Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

register-office, for the denoting all that die, I cannot give a particular answer to this query; only this I can fay, that there are not ten unfeasoned hands (as we term them) that die now: whereas, heretofore not one of five efcaped the first year.

18. English fhips, near eighty, come out of England and Ire. land every year for tobacco; fome few New-England ketches; but of our own we never yet had more than two at a time, and those not more than twenty tons burden.

19, zo. Mighty and deftructive have been the obftructions to our trade and navigation by that fevere act of parliament which excludes us from having any commerce with any nation in Europe but our own; fo that we cannot add to our plantation any commodity that grows out of it; as olive-trees, cotton, or vines: befides this, we cannot procure any skilful men for our now hopeful commodity of filk: and it is not lawful for us to carry a pipe ftave, or a bushel of corn, to any place in Europe out of the King's dominions. If this were for his Majefty's fervice, or the good of the fubject, we fhould not repine, whatever were our fufferings: but, on my foul, it is the contrary for both; and this is the caufe why no fmall or great veffels are built here. For we are most obedient to all laws, whilft the New-England men break through them, and trade to any place that their interest leads them to. I know of no improvement that can be made in trade, unless we had liberty to transport our pipe ftaves, timber, and corn, to other places befides the king's dominions.'

REMARK. The law did not prohibit what made Sir William so unhappy.

21, 22. No goods, either imported or exported, pay any duties here, only the 2 s. a hogfhead on tobacco exported, which is to defray all public charges: and this year we could not get an account of more than 15,000 hogfheads. But of this revenue the King allows me 1000l. yearly; with which I must maintain the port of my place, and a hundred extraordinary charges that cannot be put into any public account: and I can knowingly affirm, that there is no government of ten years ftanding but is allowed thrice as much; but I am fupported by my hopes that his Majesty will one day confider me.-There is no revenue arifing to his Majefty, but out of the quitrents and this he hath given away to a deferving fervant, Colonel Henry Norwood.

[ocr errors]

23. The fame courfe is taken here, for inftructing the people, as there is in England: Out of towns every man inftructs his own children according to his ability. We have forty-eight parishes, and our minifters are well paid, and by my confent fhould be better, if they would pray oftener and preach lefs: but, as of all other commodities, fo of this, the worst are fent us, and we have few that we can boast of, fince the perfecution in Cromwell's tyranny drove divers worthy men hither. Yet I thank God, there are no free schools, nor printing; and I hope we shall not have thefe hundred years. For learning has brought difobedience, and herefy, and fects into the world, and printing has divulged them and libels against the best government: God keep us from both!

Virginia, 20 June, 1671.

WILLIAM BERKELEY."

If there be any spirits, ftill remaining, congenial with that of Sir William Berkeley, who are difpofed to fay Amen to this wife and pious prayer; let them no longer despair of fuppreffing "fects, herefies, and difobedience:" they have nothing more to do, than to make fufficient intereft in Parliament for paffing an, Act to abolifh fchools, and prohibit the use of the art of printing.

This volume brings down the history of the United Colonies to the time of the Revolution: in the next, the Author proposes to continue it to the Peace in 1763.

ART. IV. Obfervations made during a Tour through Parts of England, Scotland, and Wales. In a Series of Letters, 4to. Ios. 6 d.

Boards. Becket. 1780.

IN this tour-making age, different travellers are excited by different motives. One is prompted by curiofity; different motives.

another

is urged by business, or the purfuit of health; others fet out in fearch of that amufement which they cannot meet with by staying at home; and there are, who induftriously go forth in search of materials to make a book.

In the first of thefe claffes we must rank the Author of the Obfervations now before us. We are informed that he is a man of fortune, who, very laudably, wifhed to fee, and to know, what is worth feeing and knowing, in his own country,-a part of the globe which the young English Traveller generally overlooks in perufing the map of the GRAND TOUR.

To go, to fee, and to forget, is commonly the fum total of what is performed by those who travel for amufement; but our Obferver, unwilling to lofe the advantages which he might derive from his excurtions, refolved to treasure up whatever was worthy of remembrance: in order to which, he has thrown his remarks, as they occurred, into the form of a Series of Letters, addreffed to a friend, who had enjoined him to communicate, in detail, the fruit of his refearches." But here, then," our Readers will fay, "is a book produced, Mr. Reviewer! which may bring the Author to rank with your last mentioned classthe Tour-maker by profeffion, or trade."-True, this may feem to be the cafe; but we know that it is not fo, in fact: the publication before us owes its existence, not to lucrative views, but to a motive of pure benevolence; the profits arifing from the fale being appropriated to answer a purpose, pointed out to the generous Author by the finger of Humanity.

