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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 4 5 6 t-.- / '< .■.«, I t«. . /., •:.*!&■ 1 £j ■.^^ 1% ■\l W^ -< ■ /*. T '•;|;itf'<' .f4i ^'ytM .^KS^ ■*79, ^ m^- ;^ yi. 'liA. ''?&■ i.'v'^ I H E PRE SENT S T A T E ,'* OF THE th. BRITISH EMPIRE ■.^ M -■:,,*■. rfIM>-:«V'; ■€ TrfR^ >;*' f -V» 'a V , -t '' ■'ni: 4 DA . -■; u .. *'. .' • ^•* ^ r ^» •> ..• ■,«» *' \iu:'-,v .:i * \ V -r ' i f •■ IV < V ■»:-■ i% *-r a^ : 1. /.": i:;-* r.' •■• I / .:^«-:. ^ k.,.A^ • .^:^ ': THE . - - . PRESENT STATE O F T H E -A X- BRITISH EMPIRE IN "*^ Europe J America ^ Africa and AJia. • ■ ■ CONTAINING A CONCISE Account of our Possessions IN EVERY PART OF THE GLOB65 The Religion, Policy, Cuftoms, Government, Trade, Commerce, and Manufactures, with the natural and artificial Curiofities, of the refpedive Parts of our Dominions •, the Origin and prefent State of the Inhabitants •, their Sciences and Arts j together with their Strength by Sea and Land. The whole exhibiting ' '. , A more clear, though more fummary. View of the Power of the Britifh Empire than has hitherto appeared. LONDON: /. ^ Printed for W. Griffin, J.Johnson, W. Nicoll, and Richardson and Urquhart, M PCC LXVIII, ■ v '- ■ ' \ x W". I' . PREFACE. THE following compilation has been made from the moft approved authors, who have either defcribed any part of our empire, or treated of our interefts or conftitution. How neceflary, and how entertaining a work of this kind is, the reader need fcarce be informed, as it fpeaks itfelf. In fadl, we have given here the matter of volumes, cleared from any thing ob- folete or extraneous. There has been no attempt of this kind in our language hitherto. There could be none, fince it was impoflible to defcribe an empire be- fore, like ours, it was completed. Many pro- vinces have been added to it within l f ^w years, and fettlements in great abundance, ib that it may now be efteemed the greatefl fovereignty itpon earth, either confidered as to its extent or its power. A defcription therefore of its parts, and the dependance which they have upon each other, can only be found with eafe \n a work like this, where care has been taken to omit nothing that could enter into our plan, and to rejed: whatever niiight miflead or be- wilder I \ vi I P R E F A C E. wilder the reader. Bcfides, defcriptions of countries are every day fubjcdt to change, as the countries themfelves happen to alter; and our defcription being the latefl, ftands faireft for being the moft correft. However, it mud not be expecled, that in the narrow ipace to which we have confined ourfelves, we can have exhaulled all the matter on this fubjedt, which, perhaps, might form a library : we have only laboured to be judicious in one e: tra(5l, and to give in a fmall compaf& what would otherwife coft much ftudy, as well as expence, to whoever fliould wilh to make a fimiliar compilation. . , - . ^, One thing, the reader will obferve, we have generally omitted in our defcriptions of each country or province -, namely, the limits, and often the courfe of rivers j for thefe are much ealier found, and much more diftindtly con- ceived by a flight infpedtion of the map; with- out which, no reader (liould fit down to any topographical enquiry. In a word, no pains have been fpared to make this work as com- pleat as pofTible; but being the firil: of the kind in our language, it is not to be expeded to ap- pear without faults. • V . ' . .JJ, M '.:. : -\ ■> C O N- , Jl CONTENTS. T HE B antient ritain and modern ftate of Great Page I- 8 A particular dcfcription of the counties England, with the natural and arti curiofities of each, - • ' —Wales, - • • - — -Scotland, • — ——Ireland, - - - of Hcial — T— — Guernfey and Jerfey, — — —-—Minorca, ■ I .. —Gibraltar, - 8-I3S - 136—160 ' 161—172 - 172—220 - 220—228 - 228—253 - 253 -Britifh Empire in America, and the Weft-Indies, . - - - 257—391,, -Englifli pofleffions in Africa, - -^ •2pi"~42i -Englilh poffeflions in Afia, - - 425— 47<^' -Summary refleaions on the trade of India, 470—484 A lift of the Engli(h company's forts and faaories, 484—485 Conclufion, " -' - * - - - 486 . / , :.., !.„ •:.,,, D E S A % C R I P T OF THE I O N 1 ' !•• '..■:'r 4 BRITISH EMPIRE. G R Eat BRITAIN. ' r » WE fhall begin our defcriptlon of the Britlfh Empire with that part of it which moft deferves our atten- tion, and regard, namely. Great Britain, which is an ifland in the Weftern Ocean i its fouthern extremity lies in latitude fifty degrees, and the northern extremity in latitude fifty- nine degrees, north: the moft weftern part is in longitude nine degrees forty-five minutes, and its moft caftern part in longitude feventeen degrees fifteen minutes, eaft of Teneriffe, through which the firft meridian has been gene- rally fuppofed to pafs. This ifland therefore from its northern extremity at Caithnefs in Scotland, to its fouthern extremity, at the Lizard Point in Cornwall, is 622 miles and an half: and its breadth from its moft weftern part, the Land's End, in Cornwall, to its moft caftern part, the South Foreland, in Kent, is 285 miles. England and Wales together receive ^ the denomination of South Joritain, Scotland is called North ' Britain. % South Britain, extends northward to latitude fifty-five degrees, forty minutes, where it is bounded by the river ' Tweed, which divides it from Scotland ; it is bounded j on the eaft by the German Ocean, on the weft by" i i Marrow fea, which divides it from Ireland, and on the fouth by a ftrait, called the Britifti Channel, which divides it from : France. England, the name of the fouthern part of Britain diftinit from Wales, is fuppofed to have been originally Angleland, the Land of the Angles, a people who came into Britain with the Saxons, and are thought to have given this name to the country, when, after having invaded and fubdued it, they united the kingdoms, into which it was at firft divided, intg> one monarchy. Wales, the name of the weft part of Britain, diftin£l frooi* England, is a Saxon word, fignifying the Land of Strangers ; B a name ^' "' 'in: ^ 'ii i' '.< ! H V i 2 Bcfcription tf th< Erttijh Empire^ a nJimfe which the Saxons thought fit to bcftovv upoft that part of the country, into which they had driven the native inhabitants when they took pofleffion of the reft. The name England is now often ufed for all South Britain, including Wales. This country has fome peculiar natural advantages and difadvantages as an ifland ; it is fubject to perpetual varieties of heat and cold, and wet and dry j but the heat in fummer, and the cold in winter, are more tem- perate than in any part of the continent that lies in the fame latitude : the atmofphcre is fo loaded with vapours, that there is fometimes no funihine for feveral days together, though at the fame time there is no rain j but the general humidity produced by thefe vapours, greatly contributes to cover the ground with a perpetual verdure, that is not feen in any other country. The air of the low lands, near the fea coaft, is rather unhealthful ; but the fea furnifhes the inha- bitants with great plenty and variety of fifli, and the fliore is naturally formed into innumerable bays and creeks, which afford excellent harbours for fhipping. The air in the inland country is healthy, and the foil generally fertile j the face of the country is diverfified by hill and valley, and wood and water, and being much inclofed and cultivated, abounds with profpedls that in beauty can fcarce be exceeded, even by the fictions of imagination. As the natural hiftory and antiquities of this part of Great . Britain, will be ranged under diftinct heads, corrcfponding with the feveral diftrifts or counties into which it is now divided, it will be neceflary to (hew what thefe divifions are, and to give fome account of their origin. It is alfo neceffary to give fome account of the fuccefllve invafions of this ifland by different nations, and of the various Ibrms of government which have by tiuns been eftabliflied iand fubverted, becaufe many remains of antiquity, and many local privileges and peculiarities have a relation to both, vvhich would render an account of them, without fuch an introdudlion, manifcftly defective and obfcurc. The moft probable opinion concerning the firft inhabitants of Britain, feenis to be, that they came from the neighbour- ing continent of France : thefe ancient Britons were a rude warlike people, who lived in hovels which they built in the woods, and painted their bodies, which had no covering but the (kins of beafts cafually thrown over them, without having been (haped into a garment of any kind. ■>■ r. They were divided however into feparate tribes, each of *^|phich was governed by a feparate lord, dilHnguifhed by fome /« E U R O P E. ^ f l-udt infignia of fovereigh poWer ; ahd from among thcfe lords a general was defted in time of war, who was then inveftcd with fupreme command. They had alfo a kind of civil and religious government, which was chiefly admini- ftered by their priefts, who were called Druids, arid without whofc concurrence no judicial determination was made, not* any publick meafure undertaken. Our knowledge of thefe Britons before they were mixed with the people of other nations, is neceflarily defective and uncertain, becaufe they committed nothing to writing, though it appears tl^at they were not unacquainted with letters j for among other maxims of the Druids, collected by Gollet the Burgundian, in his Memoirs of Franche Comte, there is one that forbids their myfteries to be vy^ritten, a prohibition that could never have been given where letters were not known. About forty-five years before the Chriftian aera, Britain was invaded by the Romans, under Julius Casfar, and at length became a province to the Roman empire. The Romans maintained their conqueft by a military force, into which they gradually incorporated the flower of the Britiih youth : this force was divided into different parties, which were placed at convenient ftations all over the province j and the Roman general for the time being, was fupreme governor of the country. Such was the ftate of Britain, till about the year 426, when the irruption of the northern Barbarians into the Roman empire, made it neceffary to recall the troops that were in Britain ; upon which the emperor Honorious re- nounced his fovereignty of the ifland, and releafed the Britons from their allegiance. , When the Romans abandoned Britain, with the legions^ in which all the natives whom they trufted with militarj* knowledge were incorporated, the country being left in a feeble and defencelefs ftate, was invaded by the northern na- tion called the Scots. The Scots were fo rapacious and cruel, that the South Britons invited over the Saxons to deliver them from the intolerable opprefllion, and drive back the; invaders to their own territory, propofing to give them as a reward, the little Ifle of Thanet, which is divided by a fmall canal from the coaft of Kent. / ;. ^ ' The Saxons came over with a great number of Angles, a people who are fuppofed to have taken their name from a place ftill called Angel in Denmark j and having driven back tl^e (Scots, fubdued the country they had delivered for them- - ' B 2 (elves. > i ^W^ ^^7^ 4' ^' I J /s^yi •1 f * Defer ipiion of the Brilifh Empire, felves, and drove the natives into that part of South Brita liow called Wales. .' ' The Saxon generals became petty fovereigns of different rfiftrids, and were perpetually committing hoftilities againft each other, till about the year 823, when a king of the Wefi: Saxons, whofe name was Egbert, became the Sovereign of all England. About the year loii, the Danes, who had often invaded various parts of Europe, and of this ifland in particular, became lords of all the country under Canutus, their chief, who was crowned king of England : but after about twenty years,- the fovereignty was recovered by Edward §irn^nied the Confeffor, a prince of the Saxon line. About the year 1066, England was again invaded an4 fubdued, by William duke of Normandy, called the Con-? queror, in whofe fucceffors, though not in a lineal defcent, Ihe crown has continued ever fmce, I Some time before this, namely, about the year 896, Alfred khe Great, divided England into thirty-two counties or ihires. Thefe after were increafed to forty, by the addition of Ithofe afterwards diftinguiftied by the names of Durham, l^ancalhire, Cornwall, Rutlandfhire, Monmouthfhire, Nor- thumberland, Weftmoreland and Cumberland. Thefe, with Sthe addition of twelve, into which Wales was afterwards ^divided, make the prefent number fifty-two. Alfred fubdivided each county into trehings, or trithings, of which riding is a corruption, hundreds, and tythings, or decennaries : the trehing was a third part of a county, the hundred was a diftridl containing a hundred families, and the. lything a diftri6l that contained ten families. Over the county or fhire^ he appointed an officer, called a fliire-reeve, or flieriff, a word fignifying one fet over a county or (hire : this officer was alfo called vice-comes, not becaufe he depended upon an earl or comes, but becaufe he was fub- ftituted by Alfred in the place of the earl, and appointed to Serform the fundlions which the carls had pel-formed over the iftrift, which they governed during the heptarchy; the flieriff was affociated with a judge. The chief of the trehing, or trithing was called by different names ; the hundred was put under the jurifdicT:ion of a conftable j and the tithing^ which was alfo called a borhoe, or borough, of a head- borough or tithingman. By this regulation, every man in the kingdom became a member of fome one tithing, the houfeholders of which were, mutually pledges for each other > fo that if any man,, accufcd ^ .... ■, t. in EUROPE.'' 'I of 21 liiifHemeanor, was not produced to anfwer the accufa- tion in one and thirty days, the tithing was fined to the king, and anfwered for the offence to the party injured. Every male, at the age of fourteen years, was obliged to take an oath to keep the laws : this oath was adminiftered at the county court, by the (herifF, who was obliged to fee that the party was properly fettled in fome tithing, all the houfe- holders of which, from that time, became pledges for his good behaviour. This folemn adt of furetyfhip was callecj frank pledge, as the pledge of franks or freemen. The county, the trithmg, the hundred, and the tithing, had each a court, and an appeal lay from the tithing court to the hundred court, from the hundred court to the trithing court, and from the trithing court to that of the county^ An appeal lay alfo from the county court to a fuperior court, which was called the king's court, becaufe the king himfelf prefided there, either in perfon or by his chancellor : this court was then held wherever the king happened to be. Thefe divifions and regulations were contrived by Alfred, to prevent the robberies, murders, and other a .^f become indigent by misfortune ; each has a penfion f 'i 12 I Leftription of the Britijh Empire, <\ :i! ■ili'! |i|- pcrifion of 40 1. a year. They wear a cafTock of red cloth with a mantle of purple, having St. George's crofs on the left flioulder ; they have ftalls in the middle of the choir juft below thofe of the knights of the garter j and arc obliged by ^heir order to go twice a day to church in their robes to pray for the fovercign and the knights of the order. The chapel has alfo a chauntry j and at the weft end of this fquare are the houfes of the chorifters j at the bottom is the library. This fquare is furrounded with a high wall, as the other is by a terrace j and both are entered by a ftone bridge with a gate. At a little diftance ftands Old Windfor, which Camden fays has been falling to decay ever fmce the time of Edward the third. At the conqueft, Old Windfor confiftcd of one hun- dred houfes, of which twenty-two were exempt from tax, and thirty fliillings were levied upon the reft. Near this place . there are alfo two parks j one called the little park, and the other the great park. The little park is about three miles in compafs j the walks are finely ihaded, and it is well flocked with deer. The great park js not lefs than fourteen miles in compafs. It abounds with all kinds of game, and is fo cmbellifhed by nature, as to furpafs all that can be produced by the utmoft labour and ingenuity of art. A circuit of thirty miles fouth of this place is called the foreft j and the foreft is alfo well flocked with game. Curiofitics. ] The mofl remarkable curiofity in this county is the rude figure of a white horfe, which takes up near an acre of ground, on the fide of a green hill. A horfe is known to have been the Saxon ftandard ; and fome have fuppofed that this figure was made by Hengift one of the Saxon kings ; but Mr. Wife, the author of a letter on this fubje6l to Dr. Mead, publiflied in 1738, brings feveral argu- ments to fliew that it was made by the order of Alfred, in the reign of his brother Ethelred, as a monument of his vidiory gained over the Danes, in the year 871, at Aflidown, now called Aflien or Afiibury Park, the feat of lord Craven, near Aflibury, not far from this hill. Others however fuppofe it to have been partly the effect of accident, and partly the work of fliepherds, who obferving a rude figure, fomewhat refembling a horfe, as there are in the viens of wood and ftone many figures that refemble trees, caves and other objedis, reduced it by degrees to a more regular figure. But however this be, it has been a cuftom in»memorial for the neighbouring peafants to aftbmble pn a certain day about Midfummer, and clear away the weeds from this white horfe, and in EUROPE. 13 and trim the edges to preferve its colour and fhape j after which the evening is fpent in mirth and fcftivity. The hill ftands a little to the north of upper Lambournc, and is called White-horfe Hill. To the north of this hill there is a long valley reaching from the wcftcrn fide of the county, where it borders upon Wiltfhire, as far as Wantage, which from this hill is called the Vale of Whitehorfe, and is the moft fertile part of the county. The river Lambourne is not one of the leaft curiofities of this county ; fince contrary to the nature of all other rivers, it is higheft in fummer and Ihrinks gradually as winter approaches, till at laft it is nearly if not ejitirely dry. The river Kennet is remarkable for producing the iineft trout in the kingdom. They are in general very large, and it is faid that fome have been taken here which meafured five and forty inches long. Eaft and Weft Enbourne, near Newbury, are remarkable for the well known whimfical cuftom of the manor, taken notice of in the fpe£lator. The widow of every copyhold tenant is intitled to the whole copyhold eftate of her hufband, fo long as (he continues unmarried and chafte j if fhe marries, (he lofes her widow's eftate without remedy ; but if fhe is guilty of incontinence, (he may recover her forfeiture, by riding into court on the next court day, mounted on a black .am, with her face towards the tail, and the tail in her hand, and repeating the following lines :, - ■ : • . it.:,,... ..•jf,TVr Here I am, riding on a black ram ' / Like a whore as 1 am ; And for my crincum crancum Have loft my bincum bancum. And for my tail's game « , • ' .,,, ;> Am brought to this world's fliame, • . ','''.'' Therefore, good Mr. Steward, let me have my lands again*. Various particulars.'] The length of this county from eaft to weft, is about forty-five miles j and its breadth near twenty- five. It fends nine members to parliament ; two knights ror the fliire, as many for Reading, New Windfor, Wallingford, and one for Ahblngton. It lies in the diocefe of Salift)ury, and in the Oxford circuit. There are in it 140 pariflies, 62 vicarages, and 671 villages. It is divided into 22 hundreds, containing about 16,900 houfes, and 84,500 inhabitants. The arejf of the county in acres i^ computed at''527,ooo. v » BUCKINGHAM-^ f . . V Defcription of the Brit/Jh Empire^ BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. I' |: l« I' I Nfliw/.] r I ^ HIS county is fuppofed to have been callcj I Buclcinghamfhire, either from a Saxon word, fignifying Beech Trees, with which it abounded, or from Buc, which is the fame with our buck j for the woods of this county abounded alfo with deer. The fouth-eaft part of the country lies high, and confiils of a ridge of hills, called the chiltern, probably from Cylt or Chilt, a Saxon name for chalk \ the northern part is diftinguiihed by the name of the Vale. Air and Soii.] On the Chiltern Hills the air h extremely healthful, and in the vale it is better than in the low grounds of other counties. The foil of the Chiltern is ftoney, yet it produces good crops of wheat and barley : in many places it is covered with thick woods, among which there arc ftill great quantities of beech. In the vale, which is extremely fertile, l5ie foil is marl or chalk ; fome part of it is converted into tillage, but much more is ufed for grazing ; the gentlemen who have efliates in this county, find grazing fo lucrative, that they generally keep their eftates in their own hands j and the lands that are let fetch more rent than any other in the kingdom. One fingle meadow, called Berryfield, in the manor of Qiiarrendon, not far from Aylfbury, was let many years ago for 800 1. per annum, and has been fmce let for much more. Manufa^luresl The chief manufactures of Buckingham- ihire are bone lace and paper.. Of the towns we may make mention of Eton, which ftands on the borders of Berkfhire, and is joined to Windfor by a wooden bridge over the Thames, there is a college of Ttnral foundation, for the maintenance of a provoft and kwtn fellowsy two fchoolmafters, two conduds, one organift, feven clerks, ten chorifters, and other officers, and for the inftru£tion of feventy poor grammar fcholars, who are nomi- nated by the king, and are therefore culled king's fcholars j thefe fcholars, when they are properly qualified, are elefted on the iirft Tuefday in Auguft, to. King's College in the univefity of Cambridge, where, after they have been ftudents three years, they claim a fellowlhip ; but as there is not alwayfe a vacancy at Cambridge, the fcholars remai it at Eton till vacancies happen } and thefe vacancies they fill up ac- cording to feniority. The in EUROPE. »5 The fchool* is divided into two parts, the upper and the lower, and each of thcfc is Tub-divided into three clailes. Jnto the lower fchool childrcj are admitted very young, but none enter the upper fchool till they can make Latin verfes, and have fome knowledge of Greek. Befides the feventy fcholars on the foundation, there are feldom lefs than 300 for whofe education the m< i^crs are paid, and who board at the maftcrs houfes. The maifcr of each fchool therefore has four ailiftants or ufliers. The building has large rloyfters like the religious houfes abroad, and the chapel is a noble pile, though the archite ation. .^'■;.. -: •.,.>.-• ■ » ■ Curious particulm's,'] Thefe is in the neighbourhood of Cambridge, on the eaft fide, a village called Sturbridge, from the little brook Stour, or Sture, which runs by it, that h remarkable for a fair, which was once the grcateft tem- porary mart in the world ; and is now fo confiderable as to ^eferve particular notice. It is held in a corn-field about half a mile fquarc, which is covel-ed with booths that are built in regular rows, ai>d divide the area into man^ ftreets, which are called Cheap/- fide, Cornhill, the Poultry, and by the names of many other ftreets in London^ to uiftinguifh them from each other. Among thefe booths there are not only ware-houfes and (hops, for almoft every, kind of commodity and manufacture, but cofFee-houfes, taverns, eating-houfes, mufick-houfes, buildings for the exhibition of drolls, puppet-fhows, leger- demain, wild beafts and monfters. There J5 an area of about 100 yards fquare, called the Duddery, where the clothiers unload, that is fcarcc inferior to Blackwell Hall j •and in this place woollen goods have been *fold to the value f' 9.6 Lefcrlpton of theBritiJh Empire^ «f 100,000 1. in a week} and the manufadlurers of Norfolk SuiFolk, and Eflex, generally lay out fixty thoufand pounds in wool : the upholilercrs and ironmongers wares amount to a prodigious fum ; and hops to ftill more, the price of which» all over the kingdom, is generally fettled at this fair ; and farge commifnons are negotiated for all part& of the kingdom. This fair begins on the eighteenth of September, and continues a fortnight. The laft day is appropriated to the fale of horfes^ and to horfe and foot races, for the diverfion of the company. The heavy goods from London are brought by fea to I^ynn, in Norfolk, whence they are carried in~ barges up the Oufe to the Cam, and fo to the fair. The concourfe o£ people, whom bufmefs and idlenefs concur to bring to this place, is fo great, that not only Cambridge, but all the neighbouring towns and villages are full j and the very barns and ftables are converted into drinking rooms and lodgings^ for the meaner fort of people. More than fifty hackney coaches from London are frequently found plying at this place ; and even wherries have been brought from the Thames in waggons, to row people up and down the Cam. But notwithftanding the multiplicity of bufinefs, and the con- courfe of people, there is very feldom any confufion or dif- order, by which either life or property is endangered j for a court or juftice is held here every day by the naagiftrates of Cambridge, who proceed in a fummary way, and with fuch fieadinefs and diligence, that the fair is in many refpedls like a well ordered city. Near this place there is an excellent cau(eway, which reaches near four miles, and was begun by Dr. Hervey, mafter of Trinity-Hall, and Rniihed by William Wertesy fef-^i- of Cambridge.. The inhabitants of the fenny part of the county of Canv Bridge, now called the Ifle of Ely,, and of the reft of the Great Level in Huntingdonlhire, Northamptonfhire, and Lin- colnshire, were in the time of the Saxons, diftinguifhed by the name oF Girvii, or Fen-Men ; and notwithftanding Wiiliam ©f Malmfbury's defcription of Thorney Abbey, the country was then in fuch a condition, that theie Girvii ufed .to walk aloft on a kind of ililts, to keep them out of the , water and flimc. There is a kind of happy prejudice which ha& fiich a remote kindred to virtue^ as bigottry has to religion, by which raen are induced to confider their own countr)^, whatever are its difadvantages, as the beft in the world } and it not would have been ftrange, if the walkers on ftilts, whi> breatlied the noxious vapovir ol' ftagnant waters iiiiba4 of ais» lad .,™.-„ in E U R O P E. It had regarded thefe who walked upon the ground in an feappier fituation with an air of contempt, efpecially as the fruitfulnefs of the country, when the rivers were not ob- ilrudled, made them rich j but Camden fays that they were a rugged uncivilized race^ who if they did not repine at their fituation, envied not that of their neighbours, whom they called Upland Men, not however as a name of honour but diftin6lion. Various particulars."] Cambridgefhire fends fix members to parliament, viz. two knights of the (hire } two members for the town of Cambridge, and two for the univerfity. It lies partly in the diocefe of Ely, and partly in that of Norwich, and the Norfolk circuit. It contains eighty-three vicarages, 163 pariihes, and 279 villages. Its divifion is into Hxteen hundreds, containing about 17)340 houfes, 86,730 inhabi- tants, and 570,000 acres. CHESHIRE. CHESHIRE, the prefent name of this county. Is a contraction of Chefterihire, and derived from Chefter, the name of its city. It is a county palatine, great part of which is a champaign, called by king Edward the Firft, for its great fruitfulnefs. Vale Royal of England. Air and Soil.'] The air of this county is ferene and healthful, .but proportionably colder than the more fouthern parts of the ifland. The country is in general flat and open, though it rifes into hills on the borders of Staffordfhire and Derbyfhire, and contains feveral forefts, two of which, called Delamere and Macclesfield, are of confiderable extent. The foil, in many parts, is naturally fe^rtile ; and its fertility is greatly increafed by a kind of n^arle, or fat clay, of two forts, one white and the other red., which the peafants find in great abundance, and fpre^d upon their land as manure : corn and grafs is thus produced with the moft plentiful encreafe ; and the pafture is laid to be the fweetefl of any in the kingdom^ There are |iowever feveral large tra£ls of land covered with heath and mofs, which the inhabitai>ts can u(e only for fuel. The mofTv tra^s confiil of a kind of moorifh boggy earth ; the inhabitants call th^i^ mofTes, and diftinguifh them into white^ grey, and black, from the colour of the mofs that grows upon theni. The white mofles, or bogs, are evidently comr pages qi the leaves^ feeds, flowers, ftalks, and roots of herbs^ C3 plww, «l T, :^ Deferiptm of the Britijb Empire^ plants, or fhrubs. The grey confifts of the fame fuWlai^c^i in a higher degree pf putrefaftion ; and the only difference of the black is, that in this the putrefaction is perfed ; the grey is harder, and more ponderous than the white ; and the black is clofer and more bituminous than either. From thefe moffcs, fquare pieces like bricks are dug out, and laid in the fun to dry for fuel, and are called turfs. Natural Produ^iions and Manufactures.'] The chief com-f modities of this county are chcefe, fait, and millilones. The cheefe is efteemed the beft in England, and furnifhed i^ great plenty by the excellent pafturage on which the cattle are fed. The fait >s produced not from the water of the fea, but from fa|t fprings, which rife in Northwich, Namptwich, Middlewich, and Dunham, at th' diftancc of about fij^ miles from each other ; and about thirty from the fea. l^he pits are (eldom more than four yards deep, and never more than feven. in two places in Namptwich the fpring breaks out in the meadows, fo as to fret away the grafs j arid a fait lit|uor ouzes through the earth, which is fwampy to a con- fiderable diftance. All thefe fprings lie near brooks and in meadow grounds. The watey is fp very cold at the bottom of" the pits, that the briners cannot ftay in them above half an houir at a time, nor fo long, without frequently drinking ftrong waters. Some of thefe fprings afford much more water than others ; but it is obferved, that there is more fait in any given quantity of water drawn from ^he fprings that yiel4 little, than in the fame quantity drawn from thofe that yield much J and that the ftrength of the brine is generally in pro- portion to the fcantinefs of the fpring. It is alfo remarkable^ that more fait is produced from the fame quantity of brine in dry weather, than in wet. Whence the brii^e of thefe fprings is fupplied, is a queftion that has never yet been finally decided : fome have fuppofed it to come from the fea ; fome from fubterraneous rocks of fait, which were ^ifcovere4 in thofe parts, about the middle oif the laft century; and others from fubtil faline particles, fubfifting in the air, and depofited in a proper bed. It is not probable that this water comes frortl the fea, becaufe a quart of fea water will produce nd moi ie than an ounce and an half of fait, but a quart of w^ter from thefe fprings, will often produce (qvcix or eight ounces. The ftone which is wrought into mill-ftones, is dug f^om a quarry at Mowcop Hill, near Congleron. • ; '. Though we generally paft over the towns uWndti^cd, we inuft not omit a fliort defcription of the antient city of Cheiler, which is diftant i%2. miles from London j and is governed r- x» E U R O P E. ^ ^j governed by a mayor, twenty-four alderaaeo» two fherifTta. ajid forty common council men. . It has nine churches, not ill built, one of which is the cathedral, having the parifht church in the fouth ifle, dedicated to St. Werburgh. The cathedral, with the bifliop!s palace, and the houl'es of the prebendaries, are on the north fide of the city, which is built in a fquare form, and furrounded by a wall* with bat- tlcmcnt^, that are two miles in compafs. The two principal; ilreets interfedt each odier at right angles, and form an exadb croi's. At the interfe(6tion, which is nearly in the center of, the city, there is a fpacious area, called the Pentife, in, which ftands the town-houfe, with an exchange, a neat building, fupported by columns thirteen feet high, of one. ftone each. The houfes, which in general are timber, are very large and fpacious, and are built with a piazza before; them, fo that foot paflengers go fron one end of the city, to the other, under compleat (belter from the weather. Thig manni?r of building however has its difadvantage ; for the ihops which lie behind the piazza, are very clofe and dark, and in other rcfpefts incommodious Thefe piazzas are called rows ; and the pavement is confiderably above the level of the ftreet, into which there are defcents by fteps, placed at convenient diftances. The city has four gates, one at each end of the two great ftreets, which are placed exadlly eaft, weft, north, and fouth, and a caftle, on a rififig'ground on- the fouth fide, which is in part furrounded by the river Dee, and is a place of confiderable ftrength. A garrifon is always kefpt in it. Natural hijiftry and Curoijiihs.'} In this county there are (everal mineral fprings, particularly at Stockport there is 4 chalybeat faid to be ftronger than tnat at Tunbridge. In the morades, or mofles, whence the country people cut their turf, or peat, for fuel, there are marine fhells in great plenty, pine cohes, nuts and fhells, trunks of fir trees, and hr apples, with many other exotic fubflances. The morafles, in which thefe fubflances are found, are frequently upon the fummjts of high mountains ; and the learned have beea much divided in their opinions how they came there. The general opinion is, that they were brought thither by s^ (deluge, not merely from their fituation, but becaufe feven or eight vaft trees are frequently found lying much clofer to each other than it was pofTible they fhould grow ; and under the trees are frequently found the exuviae of animals, as (hells and bones of fifhes; and particularly the head of an hj^popota^iu^ was dug from one of th^fe moofs^ fome yeary C4 . »Pp '•1 14 Defcription of the Britljh Empire^ ^ ago, and was feen by Dr. Leidi, who has written the Na- tural Hiftory of this county. There are however fubftances of a much later date than the general deluge, found among thefe trees and exuviz, particularly a brafs kettle, a millftone, and fome amber beads, which were given to the dodor foon after they were dug up. The fir trees which are dug up by the peafants, are fo full of turpentine, ttiat they are cut out into jlips and ufed inftead of candles. Farioui particular sA This county fends four members to parliament ; two for the county and two for Chefter. It lies in the northern circuit, and diocefe of Chefter. It contains twenty vicarages, 68 parifhes, and near 670 villages. Its divifion is into feven hundreds, in which are contained about 24,000 houfes, and upwards of 12,000 inhabitants. The area of the county is commonly thought to be about 720,000 acres. CORNWALL, M Kame."} /CORNWALL, the moft weftern couaty of * -v V-i England, is fuppofed by fome to derive ita i^ame from the Sritifh word Corn, a horn, either becaufe the whole county is ihaped like a cornucopia, or becaufe on the weftern extremity it ftioots out l^ito two promontories, or. horns, called the Land's End, arid the Lizard Point. Jir and Soil.] Four fifths of the circumference of this county being waflied by the fea, the air is neceiiarily more damp than in places that lie remote from the coaft. A dry fumaicr is here extremely rare j but the rains are rather fre- quent than heavy ; and there are few days fo wet, but that fome part of them is fair, and few fo cloudy, but that there are intervals of funfliine. Storms of wind are more fudden an4 more violent than within the land, and the air is impregnat- ed with fait, which rifes with the vapours from the fea ; this quality of the air is very unfavourable to fcorbutic habits ; it is alfo hurtful to ftiruDs and trees, and in general to tender fboots <>f whatever kind, which after a ftorm, which drives the fea air upon them, generally appear fhriveled and have ^ fait tafte, for this reafon there are no fuch plantations of wood on rifing grounds, .nor any fuch hedge-rows of tall trees, in Cornwall, as there are in the northern counties of England which, though farther from the fun, are not expofed toblai^s from the ica. sn EUROPE. a5 In Cornwall however, the winters are more mild than In l^n/ other part of the ifland, (o that myrtles will flourifh without a green-houfe, if they are fecured from the fait winds that blow from the fea } the fnow feldom lies more than three or four days upon the ground, and a violent fhower of hail i^ fcarce ever known. The fpring ihews itfelf early in bud$ and bloITqms, but its progrefs is not fo quick as elfewhere. The fummers are not hotter in proportion, at the winters are lefs cold ', for the air is always cooled by a breeze from the fea, and the beams of the fun are not re- fleded from the furrounding water with fo much ftrength, a» from the earth ; it happens therefore, that though Cornwall is the moft fouthern county in England, yet the harveft is later, and the fruit has lefe flavour, than in the midland parts. As the county abounds in mines, the air is filled with mineral vapours, which in fume parts are f» inflammable ag to take fire, and appear in flame over the grounds from which they rife. But notwithilanding the faline and mineral particles that float in the atmofphere, the air of Cornwall it very healthy -, for it is in a great meafure free from the putrid exhalations that in other places rife from bogs, marihes« and flanding pools ; and from the corrupt air that ftagnatet in the dead calm that is often found among thick woods* In Cornwall, the country is open, the foil in general found, and the air always in motion, which may well attone for any noxious effluvia fuppofed to rife either from mines or ths fea. In the mines of this county there are often found the pchrous earths of metals, the rufly ochre of iron, the green and blue ochres of copper, and the pale yellow ochre of lead, |he brown yellow of tin, and the red ochre of bifmuth j the ochre of lead, in its natural flate, mixes well with oil, and gives ^colour be^veen the light and brown ochre; as it is folid, and will not fly off, it might perhaps be. ufeful in painting. Natural produ£iiom.'] The principal produdts of Cornwall are tin and copper ; thefe metals are found in veins or fifTures, V^hich are fometimes filled with other fubflances, and the (ubflance, whatever it is, with which thefe flfliures are filled, it in Cornwall called a lode, from an old Anglo Saxon word, which flgnifies to lead, as the miners always follow its di- rection. The courfe of the flfTures is generally eaft and iveft, not however in a flraight line, but wavy, and one fide is fometimes a hard ftone, find the other loofe clay. MoA. ■ ■ ^ ■■ . • • Of tl a^ DefcripHon of the Britijb Empire^ of thefe I«iic» sure impregnated with meta], but none are im* preignated equally in all parts. Thefe lodes are not often lyiore than two feet wide, and the greater part are not more l^an one : but in general, the fmaller lode the better metal : the diredtion of thefe lodes is feldom perpendicular, but de- clines to the right or left, though in different degrees. Tin is the peculiar and moft valuable product of thit <30unty ; it affords employment, and confcquently fubfiflance t;o the poor, affluence to the lords of the foil, a conftderable cevenue to our prince of Wales, who is duke of Cornwall, and an important article of trade to the nation, in all foreign qiarkets. Copper is no where found richer, or in greater variety of Ores than in Cornwall ; though the mines have not ocen worked with much advantage longer than fixty years. The moft common ore is of a yellow brafs-colour j but there is ifcmie green, fome blue, fome black, fomc grey, and fome nedi the green, blue, ^and black yield but little; the grey contains more metal than the yellow, and the red more than t^e grey. There are befides, in almoft all the conftderable ipines, fmall quantities of malleable copper, which the ipincrs, from its purity, call the virgin ore. This is com- inned and allayed witn various fubftances ; fometimes with 9 gravelly clay, and fometimes with the ruft of iron ; its figure alfo is very various -, fometimes it is in thin plates, ibaped like leaves, fometimes it is in drops and lumps, fome- times branched, fringed, or twifted into wires, fometimes it ihoots into blades, crofTed at the top like a ^agger, and Sometimes it has the appearance of hollow fillagree ; it has ^fo been found in powder, little inferior in luf^re to that of gold ; in a congeries of combined granules, and fometimes in iplid mafTes of feveral pounds weight, maturated, unmixed, 9iid highly polifhed. The annual income to the county from copper, is at this time nearly equal to that from tin ; and both are flill capable of improvement. The water in which the copper ore is ^yaihed, has been lately difcovered to make blue vitriol of the beft kind ; and the water which comes from the bottom of the mines, and which is now fufFered to run off to wafte, is fa j^ongly impregnated with copper, that if it was detained in proper receptacles, it would produce great quantities of malleable copper without any hazard or attendance, and without any other charge than the purchafe of a much lefs qnan^ity of the moft ufelefs old iron j for old iron, immerfed jll this water^ will ij) about foiMTteen days produce much more than in EUROPE. if than its weight of what is called copper-mud, whci cc a great proportion of pure copper may be obtained. Befide thefe natural produ^ions of the earth, the inhabi- tants reap ftill more advantageous benefits from the fea, the Pilchard fifhery of this coaft being now the greateft in the world ; and producing more than an annual income of an hundred thoufand pounds. Ihe tinners are in many refpefts a community diftin^ from the other inhabitants of the county. They have an ofHcer, called the lord warden, who is appointed to adminifter iuftice among them, with an appeal to the duke of Corn- wall, in council, or to the crown. The lord warden ap- points a vice warden to determine all ftannary difputes every month, and he conllitutes four ftewards, each for a par- ticular diftriil, who hold courts every three weeks, and decide by juries of fix, with an appeal to the vice warden, from him to the lord warden, and finally to the crown. They have alfo a parliament, confiding of twenty-four gentlemen tinners, fix to be chofen for each of the ftannary divifions, by the mayor and council of the towns of fuck divifion refpedtively. The towns are Launcefton, Leftwithiel, Truro, and Helfton. The twenty-four perfons thus chofen pre called ftannators, and chufe their fpeaker, who is appro- ved by the lord warden. Whatever is enabled by this bodtr of tinners, with the fubfequent aflent of the crown, has all the authority, with refpecSk to tin affairs, of an ad of the whole legi nature. f^arious particulars.'] Cornwall fends no Icfs than forty-four Itiembers tp parliament (which is above five times as many as Middlefex, London, and Weftinfter fend, tho* thefe latter contain above five times as many inhabitants) two knights for the (hire, and as many members for each of the following^ towns ; Bodmin, Boffiney, Camelford, Dunevet, Launcefton, Faft-Low, Foy, Grampound, Helflon, St. Germans, St. Ives, Kellington, Lefkard, Leftwitliiel, St. Maws, St. Michael, Newport, Penryn, Portpigham, Saltafh, Tregony, and Truro, It lies in the diocefe of Exeter, and in the weftern circuit.. It contains 89 vicarages, 161 parilhes, and about 1,230 villages. The divifion of it is into nine hundreds, containing near 25,380 houfes, and about 126,870 inhabitants, and an. ^a computed at 960,000 acres. , . . , ",, CUMBERJ^AND, i*r st Befcription of the Briti/h Empire, 'CUMBERLAND. 'Tn HIS county is generally fuppofcd to have been Kame.'] called Cumt)erland, from Cumbri, a name given to the ancient Britors, who long maintained their ground in it, againft the encroachments of the Saxons. jftr, Sot^t and Natural Produ^ions.'] The air of this county, though cold, is lefs piercing than might be expelled from Its fituation, being (heltcred by lofty mountains on the north. The foil is in general fruitful, the plains producing corn in great abundance, and the mountains yielding pafturc for numerous flocks of (heep, with which they are perpe- tually covered. The face of the country is delightfully varied by lofty hills, vailics, and water ; but the prolpedl would be AjII more agreeable, if it was not deficient in wood, many ^plantations of which have been made, but without fufHcicnt luccefs to encourage the pradticc. The Derwent produces falnion in great plenty, and the Eden char, a fmall fiih of the troyt kind, which is not found in any waters of this ifland» except the tden and Winandermere, a lake in Weftmore- land. At the mouth of the river Irt, on the fea coaft, near Ravenglas, a market town in this county, are found pearl mufcJes } for the fifhing of which, fome perfons obtained ^ patent not very long ago, but it does not appear that this un-> dertaking has yet produced any confidcrablc advantage. Several mountams here contain metals and minerals ; and in the fouth part of the county, which is called Copeland, the mountains abound with rich veins of copper, as they do alfo in Derwent Fells, particularly at Newland^ a village near Kefwick, where it is faid there was once found, a mixture of gold and filver. In this county there are alfo mines of coals, lead, lapis calaminaris, and black lead, a mineral, found no vyhere elfe, called by the inhabitants wadd. The Wadd mines lie chiefly in and about Derwent Fells, where this mineral may be dug up in any quantity. Natural Curiofities,'] Among the natural curiofities of this county we may reckon the mountains, fome of which are remarkable for their height, particularly Hard-knot-hill, Wry-nofe, and Skiddaw. Hard-knot-hill, at the foot of which rifes the river £fk, is a ragged mountain, fo fleep* that it is very difficult to afcend it ; about a hundred and fifty years ago, fome huge ftones were difcovered upon the very fummit, which Camden fuppofed to have been the /b^(idation of a caftle, bi^t which may with greater probability «:•, /« E U R O P E. H he confidcrcJ as the ruins of feme church or chapel ; for in the early ages of Chriftianity, it was a work of moft meritori- ous devotion, to cred crofTes and build chapels upon the tops of the higheft hills and promontories, not only becaufe they were more confplcuous, but bccaufc they were proportionably nearer to Heaven. Wry-nofc is fituated about a mile fouth-eaft of Hard-knot- hill} near the high road from Penrith to Kirby, a market town in Lancafhire. Near this road, and on the top of th« mountain, are tSree ftoncs, commonly called fliirc ftones, which though they lie within a foot one of another, are yet in three counties } one in Cumberland, another in Wcftmore- land, and the third in Lancafhire. Skiddaw flands north of Kefwick, and, at a prodigious height, divides like Pamaflus into two heads, from whence there is a view of Scroflel-hill, in the (hire of Annandale, in Scotland, where the people prognofticate a change of weather, by the mlfts that rife or fall upon the tops or this mountain, according to the following proverbial rhime : If Skiddaw have a cap, ' Scroffel wots full well of that. The principal antiquity in this county, and perhaps m al^ Britain, is that rampire built by the Romans, as a barrier asainft the incurfions of the northern Britons, called by the Engliih the Pi(Sls Wall. It runs the whole breadth of Great Britain, croiling the north parts of the counties of Cum- berland and Northumberland, and extending above eighty miles, from that part of the Irifti Sea called the Solway Frith, on the weft, to the German ocean on the eaft. It was begun by the emperor Adrian, and built in the manner of a mural hedge, with large (lake» driven deep into the ground, and wreathed together with w;attles. It was faced with eartb and turf, and fortified on the north with a deep ditch. The Romans being called from Britain, for the defence of Gaul, the North Britons broke in upon this barrier, and in repeated inroads, put all they met with to the fword. Upon this the South Britons applied to Rome for afliftance, and a legion was ient over to theip, which drove the enemy bade into their own country ; but as the Romans at this time had full employment for their troops, it became neceiTary for them to enable the South Britons to defend themfelves for the future ; they therefore aJifted them to build a wall of ilone, eight feet broad and twelve feet high, of equal extent with the mural hedge, and nearly upon the fame ground. This wall |i' i ti ^ ■ ■ III ■ ' irv V i f §16 DefcriptioH of the hrittjh Empire^ wall was compleated under the dire<5lion of i^IIuSj th'tf J^oman general, about the year 430 ; and the tracks of it^ with the foundations of the towers or little caflle.9, now called 040)000 acres. DERBYSHIRE. Kame.'} T T is generally thought that this county was calledf J^ Derbyihire from Derby, the name of the county town ; fome have derived both from Derwent, the name of .the principal river ; and others have fuppofcd it to be formed to exprefs a park or fhelter for deer, an opinion which tht arms of Perby, the county town, fecofi to favour, being a buck couchaiu in a park. Jir in EURO P E. ' ft Air Soil, and natural PreduSJions."] The two parts mio which the river Derwent divides this couiity are very dif- ferent, as well with refpe<£l to the air as to the foil, exce|)t juft on the banks of the river, where the foil is on both fi^s remarkably fertile. In the eailern divifion the air is healthf , and its temperature agreeable. The foil every where fruil;fvi, and therefore well cultivated, producing grain of almoft every kind, in great abundance, particularly barley. But in the weftern divifion, the air in general is (harper, the weather more variable, and ftorms of wind and rain mofe frequent. There the face of the country is rude and moun- tainous, and the foil, except in the vallies, rocky and fteril ; the hills however a^ord paflure for iheep, which, in this county are very numerous. But notwithflanding its barren- nefs, it is yet as profitable to the inhabitants as the tafteiyi part, for it produces great quantities of the beft lead, al^ antimony, mill-ftones, and grind-flones, befides inarjblff9 alabafter, a coarfe fort of cryftalfpar, green and white viU'ip)9 alum, pitcoal, and iron. Trade."] Withthefe commodities, and with malt and 2^ of which great quantities afe made in this i;ounty, the \xk» habitants carry on a confiderable trade ; but it does notappci^r that they have any manufactory of note. Curioftties.'] The moil remarkable curioiities of this county arethofe of the Peak, which, being feven in number, are commonly called the Seven Wonders of the Peak. The firft is the magnificent palace of the duke of Oevcxi^ {hire, called Chatfworth Houfe, the only one of the ^Gwn. Wonders that is not the production of nature. It ft^^ about fix miles fouth-weft of Cheilerfield, on the eaft /ifi Aone 1;-^ 'I > i n 32 befcriptm of the Brttijh Empire^ '■ ftone bf idge over the river, with a tower upon it, that was • built by the countefs of Shrewlbury. There is alfo in aft ifland in the river, a building like a caftle, which, feen from the houfe, has a good efFed. In the garden there is ^ grove of cyprefs, and (everal ftatues extremely well executed. There is alfo a very fine piece of water, in which there arc' feveral ftatues reprcfenting Neptune, his Nereids, and fea liorfes J on the banks is a tree of copper reprcfenting a willow, front every leaf of which water is made to iluie by the turning of a cock, fo as to *>Tm an artificial fhower. Ad-* vantage has been taken of the irregularity of the ground to form a cafcade ; at the top are two fea nymphs with their urns, through which the water ifTues ; and in the bafon, at bottom, there is an artificial rofe, fo contrived, that water may be made to iflue from it, fo as to form the figure of that flower in the air. There are many other beauties both of art and nature, peculiar to the place, of which the bounds of this work will not admit a particular defcription, and of ivhich no defcription, however minute and judicious, could convey an adequate idea. This palace was built by William, the firftdukeof Devonfhire. The ftone ufed in the building 'was dug from quarries on the fpot, including the marble, which is finely veined, and found in fuch plenty, that feveral people have ufed it to build houfes. From this houfe there is a moor, extending thirteen miles north, which has neither hedge, houfe, nor tree, but is a dreary and a^folate wildernefs, which no ftranger can crofs without a ^uide. This plain however contributes not a little to the beauty of Chatfworth ; for the contraft not only renders it more ftriking, but it contains a large body of water, covering near thirty acres of ground, which is not only a common drain to the adjacent country, but fupplies all the 'l«fervoirs, canals, cafcades, and other water- works in the gardens of Chatfworth Houfe, to which it is condutSled by pipes, properly difpofed for that purpofe. Upon the hills beyond the garden is a park, where are alfofome ftatues and other curiouties ; but even thefe hills are over-looked by a very high rocky mountain, from which the view of the palace, and the cultivated valley in which it ftands, breaks at once upon the traveller like the efFe6l of enchantment. The fecond wonder of the Peak is a mountain, fituated liinc or ten miles north-weft of Chatfworth Houfe, called Mam-^Tor, a name which fignifies Mothtr Tower, This mountain, though it is pergjetually mouldring away, and the earth • in EUROPE. 3* earth and ftones are falling from the precipice above in fuch quantities, as to terrify the neighbouring inhabitants with the noife, is yet of fuch an enormous bulk, that the decreafe is not perceived. The third wonder is Eden-Hole, near Chapel in the Frith : Eden-Hole is a vaft chafm in the fide of a mountain, twenty- one feet wide, and more than forty feet long. In this chafm, or cave, appears the mouth of a pit, the depth of which could never be fathomed : a plummet once drew 884 yards, which is fomething more than half a mile, of line after it, of which the laft eighty yards were wet, but no bottom Was found. Several attempts to fathom it have been fmce made, and the plummet hasfometimes Hopped at half that depth, owing pro- bably to its refting on fome of the protuberances that ftand out from the fides. That fuch protuberances there are, is proved by an experiment conftantly made, to fhew its great depth to thofe that vifit the place, by the poor people that attend them, who always throw fome large ftones down into it, which are heard to ftrike againft the irregularities of the fide with a fainter and a fainter found, that is at length gradually loft. I'ha carl of Leicefter, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, hired a poor wretch to venture down in a bafket, who, after he had de- fcended two hundred ells, was drawn up again ; but, to the great difappointment of the curious enquirer, he had loft his fenfes, and in a few days after died delirious. The fourth wonder of the Peak is a medicinal water, which rifcs from nine fprings, near Buxton, a little village, not far from the head of the river Wye, whence they are called Bux- ton Wells. The bed or fc"l, from which the water iffues, is a kind of marie ; and it is remarkable, that, within five feet of one of the hot fprings, there is a cold one. The ufe of thefe waters, both for drinking and bathing, is much recommended; and the wells are therefore greatly fre- quented in the fummer feafon. The water is faid to be ful- phureous and faline : when drar)k it creates a good appetite, removes obftru£tions, and, if mixed with the chalybeat water, with which this place alfo abounds, it anfwers all the inten- tions of the celebrated waters of the Bath in Somerfetfliire, or thofe of the Hot Well below Briftol, The ufe of this water by bathing, has been recommended by phyficians in all fcorbutic, rheumatic, and nervous diforders. Thefe wells are inclofed within a handfcme ftone building, treated at the charge of George carl of Shrcwfbury. Here is a convenient houfe for the acccm^nodation of ftrangers,. built at the charg*;; of the duke of Devonfliire. There i$ a bath- D room* i;' I I'i K If % ill A\ f' m. ^4 Defcription of the Britifi Empire, room, which is arched over head, and is rendered handfomft and convenient. The bath will aci ommodate twenty people at a time to walk and fwim in. The temper of the water is blood warm, and it may be raifed at plealure to any height. The fifth curiofity, called a wonder, is the fpring called Tidefwell, fituated near the market-town to which it has given its name. The well is about three feet deep, and three feet wide ; and the water, in different and uncertain periods of time, fmks and rifes, with a gurgling noife, two thirds of the perpendicular depth of the well. Many conjectures have been ibrmed to account for this phasnomfenon. Some have thought that in the aquedmSt a Itone ftands in equilibrio, and produces the rife and fall of the water by vibrating backwards and for- wards; but it is as difficult to conceive what ftiould produce this vibration at uncertain periods, as what ihould produce ♦he rife and fall of the water. Others imagine that thefe ir- regular ebbings and flowings, as well as the gurgling noife, are occafioned by air, which agitates or prefles the water from the fubterraneous cavities ; but thefe do not tell us what can be iuppofed firft to move the air: otherf have imagii^ed the fpring to be occafionally fupplied from the overflowings of fome lub- terraneous body of water lying upon a higher level. The fixth wonder of the Peak is a cave, called Pool's Hole, iaid to have taken its name from one Pool, a notorious robber, who being outlawed, fecreted himfelf here from juftice ; but others will have it that Pool was fome hermit, or anchorite, who made choice of this difmal hole for his cell. Pool's Hole is fituated at the bottom of a lofty mountain, called Coitmofs, near Buxton. 'I'he entrance is by a fmall arch, fo very low, that fuch as venture into it are forced to creep.upon their hands and knees, but it gradually opens into a vault more than a quarter of a mile long, and, as fome have pretended, a quar- ter of a mile high, it is certainly very lofty, and looks not unlike the infide of a Gothic cathedral. In a cavern to the sight, called Pool's Chamber, there is a fine echo, though it does not appear of what kind it? is; and the found of a cur- rent of water, which runs along the middle of the vault, be- ing reverberated on each fide, very much encreafes the afto- nifhmcat of all who vifit the place. Here on the floor are great ridges of {tones ; water is perpetually diftilling from the roof and fides of this vault; and the drops, before they fall, produce a pieaung efFcft, by reflc«fting namberlefs rays from the candles carried by the guides ; they alfo, from their qua- lity, form chryflaliizations of various forms, like the figures of fret-wgik; and in Ibme places^ having been long accumu- ^.. . . > lated v in EUROPE. S5 lated one upon another, they have formed large mafles, bearing a rude refemblance to men, lions, dogs, and other animals. In th^s cavity is a column, as clear as alabafter, called Mary Queen of Scots Pillar, becaufe it is pretended ihe went in {o far j and beyond it there is a fteep afcent, for near a quarter of a mile, which terminates in a hollow in the roof, called the Needle's Eye ; in which when the guide places his candle, it looks like a ftar in the firmament. If a piflol be iired near the Qiieen's Pillar, the report will be near as loud as a cannon. There is another paffage by which people ge- nerally return. Not far from this place are two fprings, one cold and the other hot, but fo near one another, that the thumb and finger of the fame hand may be put into both ftreams at the fame time. . ..., The feventh and lafl wonder of the Peak is a cavern, un- accountably called the Devil's Arfe, and fometimes the Peak's Arfe. It runs under a fteep hill,, about fix miles north-weft of Tidefwall, by an horizontal entrance fixty feet wide, and fomething more than thirty feet high. The top of this en- trance reiembles a regular arch, chequered with flones of dif- ferent colours, from which petrifying water is continual y dropping. Here are feveral huts, which look like a little town, inhabited by a fet of people who fecm in a great meafure to fubfift by guiding ftrangers into the cavern, which opens at the extremity of this entrance. The outward part of this cave is very dark ; it is alfo rendered very flippery, by a current of water which runs acrofs the entrance ; and the rock hangs fo low, that it is neceflary to ftoop in order to go under it ; but having pafTed this place, and another current, which fometimes cannot be waded, the arch opens again to a third current, near tvhich are large banks of fand ; after thofe are pafled, the rock clofes* Various particulars.'] Derbyfliire fends four members to par- liament; two knights for tne fhire, and two burgefTes for Derby town. It lies in the diocefe of Litchfield and Coventry, and in the midland circuit. It contains 53 vicarages, 106 pa- rifhes, and near 500 villages. Its divifion is into five hun- dreds, fuppofed to contain 21,155 houfes, upwards of 105,500 inhabitants, with an area of about 68o>coo acres. D9 D E V O N« 5» t>efcriftion of the Britij% Empire^ DEVONSHIRE., U^ I** }iJamc.] r*r>HE Englifh Saxons fo called this county' X from the ancient Britifh names Dcunan and DeuiFneynt, r.'hich fignify Deep Vallies, the grcateft part of the towns and villages in this diftridl being in a low fituation. jfir and foil.] The air of this county is mild in the vallies, and (harp on the hills ; but in general it is pleafant and healthy. The foil is various : in the weftern parts it is coarfe, moorim, and barren, and in many places a ftifF clay, which the water cannot penetrate ; it is therefore bad for ihcep, which are here not only fmall, but very fwbje^l to the rot, efpccially in wet fcafons. This part of the county is, however, happily adapted to the breeding of fine oxen, which the Somerfetfhire drovers purchafe in great numbers, and fatten for the London markets. In the northern parts of this county the foil is dry, and abounds with downs, which afford excellent pafture for (heep, and which, being well dreffed with lime, dung and fand, yield good crops of corn, though not equal tothofe produced in the middle parts of the county, where there is in fome places a rich marie for manuring the ground ; and in others a fertile iandy foil. In the eaftcrn parts of Devonfliire the foil is llrong, of a deep red, intermixed with loam, and produce* great crops of corn, and the belt peafe in Britain. There are a few villages north-weft of Dartmouth, which are famous for an excellent rough cyder, faid to be the beft in the king- dom, and fo near wine, that the vintners mix it with port* Moft barren places here are rendered fruitful by a fhell fand, fuch as that ufed in Cornwall ; and in places remote from the iea, where this fand cannot be eafiiy got, the turf, or furface of the ground, is (haved off and burnt to afiies, which is a good fuccedaneum. The foutheni parts of this county are much the raoft fertile, and arc therefore called the garden of De\'onfhire. Natural produ^lom.'l As this county abounds in fine rivers, ialmon is here not onlv excellent, but in great plenty. There are alfo, in this county, mines of lead, tin, and fil'- vcr, but fcarcely v/ortli the working. ..., Its manufactures are kerfica, forges, long ells, fhalToonS, narrow cloths, and honc-Iacc ; in which, and in corn, cattle, wool, and fca-filh, the inhabiiants carry on a coniioerable trade. • Amon?: the tov/ns In thi^ county, Plvmouth dcferves j>arti- cular notice ; which, from a fmall filhing town, is become the 'l,r ■ ♦ ,? ■ ' /;; EUROPE.' 37 the largeft In the county, and is thought to contain near a* many inhabitants as the city of Exeter. Its port, which con" fifts of two harbours, capable of containing one thoufand faii» has rendered it one of the chief mao-azinee in England. It is defended by feveral forts, mounted with near three hundred guns, and particularly by a ftrong citadel, ereiled in thereigta of Charles the Second, before the mouth of the harbour. This citadel, the walls of which include at leaft two acres of ground, has five regular baftions, contains a large magazine of ftoros, and mounts 165 guns. The inlet of the fea, which runs fome miles up the country, dt the mouth of the I'amar is called the Hamouze ; and that which receives the little river Plym is called Catwater. About two miles up the Hamouze are two docks, one wet and the other dry, with a bafon 200 feet fquare ; they are hewn out of a mine of flatc, and lined with Portland flonc. The dry dock is formed after the modo! of % firft rate man of war ; and tiie wet dock will contain five firft rates. The docks and bafon were conftruded in the reign of king William the Third ; and in this place there are conve- niencies of all kinds for building and repairing fliips ; and the whole forms as compleat, though not fo large an arfenal, as any in the kingdom. The fhips that are homeward bound generally put into this port for pilots to carry them up the Channel ;' and, in time of war, the convoys for fliips outward bound generally ren- dezvous here. " In the entrance of Plymouth Sound there Is a rock, called Edyftcnr: Rock, which is covered at high water, and on which a light-houfe was built, by one Winltanly, in 1696. This Jight-houfe was blown down by a hurricane that happened in November, 1703; and the ingenious builder, with feveral ©ther perfons that were in it, perifhed in its ruins : another light-houfe, however, was eredted, in purfuance of an a<^ of parliament of the fifth of queen Anne ; which too has been de- Itroyed, and another light-houfe is now finifiied. At Brixham, f; village about three miles weft of Dartmouth, is a fpring, called Lay Well, which ebbs and flows from one to eleven times in an hour. The rife and fall of it, at a medi- um, is about an inch and a quarter j and the area of the bafon into which it js received is about twenty feet. It fometimej bubbles up like a boiling pot : the water, which is as clear as cryftal, is very cold in the fummer, yet never freezes in th« winter. The neighbouring inhabitants have jmgtjgn that, in (off\^ feyers, it is medicinal. 03 i» II 38 Befcription of the Britijh Empire, In the church at Tiverton was a chapel built by the earls o{ Devonfhire for their burial-place. In this chapel, which i^ now dcmolifhed, there was a monument eredcd for Edward Courtney, carl of Devonfliire, and his countefs, with their effigies in alabailer. It was richly gilded, and infcribed ^ follows : Ho, ho, who lies here ? *Tis I, the good earl of Devonfliire, With Kate, my wife, to me full dear, * We liv'd together fifty-five year. That we fpent, we had : * That we left, we loft ; That we gave, we have. Var'toui particular S.I This county, including two knight^ for the (hire, fends twenty-fix members to parliament, two for each of the following places : Exeter, Plymouth, Plymton, Totnefs, Okehampton, Honiton, Barnftaple, Tavifiock, Alh* burton, Tiverton, Beraldilone, and two for Clifton-Dart- mouth Hardnefs. It lies in the diocefe of Exeter, and in the weftern circuit. The number of vicarages is 117, of parifhes 394, and of villages gbout 1730. It is divided into 30 hundreds, containing near 56,300 houfes, 281,500 inhabit- ants, and the area of it is computed at 190200 acres. I'r, ■;(■ i ill la is«l DORSETSHIRE. ^anie."] THE prefent name of this county is immediately derived from the Saxon name Douretta, which iignifics a people living by the water or fea fide. Jir and SoiL] The air of this county, which has been often ftiled the garden of England, is in general healthy. On the hills it is fomewhat (harp, but mild and pleafant in the vallies, and near the coaft. The foil is rich and fertile ; the northern part, which was formerly overfpread with forefts, now affords good pafture for black cattle j and the foutherii part, which chiefly confifts of fine downs, feeds an incredible liumberof fheep. Natural Produ£iions.'\ The rivers of this county afford plenty of fifh j but the tench and eels of the Stour are par- ticularly famous. The port towns fupply the inhabitants with all forts of fea fifh, and the rocks upon the coaft abound with famphire and eringo. Here are Jwans, geefe, and • v /> E U R O P E. ' 'J9 and ducks without number, and great plenty of wood-cockst pigeons, pheafants, partridges, Acid-fares, and other game- 'I'his county alfo abounds with corn, cattle, wool, hemp, and timber. There is in this county a peninfula, caljed Portland Ifland, the fea having formerly flowed round it, though it is now joined to the main by a beach, called Cheflil Bank, which the Airge has thrown up. It is fcarce feven miles in comppafs and but thinly inhabited ; for though it affords plenty of corn and pafture, yet wood and coal are fo fcarce, that the inhabitants are forced to dry the dung of their black cattle for fuel. ') he land here is fo high, that in clear weather it gives a profpecl above half way over the Englifh Channel, The ifland is rendered inacccflibie by high and dangerous rocks, except on the north fide, where it is defended by a ftrong caftle, that was built by king Henry the Eighth, called Portland caftle, and another erected on the oppofite (hore, called Sandford-caftle. Thefecommand all (hips that come into the road, which for its ftrong current fetting in from the Englifh and French coafts, is called Portland Race, Thefe currents render it always turbulent, and have fre- quently driven veflels not aware of them, to the weft of Portland, and wrecked them on Chcffil Bank ; on the two points of which there afe light-houfes, to warn the mariner of his danger. This peninlula is famous for its quarries c^ excellent ftone, called Portland ftone, reckoned the beft in fhe kingdom for duration and beauty. There is another peninfula cf this county, fuppofed alfo to have been once furrounded by the fea, called Pufbeclp Ifland. It is fituated between Warham and the Englifh Channel ; and befides a very ufeful ftone, called Purbeck ftone, fjirnifhes fome fine marble, and the beft tobacco pipe clay in the world. Befides thefe exports this cOuntv is remarkable for its linen and woollen manufadlures, and its fine ale. Curiojit'ies.^ At Hermitage, a village about feven miles fouth of Sherborne, there is a chafm in the earth, whence a large plat of ground, with trees and hedges upon it, was remove^ intire to the diftance of forty rods, by an earthquake, whic^ Jiappened on the thirteenth of January 1585. We have alfo an account that on the twentieth of Jun^ 1653, afhower of blood fell at Pool from a black cloud, and tinged the herbage with red, ^nd that in confirmation of tthe fa<3:, a great number of the le;iives fo tinged, were fent to JL«on4on for the infpedtion of the curious of ;bst tipi?. P 4 At 40 DefcripUon cf the Briiljh Empire^ At Dorchefler a fire broke out on the fixth of Au^ufr . 1613, which confumcd 300 houfes, with the twochurchcb of Trinity and All Saints. The damage was computed at 2C0,000l. but no life was loft. In the reign of queen Elizabeth a fire broke out at Bland- ford which dedroycd the whole town ; and on the fourth of June 1731, it was again burnt, 6co houfes, with the church and other public buildings being deftroyed, bcfidcs a village beyond the bridge, in which only twenty-fix houfes were left .ftanding. The progrcfs of this fire was fo rapid, and the confternation of the people fo great, that moll of their goods and merchandize were deftroyed with the houfes : it happened alfo that the fmall-pox r^ged at this time in the place, with great violence, fo that many of the fick, who were taken out of bed to efcapc the (lames, periftied in the fields. At Mclpafh, a village near Bemifter, lived Sir Thomas More, who being flier iff of DorfetfJ;iirc in the year 1533, - ordered oil prifon doors in the county to be thrown open in a frolic, and the malefadtors to be fet at liberty ; but after- wards refledling upon the folly and danger of wbat he had done, he applied in a very penitent manner to Sir Thomas Powlet, who was then lord treafurer to Henry the Eighth, to intercede with the king in his behalf; Powlet coi^fented, and one of Morc's daughters, who were coheirefles of his fortune, which was very great, foon after married Powlet's fecond fon ; and this is laid to have been made the condition of his interceifion. Jntiquities.'] Dorfetfliire is that diftridl which in the time of the Romans was inhabited by the Durotriges, a name purely Britifli, compounded of Dour, water, and Trig, an inhabitant, and fignifying a people who dwell by the water or lea fide. They were afterwards by the Britons called Dourg- weir, a name fynonymous with Durotriges. At the firfl: fcttlcmcnt of the Saxons in Britain, this county was part of the Weft Savon kingdom, and continued fo till their monarch .Kgbert, having fubdued the reft of the Heptarchy, became king of that part of the ifland ca'.led England. After the monarchy was fettled in Egbert, molt of the Saxon princes, who fuccecded him, admiring the beauty of this county, refilled and v/erc buried in it. The inhabitants of Portland were formerly reckoned the beft flingcrs in fingland, and became as famous among their countrymen as the inhabitants of thi iflands of Majorca and t.'"--\' ■ ■ • Minorca, tn E U R O P E. 4^' Minorca, who acquired the name of Balearcs, were an : on g the ancient Greeks and Romans. f^arious purtuulein.] This county fends twenty members to parliament, whereof two are knights of the (hire, and two for each of the following towns : Dorchefter, Pool, ]^ime, Weymouth, Melcomb-Regis, (which, tho' united, tnrh fends two) Bririport, Shaftfhury, Wareham, and Corfe- CafHe. it lies in the diocefe of Briftol, and in the wellern circuit. It reckons 68 vicarages and 248 parilhes. It is divided into 28 hundreds, containing upwards of 21,900 ^oufes, about 109,700 inhabitants, and an area of 772,000 acres, - . ^ :he eir nd :a» • © V 1t^ HA M, ' ■"/■/ j^^amf.] f I ^ H I S county takes its name from the city of J[ Purham, and is fometimes called the Bilhopric, and fometimes the County Palatine of Durham, having for- merly been a kind of royalty, under the jurifdidlion of a bifliop, fubordinate to the crown. Air^ Soily and Natural ProduiJions.'] The air of this county is healthy, and though fharp in the weftern parts, is yet mild and pleafant towards the fca, the warm vapours of which mitigate the cold, v;^hich, in a fituarion fo far north, muft be fever .^ in the winter fcafon. 'l*hc foil is alfo dif- ferent i the weftern parts are mountainous nnd barren, the reft of the county is fruitful, and, like the fouthern counties, beautifully diverfified with meado\ys, paftures, cornfields, and woods. It abounds with inexhauftible mines of lead and iron, and particularly coal, culled Newcaftle-coal, from Newcaftle upon Tine, a large borough town in Northum- berland, the port where it is (hipped to fupply the city of Ivondon, and the grcateft part of England. The rivers jibound with fifh, particularly falmon, known in London hy the name of Ncwciftle lalmon ; and thefc two articles, with an excellent kind of niuftard, include the whole traffic of the place. The coal trade of this county is one great nurfery for fcamcjn ; and the ports of the Bifliopric of Durham fupply the royal navy with more men than any other county in the kingdom. In the channel of the Were, a little below Branfpeth, a village near Durh;un, there are many very large llones, which are never eovertd but when that river overflows, and over which ii water ii poured, it v\'ill in a fliort tinie become brackiih i m 42 Dcfcription of the Britijh Empire^ brackifli ; and at Saltwater Plaugh, not far diftant, there h\ fait fpring in the middle of the Were, which is belt perceived in the lummcr, when the water of the river is low ; then it is fecn bubbling up. The water of this fpring tinges all the Aones near it with a red colour ; it is as fait as any brine, and when boiled, it produces a great quantity of bay fait, though not fo palatable as common fait. Nefham, a village upon the Tees, fouth-eaft of Darling- ton, and in the road from London to Durham, is remarkable for a ford over the river, where the bifhop, at hisfirft coming to take pofleffion of his fee, is met by the country gentlemen, and where the lord of the manor of Sockburn, a village fouth-eaft of Nefham, upon the fame river, advances into the middle of the dream, and prefents him with a fauichion, as an emblem of his temporal power, which he returns to him again, and then proceeds on his way. Sheales, in this county, is of confiderable note for its fait works, there being in this place above 200 pans for boiling the fea water into fait, which are faid to require 100,000 chaldrons of coals every year. The fait made here fupplies I^ondon, all the intermediate country, and every place that is fupplied with that commodity by the navigation of the river Thames. Various particulars."] The biflioprick of Durham fends four members to parliament ; viz. two knights for the county, and two ourgefles for Durham. It lies in the diocefc of its own name, and the northern circuit, though as a county palatine it might have judges peculiar to itfelf. It contains 5Q vicarages, 118 pariihes, near 230 villages, 15,980 houfes, and 79,900 inhabitants. ESSEX. m y m •J I Name.l IHE name Efiex is a contraction of the ancient Saxon names, fomewhat of limilar found, im- porting its eaftern fituation, and which the Normans changed in to ElFexfa. Air."] The air of this county in general is unhealthy, tfpecially to ftrangers Some parts of it, particularly the hundreds of RochTord and Dengy, bordering upon the fea $nd thc^ Thames, are a rotten oozy foil; the country is befides full of maifhes and fens, which produce noifome and p?rnicious^ in EUROPE. 43 pernicious-vapours, and fubje6t the inhabitants to agues and fuch other diforders as ufually rife from a moift and putrid atmol'phcre. But great part of the wcltern and northern clivifions of the county is as healthy as any other diftrid in the idand. 6'8oo houfes, 174,000 inhabitants, and 1,240,00a acres. GLOCESTERSHIRE. r GLOCESTERSHIRE, or Gloucefterfliire, takes its name from the city of Glocefter. 'Tis generally divided into three diftrifts. The caftern part of the county, bor- dering upon Warwickftiire, Oxfordfhire, and Berk(hirc» is called Cotefwould ; the middle part, the Vale of Glo- cefter ; and the triangular part, included between the Wye, the Severn, and a fmall river called the Leden, is called the Foreft of Dean. The Vale of Glocefter manifeftly derived its name from its fituation, and the Foreft was probably called the Foreft of Dean, from Dean, the principal town in the diftri6l ; fome have fuppofed the word Dean to be a corruption of Ardcn, a name ufedbothby the ancient Gauls and Britons to fignify a wood ; and there is a wood in War-. wickftiirc called Arden to this day. ' Air.] Though the air of this county is equally healthy throughout, yet it is in other refpecls very diffisrent ; for Cotefwould being a hilly country, the air there is very fharp, but in the Vale it is 10ft and mild, even in winter ; fuch indeed is the difference, that of Cotefwould it is commonly faid, eight months in the year are winter, and the other four too cold for fummer; and of the Vale, that eight months are fummer, and the other four too warm for winter. 5o//, and Natural Produ^ions.] Cotefwould being thus expofed, is not remarkable for its fertility, and the corn is lb flow in coming up, that, 'as long a coming as Cotef- would barley,' is become a proverb of the county j the hills of Cotefwould however aftbrd excellent pafturage, and great iiiiinbcrs of ftiecpare fed upon them, whofe wool is remark- .tb'y line; the biccd of Ihccp which produce the fine Spanifh W^ol, S T>efcription of the Bntljh Empire ^ wool, is faid to have been raifed from fome of thefe fheep, which were Tent as a prefent by one of our kings to a kin^ of Spain. ' ><. In the Vale the foil is very fertile^ and the paftures are alfb very rich. The cheefe, called Glocefter cheefe, is made in this part of the county, and, next to that of Cheihire, is the heft in England. The foreft of Dean, which contains 30,00a sicres, being twenty miles long and ten broad, was formerly dovered with wood, and was then a harbour for robbers, efpe« cially towards the banks of the Severn \ fo that, in the reign of Henry the Sixth, an a6t of parliament was made on purpofe to fupprefs them; The woods have been fince reduced to nar- rower bounds, '^y clearing great part of the ground,' where many towns and villages have been built. The oaks that grow where the woods are ftill preferved, are reckoned the beft in England ; and from this foreft moft part of the timber formerly employed in (hip-building was brought ; which was fo well ]i;aown to the Spaniards, that, when they fitted out their fa- mous Armada in 1558, to invade England, the people who J^ad the diredUon of that expedition, were exprefsly ordered to deftroy this foreft„ as the moft fpeedy and effectual way to XGAVi our marine ; on the other hand, to cultivate and pre- ferve the wood in a fufttcient part of this diftrict, has been tbe conftant care of our iegiflature. Great part of it was inclofed by an a£): of parliament pafTed in the reign of king Charles the Second; and fome time ago, many cottages which had been built in and near the woods, were ordered to be pulled down, becauie the inhabitants damaged the trees, by cutting or lopping them for fuel. In this part of the county there are alfo many rich mines of iron and coal, for the working of which feveral adts of parliament have paffed ; and at Taynton, a little village near Newent, a market town of this county, a gold mine was difcovered about the jtear 1700, of which a leafe was granted to fome refiners, who extracted fome gold from the ore, but did not go on with the work, becaufe the quantity of gold was {a Imall, as not always to anfwer the expence of the reparation. Befides thefe advantages, this country abounds with grain, cattle, fowl, and game %, the inhabitants have alfo bacon and cydef in great plenty, each excellent in its kind, and the, rivers afford great quantities of fifh, efpecially the Severn, which abounds with falmon, lampreys and conger eels. Mann failures."] The principal manufacture of this county is woollen cloth ; and it was computed, that before our wool began to bo clandeftinely exported to I'rancc, ^Ojt'OO pieces ©f tn EUROPE. ^7 of cloth were made yearly in this county, which being efti- mated at ten pounds a-piece, the fine with the coarfe, amounts to 500,000 1. Curiojities.] It is remarkable of the river Severn, that the tides are higher one year at the full moon, and the fuccecding year at the new moon ; and that one year the night tides are higher than the day tides, and the next year the day tides higher than the night tides : it is alfo remarkable, that the tiaeof the river Wye, at Chepftow-bridge, frequently rifes to the height of feventy feet above low ♦ater mark ; and in 1738, the bridge was much damaged by the fwell of the river greatly above that height. On the bank of the river Avon, near Briftol, is a verjr high and fteep rock, called St. Vincent's Rock j and on tte oppofite bank is the county of Somerfet There arc other rocks of an equal fize, which, with the river flowing below, them, afford a very ftriking and romantic profpecl, which i» heightened by the (hips and other veflels that are continuuMr pafling between them, to and from Briftol. In St. Vincent S' rock is found a kind of fpars, commonly called Briftol ftones, which, before the compofition called French pafte was in* vented, were prized for their luftre, which came nearer to that of a dia^no ^ than any thin» then known. At Bi" . village near i^troud, was born and educated, the famou^ .i.«tr Bacon, who, from bis fuperior learning, and in particular his mathematical knowledge, gained the reputa- tion of a conjurer. He died in the year 1284. Jntient cujioms'] The inhabitants of this county have a proverb, " the father to the bough, the fon to the plough,'* which alludes to an ancient privilege, by which the eftate of a father, though a felon, defcended to the fon. This privi- lege was confirmed to them by a ftatute of the feventh of Ed- ward the Second, but it has not been claimed many years. The cuftom called Borough Englifh, ftill remains in many parts of this county. It is alfo a cuftom at the miners court, in the Foreft of Dean, for a miner who gives tefti- mony as a witnefs, to wear a particular cap j and that he may not defile holy writ with unclean hands, he touches the. Bible, when the oath is adminiftered to him, with a ftick. Various particulars.'] Gloucefterlhire fends eight members to parliament; two knights for the (hire, and two burgeffcs for each of the following boroughs, Gloucefter, Cirenc^fter, and Tewkefbury. It lies in the diocefe of Gloucefter, and the Oxford circuit. It contams 96 vicarages, 280 parifhes, *nd upwards of -laoo villages. The divifion is into 21 hun- dreds 4S Defcriplion of the Britijh Empire^ ^reds, corltaining about 26,760 houfes, and 133,806 iriha- The area of the county is computed at 8oo,coo bitatits. acres. H A M P S H I R E. Kame^'yX^ HIS county had its name from the county towil * JL of Hampton, fince called Southampton. yf/V, foili and natural produ£Ilom.'] The air of this county IS for the moft part pure and healthy, efpecially upon the downs, which crofs the county from eafl: to weft, dividing it. nearly into equal parts; and it is obferved, that the vapours in the low grounds that are next the fea, arc not fo pernici- ous as in other countries. The hilly parts are barren, and £t only for fheep, but the lower grounds oroduce a great quantity of grain, particularly wheat and barley. Upon the fca coaft of this county, they have a particular method of fencing againft the incurfions of the tides, which is, by lay- ing the banks with a weed they call fea-car, whofe flender but ftrong filaments, are more durable than even walls of ftone. In the breed of horned cattle here, there is nothing particular; but in fheep and hogs, this county excels all qthers. The fheep are remarkably fine, both in their flefh and their wool, and as the hogs are never put into flyes, but- fupplied with great plenty of acorns, the bacon is by far the befl: in England.. Hampfhire is alfo particularly famous for its honey, of which it is faid to produce vhe beft and the Worft in Britain ; the honey collecSled upon the heath is rtckoned the worft, and that of the champain country the beft. This county is abundantly fupplied with (za and river fiih, as well as with game of all kinds. It hiis more wood than any other county in England, efpecially oak, and the greateft part of the Englifh navy is built and repaired with the timber of this county. Manufa£lurei.'\ The chief manufaflure is kerfcys and cloth, in which a good foreign trade is carried on ; from the many ports and harbours with which this country abounds. . . Among the curiofities of this countv may be reckoned the city of Winchefter. The date of the fi'"ft building of which, is fixed at nine hundred years before our Saviour's nativity. In the time of the Romans it was a place much frequented, fome fay by reafon of the looms which were worked there oa the private account of the emperors. The Weft Saxon kings frequently refided there, and after the Norman conqucft, we in EUROPE. ' 49. find fevcral important affairs tranfaded in that city. Kirrg Charles the Second was fo charmed with the delightful coun- try which furrounds it, that he began a palace on the fouth fide of the Weft Gate, where the caftle ftood, on an emi- nence commanding the town j but that king's death, and the revolution which foon followed, put a ftop to this defign. I'he cathedral, a venerable fabrick, was feveral ages build- ing, and at laft finiftied by William of Wickham, whom we fliall have occafion to mention hereafter. The choir feats, the bifhop's throne, the font and the altar, are all curious in their kind. The many antient monuments here, fhew how much this place has been regarded in former ages. — The buildings in the town, like the cathedral, though not very magnificent, yet from their air of antiquity have a venerable appearance ; the "^eets are fpacious and neat, and the fub- urbs without the walls large, fo that it meafures from eaft to weft a mile. In the fouth fuburbs ftands the college which the great William of Wickham, biftiop of this fee in king "Fdward the Third's time, built to promote learning, knowing by experience how much the want of it is prejudicial to the greatcft natural genius. Not far from hence is St. Crofs's, an hofpital for thirteen brothers, with a daily aJlowance of bread and beer for poor travellers. , •'' The chief manufacture is kerfeys and cloth, in whicli a good foreign trade is carried on, from the many ports and harbours with which this country abounds. Portfmouth, which may be called the key of England, and is the only regular fortification in the kingdom, was be- gun by king Edward the Fourth, and augmented by Henry the Seventh and Eighth j queen Elizabeth alfo, was at fo great an expence in improving the works here, that nothing was thought wanting to compleat them : but king Charles the Second added very much to their ftrength, extent, and mag- nificence, and made this one of the principal harbours in the kingdom, for laying up the royal navy ; he furnifhed it with, wet and dry docks, ftore-houfes, rope-yards, and all mate- rials for building, repairing, rigging, arming, vidualling, and compleatly fitting to fea, (hips of war of all rates. Ac this place all our fleets of force, and all fquadrons appointed as convoys to our trade, homeward or outward bound, con- ilantly rendezvous, and a thoufand fail may ride here in per- fect fecurity. The mouth of the harbour, which is fcarce fo broad as the river Thames is at Weftminfter, is, upon the Portfmcuth £■ ■''-■'- ' • - fide^ u- l( go Defer iptton of Phe Britijh Empire, fide, defended by a caftle called South Sea Caftle, built b^ king Henry the Eighth, and fituated about a mile and an hal^ jfouth of the town. The town of Portfmouth is fortified,, on' the land fide, by works rai fed of late years, about the docks and yards; and,^ within thefe few years, the government has bought more ground for additional works ; and no doubt this town may be made impregnable, as well by land as by fea,. fxnce a (hallow 'ater may be brought quite round it. Here arc dwelling houfes, with ample accommodations for % commiilioner of the navy, and all the fubordinate officers and mafter workmen, neceflary for the eonftant fervice of the navy in this port day and night ; and the contents of the yaras and ftore-houfes are laid up in fuch order, that the workmen can readily find any implement even in the dark. The quantities of military and naval (lores of all kinds, that are laid up here,, are immenfe. The rope-houfe is near a> quarter of a mile long, and fome of the cables fo large, that one hundred men are required to work upon them at a time ; and this labour, though divided among fo many, fs notwith- fbanding fo violent, that the men can work at it only four hours in a day. The number of men continually employed iii' the yard is never lefs than a thoufand. The docks and yards re- iemble a diftin^t town, and are a kind of marine corporation* within themfelves. I'he Ifle of Wight.'] The prefent name of this ifland ap- pears to have been immediately derived from the Roman names Ve£la, Vedtis, and Vidlefis ; the origin of which names doth not with any certainty appear. Air, foil, and natural produ£fioni,'\ The air of this ifland is pleafant and healthy, and the inhabitants in general are (lout and vigorous, and live to a great age. The foil is very fruitful, the north part of the ifland beingj excellent pafturage and meadow ground, and the fouth part a fine corn country. Through the middle of the ifland,. ^om caft to weft, there runs a ridge of mountains, whicb yield plenty of pafture for Ihecp ; and the wool of the fheej** led in thefe mountains, being reckontd as good as any in* England, turns out much to the advantage of the inhabitants. Here is found the milk-white tobacco-pipeclay, called Creta^ by writers of natural hiftory, of which great quantities are exported from hence, together with very fine fand, of which' a . 51 Well {locked with deerj but there being only one foreft, wood is lb fcarce, that it i& imported hither »n great quantities from the continent. It has been obferved of this illand, that it yields more corn in one year, than the inhabitants confume if! feven ; and therefore great quantities of corn art anniialJyi ex- ported from this place. 7*".; -JflJ Nature has fortified this ifland alnloft all round with roclc^ j and where thefe are wanting, art has fupplied the deHciefiQy With caftles, forts, and block-houfes, to defend it ftgainft any hoftile invafion. The moft dangerous of thefe rocks arc the Shingles and the Needles upon the weft fide of it ; the Brafii- ble and the Middle on the north, and the Mixon on the eaft. yarious particulars.] Hampfhire fends twenty members to parliament j two knights for the fhire, and two burgefl'es for each of the followihg towns : Southampton, Wincheilei, Portfmouth, Petersfield, Stockbridge, Chrift-chufch, Lyming- ton, Whit-church, and Andover. It lies in the diocefe of Winchefter, and in the weftern circuit. It numbers 77 vicar- ages, 253 parifhes, and 1062 villages. Its divifion is intb 33 hundreds, containing about 26,850 houfes, and 134,206 inhabitants. The aiea of the county is computed at 1,312,50a acres. ;*;> .3 ■;>j. \if HEREFORDSHIRE; Name;,^ fT> HIS county takes its name from the city of X Hereford, a bifhop's fee, and the couuty- town. Air^ foil^ and natural pndui^ions.'] The air of this county is pure, and confequently healthy, particularly between the ri- vers Wye and Severn, which has given occafion to a proverb very common amo;ig the inhabitants of the county : " Blefled is the iye between Severn and Wye." The foil of Hereford- (hire is extremely fertile^ yielding fine pafture and great quan- tities of corn i it is alfo well flocked with wood, and thfere are fome apple-Orees, particularly the red-flreaks, which thrive here better than in any other county j the hedges on the high-ways are full of them, and the hogs grow fat by feeding on the windfalls, which give a reddifh colour and f\Veet tafle to their flefh : but from thefe apples a much greater ad- Vantage arifes to the inhabitants, for they afford fuch quanti- ties of cyder, that it is the common drink all over the couhty j aod a few years ago, when the fmooth cyder was preferred to the rough, jt wa« eftecmed'tjie beft in tyghnd ; and a great E ai quantity ■■■*■ % ;52 ^ Befcription of the Britijh Empire^ quantity of rough cyder has been made here fince the rough 'Was preferred to the fmooth. The county abounds with Springs of fine water, and the rivers afibrd abundance of iilh. '^ Curiojities.] As an extraordinary inftance of the longevity of the inhabitants of this county, Mr. Serjeant Hofkins, a gen- tleman of confiderable eftate m thefe parts, invited king James the Firft, while he was on a progrefs this way, to his houfe j where, having elegantly entertained him, he procured ten ohl ' men and women, whofe ages put together amounted to more • than loco years, to dance the morrice before him. Below a hill on which ftands Richard's Caftle, about five < miles north of Leominfter, is a well, called Bone Well, in which a great quantity of fmall bones is always found, and of which there is conftantly a frefh fupply, in a veiy (hort time after it is cleared of them. Some imagine thefe to be the bones of fome fmall fifli, and others the bones of frogs } but whence • or how they came to be collefted here, it is not eafy to con- jefture. l^arious pariiculars.'] This county fends eight members to parliament ; two knights for the fhire, and two for each of the following boroughs : Hereford, Lempfter (alias Leomin- fter) and Weobly. It lies in the diocefe of Hereford and the Oxford circiirt. It reckons 87 vicarages, 176 pajifhes, and 391 villages. It is divided into 12 hundreds, containing about 15,000 houfcs, and 75,000 inhabitants. The area con- tains near 660,000 acres. , . '■'■■" HERTFORDSHIRE. ' t *• ' ' f • Name."] 'T^HI S county takes its name from Hertford, or ' X Hartford, the county town. ' • yfir and foil,] The air of this county is very pure, and confe- -quently healthy ; and is often recommended by phyficians to valetudinarians, for the prefervation or recovery of health. The foil is, for the moft part, rich, and in feveral places mixed with a marie, which produces excellent wheat and bar- ley. The paftures, howevcf, are but indifferent ; fuch as arc dry generally producing fern and broom j and thofe that are wet, rufhes and mofs : but, by an invention not many years pradti fed, called bufh-draining, the wet lands are greatly im- proved. Natural produSfions.'] The chief produce of this county is wood, whe^t, barlejr, and sill other forts of grain ; but th* wheat in EUROPE. " 53, wheat and barley of Hertfordfliire are fo much prized in Lon- don, that many thoufand quarters, both ofbarlcy and wheat, are fold every year, as the produce of this county, of which not a grain ever grew in it. "*' '■'" ?T::g f * ' .\;'.«w'. The inhabitants are chiefly malftcrs, millers, and dealers in corn ; no manufa with a cup on each fide of the head, another about the middle, ». and a fourth at the feet. In this church are alfo feveral other funeral monuments and remarkable infcriptions : amongthereft. are the effigies of king OfFa, the founder of the church,' on his throne ; one of St. Alban the Martyr, and another of Hum- phrey duke of Glocefler, already mentioned, with a ducal co-; ronet, and the arms of France and England quartered ; and in niches on the fouth fide of the church are the effigies of feven- teen kings of England. Jntient cujlom.] The manor of Wimley, or Wimondley Magna, near Hitchin,. is held by the lord, upon condition* that, on the coronation-day, he performs the office of cup bearer to his fovereign : the cup is to confifl of filver gilt, and is returned to the cup-bearer, as the fee of his office, which has been appendant to this manor ever fince the Conquefl:. Various particulars.] This county fends fix members to par- liament ; two knights for the (hire, and two burgefTes for St; Albans, and as many for Hertford. It lies partly in the diocefe of London, and partly in that of Lincoln, and in the home circuit. It reckons 54 vicarages, 120 parifhes, and near 95a villages. Its divifion is into eight hundreds,; containing about 16,500 houfes, and 82,800 mhabitants. The area of tho county is computed at 451,000 acres, .s > . • ^ v.p% . .'. j; :i.^o ,::r « ■ kii^v jki'iWv^ ' . • -' '\ ■* •! v:'l ■'.' ' .. 'Ji xi'f : K--. •■..i-'^»:q .•>--b-.^ . 1 '' :' .n"*i;%'; --. ^ vii : : .3ljJUi.:i ..-:<:<) '>A.- . . ,■ , •:• ■ ^w (;. ' ■ > -\ n .■: .: ,: ' E 3 .^ ' "• <-:^r >. H U Nj '• •■ ':^. t.'tU'J ,. : -. -i^ :{ m 54 * Befcrtpiion of the Britijh Empire^ ii HUNTINGTONSHIRa. Namt»] «i fiiu an UNTiNGTONsHiRE takcs its name froRi Hu(\ or Huntingdon, tl^e county- town. jfir^ fiil^ and natural produilions.] The air of this county is rendered lefs whoiefome than that of fome other counties, by the great number of fens, mecrt, and other (landing waters with which it abounds, efpecially in the north part. The Ibil is, in general, very fruitful. In the hilly parts, or dry lands, it yields great crops of corn, and affords excellent paflure for Oieep; ajsd, in the lower lands, the meadows are exceeding rich,- and feed abundance of fine cattle, not only for iUughter, but for the dairy ; and the checfe made at a village called Stilton, near Yaxley, a market-town, known by the vAmc of Stilton cheefe, is ufually called the Parmefan of £ng- laiid. The inhabitants of Huntingtonfhirc' are well fupplied with ftfh and water fowl by the rivers and meers, but they have fcarce any firing beddes turf. ; This county is not remarkable for any manufacture, fo that it^ tcade, muft chiefly confift in fuch commodities as arc its na- tural productions. , Curififtties.'] Oppofite to Huntington, on the other fide of tjie Oufe, is Godmanchefler, thought to be the largeft village ]A £ngland> ap J. , « - ) • .1 «■'! N V'i,fiq|»^ 3i l^ame.l rT^IME has not yet deprived this country of Its •^'"^ X anticnt name, the people having been called Cantii by the writers of antiquity. jfir mi J JUL] As great part of this county lies upon the fea, the air is thick, foggy, and warm, though often purified by fouth and fouth-welt winds.; and thefhore being generally cleaner than that of Eflex, the marfliy parts of Kent do not produce agues in the fame degree as the Hundreds of EfTex -5 and the air in the higher parts of Kent is reckoned very healthy. The foil is generally rich, and fit for plough, pafture, or meadow ; and that part of the county which borders upon the river Thames abounds with chalk-hills, from whence not only the city of London, and the parts adjacent, but even Holland and Flanders, are fupplied with lime or chalk ; and from thefe Jiills the rubbifli of the chalk is carried in lighters to the coaft* of Eflex, Suffolk and Norfolk, where it is ibid ^othe farmers as manure for their lands. Natural prodtt^icns.'] The county affords fomc mines of iron, and in general abounds with plantations of hops, fields of corn, and orchards of cherries, apples, and other fruit: it produces alfo woad and madder for dyers ; and, on the cliff$ l)ctween Dover and Folkltone, two confiderable market-towna of this county, there is found plenty of famphire : hemp and fainfoin grow here in great abundance ; and the fouth and wefl jparts of Kent, efpecially that called the Weald, arc covered with woods of oak, beech and chefnut trees, which afford great timber for (hipping and other ufes; here rare alfo many- woods of birch, from whence the broom-makers in and about London are abundantly fupplied. The cattle here of all forts are reckoned larger than they are in the neighbouring counties. Here are I'everai parks of fallow deer, and warrens of grey rab- bits ; and this county abounding in rivers, and being almofl: furrounded by the fea, \s well fupplied with all mamier of fifh j and, in particular, is famous for large oyfters. It is not, however, remarkablefor any fortof mamifadlure; and its trade chiefly confifts in fuch commodities as are the natural produce of the county. Curiojities.'] Of the artificial curiofities of this county, we may reckon the hofpital of Greenwich, the left wing of which was formerly a royal palace, but, in the year 1 694, was ap- propriated, by king William the Third, lor a royal hofpital ?or aged and diiabjed feanaen, the widows and chilicn gf fuch j: 4 as 56 Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ as loft their lives in the fcrvicc of the crown, and for the en- couragement of navigation. The other wing was begun in the ri'ign of king William, carried on in the reigns of queen Anne and king George the Firil ; and that, together with the reft of the building, was finiflied in the reign of king George the Second. Such is the noble fymmetry, architecture, and decorations, and fuch the charming fituation, and ample en- dowment of this fpacious and fumptuous edifice, that there is fcarce fuch a foundation and fal»ric in the world. Its hall, which is very fuperb, was finely painted by the late Sir James 1'hornhill. In the year 1 705, was the firft admiflion of one hundred difabled fcamen into this hofpital ; but the number now is near two thoufand men and one hundred boys. To every hundred penfioncrj; are allowed five ntirfes, being the widows of fea- men, at ten pounds a-year, and two Ihillincs a-weck more to thofe who attend in the infirmary. The penfioners aris cloathed in blue, with brafs buttons j are allowed ftockings, fhoes, and linen; and, bclides their commons, have one fhilling a-wcek 10 fpend, and the common warrant-officers one (liilling and fjxpencc. The hofpital is governed by a governor, a lieute- jiant-govcrnor, and other officers. Here is a noble and raoft delightful park, inlarged, planted, and walled round by king Charles the Second. It is well ftockcd with deer, and has a moft agreeable profpe6t, both of the cjty of London and of the river Thames. On the top of a fteep hill, in this park, Humphrey, duke of Glocefter, be- gan a tower, which was finiflied by king Henry the Seventh, but afterwards demoliihed, and a royal obfcrvatory eredcd in its place, by kirfg Charles the Second, furniflied with all forts of mathematical inftruments for aftronomical obfervations ; befides a deep dry well for obferving the ftars in the day time. This place was fucceffively the reiidence of thofe celebrated aftronouiers, Mr. Flamftead and Dr. Halley : from Mr. Flani- ilead this obfervatory took the name of Flamftead Houfe, by which it is now commonly known, and is at prefent in poflei- fion of Dr. Bradley, as aftronomer to his majefty. At Chatham, a village upon the river Stour, abeut three miles fouth of Canterbury, as fome perfons were finking a -well, in the year 1668, they found, at the depth of about fc- venteen feet, a parcel of petrified bones, of an uncommon fize and figure, among which were four perfe<5l teeth, almoft as large as a man's hand. Some believed them to be the bones of a marine animal, which had perifhed there, upon a fuppoXition that ^h^ Ipng vale, gf twenty miles or morcj . througlA U EUROPE. 