THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM LIBRARY JOURNAL OF A TOUR AND RESIDENCE IN (great Britain, DURING THE YEARS 1810 AND 1811, BY A FRENCH TRAVELLER: WITH REMARKS ON THE COUNTRY, ITS ARTS, LITERATURE, AND POLITICS, AND ON THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF ITS INHABITANTS. VOLUME SECOND. EDINBURGH: PRINTED BY GEORGE RAMSAY AND COMPANY, FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH; AND LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, LONDON. 1815. M.1 THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM LIBRARY JOURNAL, Edinburgh, January 1, 1811. From metaphysics, which are rather out of fashion, the learned Scotch have lately passed to geology, — from mind to stones, — subjects, perhaps, alike im- penetrable. The system of the earth, which made its appearance here some years ago, under the title of Illustrations of the Huttonion Theory of the Earth, by John Play fair, deserves, in many re- spects, the high celebrity it soon acquired. An inventor, who did not possess the talent of writing, could not be happier in a commentator. Mr Playfair writes as well as Buffon, but with more solidity, more prudence, and more modesty. In a country where eloquence is scarcely deemed ad- missible in scientific subjects, his passes for sim- plicity. Hutton's theory may be unknown to the gene^ rality of foreign readers, and the most probable of any existing explanation of the awful revolutions VOL. II. A 2 EDINBURGH HUTTONIAN THEORY. our world has evidently undergone, must be of suf- ficient interest to its inhabitants, to encourage an expectation that the short and simple account I shall give of it to the unlearned may be found ac- ceptable. The solid crust of our globe is formed of rocks in great irregular masses, as granite, and of hard substances, arranged in beds parallel to each other. The latter are composed of frag- ments of other rocks more or less broken and attenuated, united by a common cement, as sand- stone, for instance, — of hardened earths, or of calcareous substances, containing often shells and bones, as well as remains of known and unknown plants and fruits. Fossile coals, with indications of vegetable substances in their formation, form some of these beds ; and, finally, sea salt is found also in alternate and parallel strata. These, and many other appearances, afford irresistible evi- dences of the mode of formation of stratified rocks. Rains and torrents, frost and moisture, are constant- ly wasting the surface of the continents to an ex- tent, proved, by incontrovertible facts, to be won- derfully great. Mr Play fair very justly compares such insulated mountains as shew, by the undis- turbed horizontality of their strata, that they re- tain their original level,, to the pillars of earth which workmen leave behind them, to afford a measure of the whole quantity of earth which they have removed. The apparent slowness of the progress affords no presumption against its reality, and only marks the comparative evanes- cence of our own duration. The materials of the surface of continents, and of their shores, are thus incessantly washed away into the ocean, and form. EDINBURGH — HUTTONIAN THEORY. 3 in the undisturbed repose of its unfathomed depths, strata similar to those of a prior formation which we see around us. The various theories of the earth agree nearly in this respect. The strata, although parallel to each other, are scarcely ever found to preserve the level of their original forma- tion, but are more or less inclined to the horizon, —are broken, and sometimes bent, — every ap- pearance indicating the action of an irresistible force acting from below, and capable of disturbing and changing the whole level of the surface of the globe. These changes may have been slow or lo- cal. There are numerous instances of land invad- ed by the sea, and of sea receding from the land, which suppose either an elevation or depression of the local level. They may have been sudden and general, or extend to great portions of the globe ; and the universal traditions of deluge seem to refer to catastrophes of this sort. Thus far Hutton and his disciples, called Pluto- nists, do not differ altogether from the disciples of Werner or Neptunists ; for the latter suppose, in some limited degree, the breaking and sinking of the external crust of our globe into certain internal caverns, explaining by that means the derange- ments and inequalities of the strata. But the Hut- tonians, pursuing the investigation of terrestrial ap- pearances, say, that although the agency of water might be sufficient for the formation of the strata, yet it could not have indurated them into rocks, and still less bent, broken, and overturned them; and that it is inadequate to explain many other pheno- mena. Some other cause must have joined in the operation, and it can be no other than fire, at least an internal heat, disengaged by causes far from 4 EDINBURGH' HUTTONIAN THEORY. inexplicable, at certain periods, generally or local- ly, which heat they suppose capable of producing a fusion of the whole or of certain parts of the in- ternal substance of the globe at an unknown depth, into which the continents, or elevated parts of the outward crust, pressed down by their own weight, would sink, while the lower and thinner parts, forming the bottom of the seas, would be buoyed up, and, discharging the weight of the superincum- bent waters into their new bed, would be suddenly elevated to the original height of the old conti- nents. They suppose that the crust thus elevat- ed, breaking and opening in some parts, let the fused or softened matter force its passage upward, which, hardening as it cooled, formed the highest ridges of granitic and other mountains, called pri- mary, although in some respects secondary. The following figure will render the relative situation of both stratified and erupted rocks more intelli- gible : (A) Represents rocks in parallel strata, forming the plain or level country; broken and turned up at the base of its highest mountains. (B) Granitic erupted mass, forming the highest mountains, as well as the base of the stratified rocks. (D) Fragments of the stratified rocks found occasionalTyonthe highest gra- EDINBURGH— HUTTONIAN THEORY. 5 nitic summits, as if carried up, at the time of their eruption through the strata. (E) Inferior mountains over which the strata bend, without eruption of the granitic matter. (F) Clefts through the strata, pro- duced by their violent bending ; and it is extremely- remarkable, that such of these clefts as have their openings downwards, are filled by a continuation of the granitic matter, as injected in its liquid state, or with metallic substances, forming the veins of mines, which are generally found in such clefts, di- minishing upwards, inclined to the horizon, across, and never in the direction of the strata ; sometimes disposed in steps, (G) and, where there has been a sliding of the strata one against the other, the sections on each side of the vein do not correspond, as in (H). The miners often find in these clefts small fragments, or even large blocks, of a nature totally different from the strata into which they appear to have penetrated from below. This figure is not in the work of Mr Playfair ; I have introduced it in order to facilitate the expla- nation, but without pretending that the relative order of the different substances is generally found so exactly defined in nature. Dr Hutton guessed at a new principle, estab- lished since by experiments. The effect of com- pression on substances exposed to the action of heat, answering before-hand the objections he anticipated. He conjectured, that the strata of calcareous substances, shells and madrepores for instance, lying under a great depth of sea or Iand^ and exposed to the action of heat, instead of losing their carbonic gas, and being calcined into lime, would fuse, and, in cooling, would crystallize into marble and other calcareous rocks, or form nodules and veins of spar insulated into other rocks, pre- 6 EDINBURGH HUTTONIAN THEORY. serving not only the impression of plants and ani- mals, mixed with the strata, but frequently the substance itself, which could not be volatilized. He conjectured that sea-salt and other substances penetrated and dissolved by heat, under the same circumstances of great superincumbent weight, would likewise undergo, in their respective prisons, a local decomposition and new combination, with- out loss of any of their elements. Dr Hutton was asked, what sort of thing this internal fire could be ? — how it was kindled,— and how supported ? — whether it burned always, or was lighted and went out, and burned again, as he happened to want it, to bake his remoulded worlds ? He might have answered, and probably did answer, that the action of fire is quite as distinguishable as that of water on the face of our globe ; — that if the existence of a subterranean fire is difficult to un- derstand, that of the ocean on the tops of high mountains, where it has deposited entire strata of shells and marine plants, 15,000 feet above its pre- sent level,* is no less so; — that, uncertain as the respective modes of action of the two agents certain- ly are, that action is not the less evident ; and that we are not to reject what is known, merely be- cause more is not known. Some conception of an internal fire under large sections of the crust of our globe, or under the whole of it, may be formed, if we consider that a very analogous phenomenon is continually going on under our eyes. The volcanoes of Etna and Vesuvius have simultaneous eruptions, and conse- quently internal communications ; moreover, this communication seems to extend to Hecla. The * Mount Rosa in the north of Italy, and in the Andes. EDINBURGH HUTTONIAN THEORY. 7 tremendous eruption of 1783, which shook the south of Italy to its foundations, — whole towns and villages being swallowed up in yawning gulfs, suddenly opening in the earth, — was accompanied with similar convulsions in Iceland. Its volcanoes vomited lava and ashes in unprecedented quanti- ties ; islands arose from the sea, forty miles from the coasts ; and for three successive years the inhabi- tants did not see the sun. * At the time of the memorable earthquake of Lisbon in 1755, the lakes of Scotland, Loch -Ness in particular, f were strangely agitated ; pouring their waters alternately from one extremity to the other, as if the earth under them had changed its level. Many more instances of simultaneous eruptions and earthquakes, in places very distant from each other, might be adduced to prove internal communications ; and when it is considered that there are at present, ac- cording to Werner, J 193 volcanoes known to be in activity on the surface of the earth, besides a much greater number extinguished, or dormant, it seems as if there was not such a distance between this and a universal conflagration, that the one might not enable us to conceive the possibility of the other. § Notwithstanding what I have said of volca- * This great eruption of 1783, was attended with a haziness of the atmosphere, very perceivable over the greatest part of Europe, of which the writer retains a distinct recollection. t Pennant and Gilpin. The latter mentions the circumstance of a boat in Loch Tay being thrown up twenty fathoms above the usual level of the water. X Professor Jameson's Geognosy. § Since this was written, all that part of North America, through which the Mississippi flows, has been convulsed by earth- quakes, felt simultaneously in the West Indies ; a tract of near 3000 miles. These earthquakes recurred with little intermission 8 EDINBURGH — VOLCANOES — EARTHQUAKES. noes, it is but fair to state, that the Huttonians, in the plenitude of their faith in a central fire, seek no assistance from such skin-deep means as these; and they are even anxious to distinguish between the productions of common volcanoes, — lava, — and that of th eir volcano, par excellence, viz. granite, and all the unstratified rocks. Of all these, the rocks called in Scotland whin, are most like lava. They are a sort of basalt in great masses, often flattened at top, with perpendicular sides, in the terrace shape, and frequent indications of prismatic pillars. The environs of Edinburgh, as I have observed before, abound with abrupt protuberances of this sort of rock. That of Calton Hill * presents, in its composition, a striking re- semblance to the lava of Etna, with a single point of difference still more remarkable ; — in the whin or basalt, the calcareous fragments have retained their carbonic gas, and are crystallized into spar ; while in the lava they have lost it, and are cal- cined into lime. This fact affords undoubtedly a most curious confirmation of the Huttonian theory. The great depth, and mass, and consequent pres- sure* having, in one case, prevented the escape of the carbonic gas, and vice versa, Whin-rock. Lavet. Contains Silcx - - 50 parts Silex - - 51 parts. Argil - - is.50 Argil - - 1Q Oxide of iron, 1 6.75 Oxide of iron 14.50 Spar - - 3 Lime - - 9.50 Water - - 5 Soda - - 4 Soda - - 4 Muriatic acid 1 Muriatic acid 1 98.25 99 during several months, till a volcanic eruption in one of the West India islands relieved the internal dilatation. * Analysed by Sir James Hall. EDINBURGH VOLCANOES— EARTHQUAKES. § The fracture of both these substances is of a bluish or greenish black, strewed with light specks. Both are decomposed by long continued contact with the atmosphere. Unfriendly critics chose to understand the re- sult of the system to be, a constant increase of the dimensions of the globe, puffed up by the repeated action of heat, without ever subsiding ; and they expressed a fear that the earth, thus distended, must at last come in contact with the moon, and derange the system of the universe ! It is to the Edinburgh Review of October 1802, that the Hut- tonians are indebted for this gratuitous supposition. Mr Playfair does not say anywhere, I think, that the parts raised never subside again. His book did not suggest the idea to me. I did not under- stand that the general level of the surface of the globe was permanently elevated, or its dimensions at all increased by the Huttonian process, continu- ed ever so long. The greatest depth of the sea, according to La Place, is eleven miles, and the greatest height of mountains three or four miles ; therefore the extreme points of the inequalities of the solid surface of our globe may be estimated at fourteen or fifteen miles. * Its diameter being * There is a very extraordinary instance mentioned by Pallas, of the depth of stratified formation being traced to the incredible depth of 6l perpendicular miles ! a range of hills, on the south- east side of the Tauride, which is cut down perpendicularly to- wards the sea, and offers a complete section of parallel beds, in- clined at an angle of 45° to the horizon, and 80 miles in length, as regular as the leaves of a book. Allowing for the slope, this shews as much of the formation of the strata as if a shaft of 6l miles was sunk perpendicularly into the earth. Mr Playfair seems, however, to suppose that there had been some considerable shifting or,.sliding of the strata, one against the other, unperceived 10 EDINBURGH VOLCANOES — EARTHQUAKES. 9000 miles, these greatest inequalities are l-600tfi of that diameter, which is probably less than the wrinkles on the thin skin of the smoothest orange. Now, let us suppose that orange subject to an internal heat, capable of liquifying its pulp, and very considerably softening and distending the skin, and communicating to the whole heated body considerable agitation, and some sort of boiling up motion. Suppose, after a while, the cause of the internal heat, whatever it might be, subsiding, and the pulp rapidly cooling and hardening, will not the shrunk skin be found to have contracted new wrinkles and inequalities, greater perhaps, than those it had before, although not the same ; — parts that were high having sunk in, and others that were low having been raised. It would, no doubt, be very difficult to understand how the orange came to be so hot all at once, to melt and boil up of itself in that manner ; but, suppose it to have been an orange so strangely constituted, that it had been in the habit of emitting at times, from 193 little openings on its surface, streams of fire and brimstone, then the great fire would undoubtedly occasion much less surprise; very little more, indeed, than its diminutive prototypes. by Pallas, which would alter the calculation entirely ; and, upon the whole, the fact is too improbable to be admitted. What wearing of continents could there have been, capable of supplying the materials of such a depth of strata formed at the bottom of the sea, and what prodigious depth does it not suppose to the sea ? The difficulty, however, is not peculiar to the Huttonian theory, but ap- plies equally to all those which suppose the agency of water in the formation of the strata. The separation of the different materials in distinct beds, instead of being confusedly mixed together, or ar- ranged entirely according to their respective weight, seems to be a very great difficulty, also common to all these water theories. EDINBURGH HUTTONIAN THEORY. 11 It must be acknowledged that the Huttonian theory, ingenious as it is, rested in a great degree on assumptions and conjectures. It was a fine building on slight foundations ; but a patient inves- tigator undertook to strengthen it sous ceuvre, and has added several stout props and abutments. The theory owes as much to the very important series of experiments of Sir James Hall as to the inven- tor himself; and it will be a consequence of this, as of all other systems, that, whether they stand or fall, they promote experiments and researches, and leave after them an invaluable treasure of facts. Sir James Hall found that fused rocks, instead of passing to the state of glass by rapid cooling, be- come rocks again, and precisely what they were before, when cooled slowly ; very large masses must be a long time in cooling, therefore such fu- sed masses as were thrown up from the interior of the earth became rocks again, and not glass. It is indeed true that he has only thus reproduced whin, a more homogeneous substance than granite. Should he succeed in making granite, incredulity must yield to the miracle. * Granite, however, is far from forming exclusively the substance of the highest mountains. The Cordelieras of South America, which are the highest of all mountains, and some other very high mountains in the Sand- wich Islands, are mostly, as I understood Professor Jameson to say, of the clink-stone, which is nearly similar to the Scotch whin or basalt. * Sir James Hall has approached this miracle. Felspar and quartz, reduced to a powder and mixed, were fused together, the one serving as a flux to the other ; but the two substances crys- tallized distinctly in cooling, and the crystals were closely joined, and set one within another, as in granite. 12 EDINBURGH HUTTONIAN THEORY. Sir James Hall obtained a still more important result, by melting calcareous substances. What neither the fire of volcanoes, nor the burning lens could do, has been effected by a very moderate degree of heat under great compression. This chemist made marble with shells, and actually did what Hutton had said could be done ! The Huttonians, not contented with the degree of probability which belongs of right to their sys- tem, see everywhere dikes and junctions ; — that is to say, the places where their central lava, tearing up the solid pavement of the earth, has insinuated itself among the strata, and turned up their broken edges in the manner I have endeavoured to explain in the preceding figure, leaving indications of heat and calcination in those parts of the strata nearest to the fiery in jections. * Some of these phenomena are satisfactory, but the greatest part require the eye of faith to discover in them what they are sup- posed to indicate. The great rocky mass of Salis- bury Craig, close to Edinburgh, presents some appearances certainly less inexplicable by the Huttonian theory than by any other. The gene- ral form of this mass is that of a stupendous ter- race, the top of which dips towards the north-east, presenting to the west a perpendicular face about * Mr Allan of Edinburgh, a learned amateur of mineralogy, and who has formed a very valuable collection of specimens, had the goodness to shew me, among other instances of this kind, no- dules of flint decomposed into red earth, where they happened to touch or come near whin dikes, or veins of erupted matter in fu- sion, while, a few inches farther, the flint had undergone no such, decomposition. Beds of coal thus traversed by veins of whin ex- hibit, in the adjacent parts, the appearance and properties of coke or charcoal. EDINBURGH — HUTTONIAN THEORY. 13 300 feet high, one-half of which is masked by an accumulation of earth and stony fragments, on a very steep declivity. This is the appearance a part of this face of rock presents. (A) Perpendicular whin or basalt of a greenish black, said to be a porphyritic aggregate of horn- blend and felspar. (B) Thin parallel strata of indu- rated, and apparently baked clay, .interrupted in (C) by the basaltic mass which has penetrated be- tween and round the broken and disturbed edges of the strata, which it seems to have split, and pe- netrated as a wedge. (D) Mass of basalt en boule, which has made its way through the strata of in- durated clay. (E) Parallel strata of the same indu- rated clay and sand-stone, about twenty feet high, diminishing towards the top, and in (F) leaving the surface of the basalt covered only by the mould produced by its decomposition. There is, on the perpendicular face of Arthur's Seat, a very large fragment, fifteen or sixteen feet in length, of the same sand-stone, forming the stratum at the base, which seems to have been carried up the ascend- ing mass of basalt. Dr Hutton, as we have seen, supposes the ac- tion of two opposite principles, in his theory of 14 EDINBURGH HUTTONIAN THEORY. the earth ; one of destruction, and the other of re- generation, like the good and the bad principles of the Persians. But the entire destruction and re- generation are the extreme terms of his theory, and do not form a necessary condition of it. The internal fusion may take place before the old con- tinents are entirely worn down ; — raising or sink- ing old and new formations indifferently ; — cros- sing, and mixing them, and throwing on the de- tails of the mineral world an appearance of disor- der, confusion, and want of design, quite opposite to the general character of all the other works of nature. This theory, however, far from suffering from these apparent irregularities, is confirmed by them ; they are the signs of the very revolutions it supposes, — world after world succeeding each other, and a circulation of ruins. The imagina- tion stands appalled on the brink of this abyss of time, where human reason dares to lead us ! The remains of plants and animals, so profusely scattered over regions quite foreign to their spe- cies, seem to point out, still more forcibly than the appearances of the mineral world do, some sudden, general, and tremendous revolution of our globe. Plants and fruits of India found in France and all over Europe ; skeletons of crocodiles in Eng- land, — of elephants in Siberia j whole islands com- posed of the ivory of their teeth under the pole ; the entire carcass of a rhinoceros, in regions of perpetual frost, * still covered with the greatest part of its hide; and many other examples of * The head of this rhinoceros was carried by Pallas to the mu- seum of St Petersburg, where it is preserved. The accidental thawing of the frozen earth, in which the carcass had been pre- served during countless ages, occasioned the discovery. EDINBURGH HUTTONIAN THEORY. 15 this sort, speak a language which it is impossible to misunderstand. These animals never could have lived where their remains are now lying; the plants still less, if possible. These wonderfully curious and interesting facts are accounted for in no other way, with half so much probability, as by one of the overwhelming floods of the Huttonian theory, for which a very inconsiderable change of level would suffice. The ocean, pouring from its heaving bed over the sinking land, — tearing up mountains by the roots, — furrowing the strata into profound vallies, and scattering the ponderous ma- terials of the earth, like chaff in the wind ! — plants and animals, yielding without resistance, would be swept off at the first onset, with the first terrible wave, to the extremities of the earth ; from the torrid zone to the plains of Siberia, or of North America, — and, whirling in heaps, would fill holes and caverns,* or remain scattered among the earthy sediment subsiding in strata. The commentator of Hutton has not made use, I think, of this obvious means of accounting for the strange situation in which the wrecks of the or- ganized creation are found ; he seems even* to have adopted the unreasonable, and, I must say, extra- * A very remarkable collection of bones is found in the caves of Bayreuth, in Franconia, of vast size, and mostly of carnivorous animals, and having very little affinity to any now known. In- credible quantities of bones, the broken and confused relics of various animals, concreted with fragments of marble, are found in various parts of the coasts of the Mediterranean ; leaving it doubtful, says Mr Playfair himself (page 459), whether they are the work of successive ages, or of some sudden catastrophe, that has assembled in one place, and overwhelmed with immediate de- struction, a vast multitude of the inhabitants of the earth. 16 EDINBURGH HUTTONIAN THEORY. vagant idea, that elephants and rhinoceroses, lions, tigers, and crocodiles, might formerly have lived under the pole, where, no doubt, their native groves of palms and mangoes flourished likewise ! I take some merit to myself for having been able to point out to the Huttonians one of their own overlooked resources, diligent as they have obvi- ously been in mustering all their strength. Thus unexpectedly associated to the fame of the system, I shall, of course, quite believe in it myself ; and really it appears to me already infinitely superior to the water-crystallization system of the German geolo- lists. Dr Hutton admitted the agency of water in all the extent warranted by facts and experiments ; but thought heat, acting under particular circum- stances of pressure and time, indispensable to ac- count for the whole of geological appearances. He thought its effects plainly discernible to the eye in many instances, and its presence in the interior of the globe explicable by existing phenomena. This system has also the great merit of accounting satis- factorily for the oblate figure of the earth. That this hard and unyielding mass should have precisely such a form as a liquid under similar circumstances would assume, was a fact so very remarkable in it- self, that BufTon and Werner supposed it must have been in a state of fluidity, the one by fire, the other by water. Hutton, in this, as in other in- stances, retains the advantages of both their sys- tems, without the same difficulties. Werner's nomenclature is founded on the mere external appearances of the substances, without any regard to their composition. For instance, it places sapphire in the flint genus, although it con- tains f B 8 o of alumina, — and opal in the clay genus, EDINBURGH — HUTTOKIAN THEORY. 1? although it contains iVb of silica, or matter of flints.* Mineralogy, in its present state, is really a very barren and uninviting science. We have names of substances ; but as to their relative situation, and other facts leading to the true theofy of their formation, contrary assertions are brought forward and denied with equal positiveness on either side: w And all a rhetorician's rules Teach nothing but to name his tools." Werner and Hutton differ on a most material point of fact. The former insists that the wide ex- tremity, or openings, of mineral veins, are all turned upwards, and the latter all downwards. They agree that these veins are accidental breaks or rents through the strata, and nearly perpendicu- lar to them, — clefts open at one end, and closed at the other ; but it suits one of the systems to have the opening below, in order to administer with convenience their hot subterranean injection ; — while the other system requires the mouths to be turned up, ready to take in a certain solution of minerals in water; — and the rocks seem willing to accommodate both parties. The situation of Wer- ner is, however, much the most critical ; for a single vein filled from below overturns his theory irrevo- cably j while every vein filled from above, save one, answers every purpose of Hutton. Therefore the Wernerians spare no pains to maintain their ground 5 and being better stored with mineralogical details, they come forward in great strength, and furnish abundance of facts. They tell you, for * Jameson's Mineralogy. VOL. II. B IS EDINBURGH — HUTTONIAN THEORY* instance, of an enormous cleft in a schistous moun- tain in Germany, opened upward of course, and filled with wakke; in this wakke, at the depth of ISO fathoms, trees are found, with their bark, their branches, and even their leaves, in a state of half- petrifaction. Wakke is a sort of argillaceous ba- salt, and precisely one of those substances the Huttonians are in the habit of injecting from below. The latter may say, there has been some eruption of our wakke in a state of fusion, and the overflow- ing stream meeting your cleft, fell into it. But the trees — would they not have been charred in- stead of petrified ? O ! the trees might be petrified al- ready, before the introduction of the melted wakke. Well, but the leaves — how could the leaves, petri- fied or not, resist the shock of such a tremendous cataract of melted mineral ? From this there is but one escape, which is, to question the fact, or hint at exaggerations. But the Wernerians are inex- haustible; and if this does not do, they are ready to produce hundreds of other facts, still stronger, and which you cannot reject absolutely, without a previous examination of the mines of Germany, from which they were obtained. This puts me in mind of a story-teller, who used to relate very strange anecdotes. At the first intimation of doubt, or incredulous look, he never failed to add some new circumstance still more wonderful, in order to make the first appear less improbable; and used to introduce this corroboration by — et meme, &c, — and his hearers could always make him say " et meme" at pleasure. Geological zeal induced a Scotch gentleman, Sir George Mackenzie, accompanied by two Eng- lish students of this college, full of ardour and EDINBURGH — ^-HUTTONI AN THEORY. 19 science, Mr Holland* and Mr Bright, to perform, last summer, a voyage to Iceland, — which, after all, is but a step from this northern region. They have collected msmy curious specimens, and made interesting observations, some of them very favour- able to the Huttonian theory. Their tour will shortly be before the public. One of the mineralogical wonders of that extraordinary country is the petri- fied wood, known by the name of suturbrand y of which I have seen a piece about 18 inches wide by three feet in length. Trunks of trees are found arranged in strata between other* strata of rocks ; they are flattened by the superincumbent weight, partly petrified, yet capable of burning, and the fibres and circles of annual growth perfectly visi- ble, as well as the bark, and even the leaves in some instances. There is not a tree grows in Iceland of more than four inches in diameter, and eight feet high ; and if there were, it would not render the fact at all less inexplicable, for the beds of rocks over the beds of trees were not formed in their present situation ; and the revolution which brought them there, might as well bring the trees. It is evi- dent, that, between the times when these trees grew and the present, events have taken place, of which nothing we have experienced, or know, can give us the least conception. The space of sea between Iceland and the con- tinent of America has, it seems, become perma- nently blocked up by ice within the memory of man, so as to be no longer navigable any part of the year. This singular phenomenon may serve to * Mr Holland, now Dr H. had the goodness to share with- ma» his Iceland specimens. 20 EDINBURGH MINERALOGY. explain why islands of ice,* of such prodigious height and extent, are now seen as far south as the 4()th degree of latitude every spring, and a great part of the summer, by vessels navigating between the United States and Europe. Before I dismiss the subject of mineralogy, upon which I have perhaps dwelt longer than the pa- tience of my readers will endure, or my superficial knowledge warrants, I shall only mention the sin- gular appearances presented by the shore of the Frith of Forth a few miles west of Leith, where Dr T. Professor of Surgery of the college of Edinburgh, and a man of very general information, had the goodness to walk with me. The constant erosion of the tides has left bare the loose stones of the upper stratum, mostly greenstone and amyg- daloid, fine pieces of yellow and white quartz, and some stones, the surface of which is perforated with innumerable holes, said to be by fish ; the under-stra- tum is a bed of blue slate clay, nearly horizontal, but dipping slightly to the east, soft enough for the end * The British packet Lady Hobart ran against one of these floating islands, higher than the mast-head, and of great extent, in June 1803, and foundered; the crew and passengers saved themselves with great difficulty in two boats. The American ship Jupiter perished likewise the same summer, with a great part of the people in her. Since that time, the danger being known, there have been fewer accidents. Deep seas are free from ice j for as the surface cools the water sinks, and is replaced by other of a higher temperature, till the whole is brought down to about 40°, when it remains stationary. The coasts of Holland are choked with ice every winter, while those of Norway, so much farther north, are not. Possibly the unusual formation of ice on the coast of America, near Iceland, might be occasioned by an ele- vation of the bottom, and consequent diminution of depth of that sea, at the time of the tremendous earthquakes, during w hich islands arose from the sea. 9 EDINBURGH THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. 21 of a stick to make a dint in it. This clay contains a great number of nodules of iron-stone, of a lenti- cular shape, hard, heavy, full of pyrites and coaly matter, and bright metallic ramifications. These stones are the ore of Scotland, and yield much iron. Very thin layers of sand-stone and of lime- stone alternate with the clay. The stratum termi- nates abruptly, about one mile west of the little fishing village of Newhaven, presenting its upright section to the west, composed of crumbling slate clay and iron-stone, resting on a thin bed of perfect coal, about eight inches in thickness, and this on a thin bed of dark gray limestone. It is impossible to consider this country in a li- terary and scientific point of view, without noticing a work, the celebrity of which has made its way to the Continent, notwithstanding the jealous vigi- lance with which the opinions and the merchandise of a people, alike philosophic and commercial, are shut out. The Spectator, known all over Europe for a century past, was probably the first work which taught philosophy in periodical sheets. It contained a series of ingenious essays on life and manners, — amusing and moral tales, — -and discus- sions on popular subjects, fitted for light readers, men of the world, women, and young people. Addison, its principal author, contributed essen- tially to fix the English language ; and the simpli- city, purity, and elegance of his style have consti- tuted it a standard. The great success of the Spec- tator encouraged imitators ; and several works on the same plan, and of considerable merit, appeared successively. About forty years ago, Scotland en- tered the field. A company of men of letters at Edinburgh published the Mirror, and afterwards the Lounger. They professed, as the Spectator had 22 EDINBURGH THE EDINBURGH REVIEW, done before, " To hold as it were the mirror up to nature, to shew virtue her own features, vice her own image, and the very age and body of the time its form and pressure." Time, in its flight, has now brought other manners, and men's minds are cast in a different mould ; the same mental food would no longer agree with them, nor the same frame fit the picture. Whatever may be said of the present times, and this generation has not much reason to speak well of them, the human mind has advanced with giant strides in the career of knowledge; and the price of wisdom, and perhaps of virtue, has not been paid quite in vain. Great as the absolute gain has certainly been, its general diffusion is most remarkable. The line between men of the world and men of letters, narrowing before, is now almost effaced. The field of knowledge is open to all; and if all do not sow, yet all reap, — women parti- cularly. How many women see their lives pass away without establishment, in solitude and pover- ty, bearing with patience and cheerfulness all the evils of their situation, — the privation of the hap- piness of being loved, and of joys estimated per- haps beyond their value by being only imagined. They advance towards old age, unregarded, un- pitied, without hope in this world, yet preserving universal benevolence, a warm and a generous heart. Cultivation of mind, and the habit of other and higher thoughts than mere self, can alone give us the courage to bear with the daily miseries of life, — or, what is better, make us forget them. The original of that ridiculous and hateful being, who is made to act so conspicuous a part on the English stage and in English novels, under the name of old maid, is now scarcely ever met with, at least I have not met with it; and the odious dig-. EDINBURGH — THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. S3 tinction between an old woman and an old man is becoming obsolete. The little stories, light pole- mics, and every-day philosophy, which formed nearly the whole range of the Spectator and his school, would no longer afford sufficient interest. Readers of both sexes understand now something of arts and sciences ; they are strangers in none of the walks of literature ; they wish to know what is going on in the mental as well as the practical world,— what discoveries are made in their own and other countries,— and to laugh at higher follies than formerly. Such was the state of the public mind when the Edinburgh Review made its first appearance, eight years ago. Its object was to give an ac- count of such works as afforded most scope for criticism, without pretending to take notice of every publication that might deserve it, but of such only as happened to suit the taste, the incli- nation, or views of the co-operators, or furnish- ed an occasion,— often a mere pretence,— to intro- duce their own opinions on the subject of the book, if not on the book itself. These opinions are those of eight or ten men of various knowledge and tempers, and several of them of first-rate talents ;— from the keen satirist, who tears to pieces a poor author and hangs him up to ridicule and contempt, to the grave sgavant, and to the man of sure taste and exquisite sensibility, who par- takes of the inspiration of genius and kindles at its fire, at the same time that he sits in judgment upon its deeds, and gives a dispassionate account of their merits. I well remember the lively im- pression of pleasure and surprise I experienced when one of the first numbers of this work fell into my hands in America, without having ever heard of 24 EDINBURGH— —THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. it before, and entirely divested of the prestige of reputation. 5 Power, however, is the great corruptor of man- kind, and its allurements are known to be irresistible. Success, and none was ever greater or more sudden than that of the * Edinburgh Review, cannot well be expected to remain altogether free from arro- gance. The gallery, besides, must be amused, and have its due allowance of such jokes as do not suit all ranks of spectators; but posterity, who un- doubtedly will mark this work for its own may pass over, with comparative indifference/ what makes the delight of the young ladies and vounjr gentlemen of the present day. In this ambitious age, when letters are threatened with an inunda- tion of books, and the good ones are in danger of being lost m the crowd, a severe censure is certain- ly most useful to repress presumptuous folly,— to in- flict due punishment on trespassers, in (errorem — and to guide, in some degree, the taste of the great body of readers. Our critics, it is true, pursue frequently their timid prey with something of a iehne ardour, and are apt to lift the club of Her- cules to crush a fly. Such is the superabundance of their strength, or the disproportionate weakness of the antagonists they select. One of the best articles begins in this manner, " Mr B. is a good sort of man, who has not written a very bad book, on a very important subject," &c. Then, without any further notice of the book, the critic goes on with an essay of his own, on this same important subject; and it requires nothing less than the very great merit of the Essay on Fe- £ The Edinburgh Review has upwards of 12,000 subscribers. EDINBURGH — THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. 25 male Education, to make good sort of readers forget this unwarrantable liberty taken with a man who had committed no literary offence. At the same time, I admit that I haTe known young readers enticed by the very flippancy of the introduction ; — but for such a preparatory stimulus, the draught would not have gone down. In a country like this, and in the extraordinary- times in^which we live, there is scarcely any sub- ject quite unconnected with politics, or any man free from party spirit. The most honest thinks truth stands in need of a little heightening, and candour itself exaggerates. The Edinburgh cri- tics are decided whigs of the Fox school ; friends of a moderate reform in Parliament; not after the fashion of the absolute reformers, but simply by a better composition of the legislature, which they do not think is to be obtained by a system of un- mixed popular elections. They think the scale preponderates too much on the side of the crown, and want to throw a little weight on the other side. They preach the Irish Catholic emancipation, as it is called ; and really I have not heard any satis- factory reason against it. The slave trade has found in them irreconcilable enemies. They re- commend peace, — and reprobate paper money. Sound as these opinions seem to me, the ministers happen to think otherwise on almost all these points. A radical difference of opinion, united to power, excludes not only cordiality, but candour ; and the opposition in England make it a rule to disapprove, en masse, of every measure of the ad- ministration, whatever it may be, at home or abroad. Their general abhorrence of despotism is even considerably softened or heightened in fa- vour or against foreign despots, according as they 26 EDINBURGH— -THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. happen to be on terms of hostility or of friendship with their political opponents in power. The public suspects, I presume, some partiality of this . kind in the judgment the Edinburgh Review pas- sed recently, on a certain book of travels through Russia, boldly recommended, as being precisely in form and substance what a Journal of Travels should be. It may be presumptuous to speak of a work so justly celebrated, otherwise than with praise. But amidst so much excellence, blemishes are the more conspicuous. I think myself nationally bound to proffer another charge. One of the early numbers of the Edinburgh Review, contain- ed an account of Black's lectures by Dr Robison of Edinburgh, in which de Luc and Lavoisier were accused of certain scientific usurpations against the British chemist, and the following anecdote introduced on the authority of a Professor Lich- tenberg of Gottingen, " When the Parisian che- mists had finished their grand experiment on the composition of water, they held a sort of festival at which Madame Lavoisier, in the habit of a priest- ess, burnt Stahl's Fundamenta on an altar, while solemn music played a requiem to the departed system ; upon which the German and Scotch pro- fessors did not fail to observe, that if Newton or Black had so exulted over Des Cartes and Meyer, their countrymen would have concluded they were out of their senses." Then came the following remark of our critics, forming the body and front of their offending: " We give the fact to our read- ers, as an amusing instance of that universal char- lalanerie (the word cannot be translated by a people so destitute of the thing) which renders the French national character the least respectable of EDINBURGH— THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. 27 any in the civilized world !" The first thing which strikes, in this sweeping observation, is the sin- gular absence of mind which made them overlook the word quackery, answering to a nicety to the French charlatanerie, both in the literal and figu- rative sense ; and as the thing itself was as likely to have escaped notice as the name, their own people might, after all, not be so destitute of or exempt from charlatanerie as they supposed. A quack or charlatan is a false and mercenary pretender to abilities he does not possess ; it is for gain, not amusement, that he harangues the popu- lace in the market-place. Now, the chemical celebration denounced by the German professor, did not impose upon any body, — the parties con- cerned had no views of emolument, — it might be childish, but assuredly nothing more, and does not by any means warrant the ferocious attack in ques- tion, against my unoffending countrymen. Aspa- sia held also her festivals at Athens, to which phi- losophers did not disdain to assist for their amuse- ment. Suppose the reviewers of Sparta, informed of this circumstance, had come out with a grave charge of universal charlatanerie, against the whole Athenian race ; while they (Spartans) declared themselves wholly free from this same sin, and had proceeded to stigmatize the Athenian ^character, as the least respectable of any in Greece, w 7 hich was then the civilized world. Might not the Athenians have remonstrated with some justice against this opprobrious decision, and have pointed out many practices of their demure neighbours, more directly to be accounted for by the calcula- tions of interest, than the allurements of pleasure; more coldly designing, — more akin, in short, to the genuine motives of charlatans, than any thing 28 EDINBURGH THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. that was done in thoughtless Athens ; and might they not have retorted, by declaring the character of the Lacedemonian critics the least modest of any in Greece ? The French were undoubtedly a very frivolous people (I do not know what they are now, — possi- bly worse), condemned by the nature of their so- cial institutions, to employ their own restless acti- vity on objects of pure personal gratification, or on futile pursuits, prescribed by mere fashion. The very same propensities and passions which would have been, or would have looked like a noble pride and generous elevation of character, under such a state of things as exists in England, were there brought down to the level of vanity and petty intrigue, by their application to small objects, and petty interests. The French have been accused of being dramatic, fond of represen- tation, theatrical ; and so they were. Having no great part to fill in real life, they were reduced to act feigned ones ; 44 to strut their hour upon the stage, and be heard of no more j" and admitting this thea- trical display not to have had always the mere gra- tification of momentary vanity for its object, such is the effect of situation, that the same principle, which is thus stigmatized as charlatanerie in France, nfrght, on the hustings at an English elec- tion, have appeared like love of the people; — in Parliament, attachment for the person of the sove- reign, or respect for the constitution ; — or, in the shape of a loud cry of no popery, at the foot of the throne, might have passed for pure zeal for religion. The more vain, fickle, and fond of plea- sure the French might be, the less they were likely to be guilty of charlatanerie. Our critics must allow them to be as wise and considerate as their EDINBURGH — THE EDINBURGH REVIEW.* 29 own countrymen, before the charge can be appli- cable. The plan of the Edinburgh Review embraces, as we have seen, the whole range of the human mind ; while the Spectator, and his school, had only belles lettres and practical ethics for their object. Morality gains much by being introduced only incidentally, and coming in unannounced; and theirs, I must say, is always independent, firm, and pure, — always on the honourable and virtuous side. The productions of the school of the Spectator, with all their merit, smell of the lamp a little. There is an appearance of difficulty in finding subjects ; the writer has nothing to say, and labours hard at a story to fill his sheets. You think you hear at every new one, the " Dinazarde, my dear sister, are you asleep," of the Arabian Tales. The Edinburgh critics, on the contrary, come in with their hands full of new books, discoveries, and ob- jects of curiosity, of all sorts ; and as they arrange their materials, questions arise of themselves, ideas unfold, and truths are unexpectedly struck out, which the writer himself little thought of when he took up the pen, — or at least such is the appearance to the reader, and the greatest charm of the work. The writers of the modern school have their sub- ject before them, and draw from nature ; those of the old one from memory only, and the images it presents are fainter and fewer. The former have the public treasury of mind open to them, the latter their private purse only. Addison appeared to much less advantage in conversation than in his writings, and said once of himself, " I have no small change, but I can draw on my banker for a a thousand pounds whenever I please." Our cri- tics can do even better than that ; for all the gold of Europe is at their absolute disposal. 50 EDINBURGH THE EDINBURGH REVIEW. The anonymous writers of the Edinburgh Review are mostly all known, or guessed at. They are men of independent and liberal professions, lawyers, phy- sicians, clergymen, professors, members of Parlia- ment, residingin different parts of the British empire, and not at Edinburgh only, where, however, the edi- tor and principal co-operator resides. His talents and character are intimately known to me ; but I am, for that very reason, precluded from speaking of them as I should otherwise do, and must not de- part from the general rule I have prescribed to myself, on the subject of those who have honoured me with their friendship. The philosophic and political adversaries of the Edinburgh Review, have set up a similar work in London, (the Quar- terly Review), an imitation as to plan and manner, but, at the same time, in direct opposition on al- most every subject. This new meteor did not blaze forth at once upon the world with the splen- dour of the first, although a work of very great merit, and improving. A very witty statesman, the cutting irony of whose diplomatic correspon- dence has not a little contributed to inflame the dispute with America, is said to be among its co- operators ; two eminent poets are also mentioned. Tiie Edinburgh reviewers, however, must be al- lowed the merit of having founded a new school, destined to be the model for the critics of the nineteenth century. Friends or enemies must follow the line they have traced, and tread in their illustrious footsteps. There are here several eminent musical amateurs, who have made their art fashionable this winter. We have heard one of them ; the company was numerous, too numerous as he signified; and it was found necessary to clear his atmosphere, by EDINBURGH MUSICIANS MR W. 31 opening an adjacent room, where Mr W. sat down to the piano. I was prepared for the usual conceit and showy execution of fine performers ; instead of which, he rose by degrees from a simple recitative, to a melodious chant, in a sonorous bass voice, taken in its medium ; therefore neither forced nor sepulchral ; the accompaniment volun- tary, and all his own, simply supporting his voice, and never permitting the charms of mechanical har- mony to outstrip and efface expression and melo- dy. We were told the poetry was also of his composition. Those who listened to it did not re- port favourably ; for myself, I heard only the mu- sic, which was profoundly affecting, and suggested to me what I should think the music of the Greeks may have been. I was sorry to hear that Mr W. otherwise an excellent man, shows, his art except- ed, hardly common sense ; but I was not much surprised, having found the case not very uncom- mon among the particular votaries of music, — I mean those who unite to a fine taste, great skill of execution. This execution is necessarily the re- sult of a whole life's practice, acquired almost en- tirely by the fingers, with little agency of the un- derstanding. The artist, however, who, like Mr W. knows how to inspire sentiments and kindle enthusiasm, cannot be a mere organized machine. "Without feelings, he could not make others feel ; — he must be a poet, but in a language wholly sen- timental and impassioned, and not at all dialectic. The reasoning and spoken language is little known to him ; he is not only unskilled in it, but he has scarcely any of the conceptions of which it is the organ among men. Such a being may well appear a child, or a fool. " For all I see" said the great Dr Johnson, (the rudest great man that ever 32 EDINBURGH — WEATHER BLACKFORD HILL. was), " all foreigners are fools !" Musicians are foreigners in the world, and Dr Johnson has pro- nounced their sentence. The celebrated Braham is here also, and we have heard him several times without change of opinion. It is not music you hear, but only fine sounds. Jan. 14. 1811. — The winter has been felt severly in England ; there has been much snow there, and the Thames has been frozen over j while here, in the latitude of Moscow, we have no snow ; the grass is still green ; the ground has scarcely been hard the whole winter, and skaiters have had but a few days amusement, on the piece of water at the foot of Arthur's Seat. Two of the remarkable protuberances which mark the country round Edinburgh, Blackford hill 500 feet high, and Braid Hill 300 feet high, situated side by side, form between them a romantic valley, enveloped in shade, and watered by a murmuring stream of the clearest water. It is a short distance from town; and we took advantage of a little cold and dry walking to visit the spot. The thermometer has been at 24° in the evening, and 20* is considered here as ex- treme cold. Jan. 25. — Dr T. having proposed to me to go to the anniversary dinner on Fox's birth-day ; and wishing to see how these things are managed here, I went yesterday. The company was numerous ; and the table filled a very large hall. Mr Gillies, 'an eminent advocate, * presided. The Honourable * The profession of the law was not, by any means, so respect- able in France as it is in England. The army had the prece- dence there over every thing else. EDINBURGH — FOx's ANNIVERSARY DINNER. 35 Henry Erskine, another celebrated lawyer, brother of Lord Erskine, chancellor during the ministry of Mr Fox, considered as the highest at the Scotch bar, assisted the president. After dinner several persons spoke successively. Among others, Mr E., in the simple tone of conversation. The necessity of a re- gency in the present state of the King's health ; the hopes entertained from the political principles of the presumptive heir ; parliamentary reform ; emanci- pation of Ireland j and the other tenets of the party, were touched upon without violence ; and the mi- nisters themselves, notwithstanding the present crisis, were spoken of quite civilly. All party heat seemed to vent itself in mirth, boti mots, songs, and even puns, — " tout comme chez nous.'* Voltaire could not have said here, — " Chez les Anglois sombres et durs esprits Toute folie est noire, atrabilaire, Chez les Francois elle est vive et legere." The whigs, indeed, believe they are on the eve of a great victory ; and success puts people in good humour, — in England, as elsewhere. I must men- tion one of the puns, not perhaps on account of its particular excellence, but to give an idea of the sort of thing, and of the easy, good-natured tone of the meeting. Mr N., a very good landscape painter, being cooped up in a corner, was obliged to jump over the table to get out. Mr E. saw him, and the grave man of law called out, " Ah 1 N., this is one of your land-skips!'' (landscapes.) The name of Fox was, as of right, the first toast; then, very loyally, his Majesty; the seven unanimous brothers ; the young Princess, brought up in the principles of Fox ; the catholics of Ire- land. On this last, Lord Fingall, a distinguished VOL. II. c 34 EDINBURGH — FOX's ANNIVERSARY DINNER. catholic of Ireland, now at Edinburgh for the edu- cation of his son, made an appropriate speech, modest, and, to appearance, unstudied. Lord Maitland merely thanked the company when Lord Lauderdale was given. Lord P., a very young man, sneaked away for fear of being obliged to make a speech when the catholics were drank. Whitbread, and all the individuals of the projected ministry ; George Washington, — but no mention whatever of American affairs; Professor Millar; Dugald Stewart. Lord N., the only judge present, being named, I looked with some degree of anxiety at the learned lord, in appearance a true porgeaic d* epicure, of a monstrous size, — face of a blue raw colour, — breathing hard, — his eyes shut,— he ap- peared stupified with good cheer, and ready to fall under the table ; but the unwieldv mass soon stood up, and in a powerful, though broken and faltering voice, addressed the meeting in a short, moderate, sensible speech, hinting delicately at his being the only judge appointed by Mr Fox. Lord Erskine, and the trial by jury, was another of the toasts I re- member. Henry Erskine, and the thirty-seven independent barristers who sided with him in 1793. Songs became more frequent, as the company be- gan to feel " Ces esprits aniraaux, Qui vont au cceur, et qui font les heros." One of them, by an old country gentleman, was, I am bound to suppose, excellent, for it set the whole company in a roar, but being in the Scotch dialect I did not understand a word of it. Three professional singers (the Elliots,) pleased me much more ; they sung catches and glees delightfully. When I left the house, about eleven at night, EDINBURGH ANECDOTE OF LORD N.— -WHIGS. 35 there was not the smallest appearance of intoxica- tion ;* about one-third of the company had retired before me; the rest followed soon after, except, as I understood this morning, a knot of bons viuants, the big judge at their head, who did not separate till break of day, drinking all the time ; and, what is most remarkable, this same judge was seen this morning going to Court, in as full possession of his faculties of body and mind as if he had spent the night in bed ! This is a sample of the old northern manners. I had met this judge a few days before at a private dinner. The son of one of his old associates (Mr F.) dining there also, was in mourn- ing for his father. " Ah !" said the judge, « your father would not believe me; I told him he would kill himself; what! to reduce himself in his old age to a single bottle of wine at his dinner, — it was certain death!" LordN. I must do him the justice to say, has the reputation of being an excellent judge. The hopes of the whigs are not without some mixture of apprehensions ; whatever the principles of a presumptive heir may have been, — autres temps, autres moetirs, — and a whig king would be an unexampled thing. The business of a king (and the ministers are the king,) is to draw to him- self as much power as he can, — that of the Par- liament is to hold back. The texture of the Bri- tish constitution is of a yielding and elastic nature ; it extends easily the way it is pulled, and takes, in a great degree, the shape and dimensions you please ; and, unless it had been possible to deter- * This dinner cost 25s. to each person, which did not quite defray the expences. There was Port and Madeira during din- ner, and a bottle of Claret before each person after; those Who called for more, I believe, paid for it. 36 EDINBURGH — POLITICAL PARTIES. mine beforehand its exact sense, and proper appli- cation to every possible circumstance and combi- nation of events, each party must defend what will always be disputed, and assert the extreme of its right, in order to preserve what is reasonable and necessary : in short, a whig king would be in the situation of a nation of Quakers surrounded with neighbours who were not of that persuasion. There is here a Scotch lord, very communicative, who shews a letter of seven pages from one of the princes (the Duke of K.), informing him that the Duke of Y. will be reinstated general in chief, and otherwise promising nothing good to the whigs ; a ci-devant chancellor has written also that the re- gency will not produce what was expected from it. It is now fifteen years since the revolutionary im- pulse given by France was felt here with considerable violence ; that is to say, since certain questions of me- taphysical politics divided the inhabitants of Edin- burgh into two irreconcilable parties. The heat is now subdued; not a spark of the fire remains alive ; and the controversists of that time meet now very sociably, and seem to retain no remembrance of the mortal hatred they once bore to each other. I have been assured, that, in 1794, only thirteen persons durst meet to celebrate the anniversary dinner of Mr Fox, and the names of the thirteen patriots, taken down at the door, were sent to the high-handed minister of the day, as suspected per- sons. There were one hundred and fifty guests at this same celebration last year; yesterday, fifty more ; — this accession is suspected to be composed of that description of persons denominated rats ; the little animals of that name having the instinc- tive sagacity of abandoning old buildings when they are going to fall down. EDINBURGH — A STORM — ROYAL SOCIETY. 37 Feb. 1. — There has been a snow storm in the night, and it blows a hurricane ; tiles fly across the streets, and tops of chimneys fall on the pave- ment, to the great annoyance of passengers, and danger of their lives. The house we inhabit, built of stone, is sensibly shaken by the wind. There is at the end of our street, on the mound, an itinerant menagerie built of boards ; if it should be blown down, the people of Edinburgh might see at large in their streets two lions, two royal tigers, a panther, and an elephant, besides mon- kies, and other underlings of the savage tribe. Feb. 5.— I attended yesterday a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ; one of the judges, Lord Meadowbank, presided. Mr Playfair read a paper presented by Dr Brewster, on the disappear- ance of the comet of 1770. Its orbit was very small, — not beyond our planetary system, — per- formed its revolutions in five years, and should have appeared again seven times, but has not been seen since. In the meantime a cluster of five very small planets, supposed, with some probability, to be fragments of a larger one, have been discovered in a track which intersects that of the comet in question ; two of these fragments, Ceres and Pallas, have immense atmospheres, as much as the atmo- spheres of all the other planets of our system put together, — 600 miles high, I think ; the other three fragments have no visible atmospheres. There is certainly a remarkable coincidence between the disappearance of the comet and the appearance of the planets ; the latter, however, are not the former in a new shape, for comets are not solid bodies,— stars being seen through them. Sir George Mackenzie read a paper on two al- 38 EDINBURGH — BANNISTER THE COMEDIAN. ternating hot springs of Iceland, one of which throws ils water twelve feet high during five mi- nutes, the other five feet high for three minutes, thus alternating incessantly ; and proposed the problem of a mechanism that would account for the phenomenon, without the supposition of valves, or of the water coming from a higher spot. Feb. 6. — Bannister, an excellent English actor, is here. We saw him yesterday in one of their wretched modern plays, The Battle of Hexham ; the plot most absurd, and with a total want of taste ; yet his inimitable acting covered all faults, and I was certainly much amused. He appeared also in The Devil to Pat/, — overcharged a good deal, but still excellent. The house was empty, — not a single person in most of the boxes ; and all this because of a concert where Braham sings, — a more fashionable amusement than the theatre, — which is deemed, all over Great Britain, rather a vulgar amusement j and so their theatre certain- ly is. The following days we have again partaken of the pleasures of the vulgar, — Bannister always animated, and full of his part. The last time he gave us The Bold Stroke for a Wife, a low and im- probable play, although a little better than the modern ones. The great merit of Bannister in this was, the harlequin activity with which he shifted his dress half a dozen times, and assumed new and different characters ; he was very much applauded, but pleased me less than usual. Between the play and the farce the public often calls for some favourite song ; Bannister treated us twice with these lyric pieces, in the genuine na- tional taste. 1 do not suppose that any thing at all comparable is to be met with in any other country EDINBURGH — ANECDOTE OF DR MOORE. 39 or language ; the style is unique ; and if it was possible to give any idea of it by a translation, the itourdis on the other side of the channel would hardly believe that these things could divert their sage neighbours so much, and make the thinking nation laugh so heartily. I have ventured, how- ever, upon a translation of Caleb Quotem, as a sample, and it is one of the most rational. Wit does not enter necessarily into the composition ot laughable things, and might possibly spoil them ; but here there is not even a meaning of any sort,— ■ only unconnected words, or mere uncouth sounds, the extreme absurdity of which is set off by the comic talents or buffoonery of the singer. In matters of mirth there is, however, no disputing about taste, and it well may be " folly to be wise. A celebrated traveller, Dr Moore, has described, with infinite humour, a stuttering scene on the Ita- lian stage, and the highly laughable coup-de-lhea- tre which terminates its the strong prejudices he had entertained against Italian jokes yielding at once to the force of this one. He and the Duke of Hamilton, the companion of his travels, laughed so heartily, and the fits returned with such vio- lence, as to turn the attention of the audience from the stage to their box, and occasioned a renewal of the mirth all over the playhouse. " When we returned to the inn, the Duke of Ha- milton asked me," said Dr Moore, " if 1 was as much convinced as ever, that a man must be per- fectly devoid of taste who could condescend to laugh at an Italian comedy." I have already mentioned the extreme unclean- liness of the old town of Edinburgh. Cloacina has there no temples ; every sort of filth is thrown out of window, just as in the old town of Mar- 40 EDINBURGH PRISONERS OF WAR. seilles. Passing through the narrow streets, morn- ing and evening, you scarcely know where to tread, and your head is as much in danger as your feet ; a certain cry of gardy loo, is the warn- ing of anything coming down ; a derivation, I am told, of ' gardez V eau. Mr L. who was ambassador in Spain, and resided there many years, told us that Madrid was formerly much in the same state as his " own romantic town" of Edinburgh. The filth continually thrown out of windows used to meet in the middle of the narrow streets of Madrid, forming a high ridge, which remained till a heavy rain washed it partly away, these streetsbeing ge- nerally on a slope. The minister d'Aranda de- clared he would make Madrid from the dirtiest the cleanest city in the world, and he succeeded. He introd uced common-sewers, and a large pipe against the front, and from top to bottom of each house. The difficulties he had to encounter were great; and, among other objections, it was stated, that the air of Madrid was naturally much too sharp, and that the effluvia of its immense dunghill was a ne- cessary corrective, arid, by softening that keenness, made it wholesome. Feb. 14. — New depots of prisoners of war are forming in the environs of Edinburgh, and detach- ments of these unfortunate people, transported by sea from the south of England to Leith, have ar- rived here ; they are first lodged in the Castle. I had been informed, that a great number of them had been seen marching barefooted in the half- frozen mud. Wishing to ascertain the fact, and, if possible, to alleviate their sufferings, I procured an introduction to Colonel Maghee, commanding at the fort, who had the goodness to go with me among the prisoners. I found 3 or 400 men, EDINBURGH — PRISONERS OF WAR. 41 nearly all seafaring-people, in a small court, sur- rounded with palisadoes, in front of that part of the building where they lodge at night; this es- planade, about 100 or 120 feet every way, had a very beautiful view of the town and country over the brow of the hill. I do not suppose, however, these unfortunate people were much disposed to enjoy it. I found them walking to and fro in their narrow inclosure, most of them talking merrily enough, poorly clad, although not in rags. Those who have no clothes of their own receive certain yellow jackets, which, by their remarkable appear- ance, render an escape more difficult ; instead of shoes, they had most of them a sort of galoches, the sole of wood and top of list. I understood that many had lost their shoes in the muddy road, and that 150 of them were really in great want of that important article, which Colonel M. assured me was to be supplied before they left the castle to go to the dep6t. The daily ration is la lb. bread at 3d. ; fib. of meat at 6|d. per lb. ; once or twice a week they have fish instead of meat ; each man is provided with a hammock and two blankets. Many supplicating hands offered for sale the produce of their industry; watch-chains made of hair, and other trifling articles, most of them very ingeni- ously manufactured. A young man, his counte- nance all radiant with good-humour, informed me he had been seven years thus encaged, having been one of the first taken at the renewal of the war. If he is proof against such a fate as this, he need not envy any one. The richest gifts of fortune are poor indeed, compared to an indestructible power of happiness. I observed, on the other hand, several pri- soners traversing slowly, apart from the rest, 42 EDINBURGH PRISONERS OF WAR. the narrow and muddy area, or leaning back against the paling, with sunken eyes, fixed and dull looks, and earthy complexions, — wrapt in meditation upon nothing ; upon time, which does not pass for them ; upon these eternal hours, which bring no other change than that of light and darkness ; short light, at long and fright- ful intervals of night; dreaming on an existence, of which nothing marks the duration, and which consumes, nevertheless, the best years of their lives, — and on the final annihilation of a momen- tary hope of liberation. It is shocking to think, that fifty or sixty thousand human beings should be in this deplorable situation! Not so many, how- ever, feel it. The abject crowd was seen here pressing with eagerness and loud clamour, — all speaking at the same time, — round a spot where some game was going on, with the same bursts of laughter, the same oaths and frantic gestures, as if their dearest interests had been in question. An aristocrat d la lanterne, the execution of Robe- spierre, or the news of a cartel for the general exchange of prisoners, could not have excited more bustle and agitation ! This is the best passible school for idleness and vice, as well as an abode of unspeakable wretchedness, to all those whose feel- ings are not blunted. If the persons on whom the liberation of so many miserable men depends could be placed for a little while in the midst of them, it is scarcely possible to suppose that the negocia- tion for the exchange should not be facilitated thereby. Many of the prisoners seemed too old to be worth keeping, and might be sent back with- out any accession of strength to the enemy. I have heard of an East India captain, who was taken in 1793, liberated in 1802 ; taken again the EDINBURGH PRISONERS OF WAR. 43 following year, and now a prisoner with a wife and family in France ! Officers are allowed their parole, and receive Is. 6d. a-day from the British government for their support ; the common men, either soldiers or sail- ors, cost about lOd. exclusive of houses and other contingent expences ; Is. sterling a head is proba- bly the lowest computation, — which, for 50,000 prisoners, is L. 2500 per day, or nearly one million a-year, besides the expence of the troops neces- sary to guard this army of prisoners. An exchange on any terms would be better than this.