Travelling Memorandums made in a Tour upon the Continent of Europe in the Years 1786, 87 and 88. By the Hon. Lord Gardenftone. 80. 35. Robinsons. 1791. A Judicious and attentive traveller will discover in the most curfory progrefs fomething which may intereft or inftruct. Lord Gardenftone's defultory obfervations, though confined too often for a general reader to the merits of different inns, contain many remarks of importance. His manner is agreeable: mild, affable, willing to be pleased, he feldom difpleases his readers. It may be attributed to national partiality that our author praises the travels of Dr. Smollett. We confefs that our predeceffor in this Journal feldom appears in an agreeable light, in his different tours: the fombre hue of difappointment, or the jaundiced eye of prejudice, feems fometimes to colour his profpects. But these are the effects of circumstances, not the errors of the man; and do not really fully his character. He might have faid vix ea noftra voco; and the advocate of lord Gardenftone will not pronounce him faultlefs. On fubjects of taste, at least fo far as regards English authors, we find much room to differ from the learned judge. In the following paffage we think that we discover a series of errors, which need not be particularly pointed out. The long continued fame and profperity of the city (Marfeilles) is, I think, juftly afcribed, in a great measure, to the eftablished form of government..-The admirers of Mr. Pope, a numerous clafs both of males and females, are very apt to quote thefe lines as excellent ; For forms of government let fools conteft, The lines, however, are trivial and bad, both in poetry and fenfe.-Pope owes his exceffive reputation more to harmony and fmoothness of rhyme than to the extraordinary force of genius. and foundness of judgment, which are found in the works of our truly great poets Shakespeare, Milton, Butler, and Dryden.Superficial beauty, however, has always many admirers. I repeat again, that the poetry of thefe lines is trivial, and the opinion expreffed in them is even grofsly false.-A well contrived and judicious form of government, in the focieties of mankind, has ever been productive of falutary and permanent administration. The greatest characters exhibited in the whole hiftory of the world are those who have inftituted wife forms of government, or those who have hazarded, and, in many inftances, have facrificed their lives and fortunes for prefervation of good, or reformation of bad forms. These great men are termed fools by Mr. Pope -Butler, a better, though not fo thriving a poet, conveys much fente in a fingle line ;-he fays, No - No argument like matter of fact is.' I think it is impoffible to conteft this general pofition in fact; "That, under free and republican governments, the focieties of mankind have been more intelligent, more profperous, happy, and famous, than under monarchies;"-I mean abfolute monarchies. Indeed, a total fubjection to unlimited power, under one race or family, can with no propriety be denominated a form of government.-The Greeks and Romans moft juftly termed this mode of government tyranny, and its fubjects barbarians.-Learning, laws, and arts, appearing under monarchies, have ever been derived from free ftates; the influence of their vicinity, in all ages, reftrained and moderated the most intolerable exceffes of defpotifm.-It seems eafy to demonftrate, that, if no free and well conftituted forms of government had ever been established, the world, to this day, would have continued in a general ftate of total ignorance and barbarity. British government has much of the republic in its conftitution; one real evidence of which is, that, in fact, men of extraordinary abilities, and experimental knowledge in ftate affairs, can raife themselves to power and adminiftration by dint of popular esteem and favour, in oppofition to the will of kings, and the interest of courtiers.-The government of France is not defpotic, though the limits of the fovereign power are not yet defined and fixed, which was truly the state of Britain before the revolution.' Some of the remarks on Shakspeare, particularly on the injudicious attempts of his fucceffors in the drama to alter his plays, and on the abfurdities of commentators, are very juft. The following remark we leave without a comment. We think it new, and we believe it to be correct. Shakespeare's low characters have fo curious and so perfect a refemblance to nature, that they must always please, as I have obferved, like mafter-pieces in painting; and moreover, they never fail to illuftrate and endear the great characters. - Take away the odd, humorous, natural, characters and fcenes of Fal taff, Poins, Bardolph, Piftol, Mrs Quickly, &c. in his two plays of Henry the IV. and particularly the common foldier Williams, in his play of Henry the V., and I venture to affirm, that you at once extinguifh more than one half of our cordial efteem and admiration of that favourite hero. In the fame manner, expunge from the play of Julius Cæfar the reprefentation of a giddy, fickle, and degenerate Roman mob, and you diminish in a very great degree, our eftimation of the two noble republican characters, the honeft, fincere, philofophical Brutus, and his brave, able, and ambitious friend Caffius. The juft admirers, and frequent readers of Shakespeare, will, on their own reflections, and without farther explanation, find that these observations, though, as far as I know, they are new, are clearly applicable to every one of his plays, in which low characters are introduced.' We may obferve, alfo, that one or two of the translations of the French paffages are incorrect, but this is certainly owing to inadvertence; and what perhaps is more unpleafing, many of the names of places, &c. are incorrectly fpelt, by adhering too clofely to vulgar pronunciation. Bulleruck, Dou fing,' Franch County,' &c. are inftances of this kind; and, if lord Gardenstone felt properly the difagreeable effect of fuch pronunciations in converfation, he would have guarded against that degree of difguft which must neceffarily be felt in words written conformably to it. We fhall return to a more pleafing tafk, that of felecting fome obfervations and facts of importance. As democratic violence has fo lately attacked the abbe Raynal, with unexampled severity, we may add our traveller's opinion of this celebrated man, drawn from his own observation. I had alfo the good fortune here to be further acquainted with the celebrated abbé Raynal.