5f through which the river Stour runs, was formerly an arm of the Tea. Some were of opinion that they are the bones uf an elephant; many elephants are faid to have been brought over into Britain by the emperor Claudius, who landed near Sand- wich, and might probably come this way in his march to the Thames. The ftiape and fizc of thefe tetth are thought to a?ree with thofe of an elephant, and the depth at which they" were found, is accounted for by the continual wafhing down of the earth from the hills. The inhabitants of this county are faid to have been the firft in England that were converts to Chriftianity, and by their courage and rcfolution, they retained fome privileges, which the inhabitants of every other county loft, by a capitu- lation with William the Conqueror ; particularly a tenure called Gavelkind, by virtue of which, ilrft. Every man pofleded of lands in this county is in a manner ;. freeholder, not being bound by copyhold, cuftomary tenure, , or tenant right, as they arc in other parts of England. Secondly, The male heirs, and, in default of fuch, the female, (hare all the lands alike. Thirdly, The lands of a brother, if jiehave.io legal iflue, arefhared by all the furviving brethren. Fourthly, An heir, when fifteen years old, is of age to fell or aleniate. Fifthly, Though the anceftor be convicted of felon-; s^r murder, the heirs Ihall enjoy his inheritance; and th"s k alluded to by the Kentifli proverb ; ' The father to the bough, * and the fon to the plough j' but this privilege extends not to treafon, pir?cy, outlawry, or abjuring the realm. Curiofttiei.'] There is a ridge of chalky hills, reaching all the way from Folkftone to Dover ; fome of which, ;n the neighbourhood of Folkftone, we are told, in No. 340 of The Philofophical Tranfa£tions, had been obferved to fmk confiderably in the laft century. Various particulars.'] Kent fends fixteen members to parlia- ment, two knights for the Ihire, and two f-^r each of the following boroughs j Canterbury, Rochef r, Maidftone, Qiieenborough, Dover, Romney, and Sandwich. — It lies in the dioccfe of Canterbury, and partly in that of Rochefter, and in the home circuit. It reckons r63 vicarages, 408 parifhes, and above 1170 villages. It divifion is into five lathes, under each of which are feveral hundreds, containing mar 39,240 houfes, and 196, !oo inhabitants. The area of this county is computed at 1,248,000 acres. LAN* •* )**' •^ * 5f Defcription of the Brilijb Empire^ LANCASHIRE. jS^amg»2 T AN C A SHI RE, the name of this county, wat jL/ immediately derived from Lancafter, that of the county town. Jir."] The air of this county in general is more ferene than that of any other maritime county in England ; fo that the inhabitants areflrongand healthy, except near the fens and fea ftiore, where fulphureous and faline effluvia, which on the approach of ftorms arc extrcamiy fetid, produce fevers, fcurvics, confumptions, rheumatifms, and dropfics. There are alfo certain trails in the more inland parts of the county, which the inhabitants call moiTcs, that are moid and unwholefome. Soil and Natural Product ons."] The foil of this county en the weft fide generally yields great plenty of wheat and barley, and though the hilly tracts on the caft fide are for the moft part ftoney and barren, yet the bottoms of thofe hills produce excellent oats. In fome places the land bears very good hemp ; and the pafture is fo rich, that both oxen and cows arc of a larger fize here than in any other county in England; their horns alfo arc wider and bigger. In thisr county are mines of lead, iron, and copper, and of antimony, black lead and lapis calaminaris ; alfo quarries of ftone for building. Here is likewife great plenty of coal, and a parti- cular kind called cannel or candle coal, which is chiefly found in the manor of Haigh, near Wigan, a large market town of thi« county. This coal will not only make a much clearer fire than pit coal, but will bear a good polifh» and when polifhed, lo«l^s like black marble ; fo that candle- fticks, cups, flandifhes, fnufF-boxes and other toys, are made of it. In fome of the coal pits are found alum, brim- ftone, and green vitriol. ~^ The moifes or morafTes of this county are generally di- fiinguifhed into three kinds ; the white, the grey, and the black ; all which, being drained, bear good corn. They ajfo yield turf for fuel, and miwle to manure the ground j trees are fometimes found lying buried in thefe molfee, and the people make ufeof poles and fpits todifcover where they lie. I'hefe trees, when dug up, ferve alfo for firing, and thcv burn like a torch, which fome fuppofe to be owing to the bituminous ftrntum in which they lie j but others to thq turpentine which they contain, being generally of the fir kind. This ^ EUROPE. ,% in 1^ u K u f u:. ^ 59 This county has great plenty and variety of £l{h : upon the Tea coafts are found codhfh, flounders, plaife, and turbots ; the fea dog, incle fifh, and (heath Hfli, are taken upon the fands near Liverpool ; flurgeon is caught near Warrington i and along the whole coafl; are found green-backs, mallets, foles, fand-eels, oifters, lobfters, (hrinips, prawns, the beft and largeft cockles in England, the echim, torculars, wilks, and pcrriwinklcs, rabbet-fiih, and pap-ftfh ;.and fuch abundance of mufcles, that the hufbandmea near the fea coails, manure their ground with them. Almoft all the rivers of the county abound with f fh ; the Merfee in particular with fparlings and fmelts j the Ribble with flounders and plaife ; the Lon with the beft of falmon ; and the Wire is famous for a large fort of mufcle, called Hambleton bookings, becaufe they are dragged from their beds with hooks, in which pearls of a confiderable flze aro very often found. The Irk, a fmall river that falls into the Merfee, is remarkable for eels, fo fat, that few people can eat them ; the fatnefs of thefe eels is imputed to their feeding upon the greafe and oil which is prefled by a number of water mills upon this ilream, out of the woolen cloths that are milled in them. There are alfo feveral lakes in this county, which abound with fifh, particularly Kenningfton Meer, about five miles from Winandar Meer, in Weftmoreland, which has very fine charrs and other fifh. ManufaSiures.] The principal manufactures of this county arc woollen cloth, cottons and tickens. At AnclifF, about two miles from Wigan, there is a curious phaenomenon, called the burning; well, the water of which is cold, and has no fmell ; yet lo flrong a vapour of fulphur iflues out with it, that upon applying a flame to it, the top of the water is covered with a flame, like that of burning fpirits, which lafts feveral hours, and emits fo fierce a heat, that meat may be boiled over it : but this water being taken out of the well, will not emit vapour in a quantity fufficient to catch fire. Many uncommon birds have been obferved on the coafts of this county J particularly the fea-crow, diftinguiflicd by its blue body, and its black head and wings, and by its feeding upon mufcles ; the puffin ; the afper, which is a fpeciesof fea eagle ; the fparling fifiier ; the cormorant ; the curlewions arc cattle, corn and fruit ; and its manufa»£tures are too many to be enumerated. Gttici and Marktt Towns.] The cities are London and Wcrtminlkr j and the market towns are Brentford, Edgware, Enfield, Stanes, and Uxbridge. London is fituatcd in fifty-one degrees and thirty minutes north latitude j and being the metropolis of the Britifti domi- nions, is the meridian ^om which all Britifh geographers compute the meafurcs o longitude.- . " M'"* London is fuppofcd to be equal, if not fuperior, to every other city upon earth, for the numbers and wealth of its in- habitants, its cxtenfive commerce, its admirable policy, its many eft:ibii/hments to promote literature, manufadures and trade, and its numerous foundations of charity to fupport the indigent, and relieve every fpecics of diftrefs. It was a Ronvan city ; and very early under the Romans was celebrat- ed for tho multitude of its merchants, and the vaft extent of •m f, in E U R 6 P E. V: €i its trade. During the Saxon heptarchy, it was the metro- polis of the kingdom of the Eaft Saxons, and was always the chief refidencc of the kings of England. Its firft charter from William the Conqueror, dated in the year 1067, is ftill prefcrved in the city u» -.hievcs. London is fituatea t j great advantage, on the north fide of the Thames, on a gentle rife from that river, and on a gravelly and loamy foil, which conduces very much to the health of its inhabitants. The country round it confifts of gardeners grounds, delightful plains, and beautiful elevations adorned with a great number of magnificent country houfes, belonging to the citizens. For twenty miles round London, the roads leading to it are the fineft that can be imagined; being kept in conftant repair by a toll collected at turnpikes ; and the didances from London in all the great roads to it throughout Britain, are marked on flone polls, called mile-ftones, fct up, one at the end of every meafured mile. No city is better lighted in the night than London ; the allowance for the public lamps being more than io,oool. a year, exclufive of many thoufand lamps belonging to public houfes and others, which arc lighted at the private expence of particular citizens. The cities of London and Weflminftcr arc better fupplied with water than perhaps any other in the world : almoft every houfe is furnilhed with pipes, which bring it in great plenty from the Thames, the New River Head, or from fome ponds at Hampftcad, a village in the neighbourhood : the city alio abounds with fine fprings, fome of which are medicinal. London and Weftminfter are reckoned to extend (even miles and an half in length ; from Blackwall in the eaft, to Tothill-fields, or to the fields beyond Grofvenor and Cavcn- difh fquarcs, in the weft ; and fix miles three quarters along the Thames, from Poplar to Peterborough houfe, beyond Weftminfter horfe-ferry: the breadth, from Newington Butts, on the fouth fide of the borough of Southwark in Surry, to Jeffrey's alms-houfes in Kingiland Road in Middlcfex, is three miles thirty-one poles ; though in other places, as from Peterborough Houfe to the Britiln Mufjtum, it is but two miles ; and in others, as in Wapping, not half a mile : and the circumference is judged to be at leaft eighteen miles. The civil government of the city of London, as diftifick from Weftminfter, is veiled in a mayor, who has the title of Lord, twenty-fix aldermen, a recorder, a chamberlain, 236 CQmmon-council men, and other officers, The ^ Defcripihn of the Brilijh Empiric The lord mayor is ele£led annually at Guildhall, oft Michaelmas-day, when the aldeflncn below the chair, who have ferved the office of (herifF, are put in nomination, out of whom the liverymen, who are chofcn from among the freemen of each companv, and are about eight thoufand in number, return two to the court of aldermen, who ufually chufe the fenior alderman : upon the eighth of November htt is fworn into his office at Guildhall, and the next day he is inaugurated at Weftminfter. For this purpofe, he >% met in the morning by the aldermen and fherifn at Guildhall, from whence they ride with great ftate in their coaches to the ftairs on the Thames fide, called the Three Cranes, where they take water in the lord mayor's barge, being attended by the barges of the twelve principal companies, and others, in their furred gowns, with their muHc, colours, and ftreamers ; and faluted from the fhore and water by great guns. After land- ing at Palace-yard, Weftminfter, the companies march in order to Weftminfter-hall, followed by the lord mayor and aldermen : having entered the hall, they walk round it with the city fword and mace carried before them, to fnlute the courts fitting there j and then walk up to the court of Ex- chequer, where the new lord mayor is fworn before the barons. His lordftiip then walks round the hall again, and invites the judges lo dinner at Guildhall ; after which he re- turns with the citizens by water to filack-friars ; from whence they ride in their coaches, preceded by the artillery company^ being a band of infantry, conftituting part of tne city ' mi- litia, in buff coats; attended by the city companies, with their flags and mufic, to Guildhall ; where they generally meet the lord chancellor, the judges, feveral of the mobility, the minifters of ftate, and foreign ambaftadors, who are in- vited to a magnificient entertainment ; which is P.lfo fome- times honoured with the prefence of the king, queen, and princes of the blood. The lord mayor's jurifdidion extends, in fome cafes, t great way bcycnd the city ; not only over a part of the Aiburbs, but upon the river Thames, eaft as far as its conflux with the Mcdway, and weft to the river Colne : and Y^. ' "teps courts annually for the confervation of the river Thames, in the counties) it flows through, within the limiis already mentioned. He always appears abroad in a ftate coach ; he is robed with fcarlet or purple, richly furred, with a hood of black velvet, a great gold chain, or collar of SS, and a rich jewel hanging to it } and his officers walk before, or on each fide of his coach. He ufually goes on Sunday morning, attendf4 V tn EUROPE. €% attended by fomc of the aldermen, to St. Paul's cathedral, where, on the firft Sunday in term time, all or moft of the twelve judges are prefent, whom, after divine fervice, he in- vites to dinner. If a lord mayor cle£t refufes to ferve, he is liable to be fined. , ../ -. .: „ - . The city is divided into tweaty-fix wards j over each of thefe wards tliere is an alderman ; and on the death of any of the twenty-fix aldermen, the wardmote, which is a court kept in every ward of the city, upon a precept immediately KTued by the lord mayor, meet and return the names of two fubftantial citizens to his lordfhip, and his brethren the alder- men, who choife one of them ; and he that is chofe mufl ferve, or pay a fine of 500 1. All the aldermen are juftices of the peace in the city by charter. The twoCberifFs of this city, which is a county of itfelf, are alfo iherilFs of the county of Middlefex, and are chofen at Guildhall on Midfummer-day, by the liverymen, but not fworn till Michaelmas-eve, when they enter on their office ; and two days after are prefented in the Exchequer court iii Weftminfter-ball, to the lord chancellor, by the lord mayor and aldermen. Each fhcrift' has an under-iherifF, fix clerks, thirty-fix ferjeants j and every ferjcant a yeoman, who be- longs to either of the prifons, 'called Woodftreet compter, or the Poultry compter. If the perfon chofen fherifF does not chufe to ferve, he is fined 400 1. to the city, and 13I. 6s 8d. to the minifters of the city prifons, unlefs he fvuears himfelf not worth 10,000 1. and if he ferves, he is obliged to give bond to the corporation. After the fherifFs are cle(£ted, the livery chufe the cham- berlain of the city, and other officers, called the bridge- maflers, auditors ot the city and bridgc-houfe accounts, and the ale-conners. The recorder is appointed by the lord mayor and court of aldermen. His place is for life. The common-council, conftablcs, and other officers, are chofen by the houfe-keepers of the ward, on St. Thomas's- day, at a wardmote then held by the alderman. The court of common-council, which is the name given to the aflembly of the lord mayor, aldermen, and common- council men, make bye-laws for the city, and upon occa- lion, grant freedoms to ftrangers. It is called and adjournect by the lord mayor ; and out of it are formed feveril com- Biittes for letting the city lands, and other fervices. The lord mayor and court of aldermen, are a court of" record, in which all leafes and inftruments are executed thar paffr under the city ieaJ, They ^ the price ©f breads deter- miivr ^ BefcripiloH of the Britijh Empire, mine all differences relating to lights, water-cour/es, arid 'party walls, fufpend or puuifh oftending officers, and annually cIeClofe, have been dug up men's bones, Iwords, .','• F fpurs. 6B Defcription of the BrUiJh Empire^ fpurs, tec. At Hedgcrley, near Uxbrid^c, are the remain^ of a camp, which appears to be Briti(h. Staines, in the fouth- weft edge of Middlefex, is fo called from a ftonc formerly fixed here as the boundary of the^^city of London's jurifdidion tip the river Thames, Plefton, not far from Harrow on the Hill, is famous for bearing fine wheat, which in former days was appropriated to the king's table. Brentford, appointed by adl of parliament for election of knights of the fhire for Middlefex. Here Edmund Ironfide, after he had forced the Danes to raife the fiege of London, came up with thofe inva- ders of his country, and defeated them with great flaughter. The high crofs at Tottenham, and St. Eloy*s well in the fame parifli, which is always full but never overflows, arc both re- markable. . In that (kirt of London next Spittal-Ficlds, have been found many urns, as alfo coins of Claudius, Nero, Vef- pafian, and Antonius Pius, from whofe lieutenant Lollius Ur- bicus, the antient name of this place, viz. Lolefworth, is fup-, pofed to be derived. Various particulan,"] This county fends eight members to parliament: viz. two knights for the fhire, four burctfies for London, and two for Weftminfter. It lies in the diocefs of London, and the home circuit. Exclufive of London and Weftminfter, it contains thirty-one vicarages, feventy-three parifties. It is divided into five hundreds, containing near 5000 houfes and 25,000 inhabitants. The area of the whole is computed to be about 247,000 acres. ., M O N MO U T H S H I R E. Name.'l Ti ^Onmouthfhire takes its name from Monmouth, J[VA '^^ county town. Jlirj foil, natural produSlions, and manufaSlures,'\ Its air 13 temperate and healthy, and the foil fruitful ; the eaftein parts are woody, and the wcftern parts mountainous j the hills feed cattle, fheep, and goats ; and the vallies produce plenty of hav and corn : the rivers abound with falmon, trout and other fim : here is great plenty qf coals j and the principal manu- faflure is flannel. Curiojities,'] In 1607, a fenny tra£l of country called the Moor, near the mouth of the river U(k, was, by a fpring , tide, overflowed by the Severn, which fwept away many houfes, and deftroyed a great number of the inhabitants, and much cattle* An vf,:? ^ V-^il s' ■ i **4*« V « / t^- ' /« E U R O P E. 67 ■ An eminence near the mouth cf the Severn, and a little eaftward of th" mouth of the Ufk, is remarkable for glittering ftones which, ^hen the fun fliincs, have the appearance of gold whence this place has obtained the name of Gold ClifF. Various particulars.'] This county fends only three members to parliament, two knights for the fliire, and one burgefs for Monmouth. It lies in the diocele of LandafF, and in tHe Ox- ford circuit. The number of parifhes is 127. its divifion is into fix hundreds, containing near 6,500 hpufes, and 38,900 inhabitants. The area of the county is computed at 340,009 acres. NORFOLK. .•■^ ^<7/«tf. XTORFOLK, or Northfolk, derived its name X\ from its northern fituation in refpciSl of Suffolk : it was intended to exprefs the northern people, or northern branch of the Eaft Angles. » Jir and foil.] The air of this county, near the fea-coaft, Is agui(h,''and otherwife unfalutary j but in the inland parts, it is both healthy and pleafant, though frequently piercing* The foil is more various than perhaps that of any other coun- try, and comprehends all the forts that are to be found in this ifland ; arable, pafture, meadow, woodlands, light fandy ground, deep clays, heaths and fens : the worft of thefe, how- ever, are far from being unprofitable, the Tandy heaths feed- ing (heep and breeding rabbits, and even the fens affording rich pafture for cattle. . ;ji Natural produ^lons and manufaSfures.'] The natural produc- tions ef this county are corn, cattle, wool, rabbits, honey* fa^ron, herrings, and other fea fifh, in great abundance ; and in the river Yare is caught a delicious nfh, peculiar to itfelf^ called the Ruffe. Jet and ambergreafe are fometimes found on the coafls of this county : and the principal manufaixture of garden^ and treeS} it has been compared to a city in an orchard. V • F 2 ThQ 6S t>efcription of the Britijh Empire, The town, upon the whole, is irregular ; but the buildingfji both public and private, are very neat and beautiful. The worded manufailure, for which this city has been long famous, and in which children earn their fubfiftcnce, was firft brought hither by the Flemings, in the reign of king Edward HI. and afterwards very much improved by the Dutch, who fled from the duke of Alva's perfecution ; and being fettled here by queen Elizabeth, taught the inhabitants to make great variety of worfted fluft's, as fays, baize, ferges and fhaloons, in which this town carries on a vaft trade, as well foreign as domeflic. Camblets, druggets, and crapes arc woven here in great perfection, befides other curious fluffs, of which it is faid this city vends to the value of 200,000 1. a year. Four wardens of tne worfted weavers are chofen yearly out of the city, and four out of the neighbourhood, who are fworn to take care that there be no frauds committed in the manufaClure. Lynn alfo is a rich large town, well built, and well inha« bited ; and, from the ruins of the works dcmolilhed in the late civil wars, it appears to have been a ftrong place. It has a fpacious murket-pluce, in the quadrangle of which is a fta- tue of king V/illiam III. and a fine crofs, with a dome and gallery round it, fupported by fixteen pillars. The market- houfe is a free-ftone building, after the modern taftc, feventy feet high, and adorned with ftatucs, and other embelliih- ments. The town of Yarmouth is diftant from London 122 miles, and was anciently one of the cinq^ue ports. It makes a very good appearance from the fea, is the neateft, the moft com- paift, and the ntoft regularly built of any town in England ; the ftreets being ftraight, and parallel to each other, and there is a vieW crofs all the ftreets, from the key to the fea, the to""n ftanding in a peninfula, between the fea and the har- bour. Yarmouth is walled, but the chief ftrength by land is the haven, or river, which lies ort the weft fide of it, with a drawbridge over it ; the port or entrance fecures the fouth, and the fea the eaft ; but the north, which joins it to the main- land, is open, and only covered with a fingle wall, and fome old demolifhed works. Here is a market-place, the fineft and beft furniftied of any in England, for its extent j and the key is the handfomeft and largeft of any perhaps in Europe, that of Seville in Spain only excepted : it is fo commodious, that people may ftep diredtly from the fhore into any of the fhips, and walk from one to another, as over a bridge, fomctimes for a quarter of a mflc together ', and it is at the fame time fo '■;■ fpacious. •' in EUROPE.^ . 6^ ipacious, that In fome places it is near a hundred yards from the houfes to the wharf. On the wharf is a cuftom-houfe and towu-hall, with fcveral merchants houfes that look like pa-> laces. Though Yarmouth is not fo large a town as Norwich, it is generally fuperior in traffic and wealth i and upwards of half a century ago, above iioo vciTeis belonged to this port, befides the (hips which its merchants were owners of, or con- cerned in, at other ports. Except Hull in Yorkfhire, Yar- mouth has more trade than any other town on theeaftcoaft of England, j. .. ; -, Curio/ities.] The Greater Oufc in this county, is remark- able for its fudden and impetuous inundations, particularly at the full moon, in the autumnal and vernal equinoxes, when a vafl; body of water from the fea runs up againfl; the dream, through the channel of this river, with prodigious violence, overflowing th* banks, and fweeping off every thing in its way, f^an'ous particulars.] This county fends twelve members to parliament, viz. two knights for the (hire, and two burgelFes for each of the following boroughs : Norwich, Lynn-Regis, Yarmouth, Thetford, and Caitlerifing, Norfolk is in thq dioccfe of Norwich, and the Norfolk circuit. It contains 164 vicarages, 660 pariihes, and near 1500 villages. It is divided into 31 hundreds, containing upwards of 47,000. houfes, and near 236,000 inhabitants* The area of this county is computed at 1,148,000 acres, y. j . NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. Name.'] fTpHIS county takes its name from Northampton, X ^h® county town. yitr,'] Its air is fo pure and healthy, that the nobility and gentry have more feats here, than in' any other county of the fame extent in England ; and it is fo crowded with towns and villages, that in fome places thirty fteeples may be feen at one view. There is however a fmall tradt of country called Fen- land, about Peterborough, bordering on Lancafhire and Cam- bridgefliire, which is often overflowed by great falls of water • from the uplands, in rainy feafons j but the inhabitants do . not fufFer the water to flay fo long upon the ground, even in winter, as to afFeft the air, of which the healthfulnefs of thCw* inhabitants is an undeniable pfoof. f 3 5'^'' J9 Defcription of the ^rUiJIj Empire^ Soil and natural profluSlionul The foil of this country ia fruitful both in corn and grafs, but produces very little wood; »nd as it is an inland county, ahd few of its rivers arc r*^ • irigabic, the inhabitants find it very difficult to fupply the-**- feivcs with fuel. The rivers however yield great plenty ':C fifh, and the county abounds with cattle and fheep : it pro- duces alfo much foltpctre, and many pigeons. The face of the county is leve), and lefs'of it lies wade than of any other in England. ' .;.....;... i..n .. .;.; . .j -^ Manufofiures.^ Its manufaflures are fdrges, tammies, fhal- loons, boots and (hoes. Northampton is the chief town, as neat a pUce as any in England; it was formerly walled, and Within the walls, which Were two miles in compafs, there were fevcn churthes, and two without : of thefe churches four only remain ; the largcft ©f which, called AUhallows, flands' in the center of the town,, at the meeting of four fpacious ftreets j it has a {lately portico, iiippiortcd by eighty lofty lonfc columns, with a (latueof king Charles II. on the baluflrade. Here is a fcfTions and afllze houfe, whi^h is a beautiful buildinj^, in the Cbfinthian (lile ; and a market-place, fo reguhr* and fpacibus", as to be account- ed one of the fineft in Europe. On the weft fide of the town are ftlll to be febn the remains of an bid caft'le. Here is a county gaol, a:nd three hofpitals, and an inn, called the' George-Inn, the building dfVi^hichcoft 2000I. ' It was how- eVer givch by John Drydcn, efq.' tcnvards thfc endowment of a diarity fchool, for thirty boys and ten girls. CurioJitUs.] One of the principal curiofities in this county js a well at Oundle, in which, it is faid, is fometimes heard a" noife like*^t1ie"&eaf of a drum', which the people in the neigh- bourhood regard as the prefage of fome great calamity. Not far from Broughton, near Kettering, there is a petri- fying well, from whence a fcull, perfe(5tly petrified, was ia the laft century brought to Sidney college in Cambridge, ivhcre it is flill preferved. • ••''^'' ; ' - -i- At Oxendoni near Kettering, there is a remarkable echo, formed by the tower of a church, that will repeat twelve or thirteen fyJlables very diftindlly. Various particulars.'] This county fends nine members to parliament: viz. two knights for the fliire, and two burgefles for each of the following boroughs j Northampton, the ci^ of Peterborough, Brackley, and one for Higham-Ferrers. It lies in the diocefe of Peterborough, in the midland circuit. It contains 85 vicarages, 326 pariflies, and about 550 villages, ^he divifion of it is into tweiity hundreds, containing near " 24,80a' lUA...- in EUROPE. 9t 24*800 houfes, and 124,000 inhabitants. The area of th^ county is computed at 550,000 acres. NORTHUMBERLAND. * Namg.] TWTORTHUMBERLAND in the old Saxon, X\ fignifies the " land or country north of the ri« *< vcr Humbcr." Jirt foil, and natural produ£l'ions,'\ The* from its northern fituation its air is not fo cold as might be imagined ; for, as it lies in the narroweft part of England, and between the Ger- man and Irifh Teas, it has the fame advantage over inland countries in the fame degrees of latitude, that the ifland of Britain has over other countries on the continent, in the fame climate, that of being warmed by the vapours from the fea ; this is the reafon why fnovv feldom lies long in this county, except on the tops of high mountains j the air is alfo more healthy than might be expelled in a country bordering on the feas, as appears by the good health and longevity of the in-* habitants : this advantage is attributed to the foil of the coafl^, which being fandy and rocky, emits no fuch noxious and noi-* fome vapours, as conftantly rife from mud and ouze. The rdl is different indifferent parts; that on the fea coafl-, if well cultivated, yields great abundance of good wheat and other grain; and along the banks of the rivers, particularly the Tyne, there are large and rich meadows ; but the weflern, parts are generally barren, confiding chiefly of a heathy and mountainous country, which however afforas good pafture fop Iheep. ; ■ r . On the tops of fome of the mountains in this county, cfpe* cialiy thofe trads in the weftern parts of it, called Tyndale and Readfdale, from their fituation along the courfes of tho. rivers Tyne and Read, there are fome bogs that are impaffable without the help of horfes, which the inhabitants train up for that purpofe, and are therefore called Bog-trotters. The rivers here afford great plenty of fifli, particularly fal-* mon and trout. The lords of the adjacent manors have the property of the fiftiery, which is farmed by fifhermen, who dry the far greateft part of what they catch, and barrel, and tranfpott them beyond fea. Northumberland abounds more with coal, efpecially about Newcaftle, than any other county in England. This coal is as properly pit-coal as any other, t)U{ is called fca-coal, becaufe it is brought by fea (g »U parts F 4 9^ 72 Defcripfiott of the Btiti/h Empire, of Great Britain, as well as to France, Flanders, and other countries: the trade of this county in coal, therefore, is very great ; London alone confuming near 700,000 chaldrons in one year. Here are alfo lead mines, and great plenty of timber. However, it does not appear that Northumberland is re- mnrkabie for any particular manufa\^e, and a handfomc mnnfion-houfe for the mayor, be- fides fix churches or chapels. St. Nicholas, the rr.other church, is a curious fabric, built in the manner of a cathe- dral, by David king of Scotland, with a fine fleeple of uii«. commoii archireecn given in the defcription of Cumberland, were all known by f 4 Defcr'rption of the Briiijh Emtre, by the general name of Mjeatac, and it is thought that the? Ottadini were a tribe or divifion of the Mrtata^, fome have conjedhjrcd, that inftead of Ma&atae, we flioulJ read Naeatae, vhich name might be derived from Naiu, or Nawd, a word that in the ?..icientBritiIh langu::gc fignifies 2. defence ox fecu- rity^ as the wall upon which they bordered might be termed. Be that as it will, the A'Jr^itx" were the people, who in that memorable revolt of the Britons rgainft the Pomans, in which the Cal'-donians were brought into the confederacy, firfl took up arms. ^ 550 houfes, and 87,800 inhabitants. The area of it is computed to con- to'n 550,000 acres. • OXFORDSHIRE. Name.'] 'TT^ HI S county is called Oxfordfliire, from the city iL of Oxford, an univeriity and biihop's fee. Mr."] Its air is as good as that of any other county in Eng- land ; for the foil is naturally dry, free from bogs, fens, and ftagnant waters, and abounding with quick limpid flreams, that neceflarily render it fweet and healthy. Soil a>id UiUwal productions.'] The foil in general is very fertile, both for corn and grafs ; but there is a great variety in it, and confequently feveral degrees of fruitfulnefs. There are no lefs than five forts of wheat fown in this county, all adapted to as many kinds of foils. Oxfordlhirc abounds with meadows, which are not furpaffcd by any paflures in England. Here is plenty of excellent river fifli, of various kinds. The other produ6lions of this county are cattl", fruit, free ffone, and feveral forts of earths ufcd in medicine, dying and fcour- ing ; but it is thinly ftrevved with wood, and fuel is confe- quently very fcarce. Manufactures.] Witney is remarkab'c for a manufa£lure of blankets. Oxford, the principal city, was by the Saxons called Oxen- ford, a name generally fuppofed to have been derived from a ford or paflage for oxen over the river Thames at this place. It is diftant 55 miles from London, and is governed by a, mayor, a high fteward, a recorder, four aldermen, eight affift- ants, two bailiffs, a town-clerk, two chamberlains, all that have ferved the office of bailiff and chamberlain, and twenty- four common council men. The mayor, for the time being, officiates at the coronation of our kings, in the buttery, and hgs a large gilt bowl and cover for his Tee, h EUROPE. yy *f he maglftracy of this city it> fubjciSted to the chancellor 6r vice-chancellor of the univerfity, in ali affairs of momtnt, even relating to the city i and t«he vice-chancellor every year adminifters an oath to the magiltrates and fhLiilfs, ibj^t they will maintain the privileges of the univerfity : alio, on the loth of February annually, the mayor and fixty-two of the chief citizens foleninly pay each one penny* at a church here called St. Mary's, in lieu of a great line laid upon the city, in the reign of king Edward HI. when fixty-two of the iluuentl were murdered by the citizens. It is fituated on the bank of the Thames, near its con- fluence with feveral rivers, in a beautiful plain, and a fweet air. It is one of the largcft cities in England, including the buildings of the univerfity, which are about two thirds of it. The private buildings in general are neat, and the public one* fumptuous } the (Ireets are fpacious, clean and regular ; and here is a cathedral, with fourteen elegant pariih churches. The univerfity of Oxford is one of the nobleft in the world, particularly for the regularity of its conftitution, the ftrictnefs c/ its difcipline, the opulency of its endowments, and thecon- veniency of its manfions for Itudy : it conlifts of twenty col- leges and five halls, and is a corporation governed by a chan- cellor, a high fteward, a vice-chancellor, two pro6lors, a pub- lic orator, a keeper of the archives, a regifter, three efquire beadles, carrying filver maces gilt and wrought, and three yeomen beadles, with plain filver maces, and a verger with a iilvcr rod. The chancellor is ufually a peer of the realm, he is the fupreme governor of the univerfity, und is chofcn by the ftudents in convv)cation, and continues in his office for life. The high fteward is named by the chancellor, but muft be approved by the univerfity. His office, which continues alfo for life, is to aflift the chancellor in the government of the univerfity, :u:d to hear and determine capital caufes, accord- ing to the laws of the land, and the privileges of the univer- fity. The vice-chancellor, who is always in orders, and ttie head of fome college, is appointed by the chancellor, and ap- proved by the univerfity : he is the chancellor's deputy, and exercifcs the power of his fubltituent, by governing the uni- verfity according to its ftatutcs : hechufes four pro-vice-chan- cellors out of the heads of collegco, to officiate in his abfencc. The two pro6lors are matters oi arts, and are chofcn annually in turn out of the feveral colleges and halls. Their bufinefs is to keep the peace, puniih diforders, infpedl weights and meafures, appoint fcholafliic exercifcs, and the taking of de- grees. The public oriitor vviiVvS letters in the name of the , univerfity. ^ J Defcription of the Snlijh Empire, tiniverfity, and harangues princes and other great pcrfonages, who vifit it. The keeper of the archives has the cuftody of the charters and records. And the regifter ' cords all the public tranfaftions of the univerfity in convocation. The number of officers, fellows, and fcholars, maintained by the revenues of the univerfity, is about looo; and the number of fuch fcholars as live at their own charge is ufually about 2000 ; the whole amounting to 3000 perfons, befides a great number of inferior officers and fervants, belonging to the feveral colleges and halls, which have each their ftatutes and rules for government, uuder their refpedive heads, with fellows and tutors. Here are four terms every year for public exercifes, le£lures, and difputations, and fet days and hours when the profeflbr of every faculty read their ledlures ; and in fome of the col- leges are puh'ic lectures, to which all perfons are admitted. The . ublic fchools, of which there is one for every college, fn'm ihe r^round apartments of a magnificent quadrangle, the } riiicipai front of which, on the outfide, is 175 feet in length. la the c*;nt.-ir of this front there is a tower, the higheft apart- nent^ oi which are appointed for aftronomical obfervations ; '^d pMlofAphicd experiments. Three fjd?s of the upper ftory of the quadrangle form one entire room, called the pidture gal- lery, which is filled with portraits of iounders, benefactors, and other eminent perfons. This quadrangle was firft built by queen Mary, and was rebuilt chiefly at the expcnce of Sir Thomas Bodley, in the time of king James I. who alfo partly ere£led a public library here, which he furniftied with fuch a number of books and manufcripts, that, with other large do- nations, it is now become one of the principal libraries in Europe, and is called tbo Bodleian library. The building is a part or member of the piflure gallery, over the public fchools, and confifl-' of three fpacious and lofty rooms, dif- pofed in the form of a Roman H. The middle one was ere6l- ed by Humphry duke of Glocefter, over the divinity fchool, about the year 1440, and by him furniflied with books. The gallery on the weft was railed lit the expence of the univerfity, together with the convocation houfe beneath, in the time ot' king Charles the Firft : and the ; eftibvdc, or firft gallery, with the porfcholium under it, was built by Sir Thomas fiodley. In one of the fchools are placed the Arundelian marbles, and in another an ineftimable colleftion of ftatues, &c. prefented to the univerfity by the countefs dowager of Pomfret. About half a century ago, Dr. John Radcliffe, a phyfician of gren: eminence, left 40,000 I. to build a liberary-for the Bod- leian W' ■ ^ t I in E U R O P E. y^ lelan collection of books and manufcripts, with a fallcry of 150 1. a-yc.ir to a librarian, and lool. a-year towards tur- ji.fnii.g it with new books. In confequence of this legacy, the firit ftonc of a new building was laid, on the 17th of May 1737; and the liberary was opened with great foJemnity the 13th of April 1745, l\y the name of the New or Radclivian Library. It ftands in the middle of a magnificent fquare, formed by St. Mary's church, the public fchools, and two colleges i one called Brazen Nole, and the other All Souls* It i^ a fumptuous pile of building, ftanding upon ar- cades, which, circularly difpofed, inclofe a fpacious dome, in the center of which is the library itfclf, and into which there is an afcent by a flight of fpiral {feps, well executed. The library, which is a complete pattern of elegance and majcfty in building, is adorned with fine compartments of ftucco. It is inclofed by a circular feries of arches, beautified' with feftoons, and fupported by pilafters of the Ionic order ; behind thcfe arches are formed two circular galleries above and below, where the books are difpofed in elegant cabinets : the compartments of the ceiling in the upper gallery are finely ftuccoed : the pavement is of two colours, and made of a peculiar fpecies of ftone brought from Hart's Foreft in Ger- many ; and over the door is a ftatue of the founder. The finifning and decorations of this Attic edifice are all in the higheft tafte imaginable. There is, belonging to this univerfity, another moft magnifi- cent ftrudture called the Theatre, erected for celebrating the public ads of the univerfity, the annual commemoration of bcnefa«5lors to it, with fome other folemnities. The building is in form of a Roman D ; the front of it, which ftands op- pofiteto the divinity fchool, is adorned with Corinthian pillars, and feveral other decorations ; the roof is flat, and not being fupported by columns or arch-work, refts on the fide walls, - which arediftant from each other 80 feet one way, and 70 the other; this roof is covered with allegorical painting. The vice-chancellor, with the two pro»Slors, are feated in the center of the femicircular part ; on each hand are the young noble- men, and dodors, the mafters of arts in the area, and the reft of the univerfity, and ftrangers are placed in the galleries. Each college has its own particular library and chapel, and : moft of them are adorned with cloifters, quadrangles, piazzas, ftatues, gardens and groves. The names of the colleges are Univerfity College, Balicl •* College, Merton College, Exeter College, Oriel College, ; Queen's College, New College, Lincoln College, All Souls . '" ■ * ' College, * io 'Defcription of »he Britijh Empire, College, Magdalen College, Brazen-nofe College, Corpui Chrifti College, Chrift-Church College, Trinity College, St. John Baptilt s College, Jefus College, Wadham College, Pembroke College, Worceiter College, and Hartford College, The halls are, St. Edmund's, St. Magdalen's, St. Alban's, St. Mary's, and New-inn Hall. Thefe halls are the only remains of numerous hoftels, or inns, which were the only academical houfcs oiiginally poffeffed by the ftudents of Oxford. Thefe focietics are neither endowed nor incorporated ; thcjr are fubjecSl to their refpedlive principals, whofe falaries arile from the room-rents of the houfcs. The principals are appointed by the chancellor of the univerfity, that of Edmund Hall excepted, who is nominated by Queen's College, under the patronage of which Edmund Hall ftill remains. The other halls were formerly dependant on particular colleges. The earlieft accounts of the univerfity of Oxford are equally doubtful with thofe of the city : the foundations of both are by feme referred to the Britifh king Memprick ; by fome to another Britifh king, named Arviragus, who reigned in the time of the emperor Domitian, about the feventieth year of the Chriftian aera j and by others to king Vortigern, already mentioned. Upon the whole, it is probable that this univerfity was founded foon after the Chriftian religion was eftabliftied in England ; for, in the papal confirmation of it, under the ponti- ficate of Martin the Second, in the fixth century, it is ftiled an ancient academy or univerfity. We have however no credible accounts of this univerfity before the time of king Alfred, towards the end of the ninth century ; Alfred is therefore generally confidered as its founder, though he was in fa(Sl no more than the reftorer of learning at this place. At the acccffion of Alfred learning had fufFered fo much by the wars of the Romans, Danes, and Saxons, that few perfons could read Englifh, and fcarce a fingle pried in the kingdom underftood Latin. To remedy this inconvenience, Alfred firft ordered Gregorys Pajioral * to be tranflated into Englifti, and fent a copy ot it to every bifljop in the kingdom : he then procured feveral men • This Gregory was the firft pope of the name j he is called St. Gregory, and Gregory the Great, and was born in the latter part of the fixth century ! being defied to the ponti^cate upon the death of PeLiglus the Second, he is faid to hava hidden himelf in a cavern ; and it is pretended that he was miraculoully difcovered ia hii retreat by 4 column of £re, which .ipf eared to rife from the rock> undei which he \v«9 i;/ E U R O f E. 8i TTicn of literature, and among others were Grj'mbald, and John the Monk, two men eminent, as well for their piety as for their learning, whom, in 886, he fettled at Oxford, which was before that tinic an univcrlity, or feminary, of lite- rature. Grymbald, and* the learned men that accompanied him hither, having prefcribcd new ftatutes, inllitutions, and forms of reading, to the fludcnts, the old fcholars refufed to com- ply. They pleaded that letters flouriflied here before the arrival of Grymbald; and that, if the fludcnts were lefs in number before his arrival than afterwards, it was owing to their having been expelled in great numbers by the tyranny of Pagans and Jnfidcls : they further infifted, that tney were ready to prove, by the undoubi^d tcftimony of their annals, that good rules and orders had long fubfifted for the govern- ment of the place ; that thefc rules were prefcribed by Gildas, Melkin, Ncnnius, Kentigern, and others, of great learning and piety, who had profecuted their ftudies at Oxford, and formed and improved the conftitution of its univerfity. After the animofity between Grymbald and the old ftudents of Oxford had fubfifted three years, it broke out with fuch violence, that, upon Grymbald's complaint, king Alfred came in perfon to Oxford, and was at great pains in hearing both parties, and endeavouring to accommodate their differences { ia.Txl having exhorred them to friendfhip and reconciliation, he left thcirf, in hopes that they wc jld comply ; but the ftudents continuing their oppofition, Grymbald retired to the monaf- tcry at Winchefker, which Alfred had then lately founded. During the ftay of Grymbald at Oxford, he and St. Neot's were regents, and readers of divinity j grammar and rhetoric were taught by Afler, a monk, a man of extraordinary parts and knowledge ; logic, mufic, and arithmetic, by John, a Monk of St. David's ; and geometry and aftronomy, by ano- ther John, a monk, and the collegue of Grymbald, a perfon of admirable knowledge at that time in thofe fciences. For the advancement of learning in this place, king Alfred built three halls, as is generally believed, all fubje, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 Hi ^ HIS 2.2 I.I lU ■ 4.0 2.0 I Photographic Sciences Corporation 1 l.25,|U|,.6 ^ 6" ► 23 WEST MAIN STRICT WEBSTER, N.Y. M5M (716) S72-4S03 84 'Defcription of the Briiijh Empire, About the year 1318, the Hebrew tongue begnn to be read at this univernty, by a Jewifli convert, towards whole ftipend every clerk in Oxford contributed one penny for every mark of his ecclefiaftical revenue. Camden, Prynn, and other antiquarians, afcribe the foun- dation of Oriel College to king Edward the Second, in 1324; but it does not appear that he contributed much farther to this foundation, than granting a licence to Adam Ic Brome, his almoner, in 1324, to build and endow a college here, by the name of St. Mary's Hall. To this focicty, king Edwa»"d the Third, in 1327, being the firft year of his reign, gave a large building in Oxford, called Ic Oriel, to which the fellows removing from St. Mary's Hall, this was called Oriel College. Robert Eglesfield, a batchelor of divinity in this univer- fity, and a native of Cumberland, at the defire of queen Philippa, confort of king Edward the Third, in the year 1340, purchafed certain houfes in the parifh of St. Peter in the Eaft, in the city of Oxford, which he converted into a collegiate hall, by the name of Aula Scholarium Raginae de Oxon J and having obtained a royal charter of confirmation, dated the eighteenth of January, 1340, he endowed this hall for a provoft and twelve fellows, in alludon to Jefus Chrift and his twelve apoftles. He intended alfo to endow it \/ith revenues for the maintenance of feventy poor fcholars, in reference to Chrift's feventy difciples j but this part of the dcfign was never executed. By the founder's rules, the fel- lows were to be chofen out of Cumberland and Weftmoreland;^ in preference to any other county. After the founder's death, king Edward the Third gave two tenements to this college, and fettled them on the fociety, hj the name of Queen's College, or Hall, in remembrance of his queen Philippa, who was a great benefatSlrefs to it. About this time the ftudents of Oxford growing wanton and infolent, feparated themfelves into two parties or faftions, diftinguifhed by the names of the Northern and Southern men ; and after many a6ts of violence and hoftility, the. Northern men retired to Stamford in Lincolnihire, and began to profecute their ftudies in fome halls or colleges which had, been erefted there when it was an univerfity ; bat in a few: years they returned to Oxford again, and, laws were ena<5ted» prohibiting the profeffion of the liberal arts and fciences a£ Stamford, to the prejudice of Oxford univerfity. William of Wickham, bifhop of Wincnefter, haying credkd and endowed a college at Winchefter, for teaching a cer- af in E U R O P E. 85 a certain number of boys grammar learning, formed adefign, about the year 1369, of building a college in Oxford, to which they might be removed at a proper time, and pafs through a regular courfe of academical ftudies : he therefore obtained of king Richard the Second, in the third year of his reign, a licence, dated the thirtieth of June, 1379, for carrying his defign into execution ; he laid himfelf the firft ftone of a magnificent ftru6lure, which, being finifhed ia 1 386, he called New College ; and on the fourteenth of April, in that year, the warden and fellows were admitted with great folemmty. The ftatutes, habits, cuftoms, and privileges of this college are different from thofe of any other college in the univerfity. Richard Fleming, bifliop of Lincoln, in 1427, being the Cxth year of Henry the Sixth, began a college here for one re£lor, feven fellows, and two chaplains, which he deiigned as a feminary of divines, who might confute the doiSlrines of Wickliff; but before this defign was completed, he died, and Thomas Rotheram, bifhop of Lincoln, in the year 1475, finifhed the building of the college, and encreafed its re- venues ; he gave it a body of ftatutes, and called it Lincoln College. ^ In the year 1437, Henry Chichley, archbifliop of Canter* bury, began a college here, which he endowed for a warden and forty fellows, chiefly with the lands of alien priories, which were difTolved in the reign of Henry the Fifth. In 1438, the bifhop procured a charter foj* incorporating this fociety j he called the college Collegium An'»narum omnium defundorum de Oxon, and hither he foon afterwards fent a body of ftatutes, directing the election of the fellows to be upon All Souls day annually. X - - - iv. *^X "v^^ ^^v vfi- All the buildings of this college, except the cloiflers upon the eaft fide of the quadrangle, were eredled during the life of the founder. In 1458, William Patten, called alfo Wainfleet, bifliop of Winchefter, founded a college here, on the fite where an hofpital dedicated to St. John had formerly ftood ; an^ endowed it, among other lands, with thofe belonging to the hofpital, for the maintenance of a prefident, an^ fifty &;radua,te .fcholars, whom hc'direded to be augmentec or reduced, as the revenues encreafed or diminiflied. H? called the fdciety by the name of Mary Magdalen College. Ih the year 151 1, being the third of Henry the Eighth, Wnlbm Smith, bifhop of Lincoln, and chancellor of this univerfity, and JRi'chard Sutton of Preftbury, near Macclef- m 86 Defcriptton of the Britijh Empire^ field, a market town of Chefliire, founded a college for a principal and fixty fcholars, and called it Brazen-nofe College, from a hall of the fame name, diftinguifhed by a large brafs nofe upon the gate, on the fite of which hall this college was partly built. In 1513, Richard Fox, bifhop of Winchefler, founded a college here for a warden, certain monks, and fecular canons, defigned as a feminary to the priory of St. Swithin in Win- chefter i but the founder, in 15 16, converted this college to the life of fecular ftudents, like the other colleges of the univcrfity ; and enlarging the buildings, endowed it for a pre- fidcnt, twenty fellows, two chaplains, two clerks, two cho- rifters, and three lecturers in philofophy and divinity, giving it the name of Corpus-Chrifti College. In 1525, the feventeenth of Henry the Eighth, Thomas Wolfey, cardinal of San£la Caecilia, and archbilhop of York, obtained two bulls of Pope Clement the Seventh, for diflblving above forty monafteries, and converting their eftates towards building and endowing two colleges, one at Ipfwich, a borough town of Suffolk, the place of the cardinal's nativity, and another at Oxford ; he alfo procured a royal charter, dated the thirteenth of July, 1525, impowering him to build and endow a college, by the name of Cardinal College, upon the fite of a priory dedicated to Fridefwide, one of the religious hoiifesjuft diublved, and to fettle in this college a dean, fe- cular canons, and other gownmen, for the ftudy of the liberal arts and fcienc6s j and towards their maintenance, to purchafe an eftate of 2000I. per annum, and convey it to the fociety. The cardinal, two days after the date of the charter, laid the foundation of this college with great folemnity ; but being impeached of high treafon in 1529, before the buildings were iinifhed, all the eftates and poffeffions of this fociety were forfeited to the king, which put a ftop to the buildings for three years ; at the end of which time, the king ifTued out letters patent, ordering the building to be carried on, the fame revenues to be fettled on the fociety, and the foundation to be called King Henry the Eighth's College j but being after- wards diflatisfied with this appointment, he fupprefkd the inftitution in 1545, and in the year following erefted the church of this college into a cathedral, by the name of the cathedral church of Chrift in Oxford, founded by king Hen- Ty the Eighth, an, Here was a bi^ilding formerly called Hart^hall, from llias jle Hartford, who, in the reign of Jtdward the Firft, deroifed It under this name to fome fcholars of the univerfity. It was afterwards purchafed by Walter Stapledon, biflhop of Exeter, and founder of Exeter College, who, on the tentii of May, 1 31 2, had a charter granted him, for affigning this hall, tOi v * gether with another tenement called Arthur's HaH„ to twelve * Fcholars. So Ipng as the bilhop's fcholars continued here,, i^ i was (j-«•»# v# i» E U R O P E. ^ 89 was called Stapledon Hall ; but thev removing, it recovered its former name. Exeter College had long the nomination of a principal to this hall, and many of the fellows of New. College refided here with their warden, while that college was building. Here were formerly twelve (ludents, to whomi the univerfity paid a yearly penfion of 50I. upon account of the abbot and monks of Glaftenbury, a market-town of Somerfetfhire, for the maintenance of fuch youth as were lent hither from Glaftenbury fchool : but this hall being en- dowed by its late principal. Dr. Richard Newton, for a prin- cipal, four fenior fellows, or tutors, and junior fellows, or ainftants, befides a certain number of ftudents, or fcholarsj was, upon the eighth of September, 1740, eredted to acollege, by the name of Hartford College. At Burford there was an ancient cuftom of carrying an artificial dragon about the ftreets on Midfummer eve, which is fuppoied to allude to a certain banner on which a golden dragon was painted, that was taken by Cuthred, a Welt Saxon prince, from Ethelbald, a Mercian prince, in a battle fought in a field near this place, which is ftill called Battle Edge. -:« i'HDv^^* .-.;,: L;'K,n^-.. -.:ij;rr.s5u^> ■ 'O •!,':. , H'^M.^'. When Dr. Plott wrote his natural hiftory of this count*!, an ancient cuftom ufed by young men at marriages, was flill continued in the parifli of Deddington. The bridegroom fct up a poft perpendicular to the horizon, and placed a (lender piece of timber, moveable upon a fpindle, crofs the top of it ; at one end of the moveable piece hung a board, and a bag of fand at th^ other. The young men who attended the bride 3nd bridegroom, being mounted on horfeback, with each a ikzff in his hand, by way of lance, ran at the boards as knights were ufed to do at the ring } and he that firft broke it with his ftafF, in his career, received fome honorary prize : • Hor was this prize obtained without fome danger to the ad- venturer, for as the crofs piece of timber, to one end of which the board hung, turned very freely upon its axis, a fmart blo^ upon the board brought the bag of fand, which hung at the other end, round with proportionable violence j from which the rider generally received a hearty bang upon his back, heck, or head, and was frequently unhorfed, to the great merriment of the fpedlators. . Curi^ftties*] Among the curiofities, is Blenheim, a magni- ficent palace, fo called in memory of the battle in which the united forces of France and "Bavaria were defeated, and the French genera], marflial Tallard, taken prifoner. This noble fc^t wAs beflxiwed, together with the inanor of Woodftock, 90 Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ on the duke of Marlborough and his heirs, as a grateful ac- knowledgement for his bravery and conduct on the occafion juft now mentioned. The edifice, though very grand, has not efcaped the cenfures of the connoifleurs, which however lofe their force in the bread of every EngliHiman, when he beholds Bleiiheim-houfe, and reflects on the glorious day from whence it takes its name. : ^ /, f^arious particulars.] This county fends nine members to parliament : viz. two for the city of Oxford, two knights for the (hire, two reprefentatives of the univerfity, two burgeiTes for Woodftock, and one for Bambury. It contains fixty two vicarages, aSoparifhes, and 451 villages. The divifion of it is into fourteen hundreds, containing about 19,000 houfes, and 95,000 inhabitants. The area of the county is computed at 534,000 acres. J'V>i'* tlf ft>^mh4cii: Name.' R U T L AND S U 1 R E. ,.-v^,i, :vt.; TH £ air of Rutlandfhire is edeemed as good as that of any in England. The foil is very fruitful', both in corn and pafture ; and that of the Vale of Catmofe in par- ticular, is equ^l to any in the kingdom. It affords alfo great abundance of wood for firing. This county produces much cattle, particularly (heep ; and the rivers, the waters of which sure remarkably good, yield great plenty of fifli. -j*?^ ?^' v An ancient cuftom. is ftilT preferved at Okeham, its prin* cipal market town, which requires that every peer of the realm, the firft time he comes within the precin£^s of this lordfhip, (hall forfeit a ihoe from the horfe he rides on, to the lord of the caftle and manor, unlefs he agrees to redeemi it with money ; in which cafe a ihoe is made according to his direct tions, and ornamented, in proportion to the fum given, by way of fine, and nailed on the caftle hall door. Some flioes are of curious workmanfhip, and damped with the names of the donors ; fome are made very large, and fome gilt. > Faritus particulars ] This county fends but two members to parliament i viz. two knights for the (hire. It lies in the diocefe of Peterborough, and in the midland circuit. There are in it ten vicarages, forty-eight pariihes, and 1 1 1 villages. The divifion of it is into five hundreds, containing about 3260 houfes, and 16,300 inhabitants. The area of the county is computed at 1 10,000 acres. .. -4-v. S HR OP, ,ii|^*V,'-*>***^'^'^"'^' *^"*t *" i*'»^->f *-■*! '<\ K^r*-*:*it^- ■ w •^*. . i» E U R O P E. • 91 SHROPSHIRE. » i Name.l s HROPSHIRE is alfo called Salop, or the county of Salop, from Salop, a name by which the town of Shrewfbury was afterwards called by the Nor- mans. Jir, folly and natural produ£Iions.'] The air is pure and healthy, but, the county being mountainous, it is in many places fliarp and piercing. The foil is various : the northern and eaftern parts of the county yield great plenty of wheat and barley, but the fouth- crn and weftern parts, which are hilly, are not fo fertile, yet afford paflurage for (heep and cattle ; and along the banks of the Severn there are large rich meadows, which produce abundance of grafs. Here are mines of copper, lead> iron, ftone, and lime-ftone, and the county abounds with unexhauftible pits of coal. Between the furface of moil of the coal ground, and the coal, there lies a ftratum of a black» hard, but Very porous fubftance, which being ground to jpowder in proper mills, and well boiled with water in cop- pers, depofits the earthy or gritty parts at the bottom, and throws up a bituminous matter to the furface of the water* >vhich by evaporation is brought to the confiftency of pitch : am oil is alfo prbduced from the fame ftratum, by diftillation, which, mixed with the bituminous fubftance, dilutes it into a kind of tar. Both thefe fubftances are ufed for caulking of (hips, and are better for that purpofe than pitch or tar > for they never crack, and it is thought they might be ufeful againft the worm. ;. _, ..liyj.'* Shrewfbury is famous for the m^nufa^ure^ 'jf Welch cottons and flannels ; and Bridgenorth, a borough rown, for (lockings. Bridgenorth is alfo furniihed with common arti- ficers of every kind, who make and fell clothes, iron tools, and inftruments of all forts, and the other ordinary manu- factures of the kingd6m. The market towns are Bifliops Caflle, Bridgenorth, Church Stretton, Clebury, Drayton, Ludlow, Newport, Ofweftry, Shrefbury, Welhngton, Wem, Wenlock Great, and Whit- church. 7 Biihops Caftle takes its name from its having formerly be- longed to the bifliops of Hereford, who probably had a feat or caftle here. It is 150 miles from London, and is an old corporation, confifting of a bail iff, recorder, and fifteen alder- ■v* m, <*»»' g€ ' Defcrlpthn of the Britijh Empire^ men. Its market is famous for cattle and fcveral other com- moditirs, and is much frequented by the Welch. Bridgenorth is alfo called Brugmorfe, or Bruges : which of thefe three names it was firft called by, is uncertain. It was probably called Bridge, from a bridge over the Severn ; and Bridge might be corrupted into Brugge, and Bruges j North was added upon building another bridge to the fouth of it. Some however contend, ^hat though for thefe reafons it might have beeh called firft Bridge, and then Bridge North, yet that its original name was Brugmorfe, a word formed of Brugh, or Burgh, Borough, and Slorfe, the name of a neigh- bouring foreft, of which foreft however no traces remain. It has alfo been thought, that Bridgenorth is not formed of Bridge and North, but is a corruption of Brugmorfe j but this is not probable, becaufe, allowing Brugmorfe to have been its firft name, it has certainly been called Bridge and Brug . , without the addition of Morfe or North j and it is abfurd to fuppofe, that Brugmorf was both corrupted and curtailed, fo as to make only Bridge, or Bruges ; befides, the bridge from t^rhich it is fuppofed to be called Bridge, and that other bridge, which produced the addition of North, are known to cxift i but we have no good evidence that there ever was the foreft pretended to have been called Morfe. • Bridgenorth is diftant from London 135 miles, and is a very ancient town, having been built in 582, by thfc widow of Ethelred, king of the Mercians. It was afterwards for- tified with a wall and caftle, both now in ruins: it had fc- veral great privileges granted it by charters from Henry the Second, and king John ; and it is governed under king John's charter, by tviro bailift^s, eledled yearly out of twenty-four aldermen, by a jury of fourteen men, together with forty- eis;ht common council men, a recorder, town clerk, and other officers. ■^"''' " It is a large and populous town, pleafantly Htuated in a healthy air. The greateft part of it ftands upon a rock, on the weftern bank or the Severn, and the reft on the oppofite fide of the river, which has here a- very great fail. Thefe two parts are called the' upper and lower towns ; the ^tua- tion of the weflrern divifion being fixty yards higher than the other. The upper and lower towns are conneded by a ftone bridge of feven arches, upon which there is a gate and gatie- boufe, with feveral other houfes. The whole confifts prin- cipally of three ftreets, well paved and well built ; one of which, in the Upper Town, lying parallel to the river, ancJ calleil Mill-ftreet, becaufe it leads to fx)me mills, is aSorhed with . • ./» E U R O P E. -'^ 93 with {lately houfes, which h^ve have rcllars dug out of the rock. Here are two churches, and a free-fchool for the fons of the burgeflcs, which was founded in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and an hofpital for ten poor widows of the Upper Town. Upon the top of a hill above the town, are the re- mains of acafHc, whence the hill is called Caflle Hill. This place is fupplied with good water by leaden pipes from a fpring half a mile diftant } and the water of the Severn ia alfo thrown up to the top of Cafllc Hill by an engine, which was the contrivance of thofe who ereded the water-works at London Bridge. From the high part of the town a hollow way leads down to the bridge, that is much admired by ftrangers, being hewn through the rock to the depth of twenty feet i and though the declivity is very great, yet the way i« rendered eafy by fteps and rails. Bridgenorth is a place of great trade, both by land and water : its markets are flocked with all forts of^ provifionsy and its fairs are reforted to from many parts of the kingdom, for cattle, iheep, butter, checfe, bacon, linen-cloth, hops, and feveral other commodities. Church Stretton is 130 miles diftant from London, and ia remarkable for a good corn market. Clebury ftands on the north fide of the river Temd, at the diflance of 1 18 miles from London. It formefly hiid a caftlcy but has now nothing worthy of note. .< *' r .. Drayton is a little obfcure place, 149 miles diflant from London, diftinguiihed only by it^ market. Ludlow is 136 miles from London, and was incorporated by king Edward the Fourth. It has a power of trying and executing criminals, diftindl from the county, and is go- verned by two bailiffs, twelve aldermen, twenty-five com- mon-council men, a recorder, a town clerk, a ilewardy chamberlain, coroner, and other officers. It flaads on the north fide of the Temd, near its conflux with the Corve, on the borders of Worcefterfhire and Herefordlhire. The coun- try round is exceeding pleafant, fruitful, and populous, par- ticularly a vale on the banks of the river Corve, called Cor- vefdale. The town is divided into four wards : it is fur- rounded wirh walls, in which are feven gates, and has an old caftle, built by Roger de Montgomery, foon after the Conqueft, great part of which is in ruins ; fome apartments however ^e ftill entire, with their furniture : the battlements: are very high and thick, and adorned with towers. It has a aeat QhsmU in which are the coats of arms of feveral of thei Welch l# m |li'#i''l I 94 Befcription of the hr'itijh Empire^ Welch gentry j and over the ftable doors are the arms of queen Elizabeth, the carl of Pembroke, and others. The walls of thecaftlc were at firft one mile in compafs, and there W51S a lawn before it, which extended near two miles, and a great part of which is now incloCed. This caftle was a palace belonging to the prince of Wales, in right of his prin- cipality ; and in an apartment of the outer gate-houfe of this caftle, the famous Butler, author of Hudibras, is faid to have written the firft part of that celebrated poem. This is a neat and flourlfliing town. It has a large pa- rochial church, with a handfome tower, and a ring of fix good bells. This church was formerly collegiate, and in the choir of it there is an infcription relating to prince Arthur, elder brother to king Henry the Eighth, who died here, anJ whofe bowels were depofited in this choir. There is in the fame choir a clofet, called the Godt Houfe, where the priefts- ufed to keep their confecratcd utenfils. In the market place there is a conduit, with a long ftone crofs on it ; and in a oiche on the crofs, is the image of St. Laurence, to whom the church was dedicated. Here is an alms-houfe for thirty poor people, and two charity fchools, in which fifty boys and thirty girls are both taught and cloathed. This town has a good bridge over the Temd, which turns a great many mills in the neighbourhood, and acrofs which are ieveral wears. This place, where provifions are very cheap, receives much benefit from its being a great thoroughfare to Wales, and from having the education of the Welch youth of both fexes. Hor(e-races are annually kept in the neighbourhood, at which the beft of company are prefent \ and the inhabitants are reckoned very polite. Newport is 1 73 miles diftant from London, and is a good town, with a /ree grammar fchool, founded by William Adams, a native of this place, and a haberdafher of Lon- don, and endowed by him to the value of 7000I. with a' library, a houfe for the mafter, and a falary of 60I. a- year, which is faid to be now worth lool. and 30I. a year for an uflier. Near the fchool he alfo ere<5led two alms-houfes, and- five 550I. towards building a town houfe. Here is alfo an nglifti free fchool for the poor children of the town, en- dowed by a private gentleman with 20I. a-year, to which the crown has made an addition of 5I. a year. Ofweftry, or Ofwaldftry, was originally called Maferficid, and derives its prefent name from Ofwald, a king of North- umberland, who being defeated here, and flain in battle by Penda, a prince of Mercia, was beheaded and quartered by order . - in EUROPE. *. 95 order of the conqueror ; and his head being fixed upon a pole in this place, the pole or tree, was probably called Ofwrald's Tree ; whence the town might by corruption be afterwards called Ofwaldftry and Ofwcftry. It ftandt upon the borders of Denbighihire, at the diftance of 157 miles from London, and is a very old town. It was anciently a borough, and is (till governed by two bailiffs, bur* gefTes, and other officers. It is furrounded with a wall and a ditch, and fortified by a caflle. It has a church and a good grammar fchool, with an excellent charity fchool for fortv boys, befides girls, who are cloathed as well as taught. This place had formerly a great trade in Welch cottons and flannels, but it is now fo much decayed, that there is fcarce a houfe in it fit to accommodate a traveller. It is mofl delightfully fituated on an eminence, furrounded by the Severn river on every fide but the north, which ren- ders it a peninfula, in form of a horfe fhoe. It is walled round } and on the north fide, where the river does not de- fend it, is fortified by a caflle, built by Roger de Mont- gomery, foon after the Norman conqueft } but the walls and caflle are now in a ruinous condition. The ftreets are large, and the houfes in general well built. Curhftties.'\ One of the greatefl curioAties in this county is a well at Brofely, a little to the north-eafl of Wenlock, which exhales a vapour that, when contraded to a fmail vent, by an iron cover with a hole in it, catches fire from any flame applied to it, and burns up like a lamp, fo that cggS) or even meat, may be boiled over it. Upon taking ofF the cover the flame goes out ; and it is remarkable, that a piece of meat boiled in it, has not the leafl fmell or tafle of its fulphureous quality. The water is extremely cold, and as much (o immediately after the fire is put out, as before the vapour was lighted. Farious particulars^] This county fends twelve members to J>arliament : viz. two knights for the (hire, and two burgeffes or each of the following boroughs : Shrewfbury, Bridgenorth, Ludlow, Wenlock, and Biihop's Caftle. — It lies partly in the diocefe of Hereford, and partly in that of Coventry and Litchfield, and in the Oxford circuit. There are in it fifty- two vicarages, lyoparifhes, and 615 villages. The divifion of it is into fourteen hundreds, containing about i9,ocx> houfes and 95,000 inhabitants. The area of it is computed at 890,000 acres. S O M E R- Hi 5>6 '■ Vefcription of the Briiijh Empire^ '^T,,S OMERSETSHIRE. Mk ■Nam«,'] *T^ H E county of Somerfct is fuppofed to have Je- X rived its name from Somerton, which was once its principal town. '^^^* ^^'^^i Aivy Joil^ and natural produ^ions."] Its air is faid to be the mildeft in England : it is in moft places very healthy, and upon the hilly parts exceeding line. The foil is various : the eaflern and wellern parts of the (hire are mountainous and ftoney ; they yield however good pafture for fheep, and by ^ tiie help of art and induftry, are made to produce corn. The lower grounds, except fuch as are boggy or fenny, afford corn and grafs in great plenty ; and a valley of a very large extent, divided into five hundreds, and called Taunton Dean, or the Vale of Taunton, from Taunton, a borough town-, is fo exceeding rich, that it affords corn, grafs, and fine fruit in great abundance, without manure. The grain of this county fupplies many foreign and domeftic markets. There is no part of the Kingdom where wood thrives better than in Somerfetfhire ; and teazle, a fpccies of thidle, much ufed in dreffing cloth, is almoft peculiar to this county. In this county alfo, on the beacb of the Briftol Channel, there is. found a weed, or fea plant, of which the inhabitants make cakes, called laver, which are wholefome and nouriihing food, and not to be found in any other part of the king- Somerfetfliire is famous for the beft O£^ober beer in Eng- larjjd, and for great plenty and variety of cyder ; and the beft rhcefe in the kingdom is faid to be made at Chedder, near a market town cal^d Axbridge. The oxen of this county are as large as thofe of Lancafliirc or LincoluibiFe, and the grain of the flefti is faid to be finer. The vallies fatten a prodigious nun»ber of flieep, of the largefV fixe in England : the louth flidrr alfo fumi(hes' the? in- habitaiits with lob^ers, crabs, and niaekrel ; the Brrftol Channel and the Severn with foles, flounders, plaife, ibrimps, prawns, herrings, and cod ; the Parret produces plenty of excellent falmoB, and the Avon abounds with a fortof blacfcrfh eels, fcarce as big as a goofe quill, called el^^ers, which are dimmed up in val^ quantities with fmall nets, and which, when the Ikin is taken off, are made into cakes and fried* There is great plenty of wild fowl in this county, but, there being but few parks, venifon is fcarce. Here .al .=,.j.L tn EUROPE. ■.■At. 9) Here is a trad of mountains called Men4Ip Hills, which occupy a vafl fpace of ground, and ftretch frc^i Whatley, pear Frome-Sclwood, a market town on the eail, to Ax- bridge, another marl^et town, o|i the we(l, and from Glaf- tpnbury, a market town on the fouth, to Bedminfter, hear the city of Briftol, on the north. Thefe mountains are the moft famous in England for coal and lead mipes, but the lead is lefs foft, du6ti!e, and fuflble, than that of Derby- ihire, and confequently not fo proper for (Meeting, becauie, when melted, it runs into knots. It is therefore generally exported, or caft into bullets apd fmali ihot. In thefe hills ^here are plfo mines of copper and okre ; and the l^pis cala- minaris, which melted with copper, turns it into prafs, 14 fiug up If ere in greater quantities than in any other part of Ei^and. -'■- ^-'i r"^:' ^':^'V . ' \ ''■^. , '•• "^ ;• . '• ^'-' ..., The beautiiful fofBl calfcd Sriftol i^Qne, is found in great abundance in fome rocks upon the banks of the Avon, near Briftol, and has beep already takep notice of in the dcfcrip* tion of Gloiicefterihire J and at Bifhop's Chew, or Chew Magna, near Wrinton, a market town, there is dug up i red bqle, which is called by the country people redding, sinrf is diftnbuted from thence all over Englandf fpr marking pf flieep and other ufe^. It is faid to be^fometime^ fubftitut^d \ty ^pothecari/:s for a fort of medicipal fiartji brought from Armenia, called bole armoniac. ' '■- .MitnufaRures and trade."} /^\\ forts of cloth are manufae« tu^ed in this county, as broad and narrow kerfeys, druggets^ ferges, durrpys, and fhalloons, together with ftockings and buttons ; ana in the fouth-eaft parts are made great quan^ tides of linen. The value of the woollen manufacture aiof^e, in the Hrft hand^, has been rated at a million a-year ; and if a calcuittrion Was made of the ether manufa6lure3 of t\\^ county and its produce, by mines, tillage, feeding, grazing, fiairies, and other articles of trade, it is thought that the acconnt would be more than the produce of any other cpuntj. Middlefex only excepted. . ,. _ ; ' ,'i'"" Bath, onis of the principal cities of this couiity, took it^ name from fome natural hot baths, for the medicinal virtues of which, this place has been long celebrated and much fre- quented. This city is 108 miles from London. It; is * bifhop's fee, united to that of Wells, and is governed under a charter of queen Elizabeth, by a mayor, eight aldermen, and twenty-four common council men. . I|: ftands in a valley, upon the north bank pf the rivtfr Avpn^ and is incircWd by hills, inthe form of an amphi- - ■-:■' .? f • H theatre. ''•>».>., p8 Defcripion of the Britijh Empire^ theatre. The city is furi'bunded with walls, which, though flight, and almofl entire, are fuppofed to have been the worl( of the Romans, and the upper part feems to have been re- paired with the ruins of Roman buildings. The fmall com- ftafs of ground inclofcd by thefe walls, is in the form of a pentagon, and in the walls there were four gates and a poftern, which were lately all demolifhed and taken away. The gates were the North Gate, which was the entrance from London; the Weft Gate, a handfome ftone building, where fome of the royal family have formerly lodged j the South Gate, which led to a bridge over the Avon } and the Eaft Gate, which led to a ferry over the fame river. There are in this city a cathedral and three parifh churches. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Peter. Oh the fouth fide of this there are fome remains of an abbey, to which the church formerly belonged. The gate- houfe of the abbey is ftill Handing : it has been a long time converted into lodgings, and has been honoured with the refidenCe of king James the Second, queen Mary, confort of king William, queen Anne, and her royal confort, George prince of Denmark. There are in this city a free fchool, and two charity fchools J one for fifty boys, and the other for fifty girls, who are cloathed and taught. Here is an hofpital dedicated to St,^ John, and founded by Fitz Joceline, bifhop of this fee in the twelfth century, for the poor fick people who come hither /or the benefit of the waters, with a handfome chapel of iri^hite free-ftone. Here alfo is an alms-houfe, called Rufcot's charity, and endowed for the maintenance of twelve men and twelve women. There are other alms-houfes in this place, fupported chiefly by the chamber of the city ; and in July 1738, the firft ftone was laid of a general hofpital or infir- mary, which was lately finifhed, and is a good building, J 00 feet in front, and 90 deep : it will accommodate 150 patients, and is intended for the reception of the tick and lame ffom all parts of the kingdom. Here is a market place, over which is a town hall, ere£led on twenty-bne ftone pillars. The hall is a large ftone, building, and adorned with feveral paintings ; and in a fquare near the cathedral, called Orange Square, in compliment to the late prince of Orange, there is a monumental ftone, which was ere^ed in 1735, at the expence of the late Mr. Nafh of this city, many years mafter of the ceremonies at . the publick rooms, with an infcription, importing that the prince's health was reftored by drinking the waters of this place. -;.i 'U m .vv^ju sn EUROPE. t * Tn this city there are five hot baths, called the King's bath, the Queen's bath, the Crofs bath, the Hot bath, and the Leper's bath. There is alfo a cold bath. In each bath there is a pump, for applying the water in a ftream, upon any particular part of the body, when it is required ; and each is furnifhed with benches to fit on, rings to hold by^ and proper guides for both fexes. f'i' The King's bath is fixty feet fquare, fupplied by many hot fprings that rife in the middle of it. Contiguous to this bath is a neat pump-room, where the company meet to drink the water, which is conveyed to it from the fpl'ings, as hot as it can be drank, by a marble pump. There is in this bath the figure of an ancient Britiih king, called Bleyden the Southfayer, with an infcription, importing that he dif- covered the ufe of thefe fprings 300 years before the Chrif- tian acra. The Queen's bath is feparated from the King's bath only by a wall. It has no fpring, but receives its water from the kmg's bath, and is therefore lefs hot. The Crofs bath had its name from a crofs that formerly flood in the middle of it. It is of a triangular form, and its heat is alfo lefs than that of the King's bath, becaufe it has fewer fprings. This bath, which is mof); frequented by : perfons of quality, was covered by James Ley, earl of MarU borough. On one fide is a gallery, where gentlemen and ladies fland and converfe with their friends in the bath. Oh the oppofite fide is a balcony for mufic, which plays all the time of bathing ; and in the middle there is a marble pillar^ adorned with curious fculptures, which was eredted at the expence of the earl of Melfort, in compliment to king James the Second and his queen, and in memory of their meeting here. The guides of this bath fay, that in a flrong weflerly wind a cold air blows from the fprings ; but when the wind is eaflerly, and the weather clofe, with a fmall rain, th6 water is fo hot, as fcarce to be endured, though the King's bath and the Hot bath are then colder than ufual. It is alfo obferved, that in hot weather a large black fly is frequently feen in the water of this bath, and is faid to live under water, and to come up from the fprings. This bath will fill in fifteen or fixteen hours all the year round, and is more temperate than either the King's bathor the hot bath. The water is faid to corrode filver. The Hot bath was thus called from having been formerlv hotter than the refl, but it it was not then fo large as it is now. ..... ,„ ,, , •^ . . Ha The loo Dejcfiption of the Britijh Empire^ ^ The Leper's bath is formed from the overflowings of the * Crofs bath, and is allotted for the ufe of the poor people, fupported by the charity of the place. The Cold bath is (upplied by a fine cold fpring, and was cre£led by contribution not many years ago. Thefe hot fprings were fenced in by the Romans with a wall, to feparate them from the common cold fprings, with which this place abounds ; and there is a tradition, that they alfo made fubterranean canals to carry ofF the cold waters, iei^ they ihould mix with thefe. As this city lies in a valley, ifurrounded v|rith hiUs, the heat of thefe waters, and their jnilky detergent quality, are afcribed to the admixture and fermentation of two different waters, diftilling from two of thofe hills, one called Clarton Down, and the other Lanfdown. The water frpnri Clarton Down is fuppofed to be fulphure- ous or bituminous, with a mixture of nitre ; and the water , from Lanfdown is thought to be tin^ured with iron ore. J . ^hefe waters are grateful to the ftomach, have a mineral tafte, and a ftrong icent ; they are of a bluiih colour, and fend up a thin vapour ; they are neither diuretic nor cathartic, though if fait l^e added, they purge immediately. After long {landing, they depofit a black mud, which is ufed by way of cataplafms for local pains, and proves of n^ore fervice to fome, than the waters themfelves, This mud they alfo depofit on diiliIl.ation. They are beneficial in diforders of the head, in cuticular difeafes, in obftrudions and confti- ]>ations of the bowels, which they ftrengthen by reftoriftg their loft tone and reviving the vital heat. Th^ are found Jpf great ufe in the fcurvy and ^one, and in mdft difeafes of women and children, ana are ufed as a laft remedy in dbflinate chronic diicafes, which they fometimes cure. t^ The feaibns for drinking the Baith waters are the fprinj jtnd autunin :.the fpring feafon begins with April and ends yrith June ; the autumn feafon begins with September and , lafb till December, and fome patients rerrain here all the winter. In the fpring this place is moft frequented for ^health, and in the autumn for pleafure, when at lead two ■thirds of the company come to partake of the amufemenfs of the place ; in fome feafons there have been no lefs than 8000 ^perfons at Bath, befi tes its inhabitants. There is an officer ^ ^ut in by the mayor to fuperintehd the baths, to keep order ' ^ among the bathers and their guides. -f • Without the walls of this city there is a quadrangle of -elegant ftone buildings, called Queen Square, lately ereiSled : the front extends 2Co feet, and is enriched with columns and - pilafters c in EUROPE. lofi pilafter.'; of the Corinthian order. On one fide of this fquare is a fiiie chapel, and in the center, an obelifk feventy feet high, with an infcription, importing, that ' it was erci^ed * by Richard Nafh, efq. in memory of honour bellowed, and ' in gratitude for benefit^ conferred, c~^ this city by the prince * ana princcfs of Wales, in 1738,' when their royal high- nefles lodged in this fquare. On the loth of March 1739-40, the firft ilone of another new and magnificent fquare was laid, on the fouth (ide of the city, upon the bank of the river. The principal fide of this fquare, according to the original plan, was to have the appearance of but one houfe, though it was to have been divided into feveral : it is 500 feet long, and the two wings are 260 feet each. In each front are 63 windows, and in each wing 31. This building, from the neighbouring hills, looks like one grand palace. It was to have been adorned with above 300 columns and pilafters of the Corinthian order; upon the corner of every fide, there was to have been a tower, and in every front a center- houfe and pediment ; but in executing this plan, it was judged proper to lay afide the ornaments. In this fquare is a fuperb ball-room, in form of an Egyptian hall, 90 feet long and 52 broad, and an alTem- bly room of the fame dimenfions, with a garden and bowling- freen. On the eaft fide is a grand parade, called the North arade, 200 yards in length } and a terrace, 500 yards in circumference, with feveral other walks ; and a bridge of one arch, 120 feet wide, over the river Avon, on the fouth fide of this fquare. Here is alfo another grand parade, called the South Parade, the weft fide of which is now building, with a row of ftately houfes J and the north fide of an area, 620 feet in length from north to fouth, and 310 feet in breadth, called the Royal Fo- rum, is now inclofed with a magnificent pile of buildings, conflftingof nine houfes, and forming one uniform itrudture, crowned with a baluftrade. *? . n ^ • - ^ ,' In the year 1749, the number of private houfes in this city was computed at 1362, many of which are inhabited by perfons of fortune, but the far greater part by fuch as keep lodgings fo convenient, that this place is thought ca- pable of accommodating 12,000 perfons at one time. The houfes in general are handfome, and neatly furnifhed. The ilone of which the houfes here are built, is, for the moil part, dug out of quarries upon Clarton Down, where there are frequent horfe-races. From thefe quarries it is brou|(ht down a ileep hill to the river Avon, by mesins pf a 1% ■ ja H 3 curious tol DefcnptioH of the Britijh Empire^ curious inacbine, invented by the late Mr. Allen, poftmaftefj' and formerly ma^orof this city, a gentleman long eminent for many amiable virtues. Stone is therefore purchafed in this place at To fmall an expence, that building is cheaper here than perhaps in any other part of the kingdom. From the fame quarries ftone is alfo fent by the Avon to Briftol, London, and other places, in great abundance, for building j and of the ftone of thefe quarries Mr. Allen built for himfelf near this city, one of the moft magnificent villas in Eng- land. . ', -m: . -^^-t , ^ -■ ■ Briftol is reckoned the fecond city in the Britifli dominions, for trade, wealth, and number of inhabitants. It is 115 miles diftant from London ; and was made a county of itfelf in the reign of Edward the Third. It firft had the privilege fsf a mayor in the reign of Henry the Third, and is now governed by a mayor, a recorder, twelve aldermen, and forty- two common-council men. It is a bifhop's fee; and the tradefmen of the city are incorporated into feveral com- panies, each of which has a hall, or fome large hired room, for their meetings ; and by a charter of queen Elizabeth, every man that marries the daughter of a citizen of Briftol, •becomes free of the city. This city ftands upon the north and fouth fides of the river Avon, and is therefore partly in the county of Glocefter, and partly in that of Somerfet ; but though the greateft part of the city now ftands upon the Glocefterftiire fide of the river, yet before Briftol was made a county of itfelf, it was by the parliament rolls always reckoned to be in Somer- fetftiire. 'f l^he north and fouth parts of this city are conne£led by a ftone bridge over the Avon, confifting of four broad arches ; but it is encumbered with houfes, built on each fide of it, which renders the paflTage on foot not only inconvenient but dangerous, there being no room for pofts, and the pavement being made very flippery by the conftant paflage of carriages without wheels, called' fledges ; for carts are not permitted, for fear of ftiaking and damaging the arches of the vaults and gutters that are rtiade under ground, for carrying the fijth of the city into the river. ^ ' The ftreets of this city are narrow, ill paved, and ir- regular; they are always dirty ; and the houfes are built like thofe in London before the fire in ib66, with the upper floors projecting beyond the lower ; they are crowded clofe together, and many are five or fix ftories high. The Glo- «dierihire fide of the city is four mi|es and a half in cir- ~ , ' ' * * cumfercnce. *»*!,!}*,,; in ♦ -^ EUROPE. .165 cumference, and the Somerfetfhirc (Ide two miles and a haltj fo that the wliole circumference of the city is fcven miles. It is fuppofed to contain i3>ooo houfes, and 95,000 in- habitants. Briftol has the mod confiderable trade of any port in the Britiih dominions except London. It was computed near half a century ago, th.i: the trade of this city employed no lefs than two thoufand fail of fhips. It has a very great trad^ to the Weft- Indies, fifty Weft-India fhips having frequently arrived here at once. It has alfo a confiderable trade to Guinea, Holland, Hamburgh, and Norway ; and a principal branch of its commerce is that with Ireland ; from whence taliow, linen, woollen, and bay-yarn, are imported in vaft quantities. Its trade to the Streights is alfo very confiderable, and it has acquired the whole trade of South Wales, and the greateft part of the trade of North Wales, by the con- veniency of the Severn and the Wye. Curiofttiet,'] Among the number of curiofities, we may reckon thefe : On the fouth fide of Mendip Hills, near a place called Wokey, within a mile of the city of Wells, is a very remarkable cave, known hy the nanrie of Wokey Hole. The entrance to this cave is parallel to the horizon, at the bottom of a rock 180 kct high, and over the rock is a fteep mountain, the top of which is thought to be a mile above the bottom of the rock. At the entrance into the cave there is a fteep defcent of 50 or 60 feet ; the cave itfelf is about 200 feet in length, in fome parts 50 or 60 feet broad, and in others not above 10 or 12, and the greateft height is about 50 feet, though in fome places the roof is not above four ot five feet from the bottom. There are feveral partial divifioni of it, which the imaginations of fome people have diftinguifti- ed into a kitchen, a hall, a dancing room, a cellar, and othei: apartments ; and water of a petrifying quality, being con- ftantly dropping from the roof, and forming a variety of ftony figures, fancy has improved them into refemblances of old women, dogs, bells, organs, and other things. The echo of'any noife within this cavern is fo ftrong, that a large ftone, fuch as a man may lift up without much difficulty, being dropped on the rocky bottom of the cave, founds with a noife as loud as the report of a canon. *--, At the extremity of this cave there iflues a ftream of water fufficient to drive a mill ; and paffing with great rapidity and noife the whole length of the cavern, it burfts out through the roek, near the entrance into the valley. Here are always people ready, for a (mail reward, to attend ftrangers into this cave with lights, I Hi , Near io4. Defcription tf iht Britifilf Umpire^ Near Glailonbury there is a hill called the Toris frpAi ft tower that formerly ftood on it, which rifes like a pyttMM^ to a great height, and ferves as a land-mark to Teamen. Near Chedder there are tWo rocks, called Chedder ClifFsj and between thefe is a frightful chafm, the fides of which are near thrliie hundred feet high : through this chafm is the road froin Axbrid^e to Briftol ; and from the bottom of one of the hills there liTues a ftreains fo rapid, that it is faid to drive twelve mills within a quarter of a mile of the fpring. fct Various particulars,'] Sonlerfetihire fends eighteen member! to parliaihent : viz. two knights for the (hire, and two bur-^ efles for each of the following boroughs : Briftol, Bath. ells, Taunton, Bridgewater, Minehead, lyelchefter, and MilbornPort. It lies in the diocefe of Bath and Wells, and in the weftern circuit. There are reckoned in it 131 vica* rages, 385 parifhes, and 1,660 villages. It is divided into thirty-feven hundreds, containing about 44,680 houfes, an4 223,400 inhabitants* The area of it is computed at 1,075,000 • -t -i-!'/*** 'Sf-s'-' » ft*'"; «'^;'iS?f 'tfO.''?'''' J ecf acres. >V'ii' nr]«ri Jvi/" I STAFFORD SHIR E. ,,^^ l^ame.^i f f iHE name of this county i^ derived from Stafibrdi X '^^ county town. ^/V, foil^ and natural produliionsJi Its air is in general pure and healthy } but in fome parts it is fiiarp and cold, particularly in the mountainous places^ north-Weft of a market town called Btonci i^.iV..;a --.i- v-;':\''i"^-r:r: mm^Tn^mn The arable and pafture I^nd is excellent} and even the mountainous parts, by good tillage, will produce cpnfiderable crops of corn : but they a^e remarkable for a ihort and fweet ^rafs, which makes the cattle as fine as thofe of Lanca(hire» On the banks of the l^rent and the Dove, the meadows are as rich as any in England, and maintain great dairies, which fupply the markets with vaft quantities of butter and cheefe. The rivers afford plenty of almoft all forts of frefli water iifh ; and the county in general abounds with proviAons of all kinds* ><^- .^ Befides plenty of tUrf and peat, for firing, this county yields three forts of coals, which are diftinguiflied by :the names of pit coal, peacock coal, and cannel coal. The pit coal is dug chiefly in the fouth part of the county, ftt Wed- ipeiburjir, Dudley, and Sedgley, not far fropi Wolverhampton. ''■ "^ * .■■^r The '.%***- •S£ i^ ^-. " ik £ t) R O P fi. *o5 The peacock coal, fo called from its refle<^Ing variops co- lours, like tho& of a peacock^s tail, is found at Henley Green, near Newcaftle under Line, and is better for the forg9 than for the kitchen. The cannei coal, which gives a very cl^ar and bright /lame, derives its name from canwil, an ancient Britiib word for candle. It it fo hard as to bear poUlhing, and is ufed in this county for paving churches, and bther public buildings : it is alfo manufactured into fnuffboxet and other toys. Under the furface of the ground, in feveral parts of this county, are found yellow and red okers, tobacco pipe-clay« potters clay, fullers eaith, and a fort of brick eacth, which burns blue, and is fuppofed to be the earth of which the Ro* mans made their urns. Here alfo are found ftones and minerals of various forts ; as fire-done, for the hearths of iron fur- naces and ovens, lime-done, iron-done, or ore, the beft kind of which is caUed mu(h, and is foUnd at Rufhal, near Walfhall, a market town. This is the ore from which the beft iron is extracted. Some of thefc iron-ftones are as big as the crown of a man's hat^ and fome of them being hollow vja the infide, contain about a pint of iharp cold liquor^ which is faid to be very gratefUl to the tade, and of which th^ workmen are very fond. Copper dones, or ore, are dug out of £^on Hill, near Leek ; and lead oi;e is dug in other parls of the county. Here are alfo found the haematites ot blood-done, alabader^ divers kinds of marble, quarry ftones^ Inill-dones, and grind-ih>nes, of feveral colours. • The principal manufa other me- dicinid wacecs in this county, not reducible to either of theie - clafles, ■Wf^ )l 106 Defcrlption of the Britijh Empire^ clailes, vrhlch are faid to have performed great cures, as Salter's Well, near Newcaftle under Line, which has the reputation of curing the king's evil ; Elder Well, at Blim- hill, near Penkridge, faid to cure diforders of the eyes ; and a well, called the Spaw, near Wolverhampton, which is reputed to have cured difeafes of various kinds. AtWrotteflcy, north-weft of Wolverhampton, have been found ftones of a prodigious fize, one of which, after being hewn, is faid to have made an hundred loads ; and anotheri after ten loads were cut off from it, required thirty yoke of oxen to draw it, and was made into a great ciftern in a malt- houfe here, which wets thirty-feven ifrikes of barley at one time.' • ■■ , ■• ■ i» *..■..:... :^ In the hall of Dudley Caftle, about four miles from Wolverhampton, there is a table of one intire oak plank, which was originally feventy-two feet nine inches long, and three feet broad, but was reduced to its prefent length of fifty- two feet, to fuit the hall it ftands in. . • At Befcot, not far from Litchfield, there is a ditch which afFords a kind of natural phofphorus ; for the mud of this ditch rubbed upon any thing in the dark, emits a faint bluiih flame for near a quarter of an hour. ' At Tettenhall, near Wolverhampton, there is a paflure called the Clots, in which if anv horned cattle graze for on« fummer, their colour, however black before, will, it is faid, turn to a whitifh dun< At Statfoid, not far from Wolverhampton, there is a church with a fteeple, which was repaired upwards of a cen- tury ago j and it has been- affirmed by the inhabitants, that the top ftone of this fteeple, being thrown by one of the workmen from the pinacle into the church«yard, broke in two pieces, and difcovered a living toad in the center of ,it, which died foon after it was expofed to the air. ^ ►^l^i .,; .; Near Newcaftle under Line there is a quarry, where a ftone is faid to have been dug, in the middle of which^ when fawed afunder, was found a human fkull, with teeth in it. At Horborn, fouth of Walfhall, upon the borders of Warwickfhire, refided one John Sands, who died in the year 1625, at the age of 140 years ; and his wife lived to be 120. On the night of the 4th of November 1678, in the fpacc of a few hours, three fucceffive fhocks of an earthquake, accompanied with a rumbling noife like diftant thunder, were felt at Brewood and its neighbourhood j and the night follow- er .'x^...* ... v.; ing acres. hi. in EUROPE. 107 itig, another lefs confiderable (hock, attended with the like rumbling noife, was perceived about this place. ' >^' • Various Particulars."] Staffbrdfliire fends ten members to parliament: viz. two knights for the (hire, and two for each of the following bourghs : Litchfield, Stafford, Newcaflle under Lyne, and Tarn worth. — It lies in the diocefe of Litchfield and Coventry, and in the Oxford circuit. There are in it 39 vicarages, 150 parifhes, and 670 villages. It is divided inta five hundreds, containing about 23,740 houfes, and 118,700 inhabitants. The area of the county is computed at 810,000 acres. .4'- ' . SUFFOLK i Name.] Q UF FOLK is a corruption or contraftlon of the 1^ the ancient Saxon name which fignifies a Southern people, and was applied to the inhabitants of this county to diftin* guifh them from thofe who inhabited the next county to the north, and were called Northfolk. Air^ Soil, and Natural ProduSf ions.] The air of this countjf is pure, pleafant, and healthy, even near the fea ihore, becaule the beach being generally Tandy and fhelly, (hoots off the fca^ and prevents ftagnating water and (linking mud. The foil of the county of Suffolk is different in different parts of it : the eaftern parts bordering on the fea, arc fandy, and full of heaths, but yield abundance of rye, peas, and he mp, and feed vaft flocks of (heep. The middle part of the county, which is called High Suffolk, or the Woodlands, confifts chiefly of a rich deep clay and marie, and produces wood, and good pafture that feeds great numbers of cattle; the parts bordering on Effex and Cambridge, likewife afford excellent paflure, and abound with corn, all except a fmall trail towards Newmarket, inCambridge(hire, which is for the mod part a green heath. It is faid that the feeding cattle and iheep on turneps, was firft pra6lifed in Suffolk. . ■ The milk of this county is reckoned the beft in England ; and it has been long obferved, that the Suffolk cheefe is greatly |mpoveri(hed to enrich the Suffolk butter. It is however found, that the cheefe of this county is very proper for long voyages, being preferved by its drynefs ; but the butter that is made here in great quantitie:?, and fent to all parts in England, is Jiot to be e(jualled in any part of the kingdom. f'r':ry: ^i;. -:.,,i ,■-) .I'r-;;.^- .;. ;■ •• --v; '"'* rt •^•. ■ -- in--^- in. ' ■ ' > - ' I oa befcriptidn of the Britijh Empire, It is obfrrved chat more turkevs are bred in this county, and that P«rt of Norfolk \irhich borders upon it, than in all the reft of England } London and the counties round it being chiefly (upplied with turkeys from hence. Ft^el is voy plenty in this county ; High Suffolk, afford- ing wood in great abundance, and Low Suffolk, or that part of the county whjch runs alpng the Tea fide, being conftantly fupplied with coals from Newcaftle. ManufaOurei.'\ The manufadlures are woolen and linen cloths. Curiofiiies,] Among the curlofities of this county may be feckoned the periodical rendezvous of fwallows along this coaft, from Orfordncfs to Yarmouth ; for about the end of iummer an incredible number of thcfc birds gather here into a body, where they wait the firfl northerly wind to tranfport themfelves out of Britian, probably to fome warmer climate. They are fometimca wind-bound for fevcral days, but it no fooner blows fair, than they all take wing together, and never appear till the follo;ving fpring, when they arrive here in vaft bodies, and from hence difiribute themfelves all over Britain. f^arious particulars. ] Suffolk fends fixteen members to par- liament: viz. two knights for the (hire, and two burgeffes for each of the following boroughs: Ipfwich, Dunwich, Or ford, Aldboroueh, Sudbury, Eye, and St. Emund's-Bury. — It lies in the diocele of Norwich, and in the Norfolk circuit. There Are in it 95 vicarages, 575 parifhes, and 1,500 villages. The diviflon of it is into tj hundreds, containing about 34,420 houfes, and 172,000 inhabitants. The area of Sunolk is computed at 995,000 acres, .l/'t,**- ,,^^ , ,, „ ., ., ..^^ 1.- SURRY. Name.] Q^URRY, or Surrey, is immediately derived 1^ from the Saxon name fignifying fouth of the river, and was given to this county from its fituation fouth of the Thames. ... '^ Jir, Soil, and natural ProJu^ions."] The air and foil of the .sniddle and extreme parts of this county are very different. T-owards the borders of the county, efpecially on the north fide, near the Thames, and on the fouth fide, in and near a vale, called Holmfdale, that ftretches for feveral miles from Darkin^ to the county of Kent, the air is mild and healthy, and the foil fruitful in corn and hay, with a fine mixture of woods a«d fields ; but in the heart of the county, the air is bkuk i and though there arc fome delightful fpots, the county in » r» E U R O P E. 109 in general confifts of open and Tandy ground, and barren heaths. In (ome placet there are long ridges of hills or downit which afTord nothing but warrens for rabbits and hares^ and parks for deer ; and from this difference in the Air and foil, the county has been compared to a coarfe cloth with a fine lift'. The air of Cottman Dean, near Darking^ has been reputed the beft in Eneland. It is obferved of thd inhabitants of the» middle parts of Surry, that they are |eneraily of a pale com-' plexion, refembling the natives of Picardy in France ; and that even the cattle here are of a lighter colour than is ufually met with in any other part of England, which is attributed to thfe air and foil. Near Darking there grows a wild black cherry, of which a very pleafant wine is laid to be made, not much inferior to French claret. This country produces great quantities of box- wood and walnut tree ; and the downs, particularly Banftead Downs, which ftretch 30 miles in length, from Croydon to Farnham, being covered with a ihort herb- age, perfumed with thyme and juniper, the mutton here, though fmall, is remarkably fweet. Near Ryegate a borouah town, is diig up great plenty of fullers earth ; the county )h general is well provided with river fiih, and the Wandle i| famous for plenty of fine trout. s.