THE PORT FOLIO.

VOL. VI.

FOURTH SERIES.

CONDUCTED BY OLIVER OLDSCHOOL, ESQ.

Various; that the mind

Of desultory man, studious of change

And pleased with novelty, may be indulged.-Cowper.

OCTOBER, 1818.

No. IV.

FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

ANTHONY BENEZET'S MANSION.

It is not only praiseworthy to honour and imitate the virtues, and respect the manners and customs of our ancestors, but gratifying even to look upon the fields they have cultivated, the trees they have planted, and the buildings they have occupied.—In many parts of Pennsylvania, there yet remain some of the primitive dwellings, and substantial improvements, of the early emigrants from Europe; but in the city of Philadelphia, such has been the rapid career of its prosperity, so great the changes in the families of the original proprietors, such the appropriation of ground to the purposes of business, or for the accommodation of opulence and ease, as to afford scarcely a vestige of the style of architecture adopted by our goodly and adventurous predecessors. It is but a few months since one of the oldest, if not the first brick house erected in Philadelphia, was torn down, to give place to a more spacious structure, and we believe that edifice to have been the last specimen in this city, toward which the curious inquirer in these matters, might have been directed. This building stood on the north side of Chesnut, between third and fourth streets, and for many years previous to its removal, was appropriated to the purposes of a currier. It was erected by David Brientnall at

least a century ago, and it is said that when it was ready to be occupied, he thought it too grand and costly to reside in, and he was on that account induced to rent it to a governor of the Island of Bermuda, who came hither about that time, to reside for a season, with the hope of improving his declining health. More than fifty years since, this mansion was purchased by Anthony Benezet, who occupied it until his death in 1784. Having been the residence of that philanthropic person, as well as in consequence of the antiquity of the building, Mr. Vaux had a drawing of it taken just before it was demolished, in the month of March last. From the original picture in the possession of that gentleman, we have had the plate engraved, which embellishes this number of the Port Folio.

FROM CAPTAIN GOLOWNIN'S NARRATIVE OF HIS CAPTIVITY IN JAPAN.

(Concluded from p. 222.)

In the account given by us, in our number for April last, of Capt. Golownin's narrative, we left him and his companions almost in the infancy of their captivity, at Chakodade, a city of Yesso, during the summer of 1811: but, in the latter part of September, they were removed to Matsmai, the principal city. The length of their detention, and the adventures which befel them in this land being of a different complexion from any which have happened in the intercourse between the Japanese and other Europeans, have brought us to a more familiar acquaintance with the character and genius of the Japanese, without causing a change of our opinion respecting them in any material particular.

In a savage state of society, men are little moved by curiosity, but generally see with apathy those things which have no relation to their immediate wants or to their amusements, and are

* Vide Memoirs of the Life of Anthony Benezet by Roberts Vaux; reviewed in our work for July 1817.-We are gratified to learn that this modest memorial, has been reprinted in London; an honour which is not often conferred upon our literature.

very seldom excited by a desire of improvement. Curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, however, form a predominant feature in the character of the Japanese; and in all civilized communities it is seen that, in proportion as men are secluded from society, their wish to know what is passing abroad is increased. Many of our readers have, no doubt, experienced, or they may learn from Cowper, with what eager anxiety, when shut up in the country by winter, bad roads, and distance from the next market-town, the hour of the day is expected on which the butcher, the baker, or the newsman will arrive. The most remarkable instance of this kind of curiosity, which we remember, is that of Lieutenant John Macluer, a sea-officer, who was employed by the East-India Company to survey the Pelew Islands; and was extraordinarily well qualified in his profession. Captivated by the simplicity of manners of the Pelew Islanders, by the romantic descriptions of Keate, (than which few are more calculated to call forth sensibility,) and possibly by some object yet more attractive, he determined to give up the command of his vessel to the officer next in rank, in order to marry a young Pelew woman, and to settle among that people, intending to pass with them the remainder of his days in the enjoyment of tranquil happiness. He first completed, in a masterly manner, the survey of the islands, and then put his design in execution, was landed, and the vessel departed. At the end of fifteen months, however, he embarked in a canoe with some Indians to go to Ternate, one of the Molucca Islands, as he himself stated, "to hear the news!"-The curiosity and inquisitive. ness of the Japanese respecting foreigners are in like manner whetted by their self-seclusion from the rest of the world; and this feeling has been augmented with regard to the Russians by apprehensions entertained of their designs, and of their power.

It was as much an habitual amusement as a business at Matsmai, for the governor to have his Russian prisoners brought daily before him for examination, till every question had been many times repeated and answered, and the impatience of the Russians under these interrogatories forms a diverting contrast with the mildness of the Japanese. The Captain says;

"From the 6th of October to the end of the month, we were conducted regularly every day, or every other day, to the Bunyo [the Governor],