* I cannot help thinking that some useful employment might be found for these men, such as roads and canals, or the tillage of waste lands. The greatest part of them would prefer the lowest salary, with some degree of liberty, to their present confinement ; the difference of dress and language, and the insular situation of the country, would, with certain pre- cautions, render their escape very difficult ; and, in a country so often short of grain, it cannot be a matter of indifference, whether 50,000 strangers shall be fed out of the public store, or whether their labour shall contribute to fill it. * Since writing this, I have found, in Mr Rose's observations on public expenditure, &c. that the number of prisoners (before those from Walcheren,) was 47,050 men, at 6^d. a-day . . L. 46*5,050 a-year. Buildings, clothes, guards, clerks, &c. 235,000 700,000 3065 prisoners out of England, at Is. 56,000 L. 756,000 sterling. The number of prisoners is probably now greater, and their indi- vidual expence also increased, so as to reach nearly a million a-year. 44 EDINBURGH- — FUNERALS, A woman died in the upper story of the house in which we lodge, rather poor, and but little ad- dicted during her life to the luxury of a carriage ; but it has been made up to her at last, and she has j ust taken her departure from the door in a coach and six, covered with black cloth, and surmounted with plumes of feathers of the same colour, followed by more carriages, with a number of hired mourners on foot, before and behind, in black, and carrying likewise black plumes of feathers. You meet these processions of funeral vehicles every day, here and in England, on the high roads, and in the crowded streets of great cities. Their solemnity forms, at the same time, a sad and a ridiculous contrast with the light and rapid motion of the carriages of the living, splashing them as they drive by, and the indifference of the passing throng, who heed not this last effort of the vanity of man, and hurry on without bestowing a sin- gle look on the show. Some of the friends of the deceased follow in the carriages. The lower people bury their dead on foot, and the nearest re- latives walk in the train. A husband follows the body of his wife, — a wife of her husband, — pa- rents their children, — and the lover his mistress. This custom is still kept up in the largest cities of the United States, as well as in the country. It is making grief a show, or indifference a scandal, and violating the sacredness of feeling. Some persons of rank have come here lately on purpose to effect very odd transfers of matrimonial partners. Lady Charlotte W. had the misfortune of falling violently in love with Lord P., who has the reputation of being irresistible in love as well as in war, and ran away with him. The husband of this lady, who is a reasonable man, offered to re- 6 EDINBURGH — SINGULAR MARRIAGES. 45 ceive her again if she would come back before the step she had taken became public ; but she chose to be constant in her inconstancy, and finally a divorce was the consequence. It is not the fashion to fight for a wife it seems, but only for a sister ; the brother of Lady C. W. challenged the gallant, who, with true delicacy of honour, and the confi- dence of a man whose courage could not be doubt- ed, avoided, as long as he could, placing himself in a situation where he might have to shed the blood of the brother, after having dishonoured the sister. This couple are come to Scotland to be married. There were, however, difficulties in the way, Lord P. being already a married man; but as infidelity on the male side is a legitimate cause of divorce in Scotland, he took care to furnish his wife with the plea. She might have played her rival the trick of not suing for a divorce ; but love furnished a remedy to the evils he had caused, — and the Duke of A. intervening, bieri'd-propos, persuaded the forsaken lady to part with her hus- band, and become a duchess. The parties, there- fore, changing sides, Lady C. W. has married Lord P., and Lady P. the Duke of A. The former is said to have lost by this arrangement an amiable and a handsome woman, for one who wants one at least of these advantages; a wife he loved, for another he does not care about ; without any apparent motive except pure devouement. It is remarkable enough, that one of these new couples has already a family of fourteen children ; the pre- sent Lady P. having had eight before her divorce, and Lord P. six. These singular marriages have occasioned some speculations as to their legality. It appears, that a marriage made in conformity to the laws of the 46 EDINBURGH — SINGULAR MARRIAGES. country where it is contracted is valid everywhere 5 and if dissolved by the laws of that same country, is likewise null everywhere; but if it is dissolved in another country, it remains binding everywhere else ; and, finally, that a marriage contracted in one place according to the forms of another is valid nowhere, not even in the latter place.* Conse- quently, the divorce of Lady C. W. is valid every- where, that of Lord and Lady P. only in Scotland, — in England they are still husband and wife. Nei- ther of the marriages is legitimate out of Scotland, although Lady C. W. might have married legally in England any other man but her present hus- band. The descendants of these marriages will be legal heirs in Scotland only ; and the English children will not only inherit the whole of the English property, but will come in for their share of the Scotch property, if their parents should die possessed of any there. I have heard this opinion given by very high authority. The public of Edinburgh have been amused and scandalized by another strange marriage. The divorced lady of a Scotch lord, ci-devant ambassa- dor at the Porte, has just been married to her lover. This happy man has paid ten thousand pounds sterling damages to the husband, and looks so pleased, that it is evident he would not relin- quish his acquisition for double the money. Shocking as the publicity of these things must be to a woman, it is nevertheless certain, that those * The children of a Scotchman, who had lived a number of years in the United States with a woman whom he acknowledged as his wife, in a manner which would have been binding in Scot- land, have not been allowed to inherit the property he left in Scot- land, because his marriage was not legal in America. EDINBURGH — ANNUAL EXHIBITION. 4? only who have some delicacy left expose them- selves to it. The woman who leaves her husband to follow her lover, shews at least that she could not bear the indelicacy of a double connection ; when she sacrifices her rank in society, her for- tune, every pleasure in life but one, — this one must be deemed a passionate attachment, and such have always something mental which ennobles them; the heart in which they can be found is not quite corrupt. Rousseau said very justly, that love was the remedy of licentiousness. Although the idleness of wealth leads here to many intrigues, in the higher ranks particularly, if such things had been brought forward in courts of justice in France, as they are here, and been pub- lished in the newspapers, the number would have appeared, I presume, rather more considerable. Divorces are certainly commoner here than they were formerly. The parties, thirty or forty years ago, were pointed at, as objects of wonder and cu- riosity. It is, however, the remedy, and not the evil itself, which is become more common. The court of the two last Stuarts, where this remedy was unknown, can scarcely be said to have been less in need of it than that of George III. There is an annual exhibition of pictures at Edinburgh, and better in proportion than that of London. Mr Raeburn is realJy a very eminent painter (of portraits of course), and would paint history with success I am sure, if the taste of his countrymen permitted him ; his children have the grace and nature of those of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and a better colouring. Mr Williams paints land- scape in water-colours, in the manner of the great artists in London, where this branch of the art is carried to an admirable degree of perfection. He had the goodness to give me some directions for 48 EDINBURGH — MUSICAL- GLASSES. doing chalk-etching on soft ground ; an easy and agreeable mode of engraving, and which I intend to use for some of the sketches taken during this journey. Another eminent artist of Edinburgh, Mr Nasmith, paints landscapes in oil. Speaking of the arts, I must be allowed to men- tion an artist who excels on a very uncommon in- strument. Mr Cartwright slightly passes the end of his finger along the edges of a number of glass bowls, partly filled with water, and forming an har- monic series like that of a harpsichord ; this touch produces sounds of heavenly sweetness, and sur- prising strength, melting into each other, and in perfect harmony. It is impossible to play with more skill, purer taste, or a better expression, than Mr Cartwright does. Dr Franklin had invented an instrument in many respects similar, called the Harmonica ; it also was composed of glass bowls, but without water. Feb. 20. — Great complaints of commercial dis- tress felt all over the kingdom, but particularly in the manufacturing towns, have reached even this place, which is so independent of trade ; and the despondency about public affairs is visible. Glas- gow is, indeed, so near, and suffers so particularly under it, that individual cases of ruin and failure cannot but excite sympathy here. The causes are, in a great degree, the commercial restrictions on the whole continent of Europe and the United States, to which the reaction of the extravagant spe- culations in Spanish America mustbe added. Among the many failures of which we hear every day, I was much surprised to find there were some farmers; one gentleman only has thirteen of his tenants bank- rupts ! Now the bankruptcy of a farmer would appear in France just as ridiculous as the bank- EDINBURGH FARMERS— BANKERS. 49 ruptcy of an apple- woman or a chimney-sweeper; but an English farmer, as I have remarked before, is properly a great manufacturer, and not a pea- sant ; he is a man of business, who has his books regularly kept, and makes his payments on the ap- pointed day. I did not know till lately that he has his banker also, who enables him to pay with this punctuality, by making occasional advances, on his personal responsibility, on the notes of the person to whom he has sold his produce, or on that produce itself, reserved for a better market. The advantages resulting to trade from these banking facilities are no less evident in regard to agriculture than to trade, but equally liable to abuses and inconveniences. When any embarrassment occurs in any of the many branches of the great system of public cre- dit, all the minor institutions are obliged to check their discounts, and draw in their advances ; and the farmer, with notes in his pocket-book, may, as well as the merchant, not be able to meet his en- gagements ; but this failure is only an exception to his habitual punctuality ; and if the farmers in France do not fail, it is only because they are never punctual. Capitalists, being certain of their rents on the day, are the more disposed to under- take the draining of marshes, bringing wastelands into cultivation, and other extensive agricultural undertakings, requiring large advances. They are contented with a lower rent, and grant longer leases ; therefore the punctuality of the farmer turns to his advantage, as well as to that of his landlord, and industry is everywhere encouraged and active. The present distresses have occasioned several forced sales of lands, at low prices. An estate of 620 acres, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with a vein of coal estimated at L. 6000, the buildings VOL. II. d 50 DUNBAR — SEA-COAST* not in very good order, lias just been sold for L. 35,000 ; in prosperous times it was estimated at L. 57,000. After a residence of three months, we are going to leave Edinburgh, with feelings of regret and grati- tude for the many marks of good-will and kindness we have received. Taken altogether, I do not know any town where it would be pleasanter to live. It is, in a great degree, the Geneva of Britain. Feb. 24. — Dunbar, 28 miles from Edinburgh. In our way here we passed by the field of battle of Prestonpans, the first battle of the Pretender after his landing in 1745 ; 2400 Highlanders * de- feated a body of troops of the line, much more numerous, carried off their artillery sword in hand, killing or taking the whole of the infantry. If with less than 6000 men the Pretender was afterwards able to penetrate into the very heart of England, and maintain himself in Scotland for nine months, what might he not have done, if, instead of landing alone, France had given him 10,000 men to en- courage his adherents ? and yet this prince does not seem to have been a man of much talent. England, although this was just after Marlbo- rough's wars, had not then the military organiza- tion it has at present such a thing could not hap- pen now. As we approached Dunbar, we saw at a distance a fine foaming beach, and, taking advantage of the little remaining light, we hastened to it. It is the first time since we have been in this sea-girt em- pire that we have seen the surf raging on the * Home's History of the Rebellion. DUNBAR — ROCKS CASTLE. 51 coast, although we have travelled so long in sight of the sea. Feb. 26. — We paid yesterday morning another visit to the beach, and discovered such magnificent ruins of rocks, — saw such a promising storm ap- proaching, — the spring-tide also was to be so high in the afternoon, — that we could not withstand the temptation, and determined to stay all day, to con- template at leisure the beauties of the gale. A great mass of basalt forms here a bold pro- montory in the sea, very black and broken, and shewing distinctly in many places their prismatic columns. This basalt rests on a stratum of red sand-stone and indurated clay. The rocks are worn by the sea into the most fantastic forms, and pierced through into arches. Extensive ruins, in the last stage of decay, appear on the outermost extremity of the promontory, uniting extremely well with the rocks, and seeming in fact a part of them ; they belong to the castle where Bothwell took Queen Mary when she became his wife. Be- tween three and four o'clock the tide was at the highest, about 16 feet, and the wind east, and right on shore. The sea rushed with inconceivable fury among the rocks, making a fair breach over some insulated ones, forty or fifty feet high, with blows like the discharge of heavy artillery, — fully equal to the resounding of Niagara. Alternately covered and uncovered, they rose every time from under- neath the sea, huge, immoveable, and dark, amidst the retiring foam. The entrance of the little port of Dunbar, opening directly to the wind, received now and then such mountains of water, as threat- ened to overwhelm all within it. The strand, north of this rocky promontory, presented another as- pect. Here the lengthened surge was seen ad- 52 DUNBAR SEA-COAST. vancing slow along an even beach, curving its green top into an arch, and pouring over in a foaming cataract; each immense line of waves succeeded by another, with grace, ever new and inimitable. I saw thee seek the sounding shore, Delighted with the dashing roar, Or where the North his fleecy store Drove through the sky. It seemed as if we could not have enough of this magnificent view ; and notwithstanding the cold damp mist, the high wind, and spray of the sea, we did not leave the spot till night. Being over- taken by the tide in a nook of the shore, from which the retreat was difficult, my portfolio dropt in the water, and I was near losing all the sketches of the journey. I annex here three of this spot, Two frigates were lost on this dangerous coast, three miles from Dunbar, last December. I can- not resist the temptation of giving here a few lines by Mr Coleridge, very descriptive of English scenery, and of its insular situation. O, Albion ! O my mother isle ! Thy vallies, fair as Eden's bowers, Glitter green with sunny showers ; Thy grassy uplands, gentle swells, Echo to the bleat of flocks ; (Those grassy hills, those glittering dells, Proudly ramparted with rocks;) And Ocean, 'mid his uproar wild, Speaks safety to his island-child. Feb. 36. — We have travelled to-day along the sea-shore. The surf was moderate, meeting with fewer rocks than about Dunbar. Beyond the broad expanse of mild blue, a mist hung over the hori- 6 DUNGLASS— -FARMING. zon, through which a white sail was faintly seen, here and there, gliding along peacefully between two hostile shores. The country appeared highly cultivated, in large farms, as in Norfolk: — im- mense turnip-fields, with flocks of sheep feed- ing on the green part, and scooping out as much of the fresh root as they can, the deeper part remaining in the ground for manure. The frost is entirely out of the ground, and the grass shews already a tinge of green. Farmers are at work everywhere; five or six ploughs together in the same field, each with a fine pair of horses. Farm- houses in good repair, and cottages tolerably neat, but inferior to those of England. This scene of industry and rich agriculture was suddenly inter- rupted near the Press Inn by a heath of several miles, appearing just as fit for cultivation as the rest of the country, where farms rent at the exor- bitant price of eight or ten pounds the Scotch acre. The house of Sir James Hall (Dunglass,) is seen on a woody height, commanding an extensive view of the sea. The road crosses soon after a deep and narrow glen, by means of a bridge (Peas Bridge,) thrown across it, at a frightful height; the middle arch, for it has three, rests on two piers, or pilasters, 170 feet high; a zig-zag path takes you to the bottom of the ravine, where the prospect of the bridge above your head is as wonderful as the bird's-eye view from it. The road, lately put in complete order, was, for that very reason, the worst possible to travel on, being covered with a rough bed of broken whin, much in want of a rol- ler, or broad wheels, to smooth it down. We meet every instant with troops of jaded and dirty soldiers, travelling north, bound, we are told, to Musselburgh, to guard the depot of French pri- 64 BERWICK ALNWICK WINDMILLS. soners formed there. Carts full of women and children follow in the rear. All this is undoubtedly- very unprofitable labour, and should be avoided by all means. Berwick passes for a fortified place, although, I presume, quite incapable of resistance. Its walls afford at any rate a dry and airy walk, of about a mile, to the inhabitants. The troops were exer- cising ; they seemed to perform well, and had a good band of music. Feb. 27- — We are come to Alnwick, 29 miles from Berwick, the greatest part of the way in view of the sea, still glassy and blue, and dotted over with white sails. Farms in the best possible order, and on a great scale ; immense stacks of hay and straw, and out-houses without number. Windmills also innumerable, for grain and for oil; most of the large farms have one. Each of these mills has a small windmill, or rather wind wheel, behind, to work the cap round to the wind ; and not as in France, by means of a long lever, or tail, moved round by the miller to suit the wind. Some of the mills are so constructed, as to reef their sails by the mere force of the wind, when it reaches a cer- tain strength, or feather their arms of themselves. The hay or straw stacks, sliced down all round during the winter, are now reduced to the appear- ance of polygonal towers or pillars, 30 or 40 feet high, which still resist the wind and rain very well. These slices are cut with surprising neatness, from top to bottom of the stack, thatched roof and all, by means of a very sharp instrument. The ploughs and harrows, carriages and harness, tools and instruments of all sorts, are constructed here with a mechanical sagacity, which avoids all super- fluous weight, applies the strength precisely where ALNWICK— --CASTLE. 56 there is to be resistance, and, with true economy, spares no expence in securing convenience and duration. Man in England is, indeed, a tool- making animal. The first appearance of the castle of Alnwick is certainly very striking, and yet ridiculous. Its walls are defended by a garrison of stone figures, shewing themselves between the battlements in threatening attitudes ; some cf them armed cap-a- pee, — others stark naked, recruited indifferently from antiquity and from modern times. Hercules brandishes his club, and Apollo shoots his arrows, while British crossbow-men, arquebusiers, level their pieces at the assailants, and menials throw stones. We shall visit this puppet-show castle to- morrow, more at leisure. Feb, 28. — We went to the castle early this morning ; the apartments not visible on account of the recent birth of a grand-daughter of the Duke of Northumberland's. They must be dull, sur- rounded as they are by high walls, and the view from the windows being confined to a court-yard. The chapel is highly gilt, and gaudily ornamented; the pedigree of the Percys is inscribed on its walls, beginning by Charlemagne, 800, the Conqueror, 1060, &c. A place of Christian worship seems the most unfit imaginable for this display of worldly great- ness. Not far from the gay chapel are the dungeons, with their grated trap-doors and loop-holes. In a re- cess of the wall we observed a wheel with iron teeth and a chain, and shuddered at the sight of what we took for an instrument of torture ! — on inquiry, however, it turned out to be only an appendage of the dinner-bell. Some of the stone figures already mentioned are corroded by long exposure to the air, and worn to half their original size, while 35 ALNWICK — PARKS — NEWCASTLE. others appear quite whole and fresh. This led to the discovery, that this apparently old castle was in fact built only sixty years ago, but on the exact model of the old castle. Such of the old figures as could at all stand on their legs returned to their former station on the walls, while the others were made new from the chisel of an eminent stone-cutter of the neighbourhood. The Percys of the eighteenth century seem to have been bent upon shewing that they had not degenerated from those of the ninth in point of taste in the fine arts. The park and grounds were laid out by one Brown, as the gar- dener told us ; they are traversed by a stream of water, magnified into a river by being dammed up ; a magnificent bridge is thrown over it. The ground slopes to the river on both sides, and is covered with the usual green carpeting of smooth turf, and sprinkled over with clumps of trees, which are small, and make no great figure. The Duke of Northumberland's landed estate is said to yield the prodigious income of L. 150,000 sterling a- year. From Alnwick to Newcastle, 33 miles ; a continu- ation of the same rich, well -cultivated country, but bare of trees, and without any beauty. The inha- bitants strike us as better looking than in Scotland ; the women certainly are handsomer; the men have smaller features, — are more plump and rosy than the Scotch. The houses are much cleaner. The children we meet on the road stop and make a bow, which is not the custom in Scotland. The whin also, of which the roads are still composed, is broken in smaller pieces ; — everything thus bear- ing the marks of more advanced civilization. March 1 . — Mr J. of Newcastle, for whom our friend Dr H. of Edinburgh had given us a letter. NEWCASTLE — LANCASTERIAN SCHOOL. 5? had the goodness to shew us the curiosities of this town; — the glass-houses, and other manufactures; a school on Lancaster's plan, recently established, for 500 male children, and already full. The master conveys his directions by means of a telegraph. This mode of education is becoming more and more general. The number of scholars under a princi- pal master is almost unlimited, and therefore the expence much reduced, and within reach of any- body's means; the scholars are all employed at the same time, equally, and in concert, without crowd, confusion, or loss of time ; and, to sum up the ad- vantages of the method, children love the school, which accounts sufficiently for their progress. The clergy of the established church "is said not to like this novelty, and to see in it the means of aggrandizement for the different dissenting sects who have introduced or adopted it; yet these are only the means of instruction, equally applicable to any doctrine, and not particularly to those of their adversaries. The King, who is the head of that church, and all the royal family, have shewn more liberality, and protect, with laudable zeal, Mr Lancaster and his system. Instead of illuminating the town on the occasion of the late jubilee, in commemoration of the fiftieth year of his'Majesty's reign, with the rest of the kingdom, the inhabitants of Newcastle resolved to appropriate to this esta- blishment the sum which would have been ex- pended in oil and tallow, and gave it, in conse- quence, the name of the Jubilee School, inscribed on the door in compliment to the King, and the meritorious wish he is said to have expressed ; not exactly that of our great Henry the Fourth, who wished every peasant might be able to put la poule au pot every Sunday, — but, what may not be dif- 58 NEWCASTLE — COAL-MINES. ferent in its consequences, that each peasant might be able to read his Bible. The name of Newcastle is identified with that of coals, the country about containing immense strata of this mineral, which is the object of a great trade. There are farms under ground as well as on the surface, and leased separately. I know of a subterranean farm of this kind of 5000 acres, for which L. 3000 sterling a-year is paid, and a per centage depending on the quantity of coals extract- ed, which may double that rent. It is remarkable enough, that when the estate in which this mine is situated was sold, thirty years ago, the purchaser, refusing to pay a trilling consideration for the right of mining, this right, for which the former pro- prietor receives now L. 3000 a-year, possibly six or more, was reserved ; not that either party were ignorant of the existence of coals, but the steam- engine was not then so generally applied to mining, and the other branches of the art had not reached their present improved state ; — the consumption, likewise, was much less. Finally, what is now •worth L. 6000 a-year was not deemed worth one year's purchase thirty years ago. I accepted with pleasure an invitation to descend in a coal-mine. The mode is rather alarming. The extremity of the rope which works up and down the shaft being formed into a loop, you pass one leg through it, so as to sit, or to be almost astride on the rope; then, hugging it with both arms, you are turn- ed off' from the platform over a dark abyss, where you would hardly venture if the depth was seen. This was 63 fathoms deep (378 feet). One of the workmen bestrode the loop by the side of me, and down we went with considerable rapidity. The wall of rock seemed to rush upwards, — the dark- KEWCASTLE — COAL-MINES. 59 ness increased, — the mouth above appeared a mere speck of light. I shut my eyes for fear of growing giddy ; the motion soon diminished, and we touch- ed the ground. Here we stopped for two other per- sons. Each of us had a flannel dress and a candle, and thus proceeded through a long passage, — rock above, rock below, — and a shining black wall of coal on each side ; a rail-way in the middle for horses (for there are fifty or sixty horses living in this subterraneous world), to draw two four-wheel carriages, with each eight large baskets of coal ; these baskets are brought one at a time by diminu- tive waggons, on four little wheels, drawn or pushed by boys along other rail-ways, coming down the side streets to this main horse-road, the ceiling of which is cut in the main rock, high enough for a man to stand upright, while the side streets are no higher than the stratum of coals (4* feet), therefore you must walk stooping. The whole extent of the mine is worked in streets, intersecting each other at right angles, 24 feet wide and 36 feet asunder, leaving therefore solid blocks 36 feet every way. The miners have two enemies to contend with, air and water; that air is hydro- gen gas, continually emitted by the coals, with an audible hissing noise. The contact of the lights necessary to be used would infallibly set fire to the hydrogen gas, if allowed to accumulate, and either blow up or singe the miners severely; it is therefore necessary that there should be a con- tinual current of air going in and out by two dif- ferent issues. At the beginning of the works, and while there is only one shaft, this is effected by means of a wooden partition, carried down along the middle of the shaft, then along the first street opened, and so disposed afterwards, that the air 60 NEWCASTLE— COAL-MINES. which comes down the shaft on one side of the parti- tion, may circulate successively through each and every street before it returns up the otherdivision of the shaft, a small fire establishing and keeping up the draught. As to water, the dip, or inclination of the stratum of coals being known, all the art consists in making the first shaft in the lowest part of the tract ; a steam-engine at the top drains up the water, and draws up the coals. Wherever the shaft comes in contact with any stratum yielding water, it must be kept out by means of a drum, or lining of timber, made tight round the inside of the shaft. I saw a small spring of clear water issuing from the bed of coal below, near the sta- bles where the horses are kept, and serving to water them. These horses are in very good order; their coats soft and glossy, like the skin of a mole: they are conveyed down, or taken out, with great care and expedition, by means of a great net or bag. Some of the mines are more extensive than the city of Philadelphia, and their streets are as regu- lar. When the whole area is thus excavated in streets,it must not be supposed that the solid blocks are abandoned ; but, beginning at the furthest ex- tremity, the miners proceed to pull down all the blocks one after the other. Wlien a space of two or three hundred feet square has been thus left un- supported, the ceiling of solid rock begins to sag and crack, with a hideous noise; the workmen go on notwithstanding, trusting that the ceiling will not break down close to the blocks, but some way behind ; and such is the case, — the cracks grow wider and wider, — the rock bends down, coming at last in contact with the floor, — and the whole extent is thus filled up. On the surface of the ground^ NEWCASTLE COAL-MINES. 61 however, nothing is perceived ; the rocks are left to manage the business among themselves below. Houses, — and stone houses too, — remain standing, and their inhabitants sleep in peace all the while. The miners know, by the nature of the rocks they meet while sinking the shaft, when they ap- proach the coal, which is generally found between two beds of white sandstone. They sink the shaft at the rate of about two fathoms a- week. The consumption of London has increased one- fourth in the course of the few last years ; it amounts now to about 1,000,000 chaldrons, or 1,200,000 tons annually, forming 6000 cargoes of vessels of 200 tons each ; and as they perform twelve voyages a-year, the trade employs 500 ships ; the crews consist of two old sailors, for captain and mate, and seven or eight apprentices, all protected from impressment ; the two old men have L. 9 each a voyage. The mere coal trade between Newcastle and London is, therefore, a nursery for 4000 young sailors, and a preferment for 1000 old ones. The celebrated navigator, Captain Cook, had served his time on board a collier. The coal drawn to the surface of the soil is con- veyed to the lighters by means of low carriages, on four small wheels fixed to their axis, that their motion may be perfectly equal. They travel on rail-ways, which are composed of two bars of iron, upon which the wheels, which have grooves at their circumference, run without impediment. Ninety-two bushels, weighing about two tons, be- sides the waggon, are drawn by a single horse, with so much ease, that the driver is obliged, on the least descent of the road, to press on the wheel with a sort of lever, to retard its motion by the 62 NEWCASTLE — COAL-MINES. friction, that the carriage may not run too much on the horse. The lighters, called keels, of about fifteen tons, carry the coals on board vessels wait- ing in deep water. It is remarked, that the men employed under ground enjoy better health than those on the surface ; the regularity of temperature securing them against many disorders, and the air constantly renewed being sufficiently pure. Farming land leases here at L. 4 or L. 5 an acre for the best quality, and 30s. for the worst ; poor s- rates 5s. in the pound, or 25 per cent, on the rental! This institution of the poor's-rates is an unwholesome excrescence, which preys upon the vitals of society, and undermines its very existence; yet a certain native vigour of constitution has enabled it so far to bear with the disease, or it finds somewhere a sufficient corrective. There is not certainly any perceivable decay of industry ; vices and poverty are less apparent than in any country I know, without excepting the United States. The poor's-rates, as well as the income-tax on the rent, are advanced by the farmer, who pays also the same income-tax on his own profits as a farmer. Tim- ber is dearer here than in any other part of Eng- land or Scotland, owing to the great consumption in the coal mines. The stratum of coals in the county of Stafford is much thicker than here ; 30 feet, I understand, for an extent of 28 square miles-* The quantity extracted every week was estimated some years ago at 16,200 tons; while, one hundred years before, the whole annual pro- * There are beds of coals in Bohemia 90 feet in thickness. (Jameson's Geognosy.) It would be impossible probably to work this depth, unless the coal should happen to be very near the surface. COAL-MINES IRON-BRIDGE. 63 duce of that district was only 45,000 tons, — scarcely more than one-twentieth part. Miners say there is no advantage in this great thickness. The process is more expensive, and large pillars must be left ; a great quantity of small coals is abandoned, and in that state they are apt to catch fire. It is calculated, that, at the present rate of mining, the strata of Staffordshire must be ex- hausted in less than 300 years ; those about New- castle will not last near so long ; and at no very distant period, England will find it necessary to restrict the exportation of coals, which are cer- tainly the mainspring of its manufactures. The immense saving of manual labour by the steam- engine gives England a surplus of men for the navy and army, much more considerable than its population could otherwise afford without exhaust- ion. The continent of Europe draws from Eng- land, notwithstanding the war, a quantity of coals, necessary to some processes of the useful arts,* said to amount to L. 500,000 or L. 600,000 a-yearj some are exported to the West India Islands ; and, finally, the inhabitants of the larger seaport-towns of the United States warm themselves almost en- tirely with English coals, cheaper than the wood of their forests, — ten leagues of land-carriage being more expensive than a thousand leagues by sea. March 2. — Between Newcastle and Castle Eden we passed over the iron bridge at Sunderland, * At Hamburgh only, there are 500 sugar-houses which have stopped working for want of coal (perhaps also a little for want of sugar). The last of English coals, which used to be worth there 32 dollars, sells now at 300 dollars.— Oddy's Canal Navi- gation. 64 IRON BRIDGES — GUNNER'S POOL RIPPON. which is certainly a wonderful object, from its lightness and boldness j vessels with masts 100 feet high can pass under it. It was built fifteen years ago, and cost L. 36,000 ; a very small sum I think. A similar bridge was made and put together here, then taken down and sent to Jamaica, where it now stands, between Kingston and Spanish Town. The wind, which had been high ever since we left Edinburgh, blew to-day a perfect hurricane, and when we crossed the bridge it was really terrifying. The white crests of the waves of the ocean were visible all day in the distance on our left ; the country good and fertile, but not interesting. March 3.— Before we set out this morning, we walked to a very romantic spot called Gunner's Pool. It is an irregular valley, with fine crumbling rocks on each side, torn from each other by some violent convulsion of the earth ; the appearance of the whole being that of a wide rent of the earth across an extensive plain. A beautiful little stream winds along the vale, and very fine evergreens grow among the rocks. The situation is so shelter- ed, that grass is quite green, and many plants begin to shoot ; the buds of hazel-bushes shew already their beautiful little tassels of bright red. The wind is still so high, that many of the windmills, which are very numerous, are turning fast under bare poles, yet it was calm in the valley. Ploughs are at work everywhere, many with four horses in a line. March 4.—To Rippon, 22 miles. We have vi- sited to-day the ruins of Fountaine's Abbey ; they cover about five acres of ground, at the farthest ex- tremity of a peaceful and sequestered valley, per- haps 400 yards in breadth, and one mile in length, bounded on either side by rocks and trees, with a. STTJDLY PARK — NEWBY HALL. 65 clear stream of water winding along it. A high tower remains entire; too much so for beauty. The chapel, of which I took a drawing, is fine. The style of the ruins is, upon the whole, heavy ; but their extent, and particularly their situation, render them the most striking thing of the kind we have seen. There are six or seven immense yew- trees behind the abbey, — one is 28 feet in circum- ference ; they were there, and recorded as large trees before it was built (1*150) ! This beautiful valley and ruins are a mere ap- pendage of Studly Park, in which they are situ- ated. The grounds are varied, and planted with great judgment, principally with evergreens, which at this season appear in full glory ; several, how- ever, lay prostrate, broken down or uprooted by the wind. The silver firs are the finest trees here. The house itself does not correspond to the mag- nificence of the place. It seems as if a Gothic front had been tacked to it, so as to let a Grecian pediment peep over ; yet it looks well. The fine stream of the Abbey is, after leaving the valley, disfigured into some awkward, old-fashioned square ponds, in very bad taste. March 5. — York, by Newby Hall, 28 miles. Newby Hall is one of those innumerable fine houses, scattered over this country, which are al- lowed to be shewn to strangers. This one, how- ever, is distinguished from the crowd, by a collec- tion of antique marbles of much reputation. Mr W. the last proprietor, took the trouble of collect- ing himself abroad, at a vast expence, these remains of Grecian art. His Venus alone, we were told, c ost L. 15,000 sterling ; a great price, undoubtedly; but the satire of Voltaire will not apply here, for although achete cher, this is not amoderne antique. VOL. |I. e 66 YORK THE MINSTER. The attitude and size are those of the Medicean Venus, but the head is not good, shockingly stained besides, and the neck quite bad ; in other respects it is a fine statue. A large draped figure is next to this most admired ; the attitude nearly that of the Flora; the weight of the body resting on one leg, twists up the left hip too high, while the right hangs too low, — an affected sort of easy indolence, which would be in fact painful contortion. The drapery is well enough ; the head has no beauty. The artists of antiquity have necessarily produced many statues which were not chefs-d'oeuvre, and I cannot help thinking that most of those which have been brought into England were of that number. The garden of the inn we slept at last night had mezereon in full bloom, snow-drops, crocusses, and primroses; lilacs are nearly out, as also rose-bushes. This is just six weeks earlier than at New York, although the latter place is farther south than Rome and Naples. We have had for the last ten days the finest weather possible, only too windy. York is an old town, and of course very ugly, containing about 15,000 inhabitants. Its Minster is one of the wonders of England, 50 feet longer than Westminster Abbey, which is, I think, 520 feet. The main tower over the centre is heavy; the two lesser ones are much better ; the rest of the exterior is light and beautiful. The in- terior is very striking indeed, and superior to any thing we have yet seen, as to boldness, lightness, and prodigious high finish of the carving, — quite sharp and ^ jour. The figures introduced are in the usual barbarous grotesque style. The outside carving, originally as highly finished, having been much injured by time, is now undergoing thorough 6 YORK JUDGES ASSIZES — UNITARIANS. 6? repairs, or rather an entire new facing ; the modern carving is fully equal to the old, and made like in colour by oiling the stones. Beautiful as the in- side of the Minster undoubtedly is, I think it less striking than the inside of St Paul's ; the latter is something less in size, but its vast airy dome, and the wide area under it, produce a greater effect. The tower of a small Gothic church nearthe Mins- ter is remarkable light and beautiful. The windows of the Minster are too large, and admit too much light. On Sunday the judges, just arrived for the as- sizes, came to church en grand costume, with their huge powdered wigs, and black robes ; but all their smartness was lost upon us, who had just seen the Scotch judges dressed in white and pink satin. The mayor and corporation swelled the train, and in the rear footmen in white liveries, and large nosegays at the button- hole ; the whole town was in motion. The assizes in a country town are an event; and it puts me in mind of Mad. de Stael's witty remark, " On ne s'y amuse une fois, que pour decouvrir que Ton s'y ennuie tous les jours." The chanting was very good, and the voices of some of the young choristers admirable, but the organist flourished too much. The same day we went to the Unitarian chapel, where we expected to hear Mr W. preach ; but the New England tone and pronunciation soon informed us that our godly instructor came from the other side of the Atlantic. Travelling as well as ourselves in this distant coun- try, chance had thus brought us together, — he to give, and we to receive edification. The mode of worship of the Unitarians has the defect of being too rational ; their service resembles in its extreme simplicity that of the French Protestants, among 68 YORK — FRENCH PROTESTANTS REV. S. S. whom I was born. The English sectaries, however, have greatly the advantage in other respects ; they profess openly, in perfect liberty and peace, the faith of their conscience, and sing the praises of God to the sound of the organ in their own town, while those of France were obliged to meet by stealth, in secret and lonely places. I have seen in the mountains of the Vivarois a Protestant minister preach from the hollow trunk of an old chesnut- tree, and heard the rocks of the wilderness re-echo the psalms of King David, sung with the fervour of primitive zeal, in language piously barbarous. We had the pleasure of seeing here a preacher of another sort, the Rev. S. S. who has been the delight of the devout fashionables of the capital ; it is not, however, in this character we have known him, but in his own house, where, among his friends, he is a most agreeable companion. He has the reputation of being one of the most lively writers of the Edinburgh Review, and serious too, when he pleases. His countenance struck me as very like that of the unfortunate Louis XVI., with more vivacity in the eye. There is near York a retreat for lunatics, which appears admirably managed, and almost entirely by reason and kindness ; it was instituted by the Quakers. Most of the patients move about at liberty, without noise and disorder, and by their demure and grave deportment shew they have not quite forgotten to what sect they belong. We ob- served, however, in a great garden or court, some men in broad brim hats, walking about in a hur- ried agitated manner, with their hands in their coat-pockets, where we found at last they were confined. The lowest only of the patients are al- lowed to be seen; for the Quakers recognize in practice some inequalities of rank. It is impos- YORK — QUAKER LUNATIC ASYLUM. 69 sible, however, to blame those who wish not to expose the infirmities of their friends to the idle gaze of the curious. The mistress of the house is a good-looking, portly lady, lately married to the keeper, both Quakers. You cannot say of this couple, with Moliere, « Du cote de la barbe est toute la puissance 5" for all the consequence and the talents seem here on the side of the lady, and her husband appears merely her deputy. The frame of the windows is of iron, which saves the appear- ance of grates. Some of the patients are allowed to go out of the premises* and even to town alone. The directress told us, that, having been indisposed in consequence of a fall, and some little dispute having arisen some time afterwards with one of the female patients, the latter said to her, " I am sorry to see that since thy fall thee hast not been quite right, and if it should last we shall be obliged to take care of thee !" We heard some other curious traits; I shall mention only the following. A young and stout female patient, displeased with one of the servants, threw her down on the floor, and holding her there said, " What should hinder me from strangling thee ? I am mad ; they could not hang me for it !" In fourteen years 154 patients have been admitted 5 of which 73 have been cured, 24 have died (three by suicide), and 57 remain. There are more women than men. The most ordinary causes are love, reli- gion, pride, and reverses in fortune ; two of these causes apply more particularly to the sex, — the other two are equally divided. I have been told by a well- informed person, born a Quaker, that there are more instances of insanity among that persuasion than among other people ; the rich particularly are most exposed to this calamity. Commerce and 70 YORK — QUAKER LUNATIC ASYLUM — MADNESS. manufactures are nearly the only professions from which Quakers do not exclude themselves ; but the sons of rich merchants, caring little about trade, and almost all kinds of amusements, the fine arts, and certain departments of literature, falling un- der the same interdiction, nothing remains but ennui, nervousness, and at last insanity. Dr John- son, who was well qualified to judge of mental maladies, said of one of his friends, " He would not have drowned himself if he had known how to hem a pocket-handkerchief." The cir- cumstance of the Quakers building this lunatic asylum entirely for themselves, recalled to my mind what happened to me once in travelling through a back-settlement of America. Observing in the house of a settler an apparatus to distil spirits, I asked him how he could expect a sale for the liquor in so remote a situation? <{ Oh!" he answered, " it is only for family use." The Rev. S. S. who had the goodness to accom- pany us, said he had understood there was an un- due proportion of tailors among mad people. I would not answer that this remark was to be taken seriously. The profession has a certain degree of ridicule attached to it in England, and is obnoxious to certain jokes, which, although neither very new nor very refined, genuine mirth is not so fastidious as to disdain. Madness appears to be fatally common in Great Britain, and among the higher ranks, as well as among quakers and tailors. I have heard of three families of Scotch dukes, in which there have been, from time to time, cases of this kind, and eleven earls' families. My informant, who was not so well acquainted with the state of noble brains in the southern section of the island, could YORK — SCORBUTIC AFFECTIONS — MINSTER. 71 not name more than three families of mad English dukes ; and the case of an illustrious personage be- longs by blood rather to Scotland than to England : Yet the Scotch talk of this calamity as afflicting peculiarly England, — seeing the mote in their brother's eye, and not the beam in their own. It has long been my opinion, said Horace Walpole, that the out-pensioners of bedlam are so nume- rous, that the shortest and cheapest way would be to confine in Moorfields the few that remain in their senses, who would then be safe, and let the rest go out at large. Scorbutic affections, the scrofula and pulmonary consumptions seem more general here than in most other countries. If the first of these disorders is occasioned by the gradual abstraction of oxygen producing prostration of strength, and at last the extinction of the spontaneous motion of the mus- cles of the heart ; while, on the contrary, the consumption is produced by too much oxygen in the blood, it seems strange that these two disor- ders should be equally prevalent at the same time, and in the same place. An ingenious English physician, Dr Beddoes, observed that the scurvy raged with more violence at sea after a storm or a battle ; while the motion of the sea, and exercise in general, are, on the contrary, favourable to consumptions. We were shown, at the Minster, gold-rings of tolerable workmanship, with stones in them, found in coffins of prelates, lately broken up ; one had the date of 1410 upon it, another 1245. York is very old. It was a considerable town in the time of the Romans. The fort was built by William the conqueror, and the heavy tower, on a mound, is of much more remote antiquity. 72 RENT OF LAND ASSIZKS ENGLISH HUMANITY, Over the gates of the town, and indeed at the entrance of most towns or villages, you see written a notice, " to vagrants, and other idle and disor- derly persons; — that such as maybe found in it will be proceeded against with the utmost rigour of the law;" that is to say, of the poor laws, of which an account has been given. Land rents at the exorbitant rate of 7 or L. 8 an acre near York, and a few miles farther, at 4 or L. 5, but farmers complain, and some of them fail. March 11. — We are just returned from Castle Howard. Traversing York this morning, in our way there, we met the judges going to open the sessions, with the same wigs and the same train as yesterday. The whole town was in motion, — the streets full of misses in white muslin, — citizens in dark blue coats, carefully brushed, glossy hats, and shining boots, — and military people in red. It seemed a day of rejoicing ; and in fact the whole time of the sessions is a period of amusement; yet we learn that the prisons here are unusually full. There are eight cases of murder, and among them a young couple for beating their own child, an infant, to death. One might be disposed to judge unfavourably, at first sight, of people who take this time for rejoicing ; but the extraordinary concourse of people, and not their purpose, is the occasion of it. The English think very highly of their own humanity ; I am willing to admit they are not inhuman, although their history is undoubt- edly very sanguinary. More blood has been spilt here by the sword of the law than anywhere else — in France by the hands of the mob, or mob tribu- nals. There is nothing in the English history to match the French St Barthelemy, or the late phrenetic period of revolution. But England, in CASTLE HOWARD — LAND. 73 times of good order, and regular government, was in the habit of shedding on the scaffold, reign after reign, the blood of her noblest and most illustrious citizens. The French have shown, perhaps, more genuine ferocity, the English a hardier and more inexorable character. The road to Castle Howard is uninteresting j we saw nothing but flat waste lands, where " the furze" and nothing else, " its rugged aspect rear- ed, " although to appearance perfectly fit for cul- tivation, and farms so very dear in the neighbour- hood. What an immense proportion of waste land must there have been a century ago, when the population was little more than half what it is now.* You first see Castle Howard at the distance of about a mile ; it presents a wide and magnificent front, with a dome over it— a dark back-ground of wood, and a whole country evidently belonging to it, give it the appearance of a French royal residence of Louis the Fourteenth's time. The approach, however, is poor and neglected. Paltry wooden barricades cross the road at every 200 yards, without any apparent use, and now and then a clumsy arch or gateway of massy stone, with certain pyramidal ornaments in bad taste. Within half a mile of the house carriages stop at the last gateway, where there is an inn. You then walk on through an irregular avenue of beech- es, moderately fine, and planted too close together, to an obelisk, on the face of which a versified in- * The population of England and Scotland was, in 1700, 6,500,000; in 1750,7,870,000; and in 1801, the last census, 11,314,138- 74 CASTLE HOWARD PICTURES. scription informs you that an Earl of Carlisle, of the Howard family, made these plantations between the years 1703 and 1731, and lays an injunction on his posterity to be very thankful for the same. You then turn to the right, still under an avenue of beech-trees j — fat deer lying lazily all about the lawns, undisturbed by your approach, even by the noise of a pack of hounds in full cry at no great distance. The house, when seen near, loses much of its magnificence as a whole, and gains nothing in point of details. It is too low,— there are too many windows, — in fact it does not look well. It is esteemed, however, one of the best works of Vanbrugh. On one side there is a fine wood, in front an artificial piece of water of considerable extent, but not of the least beauty, the banks being flat and naked. The inside of the house has nothing wor- thy of notice but the pictures. One of the first seen is covered with a curtain, which, when drawn aside, shows you an adoration of the wise men of the East, by Mabenge, a Flemish painter, whose name 1 never heard of before, nor wish to hear again. It is decidedly a bad picture, curious, perhaps, on account of its freshness, smoothness, and wonderful state of preservation, although 300 years old ; just like (in that respect only) Leonardo de Vinci's pictures. A portrait of Henry VIII. by Holbein, very bad, as every- thing is of his which I have seen. A portrait of Lady Carlisle, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, quite fad- ed. A full length one of Omai by the same artist ; less faded, with a good expression. Then comes a room hung with pictures from the Orleans gallery ; one of them has the honour of the curtain the three Maries, very famous, and most justly CASTLE HOWARD PICTURES — LEEDS. 7<3 so; I never saw anything comparable to it. The dead body of Christ is partly supported by the Virgin Mary, who, fainting, reclines back on Mary the mother of James. Mary Magdalen looks over with an expression of distress quite wonderful, while the mother of the virgin appears divided between her own affliction, and apprehension for her daughter. All here is grandeur, correctness, profound and just feeling. Next to this chef d'ceavre of Annibal Caracci, is another picture by him, really very bad. Above that is a good pic- ture of Luduvico Caracci,— again our Saviour's sepulchre. A good Dominichino. A portrait of Snyder, the painter of animals, by Vandyke, ex- cellent. There are many more pictures of less note ; and in an unfinished adjoining gallery such a collection of daubs ready to be hung up, as I never saw before ; with the exception of two good cattle pieces by Rosa de Tivoli, and a large pic- ture by Sarrazin. There are many antique busts and small statues, — very few above mediocrity. A Persian tapestry decorates one of the rooms in the Chinese taste, and is bad enough; also some Go- belins still worse, — and bad taste is less excusable there ; shepherds and shepherdesses in the old fashioned absurd celadonic costume of hoops and flounces, wasp shapes, and powdered heads. The bad taste of a distant country is far less insupport- able than that of your own. March 12. — We took leave of our friends after dinner, and are settled at Leeds for the night, 22 miles, through a rich and highly cultivated country, farm-houses in sight everywhere, with their usual appendages, in great order, and the polygonal pillars of hay already mentioned. Large fields fresh ploughed, black and smooth, others LEEDS — CLOTHIERS' II ALL. ploughing, always with horses, never with oxen. Farmers riding among their workmen, — great flocks of sheep confined by net-fences in turnip fields. The meadows are of the most vivid green, and the trees are budding, much as about New York a month later; — the weather so fine and mild as to travel with the glasses down. Stage-coaches pass us continually with their absurd lading of passen- gers on the top, — twelve or fifteen nodding heads. The night had closed when we approached Leeds, and from a height, north of the town, we saw a multitude of fires issuing, no doubt from furnaces, and constellations of illuminated windows (manu- factories) spread over the dark plain. We soon reached streets of good-looking shops, and stopped at the door of the inn, — a large bustling one, always less comfortable than those of lesser towns. March 13. — After breakfast a lady (Mrs R.) for whose nephew we had a letter, called on us in his absence, and offered very obligingly to show us the lions of the place, which she did with equal good nature and intelligence. The clothiers' hall is a vast quadrangular fire- proof building round a court-yard ; it is the joint property and warehouse of 2000 private manufac- turers, half-farmers, who have only a loom or two kept going at leisure times. Twice a-week, for one hour, they appear each at his stand, two and a half feet wide, and perhaps ten feet deep, with their stock piled up behind them, and samples in their hands. These stands are arranged on each side of a long gallery, with a passage between. The merchants walk along the double line com- paring their orders with the samples, and making purchases, generally at a uniform price. There is a great deal of business done in a very short « LEEDS — BROAD-CLOTH — HOSPITAL. 77 lime, and with very few words, although many of the stands are occupied by women, as our con- ductress informed us. This is a respectable set of people, and a pleasing instance of domestic manufactures, so preferable to the crowds and depravity of great establishments. Cloth has lately fallen in price from 33 to 25 shillings, in consequence of the increasing obstructions to the British trade. The men, whose business is the combing and shearing the cloth, work by the piece, and earn 5s. a day, by working from four in the morning to eight at night. They are described as very ex- travagant and very poor ; brutified, vicious, and troublesome to their employers. They see, with an evil eye, a machine about to be set up, to do this work by the steam-engine, and disturbances are apprehended. We have observed the mark of Jbumaux freres, de Sedan, on pieces of broad-cloth destined for the continent. The hospital, or infirmary, is remarkable for the good order and cleanliness of its interior; the patients are placed in rooms, not wards, from four to eight in each. The only improvement the philanthropic Howard, visiting this hospital, could suggest, was, that there ought to be a sufficient number of apartments for some of them in rotation, to remain unoccupied for some weeks, which was done accordingly. This town has doubled in the last twenty years, therefore a great part of the buildings are modern and comfortable, with gardens, planted squares, and flowers in every window. We were shown a good library and reading-room ; the librarian is a Jady. We left Leeds late in the day, and, in conse- 75 SHEFFIELD— MINES. quence of a scarcity of horses on the road, we could not proceed farther than Barnsley (twenty miles) ; and here we are in the worst inn which we have met with in this country. Such as it is, I have not the least doubt it would be deemed ex- cellent in the interior of France. The country we have passed is rich, unequal, and affording fine views. There is a coal-mine at Barnsley, the stratum of which is ten feet thick at the depth of 100 yards, — a cart-load costs 14s. March 14. — Sheffield is another steam-engine town, all iron, and steel, and smoke, but we shall see enough of all this at Birmingham. These Cy- clops, however, have very pretty country-houses, all fresh and green, round their smoky workshop, — mostly on. the slope of a hill, from which the view is very extensive, over a rich and fertile country, Wentworth castle, apart from these plebeian boxes, overlooks, from an elevated situation, its extensive domains, dark woods, and lawns, and grazing herds of deer. An obelisk, a mile and a half off, shows that the grounds cover a whole country. Distant views opened every moment, covered with a grey mist, and here and there columns of smoke rising slow in lazy folds, from iron-works and steam-engines over coal-pits. The sky was pale blue, without a cloud ; larks sung over our heads, and all the birds of the spring swarmed about the hedges, where the woodbine was out in leaves. Soon after Sheffield, the landscape became very- wild. Immense beds of sandstone, nearly .hori- zontal, break suddenly into spacious gaps, as if the surface or crust of the earth had sunk into some internal cavities; — the sides correspond to each other, and split into enormous square blocks. Next came extensive moors of brown heath and CASTLETON — PEAK'S HOLE. 79 peat lands. Heaps of rubbish on the slope of hills, indicate the opening of iron-mines. On approaching Castleton, our quarters for the night, the very old castle, from which it derives its name, appears behind, on the brow of a high per- pendicular rock. It was a ruin at the time of the Romans, who called it Arx Diaboli, and its origin was then unknown. * With a guide, who introduced himself on our arrival, we proceeded immediately to the renowned cavern, called the Peak's Hole, at the foot of the rock of the castle. I was struck, on approaching it, with its resemblance to the rock of the fontaine de Vaucluse. The entrance is 120 feet wide, and 70 feet high. Advancing under the spacious dome, we were surprised to see several small houses lost in its immensity, and a number of twine-makers, who have been in possession of this work-shop time immemorial. These objects, instead of degrading the majesty of the place, add to it by their lowliness. Here we received each of us a lighted candle, and, descending by a nar- row passage at the extremity of the first cavern, we soon came to a little lake of very clear water, covering the area of a second cavern, the ceiling of which was so low, that, crossing the water in a boat, you are obliged to lie down. On landing on the other side, we found ourselves in the third di- vision of this subterranean suite of apartments. This one, still more vast than the first, is 250 feet square, and ISO feet high. The guides, who un- derstand their business, prepare here a little coup- * The Romans worked the Derbyshire mines. A bar of lead has been found in one of them, with the name of one of the Empe- rors.— Maine's Derbyshire. $0 CASTLETON PEAK's-HOLE. de-theatre for the curious under their protection Some children, brought up to the part they are to act, reach the spot before-hand, and, ascending a sort of natural circular gallery at a great height, place themselves in picturesque attitudes, with lights in their hands, and sing. The effect produced by these angels of darkness is undoubtedly very striking. You next come to a long passage, and a slippery descent of 150 feet, so low that you cannot stand upright without danger for your head against sharp inequalities of the rock ; and, however fatal a place of this sort may be to the lustre of a new hat, I would not advise any body to leave it at the en- trance of the cavern, as I had done. You meet here with a stream of water flowing rapidly along, which must be crossed several times by means of stepping-stones, or upon the ready back of the guide. The stream soon finds its way through a side-opening in the rock, where it is lost. At last, after a toilsome journey of perhaps half a mile, you reach nearly the farthest extremity of the ca- vern, and must make haste to turn back before the candles are burnt out, which would leave you in a distressed plight. The children and their lights surprise you again on your return in a new and beautiful situation ; but the most striking part of the whole is, the distant reappearance of day-light illuminating the arch of the great entrance. The whole interior cavern is at times full of water. An internal stream rushes out of the rock, and in again at another place, but never reaches the great entrance. After the waters have subsided, stones are found of a nature totally different from the surrounding rock, as well as plants and sticks. The body of a snake, or some long shaped fish, is shown in the rock, which is calcareous. CAStfLEf ON— -SPEEDWELL LEAD-MINE. 81 After a hasty dinner, we set out again with our guide for another subterraneous expedition, bent upon fulfilling to the utmost our duties as tourists. The night was beautiful, clear, starry, and cool, and the hills illuminated with fires of furze and broom. At the entrance of the Speedwell lead-mine, we were provided each with a candle, and descended 106 slippery steps in the rock ; at the bottom of whicli we found a boat, and embarked on a subter- ranean canal seven feet wide, filling a horizontal gallery wholly cut in the rock, with about two feet of water. The long narrow boat glided along swift- ly, impelled by the men giving a shove now and then against the rock on either side. A noise, as of a distant cataract, soon attracted our attention, and, increasing every moment, would certainly have occasioned great terror, if we had not been confident that our conductors knew what they were about. At last, when the noise was at the loudest, we emerged suddenly from the narrow gallery into open space and darkness ; a cavern of immeasur- able height above, and, close to us on the left, an abyss, into which the water of our canal, and a pretty considerable stream, coming from higher parts of the cavern, fell over a low stone wall, which alone prevented our boat from sliding in. It was rather a frightful sight. One of the miners, climbing up the rocks on the right a good way with some dry wood, provided for the purpose, lighted a fire, which discovered to us vast recesses ; but there was still a space above which reflected no light. Sky-rockets have been sent up in the vast void without meeting the top. Miners have been let down the water-fall by a rope, and found, at 90 feet depth, an immense reservoir, into which they threw the lead, which touched only at 300 vol. II. f 82 CASTLETON SPEEDWELL LEAD-MINE. feet. An old miner who was in the boat, told us of their surprise and terror, when, after years of labour, (five or six years, I think) and, piercing about 900 yards into the rock in search of veins of lead, of which they found now and then speci- mens, they broke suddenly into this great cavern, and heard the tremendous rushing of water. They soon, however, not only familiarized themselves with the cataract, but thought of profiting by it ; and building the low wall already mentioned, across the very brink of the fall, threw two feet of water in their gallery, which made it navigable. They then began another gallery in a line with the first, on the other side of the cavern. Five or six years more, and a progress of another half mile, brought them to a second cavern, not so high or deep as the first, but extending infinitely further. They explored it for three miles without finding the extre- mity. The area is very rugged and irregular, and there is no knowing exactly where it ends. But there is a sensible current of air through it ; the flame of candles pointing always to one side, and burning bright, and the respiration of men quite free. All the stones and rubbish of the second gallery were thrown into the waterfall without any perceivable diminution of depth. The whole work lasted eleven years. No vein sufficiently rich to pay the expence was discovered ; but it will remain a lasting monument of industry and perseverance, though unhappily not rewarded; and afford a curious insight into the interior state of calcareous rocks, which seem all to be more or less intersected with such immense caverns, and reser- voirs of springs and rivers. Beautiful crystals of carbonate of lime, known by the name of Derby- shire spar, and remains of fish and plants, are dis- CHATSWORTH — STONY MIDDLETON. S3 covered every day in excavating the mines of this neighbourhood. There are several other level galleries in Derbyshire longer than that of the Speedwell mine ; — one is four miles long. On our return, one of our miners, a dwarfish old man, re- galed us with a song, " Black-eyd Susan" in a voice of thunder, as little harmonious as it was powerful. March 1.5. — Our first stage this morning was Chatsworth. The road, on leaving Castleton, as- cends for half an hour, affording fine views. — Pounded marble and calcareous spar sparkled everywhere in the sun. It is the finest weather imaginable ; — not a cloud in the horizon. We observed a number of men peeling off the surface of a heath by the laborious process de- scribed before, burning it in heaps, and scattering the ashes. This does not answer, we are told, for peat land, which requires lime. Our road lay through a romantic glen, called Stony Middleton. The rocks stand insulated like ruins of castles, and walls covered with ivy, multi- tudes of rooks flying among them. A rapid stream of very clear water runs through the glen. At the extremity of this beautiful solitude, we found our- selves face to face with a huge cotton-manufactory, six stories high, presenting nearly 200 windows ; an old fashioned parterre, with box borders and clipt trees in front of it. It was a contrast, indeed, with what we had just left. The steam-engine is a good security against similar profanations in fu- ture. From the inn at Chatsworth, we walked across the park to the house, which is extremely hand- some and palacedike, more so indeed than any house we have seen in England, although not so 84 CfcATSWORTH — CHATSWORTH-HOUSE. large as some others. It is built half way up a slop- ing lawn, terminated at the bottom by a very pret- ty lively stream, and above, behind the house, by lofty woods. Fine single trees dispersed over the lawn ; a good-looking stone-bridge over the river. The domestics of these noble houses are gene- rally as obsequious as inn-keepers, and from the same motives. Porters, footmen, gardeners, wait- ed upon us immediately. The apartments have nothing remarkable ; gobelin tapestry, old, faded, and in wretched taste ; and numerous pictures still worse. It is quite inconceivable, that a person of so cultivated a taste as the last Duchess, should have been able to bear the sight of these daubs. We hear, indeed, that, for many years, she did not come here. The household seemed to have great hopes from their young master, who, the gardener informed us, cares more about the beauties of the place than his father. Exactly behind the house, and looking up towards the top of the hill, you see, between two lines of lofty wood, a flight of colossal stone steps, straight like Jacob's ladder, terminated at the top by a temple with a metal cupola. The gardener made a sign, and water flowed over this cupola and down the sides of the temple, and burst from the ground before it, then began to fall from step to step, sweeping off and carrying along the accumulated dirt of the winter, covering the whole in due time with a sheet of foam, and spark- ling in the sun. Water falling from a height among trees and verdure must be a pretty sight at any rate j but it is impossible to have the thing with less effect than here. Were I the Duke of Devon- shire, however, I do not believe I should demolish the steps ; — they are the curious, and perhaps unique remains of the bad taste and magnificence CHATSWORTH — CHATSWORTH-HOUSE. 