THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 GLEANINGS 
 
 IN 
 
 WALES, HOLLAND, 4ND WESTPHALIA, 
 
 WITH 
 
 VIEWS OF PEACE AND WAR 
 
 AT HOME AND ABROAD.
 
 ... 
 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 WALES, HOLLAND AND WESTPHALIA* 
 
 < 
 WITH 
 
 VIEWS OF PEACE AND WAR 
 AT HOME AND ABROAD. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 HUMANITY; 
 
 OR 
 
 THE RIGHTS OF NATURE. 
 A POEM, 
 
 REriSED AND CORRECTEDi 
 
 mm 
 
 ByjKlr. PRATT. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 See, content, the humble Gleaner 
 Takes the fcatter'd ears that fall." 
 
 PRINTED FOR T. N. LONGMAN, AND L. B. SBBLET, 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1795-
 
 D 
 w 
 
 DEDICATION. rfjt- 
 
 V,l ^ 
 
 BUT that the Gleaner knows true Ge- 
 
 nerofity is ever governed by true Delicacy, 
 and that Perfons, really in PofleiTion of thofe 
 Qualities, will, literally, 
 
 ' Do good by Stealth, and blujb to find it Fame." 
 
 Nay, that they would be actually pained by 
 any public Recital of the private Conduct, 
 which it would even be honourable to hu- 
 man Nature to record ; he fhould, with 
 Pleafure and Pride, enrich his Work with 
 an Account of Actions, that would juf- 
 tify him in changing the humble Title of his 
 Book, into fomething expreffive of that 
 copious Harveft, which Talents, -Virtues, 
 and Misfortunes have been continually reap- 
 ing from the Bounty of an Individual, whole 
 a 3 Powers,
 
 VI DEDICATION* 
 
 Powers, though large, are far lefs ample 
 than his Inclinations to do good. 
 
 He, therefore, limply obferves, that, 
 
 AS A TESTIMONY OF SINCERE RESPECT, 
 
 FOR GENERAL CHARACTER; 
 
 AND AS A TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE, 
 
 FOR PARTICULAR KINDNESS; 
 
 THESE GLEANINGS, 
 
 NOW COLLECTED FOR PUBLICATION, 
 ARE INSCRIBED TO 
 
 RICHARD HARWELL, Eso^ M. P.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IT is neceflary to premife, that the 
 unforefeen delays, which have attended this 
 publication, have given time for great and 
 material alterations, in that part, an in- 
 confiderable one indeed, which relates to 
 the fyflem of the French Republic. Sof- 
 tening, gradually, from wildnefs, ferocity, 
 and tyranny* from the laft exceffes of more 
 than favage rancour and aflaffination, into 
 the milder forms of refinance to authorities, 
 which they are ftill determined to queflion, 
 the obferver, who before regarded that people 
 with feelings of utter abhorrence and of com- 
 plete indignation, as an horde of robbers and' 
 of murderers, trampling down every law of 
 Nature, and Nature's God ; mufl view them, 
 in their now altered ftate, xvith different eyes, 
 aud with different fentiments. It was impof- 
 a 4 fible
 
 Vlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fibleforan honeft man to fee what was acting 
 on the bloody theatre of the French nation, 
 while fuch an example of human degeneracy 
 as Roberfpierre filled the fcene, and conducted 
 the drama, without execrating every meafure 
 adopted by that Scourge of Mankind, and all 
 his accomplices. But when, according to 
 the ftridtefl: law, not (imply of poetical or 
 human, but of divine juftice, thofe 
 
 * " Bloody inftruments which he taught 
 
 " Have return'd to plague the inventor, 
 
 '* And even-handed Juftice has commended 
 
 " The ingredients of his poifon'd chalice to his own fys-" 
 
 And, when in the fall of that Hero of Enor- 
 mity, wherein all his petty inftruments were 
 involved -when, by the bounty of Provi- 
 dence mewn in the falvation of his " taking 
 off," the human race was, in a manner, again 
 
 * The reader is intreated to pardon the liberty here-taken 
 with the facred- words of hakfpeare, j n order to render them 
 more applicable, 
 
 redeemed
 
 INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 redeemed- from- the utter deflru&ion his infa- 
 tiate appetite for the blood of man had com- 
 plotted ; in mort> when the death of this ty- 
 rant proved the refurredtion of humanity, the 
 degree of cenfure muft diminifh in propor- 
 tion to the diminution of offences. 
 
 I mould be forry to fuppofe there exifted 
 a man in Great- Britain, however warmly 
 his affections might glow, and his heart beat 
 in her caufe, who thought that the detefted 
 fyftem of thofe tyrants above-mentioned has 
 not been meliorated by thofe who fucceeded. 
 The fucceffors were, indeed, the meliorators; 
 and, though there yet remains much to be 
 done, ere a man, who duly poifes civil and 
 political good and evil, (hall dare to afiert all 
 that was wrong is done away, it would be as 
 palpable an abfurdity to confound their for- 
 mer with their prefent conduct, as to com- 
 pare utter darknefs with the manifeft rays of 
 returning light. 
 
 While
 
 X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 While the French people were the moft 
 flagitious amongft exifting mortals, the 
 Gleaner reprobated them as fuch ; and he 
 wifhes that reprobation may ferve the double 
 purpofe of record and example. Now that 
 their fyftem is reformed, in many of its 
 worft abufes, he is as earneft to congratu- 
 late, as he had been to condemn. And he 
 dares aver, that every confiderate man in 
 England nay more, every confiderate man, 
 who, in loyalty or terror, had follicited the 
 protection of any -other country, feels, that 
 the diftin&ion here made is warranted. 
 
 He cannot, in any one feature, foften the 
 portrait drawn of the horrors which, to the 
 point of time he held the pencil, deformed 
 a devoted land. Neither can he, with feel- 
 ings that would fatisfy his own heart, omit 
 the opportunity of foftening many of the 
 {hades, and of expreffing a wifli, intererling 
 to every fibre of that heart, and he trufts of a 
 
 million
 
 INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 million more, that the pidure not only of 
 the bleeding land alluded to, but of every 
 other, over which the fvvord of defolatiort 
 is yet drawn, may foon exhibit, in the bell: 
 
 light that PEACE WHICH IS MORE GLORI- 
 OUS THAN VICTORY. 
 
 - 
 
 The greater part, however, of thefc 
 Gleanings, being written on lefs local, and, 
 of courfe, more comfortable, becaufe more 
 humane fubjedrs the beauties of nature and 
 of art will lofe nothing of their intereft, by 
 being thus " mixed with bafer matter ;" for 
 fuch war muft ever be confidered, whether 
 flumed with conquefl, or humbled by defeat. 
 The utility, indeed, of fuch obfervations, 
 as are defigned to 
 
 " Guide the traveller on his *vaj," 
 
 and affift him, in the article of expence, 
 &c, 6cc. muft, of courfe, be frantically fuf- 
 pended, till 
 
 Grim-vifag'd War has fmooth'd his wrinkled front." 
 
 6 For,
 
 X" INTRODUCTION. 
 
 For; while every path abroad is clogged with 
 blood,' it is to be prefumed that few, even 
 9Jf thofe who are difpofed to quarrel with their 
 country will, uncalled by duty, forfake 
 that happy land, in whofe bofom, amidft 
 all their difcontent, they flill find a SECURE 
 
 AND PEACEFUL HOME. 
 
 On a return to that peaceful home, after 
 looking for fo long a time on its turbulent 
 contraft in other lands, the Gleaner hefitates 
 not to confefs, that he felt all the ardour of 
 a Briton, and, amidft the laudable enthu- 
 fiafm of that character, woo'd once more 
 the Mufe of * Sympathy, to pay her honeft 
 tribute to the country, which, in comparifon 
 of others, he found, literally, what that 
 Mufe had called it, 
 
 " Th' afylum of the {offering earth." 
 
 With the facred effufions then, that, on this 
 conviction, flowed from his grateful heart, he 
 
 (hall 
 
 * Sympathy, a poem,
 
 INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 fhall open his GLEANINGS in the courfe 
 of which he flatters himfelf, no narrow 
 prejudices of any kind will be found. On 
 the contrary, prejudices will be ftrongly 
 combated, whether the growth of his own, 
 pr any other country.
 
 D E 
 
 BENEVOLENCE OF ENGLAND, 
 
 ADDRESSED 
 
 TO 
 
 ALIENS AND NATIVES.
 
 THESE VERSES, 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE or THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 THE BRITISH NATION, 
 
 ARE, 
 
 - 
 
 NOT HUMBLY, BUT PROUDLT, 
 
 FROM A CONVICTION OF THEIR TRUTH, 
 INSCRIBED 
 
 T O 
 
 ALIENS AND NATIVES 
 
 OF ALL PARTIES. 
 
 VOL. i.
 
 *O D E 
 
 BENEVOLENCE OF ENGLAND. 
 
 STRANGER! would'ft thou ALBION know? 
 
 Aik the family of woe. 
 
 Afk the tribes who fwarming round, 
 
 In her arms have fuccour found: 
 
 Or, if one of that fad band, 
 
 Thou haft fought her facred land, 
 
 * A few copies of this Ode, were printed immediately on the 
 author's arrival from the Continent. 
 
 b* To
 
 t ] 
 
 To thy heart .thou may'ft refer 
 
 For BRITANNIA'S Character! 
 
 If that heart hath pow'r to feel, 
 
 This glorious truth it will reveal : 
 Be thou the humbleft child e'en Care will own, 
 Or the illuftrious ruin of a throne, 
 'Twas not thy rank or ftation 'twas thy GRIEF, 
 SpreacJ her protecting arms to offer thee relief. 
 
 Yet, ftranger ! had 'ft thou brought her mine* 
 
 " of wealth, 
 
 Or come beneath t}iefmile of Heaven, 
 In all th^.gay feflivity of health, 
 
 Thou had'ft but bought what me has given: 
 Nor had thy purchas'd welcome been lincerc, 
 But never can'fl. thou doubt her homage to 
 thy tear. 
 
 Behold
 
 in. 
 
 Behold th' immeafurable train of care, 
 ExiPd, like thee, to our BRITANNIA come! 
 
 She, their fure refuge in the laft defpair, 
 The child of Sorrow's univerfal -home. 
 Her Peafants with her Princes vie 
 Who {hall fofteft balms fupply : 
 Fbefe their Palaces beftow 
 And fcepter'd Grief forgets its Woe, 
 Tbofe uplift the lowly latch,' 
 And beckon Sorrow to their thatch. 
 
 Friend to the Wretche4 ! ALBION'S equal eye 
 
 Warms, like the Sun, ALL human mifery.. 
 
 iv. 
 
 But, favour'd Stranger ! would'ft thou know 
 
 yet more 
 Her temper fee her in the grace of Power : 
 
 b 3 Oh!
 
 x*H ] 
 
 Oh ! if, by fome reverfe of fuddcn fate, 
 Conqueft again mould on her Banners wait, 
 
 And her now exulting Foe 
 
 Yield to all-fubduing woe. 
 And in the hour of need her aid explore, 
 
 From vict'ry fallen to diftrefs, 
 The Lion rage of ALBION would be o'er, 
 
 Prompt to pardon and to blefs, 
 Her mighty heart, would by the warmth of 
 
 love, 
 Melt to the foftnefs of the mated dove. 
 
 Ye fragments of each plunder'd coaft ! 
 
 Check the Mufe, if here (he boaft. 
 No, ye fad Band ! who midft your ruins fmile ; 
 Ye own, for ye have felt, the Genius of our Ifle .* 
 
 ALBION fuccours all who figh, 
 
 Such is her EQUALITY. 
 
 Sure,
 
 [ xxiii ] 
 
 VI. 
 
 Sure, Pity's angel at her birth, 
 Breath'd bounty in her foul to temper Power, 
 And bade her be, in deep Misfortune's hour, 
 
 Tb* afylum of the fujfering Earth. 
 
 vir. 
 
 Say ye, who with her fpirit proudly glow, 
 
 Her native fons fay, have ye in her laws. 
 Ye who have dar'dto hope for Heaven below, 
 
 Found as her earthly mark fome venial flaws ? 
 Nolly reform them but, with filial hand, 
 Devote yourfelves to fave a generous Land. 
 Who t in an hour like this, but would his force 
 
 impart 
 
 His arm, his blood to guard a parent's heart ? 
 Say ye, who now defended by her Laws, 
 Ye Strangers in her gate, would ye not rife-, 
 b 4 As
 
 [ Xxiv ] 
 
 As her adopted Sons, to aid her Caufc, 
 And, dying, triumph in the facrifice ? 
 
 "Yes ! ye have feen the wretch, howe'er 
 opprefs'd, 
 To her fheh'ring Bofbm fly, 
 
 As if it were their tender mother's br'eaft,, 
 And there as in a cradle lye. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 And fhall t-hofe whom fhe has bred, 
 Nurs'd in her arms, and at her bofom fed, 
 Shall her- CTTW Sons, whom firft {he taught 
 to know 
 
 The awful Rights e'en of that Alien's woe, 
 And all the facred truths which lye 
 In the rich code of Hofpitality ; 
 Shall they, forgetful of the precepts giv'n, 
 Call down the "- THANKLESS CHILD'S" dread 
 curfe from Heav'ii I 
 
 Ah!
 
 [ XXV ] 
 
 Ah]., no!. To fave -her from -a tlrfatend 
 wound, 
 
 What:hofts ha.ve perifh'd on the reek-ing 
 
 ground ! 
 
 b 
 
 Nor mall th' embattled ZhouCancls tint remain, 
 Inactive view this crifis of their fate : 
 Her Patriots, with a manly pride, 
 All little quarrels thrown afide, 
 All petty ftrife for place or power, ' 
 The contefts of an idle hour, 
 Shall, with one foul, uninimoufly great, 
 
 By wifdom and Heroic deeds, embalm their 
 Brethren "flain! 
 
 . 
 
 IX. 
 
 Nor ye, her Patriots, "doubt BRITANNIA'S 
 care : 
 
 Northinldhe will, with fatal raflincfs,DARE 
 
 To wafte the treafure of her ChildreiX's 
 blood : 
 
 Alas ! already has the qrimfon floo.!, 
 
 4 Like
 
 [ mi ] 
 
 Like Life's rich ftreams drawn from their 
 parent fource, 
 
 Profufely drained the all-fupplying heart, 
 Tlie mafs impoverifhedinits wholefome courfe, 
 
 And check'd the aftion of each nobler part f 
 
 x. 
 
 This awful truth fhe feels in ev'ry vein, 
 And feels it with an anxious mother's pain; 
 And though to guard inviolate her Land, 
 Her Laws, her Life, fhe claims the filial hand, 
 Ev'n while fhe views her loyal Sons in arms, 
 She trembles with a parent's fond alarms: 
 With pride fhe fees bright FREEDOM grace her 
 
 Throne, 
 Nor grudges other States the bleflings of her 
 
 own ! 
 
 She wars alone with ruthlefs ftrife 
 That dooms the Orphan and the Wife 
 To dungeons, chains, or death, 
 Becaufe the Sire who gave them breath, 
 
 Or
 
 [ xxvii ] 
 
 Or the lov'd Lord in trembling terror flew, 
 
 Profcription and his fate in view ! 
 
 And what their crimes? Too oft the chance 
 
 of birth, 
 
 Sublimer genius, or fuperior worth ! 
 Foe to the cruel means but to the END 
 BRITANNIA and her BRITONS are a friendc 
 Oh! ne'er would ALBION quench the facred 
 
 flame, 
 
 Divinely bright! that gilt <?rpath to fame, 
 Ah no! when the dread thirft of blood is o'er, 
 And ruthlefs rage mail ftain the caufe no more, 
 With honeft joy our ALBION mall embrace 
 Her Gallic foes, and own them of a kindred 
 race! 
 
 XI. 
 
 But when fair Honour's voice 'twill be a voice 
 
 from Heav'n 
 Shall cry, Hold! hold! the/>0zuY/0^wr isgiv'n, 
 
 6 Thy
 
 [ xxviii } 
 
 Thy Land, thy Law, thy Liberty fecuxe, 
 
 The offer'd Olive now will Peace enfure: 
 
 . 
 
 O ! fhould (he then, with fell difnatur'dragc, 
 
 Wafteonerich drop of gen'rous ENGLAND'S 
 blood, 
 
 The Mufe that freely gives this votive page, 
 
 Will pour indignant Cenfure's broadeft 
 flood; 
 
 Ev'n though, like ROME'S firm Sire, to be 
 
 fmcere, 
 Juftice Ihould ftrike'her victim with a tear!.
 
 THE GLEANER'S RETURN.' 
 Connected with thefe fentiments is a view 
 at Home. During the courfe of the war, twice 
 did the Gleaner revifit the benevolent land here 
 praiied. : The .date of his firfl return will: 
 be afcertained, when he obferves, that the 
 cannon of Dumourier almofl fhook the 
 battlements of the pleafant and kindly re- 
 membered little frontier town, (the * Brielle,) 
 of which a not fcanty Gleaning will be 
 found jn its place. Doubtful, however, of 
 events, he did not wifli to abide the chance 
 of being taken by the French, whom, 
 his country had irritated -, he remained, 
 therefore, on the apparently unfafe fide of 
 the water's edge> till felf-prefervation, bade 
 him fet fail for the other j for, even as he fat 
 in the cabin of the Packet-boat, in which 
 he embarked, the fire and fmoke from the 
 btfiiegcrs and the befiegcd at Williamftadt, 
 teemed to purfue the track of the veflel, and* 
 made her tremble on the waves, as if {haken 
 
 by a^/fo quake, 
 
 We 
 
 * In Hjiland.
 
 [ XXX j 
 
 She reached, however, the coaft of 
 Albion, without any adverfe rencontre, and 
 the Gleaner felt himfelf again, literally, on 
 terra, firma. This happened in an advanced 
 part of the fpring ; he looked at the gardens 
 of .fome cottages, running down aJmoft to 
 the rim of the Ocean at Harwich, and 
 eould not but exemplify their peaceful and 
 prosperous ftate, by applying (pardon him) a 
 
 verfe of his own. Ah happy iflanders, 
 
 
 
 * " There's not a King dares rob ye of a Rofe !" 
 
 A few hours before, he had witneffed, even at 
 Helveotfluice, the internal, the domeftic, foe 
 of Holland, unnaturally, and almoft, openly, 
 affifKng the machinations of the foe without. 
 The difaffected patriots of the difunited Pro- 
 vinces, had fpiked feveral of the cannon, 
 mutilated the corn-mills, and caft obftruc- 
 tions in the way of the water- works, to aug- 
 ment the difficulty, mould it become necef- 
 fary to open the Dutch iluices. The 
 
 Gleaner 
 
 Humanity.
 
 t 
 
 Gleaner had the mortification to behold the 
 Englifli troops, who were fent to affift 
 the caufe of thefe very people, received 
 with an air of chagrin by fbme, and of 
 poorly-diffembled fatisfadtion by others ; and 
 although Breda had been taken on the one 
 fide, and Williamftadt attacked on the 
 other, infomuch that the Republic was 
 almofl rent in twain, there was fcarce a 
 foldier or citizen, who did not wim. the 
 tranfports that brought over the brave 
 auxiliaries, with a Prince of the Englifh 
 Realm at the head, at the bottom of the 
 fea. He even overheard a Dutch burgher 
 exclaim, while the veflels filled with his 
 noble countrymen, were dropping their 
 anchors, " the devil Jink every one of ye! 
 *Tou have no bufmefs here /" 
 
 At the time of gaining the harbour, 
 the weather had been fo flormy, and the 
 
 fea 
 
 * That is a pretty general opinion, the Gleaner finds., at 
 home as well as abroad,
 
 f xxxii ] 
 
 fea ran To high, there could not be a fafis 
 landing made for : the troops, who remained, 
 therefore, on beard the (hips near three days, 
 Had you-feeri, reader,* how the redoubted pa~ 
 triots of the Dutch enjoyed this temporary dif- 
 trefs of the brave fellows, who, unufed to the 
 fea, fuffered more> you would have prefumed 
 that, inftead of the troops coming to their 
 protection, they were attempting to land 
 only to make them prifonersynay, I am per- 
 feclly fatisfied, that a general wreck of near 
 tvvoothoufand of the fineft men in the 
 wcrB, would have been a greater joy to 
 numbers of the perfbns, at that timeaflem- 
 bled,' than what did, for the moment, really 
 refult from their affiflance* the Salvation 
 
 (f the Republic. 
 
 From 
 
 * The Dutch Patriots^ even then, called it their jlavery. 
 Their country being how in captivity, they are become fret 
 wen. How long it may be, before they figh again for their 
 former Jlaverj, it is impoffible to determine. So true is it 
 tkat 
 
 " Our very w'/hes give us not ourwifti." 
 
 Thf Dijtch are certainly an induflrious, but a moft grumbling
 
 [ xxxiii ] 
 
 From a variety of malicious actions, and 
 expreflions, the Gleaner is free to fay, that 
 could they have poifoned the water, or 
 dared they to have envenomed the food, 
 they would have been glad to do either. 
 
 After an abfence of fo many "years, his 
 return, at fo fingular a moment, when the 
 emigrant enemies of his country, fued for 
 its pity and protection, (and fued not vainly,) 
 was attended with thofe fentiments, which 
 on his fecond return to his native land, pro- 
 duced the Ode. He had been witnefs to 
 the ravages of many fair countries, to the 
 deftruction of many beautiful towns, ma- 
 jeftic caflles, magnificent churches, and 
 the terror, deflations, and deaths, of num* 
 bers of the human race; and, although, 
 the fcenes, which, at that period of the war, 
 had pafs'd under his eyes, were foft and 
 merciful, in comparifon of thofe he has 
 Jince viewed, and of which, alfo, defcrip- 
 
 VOL i. c tions
 
 [ xxx iv ] 
 
 tions will in due order appear : the contraft 
 was powerful enough for him, or for any 
 man fo circumflanced, to have bleft the 
 Britifh fhore, honoured the Britiih King, 
 and venerated the British government, had 
 he not been born under their aufpices, had 
 he even been thtirjbe/ 
 
 For the reverfe of this pifture then, he 
 looked at home. In the midft of the 
 mbft vigorous preparations for war, he 
 felt himfelf in the bofom of peace. The 
 failors were finging, and as it were, fitting 
 out for victory, on the rigging, regulating 
 the top, or guarding the bottom of their 
 vefTels . The foldiers were merry in garrifon, or 
 fmiling on their poft . The huzza ofGodfave 
 the King,' re -echoed to the waves ! French po- 
 litics were fcouted, and good old Englim max- 
 ims were recited with hereditary veneration. 
 If even at that hour, treafon prophaned the 
 realm, if was confcious of no lefs fhame 
 
 than
 
 [ XXXV ] 
 
 than weaknefs, and like other unclean and 
 ravenous beads, it fhunned the day. If ever 
 the voice of loyalty was general, it then re- 
 founded thro* comparatively the happieft land. 
 The contraft empowered the Gleaner to feel 
 it in all its force. In pafling a little high- 
 road village he faw a train of children of 
 both fexes, not forced into the fervice of the 
 Convention, at that time a new Council 
 of Blood, not carrying in their feeble' hands 
 the mangled heads or limbs, of the brother 
 or lifter infants, on whom they bad elaborated 
 a murder ; but a little battalion of boys and 
 girls of Britim growth, who, catching the 
 fpirit of the times, and of the country, 
 formed themfelves into volunteer bodies, 
 and employed their fcanty allowance of play 
 hours in a kind of military nurfery. Their 
 pocket - money went to purchafe drums, 
 whiftles, wooden fwords, fpears, guns, and 
 
 other inilruments of mimic war. A pair 
 c 2 of
 
 [ xxxvi ] 
 
 of colours teemed to have been bought at 
 the price of a flowered Sabbath-day flip, 
 and Sunday waiftcoat, and a fmart martial 
 looking lad, -of about ten years of age, was 
 the commanding officer. 
 
 Guefs, reader, the nature of the Gkaner'-s 
 fenfations. Confider the countries he 
 had left, and that to which he returned, 
 and when you are better acquainted with 
 his ufual habits, you will not wonder he 
 forgot-, that he had farther to go, and 
 in the warmth of the welcome oblivion, 
 which, though it loft him a place in the 
 coach, was no deduction to his pleafure, he 
 followed the little troop round the town like 
 a new recruit. When it came to a flop, the 
 youth who commanded, made a fpeech 
 which w as a mdrfel of moft exemplary 
 loyalty indeed; for it blefled the king, and 
 then bleffed God, for bleffing the king, at 
 the end of every fentence. Though they 
 
 were
 
 [ xxx vii ] 
 
 were by no means mercenaries, they folli- 
 cited a, little help from the company abound, 
 jufl to anfwer military exigences. The 
 fmall corporal prefented his cap, to which 
 all the birds of air appeared to have 
 right loyally contributed a feather. The 
 Gleaner's mite was not withheld. Indeed, 
 he was heated enough to have actually en- 
 lifted, had they invited him to join the 
 corps. He left them with reluctance, after 
 they difbanded for the night, which he pafs'd 
 at a little public houfe in the village. Here 
 he met with an honeft. kind hearted, flipflop 
 of a landlady, a lovefick, pale-faced maiden, 
 who faidy/fo hated politics, and a landlord, 
 who faid be was a profound politician. He 
 had amufement, at the moment, in Glean- 
 ing them, but as their counterparts are to 
 be feen in almoft every public houfe, 
 
 " Where news much older than their ale, goes round." 
 
 He fhall wifh them to be as well as they arc 
 c 3 harmlefs,
 
 [ xxxviii ] 
 
 harmlefs, and pafs on. He had intended to 
 revifit London. Some unexpected events 
 determined him to another route, and re- 
 folving to remain in the track of foreign 
 intelligence* he repaired to a place, whither 
 two motives guided him : Firft, its being a 
 fmall fpot, near a great paflage- town; and, 
 fecondly, in a part of England, he had never 
 vifited. Having time to fpare, and a difpo- 
 fition to Glean, you mail judge of his fa- 
 tisfactions. He will endeavour to make you 
 think you are a fpedtator of a day's Gleaning 
 in his native land. He began to compare all 
 he had viewed in other places, with the fweetly 
 varied fpots before him, not fo much with 
 refped to their beauty as their fecure tran- 
 quillity. With regard to the furrounding 
 refidents, he was amongft ftrangers, but they 
 were human beings, and his countrymen; 
 or they were happy domeftic creatures, un- 
 der the protection of an eafy government. 
 He knew no one : yet by a certain magic 
 
 that
 
 [ xxxix *.'] 
 
 that works in the heart of every philan- 
 thropift, and without meriting that charac- 
 ter; he fears, no man can be a patriot, he 
 feemed to be interested about every body: and 
 all the objects which his eyes could reach, 
 his heart feerned to embrace. It appeared, 
 on this fingular occafion, as if he had met 
 with a large part of his own family, whom" 
 he had never before encountered: and com- 
 ing from .foreign lands, where anarchy and 
 ruin had taken up their dwelling, his heart 
 bounded to behold all thofe,,who were at 
 length brought fo clofe to him, in the fulleft 
 enjoyment of their lives and properties. In 
 other countries, he had often feen the hired 
 fervants, the peafant, and farmers, imperioufly 
 ordered to leave their own, or their matter's 
 affairs, and labour in the pleafure grounds, 
 or palace of fome petty prince, whofe whole 
 principality, fometimes does not meafure to 
 the acres of a good English domain. But in 
 England, the feed, which the hufbandman 
 c 4 had
 
 t *1 ] 
 
 had fown, he was preparing to reap, nor is it 
 in the wifh, or the power, of a monarch to 
 plunder him of a moment. His toil is his 
 own, fo are the fruits of it. And while he 
 is getting in the copious harveft, the expec- 
 tations and efforts of the year are, in many 
 other parts of the globe, feized on by lawlefs 
 hands, or clotted by gore to prevent it. The 
 carol of the law -def ended fubject, touched all 
 the chords of the Gleaner's heart; the birds 
 that flew over his head, feemed lefs independ- 
 ent, and to have lefs of *' perfect freedom." 
 A party of haymakers, were at the moment, 
 following the laft well-heaped load, or fport- 
 ing on its top, their rakes wreathed with tri- 
 umphant garlands, while a feaft, in the open 
 air, and within view of the finimed hayftacks, 
 awaited them. Every fyllable in the deli- 
 cious defcription * of the Britim Maro, was 
 illuflrated. 
 
 How 
 
 * Now fwarms the village o'er the jovial mead," &c.
 
 How different is the jovial fcenery in the 
 poet's defcription, from the inhuman yell 
 of Ca Ira, in the accurfed times of Rober- 
 fpierre, for then was his horrible power in 
 force! oppofite, even as the fong of rural in- 
 nocence, and the diflbnant roar of guilt and 
 rapine overrunning the fields ! It was a plea- 
 fant, an interefting fight; it warmed the 
 bofom of the Gleaner to its inmoft recefles ; 
 he was in humour with every thing ; the 
 comfort-looking huts, the ample downs, the 
 fheep that fed upon them, the foft and peace- 
 ful-feeming inclofures, the ftretches of wood, 
 water, and garden-grounds, the captivating 
 interfperfed villas, the aweful manfions, and 
 good old halls of hofpitality, the very cluck of 
 the Englifh houfehold fowl, and the domeftic 
 rookery. He fpoke to every labourer with 
 the voice of a countryman and friend. The 
 charm was, indeed, heightened by a vifit 
 to the Englifh cottages ; the appearance of 
 the fturdy fwains and blooming damfels, who 
 
 inhabited
 
 inhabited them fo utterly different, in air, 
 drefs, complexion, fhapes and language, 
 from the peafantry he had quitted. 
 
 Such is the journal of a flowery day's fen- 
 fations, in returning to the land, whofe 
 fcenery, places, and perfons, by a fort of 
 indefinable attachment, not only appears to 
 belong to us, but of which one feems to be a 
 part. Perhaps they were not the lefs agreeable 
 to the Gleaner for the pains that afflicted his 
 feelings in other countries. How he wandered 
 over, gazed on, and lingered in the fcene ! 
 He had fled from a repining and opprefled 
 people, oppreffed beyond any power of re- 
 lief, and took fandluary with the peaceful 
 and contented. All feemed natal. The trees 
 that fhaded, the fun that warmed, the earth 
 that received him, and the air he breathed 1 
 
 And are there thofe who would reduce 
 all this into a wildernefs ? Ye Britons, be 
 
 not
 
 [ xliii ] 
 
 not deluded into mifery ! Even that, which 
 may be a good caufe to one nation may be 
 a bad one to another. 
 
 Think, O think, 
 
 ** How good the God of Harveft is to you! 
 *' Who pours abundance o'er your flowing fields ! 
 
 Had the mod clamorous, the moil dif- 
 contented, half the opportunities of the 
 Gleaner, they would, even with all its errors, 
 think England the happieft country, and 
 themfelves the happieft people now on the 
 face of the globe. As to faults, he can only 
 repeat the wjfh he has earneftly breathed in 
 the Ode, that they may be 
 
 " NOBLY reformed." 
 
 The Gleaner could have wifhed, however, 
 to have found the benevolence of the country, 
 celebrated in the Ode, more uniform; and 
 that, while it was holding out the hand of 
 
 hofpitality
 
 hofpitality to diftreiTed aliens, who had been 
 driven from their homes, that it had ceafed 
 to inflict tyranny and flavery on a yet more 
 numerous body of unfortunates. He grieved 
 to obferve, even on his fecond return, an 
 *evil which, long before his fettingout, was 
 deemed inconfiftent with the mild, humane, 
 and, generally fpeaking, wholefome prin- 
 ciples of the Britifh Government, and which 
 he had heard difcuffed on the Continent 
 with every mark of wonder and reprobation. 
 It is almoft needlefs to fpccify, that he al- 
 ludes to the immitigable perfecution of more 
 than half of the inhabitants of the globe, 
 merely becaufe they differ from their perfe- 
 cutors in complexion. 
 
 And yet we rank ourfelves amongft the 
 generous lovers of freedom, and have bled 
 in her facred caufe at every pore. It is fome- 
 \vhat humiliating, however, that the very 
 men we are fighting on the ground of im- 
 puted 
 
 * The Slave Trade.
 
 t *lv ] 
 
 puted barbarity, and considering too we have 
 fo long debated the fubject in the great af- 
 fembly of the nation to find that thisja~ 
 <oage foe, againft whofe ferocity we have 
 raifed the arm, Should have done that gene- 
 rous acl: in a fingle day, which Britons have 
 been fo many years talking about. It cannot 
 be denied that the French people have got 
 the ftart of us in giving real freedom to that 
 unhappy race of beings, who, though they 
 have unqueftionably all the rights of men, 
 are treated as beafls of the fields, without 
 any rights at all; nay, as condemned cri- 
 minals, who have, by the prescription of 
 crimes, forfeited not only thofe rights, but 
 every kindred claim that attaches tojpeczes 
 or even fprings from common charity. The 
 Gleaner certainly has been amongft the firir, 
 as will appear on the face of thefe Gleanings, 
 to reprobate fuch parts of the French mea- 
 fures as juftice, no lefs than philanthropy, 
 muft reject ; but he was one of the firft to 
 i honour
 
 [ xlvi ] 
 
 honour them for this part of their conduct. 
 Their plan of Equality there \vas great, glo- 
 rious, and exemplary; and even if it was 
 but intended as a ftroke of policy, it ought, 
 like Abraham's faith, to be imputed to them 
 as righteoufnefs. Strenuoufly has the Gleaner 
 infifted, and will infifl for ever, becaufe on 
 the ground of eternal truth, that, 
 
 .." THE RIGHTS OF MAN BY NATURE STILL 
 
 * ARE DUE 
 
 " TO MEN OF EVERY CLIME, AND EVERY HUE*." 
 
 It is difficult to conceive, indeed, how the 
 fons of avarice can bring their feeble argu- 
 ments to carry any weight, when, in the 
 oppofite fcale, are to be placed all the mo- 
 tives of common honefty, and every prin- 
 ciple of juftice, and of reafon. And yet, on 
 coming home, the author of the Poem above- 
 quoted, heard the fame unwarrantable, un- 
 feeling, and fordid arguments for continuing 
 this iniquitous tyranny, that had been pol- 
 7 luting 
 
 * Humanity, book ii. 
 
 .'
 
 [ xlvii ] 
 
 luting the public humanity of the country fo 
 many years.. Nay, the truly worthy * mover 
 of the Bill for doing away this enormity, has, 
 itfeems, been barrajjed out with the perpetual 
 checks his benevolent plan received. It 
 has been put off from time to time, till, 
 moft probably, it will totally die away; 
 And all this in defpite of the moft liberal 
 fupport. from men of all parties, led on by 
 Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, &c. 
 
 No wonder then, that the Lyre has failed 
 to effect what the beft and brighteft Powers 
 of the Britim Parliament feem to have re- 
 linquifhed in defpair. As a laft effort, how- 
 ever, the Gleaner will place his mite once 
 again in the way of being leen by fome of 
 the advocates of this unble/ed, unchriftian 
 trade-, and mould but one purchafer, or falef- 
 man of his fpecies, be moved to pity and re- 
 drefs the wrongs of one enflaved fellow-crea- 
 ture, he will triumph in having put an end 
 
 to 
 
 Mr. Wilbcrforce.
 
 [ xlviii ] 
 
 to the captivity of that one ; or, if a nig- 
 gard tafk-mafter ftill holds him in bonds, 
 deaf to the voice of nature and confcience, 
 the attempt will have been made, and both 
 confcience and nature (hall unite to footh the 
 difappointment. Bitter, already, has been that 
 difappointment; for he who praifed the BE- 
 NEVOLENCE of- Albion had hoped me would 
 have extended that freedom, which {he loves, 
 and which is the bafis of her happinefs, be- 
 yond the narrow circle of her &wn land-, but, 
 as that is not the cafe, it feems a duty im- 
 pofed by compaffion and juflice on every 
 man, to awaken the public mind, fo far as 
 in him lies, to a fenfe of what it owes to 
 this important fubject. For all thefe reafons, 
 inftead of republifhing the arguments which 
 have been offered on this topic by the 
 Gleaner, in a feparate form, a new impreffion 
 being called for, thofe arguments mail be pre- 
 fented at the end of thefe volumes : fo mail 
 the {heaves be crowned with a wreathe of 
 
 HUMANITY. 
 
 The
 
 [ xlix ] 
 
 The introductory parts to our {heaves hav - 
 ing hitherto been employed in home-felt 
 fubjed-s, there will be a fort of propriety in 
 clofing therewith. On which idea, our pre- 
 liminary matter mall conclude with a Glean- 
 ing of the Englim Stage, which feems, like 
 many other things, to have undergone a 
 revolutionary mock; and, like fome others, 
 we will not now fay a//, to be by no means 
 the better for it. 
 
 VOL - 1- d "MODERN
 
 MODERN THEATRES. 
 
 J. KEMBLE, Esq. 
 
 OCCASXOKXB 
 
 BY SEEING HIS ADMIRABLE PERFORMANCE 
 
 or 
 
 PENRUDDOCK.
 
 MODERN THEATRES. 
 To J. KEMBLE, 
 
 Occajioned by ffting t> ts admirable Performance of 
 PENRUDDOCK. 
 
 LONG abfent, Britain, from my natal ifle, 
 Once more I fought and hail'd thee with afmile; 
 And tho' I found thee 'midfl the ftorms of fate, 
 So fweet thy pity to th'unfortunate, 
 The fympathifing Mufe thy zeal admir'd. 
 And paid the tribute * filial love infpir'd ; 
 For, tho' a wanderer, can the Mufe e'er roam 
 
 Where thou, O land rever'd, art not her pa- 
 rent home ? 
 
 Yet, as I knew thy griefs, I thought to fee, 
 Ev'n in thy fports fome marks of gravity: 
 
 d 3 Since 
 
 * Alluding to the Ode to the Benevolence of England^ cf 
 whicfc the Author printed a few Copies for friends.
 
 [ liv ] 
 
 STncc all the fliores I left were bath'd in blood, 
 And thy own. children's veins fupplied the flood, 
 'Twas ftrange, methought, in contraft to the 
 time, 
 
 To view thy Stage one mighty Pantomime ! 
 
 And thy chafte Drama, long a nation's pride 
 
 The Mufes fpurn'd >take Momus for a guide. 
 
 'Twas ftrange, in every fcene, HIS power to 
 trace, 
 
 And note his monkey grin on ev'ry face. 
 Say, is it thus my country hides her care ? 
 Tries fhe, by arts like thefe, to cheat defpair? 
 Thus, \vhenjbe dreaded her impending doom t 
 Prophetic pageants mark'd the fall of Rome. 
 . Well fung thefage ffiiblime,whofeprefcient eye 
 Forefaw the hour when Scenic Truth Ihouldfly 
 Before the changes of a finking age, 
 And gaudy folly fhould ufurp the Stage ; 
 On flying cars when " Sorcerers fhould ride, 
 
 " Where Royal Lear had rav'd, and Hamlet 
 
 died." 
 
 Ybat 
 
 t Dr. Samuel John Con.
 
 That hour is come % confirm 'd is Fauflus* fway. 
 And many a mining bubble marks his way; 
 Inftead of heroes drawn from Rome and Greece, 
 A fcore of Harlequins crowd every piece; 
 Inftead of awful Phoebus and the Nine, 
 A Grecian Droll, or Roman Columbine; 
 The Tragic Mufe, although by SIDDONS grac'd, 
 In the New Booth, is fo obfcurely plac'd, 
 That 'mongft the motley crew fhe holds a rank 
 Betwixt the Macedonian Mountebank, 
 Satraps all hair, and Amazons all wig, 
 And dumb Darius, dying to a jig: 
 Hifl'ry herfelf, whofe adamantine page, 
 Awful gave back the image of the age, 
 Now with her childifh fports profanes her dead t 
 And plays the Romp, a fool's cap on her head, 
 Dances the hay, while Oflian-Pantaloon 
 Leads on Fingal to adl fome vile buffoon. 
 
 For thee, poor Comedy ! the art's forgot, 
 Which once the fportive fcene from Nature 
 caught, 
 
 d 4 Thy
 
 [ w ] 
 
 Thy ftrok-es of wit are now the haul, the flap, 
 And thy Gboft rifes from a mummer's trap i 
 Then murdfcr'd Humour haunts the Stage each 
 night; 
 
 Then glare the wounds of fenfe to aching fight. 
 
 To make an author or an acftor great, 
 How brief, how new, howJImple the receipt! 
 Give to your hero all the bully air; 
 Croud trick on trick, and let him boldly /wear; 
 A dozen damns in ev'ry at, at leaft ; 
 Oaths, quaintly vollied, are a glorious feaft ; 
 But, above all, remember to furprl ze y 
 For chiefly there the art of writing lies; 
 With more than hocus pocus, ev'ry fcene, 
 Like jugglers' ball, mould hold a cheat within. 
 Something fo odd, abfurd, yet done fo neat, 
 Nature difowns, yet laughs at the conceit: 
 Nor fail, for that gives fpirit to your fable, 
 To Jet your hero overfet the table, 
 Tofs down the tea-board, fmafli, or force a door, 
 Rare jokes, that fet the playhoufe in a roar !
 
 t Ivii ] 
 
 K fluffing fcene too might enhance the treat; 
 
 Fine jeft, to fee a modern aftor eat ! 
 
 And if he drinks as faft, with jokes between, 
 
 *Tis the perfection, of the modern fcene ! 
 
 In life, to gorge and fwill fome c en fu re draws, 
 
 But on the ftage are certain of applaufe. 
 
 Note, too, your Hero mould -work hand and 
 foot, 
 
 And tear up ancient order by the root : 
 Inverting good old plans, once deem'd fo wife, 
 Laugh all to fcorn, if you would win the prize; 
 For he's now thought the moft diverting crea- 
 ture, 
 
 Who writes, and acts, bleft times ! moft out of 
 Nature. 
 
 And 'is this fitting, while a bard* yet lives, 
 To whom her richeft ftores wrong'd Nature 
 
 gives ; 
 
 VVhofe magic powers thefe trickfters could defeat, 
 And inftant drive them from the realms of wit; 
 
 Who 
 
 * Mr. Shetidan.
 
 [ Iviii ] 
 
 Who with the (lighted waving of his wand, 
 Could re-enthrone the Drama's rightful band ! 
 O, would he prove again that Drama's friend, 
 Soon would the reign of Merry Andrews end. 
 But dill the Patriot veils the Poet's charms, 
 And Love aflids to deal him from our arms. 
 
 Then blefs'd the Mufe, * whofe magic has 
 
 imprefs'd 
 
 Once more the moral on the public bread ; 
 And bled the a#or, f whofe tranfcendent art> 
 In baby times, like thefe, hs reach'd the heart; 
 Reach'd it by manly, not ignoble ways, 
 And bid revive the power of ancient days ! 
 KEMBLE, all hail ! thy wonder-working (kill, 
 Without one ribald jeft, has made us feel ; 
 Wak'd in thp foul a generous fenfe of woes, 
 Ev'n in an age of Sights and Puppet-Shews! 
 
 Hence, may redawning Nature open wide 
 One Revolution, v/orthy Britain's pride, 
 
 The 
 
 * Cumberland. 
 t Kemble.
 
 t MX ] 
 
 The STAGE REFORM methinks I fee commence, 
 Once more, the reign of Reafon and of Senfe ; 
 Feeling and Fafhion, union rare, fhall join, 
 By FARREN'S power, to foften and refine; 
 And Elegance, with every filter grace, 
 Their beams mail play from her enchanting face j 
 While JORDAN, (kill'd alike, by v/ond'rous art, 
 To move with natural joy, or grief, the heart, 
 Once more fhall bid fimplicity appear, 
 Chaftife our mirth, and dare to raife our tear : 
 We hail, 'tis true, the fun's enlivening powers, 
 But court no lefs the aid of tender fhowers. 
 
 In
 
 IN regard to the Gleanings themfelves, now 
 to pafs from the clofet of an indulgent circle 
 of private friends, to the public, I have, by 
 the nature and licence of the epiflolary form 
 of writing, been Jed to fay fo much in the 
 firft perfon, that, in fo feducing a part of 
 fpeech, I will not truft myfelf to enlarge 
 in this general Introduction j but conclude, 
 with quoting a paflage in the account which 
 has been given in one of the monthly pub- 
 lications, of a " Journey," nearly in the 
 track of the Qleaner, by the author of " the 
 Myfteries of Udolpho," and feveral other 
 very beautiful compofitions. 
 
 " It is not always eafy to obtain information, 
 that has not been communicated by fome 
 former pen, but it will always happen that 
 
 the
 
 [ Ixii ] 
 
 the fame objects (hall be viewed in different 
 lights, by different perfons, and that the 
 reader will be infenfibly delighted with the 
 appearance at leaft, if not the reality of no- 
 velty." 
 
 '. ' 
 However completely this judicious obfer- 
 
 vation may apply to the labours of Mrs. 
 *Radcliffe, the propriety of extending its 
 application to the Gleaner, it is neither for 
 him, nor -even for the friends, who have ap- 
 preciated his fheaves, to decide. They are 
 going into a more wide and aweful field, but 
 if the Gleaner had not been taught by the 
 
 wife 
 
 * The Gleaner cannot mention the merits of this charming 
 writer, without paying a paffing tribute, of no lefsjuftice, in 
 their different ftiles, to the exquifite pen of Mrs. Bennet, the 
 truly elegant Mufe of Laura Maria, and many other ladies, 
 and, indeed, of felicitating his country on the richnefs, variety, 
 and what, in the laft age, was by no means a common exccl 
 lence, the delicacy of its living female author*. 
 
 7 
 
 t
 
 [ Ixiii ] 
 
 wife and good, and did not himfelf think 
 them, in fome meafure, worthy of the 
 world's acquaintance, he would not have 
 fent them to the prefs.
 
 - bib
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 'Title explained Converjation letwixt tbt 
 author and his friend, on tourifls and travel- 
 lers Plan of Literary Gleaning fettled Tbf 
 author's convention with the friend to whom 
 thefe letters are addreffed. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 deliberate and dafhing traveller contrajled, 
 and their oppofite characters developed Refo- 
 lution of the author to become rejidentiary in the 
 places, and amongft the people, to be defcribed 
 General plan of poft-hafte travellers Sce- 
 nery of Wales. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Hints to young painters, on the fame and fortune 
 of a pictorial tour through North and South 
 J Vales Beautiful landf capes fir the pencil 
 and the pen Abcrgavenny Brecknock Car- 
 VOL. r. mar then,
 
 1XV1 CONTENTS. 
 
 marthen> Z3c. Compliment to Pennant and 
 Gilpin Sea - pieces Rock-work New and 
 old paffage Laugherne Kiddwelly Llanel- 
 tby y Swanfea. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 The romance of nature The harveft of Gilpin 
 
 and Pennant The Gleanings of the author 
 
 Scenery of Mahuntleth The authors enthu- 
 
 fiafm defcribed and vindicated Traits of cha- 
 
 racier and conftitution The pleafures of a 
 
 poetical mind The exqui/ite beauty of this 
 
 part of North Wales. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 The ride from Mahuntleth to Dolgelthy A val- 
 ley Pretty Welch peafants Co/cades and 
 Baths of Nature Mountain of Caer Idris 
 .Plentiful Gleanings Cajlles in the Air Other 
 Cajlles Pleafures of Imagination realized 
 Particular injlance, and general chara7er> of 
 Cambrian hofpitality Welch gentry , farmer s t 
 peafants. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 The Beauties of Barmouth Romantic approach to it 
 ' Its refemblance to the rock of Gibraltar Sur- 
 rounding
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 rounding fcenery The fea The beach The 
 Hack mountains -The happy valley All trades 
 in a cottage The female barber and family 
 Cambrian loyalty. 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 Tour back to Abereftwith Hiftory of the author's 
 horfe, addrejfed to men Apology to the critics 
 
 for that hijlory Every man's hobby-horfe fa- 
 cred Story of a fjherman, his family, and 
 
 friend A heath A hurricane 'The roar- 
 ing fea And the blazing hearth. 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Life, death, and character of a friend Reader, 
 pafs this letter, if thou art only a man or woman 
 
 . f the world ; but if thou haft fancy, feeling, 
 and an heart, Jeleft an uninterrupted hour to 
 perufe it twice. 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Abercftwitb defcribed The place and country con- 
 t rafted to Ear mouth Welch cufloms Price of 
 provifions, and -other Expences, fluted, with a 
 view to (economy-' and refidence All cheap 
 places, more or lefs, dejlroyed by Englifi folly 
 c 2 and
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 and vanity Various inftances Welch coiirt- 
 jkip Welch Church-yards. 
 
 LETTER X, 
 
 Welch fuperftitions The fea roamng for thrff 
 days together, to announce a Jhipwreck, or 
 drowned Jailor 'The lighted candle walking be- 
 fore you, felf-fuftained The groaning 'voice 
 coming out of the earth, &V. The madnefs of 
 methodifm in Wales. 
 
 LETTER Xr. 
 
 Welch fairies Their Exploits Rejidences 
 Difpofitions The author threatened with them 
 - The fairy -haunted chamber Vifit to a 
 
 . Welch prieft, who was fairy-ridden -Pontifool 
 fcenery Feftiniog fcenery Lord Lyttleton, and 
 more fairy tales. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 FefliniogLord Lyttleton's defcription of this en- 
 chant ing t and, as the peafants think, enchanted vil- 
 lage, examined ~CharacJeriftics of the author 
 His peculiarities Lord and Lady Cli've Their 
 neighbourhood, and their chara&er by their neigh- 
 bours. Gleanings for the heart. 
 
 LETTER
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Welch Pool Montgomery Powis cajlk Hi/-. 
 tory of the decayed Englijh merchant, and bis 
 daughter ^ranjaclions of a London phyjician 
 in Wales, and anecdotes of the late John 
 Howard. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Character of John Howard His perfonal habits 
 His philanthropy to man and beaft Vifit to him 
 in Bedford/fjire-^Farious anecdotes vf him col- 
 lected in that t vifit-His Angularities defcribed 
 and vindicated His fuperannuated borfes. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 The Triumph of Benevolence, facred to the 
 Memory of the late John Howard Motives 
 for the republication of that poem. 
 
 LET TER XVI. 
 
 Welch Bards Modern and anciejft Ajjbciations 
 and Cufioms of the former Manners and cuf- 
 toms of modern and ancient Welch harpers 
 Welch Druids Anglefea, 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Welch Lakes And monumental reliques Welch 
 ' Hofpitality of the Welch 
 Nobles
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Nobles Lord Newborougb The author's ad- 
 ventures on the road And the happy weavers. 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 Verfes confecrated to the virtues of the late Jonas 
 Hanway. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 More verfes And various Gleanings for the Af- 
 fections. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 The fame. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Hiftorical perplexity A differtation on Bio- 
 graphers'From hiftorian A. to hijlorian t &c. 
 Farewell to Wales. 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Welcome to Holland Contrafted with Wales 
 The ancient hijlory of the Dutch Republic 
 With reflections t profaic and poetical. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Hijlory of the old Batavians continued" Cuftoms 
 Manners Diver/ions. 
 
 LETTER
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Their ancient marriages funerals fuperflitions 
 anct legijlature. 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 Poetical bandeau for tbe Gleanings By way of 
 twining round the frft Jbeaf, which clofes vo- 
 lume the firft. 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SUPPLEMENT ART LETTERS. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 A vijit to federal Frontier and other German and 
 Dutch towns, previous to the breaking out of the 
 war More emigrant hiftorifs With a char after 
 of Louis the XVltb An interejling evening, in 
 which the Map of the World is examined by the 
 Company Dumourier's cannon A fea adven- 
 ture, in the courfe of which the author gleans 
 the national French charatler, as to the imprcf- 
 fions of Profperity and Adverfity Obfervations 
 on the impolicy of the new French Syftem, fo far 
 as it refpecJs national or domeftic bappinefs Tht 
 beauty of order The deformity of anarchy Cha- 
 rafter, and Verfes by a French emigrant of 
 diftinftion. 
 
 LETTER
 
 CONTENTS. 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Review of the Dutch troops^ ly the Stadlholder 
 the elements no rejpefter of perfons A field 
 day in the rain Reflections on the advantages 
 of Little over Great People. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 A letter on different fubjefts, re/petting the Dutch 
 Their modcrn^Marriages and Deaths The -writer 
 gleans a trio cf travellers , a pair of which are au* 
 thors ; the one denominated in this our Jkeaf, 
 Mr. Blank being literally what that word ex- 
 prejjes Mr. Prize, for a like reafon, and Mr. 
 Blank-and- Prize, becauje he is a compound of 
 the two others A tribute of jujlice to the Pencil 
 and Character of De Loutherbourg. 
 
 GLEANINGS,
 
 GLEANINGS, 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 TO THE HONOURABLE MRS. B." 
 
 South WaMs. 
 
 "VVHEN I mentioned to a learned and 
 elegant friend my delign to pafs fome years on 
 the Continent, he cordially took my hand, and 
 thus addreffed me : 
 
 <f You are going to travel : travelling, like 
 " love, makes authors; authors make books: 
 " men, women, and children, publifh at home, 
 ct what they have feen or heard abroad j Ergo,- 
 " were not you already an author, it would be 
 " expeded of you to write a book." 
 
 To travel then, and to publilh; are become 
 things of courfe, faid I? " As much fo> re- 
 " joined my friend, as caufe and effect." It 
 would be difficult, however, I prefume, to prove 
 that though they may be equally in order, they 
 are equal in value; for, to multiply copies of 
 copies of copies, is, furely, adding t$ the bulk of 
 
 VOL, i. B an
 
 2 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 an evil that " has increafed, is ftill increafmg, 
 " and ought to be diminimed:" I admit your 
 obfervation, proceeded I, that every body pub- 
 limes travels, but am in doubt about the ufe of 
 the inference; for, if peophr who leave their 
 own country predetermined to make a book out 
 of what they meet with, what they fee, or feem 
 to fee, in others, it either is an argument againft 
 the farther overftock of the literary market, or 
 a proof pofitive that the innumerable travelling 
 fadkniakers, who have " beat the beaten road" 
 tfoefe thoufand years, have told us nothing we 
 did not know better before ; and*, hereupon, a 
 pretty curious queftion arifes : How far thofc 
 who have undertaken to conduct our perfons 
 and purfes through countries, remote or near, 
 have proved themfelves true or falfe guides ? 
 how far' readers who have taken abroad with 
 them ftich publications as the Vade Mecums of 
 their refpeclive tours, have found themfelves 
 more or lefs perplexed and milled, than if they 
 had been left to their, own ignorance, and to 
 the experience which, however dearly, perhaps 
 more truly, corrects it? 
 
 " You think then, refumed my friend, that 
 " an anfwer to thefe interrogations would de- 
 " termine the propriety of giving, or refufing 
 <f to give, another book of travels to thofe al- 
 
 " ready
 
 GLEAN INGS, &JV. ^ 
 
 * f ready publifhed : You imagine that a new 
 " edition every ten years of the firft and only 
 " original work, marking the frefh modes by 
 " way of addenda, would preclude, and render 
 " ufelefs, all the labours of imitative tra- 
 " vellers?" 
 
 I told him, this would be, perhaps, going 
 too far, but that were the replies td be made by 
 thofe admirable critics the eye and the pocket, 
 we fhould " fee feelingly" that our knowledge 
 by no means increases in proportion to the num- 
 ber of our books on the fame fubject. " It 
 " muft be acknowledged, interpos'd he, that 
 " the regions, not of fad:, only, but,' of fairy 
 " land, have been over-run with travellers : Every 
 " thing, therefore, of either ufe, or ornament, 
 *' might be fuppofed, at this time of day, to 
 
 * lave in defcription and look green in fong." 
 
 " but, the truth is, that much is always left to 
 " be found by him who is diligent to feek, and 
 " that, of the innumerable travellers who 
 ' have gone the fame roads there are few who 
 " have not added fometbing to our ftock of in- 
 " formation, or amufement: and, moreover, 
 " that every perfon of talents is 3 in reality, origi- 
 " nal y either in the matter or manner of exerting 
 " them ; no two people, even of equal abilities, 
 B 2 " (employing
 
 4 GLEANINGS, 6?V. 
 
 " (employing .them on the fame occafion) fee* 
 <f ing or feeling the very fame objects, or occur-* 
 " rences, in the fame way; fo that there muft 
 " be, I fay, a degree of novelty in every work 
 " not fervilely purloined from what the plagiary 
 " had neither candour to avow, nor ingenuity 
 " to improve. But, even granting that the 
 " greater crop of general obfervation, has been 
 " gathered by others who have made their in- 
 " telledlual harveft abroad, and brought it 
 " home, pro lono publico y .let me remind you, 
 " by the help of an allufion borrowed from 
 " hulbandry, that the vigilance of the farmer 
 <c has never yet been able to clear the ground 
 " of its produce, fo as to leave nothing where- 
 " with to reward the induftrious/^z;z<?r : Some 
 " ears of the valuable grain efcape the jealous 
 < rake even of avarice itfelf, and where the 
 <f fields are fpacious, there muft always be fome- 
 " thing worth ftooping for, even where the la- 
 < { bourers are many." 
 
 Pleafed and encouraged by this mode of rea- 
 ibning ; I .exclaimed, Be it fo then : another 
 &ook of Travels foall be written, and, to fliew my 
 gratitude for the prefent converfation, the work 
 .Ihall owe its title .to an idea that is this moment 
 fuggefted by the agricultural images you have 
 fo agreeably played with, I will call my book 
 
 chat
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. $ 
 
 that is to be, GLEANINGS, &c. gathering up 
 whatever may be left to humble induftry, or 
 excurfive curiofity, in the path of my wander- 
 ings, now and then deviating into the- fields 
 of fancy, mixing thus my wheat with fuch 
 flowers as grow in its neighbourhood, whether 
 in hedge rows or gardens, whether the pro- 
 ductions of art or nature. " Good ! cried my 
 " friend, rubbing his hands together, and at 
 " length you mail bind your collected glean- 
 " ings into fheaves that is, volumes and 
 " prefent them, neat as imported from the 
 " foreign markets, to your friends and enemies. 
 " To both of whom, added he fmilingly, and 
 " with a brifker friction of his hands, they will 
 " fupply food of a different kind, the one ban- 
 " quetting on whatever you fet before them with 
 " hearty good-will, the other fatiating on the 
 " beft you can offer, with as hearty malice. 
 " Befides, continued he, you will thus furnifh a 
 " feaft to yourfelf, and be entertained while 
 " you entertain. I will have it fo Farewell : Be 
 " fure you write a book/and do not return to me 
 M till you can come volume in hand.'* 
 
 He departed, without fuffering me to fay 
 more, aflcrting that the beft proof of my regard 
 for him would be given in my adoption of his 
 Councils. 
 
 B 3 The
 
 6 CLEANINGS, &?,. 
 
 The councils were wholefome,and I fhall fol- 
 low them : Before my leaving London it was 
 fettled, at another converfation, with the fame 
 friend, that my Gleanings were to be difpenfed 
 by parcels to him, that he was to put them into 
 the granary that is his library till their bulk 
 increafed fufRciently to be of public ufe, and 
 not a month was to pafs without a fmall Jheaf 
 being fent to him. Alas ! it was decreed that 
 ere the firft month was expired this amiable 
 counfellor and friend mould go 
 
 " To that bourne from whence no traveller returns."! 
 
 '* Still drops from life fome withering joy away." 
 (faith our celebrated Johnfon.) The imprcflion, 
 made upon me by his death, would, perhaps, 
 have induced me to give up an idea, which 
 could not be purfued without a fentiment of re- 
 gret for the lofs of him who infpired it, had I 
 not reflected that there exifted ftill another, 
 whofe mind, no lefs than my own, required 
 amufement ; and, at length, to conclude, that 
 the bed mode of -teftifying my efteem and ve- 
 neration for the deceafed would be to fulfil bis 
 \vifhes; even while I fulfilled yours, my dear 
 furviving comfort, at the fame time. 
 
 To thefe ends, I now addrefs to you, from the 
 moft beautiful part of the Britim Empire ( for 
 
 fuch
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 7 
 
 fuch I think we may fairly call the principality 
 of the ancient Britons ) the firft offerings of 
 my Gleanings. An humble employment, per- 
 haps ! to collect ear by ear, as it were, the re- 
 fufe of what others have either overlooked or ne- 
 glefted: but if, out of this lowly occupation, you 
 and I, my excellent friend, in the firft inftance, 
 and my readers, in the fecond, when the corn 
 is gathered into fheaves, and bound up, fhould 
 be able to make that bread which ftrengtheneth 
 the heart, or prefs from the fcanty vintage that 
 wine of life, which exhiharates, and gives a 
 cheerful countenance in the drooping moment : 
 if it affords the tranfient fweets of a foreign 
 more, when the flowers at home are withered 
 or defpoiled, I fhall not have {looped in vain. 
 
 Adieu, my friend ! Our convention is fettled^ 
 you Ihall foon hear from me again. 
 
 LTTTER
 
 GLEANINGS, &&. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 South Wai- . 
 
 it behoves a Gleaner to be diligent., 
 deliberate, and not hurry over his ground like 
 thofe who come to a full crop, and whom 
 abundance makes carelefs, I have refolved, not 
 only for your fake, but my own, to ftay always 
 fome days, frequently fome weeks, and not fel- 
 dom fome months in every town, city, or village, 
 from whence I fliall write. A rule which in- 
 verts the general one. Inftead of adding to 
 the long lift of poft-hajle travellers, I am deter- 
 mined to perform my journies at a foot-pace 
 rather than a full gallop, convinced, from a 
 deal of experience, that, although " he wfco 
 *' runs may read," he who rides > as it were ex- 
 frefsy through a country, cannot write any 
 thing worth the attention even of a running 
 reader At leaft, it becomes 'a queftion worth 
 anfwering, whether the deliberate mode is not 
 more likely to difcoveranddefcribe what merits 
 communication, than the helter-fkelter fafliion, 
 of writing on the fpur, whip, and wheel, our 
 accounts of people and places ? I am of opinion 
 it is ; and I have the fupport of good old peo- 
 ple,
 
 .CLEANINGS, &?. <J 
 
 pie, and good old proverbs in Latin and Eng- 
 lifh. " Fejline lenff," fays the one" He 
 *< Jlumbles who goes f aft," echoes the other. To 
 believe; therefore, that He who '? moves flow, 
 moves Jure," is a reafonable conclufion. In- 
 deed, I have wondered, that fo very few of my 
 emigrating countrymen have been of this way 
 of thinking. On the contrary, they hurry 
 through the deftmed courfe as if they were run- 
 ning a race againft time, and were to perform 
 fuch a given portion of it, within the hour by a 
 ftop watch. 
 
 The mofl plca&ntly fancrfttt at leaft, of all 
 modern travellers, in his inimitable "journey," 
 has given us, in his own fportive manner, a 
 catalogue of travellers, with the epithets proper 
 tp, and characteristic of, each, fuch as the fenti- 
 mental, political, idle, diligent, et cetera j but 
 he has not, to my recollection, faid any thing 
 about the deliberate^ or more correctly fpeak- 
 ing, th^ rejidentiary traveller, who fets out on a 
 plan of fojourning in the parts of the world he 
 defcribes, and mixes in the focieties of each 
 Jong enough to obferve accurately manners, 
 cuftoms, and events. The infinitely diverfified 
 modes of thefe, mufl be overlooked, feen very 
 partially, or not feen at all, by the modern 
 Mercuries who go at full fpeed to the grand 
 
 point
 
 JO GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 point of their deftination-r-fome of the capitals 
 and fcarce give time for the horfes to be 
 changed at the intermediate ftages : or, if they 
 are under the neceffity to ftay a night at any of 
 thefe, the moft inquifitive of them ftroll thro* 
 the ftreets, orfaunter round the ramparts, while 
 the fupper is preparing ; the reft throw them- 
 felves on chairs and fophas till arous'd by the 
 return of their companions, who generally come 
 back diffatisfied with their ramble, and, if they 
 write at all, lit down betwixt fleeping and 
 waking, and infert, in the meagre journal of the 
 day, a drowfy, yet fplenetic, account of what 
 'they met with in their walk ; depending on the 
 fexton as the hiftorian of the buildings, and on 
 fome chance paffenger as the intelligencer of the 
 inhabitants, environs, police, &c. &c. At day 
 break the next morning they are off, fcarce al- 
 lowing time for fwallowing a comfortlefs difh 
 of coffee, fquabbling with their hoft for extor- 
 tion, curfing the country they are under the im- 
 mediate protection of, and difgracing the man- 
 ners of their own. This done, they continue 
 their expedition as upon life and death > and often, 
 alas, how much too often ! finifh their folly, 
 their fortune, and their tour, at the fame time : 
 |pr it is not till after their return to their native 
 country, that thefe daftjing travellers difcover, 
 that their moft precious things time, money, 
 i and
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. H 
 
 and talents have been wafted to receive only 
 contempt, fatigue, and vexation in return a 
 /ad barter. 
 
 But not to circumfcribe the inutility of rapid 
 travelling to thefe cyphers offociety, who in all 
 countries are infignificant, the remark, I fear, 
 and the cenfure, involves, in fome degree, per- 
 fons of a different defcription ; in as far as 
 the cuftomary method of writing poft y on the 
 policy, and practice of nations, muft be injuri- 
 ous to the moft refpectable abilities, which can- 
 not intuitively know occurrences, characters, 
 and ufages, that arife out of time, place, and cir- 
 ciimjlance\ and cannot (except to a lucky tra- 
 veller indeed, and to him very occafionally) 
 happen, while arrangements are making for the 
 accommodation of man and horfe between 
 ftage and ftage ; and when all one can expect to 
 fee are the moft flight and ordinary objects that 
 float, like weeds and offal on the ftream, on the 
 furface of the places through which we pafs. 
 Neither is the human mind, whatever be its 
 powers, well difpofed to paint fcenes and inci- 
 dents when the body is worn down by the day's 
 travel, and the fpirits jaded by the fatigue of 
 motion : yet, if we look at the dating of our 
 modern travels, the avowed objects of which are 
 cuftoras and manners, \ve mail find that moft of 
 
 the
 
 I? GLEANINGS, t: 
 
 the obfervations are the productions of tbe mo* 
 M&tJ..,. written arnidft the duft and hurry of .go, 
 ing from the fpot defcribed to another, which is, 
 in due time, to be difpatched in the fame way. 
 Js it therefore to be wondered at, if we fre- 
 quently -find the common effects of an over 
 Jiafty judgment miftated facts, and fdlfe in- 
 ferences. 
 
 All thefe convictions have flrengthened me 
 in the refolution of being a refidentiary traveller, 
 juaking a reft in every country which I deiign 
 to glean^ This,. you will fay, my dear friend, is 
 in character, but I fcruplc not to aflert, on an 
 experience whjch I hope to make you partaker 
 of, that tour-makers of the firft diftindtion, and 
 refpectability, have left many things unnoticed 
 highly worthy their and the public obfervation, 
 and which could not have efcaped, had they 
 fuffered their patience to keep pace with their 
 penetration, 
 
 The illuftration of this I truft you will ga- 
 ther as we go along. 
 
 The fcenery of Nature, in a fummer drefs, 
 is a volume open to every eye, and a .copious 
 page may be read at a glance: The moil 
 nimble traveller might luxuriate as he runs by 
 them, and his landfcape, though but the etch-
 
 G-1EA-N- INGS, &?f. 1$ 
 
 ing of an inftant of time, mutt, if he has 
 to " catch the objects as they rife," and rich- 
 nefs of genius to tint them, be various and 
 delightful. Here, the border of Breck- 
 nockfhire, which begins, juft where what is 
 ro"jj called England owns its boundary, I 
 \vas enchanted with the frji view, but difco- 
 vered at a fecond, third, fourth, onward to a 
 fortieth, in various excurfions to and fro, during 
 a fix months' refidence, a' thoufand and ten 
 thoufand particular charms which a firft ge- 
 neral furvey could never afford. I devoted an 
 equal proportion of time to the northern as to 
 the fouthern divifion, of this paradifaical prin- 
 cipality, going to the extreme verge both ways, 
 and traverfing backwards and forwards to look 
 at their beauties in different feafons of the 
 year; and it is the refult of thefe repeated vifits, 
 which, at the prefeht moment, I give you : I give 
 it you, in the grateful warmth of my heart, for 
 pleafure received,' not without an earnefr. hope, 
 at the fame time, that you, and others who have 
 tafte and affeclions to rclifh the blooms of na- 
 ture, and patriotifm enough to admire them not 
 the worfe for appertaining to their natal ijland t 
 may be tempted to enjoy the fame fcenery. 
 
 That Wales hath a claim to pre-eminence 
 
 on the fcore of romantic beauty, can only be 
 
 3 doubted
 
 14 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 doubted by thofe who never have traverfed it, 
 or who, traverfing, rather run a race than make a 
 regular tour. It is certain, that fevcral detached 
 fpots, in fevcral different Englifh counties, ex- 
 hibit to the eye of the traveller as much of fim- 
 plicity, here and there, as much of the fublime, 
 and frequently more of cultivation; but then 
 thofe are to be coniidered as pickt and chofen 
 places, and are, therefore, particular : whereas, 
 the natural graces of Wales, the fpontaneous 
 fragrance of the wild herbs and flowers, the un- 
 reftrained redundance of the foliage, and the 
 unlaboured fertility of the fouthern foil, are 
 general. They often expand from one mire 
 to another with fucceflions both of the beauti- 
 ful and fublime, fometimes to the ftretch of 
 thirty or forty miles, in the progrefs of which 
 the fancy and the heart, the underftanding, and 
 all the higher emotions of the foul are, by turns, 
 regaled and delighted. Hence it is impodible 
 for a traveller of a juft tafte not to catch 
 pleafure and inftruction from that endlefs va- 
 riety of land and water, hill and valley, dizzy 
 afcent, and apparently fathomlefs precipice, 
 which, in Merioneth and Carnarvonfhire, would 
 ftrike his eye at almoft every hour's journey- 
 ing. The traveller of imagination would feel 
 an unwonted glow of head and heart, perhaps, 
 in a warmer degree, and of a 'more fafcinating 
 
 kind,
 
 CLEANINGS, &C* |. 
 
 kind, than the traveller of merely a juft tafte. 
 The poetic and pidlorial traveller, endued with 
 the enthufiafm proper to thofe characters, would 
 have a more animated pleafure from a furvey 
 of fuch fort of beauties, than a perfon who has 
 been in the habit of deriving his. fatisfactions 
 rather from the refined labours of art, than 
 the eafy operations of nature: but all de- 
 grees of underftanding and feeling, nay 
 the foul itfelf would be gratified in a tour 
 through Wales, allowing time to do juftice to 
 nature and themfeives : and, indeed, none but 
 the moft worthlefs or diffipated of human kind 
 could obferye, within the limit of a morning's 
 ride or walk, fuch an alTemblage of natural 
 wonders, viewed at any period of the year, 
 without tailing a pleafure of that moral kind, 
 which, in looking above or below, muil pro- 
 nounce the objects of divine origin. I have 
 flood gazing on fome Snowden and Plin- 
 limmon, the vales of and of Cluyn, 
 
 for inflance, till they feemed of themfelves to 
 fay Traveller! well mayeft thou gaze: we 
 merit your pious admiration for we are of 
 God. 
 
 But my enthufiafm is running my letter 
 into too much length. Invoking, therefore, 
 the blefling of that God on you, I bid you for 
 the prefent adieu, 
 
 LETTER
 
 J CLEAN IN' C S, &C* 
 
 \ 
 
 -LETTER III. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 South Wales. 
 
 A. YOUNG painter' of genius in a fumme/ 
 tour, from Abergavenny to Milford Haven, 
 South, and from Aberconway to Holyhe'ad, in- 
 cluding the Ifle of Anglefey, North, taking 
 into his route the intermediate landfcarJes and 
 lea-pieces right and lefr, and making thofe 
 paufes which are neceflary to exact obfervation, 
 and thofe deviations from the beaten to the 
 unfrequented tract, where, indeed, the chatter 
 beauties of nature are to be found, as if they 
 rhodeftly withdrew from the gaze of every 
 Common paffenger, could not fail returning 
 home richly ftored with materials for the win- 
 ter exercife 6f His fmifhing pencil. Or more 
 properly advifed, and duly ambitious of be- 
 ing juft to nature as his original, and to 
 himfelf as her imitator, were he to employ 
 the winter only in giving to his firft (ketches a 
 more correct form, then to make the fame 
 tour the fucceeding fummer to meliorate and 
 improve, to catch new graces which new ver- 
 dure may poflibly have given them, to beftow 
 that mellowing, which the moft vigorous mind 
 and brighteft fancy derives from precifion, 
 without which, indeed, every compoiition of 
 
 human
 
 GLEANINGS, &.- l" t 
 
 human Art can hope but tranfitory fame; were 
 he then to occupy his fecond winter to the laft 
 polifhes, then fend them to Somerfet Houfe* 
 I will venture to fay he would exhibit, to his 
 country, one of the moft beautiful, one of the 
 moft valuable collections that had, till then, 
 been feen in the moft felecl of her cabinets ; 
 accompanied by this peculiar honour and 
 novelty namely, that it was taken from an 
 original properly her own: a truth which 
 nineteen out of twenty that had never feen that 
 original would be far from fufpecting : nay, I 
 am furthermore convinced that even the bed 
 judges, the moft celebrated artifts, under the 
 like predicament, would diftribute the differ- 
 ent landfcapes to as many different countries 
 appropriating the fcenery of one to Savoy, a 
 fecond to Laufanne, a third to the beautiful 
 Pays de Vaud, and fo on : for all that charac- 
 terife thefe lovely countries, afTemble in the prin- 
 cipality of Wales. The Cambrian excurfion I 
 have here recommended to the young and 
 ingenious artifts of my country in particular, 
 would, were they to travel pencil in hand, 
 unite the merits of the patriot to the talents 
 of the painter, and be productive of objects 
 no lefs worthy the lovers of their art, than 
 the lovers of their country. It is hence, that 
 I would incite thofc who are bleft with abilities, 
 VOL. i. C and
 
 18 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 and who incline to devote them to the 
 of painting, to a journey of deliberation through 
 Wales, before they go farther from home, con- 
 vinced, that if theftudy and imitation of nature, 
 only, were, as it obvioufly is, the perfection of 
 their art, a great deal of that time and money, 
 which is expended in getting to the ufual 
 feminaries, and fcenery, might be faved ; for I 
 repeat, that this little appendage to the crown 
 of England, contains, within itfelf, the richeft 
 ftores for the pencil, which can be contented 
 with nature or with nature's God. 
 
