health —and very improper medicine for a perfon labouring under a ma- lady fuch as Mr. Hall's, which required comfort, good medical Ikill, and delicate nutritious food. The tea which Hyat Sahib had given me was expended ; and we were not allowed to be fhaved from the hour we Avere put in irons, an indulgence of that kind being forbidden by the barbarous rulesof the prifon : and, to refine upon our tortures, fleep, "the balm of hurt minds," was not allowed us uninterrupted ; for, in conformity to another regu- lation, we were diflurbed every half hour by a noiie Ibmething ; refembling a watchman's rattle, and a fellow who, ftriking every part of our irons with a kind of hammer, and examining them, left they Ihould be cut, broke in upon that kind reftorative, and awoke our fouls to freih horrors. . As it muft-be much more naturally matter of aftonifhment that any bodily ftrength could fupport itfelf under fuch complicated cala- mities,, than that infirmity fhould fuik beneath them, you will be ra- ther grieved than furprifed to hear that poor Mr. Hall was now ap- proaching to his end with hourly accelerated fteps. Every application that I made in his favour was refufed, or rather treated with cruel negleft and contemptuous filence ;. and I forefaw, with inexpreffi- ble anguifh and indignation, that the barbarians would not abate. him in his laft minutes one jot of mifery, and that my moft ami- able friend was fated to expire under every attendant horror that mere-; ( 80 ) •mere fnbluiviry circumilaiiccs could create. But that pitv which the mighty, the powerful and enlightened denied, natural bene- volence operating upon an uninformed mind, and fcanty means, afforded us. Hyat Sahib, the powerful, the wealthy, the Go- vernor of a great and opulent province, refufed to an expiring fel- low-creature a little cheap relief— while a poor Sepoy taxed hi* little means to fupply it : one who guarded us, of his own accord, at hazard of imminent punifliment, purchafed us a lamp and a little oil, which we burned for the laft few nights. Philofophers and Divines have declaimed upon the ad\'antages of a well-fpent life, as felt in art'tculo mortis ; and their efforts have had, I hope, feme effecl upon the lives of many. To wit- nefs one example fuch as Mr. Hall held forth, would be worth volumes of precepts on this fubjedt. The unfeigned reilgnation with which he met his diflblution, and the majeftic fortitude with which he looked in the face the various circumftances of horror that furrounded him, rendered him the moll: dignified obje<51: 1 ever beheld or conceived, and the moft glorious inftance of confcious virtue triumphing over the terrors of death, and the cunning bar- barity of -Mankind. Were the progrefs of virtue attended "with pain, and the pradlice of vice with pleafure, the adoption of the former would be amply repaid by its foothings in the dreadful mo- inent, even if it were to accompany us no further. About a quarter of an hour before he died, Mr. Hall broached a moft tender fubjedt of converfation, which he followed up Avith a feries of ( Bl ) of obfervations, fo truly refined, (b exquifitely turned, fo delicate and fo pathetic, that it feemed almoft the language of infpiration, as if, in proportion to the decay of the body, intelledl increafed^ and the dying man had become all mind. Such a converfation I never remembered to have heard, or heard of. Its effefts upon itie were Avonderful ; for, though the combination of melancholy circumirances attending my now critical fituation hadalmofl raifed my mind to frenzy, the falutary influence of his words and exam- ple controuled the exceffes of my fenfations ; and I met the afflift- ing Eftoment of his departure with a degree of tranquillity, which, thoi^g'h not to be compared to his, has on reflexion appeared to me allonifhing. This converfation continued to the very inftant of his death ; during which time he held my hand clafped in his^ frequently enforcing his kind expreflions to me with a fqueeze — while my forrow, taking its mofl: eafy channel, bedewed my face with tears. As he proceeded, my \ oice was choaked with my feel- ings ; and I attempted once or twice in vain to fpeak. His hand grew cold : he faid his lower limbs were all lifeiefs, and that he felt death coming over him with flow creeping fteps— He again moralized, thanking God with pathetic fervour for his great mercy in leaving him his intellects unclouded, and the organ of commu- nication (the tongue) unenfeebled, that, to the laft, he might folace his friend and fellow-fuiferer— " Ah ! Campbell !" con- tinued he, " to what a ferles of miferies am I now leavins; vou ! Death in fuch circumftances is a bleffing-— I view mine as fuch ; and fhiould think it more io, if it contributed, by a\\'akening tliofe L people ( 82 ) people to a fenfe of their cruelty, to foften their rigour to you : but cruelty like their's is fyftematic, and ftoops not to the controul of the feelings. Could I hope that you would yet efcape from their clutches, and that you would once more prefs your family to vour bolbm, the thou2:ht would brighten ftill the momejit of our I'eparation : and, oh ! my friend ! could I ftill further hope that you would one day fee my moft beloved and honoured parents, and teli them of my death without wringing their hearts with its horrid circumftances, offer tbem my lafi: duties, and tell how I revered them— If, too, you could fee my , and tell her how far, far more dear than !" Here he turned his eyes toward the lamp, then faintly on me---made a conv-uliive effort to Iqueeze mv hand —cried out, " Campbell J oh, Campbell ! the lamp is going, out !" and expired without a groan. The recital of this afflifting event has called up to mv fancy fo lively a pidure of the fcene as it pafTed with all its horrors— horrors which outflrip all efforts of defcription, and baffic all power of language— that my feelings are in part renewed, and I find myfelC incapable of proceeding further at prefent.. LETTER ( 83 ) LETTER LIV, Jb OR fbme time I was loft in grief for the death of Mr. Hall. Though I had long expefted it, and might confequently be fuppofed to have wafted great part of my forrow in anticipa- tion ; yet, having only confidered and felt the point before his death merely as it relpe61;ed him and his misfortunes, a great por- tion of the calamity remained unconceived : and, now that he was dead, I began for the firft time to confider and feel the fub- jeOi as it concerned myfelf. Refle6lion told me, that he was hap- pily relieved from woe, and in a ftate of blifs— " After life's fitful fever, he fleeps well : *' Nor fleel nor poifon, " Malice domeftic, foreign levy — nothing •' Can touch him further !" But I ftill remained a prey to perhaps new barbarities, without hope of relief from the old. No partner to ftiare, no focial converfe to alleviate, no friend to confole me under my affliftions, I looked at the body of my friend with envy, and lamented that death had not afforded me, too, a ftielter from the cruelties which fate feemed determined to heap upon me. L 2 It ( «•* ) It is impolTible for me to exprefs to you the agonies of mind I ■underwent during the reft of the night. In the morning, a report was made to the Commandant, of t;he death of Mr. Hall ; and in about an hour after, he pafled me by, but kept his face purpofely- turned away from me to the other fide. I patiently waited for the removal of the dead body till the evening, when I delired the Sepoys who guarded me to apply for its being removed. They returned, and told me that they could get no aniwer rerpe61ing it. Night came on, but there was no appearance of an intention to unfetter me from tlie corpfe. The Commandant was litting in his Court, adminiftering, in the manner I have before defcribed, jujl'tce ! I Galled out to him mvfelf with allmv mi2;ht, b\it could g-et no an- fwer from him. Nothing could equal my rage and confternation ; for, exclufive of the painful idea of being Ihackled to the dead body, of a friend I loved, another circumftance contributed to make it 3: ferious fubjeft of horror. In thofe climates, the weather is To in- tenfely hot, that putrefa61:ion almoft inftantly lucceeds- death ; and, meat that is killed in the morning, and kept in the ihade, will be unfit for dreffing at night. In a fubjeft, then, on which putrefa61iorL had made advances even before death, and which remained expofed to the open air, the procefs muft have been much more rapid. So. far, however, from compafTionating my fituation, or indulging me by a removal of the body, their barbarity fuggefted to them to make it an inftrument of punifhment ; and they pertinaciouily ad- hered to the moft mortifying filence and difregard of my complaints. For ( 85 ) For feveral days and nlglits It remained attached to me by the irons. I grew ahnofi: difl:rati:ed---wifhed for tlie means of putting an end to my miferies by death, and could not move without witneffing feme new ftage of putrefcence it attained,, or breathe witliout in- haling the putrid effluvia that arofe from it— while myriads of flies and loathfome infefts refted on it, the former of which every now and then vifited me, crav/ling over my face and hands, and lighting in hundreds, on my viftuals. I never look back at this crifis^ without confufion, horror, and even aflonifliment ;■ and, were it not connefted with a chain of events preceding and fubfe- quent to it, too well known by :-cipe6i:able people to be doubted, and too much interwoven with a part of the hiftory of the laft" war in India to admit of doubt, I fhould not only be afraid to tell, but abfolutely doubt myfelf whether the whole was not the illulion of a dream, rather than credit the poliibility of my endui'ing flich unheard-of hardfhlps without lofs of life or deprivation of fenfes. At laft, when the body had reached that fhocking loathfome ftate of putrefaction which threatened that, further delay would' render removal abominable, if not impoffible, the monflers agreed to take it away from me— and I was fo far relieved : but the mor- tification and injury I underwent from it, joined to the agitation of the- preceding week, made a vifible inroad on my health. I totally loft my fpirits; my appetite entirely foribok me : my long- nouriihed hopes fled ; and 1 looked forward to death as the only delirabla ( S(5 ) orders, taken forth, and his throat cut ! This the Jemadar him- felf afterwards acknowledged to me— and, what was ftill more abominable if poffible, undertook to juftify the proceeding upon the principles of reafon, found fenfe,. and precedent of Afiatic policy. In order to elucidate the whole of this bufinefs, it is neceflary for me to recur to events which liappened antecedent to this time,, but of which, by reafon of my fituation, 1 was then entirely ig- norant ; and as they involve, not only the grounds of my fubfe- quent efcape and proceedings, but a confiderable portion of hif- torical: fd£t, and forne of the material interefls of the Eafl India Company, I will be the more particularly careful in relating them, and delire from you a proportionate lliare of attention — But their importance entitle them to a feparate Letter : therefore: conclude with alluring you, &c.. &c,. LETTER ( S8 ) .■ ■ i.-.;-,-x ; i_,t., i I .-l,.