^ : i -.. :^(i. . Manufactures.] The principal manufa6hire of t&is county is woollen c!oth, particularly kerfeys. Curiofiies.] This county has few curioiities: the moft extraordinary appears to be a human Ikeleton, TM^ich was difcovered in the reign of Charles the Second, in the church- yard of Wotton, about five miles from Darking, and which meafured nine feet three inches in length. In 1739, the fmall pox carried on about 5P0 perfons at Godalming in three months, which were more than one third of the inhabitants. ru^h::? w^;'^ ;^ Dulwich wells, or Sydenham wells, on the border! of Kent,' about five miles from London, are famous for their purgative quality, and were formerly much frequented ; and Stretham, about half way between London and Croydon, has a fine medicinal fpring, which Was difcovered in 1660, and has alfo been greatly frequented by perfons of all ranks from London* Leith-hill, or Lith-hill near Wotton, is remarkable for its extent. It confifts of one continued, and almoft imperceptible afcent from Wotton, for near three mil-es to the fouth ; and from the fummit finks, on the fouth fide, with a gentle de- clivity of about eight miles, as far as Horfliam, a borough town of SufiTex. This is by much the higheft hill in Surry, and from the top of it may be feen, in a cjear day, all Surry and 1X0 Defcription of the Eritijh Empire, and Suffex, part of Hampfliire, Berkfhire, Oxfordfliire, Buckinghamihire, Hertfordfliire, Middlefex, Eflex, and Kent, and, by the help of a telifcope, fome part of Wiltftiire j (o that the whole circumference of the view is thought to be near 260 miles. Various Particulars. ?^ This coi / ty fends fourteen members to parliament: viz. two knights for the ihire, and two burgef- fes for each of the following boroughs : Guilford, South wark, Blechingley, Ryegate, Gatton, and Haflemere. — It lies in the diocefe of Winchefter and in the home circuit. There are in it 35 vicarages, 140 pariflies, and about 450 villages. It is divided into thirteen hundreds, containing near 34,220 houfes, and 171,000 inhabitants. The area of the county is com- puted at 592>ooo acres. • «" ■^^iT^.J ■•■■i V^^ ,^; jf--^ l^V:-f /i^n SUSSEX. ' ' ...,„■> ;\ . Name."] OUSSEX is a corruption or contraftion of the 1^ ancient Saxon name which fignifies the country of the South Saxons, jfir, Sci/y and Natural ProduSlions.'] The air of this county, along the Tea coaft, is aguifli to Grangers, but the inhabitants are in general very healthy. In the north part of the county, bordering upon Kent and Surry, or in the woody tra6l of the three counties, called the Weald, or Wild, which is faid to be 120 miles long, and in fome parts thirty broad, the air is fogey, but not unhealthy; and upon the Downs, in the middle of tne 'county, it is exceeding fweet and pure. In the Weald of SufTex the foil is rich and deep, and pro- duces great abundance of oats and hops ; but the roads are the worft in England; for many of the large trees, which are carried throMgh this part of the county in the fummer time to the river Medway, in Kent, on a carriage called a tug, drawn generally by twenty oxen, are often dropped upon the road, which is otherwife frequently choaked up by tugs, and remain there perhaps for years. The north of Suflex is for the moft part covered with woods, which chiefly fupply the navy docks with timber^ and the iron works in this county with fuel, and from which vaft quantites of charcoal arc made. Tlie middle part of the county is delightfully chequered with meadows, paftures, groves, and corn fields, that produce wheat and barley ; and in the fouth part, towards the fea, are high hills, called the South Downs, confiiling of a fat chalky foil, ». . ' very very frui pf iheep, In the in the ( Kent, i forges, iron: a brittle, Suflej Wheat- fime tha ▼ery fat mullets, far as A weed h render t trout ar lobfters fort of < and th( are reel Man are caft world i: Curie may be very lo ^reatef channe AtS highly Beai ofHaf of Enj dicula clofel) with a Thel ihips thefe Va^ parlia for e Midli ftead. in EUROPE. ^il rii very fruitful both in corn and grafs, and feeding vaft multitudes pf meep, remarkable for very fine wool. In the Weald of Suflex is found the mineral called talc ; and in the eaflern parts of the county, towards the borders of Kent, is dug great plenty of iron ore ; and here are many forges, furnaces, and water mills, both for caft and wrought iron : and though the iron found in this county is faid to be brittle, yet cannons are frequently caft with it. SufTex is particularly famous for a delicious bird, called the Wheat-ear, perhaps from its being moft in feafon about the ^ime that the wheat is ripe : it is about the flze of a lark, and very fat. In the river Arun are caught vaft quantities of mullets, which in the fummer feafon come up from the feaas far as Arundel, in great fhoals, and feed upon a particular weed here, which gives them a high and lufcious tafte, that render them a great delicacy. This river is alfo famous for trout and eel. Near the city of Chichefter are found the fineft lobfters in England. At Sel fey, fouth-eaft of Chichefter, a fort of cockle is found in great plenty, which is much admired ; and the mackarel and herrings, taken in their feafons at Rye». are reckoned the beftof their kind. -. ". ' " Manufa£fures,'] The principal manufacSiures of this county, are caft and wrought iron ; and the beft gunpowder in the world is faid to be made at a market town called Battel. Curioffties.l Among the few natural curifioties of this county, may be reckoned the ftream of the Lavant, which is fometimes very low, even in the winter, when other rivers are at their ^reateft height \ and yet at other times is ready to overflow its . channel. AtSelfcomb, nort^-eaft of battel, is a chalybeat fpring, as. highly impregnated as thofe at Tunbridge in ICent. Beachyhead, thus called from an adjacent beach, fouth-weft of Haftings, is reckoned the higheft cliff of all ^the fouth coaft of England, for it proje^s over the beach to a greater perpen- dicular height than the Monument at London. Hares clofely purfued, have tumbled over the edge of this precipice, with a hound or two after them, and have been dalhed to pieces. The beach underneath, upon which, in ftormy weather, many (hips have been loft, has feveral large caverns made in it by the fea. Various particulars,'] Suflex fends twenty members to parliament : viz. two knights for the ftiire, and two burgefTeg for each of the following boroughs j Chichefter, Horlnam» Midhurft, Lewes, Shoreham, Bramber, Steyning, Eaft-Grim- ftead, and Arundel. This county lies in the diocefe of Chichefter, iia Lefcription of the Britijh Empire^ Chichefter, and the home circuit. It contains 123 vicarages. 12 p^riflies, and 1060 villages. The divifion of it is inta IX ^5P^9 cohtaihing about ;ii,500 acres, and xo7>6oq ihhabilaiits* •'*'* >,, .s,*..' ■. *.,, _.,• ,j.,-. _^; ;^''.-t. ' WEST. \ in E U R O P E. u "6 V«f. WESTMORELAND.^ ' ».* ' jVmwf. "1 xrESTMORELAND is fo called from th« W nature of the country, which, in general, ift a moor, or barren heath, and from its weflern fituation, with refpe6t to another moorifh trad: of mountains, called the En'-lifh Appeninc. -r/rr, ywY, ami naturni protfuiJiom.] The air of this CoUftty is fweet, pleafant, and healthyj but in the mountainous parts, (harp and piercing. This county confifts of two divifions, the barony of Weft- jnoreland, fometimes called the Bottom, and the Barony of JCendal. The Barony of Weftmoreland, which comprehends the north part of the county, is an open champaign country^ -twenty ftiiies long, and fourteen broad, conlrfting of arable land, and producing great plenty of corn and grafs. Thfc Barony of Kendal, To called from the town of the fame name, which comprehends the fouth part of the county, is very fnountatnous ; the vallies, however, are fruitful, and even fthe mountains yield pafture for fheep and cattle. Here are Several forefts and parks, and both baronies afford great plenty of wood. * ; >i'''3 t^f TiwtfViliic;" lv> vr.-:! ;w;i This county is well fupplied with fiihj and the charre, ft ^delicate fort of trout, mentioned in the account of Cumber*- iand, is peculiar to the river Eden, Winander -Mere, ami. UUefwater. The weftern mountains of this county are fup- pofed to contain vaft quantities of copper ores, and fome vein« of gold : but, as the expence of winning the ores, on ac- count of their depth, and fome other inconveniencies, hai$ been found more than equivalent to the value of what metahs could be obtained for ; the deiign, therefore, of working theA: ■^nines, has been laid afide. Manufe£furei,'\ The chief manufactures of this county, are fiockings and' woollen cloth. CnrioJities.'\ The only natural curiofity of this county is ft |)etrrfying fpring, called the Dripping Well, in Betham Park, ■near Burton. ^•«, Variotts particulars.] Weftmoreland fends four members td parliament : viz. two knights for the (hire, and two burgelTefs ,for t!he "borough of Appleby. It lies partly in the diocefe of Chefter, and partly in that of CarliHe, atld in the noi'therli circuit. There are in it 26 parifhes, and 220 villages* The two baronies of Weftmoreland and Kendal, are the only principal divifion of thi& county j for, not being thought able - . la iu 1 16 Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ in former times to pay any fubfidics, confidering the charge the inhabitants were at in the border fervicc, it was never divided into hundreds, rapes, or wapentakes, like other counties. The earl of Thanet is hereditary fherifF of this county. There are reckoned in it about 6,500 houfes, and 33,000 inhabitants. The area of the county is computed at 510,000 acres. .<•»..■ i>jt W I L T S H I R E. aarr i ,- iVaffi/.] 'TT^ H E name of this county is 'derived from Wilton, i> '% J[ a borough town, and formerly the chief town in the county. .e«: ny-^' j^-r ■.:■ ,v:;/?v»?y v,ui uvJJii^ Atr^ foU^ and natural produSitom,'\ The air of Wiltfhirc is fweet and healthy ; it is (harp on the hills, but mild in the vallies, even in winter. The northern part of this county, called North Wiltfliire, abounds with pleafant rifings and clear ftreams, forming a variety of delightful profpedls ; the fouthern part is very rich and fruitful, and the middle, called Salisbury Plains, from the city of Salifbury in their neighbourhood, confifts chiefly of downs, which afford the" beft pafture for iheep. The foil of the hills and downs in general is chalk and clay, but the vallies between them abound with corn fields and rich meadows^ and here. are made great quantities of as good cheefe as any in Jbngland. In fome parts of Wiltfliire, particularly about Eaft La- vlngton, a market town, is found a fort of herbage, called Knotgrafs, near twenty feet in length, and ufed in feeding hogs. In the Upper Avon, near Ambrefbury, is found a fmall fifli called a loach, which the people in this neighbour- hood put into a glafs of fack, and fwallow alive. The north part of the county yields plenty of wood ; and in the fouth 4)at'ts, particularly at Chilmark, near Hindon, a borough town, are exceeding good quarries, where the ftones are very large j fome of them are 60 feet in length, and 12 in thick- nefe, without a flaw. As there is no coal in. this county^ fuel is icarce. s -■ ^^KtJ^^t\y& (^-t^^ jfiifMtitai'waii:;?:?* ' Manufnaures.'X The beft fort of Englifli broad cloLbs. both white and dyed, are manufa6tured in this county; The city of Salifljury, which is 83 miles diftant from^Lon- . x This is a large, well built, clean city, fituated in a valley, and watered by the Upper Avon, on the weft and fouth, and by the Bourne on the eaft. The ftreets are generally fpa- cious, and built at right angles. The cathedral, which was finifhed in 1258, at tAe expence of above 26,000 1. is, of a Gothic building, the moft elegant and regular in the king- dom. It is in the form of a lanthorn, with a beautiful fpire of free ftone, in the middle, which is 410 feet high, being the talleft in England. The length of the church is 478 feet, the breadth is 76 feet, and the height of the vaulting 80 feet. The outftde is magnificent, there being no outfide wall, but only buttrefles and windows. The windows are faid to be as many in number as the days in a year ; and a particular de- fcription of its feveral ornaments would fwell to a confiderable volume. The bells for the fervice of this church, which are eight in number, hang in a ftrong, high built fteeple, erefted in another quarter of the church-yard ; the walls of the fpire, which towards the top arc little more than four inches thick, being judged too weak for fuch a weight of metal ; fo that in the cathedral there is only one bell, which rings when the bifhop comes to the choir.! «i i it". :* .ufiff®*! H i^vif >. ; . . i^ ^iU This church has a cloifter, which is 150 feet fquare, and of as fine workmanfhip as any in England. The chapterThoufe, which is ano£tagon, is 150 feet in circumference j and yet the roof bears all upon one fmall pillar in the center, fo much too weak in appearance for the fupport of fuch a prodigious weight, that the conftrudion of this building is thought one pf the greateft curiofities of the kind in Europe. There is a library well furnifhed with books, belonging to this cathedral, and adjoining to it is a clofe, for the reiidence of the canons and prebendaries, which is fo large and well built, that it looks like a fine city of itfelf. Befides the cathedral, there are in this city three other churches, and three charity fchools, in which 170 children are taught and cloathed. It has an hqfpital, or college, founded in 1683, by bifhop Ward, for ten widows of poor im^'i-^Mrm' I 3.,'l«iJJ'ivimi'^ V.M -0 clergy-. *i'i-a./ f 1 8 Dejcrtption of the Britijh Empire, clergymen ; and here are feveral board ing-fchools for youn*^ gen.t' men and ladies. T > is city has a rpacious market-place, in which is a fine town-houfei and the water of the Avbn runs through the ilreets in canals lined with brick. There are no vaults in the churches, ftor cellars in any part of the city, the foil be- ing fo moift, that the water rifcs up in graves dug in the ca- thedral, and is fometimes too feet high in the chapter** boufe. M'^JwJit .;'ni'^ r'iy. Vi! ^Sf^wx i^-^v ly-snm if ':Tzut-i The principal manufatSlures of this city, are flannels, druggets, and the cloths called Salifbury whites. It is alfo famous for the manufactures of bone- lace and fciiTars ; and xnay be reckoned as flourifhing a city as any in England, that depends entirely on a home trade, , jh^v^v Old Sarum, or Salifbury, (lands at the diftance of one mile north of the city of Salifbury, and was formerly the fee of a bifhop, who had a caftle and cathedral here ; but king Ste- phen quarrelling with bifliop Roger, feized the caftle and put a garrifon in it, which was the iirft occafion of the ruin of this ancient city j for, not long after, bifhop Poor tranflated the epifcopal feat to the valley below it, where the city of Sa- lifbury now ftands, and founded a cathedral there ; and tho citizens being often vexed at the infolence of the garrifon, ^nd labouring under inconveniences for the want of water, and on account of the bleaknefs of the air, to which the height of their fituation expofed them, removed to the new city. Old Sarum is now reduced to a fmgle farm-houfe, and yet it fends two members to parliament, who are ele£^ed by the proprietors of certain adjacent lands. * 'i^-mringwas difcovered in 1 718, which is in great repute for the cure pf fcorbutic and fcrophulous diftempers. It is faid that the fteeple of the cathedral church of Old Sarum, which was built not long after the Conqueft, was fet on fire by lightning, the very next day after the church ynzs confecrated. At Tetfbury, near Hfndon, was a church with a ileeple, ilyhich was thrown down by a florm of thunder and lightning, in the month of January, 1762. est .h iura A remarkable accident happened in the year 997, at a great iynod or convocation, which was held at Calne, and at which the king, nobility, and bi(hops, were prefent, to decide a conteft between the regular and fecular priefts, relating to the celibacy of tlie clergy, aiid to the monks hpldin^ of benefices, whicli >' in E U R O P E. " 119 which the fcculars confidered as an encroachment upon their rights. III the courfe of the debate, as a Scotch bifhop was zealoufly pleading for the fcculars, all the timbers of the af- fembly room fuddenly gave way, and the whole fabric fell to the ground. By this accident moft of the fccular pricfts were killed, and buried under the ruins, and many of the other priefts were wounded, and fome killed ; but the feat of arch- bifliop Dunftan, the chief advocate for the monks, and the prefident of the fynod, remaining firm and unhurt, his pre- servation was interpreted as a miraculous declaration of Heaven in their favour : upon which the fecular priefts in Dunftan*s province were turned out, and monks put in their room. In November, 1725, it rained foexceflively at Calne, that the river fuddenly overflowing, fome perfons were drowned in the ftreet in fight of their neighbours, who could not venture to their relief; the flood damaged feveral houfcs, and vaft quantities of goods; and, among many other things of great weight, carried off a cafk of oil, containing an hundre4 ■gallons. Cofham, near Chippenham, is remarkable for its healthy fituation, it being very common to find many inhabitants in this village, 80, 90, or even 100 years old j and not long ago, it is faid, that ten perfons of this place, whofe ages to- gether amounted to upwards of a thoUfand years, danced the Morricc dance at a gentleman's houfe in the neighbour- hood. On a hill called Rundway-hill, near Devizes, is a fquare camp, with a fmgle trench, fuppofed to be Roman. Many Roman coins, of different emperors, have been found in the neighbourhood of Devizes, together with pots and other earthen veflels, fuppofed to be of Roman antiquity. In I7I4» a large urn, full of Roman coins, was found buried under the ruins of an ancient building, near the fame place ; and feveral brafs ftatues of heathen deities were found crowded betvveei| flat ftones, and covered with Roman brick. This colle6tion of deities, which was carried about the kingdom as a (how, and is fuppofed to have been buried about the year 234, wheii the Roman troops were called out of Britain, conlifted of a Jupiter Ammon, about four inches long, weighing fome- what more than four ounces : Neptune, with his trident, the teeth of which are much (horter than ufually reprefented : this figure is about four inches in length, and weighs four ounces : a Bacchus, much of the fame weight and^ dimen- fions : a Vulcan, fomething lefs than any of the figures aU rei^dy mentioned : a Venus, about fix inches long, the left arm 120 DeftriptioH of the Britijh Empire^ arifn broken off, Upt the figure much the bcft finiftied of thd whole colledion : a Pallas, with a fpear, flileld and hehnet, between three and four inches in length: a Heiculcs, about four inches long, weighing fix ounces and a half. Befides thefe, there wci'e a Mercury, a Veftal Virgin, the Wolf with Romulus and RcmuSj, fome Egyptian deities, and a coin of the emperor Alexander Severus. ..^ . .. . But the moft curious and famous remain of antiquity in this county, and, indeed, in all Britain, is a pile of huge ftoncs In Salifbury Plain, about fix miles north of the city of Salifbury, called Stone-hcnge i concerning the origin, ufe^ ind ftruiSlure of which, antiquarians are much divided. The name Stone-henge is purely Saxon, and fignifies no more than hanging ftones, or a flone gallows. It probably ialludes to the difpofition of feveral of the ftones of which this wonderful fabric confifts. Some, however, fuppofc the triie name to be StorhengeH, and fuppofe it to have been a mo- nument eredled by Ambrofius, a JBritifh king, ih memory o^ the Britons flaughtered at, or near, this place, by Hengift, the Saxon. But Dr. Stukelcy, who not many years ago wrote a learned treatife upon this piece of antiquity, has en- deavoured to fhow that the original name of Stone-hcnge was Ambretf, from which he fuppofes the adjacent town of Am- brefbury had its name. The ancient Britons called it Choir- gaur, which Dr, Stukely is of opinion, fignifies the Great Church, or Cathedral. The Choir -gaur of the ancient Britons, was, by the monks latinized Chorea Gigi* turn, or the Giant Dance, a name fuited to the fupcrftitious notions tney had of the ftrudure, and to the reports of magic concern- ed ir ralfing it. Stone-henge is fituated n6air the fummit of a hill, and con- fifts of the remains of two circular and two oval ranges of* rough ftones, having one coftimon center. The outer circle is 108 feet in diameter, and in its perfe^n^-*i -i- -i vf<^.w:': z, l^c^ufe then the Phce- urn, the ft one that ,iV Mf-iV nician .v\«. in EUROPE. fjj n!cian trade was at its height, which afforded a ready con- veyance into this country. The heads of oxen, deer, and other beads, have been dug up in and about thel'c ruins, together with wooJ, alhcs, and other undoubted relics of facrifices : and around this fuppofed temple there are a great number of barrows, or monumental heaps of earth thrown up in the form of a bell, and each in- clofed with a trench from 105 to 175 feet in diameter. Thcfe barrows extend ^0 a confiderablc diftance from Stone-henge, but they are fo ^jlaced as to be all in view of that temple. In* fuch barrows as have been opened, fkeletons, or the remains of burnt bones, have been found. In one of them was an. vrn, containing afhes, fome bones, and other matters, which the funeral pile had not confumed. By the collar bone, and one of the jaw bones, which were flill entire, it was judged' that the perfon there buried, muft have been about fourteen years old ; and from fome female trinkets, and the brafs head of a javelin, it was conjedlured to be a girl who had carried arms. The trinkets confifted of a great number of glafs and amber beads, of various fhapes, fizes, and colours, together with a {harp bodkin, round at one end and fquare at the' other. In fome other barrows were found human bones, to- gether with thofe of horfes, deer, dogs, and other beafts and birds : in others, fome bits of red and blue marble, and chip* pings of the (tones of the temple j and in others were found % brafs fword, and an ancient brafs inftrument called a Celt. At Abury, on Marlborough Downs, near the town of that name, are a few huge ftones, like thofe of Stone-henge, Thefe ftupendous remains are alfo fuppofed to be the ruins of an ancient temple of the Druids. Dr. Stukely is of opinion that this temple is much more ancient than Stone-henge ; and it was fo large, that the whc^e village is now contained within its circumference; a high rampart, with a proportionable ditch on the inflde, furrounds it, which proves that it was not a fortification, becaufe then the ditch would have been on the outfide of the rampart. Various particulars.'] Wiltfliire fends thirty-four mcmbera to parliament : viz. two knights for the (hire, and two bur-- gefles for each of the following boroughs. New Sarum, Wilton, Downton, Hinton, Heytefbury, Weflbury, Calne^ Devizes, Chippenham, Malmfbury, Cricklade, Great Bed- win, Lurgerlhall, Old Sarum, Wooten-BafTet, and Marl- borough. It lies in the diocefc of Salifbury, and in the vefterA circuit. There sre in it 107 vicarages, 304. parities. I J 124 Defcription of the Briiijh Empire^ and 950 villages. The divifion of it is into twenty-nine hundreds, containing near 27,100 hou fes, and 108,170 in- habitants. The area of the county is computed at 676,000 acres. WORCESTERSHIRE. _ *^ »*[ * ** '-, NameJ] 'T^ H E prefent name of this county is derived from X Worcefter, the name of its city. *^^ Atty Sot/, and natural Produ£iions,'\ The air of this county is exceeding fweet and healthy, and the foil is very rich, both in tillage and pafture, the hills being covered with flocks of iheep, and the vallies abounding in corn and rich meadows. Here is a remarkable rich valley, called the Vale of Efam, or Evefliam, from Evefham, a borough town of this county,, fituated in the middle of the valley, to which it gives name. The Vale of Evefliam runs along the banks of the river Avon, Irom Tewkfbury, in Glocefterfliire, to Stratford upon Avon, in Warwickfliire. It abounds with the fineft corn, and pafture for fheep, and is juftly reckoned the granary of all thefe parts. Hops are much cultivated in this county i and it yields great plenty of all forts of fruit, particularly pears, with vhich the hedges every where abound, and of which great quantities of excellent perry are made. The rivers here afford plenty of fifb, and the Severn abounds with lampreys. This county is remarkable for many brine pits and fait fprings } and at Droitwich, a borough town, there are feveral fuch fprings, from which fo much fait is made, that the taxes paid for it to the crown, at the rate of 3s. 6d. a bufliel, are faid to amount to no lefs than 50,000!. a year. Manufaiiures andTradt.'] The chief manufactures ofWor- ce0erfhire, are cloth, (lockings, gloves, and glafs ; in which, together with the fait, hops, and other commodities of this county, the inhabitants carry on a confiderable trade. ,3 -.f-"! . Curiofities.'] The only natural curiofities in this county are Its fprings. Many fait Tprings have been difcovered in Wor- cefterfhire, befides thofe at Droitwich : of the many fait fprings about that place, three piis only are made ufe of; thefe afford the falteft brine; and one of thefe pits yield as much brine in twenty-four hours, as will produce 450 buibels of fait : but what is moft remarkable, is, that fprings of frc{h aces almoft contiguous to the fait fprings ; and water rifein fomc ;' ^"^i in EUROPE. ^^*^- its and that feveral fait fprings iflue out in the very channel of the river Salwarp at this place. ' »» - , y« l^arious Particulars.] This county fends nhie memhers to parliament : viz. two knights for the (hire, and two burgefleg for each of the following boroughs, Worcefter, Droitwich, and Eveiham, and one for the borough of Bewdley. — Wor- cefterfhire is in the diocefe of Worcefter, and the Oxford cir- cuit. There are reckoned in it 55 vicarages, 152 pariflies, and 500 villages, it is divided into feven hundreds, and two limits, containing about 20,600 houfes, and 103,100 inha- bitants. The area of the county is computed to be near 540,000 acres, t.-; ■'■'-■ '^^ ■■ r^i'' a^-- -^^ •> ■■ '-^ ^'-^y-- '^*-f-*- ■•.».*, Mifci*- YORKSHIRE, t-.t Name."] Tp HIS county took its name from the city of 1 York. As the air, foil, and prod unions of this large county, are dif- ferent in different parts, it is neceflary to anticipate its general divifion into three parts, called Ridings. The name Riding is only a corruption of the original Saxon name dhrithing^ which was applied to the third part of a province or county j and the divifion into ridings, though now peculiar to York- (hire, was, before the Conquefl, common to feveral other counties in the north of England. The ridings of this county, each of which is as large as moft (hires, are diftinguifhed by the names of the Weft Riding, the Eaft Riding, and the' North Riding. The Weft Riding is bounded by the rivey Gufe on the eaft, which feparates it from the Eaft Riding; and by the Ure, on the north, which parts it from the North Riding; and the Eaft and North Ridings are feparated by the Derwent, The air in the Weft Riding, is (harper, but healthier than in either of the other two ridings. The foil on the weftern fide of this divifion is hilly and ftony, and confcquently not very fruitful, but the intermediate vallies afford plenty of good meadow and pafture ground ; and on the fide of thi? riding, next the river Oufe, the foil is rich, producing wheat and barley, though not in fuch abundance as oats, which ai% cultivated with fuccefs in the moft barren parts of this dii ftriiSt. The Weft Riding is famous for fine horfes, goats and other cattle ; and there are fome trees, natives of this riding, ^hich are feldom found wild in any other part of England, particularly the fir, the yew, and the chelnut. Sherborn, a matkeC town, is remuricable lor fine cherries j and this riding abounds J j[z6 Defer iption of the Sritijh Empire, abounds with parks and chaces ; it contains alio many mine* of pit-coal and jet. At Tadcafter, a market town, there is a lime quarry j and at Sherborn, a fort of ilone is dug up, which is foft when newly taken out of the ground, but when expofed to the weather, becomes very hard and durable. In many parts of this riding, there are alio mines of flone, which, after being calcined, is, after certain preparation by a peculiar procefs, made into alum. The chief manufactures of the Weft Riding, are cloth and iron wares; and this riding is ren "kable for curing legs of pork, into hams, like thofe of Weftphali a. The Eaft Riding is the leaft of the three ; and the air here, on account of the neighbourhood of the German Ocean, and the great aeftuary of the Humber, is lefs pure and healthy ; yet on the hilly parts, towards the north-weft, in a large trait called York Woulds, the air is but little afFefted by either of thefe waters j the foil, however, in general, is dry, fandy, «nd barren, yet the fea-coaft and vallies are fruitful, and the Woulds produce fome corn, and feed great numbers of black cattle, horfes and (beep j and the wool of the fhcep is equal to any in England. This divifion yields plenty of wood, pit- coal, turf, jet, and alum ftones ; and the inhabitants are well provided with fea and river fi(h. ^. - Its principal manufacture is cloth. The North Riding is the northern boundary of the other two } and the air here is coWer and purer than in either of riiem : the eaftcn part of this riding, towards the Ocean, is called Blackmoc - , and confifts of a hilly, rorky, and woody country } and the north- weft part, called Richmondfhire, from Kichmond, a borough town, the capital of the diftridt, confifts of one continued eminence, or ridge of rocks, and vaft mountains, the fides of which yield good grafs, and the vallies at the bottom are very fruitful } the hills feed deer of a very large fize, and goats ; and contain mines of lead, copper, alum ftone, and coal ; but the coal and alum mines only are wrought. Swaledale abounds with fine pafture j and Wentefdale, watered by the Ure, is a rich fruitful valley, abounding with wood, and ftocked with vaft herds of cattle. Towards the fea-coaft are found great quantities of jet ; and At Egglefton, north-weft of Richmond, there is a fine quarry of marble. The fea, near this coaft, fwarms with herring, in the herring feafon ; and large turbots, and great variety a( other fifh, are alfo caught here ; the rivers abound with all forts of frefh-water fifli, and the Ure is remarkable for cray- iifh. , . . The in E U R O P E. iiy ManufaSJures,'] The chief manufa<5lures of this riding are cloths, ftockings, and alum. The city of York is a county of itfelf, incorporated by king Richard the Sqcond, with a jurirdi(Stion over thirty-fix viJlagea and hamlets in the neighbourhood called, the Liberty of Anlty. It is governed by a lord mayor, twelve aldermen in the com- miflion of the peace, two IherifFs, twenty-four prime common* council men, eight chamberlains, feventy-two common- council men, a recorder, a town-clerk, a fword-bearer and a common ferjeant. The city is divided into four wards : and the lord -mayor and aldermen have the confervancy of tj>« rivers Oufe, Humber, Wharfe, Derwent, Are, and Don, within certain limits ; artd the rcprefentatives of this city in parliament have aright to fit upon the privy couMfellors bench, next to the citizens of London, a privilege which the repre- I'entatives of both cities claim or. the firft day of the meeting of every new parliament. This city of York is plcafantly fituated in a large plain, in a fruitful foil and a healthy air. It is furrounded with walls, and has four large well built gates, and fire pofterns ; the houfes are generally old, and built of timber ; it had formerly forty-one parifh churches, and feventeen chapels, befidtt a cathedral ; but the parilhes are now reduced to twenty- eight, and the parifh churches in ufe are no more than fevcn« teen. The cathedral having been burnt down in the reign of king Stephen, the prefent fabric was begun in the reign of king Edward the Firfl, and is by fome thought to be the Aneft Gothic: building in Englana. It extends in length 525 feet, in breadth no feet, and in height 99 feet. The length of fihe crofs ifles is 222 feet ; the nave, the biggeft of any, except that of St. Peter's church at Rome, is four feet and a half wider, and eleven feet higher, than that of St. Paul's cathedral at London. At the weft end are two towers, connefbed and fupported by>n arch, which forms the weft entrance, and is reckoned the largeft Gothic arch in Europe. In the fouth tower, on the weft fide, is a deep peal of twelve bells, the tenor weighing fifty-nine hundred weight. At the fouth end of the church there is a circular window, called the Marigold window, from the glafs being ftained of the colour of Marigold flowers. And at the north end is a very large painted winctew, faid to have been ere6ted at the expence of five hiaiden fitters. The other windows are exquifitely painted with fcripture hiftory. The front of the choir is adorned with ftatues of all the kings of England, from William the Conqueror to Henry the 128 Defer iption of the Britifh Empire y the Sixth j and here are thirty-two ftalls, all of fine marble with pillars, each confifting of one piece of alabafter. This cathedral has a chapter-houfe, which is reckoned on^ of the neateft Gothic ftru6lures in Eiipland. It is of an o^^gon form, fixty-three feet in diameter, without any pillar to iiupport the roof, which refts upon one pin placed in the center. The windows are finely painted and finifticd, with an arch at the top ; and within is the following barbarous verfe, in gilt letters, which (hews the high conception entertained of the excellence of this ilrudure, by thofe who lived at the timo when it was eredled. Ut rofa fas fiorum^ fc eji domui ifla domorum Of the parifh churches three only are remarkable. All- liallow's church, a Gothic ftrudure, has the mod: magnificent; fieepie in England ; St. Mary's church has a fteeple in the form of a pyramid, which is much admired ; St. Margaret's church has a fteeple like St. Mary's, and a magnificent porch, on tho top of which is a crucifixion cut in ftone. York has two charity fchools, one for fixty boys, the other lor twenty girls, all taught and cloathed j and an infirmary lately eredled. William the Conqueror built a oaftle here, which was re- paired in 1 70 1, and is now the place where the affixes are held ; part of it is alfo ufed for a prifon : It has a handfome chapel, with a good ftipend for a preachei, and a gift of a large loaf of fine bread to every debtor that attends the fervice ; the wards are all kept clean ; the very felons are allowed beds j and there is an infirmary feparated from the common prifon, where the fick are properly attended. Halifax is fo called by a very fmall variation of its ancient name Halig-fax, which, in the old Englifli language, fignifies holy-hair ; it was originally called Horton, and its name is faid to have been changed to Halig-fax by the following incedent : A fecular prieft of this village being violently enamoured of a young woman, hifi paffion at length turned his brain, and happening to meet her in a retired place, he murdered her, horridly mangled her body, and cut off her head. The head being afterwards, for what reafon does not appear, hung upon a yew tree, was foon regarded with a fuperftitious veneratiorjij and frequently vifited in pilgrimage ; but at length rotting away, the devotion of the vulgar was transferred to the tree, and fo many branches were continually torn off, and carried away as relicks, that it was at length reduced to a bare trunk : this trunk fucceeded to the honours of the tree, as the tree had fucc^ded to thofe of the head^ and the devotees, who flill »r , vifited fh E U ROPE. 129 Vifited it, conceived a notion, that the fmall Hbres ih the rind* between the bark and the body of the tree, were, in reality* the very hairs of the young woman's head : a miracle now became a new obje(5t of devotion, and the refort of pilgrims was greater than ever } fo that, in a ihort time^ from a i'mall village rofe a confiderable town* ind acquired the new name of Halig-fax. a^^^ •*: -.; -^ ; T'his town ^s 199 miles diilant frdm London, and ftandt near the river Calder, on the gentle defcent of a hill. It hat a venerable old church, and twelve chnpels ; it is reckoned the moft populous, if not the largeft parllh in England ; for* beiides the church and chapels, it contains fixteen meeting'- houfes, mod of which have bells and burial grounds. Here is a free-fchool, called Queen Elizabeth's School ; a good hof- pital, founded in 1642) by Nathaniel Waterhoufe, efq. for twelve eld people, and a work-houfe for twenty children. The extraordinary induftry, fpirit and ingenuity of the in* habitants in the manufacture of cloth, particularly kerfeys and ihalloons, has rendered Halifax one of the moft flouriihing tDwn& In England : it has been computed, that 100,000 pieces of flialloon are made in a year in this town alone ; and thstt one dealer has traded by commiffion for 60, 000 1. per annum* to Holland and Hamburgh, in the article of kerfeys alone* It is obferved, that the inhabitants of Halifax are fo employed in the woollen manufaAure, that they fcarce fow more corn than will keep their poultry ; and that they feed few oxen or iheep. Their markets are thronged by prodigious numbers of people, who come to fell their manufactures, and buy pro-> vifions. Kingfton upon Hull, but by contraction, more commonly Hull, was called Kingfton, or King's-'town, from its having been founded by king Edward the Firft, and Kingfton upon Hull* from its utuation on the river Hull. « It is diftant from London 169 miles, and is faid to have been firft incorporated by king Edward the Third i but king Henry the Sixth made it a town and county incorporate of itfelf ; ftnd under the charter of that prince it is governed by a mayor^ twelve aldermen, a recorder, a chamberlain, a water-bail ifF, a iheriflF, a town-clerk, and fword and mace-bearers. It is faid, that this town has a privilege to give judgment on life* thoush it now does not exert that privilege. The mayor had two nrords given him, one by king Richard the Second* aind the other by king Henry the Eighth, though only one fword ^.carried before him. He had alfo a cap of maintenattce, and ^ oar of lignum vitie givfn him, which is an enil^n of his K jurifdiCtion* 1 1^0 Defcfiption of the Britijh Empire^ jurifdiiSlion, as admiral within the liberties of the Humber. Jn the reign of king rleniy the Eighth, this town was, by an act of parliament, erected into an nonour ; and, in the reign of king VViUictm the Third, it was enabled ta buil4 work- houfes, and houfcs of correction. ?* ■^.:,,,..-.,. <. ,. This townjs ft.uattd at the influx of the river Hull into the Humber, and nciir the place where the Humber opens into the Gernidn Ocean, it lies (o low, that by cutting the Hum- ber b. nks, the country may be laid under water for five miles round, it is furrounded by a wall and a ditch, where it is not defended by the river Humber ; and is fortified by a caftle, a citadel and u block-houfe. The town is large, clofe built, well paved, and exceeding populous. Here are two churches, feveral meeting-houlcs, a free-lchool, founded by John xAlcock,,, bifijop of Worceftcr, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, with a hall over it for the merchants of the town, who have founded and endowed an hofpitil here, called Trinity Houfe, in which are maintained many diifrelied feamen, both of Hull and other places, that are members of its port. This houfe is governed by twelve elder brothers lix ailiitants, two wardein$, and two jftewards ; and in one of the apartments is a manufaftory of ,faa! cloth, in which the town carries on a good trade. There is a charity-fchool, an hofpital, called God's Houfe, founded in 1584, by iViichael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk} and other hofpitais or work-houfes for the poor. t Hull has not only the moft confiderable inland traffic of any port in the north of England, but a foreign trade fupe- rior to any in the kingdom, excepting the ports of London, Briflol and Yarmouth ; the cuftoms here being recl;oned at • between 30 and 40,000!. a year. The inland tradK» in E U R O P E. - f^j mar fchool here, and appointed thirteen fchool-burgeiTes to* manage the revenue, and nominate themafter and ufher. Here ' are two charity fchools, one for thirty boys, and the other for ' thirty girls ; and in 1673, an hofpital was ere^ed in thii town, and endowed with 200 1. per annum, by Gilbert Talbot^ earl of Shrew(bury; and anodier earl of Shrewfbury, great- grand-father to carl Gilbert, left 200 1. ft year, for ever, to thepoor of the parifli. The lord of the manor has a prifon here, and holds a court ' every three weeks. This town has a fine ftone-bridge over the river Don ; and, in the neighbourhood, are fome mines of alum. Curiofiies.'] One of the moft remarkable curiofities of this county, is a fpring, at a village called Giglefwick, about half a mile from Settle, which frequently ebbs and flows thret times in an hour, when the water finks and rifes two feet. About a mile eaft of Beverley is a fpaw, which is faid to be of great fervice in the cure of fcorbutic and other cutaneous (diforders. In York Would, after very rainy feafons, water freauently guflies out of the earth, and rifes to a confiderable height. Thefe '^ts the inhabitants of the county call vipfies, or gipfies, and believe them to be the forerunner of a famine, or A>me other public calamity^ To account for thefe phaeno- mena, it is fuppofed that the rain-water, being received and colleaed in Jaree bafons pr caverns of the hills in this moun* taino^s tr^£l, finds a vent below, towards the bottom of the hills, but that this yent i)ot being large enough for the water to iflue as h& as it gathers above, it is forced up into jets or (bouts, upo;i, the principle of artificial fountains ; and after fprings and fummers fo wet as to produce thefe fpouts, a fear- city of corn has frequently happened throughout the kingdoms fo that the notion of theie fpouts heipg prognoftics of famine^ is better founded than many others or the lame kind. Near Sheffield is a park, where, in the }aft century, an oak tree was cut down, whi^h had 10,000 feet of board in it $ and, in the fame park, another oak was felled, the trunk of which was fo large, that two men on horfeback, one on each fide of it, as it lay along upon th^ groiind, could pot fee the crowns of each others hats. In a village called Cuckhold's Haven, not far from Sand- beck, near Tjckhill, there now grows, or vei^y lately did grow, a yew tree, the ftem of which i^ lliaight and fmooth, to the height of about ten feet j the branches rife one above another, in circles of fuch exad dimenAons, that they appear K 3 to .t'^. T34. pefcnp'ion of jhe Br'ttijh Empire^ to Is the tffc^a of art. Tlie Ihoots bf each year arc exa£lly conibrmabit: one to anotherj.j^ui, lb thick, ;^at the oircjs can . fcarce jind ai)y,entra|lC(e, Tt& cc^iour 19 remarkably hright and , vivjil, \yhich, togethf^,)y^^lj 'its upfcbftimon figure, gives it at fpme (Iiftan(:,e the app^^r^nce ipf .aline artificial tuft of green Vflvet,' ■_••■• • \, "' '1 he top of the hfgli cliF, Toutn b'fthc town of Scarborough, lit the bott;pm;of wJ:^ijt;h i^"'the /Scarfcojough fpaw, was fifty- ' four yards above high-, water n]|irk,^ tiU t;he 291.11 oF December, ^ 1737, wHcn a part of the (^I^ir, containmg at'ove an acre of,' t)alture land, funic, by dcgrcrt, for revcralhoui's, with cattle feeding on it, and, at k:ngth,5>fettl^d about fevontc^n yards' below its former perpendicular height. By^.tjU! prelTure of iych an immenfe weight, coraputecrat no Icfstjian 561^360 tons, the landy ground beypnd tlie cliff, towards the Tea," where the wells were, role for about onohuridred yards in' length, twentv feet above its forrhcr level ; the fpa^w, and thc^ buildings around it, being on the ground that was thus ele- vated, the water, entirely failed ; . but, upon a diligent fearch, the fpaw was again recovered; and the Water, upon trial, feenied rather to be more efficacious than before. . On the taps of Tome of -the vaft rnountains near Richmond, ^re found grtjat. quantities of ftones, like cockle (hells, fom^ of which ar.e. buried in the middle of firm rotks, and others in beds of linieTflone, at fix or eight fathoms under ground,'* Some ri\ll them rup lime-ftones, and fuppofe thena to be pro-. diuced by, a more than ordinary heat, and a 0OO awes. '^tr 7 tff lm 1 I VeJcripHon of the Britijh Empire^ v.- • - ; WALES. ANGLESEA. .t-,, Kame."] /% NGLESEA, or Anglefey, takes its namt £\ from the o|d|£nclih words, Eng/is / faints. yUr, foil's and naturalp'odu£liim.] The air of this county is remarkably mild every where, except, on thelhiHs, which is attributed to its being furrounded with high mountains. The foil, pahicufarly on the hills, is very ftony j but as abundance of fm.ili rivers iilue from the mountains, the vali- Jies which receive thefe ftreams.an? very fruitful both in corn and pafture. Brecknockfhire .prodirces not only black cattle, goats, and deer^ -.but great abundance of fowl and. frejfh-water nfli; and on the eait fide of the town oif Brecknock, is a lake about two miles long, and nearly a;S: broad, called Brecknock Mere, which abounds with otters, and fuch, Cjuantities of perch., tench, and eel, that it is commonly faid to be two thirds water, and one third fifh. . .vid;;dund t^.a*.! Alanufa£iures,'] The principal manufactures of this countji are cloth and ftookings. Antiquities,'] On the top of a mountain near Lhan Hammwich, a village not far irom Brecknock, is an ancienc monument, called Ty Ihltud, or St. Itud's Hermitage. It confids of four large flat and unpolifhed ftones, throe of which are pitched in the ground, and the fourth laid on the top for a cover: they form an oblong fquare cell, open at one end, about eight foot long, four wide, aad four high : on the infide it is infcribed with croiTes and other figures ; and is fuppofed to have been furrounded by a circle of large ibones, and erected in the times of paganiftn. f^arious particulars.] This county fends two members to (jarliament : viz. one knight for the fhire, and one bungefs for Brecknock. It is in the diocefe of LandafF and contains fixty-one pariflics. 'f he divifion of it is into fix hundreds;, containing about 5,900 houfes, and 35,300 inhabitants. The area of the county is computed at 620^000 acres. -'t .'i.v . j^it ... . . .M.»;> _.«":■' *■■' ■,Vf . . .,.« • . • ■ I ' i. /n«'!^.^eii it! ;rii?r«;% i>i:,, (ur''# • t-t I ■ i' .•• ■» it 11 C AER- \ \ •J At Ui< •«» • ■ ' > • .c .•■tl '•»*, ' ■ ; -^ ..•Ti 139 C A E JR MA RTH£NSHIR E;:^-- • Name.'] ^"ft^ H^ name of this county is derived from Ca- ' .f.Tit' fp f' -cr^^arthen, Carmarihen, or Caermardhin, the liarifd of TRe county town. yiftr^ foilf and natural produ^ions.'] The air of this county ii reckoned more mild and healthy than that of the neigh- bouring counties ; and the foil, not being fo mountainous and rocky as that of other counties in Wales, is more fruit- ful in corn and grafs. This county is pretty well cloathei" with wood ; feeds vaft numbers of good cattle j abounds with fowl and fifh, particularly falmon, fcwr which the rivers here are famous; and contains many mines of pit-coal. V ; *i -vJ't Curiajities.'] The only natural curiofity in this county is a fountain or fpring at Kaftelh Karreg, caft of Caermarthen, which conftantly ebbs and flows twice every twenty-four hours. Merlin^ the famous Britifh prophet or foothfayer, was born at Caermarthen in this county, towards the end of the fifth century. He is faid to have been a perfon of extraordi- nary learning for the age in which heliyed j and it is thought fhat he obtained the reputation of a conjurer by his 'know- ledge in the mathematics. About a mile eaft of Caermar- then is a hill covered vC'ith wood, called Merlin's Grove ; to which it is (aid the prophet often retired, 'the better td purfue his ftudies without interruption. He is reported to have bcea buried at Drumelzer, in the (hire of Peebles in Scotland. Antiquities.'] Under the Romans, Caermarthenfliire, Cardi- ganftiire, and Pembrokefhire, were inhabited by a tribe of Britons called by Ptolemy the Dimetae and Demetae. Pliny has allotted this diflri^l to the Silurcsj^ but in this he was miftaken, as appears by later writers, who have conftantly called thefe three counties by the name of T^imetia, which is fuppofed to have been a variation of the Britifh na'm^ Dyved, ufed at this day for thefe counties, by a pra^ice common with the Romans of chariging the V into iVl in latinizing; Britiih names ; yet fome have fuppofbd thai the name De- rnetas was derived from the l^ritiih words Deheu-meath^ which it is pretendfd fignify the Southern Plain. The river Towy is the Toblus of Ptolemy, and Caermar- then his Mariduhum : M.iridunum is evidently derived from the Britifh Kaer Vyrdhin, by a change of the V into M, Ant ninus, who termmates h;s Ilincrary at this place, calls it Muridunum. At 14© Defcripiion of the Britijh Empire^ At Kadelh Karree; are ftill vifible the ruins of a large ' fort; and here are likewife vaft caverns, fuppofed to have been copper mines wrought by the Ronnan?. At a place called Pant y Polion, nearKaftelh Karreg, were found two fepulchral {lone monuments of the Romans, one of which had an infcription which is read as follows : SERVATOR FIDEI, PATRIiEQVE SEMPER AMA- TOR, HICPAVLINVS JACETCVLTOR PIENTIS- $IMVS MQVl, It is fuppofed that the name Pajjt y Polion is derived from Paulinus to whofe memory this monument was eredied. The other monument had an infcription 9^(0, but it is very imperfeft and more modern. Near Llan New)dh, not far from Caermarthcn, 1$ ere^ed a rude ftonc pillar about fix feet high, and a foot and an half broad, with this infcription in a barbarous chara^cr :— ^ SEVERINI FILII SEVERl'. And in other parts of this county are three or four more fuch ftone pillars, with Roman hifcriptions in like charadlers. At Kilmaen Lhwyd, weft of Caermarthcn, about the be- ginning of the laft century, was difcovered a conAdcrable quantity of Roman coins of bafe filver, and of all the Ro- man emperors from the time of Commodus, who ^.r9i debafetj the Roman filver, to the fifth tribunefliip of Gordian the Third, anno Domini 243 : and at a place called Bronyfkawen, in the parifh of Lhan Boydy, not far from Kilmaen Lhwyd, is a large camp called y Gaer, in the entrance of which, in the year 1692, were diicovercd two very rude leaden boxes, buried very near the furface of the ground, containing 200 Roman corns, all of illver, and fome of the moft ancient found in Britain. ^ '' The camp in which thefe coins were found, is of an oval form, and upwards of 300 paces in circumference : the en- trance is four yards wide, and near it the bank or ratnpart is about three yards high, but elfewhere it is generally much lower. On each fide of the camp is a barrow or tumulus, one near it> and the other, which is much bigger, at the diflance of 300 yards. Newcaftle in £mlin, fituated north-weft of Caermarthcn, upon the fouth bank of the Teivy, is by fome fuppofed to have been the Loventium of the Dioietae: mentioned by Pto* lemy. Near the eaft end of Llanimdovery church, Roman bricks, and other rmains of Roman antiquity, have been dug up ^ and there is a fine Roman way from this church to Lhan Brsb)| which lies fon^c miles north of Llanimdovery. I^car itri V' in EUROPE. Ht Near Tre'Iech, north-weft of Caermarthen, is a remark- able barrow called Krig y Dyrn, fuppofed to fignify tho king's barrow. It confifts of a heap of ftones covered with turf about eighteen feet high, and 150 feet in circumference: it rifes with an eafy afcent, and is hollow on the top, gently inclining from the circumference to the center, where is a rude flat ftone of an oval form, about nine feet long, five feet broad, and a foot thick, covering a kind of ftone cheft, con- fifting of fix more ftones. This barrow is fuppofed to have been the burying place of fome Britilh prince of very great antiquity. Gwai y Vilaft, or Bwrdh Arthur, near Lhan Boydy, is a monument coniifting of a rude ftone, about thirty feet in circumference, and three feet thick, fupported by four pil- lars about two feet high. On a mountain near Kilmaen Lhwyd, is a circular ftone monument, call Buartb Arthur, or Meineu Gwyr, like that of Rollrich in Oxfordftiire. It does not appear from the name Buarth Arthur, that this monument has any relation to the famous Britifti king of that name, any more than many other monuments in Wales have, which are named after prince Arthur, onlv by an ignorant credulity of the vulgar, who attribute to tnat hero whatever obje£l of antiquity is grct. or extraordinary throughout the country; thus they cvi <. £ a1 ftones, each of which are many tons in weight, his .^^.^ } fome they call his tables, fome his chairs, and fo of others. Far ious particulars.] This county fends two members to parliament : viz. one knight for the ihire, and one burgefs for Caermarthen. It lies in the diocefe of St. David's, and con- tains eighty-feven pariihes. Its divifion is into fix hundreds, in which are about 59350 houfes, and near 17,000 inhabi- tants. The area of it is computed to contain about 700,000 acres. -*-l^! CAERNARVONSHIRE. Nami.'] TP H E name of this county is derived from Caer« X narvon, the county town. jtity felif and natural produ£f ions,"] The air of Caernarvon- ihire is rendered cold and piercing, not only by the great number of lakes, but bv the very high mountains, which, towards the middle of tne county, fweil one above another. 142 "Defcript'ion of the Britijh Empire^ fo as to have acquired the name of the Britifh Alps. Xhe tops of many of the(e mountains are eight or nine montHs in the year covered with fhow, and on foitie of them tfi^ fno\y Is perpetual, whence they arc called Snowdon Hi Us ; and upoh thefe hiils it frequently fnows, while it only rai nsin the vail ies. The extremities of the county, particularly thofe border- ing on the fea, are nevertheiefs as fruitful and populous as . «ny part of North Wales : they yield great plenty of -frne barley, and feed vaft herds of cattle and Iheep : between' the bills are alfo many pleafant and fruitful vallies, the beauty of which is much heighten€d by the drfeary waftes that forround them : great flocks of Iheep and goats feed alfo iipbn the mburttains. This county yields abundance of- wdod,' *the lakes and rivers produce plenty of frefo -water fiih, and thft coaft is well fupplied with fea fifli of 'all forts. The river Conway is famous for a large black mufcle, in which are frequently found pearls as large and of as good ft colour as amy in Britain or Ireland. ■■• ' : . Curiojities.] The principal curiofittea of this county are its vaft mountains, rocks and precipices Klogwyn Karnedh y Wydha, a mountain eaft of Caernarvon, is by fome reck- oned the bigheft in all the Britifli dominions, being the fum- jnit of a clufter of very lofty mountains, the tops of which fife one above another : from this fpot may be (ccn part of JEngland, Scotland, Ireland, and the Ifle of Man. -5''v:;v^; Pen maen mawr, r>car Aberconway, is a vaft rtioifhfairt, «r rock) that rifes perpendicular over the fea to an aftoni^t- ing height. About the middle of t]ie rock, and on that iide of it next the fea, there is a road, feven feet wide, for paf- fcngers, at the perpendicular height of 240 feet above the level of the fea, and as many feet below the top of the rock : and on the fide of the road next the fea there is a wall Wea(ft-bigh, which was buik not many years ago-, to the building of which the city of Dublin in Ireland greatly con- tributed. On the other fide of the hill there is a narrow foot -way, over which the top of the rock projeds, fo as to form a very extraordinary and frightful appearance to the traveller below. Glyder rs another very high mountain, on the fea-fide, not far from Pen maen mawr, and is remarkable for a prodigipys lie»p of ftones, of an irregular ftiape, ' n its fummit, mar^y of which are as large of thofe of Stonehenge. l^hey \\e in fuch confufion as to refemble the ruins of a building, foipe of them reclining, »nd fome lying crofs onearjothcr i a phae- t nomenon which has never vet been perfedly accoiyite^ for On . in E U R O P E. ^ 143 On the weft fide of this mountain these is, among many others, one very Iteep and naked precipice, adorijed with a vaft number or equidiftant pillars; the interft ices between which arc fuppofed to have been the effects of a continual "dropping of water down the clifF, which is expofed to a wefterlv fea wind : but why the water fhould have (propped at thefe fegul'ar diftances, before the hollows were formed, wc ar^ not told : ' poflibly the whole mafs of the rock may coo- fift of vaft bodies of ftone, with fabulous or earthly matter between them ; and if fo, the rain may have waftied away the fand or earth from between the ftony aod iblid parts cdf the mafs on the top and the fides, and fo formed the ap- pearance of ruins above, and of pillars below,, which may be confidered as fkeietons of thefe parts of the mountain. a In a lalce in this county, called Lhyn y Icwn,. near the lake of Llyn Peris, i: is pretended that a kind of trout is &«-* quently f yund that has but one eye. At Abcrconway is a tomb-ftone with thtf following YCjy extraordinary inlcription. *« Here lieth thrbod-y of Nich^oJas *' Hookes of Conway, gent, who was the one and fortienii ** child of his father,' William Hookes, >Efq-^ by Alie< his ** wife, and the father of feven and twenty children. He *« died the 2bth day of March, 1637.*^ About a mile from this fortification is a hill, on the top of which ftaAds the moft remarkable monument in all this county. It is called Y Meineu hiition, and confifts of a circular co- trenchment, about 80 itct diameter, on the outfide of whkh are ftill ftanding twelve rough ftone pillars, from five to fix feet high : thele are again inclofed by a ftone waU ; and near thcwaTl, on the outfide, are three other fudh rough pi-liars, ranged in a triangular form. This work is fnppoied to haire been an ancient Britifti temple: and near it are feveral. mo- numents, confifting of vaft heaps of ftones, which, acconl- ' hig to traidition, are fepulchral monuments of aiocient Bri- tons, who fell in a battle fought here agiinft the Ronun*.- . Various particulars."] This county fends twx!> m«mher$ to parliament : viz. one knight for the ihifle, and one burgds for Caernarvon. It lies in the diocefe of Bangor, and coa- iifts of fixty-eight parifties. Its divifion is into ten hundnedEs, containing about 2,769 houfes, and upwards of 16,000 ioitt- bitants. The area of the county is computed at 370,000 acres. CARD!- 144 I^efcription of the Britijh Efnpiri, CARDIGANSHIRE. ■•/- -•^ j^ 1 iVtfW/. nr^H I S county is named from Cardigan, the county X town, ^irjfiil^ and natural ProduSltons.'] The air 6f this county varies with the foil ; for the fouthern and weftern parts br.. in^ more a champaign country than the great*ft part of the prmcipality, the air is mild and pleafant, and the foil very frui ul i out the northern and eaftern parts being one contix nuetl ridge of mountains, are comparatively barren and bleak 3 yef: in the worft parts of the (hire there is pafture for vaft herds of cattle and flocks of (heep, and this county is fo full of cattle, that it has been called the nurfery of cattle for all England fouth of Trent. It abounds in river and fea fiCh of all kinds, and the Teivy is famous for great plenty of excel- lent falmon. Coals and other fuel are fcarce j but in the ' north parts of the county, particularly about Aberiftwyth, are feveral rich lead mines, the ore or which appears often above ground. Thefe mines were difcovered in 1690, and fome of them yield filver. % Manufalfurti,} This county does not appear to have any manufa^ure. Curiofiths.'] The only natural curiofity mentioned in the accounts of Cardiganihire, is the horn of an ox, which is preferved in the church of Lhan Dhewi Brevi^ not far from Treearon. It is called Matkorn yr ych bannog, or Matkorn ych Dewi, which fignifies the interior horn of an ox, and is about a foot and an half in circumference at the root : it is as heavy as if it were ftone, and is faid to have been kept in this church ever ilnce the time of St. David, who lived in the beginning of the fixth century. Varhus particulars.'] This county fends two members to parliament : viz. one knight for the (hire, and one burgefs lor Cardigan. It lies in the diocefe of St. David's, and con- fains feventy-feven pariihes. Its diviflon is into live hundreds, in which are reckon'd about 3i6ohoufes, and near 35,000 in- habitants. The area of the county is computed at 520,000 acres. ~« W-J( ^ 4< '4 , ; PEN /A /« EUROPE/ ■'^- Hi 1 v;i'.* r\ MONTGOMERYSHIRE. Name,] 'T^ HIS county derives if name from Mcntgo- X mery, the county town Jlr^ foil^ and natural produ^ions.] The air of this county is fharp and cold on the mountains, but healthy and pleafant in the vallies. The northern anc? v/eftern parts being moun- tainous, the foil is ftony, apd ( onfequently flerile, except in the intermediate vallies, which yield corn, and abound in pafture ; but the foutl irn and eaftern parts, confifting chiefly of a pleafant vale along the banks of the Severn, are exceed- ing fruitful. The breed of black cattle and horlcs here, is fctnarkably larger ^han that in the neighbouring Welch coun- L 4 ties. 152 'Dffcription of the Briti-flj Empire, ties, and the horfes of Montgomerylhirc are muph valued ^11 over England. This county abounds alfo with fifli and fowl j and here are feme mines of lead and copper, particularly in the neighbourhood of Llanidlos, a market town. Furious particulars.] MontgomeryChire fends two members to parliament : viz. one knight for the Ihire, and one burgefs for the town of iviontgomery. It lies in the three feveral di- ocefes of St, Afaph, Bangor, and Jiereford. Under that of St. Afaph is contained Newtown, Welch-Pool, Llhanvylhin, and Machynlheth ; under that of Bapgqr, is Lhanidlos ; and vnder that of Hereford, is Montgomery. It hath forty- feveii parifhes, and is divided into {even hundreds, containing about 5,600 houfes, and near 34,000 inhabitants. The area of the county is computed to contain about 560,000 acres. PEMPROKESHIRE. 7/tf«7^.]TI) EM B R OKpSHIRE takes it name from Pemn JL^ broke, the county town. jfir, Ji)i/i and natural produSiicns."] The air of this county js more healthy than is common to places fo much expofcii to the fea. Tne foil is fertile j for here are but few moun- tains, and thefe lie chiefly in the north-eaft part of the county, and yield good paflure for cattle and iheep : towards the fea- coaft, there is plenty of gpod corn and rich meadows. The goupty abounds with cattle, Iheep, goats, and wild fpwl of various kinds, fome of which are feldom feen in any other part of Britain, and among which are the falcons, called pere- grins, the puffins, and the Harry birds, it is well fupplied with fifli of all kinds ; and among the rocks, upon fome parts of this coaft, is found that fqrt of fea-weed called lavcr, mentioned among the natural produ6tions of Somerfetfhirp. Qreat plenty of pit-coal is found here, and culm. Curiofities.'] Among the curiofities of this county is reckoned ^ vault, called the Wogan, under Pembroke Caftle, remark- able for a very fine echo. Oil a clifF which hangs over the fea, about half a mils from the city of St. David's, is a flone, fo large, that it is fuppofcd to exceed the draught of an hundred oxen : it is called by the Welch, Y Maen Sigl, or the Rocking Stone^ from its having been qiguntcd up about three feet h'^h upon other ftones, iri fuch an equilibrium, that a Hight touch would rock it frgpi pne fide to the other -, but the parliament • **• ' ■ ' Ibldicrs, ;•» E U R O P E. • 153 frildiGrs, In the civil wars under Charles the Firft, regarding jhis ftone as the object of a fuperftiiious tradition, deftroyed its equipoife, fo that it is at prefent immoveabie. The fea fand in feveral parts on the coaft of this county, having at different times been waftied away, by a long conti- nuation of violent ftormy weather, difcovered very large trees, fome of which, having been felled, lay at full length, while the trunks of others flood upright in their native places. 'I'hefe trees lay fo thick, and were in fuch quantities, that the fhore for a confiderable fpace appeared like a foreft cut down. The marks of the ajj were as plain in the trees, as if they had been but juft felled, but the v/ood was become as hard and black as ebony. It appears therefore, that great part of til? coaft of this county was anciently a foreft, upon which the fea broke in. One of the places in which fuch difcove- rles have been made, was about St. David's Head, in the leign of king Henry the Second j and another was upon the coaft near Tenby, about the end of the reign of queen Eli- zabeth. The rocks off St. David's Head, called the Bifhop and his Clerks, are once or twice a-yes^r the refprt of great flights of feveral forts of birds ; among which are the eligug, razor- JDJll, puffin, and Harry-bird. They vifit thefe rocks com- monly about Chriftmas, and ftay a week or more ; and they return again in April, about the time of incubation, and leave the rocks before Auguft. It is remarkable, that thefe ' birds conftantly come to the rocks, and leave them, m the night ; for La the evening, when they are about to depart, the rocks ftiall be covered with them, and in the morning not § bird to be feen ; orj the other hand, at the feafon when, they return, not a bird fhall appear in the evening, and the next morning the rocks ](hall be full of them. Some of thefe birds hatch their eggs upon the bare rocks, without any neft, and fome hatch them in holes like rabbit holes. Near Stack poor Bother, upon the fea-coaft, not far from Pembroke, is a pool or pit of water, called BofherHon Mecr, fo deep, that it could never be founded ; yet before a ftorm it i,s laid to bubble, foam, and make a noife fo loud as to be heard at the diftance of ten miles.. It is fuppoied to have a iubtcr- rancous communication with the fea. At Killgarring is a fteep cataradt of the river Teivy, called the Salmon Leap, from the admirable dexterity of that fifli in leaping over the catarad^i. When ^ laimon in its way up the river from the fea, arrives at this cataract, it forms iifcif \i\to a cuf vc, bv beading its t^il Co its mouth }, and fomctimes. 154 Defcription of the Britijh EtJrpire, in order to mount with the greater velocity, by holding it^ tail between its teeth, then difengnging itfelf fuddenly, like an daftic fpiral violently receded, it fprings over the precipice. There are in this county feveral rude ftone monuments^ fuch as that defcribed among the antiquities of Caermarthen^^ ihire, under the name of Meineu Gwyr, and that in Gla- morganihire, called Karn Lhechart ; but the moft remark- able monumejnt of this kind in Pembrokefliire. is one called J Gromlech, near Pentre Evan, in the parifh of Nevern : It confifts of a circle of rough flones, pitched on one end, about 150 feet in circumference, in the middle of which is a large rude ftone^ about eighteen feet in length, nine in breadth, and three feet thick, fupportcd on eight (tone pil- lars, about eight high, A portion of this ftone, about ten feet long and hve broad, is broken <^, and lies by the fide of it, and under it the ground is neatly paved with flag flones. Various particulars.'] Pembrokelhire has the particular pri- vilege of fending three members to parliament : viz. one knight for the mire, one burgefs for Hayerford-Wcft, and another for the town of Pembroke. It lies in the dioccie of St. David's, and contains forty-five parishes. The divificn of it is into feven hundreds, in which are reckoned about 4,300 houfes, and near 25,900 inhabitants. T' he area of the county is computed to contain about 420,000 acres. RADNORSHIRE. >^Wf.]'Tp HIS county derives its name from Radnor, the X county town. H" Jir., foi/y and natural prodiiiltom.'] The air of this county rs cold and piercing : the foil in general is but indifferent, the northern and weftern parts being fo rocky and mountain- ous, that it is fit only to feed cattle and flieep. The eaftcrn and fbuthern parts of the county, are however well culti- vated, and pretty fruitful in corn : the mountainous parts, are well provided with wood, and watered with rivulets, and fome ftanding lakes ; and thj rivers afl:brd plenty of falmoii and other fiib. Curio/ities.] At Llandrindod, in this county, is a mineral watef, which is much reforted to by good company. The water of this place is of three forts : rock-water, pump- water, and well-water. The rock-water is fuppofed good in all chronic diieafes, from a }ax fibre, in fcorbutic eruptions. , , in EUROPE. tg^ In weak nerves, ulthtnas, palfies, agues, nervous fevers, al| fdiforders in women, and feminal weakncfles in both fexes. The pump-water is faid to be an excellent remedy for the fcurvy, hypochondriac, melancholy, fevers, leprofy, and the gravel. The well-water is chiefly recommended for bathing in fuch diforders as tepied bathing is recommended for. Various Particn^'ars "] Radnorshire fends two members to parliament : viz. Oi\e knight for the (hire, and one burgefs for the town of Radnor. It is in the diocefe of Hereford, and contains fifty-two parifhes. Its divifion is into (ix hundreds, into which are reckoned about 3150 houfes, near 19,000 in- habitants. The area of this county is computed 310,000 acres. The ISLE of M A N. Name.] fT^H E prefent name of this ifland appears to hare J_ been immediately derived, with little or no va- riation, from Mona, the name by which Julias Caifar mentions it. Ptolemy calls it Monoeda ; and Pliny, Monabia ; which names are luppofed to fignify the more remote Mona, in order to diftinguifli it from the ifland of Anglefea, alfo known to the Romans by t!.e name Mona. This opinion feems to be confirmed from the pra(Stice of later writers, particularly Bcdc, who calls the Iflc of Man, Menavia Secunda, in contra- diilin(5tion to Menavia Prior, the name by which he calls the jfle of Anglefea; and yet a late writer is of opinion, that the name Man is derived from the Saxon word Mangy which fig- nifics amcngy and is fuppofed to have been applied to this ifland from its fituation between Great Britain and Ireland ; being in a manner furrounded by England, Scotland, Ire- land and Wales. The Ifle of Man, which is the fee of a bifliop, lies about half way between Great Britain and Ireland, dire£lly wfeft of that part of the Britifh continent, called Cumberland ; and the bi(hop*s palace, which is in the parifh of Kirk-Michael, nearly in the middle of the ifland, is fituated in 54** 16' of north latitude. It is about thirty miles long, about fifteen miles broad, in the wideft part of the iiland, and is no where Icfs than eight miles in breadth. There are a few inconfidcrable ftrcams in the Ifle of Man, which can fcarcely be called rivers, and are not diftinguifhed bv any particular names or defcriptions in any account of the iiland. In fome maps, however, wc meet with the Neb, whicia 1 I5/> Defcrlption of the Britijh Empire, which rifes in the fouthcrn part of the ifland, runs north-weft, and falls into the fca at Peel, one of the principal towns j and the Clanmey, a rmaJl itrcam, which runs nearly parallel to the Neb. . , ^'. '■.,<(• ■ i '- > tZ/V, Scil^ and natural ProduSIions.'] The air of the Ifle of Man, is cold and piercing, efpeciaily in winter : but it is jeckoned very healthy, no contagious diftemper having ever |)een known in the ifland, and the inhabitants living gene- rally to a great age. This ifland being very rocky and moun- tainous, the foil is generally barren ; oats and potatoe; being the chief produce of the lands, which the inhabitants manure, ty lime and fea wreck. The black cattle of this ifland, are generally Icfs than thofe of England ; here are however, fome good draught and faddle horfes ; in the mountains is a breed of fmall horfes, little more than three feet high ; alfo «f fmali fwine, called parrs, and another of (heep, which run wild upon the mountains : the wild fticcp are accounted excellent meat ; and feveral of them, diftinguilhed by the nanie l/oughton, are remarkable for very fine wool, of a buff" colour. Here is an airy of eagles, and two or three of hawks, remarkable for their mottled colour. The Ifle of Man is well fupplied with fifli, particularly herrings, which are the Haple commodity of the ifland, and of which there is fuch u confiderable fifhery, that more than 20,000 barrels have fre- quently been exported in one year to France, and other coun- tries. No coal mhies have been yet difcovered upon this ifland : but here is plenty of peat for fuel j good quarries of black marble, r.nd other flones for building ; and mines of lead, copper, nnd iron, which, though now negletSled, have been formerly worked to great advantage. ManufaSiurcs and trade.] The principal manufadures of this ifl^and, are li:.cn and woollen cloths, in which a confiderable foreign trade is carried on ; other articles of trade, are black cattle, wool, hides, fkins, honey and tallow : but particularly herrings. It is faid, that this is a place of refuge for per- sons, who have committed crimes, or incurred debts, out of it ; and that many perfons, who owe large fums in London, Paris, and Amfterdam, live here, at a fmall expence unmo- lefled, {0 long as they do not tfefpafs agaiaft the laws or g'^- vernment of the ifland. It is aUb faid, that as no cu».o.-.i are paid in this ifland, vaft quantities of goods frcm the Eaft and WefJ: Indies, from France, Holland, and other places, are landed here, put into v/are-houfes, and after- wards run afhore in many parts of Ireland, sJCotland, and the we^lof Ejigliuxd. Civil 7« E U R O P E. ^ tsi ' Civil and ecdejja/iical government.] The Ifle of Man, has lately been taken under the Britifh jurifdidlion j but formerly, though held of the Britifti crown, was no part of the king- dom of Great Britain j but governed by its own laws and cudoms, under the hereditary dominion of a lord, v/ho had formerly the title of king, and who, though he has long ago v/aved that title, is ftill inverted with regal rights and prero- gatives. In the feveral courts of this ifland, as well ecclefiaftical as civil, both parties, whether men or women, plead their own caufes. It is but of late years, that attornics come into any practice here, and dill law fuits are determined without muck expcnce. The manner of fummoning a perfon before a ma- gi ttiate is fomewhat remarkable. Upon a piece of thin flatc, or ftone, the magiftrate makes a mark, which is generally the initial letters of his name and firname ; this is delivered toth« proper officer, who jfliews it to the- perfon fummoned ; ac- quaints him with the time and place in which he is to make his appearance, and at whofe fuit ; and if he difobeys the fum- mons, he is fined or committed to goal, till he gives fecurity for his future obedience and pays cofts. Civil and ecclefta/iical Divijtom.'] The Ifle of Man, which is fuppofed to contain about 20,000 inhabitants, is divided into fix divifions, called (headings, each of which has its own coroner, or conftable, who, in the nature of a fhcriff, is entrulled with the peace of his diftri£t, fecures criminals, brings them to juftice, and is appointed, by the delivery of 2 rod, at the Tinwald-court, or annual convention. It con- tains four market- towns, which, being fituated on the fca- coafl, has each a harbour, and a caftle, or fort to defend it. The ifland, which is a diocefe of itfelf, lies in the province of York, and has fevcntecn pariflics. Market towns.'] Peel is fituated on the weftern coaft ; and being a place of confiderable trade, here are feveral good houfes. Upon a fmall ifland, clofe to the town, is an an- cient caftle, called Peel-Caftle, in which is a garrifon, and which is one of the flrongeft and beft fituated caftles in the world. The ifland upon which it fl:ands, is a huge rock, of a ftupendous height above the level of the fca, fo that it is unaccelfible from all quarters but the town, from which it is feparated by a fmall fl:raight. fordable in low tides. The a- fcent towards the caftle, which is furroundcd with three wails, well planted with cannons, from the place of landing to the firft wall, is by iixty ftcps cut out of the rock : the walls arc: prodigiouflv ihicic, and built of a bright durable ftone. From th; 1^8 Defer ipiion t)f the Britijh Empire ^ fbefirft to the fecond wall, is an afccnt of thirty liQps, alfo cut out of the rock : on the outflde of the exterior wall, ard four watch towers ; and within the interior one, round th« caftle, arc the remains of four churches^ three of which ard {o decayed, that there are little remaining of them befidcs the walls and fome few tombs, which fecm to have been created with more than ordinary care. The fourth churchy which is the cathedral of the ifland, and is dedicated to Stt Germain, the firft bifhop of Man, is kept in fome better re- pair. Within it is a chapel, appropriated to the ufe of thd biihop ; and underneath the chapel, is a prifon, or dungeon^ for fuch offenders as incur the punifiiment of imprifonment^ in virtue of a fentence of the ecclefiaftical courts i and this is faid to be one of the moll dreadful places of confinement that imagination can form. The magnificence of the caftlc itfelf, is faid to exceed that perhaps of any modern ftru8. KIncardin -^ 1 I Selkirk. Peebles. '^^ ^- GliifglowjWeftLon.' 4. North Lat. J 5-f CO. Hamilton and Lanerk. Dumfries Annand. Wigtoivn. nd r 7 Aire, Balg6nny, and — (3 Irwin. — Dumbarton. Rothfay. Wick, W. Lon. 2: N. Lat. 58-40. Renfrew. Sterling. Linlithgow. ^ r \ Weft-Lothain Perth, Athol, Cow- ry, Broadalbin, I j Perth, Athol, Scone; Monteith, Stra- )■ 4. Blair and Dun» them, Glenfliield { j keld. and Raynork — J |, Mcrns • — — Bervey. ii Shires; i62 • Befcription of the Britijh Empire, Shires. Counties and other Chief Townsv f^.f 19. Aberdeen SubJivifions. Mar, Buchan, and Strathbogic f Old Aberdeen, W, Lon. 1-45. N. Lat. 57-1*. New Aberdeen, Fra- ferlburgh, Peter- head. C padenoch.Ix)chabar 7 C i^^^nefs, Inver . Invernefs. — "j Part of Rofs, and { S j^^^.,^ t Murray. ■ — 3 C. ' C Wellern Part of 7 J s Murray and Cro- p "K t martie — — 3 L 21. Nairne and 22. Cromartie Nairne, Cromartie, Tayne, and Tar- bat. zy Argyle- -.- ^ Fife ray Wellern Part Murray and Cro martie — — Argyle, Cowal, Knapdale, Kin- tire, and Lorn, with part of the Weftern Ifles, > <( particularly Ifla, Jura, Mull, Vill, Terif, Col, and . Lifmore ■ -J _ "I r St.AndreWjCouper, l\ Burntlfland.Dum- f" j fermlin, Dyfart, J L and Anftruther. Montrofe &c Forfar. Inverary, Dundaf- nag, Killonmcr, and Campbk- town. Forfar, Angus BamfF,Strathddvern J f Boyne,Euzy,Bal- S S BamfF. 24. Fife — • 25. Forfar 26. BamfT . - ^ ■ .■ . . ^ veny, Strathawin 3 I 27. Kirkcudbright Galloway, Eaft part Kirkcudbright. , , , C Strathnaver part and ) ( Strathy. 28. Sutherland | Dornoch \ \ Dornoch. 29 Clacmanan and C p^fg ^t ^ ^ ^"''■°'' '"^^ Clacma- 30. Kinrofs ' 31. Rofs — 32. Elgin - nan. Dornoch < nic part — ■^— ? I r Rofs, Ifles of Sky, \ Lewis, Harris, x^^ ^^^^ \ Ardrofs, and Glenelg 'W \ Murray Elgin. ^ f Kirkwall,W.Lon.3. I ^ ..^1 J I N. Lat. 59-45. ,, Orkney \ I^" <>f Orkneyand y, skalloway, near the 33. urKney <^ Shetland 5 ] ^^,\aL. 1 j I Meridian of Lon - J ^ don,N. Lat. 61. In ^ tn EUROPE. 16^ Tn all thirty-three (hires, which chufe thirty reprcfentativei to lit in the Parliament of Great-Bricain : fiute and Cithnefs chuftug alternately, as do Nairnc and Cromartie, and Clacmanan at Kinrofs. The Royal Boroughs which Edinburgh ■■ Kirkwall, Wick, Dornock, 7 Dingwal, and Tayne — \ rortrofe, Invernefs, Nairnc, 1 and Forres ■■ j Elgin, Cullein, BamfF, Inve- rary, and Kintore Aberdeen, Bervy, Mon- trofe, Abcrbrothic, and Brechin ■ FoiYar, Perth, Dundee, Co w- per, and St. Andrews Crail, Kilrenny, Anilrutherl call and well, and Pitten- Y i 1 } weem Dyfert,Kirkaldy, Kinghorne and Burnt Ifland • chiife Reprefentatlves are Innerkerthin, Dumfermlin,' Quccnsfcny, Culrofs, and Sterling — Glafgow, Renfrew, Ruthcr- glcn, and Dumbarton — Hadington, Dunbar, North- herwich, Lawder, and Jc'dburgh — — Sc-ikirk, Peebles, Linlithgow ' and Lanerck — — Dumfries, Sanqiiehar, An-' nan, Lochmahan, and Kirkcudbright — — Wigtown, New CJalloway, Stranrawer, and White- horn Aire, Irwin, Rothfay, Camp- beltown, and Inverary -^ ISLANDS c/ SCOTLAND. TH E iflands of Scotland may be divided into three clafTes; i, the Hebrides, or Weftcrn Iflands, which went under the name of Hebridx ancie!itly ; 2, the ifles of Orkney or Orcades, in the Caledonian ocean, on the north of Scotland ; and, 3, the ifles of Shetland, ftill far* ther north-eaft. IVeJlern ljles.'\ The Wcflcrn Iflands are very numerous, and fome of them large, fituate between 55 and 59 deg, of N. Lat. One of the largeft is that of Sky, feparated from the main land by a very narrow channel : this is about forty-five miles long, and twenty broad in many places, and is part of the (hire of Rofs. There are a great many commodious bays and harbours in the ifland ; and above thirty rivers rcplenifhed with falmon, as their feas are with herrings, cod, turbet, and all manner of {hell fifli. They hang up and preferve their herrings, without fait, for eight months. They abound alfo in cattle, and wild and tame fowls. The ifle of Mull, part of the {hire of Argyle, is twenty- four miles long, and as many broad in fome places. It affords good pa{lure, and fuch corn as Scotland generally does : Wz. M 2 barley .1 -> I (S4 Befcript'wn of the Brilijb Empire, * barley and oats, and they have plenty of cattle, deer, {\{\\, fowl, and other game, as in the Ille of Sk\ . Near Mull lies the illand of Jona, formerly tlic refidence of the bifhopof the iflcs, and fome of their kings ; and here arc the tomt^ v\ feverul Irifh and Norwegian Icings. The ifland of Lewis, the fo' th end whereof is cullt 1 Harris, is fixty miles long, and twenty broad, and is part of the (hire o; Rofs. There are feveral commodious buys and harbours abour it, and an exceeding good filhery of the kinds alre.Jy enumerated j and the country produces rye, bnrky, and oats, flax and htmp, as well as horfes, and black cattle. The in>i of Jura is twenty-four miles long and feven broad, beinji; part oF A''gylelhirc, faid to be one of the moi't healthful parrs of Scotland. South of it! lies the ifland of Ifla, and in the mouth of the Clyde lie Bute and Arran. The iflands of Northvifl and Southvift lie fouth of Harris. Thefe produce the like articles as the other iflands; and the herring-fifhcry is fo conliderable on their coafts, that four hundred iliipb have been loaded in a feafon from Northvift. The molt wcdcrly of thefe iflands is that of St. Kilda, about llfcy miles wcfl: of Northvift. It is a rock rifing almoft pcrpfndicular in the middle of the fea, and almoft inacceflible, about five miles in circumference; but has a ftaple of earth upon ii which produces the fame grain as the other iflands, Th lahahiunts are about three hundred proteftants : the'r houfes are of ftone, and they lie in little cabbins in the walls upon ftraw. They abound in Solan geefe, of which they keep many thouiands, and live chiefly on their eggs. They climb the fteepeft rocks for thefe eggs, and are reckoned the Hioft dexterous people at this fport of any of the iflands. In rhcMc iflands it is that they pretend to fecond fight, be- ing the gift of fome particular people called Seers, who, by certain viiions, foretell the death or other accidents their nei^:l. hours will be expofcd to; but thefe pretended vifiuns are now generally laughed at by men of fenfe. Orkney JJlandu^ TheOrcades, or Orkney iflands, lie north of Dung(by-head, between fifty-nine and lixty deg. of north latitude; divided from the continent by Penthland frith, a fea which is remarkable for its fwift and contrary tides, which make it a very dangerous paflfage for ftrangers : there are violent whirlpools that whirl about both (hips and boats till they founder, and are molt dangerous in a calm. They reckon twenty-four different tides in this frith, which run with fuch impetuofity, that no Ihip, v/ith the faireft v/ind, ....-,.. _ can ^.i. in EUROPE. 16 s can ftem them ; and yet the natives, who know the propti times, pafs fecurely from one fliore to the other. Pomona is the largcft of the Orcadc8, being twcntv-l'ur miles lon;^, and its grcatcft breadth ten miles j a fruitful, well inhabited country, having nine parilbes. The chief town, Kirkwall, is a royal borough, fituate on a bay of the fea, near the middle of the illand, an <;xcclteiit harbour ; be- fides which, arc three other harbours in the ifl.md, and fc- veral lakes and rivulets abounding with falmoa and other fifh, and there are fome lead mines in the ifland. The ifland Moy has the highcft mountains in the Orcades, and fuch rocks and dreadful precipices on the coalt, as tenify thofe th-.t approach it. Here their Iheep run wild, and arc hunted like other game. Several of thefe iflands produce the like corn and pafturc as the continent, and have cattle of all kinds ; but their gitatclt riches are the herrings that annually vifit their coafts. In thefe iflands they have muttered ten thoufand men able to bear arms. Jt is laid that thefe iflands were the Thule of the ancients ; but others are of opinion the north of Scotland was the ancient Thule. Shetland Ifles.] The iflands of Shetland lie north-cafl of the Orcades, between fixty and fixty-one degrees of north latitude, and are part of the fhirc of Orkney : they are reckoned forty-fix in number, including fome little unmhabited holms, which afford them pafture for their cattle. The largeO: ifland, called Mainland, is fixty miles long, and twenty broad in fome places, indented and cut through by fine bays, which form fo many harbours. The inland part is full of mountains, lakes, and bogs, which render it exceffive cold ; it is beft inhabited in the plain country near the fea-coaft. Their fcas are fo tenipeftucus, that they can have no cor- refpondcnce with any other country from October to April, The Revolution in Great-Britain, which happened in No- vember 1688, was not heard of in Scotland until the follow- ing May. They import their corn from Orkney, having little of their own growth. Their ordinary drink is whey, which they keep in hogflieads till it grows four and very ftrong. They abound in black cattle, fhcep, fifti, and fowl, but hogs feem to be their averfion here as well as in the rell of Scotland. They traffic chiefly with their fifti. Here it is the Dutch begin to fifh for herrings at Midfummer, arul continue it to the fouthward on the coafls of Scotland and Kngland for fix months, employing fome feafons, a thoufand or fifteen hundicd veflels in this fiflxcry, and ufually make M 3 two i^')^ Befmption of the BritlJh^Emph'ej two or three voyages in a feafon. Their chief town U Shalloway, in which there is a caftlej but in the whole ifland there are fcarce five hundred families. Tell is the largcft ifland next to this, being twenty miles long and nine broad. Fui/l lies the furthefl: north, being fifteen miles long and ten broad, has three harbours in it, and is efleemed the pleafanteft of all the Shetland ifles. Mountains.] The chief mountains of Scotland are the Grampian mountains, which run from eaft to weft, from near Aberdeen to Cowal in Argylefhire, almoft the whole breadth of the kingdom, famous for the battle fought near them, between the Romans and the ancient Scots, or Cale- donians, under the condut^ of Calgacus. A remarkable chain of mountains are thofe of Lammer- moor, which run from the caftern coaft in the Meres a great way weft. Next to thcfc are Pentland hills, which run tlirough Lothian, and join the mountains of Twccdale j and thefe again are joined by others, which traverfe the whole breadth of Scotland. Other remarkable mountains are thefe called Cheviot, or Treviot Hills, on the borders of England, Drumbender-law and North Bei wick-law, both in Eaft Lothian j Arthur's Seat in Mid-Lothian ; Cairnapple, in Weft-Lothian; Ten- tock, inClidfdale; Binmorc, in Argylc j the Ochcl moun- tains, and Largo-law, in Fife ; in Angus, Dundee-law, and part of the Grampians ; in Caithnefs, Ord j and in the Orkney illands, the mountains of Hoy. Riiu'ys.] 'I'hc chief rivers arc, Forth, Clyde, and Tay. Forth \/as called Hodotria ancientlv, and is the largeft river in Svorland j it rifcs near the bottom of Lomon hill, and runs fiOin weft to eaft, difcharging itfdf into the Frith of 'j oy, the next largeft river, ifTues out of Loch Tay in Broad- albin, and, running fouth-caft, falls into the fea at Dundee. Spey, the next moft confidcrable river, ifiues from a lake of the i'ame name, and running from fouth-wcit to north-eaft, falls into the German fea. The rivers Don and Dee run from weft to eaft, and fall into the German fea near Aberdeen. The river Clyde runs generally from eaft to weft, by Hamilton and Glafgovv, ajid falls into the Irifli fea; from whence their prcatclt foreip-n traffic is carried on to America, and other diftant countries. I^hc rivers, Murray, Cromarty, and Dornock, rife from ip many lakes ot tiic fame nanic in the north of Scotland^ and ♦»Jv •TP in EUROPE. i6; running from weft to eaft difcharge thcmfelvcs into the Ger- man fea. Lakes.'] The lakes of the moft note are thofe of l/och-tay, Loch-nefs, and Loch-leven, from whence iflue rivers of the fame name ; from Loch-iomond iflbed the river Lomond, and from Loch-jern, the river Jern. It is ob(erved, that the lochs Tay, Nefs, and Jern, never freeze ; and there is a lake in Shaglafli, which continues frozen all the fummcr. ^/r.] From the northerly fituation, and the mountainous furface of this country, the air is very cold^ but much colder on the mountains or highlands, which are covered with fnow great part of the year, than in the vallies, and much colder in the north than in the fouth. The Orcades lie almoft un- der the fame parallel with Bergen, capital of Norway ; Stockholmn, capital of Sweden i and Peterfburg, capital of Ruflia} where they have nineteen hours day at the fummer folftice, and nineteen hours night at the winter folftice ; by the day here is meant from fun-rife to fun-fet, for the fun is fo very little below the horizon the remaining five hours, that it is light enough to fee to read. But if the air be colder in Scotland than in England, the natives comfort themfelves with an opinion, that it is clearer and more healthful, being purified by frequent winds and ftorms ; which contribute, they imagine, to the brightnefs of their parts as well as health. They alfo imagine they refemble the French in their vivacity and enterprifing genius. Soil and Produce.] As to the foil and produce of Scotland, it is certainly a barren country generally, though there are fome fruitful valleys. I take the Lothians and Fife to be very dcfirable countries, producing the fame grain that England does ; but in the highlands I am informed, oats is almolt the only grain that grows there, of w.iich they make both bread and beer. They abound in good timber, efpccially oak and fir. There arc fome forces twenty or thirty miles long. Hemp and flax alfo thrive very well here. There wants no materials for building of {hips and equipping our royal navy. MincraU.'] In their hills are n'.iiics c^f copper, iron, lead, and coals ; quarries of marble and freeftone ; and they tell us of fome mines which produce gold and filver, but not worth the workino;. Animals.] They have great herds of fmall neat cattle, of which they drive many thoufands annually into England lean, and they arc fatted in our meadows and marfhos, particularly in Norfolk, in Romncy marlh in Kent, and in the iMindrcd^ of E flex. M 4 F I Jim hi ^ nr . J 68 Defcriptton of the Brittjb Empire^ FJJheries.'] But the greateft advantages Scotland can boaft ©fare its fifherles : Thefe might prove a mine of infinite wealth to the whole ifland, as they have long been to the Putch ; and would add more to our firength and fuperiority at fea, than all our foreign traffic; lor here wc might brccci many thoufands of" hardy fea-men that would always be at hand to mm our fleets, when the reft arc abfent upon diftant voyages. And this we at length feem fcnfihle of, an act having lately pafl'cd for the encouragement of this fifhery. Herrings abound moft in the weftcrn ifl:mds ; they are fo plentiful here, that they have been purchafed for fix-pence a barrel j and vvhen they are cured and exported, they yield from twenty-five to forty fliillings a barrel : and it is faid, thirty-fix thoufand barrels of white herrings have been ex- ported from Clyde in a fcafon, bcfides great quautities fron^ Dunbar, and other parts of Scotland. The chief places for the herring-fifhery arc, BrafTa-found in Shetland ; the coafts and bays of the Orkney-iflands ; Loch- brown in Rofs ; Lewis, Harris, Slcye, and the lefler illeg adjacent ; from Loch-maddy, in Harris particularly, four hundred veflel« have been loaded with herrings in a fcafon ; and in the bays of Altwig, a fraall ifland in the north -caf^ end of Skye, the fhoals of herrings are fo thick, that many times they entangle the boats. About the ifles of Mull, Ifla, Jura, on the coafts of Argyle, the ifles of Arran, Bute, and others in the frith of Clyde and the river Forth, on both fidei the coaft, efpecially towards Dundee, the herrings are very large and numerous. The inhabitants of thefe iflands are computed to amount to forty thoufand able men, many of them without employ- ment, and may be hired exceeding cheap; moft of them are watermen, who can live hardy, and endure fatigue : and fuch is the commodioufnefs of their bays and harbours, in thefe iflands, that we could not fail of fuccefs, if we would employ thefe people. There are alfo abundance of whales among thefe i^'^nds, it ia faid, which thcle people purfue in their boats to the fhore, and kiJl and ear them. In the Orkneys and North Vift there are great numbers of Seals J three hundred and upwards have been killed at a time. Their falmon fiftiery is very confiderable in the river Don nnd Dee at Aberdeen ; and in the river Clyde ; the town of Renfrew has employed fixty vcflels in this tlflicry in a fcafon, fuid greui quantities arc exported to France and Holland. 4 «*..''*' 4 ( w E U R O P E; 169 About the northern and wcftcrn iflands is the finefl: cod- fiflicry in Kurope, of which the Dutch and Hamburghers run away with moft of the profits, the iflandcrb felling their iiihi to them, there being ro Britifti merchants to take them pfF their hands, though there cannot be a more profitable branch of bufmefa, Jt is related of an Englifti merchant that ufed to buy cod-fifii, and fait them upon the coalt of Scotland (for there is fait enough) that in one voyage he had four thoufand of thcfc fifli cured at a penny and two-pciicc a piece, and fold them again at eighteen- pence and half a prown a piece. There are alfo fturgeon, turbot, mackarel, and all man- ner of fca-fifli and (hcll-fifli taken on their coafts, among the jflands. ManufaSfures.'] Their principal manufaflure is thr.t of Jinen. They make as good hoi land, they tell us, as they do in the Netherlands : alfo cambric, dornic, and damalk ^ and people of quality have frequently their linen and wollen fpun and wove in their own houfes. 'I'heir plaids feem to have been a manufaiSlurc peculiar to this nation, being worn in the highlands both by the men and women ; but by a late a6l both the plaid and bonnet are expelled the country. Traffic.'] The Scots export and barter (for the goods of their countries) their falmon, herrings, coais, barley, tallow, l-Hitter, eggs, hides, Ihccp-fKins, worftcd, yarn, and {lock- ings. Glafgow is the moll confiderable port in the kingdom for foreign traffic, particularly to America and Guinea. By the 3(51 of Union the Scois are intitled to trade to all the Britifh plantations, and dfcwherc, as the Englifti do j and many of them come up to London, and become as con- fiderable merchants and tradefmcn here, as any of the Englifli, and oftcncr raifc fortunes here, than the natives ; which they cflecl chiefly by their diligent application, fru- gality and temperance : but they feem more ready to imitate pur vices, than tlic Englifh are to imitate their virtues. C'jtylitution.] 7 he confiitution of the government is now the fame in the whole united kingdom, only as to private right the Scots are frill governed by their own laws, which are, however, fubjecl to be altered by the Britifli parliament ; and fome confiderable alterations have been made fince the union, as in dcllroying the tenure by vallalage, the aboliOi- |ng all torture n\ criminal proceedings, the allowing a general toleration of religion in Scotland as weU as in England, and in the appointing judges to go the circuits |n Scodand* ^ Revenua.'] 11 " i b 1 i m ■ 1 m ' 1 1 1 1 1 170 "Dcfcription of the Britijh Empire t Revenues,"] The revenues of this kingdom, before the Union, did not amount to more than one hundred and fixty thoufand pounds per annum. And by that ad, they are to pay but forty-eight thoufand pounds per ann. land-tax, when England pays four (hillings in the pound, which raifes about two millions. All other taxes were to have been the fame in Scotland as in England ; but they have been in- dulged by taking ofF half the malt-tax in that part of the ifland. Perfons atul Habits.] But before I enter upon a defcription of their genius and temper, it may be proper to fay fome- thing of their perfons, in which it is evident, they differ from their fouthein neighbours. Whether it proceeds from the purity of their air, or the thinnefs of their diet, they have certainly thinner countenances than the Englifh, anci ufually a longer vifage ; and, like the Danes, who live in the fame climate, their heads are adorned with golden locks. As to their ftature, it is much the fame with ours j but they are eafily diOinguifhcd from South Eritons by the tone and roughnefs of their voxes. The habits of the nentlemcn arc alike in every part of the ifland. Jn the Highlands the plaid and bonnet were worn till prohibited hy a late act. And their wearing no breeches in the highlands fccms a peculiarity. Genius and temper.] As to their genius and temper, they have certainly more command of themfelves in the beginning of life, and commit fewer extravagancies in their youth, than the Englilh do: their frugality and temperance deferve our imitation; which is, indeed, the foundation of that difcretion we obferve in them, at a time of life when our young gentle- men are half mad. CurioJJties.] What they ufually enumerate as curiofitics are, the remains of Roman ways and camps in feveral places, and of the Roman wall called Graham's dyke, between the rivers Forth and Clyde, feveral of the floncs having Roman infcripiions on them ; particularly one, from whence it ap- pears, that the Lr^io featnda Aiigujla built that wall. \\\ fome places there arc lakes that never freeze ; in another, a lake that continues frozen all fummer ; and, in a third, there is a floating ifland, and filh wiliioiit Hns ; and it is frequently tempeftuous in a calm. Language.] The language of the Highlands difiers very little from the Irifh. Of the broad Scotch, which is generally tft EUROPE. 171 generally fpoken, they give us the following fpeclmen in their Lord's Prayer : Ure Fader tvhilk art in Heven ; hallued be thy name. Thy kingdom cumm. Thy wuU be doon in earthy a% its doon in Heven. Gee ufs this day ure daily breed. And forgee ufs ure ftnns, as we forgee them that fmn againj} ufs. And lead ufs not into temptation \ butt delyver ufs frae evil. Amen. Religion.] The eftabliflied religion here is the prefbyterian, or Calvinifm, a lort of ccclefuftical republic, where all priefts or pre{bytcrs are equal. They have a general affembly, or fynod, of their clergy, which meet annually, confiding of niiniRers and elders deputed from every prclbytery in the nation. Thefe determine all appeals from inferior church judicatories, and make laws and conftitutions for the govern- ment of the kirk. The crown ufually appoints fome noble- man high-commiflioner, to fit among them, and prevent their running into excefies ; but he has no vote in their aifembly, and they infift that his prefence is not neceflary. Bcfides this general affembly, they have thirteen provincial fynod:;, fixty-cight prefbyteries, and nine hundred and thirty-eight pnrilhcs. The loweft ecclefiaftical court being their kirk feffion, which confifts of the minifters, elders, and deacons of the parifh, who are faid to watch over the morals of the people, and have power enough to make any gentleman very uiieafy, if they happen not to like him: a man that is fubjed to thefe petty jurifdiitions, can hardly be denominated a freeman. But what is moft remarkable in the kirk of Scotland is, that they infift the civil power ought to be fubjec": to the ecclefiaftical ; carrying their authority, in thcfo" cafes, as hi;:;h as the church of Rome. Calvinifm was introduced into Scotland, in a tumultuous manner, at the Reformation, in the reign of Mary queen of Scots, and in the minority of her fon James VI. But when kin^: fames was fettled in the throne of England, epifcopacy wa* r-itabliflivHl in Scotland by aft of parliament, and con- tinued to be io until the year 1688 ; when the prefbyterian nob took upon them, in a riotous manner, without any authority, to expel the biOiops luul clergy, and plundered their lioufes, abufing them and their families in an out- rageous manner, fo that many of them were forced to fly into England: and t!ic bifliops having fliewn fome partiality to king James, his fucceffor king William thought fit to get epifcopacy ijholiiheJ by adl of parliament, and preft))tery eli-abliflied in that kingdom. Not fo much as a toleration Wiis allowed the members of the church until the reign of queen ♦. f/i Defcription of the Britijh Empire] ^ueen Anne, when an zSi of parliament was obtained for that purpofe, againft which the Scots made all imaginable oppoiition. jirchbijhoprics^ and B'ljhoprlcs.'] St. Andrews and [Glafgow. Bi/hoprics."] Edinburgh, Dunlceld, Abtideen, Murray, Brichen, Dumblain, Rols, Cathnefs, Orkney, Galloway, Argyle and the Ifles. Unherjities.'} The univerfities of this kingdom are four: viz. thofe of St. Andrews, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glafgow. Socieij.'] A Society was incorporated, by patent, in the •ye&r 1708, for eredting fchools in North-Britain, and the Ifles i and, in 1716, an aiSl pafied for their eftabliihment, and a fund of twenty thoufand pounds was appropriated and made a ftock for carrying on the defign : and the fociety ap- plying to king George II. for an additional charter, to ereil workhoufes for employing children in manufadlurcj, houftwii .ry, and hufbandry, in the Highlands and Ifie.-', his majed.; not only granted them a patent, but a revenue of ori.- th'^ ufanJ pounds per ann. And they have now upwards (i>f (;•"-• hundred fchools, in which between four and live thoufAi'.c loys and girls are educated. IRELAND. Between Between Boundaries,!^ and 10 and 56 Siiuation and Extent, W. Lon. 1 \ Beings N. Lat. 300 miles In length; 150 miles In breadth. JOUNDEDby the Deucaledonian fca, on the north ; on the weft, by the great Atlantic ocea.i, which fcparatcs it from America ; on the fouth, by the Virgmia Tea ; and on tie eaft, by the Irifli fca, commonly called St. George's Channel, winch divides it from that part of Great-Britain called Scotland, from whence it is fliftant not full thirty miles, and from Wales a part of Britain, from whence it is diiiant about fixty miles. T'he whole area, or fupcrficial content of this ifland, is computed to take up ^bout 11,067,712 liifli acresj plantation meafure, the dif- ference in E U R O P E. * . 173 ference between EngHfli and Irifh acres, being as fixteen and a h:ilt is to twenty-one, and it is held to bear proportion to England and Walts, as eighteen is to thirty. [' Leiniter, — Dublin, the capital of the kingdom. Londonderry,a citjr. Cork, a city. Gal way, a town. Four provinces,^- ^^ lifter, - contaunng, j ^ j^^,^,^^^^ _ L4. Connaught, —J _ ^, I. Lcinfter province on the eaft, containing twelve coun- ties : VIZ. 1. Louth ; containing Drogheda, Dundalk, the fhirc town, Carlingford, Athirdcc, Dunleer. 2. Mcath, eaft; containing Trim, the fliirc town, Kells, Athboy, Navan, Duleek, Ratoath, Ardbraccan, the Teat of a biihop. 3. Meath, weft j containing Mullingar, the (hire town, Athlone, Kilbeggan, Force, an inconliderable village. Kin-* negad. ^ 4. Longford ; containing Longford, the {hire town, Gra- nard, Laneftjorough, St. John's Town. 5. Dublin; containing Dublin, the feat of an archbifhop, Svvords, Newcaftlc, BahuJdery, Finglas, Glaflhevin. 6. Kildare ; containing Naas, the fhirc town alternately with Athy; Athy, the fhire town alternately with Naas; Kildare, the head of a bifliop's fee; Harriftown, a forry vil- l:;ge ; Caillcdcrmont, Kilcullen, Rathangan, Kilcock, Mo- naticreven. 7. King's County; containing Philipftown, the fhirc town, Bir, 'rullamore, Banagliir, liallyboy, Gtalhill. 8. Qiieen's County ; containing Marybarrow, the fhirc town, Mountmelick, Portarlington, Ballynekill, Mountrath, Stradbally, Kallyroan, Abbyleix, Burres in Oflbry. 9. Wicklow; containing VVicklow, the (liire town. Ark- low, Cary's Fort, a forry village, Rathdrum, Bray, Blefling- tun, Dunlavan, Bartinglafs, Carnew. 10. Carlow ; containing Carlow, the fliire town, Old- Lcighlin, a bifhop's fee united to Ferns, Leighlin-Bridge, Tolio, Hacket's Town, Bagnal's Town, lately built by Mr, Bagnal, Clonegal. 11. Wexford; containino; Wexford, the fhire town, En- nifcorthy, New Rofs, Fethiird, Gorey, alias New Burrow, Bannow, Clamines, TaghfTicn, Duncannon, only famous for its fort. Ferns, a bifhop's !ec united to Leighiin. 12. Kilkenny; containing Kilb^nny, a city, the fhire town, and the feat of the biilicps of Oiiory, St, Kenny, aiii:s irilh TvV/n, "T^" >74 Hefcription of the Briiijh Empire, Town, Thomaftown, Callan, Gowran, Knoktopher, In* niftiock or EnniAeog, Caftlecomber, a village famous for its coal-pits, Ballyragget. 2. Ulfter province in the north, contains nine counties : vi/, 1. Donncgal or Tyrconnel ; containing Donnegal, Bally- ihannon, St. John's Town, Killybeggs, LifFord, the fhirtf town, Lentcrkenny, Raphoe, a bilhop's fee, RathmuUen, an inconfiderable fea-port, Rathmelton, Buncranagh. 2. Londonderry j containing Londonderry, a city, bifhop's fee, and the (hire town, Colerain, Newtown-Limavaddy, Magherafclt, Ballinderry. 3. Antrim; containing Carrickfergas, the (hire town, Bel- faft, Lifburn, Antrim, Randalftown, Eallymenagh, Belly- caftle, an open colliery, Conor, a biibop's fee united to Down, Larne, Ballymoney. 