With regard to the literary abilities of our Obfervator, we have to commend his vivacity, his fentimental turn, and his good tafte. He writes, as moft Gentlemen-travellers will write, not having the bufinefs of publication in view,-whofe end is

their own entertainment,-and who put down their obfervations as they flow-currente calamo, and currente vehiculo, at the inn, or on the road.

In his manner, this agreeable but not very profound writer feems akin to the Shandy-family: lively, good-humoured, and benign,-an happy mixture of mirth with the milk of human kindness.

But though the ftyle of this fentimental defcriber is pleasant, he gives us, as Critics, much caufe of complaint, on account fometimes of his frivolity, but much oftener of his incorrectness; in which last refpect he is faulty, even to an extreme. It is, indeed, furprising, that a perfon of education, reading, and tafte, could be fo inattentive to his native language, as this gentleman appears to have been; or that, if he was himself averte to what he might deem the drudgery of filing and polishing, he did not employ fome friend, or polisher by profeffion, to do the work for him! but more of this in the note *.

[ocr errors]

As

* A Correfpondent, who feems, indeed, to have too feriously taken offence at our Author's inadvertencies and flips of expreffion, has noted fome defects in the following terms: --It is furprising, fays he, that his [the Author's own ear fhould not be hurt by fuch expreffions as, every here and there;--from here; or by the continual repetition of the word however, which occurs in almost every page, fometimes four times in twenty lines. We next came to-we next arrived at-next afcended, are favourite expreflions. Having concluded-baving arrived-being arrived-follow one another in quick fucceffion. Wardour is first magnificent, then too low, then heavy, and at laft, void of elegance. Groves erect themselves. A little building is placed round the head of (the river) Stour, which building is afterwards faid to be a pump. i. e. A pump is placed round the head of the Stour. Stourton is a lordship of very old creation. They advanced upon a bridge of one arch, wonderfully eafy of afcent. Salisbury cathedral is in form of a lanthorn, Southampton is a village, Longleat and Haddon are caftles. Of the tender and pathetic take the following: "Hail gentle courtefy!-Thy dimpled fmile doft beckon us as we journey it along -Thau Scattereft rofes to the fhorn lamb."

A picture of Jane fhore is "admirable not fo much for its execution or defign, as for its beauty, humility and refignation, which are divinely worked into the countenance.”

"

[ocr errors]

• Rembrandt's fine picture of Daniel before Nebuchadnezzar, at Lord Scarfdale's, is a moft highly finished picture, especially the drapery, though Daniel's hair and the apparel in general is prepofterous.' A catalogue of the buftos, &c. at Wilton takes up eleven pages; the journey from Belford (or Belfort as he calls it) in Northumberland to Edinburgh is described in eight lines.

[ocr errors]

Lumley Cattle, the venerable feat of Lord Scarborough, is conyerted into Ludlow Castle, and is faid to contain nothing worthy obfervation

1

As a fpecimen of this performance, we shall give the ingenious though careless Author's account of his adventure in exploring a vaft cavern in Derbyfhire, feldom mentioned by thofe who have defcribed "the wonders of the Peake "-After relating what he faw in Poole's Hole, and in the cavern vulgarly called the D-l's A-e in the Peake," but here ftyled Peake's Hole, our Author and Co. were tempted to vifit The three Mile Cavern, which is fuppofed to communicate, at leaft by the ftream of water, with Peake's Hole; this we gather from the defcription before us, if we have not mistaken it. We fhall here give the 18th letter entire.

Auguft 1778.