 Does the painter look for the broad and 
 beautiful expanfe ofthefea, with all its attend- 
 ant rocks, terminating towers, romantic fhell- 
 w r ork, and furrounding fhores? They await 
 him on the coafl of Wales at innumerable 
 openings. They falute him at the new and 
 old paiTage, even as he firfl fets his foot on the 
 Cambrian foil: He meets them again gathering 
 beauties as he goes, in various parts of Caer- 
 marthenmire : they fmile on him as ht vifits 
 the mouldering caftle, and romantic fcenery 
 of the fweet village Laugharnc, in that county. 
 At Kidwelly and Llanelthy, they again re- 
 gale. Swanfea offers them to him in all the 
 pride of charms, that have drawn the admira- 
 tion of the failiionable world. They accom- 
 pany,
 
 GLEANINGS, fcff. 14) 
 
 pany, refrefh, and delight him, even to Milford* 
 Haven, where they lofe themfclves in un* 
 bounded ocean. Nor are the marine objects lefs 
 beautiful in the northern diftricts. At Towyn, 
 Abereftwith, Caernarvon, Harleigh, Penmorva, 
 Bangor, Anglefey, Barmouth, &c. they in- 
 creafe in every grace of the grand and 
 minute. 
 
 Does the youthful enthufiaft pant after the 
 fublime beauties peculiar to the land ? Here 
 are they in the mod profufe abundance. The 
 mountains are here, \vhofe immenfc height 
 illuftrates and juftiftes that bold imagery of 
 the Poet, whofe defcriptions would appear the 
 work of fancy, and of fancy run riot, to all thofe 
 who have never yet look'd at the afpiring fub- 
 limities of nature as they prefent themfelves 
 in Merionethshire, and other northern parts of 
 this ifland. The truth and the defcription of 
 it, are thus exactly given in the poetry of 
 Goldfmith, 
 
 As fome tall cliff, that lifts Its awful form, 
 ' Swells frorti the vale, and midway leaves the ftorm ; 
 " Tho' round its breaft the rolling clouds are fpread, 
 " Eternal funfnine fettles on its head." 
 
 The clouds, indeed, feem fometimes to ifTue 
 
 from the feet, and fometimes from the bowels of 
 
 thefe mountains, in paffing the fteaming fides of 
 
 c 2 which
 
 2Q GLEANINGS, &V> 
 
 which the.traveller is, on the brighteft day, in- 
 volved in, the thickeft mid, while the fummit 
 of the mountain, above, and of the valley, be- 
 low are gilded by funbeams, which the vapours 
 have not fullied. 
 
 Or, languishes our child of genius for the 
 mountain Cataracl, whofe white foam is pre- 
 cipitated, by the torrent, down its romantic, 
 but rugged, fides, till it reaches the diftant vale, 
 where it rolls over the dark rocks, made yet 
 darker by the thick oaks that overhang them ; 
 the deepeft green mofs growing on the parts of 
 rock not waflied by the turbulent, but laved only 
 by the gentle Waves that occafionally overflow 
 them? Would he wiiri to hear a beauty that he 
 Could not paint, the defcription of which he 
 muft reiign to the poet, viz. The ftunning 
 found of the fame Cataracl:, foftening by de- 
 grecs into the ftill, fmall, and fweet, voice of 
 the rill,* which fteals gradually out of hearing, 
 along the woody dingle, where it dies away ? 
 If his genius leads to thefe, they are to be met 
 witfr.in .Wales. I have clambered up the 
 mountains, where they were paffable to human 
 afcent ; I have followed the found of the tor- 
 rents, from the firft deafening impetuofity, to the 
 Jafl of its meanders through the valley; and 
 have been paid for my excurfion by innumer- 
 able
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 2 1 
 
 able beauties, which nature hides, as it were, 
 in her nooks and corners, and denies the fight 
 or fcent of to every one who does not deem 
 them worth fearching for. It is almoft a par- 
 tiality unwarranted to point at any place in 
 particular, where thefe charms, for the true 
 lovers of nature, may be difcovered, they are fo 
 generally diftributed throughout the princi- 
 pality; but if I am juftified in giving the 
 preference to any fpots, I mould mention 
 Merionethfhire, and the country about Ponti- 
 pool as moft replete with thefe beauties 
 thefe and a thoufand more. 
 
 It is impoflible for me, indeed, to give ade- 
 quate fketches of the countlefs charms a tra- 
 veller of genius will difcover in this route. 
 The moft vivid defcriptions of Gilpin, joined 
 to thefolid narratives of Pennant, mould rather 
 animate, than difcourage, to the journey. The 
 living eye of fuch a traveller fhould not be 
 contented with any thing fhort of the living 
 volume; in every page and paflage of which, 
 nature will here prefent him with fomething to 
 admire and imitate fomething, which, though 
 admired and defcribed before, will fupplynew 
 defcription, new imitation. In truth, the 
 proper objects of genius can here never be 
 exhaufted, nor genius itfelf fatigued with re- 
 c 3 prefenting
 
 22 GLEANINGS, 6f f . 
 
 prefenting them. So redundant are the fports 
 of nature in this happy foil, that with a flight 
 change of your point of view and the fame fpot 
 of ground will afford afetof landfcapes : Taken 
 from the top of the mountain you may {ketch 
 the valley apart, and it is fufficiently enriched 
 to fill your canvafs, and call your imitative 
 powers into the warmed exertion ; taken from 
 the valley you have another feparate picture 
 the firft intercfling, foft, and delicate; the 
 fecond noble, animated, and fublime : join 
 their fevera.1 beauties by taking them in a 
 middle direction between both/and, reverencing 
 nature and yourfelf, you will prove the truth 
 of, my before repeated affertion, that it is un- 
 necelTary to quit your native empire, to gain 
 the wreathe of immortality as a painter. 
 
 Excufe me, I beg of you, for thus enlarging 
 on thefe beauties, with a view to bringing them 
 upon canvafs, but belidcs that, I know you 
 both love and cultivate the art in private; many 
 of our mutual friends, amongft which is the 
 enchanting De L,outherberg, and the brother 
 of the ingenious Barfctt, worthy the relation- 
 Ihip, are public ornaments of it. I am per- 
 fuaded that if the former of thefe artifts were 
 to vifit the fcenes I have here alluded to, his 
 moft glowing and juftly celebrated landfcapes 
 I from
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 2 j 
 
 from Switzerland, which we have fo often ad- 
 mired in his defcriptions, as well as on his 
 canvafs, would have companions of Welfti 
 extra&ion highly deferving that honour. And 
 I wifh in your next converfation you would 
 fugged thefe hints. 
 
 But it is time to commit my long letter 
 upon paintings which you may, perhaps, call 
 an epiftle to painters to the poft. Farewell 
 then for the prefent. 
 
 tETTER
 
 24 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 North Wales. 
 
 "WHAT I have already faid, and what 
 I dill wifh to communicate, in regard to this 
 finely romantic country, is, as I before noted, 
 rather the refult of the remarks I made fome 
 months ago, than what occurs at the prefent 
 time. My health, as you remember, compell- 
 ing my immediate abfence from London, and 
 my affairs, neverthelefs, requiring forne ar- 
 rangement before I could quit the Englifh ter- 
 ritories, for any length of time likely to do 
 effential good to my conftitution, or to the 
 circumftances that tended to impair it, I ac- 
 cepted, in the mean while, of an occafion that 
 offered, to make a circuitous tour of Wales. 
 You may be fure that the fentimental pictures 
 of Gilpin, and the hiftorical accounts of Pen- 
 nant were in my portmanteau. 
 
 Both of the above named authors being deli- 
 berate, and even refidentiary travellers, nothing 
 was left behind but a few general obfervations, 
 fuch, as I have offered you in the two preceding 
 letters, and fome local particulars of which I 
 
 have
 
 GLEANINGS, &f f . ' 2 
 
 have ftill to beg your acceptance : but, after 
 fo copious an harveft, as has been prefented by 
 fuch labourers, the Gleanings muft needs'- be 
 fcanty, though, I hope, well worth ftooping 
 for. 
 
 The fcenery of Mahuntleth is in the true 
 ftile of awful grandeur, ftupenduous rocks 
 rifmg above one another in barren fublimity, and 
 forming a natural rampart round the town j in 
 the neighbourhood of which, you ride through 
 one of the moll lovely vales even your imagina- 
 tion can conceive; the more delightful for 
 coming unexpectedly ; as, on your firft leaving 
 the town, you are prepared only for rocks; 
 jnftead of which, you enter a lane, about half a 
 mile from the village, which fhuts you from the 
 farther view of both rocks and village; and 
 conducts you along a green recefs, which con- 
 tinues for many miles, every ftep, almoft, of 
 which introduces a frelh beauty, Wood, water, 
 hill and vale, can fcarce take a form ; the found 
 of dreams, the carol of birds, the diveriity of 
 foliage, can hardly be fancied, by the mod en- 
 thufiaftic -lover of nature, which blends not in 
 this ihort excurfion. Every thing blooms 
 around you ; the mountains vegetate to the top; 
 all the tints and fhades of verdure are in your 
 view; neat white cottages, and pretty farm- 
 
 houfes,
 
 GLEANINGS, fcfa. 
 
 houfes, with here and there a modern villa, or 
 ancient manlion, introduce themfelves to your 
 eye, as you move on, at fuch acceptable diftanccs, 
 and in fuch happy fituations, that even a mat- 
 ter of fa traveller, muft forget all common- 
 place circumftances, and wifh to be refidentiary. 
 What then muft be the effect of fuch fcenery 
 on the children of fancy ? The poetical traveller 
 for inftance ? For my own part, I was fo rapt 
 and entranced, that, giving my felf up unreferv- 
 cdly to the enchantments that furrounded me, 
 I felt a fort of attachment to every object that 
 contributed its beauty to the fcene, and was 
 abfolutely in friendfhip, in alliance, with the 
 woods, as if I had vegetated with them. A 
 fober citizen, who had feen me at this time, 
 would have pronounced me mad j but while he 
 pitied me, I mould have compaflionated him ; 
 lince. in this kind of delirium, arifing from an 
 heart and imagination delighted, and, as it were, 
 carried beyond themfelves, by the charms of 
 nature, there is a pleafure, which, what is pro- 
 perly underftood by the words, fober citizen 
 never knew. I have often told you, with felf- 
 gratincation,and grateful thanks to the bounteous 
 beftower, of this my exceflive fenfibility of 
 vegetable beauty : It began from the firft hour 
 that I could diftinguilh betwixt fterility and 
 bloom. A garden, a wood, a rill, an immenfe 
 
 mountain,
 
 CLEAN IN GS, &C. 27 
 
 mountain, an almoft untrodden path in a 
 valley, the interminable ocean, the contra&ed 
 ftream, and all that nature inherits, were my 
 delight, when my love of them was rather 
 inftinft than obfervation. The pafTion " grew 
 " with my growth, and ftrengthened with my 
 " ftrength." It ftrewed rofes over the years 
 of my youth, and made me often forget the 
 numberlefs thorns which environed them. 
 The years of manhood that have ftrengthened 
 my reafon, have in no degree abated my 
 fmcere I had almoft written my tender 
 delight in thefe charms of the creation. 
 And why mould I not feel a tender affec- 
 tion towards them: Do they not lead from 
 things temporal to things eternal? from 
 earth to heaven ? from creation to the Crea- 
 tor? Is not, therefore, the adoration I pay 
 to them a virtue ? A part of religious worfhip? 
 At the time I was enveloped emparadifed let 
 me call it rather, in this blifsful folitude, I felt 
 that it was a time more detached from the drofs 
 of the world, and more pure, than probably 
 the bed fociety could have made it. Will the 
 man of cold fenfe pronounce all this vifionary? 
 No. It is fubftantial to me at leaft it has been 
 the fource, and, I hope, will continue to be, 
 of the higheft fentiments and contemplation. 
 
 May
 
 28 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 May I live only while I am fenfibly alive to 
 the beauties of nature ! For, in the hour this 
 affection quits me, the facred fenfe of the great 
 Author of thefe beauties, which my exquifite 
 fenfibility of them kindles in my foul which 
 even the lowlieft fhrub, or fimpleft blade of 
 grafs, now infpires, could no more afcend to 
 'the power from whom I received this fenfibi- 
 lity, than the autumnal leaf, that has withered 
 on the ground, can again mount and flourifh 
 on the tree from which it has fallen. 
 
 The pleafure, therefore, of which I- have been 
 fpeaking, is amongft the few that belong to the 
 poetical mind, in balance of the numberlefs 
 evils which are faid to be infeparable from the 
 votaries of the mufe. 
 
 But you have been mufe-led too long, and 
 I have to beg your pardon for a digreffion, which 
 offers you rather a defcription of my own fen- 
 fations than of the place which excited them. 
 Let us return then to the fweet mades, out of 
 which my felfifh fancy flew away with you. I 
 really abhor egotifm, but in letters that mix 
 the hiftoryof ones feelings, with that of our 
 wanderings, it is the moil difficult thing in 
 the world not to be an egotift. " All that can be 
 fairly expected, indeed, in travelling epiftles,
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 2$ 
 
 is, to make, as it were, our abfent correfpondent 
 enjoy what we have enjoyed, profit by his plea- 
 fures, by making them our own, if ever we take 
 the fame route, and efcape the inconveniences^ 
 which he warns us to avoid. In this character 
 of a friendly direction-poft I may be ufeful : 
 Take courage, therefore, and accompany m 
 once more into the woods of Mahunfleth, and 
 let me inftructyou, by the way, that this is a liltlQ. 
 market town, in northern Cambria, in the road 
 to Abereftwith, a town in fome reputation, as a 
 bathing place you know. If you, who, I know, 
 pay an annual vifit to the fea nymphs, mould 
 direct your watery courfe hitherward, I charge 
 you in the name of nature, to make a day's 
 paufe at Mahuntleth, where you will find good 
 accommodation,and dedicate it to wood nymphs, 
 in the filvan fcenes I have been defcribing: re- 
 membering, only, to take the horfe road to. 
 Dolgelthy; another place abounding in vege- 
 table beauty. The diftance from Mahuntleth 
 to the laft named town, this bridle way, is 
 fcarcely feven miles, not to be complained of 
 with a fteed you have faith in, and even if the 
 horfe had forfeited your confidence fifty times-, 
 while your eyes efcaped you would forgive him 
 for mewing you fo many delicious fcenes r 
 what is better, he would annihilate the fenfe^ 
 
 of
 
 30 GLEAWINGS, fcff. 
 
 of danger, by making you forget both his 
 errors, and thofe of every body elfe. Do yon 
 not perceive that my fancy is again kindling? 
 An hazardous time to re-enter the woods. Is 
 it not to be feared, I fhall lofe myfelf in them? 
 Suppofe then I allow myfelf time to cool be- 
 fore I venture again into this wildernefs of 
 fweets ? It may be as well perhaps for us both. 
 Adieu then* 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 North Wales. 
 
 AFTER about two hours riding, in this 
 charming country, you come to a fpot fo ex- 
 quifitely delightful, that it feems impoflible for 
 a poet, or a lover, whether his miftrefs is na- 
 ture, or a pretty woman, or indeed for any tra- 
 veller, who has enough of romance to keep in 
 motion thofe paflions, which, like wholefome 
 breezes, mould always ventilate to prevent the 
 mafs from ftagnating. It is in fhort, impoflible 
 for any but the fordid worldling, not to paufe 
 in this place, and wifh to pafs the evening of 
 his days in its vicinity : 
 
 " Ducete folicita jucunda oblivia vitat," 
 
 It
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. Jjl 
 
 It is a part of the valley defended by an im- 
 menfe fcreen of many coloured rocks behind, 
 out of which fprings, here and there, a few hardy 
 fhrubs and flowers ; ftupendous crags, which 
 the hurricanes have thrown from a ridge of 
 mountains, whofe mutilated heads are ftill in 
 the clouds : Some of thefe crags have been 
 flopped midway, where, though they menace 
 a farther defcent, when afTailed by the next 
 ftorm, they have flood the fiege of the elements, 
 unmoved, for ages : Other vaft and mifhapen 
 mafTes have found their way to the bottom, 
 and lie at the fide of the road- to the left of 
 which is a broad ftream of water, here foaming 
 into natural cafcades, and there difplaying a 
 bafon fo untroubled and limpid, that you lan- 
 guifh to bathe in it; which you might very fe- 
 curely do, for it is, in many places, fo fhaded, 
 and, if you follow the laby rinths,will guide you to 
 retreats, where, loling the foot path, you reach 
 a recefs where the Graces might bathe without 
 alarm. Had Thomfon's Mufidora chofen this 
 fpot fhe might have 
 
 " Stripp'd her beauteous limbs 
 " To tafte the lucid coolnefs of the flood." 
 
 without the leaft hazard of being furprized by 
 a Damon unlefs his refidence, in the neigh- 
 bourhood, gave him knowledge of the fecret 
 
 haunt
 
 3$ GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 haunt or, as in Damon's Cafe, he was remark- 
 ably fortunate. For Damons there arc, even 
 here, I can afTure you, and Mufidoras too, 
 amongft the peafantry in particular, the fwains 
 being as hale, happy a fet of round faced, rofy 
 cheeked youths, and the damfels as well 
 featured a race of white toothed,, black-eyed, 
 red lipped laffes, as in any part of the world. 
 
 I mould not omit to tell you, that the natural 
 cafcades, and tranfparent baths, before defcrib- 
 ed, are fo tinted by the refractions of the light 
 and fhade, and the variegated rocks, fpars, 
 Ihells, &c. at the bottom, that the water. itfelf, 
 as well as the flooring, if you will give me 
 leave fo to call it, exhibit all the colours of 
 the rainbow, in no lefs inimitable dies. This 
 is a natural beauty, I never faw imitated by the 
 painters ; perhaps, the imitation of it is im- 
 practicable : indeed, I do not remember ever 
 to have feen it, in nature, equally perfect as in 
 this valley.. Nor is it lefs worthy note, that 
 the foliage of the fine woody mountains that 
 rife above thefe water-works of nature, in 
 nobly fublime contraft of the no lefs natural 
 rock-work, on the oppoiite lide, is not lefs di- 
 verfified than the ftream. The vegetation is 
 of every hue of which green is capable; 
 
 and
 
 GLEA.N1NGS, &V . 33 
 
 and an adequate idea of its efFecl: muft be as 
 difficult for the pen as the pencil. Let it be 
 added, that your eye, befide the already men- 
 tioned beauties, takes in the celebrated Caer- 
 Idris, one of the loftieft of the Welch moun- 
 tains, the fummit of which, like its famous 
 rivals Snowden and Plinlimmon, is covered 
 with eternal fnow: while numberlefs flocks of 
 Iheep, whofe fleeces, bleached by the wind 
 blowing frefh from the heavens, are fcarcely lefs 
 white than that fnow feed, frolick, and repofe, 
 on its ample fides: The eye aches to view the 
 top of this mountain giant, and the brain 
 turns dizzy as it furveys, by a fudden tranfition, 
 the depth of the valley below. Habit, how- 
 ever, familiarifes both thefe natural wondejs; 
 and yet, they feem for ever new. 
 
 My imagination was at work, to build juft 
 fuch a comfortable reficlence on this fpot, as 
 might hold all thofe whom I loved, and who 
 had tafte to mare with irie its beauties : amongft 
 thefe, you, my dear friend, were not forgotten. 
 "The above ingenious artift had already confe- 
 crated an apartment to you, fuch as muil needs 
 have given you content. I had allotted ano- 
 ther, adjoining to yours, to our charming 
 friend, Mrs. L. S. whofe fpirit fo accords with 
 yours; and permit me the flattery of thinking 
 VOL. i. D with
 
 34 GIR AWING S, &V. 
 
 with my own. This pleafant caftle in the air 
 went brifkly, though infenfibly, forwards, as I 
 rode on, and the edifice was begun and finifhed, 
 in the moft commodious manner poflible, with 
 all appurtenances thereto belonging, fuch as 
 good fare, .good furniture, good wine, and 
 good friends, in about a quarter of an hour : 
 The herds and flocks that grazed on Caer-Idris, 
 I had appropriated ; fome fine oxen at feed in 
 the paftures below, were, with the paftures 
 themfelves, mine alfo: in fhort, I had fitted up 
 my place fit for the reception of company, and 
 began to exult in the work of my own fancy, 
 when, cafting my eyes, to the left, from that 
 fixed ground-loving reverie in which they 
 had been involved during thefe operations, I 
 difcovered exactly fuch a manfion ready made 
 to my hands. Confider the ftate, the heat of 
 rnind, in which I made this difcovery, and 
 wonder not if, in the firft moment, I fancied I 
 faw only my own edifice. It ftarted to my 
 view precifely, when I had given it the laft 
 aerial finimes ; it was embofomed in trees, juft 
 as I would have it : in a word, it was, to all 
 intents and purpofes, fuch as I had been erect- 
 ing* adorning, &c. I need not tell you, who 
 know my foliioquizing way, that I was faunter- 
 ing onward all this while,: " Sometimes fail 
 " and fometimes flow," as the poet fays. 
 
 Truly,
 
 GLEANINGS, 6f r. 3 $ 
 
 Truly, it was a very odd fenfation I felt, on 
 being obliged, at laft, to ccnfefs, that it was 
 aftually a houfe of more folid materials than 
 imagination commonly works with. How 
 fhall I defcribe this to you ? I was pleafed to 
 fee fo pretty a villa, in fo happy a lituation, as 
 well as to find that others had tafte as well as 
 myfelf; but I was a little mortified forgive 
 me to perceive any one had, as it were, b'ujlt 
 upon my ground, and fuperceded me. Ye 
 rigid people of the world, I pray your pardon. 
 Which of you has not creeled his airy caftle? 
 been delighted while it was in progrefs, 
 triumphed in its completion, and mourned its 
 fall? 
 
 My chagrin, however, was but of a moment. 
 I had been fufficientlyamufed with the fhadow, 
 and was foon in friendfhip with the fubftance, 
 I had foon reafon,to be fo. The proprietor of 
 this manfion, with a child in each hand, was 
 ftanding at his gate. He had one of the moft 
 inviting countenances I ever faw: it en- 
 couraged a ftranger to begin converfation, and 
 to alk any queftions, with an afTurance of their 
 being gracioufly anfwered. On my firft greet- 
 ing, he came down to the road fide, and, with 
 an urbanity that would have graced a court, 
 entered with me into difcourfe. On hearing my 
 D 2 eulngy
 
 3U GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 eulogy on the beauty of the place, and receiv- 
 ing my felicitations on the enviable fituation 
 of his villa, he begged I would confider my- 
 felf as the matter of it, as long as might be 
 agreeable or convenient to me, affuring me of 
 the moft unfeigned welcome if I could put up 
 with cottagers' fare. To ftrengthen his in vita-, 
 tion, he obferved that the furrounding ob- 
 jecjs could not, pofTibly, be duly feen at one- 
 yiew ; that the colouring of the water, its re- 
 pofe, its rapidity, the contraft of the barren 
 and fertile mountains, and of the rocks, had 
 different beauties at different times of the day,, 
 and that after a night's refrefhment, I mould 
 find them far more interefting; adding that 
 there were many-others, which lay out of the 
 common tracl:, in the like flyle of foftnefs and 
 fublimity, and to which he would be himfelf 
 my condu&or in the morning, on the condi- 
 tion of my being his gueft that night. This 
 was offered with fo frank an air, with fo much 
 unqueftioned difmtereftednefs, that I intreat of 
 vou and your party, if you ever take this tour,. 
 to make your befl bows and curtfeys to this- 
 hofpitable cottager. His villa is about the- 
 midway between Mahuntleth, and Dolgelthy ; 
 but it is impoffible it fliould efcape your no- 
 tice ^ for without thefe memento's, I am fure 
 
 here
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 37 
 
 fccre would your foot be fixed, and here your 
 heart would warm. 
 
 Nor is this hofpitality rare in this country. 
 It anciently, you know, formed its charac- 
 teriftic. Modern manners have not altogether 
 refined it away. I witneffed its exigence, 
 during my tour, in a great many inftances. In 
 caking the exercifes of the field for example, 
 every farm, every cottage, is yours, as places 
 of repofe and refrefhment, and the bounty ex- 
 tends to your dumb companions as well as to 
 yourfelf milk, butter, cheefe, and barakerk, 
 oat-bread, a clean cloth, a platter of hung- 
 beef, a jug'g of beer, and a cann of cyder, are 
 placed before you, as matters of courfe, with- 
 out afking for, and your being a ftranger is a 
 fufficient recommendation : nay, you would be 
 thought cruel to fuffer from fatigue, hunger, 
 or bad weather, while fuch fhelter and enter- 
 tainment was in your reach. As this is 
 amorigft the facts which a refidetttiary traveller 
 only could know, andasitis really a truth, that 
 funs through the country, efpecially the' 
 northern parts, -I feel myfelf the more bound 
 to mention it. Nor is it confined to the low 
 and middle ranks only. People of family are 
 every where under a prefcriptive necefiity of 
 keeping up certain forms, but with refpect to' 
 p 3 Wales,
 
 3 8 GLEANINGS, 6fa. 
 
 Wales, a very flight Acquaintance with yon, 
 would fecure a moft cordial reception in the 
 houfes of the gentry and nobility : and many 
 of thefe live in the folid fafhions, and keep up 
 the good old cuftoms of ancient days ftill re- 
 taining their hawser, their harper, their do- 
 rneftic bard, &c. 
 
 A venerable man*, member for the very 
 county which fupplies the fcenes I have been 
 defcribing, may be quoted as an inftance. His 
 ftate of health has, for fome time, " check'd 
 * r the genial current of his foul ;" but his houfe 
 has been long the temple of good humour, 
 hofpitality, and cheerfulnefs, in a ftile that 
 might put to the bluftx, the proud referves, and 
 felfim pomps of upftart greatnefs, and mufti- 
 room pretensions to ftate and distinctions. 
 
 Such, in very general expreflions, arc the 
 farmers, peafants, and gentry, of the country, 
 which gives a title to the Heir Apparent, of 
 one of the moft valuable crowns, and to one 
 of the moft accomplished Princes in the 
 Chriftian world. It were devoutly to be 
 wiflied, that, with equal truth, I could pay an 
 
 equal 
 
 * Mr. Vaughan, member for Merionethfhire, who, fince 
 this letter was written, is dead.
 
 GLEAN IN G S, &5V. 39 
 
 equal tribute to the peafantry, farmers, and 
 gentry, in England ; but I fear the unbought, 
 dilinterefted urbanity of thefe to ftrangers, 
 whether of their own country or of any other, 
 mud be looked upon rather as exceptions than 
 general ruies. When I reflect upon the fub- 
 Itantial charities, and benevolence of the peo- 
 ple of England, on all great occalions, I triumph 
 in being, myfelf, an Englifhman, but I mall 
 ceafe to regret, my friend, that in the fponta- 
 neous courtelies, the little impromptu's of 
 civility, that grow out of the wants and wi.ihes 
 of the moment, and are to be gratified by dif- 
 penfing with all formal referves, tedious in- 
 troductions, and fufpicious balancings, the 
 Welch, the Scotch, the Irifh, the French, and 
 many other people are their fuperiors. 
 
 Whence can this take its rife ? Is it pride, 
 diftruft, an apprehenfion of being deluded? 
 Is it an infular kind of refervation? A fhutting 
 up of the heart till it is woo'd and won ? Or is 
 it a mixture of all thefe ? Whatever be the 
 caufe, the effect is to be deplored : for much 
 pleafure is loft to him who has too much 
 etiquette, fear, or dignity, to ftoop to imme- 
 diate occurrences : the opportunity of doing a 
 tindnefs is loft in a moment, and if our 
 doors are to be opened only to receive a frjend, 
 D 4. and
 
 and 3. ftranger muft bring credentials of his be- 
 ing entitled to the en pafFant benevolence, by 
 being known to fome of our friends or neigh- 
 bours, thouhg unknown to ourfelves, a thoufand 
 urbanities, which might have been fhewn muft 
 be omitted. A temper betwixt the extremes 
 of French officioufnefs, and Englifh phlegm, 
 would form a good middle character. From many 
 obfervations, daring my lateintercourfeamongft 
 all ranks in this country, I am difpofed to 
 think that Welch courtefy is the happy me- 
 dium, fo far as goes to' the reception of, and 
 good offices fhewn to ftrangers. The fire of 
 the French, at firft light, is too hot to Jaft ; the 
 froft of the Englifh takes too much time in 
 thawing, and, though their bounty is but the 
 more folid and effectual, when the ice of their 
 conftitutipnal perhaps only titmofpherical - 
 refervc is diffolved, like certain fruits of 
 the earth, after the fnow that long covered 
 them is melted, the occafion is paft away, 
 and the object that ftood in need of our 
 temporary exertions, may have gone even be- 
 yond the reach of our beft fervices, while 
 the fires of benevolence are kindling. Not 
 but I know many happy exceptions ; amongft 
 which I mould not fcruple, were I called 
 ppon, by way of challenge, to produce a na- 
 tive
 
 CLEAN INGS, &. ^i 
 
 tive of the gloomy ifland, as foreigners fome- 
 times call it, who to peculiar tendernefs of the 
 affections, for particular and private friends, 
 unites a large, and indeed univerfal philan- 
 thropy, the effedl of which extends courtefy, 
 gentlenefs, and generous actions to people of 
 ail nations, difpenfing kind words and good 
 deeds, wherever they are implored, I fhould 
 name yourfelf and not without exultation, 
 that I have the honour to be your friend. 
 Adieu. 
 
 P. S. I mail leave the northern and return 
 to the fouthern part of Wales to-morrow, with 
 intent to take a little fea-bathing, before I en- 
 tirely quit the country. I will give you 
 the reft of my Gleanings from the court of 
 Neptune.
 
 4-2 GLEANINGS, 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 TO THE 'SAME. 
 
 Barmouth, North Wales. 
 
 JL HAVE, as the date will fhew you, 
 altered my route; to which I have been in- 
 duced by a wifh to pay my parting tribute to 
 the place from which I now addrefs you. The 
 road from Mahuntleth to Dolgelthy, I trult, 
 my laft has made you acquainted with*, that 
 from Dolgelthy to Barmouth, a fpace only of 
 ten miles, can, like the other, be done full 
 juftice to only by your own eyes, for its beauties 
 are fo manifold and extraordinary, that they 
 literally " beggar defcription." Suppofe your- 
 felf mounted on your horfe, or feated in your 
 carriage on a clear genial day, as able from 
 health, as difpofed from tafte and temper, to 
 enjoy the beauties that offer themfelves to your 
 view. Under thefe happy circumftances thefe 
 ten miles would be the morteft, and the mofl 
 pleafant you have pad in your whole life. New 
 paftures of the moft exuberant fertility, new 
 woods riling in the majefty of foliage, the 
 road itfelf curving in numberlefs unexpected 
 Directions, at one moment fhut into a verdant 
 rccefs, fo contracted that there feems neither 
 
 carriage
 
 CLEANINGS, Gf /. ^ 
 
 carriage or bridle \vay out of it ; at another 
 the azure expanfe of the main ocean filling 
 your eye on one fide of you, rocks glittering 
 in all the colours of that beauty, which confti- 
 tutes the fublime, and of an height that dimi- 
 niflies the \vild herds thatbrowfe, or look down 
 upon you from the fummits, where the Jargeft 
 animal appears infignificantly minute on the 
 pther hand plains, villas, cottages, venerable 
 halls, or copfes, with whatever tends to form 
 that milder grace, that belongs to the beautiful. 
 : Such are fome of the objects you will meet 
 with in your excurfion to Barmouth : on your 
 arrival at which place, fo far from your 
 profpects terminating with your journey, they 
 9pen upon you frefh attractions, which are as 
 lingular as unexpected, 
 
 This little feapprt, confifts of one irregular 
 flreet only, one lide of which is built upon the 
 folid, rocky mountain, that is of fo flupendous 
 an height, that the firft view of it, upon the 
 traveller's entrance into the village, or taken 
 from the fea-fide, makes him not only tremble 
 for himfelf, but for the aerial inhabitants; 
 out of that mountain rock are their habitations 
 formed, and though the confidence is rather 
 weak than ftronep, as, after much drought or 
 rain, it will crumble under your feet as you 
 
 tread
 
 44 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 tread on it, the houfes are in excellent repair, 
 and feem, like thofe that refide in them, to fet 
 winds and waves at defiance. The villagers 
 are, probably, more hardy than their native 
 mountains much more fo, I mould judge, 
 than their crumbling rocks, if their weather 
 beaten complexions, and hard hands, which, 
 in my familiar, character- exploring way, I 
 have fometimes fhaken may be confidercd as 
 femplcs. You feem to be carefling a man of 
 iron, and that iron appears to be covered with 
 a leather, that has undergone the procefs, and 
 taken the tan, of the material, with which our 
 Englifh waggon whips are commonly made. 
 The chief food of the peafantry is fifh, which 
 is had in the greateft abundance ;' and it may b 
 reckoned amongft the pleafant objects of the 
 place, to fee the natives in their little fifhing 
 boats, on a fine morning, when the fea is calm. 
 If you look at them from the rocky fide of the 
 village, the boats feem like buoys, and "the 
 people that guide them are fca-rcely percepti- 
 ble. The village itfelf, viewed on the con- 
 trary, from the ocean, is the mod piclurefque 
 you can imagine. On account of the excel- 
 lence of the beach, it is an admirable watering 
 place, and a good bath may be had almoft 
 every day. In tempeftuous weather, the 
 affemblage of objects, are, taken together, the 
 
 nioft
 
 CLEANINGS, -.&>. 4$ 
 
 xnoft fublimc of any in the principality. The 
 dark {hading, and ftupendous height of thefc 
 rocks, which overhang the ocean, the mountain 
 billows, that, afcending midway, daft againft 
 them, as if difappointed in their ambition to reach 
 the fummit.- The veiFels that feem crouding 
 into the harbour, and almoft taking ihelter in 
 the houfes upon the beach. The buildings on 
 the rocks, meanwhile, feeming to demand no 
 protection, but to mock the ftorm the in- 
 numerable quantity of fea-birds that enjoy it 
 till thefe go towards the fcenery and if 
 thunder and lightning are added to it, which 
 are very frequent accompaniments, the rever- 
 beration of the found amongft the rocks, the 
 terrific charms of the flames on the objects, 
 both on fea and more, with the intermingled 
 roar of the waves, finifh the climax, if I may 
 fo call it, of the true fublime. You may, per- 
 haps, afk, if this fcenery is. not in every 
 mountainous country, near the fea, pretty 
 much the fame ? I anfwer, certainly in a de- 
 gree : but it is the fuperta five degree of awful 
 grandeur, you find in this place, and all I have 
 hitherto feen of the magnificence of nature, in 
 the time of her trouble, has been compare-, 
 tively feeble, to her exhibitions in and abouc 
 Barmouth, 
 
 But
 
 46 GLEANINGS, &e. 
 
 But it is time, that I bring both you and 
 myfelf, fafe down from thefe Alps of Cambria, 
 where you may, perhaps, think I have ftaid, 
 with you, too long, particularly when the black 
 mountains were wrapt in ftorm, and the naturfc 
 of the furrounding objects made me in dangef 
 of becoming poetical, which, is a rock worfe 
 to the fober minded reader, than any I have 
 mentioned ; yet on which, too many travellers 
 fplit. Neverthelefs, I have only cropp'd a few 
 of the flowers, which others failed to gather. 
 In traveriing a fpacious garden, even with 
 avowed intent of forming a bouquet, it is im- 
 pofrible,amidft a profufion of fweets, beftowed 
 in " the prodigality of nature," not to leave 
 or overlook many flowerets, and particular 
 fpots of exquifite beauty and fragrance. To 
 pluck and to examine thefe, and occafionally 
 to borrow from others, what may be honourable 
 to them in the repetition',' as authors, and agree- 
 able to you, as a reader, is the " head and front" 
 of my office as a Gleaner. 
 
 From the labours of the late Mr. Groffe, you, 
 and every reader of tafte, are fo well acquainted 
 with the abbeys, caftles, and other reliques of that 
 time, and of the time of more deftrudtive men, 
 in the fhapes of Kings, Protedors, &c. who, 
 like death, " put all things under their feet," 
 
 that
 
 GLEANINGS, fcff. 4^ 
 
 that I mall not attempt to re-conduct you to 
 thefe remains of power, prieft-craft, and fu- 
 perftition : Indeed, were I inclined to fearch 
 diligently, it is doubtful, whether I mould be 
 able to pick up a lingle ruin ; that accurate 
 antiquarian having left nothing for my glean- 
 ing. Neither Ihall I fay any thing of Snowden, 
 - nor afk you to accompany me to the coun- 
 try, where 
 
 " Huge Plinlimmon rears his cloud topp'd head/' 
 both of which have been introduced to you in 
 the beft manner, by Mafon and Gray, the latter 
 of whom pofleiTed a genius loftier, and more 
 fublime, than the mountains he defcribed. 
 
 A few objects, however, nearer the ground * 
 remain for me ; and if you will condefcend to 
 accept fuch humble offerings, after the giddy 
 heights, and fearful precipices, from which I 
 have juft let you down, they are at your fervice. 
 A quiet walk in the valley, after clambering 
 hills, and buffeting with ftorms, may relieve 
 you. 
 
 Suppofe, therefore, by way of (hewing you 
 a fpecimen of the hardy manner in which the 
 poor natural inhabitants of thefe craggy abodes 
 live, you ftep with me into a hut belonging 
 to one of the Barmouth peafants. In point of 
 
 fit u at ion
 
 48 L E A K I N G S, &. 
 
 fitiiation it might vie with any hermitage, cot, 
 or palace, that prieft, peafant, or prince ever 
 fixed on for refidence. A noble beach of the 
 fineft fand fpreads itfelf at the bottom ; the 
 ocean yet nobler extends in front, with all 
 the fccnery that moves on the face of the \va- 
 ters : the cliffs of Cardiganfhire bounds the 
 profpect to the right, to the left are feen thofe 
 of Caernarvonfhire. Clofe at its foot a rill, 
 which is for ever heard but never feen, the 
 ihrub wood and weeds of a little half-cultivate'd 
 piece of garden ground bidding defiance to 
 the moft narrow infpeclion ,- and clofe at its 
 back is part of that immenfe and continuous 
 rock on which one half of the village is erect- 
 ed : but as thofe are on the fummit, this is at 
 the bottom. The fides, and far the greater 
 part of this hovel (for it is little better) are fo 
 thick with ivy, that, at a fmall distance, nothing 
 but that romantic evergreen is to be difcovered. 
 A npvel writer, or a lover, or a mifanthropc, 
 could imagine nothing half fo congenial to 
 their penfive difpofitions : it belongs to nei- 
 ther of thefe perfonages. Enter it, and furvey 
 the inhabitants. Perhaps there never was con- 
 tained, in fo fmall a fpace, fuch a variety of 
 occupations going on at the fame time : nor, 
 probably, fuch a number of living beings 
 crouded into one cottage, confiding not onlv 
 
 of
 
 CLEANINGS, &V . 4.9 
 
 of one floor, but one very contracted room. 
 That room was built barn fafhion ; had more 
 light from the large gaps in the roof, which was 
 of thatch, than from the window. Its walls 
 are of avowed mud, for not fo much as a com- 
 mon white warn, ever attempted to conceal 
 their real compofition. The family confifted 
 of fourteen perfons, of which, threq were too 
 young to relieve their poverty, though juft old 
 enough to fmile at, and difregard it the 
 reft were, as I faid, bufily employed. The 
 father of the femily was making nets, the mo- 
 ther of it was fhaving one of the innkeepers 
 of the place of her more anon the eldeft fon 
 was weaving ribbons the eldefl daughter 
 weaving cloth the fecond fon was mending a 
 petticoat, that for variety of patch-work, 
 might triumph over Otway's Hag the fe- 
 cond daughter was attempting to repair, what 
 I guefs, might have been intended for her 
 father's breeches, in his younger days, and was 
 now to be converted into a pair for his heir 
 apparent the third daughter (he had but 
 three fonsj was combing the head of the fourth, 
 who was, with no lefs induftry, knitting a pair 
 of ftockings the iixth girl was making bread 
 the feventh was making broth, that is, a col- 
 lection of potatoes^ carrots, and other vege- 
 tables and the eighth, and laft, was rocking 
 VOL. i* E the
 
 50 CLEANINGS; &C* 
 
 the cradle of the youngeft child with her foot-, 
 and dandling another in her arms while the 
 fifth was making firft experiments at the 
 fpinning wheel. 
 
 The tatters, which were thrown over thefe 
 poor artizans, were even more bare and ragged 
 than the furniture, which confifted of only 
 three miferable beds, of which one only had 
 curtains, and thofe of yellow ftuff, in fo ruin- 
 ous a ftate, that (as the Copper Captain fays of 
 the rats) the moths, and other vermin, " had 
 inftinctively quitted it." There was a fourth 
 bed, of a little dirty looking ftraw, in a corner 
 of the room, with a covering of old facks. 
 Never, did I fee fo much indigence, and fo much 
 induftry united ; for though the latter was un- 
 remitted, the low price of labour, and the 
 number to be fupplied from it, and the tender 
 years of moft of the labourers, made the fource 
 inadequate to the demand upon it ; but neither 
 the induftry, nor the indigence, had banifhed 
 the virtues, or the felicities : They were, in- 
 deed, within this lowly refldence, in a more 
 fiouriming ftate, than is generally to be found 
 in prouder dwellings. All the varieties, which 
 characterife happinefs, in different minds, and 
 ages, were prefented before me. The father, 
 while he conftructed his net, taught the alpha- 
 bet
 
 GLEANINGS, &V . 1 
 
 bet to one of his fmaller children, who was 
 armed with an hornbook. The matron ftrong- 
 ly recommended the laft piece of cloth of her 
 eldeft girl's making, to the innkeeper, whofe 
 chin (he was reaping ; thus contriving to carry 
 on two bargains at the fame time; and it is 
 not eafy to defcribe to you, the fatisfaction 
 with which the good man of the houfe kitted 
 the dirty face of the child, on her getting 
 through her letters without mifcalling, or for- 
 getting, more than lixteen out of the twenty- 
 four; or how the good woman chuckled, when 
 her encomia of the linen, conquered th<5 re- 
 luctance of mine hod, who not only promifed 
 to become a purchafer of the cloth, then under 
 hand, but to fpeak favourably of her daughter's 
 handy-works^ to the gentry at his houfe. The 
 joke, however, which was, meanwhile, carry- 
 ing on between the fecond fon and daughter* 
 about the inverfion of their ufual occupations, 
 which was a thing agreed on, out of pure fport, 
 fupplied a mirth, yet more ardent. The con- 
 vention was, " Sifter, if you will repair my 
 breeches, I will mend your petticoat. One 
 good turn deferves another." Accordingly, 
 both went to work, during which, a thoufand 
 ruflic repartees, and fallies of uncultivated wit, 
 which made up in harmleflhefs, what they 
 wanted in brilliancy, pafled in rebound j but 
 E 2 the
 
 52 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 the jet of the joke, lay in a ftruggle, that hap- 
 pened between them, in the progrefs of their 
 bufmefs ; the brother declaring, his fitter was a 
 bungler; whereupon, there arofe a pleafant 
 contention, which was of ferious confequence 
 to the breeches ; for they were torn in twain, 
 and, furthermore, fo rent as to be unfit for 
 either father or fon : this, though no trifling 
 lofs to a family under fuch circumftances, 
 made the jeft fo much the better, that the fa- 
 ther forgave the misfortune, for the fake of the 
 pleafant manner, with which it was brought 
 about, alluring me, that there was more wit in 
 that girl, who had torn the breeches, and more 
 flynefs in the young dog, that was laughing at 
 it, than I could believe. The mother Ihook 
 her head, faying, they were always at fome 
 mifchief, and would be the ruin of the family; 
 but patted the girl on the cheek, and clapped 
 the boy on the back, while me pafled the cen- 
 fure on them. Thus does the tendernefs of 
 nature adminifter equivalents, for the poverty 
 of her meaneft offspring. The reft of the fa- 
 mily were no lefs fuccefsful, in mixing amufe- 
 ment with bufinefs : The little ftocking-knitter, 
 was telling to the bread maker, a flory of the 
 lights being feen, and the groans heard, when 
 there was no perfon to carry the one, or to 
 make the other. A fuperftition, by the bye, 
 
 that
 
 GLEANINGS, &f. $3 
 
 that is interefting to children of a larger growth, 
 than thofe who were then liftening to it; of 
 which in its place. The little cradle-rocker, 
 was finging a lullaby to the fuckling, which 
 was hugging an half ftarved kitten in its arms. 
 Find me a family, at once fo happy and numer- 
 ous, my friend. When the innkeeper was 
 gone, I fat down in the (having chair, and 
 from that day, have never ceafed to wifh, there 
 was at leaft, one female barber in every town I 
 patted through. This, however, with another 
 at Mahuntleth, were the only ones, I ever met 
 with, in my life, and both of them beat the men 
 at a beard, all to nothing. 
 
 I truft, that you, who, I know, are delighted 
 with the fight of <c happy human faces," 
 wherever they can be feen, will not be dif- 
 pleafed at my having taken you into this 
 humble abode. It may ferve to mew you, as a 
 fpecimen, the chearful and inceflant labours of 
 the induftrious poor; for, there are very many 
 of this defcription in Wales; and they are the 
 more meritorious, as, though there is infinite 
 poverty, there is fcarcely any appearance of it, 
 in the whole principality ; it being a general, 
 almoft an univerfal, principle of the rich, to' 
 take care of the poor a principle, which like 
 every other good, is often abufed. For the 
 E 3 number
 
 54 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 number of common beggars, throughout every 
 part of Wales, is aftoni filing: they come in 
 tattered tribes to your doors, from which they 
 never go away, if they have no worfe faults than 
 idlenefs and indigence, without being relieved. 
 It would even be thought impious to refufe 
 them. Profiting hereby, there are whole fa- 
 milies, who fubfift folely on the charity of their 
 better fupplied neighbours. The begging 
 brotherhood of Saint Francis, are not more 
 vagrant, nor more fuccefsful in their mendi- 
 catory pilgrimages : and it is not uncommon 
 for the parents, who happen to have fome 
 compunction, onthefcore of afking alms, while 
 they are able to procure the means of life by 
 their labour, to fend out their children to fhift 
 as they can, while they themfelves are at work : 
 preferring this cafual, and difgraceful, mode of 
 fubfiftence for their children, to the honeft in- 
 duftry, by which they procure their own main- 
 tenance. There is, however, as you may fup- 
 pofe, a material difference, even in the poverty 
 of the induftrious, and that of the idle; the 
 former, as in the example of the barber of Bar- 
 mouth, covering the moulders of his family, 
 with remnayts t which, although 
 
 " Coarfely patch' d with different colour'd rags, 
 " Green, red, blue, white, yellow," 
 
 certainly
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. $$ 
 
 certainlyfpeak " variety of induftry,*' \vhilc the 
 latter, though they are neither afhamed to beg, 
 nor fteal, and of courfe get their cloaths, with 
 much Jefs trouble, fuffer them to get into 
 'tatters, merely becaufe they are too lazy to 
 mend them, before they are irreparable. My 
 friend, the barber, indeed, valued himfelf on 
 his true Britim blood, very ferioufly averting, 
 that notwithftanding his prefent condition, he 
 was the firft of his family, that had ever 
 gained his bread, by the fweat of the brow, and 
 that his father facrificed the eflate, which 
 ought to have defcended to his pofterity, to an 
 act of generofity to the unfortunate Prince^ 
 meaning the Pretender, who, he added, point- 
 ing to an almoft worn out print of him, that 
 hung on the wall, was more obliged to his 
 father, and better deferved it, than he dared tell 
 me. Not, continued he, but I am a true 
 friend, and loyal fubject, to his Majefty King 
 George'; but that poor Prince again pointing 
 to the print was a difappointcd out-caft man, 
 wandering up and down this country, and I 
 am proud that my father opened his door to 
 him, though he let out, at the fame time, what 
 pluckt up the hopes of his family by the roots. 
 Hereby, hangs a forrowful tale, matter, faid 
 he, fighing, but it is of no ufc to trouble you 
 with it: and as for me, it is but doing fome- 
 E 4 thing,
 
 f6 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 thing, inftead of nothing, for my living, which 
 is all the difference you know, Sir, betwixt a 
 poor man and a gentleman ; fo work away, my 
 lads and lafTes, work away old Dame Partlet 
 for, as the fbng fays, 
 
 " The world is a well-furnifti'd table 
 " Where guefts are promifcuoufly fet." 
 
 fung the mother of the family, continuing 
 the tune, 
 
 We all fare as well as we are able." 
 carolled the eldeft daughter, who had really a 
 fine voice. 
 
 *' And fcramble for what we can get." 
 chorus, boys and girls, chorus. Here the reft 
 of the labourers took up the burthen, and the 
 " long loud laugh" fucceeded, which not 
 only " fpoke the vacant," but the happy foul. 
 I joined in it, with all my heart, and refolved 
 to recommend as many cuftomers, as I could, 
 to the independent cottagers. And, I hereby 
 beg they may be had in remembrance, when- 
 ever either you, or your friends emigrate to 
 this part of the world, and fhould want either 
 nets; {having, in the eafieft manner; home- 
 fpun ribbons ; home-knit ftockings ; petti- 
 coats repaired ; or breeches deftroyed. Adieu. 
 
 LETTIR
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 57 
 
 LETT EH VJI.. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 South Wale,. 
 
 I HAVE now refumed my fouthern 
 route, and write to you from Abereftwith, in 
 my way to which I met with another little cot- 
 tage enterprife that is fo defcriptive of that 
 happinefs, in the mod lowly ftations of life, of 
 which people in the affluent or even the middle 
 ranks of this variegated world have no manner 
 of idea, that I cannot but imagine a relation 
 of it will be welcome to you> whom I know to 
 delight in viewing all lides of the human pic- 
 ture, particularly fuch as reprefent any part of 
 the happinefs of human beings. 
 
 You are yet to le.arn that I performed, and 
 am ftill performing, this Cambrian expedition 
 upon the back of my old faithful fteed, now in 
 the twenty- fourth year of his age : a creature 
 the beft calculated of all others for the purpofes 
 of a deliberate and refidentiary traveller, hav- 
 ing every difpofition in the world to allow his 
 mafter time for obfervation and reflection. 
 His character is very truly given in the words 
 of the good old axiom " (low and fure." His 
 own hiftory is fufficiently interefting and event- 
 ful to find a place in a heart like your's ; and, 
 i in
 
 58 CLEANINGS, &. 
 
 in abridgement, I will here give it you. The 
 whole life of this poor flave, till within the 
 two laft years, has been a continued trial of 
 ftrength, labour, and patience. He was broken 
 to the bit by a Yorkfhire jockey, to be rode, 
 the moment he was fit for fervice, by an Oxo- 
 nian fcholar, who, whatever might have been 
 his learning in the abftrufer fciences, was little 
 converfant in the rudiments of humanity, 
 though they are level with the loweft under- 
 flanding, and founded on the tender code of 
 that great Lawgiver, who has told us " a juft 
 " man is merciful to his beaft." During the 
 very firft vacation, this fprightly youth fo com- 
 pletely outrode the ftrength of his fteed, that 
 he fold him, on the fame day that he regained 
 his college, at the recommencement of the 
 term, for two guineas, to one of thofe perfons 
 who keep livery ftables, and at the fame time 
 have horfes to let. It was not eafily poffible 
 for a poor wretch, fo badly fituated before, to 
 change fo much for the worfe : and of all the 
 fates that attend a hackney horfe, that which 
 belongs to the drudge of a public university is 
 the mod fevere : it is even harder than that of 
 the fervitors of the college. He remained in 
 this fervitude, however, fixteen years, during 
 which he was a thoufand times not only prieft- 
 rldden, but parifh ridden, and yet was rarely 
 
 known
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 59 
 
 known to ftumblc, and never to fall. Is it not 
 queftionable whethec half the parifhioners, or 
 even the priefts (wuh reverence be it fpoken) 
 could fay as much for their own travels in the 
 rugged journey of life? His mafter, rather from 
 policy than companion, thought it moft for his 
 future intereft to allow his four-footed fervant a 
 fhort refpite, and he was accordingly favoured 
 with a month's run in what is called a fait marfh ; 
 but, before his furlow was expired, he was 
 borrowed by fome fmugglers, who then infefled 
 the coaft, and who made him the receiver of 
 contraband commodities, as well as aider and 
 abetter in practices, which, like many other 
 underhand actions, are bed carried on in the 
 night time. I fay borrowed^ becaufe after a 
 winter's hard work in the company of thefe 
 land-pirates, the horfe was thrown up by his 
 temporary employers in the very marfh out of 
 which he had been prefled into their fervice, 
 and a leathern label, on which was marked 
 this facetious intelligence, fattened to his fet- 
 lock Owner y I have been Jmuggled. By thefe 
 means he unexpectedly came again into his 
 quondam matter's pofTeflion, out of which, 
 however, he departed, the fummer after in the 
 focicty of an old fellow commoner, who, after 
 many years clofe confinement in the cloifters, 
 was difpofed to relinquifh them in favour of a 
 
 piece
 
 60 G LEAWIK GS, &C. 
 
 piece of church preferment in Norfolk, which 
 happened to be in the giP: of a lady about his 
 own Handing in life, and who in the days of 
 her youth avowed fo ftrong a partiality for this 
 gentleman, that her father, difapproving her 
 alliance with a perfon who had only the hopes 
 of a curacy before his eyes, thought fit to clog 
 her inheritance, over which he had complete 
 authority, with a formidable condition of for- 
 feiting the whole eftates, mould me marry a 
 fon of the church : (hutting out, hereby, the 
 whole body of divinity to exclude the aforefaid 
 individual member. Faithful, however, to the 
 merits of the man who had won her heart, me 
 was glad to find that the parental tyranny 
 which had tied her hand, had left free her for- 
 tune ; fhe, therefore, took the firft opportunity 
 to prefent the object of her early choice with 
 the only piece of fervice in her power a pre- 
 fentation to the living of which (he was become 
 the patronefs, thinking this a better evidence 
 of her ftill exifting partiality, than if fhe had 
 fet fortune at defiance, and facrificed not only 
 her own advantages but her lover's, to gratify- 
 ing a paflion which would have impoverished 
 both. An example olf tendernefs, this, well 
 worthy the imitation of more romantic minds. 
 It was to be inducted to this living our learned 
 clerk now journeyed on the ancient Heed 
 
 whofe
 
 CLEAVINGS, ?r. [ 
 
 whofe memoirs I am now writing, and as he 
 did not intend to rcvifit the banks of His, and 
 had often been fecurely carried to a neighbour- 
 ing chapel, where he officiated, on the back of 
 this identical horfe, he purchafed him to the 
 intent that he mould get into a good living 
 alfo. But the turbulent part of this poor 
 brute's adventures was not yet performed. His 
 patron died without himfelf deriving what 
 might have been expected from his benefice ; 
 and foon after the deceafe of the mafter, the 
 fervant fell into the hands of a man in the 
 fame parifh, who, to a variety of other endea r 
 vours to fubfifl: a large and needy family, added 
 that of letting out occafionally a horfe. Our 
 hero, ftill unbroken in either knees or confti- 
 tution, was deemed fit for his purpofe, and 
 being thought of little value, was obtained 
 at an eafy price. His new mafter removed 
 foon after to Loweftoft, which you know is a 
 coniiderable fea-bathing town, in the county 
 of Suffolk, where the toils impofed by his 
 Oxford tyrant were more than accumulated ; 
 for, befides dragging a cart all the morning 
 with loads of bread (a baker being amongft 
 the bufinefles of his mafter,) he was, on ac- 
 count of his gentle difpolition, the horfe fixed 
 upon to take a couple of gouty invalids in the 
 bathing machine, after the more vigorous divers 
 VOL. i. E 7 and
 
 } CLEANINGS, C. 
 
 and dippers had finifhed their ablution*. In 
 the afternoon he was harneffed to the London 
 poft-ccach, which daily paft from Loweftoft to 
 Yarmouth. The next morning by day-break 
 he came with the return of the faid coach, and 
 was then ready for the 'diurnal rotation at home, 
 unlefs a more profitable offer happened to take 
 him another way. Four years of his life were 
 patted in this miferable round of labours, and 
 it was at this period of his hiftory he and I be- 
 came acquainted. I was then on a vifit to one 
 of the * bed fcholars and men in the world $ 
 and being in want of a little horfe exercife, 
 my friend mentioned to me this poor but ho- 
 heft flave, recounting to me, at the fame time, 
 w r hat I have now dilated of his ftory : adding,, 
 that he did not exactly know in what condition 
 he might be,- at that time, but that he could 
 anfwer for what was left of him to be good ; 
 which is much more than can fairly be faid of 
 a third of thofe who are nearly worn out \t\ 
 the bufmcfs of the world. 
 
 My affections were engaged, and I was pre- 
 determined to make a prefent to them of this 
 horfe, for a fight of which I immediately fent 
 my fervant ; but when he was led to the doof 
 pf my friend's houfe, and though my refolution 
 
 * The venerable tranflator of Sophocles, Efchylus, and 
 Euripides. 
 
 t o
 
 GLEANINGS, 6?f. 6j 
 
 to mark him for my own grew firmer as I 
 gaxed upon his pity-moving carcafe, I totally 
 gave up all ideas of his utility. The owner 
 himfelf, confefled he was almoft done up, at 
 which thought a long Ugh enfued, and a con^ 
 feflion that he had been the chief fupport of 
 the family, obferving, while he patted his neck, 
 that the poor fellow might be faid not only 
 to carry his children's bread to be fold, but 
 to make it. But it's all over with you now, my 
 old boy continued the baker you may get 
 me through the autumn, mayhap, and then 
 What then, faid I ? He muft hobble away 
 to the kennel To the kennel ? Even fo, maf- 
 ter What muft be, muft be : I can't afford to 
 let him die by inches ; and if I could, I don't 
 fee the humanity of that : better give him to 
 the dogs while they can make a meal of him, 
 and pay me a fmall matter for their enter- 
 tainment. He will, however, carry your ho- 
 nour this month to come creditably. 
 
 Predetermined as I faid to fpare the remains 
 of this poor wretch, I bought him on the fpot, 
 convinced that it would be difficult to find any 
 other perfon who would receive him on any 
 terms. His appearance was fuch as would 
 have juftified Rolinante in refufing his ac- 
 quaintance on the etiquette of comparative 
 poverty. The affociation would have difgraced 
 
 that
 
 64 GLEANING*, &V. 
 
 that celebrated fpedre ; nor did Quixote himfelf 
 exhibit Ib woeful, a countenance. If ever, 
 therefore, I could boaftofan action purelydif- 
 interefted, and Which had unalloyed compaf- 
 fton for its bafis, it was the giving five times 
 more than 'he was worth, that is to fay, five 
 guineas, for this old horfe ; intending only, at 
 the time, that he mould pafs the refidue of his 
 days in peaceful indolence, broke in upon by 
 the infirmities of life, and die a natural death. 
 To this end I obtained him the run of a friend's 
 park, where I conlidered him as a refpedlable 
 veteran retired on a penfion. In this verdant 
 hofpital he remained, unfought, unfeen, a whole 
 year ,- at the end of which, being invited to 
 pafs the Chriftmas with the noble and ge- 
 nerous owners of the park aforefaid, I paid 
 a vifit alfo to my penfioner, xvho had grown 
 fo much beyond himfelf on their unmea- 
 fured bounty, that he feemed to be reno- 
 vated. Do not wonder that I fcarce knew him 
 in his improvements, for he appeared not to 
 know himfelf. The poor fellow's very cha- 
 racter was inverted ; the alteration reached 
 from head to heel : he neighed, fnorted, kick- 
 ed, and frolicked, about tne pafture, on my 
 firft attempt to ftop him, with the airs of a 
 filly-foal. I reminded him that he ought to 
 deport more humbly, confidering the melan- 
 choly
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 6 j 
 
 choly fituation, from which lie was but re- 
 cently delivered ; yet fo far from paying any 
 attention, he turned from my morality with 
 another fnort of difdain, tofled up his faucy 
 head, and threw up his heels, wholly forget- 
 ting, like other ingrates, his former condition. 
 Like them too he appeared to confider the 
 world now made for him ; and, therefore, be- 
 twixt jeft and earner!, I was refolved once 
 more to (hew him he was made for the world. 
 
 The very next day I caufed him to be taken 
 from his green recefs, and performed the tour 
 of the environs on his back. More airily, 
 more pleafantly, I could not have been carried, 
 nor, towards the end of the ride, more foberly. 
 The fpirit which he mewed in the paftures 
 was but as the levities of a hearty and happy 
 old age in the plenitude of uncurbed leifure ; 
 like the gaiety of a veteran, who, finding him- 
 felf in health; might, take it into his head to 
 finim in a country dance ; but thefe are fallies 
 for a moment. Ah ! my friend, how many 
 poor ftarving wretches, worn down by their 
 cruel tafk-mafters, goaded like this horfe by 
 the " whips and fpurs of the time," and driven 
 out of one hard fervice to another, might, like 
 him, be refcued, in the extremity, at fmall ex- 
 pence, and by the hand of bounty be pro- 
 
 VOL. i. F tected
 
 66 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 tedted from farther rigours ! even till they were 
 renewed for a ferviceable, inftcad of a difeafed, 
 old age ! How many half-famifhed, hard-rid- 
 den creatures of the human race, I fay, might, 
 in like manner, be replenilhed. Rcjed: not 
 this long flory this epifode this heroi-comi- 
 cpic if you pleafe but I cannot allow you to 
 call it a digreflion. You will admit it to be 
 in point when you are given to underftand, 
 that on this very horfe, thus reftored by a little 
 indulgence, I have meafured a thoufand miles, 
 and find my aiTociate in fufficient heart to 
 meafure a thoufand more. On the four~and- 
 twentieth year of his age we fallied forth ; and 
 if the mailer had in courfe of his travels made 
 as few trips, as few falfe fteps, as the fervant, 
 ,he might be a match for the fafeft goer on the 
 
 road of life. 
 
 ', 
 
 Should this correfpondence reach the pro- 
 vfefiional critics, think you that I .fhould * { fcape 
 calumny" for taking up fo much of their time 
 about an old horfe ? And why mould 1 not pay 
 an old, faithful, companion, to whom I owe 
 much health, much happineis, this grateful ef- 
 fuiion. If the Roiinante of Cervantes had 
 more wit, the cat of Montaigne more wifdom, 
 ^nd the afs of Yorick more fcntiment, none of 
 them could be better qualified, as I before told 
 
 you,
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 6~J 
 
 yfcu, for a deliberate traveller. He was in 
 (hort ; nay he is, being at this very minute at 
 feed before me the horfe in the world for a 
 Gleaner. A month's clofe connexion and con- 
 verfe, with each other, before I fet out on this 
 tour, in little experimental excurflons, gave 
 him fuch an infight into my habits, that we 
 perfectly underftood one another by the time 
 we fet out on our northern, expedition. He 
 follows me when I wilh to be a foot, waits for 
 me, at a gate or hedge, (without tying) when 
 I imagine there is any thing Glean-worthy, out 
 of the main road; and when, as is my cuftom, 
 I fit down to make minutes of my obfervations, 
 or luxuriate on the fcenery around me, al- 
 though he has never difcovered any remarkable 
 relifh for thefc fort of banquets, he contents 
 himfelf with picking a dinner from the grafs 
 on the road fide, or, if this agrement is want- 
 ing, he takes a comfortable nap as he ftands, 
 and leaves me to my reflections : after which, 
 though often roufed fuddcnly, he wakes in 
 the fvveeteft temper in the world, and is per- 
 haps the only companion a traveller of my 
 difpofition could go a long journey with, and 
 not be extremely complained of: I have fome- 
 times fet out at early dawn with the intention 
 of travelling, even in my fauntejing way, at 
 leaft twenty miles, but the beauty of the day, 
 F 2 the
 
 68 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 the abundance of the objects, and a frame, of 
 mind to enjoy them, has with difficulty per- 
 mitted me to reach the firft village, town, or 
 cottagefor I flop any where, and am at home 
 every where. Where is the man or woman 
 who would find this fupportable? Where it 
 even the bead who would not think it a little 
 troublefome ? I never, however, faw my poor 
 old fellow even look as if he had lefs patience 
 or philofophy than myfelf. And fliall not fuch 
 a horfe, for once in my life, be made the 
 chief fubjecl: of a letter ? How many worfe 
 topics have filled folios ? Forgive me, my 
 friend. I would not build a palace for him 
 were I as rich as Caligula, but I would, under 
 your aufpices, dedicate to him this part of my 
 prefent epiftle, alluring you, if in my corref- 
 pondence, you find any fpirit, novelty, fport, 
 or information, as you flatter me you do, the 
 meek pliability of this aged thing had his fhare 
 in producing it. As to the critics, mould I 
 come under their lafh for the trefpafs, I mail 
 only beg them, as they value their own hobby- 
 horfes, and love to praife them, to boaft h&w 
 well they carry, and how much fafer and bet- 
 ter they go through this dirty world than their 
 neighbours, to bear, this once, with the hiftory 
 of mine. But I promifed you another cottage 
 
 adventure.
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 6p 
 
 adventure, which this hiftory has thus long 
 poftponed. You mall have it now. 
 
 In effect, it was a reflexion on the grotefque 
 fituation, to which both man and horfe were, 
 reduced, that brought upon you this curious 
 morfel of equeftrian biography. I fct off from 
 a lone houfe, on a fandy heath, very properly 
 called the barren ifiand, about a mile on the 
 Abereftdwith fide of Aberavon, where I had 
 pafled a ftormy night, rendered yet more 
 troublous by there being every hour brought 
 to the Ferry-Houfe, the dead bodies of fifher- 
 mcn, who had perifhed in a tempeft, which a 
 few nights before had wrecked a number of 
 velTels on the coaft of Wales. It was the fea- 
 fon of the herring fifhery, in pfogrefs of which 
 there are many misfortunes of this fort, and 
 of other kinds ; for a bad feafon, or which is 
 tantamount, bad luck, will ruin a whole family, 
 fometimes a whole village, the fole dependence 
 of which are the herrings, the flaple commodity 
 of the inhabitants. At the time of my quitting 
 the barren ifiand the clouds made the faireft 
 promifes, and a beautiful rainbow (Iretched its 
 arch acrofs the heavens to confirm them, but I 
 had not gone a league, before all thefe fair 
 promifes were broken, and I was drenched to 
 VOL, r. F 3 the
 
 /O GLEANINGS, ($. 
 
 the fldn, notwithstanding my horfe did the 
 beft in his power, for both our fakes, to pre- 
 vent it. 
 
 We took fheltcr at a moft miferajble looking 
 hut, at the lide of the heath, and accepted 
 the protection it offered, with as entire good 
 will, as if it had been an eaftern palace. My 
 horfe was obliged to crawl into a kind of out- 
 houfe, where a fwine driver and his pigs had 
 the inftant before taken refuge, and, while I was 
 reconciling my fleed to this fociety, a Jew 
 pedlar and his pack, and another traveller 
 with his dog, crouded in. Neceflity, as 
 Shakfpeare fays, brings one acquainted with 
 itrange company : not that thefe are the words 
 of that immortal Bard, and of courfe my 
 memory has injured even the fentiment : but 
 you, who have literally hi* works by heart, can 
 do him juftice. 
 
 A being, fcarcely human in appearance, 
 invited me to enter the hut. I enter'd. 
 Its inhabitants -How mall I defcribe them ? 
 Fancy fomcthing, which affembles the ex- 
 tremes of filth, penury, health and felicity^ 
 perfonify thefe amongft men, women, and 
 children give to each of ihem forms and 
 features, which confer a fort of grace and 
 
 bcautr,
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 7 1 
 
 beauty, on the houfehold of the barber 'of Bar- 
 mouth by comparifon. Put all this filth, pe- 
 nury, health, and felicity into motion j and 
 having formed your groupe, imagine that you 
 fee it unmod, unftockinged, uncapped, and 
 nearly unpetticoated and unbreeched. Young 
 and old were bulled . in counting the fineft 
 and fremeit herrings I ever favv, that inftant 
 brought in from the fiming-boat. The father 
 of the family, to whom the boat belonged, de- 
 clared he had never had fo profperous a voy- 
 age ; and, though he was almoft blown away, 
 he would hazard twice as much danger for 
 fuch another drag : look what a fize they are 
 of, and how they mine, my boys and girls 
 i'faith, they feem'd plaguily afraid of the hur- 
 ricane, and came in ihoals to the nets as if 
 they took fheher in them little thinking, poor 
 fools, that this was a jump from the water to 
 the fire ; and now I talk of that, here put half 
 a dozen of them into the pan, tor 1 am deuced 
 hungry, and mayhap this gentleman may be 
 fo too ; and if fo be that he is, he mall be as 
 welcome to a frem herring and a brown bifcirit 
 as myfelf. What fay you, .-my heart of oak, 
 continued he, clapping me as familiarly on the 
 ihoulder as if I had been his meffinate, and 
 indeed treating me as hofpitably as if I had 
 been fo, and we had both efcaped from a 
 F 4 wreck
 
 72 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 wreck to his cabin. Perceiving my dripping 
 fituation, he faid, " Come fhipmate, doff your 
 jacket, put on this rug, come to an anchor in 
 that corner, warm your mivering timbers with 
 l drop of this dear creature, which will make a 
 dead fifh fpeak like an orator there another 
 fwig don't be afraid of it one more and 
 now you will do while your rigging and can- 
 vafs are drying. 
 
 All this time, mine hoft of the hovel flood 
 in his fea-drench'd apparel, on my reminding him 
 of which, he cried out fmilingly, Ah ! you are 
 a frefh-water failor, I perceive, and would take 
 a deal of feafoning, before you were good for 
 any thing ; but for me, all winds and weathers 
 are alike to old Jack, while I can get good fiih 
 abroad, and good flefh at home,- fo fry away 
 Molly, for the wet has made me as hungry as a 
 {hark, and though I have drank like a whale, I 
 ihall now eat like a lion and I hope, you will 
 do the fame, melT-mate. By this time, mine 
 hoftefs fet before us our difh of herrings, 
 which, with oatmeal cakes, potatoes, and but- 
 termilk, furnifhed one of the heartieft dinners 
 I ever ate ; after which, the failor made me 
 partaker of a can of flip fung a fong, about 
 the dangers, and hardfhips of the fea-faring 
 life; and made me take notice, that he was 
 
 the
 
 CLEANINGS, &V. 73 
 
 the happy father of a cabin full of children, 
 that I might fee another was upon the flocks ; 
 and that if it pleafed God, to fend him a 
 dozen fuch pieces of good fortune every year, 
 for a dozen feafons, he fhould be as able, as 
 he was willing, to procure a fnug birth for 
 every one; and meantime, matter, we will 
 have another fip of grog, to drink fuccefs to 
 the herring fifhery. 
 