{Li-U-g|^ ,::r.i.'A LETTER LV. riYDER All I Khawk, late Nabob of Mytbre, and father to the prefent Tippoo Sahib Sultain, was as extraor- dinary a man, and perhaps poflefled as great natural talents, as any recorded in the page of Hiftory. Born and bred up in the loweft ranks of an unenlightened and ignorant People, and to the laft day of his life perfedly illiterate, he not only emerged from hi? native obfcurity by the vigour of his mind and body, but became an objeft of terror and admiration to furrounding Potentates. Early initiated in the habits and inured to the toils of a military life, he rofe, by the gradual fleps of promotion, to a rank which afforded an opportunity of difplaying his capacity and prowefs: he foon obtained the command of that army in which he had ojicc ferved as a common loldier, and immediatelv demonftrated that the fublimity of his mind was formed to keep pace with his extraor- dinary elevation. The Marhattas, the moft formidable people in Hither India, bordered on the Myforean dominions, and kept their neigh- bours, by frequent hoftilities, in a continual flate of awe- making incurflons on their territories, and taking pofTeffion, by force ( 89 ) force of arms, of large portions of their Country -. but no fooiicr had Hyder got the command of the armies of his Country, thaa he drove back the Marhattas from the Myforean dominions, which he extended by confiderable acquifitions from the Marhatta fron- tiers ; and followed up his conquefts with fuch fuccefsful ardour, that he compelled that warlike Nation to refpeft his Countrymen as their equals, if not fuperiors, in military achievement. Thus, while he ingratiated himfelf with his Sovereign and Fellow-citi- zens by his wifdom, he acquired the admiration of the Soldiery by ills perfonal addrefs and valour ; and at the fame time, by the feve- rity of his discipline, and the occafional aufterity of his deportment, maintained an awe over them, which ftrengthened his authority without diminifliing their afFe6lion. Hyder was therefore now arrived at that point of elevation, beyond which no exertion of mental capacity, if governed by vir- tue or integrity, could raife him— So far he owed all to genius : but his towering ambition looked higher ; and, unreftrained by any principle of religion or morality, he determined to acconv plifli, at any rate, that which be knew nothing but crime could accomplifh. With wicked deliberation he looked forward Into the womb of time, and with unparalleled policy arranged the whole i\ftem upon which he was to a61, when that order of things his penetrating and intuitive genius enabled him to fee would naturally arlfe from each other, fhould afford him a proper opportunity. Although he was utterly ignorant of books, and of M couslc ( -^0 ) courle could derive little bcaciit from the examples of the grt-at and ambitious men recorded in Pllftory, vet, drawing upon the in- finite refijurces of his own mind or intormation, he adopted the very fame means of furthering his views ; and forefeeing, that, Avith an immcnfe armv devoted to his interefts, few things would be unattainable, he applied himfelf diligently to model and form that of the King of Mysore to the greatefl perfection in difcipline, and to render it attached to his perfon, and fubfen^ient to his views, by a fkilful mixture of feverity and relaxation, toil and reward, dan- cjer and applaufe, which none but a mafter-hand like his was ca- pable of exactly compounding. The death of his Sovereisin the King of Mysore at leng-th afforded him the opportunity to which he had {o long, and with fo prophetic an e\'e, looked forward— and gave him ample room for felf-gratulation on the Icore of his fagacity ai"ul prudence. The Heir in fucceffion to the Throne being then an infant, the politic Hyder, fetting ahde all claims of the kindred of the young Prince, took upon himfelf the guardianfhip— under the title of Regent aflumed the fupreme authority— and, though too well aware of the inviolable attachment of the People to their lawful Monarch to put him dire6tly to death,, ufurped the Throne, and configned him to imprifonment in Seringapatam, the capital of the Myforean dominions. Having thus, by his talents, acquired the pofTeflToH of the Throne, he gave a large range to the fublimity of his views, and foon I ( 91 ) fnou difplayed the exhauftlefs refources of his ihlnd in the new office of Governor and Leo-iflator— formino: fuch vaft^well-or- dered military eftabUfliments, and fuch judicious and lalutary civil inftitutions, as made him blaze forth at once the terror of hi* neighbours, and rendered him, in the fequel, the moft powerful and formidable Potentate in the Hither Peninfvila. In carrying on thofe, his deficiency in letters was fupplied by his vigilance and lagacity, fiiarpened by fulpicion ; three fecretaries executed all his orders in feparate apartments ; and if, on comparifon, they were found to differ, he who committed the error received fen- tence of death. His natural cruelty made him take the execution of their fentence upon himfelf not unfrequently : to (lice off a head with his own hand, or fee it done by others, was a luxurious re- creation to the fang;uinarv Hyder. The natural fagacity of this great man fuggefted, that in or- der to accomplifli the extenfive objects which his a6live and ambi- tious temper held up to his imagination, the introduflion of the , moll: perfe61: military difcipline was above all other things necel- lary ; and his judgment informed him that the European \\'as the beft. He therefore held out the moft tempting allurements to military adventurers, and particularly to thofe, whether black or white, who had been trained in the fervice of the Englifli Eafl India Company : he fent emiffaries, for the purpofe, to all parts of India, with inftruftions to offer great rewards ; and carried this defign fo far, that whenever accident or war threw nerfons of M 2 tlvdl ( 92 ') that tfefcrl^tion Into his hands, he nev^er Tailed to detain them, and, if they refilled to enter into liis fervice, treat them with the moft vuipardonable rigour and barbarity; and by thefe mean* brought his army to a llate of perfedtion till then unknown to a Black Power. He did not flop there, but determined to eilablifa a ?^aA-y— by large oilers allured many fhip-carpenters and artizans from Bombay— made no inconfiderable progrefs in conftaicling dock-yards, and had aftually equipped feme fhips of the line, be- tides frigates, fitted to encounter European feas. Indeed, he leetiied to have carried his views of ccnquefl even to the Polar regions.; for it is. a fa6t, that he directed his people, in.confl:ru6ling thofe veiTels, to fit them for encounteriiog feas of ice, or, as he called it, the tliick v/ater. To a man of fuch ardent ambition and deep penetration, the vaft power which the Englifh Eafl: India Company had aci;^uired,. and were daily acquiring, in the Eail:, could not fail- to be an ob- ject of jealoufy. He conceived a deadly and implacable aiiimofity to the Britlih Nation, which influenced his whole fucceeding life,, ended only with liis death, and was then tranfmitted to his foii; Tippoo Sahib, with the exadlion of a folemnoatli, ever to retaixv thofe fentiments. A coincidence of circumftances, which has fcldom occurred nv. the fortunes of men, tended, at a lucky crifis, to further the boldi projeds of Hyder ; and neither fortune, though, extremely pro- pitious to him, nor his own unbounded talents and enegcric Ipirit^ favoured ( 93 ) favoured the execution of them, more than the bungUng politics, the ludicrous ambition, and the confequent unjuftifiable proceed- ings, oC one of our Prefidencies in India— I mean Bombay. Fortunately, the wifdom and moderation of our EalT: India Coun- cils at this day, vindicate the wounded charafter of the Britlfh Nation, and juftify me in the remarks I make. An ambitious and profligate Chief of the Marhatta Tribes— his name, Roganaut Row — had been depofed by the Wife Men of his Country, for having murdered his nephew, in order to ufurp the Throne of Settcrah. He fled to Bombay, and, by Ipecious promifes and other means, prevailed on that Prefidency to af- ford him an afylum, and finally to take up arms in his defence againft the united Marhatta States, who at the very time were able to raife an army of three hundred thoufand fighting men. Hoftilities were firfl: commenced by the Englifh ; and by them peace was fir ft propofed. The treaty of Poonah was made, h\ which it was provided that Roganaut Row fhould quit Bom- bay ; and by the Englifli the provifions of that treaty \\'ere broken— for, in dired violation of it, Roganaut was kept at Bombay. This breach of the treaty led to another ; for this crafty and unprincipled Chief made ufe of it with fuch addrefs as to perfuade that Prefidency to attack the Marhattas again :— by magnifying the power of his party among his Countrymen, he prevailed upon them once more to affert his rights; and tlie Prefi- dency ( »* ) dency of Calcutta, 1 avn afraid, were induced to join that of Bombay in the plan. It happened unfortunately, that at this time the Prefidency of Bombay Nvas compofed of perfons the moft unqualified, probably, that could be found in any community for offices of fuch import- ance. One, particularly, was allowed, by the almoll: unanimous confent of thofe who knew his private or public charafter, to be ignorant, not only of the hrfl: principles of Government, but of the ordinary knowledge requifite for a Gentleman ; and for fitua- tions of moment he was peculiarly difqualified by a fondnefs for minutiae, to which he paid -more attention than to matters of greater confequence. A temper and intellect of this kind were rendered flill more incapable of the enlarged v£iws any Repre- fentative of a great Nation in a diftant Colony fliould pofTefs, by a mercantile education and habits, which narrowed even his cir- cumfcribed mind, and left him not a fentiment, not an idea, that was not merely commercial. The adminiftration of fuch men was exa6tly \vhat might have been expefted ; and, inftead of afferting the dignity of Great Britain, or promoting the advan- tage of their employers— narrow policy, felfifli views, aud efforts ariling from mlflaken notions of conqueft, made the whole tiffue of their condudl in India. Blinded by theplaufible infmuations of Roganaut, and Simu- lated, as I have already obferved, by a luft for conqueft, which would have been unjuflifiable even in an hereditary Defpot, but which were ( 9^ ) were peOTliarly vicious and ridiculous in a body of Merchants who were themfelves fubjeds, the Eafl: India Company's Servants again determined to fupport, by force of arms, that moll: atro- cious murderer : and with the contemptibly inadequate force of four thoufand nrien, encumbered with an unwieldy train- of bag- gage and fervants for the accommodation of finikin voluptuous Officers, and kd by two doughty compting-houfe champions (Carnac and Mostyn), with Colonel Egerton as Military. AJJtjla7it rather than Commander, they fet out, to encounter the. whole torrent of the Marliatta force, and condu6l,RoG anaut to- Poonah. Had Roganaut advanced at the head of his own partizans- only, the Chiefs of the Marhatta Nation might poUibly have taken, different fides of the queflion, and left between them a breach for his arms or intrigues to make an entrance fatal to the general caufe of the Country : but the aflaults of a foreign army —an army of interefted peculating Grangers, as the Company's troops then were— -an army of avowed natvual enemies, profefllng a difterent religion, entertaining different political principles, and: formed by Nature of a different complexion — routed and united them in one common cauie, and comprefTed difcordant interefls, which had been- for time immemorial at irreconcilable variance,, into one compa(Sl body of refiftance, which, as it became more- firm from the flrokes of hoftility, could not, in the nature of things, be fubdued ;. in the fame manner as the unjuflifiable con- federacy ( 06 ) fedciacy of Kings igaiiill: France lately united all the conflitiliug parties of that Country— converted twenty-feven millions of People, male and female, into one compa<5t armed force— rendered them not only invincible at home, but terrible abroad—and finally, has enabled them to beftride, Coluflus like, the univerfc. LETTER LV 1 HE approach of the Britifli Troops with Roganaut caufed great alarm at Poonah ; and the Minifters there fent to offer terms, which were contemptuoufly rejefted. They then determin- ed to fave, by prowefs, thofe rights ^vhich they could not prefervc by juftice or negociation— and took the field with fuch great force, that their menacing enemies found it expedient to confider of a retreat. They^///f/«/ Roganaut, finding his plans baffled, fent privately to Scindiah, the Marhatta Chief, propofing to him to attack the Englifh, and promifing in that cafe to join him with his part of the army : his perfidy, however, being difcovered, the Englifh Commanders began to retreat, carrying him along with them. They were, however, furrounded, and reduced to make themofl abjedl conceffions— offering a carte-hlanche to Scindiah as the price of a retreat : but that augufl Chief nobly difdained to ( 91 ) to take advantage of their fituation, and contented hlmfelf with terms which juftice fhould have exaded from them, even if xie- ccflity had not compelled their acceptance. The refloration of Salfette, and of the other conquefls made by the Company's troops during the preceding hollilities, and the delivery of Roganaut'6 perfbn into the hands of the Marhattas, were among the provifions. RoGANAUT was delivered up : two hoftages were taken for the remaining part of the treaty ; and the harrafled remains of the Englifli army were permitted to return to Bombay. RoGANAUT having found means to efcape, reached Surat ; and the Company's Chiefs refufed to comply with the provifions of the treaty : notwithftanding which, the noble Marhatta difmifled the hoftages, and prepared for a more manly revenge than that which could be wreaked on two defencelefs individuals. General GoDDART, who had been fent with an army from Bengal, was commiffioned to negociate for a pacification : but Scindiah making the delivery of Roganaut into his hands an indifpenfable preliminary, the negociation was broken off, and both parties de- termined to refer the controverly to the decilion of the Sword. Every thing feemed to confpire to chaftife the rafhnefs and folly of our Indian Councils. The difficulties in which our Ame- rican conteft had involved the Nation, were reported with exagge- ration in India, and gave additional firranefs to our eneniies in tliat quarter. The reftlefs and intriguing fpirit of the Court of Verfailles found its way v ith Monfieur St. Lubin to the (hores N of C ^8 ) of Imloflian, and Co powerfully worked iipoii the mind of Hyder, that he entered into a treaty with France againft England, and brong-ht the ftrength of botl:i into the mofl: formidable combination ■that ever was made in that Country, to root out the power of Great Britain from the Eafb. Thus, by the depraved politics ot the Councils of a petty Settle- ment, were the