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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in England in 1782, by Charles P. Moritz
+
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+Title: Travels in England in 1782
+
+Author: Charles P. Moritz
+
+Release Date: March, 2004  [EBook #5249]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on June 11, 2002]
+[Most recently updated: June 11, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TRAVELS IN ENGLAND IN 1782 ***
+
+
+
+
+Transcribed from the 1886 Cassell & Company edition by David Price,
+email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk
+
+
+
+
+TRAVELS IN ENGLAND IN 1782
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+
+Charles P. Moritz's "Travels, chiefly on foot, through several parts
+of England in 1782, described in Letters to a Friend," were
+translated from the German by a lady, and published in 1795.  John
+Pinkerton included them in the second volume of his Collection of
+Voyages and Travels.
+
+The writer of this account of England as it was about a hundred
+years ago, and seven years before the French Revolution, was a young
+Prussian clergyman, simply religious, calmly enthusiastic for the
+freer forms of citizenship, which he found in England and contrasted
+with the military system of Berlin.  The touch of his times was upon
+him, with some of the feeling that caused Frenchmen, after the first
+outbreak of the Revolution, to hail Englishmen as "their forerunners
+in the glorious race."  He had learnt English at home, and read
+Milton, whose name was inscribed then in German literature on the
+banners of the free.
+
+In 1782 Charles Moritz came to England with little in his purse and
+"Paradise Lost" in his pocket, which he meant to read in the Land of
+Milton.  He came ready to admire, and enthusiasm adds some colour to
+his earliest impressions; but when they were coloured again by hard
+experience, the quiet living sympathy remained.  There is nothing
+small in the young Pastor Moritz, we feel a noble nature in his true
+simplicity of character.
+
+He stayed seven weeks with us, three of them in London.  He
+travelled on foot to Richmond, Windsor, Oxford, Birmingham, and
+Matlock, with some experience of a stage coach on the way back; and
+when, in dread of being hurled from his perch on the top as the
+coach flew down hill, he tried a safer berth among the luggage in
+the basket, he had further experience.  It was like that of Hood's
+old lady, in the same place of inviting shelter, who, when she crept
+out, had only breath enough left to murmur, "Oh, them boxes!"
+
+Pastor Moritz's experience of inns was such as he hardly could pick
+up in these days of the free use of the feet.  But in those days
+everybody who was anybody rode.  And even now, there might be cold
+welcome to a shabby-looking pedestrian without a knapsack.  Pastor
+Moritz had his Milton in one pocket and his change of linen in the
+other.  From some inns he was turned away as a tramp, and in others
+he found cold comfort.  Yet he could be proud of a bit of practical
+wisdom drawn by himself out of the "Vicar of Wakefield," that taught
+him to conciliate the innkeeper by drinking with him; and the more
+the innkeeper drank of the ale ordered the better, because Pastor
+Moritz did not like it, and it did not like him.  He also felt
+experienced in the ways of the world when, having taken example from
+the manners of a bar-maid, if he drank in a full room he did not
+omit to say, "Your healths, gentlemen all."
+
+Fielding's Parson Adams, with his AEschylus in his pocket, and
+Parson Moritz with his Milton, have points of likeness that bear
+strong witness to Fielding's power of entering into the spirit of a
+true and gentle nature.  After the first touches of enthusiastic
+sentiment, that represent real freshness of enjoyment, there is no
+reaction to excess in opposite extreme.  The young foot traveller
+settles down to simple truth, retains his faith in English
+character, and reports ill-usage without a word of bitterness.
+
+The great charm of this book is its unconscious expression of the
+writer's character.  His simple truthfulness presents to us of 1886
+as much of the England of 1782 as he was able to see with eyes full
+of intelligence and a heart full of kindness.  He heard Burke speak
+on the death of his friend and patron Lord Rockingham, with sudden
+rebuke to an indolent and inattentive house.  He heard young Pitt,
+and saw how he could fix, boy as he looked, every man's attention.
+
+
+"Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us
+To see oursels as others see us!
+It wad frae many a blunder free us,
+   And foolish notion."
+
+
+And when the power is so friendly as that of the Pastor Moritz, we
+may, if wise, know ourselves better than from a thousand satires,
+but if foolish we may let all run into self-praise.
+
+H. M.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+
+On the Thames, 31st May.
+
+At length, my dearest Gedike, I find myself safely landed on the
+happy shores of that country, a sight of which has, for many years,
+been my most earnest wish; and whither I have so often in
+imagination transported myself.  A few hours ago the green hills of
+England yet swam imperfectly before our eyes, scarcely perceptible
+in the distant horizon:  they now unfold themselves on either side,
+forming as it were a double amphitheatre.  The sun bursts through
+the clouds, and gilds alternately the shrubs and meadows on the
+distant shores, and we now espy the tops of two masts of ships just
+peeping above the surface of the deep.  What an awful warning to
+adventurous men!  We now sail close by those very sands (the
+Goodwin) where so many unfortunate persons have found their graves.
+
+The shores now regularly draw nearer to each other:  the danger of
+the voyage is over; and the season for enjoyment, unembittered by
+cares, commences.  How do we feel ourselves, we, who have long been
+wandering as it were, in a boundless space, on having once more
+gained prospects that are not without limits!  I should imagine our
+sensations as somewhat like those of the traveller who traverses the
+immeasurable deserts of America, when fortunately he obtains a hut
+wherein to shelter himself; in those moments he certainly enjoys
+himself; nor does he then complain of its being too small.  It is
+indeed the lot of man to be always circumscribed to a narrow space,
+even when he wanders over the most extensive regions; even when the
+huge sea envelops him all around, and wraps him close to its bosom,
+in the act, as it were, of swallowing him up in a moment:  still he
+is separated from all the circumjacent immensity of space only by
+one small part, or insignificant portion of that immensity.
+
+That portion of this space, which I now see surrounding me, is a
+most delightful selection from the whole of beautiful nature.  Here
+is the Thames full of large and small ships and boats, dispersed
+here and there, which are either sailing on with us, or lying at
+anchor; and there the hills on either side, clad with so soft and
+mild a green, as I have nowhere else ever seen equalled.  The
+charming banks of the Elbe, which I so lately quitted, are as much
+surpassed by these shores as autumn is by spring!  I see everywhere
+nothing but fertile and cultivated lands; and those living hedges
+which in England more than in any other country, form the boundaries
+of the green cornfields, and give to the whole of the distant
+country the appearance of a large and majestic garden.  The neat
+villages and small towns with sundry intermediate country seats,
+suggest ideas of prosperity and opulence which is not possible to
+describe.
+
+The prospect towards Gravesend is particularly beautiful.  It is a
+clever little town, built on the side of a hill; about which there
+lie hill and dale and meadows, and arable land, intermixed with
+pleasure grounds and country seats; all diversified in the most
+agreeable manner.  On one of the highest of these hills near
+Gravesend stands a windmill, which is a very good object, as you see
+it at some distance, as well as part of the country around it, on
+the windings of the Thames.  But as few human pleasures are ever
+complete and perfect, we too, amidst the pleasing contemplation of
+all these beauties, found ourselves exposed on the quarter-deck to
+uncommonly cold and piercing weather.  An unintermitting violent
+shower of rain has driven me into the cabin, where I am now
+endeavouring to divert a gloomy hour by giving you the description
+of a pleasing one.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+
+London, 2nd June.
+
+This morning those of us who were fellow passengers together in the
+great cabin, being six in number, requested to be set on shore in a
+boat, a little before the vessel got to Dartford, which is still
+sixteen miles from London.  This expedient is generally adopted,
+instead of going up the Thames, towards London, where on account of
+the astonishing number of ships, which are always more crowded
+together the nearer you approach the city, it frequently requires
+many days before a ship can finish her passage.  He therefore who
+wishes to lose no time unnecessarily, and wishes also to avoid other
+inconveniences, such as frequent stoppages, and perhaps, some
+alarming dashings against other ships, prefers travelling those few
+miles by land in a post-chaise, which is not very expensive,
+especially when three join together, as three passengers pay no more
+than one.  This indulgence is allowed by act of parliament.
+
+As we left the vessel we were honoured with a general huzza, or in
+the English phrase with three cheers, echoed from the German sailors
+of our ship.  This nautical style of bidding their friends farewell
+our Germans have learned from the English.  The cliff where we
+landed was white and chalky, and as the distance was not great, nor
+other means of conveyance at hand, we resolved to go on foot to
+Dartford:  immediately on landing we had a pretty steep hill to
+climb, and that gained, we arrived at the first English village,
+where an uncommon neatness in the structure of the houses, which in
+general are built with red bricks and flat roofs, struck me with a
+pleasing surprise, especially when I compared them with the long,
+rambling, inconvenient, and singularly mean cottages of our
+peasants.  We now continued our way through the different villages,
+each furnished with his staff, and thus exhibited no remote
+resemblance of a caravan.  Some few people who met us seemed to
+stare at us, struck, perhaps, by the singularity of our dress, or
+the peculiarity of our manner of travelling.  On our route we passed
+a wood where a troop of gipsies had taken up their abode around a
+fire under a tree.  The country, as we continued to advance, became
+more and more beautiful.  Naturally, perhaps, the earth is
+everywhere pretty much alike, but how different is it rendered by
+art!  How different is that on which I now tread from ours, and
+every other spot I have ever seen.  The soil is rich even to
+exuberance, the verdure of the trees and hedges, in short the whole
+of this paradisaical region is without a parallel!  The roads too
+are incomparable; I am astonished how they have got them so firm and
+solid; every step I took I felt, and was conscious it was English
+ground on which I trod.
+
+We breakfasted at Dartford.  Here, for the first time, I saw an
+English soldier, in his red uniform, his hair cut short and combed
+back on his forehead, so as to afford a full view of his fine,
+broad, manly face.  Here too I first saw (what I deemed a true
+English fight) in the street, two boys boxing.
+
+Our little party now separated, and got into two post-chaises, each
+of which hold three persons, though it must be owned three cannot
+sit quite so commodiously in these chaises as two:  the hire of a
+post-chaise is a shilling for every English mile.  They may be
+compared to our extra posts, because they are to be had at all
+times.  But these carriages are very neat and lightly built, so that
+you hardly perceive their motion as they roll along these firm
+smooth roads; they have windows in front, and on both sides.  The
+horses are generally good, and the postillions particularly smart
+and active, and always ride on a full trot.  The one we had wore his
+hair cut short, a round hat, and a brown jacket of tolerable fine
+cloth, with a nosegay in his bosom.  Now and then, when he drove
+very hard, he looked round, and with a smile seemed to solicit our
+approbation.  A thousand charming spots, and beautiful landscapes,
+on which my eye would long have dwelt with rapture, were now rapidly
+passed with the speed of an arrow.
+
+Our road appeared to be undulatory, and our journey, like the
+journey of life, seemed to be a pretty regular alternation of up
+hill and down, and here and there it was diversified with copses and
+woods; the majestic Thames every now and then, like a little forest
+of masts, rising to our view, and anon losing itself among the
+delightful towns and villages.  The amazing large signs which at the
+entrance of villages hang in the middle of the street, being
+fastened to large beams, which are extended across the street from
+one house to another opposite to it, particularly struck me; these
+sign-posts have the appearance of gates or of gateways, for which I
+at first took them, but the whole apparatus, unnecessarily large as
+it seems to be, is intended for nothing more than to tell the
+inquisitive traveller that there is an inn.  At length, stunned as
+it were by this constant rapid succession of interesting objects to
+engage our attention, we arrived at Greenwich nearly in a state of
+stupefaction.
+
+The Prospect of London.
+
+We first descried it enveloped in a thick smoke or fog.  St. Paul's
+arose like some huge mountain above the enormous mass of smaller
+buildings.  The Monument, a very lofty column, erected in memory of
+the great fire of London, exhibited to us, perhaps, chiefly on
+account of its immense height, apparently so disproportioned to its
+other dimensions (for it actually struck us as resembling rather a
+slender mast, towering up in immeasurable height into the clouds,
+than as that it really is, a stately obelisk) an unusual and
+singular appearance.  Still we went on, and drew nearer and nearer
+with amazing velocity, and the surrounding objects became every
+moment more distinct.  Westminster Abbey, the Tower, a steeple, one
+church, and then another, presented themselves to our view; and we
+could now plainly distinguish the high round chimneys on the tops of
+the houses, which yet seemed to us to form an innumerable number of
+smaller spires, or steeples.
+
+The road from Greenwich to London is actually busier and far more
+alive than the most frequented streets in Berlin.  At every step we
+met people on horseback, in carriages, and foot passengers; and
+everywhere also, and on each side of the road, well-built and noble
+houses, whilst all along, at proper distances, the road was lined
+with lamp-posts.  One thing, in particular, struck and surprised me
+not a little.  This was the number of people we met riding and
+walking with spectacles on, among whom were many who appeared stout,
+healthy, and young.  We were stopped at least three times at
+barriers or gates, here called turnpikes, to pay a duty or toll
+which, however small, as being generally paid in their copper
+coinage, in the end amounted to some shillings.
+
+At length we arrived at the magnificent bridge of Westminster.  The
+prospect from this bridge alone seems to afford one the epitome of a
+journey, or a voyage in miniature, as containing something of
+everything that mostly occurs on a journey.  It is a little
+assemblage of contrasts and contrarieties.  In contrast to the
+round, modern, and majestic cathedral of St. Paul's on your right,
+the venerable, old-fashioned, and hugely noble, long abbey of
+Westminster, with its enormous pointed roof, rises on the left.
+Down the Thames to the right you see Blackfriar's Bridge, which does
+not yield much, if at all, in beauty to that of Westminster; on the
+left bank of the Thames are delightful terraces, planted with trees,
+and those new tasteful buildings called the Adelphi.  On the Thames
+itself are countless swarms of little boats passing and repassing,
+many with one mast and one sail, and many with none, in which
+persons of all ranks are carried over.  Thus there is hardly less
+stir and bustle on this river, than there is in some of its own
+London's crowded streets.  Here, indeed, you no longer see great
+ships, for they come no farther than London Bridge
+
+We now drove into the city by Charing Cross, and along the Strand,
+to those very Adelphi Buildings which had just afforded us so
+charming a prospect on Westminster Bridge.
+
+My two travelling companions, both in the ship and the post-chaise,
+were two young Englishmen, who living in this part of the town,
+obligingly offered me any assistance and services in their power,
+and in particular, to procure me a lodging the same day in their
+neighbourhood.
+
+In the streets through which we passed, I must own the houses in
+general struck me as if they were dark and gloomy, and yet at the
+same time they also struck me as prodigiously great and majestic.
+At that moment, I could not in my own mind compare the external view
+of London with that of any other city I had ever before seen.  But I
+remember (and surely it is singular) that about five years ago, on
+my first entrance into Leipzig, I had the very same sensations I now
+felt.  It is possible that the high houses, by which the streets at
+Leipzig are partly darkened, the great number of shops, and the
+crowd of people, such as till then I had never seen, might have some
+faint resemblance with the scene now surrounding me in London.
+
+There are everywhere leading from the Strand to the Thames, some
+well-built, lesser, or subordinate streets, of which the Adelphi
+Buildings are now by far the foremost.  One district in this
+neighbourhood goes by the name of York Buildings, and in this lies
+George Street, where my two travelling companions lived.  There
+reigns in those smaller streets towards the Thames so pleasing a
+calm, compared to the tumult and bustle of people, and carriages,
+and horses, that are constantly going up and down the Strand, that
+in going into one of them you can hardly help fancying yourself
+removed at a distance from the noise of the city, even whilst the
+noisiest part of it is still so near at hand.
+
+It might be about ten or eleven o'clock when we arrived here.  After
+the two Englishmen had first given me some breakfast at their
+lodgings, which consisted of tea and bread and butter, they went
+about with me themselves, in their own neighbourhood, in search of
+an apartment, which they at length procured for me for sixteen
+shillings a week, at the house of a tailor's widow who lived
+opposite to them.  It was very fortunate, on other accounts, that
+they went with me, for equipped as I was, having neither brought
+clean linen nor change of clothes from my trunk, I might perhaps
+have found it difficult to obtain good lodgings.
+
+It was a very uncommon but pleasing sensation I experienced on being
+now, for the first time in my life, entirely among Englishmen:
+among people whose language was foreign, their manners foreign, and
+in a foreign climate, with whom, notwithstanding, I could converse
+as familiarly as though we had been educated together from our
+infancy.  It is certainly an inestimable advantage to understand the
+language of the country through which you travel.  I did not at
+first give the people I was with any reason to suspect I could speak
+English, but I soon found that the more I spoke, the more attention
+and regard I met with.  I now occupy a large room in front on the
+ground floor, which has a carpet and mats, and is very neatly
+furnished; the chairs are covered with leather, and the tables are
+of mahogany.  Adjoining to this I have another large room.  I may do
+just as I please, and keep my own tea, coffee, bread and butter, for
+which purpose my landlady has given me a cupboard in my room, which
+locks up.
+
+The family consists of the mistress of the house, her maid, and her
+two sons, Jacky and Jerry; singular abbreviations for John and
+Jeremiah.  The eldest, Jacky, about twelve years old, is a very
+lively boy, and often entertains me in the most pleasing manner by
+relating to me his different employments at school, and afterwards
+desiring me in my turn to relate to him all manner of things about
+Germany.  He repeats his amo, amas, amavi, in the same singing tone
+as our common school-boys.  As I happened once when he was by, to
+hum a lively tune, he stared at me with surprise, and then reminded
+me it was Sunday; and so, that I might not forfeit his good opinion
+by any appearance of levity, I gave him to understand that, in the
+hurry of my journey, I had forgotten the day.  He has already shown
+me St. James's Park, which is not far from hence; and now let me
+give you some description of the renowned
+
+St. James's Park.
+
+The park is nothing more than a semicircle, formed of an alley of
+trees, which enclose a large green area in the middle of which is a
+marshy pond.
+
+The cows feed on this green turf, and their milk is sold here on the
+spot, quite new.
+
+In all the alleys or walks there are benches, where you may rest
+yourself.  When you come through the Horse Guards (which is provided
+with several passages) into the park, on the right hand is St.
+James's Palace, or the king's place of residence, one of the meanest
+public buildings in London.  At the lower end, quite at the
+extremity, is the queen's palace, a handsome and modern building,
+but very much resembling a private house.  As for the rest, there
+are generally everywhere about St. James's Park very good houses,
+which is a great addition to it.  There is also before the
+semicircle of the trees just mentioned a large vacant space, where
+the soldiers are exercised.
+
+How little this famous park is to be compared with our park at
+Berlin, I need not mention.  And yet one cannot but form a high idea
+of St. James's Park and other public places in London; this arises,
+perhaps, from their having been oftener mentioned in romances and
+other books than ours have.  Even the squares and streets of London
+are more noted and better known than many of our principal towns.
+
+But what again greatly compensates for the mediocrity of this park,
+is the astonishing number of people who, towards evening in fine
+weather, resort here; our finest walks are never so full even in the
+midst of summer.  The exquisite pleasure of mixing freely with such
+a concourse of people, who are for the most part well-dressed and
+handsome, I have experienced this evening for the first time.
+
+Before I went to the park I took another walk with my little Jacky,
+which did not cost me much fatigue and yet was most uncommonly
+interesting.  I went down the little street in which I live, to the
+Thames nearly at the end of it, towards the left, a few steps led me
+to a singularly pretty terrace, planted with trees, on the very
+brink of the river.
+
+Here I had the most delightful prospect you can possibly imagine.
+Before me was the Thames with all its windings, and the stately
+arches of its bridges; Westminster with its venerable abbey to the
+right, to the left again London, with St. Paul's, seemed to wind all
+along the windings of the Thames, and on the other side of the water
+lay Southwark, which is now also considered as part of London.
+Thus, from this single spot, I could nearly at one view see the
+whole city, at least that side of it towards the Thames.  Not far
+from hence, in this charming quarter of the town, lived the renowned
+Garrick.  Depend upon it I shall often visit this delightful walk
+during my stay in London.
+
+To-day my two Englishmen carried me to a neighbouring tavern, or
+rather an eating-house, where we paid a shilling each for some roast
+meat and a salad, giving at the same time nearly half as much to the
+waiter, and yet this is reckoned a cheap house, and a cheap style of
+living.  But I believe, for the future, I shall pretty often dine at
+home; I have already begun this evening with my supper.  I am now
+sitting by the fire in my own room in London.  The day is nearly at
+an end, the first I have spent in England, and I hardly know whether
+I ought to call it only one day, when I reflect what a quick and
+varied succession of new and striking ideas have, in so short a
+time, passed in my mind.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+
+London, 5th June.
+
+At length, dearest Gedike, I am again settled, as I have now got my
+trunk and all my things from the ship, which arrived only yesterday.
+Not wishing to have it taken to the Custom House, which occasions a
+great deal of trouble, I was obliged to give a douceur to the
+officers, and those who came on board the ship to search it.  Having
+pacified, as I thought, one of them with a couple of shillings,
+another came forward and protested against the delivery of the trunk
+upon trust till I had given him as much.  To him succeeded a third,
+so that it cost me six shillings, which I willingly paid, because it
+would have cost me still more at the Custom House.
+
+By the side of the Thames were several porters, one of whom took my
+huge heavy trunk on his shoulders with astonishing ease, and carried
+it till I met a hackney coach.  This I hired for two shillings,
+immediately put the trunk into it, accompanying it myself without
+paying anything extra for my own seat.  This is a great advantage in
+the English hackney coaches, that you are allowed to take with you
+whatever you please, for you thus save at least one half of what you
+must pay to a porter, and besides go with it yourself, and are
+better accommodated.  The observations and the expressions of the
+common people here have often struck me as peculiar.  They are
+generally laconic, but always much in earnest and significant.  When
+I came home, my landlady kindly recommended it to the coachman not
+to ask more than was just, as I was a foreigner; to which he
+answered, "Nay, if he were not a foreigner I should not overcharge
+him."
+
+My letters of recommendation to a merchant here, which I could not
+bring with me on account of my hasty departure from Hamburgh, are
+also arrived.  These have saved me a great deal of trouble in the
+changing of my money.  I can now take my German money back to
+Germany, and when I return thither myself, refund to the
+correspondent of the merchant here the sum which he here pays me in
+English money.  I should otherwise have been obliged to sell my
+Prussian Fredericks-d'or for what they weighed; for some few Dutch
+dollars which I was obliged to part with before I got this credit
+they only gave me eight shillings.
+
+A foreigner has here nothing to fear from being pressed as a sailor,
+unless, indeed, he should be found at any suspicious place.  A
+singular invention for this purpose of pressing is a ship, which is
+placed on land not far from the Tower, on Tower Hill, furnished with
+masts and all the appurtenances of a ship.  The persons attending
+this ship promise simple country people, who happen to be standing
+and staring at it, to show it to them for a trifle, and as soon as
+they are in, they are secured as in a trap, and according to
+circumstances made sailors of or let go again.
+
+The footway, paved with large stones on both sides of the street,
+appears to a foreigner exceedingly convenient and pleasant, as one
+may there walk in perfect safety, in no more danger from the
+prodigious crowd of carts and coaches, than if one was in one's own
+room, for no wheel dares come a finger's breadth upon the curb
+stone.  However, politeness requires you to let a lady, or any one
+to whom you wish to show respect, pass, not, as we do, always to the
+right, but on the side next the houses or the wall, whether that
+happens to be on the right or on the left, being deemed the safest
+and most convenient.  You seldom see a person of any understanding
+or common sense walk in the middle of the streets in London,
+excepting when they cross over, which at Charing Cross and other
+places, where several streets meet, is sometimes really dangerous.
+
+It has a strange appearance--especially in the Strand, where there
+is a constant succession of shop after shop, and where, not
+unfrequently, people of different trades inhabit the same house--to
+see their doors or the tops of their windows, or boards expressly
+for the purpose, all written over from top to bottom with large
+painted letters.  Every person, of every trade or occupation, who
+owns ever so small a portion of a house, makes a parade with a sign
+at his door; and there is hardly a cobbler whose name and profession
+may not be read in large golden characters by every one that passes.