4. Tyrone j containing Omagh, the fhire town, Dungan- non, Augher, Strabane, Steward's Town, Clogher, a bi* {hop's fee. 5. Fermenagh; containing Ennifkillen, the fhire town, New- town-Butler, Lifnafkea, Clabby, Maguire's Bridge. 6. Armagh'; containing Armagh, a city, the primatical fee, and the fhire town, Charlemont, Lurgan, Portadown, Tan- dragre, Loghgall, Legacurry, alias Rich-hill. 7. Down; containing Down Patrick, the (hire town, and a bifhop's fee, united to Connor, Newry, Dromore, a bifhop's fee, Killileagh, Bangor, Newtown, Hilfborough, Magherelin, Moyra, Donaghadee, Portaferry, Strangford, Killough, Saintfield, Banbridge, Logbrickland, Rathfryland, Warringftown. 8. Monaghan ; containing Monaghan, the fnirc town, Clallough, Clounifh, Canickmacrofs, Caille-Blarie. g. Cavan; containing Cavan, the fhiie town, Kilmore, a biffiop's fee, Belturbet, Coothill, Killyfbandra. 3. Munftcr province, in the iouth, contains fix counties': viz. 1. Cork; containing Cork, a city, bifliop's fee, united to Rofs, and the fhire town, Bandon-Bridge, Cloyne, a bifliop's fee, Mai low, Rofs, a bilhop's ice united to Cork, Baltimore, Younohall, Kinfale, Cloughnikilty, Charlevillc, Caftiemartyr, Middleton, Rathcormuck, Donerail, Bantry, Skibbereen, Dunmanway, AiJacroinp, Battevaiit, Kantuik, Caftlelyons, Currigiais, Killworth, Michleftown, Fernioy, Inifkeati, Inifhannon, Tymolcage, Newmarket, Ballyclough, Annagh, Douglafs. 2. Wiiterford : containing: Waterford, a citv, the fhire town, and a bifhop's fee, united to Lifmore, Dungarvan, Lifmorc, in E U R O P E. >75 Lifmore, a bifhop's fee, united to WaterforJ, Tallagh, Paf- fagc, Capoquin. 3. Tipperary j containing Cafhell, a city, and archiepif- copal fee, Conmell, the (hire town, Tipperary, Carrick, Thurles, Nenagh, Feathcrd, Bcrrufalcean, Rolcrca, Clog- hcen, Silvermines, Cuilen, Cabir. 4. Limerick ; containing Limerick, a city, a bifliop's fee, united to Ardfert and Aghadoe, and (hire town, Kilmallock, AKkeaton, Rathkeal, Newcaflle, Flofpitall, BrufF, KilHnan. 5. Kerry ; containing Tralee, the (hire town, Dingle Icough, Ardfort, a bifhop's fee, united to Limerick, ^ghadoe, a bifhop's fee, united to Limerick, Kiliarney, Cailk Ifland, Lixnaw, Liftoweil. ^ 6. Clare ; containing Ennis, the fliire town, Killaloc, a bifliop's fee, Bryen's Bridge, Kiifenora, now united to Clon- fert, formerly to Tuam, S x Mile Bridge, Newmark, Corofin. 4. Connaught province, in the well : containing five counties : viz. i. Gal way ; containing Gaiway, the fliire town, Loughrea, Athenree, Tuam, the fceof an archbifliop, Clonfert, the fee of a bifliop. Eyre, Court, Grot. 2. Rofcommon ; containing Kofcommon, the fliire town, Abby-Boylc, Tu(k, Elpin, a bifliop's fee, Ballinafloe, re- markable for fairs, Caftlereagh, Athlonc, on the weft of the Shannon. 3. Mayo ; containing Caftlebar, Ballnrobe, the fliire town, Foxford, Killala, a bifliop's fee, Newport, Minola, Ballina. 4.; Sligoe i containing Sligoe, the fliire town, Colooney, Achonry, a bifliop's fee, united to Killala. 5. Leitrinjcontainingjames Town, Carrick, thefliiretown. y//r.] We can produce no better authority in behalf of what (hall be advanced upon this article, than the venerable Bede, a writer of the eighth century, whofe obfervations are for the moft part confirmed by conftant experience; who main- tains, " that Ireland much furpafleth Britain in the health- fulnefs and ferenity of the air, and that fnow is fcldom to hz fecn there above three days continuance." With this agrees Urofius an earlier writfT than Bcde ; namely, "• t!iat in the temperature of the air and foil, it is much to be preferred to Britain." Ciraldus Cambrenfis affirms, •■' that it ibt>f all other countries the molt temperate, where neither the fcorchin;^ heats of Cancer drive men to the fliade, nor the piercing cold of Capiicon to the fire ; that fnow is unufual, and continues but a (hurt time j the mildnefs of the air fo great, that there we feel tiicefieih neither of infckSting cloudo, nor poftilcniial vapours." And in another place he fays, *■'■ that luuuic haih been i ; 5 • tefcriptjon of the hril:Jh Empire^ been more favourable than ordinary to this kingdom of Zcv-s hyrus." Thcfe things he fpcaks from experience, having at- tended kin^ John in his expedition thither ; and his wordj Item to carry the more weight, as they are the evidence of an enemy, who, upon other occafions, hiys hold of all opportu- nities to depreciate Ireland. The opinions of thefe authors of antiquity, as to the temperature of the air of Ireland, fcem, in fome meafure, to be confirmed by this, that the meadows and fields in this ifland appear green in the midft of w:;>.ter., and the cattle are every day driven out to pafture, unlefs v/hcn the land is covercil with fnow. Perhaps alfo the cxcmpt'oii cf Ireland from vc;]Cmous creatures may be afcribcd to the fame caufc, the air having no liifcjStious particles in it to fup- ply and nourifh thtir poilon. Thunder is not very common in this country, and an earthquake fcldom or never felt, and when it happens, it is looked upon as a prodigy. Yet all the panegyrics of any ancient writers, upon the air and tempera- ture ot Ireland, nnifl: be received under fome limitations : if they be intended as comparifons between Ireland and the fouth parts of Britain, they are certainly groundlefs ; if with the: northern parts (where Uede lived, and whom Cambrenfis ecchocs} they may well be admitted : for the air fcems to be more nioilt than that of England^ and it is more fubjedt to wind, clouds and rain, than to froft and fnow : which qualities are, probably, occafioncd by the numerous lakes, bogs and marflics, which have heretofore often proved fatal to forei^rners, by throwing them into fluxes and dyfentcrics ; to wliich caufc hath been imputed the lofs of many thoufands of men at D(incl?.lk, m the campaign of 1699, under duke Schomberg ; thciugh, to fpeak the truth, the misfortunes of that campai;5n may be as well afcribcd to a wet and unwhole- ibme cncamjimcnt, and coriupt provifions, as to any ill qua- lities in the air; for which mil'management, in regard to pro- villons, Mr. Shales, the purveyor-general of the army, was taken into cuftody, in conft;qucnce of :'.n addrei's of the houfe of commons of England to the king, and ordered to be profe- cutcd ; but he cfcriped any further proceedings by m'?ans of powerful confederates, who were fhrrers in the profits of his corrupt management. However, let thcfe effe«5ts be owing to what caufejj they will, it is certain the air of Ireland hatht been much amended by the induftry of the inhabitants, ir> draining.!; their bogs and fenny grounds, (which Pliny obfervesy happened by the fame means to the country about Philippi \) that now complaints upon this head are feldom heard of. Soil in EUROPE. ^77 Soil and produce. ] The foil of Ireland is m mod places abun* dantly f'ruUrul, snd fit to be employed either under pafturage, meadow, or tillage ; to which thcjfe, who have the leaXi knowledge of that country, will yield their aflcnt. From whence it necedarily follows, that as great quantities of land are not uied in tillage, their breed of cattle muft be infinite^ which heretofore, indeed, was the greateft natural wealth of the inhabitants, and at prcfcnt fupplies no inconliderable ar- ticles in their exports. Bede applies the chara*5lerof the L:md ot Promile to u, callnig it a lund Ji-.xvmi^ with milk and honey. And Sir John Davis, (who knew it better than Bede, having fpcnt feveral years in it in quality of attorney- general j calls it from the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, " a land of brook? and water, of fountains and depths that fpring out of valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, wherein thou {halt eat "bread without fcarcenefs, and fliall not lack any thing in it." And this agrees better with its true character, than what Cambrenfis alledgcs ; namely, ** tha^ nrn in Ireland pro- mifes much hopes in the blade, mon Jie ihaw, but lefs 19. the grain j for that the grains of wheat there are Ihrivelled and fmall, and arc difficult to be cleanfed by the help of any van." Whereas the neighbouring countries feldom produce a larger or heavier grain than what grows in the well-tilleU parts of Ireland. Belides pailurage and tillage, Ireland pro- duces great plenty of meadow ground, which is of infinite iervice to the inhabitants, by fupplying them with vaft quan- tities of hay for their black cattle, fliecp, and horfcs in winter; and even their bogs, when drained, make excellent nicadow Jand. The foil alfois proper for hemp and flax, of which abun- dance is raifed there, efpecially in the northern parts of the kingdom ; and, being perfeftiy manufadtured, fupplies the moft beneficial branch of their commerce; and this bufinclij is daily fpreading into other parts of that land. Rut the coun- try abounds in nothwig more than wool, notwithftanding the prohibition from England againlt cxportin;?; it, either wrought or unwrought, to any other nation but lingland, and that only in unmanufactured wool and bay yarn. Yet means arc ■found, from their large extended courts, and numerous bays and ceeks, to export it into France ; which, to the infinite detriment of England, is become a rivnl to it in the woollen trade. This cannot be prevented but by fome re.r.edy adequate to the difeafe. Though th^rc be great encourage- ments given to the linncn trade, yet the vaft quantities of land in Ireland, fit for hemp and flax, can never be employ- ed m'that manufiu^uFe, and therefore will be continued under N flicep. ,."^.. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ^1^ 1^ I.I l» m us 2.2 LB. IL25 i 1.4 m 1.6 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. I4SS0 (716) 872-4503 v iV :1>^ S> r O !/. %^ 178 Defcriptiott of the Britijh Empire, flietp, unlefs the minds of the people were turned from thence to fomc other beneficial branch ; and poflibly an encourage- ment, given by parliament for premiums upon the exportation of corn, might in fome meafure anfwer the end. Mountains. "^ We are told, in the ancient and prefent ftate of the county of Down, " that there are two words in Englifli, by which obfervable heights, rifmg above the furface of the ground, are diltinguiflied ; namely. Hill and Mountain, in the fame fenfe as the Latins ufe Collis and Mons, and the Greeks Bt^9f and Ogof ; and in thefe three languages they are only diftin- guifli^d according to their degrees ot elevation ; the former word in each fignifying a fmaller, and the latter a more confiderable height. The Irilh language is more fruitful in this particular, and affords three words to mark out fuch elevations : namely. Knock, Slieve andBeinnj the firft fignifying a low hill, Hand- ing fnigly without any continued range ; the fecond, a craggy high mountain gradually afcending, and continued in feveral ridges ; and the laft a pinnacle or mountain of the firft mag- nitude, ending in a ftiarp or abrupt precipice. The two lalt are often feen compounded together in one and the fame range." Ireland affords inftances of all thefe kinds, and yet is far removed from what may be denominated a mountainous country. Of the firft kind, namely of hills, inftances may be given in that extent of country, about ten miles in length, from Kells in the county of Meath to Bailyborough in the county of Gavan, which is almoft nothing elfe but a conti- nued chain of hills of no great elevation, all very fruitful land, both pafture and arable. The fame may be obferved of the little hills about Down-Patrick, compared to eggs fet in ' fait, and of many others in feveral parts. The fecond kind of mountains, which, with anexceffive elevation, rife towards the Ikies, are not very common in Ireland j and yet there are feveral fuch, which, though not to be compared to the Pyre- nees, lying between France and Spain j to the Alpes, which divide Italy from France and Germany, or to other moun- tains in the world of the like vaft height, yet may be juftly accounted among the lofty mountains. In this number may be reckoned the mountains of Carlingford, extending from Dun- dalk to that place, which, in favourable weather, may be feen from the mountains fouth of Dublin, at about forty miles diftance. Thofe about Louth-Sully in the northern parts of the county of Donnegal. The Curliews, which feparate the counties of Sligoe and Rofcommon in Connaught : the Man- gerton mountains in the county of Kerry: Croagh-Patrick in the county of Mayo, from whence (as fabulous tradition rer . , • , lates) vr in E U R O P E. ': 15^9 lates) St. Patrick drove all ferpents and venomous creatures out of Ireland into' the fca ; the Gaulty mountains in the county of Tipperary ; Sleuboom, called by fome writers the Blandine mountains, extended in a large ridge through part of the Qiieen's and King's counties, and a part of the county of Tipperary, celebrated by the immortal Spencpr in his Fairy- Q^jeen : the Brandon mountains in the county of Kerry, to the eaft of Smerwick bay : Slieu-galen in the county of Ty- rone : the large mountains in the county of VVicklow, and among the reft Sugar-Loaf Hill : the mountains ofMournft and Ivcah in thecounty or Down, which are reckoned amongft fome of the highefl in the kingdom, of which Slieu-Denard has been calculated at a perpendicular height to 1056 yards, and is one of the three forts of mountains above dcfcribed, which ends in an abrupt precipice. Many other mountains are pafled over unnoticed for the fake of brevity ; and yet the chara6ter given of Ireland by Cambrenfis is by no means to be admitted for truth, who fays, " that the inland parts of it enormoufly fwell into lofty and inacceflible mountains ;" tha contrary of which experience evinces. The mountains of this country are of fmgular benefit to the inhabitants, not only as they ferve for alembicks. where vapours, exhaled by the fun, are condenfed into clouds,, and defcend into rain and fliowers, to render the lower grounds fruitful ; but as in their bowels are generated beds of mines, minerals, coals, quarries of flone, flate and marble, veins of iron, lead and . copper ; in all which the mountains of this country abound in various parts. We are alfo indebted to them for the origin of fprings and fountains, rivulets and rivers, fo abfolutely necefi'ary to the well-being of mankind. Caps or head-lmch.'] Thefe bear a near refemblance to mountains, and many of them may be called by that name. As they are ufeful land- marks to navigators, it maybe proper to p lint out a few of the princip.il of chem. Fair-Head, or Fair-Foreland, the mofl: north eaftern cape of all Ireland, forms one fide of the bay of Ballycaftlc, as Kean-Bane, or the white cape much lower, does the oiher. Enifton-Head in the county of Donnegal. Cape-Horn, and Telen-Head, corrupted from St. Heion's-Hcad in the fame county. Slime-Head, or SI in- Head, in the county of Gal- way. Loop-Head,, or Cape-Lainc, at the mouth of the; Shannon, Cape-Dorfes, the molt S. W. cape of Ireland, in the Dorfes ifland, between the bays of Kilmarc and Bantry, Mifl'en-Head, the Notium of Ptol'^tny, in the county of Cork. Capc-Courcey, or the old head of Kinfale. Ardmore-Head N 2 ibrminsr 1 8o Defcription of lie Britijh Umpire, forming the caft fide of the hay of Younghall. Arklow-Head, Wicklow-Hcad, Bray-Head near Dublin, and Heath-Head, which forms the north fide of Dublin harbour. St. John's Foreland, a low cape in the county of Down ; with many others. Lakes."] In Ireland are innumerable lakes or loughs, (as they are there called) more in number than perhaps in any other country of the fame extent in the world ; and they abound more in the province of Ulfter and Connaught, than in any other parts of the kingdom. Thefe may be diftinguifh- cd in two kinds, according to the compafs of ground they cover. Firft, the fmaller fort, under which are compre- hended all thofe whofe extent is difcoverable to the naked eye at one time. Secondly, thofe of a larger kind, over which the naked eye cannot command a profpedt at once. Of thefe lakes wo fhall mention only a few : and firft of the fmaller lakes. In the county of Down, Lough-Rin, Lough-Dinny, and Lough-Kcrnan, the latter remarkable for being the fcene of a maflacre in the rebellion of 1641. In the county of Weft- Meath, Lough-Leign, Lough-Direvrah, Lough-Feile, Lough-Iron, Lough-Inniel, Lough-Drin, having trouts in it of an emetic quality, and Lough Banean-Annagh. In the county of Eaft-Meath, Lough-Ramor ; in the county of Ca- Van, Lough-Silline; in the county of.Donnegal, Lough-P^in, and Lough-Derg ; in an ifland of which the fuperititious pur- gatory of St. Patrick is yet to be feen. It would be endlefs to write the names of all the lakes of this kind in the kingdom, of which there are fcveral even on the tops of mountains. But of all the lakes under this denomination, it would be un- pardonable to omit Lough -Lcnc, in the barony of Maguniby in the county of Kerry, on account of the many fmgular beauties in it. It is about fix Englifh miles in length, and near half as much broad at a medium ; and is intcrfperfed with a variety of beautiful inlands, many of them rich in herbage, and well inhabited. Eagles and ofprcys are here in great numbers, and groves of the arbutus, (as they alfo are on the rocky parts about the lakes) which moft part of the year bears afcarlet fruit like the ftrawberry, blofToms, leaves, and berries, green or yellow, according to their different ftages of approach to ripenefs. It is called by the inhabitants the Cane- apple; and by Hadrianus Junius, from Pliny, Unedoj be- caufe the tafte of it is fo unplcafant, that it is expedient only to eat one at a time. The trunks of thefe trees are frequently four feet and a half in circumference, or eighteen inches in diameter, and nine or ten yards, often more, in height : and^ ,.. ^- wc in EUROPE. iSi we are told, they cut them down as the chief fuel to meljt and refine the filver and lead ore difcovered nc:ir the caftle of Rofs, which lies in the pcninfula in this lake. In fhort, the beauties of it are not to be defcribcd, nor feen without rapture. The fecond or larger kind of lakes may be properly ranked under two denominations j namely, firft, frcfli water lakes, which have no accefs of the tide, or mixture of the fca ; and, fecondly, fait lakes, into which the tide flows twice every day, and may more properly be called inlets of the fea, than lakes, though they have univerfally obtained the latter name. Of the frefti water lakes, which have no accefs of the tide, or mixture of fea-water, Lough-Erne, and l'i)% y/;ftif.j ,\l: •f!'.'»>^»-'-'. define in E U R O P E. ^H Bering on the river, lake, and canal, but would be of general emolument to the commerce of the kingdom. This lake is remarkable for two properties : firft, for a healingjproperty ; by which perfons, who have bathed in it for evils, ulcers, and running fores, have in eight days been per- fectly cured, and their fores dried up. Secondly, for petrify- ing wood, of which indifputable evidence hath been given not long fince to the phyfico-hiftorical fociety erefted in Dublin, by a gentleman, who exhibited a variety of large and fair fpe- cimens of wood and ftone contiguous found in the lake, and in the foil at a confiderable diftance from it, fo clear and dif- tindl, that there can be no room to doubt of the nature of either. The petrifying virtue however doth not feem to re- lide peculiarly in the water of the Lough, but rather to be owing to certain mineral exhalations common both to the water, and to the foil, and in fome particular fpots only. On the fhores of this lake have been found a variety of beautiful pebbles, cryftals, cornelians, mochoas, agats, and other precious ftones. The lake alfo abounds with fifli of various kinds in Innu- merable quantities, and of large fizes. It is remarked for two forts of trouts ; one called the Dologhan, which Is faid to be peculiar to it, being from fourteen to eighteen inches long, which laft fize it never exceeds, and always fpawns in the river fupplying the Lough. The other kind is called the Bodach ; in Englifli, the Churl ; fome of which have been taken that were thirty pounds weight. It fpecifically differs from the falmon trout; firft, in lize ; fecondly, in colour; the head and back of it being greenifti, inclining to a (ky colour J thirdly, the back fin is variegated with many black fpots ; fourthly, the tail forked ; and, fifthly, the flefti of it is of a deep red, and of a good relifh. It affords another un- common fifli called by the Irlfh the Pollan or frefti-water herring, and by the Englifti the (had, or mother of herrings; which is fcaled and Hiaped like a herring, is of a lighter blue on the back, and the head of it is fmaller and (harper than that of a common herring. It was for a time fuppofed to be a peculiar inhabitant of this lake ; but it is now known, that the fame kind of fiih is in Lough-Erne, though not in (o great plenty; that there are fome of them in the rivers Severn and Thames, and one was taken in the LIffy near Dublin, feveral years ago. There is another fpecies of n(h in this lake, for any thing known, peculiar to it, called the frefh-water whiting, in fliape exactly refembllng a fea-whiting, but lefs \\\ fize, and a very oiuuitiry, foft, infipid food. N 4 In 184 Defcripttsn of the Britijh Empire, In the river Shannon are four confiderable pieces ofwater, which have obtained ihe name of lakes, though more properly they are only the outfpreading of that river over the low lands adjoining to it. Firil, Lough-Boffin, about three milet broad, and more long, which is a boundary between part of the county of Leitrim, and par., of the county of Rolcommon. Second, Loiigh-Ree, about twelve miles long, and of un- equal breadth, difterminating the county of Roicommon from the counties of Longford, and Weftmeath, in which lie many fmall iflands, but none of them ol any fame except Inilbofin, or the ifland of the White-Cow, and that only for an abbey founded in it in the fifth century. Third, Lough-Derghart, about fixteen miles long, though, like Lough-Ree, of unequal breadih, lying equidiflant between Banaghir and Limerick, and feoarating part of the counties of Galway and Clare fronnj a part of the county of Tipperary, in which alfo are feveral little illands of no note. Fourth, another namelefs Lough, "Weft of Limerick, which fwelis about eight or nine milea into the county of Clare, filled alfo with iflands. Of fuch lakes, as may more properly be called inlets of the feathan lakes, there are feveral in Ireland. Firft, Lough-Foyle, a large oval lake, about fourteen miles long, and from fix to to eight miles broad, into which the fea flows by a narrow channel, not much mdrc than a mile over. On the river Foyle, and about three miles from the lake, >ftands the city of Londonderry, remarkable for the fiege it fuftained againft king James's army in the year i68g. Ptolemy Calls this lake the Agita ; which Cambden miftakes for, fecondly, Lough- S willy, fpreading from the northern fea into the land, for about eighteen miles, and dividing the baronies of Kilmacre- nan and Fnifowen in the county of Donnegal. Third, Lough -Corrib, from the fouth end of which a river iffues, called Galvia or Galiva in the annals of Donnegal, which waflies Galway, and falls into a bay of that name. Fourth, Lough-Cuan, now called the lake of Straiigford, in the county of Down, which, for the moft part, is a boundary betwefen the barony of Ardes and the reft of that country. The extent, frpm Newtown in the north to Strangford m the fouth, is about thirteen Irifh miles or better j and if it be taken from its- firft entrance at Anguifti rocks, it may be reckoned upwards of a league more. In fome places it is three, in fome four, and in others upwards of four miles broad ; and the tide flows to Newtown, at the remoteft north end of it. The iflands in it are numerous, yet probably not two hun- dred and fixty, as it is reported by Dr. Boat. By an a Bantry- in EUROPE. 189 IS Bantry-bay dtviflcs the countie» of Kerry and C»rk, and of a large extent, both in breadth and length, rivalliivg Kil- mare-b.iy in thofe particulars, as well as in fafety aiul aitchor- aiS^, In this bay, not very far from the mouth of it, lies the ifland of Beer- haven, between which and the main land i^ a fair found, which fcrves for a good and fafc port, and is there- fore called Bccr-haven. Within the mouth of this founi lip feme rocks, in the middle of the channel, at high water ovcr- ilown, which may be eafily avoided ; and on the fouth fide of the found, as you furround the ifland, there are two great rocks jull in the mouth of it, between which fhips may Ufcly pafs, as alfo between them and the land on either fide. At the upper end of this bay is another ifland called Whiddy, near three miles long, between which and the main land, being the uttcrmoft extent of the bay of Bantry, is good clean anchorage from three to fix fathom. Ships may enter this found in two places, on both fides of the iflands. The fouCli entrance is foul, rocky, and dangerous ; but the north entrance aifords room and depth enough in eight or nine fathom, and nothing to hurt, except a rpw of rocks a fmall muflcet-Arafc from the fhorc j which, being covered at high water, do not appear but at half ebb. Oppofite to this ifland is the haven ctf* l^angref, in which is every where fafe anchorage, and good ground, except on the right hand, clofe to the mouth, where are fpme foul grounds, which are dry at the ebb of the fprmg- tides. This bay of Bantry is rendered famous by a naval en- gagement between the Englifli and French fleets, in the yeat hxteen hundred and eighty-nine. Dunmanus-bay is feparated from Bantry-bay by a narrow neck of land, which terminates at Mintrovally-point. This b.iy is wide and long, though not equal in either refpe^ to thofe of Kilmare and Bantry } but it is a commodious road, and has good anchorage every where. The land, on the fouth fide of this bay, ftretcheth out far into the fea, the uttern^ioil part whereof is Mifien-Head, bcmg the fouthernmoft capie of all the main land of Ireland, Cape Clear lying out further Ibuth-eaft, being in an ifland. Baltimore-bay is much largcr-tham any of the three imme- diately before-mentioned bays, thoi^h not flretching into the land as they do ; but formrng rather the figure of an half moon* In this large bay lies Crook-haven, Soul-haven, and feveral others. Some writers have contracted the bounds of BaJtimore- bay, by making Dunafhad the entrance to the eafl, and Dun- along, in the ifland of Inifhirkan, to the weft i while others extend the bay from Dunafhad to MifTen-Head. The ■ /■3"'-»!^-^ igo "Defcription of the hritijh Empire^ '■'■ The entrance into €aftle-haven is very narrow, being nof half a mile over, formed by Skiddy*8 ifland on the eaft, and Horfe ifland on the weft; but it is a fafe, deep channel, and has good anchorage oppofite to the town of Caftle-Haven, which lies on the weft fhore. The haven of Glandore, though fmall, is good, with a fuf- ficient depth of water, and defended from all winds. . i The haven of Kinfale is one of the moft commodious and heft harbours in the kingdom, well Iheltered from the winds, and defended by a ftrong fort, called Charles-Fort, from king Charles II. in whofe reign it was erected. .: Cork-haven is alfo a fafe and commodious harbour, narrow at the entrance, but deep and fafe, and ftieltered within from all winds, as far as the city of Cork j for a defence whereof againft foreign enemies, two forts are now erected. Thefe are the principal unbarred havens in Ireland. Of the barred havens and thofe of lelTer note, we fhall do little more than mention their names. » Wexford, Wicklow, Dublin, which laft harbour hath, been much amended by the execution of the ftatute of the fixth of queen Anne, chap, the twentieth, called the Ballaft Adt. Drogheda, Dundalk, Dundrum, dangerous in the outer bay, but fecure in the inner. Killough, Ardglafs, Old-Fleet, Donaghadee, Glenarn, Ballycaftle, much improved by par- liamentary encouragement. Colerain, or Ban-Haven, being the mouth of the river Bann. St. Hellens, corrupted into Tellen. Ivlac-Sway's-Bay, Ballyfliannon, Sligoe, Moy, Roundftone-Bray, Tralee, Yonghall, and Dungarvon. Be- fides many other bays and roads, where, in cafe of neceffity, fliips may find relief. Rivers.^ As Ireland abounds in lakes and bays, fo alfo it is adorned with feveral confiderable rivers, many of them navigable a good way into the land, much to the emolument of the inland traffic^ and which may probably be made in time more commodious by joining fome of them together by na\ i- gablecanals j to the affecting of which the inhabitants have great encouragement by ads of parliament. We fhall mention only a few of the principal of thofe rivers. .^ ^ The Barrow, the Noer, and the Suir, have their fourceo from different branches of the fame mountain; namely, Slieu- Bloom, out of which the Barrow rifes in the barony of Tene- hinch, and Queen's county, and taking a northerly courfe, it pafles within a quarter of a mile of Mountmelick, and then vifits Portarlington \ foon after which it turns to the fouth^ . and »7*1«RS in E U R O P E. J^i knd wafiics Monaftereven, Athy, Carlow, Lelghlin-bridge^ and before it arrives at Rofs, is joined by the Noer, from whence they both continue a foutherly courfe under the nan?^ of the river of Rofs j fouth of which, being increafed by the Suir, they all three are loft in the fea at Hook-Point, being at the mouth of the haven of Waterford. The Noer rifes out of a branch of the fame ridge of moun- tains, called here (as it is faidj'Beinn-DufFe, i. e. the Blacks- Pinnacle, in the county of Tippcrary ; and taking a fouth-cait courfe by Kilkenny, Thomas-Town, and Eunifteog, unites with the Barrow above a mile north of Rofs. The Suir rifes out of the fame branch of Slieu-Bloom called Beinn-DufFe, and making firft a S. E. and then a foutherly courfe for upwards of forty miles, till it approaches near the county of Waterford, it takes a fudden turn to the north for about four miles; after which it keeps on an eaflerly courfe till it unites with the Noer and Barrow eailward of Water- ford; running in its whol'e courfe by the towns of Thurle^ Cafhel, Clonmell, Carrick, and Waterford. The Black- Water, called anciently Naimn, aad Abhan- more, i. e. the Great-River, and fometimes the Broad- Water, rifes out of the mountain of Slieu Logher, in the county of Kerry; from whence being fwelled by many ftreams, it takes firft a foutherly courfe, and then eaftward by Mallo, Fermoy, and Lifmore, to Cappoquin, where it takes a fudden turn to the fouth, and keeps that courfe till it falls into the bay of Younghal. Vcflels of confiderable burthen may fail up to Cappoquin (where it is above twelve feet deep at low water) and flat boats much higher. There are fcversl other rivers in IrelarKl, called the Black- Water, as one which falls into the Boyne at Navan in the county of Meath ; ano- ther in the county of Longford, which falls into the Shannon north of Lanes-Borough, and another In the county of Wex- ford, which is loft in the fea at Bannow-Bay. The river Bann, famous for a pearl fiftiery, but much more for that of falmon, takes its rife from thebofom of the moun- tains o{ Upper-Iveach in the county of Down, being the nor- thern ridge of the mountains of Mourne : from whence it flows northward to Ban-Bridge, where it makes a good ap- pearance ; thence turns to N. N. W. and, after a courfe of about thirty miles, falls into Lough-Ncagh near the Bann- foot ferry, in the county of Armagh; then finding its way. through the Lough, it iflliesj again from the north end of it, a{id bending i^s courfe norchejrly, divides the counties of An- ,,1 ManufaSlures and Traffic.^ The difcouragements laid on Ireland by the a£l of navigation, and other laws made m England, are fo many, that it cannot reafonably be cxpe(5ted this country fhould flourifh fo much in trade, as its natural fituation, extended coafls, its rivers, bays, and harbours commodiuus for navigation, would feem to promife. 4^^ O thefe ■V" 194 DefcripHon of the BriUJh Empire ^ thefe impediments will continue till the people of England ihall think it their true intereft to admit Ireland into a fuller participation of trade } which one time or other will be the cafe, not only as it will produce an increafe of taxes, which riches can anord, but as the wealth of this country muft in the event, as it now does ibr the moil part, center in the capital of that kingdom ; of Which a hint has been given ber fore. The chief exports of Ireland confifl of linen-cloth and yarn, lawns and caml>rics, which are fully manufatStured^ and export«fd to a confiderable advantage, the Englifh laAvs giving great encouragements to this branch of trade j which, in reality, with a few exceptions, nijay be faid to be the fource of . whatever wealth is in Ireland. To thefe exports may be added wool and bay yarn, exported to England only ; beef, pork^ green hides, ibme tann'd' leather, calf-fkins dried, tallow^ butter, candles, cheefe, ox and cow-horns, oXi-hair, horfe- 'hair, lead in no great ptfoportion:, copper-ore^ herrings^ tiried fi(h, rabbit-fkins, and iin*^ otter-lkins, goat-fkins, fal- mon, and a few other particulars. Writers even of yefterday report, that there is a considerable export from thence of pipe-ftaves, and that the country is not yet fufficiently cleared ♦f woods } the contrary of which is well known, for there is a great fcarcity of timber in Ireland for common ufes ; and what is neceiTary for building, &c. is imported from abroad. Many of the iron works thcae have been fufferedto go into dif»- iuf (occafioned probably by the great moifture *nd temperament of the air) bold, haughty, quick-witted^ cunning, hofpitable, credulous, vain-glorious, full of rpr fentment, and violent in all their affections. The ancient habit of the Irifh was a frize cloak, with a fringed or fhagged border, and their under garment a doublet and clofe breeches called trowfers. The women wore a mantle over a long gown ; and both men and women a kind of fhoe without a heel, made of half-tanned leather, called a brogue. Now all forts of people have conformed to the En- ^lifh drefs, except in the brogue, which the common people yet ufe. They are reproached for want of genius ; and fome have gone lb far, as to call them a nation of blunderers j but thefe afperfions are in the mouths only of a few ignorant people ; for Ireland hath produced Ibme men of as great learning, and of as elevated a genius, as any nation in Europe can boaft of; of whom it will be enough to mention Dr. James Uflier of tht ] ft, and Dr. Jonathan Swift of the prefent century. Their bravery and military {kill cannot be difputed 3 and we fee, at .^ O 2 this i()6 Defcription of the Britijh Empire, this day, generals of that nation in cfteem in mpft of tRe ai*4 rtiies in Europe. The natives of Ireland in the French fer- vice have often fignalized themfelves, of which the adtion at Cremona in Italy is a memorable inftance. When prince Eugene had jioflefled himfelfof that city by forprize, and takcrt Villeroy, the French general, prifoner in his bed, the prince was driven out Of the rbwn by the Irifh battalions then in the French fcrvice, headed by their general Mahony. And, it is faid, that at Fontenoy, the Irifh troops in the French fervicc reftorcd their battle when their principafs were ready to give way. It would be well if as much could be faid for their tern* per as for their genius and bravery. Language] The Irilh and 'Britifli or Welch language, are much the fame in their ftrutSure, and differ principally by the intermixture of other languages with them from time to time, by which they have been more or lefs refined or polifhed, and an alteration in the pronunciation, whereof thou fands of in- ftances might be given, which would be little to the fatisfac- tion of the reader, fince the Irifh language is in a manner loft, or, at leaft, underftood by very few. Let it fuffice therefore to give a fpecimen of this language in the Pater-nofter, or Lord's prayer : viz. " Ar Nathair a taar Reamh: Naomthar hainenj Tigeadh do rioghachd : Dean^or dothoilaran talamh, mar do nithear ar neamh. Ar naran lao tham hail tabhair Jhuinn niu. Agus maith dhuinn dhifiaca, mar mhaitmidne dar hfeitheamhnaibh fein. Agus na leig finn accathuhadh, achd Saor inn 6 olc. Oir is leachd fein an Rioghachd, agu» an cumhcchd, agus an ghloir go fiorruighe. Amen.'* Religion.'] The religion eftablifhed in Ireland, is the fame as in England, both in do£lrine and difcipline, and no dif- ference between the thirty-nine articles of each. The canons indeed of both churches do not exadlly agree ; though they^ had the fame air and fpirit, yet formerly they differed in a few articles, which we looked upon as inclining to Calvinifm j to reform which, it was eftablifhed in a convocation convened in Ireland in 1635, that fome of the canons fhould be fcleeauty. For, befidcs the fhape and fafhion of their body, -they ftand fo ere(St, and delight the eyes with fuch an elegant compofition of their limbs, that they give as it were a gran- deur to the diverfion of hawking. Their country is the re- motefl: part of Germany verging to the north, called Norway: they build alio in a ifland commonly called Hirlandia [ire- land."] And, after giving a fabulous account of the excef- iive cold and barrenefs of Ireland, he proceeds thus: " The merchants, who frequent this liland, import into it a little rye and meal, and the cheapeil wares of fiDall account, which they barter for dried fifli ; and they bring thofc ger-falcon hawks to Maximilian, emperor of Germany, the feathers of which are more white and beautiful than thofe of other coun>- tr-ies. For fuch as are brought to us from Norway are not white, nor fo large, though we look ^ upon them to be of a better kind. Neverthelefs it is (ound by experience, that the ger-falcons build their nefts only in thefe two parts of the world ; from whence it happens, that naturally their flights are but dull and flow, and the falconers are obliged to exer- cife on them their flcill and ingenuity ; fo that, by long ex'- ercife an^! cuflom, they are brought at length to mount above the higheft quarry.*' 7'he moufe-deer whofc horns have been often difcovered under ground in bogs, of an immenfc flze, and that large fowl the cock of the wood, equalling the peacock in fize, are in EUROPE. «o^ »re not now to be mentioned, the fpecies of both being ex- tinct in Ireland. » ♦ The tall, flendcr, round towers, built of lime and ftone,' und difpcrled through various parts of rhis icingdom ; as the^ are matters of antiquity, fo they are purely matters of curl- ofity, the like not being to be found elfewherc in ;iny part of ' Europe. But among all the curiofities of [''eland, thut ftupendous and 'urprizing piece of nature's wuikmanOiip, commonly called the Giant's Caufcway in the county of Antrim, is fo fin^^ularly remarkable, that perhaps the like is not to be fcen in any other part of the world. It is of a triangular ihapc, and extends from the foot of a fteep hill into the fea, nobodjr knows how far ; but at low- water the length of it is fix hun- dred feet, or more, and of a confiderable breadth. It con- flits of many thoufand pillars, triangular and fo on to o6tan« gular, mod of them pentagonal and hexagonal, but all irre- gular, few of them having their fides of equal breadth. Their lizes are alfo unequal, being from fixteen to twenty-fix, but generally about twenty inches diameter, and the two fides of the fame pillar arc feldom equal in breadth ; yet the fide of the next contiguous pillar is equally formed. Every pillar has as many others joined round it, as it has fides, except the outward ones, which fliew one, two, or three faces to view. 3ome of them are much longer and higher than therefl, fome ittiorter, and more broken, fome for a pretty large fpace of an equal heigh, fo that their tops make an even and plain furface. None of the pillars confift of one entire ftone, but each co- lumn is made up of feveral joints or pieces, of twelve, fixteen, eighteen inches, and fome even two feet long, not jointed together by flat furfaces ; but when one part of the pillar is fep. rated from the other, one piece is always concave, and the other convex, joined to each other in a kind of articula- tion. The vaft height of the ftrait jointed pillars, efpecially of the moft flender and moft perfedl among them, is amazing; ibme being thirty-two, others thirty-fix feet high above the ftrand: how far they reach under ground is not yetdifcovered, though they have been traced eight feet deep, without receiv- ing fatisfadlion as to the real depth. As to the properties of thefe pillars, and other particulars relating to them, the reader is referred to the Antiquities of Ireland, chap. 34; where |ie will find a more minute account of them, and of many 9ther curiofities ftanding eaftward and wertward of them, no iefs furprizing than thole dcfcribed. Some wonderful things afcribcd to Ireland by Ncnnius, a writer of th^ nii\tb century, 3 and 204. DefcriptioH of the Britijh Empire^ and from him copied by Cambrenfis and others, are hcrff omitted, becaufe moft of them, by experience, are found to be falfe; and fuch as carry any truth in them, are fo blended with fable, that they are not worth repeating. Conjiitution of government.'] Since Irela. ' became fubjedl to the crown of England, the conftitution of the government there varies but little from that of the mother country. The kings of England have always fent vice-roys thither to ad- miniiler the public affairs in their name, and by their au- thority, who, in different ages, have, in their letters patents and commiflions been ftiled by divers names ; as, Cuftos or Keeper, Jufticiary, Warden, Procurator, Senefchal, Con- ftable, Juftice, Juftices, Deputy and Lieutenant j all which names import the fame thing' in efFerehearfed. And if any parliament to be holden in that land hereafter, contrary to the form and provifion aforefaid, it be deemed vo'd and c« none effeft in law," By this a6t the privy-councils of the two kingdoms became branches of the legiflature of Ireland 5 which before confifted only of the king, by his reprefentativc, and the lords fpiritual and temporal, and commons. A ftatute made in the third and fourth of Philip and Mary, explains and enlarges Toyning's Aft. For as, in that ait, the king's lieu- tenant and council were the pcrfons only named to certify the afts neceflary to be pafTed, and the caufes and confiderations of holding a parliament, it was doubted, whether fuch a certifi- cate from a lord-deputy, juftice, or juftices, or other chief governor, or governors and council, were fufficient within the terms thereof; it was therefore, by the faid ftatute of Philip and Mary, declared, " That the certificate of any of the faid chief governors and council fhould be fufficient." And it was further provided, *' That, after the fummons of every parliament, and during the feffions, fuch chief governor, or governors and council, may, under the great-leal, cer- tify all fuch other confiderations, caufes, tenors, provifions, and ordinances, as they fhall think good to be enafted ; and upon return thereof, under the great-feal of England, fuch and no other (hall and may pafs and be enafted in the parlia- ment of Ireland, in cafe the fame be agreed and refolved upon by the three eftates of the parliament of Ireland." Now, fince thefe a£ts, laws take their firft znotion, eith.r from the 3 privy- 20^ Defcriptlon of the Britijh Empire^ privy-council of Ireland, or from either of the houfes of pars> liamer.t, but they muft be certified over by the council, sumI tipon their return, under the great-feal of England, either the lords or commons have a negative to them. Parliaments thus conftituted, make laws to bind the kingdom, and raife taxes for the fupport of the government, and for ih** main- tenance of an army of twelve thoufand men, which are can- toned into barracks in feveral parts of the kingdom, and kept to a conftant difcipline ; and from this excellent nurfery are draughted into his majefty's fervice, wherever his aiFairs re- quire it. This parliament is conftituted of archbiftiops, earls, \\(- counts, bi(hops, and barons, as many as the king pleafes to create, (among whom are fome Roman catholics, who may qualify themfelves to fit when they pleafe) and three hundred members of the Houfe of Commons. There are alfo in Ireland, as in England, four terms held yearly for the difpatch of controverfies between party and party } and four courts of juftice : namely, the Chancery, King*s-Bench, Common-pleas, and Exchequer., In the firft of which a ilngle perfon prefides under the name of the king's high-chancellor, and keeper of the great-feal. In the King's- Bench, and Common-.^leas, area chief-juftice and two judge? in each; and in the Exchequer, the treafurer, the chancellor, chief-baron, and two barons, and in all of them fubordinate officers. Here is alfo a court of Exchequer-chamber, for correding errors at law in the other courts j in which are the lord-chanr ccllor, and lord-treafurer, the vice-treafurers, with the two chief-juftices. There are alfo judges of affize and gaol-delivery, being thofe of .fhe fupreme courts, who travel twice a year into the feveral counties (except that of Dublin) for the trial of pri.- ibners and fuits of nifi-prius between party and party ; as alfo a court of admiralty, which has jurifdidlion in maritime affairs, and is adminiflered by commiffion from the admiralty of England. Befides thefe, there are fpiritual courts ; as the convocation, which ufcd to be held at the fame time with the parliament , but has not been convened, I think, fmcc the year 1 709 ; the courts of prerogative, where a commif- fary judges of the eftates of perfons deceafed, whether intef- tate, or by will ; and in every diocefe a confiftory court, from whence appeals lie to the fupreme court of prerogative, ani from thence to a court of fpeciai delegates appointed by the king. There in E U R O P E. 207 There are alfo governors of counties, and juftices of the peace, appointed by the king's commiflions through > th^ feveral counties, tQ preferve the peace where they rcfide, whofe power is grounded upon feveral ftatutes s and high and petty conihibles, and other officers inftituted for the l^me end. But the chief officer of every county is the high-ihcri<^ who was heretofore chofen in the county court by the fuf- frages of the people ; but now is nominated by the chiof governor. ^ ; i i^r. . Whett to thefe we add feven commiffioners appointed by the king to manage his revenue, and 9ther inferior officers for colleding and getting it in ; together with one hundred and eighteen cities and corporate towns, we may fee how little the conftitution of England and Ireland differ, .. -s,^^^ Revdlutions and memorabli events. ] It is a general opinion, that the firfl inhabitants of Ireland were colonies from Oreat-Britain, which can fcarce admit of a controverfy, both on account of the near neighbourhood of Britain to it, from whence the pafTage is eafy into Ireland^ as from the language, rights and cufloms of the ancient Irifh^ between which and thofe of the ancient Britons there is ^ great analogy. Tacitus, in the life of Agricola, gives the fame reafons why Britain was firfl inhabited from Qaul. What gives a further countenance to this opinion is> fhat Ireland, in antient times, was enumerated among thf Britifh iflands, and reckoned as one of them, to whicb Pliny, Apuleius, Diodorus Siculus, and Ptalomy, bear wiv Pefs J and the later of thefe writers places feveral tribes of people in Ireland, who bore the fame name with thofe ia Britain. Thus the Brigantes, Coriondi, or Coritani, and Beigae, are pointed out as inhabitants in different parts o£ Ireland, and people of the fame names may alfo be found in Britain. 1 The firfl colony that afTumed the regal title in Ireland, were called Firbolgs, Viri Belgae, i. e, Belgians, who are with probability fuppofed to come from Belgie of Britain, who were inhabitants of Somerfetfhire, Hampfhire, Wilt- fhire, and the Ifle of Wigho:, and thofe Britifh Belgians arc fuppofed to come from the Belgae, a people ©f Gaul. They are faid to have fettled in Ireland, and to have eftablifhcd fome form of government in the year of the world 2657, which they ruled thirty-feven, fome more probably fay eighty years, under nine kings. i\ 5:. The "« " 208 Defcriplioh of lie Brtii/h lEmpirfi The Belgians were difpoflefled by the Tuath-de-i5an:^ns9 or Danonians, a people alfo from Britain, in the year of th^ world 2737, who governed Ireland for one hundred and Jiinety-feven years, during the reigns of nine monarchs ; then the great revolution, brought about by the Milcfian ad« venturers, took efFe Bede gives an account, ** That in the year 684, Egfred^ king of Northumberland, fent an army into Ireland under the tondudt of his general Bertfrid, who miferably ravifhed that inoffenfive nation, which had always maintained a moft clofe and friendly interciofe with the Englifli, not fparing either churches or monafteries, which people had offered no offence. The Irifli recovered out of their firft furprize, and invoking the divine aid, afTembled their forces, and defended themfelves fo well, that Bertfrid was obliged to return home with difgrace, and a (battered army." Hiftorians are £lent as to the caufe of this invafion ; but it was probablv oc- cafioned by the Irifli giving flielter and protection to Alfred^ natural fon to king Ofway, who was father to Egfrid, and whom Ofway had made king of Deira in his own life time, to the prejudice of Egfrid, and fo feparated the kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia, which before was united. The Deirians, by the inftigations of Egfrid, revolted from Alfred, who was obliged to fly to Ireland for protcftion, snd wait for a favour- able opportunity to recover the kingdom. Aj. D. 795, a more cruel enemy than Egfrid invaded Ireland ; namely, the Danes and Norwegians, under the name Oftmen; who, by various battles and fuccefles fixed themfelves in feveral parts of that country, which they domineered /;; EUROPE.' 209 llommeered over till the arrival" of the Englifli, during the fpace of three hundred and feventy feven years. A. D. 964. About this year Edgar, king of England, fobdued a great part of Ireland, with its molt noble city of Dublin, as it is (aid in the preamble of a charter afcribed to him, which neverthelefs is looked upon by fome writers as .a forgery of the moii'ks. A. D. 1014, Was fought the bloody and memorable battle of Clontarfe, near Dublin, on the twenty-third of April, between Bryan Boro, king of Ireland, and Sitrick the Dane, king of Dutlin, in which king Bryan obtained the vidlory, though he, his fon, and grandfoh, a great number of his grandees, and feven thoufand, fome fay eleven thoufand foldiers, fell in the battle. \ A. D. io66y Godred Crovan, king of Man, fubdued Dublin, and a great part of Leinfter, as is related in the chronicle 6f Man. A. D. 1104, The fame chronicle relates, " That Mag- nus, king of Norway, having fubducd the ifle of Man, arn the Orcades, fent his fhoes to Mortagh Mack-Loghlin, king of Ireland, commanding him to carry them upon his flioulders through his houfe on Chriftmas-day, in the pre- sence of his ambalfadors, to fignify his fubjedion to him. The Irifh received this news with great indignation ; but the king confidered better, and told the ambaffadors he would not only carry, but alfo eat his fhoes, rather than king Magnus fhould lay wafte one province in Ireland; fo he complied with the order, and honourably entertaining the imbafiadors, fent them back with many prcfents to their hiafter, with whom he made a league. The ambaffadors Returning, gave their mafter an account of the fituation, pleafantnefs, fertility and healthfulnefs of the air of Ireland. Magnus hearing this, turned his thoughts wholly upon the conqueft of that country ; to which end he fitted out a fleet, and went before with fixt^en (hips to take a view of the ifland J but, having unwarily landed, he was furrounded by the Irifli, and cut off, with moft of thofe who attended him." A. D. mo. About this year, Giile, bifhop of Limerick, and the pope's legate, introduced the Roman liturgy and form of public fervice into the Church of Ireland, vhich was feconded by Malachy, archbifliop of Armagh, who was alfo the pope's legate fome years after; and in 1171 was perfected, by another legate, Chriftian, bifhop of Lifmore, in a fynod held at Calbcll, which the year following was confirmed by , ? . king hi « ti m 210 Defcrtptkn of the Britijh Empire^ king Henry II. fo late was it before the popilh ufe of chaant-' ing mafs was fettled in this kingdom. A D. 1 155. At this time the foundation was laid for reduc- ing Ireland to the obedience of the crown of England, which in the event took place, though not immediately, to the infinite happinefs of that country, by civilizing the inhabitants there- of, and reclaiming them from a ftate of barbarifm and con- tempt, to the flouriftiing and reformed condition they nov/ are in. it will be therefore neccflary to profecute this fubjeft more fully than the defign of a concife brevity can well admit of. 5* ^n : . ■t*s , . • About Michaelmas, king Henry of England held a great council of his peers at Winchefter, with whom he confulted about conquering Ireland, not only on accc 'it of the piracies and outrages the Irifh daily commit againii: his fub- jeds, and the cruelties they exercifed on thofe who fell un- der their power, whom they bought and fold as flaves, and ufed a Turkilh tyranny over their perfons, but principally as frequent aids were fet againft hin? from thence in his wars with France. This projedt, though then laid afide, was advanced fo far, that the king fent an ambaflador to pope Adrian, who granted him a bull, that by his authority and affent he might reduce Ireland, for the increafe of the Chridian religion, the correcting the evil manners of the people, and propagating virtue among them. The pope pretended by his bull, that all Chriftian iflands belonged to ■the fee of Rome; which, how infirm foever, was of infinite advantage in thofe times of dark ignorance, and unbounded ■fuperftition. The bull was foon after carried over to Ireland, and publicly read in a fvnod at Waterford. The king, on account of his embroiled affairs in France, as well as the difficulty of the enterprize, was prevailed on to poflpone the defign till a more favourable opportunity, which in a few years after prefented itfelf. For, A. D. 1 168, Dermod Mac-Murrough, king of Leinflcr, "having from his firft advancement to the crown, been a great 'oppreflbr of his nobility, and a cruel tyrant over his other fubjecls, had now, by his power, forced feveral of the neighbouring princes (namely, O-Neil, O-Melaghlin, and O-Carrol ) to give him hoftages ; and, debauching the wife of O-Roirk, king of Brefiny, carried her away by her owii confent in the abfence of her hufband, O-Roirk made fuit to Rodorick O-Connor, king of Ireland, for aid to revenge this outrage ; who promifed him fuccour, and immediately difpatchcd couriers to the king of OiTory and Meath, and to Mack- was , (n E U R O P E. ' 211 Mack-Turklll, the Danifh petty king of Dublin ; who all, though vaflals and tributaries to Dermod, were readily pre- Vai'ed on to revcn^!;e their own wrongs, and nioft of his rvher fubiedls defcrtcd king Dermod. Thus torfakcnj he abandoned his country, and with fixty fervants in his retinue, repaired to king Henry II. then in Aquitain at war with the French king, and in a moil Cup- pliant manner implored his aid. Though Henry could not affifl: him in perfon, yet taking his oath of vailalage and allegiance, he gave him credentials to all his fubje(5ts, Englifti, Norman, Welch, and Scots, importing a free licence to affift him in the recovery of his kingdom. Dermod pafled to Briftol, where he caufed HcMiry's letters to be pub- lifhed, as well as his own overtures of entertainment, to all who would aflift him. His chief dependance was upon earl Strongbow, a nobleman of great abilities and power, but by his profufion obnoxious to his creditors beyond meafure, and from thence moft ready to embrace all motions, that pro- mifcd any means of extricating him from his difficulties. Him Dermod engaged by promifmg him his daughter Eva in marriage, and the reverfion of the kingdom of Leinfler after his death. In his journey to St. David's in Wales, he con- traded for the affiftance of Robert Fitz-Stephens and Maurice Fitz-Gerald, by promifmg them in fee the town of Wexford, and the two adjoining cantreds. From St. David's he failed to Ireland, and wintered at Ferns in private among the clergy^ impatiently waiting the arrival of his new con- federates. A. D. 1 169. In Mav, Fitz-Stephens, accompanied by Meiler Fitz-Henry, Meiler Fitz-David, Maurice de Prin- dergaft, Hervey of Amount-Maurice, and others, to the number of thirty knights, fixty in jacks, or light coats of mail, and abour three hundred archers and footmen, landed near Wexford, and gave notice of their arrival to Dermod, who, with his natural fon Donald, and five hundred men, immediately repaired to them ; and the next day they afiaulted Wexford, which in four days furrendered upon conditions, and the townfmcn gave hoftages and oaths for their future allegiance, Maurice Fitz-Gerald arrived foon after with frefli recruits ; and Dermod, according to (lipulation, grant- ed Wexford and two cantreds to him and Ficz-Stephcnt. ; and two cantreds more, lying between Wexford and Watcrford, to Hervey of Mount-Mt\urice ; and thefe three lertljd the firft Englifh colony on thei'e lands, which has continued in the barony of Forth to this day. From thence they marched ? 2 againft * li Vtli i an Defcription of the Brhijh Empire^ againft Donald, prince of Oflbry, twice chaftifed him, plun-* dcred the county of O-Phelam about Naas, and brought O-Tool and others to fubmiffion. Soon after earl Strongbow fent Reymond-le-grofs into Ireland, with nine or ten knights^ and feventy archers well appointed, who landed near Water- ford, and were aflaulted by a ftrong body from hat cityj^ though without fuccefs. A. D. 1170. In Auguft earl Strongbow landed near Waterford, at the head of fifteen or fixteen hundred men, and attempted the city (then governed by two Daniih ma- giftrates, Reginald and Smorth) which he took by aflaulc on the twenty-third of that month with great flaughter. permod, and the firft adventurers joining Strongbow at Waterford, the marriage between him and king Dcrmod's daughter was folemnized, and the reverfion of the kingdom of Leiniter afllired to him, after the king's death. Animated with thefe fuccefles, Dermod perfuaded his nevr allies to turn their arms againft Dublin; alledging, that the reducing that important place would lay the foundation for the conqueft of the whole kingdom. While preparations tvere making for this enterprize, Roderick, king of Ireland, had raifed an army of thirty thoufand horfe and foot, re* Iblving to impede the march of the confederates againft Dublin. He encamped with the main body of his forces at Clondalkin, four miles from Dublin, and guarded all the faffes through the mountains with ftrong detachments^ King Dermod laid the difficulties of the attempt before hi» confederates ; but they were of opinion, that to draw back would give fuch a reputation to the arms of Roderick, as would be little fhort of a foil, and therefore refolved to pro^ ceed. Miles de Kogan, an officer of great valour, marched' in the van, fupported by Donald Kavenagh, natural fon to king Dermod, and a ftrong body of Iriih ; Reymond dc Grofs led the battle with a regiment of eight hundred Englifh, fuftained by king Dermod and one thoufand Irifh ; and the rear was brought up by three thoufand EngHfli head- ed by the earl of Strongbow, and fupported by a ftrong regiment of Iriih. Their orderly march fo appalled the enemy, that they gave way without making any oppofition,' and the king of Ireland dilTolved his army, and returned 'home. Dublin was fummoned, and thirty boftages demanded for the better afllirance of kind Dermod. Mack-Turkill, petty kinjx thereof, fearing the illue of the fiege, was ready to Submit to the t^rms ; but the citizens difagreeing in the choice ' of in E U R O P E; *T 213 of the hoflagcs, the time allotted for the treaty expired j of which Miles de Cogan took advantage, and without com- mand from Dermod or the earl, made himfelf mafter of the city with great flaughter, and the foldiers got rich pillage ; but Mack-Turkill, and many of the Oftmen citizens, cfcaped by means of their fliipping in the harbour. The fame day, being the twenty-firft ot September, 1170, king Dermod and the earl made their entry into Dublin, whereiii they found great abundance of provifions, Dermod returned to Ferns ; and the earl, about Michaelmas, marched to Waterford with a party of his forces, leaving Dublin under the command of Miles de Cogan, who may be truly called the firft Englifli governor of it. A. D. 1 171. King Dermod died at Femes in May, and moft of the Irifti nobility forfook the earl, except Donald Kavenagh, and two or three others, In the mean time the news of thefe fuccelfcs had reached the ears of king Henry, who was jealous of Strongbow, and thought himfelf robbed of the glory of fo great a conqueft, He therefore not only confifcated all the carl's eftate, though he had a6led in this matter by his verbal licence, but by proclamation prohibited all his fubjedts from importing proyifions or ftores into Ireland, and commanded fuch of them as were already in that Jcingdom to return home by a certain day, This ftep, and the news that king Roderick had levied an army with an intent to befiege Dublin, brought the earl back to defend the town, and to confult means to appeafe the king's anger. Roderick invefted the city with an army of fixty thouSnd men, which was but weajkly provided with men or vidluals, the ftores taken within the city being much confumed. How- ever, they bore the fiege for two months ; but then, all necefTaries failing, without hopes pf relief from abroad, Strongbow advifed in council to treat with Roderick, and that he (hould offer to fubmit himfelf unto him, to become his man, and to hold Leinfter of him as a feudatory prince. But Roderick knowing the difficulties tjie garrifon laboured under, infifted upon much more exorbitant terms, and there- fore willed the ambaflador to acquaint the earl, that unlefs he Surrendered into his hands, not only Dublin, but Waterford and Wexford, with all his caftles, and returned home v^^ith his Englifh forces, that he would without delay give the afTault, and make no doubt of carrying the city by ftorm. Thefe high demands were of too hard digeftion for foldiers accuftomed to conqueft ; and, by the advice of Miles de Cogan, they refolved upon a fudden fally j which they made P3 with Hi . * ! • t ■ 214 Defcription of the Britijh Empire ^ with fix hundred men. The enemy were (o furprifed, thjit they fled before them j fifteen hundred fell in the onfct, many prifoners were made, and the city was relieved in it^ greatcil: extremity ; fuch great (lores of corn, meal and pork» being found in the enemy's camp, as were fufiicicnt to victual the'gr.rrifon for a year. The earl failed to England to ap- pcafc the king, to whom he ctrcrcd all the acquifitions he had made cither by the fword or marriage ; and it was agreed, that he fhouM recognize the kini; as his fovereign lord ^ fhould fiurcndcr to him the city of Dublin, with the adjacent cantreds, the maritime towns of Lcinllcr, the city of Water- ford, and all caOles; and fliould acknowledge to hold the remainder of he king and his heirs. Mack-Turkill to(-k the advantage o^ the carl's abfencc, and arrived in the harbour of Dublin with a fleet of fixty fail, and ten thoufand folilicrs levied in the Iile of man, the Orcadcs and Norway, full o\ hi pes to recover his fornicr grandeur. He hoped to fui prize the city, and carry it by a fuddcn aflault. But h:s life |)aid f/^r this iJh attempt, iind moit of his party were either flaughtcrcd or difperfcJ into, the country; where, being odious to the natives for their farmer cruelties, they were fl.iin in great numb-rs. Thus ended the power of the Oftmen in Dublin, who never after made any effort to recover their fv.amer pofil-fTions. Many of them had before incorporated with the Irifh, and now, upon this great re- volution, fuch as remained in the city or neighbourhood, became quiet fubjedls to the Englifti, .and, by de::;rees, gre^r one people with them. A. D. 1172. While thefe things were doing, king Henry V/as preparin;?- for a voyage into Ireland ; where he arrived, near Waterford, with a fleet of two hundred and forty Ihips^ on the eiijhteenth of Otflober, attended by earl Siion^boWv William Fitz-Adelm, Humphry de Bohun, Hugh de Lacy;, Robert Ficz-Bernard, and many other grandees; bcTideS four hundred knights, or men at arms, and four thoufand foldiers well appointed. The firft adion he did upon his landing \^'as to receive the inveftiture of the city of VVarer- ford, arid the homage of earl Strongbow for the kingdom of Leinflcr, the inheritance of which was granted to him by the kin^, who placed Robert Fitz-Bernard in the government of Waterford, and from thence marched to Dublin, which Strongbow delivered up to him, and the king cooimitted the government ihereof to Hugh de lacy. From Dubl-n his majeRy marched into Mundcr, and in his journey received the fub'niilioiis and homage of Dcrmod • ' ' Mac-C-r:h)'', tn EUROPE. If5 Mac-Carthy, king of Corke ; Donald O-Bn'cn, king of Limerick j Donald Mac-Gilla-Phadraig, king of Oflory ; O-Phelan, prince of Defies; and of a great many other petty princes. At Lifmore he held a fynod of the clergy, probably to take the fubmiflions of that body, and gave dirediions for building a caftle there i which done he returned to Dublin; where, on the eleventh of November, many petty princes made their fubmiflions, and fwore allegiance to him in perfon ; as, Gillamoholmock ; O-Chadefiej O-Carrol, king of Uriel;" O-Mclaghiin, king of Meath ; O-Roirkt king of Brcfiny ; and many others. But Roderick, monarch of all Ireland, came no nearer to Dublin than the river Shannon; where he made his fubmiflion to the commiffioners fent thither by king Henry, to whom he became tributary, fwore allegiance, and gave hoftages for his fidelity. Thus all Ireland made volun- tary fubmiflions to the king of England, except the prince of Ulfler ; and they alfo virtually did fo in the fubmiflion of the fuprcme monarch Roderick. At this time the king granted the laws of England to the people of Ireland; eftabliihed courts and officers of juftice; and held a parliament, or fomething like a parliament, at Dublin, where he kept the fcftival of Chriftnias in as great ftate as the place would allow ; for there was no houfc there capable of receiving his retinue ; and therefore he was under the neceflity of haftily erecting a long pavilion, compoled of fmooth wattles, after the faftiion of the country ; which be- ing well furnifhed with plate, houfliold-fliufF, and good cheer, made a betfer appearance than ever had been before fccn in Ireland. Many of the Irifli princes flocked thitiier to pay their duty to the king, not without admiring and applauding his magnificence. The greateft part of his charge was ex- pjsnded in royal entertainments to captivate the Iriih; and his time, in the five iponths he ftaid there, was taken up in endeavours fp to fettle matters, as wholly, for the time to come, to fruftrate his enemies of the ufuai aids aff^orded by the Irifli againft: him, when attacked by the arms of France. He hai^ experienced the benefit the crown received without charge by private adventurers, and was refolved by like methods to make tl)e part he had gained bear the charge of lubduing the whole. To this end he diftributed large fcopes of land to the grandees who attended him ; as, to earl StrongbpvY (which indeed wa^ his right by marriage) all Leinfter, the city of Dublin, and the aujoining caiureds, with a few maritime towns and cadles excepted ; to Hugh d? Lacy, th'j kingdom of Meath -, to John de Courcy, all P Ulfter, ti^ Difcripion of the Briti/h EmpiUy Ulflcr, if he could conquer it ; and to Robert Fitz-Stcphcf^ and Miles Cogan, the kingdom of Corkc (which formerly comprehended DcCmond) and to Philip de Braos, the kingdom of Limerick. But thcfe two latter grants were made aftejr %he king's return to England. A. D. 1 173. The rebellion of his fon, the danger of a revolt in Normandy, and a plague and fciarcity in Ireland^ \siid the king under the neceflity of haftening his return ; though he was at firft determined to ftay the fummer follow- ing' in Ireland, to fortify it with ftrong-holds and caftles, and to fettle it in a flatc of fccurity. He therefore having pro- vided for the government, and fettled a civil adminiftration in Dublin by a colony from Briftol, marched from Dublin to Wexford, where he embarked on Eafter-Monday 1173. Thus was broiiglit about this great revolution with little bloodfhed, rather hy the opinion of king Henry's power^ and the terror of his arms, than by any real force. A. D. 1 314. 'i'he weak reign of Edward H. his un- fuccefsful wars with the Scots, feuds ahd contentions amongft the Englifli of Ireland, and the perpetual rebellions of the Irilh, were the caufe of a very extraordinary revolution, though of a fhort continuance. The king of Scotland, for a diverfion to the Englifli arms, this year fent his brother Edward Bruce with a fmall force to invade Ireland ; who landed in the north, and was joined by great numbers of the Irifli. He marched then to Dundalk^ which he took and burned down in the year 1315, and drove moft of the Englifli outof Ulfter. The carl of Ulfter fought with the enemy near Coleraine, and was routed j which was followed by th^ fiege of Carrickfergus j and Roger Mortimer was the fame year defeated in Meath. From thence Bruce ravaged the whole kingdom from fea to fea, and defeated Sir Edmund Butler, lord-juflice, on the twenty-fixth of January; which caufed all the Irifh in Munfter and Leinftir to rife in re- bellion. But for want of prcvifions the Scots were obliged to march back to Ulfter, where Bruce fat down in his quarters to that degree of quietnefs, that he kept court, and held picas, as in times of profound peace. Bruce pafTed into Scotland in 1316 for frelh fupplies, and upon his return was crowned king of Ireland at Dundalk. From thence he marched with an intention of befieging Dublin, took Caftle- Knock, and Sir Hugh Tyrrel in it. The citizens burned down the fuburbs to fecuie the town, and ere£led an outward fortification clofe to the river along Merc^iant-Key, with the . ' V. ilones in EUROPE. 217 lloncs of the Dominican Abbey, which they dcmoliHicd for that purpofe. Bruce finding the refoiution of the citizens, decamped from Caftie-Knock, and marched weiiward as far as I/imericic, ravaging the whole country through which he pflbd. Roger Mortimer, appointed lord-juftice in 131 7, ar- rived at Waterford with thirty-eight men at arms only, and would not fuflTer the Englifh to hght Bruce till he joined them. But Bruce, upon his arrival, marched back to Ul{lcr» and the lord-juftice was recalled to England. Archbifhop Bicknor, being made I >rd-jufHcc in 1318, appointed the lord John Birmingham general againft Bruce; who in a (harp encounter flew Bruce at Dundalk, with two thoufand of his men. John Maupas, a valiant officer in Birmingham's troops, rufhed into the battle with a refoiution to dcrtroy the ufurping prince, and was found dead after the conflid:, ilretchcd on the body of Bruce. Thus an end was put to this revolution, and the Scotch government in Ireland. Buchanan reports, that Robert, king of Scotland, came over to Ireland in aid of his brother, and was within a day's march of him when the battle was fought ; but that Bruce precipitated the fight, becaufc his brother (hould have no (hare in the glory. The Irifh who had fubmittcd to king Henry, all along bore with impatience the rcflraint of the Englifh government, and in every reign there was a perpetual bordering war main- tained between fome of them and the Englifli ; which oc- cafioned king Richard the Second to make two royal voyages to Ireland in perfon, refolvihg to make an intire conqueft of that ifland. In the firft voyage made in 1394) he was at- tended by a royal army confiftmg of four thoufand men at arms, and thirty thoufand archers. Terrified with thefe forces, the Irifli had recourfe to a policy they had more than once pradlifed with fuccefs, to diflblve the Englifh army, which they were not able to refift j namely, by light fub- miflions, and feigned acknowledgments of their pafl errors. As foon therefore as the king had landed, all the powerful heads of the Irilh made humble offers of fubmiffion. Where- upon the lord Mowbray, earl-marfhal of England, was authorifed by fpecial commiffion to receive the homages and baths of fidelity of all the Irifh of Lcinfier ; namely, of Mac- Murrough, O-Byrne, O-More, O-Nolan, and the chief of the Kinfhelaghsj who, falling down at his feet upon their knees, performed their homages, and made their oaths of fidelity ; which done, the earl admitted each of them to the kifs of peace. The king himfelf having received humble letters ft 1 8 Befcription of the Brhijh Empire, letters from O-Ncill, (wherein he ftiled himfelf prince of the Irifli of Ulflcr, and yet acknowledged the king to be his ibvereign, and the perpetual lord of Ireland) removed to Drogheda, and received the like fubmiflions from the Irifh of UllUr ; namely, from O-Neill, O-Hanlon, O-Donnell, Mac-Mahon, and others. They were bound alfo in great penalties to the apoftolical chamber, not oiily to continue Joyal fubjcdts, but that they and their fwcrd men fliould, on a certain day, furrcndcr to the king and his lucccftbrs all their lands and pofTciHons, and ft^.ould ferve him in his wars againft hi^ other rebels ; in confideration whereof the y were to receive pay and penfions from the king, and have the in- heritance of fuch land as they fhould recover from the rebels. Thus they avoided the prtfent llorm, and diflblved that army, }!vhich was prepared to break them, as the pope was interelU td in thefe fubmi/Hops, it might be thought they would have bad fome cffei^li but the king was no Iboner returned to EnHand, but thefe Iri(h lords laid afide their mafks of humility, and infcfted the Englifh borders a-nevv ; in defence whereof the lord Iloger Mortimc^-, then Jord-lieutenant an4 heir-apparent to the >:ro3vn, was flain. Moyed with ajuft indignation, the king pafTed over again into Ireland in 1399» with as powerful an army as he had before, propofing to make a full conqueft of it ; but jn his paflage through thq vaft countries of the Murroughs, Kinfhelaghs, Kavunaghs, Byrnes and Tpols, his great ^rmy was jnuch diftrcfleo for want of provifions and carriages j and he did npthipg me- morable, unlefs cuttifig down and cleaving the paflages ii^ the Cavenagh's country mgy be termed an a£lion pf feryice. But all thefe preparations and refolutions came to nought by the arrival of the duke of Lancafter in England againlt thq king, who was obliged thereby to lejiye Ireland ^ and he fooi^ ?fter loil his crown and life. From the time of the firft reduction of Ireland thefe werg commotions and rebellions in every reign, but none more formidable than in the reign of queen Elizabeth, when the irilh were fupported by forces from Spain, who poflefied ihemfelves of Kinfale, to whofe affiftance the earls of Tyronq and Tyrconnel marched from the north, at the head of i^ great army; but they being engaged and routed by the lord- deputy Montjoy before Kinfale, the Spaniards fubmitted upon the terms of leaving th*^ kingdom. The earl of Tyrone foon after fubmitted to the lord-deputy upon his knees, and vas received to mercy, ti Cu.^.f: . . ^ .... Ths in EUROPE. ai9 TliC power of the North was much broken by this battle; |)ut Tyrone and others being received to mercy, and king Tames ifluing a commiffion of grace in i6o5, for confirming the pofTeffions of the Irifh agaiiift all claims of the crown, it rniaht have been expelled that a perfedi fettlement of the kingdom would have enfued : but at this very time the earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel, Maguir, O-Cahan, and almoft all the Irifh of Uluer, entered into a confpiracy to furprize the caflle of Dublin, murder the lord-deputy and council, and fet on foot a new rebellion ; and for this end had foliciteJ foreign aids. As foon as they had notice that their plot was difcovered, Tyrone, Tyrconnel, and Maguir fled beyond the feas, where they made loud clamours, that they withdrev/ themfclves for matter of religion and injuftice as to their rights and claims j both which points the king cleared by a public declaration fpread through Europe, which may be feen in the fixth volume of Rymer's Colledion, p. 664. Upon phe flight of thefe confpirators, indik^tments were found againlt them, upon which all that fled were outlawed. A. D. 1608. Sir Cahir O Dogharty, proprietor of the barony of Inifowen in the county of Donnegal, urged by the intrigues of the fugitive earls, and by aflurance of Ipeedy aids from Spain, broke out into rebellion, which he main- tained for five months with various fuccefs j whereunto an accidental (hot put an end to his life, and fome of his ad- herents Vt'er'e taken and executed. Befides inquifitions and outlawries found and had againft the aftors in thefe two re- bellions, zva\ that of the lall of queen Elizabeth, they were sU attainted by the ftatute of the eleventh of king James, and their lands veiled in the crown, mounting to 51 1465 acres in the feveral counties of Donnegal, Tyrone, Colerain, Fer- managh, Cavan and Armagh, and enabled the king to make that proteflant plantation in Ulfter, which now, from the moft rebellious province of the kingdom, is the mofl quiet • iind reformed. The rebellion and maflTacres of 1641, exceed all the cruel- ties that ever were perpetrated in the world, unlefs thofe of the Spaniards upon the conqueft of Mexico and Peru may be excepted. The reftoration of the popifh religion to its ancient fplcndor, and the hopes of repoflefling the Irifli in the fix efcheated counties before-mentioned, were made the pretences to this infamous kction, which was maintained for tvi'clve years with an obftinancy not to be matched. But 2t length the Irilh rebels were totally fubdued by Oliver ', : Lromweji, 220 Defcripiion of the Briti/h Empire t Cromwell, and an end put to the war by the confifcation of numbers of their eflntes in 1653. The favours of king James IJ. to thofe of his own religion in Ireland once more exalted the papifts of that kingdom, and put them upon the foot of domineering over their proteflant neighbours. Ail the eftates, forfeited by former rebellions, were reftored by the repeal of the Adt of Settlement, and many other laws made to the dcftrudlion of the eftablifhed religion there. But the kingdom was ag'ain reduced by the arms of the glorious king William, in two fuccefsful battles, and the eltates of great numbers of the Irifli nobility and gentry were adjudged to be forfeited : and to perpetuate the benefits arifing from this revolution, that great king took care, as his laft legacy, to fettle the crown in the illuftrious houfe that now wears it; in which that it may for ever re- main, are the prayers of all good fubje6ts. GUERNSET and J E R S E T AR E the only remainders of our rights in Normandy ; unto which dukedom they did once belong, and near to which they lie. Anno 1 108, when Henry I. of England had taken prifoner his brother Robert, thefe iflands, as part of Normandy, were an' 'xed unto the Engliih crown j and ever fmce, with great f ith and loyalty, continued in that fubjedtion. Thefe if.ands lie in the chief trade of all fhipping from the Eaftcrn parts unto the Weft, in the middle way between St. Maloes and the river Seine, the only traffic of the Normans and Parifians. Of five iflands lying near each other, four only are in- habited, and thofe reduced only unto two governments ; Jerfey an entire province as it were within itfelf ; but that of Gucrnfcy having the two of Alderney and Sarke dependant on it. Hence it is, that in our hiftories, and in our a»Scs of parliament, we have mention only of Jerfey and Guernfcy, this laft comprehending under it the two other. The people of them all live, as it were, in a kind of free fubjecSlion ; not any way acquainted with taxes, or with any levies either of men or money ; infomuch that, when the parliaments of P'ngland contribute towards the occafions of their princes, there is always a provifo in the a6l:, " That this grant of fiibfidics, or any thing therein contained, extend not to charge the inhabitants of Gucrnfcy and Jerfey, or any of them, of, for. 1 in E U R O P E. :• 12 1 fof, or concerning any manors, lands, and tenements, or other poffeffions, goods, chattels, or other moveable fub- ftance, which they the faid inhabitants, or any other to their ufes, have within Jerfey and Guernfey, or in any of them, &c. Thefe priviledges and immunities (together with divers others) feconded with the more powerful band of religion, have been a principal occafion of that conftancy, wherewith they have perfifted faithfully in their allegiance, and difclaim- cd even the very name and thought of France. For how- foevcr the language which they fpcalc is French, and that ia their original they either were of Normandy or Britagne> yet can they with no patience endure to be accounted PVench, but call themfelves by the name of Engliih-Normans. S« much doth liberty, or at the worft a gentle yoke, prevail upon the mind of the people. To proceed to particulars, we will take them as they lie in order, beginning firft with that of Alderney, an ifland called by Antonine, Arica ; but by the French, and in our old re- cords, known by the name of Aurigny and Aurney. It is iituate in the forty-ninth degree between forty-eight and fifty- two minutes of that degree, juft over againft the cape or promontory of the Lexobii, called at this time by the marineers the Hague ; diftant from this cape or promontory- three leagues only, but thirty at the leaft from the neareft part of England. The air is healthy, though fometime* thickened with the vapours arifing from the fea. The foil is- indifterently rich both for hufbandry and grafing. A town it hath of near an hundred families ; and not far off, an haven made in the manner of a cemicircle, which they call Crabbie. The principal ftrength of it, are the high rocks, with which it is on every fide environed, but efpecially upon the South f and on the eaft-fide an old block-houfe, which time hath ^ade almoft unferviceable. The chief houfe herein belong- cth unto the chamberlains, as alfo the dominion or fee-farm of all the ifland, it being granted by queen Elizabeth unto the length of it from wefl: to eaft eleven miles, the breadth fix and upwards, the whole circuit about thirty-three. The air very healthy and little difpofed unto difeafes, unlefs it be unto a kind of ague in the end of harvefl, which they call Les Settembers. The foil fufficiently fertile in itfelf, but mofl: curioufly manured, and of a plentiful increafe unto the barn j not only yielding corn enough for the people of the ifland, but fometimes alfo an ample furpiufage. The coun- try generally fwelling up in pretty hillocks, under which lie pleafant valleys, and thofe plentifully watered ; in this it hath the precedency of Guernfey. Q. J5oth 225 Defcrtpiion df the ^ritijh J^mpirs, Both iflands confift very much of fmall inclofurcs; every man in each of them, huvin^^ fomewhat to live on of his own. Only the difference is, that here the mounds are made with ditches and banks of earth call up, well fenced and planted with levcral forts of apples, out of which they make a pleafmg kind of cyder, which is their ordinary drink ; whereas in Guernfcy they are for the moft part made of llones, about the height and fafhion of a pa/apct. For oiher flrengths this ifland io in part beholding to nature, and fc^iewhat alfo to art. To nature which hath guarded it with rocks, and (helves, and other fhallow places very dangerous ; but neither thcfe, nor thofe of art, are fo ferviccable and full of fafety, as they be in Guernfey, Be- fides, the landing-places here are more numerous, and more acceflible ; namely, the bay of St. Ouen, and the havens of St. Burlade, Boule, St. Catherine's, with many others. There is, indeed, one of them, and that the principal, fufficiently afTured ; on the one fide by a little blockhoufe, which they call Mount St. Aubin; and on the other by a fair caflle, called the Fort Elizabeth. The harbour itfelf is ©f a good capacity, in figure like a femicircle or a crefcent; and, by reafon of the town adjoining, known by the name of the haven of St. Hilaries. On that fide of it next the town, is fituate the cartle, environed with the fea at high-water, but at ebb eafily acceifible by land ; but yet fo naturally defended with fharp rocks, and craggy clifts, that though the accefs to it nay be eafy, yet the furprize would be difficult. This ifland, comprehends in it twelve parifhes, whereof the principal is that of St. Hilaries — A town fo called from an ancient father of that name, and bifliop of Poiilicrs in France, whofe body they fuppofe to be interred in a little chapel near Fort Elizabeth, and confecrated to his memory. The chief advantage this town now has, is the conveniency of the haven, the market there every Saturday, and its being honoured with the Cohu or Seflions-houfe for the whole ifland. The other villages lie fcattered up and down, like thofe of Guernfey, and give habitation to a people very painful and laborious ; but by reafon of their continual toil and labour, not a little affcdled with a kind of melan- choly furlinefs incident to plough-men J but thofe of Guernfey on the other fide, by ca^.tinual converfe with jftrangers in their own haven, and by travelling abroad, are much more fociable and generous. Add to this, that the people here are more poor, and therefore mere deftituts af humanity ; the childreu- »•>. in EUROPE. 227 fchlldren here continually Graving alms of every ftranger j Whereas in all Gucrnlcy is not to be feen one beggar. A principal realon of this poverty, mav be imputed to their exceeding populoufnefs, there bcir.g reckoned in fo fmall a cuantity of ground, near thirfy thoufand \o\x\s. Another may be the little liking they have to traffick ; whereby as they might have advantage to nnprove themrdves, and employ their poor, fo alfo might that fcrvice cafually diminifh their huge multitudes, by the lofs of feme men, and diverting others from the thoughts of marriage. But the chief caul'e, is the tenure of their lands, which are equally to be divided amongft all the fons of every father, and thofe parcels alfo to be fubdivided even ad infinitum. Hence is it, that in all the countries you (hall hardly find a field of corn of larger compafs than an ordinary garden ; every one now having a little to hinifelf, and that little made lefs to his pofterity. This tenure our lawyers call by the name of Gavel-kind j that is, as fome of them expound it. Give-all-kind, becaufe it is amongft them all to be divided. The chief magiltrates in both thefe ifles, are the go- vernors ; whofe office is not much unlike that of the lord lieutenants of our (hires in England, according as it was eftabli(hed by king Alfred, revived by Henry III. and fo continueth at this day. Thefe governors are appointed by the king; and by him, in times of war, rewarded with an 'annual penfion payable out of the Exchequer ; but fince the encreafe of the domain, by the ruin of religious houfes, that charge hath been deducted ; the whole revenues being allotted to them in both iflands for the fupport of their eftate. In civil matters they are direded by the bailiff and the j urates ; the bailiffs, and other the king's officers in Guernfey, being appointed by the governor ; thof3 of Jerfey holding their places by patent from the king By thofe men, accompanied with the judices or jurates, is his majefty ferved, and his iflands governed j the places in each ifland being of the fame nature, though fomevvhat dif- ferent in name. Of thefe, in matters merely civil, and ap- pertaining unto public juftice, the bailifF is the principal ; as being the chief judge in all adlions both criminal and real. In matters of life and death, if they proceed to fentence of condemnation, there is required a concurrence of feven juratep together with the bailiff; under which number fo concurring the offender is acquitted. Nor can the country find one guilty, not taken, as we call it, in the matter ; except that eighteen voices of twenty-four (for of that number is their 0.2 gund 2 28 Defcripiion of the Brilijb Eatpire^ grand inqueft) agree together in the verdiiSt. Pcrfonal adions, fiich as are debt and trefpafles, may be detcrmirxd by the bailiff', and two only arc fufficient j but if a trial comes in right of land and of inheritance, there muft be three at lealK and they decide it. For the difpatch of thcfc bufinelTes, they have their terms, about the fame time as we in London; thcT writs of arreft, appearance and the like, dircdled to the vifcount or provoit j and for the trial of their feveral caufes, three feveral courts or jurifdidtlons: viz. the Court Criminal, the Court of Chattel, and the Court of Heritage. If any find hinifelf agrieved with their proceedings, his way is to appeal unto the Council-Table. Much like this form of govern- ment, but of later ftamp, arc thofe courts in P'rance, which they call Les Seiges Preiideaux (inftituted for the eafe of the people by the former kings, in divers cities of the realm, and iince confirmed, anno 1551, or thereabouts) wherein there is a bailiff, attended by twelve affiftants (for the moft part) two lieutenants, the one criminal, and the other civil, and other officers ; the office of the bailiff being to prefervc the people from wrong, to take notice of treafons, robberies, murders, unlawful aflemblies, and the like. In this order, and by thefc men, are all fuch affairs tranfacted which concern only private and particular perfons ; but if a bufinefs ar^fe which toucheth the public, there is fummoncd by the governor a parliament, or convention of the three eltates. Of the governor as chief, the bailiff and jurates reprefenting the nobility, the minifters for the church, and the feveral conftables of each parifh for the commons. In this aflcmbl) general, as alfo in all private meetings, the governor takes precedence of the bailiff; but in the civil courts and pleas of law, the bailiff hath it of the governor. . . M I N O RCA. THE ifland of Minorca lies in the Mediteranean fea, about fixty leagues to the fouthwaid of the coaft of Cata- lonia in Spain. In its neighbourhood are Majorca, Yvica, and Formentera, which, together with this conflituted the antient kingdom of Majorca. The latitude of Port-Mahon is 39" 40' north. ' It is fcarcely poffibleto confider the map of this ifland, with- out obferving how far the weather has bv degrees influenced 3 ' the AM tn EUROPE. 229 the. figure of its out-line. As the northerly winds arc the molt frequent and the moft violent of this country, thofe parts of the coaft that arc the moft expofed to their rage, are cut and indented into a prodigious variety of creeks and inlets} while rhoi'e of a foutherly afpe£l: are infinitely more even and regular, and every where (hew gentle eft'cdb of a more temper- ate txpofiire. Minorca is upwards of thirty-three miles long, and varies in breadth from eight to twelve miles or more i fo that it is nearly of the fame bigncfs as the Ifle of Wight, and contains tv/o hundred and thirty-fix fquire miles, and 151,04.0 fquare acres. It is fixty-two miles in compafs, and is divided into four terminos or provinces; the termino of Mahon, the tcrmino of Alaior, the united terminos of Mercadal and Fererias, and the termino of Ciudadella. The termino of Mahon is bounded on three fides by the fea, has the termino of Alaior to the north-well ward, and ioins that of Mercadal a little more to the northward. Its greateft length is fourteen miles, and it is above eight miles over, where at the broadeft. This termino contains about thirteen thoufand inhabitants, and its chief town is Mahon. The termino of Alaior is waflied by the fet to the fouth- weftward, and borders on the tcrmino of Mahon to the eaftvvard ; to the northward is that of Mercadal, and the ter- mino of Fercrias .'ies to the north-weftward. Its greateft length 15 upwards of eight miles, and it is about feven broad. It contains about five thoufand fouls ; its chief town Alaior. The termino of Mercadal is above twelve miles long, and more than ten broad. It has the fea on the north fide, and the termino of Mahon to the fouth eaft ; that of Alaior joins it to the fouth weiKvard, and the termino of F<;rerias (to which it is united) lies to the weftward. Its chief town is Mercadal, and the moit noted places within its dittriil are Mount-Toro, Fornelles, and Sancla Agatha. It may contain about one thoufand feven hundred inhabitants. The termino of Fercrias fto which that of Mercadal is united) is a long narrow ftripe, extending from fea to lea quite a-crofs the ifland, which is here but little more than ten miles over. It is fcarcely any where more than four miles broad. It k bounded to the eaftward by the termino of Mercadal, and that of Alaior, and the termino of Ciuda- della joins it to the weftward. Its chief town is Fererias ; anJ its number of inabitants does not exceed one thoufand •one hundred and twenty-fix. 0.3 . Th« 230 Dejcription of the Britijh Empire^ The tcrmino of CiuJadclla takes up the weft end of the ifland. Its grcaiclt length is the fame as that of the termino of Fererias, which joins it to the caftward ; and its breadth, which in fume plices is lefs than five miles, enlarges itfelf in olhtis to upwards of c-'ht. The fea walhcs it on the north, the weft, and ihe fouih i:dcs. It contains about fcven thoufand inli ibitiints, and has Ciudadella for its capital. Mahon IS the capital of the termino of the fame name, and of the whole ifla.id, fincc it has been in the pofl'effion of the i'.ngiifh, who removed the courts of juftice hither from Ciudadella, making it the feat of government. To this they were inJaccd by its firuation near the principal harbour, as weil as its neighbourhood to St. Philip's caftle, the only fortrefs of any coniidcration in the country. Mahon is built on an elevated fituation ; and the afcent from the harbour, over which it feems to hang, is fteep and difficult : hence tiie profpcdt is extended, and the air render- ed more pure and wholiome ; neither are the flies (and efpe- cially that very troublcCome kind the mufquita or gnat) fuch a pelt here all the hot weather as in the other towns of the ifland. The buildings are univerfiilly of freeftone, and either cover- tcl with tiles, or flat-roofed and terraced ; which terrace is the matter of which their floors are likewife made, refembling thofe fo well known of late years in London by the name of Venetian-floors : but the mafons here are fo expert at their bufinefs, and the materials that enter into the compofition of the terrace fo reafonable, and labour itfelf fo cheap, that they are axecuted with greater firmnefs and expedition than our •workmen can perform them, and for one tenth part of th« cxpence. St. Philip'scaftle is fituate at the entrance of Mahon- harbour, to which it is the key, and the principal fortification on the ifland. It is feated on a neck of land between Mahon harbour and St. Stephen's cove,- and its numerous out-works extend themfelves to the (hore on both fides. The body of the place confifts of four baflions and as many curtains, furrounded with a deep ditch hewn out of the folid rock which furnilhed freeftone for thf' walls. The area is bounded on every fide with buildings, confifting of the governor's houfe, a chapel, guard room, barracks, Sec. In the center of the fquare is a pump to fupply the troops with rain-water from a large ciftern, and the whole fquare is well paved and kept very clean. Over the flat roofs of the arched buildings is a fpacious ran\- part, aiibrding an extenfivf profpeit to the eye, and the baf- tions mtiimttmtff^fimittmtm "•V in EUROPE. 231 t^ons have guns mounted on them. The communication from the lower area to the top of the rampart is by a pair of ftairs: the ftcps arc about ten feet long, three feet bioaJ, and rife one foot. The lower edge of the ftcp is of frcx-ftoiic, and there the rife is only three inches, the rc{t flopcs gently upwards, and is of common pavement. 1 have been tlic more particu- lar in df'fcribing thefe ftairs, as they arc not only of caly alcciit for men, but alfo for mules dnd afle? carrying their burthens on their backs. Up thcfc the artillery people like- wile ilraw their guns when there is occafion ; aid if they did not take up fo much room, they would be wtll worth our in-.itation. The whole body of the place is undermined, rnd very fer- viccable fubtcrranccus v.'orks arc contrived in the rock, and Communicate with one another wherever it is ncccfl'ary. In one of thefe are repofited the remains of captain l*hilip Stan- hope, commander of theMilford (hip of war, who adting on iTiore as a volunteer under his brother general Stanhope at t!ie fiege of this caftlc, was on the twenty-eighth day cf Septem- ber, 1708, unfortunately killed, after he had given fjgnal proofs of an undaunted courage. The chapel, which is rcfervcd for the church of England, is the leaft adorned of any in the whole ifl::nd ; for as the Spanifh governors conftantly refided at Ciudadella at a remote dillancc, it received but little improvement in their timcj atul our governors living altogether at Mahon, it has> b^cn equally neglc61ed by us. Before the entrance of the caftle is a hornwork v/ith other outworks to this and the reft of the fronts : but it is not my purpofe to enter into a minute detail of all the works that conftitute the ftrength of this fortrefs : it would poiTibly be invidious, and certainly be tedious, fince the bare fight of a plan will give you a better notion of them than the heft dticription 1 am able to frame, tho' I were to fpend a week: in fo unprofitable an attempt. There is a great number of large guns mounted towards the entrance of the harbour, befules thofe that point to the land which would require the fervice of a vaft many artillery- people on occafion, as indeed the various works demand a very confiderable garrifon to difpute them with an enemy. Of the utmoft advantage to this place are certainly the ca- pacious galleries that are cut out of the rock, and extend themfelves under the Covert-wav throughout all the works, as 1 think. This was an under akiug equally neceflary and "^jxpenfive 3 for otherwife the people muft have been torn to Q, 4 pieces 232. Defcription of the Brili/h Empire, pieces by the fplinters of flone in time of a is obliged to ri:>n the fentence. Whenever it happens that they arc of different opinions, the decree is thus worded. '* By the advice of the afl'efibr, and the intravcntion of the ** fiical ;" and the fecretary is to make an entry of the pro- ceedings in his books, and atteft it, Thcic is bcfides a deputy-receiver, who has his under re- ceivers, or colIc^■ ' ; Though the jurats have no executive power of their own, they may impofe taxes on their termino, with the confent of their ordinary council, to wlicm they are accountable for the money fo raiiid. J hey had formerly the privilege of engroffing the corn» and of fettling the atoracion, or rate at which it was to be Ibid to the people ; but this has been long dilcontinued. 'J "he jurat-mil jor is to be always chofea out of the body of the cavaliers (who arc all donzcis, or gentlemen, with the title of don) another out of the ciutadans, or citizens; another is a mercadcr, or merchant ; and a fourth a mcncftral, or artifan. To thcle we may add the jurat pcjez, who is a a peafant. And thus all the orders of men, of which the inhabitants of every termino are con po fed, have their proper reprefcntatives among the magiilratcs by whom they are governed. When the jurats have fcrvcd out their year, their fiic- cefibrs are elected, and take the ncccflhry oaths to qualify them to enter on the adminiftration of their office. None oa whom the election falls can decline the public fervicc, and no one jurat can be chofen two years fucceffively. The nev^ jurats immediately iippoint their coanfcllors to afrift them. The termino of Ciudadella has a jurat-clavario, which none of the others have. This officer is the public-treafurer, and the fccond jurat in rank. Jjy him all matters are propoftd ac the mc(.tin[,o o) the jurats ; and when the goverr.or conies iiicu the termino, he is the tirlt that is to addrefs him : but when in EUROPE. ^35 when the magiftates attend the governor at any plate that is without the termino, this honour belongs to the jurat- major. With the clavario all the public money is lodged, and his difburfements arc regulated by the orders of the jurats, with the approbation of the council. At the clofe ot the year his accounts are audited, and the ballance is paid into the hands of the new clavario. When the jurats thin'c it neceflary to call a general- council, they apply to the governor for his fummons j on the receipt whereof the deputies of all the terminos afTemble at Ciudadclla at the appointed time. 'J his council is compofed of twenty-four members, befides the jurats-general, which la(t have no voice, unlefs a fyndico is to be fent out of the ifland, and then they are at liberty to vote in the choice of the perfon. The bufinefs that ufually employs a general-council, is to impofe new taxes ; to enquire whether any termino has paid more than it's juil proportion to a former tax ; to provide for any extraordinary expence that is about to be incurred by the ifland in general ; and to take into confideration the ftate of affairs, and reprcfcnt all hardlhips and oppreflions to the governor, or even to lay them before the king, for redrels ; if ihcy ,:. driven fo far, by having their former remon- Ihanccs )■ 5 by the governor. 'Ihc go. V'.' J or commander in chief, cannot aflemble a j^encral-council on his own authority ; it can only be con- vened at the requeft of the jurats, who arc under no neccflity of acquainting him with the bufinefs that is to be the fubjeft of then- deliberations, even though their intention fhould be to icnd a fyndico to the king : but it is cuftomary, when their own attairs are once difpatchtd, to defire to know if he has any thing to offer for the fervice of the crown. After they are broke up, indeed, the filcal of the royal-govennnent may dcniiind of the jurats-general the rcfolutions of the general- council, v/hich he is then at liberty to lay before the go- vernor : bur this fcems to be an incroachment of the prero- gative, as it in a great meafurc defeats the above 'privilege, and renders it of little value. Any on* termino may, at it's own expence, difpatch a fyndico to the king, without applying to the others for their con lent. There IS a bayle in every termino, who carries his rod of juilite every y/hcrc vvilhiii his own termino, but not out of '-■ : - it. ' fi 3^ T^i^fcription of the Britijh Empire, it« He holds a court, from whence an appeal lies to the court of royal-government. The bayle of Ciudadella has the appellation of bayle- general, and to him the bayles of the other terminos are in fome degree fubordinate ; he carries his rod all over the ifland. Heretofore, when a governor died, the command of the ifland devolve'! on this officer, and he enjoyed half the falary until a new governor arrived. He holds a court, wherein he isaflifted by his afl'eflbr; and here all caufes (except fbmefcw of a particular nature) are tried, with an appeal to the court of royal-government. The bayle- general is judge in ordinary of the whole ifland, and to him all proclamations are directed. The orders of march for the troops, and the bufmefaof quartering them, fall to his province. All the bayles have their lieutenants. The lieutenant of the bayle-general never carries a rod in his prel'encc, tho' the other lieutenant- bayles have this privilege in the prcitnce of their refpcdive principals. The bayle-general 's aflelTor is his counfcllor and aiTiftant in all matters that are brought to a tryal in his court. The bayle-conful tries all caufes for five livres, and under, in a fummary way, which keeps a multitude of trifling hufineis out of the fuperior courts. All maritime affairs arc broiJi.ht before him as conful, and an appeal from his decifions lies to the governor only. All the magiftrates enter upon their office annually on Whit-Sunday, and take an oath of allegiance. The alnjutazen, ormuftafttaf, as he is corruptly called, is clerk of the market.", v/hofe principal charo;e is to look to the wcif^hts and meafures, of which he is the judge, as his title imports, in the Arabick tongue. With tho alhitance of two promens, this officer keeps a court, from whence appeals are made to ths governor. In lieu of a i'alary; he is allovvetl ona third of all the fines and penalties laid in his court, a motive to viQ;ilance that has its proper weight in his breait. 