important interefts of Great Britain in India, and the lives and properties of all its fer\'ants in that quarter, at once expofed to the fury of three formidable hoftile powers— the Ma- rhattas, Hyder and the French. I will not entangle mv narrative with a detail of the \'arious ■military operations which aroie from this confederacy : they were in general dilaftrous to the Englifh, \\ hofe power there was pre- ierVed from utter annihilation b\- the energetic Councils of Mr. Hastings, the unexampled courage of our troops, and the un- paralleled abilities and gallantry of the veteran Sir Eyre Coote. That part which applies to my prelent narrative, is the only part .1 think it necefTary to detail ; but 1 wifh you to inform yourfelf of all of them fully, by an attentive per ulal of the different hifto- ries- of that war. In order to relieve the Carnatic, which was fuffering under the ravages of a formidable vidoricus army, who had not only cut off a great part of our forces on that coaft, but affronted our army even at the walls of Fort St. George, defcents upon the coa/ls ©f Malabar were planned, in order to make a diverfion i and General 1 ( 99 ) General Mathews, in January 1783, landed, with a fmail army under his command, at a place called Rajamondroog— took Onore, and leveral forts ; and being joined by other troops, which, under the command of Colonel Humbertson, had done confider- able fervices to the Southward, and were now commanded by Colonel Macleod, marched from Cundapore, with an army confifting of twelve hundred Europeans and eight battalions of Sepoys, towards Huflaingurry Ghaut, a pafs that leads over thefe immenfe mountains which divide the Peninfula, running North and South from Perfia to Cape Comorin. After furmounting obflacles that would have dilcouraged a lefs enterprifing Commander, an4 for Avhich I refer you to his own Letter, inclofed herewith,* he mounted the Ghaut, carrying every thing before him with the fixed bayonet ; and reached, within a Ihort march of Hyderna- gur, the place where I was confined. Thofe operations were undoubtedly much facilitated by the death of Hyder Alli, which happened while I was in prifon, and which drew the at- tention of Tippoo Sahib to affairs of more immediate importance than the defence of the Malabar forts. I have thus digreffed from the flraight path of my narrative, in order to explain to you the occaiion of the extraordinary revo- lution that lb luddenly took place in the fort, which I ftated to vou in my lafi: Letter but one--- You will therefore lock back to the conclufioa of that Letter, from whence I again take up my narrative. N'2 i ' See Appciidi: . ( 100 ) I was utterly at a lois to conje6ture what this lo luddca refb- lutioa to releal'e me and ray oppolite tellow-prilbner meant. I endeavoured to get Ibme explanation of it from the perfons about me ; but all I could at the time colleft was, that the Jemadar had direfted me to be taken out of irons, and ordered me to appear before him. I walked out of the citadel with two or three men who had got charge of me : it was a delightful afternoon ; and my fenfations on once more revifiting the open air — at again viewing the vafl expanfe of the firmament above, and the profufion of beauties with which Nature embelliflied the earth beneath— were too blifsful, too fublime, for defcription. My heart beat with in- voluntary tranfports of gratitude to that Being from which all. {prung ; and I felt that Man is, in. his nature, even without the in- tervention of his realbn, a being of devotion. For an hour of liich delight as I then experienced, a year of imprifoiiment was, I thought, hardly too dear a price. Thofe exquifite fenfations infeniibly led my heart to the moft flattering prefages : the ani- mal fpirit appeared to have, in correfpondence with the body, fliaken off a load, of chains ; and as I walked along, I fcemed to tread on air. As we proceeded forward, we found; at fome diflance from the fort, an open dooly, into which the guards forcibly crammed me ; and I was carried off, fWl attended by the fam? men. As we went along, they gave me to underftand that Hyat Sahib, the Jenaadar, was at a place ten or a dozen miles didant from Bidanore. ( 101 ) t Bidanore. I thought it within myfelf a moft extraordinary cir- cumftance, and was at alofs to conjefture for what piirpofe he re- quired my prefence there. Perhaps, thought I, it is to deUver me perfonally into the hands of Tippoo — perhaps to lend me to Se- ringapatam. Sufpenfe whetted my curiofity ; and impatience to know my fate, fet my mind afloat upon a wide fea of conjefture. Still, however; my fenies acknowledged a degree of pleafure in- defcribable— I inhaled the frefli air with greedinefs,- and, as I InufFed it iny faid to myfelf, " Well> well— at the worft, this will enliven, my fpirits,, and lay up a new flock of health and vigour, to enable me to endure with manhood whatever other fuiFerings the barbarians,,, into whofe hands I have ftillen, may have in ftore for me." When. we had got about a mile from the fort, we met a peribn attendediby three others,, all on horfeback. He wae-aman of confi- derahle rank in that Country, and I recolled:ed to ha_ve feen him at the Jemadar's Durbar, where he had manifefted a favourable dif- pofiticai towards me, looking always gracioufly, and nodding to me, which, coniidering my circumftances and his, was not a little extraordinary. The moment he recognized me, he leaped from- his horfe, apparently in great agitation : then turning to the guards, ordered them to leave me immediately— faying at the lame time that he would :be anfwerable for the confequences. They feemed at firft to hefitate whether they would obey him or not ; but on his Ihaking at them his Iword,, which was all along drav/n in hi3 hand. ( 10'2 ) ■hand, and Tmcared with blood, and repeating his orders a fecond time in a firm and decifive tone of voice and manner, thev all ran off. As foon as we were alone, he revealed to me, that he had all along known who I \^'as— had mofl: heartily pitied mv fufferings, and privately entertained the mofl: anxious wifhes to ferve me, but could not venture to interfere— the leaft jealouly, when once awakened, being there always followed up by fummarv vengeance. He then mentioned his name, informing me that he was the Ion of a Nabob near Vellore, whofe dominions had been wrefled from him by force, and united to the Carnatic ; that his family had re- ceived 2;reat favours from mv father, in return for which he felt himfelf bound to do me every fervice in his power ; but that, having been, after the misfortunes which befel his family, taken into the fervice of Hyder, and holding then a place of confe- quence under him, he was difqualified from demonftrating his gratitude and efteem in the way he wiflied : he added, he had juft come from the fummit of the Ghauts, where he left the Englifh army ported, after their having beat the Circar troops, and car- ried all the ftrong works which had been erefted for the defence of the pafTes, and were deemed from their fituation impregnable ; that the Jemadar, Hyat Sahib, had gone thither to encourage the troops, and animate them to one grand effort of refinance, and would remain there till the fuccceding day— Here he flopped, and leemed much agitated ; but, recovering himfelf loon, faid, in a folemn ( J03 ) folemn and alarming manner, " This day I heard Hyat Sahib give orders to bring you before him, in order that he might fatiate his revenge by your death ! How happy am I in having an oppor- tunity to refcue you ! I will carry you back with me, therefore, to Bidaaore, and place you in a ftate of fecurity with my family." LETTER LVn. OUCH unprecedented generolity afFe(?l:ed me fenfibly. To run fuch a hazard as he muft have incurred, merely from a principle of gratitude for fei'vices fo remote in both time and per- fon, was more than we could hope to find even among Englifh- men, who boaft of their luperior juftice and genero{ity---but in a native of Indoflan, where the tide of human feeling runs rather low, was aflonifliing. As well as my limited knowledge of the language of the Country enabled me, I endeavoured to make him a fiiitable acknowledgment r in fuch a caufe, dullnefs muft have become eloquent ; and I lamented that my deficiency in the lan- guage prevented my giving vent to the extreme fullnefs of my heart. He feemed, however, to be fatisfied with my meaning ; and I was juft on the point of returning with him to Hydernagur, when, we were fuddenly ftartled by the Jemadar's mufic, wlii?Ii was ( 104 ) was foon afterwards fucceeded by the appearance of his guards advancing towards us at fome diftance. He feemed confounded and alarmed— lamented, in warm terms, his incapacity to ierve me— and> pointing to a path which wound through a wood that lav on either fide of the road, direfted me to ftrike into it imme- -diately, faying, that by following that route, I fhould certainly fall in with the Britifh army. He then rode away, and I followed his advice, and proceeded for fome time through the wood with- out interruption; for, though I did not implicitly beheve the allertion that Hyat Sahib meant to have cut me off, I deemed it prudent to avail myfelf of the opportunity which offered to effe6l: my sfcape, apprehending a worfe fate than death, namely, being fent prifoner to Seringapatam. Finding myfelf fairly extricated, I began to examine my litu- ation, and to refleft on the different converfations which had palled between Hyat Sahib and me, and on his condud previous to my being put in irons. I recoUefted the information I had from time to time received, touching the Jemadar's difpofition, Hyder's death, Tippoo Sahib's chara61er and avowed hatred of Hyat, and the nature of the inhabitants. I moreover took into confideration, that my ftrength was impaired, and my con- ftitution undermined ; and that my profpe6ls in India, in point of fame or emolument, could only be promoted by fome extraordi- aary exertion, or fome hazardous enterprife. The refult of the whole was a determination on my part to return back to the fort, and ( 105 ) and venture an attempt to perfuade the Jemadar to offer propofals for an accommodation to General Mathews, and to make me the inftrument of his negociation. In purfuance of this determination, I returned ; and at about (ix o'clock in the evening re-entered the fort, and proceeded to the palace of the Jamadar, Avherc, defiring an audience, I w^as ad- iTiitted. At the very firfl fight of him, I could perceive in his appearance all the mortification of falling power. He received me with a gloomy countenance, in which there was more of thoughtful fadnefs than of vindi6tive fury. After a mhiute's filence, however, he laid to me, *' Well, Sir ! you have heard, I fuppofe, that the Englifh army are in poflefiion of the Ghauts, and doubtlefs know that the cufloms of this Country authorile my proceeding againft you with the utmofl rigour." Here he paufed for a few moments— then proceeded thus : " Neverthelefs, in con- fideration of your family~-in confideration of the regard I have for a long time conceived for you, from obferving your conduft, and ftridt adherence to truth in anfwering all my queftions, and ftill more on account of the fufFerings which you have fuftained with fortitude, I will allow you to efcape : hafle you, then, away— fly from this fort direftly— begone !" Then waving^ his hand as a fignal for me to depart, averted his f?.ce from me, and; looked another way. I thouglit that this was a very favourable opportunity for my ijntended purpofe, and entreated him to hear me while I. faid a O few ( 10 Jienco' of f ruth — united together, and raifed a hum which readied Et'u'G'^ey wi>ere the hornets (I iTicau Authors), under the lels un- jttftifiUble impuhe of neceiTity, took it up, and buzzed through tJie ft^e'diuVn of q-nartos and oclovos (o loud, that public opinion was pdiftyritti ; ' and the- gnllaut Soldier who, for the • advai:itage of iCndsind. flood the hardeft: tugs of war, and at lail: drank, the poifoned cup from the tyrant hands of her enemy, jwas generally kiiJei^ftood to be a peculator, and to have clandeftinely and difho- iteftly obtained three hundred thoufand pounds. On this affertion I put my direft negative. It may be laid,, however, that this is-only aiTerlion againft aflertion— True ! Sorry ifhould I be to reft it there: my affertions are grounded on fuch proofs as are not to be fhaken-— proofs qi\ record in the Office of the Prefidencv of Bombay. As foon as Hydernagur was taken pofTeflion of, Hyat Sahib immediately iffued orders to the forts of Mangalore, Deokull, Ananpore^ and fome others in that Country, to furrender to the Britifh arms. Some obeyed the mandate ; but thofe three re- lifted, and were reduced by General Mathews. Rendered in- cautious by fuccefs, our army became lefs vigilant, and Tippoo retook Hydernagur; and, in diredl breach of the capitulation,. made the garrifon prifoners, treated them with a degree of inhu- manity which chills the blood even to think of, and forced General Mathews to take poifon in grilbn !. Mean- 1 ( nn ) Mean-time Hyat Sahib, with whom the General had got into difputes, arrived at Bombay, and laid a charge againft