85 of the beginning of the last century ; precisely like the royal cascade of St Cloud, which used to play on Sundays for the amusement of the badauds de Paris, in the times of good Louis. There is here another hydraulic curiosity, still more absurd, yet strictly classical ; our old royal houses had many such ; it is a metal tree, of which every branch is a pipe, every leaf and every bud a sy- ringe ; the very grass round the tree hides ends of pipes, ready to sprinkle the curious unexpectedly. This practical joke is fallen into disuse, which our conductor seemed to regret. The waters of Chats- worth are finally tortured into several jets-d'eau, rising together from the same basin, abundantly, vigorously, and, in spite of bad taste, with a very good grace. The gardener was anxious that we should place ourselves at the right point, to see a double rain-bow in the spray. The lawn is in some places a thick moss, so deep and elastic, that you seem to walk on a mattress; — this is quite dis- agreeable. The gardener told us, it was not meant to be so ; and that the mere application of lime would soon destroy the moss, and revive the grass, without ploughing. The house has two or three rooms, called the apartment of Queen Mary, although built only a hundred years ago ; but the old mansion, on the same spot, had been one of her prisons, and the furniture of her apartment was transferred to these rooms. The bed in which she slept is silk, and in tolerable preservation. The edifice is built of a very beautiful cream-coloured stone, quarried on the spot ; — carving is not spared ; the chisel has been at work everywhere ; and there is here a little of that overcharge of ornaments, observable 86 MATLOCK SCENERY. in the architecture of the beginning of the last cen- tury. In other respects it is very good. Our second stage has been Matlock, (28 miles to-day ;) the country varied, cultivated like a gar- den, and covered with gentlemen's houses ; ele- gant cottages and farm-houses ; spires and towers of small Gothic churches, some of them very beau- tiful, peeping over groves of trees : — The general appearance of things certainly much superior to that of Scotland. There are poor people here un- doubtedly at 2s. 6d. a-day ; and the 4s. or 5s. in the pound of the poor's rates are not paid for no- thing ; yet, I do not know how it is, these poor are not seen ; and if it was not for the usual threaten- ing notices, at the entrance of towns and villages, against " vagrants found loitering" &c. a travel- ler would not suspect there were such persons. The expedient the great Frederick had adopted, to prevent dragoons falling from their horses, is well known ; he had them flogged. And 44 cer- tain it is," an officer said to Dr Moore, " they no longer fall." Perhaps the fear of overseers pre- vents the English falling into poverty. We see, with regret, the finest hedge-row trees falling under the axe everywhere, and yet, if it had not been for the use made of them, they never would have been planted. There is still a suffi- cient number remaining to give to the country that woody appearance peculiar to English land- scape. A large piece of timber is a mine ; and, in order to dispose of it to the best advantage, a temporary shed is sometimes erected by it, parti- cularly if it is an ash, to work it on the spot into pieces fitted for various purposes, calculating and combining so exactly, as to waste nothing. The vale of Matlock is renowned for its beauty. VALE OF MATLOCK ASHBORN. 87 It presents, on the opposite side of a boisterous stream, vertical cliffs of calcareous rocks, worn, broken, and cavernous, edged with trees above and below. Several mineral springs flow down to the river; and this is one of the places of general re- sort for people who want to be cured, or for those who want to be amused ; but this is not the season ; it is empty, and we have our choice of hotels. The one where we are has a tepid bath, or at least not quite cold, 20 feet wide, 40 feet long, and four feet deep, incessantly renewed by a natural spring bubbling up in the middle ; the temperature of which is always 68? or 69? of Fahrenheit, and per- fectly clear and pure. The whole country about is honey-combed, or perforated with mines of lead, of coals, and other minerals. Their galleries have led to the discovery of innumerable grottos and caverns. We penetrat- ed half a mile into one of them, which extends ho- rizontally to a much greater distance, branching out in many directions ; some of which have been walled up, to prevent some of the keener tourists being lost in the intricate mazes, and all their dis- coveries along with them. The rocks yawn in frightful rents above and below, and enormous blocks lie about detached, nobody can tell from where. The sides are in many places resplendent with bright incrustations and rhomboidal crystals of calcareous spar ;~-in low places, you may get honourable wounds from their sharp projections, if you forget to stoop. This cavern was quite dry and clean. We have seen several goitres, although not large, since we entered Derbyshire; — we did not observe any in the Highlands of Scotland. March 16.-— To Ashborn, 12 miles. On leav- ing Matlock, we saw, on the left, across the little 06 ASHB011N ILAM. river, and in a beautiful and commanding situation, a good house, which we were told is the residence of Sir Richard Arkwright, whose name is associated with the ingenious invention of spinning-jennies. We then ascended a very long hill, treading on specimens of spar, and tempted to pick up every bright fragment we saw, till the weight of our pockets, and the impossibility of keeping all, made us throw away nearly the whole. From the top of the hill, we looked down upon the high rocks of Matlock and Sir Richard Arkwright's house, the woody valley and river at bottom, all sunk together far below the horizon and intervening landscape. From Ashborn we went to Ham, a show-place from which we did not expect much pleasure ; we found it, however, very beautiful ; rocks, wood, water,^ all is admirable. Two large springs burst out of the earth, forming by their junction the river Manifold. Five or six miles from this place, and about the same distance from each other, these two springs are lost under ground ; and, after travelling through some of the numerous subter- ranean cavities, so common in this part of the country, reappear here. Light bodies thrown in where they disappear, come out here. Congreve sometimes inhabited Ham ; and a stone-seat and table are shown in the grounds where he wrote his Old Batchelor. There is here an hydraulic contrivance, so sim- ple and ingenious that 1 am tempted to give the description of it. The point d'appui, or centre of gravity (A), of the scale (D E), rests on two beams (BC). The arms (A D) and (A E) extend about six or seven feet on each side of the centre. The basins or tubs (G) and (H), hanging from the two extremities of the arms, ILAM — HYDRAULIC MACHINE. 89 have each a hole at the bottom, covered by a valve orlid,(I) and (K), attached to rods kept steady- in their perpendicular position by braces in (L) and (Y), through which, and through other holes in cross bars (M) and (N), the rods or tails of the valves play freely up and down. The arm (D) being elevated, the water of a spring pouring at (F) runs down the inclined channel (FD), and falls into the tub (H), which filling, its weight (ten or fifteen gallons) brings down arm (D) ; but just before the tub touches the ground, the lid or valve (I), is lifted by means of its rod, which has a button at the top, being stopped in its passage through bar (M) ; the water therefore runs out. In the meantime, tub (G) has been lifted up and filled by its own inclined plane (F E) ; it now goes down and is emptied in the same manner as the other, and so on alternately. The water is received by the two forcing pumps (P) and (Q) which are worked alternately by the motion of the scale-beam, as the figure shows. The water is forced up to the house about 30 or 40 feet, in 90 DOVE-DALE — LICHFIELD. a constant stream. The machine has been in ac- tion for the last 40 years with very little repair ; and, to appearance, the original cost could not well exceed 10 guineas, exclusive of the pipes. Returning from Ham to Ashborn, (five miles) we stopped, and walked up Dove-Dale, about one mile and a half ; — night coming on prevented our penetrating further. It is a narrow iregular dale, with a tine clear rapid stream running through it ; the two sides are herissee with insulated rocks, standing up on end like ruins and spires. At the place where we stopped, and from whence we turned back, a high rock, thin and perpendicular Jike a wall, and perforated, appeared before us similar to a vast triumphal arch. Twenty paces behind that, the mouths of two caverns were seen, so dark, solitary, and desolate, as really to excite involuntary terror at the approach of night. Farther up the dale, as far as we could see, it seemed to contract more and more, and to improve in horrors. The triumphal arch was quite insulated, situated far above the water, full a hundred feet, and it is impossible to conjecture how it was form- ed. We regret having had only a glimpse of this extraordinary scenery, which is more Scotch than anything we see in Scotland. The name had de- ceived us, but it has much more of the character of the eagle than of the dove. March 17. — Birmingham, by Lichfield, 45 miles. The approach to Lichfield is marshy and disagree- able. Its cathedral, 100 feet shorter than York Minster, is however magnificent ; the carving in- side as perfect ; the light better, that is, higher and less of it, and the painted windows vastly supe- rior to anything we have seen in brightness of co- lour, drawing, and composition. I saw the dates of LICHFIELD — BIRMINGHAM — MANUFACTORIES. 91 1532, 1537, 1538, and 1539, in different parts of the windows. They belonged originally to a church in the Netherlands, and were brought to England upwards of 200 years ago. The cathedral itself was begun in the year 657, and finished in the 12th and 13th century. We assisted at the evening- service (Sunday). The chanting and organ were extremely fine. Lichfield is become classic ground, by the illus- trious names of Johnson and Garrick, and very re- cently the lesser ones of Darwin and Seward. I was surprised to find Johnson's, that is, his father's house, so respectable-looking ; it is a corner house, four windows in one street, six in another, and two stories above tile ground floor ; the windows rather small, and near together: — a sort of awkward pilaster ornament at the angle. Garrick's paternal house is also a corner one, smaller, but with a garden be- hind, and in a genteeler part of the town ; — both houses white-washed on the outside. Miss Se- ward lived in what is called the Palace, (the epis- copal residence formerly 1 suppose) a good large old house, in a high and pleasant situation, separat- ed from the cathedral by a double row of fine trees. We did not see Dr Darwin's house. March 19.— At Birmingham, where we have been two days, we have been employed in seeing wonders of ingenuity and skill applied to the most trifling, as well as to the most important objects, with Mr W. a merchant of this place, who was so obliging as to be our guide. The manufactories are mostly of hardware and glass, and are less un- healthy, although more dirty, than those of Man- chester and Glasgow, which require heat and con- fined air, and clog the lungs with floating particles of cotton. By means of late improvements, the 92 BIxlMING HAM — MANUFACTURES. smoke of innumerable coal fires is consumed, and the atmosphere much clearer than formerly. I do not know how far the improvement is applicable to common house fires ; if it was, London would gain much by its adoption. I shall certainly not undertake to give a circum- stantial account of all we have seen, having a very confused recollection of it. In one place, 500 per- sons were employed in making plated ware of all sorts, toys and trinkets. We saw there patent carri- age steps, flying down and folding up of themselves as the door opens or shuts ; chairs in walking-sticks, pocket-umbrellas, extraordinary cheese-toasters, and a multitude of other wonderful inventions, upon which much ingenuity is miserably wasted. In an- other place, 300 men produce 10,000 gun barrels in a month; we saw apart of the process, — enor- mous hammers, wielded by a steam-engine, of the power of 120 horses, crushing in an instant red hot iron bars, converted into thin ribbons. In that state they are wrapped round a rod of iron, which determines the calibre, and the edges welded to- gether. Bars of iron for different purposes, several inches in thickness, presented to the sharp jaws of gigantic scissars, moved also by the steam-engine, are clipped like paper. Iron wire, from an inch to the tenth of an inch, is spun out with as little effort, and less noise than cotton threads on the jennies. Large mill-stones, employed to polish metals, turn with so great a velocity as to come to pieces by the mere centrifugal force, and the fragments sometimes pierce the walls or break through the roof; some means have lately been invented to prevent these accidents. Streams of melted metal are poured into moulds of all sorts ; and copper is spread into sheets for sheathing ves- s Birmingham — iron ships — flint ,r,LASS. 9$ sels under rollers, moved also by the steam-engine, like paste under the stick of the pastry-cook. I have often thought that a time may come when metal ships will be cast in a mould, like kettles, or more probably built of bands of forged metal, welded together like those of gun barrels, and lined with other bands contrary-wise, the double tissue either welded or rivetled to the other; the bands of the internal tissue; to run up and down like the ribs of a ship ; and the external ones to run fore and aft like the planks ; the masts to be tubes, formed of longitudinal or spiral bands, — no wood in the construction but for the decks. These metal ships might be built on any model without the difficulties arising from the shape of timbers; any particular part might be strength- ened at pleasure by additional bands. The metal ships would have that flexibility and elasticity so essential to fast sailing ; they would not come to pieces so easily in running aground; and the forged metal would probably yield to a cannon ball with- out being pierced. The ship would not leak, it would require no careening, and the greatest part of the thickness of the frame and planking would be gained, adding probably as much as one-tenth to the internal capacity of the vessel. Finally, it appears to me that the iron ship would not cost a great deal more than the wooden ship, certainly not in proportion to its advantages. Flint glass is a curious manufactory. It is incon- ceivable with what facility so hard a substance is cut, or rather ground, by the simple friction of a wheel turning with great velocity. The workman presents a decanter, or one of the glass drops of a lustre, to this wheel, and almost as fast as he can move his hand the parts are indented, and form> 94 BIRMINGHAM — FLINT GLASS. by the dexterity and justness of his motions, those regular figures we see on the useful or ornamental articles made of that substance. As we stood near the furnace, we observed a stranger ap- proach it, and with an instrument at the end of a long rod of iron, gauge the melted matter in the crucibles. This was, we were told, the excise- man, and his visits are repeated several times a- day. No mark of ill-humour was perceivable. These people are well broken to taxation,-— they complain indeed, but it is just as they complain of their climate, from habit, or as we see children continue crying, long after they have forgotten the cause of their tears. This manufactory was lighted by hydrogen gas, and absolutely as light as day. A leaden tube runs round the apartments, with a number of cocks, which, opened more or less, let off a little stream of gas, which is set on fire, and continues burning as long as the cock is open, presenting a bright flame of several inches in length. I counted 120 of these. The gas is obtained from common coals, by mere heat, in a close vessel. This vessel or retort is a cylinder of iron,* of about nine inches in diameter, and thirty inches in length ; a bushel of coal only is consumed each day. The gas is made to pass through a reservoir of water, which retains the bitumen or coal-tar, and with it the bad smell. Here, however, the smell remained, and was certainly most offensive, but the workmen did not seem to mind it. The reservoir was evidently too small, and the water in it quite saturated ; I was told that the gas would lose its inflammability in traversing a greater mass of water, which is I presume an error. The expence of this magnifi- cent illumination is only 4s. 6d. each night, allow- BIRMINGHAM— MANUFACTORIES. 95 ing for interest and repairs of the apparatus : 240 candles, affording certainly less light, would cost about twenty times as much ; — yet this method is not generally adopted, I have not been able to dis- cover why. The manufactory of cut glass has suf- fered more than most others from the interruption of the trade with the United States ; a greater quantity of this showy article being consumed by the nouveaux riches of that country than here, where there is certainly much less disposition to extravagance in proportion. Other manufactories suffer more or less by this interruption ; for the demand for the United States was undoubtedly very great and increasing. A single house in Bir- mingham shipped more goods to the United States last year, than was shipped by the whole trade ten years ago; it was indeed after a suspension of eighteen months by the embargo. Merchants now have wholly ceased having goods manufactur- ed for the United States. Workmen earn from 16 to 60 shillings a week, and even L. 4, according to their skill. They work by the piece, — live well and comfortably, — have separate houses of three rooms for about L. 5 a year, — firing for about one-fifth the price of New York, — provisions nearly double. The people look healthy, and the women, of whom many are em- ployed, remarkably well. I observed in neither sex the green hair of which Espriella speaks. This remark of his seems to have made a greater im- pression on the good people of Birmingham, than all the other unfriendly things he said of them. Notwithstanding the great scale on which ma- nufactories are conducted, the immense power and high perfection of the machines employed, which shew that nothing really necessary has 96 BIRMINGHAM — FREE SCHOOLS, been spared, and that there is no want of capital, yet the buildings themselves are, for the most part, poor and shabby, and evidently added to at different times, as if they had grown round a common centre* It is plain they have been extended successively, and with the gradual increase of the business, and that the means have not been exhausted on external appearances. Prudence is a pledge of success, not merely by the direct saving resulting from it, but by the good sense it evinces. The exciseman I have mentioned, may certainly be considered as a blot in the picture of national prosperity ; — what an army employed in collecting the money necessary to pay the army ! Nothing could exceed the good-nature and po- liteness with which the chief persons at the princi- pal manufactories showed and explained the pro- cesses ; and, what is more extraordinary, the work- men stopt in many instances their work, (paid by the piece) to give us some practical explanation and answer questions. No money asked, and very little given. There are two free schools at Birmingham, en- dowed in the reign of Edward VI. each with L. 30 per annum, one in money, the other in land ; (they had their choice at the time) the land of the one brings new an annual income of L. 3000, likely to double soon, being close to the town ; the other institution is of course destitute, and supported by private contributions. L. 30 in 1550, were equal to about L. 300 in 1811 ; that is to say, that these two sums would have purchased the same things at their respective periods ; but the land appears to be worth now ten times, or even twenty times more than it ought at the above rate ; therefore a LEASOWES — SCENERY. 97 ^reat part of this appreciation must be owing to local circumstances. March 20. — W e went to day to the Leasowes, and to Hagley, six miles, and twelve miles from Birmingham, places rendered famous by poetry and virtues. The Leasowes lyes in a hollow, nearly surrounded with moderate hills, and has very little view; the surrounding country pleasing and fruit- ful, rather than picturesque j the grounds themselves consist of 150 acres, with swells and intervening hollows, and good trees scattered about. We were introduced by a hollow way, descending and buri- ed in trees, and soon came to a piece of water of no extent, dull and greenish. Having crossed it by a bridge, we followed the side of it, to a little lake of perhaps six or eight acres, its banks partly woody, partly naked and tame. The house appeared then on our left, at the top of an ascending lawn, with a back-ground oftrees,lookinglike something between a mansion-house and a cottage, and more of the first than we expected ; but we found it had been rebuilt since Shenstone's time. Following a pretty path among trees, we came to a damp and forlorn root-house, in a hollow, where the gardener met us, a poor, old, sickly-looking man, whose un- combed hair was stuck full of feathers. Little able to lead us the round, he gave the key and di- rections ; and then, with a piteous look and low voice, asked " what we pleased for the poor garden- er." His appearance seemed to suit the neglected state of the place, and his age made me think he might have seen the clays of glory of the Leasowes, and assisted in the improvements, and that we might find in him cc the sad historian of the pen- sive plain ;" but he had been there only ten years, He told us that the place had been sold or had be- vol. II. 6 98 LEAS0WES — HAGLEY. longed to thirteen successive owners since Shen- stone, most of whom had been ruined ; a sad pro- spect this for improvers and men of taste. I do not see, however, what there should be here so ex- pensive as to ruin any body; it may produce less than a mere farm, and that is all. Before the gardener left us we were treated with water-works. Some unseen lock being opened, the water rushed through a hollow tree, and down a stony declivity, winding about naturally enough, and passing at last under the root-house where we were. The water was extremely dirty, but would be cleaner we were told after a few minutes. It came from the little lake we had past. Upon the whole this is rather a pretty place, and nothing more. We enter Hagley by a noble avenue of elms leading to the house, a respectable-looking build- ing, quadrangular, with slight projections at each corner like towers. A path through a very pretty inclosure of laurels and holly, brought us to the gardener's house ; and, provided with a guide, we began our tour by a gentle ascent, to a piece of water, rather formal, but pretty enough, — then up hill again amongst the finest trees imaginable, not single on a lawn, as in parks, but like a forest j mostly oaks with vast limbs, mossy and fantastic, and bulging roots, anchored among rocks. Many of the stems were twelve or fifteen feet in circum- ference, with dark masses of ivy mantling over both rocks and trees. By degrees we came to a steeper ascent, less covered with trees, and the path led us to a ruin on the top, which is entered from behind through a spacious gateway ; then a small court, and a second archway, all grey and ivy grown. Here we found ourselves on a sort of terrace or irregular knoll, extending far in front, ttAGLEY — RUIN. but narrow ; the woods we had just left filling all below on our right, and on the left nearly the same sort of declivity, with equally fine trees, ra- ther more distant from each other, and a verdant lawn below, with some very large cedars of Le- banon. The walk along this terrace or ridge, and the views from it on every side, are wonderfully fine, perhaps more so now than in summer ; the thin lace-work of the trees being almost as beauti- ful as leaves, and hiding nothing of the prospect, which is very extensive, of the rich, cultivated, inhabited kind in the fore-ground, and lost in the blue waves of distant hills. The ruin we had past, if, as I suppose, fictitious, is certainly a very good imitation, and I must ob- serve that mock ruins are very rarely introduced in the English gardens of England ; I recollect in- deed but two instances, Hagley and Mount Edge- combe. Art does little more in general than sim- ply to protect nature and give her fair play. The ground immediately round the house is indeed sod- ded, gravelled, and rolled, but farther art is hardly perceivable, except by convenient paths leading to the most beautiful spots, where plain rustic seats are often placed. Sheep and deer seem the chief gardeners. At the extremity of the ridge, we had below lap front of us the house and pleasure-grounds, with the fine avenue already mentioned, and a Gothic church and parsonage-house. I cannot conceive it possi- ble that the owner of Hagley could ever have been jealous of the Leasowes, so far below this in natu- ral advantages, and in quite another and inferior stile of beauty. This is really a wonderfully beau- tiful place. We returned to Birmingham, and pursued our 100 WARWICK CASTLE. journey to Warwick, 20 miles. The road con- tinues improving as we advance south, and instead of stones in coarse fragments, is covered with gravel, always winding about like a stream of water, divert- ed from its strait course by the slightest obstacle. The English, it is plain, are fond of travelling, and make the pleasure last as long as they can. Gentle- men's grounds, mansions, and genteel cottages, nu- merous everywhere, seem more so here than ever. March 21. — Warwick Castle is upon the list of every tourist. We stopped therefore to see it as a matter of duty rather than inclination, and with- out any very great expectations. The avenue to this castle is cut through a bed of rocks, forming a strait wall on each side ; the effect is singular, and rather good than otherwise. You soon come to a spacious gateway, through a thick old wall cover- ed with ivy, with a high tower at each end ; then a vast court, the first view of which is most strik- ing. On the left you see a long range of Gothic buildings, low and irregular ; in front a sort of mound covered with trees, intermixed with waits, towers and old-fashioned fortifications, just such as a painter would group together for effect, with a grated hole through it all, and a fine landscape behind. On the right, a hu^e tower, and an old wall overflowing with ivy. The area inclosed by * this romantic frame, about two acres, is covered with the smoothest and freshest lawn imaginable, contrasting with the asperity and rough antiquity of all around. Two or three immense pines with outstretched arms and bare tops, shade the walls. We were received at the door by an ancient house- keeper, very courteous and of respectable appear- ance, and introduced into an immense hall, per- haps 60 feet by 35, hung round with antique ar- WARWICK CASTLE — PICTURES. 101 mour, swords, and lances, and stags' horns. We remarked in particular the head and gigantic ant- lers of an extinct species of quadruped, the remains of which are found sometimes in the bogs of Ire- land- The horns are full ten feet from tip to tip, flat and broad, like the origual of America. The middle of this hall was occupied by a chim- ney in the old style, with a huge wood fire, the first we have seen in England. On each side were four handsome rooms in a line, forming altogether a suite of full 300 feet. We admired, as we were conducted through these rooms, the beauty and suitableness of the furniture and pictures, all old but all perfect of the kind. A piece of inlaid furni- ture, like a bureau, attracted our attention ; it ap- peared a beautiful painting representing flowers, a cock, a dog, &c. so perfect as to drawing, light, and shade, and expression, that we could scarcely credit our eyes when we saw the effect was pro- duced solely by means of pieces of black and yel- low wood, arranged side by side, and highly po- lished. The damask bed in which Queen Eliza- beth and Queen Anne slept, and in which his present majesty was to have slept, on an intended visit 24 years ago, prevented by his first illness. A great deal of highly valued old china; 500 guineas, I think, we were told, were offered for an old jar there. Some of the windows are finely painted. Brussels tapestry, older than Gobelin, made of silk, not good. Most of the pictures are fine. I noticed two of the best Rubens I had ever seen, one a portrait of the Earl of Arundel, and two good sketches by the same. Some excel- lent Vandykes, particularly a portrait of Ricardo. A Guido very inferior to him. A portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, the colouring uncommonly good, 102 WARWICK CASTLE PICTURES. in Murillo's manner. Good sea views by Van- dervelt. Excellent sea fight by Loutherbourg. Several very fine Rembrandts. A portrait of Queen Elizabeth by Holbein, very shocking, as usual. I must, except, however, a portrait of Lu- ther by the same. An excellent Virgin and dead Christ by Annibal Carracci. Several indifferent Salvator Rosas. Wortley Montague in a Turkish dress by Romney. The worst picture there, in my opinion, Holbein excepted, was, I am sorry to say it for my own credit, by Raphael ,-7-the por- trait of a queen of Naples. Beyond the suite of apartments is a chapel just as it ought to be, with a mild religious light, and no Percy pedigree. Our conductress took occasion to speak, not indelicately however, of the taste and virtues of her master. The fortune of the Earl of Warwick (L. 21,000 per annum,) has been deranged by a taste for improvements and a generous disposition, and for the last five years' his estate has been, what is called in England, at nurse; that is to say, in the hands of trustees for the payment of his debts. There is however, it seems, a liberal allowance made to keep up the establishment. The house, gardens, conversatories, &c. are in perfect order. Although the buildings are low on the side of the court, and the apartments very little above the ground, the windows of that same apartment, on the outward side of the castle, are as high as a fourth or a fifth story might be, being built on a vertical bank of rocks, at the bottom of which runs a rapid river, and beyond that an extent of coun- try, rich, but not particularly beautiful. There is a Gothic mill on the river, with the ruins of a bridge. The grounds have nothing very remarkable in WARWICK CASTLE — WOODSTOCK — BLENHEIM. 103 them, except a few magnificent yew-trees | and spruce-firs. The conservatory is really beautiful ; the plants having sufficient space, and being per- fectly accessible. We took notice of a beautiful plant in flower, Sparmanma Africana. Those who, like myself, have the misfortune of being no botanists, may have experienced something of the reverential awe, awkwardness, and fear, with which a collection of exotics never fail to inspire me ; the learned gardener going through their names unmercifully, and your ignorance painted all the while in your looks. Such is also a gallery of pictures for those who are not eonnoisseurs. An old porter at the lodge insisted on our look- ing at the giant Guy of Warwick's great sword, eight feet long, and at the armour of his horse,— a giant also. From Warwick we proceeded to Woodstock, 37 miles ; a fine fruitful country— avenues of fine elms, — large oaks and ash cutting down for tim- ber. I remarked in this part of England, for the first time, the walls of houses and inclosures made of hardened earth ; a mode of building very com- mon in the environs of Lyons in France, and called pisay. These walls, plastered or rough-cast, last as long as brick. We saw here a company of gypsies, encamped under some ragged canvas stretched on poles. This race, formerly spread all over Europe under the name of Bohemians, is now quite extinct in France, and nearly so in England. March 22.— Blenheim. This monument of the military glory of Marlborough is close to Wood- stock. The entrance to the park is a triumphal- arch, and the coup-d'oeil, as soon as you have passed it, is certainly very fine. On the other side of a lake, and sufficiently above it, you see a 104 BLENHEIM — OLD CHINA. long range of colonnades, towers, cupolas, and fine trees, with a magnificent stone bridge thrown across a narrow part of the lake, leading to a stu- pendous column, }50 feet high, bearing a colossal statue of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlbo- rough. We were first conducted to a small house on the left, containing a humble appendage to the glory of the Marl boroughs, viz. a cabinet or gallery of old china; and were made to undergo the sight of a whole series of dishes and teapots, from the earliest infancy of the art, in modern Europe, among the Romans, and in China : the specimens are, as may be supposed, mostly very coarse, rude, and ugly. Of all connoisseursliips this is perhaps the most childish. The guardian of these trea- sures is, very properly, a female. Whether she perceived our unworthiness, I do not know, but there seemed to be a sort of tacit agreement be- tween us to dispatch the business as quicklv as possible. Having paid our fees, we drove "on, among very fine trees, and, passing between the palace and the water, had a full view of its front. I had heard much of its magnificence, and of its heaviness; but I saw nothing of either. The pediment of the main body is too Jiigh and nar- row ; the colonnade of the wings is interrupted by awkward projections. Multitudes of low towers, pointed pinnacles, and other ornaments herissent the top of the edifice, which seems to want simpli- city and grandeur, — some extensive surface or large parts for the eye to rest upon. The main body on this side extends about 350 feet from wing to wing. Crossing the bridge, we admired the finely in- dented and woody banks of the piece of water, BLENHEIM PICTURES. 105 which is very clear, and appears to cover about 200 acres. We drove to the column already men- tioned, then across a plain, with meagre planta- tions, and herds of lazy over-tame deer, round the western extremity of the lake. We had been overtaken by a gardener, who came after us au, grand galop, mounted on an ass, to direct our ad- miration to particular spots (all tame enough), and get his 2s. 6d. On the limits of his jurisdiction, the park, he delivered us over to another cicerone, an old servant, who descanted on the architecture, and, among other things, made us take notice of a colossal bust of Louis XIV. taken at Tournay, and placed here over the pediment, with this inscrip- tion, — Europae haec vindex genio decora alta Britanno, and below, the British lion clawing the Gallic cock to pieces;* adding, with a sigh, that things were much altered since that time. He committed us to the charge of another domestic, our fifth guide, (a great division of labour), who opened to us a small theatre, used formerly by the family and their friends. In an adjoining room are numbers of original Titians, very large, without frames, and but lately put up, afler lying for near a century in a garret, being a present of the King of Sardinia to the great Marlborough, who was no virtuoso. These Titians appeared to me very bad pictures; incorrect drawing, — no shades, — and vulgar ex- pression. A sixth man took us round the pleasure* * This allegory of Vanbrugh has been called a pun in archi- tecture. 105 BLENHEIM — 'GROUNDS. grounds, and these were certainly well worth see- ing ; delightfully situated on a bank sloping to the lake, which appears from thence to most advan- tage, its terminations being lost behind various woody promontories. The outlet of the lake is an artificial fall (also in the pleasure-grounds), 18 feet high, over large rocks, brought there; the wa- ter, and plenty of it, breaking beautifully over them ;— - too well ; — in fact it is too good to be true. A slight iron bridge thrown across the stream in front of the fall shews it to most advantage. We noticed two Portugal laurels of prodigious dimen- sions, their branches touching the ground all round, cover each of them a surface of 100 feet in circumference. Brown laid out these grounds about fifty years ago, and succeeded perfectly as to the water ; a dam, 20 feet high, thrown across the narrowest part of a deep and irregular valley, with a considerable stream of water, has converted it into a lake. It is now impossible to tell how much of the beauty of the banks is the work of art, it is hid so well. I undersood here that Brown peeled off the surface of the valley before he laid it under water ; this is, I have no doubt, the cause of its remarkable purity, and confirms the opinion I had already formed of the advantages of such a pro- cess. The improver has not succeeded so well in his plantations. There are very fine trees east of the house, but they were there before Blenheim had a name, and belonged to the old park of Wood- stock, which was a royal residence of great anti- quity. On this spot the great Alfred translated Boetius de Consolatione Philosophise.' Henry I. and Henry II. resided here; and a spring of water is shewn bearing still the name of the fair Rosa- BLENHEIM— LIBRARY. 107 mond, mistress of the latter prince in the twelfth century. * The seventh guide was a coxcomb of an upper servant, who hurried us through the house. The entrance-hall is very fine. The apartments exhibit Gobelin tapestry, in very bad taste, as usual ; a multitude of indifferent pictures, and some good ones. I recollect an excellent Vandyck, Time clipping the wings of Love, and a very indifferent portrait of some mistress of Charles II. by the same ; a huge family picture, by Sir Joshua Rey- nolds, in which the present duke is conspicuous for the beauty of his person ; an excellent Death of Seneca by Lucca Jordano ; but we had really no time to see them properly. Nothing can be more magnificent than the library. It is about 200 feet long, by 32 feet wide ; the coved ceiling is richly worked and painted, and supported by a row of columns of the rarest marbles, each of a single block ; the entablature and base also of marble.. This library contains 20 or 25,000 vo- lumes. We remarked a statue of Q-ueen Anne by Rysbrack, the dress finished with extreme care. The fees of all our different' guides amounted to nineteen shillings. The annual income of the Duke of Marlborough is estimated at L. 70,000. There are eighty house-servants ; one hundred out of doors, of whom thirty are for the pleasure- * " M. le Marquis n'a pas besoin de scavoir la geographic, Irs postilions scauront bien le conduire dans ses terres," said Vol- taire ; in England you need not know more than Monsieur le Marquis about the geography and history of the places you visit, the little guide-book you find at everyplace is quite sufficient t and the Blenheim Guide furnished me with all the learning dis- played on this occasion. 108 OXFORD UNIVERSITY. grounds. Blenheim was built at the public ex. pGI ]^ r rliament havin S voted for that purpose, in 1705, L. 500,000, a sum equal to about two millions now ; that is, twenty times as much as was voted for Lord Nelson. Heroism is come to a lallen market. From Blenheim to Oxford, eight miles. The first sight of this great university, the antique seat o\ science, renowned for the splendour of its public edifices, did not answer our expectations. It looked old, dusty, and worm-eaten,— the streets silent and deserted,— a few students walking lazily, dressed in black gowns and black caps, overshaded with a singular sort of ornament, a thin board, about a toot square, covered with black, and with tassels designating the rank of the scholars. We sent im- mediately for our ready friend, the little book or guide of the place, which, for two shillings, fur- nished us a competent allowance of science. Ox- ford, says the little book, was consecrated to the muses before the Roman conquest. That is cer- tainly going far back; and 1 should not have sup- posed that the native Britons knew anything about the muses before Caesar taught them. However that may be, we find that Alfred founded a college here in 872, suppressed afterwards by William the Conqueror; yet we find, that, under Henry III (13th century), only 200 years after the Con- queror, this university contained 30,000 students ; and, after the civil wars of that reign, still I5,OOo! I do not know what sort of students these might be; such, probably, as filled the monasteries in barbarous and turbulent times ; the idle and the timid,— -seeking an asylum against labour and dangers. At present Oxford does not reckon more than 2000 or 3000 students j and that is a grea* OXFORD — BODLEIAN LIBRARY. 10§ many. Our little book describes at full length all the public edifices, colleges, libraries, &c. but we shall judge to-morrow by our own eyes. March 23. — Sir C. P., for whom we had a letter, was absent, but Mr W., master of arts, and libra- rian of Christ-Church, was so good as to take us under his protection. I shall endeavour to give some account of what we heard and saw. The principal library is called Bodleian, from the name of one of its founders, who devoted fifteen years of his life (from 1597 to 1612,) in collecting Over all Europe a great number of valuable works. He was, however, not the first ; Humphrey Duke of Glocester had began the building and the col- lection of books as early as the year 1440. This edifice, in the shape of the letter H, is considered as a model of Gothic architecture, and contains a greater number of books than any library in Eu- rope, that of the Vatican excepted. We saw here a portrait of Charles XII. of Sweden, very like the cast I drew at Cambridge ; also a picture of the death of Wolfe, so like in almost every respect to the celebrated picture of Mr West, that I had no doubt of its being a copy, notwithstanding some slight differences, such as the absence of the Indian chief ; but we were told that this had been painted by Penny one year before Mr West pro- duced his own picture, and that the latter had seen Mr Penny's picture before he composed his. This is an anecdote probably repeated to most of those who visit the Bodleian library, and which it seems incumbent on Mr West to explain, or con- tradict. Dr Ratcliffe's library is a more modern establish- ment, bearing likewise the name of its founder, and a model of the Grecian, as the other is of the 110 OXFORD RATCLIFFE's LIBRARY — THEATRE. Gothic style. It is a rotunda, of 80 feet diameter inside, about as much in height, and covered with a dome ; the interior, decorated with Corinthian columns, is, altogether one of the most beautiful objects I ever saw. This edifice was finished in 1749, and cost L. 40,000. The founder appropri- ated, besides an annual sum of L. 150 for a libra- rian, L. 100 for the purchase of books, and L. 100 for repairs. The collection of books is by no means numerous, and it is not probably very rich in rare and valuable manuscripts, but very possibly contains more readable books in proportion than the Bod I eian. This most munificent founder was a physician. The public is indebted to him be- sides for an hospital we have not seen, and for a very fine observatory. He has also appro- priated an income of L. 600 a-year to defray the expences of young physicians sent successively to travel in foreign countries. The theatre is an edifice appropriated to certain public acts and showy celebrations; its plan is very- much what I had conceived as the best for a theatre, that is to say a semicircle ; in this one, however, the respective order of the spectators and actors is reversed ; the chancellor, doctors, &c. &c. in their proper dresses, being arranged on the cir- cular side, while the lookers-on occupy the chord of the arc, which is about 80 feet. This room contained last year, at the installation of the new Chancellor of the University, 4000 persons. The roof over it is curiously constructed, being composed of short pieces of timber bearing against each other, on the principle of an arch, like the covering of the Halle au Ble at Paris, although on a very reduced scale, the latter being 200 feet in diameter OXFORD — NEW COLLEGE CHAPEL. Ill instead of 80. The semicircular shape does not look very well on the outside. It is impossible to give any idea of the beauties of detail of all the Gothic carving lavished so profusely everywhere. A certain hall or chapel, however, struck us particularly, by the exquisite finish of its internal ornaments. I do not recollect its name, but understood it to have been used for those scholastic disputations of former times, which Were held much learning to display, When learning in her cradle lay. The chapel of New College, which has the dimensions of a cathedral, is equally remarkable for the wonders of the chisel lately brought to light, having remained covered over during some centuries, by a thick coat of mortar. It contains also some beautiful modern basso-relievos by West- macott, and the finest painted windows we have seen yet, without excepting those of the Lichfield cathedral. They were painted by Jarvis, only 27 years ago, from the designs of Sir Joshua Reynolds. The figures are large, and correctly drawn, the expression perfect, and colouring very bright and strong, without gaudiness, and in perfect harmony. Some of the windows are old, and very good also. There is an excellent picture in the chapel of All Souls college, — Christ appearing to Mary Mag- dalen, by Mengs. The mild and tranquil majesty of Christ, the expression of doubt and grief, of pleasure and surprise in Mary, are admirable, and give a very high idea of that artist's talents ; — this is the first picture I ever saw of his. The windows of this chapel are not painted, but the glass only roughened, and the light they admit finely tempered. We saw, in some one of the colleges, a fine 112 OXFORD COLLEGES PICTURE. marble statue of Blackstone, by Bacon. At Christ- Church, one of Locke by Roubiliac ; not equal to the statue of Newton by the same artist, at Cam- bridge. Locke had been expelled from Oxford in his youth ! Christ-Church, the largest I believe, and the most magnificent of all the colleges, is mostly in the Gothic style. Some idea may be formed of its extent, in hearing that one of its four courts is upwards of 260 feet every way. It contains a very fine library 1 40 feet long, and an anatomical theatre ; the chapel is in fact the cathedral of the diocese, very old, and Gothic of course. I observed a row of Saxon pillars, the capitals of which are all different from each other. Most of the colleges have large gardens or plant- ed walks belonging to them. One of those walks, on the banks of the I sis, which is here a very mo^ derate river, is composed of elms ten or twelve feet in circumference. I shall close here this very imperfect, and yet very long description, by mentioning an admirable picture in Magdalen college, by Guido, of Christ bearing his cross, taken at Vigo, and brought to England by the Duke of Ormond. This busy day has proved to us what I do not think is very ap- parent at first sight, the architectural splendour of Oxford : " Majestic in the mass of time/* Of its system of education I know very little. A great historian, who had spent here some years of his youth, has spoken of it very unfavourably. It was in his time little else than a monkish com- munity, sunk in ease and indolence, and the facts di closed, in the course of a sharp controversy lately carried on between a champion of the uni- 6 OX F OR D-MTN IV EHSI TYi versity, and a certain illustrious literary association, tends, upon the whole, to confirm Gibbon's charges. This splendid university seems to have slumbered on since the revival of letters, ignorant or unmindful of the discoveries of modern times. It remained Aristotelian and scholastic for centuries after the rest of the world, and when it ceased to teach exploded doctrines, it taught nothing at all in their stead. It appears, however, that important changes and improvements have been introduced within a few years, and the obstacles of antiquated forms and practices once removed, the establishment may work its own perfect regeneration. The ancient universi- ties of Europe, founded in the times of the universal dominion of the church of Rome, have preserved, even in Protestant countries, that languor and that pride which the long possession of undisturbed power is apt to generate ; which, at the same time that it clings to prerogative, knows not how to maintain real ascendancy. Considering the mani- fest state of imperfection of establishments, and methods of education in general, — and that of all professions, that of tutor is, perhaps, the most diffi- cult, and the most negligently attended to, it is a matter of surprise that so many people should, after all, be well educated. But it will be found that, in general, they recommenced their educa- tion anew after it was finished, naturally, and without any formed design. The grain of corn which the unfriendly frosts of the winter have thrown out of the ground where it had been sown, strives to regain, in the spring, the situation it has lost, and its elevated root taking a short turn, dives back again into its genial element in search of food ; — but there has been a loss of time and VOJL. II. H H4- PARK PLACE — DRUID1CAL MfONUMENf. substance, and the young plant does not always attain afterwards the full growth and maturity to which its natural constitution had destined it. March 24. — From Henley, where we slept, we walked this morning to Park place (Marshal Con- way's) which Walpole's letters had given us a wish to see, and we were surprised at the very great beauty of the situation and improvements. You see a very high bank over the Thames, in- terrupted by a deep valley, at right angles with it and the river ; — the sides well wooded, and a fine ascending lawn, terminated at the upper end by a ruin, half hidden in trees, and by a bridge of large rough stones at the lower. We found, on the high- est part of the grounds, a Druidical structure, like Stonehenge in miniature. The highest pillars not eight feet high, and the diameter of the circle not twenty feet. This trifling, and at the same time very heavy, curiosity, was sent from the island of Jersey to General Conway, as a present from the inhabitants to their bien aime gouverneur, with a long address in French verse, very com- plimentary, of course ; and in fact it was a flatter- ing proof of the good-will of the people, to whom this could not fail to be a costly present. The house has nothing remarkable ; the trees are very fine, and nothing can be more cheerful and riant, and noble at the same time, than the view, and the path along the bank, and over the fine lawn of the valley. The Druidical monument seems to have been discovered the 25th August 1785. For some days past we are come to the chalk country, - — no more coal-mines. At Henley, coals are 14s. a-chaldron dearer than in London, whence they come. We meet now with immense waggons, on enormous conical wheels, drawn by eight, or even WINDSOR—— CASTLE — THE KING. 115 ten horses, and often a poney for the driver to ride :— - that singular production, the nodules of flints, in heaps along the road, and stuck over the walls of houses and inclosures. The inns are finer than in the north, but not better, and wax- candles are forced upon travellers, whether they choose or not this piece of luxury, for which 2s. 6d. a-night is added to the bill. Gentlemen's houses and good farms more numerous than ever, if possible. The first approach of Windsor, on a height, is very great and striking. It looks like a castle of Mr Scott's own building, and that is saying enough in its praise. Terraces and towers on high, with banners floating in the wind, sketch their outlines on the sky, while the blast of warlike music comes at intervals on the ear. The Thames, which is here large and navigable, flows at the feet of this royal residence ; and the park covers its banks and the surrounding country. This fine ensemble loses, however, on a near view. You find a small town filled with the valetaile of the court ; a crowded and uncomfortable inn, where none of your wants are supplied, except a guide, which came readily on our first call, and with him we proceeded up the hill to the castle. Being in- formed the King was' walking, we went that way. His majesty was on the terrace, but the public was not allowed to approach, with a gentleman (Ge- neral Manners), holding him under the arm. He was dressed in a plain blue coat, — his hat flapped over his eyes, — stooped a little, — looked thin, and walked fast ; talking continually, and with an ap- pearance of earnestness. We could at times dis- tinguish his voice at twenty yards distance; — this does not look like recovery. The park is fine, I believe, but we saw very Il6 WINDSOR PICTURES LONDON. little of it. The apartments have nothing very re- markable in them. A great number of pictures. I shall mention very few of them. A bad portrait of Lady Digby, by Vandyke, which is an uncom- mon case. Two bad figures by Guido, a thing by no means so uncommon ; they are female acade- mies, colossal, ill -drawn, auad without shadows. A good Judith by the same. Another very fine Judith, by Carlo Dolce, carrying the head of her Holophemes ; the heroine is young and pretty, she looks quite soft and gentle, and seems to avert her looks from the sad trophy in her hands. There is a row of Charles II. 's beauties, still more deserving their reputation than those of James II. we have seen elsewhere. March 25. — London. Here we are once more, after an absence of nine months. This second first sight made much the same impression as the first. London does not strike with admiration ; it is regu- lar, clean, convenient, (I am speaking of the best part) but the site is flat ; the plan monotonous ; the predominant colour of objects dingy and poor. It is altogether without great faults and without great beauties. Suppose yourself in one of the best streets, it extends d perte de vue before you, in an undeviating strait line; the side walk$ wide and smooth ; every door with its stone steps, its iron railing, and its lamp ; one house differing from its neighbour in no one thing but the number on the door and the name of the occupant. Turn the next corner and you have another street as long, as wide, and as strait, and so on from street to street. At night you have eternal rows of lamps, making the straitness of the streets still more conspicuous and tiresome. This palpable immensity has something in it very heavy and stu- LONDON — TWICKENHAM. 117 pifying. The best houses in Edinburgh are very inferior certainly to those of the same rank in Lon- don, yet the difference of the materials, a bright crystallized stone, instead of dingy bricks^/gives them a look of superior consequence and cheerful- ness ; the variety of views also, and the proximity to the country, without the fag-end of suburbs, are invaluable advantages. There is no doubt, in Lon- don a greater choice of society, the best probably, and the pleasantest ; but it is, in general, out of the reach of a stranger, and of no sort of consequence to him. April 4. — We returned yesterday from Rich- mond, where we had spent a few days. The spring, which appeared so early, lingers on, and seems at a stand. An easterly wind, dry, acrid, and cold, suspends vegetation. The horse chesnuts are only just out, unfolding their rich gummy bunches of cottony leaves and green pyramids of blossoms in the bud. The hawthorn, larches, and weeping willows just shooting ; — neither the latter nor the Lombardy poplar grow nearly so fine as in America. The walk from Richmond to Twickenham by the meadows, along the Thames, is pleasant ; but the retrospect of the hill is very inferior indeed to the view from it. After all we have seen in the course of this long tour, this latter view appears to us as beautiful as ever; quite perfect of the kind. Our friend Mrs D. had the goodness to accom- pany us to Chiswick, the favourite residence of the Duke of Devonshire, half way between London and Richmond, and consecrated by the death of Mr Fox. This miniature of a palace was built after a design of Palladio, to which, however, wings have been added. A short avenue of very 118 CHISWICK PICTURES. fine cedars of Lebanon leads to it ; one of the trunks, not larger than the rest, measured full twelve feet in circumference ; — they are only about 80 years old. Three rooms in the centre, lighted by sky-lights, are filled, as almost all the other rooms, with an excellent collection of pictures, as if to make amends for the shocking daubs hanging about the walls of Chatsworth. One of the first things which attracted my attention, was, the livid countenance and piercing eagle-eye of one of the Popes, by Carlo Maratti, who, I am well aware, does not rate very high among the great masters ; two most excellent candle-light pieces by Scalkin, or some such name, which I never heard before ; a very good Guido, (one feels safe in praising Guido) representing two figures paint- ing and drawing; a large landscape by Salvator Rosa, better than usual ; two or three excellent Rembrandts; several Vandykes, none good, and one positively bad, — a very uncommon thing; a crude, green, heavy, and bad Gaspar Poussin ; a warm rich landscape by Both ; a shocking Albano, with a raw blue landscape, and a clumsy naked fi- gure of a woman, and cupids innumerable, under size, and certainly without grace ; another Albano, two large naked figures half length, Joseph and Lady Potiphar, or something of the sort, — certain- ly a very indifferent picture ; the foot of the cross by Bassano, very fine ; another fine Bassano, the good Samaritan; two children, by Leonardo da Vinci, not so good as usual ; an Andrea del Sarto, with soft outlines, and vigorous light and shade; Velasquez, Pope Alexander IX. in a rugged vi- gorous style ; a Carlo Maratti, copied from Guido, preciously finished with a pale bluish and cold colouring ; a long Venetian procession, by Paul CHISWICK — SCENERY. 119 Veronese, very poor ; a curious picture of the year 1470, in the manner of Leonardo da Vinci, al- though very bad, and in the same state of high preservation, by John of Bruges. There were many other pictures worth mentioning, but our ci- cerone, the house-keeper, was a stately old dame, very cross and surly, and we were unwilling to make her repeat the names of the painters when they were not remembered. The furniture and arrangement of everything about the house is in the best taste. There are fifty acres of park, with 300 deer, and thirty acres of garden, all on a dead flat. By digging the bed of a piece of water, and throwing up the ground into a long narrow ridge, perhaps 15 or 20 feet high, an effect has been pro- duced much superior to what might have been ex- pected from the paltriness of the means. This is quite a mountain, from which the view plunges in- to the deep shades of the valley and lake on one side, and on the other is lost in the blue distance. The trees here are majestic, the lawn smooth and green ; and these two things constitute at once a terrestrial paradise. We found in the garden many cedars of Lebanon, of the age and size of those of the avenue. Their dark boughs sweep the lawn. There are some few marble statues, antique, 1 be- lieve, about the garden ; but the deep shades, and moist northern climate, do not agree with an ex- posure. to the weather; and the marble is covered with mossy stains. The figures are colossal, and have fine draperies, but are noseless, and otherwise mutilated. Two good lions, modern, and likewise over-grown with moss. The rose-garden has, I think the gardener said, 120 varieties of roses. The piece of water is miserably muddy and stag- nant, yet the lawn and, plantations about it, the 120 LONDON WESTMINSTER ABBEY. swans and foreign birds swimming gracefully on its surface, make it a very pretty object. There is a very handsome stone-arch thrown over it. Al- together, this is a beautiful place, without any ad- vantage of situation. April 7.- — We went to Westminster Abbey this morning, and found it, with all its merits, inferior to York-Minster, both inside and out. The paint- ed windows are not good ; and although I should not wish to white-wash the walls, yet I think theoa too dark and sooty. The chanting was very fine, and the organ accompaniment simple and beauti- ful. Of all human inventions to elevate the mind, and excite enthusiasm, T know of none so power- ful as church-music. The place adds undoubted- ly to its effect. Whatever sentiments of elevation and piety the music might have produced, were soon unfortunately brought down to tlxe ordinary worldly level by the sermon it was our fortune to hear. The preacher was a purple-faced short- necked man, forcing his hollow, vulgar, insincere voice through a fat narrow passage. He told us, or rather read out of a paper in his hand, that it was wrong to wish to die, yet not right to be afraid neither ; and that St Paul taught us to keep a hap- py medjum. Among many words he pronounced in a peculiar manner, I recollect acknowledge and innocence, like no in noble, which is not unusual, I think, on the stage ; perfady instead of perfidy ; sun-sine instead of sunshine. April 18.^-Mr West's new picture at the Bri- tish Institution is all the fashion at present; every- body goes to see it, and it is considered as his chef-d'oeuvre after his Regulus. The society has bought the picture for L. 3000. The subject is Christ healing the sick. They, (the sick) form LONDON— WEST*S NEW PICTURE. 121 the prominent part of the picture, and certainly they are what they ought to be, very sick. But that is an effect easily produced ; and is only an exact likeness of a few wretched objects uncon- nected and passive. Christ is coming forth, his hands extended towards them all, doing good like Providence, not like a common mortal, without emotion and without effort. This may, at least be fancied to have been, the intention of the artist. Our Saviour seemed to me, however, to have only the countenance of a very handsome Jew, with a clear skin, trim beard, and rather more genteel than their tribe usually are, yet not divine at all. The extended hands are delicate ; — fingers taper v ing to an affectation, and finically graceful ; — the colouring is bluish and cold, and the outlines of all the objects as sharp and distinct as cut tin. The only figure which struck me as fine, is that of a young man who has just laid down his dying fa- ther at the feet of Christ, and, with one knee on the ground, out-stretched hands, and earnest looks, seems to pray with perfect faith. The Christ of Michael Angelo, at Mr Angerstein's, with all its defects, is far otherwise divine than this;* and, without disparagement to Mr West's reputation, I think he might have improved his colouring by the study of Rembrandt, Vandyke, or Murillo. April '21. — Hamlet was acted yesterday at Co- vent-Garden, and Kemble, the reigning prince of the English stage, filled the principal part. He * The Christ of Mr Trumbull, in his picture of the Woman Ta- ken in Adultery, which 1 have just seen on the easel, (I Oth Sep- tember) appears to me to approach much nearer than Mr West's to that peculiar character of ineffable goodness and sublime meek- ness which belongs to our Saviour alone. 3 22 LONDON CO VENT- GARDEN — HAMLET. understands his art thoroughly, but wants spirit and nature. His manner is precise and artificial ; his voice monotonous and wooden ; his features are too large, even for the stage. Munden in the part of Polonius, and Fawcett in the grave-dig- ger, played charmingly. It is enough to mention the grave-diggers, to awaken in France the cry of rude and barbarous taste ; and, were I to say how the part is acted, it might be still worse. After beginning their labour, and breaking ground for a grave, a conversation begins between the two grave-diggers. The chief one takes off his coat, folds it carefully, and puts it by in a safe corner j then, taking up his pick-axe, spits in his hand,— gives a stroke or two,— talks,— stops,— strips off his waistcoat, still talking, — folds it with great delibe- ration and nicety, and puts it with the coat, then an under-waistcoat, still talking, — another and another. I counted seven or eight, each folded and unfolded very leisurely, in a manner always different, and with gestures faithfully copied from nature. The British public enjoys this scene ex- cessively, and the pantomimic variations a good actor knows how to introduce in it, are sure to be vehemently applauded. The French admit of no such relaxation in the dignite tragique. Letroite bionseance y veut etre gardee ; and Boileau did not even allow Moliere to have Won the prize of comedy, because he had Quitte pour le bouffon l'agreable et le fin Et sans Itonte a Terence allie Tabarin • much less would he or his school have approv- ed of an alliance between tragedy and farce. LONDON — THE DRAMA. 123 Yet it may well be questioned whether the inte* rest is best kept up by an uninterrupted display of elevation. For my part, 1 am inclined to think that the repose afforded by a comic episode reno- vates the powers of attention and of feeling, and prepares for new tragical emotions more effectually than an attempt to protract these emotions during the whole representation could have done. It is by no means usual for the different actors of the same scene, in real life, to be all equally affected. The followers of a hero do not feel as magnani- mous as himself, and are even apt to laugh among themselves at his vices or his virtues. The hero himself is not always a hero, and does not speak invariably in the same tone. Indeed I do not know that it is unnatural for the same person to laugh and cry, within the same half hour, at the very same thing, or at least various views of the same thing ; nor that this inconsistency of the hu- man mind might not furnish stronger dramatic touches than the contrary quality. Poetical ex- citement cannot be maintained long at a time ; you must take it up and lay it down like a flower, or soon cease to be sensible of the fragrance. If real illusion could ever take place in dramatic re- presentation, it would certainly be produced rather by that diversity of tone and character which exists in nature, than by an artificial unity. But nobody does, in point of fact, forget for a moment, that what he sees is a fable, and, if he did, the effect of a tragedy would hardly be pleasure. We look on poetical terrors as we do from the brink of a pre- cipice upon the yawning chasm below ; it makes our head turn, and takes off our breath for very fear ; but, leaning on the parapet-wall, we feel all safe. Looking on the verdure and mild beauties i 44 LONDON DRAMA HAMLET. around us, we enjoy the contrast; and, meeting the eye of our companion, exchange a smile. Voltaire, D'Alembert, and many other foreign critics, agree in reproving this scene of the grave- diggers as horribly low, while they extol the so- liloquy of Hamlet. Supposing, however, the sentiments of the prince had been put into the mouth of the peasant, and those of the peasant given to the prince, I question whether these critics would not still have taken part with the latter against the former. It is the spade and the jests which discredit the philosophy, yet there is a certain coarse but energetic fitness between the one and the other, — and the tone of buffoonery does not ill accord with the contempt of life, its vanities, and empty greatness. I have made a free translation of these two scenes, endeavouring to convey the ideas rather than the words, that my French readers may judge for themselves. The tragedy of Hamlet is much more objection- able on other points, — being, in my opinion, one of the most ill conceived and inexplicable of Shakespeare's plays,— which are all of them little else than mere frames for his ideas, comic or philo- sophical, gloomy or playful, as they occurred, without much attention to time and place; expres- sed with a vigour, a richness, and originality, quite wonderful in the original, but nearly lost in any translation. We might apply to Shakespeare what has been said of our Montaigne : " que personne ne savoit moins que lui, ce qu'il alloit dire, ni mieux ce qu'il disoit/' I have remarked before, that the style of Shakespeare is not old ; and the inartificial texture of his plays appears the more strange on that account :— this style, just as it is, might be applied to the best conducted fable, and LONDON-*— THEATRE — BLUE -BEARD. If 5 most regular argument. Of the dramatic writers who followed him, some avoided his irregularities, but missed his style, or rather had not his- depth, his strength and genius ; while others, and there is a recent example, approached that style, and had some sparks of that genius, but adopted, in their zeal, the inconsistencies, the coarseness, and even the puns. You can excuse, in a Gothic ca- thedral of five or six hundred years standing, those monkish figures carved on the walls, lolling their tongues out, or pointing the finger of scorn at each other, in low derision, and others still more indecent, in favour of the wonderful art, which, in such an age of darkness and ignorance, durst con- ceive, and could execute the idea of building this religious grove, rearing its arched boughs, and lofty shades of hewn stones 150 feet above your head ; — while the country-house of the wealthy citizen of London, mimicking that taste of archi- tecture, excites a smile, — and if he should carry the imitation beyond the pointed arch, and painted windows, to the very indecencies I have mentioned, the ridicule would be complete. The after-piece was Blue-Beard, which outdoes, in perversion of taste, all the other showy stupidi- ties of the modern stage. A troop of horse (real horse) is actually introduced, or rather two troops, charging each other full speed, — the floor is covers ed with earth, — the horses are Astley's, and well drilled ; they kick, and rear, and bite, and scram- ble up walls almost perpendicular, and when they can do no more, fall, and die as gracefully as any of their brethren, the English tragedians. All this might do very well at Astley's, but what a pity and a shame that horses should be the successors of Garrick, and bring fuller houses than. Mrs Siddons ! 