-At the age of seventy-four, he has, for fome years, lived with an extraordinary abstinence of diet. He drinks no fermented liquors, and fubfifts altogether on cow's milk and bread; by this regimen he enjoys perfect health and high fpirits; he talks inceffantly, but is constantly entertaining, often inftructive; and, in converfation, he expresses himself with the fame propriety and perfpicuity as he does in his writings.' As a fpecimen of our author's defcriptive talents, we shall felect a part of the account of Montpelier. ⚫ Montpelier has a very pleasant fituation, on a rifing ground, furrounded by an extenfive, and for most part, fertile plain, within fight of the Mediterranean.-The air is uncommonly pure and harp-hurtful in confumptive cafes, but falutary to weak nerves, so I find it agrees with my conftitution :-though for an extraordinary continuance of near three weeks, the weather has been very cold, and the menftral winds blow very high.The ftates of Languedoc affemble here in winter; when, I am told, the most noble and opulent families maintain an elegant and exemplary hofpitality, without excess either in luxury or play. The provifions are good and plentiful, but generally dear ;fresh and good fish of all kinds, particularly the rouger, fole, and turbot, fell at very high prices.-The states are not inattentive to the profperity and intereft of this great province ;-yet they have hitherto failed to establish proper rules and regulations for the improvement of their fisheries, which are very ill-managed. Their univerfity long poffeffed great reputation, especially in the medical line. They are allowed to use the king's gardens, which are extensive, though neither beautiful nor richly stocked with botanical plants. In this garden was fecretely buried Narciffa, on whose death Young raves with all the romantic wildness of poetical phrenzy in his Night Thoughts. The fpot, a little gloomy grove, is known;-I faw it; it is indeed a doleful fhade. Some generous and liberal minded French persons of diftinction lately made a contribution to erect a monumental tomb over this burial-place.-The propofal has occafioned ferious contefts, not yet fettled. The orthodox are greatly offended that fuch a monument should be erected over unhallowed ground, and to the memory of a heretical girl.-The two grand walks, the Efplenade, and the Pera, are juilly admired as the finest in France; and the adjoining great aqueduct makes, as I think, a magnificent appearance, though it is a modern work, and though my friend Smollet peevishly treats it with contempt.-The perfumes and liqueurs which are made here are highly esteemed all over Europe, and are the staple branch of their commerce.' We can only find room for the defcription of the granary at Geneva; to the political obferver an object of the highest importance. -- We this day faw, and I deliberately furveyed the greatest public granary in this city.It is a very large old building of fix ftories. Every flory forms one apartment for grain ungrinded only, becaufe meal or grinded grain can by no means be long preferved-The dimenfions of each apartment are the fame-in length about thirty-fix of my paces by twenty-four in breadth and about nine feet in height.-To fupport the great extent of floor, and fuch a weight of grain, there are very large and folid wooden pillars, through every apartment from top to bottomThere are fix rows of thefe pillars, and nine pillars in every row; the distance of one pillar from another is fix of my paces -The grain is moftly wheat purchafed fome times from different parts of France, very much from Franch County, a fertile territory -not very far diftant.-They also import, occafionally, large quantities from Barbary, and from Sardinia. The lowest flat of this granary is ftored with as much grain as can be packed or heaped in it, and the quantity is gradually diminished as they rife to the upper ftories, for the obvious purpose of faving labour and expence. Every apartment has many windows which are opened in dry weather, for the benefit of ventilation. Before they lodge the grain, it is moderately and skilfully kiln-dryed, yet while it' contin des new, it must be turned over, at least once in twenty days. When this practice has been continued, till the grain becomes fufficiently firm and quite dry, generally in two years, it is rarely neceflary to turn it any more.-By this method of management, they they have experience of preferving the grain in perfect foundness for many years, and they have no doubt that it may be so preserved even for a century. When I faw this granary, the lowest apartment was full of wheat from Barbary. It is a very fine large grain, and they fay it makes excellent bread.-1 had hopes of obtaining a collection of the laws, regulations and economy, by which the public granaries are here rendered effectual means of reftraining monopolies, moderating the markets, and preventing the calamities of scarcity, or exceffive prices for bread.' The last part of the volume relates to the history of Lawrence Kirk, a village raifed and peopled by the judicious regulations of lord Gardenstone. Whatever may be his defects as an author, his good conduct in this refpect will raise his name very high in the important rank of benevolent patriots. The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D. comprehending an Account of his Studies and numerous Works, in Chronological Order; A Series of his Epiftolary Correspondence and Converfations with many eminent Perfons; and various Original Pieces of his Compofition, never before published. (Concluded from Vol. III. New Arrang. p. 268.) IT is more than once the fubject of Mr. Bofwell's complaint in thefe volumes, that he has been unable to exprefs Dr. Johnson's fentiments with fufficient force, or to carry that conviction by the argument in writing which Johnfon feemed to do in converfation. Our modern Xenophon is not aware of the fource or the extent of his obfervation. Of the impreffion made in converfation, much is owing to the circumstances, the temper of the speakers and the hearers; much depends on manner, and fomething on novelty. Mr. Bofwell was always ready to admire; and he has carried his admiration to a length frequently ridiculous, by retailing opinions trite, trifling, or falfe. The numerous inftances which he has recorded of Johnson's unreasonable severity, his uncandid churlifhnefs, and deficiency in fcientific knowledge, as well as of tafte, render the anecdotes una pleafing; nor can we pardon those who fwelled the importance of one man, eftimable and able in many refpects, till he became dictator in fubjects which he could neither feel, underftand, nor judge of. Novelty adds to the force of an obfervation, and it is neceffary to return to a work of this kind, after fome interval, to appreciate it truly. Accident has, in this way, done more than defign: when the first impreffions were worn away, and we returned to a task which had by chance been interrupted and fufpended, we felt the force of Mr. Bofwell's C.R. N. AR. (IV.) March, 1792. T remark: |