him, wliich he, being in the hands of Tippoo, could not contro- vert, or even know. And what was the charge ? The whole extent of it was his (Mathews's) having got two lacks of rupees, and a pearl necklace, as a prefent— a fu'm, confidering the country and the circumftances, not at all extraordinary, but which is completely vinjdicated by the General's Letter to the Court of. Diredors, dated at Mangalore, the. 15th of March, ,1783;. in which he flates the. prefent, and requefls permifiion to acceptdt. This,, as I.faid before, is on record, aud was trans- lated by Mr. Sybbald, who was- then Perfian . interpreter at Bombay. - The Letter I allude to, yovi will fee in the Appendix. In fliort. General Mathews had his faults, but-anunjuft ava- riee, was not amongfl: them. LETTER t 118 ) LETTER LIX. Having, in my luft Letter, faid as much as I thought juftice demanded in defence of General Mathews, againft the charge of peculation, I am now to fpeak of him as his condu61: touched me. He was, as I have already mentioned, an old friend of my father's, and an intimate of my own : I had reafon, there- fore, to expe61: from him, according to the ufual difjpofitions and manners of men, if not partiality, at leaft friendfhip ; and in fuch a cafe as I have related, where my fervices gave me a claim to notice, it was not unreafonable to fuppofe that he would have been forward to promote my intereft, by ftating my fervices in fiich a manner as to call attention to them. He had, however, fome difagreeable difcuffions with his Officers ; and feeing I was on a footing of intimacy with Colonel Humbertson, and ftill more with Major Campbell (he who fo ably and gallantly defended Mangalore againft Tippoo's whole army and fix hundred French), and finding me extremely zealous and importunate to have his arrangement with Hyat Sahib adhered to, he became difpleafed, and, though he himfelf had determined that I fhould remain with him, changed his mind, and ordered me away at an hour's ^' notice— ( 119 ) notice— many days fooner than he had originally intended to fend ofF any difpatches. He moreover occafioned my lofing a fum of money, and on the whole paid lefs attention to my intereft than the circumftances of the cafe demanded. In the evening of the day on which he determined on my de- parture, I fet off with his difpatches to the Governments of Ma- dras and Bengal, and reached the moft diftant of our pofts that night. From thence I had thirty miles to Cundapore, a fea-port town uponi the Malabar coail:, taken by us from the enemy. During this journey, which was through the Country of Tippoo Sahib, I had only fix Sepoys to condu6l me : yet, fuch was the imiverfal panic that had'feized all claffes and diftinftions of people at the progrefs of the Britifh arms in that quarter, I met only a few Icattered Sepoys, who were fo badly wounded I prefume they were unable to travel— the villages throughout being completely abandoned by all their inhabitants. The fudden change of diet, which phyficians tell us, and I experienced, is dangerous, from bad to good, as well as the reverfe, eonfpiring with the mortification I felt at feeing things going on io very contrary to what I. v.'ifhed, and what I had reafon to expedt, had a moft fudden and alarming effe6t upon my conflitur tion ; and 1 was feized on the road with the mofl excruciating, internal pains, which were fucceeded by a violent vomiting of blood; At length, with great difficulty, I reached Cundapore,, where the Commanding Officer, and all about him, did every thing^. { J20 ) •fbiTig 111 their p^er to afford me afliftance and comfort U!>der my iTiiferies, which it^reafed every hour rapidly. I felt as if my infide -ii'ks utterly decayed, and all its funftions lof}- in debility : at the fame time my head feemed deranged— I could fcarcely comprehend the meaning of what was faid: lifting up my head was attended v.'ith agonizing pain ; and if I had any power of thought, it was to confider myfelf as approaching faft to diffolution. I had the fenfe, however, to fend to General Mathews, to acquaint him Avith my indilpofition, and utter inability to proceed with his dif- patches. To this I received the following Letter : " Bidanore^ Feb. 3, 1783. " Dear Campbell, " I am forry to hear that you have been unwell. Should ■*' your indifpofition increafe, or continue, fo as to render you *' unable to purfue your journey with the neceflary expedition, I *' beg that you will forward the Letters to iVnjengo by a boat, *' with direftions to Mr. Hutchinson to fend them per tappy * ■*' to Palamcotah, and fo on to Madras. " I fhall hope to hear of vour recovery, and that you'll have *' gone to fea. ■" Your's very truly, *' Richard Mathews.'* The * Poll, or exprefs. ( 121 ) The receipt of this Letter induced me, bad as I was, to make one other exertion ; and I refolved, though I fhould die on the way, not to leave any thing which, even by mahcious conftruc- tion, could be made a fet-off againft my claims : I therefore hired an open boat to carry me along the coaft to Anjengo, and fet out with every profpe6t of having the virulence of my diforder increafed, by being expofed in an uncovered veffel to the damp of the night air, and the raging heat of the fun in the day, and of being arrefted by the hand of death in my way. By the time I had got down the coaft as far as Mangalore, my complaints in- creafed to an alarming height ; and I became fpeechlefs, and uh- able to ftand. Fortunately there happened to be a Company's veffel then lying at anchor off that place, the Captain of which had the goodnefs to invite me to remain on board with him, ftrenuoufly adviiing that I fhould give up the thoughts of pro- ceeding immediately on my voyage to Anjengo, which I could not poffibly furvive, and to forward my difpatches by another hand. The Surgeon of the fhip joining the Captain in opinion that I could not furvive if I attempted it, and my own judgment coinciding with their's, I at length conlented, and remained there. Tranquillity, kind treatment, and good medical afiiftance, produced, in the fpace of two or three weeks, lo material "a change in my health, I was in a condition to avail myfelf, at the expira- tion of tliat time, of a fliip bound to Anjengo, and which offering the additional inducement of touching at Tellicherry, det'^rmined me to take my paffige in her. When I arrived at Tellicherry, Q^ and ( 12'2 ) and during mv {lay there, the great attention flicwed me by Mr. Freeman, the Chief of that place, and the comforts of his houfe, rcrtored me to a great iTiare of health and fpirits— And here a very fino-ular circumftance occurred. One day a veflel arrived ; and perceiving a boat coming on Ihore from her, Mr. Freeman and I walked down to the beach, to make the ufual inquiries— fuch as, where fhc came from ? what news fhe brought ? &c. &c. As foon as the boat touched the" ihore, a Gentleman leaped out of it, whofe perfbn feemed fa- miliar to me : upon his nearer approach, I difcovered that it was Mr. Brodey, a Gentleman who had been kind enough to take upon him the office of my Attorney, upon my leaving India fomc years before— not my Attorney in the ordinary acceptation of that word, but a liberal and difmterefted friend, who obligingly under- took the management of my affairs in my abfencc, without the fmalleft hope of advantage, or rather under circumftances which ferved as preludes to further obligations. I was certainly pleafed and furprifed to fee him ; but his aftonifhment to fee me amounted almoft to a diftruft of his eye-fight : he had received fuch indubita- ble proofs of my death, that my fudden appearance on his landing, at the firft rulh of thought, impreflfed liim with the notion of a Jdcepiio vifus. My identity, however, was too pofitive for re- fiftancp ; and bis wonder melted down into cordial fatisfaclion, and congratulations on my fafety. He then took out a pocket account-book, in which, for fecurity againfl accidents, he kept accounts- ( 112S 5 . accounts-current, written in a brief" manner— and fhewed me mine, fettled almoft to the very day, upon which was tranfcribed a copy of a letter he had received, and which he thought was a teftimony of my death. So, cutting out the account, and pre- fenting it to nie, he exprefled, in the moft cordial and handfome manner, his joy that it was into my own hands he had at laft had an opportunity to deliver it. This Gentleman is now in this Kingdom, and too well known for me to defcribe him. Suffice it to fay, that in England, as well as in India, he has always enjoyed the efteem and refpeft of all his acquaintances, to as great an ex- tent as any other perlbn I know. . .> I again embarked to proceed on my voyage, and had hardly got on board when a fliip dropped anchor along fide of us, in which Captain Campbell of Comby, a very near conn e6iion of mine, was paflenger. On hailing one another, he heard that I was on board, and immediately was with me. Thofe who fincerely love each other, and whofe hearts confeis the fond ties of confanguinity, can alone conceive what our mutual pleafure was a': meeting fo unexpededly in fo remote a corner of the Morld. He was then on his way to join the army. This amiable young man now repofes in the Bed of Honour at Mangalore ! He fell, after having dlftin- guiflied himfelf in the very gallant defence made by that place againft the whole force of Tippoo. With regret we parted; and in due time I arrived at Anjengo w ithout any accident befall- ing me, "which was rather extraordinary. 0^2 Leaving ( 124 ) Leaving Aiijengo, I fet out for Madras, defigning to go all the way by land— a journey of near eight hundred miles. I accord- ingly fti-uck through the Kingdom of Travaucore, whole Sove- reign is in alliance with the Englilh ; and had not long entered the territories of the Nabob, of Arcot, before Major Macneaz., an old friend of mine, and Commandant of a fort in that diftrift, met me, preceded by a troop of dancing girls, who encircled my palanquin, dancing around me until I entered the Major's houfe. It would be difficult to give you an adequate notion of thofe dancing girls. Trained up from their infancy to the praftice of the moft graceful motions, the moft artful difplay of perfonal fymmetry, and the moft wanton allurements, they dance in fuch a ftyle, and twine their limbs and bodies into luch poftures, as bewitch the fenfes, and extort applaule and admiration where in ftri£lnefs difapprobation is due : nor is their agility inferior to the grace of their movements— though they do not exert it in the fame Ikipping way that our ftage dancers do, but make it fub- fervient to the elegance, and, I may fay, grandeur, of their air. They are generally found in troops of fix or eight, attended by muficians, whofe afpe6t and drefs are as uncouth and fqualid, as the founds they produce under the name of mufic are inelegant, harlh and diflbnant. To this mufic, from which meafiire as much as harmony is excluded, they dance, moft wonderfully adapting their ftep to the perpetual change of the time, accompaiiying it "with amorous fongs, while the correlpondent a6tion of their body and. ( 125 ) and limbs, the wanton palpitation and heaving of their exquifiteljr formed bofoms, and the amorous, or rather lafcivious expreffion of their coimtenance, excite in the fpeftators emotions not very favourable to chaftity. Thus they continue to a6l, till, by the warmth of exercife and imagination, they become feemingly frantic with ecftacy, and, fuxking down motionlefs with fatigue, throw themfelves into the moft alluring^ attitudes that ino^enious vice and voluptuoufnefs can poflibly devife. That fuch incitements to vice fliould make a part of the lyftem of any fociety, is to be lamented : yet, at all ceremonies and great occafions, whether of religious worlliip or domeflic en- joyment, they make a part of the entertainment ;, and the altar of their god&, and the purity of the marriage rites, are alike polluted by the introduftion of the dancing girls. The impurity of this cuftom, however, vanishes in India, when compared with the hideous pra61ice of introducing dancing boys. The Major, after having entertained me in the moft holpitable manner, accompanied me to Palamcotah, to the houfe of Dodlor DoTT, who lived in a generous and hofpitable ftyle.. I had once had an opportunity of evincing my good difpofition to this Gentle- man, whea he was moft critically fituated \. and the receptiott he gave me demonilrated, that he then retained a lively fenle of my condudt to him. Leaving Palamcotah, I continued my rout^ through Madura.. This Country is- rendered remarkable by the revoU of the famous? I&ir ( 126 ) Isif'Cawn, who made a bold aud well-coudu6LeJ attempt' to eie6l himielf into the Sovereignty of that Province, independent of the Nabob of the Carnatic, in whofe fervice he was : and as the affair occurs to my thoughts, I will, for your information, liotwithllauding its being uncoanefted with my ftor)-, digrefs into an account of it. As loon as the revolt of Isif Cawn was known., General Monson, an Officer of great military flcill and perfonal merit, went againfi: hiom at the head of the King's and Company's troops, and in\ efted the fort of Madura, in which that rebellious Chief was