'I'he almutazen is likewife to fee that the ftreets are kept clean, and Iree from obftrutStions of every kind. Coroner's inquefts are held by the officers of the court of royal p-overnment, by whom a great many ridiculous fooleries are prrdflircj; fuch as whifpering the dcceafed, to know who- killed him, and the like. The Ipiritual court is at prefent held by the vicar-general at Ciudadella, and his perfon polieilcs the highcft dignity in the \ \ /« E U R O P E. -^ 237 the church of Minorca. He has an afleflbr to affift him. Heretofore tortures were in ufe here, and there was a court of inquifition. Appeals lay to the court of royal audience in Ma- jorca, and finally to the council of Arragon. This ifland once had a biihopof its own, but pope Boniface the Eighth fubjecled it in •'pirituals to Majorca, by his bull, dated the eighteenth of July, 1295 j and fo it continued until Minorca came into the hands of the tnglifti. The bifliop of Majorca drew confiderable revenues out of this ifland, which now go to the government. The governor is now the general patron, and prefents to all the vacant benefices. The rectors of the five pariflies that arc in the ifland, receive their decimos, and the inferior clergy are fupported by their mafl'es, coUeiiions, holidays, &c. &c. from whence a comfortable maintenance arifes, and they leave no projeifl unattemoted that can contribute to continue and improve it. The monks have their governor abroad, on whom they are dependant, and are here under the dire though the dogs were very contemptible aflaillantsj fo that I was very little plcalcd until it was over. Dui iiig the carnival, and all winter long, they dance in their houfes ; in fummer this diverfion is taken in the Itreet by torch-light. Their muiick is the guittar, on which moft of the men snd women plr.y. " ' They dance in couples, the man exerting his whole ftrength and adlivity, while the woman moves flow, and looks all the time on the ground, And though the performance be never fo wretched, the fpedators never fail to cry out, ** long live the dancers !" which they return w^ith, " long- live the lookers- on !" hometimes the man is defired to fay fomething to his partner, on which the compliment is alwav^ this queiliot'j *' What would you have me lay to her, but that (he has the face of a rofe ?" They have but few tunes, and thefe are dull too ; though not altogether unfuitable to the mcafure of the lady, whofe looks are not in the Icalt affected by the diverfion ; and I have oh^ix thought their countenances had more of folemnity and R nior- ^ f 42 Dfjiripticrt of the Britijh Empire, mortification on thefe occaAons, that in the mod ferious ex- ercifes of their religion, that we hereticks are allowed to be ^itneft to. It is obfervable, that they feldom pra£life thofc divcrfions and exercifes in which the more warlike people of Europe de- light. Their fling is at prcfent in little ufe, except among the ihcpherds, who are dexterous enough, in hitting a refaaory flieep, or goat, at a great diitarAce. Their hunting of rabbets, with their dogs, in the woods, or taking them by means of ferrets, when they have refuged thcmfelves in the crannies of the rock, cannot fo properly be called a diverflon, fince the motive is the gain they make of their flefli. The few that ihoot, follow it as a trade, for which they are very well paid, and they certainly deferve to be well paid, for there are few better markfmen in the world, as they rarely knifs above once in fifteen or fixteen times ; if it happens any oftner, they cry they are bewitched, jo fum bruxat. The governor and the commanding- officers of the regiments, }iave each one of thefe fellows, under the title of cafTador. He has no fixed falary, but is paid for his game, as he brings it in, at a regulated price. The officers and the Spaniih cavaliers are under no re- ftraint, but may (hoot partridges from the middle of Auguft, when the young ones are able to fly, to the middle of February, )vhen they begin to pair, and lay their eggs. As for birds of pafTage, they are lawful prey at all times, ^nd few countries have them in greater abundance. The meaner fort are difarmed all over the ifland, which was done on very good grounds many years ago j and this has t)een attended with one incidental advantage, that it has pre- vented the deflru£lion of the game. The gentlemen are per- mitted to wear fwords, and ufe fire-arms, as well for the fe- curity of their houfes, as for the diverfion in the field. The pointers of this ifland have long been famous. They have good nofes, and are extremely flaunch : the latter qua- lity may be owing in a great meafure to the rigorous difcipline pf the cafTador that teaches them, which is favagely cruel and brutal. But thefe dogs are obferved to want fpeed, when they are fent into England, and therefore the flrain is ufually crofled yr\i\\ our fpanielsj and this mixture produces a race of as good j[)oint£rs as any in Europe. Thefe iflanders are of a fwarthy complexion, more particu- larly the labouring men, who are much expofed to the fun : "••'•■••■-'"■•■' • but \ ' in E U R O P E. 243 but many of the women and children are fair, having for the moft part regular features, black eyes and hair, and very good teeth. When a child happens to have grey eyes, and fair, or red hair, which fumctimes is the cafe, the hufband Oirugs up his (houldcrs, and fufpeds his fpoufe of infidelity ; and it is cer- tain the women have a world of vivacity, and love money, which are powerful incentives to an illicit correfpondcncc with the officers of the troops. The drefs of the lower rank of the men confifts of a loofe (hort coat, or jacket, a waiftcoat, with a red worfted girdle, going many times round the belly, or a broad leather belt ; a coarfe {hirt, a coloured handkerchief about their necks, a red worfted cap, a pair of breeches, reaching down aimoft to the ankles, coarfe (lockings, broad flat fhoes, with little or no heel, made of white leather, a flapped hat and a cloak. The better fort wear wigs, pocked hats, and fwords, and have their deaths cut in our fafhion but generally black. When they are in mourning they draw a cafe or meath of black cloth over the fcabbard of their fword, and this they think a fufficient diftin6tion. ']'he women's common drefs is a clofe waiftcoat of black ftuft', opening wide at the neck, and clofe buttoned at the wrift, where the end of the (hift-fleeve is commonly turned up. A petticoat of coloured ftufF, or printed linnen, comes over this, and is tied at the waift. The petticoat is full-gathered, to make them feem large about the hips, which they think becoming, and is made fo fliort, as feldom to reach below the middle of the leg. Their ftockings are of worfted, red, blue, or green, with clocks of other colours ; and their white ftioes have heels moderately high, with red tops, and are broad at the toes, where they are pinked full of fmall holes, which make them eafy and cool, and are befides in their opinion ornamental. About the head they wear a robazilla, of white or printed linnen, or of filk, which is pinned clofe under the chin, and falls about the flioulders ; and when it is blown open by the wind, it Ihows the neck, which has no other covering, to great advantage. In putting on the robazilla, they are ever carfeful to draw it clofe under the chin ; by which contrivance their cheeks are puiied out, which thefe meagre ladies are very vain of j plump- nefs being valued by them, as moft things are apt to be, be^ caul'e it is lb rarely feen among them. , R 2 They '< %1l 244 Defcriplhn of the Briti/h Empire, They arc ever pcrfedtly ftraight and well fhapcd, for they wear no ftays ; thole curfcd machines, which are I'uch a con- finement to the body, under the noiion of directing it in its growth, ferving only to warp and deform it. 'J'ho drefs of liai<- is the black veil, which turns over the head trom the waii}, but never wholly hides the face. Their hair is gathered behind, and fometimes plaited, but more generally bound about with a coloured ribband, and reaching down almolt to the heels among the women of con- dition, but myeh fhortcr among the others ; they generally end in a fmall curl, in their hi j:h drefs they fcldom go with- out a fan in one hand, and a rofario in ihe other. The opportunities thefc females have of appearing in their gaiety, are but few, and their time is employed in domeftic iilfairs ; fo that, as the f;ifhion never varies, thci; beft cioaths defcend to the third or fourth generation ; and we often fee a bride drclicd out in the wedding garments of her great grand- mother. They marry at thirteen or fourteen years of age, and fome- times earlier, and begin to break by the time they are four or five and twenty. When a woman is faluted, fhe never c;irtcfies, but gently bows the head. It is the highi 11 aft'roni t ) otFer to kifs them, or even to touch their hand, before witn Jl'es ; and their ulual faying on fuch occaficn is, Miru y no tccas j Look at me, but touch me not. The very pooreft of thcfc people eat good brown bread, made of wheat, which is their principal nourilhment j and lie in tolerable beds, the fheets of which they frequently fliift ; fo that wc are not Ihocked here with that fqualid poverty and wrctchednclV, which difplay thcmfelves in the houfe^ of the poor in other countries, and even in England, remo'.e from the capital. They take a pride in keeping their houfe and utenfils clean j though we are npt to ta>: them with filthinefs, on account of tue noilbme fmclls that itrike the fenfc, when we enter their dwcllin^,s, which really are not to be imputed to a want of cleanlinfis in the women, but to the nafty oil they burn in iheir lamps, and the garlick thoy ufe in their cookery. The furniture of the kitchen is moftly of earthen ware, few i . ving a ^(jpner-kett'e or ptwtei-difh i,i their poOeinon, The ollas, or pots m which they ftew their vi«5tuals, though ■they are very light and thin, yei bear the fire well. They hnvc no jacks, *,nd bake their meat oftner th?n they roafi it. They generally put ain,orJs into the bellies of their pigs, fn t I) R P E. 245 pigs, gecrf, and turkeys ; but fuch diflicj? rarely make their sippcarancc, except at cbrif^cnings or weddings. A mcfs of oil, water, and bread, with pepper and garlick flcwed together, often dines the whole family ; and their favourite difti is an oUa, which is at prcfent well known in the moft elegant of the London taverns. Thefe people rife early, breakfaft on a piece of bread, and a bunch of grapes, or raifins, according to the feafon, take a draught of water, and fo to work. They dine at noon, fup betimes, fit fome hours at the door in fummer, or by the fire in winter, fmoak a good many pipes, and (o to bed. They are indeed great fmoakers univerfally, and not very nice, either in their tobacco, or their pipes ; the latter fcrv- ing as long as they can be kept from accidents. Thefe pipes confift of a bowl (which they import) made of clay, into which they fix a reed, and have a mouth-piece of horn, and fometimes of filvcr, at the other end. Their fuel is altogether wood, either the trunks and branches of trees, or their roots j of which the olive is by much the moft chearful and durable. It is delivered in to the buyer at three-pence and four-pence the quintal. This ifland was much more populous than it is at prefcnt, vaft numbers of its inhabitants having been killed, or carried away into captivity by the Moors. Some (hare they alfo had in planting the American colonies; and then if we compute the numbers that arc put into con- vents, and lead a life of cclibacv ; the ravage made by the fmall-pox every now and then, and the pradtice of the women in fuckling their children for two years together, that they may not be ftarved by a numerous progeny : I fay, if we revolve thefe ^ircum^^:ancesJ and add, that Minorca is a bar- ren country, and receives no reinforcement of people from abroad, we are not to wonder, if, in its picfent condition, the number of its inhabitants is vaftly diminished from what it has been. And this may ferve to account for the rcfiftan^ which king Alphonfo met with from the Moors, when he atchieved the conqueft of the ifland. The Moors indeed, befides the num,bers o^ liicir country- men that reforted to thefe iflands from va*ioi:s motives, had another advantage over the Chriftians that, beyond all others, tended moft to the peopling of the countries they poffcfied ; I . R 3 mean 246 Defcription of the Britijh Empire, mean a plurality of wives, which will ever keep them up A numerous race of men. In their religious ceremonies, the Minorquins differ little from the F'rench and Spaniards ; only as they arc fecluded, by their fituation, from the reft of the world, their notions are contracted, and their minds more fubje(5l to be wrought upon and moulded by the priefts j by whom they are ab- folutely governed, and who may be truly faid to be their temporal, as well as their fpiritual guides. There is one thing remarkable in their funerals, which I cannot pafs by, without mentioning. The Minorquins have fo great a reverence for the Fryar*s- habit, that it is very common for them to be carried in that difguife to the grave. I have fecn an old woman placed on a bier, drefled like a Francifcan Monk, and fo conducted by the good brothers of that order, with ftnging, and the tinckling of the hand-bell, to their church. This fuperftition was obfervcd by Milton, in his travels through the Roman-catholic countries ; for when he is dcfcribing the Paradife of Fools, he does not forget to men« tion thofc, 'JPIjo to be fur e of paradife. Dyings put on the weeds o/'Dominick, *aradife Loft, I. 3. Or in rrancifcan think to pafs difguis'd. Pi " " The funeral procefnon ends at the church, and thqre thv body is fct down before the high altar, and the company is difmiffed. At night it is thrown into the vault, with fome lime ; an J as thefe temporary repofitorics come by degrees to be filled, the bones are occafionally taken out, and interred in places fct apart in every town for that purpofe. Juftice, however, obliges mc to fay, that, though there are many nations in Europe, whofe charader is more interefting, whofe affairs are more important, and whofe virtues are more conlpicuous ; 1 am far from regreting the time I have fpent, in withdrawing the veil, that has fo long hid thefe iflandcrs from the obfcrvation of their neighbours, and continued them, though they make a part of our Britifli dominions, as utter (trangers to the good people of England, as the hunters of ^Ethiopia, or the artificers of Japan. Wc in EUROPE. 247 We reckon the Minorquins to be fifteen thoufand males (whereof, at lead, one fifth, or three thoufand, are of a proper age for fighting men) and twelve thoufand females ; In all twenty feven thoufand fouls. - With regard to the trade of the Minorquins, they make ft fort of cheefe, little liked by the Englifh, which fells in Italy at a very great price ; this perhaps to the amount of tight hundred pounds per annum. The wool they fend abroad may produce nine hundred pounds more. Some wine is exported, and if we add to its value that of the home con- fumption, which has every merit of an export, being for the jfnoit part taken off by the troops for ready money, it may well be eftimated at ftxteen thoufand pounds a year. In honey, wax, and fait, their yearly exports may be about four hundred pounds, and this comes pretty near the fum of their exports, which I eftimate together at eighteen thoufand one hundred pounds flerling per annum. . A vaft ballance lies againil them, if we confider the variety and importance of the articles they fetch from other coun- tries, for which they muft pay ready cafh. Here it may be necefTary to withdraw fome things from the heap, fuch as their cattle, fheep, and fometimes fowls, on which they get a profit ; for the country does not produce them in fufficient abundance to fupply us, efpecially wheA we have a fleet of ftien of war ftationed there. What remains they purchafe from abroad, and I afTure yoxi I do not jctt. when I tell you I believe I have omitted at leaft as msny particulars as 1 have been able to recolledl on the occafion. Their imports then are, corn, cattle, fheep, fowls, tobac- co, aguardiente, oil, rice, fugar, fpices, hard-ware, and tools of all kinds ; gold and filver lace, chocolate, or cacao to make it, tobacco, timber plank, boards, mill-flones, to- bacco-pipes, playing-cards, turnery-ware, feeds, foap, fad- dies, all manner of cabinet-makers work, iron, iron-fpikes, jiails, fine earthern-ware, glafs, lamps, brafiery, paper, and Other flationary wares, copperas, galls, dye-ftufFs, painters bruflies and colours, mufical inflruments, mufic and firings^ Watches, wine, fruit, all manner of finv and printed linnens, muflins, cambricks, and laces, bottles, corks, flarch, indigo, fans, trinkets, toys, ribbands, tape, needles, pins, filk» mohair, lanthorns, cordage, tar, pitch, rofin, drugs^ gloves, lire-arms, gun-powder, fhot and kad, hats, caps, velvet, cotton, fluff's, woollen-cloths, {lockings, copes, medals, R 4 veflments. i 248 Defcriplion of the Britijh Empire^ veftmcnts, luftres, pi<5lijres, images, Agnus Dcl's, books, pardons, bulls, relicks, and indulgences. It muft be confefied, that if the Englifh have brought money into the country, they have for the time much infedted the inhabitants, by fetting them an example of fpending it. Many of them have learned to multiply their wants, and fall by degrees into a way of luxury and extravagance, per- fectly new to them. The dons are above trade, and the reft of the natives are unable to exercife it to any purpofe. Yet if this infatuated people would fet themfelves (erioufly to make the moft of their native produce, a few years induftry would enable them to traffic with their neighbours to advantage, and even to pro- vide exports of confiderable value for an Englilh market. To inftance in a few. The cotton-fhrub has been tried here, and fucceeds to admiration : they have fpart growing in many places, in fufficient plenty to make all their own cordage, and to fpare. The tunny fifh abounds on their coaft, and they might eafily fall into the method of curing it : by this the P'rench of Languedoc and Provence, their neighbours, make a vaft advantage. They have abundance of olive-trees, yet they make no oil of the fruit, and are utterly ignorant of the right method of pickling it. Some capers they pickle, and might, from the frequency of the plant, improve this into a valuable export. Hemp and flax do extremely well, and might be encreafed and manufactured for exportation. Their canes or reeds arc of ufe in the clothiers trade, but they export none ; and they have great plenty of excellent flate, but do not work it. It might poflibly anfwer to fend their cantoon-ftone to England as ballaft ; but certainly their marble would be a valuable commodity with us, of which no country can boaft a greater quantity in proportion, nor of greater beauty or variety, than this poor ifland. Squills they have in abundance, maftick, aloes, and fome other drugs, which they negleCt. Their bees thrive well, and fhould ^e carefully managed, and incrcafed as much as pofllble; their wax is inferior to none, and their honey cannot fail of being extremely deli- cate and fine in a country abounding with fuch a variety of aromatick plants, and is therefore in high cltecm every where. ... . y^ They tn EUROPE. 249 They ralfe a little tobacco, but feldom half the quantity they confume ; and they make a kind of fnufF in fmall quan-> tities, which is in no refpeft inferior to that of Lifbon. Their neighbours of Majorca make good advantage of their plantations of fafFron, which thefe people ufe in their cookery, and yet will not take pains to raife it. Their palm-trees, for want of a proper cultivation, pro- duce no dates, and they fei d none of their fruit abroad, though they have it in their power to fupply us with as good figs, prunes, almonds, raifins, pomegranates, oranges, lemons, and feveral other kinds, as any country in Europe. But I will clofe thefe hints of what all induftrious people might do to enrich themfelves, and this indolent generation of men carelefly overlook, with the mention of fait, a ready- money commodity every where, and of which they might eafily make a thoufand times the quantity they now do. Their method requires fo little trouble, that 1 will lay it before you. There are a great many places on the coaft of the ifland, where the rock is but little higher than the furface of the fca, and is flat for a great way together. In gales of wind the fca is beat all over thefe levels, and the falts have by degrees corroded the fofter parts of the ftone, and reduced its face to an infinite number of fmall cavities, divided from each other by the more folid veins, which have refifted their impreflion. Thefe cavities they fill with water from the fea, by means of fcoops, and one day's fun fuffices to evaporate the water, and leaves the concreted fait dry in the cells. The women and children gather it in the evening, and carry it home, and the cells in the rock are filled as before. Having thus inftanced fome of the natural produce of this ifland, flighted by the inhabitants, which yet arc capable of being improved into very valuable articles of commerce ; I will attempt an cftimate of the charge they are at in their importations. 1 have in my poflTeflion an authentick paper, which con- tains an exa£l account of their harveft for thirty-feven years. By this it appears, that there are annually railed here fifty- three thoufand five hundred and one quarteras of wheat, and twenty-two thoufand fix hundred cighty-thrcc of barley, one year with another. Wheat is their only bread-corn, ail their barley being given to their beafts. Of the laft they feldom import any great quantity : but they have occafion for thirty-five thoufand . . ^ quarteras MMV* I 250 Defcripiion of the Britijh Empire^ quarteras of wheat every year ; which, at nine (hillings each,' amount to fifteen thoufand feven hundred and fifty pounds. They import oil yearly to the value of ten thoufani pounds. I have by me an exa£l account of the (lane of arguardiente for fourteen years, and find they import annually of this fpirit a quantity that cods them nine thoufand two hundred and fifty pounds, allowing only ten per cent, for the profit of the farmers ; and this, at fix-pence a quart, makes their yearly confumption of this fpirit to be upwards of one thoufand five hundred and forty hogfheads. They import tobacco to the amount of one thoufand two hundred pounds a year. We may compute that their imports in linen and woollen goods of all kinds do not come to lefs than fifteen thoufand pounds. It is not pofHblc to make a nice calculation of the value of all the refidue of their imports, fo I (hall fet them at a round fum, which I dare fay they do not fall (hort of, twenty thoufand pounds. So that here we have an annual expence of feventy-one thoufand two hundred pounds, from which if we dedu6t eighteen thoufand one hundred- pounds, the amount of their exports, the remainder fifty-three thoufand one hundred pounds flerling is a clear ballance of trade againft them. To enable thefe people, in fome meafure, to fupport the charge of this enormous ballance, we are to reckon the large fum of money yearly brought into the ifland, and fpent among them by the troops ; a fum, as I have computed it, that falls but little (hort of their whole ballance, the greateft part of which goes to market for the common necefTaries of life. Every vintage produces thirteen thoufand hogfheads of wine ; and if we allow for the clergy two thoufand hog(heads, and for all the reft of the natives one thoufand, the remain- ing ten thoufand hogfheads are fold to the Kngli(h for fevcn' tten thoufand five hundred pounds in ready money, the price of a hogfhead taken at a medium at thirty five (hillings. This is a very confiderable article in theiif favour, and they are fo fenfible of the advantage they draw from their vineyards, that they are continually enlarging them and in- creafing their number, notwithflanding they are very highly taxed. They are indeed tied down to a Cet price for their red wine, and the aforacion or rate, is fettled the beginning of the year ; but for their white wine (which is not included 2 in •#:• in EUROPE. 251 In the above computation, being no great quantity) they arc at liberty to drive their bargain -da aclvautageoufly as they can. It is certain this people can never be rich, unlefs they become in Juftrious ; the fea is open to them as well to their neighbours on every fide, who thrive by a foreign commerce, and yet not one of ihem can victual or navigate their veftcls near fo cheap as thcfe Hothful iVIinorquins, virho lie in the centre of fo many trading ports, that it is amazing how they can have fo long overlooked their true intereft, and futi't;rcd thcmfclvcs to be fupplied with fo many of the ncceft'aiiei of life in foreign bottoms. The iMinorquins are naturally liftlefs, and if they can contrive the means to keep their families from the fliarp gripe of poverty, they are but little folicitous to enquire into the arts and manufactures by which fuddcn fortunes arc acquired on every fide of them. Tell them the Maltcfe arc enriched by the quantities of cummin and anifc-feed they export; remind them that the plant which produces the canary {i:c6. grows fpontaneoufly all over the ifland, or that a gum is produced from the maftick-tree, of very great value abroad (and though the tree is an incumbrance which they eagerly root out out of their grounds) they treat you as a viftonary, and with a flirug of contempt fcem to thank Heaven that they have no turn to whims and projc6ls, but are contented to jog on in the plain track which their fathers trod before them. Upon the redu(Stion of Sardinia, and the return of the fleet to the coaft of Catalonia, major-general Stanhope projcdted an expedition for the conqueft of the ifland of Minorca, then garrifoncd by the French and Spaniards for king Philip. He accordingly procured the necefl'ary orders for embarking a body of troops amounting to two thouiand fix hundred men (hr fo it was given out, though in reality they were not more than two thoufand) twelve hundred of whom were Britifliy including the marines, fix hundred Portugueze, and the reft Spanifh ; thefe were put under his command, and arrived at the iliand on the fourteenth of September 1708, N. S. They met with a great deal of difficulty in landing and tranfporting the heavy artillery in fo rugged a country, where there were but few beafts of burthen that they could come at; yet with continual labour they brought their whole train (confifling of forty-two guns and fifteen mortars) in twelve days time, to the ground, where they intended to employ them. In ^3 7 mm M 'Defcriptkn of the ^ritijh Empire^ In the mean while, Fornelles caftic was briflcly attacked by captain Butler in the Dunkirk, who got into the harbour two hours before the Centurion, captain Pairborn, (which was dif- patched with him from the fleet) and fired thirty-fix barrels of powder againft thecaftlc, which made a gallant defence. But the garrilon, finding the Centurion was able to get in, and had begun a warm nre on them, thought proper to furrender themfelves prifoners of war, having had but one man killed and four wounded, whereas the fhips had eleven killed and about fixty wounded. The garrifon confifted of about fifty men, and had twelve guns mounted for its defence. This fuccefs intimidated the garrifon of St. Philip's caftle, and contributed a good deal to h^Aen its furrender to the con- federates. On the twenty-eighth, at break of day, the general opened a battery of nine guns againft the two middlemoft towers that defended a line the enemy had lately made, and beat them down, making fome breaches in the line-wall itfelf (which was no difficult tafk, as it was haftily run up with loofc ftones, without mortar) which the general refolvcd to have attacked the next day, if he had not been prevented by what happened. For brigadier Wade, being pofted at fome diftance on the right, with two battalions, fome of his grenadiers entered the line without orders, which the brigadier no fooner perceived, than he advanced with all the men he could fuddenly get to- gether to fuftain them. When the general heard their fire, he marched the ordinary guard of the battery up to that part of the line that was iiearcft ; which put the enemy into fo great a confternation, that they immediately abandoned the two other towers (which could not have been taken without cannon) and retired pre- cipitately within the works of the caftle. The allies lodged themfelves the fame evening at the foot of the glacis of St. Philip's caftle, and traced out their main battery j but the next morning the enemy beat a parley, and a treaty enfued, that ended in a capitulation, which was figned at five of the clock that afternoon ; in confequence of wiiich, the general took pofi'eflion of the place on the thirtieth, and found the garrifon to confift of one thoufand men under arms, part of whom were to be tranfported into France, and the reft cif them to Spain. 'I he lofg of the confederates was inconfiderabie, and did not ^1^' ' fd f' rty mf n, killed and wounded ; among the former was the brave captain Stanhope of the Milford. 3 We $n EUROPE. 25J We are told this caftlc was built by Charles the Fifth, re- paired and beautified by Philip the Second, and enlarged by Philip the Fourth. A detachment of foot was fent to Ciudadella, which imme- diately furrcndered ; and here a garrifon of one hundred men were made prifoners of war. Thus the whole ifland was happily reduced under the obe- dience of king Charles. « GIBRALTAR, IN Andalufia, in Spain, is Htuated on the Streigh between that Ocean aaJ the .VlcJitc:rransun, theiicc called The Strei?,lit of Gibraltar (which is twenty-four miles long and fifteen broad) diredly oppoiite to Ceuta in Afric j fifty-eight miles fouth -cad from Cadiz, about ei^;hty fouth from Seville, more than two hunJrcd and fixty fourh-wclt from Madrid, ^nd : Sout lixteen north from Ceuta, juil: mentioned; W. lon^!,. 4°, 50'; lat. 36° 15'. It is, without doubt, the Caipe of the anticnts ; and the luane of Gibraltar is fuppofcd to be a corruption of Gcbal-Tarit, or the mount of Tarif, or Tarifa, who was a famed Moorifh general that crolllJ hither from Afric to conquer Spain. It is built on a rock, in a peninfula, and can only be approached, on the land lidc, by a very nar- row paf^^ge between the mountain and the fea, crofs whicli the Spaniards nave drawn a line, and fortified it, to prevent the garrii'on having any cotVimunication with the country. The city, &c. is fo well walled, and fortified both by art and nature, being on the land fide nicloi'ed by high hills, that it is r-Imoft inaccefiible that way. It hath but two gates on that lide, and two to the fea, and was inhabited by twelve thoufand families in one parifli, v/ith three monaftcries, one nunnery, and two hofpitals. It was taken by the Fnglifti under the condudof the brave admiral Sir George Rook, commander of the confederate fleet, July the twenty-fourth, 1 704; at which timealmoft all the inhabitants quilted it; fo that it hath had but few people fince, except the garrifon, and thofe that depend upon it. Yet it has been made a free port, and mer- chants have been invited to fettle there. It is alfo, if i am rightly informed, made a town corporate, and the civil power 9t length put into the hands of the magiftrates. But there Vverefad complaints of oppreiiion under a military government. Ihc i r, 254 Befcription of the Britijh Empire. The garrifon has no very large limits, and the little ground yields very little fuftenance of itfelf. However it can't be flarvcd, nor at all want often, as long as we have a fleet to fupply it from England as well as Africa. The additional works that have been made to it from time to time have ren- dered it impregnable by any other way but treachery or fur- prize. And it is hoped that perfidy will be ftill fo much ab- horred by every Englifliman, that it will never fo be loft. The French and Spaniards attempted to retake it the fame year abovefaid, 1704; and four or five hundred of them (then) crept up the rock which covers the town ; but were drove down headlong the next morning. The Spaniards beficged it again in 1727, but were forced to raife the fiege, after lying before it many months, and having had thoufands of men deftroyed. A D E- DESCRIPTION OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE I N AMERICA. m' ■•■ k- V - >. -■ DESCR IPT ION OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. AMERICA. AMERICA extends from the north pole to the fifty- feventh degree of fouth latitude ; it is upwards of eight thoufand miles in length ; it fees both hemifpheres ; it has two fummers and a double winter ; it enjoys all the variety of climates which the earth affords ; and is wafhed by the two great oceans. To the eaftward it has the Atlantic ocean, which divides it from Europe and Africa. To the v/eft it has another ocean, the great fouth fea, by which it is dif- joined from Afia. By tliefe fcas it may, and does, carry on a direct commerce with the other three parts of the world. It is compofed of two vaft continents, one on the north, the other upon the fouth, which arc joined by the great kingdom of Mexico, which forms a fort of ifthmus fifteen hundred miles long J and in one part, at Darien, fo extremely narrow, as to make the communication between the two oceans by no means difficult. In the great gulph, which is formed between the ilthmus and the northern and fouthern continents, lie an infinite multitude of iflands, many of them large, tnoft of them fercile, and capable of being cultivated to very great advantage. America in general is not a mountainous country, yet it has the greateft mountains in the world. The Andes, or Cordilleias, run from north to fouth along the coaft of the Pacific ocean. Though for the moft part within the torrid S zone. -Si 25S Vcfiription of the Britifi Empire •/.one, ihcy arc pcrpctiir.lly covered with fnow, and in tlicif bowels contain incxhauftiblc trcafurcs. In tlic province of ht. Martha in South America arc likcwifc very great moun- tains, v.hich communicate with the former. ]\\ North Ame- rica wc know of r.onc ( nnliderable, but that long ridge which wc call the Apa'achian, or Alcgcncy, mountain j it that may be at all confidcrcd as a rt^ountain, which upon one fide indeed has a very great declivity, but upon the other is nearly on a level with the relt of the country. Without comparifon, America is that part of the world which is th'e bcft viratcrcd ^ and thttt not only fur the fuppo^t of life, but for the convenience of trade, and the intercourfe of each part with the others. In North America the great river Miflifipi, rifing from unknown fources, runs an im- mcnfc courfc from north to fouth, and receives the vaft tribirte of the Ohio, the Oubachc, and other immenfc river*, fcarcely to be pollponed to the Rhine or Danube, navigable almoft to their very fources, and laying open the inmoft recefi'es of this continent. Near the heads of thefe are five great lakes, or rather feas of frefh water, communicating with each other, and all with the main ocean, by the river St. Laurence, ■which pafles through them. ThcCe afford fuch an inlet for commerce as mull produce the greateft advantages, whenever the country adjacent fliaJl come to be fully inhabited by an induftrious and civiMzcd people. The eaftern fide of • North America, befides the noble rivers Hudfon, Delaware^ Sufquehanna, Patowmack, fupplies fevcral others of great depth, length, and commodious navigation. Many parts of our fettlements are fo interfeiled with navigable rivers and creeks, that the planters may be faid, without exaggeration, to have each a harbour at his own door. South America is, if poffible, in this refpc<9!j even more fortunate. It fupplies much the two largeft rivers in the world, the river of Amazons, and the Rio de la Plata. The firft, rifmg in Peru, not far from the fouth fea, pafles from weff to eaft, almoft quite through- the continent of South America, navigable for fome fort or other of veflels all the way, and receiving into itr, bofom a prodigious number of ri- vers, all navigable in the fame manner, fo that monfieur Con- tlamine found it often almoft impoffible to determine which was the main channel. The Rio de la Plata, rifmg in th« ?ieart of the country, fhapes its courfe to the fouth-eaft, and pours fuch an immenfe flood into the fea, that it m^kea it tufle frcfh a great many leagues from the Ihorc; to fay nothing; in AMERICA. ^'50 Iff the Oronoqun, which might rank the foremoft amongll' Rny but the American rivers. The foil and products, in fuch a variety of climates, cannot fatisfadtorily be treated of hi a general dcfcription j we fhall, in their places, confidcr them particularly. All America is in the hnnd«? of four nations. The Spa-* niards, who, as they firll dilcovcred it, have the largcft and richcft fhare: viz. all that part of North .America, which com- pofes the iflhmus of Mexico, and what lies beyond that towards the river Mifl^fippi on thij call, the Pacific ocean to the wed and north-well; and they poirefs- all South America, excepting Brafit, which lies between the mouth of the river of Amazons and that of Plata nlong the Atlantic ocean ; this belongs to Portugal. That partot North America which the ijpaniardshave not, is divided between the Knglifli and French. The Engiilh have all the countries which incirclc Hudlbn's Bay, and thence in a line all along the caftern (hore to the thirtieth degree of north latitude and weftward to the Pacific Ocean. Prance claims the country which lies between the Spanifh fettlemcnts to the weft, and fecurcs an in- tercourfe with them by the mouths of the Miflifippi. 'I he multitude of iflands, which lie between the two conti- nents, arc divided amongft the Spaniards, French, and Englifti. The Dutch pouefs three or four fmall iflands,' which, in any other hands, would be of no confequence. The Danes have one or two ; but they hardly deferve to be jiamcd amongft the proprietors of America. The Aborigines of America, throughout the whole extent of the two valt continents which they rnhabit, and amongft the infinite number of nations and tribes into which they are divided, differ very little from each other in their manners and Cuftoms ; and they all form a very ftriking picture of the moft dillant antiquity. Whoever conlidcrs the Americans of this day, not only ftudics the manners of a remote prefent nation, but he ftudics, in fome meafure, the antiquities of all nations: from this ftudy lights may be thrown upoii many parts of the ancient authors, both facred and profane. The learned Lafitau has laboured this point with great fuccefs, in a work which defervos to be read amongft us much more than I find it is. The people of America are tall, and ftrait in their limbs beyond the proportion of mofl: nations : their bodies are rtrong ; but of a fpecies of ftrength rather fitted to endure friueh hardfhip, than to continue long at any fcrvile work, by which they are quickly confumcd ; it is the ftreiigth of a beal^ S 2 .i^' ^.>*^■' I " "i 'lirtl'ifa ioum ¥i i6a Defcripiion of the Britijh Empire, of prey, rather than that of a beaft of burthen. Their bodies'^ and heads arc flattifh, the efFc(St of art; their features arc re- gular, but their countenances fierce ; their hair long, blacic, lank, and as ftrong as that of a horfe. No beards ; the colour of their fkin a rcddifh brown, admired amongft them, and improved by the conllant ufe of bear's fat and paint. "When the Europeans firft came into America, they found the people quite naked, except thofe parts, which it is common for the moft uncultivated people to conceal. Sinr^ that time they have generally a coarfe blanket to cover them, which they buy from us. The whole fafhion of their lives is of a piece ; hardy, poor and fqunlid ; and their education from their infancy is folely directed to fit their bodies for this mode of life, and to form their minds to inflidl and to endure the greateil evils. Their only occupations are hunting and war. Agriculture is left to the women. Merchandize they con- temn. When their banting feafon is paft, which they go through with much patience, and in which they exert great ingenuity, they pafs the reit of their time in an entire indo- lence. They fleep half the day in their huts, they loiter and jeft among their friends, and they obfcrve no bounds or de- cency in their eating and drinking. Before we difcovercd them, they had no fpiritous liquors ; but now, the acquire- ment of thcfe is what gives a fpur to their induftry, and en- joyment to their repofe. This is the principal end they pur- fue in their treaties v/ith us ; and from this they fufFer inex- prcffiblc calamities ; for having once begun to drink, they can prefcrve no meafures, but continue a fucceflion of drunk- cnnels as long as their means of procuring liquor lafts. In this condition they lie expofed on the earth to all the inclemency of the fcafons, which waftes them by a train of the moft fatal diforders ; they perish in rivers and marfhes ; they tumble into the firej thev quarrel, and very frequently murder each other J and, in * . rt, excefs in drnik-ng, which with us is rather immoral than deftrutSlive, amongft this uncivilized people, who have not art enough to guard againft the con- fequencc of their vices, is a public calamity. The Tothingis more edifying than their behaviour in their public councils and aflcmblies. Every man there is heard in his turn, according as his years, his wifdom, or his fcrvices to his country, have ranked him. Not a word, not a whifper, not a murmur, is heard from the reft while he fpeaks. No indecent condemnation, no ill- time4- applaufe. The younger fort attend for their inltrudlion. Here they learn the hiftcry of their nation j here they are inflamed with the fongs of thofc who celebrate the warlike actions of their anceftors ; and here they are taught what are the interefts of their country, and how to purfue them. There is no people amongft whom the laws of hofpitality are more facred, or executed with more generofity and good- will. Their houfes, their provifion, even their young women, are not enough to oblige a gueft. To thofe of their own nation they are likewiCe very humane and beneficent. Has any one of them fucceeded ill in his hunting ? Has his harvcfl: failed ? Or, is his houfe burned ? He feels no other cfiect of his misfortune, than that it gives him an opportunity to ex- perience the benevolence and regard of his fellov-citizens, who for that purpofe have all things almoft in common. But to the enemies of his country, or to thofc who have privately offended, the American is implacable. He conceals his ien- tiinents, he appears reconciled, until by fome treachery or fui prize he has an opportunity of executing an horrible re- venge. No length of time is fufficient to allay his rcfent- mcnt; no diftance of place great enough *n prote«5t the objciSbj he crofl'cs the ftccpcft mountains, he p.jrccs the moft im- pradllcable forefts, and travcrfes the moft hideous bogs and deferts for feveral miles; bearing the inclemency of the feafons, the fatigue of the expedition, the extremes of hunger and thirft, with patience and chcr.rfulncr<;, in hopes of furnrizing his enemy, oh whom he exeroifes the moft (hocking barbari- ties, even to the eating of his flefti. To fuch extremes da the Indians pulh their tricndfhip or their enmity; and fuch indeed in general is the churacier of all ftrong md unculii- vated minds. • i. Notwithftanding this ferocity, no people have their anger, or at leaft fhew of their anger, more under their command. P>om their infancy they are formed with care to endure fcofts, taunts, blows, and every fort of infiilt patiently, or at leaft S i vviih ^:=f*-1 (jHiiiiiiifim ■ i % 62 Defcriftion of the Briiijh Empire ^ with a compofed countenance. This is one of the princip.il objefts of their education. They eftcem nothing fo unworthy a man of fenfe and conftancy, as a peevifh temper, and a pronc- nefs to fuddcn and rafh anger. And this fo far has an efFe(5t, that quarrels happen as rarely amongft them when they are not intoxicated with liquor, as does the chief caufe of all quarrels, hot, and abufivc language. But human nature is fuch, that, as virtues may with proper management be en- grafted upon almoft all forts of vicious paHions, fo vices na- turally grow out of the bcft difpofitions, and are the confe- quencc of thofe regulations that produce and ftrcngthen them. This is the reafon that, when the paffions of the Americans are roufcd, being fhut up, as it were, and converging into a narrow point, they become more furious j they arc dark, jfullen, treacherous and unappeafable. A people who live by hunting, who inhabit mean cottager, and are given to change the place of their habitation, are fel- d'om very religious. T he Americans have fcarce any temples. We hear indeed of fome, and thofc extremely magnificent, amongft the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians ; but the Mexi- cans and Peruvians were comparatively civilized nations. Thofe we know at prefent in any part of America are no way comparable to them. Some appear to have very little idea of God. Others entertain better notions ; they hold the exiftence of the Supreme lieing, eternal and incorruptible, who has power over all. Satisfied with owning this, which is tra- ditionary amongfl them, they give him no fort of worfhip. There are indeed nations in America, who feem to pay fome religious homage to the fun and mnon ; and, as moft of them have a notion of fom" invifible beings, who continually in- termeddle in thefc affairs, they difcourfc much of demons, nymphs, fairies, or beings equivalent. Thev have ceremonies too, that fcem to fhevv they had once a more regular form of re- ligious worfhip ; fcr they make a fort of oblaiion of their firft fruits J (bfervc certain ccicmcnus at th'.' full mocn, and have in their ft-ftiva's many things that very probably came from a rc- ligiousorigin, though they perform them asthJngs handed down to them from their anceitors, without knowing or enquirin^j; about the reafon. Though without religion, they abound in ■fupcrftiriohs; as it is common for thofe to do, whofe fubfiO- ence depends, like theirs, upon fortune. Great obfervers of omens and dreams, and pryurs into futurity with great eagcr- nefs, they abound in diviners, augurs, and magicians, whom thry rtly much upon in all affairs that concern them, wherher of tn A M E R I C A. 2C5 cf health, war, or hunting. Their phyfic, which may rather be called magic, is entirely in the hands of the priefts. The ilclc arc naturally prone to lupcrltitioji, and human help in fiich cal'es is ^!;ener;illy found fo weak, that it is no wonder that, in all countries and ages, people have amul'ed ihenilelves in that difmal circumftance of human natui^c, with the hope of fiipernatural affiflance. Their phyficians jj:enerally treat them, in whatever difordcr, in the fame way. That is, they firft cnclofe them in a nar- row cabbin, in the midtt cf which is a ftonc red hot j on thi, t 'king away one by one all the ill con- fequences t .h<" r.'Juder. As ufual, the whole ends in mu- tual fea(tin[ , lon^s, a nrl dances. If the murder is committed by oneof th, "amc fmuly, orcabbin, that cabbin has the full right of jud men., without appeal, within itfclf, either to pimiHi the guilty \s'\\\\ death, or pardon him, or to force him to give fome recompence to the wife or children of the /lain. All this while the fupremc authority of the nation looks on unconcerned, and never roufcs its ftrength, nor exerts the fullncls of a power more revered than felt, but upon fome iignal occafjon. Then the power feems equal to the occafjon. Every one haftens to execute the orders of their fenate ; nor was ever any inftance of rebellion known among this people. Governed as they are by manners, not by laws ; cx.unpUr, education, and the conftant praiSticc of their ceremonies, give them the moft tender affection for their country, and inlpi'c them with a moft religious regr.vd for their conltitution, aiiii the cuftoms of their aiiceftors. The want of lav.'s, and of an univcrl'al ftrong coercive pov/er, is not perceived in a narrow fociety, where every man h'is his eye upon his neigh Sour, and where the whole bent of every thing they do is to ftrengt'^en thofe natural tyes by which fociety is principally ccmciucd. Family love, rare amongft us, is a nationr.l virtue amongft them, of which all partake. Friendfliips there are amonglt them, fit to vie with thofe of fabulous antiquity ; and where f uch friendfhips arc feen to grow, the families concerned cot\» gratulate ' V tn AMERICA. 26' gratulatc themfelves upon an acquifition, that promifes to them a mutu.il ftrength, and to their nation the greatcft ho- nour and advantage. The iofs of any one of their people, whether by a natural death, or by war, is lamented by the whole town he belongs to*. In fuch circumftances no hufuiefs is taken in hand, however important, nor any rejoicing permitted, however m- terelling the occafion, until all the pious ceremonies due to the deadare performed. Thcfe are always diCcharged with the great- eft folcmnity. Thcdeadbody is walhedj^anoint-ed, and painted, fo as in fomc meafurc to abate the horrors of death. Then the women lament the Iofs with the moft bitter cries, and the moft hideous bowlings, intermixed with fongs, which celebrate the great actions of the deceafed, and thole of his anccftors. 'I'he men mourn in a lefs extravagant manner. The whole , village attends the body to the grave, which is interred, habit- ed in their moft fumptuous ornaments. With the body of the deceafed are placed his bows and arrows, with what he valued moft in his life, and provifions for the long journey he is to take : for they hold the immortality of the ioul univer- Jally, but their idea is grofs. Feafting attends this, as it does every folemnity. After the funeral, they who are nearly al- lied to the deceafed conceal themfelves in their huts for a con- fidcrrtble time to indulge their grief. The compliments of condolance are never omitted, nor are prelents wanting upon this occafion. After fome time they revifit the grave ; they renew thv,ir forrowj they new cloath the remains of the body, and aiStover again the folemnities of the firft funeral. Of all their inftanccs of regard to their deceafed friends, none is fo ftriking as what they call the feaft of the dead, or the feaft of fouls. The day of ceremony is appointed in the council of their chiefs, who give orders for every thing which may enable them to celebrate it with pomp and magnificence. The riches of the nation are cxhaufted on this occafion, and all their ingenuity difplayed. The neighbouring people are invited to partake of the feaft, and to be witnefles of the fo- lemnitv. At this time all who have died fince the laft folemn feaft of that kind are taken out of their graves. Thofe who have been interred at the greateft diftance from the villages are diligently fought for, and brought to this great rendezvous of carcalll's. It is difficult to conceive the horror of this ge- 4 ^ * The tO'»vns are fmall, and, except the affairs of war or flate, they have no bufinefs to employ them, for the greatcft part of the year *i"ter the hunting feafon is over. neral mm u 26S Befcriptlon of the Britijh Empire^ ncral dif-Intcrment. I cannot paint it in a more lively manner than it is done by Laiitau. '* Without qiicftion," fays he, ** the opening of the tombs difplays one of the moft ftriking fcenes that can be conceived ; this humbling pourtrait of human mifery, is fo many images of death, wherein (he fccms to take a plcafure to paint herfelf in a thoufand various fliapcs of horror, in the fevcral carcafl'es, according to the degree in which corruption has prevailed over them, or the manner in which it has attacked them Some appear dry and withered ; others have a fort of parchment upon their bones ; fomc look ai if they were baked and fmoaked, witlwut any appearance of rottcnefs ; fome are jufl: turning to- wards the point of putrefuclion ; whilfl otji^ers are all fwarm- ing with worms, zni\ drowned in corruption. I know not which ought to ftrikc us moit, the horror of fo fliocking a fight, or the tender piety and affeftion of thefe poor people towards tijcir departed friends ; for nothing defervcs our ad- miration more, than that eager diligence and attention with which they difchargc this melancholy duty of their tendernefs; gathering up carefully even the fmalleft bonct.- ; handling the carcaffcs, diiguflful as they are, with every thing loathfome ; clcanfingihem from the worms, and carrying them upon their (liouldcrs through tirefomc journeys of iisveral days, without being difcouragtd by their inlupportable ftcnch, and without iuffering any other emotions to arife, than thofc of regret, for having lolt perfons w1k> were i'o dear to them in their lives, and lb lamented in their HjCath." This liranjic feftival is the moft magnificent and folcmn which they have : not only on account of the great concourle iA natives and ftrangers, and of the pompous rc-interment tlicy give to their dead, whom they drefs in the fineti; Ikins tl>c)- can get, after having expofcd them for iomc time in this pau;p ; but for the games of all kinds which they celebrate upon the occafion, in tlie fpirit of thofe which the ancient Vji'.tcks ami Romans celebrated upon fimilar occafions. In tliis manner do they endeavour to footh the calamities oi'iifc, by the honours they pay their dea«J } honours, which arc the more chearfully bcftowcd, becapfe in his turn each man expects to receive them himfelf. 'riK)ugh amongft thefe iavagc nations this cuftom is imprefled with ftrong marks of the ferocity o\ their nature ; an honour for the dead, a tender feeling of their abfcnce, and a revival of their memory, are feme of the moft excellent inftruments for fmoothing our rug- ged nature into humanity. In civilized nations ceremonies are lefs pradlifcd, bccaufe other inftruments for the fame pur- pofes h AMERICA. 269 pofes arc lefs wanted ; but it is certain a regard for the dead is ancient and univcrfal. Though the women in America have generally the labo- rious part of the oeconomy upon themfelves, yet they are far from being t\\€ flaves they appear, and arc not at ail fubjedt to the great fubordination in which they arc placed in countries where they fccm to be more refpetited. On the contrary, all the honours of the nation are on the llde of the woman. They even hold their councils, and have their iharc in all deliberations which concern the Hate j nor are they found inferior to the part they act. Polygamy is pra<^ifed by fomc nations, but it is not general. In molt they content them- felves with one wife s but a divorce is admitted, and for the* fame caufes that it w;is allowed amongft the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. No nation of the 'Americans is without a regu- lar marriage, in which there are many ceremonies ; the prin- cipal of which is, the bride's presenting the bridegroom with a plate of their corn. Incontinent before wedlock, after marriage the chaftity of their women is remarkable. The puni(hment of the adul- tercfs, as well as that of the adulterer, is in the hands of the hufband himfelf ; and it is often fevere, as inflicted by one who is at once the party and the judge. Their marriages are not fruitful, feldom producing above two or three children; but they are brought forth with lefs pain than our women fufFer upon fuch occafions, and with little confequent weak- iiefs. Probably, that fevere life, which both fexes lead, is not favourable to procreation. And the habit unmarried women have of procuring abortions, in which they rarely fail, makes them more unfit for bearing children afterwards. This is one of the reafons of the depopulation of America ; for whatever lolTes they fufFer, either by epidemical difeafes or by war, are repaired llowly. Almoft the fole occupation of the American is war, or fuch an exercife as qualifies him for it. His whole glory coniills in this i and no man is at all confidered until he has increafed the ftrength of his country with a captive, or adorned his houfe with a fcalp of one of its enemies. When the ancients refolvc upon war, they do not declare what nation it is they are de- termined to attack ; that the enemy, upon whom they really intend to fall may be off his guard. Nay, they even fome- times let years pals over without committing any ■^.ii vi' hof- tility, that the vigilance of all may be unbent by ti)e long continuance of the watch, and the uncertainty of the danger. In the mean time they are not idle at home. The principal 3 Ciiptititi 'mm 270 De/cripthn of the Britijh Empire^ captain fummons the youth of the town to which he belorrgs ; the war Iccttel is fet on the fire ; the war fongs and danccf commence j the hatchet is fent to all the villages of the fame nation, and to all its allies ; the fire catches ; the war (bngs are heard in all parts ; and the mofl hideous howlings continue without intcrmiflion day and night over that whole tra£l of country. The women add their cries to thofe of the men lamenting thofe whom they have cither loft in war or by a natural death, and demanding their places to be Aipplied from their enemies j ftimulating the young men by a fenfe of ihame, which women know how to excite in the ftrongcft manner, and can take the beft adv mtage of when excited. When by thefe, and every other means, tlic fury of the nation is raifed to the grcateft height, and all long to em- brew their hands in blood, the war captain prepares the fcafi, which confifls of dogs flefh. All that partake of this feaft receive little billets, which are fo many engagements which they take to be faithful to each other, and obedient to their commander. None are forced to the war ; but when they have accepted this billet, they are looked upon as lifted, and it is then death to recede. All the warriors in this aflembly have their faces blackened with charcoal, intermixed with dafhes and ftreaksof vermillion, which give them a moft hor- rid appearance. Their hair is dreflcd up in an odd manner, with feathers of various kinds. In this aflembly, which is preparatory to their military expedition, the chief begin? the war fong ; which having continued for fome time, he raifes his voice to the higheft pitch, and, tuining off" fuddcnly to a fort of prayer, addrclTcs himfeli' to the god of war, whom they calJ Areftoni : ** 1 invoke rhce," fuys he, " to be fa- vourable to my enterprize ! 1 invoke thv care upon me and my family ! 1 invoke ye likewife, ail ye fpirits and demons good and evil, all ye that are in the flcies, or on the earth, or under the earth, »'o pour deftruclion upon our enemies, and to return me and my companions fafely to our country." All the warriors join him in his prayer with fhouts and acclama- tions. The c;.ptain renews his fong, ftrikes his club againft the ftakes of his cottage, and begins the war dance, accom- panied with the fhouts of all his companions, which continue as long as he dances. The day appointed for their departure being arrived, they take leave of their friends; they change their cloaths, or whatever moveables they have, in token of mutual friendfhip ; their wives and female relations go out before them, and at-^ tend at fome diftance from the tov/n. The warriors march - ■ 2 . .out in AMERICA. 2;l •ut all (Ircft in their fincft apparel and mod fliowy ornaments regularly one after another, for they never march in rdnk^ The chief walks (lowly before them, finging the death loiiij, whilft the reft obferve the moft profound lilcncc. When thef come up to their women, they deliver up to them ail their /inery, put on their worft cloathi, and then proceed as their commander thinks fit. Their motives for engaging in a war arc rarely thofe vicvca which excite us to it. Thcv have no other end but the "lorvf of the vi(itorv, or the bcncht of the flavcs which it enables them til add to their nation, or facriticc to their brutal fury j and it is rare that they take any pains to give their w.irs cvea a colour of jullicc. it is no way uncommon among them for the young men to make feads of dogs flelh, and d.uiccs, ia I'mall parties, in the midft of the molt profound peace. 'I'hcy V fall fomctimcs on one nation, and fometimes on another, aiiJ fyrprizc fome of their hunters, whom they fcali id brinj; home as prifoners. Their fenators wink at th n- rather encourage it, as it tends to keep up the martial fpint of their people, inures them to watchfulnefs and hardfliip, and gives them an early tafte for blood. The qualities in an Indian war are vigilance and attention to give and to avoid a furprizc j and patience and Itrength, to endure the intolerable fatigues and hardfliips which always at- tend it. The nations of America are at an immenlb diftancc from each other, with a vafl: defurt frontier, and hid in ths bofom of hideous and almofl boundlcfs forefts. Thefe muik be traverfed before they meet an enemy, who is often at fucli a dilknce as might be fuppofed to prevent either quarrel or danger. But, notwithftanding the lecrecy of the deftination of the party thai firft moves, tlie enemy has frequent notice of it, and is prepared for the attack, and ready to take advantage in the fame manner of the Icaft want of vigilance in theagref- fors. Their whole ait of war confifts in this : they never fight in the open field, but upon fome very extraordinary oc- cafions ; not from cowardice, for thev arc brave ; but they difpife this method as unworthy an able warrior, and as aa affair which fortune governs more than prudence. The prin- cipal things which he'p them to find out their enemies, arc the fmoak of their fires, which they fmell at a diftancc almoft incredible } and their tracks; in thedifcovery and diftinguiih- ing of which, they are poflefled of a fagacity equally aftonifti- ing } for they will tell, in the footfteps, which to us would feem moft confufed, the number of men that have pafied, and the length gf time fince they have pafied j they even go fo fajr as ^v^-. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 128 ■ 2.5 IL25 i 1.4 A" H2.0 Nii& 1.6 y r f> "^v>' >' V > Photographic Sciences Corporation as WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 o J 4 "^ r PS»» 272 Djfcription of the Brittjh Empire^ as to diftinguifli the feveral nations by the cfifFerent marks , cf their feet, and to perceive footfteps, where we could dif- tinguifli nothing. A mind diligently intent upon one thing, and exercifed by long experience, will go lengths at firft view fcarcely credible. But as they who are attacked have the fame knowledge, . and know how to draw the fame advantages from it, their great addrefs is to baffle each other in thefe points. On their expeditions they light no fire to warm themfelves, or prepare their vi£lual, but fubfift merely on the miferable pittance of fome of their meal mixed with water ; they lie clofe to the ground all day, and march only in night. As they march in their ufual order in files, he that clofes the rear, diligently covers his own tracks, and thofe of all who preceded him, with leaves. If any ftream occurs in their route, they march into it for a confiderable way to foil their purfuers. When they halt to reft and refrefh themfelves, fcouts arc fent out on every fide to reconnoitre the country, and beat up every place where they fufpedt an enemy may lie perdue. In this man- ner they often enter a village, whilft the ftrength of the na- tion is employed in hunting, and maffacre all the helplefs old men, women and children, or make as many prifoners as they can manage, or have ftrength enough to be ufeful to their nation. They often cut offTmall parties of men in their huntings ; but when they difcover an army of their enemies, their way is to throw themfelves flat on their faces amonglt the withered leaves, the colour of which their bodies are painted to refemble exactly. They generally let a part pafs unmolefted ; and then, rifing a little, they take aim, for they are excellent: markfmen ; and fetting up a moft tremendous ftiout, which they call the war-cry, they pour a ftorm of mufquet-bullets upon the enemy; for they have long fmce laid alide the ufe of arrows : the party attacked returns the fame cry. Every man^ in hafte covers hirafelf with a^tree, and returns the fire of the adverfe party, as foon as they raife themfelves from the ground to give the fecond fire. After fighting fome time in this manner, the party which thinks it has the advantage rufties out of its cover, with fmall axes in their hands, which they dart with' great addrefs and dexterity; they redouble their cries, intimidating their enemies with menaces, and encouraging each other with a boaftful difplay of their own brave adtions. Thus being come hand to hand, the conteft is foon decided ; and the conquerors fatiate their lavage fury v/ith the moft ftiocking infult^ and llll ■ ■"-' tn A M E R I C A. 273 barbarities to the dead,* biting their flefli, tearing the fcaJp from their heads, and wallowing in their blood like wild beafts. The fate of their pri Toners is the mod fevere of ail. During; the greateft part of their journey homewards they fufFer no in- jury- But when they arrive at the territories of the conquer- ing ftate, or at thofe of their allies, the people from every vil- lage meet them, and think they ihew their attachment to their friends by the barbarous treatment of the imhiippy priioners | fo that, when . they come to their (tati^.n, they are wounded and bruifed in a terrible manner. The conquerors enter the town in triumph. The war captain waits upon the head men, and in a low voice gives them an account of every particular of the expedition, of the damage the enemy has fufFered, and his own lofles in it. This done, the public orator relates th« whole to the people. Before they yield to the joy which the vidory occaiions, they lament the friends which they have loft in the purfuit of it. The parties moft nearly concerned are affli<5led apparently with a deep and real forrow. But, hy one of thofe ftrange turns of the human mind, faihioncd to any thing by cuftom, as if they were difeiplined in their grief, upon the fignal for rejoicing, in a moment a'l tears are wiped fromtheireyes, zndthdyruQk into aa extravagance andphrenis|r of joy for their vi (Story. In the niean time the fate of the prifon^ns. fcmaijis undedided, until the old men meet, and determine concerning the diftrij butfon. It is ufual to offer a flave to each; houfe that has loll a friend ; giving the preference according to the greatne': of the I06. The perfon who has taken the captive attends hirti to the dtx)r of the cottage to which he is delivered, and with him gives a belt of walpuhi, to fliew that he has fiilfilled the purpt)fc of the expedition, in fupplying the los of a citizen. They view the prefent which is made them for fome time { and, according as they think him or ht-r, or as tney ta reed» into every part of has body ; they drag out his teeth wkb pincersy and thruft out his eyes ; and laftly, after having burned his fiefli from the bones with flow fires ; after having f6 ihangled the body that it is all but one wound ; after having mutilated his face in fuch-a manner as to carry nothing human in it ; after having peeled the (kin from the head, aiid poured a heap of red-hot coals or boiling ^ater oA the naked fkuli ; they once more unbind the wretch^ who, blind and daggering with pain and weaknefs, affaulted and pelted upon every fide with clubs and ftones, now up, now down j falhng into their fires at every ftep, runs hithen and thither,' until one of the chiefs, wliether out of com- paifion or weary of cruelty, puts, an end to his life with a dub or a dagger. The body is then put into the kettle, and: this barbarous emplojrment is fucceeded by » feaft as bar- i^arous. • The women, forgtttiing the human asrweli as the female ftature^ and transformed inco fomething worfe th^a furgas, ^ . - •■ , ait m .'• fn A M ERICA, iyi i^ their parts, and even outdo the men, in this fc^ne of horror. The principal perfons of the country fit round thd ftake fmoaking and looking on without the leaft emotion^ What is mort extraordinary, the fufferer himfelf, in the little intervals oF- his tqrmehts, fmoaks too, appears unconcerned, and converfe? with his torturers about indifferent matters. Indeed, dUrihg the v^holc time of his execution, there fecms a conteft between him and thjm which ihall exceed, they iii Jnfli£ling the moft horrid pr!in«;, or he in enduring them with i. firmnefs and conftancy aimoft above hutr,.in. Not a groan, hot a figh, not a dfftortion of countenance, elcapes him ; he pofTefTes' his mind entirely in the midft of his torments j he fecounts his own ex()lGits, he informs them what cruelties he has inflidtcd upon their countrymen, and threatens, them with the revenge that will attend his death; and, tho' his re- proaches exafpcrate th'em to a perfeft madriefs of rage arid ' fury, he continues his reproaches even of their ignorance in the art of tormenting ; pointing out himfelf the more ex- quifite methods, arid moire fenfible parts of the body to be affliaed. The women have this part of courage as wellas the men ; and it is as rare for any Indian to behave otherwife, As it would be for an European to fuffer as an Indian. I dor not dwell iipon thefe circumftances of cruelty, which brutalizes hiiman nature, out of choice ; but, as' all who mention the cuftdms of this p :ople have infifted upon their behaviour in this refpe£l very particularly, and as it feems hecefTary to give a true idea of their charafter, I did not chufe to omit it. It ferves to fhew too, ifi the ftrohgeft light, to what ah incohceiveable degree of barbarity the pafli6ns of men let loofe will carry them. It will point out to us the ad- vantages of religion that teaches a compaffibn to our enemies, ^hich is neither known nor pra<^ifed in other religions ; and Jt will make us more fenfible, than fome appear to be, of the value of commerce, the art of a civilized life, and the lights 6f literature ; which, if they have abated the force of fome of the natural virtues by the luxury which attends them, hav* taken out likewife the fting of our natural vices, and foftened the ferocity of the human race without enervating their Courage. On the other hand, the conftancy of the fufFerers in this terrible fcene (hews the wonderful power of an dirly inftiiu- tion, and i ferocious thirft of glory, which makes men imitate and exceed what philofophy, or evfen relkion, can effca. T2 The mmmm mm ^ 2j6 Defer iption of the Britifh Empire, The prlfonera who have the happinefs to pleafe thofe tor whom they are offered have a fortune altogether oppofite to that of thofe who are condemned. They are adopted into the family, they are accepted in the place of the father, fon, or hufband, that is laft ; and they have no other mark of their captivity, but that they are not fufFered to return to their own nation. To attempt this would be certain death. The principal purpofe of the war is to recruit in this manner ; Tor which reafon a general who lofes many of his men, though he Ihould conquer, is little better than difgraced at home ; be- caufe the end of the war was not anfwered. They arc there- fore extremely careful of their men, and never chufe to attack but with a very undoubted fuperiority, either in number or fituation. The fcalps which they value fo much are the trophies of their bravery j with thefe they adorn their houfes, which are efteemed in proportion as this fort of fpoils is more numerous. They have foleran days appointed, upon which the young men gain a new name or title of honour from their head men ; and thefe titles are given according to the qualities of the perfoii, and his performances ; of which thefe fcalps are the evidence. This is all the reward they receive for the dangers of the war, and the fatigues of many campaigns, fevere almoft beyon4 credit. They think it abundantly fuf&cient to have a name given by their governors j men of merit themfelves, and judges of it i a name refpedled by their countrymen, and terrible to their enemies. I intend to confider the Englifli colonies under two princi- pal divifions ; the firfl I allot to thofe iflands which lie unde;e the torrid zone between the tropic of Cancer and the £qui- nodinal line, in that part generally called the Weft-Indies. The fecond is to (comprehend our poiTe^Kons in the temper- ate zone on the continent of North America. The Weft- India iflands (hall be confidered, as they are amongft the Greater Antilles ; the windward ; or the Leeward iilands. As all thefe iflands lie between the tropics, whatever is to be faid of the air, winds, meteors, and natural produce, (hall fall under one head, as they are the fame or nearly the fame in all of them J their produce for the market is nearly the fame too j and therefore whatever is to be faid of the manu- fadluring of thofe, fliall come together, after we have given a concife defcription of the ftate of eachifknd feparately» Jamaica lies between the feventy-fifth a^ ieventy-ninth degrees of weft-longitude from, London^ and is between 3 rcvctttecft in A M E R I C A. tyy fe en teen and nineteen Hegrees diftant from the Equinodtial. It is in length, from eaft to weft, one hundred and forty Englifh miles } in breadth about fixty ; and of an oval form. This country is in a manner interfedled with a ridge of lofty mountains, rugged and rocky, that are called the blue mountains. On each fide of the blue mountains are chains of lefler mountains gradually lower. The greater mountains are little better than fo many rocks } where there is any earth, it is only a ftubborn clay fit for no fort of hufbandry. The mountains are very fteep, and the rocks tumbled upon one another in a manner altogether ftupendous, the €fFe<^ of the frequent earthquakes which have fhaken this ifland in all times. Yet, barren as thefe mountains are, they are all covered to the very top with a great variety of beautiful trees, flourifliing in a perpetual fpring ; their roots penetrates the crannies of the rocks, and fearch out the moifture which is lodged there by the rains that fall fo frequently on thefe mountains, and the mifts that almoft perpetually brood upon them. Thefe rocks too are the parents of a vaft number of fine rivulets, which tumble down their fides in cataradts, that form, amongft the rudenefs of the rocks and precipices and the fhining verdure of the trees, the moft wildly-pleafing imagery imaginable. The face of this country is a good deal different from what is generally obferved in other places. For as on one hand the mountains are very fteep j fo the plains between them are perfe6lly fmooth and level. In thefe plains, the foil, augmented by the wafli of the mountains for fo many ages, is prodigioufly fertile. None of our iflands produce fo fine fugars. They formerly bad here cacao in in great perfeiftion, which delights in a rich ground. Their paftures after the rains are of a moft beautiful verdure, and extraordinary fatnefs. They are caHcd Savannas. On the whole, if this ifland were not troubled with great thunders and lightnings, hurricanes and earthquakes ; and, if the air was not at once violently hot, damp, and extremely un- wholefome in moft parts, the fertility and beauty of this country would make it as defireable a fituation for pleafure, as it is for the profits, which, in fpite of thefe difadvantages, draw hither fuch a number of people. The river waters are many of them unwholfome and taftei of copper J but fome fprings there are of a better kind. In the plains are found feveral fait fountains ; and in the'moun- tains, not far from Spanifli-Town, is a hot bath, of ex- traordinary medicinal virtues. It rclie\'e« in the dry belly-ach, T 3 one 27' Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ one of the moll terrible endemial diHempers of Jamauca, 11)4 iji various other complaints. This ifiand came into our pofTefHon during the ufurpalian of Cromwell, and by means of an armament which had another (ieftinatioi;). .Cromwell, notwithftanding the great abilities which enabled him to overturn the connitution and to trample upon the liberties of his country, was not fuffici- ently acquainted with foreign politics. This ignorance made bim coonedl; himfelf cloiely with France, then rifmg into ^ dangerous grandeur, and to fight with great animolity the 'fbadow which remained of the Spanifh power. On fuch idea* he titled out a formidable fleet, with a view to reduce th^ ifland of Hifpaniola } and, though he failed in this defign^ Jamaica made amends not only jfor this failure, but almoft for the ill policy wjiich iirft drew him into hoflilitics with the Spaniards ; ,by whi^h, however, be added this excellent country to the Britifh domjnion^. There wa9 nothing of (he genius pf Cro^iwel) to be ieen \t\ the planning of this expedition. }*'rom the firft to the laft, lall was a cbaip of little i^terefted mifmanagement, and had no air of the refult of abfo|u^e po^er lodged in great hands. The fleet Was ill vidtualled j the troops ill provided with ne- cefTaries to (upport and encourage men badly chofen and \for(c arioed. They embarked in great djfcontent. Th^ generals were but lit^e Vetter fatisfred, and had little more hope^, than the foldiers. 3ut the generals (for ther^ ^ere tWo in the command, Peni) and Venables, one for the marine, and the other for the land fervice) were men of no extraordinary talents. And, if they h^d been men of the bed capacity, little waj to be expefled from two commanders not Subordinate, and fo diiFeripg |n thpir ideas, and fo envious of each other as ]ai>d and fpa-pfficers generally are. But, to make this arrapgemeht perfed): in al) refpeds, and to prove the advantages arising from a divided command, they added a number of comnii/noners as a check upon both. This tri- partite general (bip) in the trueft Dutch tafte, produced the efteds that might be expeded from it.' The foldiers differed with the generals, the generals difagreed with one another, and all' quarrelled with the commif&oners. The place of their landing in Hifpaniola was il| chofen, and the manner of it wretchedly contrived. The army had near forty miles tp march before it could atSt ; and the foldiers, without order, without heart, fainting and dying by the cxceilive heat of the jt:Umate, and the want of neceilary proviiions, and diiheartenr ....'... .-.--■-• a ( ' - "'• ■ fd in AMERICA, 17^ «d yet more by the cowardice and difcontent of the^r ofllicersy yielded an eafy vi6lory to an handful of Spaniards. They re^. tired ignominioufly and with great lofs. But the principal commanders, a little seccxnciled by their misfortunes, and fearing to return to England without effect, very wifely turned their thoughts another way. They xe<- folved to attempt Jamaica, befor-e the inhabitants of that ifland could receive encouragement -by the news of their de^ feat in Hifpaniola. I'hey Icnew that this inland was in no good pofture of defence ; and they fet tbemifelves vigoroufljr to avoid the miftakes, which proved (o fatal In the former ex- pedition. They feverely punifhed the officers who Had (hewn %n ill example by their cowardice ; and thc^ ordered^ with refpe6l to the foldiers, that, if any attempted to run away, the man neareft to him fhould (boot him. Fortified with thefe regulations, they landed in Jamaica, and laid fiege to St. Jago de la Vega, now called Spani(h- town, the capital of the ifland. The people who were in no ■condition to oppofe an army of t-ea thoufand men and a ftrong naval force, would have furrendered immediatelv, if they had not been encouraged by the ftrangc xklay^ of our generals* and their commiiHoners. However, at laft, the town with the whole ifland furrender-cd, but not until the inhabitants had fecreted their moil valuaUe effeds in the mountains. After the Reftoration, the Spaniards ceded the ifland to our court. Cromwell had fettled there fome of the troops employed in its redudion ; fome royalifts, uneafy at home, fought an sfylum in this ifland \ not a few planters from Barhadoes were invited to Jamaica by the extraordinary fertility of the foil, and the other advantages which it offered. Thefe latter taught the former fettlers the manner of raiflng the fugar cane, and making fugar \ for at iirA they had wholly applied them- selves to the raifing of cacao, as the Spaniards had done before them. It was happy for them that they fell into this new ■prat^ice j for the cacao-grove« planted by the Spaniards begaa «o fail, and the new plantations did not anfwer, as the negroes foretold they would not, becaufe of the want of certain religious ceremonies always ufed by the Spaniards in planting them, at which none of the flaves were fufFered to be prefent, and to the "vfe of which they attributed the profperity of thefe plantations. Probably there were methods taken at that time, that were i:ovcred by the veil of thefe religious ceremonies, which are 4r . ^ - Formerly we cut logwood in the bayof Campeachy, on the northern fide of the peninfula of Jucatan. But the Spaniards have driven our people entirely from thence, and built forts and made fettlements to prevent them from returning, lix* pel led from thence, the logwood cutters fettled upon the gulph of Honduras, on the fouthern fide of the fame peninfula, where they arc in feme fort eflablifhed, and have a fort to proted . . , theou ^^rr« in A M E R I C A« ' 283 iVem. They are an odd kind of people, compofed moftly of vagabonds and fugitives from all parts of North America, and their way of life is fuitable. They live pretty much in a law- )ers manner, though they e\c&. one amongft them whom they call their king ; and to him they pay as much obedience as they think fit. The country they are in is low, and extreme- ly marihy ; the air is prodigioufly molefted with mufltettoes ; and the water dangerous with alligators } yet a life of licentU .oufnefs, a plenty of brandy, large gains, an a want of thought^ have perfedlly reconciled them to the hardfliips of their em- ployment and the unwholfomenefs of the climate. They go always well armed, and are about one thoufand five hundred ^en. In the dry reafon, when they cut the logwood, they advanca a confiderable way into the country, following the logwood, which runs amongd the other trees of the foreft, like the vein of a mineral in the earth. When the rains have overflowed ^he whole country, they have marks by which they know where the logwood is depoilted. This is an heavy wood, and /inks in the water. However, it is eafily buoyed up, and one diver can lift very large bean)s. Thefe they carry by the favour of the land-floods into the river, to a place which is jcalled the Barcaderas or Port, where they meet the (hips that /come upon this trade. In tlje year 1716, when the debate concerning thrs matter l^zs revived, the lords of trade reported, that before the year 1676 we had a number of people fettled and carrying on this trade on the peniinfula of Jucatan ; that we always conddered jthis as oiir rigl^t, and were fupported in it by our kings ; and that this right was confirmed, if it had wanted any confirma- tion, by a claufe of uti pojjidetis in the treaty of peace which was concluded with Spain and the court of London in 1676 j and that we certainly were in full pofleffion of thofc fettle- ments and that trade, long before the time of that treaty ; and further, that the Spaniards themfelves have incidentally drawn M great advantage from it, fince the pirates, who were for.* jnerly the moift refolved and efleiSlual enemies they ever had, were the more eafily retrained from their entcrprizes, by having their minds diverted to this employment. Upon the whole, they concluded it an affair very well worth the atten- tion of the government, as in fome years it engaged near fix thoufand tun of ihipping } found employment for a number of feamen proportionable; confumed a good deal of our manu- factures} and was of confiderable ufe in fabricating many ^ther8 3 and that the whole value of the x«turns were not lefs than 284 Defcription cf the Brhijh Empire^ than fixty thoufand pounds fterling a year. Notwithftandmg this, our claim feems dropped, nor is it very clear how far it can be maintained, to carry on a trade by violence in a country, in which we can hardly claim, according to the common ideas t>f right in America, any property. However this may be, thfe trade, though with many difficulties and difcouragements, itill contines and will probably continue whilft the Spaniards are fo weak upon that fide of Mexico, and while the coaft <^ntinucs fodifagrecable, that none but defperate perfons will irenture to refide there. The logwood trade is generally car- tied on by veflels from New England, New York, and Penn- fylvania, who take up the goods they want in Jamaica, But there is a trade yet more profitable carried on between •this ifland and the Spanifli continent, efpecially in the time of war. This too has been the caufe of much bickering between us and the court of Spain, and it will yet be more difficult for them to put a ftop to this trade than to the former, whilft trie Spaniards are fo eager for it, whilft it is fo profitable to the Britiih merchant, and whilft the Spanifli officers from the higheft to the loweft (hew lb great a refpedt to prefents properly made. The trade is carried on in this manner. The (hip from Jamaica, having taken in negroes and a proper fortment of goods there, proceeds in time of peace to a harbour called the Grout within Monkey-key, about four miles from Porto-bello. A perfon, who underftands Spanifli, is dlre<5Hy fent afliore to give the merchants of the town notice of the arrival of the velTel ; the fame news is carried likewife with great fpecd to Panama ; from whence the merchants fet out difguifed like peafants with their filver in jars covered with meal, to deceive the officers of the revenue. Here the fliip remains trading fre- quently for five or fix weeks together. The Spaniards ufually come on bcfird, Ic.ive their money, and take their negroes, and their goods packed up in parcels fit for one man to carry, after having been handfomely entertained on board, and re- ceiving provifions fufficient for their journey homeward. If the wnole cargo is not difpofed of here, they bear off eaftward to the Brew, a Harbour about five miles diftant from Cartha- gena, where they foon find a vent for the reft. There is no trade more profitable than this ; for your payments are made in ready money, and the goods fell higher than they would at any other market. It is not on this ccraft only, but every whefc \tpon ttie Spanrfli main, that this trade is carried on ; nor is ft by the Enff^lifti only, but the French from Hifpaniola, tHe Dutch from CJuraflTou, and even the Danes have fomc fliarc in %^' When the Spnnifli aiiarda coftas feize uptiii one of thcfe tn A ME R I C A. 285 veflfib, they make no fcruple of confircating the cargo, aiid .of treating the crew in a manner little better than pirates. This commerce in time of peace, and this with the priaes that are made in time of war, pour into Jamaica an aftoniih^ ing quantity of treafure ; great fortunes are made in a mannee inltantiy, whilft the people appear to live in fuch a ilate of luxury as in all other places leads to beggary. Their equipages, their cloaths, their furniture, their tables, all bear the tolcena of the greateft wealth and profufion imaginable ; this obliges al| the treafure they receive to make but a very fhort flay, as all this treafure added to ?11 the produiSts of the ifland itfelf, 19 hardly more than fufficientto anfwer the calls of their neceffity^ and luxury on Europe and North America, and their demana for flaves, of which this ifland is under the neceffity of an an- nual recruit for its own ufe and that of the Spaniih trad«, e£ upwards of fix thoufand head, and which {h^d them one with another in thirty pounds apiece, and often more. The whole ifland is divided into nineteen diflridsorparifhesy which fend each of them two members to the afTembly, and allow a competent maintenance to a minifler. Port-Royal was anciently the capital of the ifland ; it fl;ood upon the very, point of a long narrow neck of land, which, towards the fca^ formed part of the border of a very nol?le harbour of its own name. In this harbour above a thoufand fail of the largefb ihips could anchor with the greateft convenience and fafety | and the water was fo deep at the key of Port- Royal, that vef-» iels of the greatefl burden could lay their broadfides to ths wharfs, and load and unload at little expence or trouble* This conveniency weighed fo much with the inhabitants* that they chofe in this fpot to build their capital, though the place was an hot dry fund, which produced not one of th« necefTaries of life, no not ev«n frefh water. Howevef, thitf advantageous iituation and the refort of the pirates fooi> made it a very conflderable place. It contained two thoufand houfeiA very handfomely built, and which rented as high as thofe^ in London. It had a refort like a conflant fair, by tb« great concourfe of people of bufini^fs, and grew to all this in. about thirty years time ; for before that there was fcarcely an houfo upon the place. In fhort, there were very few places iti the World, which for the fize could be compared to this town fo^tf trade, wealth, and an entire corruption of maimers. It continued thus until the ninth of June 1692, when an earthquake, which ihook the whole ifland to its foundations^ overwhelmed this city, and buried nine tenths of it eight fa^ thorn un^er water. This earthquaU nqt only demoliflied ;.M-.??t . ' thi» ■■'"nn?T?*^>'^> ' 486 Defcripthn tf theBrUiJh Efhpire^ this city, but made tt terrible devaftation all over the iilan(/y and was followed by a contagious diftemper, which was neaf S'vin^ thelaft hand to its ruin, hrcrfince it is remarked, that e air is far more unwholfome than formerly. This (earth- quake, one of the moft dreadful that I think ever was known» is defqribed in fuch lively colours in the Philofophical Tranfac* tions, and by perfons who faw and had a large part in the ter- rors and lofles of this calamity, that I (hall &y nothing of tt» but refer thither ; as I am certain no man, from his fancy,- could afTemble a greater number of images of horror, than the nature of things taught the perfons who faw them, to brino^ together, and which are there related very naturally and- pathetically. They rebuilt this city after the earthquake, but it was again' dcflroyed. A terrible hre laid it in aihes about ten years after. Notwithflanding this, the extraordinary convenience of the harbour tempted them to rebuild it once more. But in the year 1722, a hurricane, one of the moft terrible on recordj'fe- duced it a third time to a heap of rubbiih. Warned by thefe' extraordinary calamities, that feemed to mark out this place* as a devoted fpot, by an aft of aflembly they removed the* cuftom-houfe and public offices from thence, atrd foYbid that any market ihoutd be held there for the future. The prin- cipal inhabitants came torefide at the oppofite fide of thebay,^ aC^ a place which is called Kingfton. The town is advantages oufly fltuated for frefli water, and all manner of accomoda- tions. The ftreeta are of a commodious widenefs, regularly drawn, and cutting each other at equal diftances and right angles. It confifts of upwards of one thoufand houfes^ many of them handfomelv buik, though low, with porticoes, and every conveniency for a comfortable habitation in ttfat climate.< The harbour was formerly in no good poflure of defence ;• but by the care of the late governor Mr. Knowles, it is now ftrongly foitified. The river Cobre, a confiderable, but not navigable flream, falls into the fea not far from Kingflon. Upon the banks oi^ this river ftands St. Jago de la Vega, or Spanifh-town ; the feat of government, and the place where the courts of juftke are held, and confequently the capital of Jamaica, though inferior in fize and refort to Kingfton. However, this, though a town of lefs bufinefs, has more gaiety. Here refide many perfons of large forunes, and who make a figure proportion- able J the number of coaches kept here i^ very great } here ia a regular aflembly ; and the refidence of the governor and the principal officers of the government, who have all very pro- fiuble i in AMERICA. 287 f- iltable places, confpire with the genius of the inhabitant*, oftentatious and expenfivc, to make it a very fplendid anil agreeable place. Mr. Knowles, a late governor, made an attempt to remove the feat of government from hence to Kingfton, for reafons whichy it riiuft be owned, have a very piaulible appearance; for it would certainly facrlitate the carrying on of bufmefs, to have the courts of juftice and the feat of government as near as poffiblc to the center of com- mercial affairs. But whether the condderaton of a more healthful fituatlon i the divilion of the advantages of greac towni«, with the feveral parts of the country, and the milch ief that might arife from (baking the fettled order of things, and prejudicing the profit of a great many private people, caa weigh againft the advantages propofed by this removal, I will rot undertake to determine. One thing appears, I think, verj plainly in the conteft which this regulation produced ; that the oppofition was, at leaft, as much to the governor as to the meafure ; and that great natural warrr.th of temper upon all fides, enflamed and envenomed by a fpirit of party which reigns in all our plantations, kindled a flame about this, which, if it had not happened, mud have rifen to the fame height upon fome other occailon, fmce there was a plenty of combuftible materials ready upon all fides. The government of this ifland is, next to that of Ireland* the bell in the king's gift. The flanding falary is twothoufand five hundred pounds a year. The aflembly vote the governor as much more ; and this, with the other great profits of this office, make it in the whole little inferior to ten thoufand pounds a year. But of the government I fhall fay little, until I fpeak of'^the government of the reft of the plantations, to which this is in all refpe£ts alike. The commodities which the country yields are principally maft, and yards, for which they contradl largely with the royal navy } pitch, tar, and turpentine ; ftaves, lumber, boards -, all forts of provifions, beef, pork, butter, and cheefe, in large quantities; horfes and live cattle; Indian corn and peafe ; cyder, apples, hemp, and flax. Their peltry trade it not very confiderable. They have a very noble cod fifhery upon their coaf^, which employs a vaft number of their people^ they are entibled by this to export annually above thirty-two thoufand quintals of choice cod fifh, to Spain, Italy, and the Mediterranean, and about nineteen thoufand quintals of the refufe fort to the Wefl-Indies, as food for the negroes. The quantity of fpirits, which they diftil in Bofton from the mo- IdH'ca theji" bring in from all parts of the Weft-Indies, is as -iKiXT, furprifin|r I 288 Defcriftlon of the Briiijb Empire^ furprifing as the cheap rate at which they vend it, which h under two (hillings a gallon. With this they fupply almoft all the confumption of our colonies in North America, the Indian trade there, the vaft demands of their own and the Newfoundland fi(hery, and in a great meafure thofe of the African trade ; but they are more famous for the quantity and cheapnefs, than for the excellency of their rum. They are almoft the only one of our colonies which have much of the woollen and linnen manufadures. Of the former they have nearly as much as fuifices for their own cloathing. It is a clofe and ftrong, but a coarfe ftubborn fort of cloth. A ni'mber of prelbyterians from the North of Ireland, driven thence, as it is faid, by the feverity of their landlords, from an affinity in religious fentiments chofe New £ngland as their place of refuge. Thofe people carried with them their fkill in the linnen manufadures, and meeting with very large en- couragement, they exercifed it to the great advantage of this colony. At prefent they make large quantities, and of a very good kind ; their principal fettlement is in a town, which in compliment to them is called Londonderry. Hats are made in New England,' which, in a clandeftine way, find a good vent in all the other colonies. The fetting up of thefe manu- failures have been in a great meafure a matter necelTary to them ; for as they have not been properly encouraged in fome ilaple commodity, by which they might communicate with their mother country, while they were cut off" from all other refources, they muft have either abandoned the country, or have found means of employing their own fkill and induflry to draw out of it the neceflaries of life. The fame neceffity, together with their convenience for building and manning Ihips, has made them the carriers for the other colonies. The bufmefs of ihip building is one of the moft confider- able which Boflon or the other fea-port towns in New England carry on. Ships are fometimes built here upon commiffion ; but frequently, the merchants of New England have them conflru6ted upon their own account ; and loading them with the produce of the colony, naval ilores, fifh, and fi(h-oil printipally, they fend them out upon a trading voyage to Spain, Portugal, or the Mediterranean ; where having dif» pofed of their cargo, they make what advantage they can by freight, until fucb time as they can fell the vefiel herfelf to advantage, which they feldom faii to do in a reafonable time. They receive the value of the vefTel as well as of the freight of the goods, which from time to time they carried, and of the cargo with which they failed originally, in bills of exchange J- upon A tn A IVl E R I C A. ■ n 289 rage to ng dif** can by irfelf to e time, •ight of of the change upon upon London; for as the people of New England have no commodity to return for the value of above a hundred thoufand pounds, which they take in various forts of goods frc u Eng- land, but fome naval {lores, and thofe in no great quantities^ they are obliged to keep the b^llance fomewhat even by this circutious commerce, which, though not carried on with Great Britain nor with Britifli vefTels, yet centers in its profits,, where all the money which the colonies can make in any manner muft center at laft. I know that complaints have been made of this trade, priil« cipally becaufe the people of New England, not fatisfied \9it\k carrying out their own produce, become carriers for the other colonies, particularly for Virginia and Maryland, from whom they take tobacco, which, in contempt of the a£l of naviga- tion, they carry directly to the foreign market j where« not having the duty and accumulated charges to which thi Britim merchant is liable to pay, they in a manner wholly deprive him of the trade. Again, our fugar colonies complain a^ loudly, that the vaft trade which New England drive-in lumber, live ftock, and provifions;, with the French ana Dutch fugar iflands, particularly with the former, enables thefe iflands, together with the internal advantages they pofTefs, greatly to underfell the Englifh plantations. That^ the returns which the people of New England make from tbelGe ifland^ bein^ in fugar, or, the productions of fugar, fyrups and molalTes, the rum which is thence diftilled prevents the fale of our Weft-India rum. That this trade proves doubly difadvantageous to our fugar iflands ; firft, as, it enables the French to fell their fugars cheaper than they could otherwife afford to do ; and then as it finds them a market for their molaflTes, and other refufe of fugars, for which otherwife they could find no marked at all ; be^aule rum interferes with bran- dy, a confiderable manufacture of Old France^ Thefe cohfiderations were the ground of a complaint made by the iflands to the legiflature in England fome years ago^ They defired that the exportation of lumber, &c. to the French colonies, and the importation of fugars and moiafles from thence, might be entirely prohibited. This was un- doubtedly a very nice point to fettle. On one hand, the growth of the French Weft-Indies was manifeft and alarmingt and it was not to be thought that the French would ever wink at this trade, if it had not been of the greateft advantage to them. On the other hand, the northern colonies declared, that, if they were deprived of fo great a branch of their trade, U oiuft neceffitate them to the eftabliihinent of manufa^ures. ^90 Defcriptknof the Britijb Empire^ For if they were cut oflF from their foreign trade, they never tould purchafe in Engfatld the many things for the ufe or the ornatncnt of life, which they have from thence. Befides this, the French^ deprived of the provifion and lumber of New England, muft ofneceflity take every meafure to be fupplied from their owil colonies, l^ich Wtnukl anfwer their purpofes better, if thiey coald accompliOi it, at the fame time that it would deprive the New England people of a large and pro- fitable branch of their trade. Thefq points, and. many more, wWe fully drfcufled upon both fides. The legiflaturc todk a middle courfe. They did tiot entirely prohibit the carfying of lumber to the French ffl^nds; but they I^d a confiderabfe duty upon whatever rum, fixpLi or mdlafl&s, they fhould imp&tt from thence ; to enhance b^ this means' the price of lumber and other necefiaries to the Freiich;'and, by laying them under difficulties, to fet the EnglHh fu^at plantations, in fortie meafure, upon an equal to<)|liigwith'theih. '^'^This was uirdoubtedly a very prudent regulation. For ibotrgh it was urged, that the Mimiippi navigation was fo bad, that there was nb pro(peA that the French could ever be fup- blii^d'ii^itfa hnnbei* and proviHons froih thence ; and that there &^t:fe ho ihor^vs in Louifiana, the melting of which might f[lCi)itate the tranfportation of lumber into that river, yet it wa» by no means fafe to tmft to that, io as utterly to deftroy a iiz&c of our oWn, which employed fo much fhipping and lo many failxjrs ;' becatufe we have a thoufand inftances, wherein the driving people to the laflr ftreights, and putting them under 0)e tuition of nich a mafter as abfolute neceffity, has taught them inventiotii^, and excited them to an induftry, which have compaflfed thingSf as much regretted at laft, as they were un- forefecn at firft. ; ' " Though no gres^ (hbWs fall in the fouthern parts of Loui- fiana, yet to the northward a great deal falls; and not only the MhRftppTy but the number of other great rivers which it re- ceix-^s, overflow annually, and they can be iii no want of timber convenient enough to navigation; And though the pafluge to the French iflands be for fuch a great way to the trrridward as to bring them thefe commodities in a more tedious fnatiner, and at a dearer rate, is it not much better that they &ddd have them cheap from us than dear from themfelves f Nor perhaps would even this difficulty^ which is iiuleed, much \o{& ttlan it is reprefcntcd, bring down the French to the par •four fugar colonies^ loaded as they are with taxes, groaning under the prcffiire of many< grievances, anc] deformed by an ' ' ' ' inhnite. \-'x' '^ in AM ERICA. 