+It is here not at all uncommon to see on doors in one continued
+succession, "Children educated here," "Shoes mended here," "Foreign
+spirituous liquors sold here," and "Funerals furnished here;" of all
+these inscriptions.  I am sorry to observe that "Dealer in foreign
+spirituous liquors" is by far the most frequent.  And indeed it is
+allowed by the English themselves, that the propensity of the common
+people to the drinking of brandy or gin is carried to a great
+excess; and I own it struck me as a peculiar phraseology, when, to
+tell you that a person is intoxicated or drunk, you hear them say,
+as they generally do, that he is in liquor.  In the late riots,
+which even yet are hardly quite subsided, and which are still the
+general topic of conversation, more people have been found dead near
+empty brandy-casks in the streets, than were killed by the musket-
+balls of regiments that were called in.  As much as I have seen of
+London within these two days, there are on the whole I think not
+very many fine streets and very fine houses, but I met everywhere a
+far greater number and handsomer people than one commonly meets in
+Berlin.  It gives me much real pleasure when I walk from Charing
+Cross up the Strand, past St. Paul's to the Royal Exchange, to meet
+in the thickest crowd persons from the highest to the lowest ranks,
+almost all well-looking people, and cleanly and neatly dressed.  I
+rarely see even a fellow with a wheel-barrow who has not a shirt on,
+and that, too, such a one as shows it has been washed; nor even a
+beggar without both a shirt and shoes and stockings.  The English
+are certainly distinguished for cleanliness.
+
+It has a very uncommon appearance in this tumult of people, where
+every one, with hasty and eager step, seems to be pursuing either
+his business or his pleasure, and everywhere making his way through
+the crowd, to observe, as you often may, people pushing one against
+another, only perhaps to see a funeral pass.  The English coffins
+are made very economically, according to the exact form of the body;
+they are flat, and broad at top; tapering gradually from the middle,
+and drawing to a point at the feet, not very unlike the case of a
+violin.
+
+A few dirty-looking men, who bear the coffin, endeavour to make
+their way through the crowd as well as they can; and some mourners
+follow.  The people seem to pay as little attention to such a
+procession, as if a hay-cart were driving past.  The funerals of
+people of distinction, and of the great, are, however, differently
+regarded.
+
+These funerals always appear to me the more indecent in a populous
+city, from the total indifference of the beholders, and the perfect
+unconcern with which they are beheld.  The body of a fellow-creature
+is carried to his long home as though it had been utterly
+unconnected with the rest of mankind.  And yet, in a small town or
+village, everyone knows everyone; and no one can be so insignificant
+as not to be missed when he is taken away.
+
+That same influenza which I left at Berlin, I have had the hard
+fortune again to find here; and many people die of it.  It is as yet
+very cold for the time of the year, and I am obliged every day to
+have a fire.  I must own that the heat or warmth given by sea-coal,
+burnt in the chimney, appears to me softer and milder than that
+given by our stoves.  The sight of the fire has also a cheerful and
+pleasing effect.  Only you must take care not to look at it
+steadily, and for a continuance, for this is probably the reason
+that there are so many young old men in England, who walk and ride
+in the public streets with their spectacles on; thus anticipating,
+in the bloom of youth, those conveniences and comforts which were
+intended for old age.
+
+I now constantly dine in my own lodgings; and I cannot but flatter
+myself that my meals are regulated with frugality.  My usual dish at
+supper is some pickled salmon, which you eat in the liquor in which
+it is pickled, along with some oil and vinegar; and he must be
+prejudiced or fastidious who does not relish it as singularly well
+tasted and grateful food.
+
+I would always advise those who wish to drink coffee in England, to
+mention beforehand how many cups are to be made with half an ounce;
+or else the people will probably bring them a prodigious quantity of
+brown water; which (notwithstanding all my admonitions) I have not
+yet been able wholly to avoid.  The fine wheaten bread which I find
+here, besides excellent butter and Cheshire-cheese, makes up for my
+scanty dinners.  For an English dinner, to such lodgers as I am,
+generally consists of a piece of half-boiled, or half-roasted meat;
+and a few cabbage leaves boiled in plain water; on which they pour a
+sauce made of flour and butter.  This, I assure you, is the usual
+method of dressing vegetables in England.
+
+The slices of bread and butter, which they give you with your tea,
+are as thin as poppy leaves.  But there is another kind of bread and
+butter usually eaten with tea, which is toasted by the fire, and is
+incomparably good.  You take one slice after the other and hold it
+to the fire on a fork till the butter is melted, so that it
+penetrates a number of slices at once:  this is called toast.
+
+The custom of sleeping without a feather-bed for a covering
+particularly pleased me.  You here lie between two sheets:
+underneath the bottom sheet is a fine blanket, which, without
+oppressing you, keeps you sufficiently warm.  My shoes are not
+cleaned in the house, but by a person in the neighbourhood, whose
+trade it is; who fetches them every morning, and brings them back
+cleaned; for which she receives weekly so much.  When the maid is
+displeased with me, I hear her sometimes at the door call me "the
+German"; otherwise in the family I go by the name of "the
+Gentleman."
+
+I have almost entirely laid aside riding in a coach, although it
+does not cost near so much as it does at Berlin; as I can go and
+return any distance not exceeding an English mile for a shilling,
+for which I should there at least pay a florin.  But, moderate as
+English fares are, still you save a great deal, if you walk or go on
+foot, and know only how to ask your way.  From my lodging to the
+Royal Exchange is about as far as from one end of Berlin to the
+other, and from the Tower and St. Catharine's, where the ships
+arrive in the Thames, as far again; and I have already walked this
+distance twice, when I went to look after my trunk before I got it
+out of the ship.  As it was quite dark when I came back the first
+evening, I was astonished at the admirable manner in which the
+streets are lighted up; compared to which our streets in Berlin make
+a most miserable show.  The lamps are lighted whilst it is still
+daylight, and are so near each other, that even on the most ordinary
+and common nights, the city has the appearance of a festive
+illumination, for which some German prince, who came to London for
+the first time, once, they say, actually took it, and seriously
+believed it to have been particularly ordered on account of his
+arrival.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+
+The 9th June, 1782.
+
+I preached this day at the German church on Ludgate Hill, for the
+Rev. Mr. Wendeborn.  He is the author of "Die statischen Beytrage
+zur nahern Kentniss Grossbrittaniens."  This valuable book has
+already been of uncommon service to me, and I cannot but recommend
+it to everyone who goes to England.  It is the more useful, as you
+can with ease carry it in your pocket, and you find in it
+information on every subject.  It is natural to suppose that Mr.
+Wendeborn, who has now been a length of time in England, must have
+been able more frequently, and with greater exactness to make his
+observations, than those who only pass through, or make a very short
+stay.  It is almost impossible for anyone, who has this book always
+at hand, to omit anything worthy of notice in or about London; or
+not to learn all that is most material to know of the state and
+situation of the kingdom in general.
+
+Mr. Wendeborn lives in New Inn, near Temple Bar, in a philosophical,
+but not unimproving, retirement.  He is almost become a native; and
+his library consists chiefly of English books.  Before I proceed, I
+must just mention, that he has not hired, but bought his apartments
+in this great building, called New Inn:  and this, I believe, is
+pretty generally the case with the lodgings in this place.  A
+purchaser of any of these rooms is considered as a proprietor; and
+one who has got a house and home, and has a right, in parliamentary
+or other elections, to give his vote, if he is not a foreigner,
+which is the case with Mr. Wendeborn, who, nevertheless, was visited
+by Mr. Fox when he was to be chosen member for Westminster.
+
+I saw, for the first time, at Mr. Wendeborn's, a very useful
+machine, which is little known in Germany, or at least not much
+used.
+
+This is a press in which, by means of very strong iron springs, a
+written paper may be printed on another blank paper, and you thus
+save yourself the trouble of copying; and at the same time multiply
+your own handwriting.  Mr. Wendeborn makes use of this machine every
+time he sends manuscripts abroad, of which he wishes to keep a copy.
+This machine was of mahogany, and cost pretty high.  I suppose it is
+because the inhabitants of London rise so late, that divine service
+begin only at half-past ten o'clock.  I missed Mr. Wendeborn this
+morning, and was therefore obliged to enquire of the door-keeper at
+St. Paul's for a direction to the German church, where I was to
+preach.  He did not know it.  I then asked at another church, not
+far from thence.  Here I was directed right, and after I had passed
+through an iron gate to the end of a long passage, I arrived just in
+time at the church, where, after the sermon, I was obliged to read a
+public thanksgiving for the safe arrival of our ship.  The German
+clergy here dress exactly the same as the English clergy--i.e., in
+long robes with wide sleeves--in which I likewise was obliged to
+wrap myself.  Mr. Wendeborn wears his own hair, which curls
+naturally, and the toupee is combed up.
+
+The other German clergymen whom I have seen wear wigs, as well as
+many of the English.
+
+I yesterday waited on our ambassador, Count Lucy, and was agreeably
+surprised at the simplicity of his manner of living.  He lives in a
+small private house.  His secretary lives upstairs, where also I met
+with the Prussian consul, who happened just then to be paying him a
+visit.  Below, on the right hand, I was immediately shown into his
+Excellency's room, without being obliged to pass through an
+antechamber.  He wore a blue coat, with a red collar and red
+facings.  He conversed with me, as we drank a dish of coffee, on
+various learned topics; and when I told him of the great dispute now
+going on about the tacismus or stacismus, he declared himself, as a
+born Greek, for the stacismus.
+
+When I came to take my leave, he desired me to come and see him
+without ceremony whenever it suited me, as he should be always happy
+to see me.
+
+Mr. Leonhard, who has translated several celebrated English plays,
+such as "The School for Scandal," and some others, lives here as a
+private person, instructing Germans in English, and Englishmen in
+German, with great ability.  He also it is who writes the articles
+concerning England for the new Hamburgh newspaper, for which he is
+paid a stated yearly stipend.  I may add also, that he is the master
+of a German Freemasons' lodge in London, and representative of all
+the German lodges in England--an employment of far more trouble than
+profit to him, for all the world applies to him in all cases and
+emergencies.  I also was recommended to him from Hamburgh.  He is a
+very complaisant man, and has already shown me many civilities.  He
+repeats English poetry with great propriety, and speaks the language
+nearly with the same facility as he does his mother language.  He is
+married to an amiable Englishwoman.  I wish him all possible
+happiness.  And now let me tell you something of the so often
+imitated, but perhaps inimitable
+
+Vauxhall.
+
+I yesterday visited Vauxhall for the first time.  I had not far to
+go from my lodgings, in the Adelphi Buildings, to Westminster
+Bridge, where you always find a great number of boats on the Thames,
+which are ready on the least signal to serve those who will pay them
+a shilling or sixpence, or according to the distance.
+
+From hence I went up the Thames to Vauxhall, and as I passed along I
+saw Lambeth; and the venerable old palace belonging to the
+archbishops of Canterbury lying on my left.
+
+Vauxhall is, properly speaking, the name of a little village in
+which the garden, now almost exclusively bearing the same name, is
+situated.  You pay a shilling entrance.
+
+On entering it, I really found, or fancied I found, some resemblance
+to our Berlin Vauxhall, if, according to Virgil, I may be permitted
+to compare small things with great ones.  The walks at least, with
+the paintings at the end, and the high trees, which, here and there
+form a beautiful grove, or wood, on either side, were so similar to
+those of Berlin, that often, as I walked along them, I seemed to
+transport myself, in imagination, once more to Berlin, and forgot
+for a moment that immense seas, and mountains, and kingdoms now lie
+between us.  I was the more tempted to indulge in this reverie as I
+actually met with several gentlemen, inhabitants of Berlin, in
+particular Mr. S--r, and some others, with whom I spent the evening
+in the most agreeable manner.  Here and there (particularly in one
+of the charming woods which art has formed in this garden) you are
+pleasingly surprised by the sudden appearance of the statues of the
+most renowned English poets and philosophers, such as Milton,
+Thomson, and others.  But, what gave me most pleasure was the statue
+of the German composer Handel, which, on entering the garden, is not
+far distant from the orchestra.
+
+This orchestra is among a number of trees situated as in a little
+wood, and is an exceedingly handsome one.  As you enter the garden,
+you immediately hear the sound of vocal and instrumental music.
+There are several female singers constantly hired here to sing in
+public.
+
+On each side of the orchestra are small boxes, with tables and
+benches, in which you sup.  The walks before these, as well as in
+every other part of the garden, are crowded with people of all
+ranks.  I supped here with Mr. S--r, and the secretary of the
+Prussian ambassador, besides a few other gentlemen from Berlin; but
+what most astonished me was the boldness of the women of the town,
+who often rushed in upon us by half dozens, and in the most
+shameless manner importuned us for wine, for themselves and their
+followers.  Our gentlemen thought it either unwise, unkind, or
+unsafe, to refuse them so small a boon altogether.
+
+Latish in the evening we were entertained with a sight, that is
+indeed singularly curious and interesting.  In a particular part of
+the garden a curtain was drawn up, and by means of some mechanism of
+extraordinary ingenuity, the eye and the ear are so completely
+deceived, that it is not easy to persuade one's self it is a
+deception, and that one does not actually see and hear a natural
+waterfall from a high rock.  As everyone was flocking to this scene
+in crowds, there arose all at once a loud cry of "Take care of your
+pockets."  This informed us, but too clearly, that there were some
+pickpockets among the crowd, who had already made some fortunate
+strokes.
+
+The rotunda, a magnificent circular building in the garden,
+particularly engaged my attention.  By means of beautiful
+chandeliers, and large mirrors, it was illuminated in the most
+superb manner; and everywhere decorated with delightful paintings,
+and statues, in the contemplation of which you may spend several
+hours very agreeably, when you are tired of the crowd and the
+bustle, in the walks of the garden.
+
+Among the paintings one represents the surrender of a besieged city.
+If you look at this painting with attention, for any length of time,
+it affects you so much that you even shed tears.  The expression of
+the greatest distress, even bordering on despair, on the part of the
+besieged, the fearful expectation of the uncertain issue, and what
+the victor will determine concerning those unfortunate people, may
+all be read so plainly, and so naturally in the countenances of the
+inhabitants, who are imploring for mercy, from the hoary head to the
+suckling whom his mother holds up, that you quite forget yourself,
+and in the end scarcely believe it to be a painting before you.
+
+You also here find the busts of the best English authors, placed all
+round on the sides.  Thus a Briton again meets with his Shakespeare,
+Locke, Milton, and Dryden in the public places of his amusements;
+and there also reveres their memory.  Even the common people thus
+become familiar with the names of those who have done honour to
+their nation; and are taught to mention them with veneration.  For
+this rotunda is also an orchestra in which the music is performed in
+rainy weather.  But enough of Vauxhall!
+
+Certain it is that the English classical authors are read more
+generally, beyond all comparison, than the German; which in general
+are read only by the learned; or, at most, by the middle class of
+people.  The English national authors are in all hands, and read by
+all people, of which the innumerable editions they have gone through
+are a sufficient proof.
+
+My landlady, who is only a tailor's widow, reads her Milton; and
+tells me, that her late husband first fell in love with her on this
+very account:  because she read Milton with such proper emphasis.
+This single instance, perhaps, would prove but little; but I have
+conversed with several people of the lower class, who all knew their
+national authors, and who all have read many, if not all, of them.
+This elevates the lower ranks, and brings them nearer to the higher.
+There is hardly any argument or dispute in conversation, in the
+higher ranks, about which the lower cannot also converse or give
+their opinion.  Now, in Germany, since Gellert, there has as yet
+been no poet's name familiar to the people.  But the quick sale of
+the classical authors is here promoted also by cheap and convenient
+editions.  They have them all bound in pocket volumes, as well as in
+a more pompous style.  I myself bought Milton in duodecimo for two
+shillings, neatly bound; it is such a one as I can, with great
+convenience, carry in my pocket.  It also appears to me to be a good
+fashion, which prevails here, and here only, that the books which
+are most read, are always to be had already well and neatly bound.
+At stalls, and in the streets, you every now and then meet with a
+sort of antiquarians, who sell single or odd volumes; sometimes
+perhaps of Shakespeare, etc., so low as a penny; nay, even sometimes
+for a halfpenny a piece.  Of one of these itinerant antiquarians I
+bought the two volumes of the Vicar of Wakefield for sixpence, i.e.
+for the half of an English shilling.  In what estimation our German
+literature is held in England, I was enabled to judge, in some
+degree, by the printed proposals of a book which I saw.  The title
+was, "The Entertaining Museum, or Complete Circulating Library,"
+which is to contain a list of all the English classical authors, as
+well as translations of the best French, Spanish, Italian, and even
+German novels.
+
+The moderate price of this book deserves also to be noticed; as by
+such means books in England come more within the reach of the
+people; and of course are more generally distributed among them.
+The advertisement mentions that in order that everyone may have it
+in his power to buy this work, and at once to furnish himself with a
+very valuable library, without perceiving the expense, a number will
+be sent out weekly, which, stitched, costs sixpence, and bound with
+the title on the back, ninepence.  The twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth
+numbers contain the first and second volume of the Vicar of
+Wakefield, which I had just bought of the antiquarian above-
+mentioned.
+
+The only translation from the German which has been particularly
+successful in England, is Gesner's "Death of Abel."  The translation
+of that work has been oftener reprinted in England than ever the
+original was in Germany.  I have actually seen the eighteenth
+edition of it; and if the English preface is to be regarded, it was
+written by a lady.  "Klopstock's Messiah," as is well known, has
+been here but ill received; to be sure, they say it is but
+indifferently translated.  I have not yet been able to obtain a
+sight of it.  The Rev. Mr. Wendeborn has written a grammar for the
+German language in English, for the use of Englishmen, which has met
+with much applause.
+
+I must not forget to mention, that the works of Mr. Jacob Boehmen
+are all translated into English.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+
+London, 13th June.
+
+Often as I had heard Ranelagh spoken of, I had yet formed only an
+imperfect idea of it.  I supposed it to be a garden somewhat
+different from that of Vauxhall; but, in fact, I hardly knew what I
+thought of it.  Yesterday evening I took a walk in order to visit
+this famous place of amusement; but I missed my way and got to
+Chelsea; where I met a man with a wheel-barrow, who not only very
+civilly showed me the right road, but also conversed with me the
+whole of the distance which we walked together.  And finding, upon
+enquiry, that I was a subject of the King of Prussia, he desired me,
+with much eagerness, to relate to him some anecdotes concerning that
+mighty monarch.  At length I arrived at Ranelagh; and having paid my
+half-crown on entrance, I soon enquired for the garden door, and it
+was readily shown to me; when, to my infinite astonishment, I found
+myself in a poor, mean-looking, and ill-lighted garden, where I met
+but few people.  I had not been here long before I was accosted by a
+young lady, who also was walking there, and who, without ceremony,
+offered me her arm, asking me why I walked thus solitarily?  I now
+concluded, this could not possibly be the splendid, much-boasted
+Ranelagh; and so, seeing not far from me a number of people entering
+a door, I followed them, in hopes either to get out again, or to
+vary the scene.
+
+But it is impossible to describe, or indeed to conceive, the effect
+it had on me, when, coming out of the gloom of the garden, I
+suddenly entered a round building, illuminated by many hundred
+lamps; the splendour and beauty of which surpassed everything of the
+kind I had ever seen before.  Everything seemed here to be round;
+above, there was a gallery divided into boxes; and in one part of it
+an organ with a beautiful choir, from which issued both instrumental
+and vocal music.  All around, under this gallery, are handsome
+painted boxes for those who wish to take refreshments:  the floor
+was covered with mats, in the middle of which are four high black
+pillars; within which there are neat fire-places for preparing tea,
+coffee and punch; and all around, also, there are placed tables, set
+out with all kinds of refreshments.  Within these four pillars, in a
+kind of magic rotundo, all the beau-monde of London move perpetually
+round and round.
+
+I at first mixed with this immense concourse of people, of all
+sexes, ages, countries, and characters; and I must confess, that the
+incessant change of faces, the far greater number of which were
+strikingly beautiful, together with the illumination, the extent and
+majestic splendour of the place, with the continued sound of the
+music, makes an inconceivably delightful impression on the
+imagination; and I take the liberty to add, that, on seeing it now
+for the first time, I felt pretty nearly the same sensations that I
+remember to have felt when, in early youth, I first read the Fairy
+Tales.
+
+Being, however, at length tired of the crowd, and being tired also
+with always moving round and round in a circle, I sat myself down in
+one of the boxes, in order to take some refreshment, and was now
+contemplating at my ease this prodigious collection and crowd of a
+happy, cheerful world, who were here enjoying themselves devoid of
+care, when a waiter very civilly asked me what refreshments I wished
+to have, and in a few moments returned with what I asked for.  To my
+astonishment he would accept no money for these refreshments; which
+I could not comprehend, till he told me that everything was included
+in the half-crown I had paid at the door; and that I had only to
+command if I wished for anything more; but that if I pleased, I
+might give him as a present a trifling douceur.  This I gave him
+with pleasure, as I could not help fancying I was hardly entitled to
+so much civility and good attention for one single half-crown.
+
+I now went up into the gallery, and seated myself in one of the
+boxes there; and from thence becoming all at once a grave and
+moralising spectator, I looked down on the concourse of people who
+were still moving round and round in the fairy circle; and then I
+could easily distinguish several stars and other orders of
+knighthood; French queues and bags contrasted with plain English
+heads of hair, or professional wigs; old age and youth, nobility and
+commonalty, all passing each other in the motley swarm.  An
+Englishman who joined me during this my reverie, pointed out to me
+on my enquiring, princes and lords with their dazzling stars; with
+which they eclipsed the less brilliant part of the company.
+
+Here some moved round in an eternal circle to see and be seen; there
+a group of eager connoisseurs had placed themselves before the
+orchestra and were feasting their ears, while others at the well-
+supplied tables were regaling the parched roofs of their mouths in a
+more substantial manner, and again others, like myself, were sitting
+alone, in the corner of a box in the gallery, making their remarks
+and reflections on so interesting a scene.
+
+I now and then indulged myself in the pleasure of exchanging, for
+some minutes, all this magnificence and splendour for the gloom of
+the garden, in order to renew the pleasing surprise I experienced on
+my first entering the building.  Thus I spent here some hours in the
+night in a continual variation of entertainment; when the crowd now
+all at once began to lessen, and I also took a coach and drove home.
+
+At Ranelagh the company appeared to me much better, and more select
+than at Vauxhall; for those of the lower class who go there, always
+dress themselves in their best, and thus endeavour to copy the
+great.  Here I saw no one who had not silk stockings on.  Even the
+poorest families are at the expense of a coach to go to Ranelagh, as
+my landlady assured me.  She always fixed on some one day in the
+year, on which, without fail, she drove to Ranelagh.  On the whole
+the expense at Ranelagh is nothing near so great as it is at
+Vauxhall, if you consider the refreshments; for any one who sups at
+Vauxhall, which most people do, is likely, for a very moderate
+supper, to pay at least half-a-guinea.
+
+The Parliament.
+
+I had almost forgotten to tell you that I have already been to the
+Parliament House; and yet this is of most importance.  For, had I
+seen nothing else in England but this, I should have thought my
+journey thither amply rewarded.
+
+As little as I have hitherto troubled myself with politics, because
+indeed with us it is but little worth our while, I was however
+desirous of being present at a meeting of parliament--a wish that
+was soon amply gratified.
+
+One afternoon, about three o'clock, at which hour, or thereabouts,
+the house most commonly meets, I enquired for Westminster Hall, and
+was very politely directed by an Englishman.  These directions are
+always given with the utmost kindness.  You may ask whom you please,
+if you can only make yourself tolerably well understood; and by thus
+asking every now and then, you may with the greatest ease find your
+way throughout all London.
+
+Westminster Hall is an enormous Gothic building, whose vaulted roof
+is supported, not by pillars, but instead of these there are, on
+each side, large unnatural heads of angels, carved in wood, which
+seem to support the roof.
+
+When you have passed through this long hall, you ascend a few steps
+at the end, and are led through a dark passage into the House of
+Commons, which, below, has a large double-door; and above, there is
+a small staircase, by which you go to the gallery, the place
+allotted for strangers.
+
+The first time I went up this small staircase, and had reached the
+rails, I saw a very genteel man in black standing there.  I accosted
+him without any introduction, and I asked him whether I might be
+allowed to go into the gallery.  He told me that I must be
+introduced by a member, or else I could not get admission there.
+Now, as I had not the honour to be acquainted with a member, I was
+under the mortifying necessity of retreating, and again going down-
+stairs, as I did much chagrined.  And now, as I was sullenly
+marching back, I heard something said about a bottle of wine, which
+seemed to be addressed to me.
+
+I could not conceive what it could mean, till I got home, when my
+obliging landlady told me I should have given the well-dressed man
+half-a-crown, or a couple of shillings for a bottle of wine.  Happy
+in this information, I went again the next day; when the same man
+who before had sent me away, after I had given him only two
+shillings, very politely opened the door for me, and himself
+recommended me to a good seat in the gallery.