 Our regale was interrupted by the fudden 
 exclamations from without doors, of " She's 
 " loft, flic's loft fhe can't weather it fhe 
 '* muft go to the bottom there is not water 
 " enough for her to come in, and the wind 
 " blows like the devil in her teeth fhe's 
 ' finking the next fea will finifh her." All 
 the cottagers ran to the beach, which was 
 within a few paces. I followed inftinftively. 
 The hurricane was again renewed, the feas 
 ran mountain high, and a fmall coafting vefTel 
 was ftruggling with them. In a few minutes 
 the ftrand was covered with fpe&ators, but not 
 idle ones. The whole of the villagers hurried 
 to give afliftance. Amongft the croud, I dif- 
 covered both the pig driver, and the pedlar, 
 whofe fituation, I had begun to relate to my 
 kind hearted hoft : but the moft afliduous, of 
 the whole -multitude, was a young woman, who 
 
 while
 
 74- GLEANING S, 5f#P 
 
 while the tears ran down her cheeks, was 
 amidft the firft to leap into a fmall boat, which 
 had been anchored on the beach, and in which, 
 the matter of our cottage and three others, re- 
 folved to truft themfrtves, to offer fuch aflift- 
 ance as was "-> chcir power. The wind did 
 not abate of its fury, but fruited a few points 
 'more in-fbore,- this, perhaps, in -a 'Veffel of 
 greater burthen, might have been fata!; but 
 was, in fome fort, favourable to the little bark 
 In diftrcfs. She had, by tacking, gained a' fla- 
 tfon parallel to a part of the harbour, where 
 fne might run afhore, which me did, at length, 
 without much damage : and the only thing 
 now to be apprehended, was the lofs of the 
 boat, "that had gone out to her fuccour. The 
 people- -on board the veffel, were almoft in-' 
 fhmtFy-on land, and one of them being fhewn 
 the 'boat, and told, at the fume time, that me 
 went out to the relief of the crew, was amongft 
 the moft active to throw our a rope, and try to 
 return the favour intended him in kind. The 
 fame ; 'circumflanc^ however, which brought 
 in the veffel, prdfently befriended the boat, 
 who venturing to fee her fail, was, after a few 
 defpcrate rolls, impelled over the billows, and 
 driven,: as it were, headlong on fhore : but not 
 "before the fuilor, who had been handing out 
 th rope, perceived the female in the boat, 
 
 on
 
 GLEANINGS, GV. ^5 
 
 en which he threw himfelf to the ground, in 
 the eagernefs of catching her in his arms. You 
 already feel they were lovers z they were more. 
 The bands of matrimony had united them the 
 week before. The very fifhing boat, which 
 was now driven on more, was the mutual pro- 
 perty of the two fathers, who had agreed to 
 give up each his (hare, to their fon and 
 daughter, as the wedding portion: two of the 
 men in the little flciff were the fathers i the 
 profits of the herring feafon, were to be the 
 childrens fortune. How thin are the bounds 
 that feparate the extremes of happinefs, from 
 the exceffes of mifery. The former, however, 
 were now realized : the veflel brought in a 
 good freight, the fathers wer6 faved, and the 
 children were happy. They all refided, and 
 v/ere, indeed, natives of the village, but mine 
 hoft, whofe houfe was neareft to the place of 
 Janding, and had a heart fufficiently expanded 
 to fill a palace with people that ftood in need 
 of hofpitality, infifted, that as foon as the 
 Little Sally and Jack, which, it feems, was the 
 name of the filhing-boat, could be left for half 
 an hour, they Ihould pafs it with him : this 
 being agreed to, all hands went to work upon 
 the Little Sally and Jack, and if I had not 
 been apprehenfive that my ignorance in what 
 Y.*as to be done, would rather have confufed 
 3 than
 
 ~6 G LEANINGS, &V. 
 
 than aflifted, my poor aid ihould not have 
 with-heJd. Matters being -put to rights, and 
 kfs mifchief done than might have been ex- 
 $)t&ed, the company fet off for the hut of my 
 generous hoft> who took a hand of each of the 
 married lovers, walking between them, and 
 told them, he hoped, that as they had fo well 
 fefcaped Davy's Locker this time, they would 
 ttfmble in a hammock together thefe fifty 
 ytrs. A frefti fupply of Mi, was immediately 
 ordered into the pan, my landlord, fwearing a 
 terrible oath that on this occafion, (for there 
 was -a ftricl: friendfhip between him and the 
 parties preferved) the old faying Ihould be 
 verified, as to their fwimming thrice : accord- 
 ingly> for their fecond ocean, it was deter- 
 mined that the bowl, which, fome years before, 
 had commemorated an efcape from a Ihip- 
 <wreck in his own fortunes, mould now be 
 filled to the brim, to celebrate the fuccefs of 
 the Little Sally and Jack. I was preffed to 
 (lay and take my mare, on pain of being 
 deemed too proud to be happy, amongft poor 
 people, and on obferving, that my fteed all 
 this time was in a ftate, which reproached 
 me for faring fo fumptuoufly, he ilarted up, 
 declaring, that though he could not ride, he 
 loved a horfe next to a man, and that if mine 
 would put up with a mefs of bran, inflead 
 
 of
 
 GL,EANIN'OS, &?f. 77 
 
 of hay, of which he had none, and a draught 
 of ale, inftead of water, he mould be as wel- 
 come as his own foul. I took him at his 
 word, and (laid to witnefs and join in the 
 feftivities, till there was juft enough of the 
 evening left to reach Aberefldwith. I would 
 have offered a fmall token of acknowledgment, 
 for what I had received, but that I faw a tre- 
 mendous frown gathering on the brow of my 
 hod, and an oath quivering on his lip, which 
 frightened me from my defign, and made me 
 only take his hand, with an aflurance, that I 
 would never pafs his houfe without flopping, to 
 fee if all was well, on board, and how the her* 
 ring fimery fucceeded. This fo pleafed him, 
 that he made the bowl go around to my health, 
 and wifhing another gale of wind would blow 
 me into his hovel, as often as I fliould. come 
 along fide of it; then led out my horfe, held 
 my flirrup while I mounted, and huzza'd 
 me in three hearty cheers, till I was out qf 
 fight. 
 
 My dear friend, how fallacious, how con- 
 tracted, are our judgments on that part of 
 human nature, which we have not had oppor- 
 tunities of feeing, and which, therefore, we toe; 
 often fuppofe does not exift. We lay much of 
 what are called, the courtefies, civilities, and 
 
 interesting
 
 J8 GLEANINGS, &f. 
 
 interefting humanities, to the account 6f edit* 
 cation : we conceive, that to enlarge the human 
 heart, we mould refine it : in fhorr, we are ex- 
 tremely apt to circumfcribe elevated action, tb 
 elevated life; or at bed, to confider the nobler 
 effufions, when they proceed from low born, 
 and uncultured men, as exceptions to a ge- 
 neral fordidnefs, and vulgar way of feeling^ as 
 well as thinking. You will not fufpecft me of 
 an overfondnefs, for what is termed low com- 
 pany : the error of my life, perhaps, is to 
 have pall too much of it in the fociety of what 
 is called high company ; for what, commonly 
 fpeaking, does it mew us, but the fmooth fhil- 
 lings, that Sterne has fo finely defcribed, as 
 rubbing out all character and impreflion, in 
 the act of polifhing ? I love, however, to mix 
 with, and as it were^blend myfelf, in ail ranks 
 and orders of men to fee, converfe with, and 
 weave myfelf into their moil familiar habi- 
 tudes ; and as I never yet could bring any 
 other perfon exactly into the fame way of 
 thinking, I have purfued this inclination for 
 the mod part alone \ till, by long ufage, folitary 
 travelling, though I truft you will allow me to 
 be of a focial difpofition, is become agree- 
 able to me. And fuffer me to fay, that I 
 think I have derived from this very fingularity, 
 a more thorough infight into nature, the hearts 
 
 and
 
 G L E AN! N O S, &C. J^ 
 
 and manners of human kind, than if I had 
 gone the grand four, in what is denominated 
 the left company. By means of my humbler, 
 but lefs encumbered, mode of travelling, I am 
 as free to obferve what is pafiing, as the birds 
 that fly over my head : like them, I (lop to 
 amufe myfelf with a fong, regale rhyfdf with 
 gleaning what I feel to be folid food, but 
 .which grew up in places, where another tra- 
 veller Would not go to look for it: like them, 
 I enjoy the blazing hearth, and partake the 
 crumbs of the peafant, or paufe to obferve 
 upon the magnificence, and luxuries of the 
 prince. I pafs in rapid tranfitions, from one 
 to the other. In a circuitous way, revifit the 
 places I have left, renew my acquaintance with 
 particular perfons and places, glean the charac- 
 ters, and hearts, of the poor and the rich, break 
 in upon them unawares, open the path, by no 
 former notices, which gives folks time, to put 
 on the malk of .the world, and receive me in 
 difguife. I love to take them by furprize, and 
 fo difcover my welcome. It delights me, to 
 lift the latch of a cottage, (fuch, for inftance, 
 as I have been defcribing) towards night-fall, 
 and to fee the hearts of the inhabitants fly out 
 fuddenly to greet me. And to treat my 
 friends in higher life, in like manner to fteal 
 into their familiar, family rooms, unexpectedly, 
 
 and
 
 80 CLEANING Sj &C. 
 
 and almoft unfeen; at hours they are moft 
 likely to be gathered together. When a year's 
 abfenceis expefted, it delights me tocilt it ihort; 
 fometimes to cut it in half fometimes, even in 
 quarters. Can there be any thing more pleafant 
 to the traveller, who has, luckily 
 
 " The world before him where to choofe," 
 
 than to fee the countenances of a whole fa- 
 mily, of whatever condition, and of whatever 
 country ; for what points or boundaries of 
 earth or water can fet limits to a temper that 
 cultivates the kind, the good, and the ingeni- 
 ous, wherever it meets them ? to fee, I fay, 
 the countenances of fuch lighten up at your 
 fudden appearance, and each perfon contri- 
 buting to your welcome one offering " the 
 ready chair," another refrefhment, &c. &c. 
 and thus, as I faid, feeling yourfelf at home 
 with the worthy, and hofpitable, in all countries. 
 t proteft to you that I bear a good-will, bor- 
 dering on friendfhip, for even the trees, or 
 hedge-rows, that have formerly afforded me 
 made in fummer, or fhelter, fuch as they had 
 to beftow, in winter, and I do not pafs them 
 bye, in my returns, without a fmile, and fome- 
 times a nod of acknowledgment. 
 
 Am I exhibiting traits of an humourift in 
 sdl this ? Be it fo : if they ferve to keefp me* 
 
 6 in
 
 G LEANINGS, &c. 8 1 
 
 in fpitc of many vexations from the world, in 
 humour with // ; if they open my eyes to the 
 beauties of nature, and my heart to the author 
 of them : if, in the cultivation of new friend- 
 fhips, they help me to forget, or forgive, at 
 leaft, old enmities ; if, in a word,. they enable 
 me to draw both from folitude and fociety 
 thofe fatis factions which, though unfelt or un- 
 known to others, are extremely appreciated 
 by me, would you wifh me to forego them, in 
 complaifance to thofe who think they are right 
 on travellers, and I a mere idler by the way, 
 becaufe we perform our journey the fame 
 fhort journey, alas! withrefpect to human life 
 in a different manner, and with different de- 
 grees of expedition, as well as by different 
 roads ? No. You have too much philofophy, 
 too much toleration, too much affection, about 
 you, not to let every man amufe himfelf, in 
 his travels through life, in his own way; and 
 xvith refpect to myfelf, you would be in friend- 
 fhip with the moft inanimate objects with a 
 clown that opened the door of his hut to me 
 (but for an hour) amidft the Appenines, to 
 lighten the toils of afcending them, or with the 
 fimpleft fhrubs that faved me, but a minute, 
 from the " pitilefs florm" in the deferts of 
 Arabia. 
 
 VOL. I. G In
 
 S2 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 In return, every thing that contributes to 
 your eafe, comfort, or happinefs, is interefting 
 to your friend ; and were you to tell me, that 
 a poor fparrow that fat on your houfe-top gave 
 you pleafure to have him amongft your domef- 
 tics, I muft mourn the fate which fhould 
 bring that fparrow to the ground. 
 
 How have I been feduced intothefe delinea- 
 tions of myfelf? I know not. But, I remember, 
 that they grew out of an apology I was mak- 
 ing for flopping fo frequently on the road, 
 going backwards and forwards fo irregu- 
 larly, and vindicating the humble companions 
 amongft whom I every now and then throw 
 myfelf. 
 
 In the courfe of our correfpondence you 
 have had reafon, I truft, to approve of the 
 paufes I have made in the molt lowly dwel- 
 lings. At the laft refting place, for example, 
 did I not bring you acquainted with a fet of 
 as humane, open-hearted, fmcere, induftriouSj 
 and innocent creatures, as ever ftruggled, with 
 the winds and waves, for a fubiiftence ? Ex- 
 poled to the mod furious elements, do you noc 
 feel that the gentleft and the beft are mixed 
 up in their compofitions, even while their lives 
 are palled in the rudeft occupations? Do you 
 
 not
 
 GLEANINGS, &t\ 83 
 
 no: fee that the hardeft hands, and the fofteft 
 hearts belong, frequently, to the fame perfons? 
 Is not hofpitality, good faith, good neighbour- 
 hood, and every focial virtue, that would em- 
 blazon a court, fhut into that clay-built hut, I 
 have fo lately left? Are you not in alliance 
 with the whole party? Does not your heart 
 warm to every individual member of it, though 
 you will probably never know them, but by 
 my report ? Does not your attaching fentiment 
 extend, in a manner, to the very vefTel that 
 brought the happy pair again together, and to 
 the adventurous fkifr, that braved the tempeft 
 for her relief? 
 
 Had I not been a deliberate^ if you will have 
 it fo, a fauntering traveller, and of the tem- 
 perament I have pourtrayed, you would have 
 paft your whole life, perhaps, without know- 
 ing there was fuch a groupe in existence, hid, 
 as they are, from high minded obfervers. 
 
 There is a beautiful fentiment, fomewhere 
 in Shenftone's profe volume, which purports, 
 that he never cafts his eye over a fpacious 
 map, but he fancies in fuch and fuch countries 
 are numberlcfs amiable perfons he would like 
 to know, and concludes, with a figh of regret, 
 G 2 that
 
 8 4 GLEANINGS, Cff^ 
 
 that it is impoffible he ever fhould. The 
 traveller of my caft, certainly, ftands a better 
 chance of hitting upon fome of thefe, than 
 he that is in and out of the country, as faft as 
 horfes, or wheels, can carry him, and, of courfe, 
 though he paffes by as many amiable people, 
 as even a generous heart could expect to find, 
 knows as little about them, as thofe wheels, or 
 horfes. Whatever, therefore, you were before, 
 I fet you down from this moment, as a convert 
 to refidentiary travelling: and, moreover, 
 whenever you next examine your map, to trace 
 the wanderings of your correfpondent, you 
 will be pleafed to know, what you certainly 
 did not know before, that upon the fide of a 
 barren heath, at the edge of a roaring fea, be- 
 tween Aberavon and Aberedftwith, there ftands 
 a folitary hut, which would open to diftrefs, 
 as readily as to profperity, and afford its im- 
 partial bounty, to whofoever is in want of it. 
 Ah, that truth would warrant our faying fo 
 much in praife of half the houfes, that have 
 the moft room to fpare, and the beft accom- 
 modation to beftovv, in the great city-of Lon- 
 don, or any other great city ! but, as Cooper 
 fays, very fvveetly, though, perhaps, a little 
 quaintly, 
 
 *' Cod made the country, and man rr.ade the town." 
 
 Afcer
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. <fl<J 
 
 After all, there are good people every \yherr, 
 if we take the trouble to look for them; and 
 to expert them without trouble, or refearch, 
 in a world like this, is prepofterous. As cities 
 have their virtuous characters, cottages have 
 their villains, and wherever cenfure is general, 
 it is in life, as in literature, perhaps, 
 
 Ten cenfure wrong for one who aSs amifs." 
 
 At lead, the pra&ife of condemning in the 
 lump, and erecting our panegyric on cottages, 
 on the ruins of old threadbare fatire on courts, 
 is my abhorrence. In either ftation, one of 
 your principles would be ajuft object of the 
 love I bear you. Is this a letter, or a volume? 
 Left in looking back, you mould ajk what it 
 is about? I will abruptly end it, by bidding 
 you Adieu. 
 
 fi 3 LETTER
 
 GLEANINGS, &C, 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 Aberedftwith. 
 
 1 RUE, my friend, I plead guilty to 
 your accufation of filence : it has been a whole 
 month fince I laft addreiTed you ; but I under- 
 flood by yours, which came to hand foon after 
 mine was difpatched, that you were in your 
 bed of ficknefs, and that heavy grief, for the 
 lofs of one of the earliefl adopted, and moft 
 dearly loved, of your friends occafioned it. I 
 have the moft rooted diflike to interrupt, or to 
 be interrupted, in the awful duties and inclin- 
 ings of diftrefs onthcfe occalions. It is ufual, 
 I know, to write a very long epiftle of condo- 
 lence, and confolation on fuch cafes : but did 
 not the intention fanctify the practice, I mould 
 pronounce it impertinent, if not impious. It 
 is obtruding upon our forrow in its fabbath. 
 One whom we have long valued, long converfed 
 with, will be feen by us in this world no more; 
 the day that bereaves us, and the days of 
 mourning that fuccced it, mould be kept holy. 
 It mould be hallowed with our tears. Such 
 tears often " do us good," or, at worft, they 
 do us lefs harm, than an unreafonable attempt 
 to wipe them away. And fuch efforts, are al- 
 ways
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. Jy 
 
 ways more or lefs ineffectual : the eloquence of 
 Cicero, cloathing the morality of Seneca, would 
 neither reach our hearts, nor convince our un- 
 derftandings, under the recent impreffions of 
 grief, for the death of a long tried, and long 
 loved friend. The ordinary applications are 
 packs of proverbs, and firings of maxims, 
 which tell us what we know to be true, and 
 impracticable. Had I infultcd you with any of 
 'thefe, I mould have difhonoured both the liv- 
 ing and the dead. I am not to learn, that you 
 have " the virtue to be moved," and, that her 
 you mourn, had a double claim on your ten- 
 der regret her own admirable qualities, and 
 her veneration for yours. 
 
 As there is a point, however, beyond which 
 forrow mould not pafs, fo is there one that 
 mould bound the falutary filence of a friend. 
 That point is, methinks, arrived to you, and 
 to myfelf. Your favour, by the pod of yeftcr- 
 day, convinces me 
 
 " Difcretion hath fo far fought with Nature, 
 " That you with wjeft forrow think on her; 
 " Together with remembrance of yourfelf." 
 
 Your obfervation, that there was a refemblance 
 betwixt me and the deceafcd, in the conftruction 
 of our minds, or, atleaft, in the formation of our 
 tafte, is extremely flattering; particularly, in 
 o 4 an
 
 88 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 an hour like this, when you have been, as it 
 \vere, embalming thequalitics, that moft pleafed 
 you in the latter, with your tears. I remem- 
 ber, you was formerly of this opinion. The 
 difference of our ages made nothing againft 
 the limilitude of our fpirits. The few days I 
 pafTed in the company of this fecond De 
 
 1'Enclos, at your houfe, in the winter of 
 
 were amongft the few that hurried away from 
 life, without feeling one moment too long. 
 Shall we ever forget the enthuiiafm of fympa- 
 thy, that by an involuntary impulfe threw us 
 into each other's embraces, on our difcovery, 
 that we both held long converfations with our- 
 fclves, and as regularly went on with queftion 
 and anfwer, as if we had been in the heat of 
 debate, in a room full of company ? You re- 
 member, likewife, I truft, our fatisfaction on 
 finding, that we had been-both fet down, for 
 people out of their wits, by the 
 
 " Sly, flow things, with circumfpeftive eyes." 
 
 and that we mould both defcend to the grave, 
 with the reputation of haying been diffracted: 
 that is to fay, having had the power of extract- 
 ing fweets, from thofc flowery trifles, which 
 others, who are as pleafed with trifles, not a 
 whit better themfelvcs, reckon amcngft the 
 v.-eeds of life. 
 
 Her
 
 GLEANINGS, &t. 89 
 
 Her journey to the tomb of her grand- 
 mother, from whofe bounty fhe had received 
 many valuable things, and from whofe pious 
 conduct in life, the rich legacy of a virtuous 
 example, is never to quit either your memory, 
 or mine, my dear friend. The diftance be- 
 twixt the fpot where (he herfelf liv'd, and that 
 where her venerable anceftor was buried, the 
 difficulties fhe encountered on the way, and 
 the pleafure of accomplifliing her purpofe, 
 were all circum fiances to intereft her excellent 
 heart: but, how was this pleafure augmented, 
 by the little adventures fhe met with in the 
 village, where the bones of this amiable rela- 
 tive were depofited. Her own eloquent man- 
 ner of relating is neceflary, to -give the portrait 
 of both the caufe and effect, on that occafion. 
 The face and figure, over which, Beauty's great 
 deftroyer, Time, could gain but a partial and 
 imperfect victory, mould be before you, to feel 
 the fulnefs of her happinefs, on her hearing 
 from the whole neighbourhood, who had her in 
 remembrance, a long detail of the .worthieft, 
 kindeft actions. She made the tour of the vil- 
 lage, and in almoft every houfe, faw or heard 
 of fomething, to make her proud that fhe 
 fprung 
 
 " From unattainted blood, 
 
 " And chiim'd a linhrigbt to hr good." 
 
 What
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 What, indeed, muft have been the tranfport of 
 a mind like her's, on gathering from one poor 
 family, that to the deceafed, they owed their 
 prefervation from a prifon ; from another, the 
 portion of a daughter; from a third, a timely 
 refcue from the jaws of poverty, and fo on in 
 benevolent fucceffions ? This village, too, was 
 the abode of her early days. How vivid were 
 the pictures {he drew of her revifhation, to the 
 fcenes, which had made upon a fufceptible 
 heart, the firft imprefiions, and which half a 
 century's abfence had not power to impair. 
 Like a lover, faithful to his iirfl affedions, me 
 told us, you know, how Hie faluted many of 
 the green lanes, allies, and old inhabitants as 
 friends, for whom, though long parted, me re- 
 tained a kind remembrance: fhe paid parti- 
 cular refpecl to the yews that fhaded her rela- 
 tion's grave, and had a long interview with 
 fome elms, now grown into ftately trees, which 
 were of her own planting: fhe called them her 
 children, and told them, Ihe rejoiced to fee 
 them do well in the world, and profper. 
 
 But that, which had more magic for me on 
 this occasion, was, I confcfs, the very points, 
 which 'your very fober, fenfical people, who 
 are vain of their rationality, would be the 
 Icaft fatisfied with the romantic means fhe 
 
 ofcd
 
 GLEANINGS, &. v, I 
 
 ufed to bring this journey of her heart to bear. 
 Nothing could favour it more even a writer 
 of romances could not, than the character 
 and difpofition of the refident clergyman of 
 the village, who, in anfwer to her letter of 
 enquiry, refpeding the poiTibility of a few days 
 accommodation, and defcribing the motives, 
 fent her a prefling, and, indeed, irrefiftible 
 invitation to his own houfe, alluring her at 
 the fame time, that himfelf, and every part of 
 his family, entered fo cordially into the virtu- 
 ous fpirit of her intended adventure, that they 
 were defirous to give it every encouragement 
 and afMance, begging her, withal, to remember, 
 that the moment {he entered the Parfonage of 
 
 , me was at home, becaufe, wherever 
 
 there isfympatby, there is natural affection, and, 
 of courfe, (though perfonal ftrangers before,) 
 they meet on the terms of near relations, whom 
 a wifer and better Director, than Chance, has at 
 laft brought together. 
 
 Her firft grand point being thus carried, 
 and fo much in her own way, the reft was of 
 no difficult attainment, for though, Mr. L. S. 
 her hulband, is a man of the world, and well 
 knows how to traffic with it, the fpirit of 
 trade had not fo far abforbed the fpirit of con- 
 jugal love, as to obftrucl: any innocent difpofi- 
 
 tional
 
 92 GLEANINGS, &f. 
 
 tional impulfe his wife wifhed to follow. 
 The Quixotifm before mentioned, indeed, ap- 
 peared to him carrying the joke too far, and it 
 was no eafy matter, to make him believe the 
 fair Quixote ferious. His reafoning upon it 
 was fo character iftic of the man of bufmefs, 
 that it formed the fineft contraft to the ideas, 
 and expectations, of the woman of genius. 
 
 What ! my dear, take a journey of an hun~ 
 dred miles, to vifit the grave of your grand, 
 mother ! Write a long rig-me-role epiftle, 
 (which, I dare fay, is very fine, and all that,) 
 to a man you never faw ! Why, what fort of 
 anfwer can you expect? Depend on it, the 
 gentleman will fet you down as a mad-wo- 
 man, and fo write you no anfwer at all. 
 
 And when the anfwer did come, all I can 
 fay is, added Mr. L. S. he is as mad as you. 
 Go by all means, continued he, heartily laughu 
 ing in a good humoured manner -, pray go, 
 wife, for 'tis pity two houfes fhould part you. 
 Have your frolic out, I beg ; only if, when 
 you get together, you fhould make one another 
 worfc, and fhould wim for apartments nearer 
 Moorfields, drop me a line, and I will do the 
 needful. 
 
 Our
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 93 
 
 Our heroine, you know, was too much in- 
 earned to be laughed out either of her feelings, 
 or her object, and fet out, at " peep of dawn," 
 on her expedition. The worthy family more 
 than juftified their promifes ; and the conge- 
 nial fpirits, which were thus made known to 
 each, enjoyed a higher " feaft of reafon," or 
 at lead " flow of foul," than they had ever 
 before experienced. On her return, Mr. L.S. 
 received her with the fame good-nature he 
 had fuffered her to depart, and contented him- 
 fslf with pleafantly obferving, that as Ihe had 
 overftayed her intended time of coming back 
 many days, he hoped fhe was as happy as fhe 
 had expected to be ;on which, my dear, cried 
 he, embracing her I have only to fay, that 
 your fine fenti mental people of genius, about 
 love, friendship, fympathy, congeniality of 
 fouls, and all that, are the moft forward, 
 thoughtlefs, and impudent folks in the world; 
 for I could no more go to a Granger's houfe, 
 and feel myfelf at home in it, without having 
 any manner of bufinefs with the family, than 
 I could fly in- the air. I hope, however, you 
 have had the grace to invite them h^re by 
 way of per co-ntra, for we are devilifhly in ar- 
 rears to the gentleman at prefent; and as, I 
 trull, I am a tolerably honeft man, though, 
 thaak God, no genius, I (hall be glud to aiuft 
 
 vou
 
 94 GLEANINGS, 6fr. 
 
 you in paying the debts you have contracted 
 with all my heart. But now tell me fairly, as 
 'tis all over added he did you find it anfwer ? 
 Was you not plaguy fick of each other, of 
 yourfelves, and of your old Granny, into the 
 bargain, before you had been there three days, 
 only you were amamed to own it for fear of 
 being laughed at. 
 
 Sick, tired ! reiterated Mrs. L. S. why 1 
 was in Paradife ! and we could have pafied our 
 whole lives together, without knowing a weary 
 moment ! Tired ! there was not a dry eye in 
 the whole family when I got into the carriage 
 to come back ; and for rny part I thought I 
 Ihould have broke my heart. 
 
 I thank you for the compliment, however, 
 with all my heart replied the hufband - 
 taking off his hat, and making her a bow.- 
 In Paradife was you : well, that is amazing I 
 for I know I fhould have been the moft mifer- 
 able fellow in the world neverthelefs invite 
 the ftrange gentleman, and his ftrange family, 
 here, that we may fettle accounts and ftrike 
 the balance I have no more to fay upon it. 
 
 How wonderful, my dear friend, is it to 
 
 coniider the variety of human minds ! We are 
 
 6 told,
 
 GLEANINGS, &c. 95 
 
 told, there are more different forts than of 
 mofs. Ought we not rather to fay the forts 
 are as numerous as there are fands on the 
 fliorc ? In every lingle family there are, ufually, 
 as many different taftes and tempers as there 
 arc perfons; and if in fome there happens to 
 be a. family likenefs in feelings , as in features, 
 though the refemblance may be ftriking in 
 fome things, there is almoft always a marked 
 difference in others ; and with refpect to pains 
 and pleafures, the means of avoiding the one, 
 and of promoting the other, arc as diverfified 
 as the objects which produce them : nay, the 
 fond prepoffeflion we have for our own amufe- 
 ments and purfuits, gives us fo flrong a preju- 
 judice againft thofe of other people, of other 
 difpoiitions and habits, that we too often want 
 candour and toleration enough to fuffer our 
 neighbours to be happy in their own way. Per- 
 fons of a vigorous fancy and a warm heart 
 accufe thofe who are lefs ardent of being in- 
 fcnfible; while thefe, on the other hand, cen- 
 furs their ccnjiirsrs^ as excentric and vifionary, 
 on both fides, with as little reafon as we ihould 
 condemn the greyhound for wanting the fa- 
 gacity of the pointer, or of the pointer for 
 being lefs fvvift than the greyhound : each be- 
 ing , gifted by nature with the talent and qua- 
 lity beii accommodated to its eafe and felicity. 
 
 An
 
 96 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 An ingenious friend of mine, who, by tnef 
 bye, takes many curious ways of making up 
 his own happinefs, is ufed to fay, whenever he 
 meets with or hears of any thing that does not 
 accord with his plans of acting or thinking, 
 " there mujl be people of all for -/J." Now as 
 there is, certainly, room enough in the world 
 for all forts of people, it feems rather felfifh 
 that we mould joftle againft each other in the 
 journey we are all taking, and " fall out by 
 the way/' becaufe fome are able or willing to 
 go fafter than others ; becaufe one takes de- 
 light in the objects which another paiTes un- 
 noticed. All that can fairly be faid on that 
 is, mould any one be difpofed to find fault, 
 thefe are my objects, friend, though they are 
 not your's : I was born to relifh them, you 
 were not ; when we come to your's, I promife 
 you, you fhall ftop to enjoy them as long as 
 you pleafe ; and though pofTibly I fliall find 
 as little fatisfaction in them as you do in mine, 
 confidered in themfehes, yet the thought of 
 their giving you pleafure mail make me en- 
 dure them : meantime I truft you will bear 
 with mine. 
 
 Can any thing be more equitable ? Can any 
 thing be more eafy ? yet half the bickerings 
 cf the human race, in civil affairs, proceeds 
 
 from
 
 NGSj r 97 
 
 from a fcorn of this fair dealing betwixt marj. 
 and man, each infilling not only in taking 
 the road he himfelf likes beft, but that others 
 of tempers and bufinefs^ utterly different, and 
 whofe objects, perhaps^ lie in a quite contrary 
 route, muft take it too ; and, if he refufes, 
 be fet down as an obftinate mortal that is re- 
 folved to go his own way. 
 
 I do really think this is a very unreafonable 
 mode of proceeding, efpecially-j as I before 
 faid, there are objects fufficient for us all, and, 
 certainly, I may with as much propriety quar- 
 rel with a perfon for having a different com- 
 plexion, as a different tafte, and juft as ration- 
 ally expect he mould, to humour my caprice, 
 take my fkin, and throw away his own, as to 
 raft off thofe feelings, which naturally belong 
 to him, and put on mine : yet the beft and 
 kindeft-hearted people often difpute the point. 
 Were the worthlefs only engaged in and hurt 
 by the ftrife^ and were the matter in debate 
 only a choice of vicious purfuits, one might be 
 content to let them battle it out; but I have 
 feen, indeed every body fees, many inftances 
 where perfons of good minds, and underftand- 
 ings, yet differing in the mode of exercifing 
 them, have fo little refpedt for what pleafes 
 others, and fo great a veneration for what 
 
 VOL. r. H plead-s
 
 $$ CLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 pleafes themfelves, that unlefs they are all 
 pleafed with the fame thing, they effectually 
 take care that there (hall be no pleafure at all. 
 Ah ! my friend, how many elopements, fepa- 
 rate maintenances, divifions in friendfhip, dif- 
 orders in the church, and difturbances in the 
 ftate, has this felf-willed tenacioufnefs occa- 
 lioned ? Unquestionably, " the aim and end of 
 " our being" is happinefs ; but it is to be 
 found, aflbciated too with equal innocence, in 
 ten thoufand times, ten thoufand paths, 
 
 " Each happy in his own." 
 " The learn'd is happy nature to explore, 
 " The fool is happy that he knows no more, 
 " The rich Is happy in the plenty giv'n, 
 " The poor contents him with the care of heav'n; 
 See the blind beggar dance, the cripple fing, 
 " The fot a hero, lunatic a king ; 
 " One profpeft loft, another ftill we gain, 
 ' And not a vanity is given in vain. 
 " Whate'er the knowledge, paffion, fame, or pelf, 
 " Not one will change his neighbour with himfelf." 
 
 All this is the very perfection of poetry, anrf 
 it has a confiderable degree of truth ; but 
 though each is thus " happy in his own," there 
 is not one of the characters here defcribed, 
 who is not, at times, out of humour even with 
 himfelf, becaufe his neighbour is, or wiflics 
 to be, as happy as he, but begs leave to borrow 
 4 it
 
 CLEANINGS, &V. 99 
 
 it from another fource. Surely this is not a(k- 
 ing too much,- and yet it is " hardly granted." 
 
 Poilibly, my highly endowed and, highly-re- 
 fpe&ed friend, I may, all this time* have been 
 forcing you out of the path of your contem- 
 plations into mine ; but I had a better motive 
 for it than moft intruders can give ; and, I 
 truft, my defign is in fome meafure anfwered* 
 Our deiires and averfions, you know, are for 
 the moft part the fame. I exult in the refem- 
 blance; and wherever we are of dppofite ideas, 
 I am fo fatisfied you have the beft reafons for 
 your oppoiition, that I immediately fet about 
 examining my own ideas, and have been more 
 than once the better for the fcrutiny. In life, 
 and at death, I will thank you ! Farewell. 
 
 P. S. I have a month's Gleanings to prefent 
 you with, and mall lay the whole fheaf at your 
 feet in my next. It would be doing a violence 
 to my feelings, were I to mix any matter with 
 this letter, not in keeping with the objecfr, to 
 which it is facred. You can account for this. 
 Adieu. 
 
 LETTER
 
 JOO GLEANINGS, 6?*, 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 Abereftdwith. 
 
 THIS town is neither good nor bad* 
 The ftreets are beyond comparifon the dirtieft 
 I ever faw, a proof of which is their being at 
 this moment indicted by the inhabitants. No 
 wonder, therefore, if ftrangers complain. In- 
 deed, they muft be rugged and unpleafant at 
 all times, for the country here is flat, ftoney, 
 and rugged. The environs are neither barren 
 nor fertile, and the only walks, or in truth 
 walkable places, are thofe at the end of the 
 town, round the ruined caftle, another, round 
 the church-yard, and another, very fhort one, 
 by the fide of the harbour. The beach is im- 
 paflablc, and the bathing places difficult and 
 unchearful. In fine, it is in almoft all refpects 
 the reverfe of Barmouth, except that it has 
 the advantage in the number of houfes, and of 
 courfein the company. I mould not have thought 
 any thing here worth mentioning, had it 
 not been to give you a few hints by way of 
 directory, not to let the greater popula- 
 rity of this place draw you from the other 
 (Barmouth) where your bath will be more 
 
 comfortable,
 
 GLEANINGS, &V j O I 
 
 comfortable, and your agremens, from the fur- 
 rounding objects, out of all comparifon what- 
 ever. 
 
 For want of other allurements, I chofe this 
 place, to throw together the obfervations that 
 were fcattered about my note-book, refpecting 
 certain cuftoms, ufag^s, and a variety of other 
 things, it may be proper for a traveller to be 
 apprized of, particularly the articles of expen- 
 diture. 
 
 In the firft place it is a fettled ufage, and 
 cuftom, throughout the principality, for the 
 trading part of the people to over-reach you 
 in your little marketings, or bargains, with 
 them ; that is to fay, they will aik all ftrangers, 
 of genteel appearance, about a third more 
 than they would afk a native or countryman ; 
 but even allowing this, you will have almoft 
 all the neceflaries, and moft of the luxuries of 
 life, at leaft, by a third cheaper than (with 
 very few exceptions) the cheapeft parts of 
 England : at firft you may put up with a 
 little extortion, which will diminish, as you 
 become refidentiary. All places, as they get 
 into reputation for any beauty or convenience, 
 and are, therefore, the reforts of people that, 
 fmce they can afford to travel, are fuppofed to. 
 H 3 be
 
 IO2 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 be wealthy, grow dear, at firft imperceptibly, 
 till, in a few years, that commodity, which 
 you could procure for fixpence, is not to be ob- 
 tained for a milling, and fo on in proportion. 
 This is remarkably verified in Wales; ground, 
 houfe-rent, and the neceifaries of life, are fo 
 touch raifed in price, fince my firft tour of 
 this country about twelve years ago, that were 
 not the fad univerfally admitted, I mould be 
 afraid you wouldx fufpecl: me of profiting by 
 the licence expefted to be taken by travellers, 
 were I to mention the comparative difference 
 betwixt that time, and the preient, in both 
 North and South Wales. 
 
 Neverthelefs, a good ceconomift might, in 
 the family way, even at the prefent day, make 
 one hundred pounds tell in this* country to, 
 three hundred in any other belonging, pro- 
 perly, to England : I here fpeak, however, of 
 comparative prices in the fmaller towns, and 
 villages ; in the cities, the eftimate muft be 
 about two to one in favour of Wales. In Caer- 
 marthen and Caernarvon, for example, the 
 one a principal town to the fouthward, the 
 other northward, you get fifh, fowl, butcher's 
 meat, eggs, bacon, and firing, (certainly the 
 grand articles in domeftic eltablifhment) on 
 3n average, at the following rates : 
 
 Salmon^
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. IOJ 
 
 Salmon, frefli and fine, from the s. d. 
 
 market, per pound - - - - o 2 
 
 A fine turbot, ditto - - - - . - o 2! 
 
 Fine cod, each ------o I 
 
 Eggs, eight, nine, ten, for - - - . o i 
 Couple of ducks, or fowls, fit 
 
 for killing ------- i o 
 
 (Very often) ____-oio 
 
 Chickens half grown, each for - - o 3 
 
 A fat goofe, or turkey, each - - i o 
 
 Bacon, per pound - - - - - o 5 
 
 Beef, mutton, &c. &c. - - o 3 
 
 Coals, or rather culm, per bufhel - o 2 
 
 In little villages higher up the country, both 
 \vays, the cheapnefs, for want of a market, is 
 ftill more extraordinary; if we except the re- 
 mote places of England, near the fea-coaft, 
 and certain parts of Cornwall and Yorkfhire, 
 this ftatement, which you may depend on it, 
 is the correct refult of reiidentiary remark, 
 will convince you that this principality is not 
 more abundantly fupplied with the ornamental 
 than the ufeful : and that, as thofe who have 
 tafte, fortune, and talents could not be more 
 gratified in vifiting it on the fcore of romantic 
 beauty, they, who found it expedient to re- 
 trench, to narrow their eftablimrnent, and yet 
 to diminilh none of the comforts to which they 
 H 4 have
 
 JO4 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 have been accuftomed, could not, any where, 
 find a more peaceful, plentiful, and healthy re- 
 treat: With- this additional agrement, that al- 
 moit all places are fo furrounded by good 
 neighbours, and there is really a difpofhkmal, 
 as well as hereditary hofpitality, amongft the 
 native gentry that a new fettler never need to 
 be in want of agreeable fociety. 
 
 I infill upon this, the rather, as it is not more 
 the chimera of perfons of genius, going into 
 foreign countries for fine fcenery, than it is for 
 people, of fmall or broken fortunes, to gather 
 the wrecks of their property, and carry them 
 &t>rcad t on the falfe fuperftition that they may 
 there fooner repair their ruins, and, as it were, 
 rebuild themfelves and families, than in any 
 parts of the Britim dominion. I muft own 
 that, although I have travelled too much, not to 
 have rubbed off all the little, or great, national 
 prejudices, that cling to my honed friend 
 y.obn Bull, and although, I have had abundant 
 jeafon to prove, that Providence has been far 
 more equal in its indulgences to all the inhabi- 
 tant? o.f the globe, than flay-at-home people 
 can ever be made to believe, I am Englilhman 
 enough to adopt that fentiment of a brother 
 wanderer, which advifes us not to fpend more 
 money out of our own country, than is necef r 
 
 fary.
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 1 05 
 
 fary. Methinks, indeed, it is but fair to give 
 our own country the preference, where advan- 
 tages are, at leaft, equal. If, for example, a fa- 
 mily finds an arrangement in London, or any 
 of the provincial towns, no longer fupportablc, 
 and can accomplim all the objects of a change 
 of place, as well at the end of two hundred, as 
 two thoufand miles, I humbly conceive, that 
 the fhorteft cut to the land of oeconomy is the 
 bed ; in which, the good old "maxim of choofing 
 the leaft of two evils, isjconfirmed by common 
 fcnfc. Should any of your friends, therefore^ 
 henceforward, find fuch retirements worth 
 looking after, they may be found in almoft any 
 part of the principality, north or fouth, two 
 hundred miles from the Britim capital, and if 
 the other hundred is added, the expence of 
 making it, would, in the end, be well repaid by 
 the beauty of the country, and the reafonable- 
 nefs of provifions. Houfe rent is, likewife, a 
 very important article. A friend of mine oc- 
 cupied an exceeding large, well furnifhed 
 houfe, fufficient for his numerous family, and 
 had more than enough of garden and orchard 
 ground, to fupply it with vegetables and fruits, 
 and pafturage for a couple of horfes and a 
 cow, at the yearly rent of 25!. a year, free 
 of taxes. I faw many others on a fmaller 
 fcale at 15!. and 20!. unfurnifhed houfes, with 
 
 lard
 
 1 06 GLEANINGS, &c'. 
 
 land enough to pay a confiderable part of the 
 rent, and referves for your own ufe, may be 
 had in the moll beautiful lituations at a pro- 
 portionate rate. You will pleafe to note, that 
 this is not meant as a character of partial 
 places, but as general information, with refpecit 
 to the whole country. 
 
 The exceptions to the rule are made not fo 
 much by the people of Wales, as thofe of Eng- 
 land and Ireland ; the imprudence of whom I 
 fhall enlarge on in its place. At prefent, I mail 
 content myfelf by obferving, that when they 
 have loft their eftates, it would be well for 
 them, if they could contrive to lofe the folly 
 by which their infolvency was produced. But, 
 unfortunately, that prodigal fpirit which at- 
 tended them in affluent, accompanies them in 
 ilender circumftances ; and wherever they go 
 for refuge^ they carry their expeniive ideas, and 
 habits, along with them, abfurdly fuppoiing,they 
 can reconcile their former notions with their 
 prefent fyftem of ceconomy, as if, like a per- 
 jbn in a fever, they imagined a cure could be 
 performed by merely changing their pofture. 
 A great deal more is neceffary in a family re- 
 form, than quitting the haunt of its former fol- 
 lies or misfortunes. They come into a new 
 country, find it reafonable, take the firft op- 
 portunity
 
 CLEANINGS, &?f. IQ? 
 
 portunity to play off their pride againft their 
 poverty, fhew the people they mix with, that 
 they ftill wifh to be looked on as perfonages of 
 tliftinclion ; boaft of what fortunes they have 
 already fquandered, and what they can ftill 
 afford to lavifh ; put the natives firft upon ex- 
 tortion, furnifhing them with the hint to cheat, 
 and then, but too late, quarrel with them for 
 taking it. Thus, deep play, late hours, and 
 every excefs of London and Dublin, are, at 
 the time I am now writing, together with 
 clubs, and other town-bred luxuries, in the 
 high ton of folly in many places, where the in-. 
 habitants grow rich and roguifh by fupplying 
 them. I extremely diflike perfonality, or could 
 give you no inconfiderable catalogue of ruftic 
 gaming houfes, White's, Brookes's, &c. in the 
 very heart of Cambria. In as much, there- 
 fore, as they have degenerated from the fim- 
 plicity of ancient manners, and from the ho- 
 nefty of ancient maxims, into the refinements of 
 the world, on which we fo much pique our- 
 felves, the fault is originally our own, and we 
 muft take the confequences. Luxury is a wide 
 fpreading evil, my friend, and foon pafles from 
 one country to another, making profelytes as, 
 it goes. Allure yourfelf it has travelled into 
 this country, and has its votaries in the moun- 
 tains. They contain more than one farmer, 
 
 who,
 
 108 GLEANINGS-, &6. 
 
 \vho, in imitation of his Englifh brothers of 
 the plough, keeps his pair of geldings for the 
 chace, and a fide-faddle pad for the lady of 
 the- dairy, who feathers her cap with the fineft 
 of the farmers wives and daughters, whom we 
 
 have feen at the rural afTemblies and , 
 
 acting the characters of ducheffes, for that night 
 only. Although fome twenty years back, when 
 the town had not quite journeyed fo far into the 
 north country Welch-ward, at lead thefe new- 
 made gentry were contented to trudge on foot 
 ten or a dozen miles, after the duties of the 
 morning were over, to a ruftic hop, at the; 
 fummons of a blind harper,, and the dames and 
 damfels thought jhemfelves well off if they 
 could get into one of the carts, or mount by 
 pairs on the back of one of t,he cart-horfes,, 
 to give the Corydons of the hills the meet- 
 ing. The corruption flops not at amufement : 
 it extends to bufinefs ; the firft muft be fup- 
 plied by the laft ; but, as this cannot be done 
 in the way of ordinary, it muft be effected by 
 extraordinary means. Supernumerary horfes, 
 drefies, &c. are not to be maintained at the 
 old market profits : thefe, though equivalent 
 to the neceflaries, are inadequate to the luxu-, 
 ties of life ; and luxuries once indulged, foor\ 
 become neceffaries ; for where is the male 
 Jfwain that having, as it \vere, fawn, over the 
 
 mountains
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 Fountains on a hunter, will ftoop again to 
 crxp over them on " Dobbin, or the foundered 
 mare?" or the female, who will, for the fake 
 of oeconomy, difmount her feathers, and ex- 
 change again the glaring folly of her fhewy at- 
 tire, for her wheel of cottage induftry, 
 and robes of country brown ?" 
 
 It is out of the nature of pleafingly pernicious 
 effects to expect it : ergo, the price of their 
 commodities muft be raifed : and it is but rea- 
 fonable, that as we occafioned the folly, we 
 mould contribute to its fupport. 
 
 As we advance, however, into the interior 
 parts of the country, and the farther from the 
 route of modifh travellers, always the better 
 as we get more into thofe unfrequented places, 
 from whence " the fober wifhes" of the inhabi- 
 tants have " not learned to ftray,", and where 
 none but literary and gleaning travellers delight 
 to explore, we find this hardy and happy race of 
 people rejoicing, like their country, in the 
 fimpleft charms of nature ; and Mr. Gray, who 
 made a philofophical tour of WaleSj you know, 
 muft have had numberlefs living reafons, in 
 the courfe of it, to exclaim 
 
 " Since ignorance is blifs, 
 " 'Tis foll to be wife!"
 
 GLEANINGS, ; 
 
 and to fee the fentiment brought to the teft, trutK 
 indeed warrants our carrying the fentiment 
 much farther ; for in this cafe the wifdom of 
 the world is worfe than foolifhnefs : it is 
 knavery, and we may rather cry out with Ad^ 
 difon 
 
 ' If knowledge of the world muft make men vicious, 
 . < May peafants ever live in ignorance !" 
 
 I have feen groupes of poor people in the fe- 
 queftered fpots of both North and South Wales, 
 fporting amongft the precipices, or in the glens, 
 with a " content fo abfolute," as to look on any 
 objeclslefs in aftateof nature thanthemfelvesas 
 unwelcome : at the fight of an unexpected man 
 of the world, they will run from him into a 
 rocky cavity, like a rabbit into its hole, or 
 plunge into the thickeft fhade of the valley, as 
 if they were efcaping from a bead of prey; 
 Were they to know what a fnaky train of paf- 
 fions are probably folded up in the bofom of 
 that well-dreffcd worldling, which never crept 
 into their breads, they would often have reafon 
 to believe he was the rnoft dangerous monfter 
 they could encounter, and double their dili- 
 gence to avoid him. 
 
 And here, amongft the ufages and cuftoms, 
 I muft not omit to inform you, that what you 
 have, perhaps, often heard without believing 
 
 refpecting
 
 CLEANINGS, fc?f* 1 1 * 
 
 refpecting the mode of courtjhip, amongft the 
 Welch peafants, is true. The lower order of 
 people, do actually carry on their love affairs 
 in bed, and what would extremely aftonifh 
 more polilhed lovers, they are carried on ho- 
 nourably, it being, at leaft, as ufual, for the 
 paftora's of the mountains to go from the bed 
 of courtfhip to the bed of marriage, as unpol- 
 luted and makknly as the Chloes of fafhion; 
 and yet, you are not to conclude this proceeds 
 from their being lefs fufceptible of the ielle 
 pqffion than their betters: or, that the cold air, 
 which they breathe has " froze the genial cur- 
 rent of their fouls." By no means; if they 
 cannot boaft the voluptuous languors of an 
 Italian fky, they glow with the bracing fpirit 
 of a more invigorating atmofphere. I really 
 took fome pains to inveftigate this curious, 
 cuftom, and after being aifured by many, of its 
 veracity, had an opportunity of attefling its ex- 
 iftence with my own eyes. The fervant maid 
 of the family I vifited in Caernarvonshire, hap- 
 pened to be the objeci of a young peafant, who 
 walked eleven long miles every funday morn- 
 ing, to favour his fuit, and regularly returned 
 the fame night through all weathers, to be 
 ready for monday's employment in the fields, 
 being limply a day labourer. He ufually ar- 
 rived in time for morning fcrvice, which he 
 
 conftantly
 
 Ill CLEANINGS, &V; 
 
 conftantly attended, after which he efCorfedl 
 his Dulcinea home to the houfe of her mafter, 
 by whofe permiffion they as conftantly paft the 
 fucceeding hour in bed, according to the 
 cuftom of the country. Thefe tender fabba- 
 tical preliminaries continued without any in- 
 terruption near two years, when the treaty of 
 alliance was folemnized ; and fo far from any 
 breach of articles happening in the intermediate 
 time, it is moft likely that it was coniidered by 
 both parties as a matter of courfe, without 
 exciting any other idea. On fpeaking to my 
 friend on the fubjecl, he obferved that, though 
 it certainly appeared a dangerous mode of mak- 
 ing love, he had feen fo few living abufes of 
 it, during fix and thirty years relidence in 
 that county; where it, neverthelefs, had 
 always, more or lefs, prevailed, he muft con- 
 clude it was as innocent as any other. 
 One proof of .its being thought fo by the par- 
 ties, is the perfect eafe and freedom with which 
 it is .done, no aukwardnefs or confufion appear- 
 ing on either fide ; the moft well-behaved and 
 decent young women giving into it without a 
 bluih, and they are by no means deficient in 
 modefty. What is pure in idea is always fo 
 in conduct, fince bad actions are the common 
 confequence of ill thoughts ; and though the 
 better fort of people treat this ceremony as a 
 
 barbarifm,
 
 GLEANINGS, 6fr. Uj 
 
 barbarifm, it is very much to be doubted whe- 
 ther more faux pas have been committed by the 
 Cambrian boors in this^m" accefs to the bed 
 chambers of their miftreffes, than by more 
 fafhionable Strephons and their nymphs, near 
 
 " Dimpled brook and fountain brim." 
 
 in groves and fhady bowers. The power of 
 habit is, perhaps, ftronger than the power of 
 pafllon, or even than of the charms which infpire 
 it ; and it is fufficient, almoft, to fay a thing 
 is the cuftom of a country to clear it from any re- 
 proach that would attach to an innovation. 
 Were it the practice of a few only, and to be 
 gratified by Health, there would, from the 
 ftrange conftruction of human nature, be more 
 caufe of fufpicion ; but being ancient, general, 
 and carried on without difficulty, it is, probably 
 as little dangerous as a tete-a-tete in a drawing- 
 room, or in any other full-drefs place, where 
 young people meet to fay foft things to each 
 other. A moon-light walk in Papa's garden, 
 where Mifs Heals out to meet her lover againft 
 the confent of her parents, and, of courfe, ex- 
 tremely agreeable to the young people, has ten 
 times the peril. 
 
 Amongft the cuftoms that had peculiar at- 
 tractions for me, was the tender veneration 
 paid, externally at leaft, to the dead; the 
 
 VOL. i. I church
 
 114 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 church-yards being kept with an attentive decen- 
 cy, we, in vain, look for in many other countries. 
 There is fomething extremely fmiple and plea- 
 ling in the idea, as \vell as in the practice, of 
 ftrewing flowers and evergreens over the graves 
 of departed friends and relations. Every Sa- 
 turday, fome of the furvivors, perform the efta- 
 blifhed duty at the family grave. This con- 
 fids in clearing it of all weeds, repairing the 
 mould, d re fling the verdure, mending the little 
 fences of white tiles or mells that furround it, 
 and, in fhort, putting it in order againft the 
 Sabbath ; then the whole parifli are to be eye 
 witnefle'3 of the pious cares of each other: 
 I have feen graves fo diligently cultured, that 
 it has every week been planted with the choice!! 
 .flowers of the feafon; others have been orna- 
 mented with the more permanent fhrubs, and 
 the little hillocks, fccred to infants have, lite- 
 rally, beftovyed on them 
 
 " All the incenfe of the breathing Spring." 
 
 Several good purpofes are anAvered hereby, 
 1 will recount fome of them to you in the 
 words of a Pembroke ill ire widow, whom I 
 lately favv decorating the graves- of her huf- 
 band and a child, their firft born, who -died in 
 the fame year. The following is a faithful copy 
 of our converfation. 
 
 - Your employment muft be very interefting to 
 you. 
 
 It
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. II 
 
 It is our way in thefe parts, Sir. Some think 
 it a trouble : I have no pleafure now that 
 equals it, yet I am fure to have wet eyes all the 
 rime it is doing. 
 
 The relations then, at whofe graves you are 
 performing this fadly plealing duty, muft need? 
 have been very near and dear to you. 
 
 They could not be more fo. This was the 
 beft hulband, and the moft honed man in 
 Wales, and the rofes and violets, which I have 
 juft been fetting at the head and feet of this 
 grave, are not fweeter or prettier, than the poor 
 little girl who lies under them. But they are 
 in a better place, and I ought to be happy, and 
 fo I am. 
 
 Here me wept very bitterly. 
 
 I fee yonder, an old man entering the 
 church-yard, with a large bundle of young 
 plants, which he can fcarce carry. 
 
 That man is in his ninety third year, and has 
 buried all his family: the lad was a grandfon, to 
 whofe grave he is now going, and which he 
 will make like a garden before he leaves it. 
 Almoft all that end of the church yard "are bis 
 dead, and he is very neat and nice about the 
 graves of all, but the grandfon's the mod. 
 
 I 2 
 
 Then
 
 I I 6 GLEANINGS, &? C. 
 
 Then he was the favourite of the family : as 
 the lafl and youngeft, perhaps, he was the poor 
 old man's Benjamin. 
 
 On the contrary, he lov'd him the lead, and 
 fome think, that an unlucky blow given by the 
 old man was the caufe of the young one's 
 death, but it cannot be proved, fo he efcapes, 
 but by his care about the poor young fellow's 
 grave, our townfolk imagine his confcience 
 fmites him: though, for that matter, we all 
 drefs our dead here, whether we love or 
 hate them, it is quite a fcandal to let a Sa- 
 turday pafs, without making every grave as 
 clean as ourfelves for the Sabbath. 
 
 It is a very commendable cuftom, and I wiih 
 with all my heart, it were adopted in England, 
 where, too generally fpeaking, the repofi- 
 taries of the dead are mockingly violated. 
 Horfes, cows, fheep, are often fuffered to 
 feed upon the grave ; nay, the parfon himfelf 
 frequently turns his pad to fatten on his de- 
 ceafed pariihioners. This you will fay, is be- 
 ing prieft-ridden with a vengeance : ftill worfe, 
 the hogs of half the parilh are allowed to rootle 
 up the earth and bones. 
 
 Blefled be God, the bones of my dear dear 
 babe and hufband, do not lie in England ! 
 
 And
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. I I 7 
 
 And as to cleanlinefs, in other refpefts, that 
 article fo properly an object of your care, is 
 very rarely attended to with us. The weeds 
 and nettles are permitted to choak up half 
 the graves in a church-yard, and every other 
 fpecies of negligence and filth is thrown there, 
 as if, inftead of being the decent receptacle of 
 the forefathers of the village or town to which 
 it belongs, it were the common fewer of the 
 parifh. Some few indeed are kept a little 
 more orderly, becaufe they are either public 
 walks, and have therefore a degree of fafhion, 
 or the bifhop of the diocefe is relidentiary 
 there; but even thefe exceptions are for the 
 moft part confined to the path-ways, and the 
 green avenues that ihade them, the reft of 
 the fpot being left in a condition both fhame- 
 lefs and indecent. In the northern diftrict of 
 
 mire, two church-yards were indicted as 
 
 nuifances by the pariih, and a third, much 
 nearer the feat of magiftracy fupreme, was in 
 fo abominable a ftate, that the clergyman and 
 overfeers, after many fruitlefs complaints on 
 the part of the inhabitants, were cited to an- 
 fwer accufations in the Spiritual Court. 
 
 Good heaven ! we want no overfeers, bi- 
 
 Ihops, or fpiritual courts, to make us keep our 
 
 dead (which furely, Sir, are a part of ourfelves, 
 
 i whether
 
 IlS GLEANINGS, &(, 
 
 whether above the earth, or under it) as free 
 from fuch as we can. If the grave we clean 
 holds a good relation we fhew our gratitude in 
 our diligence : if a bad one, our conftant at- 
 tention is a mark, that whatever trefpafles he 
 or Ihe, may have committed againfl us, it is 
 forgiven. If a nettle or a weed was to be feen 
 to-morrow in this church-yard, the living 
 party to whom it belongs, would be hooted 
 after divine fervice, by the whole congregation. 
 I would part with my laft farthing, rather than 
 fee thefe two little heaps go to ruin : nay, ex- 
 cept a few feet of earth I cultivate for ufe, I 
 decorate my garden with flowers and fhrubs 
 only for my dead, and look upon it to be as 
 much theirs, as if they were both alive. 
 
 The good woman here finimed her difcourfe, 
 during the greater part of which, fhe was up- 
 on her knees, plucking up every thing which 
 was unfeemly, frefhning the mould, faftning 
 the loofe tilework, and forming with a mixture, 
 of maternal and conjugal tendernefs, the rofe- 
 flips and violet roots, into forms expreflive oi 
 her affe&ion, 
 
 I cannot tell you how much I was moved. 
 Nor is it necefTary. You have an heart, thai 
 lias a beating facred to fuch incidents. 
 
 This
 
 GLEANINGS, &<T. I 1 9 
 
 This cuftom is, I believe, peculiar in Eu- 
 ropean countries, to Wales, and the Swifs 
 Catholic Cantons ; but in the latter, to an iron 
 crofs is fufpended a bowl, containing holy wa- 
 ter, with which the relatives fprinkle the graves 
 of the deceafed as often as they come to 
 church, 
 
 Shakfpeare fays, and with his accuftorru 
 cd fweetnefs 
 
 " With faireft flowers, while fummer lafts, 
 ' I'll fweeten thy fad grave ; thou (halt not lack 
 " The flow'r that's like thy face, pale primrofe, 
 ' Nor the azure harebell like thy veins ; no, nor 
 The leaf of Eglantine, which, not to flander, 
 Outfcented not thy breath." 
 
 I truft, my friend, you wiH long continue 
 your good wifhes to the Pembrokemire widow. 
 It is in this part of Wales that the women 
 drefs their heads in a peculiar manner; they 
 wear a cumbrous gown of dark blue cloth, even 
 in the midft of fummer j inftead of a cap, a 
 large handkerchief is wrapt over their heads, 
 and tied under the chin: in other places, the 
 women as well as the men, wear large hats 
 with broadbrims, often flapping over their 
 moulders. 
 
 Thefe Gleanings, however, in the church- 
 yard, are a little out of place, for when I was 
 i 4 on
 
 1 20 GLEANINGS, &f. 
 
 on the fubject of Welch courtfhips, I ought to 
 have immediately gone to Welch weddings 
 this being, you know, the natural order; unlefs 
 you are of the opinion of not a few, who afTcrt 
 that marriage and death are pretty much the 
 fame thing, and that the former is, only buy- 
 ing the living inftead of the dead. Many of 
 my fair countrywomen, I fear, think the latter 
 would be a refource to them. 
 
 The ceremonies of the Cambrian peafants, in 
 the unpolifhed parts of the country, are no lefs 
 iingular than thofe at their wooing. The 
 friends and relations of both parties, not only 
 teftify the ufual demonftrations of joy during 
 the day-time, but keep it up the whole night, 
 the men vifitors putting to bed the bride- 
 groom, and the females the bride, after which 
 the whole company remain in the chamber, 
 drinking jocund healths to the new married 
 couple, and their pofterity, finging fongs, 
 dancing, and giving into every other feftivity, 
 fometimes for two or three days together. 
 
 Prepofterous enough you will fay ! but as this, 
 generally fpeaking, happens to a man and wo- 
 man but once in a life, and gives now and then 
 an holiday, that is, a few hours or days labour 
 to a race of harmlefs, hard-toiling creatures, 
 
 it
 
 CLEAVINGS, 6?f . j 2 I 
 
 it may be difpenfed with. Their relaxations 
 are few, and our own many. There is, un- 
 doubtedly, lefs refinement, perhaps, lefs de- 
 licacy in theirs, but are they not as innocent, 
 as reafonable as ours : 
 
 " A little fofter but as fenfelefs quite." 
 
 To you, who are always 
 
 bleft yourfelf," 
 
 " To fee your fellows bleft." 
 
 I need not afk you to allow for the ftrange, but 
 unoffending ufages of thefe humble children 
 of nature. Pride looks down upon them, but 
 is not pride more truly an objed: of pity? 
 But for thefe clods of moving earth, as they 
 are arrogantly called, feeling themfelves con- 
 tented in their " happy, lowly," fituations, 
 what would become of that helplefs part of 
 the fpecies, who neither " toil nor fpin?" 
 How frequently does it happen, that an honeft 
 hind, who feems fcarcely diftinguiihable from 
 the foil which he works into bread, is of more 
 ufe in the great community of mankind, and of 
 courfe, a better member of it, than a whole 
 generation of thofe conceited beings, who fpurn 
 his cottage, and fquander the noble inheritance 
 of their anceftors, amidft the vices of refine- 
 ment I How preferable the virtues of rufti- 
 city ! 
 
 6 LETTER
 
 122 GLEANINGS, 6?r, 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 TO THE SAME, 
 
 I AlTerted that the lower order of people 
 in this country are fuperftitious. They were fo 
 at all times. Anciently its contagion tinctured 
 the more enlightened. One of the old hifto- 
 rians very gravely recounts numberlefs pre- 
 ter-natural inftances of cafualties, which he 
 conftrued into divine judgments. Amongfl 
 others, he tells us, that in the reign of Ivor, 
 the third prince of Wales, there happened a 
 remarkable earthquake in the Ifle of Man, 
 which much difturbed and annoyed the inha- 
 bitants, and in the year following that it rained 
 Hood both in Britain and Ireland; infomuch 
 that the butter and milk refembled the colour 
 of blood. What fanguinary torrents, my friend, 
 muft have fallen to have thus changed the na^ 
 tureof thegrafs,and literally to make "thegreen, 
 pne red!" He adds, thefe accidents of nature 
 might probably prefage fome tumults and dif- 
 turbances in the kingdom. The fame author, I 
 remember, afierts that as a prognoftic of the 
 death of Elbodius, archbi/hop of North Wales, 
 there happened a very fevere eclipfe of the fun, 
 
 and
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 1 23 
 
 and the year following there was an eclipfe of 
 the moon, and upon Chriftmas day ! and thefe 
 he coniiders as portents that boded no good 
 to the Welch affairs. By way of making out 
 the prediction of the effect of thefe fatalities, 
 we are folemnly informed they were followed 
 by a very grievous and general murrain of 
 cattle, which impoverimed the whole country, 
 and the year preceding, A. D. 808, was mark- 
 ed by the Weft Saxons laying the city of St. 
 David's in ames. Thus it is, my friend, that 
 foothefayers of every age firft frame their pro- 
 phecies, and then inveterately fulfil them; for 
 the very next good or evil event that takes place, 
 is brought in evidence of what was foretold, 
 fnd however'abfurd in the nature of things, or 
 contradictory to the point in queftion, at the 
 time is tortured and twifted, to anfwer the 
 purpofe of illuftrating. Hence the molt im- 
 probable, phylically fpeaking, the moft im- 
 poflible and heterogeneous circumftances, are 
 forced into contact, and effects are traced to 
 caufes with which they have no fort of con- 
 nedtion. 
 
 The prefent defendants of Gadwallader are 
 true to the faith of their forefathers on this ar- 
 ticle. I faw it operating during my refidence 
 amongft them in a thoufand ways, but in none 
 
 more
 
 1 24 GLEANINGS, &Y. 
 
 more than in the inftance which follows. In 
 a little village, betwixt Caermarthen and Ha- 
 verfordweft, beautifully warned by the ocean, 
 I walked by the fide of the fea, where a mixed 
 multitude were gathered on the beach. I en- 
 quired the occafion, and was told, that the 
 peculiar roaring of the waves to the weftward 
 indicated that fome fatal accident would foon 
 befal certain poor creatures out at fea ; for that, 
 in the memory of the qldeft man living, the 
 pillows were never known to make that hide- 
 ous noife from that quarter, without being 
 fucceeded by either the wreck of a veiTel, or 
 the deftruction of fome of the crew, or both ; 
 that this being the firfl day of the roaring, the 
 difafter would probably happen in the courff 
 of two days more, three being the ufual term 
 of thefe grumbling notices ; and therefore they 
 were now come down to the beach, as well 
 to fee whether any veflel had hoifted fignals of 
 diftrefs, or, if too late for afliflance, to receive 1 
 dead, mould any of the bodies be thrown on 
 more. The time at which this happened was 
 that of the herring feafon, when, profiting by 
 the previous calm weather, a great many 
 fifliing-boats were out ; and it is by no power 
 that I have over language, nor indeed in lan- 
 guage itfelf, to give you a juft idea of the con- 
 flernation of many perfons of both fexes now 
 
 rathe red
 
 GLEANINGS, &fc. 12 C 
 
 gathered together, moft of them being wives, 
 children, matters, or relations of thofe whofe 
 deftiny was thus denounced by the troubled 
 fpirit of the waters. The fifhing-boats, how- 
 ever, in the courfe of the next day and even- 
 ing, all arrived fafe, with their crew, and with 
 fingularly good cargoes : fome other veflels, 
 which had flood farther out to fea on coafting 
 voyages, took fhelter in the fame harbour, till 
 the ftorm mould ceafe, of rather till the fair 
 weather mould be more confirmed, for it had 
 confiderably cleared and calmed before they 
 pointed their canvafs to the more. All they 
 wanted was a flight repairing, which could not 
 be conveniently given at fea. The little fim- 
 ing-fmacks performed feveral lucky excurfions 
 after this, the other barks proceeded on their 
 refpedlive voyages, and, though in the mean 
 time, there was not heard any more prophe- 
 tical growlings, the people were not in the 
 leaft daggered in their belief of fome calamity 
 having happened, roundly averting that the 
 voice of the ocean was always oracular; that 
 its mouth was opened by God; and that it 
 could not therefore utter the thing that was 
 not. Another evidence was, that more than 
 one inftance was within the recolledion of 
 every man, woman, and child, in the parim. 
 About a month after, happening to pafs through 
 
 this
 
 126 GLEANINGS, 6?f. 
 
 this village in my way back from Milford 
 Haven, I underftood, from the landlord of the 
 inn where I flopped, that, notwithftanding 
 my incredulity about the roarings, the fea did 
 not roar without reafon^ for the bodies of two 
 failors were floated into the harbour the very 
 day after I went away. This you are to know 
 was above three weeks after the tcmpeft ; but 
 on my venturing to doubt the connection be- 
 twixt the effecT: and the caufe, on account of 
 the diftance of time, mine hoft grew ferioufly 
 angry, and aflked me whether I was a believer 
 or an heathen ? I did not think proper to re- 
 ply to this angry queflion, convinced that a 
 man, -predetermined either to believe, or difbe- 
 lieve, whether in politics, religion, or any 
 other matter, hardens his heart againfl every 
 thing that does not feed his faith, and is pre- 
 pared againft all arguments, human or di- 
 vine ; and, like a cat pent up in a corner, 
 is only more fpiteful and refolute, as it ap- 
 pears difficult to break away. Juft as the 
 Oftler was leading my horfe to the door, -a 
 couple of failors came to the inn, and, in pre- 
 fence of my landlord, informed me, that they 
 were brother and uncle to the aforefaid dead 
 mariners, who had deferted after mutiny, were 
 brought back once, and pardoned : then threw 
 themfelves overboard, thinking to fwim aihbre, 
 
 and
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 127 
 
 and would have been hanged if they had not 
 been drowned, as 'twas on board a king's 
 fhip. Thus you fee the poor fea was made to 
 fympathife with thefe offenders; unlefs you can 
 borrow a little of my landlord's faith, and. be- 
 lieve that it drowned them in a judgment, and 
 then fent forth its roarings, to (hew its fenfe 
 of fuch wick'ednefs, as a warning to others. 
 There, exclaimed mine haft, with much exul- 
 tation, is not the thing plain enough now ? 
 Was the fea in the 1 right or not? But fome 
 folks will never believe till a judgment falls 
 on themfelves ! Perceiving a tempeft gather- 
 ing in the countenance of this friend of the 
 roaring fea, I thought it the wifeft way to leave 
 him in full poffefiion of a faith which had 
 certainly the merit of being impregnable to all 
 attacks from within or without. 
 
 A fecond fuperftition, univerfally prevalent 
 in South Wales, is of a nature no lefs extraor- 
 dinary. You will fcarce meet with a peafant, 
 or even a manufacturer, who does not pretend 
 to have heard the groan, or figh, of a voice ruili 
 like a fudden wind from out of the earth; and 
 fometimes, entering into a very long and fo- 
 lemn harangue on the topic, either of this 
 world or the next. Sometimes it afTumes the 
 tone of a friend, fometimes of a foe ; fome- 
 times
 
 12$ CLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 times it is the well-known found of a perfon 
 living ; but more ufually one that has been in 
 the grave long enough, one fhould have 
 thought, to have done with converfation. 
 
 A third object of Cambrian credulity is that 
 of a lighted candle fpringing up before you, 
 without a moment's warning, and going the 
 way of your intended walk or ride for a num- 
 ber of miles together, for it perfectly knows 
 the road you are to take ; and what is no kfs 
 fingular, the candle is carried by fome invifible 
 agent, who was never known to make his ap- 
 pearance, though fome fay it moves by a power 
 of its own. With refpect to the moral agency 
 of thcfe, it is generally allowed by the be- 
 lievers, that both the voice, and the light, arc 
 fent on <f errands full of love." The firfr, is 
 thought to be literally a 'warning voice, and the 
 laft, with a little more difficulty, though no- 
 thing is, in the end, too arduous for fuperfti- 
 tion, is made to be no lefs fubfervient to the 
 purpofes of a faith which* even in its excelfes 
 leans to virtue. 
 
 For this reafon I have feldom attempted to 
 argue down, or treat lightly, thefe and other 
 little traditionary credulities, in conftant circu- 
 lation amongft the uneducated part of man- 
 kind ;
 
 XGS, 5V. 1 29 
 
 kind ; fince I am perfuadcd, what they want 
 .in philofophy, they make up by a much better 
 thing; for there is almoft always a fenfe of 
 religion accompanying thefe village legends : 
 a peffon who fees, or feems to fee, thefe fights, 
 or hear thefe founds, is too feniibly affected by 
 .his imaginations to mix immediately in worfe 
 weaknclFes ; the invifible voice will never ar- 
 gue in favour of a guilty deed, nor the vi- 
 lionary candle conduct the man it attends to 
 fcenes of debauchery. On the contrary, the 
 former will more furely fuggeft repentance to 
 the erring fuain, and the other light him on 
 his way to at leaft harmlefs thoughts and ac- 
 tions. Could we, therefore, fay to fuperftition, 
 " thus far malt thou go, and no farther," the 
 iimple of life and of heart- might enjoy thofe 
 little wanderings uncontrouled. 
 
 But Superftition like Power is amongft the 
 cncroachers we dare not truft. Indulgence 
 makes her bold and unfeafonable, till in the end 
 ilie becomes the parent of the worft diforders to 
 which the human foul is incident. You will 
 hardly ftppofe that the moft foaming fedaries 
 infeft the innermoft recefTcs of this country; 
 that methodifts of all denominations make the 
 mountains reverberate with their fulminations, 
 louder than the anathemas of Rome, and that 
 
 VOL. i. K there
 
 130 GLEANINGS, t$C. 
 
 there is fcarce a village, or a dozen (battered 
 hamlets, which receive not twice or thrice a 
 week the efFufions of a ftrolling preacher. 
 
 Something more affecting than curiofity, has 
 made me feveral times an auditor of thefe 
 flaming difcourfes, which are held in barns, 
 ftables, or the open fields. It feems incre- 
 dible that half the congregation fhould be 
 contained in the villages ; but the fad: is, that 
 OH the preaching days, the people come pour- 
 ing in from all quarters, within the diftricl, 
 and vales and mountains give up their inha- 
 bitants. I fhallnot fpeak to you of the doc- 
 trine, xvhich is pretty much the fame every 
 where ; and England is fufficiently over-run 
 by thefe itinerants, to make its jargon familiar 
 to every one, except that both the doctrine, 
 and the way of delivering it, is more vehement 
 and vociferous in Wales than I ever remember to 
 have witneffed elfewherc. In fpeaking of the 
 Lamb of God, the preacher allured his hearers, 
 that if they werefmcere believers, they would feel 
 it move, and<hear it bleat within their hearts ; 
 that, if lifted up by the Holy Spirit, they 
 might fee it ; that if they folded up their hands- 
 they might reach it, touch it, and embrace it, 
 as- he did, under divine afiiftance, at that mo- 
 ment, 
 
 4 Previous
 
 GLEANINO*S, &c. IJI 
 
 Previous to this laft round in the ladder of 
 fanaticifm being gained, like the Delphic 
 God " his voice enlarged, and his form was 
 mere than ruffled ;" bur, on mounting the 
 climax, his bello wings could be equalled in 
 horror only by his contortions. No bull, 
 driven into madnefs by the annoying dogs, and 
 more diftracting men, fo flounced or fo fhifted 
 his attitudes, or roared with fo much mingled rage 
 and agony : but if thephrenzy of the preacher 
 could have been furpaffed, it would have yield- 
 ed to that of the congregation j the tears, 
 iighs, and yellingi of which, accompanied by 
 the extravaganza's of action, really threw at 
 Jober diitance all that I ever faw, all that I ever 
 heard of human or of beaftial violence. 
 