polled. The General made a prafticable breach, and, in ftorming, was beat back with great flaughter by Isif ; and the fetting in of the monfoons immediately after, retarded the further operations of our army againft the place ; and in tlie interim, peace having been concluded between the Courts of St. James's and Verfailles, the King's troops were withdrawn. On the recal of the King's troops, an army of Company's troops was formed, to proceed againft Madura, in order to reduce this gallant turbulent rebel to fubjedion ; and the renowned Ge- neral Lawrence being rendered incapable of a6tual fervice, and obliged to remain at tlie Prefidency by extreme age and infirmity, the chief command devolved upon my father by feniority: he headed the expedition ; and, after overconriing innumerable difficulties thrown in his way by the inventive genius and enterprifmg fpirit of Isif Cawn, again made a breach, which was deemed pra6ti- cable by. the chief engineer, now Sir John Call. An alTault was C 127 ) ^as made with no better fuccels than the former ; for our army was again repulfed with incredible {laughter : more than two thiids, I believe, of our European Officers, were among the killed or wounded ; and the death of Major Preston, fecond in com- mand, a man endeared to the army bv the polTeffion of every ad- vantage of perfon, heart and talents— an a6live, intrepid and able Officer— aggravated the calamities of the day. If, Impelled by my feelings, or tempted by remembrance of the paft, I fometimes digrefs from the direct: path of my narrative, my Frederick will accompany me, not only with patience, but I dare fay with pleafure : I cannot refrain, therefore, from men- tioning a memorable occurrence during that liege, not only as it is fomewhat extraordinary in itfelf, but as it relates to a very near and dear connexion. Colonel Donald Campbell, who then commanded the Cavalry, received no lefs than fourteen fword- wounds and a mufquet-ball in his body— yet continued doing his 4luty with fuch cool intrepidity, that brave foldiers who were witnefles to it, exprefled the utmoft aftonifhment r upon being re- quefted to quit the field, he replied, that as his family were pro- \ided for, he had nothing to fear ; and as it was very unlikely his life could be faved, he would not deprive his Country of any advantage that might be derived from his exertions for the ihort refidue of it, but continue to the laft moment at his duty. With all this firmnefs and magnanimity, he was gentle, good-hu- moured, modeft and unaflliming ; and was admired for his great perfonal ( 128 ) perlonal beauty, as well as military talents, particulaily by tlic Duke of CUiMB-ERLAND, uiider whom he ferved in the war in Germany as a fubaltern Officer, in fo much that His Royal High- nets hud his pi61;ure drawn. It was to him the Company were firfl: indebted for the introduction of perfc6l military difcipline into their army in India. In the various relations in which he flood, whether domeflic or public, as the fubje6t, the citizen, the father, or the. friend, he was fo uniformly excellent, that the fhafts of malevolence, which the befl and wifeft of men have but too often felt, feldom reached him ; and he may juftly be reckoned amongfl: that very fmall number of created beings, of whom fcarcely any one had the audacity to fpeak iU. Upon my firfl arrival in India, I was put under his command, and lived in his family— when, inftead of deporting himfelf towards me with that referve and aufterity which rank and reputation like his, coupled with the circumftance of his being my uncle, might in fome fort have juflified, he took me into his confidence, treated me with the greatefl afFeftion, and afled rather as the brother and the equal, than as the parent and fuperior; and thus his gentle admonitions had more effedl in reftraining the fallies of youth, and impetuofity of my temper, than the four, unpalatable documents of a fupercilious preceptor could poffibly have had. The wonderful efFeds of this happy temper in fwaying the ftubborn difpolition of headftrong youth, was exemplified in ano- ther inftance — of which, fince I am on the fubjedl, I will inform you. ( 129 ) ^■»u. Mr. DuPREs, then Governor of Madras, wrote to hira ■about a young Gentleman, in the following words : ^ ^' My DEAR Colonel, • ' ';:.*^.."Iii the lift of Officers appointed to your garrifon, yon wiB. *' fee the name of ■ . This yowng man (nephew tQ *' Mrs. DupREs), with abilities that might render him«)nfpicuous, ** I am ibrry to fay, ftands in nee" The peculiar ftyle of this letter made fuch an impreffion oii my memory, that I am able to give the exa6t words. Colonel Campbell, however, took his own unalterable method, mild-- •nefs — treated the young Gentleman in -foch a manner as to raile in him a confciouliieis of -his digmtv as a man,:the'iirft -dad bed guard -againft mifcondudt — and appointed him to the. grenadier •troop. The refiilt was anfwerabJe to his exper5tatlons ; ■ foj the young man's conduct, both as an Officer a4id a Gentleman, v/as fiich in the fequel as to refle61:-credit on himfelf and his tamily.;"and ■his very honourable and hopeful career -was at laft terminated by a cannon-ball at the iieoe of Tanjore. .' R If ( ISO ) M- If the veneration m whiGh I fhall ever hold this moft dear and refpeifted relative admitted of increase, it would certainly receive !t"^rom the contraft 1 am every day obliged to draw between him and the ^vretched hiitterjlies who fometimes flutter round us under ^jhe'iKifWe-6f -Men : for, how can I help contrafting his inflexible (cbuYagfej United to aiigellc mlldnefs, with the infolence of hlly- 'li'irered' He6^tors, who, coiifcious of the moft abjeft cowardice^ ^r&'ib'gfve an infult, and bafely ikulk from lioneft refentment beniath the arm of the Law U-'fellows who, lifac Bobadil. in the '^lay,''can kill a Whole army with the tonguigv but da^ei liot face a pigmy in the field !— and, while they watit theprudence to reftrain the torrent of effeminate invedtive, have patience enough to bear a kicking, or a box in the ear !— -who blufter and Vapour to hide the trembling limb and poltroon afpe6l, as children whiftle in the dark to brave the ghofts they dread ! Beware of all fuch wretches as you would ihun plague or peftilence. I hope you do not imagine that Ihave fo little common fenfe or philanthropy as to cenfure thofe who, from phyflcal caufes or conftitutional delicacy, are averfe to conteft : No, no— I do afTure you, on the contrary, that my obfcrvation leads me to think fuch men, though flow to quar- rel, and inoffenfive in . condu^, are very gallant \^'heu honour or duty demand from them a conqueft over their weaknefs. I have, in my time, feen fuch men at firft the Iport, and at laft the terror of your bluftering bullies; and I have always thought, that in. (vich a triumph Qver their feelings, they had more true merit tha^^ { 131 ) tlian men conftitutionally courageous : the latter has his valour in common with the mere animal ; the other poflefles the valour of fentiment. I mean that moll: ignominious of all beings, who, prodigal in offence, yet reluQant in reparation— who, hoping to find fome perfon pafiive as themfclves over whom to triumph, hazard the giving of an infult, with the malignant view to gaf- conade over him if he fubmits— and, if he refents, to wreak the whole vengeance of Law upon him. In Ibciety with flich men, there is no fafety ; for they leave you only the caiual alternative to •choofe between ihame and ruin. Him who fubmits, they call |)6ltroon ; and him who refeats, they fleece in form of Law. There are others who, to bring their fellow-creatures ed a great efteem : this was Colonel FtTLLARTON. It is an old maxim, that we fhould fay nothing but good of. the dead — " De mortuis nil nifi bonum." It is not a new maxim, I- be- lieve, to avoid praifing the living: I am aware of the indelicacy of it; and therefore purpofely avoid in this, as I fhall in other in- ftances, fpeaking the full' opinion I entertain. To the general efteem in which he was held by all ranks of people in India, I refer you to Colonel Fullarton's character : it. is of fuch a fort, that I wi(h to hold it up for your imitation. At a. time of life when others have arrived to fome perfe6\ion in their profeffion, he made choice of his, and entered for the firft time into the. arduous mili-. . ^-^^ tary department, with a command for which the- training of many, years is no more than llifficient to prepare other men. The Mi- nifter ,• ntfter of that day gave him this important charge, underwent tlie ■clamours of Oppofition for it, and was juftified in the events. When the Colonel came to z&, fo far from being deficient, his whole condu61: was diftinguifhed,' not lefs for military talent than courage— while the moH: fortunate command of temper and caip- tivating addrefs fubdued the fpirit of prejudice, reconciled the mcft •difcordant, and gained him, though a :King's -Officer, the efleem, as much of the. Coitipany's as King's troops. Infhort, all ranks of people, civil as well as military, whether belonging to King or Gdmpany^ united in approbation of his-condu6l — a thing not known before, nor fince, but in the perfon of LordGoRNWASXis. Too much: cannot be faid of the advantages reflilting from a proper command of temper* Ta promote that in my Frede- rick, will be at-tcncied with little difficulty : on the contrary, my only doubt is,-, that the placability and mildnefs of his difpofition •will too often fubjeft him to impofition. John is, however, of a different temper ; there is fomething in it which requires -both admonition and good example to reprefs within proper bounds j to ihew him the beauty as well as ufe.of a mild, cool temper, fuch ■inflances as Colonel F.lularton maybe of- weight, and I wifh him to refledl: upon it.- And here I am remanded of a perfon and a circumflance . {o exa<5lly in point, that I cannot refrain from noticing them ; they convey no' inadequate idea of the- happiaefs rsfulting from a gentlenefs of nature, and dominion over the .njind ; ,and as the perfon I allude to is dead, I may fpeak of him with . ( 134 ) ■with the greater freedom in that fuM ftraiu of pralfb which his /liining virtues deferve. Of all the men I have ever had the good fortune to know, Sir Archibald Campbell poflefled, in the higheft degree, that heavenly turn of mind, which not only is at peace with itfelf, but difFufes harmony and cheerfulnefs around it. No bufinefs, however urgent in occafion, reftrided in point of time, or embar- rafied with difficulty — no accident, however unexpe6led, or event,, however finifter— -none of thofe innumerable minutiae which fret and chafe the tempers of other men, ever fufpended the cool tenor of his thought even for a moment : nothing fhook the ferenity of his temper— nothing deranged the prefence of his mind : uniform and placid, he in all fituations had the full dominion of himfclf, and in the field it gave him a decided iuperiority : nor was this felicity of nature confined to his public conduct ; it attended him at the domeflic enjoyments of the fire-fide — at the focial board — in the private recefles of his clofet ; and the very fame habit of foul whicli, in his great public duties, I'endered him valuable to his Country, and formidable to her enemies, gained him the admira- tion and efleem of his friends, the unbounded afFe the while, iit the moil lively,, engaging manner, with the perfons around him. The concifenefs and perfpicuity of language in which this letter was couched, will ferve to eluci-- date what I haveiaid — I therefore tranfcribe it for you : ^'■St.JaTJies's Hotel, Sept.SO^ \1B5.. " Dear Sir^. "■ I forgot to mention to you this forenoon, and again to repeat " my earnefl wifhes, yovi would take the cafe of Mr. Campbell " fpeedily into your confidefation. His fufFerings were of fuch a " nature, and his fervices fo meritorious^ that I am perfuaded, " upon a fair inveftigation of both, you will give him your firmefl *' fupport. 1 have looked into all his papers ; and the teftimojiies.. *'-.of < 156 ) *** of effential lervices rendered to the Company by him, do him, '■** in my opinion, the hlgheft honour. Unlefs fuch merits are rc- ^' tompenfed, few will-rilk every thing, as Mr. Campbell did, " to promote the fiiccefs of the Company's arms in India : but I " truft you will fee it in its proper hght ; and in that hope I fhail *' only add, that whatever a6ts of kindnefs you (hew to him, will *^ be confidered as an obligation conferred on, 'i ■' " Dear Sir, *' You-r faithful and moft obedient humble fervant, -i- " Archibald Campbell."