+
+And thus I now, for the first time, saw the whole of the British
+nation assembled in its representatives, in rather a mean-looking
+building, that not a little resembles a chapel.  The Speaker, an
+elderly man, with an enormous wig, with two knotted kind of tresses,
+or curls, behind, in a black cloak, his hat on his head, sat
+opposite to me on a lofty chair; which was not unlike a small
+pulpit, save only that in the front of there was no reading-desk.
+Before the Speaker's chair stands a table, which looks like an
+altar; and at this there sit two men, called clerks, dressed in
+black, with black cloaks.  On the table, by the side of the great
+parchment acts, lies a huge gilt sceptre, which is always taken
+away, and placed in a conservatory under the table, as soon as ever
+the Speaker quits the chair; which he does as often as the House
+resolves itself into a committee.  A committee means nothing more
+than that the House puts itself into a situation freely to discuss
+and debate any point of difficulty and moment, and, while it lasts,
+the Speaker partly lays aside his power as a legislator.  As soon as
+this is over, some one tells the Speaker that he may now again be
+seated; and immediately on the Speaker being again in the chair, the
+sceptre is also replaced on the table before him.
+
+All round on the sides of the house, under the gallery, are benches
+for the members, covered with green cloth, always one above the
+other, like our choirs in churches, in order that he who is speaking
+may see over those who sit before him.  The seats in the gallery are
+on the same plan.  The members of parliament keep their hats on, but
+the spectators in the gallery are uncovered.
+
+The members of the House of Commons have nothing particular in their
+dress.  They even come into the House in their great coats, and with
+boots and spurs.  It is not at all uncommon to see a member lying
+stretched out on one of the benches while others are debating.  Some
+crack nuts, others eat oranges, or whatever else is in season.
+There is no end to their going in and out; and as often as any one
+wishes to go out, he places himself before the Speaker, and makes
+him his bow, as if, like a schoolboy, he asked tutor's permission.
+
+Those who speak seem to deliver themselves with but little, perhaps
+not always with even a decorous, gravity.  All that is necessary is
+to stand up in your place, take off your hat, turn to the Speaker
+(to whom all the speeches are addressed), to hold your hat and stick
+in one hand, and with the other to make any such motions as you
+fancy necessary to accompany your speech.
+
+If it happens that a member rises who is but a bad speaker, or if
+what he says is generally deemed not sufficiently interesting, so
+much noise is made, and such bursts of laughter are raised, that the
+member who is speaking can scarcely distinguish his own words.  This
+must needs be a distressing situation; and it seems then to be
+particularly laughable, when the Speaker in his chair, like a tutor
+in a school, again and again endeavours to restore order, which he
+does by calling out "To order, to order," apparently often without
+much attention being paid to it.
+
+On the contrary, when a favourite member, and one who speaks well
+and to the purpose, rises, the most perfect silence reigns, and his
+friends and admirers, one after another, make their approbation
+known by calling out, "Hear him," which is often repeated by the
+whole House at once; and in this way so much noise is often made
+that the speaker is frequently interrupted by this same emphatic
+"Hear him."  Notwithstanding which, this calling out is always
+regarded as a great encouragement; and I have often observed that
+one who began with some diffidence, and even somewhat
+inauspiciously, has in the end been so animated that he has spoken
+with a torrent of eloquence.
+
+As all speeches are directed to the Speaker, all the members always
+preface their speeches with "Sir" and he, on being thus addressed,
+generally moves his hat a little, but immediately puts it on again.
+This "Sir" is often introduced in the course of their speeches, and
+serves to connect what is said.  It seems also to stand the orator
+in some stead when any one's memory fails him, or he is otherwise at
+a loss for matter.  For while he is saying "Sir," and has thus
+obtained a little pause, he recollects what is to follow.  Yet I
+have sometimes seen some members draw a kind of memorandum-book out
+of their pockets, like a candidate who is at a loss in his sermon.
+This is the only instance in which a member of the British
+parliament seems to read his speeches.
+
+The first day that I was at the House of Commons an English
+gentleman who sat next to me in the gallery very obligingly pointed
+out to me the principal members, such as Fox, Burke, Rigby, etc.,
+all of whom I heard speak.  The debate happened to be whether,
+besides being made a peer, any other specific reward should be
+bestowed by the nation on their gallant admiral Rodney.  In the
+course of the debate, I remember, Mr. Fox was very sharply
+reprimanded by young Lord Fielding for having, when minister,
+opposed the election of Admiral Hood as a member for Westminster.
+
+Fox was sitting to the right of the Speaker, not far from the table
+on which the gilt sceptre lay.  He now took his place so near it
+that he could reach it with his hand, and, thus placed, he gave it
+many a violent and hearty thump, either to aid, or to show the
+energy with which he spoke.  If the charge was vehement, his defence
+was no less so.  He justified himself against Lord Fielding by
+maintaining that he had not opposed this election in the character
+of a minister, but as an individual, or private person; and that, as
+such, he had freely and honestly given his vote for another--namely,
+for Sir Cecil Wray, adding that the King, when he appointed him
+Secretary of State, had entered into no agreement with him by which
+he lost his vote as an individual; to such a requisition he never
+would have submitted.  It is impossible for me to describe with what
+fire and persuasive eloquence he spoke, and how the Speaker in the
+chair incessantly nodded approbation from beneath his solemn wig,
+and innumerable voices incessantly called out, "Hear him! hear him!"
+and when there was the least sign that he intended to leave off
+speaking they no less vociferously exclaimed, "Go on;" and so he
+continued to speak in this manner for nearly two hours.  Mr. Rigby,
+in reply, made a short but humorous speech, in which he mentioned of
+how little consequence the title of "lord" and "lady" was without
+money to support it, and finished with the Latin proverb, "infelix
+paupertas--quia ridiculos miseros facit."  After having first very
+judiciously observed that previous inquiry should be made whether
+Admiral Rodney had made any rich prizes or captures; because, if
+that should be the case, he would not stand in need of further
+reward in money.  I have since been almost every day at the
+parliament house, and prefer the entertainment I there meet with to
+most other amusements.
+
+Fox is still much beloved by the people, notwithstanding that they
+are (and certainly with good reason) displeased at his being the
+cause of Admiral Rodney's recall, though even I have heard him again
+and again almost extravagant in his encomiums on this noble admiral.
+The same celebrated Charles Fox is a short, fat, and gross man, with
+a swarthy complexion, and dark; and in general he is badly dressed.
+There certainly is something Jewish in his looks.  But upon the
+whole, he is not an ill-made nor an ill-looking man, and there are
+many strong marks of sagacity and fire in his eyes.  I have
+frequently heard the people here say that this same Mr. Fox is as
+cunning as a fox.  Burke is a well-made, tall, upright man, but
+looks elderly and broken.  Rigby is excessively corpulent, and has a
+jolly rubicund face.
+
+The little less than downright open abuse, and the many really rude
+things which the members said to each other, struck me much.  For
+example, when one has finished, another rises, and immediately taxes
+with absurdity all that the right honourable gentleman (for with
+this title the members of the House of Commons always honour each
+other) had just advanced.  It would, indeed, be contrary to the
+rules of the House flatly to tell each other that what they have
+spoken is FALSE, or even FOOLISH.  Instead of this, they turn
+themselves, as usual, to the Speaker, and so, whilst their address
+is directed to him, they fancy they violate neither the rules of
+parliament nor those of good breeding and decorum, whilst they utter
+the most cutting personal sarcasms against the member or the measure
+they oppose.
+
+It is quite laughable to see, as one sometimes does, one member
+speaking, and another accompanying the speech with his action.  This
+I remarked more than once in a worthy old citizen, who was fearful
+of speaking himself, but when his neighbour spoke he accompanied
+every energetic sentence with a suitable gesticulation, by which
+means his whole body was sometimes in motion.
+
+It often happens that the jett, or principal point in the debate is
+lost in these personal contests and bickerings between each other.
+When they last so long as to become quite tedious and tiresome, and
+likely to do harm rather than good, the House takes upon itself to
+express its disapprobation; and then there arises a general cry of,
+"The question! the question!"  This must sometimes be frequently
+repeated, as the contending members are both anxious to have the
+last word.  At length, however, the question is put, and the votes
+taken, when the Speaker says, "Those who are for the question are to
+say AYE, and those who are against it NO."  You then hear a confused
+cry of "AYE" and "NO" but at length the Speaker says, "I think there
+are more AYES than NOES, or more NOES than AYES.  The AYES have it;
+or the NOES have it," as the case may be.  But all the spectators
+must then retire from the gallery; for then, and not till then, the
+voting really commences.  And now the members call aloud to the
+gallery, "Withdraw! withdraw!"  On this the strangers withdraw, and
+are shut up in a small room at the foot of the stairs till the
+voting is over, when they are again permitted to take their places
+in the gallery.  Here I could not help wondering at the impatience
+even of polished Englishmen.  It is astonishing with what violence,
+and even rudeness, they push and jostle one another as soon as the
+room door is again opened, eager to gain the first and best seats in
+the gallery.  In this manner we (the strangers) have sometimes been
+sent away two or three times in the course of one day, or rather
+evening, afterwards again permitted to return.  Among these
+spectators are people of all ranks, and even, not unfrequently,
+ladies.  Two shorthand writers have sat sometimes not far distant
+from me, who (though it is rather by stealth) endeavour to take down
+the words of the speaker; and thus all that is very remarkable in
+what is said in parliament may generally be read in print the next
+day.  The shorthand writers, whom I noticed, are supposed to be
+employed and paid by the editors of the different newspapers.  There
+are, it seems, some few persons who are constant attendants on the
+parliament; and so they pay the door-keeper beforehand a guinea for
+a whole session.  I have now and then seen some of the members bring
+their sons, whilst quite little boys, and carry them to their seats
+along with themselves.
+
+A proposal was once made to erect a gallery in the House of Peers
+also for the accommodation of spectators.  But this never was
+carried into effect.  There appears to be much more politeness and
+more courteous behaviour in the members of the upper House.  But he
+who wishes to observe mankind, and to contemplate the leading traits
+of the different characters most strongly marked, will do well to
+attend frequently the lower, rather than the other, House.
+
+Last Tuesday was (what is here called) hanging-day.  There was also
+a parliamentary election.  I could only see one of the two sights,
+and therefore naturally preferred the latter, while I only heard
+tolling at a distance the death-bell of the sacrifice to justice.  I
+now, therefore, am going to describe to you, as well as can, an
+
+Election for a Member of Parliament.
+
+The cities of London and Westminster send, the one four, and the
+other two, members to parliament.  Mr. Fox is one of the two members
+for Westminster.  One seat was vacant, and that vacancy was now to
+be filled.  And the same Sir Cecil Wray, whom Fox had before opposed
+to Lord Hood, was now publicly chosen.  They tell me that at these
+elections, when there is a strong opposition party, there is often
+bloody work; but this election was, in the electioneering phrase, a
+"hollow thing"--i.e. quite sure, as those who had voted for Admiral
+Hood now withdrew, without standing a poll, as being convinced
+beforehand their chance to succeed was desperate.
+
+The election was held in Covent Garden, a large market-place in the
+open air.  There was a scaffold erected just before the door of a
+very handsome church, which is also called St. Paul's, but which,
+however, is not to be compared to the cathedral.
+
+A temporary edifice, formed only of boards and wood nailed together,
+was erected on the occasion.  It was called the hustings, and filled
+with benches; and at one end of it, where the benches ended, mats
+were laid, on which those who spoke to the people stood.  In the
+area before the hustings immense multitudes of people were
+assembled, of whom the greatest part seemed to be of the lowest
+order.  To this tumultuous crowd, however, the speakers often bowed
+very low, and always addressed them by the title of "gentlemen."
+Sir Cecil Wray was obliged to step forward and promise these same
+gentlemen, with hand and heart, that he would faithfully fulfil his
+duties as their representative.  He also made an apology because, on
+account of his long journey and ill-health, he had not been able to
+wait on them, as became him, at their respective houses.  The moment
+that he began to speak, even this rude rabble became all as quiet as
+the raging sea after a storm, only every now and then rending the
+air with the parliamentary cry of "Hear him! hear him!" and as soon
+as he had done speaking, they again vociferated aloud an universal
+"huzza," every one at the same time waving his hat.
+
+And now, being formally declared to have been legally chosen, he
+again bowed most profoundly, and returned thanks for the great
+honour done him, when a well-dressed man, whose name I could not
+learn, stepped forward, and in a well-indited speech congratulated
+both the chosen and the choosers.  "Upon my word," said a gruff
+carter who stood near me, "that man speaks well."
+
+Even little boys clambered up and hung on the rails and on the lamp-
+posts; and as if the speeches had also been addressed to them, they
+too listened with the utmost attention, and they too testified their
+approbation of it by joining lustily in the three cheers and waving
+their hats.
+
+All the enthusiasm of my earliest years kindled by the patriotism of
+the illustrious heroes of Rome.  Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and
+Antony were now revived in my mind; and though all I had just seen
+and heard be, in fact, but the semblance of liberty, and that, too,
+tribunitial liberty, yet at that moment I thought it charming, and
+it warmed my heart.  Yes, depend on it, my friend, when you here see
+how, in the happy country, the lowest and meanest member of society
+thus unequivocally testifies the interest which he takes in
+everything of a public nature; when you see how even women and
+children bear a part in the great concerns of their country; in
+short, how high and low, rich and poor, all concur in declaring
+their feelings and their convictions that a carter, a common tar, or
+a scavenger, is still a man--nay, an Englishman, and as such has his
+rights and privileges defined and known as exactly and as well as
+his king, or as his king's minister--take my word for it, you will
+feel yourself very differently affected from what you are when
+staring at our soldiers in their exercises at Berlin.
+
+When Fox, who was among the voters, arrived at the beginning of the
+election, he too was received with an universal shout of joy.  At
+length, when it was nearly over, the people took it into their heads
+to hear him speak, and every one called out, "Fox!  Fox!"  I know
+not why, but I seemed to catch some of the spirit of the place and
+time, and so I also bawled "Fox!  Fox!" and he was obliged to come
+forward and speak, for no other reason that I could find but that
+the people wished to hear him speak.  In this speech he again
+confirmed, in the presence of the people, his former declaration in
+parliament, that he by no means had any influence as minister of
+State in this election, but only and merely as a private person.
+
+When the whole was over, the rampant spirit of liberty and the wild
+impatience of a genuine English mob were exhibited in perfection.
+In a very few minutes the whole scaffolding, benches, and chairs,
+and everything else, was completely destroyed. and the mat with
+which it had been covered torn into ten thousand long strips, or
+pieces, or strings, with which they encircled or enclosed multitudes
+of people of all ranks.  These they hurried along with them, and
+everything else that came in their way, as trophies of joy; and
+thus, in the midst of exultation and triumph, they paraded through
+many of the most populous streets of London.
+
+Whilst in Prussia poets only speak of the love of country as one of
+the dearest of all human affections, here there is no man who does
+not feel, and describe with rapture, how much he loves his country.
+"Yes, for my country I'll shed the last drop of my blood!" often
+exclaims little Jacky, the fine boy here in the house where I live,
+who is yet only about twelve years old.  The love of their country,
+and its unparalleled feats in war are, in general, the subject of
+their ballads and popular songs, which are sung about the streets by
+women, who sell them for a few farthings.  It was only the other day
+our Jacky brought one home, in which the history of an admiral was
+celebrated who bravely continued to command, even after his two legs
+were shot off and he was obliged to be supported.  I know not well
+by what means it has happened that the King of England, who is
+certainly one of the best the nation ever had, is become unpopular.
+I know not how many times I have heard people of all sorts object to
+their king at the same time that they praised the King of Prussia to
+the skies.  Indeed, with some the veneration for our monarch went so
+far that they seriously wished he was their king.  All that seems to
+shock and dishearten them is the prodigious armies he keeps up, and
+the immense number of soldiers quartered in Berlin alone.  Whereas
+in London, at least in the city, not a single troop of soldiers of
+the King's guard dare make their appearance.
+
+A few days ago I saw what is here deemed a great sight--viz., a lord
+mayor's procession.  The lord mayor was in an enormous large gilt
+coach, which was followed by an astonishing number of most showy
+carriages, in which the rest of the city magistrates, more properly
+called aldermen of London, were seated.  But enough for the present.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+
+London, June 17th, 1782.
+
+I have now been pretty nearly all over London, and, according to my
+own notions, have now seen most of the things I was most anxious to
+see.  Hereafter, then, I propose to make an excursion into the
+country; and this purpose, by the blessing of God, I hope to be able
+to carry into effect in a very few days, for my curiosity is here
+almost satiated.  I seem to be tired and sick of the smoke of these
+sea-coal fires, and I long, with almost childish impatience, once
+more to breathe a fresher and clearer air.
+
+It must, I think, be owned, that upon the whole, London is neither
+so handsomely nor so well built as Berlin is; but then it certainly
+has far more fine squares.  Of these there are many that in real
+magnificence and beautiful symmetry far surpass our Gens d'Armes
+Markt, our Denhoschen and William's Place.  The squares or
+quadrangular places contain the best and most beautiful buildings of
+London; a spacious street, next to the houses, goes all round them,
+and within that there is generally a round grass-plot, railed in
+with iron rails, in the centre of which, in many of them, there is a
+statue, which statues most commonly are equestrian and gilt.  In
+Grosvenor Square, instead of this green plot or area, there is a
+little circular wood, intended, no doubt, to give one the idea of
+rus in urbe.
+
+One of the longest and pleasantest walks I have yet taken is from
+Paddington to Islington; where to the left you have a fine prospect
+of the neighbouring hills, and in particular of the village of
+Hampstead, which is built on one of them; and to the right the
+streets of London furnish an endless variety of interesting views.
+It is true that it is dangerous to walk here alone, especially in
+the afternoon and in an evening, or at night, for it was only last
+week that a man was robbed and murdered on this very same road.  But
+I now hasten to another and a more pleasing topic:
+
+The British Museum.
+
+I have had the happiness to become acquainted with the Rev. Mr.
+Woide; who, though well known all over Europe to be one of the most
+learned men of the age, is yet, if possible, less estimable for his
+learning than he is for his unaffected goodness of heart.  He holds
+a respectable office in the museum, and was obliging enough to
+procure me permission to see it, luckily the day before it was shut
+up.  In general you must give in your name a fortnight before you
+can he admitted.  But after all, I am sorry to say, it was the
+rooms, the glass cases, the shelves, or the repository for the books
+in the British Museum which I saw, and not the museum itself, we
+were hurried on so rapidly through the apartments.  The company, who
+saw it when and as I did, was various, and some of all sorts; some,
+I believe, of the very lowest classes of the people, of both sexes;
+for, as it is the property of the nation, every one has the same
+right (I use the term of the country) to see it that another has.  I
+had Mr. Wendeborn's book in my pocket, and it, at least, enabled me
+to take a somewhat more particular notice of some of the principal
+things; such as the Egyptian mummy, a head of Homer, &c.  The rest
+of the company, observing that I had some assistance which they had
+not, soon gathered round me; I pointed out to them as we went along,
+from Mr. Wendeborn's German book, what there was most worth seeing
+here.  The gentleman who conducted us took little pains to conceal
+the contempt which he felt for my communications when he found out
+that it was only a German description of the British Museum I had
+got.  The rapidly passing through this vast suite of rooms, in a
+space of time little, if at all, exceeding an hour, with leisure
+just to cast one poor longing look of astonishment on all these
+stupendous treasures of natural curiosities, antiquities, and
+literature, in the contemplation of which you could with pleasure
+spend years, and a whole life might be employed in the study of
+them--quite confuses, stuns, and overpowers one.  In some branches
+this collection is said to be far surpassed by some others; but
+taken altogether, and for size, it certainly is equalled by none.
+The few foreign divines who travel through England generally desire
+to have the Alexandrian manuscript shewn them, in order to be
+convinced with their own eyes whether the passage, "These are the
+three that bear record, &c.," is to be found there or not.
+
+The Rev. Mr. Woide lives at a place called Lisson Street, not far
+from Paddington; a very village-looking little town, at the west end
+of London.  It is quite a rural and pleasant situation; for here I
+either do, or fancy I do, already breathe a purer and freer air than
+in the midst of the town.  Of his great abilities, and particularly
+in oriental literature, I need not inform you; but it will give you
+pleasure to hear that he is actually meditating a fac-simile edition
+of the Alexandrian MS.  I have already mentioned the infinite
+obligations I lie under to this excellent man for his extraordinary
+courtesy and kindness.
+
+The Theatre in the Haymarket.
+
+Last week I went twice to an English play-house.  The first time
+"The Nabob" was represented, of which the late Mr. Foote was the
+author, and for the entertainment, a very pleasing and laughable
+musical farce, called "The Agreeable Surprise."  The second time I
+saw "The English Merchant:" which piece has been translated into
+German, and is known among us by the title of "The Scotchwoman," or
+"The Coffee-house."  I have not yet seen the theatres of Covent
+Garden and Drury Lane, because they are not open in summer.  The
+best actors also usually spend May and October in the country, and
+only perform in winter.
+
+A very few excepted, the comedians whom I saw were certainly nothing
+extraordinary.  For a seat in the boxes you pay five shillings, in
+the pit three, in the first gallery two, and in the second or upper
+gallery, one shilling.  And it is the tenants in this upper gallery
+who, for their shilling, make all that noise and uproar for which
+the English play-houses are so famous.  I was in the pit, which
+gradually rises, amphitheatre-wise, from the orchestra, and is
+furnished with benches, one above another, from the top to the
+bottom.  Often and often, whilst I sat there, did a rotten orange,
+or pieces of the peel of an orange, fly past me, or past some of my
+neighbours, and once one of them actually hit my hat, without my
+daring to look round, for fear another might then hit me on my face.
+
+All over London as one walks, one everywhere, in the season, sees
+oranges to sell; and they are in general sold tolerably cheap, one
+and even sometimes two for a halfpenny; or, in our money,
+threepence.  At the play-house, however, they charged me sixpence
+for one orange, and that noways remarkably good.
+
+Besides this perpetual pelting from the gallery, which renders an
+English play-house so uncomfortable, there is no end to their
+calling out and knocking with their sticks till the curtain is drawn
+up.  I saw a miller's, or a baker's boy, thus, like a huge booby,
+leaning over the rails and knocking again and again on the outside,
+with all his might, so that he was seen by everybody, without being
+in the least ashamed or abashed.  I sometimes heard, too, the people
+in the lower or middle gallery quarrelling with those of the upper
+one.  Behind me, in the pit, sat a young fop, who, in order to
+display his costly stone buckles with the utmost brilliancy,
+continually put his foot on my bench, and even sometimes upon my
+coat, which I could avoid only by sparing him as much space from my
+portion of the seat as would make him a footstool.  In the boxes,
+quite in a corner, sat several servants, who were said to be placed
+there to keep the seats for the families they served till they
+should arrive; they seemed to sit remarkably close and still, the
+reason of which, I was told, was their apprehension of being pelted;
+for if one of them dares but to look out of the box, he is
+immediately saluted with a shower of orange peel from the gallery.
+
+In Foote's "Nabob" there are sundry local and personal satires which
+are entirely lost to a foreigner.  The character of the Nabob was
+performed by a Mr. Palmer.  The jett of the character is, this
+Nabob, with many affected airs and constant aims at gentility, is
+still but a silly fellow, unexpectedly come into the possession of
+immense riches, and therefore, of course, paid much court to by a
+society of natural philosophers, Quakers, and I do not know who
+besides.  Being tempted to become one of their members, he is
+elected, and in order to ridicule these would-be philosophers, but
+real knaves, a fine flowery fustian speech is put into his mouth,
+which he delivers with prodigious pomp and importance, and is
+listened to by the philosophers with infinite complacency.  The two
+scenes of the Quakers and philosophers, who, with countenances full
+of imaginary importance, were seated at a green table with their
+president at their head while the secretary, with the utmost care,
+was making an inventory of the ridiculous presents of the Nabob,
+were truly laughable.  One of the last scenes was best received:  it
+is that in which the Nabob's friend and school-fellow visit him, and
+address him without ceremony by his Christian name; but to all their
+questions of "Whether he does not recollect them?  Whether he does
+not remember such and such a play; or such and such a scrape into
+which they had fallen in their youth?" he uniformly answers with a
+look of ineffable contempt, only, "No sir!"  Nothing can possibly be
+more ludicrous, nor more comic.