 I do not know whether this intemperate zeal 
 obftructs or promotes the induftry of thefe 
 poor creatures ; whether they return to their 
 feveral occupations with more or lefs af-* 
 liduity, after thefe ebullitions ; but as the 
 preachings begin about noon, and continue 
 fome hours, it muft abforb a great deal of that 
 time, which might be paft in more ufeful, 
 though lefs violent labour ; for I dare venture 
 to fay, the hardeft work they were ever put to 
 for a day together, never fo wafted their ani- 
 mal fpirits, ftrained their mufcles, or wearied 
 K 2 their
 
 1^2 CLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 limbs, as two hours paft in this religious 
 fury. 
 
 But even this is better than the oppofitc ex- 
 treme of fitting arrogantly loofe to all reli- 
 gions ; or, \vhar is worfe, fcoffing at the faith of 
 others, and affecting to have none onefelf. This 
 is amongft the errors into which the fons 
 and daughters of fimplicity rarely fall. It is 
 referved for the children of refinement, to 
 Tpurn at all things holy, with them religion is a 
 mighty convenient, well-contrived bugbear, to 
 keep the flaves of the world in order, juft as 
 birds are feared by a maukin ; but that more 
 enlightened fouls cannot be expected to give 
 into the illufion : fo that trie rich, the profpe- 
 rous, and all thofe who have received the 
 greaterr. bounties and indulgencies at the hands 
 of Providence, are the only perfons who think 
 themfelves exempt from the duty or neceffity 
 of acknowledging it. 
 
 My friend, I have lived in the world, and 
 travelled over it, long enough to be convinced, 
 that what fuperficial pretenders call philo- 
 fophy, has done more mifchief a thoufand 
 times a thoufand than either ignorance or fu- 
 perftition. Every conceited fpark ' that has 
 courage enough to avow himfelf an Atheiir, 
 2 and
 
 GLEANINGS, . 133 
 
 and juft wit enough to fport the old thread- 
 bare arguments in fupport of it, is no\v a 
 philofopher ; that is, he can laugh at thejeft 
 he breaks on religion, and repeat, with vi- 
 vacity, the blafphemous ton-mots that others 
 have made againfl the author of it, not rerlecl- 
 ing, that indecency in wit, like immodefty in 
 beauty, is a bafe proftitution of thofe facred 
 gifts which are truly delightful only in the pro- 
 portion that they are innocently exercifed. 
 
 But this irreverence of things holy, is by 
 no means the effecT:, either of true philofophy, 
 or true courage : for both thefe are frie nds to 
 piety; and there is as much difference betwixt 
 a common-place Atheift, and a Chriftian phi- 
 lofopher, as betwixt an hero and a coward. 
 Pretenders to infidelity are, indeed, always cow~ 
 ards : they are afraid of their own confciences, 
 the " compunctious vifitings" of which they at- 
 tempt to efcape by a loud laugh, as children 
 and common country people endeavour to dif- 
 guife their terrors in palling through a church- 
 yard in the dark, by making a noife, or whitt- 
 ling as they run. No, my friend, philofophy 
 is what our poet of nature, the Virgilian 
 Thorn fon, has defcribed it : 
 
 Eftufive fource of evidence and truth, 
 i ( A luftre {bedding o'er th' ennobled mind, 
 
 K 3 " Stronger
 
 134 GLEANINGS, &V- 
 
 " Stronger than fummer noon, and pure as that 
 
 " Whofe mild vibrations footh the parted foul. 
 
 " She fprings aloft with elevated pride 
 
 *' Above the tangling mafs of low ddires, 
 
 e And angel wing'd, 
 
 c The heights of fcience and of 'virtue gains !" 
 
 Look at the modern affecler of philofophy, 
 that is of infidelity, in his hours of ficknefs, 
 or in the moments of death ! Did thofe friends 
 or relatives, who are then behind the curtain, 
 ever report fatisfactory or confident accounts 
 of the philofophy of the expiring guilty ? The 
 infiances are rare, even where the mod illuftri- 
 ous philofopber-atheifts have died, without ei- 
 ther formally difavawing, or by implication 
 believing their miferable fyftem ! As the excefs 
 of wickednefs is certainly the extreme of folly, 
 we may fairly adopt the maxim of our truly 
 Chriltian poet, 
 
 " Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die." 
 
 Will you not then come into my apology for 
 a village fuperflition under certain refrric'tions ? 
 Sacred he the vifionary candle, and the fancied 
 voise! They may lead perhaps to the para- 
 dife of fimplicity, but will not feduce the eafy 
 of faith into the paradife of fools. 
 
 May faith, philofophy, and the virtues, which 
 are their offspring, be their guide. Farewell. 
 
 J.ETTER
 
 CLEANINGS/ &C. 1%$ 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 I Rejoice to hear, by your's, that you 
 are well amufed with the fubjedlof my laft, for 
 J have not yet done with it. I have, in re- 
 fervc, another Welch fuperftition, by way of 
 Bonne-Bouche ; for, if I can give it to you 
 with any of the impreffions it made on me, you 
 will find it more entertaining than any I have 
 yet recounted. 
 
 Contrive to be ferious, I beg of you, while, 
 in fobernefs, I acquaint you, that queen Mahr, 
 and all her Elfin train, however banilhed out 
 of England, have at all times had both houfe 
 and land in Wales. There is not a more ge- 
 neral received opinion throughout the princi- 
 pality, than that of the exiftence of fairies. 
 Amongft the commonalty it is, indeed, univer- 
 fal, and by no means unfrequently credited by 
 the fecond ranks: my infatiable curiofity, in 
 tracing this fact, has enabled me to difcover it 
 in more than one inftance amongft the firih 
 During my refidence jn Glamorganlhire, I was 
 told of a clergyman, who had not only a be* 
 lief in thefe little creatures, but who had 
 K 4 written
 
 written a book, containing a great many of 
 their exploits. The gentleman, who gave me 
 this information, \vas acquainted with the au- 
 thor, to whom I was introduced, but was ap- 
 prized by my conductor, as we walked along, 
 that he was generally thought to be " a little 
 cracked." As I well know that all forts -of 
 people, who follow up any purfuit or paffion 
 out of the common track of action, or fenti- 
 ment, with the enthuiiafm neceffhry to excel 
 in it, are accounted- more or lefs out of their 
 minds, and as I have, myfelf, been long in the 
 enjoyment of this reputation for furely it is 
 a kind of fame to fuffer in the opinion of the 
 cold and unfeeling for one's warmth of heart . 
 I- laid little ftrefs upon this part of my guide's 
 information.-' "The fubject which the author 
 had chofen, and the folemn manner in which 
 he! treated it, went much more in my mind to 
 impeach his judgment than his intellect ,- but 
 as every man has his hobby-horfe, a fairy ta/e t 
 jsy perhaps, as pleafant to carry one to fairy 
 lax J,: AS any other ; fo I made my bow 'to him 
 w-jtbout. prejudice ; for, juft as his friend, my 
 Companion, had finlfhed this yery friendly ac- 
 count of him, we came within- view of his 
 parfonage, -at the door of which he was re- 
 galing himfelf with a pipe. We entered into 
 familiar conmfarion almoft immediatel that
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 1^1 
 
 we had changed the civilities of meeting, for 
 he had been apprifed of our coming, and was 
 fo full charged with his favourite topic, that 
 he went off like a rocket. The firfl fhot 
 being his, I had no opportunity to return it, 
 till he had moil folemnly attefted every ilory 
 of his book to be apoftolical ; he related to me 
 as much .fupplementary matter, intended to 
 enrich a fecond edition, as would have made 
 an eighfceen-penny pamphlet ofitfelf. But our 
 Parfon rode his fairy pad fo furioufly, that it 
 not only run away with him, but with our din- 
 ner; and though I have all poflible difpofition to 
 indulge people in thefe fallies, hoping for, 
 and infilling upon, the like complaifance, when 
 I am galloping away on my own poney, I felt 
 fuch an incorrigible defire on this occalion 
 to weigh <c folid pudding againft the empty 
 praife," of thefe little imaginary beings in El- 
 fin Land, that I left the good prieft to his 
 " lenten entertainment," and made the befl of 
 my way back, to a more eleemofinary banquet. 
 
 Did I not tell you, quoth my introducer, as 
 we went home, that the poor man was mad? 
 though, I think, he was more compos to day 
 than I have ever known him. Indeed ! replied 
 I, if this is his lucid interval, what mud 
 $>e his perfect diftraction ? O l this 43 nothing, 
 
 anfwered
 
 -f J.S CLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 artfwered his friend, I have known him run on 
 about the fairies, till he has foamed at the 
 mouth like a -mad dog, and fworn that thefre 
 5*;ere then a thoufand in the.. room with him, 
 vifible only to hi'mfclf, on account of his great 
 reipecl: for them, and I remember once, on our 
 townsfolk laughing at him, in one of thefe 
 fairy-fits, he, fell into a paffion, and faid, he 
 yrould make; thefe little mifchiefs pinch and 
 haunt them by. day and night, for their taunt- 
 xngi: and, as fure as you are alive, continued 
 my guide, upon two of the company fnapping 
 their fingers, and faying, they neither cared for 
 him, nor the fairies, he made them both re- 
 pent it: for that very night, and all the next 
 day, the poor men were fo tormented by thefe 
 Jittfe devil?, God forgive me, that they were 
 
 obliged to make intereft with Parfon 1 
 
 the gentleman we have juft left, to get them 
 off the premifes. 
 
 Then, you believe in their existence your- 
 felf? 
 
 Heaven forbid ! that I mould not. I have 
 been fufferer enough by them, I know, to have 
 my creed well fettled in that refpeA. But to 
 tell you the truth, they always had a fp-ite 
 me, and my whole family; and, for a 
 
 trifle,,
 
 GLEANINGS, 6?r, 139 
 
 trifle, which would not have put a fly out of 
 temper. 
 
 What did you do to vex them? 
 
 Only barred up a window, ne# to the room 
 where you flept laft night. 
 
 What objection had they to that? 
 
 Why, they ufed to throw up the fafh every 
 night, and fteal every thing they could lay 
 their hands on. 
 
 Are they fuch dimoneft brats ! The little 
 rogues ! Who could have thought it ? 
 
 The greateft thieves in the world, Sir, little 
 as they are. 
 
 Are you ferious? Do you really believe in 
 them ? 
 
 Believe! I wim you would, to night, fleep 
 in the barred room, that's all. 
 
 With all my heart. 
 
 I would not advife you. You had better 
 not. I wim I could throw it out of my houfc, 
 without pulling the whok building to pieces. 
 
 I'll venture, however. 
 
 No
 
 *4 GLEAN I"N G S, Cf?<r. 
 
 No you fhan't. I -Won't have your life, 
 nor your limbs to anfwer for; befides, the 
 little toads begin to be tirefi of hankering about, 
 and if I keep it clofed another year, I exped 
 they will fmc^another haunt. For they don't 
 fancy any apartment but that. 
 
 If there is a fimilarity.in' the faith of you, 
 and your friend on this article, why laugh at 
 him, or confider him as out of his fenfes ? 
 
 Let us call a better fubject, Sir, for, you fee, 
 we have got fafe home, and if you are half as 
 hungry as, I am, you will think a good fpare- 
 ribofpork, which, I exped: to find on the 
 table, though betwixt hot and cold, is worth 
 all fairy-land. 
 
 Thus it is, my friend, we are accurate cri- 
 ticks, in difcovering and expofing the weak- 
 nefTes of others, but are quite blind to our 
 qwn, tbo' of the fame fize and kind. How tru 
 it was from the beginning! How true it will 
 be to the end ! that " we fee the mote in the 
 eye of our brother, but difcover not the beam 
 in our own." 
 
 Believing that I had fallen, partially, amongft 
 the votaries of the fairy legions, by meeting 
 with two men, who, though of different man- 
 ners
 
 GLEANINGS, &^. 141 
 
 ncrs'and characters, had nearly the fame degree 
 of credulity, the one a \vorfhipper from fear, 
 the other from reverence, I refolved to fee far- 
 ther into the fubject, before I concluded the 
 opinion, about thefe airy fprites to be general : 
 for to tell you the truth, I came v. ith a mind 
 little favourable to admit the impreffions, 
 which Camden, and other Cambrian biogra- 
 phers had attempted to make upon k; fhall I 
 confefs, that I not only contefted the- fact itfelf, 
 as to the agency of thefe beings, as fincerely 
 as I did thofe gentry of Liliput, about their 
 own fuppofed fize and dimenfions, but I 
 thought the report of thefe hiftorians, likrxife 
 a fiction allowed to travellers as an indul- 
 gence, in the way that we grant a poetical 
 licence to the votaries of the mufes. Having, 
 therefore, an equal degree of leifure and curi- 
 olity, I was fixed to make farther enquiries ; 
 accordingly, the day following, I accepted the 
 offer of an agreeable, and intelligent compa- 
 nion, who propofed an excurfion to the hills in 
 the neighbourhood of Pontipool, which had 
 been immemorially celebrated, for the ancient 
 and modern haunts of this tiny people. In 
 this little tour, the beauty of the day, and of 
 the country, rich 'in whatever could gratify a 
 traveller, 1 collected abundant living evidence, 
 that the belief in thefe fmall perfonages was 
 
 folenm
 
 142 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 folemn and general. Thofe, faid my affociat^ 
 pointing to a chain of ftupendous, and even Al- 
 pine hills to the left, thofe, though, I believe it 
 not, are thought to be every night traverfed by 
 thoufands of fairies ; the centre part of the mid- 
 dle mountain, is called their table, and on num- 
 berlefs green circles, which grow greener under 
 their ftootfteps, they are faid to revel. We en- 
 tered, with freedom, feveral little piclurefque 
 cottages, fcattered round thefe delicious hills 
 and vales, and I perceived that on the fubjecl: of 
 fairies, the creed of every peafant was the fame ; 
 in every hut, I found fuperftition had a feat : 
 but I found that better, at lead, more hofpi- 
 table guefts were alfo, the inmates : health, hap- 
 pinefs, fimplicitVj induftry, innocence, and pa- 
 ternal love. The heart-echoing kifs,' which 3 
 labourer gave to his twelfth child, the nurfe- 
 ling, while fix others were gathering round 
 him, after a feparation only of a few hours, and 
 while bread is all his utmoft toil could work 
 out of the mountains, was a fight that might 
 have taught wifdom to a philofopher, envy 
 to avarice, and humility to a monarch. It 
 reached my very heart. It will not be remote 
 from yours ; but to move, to melt it, in the 
 fame degree, you muft make a vilit to the fairy 
 mountains, and on fuch a day, amidfl fuch 
 
 fcenery,
 
 CLEANING S, f?r. 14? 
 
 fcenery, have your mind poffejjed with fuch 
 objects, upon the fpot where they grow. 
 
 It is fingular, that there are particular places 
 all over this country, where the malign in- 
 fluence of the fairy tribe, has made the people 
 look upon them as under a fort of fpell. Thus, 
 if we put the collective accounts together, we 
 mall perceive, that the fairy race are, rather 
 bad than good neighbours 4 for, you will hardly 
 meet with a Welch "peafant, who is not pro- 
 vided with fome inftances to their difcredit, 
 within his own knowledge. It is incredible to 
 what lengths the malice of thefe fprites wiii 
 go, if we are to believe the alfeverations of the 
 fwains they live amongft : inftead of being ia 
 good-fellowfhip as might be expected of well! 
 difpofed fairks, they take delight only in 
 cheating and annoying them. There are fe- 
 veral houfes, particularly fome antique halls, 
 which have fo ill fame for being haunted b/ithc 
 fairies, that the poor-eft perfons in the country, 
 \vould rather fitep unfheltered, and 
 
 " Bide the pelting of the pitilefs ftorm," 
 than have the fineft apartments therein : I am 
 x-rtain, they would not pafs u. Hngle night in 
 uny of thefe profcribed places, for, the fee-fimple 
 the eftates thereunto belonging. 
 
 The
 
 *44 GLEAN INC S t &C. 
 
 The outrages fa id to be committed nightlj% 
 by the fairy generations, exceed the pranks-, 
 of that order of young fellows, or old fellows 
 with young follies, known by the fpirited names 
 of bucks and bloods; and their thefts and 
 depredations, about the country, furpafs thofe 
 of the gypfey tribes : with this aggravation 
 too, that there is no conftable to take them 
 up, nor any juftice able to make them keep 
 the peace, or commit them to the houfe of 
 correction, or even bind them over to better 
 behaviour. They are above all law, and of 
 courfe, beyond the reach of an acl of parlia- 
 ment; which, is certainly, a great hardmip on 
 the Welch peafants, who, though overrun with 
 them, and put nightly into bodily fear, can 
 neither fue for trefpafs, nor recover damages, 
 nor make them pay for an aflault ! 
 
 Their malicious devifes, would fill as many 
 folios, as Sir John Hill's Vegetable Syflem, 
 and their petty larcenies, are as numerous. 
 And thefe are not confined to the neighbour- 
 hood of Pontipool, but extend northward to 
 the boundaries of the Principality. I heard 
 of their naughty doings again, in Merioneth- 
 Ihire, Carnarvon, and Anglefey ; not only the 
 firm belief in their exigence, extending to 
 thefe places, but as thorough a conviction, 
 
 that
 
 GLEANINGS, ?f. 14$ 
 
 that they are, with very few exceptions, as er- 
 rant a pack of Little Pickles, as any in the 
 world, and a kitten with a cracker at its tail, 
 or a bird with a firing to its leg, is more likely 
 to reft in the hands of a parcel of fchoolboys, 
 than a poor fwain, or damfel in the clutches of 
 an offended fairy. 
 
 It was impoflible in thefe enquiries, not to 
 have often in mind, the many; beautiful de- 
 fcriptions of Shakfpeare : and my old friends, 
 Puck, Peafebloflbm, and Robin Goodfellow, 
 were frequently playing their waggeries in my 
 fancy: but little did I fuppofe, when I have 
 been delighted with thefe perfonages, that 
 there was a part of the world, appertaining to 
 my own country, where a countlefs number 
 of really fhrewd people, believed as firmly in 
 the exiftence, and potency of thefe creations of 
 fuperftition, as in that of their God. 
 
 I have forborn the relation of "a thoufand 
 fad, and merry, fairy tales, the refult of 
 my refearches into this curious fubjeft, becaufe 
 one is as good as a thoufand ; and that one 
 you lhall have here, as a fpecimen of the reft. 
 
 In my way to England, I flept a night in the 
 
 village of Feftiniog, and being the only tra- 
 
 VOL. i. L veller,
 
 146 GLEANINGS, &C* 
 
 veller, then in the houfe, had the choice of the 
 bed chambers. I fixed upon that which I 
 thought the moft commodious, and after I had 
 taken my folitary repaft, was preparing to re- 
 tire, when my landlady made her appearance, 
 and faid, that fhe could not anfwer it to her 
 confcience, to let me go to reft, without tell- 
 ing me, that the apartment I had chofen, 
 though the bed in her houfe, had the misfor- 
 tune to be troubled by the fairies; that had I 
 been an ordinary ftranger, fhe Ihould not have 
 mentioned it, but being recommended to her 
 houfe, by one of her beft friends and cuftomers, 
 fhe felt it her du:y to apprife me of the cir- 
 cumftancc; after which, I might do as I 
 plcafed. She concluded this aweful intel- 
 ligence, by informing me, fhe had foundly 
 rated the chambermaid, for her carelefTnefs, in 
 ihewing that apartment, the door of which 
 was never opened, but when the inn was full 
 of company, and not another bed to be had. 
 
 Whether it proceeded from that queer pro- 
 penfity in human nature, to do what you are 
 warned not to do, or from a fpirit of relift- 
 ance, to thefe fimplicities of faith, I do not 
 know. I can only tell you, that my landlady's 
 caution, determined me not to profit by ir. I 
 thanked her, however, for the hint, and de- 
 fired
 
 GLEANINGS, &C* 1 4.7 
 
 fired to be {hewn to the haunted chamber, de- 
 claring to her, at the fame time, that I had been 
 Ib great an admirer of fairies, ever fince I read 
 one of our great poet's account of them, :hat I 
 was perfectly Satisfied they would rather look 
 on me, as an old acquaintance, than a ftranger, 
 and treat me as fuch ; and furthermore, as it 
 was excefiive cold weather, if fifty, or an hun- 
 dred of the little gentlefolks were difpofed to 
 pafs the night with me, they would be extremely- 
 welcome to part of my bed, and I did not 
 doubt butthat, mould this be the cafe, I mould 
 be able in the morning, to give a very good 
 account of my bedfellows. 
 
 For that matter, Sir, faid mine hoftcfs, one 
 of your great poet-men, and, who was a lord, 
 into the bargain, took a fancy, likewife, to that 
 very room, where he flept three nights, and 
 pad his days where you are now fitting, after 
 clambering up and down the mountains for 
 hours together. 
 
 Well, and did be make any complaints of 
 the common difturbers of that chamber? 
 
 He was too mild and fweet-tempered a gen- 
 tleman, to make complaints about any thing; 
 but on my aiking, if he faw or heard msre 
 L 2 than
 
 148 GLEANINGS, <^7. 
 
 than he wifhed, or found his window thrown 
 open, or any of his things tofs'd about the 
 room, or any pattering of little feet, or, in 
 fhort, any fairy work going forward ? He 
 {hook his head, and faid, it was almoft irn- 
 poffible for a man, he -few plainly, to be in 
 the moft retired parts of the world, but he 
 would be annoyed with bufy bodies, and im- 
 pertinents that would be afking queftions, and 
 forcing themfelves, uncalled, into company. 
 This was pretty plain, I think, Sir. 
 
 I think fo too, and . will, therefore, go to 
 bed, landlady, for you have mentioned a rea- 
 fon, for my preference of that chamber, that 
 out-weighs all the fairies of Merionethfhire, 
 were they every one, at this moment, making 
 merry in my bed : the great poet you allude 
 to was. Lord Lyttleton. I know he was at 
 Feftiniog, and am glad to find that accident 
 has conducted me to the fame inn, and even 
 into the fame apartment. I have read what he 
 wrote here. 
 
 Aye, lie was aIways/m/>Z'//'g-, poor dear gen- 
 tleman, when he was within doors, and when 
 he was without, he ran up and down hills and 
 dales, in fuch a manner, though neither young 
 nor flro jig, that folks, hereabouts, thought him 
 
 a
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. j^ 
 
 a madman; but his valet dejbam, told us, he 
 was only a poet; and was making a book 
 about us Welch people, and our country: 
 tho' what he could find here worth putting in a 
 printed book, I cannot think ; yet, he was quite 
 betide himfelf with joy, and often told my 
 hufband, that we ought to think ourfelves very 
 happy, as we lived in Paradife : for that matter, 
 we do not live amifs, confidering a poor, lone 
 place ; we get fifh and game of all forts ifi 
 plenty, and now and then, can (hew a joint of 
 meat, with any body, as your honour fhall fee, 
 if you mould like to flay with us as long as 
 the Poet Lord. 
 
 Finding that the good woman had no other 
 idea of Paradife than that we Ihould there be 
 furc of the bed provifions, and choiceft rarities 
 for the palate, (which idea is, by the bye, to 
 the full as refined, as that of numberlefs in- 
 habitants in polite cities,) I again "bade her 
 good night, and withdrew to the haunted 
 chamber. 
 
 I declare to you, that the ho.neft people who 
 are terrified about thefe little fellows, y'clept 
 fairies, never more earneftly wifhecl they might 
 be free from their vifitations, than I did- for 
 their appearance; at the fame time, that I de- 
 i 3 fpaired
 
 I5O GLEANINGS, 6?f. 
 
 fpaircd of being honoured by this fairy-favour. 
 Neverthelefs, I was kept fome hours from the 
 leaft defire to fleep ; the night was piercingly 
 cold, but it was about the third quarter of the 
 moon, whofe frofty clearnefs, threw into the 
 apartment, precifely that fort of elfin-light, 
 which thefe little perfonages are faid to love; 
 and, certainly, if they have any human fenfa- 
 tions about them, or are at all fenfible to the 
 change of feafons, on their tiny frames, which, 
 by being fo often feen in propria perfona, muft 
 be occafionally corporeal, a fnug birth in a 
 warm bed-chamber^, would be preferable to 
 any thing they could meet with on the fnowy 
 mountains, or in icy vallies. I had talked my- 
 felf, and thought myfelf neither into expecta- 
 tion or hope ; yet whofoever follows up an en- 
 quiry of any kind, with undiminifhing ardour 
 of curiofity, will be lefs difpofed to flumber, 
 than he whofe inveftigations have attained their 
 oropofed end. 
 
 As I lay in this wakeful irate, I ran over 
 all the pretty things that have been faid by 
 our Poets on the fairy fybject. 
 
 I repeated, aloud, feveral of the favourite 
 paflages, from the beautiful poems of Parnej, 
 in bis u Fairy Tale," and in the " Ode to In, 
 
 2 difference."
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. i$l 
 
 difference." I invoked the fprites even by 
 the Spirit of Shakfpeare, which, I cannot but 
 believe, has a potency far fuperior to their 
 own; in this muling mood I remained till the 
 peep of dawn, when it is admitted, that thefc 
 children of darknefs, like all others of that 
 caft and character, Jleal off. I, therefore, com- 
 pofed myfelf to a ihort flcep, after which, I 
 rofe with an intention to profecute my journey. 
 
 The very moment I got down flairs, my 
 landlady took notice that I looked very poorly, 
 and no wonder, faid me ; I was fure your 
 honour could not fleep, for all your braggado/ia: 
 I heard you, Sir, talk to the fairies for half an 
 hour together; our rooms are parted only by a 
 thin boarded partition. I warrant, you had 
 your room full of them: don't deny it, Sir, 
 becaufe I heard you fpeak to them as plain, 
 and indeed, louder than I now hear myfelf: 
 nay, if it had not been for fear, I would have 
 come and knocked at your door, for they can- 
 not bear to be furprifed at any of their tricks. 
 
 It feems I had been taken in the fa& of re- 
 citing the verfes, which my landlady interpreted 
 into addrefles to the fairies ; for as to repeat- 
 ing at fuch a time of night, and in fuch^a 
 chamber, for my own diverfion, it could neither 
 L 4 enter
 
 152 'GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 enter voluntarily, nor be driven coercively, in- 
 to her head, without admitting at the fame 
 moment the moft thorough conviction of my 
 infanity. Befides this, there is fomething fo 
 unwelcome in combating any notion a perfon 
 has taken up and is pleafed with, that I con- 
 tented myfelf with leaving the matter open to 
 the good woman's interpretation, by faying, in 
 the words of Beatrice : " I confefs nothing, 
 and I deny nothing." It was therefore taken 
 for granted, that I had not only fe&n, but dif- 
 courfed with the fairies all night ; that I had 
 intreated them to be civil ; that I had begged 
 pardon for not before having faith in them ; 
 and that, if they would fpare me only that 
 once, I promifed to build a temple for them, 
 to kifs their " tiny footfleps, and to worfhip 
 them for ever." To this effect did mine hoftefs 
 conftrue the different recitations j many of 
 which, you, who are verfant in all that our 
 great bard, and the minor poets, have fung or 
 faid on the fubject, will recollect to be appli- 
 cable to the occaiion, particularly the follow- 
 ing paflages : 
 
 ',' Ye Elfin fprites, 
 
 " Come, now a roundel and a fairy fong, 
 " Come fing me now afleep, then let me reft." 
 
 . *This, my landlady faid, was begging what 
 never granted, for they always broke 
 
 people's
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 153 
 
 people's reft when they got into their bed- 
 chambers. 
 
 After I had laid about an hour, without any 
 vifitant, I invoked Queen Mab herfelf, and in 
 language which, had Ihe been within hearing, 
 Ihe muft have anfwered in perfon, or been 
 looked on as a fairy of no tafle or genius : 
 
 * Thou art (I know) a fpirit of no common rate, 
 " Thou can'ft give fairies to attend me ftrait ; 
 f( Can'ft bid them fetch me jewels from the deep, 
 " And fing, while I on prefled flowers do Ileep. 
 ' Hop in my walks, and gambol in my eyes ; 
 " Feed me with apricots and dewberries, 
 " With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries ; 
 " Steal for me honeybags from humble bees ; 
 " For my night-tapers crop their waxen thighs, 
 " And light them at the fiery glow-worms eyes, 
 " And pluck the wings from painted butterflies, 
 " To fan the moonbeams from my fleeping eyes." 
 
 Yes, yes, quoth mine hoftefs, I heard you beg- 
 ging and praying them to fetch you fruit and 
 honey, but the deuce a grape, or a morfel even 
 of bees-wax, you get from them. You foon 
 was of that opinion too, your honour, I fancy, 
 for you gave them their true character foon 
 after. I judge flic interpreted the malign pro- 
 perties attributed to them by our great bard in 
 the fubfequent Ijjnqs, which, I remember, I re- 
 peated with a fort of malicious energy, as if, 
 
 filled
 
 1^4 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 filled with their fubjcdt, I felt myfelf piqued at' 
 their refufing to pay me a vifit. We know 
 a thing is very little likely to happen, and yet 
 we work up our wifhes to a warmth fo fairy- 
 like, as to be frequently difpleafed and difap- 
 pointed, that it does not. Who has not found 
 this unreafonable fally in himfelf ? 
 
 What! will none of you appear ye little 
 tormentors, cried I, in my foliloquifing way ? 
 
 " This muft be the fpite, 
 ' Or I miftake, of that fhrewd knavifh fprite, 
 Call'd Robin Goodfellow, 
 " That frights the maidens of the villagery, 
 * Skiros milk, and fometimes labours in the quern, 
 " And bootlefs makes the breathlefs houfivife churn, 
 And fometimes makes the drink to bear no barme, 
 ' Miflead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm." 
 
 I have heard of your pranks, my little maf- 
 ters, continued I, and prefume you are upon 
 fome now. Each mifchievoufly employed, I 
 warrant you : 
 
 " Some to kill cankers in the mufk rofebuds 
 
 " Or war with rear-mice for their leathern wings, 
 
 * To make them coats ! 
 
 And as for you, Matter Puck, 
 
 " Up and down then, up and down, 
 " You are fear'd in field and town ; 
 " Over hill, over dale, 
 " Through bufh, through briar, 
 '* Over park, over pale ; 
 
 " Through
 
 CLEANINGS, fc?f. 155 
 
 " Through flood, through fire, 
 " You do wander every where; 
 " Swifter than the moon's fphere, 
 *' You do ferve the fairy queen, 
 " To dew her orbs upon the green." 
 
 Nay, I have heard you boaft you could 
 
 f Put a girdle round about the earth 
 " In f9rty minutes. 
 
 My landlady told me, they were capable of 
 taking all fhapes, but fhe gave into the com- 
 mon notion of their tripping off at day-break. 
 On her afking my opinion of this very gravely, 
 I with no lefs folemnity pretended to believe 
 It in the general, but that a very great poet 
 in my country, greater than her friend, Lord 
 Lyttelton, and who had a mighty veneration 
 for all thefe little perfons, declared that, al- 
 though many of them 
 
 " Wilfully exile themfelves from light, 
 
 For fear that day ftiould look their lhames upon^ 
 ' Yet there are fpirits of another fort, 
 
 Who with the morning light have oft made fpof t ; 
 ' Who, like a forefter, the groves may tread, 
 
 ' Even till the eaftern gate, all fiery red, 
 
 ' Opening on Neptune, with far blefling beams, 
 
 Turns into yellow gold his falt-green ftreams." 
 
 Your fine poetmen feldom fpeak fo as a poor 
 body can underftand them, faid the good wo- 
 man all I know is, our Welfh fairies are feen 
 only at night ; but I am glad you believe in 
 them, or they would do you an ill turn before 
 
 you
 
 I.$6 GLEANINGS, f?f. 
 
 you get home. Now, though I had as much 
 belief in the wall and moonfhine of Pyramus 
 and Thifbe, I pretended my faith was fixed : 
 I was a convert. 
 
 By way of prefent comfort and future fecu- 
 rity, however, mine hoftefs promifed me, on 
 my exprefling a defign to pals another night 
 under her roof, to put me into the yellow room, 
 to which, me afTured me, the little tormentors 
 had a particular objection. Determined to 
 humour the jeft, I affedled to be highly fatisfied 
 with this, and me then told me the ftory of a 
 neighbour who had loir a cheft of drawers, and 
 feveral other pieces of furniture, which were 
 found, after many days, above a league off, upon 
 one of the enormous druidical flones, as at the 
 top of an high mountain ; where, added me, not 
 an hundred men could drag it, and that, there- 
 fore, ft muft befprigkted away by fairies. Upon 
 my mewing tokens of furprife, that thefe mi- 
 ferable Lilliputians mould be more powerful 
 than an hundred men, my landlady informed 
 me that it was all done by magic, and that they 
 had been known to move trees, and carry 
 away men and horfes out of their warm beds 
 and fet them fall in the middle of a quagmire, 
 or drop them on a bare heath merely by 
 charming 1 ' As : I wifh'd to fee a little more of 
 
 this
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. f 57 
 
 this fairy land than was to be difcovered through 
 the windows of my inn, I ended the con- 
 verfation, by obferving to my hoftefs, that this 
 was carrying the flight of hand to a wonder- 
 ful perfection indeed ; and it would be. highly 
 worth while for Meffrs. Jonas, Breflaw, and 
 the other prefto pafs gentlemen, who live by 
 enchanting^ to come and make a few improve- 
 ments in the art of magic, or " delicate decep- 
 tions," as they have been called, by thzprofef- 
 fors in conjuration. 
 
 Such a fall of fnow had happened in the 
 night, in addition to what was on the ground 
 before, that, though the fun did the beft that 
 it could for me at that feafon of the year, 
 neither my old horfe, nor his matter, were dif- 
 pofed to proceed that day any farther, at leaft 
 together j fo I made a tour of the mountains 
 and vallies on foot; vehemently refufing all of- 
 fers of a guide, whom in a ramble of this 
 kind I have all my life confidered as an infup- 
 portable interruption ; for it is amongft my 
 fupreme plcafures to find out the wonders and 
 beauties of nature with my own eyes, to rea- 
 fon about them with my own underftanding, 
 and to extract all the knowledge they are able 
 to give me out of themfelves, before I afk other 
 people; who officioufly tell you every thing 
 6 before
 
 I 5 8 GLEANINGS, 6fc. 
 
 before you come to it, and then it is ten to 
 one but their account of the fad, and the fadt 
 itfelf, is at leaft as wide from each other, as 
 would have been my own unafliftcd conjec- 
 tures ; befides that it deprives me of the plea- 
 Jures of conjecture, which are (to ail inquifitivc 
 mind that is to a mind, that likes to anfwer 
 its own queftions) always fomething. More- 
 over, I have found thefe common-place hifto- 
 rians of the village, or country, to be not a 
 whit more ufeful, though full as learned as 
 thofe biographers in great cities, appointed to 
 explain the wonders of St. Paul's in London, 
 or St. Peter's at Rome; thier explanations, 
 being nearly as illuftrative of the objects, as 
 the elaborate commentators on the texts of 
 Shakfpeare, or the Holy Bible. The volumes 
 of Nature and Religion, my friend, rarely re- 
 quire any of thefe darkling elucidations ; for 
 both are fo fimple, and fo intelligible, that in 
 general, he that runs may read and under- 
 ftand them; and, wherever there are difficulties 
 in either, they are, ufually, made worfe and 
 more intricate, by bungling guides, who con- 
 found confufion. For all thefe reafons, I 
 perambulated the environs of Fefliniog alone, 
 and thus added another inftance of my ob- 
 ftinate adherence to my own plans, which pro- 
 duced
 
 GLEANINGS, &f. \$$ 
 
 duced a portentous make of my landlady's 
 head. 
 
 Jufl as I was going out of the door, fhe 
 hinted that the young peafant fhe defigned to 
 accompany me, was thought a goodfcho/ard, and 
 could talk Englifh by the hour together. Had 
 it been poflible for my former refolution of 
 being a folitary, to have received any acceflions 
 offtrength, this intelligence would have the 
 more determined me; for the affeclation, of 
 fcience amongft common people, produces 
 fuch infufferable jargon, that it is even more 
 naufeating, than the pompofity of pedantry it- 
 felf. Had the guide only fpoken Welch, or 
 been gifted with abfolute filence, he might 
 have had his uje, juft to keep me from two or 
 three pitfalls, into which I tumbled head over 
 heels in courfe of my walk, the fnow having 
 treacheroufly covered their furfaces. But to 
 efcape thefe little cafualties, at the expence of 
 having one's ears affailed, by a good Jcbolard, 
 while the ftupendous works of Nature, were 
 inrolled in volumes before me, by the Divine 
 Author; unfullied volumes that reached almoft 
 to the fkies would have been blafphemy. For 
 never, furely, in any part of his creation did the 
 Creator difplay himfclf with more awful mag- 
 nificence, with more aftoniming grandeur, than 
 
 in
 
 I 
 I 60 CLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 in the precincts of the little village of Fefti- 
 niog, on the day that I made tny furvey of it. 
 
 This, you are already apprifed, is the place, 
 the Summer drefs of which, Lord Lyttleton fo 
 agreeably defcribes. He tells us, that at the time 
 he vilited it, it was in the perfection of beauty. 
 From the height of this Merionethfhire village, 
 which is the moft lovely one my eyes ever be- 
 held, you have, fays his Lordfhip, a view of 
 the fea j the hills are green, and well fhaded 
 with wood: there is A delightful rivulet, which 
 winds through the bottom, on each fide arc 
 meadows, and above are cornfields, on the de- 
 clivities of the immenfe mountains ; at each 
 end are mountains ftill higher, which feem 
 placed there by nature, to guard this charming 
 retreat againft any invaders. With the wo- 
 man one loves, with the friend of one's heart, 
 and a good ftudy of books, one may pafs an 
 age there, and think it a day. If one has a 
 mind to live long, and renew his youth, let 
 him come and fettle 1 at Feftiniog. Not long 
 ago, there died there, an honeft Welch farmer, 
 who was an 105 years of age: by his firfl wife 
 he had thirty children, ten by his fecond, and 
 four by his third : his youngeft fon was eighty- 
 one years younger than his eldeft j and eight 
 
 hundred
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. l6l 
 
 hundred perfons defcended from his body, at- 
 tended his funeral. 
 
 My fecond vifit to this happy vale in the 
 fpring, juflified the above luxurious account. 
 Its. afpec% when covered, \vkh.fnow, gave to the 
 refpective objects, a fublimity, which cannot be 
 done juftice to, but by the memories of thofe, 
 who have feen a country 'abounding with afpi- 
 ring' mountains, and humble glens, and every 
 other grand irregularity of Nature, under the 
 domination of froft and fnow. The fe, in fiat 
 countries, prefent nothing but one uniform, un- 
 interefting \vafte: amidit the mountains, there 
 is the cataract, which refills the powers of ice; 
 the variety of ground, that throws, even the ice 
 itfelf, and the fnow, into a thoufand fantaftic 
 forms ; the hardy peafants, that brave the wea- 
 ther in a manner utterly unknown to fouthern 
 regions; the adventurous animals, that, im- 
 pelled alike by the element and their ap- 
 petite, -dig the fhrub on the points of the 
 rocks, hunt for the perilhed herb, through 
 mountains of fnow piled on the mountains of 
 earth, and an infinity of objects there only to 
 be obferved. 
 
 Full of this kind of imagery, I paft feveral 
 
 hours of the coldcil day ; but therewithal, the 
 
 VOL. i. M brighteft
 
 l62 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 brignteft of winter. The fnow had drizzled 
 for about half an hour, but more radiant fun- 
 mine fucceeded; yet the froft was fo much 
 ftronger than the thaw, that the flakes encrufted 
 on my hat and cloaths as they fell, and I was 
 as complete an icicle, on my return to the inn, 
 as any of the furrounding objects. 
 
 The furrounding objects, indeed, on my re- 
 turn, were in perfect contraft to thofe without 
 doors. The whole peafantry of the village of 
 Feftiniog, appeared to be got into the public 
 houfe, where the blazing hearth and vacant 
 hilarity, fet froft and fnow at defiance. Thefe 
 happy groups are very frequent in North 
 Wales, and particularly in thofe feafons, when 
 the rigorous elements drive men more upon 
 their internal refources. This, however, was 
 an extraordinary occafion. The member for 
 Merioneth, in which county ftands this fweet 
 village, had given a fat fheep, and a barrel of 
 homebrewed to the poor of every parifh within 
 his diftrict, to counteract the inclemency of 
 the froft : and this animal was roafting whole 
 in the kitchen, while the guefts were gathered 
 together in blifsful expectation, in a room ad- 
 joining. All that could beat an alarm to ap- 
 petite, or give to appetite gratified its moft 
 perfect tranquillity, was at work: an harper 
 I played
 
 GLEANINGS, &ft. 263 
 
 playtd the Triumph of Wales in one corner, a 
 poet fung his own compolitions, in imitation 
 of the ancient bards, in the other, feveral 
 Welch damfels joined in chorus; the firft 
 foaming jug of ale was drank off to the 
 founder of the feaft, the fnow fell fait, and 
 was drifted on the windows, and the warmth 
 of heart that reigned within, when the roafted 
 Iheep made its appearance, was more than 
 enough to baffle the rigour of u December in 
 Siberia. 
 
 You know enough of my difpofition to be 
 certain, I mixed in thefe jovial doings with all 
 my heart. Without (laying to be afked, I faw 
 that I was welcome. I was in a land of hofpi- 
 tality, and had I not been fo, the company 
 were, at the moment, too replete with feftivity 
 to be churlifh to a ftranger. Could one enter 
 the houfe of a mifer, while he was enjoying 
 himfelf on the bounty of a friend, he could 
 fcarcely fhut his heart to one that wiftied to be 
 happy alfo. Happinefs is naturally benevo- 
 lent : and as the poor in their hours of relaxa- 
 tion are, perhaps, the happieft of the happy, 
 fo are they, when they have any thing to give, 
 the mod bountiful of the generous. Many of 
 thefe will I have known them to do it mare 
 their laft (hilling, their laft meal, with a good 
 M 2 will ;
 
 .16 
 
 GtEANINGS, 
 
 -will, as fervent an urbanity, arid as courteous, 2s 
 if they were only dividing with you, the fuper- 
 -fluities of their ordinary table. The poor of 
 Wales are, on all feftive occaftons, the kindeft 
 of the liberal. " I eat, drank, and was merry/' 
 and in proeefs of the evening, ' every gambol 
 that healt'fi, " innocence, rufticity, and good 
 *fellow'flirp* let loofe from toil, could devife, 
 -took its round. Since the days of Cadwallader, 
 to thofe-of the prefent Prmce of Wales, the 1 re 
 never was feen a more comfortable fet of 
 human creatures, on a more ftormy night, 
 through which many of them had to feek their 
 way to their habitations, in' the different huts, 
 that were fcattered in the mountains, or in 
 the valley; " But this idea did not break in upon 
 the prefent moments, which were devoted to 
 joys, 'that, in fweet oblivion, abforbed the fu- 
 ture. You remember the winter evening of 
 
 > 
 
 the Englifh peafants, defcribed by Thomfon : 
 ^f was now' realized in Wales. The charming 
 lines came to my memory as I fat at the 
 "feftival ; and they again recur at this inftant: 
 they arc at the end of my pen. You would 
 not forgive me for driving them back: Here 
 then let thern flow on the paper. 
 
 : . .. 
 
 . " Meantime the village roufes up the fire ; 
 " While well attefted, and as well believ'J, 
 " Heard folcmn, goes the Goblin-ftory round ;
 
 GLEANINGS, 6?f. j6 
 
 The rural gambol, and the ruftic mirth ; 
 
 ' The fimple joke, that takes the fhepherd's heart, 
 
 " Eafily pleas'd ; the long loud laugh, fincere ; 
 
 The kite, fnatch'd hafty from the fide-long maid, 
 
 " On purpofe guardlefs, or pretending fleep : 
 
 " The leap, the flap, the haul ; and, fhook to notes 
 
 " Of native mufic, "the refpondent dance.-.- 
 
 " Thus jocund fleets with them the winter-night.'' 
 
 After this hannlefs merry-making, which 
 was certainly as paftoral, as if it had been the 
 arcadia of primitive times, each departed to 
 his home, and were fenced within, by hilarity 
 and good cheer, ag-ainft all annoyance from 
 without, fo effectually, that, I fufped:, it- was 
 neither in the power of froft, fnow, or fuper- 
 ftition, to chill them. Such are, truly, what 
 my friend Goldfmith fo poetically called, 
 
 " The ftill fmall joys that afk but little room." 
 
 I do not know the time, when I palled an 
 evening more to my fatisfaclion ; nor when I 
 crowned the night, with a more quiet reft, in 
 defpite of fairies and fairy tales. May your's, 
 my friend, this, and every other night, be as 
 undifturbed, after as pleafant days. 
 
 M 3 LBTTER
 
 766 GLEANINGS, &?<% 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 IF we examine Lord Lyttelton's de- 
 fcription of Feftiniog, fhall we not think him 
 a little unreafonable? and, in one or two paf* 
 fages, not quite correct as to fentiment ? With 
 the woman one loves, the friend of one's heart, 
 and a good ftudy of books, there is furely fcarce 
 a man in the world, whofc mind is fitted to 
 relifh them, but would convert Arabia Infelix 
 into a Paradife. There needs no fuch happy 
 vales as that of Feftiniog, to render a perfon 
 fo environed with heart-felt refources, more 
 than content. I argue, that even in abfence 
 of thefe, at Ieaft A the laft article, many a year 
 might pafs without a weary moment. No. I 
 renounce the thought in the very inftant that 
 I have made it. I feel, that if the ftudy of 
 books might be difpenfed with, the focial, 
 bofom joys, which the two other fources 
 afford, may not be given up. His Lord (hip is 
 in the right. The charm of feeing others 
 happy, and being one of the party, made me 
 for a little while forget, that the bcft part of 
 their felicity proceeds from domeftic happi- 
 nefs. The men were furrounded by their fa- 
 milies,
 
 CL EANINGS, &V. 167 
 
 mi lies, and fuch as were not, I remember, had 
 lefs jocund countenances, and feemed " maim- 
 ed of half their joys." On finding that the 
 ihow continued to fall violently, had you feen 
 how the mothers folded up their little ones, 
 and how the fathers forced their great coats on 
 the fhoulders of the mothers, and almoft ftrip- 
 ped themfelves, to fortify their wives and loves 
 againft the cold ; in particular, had you ob- 
 ferved, as I did, how a young fellow, after put- 
 ting the handkerchief that tied his own neck, 
 on that of a lafs whom he loved, carried her in 
 his arms, to the merriment of the whole com- 
 pany, and defiring every man to do as he did, 
 while in a frolic, betwixt the tendernefs and 
 glee of their hearts, they fet off with the wo- 
 men in the fame manner, the mountains re- 
 verberating with the " long loud laugh, 
 fincere," you would have flood at the door, as 
 long as I did, and been as little fenfible of the 
 cold. 
 
 Ah, my friend, there is nothing to be long 
 enjoyed, in the abfence of thofe who are dear 
 to us ! I feel that I am renewing the happinefs 
 of the fcenes, I have been pleafed with in my 
 journeyings, by defcribing them in correfpond- 
 cnce to you and other of my friends: nay, I 
 felt while they were pafling before me, that I 
 M 4 ihould
 
 l68 GlE AN I.NG S, &C. 
 
 fhould, again take delight in them, when I pre- 
 pared them for the pod ; and I often have 
 aniufed myfelf with thinking, as I rede by a 
 beautiful profpect, met with agreeable people, 
 or gave way to the emanations of a tender difpo- 
 fition, how flrongly will I point, and recom- 
 mend all thefe to the friends of my heart. . 
 
 Pr'ythee, tell me, does abfence foften. the 
 memory of injuries received? Does it take off 
 the edge of that indignation one naturally 
 feels for thofe who have ufed us ungratefully ? 
 J bave left behind me, now fome hundred 
 miles, more than a few perfons, the recency of 
 whofe unkind thoughts and practices towards 
 me ought to prevent my cealing to think of 
 them : I do not ceafe to think ; but I thinjc 
 of them every day with lefs afperity. My 
 fenfe of their injuflice is the fame: perhaps 
 it is the more impreflive the oftener it is re- 
 flected upon : but there is fomething in my 
 nature, either fo exceflively tender or weak, 
 that, without affectation, I aflure you, if, in 
 the particular conduct of an avowed enemy, 
 (one for inftance who has faid and done all 
 that an enemy can or dare d,o and fay) there 
 js on my recollection a fingle trait of good- 
 will or good-nature fhewn to me, prior to the 
 4ate of his enmity, and I have a memory very 
 
 faithful
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 169 
 
 faithful and retentive to kindnefs, I fatten 
 upon that trait as a fort of refource from the 
 pain of thinking on the general tenor of his 
 behaviour. Nay, if I have ever patted any- 
 happy days or hours in the fociety of thofe 
 who have afterwards made me pafs many com- 
 fortlefs or bitter ones, it is not eafy to exprefs 
 how I feel within me a propenfity to fink the 
 memory of the latter, and take refuge in the 
 former. This I have reafon to believe hath 
 not a relilh of benevolence in it, becaufe my 
 ideas of the ill-treatment I may have received 
 are unaltered; of courfe, the perfons of fuch 
 as have occalioned it, are no lefs irkfome to 
 thought : but it is a great relief to me, from 
 that very mifery of dwelling on the dark fide 
 of human nature, where there is but a ray of 
 light to turn it on the other. For this reafon, 
 though it is a felfifh one, perhaps, I am hourly 
 more convinced, that I am not made for long 
 refentments : for to you, and to God, I declare, 
 that, though I have not parted many years 
 from fome who, I have reafon to think, feek to 
 do me an ill turn, for no other caufe that I can 
 recoiled:, but- that they have injured me too 
 greatly ever to forgive me ; I cannot pay them 
 in kind, by meditating ill-will, or even ill 
 wifhes ; and though, as I obferved above, there 
 is neither "the milk of human kindnefs," nor 
 
 any
 
 IJO GLEANINGS, fefa. 
 
 any other foftening quality in all this, ,but to 
 get rid of the uneafy fcnfations that accompany 
 even a juft revenge, or the contemplations 
 which lead to and prepare it, it is at lead fo 
 far a greater felicity in temperature than the 
 bias which difpofes a man to brood over his 
 wrongs, and lie in wait, as fome minds have 
 ihewn a power of doing, for months, years, 
 half a long life, till opportunity gives effect to 
 accumulated vengeance. To obtain, at the 
 end of only one year, the moft compleat re- 
 venge over thofe moft injurious, I would not 
 exchange this conflitutional gift of tendernefs, 
 felf-love, or whatever you think fit to denomi- 
 nate this capacity, of preferring pleafant to dif- 
 agreeable reflections. 
 
 I would claim a much greater degree of 
 merit from the eternally unfading frefhnefs 
 with which I femember my abfent friends, did 
 not their virtues, talents, or kindnefs to me, 
 preclude all fort of merit even on that fubject, 
 and make that remembrance a fimple act of 
 juftice. But I may at leaft fay, that my memory 
 of them is green and immortal as the laurel, and 
 triumphs over abfence, adverfity, and even 
 over the more oblivious power that often attends 
 on profperity. The deliberate traveller mult 
 cither be worthlefs himfelf, or aifociate only 
 
 with
 
 CLEANINGS, &V. 1^1 
 
 with thofe that are of that defcription, if in his 
 route, he does not find fomc, who have demands 
 on his admiration for their genius, pity for 
 their misfortunes, or friendlhip for their good 
 offices. Of all thefe I have had my fhare, but, 
 believe me, none have, or ever can have, power 
 to impair the fentiment with which I retain 
 every impreflion due to thofe from whom I 
 am feparated. My " untravelled heart" turns 
 to them even when filence has been conftrued 
 into negled, and I appear to have forgotten 
 them. Each of them comes to my memory 
 with a fondnefs which often makes my heart 
 ache, that human life, occupation, and events, 
 permit not the power of giving as frequent 
 expreflion to kind wifhes, as they are felt and 
 excited. In years of greater leifure and fuller 
 health, the delights of correfpondence more 
 than compenfated for the quantity of time em- 
 ployed in fuftaining it. I neither feemed 
 nor defired to have any other employment 
 than to receive and reply to the letters of my 
 friends. Every poft brought me the conti- 
 nued hiftory of their joys and forrows, and I 
 gave mine in return withan ardour that doubled 
 the one, and took from the other at leaft 
 half its flings. But, alas ! the wants of health, 
 qf time, or of happinefs, 
 
 " cbcck'd the genial current of jhe/r/7," 
 
 which
 
 1 72 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 which is an inftrumcnt of " the foul." Deep, 
 heavy, and mediant too, are the taxes which 
 certain incidents of life levy upon ITS. Many 
 of thefe may make us facrifice the fweeteft 
 occupations of the heart on the altar of more 
 fevere exercifes : but never have the moft vio- 
 lent of thefe extinguimed one fpark of that 
 tendernefs I bear to thofe from whom I am 
 divided ; and every hour proves to me, that I 
 recollect the virtues, the talents, and endear- 
 ments of old friends, as affectionately as if 
 this maturity of my life was engaged, like 
 its earlier youth, only in the exchanges of per- 
 fonal or epiftolary profeffions. Ah ! could 
 my powers keep any pace with, or bear any 
 proportion to, my inclinations on this fubject, 
 a correfpondence, regular as that I keep 
 up with you, -my friend, mould attempt the 
 amufement of every other whom I love. If, 
 by my filence, I am fuffering in the opinion 
 of any on the idea of that filence being in- 
 duced by motives lefs cogent than that depri- 
 vation of health, leifure, and fpirits, whkh 
 make fuch frequent breaks in the lettered in- 
 tercourfe I carry on with you, my loved friend, 
 and a very few others, could they look in- 
 to my foul at this moment, could they enter 
 into its thoughts almoft every moment of 
 every day, they would not fimply acquit me of 
 2 raifmg
 
 GLEANINGS, fcfr. 1*73 
 
 raifing new frlendmips on the ruins of the 
 old, but confefs, that I reflected on their me- 
 rits as warmly, and on their failings (when I 
 thought on them at all) as candidly, as in the 
 moft glofTy feafons of attachment. 
 
 How have I rambled into thefe felfifh de,- 
 velopements? Muft I needs call them by fo 
 harm a name? In abfence, many delicate -ap- 
 prehenfions affail us. The very phyfician that 
 recommended the exercifes of my pen fet very 
 unfocial bounds to them ; for he knew, that 
 the very pofture of writing was, if long con- 
 tinued, pernicious to. that inveterate pain and 
 malady in my breaft, which has fo inceflantly 
 vexed me. It Hops the progrefs of rny pub- 
 lic engagements : it continues to limit my 
 private communications ; and though my mind 
 and body are relieved when I can in any mea- 
 fure furmount thefe bofom-evils, (and I am 
 daily gleaning a little more of health as I go 
 along) 1 am never fo churlifh as to keep an 
 unbroken hour to myfelf, but invariably de- 
 vote the beft part of it to you and to others 
 whom I appreciate ; and, in the feafons that I 
 cannot do this, I at leaft think kindly of you. 
 
 Accept then thefe pages of felf-defence ; for 
 I know that the fpirit of accufation has gone 
 
 forth
 
 174 GLEANINGS, fSC. 
 
 forth againfl me on the article of correfpofl* 
 dence : and if any thing could induce me to 
 believe your welcome flatteries as to the merit 
 of thefe letters, I mould derive the greateft 
 joy from the hope, that, if I adopt the propofal 
 you have made, of publifhing them, I might 
 acquire a fenfible gratification by uniting pub- 
 lic with private favour. 
 
 Forgive me, and return with me to FefH- 
 niog; or rather to my Lord Lyttelton's de~ 
 fcription of its attractions : amongft which he 
 feems, to reckon longevity. I fear, however, 
 this is a complaifance he was difpofed to 
 mew the country. Thofe who have long lived 
 in towns, afTume the ideas and feelings of a 
 poet, happy, though but for a few weeks or 
 days, to forget that they are men of the world. 
 Country church-yards are amongft the ob- 
 jects moft travellers vifit tranfiently; and when 
 we have tafted the rural breeze, luxuriated in 
 its profpects, and been frefhened by a change 
 of air and objects, We naturally enough con- 
 clude that we have left the abodes of difeafe, 
 langour, and untimely old age, and have, at 
 length, found the regions of perpetual health, 
 and of life, equally happy and long. From 
 experience, neverthelefs, of the fallacy of 
 fuppofing our " days of nature" are more in 
 
 number
 
 GLEANING S, &fc. 1^ 
 
 number when pad in the (hade, than amidft the 
 " hum of men," I have regretted, I know not 
 how often, that, in this cafe, as in many others, 
 truth and poefy are fo much at variance. 
 
 I ufually pafs an hour amidit the manfions 
 of the dead, in .every town or village at which 
 I paufe ; and I am, you know, a paufing tra- 
 veller ; I always .have been fuch : but if graves 
 and tombftones are to be confidered as the 
 faithful regifters of their refpedtiveparimes, and, 
 I believe, they are to be pretty much depended 
 upon; for all our little vanities are there ufe- 
 lefs, and even the buried beauty there con- 
 fefTes her age the village annals will, I believe, 
 have little to boaft of the antidote of zephirs, or 
 the anodyne of wholefome labour, after undif- 
 turbed repofe. I have more than once had the 
 curiofity, in this country, and in others, both a^ 
 home and abroad, to compare the dates of life 
 and death, as they are ftated in the burial 
 grounds, and if I have, fometimes, been inclined 
 to think the country church-yard, on a calcu- 
 lation of equal inhabitants, the repository of 
 fewer young, and of more advanced old age, I 
 have on the general average found, that the 
 aflertion of a celebrated tourift on this fubjefr, 
 is founded in fact. It is generally fuppofcd, 
 fays he, that life is longer where there are fewer 
 
 opportunities
 
 .176 GLEAN! N 1 GS, &V. 
 
 opportunities of luxury ; but a cottagcf grows 
 old over his oaten cakes, like a citizen at his 
 turtle feaft. A poor man is, indeed, feldom 
 incommoded by corpulence. Poverty preferves 
 him from finking under the burthen of hini- 
 felf, but he efcapes"no other injury from time. 
 Inftances of long life are often related, which 
 thofe who hear them, are more willing to cre- 
 dit than examine. To IDC told, that any man 
 has attained an hundred years, (as in the cafe 
 Lord Lyttelton has related,) gives hope and 
 comfort to him, who flands trembling on the 
 brink of his own climadleric. Length of life is, 
 indeed, 'distributed impartially to very differ- 
 ent modes of life, in very different climates ; and 
 the mountains have no greater inftances of age 
 and" health, than the low lands, nor can vil- 
 lages, and fmall towns, produce more examples, 
 than great cities, on a comparative average. 
 Even in the village-receptacle of the dead at 
 Feftiniog, 'the infant, the youth, the mature 
 man, and the veteran, lie mixing their alhes 
 together; ''and the inftance which his Lordfhip 
 has recorded, is amongft the very few, who 
 
 have rrfatcri'ally exceeded the human fpan. 
 
 ' 
 
 Bar in this little country therelive thofe, whom, 
 for the fake of human kind, a benevolent tra- 
 veller could not but wifh he might continue in 
 
 th
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 177 
 
 the world, till that world itfelf Ihould be no 
 more. The fnow-clad mountains of Cambria, 
 rny friend, have not affrighted the fpirit of 
 philanthrophy, from viliting their inhabitants ; 
 nor has the thick-ribb'd ice, that fometimes 
 places an impaflable gulph, betwixt a man 
 and his neighbour, 
 
 * Frozen the gertial current of their fouls." 
 
 The torrid zone boafts riot more glowing 
 hearts, nor animated natures. It would be an 
 herefy committed againft the beauties of the 
 creation; to leave Wales without vifiting the 
 feveral delicious domains, that appertain to my 
 Lord Pdwis and his family; efpecially that 
 part, which is emparadifed by Lord and Lady 
 Clive. I make free with that word, as moft 
 expreflive of the facl: for the two noble per- 
 fons, laft mentioned, have literally raifed a 
 paradife around them : but though you will 
 fee wood, water, hill, and dale, manfion- 
 houfes and cottages, in the moft enviable 
 abundance, all thefe are but fecondary to ano- 
 ther kind of beauty, which is here to be feert 
 in perfection. Were you, for example, to 
 make a circuit of the towns arid villages ad- 
 jacent to the feat of Lord and Lady Clive, 
 and enter every houfe where either induftry, 
 indigence, (icknefs, forrow, or misfortune, had 
 entered before you, you would hear the voice, 
 VOL. r. N c/
 
 or fee the tear and fmile of gratitude pouring 
 forth the heart-felt praifes of this noble pair. 
 I know not when I have paft a more delight- 
 ful hour, than that which I fpent on thj road 
 from Oakley Park to Welch Pool. My eyes 
 were gratified with every grace of nature and 
 art in vegetable beauty j my ears were regaled,, 
 yet more Voluptuoufly, with a number of vil- 
 lage annals, that have made m think more 
 highly of human nature ever fince. 
 
 I encountered one of Lord Clive's neigh- 
 bours, and here follow, verbatim^ the anfwers 
 he gave to my enquiries. You are juft ta 
 premife, that we are jogging oft in a very 
 neighbourly way, through his lordfhip's park, 
 n a fine day, and in the fined month of the 
 year ; and that having converfed fufficiemly on 
 the only acquaintance-making topic, which 
 renders ftrangers companionable namely, the 
 weather, we ftruck into other fubjects, drawn, 
 principally, like moft conversations on the 
 road, from the furrounding objects. 
 
 " Yes, Sir/' cried my aiTociate, in anfwer 
 to a remark I had made on the beauty of the 
 park through which we were, as I faid, tak- 
 ing our way, " It is full of good ground, hag 
 <f fome thdufand pounds worth of good tim- 
 
 " bcr,
 
 c. 179 
 
 r ber, a brave head of deer, and game in abtm- 
 t( dance. All thefe to be fure are good things, 
 ec but the folks to whom they belong are bet- 
 " ter than all of them, I am not a prejudiced 
 f< perfon, never wanting a favour of lord or 
 " lady. I never received one but from my 
 ' own induftry, lince I was born ; I therefore 
 " may fpeak." 
 
 ' No doubt you are an independent man.' 
 " As an independent man, then, I inform you, 
 c< that when either the lady or the lord, to 
 " whom this domain belongs, leave this world, 
 " all the hearts within a fcore of miles round 
 " them, ought to break for it. As for my 
 " lady, it would comfort your foul, and make 
 " it better, if it wants mending begging your 
 <f pardon to fee fo fine, fo pretty, and fo good 
 " a creature go her rounds of loving-kindnefs, 
 cc fometimes on foot, fometimes on horfeback, 
 f< and flopping at every hut and cottage, at- 
 " tended by all her children, by way of making 
 " them take after her." 
 
 ' And what is the end of thofe circuits ?* 
 " Nothing on earth but to make the poor rich, 
 " the fick well, and the fad merry. I have 
 f often thought God pardon me when I 
 c< have beheld her ladyfhip, and four or five of 
 N 2 her
 
 1 80 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 " her young ones, open the door of a mifer* 
 " able dwelling, which fomeof your great folks 
 " would not deign to look at, that it was 
 " more like an angel from heaven, and fome 
 " little children, who, dying innocent, became 
 " cherubims, than human creatures. Then 
 V they are -as .affable as if the poor things they 
 " make comfortable were their equals ; and, 
 " in fhort, inftead of fpending their time at 
 ** a looking-glafs, as thoufands do, who have 
 " not half fuch handfome faces to look at, or 
 " their fubftance in the follies of the age, they 
 " may fairly be faid to keep a kitchen, cellar, 
 " and warehoufe, well-ftored with good things, 
 " for thofe.that want them." 
 
 That is ftrange indeed : for commonly fpeak- 
 ing, to want the comforts which a fine houfe 
 can fupply, is the only objection, my good 
 friend, for withholding them : for which Tea- 
 Ton, I prefume, it is, that the very knockers, 
 on the outfide of the doors of great men's 
 houfes, are held by the iron-headed lion> tiger, 
 or fome other beaft of prey; and that even, 
 if a poor vifitor 'is fo forely impelled by ne- 
 ceflity, as to brave this emblem of feverity 
 without, and having the hardinefs to knock, 
 mould thereby gain admittance within, he 
 has generally to encounter anothet beaft of 
 4
 
 C LEANING S, &C. l8l 
 
 prey, in office, \vhofe orders are, to fuffer thofd 
 only to gain entrance, or at lead to pafs, who. 
 bring no wants but thofe of which they -'caii 
 pay for the gratification : Nay, our town refine- 
 ments arc carried yet higher ; for, as if neither 
 the iron or brazen-headed monfter before the 
 door, nor the Cerberus behind it, were fuffici- 
 ent guards to repel the fighings of the for- 
 rowful, or the cries of the indigent, the very 
 hiftory of a man's grievances, either of mind, 
 body, or eftate, are forbidden to obtrude them- 
 felves on the nerves and feelings of the great 
 perfonages who inhabit thefe great houfes ; 
 and, if a letter is not fafhionably folded up, fu- 
 perfcribed in a ftyle of fafhionable illegibility, 
 and imprelFed with arms that certify the writer 
 to be a petitioner for nothing but what he 
 can purchafe by fome commodity equivalent 
 $0 that he receives, whether of courtefy or 
 commerce, the letter is thrown out of doors, 
 Or referred to a reader of all papers fufpedled 
 to be filled with the complaints of thofe poor 
 devils who throw themfelves on the barren 
 foil of a great man's humanity. All fuch pa- 
 pers, being found guilty of containing tales of 
 diftrefs, and petitionary reprefentations of ca- 
 lamities of any kind, are condemned to lie 
 on the infpector's defk, or be given up to the 
 <derifion of the domeftics, who fatten in the 
 N 3 fervams*
 
 ft? GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 fervants* hall : but on pain of loiing 
 places, thefe pauper appeals, and mendicant 
 manufcripts, are kept from the matter and 
 oniftrefs of the manfion, who cannot have their 
 delicate fenfibilities fhocked by the miferies, 
 of their fellow-creatures, and imagine, that 
 when they fubfcribe to the public hofpitals, in. 
 whofe tell-tale books the names of the con- 
 tributors, are pompoufly and oftentatioufly in- 
 ferted, they have fulfilled the whole duty of 
 great men and wqmen. 
 
 " The great people / have been fpeaking of, 
 *' (continued my companion) are not of that 
 " defcription, I remember a paflage in one 
 v of the Spectators, the only books, except the 
 " Bible and Common Prayer, I ever read, or 
 " ever fhall read, that juft fuits them ; and as 
 * { I got it by heart when I was firft ftruck 
 f with its force, I will repeat it to you"* If 
 e they have not the pomp of a numerous train, 
 e they have every day they live, the confci- 
 ' oufnefs that the widow, the fatherlefs, the 
 
 * mourner, and the ftrangej, blefs them ;n their 
 
 * prayers: they give up the compliments which 
 ' people of their own condition could make 
 
 * to them, for the pleafures of helping the af T 
 
 * flirted, fupplying the needy, and befriending 
 
 * the negle.fted. Thus, keeping ftill to them- 
 
 felves
 
 QS. Cffr. fgj 
 
 * fclvcs more than they want, they give a 
 
 * vaft refufe of their fuperfluities to purchafe 
 
 * heaven, and by freeing others from the temp- 
 
 * tation of worldly want, caxry a retinue with 
 
 * them thither.' * I could employ twice the 
 " tinre it would take us in getting to Welch 
 " Pool, were I to tell you of one-third of the 
 ** good things that I know to have been done. 
 " by this noble family. They apprentice out 
 " the orphans, give portions to young women, 
 *' in marriage, grant annuities to the widows, 
 " put their old fervants into farms on their 
 " own rflate, and, though too often impofed 
 " on, are ftill as bountiful as if they had never 
 ** met with an ungrateful perfon." 
 
 There was fomething in the manner of this 
 my fellow-traveller, fo illuflrative of the mat- 
 ter, that both at once co-operating on my 
 heart, brought tears into my eyes ; which be- 
 ing perceived, and the caufe miftaken, the ho- 
 neft hiftorian of the place caught hold of my 
 horfe's bridle with one hand, and of my arm 
 with the ot!?er, exclaiming " Perhaps you 
 ' one way or other (land in need of the help 
 " of this noble couple, for there are decayed 
 " gentlemen as well as decayed tradefmen ; and 
 " if it be fo, I fliould be very forry that Lord 
 " and Lady C. are fcotk from hQie at this 
 N 4 time
 
 184 CLEAN INGS, fcfr. 
 
 " time on a'vifit to Lord P. I fay, I fhould 
 be very forry for this, had not I a toier- 
 ?< able good houfe in the neighbourhood on 
 " t'other fide Pool, where you may wait the 
 " family's return, which is expected on Satur- 
 day." 
 
 The influence of a good great man's hofpi- 
 tality is more extenfive than we imagine, and 
 it is in general a fufficient motive of virtue, 
 that it makes other emulous to "do likewife." 
 Had time and circumftance permitted, I would 
 have humoured this honeft man's mifconcep- 
 tion^ and gone home with him. As it hap-, 
 pened, I could only very truly allure him, the 
 tears he obferved on my cheek were thofe of 
 pleafure ; and that, though I was now con- 
 itrained to take a different road, if ever I again 
 met him in the journey "of life, that pleafure 
 would be increafed, and in the mean time I 
 had a new fource of moft agreeable refledions, 
 for which I fhould bear an hearty good-will to 
 all the inhabitants of Okely Park, and its en- 
 virons, while I had a being. 
 
 Soon after this, he turned up a bye lane, 
 which my companion faid would take him a 
 fliort cut acrofs the country to his houfe, 
 which, as it did not fuit me to make a ftop at 
 now., would be equally at my fervice another 
 rJrrje,
 
 GLEANINGS, &ff. jg* 
 
 ' In the direct road, I had about three miles 
 to Pool, from the place at which we parted, 
 and though the fcenery merits all that travel- 
 lers have faid of it, even to the luxuriant de- 
 fcription, which Lord Lyttelton has given of 
 Powis cattle, which is the ^re-ground object, 
 under your eye all the way, I looked at it 
 tben> almofl without feeing it, my mind's eye 
 being employed on what excels in lovelinefs 
 all the caftles, and profpects of the earth 
 a good heart engaging itfelf in acts of gen- 
 tlenefs and mercy, for the fake of goodnefs* 
 A lingle deed defcribed by my travelling com- 
 panion, in the daily benevolence of Okely Park, 
 is fufficient to overfet the felfilh fyflems of 
 Rochfaucault, Mandeville, and all the herd 
 of Satirifts on Human Nature, that ever for- 
 didly narrowed its fair proportions ; for after 
 all they can fay, Pope is right, when he infifts 
 that felf-love and focial, are the fame. Is not 
 the pleafure you will receive, even from the 
 ftmple recital of fo much rear virtue, purely 
 benevolent? Is not the gratification I feel in 
 writing it, a fpecies of benevolence alfo? and 
 if either of us, in the courfe of otfr day, mail 
 have added but a -mite to the eafe, accommo- 
 dation, or comfort, of any one mortal, of even' 
 any one animal, to which we have the power of 
 doing good, will it not flrew upon our pillows, 
 
 thofe
 
 lS6 CLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 thofe rofes which mall fweeten our repofe, and 
 prove to us, that it is not for our own fakes 
 alone, that we have " done that which we 
 ought to have done.** But, I need not prefs 
 this argument in defence of the motives of be- 
 nevolence on you, my dear friend, whofe whole 
 life is a refutation of every attack, that has 
 ever yet been made on the principle^ that go- 
 verns the focial virtues. Long, very long, 
 jmay it continue to you a fource of happinefs. 
 Adieu, 
 
 N. B. Whenever you vifit Welch-Pool, you 
 will be called upon by Nature herfelf, to vifit 
 Powis caftle, which is in its vicinity. The 
 noble owner being now frequently the inhabi- 
 tant, and having laid out in improvements, 
 more than the three thoufand pounds, which 
 my Lord Lyttelton confidered neceffary, to 
 making it one of the mofl auguft places in the 
 kingdom, it commands the admiration of every 
 traveller, and juftifies the poetical language, 
 which it has received in the following eulogy. 
 It ftands on the fide of a very high hill ; be- 
 Jow lies a yale of incomparable beauty, with 
 the Severn winding through it, and the town 
 of Welch-Pool, terminated with fublime moun^ 
 tains : the oppolite fide is beautifully culti- 
 vated half way up, and green to the top, ex- 
 cept
 
 CLEANINGS, (3V. i 87 
 
 cept in one or two hills, whofe fummits arc 
 rocky, and of grotefque fiiapes jthat give va- 
 riety, and fpirit to the profpeft. Above th? 
 caftle, is a long ridge of hills finely fhaded, 
 part of which is the park j and ftill higher is 
 the terrace, up to which you are led through 
 very fine lawns, from whence you have a 
 view that exceeds all defcription. 
 
 It will not give a bad fmiming to this 
 faithful, though glowing picture, to under- 
 hand, that Lady Clive, and the Earl of Powis, 
 ^re of the fame family, and not more nearly 
 allied in blood, than by their virtues. ? 
 4s you furvey Powis caftle, you will think 
 pf this, and feel every beauty of the place 
 expand pn your heart from the recolle&ion. 
 