291 inliniteinultitilde of abufet and enormities; lior em they with reafon or jufticehopefor a cure of the evils which they AifFef, partly from errors of their own, and partly from miltakes in England, at the expence of the trade of their After colonies on the continent of America, who are entirely guiltlefs of their fufFerings ; nor is it by reftraints on the trade of their enemies, but by an efFedlual and judicious encouragement of their oM^n, that they can hope to remedy thefe fcvils, and rival the French eftablifhments. The French, in permitting us to fupply them« it is tru«» give us a proof that they have advantages from this tradij but thi^ is no proof at all that we derive none from it ; for^ on that fuppofition, no trade could be mutually beneficial. Nor is it at all certain, as it has been fuggefted, that, if we left their refufe of fugars upon their hands, they could turn therii to no profit. If the courtcll of Commerce could be made to fee difiindlly that this trade could not prejudice the fale of their brandy, and would only make the trade of rum change hands, a$ the cafe probably Would be ; and if they could ihew, as they mighty What a lofd it might be to them entirely t6 throw away a confiderable part of the produce of their lands, and which was formerly fo valuable to them, there is no doubt but the court would give fufticient encouragement to their owA plantations to difti.l rum^ and to vend it in fucb a manner at mieht the lead prejudice the brandies of France ; and then, inftead of fending us mOlafTes, as they could diftil the fpirit far cheaper than our iflands, they Would fend us the fpirit itfelf | and we may know by experience, efpecially in that part of the world, how infufficient all regulations are to prevent a. contraband, which would be fo gainful to particulars. After all, are We certain, that the French would tfufl for the fupply of their ifland^ to Louifiana, or to the precarious fupplies from Canada ? would th^ not redouble their appli«> cation, now made neCefTary, tO Cape Breton ? What expe^ riments would ihey not make in Cayenne for the ttmber trade f They would certainly try every method, and probably woul4 fucceed in fome of their trials. Reftraints upon trade are nice things i and ought to be Well confldered. Great care ought to DC taken in all fuch how we facriftce the interefts of one part of our territories to thbfe of another j and, it wouli be a miftake of the moft fatal confequence, if we came t^ think that the (hipping, feam^h, commodities, or wealth, of the Britiili colonies, were riot effe^a ^4t U % The 29* Defcription of the Britijh Empire ^ • The general plan of our management with regard to the trade of our colonies, methinks, ought to be, to encourage in every one of them fome feparate and diftindt articles, fuch as, not interfering, might enable^ them to trade with each other, and all to trade to advantage with their mother country. And then, where we have rivals in any branch of the trade carried on by our colonies, to enable them to fend their goods to the foreign market diredlly ; ufing, at the fame time, the wife precaution which the French put in pra^ice, to make the fliips fo employed take the Engliih ports in their way home } for our great dan|;er is, that they (hould in that cafe make their returns in foreign manufactures, againft which wc cannot guard too carefully. This, and that they ihould not go largely into manufactures interfering with ours, ought to be the only points at which our reilri£lions ihould aim. Thefc purpofes ought not to be compafled by abfolute prohibitions and penalties, which would be unpolitical and ynjuft, but by the way of diverfion, by encouraging them to fall into fuch things as find a demand with ourfelves at home. By this means Great Britain and all its dependencies will have a common Jiltereft, they will mutually play into each other's hands, and the trade, fo difperfed, will be of infinitely more advan- tage to us, than if all its feveral articles were produced and manufa^ured within ourfelves. I venture on thefe hints concerning reftraints on tradc^ be- caufe in fa£b that of New England rather wants to be fup« ported than to be checked by fuch reftraints. Its trade, in many of its branches, is clearly on the decline ; and this cir- cumftance ought to intereft us deeplv ; for very valuable is this colony, if it never fent us any thing, nor took any thing froni us, as it is, the grand barrier of all the reflf ; and as it is the principal magazine which fupplies our Weft-Indies, from whence we draw fuch vaft advantages. That this valuable colony is far from advancing, ' will appear clearly from the ftate of one of the principal branches of its trade, that of ihip-building, for four ^ears. In the year 173S, they built at Bofton forty-one topfail veffels, burden in all fix thonfand three hundred and twenty-four tons ; in I743> only thirty; in 46) but twenty ; in 49, they were reduced to fifteen, • making in the whole but two thoufand four hundred and fifty tons of (hipping ; in fuch a time an aftonifhing declenfion f How it has been fince I have not fufficient information ; but, allowing that the decline has ceafed here, yet this is furely fufficient to fet us upon the niceft enquiry into the caufe of that decays and the moft efie(£tual meafures to retrieve the V f:^ AMERICA; 293 afTairs of fo valuable a ph>vin€e} particularly if by any ill- judged or iri-intended fchemes, or by any mifgovernment, this mifchief has happened to them. It is not certainly known at what time the Swedes and Dutch made their firft eftafoliihment in North America } but it was certainly pofterior to our fettlement in Virginia, and prior to that of New England. The Swedes, who were no confiderable naval power, had hardly fixed the rudiments of a colonv there, ere they deferted it. The inhabitants, without prote^ion or alfiftance, were glad to enter into a coalition with the Dutch, who had fettled there upon a better plan, . and to fubmit tp the government of the ftates. The whole tra£l pofTefTed or claimed by the two nations, whofe two colo- nies were now grown into one, extended from the thirty- eighth to the forty-firft degree of latitude, all along the ica coaft. They called it Nova Belgia, or New Netherlands* It continued in their hands until the reign of Charles the Second. The Dutch war then breaking out, in the year 1664 Sir Robert Car with three thoufand men was fent to reduce it, which he did with fo little refiftance, as not to gain him any great honour by the conqueft. A little after, the Dutch, bv way of reprifai, fell upon our colony of Surinam in Soutn America, and conquered it after much the fame oppofition that we met with in the New Netherlands. By the treaty of peace wliidh was figned at Breda, in 1667, ^^ ^^^ agreed that things ihould remain in the ftate they were at that time ; Suri- nam to the Dutch, the New Netherlands to the Englifli. At that time, this was looked upon by many as a bad exchange ; but it now appears that we have an excellent bargain i for, to fay nothing of the great difadvantage of having our colonies, as it were, cut in two by the intervention of a foreijgn terri- tory, this is now one of the beft-peopled and richeit parts of our plantations, extremely ufeful to the others, and making very valuable returns to the mother country ; whereas Surinam is comparatively a place of very fmall confequence, very un- healthy, and by no art to be made otherwife. The New Netherlands were not long in our pofleflion before they were divided into diftin£b provinces, and laid afide their former appellation. The north-eaft part, which joined Nevir . England, was called New York, in compliment to the duke , of York, who had at firft the grant of the whole territory. This province runs up to the northward on both fides of the river Hudfon, for about two hundred miles into the country of the Five Nations or Iroquois ; but it is not in any part above |6rty or fifty miles wide. It comprehends mthla its limits 294 Defcription of the Britrjh Empire^ Long Iflahd, which lies to the foutb of ConneiSticut, and is 1^1 iiund inferior tp no part of America in excellent ground for the padurage of horfes, oxen and (beep, or the plentiful produce of every fort of grain. The part of Nova Bcleia, which lay alone the ocean, be^ tween that and the river Delawar» from the louthern part of New York quite down to Marylandf was granted to Sir George Carteret and others, and called New JerSy from him, becaufe he had, as the family ftill has, eftates in the ifland of that Dame. This province is bounded upon the weft by the river pelawar, which divides it from Pcniifylvania. It is in lcnj;tb about one hundred and fifty sqUi^, or thereabouts^ and iu'ty in breadth. - ^ U * Pennfylvanta, which lies between New York, New Jerfey, and Maryland, and only communicates with the Tea by the mouth of the river Delawar, is in length about two hundred and iifty miles, and in breadth two hundred. This territory was granted to the famous Mr. William Penn, the Ton of Sir William Penn thf admiral, in the year 1680. The climate and foil in the three provinces of New York^ New Jerfey, and Pennfylvanja, admit of no vtty remarkable difference. In ^11 thefe, and inje^ in all pur North American colonies, the land near the Tea is in general low, flat, and mariby » at 9> confiderable diftance from the Tea, it fwells into little hills, and th^n into great even ridges of mountains, which hold their courfe, for the moft part, north* eaft, and fouth-weft. The foil throughout thefe three province is in general extremely fruitful ; abounding not only in it^ native grain the Indian corn, but in all fuch as have be^n naturalized t)ier« from Europe. Wheat in fuch abundance, and of fo excellent a quality, that few parts of the world, for the tra£l; which IS cultivated, exceed it in thp one or the other of thefe paurticulars ; nor in barley, oats, rye, buck-wheat, and every iort of grain which we have here* They have a great number of hof ned cattle, hor(es, Iheep, and hogs. All our European poultry abound ther^i game of all kinds is wonderfully plenty ; 4f9ei! of feveral fpecicf } hares of a l^ind peculiar to America, but inferior in relifli to ours} wild turkies, of a vaft Aze and equal gpodnefs i a I^autiful fpecies of pheafants, only found in this country. Every fpecies of herbs or roots, which we force in our gardens, grows here with great eafe ; and every fpecies of fruit ; but Tome, as thofe of peaches and melons, in iirgreater perfe^ion. inTbeirforeftsabound in excellent timber, the oak, the aiht thebeecjj, the <;tefiiut» tl»c 9«dar* afi4 wainwt, ih' ^prcfs» th. .s.viv AMERICA. \ 1^5 the hickory, the faflafrast »nd the pine. In all parts of our plantations, comprehending New York to the northward* quite to the fouthern extr«inily« the woods are fuU of wild I'ines of three or four fpecies, all different from thofc we have in Europe. But, whether from fome fault in their nature, or in the climate, or in the juoil where they grow, or, what is much more probable, from a fault in the planters, they have yet produced no wine that deferves to be mentioned, it may. be remarked in eeneral of the timber of thefe provinces, that; it is not fo good for ihipping as that of New England and Nova Scotia. The further fouthward you go, the timber becomes lefs compa£^, and rives eafiiy ; which propertv, as it makes it more ufeful for ftaves, renders it lefs ferviceable for ihips. They rai&inall thefe provinces, but much the moft largely in Pennfylvania, great quantities of flax ; hemp is apromiung article. Nor are they deficient in minerals. In New Yorkt a good deal of iron is found. In New Jerfey, a rich copper mine has been opened. There is no manner of doubt, but, in time, when the people come io multiply fufficiently, and ex- perience and want have made them ingenious in opening re- fources f(»r trade, thefe colonies will become as remarkable for ufeful metals as they are now for grs^in. Thefe three pro- vinces, as are all thoie we have in North America, are ex- tremely well watered. They have however obferved in New England, that, as they clear the country, a vail number of little brooks are quits loft, and the mills upon them by this lofs rendered ufelels. They even obferve, that this cutting down of the woods has afiedied the river CoiineiSUcut itfelf, the largeft in New England, and that it has grown diftingui(h- ably ihallower. I do not know whether the fame remark has been made in Pennfylvania and New York* But whatever they have loft in water, which, where diere is fuch a plenty, is no great lofs, has been amply compenfated by the great ialu- brity of the air, which has ar ifen from the cultivation of th« country. At prefent thofe 1 deicribe are, for the greater part^ as healthy as can be wi(hed. As the climate and foil of the provinces of New York, New Jerfey, and Pennfylvania, are, with very little variation, tha i'ame, fo there is no difference in the commodities in which they trade} which are wheat, flour, barley, oats, Indian corn, peas, beef, pork, cheefe, butter, cyder, beer, flax, hemp, and flax feed, linfeed oil, fur and dear-ikios, flaves, lumber, snd iron. Their markets are the fame with thofe which tha people of New England ufe ; and theii: colomes haye a ibare ■*-4»«* i 896 Defiripthn of tU Britijb Empire, in the ]og\»ood trade, and that which is carried on with the Spantih and French plantations. The province of New York has two cities ; the firft is called t>y the name of the province itfelf. It was denominated Nev/ Amfterdam when the Dutch poiTefled it, but it has changed its name along with its mafters. This city is moft commo- dioufly fituated for trade, upon an excellent harbour in an ifland called Manahatton, about fourteen miles long, though not above one or two broad. This ifland liesjuft in the mouth of the river Hudfon, which difcharges itfelf here after a long courfe. This is one of the nobleft rivers in America. It is navigable upwards of two hundred milest The tide flows on? hundred and fifty. ■- ij|il tcl tiii^mTis;^« n45j«iii*w '? Thcf city of New York contains upwards of two thoufand houfes, and abov* twelve thoufand inhabitants, the defcend- ants of Dutch and Englifh. It is well and commodioufly built, extending a mile in length, and about half that in breadth, and has a very good afpe^ from the fea ; but it is by no means properly fortified. The houfes are built of brick in the Dutch tafte } the ftreets not regular, but clean and well paved. There is one large church built for the church of England worihip } and three others, a Dutch, a French, and a Lutheran. The town has a very flouriihing trade, and in which great profits are made. The merchants are wealthy, and the people in general moft comfortably provided for, and with a moderate labour. From the year 1749 to 1750, two hundred and thirty-two veflels was entered in this port, and two hundred and eighty-fix cleared outwards. In thefe veflels were ibipped fix thoufand {even hundred and thirty-one tons of provifions, chiefly flour, and a vaft quantity of grain ; of which I have no particular account. In the year 1755, the export of flax feed to Ireland amounted to 12,528 hogf-> heads. The inhabitants are between eighty and an hundred thoufand ; the lower clafs eafy } the better rich, and hofpi- tablej great freedom of fociety; and the entry to foreigners made eafy by a general toleration of all religious perfuafions. In a word, this province yields to no part of America in the hcalthfulnefs of its air, ana the fertility of its foil. It is much fuperior in the great convenience of water carriage, which fpcedily and at the flighted expence carries the produ^ of the remoteft farms to a certain and profitable market. Upon the river Hudfon, about one hundred and fifty miles from New York, is Albany ; a town of not fo much note for its number of houfes or inhabitants, as for the great trade Which is carried on with the Indians, ancj^indeedy byxonpivr - *, 't ance. in AMERICA. 297 ante, with the French for the ufe of the fame people. Thia trade takes off a great quantity of coarfe woollen goods, fuch as ftrouds and duffils ; and witn thefe, 2un -.?£'ii!> Vf> n-'mi'?' . /£ William Penn, in his capacity of a divine and of a moral WRter, is certainly not of the firft rank ; and his works are of no great efHmation, except amongil his own people ; but, iqt Ms capacity of a legiilator and the founder of fo flouriihing a commonwealth, hedeferves great honour amongft all mankind; a commonwealth, which» in the fpace of about feventy years» Irom a beginning of a few hundreds of refugees and indigent men, has grown to bi:j^3i» own liUf-fr-'Y-"--"^'" 306 Defcriptm of the Britijh Empire^ own fortunes, and to the quiet and fecurity of theirown Ii^ef, Now, Great Britain, and all America, reap great benefits from his labours and his lofles ; and his pofterity have a vail; eftate out of the quit-rents of that province, whofe edahlifli- tnent was the ruin of their predeceUbr*s moderate fortune. Pennfylvania is inhabited by upwards of two hundred and and fifty thoufand people, half of whom are Germans, Swedes, 6r Dutch. Here you fee the Quakers, Churchmen, Calvi- nifts, Lutherans, Catholics, Methodifts, Menifls, Mora- vians, Independents, the Anabaptifb, and the Dumplers, a fort of German fedl, that live in fomething like a religious fociety, wear loiig beards, and a habit refembling that of friars. In ihort, the diverfity of people, religions, nations, and languages here, is prodigious, and the harmony in which they live together no lefs edifying. For, though every man, who wifhes well to religion, is ferry to fee the diverfity which prevails, and would by all humane and honeft methods en- deavour to prevent it ; yet, when once the evil has happened, when there is no longer an union of fentiments, it is glorious to preferve at le^ft an union of af!e(SHons ; it is a beautiful pTofpe&, to fee men take and give an equal liberty ; to fee them live, if not as belonging to the fame church, yet to the fame Chriflian religion, and, if not to the fame religion; yet to the fgme great fraternity of mankind. I do not obferve, that the Quakers, who had, and who ftill have in a great meafure, the power in their hands, have made ufe of it in any fort to perfecute j except in the fingle cafe of George Keith, whdm they firft imprifoned, and then banifhed out of ^e pro- vince. This Keith was originally a Qiinifter of the church of Eng- land, then a Quaker, and afterwards returned to his formermini* Ihy. But whilft he remained with the friends, he was a moft troublefome and litigious man ; was for pufhing the particu- larities of Quakerifm to yet more extravagant lengths, and for making new refinements, even where the moft enthufiaftic thought they had gone far enough ; which rafh and turbulent conduct railed fuch a ftorm, as &ook the church, he then fdhered to, to the very foundations. I'his little fally into intolerance, as it is a iingle inftance, and with great provocation, ought by no means to be imputed to the principles pf the Quakers, confidering the ample and humane latitude they have allowed in all other refpeas. It was certainly a very right policy to encourage the importation of foreigners into Pennfylvannia, as well as into our other colonies. By this we are great gainers, without any dimi.- nution of the inhabitants of Great Britain. But ft has been frequently tn AMERICA; 301 frequently obferved, and, as it ftiould feem, very juftly com-> plained of, that they are left dill foreigners, and likely to continue fo for many generations ; as they have fchools taught, books printed, and even the common news paper in their own language ; by which means, and as they pofTefs large tra^s of the country without any intermixture of £ngli£, there is no appearance of their blending and becoming one people with us. This certainly is a great irregularity, and the greater, as thefe foreigners, by their induftry, frugality, and a hard way of living, in which they greatly exceed our people, have in a ma,nner thruft them out in feveral places ; fo as to threaten the colony with the danger of being wholly foreign in language, manners, and perhaps even inclinations. In the year 1750, were imported into Pennfylvania and its dependencies, four thoufand three hundred and feventeen Ger- mans ; whereas of Britiih and Iriih but one thoufand arrived ; a conHderable number, if it was not fo vaftly overbalanced by ^at of the foreigners. ■''■., U^ ^T*-* v-' I do by no means think fhat thrs (bift of tranfplantations ought to be difcouraged ; I only obferve, along with others, that the manner of their fettlement ought to be regulated, and means fought to have them naturalized in reality. "■-*'•• • The prefent troubles have very unhappily reverfed the fyftem fo long purfued, and with fuch great fuccefs,. in this part of the world. The Pennfylvanians have fuflFered feverely by the incurfions of the favage Americans as well as their neighbours; but the Quakers could not be prevailed upon, by what did not dire£lly affect thofe of their own communion (for they were out of the way of mifchief in the more fettled parts) to re- iinquiCh their pacific principles ; for which reafon, a coniider- able oppoHtion, in which, however, we muft do the Quakers the juftice to obferve they were not unanimous, was made, both within their aflembly as well as without doors, againlt granting any money to carry on the war ; and the fame, or a more vigorous oppofltion, was made againft pafling a militia bill. A bill of this kind has at length pafled, but fcarcely fuch as the circumilances of the country and the exigencies of the times required. It may perhaps appear an error, to have placed io great a part of the government in the hands of men^ who hold principles diredtly oppofite to its end and de.- fign. As a peaceable, induftrious, honeft people, the Quakers cannot be too much cheriflied j but furely they cannot them- felves complain, that when, by their opinions, they make themfelves iheep, they ihould not be entruiled with the office, iuice they have not the nature of dogs« ,*-■■' ■- •■ ' - ■> ■• • ■■ ' The- MMfl MNHMMPM J02 ^ Defdlptioh dfihe SrW01Smptre^ , There are fo many good towns in the province of Penhfyl-- vania, even exceeding the capitals of fome other provinces^ that nothing could excufe our pafling thtm by, had not Phi- ladelphia drawn our attention wholly to itfelf. This city Aands upon a tongue of land, immediately at the confluence of tWo fine rivers, the Delawar and the Schulkil. It is dif- pofdd in the form of an oblong, defigned to extend two miles irom river to river ; but the buildings do not extend above a fnile and an half on the weft fide of Delawar in length, and not more than half a mile where the town is broadeft. The fongeft ftretch, when the original plan can be fully exe- cuted, is to compofe eight parallel greets, all of two miles in length i thefe are to be interfe^led by Hxtecn others, each in length a mile, broad, fpacious, and even ; with proper fpaces left for the public buildings, churches, and market-places* In the center is a fquare of ten surres, round which moft of the public buildings are difpofed. The two principal ftreets of the city are each one hundred feet wide, and moft of the houfes have a fmall garden and orchard; from the rivers are cut feveral canals, equally agreeable and beneficial. The quays are fpacious and fine; the principal quay is two hundred feet wide, and to this a veilel of five hundred tons may lay herbrpadfide. The warehoufes are large, numerous and commodious ; and the docks for ibip-building every way well adapted to their purpofes. A great number of veGk\s have been built here ; twenty have been upon the ftocks at a time. The city con-^ tains, exclufive of warehoufes and outhoufes, about two thouTand houfes } moft of them of brick, and well built ; it is laid, there are feveral of them worth four or five thoufand pounds. The inhabitants are now about thirteen thoufand. There are in this city a great number of very wealthy mer- chants ; which is no way furprifing, when one confiders the treat trade which it carries on with the Engliih, l^^rench, paniih, and Dutch, colonies in America ; with the Azores, the Canaries, and the Madeira iflands ; with Great Britain and Ireland ; with Spain, Portugal, and Holland, and the great profits which are made in many branches of this com-<> merce. Befides the quantity of all kinds of the produce of* this province which is brought down the rivers Delawar and Schulkill (the former of which is navigable, for veflels of one fort or other, more than two hundred miles above Philadelphia} the Dutch employ between eight and nine thoufand waggons^ drawn each by four horfes, in bringing, the produA of their farms to this market.. In the year 1749, three hundred and tl>rec veiVels entered inwarus at this port, and two hundred I and in A M £ R I C A. 303 and ninety-one cleared putwards. There are, at the other ports of this province, cuftom-houfe officers j but the foreign trade in thefe places is not worth notice. •S' The city of Philadelphia, though, as it mav be judged, far from compleating the original plan, yet, fo far as it is built> is carried on conformable to it, and mcreafes in the number and beauty of its buildings every day. And as for the province^ of which this city is the capital, there is no part of Britifli America in a more growing condition. In fome years, more people have tranfported themfelves into Pennfylvania, than into all the other Settlements together. In 1729, iixthoufand two hundred and eight perfons came to fettle here as pafien«* gers or fervants, four fifths of whom at leafi: were from Ireland, in ihort, this province has increafed fo greatly from the time of its fir^ eftabliihment, that, whereas lands were given by Mr. Pei9n the founder of the colony at the rate o? twenty pounds for a thoufand acres, referring only a (hillins every hundred acres for quit-rent y and this in fome of the beft iltuated parts of the province : yet now, at a great difhmce from navigation, land is granted at twelve pounds the hundred acres, and a quit-rent of four (billings referved ; and the land which is near Philadelphia rents for twenty (hillings the acre. In many places, and at the diilance of feveral miles from that city, land fells for twenty years purchafe. m\. The Pennfylvanians are an induflrious and hardy people ; they are mod of them fubftantial, though but a few of the landed people can be confidered as rich ; but they are all well lodged, well fed, and, for their condition, well clad tot^i and this at the more eafy rate, as the inferior people manu- facture moft of their own wear, both linnens and woollens^ There are but few Blacks, not in all the fortieth part of the people of the province. The whole country which the Englifh now poiiela in North America, was at iirft called Virginia ; but by the parcelling; of feveral portions of it into diitindt grants and governments, the country which (Hll bea^s the name is now reduced to that trait which has the river Potowmack upon the north ; the bay of Chefapeak upon the Eaft; and Carolina upon the -fouth. To the Weftwardj the grants extend it to the South* Sea ; but their planting goes no further than the great Alle- gany mountains, which boundaries leave this province in length two hundred and forty miles, and in breadth about two hundred, lying between the fifty-fifth and fortjech dcgreet iof north latitude. > . Th5 «p 504 Defefipthn of tbi Britijh Empire/ The whole face of this country is fo extremely lou^ towar^i the Tea, that, when you are come even within fifteen fathom foundings, you can hardly diftihguiih land from the maft head. However, all' this coaft of America has one ufeful particula- rity, that you know your diftafice exactly by the foundings, trhich uniformly and gradually diminifli as you approach the land« The trees appear as if they rofe out of the W^Cef, and afford the ftranger a very uncommon, and not a i^difagteeable view. In failing to Virginia or Maryland, you pafs a itreight, between two points of land, called the Capes of Virginia, which opens a palTage into the bay of Chefapeak, one of the Jar^eft and fa^ft bays perhaps in the world ; for it enters the country near three hundred miles from the fouu. to the north, having the eaftern fide of Maryland, and a fmall por- tion of Virginia on the fame peninfula, to Cover it from the Atlantic Ocean. This bay is about eighteen miles broad for ^a confiderable way, and feven where it is narroweft, the waters in moft places being nine fathom deep. Through its whole extent, it receives, both on the eaftern and weftern fide, a vaft number of fine navigable rivers. Not to mention thofe of Maryland ; from the fide of Virginia, it receives James River, York River, the Rappahannock, and the fotowmack. All thefe great rivers, in the order they are here fet down from fouth to north, difcharge themfelves, with feveral fmaller ones, into the bay of Chefapeak } and they are all not only navigable themfelves for very large vefiels a prodigious way into the country, but have fo many creeks, and receive itich a number of fmaller navigable rivers, as renders the communication of all parts of this country infinitely more eafV than that of any country, without exception, in the world. The Potowmack is navigable for near two hundred miles« being nine miles broad at its mouth, and for a vaft way not lefs than feven. The other three are navigable upwards of eighty, and in the windings of their feveral courfes approach one another fo nearly, that the diftance between one and the other is in fome parts not more than ten, fometimes not above five miles; whereas in others there is fifty miles fpace between each of thefe rivers. The planters load and unload veilels of great burden each at his own door ; which, as their commo- dities are bulky, and of fmall value in proportion to their bulk, is a very fortunate circumftance, elfe they could never aftbrd to fend their tobacco to market fo low as they fell it, and charged as it is in £ngland« with a duty of fix times its original value. Th« rr in A M E R I C A.' 30$ The climate and foil of Virginia was undoubtedly much height'>ned in the firfl defcriptions, for political reafons; but, after ;naking all the necefiary abatements which experience fince taught us, we ftill find it a moft excellent country.' The heats in fummer are exceffively great, but not without the allay of refrefhingfea breezes. 'I'he weather is changeable^ and the changes fuoden and violent. Their winter frofts come on without the leaft warning. After a warm day, to* wards the fettingin of winter, fo intenfe a cold often fucceeds as to freeze over the broadeft and deepeft of their great rivers in one night; but thefe frofts, as well as their rains, are rather violent than of long continuance. They have frequent and terrible thunder and lightning, but it aces rarely any mifchief. In general, the fky is clear, and the air thin, pure, and penetrating. • " '" : * f " The foil in the low grounds of Virginia is a dark fat mbuTd^ which, for many years, without any manure, yields plentifully whatever is committed to it. The foil, as you leave the rivers, becomes light and fandy, is fooner exhauiled than the low country, but is yet of a warm and generous nature, which, helped by a kindly fun, yields tobacco and corn ex- tremely well. There is no better wheat than what is produced in this province and Maryland ; but the culture of tobacco employs all their attention, and almoft all their hands ; fQ that they fcarcely cultivate wheat enough for their own ufe. ' It may be judged, from the climate and foil I have defcribed, in what excellence and plenty every fort of fruit is found ia Virginia. Their forefts are full of timber trees of all kinds i and their plains are covered for almoft the whole year with a prodigious number of flowers, and flowering (hrubs, of colours fo rich, and of a fcent fo fragrant, that they occafioned the name of Florida to be originally given to this country. This country produces feveral medicinal herbs and roots, particu- larly theihake root i and of late the celebrated ginfeng of the Chinefe has been difcovered there. Horned cattle and hogs have multiplied almoft beyond belief; though at the firft fettlement the country was utterly deftitute of thefe animals. The meat of the former is as much below the flefh of our oxen, as that of the latter exceeds that of our hogs. The animals natural to the country are deer, of which there arc great numbers; a fort of panther or tiger; bears, wolves^ foxes, racoons, fquirrels, wild cats, and one very uncommon animal called the opoflUm. This creature is about the fize of a cat, and, beftdes the belly which it has in com- ag or belly, on the ufual parts of the common belly, are a number of teats ; upon thefe, when the female of this creature conceives, the young are formed, and there they hang, like fruit upon the ftalk, until they grow in bulk and weight to their appointed fize ; then they drop off, and arc received in the falfe belly, from which they go out at pleafure, and in which they take refuge when any danger threatens them. They have all our forts of tame and wild fowl in equal per- fedlion, and fome which we have not ; and a vaft number of birds of various kinds, valuable for their beauty or their note. The white owl of Virginia is far larger than the fpecies which we have, and is all over of a Bright filver- coloured plumage, except one black fpot upon his bread ; they have the nightingale called from the country, a moft beautiful One, whofe feathers are crimfon and blue ; the mocking bird> thought to excel all others in his own note, and imitating the notes of every one; the rock bird, very fociable, and his fociety very agreeable by the fweetnefs of his mufic j the hum- ming bird, the fmalleft of all the winged creation, and the inoft beautiful, all arrayed in fcarlet, green, and gold. This bird is faid to live by licking ofF the dew that adheres to the flowers ; he is too delicate to be brought alive into England. The fea-coafts and rivers of Virginia abound not only in Several of the fpecies of fifli known in Europe, but in moft of thofe kinds which are peculiar to America. The reptiles are iliany; it were tedious to enumerate all the kinds of ferpents bred here; the rattle fnake is the principal, and too welt known in general to need any defcrtption. The great commodioufneis of navigation, and the fcarcity of handicraftfmen, have rendered all theattempts of the govern- ment to eflablifh towns in Virginia inefFe«Slual. James's town, which was anciently the capital, is dwindled into an infignificant village ; and Williamfburg, though the capital at prefent, the feat of the governor, the place of holding the affembly and courts of juftice, and a college for the ftudy of arts and fciences, is yet but a fmall town. However, in this town are the beft public buildings in Britifti America. The college, one hundred and thirty-five feet long in front, re- fembling Chelfea hofpital ; the capitol diredlly facing it, at the other end of the defign of a noble ftreet, not unlike the college in the faihion and the fize of the building, where the aiTcmbly and courts of juftice are held, and the public offices kept ; and the church, in the form of a crofs, large and well ornamented, m The .-•u The \^-^^ AMERICA;. ^07 Thcf great ftaple comhiodity of this country, as well as Maryland, is tobacco. This plant is aboriginal in America, and of very ancient ufe, though neither fo generally cultivated nor fo well manufactured as it has been fince the coming of the Europeans. When at its juft height, it is as tall as an ordinary-fized man} the ftalic is flraighr, hairy, and clammy; the leaves alternate, of a faded yellowifh green, and towards the lower part of the plant of a great fize. The feeds of to- bacco are firft fown in beds, from whence they aretranfplantcd, the firft rainy weather, into a ground difpoled into little hil- locks like an hop garden. In a month's time from their tranfplantation they become a foot high ; they then top themy and prune off the lower leaves, and with great attention clean them from weeds and worms twice a week ; in about fix weeks after, they attain to their full growth, and they begin then to turn brownifh. By thefe marks they Judge the tobacco to be ripe. They cut down the plants as faft as they ripen, heap them up and let them lie a night to i'weat ; the next day they carry them to the tobacco houfe, which is built to admit as much air as is confident with keeping out rain, where they are hung feparately to dry, for four or Hve weeks ; then they take them down in moift weather, for elfe they will crumble to duft. After this they are laid upon (licks, and covered up clofe to fweat for a week or two longer; the fervants ft rip and fort them, the top being the beft, the bottom the worft to- bacco J then they make them up in hogfbeads, or form them into rolls. Wet feafons muft be carefully laid hold on for all this work, elfe the tobacco will not be fufficiemly pliable. In trade they diftinguifti two forts of tobacco: the firft is called Aranokoe, from Maryland and the northern parts of Virginia; this is ftrong and hot m the mouth, but it fells very well in the markets of Holland, Germany, and the north. The other fort is called fweet fcented, the beft of which is from James's and York rivers in che fouthern parts of Virginia. There is no commodity to which the revenue is to much obliged as to this- It produc-s a vaft fum, and yet appears to lay but a very inconfiderable burden upon the people in England ; all the weight in reality falls upon the planter, who is kept down by the lownefs of the original price ; and as we have two provinces which deal in the fame commodity, if the people of Virginia were to take meafures to ftraiten the market and raife the price, thofe r.( Maryland would certainly take the advantage of it ; the people of Virginia would rake the fame advantage of thofe of Maryland in a like cafe. They have no profpedt of ever bettering their condition j and they X 2 are ■Mi 308 Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ are the lefs able to endure it as they live in general Iuxurrou(Tyy and to the full extent of their fortunes. 1 herefore any failure in the fa^e of their goods brings them heavily in debt to the merchants in London, who get mortgages on their eftates^ >vhich are confumed to the bone, with the canker of an eight per cent ufury. But, however the planters may complain of the tobacco trade, the revenue flouriCbcs by it, for it draws near three hundred thoufand a year from this one article only ; and the exported tobacco, the far greater part of the proht» of which come to the Englifh merchant, brings almoft a» great a fum annually into the kingdom \ to fay nothing of the great advantage we derive from being fupplied from our own colonies with that for which the reft of Europe pays ready money, befides the employment of two hundred large veflelsy and a proportionable number of Teamen, which are occupied in this trade. From us the Virginians take every article for convenience or ornament which they ufe } their own manu- facture does not deferve to be mentioned. The two colonies export about eighty thoufand hogfheads of tobacco of eight hundred weight. They likewife trade largely with the Weft- Indies in lumber, pitch, tar, corn, and provifions. They fend home flax, hemp, iron, ftaves, and walnut and cedar plank, 'axi-ria ..!,.s\'..- ■, '.''■•>. ,>♦ The number of white people in Virginia, is between fixty and feventy thouland j and they are growing every day mor-? numerous, by the migration of the Irilji, who, not fucceeding fo well in Pennfylvania as the more frugal and induftrious Germans, fell their lands in that province to the latter, and take up new ground in the remote countries in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Thefe are chiefly Prefljy- terians from the northern part of Ireland, who in America are generally called Scotch Iriih. In Virginia there are like« wife fettled a confiderable number of French refugees ; but much the larger part of the inhabitants are theNegroe flaves,. who cannot be much fewer than a hundred thoufand fouls ; they annually import into the two tobacco colonies between three and four thoufand of thefe flaves. The Negroes here do not ftand in need of fuch vaft recruits as the Weft-India ftock ; they rather increafe than diminifli j a blefllng derived from a more moderate labour, better food, and a more healthy climate. The inhabitants of Virginia are a chearful, hofpi- table, and many of them a genteel, though fomething vain and oftentatious, people ; they are for the greater part of the efta- bliihed church of Eengland ^ nor until lately did they tolerate any T!, Raleigh had too'much bufinefs upon his hands at courf-, and found too few to fecond him in his deftgns, to enable him to fupport the eilabliihment with the fpirit in which he began it. If ever any defign had an ominous beginning, and feemed to forbid any attempts for carrying it on, it was that of the fir ft fettlement of Virginia. Near half of the firft colony was' deftroyed by the favages ; and the reft, confumed and worn down by fatigue and famine, deferred the country, and re- turned home in defpair. The fecond colony was cut off, to a man, in a manner unknown ; but they were fuppofed to be deftroyed by the Indians. The third had the fame difmal fate; and the fourth, quarelling amongft themfelves, negle£ling their agjiculture to hunt for gold, and provoking the Indians by th^ir infolent and unguarded behaviour, loft feveral of their people, and were returning, the poor remains of them, in a famifhing and defperate condition, to England, when juft in the mouth of Chefapeak bay they met the lord Delawar, X •? .-'-r —^i- i'ss'^-^-- :■;?•■■•.. with $\o Defcfiptien of the Britijb Empire, with a fquadron loaded with provifion, and every thing for their relief and defence, who perfuaded them to return. I'his nobleman travelled with as much zeal and afliduity to cheriih niid tupport thefroward infancy of this unpromifing colony, as fome have ufed in its better times for purpofes of another kind. Reeardlefs of his life, and inattentive to his fortune, he enterecTupon this long and dangerous voyage, and accepted this barren province, which had nothing of a govern- ment but its anxieties and its cares, merely for the fervice of his country ; and he had no other reward than that retired and inward fatisfa^lion, which a good mind feels in indulging its own propenfity to virtue, and the profpeA of thofe julc honours which the lateft pofterity will take a pleafure in be- {lowing upon thofe, who prefer the intereil of poflerity to their own. After he had prevailed upon the people to return, he comforted them under their misfortunes, he pointed out their caufes, and uniting the tendernefs of a father with the Heady feverity of a magiflrate, he healed their divifions, and reconciled them to authority and government, by making them feel by his condu6t what a bleffing it could be made. When he had fettled the colony within itfelf, his next care was to put them upon a proper footing with regard to the Indians, whom he found very haughty and afluming on ac- count of the late miferable Hate of the iinglifli; but, by fome well-timed and vigorous fteps, he humbled them, fliewed he had power to chaflife them, and courage to exert that power ; and, after having awed them into very peaceable difpofitions and fettled his colony in a very growing condition, he retired home for the benefit of his health, which, by his conflant at- tention to bufinefs and the air of an uncultivated country, had been impaired ; but he left his fon, with the fpirit of his father, his deputy ; and Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Summers, the honourable George Piercy, Sir Ferdinand Wenman, and Mr. Newport, lor his council. Thefe, with other perlbns of rank and fortune, attended him on this expedition, which ^ave a credit to the colony. Though there are in England many young gentlemen of fortunes difproportioned to their rank, i fear we (bould not fee the names of fo many of them engaged in an expedition, which had no better appearance than this had at that time. fliy^ ■r--Ui :i^ Lord Delawar did not forget the colony on his return to Jlnglandj but, confidering himfelf as nearer the fountain head, thought it his duty to turn the fpring of the royal favour more copioully upon the province which he fuperintended. JFor eight years together he was indefatigable in doing every i:'r. .. ■ thing in AMERICA. ? 311 thing that could tend to the peopling, the fupport and the good eovernment of this fettlement; and he died in the pur- Uiit ofthe fame object in his voyage to Virginia, with a large fupply of people, cloathing and goods. it IS one of the moft neceflary, and I am fure it is one of the moft pleating, parts of this defign to do juftice to the names of thofe men, who, hy their greatnefs of mind, their wifdom and their goodnefs, V ave brought into the pale of ciyi* lity and religion^thefc rude and uncultivated parts of the globe; who could difcern the rudiments of a future people, wanting only ti^e to be unfolded in the feed \ who could perceive, amidft the lofles and difappointments and expences of a begin- ing colony, the great advantages to be derived to their country from fuch undercalcings ; and who could purfue them in fpite of the malignity and narrow wifdom of the world. The an« cient world had its Ofiris and Erichthonius, who taught them the ufe of grain } their Bacchus, who inftruiSted them in the culture of the vine ; and their Orpheus and Linus, who firft built towns and formed civil focieties. The people of America will not fail, when time has made things venerable, and when an intermixture of fable has moulded ufeful truths into popular opinions, to mention with equal gratitude, and per- haps fimiliar heightening circumftances, her Columbus, her Caftro, her Gafca, her de Poincy, her Delawar, her Balti- more, and her Penn. The colony of Virginia was fo faft rooted by the care of lord Delawar, that it was enabled to ftand two terrible ftorms; two maflacres made by the Indians, in which the whole colony was n.early cut ofF; and to fubdue that people, fo as to put it utterly out of their power for many years paft to give them any material difturbance. in the fatal troubles which brought Charles the Firft to the block, and overturned the conftitution of England, many of the cavaliers fled for refuge to this colony; which by the general difpofition of the inhabitants and the virtue ,of Sir William Berkley, held out for the crown, until the parlia- ment, rather by ftratagem than force, reduced them. And what is remarkable, if it may be depended upon with any cerr tainty, they depofed Cromwell's governor, fet up Sir William Berkley again^ and declared for king Charles the Second, a good while even before the news of Oliver's death could arrive in America. After the Reftpration, there is nothing very interefting in their hiftory ; except that foon after, a fort of rebellion arofe iji the province, from mifmanagements in the government^ . v.^ X 4 , from ii'WifflKtWH':; '■•[- tSfef :->.«* in A M E R I C A. 31J ment, that noperlbn fufFi^red, in his life or his eflate, for this rebellion} which was the more extraordinary, as many people, as that time, were very earneft in foiliciting grants of land in Virginia. .-- The events in all countries which are not the refidence of the fupreme power, and have no concern in the great bufine(s of tranfidting war and peace, have generally but little to en- gage the attention of the reader. I have therefore intirely omitted the tedious detail of the governors and their feveral tranfadions, with which my materials fo plentifully fupply me ; and, for the fame reafon, I Ihall be very concife in my account of Maryland, v/hich agreeing altogether' with Vir- ginia in its climate, foil, produdts, trade, and genius of the inhabitants, and having few or no remarkable events to re- frommend it, will fave much trouble in that article. .. <,-..■ M ART L il-i ..4 AND, : > V IT was in the reign of Charles the Firft, that the lord Baltl-i more applied for a patent for a part of Virginia, and ob- tained, in 1632, a grant of a tra<^ of land upon Chefapeak bay* of about an hundred and forty miles long, and an hun- dred and thirty broad j having Pennfylvania, then in the hands of the^Dutch, upon the north ; the Atlantic ocean upon the caft } and the river Potowmack upon the fouth : in honour of the queen, he called this province Maryland. Lord Baltimore was a Roman catholic, and was induced to attempt this fettlement in America, in hopes of enjoying liberty of confcience for himfeif, and for fuch of his friends to whom the feverity of the laws might loofen their ties to their country and make them prefer an eafy banifhment with free- dom, to the conveniencies of England, embittered as they were by the fharpnefs of the laws, and the popular odium which hung over them. The court at that time was certainly very little inclined to treat the Roman catholics in a harfh manner, neither had they in reality the leaft appearance of reafon to do fo^ but the laws themfelves were of a rigorous conftitution ; and, however the court might be inclined to relax them, they' could not in policy do it, but with great referve. The Puritan party perpetually accufed the court, and indeed the epifcopal church, of a defire of returning to popery j and this accufa- ti^n was To popular, that it was not in the power of the court ^ V to .jr.,v«.--a;a.'^ J 1 4 Befcriptien of the Britijh Empire^ to ihew the Papifts that indulgence which they defired. The Jaws were ftill executed with very little mitigation ; and they were in themfelves of a much keener temper, than thofe which had driven the Puritans about the fame time to feek a refuge \tk the fame part of the world. Thefe reafons made lord Bal- timore defirous to have, and the court willing to give him, a place of retreat in America. The fettlement of the colony coil the lord Baltimore a large fum. Jt was made, under his aufpices, b^ his brother, and about two hundred perfons, Roman catholics, and moflr of them of good families. This fettlement, at the beginning, did not meet with the fame difficulties, which embarrafled and retarded moft of the others we had made. The people were generally of the better fort; a proper fubordination was obferv- ed lamongft them ; and the Indians gave and took fo little of- fence, that they ceded one half of their principal town, and fbme time after the whole of it, to thefe ftrangers. The Indi- •Hn women taught ours how to make bread of their corn; their men went out to hunt and R(h with the Engliih ; they afllifled them in the chace, and fold them the game they took themfelves for a trifling confidcration ; fo that the new fettlers had a fort of town ready built, ground ready cleared for their fubfiftence, and no enemy to harrafs them. They lived thus, without much trouble or fear, until fome ill-difpofed perfons in V rginia inflnuated to the Indians, that the Baltimore colony \iwl defigns upon them ; that they were Spaniards and not tnglifhmen; and fuch other ftorif " as they judged proper to ibw the feeds of fufpicion and enmity in the minds of thefe people. Upon the firft appearance, that the malice of the Virginians had taken effedl, the new planters were not wanting to themfelves. They built a good fort with all expedition, and took every other neceflary meafure for their defence ; but they continued ftill to treat the Indians with io much kindncfs, that, partly by that, and partly by the awe of their arms, the ill defigns of their enemies were defeated. - As the colony met with fo {tii obftru£lions, and as the Ro- man catholics m England were yet more fcverely treated in proportion as the court party declined, numbers conftantly ar- rived to replcnifli the fettlement; which the lord proprietor omitted no care, and withheld no expence, to fupport and en- courage ; until the Ufurpation overturned the government at home, and deprived him of his rights abroad. Maryland re- mained under the governors appointed by the parliament and by Cromwell until the Reftoration, when lord Baltimore was re-inftated in his forn^er poiTeilions, which he cultivated with ' •■ - ' • his • ^'MCl in AMERICA. 3«5 hts former wifdom, care, ^nd moderation. No people could live in greater eafe and iedurityj and his lordfhip, willing that as many as poifible ihould enjoy the benefits of his mild and equitable adminiftration, gave his confent to an a6t of aflem- bly, which he had before promoted in his province, for allow- ing a free and unlimited toleration for all who profefled the - Chriftian religion, of whatever denomination. This liberty, which was never in the lead: inftance violated, encouraged a great number, not only of the church of England, but of rret- byterians, Quakers, and all kinds of diflenters, to fettle ia Maryland, which before that was almoft wholly in the hands; of Roman catholics. This lord, though guilty of no mal-adminiftration in his government, though a zealous Roman catholic, and firmly attached to the caufe of king James the Second, could not pre- vent his charter from being queflioned in that arbitrary reign, and a fuit from being commenced, to deprive him of the pro- perty and jurifdidlion of a province granted by the royal fa- vour, and peopled at fuch a vaft expence of his own. But it, was the error of that weak and unfortunate reign, neither to know its friends, not its enemies ; but, by a blind precipitate conduct, to hurry on every thing of whatever confequence with almoii: equal heat, and to imagine that the found of the royal authority was fufficient to jullify every fort of conduiSt to every fort of people. But theit injuries could not fhake the honour and conltancy of lord Baltimore, nor tempt him to de- fei t the caufe of his mafter. Upon the Revolution, he had no reafon to expeA any favour; yet he met with more than king James had intended him ; he was deprived indeed of all his jurifdiction, but he was left the profits of his province, which were by no means inconfiderable ; and when his defcendants had conformed to the church of England, they were reftored to ail their rights as fully as the legiilature had thought iit that any proprietor fhould enjoy them. .n r v . ,i When, upon the Revolution, power changed hands in that province, the new men made but an indifferent requital for the liberties and indulgences they had enjoyed under the old adminiftration. I'hey not only deprived the Roman catholics of all Ihare in the government, but of all the rights of free- men; they have even adopted the whole body of the penal laws of i.ngland againft them; they are at this day meditating new laws in the fame fpirit, and they would undoubtedly go ' to the greateft lengths in this refpe(3:, if the moderation and good fenfe of the government in England did not fet fome bounds to their bigotry j thinking very prudently that it were highly /*»« ■M Hi miXSU^ 315 Dffcrfption ef the Britijh Empire^ highly unjuil and equally impoHtfc, to allow an afylum abroad to any religious pcrfuafions which they judged it impro- per to tolerate at home, and then to deprive them of its pro- t^ftion J recolledling at the fame time, in the various changes which our religion and government have undergone, which have in their turns rendered every fort of party and religion ob- noxious to the reigning powers, that this American afylum, which has*bcen admitted in the hotted times of perfecution at home, has proved of infinite fervice, not only to the prefent peace of England, but to the profperity of its commerce and the eftablifliment of its power. There are a fort of men, who will not fee fo plain a truth ; and they are the perfons who would appear to contend moft warmly for liberty; but it is only a party liberty for which they contend ; a liberty, which they "would ftretch out one way, only to narrow it in another ; they are not afliamed of ufing the very fame pretences for per- fccuting others, that their enemies ufe for perfecuting them. This colony, as for a long time it had with Pennfylvania the honour of being unftained with any religious perfecution, fo neither they nor the Pennfylvanians have ever until very lately been harrafled by the calamity of any war, ofFenfive or defenfivc, with their Indian neighbours, with whom they al- ways lived in the mofl exemplary harmony. Indeed, in a war wiiich the Indians made upon the colony of Virginia, by mif- take they made an incurfion into the bounds of Maryland; but they were foon fenfible of their miftake, and attoned for it. The late war indeed has changed every thing, and the In- clian? have been taught to laugh at all their ancient alliances. Maryland, like Virginia, has no confiderable town, and for the fame reafon ; the number of navigable creeks ahd rivers. Annapolis is the feat of government. It is a fmall, but beau- tifully fituated town, upon the river Severn. • Here is the feat of the governor, and the principal cuftom houfe colle<3:ion. The people of Maryland have the fame efta- bliflied religion with thofe of Virginia, that of the church of England ; but here the clergy are provided for in a much more liberal manner, and they are the mofl decent, and the bell of the clergy in north America. They export from Maryland the fame things in all refpeds that they do from Virginia. Their tobacco is about forty thoufand hogftieads. The White inhabitants are about forty thoufand ; the Negroes upwards of fixty thoufand. It muft not be forgot, that we formerly called all the coafl of North America by the name of Virginia. The province properly fo called, with Maryland and the Carolinas, was '^•"S' known tn AMERICA* 31/ known by the name of South Virginia. By the Spaniards it was conudered as part of Florida, which country they made to extend from New Mexico to the Atlantic ocean. By them it was Rrfl difcovered^ but they treated the natives with an inhumanity, which filled them with fo violent an hatred to the Spanilh name, as rendered their fettlement there very difficult ; nor did they pufh it vigoroufly, as the country (hewed no marks of producing gold or filver, the only things for which the Spaniards then valued any country. Florida therefore remained under an entire negledl in FuropCy until the reign of Charles the Ninth, king of France. The celebrated leader of the Proteftants in that kingdoms the admiral Chaftillon, who was not only a great commander, but an able ftatefman, was a man of too comprehenfive views not to fee the advantages of a fettlement in America]^ he procured two veflels ta be fitted out for difcoveries upon that coaft. He had it probably in his thoughts to retire thither with thofe of his perfuafion, if the fuccefs, which hitherto Suited fo ill with his great courage and conduct, fliould at laft entirely deftroy his caufe in France. Thefe (hips in two months ;«:rived upon the coaft of America ; near the river now called Albemarle, in the province of North Carolina. The French gave the Indians to undeiftand, in the heft manner they were able, that they were enemies to the Spaniards, which fecured |hem a friendly reception and the good offices of the inhabitants. They were, however, in no condition to make any fettlement. y .a.^ On their return to France, the admiral, at this time, by the abominable policy of the court, apparently in great favour, was fo well fatisfied with the account they had given of the country, that, in 1564, he fitted out five or fix fhips, with as many hundred men aboard, to begin a colony there. This was accordingly done at the place of their landing in the firft expedition. They built a fort here, which they called Fort Charles, as they called the whole country Carolina, in honour of their king then reigning. The Spaniards, who had intelligence of their proceedings, difpatched a confiderabfe force to attack this colony, vv^ho, not fatisfied with reducing it, put all the people tb the fword, after quarter given ; and, committing great outrages upon the natives, they paved the way for the vengeance which foon after fell upon them for fuch an unnecell'ary and unprovoked z&. of cruelty. For, r>though the admiral and his party were by this time deftroyed -in the infamous maflacre of St. £jartholomew, and though the defign of a colony died with him, one M. de Gorgues, a private MM I ■II'' I f, 31? De/cription cf ihe Britijh Empire, private gentleman, fitted out fome (hips, which failed to that coaft purely to revenge the murder of his countrymen and his friends. The Indians greedily embraced the opportunity of becoming afTociates in the punifhment of the common enemy. They jomed in the fiege of two or three forts the Spaniards jhad built there; they took them, and, in all of them, put the garrifon to the fword without mercy. ' ' Satisfied with this aftion, the adventurers returned, and, happily for us, the French court did not underfland, blinded as they were by their bigottry, the advantages which might have been derived from giving America to the Pro- teflants, as we afterwards did to the diflenters, as a place of tefuge i if they had taken this flep, mofl certainly we fhould have either had no fettlements in America at all, or they mufl have been fmall in extent, and precarious in their tenure, to what they are at this day. CAROLINA. A F T E R the French expedition, the country of fx, Carolina remained without any attention from Spaniards, French, or Eiiglifh, until, as we obferved in the article of Virginia, Sir Walter Raleigh projected an leflablifhment there. It was not in the part now called Virginia, but in North Carolina, that our firft unhappy fettlements were made and deflroyed. Afterwards, the adven- turers entered the bay of Chefapeak, and fixed a permanent colony to the northward ; fo that, although Carolina was the firfl part of the Atlantic coaft of America, which had an European colony, yet, by an odd caprice, it was for a long time deferted by both England and France, who fettled with infinitely more difficulty in climates much lefs advantageous or agreeable. It was not until the year 1663, in the reign of Charles the Second, that we had any notion of formally fettling that country. In that year, the earl of Clarendon, lord chancellor, the duke of Albemarle, the lord Craven, lord Berkley, lord Afhley, afterwards earl of Shaftefbury, Sir George Carteret, Sir William Berkley, and Sir George Colleton, obtained a charter for the property and jurifdi6lion of that country, from the 3ifl degree of north latitude to the 36th j and being; inveftcd with full power tx ■ fettle and govern the country, they had i> AMERICA. 3>9 had the model of a conftitution framed, and a bodv offunda^ mental laws compiled, by the famous philofopher Mr. Locke. On this plan, the lords proprietors themfelves (lood in the place of the king ; gave their afTent or difTent, as they thought proper, to all laws ; appointed all officers, and bellowed all titles of dignity. In his turn, one of thefe lords adled for the reft. In the province they appointed two other branches, in a good meafure analogous to the legiflature in England. They make three ranks, or rather clalws of nobility. The loweft was compofed of thofe to whom they had made grants of twelve thoufand acres of land, whom they called barons; the next order had twenty-four thoufand acres, or two baronies, with the title of caffiques ; thefe were to anfwer our earls j the third had two caffiquefliips, or forty-eight thoufand acres, and were called landgraves, a title in mat province analogous to duke. This body formed the upper houfe ; their lands were not alienable by parcels. The lower houfe was formed, as it is in the other colonies, of repre- fentatives from the feveral toVns or counties. But the whole wa« not called, as in the reft of the plantations, an afTembly, but a parliament. They began their firft fettlement at a point of land towards the fouthward of their diftriiSt, between two navigable rivers, though of no long courfe, called Aftiley or Cowper rivers j and there laid the foundation of a city, called Charles-town, which was defigned to be, what it now is, the capital of the province. They expended about twelve thoufand pounds in the firft fettlement. But it was not chiefly to the funds of the lords proprietors, that this province owed its eftabliih- ment. They' obferved what advantages the other colonies derived from opening an harbour for refugees ; and not only from this confideratrdn, but from the humane difpofition of that excellent man who formed the model of their govern- ment, they gave an unlimitted toleration to people of all re- ligious perfuafions. This induced a great number of dif- fenters, over whom the then government held a more feverQ hand than was confiftpnt with juftice or policy, to tranfport themfelves with their fortunes and families into Carolina. They became foon at leaft as numerous as the churchmen ; and, though they difplayed none of that frantic bigottry which difgraced the New England refugees, they could not preferve themfelves from the jealoufy and hatred of thofe of the church of England, who, having a majority in one of the aflemblies, attempted to exclude all diftenters from a right of fitting there. This produced diiientions, tumults, and riots , ' 3 every ,% h ' 520 Defcriptm of the Briiijh Empire, every day, which tore the cglony to pieces, and hindered it for many years from making that progrefs which might be expedcd from its great natural advantages. The people iell into difputes of no lefs violent a nature with the lords pro- prietors ; and, provoking the Indians by a feries of unjufl and violent a6lions, they gave occafion to two wars, in which however they were viaorious, and fubdued almofl all the Indian nations within their own bounds on this fide of the Apalachian mountains. !*.,./. V Their inteftine diftradlions and their foreign wars kept the bolony fo low, that an a6l of parliament, if poflible to pre- vent the lafl ruinous confequences of thefe divifions, put the province under the immediate care and infpe^iion of the crown. The lords proprietors, making a virtue of neceffity, acceptcsfi a recompence of about twenty-four thoufand pounds, both for the property and jurifdiftion j except the earl Granville, who kept his eighth part of the property, which comprehends very near half of North Carolina, on that part which im- mediately borders upon the province of Virginia. Their conftitution, in thofe points wherein it differed from that of other colonies, was altered; and the country, for the more commodious adminiftration of affairs, was divided into two (diftindl independent governments, called North Carolina, and South Carolina. This was in the year 1728. In a little time, a firm peace was eftabliflied with alt^theitcigtibouring Indian nations, the Cherokees, the Creeks, and the Cataubas ; the province began to breathe from its internal quarrels, and its trade has advanced every year fince that time with an aftonifhing rapidity. Thefe two provinces, lying between the thirty-firft and thirty-fixth degrees of latitude, are upwards of four hun- dred miles in length, and in breadth to the Indian nations near three hundred. The climate and foil in thefe countries do not confiderably differ from thofe of Virginia ; but where they differ, it is much to the advantage of Carolina, which, on the whole, may be confidered as one of the fineft climates in the world. The heat in fummer is very little greater than in Virginia ; but the winters are milder and fliorter, and the year, in all refpeds, does not come to the fame violent extremities. However, the wea- ther, though in general ferene as the air is healthy, yet, like all American weather, makes fuch quick changes, and thofe fo iharp, as to oblige the inhabitants to ufe rather more caution in their drefs and diet, than we are obliged to ufe in JCurQ|)e. Thundex and lightning is fr^que^t i and it is the '•"*^"'"" •"■"' -* ■— -- ■ only Si A M E R I C a: ^■* J2» iftnly one of our colonies 'upon the continent wHIch is fubje^ to hurricanes ; but they are very rare, and not near fo violent as thofc of the Weft-Indies. Part of the month of March, and all April, May, and the greatcft part of June, are herd inexpreffibly temperate apd agreeable; but in July, Auguft^ and for almoft the whole of September, the heat is very intenfe ; and though the winters are (harp, cfpecially whert the north-weft wind prevails, yet they are leldom feverd enough to freeze any confiderable water, affe£ling ohly thd mornings and evenings ; the frofts have never fufficienC ftrength to refift the noon-day fun, fo that many tender* plants, which do not ftand the vvinter of Vfrginia, flourifh ill" Carolina; for they have oranges in gleat plenty near Charles- town, and excellent in their kinds, both fweet and four; Olives arc rather neglefled by the planter, than denied by thd climate. The vegetation of every kind of plant is here almoft incredibly quick ; for there is fomething fo kindly in the ait* and foil, that, where the latter has the moft barren and un- promifing appearance, if neglected for a while, of itfelf it {hoots out an immenfe quantity of thofe various plants and beautiful flowering (hrubs and flowers, for which this country is fo famou^, and of which Mr. Catefby, in. hid Natural Hiftory of Carolina, has made fuch fine drawings. The whole country is in a manner one foreft, where out planters have not cleared it. The trees are almoft the famd in every refpe(5l with thofe produced in Virginia j and, by thd different fpecies of thefe, the quality of the foil is eafily known ; for thofe grounds which bear the oak, the walnut, and the hickory, are extremely fertile ; they are of a dark fand, intermixed with loam, and, as all their land abounds iJHth nitre, it is a long time before it is exhaufted \ for herd they never ufe any manure. The pine barren is the worft of all ; this is an almoft perfe6lly white fand, yet it bears the pine tree and fome other ufeful plants naturally, yielding good f>rofit in pitch, tar, and turpentine. When this fpecies of and is cleared, for two or three years together it produces very tolerable crops of Indian corn and peafe ; and when it lies low and is flooded, it even anfwers well for rice, Butj what is the beft of all for this province, this worft fpecies of its land is favourable to a fpecies of the moft valuable of all its products, to one of the kinds of indigo. There is another fort of ground, which lies low and wet upon the banks of fome of their rivers ; this is called fwamp, which in fome places is in a manner ufelefs, in others it is far the richcft of all their grounds} it is a black fat earth, and be^s their great ftnplt Y rice ^ii JDefcripthn of the Britijh Empire^ fice, which tnufl; have in general a rich moift foil, in the greateft plenty and perfe6lion. The country near the Tea and at the mouths of the navigable rivers is much the word ; for the moft of the land there is of the fpecies of the pale, light, fandy- coloured ground j and what is otherwife in thofe parts is little better than an unhealthy and unprofitable fait marih } but the country, as you advance in it, improves con- tinually ; and at an hundred miles diftance from Charles- town, where it begins to grow hilly, the foil is of a pro- digious fertility, fitted for every purpofe of human life. The air is pure and wholfome, and the fummer heats much more temperate than in the flat country; for Carolina is all an even plain for eighty miles from the fea ; no hill, no rock, fcarce even a pebble to be met with : fo that the beft part of the maritime country, from this famenefs, muft want fome- thing of the fine efie^l which its beautiful products would have by a more variegated and advantageous difpofition ; but nothing can be imagined more pleafant to the eye than the back country, and its fruitfulnefs is almoft incredible. Wheat grows extremely well there, and vields a prodigious increafe. In the other parts of Carolina they raife but little, where it is apt to mildew and fpend itfelf in ftraw ; and thefe evils the planters take very little care to redrefs, as they turn their whole attention to the culture of rice, which is more profitable, and in which they are unrivalled ; being fupplied with what wheat they want in exchange for this grain from New York and Pennfylvania. The land in Carolina is very eafily cleared everv where, as there is little or no underwood. Their forefts confill moflJIy of great trees at a confiderable diftance afunder } fo that they can clear in Carolina more land in a week, than in the forefts of Europe they can do in a month. Their method is to cut them at about a foot from the ground, and then faw the trees into boards, or convert them into ftaves, heading, or other fpecies of lumber, according to the nature of the wood or the demands at «.he market. If they are too far from navigation, they heap them together, and leave thenv to rot. The roots foon decay ; and, before that, they find no inconvenience from them, where land is fo plenty. The aboriginal animals of this country are in general the fame with thofe of Virginia, but there is yet a greater num- ber and variety of beautiful fowls. All the animals of Europe are here in plenty ; black cattle are multiplied prodigioufly. About fifty years ago, it was a thing extraordinary to have tfbove three or four cows» now fome h^ve a thoufand ^ fome ia mmk-.. in A M E R I C a; ^ ^ 3^1 ih North Carolina a great many more ; but to have two or three hundred is very common. Thefe ramble all day at pleafure in the forefts j but, their calves being feparated and kept in fenced pailures, the cows return every evening to them ; they are then milked, detained all night, milked ia the morning, and then let loofe again. The hogs range iti the (ame manner, and return like the cows, by having ihelter and fome victuals provided for them at the plantation % thefe are vaftly numerous, and many quite wild ; many horn- ed cattle and horfes too run wild in their woods ; though at their firft fettlement there was not one of thefe animals in tht country. They drive a great manv cattle from North Caro- lina every year into Virginia, to oe flaughtered there ; and they kill and fait fome beef, and a good deal of pork, for th« Weft-Indies, within themfelves ; but the beef is neither fo good, nor does it keep near fo long, as what is fent to the lame market from Ireland. They export a conftderable num-» ber of live cattle to Pennfylvania and the Weft-Indies. Sheep are not fo plenty as the black cattle or hogs, neither is theic fiefti fo good ; their wool is very ordinary. The trade of Carolina, beftdes the lumber, proviflon, and the like, which it yields in common with the reft of America, has three great ftaple commodities, indigo, rice, and thd products ofthe pine, urpentine, tar, and pitch. The twa former commodities South Carolina has intirely to itfelf; and, taking in North Carolina, this part of America yield! more pitch and tar than all the reft of our colonies* Rice anciently formed by itfelf the ftaple of this province } this \tfholfome grain makes a great part of the food of all ranks of people in the fouthern parts of the world ; in the northern, it is not fo much In requeft. Whilft the rigor of the AOi of N^viga^ion obliged them to fend all their rice dlre<^« h to £9glt5nd, to be r^-ihipped for the markets of Spain and Portugal, th^ charges incident to this regulation lay fo heavy upon the trade, that the cultivation of rice, efpecially in the time of yrar, when thefe charges were greatly aggravated by the rife of the freight and infurance, hardly anfwered the charge^ of the planter y but now the legiflature has relaxied the la^y i(i this refpejS^, ^nd permits the Carolinians to fend theijr ^rice jdife6dy tq any place to the fouthward of Cape Finifterre. This prudent indulgence has again revived the rice t^ad? j and, though they have gone largely, and with great fpirit, ^n,to the profitable article of indigo, it has not diverted their attention from the cultivation of rice j they raife now 9.bove doubly the qujintity pf what they raifed fome years ago; iiml 324 Befcfiption of the Brltljh Empire^ and this branch alone of their commerce is, at the lowefl eftimation, worth one hundred and fifty thoufaiid pounds flerling annually. Indigo is a dye made from a plant of the fame name, which probably was 10 called from India, where it was firft cul- tivated, and from whence we had, for a confiderable time, the whole of what we confumed in Europe. This plant is very like the fern when grown, and, when young, hardly diftinguifhable from' lucern-grafs ; its leaves in general are petinated and terminated by a fmgic lobe ; the flowers confift of five leaves, and are of tne papilionaceous kind -, the upper- moft petal being larger and rounder than the refl, and lightly furrowed on the fide j the lower ones are fhort, and end in a point ; in the middle of the flower is fituated the ftile, which afterwards becomes a pod, containing the feeds. They cultivate three forts of indigo in Carolina, which demana the fame variety of foils. Firfl, the French or Hifpaniola indigo, which flriking a long tap-root, will only jSourifh in a oeep rich foil ; and therefore, though an ex- cellent fort, is not fo much cultivated in the maritime parts cf Carolina, which are generally fandy j but no part of the world is more fit to produce it in pcrfedlion than the fame country, an hundred miles backwards ; it is negledted too on another account, for it hardly bears a winter fo ^arp as that of Carolina. The fccond fort, which is the falfe guatemala or true bahama, bears the waiter better, is a more tall and vigorous |>lant, is raifed in greater quantities from the fame compafs of ground, is content with the vrorA foils in the country, and is therefore ipore cultivated than the firft fort, though inferior in the quality of its dye. The third fort is the wild indigo^ which is indigenous here ', this, as it is a native of the country, anfwers the pur- pofes of the planter the beft of all, with regard to the hardi- nefs of the plant, the eafinefs of the culture, and the quantity of the prod uce } of the quality there is fome difpute, not yet fettled amongft the planters themfelves ; nor can they as yet diflindly tell whether they are to attribute the faults of their indigo to the nature of the plant, to the feafons, which have much influence upon it, or to fome defedt in the manu- fa6ture. The time of planting the indigo is generally after the firft rains fucceeding the vernal equinox ; the feed is fown in fmall ftraight trenches, about eighteen or twenty inches afunder ; when it is at its height^ it is generally eighteen inches talh in AMERICA; 3»S h is fit for cutting, if all, things anfwers well, in the begins ning of July. Towards the end of Augud, a fecund cuttina is obtained ; and, if they have a mild autumn, there is a thirq cutting at Michaelmas ; the indigo land muft be weeded ever/ day, and the plants cleanfed from worms, and the plantation attended with the greateft care and diligence ; about twenty« five negroes may manage a plantation of fifty arcrcs, and compleat the manufadture of the drug, befides providing their own neceflary fubfiftence, and that of the planter's ^mily. Each acre yields, if th^ land be very good, Axty or fcventy pounds weight of indigo j at a medium the produce is fifty pounds. When the plant is beginning to biofTom it is fit for cutting ; and, when cut, great care ought to be taken to bring it to the ileeper, without prefling or ihaking it, as a great part of the beauty of the indigo depends upon the fine farina which adheres to the leaves of this plant. -- » The apparatus for making indigo is pretty confiderablc, though not very expenfive ; tor, befides a pump, the whole confifls only of vats and tubs of cyprefs wood, common and cheap in this country. The indigo, when cut, is firft laid in a vat about twelve or fourteen feet long, and four deep, to the height of about fourteen inches, to macerate and digeft. Then this vefTel, which is called the fleeper, is filled with water; the whole having laid from about twelve or fixteen hours, according to the weather, begins to ferment, fwell, rife, and grow tendbly warm ; at this time fpars of wood are run acrofs to prevent its raifing too much, and a pin is then fet to mark the highefl point of its afcent } when it falls below this mark, they }udge that the fermentation has attained its due pitch, ana begins to abate ; this direds the manager to open a cock, and let ofF the water into another vat, which is called the beater ; the grofs matter that remains in the firft vat is carried ofF to manure the ground, for which purpofe it is excellent, and new cuttings are pu^ in ^ long; as the harveil of this weed continues. When the water, ftrongly impregnated wjth the particles ef the indigo, has run into the fecond vat or beater, they at- tend with a fort of bottomlefs buckets, with long handles, to work and agitate it ; which they do inceiTantly until it heats, froths, ferments, and rifes above the rim of the vefTel which contains it; to allay this violent fermer nation, oil is thrown in as the froth rifes, which inflantly links it. When this beating has continued for twenty, thirty, or thirty-five minutes, according to the flate of the weather (for in cool Wea.the;r it requires the longeft continued beating) a fmall y 3 muddy f Tnifcov.rthefep»n.desthebcneis^ ^^_^^ ^^ .^ j liquor is f''«"«""y,''!!'!?'in allafs 5 when it appears m an Sine to time on a plate " '" "^J^fo^e lime water from a» WW condition. ; in a very flourifliing condition. As for its export, both the nature of that and its prodigious increafe may be difcerned from the following comparative tables, which enables lis to fee how much this colony has advanced in a few years ; as an attentive conAderation of its natural advantages muft fliew us hown^uch it muft advance, if properly managed, ^s there is fcarce any improvement of which this excellent j:ountry i\ qot capable. Exported from In the year 1731. 41,957 barrels 00, 000 pounds 300 hhds. 10, 750 barrels 2,063 ditto 759 ditto Beef, pork, &c. not parti- fp^larized. Rice Indigo, Dcerikins, l»itch, Tar, Turpentine ':l ii- Charles-town. In the year 1754. R ice, 1 04, 68 2 barrels Indigo, P.eerfkins, Pitch, , Tar, Turpentine, Beef, Pork, Ii^dia corn^ 2i6j 924 pds. 460 hhds. 1 14 bund. 508 loofc 5, 869 barrels 2, 945 ditto 759 ditto 416 ditto I, 560 ditto 16, 428 bufh. Peas I.t , . . -t .. $^6 Dtfcrlptm of the ErUiJb Empire; Peas, 9, 162 ditto Tanned leather, 4, 196 barr«If Hides in the hair i, 200 ' " Shingles, i, 1 14, 000 ^ -^ Staves, 206, 000 Lumber, 395, 000 ktU • Befides a great deal of live cattle, horfes, cedar, cyprefs, and walnut plank 3 bees-wax, myrtle, and fome raw fillc and cotton. North Carolina, ivhich is reputed oneof theleaAflourifliing •four fettlements, and which certainly lay under great diffi.-^ culties, hath, within a few years, greatly improved. The confequence of this inferior province may appear by the fol>- lowing view of its trade, which I can take upon me to fay is »ot very far from being exaA ; it is at leaft fufficicntly fo to enable us to form a proper idea of this province and its com« pierce* •' - '• ' :>''^'- -'i ' f ^ ■■ . .'m ■ .,. ..? Zzported from all ports thc'of North Carolina in I753» 61, 528 barrels. 12, 055 ditto, 10, 429 ditto, . .r 762, 330 no* 2, 500, 000 no* 2,000,647 feet. \, 61,580 bufhels," - 10, 000 ditto. 3, 300 barrels. t 100 hogfheads. Tanned leather, about 1000 hundred weight; •> Deer ikins, in all ways, about 30, 900. BeCdcs a very confidcrablc quantity of wheat, ricCj bread, potatoes, bees-wax, tallow, candles, bacon, hog's lard, fome cotton, and a vaft deal of fquared timber of walnut and cedar, and hoops and headings of all forts. Of late they raife indigo, but in what quantity I cannot determine, for '. is all exported from South Carolina. They raife likewife minch more to- bacco than I have mentioned, but this, as it is produced on the frontiers of Virginia, fo it is exported from thence. They export too no inconnderable quantity of beaver, racoon, otter, fox, mmx, and wild cats, and in every (hip a good deal of live cattle, beAdeswhat they vend in Virginia. Both in North gnd South Carolina they have made frequent, but I think not "-' ■ ^ . vigorof s J * ■ Tar, i> . * Pitch, J ■ : 4: Tui-pentinc, '!■ 1 i Staves, ^ K- •«.><' « ' Shingles, Lumoer, t.^\^ ■ ^->iy. ■ Corn, r ...■• . Peas, about Pork and beef, Tobacco, abou in AMERICA. 33t vigorous nor fuf&ciently continued, eJlForts in the cultivation of cotton and filk. What they have fent home of thefe com- modities is of fo excellent a kind, as to give us gf eat encourage- ment to proceed in a burinefs which we have not taken to heart with all that warmth which its importance in trade and the fitnefs of the climate for thefe moil valuable articles cer- tainly deferve. It was a long time before this province went into the profitable trade of indigo, notwithftanding a premiunt fubfifted a good many years for ah thatihould be raifed in ouc plantations ; the thing was at firft defpaired of, and it was never judged that Carx>lina could produce this drug ; but no fooner had a few (hewn a fpirited and fuccefsful example, than all went into it fo heartily, that though it is but about fix years fince they began Z am informed that five hundred thou- fand weight was made laft year ; and, as they go on, in a verjr little jtime they will fuppiy the market with a commodity, which before we purchafed every ounce from the French and Spaniards. Silk requires ftill more trouble, and a clofer 2.1* tention ; as yet it proceeds with languor, nor will a premium alone ever fuffice to fet on foot in a vigorous manner a manu- facture which will find great difficulties in any country, which does not abound in hands that can work for very trifling wages. The want of this advantage in Carolina, though no part of the world is fitter for this bufineCs and no bufinefs could be fa advantageous to England, will, for a very long time, be an impediment to the manufa£l:ure of raw filk, unlels fomeproper^ well-ftudied, and vigoroufly-executed fcheme be fet on foo( for that purpofe ; and furely it is a matter worthy of a vtry ferious consideration. America is our great refource ; this will remain to us when other branches of our trade are decay- ed, or exift no more ; and therefore we ought to grudge no expence that may enable them to anfwer this end fo effc&uaWf^ as one day to fuppiy the many lofibs we have already had» and the many more we have but too much reafon to ap- prehend, in our commerce. Thefe expences are not like the expences of war, heavy in their nature and precarious in their efFeCls ; but when judicioufly ordered, the certain and infal- lible means of rich and fucceflive harvefts of gain to the latefl; pofterity, at the momentary charge of a comparatively fmall quantity of feed, and of a moderate bufbandry to the prefent generation. In the year 1732, the government, obferving that a great tradt of land in Carolina upon the borders of the Spaniih Flo- rida, laid wafte and unfettled, refolved to ereCt it into a fepa- rate province, and to lead a colony thither* This they were i$2 DefcHpthn of the Britijh Empire^ the rather induced to do, becaufc it lay on the frontier of all our provinces, naked and defencelcfs; whereas, if it could be properlv fettled, it would be a ftrong barrier to them upon that ficfe, or at leaft would be fufHcient to protefivc acres was undoubtedly too fmall a portion, as it was given without any conflderation of the quality of the land, and was therefore in many placet of very little value. Add to this, that it was clogged, after a Ihort free tenure, with a much greater quit-rent than is paid in our bed and longeft fettled colonies. Indeed, through the whole manner of granting land, there appeared, I know no( what low attention to the trifling profits that might he derived to the truflees or the crown by rents and efcheits, which clogged the liberal fcheme that was firftjaid down, and was in itfelfextremcly injudicious. When you have a flourifhing co- lony, with extenuve fettlenfents, from the fmallefl quit-rents the crown receives a large revenue ; but, in an ill-fettled pro- vince, the greateft rents make but a poor return, and yet are fufficient to burden and impoveriih the people. The tail-male grants were fo grievous, that the trufteet themfelves corredled that errror in a fhort time. The prohi- bition of rum, though fpecious in appearance, had a very bad effect. The waters in this uniettled country, running through ibch an extent of forefl, were not wholeiome drinking, and wanted the corrective of a little fpirit, as the fettlers them- felves wanted ibmething to fupport their ftrength in the extra- ordinary and unufual heat of the climate, and the dampnefs pf it in feveral places difpoflng them to agues and fevers. But, what was worfe, this prohibition in a manner deprived them of the only vent they had for the only commodities they could fend to market, lumber and corn, which could fell no where but in the fugar iflands, and, with this reftriclion pf Negroes and rum, they could take very little from them in return. All thefe and feveral other inconveniences, in the plan of the fettlement, raifed a general difcontent in the inhabitants } they quarrelled with one another and with their magiftrates j they complained; they remonftrated; and, finding no fatif-^ fa^ion^ many of them fled out of Qeorgiay and difperfed J themfelves h AMERICA, S3S themfelves where they deemed the encouragement better, t«. all the other colonies. So that of above two thoufand people* who had tranfported themfelves from Europe, in a little time not about fix or feven hundred were to be found in Georgia i (o far were they from increafing. The mifchief grew worfe and worfe every day, until the government revoked the grant to the truftees, took the province into their own hands, an4 annulled all the particular regulations that were made. It w«» then left cxacurfsons, and fupplying them with aims and umu- nition to annoy our people. Had we erected in their country a littte fort, and in it kept a fmall garrilbn, to be maintained by that people themfelves, appointed magiftratcs, and made them know the benefit and excellency of the Uritifti laws, and, at the fame time, imprefled them with a dread of the Britifti power, we might have faved many ufeful people to this col nvj and prevented the neceffity (if it was a neceffity) of ufmg f;. Ix ixieafures as an humane and generous mind is never con- ftrained to but with regret. ; « 1 ■ ■ -. ;.|» Befides Annapolis and Halifax, we have another P ilement a little to the fouth-weft of the latter, called Lunettl arg. This is a branch of Germans from Halifax, who, being difcontented at the infertility of the foil there, defireu to go where there was better land to be had, undertaking their own defence 1 accordingly they fettled v»hefe they defired, to the number of feven or eight hundred, and fucceed tolerably well. Upon a tumult which arofe amongft them, the governor fcnt a party of foldiers to proteft them from their own difcords, and from the enemy. This province is yet but in its beginning ; and ■••^ Z 2 therefore. wimi m 34« Vefcription of the Britijh Empire ^ therefore, except in profpeiSt, can afford us no great fubjef^ matter of fpeculation. To the eaft of this province lies the great ifle of Newfound- land, above three hundred miles long, and two hundred broad, extending quite up to New Britain, and forming the eaftern boundary of the gulph of St. Laurence. This ifland, after various difputes about the property, was entirely ceded to England by the treaty of Utrecht. From the foil of this ifland we are far from reapine; anyfuddenorgiTeat advantage;, for the cold is long continued and intenfe ; and the fummer heat, though violent, warms it not encmgh to produce any thing valuable} for the foil, at leafl: in thole parts of the ifland with which we are acquainted (for we are far from knowing the whole,) is rocky and barren. However, it hath many large and fafe harbours ; and feveral good rivers water it. This ifland, whenever the continent ihall come to fail of tim- ber convenient to navigation (which perhaps is no very remote profpe^l) will afford a copious fupply for mafts, yards, and all forts of lumber, for the Weft-India: trade. But what at prefent it is chiefly valuable for, is the great fifhery of cod» which is carried on upon thofe iboals which are called the Banks of Newfoundland. In that the French and Spaniards, efpecially the former, have a large ihare. Our (hare of thi» fifhery is computed to increafe the national* flock by three hun- dred thoufand a year, in gold and filver remittee! us for the cod we fell in the north, in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the Levant. The plenty of cod, both on the great bank and the leflTer ones which lie to the eaft and fouth-eaft of this ifland, is inconceivable ; and not only cod, but feveral other fpecies of fifh are there in abundance ; all thefe fpecies are nearly in an equal plenty all along the fhores of New England, Nova Scotia, and the ifle of Cape Breton ; and confequently excel- lent fifheries are carried on upon all their coafts. Where our American colonies are fo ill peopled or fo barren as not to pro- duce any thing from their foil, their coafts make us ample amends ; and pour in upon us a wealth of another kind, and na way inferior to the former, from their fifheries. We have in North America, befldes this, two clufters of iflands ; the Bermudas or Summer iflands, at a vaft diftance from the continent in lat. 31, and the Bahama iflands. The former were very early fettled, and were much celebrated in the time of the civil wars } when, feveral of the cavalier party being obliged to rethre into America, fome of them, in parti- cular Mr. Waller, the poet, fpent fom'? time in this ifland. Waller was extremely enamoured with the ferenity of the air and in AMERICA; 341 «nd the t)eauty and richnefs of the vegetable produAioiM ^o thefe iflands ; he celebrated them in a poein9 which is fine 'but unequal, written by him upon this fubjed. The Bermudas are but fmalJ ; not containing in all up- wards of twenty thoufand acres. They are very difficult of accefs, being, as Waller exprefles it, walled with rocks. What has been faid of the clearnefs and ferenity of the air, and of the healthinefe of the climate, was not exaggerated ; but the foil could never boaft of an extraordinary fertility. Their beft production was cedar, which was fuperior to any thine of the kind in America. It is ilill fo, though diminifhed conuderably in quantity, which has, as it is imagined, changed the air much for the worfe; for now it is much more inconftant than formerly ; and feveral tender vegetables, which ilouriflied here at the arft fettlement* being deprived of their ihelter and expofed to the bleak northerly winds, are feen no more. The chief, and indeed the only bufinefs of tjiefe iflanders i» the building and navigating of light (loops and brigantines, built with their cedar, which they employ chiefly in the trade between North America and the Weft Indies. Thefe vei&Is are as remarkable for their fwiftnefs, as the wood of which they are built is for its hard and durable quality. They ex- port nothing from themfelves but fame white ftone to the Weft-Indies, and fome of their garden produAions. To England they fend nothing. Formerly they qiade a good deal of money of a fort of hats for women's wear of the leaves of their palmetto's, which, whilft the faihion lafted, were elegant ; but the trade and the fafluon are gone together. Their whites are computed to be about five thoufand; the blacks which they breed are the beft in America, and as ufe* ful as the whites in t^eir navigation. The people of the Bermudas are poor but healthy, contented and remarkably chearful. It is extremely furprifing that they do not fet themfelves heartily to the cultivation of vines in this ifland, to which their rocky foil feems admirably adapted ; and their fituation and manner of trade they are already engaged in. would facilitate the diftribution of their wine to every part of North America and the Weft Indies. The Bahamas are fituated to the fouth of Carolina, from lat. 22 to 27, and they extend along the coaft of Florida ijuite down to the ifle cf Cuba j and are faid to be five hundred in number ; fome of them only mere rocks ; but a great many others lar^e, f^tile^ apd in nothing differing from the foil of Z $ Caroling. I ■■^w m m k'V ! his If'"* i ■ %\ if' M i 34^ Vefcriptlon of tke Bfitijh Etfipire, Carolina. All are however abfolutely uninhabited, except Providence, which is neither the largeft nor the moil fertile. 'I his ifland w.is formerly a receptacle for the pirates, who, for a long time, infefted the American navigation. This obliged the government to ere . . . V ^ •■ • i • thing. in AMERICA. 345 ^Ing. Thefe advantages, and even yet more confiderablQ pnes, would be derived from laying open this trade, under fuch proper regulations as the nature of the obje(5l vvoul^ point out of it^lf. No colony has been hitherto attempted at Hudfon's Bay* And till of lat^e the whole fur trade of North America was in ja great meafure carried on from thence; but fmce' Canada has been ceded to the Englifli, and that we have communication to !the interior parts of that extenfive country by the river St. ]L«aurence, a large tradp is now driven from thence. However ilill the company has two inconfiderable forts there. The country is eyery where barren ; to the northward of the bay even the hardy pine tree is feen no longer, and the cold womb of the earth is incapable of any better production than fome miferable fbrubs. The winter reigns with an inconceivable rigour for near nine ntonths of the year ; the other three are violently hot, except when the north- weft wind renews the memory of the winter. Every kind of European feed, whicl^ we have committed to the earth in this inhofpitable climate, )ias hitherto perifhed ; but, in all probability, we have no^ tried the feed of corn from the northern parts of Sweden and Norway j in fuch cafes, the place from whence the feed comes is of great moment. All this feverity and long continuance jof winter, and the barrenefs of the earth which arifes from thence, is experienced, in the latitude of 51 ; in the temperate latitude of Cambridge. However, it is far from increafine uniformly as you go northwards. Captain James wintered in Charlton ifland, in latitude 51 ; he judged that the climate here was to be deemed utterly uninhabitable on account of the furprifmg hardftiips which he fufFered ; yet the company has a fort feveral degrees more to the northward, where their fervants make a ihift to fubfift tolerably. It is called ForC Nelfon, and is in the latitude 54. All the animals of thefe countries are cloathed with a clofe^ foft, warm fur. In fummer there is here, as in other places, a variety in the colours of the feveral animals -, when that is over, they all afllime the livery of winter., and every fort of beafts, and moft of their fowls, are of the colour of the fnow ; every thing animate and inanimate is white. This is a fur- prifing; phQ^nomenon. But what is yet more furprifmg, and what IS indeed one of thofe flriking things that draw the mott inattentive to an admiration of the wifdom and goodnefs of Providence, is, that the dogs and cats from England, that have been carried into Hudfon's Bay, on the approach of jfvinter have entirely changed their appearance^^ and acquired a much 34^ Beferipttvn of the Brttijh Empire^ a much longer, fofter, and thicker coat of hair than they had originaJIy. As for the men of the country, Providence there, as every virhere clfe, has given them no provifion but their own art and ingenuity; and they {hew a great deal in their manner of kindling a fire, in cloathing themfelves, and in prcferving their eyes from the ill efFedls of that glaring white which every where furrounds them for the greatdft part of the year ; in other refpe6ts they are very favage. In their fhapes and faces, they do not refemble the Americans who live to the fouthward ; thcy^are much more like the Laplanders and Sa- moeids of Europe, from whom they are probably defcended. The other Americans feem to be of a Tartar original. Thus much we have had to fay concerning thefc poflcffions, which have been ours for a long time \ but the laft treaty of pedce, concluded in 176;^, hath added ftill more extenfive terj litories to our dominions than thofe which we were before in poftcfljon of. The French and the Spaniards have in this re- fpe£i: made us confiderable ceflions. We (hall begin with a de- fcription of thofe which till of late belonged to the French, and the extenfive province of Canada firft demands our notice. A N D A. TH E French pofl'effions in North America originally con- fifted of an immenfe inland country, communicating with the fea by the mouths of two great rivers ; namely, the Mi- fiflippi and the river St. Laurence ; both of diificult and dan- gerous navigation at the entrance; and the latter is quite frozen for almoll; half the year, and covered with thick ex- halations and fogs for the greater part of the reft. Thefe rivers divide this vali: country, which had our colonies on the caft and north-eaft, the Spanifli on the fouth-weft and fouth- caft, and to the weftward that unknown tra6t of land which flretches to the South-fea, into two great provinces ; the northern of which, now fubje<^ unto us, is called Canada ; and the fouthern, ftill in pofteinoil of the French, they call Louifiana. « Canada, which borders upon Nova Scotia, New-England, and New York, is of a climate not altogether different from theirs ; but as it is much further from the fea, and more nor- therly than a great part of thofe provinces, it has a much fe- vcrer winter ; though the air is generally clear. The foil is various; moftly barren; but the French have fettlements where the land is equal in goodnefs to that in any of our colo-? nies^ and wants nothing but a better convenience of market tQ in AMERICA. 347 to make It equally advantageous to the proprietors. It yields Indian corn very vi'cll in moft parts, and very fine wheat in fomc. All forts o( garden flun which grows in Europe flou- riflics here. But they have hitherto raifcd no ftaple commo- dity to anfwcr any great demands. Their trade with the Indians produces all their returns for that market. They arc the furs of the beaver principally, and thofc of foxes and racoons, with dcer-lkins, and all the branches of the peltry. Thcfe, with what corn and lumber they fend to the Weft- Indies, to a people not very luxurious nor extremely numerous, as the American inhabitants are, furniOi, though very little money, yet wherewithal!, in a plentiful country, to render life cafy and .agreeable. Tiic nature of the climate is feverely cold for the moft part, ahd tlic people manufadluring nothing, fhcws what the coun- try wants from Europe ; wine, brandy, cloths, chiefly coarfc linncn, and wrought iron. The Indian trade requires brandjr, tobacco, a fort of duffil blankets, guns, powder and ball, kettles, hatchets, and tomahawks, with fevcral toys and trin- kets, '^'he Indians fupply the peltry, and the Trench have had tr. lers, whom they called coureurs dc bois, who, in the manner of the original inhabitants, traverfing the Vaft lakes a;id rivers that divide this country, in canoc8 of bark, with incredible inJufhy and patience, carry their goods into the remotcft parts of America, and amongft nations entirely un- known to us. 7"his again brings the market home to them, as the Indians are hereby habituated to trade with them. For this purpofe, people from all parts, even from the diftance of a thoulUnd miles, come to the Fiench fair of Mont-Rcal, which is held in June. On this occafion many folemnities arc obferved j guards are placed, and the governor affifts, to prefervc order in fuch a concourfc of fo great a variety of lavage nations. Having mentioned Mont-Rcal, I have only to cbferve, that this town is fituated in an ifland in the river St. Laurence. This ifland lies in a very favourable climate, and is well in- habited and well planted. The city, which is fometimes called Mont- Real, fometimes Ville Marie, is agreeably fitu- ated on a branch of the river St. Laurence ; it forms an oblong fquare, divided by regular and well-cut ftreetsi it contains three convents, with handfome churches, and an hofpital for the Tick. The fortifications are pretty good. The inhabi- tants arc faid to be about five thoufand. The river is only navigable hither by canoes, or fmall craft, having feveral falls between this town and Q|iebec. Yet the Indian fair, 2 and : i ^4^ Defiripticn of the Britijh Empire, ^tid the trade of the fame kind which they drive more or Icfs for the whole year, make it no inconfiderable place. Quebec, tl e capital, lies much nearer to the Tea ; from which, however, it is one hundred and fifty leagues diftant. ^he river, which from the fea hither is ten or twelve miles broad, narrows all of a fudden to about a mile wide. The |own is divided into an upper and a lower; the houfes in both are of flone, and built in a tolerable manner. The fortifications are flrong, though not regular ; but its fituation on a rock, wafhed by the river St. Laurence, is its chief defence, and renders it almofl impregnable if well defended. The city is a bilhopric ; and the Englifh ilill allow of a popifh hifhop, for the benefit of the French inhabitants of the country ; but the /cathedral is mean, and unworthy the capital of New-France, The epifcopa! palace is however a building of a good appear- ance. Here is likewife a college of Jefuits, not inelegant; two convents and two hofpitals. The town is covered with a regular and beautiful citadel, in which the governor refides. The city, though the capital of Canada, is however not very large. It contains about feven or eight thoufand inhabitants at the utmofl. Ships of the greatcfl burthen load and unload here, and a good many are built. From Qiiebcc to Mont-Real, whijch is about one hundred and fifty miles diflance, the country on both fides the river is very well fettled, and has an agreeable efFe£t upon the eye. 'f'he farms lie pretty clofe ^11 the way; feveral gentlenvcn's houfes, neatly built, (hew themfelvcs at intervals ; and there is all the appearance of a flourifhing colony ; but there are no towns or villages. It is pretty much like the welj-fettled parts pf our colonies of Virginia and Maryland, where the planter) are wholly within themfelves. With all the attention of the court of France, to the trade and peopling of this colony, they were not able thoroughly to overcome the confequences of thofe difficulties which the cli- mate, whilfl the place was unfettled, threw in their way; their lofTes in the wars with that brave and fierce nation the Iroquois, who more than once reduced their colony to the lafi extremity, and the bad navigation of the river St. Laurence^ which is an evil incurable, have kept back the colony, Therer- fore, thopgh it is the oldefl of all the French eflablifhments, and prior to our fettlement of New- England, the inhabitant^ are not aboye one hundred thoyfand fouls. The great river St. Laurence is.that only upon which there are fettlements of any note ; but if we look forward into fu- turity) it is nothing improbable that this vafl country, who« ever ''* 4' in AMERICA; . 34^ evcx then (hall be the pofleflbrs of it, will be enabled of itfelf to carry on a vaft trade *^n thefe great Teas of freih water which it environs. Here ^e five lakes, the fmalleft of which is a piece of fweet water greater than any in tlie other parts of the world ; this is the lake Ontario, which is not lei's than two hundred leagues in circumference s Erie, longer but not To broad, is about the fame extent. That of the Hurons fpreads greatly in width, and is in circumference not lefs than three hundred} as is that of Michigan, though, like lake Erie, it is rather long and comparatively narrow. But the laice Superior, which contains feveral large iflands, is five huudr&d leagues in the circuit. All of thefe are navigable by any vef- fels, and they all communicate with one another, except that the pafTage between Erie and Ontario is interrupted by the flupendous catara«Sl of Niagara, where the water tumbles down a precipice of twenty-fix fathom high, and makes in this fall a thundering noife, which is heard all round the country at the diilance of feveral miles. The river St. Lau-^ rence is the outlet of thefe lakes; by this they difcharge them-' felves into the ocean. The French have built forts at the feveral flraits, by which thefe lakes communicate with each other, as well as where the laflof them communicates with the river St. Laurence. By thefe they expeded effectually to fecure to themfelves the trade of the lakes, and an influence upon all the nations of Americans which confine upon them. They alfo had one fettlement more in the northern part of their territories in America which has fallen into our power, and which deferves confideration. That fettlement, though but a fmallone, was perhaps of more confequence than all the reft. Namely, the ifland of Cape Breton. This ifland pro- perly belongs to the diviflon of Acadia or Nova Scotia, and* is about one hundred and forty miles in length, full of mountains and lakes, and interfedled by a vaft number of creeks and bays, almoft meeting each other on every fide ; which feems in general, both for the coaft and inland, very much to refemble the coaft and inland parts of moft northern countries. Scotland is fo } fo is Ireland ; and Denmark and Sweden have fuch ihores, fuch nK>untains, and fuch lakes* However, the foil is in many places fufHciently fruitful $ and in every part abounds with timber fit for all ufes. In the earth are coal-pits ; and on the Ihores one of the moft valuable fiiheries in the world. The only town in this ifland was Louifbourg now an heap of ruins. It ftood upon one of the fineft harbours in all America. This harbour is four leagues in circumference, landlocked every way but at the mouth, which B50 Befcription of the Britijh Empire, which Is narrow ; and within there is fine anchoraw every where in feven fathom water. The town itfelf was of a toler- able fizc, and well built and fortified. The harbour is open the whole year. The French (hips thai carried goods to Quebec very feldom got their full loading there ; therefore on their return they put into Louifbourg, and there took in a quantity of fifh, coal, and fome lumber, and then failed away to the French iflands in the Weft-Indies, where they vended thefe, and foon compleatcd their cargo with fugars. It is needlefs to obferve that this ifland was taken by us in the late war, and finally ceded to us by the laft treaty of peace. s .'"