126 LONDON PARTIES. April 28. — The English have had, for some weeks past, an overflowing of good news from their army in the peninsula. The house of the Portuguese ambassador, has been magnificently illuminated during several nights. These successes are very important in more respects than one,— they estab- lish the reputation of the army, heretofore doubtful, and put an invasion of these islands out of the question. The Spanish cause is highly popular in this country, — it is a cause to which every generous feeling is associated, — and it has excited a great degree of enthusiasm. Yet, such is the influence of party-spirit, that the liberty-people of this country are quite disconcerted, and out of temper about these news. The Spaniards, they say, are fighting for the maintenance of the worst possible government, and none half so bad could be imposed upon them by the conqueror. We are shedding our best blood for an ungrateful people ■who detest us, and once freed from the French, whom they scarcely hate more, they will quarrel with us. The great and the rich there, it is said, fear the people nearly as much as they do the enemy, and that people is a wild beast thirsting for any foreign blood. This language of the opposition is not without some truth ; — but if it were the Spaniards who had invaded their neighbours, instead of their neighbours invading them, I suspect that they would not reason so coolly on the subject; and, instead of considering whether the people of the north of the Pyrenees have a good or a bad government, they would decide at once that those of the south have no business with it. April 30. — I have already given a literal transla- tion of one of those lyric pieces which are introduced in many English farces, and are often sung between LONDON — LYRIC SONGS OPERA. l c 2? the play and the farce. At Edinburgh we heard Bannister, and here Mathews, sing some of these select pieces with a great deal of true comic, and what is called here dry humour. Yesterday, par- ticularly, Mathews delighted the public of the Lyceum in a new play, called the Bee-hive, play- ed forty times running. The song of an inn-keep- er, who enumerates the contents of his larder and kitchen, was encored again and again, with frantic applause. Other songs, however, which happen- ed to be less in the popular taste, were received with coolness, and we heard some men behind us exclaim, among themselves, " Italian squalls!— What a shame, on a British theatre, — Just like the opera by G— I" Whenever I have expressed any surprise at the state of the English stage, I have been told that it was only the amusement of the vulgar, and that if I chose to partake of it, I must not complain. Admitting that people of fashion scarcely ever go to the theatre, yet the lowest of the people do not frequent it more then they do ; — it is in fact filled by the middle class, neither the highest nor the lowest, and that is precisely the class where I should look for the true and legiti- mate national taste. • Besides, if the theatres of Covent-Garden and Drury-Lane are for the vul- gar, what other is there left for those who rank themselves above the vulgar? The opera, — in other wordSj there is no national theatre. The bulk of those who compose the society of any country, and of this, certainly, full as much as any other, are persons of very moderate natural abilities, rather dull and stupid, or whose sense and liveliness are of that passive sort, which can receive amusement, but impart none ; — they are capable of relishing a joke,— understand a 128 LONDON — TALKERS BOOKS. good thing,— have feelings even, and enthusiasm, when put into them, by a person skilled in the so- cial art of conversation. It is a gift which few possess, in an eminent degree, although there are many pretenders who try, and think they succeed';, and whether they do or not, they never fail to en- joy themselves a great share of the amusement they mean to bestow on others. I have observed that these amusing perons do not like the theatre, and for obvious reasons, since it deprives them of their advantages ; but the interest of the amused lies an- other way. The actors of the theatre are profes- sors of the art ; those of society, amateurs only the actors of the stage know their part better, and it has been composed for them by abler men, and at leisure. You are there for your money, — may withdraw when you are tired,- — are not obliged to answer or to appear attentive, — you are at liberty to hiss or to applaudv The general interest of so- ciety is clearly in favour of a good theatre. One word more on talkers;. — they pretend they do not like books, and go the length of saying that nobody reads now a-days. It is the language of those, even among them who write books, which serves to place the paradox in a stronger light, and marks the contradiction. Whatever they may say, nobody talks so well, or so agreeably, as a book, and they would allow it themselves, in re- gard to their own book. Where would you find so easy and discreet a friend and companion ? You may interrupt the conversation when you please, — fake a nap — renew it again where you left it, — go back to what interests you, — skip what does not, — and shut yourself up with that friend, sure of never hearing more of him than you like. This consciousness of safety is inestimable. To judge of LONDON NATIONAL CHARACTER. 129 it, consider only with what avidity the printed let- ters of eminent persons are read, and reflect on the dread and consternation the sight of these same letters in the original manuscript would have pro- duced; — -just drawn from the pocket of the per- son to whom they were written, and about to be read to you in confidence ! One of these readings is a task, from which you would anticipate constraint and ennui, — the other is your free act, which can be productive of pleasure only, and exposes you to no danger. The wolf does not even touch the lamb fallen with him in the same pit, which he would have devoured in the open field. This nation is probably somewhat more think- ing, grave, solid, and taciturn than their neigh- bours on the other side of the channel. Less, however, than is generally supposed, — for men of all countries are not extremely unlike. In the choice of their amusements, people choose naturally some- thing very different from their habitual state, the tedium of which they intend to relieve ; and this explains the English taste for buffoonery and broad humour. I have often observed that gay and lively people find no pleasure in tales of humour, — Cowper's John Gilpin for instance. I have not met with a person of the disposition above-mentioned, to whom its excellent pleasantry did not appear insipid or worse. On the other hand, these happy persons will generally be found to delight in the picture of sentimental distresses, which they never experienced, — their feelings turn- ing always to the gratification of the mind or the senses; while, to the wounded in spirit, such fic- tions come too near the sad reality for pleasure. It is the probe searching a deep and inflamed wound, instead of the hand gently rubbing the scar VOL. II. i 130 LONDON LANCASTERIAN SCHOOL. of a healed one to allay the itching of the new skin. The same cause, national gravity and solidity, has a tendency to produce the affectation of thought- less vivacity; and I have seen men of distinguish- ed talents so praised and fifes for their liveliness and legerefe, that I have been apt to suppose that if they did not affect, at least they encouraged this their natural disposition, and happy faculty of being different from other people. In France, on the contrary, how many solemn coxcombs I have known, who affected d'etre prt)fonds, et de penser? May 1. — Having provided ourselves with a let- ter of introduction to Mr Lancaster, the celebrat- ed inventor of the new plan of education bearing his name, we drove this morning to his school in the borough. We sent in our letter, which was open, and a young monitor coming out, informed us Mr L. was not at home, and we could not be admitted. We represented that we were strangers, and could not possibly come again ; and at last, after consulting with other monitors, we were al- lowed to enter. We found ourselves under a spa- cious shed, lighted by a sky-light, about 30 or 35 feet wide, and 100 feet long. There was at one end of the extremities a platform, two or three feet above the general level ; the rest of the room was paved, and benches arranged one behind the other, fronting the platform, the back of each bench hav- ing a shelf serving for a desk for the boy behind ; a narrow passage led along the wall, all round the room. Seven or eight hundred boys, from six to twelve years old, filled these benches. They were all talking together and making a great noise. — They seemed divided into classes or sections, dis- tinguished by small flags ; some of the classes LONDON— LANCASTERIAN SCHOOL. 131 writing on sand, others on slates, that is to say had written, or might have written, for none were do- ing any thing but playing. Out of compliment to us, for the good of his scholars, or to show his au- thority, one of the monitors made a sign, and at the instant the eight hundred little heads bowed down, showing instead of a field of white faces, one of dark crops. We asked what the object of this evolution was, and were answered that it was light and shade, — but what for ? Before we could receive a reply, another signal had been given, and all the styles or pencils were brandished in the air, — those who had none pointed their finger; — at another sign they all came down again. Several other evolutions took place of as little obvious use : — a great buz and talking all over the room, and the monitors vociferating. Two boys were lying under a sort of hamper or hen-coop, placed upon the platform ; they are there, we were told, for playing chicken, that is to say for leaving their places, or playing during the lesson ; — they did not seem to mind the punishment. Observing some young soldiers with the monitors, we were informed they were sent there to learn the method of the school (not to much purpose this morning) ; one of the princes, the Duke of Kent, I believe, hav- ing formed the laudable design of a school for the children of soldiers. Thirty or forty new scholars are admitted every week, and they stay two or three years. Such is the information we received from one of the monitors, who did not shew him- self a good calculator, for there would be at that rate always a permanent number of 4.500 scholars in the school, which is nearly six times what it can hold. There is a separate school for girls, less numerous, but we did not see it. It struck twelve. 132 LONDON LANCASTER IAN SCHOOL. — the monitor gave the order to clear the school, — the boys rose and filed off by benches, making as much noise, and as much dust with their feet as they could. This is an account of what we saw faithfully re- ported. I regret it, for it lowers (not much, how- ever,) the very favourable opinion I had formed of the good order, the economy of time, the general application, and prodigious utility of a mode of teaching, by which a single master may direct 1000 scholars, better and more effectually than he could have done ten by any former method. It is obvious that this was not intended as a day to receive visits ; but should not all days be equal, and might not there be here a little of this chartatane- rie, for which certain critics, in the simplicity of their own hearts, did not know there existed any name in their language ? Mr Lancaster was gone, we were told, somewhere to organize a new school, « — his own, no doubt, might suffer in his absence. The building was undergoing some repairs when we were there, and the school was just breaking up, which circumstances may account for some of the apparent disorder. I have heard some of the best friends of Mr Lancaster say, that his prodigious success had a little turned his head, — better ones have not alway been proof against the trial. The merit of the invention, however, is of more import- ance than the merit of the inventor, — and the former is fully ascertained. Mr Lancaster, like other heroes, owes some- thing to chance, — to the evident struggle for power between the established church and the different sects of non-conformists, who have a common in- terest of jealousy. The established church enjoys all the worldly advantages; wealth, consideration, LONDON— CHURCH — SECTARIES. 133 and supremacy; its dignitaries throw generally their weight on the ministerial side, — no wonder they should be hated by their opponents ! That spirit of inquiry, boldness, and originality of think- ing, for which this country is distinguished, the liberty of the press, and a certain degree of seri^- ousness which has been denominated gloom and melancholy, have long made it the hot- bed of religious sects, and of political factions. New apostles of the gospel rise up from time to time, who explain it different ways, and kindle at the fire of their own enthusiasm the imagination of their followers. The nature of the particular dog- ma is of little importance, — anything very enthusi- astic succeeds ; and those who address themselves to the terrors of superstition, more certainly than those who inculcate a rational confidence, grounded on the attributes of the Supreme Being. The sect of the Methodists, who preach hell and damnation, and place faith before works, has made astonishing progress ; while that of the Unitarians, who see in Christ little more than a wise man, extends very little. Enthusiasm, however, like other pas- sions, subsides in time, and none of these sects have a very long duration. The presbyterians, the independents, and the quakers, do not increase, and perhaps diminish. Very probably these sects, even the most extravagant, are not an evil, — new converts being generally remarkable for the purity and simplicity of their morals. Sectaries, indeed, do not, in general, cultivate the fine arts nor the belles lettres; — you meet with little elegance or polish among them ; — they are not men of taste ; but they are generally honest and respectable, notwithstand- ing a slight tincture of pride and hypocrisy, mix- ed with Christian lowliness. The pastor among 134 LONDON — ENGLISH CLERGY. them, holding his tenure upon the good pleasure of his congregation, must exert himself, and show some zeal ; while the clergy of the established church being independent, have come at last, I am told, to fulfil their functions, merely as a pro- fessional duty, strictly perhaps, but coldly. Auri- cular confession, and all the practices of the Roman Catholic church, keep up an habitual intercourse between the clergy and the people. There is comparatively none in the English church, and the episcopal clergy are little else than an aristo- cratical body in the state. Returning from Scot- land, where the clergy are particularly grave and decorous, we are the more struck with the smart appearance of the English clergy. I observed a few days ago, at the house of one of these reverend persons, a pair of sparring-gloves; and the sight put me in mind of Dr Moore's anecdote about the young man who thought he had a vocation for the church, " because he liked field sports so much." You meet in the best society a number of young clergymen, brought up in the expectancy of some good living, of which their families or friends have the presentation. Those young men have received an education which sets any talents they may have off to the best advantage, — they are idle enough to be aimable, and welcome everywhere, like our Abbes formerly. A well brushed suit of black, forms the essential of their establishment ; nobody inquires where they lodge nor at what ordinary they eat their meal. We have in the upper part of the house where we lodge one of these young expectants of the good things of the church. From his garret he went the other day to Carleton- house to be presented, — he dines out every day, — LONDON — CHURCH — DISSENTERS. 135 is of all the parties, — and comes home at two o'clock in the morning. The church of England is exclusively that of the upper ranks, but the middle ranks and lower people are seceding from it by degrees. The clergy have taken the alarm, and with some rea- son ; they saw with jealousy a new system of po- pular education, invented by a non-conformist, supported by all the different sects, and patronized by the royal family, and by most liberal-minded persons, on account of its extraordinary advantages, threatening them with a desertion en masse of the whole present generation. They first wrote against Mr Lancaster ; his right to the invention was dis- puted ; and it was proved that a method nearly si- milar to his own had been put in practice with great success, at Madras, by another person, Dr Bell, who published it on his return to England in a pamphlet, little attended to at the time, precisely one year before Mr Lancaster began. The latter does not seem to have known any thing of this publication, and has at any rate the merit of hav- ing first done in England what Dr Bell had done in India, and in a much more economical manner. Mr Lancaster is a quaker, and will not teach any other religious opinions than those of his sect, but he does not refuse to organize neutral schools where religion is not touched upon at all. This neutrality is, however, looked upon as only appa- rent, and hi fact as war in disguise. The only safe course remaining, is for the church to lay aside dignity, and indolence, and, imitating their adver- saries, try who can do most good, for the sake of self-preservation at least. They have in consequence actually begun to establish their own schools on Dr Bell's plan. That organization of society is proba- 136 LONDON — EDUCATION OF THE POOR. bly the happiest which, leaving thus to human passions their vivifying influence, only furnishes the means of controlling their excess, and con- trives, in general, to guide, by yielding before all power of resistance is lost. The opinion, that it is dangerous to instruct the people, has been maintained, and not without great plausibility. Such shallow information as the mul- titude can possibly attain is only calculated to make them more discontented with their lot. The labourer has no inclination nor time for reading ; and no books that he can understand, not even the Bible, — in the opinion of the clergy of the three- fourths of Christian Europe ! The odium of this doctrine is chargeable to nature itself, — to the wants it has given us. No state of society, even the most perfect, can exempt more than a very small number of men from constant manual labour. The answer to this is, first, as to the danger, that if, as will always happen, some means of infor- mation i;emain within the reach of more individuals than there is room for in the upper ranks of so- ciety, or more than the labour of the rest of the people can maintain, that surplus of educated men is necessarily thrown back again into the labouring class : That, thus placed between a state of enjoy- ment, from which they are excluded, and a state of labour which they think beneath them, they are pre- cisely in that desperate situation which renders men dangerous : That the less information there is among the generality of labourers, the easier it is for the small number of men of their class who have some " information to mislead the others, as to their rights, — the supposed inj ustice of society towards them, — the means of redress, — and, finally, to make them the blind instruments of their own ambition. That such LONDON — EDUCATION OF THE POOR* 137 has been, at all times, and in all countries, and par- ticularly in France, the great cause of revolutions, is abundantly proved ; when, on the contrary, all know how to read and write, it is no longer a dis- tinction, — it confers no superiority and exclusive influence. One of the writers in the Edinburgh Review asked energetically, Whether it was sup- posed the disciples of Lancaster or of Bell would no longer feel hunger and thirst, or cease to dread the gallows ? Will they not have the same incen- tive to labour, and motives for obedience to the laws, as their forefathers had, who did not know their letters ? Is it not evident, on the contrary, that they will sooner discern that industry, sobriety, and good order, are the safest means to secure the comforts of life ? The question, moreover, is no longer, whether it is desirable the people should be instructed, but whether they should be instructed partially, — all, or a few; and whatever doubts might remain as to the first proposition, there can- not be any as to the last. Second, As to utility to the common people, I own it does not clearly appear how the labouring class are to avail them- selves to any purpose of their knowledge of reading, both for want of time and want of books. The latter want alone admits of a remedy ; and even that does not, unless persons as public-spirited, and as able, as Miss H. More and Miss Edgeworth, would conde- scend to write expressly for the common people; an undertaking of more difficulty than is readily imagined, and for which no adequate reward of fame can be expected. Moral essays may easily be above the capacity and practical use of lower life ; yet the intention of accommodating them ex- pressly to the ignorant and the low must not be made apparent. A story must be simple, but not 138 LONDON EDUCATION OF THE POOR. silly, — told in earnest, and not with the air of a lesson to inferior readers, which they would feel as an insult to their understanding. Whether the lower people are ever to read or not, it is a great point gained, that the years of their infancy should be employed in some sort of exercise of the mind ; a laudable ambition be excited ; habits of order and discipline acquired ; and lessons of morality and piety early imparted. It is worthy of remark, that the lower people in Scotland are well-informed and orderly, * — the lower people of Ireland igno- rant and seditious. There is an ambition in pa- rents, to give a better education to their children than they have received themselves, more apparent here than perhaps anywhere else ; the desire and the hope of ameliorating their situation are gene- ral ; and such is the proper sense every individual entertains of his rank as a man, that there is not one so low as to suffer the treatment he would have borne in former times. The usual language of masters to servants, and superiors to inferiors, is infinitely more guarded and considerate than it used to be; blows and abusive epithets are only known in old novels and on the stage, — the pic- tures of obsolete manners. The poor are become less ignorant, and less abject; and that they are not less industrious, is sufficiently apparent from the progress which agriculture, manufactures, and * The people of Scotland were in the seventeenth century in a more savage state than even the worst of the Irish of the present day. A contemporary writer (1698,) stated, that there were 200,000 people begging from door to door, living together promiscuously, and guilty of all sorts of crimes. A system of parochial education established shortly afterward, made of one of the most barbarous countries in Europe one of the most orderly. Quarterly Reviezv, No. XVI, page 331. LONDON — LANCASTER I AN SCHOOL. 139 all the useful arts have made. We may therefore conclude it is not necessary to the well-being of so- ciety that the people should be ignorant. Poor they will always necessarily be,— for poverty is a com- parative state. If all were rich all would be poor, for nothing would either be done or enjoyed. The only palliative to poverty is industry and frugality, and the only specific is not to multiply too fast. To return to the Lancasterian school, — not such as we have seen it at Mr Lancaster's, but as we know it to exist all over England. A certain number of children, perhaps 1000, is divided into classes of about 20, the lowest learning their letters, the highest arithmetic. The scholars who distinguish themselves most, become monitors of their respec- tive classes, and repeat to them the instructions of the master. Prizes are distributed, — slight punish- ments inflicted, — and the well-organized mass moves forward with unity and vigour. The im- provement of the scholars has been unusually rapid; and thus employed during two or three years, pleasantly to themselves, and free from bad habits, they are found to have gained as much by the harm avoided as by the good actually obtained. Final- ly, the whole of this education costs about fifteen shillings sterling a head. * It is asserted, that of 4000 children brought up in Mr Lancaster's own school (the very one we visited,) from its origin, belonging to the lower class of people, in a suburb of London, not one individual has, up to this pe- riod, been found guilty of any crime, or even * I must refer the reader for ample details to two excellent articles on the subject in the Edinburgh Reviews of October 1807 and November 1810. 140 London — Barclay's brewery. brought before a court of justice. On our return from this school we passed by another, a free- school, established under the walls of the prison of the Borough, for the very judicious and benevolent purpose of providing for the education of detained debtors' children. The breweries of London may justly be ranked among its greatest curiosities, and the establishment of Messrs Barclay and Company is one of the most considerable : A steam-engine of the power of 30 horses, does the greatest pari of the work ; for al- though there are nearly 200 men employed, and a great number of horses, these are mostly for the out- door-work ; the interior appears quite solitary. Large rakes with chains moved by an invisible power, stir to the very bottom the immense mass of malt in boilers 12 feet deep ; elevators which no- body touches, carry up to the summit of the build- ing 2500 bushels of malt a day, thence distributed through wooden channels to the different places where the process is carried on. Casks of truly gigantic sizes are ready to receive the liquors. One of them contains .3000 barrels. Now, at eight bar- rels to a ton, this is equal to a ship of 37,5 tons. By the side of this are other enormous vessels, the smallest of which, containing about 800 barrels, are worth, when full, L. 3000 Sterling each. This fleet of ships is hung up upon a frame of timbers so as to walk freely under them, and render all parts accessible, the whole under a common roof. The stock of liquor is estimated at L. 300,000 ; the barrels alone in which it is carried about to the consumers cost L. 80,000 ; and the whole ca- pital is not less than half a million sterling : 250,000 barrels of beer are sold annually, which would load a fleet of 150 merchantmen of the bur- London — Barclay's brewery. 141 den of 200 tons each. The building is incom- bustible ; walls of brick and floors of iron. Messrs Barclay and Company are the successors of Thrale, whose name is associated to the immortality of Johnson; and the words of the philosopher oc- curred naturally to us at sight of the very objects by which they had been suggested : " This is not merely an assemblage of vats and boilers," he ex- claimed, " but the potentiality of becoming rich beyond the dreams of avarice." More than 100 horses are employed in carrying the beer to the consumers. We saw a number of them in a long range of stables. These colossusses are fed with a mixture of clover, hay, straw, and oats, chopped together very fine, so as to enable horses ever so old to feed without difficulty. They are often six- teen hours in harness out of the twenty-four. There was not one sick. They looked prodigi- ously square and heavy; more so, I should think, than is best for use. We took notice that the steam-engine did not make the least noise — not more than a clock ; you might have heard a pin drop all over the building. 1 This establishment pays annually to the excise the prodigious sum of L. 400,000. The principal branch of the revenue of the United States is the duty on importations of rum, brandy, gin, and other spirituous liquors, from the West Indies and Europe, yielding annually, if I remember right, two millions of dollars. Here we find an indivi- dual establishment for the use of a mere suburb, (for there are twelve other principal breweries in London, besides a number of lesser ones) yielding to the government a revenue about equal to the principal branch (about the sixth part) of the re- venue of a nation ! 142 LONDON — MR WAITHMAN. Notwithstanding the great increase of the excise duty, the rise of wages, and of the raw materials, estimated at 120 per cent, in a given time, (I have forgotten the numher of years, which, however, makes no difference) the price of beer has advan- ced only 50 per cent. Such is the advantage of a well- understood division of labour, the improve- ments in machinery, and particularly the introduc- tion of the steam engine. The saving of money resulting from this is the least national advantage, or rather is the index of an important saving in men, which gives to England a disposable force so much greater than its nominal population seems capable of affording. This economy of men in the useful arts accounts likewise for the extraordi- nary number of footmen all over England. I am told there are always 50,000 men-servants out of place in London ;— — this is not among the best re- sults of the steam-engine. There are in other countries as many servants kept in some houses ; but the number of families who keep one or more men-servants is far greater here than in any other country . On our return from the Borough, we were shewn, at the corner of a street near Blackfriar's Bridge, a very smart shop, ornamented with silks and shawls, and other finery, the shop of Mr Waith- man, whose patriotic speeches at city meetings make such a conspicuous figure in the papers. This tribune of the people, who measures calicoes by the yard to the ladies, possesses considerable weight among the reformers of the city. He speaks energetically, and with that degree of earnestness which commands belief, and, exaggeration apart, reasons very well. In other countries, the exer- cise of these qualities shakes or overturns em? LONDON WEST'S PICTURE OF NELSON^ DEATH. 143 pires ; here, the impression is short-lived ; the vio- lence of a demagogue evaporates in words, and his exaggerated opinions work their way very slowly and temperately into the public mind. The annual exhibition of pictures at Somerset- House, just open, seems still poorer than last year. West's famous picture of the death of Nelson is there. You see, on the deck of his ship, a crowd of busy men, in the middle of whom the hero is stretched at full length, too nearly dead for any expression, and his friends around him, very little more animated than himself. The colouring is harsh, and, at the same time, without strength ; a sort of dull brick-dust hue pervades the whole. The artist seems to have aimed at getting as many heads into his canvas as it could hold, every one a portrait, I dare say. This taste for portraits in historical pictures, peculiar, I believe, to England, is not without an excuse ; it creates certainly a new and powerful interest ; and, provided compo- sition and expression are not sacrificed to it, I think individual likeness is a merit. The English cast of countenance, too, is rather less at variance with heroic expression, than that of most other mo- dern races of men, being distinguished by an oval outline, and often regular features, with a certain calmness and dignified composure, which suits historical subjects, and may be carried to the can- vas with very little alteration. This calmness extends to the composition of English -pictures, and forms a great contrast with the show and bus- tle of the French school, called here flutter. Vol- taire marked the opposition of national temper and manners in the following lines : Vous connoissez l'impatiente ardeur De nos Franpois, ces fous sont pleins d'honneur, 4insi qu'au bal ils vont tous aux batailles. 144 LONDON WEST'S PICTURE OF NELSON'S DEATH. Then, speaking of an Englishman, Son maintien sec, sa froide indifference, Donnoient du prix a son courage altier. Sans dire un mot ce sourcilleux guerrier Examinoit comme on se bat en France, Et Ton eut dit a son air d'importance Qu'il etoit la pour se desennuyer. The ancients do not make actors of their heroes ; ours are always represented in a picture, as on the stage, with an exaggerated impression j and, to their natural impatiente ardeur, the French artist thinks he must add artificial demonstrations of dra- matic feelings beyond nature. A great revolution has taken place in the manner of the French school within a few years ; the austere simplicity of the antique is now exclusively the fashion, (I judge entirely from the Annates du Muste J and, as it ap- pears to me, is affectedly caricatured. Their fi- gures well set, accurately poized, and inveterately Grecian, give you the idea of statues and basso relievos ; and, in order to make their contempt of the trivial merit of variety more apparent, the French artists arrange, with unmerciful simplicity, leg behind leg, and nose behind nose, in endless profiles, like a file of soldiers, and every head is cast on the antique mould of the modern Alexan- der. This antique mania prevails here likewise ; but, as the native taste is not so far removed from it as the French was, British artists have less to as- sume, and are simple, with more simplicity. As to Mr West's picture of Lord Nelson, it is more remarkable for a total absence of expression, than for calmness and simplicity - 3 — all in it is coldness and bustle. The dead body of a hero is too like that of another man, to characterize his death : — LdNDON' — PICTURES. 145 you want his last look and his last words, and wish to see their immediate effect on those who witnes- sed them, and to whom they were addressed. Wolfe's death is much more heroical. Under this picture was placed a small one of Wil- kie, the first we have seen of this celebrated artist ; an old man, with a woman's cap and cloak, playing with a child, who is half-afraid, half-diverted with the disguise. The colouring is rich and vigorous. The exhibition was full of portraits, the great staple of this market; — a few very good ones by Law- rence, Philips, Raeburn, Owen ; a very indifferent one of Sir Francis Burdett and Magna Charta by Northcote. We remarked a glowing landscape by G. Nasmyth ; several by female artists of con- siderable merit, Miss Reinagle, Mrs White, Miss Rhodes. A singular bird's-eye view in India by Daniell, true to nature, and beautiful in itself, but scarcely fit for a picture. A Demoniac by Dawes, very stout and furious. Two or three light-head- ed compositions by Fuseli, who seems to have an indigestion of genius. A good landscape by Wil- son. * This Wilson, whose pictures sell now very high, was suffered to die in great poverty. Artists, like saints, are not canonized till a long while af- ter their death. The exclusive taste for old pic- lures affords very little encouragement to living painters ; and the English particularly seem un- willing to believe in native and contemporary ta- lents, which is one of the reasons of their paucity. The water-colour artists are proportionally much superior to those who paint in oil. There are two * Understanding that the pictures of living artists only are ad- mitted, I think this picture of Wilson's must have been a mistake. VOL. II. K 140 LONDON — PICTURES. exhibitions wholly appropriated to the former. Heaphy is admirable ; his subjects are of the we- moire kind described last year, in speaking of Cosse's picture ; but his selections are not always equally good. He is a most fruitful artist. I counted seven or eight of his productions at the Spring Garden exhibition, and all sold very high. Glover is a very good paysagiste, but his leafing is too spotty, and wants breadth. I like Reinagle better. The figures of men and animals he intro- duces are also much superior. His Furness Abbey is excellent. I observed some good things by Ha- vel], by Nicholson, and by Payne ; the interior of a library by Pugin, of a prodigious effect ; some good sea-pieces by Pocock, although of a very cold colouring. The superiority of the wa- ter-colour branch of the art in England may be accounted for, by the influence of female amateurs, who encourage it in preference to oil-painting, being their own style. They use body colours and wash, and the effect is wonderfully vigorous, except the dark shades, which are poor and dusty. It is a desideratum in painting to find some men- struum having the advantages of oil, but not liable to be transformed into an absolute coal by age; and the matter is well worth the attention of chemists. Knowing, from experience, the conditions of admittance to see Lord Stafford's collection of pictures, we procured the requisite introduction, and received not only the common ticket of ad- mission, but a more general permission, liberally granted to artists. This is one of the finest col- lections in England ; the best pictures are from the Orleans galk ry. We remarked eight of Nich. Poussin, No. 68 to 15 of the catalogue, much su- perior to any we have seen of that artist, except the LONDON — LORD STAFFORD'S PICTURES. 147 one of the Plague of Athens, at Mr Hope's. The Extreme Unction is the best. The grief of the friends of the dying man is wonderfully well ex- pressed. The Eucharist has some very fine figures, but they eat their God too heartily and irreverent- ly ; — -the colouring is fine. Nos. 9 and 10, two Raphaels. One is ranked among his chefs-d'oeuvre, the other is acknowledg- ed to be not in his good manner; — the latter is the holy family, as hard as cut tin, and the figure of St Joseph positively very bad. As to the chef d'oeuvre, known by the name of the Belle Fierce, of which there are numerous copies, I am astonish- ed, and truly mortified to find myself so totally blind to its merit. The infant Christ has the forms and the attitude of a plump little man, and the in- fant St John is likewise a miniature of a man, and not a child. The virgin herself is perfectly insipid, — the landscape through the window is shocking, as usual. This picture cost 4000 guineas. No. 11. A descent from the cross, by Lud. Car- racci. The mother of Christ fainting is quite wonderful. A Vandyke (not numbered) the virgin and child, admirable. The virgin looks up with sub- lime piety, and the child is an infant God. No. 7. Aonibal Carracci. A great colossal Danae, in bad taste. No. 14. Giulio Romann. An infant Hercules, certainly bad. No. 30. Guido. A very beautiful child asleep. No. 31. Carlo Maratti, The Virgin learning to read ; — fine expression, and rich colouring. No. 49. Tintoretto. A fine portrait in Rem- brandt's manner. No. 50. Claude Loraine. A highly esteemed 148 LONDON — LORD STAFFORD'S PICTURES,* landscape, which appeared to me very cold, arrd the trees singularly lumpish. No. 94. Titian. Venus coming out of the sea ; ill drawn, and the colouring of a dull white. No. 2.55. Two fine Vernets. No. The finest Berghem I ever saw. The colouring, a prevailing tint of olive green, seems glazed over with a rich warm haze. Several good Rembrandts and Vanderveldens, and the inside of a cottage excellent, by Victor, a name unknown to me. When I speak unfavourably of French artists, I may depend on having those of England on my side ; and against the latter, those of France would join readily, — for artists are very national, and do not, in general, spare each other. But, ta fail in respect to Raphael, to Titian, and Guido, is indeed an offence, the heinousness of which is sure to meet with general and unqualified censure. I do not mean to defend my taste ; but I cannot help suspecting that it is not so singular as might be supposed, and that many think as I do, without being so rash and imprudent as to confess it. The windows of the Marquis of Stafford's house look over the green park, most delightfully fresh and luxuriant at this season of the year. A friend of mine, describing his house at Paris, in a letter I received here a few days ago, and the prospect from his terrace over the distant country, added, " Voila une vue que vous chercheriez vainement dans toute la ville de Londres." I could not help wishing my friend, who has never seen England, had been before these windows, to cure him of his prejudices. English travellers, shut out of their accustomed track, have been obliged to shift their ground, and LONDON — ANTIQUE MARBLES. 149 the shores of the Mediterranean are come into fashion. There is not a classical nook unexplored by these restless wanderers : — they dispute with each other for the remains of Greece and Egypt, — purchase antique marbles for their weight in gold, — pack up and ship home a Grecian temple as other people would a set of china. We have just visited one of the learned cargoes, recently landed from Athens, no less than the spoils of the Parthenon, brought by Lord Elgin, late ambassador to the Porte. The first object which commanded our attention was a colossal head of a horse, full of life and fire, and superior to any antique horse I ever saw. This indeed, is not saying enough, for the antique model of a fine horse had more of the bull make in it than of the stag. The eyes of this head are, however, far too prominent. We saw next a headless colossal group of two women seat- ed, and leaning upon each other, — the draperies very fine, and a noble simplicity in the attitudes. Mrs Siddons is said to have burst into tears in con- templating this group. She may have been so affected, — there is no knowing what idea might arise in her mind, — but certainly it was more what she thought than what she saw: Phidias, — the Parthemon, — so many centuries, — and those pre- cious remains of the arts of Greece transported into regions which had hardly a name in the days of glory of Athens ! Another female group, colos- sal likewise ; — seated, leaning, without heads, yet very beautiful. Two single statues of men reclin . ing, and colossal, much mutilated, but equal, I think, to any remains of antiquity we possess, and shewing a perfect knowledge of anatomy. All these statues were taken down from the pediment of the temple of Minerva at Athens, and are thought to 9 150 LONDON— 'MARBLES— MR DAVY. be the work of Phidias. They are finished in all their parts with infinite care, although placed against a wall, and one side, at least, entirely out of sight. This temple was nearly entire only 150 years ago, when the Turks, using it as a powder-magazine, it blew up ; but the portico and the two ends of the pediment remained standing. Stuart has given a view of the temple as it had been, and as it was in his time, where the statues taken down by Lord Elgin are seen. There are, besides, many marble basso relievos taken down from the architrave, and many more casts of those which could not be re- moved, but none of them appeared to me very good. The Turks are in the habit of burning into lime such marbles as they can reach, and by de- grees will destroy the whole. To impress these barbarians with a high opinion of their value, is the most effectual means of stopping the work of destruction; and a statue, a vase, or a column, bought and carried away, save many from the lime- kiln; — yet Lord Elgin is blamed as a despoiler. There are also some Egyptian specimens, such as a colossal beetle of green porphyry, and two or three barbarous heads of gigantic size. A great part of Lord Elgin's marbles was lost by a ship- wreck. Mr Davy's lectures at the Royal Institution are still more crowded than they were last year, and the lecturer himself more than ever sought after by the great and the fair. It would be a matter of great regret if the allurements of science should at last prove inferior to those of fashion, and if future fame should be sacrificed to ephemeral successes. The elocution of this celebrated chemist is very different from the usual tone of men of science in England ; his lectures are frequently figurative and 6 LONDON ROYAL INSTITUTION. 151 poetical ; and he is occasionally carried away by the natural tendency of his subject, and of his ge- nius, into the depths of moral philosophy and of religion. The peculiarities of great and original writers, or speakers, have often introduced a vici- ous affectation in the language of their numerous followers, — and English simplicity runs some such risk at the amphitheatre of the Royal Institution. The voice and manner of Mr Davy are rather gentle, than impressive and strong ; he knows what nature has given him, and what it has withheld, and husbands his means accordingly. You may always foresee by a certain tuning or pitching of the organ of speech to a graver key, thrusting his chin into his neck, and even pulling out his cra- vat, when Mr Davy is going to be eloquent, — for he rarely yields to the inspiration till he is duly pre- pared. It is impossible to study nature, and pene- trate into the secret of its proceedings, without discovering at every step such evidence of a plan, such fitness of things to a general purpose, and that purpose so benevolent, that conviction flashes at once on the mind of an omnipotent in- telligence, and further hopes are inseparable from that conviction. If ordinary spectators experience an involuntary impulse of enthusiasm, what must be the feelings of him, who, penetrating the first into regions hitherto unknown, has raised a corner of the thick veil, and untied one of the last knots of the great tissue of wonders ? I have heard the moral digressions of the illustrious naturalist, and his so- lemn appeals to the supreme wisdom severely cri- ticised ; but the greatest part of his audience hears them with delight and applause, and I think Mr Davy would disarm criticism, if he abandoned himself more naturally to his spontaneous feelings, 152 LONDON — ROYAL INSTITUTION. — CONCERTS. which are legitimately called forth by the occa- sion. I must say, however, that I think the satis- faction of Mr Davy's audience is sometimes ex- pressed with more zeal than delicacy. Where clapping is allowed, hissing may follow. May 7. — Although artists enjoy here very little personal consideration, and pride is a principal feature of the English manners, yet we find a copartnership actually existing between certain persons of fashion and a company of public singers. The Duches of D. Lady C. Lady K. and Lady S. B. allow a concert for money to be performed in each of their houses successively. In return for the trouble, refreshments, wear and tear of the house, lights, &c. &c. the ladies distribute a certain num- ber of tickets on their respective nights, all given away I should hope ; — but I would not answer for that, — for shabbiness and gentility are often found together. The last night was Lady S. B.'s night ; constables and door-keepers received the tickets at the door, just like any other public concert. The crowd was prodigious, — few could reach the room where the singers were, (Bianchi, Bertinolti, Tra- mezzani, &c.) — but music was not what they came for; and the true enjoyment does not, in fact, begin till the concert is over. The going away is the thing, that is, seeing other people go away, not going away one's self. Therefore, although there is a general heaving and rolling of the well- dressed mob towards the door, the tide returns many a time, " loth to leave such scenes." Mean- while, as carriages drive successively to the door, the names are vociferated, but vociferated in vain; — none will go first; — they drive away emp- ty to take their turn again ; — the footmen swear and scold, and speak rudely to the mob of masters ; LONDON-^— CONCERTS— rOPEBA. 153 < — at last some of them depart, — but it is hours be- fore the house is empty. The prime situation all that time is at the top of the stairs, whence you have a full view of all the heads, — four-fifths are women. Men have not the same keen relish for this sort of pleasure. The Bishop of B. and W. was distinguish- able among them, and seemed to enjoy it all, calling aloud, " well, well, only build churches." * Those persons who have a box at the opera by the year, may fill it with whom they please ; and they actually retail out their seats when they do not go themselves. There is a bookseller's shop in Bond Street, where tickets of private boxes are always to be had, sometimes below, and sometimes above the standing price, as it happens to be a good or a bad day. Saturday, for instance, is a fa- shionable day, and you are asked sometimes two guineas for a ticket, while, on a vulgar day, it is eight shillings only, (the established price is 10s. 6d.). On benefit nights every body pays ; fashion- able people do not go then, and their boxes are filled with plebeians. Luxury, to use an apt ex- pression of the essay on population, seems to multi- ply in a geometrical ratio, while riches increase only in an arithmetical ratio, and the former treads incessantly on the heels of the latter. There is another sort of shabby saving sanctioned by fa- shion. It is not uncommon for fine people going out of town to let their houses furnished for the time of their absence. This profanation of the household gods furnishes a few guineas more to spend in vain ostentation the following season. * There is some subscription going forward for building a church in this part of the town. 154 LONDON—OPERA — MASQUERADE; Nobody thinks of writing to a friend without a frank, and letters are received with a perceivable expression of surprise, at least, when there is postage to pay. You may pay the postage of your own letters ; and I had availed myself of the expedient, as infinitely preferable to that of beg- ging a frank, but I found it was considered as a great impropriety. The last time we were at the opera, we had Cosi Fan tutti, or Soglia Degli Amanti, a most stupid composition : — the music by Mozart, very excellent ; the actors equally so, particularly Nal- di. When listening to this delightful music, to which words have been tacked bon gre mal gre y the remark of Corinne recurred to me ; " les musiciens (Italien) disposent des poetes; Tun declare qu'il ne peut chanter s'il n'a dans son ariette le parole fe- Hcitd, le tenor demande la tomba % et la troiseme ne sauroitfaire des roulades que surle mot catene" Vestris, Deshayes, and his fat lady, danced a ravir, elevating repeatedly the proud limb, majestic and slow, to a perfect horizontal position, absolutely at right angles with the other leg, and describing a circle in the air with a stiffened foot, pointed suc- cessively to the whole circumference of admiring spectators; this lop-sided attitude is a tour de force, without grace or elegance, and particularly ludicrous when exhibited by a woman. May 9. — There was yesterday a masked-ball at Lady W.'s where only part of the company were masked; little dancing; it was like most other parties, a mere collection of people, without ap- parent object, and, to judge by their looks, enjoy- ing but little pleasure. The masks of Miss Burney (Madame d'Arblay,) are the only ones who know LONDON-— ASTLEy's — WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 155 how to act their parts, A real masquerade is every where a most dull and insipid amusement. Astley's is an equestrian spectacle. I supposed that a thing of that sort would be particularly good in England, which is a sort of island of the Houyh- nhnms. I found, however, that the horses were but indifferently trained, and the men performed only common feats ; and, instead of equitation, we had dramatic pieces and Harlequin tricks, — battles and assaults, — Moors and Saracens. The horses performed as actors, just as at Cove nt Garden ; they galloped over the pit, and mounted the boards of the stage covered with earth, storming walls and ramparts. The interval between the exhibitions being very long, a parcel of dirty boys (amateurs), in rags, performed awkward tricks of tumbling, raising a cloud of dust, and showing their naked- ness to the applauding audience ; the vociferations from the gallery were perfectly deafening, and the hoarse vulgar voice of the clown eagerly re-echoed by them. Looking round the room, meanwhile, I saw the boxes filled with decent people, — grave and demure citizens, with their wives and children, who seemed to take pleasure in all this. It is really impossible not to form an unfavourable opinion of the taste of the English public, when we find them in general so excessively low and vulgar in the choice of their amusements. May 11. — Wishing to see the lions of Westmin- ster Abbey, we went there this morning. It was near the end of the service ; there was only one person in the church, — a woman. After the ser- vice, a sexton collected the curious, who had come on the same errand as ourselves, and led us the accus- tomed round, enumerating the various monuments in his way, ancient and modern, in marble, in 156 LONDON — WESTMINSTER ABBEY. wood, in brass,-~~most of them very bad indeed. The one of Sir Isaac Newton, by Rysbrack, is fine. Some genii under his reclining statue are employ- ed in suspending the different planets, at stated distances, upon the long arm of a lever, forming an equilibrium, with the sun at the end of the short arm. Addison, by Westmacott, is a good statue, the attitude rather affected. There are two good figures in front of the Duke of Argyll's monu- ment. Gay's, by Rysbrack, is only remarkable by the two following lines engraved on the marble. Life is a jest, and all things shew it, I thought so once, but now 1 know it. However contemptible worldly cares and pursuits might appear to the poet, life itself could not well be deemed a mere jest by him, since he found it to lead to a place, whence he looked down with so much contempt upon the world he had just left ! To affect levity on such a subject, if not absolutely criminal, is at least in very bad taste; and, like other affected sentiments, tend to establish their opposites. I should therefore suppose the poet to have been a very worldly man himself, and, moreover, exceedingly afraid of dying. Two old coffins are shewn in a corner, on the pavement of the church. They contain the remains of Ambassadors, one Spanish and the other Sar- dinian, seized for debts, and left there unburied for the benefit of their creditors. A singular custom and privilege; half-solemn, half-ridiculous. We were also shewn the two chairs of state in which the kings and queens of England sit at their coronation ; one of them contains a stone brought from Scotland by Edward I. The curious, in whose company we were, indulged themselves in LONDON — WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 15? merry speculations on the ceremonies at the next coronation. There is an odd collection of antique personages of illustrious fame or royal rank, of their natural size, in wood and wax, and covered with tawdry and tattered garments, as shabby as possible ; the whole quite barbarous. At last, however, the door of one of the presses being opened, shewed us Lord Nelson, his size and make and habitual atti- tude well imitated, dressed in the clothes he had worn, to the very shoes and buckles on them, and a perfect likeness. We had just been reading his life by Clarke and Macarthur, and this figure of the hero was so like life, — so much more so than sculpture or painting could make it, that it struck us deeply. There was in that little body, so worn out and mutilated, — in the shrunk, furrowed coun- tenance and melancholy aspect, — something won- derfully impressive. In an obscure part of the church, on a stone of the pavement, the letters C. J. F. are seen rudely engraved, and not far off W. P. ; no other monu- ment to PITT and FOX ! — They lie under these stones. Near them we perceived the name of Parr, who died at the age of 152 years, literally of old age ; the arterial system having been destroyed by ossification. In the crowd of illustrious names we distin- guished Pascal Paoli, the Corsican patriot, who died here only three years ago, at the advanced age of eighty-two. His bust in marble is there ; a bald head, — large and regular features, — marked countenance, — and good expression. Sir Francis Burdett had made us miss the Tower last year, and, proverbially vulgar as it is to see the Tower and its lions, we set off to go there 158 LONDON — THE TOWER. early this morning, being a journey of full six miles, through the whole length of the town. The Tower is an irregular assemblage of buildings of va- rious sorts, surrounded by a wall and large moat full of water, in a circumference of about 1200 feet, forming an area of three or four acres. The prin- cipal tower, which gives its name to all the rest, was built by William the Conqueror, as a place of safety in case of insurrection. Its site being rather elevated, it overlooks the town and river. Since that time state criminals have been put there. When condemned to death they were executed on Tower- Hill, and buried in the chapel, but without their heads, which were reserved to sweeten the air of Temple-Bar. If ever the tradition of this was lost, and ages hence the place should be dug up, people would be surprised to find so many skele- tons without heads, and there would be specula- tions innumerable on this curious fact. The last traitors who paid here the forfeit of unsuccessful rebellion were the Scotch lords who joined the Pretender in 1745. The armoury is certainly a striking sight, from the admirable order of the arms; 100,000 muskets, each in sight, and come-atable, without touching the rest, with the least possible space lost ; it is 345 feet long, and has been emptied six times in the course of this long war. The ground- floor contains chests of artillery-tools and imple- ments, ready for use, and the contents written on each. The spoils of the Invincible Armada are preserved here. Banners and crucifixes, instru- ments of torture, and strings of beads, battle-axes, and poisoned daggers, &c. The axe which struck off the head of the beautiful Anna Boleyn, the mother of Elizabeth, in 1526, and afterwards that LONDON — TOWER GUILDHALL. 15$ of the Earl of Essex, the favourite of the same queen. One whole side of a gallery is occupied by a long line of warriors on horseback, armed cap-a-pie, — neither more nor less than the sove- reigns of Great Britain, from William the Conque- ror to George II., in their real armour. This chro- nological series of military accoutrements is not without some interest. The jewels of the crown or regalia are kept in a strong room by themselves : — we escaped them, and our last station was the menagerie, which is small, ill-contrived, and dirty. The animals look sick and melancholy. The most curious of them was a white tiger, lately brought from India by Sir Edward Pellew, and so tame, that the sailors used to pare his claws regularly during the voyage, and on his landing, he was led through some of the streets of London, or rather followed like a dog. Returning from the Tower, we stopped at Guild- hall. The entrance-hall is disfigured by the two huge barbarous figures, called Gog and Magog, and not much ornamented by a recent monument to the memory of Lord Nelson. How many monuments to this hero we have met in England, and not one in America to the memory of Washington ! This one to Lord Nelson is composed of a great colossal figure of Neptune lying down ; another great figure of a woman holding a small medallion of Nelson in her hand, " and looking at it as at a bad penny" somebody said ; then a third female figure, her back turned, and writing on the wall, Nile, Copen- hagen, Trafalgar, — like the artist who wrote under his picture, " this is a cock." It certainly would be difficult otherwise to understand the object of this monument. Lord Chatham has one in the same hall by Bacon, 1802, overloaded likewise 360 LONDON--— HOUSE OF COMMONS. with thread-bare allegories, but you have at least here the figure of the illustrious man whose me- mory is intended to be honoured, which is certain- ly better than the bad penny of Nelson. One of the city courts was open, and the record- er sitting, strikingly like Mr Fox in countenance, in person also, I believe, and voice. It was a pal- try-looking court, better, however, than the high courts of Westminster Hall. Justice does not pique itself upon its exterior in this country. May 16. — Mr Brand's motion for Parliament- ary reform was to come before the House of Com- mons yesterday. — I went there very early (12 o'clock) with Mr S. We took our stand on the s4airs, expecting a crowd. A postponement of the question being, however, soon after whispered about, many of the expectants went away, and at near four we got in without much difficulty. I had an order of admission from a Member of Par- liament, but it was easy to perceive that a bank- token (a silver piece worth 5s. 6d.) was more wel- come to the door-keeper. This payment is done openly, and you may change a bank-note at the door of the gallery of the House of Commons as you would at the door of the playhouse. There is in this an appearance of indelicacy certainly, but the object is to throw some difficulty in the Avay of mere idle curiosity, and check the con- course of the lower class. This payment of money answers the purpose nearly as well as the neces- sity of obtaining an order from a member. Mr B. did, as was expected, postpone his motion till next month. After some previous business, a short debate took place respecting public schools in Ireland. A dapper little man, with a very sharp nose and chin, spoke most, and in a confused man- LONDON MOUSE OP COMMONS — BULLION. l6l ner, from behind the treasury -bench, — he stated some curious facts about a shameful evasion on the part of the English clergy in Ireland, who, although bound to have schools in each parish, got off by paying 40s. a-year to some person, unable often to read himself, who pretended to keep a school. This disclosure seemed can- did on the part of a supporter of the English hierarchy. Another little man, as thin as a sha- dow, and drawing one side of his body after him, as if paralytic, hurried across the floor with a totter- ing brisk step, and aukward bow, and said in sub- stance, that schools in Ireland were most desirable, and should be organized by all means. These few words were extremely well spoken, with peculiar energy of feeling, and in a manner graceful and impressive. This was Mr Wilberforce. Nothing can surpass the meanness of his appearance, and he seems half blind. Next, another shadow (and well they may be shadows, who work all day in the cabinet, and wrangle all night, baited like bears at the stake) the chancellor of the Exchequer, very small features, and sallow complexion, his voice low, but distinct, and flowing smoothly on without hesitation, and without warmth, — the sub- ject indeed required none (something about duties on foreign spirits.) Lord C, as thin as his col- league, and something taller, sat near him, but did not speak. The bullion business came next, — a worn-out subject, upon which I did not expect anything new, nor, in fact, did I hear much new argument. I was, however, much pleased with the moderation and great good sense of what was said. Mr T. spoke most, in an easy, fluent manner, with a slight de- gree of irony, mixed with good humour. In his VOL. II. l 162 LONDON — HOUSE OF COMMONS. opinion, the malady is over-issues ; and he wanted the bank to be made to regulate their issues on the same principles as before the restrictions on cash- payments. Mr M. a bank-director, shewed, with clearness, in a speech of much matter of fact, that, the former regulator of their issues being removed, (the calls for gold) they had no certain rules left, and would be much obliged to the House for one ; but that the injunction proposed would be of no practical use, and had, in fact, no meaning. An- other bank-director, Mr B., spoke next, with great awkwardness, great hesitation, and tugging hard for words, but ably, and even with some humour. He said nearly the same things, only more dispos- ed to allow the fact of some degree of over-issue. Mr H. who has written a very good pamphlet on the subject, went through the arguments of hisbook, on the over-issue side. He spoke at great length, and much in the drawling tone and manner of our yankee orators. A Scotch member put the ho- nourable house in good humour, by a fanciful speech, in which he maintained that paper is as much better than gold, as it is lighter, and that they cannot have too much of it. I saw, with pleasure, Mr W; rise on this question; it was to say, that they who wanted to guard against over- issues were the true friends of a paper currency. This, and a few more things to the same purpose, were delivered in a manner which pleased me ex- tremely. Parliamentary oratory is a thing totally differ- ent from the style of public speaking in France, not at all haranguing or reciting, but rather like an argumentative and uninterrupted con- versation. Eloquent appeals to the imagination or the passions, seem to arise spontaneously from LONDON — HOUSE OP COMMONS. 165 the subject, without being sought for, — a momen- tary burst, rather checked than encouraged. The speaker returns, as soon as possible, to a simple unimpassioned style, and to the business before the House, or rather never loses sight of it. Plain facts are the elements of his eloquence. He brings them together, places them in a strong light, and lets them speak for themselves. He aims at, a vigorous and cor- rect sketch : — not a laboured picture. Mr Whit- bread made a sortie against the Scotch member. I was glad of an opportunity of hearing one of the most formidable champions of liberty in the British senate. He spoke of course against the excessive is- sue of paper-money, and in favour of specie pay- ments, which are the dogma of the party. I found Mr W. much as I expected, a stout man, brisk, , rather rough, with more force than taste. His irony borders on invective. The house was very thin. I counted several times only 20, never more than 70 members; — the quorum is forty; but the deficiency is not noticed by the chair, unless . a member points it out. The two clerks of the House, in black gowns and powdered wigs, sat at the table before the speaker. Full half the time of one of them was taken up in placing the mace upon the table when the speaker of the House took the chair, and under the table when he left it; the chairman of the committee then taking his seat at the table by the clerks. When he does this, first leaving his seat at the treasury-bench, he goes half way down to the door of the house, then, turning back, makes a bow to the chair, and, retracing his steps, reaches his chairman s seat at the table, close to his other seat, as member, which he had just left. Seen from the gallery, this looks much like a boy practising be- fore the dancing-master. Members moving or go- 164 LONDON— —HOUSE OF COMMONS. ing away, but not on coming in, make bows also, generally very awkward ones. A message was brought from the upper house by two personages in gowns and wigs. One of the clerks took the mace and went to receive them at the door, and brought them to the table, bowing ; when, after delivering some papers, they retreated backwards the whole way, and bowing, clerk, mace, and all. It was a great relief to me to see them reach the door in safety, for I half-expected they would, by treading back upon their trains, tumble down upon the floor ; but they went through their exercise like practised Jiguranti at the opera. About half after two in the morning, the gallery was cleared ; — that is to say, the public ordered out, which we could not be very sorry for, after eleven hours of the same constrained attitude. We adjourned to the kitchen, a very clean and spacious one, much frequented by the honourable members. Small tables stood along the wall ; a cloth was laid for us on one of them. Three successive beef-steaks were broiled under our eyes, over a clear strong fire, incessantly turn- ed, and served hot and hot, tender, delicate, and juicy. This is a national dish, rarely good ; but under this national roof it proved excellent. Duly restored by this and a bottle of port wine, we were about returning to the House, when we found it had adjourned, after negativing Mr T.'s recom- mendatory amendment to Mr Vansittart's resolu- tions. In fact, there will be nothing done about the resumption of cash payments by the Bank. All parties agree that it is impossible for the pre- sent. Gold in sufficient quantity cannot be had, or rather cannot be kept ; it disappears as soon as it comes out of the mint, and must necessarily do so as long as there is a profit of 15 or 20 per cent. LONDON — DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. 165 in melting it. The party in opposition maintains that there is too much paper, and that it is depre- ciated ; — the ministerial party, that gold is dear as merchandise. I shall give a short account of what has been said and written on that subject, which those to whom it is familiar, and still more those who feel no interest in it, will skip, of course, whether I advise them to do so or not. When bank-paper is first issued in any country, and circulates freely and generally like gold or silver, the precious metals which were in circula- tion before are soon exported to foreign countries, for the purchase of foreign produce or manufac- tures, which are brought home, and may be con- sidered as a gratuitous accession of property ; — a dead capital having been exchanged for an active one. Paper is a cheap tool, and gold a dear one ; but if every nation had banks, and a paper circula- tion instead of specie, the advantage would cease for all, for it is merely comparative. The substi- tution of paper for gold, of a promissory engage- ment for the thing itself, supposes the most implicit confidence, — it rests on the conviction resulting from long experience, that Government will respect private property, and that the state of public morals secures a faithful administration of the establish- ment. Public credit is, in every respect, like individual credit, and is productive of the same ad- vantage, in all transactions in life, which the man who is trusted has over the one who is not. Gold is hidden under-ground in Turkey, — in France it is used as a pledge between man and man, and is the necessary medium of exchange. In England no such pledge is required, — the mere faith of a public institution proves sufficient. Trade, or rather traders, are ever greedy of 166 LONDON — DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. capital, and inclined to draw from the bank more paper than the circulation requires. Their object is to speculate, that is to say, to purchase commodi- ties, and the result must be, that there are more purchasers than things for sale ; thence a compe- tition, and a rise of prices. Under such circum- stances the produce of other countries will quickly find its way to the one where it bears high prices. The gold alone, however, and not the merchandise of the dear country will be taken in payment j — bank-notes will be returned to the bank' to be exchanged for gold to be exported. The bank, when exhausted of specie, must purchase bullion and have it coined to answer the demand, and must draw in its capital. Both paper and specie being thus diminished, and the sum in circulation reduced to its due proportion, while, on the con- trary, the stock of commodities is increased, prices will fall, of course ; some commodities may still remain above the rate of other countries, while others may descend below. This being the usual and natural state of things which occasions the transfers of commerce, balances will then be liqui- dated by the medium of bills of exchange, without any more exportations of specie. The first symptom of an exportation of specie is an unfavourable exchange with foreign countries; and the bank knowing, from experience, that tttis state of the exchange is the forerunner of a call for specie, and that the remedy is a reduction of discounts, acts accordingly in its own defence. Thus a paper circulation is without any danger or inconvenience ; it is evidently beneficial, and the abuse carries with it its remedy, provided that paper is exchangeable for specie at the will of the bearer, — and provided Government does not med- LONDON DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCT. 16? die with the management of the institution. It may, indeed, be a customer of the bank like any individual, with much mutual advantage, but even this sort of connection is liable to danger, and threatens the credit of the bank under an arbitrary government, or under a very popular one. The immediate consequence to England of the general war kindled all over Europe, at the begin- ning of the French revolution, was, an increase of expenditure abroad, far beyond all former example. The only possible mode of providing the re- quisite funds in foreign countries was, a commen- surate excess of exports over imports ; but the cir- cumstances of the times tended to reduce the one, while inveterate habits of luxury continued to encourage the other. Gold being the readi- est mode of remittance, was, of course, ex- ported, lawfully or not, and by Government itself, if not by individuals. The Bank, under such circumstances, would find its notes returning as soon as emitted, to be exchanged for specie, and might think itself reduced to the alternative of bankruptcy, if it did not immediately draw in its capital by a great and sudden retrenchment of discounts, or of occasioning a universal supension of payment if it did. Such was the crisis, hastened, probably, by an alarming insurrection in the fleet, and fears of an impending invasion, which deter- mined Parliament, in 1797, to restrict or suspend the payment of specie by the Bank of England.