> He immediatefy accompanied me; and when we arrived at a particular spot, I knew where we were, and having thanked him for the trouble he had taken, said I was now perfectly acquainted with the remainder of the road, and begged he would not return home. He would not consent; but, after we had gone some distance further I insisfed upon his leaving me, otherwise I should relinquish my visit. He apparently complied, but I could perceive, that, from his great care of me, he still followed. Being arrived at the door of my friend's house, I waited for some time, that I night again have an opportunity of thanking him; but as soon as he saw that I had reached a place of security, he turned round, and went towards home. r fiery spirit, called whisky, which is the peculiar manufacture of this country and part of Sctotland. "One evening that I dined in a large company, we sat down to table at six o'clock: the master of the house immediately commenced asking us to drink wine, and under various pretences replenished our glasses; but perceiving that I was backward in emptying mine, he called for twe water glasses, and having filled them with claret, insisted upon my taking up one of them. After the table-cloth was removed, he first drank the health of the King, then of the Queen: after which he toasted a number of beautıful young ladies with whom I was acquainted, none of which I dared to refuse. Thus the time passed till two o'clock in the morning; and we had been sitting for eight hours: he then called to his servants to bring a fresh supply of wine. Although I was so much intoxicated that I could scarcely walk, yet on hearing this order, I was so frightened, that I arose and requested permission to retire. He said he was sorry I should think of going away so soon; "The Irish, by reason of their liberality and prodigality, seldom have it in their power to assist their friends in pecuniary matters: they are generally in straitened circumstances them selves, and therefore cannot, or do not aim at the comforts and elegance of the English: neither do they take pains to acquire riches and honours like the Scotch, w that he wished I would stay sup by limiting their expenses when per, after which we might have. servation. His descriptions of the buildings, manners, customs, amusements, manufactories, &c. of London and the chief provincial towns are marked with singular accuracy. We regret that our limits prohibit the extraction of some passages that are not more amusing than they are correct as delineations of the then passing scenes.. It would, however, be unfair to our country-women, not to men tion that their beauty and accome plishments left an impression on our traveller, which no European or Asiatic beauties could efface. The 19th and 20th chapters are appropriated to a specification of what the author deems the virtues and vices of the English. The whole passage is too long for quotation, yet we cannot withhold the following extract from our readers... nour of the superior classes of people, no very bad consequences are to be apprehended; but if ever such nefarious practices should become prevalent, and should creep in among the higher classes, inevitable ruin must ensue. "The second defect, most conspicuous in the English character, is pride or insolence. Puffed up with their power and good fortune for the last fifty years, they are not apprehensive of adversity, and take no pains to avert it. Thus when the people of London, some time ago, assembled in mobs, on account of the great increase of taxes and high price of provisions, and were nearly in a state of insurrection, although the magistrates, by their vigilance in watching them, and by causing parties of soldiers to patrole the streets day and night, to disperse all persons whom they saw assembling together, succeeded in quieting the disturbance, yet no pains were afterwards taken to eradicate the evil. Some of the men in power said, it had been merely a plan of the artificers to obtain higher wages (an attempt frequently made by the English tradesmen); others were of opinion that no remedy could be applied; therefore not further notice was taken of the affair. All this, I say, betrays a 1 "The first and greatest defect I observed in the English, is their want of faith in rengion, and their great inclination to philosophy (atheism). The effects of these principles, or rather want of principle, is very conspicuous in the lower orders of people, who are totally devoid of honesty. They are indeed cautious how they transgress against the laws, from fear of punishment, hut whenever an opportunity offers of purloining any thing, without the risk of detec- blind confidence, which, instead of tion, they never pass it by. They to meeting the danger and endeaare also ever on the watch to apvouring to prevent it, waits till propriate, to themselves the pro perty of the rich, who, on this ac count, are obliged constantly to keep their doors shut, and never to permit an unknown person to en-bspose the Revolution, till it was N the misfortune arrives, and then attempts to remedy it. Such was the case with the late King of France, who took no step to op ter them. At present, owing to the vigilance of the magistrates, the severity of the laws, and the ho too late. This self-confidence is to be found more or less in every Englishman: it however differs much much from the pride of the Indians and Persians. "Their third defect is a passion for acquiring money, and their attachment to worldly affairs. Although these bad qualities are not so reprehensible in them, as in countries more subject to the vicissitudes of fortune-because, in England, property is so well protected by the laws, that every person reaps the fruits of his industry, and in his old age, enjoys the earnings or economy of his youth; yet sordid and illiberal habits are generally found to accompany avarice and parsimony, and, consequently, render the possessor of them contemptible: on the contrary, generosity, if it does not launch into prodigality, but is guided by the hand of prudence, will render man respected and esteemed. The fourth of their frailties is a desire of ease, and a dislike to 'exertion: this however prevails only in a moderate degree, and bears no proportion to the apathy and indolence of the smokers of opium of Hindoostan and Constantinople; it only prevents them from perfecting themselves in science, and exert ing themselves in the service of their friends, upon what they choose to call trivial occasions. I must, however remark, that friendship is much oftener cemented by acts of courtesy and good nature, than by conferring permanent obligations; the opportunities of doing which can seldom occur, whereas the former happen daily. In London I had sometimes occasion to trouble my friends to interpret for me, in the adjust ment of my accounts with my landlord and others; but, in every instance, I found that, rather than be at the trouble of stopping for five minutes longer, and saying a few words in my defence, they would yield to an unjust demand, and offer to pay the items I objected to, at their own expense: at the same time, an aversion to the employment of