!•»•• - ■■■» <^'- V ■■' r'ttt.f'"t#i "Ici^f ^:-""; »->■ s<*'X*«v.^if;.i ;»'- . «.-^- IF L R I LEAVING the northern acquifitions which we have lately gained in America, and proceeding to the fouth the t'xtcnfive country of Florida comes next in view. It is ufually divided into Fair and VVdl Florida, from the different afpc«5ls of the coafts which are the ports chiefly inhabited by Europeans. Eaft- Florida, the moft fouthern colony upon the continent of Britifli America, lies between the twenty-fifth and thirty- firft degree of north latitude. By the king's proclamation, dated the feventh of 0<5tober, 1763, its boundaries were fixed on the north by the river St. Mary's, on the eaft by the Atlantic ocean and the gulph of Florida, and on the weft by the river Apalachicola and the gulph of Mexico. Its length from north to fouth is three hundred and fifty miles. Its breadth from the mouth of St. Mary's river, its northern limits, to the river Apalachicola is about two hun- dred and forty. At the mouth of St. Juan's river, forty miles fouth of St. Mary's, where the peninfula begins, it h one hundred and eighty miles broad j and grows narrower from thence to the capes of Florida, where its breadth may be between thirty and forty miles. It contains, upon the neareft calculation, about twelve millions of acres, which is nearly as much as Ireland. ■ The fea coaft of Eaft-Florida is a low flat country, inter- fe6ted by a great number of rivers, very like Holland, or Suri- nam in America. It continues flat for about forty miles from the couft, and then gruws D little hilly, and in fome parts rockyv Florida in AMERICA; 55« Florida differs materially from the reft of America in this, that almoft all the contihent befides is covered with a thick foreft ; whereas the trees in Florida are at a diftance from one another, and being clear of under-wood, this country has more the appearance of an open grove than a foreft. The rains and the heavy dews, which are more frequent here than to the northward, create fuch a luxuriant vegetation, that the furfacc of the earth, notwithftanding the heat of the i'un, is never without a good verdure. hr.fi . A country fo extenfivc as this cannot but have a variety of foil : the Tandy is the mofl prevalent, efpeciaily towards the fea. There are generally four ftrata or beds of earth found in Eaft-Florida : the uppermoft is a mould of earth, a few inches thick ; beneath is a fand half a yard in depth ; below that a llrong white clay, refembling the marlc in England, and maybe ufed as manuie to the fandy land; this itratum is commonly four feet thick : the fourth layer is a rock com- pofed of petrifienl fea flielU, The fertility of Florida is much afcribed to thefetwo ftrata of clay and rock, which contribute to keep the fand moift, and prevent the rains from finking away from the roots of the plants and trees. In the interior parts the trees are larger, the grafs higher and the cattle bigger, than toward the fea, efpeciaily in that part of the peninfula which lies betwixt the river St. Juan's, and the fort of St. Mark d'Apalachie, which is about one hundred and fifty miles to the north-weft of this river. To take a view of the eaftern ftiore of Florida, beginning from the north, we meet the river St. Mary's, lying in the thirtieth degree forty- feven latitude : it is a mile broad at its mouth, where Amelia ifland is fituated j it has five fathom water upon the bar at low water, is navigable above iixty miles, where it has three fathom water. It is the beft har- bour from the capes of Virginia to thofe of Florida ; it takes its rife out of the great fwanip *, called by the Indians Owa- qua-phe no-gaw. The lands upon the banks of this river are the richcit in the northern parts of the province; the abundance of cane-fwamps fufficiently (hews the fertility thereof. The beft trees, that grow in the fwamps on this river, are the live oak and cedar, very ufeful for (hip-build- • The word fwamp is peculiar to America ; it there fignifies a tra£l of land that is found and good, but by lying low is covered with water. All the foreft trees (pines excepted) thrive bell in the fwamps, where the foil is always rich j and when cleared and drained is proper for the growth of rice, hemp, and indigo. ing; $$i teferipthn of tbi Britijh Empire^ \nz ; their extraordinary fize is a ftrong mark of the goodners or the foil. A colony of Bermudians is fooA expe6ied to fettle upon this tiver, and the Amelia ifland. St. Juan's, now called St. John's river^ liei fofty miles ibiithward of St. Mary's } the tra£t of land between them confifts of plains covered with pines ; thefe plains are called in America, pine-barrens, or highlands, in contra4iftin■ *. We find a ftriking difference betwixt the pine-barrens of Florida, and thofe to the northward; the pine-barrens to the northward, from the poverty of the foil, do not anfwer the neceflary expence of clearing. The clofenefs of ^e trees hinders the grafs from growing under them, fo that large tra6ts of land are no further ufeful than to maike pitch and tar : whereas in Florida, as the trees {land at a greater diflance^ and both the rains and dews arc more frequent than to the northward, the pine-barrens arc covered With good grafs of a perpetual verdure. In paffing through this part of Florida, we find thofe plains frequently divideaby the fwamps above-mentioned; which being full of foreft-trees diverfify the afpe& of the country, as they form fo many thick woods. The fwamps are from half a mile to a ffiile broad, aAd front two to five miles long ; the depth of the water is various, but is fuch that in travelling they are ufually rode through with- out much difficulty. From St. John's river fouthwards to St. Augufline is forty- five miles ; the country is much the fame as has been jufl de- fcribed, but not quite fo good, the fwamps being neither fo' frequent nor fo large. Before we fpeak of St. Auguftine, it will be proper to take feme notice of the river St. John's, the principal river of this province in point of utility and beauty, and not inferior to any in America. The fource of this river, which is not exa£lW afcertained, is in all probability near the capes of Florida; it paiTcs through five lakes, the lowed: of them is called by the Indians the great lake ; it is twenty miles Ion? and fifteen broad, and has eight feet water ; there are fevcral iflands in it, and it is now called lake George ; it is one hundred and feventy miles from the mouth of the river. In going down from hence, the firfl European habitation is Mr. Spalding's^ an Indian trader's ilore-houfe : fifteen miles lower is Mr. Rolle's fettlement; the whole diftance from the lake to Mr. Rolle's is forty-five miles, and the country between the beft difcovcred yet upon the river. The tropical fruits and plants 'arc I ^ iH A M E R I C A.' ^ 351 tr6 foiind in great abundance, and afford the ftrongeft evldenci^ that both the foil and climate are fit for fugar, cotton, indigo^ and other Weft-India produdtions. Mr. Rolle's plantation is well iituatcd on the eaftern banks, and is themoft confidera-' ble upon this river, which is here very narrow ; tWenty-fiver miles from Mr. Rolle's, downward, is Piccolata, a fmall fort with a garrifon. The river is here three miles broad. The bar at low water is nine feet deep, its channel up to lake George is much deeper ; the breadth is very unequal, from a quarter of a mile t6 three miles. The tide rifcs at the bar from five to eight feet, and two feet at Mr. Relic's,' though one hundred and twenty-five miles from the fea. There are neither ihallows nor any rapidity in the river ; the current, owing to the flatnefs of the country, is very gentle,* and vefTels may go up the river almoft as eafy as down, for two hundred miles ; there ii perhaps no river in the world more commodious for navigation. St. Mark's river takes its rife near the mouth of St. John'? river, runs from north to fouth parallel with the fea, till it Empties itfelf into the harbour of St. Auguftine : from the Datnefs of the country, there are many fait marfhes on botti fides of the river, almoft up to its fource ; thefe marfbes may be eafily defended froifi the tides, and will muke very rich lands, either for rice, indigo, or hemp. We come now to the harbour of St. Auguftine, which would be one of the beft in America, Were it not for its bar^ which will not admit veiTels of great burden, as it has buc eight feet water *. The bar is furrounded by breakers, that have a formidable appearance when you enter it -, but is not 1o dangerous as it appears, on account of the bar being \ery ihort : ftnce the government has appointed a good pilot, na veflels have been loft upon it. There is a road on the north iide of the bar, with good anchorage^ for fuch (hips as dravt too much water to go into the harbour. A neck of the main land to the north, and a ffoint of Ana- ftatia ifland to the fouth, form the entrance of the port. Up- pofite to the entrance lies Port St. Mark's, fo called from the river it lies upon. This fort is a regular quadrangle, with four baftions, a ditch fifty feet wide,., with a covert- way, places of arms, and a glacis : the entrance of the gate is defended by a * It is necefTary to obferve, that the depth of the bars of the harbours on the eaftern (here of Eaft Florida^ cannot be exadily afcertained, as the tides there are chiefly regulated by the winds : a ttrong WelVerly wind wilt make but fix feet, and an eafterly wina twdvo feet water upoirthe bar of St. AuguHine, a(k-Out, from which there is an extenfivc profpe£l towards the fea, as well as inland. Thf re are two churches within the walls of the town, the parifh church a plain building, and another belonging to the convent of Francifcan friars- which is converted into barracks for the garri'bn. The homes are built of free-ftone, com- monly two ftories high, two rooms upon, a floor, with large witidows and •balconies : before the entry of moil of the houieff runs a r' v'co of flone arches; the roofs are commonly flat. The Spai..:.rds confultcd convenience more than tafte in their buildings ; the number of houfes in the Spaniards time, in the town, and within the lines, was above nine hundred. Many of them, efpecially in the fuburbs, being built of wood or palmetto leaves, are now gone to decay. The inhabitants of all colours, white, negroes, mulattos, Indians, &c. at the vacuationof St. Auguftine, amounted to five thoufand feven hundred, the garrifun included, ccnfifting of two thoufand five hundred men. Half a mile from the town, to the weft, is a line with a broad ditch and baftions, running from St. Sebaftian's creek to St. Mark's river: a mile further is another fortified line, with feme redoubts, forming a fecond commu- nication between a ftoccata fort upon St. Scbaftians river, and fort M^^ia upon the river St. Mark's. Within t tn AMERICA. 555 fettJe- Upon Within the firft line, near the town, was a fmuU ment of Germans, who had a chur-'i of their own. St. Mark's river, within the fame hne, was alio an Indian town, with a church built of free-ftone. The fteeple is of good workmanship and tafte, though built by the Indians : the lands belonging to this townfhip, the governor has given as glebe-lahd to the pariih church. The land about Auguftine, in all appedrahce the worft irt the province, is yet iar from being unfruitful j it produces two crops of Indian corn a year; the garden vegetables are in great pcrfedion j the orange and lemon trees grow here, wimout cultivation, to a larger fize, and produce better fruit, than in Spain or Portugal. Oppofite to the town of St. Auguftine, lies the ifland of Anaftalla. This ifland is about twenty-five miles in length, and dwided from the main land by a narrow channel, called Matanza river, though, in reality, an arm of the fea: the foil is but indi^erent ; at prefent it is ufcd for pafturage ; but having fome creeks and fwamps in feveral parts, may in time be cultivated to advantage. At the north end of this illand is a watch-tower, or look- but, built of white ftone, which ferves alfo as a land-mark for veflels at lea. At the approach of any vefTels, fignals are made from this tower to the fort ; a few foldiers do duty there on that account. A quarry of whitifti (lone is oppofite to Auguftine, of which the fort and houfes are built : {(one tjuarries are very rare in the fouthern parts of America, which makes this of Anaftafia the more valuable ; the ftone is mani- feftly a concretion of faiall (hells petrified j i is foft under grouiid, but becomes very hard and durable by being expofcd to the air« Going fouthwards from Auguftine, at the diftance of a mile artd a half, we come to St. Scbaftian's creek. This ftream takes its rife five miles north of Auguftine, and after making a fweep to the weft, empties itfelf into the fea at this place : - near the mouths of this creek are cxtenfive falt-water marfhcs, overflown at high tides, which may be cafily taken in ; higher inland are fine iwamps. We come next to Wood-cutters creek, which rifes fifteen miles north of Auguftine, and, after defcribing a fcmicircle to the weft, much like Srtbaftian*s creek, but with a larger fweep, empties itfelf into the fea, fix miles below Auguftine; the lands upon this creek confift of very good fwamps and highlands. Aa 2 At 35^ Defcription of the Britijh Empire'^ At the Matanzas, fifteen miles fouth of Wood -cutters creeky is a fma:ll fort and harbour, fit for coafting veflels. The har- bour is oppofitc the fouth point of Anaftafta ifland, where *hcrc is a fecond watch-tower. The foil between Wood- Cutters creek and the Matanzas b tolerably good, on account of feveral creeks and fwamps. From the Matanzas we come to Hallifax river, which, like St. Maries above-mentioned, runs parallel to the fea, and is feparated from it only by a fandy beach, in fome parts a mile, in others two miles broad. 1 his beach or bank feems to be formed by the fands j which, either by hurricanes, or in a courfe of ages, have been waflicd up by the fea. The fouroe of this river, though certainly not very far from St. John's river, is not as yet well afcertained : before it reaches Mufquitto inlet, Tomoko river falls into it. This river runs from weft to caft j and from it to St. John*s is «nly four miles land-carriage. From the Matanzas to Mufquitto inlet is forty miles : at this place, Hilllborough river, coming from the fouth, and Hallifax river from the north, meet, and are both difcharged here into the fea : the bar of this harbour has eight feet at low water. I do not know any country befides Eaft-Florida, where rivers have been obferved tp run parallel to the fea, where two firearms, as thofe laft mentioned, meet each other from direct Oppofite quarters ; and what is ftill more remarkable, where two rivers, as the Hallifax, and St. John's, at fo fmall a diftdnce, flow different ways, the dreams of which run paral- lel to each othcry one to the fouth, the other to the north. About Mufquitto inlet the country is low, and chiefly falt- mar0i j what highland there is, is covered with cabbage-trees, papaw-tree, and other tropic plants, which (hews that Weft- India commodities may be raifed here. The weftern banks of Hallifax and Hillfborough rivers contain a great deal of ex- cellent land ', the many orange groves, (whicn denote former Spanifh ft::ttlements) and the frequent remains of Indian towns^ ihcws that they have been onCe Well inhabited. We aie as yet unacquainted with the fources of moft of the rivers in feaft-Florida, and particularly that of Hillfborough river ; it is generally beFieved to have a communication with an Indian inlet, called by the Spaniards Rio Days, fixty miles to the fouth, where there iis fuch another harbour as Mufquitto, with eight feet Witter; it is faid to communicate with St. •John's- rivet. Between in A M E R I C A. 357 Between Indian river, and the capee of Florida, are fevcrai rivers and harboursj but as they are not ks yet actually Pur- veyed, it would be prefumption in me, to impofc the reports of the Indians upon the public as certain truth. We may confider the fouthern parts of the peninfuia, and the weftcrii coaft (the bay of Tampa excepted) as terra incognita, till the ftirveyor-general of the fouthern diftrid of America, has completed the a6lual furvey of the coaft and rivers. The climate of £aft^« ferida pea, fup- n the mate, ouhts 162 th- , and » red td m the In the IS high" 1 make 'ond all 3od cli- ifohable/ d at lefs :-Indies; \ pound for four )Ound ill at differs' jaintain- id fodder ants, are* ia. te Weft- ifiderable e faved ini jlantation ;d irt'ands, le grantee is only ten years, laft year, ■anted, the this is the caie, ^afe, the crop is ruined by drought — a misfortune which iar not to be apprehended in Florida. ' ' rj rr^ ^ ''•*;';• Both the foil and climate of Eaft-Florida feem to Aiit thr$' plant; the Spaniards planted fome of the gu^timala indigo in their gardens at Augaftine, where I have feen, in a poor, fandy foil, indigo plants of a larger fize, and in a more luxu- riant ftate, than ever I faw in South-Carolina in the richeft and beft cultivated lands : I was informed the Spaniards cut it foiu* times a year. This grain is the common food in America; the Spaniards' being confined within the lines of Auguftine, ufed to raife two crops a year upon the fame ground ; which I mention rather as a mark of the fertility of the foil, than of the good' hulbandry of the Spaniards : it grows here in almoft everyfoil. The lai^ge bounties granted by parliament, and the con- fiderable premiums by the fociety of arts and fciences,. will- induce/ome of the newfettlers to cultivate hemp; it requires a frefli, firong, moift foil : the fwamps, after being cleared and drained for rice, are fitteft to be fown with hemp for the firft and fecond year^t It is not at all doubtful whether the vine will flourifh irt Florida, becaufe it «:ows there, and in almoft all parts of America, foutb of Delaware, in great plenty. The wildi grapes of America areof little worth, they ufually run up the trees of the^forefis, where they are too much ihaded, and for #ant of cultivation, of no value. , . Tbe^ideamefft of labour, and the chtapnefs ur foreign wines in AnKrica, have both contributed to prev^ent the planting of viatyarda more frequently. The French refugees j^anted iofW iai South-Canolina,^ and I have dranik a red wine of ther growdi of that province little inferior to burgundy. . . Wbeii It is obferved that the riclKft wines are produced in the iflands of Madeira and the Canaries, in the ifland of Cyprus^ and iix otber parts of the Levant,- lying nearly in the latitude of Eaft-Florida ; it will, probably, not be owing to any defedi either in foil or climate, but to the dearnefs of labour^, or negligence of the inhabitants, if wine is not pro- duced' hereafter in ibme plenty upon this continent. Ctprnnts, mifins, figs, and olives, will moit probably thrive here whenever tbe^ are planted. Having fini&ed what I had to ivf of the country of Fail' Florida, I muft, before I conclude, add one word more upoir the fubje^ of procuring inhabitants for it. The government has adted agreeably to the wife and maf^ culine fpirit of its policy, in laying the new foundation of feveral r* 368 DefcriptUn of the Britijh Emfhe^ (Sen^eral extenfive colonies. Civil as well as military elFabliih-* ments have been provided thefe three years for the two Flori-i^ da's, at an expence of near 10O9OO0I. a year; but ftill the inhabitants of both of them put together, (foldiers and fa-^ yages excepted) would make but a thin congregation in a imall parifli-church. . t:. < i If the government refolves not to ftir one ftep further, it I»s gone already a great deal too far ; Florida, without inha- bitants, is fo much worfe than nothing, that Gceat^Britain lofes near ioo,oool. a^year by it. Governments, garrilons, eflablKhmenti civil and military^ without inhabitants, or any meafures taken to procure them,- feems fomething ftrange. It is very unufual to take all the Qieafures requifite to a particular end but one, and to negle^ a fingle one, which being omitted, renders all the reft abortive. > - ...^-im'tX If a farmer fhould purchafe an eftate^ hire fervants, pre-' pare the ground for. fowing, have the feed-corn ready, and fiill fave the expence of putting it in the ground, his neigh- bours would laugh heartily at him. Rice, cotton, and indigo^ will grow in £aft-Florida, whenever they are put in the ground, but they will not grow without. We muft not ex-^ peA, becaufe a country is a good one, that it therefore will work miracles, and without fo much as ibwing the teeth of Q^taas*s ferpent * of itfelf produce the human species. If Eaft-Florida fettles itfelf, which it is left to do, it wilt be the firft colony on the continent that ever did fo: the fadfc* as far as experience goes, overturns the theory. Notwithftanding every wife and generous meafure \t taken by governor Grant for the good of £aft-Florida, yet his pro^ clamation to invite new fetUers, dated the firft of Od(Aser^ X764, has not been hitherto attended with any vifibhs eff(£(£t. When we coniider the amount of the prefent eftabliihmenttf for that country, it feems to be bad oeconomy to ftay for years,' in order to fee whether Florida will fettle itfelf or not. None? of the American provinces are fo well peopled,^ atftofpare inhabitants; and were any of the inhabitants to the northward difpofed to go to Florida, it is, with refpeA to the migration of fanulies, quite inacceffible by land, for want of roam, and ferrys to pafs the feveral large rivers ; and fuch inhabitants atf may be willing to feek a new habitation^ cannot afford the txpence of conveying themfelves and families by fea. 'i Neither is Florida likely to be fettled by inhabitants fronif Europe^ unlefs the government will defray the expences, and . .» ♦. Ovidv iv. Metamv . . - . ■M. n the [id fa-" I in a »er, it inha- Sritain ilitary^ themy ail the le reft V s, pre; ly, and neigh- indigo^ : in the notex-i lore will teeth of *it will thefaa, IS taken his pro-i ^aober^ eeffea. iihinenttf or vears,' u Nontf rtofpare )rthward nigrationp ia£, and Mtants 94 fford the t ints fronir icesy and iH AMERICA. : 3^9 pay the paflage, for men who have neither money nor credit, to conveyvthemfelves thither. Will any many nuin go fixm Europe to Florida at his own expence, when he can go to South-Carolina paflage free, and have lands given him when he gets there, without any expence ; and bclides this, be fup- plied with neceflaries and provtfion for a twelvemonth ? South- Carolina, though fettled above a century, is ftill at rn txpenc^ of 4000 1. a year, as a bounty given upon the importation of foreign proteftants * : we ought to follow their example and not content ourfelves with the name only of governnicncJ and colonies. Should the parliament of Great-Britain give only the fame bounty that Carolina gives, Eaft-Florida would Hand 3^ chance at leaft, of becoming inhabited; the healihinc.s and fertility of this country will be known by degrees ; and I do not doubt, but foreigners may be induced to go thither uport the fame terms they are tempted to go to other colonies. I believe feveral perfons of ntote intend to apply for grants of land in Eaft-Florida, with a view of raifing fugar, or other articles there, by the help of negroes j and it is alfo true, that the condition of each grant, requires the having one white • By forei8:n fettlers is to be underftood, i. GeVriians from the Rhine, Mofelle, and other parts, where they cultivate vineyards. 2. Proteftants from the fouthern provinces of France, uf(;d to the culture of filk, olives, vines, &c. 3. Inhabitants of the iflands of Greece, and the Archipelago ; they area very fober, indui- trious people, well ikillcd in the cultivation of cotton, vines, rai- fins, currants, olives, almonds, and filk worms : the foil and climate of Eaft-Florida is adapted to every one of rhefc articles. Without doubt, many of my readers, efpeclally thofe unac- quainted with America, will be apt to afk, why fliould we mak* choice of foreigners, and not of our own fubjeils ? I'o which I would anfwer, ** that thefe foreigners, when fettled in an Er,!:^iiih colony, are no longer foreigners, but fubjeds to Great-ijritain." It would be very impolitic to encourage, or fo much as to counte- nance th6 emigration of induftrious hufliandmen, and ufeful manu- faflurers ; and thofe which are either chargeable, or ufelcfs to the public here in England, will be much more fo irt a new colony ; beftdes, experience convinces us, that foreigners are the fittcft people to fettle America. The provinces of Pcnfylvania, Ncw- Vork, and New-Jerfey, chiefly inhabited by Germans, and Dutch, are the bcft: peopled, and the moft wealthy upon the c<^n;inent, notwithftanding the little value their produce is of, in comparifon to the fouthern colonies : and it is undoubtedly true, that the flourifhing ftate America is in, is chiefly owing to the continual importation of foreign fettlers. B b inha- ^yo Defcriptton of the Britijh Empire^ inhabitant to one hundred acres of land ; but it is furely im- politic) to make the actual fettling of new colonies depend upon a flight and precarious foundation, without aiiifting the laudable defigns of thofe who apply for grants, and feconding their views, by promoting the importation of foreign pro- teftants^ to fupply them with cheap fervants, and ufeful la- bourers. At a time when public oeconomy is abfolutely neceflary, I do not wiHi to fee fuch fums expended to fettle Florida, as has been done with refpedl to Nova Scotia } but fince a method of encouraging foreigners to fettle in America has been fome- times praflifed, and experience has ihewn it to be both frugal and efficacious, I flatter myfelf the adminiflration will adopt the fyftem of Carolina, or lome other equally good expedient. The amount of the civil eftablifhment in Eaft-Florida, is five thoufand feven hundred pounds a year, granted by par- liament : if Great Britain Ihould difpofe of an equal fum, to encourage the fettling of the colony, and allow only two thoufand five hundred pounds to be paid as a bounty of four pound per head to the mafter of the (hip, for every foreign proteflant imported to fettle in Eafl-Florida j to allow two thoufand five hundred pounds more, to fupply the new fettlers with provifion for nine months, and the remaining kytn hundred pounds to be diflributed at the difcretion of the gover- nor, in provincial premiums, upon the growth of cotton, hemp, filk, and vines ', fhould this, I fay, be done, his m^efty's governors may have the pleafure of diflributing juftice, and his generals affording fafety to the king's fub- jedls, that may hereafter be found in that colony. ^ E S T FLORID^. WE come now to that part of the country which borders on the gulf of Mexico and which is called Wefl Florida. And it appears, by a memorial prefented to king William III. that England has had an undoubted title to it ever fince the reign of Henry VII. by whofe commiffion Se- baflian Cabot difcovered all this coaft fronting the Atlantic Ocean, from north latitude twenty-eight to fifty, twenty years before it had been vifited by any other Europeans. Then indeed the fouth part of this continent towards the Gulph or Straits of Bahama was yiri,ted by the Spaniards under Juan Ponce ■s-^^ /» A M E R I C A. 37^ r int- epend ig the nding I pro- ful la- 'ary, I da, as ncthod ; fome- i frugal 1 adopt ledient. rida, is by par- fum, to nly two of four foreign low two fettlers g feven e gover- cotton* or^, his ributing e's fub- :h borders led Weft I to king title to it lifiion Se- Atlantic twenty ns. Then Gulph or inder Juan Ponce Pbncft dc Leon, as it was ten years afterwards by Vafques Aiillon i in 1527 by Pamphilo Navarez, and in 1534 by Fer- dinando Soto j but their cruelties fo enraged the natives, that they expelled them all one after another. The laft ex- pedition of the Spaniards hither was in 1558, by order of Valefco, then viceroy of Mexico; but falling into feuds almoft as foon as they came, they returned without making any fettlement : nor have they ever fmce made any on this partof the continent, except at St. Augufline and St. Mattheo. This province, called by the Spaniards Florida, and by the French Louifiana, was named, Carolana by king Charles 1. in a grant which he made of it on the thirtieth of O£lobcr, in the fifth year of his reign, to Sir Robert Heath, knt. his attorney general. The extent of this grant fet out in the charter was, all the continent on the weft of Carolina, from the river St. Mattheo, lying ac- cording to the patent in thirty-one degrees of north latitude (though by later and more accurate obfervation, it is found to lie exactly in lat. 30. 10.) to the river Paffb Magno, in north lat. 36. extending in longitude from the Atlantic to the Pacific Sea, a traft which was not then poffeffed by any Chriftian power, together with all the iflands of Veanis and Bahama, and feverai adjacent iflands lying fouth from the continent within the faid degrees of latitude, to be all called by the name of the Carolana Iflands. Sir Robert Heath con- veyed Carolana to the earl of Arundel, who was at the ex- . pence of planting feverai parts of the countrv, and had efFeded much more had he not been prevented by the war with Scot- land, in which he was general for king Charles, and after- wards by the civil wars in England, and the lunacy of his eldeft fon. In the beginning of Cromwell's protedlorate, captain Watts (whom king Charles II. knighted and made governor of St. Chriftopher's) being upon this coaft, and meeting with one Leet, an Englifhman, who was in great fa- vour with the paraoufti, or petty king, of the country, by his influence the Englifti were allowed to trade, and incited to fettle here. Not long after, this paraoufti alfo fent an am- baflador to England, and the Englifh had divers trades of land given them by the Indians, and furveyed the continent (of which there is a map ftill extant) for above two hundred rnile^ fquare. It appears farther from this memorial, that the Five Nations in the territory of New York, whom the French commonly call Iroquois, who have for almoft eighty years voluhJiiiriiy fubjc6led themfelves to the crown of England, and who had B b 2 conquer- ■"'' "'""''**lSffllb^. 372 Dcfmption of the Britijh Empire^ conquered all the country from their own habitations to the Miflifippi river, and even beyond it, made a fale and fur- .render of al! thofe their conquefls, and acquifitions, in the reign of king James II. to the government of New- York ; which is another proof of their being the property of the Englifh. The memorial here mentioned was prefented to king Wil- liam, as aforefaid, by the late Dr. Coxe, who, by conveyances from one to another, after the death of the earl of Arundel be- came proprietor of Carolana j and who fets forth in the faid memorial, that, at the expence of feveral thoufand pounds, he difcovered divers of its parts j firft from Carolina, after- wards from Pennfylvania, by the Sufquehanah river; and that then he made a difcovery more to the fouth by the great river Ochequiton. Here it is fittoobferve, that in September 1712, the late French king granted letters patent to M. Crozat, his fecretary, for the fole trade to this country, by the name of Louifiana, extending about one thoufand miles along the coall of the gulph of New Mexico, and almott as much from the faid gulph to Canada; and it appears by the patent, that ■■ the French altered the names of the rivers, harbours, &c. as well as of the country itfelf, which had been ufually called Spanifli Florida ; and that under pretence of a 'new difcovery of it, thev declared themfelves poffeflbrs of this vaft tra11 winds, which four in AMERICA. 379 four fathom at the entrance, and deepens gradually to feven or eight. It lies eleven leagues eaft of. port Louis ar J Mobile, ninety weft from the upper port of the peninfula of Florida, and one hundred and fifty-eight leagues from the Tortugas iilands. On the weft fide of the harbour ftood a poor town, of about forty palmetto houfes, with a fmall ftoclcaded fort of twelve or fourteen guns, called St. Mary de Galve, becaufe it was built in the time of count de Galve ; but of little moment, becaufe all their foldiers and the majority of the inhabitants were malefadors, tranfported hither from Mexico. A fine river enters the bay of Mexico on the eaft fide of this har- bour, which comes about one hundred miles out of the country, after being formed by the junction of twoother r»ver$. The land here produces many piiic-trees, fit for (hip mafts, of which many are cut down, and carried to Vera Cruz. There is a communication from hence by land with Apa- lachy, which is alfo inhabited by Spaniards. Apalachy Cola is a good harbour, thirty leagues eaft of the former, and as much weft from what tne Spaniards call the river Spirito Santo. The Indians name it Palache or Apalache, by adding an A, after the Arabian manner, from which a great part of their language is derived. This river enters the gulph of Mexico about one hundred miles from the cod of the bay of Palache, at the north- weft end of the penin- fula of Florida, in about N. lat. 30. Here was a fort called St. Maryd'Apalache, which the Alibanous deftroyed in 1705. It is not eafy to find this place, by reafon of the iflcs and lakes before and about it; and though a ftatcly river, whofe mouth makes a large harbour, from whence a trade is carried on to Havannah by fmall veflcls, yet it has not above tv/o fathoms and a half, or three fathoms water at moft on the bar j but when that is pafled, it is very deep and large, and the tide flows higher into it than into any other river upon all the coaft, fome fay no lefs than fifty miles. But this is not ftrange, the country being a perfedt level, and the river having a double current, one from the weft, and the other from the fouth, all along the peninfula, from twenty-five to thirty degrees of latitude. On both fides of it towards the fea-coaft live feveral nations, called by the name of the Apalache Indians; and about the middle of it live the great nations of the Cuftietaes, Talli- boufies, and Adgebaches, This river proceeds chiefly from others, which have their origin on the fouth or fouth-weft; jide pf the great ridge of hills that divides this country from Carolina $to Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ Carolina, and is fuppofed to have a courfe of about four hundred miles. All the channel from hence to the Tortugas iflands, is called the bay of Carlos. Here is a communica- tion from hence by land with St. Auguftin. In the bay of Naflau, or Spirit© Santo, which is about a degree in length from north to fouth, there are four iflands, which lie all together in a line from fouth-weft to north-eaft for fifty miles, with openings between them, a mile or two over. The moft northerly is that betwixt which and the continent is the entrance of the bay. It is called Myrtle ifland from the great quantity of myrtle which grows in it, and has plentiful fprings of excellent water. It is about twenty-four miles in length, but in fome places very narrow. Some think it is the fame that the French call L'lfle des Vaifleaux, or the Ships ifland ; which, confidering its diftance from Dauphiny ifland, and the convenient (belter it afix)rds (hips from the wind, is not very improbable. The bay is fifteen miles broad from Myrtle Jfland to a row of iflands which run parallel with the main and another bay between them, and llretch fifty or fixty miles to the fouth, as far as one of the fmaller mouths of the Miffifippi. As to the religion of the few natives of this country, they have fcarce any, unlefs a few of the moft unaccountable fuper- ttitioiis may have that name. They are afraid of evil fpirits without any notion of a good one. They will cheat you if they cnn ; and, when they were unable to pay their debts, they ufed to knock their creditors on the head. Both fexes are exceflive lovers of drinking, allow of polygamy, and are ib charitable to ftrangers that they'll fpare them their daugh- ters, or any body but their wives. Yet they punifh adultery by fetting a mark of infamy on the women and putting them away. Some of the Englifb gentlemen who have been caught offending in this article have paid dear for their freedom, by kaving their ears cut off, or by being difpatched by a knife or a gun. They have chief commanders, who are fometimes honoured with the title of kings, and appointed by the gover- nors of Carolina, &c. according to a writing fealed with the treat feal of the province, of which feal they are very chary, ut know not a word of the writing. Very few of their kings have much power, for their conjurors or war-captains are al- v/ays the greater men. They f^retend to hereditary fuccefllon, and recommend the next in blood of the male line to the governor. They have a fort of council of twelve or fourteen members, whom they call beloved) an <■>;. .*• THE NEfFLr CEDED ISLANDS, HAVING given as large a defcription as the nature of our plan would permit, of the continental poflefEons, and conqueih belonging to Great Britain in America ; w« now come to thofe iflands of which {he hath lately been put into pofleffion by the ninth article in the laft treaty of peace ; where it is fpecified that the moft Chriflian king cedes and guaranties to his Britannick majefty, in full right, the iflands of Grenada, and of the Grenadines, with the fame ftipula- tions in favour of the inhabitants of this colony, inferted in the fourth article for thofe of Canada : and the partition of the iflands, called neutral, is agreed and fixed, fo that thofe of St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago, Ihall remain, in full right, to Great Britain; and that of St. Lucia fhall be delivered to France, to enjoy the fame likewife in full right; and the high contracting parties guaranty the partition fo ftipulated. R N D A, by WITH regard to the ifland of Grenada, it lies in W. 6r* 40. and N. lat. 12. 00. 20. leagues N.W. from Trini-, dad about fixty-five miles N. W. from Tobago, and thirty leagues N. of New-Andalufiaon the continent, to which this is the neareft of all the French iflands in the Antilles. Labat makes it forty- five leagues S. W. of Barbados (others but thirty) and feventy from Martinico. It extends from N. to S, in form of a crefcent, being nine or ten leagues in length ; and five, where broadeft. Father Tertre judges it to be as big again as St. Chriftophcr's, and about twenty-four leagues in compafs. Labat fays, they who have travelled round it mak? the circumference, at moft, but twenty-two. Its original inhabitants were the Caribbeans, of whom greater numbers were tempted to fettle here than in other idands, becaufe of its fertility, its wild game, and fifhery. M. de A '< 382 Defer /pi ion of the iritijh Empire ^ M. dc Poincy attempted to fettle here in 1638, aild fo did feveral others after him ; but they mifcarried, by reafon the Caribbeans were too many for them to cope with, and St. Chriftopher's too far off to give them afliftance. The honour of an eftablifliment here for the French, fays Labat, was re- ferved for M. Paraquet, proprietor and governor of Martinico, who undertook it at his own expence. The firft colony he brought hither was two hundred of the fitteft men that he could find in that ifland, furnifhed with prefents to footh the favages, and arms to fubdue them, in cafe of oppofition. He arrived here, after four days fail from Martinico, in June 1650 ; was received with great joy, by the captain of the favages; raifed a pretty ftrong fort in lefs than a week's time; and, having given the captain fome linen-cloth, looking- glafles, hatchets, bills, knives, and other things which the Caribbeans wanted, befides two quarts of brandy, he yielded him the proprietary of the whole ifland, in the name of all the other Caribbeans, with a refervation only of their habitations. The French had juft got in one crop of tobacco here, fo goodj that one pound of it was worth three of what grew in the other iflands, when the Caribbeans began to repent their bargain. Without any declaration of war, they began with waylaying and aflaffinating the French ftragglers, of whom feveral had been knocked on the head in the woods, as they were hunting j or in the bays, as they were turning tortoife : whereupon the French that landed, being rein- forced, from Martinico, by three hundred men more, attacked the favages; who defended themfelves with (bowers of arrows, but were forced to retire to a mountain, from whence they rolled down trunks of trees upon the French ; and, being joined, foon after, by other favages from Dominica and St. Vincent, fell upon the French; but were defeated, many of them put to the fword, and forty, who efcaped, ran to a precipice, and caft themfelves into the fea; for which reafon, it was afterwards called the Mountain of Leapers. The French burnt their cottages, deflroyed their gardens, plucked up the tnandioca-roots, and carried off all they found. Yet the favages rallied, foon after, in feparate bodies, and killed all the French whom they found abroad in the woods, &C. Upon which, the French commander fent out one hundred and fifty men, who furprized them at day-break, and put all the men, women, and children, whom they found, to the fword ; burnt their manfions, deftroyed all their proviiions, feized all their boats, and thereby difabled them from fetching any more fuc- cours from the neighbouring iiles. Notwithftanding* this, the/ a ry; in AMERICA. 381 they reuelled frequently ; and fome of the French planters having alfo mutinied againft the prorpietor, M. Paraquet, when he h ad well-nigh exhaufted his eftate by it, he lold it to the count deCerillac at Paris in 1657, with all the veflels, arms, flaves, &c. for ninety thoufand li.rcs, or thirty thoufand crowns. The count fent fuch a tyrannical brute to govern it, that the better fort abandoned it j and the reft, who ftayed behind, feized him and fhot him to death. Neverthelefs, in 1664, the count fold this ifland to the French Weft-India company for one hundred thoufand livres, though there were but one hundred and fifty planters left out of five hundred that were upon the ifland when he took pofieflion of it : and in 1674, the company was obliged to give it up to the king. Such a frequent change of matters only gave trouble and drf- turbance to the colony ; fo that it is but very lately that it began to thrive. The miflionaries Tertre and Labat give the following ac- count of its natural hiftory : this ifland enjoys a good air, and a foil fo fruitful, that all the trees which cover it, both for fruit and timber, are better, ftraiter, higher, and bigger, than in the neighbouring iflands, except the cocoa-tree, which does not grow fo high here as in the other iflands. Its moil remarkable tree it the latin tree, which has a tall body, zn^f inftead of boughs, bears leaves like fans, in long ftalks, which, being tyed together, ferve for roofs of houfes. It has falt- pits, and abundance of armadillos, whofe flefti is as good as mutton, and the chief food of the inhabitants ; befides tor- toifes and lamantins. The coaft is full of fine vales, watered with good rivers, moft of which run from a lake at the top of a high mountain in the middle of the ifland ; and one of them, in particular, runs into the fea on the S. W. where is a low ihore, with good anchorage, at twelve leagues diftance, but an exceeding ftrong current, which both ebbs and flows in a few hours. There are feveral little bays and harbours round the ifland, which ferve for mooring of (hips, and the landing of goods ; and fome of the harbours are fortified. All the eaft coaft is very fafe, clofe by the fhore, and the ifland is not iubjefs of a good number of their men, whom the ne^^roes killed, by furprize, in the night; and particularly the major-general of Martinico, one of their two chief commanders. Labat thinks, however, that the French came very well off, upon the whole; becaufe fo ill -concerted C c , an 'S86 Defcripiion of the Britijh Empire^ an enterprize did not involve them in a war with the negrotf4| which might have been efpeciaily pernicious to the colony oi Grenada, and that which they were then replacing at St. Lucia ; the original inhabitants, however, arenow entirely worn out j and Europeans,withtheirflaves, are all that occupy the Antilles*. * According to the defcription this author gives of it, it is one of the befl of all the Antilles ; having a deep, fat, free foil, capable of producing every thing, almoft, that can be defired. It has abundance of rivulets and fprings of the beft water in the world ; larsje ftrait trees of all the kinds that are produced in America; and tobacco is cultivated here, whicli. is reckoned not inferior to that of Vcrine, near the Caraccas j together with mandioca, potatos, ignamas, gourds, the finelt large melons, and Turky wheat. And Labat adds, that if any of the fVench could but agree with fome of the old Carib- beans here for fome pieces of ground, and only apply to the breeding of poultry, fwinc, and cabrittoes, they might foon raife a fortune, without ftirring off the ifland; becaufe the Martinicans would not fail to come in with their veffels, and take them off at their own price, cither in money or goods ; by which means, fays he, a trade might be alfo opened, to good advantage, with the induftrious negroes of the Cabes-Terre ;, who might be induced, in time, to put themfelves under the French king's protection, and even to pay him tribute. Great profit might alfo be ma-Je of the timber on this ifland, of which there is a vaft flock of all kinds ; and indico thrives here,, to a miracle. Nor does he doubt but the foil would be very proper for the cultivation of cocoa-trees, enough even to furnifh the other iflands, which now carry their money* or goods for it to the Spaniards on the coaft of the Caraccas. Labat fays, the late French king fcnt fome miflionary friars hither, who were murdered by the favages. Both the Ca- rlbbeansand negroes here are, for the mole part, painted alike^ and wear a clout about their middle ;. but, notwithftanding this uniformity, the curled woolly pates of the negroes are eafily diilinguifiied from the black, long, flrait hair of the favages ;. befides, if their heads were fhaved, it would be no difficult matter to know the blacks from the other, by the air of their heads, the colour of their eyes, the ihape of their mouths, and their corpulency. The Indians live under chiefs of their own chufing, and the negroes have the fame with other principal Indians and negroes, to manage affairs under them. The form of their government is republican. The Indians were computed to be near eight thoufand, and the negroes five or fix thoufand in 1723, when captain Braith- waite, , lieutenant-governpr, aiid Mr. Robert hg twenty-two others, C c 21 whoqi ^8^ Defcription of the Brittjh Empire, whom I entertained very handfomely, and made the chief fome trifling prefents ; but found him a perfon of no con- fequence, and they called him chief, to get fome prefent front me. Being drove ofF hence for feveral days, by the currents, we anchored in a fpacious bay to the leeward of the iflarrd, the only proper place for making a fettlement ; when, immediately, the fhore was covered with Indians, amongft whom was a Frenchman, armed all with cutlafles ; and fome had, alfo, mufquets, piftols, bows and arrows, &;c. who, with very little ceremony, inclofed me, and carried me a mile up the country, to fee their general. I found him fitting amidft a guard or about one hundred Indians. Thofe neareft to his perfon had mufquets, the reft bov«^s and arrows ; and all obfcrved a great filence. He ordered me a feat; and a Frenchman ftandingathis right hand as his interpreter, he afked me my bufinefs here, and my country. 1 told him that I was Englilh, and that I put in here for wood and water ; for I did not care to fay any thing el(e before the Frenchman; •but I added, that if he would pleafe to come on board our Ihip, I would leave Englifhmen in hoftage for thofe he fhould be pl^afed to take along with him : but I could not prevail with him, either, to come on board, or fufFer me to have wood and water. He faid he was informed we were come to force a fettlement ; and we had no way to remove that jealoufy but by getting under fail. As foon as I found what influence the I^renchman*s company had upon him, I took my leave, and returned to my boat under a guard. When I came to the fliorc, I found the guard was increafed by a number of negroes, all armed with fuzees. Immediately after I got into my boat, I fent a mate a{hore with rum, beef, bread, 5cc. and fome cutlaiTes ; and ordered a Frenchman, who went with the mate, to tell the general, that though he denied me the com- mon good of water, and a little ufelefs wood, I had, never- thelefs, fent him fuch refrefhments as our (hips afforded. Our people found the Frenchman (who had been his interpreter) gone, and that then the Indian general feemed pleafed ; and, in return for my prefent^ fent me bows and arrows. Our people had not been long returned, before the general fent a canoe alfo, with ten chief Indians, who fpoke very good French, to thank me for my prefents, and to afk pardon for his refufing me wood and water ; and aflTured mc, I might have what 1 pleafed : and they had orders to tell me, if I pleafed to go afliore again, they were to remain hoftages for my civil treatment, i fent them on board the man of war, and, with captain Watfon, went aihore, I was well re- ceived h AMERICA. 389 celved and conducted as before: but now I found the brother of the general of the negroes with the Indian general. The negro had with him five hundred blacks, moil armed with fuzees : they told my interpreter they were fure we were come to force a fettlement, orelfe they would not have denied me what they had never before denied any Engliih ; viz. wood and water; but, if I thought fit, I mieht take what I pleafed under a guard. With fome difficulty I prevailed on the Indian and negro generals to go aboard the Winchelfea % where, after leaving captain Watfon as hoftage, captain Orme entertained them very handfomely, and gave the Indian general a fine fuzil, and to the chief of the negroes fomething that pleafed him as well. The captain alfo afTured them of the friendfhip of the king of England, &c. The negro chief fpoke excellent French, and made anfwers with all the French compliments. I afterwards carried them on board the duke's floop, and, having opened their hearts with \^ine, for they fcorned to drink rum, 1 thought it a good time to tell them my commiflion. They told me, it was well I had not mentioned it afliore ; for their power could not have prote£led me : that the thing was impoffiblc, that the Dutch had before attempted it, but were glad to retire. They likewife told me, that two French Hoops had, the day before we came, been amongfl them, and given them arms and amu- nition, and afltired them of the whole force of Martinico for their protection againft us. They told them alfo, they had driven us from St. Lucia ', and that now we were come to endeavour to force a fettlement here; and, notwithdanding all our fpecious pretences, when we had power, yrc ihould enflave them ; but they declared they would truil qo Euro- peans ; that they owned themfelves under the prote Europe, or come b) atcident. Neverthelefs, the ifland was very populous at his arrival ; and upon his enquiry how fo many women came thither, he was told, that they were de- coyed hither by a falfe report fpread in Fngland, that all the fmgle men upon the ifland were either commanders, or lord's Tons; whereas they only found them poor honeft hufljandmen tand mechanicks. The foil, [■ciys he, is fruitful enough, to bear many hundreds for one grain of Indian corn that is fown in it J but then it requires feveral inches, of ground for its growth; and, before it comes to maturity, mod part of it is devoured by the rats and other vermin. Their common pafture, inllead of grafs, is mint and purflain. The company's affairs here are nrianaged by a governor, deputy-governor, and ftore-houfc- keeper, who have (landing falaries allowed by the company, befidcs a public table well furniflied, to which all commanders, maders of fhips, and eminent pafl'engers are welcome. The natives fonietimcs call the refult of their confultations, fevere impofitions; and, though relief may perhaps be had from the company in Eng- land, yet Mr. Ovington obferves, that the unavoidable delays in returning a redrefs at that diftance does fometimes put the feddrefiers under a hardfliip 5 and thinks, that, were not the V •■■' ' - • ■ ■ ■ . • ■ fituation '^p^ ' 39^ Defcription of the Britijb Empire^ fituation of this ifland vtxy ferviceable to our Eaft-India fhipl homeward bound, the conftant trouble and expence would indue© the company to abandon the ifland ; for though it is furniflied with conveniencies of liie, yet it has no commo- dities of any profit to merchants. The inhabitants here are of loofe morals, which Mr. Ovington afcribes to the poverty of the place ; though the company allows a miniiler here one hundred pound a year, belides gratuities from the in- habitants. :. Mr. Lockyer, who was here in 1706, makes this iHand twenty miles in circumference; and obferves, that in Chapel- Valley was James fort, of ten fmall guns, which he was told was dcmolilhed afterwards, and a much larger erei^ed in its ftcad. There was alfoa platform of twenty-nine guns, and three at the landing-place. Banks's platform had fix guns, Rupert's platform leventeen, and in Lemon Valley, where the Dutch formerly landed, was a platform of fix more, all which had received confiderable additions fmce. There is no landing to the windward, and all the creeks and bays are fe- cured as above, befides alarm-guns on the hill. All things are dear to ftrangers, except choice roots and lemons. They had. in Mr. Lockyer's time, one thoufand five hundred head of black cattle, with plenty of hogs, goats, turkeys, and all forts of poultry. Their chief grain is kidney-beans from eight to twelve (hillings a bufhel : a fmall ox is fold for fix pounds, and turkeys for a dollar a-piece. The common people fubfift chiefly on potatoes, yamms, plantanes, pulfe, and fifli J and if they can get flcfli once a week, they reckon it good living. The company allows the foldiers fait meat, but how often our author does not fay. Both they and the jnechanrcks may earn a great deal of money by their labour. Their common drink is plain water, or Mobby, which is but one remove from it. The chief town, which is Chapel- Valley, had forty or fifty houfes in Mr. Lockyer's time. The matters of the plantations keep a great many blacks, who upon fevere treat- ment hide themfelves for a quarter of a year together, keep- ing among the rocks by day,' and roving at night for pro- vHions : but they are generally difcovered and taken. The ifland produces here and there a drug like benzoin, and great plenty of wild tobacco on the hills, which the flaves ufe to fmoke for want of the right fort. The inhabitants are fup- plied with neceflaries twice a month out of the company's flore at fix months credit. The chief commodities for fale here are, cherry brandy, malt, and cyder, fpirits, beer, Madeira "[le^- sn AFRICA. S91 Madeira and Canary wines, and Spanifh brandy, which may be taken in at thofe iflands i Battavia arrack, fugar, fugar- candy, tea, fans, chine, lacquered ware, filks, China rib« bons, coarfe itriped ginghams, ordinary muflin coarfe chints, blue and brown long-cloths, falamporcs, and all forts of coarfe calicoes. A defcription of the principal forts and fettlements belong" ing to Great Britain in Africa. IT muft not be expelled that we fbould enumerate every little fort or factory, along this extenfive coaft belonging tor the Engliih, it would be unentvrtaining and unnecefTary, as thefe are every hour fubje(St to alteration and removal, and in themfelves every way too inconfiderable to deferve notice. A few of the principal ones, however, the reader has a right to expci^, with fome defcription of the countries Where they are eftablifhed. And iirft our fettlements on the river Gam- bia prefent themfelves to our notice. I have obferved, in many maps of Africa, that the great river Niger is laid down by the geographers in the fame latitude that Gambia lies in. And, unlefs it went formerly by the name of Niger, I am perfuaded there muft be a miftake in thofe maps j for Gambia is by far the largeft river in that part of Africa. I have been fhewn journals kept on board one of the company's floops of fifty tons, which failed more than three hundred leagues, or^near a thoufand miles up the river Gambia. At which height, I have been afllired, it is broad, fpacious and navigable ; nor is there any doubt, but the rivers of Senega), kio Grande, Rio St. Domingo, Bur- fally, Rio Nunas, Rio Pungo, &c. are all different branches of this great river, which, like the Nilus, at the oppofite lide of Africa, empties itfelf into the fea through various channels, which bear as different denominations as thofe juft mentioned ; but let that be as it will, I fhall not at prelcnt contend with our ancient geographers. This place was firft difcovered and fettled by the Portu- guefe, whofe progeny are ftill pretty numerous up in the inland country, and drive a very good trade with the Englifh: though, to fpeak truth, there is but little of the Portugueie to be found in them, befide the language, they being quite dege- nerated into negroes, and having but yzxv imperfect ideas of 3 Chrif- .'■■if.. $9^ Defcripthn of the Briiijh Efhpire, Chriftianity. They think themfelves fufficiently quah'fied fof the title of Boon Chriftians, if they diftinguifli themfclves from the Pagans, &c. by wearing a little crucifix about their necks. The Mahometan relfgfon has likevvife extended itfelf hither, as I (uppofe, from the fouth parts of Barbary,' whirH is not very far from hence. And, by what I have feen, I think the Mahometans are, in their way, more Itrid: in tha external obfervance of their religious ceremonies, than the Chriftiansi for, like true muffelmcn, they all arc abftem'oHS in public, but in privnte they will drink any thing they can get, even to excefs. Again, with refpeil to polygamy, they endeavour moft religioufly to follow the example of Maho- met, hi having as many or more wiv-^s than thisy know livhat to do with. The laft, and iftdeed the moft numerous fe6^, are thePaganp^ who trouble themfelves about no religion at all ; yet ever/ one of them have fome trifle or other, to which they pay a particular refpedt, or kind of adoration, believing it can cle- fend them from all dangers : fome have a lion's tail ; fomi a bird's feathei*; fome a pebble, a bit of rag, a dog's leg; or, in fhort, any thing they fancy : and this they call their fif^ tifhj which word not only fignifies the thing worfhippedj but fometimes a fpell, charm, or inchantment. To take the fittifh, is to take an oath ; which ceremony Is varioufly per- formed in feveral parts of Guinea. In fome places, they drink a large draught of water, and wifh their fittifti maj^ kill them, if what they atteft be not true : and, generally fpeaking, a negro's taking the fittifli in Guinea may as fm- cerely be relied on as the oath of a Chridian iii EuTope. To make fittifh, is to perform divine worfliip; iittifh-men, arc the Pagan priefts. In fhort, they all commonly wear theiir fittifli about them, which is fo facred, that they care not tft let any body touch it but themfelves. The day I dined with the king of Barra, I obferved, that his mufician, who played on the ballafce, had iixed to the the top of his cap, the tuft or crown o^ a bird, the largeft and finefl I ever faw. I went to take off the fellow's cap to look at it, but he, in a furprize, got up and ran away : fome of the gentlemen c*f the caftlc, who fav/ the ailiion, i'miled, and told me, that was liis fittifh, which ought to be handled by no man but hinm i\t\L And fo much for their re}i'2;ion. As for the lan,iuges o'i Gambia, they are fo many and fo' different, that the n itives, on one fide of the river, cannot junderftand thofe on the other: which, if rightly confidered, is no ih A F R I C A. m on fmall happlnefs to the Europeans, who go thither to trade? for flavesi becaufe the Gatn'jians, who are naturally very idle and lazy, abhor flavery, and will attempt any thing, though ever fo defpcratc, to obtain freedom. I have known foine melancholy inflanccs of whole ihips crews being furprized, and cut off by them. But the fafelt way is to trade with the different naticiis, on either fide the river ; and having fomc of every fort on board, there will be no more likelihood of their fuccecding in a plot, than of finilhing the tower of Babel. I juft now defcrlbed the GamUians as an indolent fort of people; nor is it much to be wondered at, feeing that nature has atibrded them all neccllhrics proper for the fupport of life, without any great art or induftry of their own ; the ground in this part of the earth, feems, in fome meafure, to- be exempt from the general curfe. As for cloathing, they want none: the beau and belle, the fop and coquet, the pcfts of all fociety, affemblies and converfations, in Chriftendom, have no being here. As to their houfes, or rather huts, they require but very little art in their erection. They do not fo much as know the ufe of houfliold furniture; the floth- ful bed, the chair, the table, pot, fpoon, &c. here are ufe- lefs ; for a few dry ledges, or reeds, ferve them for a bed, and the ground is their feat j fo that an upholfterer, though never fo good a workman, may flarve among them. Nor is there any work for the cooper; neverthelefs they are abun- dantly ilocked with great choice of extraordinary good veffels which grow wild almoR every where : I mean, the gourde or callabafli, whofe leaf is like that of a pumpion, nor is the fruit when green unlike it. Such as grow near the negroes huts generally creep up and cover the whole roof ; being of no lefs ufe in fhading the negroes from the fun, than that of Jonas was to him. When the callabafli is ripe, they cut it from the ftalk, and fct it to dry for three or four days in the fun J which not only hardens the outlide, but conlumes every thing within, except the feeds, which may eaiily be (hook out. They are fhapcd like Florence flaflcs moft com- monly, but they may be formed to any (hapc while young. They grow of very different lizes, fo as to contain from half a pint to eight or ten gallons. When they are fawed down, the middle they make very good platters, bowls, or drinking- cups. accordino; to their fize ; and thofe with very lent necks make good ladles ; and, laftly, when whole they art; as good as. bottles to keep liquor in. Perhaps, it may bj thouijht, that this laft ej^cellence of the callabafh i& entirely ufclcls 4dd Defcription of the Britijh Emphe^ ufelefs to the negroes, who arc ftrangcrs to the art of brewing or preding the grape, &c. but that is a miftake j for nature likewife affords them two or three forts of pleafant ftrong wines, with no other trouble than that of boring a fmall hole in a palm-tree and hanging a caliabalh under the droppings of it, which fometimes will fill one of three quarts in a day. Provifions of all kinds are very p'enty, and exceeding cheap here. I have feen a fmall cow bought for two bars, or two crowns fterling ; and a fine fat ox for four bars j a good fowl for three muflcet-charges of gunpowder, or three farthings fterling: alfo, hogs, ftieep, and goats in proportion. So that if Mynheer Borman*had ever been in the river Gambia, he would not have faid, that the ifland of Anabona was the true Amalthea, or Cornucopia, fomuch taken notice of by the ancients; but rather have afcribed that title to Gam- bia. Befides the above-mentioned cattle, they have alfo a very pretty breed of fmall h »rfes ; and I have been credibly informed, that the king of Burfally, whofe dominions border' upon the kingdom of Barra, can, upon any emergency, mount and arm four thoufand horfe. This country alfo abounds with various forts of wild beafts ; fuch as deer of feveral kinds, elephants, lions, tigers, leopards, panthers, jackalls, and mifchicvous monkies* The trade of this place is very beneficial for fine gold, flaves^ ivory and wax. The Englifli have a fa6lory fubordinate to Gambia caftle, at a place called Joar, about fifty leagues up the river. Alfo another, about fifty leagues his;her, at Cuttajar, and another near the river's mouth, called Portdcndelly. They once had a fettlement upon Charles ifland, but having a pallaverf with the natives they watched the opportunity of a midnight low water, and waded over from the main; by which fur- prize they got pofTeffion, and beat the Englifli off of that ifland, which has been ever fince defolate. Neverthelefs, they arc now very well fettled upon James ifland, where they have a ftrong regular well-built caftle, with thiity-two large pieces of cannon, befides others which are planted near the water-fide regarding the north channel. The old fort was unhappily blown up, in 1725, by fome unknown accident of fire, undoubtedly lightning, in the magazine, and feveral • A Dutch hillbrian who wrote about the year 1696. t Pallavar, figaifies a difpute, alfo a conteft, or a law-fuit; fometimes, a long conference is called a pallavar. It is a Portu* guefe word ufed every where in Guinea. people •f ,* V th AFRICA. 1 401 jpfeoplc loft their lives, particularly governor Plunket ; but it was again expeditioufly rebuilt, with many alterations fur thai better, by Anthony Rogers, cfq. This country is exceeding fertile, abounding with variety of fruits, roots, and fallads. Their chief fruits are, oranges, lemons, limes, guavas, bonanas, plancanes, by fome called Indian figs : and there are fome reafons to believe thefe arc the fort of figs mentioned in fcripture : firft, becaufe figs are there defcribed to grow in large cluflers as thefe doj fo large that a fingle clufter is a good weight for a man to lift with one hand : fecondly, their leaves are prodigious large atid broad, confequently much fitter to make aprons than our fig-leaves. Here are alfo great ftore of papaws. Their chief roots are yams and potatoes. Their beft fallads are purfley, and cucumbers, which they have all the year round. In fhort, Gambia is a pleafant fruitful fine country, but very unhealthy. ny i';vi««...'i" ;•-*!: - S lERRALEONE, S lERRALEONE was difc6vered by the Portuguefe ; but, as Mr. Smith, fays I cannot be rightly informed at what time the Englifh became mafters of it, nor indeed is it very material, fmce they have had it a number of years in their pofleflion un- tnolefted, till Roberts, the famous pirate, took it in the year 1720, when old Plunket, who was blown up in Gambia caftle, was governor ; which he efFeded in the following manner: Roberts having then three good ftout (hips under his command, put into Sierraleone for frefh water, and find- ing a trading fhip in Frenchman's Bay, he took her from thence and carried her into another bay, with a long narrow entrance near the cape, and where there was a great depth of water. This harbour was therefore called Pirat's-Bay, becaufe, when Roberts had rifled her, he fet fire to her: part of her bottom was to be feen at low water when I was there. The next day* he fent up a boat well manned and armed, with his humble fervice to governor Plunket, defiring to know if he could fpare him any gold duft, or powder and ball. Old Plunket returned him word, that he had no gold to fpare ; but, as for powder and ball, he had fome at Mr. Roberts's fervice, if he would come for it. Roberts, hav- ing received this anfwer, brought up his three fhips next flood before Benfe Ifland, and a fnjarc engagement foon fol- D d lowed 402 Defcription of the Sritijh Empire^ lowed between him and the governor, which lafted feveral hours, till Plunket had fired away all his (hot and iron bars i upon which, he betook himfelf to his boat, and rowed up the .back channel to a fmall ifland called Tombo; but they quickly followed, took him, and brought him back again to Benfe, where Roberts was; who, upon the firft fight of Plunket, fwore at him like any devil, for his Iriih impudence in daring to refift him. Old Plunket, finding he had eot into bad company, fell a fwearing and curflng as fafl or fifter than Roberts \ which made the reft of the pirates laugh hear- tily, defiring Roberts to fit down and hold his peace, for he had no ihare in the pallaver with Plunket at all. So that by meer dint of curfing and damning, old Plunket, as I am told, faved his life. i^ f .vi, •. .r- When they had rifled the warehoufes, they went aboard their (hips and failed out of the river the next ebb, leaving old Plunket once more in the quiet pofleflion of his fort, which the pirates had not damaged greatly. This is a mountainous, barren country, efpecially towards the cape, where the hills are exceeding high and rocky, hvx neverthelefs they are covered with trees which harbour many wild beafls; fuch as tigers, leopards, and lions; from wherice it was firft called by the Portuguefe, Sierra de Leone ; or. The Mountain of Lions. And the country gives its name to the river, which is very broad at the entrance, being above four leagues from the cape to Leopards ifland, at the oppofite fide of the river's mouth. The midille, indeed, is very fhallow, being dry at low water in fome places, for the depth of the channel lies clofe in by the cape ; and thofe who fail into Sierraleone, muft keep the ftarboard fhore clofe aboard, failing always clofe under the high hills, where they may be fure of regular foundings, and in all the bays extra- ordinary good anchoring ground ; but near the edge of the ihoals, the bottom is very uneven and foul ground, as before obfervcd. . .. - v ';,.^ In this river, the company have two iflands : viz. Tafib, a large flat ifland, near three leagues in circumference, on which the company!s flaves have a good plantation. The reft of the ifland is covered with wood, among which are fllk cotton trees of an unaccountable fize ; other cotton is alfo produced here very good, and indico. Their other ifland is JBenfe, on which ftands the fort I above mentioned. This river produces feveral forts of fifh, moft of which are very good in their kind, except the oyfters j of which there are vaft jquantities growing to the branches of trees. I fi . ~ • ^ , make truth ol ihall, at whatfoei tountry. mangrov leaf IS i branches Thefe ui in hot cl Which an tnangrov< lift it int Thenc Codile, aj fortified } helmets, mufket-pt dilc with 1 they do n: thirty feei Mr. Be that the c end of thi of any mif to catch I nion J ho\ figurative Codile is c I have bee one evenii With captJ £nglifh bj there lay to us like I we were q| by the he/ which fudJ and as fool turned abc his mis fori no better i only evil €vcr our • in AFRICA. ' 4df * iflii^e no doubt, but many will be apt at Hrft to queflioi. the truth of this aiTertion ; but the fear of fuch like obje<^i )n» ihali, at no timej hinder my giving a faithful narrative of whatfoever I met with worth notice throughout this wholo tountry. Therefore, I fhall acquaint my reader, that the mangrove is a tree which grows in a (hallow water. The leaf is exadlly like that of an European laurel, and the branches have a naturally tendency downwards to the water* : Thefe under water are always ftored with fuch fhell-fifli as in hot climates grow even to our fhip bottoms, the chief of which are oyfters. And I have often cut off the branch of a mangrove fo full of oyflers, barnacles, &c. that I could fcarce lift it into the boat. The next remarkable thing here worth our notice is the cro- codile, an amphibious creature, of a dark brown colour, fortified with (bales, large enough to make caps, or rather helmets, for the negroes, who frequently wear them, being mufket-proof, which (hews how vain it is to attack a croco- dile with fmall arms. This river is peftered with them, and they do much damage. They are generally from twenty to thirty feet long, or thereabouts. Mr. Bofman, in his defcription of Guinea, tells us^, that the crocodile is a rapacious creature ; but in the latter end of the next paragraph he declares, that he never heard of any mifchief they had done. As for their crying, in order to catch unwary people as they pafs by, I am not of his opi- nion ; however, fome allowance muft be made for the ancient figurative way of Writing, wherein the treachery of the cro- codile is defcribed ; and though not by tears, yet, I declare, I have been deceived by a crocodile in the following manner : one evening, as I walked round Benfe Ifland, in company with captain Co'nnel, of the Guinea fnow, who had a large Englifh bear-garden maftifF that walked a little way before us, there lay a huge crocodile upon the jfhore, which appeared to us like the trunk of an old tree left there by the tide ; but we were quickly undeceived, for when the dog had got clofe by the head of it, it made a fpring at him, and took him ; which fudden motion fo terrified us, that we took to our heels; and as foon as we were far enough out of his reach, Connell turned about, and whiffled for his dog Ball ; but had it been his misfortune or mine to walk foremoft, we fhould have met no better fate than poor Ball. Nor was tKe lofs of a dog, the only evil we fuftained by thofe voracious animals; for when» ever our bogs or goats happened to feed near the water-fide^ • Defcription of Gui»ea, p. 325, D d 2 they li.04 Dejcrtptton of the Britijh Empire, they reldom efcaped the crocodile, who, as foon as they feize their prey, make to the river with it. This river alfo abounds with alligators, which are much of the fame nature with crocodiles, and ihaped exatSlly like them, but uf a much fmaller fize, the largeli not exceeding eight feet in length, and theretbre arc not able to do much mifchief afliorc, and they prey moftly upon fifli. During our ftay in this river we took two alligators, one of which we gave to the negroes, who highly prize the flefh of this animal as dainty food. The other^ which was about Ave feet long» wc fallened under our main-top in order to bring home. Having thus far dcfcribcd the river, let us look a little to the fliore, and here we ftiall find fcveral forts of wild bcufts, befides thofe already mentioned ; fuch as elephants, jackalls, mandrills, apes, and deer of fcvcral kinds. All which I fhall defcribe in order : and firft, 1 (hall begin with the ele- phant, a very large heavy built creature, being generally from eleven to fourteen feet high. Some authors tell us, they arc much larger in India, and wonderfully docible, which is nothing unlikely. It is certain, Africa abounds with them» as rnay appear by the great number of teeth which are yearly fourld in thofe woods, from whence moft parts of Europe are fupplicd with ivory. And as to the (hcdding of their teeth, at certain times, 1 muft beg leave to give my opinion, as well as Mr, Bofman, who fays *, " Nor is it, in the leafl probable, that a folid body, compofed of fuch hard fubflance as ele- phant's teeth, can in about twenty years time grow from one to a hundred pound weight, &c.' To all which I {hall venture to give this anfwer : that it is very probable an ele- phant's tooth may grow to its full fize in much lefs time than twenty years, becaufe the horn of a deer is no lefs hard, and a body no lefs folid than the tooth of an elephant j yet every body knows that the head or horns of a buck are but a three months growth from the time they firfl fprout till they are full grown and burnifhcd : therefore, if fo fmall an animal as a buck can in three months produce (o folid a fubflance, what may we expert from the largcft and ftrongeft of beafts? Befides, there are other very perfualive reafons to induce one to be- lieve the certainty of this argument from what I have heard feveral negroes fay who have fearched the woods for teeth, that they never found more than one in a place; which plainly (hews they have been dropped at different times, in different places— But enough of this. The elephant feeds moflly upon a fort of fruit not unlike a papaw, which grows wild in * Defcription of Guinea, p. 234. i^i;- feveral feveral p ifland, y from th< one day when pr guard. but whet trees, hir over the to fwim ( for he (lit Foro Bay and cut i An elcphj ten -oared fi)ced is eq The ne fjze of a 1; the head fl row, and iti this coi nie, miflo< they ownci 1 fhall n white men J know n( can thofe refembianc an ape. cumferer*cc and their k The head without an the mouth covered by wrinkled as the hands white fkin, Jong black like apes, b It is faid, tl black wome They are ^ in fcraping in AFRICA. 405 feveral parts of Guinea. There is abundance of it upon TafTo * ifland, which often invites elephants to fwim over thither from the main. One of the company's Haves (hot an elephant one day upon Taflb; who knowing the fury of that creature when provoked, ran immediately into a thicket for a fafe guard. The elephant, at firft, attempted to follow him ; but whether the pain of his wound, or the clofencfs of the trees, hindered his purfuit, none can tell ; for he quickly gave over the chace, p id betook himfeU" to the water, I fuppofe* to fwim over to ^;ic main, though he never reacjicd it alive j for he died in the water, and the tide carried him down to Foro iiay, where the negroes quickly knocked out his teeth, and cut up his carcafs, for they account it excellent food. An elephant's motion in the water is fo very fwift that no tcn-ourwall, and regularly placed over the face of the whole country. All thefe contribute to afford the moft delightful profpe£t that imagination can form. There is neither mountain or hillock to hinder one's pro- fped, ttie whole country being a fine, eafy, and almoft im- perceptible afcent, for the 'fpace of forty or fifty miles from the fea ; fo that from any part of this kingdom, a body may have a profpetSl of the ocean ; and the farther you go from it» the more beautiful and populous the country; infomuch that by endeavouring to defcribe it, I have undertaken a talk I cannot perform, and (hall therefore drop thefubjedi, with this pne afTurance to my reader, that the imaginary beauty of Elyfian fields cannot furpafs the real beauty of this country, which, neverthelefs, yields no gold ; but what they have here is brought from firafile by the Portuguefe, to purchafe flaves* The natives here feem to be the moft gentleman-like ne- groes in Guinea, abounding with good manners and cere- mony to each other. The inferior pays the utmoft deference and reipe£t to the fuperior, as do wives to their hufbands* and children to their parents. All here are naturally induf- ^rious, and find conilant employment ; the men in agriculture and the women in fpinning and weaving cotton, of which they make cloaths. The men, whofe chief talent is huf- ))andry, are unacquainted with arms, otherwife (being a numerous people) they could have made a better defence or ^efiftance againft the king of Dahomey, who fubdued them withoyt much trouble,, and has now laid heavy taxes upon them. They are all pagans, and worfhip three forts of jdeities. The firil: is a large beautiful kind of fnake, which ^s inofFenfive in its nature. Thefe are kept in fittifh-houfes, or churches, built for that purpofe in a grove, to whom they facrifice great ftore of hogs, iheep, fowls, and goats, &c» and, if not devoured by the fnake, are fure to be taken care of by the fittifh-men, or pagan priefls, who are as great im- poftors as any belonging to the church of Rome. The laity all go in a large body by night with drums beating, and trumpets of elephants teeth founding, in order to perform divine worfhip, and implore either a profperous journey, fair weather, a good crop, or whatfoever elfe they want. To obtain which from the fnake, they then prefent their offer- ings, and afterwards return home. They are all fo bigotted to this animal, that if any negroe ihould touch one of theim with a flick, or otherwife hurt it, he would be immediately Sentenced to the flames. One day, as I walked abroad with the Engliih governor, I fpied one of them lying in the middle of ^i4 Befcription of the Britijh Empire^ of the path before us, which indeed I would have killed had he not prevented me, for he ran and took it up in his arms, telling me, that, it was the kind of fnake which was worfhip- ed by the natives; and, that if I had killed it, all the goods in his fort, and our ihip, would not be fufficicnt to ranfom my life, the country being fo very populous that i couM not ftir without being feen by fome of the natives ; of whom there were fcveral looking at us that happened to be upon their mirch home from their captivity at Adrah. They came and begged their god, which he readily delivered tq them and they as thankfully received, and carried it away to their fittifh-houfe with very great tokens of joy. Their lecond rate gods are the tall trees, for which they have a gtcat veneration. And their laft god is the fea, which they firmly believe, and not without jufccaufe, is able to do as much for them as the fnake or the trees: but, becaufe that no Ihare of the offerings thrown in here, can ever revolve to the priefts, they teach the people to pay it a fmall kind of dif- tant adoration ; which, as I before obferved, may be feen, and eonfequently worfliipped in that manner, at any part of the kingdom ; but . 11 their ofi'erings muft be made to the fnakes and trees. The priefthcod here is not altogether confined to the male lex, for there are more prieftefies than priefts ; both being held in fuch veneration that they are liable to no punifliment for any capital crime whatfoever. The prieftefies are account- able to their huftjands for no a<5iion either of difobedience or whoredom ; on the contrary, they are uncontroulable, and muft be ferved by the hufl)and upon his knee, with the fame jrefpe£t that other women pay their huft^ands. If the cafe be bad with thofe of the Romilh church who are prieft-ridden j how much worfe muft it be with thofe unhappy men who are- prieftefs-ridden by their own wives ! So much for their reli- gion. As for the country in general, though I allow it to be the fineft 1 ever faw, yet I mould never like it becaufe it is fo very unwholefome; and, by my laft accounts from thence, I am informed, it is more fo now than when I was there, the country being, through the king of Dahomey's means, left uncultiyateA, is now overgrown with poifonous ftinking weeds. The fame accounts inform me, that an accident of fire happened, foon after my departure, to the French fort which burnt ?11 the houfes in it, apd jdifmounted the great guns. The king pf Dahomey, hearing of this accident, fent a part of his army, vvho were then encamped at Sabee, down to take the French fort « but the £pgli ;.. . .-;v;.w; ly '41 S: Defcriptton of the Britijh Emptre, The eaftern bank is higher ; but they arc both equally Srf and barren, and produce only a few low plants. We did not perceive any trees, till we advanced two leagues higher, to- wards the Lnglifh ifland ; and then we ipied lome mangroves,, which are almoft the only tree we Taw till we arrived at the iiland of Senegal. I'his place is fituated within three leagues of the mouth of the river, and two thirds of a league from the Englifh ifland. It is the chief fettlemcnt of Senegal, and the refidcnce of the diredlor-general. We arrived by night- fall at the harbour caft of the fort, where we landed. As foon as I fet foot oti ijiore, I waited upon M. de la Brue, the diredlor-general, who gave me a mod kind reception. I delivered to him the letters of recommendation which i had from his uncle, M. David, diretSlorpf the £aft-India company, who was pleafcd to jntereft himfelf in my favour : and they operated even be- yond what 1 could poffibly expedl in a country fubje«St to fuch difficulties. In fhort, he promif^d to afliil me on all occafions, and he did it accordingly with fuch readinefs and good nature, as defervcs a grateful acknowledgment from the lovers of na- . tural hiftory, if I have done any thing towards promoting this branch of learning. He foon was as good as his word : I had the liberty of travelling up the country, and of examining into its various productions. To facilitate my defign, M. de la Brue pro- cured me a boat, with negroes, and an interpreter j in ihort all conveniencies, as fpecitied by the Eaft-India company to the fuperior council, in a letter wherein they informed him of my intentions. Being arrived iii a country fo different in every refpe^ from my own, and finding myfelf as it were in a new world, whatever 1 beheld drew my attention, becaufe it afforded me matter of inftrudlion. The air, the climate, the inhabitants, the animalsj the lands, and vegetables, all were new to me : not one object that offered itfelf to my view, was I accuftomed to. 1 Which way foever I turned my eye, I faw nothing but iandy plains *, burnt by the moft fcorching heat of the fun. Even the very ifland 1 flood upon, is only a bank of fand, about one thoufand one hundred and fifty fathoms in length, and one hundred and fifty or two hundred at the molt in breadth, and almoft level with the furface of the water. It divides the river into two branches} one of which, to the eaft- - * The author is millaken, or has forgot, for the Guinea-fide Is all covered with woods : the ifland and the Barbary ihore, or ioMgue bf land, are exa^ly as he dcfcribes. ward. ward. i?n A F R I C A. 419 w«rd, \% about three hmulrcd failioms broaJ j and the other Vv eft- ward, near two hundred, with a confidcrable depth. This ifland, notwithftanding its ftcrility, was inhabited by upwards of three thoufand negroes, invited thither by the ge- nerofity of the whites, into vvliofe (crvice moft of them had entered. Here they have ucdltd houles or huts, which oc- cupy above one half of the ground. Thefc are a kind of dove or ice houles, the walls of which are reeds faftejied clofc together, and fupportcd by ftakcs driven into the ground. Thefe ftakes are from five to fix fi-^et high, and have a round covering of ftraw, of the fame height, and terminating in a point. Thus each hut has only a ground floor, and is from ten to fifteen feet diameter. 1 hey have but one fquare door, very low, and many of them with a threfliold raifed a foot above the ground ; fo that in going in they mud incline tlieir bodies, and lift a leg up very high, an attitude not only ridiculous but difagreeable. One or two beds are frequently fufficient for a whole , family, including domeftics, who lie pell mell along with their mafters and the children. Their bed is a hurdle laid on cro.'s pieces of wood, and fupported by forkiHas, or fmall forks, a foot above the ground ; over this they throw a mat, which ferves them for a paillafle or ftraw bed, f'or a mattrefs, and generally for iheets and bed- clothes } as to pillows they have none. Their furniture is rot very cumberfome j for it cohfifls only of a few earthen pots, called canaris, a few callabafhes, or gourd-bottles, with, ivooden bowls, and the like utenflis. All the huts belonging to the fame perfon are inclofed with a wall or palli'fade of reeds, aboiit fix feet high, to which ' they give the name of tapade. Though the negroes obferve yery little fymetry in the fituation of their houfes, yet the French of the ifland of Senegal, have taught them to follow a certain uniformity in the largenefs of the tapadcs, which | they have regulated in fuch a manner, as to form a fmall town, with fevefal Iheets drawn in a direft line. Thefe ftreets .indeed are not paved j and luckily there is nooccafion for it ; fince they would be very much at a lofs to find the fmalleft pebble upwards of thirty leagues all round. Th« inhabitants find a greater conveniency in their fandy foil : for ^s it is very deep, and foft, it ferves them to fit upon ; it is alfo their fopha, their couch, their bed. Befides, it ha* fome other good ufesj namely, that there is no danger in falling ; and it is always very clean, ven after the heavieft rains, be- caufe it imbibes the water with great eafe, and there needs ©nly an hour of fine weather to dry it. However, this- town 1 !«„.., 4^20 Defer iption of the Britifh Empire^ or village, which ever you pleafe to call it, is the handfomeft, the largeft, and the moft regular in the country : they reckon, as I have already mentioned, upwards of three thoufand in- habitants : it is about a quarter of a league long, and the breadth equal to that of the ifland, whofe center it occupies, being equally ranged on both fides of the fort by which it is commanded. • . '. We may fafely affirm, that the negroes of Senegal are the likejieft men in all Nigritia or Negroland, They are gene- rally above middle fized, well Inaped, and' well limbed. There is no fuch thing ever known among them as cripples, or hump-backs, or bandy legs, unlefs it be by accident. They are ftrong, robuft, and of a proper temperament for bearing fatigue. Their hair is black, curled, downy, and extremely fine. Their eyes are large and well cut, with very little beard ; their features agreeable enough, and their (kin the deepeft black. Their ufual drefs confifls in a fmall piece of linnen which palTes between their thighs ; and the two ends being lifted up and folded, form a fort of drawers, which are tied with a fillet before j and thus they cover their nudity. They have likewife a paan, that is, a piece of callicoe, made in the form of a large napkin, which they carelefly throw over their (boulders, letting one end of it dangle againft their knees. The women are much about the fame fize and make as the men. Their fkin is furprifingly delicate and foft j their mouth and lip? are fmall j and their features very regular. There are fome of them perfeft beauties *. They have a great fhare of vivacity, and a valt deal of freedom and eafe, which renders them extrertiely agreeable. For their cloathing they make -ufe of two paans, one of which goes round their waifl, hangs down to the knee, and fupplies the place of art * under- petticoat; the other covers both their fhoulders,- and fometimes the head. This is a modefl drefs enough for fo hot a country: but they are generally fatisfied with the paan which covers the reins j and they throw off the other when- ever they find it troublefome. One may cafily judge that they are not long a dreffing or undrcffing, and that their toilette is foon made. Tliough the heats of this climate are exceflive, to fuch a degree, that their winter is much warmer than our fummer^ * The vaft numbers of children, and children's children, the French begat by them, and left there, prove our author is not fin- gular in his opinion. , ill #.,- ■ 'C^VFTJ^T?" tn AFRICA. m 421 in France, yet they are fupportable. One is accuftomed to them by degrees; bccaufe the air is every day refrefhed with fea and land breezes, which blow alternately. The way therefore for a perfon to cool himfelf, is to catch the fanning • breezes, or to take fhelter within doors, when there is tho- rough air i and the windows are made of fine linnen. It is to thefe heats that they are partly indebted for the fer- tility of their lands. The fands of this if|and are converted into gardens of confidcrable produce. Independently of the legumes and fruits of the country, fuch as the Guinea ofcillc, botates, annaas, guavas, and fome others, they likewife plant, in the winter feafon, moft of the European herbs and legumes. The fig-tree, the pomegranate, and the vine, are loaded every year with excellent fruit. With a little labou. and care, there is no fruit nor grain, but would grow there in great plenty : they might raife whatever they want, and generally all the neceflaries of life. In fhort, the foil of the, jfland of Senegal, notwithftanding its being fo fandy, is yet fo very fruitful, that a great many plants yield feveral times a year. This I faw mylelf in a garden which I kept on pur- pofe for fuch experiments : and what without all manner of doubt will appear very furprizing, is, my having fown par- ticular legumes, of which I had above twelve crops the fame year. But this curious detail I refer to another work. There is not perhaps a country in the world where poultry are more common. They breed turkeys, Guinea hens, geefe, ducks, and a prodigious number of fowls. Their pigeons are in admirable perfedlion j and their hogs multiply very faft. There is alfo plenty of fifli, and efpecially in the Niger,, where you may catch carps with your hand. This river, befides the lamantin or fea-cow, abounds in captains *, mullets, furmullets, foles, raj^s, and other excellent fifti ; it has alfo plenty of crabs and lobfters. Moft of thefe fi{h come from the fea ; and it is faid, that when they are caught in the river it improves themj becaufc the mixture of the frefli with the fait water makes them more delicate and ten- der. To all thefe advantages we may add the pleafure of fporting ; for this ifland isjurniflied with little moor-hens, with lurks, thrufties, fca-partridges, and yellow wagtails; or, to exprefs myfelf better, the ortolans of the country : thefe are Iniall lumps of fat, exceedingly well tafted. The only thing wanting in the ifland of Senegal are walks : for they fay it is too fmall, and too naked. They might, • A fifli fo called, becaufe it is very red, and its fins refemblc ^ feather : it is very like a tarp, but larger. 1^ e 3 without Is 422 Defirip'ton of the Brittjb Empire, without doubt, have umbrageous avenues for the fake of a' Ihady walk, were they to plant callabafh-trees, and the like, ' which delight in nioift fands : but of what ufe would it be,' to make a harboui: for the mufketoes, that is, for a greatei* plague than themoft excefllve heats ? Of what fervice would thofe avenues be in a country, where the time of walking is not till fun-fet ? Ought they to regret this lofs, when they have gardens enarncUed with perpetyal verdure, which every day prefent the eye with new decorations; where fuch a mul- titude of flowers, as agreeable by their fragrant odours as by the variety of their cdloiirs, fhoot up almoft ivithoiit care or culture ? There you fee, fweet baiil of all fizes and colours, tuberofes, daffodils, afphodel-lillies"; among which are thd Fiight-ihade, the Afripan pink, the amaranth, and pomerga- xiates in bloffom, which produce an excellent effeft. The bliie and gilt lizards, with butterflies and other infe6ls, all equal- ly beautiful, delight in coming hither to mix their different colours, and to diverfify that famenefs which one fees in mofl;; |;ardens. t"; '\r s* 'vi.. '^'j 'w. ^ •■■' "■, - mi '■■ — ' i i* ■i'd. V'i*.'. 7 ' .^ r!■' r'l 3V ■\w.--«-' .- ? .J «j • *•,, t H 1^ •■.A ; ^ \ ENGLISH POSSESSIONS .-, M ■ » . ■,■■ --- IVt , ',|'t>;^.--i».V<(W'lrjJ'l»**S»ip«-( »?s ; .,.,.- •r*-' r ^n ■i:/7- v . r,,,"*' H A ' m 4, ' ^^:"-■ •.;-.", «!• H V;. 'v^' • '^-% . 1 .■■.».' ■•- t ; . \ *• ;i;"i' ,::•■' ^rv A I A. •'T'^.,', ' ,. t SJ i t* t' it ..I '' f^. V^V' ( 4^5 ) > - , .A.. ^V'.'t ^'"y:^ ' ^ '* ■"' .» \ ■•■Mm ■^ :;■■; • -,1.1 -■ ,.,.:..i-v- . .yv^ THE- ENGLISH POSSESSIONS ■ :; IN s ; :' f A. T WE are now come to the laft divlfion of our work, k terrirory almoft as extentive, and far more opulent^ than any other part of our poflefllons. In this, however, aft our gains are greater, our poiTeflion is more precarious j iince ]Mre are here, in feme meaUirie, lords upon fufferance. It is generally fuppofed, that the peninfula within fhe Ganges is under the immediate government of the mogul himfelf, and that the royal mandates from Delli are, accord- ing to the received notion of fo arbitrary a dominion, obeyed In the moft remote parts of the coaft. This is fo far from the truth, that a great part of that vaft peninfula never ac- knowleged any fubjedion to the throne of Delli, till the reign of Aurengzebe ; and the revenues from thofe Indian kings ^nd Moorifh governors, who were conquered or employed by him, have, fmce his death, been intercepted by the viceroys, which his weaker fucceflbrs have appointed for the govern- inent of the peninfula : fo that at this time neither can the Ixibute from the feveral potentates reach the court of Delli, fior the vigour of the government extend from the capital to ^hofe remote cpuntries. And ever fmce the province of In- doftan was ruined by Nadir Shaw, the weaknefs of the Mo- gul, and the policy and confirmed independancy of the vice- i-oys, have in a manner confined the influence of the govern- fnent to its inland department. Let it therefore be underftood, that the fovereign poflefles a third only, and that the leaft valuable part, of his own valt TMBpirc. Bengal, the faialleft but moft fertile province, is go- verned )i> '^i 42^ Dejcriptton «/ the Britijh Empire, verned by a viceroy. The other divifion, called the Deckhan, extending from Halafore Jagonaut (or thereabouts, for th» geography is certainly not fettled) to Cape Comorin, is alfo delegated by the mogul to another viceroy, of exceeding great power, having within his jurifdidlion (even large territories, to which he has the undifputcd right of nominating itvQn fiabpbo, or governors of provinces. In all parts of Indi* there are ftili large diftricls, which have preferved, with the Gentoo religion, the old lorm of government under Indian ' ings called raja's. Such are Maiflbre, whofe capital is .ucringapatam ; and Tanjore, whofe capital is Tanjore, There are alfo among the woods and mountainous parts of the country fieveral petty princes, or heads of clans, diltin- guiftied by the name of polygars. Thefe are Jill tributary to the nabobs, gnd thofe to the viceroy, whofe capital is Au- jengahad. The Carnatic is that part of the Deckan whic|i comprehends the principal fettlements of the Europeans, Ma- efe mounains, though under the fame latitude, have their feafons and climate entirely different from each other ; apd while jt is winter on one fide of the hills, it is fummer on the other fide. On the coaft of Malabar a fouth- "weft wind begins to blow fronn the fea at the end of June, with continued rain, and rages againft the coaft for four months, during which time the weather is calm and ferenc on the coaft of Coromandel ; and towards the end of October, the rainy feafon, which they term the change of the nionfoon, begins on tbe coaft of Coromandel : at which time the tem- peltuous winds bearing continually againft a coaft in which there are no good ports, make it fo dangerous for the ihipping to remain there,' for the three enfuing months, that it is fcarce ever attempted. 'J'his is the cauie of the periodical return of our fhips to Bofnbay, where there is a fecure har- bour, and convenient docks; With regard to the interior government of the country^ jand the fplendor of its defpotic king, we fhall give an ac- count tjiereof in the words of Sir Thomas Rowc, '" Extract «( (C I f in A S I A. 41: fcctraft of a Letter from Sir Thomas Rowe, to the Archbifliop of Canterbury, dated Adfmere, January 29, 1615. « Thefe people have no written laws : the king's judgment binds ; who fits and gives fentence once a week with much pa- tience, both in'oiviland criminal caufes, where fometimes he fees the execution done by his elephants with too much de- light in blood. *' His governors of provinces rule by his firmans, which are liis letters or commiilions authorizing them, and take life and goods at pleafure. "In revenue he doubtlefs exceeds either Turk or Perfian, or any eaftern prince j the fums I dare not name :'but the reafon, all the lands are his, no man has a foot. He maintains all that are not mechanics, by revenues beftowed on them, reck- oned by h or fes ; and the allowance 'of many is greater than the eftates of German princes. All men rife to greater and greater lordfhips as they advance in favour, which is got by frequent prefents, rich and rare. The mogul is heir to all that die, as well thofc that gained it by their induftry, as merchants, &c. as thofe that live by him. He takes all their money, only leaving the widow and daughters what he pleafes. To the fons of thofe that die worth two or three millions, he gives fome fmall lordfhip to begin the world anew. The king «ts out ?n' three feveral places three times of the day, except fomething ejciraordinary hinder him ; an hour at noon to lee his elephants fight ; from four till five to entertain all comers, to be feen'and worfliiped j from nine till midnight araidit his J)rincipal men ill more familiarity, being below among thenu ■ ** All the policy of his ftate is to keep the greateft men about him, or to pay them afar oiT liberally *. There is no Council, but every officer giVes the king his opinion apart. He (meaning Jehan Guire, grandfather of Aurenzebe) is of countenance chearful, and not proud in nature, but only by ^abit and cuftom, for a^ night he is very aifable and full of gentle converfation. " The buildings are all bafe, of mud, one ftory high. I knov not by what policy the king feeks the ruin of all the antient cities which were nobly built, and now lie defolate and in ^ubbifb. His own houfes are of ftone, handfome and uni- form. His great men build not, for want of inheritance ; • And whether at home or abroad, to keep a great number of fpies continually about tilery.' < * and. 1 42? Defcription of the Briti/h Empire, and, as far as I have yet fcen, live in tents or houfes worfe thail our cottages." ,^^,, ^ ' , „ fi Lejtter of the fame Date from Sir Thomas Roe, to the £aft< - * * ■ , V v' 'R' India Cc»npany, , , I, >?*'; ^* At my firft audience, the mogul prevented me in fpeech, bidding me welcome as to the brother of the king my mafter : and, after many compliments, I delivered his majefty's letter, with a copy of it in Perfian : then I rfliev/ed my commiffion, ^nd delivered your prefents ; that is, the coach, the virginals, the knives, a fcarf embroidered, and a fword of my own. He, fitting in his ftate, could not well fee the coach, but fent many to view it, and caufed the mufician to play on the virginals, which gave him content. At night, having ilaid the coachman and mufician, he came down into a court, got into the coach, and into every corner of it, cauting it to be drawn about. Then he fent to me, though it was ten o'clock at night, for a fervant to put on his fcarf and fword after the Englifh fafhion ; of which he was fo proud, that he walked |ip and down flourifhing it, and has never fince been feen without it. But after the Englifh were come away, he afked the Jefuit, whether the king of England was a great king, that fent prefents of fo fmall value, and that .he looked for feme jewels. «« There is nothing more welcome here, nor did I eyer fee men fo fond of drink, as the king and prince are of red wine, whereof the governor of Surat fent up fome bottles, and the king has ever fince foh'cited for more : I think four or five cafks of that wine will be more welcome than the richer Jewels in Cheapfide.** i' '; Extrafts from Sir Thomas Roe*s Journal. •* The king having been far gone over night in wine, fome, iicvycver accidentally or malicioufly, fpoke of the laft merry night, and that many of the nobility drank wine, which none mufl do without leave. The king forgetting his order, afked who gave it, and anfwer was made the buckfhee j for no man dares fay it was the king when he makes a doubt of it. The cuflom is, that when the king drinks, which is alone, fometimes he will command the nobility to drink after him } "which if they do not, it is looked upon as a crime : and/q every man that takes a cup of wine of the officer, has his name writ down, and he makes his obeifance, though perhaps the lfing'8 f» A s I a; '41* Icing's eyes are clouded. The king not remembering his own command, called the bucklhee, and aflced whether he gave the order^ who falfelv denied it, for he had it from the king* and by name called all that drank with the ambaflador. The king then called for the lift, and the perfons named in it, and iined Tome one, fome two, and fome three thoufand roupeesj and fome that were nearer his perfon, he caufcd to be whipped before him, they receiving a hundred and thirty ftripes with a terrible inftrument, having at the ends of four cords, irons like fpur-rowels, fo that every ftroke made four wounds* When they lay for dead on the ground, he commanded the fianders-by to fpurn them, and after that, the porters ta break their ftaves on them. Thus moft cruelly mangled and bruifed they were carried out : one of them died on the fpot.