* *' To IVilliam Devaynes., ^fl'* Be aflured, my dear boys, (for now I fpeaktoJoHN as weil as Frederick), that one a6l of triumph over the temper is worth a million of triumphs over out fellow-creatures, and that the per- it^ dominion of our mind is more advantageous and laudable than the dominion over Provinces or Nations. The one attaches merely to our corporeal part, and is buried with our dufl in the grave : the other follows our immortal part, and pafTes with it into eternity. On my leaving Tanjore, Colonel Fullarton honoured me ■vvitli the 'Care of a letter to Lord Macartney, then Governor of Madras— an extraft of which I give you, as it applied to my l>ufiners particularly : ' ** Tanjore, it ( ^37 " Tanjoye, March 20, I783i. •*' My Lord, " I had the honour to write to your Lordihip on the 8th by- Captain Hallam, who carried from hence very large packets " to you. The opportunity of Captain Campbell tempts me to " trouble your Lordfiiip, merely to inform you, that all my let- " ters from Bidanore afcribe in a great degree the fuccefs of our *' arms in that -quarter, and the romantic Revolution effe6led there, " to the influence he had with Myat Sahib, and to the propofals " of furrender which he fuggefted, and tranfafted with the Ge- *' neral and Jemadar. I think it neceffary that you, my Lord, *' may know .how much the Public is indebted to Captain ** Campbell, whofe good fortune in this affair has only .been *' equalled by his good condudl. He is perfectly acquainted with *' the ftate of affairs on the other coaft, and has (ten and heard *' much of our tranfadtions here ; lo that no perfon can give a •** more clear -or unbiaflcd view -of e-vents." I had alfo the good luck to meet, at Taniore,Mr. Buchanan"-, a very near connexion of mine, for whom I had long entertained a fincere and warm regard. It has been my misfortune to have teen obliged frequently to cenfure fome-of -my relatives for ill-na- ture and ingratitude : I never did fo withoitt the moft painful i^c)\~ fations. When, on the contrary, 1 arn cnr.blcd to ipeak to their honour, I feel a proportionate -fhare of plealure-: 1 ;im therefore S happy ( 13S ) happy in mentioning Air. Buchanan as a man as amiable in his private as re(pe(5table in his public chara6ter ; but the latisfa6tion I felt at this meeting was much alloyed by finding him in a very bad ' itate of health. Before I left Tanjore, I had-an opportunity of being eye-wit- nefs to. that extraordinary and horrid ceremony, the burning of a Gentoo woman with the body of her hufband. As this is a point which has occafioned much fpeculation and fome doubt among .Europeans, 1 inclofe you an accurate account of the ceremony, as minuted down at the time it happened. DESCRIPTION OF THE CEREMONY OF THE GENTOO WOMEN BURNING THEMSELVES WITH THE BODIES OF THEIR HVS- BANDS. t " This day, , I went to fee a Gentoo woman redgn herfelf to be burned along with the corpfe of her dec.eafed hufband. ** The place fixed upon for this tragic fcene, was a fmall iflet on the bank of one of the branches of the river Cavcry, about a mile to the Northward of the fort of Tanjore. " When I came to the fpot, I found the vidim, who appeared to be not above fjxteen,^ fitting on the ground, drefTcd in the Gentoo manner,, with a white cloth wrapped round her, Ibme white flowers like jefTamins hanging round her neck, and fome of them hanging from her hair. There were about twenty women ( 139 ) ■women fitting on tthelr hams round her, holding a v\'hite hand- kerchief, extended horizonta>Hy over her head, to fhade her froni the fun, which was exceflively hot, it being then about noon. ■*' At about twenty yards from \vhere flie was fitting, and facing her, there were feveral Bramins bufv in conftrufting a pile with •billets of lire-wood - the pile was about eight feet long, and four broad. T'hey firft began by driving fome -upright flakes inta the ground, and then built up the middle to about the height of three feet and a half with billets of wood, " The dead hufband, who, from his appearance, feemed to be About fixty years of age, was lying clofe by, ftretched out on a bier, made of Bamboo canes. Four Bramins walked in pro- ceffion three tiiiies round the dead body, firfi: in a dire61:ion contrary to the fun, aiid afterwards other three times in a direc- tion with the fun, all the whrle muttering incantations ; and at ■each round or circuit they made, they untwifted, and immediately .again twifted up the fmall long Jock of hair which is left unfliaveii at the back of their heads. " Some other Bramins were in the mean time employed in iprinkling water out of a green leaf, rolled up like a cup, upon a fmall heap of cakes of drv C'TNV-diMig, A^iuh which the pr!e .wa::i after ward-s to be fet on hie. ■" An old Bramin fut at the Noi'th-eafi corner of the pile upoii his hams, with a pair of Ipeclacles on, reading, I lli,apole, the ■Shafter, qr their Scriptures, from .a book ccaiipoled of Cajan leaves. S 2 " Having ( HO > ** Having been pre feat now nearly an hour, I inquired whcrt they meant to fet the pile on fire : tliey anfwered, in about two hours. As this fpeif^acle was mufl melancholy, and naturally ftruck me with horror, and as I had only gone there to aiFure myfelf of the truth of fuch fcicrijiccs being made, I went away towards the fort. After I wi'as gone about five hundred yards, they fent fbme one to tell inc they would burn immediately ;. on which I returned^ and'found the woman had been moved from where ihe was fittins: to the river, where the Bramins were bathing her. On taklne her out of the water, they put fome money in her hand, which fhe dipped in the river, and divided among the Bramins : fhe . had then a yellow cloth rolled partially round her. They put fome red colour, about the fize of a fixpence, on the centre of her forehead, and rubbed fomething that appeared to me to be. clay. She was then led to the pile, rour^d which fhe walked three, times as the fun goes : fhe then mounted it at the North-eaft corner, ■v\-Ithout any affiftance ; and iat herfelf down on the right fide of her hufband, who had been previoufly laid upon the pile. She then unfcrewed the pins which faftened the jewels or filver. rings on.her arms : after fhe had taken them off, fhe fliut them, and fcrewed in the pins again, and gave one to each of two women who were flanding : fhe unfcrewed her ear-rings,, and other toys, with great compofure, and divided therrii among the women who were with her. There feeraed to be fome little fquabble about th? dif^ributioiv of her jewels, which fhe fettled with great pre*- cifion ; . ( 141 ; ■cifion ; and then, falling gently backwards, pulled a fold of the yellow cloth over her face, turned her breail towards her hufband's fide, and laid her right arm over his breaft ; and in this poflure {he remained without movins;. " Juft before fhe lay down, the Bramins put fbme rice in her lap, and alfo fome into the mouth and on the long grey beard of her hu{band : they then Iprinkled fome water on the head, breaft and feet, of both, and tied them gently together round the middle with a.flender bit of rope: they then raifed> as it were, a little wall of wood lengthways- on two iides of the pile,, fo as to raife it above the level of the bodies ; and then put crofs pieces, fo as to prevent the billets of wood.from-prefling on them : they then poured on the pile, above where the. woman lay, a potful of fr^mething that appeared, to me to be oil ; after this they heaped on more wood, to the height of about four feet above where the bodies were built in ;, fo that all. I. now faw. was a ftack of fire- wood. " One of the Bramins, I obferved, ftood at the end of the pile next the womau's head— was calling to her through the in- terftices of the wood,, and laughed feveral times during. the con- verfation. Laftly, they overfpread the, pile with wet ftraw, and tied it on with ropes. '* A Bramin then took a handful offtraw, which he fet on fire at the little heap of burning cakes of cow-dung; and, ftandr ing to windward of the pile, he let the wind drive the flame from the ftraw till it catched the pile. Fortuaately, at this in- ftant, ( 142 ) ftant, the wind rofe much liigher than it had been .any part of the day; and in an inftant the flames pervaded the whole pile, and it burnt with great fury. I liftened a few feconds, but could not diftinguifli any flirieks, which might perhaps be owing to my being then to windward. In a \'ery few minutes, the pile became :a lieap of aflies. " During the whole time of this procefs, which lafted froin firft to lafl above two hours before we loft fight of the woman by her being built up in the middle of the pile, I kept my eyes almoft conftantly upon her; and I declare to God that I could not perceive, either in her countenance or limbs, the leaft trace of either horror, fear, or even hefitation : her countenance was perfeftly compofed and placid ; and fhe was not, I am pofitive, fiither intoxicated or ftupified. From teveral circumftances, I thought the Bramins exulted in this hellifh facrifice, and did not feem at all dilpleafed that Europeans ihould be witneiTes of it." From Tanjore I proceeded to Negapatnam, which had been taken from the Dutch by the Company's troops, and where Mr. Cochran, an old frienti of mine, was Chief. The communication by land between Negapatnam and Madras feeing interrupted by the enemy's troops, I embarked in a veflel, and proceeded thither by fea— -Major Johnston, of the En- gineers, being alfo a paiTenger. I.ETTER ( 143 ) LETTER LXI. xiiTHERTO' ever^ flep of my journey has been marked by occurrences fo unexpefled, and accidents fo extraordinary, that 1 fliould feel feme repugnance to relate them, left my veracity fhould be called in queflion, were they not attefted by fo many living perfons of refpedability, and by written documents of au- thority on record. Were one to confider them merely as the offspring of fi6lion, they would perhaps have intereft enough to catch the attention ; but, viewing them as fads, they borrow,, from their niamber and rapid fucceffion, as well as from their Sin- gularity, fo much of the complexion of imaginary adventure, that the con^ination cannot, I think, fail to intcreil your mind- as well as your feelings. Arrived at Niagapatnam, within a Ihort run of ^Madras, it is natural for you to fuppofe that adventure was at an end, and that fortune, fatigued by the inceflant exertion of her caprice,, might have left me to proceed the (hort refidue of my way without further moleftation.. It fell out otherwife : fhe had marked me as her game, and rclblved to worry me to the laft rnonent ; for, a^^ Wft ( IM ) ^ve apjiroached MaJras, we were chafed by a French frigate, aiuJ taken near Fort St. Geor2;e. This appeared to me the great^ft misfortuiie I had yet n=iet with, and hkely to .be the moll fatal in its confequences. In order to explain this, I miifi: recur to certain circumftances, which, though I was informed of them fmce my releafc from Hydernagur, I did not relate to you, becaufe they were no \\d\ Gomieded with my narrative till now. ^onfieur Suffrein, the French Admiral, having a number of Britifli prilbners iii his poiJ'efTiou, whom he found it -extrenxely, inconvenient to fupport, made a propofal for an exchange-— which, from lome failure in the conveyance, or ambi2:uit\' in the term* of the correfpondence, was neglected. The motives or accidents which s;a\-e rife to this negledl have never been completely dev&loped ; and perhaps the Admiral him- felf, Sir Edward Hughes, and Lord Macartney, were the only perfons who knew the bottom of that tranladioiu Li fuch cafes, however, the ignorance of fa61: is generally fupplied by conje6ture ; and men have prefumed to cenfure unequivocally on the mere hypothetical fuggeftions of their own imaginations. Candour, however, in fuch a cafe, where it could not Ijpeak with certainty, would fpeak with caution. An Hiftorian, particularly, ihould fteer clear of party rancour, and not fufFer the prejudice or malignity which milled himfelf, to go dowai to and miflead pofle- rity. Where pofitive proof is wanting, if we are obliged to de- cide, -( 14-5 ') vide, we muft judge by analogy and inference ; and in *he cafe now before us, we have little but the charafters of the perfbns .concerned to guide us in our decifion. • •■ Of the horrid cataftrophe which Succeeded the negleft of "exchanging prifoners, it is hardly polfible that anyone but Mon- fieur. SuFFREiN himfelf could have had a conception. To fuppofe, that, under fuch an impreflion, our leading men woul(i have hefitated to prevent it, would be to fuppofe their intellenefs and unabated energy of mind — and^ in the mofl trying circumftances, difcharged lois important duty with zeal, integrity and wifdom.. The ftri6l difcharge of the Aut)' he owed to his Country^ raifed clamours againfl him among aa ( 149 ) 311 interefted few in India ; but the united applaufes of all parties, on his return to England, flamped currency on his fanae, and has broken the fhafts of detradion. LETTER LXII. After fo many hazards and hardships as I had under- gone, it was a moft pleafing retleftion to find myfelf in a fociety compofed of my oldeft profeffional connections, and warmeft and fincereft friends : but this was a happinefs I could not long enjoy ; for, beins: charged with a miffion from Hyat Sahib to the Go- vernor- General and Supreme Council, I was conftrained to pro- ceed to Bengal, and accordingly fet fail for Calcutta, which I reached in littk more than a week, v.'ithout encountering any ac- cident, or meeting a fmgle occurrence, worth the relation. Upon ray arrival there. Sir John Macpherson, who was in the Su- preme Council, gave me a kind invitation to live at his houfe, and prefented me to Mr. Hastings, with whom I entered into a ne- ' gociation on behalf of Hyat Sahib, which will appear by the following letters : LETTER ( 1^0. ) LETTEa TO WARREN HASTINGS, ESQ;, « Calcutta, May 3, 1783. ** Honourable Sir, " ladifpoiition has put it out of my power, fince the firft day ' after my arrival here, to have the honour of paying you my refpefts, and of laying before you, for the information of the ' Board, the objeds of mj miffion to your fuperintending Govern- ment. ** As thefe objects are of public importance, and as ill health ' may prevent me, for fome time longer, from having the honour ' of waiting upon you, I take the liberty to beg your attention to * this addrefs. " The great Revolution in favour of the India Company upon ' the Weft fide of India, and to which I had the happinefs of being ' in fome little degree inftrumental, has been certainly brought about * by the zeal and fpirit of General Mathews ; but that Officer * afcribes to the orders and fupplies of your Government the * principal merit of the undertaking : he looks to the fame Go- * vernment for fupport in the arrangement which he has made, ^ and may make, for the fecurity of the conquered Province. ** The hurry in which I left him, and his anxiety for my Ipeedy ** communicationof his fuccefles, gave no time for a formal commu- •* nication to the Governor-General and Council, of the particulars " of < 151 ) " of his luccefTes, and of the arrangements which he wiflicd t» *• be adopted. He wrote a fhort account of the firfl to the Prefi- " dency of Fort St. George ; and gave me a public letter to the *' Commander in Chief of the Military Eflablifliment 'of that *' Pi-ehdeney to which I particularly belong, in attcflation of the ''' fervices. I rendered in the negociation between, him and the Go- *'' vernor of Bidanore, for the llirrender of that Capital and Pro- *' vince. A copy of tliat letter 1 have the pleafiire to lay before you^ " As I was charged, with a particular commiffion' from Hyat " Sahib, the Manager of the Bidanore Province, to the Gover- " nor-General and. Council, as appears by his letter, which 1 had *' the honour of prefentingto you,. General IMathews gave me, " in verbal inftruftions, and memorandums written in his own: " hand, the particulars of what he v/ifhed me to reprefent to your *' Government : he gave me,, befides,. ihort notes of introduftion ** to two of the Members of Government, whom he knew per- " fonally — refe?jring them to me for an account of his fituation,, *' and allowing me, I believe, more credit than I. deferve,, for the *' fhare 1 had in. contributing to his final acc^uilition of Bidanore " without drawing a fword- " Itwould be tedious, and more fit for. the detail of c.onverfa^ " tion than of a public addrefs, to infoxjn you. of the various fteps^ -" that led to the lurrender of the Capital and Province of Bida^ ** nore.. Ihad had feveral conferences with.HvAT Sahib before " Hy^der's death, and. endeavoured, to fuggeft to him the advan- " tage { 1-^^ ) *" ta^ \Tluch would arife to him From a revolt in favour of the -*' Companv. My efforts in thei'e converfatlons ended ultimately ** in the mofl: rigorous diftrefs to myfelf : I was put in irons, and " remained fofor four months, in a fituation only of exigence, *' without any hopes of ever efcaping. When General Ma- ■" THEWS had ftormed the Ghauts, Hvat Sahib fent for me, ■*' and, after various ftruggles, and much indecifion, agreed to " my proceeding tb the Englifh camp ; and I condu6ted General *' Mathew-s, almoft unattended, into Bidanore. Hyat Sahib " at length agreed to fubmit : but as, in his various converfatlons *' with me before and after that event, he made a very particular " dilHndion between the Government of Bombay and the chief ^' Government of the Englifh in Indoftau, fo he proposed that I *' Ihould immediately depart, after he had given up the place and *' all the forts of the Province, with a 'letter to you, to obtain " your fandion to me to his arrangements with the Englifh Ge- " neral. " Thefe arrangements were not even clearly defined before my *' departure ; and fo anxious was he for my fpeedy arrival at Cal- " cutta, that he only gave me the general propofitions that are *' contained in his letter. *' Permit me here to obferve, that it is by the treatment ** which Hyat Sahib meets with, that the other Chiefs of " Hyder's Country will eftimate the advantage of abandoning the ** interefts of Tippoo Sahib, or will confirm their dependence " upon " tapon Kirri.' Tippoo was prevented by his father from all in- *• tdrcDTirfe with the Governors of his Provinces, or any inter- " ference in country" affairs ; fo that thofe left in charge at his « fathbr's death are ftrangers to him, and are men to whom h* '* has little attachment. He is, befides, confidered to be of a crud " difpofition. His father was cruel upon a political principle : he " is thousfht to be fo from nature. ' " The unfortiuiate differences about money which arole in " General Mathews's camp, and of which you will probably " liear from the Prefidcncy of Bomba}^ took up much of the " General's time, and may have retarded his operations: how-' " ever, his fuccefs in the reduftion of Mangalore gives a fecurity " to his conquefts. The revenues of the Bidanore Province are " about twenty lacks of pagodas per annum. " The particular fituation of the Capital merits attention. It *' is placed in a valley of confiderable extent in circumference : " accordino" to the beft obfervation I could make, there is an " afcent to it, from all fides, of near feven miles : it can only be ap- " proached by four roads, which are cut among the hilk, and which '' were judicieufly forti-fied with great pains' by H yd er : woods, " to the depth of many miles, are a frontier round its ikir-ts ; a«d " where thefe admitted a paflage, Hyder took the precaution -to *' plant bamboos and thorns — lb that I have li-ttle fear but that' " General Mathews will be able to defend thefe pafTes ; and as* ■** for provifions, and military fteres of all kinds, tl^at ^^•ere ^t?mij ( 1>5* ) " In Biclanore, of the latter particularly, what, according to Gc- " neral Mathews's own declaration, would equip nine fuch *' armies as his. " Cundapore is the next Tea-port to Bidanore, and is diflant '^ about fiftv miles : AIan2;alore is diflant about a hundred miles. *'; The road leading from Mangalore joins with that from Cunda- " pore, where the afcent of the hills commence : another road •'. from Bidanore leads to Seringapatam, and a fourth into. the " Marhatta Country. " It was from the lower Country, along the fea-coaft, be- **. tween Onore and Mangalore, which is watered by many " rivers, and is the beft cultivated Country I ever faw, that *' Hyder got the greateft part of his provifious for his army in *■' the Carnatic ; and, independent of the advantages which the " Company have gained by the acquilition of thefe Countries,^the " confequent lolTes of the Myforeans are immenie, and fuch as, " will difable tliem from aflifting the French in the Carnatic. *' It becomes not an Officer of my rank to make any obferv- " ations that relate to the condudt of the different Governments " of my Employers; but I am obliged to obferve, in jufliceto, *' Hyat Sahib's declaration to aie, that he will not rely upon, " any arrangement made iii his favour by the Governor andi " Council of Bombay, unlefs he has a fpc^edy anfwer to his letter " from this Government. He has requefled me to return with ** that anfwer, and with the fan6tion of the Governor-GeneraL " to ( 1-55 ) " to the cowl given to him by General Mathews, Though I ■*' am worn down by my fiafferings in prifon, and my health can " fcarcely enable me to be carried by land, I am ready to undcr-^ " take this fervice ; for I know it is the greateft I may ever have " it in my power to render to the Company and to my Country. *' My return to the other coai^ with a favourable aufvfrer to *' Hyat Sahib, will be the fignal to other Chiefs to throw off the " yoke of Tippoo ; and if Colonel Long has made any progrefs " in the Coimbatore Country, or that General Mathews has not ** been too feverely preflcd by Tippoo, I may arrive upon the *' other coaft in time to be of real ufe to the Company. *' I know, Honourable Sir, the liberal and great fyftem of your *' adminiftration : I will not, therefore, point out any little cir- *' cumftances about the footing upon which I Ihould return to *' Hyat Sahib, or remain upon the other coaft. I wifti onlv to *' be rewarded by my Employers as I am fuccefsful ; and I fliall *' leave it to your goodnefs, and to your diftinguifhed zeal for *' the public propriety, to give me any inftruftions for my con- *' du61:, or to charge me with any advices to General Mathews, " as you may think proper. " I hope you will pardon tliis long and irregular addrefs, and *' honour me by communicating any part of it that you inay think ♦* A^orthy of communication to the Gentlemen of the Ccn-Uicil. *' I have the honour to be, &c. ccc. " Donald Campbell." U 2 « P. S. ( 1>56 ) r " P. S. When you arc at lelfure, and 1 am able to have the ' honour of attending you, I would wiOi to commiuiicate to \ ou V a more particular detail of my converlation with Hyat Sahib— ' what General iNIathews's hopes of lupport from this Govern- ' meat were, and. the future plans he then meditated— and m_v \ ,." ideas of the meafures that fhould be purfued by the Prefidency 'fof Fort St. George, to lupport General Maxhews, and im« ." prove the, advantages he has gained. ^ " To JFcn-ren Hnjii?igs, Efq. " Goverfior-Genera/ of Bengal.^ LETTER FROM HYAT SAHIB, ALLUDED TO IN THE FOREGOING. {UJual Introdudion.') " I have dire6led the affairs of the Soobeh of Hvdernasfur for ^' fome years paft, on the part of the Navvaub Hyder. When " lately attacked by the victorious forces of the Englifh under the " command ef General Mathews, I ©ppofed him, and fulfilled " my duty in every refpeft ; but feeing the fuperior fortune and ^' force of the Englifh,, and receiving propofals for peace from " General Mathews, by thefe circumftances, but more efpeci- " ally by the perfuafions of Captaia Campbell, the fon of Co- " lone! Campbell, who. was formerly at Chinaputtan, I was /^ induced to come to terms, and delivered up to General Ma- " thews. ( 1-7 ) *' THEWS the treafury, property, flores and keys of the forts of " this Country. If I had been ditpofed, I had it in my power to " have appropriated this coUefted wealth to other purpofes ; but, " from a regard to the high fortune of the King of England, " and the viprightnefs and integrity of the Englifli People, I hava " included myielf in the number of your fervants, and have de- " termined, with the utmol!: lincerity and purity of heart, to " ferve you well and faithfully. By the bleliing of God, under " your aufpices, my endeavours towards the well and full per- " formance of my duty fhall be ten-fold greater than heretofore ; " and as General Mathews intends to proceed to Seringputtam, " your loyal fervant will afiifl:, to the utmoft of his ability and " power. You will be fully informed on this lubje6]: by Captain " Campbell. Honour, and favour, and reward, mufl: flow from " you. " From the time of your fii-ft eftablilhment in this Country to '^' the prefent period, the engagements of the Englilh have been " facredly performed and adhered to ; nor have they been want- *' ing in their protection of the honour . aiid dignity of the Sur- " dars of Bengal, and other places. I hope, from } our favour '* and benevolence, that you will iCTue your commands to Gene- *' ral Mathews, to favour me with all due kindnels and atten- " tlon. I have taken flielter under the fhadow of your bencvo- " lence. Captain Campbell has Ihewn me great kindnefs in " this refped, and, by encouraging me to hope for your favour, " has ( 1^-8 ) " has led me to become your fervant. You will be fully infoi-med ',' of the ftate of affairs iu this quarter by Captai;i Campbell's **• ktt^rs. « Written on the 25th of Suffur, A. H. 1197." " A true copy, «' J. P. AuRioL, Sec-r LETTER TO WARREN HASTINGS, ESQ^ " Calcutta^ May 25, 1783. " Honourable Sir, " Some time a^o, I did mvfelf the honour of writing^ to vou. <* on the lubjeft of my miffion from Hyat Sahib to this Go- '* vernment. " It is with pleafure 1 now underftand that yo\i have come to *' the refolution of fending an anfwer to his letter. I cannot help *' delivering it as my opinion, that a decided and avowed protec- *' tion granted to him from this Government, will be produ<5tive *' of great public utility : but fhould you, and the other Gentle- " men of the Council, think proper to decline this, from motives ** beft known to yourfelves, and of which I Ihall not pretend to ** judge, I beg leave humbly to reprefent, that the Iboner Hyat ** Sahib's letter is acknowledged, the more fatisfa6lory it will be ** to him, and the more efficacious in its probable good confe- " quences. " I ( 1-5^9 ) " I am ready and anxious to proceed immediately to the other *• coaft with the anfwer to Hyat Sahib, and (hall take the liber- *^ ty of hoping that you will give me infl:ru6lions to remain fome *' time with him, that he may have an opportunity of tranfmit- " ting, through me, any communication that he may wifh to *' eftablilh with this Government. I have the pleafure to inform " you, that that Prefideney to which I