 BETTER XIII. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 YOUR affe&ions are touched : you tell 
 rne that you cannot pay due homage to the 
 parks, and caftles I have defcribed, juft at pre-. 
 fent, but that you would take a pilgrimage to 
 Okely barefoot, and that you would do fo were 
 2 Qkely
 
 3 SS CLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 Okely in the deferts of Arabia, to offer the in-* 
 cenfe of a throbbing heart, to the Lord and 
 Lady of the domain. You even bid me give 
 you a port's refpite from defcription, adding, 
 that your heart is brimful, and feels a blifs, 
 which edges upon- pain from its excefs. I have 
 obeyed you. Four ports have part by, during 
 which you have been delivered up to the un- 
 difturbed enjoyment of your feelings. Your 
 letter of yefterday breaks the truce I had 
 made with your heart, by requefting me to pro- 
 ceed ; rtill in conformity to your wifhes, I 
 will go on ; but as you fay, your mind is even 
 yet more open to the charms of philanthropy, 
 than accounts of fine fcenery, in which are to 
 be feen only the charms of nature, this is the 
 moment, as it is the place, to offer you a little 
 hiftory, which I have often intended to fix 
 upon paper, and which deferves for its intrin- 
 fic worth to be engraven, by the regirtering 
 angel, on leaves of adamant. But in the very 
 outfet, I have acted unfkilfully, for I have 
 roufed your expectation, and wound up your 
 curiofity before hand, inftead of taking them 
 b.y furprize, and thereby have rendered the gra- 
 tification more difficult. Your heart is pre- 
 pared for its impreflion, and to anticipate an 
 emotion, is to weaken it. As an author, I 
 
 have
 
 GLEANINGS, 
 
 have done wrong: as a man you will pardon 
 me. I felt the force of the facts I was about 
 to dilate, too fenfibly, to be upon my guard. 
 My affections were too much warmed to think 
 of taking your's captive, by any ftratagems of 
 cold dexterity. To write my letter over again, 
 would injure the glow that is now animating 
 my bofom, and would be an artifice, fomething 
 like practifing on your fenlibility. Accept 
 then the ftory, juft as it rifes from my heart to 
 my pen, and without confidering how much a 
 more adroit arrangement of the incidents 
 might have moved you, take it as an inftance 
 of my love for you, that I Hand not upon the 
 ceremonies of competition, but give you my 
 correfpondence fc warm from my heart, and 
 faithful to its fires," I have only further to pro- 
 mife, that -every fentence of the enfuing fcenes, 
 records an unadorned, unaffifted truth, and that 
 the only injury they can fuffer, will be from 
 the defects of the relation. 
 
 A merchant, of confiderable eminence in 
 London, was reduced to the fituation of poor 
 BaflTamo, and from precifely the fame run of 
 ill-luck in his fea adventures, 
 
 ** The dangerous rocks, 
 * Touching his gentle veflel's fide 
 Had fcattcr'd all his fpices on the ftream, 
 
 " Enrob'd
 
 ' Enrob'd the roaring waters with his irlks, 
 
 tf And not one vefiel 'fc'ap'd the dreadful touch, 
 
 " Of merchant marring rocks." 
 
 To thefe mifcarriagcs abroad, were addeci 
 fimilar calamities at home. Several great 
 houfes broke in his debt, and with the wrecks 
 of his fortune, gathered together, he left the 
 rhetropolis, and took refuge in the mountains 
 of Montgomeryshire. A little girl, then only 
 iiine years of age, his only furviving child, 
 was the fole companion of his retreat, and 
 fmiled away his misfortunes. The care of her 
 education was his moft certain relief from the 
 corroding reflections of the paft, and the cer- 
 tainty of her pofleffing at his death, fufficient 
 to prevent a good mind from the horrors of 
 dependence, foftened his thoughts of the fu- 
 ture; the prefent was filled up with the de- 
 lights of feeing her ambition yet humbler than 
 her fortunes, and literally bounded by the ob- 
 jects that furrounded her. To tend the flowers 
 fhe had fet with her own hand, to nurfe the 
 fhrubs me had planted, to fport with and feed 
 the Iamb me had domefticated, to fee it follow 
 her in her rambles, and to lifien to the me- 
 lodies of Nature, as they murmured in the 
 waters, or echoed through the woods, were her 
 chief amufements without doors, and by a 
 
 thoufand
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. l)\ 
 
 thoufand love-taught duties, to make a father 
 forget that he had ever been unhappy, or 
 unfortunate, her deareft ftudy within. Of 
 her perfonal attractions I fhall fay little: a 
 fingle line of Thomfon's gives the trueft 
 image of them, and of the unaffected mind, 
 by which they were illumined. 
 
 * Artlefs of beauty (he was beauty's felf." 
 
 It is not eafy to be wretched in the conftant 
 Ibciety of perfect innocence : the company of 
 a beautiful child, wholly unpolluted by the 
 world, affords one the idea of angelic aftbcia- 
 tion. Its harmleffnefs appears to guarantee 
 one from harm : we reflect, nay we fee and 
 hear, almoft every moment, it is climbing our 
 knees, playing at our fide, engaging our l7 a- 
 tentions, or repofing in our arms, the words 
 and acts of an unfpotted Being, and one car* 
 fcarce be perfuaded, any real ill can befal us, 
 while a companion fo like a guardian cherub is 
 near*. When the babe is our own fay, ye 
 parents, how the fenfation is then exalted ! 
 Which of you, having at your option the lofs 
 of the ampleft fortune, or of the feebleft 
 infant, would not cleave to the lad, and 
 reiign the former? or, if any of you balanced a- 
 y would not one lifping word, one 
 
 cafual
 
 192 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 cafual look, turn the fcale in favour of nature^ 
 and make you think it a crime to have 
 hefitated? 
 
 Such were the fentirrients of the merchant, 
 and under their chearing influence he lived 
 many years, during which, a few mountain 
 peafants, an old relict of his better days, as a 
 fervant, who had been nurfe to the young lady* 
 and his daughter, were theonly objects with whom 
 he converfed. So powerful is habit; that we 
 affimilate to perfons, places, and things, that on 
 our firft introduction to them, we might ima- 
 gine, neither philofophy, cuftom, or religion, 
 could make fupportable. We are furprifed to 
 find we attach to them, even to endearment, 
 Ihtime, even our former habits, no lefs ftrong 
 in us, are but flightly remembered, and thofe 
 purfuits, diverfions, and focieties, without 
 which, it once appeared impoflible we mould 
 ever pafs a day, are yielded for others, that it 
 then would have been thought as impoffible 
 even to be endured. Our merchant would 
 have deemed the company of a monarch an in- 
 trufioil, and the jargon of the Exchange, which 
 had for fo many years been mufic to his ears, 
 could not now have been borne. I have, here, 
 given you fome of his own expreflions. At 
 length, he fell fick. His daughter was then 
 
 irt
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 193 
 
 in her eighteenth year ; the diforder was of a 
 gradual kind, that threatened to cpntinue life, 
 after one has ceafed to love it, and to clofe in 
 death. He lingered eleven weeks, and, the 
 old domcftic being now fuperannuated and al- 
 moft blind, his daughter was at once his nurfe, 
 his cook, his confoler; and might truly be faid 
 to make his bed in his ficknefs. She wanted 
 not the world to teach her the filial duties. 
 Her own pure heart fupplied them all, and 
 her own gentle hands adminiftered them. But 
 now, for the firft time of her exiflence, (he ad- 
 ded to her father's anguifh. It almoft kills me 
 to look on you, my only love, cried he, with 
 an cmphafis of forrow, and burfling into tears. 
 I am fure, replied fhe, falling on her knees 
 at his bedfide, it has almoft killed me to hear 
 you fay fo, and if it would make my deareft 
 father better, I would kill myfelf this mo- 
 ment, and truft in God's mercy to forgive me. 
 Ah, my child, you miftake the caufe and mo- 
 tive of my regrets, refumed the parent the 
 thoughts of leaving you without protection 
 there is the bitternefs I am not going to be 
 left, faid fhe, riling haftily, I have a prefage 
 you will be well foon, and I am a great pro- 
 phetefs, my beloved father. Be in good fpirits, 
 for I am fure, you will recover: I have fent to 
 VOL. i. O Montgomery
 
 194 GLEANINGS, &d 
 
 Montgomery and Welch Pool, and to-morrow, 
 I am to have the two beft doctors in Wales. 
 
 Your goodnefs is always a comfort, my 
 darling, replied the defponding merchant, but 
 two thoufand Welch doctors could not fet me 
 again on my legs. If, indeed, I was in a con- 
 dition to procure but that's impoflible !- 
 
 Procure what? Whom? Nothing is impof- 
 lible, anfwered his daughter with the mod 
 eager hafte. 
 
 I have an idle and romantic faith, in the 
 only man in the whole world, that knows my 
 conftitution, and he is as far beyond my reach, 
 as if he were out of exiftence. 
 
 Good heaven ! you mean Dr. *****, ex- 
 claimed the daughter. I have heard you often 
 fpeak of his having twice before faved your 
 precious life, for which I have had him in my 
 nightly prayers ever fince, and (hall go on blef- 
 fing him to the hour of my death, O,that I were 
 a man to fetch him! ! 
 
 The father .preffed her tenderly in his feeble 
 arms, in acknowledgment of her affection, but 
 told her, that, from a multiplicity of other 
 
 claims,
 
 GLEANINGS, &ff. j^- 
 
 claims, it would be as impoffible for the Doftor 
 to get down to Wales, as for himfelf to go out 
 of his fick bed to London. Do not, therefore, 
 let us think of it, my child, continued the 
 father, fince it is only the aggravation of a vain 
 wifh to know that it muft end in difappoint- 
 ment I am refigned. 
 
 Notwithftanding this declaration, the mer- 
 chant receiving no manner of benefit from the 
 Welch Dodors, and being unable, indeed, to 
 pay for their continued attendance, without an 
 injury to that fcanty fund, out of which he had 
 to draw all the neceflaries of life, he often 
 fighed out in a voice of pining, as it were, in- 
 voluntarily, the name of ******. The found 
 of that voice, languifhing for that which might 
 poflibly change its tone to gladnefs, penetrated 
 the foul of his daughter, who needed not fo 
 pathetic a memento of her father's wifhes, to 
 make her bitterly regret her inability to gratify 
 them. The poor gentleman grew worfe, and 
 expreding a deiire for fomething, which he 
 imagined might afford a momentary relief, his 
 Amelia, fo was the young lady named, took 
 the firft opportunity of his being compofed, 
 to go into the neighbourhood, in fearch of a 
 perfon to fetch it from Montgomery. A 
 o 2 little
 
 10 
 
 little road -fide public -houfe, about a mile 
 from her father's cottage, appeared the moft 
 likely place to find a meffenger. Thither fhe 
 repaired, and arrived juft in time to take 
 Shelter from a fudden ftorm that fell with 
 great violence* At the moment of her en- 
 trance there were none but the old hoft and 
 hoflefs in the alehoufe, but in a very few mi- 
 nutes after, it filled with labourers and paf- 
 fengers, who, like herfelf, fought protection 
 from the hurricane: during the fury, however, 
 tif which, fhe had too much companion to 
 mention her vvifhes, for fhe was amongft thofc 
 whofe nature would not fuffer her to " turn an 
 enemy's dog out of door at fuch a feafon." 
 This necefTary delay, neverthelefs, greatly in- 
 creafed her uneafinefs, and fhe kept watching 
 the rain, and the hoped return of fine wea- 
 ther, at the window. Seeing no profpect of its 
 clearing, fhe determined to do that herfelf, at 
 all hazards, which fhe could not afk another to 
 perform: namely, to be herfelf the mef- 
 fenger ; to which end fhe defired to know, 
 Whether the road fhe faw from the window, 
 was the nearcft and mod direct to Montgo- 
 mery, or to any other town, where there was 
 an apothecary's fhop, and what might be the 
 diftance to any fuch place ? 
 
 The
 
 LEANINOS, &C. i$y 
 
 The affecting voice in which thefe queftiona 
 were demanded, and the prevailing appearance 
 of the fpeaker, gained her an intereft in every 
 hearer and beholder, feveral of whom knew, 
 and acknowledged her for a neighbour, ming- 
 ling their expreflions of good-will, with num- 
 berlefs kind enquiries after her lick father, for 
 whofe languifhing fituation, they unanimoufly 
 declared their pity and regard, and whofc 
 death, if it mould pleafe God to fnatch him 
 away, they fhould long lament. 
 
 This laft obfervation bringing to mind the 
 image of her father's danger more clofely, the 
 trembling Amelia loft all thought of herfelf, 
 or of the weather, and thanking every body 
 around her for their civility, while her lovely 
 face was covered with her tears, fhe had got 
 the latch of the door in her hand, and was pre- 
 paring to hurry out on her commiflion, accord- 
 ing to the directions fhe had received, when a 
 traveller who had not opened his lips, during 
 the converfation of the peafants, but fat drying 
 himfelf at the fire, rofe up fuddenly, and beg- 
 ged pcrmiflion to fpeak to her. She wen* with 
 furprize and tottering Heps into an adjoining 
 room where he ufed to her thefe very words. 
 
 " One of your neighbours, young lady, has 
 
 told me, you have been for many years, the 
 
 q i beft
 
 198 GLEANINGS, &C, 
 
 beft daughter in the world, to the beft father, 
 who has been once the richeft, though now 
 the pooreft man in Wales, confidering you 
 and he are to be fupported as gentlefolks. It 
 is plain to fee, there is a great deal of diftrefs 
 upon your mind, and it is natural to guefs the 
 caufe of it maybe removed. I am not, by 
 any means, a wealthy man, but I have had my 
 fhare of evils fufficiently, to make me feel for 
 the unfortunate, and I have always, thank 
 God, a fomething to fpare for the mitigation 
 of honcft diftrefs, in whatever country it is 
 prefented to my view. I beg you will prefent 
 this trifle, (giving her a bank bill) with com- 
 pliments, begging the favour of his making 
 ufe of it, till it may fuit his circumflances to 
 return it. I have no manner of occaiion for 
 it, till about this time next year, when I will 
 call to afk after his health, which, I hope, will 
 long ere that be eftablifhed; and if it fhould 
 not at that time be convenient to make refti- 
 tution of the loan, we will put it off till the 
 year after, when I will pay a fecond vifit to 
 you ; as I purpofe pafling through this country 
 into Ireland, where I have concerns annually. 
 I am now going to London." 
 
 The 1 aft fentence feemed to annihilate the 
 
 reft. The very name of London had, at that 
 
 i inftant,
 
 CLEANING S, &JV. 192 
 
 inftant, more charms for Amelia, than it could 
 ever boaft of creating in the head of any Mils 
 in her teens, who had her mamma's promife 
 to pafs a winter amongft the fine foljcs, and fine 
 fights, with which it abounds. But it drew 
 the attention of Amelia, from fuperior mo- 
 tives. It was the residence of her poor father's 
 phyfician, on whofe heart (lie now refolved to 
 make an attempt, by the medium of the ge- 
 nerous ftranger, who me rightly judged, would 
 fuffer his bounty to take any direction fhe 
 might wifh, and to whom fhe ftated the mer~ 
 chant's anxious, but hopelefs defires. 
 
 You have juft the foul, my dear friend, to 
 fuggcft the extacy of Amelia's, on hearing that 
 this much-wimed for phyfician, was an intimate 
 acquaintance of the traveller, and all the in- 
 terefts of an old affection fhall be tried with 
 the doctor, exclaimed the ftranger, as foon as 
 I get to town, on condition that you will now 
 go home to your father with this purfe, and as 
 an affurance, that although I am an ufurer> I 
 will receive neither principal, nor intereft, till 
 he is very able to pay both. 
 
 He did not give the aftonifhed Amelia time 
 
 to refufe, but feeing the weather inclined to 
 
 remit its rigours, he put half-4-cro\vn into the 
 
 o $ hand.i
 
 2O GISAWINGS, f$c. 
 
 hands of the peafants, to drink the young 
 lady, and her fick father's health ; and order- 
 ing his horfe to the door mounted and pro- 
 ceeded on his journey. 
 
 Does not your bounding heart aflure you, 
 his feelings would have defended him, from, 
 bellowing a thought on the peltings of the 
 pitilefs florm, had they continued to rage? 
 And does it not alfo inform you, that this fair 
 pattern of filial piety was proof againft the 
 war of elements : the funlhine of benevolence 
 had, indeed, fo animated her, that its fudderv 
 and intenfe rays, might have been too ftrong 
 for her tender frame, had they not been mode- 
 rated by a mower of tears. She had fcarccly 
 regained her cottage, indeed, when overcome 
 by her fenfations, fhe fainted in the arms of 
 her aged nurfe, who had been mourning her 
 delay. 
 
 Alas, my friend, what fragile creatures we 
 are! How much at the difpofal of contrary 
 events! How totally the vaflals of forrow, and 
 of joy ! How little able to encounter the ex- 
 tremes of either! But you will not eafily for- 
 give exclamations that detain you from poor 
 Amelia, whom I left in diftrefs to indulge 
 them. My heart is but too often the mafter 
 
 of
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 2Oi 
 
 of my pen, and guides it as it lifteth. Let me 
 haften to make atonement, by informing you, 
 that our lovely fufferer, on her recovery, had 
 the pleafure to find her father had dofed bed 
 part of the morning, and though he miffed 
 her, from his apartment, when he awoke, he 
 told the nurfe, that he hoped fhe was taking 
 a little necefTary reft in her own room, where 
 he delired fhe might remain undifturbed. 
 
 This gave her opportunity to manage her 
 good fortune, of which fhe refolved to be fo 
 excellent an oeconomift, that the fupply fhe 
 had received mould anfwer the wifeft and hap- 
 pieft purpofes : fhe recollected that the day 
 before fhe met the benevolent flranger, her 
 father had received by the poft a Bank-bill, to 
 the amount of the quarterly divifion of his an- 
 nuity ; of courfe a farther reinforcement was 
 not immediately necefiary ; on which account 
 {he had to regret, that the flurry into which 
 her fpirits were thrown, had hindered her from 
 perfifting in her refufal of the loan, to the 
 acceptance of which, however, fhe was fome- 
 what reconciled, when fhe reflected on the 
 condition annexed to her borrowing it ; and 
 an idea, which juft then ftarted to her imagi- 
 nation, of the manner in which it might be 
 
 appropriated,
 
 202 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 propriated, completely fatisfied her feelings on 
 the occafion. She eonfidered the gentleman's 
 bank-bill as the luckieft fund in the world, to 
 ferve as the -phyfician's fee, in cafe the gene- 
 rous flranger mould prevail on him to come, 
 and to that facred ufe her heart devoted it. 
 The fum was fifty pounds. A recompence 
 which her ignorance in the price of medical 
 advice in the golden climes of England led her 
 to fuppofe would be all-fufficient for a journey 
 down to Wales. Alas ! were a regular charge 
 to be made out Jby Doctors W, R, G, F, L, or 
 any other of the popular fons of Efculapius, 
 of London, for fuch a tour from the grand 
 mart of cuftom, the 50!. would fcarcely be 
 thought by thofe meifieurs a more than fuffi- 
 cient fum to pay travelling expences. In many 
 parts of the continent, indeed, where a milling 
 value in coin that has lefs of filver in its com- 
 pofition, than would be found in the analysis 
 of a iilver penny, is received as a fettled gra- 
 tuity for running a German mile, 50!. would 
 cut a handfome figure in phyfic, and go very 
 far towards curing a whole city of an epi- 
 demy fo far as prefcriptions could afTift in its 
 recovery. 
 
 As, however, the vifit of 'Dr. ****** was a 
 point rather " devoutly to 'be wifhed,"'than 
 
 expedled,
 
 GLEANINGS, &f. 2OJ 
 
 expected, it being the middle of a very 
 hard winter, Amelia thought it prudent to 
 conceal the little adventure at the public houfc 
 from her father, whofe malady, neverthelefs, 
 rather increafed than abated, and his love of 
 life being in effect his love for his daughter, 
 he could not help oocafionally regretting his 
 impaffable diftance from the only man, by 
 whofe aid there might be a chance of refitting 
 his difeafe. There is, you know, a fort of fu- 
 perftition which often runs through a family 
 in favour of its family phyfician. Nor is it 
 altogether without a fupport from reafon, fincc 
 the perfon who has long been in the fecrets 
 of our conftitution, and familiar with our ha- 
 bits of living, muft, in all general cafes, be 
 better able to apply the proper remedies, than 
 he who is called into our bedchambers, when 
 there is a difeafe in it, and when he fees us 
 for the firft time under its influence : befides 
 which an old phyfician is commonly an old 
 friend, and unites the lenitives of affection to 
 the cathartics of fcience; no wonder, then, 
 that we have faith in him, and faith, you know 
 is a great doctor in itfelf, performing a thou- 
 fand cures, which the higheft profefiional fkill 
 has not been able to accomplifh without it. 
 
 You will readily believe, that the bountiful 
 ftranger did not break promife to Amelia. He 
 VOL. I. 06 kepi:
 
 204 GLEANINGS, 6?<T. 
 
 kept it indeed foreligiou fly holy, that in lefs 
 than ten days from the date of his departure, 
 our pious daughter received a meffage, pur- 
 porting that a perfon at the public houfe 
 begged to fpeak with her. You, my friend, 
 \vhofe fancy is ever warmed by your affection- 
 ate heart, will immediately conclude what was 
 concluded by Amelia, that it could be only 
 rhe much-defired Doctor, who had thus de- 
 licately, to prevent the ill effect of furprize 
 on the lick merchant, announced his arrival. 
 If fo, you are in the right. However incon- 
 fiftent with the fpirit of bufinefs fuch a long 
 journey might be, it was perfectly in unifon 
 with the fpirit of benevolence by which Dr. 
 ****** \vas moved, to determine upon it the 
 inftant the cafe was ftated to him, and to exe- 
 cute what he had fo determined, with all the 
 difpatch neceffary to an affair of life and death, 
 and the life and death, moreover, of an old 
 .and unfortunate friend. My good little girl, faid 
 he, on the entrance of Amelia, who gliding 
 from her father's bedfide with Sylphid fteps, 
 ran with duteous haile to the village inn My 
 
 good little girl, I am come from . 
 
 Heaven ! interrupted Amelia, falling on her 
 knees, you are come from heaven to make 
 my father well. Under the aufpices of that 
 heaven, I truft I am, refumed the Doctor. Let 
 
 7 US
 
 GLEANING Sj &ft. 2O$ 
 
 us fly this inftant, exclaimed Amelia, in the 
 animated aqcents of nature let us do all things 
 in order, replied the Doclor, in the language 
 of friendly difcretion, otherwife \ve fhall do 
 more harm than good. I prefume I am not 
 expe&ed ? Amelia bowed a negative. Theu 
 my fudden appearance would make thy father 
 worfe, child* continued the Doclor. No ; go 
 back to him, and by telling him an old friend 
 of his from London, and who has particular 
 bulinefs in that part of Wales which he inha- 
 bits, means to pay him a viiiu on the fcore of 
 ancient amity, and will take cottage fare from 
 him in his chamber. The name of this old 
 London friend will then be a matter of amufe- 
 ing conjecture, in the midft of which thou, 
 child, mayft fuggeft that thou Ihouldil not 
 wonder if it were me, telling him as much of 
 the adventure that I find happened at this 
 inn, between thee and the gentleman, who 
 brought me thy mefiage, and with it the ftory 
 of thy virtues and misfortunes, to fupport and 
 to relieve which would have brought me cen 
 times as far : but we have no time for profef- 
 fion, I am come here to practife ; fo fare thee 
 well, my good little maid. All that I have 
 premifed will be the work only of an hour, at 
 the end of which I will be with thee. 
 
 She
 
 3d6 CLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 She kifled his hand fervently, and without 
 fpeaking a lingle word, [fprung up, and might 
 rather be faid to fly than run to .the cottage, 
 though the paths thereto were loft in fnow. 
 Her father was fitting up in his bed, fupport- 
 ed by pillows, which the aged adherent had 
 inade fhift to place in the abfence of his filial 
 nurfe, who gently chid the old woman for tak- 
 ing her proper bulinefs out of her hands ; but 
 that, if her dear father had found a moment's 
 eafe by this ufurpation of her natural rights, 
 fhe would then forgive the ufurper. She then 
 entered on her errand, w r hich (he managed fo 
 well, as to make the old friend's name, after 
 much pleafant conjecture on both fides, the 
 fubject of a wager ; the father obferving, that 
 if it mould prove to belong to the Doctor, 
 Providence had fent him to reward the virtue 
 of his daughter, who on her part maintained 
 that it would be chiefly owing to the value 
 which heaven itfelf would fet on her parent's 
 life. This amicable ftrife had put the invalid 
 into unwonted fpirits, and thereby, perhaps, 
 not only prepared the way for the cure of a 
 fever on t(ie nerves, but laid the beft founda- 
 tion of it. The poor gentleman did not dare 
 to lay any ftrefs on the poffibility of a viiit 
 from the phylician, and yet a faint blufh of 
 
 hope
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 2O*j 
 
 hope denoted that he Ihould think himfelf 
 mod happy to lofe his wager. 
 
 At this aufpicious crifis it was, that our 
 Doclor made his entre, faying, as he advanced 
 to the bed-fide, " My efteemed friend, I am 
 come to return my perfonal thanks to thee, for 
 having me in thy thoughts when thou wert 
 too fick to remember any but thofe who are 
 dear to thee, and of whom thou haft a good 
 opinion. Give me thy hand, and, without en- 
 tering into long hiftories, let us fee, if in re- 
 turn for thy kindnefs, I can make thee well 
 again. Yes, this pulfe I forefee, before I have 
 done with it : 
 
 Shall temperately keep time, and beat 
 More healthful mufic. 
 
 Thofe eyes have I fee, ftill, the fpirit of life in 
 them, and this heart mail yet bound with re- 
 novated enjoyments." 
 
 The emotions of Amelia during thefe fa- 
 vorable prognoftications no words can tell you. 
 The merchant was ftrongly affe&ed. The Doc- 
 tor perceived that his patient was recoverable 
 both in the maladies of body and mind ; and 
 as he was no lefs a philofopher and philan- 
 thropift than a physician, he could with equal 
 Ikill prefcribe for each. He was one of the
 
 208 CLEANINGS, fcfc. 
 
 people called Quakers ; and to a perfect know- 
 ledge of the world, of his profefllon, and of 
 the human heart, united all thehoneft plainnefs 
 of the character. The merchant's diforder 
 was, as I have faid, a fever on the fpirits, of 
 which the fymptoms were, as ufual, want of 
 appetite, laflitude, watchfulnefs, and dejection 
 of mind : a pulfe flow and creeping, difficulty 
 of refpiration, and a dread, yet hope, of death, 
 
 I need not telFyou, that in this difeafe the 
 cathartics of the mind, fuch as exhilerate, en- 
 liven, and amufe the patient, are the moft ef- 
 fectual remedies, and fuch as were adminiftered 
 with uncommon fuccefs on the prefent oc- 
 cafion. In lefs than a fortnight, the fick man 
 not only was in a condition to leave his bed, 
 but his chamber, and play his part in the little 
 cottage parlour, in a thoufand little frolics 
 that Amelia and the Doctor devifed to enter- 
 tain him : in the courfe of the third week, he 
 refumed his accuftomed exercifes ; aftd under 
 the cordial fupports of his friend and his child, 
 he could afcend the mountains that environed 
 his habitation. In the middle of the fourth 
 week, his fpirits and ftrength were fo well re- 
 ftored, that in returning home to dinner, after 
 a walk of fome miles, he jocularly propofed to 
 run againft the Doctor and Amelia for a 
 6 wager ;
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 209 
 
 wager ; which being agreed upon by the other 
 parties, he fet off, and beat them both. It 
 was in the afternoon of this victorious day, 
 that the good Doctor intimated the neceflity of 
 his return to town ; good-humouredly obferv- 
 ing, that, although by a lucky arrangement, 
 he had left his fick and wounded in very good 
 hands with a brother phyfician in London, he 
 could not trefpafs any longer, without fear of 
 being fet down by the college as a deferter, 
 and he muft therefore repair to head quarters 
 in the morning. 
 
 The reafonablenefs of this was admitted : 
 yet the merchant fighed, and Amelia wept. 
 The Doctor knew it muft be done, and he faw 
 that his prophecy, as to his friend's recovery, 
 was fulfilled to his heart's content ; but there 
 is a fympathy in generous regret, and his eyes 
 were not more dry than Amelia's. In defpite 
 of exertions, the evening paft heavily away : 
 the morning did not rife without cafting clouds 
 on every countenance. The hour, the almoft 
 initant, that was to feparate the cottagers from 
 their preferver, approached. 
 
 Friend, faid the Doctor to his patient, as 
 he heard the wheels of his carriage advancing, 
 fince I faw thee laft in the great city, I have 
 
 VOL. i. P profpered
 
 1 fO GLEANINGS, t$C. 
 
 profpered exceedingly. All thofe families, to 
 Whom them too.keft me by the hand, were, 
 more for -.thy fake than mine, on my lift. Some 
 "merit, however, or infinite good fortune, I mull 
 needs have had,, iince, from an yearly gain of 
 pne hundred, I have increafed my income to 
 fevernl thoufands per annum ; and yet, I do 
 not take fees for one in forty of my prefcrip- 
 tions. My houfe is too large for my family. 
 Wilt thou come once again into the bufy 
 world, with .this mountain blolibm, and oc- 
 cupy fome of the apartments? This as -thou 
 wilt At prcfent I mufl give thee a few words 
 of parting advice, and mufl rely on this.dnm- 
 fcl to fee that it is adopted. Thou art /o 
 much thy. former felf, friend, that I fear no 1 : 
 a rclapie;- but, to fortify and ftrengthcn thec 
 in my r.bfencc, I have written, and made up, 
 a prescription, which, I am convinced, hits 
 thy cafe exadtly. Hearing fomething of thy 
 maladies from the friend who conveyed to me 
 rhy Amelia's mciiagc, and forming a judgment, 
 -ib.berly, thereupon, I brought with me fuck 
 drugs as I thought could not be readily pro- 
 cured in thy neighbourhood. They lie, how- 
 ever, in a fmall compafs, even in this little 
 box, yet, being compounds of peculiar ftrength, 
 they will laft you, I judge, for at lead a year 
 to come, probably more if they fhould not, 
 
 thou
 
 G L E A K I X G S, Cf C. Ill 
 
 thou knoweft where to addrefs the prefcriber 
 for a frefh fupply. There, friend, take it, but 
 do not open it till you feem to wifh for fome- 
 thing of a cordial nature. It will then, I have 
 no doubt, do thee good. 
 
 He received their tearful embraces, and de- 
 parted. You are impatient to lift up the lid 
 of the box. When it was opened by the mer- 
 chant and his daughter, they difcovered tv/o 
 feparate pieces of paper, each containing a 
 draft, on a different banker, for one tboufand 
 pounds the one, a prefent from the phylician, 
 the other from the ftranger who had given 
 him an account of this little family. Wrapt 
 round thefe drafts was a Hip of paper, in the 
 Doctor's hand-writing, containing thefe words 
 . " Tributes, from the friends of filial piety 
 and parental love." 
 
 I muft not deny you the gratification of 
 knowing that the father recovered, and the 
 child added to his bleffings, and her own, many 
 years ; in the fmiling courfe of which, the 
 young lady's virtues attracted the affections 
 of a very wealthy and worthy gentleman, whofe 
 power and inclinations not only enabled the 
 merchant to make reftitution of the generofity 
 received from the phyfician ; but to make alfo 
 p 2 the
 
 212 GLEANINGS, &f. 
 
 the refidue of that man's life, from whom he 
 derived the beft and lovelieft of wives, as happy, 
 in prdfperity, as it had been rcfpeclable, in 
 misfortune. 
 
 There is an air of romance about this little 
 hiftory, better fuited to the fpirit of the 
 days of chivalry (when to fally forth in qucjl 
 of the unhappy and of the oppreffed, and to 
 relieve them, was a vital part of the educa- 
 tion nay, and even of the religion, of a 
 gentleman) t'han to the prefent times, which, 
 though perhaps not lefs diftinguifhed for libe- 
 ral actions, than any age whatfoever, lefs en- 
 courages that quixotifm in benevolence, which 
 marked the character of former aeras. On 
 'vour heart I need not prefs my repeated af- 
 fiances of the (imple truth of the abov 
 tranfa&ions. You will calily credit words and 
 deeds, of which you are yourfelffo capable : 
 indeed, to your feelings there will be nothing 
 Turprizing in all this, for you will follow the 
 good old rule of judging others by yourfelf. 
 Nay, I am pcrfuaded, that the wonder will 
 ceafe, and die away, in every heart you think 
 *fit to make partaker of thefc /rf#j, when given 
 "to underftand, that they proceeded from a 
 phyfician who was the means of converting 
 an highwayman, who had -"Mated the public 
 
 faith,
 
 GLEANINGS, 6?f . . 21^ 
 
 faith, into a man who was afterwards chofen 
 to guard the public faith, by holding a place 
 of the higheft trujl in one of the public trea- 
 iurics of his country ; and that the Doctor's 
 colleague in the bounty, fhewn to our merchant 
 and his Amelia, was no lefs a benefactor to 
 human kind, than the late Mr. HOWARD, who 
 happened, on the day that he was driven for 
 ihelter into the village inn, which was then 
 graced with the prefence of Amelia, to be re* 
 turning to England from one of his ufual tours 
 of benevolence^ to the different prifons of Ire- 
 land and Wales. My friend, farewell. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 SINGULAR indeed! that you mould 
 be peruling the account of the death of the 
 philanthropist mentioned in my laft, at the 
 moment that you received my letter, and that 
 on the morning of the fame day you mould 
 have fallen in company with Dr. ****** > of 
 whofe tour of loving kindnefs I had prepared 
 for you fo ample a detail. 
 
 Things of this fort are occafionally fo well- 
 timed, that there feems more in them than our 
 p 3 philofophy
 
 214 GLEANINGS, 6?r. 
 
 philofophy can find out. It is impcflible to 
 hear that the King of Terrors has taken out of 
 the world one of the beft that ever entered it, 
 for fuch Mr. John Howard unqueftionably 
 was, without quitting one's fubjed:, whatfo- 
 ever it might be at the time of receiving fuch 
 intelligence, and fattening upon that which 
 adds a frefh proof to the certainty of that hour 
 v/hich is appointed for our own diffolution. 
 The lofs of the deareft objects, one by one, as 
 they drop .from us, makes, perhaps, the ap- 
 proaches of that hour lefs formidable, inaf- 
 much as v-e thereby feel our ties to life dimi- 
 nifhed. The friendly intercourfe that fubfifled, 
 betwixt me and the good Howard, is amongft 
 thofe pleafures of reflection, which, though 
 at the prefent moment, darned by painful re- 
 grets, will be cherifhed for ever. I picked up 
 jnany things reflecting him well worthy of 
 my gleaning hand in the courfe of our conver- 
 fations : fome of which I mould fend you, 
 were I not certain that there will be more than 
 a plenty of biographers follow fa ft upon his 
 funeral ; and more lives, like more laft dying 
 fpeechea, is an evil that is levied on every 
 great man's afhes. A few only of his particu- 
 lar habits, as they occur at the moment, mall 
 wait upon you. 
 
 Howard
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 215 
 
 Howard had many fingularities, but very 
 few affe&ations. It was lingular for mere 
 mortal man to go about doing good for the 
 iake of doing it : to devote his fortune, and 
 his life, to explore the moft neglected, and 
 the moft forlorn of the wretched, and to re- 
 lieve them " according to their feveral necef- 
 " fities" to begin the work of benevolence, 
 where other people's bounty commonly ends it 
 in a prifon. All this, I fay, was very fingular, 
 but wholly pure of affectation. Further, it 
 was fingular, deferving that word, indeed, in- 
 afmuch as in human hiftory it is without a 
 parallel to put himfelf to the greateft per- 
 fonal inconveniences, and to encounter the 
 greateft dangers, often of life itfelf, to accom- 
 plifh the propofed ends of his philanthropy, 
 fmce it is notorious that he traverfed the earth, 
 without any confideration of political diftinc- 
 tions, or the nature of climate, in fearch of 
 his objects, by which perfeverance and intre- 
 pidity of refolution, 'he overcame- all impedi- 
 ments that would have deterred many excellent 
 perfons from attempting the like enterprize's- 
 and made even thofe faint by the way, who, 
 with like good hearts, but with lefs firm minds, 
 would have found themfelves unequal to like 
 undertakings r yet in Howard this was alto- 
 gether unaffected: and before any m#n fets 
 p 4 down
 
 2 1 6 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 down any part of it to a love of being particu- 
 lar, or to a love of fame, arifing therefrom, 
 let him well and truly examine his own heart, 
 his own difpofition, and fee that he is not 
 hunting about for an excufe to his own want 
 of benevolence, or to his own vanities, in 
 being bountiful, by lowering the principle of 
 benevolence in another. Let it not be imputed 
 to John Howard, as a difhonour, that he had 
 enemies, who while they could not but applaud 
 the blefTed effects of his virtue, laboured to 
 depreciate the caufe : the Saviour of the whole 
 world, whom, perhaps, of human creatures Ire 
 moft correctly imitated, 'had the fame, and to 
 refemble his divine example, even in the 
 wrongs that were heaped on his facrcd head, is 
 rather glory than mame. 
 
 He was Singular in many of the common 
 habits of life : for inftance, he preferred damp 
 fhects, linen, and cloaths, to dry ones, and 
 both rifing and going to bed fvvathed himfelf 
 with coarfe towels dipped in the coldeft water 
 he could get; in that ftate he remained half 
 an hour, and then threw them off, frefhencd 
 and invigorated, as he faid, beyond meafure. 
 He never put on a great coat in the coldeft coun- 
 tries ; nor had been a minute under or over the time 
 of an appointment, fofar as it depended on him- 
 
 fen;
 
 f; LEANINGS, &C. 2 1 7 
 
 felf, for fix and twenty years. He never con- 
 tinued at a place, or with a perfon, a fingle day 
 beyond the period prefixed for going, in his 
 \vhole life ; and he had not for the laft iixteen 
 years of his exiftence ate any fifh, flefh, or 
 fowl ; nor fat down to his fimple fare of tea, 
 milk, and rufks, all that time. His journeys 
 were continued from prifon to prifon, from 
 one groupe of wretched beings to another, 
 night and day, and where he could not go with 
 a carriage he would ride, and where that was 
 hazardous he would walk. Such a thing as an 
 obftruction was out of the queftion. 
 
 There are thofe who, confcious of -want- 
 ing in themfelves what they envy in others, 
 brand this victorious determination of fuffer- 
 ing no let, or hindrance, to flop him from 
 keeping on in the right way, as madnefs. Ah, 
 my friend, how much better would it be for 
 their neighbours, and for fociety, were they 
 half as mad. Diftractions they doubtlefs have, 
 but it is to be feared, not half fo friendly to the 
 interefts of human kind. But, indeed, all en- 
 thufiafm of virtue is deemed romantic excen- 
 tricity, by the cold hearted. 
 
 With rcfpect to Mr. Howard's perfonal fin- 
 gularities above dcfcribcd, though they were, 
 
 certainly,
 
 2 I 8 GLEANINGS, fcf C. 
 
 certainly, hazardous experiments, in the firft 
 inftuncc, it was not ufelefs for a man, who had 
 pre-refolved to fet his face againft wind and 
 weather, and after palling all forts of unhealthy 
 climes, to defcend into the realms of difeafe and 
 death, to make them. 
 
 Some days after his firft return from an at- 
 tempt to mitigate the fury of the plague in 
 Conftantinople, he favoured me with a morn- 
 ing vifit in London; the weather was fo very 
 terrible,, that I had forgot his inveterate exad- 
 nefs, and had yielded up even the hope, for 
 his own fake, of expecting him. Twelve at 
 noon was the hour, and exaclly as the clock, in 
 yny room, ftruck it, he entered; the wet, for it 
 rained torrents,, dripping from every part of his 
 drefs, like water from a fheep juft landed from 
 its warning. He would not even have attend- 
 ed to his fituation, having fat himfelf down with 
 the utmoft compofure, and begun converfation, 
 had I not made an offer of dry cloaths, &c, 
 
 * Yes, faid he, fmiling, I had my fears, as 
 " I knocked at your door, that M-C fhould go 
 * c over the old bttfinefs of apprehenfions, about 
 " a little rain water, which though it docs not 
 a run from off my back, as it docs from that 
 *' of a duck, goofe, or any other aquatic bird,
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 2I(J 
 
 w it does me as little injury; and after a long 
 '* drought is fcarcely lefs refrefhing. The coat 
 " I have now on has been as often wetted 
 " through, as any duck's in the world, and, in- 
 " deed, gets no other fort of cleaning. I do 
 " allure you, a good foaking fhower is the bed 
 " brufh for broad cloath, in the univerfe. You, 
 " like the reft of my friends, throw away your 
 " pity upon my fuppofed hardihips with juft 
 " as much reafon, as you commiferate the 
 " common beggars, who, being familiar with 
 <r ftorms and hurricanes, necefTity and naked- 
 " nefs, are a thoufand times, fo forcible is 
 " habit, lefs to be compaflionated than the fons 
 " and daughters of Eafe and Luxury, who, ac- 
 <f cuftomed to all the enfeebling refinements 
 * f of feathers by night, and fires by day, are 
 " taught to feel like the puny creature ftig- 
 " matifed by Pope, who fhivered at a breeze. 
 ff All this is the work of art, my good friend ; 
 " nature is more independent of external cir- 
 " cumftances. Nature is intrepid, hardy, and 
 <f adventurous; but it is a practice to fpoil her, 
 ' with indulgencies, from the moment we come 
 *' into the world a foft drefs, and foft cradle, 
 " begin our education in luxuries, and we do 
 f c not grow more manly the more we are grati- 
 " iied: on the contrary, our feet muft be wrapt 
 u ir wppl or lilk, we muft tread upon carpets, 
 j breathe,
 
 a 20 GLEANINGS, C5>. 
 
 " breathe, as it were, in fire, avoid a, tcmpeft, 
 " which fweetens the air, as we would a blaft 
 <f that putrifies it, and guarding every crevice 
 " from an unwholefome ; freeze, v;hen it is the 
 " mofl elaftic and bracing, lie 'down upon a 
 " bed of feathers, that relax the fyftera more 
 " than a night's lodging upon flint Hones." 
 
 fc You fmile, added Mr. Howard, after a 
 " paufe, but I am a living inftance of the 
 " truths I infift on. A more c puny whipfter' 
 cc than myfelf, in the days of my youth, was 
 <c never feen. I could not walk out an even- 
 " ing without wrapping up : if I got wet in 
 " the feet a cold fucceeded, I could not put 
 " on my fhirt without its being aired, I was, 
 " politely; enfeebled enough to have delicate 
 " nervcg, and was, occaiionally, troubled with a 
 very genteel hedlic. To be ferious, I am 
 " convinced what emafculates the body, debi- 
 " litates the mind, and renders both unfit for 
 " thofe exertions, which are of fuch ufe to us 
 " as focial beings. I, therefore, entered upon 
 " a reform of my conftitution, and have fuc- 
 c< ceeded in fuch a degree, that I have neither 
 " had a cough, cold, the vapors, nor any more 
 *' alarming diforder, fince I furmounted the 
 " feafoning. Prior to this, I ufed to be a 
 
 " miferablr
 
 GLEANINGS, &c. 221 
 
 " miferable dependent on wind and weather; 
 " a little too much of either would poftpone, 
 " and frequently prevent not only my amufe- 
 " ments, but my duties ; and every one knows 
 " that a pleafure, or a duty, deferred, is often 
 " deftroyed. Procraftination you very juftly 
 " called the Thief of Time. And if, prefTed 
 " by my affections, of by the neceffity of affairs, 
 " I did venture forth in defpiteof the elements, 
 " the confequences were equally abfurd, and 
 " incommodious, not feldom afflictive. I 
 " muffled up even to my noftrils ; a crack in 
 " the glafs of my chaife was fufficient to 
 " diftrefs me, a fudden flope of the wheels to 
 " the right or left, fet me a trembling, a joic 
 " feemed like diflocation, and the fight of a 
 cc bank or precipice, near which my horfe, or 
 " carriage, was to pafs, would diforder me fo 
 <c much, that I would order the driver to flop, 
 " that I might get out and walk by the dif- 
 ft ficult places. Mulled wines, fpirituous cor- 
 " dials, and great fires, were to comfort me, 
 " and keep out the cold, as it is called, at every 
 " ftage, and if I felt the leaft damp in my feet, 
 <f or other parts of my body, dry flockings, 
 " linen, &c. were to be inftantly put on, the 
 <c perils of the day were to be baffled by fome- 
 " thing taken hot going to bed, and before I 
 " purfued my journey, the next morning, a 
 6 dram
 
 222 GLEANINGS, fcfo 
 
 <{ dram was to be fwallowed down to fortify 
 " the flomach. In a word, I lived, moved, 
 cc and had my being, fo much by rule, that the 
 " flighteft deviation was a difeafe." 
 
 " Every man, continued Mr. Howard, muft, 
 " in thefe cafes, be his own phyfician. He 
 " muft prefcribe for, and practife on, himfelfi 
 " I did this by a very fimple, but as you will 
 * c think, very fevere regimen; namely, by deny- 
 tc ing rnyfelf alniqft every thing in which I 
 "had long- indulged. But as it is always 
 " much harder to get rid of a bad habit, than to 
 "contract it, I entered on my reform gradu- 
 fc ally; that is to fay, I began to dimmifh my 
 " ufual indulgencies by degrees. I found th ad 
 "a heavy meal, or a hearty one, as it is 
 " termed, and a chearful glafs, that is to fay, 
 " one more than does you good, made me inca- 
 "-pable, or at beft, difmclined to any ufeful 
 " exertions, for fome hours after dinner; and 
 " if the diluting powers of tea, afiifted the 
 c< work of a difturbed digeftion, fo far as to 
 " reftore my faculties,, a luxurious fupper 
 * c comes fo clofe upon it, that I was fit for 
 " nothing but difnpaticn, till I went to a lux- 
 " urious bed, where I finilhed the enervating 
 " practices, by fleeping eight, ten, and fome- 
 " times a dozen of hours on the ftretch. You 
 
 " will
 
 CLEANINGS, t?r. 2 2J 
 
 " \vill not wonder, that I rofe the next mornr- 
 " ing with the folk's relaxed, the nerves un- 
 "- ftrung, the juices thickened, and the confti- 
 " tution weakened. To remedy all this, I ate 
 " a little lefs at every meal, and reduced my 
 " drink in proportion. It is really wonderful 
 c * to coniider, how imperceptibly a finglc 
 " morfel of animal food, and a tea-fpoonful 
 " of liquor deducted from the ufual quantity 
 " daily, will reftore the mental functions, with- 
 " out any injury to the corporeal : nay, with 
 " increafe of vigour to both. I brought my- 
 <c felf, in the fir ft inftance, from dining upon 
 " many dimes, to dining on a few, and then 
 * to being fatisfkd with one; in like manner, 
 c inftead of drinking a variety of wines, I 
 " made my election of a iingle fort, and adhered 
 " to it alone." 
 
 " In the next place but I mall tire you." 
 
 I intreated him to go on till I either fhewed 
 by words, or actions, that I was weary. 
 
 He proceeded thus : c< My next bufinefs 
 ** was to eat and drink fparingly of that 
 lc adopted difn and bottle. My cafe, vivacity, 
 " and fpirits, augmented. . My cloathing, &x. 
 " underwent a fimilar reform, the effect of all 
 " which is, and has been for many years, thar 
 
 "I
 
 224 GLEANINGS, &fr. 
 
 " I am neither, affected by feeing my carnage 
 " dragged up a mountain, or driven down a 
 " valley. If an accident happens, I am pre~ 
 " pared for it, I mean fo far as refpects unnecef- 
 r< fary terrors j and I am proof againft all 
 " changes in the atmofphere, wet cloaths, wet 
 " feet, night air, damp beds, damp houfes, 
 " traniitions from heat to cold, and the long 
 " train of hypochondriac affections." 
 
 " Believe me, we are too apt to invert the rc- 
 
 <f medics, which we ought to prefcribe to our- 
 
 <c fclves for inftance, we are for ever giving 
 
 " hot things, when we mould adminifter cold. 
 
 " On my going down to my houfe laft week in 
 
 " Bedfordfliire, the overfeer of my grounds 
 
 " met me with a pail full of comfortable 
 
 " things, as he called them, which he was 
 
 " carrying to one of my cows, which was 
 
 " afflicted forely with, as he called it, a racketty 
 
 " complaint in her bowels. I ordered him to 
 
 " throw away his pail of comforts, and take to 
 
 Cf the poor bcaft, a pail of cold water. Cold 
 
 " water, your honour, exclaimed the man, 
 
 " with every mark of confternation ! Would 
 
 f< you kill the poor dumb creature? Why, me 
 
 " is in fuch defperatious pain, that I don't think 
 
 " a bucket of fhcer brandy, would have any 
 
 " m ; ore effect ypon her, than if I were to pour 
 
 " it
 
 GLEANINGS, &rY. 225 
 
 " it againfl a dead wall. No matter for that, 
 " faid I, take her a pail of water ! Suppofe, 
 ct honeft friend, fhe had all her life run wild 
 *' in a foreft, and fell into the ficknefs under 
 " which me now labours, doft thou think that 
 " nature would ever carry her the hot com- 
 < f forts you have got in that pail ? Nature, 
 " your honour, but with fubmiffion, nature 
 " muft, when either man or beaft is fick, be 
 " clapped on the back a little : if not, nature 
 " will let them die. Not fhe, truly; if they 
 " are recoverable, fhe will, on the contrary, 
 " make them well. Depend upon it, fhe is the 
 " beft phyfician in the world, though fhe has 
 " not taken her degrees in the college ; and fo 
 ct make hafte to throw away what is now in 
 " your pail, and fill it as I directed; for whe- 
 " ther my cow die or live, fhe mall have no- 
 " thing but grafs and cold water. Though the 
 " poor fellow dared not any longer rellft, I 
 c< could fee plainly that he put me down, as 
 " having loft not only my fcnfes, but my hu- 
 " manity. However, the cure did very well, 
 " and I am fatisfied, that if we were to truft: 
 " more to nature, and fuffer her to fupply her 
 " own remedies, to cure her own difeafes, the 
 " formidable catalogue of human maladies 
 " would be reduced to a third of their prefent 
 VOL. j. O " number.
 
 2l CLEANINGS, . 
 
 " number. Dr. Sydenham, I think, reckons 
 " fixty different kinds of fevers, for example ; 
 "ofthefe I cannot fuppofe lefs than fifty are 
 * r either brought about, or rendered worfe 
 " by mifapplication of improper remedies, or 
 " by our own violation of the laws of nature. 
 " And the fame, I take it, may be faid of other 
 " diforders." 
 
 Me now pulled out his watch, telling me he 
 had an engagement at half paft one, that he 
 had about three quarters of a mile to walk to it, 
 that as he could do this in twenty minutes, and 
 as it then wanted feven minutes and almoft 
 an half of one, he had exactly time enough 
 ftill to fpare, to ftate the object of his vifit to 
 me <f Which is to thank you very fincerely, 
 " faid he, taking my hand, for the honour you 
 " have done me in your verfes : I read them 
 " merely as a composition in which the poetical 
 " licence had been ufed to the utmoft : poets, 
 " you know, my dear Sir, always fucceed beft 
 " in fiction." 
 
 You will fee by this converfation, that it 
 was about the time when the Englifh nation 
 had been emulous of commemorating their 
 refpect for this great and good man, by erect- 
 ing a ftatue, towards which, I had contributed 
 
 rny
 
 GlEANlNGSj &C. 227 
 
 rny mite, by devoting to the fund the profits 
 of my little Poem, called " The Triumph of 
 " Benevolence ;" and while I am touched very 
 fenfibly with even the recollection of the 
 public favour, which crowned this little work a 
 T very fincerely 1 attribute a great deal of its 
 fnccefs to the popularity of a fubject in 
 which every lover of humanity took fuch an 
 
 intereft. 
 
 . 
 
 In reply to Mr. Howard, I allured him, 
 that he ought to be, and doubtlefs was, con- 
 fcious, the liberty allowed a poet, was never 
 more unnecefTary, or lefs madeufe of than on 
 the occafion alluded to, and that if an agree- 
 able fidlion was any tell of the poetical art, I 
 could pretend to none from having very 
 clofely, as his heart could not but at that mo- 
 ment tell him, adherred to truth : and that I 
 allured myfelf he would admit that truth was 
 the fame, whether exprefled in profe or verfe. 
 I added, it was my earneft hope, there was no 
 ground for an idea that had gone forth of his 
 refufing the offering of gratitude, which his 
 country were preparing for him. 
 
 <f Indeed, but there 13, anfwered he, with the 
 ct mod lively earneftnefs, I was never more 
 ** fcrious than in my refufal of any and every
 
 228 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 " fuch offering, and for the fimpleft reafon iri 
 
 (t the world ; namely, my having no manner of 
 
 " claim to it. What I do, have done, or may 
 
 " hereafter do, is, has been, and will always be, 
 
 " matter of inclination, the gratifying which 
 
 " always pays itfelf, and I have, no more merjt 
 
 "in employing my time and money in ^e 
 
 . :t way I am known to do, than another man in 
 
 " other occupations. Inftead of taking p^ea- 
 
 " fure in a pack of hounds, in focial entertain- 
 
 " ments, in a fine ftud of horfes, and in many 
 
 - c< other iimilar fatisfaClions, I have made my 
 
 "election of different purfuits ; and being 
 
 " fully perfuaded a man's own gratifications 
 
 " are always, more or lefs, involved in other 
 
 " people's, I feel no defire to change with any 
 
 '-* man, and yet I can fee no manner of preten- 
 
 " lion, whereon to erect a ftatue ; beiide all 
 
 - <c which, I have a moft inconquerable averfion, 
 
 c< and ever had, to have public exhibitions 
 
 ei made of me, infomuch, that I protefl to you, 
 
 " it has colt me a great deal of trouble, and 
 
 "' fome money, to .make this infignificant form 
 
 41 and ugly Jace, "eicapc a pack of draftfmen, 
 
 '* painters, &c. thatare lying in wait for me." 
 
 Unlefs yoa had perfonnlly known Mr. 
 Howard, it is impofllble you ihould have the 
 f mall eft idea of the plcafant manaer . with 
 
 which
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 229 
 
 v^hich he fpoke on his own perfonal fubjedl. 
 " I have detedcd a fellow at work upon this 
 " face of mine, ugly as it is, faid he, even as 
 " I have been walking in the ftreets of Lon- 
 *' don ; and if a hackney-coach has been 
 " within call, I have popped into it, drawn up 
 " the blinds, and fat fnug, till I got to my 
 <f own door, and then I have leaped out, and 
 " run into my own houfe, as if I was appre- 
 <f henfive a bailiff was at my heels. Nay, I 
 " have often had my door itfelf infefted by a 
 " lurking artift, who was literally in wait to. 
 " take me off. But one day, fmce my return, 
 <f a trick I played one of thefe takers off di- 
 " verted me cxcefiively. You muft know I 
 " am a great gaper at the novelties that are 
 tr continually prefented at the print-lhops in 
 " this great city ; I was (landing at that of 
 " Carrington Bowles, in St. Paul's Church- 
 " yard, the other day, to look at fomc political 
 " caricatures very pleafantly executed, when a 
 " happening to caft my eye fide-long, I difco- 
 " vered a fellow operating on my phiz with all 
 (t his might. Perceiving himfelf caught in 
 " the facl, he lowered his paper, and pretended 
 <r to be, like myfelf and a number of others, 
 " looking only at the prints. I was juft then 
 " in the humour to pay off this deception by 
 " another, fo feeming, like him, to be wholly 
 
 <( engroflcd
 
 2JO GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 <f engroffed by a figure, called Scotch Ckco- 
 <( nomy, well calculated to provoke the rifible 
 <c mufcles, I threw mine into fuch contortions^ 
 " and gave fuch fudden changes from one de- 
 " formity to another, that had my painter 
 " etched any one of my features in its then po- 
 <f fition, the refemblance betwixt my actual 
 " felfand the copy, would have been juft as ftrik- 
 " ing, as I could defire it to be. The painter, 
 " however, at length perceived the ftratagem, 
 " and fmiling, as if he gave me credit for it, 
 <f put his pencil into his pocket and went away. 
 *' I own I enjoyed the joke, and have fince 
 (C practifed it, more than once, with no lefs 
 <c fuccefs." 
 
 You will, doubtlefs, throw thefe falHes 
 amongft his fingularities, my friend, but they 
 are by no means to be ftigmatized as affecta- 
 tions. From a very intent obfervation on 
 Mr. Howard, I am perfectly fatisfied, that as 
 he had but few who aRed like himfelf, the 
 proportion of thofe whofelt in the fame way the 
 ordinary refults of fuch actions were not greater. 
 That he was infenfible to honeft praife cannot 
 be fuppofed, without depriving him of emo- 
 tions which the moft ingenuous modefty may 
 indulge, and which are indeed amongft the 
 moft natural pleafures of the human mind ; but 
 
 to
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 2JI 
 
 to court the reputation of benevolence, by fuf- 
 fering the lucre of it to mix with any of his 
 motives, or, ftill worfe, to make it, as alas too 
 many people do, a firft great caufe of being 
 bountiful, argues an envy or a depravity in 
 thofe who impute to him fuch vanities. In a 
 word, if ever a human being could be truly 
 faid to " do good, and bluih to find it fame,'* 
 it was the late Mr. John Howard. 
 
 I prefumc you have heard, that, amongfl his 
 other Angularities, is to be enumerated his 
 generous care of his fuperannuated horfes. He 
 had a range of paftures facred to the old age 
 of thofe who had carried him pleafantly, or 
 worked for him honeftly and induftrioufly, 
 till they were no longer fit for fervice. This 
 is the moment when horfes are, in general, either 
 fold at an under price to people who are con- 
 flrained to allow no touch of pity to predomi- 
 nate over that charity which begins at home, 
 or elfe they are deftroyed, and given to the 
 dogs, their mailers alledging that it is an act 
 of humanity. Our Philanthropist's humanity 
 never leading him to kill an old fervant, he 
 turns his ufelefs horfes into the aforefaid 
 paftures, where they remain happy penfioners 
 on his bounty for the reft of their lives. 
 
 CL4 I was
 
 ,2J 2 GLEANINGS, &ff. 
 
 I was much delighted on walking over thofe 
 grounds with the generous matter of them, 
 to fee twenty or thirty of thefe quadruped pen- 
 fioners, enjoying themfelves in perfect free- 
 dom from labour, and in full fupply of all that 
 old age requires. Each of the fields has a com- 
 fortable fried, where the inhabitants can refort 
 to in the hard weather, and are fure of rinding 
 the rigours of the feafon foftened by a well- 
 furnifhed crib of the beft hay, and a manger 
 either of bran, or corn, ground, or fome other 
 nourilhing food. Chelfea hofpital is not better 
 accommodated: the day on which I made the 
 circuit of the paflures was one of the nneft of 
 Auguft ; fome of the penfioners were renovating 
 in the fun, others rcpofing in the fhade; but on 
 the approach of their benefactor, all of them, 
 actuated by a fpirit of gratitude worthy of 
 imitation, that could move with eafe, came 
 towards him, invited his attentions, and feemed 
 very fenfible of their fituation. Some, whofe 
 limbs almoft refufed their offices, put them- 
 felves to no fmall difficulties to limp towards 
 him, and even thofe, who, being confined to 
 their hovels, might be fairly faid to be bed- 
 ridden, turned their languid eyes to him, and 
 appeared fenfibls of his pity, and careffings. 
 
 " Thcfc
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 233 
 
 " There have been all very faithful creatures, 
 " Sir, faid he, and who have ftrong claims upon 
 u me : that poor fellow, who has now fcarcc a 
 " leg to ftand upon, was the conflant com- 
 " panion of my peregrinations for fix and 
 " twenty years, and was as proud and prancing, 
 " as he is now humble and decrepid ; and the 
 *' iron grey invalid, which you fee yonder, 
 " dragging his flow length along, was in 
 " the days of his youth fuch a roving, riotous 
 " fellow, that no gate or hedge could keep 
 t him within bounds, and it was a day's 
 " work fometimes to catch him; nay, when he 
 " was caught, it required more addrefs and 
 <f horfemanfliip than ever I was matter of, 
 " to make him undcrftand, that the philofophy 
 * f of a parfon's pad, had more charms for me 
 " than all the flights of Bucephalus, or even 
 " of Pegafus himfelf. Look at him now. The 
 " morality of the contraft is obvious." 
 
 In this manner he went on, enumerating the 
 feveral qualities, and hiftorical anecdotes of 
 the feveral penfioners. The one laft defcribed, 
 he told me, " was at no time a horfe for him, 
 " and would not probably have been amongft 
 " his penfioners, but that he had been once rode 
 " by a relation of his, a young agreeable rake, 
 
 " who
 
 234 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 ' who valued him for the very points that made 
 * c him ufelefs to me, his fkittifhnefs, and impe- 
 '* tuofity ; all which he afferted, were the furc 
 " marks, both in man and beaft of a generous 
 " fpirit, high heart, and noble difpofuion. 
 " Now, as my little frolic-loving coulin was 
 " precifely of this character himfelf, and after 
 " a mad, but not vicious, career of fifteen 
 " years, confoiidated into a very good man, I 
 *' fuffered the horfe and his mafter to reform 
 " themfelves at leifure, and wifh with all my 
 " foul, that half the refoxmed rakes about town, 
 " had turned lout fo well, after fowing their 
 " wild oats, as did this young gentleman, and 
 " his favourite fleed, who, for the eight Jaft 
 " years of his fervitude, was a pattern of fo-. 
 '* briety to horfes and riders.'* 
 
 J do not recollect any other lingularities re^ 
 fpeccing this extraordinary man ; but if what 
 1 have here fet down, gives you a curiolity for 
 more, I have no doubt but it will be amply 
 gratified, as there, needs no ghoft to foretel us, 
 there will be arj hiftorian foralmoft every anec- 
 dote and incident in his life ! Luckily he is one 
 of the fubje&s, which can never be exhaufted, 
 and as Dr. Johnfon once faid to me of his 
 friend Goldfmith, " he was one who cannot 
 fl be too much pra;fed or lamented." And 
 
 never,
 
 GLEANIN GS, C*?r. 33 
 
 never, perhaps, was the famous exprefiion. 
 of Hamlet more applicable, though quoted oa 
 ten thoufand occafions, than to Howard* 
 
 ' He was a man, take him for all in all, 
 " We may not look upon his like again! 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 IT is a very high fatisfaction to give you 
 pleafure, it increafes my obligations to you, 
 for it increafes my happinefs. Your laft letter, 
 therefore, wherein you exprefs fo vivid a fenfe 
 of the Howardine fcraps I fent you, could nor 
 but be moft welcome : neither can I refufe the 
 nattering compliment you pay to my mufe, in 
 deliring a copy of the tributary verfes (he paid 
 to our Great Philanthropift, at the time that 
 -the Britifh empire, which he fo much adorned 
 and dignified, was preparing its memorial of 
 national exultation. You tell me, that you 
 have applied to the bookfellers, and to the 
 publilher of that little poem in vain. Had I 
 known your wimes, I could .have prevented 
 your having any trouble to gratify them on this 
 occafion, having long known the poem was 
 
 OIK
 
 236 G I E A N I N G S, *V. 
 
 out of print, and as long been applied to for 
 fending it again to the prefs, but the fale of 
 the former editions, having anfwercd the end 
 of fomething enlarging the fund, which was 
 intended to defray the expenccs of the ftatue, 
 and that dcfign being fufpended by Mr. 
 Howard's wifh, that it might not be carried 
 into execution, I confidered that the fubject 
 was too local to warrant a re-publication, when 
 that locality was taken away : amongft a few 
 partial friends, -therefore, I diftributed the 
 copies that remained of the prcfent, which was 
 made me by the committee, who publimed the 
 poem, and referving only a fingle copy for my- 
 felf, I thought no more about it. The death,, 
 however, of the meritorious man, who was the 
 fubject; the report that prevails of the commit- 
 tee's completing a defign, which can no longer 
 affect the delicacy of Mr. Howard ; the pleafurc 
 I 'take in obeying your commands ; and the de- 
 fire I have to preferve my tribute to this excel- 
 lent character, in my correfpondence with you, 
 united with the confidence which the approba- 
 tion of the world pn the original publifhing, 
 gives me, are all motives fo perfuafive that 
 to combat with, or to refift them might appear 
 an affectation more unpardonable than the in- 
 cfufgence of my vanity, at a moment, when it 
 is connected with my dirty to the dead, my 
 6 friendfhip
 
 G .'. E ANIN G S > &C. "2J" 
 
 frrendmip for the living, and my gratitude, to 
 the public. It is under fuch fupports and fuf- 
 frages, I republifh in this place, my dear 
 .friend, " TJIE TRIUMPH OF BENEVOLENCE,*' 
 not, however, from the referved copy I fpoke 
 of, but from memory, that copy being amongft 
 the manufcripts, milling or loft, flolen or 
 ftrayed, with my trunks, who, as well as my- 
 felf, have been upon their travels, but by a fee 
 of contretcms, have not been my fellow travel- 
 lers. I hope, however, as amongft other mat- 
 ters, they contain the literary labours of fome 
 years, nor yet publiflied, including the mate- 
 rials for " Society," on which the public have 
 a claim, I hope, I fay, we mall meet ere it be 
 long, like old friends, and part no more; the 
 rather as fome of the characters in thofe un- 
 finimed performances, are left in a very forlorn 
 lituation, out of which no hand, but mine, can 
 properly extricate them. A heroine is in a 
 a deep fwoon, and a hero at his laft gafp, in 
 tragedy, but can neither die, or recover with- 
 out my affiftance: two whole families are 
 thrown into a labyrinth of perplexities, and 
 have no chance of extrication, but from the 
 author, who involved them, but who was 
 " cruel only to be kind." In fhort, all thefe 
 good people, are wandering in their fcveral 
 diftrelTes, and look to me only for confobtion: 
 
 join
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 join with me, therefore, I beg of you, that they 
 may fpeedily be conducted from the crojs roads 
 of life .pardon the pun, for the fake of having 
 the philofophy to fport with my misfortune 
 and, by making ufe of the enclofed clue, help 
 me to fet them in the right way, 
 
 I am this moment interrupted in my defign 
 of tranfcribing the poem, which, however, 
 lhall wait on you fhortly. In the mean time, 
 look into your own generous heart for all 
 thofe principles of affection and fympathy you 
 bear me, and be allured, while you furvey 
 them, you are looking at the faithful counter- 
 parts of thofe which animate the breaft of 
 your friend. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 THE TRIUMPH OF BENEVOLENCE. 
 I. 
 
 VV HAT lofty founds through echoing Albion tings ! 
 
 What raptur'd notes, as if by-angels giv'n, 
 "What thrilling airs, as from celellial firings, 
 
 Pour, in full tides, the harmony of he:v'r? 
 
 Froax
 
 G-1SANINGS, kff. 339 
 
 ir. 
 
 From public gratitude the notes arife, 
 
 To honour virtuous Howard while on earth ; 
 
 While Providence yet fpares him from the fkies* 
 Th' enduring ftatue ihall record his worth. 
 
 in. 
 
 Lo, Albion's ardent fons the deed approve : 
 
 Wide o'er the realm to fpread the generous Earatf, 
 A fpirit like his own begins to move, 
 And all the virtues kindle at his name. 
 
 IV. 
 This, this the moment, Britons, ye fhould chufe, 
 
 While the fair aft no modeft blufh can raife ; 
 The good man's abfence fhall our love excufe. 
 
 And give the godlike luxury of praifc. 
 
 V. 
 
 By heav'n commiflion'd, now our patriot flies 
 Where Nature fcourges with her worft difeafej 
 
 Where Turkey's plague-devoted viftim lies, 
 And fpotted deaths load every tainted breeze. 
 
 . VI. 
 
 With love unbounded, love that knsws no Fear, 
 
 Wherever pain or forrow dwells he goes ; 
 Kindly as dew, and bounteous as the fphere, 
 
 His focial heart no poor diftinftion knows. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Ah ! what is friend or foe to him whofe fool, 
 
 Girding creation in one warm embrace, 
 Extends the faviour arm from pole to pole, 
 
 And feels akin to all the human race. 
 
 To
 
 24O' GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 To all the human! all the brutal too, 
 
 Bird, beaft, and infecl bfefs his gentle pow'r, 
 From the wor'n- fteed repofihg in his view, 
 
 To the tame redbreaft warbling in his bow'*, 
 
 IX. 
 
 Well may the fpirit of the ifie arife 
 
 With loud accord its befl good man to grace ; 
 
 Well may the ftatue point to yonder Ikies, 
 And call down cherubim to guard the place. 
 
 X. 
 
 Ye pomps of Egypt moulder faft away, 
 
 Ye Roman vanities your arches hide ; 
 Ye Gallic pageantries, profufely gay, 
 
 Ye tombs, ye triumphs-, here refign yonr pride. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Not not to grandeur tow'rs our deftin'd buft, 
 
 No mufe we bribe a fdrdid wreath to twine 
 Round the frail urn of infamy in duft ; 
 
 Nor bid our incenfe deck a villain's Ihrine : 
 
 XII. 
 
 Nor yet to pride the venal ftatue raife, 
 
 Preserving afhes virtue had forgot ; 
 We bid no trumpet found a bad man's praife, . 
 
 Nor memory rcftore what time fhouid rot. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Nor to the flare of gold, though largely grac'd, 
 
 With all that wealth or folly could beftow, 
 With all that vanity, on duft could wafte, 
 
 Living and dead alike fair virtue's foe. 
 
 Nor
 
 G LEADINGS, &c. 24! 
 
 xiv. 
 
 Nor yet for thee, thoti tyrant of the plain, 
 
 Illuftrious fcourge and butcher of mankind ! 
 Whofe murthering hands whole hecatombs have {lain. 
 
 Thy glory gathering as it thins thy kind ; 
 
 XV. 
 
 Not even to thee, O Frederick, tho' thy name, 
 
 Idol of Pruffia, now is breath'd in fighs, 
 Tho' foremoft in the lift of fanguine fame, 
 
 Exulting vicYry claims thee in the fldes. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Ah, no! the monument our love would rear, 
 
 Is to the man of peace, who may defcend 
 Ev'n at this moment into dungeons drear, 
 
 The prifoner's guardian, and the mourner's friend, 
 
 XVII. 
 
 To noxious caverns, and abhorrent caves, 
 
 Deep-fcooped vaults, and flow-confuming cells. 
 
 Where wretches pace alive around their graves, 
 And hollow echoes ring their endlefs knells. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 To fcenes, where all th' antipathies aflail. 
 
 Which inftinft, reafon, nature, moft would (hun, 
 
 Haunts of the filth-fed toad and fiimy fnail, 
 Behold fhe friend of man Undaunted run. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Ev'n now, perchance, he bears fome victim food, 
 
 Or leads him to the beams of long-loft day ; 
 Or, from the air where putrid vapours brood, 
 Chaces the fpirit of the peft away. 
 
 VOL. i. R Wheis
 
 GLEANINGS, 
 
 XX. 
 
 Where deadly venom poifons now the gale, 
 
 The new-born zephirs foon he bids to glow ; 
 Where the heart fickens, foon lhall health prevail, 
 
 Where the lake Magnates, living waters flow. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 For who, Benevolence, thy power (hall bound, 
 
 Thy guide, the God, of what fhould'ft thou dcfpair f 
 
 Let vice ftill deal her defolation round,. 
 Virtue (hall rife the ruin to repair. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 That may deftroy, but this was born to fave; 
 
 And while the warrior lays a nation low, 
 While one proud Caefar would the earth cnflave* ^ 
 
 One humble Howard would a heav'n beftow. 
 
 XXI it. 
 Lo, as by touch divine, before him flies 
 
 Fever that feizes on the burning breath, 
 The icy power that kills with ftiivering fighs, 
 
 And thirft unquenchable that drinks its death : 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 And torpor, wrapt in his Lethean fold, 
 
 And fwoln Convulfion, with his eye-balls ftrain'd; 
 
 And purple Tumour loathfbme to behold, 
 
 And plague-flruck Phrenfy, foaming unconftrain'd* 
 
 XXV. 
 
 All thefe, defended by no Theban charm, 
 
 No mail fave that which purity fupplies; 
 Our Chriftian hero meets without alarm, 
 
 And at each ftep fume giant mifchief dies. 
 
 Quit
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 343 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Quit Pruflia, quit thy Frederick's crimfon (brine, 
 With olive garlands join our white-rob'd band, 
 
 At Howard's ftatue, how unlike to thine, 
 Full many a fainted form mall duteous (land. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 At thine, perchance, fhall loftier trophies rife, 
 
 The regal banner, and the blazing car ; 
 Sculpture more gorgeous emblems fhall devife, 
 
 And adulation gaudier rites prepare. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 High o'er the tomb the ftoried war fhall glow, 
 
 The black'ning fiegc, and defolated tower ; 
 The victor's carnage redden all below, 
 
 To mark the blood- tracks of ungovern'd power. 
 