+
+The entertainment, "The Agreeable Surprise," is really a very
+diverting farce.  I observed that, in England also, they represent
+school-masters in ridiculous characters on the stage, which, though
+I am sorry for, I own I do not wonder at, as the pedantry of school-
+masters in England, they tell me, is carried at least as far as it
+is elsewhere.  The same person who, in the play, performed the
+school-fellow of the Nabob with a great deal of nature and original
+humour, here acted the part of the school-master:  his name is
+Edwin, and he is, without doubt, one of the best actors of all that
+I have seen.
+
+This school-master is in love with a certain country girl, whose
+name is Cowslip, to whom he makes a declaration of his passion in a
+strange mythological, grammatical style and manner, and to whom,
+among other fooleries, he sings, quite enraptured, the following
+air, and seems to work himself at least up to such a transport of
+passion as quite overpowers him.  He begins, you will observe, with
+the conjugation, and ends with the declensions and the genders; the
+whole is inimitably droll:
+
+
+"Amo, amas,
+I love a lass,
+She is so sweet and tender,
+It is sweet Cowslip's Grace
+In the Nominative Case.
+And in the feminine Gender."
+
+
+Those two sentences in particular, "in the Nominative Case," and "in
+the feminine Gender," he affects to sing in a particularly
+languishing air, as if confident that it was irresistible.  This
+Edwin, in all his comic characters, still preserves something so
+inexpressibly good-tempered in his countenance, that notwithstanding
+all his burlesques and even grotesque buffoonery, you cannot but be
+pleased with him.  I own, I felt myself doubly interested for every
+character which he represented.  Nothing could equal the tone and
+countenance of self-satisfaction with which he answered one who
+asked him whether he was a scholar?  "Why, I was a master of
+scholars."  A Mrs. Webb represented a cheesemonger, and played the
+part of a woman of the lower class so naturally as I have nowhere
+else ever seen equalled.  Her huge, fat, and lusty carcase, and the
+whole of her external appearance seemed quite to be cut out for it.
+
+Poor Edwin was obliged, as school-master, to sing himself almost
+hoarse, as he sometimes was called on to repeat his declension and
+conjugation songs two or three times, only because it pleased the
+upper gallery, or "the gods," as the English call them, to roar out
+"encore."  Add to all this, he was farther forced to thank them with
+a low bow for the great honour done him by their applause.
+
+One of the highest comic touches in the piece seemed to me to
+consist in a lie, which always became more and more enormous in the
+mouths of those who told it again, during the whole of the piece.
+This kept the audience in almost a continual fit of laughter.  This
+farce is not yet printed, or I really think I should be tempted to
+venture to make a translation, or rather an imitation of it.
+
+"The English Merchant, or the Scotchwoman," I have seen much better
+performed abroad than it was here.  Mr. Fleck, at Hamburg, in
+particular, played the part of the English merchant with more
+interest, truth, and propriety than one Aickin did here.  He seemed
+to me to fail totally in expressing the peculiar and original
+character of Freeport; instead of which, by his measured step and
+deliberate, affected manner of speaking, he converted him into a
+mere fine gentleman.
+
+The trusty old servant who wishes to give up his life for his master
+he, too, had the stately walk, or strut, of a minister.  The
+character of the newspaper writer was performed by the same Mr.
+Palmer who acted the part of the Nabob, but every one said, what I
+thought, that he made him far too much of a gentleman.  His person,
+and his dress also, were too handsome for the character.
+
+The character of Amelia was performed by an actress, who made her
+first appearance on the stage, and from a timidity natural on such
+an occasion, and not unbecoming, spoke rather low, so that she could
+not everywhere be heard; "Speak louder! speak louder!" cried out
+some rude fellow from the upper-gallery, and she immediately, with
+infinite condescension, did all she could, and not unsuccessfully,
+to please even an upper gallery critic.
+
+The persons near me, in the pit, were often extravagantly lavish of
+their applause.  They sometimes clapped a single solitary sentiment,
+that was almost as unmeaning as it was short, if it happened to be
+pronounced only with some little emphasis, or to contain some little
+point, some popular doctrine, a singularly pathetic stroke, or turn
+of wit.
+
+"The Agreeable Surprise" was repeated, and I saw it a second time
+with unabated pleasure.  It is become a favourite piece, and always
+announced with the addition of the favourite musical farce.  The
+theatre appeared to me somewhat larger than the one at Hamburg, and
+the house was both times very full.  Thus much for English plays,
+play-houses, and players.
+
+English Customs and Education.
+
+A few words more respecting pedantry.  I have seen the regulation of
+one seminary of learning, here called an academy.  Of these places
+of education, there is a prodigious number in London, though,
+notwithstanding their pompous names, they are in reality nothing
+more than small schools set up by private persons, for children and
+young people.
+
+One of the Englishmen who were my travelling companions, made me
+acquainted with a Dr. G-- who lives near P--, and keeps an academy
+for the education of twelve young people, which number is here, as
+well as at our Mr. Kumpe's, never exceeded, and the same plan has
+been adopted and followed by many others, both here and elsewhere.
+
+At the entrance I perceived over the door of the house a large
+board, and written on it, Dr. G--'s Academy.  Dr. G-- received me
+with great courtesy as a foreigner, and shewed me his school-room,
+which was furnished just in the same manner as the classes in our
+public schools are, with benches and a professor's chair or pulpit.
+
+The usher at Dr. G--'s is a young clergyman, who, seated also in a
+chair or desk, instructs the boys in the Greek and Latin grammars.
+
+Such an under-teacher is called an usher, and by what I can learn,
+is commonly a tormented being, exactly answering the exquisite
+description given of him in the "Vicar of Wakefield."  We went in
+during the hours of attendance, and he was just hearing the boys
+decline their Latin, which he did in the old jog-trot way; and I own
+it had an odd sound to my ears, when instead of pronouncing, for
+example viri veeree I heard them say viri, of the man, exactly
+according to the English pronunciation, and viro, to the man.  The
+case was just the same afterwards with the Greek.
+
+Mr. G-- invited us to dinner, when I became acquainted with his
+wife, a very genteel young woman, whose behaviour to the children
+was such that she might be said to contribute more to their
+education than any one else.  The children drank nothing but water.
+For every boarder Dr. G-- receives yearly no more than thirty pounds
+sterling, which however, he complained of as being too little.  From
+forty to fifty pounds is the most that is generally paid in these
+academies.
+
+I told him of our improvements in the manner of education, and also
+spoke to him of the apparent great worth of character of his usher.
+He listened very attentively, but seemed to have thought little
+himself on this subject.  Before and after dinner the Lord's Prayer
+was repeated in French, which is done in several places, as if they
+were eager not to waste without some improvement, even this
+opportunity also, to practise the French, and thus at once
+accomplish two points.  I afterwards told him my opinion of this
+species of prayer, which however, he did not take amiss.
+
+After dinner the boys had leave to play in a very small yard, which
+in most schools or academies, in the city of London, is the ne plus
+ultra of their playground in their hours of recreation.  But Mr. G--
+has another garden at the end of the town, where he sometimes takes
+them to walk.
+
+After dinner Mr. G-- himself instructed the children in writing,
+arithmetic, and French, all which seemed to be well taught here,
+especially writing, in which the young people in England far
+surpass, I believe, all others.  This may perhaps be owing to their
+having occasion to learn only one sort of letters.  As the midsummer
+holidays were now approaching (at which time the children in all the
+academies go home for four weeks), everyone was obliged with the
+utmost care to copy a written model, in order to show it to their
+parents, because this article is most particularly examined, as
+everybody can tell what is or is not good writing.  The boys knew
+all the rules of syntax by heart.
+
+All these academies are in general called boarding-schools.  Some
+few retain the old name of schools only, though it is possible that
+in real merit they may excel the so much-boasted of academies.
+
+It is in general the clergy, who have small incomes, who set up
+these schools both in town and country, and grown up people who are
+foreigners, are also admitted here to learn the English language.
+Mr. G-- charged for board, lodging, and instruction in the English,
+two guineas a-week.  He however, who is desirous of perfecting
+himself in the English, will do better to go some distance into the
+country, and board himself with any clergyman who takes scholars,
+where he will hear nothing but English spoken, and may at every
+opportunity be taught both by young and old.
+
+There are in England, besides the two universities, but few great
+schools or colleges.  In London, there are only St. Paul's and
+Westminster schools; the rest are almost all private institutions,
+in which there reigns a kind of family education, which is certainly
+the most natural, if properly conducted.  Some few grammar schools,
+or Latin schools, are notwithstanding here and there to be met with,
+where the master receives a fixed salary, besides the ordinary
+profits of the school paid by the scholars.
+
+You see in the streets of London, great and little boys running
+about in long blue coats, which, like robes, reach quite down to the
+feet, and little white bands, such as the clergy wear.  These belong
+to a charitable institution, or school, which hears the name of the
+Blue Coat School.  The singing of the choristers in the streets, so
+usual with us, is not at all customary here.  Indeed, there is in
+England, or at least in London, such a constant walking, riding, and
+driving up and down in the streets, that it would not be very
+practicable.  Parents here in general, nay even those of the lowest
+classes, seem to be kind and indulgent to their children, and do
+not, like our common people, break their spirits too much by blows
+and sharp language.  Children should certainly be inured early to
+set a proper value on themselves; whereas with us, parents of the
+lower class bring up their children to the same slavery under which
+they themselves groan.
+
+Notwithstanding the constant new appetites and calls of fashion,
+they here remain faithful to nature--till a certain age.  What a
+contrast, when I figure to myself our petted, pale-faced Berlin
+boys, at six years old, with a large bag, and all the parade of
+grown-up persons, nay even with laced coats; and here, on the
+contrary see nothing but fine, ruddy, slim, active boys, with their
+bosoms open, and their hair cut on their forehead, whilst behind it
+flows naturally in ringlets.  It is something uncommon here to meet
+a young man, and more especially a boy, with a pale or sallow face,
+with deformed features, or disproportioned limbs.  With us, alas! it
+is not to be concealed, the case is very much otherwise; if it were
+not, handsome people would hardly strike us so very much as they do
+in this country.
+
+This free, loose, and natural dress is worn till they are eighteen,
+or even till they are twenty.  It is then, indeed, discontinued by
+the higher ranks, but with the common people it always remains the
+same.  They then begin to have their hair dressed, and curled with
+irons, to give the head a large bushy appearance, and half their
+backs are covered with powder.  I am obliged to remain still longer
+under the hands of an English, than I was under a German hair-
+dresser; and to sweat under his hot irons with which he curls my
+hair all over, in order that I may appear among Englishmen, somewhat
+English.  I must here observe that the English hair-dressers are
+also barbers, an office however, which they perform very badly
+indeed; though I cannot but consider shaving as a far more proper
+employment for these petit maitres than it is for surgeons, who you
+know in our country are obliged to shave us.  It is incredible how
+much the English at present Frenchify themselves; the only things
+yet wanting are bags and swords, with which at least I have seen no
+one walking publicly, but I am told they are worn at court.
+
+In the morning it is usual to walk out in a sort of negligee or
+morning dress, your hair not dressed, but merely rolled up in
+rollers, and in a frock and boots.  In Westminster, the morning
+lasts till four or five o'clock, at which time they dine, and supper
+and going to bed are regulated accordingly.  They generally do not
+breakfast till ten o'clock.  The farther you go from the court into
+the city, the more regular and domestic the people become; and there
+they generally dine about three o'clock, i.e. as soon as the
+business or 'Change is over.
+
+Trimmed suits are not yet worn, and the most usual dress is in
+summer, a short white waistcoat, black breeches, white silk
+stockings, and a frock, generally of very dark blue cloth, which
+looks like black; and the English seem in general to prefer dark
+colours.  If you wish to be full dressed, you wear black.  Officers
+rarely wear their uniforms, but dress like other people, and are to
+be known to be officers only by a cockade in their hats.
+
+It is a common observation, that the more solicitous any people are
+about dress, the more effeminate they are.  I attribute it entirely
+to this idle adventitious passion for finery, that these people are
+become so over and above careful of their persons; they are for
+ever, and on every occasion, putting one another on their guard
+against catching cold; "you'll certainly catch cold," they always
+tell you if you happen to be a little exposed to the draught of the
+air, or if you be not clad, as they think, sufficiently warm.  The
+general topic of conversation in summer, is on the important objects
+of whether such and such an acquaintance be in town, or such a one
+in the country.  Far from blaming it, I think it natural and
+commendable, that nearly one half of the inhabitants of this great
+city migrate into the country in summer.  And into the country, I
+too, though not a Londoner, hope soon to wander.
+
+Electricity happens at present to be the puppet-show of the English.
+Whoever at all understands electricity is sure of being noticed and
+successful.  This a certain Mr. Katterfelto experiences, who gives
+himself out for a Prussian, speaks bad English, and understands
+beside the usual electrical and philosophical experiments, some
+legerdemain tricks, with which (at least according to the papers) he
+sets the whole world in wonder.  For in almost every newspaper that
+appears, there are some verses on the great Katterfelto, which some
+one or other of his hearers are said to have made extempore.  Every
+sensible person considers Katterfelto as a puppy, an ignoramus, a
+braggadocio, and an impostor; notwithstanding which he has a number
+of followers.  He has demonstrated to the people, that the influenza
+is occasioned by a small kind of insect, which poisons the air; and
+a nostrum, which he pretends to have found out to prevent or destroy
+it, is eagerly bought of him.  A few days ago he put into the
+papers:  "It is true that Mr. Katterfelto has always wished for cold
+and rainy weather, in order to destroy the pernicious insects in the
+air; but now, on the contrary, he wishes for nothing more than for
+fair weather, as his majesty and the whole royal family have
+determined, the first fine day, to be eye-witnesses of the great
+wonder, which this learned philosopher will render visible to them."
+Yet all this while the royal family have not so much as even thought
+of seeing the wonders of Mr. Katterfelto.  This kind of rhodomontade
+is very finely expressed in English by the word puff, which in its
+literal sense, signifies a blowing, or violent gust of wind, and in
+the metaphorical sense, a boasting or bragging.
+
+Of such puffs the English newspapers are daily full, particularly of
+quack medicines and empirics, by means of which many a one here (and
+among others a German who goes by the name of the German doctor) are
+become rich.  An advertisement of a lottery in the papers begins
+with capitals in this manner,--"Ten Thousand Pounds for a Sixpence!
+Yes, however astonishing it may seem, it is nevertheless undoubtedly
+true, that for the small stake of sixpence, ten thousand pounds, and
+other capital prizes, may be won, etc."--But enough for this time of
+the puffs of the English.
+
+I yesterday dined with the Rev. Mr. Schrader, son-in-law to
+Professor Foster of Halle.  He is chaplain to the German chapel at
+St. James's; but besides himself he has a colleague or a reader, who
+is also in orders, but has only fifty pounds yearly salary.  Mr.
+Schrader also instructs the younger princes and princesses of the
+royal family in their religion.  At his house I saw the two
+chaplains, Mr. Lindeman and Mr. Kritter, who went with the
+Hanoverian troops to Minorca, and who were returned with the
+garrison.  They were exposed to every danger along with the troops.
+The German clergy, as well as every other person in any public
+station immediately under Government, are obliged to pay a
+considerable tax out of their salaries.
+
+The English clergy (and I fear those still more particularly who
+live in London) are noticeable, and lamentably conspicuous, by a
+very free, secular, and irregular way of life.  Since my residence
+in England, one has fought a duel in Hyde Park, and shot has
+antagonist.  He was tried for the offence, and it was evident the
+judge thought him guilty of murder; but the jury declared him guilty
+only of manslaughter; and on this verdict he was burnt in the hand,
+if that may be called burning which is done with a cold iron; this
+being a privilege which the nobility and clergy enjoy above other
+murderers.
+
+Yesterday week, after I had preached for Mr. Wendeborne, we passed
+an English church in which, we understood the sermon was not yet
+quite finished.  On this we went in, and then I heard a young man
+preaching, with a tolerable good voice, and a proper delivery; but,
+like the English in general, his manner was unimpassioned, and his
+tone monotonous.  From the church we went to a coffee-house opposite
+to it, and there we dined.  We had not been long there before the
+same clergyman whom we had just heard preaching, also came in.  He
+called for pen and ink, and hastily wrote down a few pages on a long
+sheet of paper, which he put into his pocket; I suppose it was some
+rough sketch or memorandum that occurred to him at that moment, and
+which he thus reserved for some future sermon.  He too ordered some
+dinner, which he had no sooner ate, than he returned immediately to
+the same church.  We followed him, and he again mounted the pulpit,
+where he drew from his pocket a written paper, or book of notes, and
+delivered in all probability those very words which he had just
+before composed in our presence at the coffee-house.
+
+In these coffee-houses, however, there generally prevails a very
+decorous stillness and silence.  Everyone speaks softly to those
+only who sit next him.  The greater part read the newspapers, and no
+one ever disturbs another.  The room is commonly on the ground
+floor, and you enter it immediately from the street; the seats are
+divided by wooden wainscot partitions.  Many letters and projects
+are here written and planned, and many of those that you find in the
+papers are dated from some of these coffee-houses.  There is,
+therefore, nothing incredible, nor very extraordinary, in a person's
+composing a sermon here, excepting that one would imagine it might
+have been done better at home, and certainly should not have thus
+been put off to the last minute.
+
+Another long walk that I have taken pretty often, is through Hanover
+Square and Cavendish Square, to Bulstrode Street, near Paddington,
+where the Danish ambassador lives, and where I have often visited
+the Danish Charge d'Affaires, M. Schornborn.  He is well known in
+Germany, as having attempted to translate Pindar into German.
+Besides this, and besides being known to be a man of genius, he is
+known to be a great proficient in most of the branches of natural
+philosophy.  I have spent many very pleasant hours with him.
+
+Sublime poetry, and in particular odes, are his forte; there are
+indeed few departments of learning in which he has not extensive
+knowledge, and he is also well read in the Greek and Roman authors.
+Everything he studies, he studies merely from the love he bears to
+the science itself, and by no means for the love of fame.
+
+One could hardly help saying it is a pity that so excellent a man
+should be so little known, were it not generally the case with men
+of transcendent merit.  But what makes him still more valuable is
+his pure and open soul, and his amiable unaffected simplicity of
+character, which has gained him the love and confidence of all who
+know him.  He has heretofore been secretary to the ambassador at
+Algiers; and even here in London, when he is not occupied by the
+business arising from his public station, he lives exceedingly
+retired, and devotes his time almost entirely to the study of the
+sciences.  The more agreeable I find such an acquaintance, the
+harder it will be for me to lose, as I soon must, his learned, his
+instructive, and his friendly conversation.
+
+I have seen the large Freemasons' Hall here, at the tavern of the
+same name.  This hall is of an astonishing height and breadth, and
+to me it looked almost like a church.  The orchestra is very much
+raised, and from that you have a fine view of the whole hall, which
+makes a majestic appearance.  The building is said to have cost an
+immense sum.  But to that the lodges in Germany also contributed.
+Freemasonry seems to be held in but little estimation in England,
+perhaps because most of the lodges are now degenerated into mere
+drinking clubs; though I hope there still are some who assemble for
+nobler and more essential purposes.  The Duke of Cumberland is now
+grand master.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+
+London, 20th June, 1782.
+
+At length my determination of going into the country takes effect;
+and I am to set off this very afternoon in a stage; so that I now
+write to you my last letter from London, I mean till I return from
+my pilgrimage, for as soon as ever I have got beyond the dangerous
+neighbourhood of London, I shall certainly no longer suffer myself
+to be cooped up in a post-coach, but take my staff and pursue my
+journey on foot.  In the meantime, however, I will relate to you
+what I may either have forgotten to write before, or what I have
+seen worth notice within these few days last past; among which the
+foremost is
+
+St. Paul's.
+
+I must own that on my entrance into this massy building, an uncommon
+vacancy, which seemed to reign in it, rather damped than raised an
+impression of anything majestic in me.  All around me I could see
+nothing but immense bare walls and pillars.  Above me, at an
+astonishing height, was the vaulted stone roof; and beneath me a
+plain, flat even floor, paved with marble.  No altar was to be seen,
+or any other sign that this was a place where mankind assembled to
+adore the Almighty.  For the church itself, or properly that part of
+it where they perform divine service, seems as it were a piece stuck
+on or added to the main edifice, and is separated from the large
+round empty space by an iron gate, or door.  Did the great
+architects who adopted this style of building mean by this to say
+that such a temple is most proper for the adoration of the Almighty?
+If this was their aim, I can only say I admire the great temple of
+nature, the azure vaulted sky, and the green carpet with which the
+earth is spread.  This is truly a large temple; but then there is in
+it no void, no spot unappropriated, or unfulfilled, but everywhere
+proofs in abundance of the presence of the Almighty.  If, however,
+mankind, in their honest ambition to worship the great God of
+nature, in a style not wholly unsuitable to the great object of
+their reverence, and in their humble efforts at magnificence, aim in
+some degree to rival the magnificence of nature, particular pains
+should be taken to hit on something that might atone for the
+unavoidable loss of the animation and ampleness of nature; something
+in short that should clearly indicate the true and appropriated
+design and purpose of such a building.  If, on the other hand, I
+could be contented to consider St. Paul's merely as a work of art,
+built as if merely to show the amazing extent of human powers, I
+should certainly gaze at it with admiration and astonishment, but
+then I wish rather to contemplate it with awe and veneration.  But,
+I perceive, I am wandering out of my way.  St. Paul's is here, as it
+is, a noble pile, and not unworthy of this great nation.  And even
+if I were sure that I could, you would hardly thank me for showing
+you how it might have been still more worthy of this intelligent
+people.  I make a conscience however of telling you always, with
+fidelity, what impression everything I see or hear makes on me at
+the time.  For a small sum of money I was conducted all over the
+church by a man whose office it seemed to be, and he repeated to me,
+I dare say, exactly his lesson, which no doubt he has perfectly got
+by rote:  of how many feet long and broad it was; how many years it
+was in building, and in what year built.  Much of this rigmarole
+story, which, like a parrot, he repeated mechanically, I could
+willingly have dispensed with.  In the part that was separated from
+the rest by the iron gate above mentioned, was what I call the
+church itself; furnished with benches, pews, pulpit, and an altar;
+and on each side seats for the choristers, as there are in our
+cathedrals.  This church seemed to have been built purposely in such
+a way, that the bishop, or dean, or dignitary, who should preach
+there, might not be obliged to strain his voice too much.  I was now
+conducted to that part which is called the whispering gallery, which
+is a circumference of prodigious extent, just below the cupola.
+Here I was directed to place myself in a part of it directly
+opposite to my conductor, on the other side of the gallery, so that
+we had the whole breadth of the church between us, and here as I
+stood, he, knowing his cue no doubt, flung to the door with all his
+force, which gave a sound that I could compare to nothing less than
+a peal of thunder.  I was next desired to apply my ear to the wall,
+which, when I did, I heard the words of my conductor:  "Can you hear
+me?" which he softly whispered quite on the other side, as plain and
+as loud as one commonly speaks to a deaf person.  This scheme to
+condense and invigorate sound at so great a distance is really
+wonderful.  I once noticed some sound of the same sort in the
+senatorial cellar at Bremen; but neither that, nor I believe any
+other in the world, can pretend to come in competition with this.
+
+I now ascended several steps to the great gallery, which runs on the
+outside of the great dome, and here I remained nearly two hours, as
+I could hardly, in less time, satisfy myself with the prospect of
+the various interesting objects that lay all round me, and which can
+no where be better seen, than from hence.
+
+Every view, and every object I studied attentively, by viewing them
+again and again on every side, for I was anxious to make a lasting
+impression of it on my imagination.
+
+Below me lay steeples, houses, and palaces in countless numbers; the
+squares with their grass plots in their middle that lay agreeably
+dispersed and intermixed, with all the huge clusters of buildings,
+forming meanwhile a pleasing contrast, and a relief to the jaded
+eye.
+
+At one end rose the Tower--itself a city--with a wood of masts
+behind it; and at the other Westminster Abbey with its steeples.
+There I beheld, clad in smiles, those beautiful green hills that
+skirt the environs of Paddington and Islington; here, on the
+opposite bank of the Thames, lay Southwark; the city itself it seems
+to be impossible for any eye to take in entirely, for with all my
+pains I found it impossible to ascertain either where it ended, or
+where the circumjacent villages began; far as the eye could reach,
+it seemed to be all one continued chain of buildings.
+
+I well remember how large I thought Berlin when first I saw it from
+the steeple of St. Mary, and from the Temple Yard Hills, but how did
+it now sink and fall in my imagination, when I compared it with
+London!
+
+It is, however, idle and vain to attempt giving you in words, any
+description, however faint and imperfect, of such a prospect as I
+have just been viewing.  He who wishes at one view to see a world in
+miniature, must come to the dome of St Paul's.