* * There was a sum of two millions sterling coined in 1797; three millions in 1798 ; and during the two preceding years less than a quarter of that sum. But in 1787 and 1788, a period of profound peace, greater sums passed through the mint than in these very years of extraordinary demand, 1797 and 17Q8. It 168 LONDON— DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. The possible consequences of this measure seemed at the time to appal Mr Pitt himself, who carried it ; yet for ten years afterwards no real inconveni- ence was felt, — no difference between paper and specie. It is not more than three or four years since the depreciation complained of began at all. There is something apparently inexplicable in this memorable event ; for if the increasing de- mand for specie in 1797 was occasioned by the want of the means to provide for expences abroad, how have these expences been met during the thirteen succeeding years, with all their enormous increase ? If a want of confidence produced the run on the Bank, how could the failure of pay- ment, the very confirmation of all fears, restore confidence ? The obvious answer to the first part of the dilemma is, that there was no real want of means, as the event has proved ; since armies have continued to be maintained abroad, subsidies paid, &c. &c. The demand for specie arose from the circumstance of gold being the most convenient mode of remittance, but not from its being the only one. It seems, likewise, that the call for specie in 1797 was not occasioned by any doubt of the ulti- mate solvency of the Bank, — of its possessing property fully equal to the amount of its notes in circulation, but from an apprehension that gold could not be procured in sufficient quantity, and every one wished not to be the last. The interven- tion of Government stopped this general rout. The public saw that there would be neither first seems as if the crisis of the run was met very early by the restric- tions on cash payments, before any absolute necessity could pro- bably exist. LONDON — DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. 169 nor last ; no inequality ; no salvation, but in the salvation of all ; and made a general stand. This perilous situation revived public-spirit; and, by- universal consent, the paper of the Bank was held equal to specie. This energetic act alone would not have upheld the credit of the Bank for any length of time, without a general conviction of its ultimate solvency ; which, in fact, was not questioned. No country exists, or probably ever existed, where such a stretch of power, as that of suspending by law the performance of private contracts, would not have destroyed at once all confidence ; none, where the most serious alarm and jealousy would not have been excited by the singular fact, of a company of merchants being vested with the power of coining money with their simple sign- manual for its standard ; and the extent of this coinage, so easy at once, and so profitable to them- selves, without any other limitation but their own discretion and honest forbearance. It must be ac- knowledged, that this confidence does honour to all; to those who trust, and to those who are trusted ; to the people, to the Bank, and to the Government. The act of Parliament of 1797, re- stricting the cash payments of the Bank, did not constitute its notes exactly a legal tender ; but as the tender of bank-notes precludes an arrest of the person of the debtor till the period arrives when the Bank shall pay specie, there is in fact no very great difference. The measure was consi- dered at first, by the minister, the Parliament, and the people, as a temporary expedient ; and it was not until after a certain time, and no material in- convenience appearing to result from it, that its permanency ceased to excite any terror. Mer- chants, indeed, were easily reconciled to a state of 170 LONDON — DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. things, under which the Bank might oblige them by liberal discounts, without apprehension of a call for specie ; and the directors yielded to the plea- sure, almost a duty, of enriching the institution con- fided to their management ; a duty which has been faithfully discharged, since the stock of the Bank is now nearly three times the price it was in 1797. From the year 1797 to 1806 no material differ- ence existed between specie and bank-notes- fo- reign exchanges were but little against England, - not more than the expence of transporting specie, which is estimated at 6 or 7 per cent. ; and the price of bullion remained about L. 3, 17s. lOd. an ounce. In*1806-7, however, it rose to L. 4. ; and, towards the end of 1808, continuing to rise, the Bank ceased to buy any more ; it is now arrived at L.4, 14s. There is a profit of 20 per cent, in melting guineas, and they have accordingly disap- peared. A state of things so alarming determined the Parliament, last year, to appoint a committee of twenty-one members to examine into the cause, and the committee reported, that there was a real depreciation of bank-notes, occasioned by over- issues, the directors having fallen into the error of supposing that they may safely discount all the mercantile notes offered to them, provided the sig- natures are good, and the notes issued in conse- quence of real purchases and sales ; and also that they may discount all those promissory-notes of the Government, called Exchequer-bills, which may be offered to them, without any limits ; a doctrine of which the committee has shewn the fallacy. The directors of the Bank admit, that, prior to 1797, they did not discount all the paper which was offered to them, but were obliged to restrict their discounts whenever there was a demand foe LONDON- 1 — DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. 171 gold j yet they do not perceive that this restriction had any salutary effect. The report of the com- mittee advised fixing a period for the resumption of payments in specie, — say two years, — but the Parliament did not concur. Nothing was done, — and, according to appearances, nothing will be done. The administration dreads meddling with a copious spring, for fear of drying it up ; the loans are filled, and that is the main point. If it was possible to ascertain in all cases the origin and circumstances of a commercial note offered for discount, this knowledge would furnish the Bank with a perfectly safe rule, even in the absence of the natural check, of a call for gold. Every promissory-note, issued in consequence of a real purchase of some commo- dity, about to be consumed or exported, or remain- ing deposited, and at any rate not sold again till after the time of payment of the first sale, might be discounted, without any other limitation than the solvency of the parties. This is an anticipa- tion of capital, made active, not created, and the very object of the institution of banks. But when the same commodity is resold ten or twenty times in the interval between the date and the payment of the first promissory-note, it is evident, that, if all the notes resulting from all these were dis- counted (and the rule acknowledged by the direc- tors of the Bank extends to that), a fictitious ca- pital, ten times, cr twenty times greater than the thing it represents, would at once be thrown into circulation; and this must necessarily happen, more or less. As to exchequer-bills, the Bank may also throw a great deal too much capital into the market by discounting them indiscriminately ; yet, immense as their sum total is, it is at least 172 LONDON DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. known, and represents a productive stock, while the amount of commercial notes is indefinite-* and, whenever issued for resales of the same arti- cle, they represent in fact nothing at all. The fic- titious capital thus created, and increasing con- tinually, produces a gradual rise of price, and all purchases payable at distant periods are sure of affording profits; a system of gambling is en- couraged, in which the first sellers and the last purchasers must necessarily be ruined. The sum of notes of the Bank of England in circulation, compared to what it was in 1797, seems much less than might have been supposed under existing circumstances ; considering, 1st, The mass of property accumulated in England during the last thirteen years; 2d, The increase of the national debt forming so much commercial property in the market j 3d, The lessening of value of the circulating medium all over Europe, by the gradual influx of gold and silver; 4th, The disap. pearanceofthe gold and silver in circulation in 1797, which must have been replaced by an equal sum in bank-notes. Sir William Petty estimated the specie in circulation 120 years ago, at six millions. Dr Price in 1773, at sixteen millions. This latter sum, added to the ten or eleven millions of bank- notes then in circulation, would alone give 26 or 27 millions for the sum total required for the circu- lation of the country at that period, and much * The Bank of England holds generally fifteen or sixteen mil- lions of Exchequer-bills, and three or four millions of commercial notes. By its constitution it cannot hold more than three mil- lions of government securities. 1 do not understand how Ex- chequer-bills come not to be considered as government securities. LONDON DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. 1*73 more now ; whereas the circulation of the Bank of England is now only 21 millions. The fact is, that the sum of bank-notes issued, affords no crite- rion of the real circulation of the country. The checks drawn on banks are, to all intents and pur- poses, part of the circulating medium, as well as those transfers of balances among merchants and bankers, which have been so extended of late years. The sum of discounts affords better data by which to estimate the real circulation of the coun- try. There are about fifty banking-houses in London. Clerks from each of them meet every evening at a particular place, where the checks they have received upon each other, in the course of the day, are exchanged, and payments to the amount of five or six millions are effected in an hour, without touching a guinea or a bank-note. The number of private banks all over the king- dom is not less than eight hundred ; an accurate estimate of the grand total of paper they furnish to the circulation can hardly be formed. It is well known, however, that they are very industrious in extending it to the very utmost, and by every spe- cies of contrivance. These private banks contri- bute more than the Bank of England to the excess of circulation ; but it is from the latter only that a remedy can be expected ; for every time the Bank of England restricts its discounts, correspon- dent restrictions must follow in ail the others which are bound to give Bank of England notes when- ever required, in exchange for their own ; this check operates upon them in the way the call for gold did formerly. The board of directors of the Bank of England have been elevated, since 1797, to the functions of statesmen ; a most important branch of the Government is confided to their 174 LONDON DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. care ; — no less than that of regulating at pleasure the standard of the currency of the realm. They may, if they think fit, lower it to half its nominal value, or to no value at all, and cause all public and private debts to be discharged with a worthless piece of paper, at the risk of relaxing the bonds of society, and of materially impairing public morals. The nation has a right to expect from these directors more enlarged views and higher motives than the mere consideration of profit and loss. The directors confess their ignorance of any safe rule by which they can regulate their issues, and call on parliament for one. Is the price of bullion to be that rule ? No, says the ministerial party, gold, like any other commodity, is liable to be more or less in demand ; it may be rare and dear, and bear a higher price than the par* in bank-notes ; the contingences of an army in fo- reign countries cannot be discharged with bank- notes, nor grain imported without gold in time of scarcity, and when trade is abridged of its usual channels. To this the party of the opposition answers (for all is party here, and truth itself is told sometimes without veracity), we do not admit that gold is scarce, and dear, or can ever be so for any con- tinuance ; — it preserves its level throughout the w T orld. If it was scarce in England, — if, for in- stance an ounce of gold could buy in England what would sell for two ounces of gold in another * 44f guineas, weighing 12 ounces, are equal to L. 46, 14s. 6d., therefore one ounce of gold should sell for L. 3, 17s. 10| ; and whenever more than that sum in bank.paper is required to pay for the ounce of gold, the paper is certainly not worth as much as it is meant to represent ; it is under par. LONDON— -DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. 175 country, gold would come so fast as quickly to raise prices to the par of the other country. You cannot maintain that foreign markets being shut against your commodities, gold cannot be procur- ed, for there is plenty of bullion to be had in Eng- land, although not at the par price. If gold alone was above par, above its usual price, it might be called dear, but when every- thing else bears an advanced price, we must con- clude that it is the currency which is in fact cheap, by an excess of quantity. The universality of this advance of prices is indeed disputed. West India produce, for instance, is very low, as also cotton goods, and other articles of exportation. On the other hand, the commodities consumed in England are high ; all the necessaries of life, and the wages of labour have risen higher in proportion, than the stated advance of about 20 per cent on gold. The price of gold alone does not appear to me to afford a much surer test to regulate the issues of bank- paper, than the price of cloth or of wheat; — that test is not to be found in the price of any single commodity, but in the average price of all com- modities. Finally, I would venture to propose the prices- current once a month, as a rule for the sum of circulating medium required. In order to be understood, I shall first suppose that, in consequence of bad crops, the price of grain has doubled, and assuming that the value of the stock of grain is one fifth of the value of the stock of all other commodi- ties, I would in that case diminish the issues * of * By issues of paper I mean discounts, for a credit given to an individual produces an issue of checks, just as if the bank itself had issued notes. 176 LONDON — DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. paper one tenth, and vice versa in ease and plenty, and consequent low prices. * The less the quan- tity of exchangeable commodities is, the less the sum of currency, or medium'of exchange, ought to be. Such a diminution precisely would have tak- en place, if, instead of paper, gold had been in circulation j for the high price of grain would have caused the gold to be exported to purchase supplies in foreign countries. In case of stagnation of trade, let us suppose the merchant's warehouse full of sugar and coffee, and the manufacturer overstocked with cloth and calico, I would then increase the issues in the twofold ratio of the de- pression of price of these articles, and the propor* tion they bear to the estimated value of the gene- ral stock of commodities. Such again would have been the natural course of things, as in the case of grain above stated, if the currency had been gold * I may be told that, if an article is doubled in price, in conse- quence of its quantity at market being diminished one-half, it re- quires exactly the same sum of currency to represent it. Also, that by diminishing the sum of currency, the rise of prices resulting from scarcity would be prevented, importations discouraged, and the natural remedy to scarcity counteracted. A moment's reflection must however shew, that, as the withdrawing of a part of the currency would operate on the prices of all commodities equally, the relative dearness of the scarce article would not be altered, and the inducement to importations of that article remain the same, as also the inducement to reduce its consumption. I am aware that it does not follow from an article doubling in price that its quantity at market is reduced one-half in quantity ; and it is very probable that a deficiency of one quarter, one-eighth, or even less, in the crop of grain for instance, would prove suffici- ent to occasion a rise in the price of 100 per cent. Therefore, the doubling of price of wheat in the case assumed, might not re- quire a reduction of one-tenth in the sum of currency in circula- tion, perhaps not more than one-twentieth, or even less. I only meant to indicate the general principle I had in view. LONDON— "DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. Iff instead of paper. It is worthy of remark, that the British government had recourse to a temporary expedient, similar in principle to the permanent rule I propose, in several cases of great commer- cial distress ; when loans of exchequer bills were made to merchants and manufacturers with the most salutary effect. The bullion committee itself recommended these extraordinary issues of ex- chequer-bills in such cases of commercial distress. There is only one step from the temporary expe- dient* to the permanent rule of the prices-current I propose. I am far from imagining that the sum of paper in circulation or its depreciation by over-issues, has any influence on foreign trade. Whether an ounce of gold is worth L.3* 17s. lOd. in bank- paper, one half more, or one half less, exporta- tions and importations of both gold and merchan- dise will not be interrupted in the least by that circumstance ; and the notion that a dear country is undersold in foreign markets, must be an error. As long as a bale of cloth, exported to Portugal for instance, shall command there a cask of wine, it matters not what the' nominal amount of the in- voice and of the sales may be,— the name of the vessel in which these articles were transported could not be of less consequence. The bale of cloth in question cost formerly in England L, 50, — we will suppose the cask of wine bought in Portugal, out of the proceeds of its sale, used to sell in England for L. 70. Now, perhaps, the cloth costs L. 100, and the cask of wine sells for L. 140, therefore the operation yields 40 per cent in either case. If, instead of wine the merchant brings back gold, it will make no difference, for gold will have advanced in the same proportion vol, ii. at 178 LONDON DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. as wine. A bill of exchange, likewise, will bear* a proportionate premium. This is supposing im- portations equal to exportations, and, in point of fact, they must be, and are always so. A perma- nent balance of trade in favour of any country, is impossible, or would be in reality a permanent loss. Commerce* said very justly an intelligent writer, is nothing but the interchange of reciprocal and equivalent benefits. * As the preceding position respecting the balance of trade might appear paradoxical, I shall explain it as shortly as I can. The ultimate balance of trade is usually estimated in money, and its profits reckoned by that scale. Yet, as the accumulation of money never fails to raise prices, the annual returns in specie of a balance of trade permanently favourable, would become quite nugatory. Sup- posing the quantity of specie was doubled every year, the price of everything doubling likewise, no real advantage whatsoever would result from the imaginary profit ; and the labour required to pro- duce the surplus of commodities exported over those imported, forming this balance called favour- able, would, in fact, be just so much labour lost. It may indeed be urged, that this accumulation of money affords the means of commanding the la- bour of a proportionate number of men in foreign countries whenever you choose to send it there. But what is to be done with the produce of this foreign labour ;— is it to be brought home in the shape of commodities, and consumed ? I grant that something real would, in this case, have been ob- tained by the former favourable balance of trade, * Huskisson' on Depreciation, p. 69. LONDON— DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. 179 but then it would be only by ceasing to be a fa- vourable balance. As permanent, it was a positive loss, — a loss of labour for which no real return was made. This command of labour may be applied to the support of military establishments abroad, or sub- sidies to foreign princes, and contribute to the aggrandizement, or to the safety of the state ; but the accumulation of money in the country, from a preceding favourable balance of trade, would go a very little way towards such an object. I do not suppose that in England, for instance, the accumu- lation of treasure would have been able to defray the expense of a single year of the last eighteen or twenty years war. The future favourable balance of trade may, indeed, be mortgaged by means of loans ; but here again, I should think, lurks a fal- lacy. If the loans were filled by foreigners, the future balance of trade, or future surplus of exports over imports, might indeed be applied directly and effectually to the discharge of interest, and ex- tinction of principal ; but, if the lenders are English, and you distribute among them annually this money brought home in consequence of a fa- favourable balance of trade, you give them a no- minal value, representing less and less every year. If you import foreign commodities instead of money, and, with these or their proceeds, pay the public creditors, the operation will indeed have been productive of positive benefit ; but, in as far only as it was a direct relinquishment of the /«- vourable balance of trade, as denned above, and generally understood. Unimportant as the state of the currency must be, as to external relations, the permanency of its standard is of the utmost consequence in all inter- 180 LONDON — DEPRECIATION OP CURRENCY. nal concerns. Gambling, — mistrust — breach of faith,— individual distress, and ruin of those who live on small fixed incomes, are among the obvious consequences of the depreciation of the currency. People of capital dare not lend, nor the owners of land grant long leases, and industry is discouraged. The rule of the prices-current appears to me to meet the difficulty at all points ; yet it is an ex- pedient liable to errors and mismanagement, while the exigibility of gold for paper, at the pleas* ure of the bearer, is an absolute specific against over-issues, — participating of the simplicity and certainty of the laws of nature, compared to the fallibility of those of man. It has lately been made penal to pay or receive more than twenty-one shillings in paper for a guinea, — this is the French maximum over again ! I cannot help thinking that if two prices were freely allowed, one for gold, the other for paper, the melting and exporting of guineas would immedi- ately stop of itself, and such hoards of money would be brought to light, and thrown into the circulation, as might enable the bank to resume her cash payments in a very short time.* Whether parliament will interfere or not in the bank's issues of paper, or restrict their discounts, * A friend of mine, while on a visit to a gentleman in the coun- try a few weeks since, went to a small shopkeeper in the neigh- bourhood, on purpose to try whether he had a hoard, and pre- tended to want a few guineas. The petty dealer inquired how many : twenty, he said. In a few minutes he brought the gold from a back-room, and in all probability might have produced more. These hoards are not, perhaps, the consequence of alarm, but of an idea (not wholly unfounded) that guineas are really worth more than twenty-one shillings. LONDON— DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. 181 the discussions called forth, both in and out of doors, have thrown such light on the subject, — awakened the attention of the public so thorough- ly, — and put the bank so much on their guard, that there is every reason to hope that the progress of the depreciation will be checked in time. May 16. — The loan for the present year is to be contracted for on Monday next. The business is managed as follows. Yesterday the chancellor of the Exchequer informed the parties intending to bid for the same, that the sum of 12 millions would be required ; — that for every L. 100 lent, the Go- vernment would give L. 100 in 3 per cent, reduced, L. 20 in the 3 per cent, consols, and L. 20 in the 4 per cent, (all these are new stock, issued under old names ; it would certainly be simpler to offer L. 100 of a stock, bearing 4 per cent, interest, or L. 146, 13s. 4d. at 3 per cent.) the bidders will have to signify how much more they require of a stock called long-annuities, and those who require the least will be entitled to the loan. The L. 100 in money to be paid at the following periods : 24th May, 1811, L. 10 deposited at once. 12th July, 10 22d Nov. L. 10 1 6th August, 15 20th December, 10 20th September, 10 1 4th Jan. 1812. 10 l6th October, 15 21st February, 10 The offer of the minister comes to this : L.100) 3 per cent, producing annually L. 3, 12s. 205 and worth, at the present market-price, (L. 64 sterling) - - L. 76 1 6 0 20 4 per cent, producing annually l6s. and worth, at the present market-price (L. 80 sterling) - - . 16 0 0 L. 140 L.92 16 0 182 LONDON — LOANS. Therefore the lenders are to receive for every L. 100 they pay, a stock which yields L. 4, 8s. interest, and would sell in the market for L. 92, 16s. ; they must have therefore as much in long annuities as would sell for 7s. 4d. before they get the par of what they are to lend. May 20. — The bidding took place at 6s. lid. ; —that is, the lowest offer was to take an annuity of 6s. lid. besides the stock offered by the minis- ter ; and, as the long annuities sell at the rate of L. 18 for every 20s. annual interest, this bidding of 6s. lid. is equal to L. 6, 4s. 6d. Finally, the lenders are to receive altogether, Stock producing annually L. 4 8 0 as explained above, and 0 6 1 1 long annuities, L. 4 14 11 or very nearly 5 per cent, arid as that same stock would sell in the market for L. 93 16 0 as explained above, and 6 4 6 long annuities, L.99 0 6 they will lose very near one per cent, equal to L. 117,000, on a capital of twelve millions, unless the price of stock rises, which they no doubt ex- pect. Mr Perceval boasted in Parliament of hav- ing made a very good bargain ; and it certainly does seem so. The profit of these wholesale lenders to govern- ment was formerly very considerable, (8 or 9 per cent. ;) but the method devised by Mr Pitt of dis- posing of the loan to the lowest bidder, has redu- ced the ordinary profit to one or two per cent, at least. The proposals of the bidders are delivered under seal, and are all opened at the same time. LONDON LIBELS. 183 The attention of the public has been occupied lately by various criminal prosecutions for libels ; and it is observed that these sort of prosecutions have been uncommonly frequent the two or three last years. There is a sort of half-prosecution more particularly obnoxious. The attorney-gene- ral informs, ex officio, against the author or pub- lisher of any writing deemed a libel against the government. The accused is obliged to give a heavy bail ; — he is put to considerable ex pence and inconvenience ; — has to retain counsel, and prepare his defence. Meanwhile, the attorney- general, by not bringing the trial to an issue, leaves the sword of the law hanging over the head of the culprit. If he went on with his prosecution, the judge, or at least the jury, might clear the pri- soner ; but, this sort of prospective punishment, de- pending merely on his will, answers his purpose completely, which is to silence troublesome wri- ters. Of seventy libellers against whom informa- tions were filed by the attorney-general, in three years, seventeen only have been prosecuted to j udgment ; and it is asserted that the thirty years preceding had not produced any more. Lord Holland, in the upper house, and Lord Folkestone, in the lower, introduced some motions, the object of which was, to restrict arbitrary proceedings, so contrary to the spirit and general practice of the criminal law of England, — but they were rejected. The liberty of the press is the palladium of Eng- lish liberty, and, at the same time, its curse ; — a vivyfying and decomposing principle, incessantly at work in the body-politic. The censorship of the Romans was not half so efficacious as this mo- dern one of the press j but its abuse is intolerable ; and it is quite right that those who undertake the 134 LONDON LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. office should be made responsible for their acts. Nothing can be more vague and variable than the laws, or rather the customs, restricting the publi- cation of those defamatory writings called libels, and consequently nothing more defective in Eng- lish legislation. The constitution, or at least the oldest charter and statutes, are silent respecting a thing hardly known in former times. And, when the invention of printing gave rise to frequent li- bels, the Roman law became naturally the first guide of the courts of justice respecting them. They might find there precedents of great severity ; but, as proof of the imputations contained in the libel was admitted in justification among the Ro- mans, it appears to have been so likewise among the English to the time of Elizabeth, and even un- der her successors. The arbitrary court, known by the name of the Star-chamber, established cen- sors of the press, without whose permission nothing could be printed ; and offenders were punished with the greatest rigour, arid without a jury. These regulations continued till after the Revolu- tion, which brought William III. to the throne ; and the liberty of the press was established in Eng- land in 1694, by the simple expiration of the laws which repressed it. Since that time, it has had no other limits but those resulting from the gross abuse of this liberty. To define the abuse is, how- ever, a nice and difficult undertaking ; and there is on this subject an interminable controversy be- tween the party attached to power and the party at- tached to liberty. In every criminal trial the jury decide not only on the act, but on the intention of the act, which alone constitutes criminality ; for homicide itself may, according to circumstances, not be a crime ; yet, in cases of libel, the judges, LONDON LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 185 in their zeal against an offence particularly obnox- ious to power, availing themselves of a precedent furnished by the Star-Chamber, introduced a strange distinction : — They charged the jury to look to the simple fact of publication, without inquiring into any of the circumstances tending to ascertain the intention, reserving to themselves alone to judge of that, and, consequently of the criminality. The jury have not always submitted implicitly to the arbitrary dictates of the bench, and, in many in- stances, have acquitted the author of an injurious publication, justified by circumstances. At last, Parliament put an end to this scandalous conflict of power, by deciding, on a motion of Mr Fox, that the jury should proceed in cases of libels as in other criminal cases. The individual accused of publishing a libel is not admitted, however, to plead the truth in his defence. The greater the truth the greater the libel, seems to be an axiom in law ; and there are some very good reasons in support of it. The public has nothing to do with the weaknesses, the infirmities, or even the vices of private individuals, and those who suffer from them have their remedy in law. Great vices are sufficiently known, and inferior ones had better remain in obscurity ; all men have their share of them, and the knowledge of those of others has a tendency to reconcile us with our own. Publicity degrades, but does not amend. Should the legal remedy against libellers be ren- dered more difficult to obtain, and the truth be al- lowed to be given in evidence, the party aggrieved, instead of seeking protection from the law, would protect himself by personal violence, and perhaps assassination. The first object of the laws is the safety of the individual ; they are a sort of treaty 186 LONDON LIBELS DUELS. of peace between enemies, rather than a system of pure morality, and their test is public utility alone. Possibly the characters of public men, or candi- dates for places should be excepted, and a libel against them deemed no libel, if true, — provided the criminality was made the greater if the truth was not fully made out. The jury knows very well the state of the case as to people in conspicuous situations ; and in reality the accused runs very little risk if he has spoken the truth with good motives, and may trust to the unanimity of twelve disinterested men. The English constitution is pliable in its nature ; it yields to circumstances, and has not always held the same language respecting libels as we have seen. Duels, which are another kind of extra- judicial process between individuals, were rigor- ously punished with death in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, because they were then too extravagantly common to be tolerated ; in the nine- teenth the law is suffered to sleep,-r-it is disregard- ed ; and if the motives of the duel are such as public opinion sanctions, they are tacitly admitted likewise by the law ; and a premeditated duel passes now for an accidental rencontre, or any thing but murder, because the cases are few, and are deemed a useful corrective of manners. bels, on the contrary, are at their maximum j they form the main dependence of the public papers, — an important branch of the book trade ; and there is scarcely a political pamphlet published which is not a downright libel. What is to be done in a crowd, where everybody throws stones ? Shall we suffer the innocent to be bruised and knocked down because there are some who have deserved the pelting ? And is it not better to stop all hands a LONDON — LIBELS. 187 without distinction, or at least those who fling the largest stones, than to listen to the reasons they may allege for their proceedings, which, how- ever good they may be, do not prevent the abuse. The most enlightened lawyer and the greatest statesman of whom the United States have to boast, as well as the purest patriot after Washington, de- fined the liberty of the press, " The right of pub- lishing the truth, with good motives, and to a useful end, whether it inculpates the government, the ma- gistrates, or private individuals," &c. &c* This right of insulting publicly private individuals, and subjecting them to this ordeal of the press, at the good-will and pleasure of any adventurer of the pen, appears to me extremely questionable in itself, and, at any rate, very likely to do more harm than good. Consulting Hume respecting the practice of old times as to libels, I happened to meet with the fol- lowing very curious passage, f It is a conversation between two most illustrious personages ; no less than Queen Elizabeth and Lord Bacon, told in the words of the latter. " The Queen was mightily incensed against Haywarde, on account of a book he dedicated to Lord Essex, being a story of the first years of King Henry IV., thinking it a sedi- tious prelude, to put into the people's heads boldness and faction. She said, she had an opinion that there was treason in it, and asked me if I could not * Hamilton had studied the law too late in life to be properly a learned lawyer ; but he possessed eminently the spirit of the law, soon mastered by his comprehensive genius. His definition of the liberty of the press may be seen in Johnson's Reports, Vol. 111. People v. Croswell. + The Writer of this Journal would not have thought it neces? sary to extract these passages from Hume, if he had originally intended to offer his book to the English public. 188 LONDON — 'LIBELS. find places in it that might be drawn into the case of treason. Whereto I answered, for treason sure I found none, but for felony very many. And when her Majesty hastily asked me, Wherein ? I told her the author had committed very apparent thefts; for he had taken most of the sentences of Cornelius Tacitus, and translated them into English, and put them into his text. And another time, when the Queen could not be persuaded that it was his writing whose name was to it, but that it had some more mischievous author, and said, with great indig- nation, that she would have him racked to produce his author. I replied, c Nay, Madam, he is a doc- tor, never rack his person, but rack his style ; let him have pen, ink, and paper, and help of books, and be enjoined to continue the story where it breaketh off, and \ will undertake, by collating the styles, to judge whether he was the author or not." Hume was not an esprit fort in matters of government as in religion ; his object here was to shew that the English constitution had no very an- cient claim to liberty, and he must not be trusted implicitly on the subject. He observes further, that the English government of that period resem- bled much that of Turkey in our days. " The sor vereign," he says, " possessed every power, but that of imposing taxes ; and in both countries, this limitation, unsupported by other privileges, ap- pears rather prejudicial to the people. In Turkey, it obliges the Sultan to permit the extortions of the bashaws and governors of provinces, from whom he afterwards squeezes presents, or takes forfeitures. In England, it engaged the Queen to erect mono- polies, and to grant patents for exclusive trade ; an invention so pernicious, that had she gone on, during a tract of years, at her own rate, England, LONDON-*— MR ROSe's PAMPHLET. 189 the seat of riches, and arts, and commerce, would have contained at present as little industry as Mo- rocco, or the coast of Barbaryv' — The historian is, however, obliged to admit, that this very neces- sity of obtaining the consent of Parliament to raise subsidies, had been the means of extorting successively all the privileges which constitute the liberty of the people; and, notwithstanding the complaints of corruption and ministerial manoeuv- ring in Parliament, the people share in all the victories of its representatives in Parliament ; they cannot extort for themselves, without having first made themselves of consequence by extorting for the people, in the sense of Hume. And however paradoxical the position may appear, the corrup- tion, or rather the selfish views of the represen- tatives of the people, are in fact, taking mankind as they are in general, and with few exceptions, the best pledge of the faithful discharge of their duty. I cannot take leave of this subject, barren as it must appear to those who do not interest them- selves particularly in the curious mechanism of this singular government, without mentioning a late pamphlet, already quoted, on the influence of the Crown as connected w 7 ith public expenditure and public patronage, and comparing the past and present times* The great anger of opposition writers against this book, induced me to read it, suspecting a work so disliked by the contrary party must have some merit. Mr Rose, a member of several successive administrations, is the author, — of course well acquainted with his subject; and although this is ex parte evidence, yet the zeal of his antagonists is to be trusted, and what they do not disprove, may be taken for granted. This author 190 LONDON — MR ROSE's PAMPHLET* shews, that Mr Pitt, the great corruptor, instead of disposing of the loans to his friends by private con- tracts, as had been the custom with his predeces- sors, put them up to the highest bidder, in the manner already stated, and the savings resulting from this change are estimated at half a million sterling a-year. Another improvement of Mr Pitt's brought the revenue of the crown- lands from L. 4000, in 1794, to L. 63,000, fifteen years after ; and now probably L. 400,000, — there being, in 1794, eighty members of Parliament who held leases of these lands ! Finally, Mr Rose presents to the public a grand total of two millions and a half of annual savings, resulting immediately from the great financier's measures. He next shows that, by certain reforms in the civil list in 1782, nine members of the House of Peers lost places they held before ; and 37 members in the House of Commons, including 15 contractors ; and that there are at present 40 mem- bers of the House of Commons in possession of places during the pleasure of Government, while in 1739 there were 72, and in 1762, 96. Notwithstanding the prodigious increase of the army and navy, he enumerates only 44 persons in the army, and 19 in the navy as members of Par- liament, being about the same number as former- The public revenue of 10 millions in 1783, em- ployed 9068 persons; in 1808, 54 millions em- ployed only 10,495 persons ; these 1427 new clerks costL. 880,000, which for 44 millions of additional revenue, makes the expence of collection less than two per cent. Finally, " The whole revenue of Great Britain is more than 60 millions a year ; the charge on LONDON-* — MR ROSE'S PAMPHLET. 1Q1 Which, of L. 242,000 for pensions and sinecure em- ployments at home and abroad, is between three farthings and one penny in the pound; by their extinction, therefore, a person who pays L. 50 a- year taxes would save only 4s. * Mr Rose finish- es his pamphlet by an anecdote honourable to Mr Pitt. When in 1789, he was about retiring from the ministry, without fortune, and in debt, a num- ber of gentlemen of the city resolved to raise a sum of L. 100,000 to be presented to him as a free gift* — -the well earned reward of his meritorious exer- tions ; — each subscriber engaging never to divulge the name of himself, or of any other person contri- buting. Mr Pitt refused this magnificent present ; and his reply was, that if he should at an}' future period of his life return to office, he should never see *j* a gentleman from the city without its occur- ring to him that he might be one of his subscrib- ers. The oppositionists* admitting these savings in whole or in part* say that the annual expenditure of 70 millions a year, the fruit of a war wantonly provoked by Mr Pitt, creates at any rate an influ- ence vastly greater than the former expenditure of 24 millions. It is almost all for salaries, securing a more extended and absolute dependence than any other expenditure could do. Admitting, like- wise, that there are not a greater number of army and navy members in Parliament, they maintain * The very words of Mr Rose are here quoted, but I cannot help thinking there must be some mistake in this -very small total. + See must have been meant on official business, otherwise, in- stead of a sentiment of delicacy, it would been have one of mere pride. 1§2 london — Mr rose's pamphlet— theatre. that the immense war establishment enlists under the banners of government an infinitely greater number of individuals than it did formerly. They enumerate, besides, several new departments of police,-— half-a-dozen special commissions, — new military and judiciary departments in India, * Prince of Wales islands, &c. — in short, such a mass of influence working innovations, as threatens to overwhelm Mr Rose and his pamphlet. Mr Cob- bet and Mr Waithman, joining in the cry, tell us that one out of every five persons you meet in the streets, is in the pay of government, and this is of course a fine text for them to preach a thorough reformation. I am not, however, at all sure that this state of things would secure necessarily the influence of government ; the greater the number of favoured individuals is, the more discontented those who are left out must be. Every friend gained, creates four enemies ; and unless govern- ment, reversing the present system, should resolve on retaining in future four men out of every five, its influence must still be precarious; jealousy being a much stronger and more active stimulant than gratitude. May 16. — The Hay-Market Theatre is precisely of the proper dimensions to hear and see. Elliston, who is an excellent actor, filled the principal part in an indifferent play, the sub ject of which is taken from the story of Cardenio in Don Quixote. There is, however, a very affecting scene in it, that in which the unfortunate madman meets the mistress he had lost, without knowing her. Some faint recollec- tions seem excited by her presence, and awaken his attention ; — he contemplates her long in uneasy silence ; — ^remembrance, at last, and reason beam upon his disordered mind j — he rushes towards his LONDON— MUSEUM — PANORAMAS. 193 mistress and falls senseless at her feet. The shades of returning intelligence and sentiment, — the pas- sage from stupid indifference to passionate feel- ings, have been represented with great skill. The hysterical laugh is a legitimate means of expres- sing what could not be expressed half so well otherwise ; but that heart-rending sound must be introduced very sparingly, and may easily become ridiculous instead of affecting. Elliston repeated it three different times: it was once, at least, too often. Among the curiosities of London, the cabinet of Natural History* known under the name of the Liverpool Museum, deserves to be mentioned. The boa constrictor is a gigantic snake, which makes the story of Laocoon quite probable. This one crushes a deer in its ample folds, and tears it to pieces with its teeth ; it is about 35 feet in length, and as large as a man's thigh. The giraffe is another prodigious animal. A quadruped 16 feet high, with a very pretty head like a horse, and mild innocent look, at the top of an immensely long, yet graceful, crane neck. This animal is sin- gularly gifted to discover all approaching danger from his tower of observation, and to fly from it with his seven league boots. A moderate-sized elephant near him, looked quite small. There are new panoramas this year at Mr Par- ker's, as admirable as those he exhibited the last. We have just seen Malta. The gairish light of day, white and dazzling ; — the strong and perpendicu- lar shadows ; — the dusty land ; — the calm and glassy sea, paint heat to the eye. The inhabitants overcome, lie about in the shade of narrow streets ; — a sentinel alone is seen pacing his watch before the gate of the arsenal. The smallest details are cha- VOL. II. n 194 LONDON— —PANORAMAS. racteristic, and represented with perfect truth, arid;, at the same time, with poetical taste and feeling. We learned, with much regret, that the panorama of Dover, which we admired so much last year, was painted on this identical cloth. Malta is laid over Dover, and Dover covers half-a-dozen more chefs-d'oeuvre ! I should be much tempted to rescue a few of them if I could, and carry off some of Mr Parker's canvas as Lord Elgin has done Phidias's marbles. The circumference of the panorama is about 270 feet, the height 30 feet, the surface about 900 square yards. Unfortunately the Ame- rican Government is brouille just now with British arts and manufactures, and void of sympathy,— for my feelings on the occasion would lay violent hands on Malta. May 22.— The expected meeting between Mo- lineaux, the black, from America, and a Lanca- shire pugilist (Rimmer) took place yesterday. These sorts of combats being peculiar to the coun- try, I wished to be present at one of them, and repair- ed early to the field, (Molesey Hurst, near Hamp- ton. Court, 15 miles from London,) with Mr S. who had the goodness to accompany me. We found an immense ring already formed, — a sort of Scythian entrenchment of carts and waggons, arranged side by side in double and treble rows, without horses. This is a contrivance of the country people, who speculate on the curiosity of the Londoners, and let their elevated vehicles to the amateurs of the fist. We made our bargain, and mounted a cart, whence we had a full view of the immense crowd already assembled inside the ring of carts, in the centre of which we could see a smaller ring, per- haps 40 feet across, surrounded with stakes and a rope. About half after twelve o'clock, Rimmer LONDON— MOLINEAUX AND RIMMER. 195 appeared in the ring, a tall, good-looking young man, with a high colour. The black arrived soon after, mounted on the box of a barouche and four, with some young men of fashion ; he was muffled up in great-coats, and seemed a clumsy-looking fellow. Here began a scene quite unexpected to me, the clearing of the ring. All the boxers in town, professional and amateurs, charged the mob at once, which giving way in confusion, formed a sort of irregular circle outside the rope-ring, but not large enough. With sticks and whips applied, sans ceremonie y these champions of the fist pressed back the compact mass. I expected every mo- ment a general engagement, — nothing of the kind j the mob shrunk from the flogging, but without re- sentment. Tis true the blows appeared to be di- rected mostly over the heads of the first ranks, and fell on those five or six deep ; the weapons being mostly coachmens or carters long whips. These rear ranks, assailed by an invisible hand, had no resource but a retreat, and made way for those in front ; the latter, squatting down on the turf, form- ed, at last, a sort of barrier over which the crowd could see. The combatants soon stripped ; the black exhibiting the arms, breast, and shoulders of Hercules, with the " head, scarce more exten- sive than the sinewy neck his legs also extreme- ly muscular, and not much of the negro make. The Lancashire man, taller, and broader, but not so deep,* square, and muscular, appeared un- daunted, and had lost none of his colour. They shook hands and stood on their defence, shy to * Pugilists consider the depth of the chest as a surer indica- tion of strength than the breadth. 1^6 LONDON MOLINEAUX AND RIMMEK. begin for some minutes. I could not tell who gave the first blow, so quickly was it returned. The Lancashire man fell and fell again. One of the rounds he closed with the black, threw him, and fell over himself. Twice more, I think, he at- tempted to wrestle, with various success, but was often knocked down. His left eye appeared clos- ed, and he was all stained with blood ; — I could not well distinguish where it came from. The blood was not so visible on the skin of the black, but I observed that he was much more out of breath than his adversary. C'est un plaisir de les voir se baisser Se relever, reculer, avancer Parer, sauter. se menager des feintes, Et se porter les plus vives atteintes. At every round, which is generally terminated by a fall, the seconds raise their friend, — wipe the blood, — bathing his temples with a sponge dipped in vinegar and water. The champion who did not fall sits in the meantime on the bended knee of one of his seconds, leaning upon him, to take as much rest as he can, and is refreshed also by sponging. The battle had lasted half an hour, — about twenty rounds, — the Lancashire-man always thrown; when all at once the barrier was broken,— an ir- ruption of the mob took place, and soon became general, rushing towards the centre, and over- whelming the ring and its occupants. I lost sight of the combatants. Whips and sticks were lilted up in vain, — there was not even room to strike. All was clamour, and struggle, and confusion, for twenty minutes. At last we saw the ropes and stakes taken away, as if any further battle was out LONDON— MOLINBAUX AND RIMMER. 197 of the question, or an adjournment intended to some other spot. Unwilling to lose their sport, the mob seemed to give way a little, and had no sooner made an opening, than a desperate charge drove them back to their former situation, where squat- ting again, order was restored, and the combatants stood. The white man seemed still able and stout, but fell like an ox under the club of the butcher at the first round, — at the second, — and so on, from bad to worse, rising each time with more difficulty. It became a shocking sight. Victory was out of the question, and had been so almost from the begin- ning. His better wind might have afforded him a chance, — he had lost it by the interruption. The black was now fresh, — he pressed his exhausted adversary, retreating before him. At last a knock- down blow laid him prostrate near the ring of spectators (for the rope-ring was gone). In vain his seconds, exerting themselves about him, raised him from the ground ; his head hung on his breast, —he could not stand, — he appeared hors de com- bat, — and the prescribed time to face his adversary having expired (two or three minutes), victory was declared on the other side. Hats flew, — cries rent the air; the black, meantime, grinning over his fallen adversary in savage triumph ! The mob rush- ed in from all parts; and we rushed out; not wish- ing to see any more, — and, finding our vehicle, drove back to London. This was not deemed a good battle. Young Rimmer overrated his own strength, and has re- ceived a good lesson for his temerity. The black will not meet with many pugilists equal to him in point of muscle, but he wants wind and coolness ; he puts himself in a passion, and will be beat by 198 LONDON— MADAME CATALANI. the professors, if he dares try them. * A pleasing reflection softened the brutality of this sight ; it was the impartiality with which the populace ob- served the lot du combat, and saw one of their own people thus mauled and bruised by a foreigner and a negro, suffering him to enjoy his triumph unmo- lested ; for the interruption had been a mere ebul- lition of curiosity and enthusiastic admiration for the art, — not ill-will or unfair interference. When I call this collection of people populace, I do not mean that they were all low people ; there were no ragged coats in sight, and half the mob were gentlemen. Passing from one extreme to the other, I went the same evening to hear Madame Catalani in a comic opera, for the first time,^-// Fanatica per la Musica, — something like the French Melomanie, but not comparable as a composition. It is dull, and too long, but Naldi is an excellent comedian, and Madame Catalani is much greater in the comic than in the tragic department. Her voice, — so full, so strong, and so sweet, — is the least of her charms; the modest playfulness of her action, — the tenderness and sweetness of her expression, are bewitching beyond anything I had imagined. I have not seen the character of a gentleman intro- duced on the English stage ; there are rakes, hu^ mourists, philosophers, and odd gentlemen of all sorts, but a mere finished f gentleman has not, I * In October following, after we had left England, this black man fought with the champion of England, Cribb, and was well punished. + Lord Ogleby, in the excellent comedy of the Clandestine Marriage, approaches the character j yet he is too much what LONDON — HOUSES — BRICK-KILNS. 199 believe, been introduced, and there would not be anybody to act the part. Now Madame Catalani was to-night a finished lady, — polite, delicate, and refined, without any eccentricity or originality to disturb the harmony of her expression. We have spent a few days with some of our friends in Hertfordshire, 20 miles north of London. For half that distance you travel between two rows of brick houses, to which new ones are added every day ; their walls are frightfully thin, a single brick of eight inches, — and, instead of beams, mere planks lying on an edge. I am informed, it is made an express condition in the leases of these shades of houses, that there shall be no dances given in them ; and, as if to destroy the little so- lidity of which such thin walls are susceptible, they generally place a window above the pier below, and a pier above the window below. London ex- tends its great polypus- arms over the country around. The population is not increased by any means in proportion to these appearances, — only transferred from the centre to the extremities. This centre is become a mere counting-house, or place of business. People live in the outskirts of the town in better air, — larger houses, — and at a smaller rent, — and stages passing every half hour, facilitate communications. Certain parts of these extremities of the town are, however, exposed to a great nui- sance ; the air is poisoned by the emanation from brick-kilns, exactly like carrion, to such a degree, as to excite nausea, and the utmost disgust, till the cause of the smell is known ; wjien the immediate would be called in France an original. Sir Charles Easy, in the. Careless Husband, comes nearer to it. 200 HERTFORDSHIRE— THE NIGHTINGALE. relief experienced, shews how much imagination and association have to do with what seems mere sensation. As soon as we got beyond the sight and the smell of bricks the country appeared to great advantage. Green fields and hedge-rows all around us ; and on the right, at some distance, a range of very pretty hills, well wooded, and with gentle- men's houses here and there on the slope. These hills are, I believe, part of the site of Epping Forest, as it is called ; of which, as of most other English forests (the New Forest excepted), not a vestige seems to remain. The groves we see are modern plantations, made by London citizens round their country-boxes. Mr Gilpin, who was very fond of the New Forest, describing it, said exultingly, that it was " not like a French forest, planted in rows." Mr Gilpin did not know that there are forests in France as large as two or three English counties, and as old as the creation. This is an instance, certainly rare here, of that ignorance of foreign countries so common in France. The environs of Hertford present really some appearances of forest, though without the name, and the surface of the country is very agreeably diversified with woody hills and grassy dales, of- fering fine distant prospects. We have heard here the nightingale for the first time in England. Fancy had embellished the faded recollection in my mind. I imagined it a long uninterrupted tale of woe, the note deep and strong, but soft, tender and melan- choly ; instead of which, it is a quick succession of strong, sharp, b,risk notes. Shrill whistling oc- curs very often, not unlike the blackbird. There is indeed a sort of water-note, which is very beau- tiful, approaching what I had imagined, but it is so soon interrupted by another quite different, that HERTFORD COLLEGE. 201 you have not time to enjoy it. Upon the whole it is a lively, pleasing, vulgar sort of melody, inferior perhaps to the singing of other birds of less fame. The circumstances of night and silence, and the trite allusions of the poets, have contributed to this adventitious fame of Philomel. Contrary to what I should have supposed, the nightingale is heard to more advantage near than far off. The East India Company formed here a few- years ago a magnificent establishment, for the edu- cation of young men destined to its service. The college is a quadrangle, about 400 feet every way, in- closing an area of four acres of grass, around which the apartments of the students and halls for the lectures are distributed. The principal front pre- sents along low line, adorned with three pediments; the one in the middle, supported by six columns, is tacked to a dead wall, and leads to nothing ; the two end ones are, on the contrary, all open, and the light is seen through. Neither the one nor the other look very well. This edifice is built of Portland-stone, on a rising ground, with a gravelled terrace before it,- — a sloping lawn,— and a back- ground of trees. There are at present ninety young men in the college, from 15 to 18 years of age, and the num- ber increasing, who all have an appointment in the Company's service. They pay L. 100 a-year — board and lodging in the house, and even washing, are included. They have each a small room with a, fire-place, and a recess for a bed ; — no fees to the professors, whose lectures they attend three hours a-day. The rest of their time is taken up with reading and preparing themselves for the lectures, or rather for the examinations, which seem to be very strict and effectual. They have to answer 202 HERTFORD COLLEGE. questions on their different studies in writing, with- out leaving the room, without consulting any books, and without knowing beforehand the pre- cise questions, although they know the subjects in general upon which they are to be examined. I saw in the hands of one of the professors (the au- thor of the celebrated Essay on Population,) a number of these manuscripts, passing every day under his eyes, containing often twenty or thirty pages, on political economy and history, some of them extremely good. The corrections and com- ments of the professor are also in writing j and al- though he does not, upon the whole, lecture more than five hours in a week, his time is fully employ- ed. There are eight professors, besides the princi- pal. The professor of Sanscrit, Mr Hamilton, is first-cousin of our General Hamilton, the most distinguished character in the United States after Washington. The first cost of this establishment was L. 60,000. It was undertaken, I believe, in opposition to the one in India.* The East India directors begin to think it very expensive, and the parents of the young men complain also of the loss of three years in the race of fortune which their children are destined to run, as a great hardship ; but all parties are gone too far to recede, and they will continue to do good, and to receive it, in spite of themselves. The good is undoubted ; and India will have in future magistrates and legislators better fitted for their situation, by their general education * The annual expences of the college at Calcutta exceeded L. 100,000 sterling, and every student cost the Company nearly h. 1000 sterling a-year. BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 203 and knowledge of the Eastern languages, than they were formerly. The power of this singular em- pire is, more than any other, founded on opinion, and it would not long survive the contempt of the people. The English empire in the East Indies is a poli- tical phenomenon, so recent in its present extent, that little is known about it out of England ; and there never was, perhaps, any event half so im- portant, or half so extraordinary, about which the contemporary generation were equally ignorant. The wonderful events of the last twenty years, near- er us, and of such paramount interest, have taken off our attention from what passed in the antipodes. About a hundred years ago, the Mogul empire had reached the summit of greatness under Aurung Zeb ; it included the whole peninsula of India between the Ganges and the Indus, — that is to say, near- ly the present dominions of England in the East. The revenue of that prince amounted to thirty-two millions sterling, — equal to four times that sum in our days,- — and he commanded an army of 1,200,000 men. * The Tartar dynasty was overthrown thirty years after the death of Aurung Zeb, by 100,000 Persians ; and after them, the Mahrattas became, in a great degree, masters of the peninsula of India. Alexander, with his 30,000 Greeks, overran it for- merly without difficulty. A detachment of French troops made a revolution in the Decan with less than a tenth part of the forces of Alexander. In 1756, Colonel Clive avenged his countrymen smothered in the black-hole of Calcutta, and with * Hjstoire Philosophique et Politique, &c, 204 BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 500 men dethroned the tyrant of Bengal. India belongs to whoever chooses to take it The English began their establishment in India later than the other European powers, yet they possessed, in 1792, a province of about 100 leagues square, at the mouth of the Ganges, the capital of Which (Calcutta,) has acquired, under their empire, a population of half a million of inhabitants. Thence to Madras they had only a strip along the sea, interrupted in two different places, but, since 1792, they have quintupled their acquisitions, either by absolute conquest, or by subsidiary treaties lead- ing to possession; and have at last found themselves masters of a territory peopled by sixty millions of subjects. The first step has generally been, grant- ing a permanent assistance of troops for a certain annual payment or tribute. The friendly power, thus released from the care of self defence, was detached from any other alliances. The enemies of that friend were in due time subjugated, — next himself, because of his ingratitude. He had been asked for an increase of tribute, or a security for the regular payment of it ; or for a compensation in territory, or a formal cession for a valuable consi- deration ; and these terms being rejected, the friend was forthwith dispossessed. The intercourse of the British government in India with the native powers, whether it began in friendship or enmity, seems to have ended uniformly in this manner. A very in- telligent writer in the opposition (Lord Lauder- dale,) compares the accusations against the native princes, which have generally preceded the seizure of their possessions, to the libels of the French government against the oppressed powers of Eu- rope during the very same period. This awkward and contemptible juggling, by which a semblance of BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 9,05 right is attempted to be given to mere might, is ? however, much older than our own times ; and even jEsop's wolf and lamb, probably, did not furnish the original precedent. The fact, of a country becoming permanently the master of another country, situated on the other side of the globe, and the population of which is four times its own,* is quite without an example in history ; and the astonishment increases, when we consider that it is not even a sovereign state, a prince, or a people, but a mere company of mer- chants, which became possessed of this vast em- pire, without intending it, — without their know- ledge, — and almost against their orders. Parliament established, in 1784, a Board of Con- trol, to superintend the measures of the Company, and declared solemnly, that it was repugnant to the wish, the honour, and the policy of the British nation, to pursue schemes of conquest, and to ex- tend the possessions of the Company in India, en- joining, at the same time, the strictest observance of moderation and justice towards the native princes. Jt is notorious, that the Company itself has always been averse to a system of conquest, yet conquests have been made by their governors and generals, and sanctioned by this very Board of Control, appointed as a check ; once made, they have been kept, and no inquiry instituted into the proceedings. In a complicated government, like this of England, it is often difficult to trace irregu- larities to their true cause, and find where respon- sibility is to rest. * The population of British India is estimated at one man to fourteen acres ; in England there are five acres to a man ; i» China, according to Barrow, two acres and a half. 206 BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. Conquests are very expensive. The British had in India, in 1803, an army of 125,000 men ; viz. 25,000 Europeans, 90,000 native troops, and 10,000 invalids, irregulars, and Lascars. The conse- quence of this enormous establishment has been a twofold debt, in Europe and in India, amounting altogether to thirty-five millions sterling. The an- nual revenue of the country (fifteen millions,) is more than absorbed by the civil and military esta- blishment, and the debt increases annually. The Company has necessary remittances to make to Europe, for the fitting out of vessels, shipping of troops, salary of agents and officers, pensions, pre- «ents,*dividendsto the stockholders, and finally, for the half million they are bound to pay annually to the government. Therefore they are obliged to import annually from India a certain quantity of merchan- dise, greater than the consumption of England requires, its own manufactures supplying the same goods cheaper, and the vent being otherwise very much reduced, by the circumstance of the ports of the Continent being shut against British commerce. The amount of the annual importation of India goods, which had been, in 1798, L. 4,667,000, was, in 1808, reduced to L. 1,191,000; that is to say, reduced three-fourths in ten years ; and the de- clension of prices was still more remarkable, since the importation of 1798 gave L. 298,000 profits, while that of 1808 gave L. 264,000 loss! The Company sends no more silver to India for the purchase of goods, as it did formerly. These sove- * The pensions allowed by the Company exceed L. 40,000 sterling a-year; and the presents to various persons, from 1794 to 1806, amounted to L. 359,000. BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. §07 i'eign merchants do not in fact carry on any trade, or at least it is a trade of pure remittance. * They merely bring home a portion of their territorial revenue necessary to defray their disbursements in Europe, shipping for that purpose Indian goods to a losing market. That loss is such, that the Com- pany finds its interest in borrowing at 8 per cent, in India, rather than at & per cent, in England. The sum of interest, at 8 per cent., invested in goods in India, and shipped to England, would not net there a sum equal to the payment of interest at 5^ per cent. ; which shews a loss of about three- eighths, or 374 P er cent - Exclusive of the indis- pensable remittances of the Company, its agents have remittances to make on their own account to an amount not much inferior. One out of ten of the young adventurers going to India every year as Company's servants, survives the climate and returns. Of this tenth a few individuals realize large fortunes. These fortunes are brought to Eng- land ; and, as private concerns are conducted with * Lord Lauderdale mentions in his work on India, already quoted, two traditional anecdotes of the Gentoos, in proof of the former perfection and present degeneracy of Indian manufactures, ascribed, of course, to the exclusive regimen of the Company. There was a sort of muslin, called abrovan, which was manufac- tured solely for the use of the Emperor's seraglio, a piece of which, costing 400 rupees, or L. 50 sterling, is said to have weighed only five sicca-rupees, and, if spread upon wet grass, to have been scarcely visible. The Emperor Aurung Zeb was angry with his daughter for shewing her skin through her clothes; whereupon the young princess remonstrated in her justification, that she had seven jamahs, or suits, on. Another of the tales was, that a weaver was chastised, and turned out of the city of Decca, for his neglect, in not preventing his cow from eating up a piece of the same sort of muslin which he had spread, and carelessly left on the grass. 