 XXIX. 
 Rage, glory, havock all the foldier train 
 
 Their fpears inverted, fhall in marble frown; 
 Unnumber'd captives clank the brazen chain, 
 
 And death himfelf embrace a favourite's urn. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Then as in martial pomp the youths pafs by, 
 
 Ev'n the coid tomb fhall kindle hoiHle fire, 
 To arms, to arms, each madd'ning chief (hall cry, 
 
 And Frederick's afhes future wars infpirc. 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Yet ah ! not laurell'd youths, nor qbiefs alone, 
 
 To Frederick's fanguinary fhrine fhall go ; 
 For there the execrating fire fhall groan, 
 
 And there the orphan melt in filial wge. 
 
 * a There
 
 244 CLEANINGS, &C . 
 
 V. ' * 
 
 XXXII. 
 There fhall the virgin with affliftion wild, 
 
 At dead of night explore the monarch's tomb j 
 The wailing matron claim her murther'd child, 
 
 Whofe ghoft fhall rife to meet her in the gloom. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 There the pale fhade fhall join her deep defpair, 
 
 And fill with loud complaints the founding aifle 
 Fierce from the vault the pageant trophies tear 
 
 Conqueft deplore, and fpurn th' accurfed fpoil. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Welcome, thrice welcome Pruffia, to the pride, 
 The mould'ring honours of the grave afford ; 
 
 Britain from thefe indignant turns afide 
 Wooes private worth, and leaves the fcepter'd lord. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 The mufe no vain idolater difdains, 
 
 Proud of her truft, to proftitute her fires, 
 Let minions wafte on power their meteor ftrains, 
 
 Till flatt'ry naufeates, and till echo tires. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 The fweet memorial of one gentle deed, 
 
 One pang prevented, or one wrong redrefs'd ; 
 
 A generous morfel at the poor man's need, 
 A forrow foften'd, or a figh exprefs'd. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 One artlefs rhime, a record fmall and dear, 
 That graves thefe virtues on the village flone : 
 
 Where love retires to fhed th' unwitnefs'd tear, 
 Surpaffes all that ever armies won. 
 
 O panegyric,
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 345 
 
 xxxvifr. 
 
 O panegyric, if thy Frederic's name 
 
 One peaceful tribute has to mem'ry given; 
 Direcl to that th' uplifted trump of fame, 
 
 For that when tombs are duft fliall mount to heav'n. 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 And, ah ! behold what vifions of the Ikies 
 
 Rob'd in the pure ferenity of light, 
 To confecrate our Howard's ftatue rife, 
 
 And mark the holy fpot with fond delight. 
 
 XL. 
 
 Mercy, her lighteft foetfteps here mall bend, 
 
 Fearing to crufh fome harmlefs infeft near; 
 Humanity her foft'ring wing attend, 
 
 With pity, foftly fmiling thro* her tear.- 
 
 XLI. 
 
 And charity mail come with Seraph air, 
 
 And .pleating melancholy pace around, 
 And warm Benevolence be ever there, 
 
 And Chriftian meeknefs blefs the hallow'd bound. 
 
 XLII. . 1* 
 
 Here, too, fome mortal vifitants the wife, 
 
 Parent, or child reftor'd, their joys (hall tell ; 
 Here fharp remorfe mail wail a guilty life, 
 
 And hardnefs learn for human woes to feel. 
 
 XLIII. 
 
 With pious offerings, hither mail repair 
 
 What once was want, contagion, and difeafe ; 
 
 Reftor'd to all the liberty of air, 
 Here mall they hail the renovating breeze. 
 
 * 3 And
 
 246 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 XLIV. 
 And diflipation, as he pafles by, 
 
 Abafh'd that vice has ravifh'd all his (lore, 
 Confcious, lhall drop the penitential tear, 
 
 And fpurn the follies which deny him more. 
 
 XLV. 
 
 And avarice too (hall here fufpend his art, 
 
 His bofom looting from the fullenore; 
 The ftatue (hall fubdue his niggard heart, 
 And the rock gufh in bleffings to the poor, 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 And envy, devious from her wonted plan, 
 
 Taught by the ftatue, even a foe to fave, 
 Shall tell her fnakes to fpare, one virtuous man, 
 And own his goodnefs e'er he reach the grave. 
 
 XLVII. 
 
 But mould fome blood-polluted hero come, 
 
 Flufh'd with the crimfon wafte his fword has made, 
 
 Meek Howard's ftatue on that fword (hall gloom. 
 Till tears fhall feem to trickle on the blade. 
 
 xlvm. 
 
 And many a wondering traveller (hall paufe, 
 
 To hail the land that gave a Howard birth ; 
 Till jeaioufy itfelf aids virtue's caufe, 
 
 Prompting the fpirit pf congenial worth. 
 
 XLIX. 
 
 Here too the willing mufe fhall oft retire 
 
 To breathe her vows in many a graceful line, 
 From the bleft ftatue catch fublimer fire, 
 
 While infpiratjon hovers o'er the (hrine^ 
 
 Thou,
 
 CLEANINGS, 
 
 Thou, to whofe praife thefe honours gather rounti, 
 Receive this tribute from thy country's hand, 
 
 Thou, who alike by vice by virtue crown'd, 
 Accept the homage of thy native land. 
 
 LI. 
 
 And tho' the memory of thy deeds (hall bloom, 
 Whenfculpture's proudeft boaft (hall be no more, 
 
 When urns, like what they guarded, meet their doom, 
 And time o'er Adamant exerts his power ; 
 
 III. 
 An4 tho' thy modeft goodnefs fhuns its right, 
 
 Tho' blufhing it would ftirink from juft applaufc, 
 Unfeen would blefs like Ihow'rs that fall by night, 
 
 And {hew th' eifcft while it would hide the caufe : 
 
 True to the awful charge by juftice giv'n, 
 Fame ftill will follow with her clarion high, 
 
 On rapture's pinion bear the found to heav'n 
 1\ or fuffer virtue fuch as thine to die. 
 
 LIV. 
 
 And well that wondrous virtue has been fung, 
 In deathlefs lays by Briton's lofty bard, 
 
 Hymn'd by a lyre that feraphs might have ftrung, 
 For Hay ley 's mufe has giv 'n her fair reward. 
 
 LV. 
 
 But feeble all that mortal man can raife, 
 
 Feeble the trump. that peals each honour'd name, 
 
 Feeble a Hayley's lyre, a nations praife, 
 And all th' applaufivc note of human fame. 
 
 * 4 Yet
 
 248 GLEANINGS, 6?f. 
 
 LVI. 
 
 Yet take our pledge, tho' mixt alas with earth. 
 Then hear the prayer that whifpers in thy breaft, 
 
 That voice from heav'n alone can fpeak thy worth, 
 A recompenfing God will give the reft J 
 
 My friend, I have obeyed you. It is plealing 
 to me at this moment to reflect that I enjoyed 
 the friendihip of the valuable and extraordi- 
 nary man, who gave birth to thefe verfes : I 
 thought fo while I had the benefit of his con- 
 verfation, but I think of it now more feelingly, as 
 a benefit I can partake of no more. How infinitely 
 touching is an idea of this fort of deprivation! 
 How anxioufly does the foul fly about for fuccour 
 on fuch occafions ! She takes refuge in a thoufand 
 circumftances little attended to while the good 
 we have loll was in our poiTeffion. We take 
 a retrofpecl: of the difcourfes which .have pad 
 between us and the friends deceafed, the very 
 places where we met are in a manner confecra- 
 ted, their perfons, manners, accents are before us: 
 We kindle ourfelves into an enthufiafm of for- 
 row, but feel that fuch " forrow is heavenly" 
 it literally lifts us above the earth ; it truly and 
 neceifarily fets our affections on things above : 
 we are moved, we are awed. And after all, 
 but for thefe warnings thefe proofs of the 
 " attenuated thread," on which hangs the life 
 and death of what is precious, what carelefs, ar~ 
 T rogant
 
 GLEANINGS, &C . 249 
 
 rogant wretches fhould we be? How inde- 
 pendent even of heaven itfelf ! Alas, with all 
 theie checks are we not fufficiently headftrong, 
 prefumptuous and vain: and inftead of being 
 as the folemn poet of the night finely calls us, 
 the penfioners of an hour, do we not feem 
 proudly to think that time and fpace are 
 our vaiTals, and that inftead of being in a few 
 years, poilibly in a few moments, vanquilhed 
 ourfelves, is not the creft uplifted as if we 
 could put all things under our feet ? 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 ANCIENT manners are lefs worn 
 away by time, and the varying modes of life 
 in Wales, than in moft other countries. There 
 is a harper in almoft every village, and more 
 than a bard to every mountain. The poetical 
 enthufiafm has defcended from the earlieft to 
 the lateft generation, with no lofs of its origi- 
 nal fervor, at leaft ; for the Cambrian poets 
 have monthly meetings and annuaj feftivals, 
 on which there is a ftrife in rhime which 
 makes the very rocks poetical. I received a 
 card of invitation to one of thefe, and was 
 much amufed with the novelty of the cere- 
 mony. About a hundred and thirty bards 
 
 aflembled
 
 25^ GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 aflembled at a public houfe, in the village of 
 Penmorva, in Merionethfhire. Twelve judges 
 were appointed to decide of the fupcriority of 
 the poems, the fix beft of which were to have 
 prizes, the one an arm-chair, decorated with 
 the entigns of Apollo ; a fecond a chaplet of 
 laurels bcfpread with gold leaf, and fo on ; 
 only five-and-twenty bards were to recite, and 
 each recitation not to exceed twenty minutes. 
 This I foon found was a very proper reftric- 
 tion, for had the poefy been equal to the vehe- 
 mence of delivering it, had the fenfe echoed 
 to the found, Phoebus himfelf might have 
 been proud of his votaries. It was, however, 
 a very merry affbciation ; and though only 
 half a dozen could obtain prizes, every man 
 went away about day-light, well fatisfied with 
 others and with himfelf; for if each happy 
 candidate was pleafed with prefent fuccefs, 
 each unlucky one was whifpered to by his 
 felf-love, that the next meeting would atone 
 for the difappointment. Thus, 
 
 " Not a vanity is given in vain." 
 
 and we are to be convinced of every thing but 
 our want of merit in the art we cultivate. 
 This good opinion of ourfelves is not only to 
 be reckoned amongft the painted clouds that 
 beautify our days, but incites us to induftry 
 and emulation in the fcience or occupation we 
 
 purfue. 
 
 The
 
 CLEANINGS, &c. 151 
 
 The bards of old are too famous, and you 
 arc too well read in their ftory, as it has been 
 given in modern and ancient performances, to 
 Hand in need of much information. Old Ca- 
 radoc (Craddock) of Lancarvon, whofe book 
 was originally written in Britifh, and fubti/bed 
 in Englifh, by Doctor Powel, as it is quaintly 
 called, has furnifhed the beft, as well as the 
 carlieft account of them ; and it appears that 
 one of the ancient Princes of Wales, named 
 Gruffydth (Griffith) ap Conan, who died about 
 the year 1136, to the grief and difcontent of 
 all his fubjects, amongft other wholefome laws 
 and ftatutes enacted in his time, reformed the 
 diforders and abufes of the Welch minftrels. 
 
 Ml 
 
 Of thefe minftrels there were three forts ; the 
 firft compofed feveral fongs and odes of various 
 meafure, wherein, fays Craddock, appeared not 
 only the poet's (kill, but alfo a vein, which the 
 Latins call Furor Poeticus. Thefe of the firft 
 order likewife kept the records of the gentle- 
 men's arms and pedigrees (a very facred truft 
 amongft thefe defcendants of Cadwallad^r in 
 former times) on which account they were 
 held in great veneration both by their brother 
 poets and by the people. The next were fuch 
 as played upon inftruments of mufic, chiefly 
 the harp and the crowd, the latter of which 
 
 Prince
 
 252 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 Prince Griffith, who defcended from Iriih pa- 
 rents, and was born in Ireland, brought over 
 with him from that country ; and who, not 
 contented with giving his Welch fubjeds the 
 inftrument, fent over for fome of the beft per- 
 formers upon it ; and, although the Welch con- 
 tend for the honour of the invention, it feems 
 to belong principally to thofe very Hibernians. 
 The laft fort of Welch minftrels and bards were; 
 to fmg to an inftrument played by another. 
 Each of thefe, by the fame ftatute, held their 
 feveral rewards and encouragements allotted 
 them : their life and behaviour was to be 
 fpotlefs, otherwife their punimment was very 
 fevere, every one, on proof of a well-founded 
 complaint, having authority to correct them, 
 even to a deprivation of all they had. They 
 were alfo interdicted entering any man's houfe, 
 or to compofe any fong upon any one, without 
 the fpecial leave and warrant of the party 
 concerned. 
 
 Thefe regulations gave virtue to amufement, 
 by adding morality to mufic and poetry. It 
 muft be cqnfefTed, that, although the harmony, 
 as well focial, as vocal and inftrumental, ftill 
 remains in a certain degree, the morality, fo 
 far as fobriety and temperance is a part of 
 ethics, is a little the worfe for wear. The or- 
 gies
 
 G LEAN INGS, 6fc.- 2tf 
 
 gies of Bacchus generally finifh thofe of 
 Apollo at the feftivals of the modern Welch 
 minftrels, who, after the poetic trials of the 
 day, eat and drink like fo many aldermen at a 
 turtle feaft. Formerly bard and minftrel 
 united in the fame perfon, at leaft frequently: 
 at prefent, the harper and the poet are, for 
 the moft part, diftmcfh The poet, like the 
 harper, is ftill welcome wherefoever he goes ; 
 they both migrate in a pleafant wandering 
 kind of life, from one place to another, mak- 
 ing fometimes a circuit of their neighbouring 
 hills and vallies, and fometimes of the whole 
 principality. They travel with the harp at 
 their backs, or their works in their pockets. 
 They enter a houfe without invitation, and 
 are conftdered as one of the family while they 
 ftay, which is feldom lefs than a week at a 
 time. If any little domeftic incident happens 
 while they are inmates, it is celebrated on the 
 fpot : if -the event be fortunate, the bard greets 
 it by a gay and fpirited impromptu ; and the 
 harper hails it with his moft lively ditty. If 
 it is diftrefsful, they commemorate it by an 
 extemporaneous elegy, and attempt to foften it 
 by foothing founds. The marriage of children, 
 the death or ficknefs of parents, a fair prof- 
 peel: of harveft, an untimely froft, and, in 
 Ihort, almoft every change and chance of hu- 
 man
 
 254 GLOAMINGS, fcJV. 
 
 man life is either gratulated or bewailed. This 
 practice is not without its ufe ; it excites to 
 good neighbourhood ; it prevents the induftri- 
 ous labourer, as well as his employers, from 
 wandering abroad for thofe relaxations and 
 recreations which they find at home. The 
 village hinds and hulbandmen can have a 
 dance and fong at their own cottages and 
 farms, and all the family is regaled, invigo- 
 rated, and amufed, at a very fmali charge, 
 merely that of the occafional entertainment of 
 the bard and harper : on a fcale of comparative 
 expence, how much cheaper, as well as more 
 free from hazard, is this, than the county town 
 balls, to which the high-drefTed farmers daugh- 
 ters repair monthly in chaifes, or on their 
 brothers' hunters, in all the extravagance of 
 the lateft falhions ridiculoufly imitated ? In a 
 word, thofe mufico-poetical vagabonds are a 
 very happy and ufeful fet of people ; and it 
 is wonderfully pleafant for a refidentiary tra- 
 veller, particularly if he is alfo a perambu- 
 lating one, to be fure not only of hofpitable 
 reception, but to be gratified with mufic and 
 fong into the bargain wherefoever he makes a 
 paufe ; for it may very truly be faid in this 
 country, that <f every ftranger finds a ready 
 chair." With refpeft to myfelf, I have to 
 render my acknowledgments even to fome of 
 
 the
 
 GLEANINGS, f?f. 2$5 
 
 the untoward accidents of life for carrying me 
 into feveral agreeable fcenes and adventures : 
 for inftance, a mower, a fudden turn of wea- 
 ther from intenfe heat to cold, or vice verjd) a 
 confiderable diftance from a town or inn ; 
 third, hunger, or the want of any thing that 
 offers but the fhadow of an apology for mak- 
 ing another's houfe my own, has often been 
 matter of felicitation to all parties ; and I 
 have fometimes fought the fhelter of a few mi- 
 nutes, but found it impoffible to quit it for 
 days. The harper always gives a zeft to ever/ 
 meal by a tune ; and in the evening, the bird, 
 though often an unlettered votary of the mufe, 
 offers the beft poetry he has to beftow. The bre- 
 vity and difpatch are recommendations in the 
 word of times, for while a jug of ale or cyder U 
 drinking, the bard will make a ftanza of grati- 
 tude for it. While flipper is drefling, he is read/- 
 to ferve it up with a copy of verfes in praife of 
 Benevolence. And though it may happen, that 
 neither the mulic nor the poetry have charms 
 for the faftidious critic ; they arc not deftuute 
 of attraction for the philanthropic 
 
 The northern part of the principality is faid 
 to have been the moft famous, at all times, 
 as it is at prefent, for the bards. A very cu- 
 rious contention, indeed, is reported to have 
 2 taken
 
 2^6 GLEANINGS, tffr. 
 
 * taken place, betwixt the North and South 
 poets, in 1176. Lord Rhys (Rice) Prince of 
 South Wales, fays the hiftory, made a very 
 great feaft at Chriftmas, in his caftle of Aber- 
 trifi, which he caufed to be proclaimed through 
 all Britain, Ireland, and the iflands adjacent, 
 fome confidcrable time before ; and according 
 to his invitation, many hundreds of Englifh, 
 Normans, and others, were very honourably 
 received, and courteoufly entertained. Amongft 
 other tokens of their welcome, the prince 
 caufed all the poets throughout all Wales to 
 come to his caftle, and for a better diverfion 
 to the compa'ny, he provided chairs to be fet 
 in the hall, in which the bards being feated, 1 
 they were to anfwer each other in rhime ; and 
 thofe that overcame the reft in this pitched 
 engagement of poetical repartee, were reward- 
 ed with rich prefents. The North \Vales 
 bards obtained the victory, with the applaufe 
 of the whole company; and amongft the 
 harpers alfo, between whom there was a fimilar 
 ftrife, the prince's own fervants were accounted 
 the moft expert. 
 
 You may be fure I did not fail to include, 
 amongft the objects of my moft accurate at- 
 tention, the moft attractive of all that Cambria 
 in ancient times moft venerated, the Druids, 
 
 In
 
 GLEANINGS, f. Itf 
 
 In my refearches on this fruitful fubjcdt, 
 though I was very highly gratified, I found 
 nothing fufficiently new to glean. A tour 
 through Anglefea, which I made in the com- 
 pany of a very intelligent man, who, luckily 
 for my purpofe, was mounted on a horfe, that, 
 like my own, had long fince adopted the mode 
 of deliberate travelling, prefented to me a 
 full view of all the reliques of druidical anti- 
 quity Hill to be feen in the ifland. The places 
 of facrifice, where the blood of human vic- 
 tims was devoted, by craft, to fuperftition, the 
 enormous pile of rocks, under which they 
 creeled their fanguinary altars, the now craggy 
 heaths once covered with their temples, and 
 the remains of thofe immenfe woods wherein 
 they performed their tremendous rites, were all 
 vifited with an eagernefs of curiolity which the 
 fubject is fo well fitted to infpire. I really 
 felt a facred kind of horror as I traverfed the 
 ifle, celebrated for fo many ages as the theatre 
 of religious rapine ; and although at every 
 ftep I was reminded of fome act more cha- 
 racleriftic of an aflaflin, or of a murderous ban- 
 ditti, than of the minifters of a religion pure 
 and peaceful, at every ftep I experienced that 
 folemn fenfation which mixes itfelf with every 
 object of antiquity, over which poetry has 
 thrown a charm. The power of the mufe 
 VOL. x. S i.'
 
 SjS GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 is manifefted, perhaps, more in this than in 
 any thing elfe. In that fober ftate of the 
 mind which fits us for feeing objeds in their 
 natural fize and colour, whether we are read- 
 ing ,or reflecting, a fad is decided upon by 
 reafon, and pronounced either good or evil, 
 according to its actual tendency. From this 
 decifion one would fuppofe there could be no 
 appeal: prefently there comes a fair ufurper, 
 called Imagination, who, by the flighteft 
 wavering of her wand, hurls reafon from the 
 throne, vaults into it herfelf, and governs with 
 a fovereignty, at once, fo abfolute and agree- 
 able, that we deliver up ourfelves to her en- 
 chantment, and even aflift her in dragging the- 
 lawful monarch at the wheels of her chariot, 
 in which we fuffer ourfelves to be carried over 
 fairy land, the happy flaves of her ufurped au- 
 thority. 
 
 Thus only can we account for the venera- 
 tion we bear towards thofe whofe memory is 
 ftained by deeds which reafon muft for ever 
 condemn. I was not to learn that the Ifle of 
 Anglefy was the chief haunt of thofe barba- 
 rous beings, v whofe defpotifm and cruelty fur- 
 paired the rage of the panther, famifhing for 
 prey ; that a more bloody race of ruffians never 
 infefted humanity than the Druids j that they 
 
 covered
 
 G tEANINGS,*&V. 259 
 
 covered the moft horrid enormities \vith the 
 impenetrable mafk of religion ; and yet fo ef- 
 fectually had Mafon, and other poets, affifted 
 bur love of antiquity, to make us go over to 
 the fide of imagination, that I honoured the 
 very name of Mona, and looked at the re- 
 liques of the woods and caves, which had fo 
 often refounded with the myfterious incan- 
 tations, with a not unpleafing horror. Tku 
 fafcinated, 
 
 * r Ev'ry old poetic mountain 
 
 " Infpiration breath'd around, 
 *' Ev'ry {hade and hallow'd fountain 
 
 ** Murmur'd deep a foleran found ;'* 
 
 and even in places, where, had the mind beeri 
 unfeduced, I Ihould have Ihuddered at the 
 bare remembrance of the enormities practifed 
 therein, 
 
 " Bright-ey'd fancy^ hov'ring o'er; 
 
 " Scatter'd from her piflur'd urn, 
 
 ' Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn." 
 
 Such are the triumphs over the mufe. We 
 are called reafonable beings, my friend : but 
 how vaft is the empire of imagination, and 
 how fweet is our captivity ! What a pity thaC 
 it mould fo often be falfe and fatal ! To you 
 may fancy ever be a friend, and in connection 
 with reafon ; or if they ever feparate, be it 
 only like the parting of much-loved affociates, 
 s 2 vho
 
 26O GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 who make {hort excurfions to different places, 
 but return foon into the arms of each other! or 
 while fancy carries you into adventures, may 
 Mentor ever attend on Telemachus 1 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 To the fuperflition of the Welch 
 mountains, may be added that of their lakes 
 arid monumental ftones. The former are ex- 
 tremely numerous j but a countlefs variety of 
 fables mingle in the hiftory of each. The 
 ftones are of fuch prodigious magnitude, that 
 "they are not likely to be moved, but by that 
 commotion which mail fubdue the world itfelf; 
 they are of fuch incredible bulk, that it is 
 aftonifhing by what united power they were at 
 firft dragged to the cloud-capped hills on which 
 they ftand, and have ftood for many centuries. 
 A traveller who tells you the fingle ftones mea- 
 fured from feven, eight, to ten, and fixteen 
 feet high, is modeftly within the truth ; and 
 it is alfo true, that fifty yoke of oxen could not 
 poflibfy move fome of them, much lefs climb 
 with them up the fearful afcents, whereon they 
 certainly were originally placed by human art 
 
 and
 
 GLEANINGS, (off. C.6 1 
 
 and labour. No wonder, therefore; that the 
 traditionary account of the peafantry is, that 
 the devil himfelf fet them up there. And of 
 the mountains themfelves, on the very fummit 
 of which thefe enormous Hones are piled one 
 upon another, it has been juftly obferved, their 
 refemblance is fo great to the Alps, that, except 
 the language of the people, a traveller could 
 hardly avoid thinking he is pafling from Gre- 
 noble to Sufa, or through the country of the 
 Grifons; but with this exception, that in abun- 
 dance of places you have the moft beautiful val- 
 lies in the world, and fome of them of very 
 great extent, far exceeding thofe fo famed 
 amongftthe mountains of Piedmont and Savoy. 
 
 The Welch are of a moft inquilitive temper. 
 They ftare, and flock round a ftranger, as if he 
 were the inhabitant^ of another world, juft ar- 
 rived amongft them. If he makes the flighteft 
 advance to difcourfe, they ply him with quef- 
 tions, and are never fatisfied with anfwers, till 
 they unlock every part of his hiftory. At firft 
 I took this to be confined to a few curious 
 people; but I found, in the end, it' was the 
 cuftom of the country. You meet a Welchman 
 on the road, or join him in the chat of a mi- 
 nute at your inn " Whence come you ? where 
 go you ? what is your name ? where were you 
 s 3 bron ?
 
 GLEANINGS 
 
 born ? what is the obje<5t of your journey ? are 
 you in bufinefs ? are you out of it ? how long 
 have you been from home ? how long do you 
 Hay abroad ? are you a fingle man ? have you 
 a family?" are interrogatories that tread on the 
 heels of the firft falutation ; and thefe, if re- 
 plied to, are followed by others, more clofe, 
 and, if poflible, more impertinent. Nor have 
 you any way of making the enquirers off, but 
 by an inveterate filence, and this they refent 
 by fuch a torrent of frefli queries, that even 
 iilence is no fecurity ; and you muft either bear 
 to hear all they have to afk, or take refuge in 
 retreat. Horace's troublefome fellow was not 
 more importunate. But all this is without 
 .{he fmalleft intention to offend; on the con- 
 trary, it is often with a defign to be fociable; 
 but chiefly, I believe, has no motive better or 
 worfe than the gratification of fimple curiofity. 
 It is, however, very worrying, and has now 
 and then provoked me to anfwer fharply. At 
 a place called Towy, a man, whom I met, at the 
 inn where I baited, fq urged me with queftion 
 upon queftion, that I was malicious enough to 
 put the moft bitter farcafms into my refponfes. 
 Queftion Where did I come from ? Anfwer, 
 The other world. Where was I going? Out 
 of hearing. What was my name ? Namelefs. 
 Where was I born ? In the moon.
 
 CLEANINGS, &V. 263 
 
 Till this anfwer the fellow did not feem to 
 feel that I was laughing at him ; but it had the 
 effect, for he foon after ended his perfecutions, 
 by faying, come from where I will, I was a 
 merry gentleman, and he wiihed me good day. 
 
 / 
 
 If ever you mould be fprighted by one of 
 thefe Welch querifts, or by a vexer of this de- 
 fcription in any country, my plan may be worth 
 adoption. You might be led to fuppofe this 
 over-curious propenfity was in the way of their 
 hofpitable turn of character, but if you can 
 agree with me, that it originates not in any fuf- 
 picion or fear of deceit, you will place it in 
 the long lift of inconfiftencies, which blend in 
 human characters, without conceiving it to be 
 a paradox. How often do we meet the moft 
 apparently, nay abfolutely, incompatible pro- 
 perties compound themfelves in the fame 
 mind ? avarice with prodigality, pride with hu- 
 mility, charity with felfifhnefs, vanity with 
 diffidence, and a love of the world with pro,, 
 found retirement. I could illuftrate each of 
 thefe apparent contradictions by proofs perfonal 
 taken from the catalogue of our mutual ac- 
 quaintance, but what better would be inferred 
 than fo many frem convictions of the oldeft 
 fact, that the belt people re itrange com-, 
 s 4 pounds^
 
 364 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 pounds, and that the world; is a garden where 
 not only, in a general fenfc, 
 
 * Weeds and flowers promifcuous fhoot," 
 
 but where, by the fide of the faireft, fweeteft, 
 'flower, and almoft twilled round it, grows that 
 weed, which is moft baneful to it: one would 
 think they could not live, or thrive in the fame 
 foil ; yet we perceive they flourifh very neigh- 
 bourly together. Have you never, my dear 
 friend, found the rofe and nettle take root in 
 the fame temper ? the fragrance and beauty 
 of the one incommoded by the flinging proper- 
 ties of the other ? Yes, you reply, but then it 
 is the buiinefs of the gardener, Education, to 
 pluck up this ill-afibrted aflbciate, and to leave 
 the rofe to bloffom either in folitude, or better 
 fociety. In vegetable culture, this may always 
 do; in moral gardening, it is to be managed 
 nicely, left in eradicating 3. favourite folly, or 
 conftitutional weaknefs, we injure the native 
 virtue that is hear it. No, my friend, \ve muft 
 "be content rather with meliorating the foil, 
 than deftroying its natural productions ; if fome 
 of thefe are utterly obnoxious to the valuable 
 plants and ihrubs, which arc the pride and 
 riches of the ground, they " mujl be hpwn down 
 and caft into the fire,'' for fuck " tares will to- 
 tally choak the wheat;" Jucb weeds will blaft 
 
 the
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. ^65 
 
 the rofe \vorfe than a canker ; but if they are 
 lefs ambitious of doing miichief; if they are 
 all but the frailties of our nature, fpringing up 
 amongft our virtues, let them be conildcred as 
 forming the tiffue of the human character; 
 where the coarfe and fine, the worried, and the 
 filk, are neceffary to the general Itrength of 
 the piece : 
 
 When ftraw-like errors lean to virtue's fide, 
 " Ah ! check ye bigots, check your furious pride, 
 Some venial faults, from fordid nature ftart, 
 " And fpring up only in the generous heart ; 
 " As florid weeds elude the labourer's toil, 
 " From too much warmth and richnefs of the foil j 
 " While meaner fouls, like Zerribla's hills of fnow, 
 " Too barren prove for weeds or flowers to blow." 
 
 SYMPATHY. 
 
 Your pardon for this felfifh quotation. Is it 
 not in point ? It repeats, perhaps, the allufion, 
 but it feems to gain force by the repetition. It 
 is fo exceflively painful to be finding fault with 
 poor human nature, continually, that it is 
 quite a relief to one to plead her caufe, and 
 become her apologift for thofe trefpaffes which 
 are at all defenlible. Heaven knows there are 
 plenty of faux pas, where, to attempt her ex- 
 cufe, would be to partake her crimes. 
 
 Be fatisfied, then, that the conftitutional 
 frpfpitality of the. Welch receives no check 
 
 from
 
 266 CLEANINGS, 
 
 from their conftitutional inquifitivenefs : the 
 former is, indeed, fo very general, that the ftory, 
 which a gentleman, who made the tour of 
 Wales in 1774, relates, is not in the leaft to 
 be doubted. It is told to mew that a man 
 may travel, through the whole country, with a 
 conftant fuite of recommendations from one 
 hofpitable houfe to another. The fubftance of 
 the ftory is this : a gentleman of the neigh- 
 bourhood of Mahuntleth, a little town in the 
 extreme Weft angle of Montgomeryshire, and 
 which I defcribed to you in one of my letters, in- 
 troduced himfelf politely to the company, and 
 hearing they travelled to fatisfy their curiofity, 
 civilly offered to gratify it. They afked him, 
 if there was a good .houfe at the next ftage ? 
 He anfwered, there were many ; Mr. Lloyd's, 
 Mr. Powell's, Mr. Edwards's, &c. They ftill 
 required which was the beft houfe ? He re- 
 plied they were all very good. To make him 
 explicit, they perfifted in afking him, whether 
 either of them was as comfortable, and proper, 
 as that in which they were converfing, mean- 
 ing the village inn. Sir, faid he, with a 
 peevifh furprize, fhould you take this houfe 
 for a gentleman's , ? They quickly explained 
 themfelves, and begged his pardon. 
 
 l
 
 G LEANINGS, &?<% 
 
 It would be unjuft in me to omit ^telling 
 you, that the Welch are not only lovers of 
 hofpitality in themfelves, but fincere admirers 
 of it in others, and if a kindnefs has once been 
 fhewn them, they never lofe the impreiTion of 
 it. One inftance, out of many, I will recount. 
 In the vicinity of Caernarvon, is one of the 
 feats of my Lord Newborough. Faffing this, 
 one miferably cold day, when the fnovvs were 
 frozen on the mountains, I could not help ex- 
 claiming, in the hearing of the honeft Welch- 
 man, who was at that time my guide acrofs the 
 country Would to heaven that houfe were a 
 public one! Ah, Sir, faid my guide, with a 
 figh, and crack of his whip, it ivas one in 
 former days, that is to fay, it was a houfe for 
 the good of the public, as every body who 
 wanted entertainment, either for man or beaft, 
 was welcome. O, there was rare doings at 
 Newborough-Hall, when my Lord - , God 
 blefs him, was at home : he is abroad now, and 
 has been (the more is the pity, both for rich and 
 poor) many years ; but we expect him back 
 foon, which will make fuch a joy in Wales, as 
 has fcarce been kncrwn fince that old moun- 
 tain (meaning Snowden, which is vifible from 
 the houfe) was no bigger than a mole-hill ! 
 You muft know, Sir, I am William Jones, con- 
 firmed this grateful fellow^ I am one of his 
 
 Lordfhip's
 
 26S- CLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 Lordfhip's tenants that little farm on the 
 other fide, is rented by me, where if your 
 honour pleafes, I will fhevv you that I have not 
 lived fo many years under fo good and gener- 
 ous a mafter, without benefiting by the ex- 
 ample, and though I cannot fet out my table 
 like my Lord Newborough, my old dame, will 
 give you a clean cloth, fome new laid eggs, a 
 curious flice or two of bacon, and as brave a 
 mug of ale, or tankard of cyder, with a dam of 
 brandy, as ever was drawn, and we will drink 
 the health and fpeedy return of my mafter, to 
 old Wales. God knows, I will drink it juft 
 as I wifh it with all my life and foul. 
 
 He went on to afTure me that as the day of 
 Lord N 's departure from this country, was 
 the moil miferable, fo would his return be the 
 moft blefied to his fervants, tenants, friends, 
 and all defcriptions of people that for his 
 part he felt it a comfort to get his bread on the 
 ground that belonged to fo good a mafter, andeven 
 to walk upon his land, and that he never paffed 
 by the deferted manfion-houfe, without think- 
 ing of the obligations which he and a thoufand 
 others had received from the generous owner. 
 
 He then proceeded to juftify, by inftances 
 of goodnefs, this exalted character, in the 
 
 courfe
 
 GLEANINGS, 6?<T. 269 
 
 courfe of his developing which, he difcovered 
 a moft excellent heart, and not uncultured 
 head, belonging to himfelf ; but difplayed fo 
 many marks of art enlarged benevolence in his 
 matter, that before he had half finimed his 
 eulogy, my affections warmed towards the 
 noble proprietor of Newborough-Hall, and I 
 could not but join the regrets of honeft Will 
 Jones that he was abfent. 
 
 Thefe little road-adventures, which are fo 
 frequently riling out of fu rround ing obj eels, I 
 muft once more remark, are amongft the 
 richeft gratifications that can happen to a tra- 
 veller of my tafle and temper. They are, in- 
 deed, a fource of almoft daily pleafure, and ex- 
 ercife of the focial principle : they freflien, as 
 it were, one's whole heart, and fo occupy the 
 bed part of our feelings, that if the roads are 
 bad, and the weather fevere, we perceive all 
 ruggednefTes and rigours fmoothe off; and if 
 the way is without difficulty, and the weather 
 fine, and the country, through which we pafs, 
 beautiful, the whole is rendered more delicious 
 by a little regaling cafualty of this fort. De- 
 cember has not often prefented a more bitter 
 day than that on which I received a delinea- 
 tion of Lord N from William Jones, but 
 fome of the traits, created a kind of fummer 
 
 in
 
 27 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 in my bofom, and the reft of the journey to 
 Caernarvon was the happier for it. 'Tis even 
 now fweet to remembrance, and is regiftered 
 amongft the riches of my meaf. 
 
 There is a great deal of character in this 
 country; and much of that original wit, 
 humour, and oddity, amongft the lower ranks, 
 which the late Henry Fielding fo much de- 
 lighted to defcribe. Out of abundance I mail 
 glean only two fpecimens, each of which have 
 ibmething fo dramatic, that were I about to 
 write a comedy, I mould be ftrongly tempted 
 to hitch them into the fcene ; and as I met with 
 them both in the fame day, their portraits mall 
 be drawn in the fame letter. 
 
 As there is a lady in the cafe, me claims 
 my firft attention. I beg, therefore, to intro- 
 duce the widow Bowyer to you. Suppofe your 
 Gleaning correfpondent taking his afternoon 
 tea, at a little public houfe, betwixt Welch- 
 Pool and Shrewsbury, and the widow, my 
 landlady, thus officioufly fliewing herfelf off, by 
 way of recommending herfelf and herhoufe. - 
 Would you have the idea of the fpeaker before 
 you Imagination muft body forth a neat little 
 old woman of the true Welch architecture, and 
 drefled in the fafhion of her country a blue 
 3 York in,.
 
 GLEANINGS, $V. 27! 
 
 Ydrkin, black broad brim beaver, fcarlet petti- 
 coat, and apron of black mining ftuff, drop- 
 ping a deep but rapid curtfey at every fen- 
 tence. " I hope you find your tea good, Sir 
 I always have the beft of tea, Sir, '(curtfey.) 
 Perhaps, your honour's goodnefs \vould like 
 a flice of cheefe and hung beef (curtfey both 
 at the bread and cheefe.) I am notorious for 
 them, Sir, (curtfey.) I am a widow woman, 
 at your fervice, Sir, (curtfey) buried my huf- 
 band, {curtfey) about fix weeks ago, (curtfey') - 
 an ailing man, Sir, (cur/fey) always weak 
 and wankly, (curtfey.') Could do nothing for 
 many years, Sir, (curtfey.) Palfy,your honour, 
 (curtfey) coft me many a bright pound; 
 (curtfey) but 'tis always fomcthing for a wo- 
 man to have a hufband in the houfe -(curtfey.) 
 Servants think nothing of a lone woman 
 {curtfey.) They do juft as they pleafe with 
 them, your honour knows (curlfey.)" 
 
 Ah, poor David, continued (he, after a 
 fhort paufe, feeing me difpofed to hear, but 
 not to anfwer. " Ah, poor dear David, he 
 ufed to fit, Sir, (curtfey) in that very arm- 
 chair, Sir, {curtfey) where your honour fits 
 now; and though I had to lead him up ftairs 
 
 and down put him to bed, and take him 
 
 up poor foul, helplefs as an infant ftili 
 
 I liked
 
 172 GLEANINGS, t$C. 
 
 I liked to be doing for him.- Davy, I ufed to 
 fay Davy you'll never go on your legs again, 
 I fear you'll never be the man you have 
 been" 
 
 (By way of parenthefis, let me hook in the 
 information that, although I do not continue 
 to infert the curtfeys, it is to be noted, that 
 the good widow went as regularly on with her 
 reverences, as with her ftory, and that every 
 dafh, you meet with, is fubftituted, to prevent 
 interruption, for a curtfey ; the long dafh be- 
 ing expreflive of an obeifance nine deep, the 
 Ihort one, of the little drop, or bob minor J 
 
 " We were notorious for being happy, Sir 
 and our houfe, Sir though thatched, Sir 
 
 is notorious all over the country, Sir and 
 
 if your honour mould be provoked to flay the 
 night, Sir you mall have as good a bed as 
 ever was laid on poor David died on it, Sir 
 
 we are notorious for our beds me 
 
 and mine have lived here hundreds of years 
 the fined air in the world kill all our own 
 meat cut all our own garden fluff grow all 
 our own wheat make all our own bread 
 brew all our own beer. In fhort, do every 
 thing for ourfelves, without being beholden to 
 
 any 
 
 6
 
 GLEANINGS, &f. 27^ 
 
 any body. Thus, your honour fees, 
 
 \ve are the moft notorious people on the road." 
 
 The whole of the foregoing felf-defcription, 
 panned without the fmalleft encouragement or 
 reply ; my landlady (landing all the while curt- 
 feying, nodding, crying, and laughing; for I 
 fhould have obferved to you, that at every 
 drop of her knees, me gave a nod of her head, 
 and that whenever fhe mentioned David's iu^ 
 firmities, me made up her face and voice into 
 a moft pity-moving whine, which gave w.ay^ 
 however, to a more pleafant twift of her odd 
 little countenance and tones, when me fpake 
 of the notorioufnefs of her houfe. 
 
 My tea, and her talk ended together, wheii 
 I told her that I was thoroughly convinced, 
 She had not obtained a notorious character 
 without reafon ; but that I found her fo enter- 
 taining, that as the evening was too far advan- 
 ced to think of purfuing my journey towards 
 Shrewfbury, I would avail myfelf of the many 
 good things, for which her houfe is notorious, 
 on condition that fhe would favour me with as 
 much of her company as podible, and put me 
 into any bed, but that which poor David had 
 VOL. I. T fo
 
 '74 CLEANINGS, &c * 
 
 fo lately died upon the reflection of which 
 circumftance would prevent my taking any 
 repofe. 
 
 ! gave it this turn'to'fkve the good widow's 
 feelings, and I ventured to invite her, becaufe 
 I imagined her houfe affairs would draw her 
 nods and curtfcys to feveral other travellers, 
 who now came to pafs the nighc. Unluckily, 
 however, me refolded to compliment me with 
 her dead David's bed, and though I could 
 have wifhed it put upon a longer quarantine, 
 it was impoilible, for fhe allured me, (nod and 
 curtfey as ufual) that not only gentry but 
 nobility not only 'fquires but barrownights 
 
 not only barrownights- but lords 
 
 not only lords but dukes 
 
 (here a nod that threw her head into her bofom, 
 and a curtfey that almoft overfec her) and 
 
 that even the Prince- of the 
 
 Principality (nod) (nod) (nod) 
 
 the Prince of Wales himfelf 
 
 (curtfey} * (curtfey} (curtfty) 
 
 might lie in that bed. 
 
 Had the corpfe of Davio' been ftretched 
 /nil upon the bed, you fee I muft have taken 
 part of it ; I therefore yielded, and the good 
 widow-woman went nodding and curtfeying 
 
 through
 
 GLEANINGS, 
 
 through the reft of the evening in perfect 
 good-humour. Her manner muft k>fe much 
 in narration^ but I am convinced had it been 
 dramatifed, and fhaped to the talents of one of 
 our comedians it would have fet, at leaft, the 
 galleries, and, perhaps, the whole houfc, in a 
 roar. 
 
 Notwithftanding this, none of her other 
 cuftomers, then in the inn, feemed to be ftruck 
 with what had fo much diverted me : one bid 
 her do more and talk lefs another faid, he 
 fuppofed, (he looked on her converfation as part 
 of the entertainment, and would charge it in 
 the bill if fo, he muft decline any more of ir. 
 The author of this obfervation was a wag, who, 
 perhaps, thought he was alfo a wit; a third 
 could not help wifhing (he had as good talents 
 for lilence, as making a noife. An hundred 
 others might have entered and departed with- 
 out being a whit more amufed ; but as I am 
 convinced the lover of character would not 
 have palled my widow-woman without a note 
 of remark, I cannot but believe you, and your 
 friends will excufe, nay thank me, for making 
 her a little more notorious. % 
 
 One man only of the company Was wholly 
 
 filcnr, and he had the beft reafon for it; 
 
 T 2 namely,
 
 276 CLEANINGS; &c. 
 
 namely, an intoxication, that wholly deprived 
 him of the powers of fpeech : two of the 
 others ju ft mentioned were his affociates, who 
 had been to Haverford-Weft on foot, to fav.e 
 as much as poffible of that money, which they 
 had appropriated to the releafe of their friend, 
 the drunken man, who had been two years a 
 prifoner for debt, in the jail of the above- 
 named town, and they were all three natives of 
 Wales, working under the fame mailer at 
 Shrewlbury. 
 
 As our widow woman's general fitting room 
 ufually ferved her like the'merry cobler's in the 
 ballad, "for parlour, for kitchen, and hall;'* 
 there being no fire-places in the other apart- 
 ments, above, or below ; we all were of the fame 
 mefs, while we were partaking of which, (the 
 late prifoner cxcepted, who was as incapable 
 of eating as converiing) one of the travellers 
 he who had his fears that my landlady would 
 make him pay for her eloquence thus opened 
 upon me.- 
 
 " You muft know, Sir," fays he, addrefling 
 himfelf to me as familiarly as if we had been 
 old acquaintance, " the poor fellow who is now 
 fnoring in the chimney corner, is Davy 
 Morgan, as honcft a little man as any in 
 
 Wales,
 
 GLEANINGS, &c. IJ^ 
 
 Wales, and put into durance vile, for another 
 man's debt ; but we have worked him out, and 
 in a few days we (hall be able to fhew him to 
 all friends round the wrekin: in the mean- 
 time, poor Davy, is gone tipfy with the thought 
 of it : but you mufr not think the worfe of 
 him for that; I hope his getting into jail, and 
 o///ofit, once in his life, and being a little 
 bJckfius doxitts upon it, (once in his life, I fay) 
 will not make you think the worfe of him. 
 Come little drunken Davy, here is your health, 
 my boy, as you can't drink, I'll drink for you: 
 any thing to ferve a friend fleeping or wak- 
 ing; fo here's to you in a bumper that holds 
 both our portions, my little lleeping Taffy. 
 
 This bumper was emptied and filled with 
 fuch rapidity, that, if there is any truth in a 
 head full of liquor, the account which was now 
 given by both the comrades at fupper, of the 
 fnoring Davy Morgan, did credit to the hearts 
 of all the three. I gathered, from the torrents 
 of information now poured out, much fafter. 
 than even the ale, that Davy Morgan had been 
 bound for a friend, whofe treachery had 
 plunged him not only in a prifon, but in the 
 ruin confequent on the lofs of his time; which, 
 ufed to be induftrioufly employed that his 
 companions had been in the habits of friend- 
 T 3 (hip,
 
 2/8 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 fhip, labour, and diverfion with him, many 
 years ; that by his imprifonment, they were 
 deprived at once of their playmate and fellow- 
 workman ; and that therefore they had a meet- 
 ing one day, to fee what could be done between 
 them, towards getting their friend out of cuf- 
 tody. The refult of their conference was a ge- 
 nerous, but fecret treaty, to ufe every means in 
 their power to obtain his liberty: but the fum 
 for which he was confined exceeding abun- 
 dantly their finances, (for they were all but 
 journeymen weavers ferving under the fame 
 matter] they made an attempt on the mercy of 
 the creditor, in the hope of fuch a compro- 
 mife as they might be able to advance, repre- 
 fentirjg to him, that the misfortune of the 
 jpnfoner was brought upon him wholly by an 
 act of good-nature, and on the faith of the 
 rnan wh,p had betrayed him ; and that, there- 
 fore, in effect, he was punifhed, not only for 
 the vice of another, but for his own virtue. 
 
 This appeal, however, failed ; and at a fe- 
 cond confutation, flill held without the know- 
 Jedge of the captive Davy, they entered into a 
 folemn compact, to put by one-third of their 
 weekly wages, till a fum, equal to the poor 
 jr.an's enlargement, mould be accumulated. 
 " We were both brother-bachelors, Sir a faid one 
 
 "pf
 
 XJ-LEANINGS, &f. 279- 
 
 of them, and fo could do this without pinch* 
 ing any body but ourfelves Will Griffith 
 there, indeed, was to be married when he could 
 afford a fet of linen, a wedding dinner, and a 
 weaving loom, and had got a few good pounds 
 fnug in the box, which his intended gave him 
 as a token ; but the generous-hearted girl, who 
 is an honour to her country^ " 
 
 " She is a Welch girl," Sir, exclaimed Mr, 
 Griffith, " and here's her health with all my 
 foul." 
 
 " I fay, Sir," refumed the other traveller, 
 * c that this brave wench, on hearing the ftory 
 of poor Davy, and the plan to relieve him, in T 
 fitted on her not being the hindrance, but the 
 promoter of his liberty, declaring, that Ihc 
 was ready to contribute an equal lhare of her 
 little favings towards effecting that goocj 
 work, and that, by way of encouragement to 
 her lover, Griffith, me would give him the dif- 
 pofai of her hand as foon after Davy could at-. 
 tend at the wedding, as he thought proper to 
 Demand it." 
 
 
 
 " Till the moment after me faid this, Sir,' : 
 
 fajd Griffith in rapture, " I did no; think i 
 
 T 4
 
 OLE AN IK' OS, . 
 
 had been poflible to love her more dearly 
 here's another bumper to her." 
 
 " To make fhort of the ftory," continued 
 the other, " to work we went, aye, and worked 
 double tides, for double pay, and Kitty Lewis, 
 who worked too, kept the box. Every Sa- 
 turday night we put in our favings, and count- 
 ed at the end of every quarter. Not a fyllable 
 of this to: Davy; though we took care in the 
 mean time he fhould not want, for while thc 
 grafs grows, you know, Sir Well, thus we 
 went merrily on no matter how long till 
 we had enough, then, watching for the PafTion 
 \yeek, when there is no work done, you know, 
 off we fet from Old Salop to Haverford, where 
 poor Davy was taken as he was trying to get 
 over to Ireland, and was (hut up. Griffith and 
 I, who were born in the country, knew every 
 inch, of the ground; and to fave money for 
 better ufes than throwing it away upon horfe- 
 flem, we footed up after the fafhion of our 
 country, carrying our (hoes in one pocket, and 
 ftockings in another. When we got to rjie 
 White Hart, which is a very good inn, directly 
 oppofite to the prifon, we did not ftay to re- 
 freifh, till we had paid a vifit to Morgan. Our 
 hearts were at our lips as we crofled over the 
 way to him. The paor fellow was fucking in 
 3 the
 
 GLEANItfC'S, &f f. 2$ I 
 
 the frefh air, through the grating, which, be^ 
 ing on the ground floor, we could fee and 
 fpeak to one another. I thought Davy would 
 have leaped through his bars to get at us, 
 though he looked pale as death, and his beard 
 was grown like one of your Hermits. Ke 
 threw out both his hands, which we took hold 
 of, and told him they were cold as clay : but 
 my heart is as warm and as much your's, as 
 ever, my boys, faid he, in a terrible feeble 
 voice ; and if I remain here for the reft of my 
 life, as I fuppofe I mail, I will fall down, 
 night and day, on my dirty ftraw, to blefs Pro- 
 vidence, that it has fent me the only two men 
 I love in the whole world." 
 
 " Don't tell me, Davy, faid Griffith you 
 remember Will thefe were you^ words dcn'jt 
 tell me of (laying here the reft of your life 
 we do not intend you mail remain here another 
 day j if we can help it ? not another hour. 
 We come with a ftrong box, my little Davy, 
 that (hall change your dirty ftraw into clean 
 feathers, and thofc damn'd ugly looking bars 
 into a warm glafs window ; but this is wafting 
 time where's the gaoler let us do our buii T 
 nefs firft, and talk afterwards." 
 
 Hereupon Griffith went in fearch of the 
 keeper, and I explained matters to Davy, who
 
 li-82 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 was in a furprife pair fpeaking, only he cried 
 like a child, and fometimes laughed again like 
 a madman, though when he came to himfelf, 
 he faid he was afhamed to diftrefs us, and fucli 
 nonfenfe ; to which I only anfwered, never 
 mind, when we get our old fellow-workman 
 amongft us again, we will foon weave it up, 
 I warrant you : and to tell you the truth, Davy, 
 faid I, we have both had a fore lofs of the 
 fongs you ufed to fing at the loom, and neither 
 of us can do any longer without you. 
 
 Prefently, Sir, Will Griffiths returned with 
 the gaoler, whom, though he feemed a glum, 
 gruff, growling looking fellow, he had con- 
 trived to make fmile, as if he was half as good- 
 humoured a fellow as Will himfelf. 
 
 f* Aye, money works miracles, you know, 
 Sir exclaimed Will, who thus ended the 
 ilory. \ bribe out of my Kitty's amber-box 
 made the keeper of our poor Davy haften to 
 Jlis releafe with aimoft as much glee as my- 
 felf ; and as foon as the law charges, which 
 were, fomehow, as heavy as the debt, though 
 nothing appeared to be faid or done, but clap- 
 ping the poor fellow in prifon, and leaving 
 him there. As foon as thefe were fettled, I 
 fay, we took the bird out of his cage, and 
 
 carried
 
 GLEANINGS, &c. 2^3 
 
 carried him in triumph to the White Hart, 
 where we puffed one of the merrieft evenings of 
 our lives. We have kept it up ever fince: 
 as poor Davy's legs had been of no ufe to him 
 for fo long a time, they refufed to do much 
 for him, even now that they were untied, as 
 one may fay, fo we got him into the ftages as 
 far as they went our way, and when we were 
 obliged to crofs the country, we put him. 
 upon a horfe, and at lad, afte'r a jovial jour- 
 ney, here we are at the widow Bowyer's, thank 
 God I within half a dozen miles of Shrewf- 
 bury, and Kitty Lewis. That being the cafe, 
 we will, if you pleafe, Sir, have one more 
 bottle to the health and happinefs of all par- 
 ties : the amber-box holds out ftill, and here 
 it is, at the fervice of any honeft fellow that 
 wants it, though we never faw him before in 
 our lives, and mould never fee him again. 
 As to Kitty, if me takes me without a milling, 
 {he takes me for myfelf : unlefs we are both 
 fick at the fame time, we can never be in need 
 pf bread, becaufe the hands of either can earn 
 it ; and as to loom and linen, they may be 
 waited for, and what the wedding dinner may 
 want in fineries, it mall make up in good plain 
 fare, and good appetite." 
 
 Will Griffiths having finifhed his fpeech, 
 fciffed the amb'er-box with great devotion, 
 
 fwore
 
 2 $4 LEANINS, &?f. 
 
 fwore it mould not be long ere his labours 
 -filled it again, and then fhook me heartily by 
 the hand, obfcrving, that he could fee I liked 
 the hiftory he had been recounting, as it had 
 made me fhed tears more than once in the 
 telling ; and whenever I am touched to the 
 heart with any thing, faid he, I always cry. 
 
 Davy Morgan waked, and was all the better 
 for his nap. His comrades greeted his return 
 to life, as one of them called it, with three 
 cheers, three bumpers of the notorious widow's 
 ale, and three fuch flaps on the back, that he 
 muft have been actually dead not to have 
 fhook off all remains of flumber. And now 
 he had one advantage over his friends, who 
 had facrificed to Liberty info many " pota- 
 tions pottle deep," that they literally fell mar- 
 ryrs, on the floor, to their affections, and the 
 excellent home-brcw'd of the widow, who ex- 
 hibited, in the courfe of the tale, many in- 
 ftances of a good heart, by dropping a very low 
 curtfey at every mark of the generofity of 
 the young weavers, giving them a grateful nod 
 at the fame time ; and declaring, that if the 
 .widow's mite would be accepted by Davy 
 Morgan, the amber-box Ihould not be for*. 
 gotten 
 
 !:
 
 GLEANINGS, f Jc. 285 
 
 I really regret that Davy's pleafant compeers 
 were now rendered fo incapable, as to re- 
 quire the fupports of the good widow, my 
 own, and even thofe of Davy himfelf, to con- 
 duel: them to bed, Davy, on his part, was 
 quite renewed ; and, understanding from Mrs. 
 Bowyer, that I had heard his ilory, foon jufti- 
 fied his departed friends' eulogium, of being 
 a very pleafant, grateful, and good-humoured, 
 as well as ingenious fellows. 
 
 Prefently, the widow reminding us it Was 
 midnight, I intreated to drink a glafs of good 
 wifhes to the company, as well fleeping as 
 awake, and then promifed to retire. One more 
 tankard was therefore drawn j but it was fo 
 relifhing to Davy, that he took it nearly off 
 at a draught, not only from love of the liquor, 
 but of his friends. A fecond tankard was 
 therefore brought,, but unluckily the heart/ 
 vifit paid to the other, came too ftiddenly on 
 Davy's recovery from the former libations, 
 and his fober fenfes began to relapfe. The wi- 
 dow began to wink in her wicker chair that 
 line you may think has called in 
 
 " apt alliteration's artful aid ;" 
 
 but, I aflure you, it was accidental the wi- 
 dow fell afleep "Davy held the tankard in his 
 
 hand ;
 
 hand; a*nd without attending to a third of 
 fourth perfon being in the room probably 
 without knowing there Was any body but him- 
 felf prefent, indulged, and difplayed himfclf in 
 a foliloquy, which; if you will pleafe to advert 
 to time, place, and foregone circumftances, 
 may divert you. I ftop you from it only while 
 I alTert that 
 
 " I (hall nought extenuate, 
 
 " Nor fet down ought in frolic." 
 
 A whole year's converfation could not, to my 
 mind, better have pourtrayed the man. 
 
 Now, Davy Morgan, is the time to mew 
 thy felf a great fool, or a fenfible little fellow. 
 Twice to-day haft thou been out of thy witg 
 for joy, and art but jufl come into them 
 again enough to be forry for it. Beware the 
 third time. The ale is certainly good there's 
 no denying it (Here he lifted the tankard 
 almoft to his lips) I could drink every drop of 
 it with the grcateft pleafure. It is but lifting 
 the tankard half an inch higher, opening my 
 mouth a little wider in this manner and it 
 would be gone pafl recovery, as King or Prince 
 Denmark fays 
 
 " To drink, or not to drink ? that is the queftion ; 
 " Whether 5 iis better for thee, Davy, thus to fuffer 
 " The flings and arrows of outrageous thirft, 
 " Or by thus plunging in a fea of ale, 
 
 f Tippling, to end it ? to drink ! and flesp 
 
 " No
 
 GLEANINGS, &c. 287 
 
 * No more ; and by that fleep to end 
 
 The head-ache, and the thoufand natural (hocks 
 
 ' That tippling's heir to 'tis a confummation 
 
 " Devoutly to be wilh'd to drink and fleep 
 
 ' Perchance be drunk again! ah there's the rub!" 
 
 No, damn it, Davy, don't make a beafl of 
 thyfelf any more to-day, there's a good little 
 fellow. Thou art at prefent merry and wife. 
 Keep fo, my lad, for the honour of Wales, 
 and for the fake of the good fortune that has 
 dragged thee out of thy hole, into the land of 
 freedom Down, tempter, down." 
 
 Here he lowered the tankard, but with fuch 
 hade, that he fpilt part of its contents on his 
 chin, the fweet and favory fmell of which fo 
 quickened* appetite, as Milton faid of Eve, 
 when the' grand tempter pfefented the forbid- 
 den fruit, that poor Davy Morgan felt the 
 original fin was entailed on him. He again 
 held the tankard up to his lips, and could not 
 but taftc. In that perilous inftant he ex- 
 1 laimed Davy, why don't you pull it away 
 with all your might (here he began to fip) 
 why don't you fay Satan in the fhape of a 
 tankard of beer, a vaunt (here he fpoke with 
 his head in the mug) why don't you dam k 
 to the ground have you no honour no re- 
 folution no philofoplly no conlideration 
 no gratitude ? (a great gulp between each of 
 
 thefc
 
 88 GLEANINGS, &fj 
 
 thefe queftions) Fie upon you when a tank- 
 ard is before^you you have no more flrength 
 thought idea nor nor nor (g^'lps con- 
 tinued) nor any thing of that kind than 
 than than (gulps) an infant. 
 
 At this moment, a lamentable cry was heard 
 at the door, accompanied by a loud rapping. 
 On opening it, a poor creature appeared half- 
 famifhed with cold : it was the poft-boy, be- 
 twixt Pool and Shrewsbury, who, being feized 
 with the cramp in his ftomach, came to get a 
 dram. He had fcarce time to defcribe the 
 nature of his complaint, before Davy Morgan 
 applied a remedy, by thrufting the poker, 
 which happened to be red-hot, into the tan- 
 kard ; and then pouring the ale, thus heated, 
 down the fhivering man's throat execrating 
 himfelf, all the time, as a prodigal who had 
 been wantonly wafting that which might now 
 have been fo much better difpofed of. See, 
 you rafcal, faid he to himfelf, what comes of 
 your guggling you deferve to be fent back 
 again to prifon you do. * 
 
 The poor poft-boy foon felt himfelf reno- 
 vated, for the widow added a gill of her noto- 
 rious brandy to Davy's burned ale, after which 
 he again mounted his horfe, faying he mould 
 foon fetch up loft time, and hoped God would
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 289 
 
 always blefs thofe who he fwore had faved 
 his life. < 
 
 Davy Morgan, however, kept abufing him- 
 felf for fome time after, but I contrived to pa- 
 cify him by afluring him, if he could parody 
 Hamlet's celebrated fpeech fo pleafantly, I 
 fhould think he deferved to get tipfy as often 
 as he chofe, though it were to be with Nectar 
 or Tokay. Begging, therefore, he would for- 
 give himfclf this time, we all went to reft. 
 
 The morning brought us all once more to- 
 gether; and our breakfaft, for I was now one 
 of the party, was a very fober one. In the 
 middle of it there happened an incident, 
 which fo accumulated the interefts of the little 
 drama, that it added another notoriety to the 
 houfe of the courteous widow. This was the 
 entrance of a very handfome young woman, in 
 a blue riding habit, and ftraw bonnet, bound 
 tight with a pea -green ribbon, which was 
 fattened gypfey fafhion ,- and difplayed fuch 
 parts of a pretty countenance, as made the 
 fpedlator desirous to fee the whole. Such a 
 blulh as has a thoufand times ten thoufand 
 been feen, and felt, by lovers, but never juftly 
 defcribed, even by them, for who can paint like 
 Nature? One of thefe indefcribable graces of 
 that 
 - VOL. i. U " Eloquent
 
 290 GLtANlNG S, &c\ 
 
 " Eloquent blood, 
 " Which fo diftinftly wrought, 
 " That you might almoft fay her body thought ;" 
 
 fuffufed itfelf over her fine, and by no means 
 inelegant, countenance; at the fight of the man 
 of her heart, feated at table with the chofen 
 friend, towards whofe ranfom from captivity ^ 
 fhe had herfelf fo generoufly contributed. 
 This young perfon was in the fervice of an old 
 lady of fortune, who was blind ; a misfortune 
 which this attendant, who, you perceive, was 
 no other than Kitty Lewis, greatly mitigated ; 
 for being herfelf the daughter of a Mont- 
 gomeryfhire farmer of fomc credit, and a girl 
 of no mean talents ; befides the culture of a good 
 education, fhe was well calculated to entertain 
 ihofe, who could not entertain themfelves, and 
 was, therefore, very juftly confidered by her 
 lady, rather as a friend than fervant. 
 
 The moment that Davy Morgan's enlarge- 
 ment was effected, Will Griffith wrote her 
 word of .it, and mentioned the time at which 
 he mould regain Shrewlbury: but accidents 
 on the road detaining him, Kitty, then for 
 the .firft time, made her Lady confidential. She 
 declined doing fo till the objecl of her lover's 
 journey was attained, willing that the honour 
 of it fnould not be fhared with any but the trio 
 
 that
 
 GLEANIN-fcs, &c. 29! 
 
 that projected it. The old lady, however, was, 
 as Kitty afterwards told me, touched even to 
 tears j nor did fhe fuffer thofe dews of pity to 
 melt away, or dry up without 
 
 Kitty had heard from the Pool poft-boy, 
 with whom fhe was acquainted, that his life had 
 been loft, but for the humanity of a merry gen- 
 tleman, whofe name, he underftood, was David 
 Morgan, then at the widow Bowyer's, from 
 which information, fhe drew the natural in- 
 ference that her lover had got fo far on his 
 journey with his generous companion and li- 
 berated friend ; but that flopping fo near the 
 place of their deftination might proceed from 
 fome little difficulty, that money might re- 
 move. This latter idea was fuggefted by the 
 good old Lady, who was now in the fecret of 
 the amber travelling box, and who infifted 
 that Kitty mould be herfelf the bearer of a re- 
 enforcement ; but take care to prefent her 
 bounty-money in a way that mould not fpoil 
 the plot, by an appearance of a fourth perfon's 
 coming into it, defiring, at the fame time, that 
 the party might, immediately, on their arrival 
 at Shrew fbury, repair to her houfe ; and that 
 the adventure mould not want a finifh, flic 
 permitted Kitty to make the excurfion in a 
 poft chaife. 
 
 u 2 Kitty
 
 292 GLEANINGS, & C. 
 
 Kitty was now feated by her lover's fide; but 
 was far too happy v/ith her errand, and with 
 the view of the objects of it, to partake of 
 our breakfaft j neither did Will Griffith feem 
 to take any food, but that which love and 
 friendfhip provided for his honeft and affec- 
 tionate heart. The bill was foon demanded 
 by Kitty Lewis, when the widow declared it 
 was paid. " It is paid/' quoth the good wo- 
 man, " by the merrieft night, and happiefl 
 morning, I have ever had. I will take no 
 money. Yefterday and to-day mail be noto- 
 rious. What you have had, you are welcome 
 
 to and a thoufand thanks into the 
 
 bargain. (Thefe thoufand thanks were ex- 
 
 prefTed by almoft as many nods and curtfeys.) 
 You need not take out your amber box, Mr. 
 Griffith nor you your purfc, Mifs Kitty 
 what's your name I am notorious for telling 
 the truth, and what I fay, I fay fo God be 
 with you (nod and curtfey) and fend you 
 health and wealth, and grace to do well and 
 pray none of you pals the King's Head, with- 
 out calling I can do a good turn, as well as 
 
 another fervant your fervant fare ye 
 
 well good bye I wifh ye all a good day 
 
 and a pleafant ride to Shrewfbury and next 
 market-day, mayhap, you may fee me ." 
 
 During
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 09^ 
 
 During this fpeech ihe was nodding and 
 curtfeying off the company helping them to 
 hats, flicks, packages, and hurrying them out 
 of her houfe, to prevent them infilling on the 
 payment of the bill, which Kitty fettled in 
 another room, whither me and the generous 
 widow went to confer. The young woman 
 was diffident about entering the poft-chaife, 
 and Davy Morgan, who had cried for joy, 
 almoft the whole time of breakfaft, was appre- 
 henfive that the proud Salopians would laugh 
 him to fcorn, to go from a jail into a carriage ; 
 but Kitty gave it as her opinion, that their re- 
 fufal to profit by her Lady's goodnefs would be 
 an affront never to be forgiven; obferving, that 
 as to the fcorners, they muft have little claim 
 to attention, who did not feel that an honeft 
 man, who had been put into prifon for facri- 
 ficing himfelf to his friend, was not entitled 
 to go home in the mod honourable manner; 
 and that, for her part, (lie thought fuch a man 
 had better claim to a triumphal entry than 
 Julius Ca?far, Alexander the Great, or any 
 other illuftrious butcher of antiquity ; in as 
 far, as a friend to mankind is more deferving of 
 honourable diftinctions than an enemy. 
 
 This adju (led the difficulty, and after making 
 
 hands, all round, the four friends fet off for 
 
 u 3 Shrewfbury,
 
 294 GLEANINGS, t$C. 
 
 Shrewfbury, where they patted the day in high 
 feftivity, under the aufpices of the good old 
 Lady, who declared, that although Providence 
 had denied her the pleafurc of beholding fuch 
 happinefs, it had not taken away the power of 
 feeling it to the bottom of her heart. 
 
 I ftayed no longer after them than while I 
 congratulated myfelf, and the courteous wi- 
 dow, on the litlle adventure which had pafled 
 at her inn, which I allured her would render 
 it notorious to me for ever; and that I would 
 make the circuit of Wales, in much harder 
 weather than it then was, to obtain fuch ano- 
 ther night and morning. You, who are fo 
 verfed in the nooks, corners, and bye-places 
 of my character, will not doubt my uling a 
 direction I had obtained from the young 
 weavers to pay them my refpedls at home. I 
 found them all afTembled at the houfe of Will 
 Griffith, who told me with rapture, too great to 
 help it overflowing at his eyes, that Kitty's 
 Lady had infifled on his not waiting for the 
 happy day, while his labour fhould regain a 
 fum, equal to what his friendfhip had fo pro- 
 perly difpofed; but that fhe would herfelf ad- 
 vance fufficient to make thern happy imme- 
 diately, on condition that Kitty was to con- 
 tinue her fituation, and Will himfelf to ac- 
 
 c*ept
 
 GLEANINGS, 29., 
 
 ccpt an apartment in herhoufe ; declaring, that 
 fo many years attention to a poor, old, blind 
 woman, who could not even move from one 
 room to another, without the aid of that wor- 
 thy-girl, demanded all- the kindnefs fhe could 
 mew her; obferving, moreover, that Griffith 
 had, in his late journey, fhewnhimfelf fo deferv- 
 ing of her, that fhe was refolved on the fatis- 
 facHon of knowing they were united before 
 Hie died ; and that ihe was, in fome meafure, 
 the means of bringing them together. 
 
 
 
 Fortunately, my dear friend, my engage- 
 ments made me refidentiary in Shrewfbury, 
 a fufficient time to witnefs this pleafant event j 
 but, I truly believe, that had no other point 
 detained me, that one would not have fuffered 
 me to depart, till I had attefted the felicity of 
 William and Kitty. 
 
 It mutt, neverthelefs, be confefled, that 
 were I in thefe Gleanings, addreffing only that 
 part of )our difpoiition, which fits you to 
 " mine in courts," and grace a drawing-room, 
 it would have been finning, pad forgivenefs, to 
 carry you into a common ale-houfe, and in- 
 ftead of leaving it after a little refrefhment, 
 detaining you there all night, in low company ; 
 but when I look on myfelf, as making an 
 u 4 appeal
 
 296 GLEANI.NGS, t?V. 
 
 .appeal to that part of your character, which 
 .bids your beating heart exult in the happinefs 
 ,of your humbled fellow-creatures : amongft 
 whom is often found, by thofe who are not too 
 lofty minded to look for them, in lowly dwell- 
 ings, thofe feelings of which the moft noble 
 born might be proud. I have no fuperciliqus 
 taunt to fear, but the moft ingenuous thanks 
 to expect, fpr thus flapping, by the way,. when- 
 ever ant honeft heart is to be pourtrayed, whe- 
 ther it is the property of a prince or peafant. 
 Certain I am, that your affections have long 
 fjnce dropt your tributary guinea into the 
 amber box, with a prayer that it may never be 
 empty; that the notorious widow hasj in 
 your grateful fancy, received your nods of re- 
 fponfe and approbation ; that poor Davy Mor- 
 gan's tankard has been twice filled with goo<J 
 wifhes, for the comforting draught he gave the 
 half-peri med poft-boy; that Will Griffith, 
 and his friend have received your homage, for 
 their adventure, at the grate of Davy's prifon; 
 that even the blind old Lady has had your 
 fcleffing; and that the young couple will be 
 long remembered by your fympathifing heart. 
 Adventurps .like thefe, my friend, are unim- 
 portant only to thofe magnificent triflers, who 
 think they are wife, when they are only vain ; 
 ^nd as much of human comfort proceeds from 
 
 humble
 
 CLEANINGS, &t. 297 
 
 humble circumftances, we may juftly conclude 
 with the poet, in thofe enchanting lines I have 
 fo often read to you ; and which are the more 
 appreciated, inafmuch as I loved the author, 
 heard them recited by his own lips, a very few 
 weeks before I loft him for ever, and know 
 how truly he felt, what, with fuch exquifite 
 beauty, he has defcribed: for Goldfmith was 
 one of the very few poets of nature, who wrote 
 only from his fenfations, and did not facrifice 
 the plain honefty of genuine feelings to decorate 
 his rhimes. 
 
 " Ye$ let the rich deride, the proud difdain, * 
 * Thefe fimple bleffings of the lowly train, 
 ' To us more dear, congenial to the heart, 
 ' One native charm, than all the glofs of art; - 
 ' Spontaneous joys, where nature has the play, 
 " The foul adopts, and owns their firft-born fway ; 
 " Lightly they frolic o'er the vacant mind, 
 ' Unenvied, unmolefted, unconfln'd." 
 
 With what energy and enthufiafm did the 
 bard, though by no means a graceful reader, 
 repeat the four laft verfes ; and on the evening I 
 heard them delivered, he threw down the ma^ 
 nufcript on his writing table, in his abrupt 
 way, faying, " in troth, this is all as true as if it 
 was in profe," and as I have faid before, and 
 fliall continue to fay to the end of my life . 
 ' Thefe little things are great to little men!'' 
 
 Arc
 
 2^ G IE A KINGS, & t ". 
 
 Are not you of his opinion, my honoured 
 correfpondent ? I can anfvvcr for you in the 
 fullefl: affirmative. Long may you live to en- 
 joy the joys of others ! They are your own ; 
 for with you, felf-love and-focial are indeed 
 
 the fame. 
 
 , 
 
 * ,* . .. > i - 
 
 . 
 LETT E R XIX. 
 
 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 YOU infi/V "pon a copy of the lines, 
 which were annexed to the "TRIUMPH OF 
 BENEVOLENCE," a triumph, which, you juftly 
 obferve, Jonas Hanway ought to ftiare with 
 John Howard : 
 
 " Divide the glory nnd partake the gafe." 
 
 This applies well to myfubjecl; and I re- 
 member another verfe, no lefs applicable to 
 rnyfelf on the occaiion, 
 
 " Born for your ufe, I live but to ofecy you." 
 
 And, indeed, it feems no lefs a point of incli- 
 nation, than of jufrice, to attempt preventing 
 the fate which commonly attends fugitive 
 poems, when puBlifhed fingly, for, like the 
 *fybyl's leaves, they are fcattercd about with 
 
 the 
 
 * So fays Lord Bolinbrokt.
 
 Q LEAN INGS, &C. 299 
 
 the winds and tides of occurrence, and, (with 
 no difparagement to my verfes be it fpokcn 
 iince 'tis the deftiny of others, which the loftieft 
 mufe might be proud to own,) they are as 
 frequently found at the bottom of one's tjj*mk 
 as in one's library ; and often, what we, in vain, 
 offer money for to our bookfeller, we get of 
 our paftry-cook for nothing. 
 
