from the court to the fmallest cottage, indolence is the most predominant part of the character of the Bavarian.

"This great indolence is contrafted, in an extraordinary manner, with a ftill higher degree of bigotry. I happened to ftroll into a dark, black country beer-house, filled with clouds of tobacco, and on entering was almost stunned with the noise of the drinkers. By degrees, however, my eyes penetrated through the thick vapours, when I difcovered the priest of the place in the middle of fifteen or twenty drunken fellows. His black coat was just as much bedaubed as the frocks of his flock, and like the rest of them, he had cards in his left hand, which he ftruck fo forcibly on the dirty table, that the whole chamber trembled. At firft, I was shocked at the violent abufe they gave each other, and thought they were quarrelling; but foon found that all the blackguard appellations which fhocked me, were only modes of friendly falutation among them. Every one of them had now drank his fix or eight pots of beer, and they defired the landlord to give each a dram of brandy, by way, they faid, of locking the ftomach. But now their good humour departed, and I prefently faw, in all their looks and geftures, the moft ferious preparation for a fray. This at length broke out. At first the priest took pains to fupprefs it. He fwore and roared at last as much as the reft. Now one feized a pot and threw it at his adverfary's head, another clenched his fift, a third pulled the legs from a stool to knock his enemy on the head. Every thing, in fhort, feemed to fpeak blood and death; when on the ringing of the bell for evening prayer, Ave Maria ye- cried the priest, and down dropped their arms, they pulled off their bonnets, folded their hands, and

repeated their Ave Marias. It put me in mind of the adventure in Don Quixote, where peace is fuddenly restored in the great fray, on account of the helmet of Mambrino, and the afs's collar, by the recollection of what paffed in the Agramantine camp. As foon, however, as prayers. were over, they were all feized again with their former fury, which was the more violent, from the momentary interruption it had met with. Pots and glaffes began to fly. I obferved the curate creep under the table for fecurity, and I withdrew into the landlord's bed-chamber.

"The fame scenes occur in the inland towns among the citizens, officers, clergymen, and ftudents. They all falute each other with abusive language; all vie in hard drinking; and clofe to every church, which are fcarce lefs than twentyeight thoufand feven hundred, there is regularly a beer-house and a brothel. A ftudent at the univerfity of Ingolstadt muft carry a thick cudgel, and wear a neat cut hat; he must be able to drink from eight to ten quarts of beer at a fitting, and be always ready to fight, right or wrong, with the officers of the garrifon that is quartered there. You may fuppofe that this does not tend to raife the reputation of the univerfity, which is, indeed, but thinly vifited, though the profeffors are able men, and do their duty, although a proclamation came out fome years fince, to forbid any Bavarian from ftudying out of the country.

"No pen can defcribe the ridiculous mixtures of debauchery and devotion which every day happen. The most notorious is that which took place in the church of St. Mary, Oettingen, a few years fince, when a prieft actually deflowered a girl whom he had long purfued, and could only make a prize of there. before the altar of the Virgin.

F 2

"The

"The country people join to their indolence and devotion a certain ferocity of temper, which often gives rife to bloody fcenes. When they mean to praife a church holiday, or fome public feftival which has lately been kept, they faySuch a one was a charming affair; there were fix or eight people killed or made cripples at it! If nothing of this kind has been done, it is called a mere nothing, a fiddlefaddle business."

AN INSTANCE

OF UNCOMMON FILIAL DUTY.

A

Roman prætor had given up to the triumvir a woman of fome rank, condemned, for a capital crime, to be executed in the prifon. He who had charge of the execution, in confideration of her birth, did not immediately put her to death. He even ventured to let her daughter have access to her in prifon; carefully fearching her, however, as she went in, left the fhould carry with her any fuftenance; concluding, that in a few days the mother muft of course perish for want, and that the feverity of putting a woman of family to a violent death, by the hand of the executioner, might thus be avoided. Some days paffing in this manner, the triumvir began to wonder that the daughter ftill came to vifit her mother, and could by no means comprehend, how the latter fhould live fo long. Watching therefore, carefully, what paffed in the interview between them, he found, to his great astonishment, that the life of the mother had been, all this while, fupported by the milk of the daughter, who came to the prifon every day, to give her mother her breafts to fuck. The ftrange contrivance between them was reprefented to the judges, and procured

a pardon for the mother. Nor was it thought fufficient to give to fo dutiful a daughter the forfeited life of her condemned mother, but they were both maintained afterwards by a penfion fettled on them for life; and the ground upon which the prifon ftood was confecrated, and a temple to Filial Piety built upon it.

INSTANCE

OF REMARKABLE CONTINENCE, MENTIONED BY LIVY.

THE foldiers, after the taking of New Carthage, brought before Scipio Africanus, a young lady of fuch diftinguished beauty, that the attracted the eyes of all wherever she went. Scipio, by enquiring concerning her country and parents, among other things learned, that fhe was betrothed to Allucius, prince of the Celtiberians. He immediately ordered her parents and bridegroom to be fent for. In the mean time he was informed, that the young prince was fo exceffively enamoured of his bride, that he could not furvive the lofs of her. For this reason, as soon as he appeared, and before he fpoke to her parents, he took great care to talk with him. As you and I are both young," faid he, "we can converfe together with greater freedom. When your bride, who had fallen into the hands of my foldiers, was brought before me, I was informed that you loved her paffionately; and, in truth, her perfect beauty left me no room to doubt of it. If I were at liberty to indulge a youthful paffion, I mean honourable and lawful wedlock, and were not folely engroffed by the affairs of my republic, I

66

might have hoped to have been pardoned my exceffive love for fo charming a miftrefs. But as I am fituated, and have it in my power, with pleafure I promote your hap

pinefs.