208 BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. more acti vity and care than public ones, these rich men find generally indirect means for the transfer of their property, less chargeable than those of the Company's ships, under the flag of the United States^ or other neutrals. These private remit- tances swell, however, ultimately, the quantity, al- ready too great, of Indian goods in Europe. If we consider the East India Company under the point of view of trade, we have already seen that it is worse than nothing. As a means of bringing home the territorial revenue, the charges attending the operation absorb or exceed that reve- nue ; and, as to physical force, so far from Eng- land deriving any from her 60 millions of Indian subjects, she has to ship European troops annually, to keep up the complement of 20,000 or 30,000 men, whose ranks are rapidly thinned by the cli- mate. India enables a few individuals to amass large fortunes, which are brought home, and help to fill the loans. That seems to me the extent of the benefit derived from its possession. The Com- pany employs and feeds, it is true,' 50,000 persons in the city of London ; but, if it should be shewn that they are employed unprofitably, then, in fact, they are fed at the expence of the public. Such is then that mine of wealth and power from which England is supposed to draw her resources ; — the object of so much jealousy on the part of her enemies, and of which they would deprive her at any cost. Should they succeed, they might find, after all, they had achieved little against her, and still less for themselves. The natives of India would be, as far as I can see, the only losers by the expulsion of their present masters, their condi- tion being undoubtedly improved. Liberty is out of the question with them, at least what is under- BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 209 stood in Europe by that name ; but they live at least under a government of laws, administered impartially, and strong enough to keep out foreign invaders. These are the essentials of liberty, and much more than India ever enjoyed before. The country has not been brought to its present state of peace and security without bloodshed and misery; and some individuals among the new masters of India have been accused of great enormities. The charges brought forward for party purposes were probably partly true and partly false ; but the ac- cidental and transient evils they exhibited were but the habitual state of the country under its former conquerors. Revolutions were so frequent, that thirteen years had seen thirteen successive empe- rors dethroned and murdered ; and Raynal quotes, on that occasion, an atrocious but energetic line of an oriental poet : — " Fathers, during the lives of their sons, give all their affection to their grand- sons, because they see in them the enemies of their enemies V Sir Thomas Row, traversing some of the provinces to go to Surat, about 200 years ago, observed that he had met more rebels than sub- jects, and that the roads were lined with the heads of victims to an irregular and ferocious policy. * Those ferocious and profligate military despots, known by the name of Mahrattas, raised tributes on the people by force of arms. They once over- ran the province of Bengal with 80,000 horse, committing the most horrid cruelties, under pre- tence of collecting the tax called chout ; * and such inroads were generally followed by famine and pestilence. The country was at all times VOL. II. * Tennant's India. O no BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. so infested with banditti, that the husbandman durst not go to his labour in the fields without arms to defend himself. This disgusting enumeration of calamities and wretchedness might be extended much farther; but it is already sufficient to shew, that the unfortunate natives of India could not but gain by the change of dominion ; and, notwithstanding their prejudices, I understand they are sensible of European superiority in general.* Christianity has hitherto made very little progress among them ; but they rather wish their children to be taught reading and writing in English, and this may, in time, work great improve- ments. On the other hand, the late confederacy of the Mahrattas shews that the Indian princes have but too well profited by the lessons of Euro- pean tactics, which the English have given them of late years ; f and, to use the words of the cele- brated Governor-general Hastings, " the touch of chance, or the breath of opinion, might overthrow the British power in India/' It would not, how- ever, be any great misfortune. The British North- American colonies, forming now the United States, were likewise supposed of vital importance to the power and commerce of the mother country before their separation, yet that power never was so great before as it has shewn itself since, nor that trade anything like so extensive. J The navy of Great * The governors-general of the Indian empire have been very extraordinary men. It is enough to name Cornwallis, Wellesley, and, certainly, Hastings. t Edin. Review, April 1810. | At the close of the American war, the amount of the expor- tation of domestic produce and manufactures from England wa, about nine millions sterling ; at the commencement of the French BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 211 Britain has doubled since it lost 40,000 American sailors. Her revenue has increased fourfold since she relinquished for ever the right of taxing Ame- rica. If England has shewn itself so little vulner- able on that memorable occasion, it cannot reason- ably be supposed that the loss of a far more distant territory, furnishing neither men nor money, and consuming none of her manufactures,* could be felt essentially. It is extremely probable that the importance of the general foreign commerce of England has been likewise exaggerated. I have under my eye an official report of the inward and outward tonnage of the port of London in one year. The two- thirds of this tonnage appears to have been em- ployed in the coasting-trade, that is, 1,250,000 tons out of 1,779,826 tons. One-fifth of the value of the goods shipped appears also to have be- longed to the coasting trade, and when it is con- sidered that the colonial trade employs 170,000 tons, or one -tenth of the above total of 1,779,826 tons, and in valuers, or nearly the two-fifths, the revolution, 15 millions ; and the average of the three last years (1807 to 1810) has been 20* millions sterling, in official, or about 42 millions in actual value, notwithstanding the recent obstacles. The part of these exportations to the United States was, in 1807, L.7,264,000, and, in 1808, L. 3,798,000. * The adversaries of the company assert, that, if the trade of India was thrown open, individual industry would soon find a market for British manufactures, and would know how to lead the people of that country into temptations, and create a con- sumption for new articles. They say also, that " ship-timber of a quality vastly superior to any that grows in Europe, and ships themselves, would form valuable remittances." The evidence of the persons examined before the committee of the House of Com- mons in 1809, confirms, in a great degree, these opinions. 212 BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA* conclusion is, that the internal trade of England and its colonies (supposing the trade of other ports to be similar to that of London) employs about four-fifths of English tonnage, and three- fifths of English capital. It is true that a part of the coasting-trade is occasioned by the foreign trade ; but, as a very considerable part of the trans- portation of commodities is effected by canals, of which notice is taken here, we may still suppose the coasting-trade belonging solely to internal consumption, not to have been overrated. I find, from another official document, that from sixty to eighty * thousand tons of shipping are built annually in Great Britain, and that two-thirds of that tonnage are composed of vessels from three tons to two hundred. Most of the vessels employed in the coal trade for internal consumption, exceed 200 tons ; and. I believe the generality of coasting- vessels are between one and two hundred tons, therefore we may fairly suppose the above two- thirds to be exclusively applicable to the coasting trade ; — a calculation which agrees nearly with the preceding. These data are certainly not sufficiently precise and accurate to authorize alone any decided opi- nion ; yet they contribute to show the superior ex- tent and importance of the internal trade, compared to the external. As to the revenue accruing to the state from foreign trade, f as it comes ultimately * In 1790, 745 vessels were built, amounting to 63,285 tons. 1791,672 - - - 60,588 1804,714 - - S0,146 1805, 713 - - 71,256 + The duties on importations, forming the direct revenue from foreign trade, amount to nine or ten milliions sterling a- year only, BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 213 from the pockets of the consumers, it might un- doubtedly be drawn from the same repositories by a direct instead of an indirect tax, although with more unwillingness on their part, if this foreign trade did not exist. The revenue it affords is not very different from that of lotteries, which assuredly do not give the people the power of paying, but only the inclination. The wealthy Englishman, who drinks claret and Burgundy, would have been able to pay the duty equally, although the wine had never been imported ; he would have been able indeed to pay more in that case, viz., the first cost of the wine remitted to France. The wealth of England is due essentially to an active internal circulation, — a judicious division of labour, — and an extensive application of ingenious and powerful machines, to almost every purpose requiring strength. A plentiful stock of commodi- ties of all sorts is produced by these means. Com- forts and enjoyments are diffused among the people in greater abundance, and with less in- equality than in any other country in the world. England might nearly do without any external trade ; even without that of her colonies, if her defence did not require a nursery of sailors for the navy to be kept up. Colonies are wanted for the navy, and a navy for the colonies,— as hus- bandmen for the fields, and fields for the husband- men. A population of fifteen millions of men, on a territory capable of supporting, with proper management, double that number,-— living under a government of laws,— defended by the sea, and while the excise, a tax wholly internal, produces alone twice that revenue. 214 LONDON DISTRESSES OF MANUFACTURERS. by the most powerful navy in the world, may exist and prosper, although it should not manufacture cloth and calicoes for all its neighbours, nor consume their wine, their oil, and their silk. It is invincible, however numerous its enemies, and solvent, what- ever the amount of its debt be, if due to its own citizens. The examination of witnesses, now going on before a committee of the House of Commons, respecting the causes of the distresses of manufac- turers, and the means of relief, has produced the disclosure of some curious facts. For instance, the wages of weavers at Glasgow are now reduced to one-fourth of what they were nineteen years ago, although the price of provisions and other neces- saries has doubled in the mean time ! This is not wholly occasioned by the late interruptions of trade, but has been gradually coming on. The system of throwing a number of small farms into a few large ones, — the various improvements in agri- culture, saving labour, — and above all sheep-farm- ing, had. for many years past, tended to reduce the demand for men in the country ; while the rapid increase of manufactures created a demand in the towns, and a consequent rise of wages. At last the extended application of machinery, particularly the steam-engine, to manufactures, and the con- tinual influx of population from the country to the towns, reduced successively the great difference there was nineteen years ago, between the respec- tive salaries of town and country, and the late crisis of commerce has added to the existing causes of distress, but has not been the only one. La- bourers, placed between the steam-engine in town, and sheep in the country, are threatened with starvation amid systems of real plenty. The LONDON— DISTRESSES OF MANUFACTURERS. 215 remedies proposed by the deputations of workmen are all absurd, such as a minimum of prices for their labour, — taxes on machines, &c. &c. The fact is, there are too many labourers ; and the only remedy is, for a less number of young men to take to the loom, and a greater number to shoulder the musket, and to go on board ship. These com- mercial difficulties have an evident tendency to increase the effectual force of England. I am far from being disposed to " mock the misery of a stinted meal, " or to treat with levity any particular class of men. It is no doubt very easy to tell a weaver to choose another profession for himself or his children What other is there that is not full already ? Nor is it any great allevi- ation to his distress to point out to him the re- cruiting-officer ready to put the king's money into his hand, as a fair compensation for the liberty of his whole life ; and the sea-service may appear to him a still worse alternative. These forced migra- tions of individuals from one profession to another, indifferent in a national point of view, and even salutary at times, never take place without inflict- ing severe distress upon those individuals. The evil may be balanced by good to the nation at large, but it bears, without alleviation or equivalent, upon the individual thrown out of employment,— the whole loss is his, — the whole benefit another's. No profession is so liable to vicissitudes of this sort, as that of a manufacturer. The Marquis of Salisbury has a fine house, or rather palace, about ten miles west of Hertford (Hatfield house). Its first appearance is quite ba- ronial, and very striking. Elizabeth resided there some time before she came to the throne, and the architecture is in the taste of that age. A great 216 HERTFORD — HATFIELD HOUSE — PICTURES. brick quadrangle, with windows innumerable, round, square, or in a bow, and of all colours ; the top herisse with turrets and belfrys ; but, upon the whole, and although there is a want of breadth of surface and simplicity, it is a magnificent edifice. As we reached the door, and looked back, the vast lawn descending every way, and the prodigiously fine trees,— the remains of an avenue, — and dispersed everywhere, had as great and pleasing an effect as any thing of the sort we have yet seen in England. There was some doubt whether we should be admitted, as the Duke of Clarence was expected next day on a visit, the Marquis of S. being already come to receive his noble visitor, and the whole house in the full tide of preparation. But the servants, good souls, are very unwilling to disappoint strangers, and we saw all. The apartments are good, and there are some very handsome rooms ; but I never saw such a collection of miserable sign-post pictures any where before. A good many of Albert Durer's, very hard and flat as usual. Some of Leonardo de Vinci's nearly as bad, and of Vandykes hardly better. Portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller, very bad also. One would suppose the object of the collec- tion had been to show how badly great artists could paint. We read the name of Mabeuse on the frames of a number of very old and very shocking pictures, purporting to be portraits of Henry VI., Henry VII., and Queen Elizabeth. I do not know who Mabeuse was ; a wretched artist at any rate, who seems to have been the painter in ordinary of the court during about a century ! We walked afterwards about the lawn, and among the fine old trees. One of them, an oak, was quite hollow, a mere shell ; we stood, six of us, round the HERTFORD — TREES — LONDON. 217 inside, and there would have been room, besides, for a small table in the centre between us. Out- side it measured 24 feet in circumference. On our return, we walked through Lord Cowper's grounds. The sloping lawn before the house and overhanging woods are highly beautiful. There is an oak there, the trunk of which is 18 feet in circumference, — no enormous size, but then it is quite a young subject, retaining still the conical shape, and likely to grow for centuries to come. The boughs cover 2S yards across, and the height of the tree, guessed at by comparing it with the known breadth, is about 140 feet. May 30. — We spent yesterday in London. The heat was intense, and proceeding late to Richmond, I arrived there quite ill, with a great headach and fever. It could not have happened to me in a better place than where skill and friendship unite to hasten my recovery. Another of our party was attacked with an intermittent fever last year. It is somewhat singular, that, after living more than twenty years in the country of the yellow-fever with impunity, we should not be proof against the heat of this northern climate. June 2. — We had the pleasure of being present to-day when the widow of a hero (Sir Ralph A.) received the news of the safety of her son, after the dreadful battle of Badajos, where every fourth man, and more than that proportion of officers, were killed or wounded. This happy mother heard, at the same time, of her son having greatly distin- guished himself, in this his first action. The English are in a fair way of showing to the rest of Europe that they are not that nation boutiquiere they were taken for. Their enemies have decha- lande the shop, and its courtands have turned sol- 218 OSTERLEY HOUSE ANECDOTE. diers. I have often thought, that, if France had been allowed, at a certain period, to take to the shop again, that is to say, to resume the arts and occupations of peace, it might have proved the best security for the rest of Europe. June 8. — Our friends have conducted us to Os- terley House ; — the country-hoUse of the first banker of his time (Robert Child) f and before him that of the most eminent English merchant. Sir Thomas Gresham. Queen Elizabeth paid a visit to Sir Thomas, and slept in this house. The fol- lowing anecdote is recorded in Mr Nichol's pro- gress of that queen, copied into the Ambulator or Pocket Companion, for the circuit of twenty-five miles round London, and from this humble source I draw it. " Her Majesty found fault with the court of the house, affirming it would appear more handsome if divided with a court in the middle. What does Sir Thomas, but, in the night time, sends for workmen to London, who so speedily and silently apply to their business, that the next morn- ing discovered the court double, which the night had left single before;' It is questionable whether the queen, next day, was more contented with the conformity to her fancy, or more pleased with the surprise and sudden performance thereof. Her courtiers disported themselves, with their several expressions j some avowing it was no wonder he could so soon change a building who could build a change. Others, reflecting on some known differ- ences in the knight's family, affirmed, that a house * Francis Child, a goldsmith, and an ancestor of Robert, was the father of English bankers. He began the profession soon after the restoration of Charles II. amassed a great fortune, and enjoyed the most respectable character. Pennant. OSTERLEY HOUSE — PICTURES. 219 was sooner divided than united." Such was the punning spirit of the time, of which Shakespeare himself caught the fashion. The house has been rebuilt very magnificently since the days of its glory under Clueen Elizabeth. The great court (not divided now) is surrounded by a gallery leading to all the apartments, and to a very handsome stair-case of white marble, the ceil- ing of which was painted by Rubens, and repre- sents the apotheosis of the Prince of Orange, (the one who was shot by Bait Gerard) with a profusion of allegorical figures, as usual. It is quite wonder- ful how many pictures of Rubens you meet with everywhere, mostly of the largest size. If they were all measured, I really believe they would make up a surface exceeding what a common house-painter would be able to daub over with his big brushes in the course of a long and industrious life. Tables, sofas, and chairs, were artistly deranges about the fire-places, and in the middle of the rooms, as if the family had just left them, although the house has not been inhabited for several years. Such is the modern fashion of placing furniture, carried to an extreme, as fashions are always, that the apartments of a fashionable house look like an upholsterer's or cabinet-maker's shop. All around the house a level green spreads far and wide, shad- ed wilh lofty trees. I never envied those who pos- sess several beautiful houses in the country. It seems to me I should regret extremely not to be able to enjoy the beauties of them all ; and it would be quite a relief if any body would but in- habit them for me, smell my flowers, and sit under my shades. There are some good pictures in this house. A 220 OSTERLEY HOUSE — PICTURES. large one, (Abel, piping) which we were told was Mich. Angelo's, in the broad and vigorous manner of Rembrandt, and certainly a very fine picture. Two good Vandykes. Two good Murillos, — boys, as usual, of the ingrat age of twelve or fifteen ; — it is nature itself, Spanish nature, spare and dark ; the expression always so simple, spirited, and true, that I am never tired of looking at them. A Correggio, (Jupiter and Io) bad drawing, bad co- louring, and worse expression. I cannot compre- hend the reputation of Correggio. Two or three very indifferent Rubens. A good picture by one Lorenzo Lippe, much in Rembrandt's stile. One or two of the rooms are hung with much-admired Gobelin tapestry, which appeared to me gaudy, and in wretched taste, as are, in fact, all the Gobe- lins I have seen in England, and yet I think I recollect having seen in France, some Gobelins admirably executed: — perhaps I should think other- wise now. There is in one of the bed-rooms a small picture of a little girl, with bilberries in a basket ; her hands crossed before her, her face down, yet trying to look up, with such an exquisite expres- sion of shame, and simplicity, and graceful awk- wardness, as none but Sir Joshua Reynolds could have hit. Our cicerone could not tell who it was by. June 10. — Grand review on Wimbledon Com- mon. The Prince Regent was to be on the ground at eleven o'clock. We arrived- a little after nine, and wedged in our carriage among innumerable others, which, with carts and waggons, formed a circle of full six or eight miles in circumference. The troops were drawn up in two parallel lines across it, of about two miles in length. The Prince did not appear till near twelve. He was on horse« WIMBLEDON COMMON REVIEW. 221 back, looked fat and fair, but was too far off to be seen distinctly. The sun being extremely hot and some heavy clouds portending rain, the people were impatient, and murmured at the delay. The effect of the running fire beginning at one end of the line ending two miles off, and returning, and then again repeated, had a fine effect ; the review was not otherwise worth seeing, the distance being too great, and no manoeuvring. The troops were about 20,000, and the spectators full 200,000. Some light-horsemen rode continually around the circle, and repressed the intruding multitude with some degree of unavoidable rudeness, though much less than the keepers of the ring at the boxing- match the other day, nor would the people have borne so patiently similar discipline. The idea of military power appears here very revolting, while, with other people, Such as do build their faith upon The holy text of pike and gun, it is the sort of power they submit to most cheer- fully. The general orders for the review, printed and published, enjoined the troops to avoid as much as jwssible giving any offence to individuals. There were a few accidents from horses taking fright at the firing. June .... — Albury. We have been here for some days, in a very pretty country, already described last year, and where the kind attention of other friends, and the virtue of strawberries, are likely to complete my recovery. Before a stranger ventures to pass final sentence on the anti-social manners of the English, he should see them at home in the country. London is not their home ; it is an en- 222 ALBURY SHEEP- SHEARING. campment for business and pleasure, where every body thinks of himself. You might as well look for humanity in a field of battle, as for urbanity and attentions in a busy crowd. This is sheep-shearing time, which in England is a sort of festivity, like the moisson in the north of France, and the vmdange in the south, and the principal harvests in all countries. The sack of wool, on which the Chancellor sits in Parlia- ment, is well known to be emblematic of the im- portance of this production. The mirth and festi- vity of the people here is quite calm, and afete af- ter their manner might, in Languedoc, be mistak- en for a funeral. If the country people dance, it is without elasticity, vivacity, or ardour; if they sing, it is far worse. Nothing ever was less mu- sical than the indigenous English music, with its jerks and starts, jolting along its rugged way, without either dignity, liveliness, or tenderness ; — so different from the native Scotch music, which possesses at least one of these modes of expression, and from the Italian music, which unites them all. Italian music is now naturalized in England ; but it will not supersede the old tavern music so entirely as it did in France the flat old style ; and, so far as it is connected with naval enthusiasm, it is perhaps better it should be so. The native music of the southern extremity of France formed an exception to the dulness of the national musical taste, as that of North compared to South Britain. A good sheep-shearer dispatches four or five sheep in an hour, or forty in a day ; three pounds is an average fleece, — five or six pounds a very large one. The sheep is not tied during the operation, and does not struggle much. The body is placed in such a situation as to stretch the skin of the. ALBURY AGRICULTURE. parts under the shears, which might otherwise in- flict wounds. The animal is kept covered for a few nights afterwards. The people abused Merino sheep, and said they would not do with them. There is probably a great deal of prejudice in this opinion, which must, however, have gained ground, as the price of that breed has fallen as much too low as it had perhaps risen too high before. I shall not undertake to describe the rural taste of the country, the beauties and the comforts, the luxury and the magnificence. Pine-apples and grapes at this season from the forcing- house ; abun- dance of cherries and strawberries from the garden ; the green lawns and tufted trees ; the woods and fountains, — having already said perhaps too much on the subject. The passive beauties of nature and art are not to be described successfully, — at least the description cannot be varied. Agriculture is here a universal pursuit, and either a passion or a fashion with all country gentlemen, even with those who inhabit the country only part of the year. Every one has planted, or is planting, his thousands and his millions of timber trees ; has his flocks; talks of turnips, clover, and lucerne, drains and inclosures. These labours may not al- ways be most conducive to private advantage, but they are so to the country at large ; and the emu- lation leads to a state of society and manners emi- nently respectable and happy. I have seen here larches, planted only sixty years ago, the trunks of which were nine feet in circumference, and 80 feet in height, the sweeping boughs extending full SO feet every way. An oak, 25 or 30 years old, is worth L.3, at the rate of four or five shillings a cu- bic foot, and in 15 years doubles its value. I have 224 ALBURY — PRICE OF BREAD, &C. seen an oak for which the sum of L. 140 has been refused. The soil is chalk, and not very fertile, renting on an average at 20s. an acre ; good meadows rent at three times that price. Estates sell at thirty years purchase. Labourers earn 2s. 3d. and 2s. 6d. in summer, 2s. in winter. Poor's rates 4s. in the pound ! The peasants look very decent in their manners, dress, and appearance. No marks of po- verty about them ; but they are certainly very di- minutive in stature, and thin. They seem better clothed than fed. One might suspect that a cer- tain native pride in them disdains to wear the li- very of poverty, although they suffer in secret. The quartern loaf of bread (4 1b. 5 oz.) costs Is. Old. ; it was, in 1794 and 1795, Is. 104d. ; that is, nearly double the present high price ! The highest price of bread in scarce years in France has been, I believe, six sous a-pound, equal to about half the highest price above mentioned, yet the people suffered more there ; they were, and they are poorer than here. June .... — This is haymaking-time. Hay is worth L. 6 a load of 18 cwt. The sky is clear, and the air dry ; the thermometer 76° to 78° in the shade at noon, 60° to 65° morning and evening. There are strawberries in abundance ; cherries are beginning; gooseberries not ripe yet; green peas in season ; roses blooming, and Portugal laurels, covered with their fine conical clusters of flowers, perfume the air. We hare seen here, for the first time in England, the glow-worm, which recalls to our mind the American fire-fly, but is, however, very inferior in beauty. The pursuit of agriculture does not occupy so exclusively the minds of the people in the country THE PRINCE REGENT^ FETE. 225 as not to admit of a very keen relish for town news., The Prince Regent has given a very magnificent fete, which was the object of general conversation for a fortnight. It was computed that 1600 per- sons invited, supposed, at least, 400 carriages; and that allowing two minutes for each, more than 13 hours would be required for the whole number to be delivered at the door ; and that beginning at eleven o'clock at night, it would take till twelve the next day ! His Majesty having heard of the intended fete, is said to have asked whether he might not be permitted to go as a private gentle- man. This raillery is in the same spirit with an- other bon-mot Of this august patient. " Here you see me," he said, to a person who approached him, in a moment of personal restraint, indispensable in his situation, " check-mated." June 21.-*The fete went off very well. The difficulties had been obviated by opening several avenues ; — the Prince was most gracious, — he spoke to all, and delighted everybody by the cour- tesy of his manners, although courtesy is out of fashion. He is said to have received, with mark- ed attention, the Duchess of Angouleme, who seemed the queen of the fete. This princess ex- pressed herself highly gratified ; the more so, she said, from her long habit of retirement, and new- ness to honours. A sort of decoration, on the good taste of which I shall not pronounce, led to a tragi-comic occur- rence. There was a stream of water, real water, which had been made to flow, I do not know by what means, along the middle of the table, in a meandering channel, with proper accompaniments of sand, moss, and rocks, in miniature, and bridges across. Gold and silver fishes frisking about in vol. 11. p 326 THE PRINCE REGENT'S FETE. the stream, exhibited the brightness of their scales, reflecting the light of 500 flambeaux, to the infinite delight of the guests. When at the height of their honours and glory, the greatest any of their kind ever attained before, they were seen, with as- tonishment and dismay, to turn on their backs, the one after the other, and to expire, without any- body being able to guess at the cause. We have heard a ministerial person, present at the fete, tell the story in a sneering manner, which we con- structed into a symptom of imperfect conversion on the part of the Prince, and that he is not yet deemed quite theirs. His party (the opposition) will not believe or own, at least, that he has aban- doned them; but the ministerial party observe, sig- nificantly, that the delay occasioned by the uncer- tainty of the state of health of his Majesty, has af- forded time for the Prince to become acquainted with people he did not know before, with a party who had been misrepresented to him ; and to get rid of the prejudices of his youth. It is plain he wavers; — a woman who wavers (on her virtue) is deemed lost; — a prince who does so (on the article of power) cannot remain long in suspence. What- ever the decision of this Prince may be, he is sure of hatred and determined opposition from one of the parties ; from his former friends, particular- ly, if he abandons them. The people seem pretty indifferent between the two parties, and not to have much faith in the patriotism of the most pa- triotic - 3 but there is an idea that if the whigs were in power, they might, with a better grace, adopt pacific measures about America and Ireland. Peo- ple, are consistent out of pride and out of obstina- cy ; therefore the whigs are bound to conciliate, and the ministerialists to be proud and intractable. THE PRINCE REGENT^ FETE— —WINCHESTER. 1 am not at all surprised that hatred should beget hatred. America and Ireland have manifested theirs towards England unequivocally ; but that of the first appears appears to me without an ade- quate motive, while that of the last seems but too well justified ; the latter may have very fatal con- sequences, while the other is, for the present, near- ly impotent j — the most urgent case every way is Ireland. The apartments where the fele was given, were open to the public the next day. Curiosity was extreme, quite as much so as it might have been at Paris. The people, and not the low people, went in crowds to Carleton- House. This affluence had not been foreseen, nor any precau- tions taken ; and there have been many very seri- ous accidents. People have been thrown down and trodden under foot,-— arms and legs have been fractured, — ribs forced in ;— and, it is said, some lives lost. Many a delicate female was extricated from the melee, nearly in naturalibus, and obliged to hide herself in a corner till petticoats could be procured ; as to shoes no lady pretended to keep them ; and after the event, they were swept in heaps, and filled, we have been told, several hogsheads. June 26. — Winchester. We took leave of our friends this morning, and are come here to sleep, (42 miles). I am astonished at the prodigrous ex- tent of waste grounds in a country depending for food on the granaries of its enemies, and having 50 or 60 thousand idle prisoners of war to support, who, I dare say, would be very glad to work for a small salary, besides innumerable paupers, sup- ported by means of an enormous tax on the pub- lic. We traversed to-day several extensive downs, used only as sheep pastures. The chalk stratum is 228 WINCHESTER — SOUTHAMPTON. covered with a few inches of vegetable mould, and . would be well worth cultivating. When the general inclosure bill was before parliament in 1793, the quantity of waste land was estimated at 22 millions of acres, about two-fifths of the surface of the whole island. Supposing one-half to have been in- closed and cultivated since that time, there would still be one-fifth waste. If the present population was perfectly at their ease on the other four-fifths, I certainly would not wish to seenhese fine green downs furrowed by the plough, and vulgar lines of property disfigure their surface j but if the genera- tion wants bread, it seems very absurd not to let them grow it here. I know the next generation will not be better off, and that twenty years hence they would again want space ; but for the men of the present day, the palliative is a complete cure. The first stage after Albury was along a high ridge, like an immense causeway, with a very ex- tensive and beautiful view on each side. We took notice of a large number of fine old yew trees growing wild on Lord Onslow's estate. The large knobs or protuberances on the sides of the trunks, have been cut off for the purpose of cabinet-makers work, having beautiful veins and a hard grain, which takes a fine polish. It does not injure the trees. Near Winchester, we passed several depots of French prisoners, — the officers on their parole, wandering dtsoeuvres and tired about the streets and roads. Winchester is of course old, and ugly ; — the cathedral is fine. June 27- — Southampton. The country near this place begins to look forestish. Cottages, as usual, neat, and overgrown with roses and honey- suckle, though ever so poor; a bit of lawn and SOUTHAMPTON — CASTLE. 229 gravel-walk to the door, in imitation of gentlemen's cottages. Southampton has only one street of any consequence, and a walk planted with stunted trees along the bay. Nothing can surpass the dirt and bad smells of the bye streets ; the tide leaving putrescent quagmires all about the lower parts. A very singular edifice proudly overlooks this dirty town. It is a castle, large, Gothic, prodigiously high, surrounded by lofty walls of hewn stones. It cost L. 40,000, and is not finished. Not an inch of ground beyond these walls. The meanest hovels crowd around them, and the view extends over a field of red-tile roofs and chimneys, to the slimy banks of Southampton bay ; the New Forest, form- ing a long, low, unpicturesque strait line beyond it. Lord Lansdown, lately dead, built this castle. He was a very tall and thin man, riding on a long lean horse, and had following him a very little page, called his dwarf, mounted on a diminutive poney. The knight, the dwarf, and the castle, seemed made for each other. He must, in the main, have been a good sort of man, as the people about here, although they laugh at the castle and castle-builder, all speak well of him, and are hard- ly willing to admit that he was mad ; but then, as 1 have observed before, the qualifications required for acknowledged insanity, are by no means easily attained in England, where a greater latitude is granted for whims, fancies, and eccentricities, than in other countries. June 28. — Leaving our carriage at Southampton, where we intend to return, we proceeded this morning in a common post-chaise through the New Forest to Lymington, turning round the head of the bay by Redbridge, Cadnam, Bramble Hill Lodge, Gastle Mai wood, and Lyndhurst: the road, a per- 230 LYMINGTON — SCENERY. feet gravel walk ; the soil being in fact a bed of hungry gravel. This circumstance is visible enough in the growth of the trees, mostly oaks, which are stunted and twisted into all sorts of picturesque sharp elbows and fine knees for the navy, moss and ivy mantled over most of their stems. Clusters of wild roses, broom, and sweet-briar, perfumed the air. Tufts of luxuriant fern, surmounted by the showy spires of the foxglove, waved their green plumes over the smooth lawn, for the trees leave great spaces between them of fine pasturage, close shorn, and of the liveliest green. The distant sound of the bells of grazing cattle, alone, inter- rupted the profound silence of this solitude. About Castle Malwood there are fine extensive views to the east and south, over the tops of the trees of the forest, and ?< boundless contiguity of shade." A shower prevented our stopping to see the mo- nument, erected a few years ago, over the remains of the oak, against which the arrow glanced which killed Rufus, the son of the conqueror. From Lyndhurst to Lymington, the road is quite strait, and has very little beauty. The trees standing are poor, the best having been felled for the navy, as the stumps, level with the soil (not breast-high as in America) sufficiently show ; and many of the trees themselves lying about ready for use. There is still, however, an immense stock of timber standing, and enough, I should think, to serve the purposes of the navy for many years. There are, however, ex- tensive tracts quite bare, and no new plantations. It is living on the capital instead of the revenue. Just before we reached Lymington, we stopped at the Buckland ring, or Roman camp, a square intrenchment in great preservation ; it is situated on a hill, the ground thrown up on each side of the. V1CKARSHILL LYMINGTON. 231 flitch, and enclosing about six aGres. The coun- try-woman, our guide, told us that this was the work of the French. From Lymington we made a short excursion east, to finish the day, which ended fine ; first, to Vi- carshill, Gilpin's parsonage-house, which is an extremely pretty spot ; then by St Leonards, where we saw the ruins of a building said to have been a barn of the monks of Beaulieu, 60 paces in length, and 20 broad ; one corner of it is still used as a barn, and makes a very large one. Oar ride ex- tended as far as Bucklershard, through a very pretty country, with many gentlemen's houses and cottages, and very little remains of forest. From Bucklershard, back to Lymington, through a very uninteresting, flat, heathy tract, where we observ- ed a little enclosure for the purpose of planting oaks, — the only instance of renovation in this de- caying New Forest. Lymington, as indeed almost every place in England, is full of troops ; but these are, it seems, foreigners, and mostly French. I could hardly believe my ears when I heard all these red coats speaking French among themselves, officers as well as men. They are embarking every day for foreign service. The people of the town complain bitterly of this quartering of troops, which, as a watering-place, prevents the usual resort of company. There are salt-works here which we have not seen. June 29. — We set out this morning in a wherry rowed by two men (no wind,) for the Needles, and Yarmouth, in the Isle of Wight, the distance about VI miles ; the direct passage across would have been only four. The sea was as smooth as a mill- pond. We boarded a vessel (a large and good- looking schooner,) full of crabs and lobsters ; it 232 ISLE OF WIGHT THE NEEDLES. had a double bottom, — the inside one tight, the other with holes, and the interval of course full of water, acting as ballast, and as a reservoir for the crabs, taken in and out by means of a well. This vessel had been cruising as far as the Land's-end for crabs, and was bound to London with her prize. We bought two live crabs, larger and heavier than American lobsters, for two bottles of porter. Rain compelled us soon after to put into Yarmouth, where, after dining plentifully on one of our crabs (the other given to our boatmen), and a basket of Strawberries, raspberries, and cherries, and the wea- ther clearing up, we resumed our navigation to the Needles, where we arrived about seven in the even- ing. They appear at a distance more like thimbles than needles. These famous rocks are arranged on a line with the extremity of the island, of which they were formerly a part. They are perfectly white, with a black base, and streaked with black dots 5 from the alternate strata of flints. The sea was so calm, that we could pass through the rocks and touch them. The chalk is rather more compact than usual, yet soft enough to break under the nail, and whiten your coat. It is difficult to conceive how they can resist the assaults of the sea in a storm. They are in fact continually undermined, and the ISLE OF WIGHT — THE NEEDLES — BIRDS. 233 fallen fragments, soon, dissolved, leave behind only the nodules of flints, forming the black base already mentioned, en talus, sloping to an angle of 45°. As the work of destruction proceeds, the talus of course rises higher, and retards the destruction of the rest. One of the needles, the farthest out, (C.) about 100 feet high, fell about forty years ago ; the base is still visible, and forms a dangerous shelf in bad weather. Our boatmen pointed out some lesser changes within their time, such as the gateway, (A,) being repeated in (B.) The sketch above is taken broadside ; but turning the point, or passing between the rocks, they appear like mere walls, tapering up- wards, and so thin at the top, as to be perces a jour in many places ; the sharp edge at top covered with birds, who make it their resting-place. Be- yond the Needles, and turning the westernmost point of the Isle of Wight, we rowed along chalk cliffs of prodigious height, nearly 700 feet perpen- dicular, overhanging in some places ; perfectly white, with narrow streaks of black flints ; inclined to the horizon at an angle of nearly 45°. These cliffs absolutely swarmed with birds. Not only the white sea-gull, but a black bird, apparently about the size of a duck, with a longish neck and red head, said to yield the eider-down. We pursued a young one swimming; he could not fly, but dived so dexterously, and stayed so long under water, as to evade all pursuit, although under our hand all the time. Flights of these birds skimmed the air in endless circles around our heads, on wings that seemed without motion, and with a cry like a horse-laugh. The perfect calm of the sea enabled us to push the boat into a Cave at the bot- tom of the cliff, so low that the least surf dashes against the roof. It appeared to penetrate 5Q or 6Q £34 ISLE OF WIGHT THE NEEDLES LIGHT-HOUSE. yards into the chalky rock. The water, as clear as possible, allowed us to see the bottom of black pebbles, being rolled flints, polished by the friction of ages. Our boatmen wanted us to visit Hurst Castle, at the entrance of the channel, which, un- derstanding it to be garrisoned by foreign troops, I thought had better be avoided. We arrived late at Yarmouth (a small neat place), and made a bargain for a light carriage to go round the island to- morrow. June 30. — First to the Needles point, where our situation of yesterday being reversed, we looked down upon the spot from which we looked up yes- terday. This point is extremely narrow, resem- bling, on a larger scale, the Needle rocks below, and destined to become insulated, like them, when the ocean, at work on both sides, shall have quite broke through the narrow partition. We observed, with some terror, a long crack along the margin of the cliff, cutting off a slice of the downs (sheep were quietly feeding upon it), of full one acre. This slice has settled down already two or three feet, and must soon fall. The next heavy rain, or frost, or high wind, may detach it, — and down it slips, 660 feet perpendicular. We had landed on the flinty beach precisely under this cliff, twice as lofty probably as those of Dover, and more ex* posed to an open sea. They have samphire, too, growing in fine green tufts, inaccessible but by a. rope from the top. The murmuring surge, That on the unnumb'red idle pebbles chafes, Cannot be heard so high. The Needles light-house is built on the highest spot of the point,— 715 feet above the. ISLE OF WIGHT — NEEDLES LIGHT-HOUSE. 235 «ea. The building is a truncated cone, only 20 feet high; the top, glazed all round, contains eight argand lamps, very little larger than those common- ly used in apartments, arranged in a vertical circle ; each has a plated copper reflector of 26 inches' in diameter. There is an iron stove to preserve the oil liquid in cold weather. The light is seen 11 leagues at sea from the deck of a ship, like a large star, and is visible much farther from the masthead. An old man and woman, who live in the light- house, and sit up by turns all night, afford a good proof of the salubrity of the spot, having never been hindered a single night by sickness from attending in the space of 19 years. Returning from the point, we passed by barracks full of soldiers, mostly foreigners. Then by Fresh- water-gate ; — soldiers there too, and we heard them speaking French. Then by Comptondown, West- brook, Mottestow, Briaton, to Niton, where we slept (22 miles to-day). Fine views of the sea on the right the whole way. Our track was mostly over extensive sheep-walks, fragrant with thyme, crushed under the wheels of the carriage. Rich farms and neat cottages adorned the vallies. The meanest of the cottages, and those inhabited by the poorer class, were buried in roses, jessamine, and honeysuckle; and often large myrtles, which, on this southern coast, bear the winter out of doors. Vines everywhere against the houses, and often fig, trees. We thought the women remarkably good- looking. Children and grown people took off their hats, or gave us a nod, as we passed along. Near Niton begins a very singular track of coun- try, called the Under-cliff. A stripe of about five miles in length by half a mile in breadth, seems to Jiave settled down, and slipped towards the sea ? 236 ISLE OF WIGHT — UNDER-CLIFF. presenting a jumble of rocks, overturned and bro- ken, — mounds of earth, — deep hollows, — and nu- merous springs, forming falls of water, collecting into pools, and hurrying to the sea. The land side presents an abrupt steep, or cliff, two or three hun- dred feet high, composed of horizontal beds of sandstone ; precisely the same stone forming the jumble below. It is evident that the sunken track was formerly a continuation of the high cliff. A new land-slip took place in 1799. A part of the high cliff, perhaps 20 acres, was seen sinking, and sliding towards the sea, the surface breaking into strange shapes and yawning chasms, shutting and opening again. We walked to this spot from Ni- ton, about one mile south of it. It gives a very good idea of a country overturned by a dreadful earthquake. We were shewn the remains of a house which had been partly swallowed up. It appears probable, that the numerous springs which run now over the surface of this sunken tract, from the high cliff to the sea, must have flowed under it formerly, and may have worn wide passages through some soft under-strata to the sea, which, pene- trating into these passages, may easily have under- mined the foundation of the superincumbent mass, so as to make it give way, partly settling down, partly spreading out into the sea. July 1. — From Niton (the troops quartered here are English,) we proceeded along the Under-cliff, by Mirables, St Laurence, Steep-Hill, Bon-Church, — a succession of very beautiful spots. The crisis of this part of the Under-cliff is evi- dently of no recent date, and the earth has had time to grow young again ; for, contrary to the laws of organized life, inert nature loses with age its original deformity and barrenness, and is indebted ISLE OF WIGHT — MARINE VILLAS TREES. 237 to the very dissolution of its substance for beauty and fecundity. The hand of art has indeed come here in aid of nature. A few rich citizens have built their marine villas, and planted their groves, removed the littery debris, spread their green car-^ pets among the rocks, and made them accessible by convenient paths. Yet the pleasure of im- proving once over, they are become indifferent about the improvements themselves, and most of the masters of these beautiful places are absent at this season, either in London, or spending their time at public places, or travelling about. All England for a country '-house , is an expression in vulgar use among them. The arrangements of the road, and giving directions to the servants, — settling the bills, and looking at the map, have in them a semblance of business and occupation, and the slight jolting of the carriage creates at least some- thing like a sensation, and more pleasure than the passive contemplation of the Under-cliff. — — — And little cares avail To ease the mind when rest and reason fail. It is a singular circumstance that the trees, although planted so near the sea, along this Under-cliff, have succeeded perfectly. I had observed before, that a screen, a high one at least, placed on the land- side of trees, protects them nearly as effectually as one between them and the sea. It seems as if the sea air, forced by the obstacle beyond the trees to take a direction upwards, passed over their heads without injuring them. Shankley chine came next ; a pretty place, with a deep ravine cut through the cliff, by an incon- siderable little rill. Then Sandown bay, where $38 ISLE OF WIGHT— WILKES'S MOUSE. extensive barracks are built and building, and sol- diers all about, basking lazily in the sun. They wore dark green dresses and mustaches. We inquired for the house that had been Mr John Wilkes's, and were shewn, under some very shabby apple-trees, a low square wooden building, — then a little far- ther, an old little brick building, with a wooden addition turned from the prospect. We saw the interior of the first building, which the woman in it told us had been Mr Wilkes's smoaking room or Truscan room, as she expressed it, and which used to be hung with fine tapestry, &c. &c. If the place had been ever so beautiful, it would be now quite destroyed by the barracks close by, and the road between it and the beach. But I am sorry to say (my companions being near relations of the patriot) that it can never have been otherwise than extremely paltry, and in the worst possible taste. The beach is flat, and it seems in fact the only part of the shore quite divested of beautiful accompani- ments. From this to Ride, the country is rich and varied, — a good deal of wood, and many gentle- men's residences. Ride is a neat little town, from which you see Portsmouth at seven miles distance, and the road full of ships of war. There is a good shore to bathe in, covered carts, and warm-baths also. July 2. — Corres and Newport. We learnt here the unfortunate rencontre between the Ameri- can frigate President, and the Little Belt. This event, and the condemnation of the American ship the Fox, deciding the fate of a great number of other prizes under the orders in council, seem to render war inevitable. It is not a new remark, that those great political measures, upon which the fate of nations depend, are rarely determined COWES — GOTHIC COTTAGE. $39 hy the common rules of reason, or the obvious interest of the parties. If that is really the case* we may indeed have war. Cowes is a pretty place, with many gentlemen's houses near it as usual. One of them is a gothic castle, — braa-new,- — stuck round with towers and battlements. Not far from it a poorer neighbour has erected his own Gothic thatched cottage. The Gothic style is considered here as national, and certainly they use it freely, and as their own. Horace Walpole contributed, I fancy, to spread the taste and the misapplication of it. Traversing the island through the middle of it, we are returned to our beautiful Under-cliff, with an intention of spending a few days there. The middle of the island by Newport, its capital, is, like all the rest, woody, fertile, and flourishing. July 6. Steephill. — We have taken lodgings for a week in a fisherman's cottage, — a sort of an ale- 240 co wes— fisherman's cottage. house. It has been a perfect calm at sea for some days, which is unfavourable for fishing. Five or six boats have, in consequence, come to an anchor near here, and the men, who are idle, have spent their time in a room adjoining ours, drinking, or near the house playing at bowls. They sung fre- quently, two or three voices together, sea-songs in the true sailor style, — sometimes extremely well, oftener very badly altogether it was not to be borne long, and we were going away, when the wind arose, and they disappeared. This gave us, however, an opportunity of observing a new class of people, and, much to their credit, we found them remarkably well-behaved, and decent, although noisy ; — no quarrels among themselves, and no absolute drunkenness. I was surprised to find their fishing-tackle were made of osier, but not exactly the sort with which baskets are made.— the withy rope, as they call it, lasts good two years, although continually wet and dry; a hempen rope would hardly last so long, would cost ten times the price, and be much heavier. It makes also very good cables for light boats, and fastened to posts, makes inclosures. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I learnt the art of withy rope making, and shall carry a sample of this econo- mical manufacture to America. July 7._Lord D. has a beautiful cottage within a short mile of us, buried in trees and rocks, tower- ing above the house in successive natural terraces, each carpeted over with short green turf, and edged with trees and shrubs, and creeping plants, clyma- tis I think mostly, in wild luxuriance— just adrest wilderness, — terminating above in a perpendicular wall of rocks. A short avenue of large old elms, leading to the house, forms a pointed arch, dark STEEPHILL— LORD D.'s COTTAGE. and lofty, of great effect. We observed a lamp placed under the trees, the light of which, in a dark night, on the trunks and branches, must be extremely fine. The rooms are hung with sea- views, some of them from the pencil of the noble owner ; which show him to be a painter among lords undoubtedly. We might have quarrelled with him for neglecting this beautiful place for years, as we understood he had ; but his servant suggested a motive which does honour to his feel- ings. There is a seat upon Lord D.'s grounds, at a distance from the house, on the brink of an ab- rupt declivity over the sea, with a retrospect of all the lofty rocks, and tufted groves on the land -side, terminated by a terrace five or six hundred feet in height j the sheep grazing on the very edge of it, and thus seen " athwart the sky," look as large as cows or horses. The ocean exhibited to-day, be- sides the usual fishing-smacks, a fleet of men of war, near enough to distinguish the port-holes ; all sails set, and gliding gently over the blue expanse. Their course was west, — Sir Joseph Yorke's squad- ron perhaps, bound for the coast of America ; and it may be our fate to meet these very ships at Sandy Hook, and to be captured by them ! The serene and harmless countenance of the ocean is, however, a tranquillizing sight to us on the eve of a long voyage. The idea that this Under-cliff is liable to undergo a new bouleversement, spoils a little the enjoyment of it. The inhabitants appear, however, very easy on the subject. Our landlord, the fisherman, re- marked on the subject, that all about appeared firm and strong ! There was, notwithstanding, a tremen- dous land-slip last winter, at the eastern extremity of this district, very like the one of which we had VOL. II. Q 242 STEEPHILL — PRICE OF LAND, &C. seen the effects at the western extremity. This one extends over 40 or 50 acres. The rents are frightful ; and the rocks are in some places ground to fragments, by their friction against each other. The old surface, with its vegetation, seems to have been swallowed up, and new soil, white and bar- ren, substituted. We have seen the roots of trees actually standing up in the air, where their branch- es were buried in the soil ! — a poetical situation as- suredly, which put us in mind of that picture of the deluge, in which two human feet only appear on the surface of the waters. This chaos of debris forms a promontory into the sea. The phenome- non of the land-slip, thus going on at the two ex- tremities of the track, and not in the middle, seems to indicate that this middle has reached a firm basis, and is really now quite firm. Wheat grows extremely well on this perturbed soil, mostly chalk ; — it is in many places a man's height. Potatoes and all other crops seem to suc- ceed equally well. The low pastures are covered with fine Alderney cows, and the steep downs with sheep. Our guide-book informs us that this fortu- nate island yields seven times as much as its inha- bitants consume. It enumerates all the cheeses, and all the sheep and cattle exported to London market ; and tells of a butcher who bought 1500 lambs at one purchase. However that may be, our fare here is very much confined to crabs, lob- sters, and mackerel ; there is neither milk nor fruit to be had, and no butcher within some miles. Coals are 50s. a chaldron. Land rents at little more than 30s. per acre, the best ; the average, including the high downs for sheep-pasture, is much less. The farms are so contrived, as to have a portion of arable and pasture ; — there is but little S.TEEPHILL PICTURES, &C. 243 land for sale. This spot unites the pastoral wild- ness of Scotland, — the luxuriant vegetation, ver- dure, and shade of the middle parts of England, with a bold shore, and an unbounded sea, continu- ally traversed by ships. We went to see, about two or three miles inland, a house of the honourable Mr ■ — , which has some good pictures. St John watching Christ asleep, by Guido, — very natural, and good. Ber- ghem's own portrait as a sportsman, by himself, something larger than Tenier's own portrait ; much the same dress, and as natural and good. A fine St Peter, by Annibal Caracci. Two good Titians. A bad Joseph and the Lady, by Albano. Two very large and good landscapes by Zucarelli. Salvator's Thieves. A Claude. I have hardly ever met with any picture of Claude's distinguish- ed by that warmth of colouring, for which he is so celebrated. There is sometimes a hazy indistinct- ness in his pictures, which is very beautiful, but no glow. This is one of those things which pass cur- rent on trust, without any body caring to examine whether there is any foundation for it. The trees of Claude are always heavy lumps. Our conduct- ress brought out of a dark closet a man's head in a platter, (Cromwell's) represented with sufficient truth to make one shudder. This house has like- wise a collection of Greek marbles, the object of universal ambition in England. These are a little weather-beaten, as usual, and not the worse for that, it being the test of antiquity. A bust of Mrs Pelham, by Nollekin, gave us more pleasure than any of the antiques. It is no disparagement to Athens to say, that there were some bad artists there, or that the best were not born so. We took £44 STEEPHILL—— CALABRIAN PONEY. notice, particularly, of a very indifferent antique bull. July 8. — We have been to see, and regret not to have discovered sooner, a very beautiful place near us, the lease of which belongs to Mrs A. B. of Lon- don. The cottage is buried in trees, some of them very fine. It stands on a rising ground, among broken terraces of rocks, verdure, and shade, most beautifully intermixed, giving an idea of the Chi- nese hanging-gardens, without their affected irre- gularity ; and, at the top of all, the stupendous wall of the high cliff, as at Lord D.'s, but still bet- ter. This little paradise is blooming unseen ; the owner never comes to it, but I dare say finds time for a tour every summer. Walking over another very pretty place in the neighbourhood, we saw, below some trees, an iti** scription, informing us, that, under the sod hard by, lay the remains of a horse, a favourite Cala- brian poney, who, after carrying his master, a Mr Bo'wdler, to the top of Vesuvius, farther than any horse had ascended before, all over the Alps, and a great part of Europe, had been permitted to die of pure old age, in peace and plenty, on this very spot. The maid-servant of our lodgings, a simple, good-natured, honest Creature, who was born on *this spot, and never was out of sight of the land- slip, has a child ; but it turned out, on inquiry, that she never had a husband j and I am informed that the landlady, a very pretty young woman, just married, has remarked on the occasion, that it was no uncommon case. She blamed the practice as unsafe, observing, with great appearance of sim- plicity, that, for her part, she thought it was better to secure a husband first. We had much the same SOUTHAMPTON— NETLEY ABBEY. 845 information in Cumberland* and in other parts of the country ; and I really think the facility of American manners, about which travellers have made ill-natured remarks, has precedents here to go by. We have taken leave of crabs and mackerel, and, recrossing the island by a new road, we have met again with the same scenery of gentlemen's houses, and opulent farms, green pastures, and flourishing fields ; the trees in all sheltered places very fine ; and as uniformly stunted and bent to the ground, oaks particularly, in open places, al- though eight or ten miles inland. The passage from Cowes to Southampton is 14 miles ; we performed it in two hours, in a good sea- boat, a sloop, of which the master was tolerably drunk; the fare only one shilling a-head, the tenth part of the toll of some of the English rivers. Spit- head, full of ships at anchor, appeared at about ten miles distance. Southampton nay itself is unin- teresting, the shores being low ; they are well wood- ed, however, in many places, and diversified with gentlemen's houses. The ruins of Netley Abbey showed themselves to advantage above the trees. July 11. ^We left Southampton yesterday morn- ing, and went first to Netley Abbey, about four miles out of the direct road to Portsmouth. The approach is fine; a vast grey pile buried in trees and overgrown with ivy ; — dark shades behind and on both sides. We entered a large square court full of lofty trees (ash) ; — this must have been the cloisters; — thence through ruined arches to the chapel, the two great east and west windows still entire, and properly clothed with ivy ; one of the wings or arms of the cross is down, the other stand- ing. The centre of the chapel is a heap of ruins, 246 NETLEY ABBEY. and trees of much more than a century's growth shooting up from among them. I do not know whether these are not, upon the whole, the most picturesque monastic remains we have seen. Not- withstanding the uncommon heat of the day (pro- bably 80*) it was cool, as well as dark, among these ruins. While we were employed in admiring and drawing, a large company arrived in two smart carriages, preceded by a convoy of provisions for a picturesque dinner ; — masters and servants dispers- ed immediately among our ruins, and the solitary aisles resounded with loud and trite remarks. The young ladies spoke tastefully ; — the men made jokes, and thought of the dinner; — the wives de- plored, in accents of terror, the rashness of the dear children climbing among stones. We gave up the field, and pursued our journey through a very pretty country, particularly along the little river Ilchin ; — the cottages lying so snug under their thick thatched roofs, and the checkered casements overgrown with woodbine and roses ; a smooth, short, green carpet before, and tufted groves behind. I cannot say I admire equally the castle style, which is nearly as prevalent ; — when not great it is grotesque. One of these little castellated dwel- lings, had its drawbridge and chains over a moat, not two yards in breadth, and a portecullis of painted wood over the gate, ready to fall on assail- ants. I recollect one of those miniature castles building at Richmond, half way up the hill, by the side of a dusty street, with " flanking wall that round it sweep, " and embattled towers also, so small that a chimney-sweeper could hardly ascend into them, the whole built of hewn stone, and at great expence. The entrance of the peninsula, upon which 3 PORTSMOUTH DOCK- YARD. 247 Portsmouth is situated, is protected against land- attacks by fortifications ; but no questions are asked of travellers in passing them, or at the gates. The inns were full, and it was not without great difficul- ty that we could secure shelter for the night. That done, we took a walk along the walls, which are the resort of the beau monde, and from which there is a fine sea view, — Spithead and all the ships at an- chor. The ladies seemed, in general, no better than they should be. Booths for a fair were building in the principal street where we lodged, and the crowd and noise were such, all night, as to render it impossible to sleep. Early this morn- ing we went to the beach, where there are conve- nient little carts for bathing; the water clean, warm, and pleasant, price Is. Being informed that the dock-yard was shown to any body applying, we went there. It was din- ner time, and we were desired to wait till the re- turn of the workmen, whom we saw passing in re- view before us ; in number three or four thousand men. Having been required to enter my name and residence in a book, kept for that purpose, and, having written of New York, our conductor reported the circumstance to a grave personage, called the governor of the works, who declared that I could not proceed, but that the ladies might. Not choosing, however, to avail themselves of the permission, we went away. As a woman properly instructed would answer the purpose of a spy just as well as a man, and as there would be no difficul- ty in procuring any information through the na- tives themselves, the degree of precaution now used is evidently insufficient ; and if there really is any secret worth keeping, it would certainly be 248 PET WORTH— PICTURES. safer not to entrust it to any one, and refuse admit- tance altogether. We proceeded next to Petworth, by Chichester, which has nothing remarkable but its cathedral. We did not stop to see it. A few miles south of Petworth, coming down a hill, through a fine wood of lofty trees, we had a very grand view of the rich extensive plain below, dark with trees and evening shades. The sky was without a cloud, and in the west, " a line of insufferable brightness/' July 12. — Petworth belongs to Lord E. — a great edifice, too plain and simple for its size. The main front, 250 feet in length, is pierced with 21 win- dows in a line, level with the ground. Inside the suite of apartments is certainly very fine, and one of the rooms is adorned with Gibbon's best carved ornaments. Nothing can be lighter, and truer to life; birds and fish, flowers and fruit ; but we had with us an antiquated housekeeper, who made us dwell rather longer than we liked on the details. The pictures had nothing remarkable. Henry VIII. broad and bulky, with straddling legs, and brutal mien, hangs on the wall in many places, painted by Holbein, and others, all in the same attitude. Three or four good Vandykes ; some inferior por- traits by him and Sir Peter Lely, the old subject of the old beauties. Many busts and statues, each with its pedigree, straight from Greece, Hercula- neum, or the Tiber. Most of them are so defaced and mutilated, have been repaired in so many es- sential parts, and accommodated with entire new members, as to put me in mind of Mr Peale's mammoth's skeleton, with just bone enough to give it a name. I distinguished, however, some good drapery figures, particularly a colossal one of a middle aged man, sitting pensively. A very PETWORTH PICTURES. 249 excellent portrait of Bonaparte, by Phillips, hollow cheeks, extremely sallow, a melancholy and very mild eye ; it was painted during the short peace. A very good portrait of the late Duke of Bedford, perfectlv handsome, but not remarkably sensible. Turenne by the side of him, rather plain, but full of spirit and intelligence. A great regularity of features supposes an habitual tranquillity of mind, rarely disturbed by strong emotions of any sort. When the energy of the passions, and of genius, is united to perfect beauty, and animates the features without disturbing their regularity, the expression may be called divine, and such is that of the Bel- videre Apollo ; a degree of perfection artists have rarely attained. The traces of human feelings are but the traces of death ; wear and decay are writ- ten in the lines of an expressive countenance ; and it belongs to the immortals only to burn without being consumed. The death of Cardinal Beaufort, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The cardinal is too strong for a dying man, and seems writhing under bodily, rather than mental pain. A Lady Craven also, by Sir Joshua, not very good ; not at all the expression one should expect ; rather that of a good-natured, sober, modest, mother of a family, caressing a little boy. We were next conducted to the finest conserva- tory imaginable jj the plants on the open ground, and not crowded; they remain there of course in summer, and the lights only are taken away. I never saw plants in such health and vigour ; a he- liotrope ten feet high, full of leaves and flowers, from the earth to the top, and perfuming the air. The scarlet fuscia, eighteen feet high,|also full of flowers. A scarlet geranium, covering a frame of fifteen feet by eight. One plant of the passion 250 PETWORTH — FLOWERS LORD E. flower, running along the whole frame of the build- ing, with a stem six inches round. No rare plants, — all for beauty and smell. We remarked a mag- nolia out of doors, against the house, 36 feet high, full of large white flowers. The kitchen-garden, all divided into espalier walls, covers 13 acres, — not an inch of which seems unoccupied. Lord E. is represented by the people of the country as a plain man, rather shy, odd, and whim- sical ; which is saying a great deal in a country where this disposition is common enough to escape observation. He suffers the peasants of his village to play bowls and cricket on the lawn before the house ; to scribble on the walls, and even on the glass of his windows ; yet he has just turned away a gardener for selling some vegetables out of a garden which might supply the country ten miles round, and I dare say does. This noblemen had a numerous family of children, the last two only legitimate ; the latter died, and the title will pass to a collateral heir, with as small a portion as he can of an income of L. 80,000 a-year. There are many men in England who are libertines out of modesty, or rather mauvaise honie, unable to con- trol their awe of modest women ; and I understand this disposition is particularly common among the nobility. It is probably the consequence of a late university education, and being kept too long out of general society. The contrary custom prevail- ing in France, had produced that universal polish by which the individual stamp of character was worn out and effaced. A worthless pebble might thus acquire some little lustre, while in England the richest diamond is apt to remain a rough stone. The pleasure-grounds of Petworth, different PETWORTH TREES A CLUB DINNER. 