particularly belong, have *' granted me their confent to be employed in the final arrange- "' ment of the Bidanore ti-eaty, fhould your Board think proper to " choofe me as a fit perfon ; and they have further unanimoufly *' done me the honour to approve of my conduct in tlie commence- " ment of this bu fin els. " With refpeft to the appoinments you may judge right to. " allow me, I truft entirely to your own ideas of propriety, I. " wilh for nothing more than u hat is fufficient to defray the ex- " pences of fuch a journey, and to enable me to maintain that *' charadler in a fituation of this-kind which is requifite to pro- " mote the public good..' '* I have the honouc to be, with- the greatefl refpc61, " Honourable Sir, ** Your moft faithful, and mofl obedient fer%-ant, " Donald Campbel;.." ( im ) , ;A,fi;er. ,iome delay, I receiveil inftructioiis, together with a leit,erfr0m Mr. Hastings for Hyat, \yith which I 1ft off iu pj>( doing- it was this— A large party, well mounted, galloping in a body up to a great flock, and marking out the fierceft champion of the whole, attacked him with fwords and piftols. One day, a bull which was wounded, and thereby rendered more fierce, though not lefs vigorous, got pofted in fome thick buflies, in fuch a manner as to be approached only in front : a whim of themofl: extravagant kind came into my head, fuggefted by vain-glory and youthful fire— I thought it un- generous for fb many to attack him at once ; and, x^'ifhing to have the credit of flibduing him, I difmounted from mv horfe, and at- tacked him with a pike : I ibon, however, had cauie to repent this rafh and unwarrantable flep ; it had nearly been fcital to me—- for the bull fbon threw the pike into the air, and, had it not been for the vei-y gallant exertions of my Brother OfScers, who rode in upon him, and refcued me at the moment that the brute's horns had touched my coat, I mufl have been killed. An Indian Officer, who was in my troop, particularly diflinguifhed himfclfl, at the imminent hazard of his life, the bull having tolled his horfe and himfelf to a diflance from his horns. At this time I was but eighteen years of age, and had not the judgment to refle(ff, that Z if ( 173 ) if I had been killed, my fate would be attended v/ith only pity or fcorii for my folly ; whereas, had I fucceeded, the whole reward of my danger would have been the ufelefs applaufe of ibme youngfters, idle, and inconfiderate as myfelf---while my raflineis would have been r jprob . d by every man whofe good, opinion was worth enjoying. One or two people who were pre- fent at the time, are now living in great epute in England. We flicceeded, however, in driving thofe wi d cattle n.o the interior recefles of the wood, dividing the flefli of thofe we killed among fuch of the poor Sepoys as would eat it, and thereby rendered ef- •fential fervice to the contiguous villaoes. Often when I have heard, in cofFee-houfes and play-hoiales, ft)me of our fporting Iparks boafting of their prowefs over a timid hare or a feeble fox, I could not help recolle6ling with refpedl the hunters of India, who chafe the def}:ru<51:ive monfters of the foreft— the boar, the tyger, the hyena, the bull, or the b • ffalo ; and, while they fteel the nerves, animate the courage, and, by habitual deeds of pith, fit themfelves for war, render effential fervice to their fellow-creatures, and fave the lives and property of thoufands. Such greatnefs of fpirit, under the controul of good fenfe, and the direfliou of prudence, muft render a man refpedlable— but, if not managed with difcretion, leaves a man no other praife than that of a magnanimous madman. Take ■every opportunity, my dear Frederick, of ineulcathig thefe precepts ( 1'9 ) precepts in the mind of your brother : the natural warmth of his temper often makes me fearful of the mifchievous confequences which I have myfelf too often experienced— though, I thank God, it never ftimulated me to revenge, or to a premeditate in- tention of injuring any one. I have already faid more than once, that I have a- moft perfe6t convi61ion your amiable difpolition will enfure to you the love of Mankind ; but It will at the fame time fubjeft you to many impo- {itions— to guard againfl: which, a great fliare of fternnefs is fome- times neceilary : there is, belides, a certain degree of fortitude abfolutely requifite to give luftre to a gentle diipofition ; without it, meeknefs is thought timidity— -modefty, weaknefs—and the charming mildnefs of the forgiving heart, abufed as the pitiful re- fource of abjedl apprehenlion and a mean fpirit. There are times, therefore, when the wickednefs of men,, and the cufloms of the world, make it neceflary to lay afide the lamb, and alTume the lion. Europe at this moment prefents an awful and alarming crifis. In a neighbouring Country, the condu6l of the higher clafies of fociety has produced a dreadful convulfion : fecial order has been fubverted, and the lability of property annihilated : all reafoning from the hiftory of former times is found inapplicable to the prefent : the fyftem of warfare itfelf has undergone a revolu- tion ; and no man is able to fay from pofitive inference, " Thus will it be to-morrow." Our infular lituation, thank God! pro- Z 2 teds ( 180 ) tc6ls \i3 : and the precarious footing upon which civil order and property ftand iu moft Countries on the Continent, make our llate in England enviable. The time is neverthelefs pregnant with extraordinary event ; and you are now approaching that sl<^o at which men fhould be ready to aft at the call of their Country. It is therefore fitting for you to make fuch things the fubjeft of frequent contemplation— to habituate your mind to the meeting of danger, fo as to be ready, at a moment's warning, to lay down your hfe, if neceflary, for the good of your Country ; for, after all, my Frederick, what avails it whether we die in this wuv or in that :— to die \\'ith honour and a g(X>d confcience, is all. Let prejudice be laid afide— and who, poflefTed of common lenfe, could hefitate a moment to prefer death in the held, to death with the loathfome aggravation of ficknels, the crocodile tears of pre- tended friends, and the painful emotions and lamentations of thofe who reallv love us ? Finally, I muft obferve, that at the time I left IiKlia, the affairs of the Britilh Nation wore fo very lowering an afpeft, all perlbns acquainted with our concerns there, allowed nothing but a long feries of wife meafures, with the beft efficient fervants to execute them, could refcue the Company from ruin. I am happy in being able now to ftate, \%irhout the poflibilitv of con- tradiction, that the clouds which menaced us in that quarter have iince been gradually diffipating beneath the meafures of the Board of ( 181 ) of CoNTRouL, under the direftionof Mr. Dundas ; and are at laft entirely difperfed by the glorious adminiftration of Lord CoRNWALLis, whofe wifdora in the Cabinet tended no lefs to the fecurity, than his military talents, juftice and moderation, to the honour, of Great Britain in the Eaft. The choice of fuch a perfon for the Government of India, reflefts credit on His Majesty's Councils," and evinces that the paternal care and folicitudeof our amiable Sovereign extend to the moft remote part of the Empire. END OF PART III. 4H.i.<^i»^ ' >W.*. l *>iW I .. PI i l b I I n mMm^^gi i ,mmm ti m^ T : mmr'F^^__ I TT W . I . ^i ^ i .t.liWW iia w wi W^iW**. APPENDIX. i i APPENDIX LETTER FROM GENERAL MATHEUX TO THE COURT OF DIRECTORS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. ■fREKERRED TO IN THE FOREGOING LETTERS.) Honourable -Sirs, 1 HAVE the honour of informing you of the fueccfs of your gnu* on the Malabar. Coaft. You will have received advices of the outfct of the Expedition from Bombay, and the general purport of it. On the 12th of De- cember, I failed with a fmall party ; and thought proper, of my own accord, to land at Rajamundroog, in preference to any other place— becaufe, on this part of the Coafl, I had the double advantage of being able to fecare myfelf until reinforced, and to procure provifions, -which 1 could not have done at Cundapore, or any place to the Soutliward, by reafon of 4;he numerous gar- jrifons, and the vicinity of tlicm to the capita!. The meafures and difpofitions A -2 ' , cf ( ^ ) of die Gentlemen at Bombay were fuch, that I could not place any dependence ■upon being timely reinforced from thence, or of having any fupply of provifions. Rajamundroog is on the top of a high hill, and commands the entrance of the bcft river on the Coafl:. Wc took it by ftorm. The moment we landed, a fhort time was taken up inpreparii:^ to move towards Onorc ; for we had not a cooly, carriage, or bullock, to convey any floras. The battering cannon^ ammunition, provifions, &;c. were fent by fca ; and the great additions that Hyder had made to tlie fortifications of Onore and fortified Ifland, prevented jny entering the river with the fmall craft, and obliged me to land every thing through a heavy furf on the beach, and then to crofs the river to the North- ward of the fort. Thefe impediments vrere got over ; and a prafticable breach being effcdled, the aifault was made- — and the garrifon, confifting of two thou- fand five hundred men, were either killed, drowned, or made prifoners. — •Shortly after this event, the troops from the Southward, under Lieutenant- Colonel Macleod, were landed at Rajamundroog. To wait for a junftion, would take up much time ; fo, that not a moment fhould be loft, I embarked, and lauded nearCundapore, under the fire of the Bombay Grab and the Intrepid, and immediately feized a fmall fort that ferved to fccure ourftores. The enemy were in fight, and fcemcd numerous : fome prifoners that we took, reckoned them at twelve hundred Horfe, one thoufand Sepoys, and five himdred Peons. My party was compofed of three hundred and fifty Europeans, fix hundred Sepoys, and four fmall field-pieees — with which I marched, fiift towards the enemy, who drew back, and then I proceeded to Cundapore. They incora- moded my rear very much ; but being determined to attack the fort, I only a£ted on the defenfive, and at feven in the evening got poffeffion of the fort, and the feveral redoubts that commanded, the river. The grand objeft of the Expedition, an attack upon Bidanore, remained to be undertaken ; and much ferious refledlion it required before the hazardous enterprize fhould be deter- mined on. — Ycur Honours will now take a view of the fiate of my army: No carriage-bullock, and the few. draft not able to draw eight light field-pieces-— not. ( ^ ) Tidt a cooly to carry mufquet, ammunition or provifions — not a tent — and many Officers, His Majesty's in particular, had not afingle fervant — neither bullock or flieep to be had, the enemy having drove them off. The army, at this time, confifted of about eleven hundred efFeftive Europeans, and three thoufand Sepoys. The diftance from Cundapore to the foot of the Ghaut is thirty miles, through a woody country :- the enemy's army had been reinforced, and lay in the way. The reports of the flrength of the various works that de- fended the pafs up the mountiiins, vv'as fuch as gave me but very faint hope of fuccefs ; and the difficulty of fupplying my troops with rice, was almoft of itfcif lufficient toideter a.perfon from the attempt. However, having pofitive orders to take pofleffion of Bidanore, I rclolved to make a trial, and ilTued direftions for the march.. We had not-gone lix miles, before the enemy oppofed vis in force. Wa pufncd. forwards ; and, by the effeft of well-ferved artillery, and the fteadinefs of the men, the enemy retired as we advanced. The (kirmifli contiimed about three hours — after which we were left to purfue our ronte unmolefted ; nor did the enemy make any ftaud till we were on the fourth day's march, within three miles of the pafs — where, the ground being favour- able, they attempted oppofition, and were roughly treated, lofing, by the bayonet and ftot, above thiee hundred, men. They were purfued to a fmall fort, wlxich was immediately abandoned ; and then fled to the firft barrier or entrance of the pafs. This was a line of mafonry that covered all the open ground, and was clofcd by woods to the right and left. Upon fix baftions were mounted fifteen pieces of cannon ; and on the left was a work on a fteep mountain, v/ith two twelve pounders. This altogether had too formidable an appearance to attack in front ; but having reconnoitred the right, I imagined that the flank might be turned by afcending the hill through the wood. Early in the morning, two parties were formed — one to attempt the flank, the other to efcalade the wall ; but the enemy faved us that trouble by evacuating the place. This was a happy moment to try the pafs ; for the enemy, by felling trees, &c. would have thrown fo many obftacles in. the way, that the wajit o£ provifiott. ( s ) provifion would have compelled me to rcUnquifla the defign. A party was iiu ilantly ordered to follow the enemy up the hill, which, with little lofs, gained the lecond barrier, '" power, it fhall be recovered, if not raifed to its former eminence. Mmijaloref March i6, 1783. ■FINIS. b\ \^ / ^U^r, rp m 7 .^' £;^^ I NEW ORDER BOOK Cc, Alinicdabad 6