+
+The roof of St. Paul's itself with its two lesser steeples lay below
+me, and as I fancied, looked something like the background of a
+small ridge of hills, which you look down upon when you have
+attained the summit of some huge rock or mountain.  I should gladly
+have remained here sometime longer, but a gust of wind, which in
+this situation was so powerful that it was hardly possible to
+withstand it, drove me down.
+
+Notwithstanding that St. Paul's is itself very high, the elevation
+of the ground on which it stands contributes greatly to its
+elevation.
+
+The church of St. Peter at Berlin, notwithstanding the total
+difference between them in the style of building, appears in some
+respects to have a great resemblance to St. Paul's in London.  At
+least its large high black roof rises above the other surrounding
+buildings just as St. Paul's does.
+
+What else I saw in this stately cathedral was only a wooden model of
+this very edifice, which was made before the church was built, and
+which suggests some not unpleasing reflections when one compares it
+with the enormous building itself.
+
+The churchyard is enclosed with an iron rail, and it appears a
+considerable distance if you go all round.
+
+Owing to some cause or other, the site of St. Paul's strikes you as
+being confined, and it is certain that this beautiful church is on
+every side closely surrounded by houses.
+
+A marble statue of Queen Anne in an enclosed piece of ground in the
+west front of the church is something of an ornament to that side.
+
+The size of the bell of St. Paul's is also worthy of notice, as it
+is reckoned one of those that are deemed the largest in Europe.  It
+takes its place, they say, next to that at Vienna.
+
+Everything that I saw in St. Paul's cost me only a little more than
+a shilling, which I paid in pence and halfpence, according to a
+regulated price, fixed for every different curiosity.
+
+Westminster Abbey.
+
+On a very gloomy dismal day, just such a one as it ought to be, I
+went to see Westminster Abbey.
+
+I entered at a small door, which brought me immediately to the
+poets' corner, where the monuments and busts of the principal poets,
+artists, generals, and great men, are placed.
+
+Not far from the door, immediately on my entrance, I perceived the
+statue of Shakespeare, as large as life; with a band, &c., in the
+dress usual in his time.
+
+A passage out of one of Shakespeare's own plays (the Tempest), in
+which he describes in the most solemn and affecting manner, the end,
+or the dissolution of all things, is here, with great propriety, put
+up as his epitaph; as though none but Shakespeare could do justice
+to Shakespeare.
+
+Not far from this immortal bard is Rowe's monument, which, as it is
+intimated in the few lines that are inscribed as his epitaph, he
+himself had desired to be placed there.
+
+At no great distance I saw the bust of that amiable writer,
+Goldsmith:  to whom, as well as to Butler, whose monument is in a
+distant part of the abbey, though they had scarcely necessary bread
+to eat during their life time, handsome monuments are now raised.
+Here, too you see, almost in a row, the monuments of Milton, Dryden,
+Gay, and Thomson.  The inscription on Gay's tombstone is, if not
+actually immoral, yet futile and weak; though he is said to have
+written it himself:
+
+
+"Life is a jest, and all things shew it,
+'I thought so once but now I know it."
+
+
+Our Handel has also a monument here, where he is represented as
+large as life.
+
+An actress, Pritchard, and Booth, an actor, have also very
+distinguished monuments erected here to their memories.
+
+For Newton, as was proper, there is a very costly one.  It is above,
+at the entrance of the choir, and exactly opposite to this, at the
+end of the church, another is erected, which refers you to the
+former.
+
+As I passed along the side walls of Westminster Abbey, I hardly saw
+any thing but marble monuments of great admirals, but which were all
+too much loaded with finery and ornaments, to make on me at least,
+the intended impression.
+
+I always returned with most pleasure to the poets' corner, where the
+most sensible, most able, and most learned men, of the different
+ages, were re-assembled; and particularly where the elegant
+simplicity of the monuments made an elevated and affecting
+impression on the mind, while a perfect recollection of some
+favourite passage, of a Shakespeare, or Milton, recurred to my idea,
+and seemed for a moment to re-animate and bring back the spirits of
+those truly great men.
+
+Of Addison and Pope I have found no monuments here.  The vaults
+where the kings are buried, and some other things worth notice in
+the abbey, I have not yet seen; but perhaps I may at my return to
+London from the country.
+
+I have made every necessary preparation for this journey:  In the
+first place, I have an accurate map of England in my pocket; besides
+an excellent book of the roads, which Mr. Pointer, the English
+merchant to whom I am recommended, has lent me.  The title is "A new
+and accurate description of all the direct and principal cross roads
+in Great Britain."  This book, I hope, will be of great service to
+me in my ramblings.
+
+I was for a long time undecided which way I should go, whether to
+the Isle of Wight, to Portsmouth, or to Derbyshire, which is famous
+for its natural curiosities, and also for its romantic situation.
+At length I have determined on Derbyshire.
+
+During my absence I leave my trunk at Mr. Mulhausen's (one of Mr.
+Pointer's senior partners), that I may not be at the needless
+expense of paying for my lodging without making use of it.  This Mr.
+Pointer lived long in Germany, and is politely partial to us and our
+language, and speaks it well.  He is a well-bred and singularly
+obliging man; and one who possesses a vast fund of information, and
+a good taste.  I cannot but feel myself happy in having obtained a
+recommendation to so accomplished a man.  I got it from Messrs.
+Persent and Dorner, to whom I had the honour to be recommended by
+Mr. Von Taubenheim, Privy Counsellor at Berlin.  These
+recommendations have been of infinite use to me.
+
+I propose to go to-day as far as Richmond; for which place a stage
+sets out about two o'clock from some inn, not far from the new
+church in the Strand.  Four guineas, some linen, my English book of
+the roads, and a map and pocket-book, together with Milton's
+Paradise Lost, which I must put in my pocket, compose the whole of
+my equipage; and I hope to walk very lightly with it.  But it now
+strikes half-past one, and of course it is time for me to be at the
+stage.  Farewell!  I will write to you again from Richmond.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+
+Richmond, 21st June, 1782.
+
+Yesterday afternoon I had the luxury for the first time of being
+driven in an English stage.  These coaches are, at least in the eyes
+of a foreigner, quite elegant, lined in the inside; and with two
+seats large enough to accommodate six persons; but it must be owned,
+when the carriage is full, the company are rather crowded.
+
+At the White Hart from whence the coach sets out, there was, at
+first only an elderly lady who got in; but as we drove along, it was
+soon filled, and mostly by ladies, there being only one more
+gentleman and myself.  The conversation of the ladies among
+themselves, who appeared to be a little acquainted with each other,
+seemed to me to be but very insipid and tiresome.  All I could do
+was, I drew out my book of the roads, and marked the way we were
+going.
+
+Before you well know that you are out of London you are already in
+Kensington and Hammersmith; because there are all the way houses on
+both sides, after you are out of the city; just as you may remember
+the case is with us when you drive from Berlin to Schoneberg;
+although in point of prospect, houses and streets, the difference,
+no doubt, is prodigious.
+
+It was a fine day, and there were various delightful prospects on
+both sides, on which the eye would willingly have dwelt longer, had
+not our coach rolled on past them, so provokingly quick.  It
+appeared somewhat singular to me, when at a few miles from London, I
+saw at a distance a beautiful white house; and perceived on the high
+road, on which we were driving, a direction post, on which were
+written these words:  "that great white house at a distance is a
+boarding-school!"
+
+The man who was with us in the coach pointed out to us the country
+seats of the lords and great people by which we passed; and
+entertained us with all kind of stories of robberies which had been
+committed on travellers, hereabouts; so that the ladies at last
+began to be rather afraid; on which he began to stand up for the
+superior honour of the English robbers, when compared with the
+French:  the former he said robbed only, the latter both robbed and
+murdered.
+
+Notwithstanding this there are in England another species of
+villains, who also murder, and that oftentimes for the merest
+trifle, of which they rob the person murdered.  These are called
+footpads, and are the lowest class of English rogues; amongst whom
+in general there reigns something like some regard to character.
+
+The highest order of thieves are the pickpockets or cutpurses, whom
+you find everywhere; and sometimes even in the best companies.  They
+are generally well and handsomely dressed, so that you take them to
+be persons of rank; as indeed may sometimes be the case:  persons
+who by extravagance and excesses have reduced themselves to want,
+and find themselves obliged at last to have recourse to pilfering
+and thieving.
+
+Next to them come the highwaymen, who rob on horseback; and often,
+they say, even with unloaded pistols, they terrify travellers, in
+order to put themselves in possession of their purses.  Among these
+persons, however, there are instances of true greatness of soul,
+there are numberless instances of their returning a part of their
+booty, where the party robbed has appeared to be particularly
+distressed; and they are seldom guilty of murder.
+
+Then comes the third and lowest, and worst of all thieves and
+rogues, the footpads before mentioned; who are on foot, and often
+murder in the most inhuman manner, for the sake of only a few
+shillings, any unfortunate people who happen to fall in their way.
+Of this several mournful instances may be read almost daily in the
+English papers.  Probably they murder, because they cannot like
+highwaymen, aided by their horses, make a rapid flight:  and
+therefore such pests are frequently pretty easily pursued and taken
+if the person robbed gives information of his robbery in time.
+
+But to return to our stage, I must observe, that they have here a
+curious way of riding, not in, but upon a stage-coach.  Persons to
+whom it is not convenient to pay a full price, instead of the
+inside, sit on the top of the coach, without any seats or even a
+rail.  By what means passengers thus fasten themselves securely on
+the roof of these vehicles, I know not; but you constantly see
+numbers seated there, apparently at their ease, and in perfect
+safety.
+
+This they call riding on the outside; for which they pay only half
+as much as those pay who are within:  we had at present six of these
+passengers over our heads, who, when we alighted, frequently made
+such a noise and bustle, as sometimes almost frightened us.  He who
+can properly balance himself, rides not incommodiously on the
+outside; and in summer time, in fine weather, on account of the
+prospects, it certainly is more pleasant than it is within:
+excepting that the company is generally low, and the dust is
+likewise more troublesome than in the inside, where, at any rate,
+you may draw up the windows according to your pleasure.
+
+In Kensington, where we stopped, a Jew applied for a place along
+with us; but as there was no seat vacant in the inside, he would not
+ride on the outside, which seemed not quite to please my travelling
+companions.  They could not help thinking it somewhat preposterous
+that a Jew should be ashamed to ride on the outside, or on any side,
+and in any way; since as they added, he was nothing more than a Jew.
+This antipathy and prejudice against the Jews, I have noticed to be
+far more common here, than it is even with us, who certainly are not
+partial to them.
+
+Of the beautiful country seats and villas which we now passed, I
+could only through the windows of our coach gain a partial and
+indistinct prospect, which led me to wish, as I soon most earnestly
+did, to be released from this movable prison.  Towards evening we
+arrived at Richmond.  In London, before I set out, I had paid one
+shilling; another was now demanded, so that upon the whole, from
+London to Richmond, the passage in the stage costs just two
+shillings.
+
+As soon as I had alighted at an inn and had drunk my tea, I went out
+immediately to see the town and the circumjacent country.
+
+Even this town, though hardly out of sight of London, is more
+countrified, pleasanter, and more cheerful than London, and the
+houses do not seem to be so much blackened by smoke.  The people
+also appeared to me here more sociable and more hospitable.  I saw
+several sitting on benches before their doors, to enjoy the cool
+breeze of the evening.  On a large green area in the middle of the
+town, a number of boys, and even young men, were enjoying
+themselves, and playing at trap-ball.  In the streets there reigned
+here, compared to London, a pleasing rural tranquillity, and I
+breathed a purer and fresher air.
+
+I went now out of the town over a bridge, which lies across the
+Thames, and where you pay a penny as often as you pass over it.  The
+bridge is lofty and built in the form of an arch, and from it you
+enter immediately into a most charming valley, that winds all along
+the banks of the Thames.
+
+It was evening.  The sun was just shedding her last parting rays on
+the valley; but such an evening, and such a valley!  Oh, it is
+impossible I should ever forget them.  The terrace at Richmond does
+assuredly afford one of the finest prospects in the world.  Whatever
+is charming in nature, or pleasing in art, is to be seen here.
+Nothing I had ever seen, or ever can see elsewhere, is to be
+compared to it.  My feelings, during the few short enraptured
+minutes that I stood there, it is impossible for any pen to
+describe.
+
+One of my first sensations was chagrin and sorrow for the days and
+hours I had wasted in London, and I had vented a thousand bitter
+reproaches on my irresolution, that I had not long ago quitted that
+huge dungeon to come here and pass my time in paradise.
+
+Yes, my friend, whatever be your ideas of paradise, and how
+luxuriantly soever it may be depicted to your imagination, I venture
+to foretell that here you will be sure to find all those ideas
+realised.  In every point of view, Richmond is assuredly one of the
+first situations in the world.  Here it was that Thomson and Pope
+gleaned from nature all those beautiful passages with which their
+inimitable writings abound.
+
+Instead of the incessant distressing noise in London, I saw here at
+a distance, sundry little family parties walking arm in arm along
+the banks of the Thames.  Everything breathed a soft and pleasing
+calm, which warmed my heart and filed it with some of the most
+pleasing sensations of which our nature is susceptible.
+
+Beneath I trod on that fresh, even, and soft verdure which is to be
+seen only in England.  On one side of me lay a wood, than which
+nature cannot produce a finer, and on the other the Thames, with its
+shelvy bank and charming lawns rising like an amphitheatre, along
+which, here and there, one espies a picturesque white house,
+aspiring in majestic simplicity to pierce the dark foliage of the
+surrounding trees; thus studding, like stars in the galaxy, the rich
+expanse of this charming vale.
+
+Sweet Richmond! never, no, never, shall I forget that lovely
+evening, when from thy fairy hills thou didst so hospitably smile on
+me, a poor lonely, insignificant stranger!  As I traversed to and
+fro thy meads, thy little swelling hills and flowery dells, and
+above all that queen of all rivers, thy own majestic Thames, I
+forgot all sublunary cares, and thought only of heaven and heavenly
+things.  Happy, thrice happy am I, I again and again exclaimed, that
+I am no longer in yon gloomy city, but here in Elysium, in Richmond.
+
+O ye copsy hills, ye green meadows, and ye rich streams in this
+blessed country, how have ye enchanted me?  Still, however, let me
+recollect and resolve, as I firmly do, that even ye shall not
+prevent my return to those barren and dusty lands where my, perhaps
+a less indulgent, destiny has placed me, and where, in the due
+discharge of all the arduous and important duties of that humble
+function to which providence has called me, I must and I will
+faithfully exert my best talents, and in that exertion find
+pleasure, and I trust, happiness.  In every future moment of my
+life, however, the recollection of this scene, and the feelings it
+inspired, shall cheer my labours and invigorate my efforts.
+
+These were some of my reflections, my dearest friend, during my
+solitary walk.  Of the evening I passed at Richmond, I speak feebly
+when I content myself with saying only, it was one of the
+pleasantest I ever spent in my life.
+
+I now resolved to go to bed early, with a firm purpose of also
+rising early the next day to revisit this charming walk; for I
+thought to myself, I have now seen this temple of the modern world
+imperfectly; I have seen it only by moonlight.  How much more
+charming must it be when glistening with the morning dew!  These
+fond hopes, alas, were all disappointed.  In all great schemes of
+enjoyment, it is, I believe, no bad way always to figure to yourself
+some possible evil that may arise, and to anticipate a
+disappointment.  If I had done so, I should not perhaps have felt
+the mortification I then experienced quite so pungent.  By some
+means or other I stayed too long out, and so when I returned to
+Richmond, I had forgot the name and the sign of the inn where I had
+before stopped; it cost me no little trouble to find it again.
+
+When at last I got back, I told the people what a sweet walk I had
+had, and they then spoke much of a prospect from a neighbouring
+hill, known by the name of Richmond Hill, which was the very same
+hill from the top of which I had just been gazing at the houses in
+the vale, the preceding evening.  From this same kill, therefore, I
+resolved the next morning to see the sun rise.
+
+The landlady of this house was a notable one, and talked so much and
+so loud to her servants, that I could not get to sleep till it was
+pretty late.  However, I was up next morning at three o'clock, and
+was now particularly sensible of the great inconveniences they
+sustain in England by their bad custom of rising so late, for as I
+was the only one in this family who was up, I could not get out of
+the house.  This obliged me to spend three most irksome and heavy
+hours till six o'clock; however, a servant at length opened the
+door, and I rushed out to climb Richmond Hill.  To my infinite
+disappointment, within the space of an hour, the sky had become
+overcast, and it was now so cloudy that I could not even see, nor of
+course enjoy one half of the delightful prospect that lay before me.
+
+On the top of this hill is an alley of chestnut trees, under which
+here and there seats are placed.  Behind the alley is a row of well-
+built gentlemen's country seats.  One does not wonder to see it thus
+occupied; besides the pure air, the prospect exceeds everything else
+of the kind in the world.  I never saw a palace which, if I were the
+owner of it, I would not give for any of the houses I now saw on
+Richmond Terrace.
+
+The descent of the hill to the Thames is covered with verdure, the
+Thames at the foot of it forms near a semicircle, in which it seems
+to embrace woody plains, with meadows and country seats in its
+bosom.  On one side you see the town and its magnificent bridge, and
+on the other a dark wood.
+
+At a distance you could perceive, peeping out among the meadows and
+woods, sundry small villages, so that notwithstanding the dulness of
+the weather, this prospect even now was one of the finest I had ever
+seen.  But what is the reason that yesterday evening my feelings
+were far more acute and lively, the impressions made on me much
+stronger, when from the vale I viewed the hill and fancied that
+there was in it every thing that was delightful, than they are this
+morning, when from the hill I overlooked the vale and knew pretty
+exactly what it contained?
+
+I have now finished my breakfast, and once more seize my staff, the
+only companion I have, and now again set out on this romantic
+journey on foot.  From Windsor you shall hear more of me.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+
+Windsor, 23rd June.
+
+I have already, my dearest friend, now that I write to you from
+hence, experienced so many inconveniences as a traveller on foot,
+that I am at some loss to determine whether or no I shall go on with
+my journey in the same manner.
+
+A traveller on foot in this country seems to be considered as a sort
+of wild man or out-of-the way being, who is stared at, pitied,
+suspected, and shunned by everybody that meets him.  At least this
+has hitherto been my case on the road from Richmond to Windsor.
+
+My host at Richmond, yesterday morning, could not sufficiently
+express his surprise that I intended to venture to walk as far as
+Oxford, and still farther.  He however was so kind as to send his
+son, a clever little boy, to show me the road leading to Windsor.
+
+At first I walked along a very pleasant footway by the side of the
+Thames, where close to my right lay the king's garden.  On the
+opposite bank of the Thames was Isleworth, a spot that seemed to be
+distinguished by some elegant gentlemen's country-seats and gardens.
+Here I was obliged to ferry the river in order to get into the
+Oxford Road, which also leads to Windsor.
+
+When I was on the other side of the water, I came to a house and
+asked a man who was standing at the door if I was on the right road
+to Oxford.  "Yes," said he, "but you want a carriage to carry you
+thither."  When I answered him that I intended walking it, he looked
+at me significantly, shook his head, and went into the house again.
+
+I was now on the road to Oxford.  It is a charming fine broad road,
+and I met on it carriages without number, which, however, on account
+of the heat, occasioned a dust that was extremely troublesome and
+disagreeable.  The fine green hedges, which border the roads in
+England, contribute greatly to render them pleasant.  This was the
+case in the road I now travelled, for when I was tired I sat down in
+the shade under one of these hedges and read Milton.  But this
+relief was soon rendered disagreeable to me, for those who rode or
+drove past me, stared at me with astonishment, and made many
+significant gestures as if they thought my head deranged; so
+singular must it needs have appeared to them to see a man sitting
+along the side of a public road and reading.  I therefore found
+myself obliged, when I wished to rest myself and read, to look out
+for a retired spot in some by-lane or crossroad.
+
+When I again walked, many of the coachmen who drove by called out to
+me, ever and anon, and asked if I would not ride on the outside; and
+when, every now and then, a farmer on horseback met me, he said, and
+seemingly with an air of pity for me, "'Tis warm walking, sir;" and
+when I passed through a village, every old woman testified her pity
+by an exclamation of--"Good God!"
+
+As far as Hounslow the way was very pleasant; afterwards I thought
+it not quite so good.  It lay across a common, which was of a
+considerable extent, and bare and naked, excepting that here and
+there I saw sheep feeding.
+
+I now began to be very tired, when, to my astonishment, I saw a tree
+in the middle of the common that stood quite solitary, and spread a
+shade like an arbour round it.  At the bottom, round the trunk, a
+bench was placed, on which one may sit down.  Beneath the shade of
+this tree I reposed myself a little, read some of Milton, and made a
+note in my memorandum-book that I would remember this tree, which
+had so charitably and hospitably received under its shade a weary
+traveller.  This, you see, I have now done.
+
+The short English miles are delightful for walking.  You are always
+pleased to find, every now and then, in how short a time you have
+walked a mile, though, no doubt, a mile is everywhere a mile, I walk
+but a moderate pace, and can accomplish four English miles in an
+hour.  It used to take me pretty nearly the same time for one German
+mile.  Now it is a pleasing exchange to find that in two hours I can
+walk eight miles.  And now I fancy I was about seventeen miles from
+London, when I came to an inn, where, for a little wine and water, I
+was obliged to pay sixpence.  An Englishman who happened to be
+sitting by the side of the innkeeper found out that I was a German,
+and, of course, from the country of his queen, in praise of whom he
+was quite lavish, observing more than once that England never had
+had such a queen, and would not easily get such another.
+
+It now began to grow hot.  On the left hand, almost close to the
+high road, I met with a singularly clear rivulet.  In this I bathed,
+and was much refreshed, and afterwards, with fresh alacrity,
+continued my journey.
+
+I had now got over the common, and was once more in a country rich
+and well cultivated beyond all conception.  This continued to be the
+case as far as Slough, which is twenty miles and a half from London,
+on the way to Oxford, and from which to the left there is a road
+leading to Windsor, whose high white castle I have already seen at a
+distance.
+
+I made no stay here, but went directly to the right, along a very
+pleasant high road, between meadows and green hedges, towards
+Windsor, where I arrived about noon.
+
+It strikes a foreigner as something particular and unusual when, on
+passing through these fine English towns, he observed one of those
+circumstances by which the towns in Germany are distinguished from
+the villages--no walls, no gates, no sentries, nor garrisons.  No
+stern examiner comes here to search and inspect us or our baggage;
+no imperious guard here demands a sight of our passports; perfectly
+free and unmolested, we here walk through villages and towns as
+unconcerned as we should through a house of our own.
+
+Just before I got to Windsor I passed Eton College, one of the first
+public schools in England, and perhaps in the world.  I have before
+observed that there are in England fewer of these great schools than
+one might expect.  It lay on my left; and on the right, directly
+opposite to it, was an inn, into which I went.
+
+I suppose it was during the hour of recreation, or in playtime, when
+I got to Eton, for I saw the boys in the yard before the college,
+which was enclosed by a low wall, in great numbers, walking and
+running up and down.
+
+Their dress struck me particularly.  From the biggest to the least,
+they all wore black cloaks, or gowns, over coloured clothes, through
+which there was an aperture for their arms.  They also wore besides
+a square hat or cap, that seemed to be covered with velvet, such as
+our clergymen in many places wear.
+
+They were differently employed--some talking together, some playing,
+and some had their books in their hands, and were reading; but I was
+soon obliged to get out of their sight, they stared at me so as I
+came along, all over dust, with my stick in my hand.
+
+As I entered the inn, and desired to have something to eat, the
+countenance of the waiter soon gave me to understand that I should
+there find no very friendly reception.  Whatever I got they seemed
+to give me with such an air as showed too plainly how little they
+thought of me, and as if they considered me but as a beggar.  I must
+do them the justice to own, however, that they suffered me to pay
+like a gentleman.  No doubt this was the first time this pert,
+bepowdered puppy had ever been called on to wait on a poor devil who
+entered their place on foot.  I was tired, and asked for a bedroom
+where I might sleep.  They showed me into one that much resembled a
+prison for malefactors.  I requested that I might have a better room
+at night; on which, without any apology, they told me that they had
+no intention of lodging me, as they had no room for such guests, but
+that I might go back to Slough, where very probably I might get a
+night's lodging.