251 from any we have seen in England, are planted with the largest trees, close together, something like a heavy-timbered American forest, of which they suggest the idea. Many of the trees were indeed American. We found here our old ac- quaintances the hemlock, the black spruce, the tulip-tree, the occidental plane, the acacia, '* and several kinds of oaks. All these trees seem to ac- commodate themselves extremely well with the climate of England, and not to feel, while growing within the inclosed grounds of a peer of a monar- chy, the loss of American liberty. Under their shade we observed the rhododendrum, the fragrant and the common azalia, and other American plants, finer and more luxuriant than in their native soil. In some places the trees, having sufficient space, grow in the English taste ; and the spruce, thus civilized, extends its mighty limbs over the green lawn with the grace and majesty of a park oak. Of the two nights we spent at Petworth, in a very good inn, the first afforded us all the rest of which we had been deprived at Portsmouth ; the second was of a very different character. There happened to be a club-dinner in the room next to us, still sitting, and rather noisy, when we went to bed. The company soon became so much more boisterous, as to destroy all hopes of sleep, and getting up, I procured a light, and took a book, but reading was also impossible. The conversa- tion, of which very very little was lost, became * The acacia succeeds better in England than in America, where it is injured, and often destroyed, by a particular kind of worm. This tree affords a most valuable timber for ship-build- ing, and grows very fast; yet it is never met within England planted on a large scale for timber. 252 PETWORTH — PLOUGHS— HORSES AND OXEN. more and more foolish every moment; the sing- ing, breaking wine-glasses and chairs, and vocife- rating, lasted till three o'clock in the morning, — • that is, until broad day-light, — when most of these convivial gentlemen staggered home one after the other, and those remaining were too far gone to give us any farther annoyance. This scene is, I believe, quite English, though less common than formerly. The ploughs about here, and in Hampshire, have wheels in front to regulate the dip of the ploughshare ; and, as one of the wheels runs in a furrow and the other not, the latter is made smaller. Horses are used universally. Farmers buy them very young, and sell them again when six years old, well broke, and at a considerable advance of price. They say that horses are nicer in their food, but consume less than oxen, and work faster. A pair of oxen, however, harnessed like horses, pro- perly shod, and with bits in their mouths, will plough an acre every day in less than eight hours. It were to be wished that horse-flesh was brought to market like that of horned-cattle ; and horses would gain by it more than men. An old ox is sent to the pasture for a couple of years ; he does not labour, — grows fat, — and falls at last under the club of the butcher, without previous suffering : — a horse, on the contrary, the less spared as he is least able to labour, descends lower and lower as he grows old, — is ill used, — starved,—and given to the dogs. The fine cream-coloured horses of his Majes- ty have actually been seen in a vile hackney-coach. Were it not for the absurd prejudice against horse- flesh, the noble animals might have passed from the stable to the table of their master. I under- PfcTWORTH — HUMANITY TO ANIMALS. 253 stand that horse-flesh is an article of food in Den- mark. The English boast of their humanity to animals, and may comparatively ; but although animals are treated less cruelly here than in France, and are for that reason much more docile and manageable, yet there is still much to be shocked at. If you have a mind to travel with any comfort, you must not venture to look under the collars or saddles of post-horses, as you might there meet with sights to make the best post-chaise uneasy. Between Pet- worth and Weston-House we perceived that one of the horses was streaming with blood about the neck ; he had been put in harness too soon after a bleed- ing. The postboy stopped on the road, and went through the operation of fresh twisting of the skin, tying, and pinning, — very clumsy and painful, — * but unavoidable : he agreed with me that it was very wrong to work horses too soon after bleeding, for, said he, this is the third we have had in this situation, and the two Others died of a morti- fication, and they cost L. 37 a-piece ! If you make any remark on a horse being lame or tired, they never fail to apply the whip instantly, by way of shewing the horse can go : — something like the consequence of Don Quixote's interfering in favour of the shepherd's boy. It is a strange, but cer- tainly a happy dispensation of providence, that the impression of these sort of things should weaken so rapidly, as soon as the object is out of sight, otherwise, as new ones presented themselves, such an accumulation of misery would at last render the situation of the traveller worse than that of his horses. The supreme author of good and evil has wisely or- dered, that a scratch, or a drop of blood shed under our -eyes, should awaken a more lively sympathy, 254 HUMANITY GENTLEMEN'S HOUSES. than all the horrors of a field of battle, where we are not ; and that distance of time should also come in aid of local distance, to blunt unavailing pity. I cannot help thinking, however, that if this or- ganization of human nature had been trusted to me, I should have wished to make distant evils, and " others' woes," somewhat more present to our imagination and feelings. A distinct im- pression of the details of war, for instance ; the agonies of the drenched field of honour, and the prolonged miseries of the military hospital ; the horrors of endless captivity, of famine, and of pes- tilence ; the hopeless despair of wives and mothers, — might then have damped that idiot admiration of ours for splendid deeds of desolation, and might check the ambition, by withdrawing a part at least of the recompense ; — for Great heroes, howsoe'er inclin'd To harass and destroy mankind, Ne'er flesh the steel, or roll the thunder, Without some hopes of fame or plunder. After spending a few days with our friends in Surrey, we returned to London the latter end of July. The road from Weston to Esher, by Dor- king and Leatherhead, lies through a very pretty country, full of gentlemen's houses, either simple or magnificent, all in good taste. We paid a visit at one of them, and found a house spreading, broad and low, on a level lawn, and buried in fine trees and shrubs. Inside, the principal room furnished with prints pasted on a yellow wall, with a very narrow paper border, and prettily arranged j books, busts, bronze figures, and elegant furniture in that and every other room, — the windows very large and few, opening like folding-doors d la Francoise> NORBURY PARK LONDON — MISS L.'s FETE. 255 and glazed diagonally, made of mahogany, and not painted. The river Mole crept sluggishly at a little distance from the house, and beyond it rose Boxhill, in barren majesty, and covered with white chalk patches. It had been till lately clothed with an evergreen grove of box-trees, but they were sold last year, for the prodigious sum of L. 12,000, and the hill remains shorn of its honours for some years at least. Magnificent elms are falling on all sides for timber, the straightest for keel-pieces. We were shown Norbury Park on a height, Mr Locke's residence, whose talents are well known to us. I had seen and copied at Weston, the day before, a sketch of his composition, which would do honour to an artist (Joseph explaining the dream of Pharaoh's officers.) It is a great pity Mr Locke should have been born in a situation which makes him independent of his talents. We found the inhabitants of London taken up with two recent occurrences. The splendid fete given by Miss L. a young lady, sole mistress of a fortune of half a million sterling. The supper is said to have fallen rather short, and it is no wonder, for Mr Gunter (the fashionable manager of fetes) had only 2000 guineas for this same supper, ex- clusive of lights ! The other object of public interest is, the late failure of the cow-pox pre- servative property in two instances, in the space of a month. The son of Lord Grosvenor, vaccinated ten years ago, by the celebrated Dr Jenner him- self, has taken the small-pox in a natural way ; it was of a confluent sort, and the patient was in great danger. A few days after, the son of Sir was likewise attacked with the natural small-pox, less violently, but also ten years after vaccination. 256 LONDON VACCINATION* Can it be possible that the preservative property should not last beyond a certain number of years, and that it should be necessary to recur to vacci- nation every ten years ? It might be worth while to try inoculation of the small-pox at distant pe- riods, with a view to ascertain the permanency of the preservative quality. So far, the efficacy of the cow-pox in preserving from the small-pox, has failed only in one case out of a thousand. The inoculation for the small-pox itself missed three times as often, and was sometimes fatal ; while vaccination is without any danger whatsoever, and is attended with little or no sickness. The persons with whom I have been lately, were theorists on the side of the depreciation of paper ; here I have conversed with men of busi- ness, who are against it, that is, do not, or will not believe in it. Passing thus from one medium of opinions to another, you experience a sort of elec- trical shock of surprise ; and if the experiment is frequently repeated, it destroys at last, in a great degree, all confidence in one's self, and in others, — in the principles and in the reason of men, — all respect for mankind, — all enthusiasm, — and even seriousness. Tout animal recut de la nature, Certain instinct dont la conduite est sure, Et les humains n'ont que de la raison. This humiliating experiment, however, is calculated toinculcate the best possible lesson of forbearance and tolerance. It is not to be wondered at that women, with so few opportunities of observing these varie- ties of views, and contradictory reasonings, unac- customed to doubt, and carried away by their feel- LONDON — DEPRECIATION OF CURRENCY. 257 ings, should be so generally intemperate in their zeal, and exaggerated in their opinions: A wealthy individual, a great landholder, and a peer of the realm, has lately taken upon himself to sound the alarm of the depreciation in good earnest, and put it to the test ; in having sent a no- tice to his tenants, in which he tells them that bank paper representing no longer the real value stated in their leases, he means to call upon them for pay- ment of their rents in the legal coin of the realm ; and as gold was worth L. 4 per ounce at the time these leases were granted, while its present value in the market is L. 4, 14s. in default of gold coin, he would be satisfied with paper, at the rate of L. 4, 14s. for every L. 4, or 16£ per cent, difference, being the actual depreciation. The tenants are protected bylaw against the arrest of their persons, provided they tender bank-notes, but are liable to be ejected from their farms ; and Parliament will have to protect them further. It is undeniable that the rent agreed upon in 1804 does not represent now the same value ; and that the farmer, while selling his produce at an advanced price, propor- tioned to the depreciation, discharges his rent at the old or reduced price, — what he pays is nominal, and what he receives real. The landlord has a fail- right, therefore, to come in for his share of the ad- vanced price, and the interference of the legisla- ture is hardly defensible on the ground of justice, although necessity may be pleaded in its favour. This is, however, to be said, that the rise of prices was in part foreseen in 1804, .and that a farmer obtaining a long lease, might be induced to give a higher price than he could afford at first ; in con- sideration of the advantages to accrue to him from the successive rise of prices during the course of VOL. II. R 258 LONDON — HAY-MARKET THEATRE. his lease. It is like Esop's basket, too heavy at setting out, and too light for the latter half of the journey j but which it would not be fair to fill up again at the half way. The zeal of the champions for the integrity of the currency, is not unlike that of the surgeon in Gil Bias, who, after wounding passengers in the street, and retreating into his house, sallied forth through another door to proffer his services, in the way of his profession. The comedy called the Cure for the Heart-ache was acted yesterday at the theatre of the Hay-mar- ket. Elliston and Munden appeared in it, and gave us great pleasure, although they exaggerated the exaggerations of the play. But the taste of the English public requires this, — as thistles alone have power to stimulate the palate of certain animals. The object of the petite piece called the Quadrupeds of Quedlinburgh, was to ridicule the perverted morality and sentiments of the German drama, and at the same time the exhibition of horses on the stage. One of the personages has two wives, and one of the wives two husbands. One of the husbands, a prisoner in the castle of a merciless tyrant (Duke of Saxe Weimar) is liberated by the other husband, for no other apparent purpose but to get rid of one of his wives. He besieges the cas- tle with a troop of horse, and batters down its walls with pistol-shot. The horses consist of a head and a tail, fastened before and behind the performers, with two sham legs of the rider, dangling about on each side, and a deep housing hiding the real legs. All the cant, childishness, grossness, and crude philosophy of the German drama was, of course, mustered together, and excited much risibility; the horses climbed walls, leapt, kicked, fought, lay down, and died, as Mr Kemble's horses might have LONDON HYDE PARK IRISH CANAILLE. 259 done. All this was very ridiculous, — but I am not sure that the laugh of the audience was not more with the thing ridiculed, than at it. The English public is not easily burlesqued out of its pleasures, and to it a caricature is still a likeness. Some friends of the real quadrupeds hissed, but clapping got the better. The pale face and nares acutissimce of the ex-minister, Mr Canning was pointed out to us in the next box, in company with Lord M. ; he laugh- ed very heartily, — and the nature of the laugh of the author of the Antijacobin could not be mistaken. London is less empty than we expected, and the wheels of numerous carriages are still rattling over the pavement of Portman Square, near which we occupy the house of an absent friend, obligingly lent to us. Hyde Park is much frequented, and still green. The deer are so tame as to graze near the walks, and suffer the children to play with their horns. The swans, equally tame, come with their young ones, which are not white yet, to the margin of the Serpentine river, and take bread out of your hand. We have in our neighbourhood one of those no* thoroughfare lanes or courts, of which Voltaire wanted to change the indelicate name they bear in French into that of impasse. This one is in- habited by a colony of Irish labourers, who fill every cellar and every garret, — a family in each room ; very poor, very uncleanly, and very turbu- lent. They give each other battle every Saturday night particularly, when heroes and heroines shew their prowess at fisty-cuffs, and roll together in the kennel, precisely as at Paris in the Fauxbourg St Marceau. We should never have known that there were such wretches as these in London, if we had not happened to reside in Orchard Street, Portman LONDON IRISH LABOURERS. Square, which is one of the finest parts of the town. The uproar continued all last night, from Saturday to Sunday (5th August), and it was as impossible to sleep as at Petworth. A watchman called for assistance with his rattle. One or more of his brethren assembled ; and I overheard from the window one of them say, " If I go in I know I shall have a shower of brick bats." To which an- other replied very considerately, " Well, never mind, let them murder each other if they please. This shews what sort of a mild police there is in this immense town, — and yet there are as few crimes, or violence of any kind, committed here as at Paris, where the guet d-pied and guet-d-cheval parade the streets, or at least used to do so, all night long, and even during the day, full armed. I have never heard anything similar to the noise of these neigh- bours of ours in any other part of the town at any hour of the night, even in St Giles's, which lies in the way to several of the playhouses. We have spent a few days at East Barnet, eight miles from London. Half the distance is through a track of waste-land, called Finchley Common, the existence of which, at the very gates of the capital, is to me very surprising. It was formerly a favourite stand for robbers ; but the war has pro- vided for these bold spirits, and you may travel at present all over England in perfect safety. The road passes over a small ridge of hills, perhaps 300 feet in height, through which a subterraneous pas- sage is now constructing ; it is indeed pierced nearly through, and is 1000 feet in length; it will be secured by a cylinder of brick, 18 feet in diameter. Th is is the direct road to Scotland, and all the northern counties, and it is supposed that a light toll will easily defray the expence. Marine re- 6 LONDON IIIGHGATE TUNNEL — -BALLOON. 26l mains of various sorts have been discovered in dig- ging this tunnel, and a new substance, resembling amber, scattered in small masses. These hills (Hampstead and Highgate.) being the highest spots for many miles round London, enjoy a very fine prospect, and are covered with inns and country- houses. On our return to town we stopped at Hackney, to see the ascension of a balloon. The crowd on foot and in carriages was prodigious. An uninter- rupted stream poured from all the avenues towards the spot (the garden of the Mermaid public-house), covering whole fields, the roofs of houses, and the highest trees, like a swarm of locusts, in order to see better what could not possibly escape their sight from any place. After waiting some hours, the balloon rose at last from it* hiding-place, with two adventurers suspended in its gallery, — Mr Sad- ler, a professor in that line, and Captain Paget, a candidate for fame, — waving their flags. There was a short burst of applause, then a profound si- lence, and some time elapsed before shouts burst again from the immense multitude. The novelty to most people, the gracefulness of the sight, and the boldness of the deed, are calculated to excite very powerful emotions, which are felt simultane- ously by everybody, for a moment at least. The very circumstance of such an immense multitude, animated with the same thought, and employed in the same pursuit, would be sufficient to produce a momentary enthusiasm, even if the object was still more insignificant than a balloon, and a couple of fool-hardy adventurers, choosing to run the risk of their necks for the sake of being stared at by the multitude. The balloon rose nearly perpendicu- larly, inclining from us eastward. It was visible 262 LONDON — RIVER — BRIDGES. for 22 minutes, and in about an hour descended near Tilbury Fort ; distance 30 miles. I have already mentioned certain basins, or docks, situated below London, into which whole fleets of merchantmen are laid up under lock and key. We provided ourselves with a letter of intro- duction for the Captain of the West India docks, and taking a boat at the Whitehall Stairs, towards the latter part of the ebbing tide, we descended swiftly through the whole length of the town. The Adelphi and Somerset House, on the left, looked extremely well ; the latter indeed magnificent, with the same black and white stains as at St Paul's, and on all other stone buildings in London ; it has a singular effect, and not a bad one. The bridge opposite Somerset House is just begun ; it will be only the fourth bridge, and not enough for this overgrown town. Paris has six or seven bridges. Blackfriars bridge is decaying rapidly. The stones are too soft, and scale off near the water's edge. The ornamental columns at each pier will not stand many years. It is a very handsome bridge. From all parts of the river the head and shoulders of St Paul's tower over every thing else, and its bright dome reflects the rays of the sun, invisible to the inha- bitants of the busy world around its base, enveloped as they are in their own atmosphere of smoke. Not far from it the monument rears its bold and light form in just proportions. And farther down, the old tower of London, which, although without beauty in itself, sets off the dull mass of private buildings. Nothing can well be uglier than Lon- don bridge ; every arch is of a size different from its next neighbour; there are more solid than $pen parts; it isin fact like a thick wall, pierced with small unequal holes here and there, through which the cur- LONDON— FALL AT LONDON BRIDGE BOAT RACE. 263 rent, dammed up by this clumsy fabric, rushes with great velocity, and in fact takes a leap, the differ- ence between high and low water being upwards of 15 feet. Passengers are generally landed above, and taken up below the bridge ; but being desirous of trying this little Niagara, which cannot be very dangerous, since so many boats pass it every day in safety, and being quite sure of reaching the shore by swimming, I remained with the boatman. He took the third arch, placed his boat in a direct line, then rested on his oars. The boat shot along an inclined plane, through the narrow hole, not 20 feet wide 1 believe, — ascended a little, then de- scended an abrupt step, — the prow straight down,— and up again in a moment, — lifting some water in- to the boat, which turned several times round in the eddy below the bridge, before it got into the straight current. I am astonished this fall, repeat- ed twice a-day for some hours, has not undermined the bridge long ago. Below London Bridge, the Thames begins to assume the appearance of a sea port. You see shipping at anchor on both sides, many Dutch, Danes, and Swedes, with licenses, I suppose, and many Americans j two or three seventy-fours on the stocks, and some East Indiamen ; Admiral de Winter's ship afloat, dismantled. We soon found ourselves in a crowd of boats, very gaily attired, full of rowers, and in great activity. It was a row- ing match,— they appeared ready to start, and we took our station among the spectators. A shot fired was the signal. Three very light boats like the one we were in, 20 feet long, — 41 feet beam, — 16 inches deep, — the greatest breadth in the middle, — sharp, fore and aft, like a shuttle, — clinker built, —one man in each, with sculls. One of the cham- 264 LONDON BOAT-RACE WEST INDIA DOCKS. pions was orange all over, — the other yellow, — the third red. In a few minutes there was great cry of foul ! foul ! answered equally loud with fair ! fair ! The friends on both sides interfered and stop- ped the boats. What it was exactly we could not make out, some nice point no doubt, as there was much vehement argumentation on both sides ; but, apparently, without abuse or quarrelling, things were adjusted and the race resumed. The con- tending oarsmen passed very swiftly by us, strain- ing every nerve, amidst shouts and acclamations. We saw them turn half-a mile above, around a large boat stationed there for the purpose, decora- ted with streamers, and covered with the beau sexe all in white. The orange man, who had the lead at first, seemed now to be overtaken by the red ; — the yellow far behind. Returning, they soon pas- sed us again, on the other side, followed by a fleet of boats, and were out of sight in a few minutes, down the river ; — a band of music playing all the while. We now landed at the West India docks, and the captain of the docks gave us a guide. The river forms here a great bend, round a low head of land called the Isle of Dogs, through which a ca- nal and several large basins have been dug, cover- ing about sixty acres, and kept always full by means of locks, so that the largest ships may be always afloat. These basins are divided into dis- tricts of imports and exports, and surrounded by ranges of warehouses to a prodigious extent, like a town. An open shed along the whole line of the water, in front of the warehouses, receives the car- goes; and the coopers, weighers, measurers, &c. attend to their several departments under cover. Cranes with chains are ready to hoist up the goods LONDON WEST INDIA DOCKS. 265 into the various warehouses. Whole fleets unload at the same time ; — repair, and load again. No damage, — no pilfering, — no risk of fire in the warehouses, which are incombustible. This is the establishment of a giant trade. At present, indeed, the giant receives, but sends nothing away. The warehouses are so full, that it has been found ne- cessary to hire temporary ones out of the docks. The export district is literally deserted. We went on board the largest ship in the West India trade, (626 tons) and another just arrived, the cabin hung round with naked swords and pikes, — muskets with fixed bayonets, and pistols ; — four great guns look- ing out of the cabin windows. There has been lately some relaxation in the system of continental exclusion; a number of licensed vessels have sail- ed over with cargoes, — nine last week only. The powerful adversary of England, in his struggle to keep the head of his enemy down under water, has got his own in the same situation, and must come to the surface again to breathe awhile himself, find- ing the other harder to die than he expected. It ap- pears to me, that the too much sugar is not likely to prove more fatal to England than the too little to France ; and that both sides have formed an ex- aggerated idea of the effect of this coercive war- fare. They may inconvenience, but cannot de- stroy each other by such means. In order to give some idea of the extent of the branch of commerce, to which alone this basin is appropriated, I shall copy here a statement of the cargoes discharged since the beginning of the insti- tution, from a report of their committee, inserted in Cobbet's Political Register, Vol XV. p. 1 15. In 1803, 363 vessels. In 1806, 477 vessels. 1804, 354 1807, 503 ■ 1805, 421 • 1808, 5Q8 266 LONDON — COMMERCE — LONDON BRIDGE. In the course of five months of the last year there were 460 vessels discharged, and their car- goes consisted of the following articles: 160,000 hogsheads of sugar, 32,000 casks and 125,000 bags of coffee, 11,000 bales of cotton, besides a quanti- ty of pimento, ginger, cocoa, and wine.— The wine is shipped from Madeira to the West Indies, by way of improving it, and thence to England. Nearer town, and on the same side of the river, is another basin, the London docks, nearly as exten- sive, and others less so, each appropriated to differ- ent branches of trade, and for the use of British ves- sels only. Strangers have no hospitality to expect, and must sleep in the street, — that is to say, remain at anchor in the stream of the river, exposed to va- rious inconveniences, accidents, and dangers, and to thefts, which were formerly very audacious and frequent. The Thames police, however, esta- blished within a few years, has effectually checked the latter ; and the river being disencumbered of British vessels by the use of the docks, foreign ones have also been benefited by them. The port of London, however, is still deemed expensive and inconvenient for foreign shipping. On our return to London bridge, we found the scene quite altered ; the channel below had filled up, by the tide flowing in, level with the channel above, and began to be even higher; and the stream ran up through the bridge very swiftly. We landed at the Adelphi, and went up to the ter- race, which has an extensive view over the river, but not a beautiful one. The river here is naviga- ted by few other vessels besides coal barges, and the opposite side (Southwark) presents a confused heap of mean buildings, unrelieved by a single object of greatness or elegance. Over the door of a house LONDON — ANECDOTE. 267 on this terrace, we read Mrs Garrick, — the very house and the very widow of the great Garrick ! The news of the day among the beau monde of the capita], is rather a bad story. An eminent pa- triot, the head of the reformers, had, it seems, a love affair, years ago, with a lady of quality. The lady became pregnant, — she was a married woman. But, as there were some reasons to suppose her husband would not consider himself as the father of the child, and might turn the lady and her progeny out of doors, the patriot, who is very rich, was induced to execute a bond for L. 20,000, to be paid in that event only ; the bond to be de- posited in the hands of the brother of the lady, as trustee. The child is said to be the patriote tout crache ; and the latter paid, on account of his bond, L. 5000 into the hands of the trustee. Yet, as the contemplated separation did not in fact take place, he now claims that sum back again, and has begun a suit at law. The consequent publicity of all the facts gives rise, of course, to a great deal of scan- dal. And it is not the least disgusting part of the story, that the lady of quality is said to have her- self instigated the suit, in order to be revenged of her brother, who had pocketed the L.5000, with- out giving her any of it. It is difficult to say which of the parties appears in the most ridiculous and con- temptible light; the brother chosen confidant of such a transaction, and cheating both the parties ; the patriot avaricious, and a dupe ; the lady of qua- lity vindictive, and debauched; or the contented hus- band ! These sorts of things are done, no doubt, in other countries, — but they are kept secret. Here, the habit of seeing every thing published in the newspapers seems to have blunted, at least, the very sense of honourable shame. I have heard, indeed 268 LONDON — -AMERICAN LITERATURE. some persons, considerable among the Whigs, pro- nounce the patriot to be a lost man; and assert that he never would get over the scandal of this af- fair. But all the inference to be drawn from this declaration is, that the patriot does not stand bet- ter with whigs than with, tories ; had it been otherwise, they would have contrived to make out a better case for him. America and the Americans take up very little of the attention of Europe ; and, even here, where there are so many points of contact with the people of the United States, they would be surprised to find their feelings of partiality or of hatred so faint- ly reciprocated. An official letter of the officer who had the late unfortunate rencontre with the little Belt, as published in the newspapers, was, however, mentioned at a dinner where I happen- ed to be lately ; and the matter and style of that let- ter were given as an instance of the want of temper and manners, and the bad tone altogether, so conspi- cuous in most productions of that sort in America. A person who had been formerly in a public sta- tion in America observed, on the occasion, that the writer of this letter had, many years before, pub- lished a still more objectionable account of an ac- tion between a French and an American frigate. It was remarked, at the same time, that the narra- tor of the commonest incident inserted in a news- paper, nearly the only specimen of American lite- rature known in Europe, seemed to think it a fit opportunity to establish his claim to pathetic elo- quence, or liveliness and wit, which was always so utterly manque, and in such inveterate bad taste, as to excite the astonishment of European readers ; and must necessarily lead them to suppose the state of manners in the United States, and general LONDON UNITED STATES. 269 information, very inferior to what it certainly is. Ample justice was done to the talent for abuse of the political writers of that country, — the force, if not the originality, of their invective, shewing them to have profited by the long residence of Mr Cob- bet among them. A person who has lived many years in America, mentioned, as an exception to this general preva- lence of bad taste, the practice of the American bar, which, he maintained, was vastly more be- coming the dignity of the law, and better fitted to the end of justice, than the pert, flippant, and inso- lent mode of examining witnesses, and handling the reputation and character of adverse parties, which prevails in England to a disgusting degree, and may well afford to an American the opportu- nity of retorting the accusation of bad taste. He suggested also, that the legislature of the United States was not so deficient in talents, liberality, and information, as the very imperfect report of their speeches and proceedings, given in the newspa- pers, might induce European readers to suppose. The bad taste of their jokes, when they attempted any, was, to be sure, very striking ; their invective was coarse, and their elevation commonly bombas- tic and frothy. But when they relinquished ima- gination, and kept to plain sense and reason, it was maintained, that some of the members of the Congress would do honour to a British parliament. One, indeed, who is said to have taken Chatham for his model, was noticed for the peculiar vigour and originality of his eloquence ; yet it was thought to be generally too high, or too low, either turgid or trivial, and, with superior advantages of fortune and education, often vulgar, both in the language and ideas. 270 LONDON AMERICAN MANNERS POLITICS. The style of an illustrious personage who ranks among the few literati of the United States, and has been their first magistrate, was mentioned as ano- ther instance of vicious taste, involved, over-fine, affectedly philosophical, ingenious rather than sound, and corrupted by the mixture of foreign idioms. An instance of perfect purity of taste, of justness of conception and expression, was at last unanimously acknowledged, in a man who stands equally pre-eminent in the old and in the new world, as a hero, and patriot, and a sage. It be- longs to Washington alone to be thus held a model of all that is great and good. Another of the heroes of American independence, * and a man of more genius, as much purity, but less unerring sense than Washington, — was supposed to have lent his pen to him. He might, in some instances, and certainly did, in the most memorable, and the last ; but Washington's style was too uniformly good, and on all occasions, public or private, not to have been essentially his own. From American taste and manners, the conver- sation naturally turned to American politics ; and a gentleman, distinguished by his legal and legislative eloquence, a statesman who has been denominated the British Cicero, disapproved the haughty tone of the British government in regard to that country. The Americans, he said, shew a provoking partiali- ty for our enemy, and an offensive dislike of our- selves, without any adequate cause, — let it be so ; the surest way to remove these prejudices would be, to act as if we were not sensible that they ex- ist. We can be magnanimous with impunity, now * Hamilton. LONDON LORD ERSKINE — PLANTING. that we are the strongest, and might hope to effect a cure before the time comes when we shall be compel- led to be proud in our own defence. Lord Erskine, ex-chancellor, for I have already sufficiently desig- nated him, is about sixty years of age, tall, of a no- ble, frank, and expressive countenance, — speaking well, freely, and without pretensions, and with the utmost good humour. Faithful to the doctrines of his party, he expressed himself on the consequen- ces of the war with great despondency. The country is brought to the brink of ruin,— in fact it is ruined,— land is the only safe property,— stick to acres, &c. &c. Farming was talked of; and, in proof of the universality of the taste for agricul- ture as a pursuit here, I shall state, that Lord E., who was, early in life, in the army, and I believe in the navy also, followed afterwards the law as a profession, became chancellor, and was all his life a man of the world a«s well as a man of business,— seemed as much aufait on the subject, as if he had spent his whole life on the family estate in Scot- land. Any body may secure, he told us, L. 10,000 a-year, by planting 400 acres with larches and Scotch pines,— only twenty acres each year. At the end of twenty years, the first twenty acres, at the rate of 4000 saplings to an acre, and at 2s. 6d. a-piece, would produce just L. 10,000. The se- cond year's planting would, of course, come to perfection the next year after this ; and thus every year « twenty more, kill them, " or rather cut them down, and let them grow again ; for new shoots would continue to spring up from the old stumps for ages. I do not know, however, how far this calculation would do in practice, if many people went upon the same scheme. Peat lands, I understood, were drained by means 272 LONDON — NEWGATE PRISON. of ditches, len feet deep. The peat spread upon other land as manure, had been known to raise the rent from 30s. to L. S an acre ; while the peat land itself, thus drained and covered with lime, be- came highly fertile. This process has been follow- ed in Ireland with great success. But the Irish love their bogs, and do not approve of their being encroached on in this manner. Sept 5. — Wishing to see, or rather thinking it incumbent on me to see, something of the prisons of this capital, I called to-day at the most consider- able of them, Newgate. A turnkey took me up a back stair-case to the leads, from which, like As- modeusin the Diable Boiteux, I had a view into the interior, and could see what was doing in the differ- ent divisions of this melancholy abode. We first perched upon the debtors' ward, — they sat and walked about in two courts, paved with flag-stones, and very clean ; the women separated from the men. Some of the women, (they were few) held up their hands to me for alms. I observed written on the wall, in very large letters, Lord Moira for ever. * Then we went to the felons under sentence of death. They were playing fives against the wall of a narrow court; their irons fastened on one leg only, from the knee to the ankle, over a sort of cushion, and so arranged as to make no noise, and to be no impediment at all to their mo- tions ; in fact a mere matter of form, — and so is also, in a great degree, the sentence of death itself. Not one of these people appeared to believe it serious. One of them, whose companions were lately exe- * He has made some motions in Parliament in favour of insol- vent debtors. LONDON — NEWGATE PRISON. 2^3 cuted for forgery,* had been reprieved the day before, having turned evidence, and they were all playing with great briskness and glee. In one of the courts, the one I think for felons under sentence of transportation, I was shewn the man who fired a pistol at the king twelve or fifteen years ago, at the theatre. He stood picking his teeth in a corner very composedly, — well dressed, and look- ing young (he must have been quite young at the time.) I asked whether the man was insane ; Not at all, said the turnkey, no more than you, only very cunning. But what is there so cunning in getting himself shut up here for life ? They have made him foreman of the ward, he has a good salary, — a guinea a- week, I think he said, happy as a king, — eats the best of every thing, — what can he want more ! The transportation ladies, crowded in a small court, were much more disorderly than the men. They threatened and wrangled among them- selves, singing, vociferating, and, as much as the narrow space allowed, moving about in all sorts of dresses, — one of them in men's clothes. They are not in irons like the men. In a more spacious court, separated from these women by a high wall, were state prisoners, as my guide called them, playing fives (the favourite pastime of Newgate it seems.) One of them, well dressed, and wearing powder, about forty years of age, was pointed out to me, as Astlett of the bank. He was playing mer- rily with another gentleman y as my guide, a most vulgar wretch, called them. This other gentleman was a printer, who had been there two years for striking for wages, and has one or two more years * There is no pardon for forgery. VOL. II. S 274 LONDON — NEWGATE PRISON. to stay. Three or four years confinement in New- gate, for a confederacy of journeymen to have their wages raised, seems to me most excessive, especially as their employers may confederate as much as they please among themselves for the re- duction of wages. The associations of workmen, and raising a fund among themselves under certain officers, have been thought a contrivance of revo- lutionary tendency ; and there may have been something of that sort in the present case. I in- quired for Mr Cobbett, expecting to see him among the gentlemen. — Oh! no, said my turnkey, he is too great for that. Where is lie then I — Why he is in the governor's house, — Til show you, — plenty of money, and that is every thing you know. Then walking farther on the leads, he shewed me a grat- ed door, through which I could see a carpeted room, — Mr Cobbett's room. He has the key of the grated door, and therefore, free access to this leaden roof, which is extensive, high, and airy, with a most beautiful view of St Paul's, and over great part of the city. His family is with him, and he continues to pour out his torrent of abuse as freely as ever, on everything and everybody in turn. Mr Cobbett seems to me to furnish, without intending it, the same sort of evidence in favour of the existence of the liberty of the press in his own country, as a philospher of antiquity gave of the existence of motion. The strange medley of licentiousness and legal restraint, — of freedom and confinement, — of punish- ment for what is done, and liberty to do the same again, — is really very curious. An heterogeneous compound it seems at first; complex, — artificial, — inconsistent, and laboriously insufficient; but, I think, best upon the whole. The constitution has LONDON — BURYING-G ROUNDS. 275 provided certain civil ingredients ; they are thrown together, and left to ferment, and struggle, and com- bine, abandoned to their chemical affinities. The chemist, to be sure, is accused of not giving always fair play to the experiment, and meddling with the process, as his views incline to particular results. But, upon the whole, how much nearer it comes to the immutability of general laws, than the simple arbitrary processes of other countries ? During a visit we lately made at East Barnett, about eight miles from London, the beautiful situ- ation of the burying-ground attracted my attention. I had observed before that this last home of the English was generally pleasantly situated ; and in South Wales we found the graves often covered with growing flowers, carefully cultivated by the friends of the individual whose body lies under- neath ; — the idea does credit to Welsh feelings. English feelings shew themselves in a different manner. The little comforts of the dead are care- fully attended to ; and, as dampness is a thing most dreaded in this moist climate, there are drams to keep the vaults dry, and air-holes through plates of iron to give them fresh air ; a universal endeavour is also observable to put off the parfait oubli, into which obscure names fall so soon after death, by an urn, — an iron railing, — a stone, — a sim- ple board, — all bearing inscriptions, where some- thing more than mere name and date is recorded. Rank and titles stand first, and require nothing else ,; these wanting, virtues are told of, and some ambitious quotation from the poets is made to vouch for them ;— the deceased was either great or good. 1 have noticed, however, inscriptions boast- ing of obscurity, as if it had been a matter of 276 RICHMOND — BANKS OF THE THAMES. choice, like Piron's epitaph, — Ci git Piron, qui ne jut rien, — pas meme academicien. Sept. 9. — We are just returned from Richmond, where we went two days ago to take leave of our friends, with a hope that it will not prove for ever. We went by water, and returned the same way, in order to see more of the banks of the Thames, and to avoid the dust, the weather being dry and warm ; that is, 76° to 78° of Fahrenheit's in the shade at noon, and 70° at night ; a delightful temperature ; — it is in fact never too warm here in the house. We performed the thirty miles to and from Richmond in one of the small boats already described, with one rower only; fare 12s. each time, and Is. gratuity. The greatest part of the banks of the fiver are quite flat, — too many houses, — and the immediate water edge muddy, reeds and sedge. The river itself is clear. You see here and there a number of beau- tiful spots, — beautiful from the luxuriance of the vegetation, — neat lawns, and large trees, — but without much play of ground, or anything properly picturesque. We noticed the cedar of Lebanon, the American tulip-tree and plane, wonderful fine elms, and untrimmed willows, in their natural state, which they hardly ever retain in Europe. We were shewn on the south bank of the river, near Putney, the house of Mrs Clarke, of impudent fame ; and our boatman, as much au fait of the news of the court as that of Henry IV., in- formed us, that the illustrious lover still saw his siren ; — a most extraordinary circumstance, if true. The country-house of Mr Hoare, the banker (the same gentleman, I presume, who does not suffer his visitors at Stourhead to sit down), looks very well. A small place belonging to Mrs Braham 1 RICHMOND — SUNDAY PLEASURE-BOATS. 277 (SignoraStorace,) appears very pretty. The Mar- gravine of Anspach's (Lady Craven,) is a house ct pretensions. There is a ruin, which seems ready to tumble down only because it is ill built ; it was erected for a theatre. The ruin, the house, the summer-house, and other picturesquenesses, are all huddled together, as in French-English gardens. The Duke of Buccleuch's, under the hill at Rich- mond, looks perhaps better than any other place on the river ; but then the grounds are very small, and crowded between the highroad and the river ; another sort of highroad without dust. I own I can hardly forgive the Lord of the Esk for prefer- ring the banks of the Thames as a residence. This latter river makes the delight of the cockneys of London ; and, on Sunday particularly, the num- ber of pleasure-boats plying between Richmond and the capital is prodigious ; they are generally covered with an awning, and decorated with flags and streamers. The custom of stopping on the lawns along the river, and making a repas cham-> petre with provisions brought in the boat, proves, I suppose* a great nuisance to the refined proprietors of these favourite spots ; for I have observed on several of them boards put up, with writing, for- bidding such intrusions and vulgar sports on their premises. The Bishop of London, wanting to put a stop to this profanation of the Sabbath, thought it necessary to ascertain first the extent of the evil; and to that end had the number of boats passing under the bridge in the course of one Sunday taken down,— but finding it to exceed 4000, he gave it up in despair. Difficult as it should seem to be drowned in so inconsiderable a river as the Thames above London, accidents are frequent, from the im- prudence of the city navigators, who carry sail in 278 LONDON SHAVING- POWDER. these small boats, flat, and without ballast. I have seen some of them sitting or lying over the awn- ing, with the true temerity of inexperience. No trade is inconsiderable in London for the man who is in vogue;— it is a condensed world, where the smallest attraction finds multitudes in its sphere. Ob- serving one day the admirable facility with which a friend of mine shaved himself, I inquired how he contrived to keep his razors in such good order ? Mr Clarke of Exeter Change, he told me, furnishes the requisite. This ingenious person has amassed a fortune of L. 100,000 by selling powder to sharpen razors. Being curious to know a person so distinguished in his line, I repaired to Exeter Change the very next day, and was shewn, at the extremity of the double row of shops, which all belong, I found, to Mr Clarke, that gentleman him- self, established in a little nook behind the gate. He received me very civilly, — presented the only chair he could command, — and, at my request, gave me a lesson of razor-strapping, pronouncing the word ra- zor like ra in rasp, which, from such a high autho- rity, must be considered as settling the pronuncia- tion. For the sum of two shillings I have acquired all the skill, together with the materials, necessary to secure for the rest of my life a blessing I had •wished for during thirty years, to wit, a constant- ly sharp razor. While I was there a gentleman called on business, and Mr Clarke talked about bonds and mortgages, — lands and houses, — strap- ping all the while. A young girl, meantime, brought him his frugal dinner in a small basket,— and he sleeps, 1 believe, in the loft above his shop. Mr Clarke conversed upon politics and America with very good sense. >Jo females of any rank are admitted into either LONDON HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. 2?9 House of Parliament during the sittings, but are admitted to see it at other times as well as men, and we availed ourselves of this one morning. Some of the attendants are always within call ; — the settled price is a shilling for the House of Lords, and half price for the Commons. The up- per house is rather the shabbiest of the two, — the seats are of dirty red cloth, — the walls hung round with an old tarnished tapestry, representing the Armada — and the famous woolsack, intatters, is only a sort of deal bench, stuffed with hay. The tempo- rary inclosure, made for the reception of the wit- nesses in the late trial on the Berkely peerage, was still standing. The scandal of the evidence adduced on that trial, is fresh in the memory of the public. An acquaintance of ours occupies the house that was Richardson's at Hammersmith ; it is irregular, — rather small, — a little way from the road, — has an excellent garden behind, of about two acres, — walled round, and plenty of fine fruit, — green gages, — nectarines, — pears and grapes, some of which may very well have been planted by the author of Clarissa. The greatest part of the ground is occupied by a neat lawn and a few trees. This, I should suspect, was probably a trim parterre in his time, with box borders. The water with which London is supplied, was, it seems, conveyed by means of wooden pipes or logs, perforated, lying under ground, from which small leaden pipes branched out to each house. Workmen are now employed in taking up these logs, which appear mostly decayed, and substituting cast iron pipes. Those in the main streets, such as Oxford Street and Holborn, are enormously large; upwards of two feet diameter, branching out, down the side streets, into pipes of the diameter of six in- 280 LONDON — WATER — EAST INDIANS. ches. The water must acquire a ferruginous qua- lity in its passage through so much iron. I think glass pipes might be made sufficiently thick to bear moving ; and once in the ground, would last for ever, and communicate no impurity to the water. There are many native East Indians lately land- ed. They walk about the town with immense um- brellas, particoloured, red and white, in alternate ribs, and a deep fringe all round. Who will say now that there is no sun in London, when tropical people are obliged to screen themselves from its beams ! These men, who seem to be people of some consequence, are extremely small, meagre men. It must seem to them as if they were among Patagonians, although the inhabitants of London have no particular claim to size. They are much stared at, but not insulted. An English mob is not that rude unmannerly thing it is generally taken for. It is difficult to conjecture what idea an East Indian mav form, beforehand, of the mighty company and its august court ; but I should think he must experience some surprise as he ap- proaches the foot of his sovereign's throne, in Leaden-Hall Street. A singular cause came lately before the court, characteristic of the manners and government of this country. Education has been, for some time past, much in fashion, and there are schools orga- nizing everywhere, not only for the people in ge- neral, but for the army. The colonel of a regi- ment of local militia, caused a school to be esta- blished for his men ; one of them, however, refused to attend, and, in consequence of general orders from the colonel, was put into confinement. The man has since sued the officer who executed the LONDON — ANECDOTE LICHFIELD. 281 colonel's orders, — recovered L. 134, 10s. 10d., and will probably recover further damages against the colonel himself who gave the order. A soldier may disobey orders which are not authorized by the articles of war, — he may even encourage his fellows to disobey the same ; and the officer who receives an order from his superior officer, is liable to be prosecuted by the civil authority, if the order should happen to be irregular ; at the same time that he is liable to punishment, by the articles of war, if he should refuse to obey, under a mistaken idea of the order being irregular. Therefore, it is incumbent on a military man of any grade to be learned in the law, both civil and military. We left London on our return to America, on Sunday the 15th September, and arrived on Wed- nesday evening at Liverpool, four hot and dusty days. I am convinced there is sun and blue sky enough in England to satisfy any reasonable per- son. We travelled by Coventry, Lichfield, New- castle-under-Lyne, and Norwich, 226 miles ; about 20 miles more than the real distance, owing to the custom of charging one mile for a fraction of a mile at every stage. We had seen Lichfield before, and had conceiv- ed the country round it to be flat and marshy, instead of which, we found it at this time, by a dif- ferent road, varied and beautiful. We admired the fine cathedral once more ; the spires, three in number, and built of stone to the top, are bold and light. The innumerable statues, in niches, are so worn and defaced by time, as to disguise the miser- able execution and shocking taste of burlesque and low humour, general in the Gothic age : Those venerable stumps suit their situation infinitely bet- ter as they are, than as they were. The rude 282! LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL— -BARRACKS. figures about the walls of Gothic churches, princi- pally inside, lolling out their tongues, and pointing scornfully with their fingers, alluded, I under- stand, to the continual low squabbles between the regular and the secular clergy. The fine view of the Lichfield Cathedral, from the bridge leading to it, would be much improved if the few houses between it and the water were removed, and a lawn substituted. Innumerable flights of rooks fill all the inaccessible holes with their nests ; they skim the air, and wheel around the walls and spires of the venerable pile, like the flights of sea birds at the Needles. The country, nearly the whole way, had quite a woody appearance, from the number of large hedge- row elms and ashes, — each distant view appeared like a forest. The land, mostly meadows and pas- tures; — very few corn fields, at least, compared to those on the Continent, where you meet everywhere with boundless fields of waving corn. This coun- try may well require foreign supplies of grain. We passed the grand junction and other canals many times, on handsome stone bridges, and once went under the canal, by a sort of tunnel. These canals are rarely carried on in a strait line for any long continuance, but wind around hills, graceful- ly enough, with a neat track path on one side, and are never offensive except when carried along-side a river ; the effect being in these cases very awk- ward. We passed some very showy barracks, built of freestone, at a vast expence, with many subdivi- sions, and enclosed with high walls. The Romans had no such establishments for their army, — mud huts, and a ditch, and all done by the soldiers themselves ; who, thus trained and employed, bore LICHFIELD — BARRACKS — MAUSOLEUM. 283 fatigue and hardships, that now destroy more men than the sword, in a British army particularly, I believe. The men loiter or lie about in the shade ; — neat and good-looking, but very ill prepared for a campaign in Portugal. This applies also to their cavalry. The horses are certainly handsome high fed, and pampered ; — their charge is spirited and powerful : but every body says they are much sooner knocked up than the small, lean cattle, of the French cavalry. Lord Stafford has built himself a fine Egyptian Mausoleum, near by the side of a dusty road, unscreened by any trees, and staring on tra- vellers, who cannot help inquiring what this fine thing is for, as we did, which spoils a capital stand for an inn. The house itself has before it an ex- tensive piece of water, artificial I presume, and fine woods hanging over. Lord Anson has a fine seat in the neighbourhood, and many other noble- men and gentlemen ; in fact the whole country is occupied by the rich, and the great, and my asto- nishment is unabated. Where do the poor hide themselves? — we do not perceive their dwellings anywhere. There are a few cottages to be seen, but the pots of geranium inside the windows, jessa- mine and roses outside, seem to place them above the reach of common labourers ; those of America, with double pay, and provisions at half price, have no such habitations, at least as to neatness and good repair. From Newcastle-under-Lyne, we went two miles out of our way to visit Etruria, the famous manu- factory of earthen ware, founded by Wedgewood and Bentley, about fifty years ago. The clay is ground by means of screws sans fin passing through certain frames of the shape of funnels, and by Q84 NEWCASTLE-UND.-LYNE WEDGEWOOD* S WARE other processes ; then washed in a quantity of water, which carries away the finest parts only, ob- tained afterwards by the evaporation of the water. Flints calcined and pulverized are worked in the same manner. These substances, mixed together in certain proportions, determined by the kind of ware intended to be made, form a paste, which is modelled and shaped by skilful hands. The neat, strong, light, and beautiful ware, known all over Europe by the name of Wedgewood, need not be described. This is not, however, a simple manu- factory of plates and dishes : Mi Bentley, one of its founders, was a man of taste, and had travelled in Italy. He introduced the classical forms of an- tique vases, as much as these could be applied to real use in these modern times. He also imitated, with great success, the fine ornamental vases of Greece and Rome, as well as antique cameos. To form an idea of the vast extent of these works, it is enough to know that the force of a steam-engine, of eighty horse power, is requisite to set the whole in motion, and overcome the in- ertia of so much clay and water. You see but few workmen besides those employed in modelling the clay. All such processes as require the mere exertion of force regularly and uniformly applied, are performed by various machines, all receiving their first impulse from the steam-engine. The un- erring exactness and power, ever equal to a given end, of these creations of human intelligence, never fail to produce in me a lively feeling of ad- miration and enthusiasm, which I may have ex- pressed before, although not half so often as it has been felt. The coating of the Wedgewood ware was origi- nally, I believe, composed of calx of lead, silex, and NEWCASTLE-UND.-LYNE WEDGEWOOd's WARE. 285 pounded glass. This glazing being in some degree soluble by acids, might be dangerous to health ; and I believe the lead is now totally exclud- ed from its composition. These substances, with the addition, I believe, of some soda, are ground in water to the consistency of cream. The vase, already baked, is dipped into the liquor, which pe- netrates its pores, and leaves in them, and on the surface, by drying up, an extremely fine powder, which is afterwards vitrified by exposure to heat, and partly incorporated in the substance of the ware. The flowers, and other coloured orna- ments, are applied by the hands of female artists generally, and with much dexterity and quick- ness. A private canal receives the produce of the ma- nufactory at the very door, and conveys it to the great junction canal, by which labour and break- age are saved. When I remember the common-ware used in France, coarse and heavy, with the glazing scal- ing off, or full of cracks crossing each other in every direction, like lace-work, and retaining in their interstices the various juices of a hundred suc- cessive dinners, the vulgar blue border carried all round an awkward scolloped edge, it seems to me as if the useful arts had been then comparative- ly in their infancy. The county of Cheshire, which we have last tra- versed, is famed for its salt-works and its cheeses. The salt-springs, with which it abounds, were used by the inhabitants long before they understood the art of making salt by evaporation and crystalliza- tion; for we find Henry VI. inviting Dutchmen to come over and instruct his barbarous subjects in that simple art. The discovery of the beds of fos- 286 CHESHIRE — SALT-MINES. sil, or rock- salt, is of a much more recent date ; the first was found in 1670, at the depth of 34 yards, in searching for coals near Northwich. The bed was 30 yards in thickness. This discovery occa- sioned new researches ; and the same bed was dis- covered to extend all over the immediate neigh- bourhood. In 1779, a new bed, or stratum of salt, was discovered near Law ton, 15 or 20 miles to the south-east of the first mines, at the depth of 42 yards, four feet thick only. Beneath the salt, was a stratum of indurated clay of 10 yards ; then a second bed of salt of four yards ; then 15 yards of the same clay; and, finally, a third bed of salt, through which they penetrated to the depth of 24 yards, when, finding that the centre of the bed, forming about 14 yards, was of a purer quality than the parts above or below, they stopped there. This experiment encouraged the miners of North- wich to look deeper for purer salt ; and, in 1781, they penetrated to a new stratum of salt, 40 yards in thickness, separated from the old one by a stra- tum of indurated clay of 10 yards. The centre of this new bed of salt was found to be much more free from earthy particles ; and it has been worked ever since. We descended into this mine. My companions, dressed in the costume of the place, a flannel over-all, were seated in a large tub, sus- pended by a rope ; one of the miners stood on the edge, to keep the tub steady in its descent. # At the depth of 330 feet, we found ourselves in a sort * A miner had been precipitated, a short time before, down this shaft with the tub, which had not been properly secured, and, of course, killed on the spot. The particulars of this accident were related to us by his own father and mother. CHESHIRE — SALT MINES. 287 of palace of salt. The ceiling, about 20 feet high, was supported by pillars 15 feet thick, at very bold, and, I should think, alarming distances, consider- ing the prodigious weight above. I measured 53 steps (159 feet) between some of them ! The area of the excavation may be equal to two or three acres j and, if the work proceeds on the same plan, there will be some accidents. Other mines, in- deed, have sunk in; and corresponding hollows, on the surface of the ground above, are shewn in several places in the neighbourhood. This rock of salt is much harder than I should have expect- ed ; and, besides the use of the pick axe, the wedge, and the crow-bar, the miners are obliged to blast with gun-powder. Some fragments are of the pure muriate of soda, quite transparent ; — but the general mass is of a dull reddish colour. We did not observe that it reflected the lights we car- ried, although that effect is reported to take place. The horizontal sections of the bed of rock-salt pre- sent various figures like sections of pillars, or a sort of Mosaic work, formed by concentric lines of an alternate paler and darker tint ; the intervals of the figures being of a whiter and purer salt, and the figures themselves varying from two to 12 feet in diameter. This regular arrangement supposes the fluidity of the mass at the time of their formation, either by fusion or solution. The Huttonians see, in the Mosaic work, the sections of prismatic pil- lars, like those of the basalt, and conclude that the mass has been in a state of fusion by fire ; while the Wernerians find, in some marks of stratification, a clear indication of the agency of the ocean. * The * No marine exuviae have ever been discovered in the salt stra- 288 CHESHIRE— SALT-MINES. Huttonian theory, however, admitting the double agency of water and of fire, possesses in this, as in other instances, more probability. The argilla- ceous strata, interposed between each stratum of salt, as well above as beneath them, parallel to each other, and with a uniform dip of about one foot in nine, have certainly been formed by water; and it is scarcely possible to suppose a different origin to the intervening salt strata. A solution by heat may, however, have taken place at a sub- sequent period, and determined the prismatic ar- rangement above-mentioned. Some naturalists con- jecture that the beds, or rather masses of salt, were formed originally by the evaporation of the water deposited by the sea into hollows and low grounds near its shores. The rock-salt of England is under the level of the sea, therefore might have been so deposited ; but there are mines of rock- salt in other parts of the world above the level of the sea; and the theory is liable to so many other objections, that it does not seem to deserve any attention. It seems to me quite as probable that the sea should owe the salt it contains in solu- tion to the mines of rock-salt with which it has come into contact, as that the latter should owe their formation to the evaporation of the sea-water, and precipitation of its salt. Whatever the true theory of the formation of rock-salt may be, its importance as an article of trade is well established. The whitest and purest is consumed or exported as it comes from ta, which is hardly reconcilable with the Neptunian formation, while the Huttonian theory would explain the disappearance of marine remains. CHESHIRE — SALT-MINES. the mine ; the red, containing more or less earth, is dissolved in water ; and, after the impurities have subsided to the bottom, the brine is evaporated iri boilers. The surface of the latter is from 20 to SO feet square, or even 1000 square feet, the depth 12 to 16 inches ; — they are made of sheet-iron, heated by coals, which cost here only 15s. a ton. The salt collects first on the surface in a slight crust, Composed of small cubic crystals ; it is soon preci- pitated to the bottom, and new ones form and sub- side in succession, accumulating in a mass at the bottom. The size of the crystals varies with the different uses for which the salt is intended, and is determined by the degree of heat. The slower the evaporation, the larger the crystals. Fifty or sixty thousand tons of rock-salt are ex- tracted annually ; one-third is dissolved in water, and crystallized by evaporation, and two-thirds exported in its native state ; more than half to Ire- land, and the rest to the Baltic. The quantity of purified salt, made from salt-springs, is estimated at 160,000 tons ; two-thirds of that quantity coi> sumed in Great Britain, and one-third in foreign countries, principally in the Baltic. There is then about 90,000 tons of salt, of all sorts, exported an- nually, and principally in British ships, equal to 450 cargoes of vessels, of the burthen of 200 tons each so much for the direct trade. But it has been seen already, that more than twice that quan- tity of salt is used in Great Britain and its depen- dencies that is to say, in Ireland, to salt beef; in Scotland, herrings ; and on the banks of Ne w- foundland, cod-fish ; therefore salt contributes in- directly to other branches of trade, infinitely more considerable than the direct salt trade. I am, however, speaking of what it was, only, for at pre- VOL. II. T 290 CHESHIRE — EXPORTATION OF SALT. sent the exportations to the Baltic and to the United States are at a stand, to such a degree, that salt is fallen from 7d. or 8d. to 3d. a bushel. It is re- markable that the salt consumed in England pays 15s. duty per bushel as it comes out of the mine ; — that is to say, sixty times the first cost. The quantity actually consumed in England is 17,000 tons, producing a revenue to the state of half a mil- lion sterling. A hundred years ago, Cheshire made salt only for its own consumption. It is a strange and melancholy spectacle to see the nations of Europe endeavouring, by every means in their power, to destroy that admirable system of exchanges, the effect and cause of their own superior civilization, — a system which ren- ders each peculiar advantage common to all, and, with the means, extends the very faculty of enjoy- ment. They may, by mutual repulsion, force each other back many steps towards their ancient pover- ty and rudeness ; but, for some years at least, and until population shall have been checked by po- verty, they will only increase mutually their mi- litary power. Miners and weavers, clerks and ci- tizens, are driven by thousands to the army and navy; and the capital, hitherto kept in activity by their industry in the various useful arts, is lent to government, and feeds the war. I am indebted for most of the facts above stated, respecting salt-mines, to a valuable work* of Hen- ry Holland, M. D., whom we had the pleasure of knowing at Edinburgh, one of the two young gentlemen who accompanied Sir George Macken- * General View of the Agriculture of Cheshire, with Observa- tions, drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agriculture by Henry Holland, Vol. I. Oct. 1808. CHESHIRE — "AGRICULTURE. £>91 zie to Iceland. The principal object of the work being agricultural, I have extracted a few facts on the subject, to make up for my own ignorance. Cheese-making is a principal object of rural eco- nomy in Cheshire. There seems to be a great di- versity of opinion among the farmers of that coun- ty, respecting the best breeds of milch cows, and the most promising make and colour. Upon the whole, it rather appears that the least handsome are the best ; — a lesson of morality is thus unex- pectedly furnished by the cow-stable. The ave- rage quantity of cheese obtained per cow annually, is estimated at 300 lb. * Stall-feeding seems, in general, to prevail. The ox- cabbage, sugar-loaf cabbage, and Swedish turnip, are the kind of green food most esteemed. The turnips fruta bagaj called Swedish, are kept, during winter, on the ground, in a heap of about six feet base, covered with straw. Turnips do not exhaust the soil, and yield as much as 20 or 24 tons per acre, and such a crop is worth L. 45 ; but half that quantity is a common crop. Turnips communicate a disagree- able taste to the milk, and are only given to the cows in winter, when the season of cheese-making is over. The large cabbage, and also the turnip- cabbage, ( rohl-rabij are deemed better food than tur- nips, producing more milk, and of a superior quality. The crop of potatoes is of most importance, both * In Sir William Petty's time, upwards of 100 years ago, an Irish cow, fed upon two acres of pasture, and half an acre of meadow, was reckoned to yield three gallons of milk a-day during three months, one gallon during the three successive months, a quarter of a gallon during the three next months, and nothing more till it had a calf again. The rent of the pasture was 5s. the meadow 3s. ; the advance of money and risk, as much as the feed altogether, 16s. for 384 gallons, or a halfpenny a-gal Ion. CHESHIRE — AGRICULTURE. for men and cattle ; and to the extensive cultivav tion of that root, more than to any other cause, the great increase of population, during the last cen- tury, is to be ascribed. Dr Holland asserts, that many labouring families, and not particularly poor, consume six or seven pounds of potatoes to one of bread. They are given to cattle and horses, raw, and mixed with cut straw, — or boiled, or rather steamed. The cattle prefer them boiled to raw. They are thought to be more nutritive when they have begun to sprout, owing to the saccharine principle secreted at that period, as is the case with malt. A farm is mentioned, upon which no less than 2000 bushels of potatoes were consumed an- nually. An acre yields generally from 150 to 250 bushels, of 90 lbs. each ; the price is from Is. 6d. to 2s. per bushel, sometimes 3s. in the spring. The sea-mud deposited by the tide is an excellent man- ure ; and they put as many as 20 to 30 tons on an acre, procured at the rate of 6s. or 7s. per ton. A single parish (Frodsham), advantageously situated to procure that manure, at the mouth of the Wea- ver, has been estimated to grow annually 100,000 bushels. Potatoes are kept like turnips during the winter, in a heap, covered slightly. The rent of cottages varies in this county from L. 4 to L. 9 ; the lowest have a small garden, — the highest land sufficient for the keep of a cow. This practice, of attaching a small portion of land to the cottages of labourers, is often deprecated as in- jurious. The disadvantage of small farms cannot be doubted ; they require, in a great degree, the same implements and stock as large ones, — do not admit of a proper division of labour, — and of a steady and regular employment of time. But the few acres of the cottager require, on the other hand, no stock, and take up only such leisure hours, or CHESHIRE — COTTAGES — DRAINS. 