 The little monumental tribute offered to 
 Hanway, indeed, might, perhaps, efcape this 
 annihilation, by the care which love of the 
 man may have taken of it in the private cabi- 
 nets of friendfhip; and, I believe, it is to be 
 found in feveral of the periodical and other 
 public collections of the year in which it ap- 
 peared ; but, I own, I feel a fentiment too 
 tender for vanity, that *'/, like the poem it fol,- 
 lows, mould ftand a chance to " travel down 
 the ftream of time/' in a correfpondence with 
 thee, 
 
 " My guide, philofopher, and friend!" 
 
 And fo, without more ado, I here fubjoin the 
 STANZAS, 
 
 >ACRED TO THE MEMORY OF JONAS HANWAY, ESQ^j 
 
 AND thou bleft Hanway ! long thy country's prayer, 
 
 Exulting now in kindred worlds above ; 
 Co-heir of Howard ! deign the mufe to hear, 
 
 Tko* angels greet thee with a brother's love. 
 
 Far
 
 GLEANINGS, &<f 
 
 Far, tho' remov'd from this diminim'd earth, 
 A crown of glory beaming on thy brow 
 
 The God who fix'd it there to note thy worth, 
 Bids the rapt lyre with all thy fpirit glow. 
 
 And, ah ! behold what grateful myriads come, 
 
 t He tears of extacy and anguifh flow ; 
 Their blended incenfe pouring on thy tomb, 
 To mark an empire's joy, an empire's love. 
 
 Clofe to thy Howard, O congenial {hade, 
 On the pure column fhall thy buft be plac'd ; 
 
 Though deep in every bofom is pourtray'd 
 Thofe holy records time mall ne'er erafe. 
 
 The generous plan that public virtue draws, 
 The fair defign that charity imparts ; 
 
 The genius kindling in religion's caufe, 
 
 Cherifh. their champion in our faithful hearts. 
 
 At Hanway's buft the Magdalen fhall kneel, 
 A chaften'd votary of companion's dome * : 
 
 With pious awe, the holieft ardours feel, 
 
 And blefs the founder of her peaceful home. 
 
 And O Philanthropy ! thy heaven- rais'd fane f , 
 Shall oft avow the good man's zeal divine, 
 
 When bounty leads a poor and orphan train 
 
 To clafp their little arms round Hanway's fhrine. 
 
 Tranfcendent energies of grace fublime, 
 
 Whofe magic goodnefs work'd with double power 
 
 Cradled the out-caft babe, who knew not crime, 
 And bade the fmner turn and blulh no more ! 
 
 * The MagdJer. Houfe. f Foundling Hofpital.
 
 GLEANINGS, &c. 301 
 
 Ah! full of honours, as of years, farewell ! 
 
 Thus, o'er thy alhes, (hall Britannia figh; 
 Each age, each fex, thy excellence (hall tell, 
 
 Which taught the young to live, the old to die. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 
 j[ OU thank me for my poetry, with- 
 out being aware into what a fcrape your ac- 
 knowledgments have led you. The grant of 
 one requeft paves the way for frefh application, 
 I have a reliftlefs defire to fend you more ef- 
 fufions of the mufe ; and fo far from being of 
 the general opinion, that a little of verfe fhould 
 be relieved by a great deal of profe, I think the 
 mind is never fo well difpofed to receive poetic 
 imprefiion, or rather, to feel impreflion conti- 
 nued, as when it has been touched and warmed 
 already by the fubjecls worthy of the lyre : or, if 
 the emotion already excited mould be found too 
 folemn, the gayer mufe may be permitted to 
 ftep in and foften, but not deftroy, the pathos. 
 For thefe reafons I have chofen this letter for 
 the infertion of fome fpontaneous lines, which 
 have not yet met your eyes, or thofe of the 
 public. You have long fmce, I truft, agreed 
 to accept my correfpondence as a literary ca- 
 binet, in which I am permitted to place, for 
 
 your
 
 3O2 GLEANINGS, &. 
 
 your amufement and information, whatever I 
 can find worthy of prefervation j pcradventurc 
 I may fometimes fend you articles, which you 
 may deem neither proper objects of curiofity ot 
 care ; in which cafe I muft appeal from the 
 feverity of your judgment to the lenity of 
 your candour. What I have now to give, in-> 
 deed, is, I confefs, not a little out of time, as 
 you may one day know, but has the advantage 
 of being perfectly in place ; for it happened 
 in this very country, in this very town, that 
 I felt the emotions defcribed in the following 
 ftanzas. You will confider me in one of my 
 foliloquy perambulations by the fea-fide, and 
 my mind ftrongly fattened on by many of thofe 
 bitter reflections which baffled, at intervals, 
 all the powers I invoked to difpel them. 
 Placing me in fuch a fituation, you will not 
 deem the fenfations, I indulged, for a few mo- 
 ments unnatural ; nor were they the lefs ftrong 
 or fmcerc, for being made, as they were, in 
 verfe. Though profe has been deemed, per- 
 haps falfely, the language of truth; that di- 
 vine power lofes none of her charms by bor- 
 rowing a drefs from poefy : 
 i. 
 
 ON the brink of the beach, as I filcntly foam'd, 
 
 My forrows I mark'd on the wave-foften'd fand ; 
 Loud blew the wild winds, and the white billows foam'd, 
 
 And threw the fait fleeces of farf on the ftrand. 
 
 Faft
 
 GLEANINGS, ?r. 
 
 II. 
 
 Faft flow'd in the' tide; yet regardlefs I flood, 
 And felt the whirc billows advance to my feet ; 
 
 The fand-marks of forrow were loft in tie flood, 
 And the fprav of the itonn on my barf bofom beat. 
 
 Ill* 
 
 \n the ftory of \voe not a thought 'couid I trace, 
 
 Not the wreck: of a word and I faid t the Tea ! * 
 
 Ah ! if thus you the ftory of woe can efface, 
 Your bounty might fure be extended to me ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 If here I remain, on thy billow-beat fhore, 
 No friend near at hand, in falfe pity to fare* 
 
 My woes, like their ftory, would quickly be o'er; 
 And both o-.ve to thee, foaming ocean ! a grave; 
 
 
 
 r. 
 
 'The billow roll'd on, when fomething wit&ia, 
 More ftrong than the ocean thus feem'd to reply : 
 
 >lan 7io murder jkall i/5^-e'cn in forrow 'tis fin ! 
 I fek the command, and obey'd v/ith a figh. 
 
 Ah, my friend ! may none of the incidents* 
 to \vhich /eniibility is heir, tempt your firm 
 mind, beyond its (irength, even for a moment; 
 but, if it lliould, (as our fouls, no lefs than 
 our bodies, are very;" fearfully and wonder- 
 fully made,'') may the facred order, mention- 
 ed in fhe concluding ftanza of thefe fca-fide 
 verfes, imprefs you alfo with an awful fenfe 
 of their being amongft the words fpoken by 
 6 GOD,
 
 JO4 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 GOD, and give you energies to bear the mife- 
 ries of life. I cannot but take notice of thc- 
 ufe of thofe great truths, which it is the part 
 of education to engrave on our memories, 
 while that regifter is mod favorable to im- 
 preflion. The moral fentiments which we re- 
 ceive in childhood " grow with our growth 
 and ftrength :" they are fo many lefTons for 
 the government of the heart in which they 
 are fixed ; every precept, we are taught to trea- 
 fure up in our memories, in the earliejl pe- 
 riods of our lives, comes by degrees into prac- 
 tice, and ferves not only to affift us to fubduc 
 vice, but to animate virtue, till me feels -proud 
 cf her difficulties. And hence, I am ferioufly 
 led to believe, that we derive more real good, 
 real virtue, and real wifdom, from that little 
 fyftetn of morals, which we gather from the 
 firft books that are put into our hands (after 
 we lay afide our horn -books and primers) 
 than from all our elaborate ftudies afterwards ; 
 and I am perfuaded more true heroes, ftatef- 
 men, and which is far better than either, ho- 
 neft men, have been formed by /Efop, Phsedrus, 
 Gay, and Robinfon Crufoe, and by the hif- 
 tories which take only half a day in reading, 
 than were ever modelled by thofc hiftories 
 which demand the ftudy of half a life; and 
 it has long been a doubt with me, whether 
 
 Jack
 
 GLEANINGS, ffo 395 
 
 Jack the Giant Killer has not made more cou- 
 rageous officers, and better generals, (I am 
 fure he has lefs rhifchievdus" ones) than Julius 
 C2efar, or Alexander the Great. 
 
 For myfelf, I confels, I am indebted to the 
 poets, \vhofe maxims were imprinted oh my 
 infant mind, for the heightening "of every joy, 
 and meliorating every forrow, that has befallen 
 me fmce ; and I particularly remember, that; 
 fome pafTages from Rob infon Crufoe tended 
 more effectually to fettle my mind to the dif- 
 penfations -of Providence, on the evening of 
 the day in which I w.rotc the verfes that ac- 
 company this Icttcrv.-than, perhaps, it would 
 have. been in the power of Seneca, Socrates, or 
 any of the mod renowned philofophers, of an- 
 cient or modern days, to afford me. 
 
 In fine, my friend if. we expect pleafure, 
 we'muft make up our minds to pain. They aie 
 twins, and Dr. Young is right: 
 
 " Complain of grief! complain thou art a man ! 
 " Our only leflbn is to learn to fufFer, 
 *' And he who knows not that, was born for nothing." 
 
 VOL. I. X JLriR
 
 3O6 GLEANINGS, 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 YOU may have perceived, my dear 
 friend, that fince I have been taking you out 
 of Wales, we have been gradually taking leave 
 alfoofou* obfervations on that principality : 
 in fhcrt, I do not remember an-y other points 
 which are gleanable. With refpedt to the an- 
 cient and modern hiftory of the country, it is 
 well known to you : hiftories, indeed, of every 
 country, are fo numerous, that a reader is 
 puzzled to make his election. But the fault 
 to be found with alrnoft all biographical wri- 
 tings, is not more their number than their 
 bulk, which is, for the moft part, produced 
 by extraneous matter, not more neceffary to the 
 body politic,- than an excrefcence to the 
 body natural. Hiftorians indulge themfelves 
 in thefe fuperfluiti.es from various motives; 
 amongft which national prejudice, and the de- 
 lirc, the neceffity, or the pride, of becoming, at 
 once, .a great folio or quarto author, are not 
 the Icaft. 
 
 I have
 
 GLEANINGS", &C. 307 
 
 I have often thought that all the hi (lories 
 now extant, with refped to the fads realty 
 neccflary to defcribe the productions of art, or 
 nature, or the progreffive rife and fall of ftates, 
 or their fudden revolutions, might be corrr- 
 preiTed, without being crouded into, at moft t 
 the number of volumes allotted to the hiftory 
 of any particular country, according to the 
 modern fafliion of writing. 
 
 By way of example, let us take that of Eng- 
 land. Would it not be better to give the fads 
 in the ftrongeft and fhorteft way : offer the 
 inferences in the fame ftyle, and leave the re- 
 flections in a great mcafure to the reader ? It 
 would at leaft be a decent compliment to his 
 understanding, and fave him money. If, in- 
 deed, it could be proved, that the reflections 
 made by the hiftorian, Mr. A. were deciiive, 
 and would fettle the reader's mind on the fub- 
 jeft, it would be mighty well ; but unluckily 
 the hift.orir.n, Mr. i>. comes upon you with. 
 feven 01 eight more volum.es of reflections, in. 
 which he flatly contradicts the hiftorian, Mr. 
 A. and throws the reader in a ftrait betwixt 
 two. Now, as no man tumbles into a diffi- 
 culty, without accepting any help that is of- 
 fered him to get out of it, the poor reader 
 x 2 fecks
 
 JO8 G L E A N I N G S, &f . 
 
 fecks the aid of the hiftorian, Mr. C. who re- 
 futes the reafoning of the other two with fo 
 much good writing, that after the like quantity 
 of good reading, the (Indent wifhes to fix his 
 faith on this middle man, in the hope of going 
 fafe and fure between the two other extremes. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, fome judicious 
 friend or other recommends to him, as a better 
 guide than either of the three, that admirable 
 hiftorian, Mr. D. who, with great force of 
 language, gives the lie djredl to all that went 
 before him, and either awes or frightens his 
 readers into a belief of him only. And here 
 perhaps he might fix his biographical creed, 
 but that another friend puts into his hand the 
 excellent work of the hiftorian, Mr. E. in 
 whom the fpirit of contradiction is no lefs ful- 
 minating againft the other betrayers o'f the 
 t-ruth. By the greateft good fortune, however, 
 he meets in the hiftorian, Mr. F. a ftrici 
 conformity of opinion with Meffrs. A. and B. 
 diffenting only in a few points. He very na- 
 turally wi flies, therefore, to come to a fort of 
 compromife with thefe three hiftorians, by 
 dividing his faith between them: but, alas I 
 while he is making up his mind to this, he is 
 told of a- production fupcrior to all that ever 
 
 wen:
 
 xrent before, or fhall come after even the 
 work of that delectable hiftorian, Mr. G. an 
 author, he is afTured, who carries the energies 
 of conviction in every page, and who does 
 not merely diftance his competitors in the 
 biographical career, but is to keep them out of 
 the reader's fight for ever. He fets " doggedly 
 down/' as Johnfon calls it, to this grand un- 
 dertaking, and reads it with an eagernefs pro- 
 portioned to his expectation of being made 
 eafy for life, on the article of his hiftorical fajth : 
 he is fafcinated with the ftyle, the characters, 
 and the picturefque embellishments, and with 
 a winter's hard reading, gets to the end of the 
 book; but by no means, to the end of his 
 labours; for, in the courfe of the performance, 
 he finds fo many reafons to difbelieve what he 
 before credited, and to credit what others 
 taught him to difbelieve, that confulion is con- 
 founded, and Chaos is, indeed, come again. 
 What fhall he do next? Muchltudy, and many 
 many authors have made him almoft mad. 
 
 
 But in this diffracted ftate he finds relief, 
 
 only, in trying to eject the mafs of contrary 
 
 opinions from his head, and to try that fcience, 
 
 no lefs hard in literature than in love, to forget. 
 
 x 3 He
 
 3IO CLEANINGS, &V, 
 
 He is reduced to the ridiculous neceflity of 
 making 4 memorandum not to remember I 
 
 Perhaps, he now gives himfelf a fummer's 
 recefs from reading hiflories ; but is taken by 
 furprife in the winter ; to enrich which there 
 is put forth in weekly numbers fo compleat a 
 hiftory, on an entire new plan, and by a fo^ 
 ciety of gentlemen, amongft whom are thofe 
 -well-known hiftorians, Meffrs, H. I. J. K, 
 L. M. N. O. and feveral other illuftrious 
 pcrfonagcs of the Alphabet, that as it is to 
 be paid for imperceptibly, and to anfwqr the 
 great end of fixing his hiftorical belief on an 
 immovcable balls, he muft needs become both 
 purchafer and reader. Amongfl fo many coun- 
 fcllors it is to be fuppofed there niuft be wif- 
 dom, efpecially as mod of them are marked 
 out to the public by fome honorary distinctions; 
 fuch as A. M. D. D. LL. D. F. R. S. &.c. &c. 
 But before the numbers are half completed, 
 he makes 4 clifcovery not a little mortifying to 
 a man who has been at fuch pains to get at the 
 truth ; namely, that this very gentlemanly afib- 
 ciation are airy nothings, to whom the pub- 
 lifher has given a local habitation, and a name 
 to give plaufibility to a catchpenny performance. 
 
 And
 
 G L F A'N^I-NG 3, ffr. 
 
 And now for the firft time he makes nn ap- 
 proach towards comfort, by feeling his indig- 
 nation excited againft the fabricators of thefc 
 fplcndid nonentities. 
 
 At length, having tried all the hiftorians from 
 great A, to amperfaud, he perceives there is no 
 efcaping from the puzzle, but by felecling his 
 own facts, forming his own concluiions, and 
 putting a little truft in his own reaibn and 
 judgment. 
 
 For all which confiderations, I fliall not pre- 
 tend to point out to you another Hiftory of 
 England and Wales. I fliall fimply obferve, 
 that old Carodoc's book, obfolete as now it may 
 be thought, feems to me to have been the 
 grand fource from whence all fucceeding 
 biographers have drawn their mofl ufeful in- 
 formation. 
 
 < Truth they fay lies in a well." 
 
 . Into this hiftorical well of Carodoc, authors 
 
 have let down their empty buckets, for more 
 
 than a century, and drawn them up full, but 
 
 vhough they have drank largely, they have 
 
 x 4 icjdom
 
 3li GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 feldom had the gratitude, or honefty to confefs 
 to 'whom they were indebted, 
 
 Thus, my valuable friend, we have travelled 
 together, irregularly, indeed, and without 
 any fettled directions, but, I truft, not un- 
 pleafantly ; nor wholly unprofhably ; and for 
 a confiderable time, over one of the mod de- 
 lightful countries in the univerfe. In our little 
 tour, we have been diligent to add a fheaf to 
 the copious harveft already carried home, to 
 the great florehoufe of the Britifh empire, who 
 ought to be proud of the' bright and beautiful 
 appendage, which we have beep gleaning. We 
 Jiave picked up fomething for the head, and 
 for the heart. 
 
 " Try'd what the open, what the covert yields.'* 
 
 ' 
 
 and, I truft, you would join my regrets in bid- 
 ding Cambria adieu, did you not alfo join me 
 in the hope that we (hall one day fee the ori- 
 ginal of the picture, whofe principal features I 
 have copied, and fee it together. Meantime, I 
 cannot better take my leave of it than by con- 
 firming with the moft grateful fatisfaftion the 
 following juft and iummary account, that the 
 Welch are very hofpitable, and the people in 
 general, very obliging to ftrangers ; that they 
 
 are
 
 G LEAN JN<S S, Cffr, 313 
 
 arc willing to tell every thing that belongs to 
 their country, ready to ihew all that is worth 
 feeing, and to give you hearty invitations to 
 refrefh you by the way. In a word, they re- 
 ceive you well in their houfes, treat you very 
 handfomely, and leave you nothing to delirc 
 while you are their gueft. 
 
 Farewell then to this gentle country, and 
 farewell to you. 
 
 X.ETTE*
 
 314 
 
 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 . 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 THE effecl of contraft is univcrfally 
 confeflfcd, and its power could not be well 
 called forth, more impreftiYely on the eye, the 
 heart, and the imagination, than by a rapid 
 mniition, from the beautiful mountains of 
 North and South Wales, to the everlafting 
 flats of Holland ; from the exquifite wood- 
 lands and vallies of Brecknock, and the fub- 
 Hmities of Snowden and Pliniimmon to the 
 uniform levels of land and water, which fo 
 juftly entitle the greater part of the terri- 
 tory of the Dutch to the epithet amphibi- 
 ous. I write to you arnidft profpects and 
 places fo very different from thofe I have re- 
 cently left and defcribed, that it almolt feems 
 as if I was addrefling you from a new world. 
 The paufe, however, which has been allowed 
 to my communications, (more than fix months 
 having elapfed fince I laft wrote) will evince 
 that I do not prefume to give you new pictures 
 of new people and new places, till I have 
 given time to finifh the drawings, and prefent 
 them' 'to you tolerable likeneffes. In a word, 
 
 the
 
 CLEANINGS, &JV, 3.15 
 
 the flop that has happened in our corre- 
 fpondence, may ferve to fhew, that I hold my 
 purpofe of continuing to be a'refidentiary tra- 
 veller here, as well as elfewhere, and that I 
 defign to glean the Continent in the fame di- 
 ligent and deliberate way, that I have gleaned 
 particular parts of our beautiful ifland. 
 
 A French tourift gives his readers the fol- 
 lowing curious reafon for not making any re? 
 marks upon Holland. " I can give you," fays 
 he, " very little that is new reflecting a coun- 
 try, which, in truth, has no refemblance to any 
 other ; but of which a fufficient knowledge 
 may be gained, without having feen it at all, 
 for the little infhuction it can fupply." 
 
 Now this very circumftance, of a country 
 refembling no other, is the moft convincing 
 one that could be given, that it muft afford 
 the greateft novelty of obfervation; and fb far 
 from a truth is it, that he who has not feen, 
 or read of it, can have a competent idea of 
 it, that I do not believe there is a country 
 in the whole world that is lefs to be gueffed 
 at, or that is more fertile of curious, amufing, 
 or inftrudive remarks. Much has certainly- 
 been faid of it, much remains to be laid. It 
 
 has
 
 Jf6 GLEANINGS, SSC. 
 
 Has yielded plentiful crops, but it will ftill 
 yield no fcanty gleanings. .Remember this is 
 faid on the experience of half a year's refidence 
 ih the Republic, before I even begin to write 
 down what I have feen, felt, or underftood : 
 and during this fpace of time I have examined 
 what others aflert with no lefs zeal than induf- 
 try, and with exactly the view that led me to 
 infpecl; all the publications refpccling Wales, 
 namely, to render my own the better, the wifer, 
 and the more entertaining by their affiftance, 
 whenever it could be called in to ftrengthen, 
 enrich, or illuftrate a view which will guide 
 and govern me to the end of my journeyings, 
 even though I fnould purfue them to the end 
 of the earth. 
 
 The ancient hiftory of this country is liable 
 to the complaint I brought againft that of Eng- 
 land, being fwelled from octavos to quartos, 
 from quartos to folios, and running from five 
 volumes to five and twenty per work. Being 
 firmly perfuaded, that the effence of all this 
 may be confolidated in-at moft five and twenty 
 pages, I truft you will accept of what follows 
 o,n the rife and progrefs of this fingular coun- 
 try, and its original inhabitants. It will, at 
 Icift, fave .you a great deal of unprofitable 
 
 reading, .
 
 CLEANINGS,. &V. 317 
 
 reading, and give you in a fingle morning, or 
 evening, as much information, as. I have beert 
 able to colledl from a month's ftudy. Nor will 
 it, I truft, prove unamufing to one who attends 
 fo much as you do to the infancy of men and 
 things. 
 
 About a century, then, before the common 
 ;Era, the Cimbrians and Tutons fuddcnly. expa- 
 triated thernfelves from the Cherfonefus, now 
 known by the names of Jutland, and the ifles 
 of Conan, at prefent denominated Denmark* 
 A violent and unexpected inundation, as it is 
 faid, but more probably too exccllive apopula-r 
 tion for their native country to fupport, or per- 
 haps, an ambition to jflabliili in another, in- 
 duced this fingular emigration. Be that as it 
 may, men, women, and children, of all ages and 
 defcriptions, bid an everlafting adieu to the 
 places of their birth ; and, like a torrent over- 
 flowing its banks, they carried away with them 
 almoft every thing, and every body in their 
 path; for divers other nations Incited by their 
 example, and, perhaps, inftigated alfo by (Imi- 
 lar motives, joined them on the way, and 
 fpeedily afibciating, entered into the fpirit of 
 this romantic .expedition. 
 
 Amongft
 
 3 1 3 6 L E ANTICS, &C< 
 
 Amongft the perfons -whom thcfe rovers 
 met with in their paiTage, were the anceftors of 
 the people, in whofe country I have now begun 
 to make my hiftorical Gleanings. 
 
 The old Batavians were the more ready to 
 enter themfelves volunteers in this adventure, 
 as their own country, ever more or lefs at the 
 mercy of the mighty waters, was, at that par- 
 ticular moment, invaded by an influx of the 
 German ocean, which threatened not only their 
 goods and habitations, but their lives. The 
 Roman hiftory mews us the ravages which 
 thefe wandering multitudes committed in Spain 
 and in Gaul, and how, for a length of time, 
 they triumphed over all the generals which the 
 imperial city fent to oppofe them, till that 
 memorable epoch, when Marius exterminated 
 with fire and fword the innumerable fwarms 
 that covered the provinces. 
 
 The countries, from whence thefe felUbanifli- 
 ed banditti came, remained utterly depopu- 
 lated ; nor was it till feveral ages after, that 
 another fet of emigrants feized the fame coun- 
 try, and rofe, by degrees, a comparatively 
 happy and fuccefsful nation, on the very ground 
 where fo many thoufands of former adven- 
 2 turers
 
 GLEANINGS,. &{. 319 
 
 turers had periled, the victims of -their ambi- 
 tion. The Cumbrian nation, till that period, 
 appeared to be annihilated. Tacitus informs 
 us, that, in his time, there remained only the 
 memory of their enterprize. 
 
 The Batavians inhabited the banks of the 
 Adriana, now called the Ader, a river which 
 runs between Hetfe, and the country of 
 Waldec. Thefe people, long harraffcd fry 
 t'heir avaricious and ambitious enemies, the 
 Gates, refofved to explore a more peaceable 
 fituation. The great ifle of Rhine, as it was 
 then called, and which, as I have already ob- 
 ferved, had loft its inhabitants, was the plac 
 to which tfoefe new adventurers directed their 
 ftcps.- Encouraged and conducted by the chiefs 
 of their religion; they landed, under favour 
 of a profperous voyage, on that part of the 
 iiland which had been deferted ; and, fatisfied 
 with a country that had been forfaken by its 
 original inhabitants, they determined upon 
 fettlement. The plan was attended with fuch 
 fuccefs, that, although we find, in fubfequent 
 ages, various other people fixing there alfo, 
 thefc new colonifts, alone, rendered the land 
 they occupied famous, and it was only thefe 
 who gave it the name of Batavia. 
 
 A fliort
 
 320 GLEANINGS, t$C. 
 
 A ftiort defcription of this ifland of RfrirtcV 
 as it was anciently called, is neceflary ; and 
 the beft I can glean for you is, that it is a" 
 country detached from the Continent by the 
 Rhine : the right arm of the river ftill prefcrves 
 its name, and, according to general opinion, 
 rolled its rapid waves into the bofom of the 
 ocean, from the place now called. Jvatwick. 
 The left arm is denominated the .Waahl, 
 whofe ftreams prefently join . thofe.of the 
 Meufe, which alfo finds its way to the fea by 
 another vaft opening. Hence it appears, that 
 Batavia, now the United Provinces, extended 
 about twenty-feven leagues in length, and feven 
 in breadth. Many refpectable authors con- 
 tend for a greater fcope. Some infill, that the 
 left arm of the river, which loft itfelf -at Kat- 
 wick, fubdivided into feveral other branches, 
 which formed a variety of lakes, the moft con- 
 liderable of which was called Fiero, and a 
 clutter of fmaller iflands, of which the moft 
 important was that of Schelling. 
 
 It is certain, then, what was anciently called 
 Batavia, included a very great part of the pro- 
 vinces ,of Guelderland, Holland, and Utrecht. 
 At the fame time it feems to be an opinion, 
 wholly unfounded, that the Batavians were 
 
 long
 
 GLEANINGS, &fr. J2I 
 
 long content with the circumfcribed limits 
 which was bounded by the left arm of the 
 Rhine. They parted into what was then called 
 Belgic Gaul, between the Meufe andthe Waahl. 
 They foon poffeffed themfelves of the whole 
 of Guelderland and Holland, and fpread them- 
 felves over the delightful country now deno- 
 minated the dutchy of Cleves. There is rea- 
 fon to believe they carried their eflablimments 
 even as far as Zealand, at lead fo much of it 
 as was then habitable : and, in fhort, it is ma- 
 nifeft, that the people which the Romans called, 
 perhaps, a little confufedly, Batavians, formed 
 by far the greater part of the ancient inhabi- 
 tants of the United States of Holland. 
 
 The people called Freezelanders made their 
 appearance, on the ftage, about the fame time, 
 and a<5ted a no lefs important fcene in the great 
 drama of politics. They poffelTed the provinces 
 of Freezeland, Overyflel, and parts adjacent. 
 
 You will join my exclamation about the 
 progrefs of this extraordinary race of powers 1 
 Originally a horde of miferable wanderers 
 quitting one inhofpitable foil for another ; 
 chufing an apparently impracticable fpot, and 
 attaching themfelves to it, as if proudly deter- 
 mined to make the barren ground, and a world 
 
 VOL. i. Y under
 
 3*2 CLEAN ING 3, . 
 
 under water, fruitful, even to abundance. Is 
 it fcarcely to be credited thefe are the people, 
 \vhoon a trembling quagmire founded a more 
 noble city, in defpite as it were of nature her- 
 
 felf, than the imperial ? for who that 
 
 has feen Amfterdam, but muft give it the pre- 
 ference to Peterfburgh ? There is true fublimity 
 in the idea of fupporting one of the moft mag- 
 nificent cities in Europe, on rafts of timber 
 placed upon an enormous bog ! Matter of fad 
 is compelled to borrow ftrength from imagina- 
 tion, to believe fuch a miracle, wrought by the 
 toil, induftry, and perfeverance of human be- 
 ings ! And indeed reafon feems to ftruggle 
 againft her own conviction, when me fanclions 
 every word of the following apoftrophe : 
 " How wonderful !" fays the author of it, 
 ff that in a country without a ftone or a pebble, 
 there fhould be ftone edifices the moft mag- 
 nificent ! r, ithout forefts, or an oak tree (two 
 lirtic' v. oods excepted) the Dutch navy mould 
 be the fecond in the world ! that without arable 
 land they mould fupply half Europe with 
 corn, and with a tract of country fcarcely larger 
 than an Englifh county, they mould raife 
 men and money to make themfelves of im- 
 porrtance in the eyes of the fir ft power in 
 ChriftenJom!'' 
 
 How
 
 CLEANINGS, Cffr. 3 23 
 
 How often, my friend, when I have feen the 
 truth of thefe obfervations, have I called to 
 mind a moft beautiful remark of the excellent 
 Dr. Johnfon, on the united effects of revolu- 
 tion, induftry, and perfeverance ! " The power 
 of perjifting is indeed aflonifhing, fince all the 
 performances of human art, at which we look 
 with praife or wonder, are inftances of the re- 
 fiftlefs force of perfeverance. It is by this 
 that the quarry becomes a pyramid, and that 
 diftant countries are united by canals. If a 
 man were to compare the firft effect of a fingls 
 ftroke of the pick-axe or fpade, with the ge- 
 neral delign and laft effect, he would be over- 
 whelmed by a fenfe of their difproportion ; 
 yet thefe petty operations, inceffantly continued, 
 at laft furmount the greateft difficulties, and 
 mountains are levelled, and oceans bounded, by 
 the (lender force of human beings !" 
 
 The people we are confidering ftrongly illuf- 
 trate thefe fentiments, more particularly where 
 it is confidcred, that their fucceflors are almoft 
 the only race now in Europe, who have pre- 
 ferved, amidft all the convulfions of paffion 
 und of power, their liberty and their country. 
 
 The beft manner in which I have ever known 
 this honourable truth explained, is to recoi- 
 led:, that the ftate itfelf was founded on Ii~ 
 
 v - bcrv
 
 JH '' LEANINGS, &C. 
 
 bierty and religion, that it \vas reared by in- 
 cluftry and ceconomy, and has flourifhed by 
 its commerce and lituation. The bigottcd 
 maxims of Philip the Second, the mtroducliori 
 of the inquifitfon, and the creeling fourteen 
 new bimorjricks in the Low Countries j the 
 unrelenting rigour of Cardinal Granville, and 
 the fucceeding cruelty of the Duke of Alva, 
 together with the council of twelve, called 
 the Council of Blood, and the execution of 
 Counts Egmont and Horn, were the caufes 
 which drove the people to throw off the yoke, 
 iind gave rife to the union of Utrecht. Pcrfe- 
 -Dcring valour, joined to the political affiftahcc 
 of other powers, has been the means of pre- 
 ferving their independence, while the decline 
 of the Venetian navy has made them the 
 common carriers of Europe, and the wars 
 of Flanders, and fituation of Holland, have 
 confpired to render it what it now is. 
 The Dutch, likewifc, by the fuccefs of their 
 arms againft the Portuguefe in India, and by 
 their treaties with the natives, in procefs of 
 'irnc, drew the whole trade of India from Lif- 
 bon, which was before the ftaple of the trade 
 ro the eaft. 
 
 Holland, moreover, is moft admirably fitutated 
 for the cormnerce of the Baltic, which includes 
 
 Norway,
 
 LEAN INGS, &-C. j25 
 
 Norway, Denmark, Sweden, RufTia, Poland, 
 and the North coaft of Germany, while they 
 fend merchandife into the interior parts of the 
 empire, and Auftrian Netherlands, .by thofc 
 watery mines of wealth, to them, the Maes, the 
 Rhine, and the Scheld. Thus you. perceive 
 the greatnefs, and- much of thd vigour, of this 
 country has arifcn from a M pnderfui concur- 
 rence of favourable circumflanccs - from a 
 long courfe of time from the confluence pi 
 <trangers> driven Cither. by perfecution, or in- 
 viced :by<, the credit of their goyerntnent from 
 ,the cheapnefs of carriagej-by, medium of their 
 canals from the low intereft of money, and 
 deahiefs of -land, which confcquently turn 
 Specie into trade from particular traffic car- 
 ried on at particular places, each town valuing 
 it-felf for fome branch of trade : as for in- 
 fiance Delft for the Dutch porcelain, Sardam 
 for fhip-building, Rotterdam for the Scotch 
 and Englifh trade ; Amfterdam for that of the 
 Straits, Spain, and the Eaft-Indies ; and the 
 whole province for the herring fiihery. They 
 are alfo indebted much to their intenfe appli- 
 cation to their navy, to the vaft nurferies for 
 "heir failors, and to their oriental acquili- 
 ;ipns. Such are the circumflances that have 
 Y 3 confpircd
 
 326 CLEANINGS, &f- 
 
 confpired to make this little Republic the ad- 
 miration of the world. 
 
 When Iriext write to you, w will refume 
 our Sketches of the ancient inhabitants, the 
 founders and forefathers of this fmgular coun- 
 try : particularly in their exercifes, cuftoms, 
 drefTes, and habitations, in all which we fttall 
 difcover a much ftronger refemblance to our 
 &wn progenitors, than all our good country- 
 men may be difpofed to allow. Affiiredly, 
 my worthy compatriots ought to be the molt 
 grateful people to the Great Fountain of -.all 
 good things of any upon the face of the earth, 
 for the ftay-at-home part of them, which is 
 always the majority, cannot be perfuaded that 
 he has imparted the light'" of his counte- 
 nance, or fed with his repleriifrfing hand, any 
 of their fellow-creatures, in a nearly equal de- 
 gree. The happy iiland they inhabit has alone, 
 they fuppofe, enjoyed his favour ; and to tell 
 them that there are in any other parts of the 
 univerfe, as bright a fky, as generous a foil, 
 wholefomc laws, as beauteous profpefts, hearts 
 as brave, hands as ingenious, or heads as wife, 
 would be considered as amongft thofe liberties, 
 which travellers, fikc poets, arc allowed to take 
 
 with truth. 
 
 I muft
 
 GLEANINGS, ?<T. 327 
 
 I muft own the inflammable parts of my 
 nature are apt to take fire, when I hear my 
 friend John Bull thus drefs out for univerfal 
 admiration and homage his idol, Old England, 
 and applying a verfe of Pope, I cannot but 
 afk 
 
 " Has God, thoo fool ! work'd folely for thy good ? 
 
 And I am convinced, my friend, amongft the 
 belt advantages of travel, mould be reckoned 
 its enabling us to " vindicate the ways of 
 God," by firft difcovering and then defcribing 
 the impartiality of his beneficence, not only as 
 to his creatures, but as to the climates appointed 
 for their refidence; and thus proving that he 
 is, < an equal God, the God of all." 
 
 A DJEV. 
 
 VOL. I. Y 4 LETTER
 
 33 2 GLEANINGS, fc-fr 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 TO THE SAME* 
 
 YOU juftly Charge me with a digreltiori 
 in my laft letter, and at the fame time honour^ 
 ably acquit me. In giving you the hiftory of 
 the prefent flourifhing ftate of the commerce, 
 and its caufes, I have a little anticipated that 
 part of my information, which mould have 
 been gleaned afterwards : but the obfervations 
 appeared appofite to the place where they are 
 introduced, and I think none of their effects can 
 be loft by your being in poifeffton of them a 
 few pages fooner. 
 
 Let us now take up the tangled thread of 
 the early hiftory of the Batavians. Originally 
 Germans, they partook their cuftoms, man- 
 ners, and language, frequently their names, and 
 commonly their interefts. They were as 
 Yoric would fay of them, " of the firft order 
 of fizes," their limbs mufcular, their fhoulders 
 broad, their eyes blue; yet their countenances 
 fierce : better able to endure the rigours of 
 cold, than the languors of heat ; penury than 
 
 care;
 
 CLEANINGS, &?f. 333 
 
 care ; the fatigues of pleafure in the chace, and 
 the pleafur.es of ambition, or of plunder in the 
 coils of war, than the labours of agriculture 
 ^nd domeftic oeconomy. They could more 
 eafily fupport famine itfelf, than the corrod- 
 ings of forrow, from which, indeed, they 
 >vere pretty fecure, while there was enough 
 left on the face of the earth to fuftain its in- 
 habitants. The old Batavians, like the Arabs, 
 could never want what others could fupply. 
 The fpontaneous good, which nature refufed to 
 beftow, ready cut and dried to their hands, in 
 the country they had now made their own, 
 they fought and feized upon without any 
 diftinction of meum and tuum, in another. 
 And, indeed, whatever could not be had with- 
 out trouble at home, they raviihed abroad; 
 the law of might overcoming right, being the 
 only one they acknowledged : and I fancy, my 
 friend, this fummary code was pretty univer- 
 fally adopted in all the countries of the globe, 
 till the favage of our own fpecies, or man in a 
 ftate of nature, and as the caftle builder, 
 Roulfeau, calls it, a ftate of. equality, was taught 
 a very different lefTon of jurifprudence. Na- 
 tural man, and man made focial, no doubt are 
 different fort of perfons, but whh all the 
 boafted refinements, civilizations, and meliora- 
 tions
 
 o LEANING 8, &? 
 
 lion's of the latter, what a faVage he muftflill be 
 to require fo many thoufand volumes, a&s of 
 parliament, ftatutes, at little, and at large, to 
 keep the frill unfubdued part of his nature^ 
 commonly honeiH! Did ever the wildeft 
 courfer of the woods; did ever beaft of prey 
 require fo much training, trammelling, muz- 
 zling, chaining, coaxing, correcting, wheed- 
 ling, fpurning, whipping, goading and halter- 
 ing! And after all, bound hand and foot, and 
 tongue and teeth as he is, he continues to get 
 loofe from his keepers, the lawyers, and fhap> 
 feratch, and bite moft furioufly. Is not this fo 
 felf evident a truth, that before one man dare 
 truft another; one friend enter into negocia- 
 tions of any kind with the denizen of his bo- 
 fom; though he may have been nourifhed with 
 the fame milk, and been rocked in the fame 
 cradle mud not the -aforefaid keepers double 
 k>ck> and bolt, and bar, and chain, every door 
 and crevice of the connexion they are about to 
 form ! And how often does one or the other, in 
 defpitc of ail this caution, find a loop hole 
 to creep out at? Still more can the gentleft 
 of gentle creaturegj delightful woman herfelf ! 
 formed as Hie is by lov^c, and for love, can 
 even ihc, wholeems to wifh or require only 
 bonds of iilk, and fetters of rofcs, thrown 
 
 about
 
 GLEAN. I NG S, &C. 335 
 
 about her by Cupid, as if in fport ; alas and 
 alas, and alas a thoufand times !! can this Fair 
 being, with any fafcty, truft, or be truftcd, in 
 fettling that tender point, \vlrich is to deter- 
 mine, by an honourable union, the weal or 
 woe of her life, till the wrecks of our original 
 nature are tied together by contracts, fettle- 
 ments, provifos, conditions, &c. &c: left 
 any one of the " nice dependencies," of two 
 cfpoufed hands and hearts, ihould be invaded 
 broken? A domefticated tyger, whofe nature 
 it is expected may break out, is lefs watched, 
 lefs dreaded, and lefs manacled than a modern 
 line gentleman, or (but remember, I am 
 whifpering this) a modern fine lady. 
 
 You will have reafon to accufe me of a 
 fccond digreflion. Forgive me. I own theft 
 poor old Batavians are fadiy interrupted, but 
 you arc to conlider a Gleaner is a fad wander- 
 ing being, and always (looping to fee what he 
 can pick up : one ear of corn lying here, ano- 
 ther there, it is impoifible he can go ftrait for- 
 ward, you know, and I once again warn you 
 not to expect it. Nor is it to be defired. My 
 ihear", which I mean to interweave, and binJ 
 with flowers of all kinds, and of all countries, 
 would want variety, and my Gleanings,, only- 
 
 6 ' fit
 
 336 GLEANINGS, &C* 
 
 fit for " Daws to peck at." I am ambitious 
 to add fweetnefs to its ftrength. You tell me, 
 in feveral of your letters, that I have done fo : 
 of courfe, I continue the plan that has been 
 honoured with your approbation, and yet I 
 cannot help now and then flopping to make an 
 apology. 
 
 Even thefportsof the old Batavians partook 
 of their averfion to labour. Thofe games, 
 which flattered with the hope of being ac- 
 quired with little difficulty, and lefs attention, 
 were in conformity to their difpolitional indo- 
 lence, which they fometimes fuffered to put 
 at hazard the only thing they truly valued 
 their liberty. They confumed their excefs of 
 leifure in feafts, caroufals, and fleep a long 
 trance of the latter being often neceflary to 
 prevent the effects of the other, as what they 
 ufually began in good fellowfhip, ended in 
 bloodfhed. 
 
 How different, I cannot but repeat, from 
 the race of the fame men, in progreffive ages ! 
 How different even from thofe who in the age 
 immediately fucceeding the firft fettlers, be- 
 came, as in our own ancient hiftory, often the 
 formidable enemies, and often the powerful 
 
 auxiliaries
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 337 
 
 auxiliaries of Rome ! And yet how widely re- 
 moved from their hardy, induftrious, indefa^ 
 tigable pofterity, the late and prefent pofleflbrs 
 of all that proportion of the globe which ap- 
 pertains to the Dutch nation ! 
 
 In taking a comparative view of ancient and 
 modern Holland, we cannot but be flruck 
 with great aftonifhment at the contraft. When 
 the provinces were in their infancy when a 
 little colony of emigrating Batavians made their 
 election of a part of the world often chofen, 
 and as often renounced, as an impradicable 
 foil, the wants of nature were accommodated 
 by nature herfelf, with all the facility thefe, 
 her indolent children, required. They found 
 the waters teeming with fifh, and the land co- 
 vered with cattle : no cities, and few towns, the 
 ancient Germans, regarding the firfl as large, 
 and the latter as fo many fmall prifons. The 
 camp was at once their reftdencc in peace and 
 war, and a field was luckily, for their fupine 
 tempers, covered with temporary habitations, 
 without much toil. They could pitch an hun- 
 dred tents in lefs time than they could con- 
 {truct one regular houfe, and could moreover 
 move them at will from one province to an- 
 other : while many preferred the bare ground, 
 
 VOL. i. Z whofe
 
 338 G-LfcANlNGS; &. 
 
 whofe carpet was fp read ready to receive them, 
 to any other dwelling-place; living, like the 
 beafts they fed on, as commoners of nature, 
 
 Their footftool earth, their canopy the fkies!" 
 
 Long after their primary fcttlement, when there 
 were about ten colonies within and without 
 the ifland of the Rhine, each colony can- 
 toned in the impafTable moors, rather than be 
 at the fatigue of moving farther. Were it 
 poflible, for their hiftorian, Tacitus, to come 
 from that " bourne whence no traveller re- 
 turns," and take a furvey of thofe provinces 
 he wrote about in his life-time, and which I am 
 now gleaning for my friend were he to ob- 
 ferve the then impaffablc morafTes that extend- 
 ed their dreary wafle from province to pro- 
 vince ; and to furvey the then ufurping and 
 ufelefs waters, which inundated the drooping, 
 the almoft drowning, country, now converted 
 into a noble republic, embellimed with fome 
 of the moft magnificent towns in Europe, 
 thickly interfperfed with beautiful villages: 
 
 " The flow canal, the yellow- bloflbm'd vale, 
 " -The willow-tufted bank, the gliding fail, 
 * ( The crouded mart, the cultivated plain." 
 
 Were
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 Were he, my friend, to have been the compa- 
 nion of my journey through Holland, North 
 and South, and traverfed with me the fine 
 country of Gueldres of all which I fha 11 write 
 you in their place and yet more, were he to 
 behold thefe very provinces inhabited by the 
 defcendants of thofe very Batavians, who, 
 though endued with every power to fuffer 
 every extremity, and to overcome it, refufed 
 cither to toil or fpin, now filled with fwarm- 
 ing multitudes, whofe characteriftic is perfe- 
 vering induftry, and who, while they have 
 brought every branch of commerce, perhaps 
 to its higheft perfection, have not been un- 
 mindful of the elegant arts, he would fcar.cely 
 be able to find a trace of bis Batavians, ex- 
 cept in the unaltered feature of hereditary 
 courage. 
 
 In the drefs of the ancient pofieflbrs of this 
 country, we fi.id a refemblance to that of the 
 ancient Britons. Children of nature, they de- 
 pended on their common parent to furnifli 
 them, as well with raiment as with food ; the 
 (kin of a bead fattened with a wooden peg, or 
 a pointed thorn, was wrapped about them. 
 Their chiefs had, by way of diftinction, a veft 
 made of the fame, and fo tight, that they 
 z a feemed
 
 fcemed as if cafcd in iron./ The women were 
 difcriminated only by the addition of a thin 
 veil, bordered with purplei Moft of tfrem 
 difcovered. from blifsful ignorance of harrrv 
 what the t knovvlcdge of the world, in its po- 
 lifhed ftate, conceals from confcioufnc-fs. The 
 arms, neck, and bofom,- were always difplayed. 
 Their hair, though naturally of an ardent 
 brown, was deepened by red ochre. They 
 formed; their treffes into feveral large braids, 
 fattened at the top of the, head with field 
 flowers, not attlike the prefent mode, but they 
 fometirnes Buffered the hair to flow in all the 
 liberty and abundance of . nature. The men's 
 beards \yere permitted to grow till they reached 
 thCjWaift; but cri the downfall: of an illuftrious 
 enemy, -fiain by their own hands, they were 
 cut ihort both before and behind. 
 
 When they began to domefticate, and could 
 be prevailed on to prefer a fixed rcfidence to a 
 moving tent, they built a local habitation 
 wherever they, found the cleareft fountain, the 
 moft fhady thicket, or moft fruitful, meadow, 
 bup always on an eminence, either natural or 
 artificial, to .guard them from -the inundations 
 common to the country they had chofen. 
 They were, of courfe, long ignorant of the thou- 
 
 fand
 
 GLE A'frl NGS, &V. 341 
 
 fand arts by 'which civil fociety'is embellifhed 
 and advanced. Even when they began a little 
 to civilize, the care of providing for 'the ne- 
 celfaries of life their only care was left to the 
 flaves, the freed men, or the women.-' 
 
 Their education was fuited to the limplicity 
 of their purfuits.- "Natural courage -was taught 
 as the firft of virtues that ought to be che- 
 rifhed, and a dextrous defence of the body 
 from the attacks of an enemy, as the befl of 
 arts. Intrepidity in combat, contempt of 
 death, and perfonal agility, were the three 
 grand paints to be acquired. Their conftitu- 
 tions, fo (Tuggifh in times of peace, took fire 
 at the very thought of war. They would tra- 
 verfe the deepeft fnows, and plunge through 
 the molt turbulent rivers under arms, without 
 even breaking their ranks. Their horfes were 
 neither fwift nor ftrong ; and being accuftom- 
 ed always to lun a tilt in the ftraight line, with- 
 out having the fmalleft idea of the military 
 evolutions, of fo much importance in the mo- 
 dern art of war, their principal force and de- 
 pendence was, of courle- irt their infantry. 
 When they were arranged in regulaV order of 
 battle, they placed their wives and children in the 
 rear, and always certain grcupes of bodi within 
 z view,
 
 34* GLEANING $, &C. 
 
 view, as well to fuftain and excite the valour of 
 the combatants, as to aflift the wounded, and 
 alfo to animate the whole army by inter- 
 mingled Ihouts, cries, and acclamations. It 
 was common to fee wives, mothers, daughters, 
 and lovers, rum amidft the thickeft dangers 
 of the bloody field, carry off the dead, fuccour 
 the dying, and fuck the reeking wounds of an 
 hufband, father, lover, or brother. Actions of 
 this kind are mentioned in our own hiftory as 
 great and glorious inftances amongft indi- 
 viduals : but in the firft approaches to the im- 
 portance of this little republic, fuch heroic 
 achievements were common to the fex, and 
 hundreds of Boadicea's and Eleonora's were to 
 be feen acting wonders in the fame army : nay, 
 it was a part of their office to purfue and over- 
 take the fugitives, make them return to the 
 charge, and either contribute to victory, or en- 
 counter death. 
 
 You may eafily believe, my friend, the ef- 
 fect of fuch eye- witnefibs of glory and difgracc 
 would be great : you feel the ftrong and lively 
 intereft it muft have produced on the minds, 
 both of the timid and the brave ; that it muft 
 have converted cowards into men, men into 
 heroes, heroes into conquerors ! And you will, 
 
 at
 
 CLEANINGS, &fc 
 
 at the fame time, allow, that we fhall in 
 vain look for equal enthufiafm, equal prowefs, 
 amongft thofe modern mercenaries, who fell 
 their very blood to an unknown matter, in 
 whofe fervice they engage with bis enemies for 
 daily bread. Inftead of taking the field, like 
 the bold Batavian, at the command of the ge- 
 nerous, at leaft of the glowing paflions, inflead 
 of fighting an enemy, and embracing a friencj 
 on the fame heart-felt principle, the hired fol- 
 dier moves on mechanically to action, without 
 any other idea than to obey. JLn this automa- 
 ton ftate, he is conducted, by his mailer, pro 
 tempore, to conquer or defeat 
 
 ' Equal to both, and arm'd for either field !" 
 
 Of the former he iliares not, neither defires to 
 mare, the glory ; nor of the other does he in- 
 cur, or feel, any part of the infamy. Few are 
 the real, fcarce any the adequate, reafons, which 
 juftify the horrors of public war: but the" 
 mercenary is left without the fhadow of an 
 apology. It is not a neceffary of his life, be- 
 caufe that might be fuftained by converting the 
 ftrength, which is demanded of him in battle, 
 to the arts of peace : his plunder is but a rob- 
 bery licenced by the articles of war ; and the 
 murder which he commits in adion, is a but r 
 z 4 chery
 
 344 LEANINGS, &f. 
 
 chery in cold blood. Neither perfon, nor pro- 
 perty, king, nor country, bid him unfheath 
 the fvvord, or fire the mufket, fpring the mine, 
 or dig the trenches : he is an inveterate bravo, 
 a common ftabber to any man that bids up to 
 his price : that done, his mafter has but to 
 fay " Look, ye flaves thofe are my enemies, 
 \vhom I have hired you to maflacre : kill as 
 many of them as you can." On a fimilar com- 
 pact, in perhaps the next campaign, he turns 
 his arms againft the lide he before efpoufed, 
 and goes on in this manner, letting himfelf 
 out, firft to one leader, then to another. 
 
 In thefe reflections, you fee my opinion of 
 mercenary troops. I dare fay it is your's : for 
 you are t6o much a woman of emotion to ap- 
 prove of a man's flanding to be murdered, or 
 to murder, with no better reafon than that it 
 is his trade, and his bloody work is paid for. 
 War is at beft an Hydra calamity ! Every man 
 has fome country, fome chief, fdme relatives. 
 If he muft take up arms, let it be for thefe. 
 At any rate let him fight on fofnething like a 
 principle , but the mercenary's very name points 
 out his infamy. Will you tell me a mercenary 
 troop is often brave. Would it were in 
 a better caufe ! Yet how I argue ! Were
 
 GLEANINGS, fcff. 
 
 your life endangered, my friend, and were 
 the danger to threaten it in a diftant land, 
 far far from your friends far from me, I 
 would become a mercenary myfelf, and fight 
 for an hundred different pay-mafters, to re- 
 ward the man who mould fave you ! Adieu. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 ON the article of marriage I have to 
 inform you, that the ancient Batavians con- 
 fidered it as infamous to connect themfelves in 
 that ftate before each party had reached the 
 twentieth year. The conduct of the courtfhip, 
 even to its final fettlement, was ever in the 
 prefence of the principals of the two families 
 about to enter into the alliance. This might 
 make love very moral, but furely not very en- 
 tertaining. In the nuptial offerings, the bride- 
 groom always took the lead. They ufually 
 confifted of a yoke of oxen, a war-horfe 
 caparifoned ; a fword, a lance, and a buckler : 
 
 ftrange
 
 34-6 GLEANINGS, &T<T. 
 
 flrange love-gifts you will think for a bridal 
 prefent ! but thefe warlike fymbols taught, or 
 \v ere intended. to teach, the bride to elevate 
 herfelf on every great occafion above the im- 
 puted weaknefs of her fex, to partake the 
 labours and danger?, as well as laurels, of her 
 lord, in war and in peace, in life and in death. 
 Having thus armed the fair warrior, the 
 bride prefented her offerings, which refembled 
 thofe of her hufband, whom fhe accoutred 
 for the field with equal gallantry, that each 
 might defend the other. Very Gothic to be 
 fure ; but perhaps, after all, nearly as good 
 fenfical as the modern preliminaries of toys and 
 trinkets, filks and fattins, with which a mo- 
 dern Britifh bride, or even a modern Bataviart 
 lady, (of whom in due time) is loaded. 
 
 As the new married couple could eafily pro- 
 cure fubfiftence in their flock-herds and fruits 
 of the earth, and game of their fbrefts, (for 
 part of their territory was then well wooded) 
 beiidcs their corn-cakes, and a kind of beer, 
 which the Batavians, in the moft early times, 
 were wont to make from their grain, there was 
 little fear of wanting an healthy offspring, 
 \vhich, however numerous, knew no other 
 frreaft than that of their mother. Then, my 
 
 friend,
 
 CLEANINGS, &c. 34.7 
 
 friend, Refinement, a very puny and puling 
 babe, and of a very delicate conftitution, was 
 but juft born, and had not, amongft other un- 
 natural ideas, fuggefted that of committing 
 the pledges of our Jove to the bofom of a 
 ftranger. 
 
 Their funerals partook the fame fimplicitjr. 
 The corpfe of a diflinguifhed perfon was 
 burned upon a kind of pyre, always with their 
 arms, (a marriage gift) and very often with 
 the horfe that had carried them to battle. A 
 verdant hillock, a grafly eminence, at once co- 
 vered and marked the fpot where their afhes 
 were depolited. The natural affections, too, 
 were in their fimplicity of courfe in their 
 energy. The women honoured the deceafed 
 with fuch tears as refinement feldom fheds, and 
 breathed over the grave with fuch lighs as 
 fafhion rarely heaves; while the men mourned 
 their dead by more filent forrow, and no lefs 
 profound regret. 
 
 In regard to religion, the ancient Bata- 
 vians, and the ancient Briton, had fomewhat 
 of fimilitude. Through all the deep difguifes 
 of fable, which in barbarous ages have always 
 disfigured the truth, one may difcover, among 
 
 the
 
 348 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 the Germans, as among the Celtes and the 
 Gauls, the idea of one God Supreme, the prin- 
 cipal, and the prefervation, and the provi- 
 dence of all. But, in the moft remote time, 
 we do not find thefe people had either temples 
 or idols, holding it equally prefumptuous, 
 profane, and abfurd, to attempt reprejenting 
 or enclcfmg the Deity. They ruihed into the 
 thickeft forefts, in fearch of certain trees they 
 confidered to be facred, under whofe made 
 they flew their victims, and, too frequently, 
 Druid-like, mingled the ftreams of human 
 blood, with thofe.of the animals they facrificed. 
 It does not feem probable, if we except the 
 fun, moon, and fire, that they had any of the 
 divinities common to the Romans. Their 
 Woden was different from the Oden of the 
 Scandinavians, who at firft confidered this fa- 
 mous perfonage as a hero, then worfhiped 
 him as a God. Woden, Oden, and God, were, 
 perhaps, names fynonimous to fignify Deity. 
 
 Nor had thefe people lefs veneration than 
 our own forefathers for certain oracles and 
 foothfayers. Thefe were confulted on all oc- 
 cafions of difficulty and danger, and their an- 
 fwers were expected with trembling awe, and 
 heard with fubmiiTive reverence. 
 
 As
 
 ' L E A N I N G S, &V. 349 
 
 As in the fweet country to which I have de- 
 voted moil of our hitherto correfpondence, the 
 ancient Hollanders alfo had their bards, whofe 
 office it was to fing and celebrate the heroes of 
 their country ; their romances, tranfmitted 
 with pious care to their pofterity, not only 
 ferve to perpetuate their own exploits ; but to 
 incite in their defcendants an equal emulation. 
 The prophetic poets were principally reforted 
 to in the day of battle, concerning which fo 
 minute was the fuperfHtion, that the prefage of 
 good or bad, of victory or defeat, or the 
 degrees of either, depended' on the different 
 modulations with which thefe warlike fcngs 
 were chanted, the very moment preceding the 
 encounter. Like the Romans, they took alfo 
 a fortunate or inaufpicious omen from the 
 flight of birds, or the neighing of horfes, 
 which were fed in confecrated woods. The 
 ifTue of a fingle combat, between one of their 
 own foldiers and a prifoner of war, brought 
 forth to determine their fuccefs, or their mif- 
 carriage, was an omen of the utmoft import- 
 ance. 
 
 Of their public fpeclacles little is to be faid. 
 Their young men, however, frequently exhi- 
 
 hibited
 
 GLEANINGS, . 
 
 bited one which you will think pretty extraor- 
 dinary; and yet in conformity with the ferocity 
 of their manners. They would jump naked 
 into the middle of a fort of theatre, encircled 
 with lances, leaving only almoft impoflrblc 
 mazes between them, for the whole arrange- 
 ment formed a labyrinth of fpears. The dex- 
 terity confifted in threading thefe meanders, 
 and performing the circuit of the whole nar- 
 row, and almoft indifcernable, path, with in- 
 finite rapidity, and without drawing blood : 
 and they thought themfelves fufficiently re- 
 warded, if by thefe hazardous feats they 
 amufed the fpe<5lators. 
 
 Now, my dear friend, amongft all the peril- 
 ous arts, which have been invented by idle 
 people in modern times, to entrap the money 
 of perfons, as idle as themfelves ; fome by 
 fwallowing flintftones, fome fire, &c. I think 
 we have never yet matched this pleafant exer- 
 cife of the youth of old Batavia ; and, there- 
 fore, if the enterprifing Aftley, Hughes, or 
 any other great men, who trade in the mar- 
 velous, could attempt fomething of this kind, 
 with the improvement, perhaps, of a little 
 drapery to the pi&ure -fettjng the tour of the 
 lance-furrounded hero to mufic, it might give 
 6 us
 
 CLEANINGS, &?f. 
 
 us all the addrefs and agility of their moft 
 expert tumblers and pofture-mafters, without 
 any of their abominable diftortion. 
 
 Suppofe you were to give one df them the 
 hint, and when thefe letters come into volumes, 
 to make him a prefent of a copy, doubling 
 down the page. By this act of courtefey, you 
 would, at leaft, gain the free entre of a- winter's 
 run to all the jugglers, trickfters, brutes upon 
 two legs, and brutes upon four! Nay, I know 
 not, but the- thing might, with better effect, 
 be brought upon the ftage, under the title of 
 Harlequin in Old Holland. Worfe feats have 
 been enacted by the hero of the wooden fword 
 and truncheon; and if he could but once dance 
 round this Batavian gauntlet alfrefco, he might 
 bid defiance to the hackneyed, worn out pur- 
 fuits of Panteloon, and fooleries of Scara- 
 mouch. 
 
 But to leave fporting, and return to our pro- 
 per objects. It remains only to fay a few 
 words on the ancient legiflation, and public 
 aflemblies of the United States. An account 
 of the modern government lhall not be for- 
 gotten. 
 
 When,
 
 352 GLEANJNQS, &V. 
 
 When they began to legiflate, which was 
 not till long after their fettlement in this 
 country, the fovereignty refided in a kind of 
 National Convention. It was there, that 
 their freemen and nobles inaugurated their 
 generals and kings : there that they elected 
 their centurions, tribunes, and judges, to dif- 
 tribute juftice, through their colonies: there 
 that their firft Diet was eftablifhed, either at 
 new or full moon, when all fubjecls were dif- 
 cufled, and propofitions made for peace or 
 war. The unanimity of the fuffrage de- 
 termined the meafure : if the fpe&ators clap- 
 ped their hands, the ayes had it; and if a 
 tumultuous murmur followed the propofal, the 
 noes carried the queftion. 
 
 In this little fenate's origin, every man ap- 
 peared armed. When the youths had gained a 
 certain age, they were admitted as members, 
 and on the day if I may be permitted to ufe 
 parliamentary language that they took their 
 feats, they were prefented with a javelin and 
 buckler. They were then to be confidered as 
 connecting the characters of fenator and fol- 
 dier, and expected to contribute their fervices 
 to the government, and defence of the ftates. 
 
 With
 
 GLEANINGS, <o?<T. 343 
 
 With refpect to the monarchy of the rude 
 ages of the Batavian people, the name of king 
 has been too generally confounded with that 
 of chief. Whatever was then his. title, his 
 power exceeded not that of the firft citizen : 
 there was always an appeal, from his authority, 
 to the fenfe of the public : and if his elevation 
 infpired any fentiment, or carried him into any 
 action, that wore but the femblance of tyranny, 
 or that trenched upon thofe to whom he owed 
 his diftinctions, he was, inftantly, marked, and 
 controlled as one who had violated his truft, 
 and incurred the penalty of fuch forfeiture. 
 
 The legiflature of the country demands a 
 few more obfervations : for even in the infancy 
 the babyhood, of Batavian jurifprudence, the 
 moft wholefome laws were framed, though 
 their code was little more than what was 
 taught by a fenfe of natural juftice: and, per- 
 haps, that is confcience at the fame time. 
 The very people who, in their moft barbarous 
 ftate, fed their indolence by invafion of public 
 and private rights, in procefs of time, began 
 to contemplate with horror, and with fhamc, 
 a life of lazinefs and rapacity. They were 
 induftrious ; and on induftry grew the fenti- 
 
 VOL. i. A a ments
 
 344 GLEANINGS, '&C. 
 
 ments both of property and probity, and 
 they foon enacted laws to tie up them- 
 felves, gs well as others, from the farther 
 violation of thefe. 
 
 They were, however, fimple and concife. 
 The fuperior magiftrates in the great 
 diftri&s, and the inferior ones in the towns 
 and villages, conduced the procefs. It 
 was carried on without any fort of dif- 
 ficulty or delay, and what will equally con- 
 found our modern lawyers, without any ex- 
 pence. The caufe was tried in opea court, 
 and invariably ended the day it was begun , 
 without a poflibility of farther appeal. Neither 
 written laws, nor printed ftatutes, were known, 
 or neceflary to be known. Privileges, rights, 
 and wrongs, when well defended and fettled 
 in fora conjcienti<e remain for ever clear, and 
 were men as honeft as they are artful, would 
 require but one hearing and one decifiqn. A 
 twenty, or even a fifth year's fuit in Chancery, 
 would have founded in Batavia, like putting 
 off the final iifue to the day of judgment. 
 But, I am aware that fociety in its higheft 
 Rate of population, power, and paflion, mutt 
 
 have
 
 S, c. 345 
 
 have its wrongs mingled with its rights ; and 
 they are fo twifted together, by a variety of 
 interefts, that we muft take them, juft as we 
 find them, worked into the piece. So may the 
 laws flourim, and we enjoy their protection, 
 my friend, without either incurring their cen- 
 fure, . or wanting their aftive interference; 
 for, perhaps, as many honeft men have been 
 ruined by their friendfhip, as there have been 
 knaves deftroyed by their enmity* 
 
 
 A a 2 LITTER
 
 GLEANINGS, 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 : 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 HAVING thus taken a tranfient view of 
 " the family carrvaTs," in the long picture gallery 
 of times paft, we Thai 1 be more amufed to look; 
 at, and better able to judge of, the portraits 
 of the lineal defcendants ; in finCj we fhall, 
 with more profit, and more'pleafure, catch the 
 refembling fimilitudes, obferve where the im- 
 preflion of original character has been pre- 
 ferved, or loft; and from this progreflive 
 furvey invert ourfelves with the power of com- 
 paring progenitors with their pofterity, in all 
 that regards the principles and purfuits of both. 
 Thefe, as I glean, or rather as I find fpirits 
 and leifure to arrange and parcel out, (for, 
 remember I have now the pickings of half a 
 year in my portable florehoufe ; but lying in 
 heaps) mail be fent you. 
 
 Meantime, as what I have already exported, 
 will make a pretty confiderable fheaf, I fhall 
 beg of you, to look upon this letter as the band 
 
 to
 
 GLEANINGS, &c. 347 
 
 to make it up ! and, as every harveft-home, is 
 accompanied by figns of fatisfaftion, that the 
 grain is got in, fiich as garlands, fongs, &c. &c. 
 as not even the humbled Gleaner, who has 
 picked her fcanty portion from day to day, 
 through all the leafing feafon, but adorns the 
 laft Jiandful with a few field flowers, and carols 
 over them as me bends her way to her cottage, 
 I propofe to crown our little harveft-home, 
 my friend, with a wreath of poetry, to which 
 there appertains a long ftory; but which, I 
 perfuade myfelf, a mind like your's will find 
 fliort in the narration, when the time is ripe to 
 " alk your hearing patiently," as the player 
 fays in Hamlet. 
 
 Much have I for your fancy, your feelings, 
 your affedtion; much for your information, 
 and fomething for your ufe. Matter for my 
 affections in Holland! methinks, I hear thofe 
 who have found, or determined to think it 
 barren foil tauntingly exclaim ! Any thing 
 that can intereft my fancy in that region of 
 fogs, bogs, and vapours ! then mail the fpices 
 of the eaft ejecl: their fragrance from the 
 ditch ! and the rofes of Paradife bloom in the 
 fen! 
 
 A a 3 You
 
 348 G IT E A N I N G S, fcfo 
 
 You remember Yorick's beautiful paflage, 
 beginning " I pity the man who can travel 
 " from Dan to Bathfheba, and cry all's barren ; 
 " and fo it is, and fo is all the world to him, 
 " who will not cultivate the fruits it offers, &c." 
 Be that my anfwer to all fuch children of 
 fpleen, prejudice, or wilful blindnefs. Be the 
 reft of the fentence implicating a tendernefs 
 of nature, and a candour of fpirit fo expref- 
 five of your heart, a pledge to you, that when- 
 ever you make a refidentiary tour of this 
 country, your affeclions, your imagination, 
 your feeling, will not want their proper 
 objects. You will not be reduced to " fatten 
 them on the fweet myrtle ;" or on the " me- 
 lancholy cyprefsj" but be prefented with 
 many -opportunities of enjoying 
 
 " The feafts of reafon, and the flow of foul;" 
 
 notwithftanding what has fo often, and by 
 fo many different people, been faid to the con- 
 trary, that dullnefs and the Dutch nation are 
 become fynonimous. 
 
 I am really concerned, to find every where, 
 and about every thing, the reprefentations of 
 a truth in many refpe&s fo different, and in 
 
 not
 
 C L E ANINGS, &V. 
 
 not a few fo diametrically oppofite to the 
 truth itfelf. Men, women, places, people, 
 manners, cuftoms, are all fo drawn into this 
 falfe colouring, and are fo thrown out of their 
 due proportions of mind and body, lituation 
 and circumrtance; here a caricature, there a 
 figure, fo fulfomely flattered, that a friend 
 that loves one would be difgufled ; and in 
 ihort, things, as they are, fo very generally 
 differ from what they are faid to be, that 
 in whatfoever I can, I am fully refolved to 
 form my opinions on the evidence of my own 
 fenfes ; as, in all human cafes, the only proof 
 politive, and in whatever falls fhort of this 
 oral, and ocular conviction*, (ftill humanly 
 fpeaking) to believe whatever is of good re- 
 port, as much as I dare ; and of evil, no more 
 than I can pofllbly help. 
 
 With refpect to the tales of travellers, thofe 
 of the Genii and Fairies, are not more fanciful 
 or fallacious, when they choofe to throw the 
 rein upon the neck of prejudice, or imagina- 
 tion, which they are very often fufficiently 
 difpofcd to do. The tricks they play on their 
 readers are the more dangerous, when they arc 
 expert enough at illufion, to keep on this fide 
 
 of
 
 3 $O G L E A XING S, &C. 
 
 of the line of probability, which can neither on, 
 or off the ftage be violated, -without counter- 
 acting the effect intended to be produced. 
 
 What would you think of me, faid a 
 fprightly young man, in a letter to his rela- 
 tion, the Baronefs De S , what would you 
 
 think of your coufin, and correfpondent, who 
 flops only to refrelh himfelf, and when re- 
 frefhed, writes to you en paffant ; Were he in 
 imitation of many travellers, to give himfelf 
 the airs of a dictator, and talk of the difpofi- 
 tions of a people, the cuftoms of a country, 
 their finance, their government, their paffions, 
 their purfuits, rifquing every thing, fearing 
 nothing; not even the derifion and contempt 
 of the friend he addrefTes ! How, in faV, is it 
 poftible to avoid fending falfehoods of one 
 country into another, when running from 
 country to country, as if in a fox-chace, 
 without knowledge of the language, without 
 becoming ftationary amongft the people, with- 
 out comparing the living volume with the 
 dead letter, with many focia], and many filent 
 opportunities, a true idea, much lefs a faith- 
 ful defcription, of men and things, fhould be 
 ^iven. If a traveller en gallop, would content 
 himfelf with " catching -the manners as they 
 
 rife
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. $$l 
 
 rife before him at the moment," his etching 
 might often be agreeable, always juft, as far as 
 it went > but he muft be an hiftorian, a poli- 
 tician, a philofopher, and take up his pen 
 to convince his private friend, and, perhaps, 
 the world, that he knows, or can know no 
 more of the matter than a courier, or a run- 
 ning footman. I touched on this folly before, 
 my dear friend, but I have fince that time, 
 been fo milled by trufting to falfe guides; 
 have loft fo much of my time, and my money, 
 by their advice about the diftribution of it, 
 that, that in fine, that left I mould lofe my 
 temper into the bargain, I will only re-allure 
 you it is not without reafon^ the United Pro- 
 vinces have been often called the compen- 
 dium of the univerfe, and that notwithftand- 
 ing a very entertaining traveller has declared* 
 in a kind of epigrammatic tour, that he has 
 published Martin Sherlock the cardinal vir- 
 tue of a Dutchman is cleanlinefs; his only 
 Gods, Mercury arid Plutus, and as for the 
 Nine Sifters, and Apollo, they were never 
 heard of in the country; notwithftanding, it is 
 infilled upon in a volume of our univerfal 
 hiftory, that the Dutch are cold, phlegmatic, 
 brutal, without a ray of invention, a Ihadow of 
 
 liberty,
 
 3$1 CLEANINGS, &. 
 
 liberty, genius, reflection, or forecaft: that 
 Jove was never known to figh in the nation, 
 that the only pafiions are glutting and avarice ; 
 notwithstanding even the Abbe Raynal him- 
 felf, has condefcended to join the herd of 
 calumniators ; certainement en de periodes arron- 
 dies et de belles pbrafes> I will venture to unite 
 with a good old writer, who vifited this coun- 
 try, near a century ago, when it was com- 
 paratively rude and unimproved to what it 
 now is, and who juftly remarked, that he who 
 hath obferved the eafy accommodation for 
 travel in Holland ; their excellent order and 
 regular courfe in all things; the number of 
 learned men; the variety of ingenious foreign- 
 ers conftantly refiding in, or patting through 
 it ; the abundance of rarities of all kinds ; the 
 induftry, frugality, and wealth of the people ; 
 their numerous towns, each extremely beauti- 
 ful ; their proper laws, and adminiftration of 
 juftice; their incredible number of fhipping 
 and boats ; a country of little extent, indeed, 
 and foon pafled over; but fo replenifhed with 
 objects of curiofity, commerce, profit, and 
 pleafure, that not to admire it, is to be de- 
 voured with prejudice, fpleen, or infenfibility. 
 
 My
 
 GLEANINGS, jfcff . 353 
 
 My loved friend, where there is tafte, judg- 
 ment, and a heart, there will be always ob- 
 jects to employ them. You can, therefore, 
 never find a fterile fpot on any part of the 
 earth ; and in thefe Provinces, had you made 
 the tour in them, as often as I have, and 
 Hopped as long in each, you would ftill fay 
 as Titus does to Berenice in the French 
 play 
 
 * Depuis deux ans entiers chaque jour je la vois, 
 " Et crois toujours la voir pour la premiere fois." 
 
 And this reminds me of the verfes, which 
 were to form the bandeau of my fir ft fheaf, 
 (or volume) ; and which you may imagine, I 
 have forgot. Ah no! I fhall never forget 
 them, while I am alive to the memory of 
 fenfations of gratitude, elegance, or focial plea- 
 fure; for amidft fuch were they written, in the 
 bofom of a numerous family, from each of 
 whom I found comfort in affliction, attend- 
 ance in ficknefs, and felicitations on recovery, 
 that made me a4moft congratulate myfelf, that I 
 had been both unwell and unhappy. Of all 
 this I will one day 
 
 " A round imvarnifti'd tal? deliver." 
 
 6 Meanwhile
 
 354 GLEANINGS, f&C. 
 
 Meanwhile accept the poetical bouquet, an 
 offering of juflice to the talents of one of the 
 family party. 
 