+
+With money in my pocket, and a consciousness, moreover, that I was
+doing nothing that was either imprudent, unworthy, or really mean, I
+own it mortified and vexed me to find myself obliged to put up with
+this impudent ill-usage from people who ought to reflect that they
+are but the servants of the public, and little likely to recommend
+themselves to the high by being insolent to the low.  They made me,
+however, pay them two shillings for my dinner and coffee, which I
+had just thrown down, and was preparing to shake off the dust from
+my shoes, and quit this inhospitable St. Christopher, when the green
+hills of Windsor smiled so friendly upon me, that they seemed to
+invite me first to visit them.
+
+And now trudging through the streets of Windsor, I at length mounted
+a sort of hill; a steep path led me on to its summit, close to the
+walls of the castle, where I had an uncommonly extensive and fine
+prospect, which so much raised my heart, that in a moment I forgot
+not only the insults of waiters and tavern-keepers, but the hardship
+of my lot in being obliged to travel in a manner that exposed me to
+the scorn of a people whom I wished to respect.  Below me lay the
+most beautiful landscapes in the world--all the rich scenery that
+nature, in her best attire, can exhibit.  Here were the spots that
+furnished those delightful themes of which the muse of Denham and
+Pope made choice.  I seemed to view a whole world at once, rich and
+beautiful beyond conception.  At that moment what more could I have
+wished for?
+
+And the venerable castle, that royal edifice which, in every part of
+it, has strong traces of antiquity, smiles through its green trees,
+like the serene countenance of some hoary sage, who, by the vigour
+of a happy constitution, still retains many of the charms of youth.
+
+Nothing inspired me with more veneration and awe than the fine old
+building St. George's Church, which, as you come down from the
+castle, is on your right.  At the sight of it past centuries seemed
+to revive in my imagination.
+
+But I will see no more of those sights which are shown you by one of
+those venal praters, who ten times a day, parrot-wise, repeat over
+the same dull lesson they have got by heart.  The surly fellow, who
+for a shilling conducted me round the church, had nearly, with his
+chattering, destroyed the finest impressions.  Henry VIII., Charles
+I., and Edward IV. are buried here.  After all, this church, both
+within and without, has a most melancholy and dismal appearance.
+
+They were building at what is called the queen's palace, and
+prodigious quantities of materials are provided for that purpose.
+
+I now went down a gentle declivity into the delightful park at
+Windsor, at the foot of which it looks so sombrous and gloomy that I
+could hardly help fancying it was some vast old Gothic temple.  This
+forest certainly, in point of beauty, surpasses everything of the
+kind you can figure to yourself.  To its own charms, when I saw it,
+there were added a most pleasing and philosophical solitude, the
+coolness of an evening breeze, all aided by the soft sounds of
+music, which, at this distance from the castle, from whence it
+issued, was inexpressibly sweet.  It threw me into a sort of
+enthusiastic and pleasing reverie, which made me ample amends for
+the fatigues, discourtesies, and continued cross accidents I had
+encountered in the course of the day.
+
+I now left the forest; the clock struck six, and the workmen were
+going home from their work.
+
+I have forgot to mention the large round tower of the castle, which
+is also a very ancient building.  The roads that lead to it are all
+along their sides planted with shrubs; these, being modern and
+lively, make a pleasing contrast to the fine old mossy walls.  On
+the top of this tower the flag of Great Britain is usually
+displayed, which, however, as it was now late in the evening, was
+taken in.
+
+As I came down from the castle I saw the king driving up to it in a
+very plain, two-wheeled, open carriage.  The people here were
+politer than I used to think they were in London, for I did not see
+a single person, high or low, who did not pull off their hats as
+their sovereign passed them.
+
+I was now again in Windsor, and found myself, not far from the
+castle, opposite to a very capital inn, where I saw many officers
+and several persons of consequence going in and out.  And here at
+this inn, contrary to all expectation, I was received by the
+landlord with great civility, and even kindness--very contrary to
+the haughty and insolent airs which the upstart at the other, and
+his jackanapes of a waiter, there thought fit to give themselves.
+
+However, it seemed to be my fate to be still a scandal and an
+eyesore to all the waiters.  The maid, by the order of her master,
+showed me a room where I might adjust my dress a little; but I could
+hear her mutter and grumble as she went along with me.  Having put
+myself a little to rights, I went down into the coffee-room, which
+is immediately at the entrance of the house, and told the landlord
+that I thought I wished to have yet one more walk.  On this he
+obligingly directed me to stroll down a pleasant field behind his
+house, at the foot of which, he said, I should find the Thames, and
+a good bathing place.
+
+I followed his advice; and this evening was, if possible, finer than
+the preceding.  Here again, as I had been told I should, I found the
+Thames with all its gentle windings.  Windsor shone nearly as bright
+over the green vale as those charming houses on Richmond Hill, and
+the verdure was not less soft and delicate.  The field I was in
+seemed to slope a little towards the Thames.  I seated myself near a
+bush, and there waited the going down of the sun.  At a distance I
+saw a number of people bathing in the Thames.  When, after sunset,
+they were a little dispersed, I drew near the spot I had been
+directed to; and here, for the first time, I sported in the cool
+tide of the Thames.  The bank was steep, but my landlord had dug
+some steps that went down into the water, which is extremely
+convenient for those who cannot swim.  Whilst I was there, a couple
+of smart lively apprentice boys came also from the town, who, with
+the greatest expedition, threw off their clothes and leathern
+aprons, and plunged themselves, head foremost, into the water, where
+they opposed the tide with their sinewy arms till they were tired.
+They advised me, with much natural civility, to untie my hair, and
+that then, like them, I might plunge into the stream head foremost.
+
+Refreshed and strengthened by this cool bath, I took a long walk by
+moonlight on the banks of the Thames.  To my left were the towers of
+Windsor, before me a little village with a steeple, the top of which
+peeped out among the green trees, at a distance two inviting hills
+which I was to climb in the morning, and around me the green
+cornfields.  Oh! how indescribably beautiful was this evening and
+this walk!  At a distance among the houses I could easily descry the
+inn where I lodged, and where I seemed to myself at length to have
+found a place of refuge and a home; and I thought, if I could but
+stay there, I should not be very sorry if I were never to find
+another.
+
+How soon did all these pleasing dreams vanish!  On my return the
+waiters (who, from my appearance, too probably expected but a
+trifling reward for their attentions to me) received me gruffly, and
+as if they were sorry to see me again.  This was not all; I had the
+additional mortification to be again roughly accosted by the cross
+maid who had before shown me to the bed-chamber, and who, dropping a
+kind of half courtesy, with a suppressed laugh, sneeringly told me I
+might look out for another lodging, as I could not sleep there,
+since the room she had by mistake shown me was already engaged.  It
+can hardly be necessary to tell you that I loudly protested against
+this sudden change.  At length the landlord came, and I appealed to
+him; and he with great courtesy immediately desired another room to
+be shown me, in which, however, there were two beds, so that I was
+obliged to admit a companion.  Thus was I very near being a second
+time turned out of an inn.
+
+Directly under my room was the tap-room, from which I could plainly
+hear too much of the conversation of some low people, who were
+drinking and singing songs, in which, as far as I could understand
+them, there were many passages at least as vulgar and nonsensical as
+ours.
+
+This company, I guessed, consisted chiefly of soldiers and low
+fellows.  I was hardly well lulled to sleep by this hurly-burly,
+when my chum (probably one of the drinking party below) came
+stumbling into the room and against my bed.  At length, though not
+without some difficulty, he found his own bed, into which he threw
+himself just as he was, without staying to pull off either clothes
+or boots.
+
+This morning I rose very early, as I had proposed, in order to climb
+the two hills which yesterday presented me with so inviting a
+prospect, and in particular that one of them on the summit of which
+a high white house appeared among the dark-green trees; the other
+was close by.
+
+I found no regular path leading to these hills, and therefore went
+straight forward, without minding roads, only keeping in view the
+object of my aim.  This certainly created me some trouble.  I had
+sometimes a hedge, and sometimes a hog to walk round; but at length
+I had attained the foot of the so earnestly wished-for hill with the
+high white house on its summit, when, just as I was going to ascend
+it, and was already pleasing myself in the idea with the prospect
+from the white house, behold I read these words on a board:  "Take
+care! there are steel traps and spring guns here."
+
+All my labour was lost, and I now went round to the other hill; but
+here were also steel traps and spring gnus, though probably never
+intended to annoy such a wanderer as myself, who wished only to
+enjoy the fine morning air from this eminence.
+
+Thus disappointed in my hopes, I returned to Windsor, much in the
+same temper and manner as I had yesterday morning from Richmond
+Hill; where my wishes had also been frustrated.
+
+When I got to my inn, I received from the ill-tempered maid, who
+seemed to have been stationed there on purpose to plague and vex me,
+the polite welcome, that on no account should I sleep another night
+there.  Luckily, that was not my intention.  I now write to you in
+the coffee room, where two Germans are talking together, who
+certainly little suspect how well I understand them; if I were to
+make myself known to them, as a German, most probably, even these
+fellows would not speak to me, because I travel on foot.  I fancy
+they are Hanoverians!  The weather is so fine that, notwithstanding
+the inconveniences I have hitherto experienced on this account, I
+think I shall continue my journey in the same manner.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+
+Oxford, June 25.
+
+To what various, singular, and unaccountable fatalities and
+adventures are not foot-travellers exposed, in this land of
+carriages and horses!  But, I will begin my relation in form and
+order.
+
+In Windsor, I was obliged to pay for an old fowl I had for supper,
+for a bedroom which I procured with some difficulty, and not without
+murmurs, and in which, to complete my misadventures, I was disturbed
+by a drunken fellow; and for a couple of dishes of tea, nine
+shillings, of which the fowl alone was charged six shillings.
+
+As I was going away the waiter, who had served me with so very ill a
+grace, placed himself on the stairs and said, "Pray remember the
+waiter."  I gave him three halfpence, on which he saluted me with
+the heartiest "G-d d-n you, sir!" I had ever heard.  At the door
+stood the cross maid, who also accosted me with, "Pray remember the
+chambermaid."  "Yes, yes," said I, "I shall long remember your most
+ill-mannered behaviour and shameful incivility;" and so I gave her
+nothing.  I hope she was stung and nettled at my reproof; however,
+she strove to stifle her anger by a contemptuous, loud, hoarse
+laugh.  Thus, as I left Windsor, I was literally followed by abuses
+and curses.
+
+I am very sorry to say that I rejoiced when I once more perceived
+the towers of Windsor behind me.  It is not proper for wanderers to
+be prowling near the palaces of kings, and so I sat me down,
+philosophically, in the shade of a green hedge, and again read
+Milton, no friend of kings, though the first of poets.  Whatever I
+may think of their inns, it is impossible not to admire and be
+charmed with this country.
+
+I took my way through Slough, by Salthill, to Maidenhead.  At
+Salthill, which can hardly be called even a village, I saw a
+barber's shop, and so I resolved to get myself both shaved and
+dressed.  For putting my hair a little in order, and shaving me, I
+was forced to pay him a shilling.  Opposite to this shop there
+stands an elegant house and a neat garden.
+
+Between Salthill and Maidenhead, I met with the first very
+remarkable and alarming adventure that has occurred during my
+pilgrimage.
+
+Hitherto I had scarcely met a single foot passenger, whilst coaches
+without number every moment rolled past me, for there are few roads,
+even in England, more crowded than this western road, which leads to
+Bath and Bristol as well as to Oxford.  I now also began to meet
+numbers of people on horseback, which is by no means an usual method
+of travelling.
+
+The road now led me along a low sunken piece of ground between high
+trees, so that I could not see far before me, when a fellow in a
+brown frock and round hat, with a stick in his hand a great deal
+stronger than mine, came up to me.  His countenance immediately
+struck me as having in it something suspicious.  He however passed
+me; but, before I was aware, he turned back and asked me for a
+halfpenny to buy, as he said, some bread, as he had eaten nothing
+that day.  I felt in my pocket, and found that I had no halfpence:
+no, nor even a sixpence; in short, nothing but shillings.  I told
+him the circumstance, which I hoped would excuse me; on which he
+said, with an air and manner the drift of which I could not
+understand, "God bless my soul!"  This drew my attention still
+closer to the huge brawny fist, which grasped his stick, and that
+closer attention determined me immediately to put my hand in my
+pocket and give him a shilling.  Meanwhile a coach came up.  The
+fellow thanked me and went on.  Had the coach come a moment sooner,
+I should not easily have given him the shilling, which, God knows, I
+could not well spare.  Whether this was a footpad or not, I will not
+pretend to say, but he had every appearance of it.
+
+I now came to Maidenhead bridge, which is five-and-twenty English
+miles from London.
+
+The English milestones give me much pleasure, and they certainly are
+a great convenience to travellers.  They have often seemed to ease
+me of half the distance of a journey merely by telling me how far I
+had already gone, and by assuring me that I was on the right road.
+For, besides the distance from London, every milestone informs you
+that to the next place is so many miles, and where there are cross-
+roads there are direction-posts, so that it is hardly possible to
+lose one's-self in walking.  I must confess that all this journey
+has seemed but as it were one continued walk for pleasure.
+
+From Maidenhead bridge there is a delightful prospect towards a
+hill, which extends itself along the right bank of the Thames, and
+on the top of it there are two beautiful country seats, all
+surrounded with meadows and parks.  The first is called Taplow, and
+belongs to the Earl of Inchiquin; and a little farther Cliefden,
+which also belongs to him.
+
+These villas seem all to be surrounded with green meadows, lying
+along thick woods, and, altogether, are most charming.
+
+From this bridge it is not far to Maidenhead, near which, on the
+left, is another prospect of a beautiful seat, belonging to
+Pennyston Powney, Esq.
+
+All this knowledge I have gained chiefly from my English guide;
+which I have constantly in my hand; and in which everything most
+worthy of notice in every mile is marked.  These notices I get
+confirmed or refuted by the people at whose houses I stop; who
+wonder how I, who am a foreigner, have come to be so well acquainted
+with their country.
+
+Maidenhead is a place of little note; for some mulled ale, which I
+desired them to make me, I was obliged to pay ninepence.  I fancy
+they did not take me to be either a great, or a very rich man, for I
+heard them say, as I passed on, "A stout fellow!"  This, though
+perhaps not untrue, did not seem to sound in my ears as very
+respectful.
+
+At the end of the village was a shoemaker's shop, just as at the end
+of Salthill there was a barber's shop.
+
+From hence I went to Henley, which is eleven miles from Maidenhead,
+and thirty-six from London.
+
+Having walked pretty fast for six English miles together, and being
+now only five miles from Henley, I came to a rising ground where
+there just happened to be a milestone, near which I sat down, to
+enjoy one of the most delightful prospects, the contemplation of
+which I recommend to everyone who may ever happen to come to this
+spot.  Close before me rose a soft hill, full of green cornfields,
+fenced with quick-hedges, and the top of it was encircled with a
+wood.
+
+At some little distance, in a large semicircle, one green hill rose
+after another, all around me, gently raising themselves aloft from
+the banks of the Thames, and on which woods, meadows, arable lands,
+and villages were interspersed in the greatest and most beautiful
+variety; whilst at their foot the Thames meandered, in most
+picturesque windings, among villages, gentlemen's seats, and green
+vales.
+
+The banks of the Thames are everywhere beautiful, everywhere
+charming; how delighted was I with the sight of it when, having lost
+it for a short time, I suddenly and unexpectedly saw it again with
+all its beautiful banks.  In the vale below, flocks were feeding;
+and from the hills I heard the sweet chimes of distant bells.
+
+The circumstance that renders these English prospects so
+enchantingly beautiful, is a concurrence and union of the tout
+ensemble.  Everything coincides and conspires to render them fine,
+moving pictures.  It is impossible to name, or find a spot, on which
+the eye would not delight to dwell.  Any of the least beautiful of
+any of these views that I have seen in England would, anywhere in
+Germany, be deemed a paradise.
+
+Reinforced, as it were, by this gratifying prospect, to support
+fresh fatigues, I now walked a quick pace, both up and down the
+hills, the five remaining miles to Henley, where I arrived about
+four in the afternoon.
+
+To the left, just before I got to Henley, on this side of the
+Thames, I saw on a hill a fine park and a magnificent country seat,
+at present occupied by General Conway.
+
+Just before my entrance into Henley, I walked a little directly on
+the banks of the Thames; and sat myself down in the high grass,
+whilst opposite to me, on the other side, lay the park on the hill.
+As I was a little tired, I fell asleep, and when I awoke the last
+rays of the setting sun just shone upon me.
+
+Invigorated by this sweet, though short, slumber, I walked on and
+entered the town.  Its appearance, however, indicated that it was
+too fine a place for me, and so I determined to stop at an inn on
+the road-side, such a one as the Vicar of Wakefield well calls, "the
+resort of indigence and frugality."
+
+The worst of it was, no one, even in these places of refuge, would
+take me in.  Yet, on this road, I met two farmers, the first of whom
+I asked whether he thought I could get a night's lodging at a house
+which I saw at a distance, by the road side.  "Yes, sir, I daresay
+you may," he replied.  But he was mistaken:  when I came there, I
+was accosted with that same harsh salutation, which though, alas, no
+longer quite new to me, was still unpleasing to my ears; "We have
+got no beds; you can't stay here to-night."   It was the same at the
+other inn on the road; I was therefore obliged to determine to walk
+on as far as Nettlebed, which was five miles farther, where I
+arrived rather late in the evening, when it was indeed quite dark.
+
+Everything seemed to be all alive in this little village; there was
+a party of militia soldiers who were dancing, singing, and making
+merry.  Immediately on my entrance into the village, the first house
+that I saw, lying on my left, was an inn, from which, as usual in
+England, a large beam extended across the street to the opposite
+house, from which hung dangling an astonishing large sign, with the
+name of the proprietor.
+
+"May I stay here to-night?" I asked with eagerness.  "Why, yes, you
+may;" an answer which, however cold and surly, made me exceedingly
+happy.
+
+They showed me into the kitchen, and set me down to sup at the same
+table with some soldiers and the servants.  I now, for the first
+time, found myself in one of those kitchens which I had so often
+read of in Fielding's fine novels; and which certainly give one, on
+the whole, a very accurate idea of English manners.
+
+The chimney in this kitchen, where they were roasting and boiling,
+seemed to be taken off from the rest of the room and enclosed by a
+wooden partition; the rest of the apartment was made use of as a
+sitting and eating-room.  All round on the sides were shelves with
+pewter dishes and plates, and the ceiling was well stored with
+provisions of various kinds, such as sugar-loaves, black-puddings,
+hams, sausages, flitches of bacon, &c.
+
+While I was eating, a post-chaise drove up, and in a moment both the
+folding-doors were thrown open and the whole house set in motion, in
+order to receive, with all due respect, these guests, who, no doubt,
+were supposed to be persons of consequence.  The gentlemen alighted,
+however, only for a moment, and called for nothing but a couple of
+pots of beer, and then drove away again.  Notwithstanding, the
+people of the house behaved to them with all possible attention, for
+they came in a post-chaise.
+
+Though this was only an ordinary village, and they certainly did not
+take me for a person of consequence, they yet gave me a carpeted
+bedroom, and a very good bed.
+
+The next morning I put on clean linen, which I had along with me,
+and dressed myself as well as I could.  And now, when I thus made my
+appearance, they did not, as they had the evening before, show me
+into the kitchen, but into the parlour, a room that seemed to be
+allotted for strangers, on the ground-floor.  I was also now
+addressed by the most respectful term, "sir;" whereas the evening
+before I had been called only "master":  by this latter appellation,
+I believe, it is usual to address only farmers and quite common
+people.
+
+This was Sunday, and all the family were in their Sunday-clothes.  I
+now began to be much pleased with this village, and so I resolved to
+stop at it for the day, and attend divine service.  For this purpose
+I borrowed a prayer-book of my host.  Mr. Illing was his name, which
+struck me the more, perhaps, because it is a very common name in
+Germany.  During my breakfast I read over several parts of the
+English liturgy, and could not help being struck at the circumstance
+that every word in the whole service seems to be prescribed and
+dictated to the clergyman.  They do not visit the sick but by a
+prescribed form; as, for instance, they must begin by saying, "Peace
+be to this house," &c.
+
+Its being called a prayer-book, rather than, like ours, a hymn-book,
+arises from the nature of the English service, which is composed
+very little of singing, and almost entirely of praying.  The psalms
+of David, however, are here translated into English verse, and are
+generally printed at the end of English prayer-books.
+
+The prayer-book which my landlord lent me was quite a family piece,
+for all his children's births and names, and also his own wedding-
+day, were very carefully set down on it.  Even on this account alone
+the book would not have been uninteresting to me.
+
+At half-past nine the service began.  Directly opposite to our
+house, the boys of the village were all drawn up, as if they had
+been recruits to be drilled; all well-looking, healthy lads, neat
+and decently dressed, and with their hair cut short and combed on
+the forehead, according to the English fashion; their bosoms were
+open, and the white frills of their shirts turned back on each side.
+They seemed to be drawn up here at the entrance of the village
+merely to wait the arrival of the clergyman.
+
+I walked a little way out of the village, where, at some distance, I
+saw several people coming from another village, to attend divine
+service here at Nettlebed.
+
+At length came the parson on horseback.  The boys pulled off their
+hats, and all made him very low bows.  He appeared to be rather an
+elderly man, and wore his own hair round and decently dressed, or
+rather curled naturally.
+
+The bell now rung in, and so I too, with a sort of secret proud
+sensation, as if I also had been an Englishman, went with my prayer-
+book under my arm to church, along with the rest of the
+congregation; and when I got into the church, the clerk very civilly
+seated me close to the pulpit.
+
+Nothing can possibly be more simple, apt, and becoming than the few
+decorations of this church.
+
+Directly over the altar, on two tables in large letters, the ten
+commandments were written.  There surely is much wisdom and
+propriety in thus placing, full in the view of the people, the sum
+and substance of all morality.
+
+Under the pulpit near the steps that led up to it, was a desk, from
+which the clergyman read the liturgy, the responses were all
+regularly made by the clerk; the whole congregation joining
+occasionally, though but in a low voice; as for instance, the
+minister said, "Lord, have mercy upon us!" the clerk and the
+congregation immediately subjoin, "and forgive us all our sins."  In
+general, when the clergyman offers up a prayer, the clerk and the
+whole congregation answer only, Amen!
+
+The English service must needs be exceedingly fatiguing to the
+officiating minister, inasmuch as besides a sermon, the greatest
+part of the liturgy falls to his share to read, besides the psalms
+and two lessons.
+
+The joining of the whole congregation in prayer has something
+exceedingly solemn and affecting in it.
+
+Two soldiers, who sat near me in the church, and who had probably
+been in London, seemed to wish to pass for philosophers, and wits;
+for they did not join in the prayers of the church.
+
+The service was now pretty well advanced, when I observed some
+little stir in the desk, the clerk was busy, and they seemed to be
+preparing for something new and solemn, and I also perceived several
+musical instruments.  The clergyman now stopped, and the clerk then
+said in a loud voice, "Let us sing to the praise and glory of God,
+the forty-seventh psalm."
+
+I cannot well express how affecting and edifying it seemed to me, to
+hear this whole orderly and decent congregation, in this small
+country church, joining together with vocal and instrumental music,
+in the praise of their Maker.  It was the more grateful, as having
+been performed, not by mercenary musicians, but by the peaceful and
+pious inhabitants of this sweet village.  I can hardly figure to
+myself any offering more likely to be grateful to God.
+
+The congregation sang and prayed alternately several times, and the
+tunes of the psalms were particularly lively and cheerful, though at
+the same time sufficiently grave, and uncommonly interesting.  I am
+a warm admirer of all sacred music, and I cannot but add that that
+of the Church of England is particularly calculated to raise the
+heart to devotion; I own it often affected me even to tears.
+
+The clergyman now stood up and made a short but very proper
+discourse on this text:  "Not all they who say, Lord, Lord! shall
+enter the kingdom of heaven."  His language was particularly plain,
+though forcible; his arguments were no less plain, convincing, and
+earnest, but contained nothing that was particularly striking.  I do
+not think the sermon lasted more than half an hour.
+
+This clergyman had not perhaps a very prepossessing appearance; I
+thought him also a little distant and reserved, and I did not quite
+like his returning the bows of the farmers with a very formal nod.
+
+I stayed till the service was quite over, and then went out of the
+church with the congregation, and amused myself with reading the
+inscriptions on the tombstones in the churchyard, which in general,
+are simpler, more pathetic, and better written than ours.
+
+There were some of them which, to be sure, were ludicrous and
+laughable enough.
+
+Among these is one on the tomb of a smith, which on account of its
+singularity, I here copy and send you.
+
+
+"My sledge and anvil he declined,
+My bellows too have lost their wind;
+My fire's extinct, my forge decayed,
+My coals are spent, my iron's gone,
+My nails are drove:  my work is done."