interpreter, of mediator, was so conspicuous in their countenance, that, latterly, I desisted from troubling them. In this respect I found the French much more courteous; for if, in Paris, the master of an hotel attempted to impose on me, the gentlemen present always interfered, and compelled him to do me justice. "Upon a cursory observation of the conduct of gentlemen in London, you would suppose they had a vast deal of business to attend to; whereas, nine out of ten, of those I was acquainted with at the west end of the town, had scarcely any thing to do. An hour or two immediately after breakfast may be allotted to business, but the rest of the day is devoted to visiting and pleasure. If a person calls on any of these gentlemen, it is more than probable he is told by the servant, his master is not at home; but this is merely an idle excuse, to avoid the visits of people, whose business they are either ignorant of, or do not wish to be troubled with. If the suppliant calls in the morning, and is by chance admitted to the master of the house, before he can tell half his story, he is informed, that it is now the hour of business, and a particular engagement in the city requires the gentleman's immediate attendance. If he calls. later in the day, the gentleman is just going out, to pay a visit of consequence, and therefore cannot be detained: but if the petitioner, unabashed by such checks, continues to relate his narrative, he is set down as a brute, and never again permitted to enter the doors. In this instance, I again say, that the French are greatly superior to the English ; they are always courteous, and never betray those symptoms of impatience so conspicuous and reprehensible in the English character. "Their fifth defect is nearly allied to the former, and is termed irritability of temper. This passion often leads them to quarrel with their friends and acquaintances, without any substantial cause. Of the bad effects of this quality, strangers seldom have much reason to complain; but, as society can only be supported by mutual forbearance, and sometimes shutting our eyes on the frailties or ignorance of our friends, it often causes animosities and disunion between the nearest relatives, and hurries the possessor into dilemmas whence he frequently finds it difficult to extricate himself. "The sixth defect of the English is their throwing away their time, in sleeping, eating, and dressing: for, besides the necessary ablutions, they every morning shave, and dress their hair; then, to accommodate themselves to the fashion, they put on twenty-five different articles of dress: all this, except shaving, is repeated before dinner, and the whole of these clothes are again to be taken off at night: so that not less than two complete hours can be allowed on this account. One hour is expended at breakfast; three hours at dinVOL. LII. ner; and the three following hours are devoted to tea and the company of the ladies. Nine hours are given to sleep: so that there remain just six hours out of the twenty-four for visiting and business. If they are reproached with waste of time, they reply, "How is it to be avoided?" I answer them thus: "Curtail the number of your garments; render your dress simple; wear your beards; and give up less of your time to eating, drinking, and sleeping." "Their seventh defect is a luxurious manner of living, by which their wants are increased a hundred-fold. Observe their kitchens filled with various utensils; their rooms fitted up with costly furniture; their side-boards covered with plate; their tables loaded with expensive glass and china; their cellars stocked with wines from every quarter of the world; their parks abounding in game of various sorts; and their ponds stored with fish. All these expenses are incurred to pamper their appetites, which from long indulgence have gained such absolute sway over them, that a diminution of these luxuries would be considered, by many, as a serious misfortune. How unintelligible to them is the verse of one of their own Poets: "Man wants but little here below, "Nor wants that little long." he proceeded, successively to Genoa, Malta, Smyrna, and Constantinople. His views of the political state of Europe would do honour to a well informed European; and his sketches of foreign character are not less acute and instructive than those of our own country. As we have given our author's free opinions on the English character and manners, the reader will be gratified by a few passages, by way of contrast, from his sketches of France, and of French customs. "On arriving at Calais, after supper we got into a heavy coach called a Diligence, but which, from the tediousness of its motion, reminded me of a Hindoostany carriage drawn by oxen; and after three nights and two days of incessant travelling, we at length reached Paris. During the whole of this journey, the country was beautiful and highly cultivated; rich fields of corn were here and there divided by vineyards, or orchards of delicious fruit; rivulets of clear water crossed the road in various places, over which were constructed neat stone bridges; and every few miles we came to a populous town or village. In these respects, it appeared to me superior to England, The cows and other animals, were, however, thin and poor looking, and resembled those of India. The horses had the appearance of the Persian or Arabian breed, and better looking than the English, but, I was informed, were not near so good. It was on this journey I first observed oxen used in Europe to draw carriages. Many of the French dogs are exceedingly beautiful, and so small, that they are carried by ladies under their arms, to prevent their being fatigued. "The roads were very broad, level, and the sides were planted with rows of shady trees, which in the summer must be a great comfort to the traveller. Many of the towns are surrounded by walls, and have all the appearance of fortresses. "The villages in France are exceedingly mean, and do not at all resemble their towns. I thought the female peasants very disgusting, both in their manners and their dress: the attire of the village girls in India, in comparison with these, is infinitely superior. The inns on the road were also execrable, and filthy to such a degree, that I could neither eat nor drink in them with any pleasure." "In Paris, the coffee-houses are innumerable, but, in general, are very filthy; and, as many of the French smoke segars or cheroots in them at all hours of the day, they smell shockingly of tobacco. A person is also much annoyed by beggars at these places: they follow a gentleman into the room, and sometimes even take hold of his hand to move his compassion, or rather to tire him by their importunity: they are, however, content with a trifle, and will sometimes be satisfied by a piece of bread: to obtain this favour, they have frequently to contend with a surly rival, in the form of a large dog, whose filth is lying about in different parts of the room. "I had been so long accustomed to English cookery, that during the whole of my residence in France and Italy, I could never relish their culinary process. Their roasted meats |