 NATURE to MRS. *********. 
 
 ON CUTTING *BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS AND FRUITS 
 OUT OF CARROTS AND TURNIPS. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 THE God who made the world, and faw it fair, 
 Gave it in truft to my peculiar care ; 
 Prefented, with it, a conferring power 
 O'er ev'ry living herb, tree, fruit, and flow'r. 
 NATURE, he faid, be this my high decree, 
 No God but I! no Goddefles but thee! 
 
 This law divine all human things confefs'd, 
 Andown'd the works of Nature were the beft. 
 Like NATURE none could bid the flow'rerbloom. 
 Paint in fuch colours, blend fuchrich perfume; 
 My pink, rofe, violet, jafmine, feem'd fo fair, 
 While NATURE triumph'd, ART was in defpair, 
 Where'er I mov ? d, a thoufand odours flew, 
 And at my touch a thoufand beauties grew. 
 
 But 
 
 * But, left you fliould imagine the Mufe is here facrificing to Gratitude 
 nly, i muft enter a caveat by obferving to you in honeft, plain profe, that 
 the imitations of Nature here alluded to are really fo beautiful, that if Na- 
 ture herfelf did not mifiakt them for her own, file need not be afiumed t 
 vton them.
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 But my reign ends : with rage, with fhame I bum ! 
 Since you my mennefl arms againft me turn, 
 'Tis time for NATURE to renounce herpow'rs, 
 When from her carrots you can form her fivers, 
 And of her vileft turnips of the field 
 Yes - robber yes, 'tis time that I fhonld yield- 
 In one mort hour you bid a pink appear, 
 Would keep me hard at work for half a year. 
 
 Madam, beware ah-'f dread Prometheus' fate! 
 You've ftole my fire -repent ere yet too late. 
 Turnips and carrots ! O my burfting heart ! 
 The God that made us both mall know your art. 
 And this, Ingrate I to me ! to whom you owe 
 Unnumber'd othex charms ; thus, thus, to go, 
 Thus fteal my paint and pencil ! all my ftore ! 
 Here, take my throne, fmce you've ufurp'd my power. 
 
 THE ANSWER. 
 MRS. H*********, to NATURE. 
 
 DEAR MADAM, 
 
 WHY this hajfti complaint of me ? 
 Two of a trade, 'tis plain, can ne'er agree. 
 But if between us rights were fairly fettled, 
 About thefe flow'rs, 'tis I, Ma'am, mould be nettled. 
 
 From Spring's firft bud to Autumn's lateft flow'r, 
 I own your magic, and admire your power : 
 And as I count thofe wond'rous beauties o'er, 
 E'en with a lover's fondnefs I adore. 
 Affeftion kindles, warms th' enthufiaft heart, 
 Till love of NATURE leads to love of ART, 
 
 Dear
 
 35<> OttANINGS, &t. 
 
 Dear NATURE, ^thqu 'rt my Goddefs!" yet 'tisiard 
 Thou wilt not grant thy vo'try her reward, 
 Suppofe yourfelf a moment in my place, 
 Pray, Madam, let us truly fiate the cafe, 
 The carrots and the turnips both are. thine, 
 Your's the material,, tlio' . the work be mine ; 
 And, if I build, 'tis with your brick and flraw ; 
 The abettor and the thief both feel the law. 
 You fay I fteal who help'd me, Ma'am to cheat ? 
 'Tis NATURE at the bottom of the feat. 
 But e'en in theft yoq owe my art a favor. 
 Since my ftol'n goods give yours, a'doublt flavor. 
 Nor for my flow'rs ought y<2u to^ be my foe, 
 Mine do not come 'till youra are out of blow: 
 
 . 
 
 , __, >- 
 
 A FRIEND, 
 To NATURE 
 
 DEAR LADIES, 
 
 CEASE your fquabbling ; ladvifc 
 You fettle this affair by compromife. 
 Out of the four, you NATURE, have three feafons, 
 Which for your full content are three good reafotts. 
 From Spring to Winter yours the fmiling earth, 
 When fruits and flow'rs by miriads rulh to birth. 
 But fure the fourth fad quarter, when they fleep, 
 Die in their beds, or only wake to weep ; 
 When you yourfelf with cold are half expiring, 
 And half your works are only fit for firing j 
 Three difmal months, I truft, you'll not deny 
 To her who can your lofs fo well fupply. 
 
 Work
 
 GLEANINGS, &V 357 
 
 Work then like fifters, lovingly together, 
 You take thefmiling, fhe the frowning weather; 
 When froft and fnow benumbs the wonted pow'rs, 
 Let one fupply the roots, and one the flow'rs. 
 United thus, in love and friendlhip dear, 
 You'll make between you Snnimer all the year t 
 
 ' 
 
 SUPPLEMENT^Rr LETTERS, 
 LETTER i. 
 
 TO 1HE SAME. 
 
 ON a furvey of my ftores, however, 
 under the article "-Scraps, or Single Wheat 
 Ears, and Field Flowers, collected in Hol- 
 land, and arranged at the Brielle," the place 
 whence I culled the fragrant Bandeau, which 
 binds the Gleaning I lad fent you, I judge 
 it beft to attach them to this my firft flieaf. 
 You will, therefore, receive them herewith, in 
 fome Supplementary Letters, juft as you may 
 have obfcrved an induftrious day-labourer in 
 VOL. i. B b the
 
 35 8 OtlANI-NGS, &C. 
 
 the leafing feafon, following his gleaning 
 family home, gathering up the ears that may 
 drop from their pleafing burthens, as they bear 
 them to the cottage. And firft I mail offer to 
 your feelings fome emigrant hiftories. 
 
 Even before the cloud broke into flame, it 
 was, really, afflicting to fee, in pailing the 
 Frontiers of Germany, the fituation of the 
 French emigrants, the greater part of whom 
 were of the firft rank, and reduced, like thofe 
 of the laft, to fubfift oh the good faith, 
 and good will, of thofe, in whofe towns, 
 and villages, they had taken refuge. But 
 good will, and good faith, like all other things, 
 have their bound ; and, like all other things, 
 too, are fubject to .contingence. I ftaid long 
 enough in the different retreats of thefe un- 
 happy people, to perceive, that the protection, 
 at firft offered, was amongft .the objects of this 
 changeable world, that fbew early figns.of 
 earthly mutability. Whether tendered, in the 
 beginning, by urbanity, pity, or politics, the 
 warmth of the welcome began to abate. I faw, 
 but too- often, the altered air of the hoft cut 
 into the heart of his gueft. The protections 
 were not, indeed, nay are not, even yet, with- 
 drawn? but infinitely different is the being en- 
 dured
 
 GLEANINGS, & f . 3$ 
 
 dured and invited, being fuffered to remain, 
 and follicited to continue. 
 
 The fevere chagrin, which this caufed in 
 an high-fpirited, and high-born fet of men, 
 (whofe fenfibility is always in proportion to 
 rank, habits, and education) may eafily be 
 guefled; but their endeavours to conceal that 
 chagrin from the people, with whom they have 
 taken refuge, and yet more from the lower 
 orders of their own country, exhibited to 
 the obferving eye, a picture truly touch- 
 ing. Prior to the breaking out of the war, I 
 was at ^Jeuwied and Coblentz, (at the latter 
 place, you remember, I died), and from thefe 
 towns^ (notwithftanding my death), I pafled 
 into many others while hoftilities were pre- 
 paring : and I found, wherever the French 
 emigrants were permitted to have " a local 
 " habitation," you might fee this inward 
 ftruggle betwixt blood and fituation. I fre- 
 quently obferved the expatriated NoblefTe, 
 gather together towards evening in the fuburbs, 
 furrounded by j feveral hundreds of their ad- 
 herents, not to abufe the time, but to engage 
 in all thofe manly exercifes, which ferved a 
 triple purpofe : Firlt, to hide their regret from 
 common fpedators : fecondly, to obviate, for a 
 B b 2 time,
 
 J^>6 Ol BAKINGS, &Ct 
 
 time, the fenfe of their condition : thirdly, to 
 fupport and cultivate that ftrength of body 
 and mind, which grief and idlenefs might 
 impair. I took notice that their fwords were 
 either at their fides, or lying by them, even in 
 their fports* But * after all this, I have followed 
 them into their private apartments, where their 
 minds, no longer on the ftretch, relaxed and 
 yielded to the truth of circumftance. Yet 
 without particularizing, the general furvey was 
 lamentable : Many thoufands of human beings, 
 in the higheft rank, and of the higheft talents, 
 bred to the enjoyment and expenditure of 
 ample fortunes, driven from their pofTeflions, 
 in the pleafanteft, gayeft, and moft agreeable 
 country of the world, or what very lately was 
 fuch, of great natural vivacity, and of habitual 
 elegance, all of them reduced by (what, at 
 leaft, to them appears) a virtue in excefs, the love 
 of their king, their country, the maintainance 
 of their hereditary rights, and the recovery of 
 their patrimonial honour. My friend, how- 
 ever thefe unfortunates may fare, on your fide 
 of the German Ocean, I have feen hundreds of 
 them, on this lide, r conftrained, like the poor 
 foldier, to take their cold lodging on a bed of 
 tfraw ; their nourifhment coarfe as their bed, 
 
 far 
 
 * I was lodged in the fame hotel with a number of thefe un- 
 bp.ppy gentlemen fome months.
 
 CLEANINGS, CSV. 36 1 
 
 far from their friends, their wives, their children; 
 their eftates confiscated, themfelves exiled. 
 
 Was not all this, and much more, thac 
 might, with too much truth be added, enough 
 to break down the higheft fpirit, and unbrace 
 the ftrongeft arm ? Stand they not, according 
 to the expreflion of a great Divine, " in the 
 firft rank of objects of our fympathy, en- 
 titled, not only to relief, but, refpect and vene- 
 ration?" A fet of men, born in, and inured 
 to, far lefs poliming, and, as they are ufually 
 thought, more emafculating circumftances, 
 luch as a cold country, a rigorous difcipline, 
 and a lefs ardent temperament, might feem 
 wanting to fupport this fad reverfe. For 
 Frenchmen, and more particularly for French 
 nobility ', to bear it with an equal mind, (with- 
 out taking into the account, the rapidity of a 
 tranfition from the livelieft and mod abund- 
 ant, to the moft gloomy and unfupplied ftate), 
 certainly fhews of what thefe once airy fpirits 
 are capable, when called out by an extraordi- 
 nary occasion. 
 
 From thefe primary furveys, I plainly fore- 
 
 faw, what has fince happened, viz. that when 
 
 thefe wretched wanderers did come into action, 
 
 B b 3 they
 
 3^2 GLEANIN.GS, &C. 
 
 they would maintain their fhare in the dreadful 
 day of open rupture, as firmly, and as bravely, 
 as if they had never known a foftnefs, or in- 
 dulged a luxury. But long before the time was 
 ripe to enter the field of blood, it would have 
 wrung your heart, to have feen the unaccom- 
 modated fituation of thoufands, who have fince 
 ihed their blood in la Vendee y a name not to be 
 mentioned without an aflbciation of horrors 
 and facrifices, from which every reflecting 
 mind muft turn with 'Jbudderingfympathy : for, 
 if ever human creatures were devoted on all 
 Jides y thefe are they who muft everlaftingly 
 fUnd in the firft rank of victims; and whether 
 their deftru'clion arofe from the cold delays of 
 policy, or from the malice of adverfe fortune, 
 the families, the legions, the armies, the almoft 
 miriads of perfons who found untimely graves 
 in that ill-ftay'd country, are the moft to be 
 honoured, compaffionated, and deplored. Peace 
 to their afhes, and recompence to their 
 fouls! 
 
 LETTER
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 I HAD fcarcc entered the Hotel, on my 
 firft vifit to this town, when the death of the 
 late Emperor was announced by an exprefs, 
 who came into the Inn yard, from Vienna, 
 illuftrating the expreflion of the Great Englifh 
 Poet, where he tells us a Cavalier had, 
 
 Spurr'd his proud Courfer hard, and rode in blood." 
 
 Although the deceafed was as well beloved 
 of his fubjefts, as it is in the nature of things 
 to be, it is amazing with what philofophical 
 compofure this event was received, by all who 
 were not perfonally, or politically interefted. 
 Being, myfelf, neither the one nor the other, 
 I mention it, but to tell you the furprize of a 
 very large company, on my informing them, 
 while fitting at a table d'hote fupper, that, as 
 their emperor and king was dead, I mould put 
 on my fuit of fables. For what? have you 
 the honour to be related ? Related ! No : but 
 I prefume every gentleman who can com- 
 B b 4 mand
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 mand a black coat, will wear it on this oeca- 
 iion, at leaft, every gentleman, who refides in 
 the German dominions. 
 
 Not an individual in the whole empire, re-, 
 plied my next neighbour, except thofe of the 
 royal family, and its immediate connections; 
 with the officers of the houfehold. 
 
 Very ftrange, Sir : our Englifh taylors work 
 double tides, to get mourning r$ady, in time, 
 for the general order. 
 
 Order! what are you then commanded? 
 
 Yes : both by etiquette and cuftom. Not 
 a gentleman, lady, or decent trader in the 
 realm, will think himfelf entitled to appear, 
 amongft even his familiar friends, unlefs he 
 conforms to the rule, which in our private 
 parties, and public places, is almoft without an 
 exception. Within eight and forty hours after 
 the news gets to England, its inhabitants will 
 all be as black as the Styx, and fo remain 'till 
 another edift of the Lord Chamberlain, who 
 is our Grand Mafter of little ceremonies, tells 
 our fympathy, it- may affume a (lighter fhadc, 
 and fix, at the fame time, the period of our re- 
 gaining our robes of colour. 
 
 Monfieur
 
 G&E'AJTINGSj &C. 36$. 
 
 -'Monfieur Anglois, cried a profound per-, 
 fonage at the farther end of the table, your's is 
 a mighty fympathizing nation truly ! but 
 though we love our fovereigns, perhaps, more 
 than you, we mourn for them in our hearts, 
 and do not hang the trappings of our forrow 
 on our backs : nor are we fingle in this mat- 
 ter; our neighbours of Holland, will be no 
 blacker next week, than ufua/, (here our Ger- 
 man wit fmiled fignificantly) even though, you 
 know, the alliances of the Houfes of Orange, 
 Pruflia, and England, compofe a fort of fa- 
 mily compact. 
 
 They told me limply the truth, with refpeft 
 to themfelves and the Dutch, for, in parting 
 back into the United Provinces, a few days 
 after, then returning into Germany, by way of 
 Weftphalian Pruflia, I met with but three fets 
 of beings, arrayed in the mourning garb, to 
 wit, fome of the friars, the crows, and the 
 blackbirds. Notwithstanding which, there 
 feems, to me, a dignity, and decorum, in this 
 cuftom, which attaches me to it. 
 
 The event itfelf, even in the inftant it hap- 
 pened, feemed in no degree to have checked 
 the deljgns of the emigrants. No form of 
 
 words
 
 366 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 words can paint to you, the vehemence, the in^ 
 dignation, the almoft infanity, with which, (in 
 a journey through the different parts of the 
 empire,) I have heard their grievances difcuffed, 
 their wrongs defcribed, their rights afTerted, 
 and their ravages anticipated. To thefe vio- 
 lences, if there could poffibly be found (in the 
 language of paflions) a parallel, it would be 
 heard in the phrenzies of the Revolutionifts. 
 Even at the time of which I am fpeaking, both 
 parties were in a ferment, beyond the reach of, 
 perhaps, any comparifon, in ancient or modern 
 hiftory. But what is extremely curious in this 
 difpute, is, that while the Emigrants infill, that 
 they themfehes, are made up of gentry, men of 
 property, and nobility ; nothing being left in 
 france, except it refufe j the favourers of the 
 Republic aver, that nq man has left h.is native 
 land, who was worthy to ftay in it : meantime, 
 allowance being made for thefe overcharged 
 animofities on both fides, it was palpable, that 
 when the gathering ftorm burft, it would pour 
 down the torrents of human blood, which have 
 fince deluged the land. 
 
 In regard to the expatriated, French, I can 
 fpeak to the claims of ieveral, to all that ad~ 
 miration, or fympathy,. can offer, (and they 
 
 have
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 367 
 
 have given largely fmce, efpecially in the Bri- 
 tifli dominions.) About the time that the 
 armies of Dumourier were upon the point of 
 feizing the Republic of Holland, in the fum- 
 merofi793. I was, as you well remember, 
 amongft the number of thofe who did not think 
 it prudent to wait the event of a threat, which 
 was expecled with anxiety by every man. Bur, 
 refolved to wait till the laft, apparently fafe, 
 minute, I reforted to the houfe of a friend, 
 which lying in the highway paiTage to Helveot- 
 fluice, I had an opportunity of Gleaning many 
 hundreds I might fafely write thoufands of 
 thofe, who were haftening to England : and, 
 as my friend's houfe, was partly appropriated 
 to the fervice of his Britannic Majefty, they 
 were obliged to make a flop, officially; their 
 paflports from Holland to the Britilh more, 
 being attainable only from this quarter. And, 
 farther, my friend, uniting much private 
 worth with his public character, very many of 
 thefe unfortunate perfons were fo " gaily and 
 fmilingly prefied to ftay," that fo Jong as the 
 danger of the French army was not immediate, 
 they profited of his hofpitality for two cr three 
 da^s together. By thefe means 1 princes, ge- 
 nerals, chevaliers, women of quality, and 
 whole bodies of the priefthood-, palled under my 
 
 eye;
 
 CLEANINGS, (ff<T. 
 
 eye; and I had made my Gleaning of their 
 minds, manners, and pretcnfions ; their mife- 
 ries at home, and their hardfhips abroad, before 
 they had gained our protecting country. 
 
 In truth, the houfe above alluded to, gave 
 them a very favourable impreflkm of Britiih 
 courtefy ; for, being compofed of the elegant 
 wife and blooming daughters of my friend, 
 thefe children of misfortune met a variety of 
 agrimensy well fuited to their prefent circum- 
 ilances. It would have charmed you to have fecn 
 as I did, the family endeavours to diflipate the 
 chagrin, too heavy, not to be obferved, in the 
 countenances, and heard in the fighs, of many 
 of the fufferers. 
 
 " Their geftures fad, 
 
 Invefting lank-lean cheeks, or war-worn coats ; 
 Prefenting them unto the gazing moon, 
 So many horrid ghofts. 
 
 It was truly piteous to hear this ruined band 
 defcant on their general, or particular misfor- 
 tunes ; the infinite lofles they fuftained, before 
 they left their own country'; the difficulty and 
 diforder in which they quitted it ; the extor- 
 tions made upon them, both by land, and by 
 water, in their paflage, A Dutch landlord, 
 6 for
 
 GLEANINGS, 6?f* 369 
 
 for inftance, had irififted on a fmall party pay- 
 ing/* French trowns for tea, milk, and a little 
 dry bread! 
 
 I was. extremely interefted by three Che* 
 valiers of different orders of merit, who came 
 together, always united by friendfhip, and 
 now more ftrongly knit by the cement of mis- 
 fortune. Of thefe, one produced written 
 teftimonies of having twice faved the life of 
 Louis XVI. His wife was left in hazard at 
 Paris ; his faithful domeflic who followed him 
 to the wars, was taken prifoner, and hanged 
 at Lifle. Another had efcaped with his lady 
 to Dieppe, but was there conftrained to leave 
 her, and the third had been lucky enough to 
 bring away his wife in difguife ; but fince had 
 the misfortune to underftand that his children, 
 who were in one of the Provinces, for education, 
 had been feized upon, and brought to the 
 guillotine, to atone for the crimes of their 
 parents ; the crimes of loyalty to their king, 
 and faving themfelves from death, trufting 
 that the innocent children would be no objects 
 of that univerfal edift of blood > which has fmce 
 been iffued. 
 
 . The name of the firft of thefe gentlemen 
 was St. Leger; of a noble perfon, and a noble 
 
 mind j
 
 37 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 mind ; covered over with laurels, and the 
 wounds by which they were acquired. With- 
 out gafconade, he bade me take note of them, 
 as they flood difplayed in different parts of his 
 body- fome received at Pondicherry, in a 
 former war; fome in Flanders ; moft of them by 
 Eritijhjhot ; but all> Sir, exclaimed the Marquis, 
 (fuch was his title) in the fervice of my 
 fovereign, and I am fure that will be a fuffi- 
 cient apology to the forgivenefs, and a fufficient 
 motive to the protection of jour fovereign. 
 
 He renounced the name of Frenchman, he 
 faid, and gloried that he was of Irilh anceftry ; 
 nor do I renounce only a Frenchman's * name, 
 Sir, faid the Marquis, but a Frenchman's 
 language, and the very moment I can recover 
 that of England, I mail deem it dofloyal, nay a 
 crime, to fpeak a tongue in common with the 
 traitors of a king, whom I have defended from 
 my earlieft youth, and whom I will continue 
 to love, and honour, to my lateft age. 
 
 I think my knowledge of the human heart, 
 warrants me, (without too much relying on the 
 
 human. 
 
 * Confidering him as an officer, and friend to the Prince, 
 who had been his bcnefaftor, we muft allow him this latitude.
 
 GLIANItfGS, &C. 371 
 
 human voice, or human countenance), in 
 averting, that he fpoke with fincerity, when 
 he faid, farther, that if he could fave his de- 
 voted mafter, by the lofs of his left hand, or 
 right, (extending both while he afieverated) 
 he would, offer them up with joy, and kifs 
 the hand of the man appointed to cut them 
 off! 
 
 His perfonal character of Louis, founded, as 
 he aflured me, on perfonal knowledge, differed, 
 eflentially from the common received opinion. 
 The Marquis de St. Leger, reprefented him not 
 only as a man of general goodnefs, but of ge- 
 neral knowledge, of great reading, obferva- 
 tion, and courage. Of the latter, he inftanced 
 as follows. When the cannon of the enraged 
 populace were dragged into his palace, and the 
 fvvords of fifty blood thirfty hirelings, were at 
 his throat, and when alked by [the ringleaders, 
 whether Louis was not afraid? He took hold 
 of one of the grenadiers arms, deliring him to 
 feel whether the heart of Louis palpitated 
 with any of the daftard emotions imputed to it? 
 But he muft die, Sir, added the Marquis, I 
 forefee, Sir, that Louis XVI. mujl foon die. 
 It is according to the new fyftem, that he 
 ihould be deftroyed ; nor will any part of his 
 
 ill-fated
 
 G L E A N 1 -V 6 S, &f. 
 
 ill-fated family, left in France, fare better thafl 
 
 fihnfelf I tfhrj *r<? // profcriM *. 
 
 . 
 
 How far this prophecy is fulfilled, my dear 
 friend, you need not be told* 
 
 In the courfe of the evening oh which thefe 
 conventions took place, the three Chevaliers 
 took a meafure, (and, perhaps, an inadequate 
 and partial one) of each other's particular 
 fituation, each admitted a fimilitude in general 
 calamity, but each thought fome trait of harder, 
 and more difficult fortune was appropriate in 
 particular to himfelf ! The two who had been 
 compelled to leave their wives in an enemy's 
 land, of courfe confidered their Lot as the 
 moft fevere ; while the third, whofe children 
 had fallen facrifices to their parents fecurity, 
 feemed to think the fate of his two friends more 
 tolerable than his own. 
 
 I have the converfation of the Countefs, my 
 wife, it is true, faid the Count de R , and no 
 man can be more fenlible of dorneftic confola- 
 tion than I am ; but, as there feems to me no 
 apparent end, to the horrors of France, and as 
 
 the 
 
 * The ftrength of the axiom, felf preferation, is the firft 
 of Nature's laws, we will not afk, why the Marquis, or any 
 other perfon, who forefaw the death, and had been benefitted by 
 the life, of Louis XVI. left him to his fate.
 
 GLEANING^, &V. 373 
 
 the flight means with which we have provided 
 ourfelves, are already on the decline, I know 
 not whether death itfelf would not have been 
 a bleffing to me, rather than living to fee my 
 flender finances diminish daily, and the beloved 
 of my foul condemned to forget, or remember 
 with anguim, the decent pride of hereditary 
 and habitual independence, or be in danger of 
 Jrarving under the eyes of a tender hufband. 
 As to the latter grievance, it can never come to 
 $afs> obferved the Countefs, while we have both 
 of us fo much youth, health, and affection. 
 And though my inward foul bewails the lofs of 
 our loved children; yet, as their innocent lives 
 muft have enfured them eternal happinefs> 
 there are moments when I congratulate them and 
 ourfelves on their beingplaced beyond the reach 
 of the tygers, who now infeft our country ; and 
 who would have drank their blood. 
 
 Yes, dear Count, their lot is no longer to be 
 deplored, and I have almoft ceafed to grieve 
 for them. ; 
 
 During every fentence of this declaration, her 
 tears fell in abundance, and ihe exhibited all 
 the agonies of a mother, who had loft her 
 children, while Ihe talked of refignation. 
 
 VOL. i C c
 
 374 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 The amiable family, under whofe hofpitable. 
 roof, thefe unfortunates were now received, 
 tried the magic of their various accomplifh- 
 ments to charm away the no lefs various 
 diftrefles of their guefts. The different en- 
 chantments of mufic, converfe, and cards, 
 were, by turns, put in force, and had their 
 effects: but what feemed mod to intereft and 
 amufe, was putting together one of the wooden 
 maps of Europe, invented, it is faid, for the 
 improvement of the young and happy, but cal- 
 culated, as it appeared in this inftance, to footh 
 the wretched, and the mature. As the compo- 
 nent parts of this play-thing were prefented in 
 dlforder, the emigrants began to arrange ; in 
 progrefs of which they had no little difficulty. 
 The Marquis was for throwing France, wholly 
 out of the Map, being no longer worthy, he 
 faid, to fill a fpace in the Continent of Europe. 
 'This was oppofed by his friend, who fattened 
 with a tender fort of mifery on Dieppe, where he 
 had laft left his wife, but he agreed partially to 
 eject Paris : to this propofal, however, the 
 other, after a fhort paufe, objected, for the like 
 reafon, with . the additional one of its being 
 ftill the relidence of his beloved king, whofe 
 very prifon houfe was precious. And both the 
 countefs, and her hufband, were for preferving 
 
 all
 
 GLEANINGS, &?. 
 
 all the cities, towns, and villages, which ftill 
 contained their furviving friends. O had you 
 feen the pallid hue which feized their cheeks^ 
 and the tears that filled their eyes, as they 
 pointed to the place where flood their patri- 
 monial manfion, and where their murdered 
 children were born^ you would have felt, that 
 the recollection of pafl happinefsj and the 
 fight of any dear fpot in " the mind's eye," 
 are amongft the griefs, that, however poignant 
 the fenfe of altered fortune, cannot be thought 
 of, or looked at, without fome emotions of con- 
 folatiom 
 
 I was myfelf an advocate for allowing France 
 its place, in the hope that every part of the 
 company, who were its natives, would return 
 to it one day with honour and joy. 
 
 Throw but a lure to the French give them> 
 in their deepeft affliction, the flendereft clue, 
 though no ftronger than a filken thread ; direct 
 but their hearts to the remoteft hope that the 
 funfhine of happier and fairer days is, or may 
 be, in referve, and the prefcnt cloudy however 
 obtufe, feems already to begin difperling, and 
 you will fee them, as it were, come dancing 
 from behind it. 
 
 c c 2 The
 
 J7& GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 The then improbable, and now, alas, almoft 
 impoffible, idea of returning to their homes, re- 
 novated, in a moment, their before defpairing 
 fpirits, and, for the reft of the evening, they 
 were lefs afflicted than thofe who pitied them. 
 I have obferved many inftances of this felicity 
 of conftitution, habit, or country. How, in 
 all inftances, but particularly in the prefent 
 condition of their lives and fortunes, are they 
 to be gratulated upon it ! 
 
 In the packet-boat, which (fome time after 
 this little adventure^ took me to England, there 
 were not lefs than eighty emigrant French, on 
 their paflage to London. I had reafon to know 
 that they left other countries either by com- 
 mand of the Governors, or from terror of an 
 approaching enemy, and that the- greater part 
 of them, fo far from having wherewith to make 
 London a comfortable refidence, had barely fuf- 
 ficient to pay their fare, at an indulged price, 
 over the water. Yet meeting with a few per- 
 fons who had been in Paris, who defcribed its 
 fplendours, its feducing elegancies, and its 
 amufmg trifles, they forgot the prefent in the 
 pa.ft, and were, by no means, the leaft gay, or 
 merry, of the crew. Half feas over, however, 
 one of the failors defcried from the matt a veflel 
 7 of
 
 GLEANINGS, fcff. 377 
 
 of an unpromifing appearance, bearing down 
 upon us, and favoured by the wind. The Cap- 
 tain pronounced it to be a French privateer, 
 and, as far as his glafles could determine, one 
 that would take them captive with a Tingle 
 broadfide. At the clofe of this information, 
 he obferved, that, though it would be a vain 
 effort, it was his duty to clear the fhip for fight- 
 ing. This was accordingly done, and the emi- 
 grants were not the lead alert in the preparation, 
 nor would they, it is likely, have been the leaft 
 vigorous in the action ; but, on fome of them 
 the dread of falling into the hands of their im-* 
 placable countrymen was fo great, that in cafe 
 of defeat, they came to the defperate refolve of 
 becoming their own executioners in the Ihort 
 interval betwixt the giving up the packet-boat, 
 and the boarding of her by the conquerors. 
 The alarm increafed as the veflel approached, 
 and the refolution became fo folemn, that each 
 man who meant to adopt it, pledged his honour 
 to his friend. PoiTibly it might, in a cafe of 
 death, be the leaft evil in point of fufferance 
 and fhame, however it might violate the laws 
 of morality and religion. It was, luckily, an 
 unnecefiary alternative: for the vefTel coming 
 near enough to be fatisfied me had been in 
 chafe of an Englifli packet boat, proved her- 
 c c 3 felf
 
 37$ CLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 fclf to be an Englifh frigate; and foon flood 
 off, in the direction fhe had quitted on firft ob~ 
 fervingus. " After all, (he's one of us," cried 
 the captain. The inftantaneous effect of the 
 remark on the emigrants would have been afto- 
 nifhing to a fpeclator not acquainted with their 
 temperament. 
 
 Thofe who had the mod defpairing thoughts 
 had now the gayeft ideas, and fuch as had been 
 moft agile in preparing for war, gave proof of 
 agility in the contrary extreme of preparing for 
 peace, for they leaped, laughed, fung, and even 
 played, as it were, with the edge of the guillo- 
 tine : one facetioufly obferved, that he fancied 
 his neck (feeling it) was toojbort to befitted 
 to the inftrument ; and another cunningly faid, 
 though he did not think his neck too Jbort, he 
 hoped it would be long enough before any ex-r 
 periment was made upon it, by Mejf. les Re~ 
 pullicains ; while a third gentleman (with a 
 fnrug which would have afcertained his coun- 
 try, had every other teftimony been wanting) 
 remarked, " Ma foi y cette dame Guillotine 
 " eft un perjonage bien commode au fervice de ces 
 " gneux la; mais>pour moi y il neme conviens pas du 
 "tout du tout:" "On my word, that Mr, 
 '" Guillotine is a mighty convenient gentleman 
 
 " in
 
 CLEAN INGS, &C. 379 
 
 " in the caufc of thofe beggarly patriots : ne- 
 " verthelefs, it is not at all to my tafte." In 
 fhort, my friend, if the immediate circum- 
 fiances of the prefent moment are not abfo- 
 lutely threatening; if good company, good 
 wine, gay converfation, or any other plea- 
 fant object of the fenfes, are within the reach, 
 or in the .view of thefe beings, the paft and 
 future are forgotten. This is not, I am now 
 convinced, what is generally thought, and as I 
 myfelf once fuppofed, the effect of little fen- 
 fibility t of much levity, and a total want of 
 folid reflection, but proceeds, in great mea- 
 fure, as I have before obferved, from confti- 
 tutional felicity. Yet you are too well (killed 
 in the equal laws of nature and providence, to 
 infer from hence, that the French are, from 
 this bias, more blefTed than the reft of man- 
 kind. If they annihilate all that is gone by, 
 and all that may come, when the " Cynthia of 
 the minute" fmiles before them, they fuffer 
 with a bitternefs of defpondence, peculiar to 
 themfelves, all that has afflicted them, or that 
 may afflict, when the prcffnt is but a continuation 
 of their gloom. They then colled alt the dif- 
 aftrous parts of time into one point of mifery. 
 The part, prefent, and future fecm, through 
 this focus, but as one mafs, accumulated like 
 c c fo
 
 3$0 CLEANINGS, &C. . 
 
 fo many mountains, to crufli them ; and they 
 feel the weight of adverfity, if I may fa 
 exprefs myfelf, in all its tenfes. In the 
 Englifn, Dutch, and German minds, I think it 
 js different. Amidft the thickeft glooms of 
 their condition, whatever be their degrees of 
 natural feeling, they bear the heavy colle&ion 
 of grief with more equanimity. Either 
 their minds are ftronger, or their fenfibility 
 weaker; and befides, education, climate, and 
 habits may contribute; but it brings into 
 equipoife the allotments of heaven, and the 
 difpenfations of nature, whofe fyftem is, per- 
 haps, the only poilible one in which equality 
 canfubfift the equality of human happinefs ; 
 fince me has made, with very few exceptions, 
 almoft all her children (though not partakers 
 of the fame felicity, proceeding from the 
 fame caufes) nearly the fame in effects. TQ 
 bring this matter home, to the fcene I have 
 been relating, had thefe paffengers been un- 
 moved in the degree that a Dutch family felt 
 themfelves (the males fmoking, and the fe- 
 males fnuffing all the time upon deck) they 
 would have fuffered lefs panic at the time of 
 clearing the fhip, and, by the fame rule, they 
 would have enjoyed lefs when the danger was 
 
 over. 
 
 Gocl.
 
 GLEANINGS, &C f 38* 
 
 " God, in the nature of each being, fonnds 
 " Its proper blifs." 
 
 And thus, it may be pronounced, that one man 
 is, upon the whole of life (allowing always ex-,, 
 ceptions) as happy as another. 
 
 " The learn'd is happy nature to explore, 
 
 " The fool is happy that he knows no more, 
 
 " The rich is happy in the plenty giv'n, 
 
 " The poor contents him with the care of heav'n : 
 
 " See the blind beggar dance, the cripple fing, 
 
 f ' The fot a hero, lunatic a king. 
 
 " The ftarving chymift, in his golden views,. 
 
 ' Supremely bleft, the poet in his Mufe." 
 
 If then, by the very laws of nature, my dear 
 friend, the univerfally varied, lituations of hu- 
 man life are thus happily arranged, why pre- 
 fume to inveft her laws by introducing a. forced 
 and unnatural equality ? that is., by making all 
 men different from what they have been ; by 
 forcing them, from their natural and .proper 
 ilations ; and by making them as univerfally 
 difcontented, with their paft and prefent ftate, 
 as they have been contented. Mjferably will 
 the founders of the new Republic be difap- 
 pointed, if they ferioufly conceive, that by 
 making the ignorant learned, or the poor rich, 
 or (Mill worfe) by making all alike, they fliall 
 Jncreafe the felicity of mankind. By a change
 
 3 ; Ji CLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 of condition, they may make the induftrious 
 idle* and the humble difTatisfied ; but never 
 can either the diflatisfied or the idle be happy. 
 There is a paffage from the noble poem I 
 have juft quoted fo. decifivc on this great quef-, 
 tion,, which now agitates the globe, that furely 
 the reafonin-g js as ftrong and indifputable as 
 the poetry is fweet and beautiful. It has all the 
 Condensation of thought,, for which, Pope is fo 
 juftly celebrated; and, methinks, mould 1 be 
 written in letters of gold, in a translation fuited 
 to> all languages, and fol'emnly read as an ar- 
 ticle of political, civil, and religious faith, by 
 3itl the now contending nations, and, ^indeed, 
 alt the. neutral nations of the earth. On the 
 tablet of every BRITISH memory, that has but 
 prelim of poefy, it is already engraved; but 
 by many,, even of thofe who have it by rote, 
 it feems (by the 1-aft accounts you fent me from 
 England) to have left fo little impreflion, that 
 were I rich enough, I mould be fo far from 
 contenting myfelf with the narrow diffufion of 1 
 tbefe volumes, that; I would print the pafTage, 
 Siftd difpe.rfe it amongft my countrymen, 
 tLhroughowt every part of the realm. 
 
 <' Order i: Hfav'n's firft law ; and this confefs'd, 
 * S<?me are, and muft be, greater than, the reft j,
 
 GLEANINGS, &V. 38 j 
 
 ** More rich, more wife ; but who infers from hence 
 " That fuel, are happier (hocks all common fenfe^ 
 " Heav 'n to mankind impartial we contefs, 
 "If all are equal in their happinefs ; , 
 " But mutual wants this happinefs increafe, 
 " All nature difference keeps , all nature's peace. 
 '* Condition, circumftance, is not the thing, 
 " Blifs is the fame, in fubjeft or in king, 
 ' In who obtain defence, or who defend, 
 * In him who is, or him who wants a friend. 
 Heav'n breathes through every member of the whole, 
 " One common bleffing, and one common foul. 
 " But fortune's gifts, if each alike poflels'd, 
 ' And each ivert equal, muft not all conteft ? 
 " Fortune her gifts may varioufly difpofe, 
 " And thefe be happy call'd, unhappy thofe : 
 " But hea<u'n's juft balance equal nuill appear t 
 " While thofe areplac'd in hope, and thefe in fear, 
 " Nor prefent good, or ill, the joy or curfe, 
 " BuJ future views of better or of worfe." 
 
 It is more than probable the * late violent 
 rulers of the French were fecretly aware of the 
 great truths comprifed in thefe fentiments ; and 
 that the prefent more poliiical conductors are 
 no lefs confcious of their force ; although it 
 may be dill neceflary to make a hue-and-cry 
 about liberty, equality, and confraternity; and 
 when they have fettled their ambition, in the 
 bcft and fureft manner for themfelves, they will, 
 no doubt, convince the fubordinate clafTes of 
 
 * The reader has in mind I extend not this to die prefent. 
 
 6
 
 3 S.4 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 the republic, that the word liberty, in the new 
 dictionary of France is to mean no more than 
 an uncontrolled and Jovereign will of certain 
 individuals, in convention, to govern the rejl of 
 mankind ,- and that Confraternity and Equality 
 were convenient cant words and nick names, ufed, 
 in the beginning Of the French revolution, as 
 mere tools to work with, by the Republican 
 Mafons, but which are now become obfolete, 
 and are to be thrown, like other plaufible 
 trumpery, amidft the common lumber. And 
 it cannot be doubted but that at leaft ninety- 
 nine out of every hundred perfons will find, 
 ihould the prefent fyftem, 
 
 " A mighty maze, but not without a flan,' 
 
 fucceed, in acquiring any thing like a durable 
 bails, that the grand majority have been con- 
 iidered as nothing more than journeymen, who, 
 unlefs new work is cut out for them by their 
 employers, may lie but of buftnefs. for the reft 
 of their lives, with the aggravated rctiedtion of 
 having thrown themfelvcs out of good places, 
 under one matter, for the miferable trade of 
 building caftlcs, which (with refpeft tothcm- 
 felves at lea-ft) will prove to be raifcd in the 
 air.
 
 CLEANINGS, &V. 385 
 
 To return, however, to the emigrants of 
 that unhappy country, I muft very diftindly 
 point out to you amongft thefe, the Vicomtc 
 de Gand, a man of fuch verfatility of talent, 
 that he appears to have an appropriate genius 
 for every occafion ; fince, in the whole courfe 
 of the twenty-four hours, could the afiembly 
 continue unbroken, he has powers to occupy 
 them without fatigue, and to make them glide 
 unperceived away infomuch, that it may be 
 truly faid, 
 
 ( ( * With him converting, you forget all time." 
 
 The airy and elegant levities of France, the 
 folid refleclive powers of England, the foften- 
 ing agremens of Italy, feem to meet, as if by 
 the common confent of nations, in this man's 
 character ; and, as he Ihifts 
 
 ' + From grave to gay, from lively to fevere," 
 
 in different languages, each country, not only 
 for the fake of his accomplifhments, but his 
 virtues, might be proud to 
 
 " J Mark him for its own," 
 
 * Milton. i Pope. % Gray. 
 
 VOL. i. c c 7 He
 
 , fcrr. 
 
 He has rcfided for fome time paft in London, 
 whwe you may have had an Opportunity to fee 
 and hear, that He is not over-fated in my de- 
 fcription. It is a tribute of juftice due to a 
 m*Jt> from whofe convention I have received 
 the higheft focial pleafure; arid although, juft 
 at it is, it would bring me to the guillotine, 
 were I a French patriot, it ii a tribute which 
 J (hould pay eVeri to one of tbofe patriots, were 
 I to find art equal aflemblage of great and happy 
 endowments, independent on their . political 
 jargon and. mad nefs of the moment. Honefl 
 praife is of no party, my dear friend ; and it 
 is 'very compatible to applaud .talents, and 
 detcft principles in the fame character. In 
 this in fiance, the admiration of one includes 
 the other. 
 
 After having faid this, you will be prepared 
 for a little poetical gleaning, which my mufe 
 made of the vifcount, as he fat at the table, 
 eftcircled by a number of his admirers, each 
 of whom he had enlivened by his wit, im- 
 proved by his judgment, or amufed by his 
 fancy for feveral hours. I have only to beg 
 you will confider it the poetry of the moment, 
 flowing from the heart into the focial cur- 
 rent of conveffation, and not elaborated by 
 fVudy. 
 
 THE
 
 CLEANINGS, 
 
 THE CONTENTION. 
 
 haplcfs France to Britain came, 
 One whom fo many parents claim, 
 That thofe who know him beft declare, 
 To fifty fathers he is heir ; 
 Yet ev'ry fire protefts this foft 
 Belongs to him, and him alone* 
 
 Says WIT, his fparkling eye's on fire, 
 
 Enflam'd that others (hould afpire, 
 
 By heav'n the vifcount's only mine* 
 
 I claim him, firs, by right divine ! , 
 
 Cries FANCY, with affliftion wild, 
 
 Fearing to lofe her darling child, 
 
 WIT ceafe to boaft, I will not (hare 
 
 With thee, my juft and well-known heir. 
 
 Then fwift fro*i heav'n the God of fong 
 
 Came down to fvvear they both were wrong; 
 
 By all that Phoebus loves, 'tis known, 
 
 Pretenders, that the count's my own; 
 
 * Dance, mufic, pbefy, unite 
 
 To publifh, and fupport my right* 
 
 Sage WISDOM then, with folemn face 
 
 Declar'd Apollo muft give place ; 
 
 Since 'tis by all the world confefs'd, 
 
 WISDOM his cultur'd mind has drefs'd. 
 
 But FASHION, ELfeGANCE> and EASE, 
 
 (Three great, though modern deities) 
 
 Lent him their varied powers to pleafe. 
 
 Said SENSIBILITY, you go 
 
 Too far, my rights from nature flow j 
 
 * In cash of thefe the C- dc G. is prc-iminsnt.
 
 338 CLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 And who, quoth COURAGE, of my part, 
 
 Shall rob me of my vifcount's heart ; 
 
 Mars and Bellona both declare, 
 
 He's ours by all the rights ofiuar 
 
 And by yet greater powers we fwear, 
 
 De Gand is our peculiar care. 
 
 Jove fmiling, heard them from above, 
 
 And bade the ftrife conclude in love, 
 
 Ye ALL affifted at his birth, 
 
 ExclaimM the Sire of heaven and earth. 
 
 One cannot boaft beyond the reft, 
 
 SHARE HIM AMONGST YOU, andbebleft! 
 
 And now for a review of the Dutch troops/ 
 by the Prince Stadtholder, who is fond of 
 military difcipline, and in point of bravery 
 and (kill, a not unworthy defcendant of the 
 illuftrioiis houfe of Orange. 
 
 During one of my former Gleanings, at this 
 Brielle-home, as I ufed to call it, on account of 
 the apartment always facred to my returns, 
 happened the annual vifitation of the Prince 
 Stadtholder, who yearly makes a tour of the 
 States, to infpecl: his garrifons, and to review 
 his foldiers. Although of an athletic, and 
 Ibmewhat dropfical form, and of a heavy 
 appearance, which, indeed, is ufually attached 
 thereto, the mind of this prince is active; 
 and notwithftanding a conftitutional weaknefs 
 
 in
 
 GLEANINGS, &C t 389 
 
 in his knees, he is faid to be capable of endur- 
 ing incredible fatigue. Well is it, that he is 
 fo, for fome trying ones happened to him on 
 the day above-mentioned : the bufinefs of 
 which included an examination of the forces 
 of the Republic, both at the Brielle and 
 Helveotfluice. He arrived at the former 
 about eight in the morning, from his reli- 
 dence at the Hague, which is a diftance 
 of four leagues. Every body expected him 
 in their belt drefies, and, (for that day, at 
 leaft) in their beft looks, the flreets were 
 lined with town militia, under arms ; and the 
 many-coloured flags of different ftates, were 
 waving over the canals, and I do verily think 
 more than two hundred were hoifted on Poles 
 at the doors of the Burghers : every ftreet, every 
 avenue, every window, was crouded with the 
 fons, and, in yet greater numbers, with the 
 daughters of curiolity, whofe family is to be 
 found, you know, in all countries, and I do 
 allure you, as many of its branches are relident 
 amidft thefe torpid Dutch dikes, and Handing 
 pools, as near more rapid waters. In his way 
 to the Brielle his highnefs had two fmall arms 
 of the Maefe to pafs, but he was no fooner 
 defcried on the oppolite fide of the firft, than 
 the ufual demonftrations of joy, real or coun- 
 VOL. i. Dd terfeit,
 
 J9<> CLEANINGS, &V, 
 
 terfeit, began: cannon were fired from the 
 ramparts, and all the bells, of all the churches, 
 were in tune, to greet him right loyally, before 
 his perfon could bejeen. At length appeared his 
 barge, which, by the bye, was moft curioufly 
 bepainted and begilt : there was given a general 
 falute of the military (I mean of the regulars) 
 in garrifon : to this fucceeded an apparently 
 nniverfal huzza of the people. I particularly 
 remarked one man, who had the fame morning, 
 been pointed out to me as " horriblement 
 patriot^' who waved his hat higher, and fent 
 forth the voice of gratulation, louder than tire 
 reft : but it is the nature of every fort of hypo- 
 crify to overact its part, and frequently to- 
 betray what it ?V, by the very attempt of 
 appearing what it is not. 
 
 I faw his highnefs at a confiderable diftance. 
 It was not Cleopatra meeting Mark Anthony,; 
 when me failed down the Cydnos, in the bark 
 which Shakefpeare has made immortal; but it 
 was, perhaps, a much better prince, and cer- 
 tainly a much better man, than that Roman, 
 coming to fee that his bulwarks, and their 
 heroes were in a fit ftate to defend his fubjeds, 
 Ihould defence be neceffary: as you know, 
 moil neceflary it was, but too foon. 
 
 His
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. J9I 
 
 His yacht came up the canal to the middle 
 of the firft ftreet, where he landed, and was 
 received by the garrifon officers, with all due 
 ceremonies. Unfortunately, thofe ceremonies 
 are performed fans cbapeau y (with the hat off) 
 but the elements, which are by no means re- 
 fpefters of perfons, were, in this inftance, as in 
 divers others, wanting in common civility; 
 for juft as the Stadtholder-Prince landed, a 
 moft violent mower of rain, burft incontinently 
 on his illuftrious head. This torrent had been 
 a long while collecting, and could one fuppofe 
 there was any mifchievous waggery in a matter 
 of this fort, I mould fuppofe, the faid torrent 
 watched its opportunity, to prove that Princes 
 and mighty men were like coblers, and the 
 feebleft, as well as meaneft of mortals, in the 
 general defigns of nature. Methought, how- 
 ever, I obferved three of the bareheaded officers 
 caft up a fort of commanding, yet fretful eye 
 at the clouds, while this drenching morality 
 was pouring upon them, as much as to fay, 
 and " mail not gravitation ccafe as we go by?'* 
 The Prince himfelf bore this " pelting of the 
 pitilefs ftorm," much better. He had to (land, 
 hat in hand, in the midft of it, till he had fet- 
 tled the etiquette of receiving and returning, at 
 lead, fifty fine bows, and gracious bendings, all 
 o d 2 which
 
 392 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 which he did with the moft magnanimous 
 compofure, lhaking the " big, round drops," 
 from his yet rounder face, and facred ears f 
 
 In the like refigned way, he fet off, breafting 
 the hurricane, which, inftead of yielding to 
 his patience, made head againft him more 
 violently. He ran the military gauntlet of 
 courtefy through all the principal ftreets, and 
 from thence, to a meadow at the diftance of a 
 mile, where tents were pitched to receive him. 
 I have a very great objection to take long 
 walks in the rain, albeit of a rambling difpo- 
 fition ; but I made it matter of confcience to 
 expofe myfelf to a good wetting on this great 
 occafion. You would not guefs the grandeur 
 of my foul, in fuch a trying hour, were I not 
 to tell you, on the faith of an hiftorian, that, 
 although I was armed with an umbrella, I never 
 fpread it over my head ; by which emulative 
 action, I reduced myfelf to the fituation of the 
 prince himfelf, except that I had ftill the ad- 
 vantage of him in the article of the head, upon 
 which I retained my hat, thus gaining in com- 
 fort what I loft in glory. Indeed, I repented 
 that I had carried the imitation of my fuperiors 
 to the other parts of my body, feeing that my 
 apothecary's bill, (the confequence of taking 
 
 cold)
 
 CLEANINGS, fcJV. 393 
 
 cold) was neither paid by the States-General, 
 nor the Stadtholder, as in the cafe of the mili- 
 tary, whofe pay goes on when they are placed 
 on the fick lift; efpecially, if they become inva- 
 lids, by doing duty : for me, I did not get a 
 fingle ftiver to purchafe fugar- candy! and 
 my cold coft me, in that article, and others, 
 the grofs fum of* three guilders! But;! have 
 purchafed a cure for my cough, and my am- 
 bition at the fame time; and were great men 
 to fwim up to their necks, and little men to 
 follow their example, I fhall never more be 
 amongft their competitors ; being inveterately 
 fixed not to wet my flipper any more, for the 
 fake of ambition : though for that of humanity, 
 I hope I mail ever continue to venture far be- 
 yond my depth, into the moft troubled waters. 
 Many of the officers, arriongft whom were fe- 
 veral pretty fellows, looked as if they would 
 have been glad to take fhelter in the tents till 
 the hurricane was over; but the Prince refol- 
 ved heroically to go through the morning bufi- 
 nefsfirft, and darned through all the manoeuvres 
 with the difpofitions of a duck; all his foldiers 
 following his example of courfe; though evi- 
 dently with fomewhat of the reluctance of a 
 brood of chickens, unnaturally fathered, or 
 D d 3 rather 
 
 * Five (hillings
 
 394 3J.EANING5, &V. 
 
 rather mothered upon the faid duck. Prefently 
 the air cleared, the fun broke out, and the 
 weather became more favourable to the 
 manoeuvres, which were very adroitly per* 
 formed, and gave great fatisfaclion to the 
 Prince, who was indefatigable in his attention 
 and attendance. He did not fmiih at the 
 Brielle till near three in the afternoon : it mull 
 have been near five before he got to Helveot- 
 fluice, and probably midnight ere he regained 
 his palace. Such are the taxes which govern- 
 ments levy upon the governors ; and I have 
 riot the fmalleft doubt, but that this chief mili- 
 tary commander of the Republic, laid his 
 deluged head that night upon the pillow, 
 heartily weary of pre-eminence, and awoke to 
 the confoling thought that he mould not be 
 condemned to pay fo dear a price for a few 
 huzzas, till that time twelve-months. 
 
 My friend, men are in the habit of calling 
 kings and emperors tyrants, when mofl of 
 them, at lead, now a-days, are inverted with 
 a kind of impotent dignity, and are in a ftate 
 of more inceffant flavery, than the meaneft 
 fubject of their realms ; yet are often envied for 
 rhofe fplendid vapours, which are but the fhin- 
 jng chains and trappings of that very flavery 
 6 more
 
 GLEANINGS, . 
 
 more cumbrous and infupportable : and the 
 hiftory of thrones, alas, fcarce furnimes us 
 with a monarch, who might not exclaim with 
 one of our own Henries, even as he lies 
 flretched on his couch of royalty, 
 
 " Ah, happy lowly clown, 
 Uneafy lies the head that wears a crown." 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 D d 4 LETTin.
 
 396 GLEANINGS, 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 1 H E cuftom of marriages, and bu - 
 rials are fingular. Refpedling the firfr, the 
 parties, if of the middling rank, are drefled in 
 a fuit of fables on the nuptial day, either to 
 indicate the folemnity of the bond, or as a 
 memento mori t that all hope of conqueft fhould 
 then be dead and buried, at the foot of the 
 altar. 
 
 Funerals are no lefs remarkable. A nume- 
 rous body of the burghers, in black gowns, and 
 decent bands, attend the body of every de- 
 ceafed citizen. The priefts, paftors, &c. vific 
 the houfe of the deceafed, which, even as if it 
 was wholly evacuated, is fhut up, and that with 
 moft jealous caution, till the morning of the 
 burial; the corpfe is brought out by twelve 
 burghers, and carried by them, not on fhoulders, 
 but by hand, to the grave, where it is depofited 
 without any prayer whatever, though occa- 
 lionally a fermon is preached. The mournen 
 7 look
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 397 
 
 look into the yawning earth, that is to hold 
 their relation, or friend, and then depart. They 
 take off thefe " feemings of forrow ;" or more 
 properly fpeaking, " the cuftomary fuits of 
 common black," and mix in the bufmefs, or 
 diverfions of the world. 
 
 Amongft the advantages of a refidentiary or 
 a deliberate traveller, who ftays in a place long 
 enough, or vifits it often enough to Glean its 
 produce, whether natural or accidental, are 
 thofe chances, which throw you into the path 
 of brother wanderers, whether preparing to 
 take the field, or returning home with the har- 
 veft of obfervation, from the different quarters 
 of this wide world of enterprize. Several of 
 thefe, the Chapter of Accidents, has already 
 prefented : fome laden with wheat, others only 
 with chaff; many with flowers, and many with 
 weeds; and not a few again, with a mixture of 
 all thefe: according to the conftitution of 
 Nature, which is compounded of good, bad, 
 and indifferent. 
 
 During one of my refidences, alternately at 
 the Hague and the Brielle, I encountered two 
 travellers of very opposite powers, making as 
 oppofite impreflions. The one, whom by way 
 
 of
 
 39$ CLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 of characteriftic, I fhall call Mr. Blank, is of 
 that order of travellers, who give to every airy 
 unimportance, an inflated grandeur, and de- 
 fcribe every trifle with a pomp of words ap- 
 propriate only to that heroi-comic burlefque, 
 or falfe fublime, which would very well be- 
 come the mice and the frogs in the old fable. 
 I foon perceived this felf imagined mountain 
 was always in labour, and brought forth no- 
 thing but fome of the above-named animals ; 
 yet, that they were umered into the world with 
 all the pageantries of eaftern phrafeologyj as 
 ridiculous and unneceflary as it would be to let 
 off a cannon at a gnat, which might more eafily 
 be exterminated by a fillip of the finger. This 
 Mr. Blank, (fo let me call one of them) has 
 travelled the Lord knows where, and is going, 
 I believe, in my confcience, the Lord knows not 
 "whither; for he talks of traveriing regions, 
 where human enterprize has never yet directed 
 itfelf; of terra incognita \ of which human 
 beings have no precife ideas of exiftence, but 
 which be is fure do exift, and which it is re- 
 ferved for him, and him alone, to explore. Ah, 
 blifsful vanity ! that can thus amufe thyfclf 
 with the fhining vapours of thy own felf-love, 
 and thus give 
 
 " To airy nothing, 
 
 " A local habitation." 
 
 This
 
 CLEANINGS, &C. 399 
 
 This Mr. Blank travels with his works in his 
 portmanteau ; enters an inn, calls for pen and 
 ink, in a violent hurry, to write down his laft 
 thoughts, fcribbles at full fpeed, and notes, 
 
 ' Juft ere it fall, the Cynthia of the minute." 
 
 He joins the public dining table introduces 
 bimfelfand, (what he conceives to be the bed 
 part of him) his works, to the company 
 forces his right and left hand neighbour to be 
 his auditors puts one morfel of meat into his 
 mouth, and fends out two of profe or poefy, 
 (to his conceit far more relifhing) while the 
 firft courfe is removing he takes care to fill up 
 the interval with the richeft entremet he 
 ferves bimfelf up again begs the company to 
 hear, or read, fome favourite paffage, which 
 has been admired, copied, and got by heart in 
 every court of Europe; rehearfed by minor 
 emperors, and fpouted by queens Dowager! 
 but, in the midft of reading, being feized with 
 a new idea, he darts up regardjefs of his own 
 appetite, but happily leaving you to the en- 
 joyment of your's, runs out of the room, or 
 to the fide-board, or makes a table of his plate 
 turned topfy-turvy, and has fcrawled half a 
 flieet of paper before you can help yourfelf to 
 a. glafs of wine; for, never, furely, did mortal 
 
 author
 
 400 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 author produce fuch " an infinite deal of 
 nothing," in fo little time: and he talks non- 
 fenfe as faft as he writes it. Happy powers ! 
 but, beware! during his fcribbling moments, 
 make, on your part, the beft ufe of them, or 
 your dinner will be again in danger. Our 
 author returns to cram you with food that will 
 add little to your nourifhment ; and, unlefs you 
 prefer his windy banquet to good animal 
 fuftenance, I fee no efcape but hunger and 
 flight from a well-filled table ; unlefs you fol- 
 low the example of a pleafant gentleman, who, 
 knowing the difpofition of our traveller, de- 
 clared himfelf, deaf and blind \ regretting, at 
 the fame time, in the politeft terms, (on a flip 
 of paper he fcrawled in a written hint he had 
 received) that he was thus prevented the honour 
 and advantage of either reading or liltening to 
 his competitions. Do not, however, fuppofe 
 that a traveller who has encountered fo many 
 more difficulties than Robinfon Crufoe, or Mr. 
 Bruce, is to be difmayed by a few natural im- 
 pediments in any of his auditory : he goes on 
 reciting, with the moft perfevering vehemence; 
 and, as in the above inftance, he fatigues you 
 out of your well-difTembled deafnefs, he wearies 
 you out of every other aflumed misfortune, by 
 making you, at leaft, confefs, that though you
 
 GLEANINGS, &C. 40! 
 
 eyes you will not fee, and though you have 
 ears, you will not hear. Thus, you muft either 
 iacrifice your appetite to your politenefs, or 
 your politenefs to your appetite. Mr. Blank 
 has written defcriptions of countries, through 
 which he has never palTed ; held difcourfes 
 with the inhabitants, who never had habita- 
 tion, having firft invented, and then converfed 
 \vith them ; painted fufferings, with which it 
 has not yet pleafed the juftice of God to re- 
 ward his falfehood, and incurred many hair- 
 breadth efcapes, without his ever having been 
 in danger. 
 
 As it is, however, well obferved, that " no- 
 thing can come of nothing," I mail haften to 
 repay you for having made fo " much ado" 
 about it by the introduction of another travel- 
 ler, who will make his entre under every cir- 
 cumftance that can contraft him to Mr. Blank, 
 and whom, therefore, I fhall call Mr. Prize. 
 This gentleman comes recommended to your 
 friendship by all the advantages of good fenfe, 
 heroifm, modefty, and misfortune. Mr. Prize 
 is one of the few who was fhipwrecked in the 
 South Seas in the Pandora frigate, and he has 
 been prefervcd from the general crufh of his 
 
 fellow-
 
 4O1 GLEANINGS, &C. 
 
 fellow-creatures, by encountering difficulties,- 
 from the furmounting which, the refidue of his 
 life feems entitled to every honour and comfort 
 his country can beftow. But, as in various other 
 cafes, fo in this, his misfortunes have been pro- 
 duftiveof many interefting adventures amongft 
 a people, concerning whom public curiofity has 
 been fo much indebted to the immortal Cap- 
 tain Cooke. Mr. Prize, with equal modcfty 
 and force, related fuch a variety of anecdotes, 
 refpedting the inhabitants of Otaheite, that 
 I patted from town to town in the public boats, 
 without perceiving the diftances, except to re- 
 gret the flops in the narrative, while we 
 changed our barges, though this, at other 
 times, is a not unwelcome interruption. I 
 was earned with him to extend the pleafurc 
 he had given me, by publiming his account as 
 a fupplement to Cooke. The modefty with 
 which he declined this, " becaufe the tafk had 
 been already better performed," was in perfect 
 contraft to the literary, or rather the illiterate, 
 arrogance with which Mr. Blank had, the day 
 before, roundly aflerted, in my hearing, that 
 " if he was ever again tempted to gratify the 
 " curiofity of an ungrateful world, it fhould 
 " be well paid for;" becaufe, added the vain- 
 glorious boafter, " I cannot afford to throw 
 
 (( away
 
 LANINGS, fc?f. 403 
 
 " away my time and talents on a work, which, 
 <f by annihilating all other travellers in the 
 " like route, befides the travcrfe of unknown 
 " realms, will throw a new light and luftre 
 upon hiftory !" 
 
 Nothing fhort of the pleafure one derives 
 from the unaffected diffidence of a Mr. Prize, 
 adorned with all the bluming powers of me- 
 rit, (and of genius, unconfcious of thofe 
 powers) could atone for the difgufting pain 
 one differs from the fwelling conceit of a 
 Mr. Blank, who, with the proudeft opiniorrs, 
 coupled the moft impotent abilities ; for, as the 
 relation of Mr. Prize was given in the fimpleft 
 drefs of Truth and Wifdom, fo was that of 
 Mr. Blank tricked off in alf the meretricious 
 ornaments of abortive labour, panting after 
 the eloquence it could not reach. 
 
 Indeed I never, but in one fingle inftance, 
 knew uncommon talents unired with uncom- 
 mon vanity, and that one exception prefented 
 itfelf to my view the very next day after I had 
 been regaled by the fociety of Mr. Prize. 
 
 That you may have thefe three extraordinary 
 characters brought as clofe together upon pa- 
 per,
 
 44 GLEANINGS, 6>V. 
 
 per, as they were in life, you (hall now have a 
 gleaning of this third traveller, whom, if you 
 pleafe, we will diftinguiih by the name of 
 Blank and Prize ! 
 
 Mr. Blank-and-Prize is a Svvifs officer of 
 diftinclion in the fervice of the Prince of 
 Orange. He unites the fpirit of a foldicr, and 
 the manners of a gentleman, to the enthu- 
 fiafm of a man of real genius. That genius, 
 indeed, like many of his natal mountains in 
 Switzerland, are fublime without ilerility; 
 they flower to the very fummits ; and, like his 
 natal vallies, are rich and pidlurefque, and 
 " fling their fragrance" into the very bottom 
 of the deepeft glens. He was introduced to me 
 by a party of familiar friends, who take plea- 
 jfure in obliging me ; but having fo lately fuf- 
 fered from the obtruiions of Mr. Blank, I did 
 not expect a fimilar reparation to that which I 
 had found in Mr. Prize. The firft appearance 
 of the man, however, was menacing. He had 
 not been announced a minute ere he was at 
 the heels of his announcer. I was introduced 
 to him as a traveller, a man of letters, and an 
 Englifhman. " I have a refpeft for all thofe 
 characters," replied Mr. Blank-and-Prize: " I 
 * make my bow to them, even when I meet 
 
 with
 
 CLEANINGS, . 
 
 " with them feparately, but when I fee them 
 " combining before me in a fingle character, 
 " and concentrating in one perfon, as I under- 
 " ftand is the cafe at prefent, I open my arms 
 " to receive him in this manner !" (embracing.) 
 
 Here he expanded himfelf, pulled me into 
 his embraces, and gave me the hug of literary 
 brotherhood. " I am myfelf a traveller, a man 
 IC of letters, and, though not an Englifhman, 
 " fpeak the language, as you perceive, as per- 
 " fectly as the beft educated native,'* conti- 
 nued Mr. Blank-and-Prize. " I have traverfed 
 " three parts of the earth, and am foon to fet 
 <c off for a tour of the other quarter. I am by 
 " birth a Svvitzer, glory in my country, and 
 " hope and believe it will glory in me." 
 
 As he pronounced this, a private of our 
 author's regiment, came in with a box of no 
 inconfiderable fize, under his arm ; he placed 
 it at his commanding officer's feet, and making 
 the bow military , marched off in a drill ftep. 
 
 tc Aye, here are fome of my works ; a mort 
 "fpecimen, fir, faid he." He took out the 
 " key. I trembled. He threw open the lid, 
 " and brought forth as many folio fheets of 
 
 VOL. i. E e paper,
 
 4^6 GLEANINGS, &?f . 
 
 paper, very clofely penned, as he could grafp. 
 With a no lefs determined hand, he hurried 
 out a fecond, and then a third bundle, threat- 
 ening fucb an attack upon my patience and 
 politencfs, as my fubmiflive, and often fuffering, 
 nature, almoft funk under: and yet I would 
 go (and have many a time gone) very far indeed 
 to let every man and woman have their humour. 
 
 The weather was extremely hot, and ill- 
 adapted to any very fevere trials of attention. 
 I had ever an averfion to that clafs of authors, 
 who are addifted to read their own works j and 
 to be. hedged into an enclofure, where there is 
 no room for any body but the author to move 
 a foot, or a finger (perhaps for fevera^ hours 
 together) to the deftruction of my dear fun- 
 fetting ramble, or twilight ftolen vifit to na- 
 ture, or the moon, with whom I have, you 
 know, nightly aflignations. Did not all this 
 threaten too much? Had there been but a 
 loop-hole left for apology, I would have crept 
 out at it. But the meeting was concerted by 
 my friends, on purpofe -pour me faire plaifir t 
 purely to oblige me. Martyrdom, thought I ! 
 
 Having rapidly turned over about an hun* 
 
 tired leaves, Mr. Blank-and-Prize faid (Jlill 
 
 6 turning
 
 GLEANINGS, ff. 407 
 
 turning) " I fee you are impatient for me to 
 " begin. I will not keep you on the rack 
 " much longer. Come then, come, I will 
 " have mercy on you. You mail have a little 
 " of my account of Switzerland firft, then \ve 
 " will trip acrofs the feas to America, and then 
 " I will bring you back to Europe ; after which, 
 " if we have time, yoii mail infpect my book of 
 *' maps and drawings. Let me fee, we have 
 " fix hours good, and if I find you deeply in- 
 " terefted (as 1 am fure you will be) I will 
 " ftrain a point to pafsthe whole evening at this 
 " houfe (where I am always at home), and 
 <c where, though I read my works twenty times, 
 " they wifh for them twenty more." 
 
 . Guefs my fituation! A cat pent up in a 
 
 corner never meditated more fell defigns. I 
 
 could have ftopp'd his cruel lips by cramming 
 
 his own .works down his throat ! A foliloquy 
 
 broke out in fomething betwixt a grumble 
 
 and a figh. How ! am I condemned to bear 
 
 cjown the fummer's day and night, and make 
 
 the tour of Europe and America, chained down 
 
 to this chair I in fuch a day as this! 
 
 Our hiftorian began. I anticipated periods 
 
 of a mile,, and yawnings of a league. I was 
 
 E e 2 - miftaken :
 
 408 GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 miftaken : not only the genuine matter of the 
 competitions, but the manner in which they 
 were delivered were treats. Albeit I do not 
 boaft much of the fuppofed faturnine, or 
 phlegmatic characleriftic of my countrymen, 
 and have poflibly fuffered not a little from in- 
 dulging the bias of a contrary difpofition, I 
 do allure you, my moft headlong fallies (even 
 when they have driven me from a plain path, 
 and open country into the entanglements of an 
 untrodden wood, in the which, friend and 
 reader, thou haft often fecn me involved) might 
 be deemed cold-hearted apathy to the deport- 
 ment of our literary hero, while in the a<5l of 
 reading his manufcripts ! 
 
 He firft took me into Switzerland, and had 
 he kept me there till now, amid ft the fcenery 
 with which his pen and pencil brought me 
 acquainted, I fhould have looked on myfelfas 
 a very happy mountaineer, and him as a de- 
 lightful guide ! It is as impoflible to read his 
 book without wifhing to vifit his country, 
 and to poflefs the power to feel, and to de- 
 fcribe its beauties, with the fame force, as to 
 view the exquifite and magic fcenery of De 
 Loutherbourg. 
 
 I cannot
 
 CLEANINGS, &f C. 469 
 
 I cannot repeat the name of the laft-men- 
 tioned gentleman, without fubfcribing fully 
 to your eulogium on his talents. He paints 
 to the foul. " The cloucUcapt hill," the pro- 
 found valley, the fcarce-heard rill, the deaf- 
 ning cataract, the proudeft fublimities, and all 
 the interefting minutiae of nature, in her la- 
 bours, in her paftimes, in her awful opera- 
 tions, and in her fports, are before you. He 
 places you on the fyots defcribed.- His pencil 
 carries you where its owner pleafes,; you con;- 
 vcrfe with the pcrfons; you lofe fight of the 
 painter : you forget he is fitting in a chair be- 
 iide you, or even defcribing to you the ftory 
 of his piece. He is loft in the fccne he has 
 painted : the objects he groupcs, the ftory he 
 tells, are in your heart. He perfonifies ima- 
 ginary, and annihilates actual beings. In fhort, 
 he interefts you fo much for the abfent, that 
 you neglect or overlook the prefent. For him- 
 felf, he is frequently out of light ; and we have 
 eyes and ears only for the places and perfonages 
 with whom he has brought us acquainted : but 
 when the charm on the canvafs is diffolved, 
 and De Loutherbourg comes again into view, 
 you recoiled: that he is not only one of the bcft 
 painters, but one of the worthieft men in the 
 world. This combines love of the man with 
 4 admiration
 
 4IO GLEANINGS, &V. 
 
 admiration of the artift, and your fatisfa&ion 
 is complete. 
 
 By a retrograde motion, I mail now conduct 
 you back to the frft field of our obfervation in 
 Holland, (Helvoetfluice) in order to carry you 
 progreflively to the loft, to the advantage of 
 your purfe, the eafe of your perfon, and the 
 amufement of your mind. 
 
 I mould apologife for thefe Gleanings being 
 fomewhat out of place, had it not been fettled, 
 in a compact of correfpondence, between us, 
 to take what freedoms I pleafed, with time, and 
 circumftance; to carry you backwards and 
 forwards as feemed beft unto me, taking care 
 to arrange the whole, amidft this " regular 
 confufjon," Jo as to give you the greateft va- 
 riety of entertainment, and information. 
 
 END or VOL. r.
 
 ERRATA, VOL. i. 
 
 ** As feveral of the following Errata are material to the . 
 fenfe, the Reader is requefted to mark them with his pencil in the 
 margin, previous to theperufalof the Book. 
 
 Page 15, line 21, for, the vales of * and of Cluyn, read 
 
 the vale of Clnyn. 
 Page 22, line 3, dele axd. 
 Page 12, line 5 penult, for, Barfet,rcz& Barret. 
 Page 34, line 12, for, Jit for, read -for. 
 Page 37, line 9 penult, for, was in, read were <wiihiit. 
 Page 39, line 10, for, I fhall ceafej read I (hall *?<!*>- ceafc. 
 Page 48, line 7, for, bounds, read bound. 
 Page 49, line 5, for, walls are, read -were. 
 Page 68, line 2, for, has, read taw. 
 Page 79, line 1 1 penult, inftead of, open the pat!) by 1:9 former 
 
 notices, read without formal notice. 
 
 Page 86, line 2 penult, for, unreafenablc, read wifeafonable. 
 Page 93, line z, for, oa/ either, read f/V^rr oa/. 
 Same page, line 7, for, r<zo& enjoyed, read each other enjoyed. 
 Page 95, line 4 penult, for, or of the pointer, read or the 
 
 pointer. 
 
 Page 1 08, line r and 2, for, ^/> Englifh, read /^/r Englilh* 
 Next line, for,/j pair, read their pair. 
 Page 1 18, line 6, for,// />, read A&^y are forgiven. 
 Page 124, line 9 penult, for, dead, read their dead. 
 Page 129, line 8 penult, for, unjcufcnable,K^-^unreafonalle. 
 Page iJ4> laft line, for, be their Guide, read be jour Guide. 
 Page 1 76, laft line, dele he. 
 
 Page 205, line 9, for, and by letting him, read and tell him. 
 Page 221, line 6, for, procrailinationjsK very juilly, read - 
 
 YOUNG very juftly. 
 
 Page 225, line 6 penulr, for, the cure, read the CGIV. 
 Page 244, ftanza 36, line lalt, for, a jigh ex/r^/iV, read 
 
 figk refnfs'J. 
 
 Page 265, in the extract from fympathy line 3, for, fordid na- 
 ture, read fordid natures . 
 
 Page 322, line 5, for, imperial , read imperial Cxar. 
 
 Page 335, line 10, for, invaded broken, read invaded and 
 
 broken. 
 
 Page 3^2, line 3, for, glutting, read gluttony. 
 Page 362, line 3 penult, for, ill-flafd country, read ill-fiarr'J. 
 Page 381, line 12 penult, fi>r, ini-f/}, read-WBo^r/. 
 Page 383, line 6, for, "All nature difference keeps, all," 
 read ' All nature* j difference keeps all".-
 
 
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