+
+
+Many of these epitaphs closed with the following quaint rhymes:
+
+
+"Physicians were in vain;
+God knew the best;
+So here I rest."
+
+
+In the body of the church I saw a marble monument of a son of the
+celebrated Dr. Wallis, with the following simple and affecting
+inscription:
+
+
+"The same good sense which qualified him for every public employment
+Taught him to spend his life here in retirement."
+
+
+All the farmers whom I saw there were dressed, not as ours are, in
+coarse frocks, but with some taste, in fine good cloth; and were to
+be distinguished from the people of the town, not so much by their
+dress, as by the greater simplicity and modesty of their behaviour.
+
+Some soldiers, who probably were ambitious of being thought to know
+the world, and to be wits, joined me, as I was looking at the
+church, and seemed to be quite ashamed of it, as they said it was
+only a very miserable church.  On which I took the liberty to inform
+them, that no church could be miserable which contained orderly and
+good people.
+
+I stayed here to dinner.  In the afternoon there was no service; the
+young people however, went to church, and there sang some few
+psalms; others of the congregation were also present.  This was
+conducted with so much decorum, that I could hardly help considering
+it as actually a kind of church-service.  I stayed with great
+pleasure till this meeting also was over.
+
+I seemed indeed to be enchanted, and as if I could not leave this
+village.  Three times did I get off, in order to go on farther, and
+as often returned, more than half resolved to spend a week, or more,
+in my favourite Nettlebed.
+
+But the recollection that I had but a few weeks to stay in England,
+and that I must see Derbyshire, at length drove me away.  I cast
+many a longing, lingering look on the little church-steeple, and
+those hospitable friendly roofs, where, all that morning, I had
+found myself so perfectly at home.
+
+It was now nearly three o'clock in the afternoon when I left this
+place, and I was still eighteen miles from Oxford.  However, I
+seemed resolved to make more than one stage of it to Oxford, that
+seat of the muses, and so, by passing the night about five miles
+from it, to reach it in good time next morning.
+
+The road from Nettlebed seemed to me but as one long fine gravel
+walk in a neat garden.  And my pace in it was varied, like that of
+one walking in a garden:  I sometimes walked quick, then slow, and
+then sat down and read Milton.
+
+When I had got about eight miles from Nettlebed, and was now not far
+from Dorchester, I had the Thames at some distance on my left, and
+on the opposite side I saw an extensive hill, behind which a tall
+mast seemed to rise.  This led me to suppose that on the other side
+of the hill there must needs also be a river.  The prospect I
+promised myself from this hill could not possibly be passed, and so
+I went out of the road to the left over a bridge across the Thames,
+and mounted the hill, always keeping the mast in view.  When I had
+attained the summit, I found (and not without some shame and
+chagrin) that it was all an illusion.  There was, in fact, nothing
+before me but a great plain, and the mast had been fixed there,
+either as a maypole only, or to entice curious people out of their
+way.
+
+I therefore now again, slowly and sullenly, descended the hill, at
+the bottom of which was a house, where several people were looking
+out of the window, and, as I supposed, laughing at me.  Even if it
+were so, it seemed to be but fair, and so it rather amused, than
+vexed me, and I continued to jog on, without much regretting my
+waste journey to the mast.
+
+Not far from Dorchester, I had another delightful view.  The country
+here became so fine, that I positively could not prevail on myself
+to quit it, and so I laid myself down on the green turf, which was
+so fresh and sweet, that I could almost have been contented, like
+Nebuchadnezzar, to have grazed on it.  The moon was at the full; the
+sun darted its last parting rays through the green hedges, to all
+which was added, the overpowering fragrance of the meadows, the
+diversified song of the birds, the hills that skirted the Thames,
+some of them of a light, and others of a dark-green hue, with the
+tufted tops of trees dispersed here and there among them.  The
+contemplation of all these delightful circumstances well-nigh
+overcame me.
+
+I arrived rather late at Dorchester.  This is only a small place,
+but there is in it a large and noble old church.  As I was walking
+along, I saw several ladies with their heads dressed, leaning out of
+their windows, or standing before the houses, and this made me
+conclude that this was too fine a place for me, and so I determined
+to walk on three-quarters of a mile farther to Nuneham, which place
+is only five miles from Oxford.  When I reached Nuneham, I was not a
+little tired, and it was also quite dark.
+
+The place consists of two rows of low, neat houses, built close to
+each other, and as regular and uniform as a London street.  All the
+doors seemed to be shut, and even a light was to be seen only in a
+few of them.
+
+At length quite at the end of the place, I perceived a great sign
+hanging across the street, and the last house to the left was the
+inn, at which everything seemed to be still in motion.
+
+I entered without ceremony, and told them my errand, which was, that
+I intended to sleep there that night.  "By no means," was the
+answer, "it was utterly impossible; the whole house was full, and
+all their beds engaged, and, as I had come so far, I might even as
+well walk on the remaining five miles to Oxford."
+
+Being very hungry, I requested that, at least, they would give me
+something to eat.  To this they answered that, as I could not stay
+all night there, it would be more proper for me to sup where I
+lodged, and so I might go on.
+
+At length, quite humbled by the untowardness of my circumstances, I
+asked for a pot of beer, and that they did vouchsafe to give me, for
+ready money only; but a bit of bread to eat with it (for which also
+I would willingly have paid) they peremptorily refused me.
+
+Such unparalleled inhospitality I really could not have expected in
+an English inn, but resolving, with a kind of spiteful indignation,
+to see how far their inhumanity would carry them, I begged that they
+would only let me sleep on a bench, and merely give me house-room,
+adding, that if they would grant me that boon only, I would pay them
+the same as for a bed, for, that I was so tired, I could not
+possibly go any farther.  Even in the moment that I was thus humbly
+soliciting this humble boon, they banged the door to full in my
+face.
+
+As here, in a small village, they had refused to receive me, it
+seemed to be presumption to hope that I should gain admittance at
+Oxford.  What could I do?  I was much tired, and so, as it was not a
+very cold night, I resolved to pass it in the open air; in this
+resolution, bouncing from this rude inn, I went to look out for a
+convenient spot for that purpose in an adjoining field, beneath some
+friendly tree.  Just as I had found a place, which I thought would
+do, and was going to pull off my great coat to lay under my head by
+way of pillow, I heard someone behind me, following me with a quick
+pace.  At first I was alarmed, but my fears were soon dispelled by
+his calling after me, and asking "if I would accept of company."
+
+As little as anyone is to be trusted who thus follows you into a
+field in a dark night, yet it was a pleasure to me to find that
+there were still some beings not quite inhuman, and at least one
+person who still interested himself about me, I therefore stopped,
+and as he came up to me he said that if I was a good walker, we
+might keep each other company, as he was also going to Oxford.  I
+readily accepted of his proposal, and so we immediately set off
+together.
+
+Now, as I could not tell whether my travelling companion was to be
+trusted or not, I soon took an opportunity to let him know that I
+was poor, and much distressed.  To confirm this, I told him of the
+inhumanity with which I had just been treated at the inn, where they
+refused a poor wanderer so much as a place to lay his head, or even
+a morsel of bread for his money.
+
+My companion somewhat excused the people by saying that the house
+was really full of people who had been at work in the neighbourhood,
+and now slept there.  But that they had refused me a bit of bread he
+certainly could not justify.  As we went along, other topics of
+conversation were started, and among other things he asked me where
+I came from that day.
+
+I answered from Nettlebed, and added, that I had attended divine
+service there that morning.
+
+"As you probably passed through Dorchester this afternoon," said he,
+"you might have heard me preach also, had you come into the church
+there, for that is my curacy, from which I am just come, and am now
+returning to Oxford."  "So you are a clergyman;" said I, quite
+overjoyed that, in a dark night, I had met a companion on the road,
+who was of the same profession as myself.  "And I, also," said I,
+"am a preacher of the gospel, though not of this country."  And now
+I thought it right to give him to understand, that it was not, as I
+had before intimated, out of absolute poverty, but with a view of
+becoming better acquainted with men and manners, that I thus
+travelled on foot.  He was as much pleased with this agreeable
+meeting as myself, and before we took a step farther, we cordially
+shook hands.
+
+He now began to address me in Latin, and on my answering him in that
+language, which I attempted to pronounce according to the English
+manner of speaking it, he applauded me not a little for my correct
+pronunciation.  He then told me, that some years ago, in the night
+also, and nearly at the same spot where he found me, he had met
+another German, who likewise spoke to him in Latin; but this unknown
+countryman of mine had pronounced it so very badly, that he said it
+was absolutely unintelligible.
+
+The conversation now turned on various theological matters; and
+among others on the novel notions of a Dr. Priestly, whom he roundly
+blamed.  I was not at all disposed to dispute that point with him,
+and so, professing with great sincerity, a high esteem for the
+Church of England, and great respect and regard for its clergy, I
+seemed to gain his good opinion.
+
+Beguiling the tediousness of the road by such discourse, we were now
+got, almost without knowing it, quite to Oxford.
+
+He told me I should now see one of the finest and most beautiful
+cities, not only in England, but in all Europe.  All he lamented,
+was, that on account of the darkness of the night, I should not
+immediately see it.
+
+This really was the case:  "And now," said he, as we entered the
+town, "I introduce you into Oxford by one of the finest, the
+longest, and most beautiful streets, not only in this city, but in
+England, and I may safely add in all Europe."
+
+The beauty and the magnificence of the street I could not
+distinguish; but of its length I was perfectly sensible by my
+fatigue; for we still went on, and still through the longest, the
+finest, and most beautiful street in Europe, which seemed to have no
+end; nor had I any assurance that I should be able to find a bed for
+myself in all this famous street.  At length my companion stopped to
+take leave of me, and said he should now go to his college.
+
+"And I," said I, "will seat myself for the night on this stone bench
+and await the morning, as it will be in vain for me, I imagine, to
+look for shelter in a house at this time of night."
+
+"Seat yourself on a stone!" said my companion, and shook his head.
+"No, no! come along with me to a neighbouring ale-house, where it is
+possible they mayn't be gone to bed, and we may yet find company."
+We went on a few houses further, and then knocked at a door.  It was
+then nearly twelve.  They readily let us in; but how great was my
+astonishment, when, on being shown into a room on the left, I saw a
+great number of clergymen, all with their gowns and bands on,
+sitting round a large table, each with his pot of beer before him.
+My travelling companion introduced me to them, as a German
+clergyman, whom he could not sufficiently praise for my correct
+pronunciation of the Latin, my orthodoxy, and my good walking.
+
+I now saw myself in a moment, as it were, all at once transported
+into the midst of a company, all apparently very respectable men,
+but all strangers to me.  And it appeared to me extraordinary that I
+should, thus at midnight, be in Oxford, in a large company of
+Oxonian clergy, without well knowing how I had got there.
+Meanwhile, however, I took all the pains in my power to recommend
+myself to my company, and in the course of conversation, I gave them
+as good an account as I could of our German universities, neither
+denying nor concealing that, now and then, we had riots and
+disturbances.  "Oh, we are very unruly here, too," said one of the
+clergymen as he took a hearty draught out of his pot of beer, and
+knocked on the table with his hand.  The conversation now became
+louder, more general, and a little confused; they enquired after Mr.
+Bruns, at present professor at Helmstadt, and who was known by many
+of them.
+
+Among these gentlemen there was one of the name of Clerk, who seemed
+ambitious to pass for a great wit, which he attempted by starting
+sundry objections to the Bible.  I should have liked him better if
+he had confined himself to punning and playing on his own name, by
+telling us again and again, that he should still be at least a
+Clerk, even though he should never become a clergyman.  Upon the
+whole, however, he was, in his way, a man of some humour, and an
+agreeable companion.
+
+Among other objections to the Scriptures, he started this one to my
+travelling companion, whose name I now learnt was Maud, that it was
+said in the Bible that God was a wine-bibber.  On this Mr. Maud fell
+into a violent passion, and maintained that it was utterly
+impossible that any such passage should be found in the Bible.
+Another divine, a Mr. Caern referred us to his absent brother, who
+had already been forty years in the church, and must certainly know
+something of such a passage if it were in the Bible, but he would
+venture to lay any wager his brother knew nothing of it.
+
+"Waiter! fetch a Bible!" called out Mr. Clerk, and a great family
+Bible was immediately brought in, and opened on the table among all
+the beer jugs.
+
+Mr. Clerk turned over a few leaves, and in the book of Judges, 9th
+chapter, verse xiii, he read, "Should I leave my wine, which
+cheereth God and man?"
+
+Mr. Maud and Mr. Caern, who had before been most violent, now sat as
+if struck dumb.  A silence of some minutes prevailed, when all at
+once, the spirit of revelation seemed to come on me, and I said,
+"Why, gentlemen, you must be sensible that it is but an allegorical
+expression;" and I added, "how often in the Bible are kings called
+gods!"
+
+"Why, yes, to be sure," said Mr. Maud and Mr. Caern, "it is an
+allegorical expression; nothing can be more clear; it is a metaphor,
+and therefore it is absurd to understand it in a literal sense."
+And now they, in their turn, triumphed over poor Clerk, and drank
+large draughts to my health in strong ale; which, as my company
+seemed to like so much, I was sorry I could not like.  It either
+intoxicated or stupefied me; and I do think it overpowers one much
+sooner than so much wine would.  The conversation now turned on many
+other different subjects.  At last, when morning drew near, Mr. Maud
+suddenly exclaimed, "D-n me, I must read prayers this morning at
+All-Souls!"  D-n me is an abbreviation of G-d d-n me; which, in
+England, does not seem to mean more mischief or harm than any of our
+or their common expletives in conversation, such as O gemini! or,
+The deuce take me!
+
+Before Mr. Maud went away, he invited me to go and see him in the
+morning, and very politely offered himself to show me the
+curiosities of Oxford.  The rest of the company now also dispersed;
+and as I had once (though in so singular a manner) been introduced
+into so reputable a society, the people of the house made no
+difficulty of giving me lodging, but with great civility showed me a
+very decent bed-chamber.
+
+I am almost ashamed to own, that next morning, when I awoke, I had
+got so dreadful a headache, from the copious and numerous toasts of
+my jolly and reverend friends, that I could not possibly get up;
+still less could I wait on Mr. Maud at his college.
+
+The inn where I was goes by the name of the Mitre.  Compared to
+Windsor, I here found prince-like attendance.  Being, perhaps, a
+little elevated the preceding evening, I had in the gaiety, or
+perhaps in the vanity of my heart, told the waiter, that he must not
+think, because I came on foot, that therefore I should give him less
+than others gave.  I assured him of the contrary.  It was probably
+not a little owing to this assurance that I had so much attention
+shown to me.
+
+I now determined to stay at least a couple of days at Oxford; it was
+necessary and proper, if for no other reason, yet merely that I
+might have clean linen.  No people are so cleanly as the English,
+nor so particular about neat and clean linen.  For, one afternoon,
+my shirt not having been lately changed, as I was walking through a
+little street, I heard two women, who were standing at a door, call
+after me, "Look at the gentleman there! a fine gentleman, indeed,
+who cannot afford even a clean shirt!"
+
+I dined below with the family, and a few other persons, and the
+conversation in general was agreeable enough.  I was obliged to tell
+them many wonderful stories (for who are so illiterate or insensible
+as not to be delighted with the marvellous!) concerning Germany and
+the King of Prussia.  They could not sufficiently admire my courage
+in determining to travel on foot, although they could not help
+approving of the motive.  At length, however, it came out, and they
+candidly owned, that I should not have been received into their
+house, had I not been introduced as I was.
+
+I was now confirmed in my suspicions, that, in England, any person
+undertaking so long a journey on foot, is sure to be looked upon and
+considered as either a beggar or a vagabond, or some necessitous
+wretch, which is a character not much more popular than that of a
+rogue; so that I could now easily account for my reception in
+Windsor and at Nuneham.  But, with all my partiality for this
+country, it is impossible even in theory, and much less so in
+practice, to approve of a system which confines all the pleasures
+and benefits of travel to the rich.  A poor peripatetic is hardly
+allowed even the humble merit of being honest.
+
+As I still intended to pursue my journey to Derbyshire, I was
+advised (at least till I got further into the country) to take a
+place in a post-coach.  They told me that the further I got from
+London, the more reasonable and humble I should find the people;
+everything would be cheaper, and everybody more hospitable.  This
+determined me to go in the post-coach from Oxford to Birmingham;
+where Mr. Pointer, of London, had recommended me to a Mr.
+Fothergill, a merchant there; and from thence to continue my journey
+on foot.
+
+Monday I spent at Oxford, but rather unpleasantly, on account of my
+headache.  Mr. Maud himself came to fetch me, as he had promised he
+would, but I found myself unable to go with him.
+
+Notwithstanding this, in the afternoon, I took a little walk up a
+hill, which lies to the north of Oxford; and from the top of which I
+could see the whole city; which did not, however, appear to me
+nearly so beautiful and magnificent as Mr. Maud had described it to
+me during our last night's walk.
+
+The colleges are mostly in the Gothic taste, and much overloaded
+with ornaments, and built with grey stone; which, perhaps, while it
+is new, looks pretty well, but it has now the most dingy, dirty, and
+disgusting appearance that you can possibly imagine.
+
+Only one of these colleges is in the modern style.  The houses of
+the city are in general ordinary, in some parts quite miserable; in
+some streets they are only one story high, and have shingled roofs.
+To me Oxford seemed to have but a dull and gloomy look; and I cannot
+but wonder how it ever came to be considered as so fine a city, and
+next to London.
+
+I remained on the hill, on which there was a flight of steps that
+led to a subterraneous walk, till sunset, and saw several students
+walking here, who wore their black gowns over their coloured
+clothes, and flat square hats, just like those I had seen worn by
+the Eton scholars.  This is the general dress of all those who
+belong to the universities, with the exception of a very trifling
+difference, by which persons of high birth and rank are
+distinguished.
+
+It is probably on account of these gowns that the members of the
+university are called Gownsmen, to distinguish them from the
+citizens, who are called Townsmen; and when you want to mention all
+the inhabitants of Oxford together, you say, "the whole town,
+Gownsmen and Townsmen."
+
+This dress, I must own, pleases me far beyond the boots, cockades,
+and other frippery, of many of our students.  Nor am I less
+delighted with the better behaviour and conduct which, in general,
+does so much credit to the students of Oxford.
+
+The next morning Mr. Maud, according to his promise, showed me some
+of the things most worthy of notice in Oxford.  And first he took me
+to his own room in his own college, which was on the ground floor,
+very low and dark, and resembled a cell, at least as much as a place
+of study.  The name of this college is Corpus Christi.  He next
+conducted me to All Souls' College, a very elegant building, in
+which the chapel is particularly beautiful.  Mr. Maud also showed
+me, over the altar here, a fine painting of Mengs, at the sight of
+which he showed far more sensibility than I thought him possessed
+of.  He said that notwithstanding he saw that painting almost daily,
+he never saw it without being much affected.
+
+The painting represented Mary Magdalene when she first suddenly sees
+Jesus standing before her, and falls at His feet.  And in her
+countenance pain, joy, grief, in short almost all the strongest of
+our passions, are expressed in so masterly a manner, that no man of
+true taste was ever tired of contemplating it; the longer it is
+looked at the more it is admired.  He now also showed me the library
+of this college, which is provided with a gallery round the top, and
+the whole is most admirably regulated and arranged.  Among other
+things, I here saw a description of Oxford, with plates to
+illustrate it:  and I cannot help observing what, though trite, is
+true, that all these places look much better, and are far more
+beautiful on paper, than they appeared to me to be as I looked at
+them where they actually stand.
+
+Afterwards Mr. Maud conducted me to the Bodleian Library, which is
+not unworthy of being compared to the Vatican at Rome; and next to
+the building which is called the Theatre, and where the public
+orations are delivered.  This is a circular building with a gallery
+all round it, which is furnished with benches one above the other,
+on which the doctors, masters of arts, and students sit, and
+directly opposite to each other are erected two chairs, or pulpits,
+from which the disputants harangue and contend.
+
+Christ Church and Queen's College are the most modern, and, I think,
+indisputably the best built of all the colleges.  Balliol College
+seems particularly to be distinguished on account of its antiquity,
+and its complete Gothic style of building.
+
+Mr. Maud told me that a good deal of money might be sometimes earned
+by preaching at Oxford; for all the members of a certain standing
+are obliged in their turn to preach in the church of the university;
+but many of them, when it comes to their turn, prefer the procuring
+a substitute; and so not unfrequently pay as high as five or six
+guineas for a sermon.
+
+Mr. Maud also told me he had been now eighteen years at this
+university, and might be made a doctor whenever he chose it:  he was
+a master of arts, and according to his own account gave lectures in
+his college on the classics.  He also did the duty and officiated as
+curate, occasionally, in some of the neighbouring villages.  Going
+along the street we met the English poet laureate, Warton, now
+rather an elderly man; and yet he is still the fellow of a college.
+His greatest pleasure next to poetry is, as Mr. Maud told me,
+shooting wild ducks.
+
+Mr. Maud seemed upon the whole to be a most worthy and philanthropic
+man.  He told me, that where he now officiated the clerk was dead,
+and had left a numerous family in the greatest distress; and that he
+was going to the place next day, on purpose to try if he could bring
+about the election of the son, a lad about sixteen years of age, in
+the place of his deceased father, as clerk, to support a necessitous
+family.
+
+At the Mitre, the inn where I lodged, there was hardly a minute in
+which some students or others did not call, either to drink, or to
+amuse themselves in conversation with the daughter of the landlord,
+who is not only handsome, but sensible, and well behaved.
+
+They often spoke to me much in praise of a German, of the name of
+Mitchel, at least they pronounced it so, who had for many years
+rendered himself famous as a musician.  I was rejoiced to hear one
+of my countrymen thus praised by the English; and wished to have
+paid him a visit, but I had not the good fortune to find him at
+home.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+
+Castleton, June 30th.
+
+Before I tell you anything of the place where I now am, I will
+proceed regularly in my narrative, and so begin now where I left off
+in my last letter.  On Tuesday afternoon Mr. Maud took me to the
+different walks about Oxford, and often remarked, that they were not
+only the finest in England, but he believed in Europe.  I own I do
+not think he over-rated their merit.  There is one in particular
+near the river, and close to some charming meadows, behind Corpus
+Christi College, which may fairly challenge the world.
+
+We here seated ourselves on a bench, and Mr. Maud drew a review from
+his pocket, where, among other things, a German book of Professor
+Beckman's was reviewed and applauded.  Mr. Maud seemed, on this
+occasion, to show some respect for German literature.  At length we
+parted.  He went to fill up the vacancy of the clerk's place at
+Dorchester, and I to the Mitre, to prepare for my departure from
+Oxford, which took place on Wednesday morning at three o'clock, in
+the post-coach.  Considering the pleasing, if not kind attention
+shown me here, I own I thought my bill not unreasonable; though to
+be sure, it made a great hole in my little purse.
+
+Within this coach there was another young man, who, though dressed
+in black, yet to judge from the cockade in his hat might be an
+officer.  The outside was quite full with soldiers and their wives.
+The women of the lower class here wear a kind of short cloak made of
+red cloth:  but women in general, from the highest to the lowest,
+wear hats, which differ from each other less in fashion than they do
+in fineness.
+
+Fashion is so generally attended to among the English women, that
+the poorest maid-servant is careful to be in the fashion.  They seem
+to be particularly so in their hats or bonnets, which they all wear:
+and they are in my opinion far more becoming than the very unsightly
+hoods and caps which our German women, of the rank of citizens,
+wear.  There is, through all ranks here, not near so great a
+distinction between high and low as there is in Germany.
+
+I had, during this day, a little headache; which rendered me more
+silent and reserved to my company than is either usual in England or
+natural to me.  The English are taxed, perhaps too hastily, with
+being shy and distant to strangers.  I do not think this was, even
+formerly, their true character; or that any such sentiment is
+conveyed in Virgil's "Hospitibus feros."  Be this as it may, the
+case was here reversed.  The Englishman here spoke to me several
+times in a very friendly manner, while I testified not the least
+inclination to enter into conversation with him.
+
+He however owned afterwards that it was this very apparent reserve
+of mine that first gained me his good opinion.
+
+He said he had studied physic, but with no immediate view of
+practising it.  His intention, he said, was to go to the East
+Indies, and there, first, to try his fortune as an officer.  And he
+was now going to Birmingham, merely to take leave of his three
+sisters, whom he much loved, and who were at school there.