The last place I parted with you from was Peake's Hole, and there you will naturally have concluded that our underground workings had been at an end. But alas! my friend, fate had otherwise ordained it; the fpirit of curiofity had warped our rational faculties; danger had become familiar to us, and we therefore determined upon a plan that wifer men would have fhuddered at the idea of. This was no less than the exploring the three-mile cavern which I have already mentioned. Summoning therefore a poffe-comitatus of all the miners of the place, we in brief told them our intention. Aftonifhment at firft prevented them from anfwering us; none but two or three had ever ventured upon a trial; custom even had not reconciled the others to fo hazardous an enterprize. A promife of reward, however, prevailed upon the whole, and they accordingly agreed to attend us in the morning. In the mean time a meffenger being difpatched to Sheffield for torches, we began feriously to prepare for our defcent; this was foon accomplished. A paper of memorandums was left in our efcrutores, and a card, in cafe of an accident, telling who our friends were, and where they were to be found, was left upon our table in the inn. Thes guarding against the world that could befal us, at leaft fo far as it refpected matters

fervation excepting a painting of Sir Thomas More. The judicious, the informing, Mr. Pennant fays, "it is a noble repofitory of portraits."

Netherby, changed into Leatherby, was not vifited (by travellers of curiofity too who were fo near as Carl fle), and the owner is dignified with a peerage. Would this fummons intitle him to take his feat in the Houfe of Peers, there is no doubt he would receive the travellers in their next tour, with the dimpled fmiles of gentle courtefy.

6

• Mr. Duncomb's collection of pictures is known to be a fine one; this gentleman fays, the pictures are in general good. The terrace at Duncomb Park is flightly mentioned, but Rivers Abbey totally omitted

So far our Correfpondent, who, unluckily for this performance, does not feem to have perufed it when he was in the humour to be eafily pleased. We have not printed the whole of his letter: not chufing to give too much "way and room," as Shakespear fays, to any man's af erities but our own.

which

which we might leave behind, we early the next morning, accompanied by a chofen fet of our new guides, repaired to the top of the mountain, where the fiffure opened itfelf about three feet in diameter. Provided by the miners with proper dreffes, we then ftripped ourfelves of our own outward apparel, and putting on each a pair of canvas trowfers, a flannel jacket, and over that a canvas frock, with a handkerchief round our heads, and a miner's cap, we all proceeded one by one down this dread abyfs, for the distance of about four hundred and twenty feet perpendicular. Imagination can fcarcely form a defcent more perilous than this was. The only fteps to tread on, or things to hold by, were bits of oak ftuck into the fides, inhabitants of that place fince it was firft discovered, and which from want of use, it was natural to suppose might have either rotted or loosened themselves in the earth; moreover, a falfe ftep hurled one inevitably to deftruction: fortunately all was firm, and we arrived at the bottom unhurt. From hence, ranging ourselves in order, with a large bundle of candles and torches, independent of the candles we each of us carried, we proceeded on with tolerable facility through two or three lofty and most beautifully enamelled caverns of fpar. This we conceived an earneft of future delight, and the tablets were accordingly fet at work; but, alas! how great was our mistake! Here our difficulties were to commence. Following the guide, who befides another who was with us, were the only two of the party who had ever penetrated before, we forced our way with infinite ftruggles, through a narrow space, between two rocks, and thence getting on our hands and knees, were, for the full diflance of a mile, obliged to crawl without ever daring to lift up our heads, the paffage being too low. Filled with mud, dirt, and a multitude of bits of rocks, our progrefs was painful indeed: we still, however, hoped for fomething better. On we accordingly proceeded, till a dreadful noife, rumbling along the horrible crevices of the cave, gave us to underftand that we were near a river: to this then we accordingly hurried. But defcription is inadequate to any thing like a reprefentation of this fcene. A vaft ocean feemed roaring in upon us; in fome places bursting with inconceivable impetuofity, and at others falling through dreadful chasms, naturally formed to give it vent: through this our journey was to continue. A cry of light, however, alarmed us: the confinement of the air, and the narrowness of our track, had extinguished all our torches; the candles too, all but one fmall end, were totally expended. We knew not what to do. In vain the miners hallooed for the fupply which was to have come behind; no answer was to be heard. Our fate feemed now inevitable; but we who were' the principals, fortunately expreffed no fear. In this extremity a gallant fellow, who yet was ignorant of the place, but from experience knew the danger we were in, fuddenly difappeared, and after groping for a confiderable time in the difmal horrors of the place, at length returned to us with a fupply of candles, having difcovered his companions unto whom they were given in charge, almoft petrified with fear, and unable to continue after us from their apprehenfion. Reprieved in this manner from a death which feemed to await us, in its most horrid form, we onward proceeded with a fresh recruit of fpirits; and plunging into the river above our waifts, fcarce tenable

from

« AnteriorContinua »