2Q3 days, as he can spare from his regular calling, while his young family are furnished with an em- ployment fitted to their strength. It would not answer as a main dependance, but is a valuable auxiliary. Considered in the point of view of domestic comfort, the advantage is undeniable. And even if it were true, that a given number of labourers would raise somewhat less produce under the comfortable than the uncomfortable system, surely the happiness of so many individuals is to come in for something in the calculation. I own I like the idea of an honest labourer coming home to his little garden-ground, with the pleasurable feel of ownership, reaping where he has sown : Warm'd as he works, and casts his look around On every foot of that improving ground ; It is his own he sees ; his master's eye Peers not about, some secret fault to spy ; Nor voice severe is there, nor censure known,— Hope, profit, pleasure — they are all his own. I was struck with the following ingenious method of constructing covered drains, by means of bricks, 9 inches long, 6' wide, and 3k inches in thickness. On one of the sides is pressed in, at making the bricks, half a cylindrical piece of wood, of 3 inches in dia- meter. Two bricks of this form, laid face to face, leave of course a circular hole of three inches be- tween them for the passage of water, and placed end to end at the bottom of a ditch, and, covered with earth, form a permanent drain, not liable to go out of order. Here is the plan of a good farming-establish- ment of this country, which, although not uniform- ly that of all the farms, yet gives an idea of that good order, and finish of utility, so generally ob* servable in this country. 294 PLAN OF A FARMING ESTABLISHMENT. CHESHIRE — LANDS — LIVERPOOL. 295 The average rate of lands is 30s. an acre. Dr Holland informs us, that the county of Cheshire (a spot of 35 miles, perhaps, by 25,) reckons fifty fortunes from L. 3000 to L. 10,000 a-year, and the same number from L. 1000 to L. 3000. There is visibly less bustle of trade, and less display of wealth now, at Liverpool, than when we first saw it. Failures have been very nume- rous ; there are but few now : — all the tottering houses have fallen ; the others do nothing, and live upon their means. The merchants appear singularly well reconciled to their new situation. In fact, a general calamity, which does not threat- en life or health, and does not deprive us of real necessaries, is scarcely a calamity. It is of very little consequence whether a man keeps his car- riage, or is waited on by one servant or ten, pro- vided his neighbours are not better off than him- self. There are but few private carriages to be seen here at present, and hardly any parties last winter, but no perceivable gloom and despon- dency. Buildings, public and private, go on briskly, and even ship-building is not abandoned. Few people seem to consider peace as possible, . and they look forward to a continuation of the pre- sent system of things as a necessary evil. Money, for want of employment, bears a low interest ; good notes at six months can be discounted at 2£ per cent. ; hence Government finds little difficulty in filling loans, and the same cause fills the army and navy. Commercial distress is felt more severely in manufacturing towns. A single house of Man- chester discharged last Saturday 1200 workmen; another 500 ! These poor people must live, — and in some parishes the poor-rates are already 6s. in the pound 1 Live they may certainly, for there is 296 LIVERPOOL ASYLUM FOR THE BLIND. not less food in the country. The rich will have to pay them to be soldiers, or to do nothing, instead of paying for the luxuries imported from foreign countries, in exchange for articles of home manu- factures. We have visited the asylum for the blind ; a most humane establishment, by which a number of unfor- tunate individuals are made happy by employment and independence. * They learn a trade, — are sup- ported for three or four years, — and dismissed with a little fund. They weave cloth very well, make neat pretty baskets, elegant rugs for fire-places, bed-side carpets, &c. &c. and some of them are good mu- sicians. They give weekly concerts, and the cor- rectness, vigour, and expression of their singing are surprising. There were some fine voices, and the organ was played by the blind. Unconscious of looks, and totally unable to modulate their features, the expression of their countenances had no guide but inward feelings, which lead them right in some instances, and wrong in others. We ob- served some of the women smiling sweetly at each other; and at other times, but mostly the men, making hideous grimaces, with odd uncouth atti- tudes and gestures, particularly when singing. * This establishment began in \79i, since which 311 persons have been admitted. Twenty-two Were admitted last year, and 0,6 left it. Of the latter, six died, five were dismissed for miscon- duct, six went away before their time. There are five men to one woman. The annual expence is about L. 5000. The sale of the articles manufactured amounts to L. 2000, and the difference, L. 3000, comes from subscriptions and donations. Many of the blind, after serving their regular time, are able not only to sup- port themselves, but even a family, from the proceeds of their industry. ... . LIVERPOOL — CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH. 297 Some of these poor people, traversing a court to goto dinner, turned to the sun, looking up to it, much pleased with seeing some glimmering of light. I asked one of the women how long it was since she had lost her sight ? Since she was a year old, she said. " You have of course no idea of what light is ; you do not think of it, I suppose." " Indeed I do but. too much !" Others declared they cared very little about it. Sept. 25, 1811. — We are waiting only for a change of wind to go on board the ship which is to carry us away, for ever perhaps, from a country, where we have been received with kindness, annesty for the payment, and was not de- ceived. lh,s change of their sentiments induced inm to build new farm-houses, of which he has erected above 30, all of lime and stone, at the ex- pence of L. 40 a house. The farms are, in gene- ral, of 80 acres each. 5 "After six or seven years, the Baron spread more Jime over the sod, and the benefit of it was very great ; it is all let now on an average at 20s an acre, &c. &c. His lordship has made a barren wilderness smile with cultivation, planted it with people, and made those people happv, &c. &c He assured Mr Young, that, while making his im- provements, he had lived in a house without shut- ters, bolts, or bars, and half full of spalpeens vet never lost the least trifle, nor has he met with any depredations among his fences or plantations. In conversation about the Popery laws, Mr Young expressed his surprise at their severity, but tie was assured they never were executed. This brought to his mind an admirable expression of Mr Burke s, in the House of Commons, « Conni- vance is the relaxation of slavery, not the defini- tion of liberty." The human mind is so constituted, that, to know exactly how you are to understand any man's ac- count of what he saw, let him be ever so good and true, you must first know his party, or the preju- IRELAND — WHITE BOYS — 1778. 329 dices of his country, and situation. Mr Young was, at the period of his visit to Ireland, in the op- position, disposed, consequently, to think more fa- vourably of the Irish than they deserved ; yet, as we have seen him since, about the beginning of the French revolution, form a tolerably just opi- nion of its tendency, I feel the more inclined to suppose his judgment to have been correct, and to confide in it. He admits the detestable conduct of the white boys, but does not believe them to have been directed by any foreign influence. — These worthless wretches were, he said, guilty of far greater abuses of power than those of whom they complained ; to such a degree, indeed, as to unite against them the Catholic inhabitants them- selves, who opposed them by force of arms at Kil- kenny, and other places, and had some sanguinary contests with them. At the same time, he de- scribes the despotism of the great proprietors, and of the aristocracy, — of the tithe-men, — of the jus- tices of the peace, — of the military, &c. &c. in such a manner, as to justify, or at least fully to ac- count for any discontents and revolt of the people.* During the American war, and while the com- bined fleets of France and Spain threatened the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, the Irish form- ed, at the invitation of government, volunteer corps for their own defence. They evinced at first great submission to government, but towards the end of the war, they began to feel their strength, and to * There were, besides the white boys, several other associations of banditti, under the name of right boys, peep-of-day boys, &c. &c. ; these in the north of Ireland, and among the manufacturers; the first in the south, and among the peasantry. 330 IRELAND — VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION OP 1785. remember they had arms in their hands. A sort of national convention was formed in 1783, 1784, many of whose members were persons of high characters, and great talents, and the Presbyteri- ans made common cause with the Catholics to ob- tain the right of election. A new constitution was proposed to the Irish parliament, but rejected with indignation. The government had already revok- ed, in 1782, most of the old laws against Catholics, those at least relating to property, and the restric- tions still subsisting did not affect the people so di- rectly. There was far less reason in fact to complain, than at any preceding period. But a great revo- lution had taken place in men's minds; it was no longer with material advantages that they were taken up, but rather with abstract rights ; and the people of Ireland, together with the great body of the people in Europe, had began to set a greater value on the form than on the substance of liberty. Our new world has generally the credit of having first lighted the torch which was to illuminate, and soon set in a blaze the finest part of Europe ; yet I think the flint was struck, and the first spark elicit- ed by the patriot John Wilkes, a few years before. In a time of profound peace, the restless spirits of men, deprived of other objects of public curiosity, seized with avidity on those questions which were then agitated with so much violence in England, touching the rights of the people, and of the govern- ment, and the nature of power. The end of the political drama was in favour of what was called, and in some respect was, the liberty of the people. Encouraged by the success of this great comedian, the curtain was no sooner dropt on the scene of Europe, than new actors hastened to raise it again IRELAND REPUBLICANISM. 331 in America, and to give the world a new play, in- finitely more interesting and more brilliant than the first. I am far from supposing that the sole motive of active patriots is personal ambition, and the vanity of acting a part $ but the sad experience of all ages, and especially that of our own times, teaches us to believe that such motives have al- ways a considerable influence. There is as much danger in believing too much, as too little, in the virtue of patriots ; one of these errors makes dupes and fanatics, and the other lukewarm men and slaves. After the peace of 1782, which established the independence of the United States, there was scarcely a young soldier returning from America who did not think himself destined to become a Washington, and did not consider his own coun- try, or any other country, just as well fitted for the establishment of a republic, as the country of Washington ; — not a young philosopher who did not know by heart his contrat social ; at least/ know it was so in France. Republican ideas & toute outrance failed not to gain ground in Ireland, as elsewhere, particularly among the military as- sociations, which had been formed for the defence of the country. The metaphysical refinements of the new political doctrines, were by no means lost on the common people ; for the less they were un- derstood, the greater their power was of creating a sort of blind enthusiasm, about they did not know what, — united in their ignorant and ferocious minds with the bigotry of old habits and prejudices. I shall mention only one instance of wanton atro- city, perhaps unequalled in any other country. A Mr R. Jackson of Forkhill, in the county of Ar- 3S2 IRELAND— INSTANCE OF SAVAGE CRUELTY: magh, who died in 1787, had bequeathed, by his will 3000 acres of land as a foundation for a sort of Protestant colony, and four schools for the educa- tion of children of every persuasion, gratis. In 1789, the trustees obtained an act of parliament to carry the provisions of the will into execution; but the Catholics of the country soon shewed themselves hostile to the establishment; they de- nounced vengeance against their new neighbours, — tired at them, — hunted them like wild beasts, — burnt their mill, — from which the miller escaped with great difficulty. At last, in January 1791, a number of villains assembled at the house of Alex- ander Barclay, one of the schoolmasters, appoint- ed to instruct, indiscriminately, the children of the poor of the parish. They rapped at the door, which he opened, hearing the voice of one of his neighbours ; they rushed in, — threw him on his face. — three of them stood upon him, and stabbed him repeatedly. They put a cord round his neck, which they tightened so as to force his tongue out, and cut it off. They then cut off the four fingers and thumb of his right hand ; and leaving him, proceeded to use his wife in the same manner ; which, from a refinement of cruelty, they did with a blunt instrument. They then battered and beat her in a dreadful manner. Her brother, a boy of thirteen years of age, had come from Armagh that morning to see her. They cut out his tongue, and cut off the calf of his leg, and left them all three in that situation ! This frightful anecdote is related by the same Sir Richard Musgrave, already quoted, with every appearance of authenticity; and although people, capable of an enormity, compared to which murder sinks into insignifi- IRELAND ANECDOTE OF A HIGH SHERIFF. 333 cance, might be few, yet the idea could not have come into any one's mind, unless the manners of the bulk of the people had been eminently fero- cious. I have found, in the same author, another anecdote, remarkable in its way (Volume I. page 53), The conspirators of Munster had bound themselves by oath, to resist the laws, and obey none but their chiefs ; and they adhered to this so strictly, that the High-sheriff of the county of Waterford could not find a person willing to execute the sentence of the law upon a miscreant, condemned to be whipped, although he offered a considerable sum of money for that purpose ; therefore he was obliged to perform the duty himself at last, in the face of an enraged populace ; — and the writer tells us in a note, that he himself was this High-sheriff! I know that the execution of the sentence of the law be- longs to this magistrate ; he is considered as per- forming the office himself, but never does in point of fact. Here we have Mr High-sheriff, a ba- ronet, member of the Irish parliament, and an author, taking the whip in his own hand, and ap- plying some hundreds of lashes on the bare flesh of an offender, in the face of his enraged accompli- ces ! He certainly must have been well supported, otherwise they would not have suffered him to pro- ceed. Is it credible, then, that he could not have found among his numerous and faithful guard some one, willing to be his deputy for love or money? His zeal in the business appears to me more apparent than the necessity. We have been accustomed to hear of such things in Russia, where imperial hands used to strike off heads and ply the knout, at least formerly ; but I own I should not have 334 IRELAND — UNITED IRISHMEN— 1791. expected to meet with similar manners in this age and country. This took place in 1782, twelve or fourteen years before the last rebellion. Were these the best means to prevent or produce it ? I think I should prefer the method of the respectable magis- trate mentioned by Mr Young ; and I should be glad to know who behaved best during the subse- quent rebellion, — the people of Cullen or those of Waterford. The republican ideas imported from America, found the people of France particularly well pre- pared for their reception. They spread wonder- fully, and seven or eight years after the final con- clusion of the transatlantic revolution, the great explosion took place. Ireland caught the spirit immediately ; — clubs, and political meetings of various denominations were instituted. In 1791, the famous society of the United Irishmen, In 1792, the national guards. Rahaud de St Etienne visited at this period the neophytes of Ireland. It was the French Revolution in embryo ; and how- ever wrong the government might have been on former occasions, it appears to me quite evident, that it had at that mad period no alternative, but was obliged to defend itself, or expect to be treated a la Louis XVI, It might have been wiser, as well as more just, first to grant to the Catholics the equality of political rights which they claim- ed. It is certain, indeed, that the insurgents would not have remained satisfied :with that; for their chiefs wanted a republic; — but the govern- ment would have put them completely in the wrong, without giving up M\y thing of its means of repression. The consequences might have been, that the government party in Ireland would have shewn themselves less active against the Ca- IRELAND-^— INSURRECTION IN 1798. 355 tholic rebels; but the latter, being more divided among themselves, the civil war would have as- sumed a less desperate character, and much blood, as well as many crimes, would have been spared. Mr Burke, who cannot be accused of revolution- ary principles, wrote, and spoke, at that time, in favour of the emancipation of the Catholics. Fox, Erskine, and almost all the men of talents in the English parliament, pleaded their cause ; but the government choose to come at once to the ulti- ma ratio. The Protestant aristocracy of Ireland, wallet loose,* and proved as violent and furious a? their Catholic adversaries. They organized their forces immediately, under the name of orangemen, that is to say, organized the civil war. The sequel can easily be imagined ; — insults, f cruelty, revenge : and amidst the fury of contend- ing passions, individual ambition, calculating de- liberately the chances of its infernal game, and pushing forwards its thousands of men, by way of counters. The sword once drawn, and the social knot cut through, it is difficult to say what is * It seems as if the English government wished to make it ap- pear, at the time, that this Protestant aristocracy were the chief opposers of the Catholics, and that they themselves were more disposed to concession. This weak and cruel policy, is said, by Gosdon, to have been pursued ever since the reign of Elizabeth. + A cropt head being considered at that time as a mark of ja- cobinism, the soldiers made it a practice, and an amusement, to seize upon such individuals as were cropt, and carry them to the guard house, where they kept paper caps in readiness, pitched in- side, which, being heated, and stuck on the head, the sufferer, burnt and blinded by the melted pitch, which had run among his hair, and in his eyes, was let loose among the rabble waiting for hjra at the door. 336 IRELAND — INSURRECTION. legitimate or what is criminal. The Catholic par- ty corresponded with France ; they had emissaries and ambassadors there, and negociated for succours of men and arms. They did not probably want to give themselves up to France ; they wished to be free ; but the great object was revenge, at any cost, and they might have submitted to France, if neces- sary, out of pure hatred for England. The insurrection, long organized in secret, under the whip of executioners, amidst torture and as- sassination, by fire and the sword, and by poison, was at last near a general explosion in May 1798, when the arrest of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and of several of the principal confederates disconcerted the plan, and broke the thread of the conspiracy. The insurrection took place notwithstanding, on the appointed day, in several places, but the effort was not general, and only exposed this miserable people to all the terrors of military execution. It must be confessed that their conduct at Wexford, and wherever they became masters for a little while, was so detestable, as to diminish very much that pity which their sufferings would otherwise have inspired. Undisciplined, without arms or ex- perienced officers, a vast number of them were killed in the numerous actions and encounters they had with the king's troops in the course of that year. It cost the lives of one hundred thousand men, says Gordon, * of whom two-thirds were Catholics or patriots, one-third royalists. Almost all the chiefs were put to death, or sent into exile ; and the ill concerted descent of a small body of * A contemporary author, and a clergyman of the English church. IRELAND— REBELLION— UNION. 337 French troops under General Humbert the follow- ing year (1799) served only to increase the num- ber of wretched individuals, involved in the crimi- nality of ill success, and its necessary consequence, exile, or the scaffold. It is difficult to say whether the Irish have been most ill governed, or ungovernable ; but they have at any rate been too much injured not to excite sympathy with their resentment, and a disposition to forgive even their desire of revenge. It is im- possible, however, to approve of their project of separation. They were not strong enough to maintain their independence; and, therefore, had no right to separate, according to the just definition of politi- cal right given by Paley, expediency. Two years after this rebellion, the great measure of the union of the two kingdoms was adopted. Instead of a national legislature, which was little else than the committee of a faction under the orders of the English minister, Ireland sends now a certain number of members, one hundred I be- lieve, to the British or imperial parliament ; and it seems to me they have gained much by the change. The opposers of the measure say, that they were deceived, having been promised the emancipation of the Catholics as the price of the union. I really think that, if the emancipation had been granted on condition of preserving their separate government, they would have had more reason to complain of their bargain. However that may be, Catholic emancipation is now the great subject of Irish claims, and the theme of all their remonstrances. It seems strange, in these times, that the Pope should still be an object of fear, or of attachment ; — yet such is the main obstacle to a VOL. II. y 338 IRELAND— -'•RELIGION — THE CLERGY. complete union of the two countries, in the same degree as with Scotland, which is as perfect as can be wished. It may well be questioned whether religion is the true obstacle. The established re- ligion is a considerable source of power and influ- ence, for the government of England and its hier- archy extends to Ireland, which has a primate, several bishops, and a Protestant clergy. This forms a ministerial militia, which the government does not wish to disband ; but, far from this sacri- fice being required of them, the Catholic clergy would, on the contrary, become auxiliaries. Be- ing taken in pay, and receiving a political and legal existence, they would in time become friends instead of enemies. The Catholic clergy are, I understand, extremely poor, ignorant, and fanatical. Placed on a level with the low Irish, they have that constant intercourse together, which enables them to keep up their influence; but a decent com- petency and independence would throw them at a distance, and diminish their influence. The British goverment seemed very lately on the point of yielding the boon of emancipation, but required a negative voice in the nomination of bishops, which, consider- ing the unbounded influence of these bishops over the opinions and the purse of the Irish of their persua- sion, seemed a very reasonable check for the go- vernment to retain. Very improper appointments might otherwise be made by the Catholics, or their foreign head the Pope. The Irish bishops had agreed to concede this veto to the government ; but certain chiefs of influence among the Irish, as if they did not really wish a perfect reconciliation, interposed, aad obliged them to withdraw their assent. Of four oaths tendered to them, they were IRELAND POPULATION. 339 willing to take three, but rejected the fourth, which they said would be renouncing the spiritual communion with Rome. If forty were tendered to them instead of four, they might probably take thirty-nine, but would take care to find some ob- jection to the last. Mr Pitt said of the insurrection of 1791, that it was not Catholic, and the remark would apply as justly to the present difficulties. This question is stated with great clearness, and as it seems to me with great impartiality, in the Edin- burgh Review of November 1810, and I would refer my French readers to this work, if I did not recollect that it would be in vain, under existing circumstances. Much has been said of the danger of giving commands in the army and navy, to disaffected Catholic officers, without considering that they would cease to be disaffected if they were employ- ed. The introduction of Catholic Members in Parliament also has been supposed to threaten the church, but they are in point of numbers only one out of six or seven members, and would never be able to carry any improper measures against the church. It is worthy of remark, that the population of Ireland has increased more than fourfold since 1678. It consisted of 800,000 Catholics, and 300,000 Protestants at the time of Sir William Petty, and now of four millions of the former, and one million of the latter, of whom one-half only are Episcopalians, and the rest Presbyterians. The comparative proportion of the number of Catholics and Protestants, shows the truth of the old adage, that the blood of martyrs is the best seed of religion, since the persecuted sect has increased so much 340 IRELAND— CLIMATE. more than the other. The absolute increase shows likewise, that nations are tenacious of life, and that there is, in milk and potatoes, an energy superior to the destructive influence of war and pestilence. The capital of Ireland is one of the finest cities in Europe. It contains 300,000 inhabitants, and in- creases rapidly in commerce and population. The climate of the island seems to that of England what England is to the continent, still milder, more moist, and green its verdure surprises the English themselves, — and it is varied with lakes and moun- tains of singular beauty. The political malady of Ireland appears to me to be at present more ideal than actual ; and to consist in the traditional recollection of all the miseries suffered and inflicted, producing a sort of alienation of mind, and making the Irish an insane people, as far as political parties are con- cerned. If the recollection of the past could be obliterated at once on both sides, all the difficulties standing in the way of that perfect union, which should prevail between the different parts of the same empire, would vanish at once. The great aim should be, to introduce new ideas, by a liberal system of education for all ranks of people ; — and the best army to send to Ireland, would be one commanded by Bell and Lancaster, and composed of their disciples. THE END. INDEX. ABERCONWAY Castle, i. 221 Aberystwith, i. 213 Abury, druidical monument at, i. 196 Achray, Loch, i. 322 Actors, how estimated in England, i. 92 Addison, Mr, ii. 21 Adelphi buildings, ii. 262, 266 Alfred, King, monument erected to, i. 201 Aliens, restrictions imposed on, i. 191 Allen, Mr, i. 33 Alnwick Castle, description of, ii. 55 Ambleside, i. 260 America, United States of, commerce, &c. of, i. 244 ; divided in- to two parties, attached to England and France, 249 ; chief complaints of against Britain, 253 ; how best remedied, 255 Anecdotes of his Majesty, i. 150 Angerstein's, Mr, collection of paintings, i. 157 Angouleme, Duchess of, ii. 225 Anson, Lord, ii. 283 Antique, prevalence of the taste for, at present, ii. 145 Ardincaple, i. 292 Argyll, duke of, i. 293, 297 Arkwright, Sir Richard, inventor of spinning-jennies, ii. 88 Armoury in the Tower of London described, ii. 158 Army, English, no danger to liberty to be apprehended from a i. 119 Asaph's, St, i. 221 Ashborn, ii. 87 Astlet, Mr, ii. 273 Astley's amphitheatre, ii. 155 Asylum for the blind at Liverpool, ii. 296 342 INDEX. Atholl, Duke of, i. 312, 319 Auctioneers, i. 88 Avon river, i. 16, 202 Awe, Loch, i. 300 Bacon, Lord, i. 14-2 Ball, masked, ii. 154- Balloon, ascent of a, ii. 261 Bangor ferry, i. 217 Bannister, Mr, ii. 38 Banks, country, i. 234 Banks, Sir Joseph, i. 30, 84 Barclays, Messrs, description of their brewery, ii. 140. Im- mense sum it yields to government, 141 Barnet, East, ii. 260 Barouche club, i. 129 Bassenthwaite, lake of, i. 845 Bath city, i. 15 Bayreuth, remarkable collection of bones at, ii. 15 Beaufort, Duke of, i. 209 Beaulieu, ruins of a building belonging to the monks of, ii. 230 Beddoes, Dr, i. 33. Observation of, on the scurvy, ii. 71 Belcher, the pugilist, i. 125 Bell, Dr, schools on his plan established in opposition to Mr Lancaster's, ii. 135 Benlawers mountain, i. 306 Benledi mountain, i. 321. Benlomond mountain, i. 293 Benmore mountain, i. 306 Benvenue mountain, i. 323 Bentley, Mr, ii. 284 Berwick, town, ii. 54 Binean mountain, i. 324. Birmingham, town of, ii. 92. Manufactories of hard-ware described, 92. Flint-glass, 93. Wages of workmen, 95. Free-schools, 96. Birth-day, i, 161. Dresses, &c. 1 62 Blackford-hill, ii. 32 Blackfriars-bridge, ii. 262 Blanc, Mont, i. 151 Blenheim, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough, described, ii. 103 Blind, asylum for the, at Liverpool, ii. 296 Blue Beard, performance of, at Covent Garden, ii. 125 Boa constrictor, ii. 193 INDEX. 343 Bodleian library, ii. 109 Book-clubs, i. 187 Boroughs, rotten, i. 113 Borrowdale, valley of, i. 345 Boswell's, Mr, Life of Dr Johnson, i. 374 Botany Bay, objections to the banishing of criminals to, i. 145 Bothwell castle, the seat of Lord Douglas, i. 282 Bourgeois, Sir Francis, his collection of paintings, i. 157 Bowder-stone, near Keswick, i. 345 Boxhill, ii. 235 Braham, Mr, i. 372 Braid-hill, ii. 32 Breadalbane, estate of the Earl of, i. 301 ^ Breweries, immense scale of, in London, ii. 141 Brewster, Dr, ii. 37 Bridgewater, Duke of, canal constructed by, i. 256 Bristol city, i. 13, 202 British Museum, i. 83 Brown, Dr, i. 376 Bruce, Mr, the Abyssinian traveller, residence of, i. 321 Buccleuch, Duke of, i. 262 Buckland-ring, a Roman camp near Lymington, ii. 230 Bucklershard, ii. 230 Bullion business, debates in Parliament on, ii. 260 Burdett, Sir Francis, i. 54. Riots at his imprisonment, 78. Traits of his character, 139. Institutes a suit against the Speaker of the House of Commons, &c. 147 Burke, Mr, political character of, i. 56 Burns, Robert, i. 327 Bury St Edmonds, i. 183 Burying grounds, ii. 275 Butler, Lady E., i. 236 Buttermere, lake of, i. 349 Cader Idris mountain, i. 214 Cairndow, i. 297 Caithness, treatment of the women in, i. 276 Callender, village of, i. 321. Roman camp at, ib. Cambridge city and university, i. 188 Campbell, Mr, i. 327 Canals. Duke of Bridgewater's, i. 256 ; of Languedoc, 257 ; Forth and Clyde, 291 ; Caledonian, ib. Canning, Mr, i. 39, 56, ii. 259 Caricatures, i. 21 Carleton House, magnificent fete at, ii. 225 344 INDEX. Carlisle city, i. 261 Carlisle, Earl of, ii. 74? Cartmell-sands, i. 260 Cartoons of Raphael, i. 121 Cartwright's, Mr, musical glasses, ii. 48 Castle Acre, abbey of, i. 182 Castle Malmood, ii. 230 Castleton in Derbyshire, ii. 79. Description of Peake's Hole, near, ib. ; of Speedwell lead-mine, 81 Catalani, Madame, ii. 198 Catholics, incapacities, &c. of, in Ireland, ii. 323 Charles I., situation of with regard to Ireland, ii. 315 Charles XII., curious cast of, in the library at Cambridge, i. 189 Chatelherault, i. 282 Chatham, Lord, i. 67 Chatsworth, a seat of the Duke of Devonshire, described, ii. 83 Chelsea, military asylum at, founded by the Duke of York, i. 129 Chepstow, i. 207 Cheshire, account of the salt-works in, ii. 285. Immdnse quan- tities of salt annually extracted, 289. State of Agriculture in, 291 Chester, city of, i. 238 Chiltern Hundreds, i. 115 Chirk Castle, i. 237 Chiswick, the favourite residence of the Duke of Devonshire, ii. 117 Christ Church College, ii. 112 Clarke, Dr, i. 189 Clarke, Mrs, ii. 276 Clarke, Mr, inventor of a razor-powder, ii. 278 Clive, Colonel, dethrones the Nabob of Bengal, ii. 203 Clwydd, valley of, i. 221 Clyde, falls of, i. 276 Coal-mine, accident in, i. 275 Coal-mines, near Newcastle, described, i. 258 : quantity ex- ported from, to London, ii. 61 ; must at no very distant period be exhausted, 63 Cobbet, Mr, i. 80, 202, 209. ii. 274 Coleridge, Mr, i. 350 Collingwood, Lord, i. 141 Colquhoun, Mr, i. 35 Comedy, English, strictures on, i. 102 Comet, remarkable coincidence between the disappearance of, and the discovery of several new planets, ii. 37 INDEX. 345 Commons, House of, described, i. 52. Account of some of the chief members of, 54. Tragi-comic scene in, 64 Concerts, singular, given by people of quality in London, ii. 152 Congelation in vacuo, a discovery of Mr Leslie, i. 378 Congreve, Mr, i. 102 Congreve rockets, i. 77 Coniston water, i. 34 1 Constitution, British, remarks on, i. 110 Conversation, criminal, how prosecuted, i. 34 Cook, Capt. ii. 61. Cooke, Mr, i. 104, 374< Copley, Mr, i. 128. Cornwall, general aspect of the county of, i, 5 Cosse, Mr, i. 42 Cotton manufactory, at Lanark, i. 278 ; at Glasgow, 284 Covent Garden Theatre, riots at, i. 91. Boxes in, how occu- pied, 93 Coventry, Mr, i. 376 Court-dress, lady's, described, i, 162 Cowbridge, i. 210 Cowes, ii. 239 Cow-pox inoculation, instances of its failure, ii. 255 Cradle-scythe used in America described, i. 322 Crib, the pugilist, i. 125 Crieff, village, i. 320 Crummock-water, i. 348 Crowcastle, i. 235 Currency, remarks on the depreciation of, ii. 256 Curwen, Mr, i. 339 Cromwell subdues the Irish rebels, ii. 315 Dalmally, i. 300 Danton, anecdote of, i. 350 Darwin, Dr, ii. 91 Davy, Mr, popularity of his lectures, i. 33 ; peculiarities of his manner, &c. ii. 150 Debateable lands, i. 261 Debt, national, table of the progress of, ii. 164 De Lolme, his opinion of the stability of the British constitu- tion, i. 120 Denbigh, i, 221 Derwentwater, residence of the Lords, i. 349 Devil's Beef-tub, near Moffat, i. 360 Diderot, Mons. i. 102 Dinner, English, described, i, 43 346 INDEX. Dolgelly, i. 21 4 Dol-y-Mullen waterfalls, i. 215 Dovedale, curious perforated rock at, ii. 90 Drains, ingenious mode of constructing, ii. 293 Druidical circle, near Dunkeld, i. 311 ; at Park Place, ii. 114 Duddingston, i. 330 Dumbarton castle, i. 292 Dumbreck's hotel, i. 360 Dunbar, coast near, described, ii. 50 Dunglass, the seat of Sir James Hall, ii. 53 Dunkeld, i. 308 Earn, Loch, i. 320 Earth, how far geologists agree in their theories of, ii. 2. Par- ticular opinions of Dr Hutton and his followers, 3. Support- ed by experiments of Sir James Hall, 11. Remarkable point of difference between the theories of Hutton and Werner, 17 Edgeworth, Miss, ii. 137 Edinburgh, general description of, i. 265. Population, 266. Environs of, ib. Alterations in dwellings, &c. of the inha- bitants, 267. Earthen Mound, 269. Castle, ib. Holy- roodhouse, 271. Register- Office, 272. Bridewell, 273. Value of Houses, 274. Fish-women, 275. Questions re- cently agitated among the literati, ii. 1. Periodical publica- tions, 21. Mr Fox's birth-day, 32. Meeting of the Royal Society, 37. Theatre, 38. Uncleanliness of the Old Town, 49. Depots of prisoners of war, 40. Funeral procession, 44. Affairs of gallantry, ib. Annual exhibition of pictures, 47. Commercial distresses, 48 Education, remarks on the system of, at Oxford, ii. 112 Elgin, Lord, imports a collection of antiquities from Greece, ii. 149 Elizabeth, Queen, anecdote of, ii. 218 ; Irish subdued by, 314 Elliots, Messrs, ii. 34 Elliston, Mr, ii. 192, 258 English, general character of, ii. 300 Engraving, excellence of the art in Britain, i. 41 Equity, remarks on courts of, i. 366 Erskine, Lord, i. 148 ; ii. 271 Erskine, Honourable Mr, bon-mot of, ii. 33 Esk rivers, i. 261, 331 Etna, Mount, ii. 6 Etruria, the manufactory of Messrs Wedgewood and Bentley, described, ii. 283 s INDEX. 347 Executions, criminal, amount of, in England, at different pe- riods, i. 143 Exeter, city and cathedral, i. 11 Exhibition of pictures in Pail-Mall, i. 40 ; at Edinburgh, ii. 47 Falkirk, i. 329 Falmouth, i. 1 Farmers, bankruptcies of, ii. 48 Festiniog, vale of, i. 216 Finances of England, remarks on, i. 163 Finchley common, ii. 260 Fine, Loch, i. 297 ; Herring-fishery in, i. 299 Fingal, tomb of, i. 305 Fingal, Lord, ii. 33 Fitzgerald, Lord Edward, ii. 336 Fire of London, i. 192 Flint-glass, manufactory at Birmingham, described, ii. 93 Flushing, i. 1 Flushing, panorama of, i. 122 Footmen, number of, out of place in London, ii. 142 Forster, Lord Chief Baron, mode of improvement adopted by on an Irish estate, ii. 326 Forth river, i. 329 Fountaine's Abbey, ruins of, ii. 64 Fox, Mr, his character as a statesman, i. 57. Anniversary ce* lebration of his birth-day at Edinburgh, ii. 32 Frankfield, i. 331 Franklin's Harmonica, ii. 48 French accused by the English of uncleanliness, i. 49 Frogs not generally eaten in France, i. 97 Funeral processions, ii. 44 Fuseli, Mr, i. 128 Gare, Loch, i. 293 Garrick, Mr, i. 99, ii. 91 Garrick, Mrs, ii. 266 Gentoos, traditional anecdotes of, ii. 207 Giant, i. 190 Gillies, Mr, ii. 32 Gilpin, Mr, i. 281, 298, 329, ii. 200 Giraffe, ii. 193 Glasgow city, i. 283. Reforming spirit more prevalent in than at Edinburgh, 289 Glenbucket, laird of, assassinated; i. 316 34S INDEX. Glencroe, pass of, i. 296 Glenkinglas, i. 297 Globe, dimensions of, ii. 9 Gold rings, ancient, ii. 71 Gong, Chinese, i. 353 Goodrich Castle, i. 208 Gordon, Mr, i. 286 Grassmere, lake, i. 340, 342 ; Melancholy occurrence near, 343 G rattan, Mr, i. 55 Green, Mr, i. 358 Greenock, port of, i. 291 Greenwich Hospital, i. 155 Gregory, Dr, his mode of lecturing, i. 377 Gresham, Sir Thomas, ii. 218 Greville's, Mr, collection of paintings, i. 89 Gretna Green, smuggled weddings celebrated at, i. 359 Grosvenor, Lord, his collection of paintings, i. 176; Son of, seized with the natural small-pox, after having been vaccinat- ed, ii. 255 Guards, band of music of, i. 160 Guildhall, description of, ii. 159 Gulley, the pugilist, i, 125 Gunners Pool, ii. 64 Gunter, Mr, a fashionable manager of fetes, ii. 255 Gypsies, ii. 103 Habitation, Highland, described, i. 303 Hackney, ascent of a balloon at, ii. 261 Hackney-coaches, i. 18 Haco, King of Norway, i. 295 Hagley Park, ii. 98 Hall, Sir James, experiments of, illustrative of the HuttOnian theory, ii. 11 Hamilton, Sir William, i. 85 Hamilton Palace, i. 280 Hamlet, remarks on the grave-digging scene in, ii. 121 Hampton Court, palace of, i. 121 Handel, Mr, i. 142 Hardware manufactories at Birmingham, described, ii. 92 Hatfield-house, ii. 215 Hay-Market Theatre, ii. 192, 258 Hecla, Mount, eruptions of, ii. 6 Helm Crag, i. 354 Helvellyn mountain, i. 354 Henley, ii. 114 Henry VIII. remarks on the tragedy of, i. 131 INDEX. 349 Herring-fishery, i. 298 Hertford, environs of, described, ii. 200. Magnificent establish- ment of the East India Company there, 201 Highlands of Scotland, scenery in, described, i. 300, 303. Po- pulation, &c. 313. Power of the chiefs formerly, 315. In- stances of the fidelity of the people, and their attachment to their chiefs, 316. Their loyalty at present not easily ac- counted for, 318 Hoare, Sir Richard, seat of, i. 200 Holland, Dr, ii. 19, 290 Holloway, Mr, i. 122 Hope's, Mr, collection of pictures, i. 85 Hopetoun House, i. 330 Horse-flesh recommended for food, ii. 252 Hospital, scene in an, described, i. 74 Houses in London, plan and description of, i, 50 Howard, Mr, the philanthropist, i. 238 Howard Castle, description of, ii. 74 Hudson river compared with the Wye, i. 208 Hughes, Mr, i. 230 Humbert, General, descent of, on Ireland, ii. 337 Hume, Mr, i. 63, 143. Anecdote of, 287 Humour, French falsely said to be destitute of, i. 60 Hunter, Mr John, i. 286 Hutton's, Dr, theory of the earth, ii. 1 . In what different from that of Werner, 3 Hyde Park, i. 23 Hydrogen gas, employed to light manufactories, ii. 94 Jackson, General, argument of, against the abolition of slavery in the United States, i. 249 Jackson, the pugilist, i. 126 Iceland, great volcanic eruptions in, ii. 7. Visited by Sir George Mackenzie, &c. 18. Sea between and America now blocked up by ice, 19 Jeffrey, Mr, i. 364 Ham, formerly the residence of Congreve, ii. 88. Curious hy- draulic contrivance at, ib. Immortality, reflections on, i. 288 Income-tax, i. 290 India Company, English, establishment of at Hertford, for the education of young men destined for their service, ii. 199. Origin and progress of their power in the east, 204. Estab- lishment of the Board of Control, 205. Military force, 206. National advantage to England of the India commerce ex- 950 INDEX. amined, ib. Loss of, of much less importance than is gene- rally supposed, 208. Situation of the natives, however, im- proved, ib. Indians, native, curiosity excited by, in London, ii. 280 Influenza, i. 25 Instruction, popular, utility, &c. of, examined, ii. 136 Inverary, a seat of the Duke of Argyll, i. 297 Jones, Gale, denounced in Parliament, i. 105. Defended by Sir Francis Burdett, 106 Johnson, Dr, i. 50, 67, 117 Johnson's dictionary, i. 231 Ireland, early state of, ii. 313. Great Rebellion, 314. Irish severally chastised by Cromwell, 315. Number of lives that rebellion cost, 316. State of Ireland at the Restoration, 317. Sir William Petty's account of it about that period, 318. Effects of the revolution, 323. Extraordinary act of the Ir- ish parliament, 324. White boys, 325. State of agriculture in, when visited by Arthur Young, 326. United Irishmen, 336. Insurrection in 1798, 335. Union, 337. Catholic emancipation considered, ib. Population of the country, 339 Irish labourers, colony of, in London, described, ii. 259 Iron-bridge at Sunderland, ii. 63 Iron ships proposed, ii. 93 Jubilee, how celebrated at Newcastle, ii. 57 Justiciary, trial before the court of, described, i. 361 Ivy-bridge, i. 10 Kaimes, Lord, i. 102 Katrine, Loch, i. 322 Kemble, Mr, i. 136, ii. 121 Kemble, Mr C, i. 103 Kendal, i. 256 Kensington Gardens, i. 23 Kent, Duke of, ii. 131 Kent, Duke of, institutes a school for the chddren of soldiers, iu 131 Keswick, i. 344. Lake of, 349. Museum, 353 Kew, new Gothic palace at, i. 155 Killin, i. 305 King of Great Britain, his powers and prerogatives, i. 72 Knox, John, i. 271 Lanark cotton-mills, i. 278 Lancaster, Mr, his plan of education, ii. 57. Opposed by INDEX. 351 clergy of the established church, ib. Description of his school in the borough, 130. Circumstances to which he owes much of his success, 132. Schools on Dr Bell's plan, established in opposition to his, 135 Lancaster, town of, i. 257 LandafF, seat of the Bishop of, i. 34*0 Langdale, valley of, i. 338 Language, English, remarks on, i. 232 Languedoc, canal of, i. 257 Lansdown, Lord, ii. 229 Lavoisier, Madame, ii. 26 Lawns, English, how formed, i. 154. Lawrence, Mr, i. 39 Leasowes, formerly the seat of Mr Shenstone, ii. 97 Leatheswater, i. 354 Leeds, town of, ii. 76 Leith-hill, view from, i. 146 Leith port, i. 269 Leonards, St, ruin at, ii. 231 Leslie, Mr, i. 376. Dispute of, with the clergy of Edinburgh on the subject of causation, i. 378 Lichfield, city and cathedral, ii. 90, 281 Lighthouse, Needles, ii. 234 Lincoln's Inn, benchers exclude the reporters of debates from their society, i. 67 Lisbon, earthquake at, ii. 7 Listen, Mr, i. 370 Liver, remarks on diseases of the, i. 377 Liverpool, city of, i. 242. Museum, ii. 193 Llangollen, valley of, i. 235 Lomond, Loch, i. 293 L °£???' ». 17. Description of St Paul's, 18. Lincoln's Inn fields, 19. General plan of the town, 20. Shops, 21 In- habitants, 22. Public walks, 23. Serpentine River, ib In- fluenza, 25. Picture of a day at the west end of the* town, 26. A rout described, 27. Royal Society, 31. Royal Inl stitution, 32. Criminal conversation, 35. Royal Academy, 38. An Enghsh dinner, 43. Houses, 50. House of Com- mons, 52. Powers and privileges of the King, 71. Persian Ambassador 74. Scene in an hospital, ib. Congreve roc- 5o ' V' • , at the im P risonm ent of Sir Francis Burdett, 78. Bntish museum, 83. Auctions, 88. Opera-house, 89 Covent-Garden Theatre, 91. Reformers, 105. British con- io« Sr 1 ! 0 '- Pugll ^ m ' 125 ' ExI »bition, Somerset-house, 128. Westminster Abbey, ii. 120. British Institution, ib! S52 INDEX. Performance at Covent-Garden, 121. Lancasterian schools, 130. Breweries, 140. Annual exhibition, 143. Astley's amphitheatre, 155. Tower, 157. Guildhall, 159. Debates in the House of Commons, 160. Hay-market theatre, 192. Cabinet of natural history, 193. Panoramas, ib. Madame Catalani, 198. Suburbs, 199. Prince Regent's fete, 225, London Bridge, docks, &c. 262. Newgate, 272. Supply of water, 279 Locke, Mr, ii. 255 Loch-Earn Head, i. 320 Lolme, De, i. 120 Long, Loch, i. 293 Loughrigg, fine view from, i. 357 Lowdore, waterfall of, i, 343 Lubnaig, Loch, i. 321 Luss, i. 293 Macbeth, remarks on the tragedy of, i. 133 Mackenzie, Sir George, visits Iceland, ii. 18, 37 Macnab of Macnab, i. 305 Maddock, Mr, great embankment undertaken by, i. 216 Madness, prevalence of, in Britain, ii. 70 Madrid, extreme dirtiness of, formerly, ii. 40 Maghee, Colonel, ii. 40 Magna Charta, i. 84 Mahrattas, become masters of India, ii. 203 Maitland, Lord, ii. 34 Maladie du pays, English, i. 3 Malta, panorama of, ii. 193 Malthus, Mr, i. 226, 228 Mann, Mr, wooden leg invented by, i. 123 Manners, General, ii. 115 Manufacturers, causes of the distresses of, ii. 214 Marbles, antique, imported from Greece, ii. 149 Marlborough, Duke of, ii. 103 Marriages, singular, ii. 44 Mary of Buttermere, i. 348 Mary, Queen, i. 271 Maskeline, Dr, astronomer royal, i. 156 Masquerade, ii. 154 Mathews, Mr, i. 129, ii. 127 Matlock, mineral springs at, ii. 87 Maw river, i. 215 Meadowbank, Lord, i. 361, ii. 37 Melrose Abbey, i. 334 INDEX. 353 Melville, Lord, seat of, near Crieff, i. 320 Members of Parliament, i. 116 Merino sheep, said to be originally from Gloucestershire, u 351 Methodists, ii. 133 Michael Angelo, strictures on his picture of the Resurrection of Lazarus, i. 157 Milford Haven, i. 213 Milk-women, London, i. 26 Millar, Professor, i. 283 Minerva, ruins of the temple of, at Athens, ii. 150 Mirabeau, anecdote of, i. 371 • Mogul empire, extent, &c. of, under Aurung Zeb, it 203 Mole river, ii. 255 .. Molineaux, the black, combat of, with Rimmer, described, u. 194 Moness, waterfall at, i. 309 Monmouth, vale of, i. 206 Montague, Duke of, i. 85 Moore, Dr, anecdote of, ii. 39 More, Miss H., ii. 137 Mount Edgecumbe, i. 7 Mouse river, i. 279 Munden, Mr, ii. 122, 258 Museum, British, i. 83, Hunterian, 286. Liverpool, ii. 193 Naldi, Signor, ii. 198 Nasmyth, Mr, ii. 48 Necessity, dispute on the subject of, excited by Mr Leslie, i. 378. Consequences of the doctrine of, 380 Needles, rocks near the Isle of Wight described, ii. 232. Light- Nelson, Lord, his distinguishing foible, i. 141. Obelisk erected to his memory at Glasgow, 290 Neptunists, followers of Werner, so called, ii. 3 Ness, Loch, waters of, strangely agitated, during the earthquake at Lisbon, ii. 7 Netley Abbey, ruins of, ii. 245 Newby Hall, ii. 65 Newcastle, town of, ii. 56. Jubilee, how celebrated at, 57. Coal-mines in the neighbourhood described, 58 Newcastle-under-Line, ii. 283 New College, Oxford, described, ii. Ill New Forest, ii. 229 Newmarket, i. 180 Newgate prison, ii, 272 Newport, ii. 238 VOL. II. £ 354 INDEX. Newton, Sir Isaac, i. 31 Niagara, cataract of, described, i. 218 Nightingale, song of, ii. 200 Nollekins, Mr, i. 39 Norbury Park, ii. 255 Norfolk, state of agriculture in, i. 180 Observatory in Richmond Park, i. 151 Opera house, i. 90 Opposition party, i. 36 O. P. riots at Covent-Garden, i. 9 1 Orange, Prince of, i. 122 Oratorio, grand, at St Paul's, i. 140 Orleans collection of paintings, i. 38 Ormskirk, i. 255 Osterley House, anecdote of Queen Elizabeth relating to, ii. 218 Ousely, Sir Gore, i. 160 Owen, Mr, i. 39 Oxborough, town of, i. 180 Oxen, comparative advantages of employing, in agriculture, ii. 252 Oxford, Lord, i. 85 Oxford university, ii. 108. Bodleian library, 109. Dr Rat- cliff's library, ib. Theatre, 110. New college chapel, 111. Christ Church, 112. Remarks on the system of education here, ib. Paget, Captain, ii. 261 Painting, British school of, i. 38 Paintings, collections of, described. Mr Hope's, i. 85. Hamp- ton Court, 121. Somerset House, 128. Sir Francis Bour- geois's, 157. Mr Angerstein's, ib. Lord Grosvenor's, 176. Marquis of Stafford's, 179. Mr Roscoe's, 241. Hamilton Palace, 280. Castle Howard, ii. 74. Warwick Castle, 101. Blenheim House, 107. Chiswick, 118. Somerset House, 143. Hatfield House, 216. Osterley House, 218. Hon. Mr H.'s, 243. Petworth, 249 Paley, Dr, i. 81 Panorama of Flushing, i. 122. Of Malta, ii. 193 Park Place, the seat of Marshal Conway, ii. 114 Parker, Admiral, fleet of, i. 268 Parthenon, spoils of, brought to England by Lord Elgin, it 149 Patriot, eminent, intrigue of, ii. 267 Patterdale, i. 260, 335 Paul's, St, Cathedral, i. 18, 140 INDEX. 355 Peake's Hole in Derbyshire described, ii. 79 Peas bridge, ii. 53 Pendennis castle, i. 1 Pennant, Mr, i. 311 Penrith, town of, i. 261 Perceval, Mr, i. 74, ii. 182 Persian ambassador, i. 74, 160 Petty, Sir William, i. 194. Speculations respecting the popu- lation, &c. of London, i. 193. Account of the state of Ire- land, ii. 320 Petworth, House, conservatory, &c. described, ii. 248 Phillips, Mr, i. 39 Piercefield, i. 205 Pillory, an injudicious punishment, i. 355. Reprobated by one of the Scotch judges, 373 Pinckney, Mr, i. 163 Piozzi, Mrs, i. 230 Pitt, Mr, i. 57, 58, 73, ii. 190 Plague, occurrences of, in London, i. 193 Planets, new, discovered, ii. 37 Players, how considered in England, i. 92 Playfair, Mr, i. 376. Illustrates Dr Hutton's theory of the earth, ii. 1 Plays, modern English, account of some, i. 94 Plumbagine, mine of, i. 346 Plum-pudding, composition of, i. 45 Plutonists, disciples of Hutton, so called, ii. 3 Plymouth dock, i. 6 Poetry, French, remarks on, i. 324 Pond, Mr, i. 33. Ponsonby, Miss, i. 236 Poor laws, i. 222 Pope, Mr, residence of, at Twickenham, i. 153 Population of England, i. 193. Comparative effective, of France and England, 228 Porter, Mr Walsh, i. 88 Portraits, taste of the English for, in historical paintings, ii. 143 Portsmouth dock-yard, ii. 247 Prestonpans, battle of, ii. 50 Press, remarks on the freedom of, i. 61 Pretender, anecdote of, i. 315 Price, Dr, sinking-fund of, i. 167 Prince Regent, magnificent fete given by, ii. 225 Princes, attempt to assassinate one of the, i. 161 $56 INDEX. Prisoners of war, treatment of, ii. 40. Great annual expence of, 43 Publications, periodical, remarks on, ii. 21 Pugilism, i. 125. Caricatured on the French stage, 127. Bat- tle between Molineaux and Rimmer, ii. 194 Quakers, i. 249, retreat for lunatics instituted by, ii. 68. Anec- dotes of some of the patients, 69 Raeburn, Mr, ii. 47 Ragland castle, i. 207 Railways, i. 212, ii. 61 Raphael's cartoons, i. 121 Ratcliff library, ii. 109 Rattlesnake, i. 220 Reformers, object of, investigated, i. 106. What, in their opi- nion, the origin of all abuses, 115 Rent of land, great increase of, i. 170 Reporters in parliament, their employment, i. 59. Disputes on the subject of their exclusion from the House, 67 Restoration, state of Ireland at, ii. 347 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, the founder of the English school of paint- ing, i. 38 Review, Edinburgh, object, &c. of, ii. 22. Political principles of, 25. Has, on some occasions, been biassed by political partialities, 26. Account of the principal writers in, 30 Review, military, on Wimbledon common, ii. 222 Richardson, Mr, house of, at Hammersmith, ii. 279 Richmond park and hill, &c. i. 50, ii. 117, 276 Ride, town of, ii. 238 Rippon, ii. 64 Rizzio, David, murder of, i. 27 1 Robison, Dr, ii. 26 Romilly, Sir Samuel, improvement on the criminal law propos- ed by, i. 142 Roscoe, Mr, i. 240 Rose, Mr, writes in vindication of Mr Pitt's measures, ii. 189 Roscius, the infant, i. 128 Roseberry, Lord, i. 330 Roseneath castle, i. 293 Roslin castle and chapel, i. 331 Ross, i. 207 Rotten boroughs, i. 113 Rousseau, his opinion of English liberty, i. 1 1 1 Rout, description of a, i. 27 l INDEX. Royal Academy, i. 39 Royal Institution, i. 32 Royal Society of London, i. 31. Of Edinburgh, ii. 37 Rowing match on the Thames, ii. 263 Rumbling Bridge, i. 312 Rumford, Count, i. 32 Rydall park and house, i. 357 Sadler, Mr, ascends in a balloon at Hackney, ii. 261 Salisbury plain, i. 195. City, 197. Marquis of, ii. 215 Salt, fossil, mines of, in Cheshire, ii. 286 Sandown bay, ii. 237 Scarlet-fever, i. 358 School, regimental, curious cause relating to, ii. 280 Scorbutic affections common in Britain, ii. 71 Scott, Mr Walter, i. 371 Sectaries, English, ii. 133 Selkirk's, Lord, observations on the Highlands, i. 313, 319 Serpentine River, i. 23 Severn River, i. 204? Seward, Miss, ii. 91 Shankley Chine, ii. 237 Shakespeare, criticism on some of his tragedies, i. 131 Shee, Mr, i. 40 Sheep-shearing, ii. 222 Sheffield, town of, ii. 78 Sheridan, Mr, i. 58, 64, 67 Ships, metal, proposed, ii. 93 Siddons, Mrs, i. 103, 131, 135 Sinclair, Sir John, i. 266, 311 Sinking-fund, plan and operation of, i. 166 Sion -house, a seat of the Percies, i. 154 Skaiting, i. 23 Skiddaw mountain, i. 345, 347 Sloane, Sir Hans, i. 85 Smith, Dr James E., i. 34 Smith, Dr Adam, i. 266 Smith, Miss E., i. 341 Smith, Sir Sidney, i. 354 Snowdon mountain, i. 220 Society, English, remarks on, i. 185 Society, Royal, of London, i. 31. Of Edinburgh, ii. 37 Somerset-house, annual exhibition at, i. 128, ii. 143 Southampton town and castle, ii. 229. Bay, 245 Southey, Mr, i. 350 358 INDEX. Spaniards, seeming inconsistency of the opposition with regard to their cause, ii. 126 Spectator, plan and object of that and similar periodical works, ii. 21 Speedwell lead mine, ii. 81 St James's Park, i. 23. Palace, 24 St Stephen's Walbrook, church of, i. 143 Stafford's, Marquis of, collection of paintings, &c. i. 179, ii. 146 Stage-coaches, i. 19, 130 Stanhope, Lord, proposes the introduction of the civil jury in Scotland, i. 366 Steam-engine, i. 279, 283 Stephens, Mr, i. 68 Steephill, ii. 239 Stewart, Mr Dugald, i. 376. Character of his writings, 381 Stewart, James, at the Trosachs, i. 328 Stirling, town and castle, i. 329 Stonehenge, i. 195 Stony Middleton, cotton manufactory at, ii. 83 Stourhead, the seat of Sir Richard Hoare, i. 199 Strawberry-hill, the seat of Horace Walpole, i. 148 Studly Park, ii. 65 Sunderland, iron bridge at, ii. 63 Surry, view of the country in, i. 146 Surturbrand, a singular production of Iceland, ii. 19 Swansey, copper and iron-works near, i. 21 1 Tan-y-Bwlch, i. 215 Taunton, i. 11 Tay, Loch, i. 305 Tay river, i. 303, 305, 331 Taymouth, the seat of the Earl of Breadalbane, i. 305 Temple-Bar, state criminals formerly executed at, ii. 158 Tenby, town and rocks of, i. 212 Theatres, Co vent-Garden, i. 91, 93, ii. 121. Edinburgh, ii. 38. Hay -Market, 192 Thomson, Dr, i. 376 Thrale, Mr, i. 230, ii. 141 Thrashing-machine, i. 330 Tickets for boxes at the theatres in London, retailed, ii. 153 Tintern Abbey, i. 209 Tippoo Saib, curious story of some British officers made prison- ers by, i. 377 Tower of London, i. 140, ii. 158 Townly, Mr A., i. 85 INDEX. 359 Tragedy, French and English, comparative merits of, i. 137 Trosachs, i. 322 Tunnel in Finchley Common, ii. 260 Ulswater, i. 260, 335 Undercliff, a singular tract of ground in the Isle of Wight ii 235 Unitarians, ii. 67, 133 United Irishmen, society of, ii. 334 Usk, vale of, i. 207 Uxbridge, Lord, i. 230 Vaccination, ii. 255 Valle Crucis abbey, i. 235 Venachoir, Loch, i. 322 Vestris, Mons. ii. 154 Vesuvius, Mount, ii. 6 Vicarshill, Mr Gilpin's parsonage-house, ii. 231 Villeterque, his definition of immortality, i. 288 Voltaire, Mons., i. 45, 47, 92, 102 Waithman, Mr, ii. 142 Walcheren question, i. 66 Wales, general appearance of the country and circumstances of the inhabitants, i. 210 Walpole, Horace, i. 103, 148 Walpole, Sir Robert, i. 49, 103, 117 Warwick Castle, ii. 100 Warwick, Earl of, ii. 102 Washington, General, i. 286. ii. 270 Waterfalls at Lanark, i. 276 ; at Taymouth, 307 ; at Moness 308 Water-pipes, by which London is supplied, ii. 279 Water-press, new invented, i. 285 Waves of the sea, common idea of the height of, erroneous ii 305 Wedgewood ware, excellence of, ii. 284 Wentworth Castle, ii. 78 Werner's theory of the earth, ii. 3 West, Mr, ii. 120 West India docks, ii. 264 Westminster Abbey, i. 24, ii. 120, 156 Westminster-hall, i. 55 Westminster electors, meeting of, i. 82 Weston, i. 146 360 INDEX. Wheel-ploughs, ii. 252 Whigs and Tories, distinctive character of, i. 81 Whitbread, Mr, i. 56, ii. 163 White boys, ii. 325 Wight, isle of, described, ii. 233 Wilberforce, Mr, ii. 161 Wilkie, Mr, i. 42 William Rufus, monument erected in memory of the accidental death of, ii. 230 Williams, Mr, ii. 46 William III., remarkable similarity between the complaints and opinions of his time and the present, i. 164? Wilton, a seat of Lord Pembroke, i. 197 Wimbledon common, review at, ii. 220 Winchester, ii. 227 Windermere, lake of, i. 259, 336, 339 Windham, Mr, i. 56, 108, 145, 160 Windmills, ii. 54 Windsor Castle, ii. 115 Winter day in London, i. 37 Witches not long since punished in England, i. 356 Woodfall, Mr, i. 59 Woodstock, ii. 103 Wordsworth, Mr, i. 343, 350 Wren, Sir C, i. 140, 142 Wyatt, Mr, i. 154 Wye river, i. 205, 208 Yarmouth, ii. 232 Year, new, how celebrated at Edinburgh, i. 373 Yew trees, remarkable, i. 335, ii. 65 York, City and Minster, described, ii. 66. Retreat for lunatics, 68. Assizes, 72 York, Duke of, i. 63, 69 Yorke, Mr, i. 105. Young, Arthur, his account of the agricultural state of Ireland, ii. 326. Printed by George Ramsay and Company, Edinburgh, 1815. DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. VOLUME FIKST. Tintern Abbey, to front title-page Abbey of Castle Acre, - - to face page 1 82 Stonehenge - - 196 Stourhead Church - - 198 Ragland Castle - - - 206 View on the Wye - - 208 Welsh Beggar-woman - 210 Welsh Girl - - - 212 Welsh Shepherd - - - 220 Fall of Doll-y.Mullin - - - 216 Eagle's Crag, near Ulswater - - 26*0 Lowlander - - 262 Loch Long - 294 Highlanders - 300 Fingal's Tomb - - - 304 VOLUME SECOND. Goodrich Castle, to front title-page Scene at Dunbar - - - 52 Fountaine's Abbey - - 64 Matlock - - - - 86 Dove-Dale - - 9° Netley Abbey - - - 244 Swift's Works, by Walter Scott, Esq. This Day were Published, handsomely printed in 19 Volume* Octavo, Price L. 9, 19s. 6d. boards, with a Portrait, and other Plates, THE WORKS OF JONATHAN SWIFT, D.D. DEAN OF ST PATRICKS, DUBLIN; CONTAINING ADDITIONAL LETTERS, TRACTS, AND POEMS. NOT HITHERTO PUBLISHED ; WITH NOTES, AND A LIFE OF THE AUTHOR, BY WALTER SCOTT, ESQ. EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO. EDINBURGH: GALE, CURTIS, AND FENNER, LONDON ; AND JOHN CUMMING, DUBLIN. * # # A few copies are printed on royal paper, price L. 15, 4s. in boards Swift's Works. The present edition of this incompa- rable English Classic is offered to the Public with the advantage of possessing consider- ably upwards of a hundred original Letters, Essays, and Poems, by Dean Swift, which have not hitherto been print- ed with his works. These have been recover- ed from the following authentic sources : — First, The most liberal communications have been made by Theophilus Swift, Esq. Dub- lin, son of the learned Deane Swift, the near kinsman and biographer of the celebrated Dean of St Patrick's. Secondly, A collection of Manuscripts, of various descriptions, con- cerning Swift and his affairs, which remained in the hands of Dr Lyons, the gentleman under whose charge Swift was placed during the last sad period of his existence. To the use of these materials the Editor has been admitted by the favour of Thomas Steele, Esq. the nephew of Dr Lyons. Thirdly, Fourteen original Letters from Dean Swift, never before published, two of which are ad- dressed to Mr Addison, and the others to Mr Tickell the poet. This interesting com- munication the Editor owes to the liberality and kindness of Major Tickell, the descen- 4 Swift's Works, dant of the ingenious friend of Swift and Ad- dison. Fourthly, Several unpublished pieces, from the originals in Swift's hand-writing, in the possession of Leonard Macnally, Esq. barrister-at-law. Fifthly, The unwearied friendship of Matthew Weld Hartstonge, Esq. has furnished much curious and interesting in- formation, the result of long and laborious re- search through various journals and collec- tions of rare pamphlets and loose sheets, in which last form many of Swift's satires made their first appearance. From such sources se- veral additions have been made to Swift's pub- lications upon Wood's scheme, as well as to his other tracts upon Irish affairs. Sixthly, The Rev. Mr Berwick, so well known to the literary world, has obliged the Editor with some curious illustrations of the Dean's last satirical Tracts, and particularly of that en- titled the Legion Club ; and has also com- municated to him the suppressed correspon- dence between Swift and Miss Vanhomrigh, which has been so long a desideratum in all editions of the author. The editor might mention many other gentleman of literary eminence, who have had the goodness to give countenance to his undertaking. But by Walter Scott, Esq. 5 enough has been said for the present purpose, which is only to give an account to the pub- lic of some of the facilities afforded to the Editor of improving the present edition of Swift's Works, both by the recovery of ori- ginal compositions, and by collating, cor- recting, and enlarging those which have been already published. In the Biographical Memoir, it has been the object of the Editor to condense the in- formation afforded by Mr Sheridan, Lord Orrery, Dr Delany, Deane Swift, Dr John- son, and others, into one distinct and com- prehensive narrative. Some preliminary critical observations are offered on Swift's most interesting productions ; and historical explanations and anecdotes accompany his political treatises. So that, upon the whole, it is hoped this edition may be considered as improved, as well as enlarged ; and, in either point of view, may have some claim to public favour. 6 Works of Walter Scott , Esq. I. The MINSTRELSY of the SCOTTISH BORDER, consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads, collected in the Southern Counties of Scotland ; with a few of Modern Date, founded on Local Tradition. With an Introduction and Notes by the Editor. Fifth Edition, 3 vols. 8vo. L. 1, 16s. boards. It. Sir TRISTREM, a Romance, by Thomas of Ercildoune ; published from the Auchinleck MS. in the Advocates' Library. With a preliminary Dissertation and Glossary. Third Edition. Svo. 15s. boards. III. The LAY of the LAST MINSTREL. Twelfth Edi- tion. 8vo. 10s. 6d. boards. IV. MARMION; a Tale of Flodden Field. Svo. Ninth Edition. 14s. boards. V. The LADY of the LAKE, with a Portrait of the Author. Tenth Edition. 14s. boards. VI. DON RODERICK. A Poem in Three Cantos. 8vo. Secoud Edition. Price 9s. boards. VII. ROKEBY. Fifth Edition. 8vo. 14s. boards. VIII. BALLADS and LYRICAL PIECES. Fourth Edi- tion. 7s. 6d. boards. IX. The STATE PAPERS and LETTERS of Sir Ralph Sadler, Knight. Banneret. Edited by Arthur Clifford, Esq. To which is added a Memoir of the Life of Sir Ralph Sadler, with Historical Notes. By Walter Scott, Esq. 2 vols. 4to. With Portraits, Autographs, and other embellishments. L. 5, 5s» boards. A few copies on large paper, in 3 vols. 4to, price L. 8, 8s. All these important State Papers, excepting those referring to the earliest of the Four Periods, are now laid before the Public for tlte first time. They are published from the Originals, which have been preserved in the family of Thomas Clifford, Esq. of Tixal, in the county of Stafford, whosa mother, the Honourable Barbara Aston, represented Gertrude Sadler, Lady Aston, grand-daughter and sole heiress of Sir Ralph Sadler. The Collection consists of four separate Sets of Letters, relating almost entirely to the affairs of Scotland ; the First, on the negociation for disunit- ing that kingdom from Fiance, and for the Family Alliance against England • the Second, on the Scottish Reformation ; the Third, on the Rebellion in the North of England in 1569 ; and the Last, on the subject of Queen Mary. In these transactions Sir Ralph Sadler, as Ambassador from Eng- land, bore an important part, and displayed great abilities as a Statesman. His Letters, illustrated by the Memoir, and the Historical Notes from the distinguished pen of Mr Walter Scott, throw a strong light on one of the most interesting periods in British History. Published by Archibald Constable and Company. 7 I. The BORDER ANTIQUITIES of ENGLAND and SCOTLAND, comprising Specimens of the Architecture, Sculp- ture, and other vestiges of former ages, from the earliest times to the Union of the two Crowns ; accompanied with Descriptive Sketches, Biographical Remarks, and a brief History of the Principal Events that have occurred in this interesting part of Great Britain. The whole of the Engravings executed by Mr John Gaeig, from Paintings made expressly for this work. With Illustrations of Border History, &c. By Walter Scott, Esq. Publishing in Parts, 10s. 6d. each. Large Paper, with Proof Impressions of the Plates, price 16s, II. TRAVELS to discover the SOURCE of the NILE, in the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773. By James Bruce, of Kinnaird, Esq. F. R. S. The Third Edition, correct- ed and enlarged. To which is prefixed, a Life of the Author. By Alexander Murray, D. D. Professor of Oriental Lan- guages in the University of Edinburgh. Handsomely printed in 7 volumes 8vo. ; with a volume of Copperplates in 4to. Price 61. 6s. boards. This edition of a justly celebrated work is printed from a corrected copy, intended for the press at the time of the author's death. The use of all his original journals, correspondence, manuscripts, &e. — the concurring testimo- nies of later travellers — along witli various other circumstances — have enabled the Editor to render the work more complete and interesting than Mr Bruce himself would have condescended to make it. To the account of his Life, which occupies a considerable part of the first volume, is annexed a Selec- tion of Letters from a very valuable correspondence, in which the names of the Comte de Buffon, the Hon. Daines Barrington, Lord Halifax, Mr Wood, Dr Hugh Blair, Mr Andrew Lumsden, Sir itobert Strange, Dr Solander, and many others, deserve particular notice. The Copperplates, which are all engraved by Heath, are upwards of eighty in number, and include various specimens of natural history, portraits of celebrated Abyssinians, and other interesting subjects not in the former edition, and never before given to the public. In the present edition, Dr Murray has added a variety of important notes to many parts of the text, and has further illustrated Mr Bruce's narrative, by notices from the most recent accounts of Abyssinia, as well as from sundry valuable communica- tions .of Abyssinian manuscripts made to him by Mr Henry Salt. III. The WORKS of HENRY MACKENZIE, Esq. re- vised and corrected by the Author, with the addition of vari- ous Pieces never before published. Most beautifully printed, in Eight Volumes Post 8vo., with a Portrait of the Author. Price 31. 3s. boards. 8 Published by Archibald Constable and Company. IV. TRAVELS in the ISLAND of ICELAND, during the Summer of the year 1810. By Sir George Steuart Macken- zie, Baronet, F. R. S. Ed. &c. &c. &c. In One Volume 4to. "With Maps, and upwards of 30 Engravings, many of which are coloured in the most handsome manner. Price 31. 3s. boards. Second Edition. V. JOURNAL of a RESIDENCE in INDIA. By Maria Graham. 4to. Illustrated by Engravings. Second Edition. 11. lis. 6d. boards. Almost all our modern publications on the subject of India are entirely oc- cupied with its political and military history, its commerce, and the more recondite parts of its literary or mythological antiquities. This work, on the contrary, professes to give a more popular view of that great country, and to perform the same useful office, as to India, which books of travels have done as to most other countries of the world. The principal aim of the Author has been to give a correct description of the country, and a faithful delineation of the manners of the inhabitants. VI. LETTERS on INDIA. By Maria Graham. 8vo. With Plates. 18s*M>oards. VII. ESSAYS on the NATURE and PRINCIPLES of TASTE. By Archibald Alison, LL. B., F. R. S. London and Edinburgh, Prebendary of Sarum, &c &c. Fourth Edi- tion. 2 vols. 8vo. II. Is. boards. VIII. SERMONS, chiefly on Particular Occasions. By Archibald Alison, LL. B. F. R. S. &c. Fifth Edition. 8vo. 12s. boards. IX. POETICAL EPISTLES and SPECIMENS of TRAN- SLATION, particularly from Petiiarch and Dante. Crown 8vo. 6s. boards. X. WAVERLEY ; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since. A "Novel. Third Edition. 3 vols, boards. 11. Is. XI. GUY MANNERING ; or, The Astrologer. By th« Author of Waverley. Second Edition. 3 vols, boards. 11. Is. XII. CALEDONIA ; or An Account, Historical and Topo- graphical, of North Britain, from (he most Ancient to the Present Times. By George Chalmers, Esq. F. R. S. & S. A. Vol. I. & II. 4to. 61. 6s. boards.