THE STORY

OF DAMON AND PYTHIAS.

AMON and Pythias, of the

D'Pythagorean fect in philofophy, lived in the time of Dionyfius, the tyrant of Sicily. Their mutual friendship was fo ftrong, that they were ready to die for one another. One of the two (for it is not known which) being condemned to death by the tyrant, obtained leave to go into his own country, to fettle his affairs, on condition that the other fhould confent to be imprifoned in his ftead, and put to death for him, if he did not return before the day of execution. The attention of every one, and efpecially of the tyrant himfelf, was excited to the higheft pitch; as every body was curious to fee what would be the event of fo ftrange an affair. When the time was almost elapsed, and he who was gone did not appear, the rafhnefs of the other, whofe fanguine friendfhip had put him upon running fo feemingly defperate a hazard, was univerfally blamed. But he fill

declared, that he had not the leaft fhadow of doubt in his mind of his friend's fidelity. The event fhewed how well he knew him, He came in due time, and furrendered himfelf to that fate, which he had no reafon to think he fhould efcape; and which he did not defire to efcape by leaving his friend to fuffer it in his place. Such fidelity foftened even the favage heart of Dionyfius himself. He pardoned the con

demned. He gave the two friends to one another; and begged they would take himself in for a third.

INSTANCE

OF THE RESPECT PAID BY THE L'ACEDEMONIANS AND ATHENIANS TO OLD AGE, MENTIONED BY STEELE.

I

T happened at Athens, during a public representation of fome play exhibited in honour of the commonwealth, that an old gentleman came too late for a place fuitable to his age and quality. Many

ab the young gentlemen, who obferved the difficulty and confufion he was in, made figns to him that they would accommodate him if he came where they fat: the good man buftled through the crowd accordingly; but when he came to the feats to which he was in

vited, the jest was, to fit close and expofe him, as he stood, out of The frolic went round all the Athecountenance, to the whole audience. nian benches. But, on those occafions, there were alfo particular places affigned for foreigners: when the good man kulked towards the boxes appointed for the Lacedæmonians, that honeft people, more virtuous than polite, rose up all to a man, and, with the greatest respect, received him among them. The Athenians, being fenfibly touched with a fenfe of the Spartan virtue, and their own degeneracy, gave a thunder of applaufe; and the old man cried out, "The Athenians underftand what is good, but the Lacedæmonians practise it."

AN ACCOUNT OF VALENTINE AND UNNION, BY STEELE.

AT A

Hamilton's

Hamilton's regiment, one Unnion,
a corporal, and one Valentine, a
private centinel: there happened
between these two men a difpute

about an affair of love, which, upon fome aggravations, grew to an irreconcileable hatred. Unnion being the officer of Valentine, took all opportunities even to ftrike his rival, and profefs the fpite and revenge which moved him to it. The centinel bore it without refiftance; but frequently faid, he would die to be revenged of that tyrant. They had fpent whole months in this manner, the one injuring, the other complaining; when, in the midst of this rage towards each other, they were commanded upon the attack of the caffle, where the corporal received a fhot in the thigh, and fell; French preffing on, and he expecting to be trampled to death, called out to his enemy, "Ah, Valentine! can you leave me here?" Valentine immediately ran back, and in the midst of a thick fire of the French, took the corporal upon his back, and brought him through all that danger as far as the abbey of Salfine, where a cannon-ball took off his head: his body fell under his enemy whom he was carrying off. -Unnion immediately forgot his wound, rose up, tearing his hair, and then threw himself upon the bleeding carcafe, crying, "Ah, Valentine! was it for me, who have fo barbaroufly used thee, that thou haft died? I will not live after thee." He was not by any means to be forced from the body, but was removed with it bleeding in his arms, and attended with tears by all their comrades who knew their enmity. When he was brought to a tent, his wounds were dreffed. by force; but the next day, ftill calling upon Valentine, and lamenting his cruelties to him, he died in the pangs of remorfe.

humi

REMARKABLE CUSTOMS,

WHICH FORMERLY PREVAILED IN IRELAND, FROM FERRAR'S HISTORY OF LIMERICK.

HERE were two customs, fof

Ttering and geflipping, peculias

to this country, not known in any other nation, the remains of which are not quite abolished. The rich men fold or exchanged their children, and the poorer fort bought them. Foftering was confidered a ftronger alliance than blood, and was the caufe of many ftrong combinations and factions. The English lords and freeholders banished their own followers by intolerable oppreffion; and by means of these customs they became, in one country, like the Irish, in their language, their dress, their manner of fighting, and all the cuftoms of life. As for oppreffion, extortion, and other trefpaffes, the weaker had never any remedy against the ftronger; therefore no man could enjoy his life, his wife, his lands or goods, in fafety, if a greater man had an inclination to them.

STRANGE