< Some would have excufed it by laying it on the ambafTador* but the king replied, be only ordered a cup or two to be given him. Drunkennefs is a common vice, and an exercife of the king's ; yet it is fo ftri£lly forbidden, that no man can enter the Guzelcan when the king fits, but the porters fmell his breath, and if he have but tafted wine, he is not fufFered to come in, and if the reafon of his abfence be but known, it will be a difficult matter to efcape the whip : for if the king once takes offence, the father will not fpeak for the fon. » <* The fecond of September was the king's birth-day, and kept with great folemnity. On this day the king is weighed againft fome jewels, gold, filver, ftufFs of gold, Alver, and iiTk, butter, rice, fruit, and many other things, of every fort a little, which is all given to the Bramins. «* He was fo rich in jewels, that I own in my life I never faw fuch ineftimable wealth together. The time was fpent in bringing his greatett elephants before him ; fome of which being lord-elephants, ha'd their chains, bells and furniture of gold and filver, with many gilt banners and flags carried about them, and eight or ten elephants waiting on each of them, cloathed in gold, Alk, and filver. i'l ** In this manner about twelve companies pafled by moft richly adorned, the firft having all the plates on his head and breaft fet with rubies and emeralds, being a beaft of won- derful bulk and beauty. They all bowed down before the king, making their reverence very handfomely. This was the £neft (how of beafts i ever faw. 43^ Lefcription of the Britijh Empire^ • ••••#'• # ### # ' *^ I found the mogul fitting on his throne, ancJ a beggar zi Ills feet, a poor filly old man, all ragged and patchi. J. The tountry abounds in this fort of profeued poor holy men ; they are called Falcecrs •, and held in great veneration : and in Ivories of mortificat'on ahd Voluntary fuffcring, (hey out-dd all that has ever been pretended ehher by hercti(is or idolaters. This fniferable wretch tloathed in rags, crowned with fea- thers, and covered with afhes, his majcrty talked with about an hour fo familiarly, aiid with fuch fccming kindnefs, that it muft argue an humility liot found eafily among kings. The beggar fat, which the kirlg's fon dilrcs not do. Pic gaVc the king a prefent of a cake mixed with afhcs, burnt on the coals, and made by himfelf of coarfe grain, which the king willing- ly accepted, broke a bit and eat it, which a nice perfori Could fcarce have done ; then he took the clout that wrapped it up, and put it into the poor man's bofom, and fent for a hundred roupees, and with his own hand poured them into the poor man's lap, and gathered up for him what fell befidcs. When his collation, or banquet, and drink came, whatfcever be took to eat he broke and gave the beggar half; and rifing after ttiany humiliations and charities, the 6ld wretch not being nimble, he took him up in his arms, though no cleanly perfon durft have touched him, and embracing him three times, laying his hand upon his heart, and calling him fathers left him and all of us in admiration. • There are few books of voyages among the Turks orlndianrf which do not make mention of tl»e Fakeers or Joguies. The for- mer is a Turkifh word, and fignifies poor; the latter is the Indian; name for thefe extraordinary faints, for fuch they are eftcemed, and are called Santos at Cairo, and in many other parts. It is well known that the veneration paid to the numerous body of thefe worthlefs and infolent beggars, is owing to the opinion of extra- ordinary fandlity which a few of this fctt acquire by the perform- ance of certsin lingular and fantaftical vows. Some have made a vow to hold their arms above their head till they contradl a fiilFnefs, and can never be moved : others to keep their hands clenched til! the nails grow through them : others to lit in chairs full of fharp nails, to drag a heavy chain, to carry vaft weights about their necks, or fire on their heads. Some years ago one of thefe made a vow to meafure the length of tlie whole empire with his own body ; and at this time there is a Fakeer who every day rolls himfelf round the rock at Trichinopoly, which is a mile ia circumfeicnce. * |, « While /^ A ^ 1 A. ^3« ilc While the king a]^pearccl at the window, two eunuchs ftooj on two trefleh with long poles, and feather-fans at the end of them, fanning him. He beilowcd many favours, and re-* • ceived many presents. At one fide in a window were his two principal wives, whofc curiofity made them break little holea in a grate of reed that hung before it, to gaze on me j J faw firft their fingers, and then, they laying their face clofc, firft the one and then the other, 1 could fometimcs difccrn their full proportion. They 'vere indifferently white, with black hair fmoothed up : but if there had been no other light, their diamonds and pearls had fufficed to (how them. When I looked up they retired, and were fo merry, that I fuppofed they laughed at me. On a fudden the king rofe, we retired to the Durbar, and fat on the carpets, attending his coming out. Not long after he came and fat about half an hour, till his ladies at their donr had mounted their elephants, which were about fifty, all of them richly adorned, but chiefly with turrets on their backs, all enclofed with grates of gold wire to look through, and canopies over of cloth of filver. Then the king came down the (lairs with fuch aa acclamation of health to the king, as would have out-roared cannon. At the foot of the flairs, where 1 met him, and ihuffled to. be next, one brought a mighty carp, another a difh of white ftufFlike ftarch, into which he put his finger, touched the fifh, and fo rubbed it on his forehead : a cere- mony ufcd prefaging good fortune. Then another came and girt on his fword, and hung on his buckler, fet all over with diamonds and rubies, the belts of goldfuitable: another hung on his quiver with thirty arrows, and his bow in a cafe, be- ing the fame that was prefented by the Perfian ambafiador. On his head he wore a rich turbant, with a plume of heron's feathers, not many, but long : on the one fide a ruby unfet as big as a walnut, on the other fide a diamond as large, and in the middle an emerald much bigger. His ftafF was wound about wirh a chain of great pearl, rubies and diamonds drilled. About his neck he wore a chain of three ftrinss of moft excellent pearl, the largeft I ever faw. Above his elbows, armlets fet with diamonds, and on his wrifts three rows of feveral forts ; his hands bare, but almoft on every finger a ring : his gloves, which were Englifh, ftuck under his girdle. His coat was cloth of gold without fkeves, upon a fine femiau as thin as lawn. On his fcct a pair of bufkins embroi- 43i Defcription of the Britiflj Empire^ embroidered with pearl, the toes fliarp and turning ui^. Thus armed and accoutred, he went to the coach that attended him with his new Englifh fervant, who was cloathed as rich aa an)r player, and more gaudy, and had broke four horfes, which were trapped and harncfled in gold and velvets. This was the firft coach he ever fat in, made by that fent out of Kngland, and fo like, that I knew it not out by the covers which was a Perfian gold velvet. He fat at the end, and on each fide went two eunuchs, who carried fmall maces of gold fetall over with rubies, with a long bunch of horfe-tail to flap the flies away. Before him went drums, bafe trumpets, and loud mnflck ; many canopies, umbrellas, and other flrange enfigns of majefty, made of clogth of gold, fet inl many places with rubies. Nine led horfes, the furniture all §arni(hed, fome with pearls and emeralds, fome only wirh uds enamelled. The Perfian ambaflador prefented him a horfe. Next behind came three plankeens, the carriage^ and feet of one plated with gold, fet at the ends with ftonesj and covered with crimfon velvet, embroidered with pearl, and fringes of great pearl, hanging in ropes a foot deep, a border about it fet with rubies and emeralds : and a footman carried a footftool of gold fet with ftones. The other twof plankeens were covered and lined only with cloth of gold; Wext followed the Englifti coach nev/ly covered and richlj^ adorned, which he had given to queen Nourmahal, who fat in it. After them a third, in which fat his youngeft fons. Then followed above twenty elephants royal, led for him td mount, fo rich in ftones and furniture that they glittered likei the fun. Every elephant had fundry flags of cloth of filver,* gilt fattin and taffety. His noblemen he fufFered to walk on foot, which I did to the gate, and left him. His wives ort their elephants were carried half a mile behind him. When he came before the door, where his eldeft fon waS kept prifoner, he ftayed the coach, and called for him. Hd came and made reverence, with a fword and buckler in his hand, his beard grown to his middle, a fign of disfavour. The king commanded him to mount one of the fpare ele- phants, and fo rode next to him, with extraodinary applaufe and joy of all men, who are now filled with new hopes. The kmg gave him one thoufand roupees to caft to the people. His jailor, Afaph Chan, and all thofe monfters were yet on foot : I took horfe to avoid the croud and other inconve- niences, and crofled out of the Lefkar before him, waiting till he caire near his tents. He paffed all the way between a guard of elephants, having; every one a turret on his backj I anJ h A S I A. 43^ and oh the fjur cornen of each, four banners ot yellow tafFety, and rieht before a piece of cannon carrying a bullet as big as a tennis-ball, the gunner behind it. They were in all about three hundred. Other elephants of ftate went before, and ' Dchind, about fix hundred, all of which were covered with velvet, or cloth of gold, and had two or three gilded ban- ' ners : feveral footmen ran along the way with (kins of water to lay the dull before the king. No horfe or man was fulFer- ted to come wirhin two furlongs of the coach, except thofe - that walked by on foot ; fo that I haded to his tents to at<« ' tend his alighting. They Were walled in about half an £n« gliih mile in compafs, in form of a fort, with feveral angles and bulwarks, and high curtnins of a coarfe. ftuflf made like arras, red on the outfidc, and within figures in panes^ with a handfome gatchoufe ; every pod that bore thefe up was head- ed with brafs. l^he throng was great : I had a mind to go in, but no oile was permitted, the greatefl; in th- land fitting^ at the door; however I made an oH^r, and they T.lmitLed me» but refufed the Perfian ambaffador. In the rnidft of th.s court was a throne of mother of pearl, borne on two pillar si raifed on.earth, covered over with a high tent, the pole hf d- ed v^rith a knob of gold : under that, canopies of cloth of gold j and under foot carpets. When the king entered, every man cried joy and good fortune, and fo we took our plr^rerl tie callfcd for water, waihed bis hands, and departed. • «»•##'•• •#•# ** Within this inclofure were about thirty divlfions with tents. AJl the noblemen retired to theirs, which were in ex- cellent forms, fome all white^ fome green, fome mixed, alL inclofed as orderly as any houfe, in the moil; magnificent rv^m- her I ever faw. The vale fliowed like a beautiful city, for the baggage made no confufion ; I was ill provided with car- riages, and afhamed of my equipage } for five years allow- ance would not have provided me an indiflerent tent anfWer- able to others ; and to add to the grandeur, every man has two, fo that one of them goes before to the r^^rj. ground, and Is fet up a day before the kirirg rtfes from the place where he is.*' *• B M B r. VI ':■■* THE irtand of Bombay lies in the latitude of eighteen de- grees, ^orty-one minutes of north latitude, on the coitt of Decan, the high mountains of which art full in view, at a , - F f ^ trifling \ 434 Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ trifling diftance, and is fo fituate, as, together with s winding of other iflands along that continent, to form one of the moft commodious bays perhaps in the world ; from which diftin«Slion it receives its denomination of Bombay, by corruption from the Portugueze Buon-bahia, though now uiually written by them Bombaim. Certain it is, that the harbour is fpacious enough to contain any number of (hips j has excellent anchoring-ground, and by its circular pofition, can afford them a land-locked fhelter againfl any winds, to which the mouth of it is expofed. It is alfo admirably fituatc for a center of dominion and commerce, with refpe with many, for them to facrifice their pleafures of intemper- ance, or the momentary relief from a prefent irkfomnefs of heat, to the prefervation of their healths. Formerly too, there obtained a pra«5tice efteemed very per- nicious to the health of the inhabitants, employing a manure for the coconut-trees, fwhich grow in abundance on the Ifland) confiding of the fmail fry of fifli, and calleJ by the country-name Buckfhavv, which was undoubtedly of great fervice, both to augment, and meliorate their produce j but thro* its quantity being but fuperficially laid in trenches round the root, and confequently the eafier to be exhaled, diffufed, ds ii putrefied, a very unwholcfome vapor. There are f'ome however who deny this, and infift on the ill confequences of this manure to be purely imaginary, or at leaft greatly exagger- ated J giving for reafon, that the inhabitants themielves were never fenfible of any noxious quality in that method, and that if the ifland is nowlels unhealthy, that change muft be fought for in other caufes. But all are agreed, that the habitations in the woods, or coconut -groves, arc unwholcfome, from the air wanting a free current through them, and from the trees themfelves, difFufing a kind of vaporous moifturc, unfavour- able to the lungs : a complaint cominon to -U clofe- wooded countries. There has alfo been another reafoi^ afligned for the ifland iiiaving grown healthier, from the leii'eniug of the waters, by a breach of the fea being banked off, which however does not leem to me z fatisfadlorv one. There is ftill fubfifting a great body of fait water on the infide of the breach, the communi- cation of which with the fea, being lefs free, than before the breach was built, muft be in proportion more apt to ftagnate, and breed noxious vapours; fo tliat this alteration, by the breach, cannot enter for much, if any thing, into the pro- pofed folution, which may perhaps be belter reduced i^lto the before-mentioned one of the different diet, and manner of living of the Europeans : not however without taking into account, the place being provided with more (kilful phyficians than formerly : when there was lels nicenefs in the choice of them, furgeons, and furgcons-maics of fiiips, and thofe none of the experte'l, ufed to be admitted altnoil without • ny or but fuperficial examination ; though in lo tender a point, as that of the liie of fubjects ; always precious, and furely more fo, where they are lb difficult to recruit. The fame negligence was alfo obfervcd '"'ith refpc(5l to the gallics, and other armed vefli:ls of the com^^aiiy in thofe parts i and, lo F f 2 fay W. WW !• 43^ Defcriptian of the Britijh Empire^ fay the truth, the pay was too flender to invite into fuch (tr* vice any capable perfons. And here I cannot omit inferting^ though digreflively, one inftance ofa wanton difregard to that material point, oF the truth of which 1 have been credibly aflured. Mr. Phipps, one of the former governors, on ex- amining the marine eftablifhment of Bombay, in which h& propofed making retrenchments, by way of currying favour with his mafters at hbme, which is often done, by the falfcft, and moft ruinous ceconomy, obfcrvcd the furgeons pay rated at forty>two rupees per month, which, at the ufual way of reckoning of a rupee for half-a crown, was juft five guineas ; ** What !'* fays he, " there muft be fomc midake; the figures are tranfpofed, it muft be twenty-four inftead of forty-two:'* and for the fake of this, in every fenfe a barbarous joke, he, with a da(h of his pen, curtailed the pay accordingly : but fiirely this 'was rather cutting into the quick, than paring ofF cxcrefcences. But whatever may be the reafon, the point is certain, that die climate is no longer fo fatal to the Englifh inhabitants as it ufed to-be, and incomparably more healthy than many other of our fettlements in India. Th« moft common diforders are fevers, to which mufcular ftrong men are more fubje^l than thofe of laxer fibres ; and bloody fluxes ; but the laft make much lefs ravage than they ufed to do, where they fixed, from the fuptrior method of treating them. New-comers too efpecially are liable to fome cutaneous eruptions, fuch as the prickly heat, which is rather reckoned beneficial than other wife ; and a fort of tetters,, called ring-worms, from their circular form, about the fize ofa (hilling, which however foon fubmitto a gentle phyfick- ing, or even to fome flight outward application. The barbeers, a violent diforder, generally ending in rendering all the limbs paralitic ; and the mordechin, which is a fit of violent vomiting and purging, that often proves fatal, are dillempers hardly now known on the iiland. In fliort, this place, the name of which, ufed to carry ter- ror with it, with relpe6t to its unhealthinefs, is nownolongpc to be dreaded on that account, provided any common mea-^ fure of temperance bo obf vcd, without which the tenure of health, in any climate, mufl be a hazardous one. The feafons however can at mofl: be divided into three; the cool, the hot and the rainy ; or indeed properly enough into the dry weather, which lafts eight months in the year ; and: into the wet, which continues about four months, raining %ut with ihorC inCcrmiilions. The fetting in of the rains, isA commoni- -:\ m ASIA. 437 rommonly ufhcred by a violent thunder-ftorm, generally called the KIcphanta, a name which it probably receives in the Afi- atic ftyle, from the comparifon of its force to that of the ele- phant. This however is a pleafing prelude to the refrefliment that follows, from the rains moderating that exceilive heat, which is then at its height, and naturally brings on, with the fun thit raifes th^^ vapours, the relief from its intenfe ardor. They begin about the twenty-eighth of May, and break up about the beginning of September j after which there is never any, unlefs, and that but rarely, a fhort tranfient ihower. This rainy ieafon however, though extremely hot, in any dry intervals, when the fun (bines out far a few hours, is count- ed the pleafanteft. Yet the end of it, and fome days after, are not reckoned but the ficklieft time of the whole Vcar, from the abundance of exhalations forming a kind of faint, vaporous bath, from which thofe who lodge in apartments the higheft from the ground are proportionablylefs in danger, the atmofphere growing gradually clearer upwards. During this feafon the country-trading vcflels are laid up, cfpecially thofe belonging to the black -merchants, with whom it is a kind of fuperltition not to fend any to fea, till after a feftival on the breaking up of the rains, the ceremony of whicBi confifts chiefly in throwing, by way of oblation, a cohfe^ crated coconut into the fea, gilt and ornamented. Then and not till then they look on the fea as open and navigable till the next returning rains. How this folemn anniverfary foolery came to be eflablifhed, I never could learn from any of the natives } it being probably one of their many tra- ilitional cuftoms, the original of which is loft in t^e reniote- nefs of their antiquity. The government of this ifland is entirely Englifh., fubor- dinate to the Court of Directors of the United Companies of Merchants of England trading to the £aft-Indies, who appoint, by commiflion, a prcfident, to whom they join a council, confiding of nine perfons, the whole numbor of which are rarely, or rather never on the fpot, being employed as chiefs of the feveral fa£tories fubordinate to that prefidgncy. Such of the council as are at Bombay, are appointed to the pofts of the greateft truft } fuch as accouni- tant, warehoufe- keeper, land-pay mafter, marine-paymaftcr^ afnd other offices for tranfading the company's affiiiirs. They are generally fuch as have rifen by degrees from the ftation of writers, and take plac*^ (unlefs otherwife ordered frpqi lioa^e} according to the feniority of the ft^ryice* i ffi The 43? Defcription of the Britijh Empire, The prcfident then, and fuch members of the council a? arc on the fpot, being convened by his order fignified to therp by the fecretary, conftitute a regular council in which all niiitters are decided by plurality of votes. But the influence of the prefident is generally fo great, that few or no points are carried byt according to his will and dictates. For fhould any of the council oppofe hlvn, he has it fo much in his power to mako their fituation uaeafy to them, that they muft quit the fcrvice, and repair home; where, unlefs the occafion of difcontcnt is very flagrant indeed, they rarely meet with much countenance or redrefs ; the company thinking it rather more pollpcal to wink at the faults of a governor, where they are not fuch as to be too hurtful to their fervice^ than to expofe their affairs to the hazard of worfe incon- vcniencicis, from the diflcntions of any number of abfoltttcly co-ordinates. And, to fay the truth, this ^eight a-top, though liable from human infirmity to be fomctlmes oppreflive, ferves to keep the iirjdcr parts fteady and fixt in their place j and it is befides^ caficr to make one pcrfon accountable for the adminiftration of things than a number ; and iincc the pre- fident is he on whom the company chiefly relies, it feems but reafonable that he fliould have the greateft ihare of power. As to the matters of a judicial nature, they were, in thij year 1727, fettled by a royal charier, refpedtively obtained for the three chief prelidencies of the company in India: to wit, Bombay, Fort ot. George, or Madrafs, on the coafl: of Coro- inahdel, aiid Calcutta in Bengali. How this charter was re- ceived or managed in the two laft places, 1 have had nQ diftiricl account : but as to Bombay am better informed. At the: time this charter was procured for thefe fettlcments, it was generally believed to have been follicited by Mr. Harrifon, once a governor of India, but at that time a diredlor of thp Eaft-India company, who, in fail, meant it as a temporary expedient for preferving and extending his influence over the <]ire6tion by this proof of his favour at court j though the blaufible pretext alledged was the better adminiftration of juftice in thofc colonies. That fuch however could not be the true intention, muft appear clej»rly from the negiefl of all the proper and cbmpetpnt means for eltablifhing ic^ ' 'V ^ially with reference to Bombay j and indeed as to the two others, I never heard that there was any more care taken of them. The charter then appointing the judges of Oyer Terminer, the Mayor's Couit, and the Court of Appeals, this laft tq cdnfift of purely the prefident and council, was only attended with a manufci'ipt book of inftruclions j which, granting it ^•■' • ' — . • " ^a, was fr< 't)e but to the Thefe >,{ T tn A S I A; 4.?9 was framed by the ableft lawyers in the kingJoiii, couIJ yet be but a very imperfect guidance to the gentlemen nominated to the feveral judicial offices necefiary to the execution thereof. ' Thefe gentlemen being, generally fpeaking, fuch as came very young out of their country, bred up entirely in a mer- cantile way, and utterly unacquainted with the laws of Eng- land J they were in courfe then liable to make great mif- takes, efpecially in cafes of capital importance : and however their natural good fenfe and well-meaning might make a (hilt in purely commercial cafes to decide with tolerable equity, they could not but be greatly at a lofs in thofe of a mixed na- ture, or where it was neceilary to pay a regard to the parti- cular laws of England, And no perfon had been fent out with capacity or knowledge enough to put this new method of procedure into a proper courfe, and to afcertain the limits of the feveral jurifdiftions : fo that the charter was left in a manner to execute itfelf. But this infufficiency of judgement was not even the worft of its confequences : for feveral of the company's fervants, named efpecially to fill the offices of mayor and aldermen of the Mayor's Court, even though their jurifdidion was fubordinate to the Court of Appeals, afTumeJ to themfelves fuch an authority and independance, as made the governor and council jealous of theirs being lef-- fened, or at leaft checked by it. This bred fuch feuds and difTenfions, that feveral of the members of the Mayor's Court conceiving themfelves aggrieved, quitted the fervice, and repaired home to the company with their complaints. All which might have been in a great meafure prevented, if proper perfons had been appointed, and fent out by the com- pany, to give thefe new powers their due digeftion and form. Whereas, as it was, the want of knowledge, the inexperience and aim at independance in the appointed members of the feveral courts, rendered this acceffion of authority a dangerous tool in the hands of perfons fo difqualified for the exercife of it : fo that it is fcarce a doubt, but the charter had been better not obtained, than no better a provifion have been made for its admin iftration and maintenance. The negle^ of fuch necelTary precautions, being evidently fitter to give a fan<£tion to unavoidable errors, and breed diflfentions, than to promote a regular diftribution of juftice. And, to fay the truth, any fuch difpofltion, which could only be made by fend- ing out perfons competently learned in the law, and vefted with a fufficient authority, would not only have been attended with a great expence, but might have too much interfered >yith the plan of government inflituted by the company at F f 4 hottii ■ill \ r 'Ski 4.40 Defcription of the BrUifi Empire, home, and have broke that unity of direflion (o nccclTary tfi the due fubordination of their fervants. As to the military and marine force, it i$ confidered as. more immediately under the dire6lion of the preftdent, who is entitled general and commander in chief, though nothing material is fuppofed to be ordered concerning either without the concurrence of the council. As to the military, thecommqn men are chiefly fuch as the company fends out in their fhips, or deferters from the feveral nations fettled in India, Dutch, French^ and Portuguefe, which laft are commonly known by the name of Reynolds (Regnicola:) ; and laftly Topazzes, moftly black, or of a mixed breed from the Portuguefe : to whom, and indeed tq all the Roman-catholics in the military fcrvicc, there is not the leaft obje(^ion made, or molcftation given on account of their religipn, of, which they have the frceft exercife imagin- able J nor is even the leaft expediency of changing it ever mentioned to them : fo that they are fo eafy on that head, that they might fafcly be trufted in any war againft thofe of their own religion, fuch as the French, or even againft the Portuguefe themfelves. At leaft I never heard of any com- plaint relating thereto. • - Thefe then arc formed into companies under Englifh officers, (0 as to compofe the prefdiary force of the ifland ; and are befides occafionally draughted off in detachments or parties lent upon command, either in the land-fervice, or in. rc- uiforcement of the fubordinate fettlement^, or on board the armed veflels which conftitute the company's marine in thofe parts. In the military too many may be included regularly formed companies of the natives. Thefe foldiers are called Sepays, who have their proper officers with the titles in the county- language, all however under the orders of the Englifli. They ufe n^.ulkcts, at >Yhich they are indifferently expert; but they are chiefly armed in the country-manner, with fword and target, and wear the Indian drcfs, the turbant, cabay or veft, and long drawers. Their pay is but fmall, comparatively to the Europeans j and yet they arc on many occafions very fer- viceable fron^ their inurement to the climate, and diet oP the ■ country j and are rarely known to mifbchavc or give way, if they are well led, and encouraged by the example of the Eu- ropeans, with whom they are joined. Generally fpeakiog too they are very faithful to the mafters who pay them; or, to ufc the expreilion familiar to the natives, to thofe whofe fait they cat. ' . . ■ $" ' Therq 4 . in A 8 I A. 441 Thore is alfo on the ifland kept up a fort of militia, com- pofed of the land-tillers, and bandarees, whofe living depends chiefly on the cultivation of the coconut-trees, who, though not regularly difciplined, would be of good fervice, efpecially In any laborious part of military duty, and would afll^l; in the defence of the ifland, againft any foreign invafion, for the iake of their families there fettled, and from attachment to the Englifh government, the mildnefs and juftice of which is the more fenfible to them from the comparifon obvious to make of it, to the oppreilion of the neighbouring governments. Befides the neceflfary charge of a prefidiary force, for the fjefence of the ifland, the company has been obliged for a number of years to keep up a military marine, for the protec- tion of trade upon the coaft; the whole length of which has, for time immemorial, been infefted with pirates, and bears fome refemblance to that part of the African coaft, which has fo long been infamous for this pradlice. Certain then it is, that but for the conftant check they were kept in by the Eng~ lifh naval force in thofe parts, thofe feas would have fwarmed with piratical veflels, and no trading one, unfufficiently armed, (:ould have efcaped them. The coafl to the northward of Bombay and Surat, was .chiefly the harbour of aneft of pirates, called Sanganians, wha feldom extended their cruize far beyond the latitude of their ports, and were efpecially troublefomc to the trading veiTels bound in or out of the Gulf of Perfta. But they rarely at» tacked any fhip of flrength, their cruizers being of no fize^ nor carrying any artillery equal to fuch an attempt. Theix pbje6t too was chiefly plunder, without making flaves of thofe they found on captured vefTelg ; a rule which however thef fometimes broke thorough, where there was any confiderabM fanfom to be hoped fbr. On the oppofite coaft, which forms the end of the Perfian Gulph, were featcd the Mufkat-Arabsy whofe firft puttii^ forth (hips for cruizing was purely out of revenge againft the Portuguefe, whom they endeavoured to harrafs by aJl means^ dnd even proceeded fo far as to make defcents on their fettle- thents bordering upon Surat, where they committed all fort of idevaftations. But having once got a reliih of pillaging thefe their enemies at fea, they began to extend their attacks indif- criiiiinately on other nations, and amongft them oi> the £ng- \if\i\ from whom, however, after receiving various defeats^ they were induced to abftain in future, and Tittle by little tak- ing a commercial turn, they have of late much remitted of that pixacical turn^ and keep veflfcls cf force nether upon thfC defen- \ .■'■■'-■■ ■ iivc 442 Defcription of the Briiiflj Empire, five, than for any other purpofe, and therewith held the power of the famous Shah-Nsulir (Thomas Cooley Khawn) in de- fiance, who had the redu£lion of them much at heart. Formerly too the Malabar coaft, which, though it gives its name to the fea-(hore as high as Surat, properly begins at Mdunt-Diliy, was alfo noted for the pirates that it bred, who greatly difturbed the naviga,tion of the Indian feas. But thefe were long ago quieted by the Portugueze armaments ; and fince, having been not only overpowered by the Engiiih, but difcountenanced by the country-governments who ufed to- give them harbour and proteaion, are now dwindled to nothmg. t . '1' 'i j • To the northward too of Goa, there were feveral petty chiefs, who carried on this piratical courfe, but who at length came to an amicable correfpondence with the Englilh, from their dread and jealoufy of the fuperior and growing power of Angria, their common enemy, though from different reafons. It was then principally on account of Angria, whofe do- minions ftretched from the mouth of Bombay harbour, down a great length of coaft without a material interruption, that the company was, in its own defence, obliged to keep on foot a very expenfive maritime force. This force confided* chiefly of gallies built here in England, on the beautifulleft models that can be imagined, carrying about eighteen or twenty guns, and provided with oars, which were of a fpecial fervice in a calm. They had alfo a few grabs, being veflels of much the fame burthen, but built in the country, on tho model of Angria*s grabs, with prows, which feem bcft cal- culated for carrying chace-guns. The fcheme of thofe people's gunnery oeing chiefly to get into the wake of their enemy* and rake him fore-and-aft i a kind of quarter-maftcr conducing the veflTel till he brings the maft of his chace into. one, at the inftant of which he gives the word for firing, and commonly jloes the greateft execution in the rigging, after which they have the eafier market of the veflTel thus difabled. Otherwife, they are too flightly built to lay along- fide of any ihip of the leaft weight of metal. Their great ftrefs then lies on thofe prow'guns, which they manage to fpecial advantage in a calm, havmg armed boats to tow them a-ftern of the veflTel they attack, and which for want of wind cannot avoid them. Of thefe armed boats called Gallevats, the company maintains alfo a competent number, for the fervice of their marine, being not only of ufe to oppofe them to the enemy, but for purfuit, or expeditions in ihoal water. For further ilrengthening too of the naval force in thofe parts, the com^ ' I ': .. pany in A S I A, 443 Ver pany ocCafionally ftations at Bombay fome larger built (hips from Europe, which, for their fuperior weight of metal, and greater dif.^'ilty of hoarding, and efpecially in deep water, with any thing of a commanding p;ale, have nothing to fear from thofe flight vcflbis j though, in a calm, they might gall and plague them fufliciently. Ail thefe vefTels that formed the military marine of Bombay were chiefly manned with Englifti, or with European deferters from other nations, and according to the exigency reinforced with detachments of folJiers from the land-fuices, to ferve in the nature of marines. Thcfe vcfleis were too, befides guard- ing the navigation of thofe feas, and convoying the trade em- ployed on collateral ferviccs, fuch as protedling the intereft p{ the company, or vindicating its honour, where rcquifite within the bounds of that prefidency's department, as in the Red Sea, Qulf of Perfia, the Bar of Surat, &c. But whatever care could be taken of employing thefe cruizers to fafety and advantage, it could fcarce happen otherwife, but that >\ngria, a!ways alert, and who knew too well the inferiority of bis ftrength, to attack them without great odds on his fide, fiiould now and then over-match them fo ^ffiA numbers, as to get the better. Towards defraying the charges of this marine, the com- pany required of all the veflels trading in thofe feas, thofe of the other European nations excepted, to take the pailes of the Bombay-government, for which they paid a fmall coniidera* tion, at which 1 never heard the lead murmuring } the mer- chants being duly fenfible not only of the benefit their trade received from the Engliih protection, but that this contribu- tion was for fliort of the coft of it. Nothing however has more contributed to the population of thif ifland, than the mildnefs of the government and th^ toleration of all religions ; there not being fufFered the lead: violence or injury to be offered, either to the natives or Euro- peans, on that account. The Roman-catholic churches, the Moorifh mofchs, the Gentoo Pagodas, the worfiiip of the Parfees, are all equally unmolefted and tolerated. They have ^he free exercife of all their rites and religious ceremonies^ without either the Englifh interfering, or their clafhing with one another. This toleration makes too a contraft very favour- able for our nation, to the rigors of the inquifltion, which take place in the neighbouring territories of the Portuguese, whofe having rendered themfelves odious on that account, V/is not one of the lead reafons that facilitated their being ■'"--■ driven ii*i .j"i-ii. - ■•» *^ ■•»^ m. 4 i4 Defcription of the Britifh Empire^ driven out of the greated part of them by the Marattas, who are all Gencoos. Mr. Bourchier too the prefent governor has greatly exci ted him(elf, on the troubles of the government at Surat, and in the countries round about, to draw a con- fluence of their inhabitants, merchants and tradefmen, to fettle at Ijombay, where they experience quite another treat- ment and fecurity than under their own governments. And, in truth, this gentleman's condudl cannot be too much com- mended for bis inceil'ant endeavours at encreafing the popula- tion, and improving or inlarging the trade of the ifland, and efpecialiy for his care of cultivating peace and friendthip with thulc dangerous and powerful neighbours the Marattas; who being now mailers of the contiguous ifland of Salfett, can at pleaiure ftreighten the fupplies of the ifland, and interrupt its inland communication. As to the {late of landed property on the ifland, it is to be obferved, that when the ceflion of this ifland and harbour was firft made to the Englifh by the Portugueze, although fo far deficient as it was, againit the terms of agreement between the two Clowns, and that the ifland of Salfett, which was ^ajiileflly included in the regalities of Bomba\', was unjuilly witheld from us, and confequently greatly leflened the impor- tance of an ifland which muft chiefly depend for its fupport on that of Sal'ctt; the Porlugueze al To clogged the furrender of even thig fmall part of what was our due, with the condition that the inhabitants, late their fubjedls, were to enjoy their poflK;flions in the fame manner as before we took poflfeflton. The ifland w::s then, and flill continues, divided into three Roman-catholic parishes, or Freguezias as they call them } and are Bombay, Mahim, and Salvacam, of which the churches are governed by Roman- catholic priefls ; of any na- tion but the Portuguezc, againft whom the Englilh wifely obje«5led, from the danger of their connection and too cloie cor;. :fpondence with the priefts of their own nation, in the neighbouring Portugueze dominiods, of whom we had re- peated reafons to be jealous. The bulk then of the land- proprietors were Roman-catholic Meflizos and Canarins. The Arft are a mixed breed of the natives and Portugueze^ the other purely aborigines of the country, converted to what the Portugueze call the Faith. The other land-owners were J\^oors, Gentoos, and Parfees, but thefe lad are of moderner date, having fmce purchaf^d on the ifland. To all thefe how- ever the article of fecurity to their property has been inviolably kept, and the right of inheritance is regulated according to the reQpe^ive laws and cuftoms of the feveral denominations of cafl: or itt A S I A. 445 or rdigion. The land is chiefly employed in coconut^groves, or oarts, or in rice-fields, or in onion-grounds, which are icckoned of an excellent fort on this ifland. The company has alfo acquired a confidcrable landed- c((ate, what by purchafes, and by confifcations for crimes* or treafons, and feizurcs for debt ; which ei^ate there hath a particular officer, under the title of fuper-intendant, appointed to adminifter. I'here are two very pleafant gardens belong" ing to the company, cultivated after the European manner : the one a little way out of the gate», open to any of the Kngiifh gentlemen who may pleafe to walk there; the other a much larger atid finer one, at about five miles diftance from the town, at a place called Parell, where the governor has a very agreeable country-houfe, which was originally a Romifb chapel belonging, to the Jefuits, but confifcated about the the year 1719, for fome foul practices againft the Engliih in- tereft. It is now converted into a pleafant manfion-houfe, and, what with the aditional buildings, and the improvements of the gardens, afl^ords a fpacious and commodious habitation. There is an avenue to it of a hedge and trees near a mile long ; and, though near the fea-fide, is ineltered from the air of it by a hill that is between. Here the governor may fpend moft part of the heats, the air being cooler and freiher than in town, and nothing is wantii^ that may make a country-retirement agreeable. '" As to the oarts, or coconut-groves^ they make the moft confiderable part of the landed propertv, being planted where- ever the fituation and foil is favourable to them. When a number of thefe groves lie contiguous to each other, they form what is called the woods, through which there is a due fpace left for roads and pathways, where one is pleafantly de- fended from the fun at all hours in the day. They are alfv thick-fet with houfes belonging to the refpe^live proprietors, as well as with huts of the poorer fort of people. I have before marked, that they are however reckoned unwhoifome for want of a free ventilation. -^ As to the coconut-tree itfelf, not all the minute de(criptions of it, which [ have met with in many authors^ feem to mo to come up to the reality of its wondenul properties and u(c* Nothing is fo unpromifing as the aCpe^^ of this tree, but none yields a produce more profitable or more varioufly beneficial to mankind. It has fome refemblance to the palm-tree, if ie ii not even a fpecies of it. The leaves of it ferve for thatching* the hulk of the fruit for making cordage, and even the larg?^ cables for fhip8« TbC: kernel of it is dried, and yields an oil much 44^ Defiripiion of ibt Brltijh Empire^ much wanted for fevcral ufcs, and makes a confiderab** branch of traffick under the name of Copra. Arrack, acoai'l4 fort of fugar called iagrce, and vinegar arc alfo cxtracft w 'i;u':i jtj befidtfs many other particulars too tedious to enijf lat |er a ft- fe- it is near on a level, on that ftde the Tea is open to it, all but where the pagoda ilaiids between a part of it and the fhore. The other three fides are furroundcd with trees that form an amphitheatre, on the Hopes of the hill towards it, than which no profpedt that I ever faw, or can conceive, forms a more agreeably wild landfcape. The trees open tr all the force of the winds, follow the general law, and talc ; a ftrong bent to the oppofitc point from them j but with luch regularity, that one would think they had been trimmed or pruned to that figure they exhibit. Thefe trees give one the idea of the temple-groves, fo often pictured in the antients. A little beyond that fpot, towards the extremity of the hill, was built a very fmall pagoda, of no manner of appearance, or worth mentioning, but for the (nke of the founder of it, an itinerant Joguy or Gentoo vagrant prieft, who not twenty years ago Was at theexpence of it^ out of the alms and voluntary dona- tions collected from thofe of his religion on the ifland. And as there is fomething in his hiftory that characlcrifes them« I (hall fummarily inlert it here, as 1 received it from a Gentoo who Icnev/ him. This man, when he firft came on the ifland, might be about five and thirty years of age, tall, Itrait, and well-made. By his account, and a very probable one, confidering their pro- feifion of vagrancy, he had been all over Tartary, Thibet, and on the borders of China. At length he took Bombay in his rounds ; and here, though, according to his inilitution, which is flricHy that of the old Gymnofophift of India, fo plainly and fo truly mentioned in anticnt hiftory, he ought to have gone ftark-naked ; yet, out of deference to our manners, when he took his ftation up in this hill, he juft covered thofe parts, which the common ideas of decency oblige to conceal ; and yet not fo much, but that there might plainly be feen abrafs ring pallbd through the prepuce, which does to thofe of his profclfion, the fame office as a padlock or girdle of chaftity is I'uppoled to do to the Itali;in women. His hair too, which was twice the length of his body, that is to fay, reaching; down to his heels, and thence to the crown of his head again, V.'as wreathed in rolls round, and rofc in a kind of fpirc of a ruflet colour, into which it was fun burnt from its original black. This man then, on his arrival at Bombay, addrefled himfelf folely to the Gcntoos, and to them only for money towards foundin'^ the fmall pagoda I have mentioned, nor indeed did 1 hear it fni:geftcd that he applied it to any other life. But hi^ fclieme for excitin^^ their devotion was fome- thing extraordinary. Me prcaciicd to them from the midil (i i 2 Qt 4f^i Defcription of the BrUiJh Empire^ cf a great fire which furrounded him, and had fomething of » miraculous air, though there was nothing but what was very natural in it. He had a platform of earth made of the elevation of about two foot, and about twelve or fourteen foot fquarc. Round this was fet a pile of wood, which, being lighted, made him appear as if preaching from amidft the flames» though they never touched him, but muft have beea unfup- portable to anv but himfelf, who had from his childhood inured himfelf by degrees to bear fuch a heat. This device however had its effect, for it produced to him a colle^ion, at feveral times, to the amount of what he required. And here I cannot quit Malabar-bill without mentioning another particularity of it. At the very extreme point of it, there is a rock on the defcent to the fea, flat a-top, in which there is a natural crevice, that communicates with a hollow that terminates at an opening outwards towards the fea. This place is ufcd by the Gentoos, as a purification of their fins; which they fay is efFe£ted by their going in at the opening, and emerging out of the crevice i which to me feemed too narrow for any perfon of any corpulence to fqueeze through; though I have been credibly aflured, that feveral very fat per- fons have atchieved it. However, this ceremony is of fuch repute, in the neighbouring countries, that there is a tradition which I do not however pretend to warrant, that the famous Conajee Angria, ventured by ftcalth, one night, on the ifland, on purpofe to perform that ceremony, and got oiFun- difcovered. I? %: '':'}. 11. Cf SuRAT, and the Mogul Government, SUR AT has hitherto been fo clofely conneded with our government at Bombay, that fome account of it falls na- turally within my phm, but efpecially as it fvrves for intro- dudion to an attempt of fome definition of the Mogul govern- ment, in which the Englifh are fo much concernfid, and which for many years paft has been a kind of political paradox. Surat then is fituate on the continent a little to the north- ward of Bombay, about fixteen or twenty miles up the river Tappee, on the right hand fide as you go up. The river itlelf is nothing remarkable, but the city on the banks of it is perhaps one of the greateft inftances in the known world, of the power of trade to bring in fo little a time wealth, arts and yopulation^ to ^ly fpot where it can be bjrpught tv fettle. it ' .# in ASIA. 453 It IS not later than the middle of the laft century that this place was the repair of a few merchants, who, under the ihelter of an old infignirtcant caftle, formed up a town, which in the procefs of a few years, became one of the moft con- fiderable in the world, not only for trade but ftze, being at leaft as large, and to the full as populous as London within the walls, and contains a number of very good houfes, ac- cording to the Indian architedlure. A wall was foon, after its taking the form of a town, built round it, to defend it from the infults of the Marattas or Ghenims, who had twice pillaged it; but a wall that could only be meant of ufe againfl the fudden incurfion of fuch free-hooters, as by no means capable of (landing any thing like a regular fiegc. The caftle too, which is by the river-fide, and which you pafs in your way up to the city, appears a ftrange huddle of building, for- tified with cannon mounted here and there without order and meaning, and without an attempt at any thing like military architedture. In this city then, before the Eaft India company became by the royal grant inverted with the pofleffion of Bombay, was the prcfidency of their affairs on that coaft. F'or which purpofe they had a factory eftabliflicd there with feveral great privileges allowed them by the Mogul governments; and even after tne feat of the prefidency was transferred to Bombay, they continued a fadlory here, at one of the beft houfes in the city, which yet not being fpacious enough to contain their efFefls, they hired another houfe at fome diftance from it, and nearer the water-fide, which was called the New Faacry. ' ' ' ■ • » • .-: ' In the mean time this city flourlfhcd, and grew the center, and indeed the only ftaplc of India, it being much more fre- quented for the fake of the vent > pods of all forts met with there, from v/hence they were diltributed, particularly to the inland provinces, than for either the natural produdions, or !nanuf"a6turcs of the country, though they alfo made a confiderablc part of its commerce. In Inort, there was hard- ly any article of merchandize that can be named, 'out what was to be found at ail times here, almoft as readily as in Lon- don itfclf. The company carries on annually a large inveft- ment of piece-goods, elpecially of the coatfe ones, by lam- pauts, chellocs, and others for the Guinea market ; but the Knglifli intereft iir.d iiiflaence kcm of late years to have greatly declined, amidit the cor.fufion and embroils of the contury — a circunidance every where fatal lo tljat fecurity and credit which arc the life of it. trace, and to Whilil It ; I 454 Defcription cf the Briiijb Empire, Whilft the Mogul government was in vigour, there was fuch a ihcw of juilice, as induced the merchants of all re- ligions and denominations to take (helter under it. The Gcntoos efpccially reforted to it, and took up their abode there, not only on the account of trade, but for preferring a Mooriih form of government to the living under Gentoos ; who had none at all. And it muft be owned, that in that time great care was taken that no very flagrant adls of oppref- fion Ihould be committed, fo that in what there fomctimes were, at leaft appearances were kept, and v/cre moilly owing to the merchants thcmfelvcsj; who, on perfonal pique, or jea- loufy of trade, would find means to fet the government upon one another's backs, which was not avcrl'e to interfere iu their quarrels, being fure to be the only gainer by them. Mtw^Ba^ia-a**^^**^ s E N S tli mod eaftern province of the mogul's dominions, and ji an. ually overflowed by the Ganges, as Egypt is by the Nile, ii lies upon the mouth of the Ganges, and is bounded Vv rhe provinces of Patna and Jefnat on the north; the ksng-'ofw i>f Aracan on the eaftj the bay of Bengal and the jrovi/.K-e o\ Or.xa on the fouth ; and by the provinces of Nar- var and ivlalva on the weft j extendinr; about four hundred miles in length from eaft to weft, and three hundred in breadth from north to fouth. The bay of Bengal is the largeft and deepeft in the known world, extending irom the fouth part of Coromandel to the river Huegley * ; in which fpace it receives the great rivers Ganees and Guena from the weft fidcj as alfo the Arakau and Mcnamkiori or Avat river from the eaft fide. But Ben- gal, as a coaft, is fuppcicd to extend only from Cape Palmi- ras on the north coaft of Golconda, to the entrance into the Ganges. That river rifes in the mountains of Nigracut, part of Great Tartary ; receives many other rivers j and, after a courfe of three thoufand miles, falls into the gulph of Bengal by fo many r.ouths, that traveller? are not agreed in the luimber of them : however, the common pafTagefor European ihipping iii up the river Hueglcy, one of tijte moft weftcrn branches. The foreign and domeftii: tratle of Bengal are very con- fidcrabici ab may appear from die great number of PciTians, , ■■ * pr Hiiguley. • , ,, .', i ... ' ' ' Abvf- in A S I A. 455 ATsyflinians, Arabs, Chincfe, Guzarats, Malabarians, l\irk5. Moors, Jews, Georgians, Aimenians, r.nd merchants from all parts of Afia, who refort there. All the Chriftian nations cftablifhed in the Eaft-lndics alfo fend their (hipping to Ben- gal J and it is with the merchandizes of this country that they partly make their returns to Europe, befides what they export for their India trade. The principal merchandizes at Ben- gal are filks, cotton-cloths, pepper, rice, falt-petre, wood for dying, terra merita, lacca, yellow and white wax, indigo, camphor, aloes, and gum gutta. The places of the greateft commerce, and where the En- glifli, French, and Dutch have their beft eftablifhments, are, Calcutta, Coffimbuzar, Huegley, Pipely, and Balifore. The capital of the viceroy is Muxadabab, which is large and po- pulous : and Fort William, or Calcutta, is the principal place belonging to the Englifli company in Bengal. The capital city of the kingdom uf Bahar is ratna, which lies in eighty-five degrees of eaft longitude, and twenty-fix of north latitude, upwards of four hundred miles from Cal- cutta. It extends feven miles in length upon the banks of the Ganges, and is half a mile broad ; fo that it contains many thoufands of inhabitants, and is a place of great trade for falt- petre and opium. Mr. Robert Eyre was the Englifli chief here; but the company withdrew their fadory in this city in 1750. It confided of a chief, three council, and two afliftantsi with a lieutenant and forty foldicrs under his command. It was thought very ftrange that the company (houid relinquifti this fadlory, while they were able to tranfport the commodities of Bahar fafely down the Ganges, fince the deftrudlion of the Morattoes on the banks of that river j and more efpecially as the company had great influence with the nabob, who had then no other European factory in his government. If frauds were committed in that faftory, they ought to have been dc- tedled ; not the factory to be loR by us, to give the French an opportunity of I'uccceding in the fcttlement. Mr. Cole ob- tained a penfion ; aiul Mr. Robert Eyre was difmifled the fer- vicej though it appears by Mr. Eyre s addrefs to the company in 1753, that he had flievvn they fufFered a lofs amounting to upwards of 100, 000 1. by embcz'ilcmciits, falfe entries, and bad condudt at Patna. Orixa has fuch bad ports, that little trade is carried on there. The richncfs and fertility of Bcn;ial, with the fafe and extenfive navigation of the Ganges, fliew the importance of the fettlcments within thcfe limits ; and have engaged th6 G g 4 trading •«Mta m\ 456 Defcrlption of thi Britijh Empire^ trading compaaics of the maritime nations in Europe to cftabliTh factories upon the banks of the Ganges ; which will be better feen by the following account of the villages on each ihore, fo far as they fcrve to convey an idea of the i^tejreft of the Englilh company. ^ The firft town on the river Huegley is Cqlculla, a goo4 market for coarfe cloth j as alfo for corn, oil, and other pro- duce of the country. A little higher is the Dutch Banklhall, or place where their (hips ride, when the currents prevent their getting up the river. From Culculla and Juanpardoa, two large deep rivers run to th6 eaft ; and on the weft fide there is another that runs by the back of Huegley liland to Radnagor, famous for manufacturing cotton, cTotn, and filic romaals or hanclkerchicfs: and on the fame river is grown the greatell quantity of fugar in Bengal. Ponjclly, a little market town for corn, ftands fomcwhat higher on the eaft bank of Hutgley river, and exports great quantities, of rice: and about a league above Ponjclly, was a pyramid, which ferved for a land- mark or boundary of tho Englifti Eaft-India company's fettlement of Calcutta, that is about a league higher up. At this time Calcutta was a \cxy flourlfliing place, and the prcfidency of the Englifli company in Bcncal. It was fituated on the moft wefterly branch of the I^cflcr Ganges, in eighty- fcven degrees of cnft longitude, and 22° 4'i'of north latitude ; one hundred and thirty miles north-eaft of Balifore, and forty fouth of Huegley. The governor rehdcd in Fort-William i having fix council, and other officers, as at Madrafs and Bombay; to Vv^hom all the other Englifli fa c all deftined for Surat« Their trade to Perfia is carried on by way of the river Ganges. The trade to Mocha in Coromandel goods, began in the year 17 1 3, Fort St. David fupplying the goods for that market* So tnat the trade of Fort St. George is altogether, like that of Holland, carried on with fupplying foreign markets with foreign productions. ^X^^^^ ^^^ computed to be in the towni^ and villages belonging to this colony eighty thoufand people (this was fome time ago) live hundred of thcfe Europeans. They have rice from Ganjam and Orixa, wheat from Surat and Bengal, and fuel from the iAands of Diu, near Matchu- lipatam. Thus are they cafily diftreiled by any enemy, whofe power at fea is fuperior to theirs. The governor is a perfcn of great power, and treated like a prince by the rajahs ot' the country. He is attended abroad in a magnificent manner,, having, bcndcshiS Engliih guards, feldom fewer than thifeor fourfcore perfons in arms. Two union flags are carried before him, with a band of mufic, fuch as is u(ed in that country* There arc two perfons near him, whofc office is to cool him with fans, and chace away the flics. There were formerly feveral other European fettlements on the fame coaft, but all of them abandoned, on account of the exactions of the rajahs of the adjacent countries. Matchulipa- tam was the lafl quitted by the Engiifh, eflcemed about feventy years ago the moft flourifhing colony in the Indies. Their houfe is now quite defeitcd. Some time ago the mogul's viceroy on » i ^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) ( ■ I LO II I.I 11.25 ■so lit Ui 12.2 £ Ufi 112.0 m 1.4 11 1.6 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation m \ ^ >V <^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 .V 5 <^ --- *:- .V -f- ■^Pfv- fel 4^0 Defcription of the Britifi Empire^ on this coaft, made the governor of Fort St. George an offer of the iflands of Diu in a prefent, and the inhabitants were very well fatisHed at the thoughts of being under the govern- ment of the company. But this propolal not being foon enough accepted of, the viceroy and people changed their minds, and refufed to let the governor ertd a fadory when he would willingly have done it. Next to this Itands Narfrpore, where the company had a faftory for long cloths, for the ufe of their fettlement at Matchulipatam. Not far from hence is Angerang, feate4 on a deep river which is navigable a great way up the country. This place is famous for thefineft long cloth which the Jndi'es produce j but the impofitions of the rajahs, who poffefs the banks of the river, on the cloth tranfported on it, has ruined the place. The Englifti fadory eflablifhed here in the year 1708, was foon withdrawn. Amongft feveral fmall ports along the fhore, Wahow is the moft noted, producing abundance of rice for exportation, be- fides fome cloth. It is not frequented by Europeans. • A little farther you find Vizagapatam, an Englifh forti- fied fadory, with eighteen carriage ^uns mounted on its ramparts. The country round it affords fine and ordinary cotton cloths, and the beft dureas or muflins in all India. Want of money to purchafe is the ruin of this fettlement. In the year 1709, the nabob of Chikacul Icvyed war upon ♦kis factory j the caufe whereof was, that their former chief bad borrowed monies of him on the company's feal, which hisfuccefibr (for he was dead) refufed to pay. The nabob ap- plied to the governor of Fort St. George, but with no better fliccefs. Wherefore he came againft Vizagapatam with ai| armed force, and the war, which was drawn out t6 a confider- able length, growing burdenfome to the company, the affair was at lafl compromifed, upon paying the nabob a fum almofl equal to what he demanded. The places we have now fpoke of, lie in the kingdom of Golconda. ^ix^* «« ,s*- ^ - Next to this is that of Orixa, In this country lays Balla- forc, on a river of the fame name, four miles from the fea by land, though by windings of the river it is no lefs than twenty^ The country abounds in commodities of its own growth, fuch as rice, wheat, gram, doll, calavances, pulfe of feveral forts, annife, cummin, coriander, and carraway feeds^ tobacco, butter, oil, and bees-wax ; and alfo in manufaftures of cot- ton, in fanis, cafes, dimities, mulmuls, filk romaals, and romaals of filk and cotton j gurraus, and lungies : and of herba (a foit of grafs) are made ginghams, pinafcos, and n^ " f \^ in A S I A.vv.'vve.'..' 4(^t icveral other forts of goods for exportation. The Englifh, French and Dutch have faftorles here, at prefent of fmalf conllderation in comparifon of former times, before the im- provement of the navigation of Hueghl y river caufed their de- cline. This place drives a good trade to the Maldives, which, as they afford no grain of themfelves, receive hence all neceffaries they have occafion for. This was formerly the principal European fettlement in the bay of Bengal. Here are pilots for conducting the fhipping which arrive from April to O(^obcr, up the river Hueghly (a branch of the Qanges) each company maintaining pilots for their. own (hipping, who have liberty to ferve ftrangers when they are not wanted , by their own employers, from whence they reap confiderablc benefit. y Piply is feated on a river fuppofea to be a branch of the Ganges. This was formerly fettled by the Dutch and En- gli(h, and is now reduced to beggary from the fame caufe as the preceding. The country produces the fame commodities with Ballafore. It is now inhabited by fifhcrs. Advancing five leagues on the weftern bank of the river Hueghly, you come to the river Ganga, another branch of the Ganges, which though broader than Hueghly river, is more incommodious for (hipping, by reafon of the fand banks in it. The Danes have a thatched houfe a little below the opening of this river. There are many villages and farm houfes in thofe vaft plains, which tie along the banks of Hueghly river; but no town of any confequence till you arrive at Culculia, a mart for corn, butter^ oil, coarfe cloth, and other country commodities. A little higher up, is the place where the Dutch (hips ride, when the current of the river does not allow them to proceed farther. This place, as alfo Juanpardo, is feated on a great and deep river which runs eaftwards, and on the weft of it runs a river which waihes the back of Hueghly ifland, and leads up to Radugur, famous for the cotton-cloths, and filk romaals, or handkerchiefs, of its manufadlure. BufTundri, Frefindi or Qorgat, and Co- hong, are places iituated on the fame river, and produce vail: qqantities of the fineft fugar in Bengal. Near to this is Fort Williauithe greateft fettlement the company have on this coaft. The company have but fmall traffic in the kingdom of Daca, the firft on the eaftern (hore of the Ganges, no more than in thofe of Aracan, Ava, or Pegu, lying in order on the fame coaft. The iflands along it are entirely uninl\abiced, and fo hq commerce can fubfift in them. Going .'Vc t-t: 4^1 tefcription of the Mritifh Empire^ "^ Qj|ing atong the (hore of the continent, you come to Mer- jee, 'I town fituatcd on the banks of the Tanaccrin, in the ^te^itiions of the king of Siara. This place enjoys a good harbour, and the country about produces rice< timber for buildhig, tin,. elephants teeth, and agale wood. There were fomierly fettled at this port, a conAderahle number of EngJifh • free merchants, who took advantage of the mildnefs of the government to drive confiderable commerce, till they were ordered thence by the old £aft-India company, who threat- ened the king of Siam with a war, if he continued to harbour them; therefore, one Weldon was difpatched to Merjee, with this meffage, who added the outrageous murder of fome of the Siamefe, to the infolence wherewith he provoked the government. The people refolved to be levenged for this barbarity, and lay in wait for Weldon by night when he was aihore. But he having got notice of their defign, made his efcape on board his fhip, and the Siamefe miffing him, vented their fury upon all Englifhmen indifcriminately that fell into their hands. Seventy-fix were maflacred in this manner, icarce twenty efcaping to the (hip. Hitherto the Englifh had been greatly carefled by the Siamefe nation, having been promoted to places of the higheft truft in the government. One was advanced to be head of the cuftoms at Tanacerin and Merjee, and another promoted to be admiral of the royal navy. A great revolution which fell out at this time in the Siamefe date, and the jealoufies of the £ngli(h company, caufed moft of the Englifti merchants to difperfe themfelves, fome to Fort St. George^ others to Bengal, and others to Achen. The affairs of the company have been fully rein- ilatcd fmce that time in their former flourifhing condition, and they now enjoy the benefit of the commerce of the Gulph of Bengal, from the mouths of the Ganges to the extremity of the promontory of Malacca, without being at any charge for fettlements, forts or fa<5tories. Sumatra. The company are believed to pofTefs the beft part of all the trade carried on in this ifland. Their fadtories arc thofe of Mocha, Bantal, Cattoun, Bencoolen, Marlbourough Fort, and Sillebar. The Dutch, by being podeffed of the neighbouring ifland of Java, have had the addrefs toRx them^ felves on part of this ifland, where they are faid to be in pofTeflion of a gold mine which turns to fmall account to the! pofTefTors. It is not to be doubted but the Englifh company ad^ with as much condud): in neglecting to fearch after gold, as being no doubt fenilble that commerce is of itfelf the richeft mine in the world. There is no country under the fun which produces "I i» A S I A. 465 produces this precious metal in greater quantities than the ifland of Sumatra, the empires of China and Japan only ex- cepted ; and no pcrfon can reafonably alledge that the man- ner in which thefe nations have amaflcd fo prodigious a trea- fure is not the heft. Now it is certain that thefe have acquir- ed fo much wealth by no other arts but induftry and parfi- mony, the only certain way of inriching either nations or private persons. The company therefore at5t wifely in ne- gled^ing the mines on the ifland of Sumatra, which mud be fecured at the expence of forts and garrifons, and worked at the hazard of gaining the averfion of the natives, whofe lazi- nefs hinders them from working them for themfclves. Bcfides, thofe mines do not in any way approach the idea entertained of their riches. One reafon whereof may he the followiiigt that as all the numerous nations inhabiting the different parts of this ifland, are continually employed in picking up the gold which the torrents have waflied into the fands of their channels, or difcovered in the crannies of the rocks, not only a much greater quantity of metal muft be this way found, but alfo may be much eafier come by to the Europeans fettled on the ifland, than the painful fearch for it in the mines, attend- ed with numberlefs infurmountable difcouragements and in- conveniencies, which the Dutch in their way of mining muft inevitably undergo. The only certain and advifeable method tilierefore of acquiring the benefit of the gold trade in the ifland of Sumatra is, by fettling colonies in the mofl conve- nient parts, to ufe the inhabitants with gentlenefs and affa- bility, toojferve the moft exa<^juftice in all dealings with them, and thus by degrees to bring them into aa efteem of European maimers, the only way to engage them to ufe or take off European commodities. Thus the danger of fecuring the obedience of So many barbarous nations with a few mcti will be avoided ; a correfpondence will be maintained, which will draw vaft quantities of gold into Europe, and that in re- turn for thofe commodities which give bread to infinite mul-r titudes of poor at home, the real and only folid riches of any ftate J and navigation and naval power will be promoted ; all of them powerful reafons in vindicaiiun of the company's con- dud): in this particular, that they overlook the working the mines of Sumatra, a fpecies of trafHc which is generally at- tended with luxury and idlcnefs (as in Spain,) and is indeed the bane and deflrudtion of all induilry, and of every other fpecies of bufinefs whatfoever. The Engliih were formerly in pofTeflion of feveral fcctle- ments on tbe coafts qf the Chinefe empire, as v.tll as in the ■ 4^4 Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ kingdom of Tonquin, all of them now withdrawn : thougH the company ftill do carry on trade to thofe p^rts, efpecially to Tonquin, for fuch articles as they want themfelves, or can afford for the commerce of Europe, which latter arcf abundantly niimerous. The company's h&ory was formerly fettled in the ifland of Chufan, when the trade was carried on at Ainoyor, from whence it has been removed to Canton, where about fifty years ago it flourifhed to fuch a degree, that the company nad great hopes of being able to engrofs this beneficial branch to themfelves. What defeated thefe expectations was, the high duties laid upon teas and other Chinefe commodities, which by the encouragement this tax gave to fmuggling, foon reduced the company's China trade to as low an ebb as that of other countries. As part of thefe* duties have been taken off fince the above impofitions, it is to be prefumed that this commerce goes on with its ancient profperity ; one thing is certain, that fince this eafe has been granted by the government, they have found the advantage of it by the increafe of the revenue arifing therefrom ; whether this is alfo a national advantage, let others determine, < * » The company are in fome fort excluded from all correfpon-* dencewith the JVlanilla or Philippine iflands, notwithftanding what the French alled^e in pretending that the Englifh carry en this tradd under Irifh colours, and that to a confiderable extent, whatever may be really donp in this way under the Morifco or Portugueze flags. The cuftom of the Spaniih nation in this particular is without example, in laying open this trade to all nations, contrary to all the known maxims of that monarchy, the Englifh and Dutch being the only nations excluded fi|in this unprecedented indulgence — A precaution of fmall confequence where the people of the country find it their intereft to overlook it. - In Japan there is not the leaft veftige of any Englifh com- merce, all the commodities of that empire with which our company is fupplied, being furnifhed by means of their com- merce with the Chinefe and Dutch. i.: 3->at| «,* ,j*,>., . The following account of this traffic from a perfon who is far from being prejudiced in favour of the company, may pof- iibly convey a juiler idea of the nature and extent of the com- pany's commerce than any thing hitherto faid in this efiay. The errors found in it will I hope be imputed to the true author, who has not thought proper to oblige the world with his name, or rather to the nature of the thing, in itfelf fuf- ficiently dark and intricate, and befides mofl carefully hid from the eyes of the vulgar. His authorities however feem to 'I be 1^ - in Asia. 4^5* be fufficicntly folid, being chiefly the public accounts of the Company's Tales and other tranfaftions, at leaft fo far as re-^ gards his own plan, which was to reprefent this corporation Us ah ihftitutiori highly prejudicial to the trade and commerce bf great Britain. r This traffic employs yearly feventeen fail of fine capital Ihips, each of the burden of five hundred tons, by the com- pany's account, mounting thirty guns, and manned with one hundred mariners. .. . '■if*^ Account or Invoice of the Exports to India. ordnance and wrought iron 2442 tons iron at 15 1. 6io - - at 50I. 450 — fteel at 50I. _ - - i8o — nails at 251. - . - 895 - - lead at 1 7 1. 800 — cordage at 40 1. - - - 550 •- - ftores at - - - - 260 - - brafs, copper, pewter, at 100 1. - 100 - - gunpowder at 8pl. r - - 32 - - quickfilver at 300 1, - - 18175 - - woollen cloths at - - - 23220 — fluffs at - - ^ - 47469 — perpetsat - - - 3000 doz. hofe at 11076 02. gold in coin or bullion at 3I. ..^^___ 18 s per oz. Note, the quantity of. gold exported next year, amounted to 38092 oz. in coin, and ?977 oz. in bullion. 299125 1 oz. filver at 5 s. 3 d. per oz. The quantity exported the vear following, was 2, 327, 329 oz. in coin and null on. £ 21630 30500 22500 4500 32000 305000 26000 ^000 9600 II 0000 500CO 40000 3000 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 43196 8 o 785203 7 9 Total amount of cargoes outwards £ '> 503344 15 9 » '■K Note, there werq no more than fourteen (hips cleared out- wards this yeari and that the above quantity of gold^nd filver bullion is exclufive.of what is carried out by private traders, both in foreign and Britilh coin> whereof it is irapoffibJe to fix •r afceriain the value, K h Follows ^^' «R 466 Defcription of the Britijh Empire^ Follows the account or invoice of goods imported from*. India, with the value fold for at the public fales. Piece-goo$l5 of the fhips. Wager, Prince of Wales, and Exter, fold at £ Scarborough - - - - Houghton, exclufive of tea and filk Admiral Vernon - - - - Edgcote, befides tea - - - Drake and Rhoda, befides weighable goods Prince George and Streatham, ditto Chefterfield Pelham - . - . Bombav-Caftle - - - - - Oxford' - - - - He6lor, befides five hundred tons pepper Dorrington - - - _ Seventeen fhips, whofe cargoes in piece- goods amount to _ - _ Thefe ihips do alfo bring home 3253900 lb. tea, which, at 4 s. per lb. grofs price at the fales - - - - 2000COO lb. pepper at 1 s. ditto 11410CO lb. coffee at is. 6d. 203850 lb. raw filk at 20s. ditto 900 tons falt-petre at 70 1. per ton ditto 250 tons red-wood at 30I. ditto 600 chefts china ware and drugs, ditto 250000 225000 lOOCO 175000 10000 15000 9000 240000 85000 215000 195000 50000 194000 o o o o ^o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 1,673000 o o 642475 I 00000 85575 2038^50 63000 7500 99600 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Total inwards £* 2,875000 o o From which take ofF cuftom, charges, and difcount, viat. " Cuftonu Callicoes Prohibited goods Value pay per cent. I £ 1,250,000 38^ 478125 400,000 2 8000 650,000 19 123500 2,300,000 Vtj,i fc09625 Brought v om* o o o o o o o ^o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 1 o o 3 O O 5 o 5 o 10 )0 )0 O o o o o o o o o o o o o DO O O It, vii. ifi A SI a; Brought over Pepper • Silk raw CofFec Salt-pctre Red-wood China ware and drugs Valuation 2,3OO,O0« 100,000 200,000 85,000 60,000 5,000 100,000 *? 4 22i 10 10 30 609625 4000 25000 20500 6000 500 30000 2,850,000 tot. duties 695625 Charges. Freight on 8500 tons fhipping, at loi. -< Wages and provifions for 15^00 men, at 5I. per month - - _ _ Intereft on bonds, two years, at 3 1, per cent. Dirc^ors, clerks, &c. 10,000 1. per annum Warehoufes, coft 100,000 1. at eight per cent. Shipping and landing of 8500 tons Total of charges - - • ' Difcount. On 2,875,0001. at 61 per cent. I 5,ood 204,000 90,000 20,000 16,000 8,500 ti li II r t 423,500 186,875 Total of cuftom, charges, and difcount to b« * taken off 1,306,000 Net proceeds do not exceed £. 1,569,000 My author takes notice, that the cargoes of feventeen (hips are here allowed to be returned, wherea n) more than four- teen were a(^ually loaded outwards j he h^'i before pbferved, that the manufactures in brafs, copper, iron, pcWter, and other materials, did not exceed the value of 300,000!. He Jikewife omits to charge any thing for infurance. There is moreover, five per cent, allowed over the real prices at th* candle, amounting, as he fays (by way of irony probably) to the fmall fum of 140,000!. All which particulars he fays, will ferve to anfwer all obje(Stions againfl: his fyftem. He then ftates the account of profit and lofs on a voyage to India, tbu5» ' ':'^ ' <• i. ,-■ Js/- H 1 Account TTT 463 Befcriptton of the Britijh Empfriy Account of profit and lofs on a voyage to India* Dr. _ , _ ;. 2653. To the coft of fcventeen cargoes ^ bought^ in England, as per in? *' voices ' ', :. - C i>S03»3.44 »5 9' 1754. To profit and lofs for advance - 65,655 4 3 Cr. 'v 1754. By net proceeds of feventeen car- ^ goes fold in England as per ac- count of fales - •. £. 1 ,569,000 o #. . '1^1 <■-■., Theti follows capital (lock accounts Dr. i'' 'U To fundry'accounts for two years divi- dends due on 3,2,qo,ooo1. at eight per cent, per ann. - - - ' ''''' \ . Cr. ■'' ■ - By voyage to India gained thereby By government fecurities for two years intereft on 3,200,0001. lent them at three per cent. By profit and lols, for lofs on capital. £. 512000 o £' 65655 4 3, 192000 O Q ' 254344 15 9 £» 512000 p o Follows the account of Indian goods fold to, and paid for : . * by foreigners. _^ , . ..;,^. ,: . ^78400 callicoes at 13 s. 4d. being one third above the cuftom-houfe valuation, which at los. only, the utmoft price on board _ - - £*39S^OQ 9, / Prohibited goods.. \ ?. *^ ■' 50 aliejars 2650 nillaes : 3800 bandannoes 300 niccanees 500 brawls 50 neganepauts • 550 byrampauts ^ 1500 photees 850 blua i'.V i' W A S I A. 4^5 850 Wue long cloths '7006 chints 2400 chellocs 1400 carridarries 400 cherconces ^'' 650 chifaes 55 callawapores 200 gorgoroons 900 Guinea AuSs 100 paduafoys 100 poifees 100 palampores 41000 romaals 10500 foofeys 200 fekterfoy romaals 1000 taffaties 1200 faftracundics, and others valued at £. 72750 Weighable goods. 1850000 lb. pepper at i s. £, 92500 700000 lb. coffee, at 1 s. 3d. - - 43750 All other goods, as cowries, arrangoes, fhell-lack, turmeric, cardamoms, ice. &c. at - - - . 45400 o o o o o o o Total value at price free on board £. 650000 o 6 Note,' the above goods, all of them bought up at ready money by Englifh private merchants, to be by them exported, are over rated (according to my author) near looooo 1. This detail is clofed by ffating the national account of a voyage to India. i^ ^ : ' ' ■' Dr. To the export of woollen manufactures £. 200000 To ditto of copper, brafs, and iron ditto - lOoooo o o To ditto of lead, iron, and ftores - - 374945 o O To ditto of filver and gold bullion - - 828399 15 9 To two years intereft on 1,500000 1. - - 90000 o o Cr. By commodities re-exported By ufeful imports - - - 3y national lofs for bull ion exported with- out one valuable return C i>S93344 15 9 £. 650000 o o 2^3344 15 9 660000 o o £' i>S93344 15 9 Hh 3 The l7 o Defcrtptton of the Britijh Empire, The trade of Bengal fupplicd rich cargoes for fifty or fixty ihips yearly j befides what was carried in fmaller vcffels to the adjacent countries ; and the article of falt-petre only was be- come of fuch great confequcnce to the European powers* that every thing was attempted by the French and Dutch to deprive the Englifh of that advantage. For this reafon it was greatly to be fufpe: m 476 Befcription of the BrHiJh Empire., -company of trade in Great-Britain, and perhaps \n Europe^ •for riches, power, and extenfive privileges ; as appears by the many fhips of burthen which they conftantly employ 5 the very advantageous feitlements they have abroad; their jarge florchoufes and Tales of goods and merchandizes at iiome ; and the particular laws and ftatutes made in their favour. '^^v^-i •o^i: -■•.* ^-^: • l- %^.-v:> • This company was originally formed in the laft years of queen Elizabeth, who granted letters patent to the London merchants, that entered into an aflbciation for carrying on thia trade j and the charter which fhe granted them in 1599, has 3fer\'ed as a model for all thofe the company has obtained from iier royal fucceflbrs. ♦ • i v. . The Portuguefe and Dutch were itt poffeffion of feveral large territories along the coafts of India, before this time ; as alfoin feveral other parts of Afia, proper for the profecutioa of this trade. The former, indeed, had no company, which is ftill the cafe : but the latter had formed feveral companies fo early as the year 1596, which were afterwards incorpo- rated together. The firft fleet the Englifli fent to the Eaft-Indies confifted of four fliips, which fet fail in 1600, with Mr. John Milden- hal, who was employed as an agent to procure a trade^ and carried a letter from queen Elizabeth to the great mogul, in behalf of her fubjedls : which ftiips returned fo richly laden, that in a few years near twenty others were fent there by the company. • After the death of queen Elizabeth, king James the Firft confirmed and augmented, by a new charter, all the privi- leges that had been granted the company in the preceding reign : and, to fiiew how much he had at heart this eftablifh- ment, he fent ambafladors in 1608 and 1615 to the mogul, the emperor of Japan, the king of Perfia, and feveral <>ther caftern princes, to conclude, in his name and that of the company, different treaties of commerce, of which fome are ftill fubfifting. It is well known how many privileges the king of Perfia granted the Englifh company, for affifting him in the expul* fion of the Portuguefe from Ormus ; who made ufe of that famous iflmd, and its almoft impregnable forts, as a citadel, to fupport them in the ufurpation of the commerce of the Perfian Gulph, which they engroffed for almoft an age tp themfclves. \:i,^' .1,^ MX^-itAfi:,^^^,-^^^. ...-^^y k- The company's charter was renewed by king Charles the Second in 1662, whereby that monarch granted them abun- . dance VI ■^!^ in A s I a; 477 ^nce of privileges they had not before enjoyed; which charter is properly the bafis of the company, and was after- wards confirmed by king James the Second : however, thecc were charters of king Charles the Seeond, whereby the com- pany were granted fome new privileges. The firft was dated the third of April, 1662, containing a confirmation of the former charters; or, it is rather a ne\v one, which attributes to the company feveral rights it had not as yet enjoyed ; and adds to, or fets forth in a proper light almofl all tnofe granted to it by the charters of Elizabeth and James the Firft, which will be more amply fpoken of in the fequel ; becaufe it is properly the bails of all the commcicc of this company ; and becaufe upon this charter arc founded all the privileges and policy of the company eftabiilhed in 1698. The fecond charter granted by Charles the Second, was dated the twenty-feventh of March, 1669, whereby his ma- jefty made a ceflion to the company of the ifland of Bombay, with all, its royalties, revenues, rents, caftles, fhips, fortifi- cations, and enfranchifements : fuch as then belonged to him by the ccfTion of his Portuguefe majefty, referving only to himfelf the fovereignty, to be held in fee from the royal hpfpital of Greenwich, in the county of Kent ; and for al4 duty, rent, or fervice, the fum of ten pounds fterling in gold, payable yearly on the thirtieth of September, at the cuftom- houfe of London. By the third charter, of the fixteenth of December 1674,. the icing likewife made a ceffion to the company of the ifland of St. Helena, as belonging to him by right of conqueft. This ifland, which afterwards ferved as a ftaple to the com- pany's fhipping, was difcovered by the Portuguefe in their firft navigations to the Eaft Indies by the Cape of Good Hope ; but having abandoned it, the ifland was pofl'efled by the Dutch; who quitted it in their turn to eftablifti them- felves at the Cape of Good Hope, and were fucceeded by the £ngli(b, who were expelled in 1672 by the Dutch companv b^ captain Monday, who commanded a Britifti fquadron,, retook it the year following; and this was the right of con- queft that Charles the Second made a ceflion of to the com- pany by the charter of 1674. The fourth charter the com- pany obtained from this monarch orders the eredlion of a court of judicature, compofed of a civilian and two merchants, in all the factories and places poflTefled throughout the extent of its conceflion, to judge of all cafes in feizures, and con- teJftations, with regard to (hips or goods going to the Indies, „ . 31 , contiary* ^H^mm^,: \ ^' 1- ;, -, 1 ill JiJ ■ I. ■ 47^ Defcription of the BrUiJb Empire^ - contrary to the excIuHve privilege granted by the letters^ patent of 1662 ; as alfo to take cognizance of all caufes re- garding merchandife, marine, navigation, purchafes. Tales, exchange, infurance, letters of exchange, and other things ; even of all crimes and mifdemeanours committed at Tea, or in the countries, ftates and territories belonging to the com- |>any; thr; whole, notwithftanding, purfuant to the ufages and cuftoms of merchahts, and the laws of England. Thefe four charters were afterwards confirmed by James the Second, by a charter granted in the firft year of his reign : but the charter of i66z was the principal, and confided of twenty-eight articles, whereof the moft material are as follow. By the firft his majefty eredts the company into a corpo- ration, or body politic, under the denomination of the go- vernor and company of merchants trading to the £aft-Indies. The third grants it a common fcal to (erve in all its expe- ditions ; with a power of breaking and changing it at pleafure, and of making and engraving a new one. The fourth eftablilhes a governor, and twenty-four affift- ants, chofe out of the proprietors, or ftock-holders, of the company, to have the direction of affairs, and to give all ne- ceflary orders with regard to the freighting and fending away 4)f fhips, together with all particulars belonging to the com- merce carried on throughout the extent of its conceffion. The fifth, fixth, feventh, eighth, and ninth, nominate, for the firft time, the governor and direftors ; and regulate for the future, the form to be obferved in the election of the faid governor and dire^rs, and a deputy-governor, or fub-governor, to prefide in the abfence, or in cafe of the governor's death. They alfo ordain before whom the etefled ^all be obliged to make oath, and what this oath is to be ; laftly, they hx the time that all thefe officers are to continue in their poft ; and when the general courts of the company are to be held. The tenth article fixes the extent of the conceflion, and allows all thofe that (hall be of the company, their fons of on« and twenty years of age, their apprentices, fadlors, and domeftics, to trade and negotiate freely by fea in all the routes and pafi*ages already difcovered, or that (hall be fo hereafter, in Afia, Africa, andvAmerica, beyond the Cape of Good Hope, as far as the Streights of Magellan ; and where any commerce can be exercifed, fo that it is before- hand concluded on by the company : and fo that alfo the faid commerce is not carried on in the places already pofieiTed b^ the fubjci^s of fome other prince. ^^-- .'- . ^ ,:-- ■' ,v. Th«' ..^^^ in ASIA.* , :. 47^^ Tfie eleventh article empowers the company to enaft all the laws and regulations it fhall judge proper, to be obferved . by its favors, captains, mafters of (hips, and other officers in its fervlce; to revoke Chem and make new ones; and, in cafe of contravention with regard to the faid laws, to ordain for offenders, fuch penalties, fines, and punifhments, as it (hall judge to be juft and reafonable, without being account* able to any one whatfoever, not even to his majefty's officers ; provided that the faid laws, and regulations, are not con- trary to thofe in England. By the twelfth, his majefty wills, that for all the duties and cuftoms, on goods coming from the Kail Indies in the company's (hips, a whole year fhall be allowed for their in- tire payment ; that is, fix months for the firfl moiety, and fix months for the other, by giving, notwithflanding, a fuf- ficient fecurity; which fhall hold good alio for the goods exported from England for the Eaft Indies; which goods fhall pay no duty, if lofl, before their arrival at the place of their deflination ; and, in cafe any duties arc paid, a refli- tution fhall be made, on the company making afHdavit be- fore the lord high treafurer of the kingdom, of the amount of the faid lofs: provided that if the goods imported be exported ■ again in the fpace of thirteen months, no duties fhall be paid for fuch export, if it be done aboard Britifh vefTels. The thirteenth article allows the exportation of foreign fpecie out of the kingdom, to be employed in the commerce of the company; and even thofe of England, coined in the Tower of London, provided that the total fum exceeds not fifty thoufand pounds fieri ing in each year. By the fourteenth and fifteenth the company is allowed to have fix large vefTels, and fix pinks, laden and equipped with all kinds of ammunition and provifion, together with five hun- dred good Englifh failors, to fupport its commerce through- out the whole extent of its conceffion ; whereon his majefly cannot lay an imbargo upon any pretext whatfoever, unlefs he cannot abfolutely do without the faid vefTels in fome preffing and unforefeen want in time of war to augment his fleet. The fixteenth grants to the company an exclufive privilege of trade to the Indies, ordaining the feizure and confifcation of veflels and goods, which the other fubjeiSls of his Britannic majefly might fend there; the impriionment of the captains and mafters of (hips who brought them there ; and iaftly, a fecurity of'one thoufand pounds fterling of going no more within the limits of the company's conceffion, in contraven- ,. ttion to this article. l r ■ .■ Th? ^ \ » "¥ 480 Defiripiion of tie Britijh Empire^ The nineteenth obliges the company (o bring back intfi? England at leaft as much gold and filver, as carried out every year; and affigns the ports of London, Dartmouth, anu Plymouth, as the only places in the kingdom, from which it (hall be for the future allowed to export the fpecie it {halt have occafion for in its traffic ; which fpecie of gold and filver ihall be entered in the faid ports either going out or coming in j though without paying any duties. By the twentieth, the cuftom-houfe officers are enjoined not to fufFer the entrance of any goods coming from the! places within the extent of the company's concemon, unlefs by a permit in writing. The twenty-firft fixes the fum in the capital ftock neceflary to have a vote in the meetings at five hnndred pound fterling, empowering notvvithftanding thofe who ihall fubfcribe a lefs fum to join feverally together for the forming one vote. '^' The twenty-fourth article allows the company to fend (hips of war, and foldiers } to build caftles and forts in all the places of its conceffion ; to make peace or war with all kinds of people that are not Chriftians; and to obtain fatisfa6tion by the force of arms from all thofe who prejudice them, or in- terrupt their commerce. And the twenty-fixth empowers it llkewife to arreft and fe- cure all the fubjc6ls of his Britannic majefty, who (hall trade in Indian or Englifh veflels, or who Ihall dwell in any of the places of its conceffion, without a fpecial licence'^from the faid company. After the publication of this charter, the parliament feemed to diflike the exclufive privilege granted by the fixteenth article; which was no novelty, for it had been already agi- tated in the reign of James the Firft; but this prince, fearing torifquehis authority, chofe rather to repeal a like privilege, which he granted to the colonies of Virginia, than to uphold the royal prerogative. The Ihares, or fubfcriptions, of the company, were origi- nally only of fifty pounds ftcrjing; but, the diredors having a confiderable dividend to make in 1676, it was agreed to join the profit to the original, inftead of withdrawing it ; whereby the (liares were doubled, and became of one hundred pounds flrerling. The firfi: capital was only 369,8911.5 s. which, being thus doubled, amounted to 739, 782 1. 10 s. to which, if 963,6391. the profits of the company to the year 1685, be addcil, the whole flock will be i, 703,4221. , ,^ The company, havin[r fuftaincd feveral lofiTes by the Dutch and the fubjedb of the great mogul, began to be in a dcclin-' ' in 2: 'J- \. jback inttf rd out every nouth, ana Tom which; :cie it {hall f gold andf >ing out or re enjoined g from the! unlefs lion, k neceflary nd fterling, fcribe a lefs vote. fend (hips 1 the places II kinds of sfaftion by em, or in- reft and fe- fhali trade in any of :e*from the ent feemed B fixteenth ready agi- ce, fearing privilege, to uphold vere orim- o :ors having agreed to aw/ng it ; le hundred 891 1. 5 s. I. 10 s. to » the year 2I. the Dutch I a declin- (n ASIA. - 481 ing way at the Revolution ) when the war with France put it into fo defperate a condition, that appearing fcarce pol&ble to be fupported, a new one was ereAed. The rife of this new company was occafioned by the great cafe of the old company being taken into confideration by the parliament; which cafe had been depending feveral years j and becaufe of its intricacy, had been firft referred by the parliament to the kine, and by him back to the parliament again, in the year 1098} when the old company offered to advance 7P0, 000 1. at four per cent, for the fervice of the government, in cafe the traqe to India might be fettled on them exclufive of al) others; and the parliament feemed in- (clined to embrace their propofal. But another number of merchants, of whom Mr* Shepherd was the chief, and who were fupported bv Mr. Montague, chancellor of the Ex- chequer, propofea to the Houfe of Commons to raife two millions at eight per cent, upon condition the trade to India might be fettled on the fubfcribers exclufive of all others : they alfo propofed, that thefe fubfcribers (hould not be obliged to trade in a joint ftock ; but if any members of them (hoiSd afterwards defire to be incorporated, a charter fhould be granted to them for that purpofe. The houfe judged this new overture not only to be more advantageous co the govern- ment, but alfo very likely to fettle this controverted trade on a better foundation than it was on before ; a bill was, there- fore, brought in for fettling the trade to the £aft Indies, ac- cording to thefe limitations, and fome further rcfolutions. The old £aft-India company prefented a petition againft this bill; which, notwithftanding, was pafTed in favour of the new company, who obtained a charter of incorporation, (dated September 5, 1698, by the name of *< The general fo- . ciety intitled to the advantages given by an a<^ of parliament, for advancing a fum not exceeding two millions for the fer- vice of the crown of England," Whereby the fum total of all the fubfcriptions was made the principal ftock oif the cor- poration ; and the new company was invefted with the f^n^ privileges as were granted to the old company, by the chaher of king Charles the Second. However, the old company was, by the a6t, indulged with leave to trade to the Indies until Michaelmas, 1701. The fund of this new company became fo confiderable, and fubfcriptions were carried on with fuch facility, thi^t, in lefs than two years, the company put to fea forty (hips equipped for its tiade ; which was double the number etp- ' ployed by the old company in t^e moft ilouriihing times of 1 i its ..- ;i II m>-) 482 Defcription of the Britifi'Empire^ its copf^mcrcc; and it' (Jht annually a niiillbrt fterling iii feecW to the Indies ; where^ the old company had never lent abpvid five huni;lred thoufand pdtihds. ' *^ ' ' ' '' '* ^ ■ ''i f' ' ;*[ ' ^ , X^? 'wo companies fubiifte^'a ftllv? yfea'ft inl a fepafatc fete : y?hen^ having adue rif^rd to, theji' cbmmbn interefts, and fo^ .thSj pf cvention o? /^ejcal irtcoAvenfeirtcii*^^ n^i'giht other* wife have liappene^,j ijotti to thertifelVesanjfthe^ nation in gc-* rfrii\, tlicy agreed upon feveral af^ticles for thfe linion of the Jaid companies. Accordingly, in the' year 1 702, a new charter of union Syas granted the two companies by. qUeen Anne,' under tl^e •jiame of, " The united Company Or iilbrthaiifts tradinjr to the.E^ft-Tndies ;". wHich was eflentialljr tHV fame With^ Soft of king Charles, and Icing Williarfij becaiife, by the union of (he two compahies, ^ they have adopted all the regulations made for the government of the old company: fo that;,tw united company (hould rather be deeme*,thc 61d company continuqd, than a corporation ere'6le'd Up6o^'a different cftab*" lifliment. Which charter being fmce expired, andthei: chartcf, with hew powers, was granted them In 1730 ; and, in the feveriteenth year of king George the' Sebohd, was continued until the twenty-fifth of March, 1780; when, on three years notice, and repayment of the capitd ftoek borrowed by the government, and the annuities, the company's right to the fole and exclufive trade to the Eaft-Indids ist6c'eafe and determine. To the 2,ooci,ob6K iadvanced by^thfe new company to \V111iam the Third, the united companyj in the fixth y6ir of queen Anne, lent the government 1,200, 006 1. triore; which made their whole loan amount to 3, 200, OopT; beirrg wl^'at may properly be fcalled, thei capital ftock of the comi- pany : the firft loin of tWo millions wa^ fecured by the g6- vernmeht out of the duties upon (alt j '^nd the aditional ftanip duties granted in the ninth and tenth years of William the Third, chargeable with the payment Of 166, 000 1. as a yearly fund for paying the intereft at eight pounds per cent, but, by the ail of the third of Gebrjge the Second, this annuity of 160, oool. was reduced to i28,oool. and transferred as a chairge upon the aggregate fund ; and in 1749, it wasreduc6d to 3L 4 per cent, until Chriftmas 1757, and after that to 3I. percent/ But, befides this 3, 200,000!. there is a million more due by the public to this company, being lent by them at.3 1. per cent, in the faid feventeenth yeiar of his late majefty. For the cecoriomy and policy of the united company, all perfons, without exception, are admitted members of it, natives -and foreigners, men and vfomen j with this tircuiji- ilance, 11 ileriine in ftecW d never lent abpvid frtia( . ; ♦ in ASIA. '^ 483 ftfence, that five hundred pound in the ftock of the company gives the owner a vote in the general courts, and two thou- fand pounds qualifies him to be chofen a dire^iorv Tpc di- rei^ors are tweijity-fuur in numl)er, including the chairman and deputy chairman, who may be re-clc6led fqr four years fucceflively : they have a falary of one hundred and 'fifty pounds a year, «nd the chairman , of two hundred pounds. The meetings, or courts of diredors, are to be held at leaft . once a week; but are commonly oftncr, being fummoncd as occafions require. Out of the body of direflors are chofen diverfe committees, who have the peculiar infpedtion of certain branches of the company's bufinefs ; as the committee of corrcfpondence, committee of buying* committee of treafury, committee of wareboufes, comm/ittee of (hipping, committee of accomptSy committee of private trade, committee of houfe, and committee to prevent the growth of trade. This company is not only granted an exclufive privilege of i(rade to the Indies, and other extraordinary conceffions from the ffbvernmeht, by the charter j but there are alfo feveral adls of parliament made in its behalf, whereby all the Britifh fubje<£ls are retrained from going to the Eaft- Indies ; or from procuring or- acting under, any foreign commi/fion, for fail- ing to, or trading therej or from fubfcribing to, or prpMoVing;, any foreign company, for trading there, under fever6 penal- ties; though, upon the wholfe, this trade is rnohbpolized by the company, and is generally efteemed highly injurious to i^e Britifli navigation, as all monopolies are to that of every trading country. This is evident from the behaviour of the parliament in the reign of Chares the Secondj who, was more-re folute, or more happy, than his grandfather; fo that the queftion wasdebated in the court of cOmmon pleas^ Vifhere it was decided in favour of the king. '''. I (hall conclude my account of this company, with obferv- ing, that this, as well as every company which is defigned for building forts and making fettlements in foreign countries, ftibuld have been.$ft,firil incorporated for ever j becaufe it is 'not to be expedied, that a corporation will be at any great expence in building forts or making fettlements, when they are in danger of their corporation's being diflblved, before they can reap any benefit from the expence they have beeh at. This was forefeen by the adminiftratioh at the end of queen Anne's reign; therefore they eftabliflied the South-fea company fOr ever, though they went a little too far in giving that compaoy a perpetual exclufive privilsge; for though this „ :. r I i :7 . ' may S V,. B.'«i' MP* r<^'- ^ Difmption of the britijk Empire^ may be neceflary at firft", it ought never to be made perpettul* From an tik made in the following feflion relating to the Eaft- India company, it would feem, that there was then likewife a defign to have eftabliflied that company for ever j but howr that defign came to be laid afide does not appear ; for had it been carried into execution, the French, in the laft war,- Would not probably have found it fo eafy to make themfelves mailers of Madrafs: at leaft, if they had, the managers for the company would have been much more to blame. THl LI S T OF THE i I Englifti Company's Forts and Faftorics In the viceroyalty of Bengal ; to which are, or ought to be fubjed, the provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orlxa. , Fort fVilliami in the city of Calcutta, is the prefidency, or chief fettlement of the company, in the viceroyalty, ana (lands upon the eaft fide of the right branch ox the river Ganees. Moorjhedahad^ or Muxadabad, is the uAial refidence of the viceroy, or fubah, fituated between the two branthes of the Ganges, about fixty miles below, where the river di- vides itfelf into two branches. PatnOf the chief market for faltpetre, (lands upon the fame river, about one hundred and fifty miles above where it divides itfclf. . -, . ,.....,,.„..,. Daccffy or Daka, (lands upon the ea(l fide of the left branch of the faid river, about fixty miles above its mouth, or influx into the bay of Bengal. Luciipore, or Juckidore, is an inland fa^ory in Bengal. Bulramgurry^ or Balafor, in Orixa, near the mouth of the river Ganga, is a famous road, where (hips bound up the Ganges ufually taken in their pilots. I^grais^ is a little ifland hear Neerais Point, on the coaft of the kingdom of Pegu, and eaft fide of the bay of Bengal, under the laid prefidency at Fort William. , In the viceroyalty of the Deckan, to which are, or ought to be fubjedl, the provinces of Golconda, the Carnatic, Ma- labar, and, in (hort, the greateft part of the large penin- fula, lyine between the two famous rivers, Ganges and Indus. Ana, hrft, upon the eaft fide of the faid peninfula, com- monly called the coaft of Coromandcl, all under the dire£lioii the prefidency at Madrafs : , pbri, 5 mide perpettkaf* atlng to Che Eaft- iras then likewife »r ever { but how ppeir i for had it in the laft war, make themfelves the managers for ) blame. ; ..><■ r •-■' ■'•^»«»^ d Fadories are, or ought to and Orixa. ! the prefidency, vicerojralty, and ich of the river lial refidence of e two branches ere the river di- lands upon the s above where it fide of the left bove its mouthy ry in Bengal. the mouth of )s bound up the It, on the coaft bay of Bengal, 1 are, or ought Carnatic, Ma- e large penin- igesand Jndus. ?ninfula, copi- ZT the diredliou VlJagA- "^ I ■'\ ^^-' iii ASIA; ^ 4«5 ^fggipdtttdnk. Upon the faid coaft, and oil the frontier IriitWeen Golconda and Orixa. Mt/giipatnsm. A city upon the fame coaft, farther fouth. Ftrt St. Giwgii in the city of Madraft, is the prefidency upon the fame coaft. Jrcot. An inland city, we^ of Madrafi. ff^andivq/h. An inland place, fouth of Arcot. Carangofy, A coaft tojvrn* Aiampavra, A coaft town, about fixty miles fouth ef Madrafs. Permacoily or Perumal. An inland city, well fortified in the Indian manner, weft of the former. Fart St, David% demoliihed by the French. Davecotah, A coaft town, fouth of St. David's* CaricaL A French fettlement reduced by us. , Secondly, Upon the weft fide of the faid peninfula, com- monly called the Malabar coaft, all under the diredion of the prefioency of Bombay : Jnjtno. About thirty-five miles north of Cape Comorin, at the fouth end of the faid peninfula. . TtUUhirry. Near two hundred miles north of the former, and a little to the north of Calicut. Onor, About the fame diftance north of Calicut. Carwar, About forty miles fouth of Goa, (he Portuguefe chief fettlement. Bombay, An ifland upon the northern part of this coaft, ftrongly fortified, and wholly pofTefied by us. Sdndy^ or Tatta. Near the mouth of the Indus, called Sindi, by the natives. In the large ifland of Sumatra. Fort Marlborough, upon the fouth-weft coaft, and near the fouth>eaft end of the ifland ; a prefidency under whofe diredlion are all the faflories on this ifland, but the fort was lately demoliihed and the factory plundered by the French. Moccomogo, Upon the fame coaft, about one hundred miles to the north-weft of the former. Nattai, Tapanooly. Both upon the fame coaft, but fur- ther to the north-weft. Upon the fouth coaft of China, Canton; which is atprefent, the only port of China frequented by European ihips. Gombroon, At the mouth of the gulph of Baflbra, in Perfia. Mocho. On the Red Sea, in Arabia, near the Strait of BabelmandeL Such \ ■IHi ^ W.?ki: 4|6 DefctiptionlfflhiBtUiJh Empire, -Such: art* the {^bflefllOos bdonging to ii$ vtfh^fithis.^rO^k was compiled ; however, as the SorXfi and colonies belonging; to a ooikimercial nation are. ever rubj9<^ to 6v><^H9te, it cannot bcvexpti^d.that a Jiftof thji^kiud can longcpntinue .exa£l. . And now we are come to the end of our un4cr(ajcing»r > having given a defcriptionofan empire more ^xt^nfiv.e, and perhaps more.p./«rfuI»jthfln any that has (jiithqrto exiM ; even the great Roman Empire not excepted;. . .In every very ^cxtenfivc'^uniinion the government is feeble/in proportion as its parts are remote, and the Roman Empire having a com*', munication. chiefly .by land ur conveyance of troops; and while qut commerfpe^ tends toencreafe wealth and affluence, it alfo contributes ta our internal- ftrength and fecurity, .. ^ iau »..*;.;«» .*.*h#y ' ^ ^''■■'^'■»-f . ^''i*:* 9<« l^j^lW? ibmit uxil'l* ■s' rtr^iiUoli :itl4 Ji^: O "io >i:^;jj; S'i-^wa 'ir^KiX ty,^f.^ .•♦«-wWi> ,f;,-;;5ij i-^A 'j<> 4'i4<'- f'-r-^ffn^a 2iii hilli>: t^yliirti^i «ili^tt/ 1 __ _ , __ _ , _. tiWi tic' J 5; i^t •^tli.iui w^miu ^-m- 9.!r C trUlfr/* ,«>r«/<»i'| i. fl^^' )ire, %i9Xty it caiXApt pntinue .exaj6i.v r ur un4er(ajcjng», e ^xt^nfiye, and lithqrto exiM y , . In every very .'in prcportion as e having a com*' prQv';,ces, often iny infqrreA{ofl$f X ege of them, or it is qtherwije :Iy cpnneded by ftrength by the le Qur conimer<;«3> 6 contributes, to-^ t.fi «i siviirj; t»tr« ah »^i^^\i^ , '.' ^livniMjU' . ■ > ... .•itv;«^». '-■■' it '>'*••■; >-.■ »>(< .(i». \^\ :v-i-'„ i'' 'lO)t**^ - i V '- i^-: .; •.' ■'!' # V*'^'' ' ■# 1 A ,.^m~Mk^-