+
+I endeavoured to merit his confidence by telling him in my turn of
+my journey on foot through England; and by relating to him a few of
+the most remarkable of my adventures.  He frankly told me he thought
+it was venturing a great deal, yet he applauded the design of my
+journey, and did not severely censure my plan.  On my asking him why
+Englishmen, who were so remarkable for acting up to their own
+notions and ideas, did not, now and then, merely to see life in
+every point of view, travel on foot.  "Oh," said he, "we are too
+rich, too lazy, and too proud."
+
+And most true it is, that the poorest Englishman one sees, is
+prouder and better pleased to expose himself to the danger of having
+his neck broken on the outside of a stage, than to walk any
+considerable distance, though he might walk ever so much at his
+ease.  I own I was frightened and distressed when I saw the women,
+where we occasionally stopped, get down from the top of the coach.
+One of them was actually once in much danger of a terrible fall from
+the roof, because, just as she was going to alight, the horses all
+at once unexpectedly went on.  From Oxford to Birmingham is sixty-
+two miles; but all that was to be seen between the two places was
+entirely lost to me, for I was again mewed up in a post-coach, and
+driven along with such velocity from one place to another, that I
+seemed to myself as doing nothing less than travelling.
+
+My companion, however, made me amends in some measure for this loss.
+He seemed to be an exceedingly good-tempered and intelligent man;
+and I felt in this short time a prepossession in his favour one does
+not easily form for an ordinary person.  This, I flattered myself,
+was also the case with him, and it would mortify me not a little to
+think he had quite forgotten me, as I am sure I shall never forget
+him.
+
+Just as we had been sometime eagerly conversing about Shakespeare,
+we arrived, without either of us having thought of it, at Stratford-
+upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, where our coach stopped, that
+being the end of one stage.  We were still two-and-twenty miles from
+Birmingham, and ninety-four from London.  I need not tell you what
+our feelings were, on thus setting our feet on classic ground.
+
+It was here that perhaps the greatest genius nature ever produced
+was born.  Here he first lisped his native tongue; here first
+conceived the embryos of those compositions which were afterwards to
+charm a listening world; and on these plains the young Hercules
+first played.  And here, too, in this lowly hut, with a few friends,
+he happily spent the decline of his life, after having retired from
+the great theatre of that busy world whose manners he had so
+faithfully portrayed.
+
+The river Avon is here pretty broad, and a row of neat though humble
+cottages, only one storey high, with shingled roofs, are ranged all
+along its banks.  These houses impressed me strongly with the idea
+of patriarchal simplicity and content.
+
+We went to see Shakespeare's own house, which, of all the houses at
+Stratford I think is now the worst, and one that made the least
+appearance.  Yet, who would not be proud to be the owner of it?
+There now however lived in it only two old people, who show it to
+strangers for a trifle, and what little they earn thus is their
+chief income.
+
+Shakespeare's chair, in which he used to sit before the door, was so
+cut to pieces that it hardly looked like a chair; for every one that
+travels through Stratford cuts off a chip as a remembrance, which he
+carefully preserves, and deems a precious relic, I also cut myself a
+piece of it, but reverencing Shakespeare as I do, I am almost
+ashamed to own to you it was so small that I have lost it, and
+therefore you will not see it on my return.
+
+As we travelled, I observed every spot with attention, fancying to
+myself that such or such a spot might be the place where such a
+genius as Shakespeare's first dawned, and received those first
+impressions from surrounding nature which are so strongly marked in
+all his works.  The first impressions of childhood, I knew, were
+strong and permanent; of course I made sure of seeing here some
+images at least of the wonderful conceptions of this wonderful man.
+But my imagination misled me, and I was disappointed; for I saw
+nothing in the country thereabouts at all striking, or in any
+respect particularly beautiful.  It was not at all wild and
+romantic; but rather distinguished for an air of neatness and
+simplicity.
+
+We arrived at Birmingham about three o'clock in the afternoon.  I
+had already paid sixteen shillings at Stratford for my place in the
+coach from Oxford to Birmingham.  At Oxford they had not asked
+anything of me, and indeed you are not obliged in general in
+England, as you are in Germany, to pay your passage beforehand.
+
+My companion and myself alighted at the inn where the coach stopped.
+We parted with some reluctance, and I was obliged to promise him
+that, on my return to London, I would certainly call on him, for
+which purpose he gave me his address.  His father was Dr. Wilson, a
+celebrated author in his particular style of writing.
+
+I now inquired for the house of Mr. Fothergill, to whom I was
+recommended, and I was readily directed to it, but had the
+misfortune to learn, at the same time, that this very Mr. Fothergill
+had died about eight days before.  As, therefore, under these
+circumstances, my recommendation to him was likely to be but of
+little use, I had the less desire to tarry long at Birmingham, and
+so, without staying a minute longer, I immediately inquired the road
+to Derby, and left Birmingham.  Of this famous manufacturing town,
+therefore, I can give you no account.
+
+The road from Birmingham onwards is not very agreeable, being in
+general uncommonly sandy.  Yet the same evening I reached a little
+place called Sutton, where everything, however, appeared to be too
+grand for me to hope to obtain lodgings in it, till quite at the end
+of it I came to a small inn with the sign of the Swan, under which
+was written Aulton, brickmaker.
+
+This seemed to have something in it that suited me, and therefore I
+boldly went into it; and when in I did not immediately, as
+heretofore, inquire if I could stay all night there, but asked for a
+pint of ale.  I own I felt myself disheartened by their calling me
+nothing but master, and by their showing me into the kitchen, where
+the landlady was sitting at a table and complaining much of the
+toothache.  The compassion I expressed for her on this account, as a
+stranger, seemed soon to recommend me to her favour, and she herself
+asked me if I would not stay the night there?  To this I most
+readily assented; and thus I was again happy in a lodging for
+another night.
+
+The company I here met with consisted of a female chimney-sweeper
+and her children, who, on my sitting down in the kitchen, soon drank
+to my health, and began a conversation with me and the landlady.
+
+She related to us her history, which I am not ashamed to own I
+thought not uninteresting.  She had married early, but had the hard
+luck to be soon deprived of her husband, by his being pressed as a
+soldier.  She neither saw nor heard of him for many years, so
+concluded he was dead.  Thus destitute, she lived seven years as a
+servant in Ireland, without any one's knowing that she was married.
+During this time her husband, who was a chimney-sweeper, came back
+to England and settled at Lichfield, resumed his old trade, and did
+well in it.  As soon as he was in good circumstances, he everywhere
+made inquiry for his wife, and at last found out where she was, and
+immediately fetched her from Ireland.  There surely is something
+pleasing in this constancy of affection in a chimney-sweeper.  She
+told us, with tears in her eyes, in what a style of grandeur he had
+conducted her into Lichfield; and how, in honour to her, he made a
+splendid feast on the occasion.  At this same Lichfield, which is
+only two miles from Sutton, and through which she said the road lay
+which I was to travel to-morrow, she still lived with this same
+excellent husband, where they were noted for their industry, where
+everybody respected them, and where, though in the lowest sphere,
+they are passing through life neither uselessly nor unhappily.
+
+The landlady, during her absence, told me as in confidence, that
+this chimney-sweeper's husband, as meanly as I might fancy she now
+appeared, was worth a thousand pounds, and that without reckoning in
+their plate and furniture, that he always wore his silver watch, and
+that when he passed through Sutton, and lodged there, he paid like a
+nobleman.
+
+She further remarked that the wife was indeed rather low-lived; but
+that the husband was one of the best-behaved, politest, and civilest
+men in the world.  I had myself taken notice that this same dingy
+companion of mine had something singularly coarse and vulgar in her
+pronunciation.  The word old, for example, she sounded like auld.
+In other respects, I had not yet remarked any striking variety or
+difference from the pronunciation of Oxford or London.
+
+To-morrow the chimney-sweeper, said she, her husband, would not be
+at home, but if I came back by the way of Lichfield, she would take
+the liberty to request the honour of a visit, and to this end she
+told me her name and the place of her abode.
+
+At night the rest of the family, a son and daughter of the landlady,
+came home, and paid all possible attention to their sick mother.  I
+supped with the family, and they here behaved to me as if we had
+already lived many years together.
+
+Happening to mention that I was, if not a scholar, yet a student,
+the son told me there was at Sutton a celebrated grammar-school,
+where the school-master received two hundred pounds a year settled
+salary, besides the income arising from the scholars.
+
+And this was only in a village.  I thought, and not without some
+shame and sorrow, of our grammar-schools in Germany, and the
+miserable pay of the masters.
+
+When I paid my reckoning the next morning, I observed the uncommon
+difference here and at Windsor, Nettlebed, and Oxford.  At Oxford I
+was obliged to pay for my supper, bed, and breakfast at least three
+shillings, and one to the waiter.  I here paid for my supper, bed,
+and breakfast only one shilling, and to the daughter, whom I was to
+consider as chambermaid, fourpence; for which she very civilly
+thanked me, and gave me a written recommendation to an inn at
+Lichfield, where I should be well lodged, as the people in Lichfield
+were, in general, she said, very proud.  This written recommendation
+was a masterpiece of orthography, and showed that in England, as
+well as elsewhere, there are people who write entirely from the ear,
+and as they pronounce.  In English, however, it seems to look
+particularly odd, but perhaps that may be the case in all languages
+that are not native.
+
+I took leave here, as one does of good friends, with a certain
+promise that on my return I would certainly call on them again.
+
+At noon I got to Lichfield, an old-fashioned town with narrow dirty
+streets, where for the first time I saw round panes of glass in the
+windows.  The place to mime wore an unfriendly appearance; I
+therefore made no use of my recommendation, but went straight
+through, and only bought some bread at a baker's, which I took along
+with me.
+
+At night I reached Burton, where the famous Burton ale is brewed.
+By this time I felt myself pretty well tired, and therefore proposed
+to stay the night here.  But my courage failed me, and I dropped the
+resolution immediately on my entering the town.  The houses and
+everything else seemed to wear as grand an appearance, almost, as if
+I had been still in London.  And yet the manners of some of its
+inhabitants were so thoroughly rustic and rude, that I saw them
+actually pointing at me with their fingers as a foreigner.  And now,
+to complete my chagrin and mortification, I came to a long street,
+where everybody on both sides of the way were at their doors, and
+actually made me run the gauntlet through their inquiring looks.
+Some even hissed at me as I passed along.  All my arguments to
+induce me to pluck up my courage, such as the certainty that I
+should never see these people again nor they me, were of no use.
+Burton became odious and almost insupportable to me; and the street
+appeared as long and tired me as much, as if I had walked a mile.
+This strongly-marked contemptuous treatment of a stranger, who was
+travelling through their country merely from the respect he bore it,
+I experienced nowhere but at Burton.
+
+How happy did I feel when I again found myself out of their town,
+although at that moment I did not know where I should find a lodging
+for the night, and was, besides, excessively tired.  But I pursued
+my journey, and still kept in the road to Derby, along a footpath
+which I knew to be right.  It led across a very pleasant mead, the
+hedges of which were separated by stiles, over which I was often
+obliged to clamber.  When I had walked some distance without meeting
+with an inn on the road, and it had already begun to be dark, I at
+last sat me down near a small toll-house, or a turnpike-gate, in
+order to rest myself, and also to see whether the man at the
+turnpike could and would lodge me.
+
+After I had sat here a considerable time, a farmer came riding by,
+and asked me where I wanted to go?  I told him I was so tired that I
+could go no farther.  On this the good-natured and truly hospitable
+man, of his own accord and without the least distrust, offered to
+take me behind him on his horse and carry me to a neighbouring inn,
+where he said I might stay all night.
+
+The horse was a tall one, and I could not easily get up.  The
+turnpike-man, who appeared to be quite decrepid and infirm, on this
+came out.  I took it for granted, however, that he who appeared to
+have hardly sufficient strength to support himself could not help
+me.  This poor looking, feeble old man, however, took hold of me
+with one arm, and lifted me with a single jerk upon the horse so
+quick and so alertly that it quite astonished me.
+
+And now I trotted on with my charming farmer, who did not ask me one
+single impertinent question, but set me down quietly at the inn, and
+immediately rode away to his own village, which lay to the left.
+
+This inn was called the Bear, and not improperly; for the landlord
+went about and growled at his people just like a bear, so that at
+first I expected no favourable reception.  I endeavoured to gentle
+him a little by asking for a mug of ale, and once or twice drinking
+to him.  This succeeded; he soon became so very civil and
+conversable, that I began to think him quite a pleasant fellow.
+This device I had learnt of the "Vicar of Wakefield," who always
+made his hosts affable by inviting them to drink with him.  It was
+an expedient that suited me also in another point of view, as the
+strong ale of England did not at all agree with me.
+
+This innkeeper called me sir; and he made his people lay a separate
+table for himself and me; for he said he could see plainly I was a
+gentleman.
+
+In our chat, we talked much of George the Second, who appeared to be
+his favourite king, much more so than George the Third.  And among
+others things, we talked of the battle at Dettingen, of which he
+knew many particulars.  I was obliged also in my turn to tell him
+stories of our great King of Prussia, and his numerous armies, and
+also what sheep sold for in Prussia.  After we had been thus talking
+some time, chiefly on political matters, he all at once asked me if
+I could blow the French horn?  This he supposed I could do, only
+because I came from Germany; for he said he remembered, when he was
+a boy, a German had once stopped at the inn with his parents who
+blew the French horn extremely well.  He therefore fancied this was
+a talent peculiar to the Germans.
+
+I removed this error, and we resumed our political topics, while his
+children and servants at some distance listened with great respect
+to our conversation.
+
+Thus I again spent a very agreeable evening; and when I had
+breakfasted in the morning, my bill was not more than it had been at
+Sutton.  I at length reached the common before Derby on Friday
+morning.  The air was mild, and I seemed to feel myself uncommonly
+cheerful and happy.  About noon the romantic part of the country
+began to open upon me.  I came to a lofty eminence, where all at
+once I saw a boundless prospect of hills before me, behind which
+fresh hills seemed always to arise, and to be infinite.
+
+The ground now seemed undulatory, and to rise and fall like waves;
+when at the summit of the rise I seemed to be first raised aloft,
+and had an extensive view all around me, and the next moment, when I
+went down the hill, I lost it.
+
+In the afternoon I saw Derby in the vale before me, and I was now an
+hundred and twenty-six miles from London.  Derby is but a small, and
+not very considerable town.  It was market-day when I got there, and
+I was obliged to pass through a crowd of people:  but there was here
+no such odious curiosity, no offensive staring, as at Burton.  At
+this place too I took notice that I began to be always civilly bowed
+to by the children of the villages through which I passed.
+
+From Derby to the baths of Matlock, which is one of the most
+romantic situations, it was still fifteen miles.  On my way thither,
+I came to a long and extensive village, which I believe was called
+Duffield.  They here at least did not show me into the kitchen, but
+into the parlour; and I dined on cold victuals.
+
+The prints and pictures which I have generally seen at these inns
+are, I think, almost always prints of the royal family, oftentimes
+in a group, where the king, as the father of the family, assembles
+his children around him; or else I have found a map of London, and
+not seldom the portrait of the King of Prussia; I have met with it
+several times.  You also sometimes see some of the droll prints of
+Hogarth.  The heat being now very great, I several times in this
+village heard the commiserating exclamation of "Good God Almighty!"
+by which the people expressed their pity for me, as being a poor
+foot passenger.
+
+At night I again stopped at an inn on the road, about five miles
+from Matlock.  I could easily have reached Matlock, but I wished
+rather to reserve the first view of the country till the next day
+than to get there when it was dark.
+
+But I was not equally fortunate in this inn, as in the two former.
+The kitchen was full of farmers, among whom I could not distinguish
+the landlord, whose health I should otherwise immediately have
+drank.  It is true I heard a country girl who was also in the
+kitchen, as often as she drank say, "Your health, gentlemen all!"
+But I do not know how it was, I forgot to drink any one's health,
+which I afterwards found was taken much amiss.  The landlord drank
+twice to my health sneeringly, as if to reprimand me for my
+incivility; and then began to join the rest in ridiculing me, who
+almost pointed at me with their fingers.  I was thus obliged for a
+time to serve the farmers as a laughing-stock, till at length one of
+them compassionately said, "Nay, nay, we must do him no harm, for he
+is a stranger."  The landlord, I suppose, to excuse himself, as if
+he thought he had perhaps before gone too far said, "Ay, God forbid
+we should hurt any stranger," and ceased his ridicule; but when I
+was going to drink his health, he slighted and refused my attention,
+and told me, with a sneer, all I had to do was to seat myself in the
+chimney-corner, and not trouble myself about the rest of the world.
+The landlady seemed to pity me, and so she led me into another room
+where I could be alone, saying, "What wicked people!"
+
+I left this unfriendly roof early the next morning, and now quickly
+proceeded to Matlock.
+
+The extent of my journey I had now resolved should be the great
+cavern near Castleton, in the high Peak of Derbyshire.  It was about
+twenty miles beyond Matlock.
+
+The country here had quite a different appearance from that at
+Windsor and Richmond.  Instead of green meadows and pleasant hills,
+I now saw barren mountains and lofty rocks; instead of fine living
+hedges, the fields and pasture lands here were fenced with a wall of
+grey stone; and of this very same stone, which is here everywhere to
+be found in plenty, all the houses are built in a very uniform and
+patriarchal manner, inasmuch as the rough stones are almost without
+any preparation placed one upon another, and compose four walls, so
+that in case of necessity, a man might here without much trouble
+build himself a house.  At Derby the houses seem to be built of the
+same stone.
+
+The situation of Matlock itself surpassed every idea I had formed of
+it.  On the right were some elegant houses for the bathing company,
+and lesser cottages suspended like birds' nests in a high rock; to
+the left, deep in the bottom, there was a fine bold river, which was
+almost hid from the eye by a majestic arch formed by high trees,
+which hung over it.  A prodigious stone wall extended itself above a
+mile along its border, and all along there is a singularly romantic
+and beautiful secret walk, sheltered and adorned by many beautiful
+shrubs.
+
+The steep rock was covered at the top with green bushes, and now and
+then a sheep, or a cow, separated from the grazing flock, came to
+the edge of the precipice, and peeped over it.
+
+I have got, in Milton's "Paradise Lost," which I am reading
+thoroughly through, just to the part where he describes Paradise,
+when I arrived here and the following passage, which I read at the
+brink of the river, had a most striking and pleasing effect on me.
+The landscape here described was as exactly similar to that I saw
+before me, as if the poet had taken it from hence
+
+
+"--delicious Paradise,
+Now nearer, crowns with her enclosure green,
+As with a rural mound, the champion head
+Of a steep wilderness, whose hairy sides
+With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild,
+Access denied."--Book IV. v. 132.
+
+
+From Matlock Baths you go over Matlock Bridge, to the little town of
+Matlock itself, which, in reality, scarcely deserves the name of a
+village, as it consists of but a few and miserable houses.  There is
+here, on account of the baths, a number of horses and carriages, and
+a great thoroughfare.  From hence I came through some villages to a
+small town of the name of Bakewell.  The whole country in this part
+is hilly and romantic.  Often my way led me, by small passes, over
+astonishing eminences, where, in the deep below me, I saw a few huts
+or cottages lying.  The fencing of the fields with grey stone gave
+the whole a wild and not very promising appearance.  The hills were
+in general not wooded, but naked and barren; and you saw the flocks
+at a distance grazing on their summit.
+
+As I was coming through one of the villages, I heard a great
+farmer's boy eagerly ask another if he did not think I was a
+Frenchman.  It seemed as if he had been waiting some time to see the
+wonder; for, he spoke as though his wish was now accomplished.
+
+When I was past Bakewell, a place far inferior to Derby, I came by
+the side of a broad river, to a small eminence, where a fine
+cultivated field lay before me.  This field, all at once, made an
+indescribable and very pleasing impression on me, which at first, I
+could not account for; till I recollected having seen, in my
+childhood, near the village where I was educated, a situation
+strikingly similar to that now before me here in England.
+
+This field, as if it had been in Germany, was not enclosed with
+hedges, but every spot in it was uninterruptedly diversified with
+all kinds of crops and growths of different green and yellowish
+colours, which gave the whole a most pleasing effect; but besides
+this large field, the general view of the country, and a thousand
+other little circumstances which I cannot now particularly
+enumerate, served to bring back to my recollection the years of my
+youth.
+
+Here I rested myself a while, and when I was going on again I
+thought of the place of my residence, on all my acquaintances, and
+not a little on you, my dearest friend, and imagined what you would
+think and say, if you were to see your friend thus wandering here
+all alone, totally unknown, and in a foreign land.  And at that
+moment I first seriously felt the idea of distance, and the thought
+that I was now in England, so very far from all I loved, or who
+loved me, produced in me such sensations as I have not often felt.
+
+It was perhaps the same with you, my dearest friend, when on our
+journey to Hamburg we drove from Perlsbeg, to your birthplace, the
+village of Boberow; where, among the farmers, you again found your
+own playmates, one of whom was now become the bailiff of the place.
+On your asking them whether they knew you, one and all of them
+answered so heartily, "O, yes, yes--why, your are Master Frederic."
+The pedantic school-master, you will remember, was not so frank.  He
+expressed himself in the stiff town phrase of, "He had not the
+honour of knowing you, as during your residence in that village,
+when a child, he had not been in loco."
+
+I now came through a little place of the name of Ashford, and wished
+to reach the small village of Wardlow, which was only three miles
+distant, when two men came after me, at a distance, whom I had
+already seen at Matlock, who called to me to wait for them.  These
+were the only foot passengers since Mr. Maud, who had offered to
+walk with me.
+
+The one was a saddler, and wore a short brown jacket and an apron,
+with a round hat.  The other was very decently dressed, but a very
+silent man, whereas the saddler was quite talkative.
+
+I listened with astonishment when I heard him begin to speak of
+Homer, of Horace, and of Virgil; and still more when he quoted
+several passages, by memory, from each of these authors, pronouncing
+the words, and laying his emphasis, with as much propriety as I
+could possibly have expected, had he been educated at Cambridge or
+at Oxford.  He advised me not to go to Wardlow, where I should find
+bad accommodations, but rather a few miles to Tideswell, where he
+lived.  This name is, by a singular abbreviation, pronounced Tidsel,
+the same as Birmingham is called by the common people Brummidgeham.
+
+We halted at a small ale-house on the road-side, where the saddler
+stopped to drink and talk, and from whence he was in no haste to
+depart.  He had the generosity and honour, however, to pay my share
+of the reckoning, because, as he said, he had brought me hither.
+
+At no great distance from the house we came to a rising ground,
+where my philosophical saddler made me observe a prospect, which was
+perhaps the only one of the kind in England.  Below us was a hollow,
+not unlike a huge kettle, hollowed out of the surrounding mass of
+earth; and at the bottom of it a little valley, where the green
+meadow was divided by a small rivulet, that ran in serpentine
+windings, its banks graced with the most inviting walks; behind a
+small winding, there is just seen a house where one of the most
+distinguished inhabitants of this happy vale, a great philosopher,
+lives retired, dedicating almost all his time to his favourite
+studies.  He has transplanted a number of foreign plants into his
+grounds.  My guide fell into almost a poetic rapture as he pointed
+out to me the beauties of this vale, while our third companion, who
+grew tired, became impatient at our tediousness.
+
+We were now led by a steep road to the vale, through which we
+passed, and then ascended again among the hills on the other side.
+
+Not far from Tideswell our third companion left us, as he lived in a
+neighbouring place.  As we now at length saw Tideswell lying before
+us in the vale, the saddler began to give me an account of his
+family, adding, by way of episode, that he never quarrelled with his
+wife, nor had ever once threatened her with his fist, much less,
+ever lifted it against her.  For his own sake, he said, he never
+called her names, nor gave her the lie.  I must here observe, that
+it is the greatest offence you can give any one in England to say to
+him, YOU LIE.
+
+To be called a LIAR is a still greater affront, and you ARE A DAMNED
+LIAR, is the very acme of vulgar abuse.
+
+Just as in Germany, no one will bear the name of a SCOUNDREL, or
+KNAVE, or as in all quarrels, the bestowing such epithets on our
+adversary is the signal for fighting, so the term of a LIAR in
+England is the most offensive, and is always resented by blows.  A
+man would never forgive himself, nor be forgiven, who could bear to
+be called a LIAR.
+
+Our Jackey in London once looked at me with astonishment, on my
+happening to say to him in a joke, you ARE A LIAR.  I assure you I
+had much to do before I could pacify him.
+
+If one may form a judgment of the character of the whole nation,
+from such little circumstances as this, I must say this rooted
+hatred of the word liar appears to me to be no bad trait in the
+English.
+
+But to return to my travelling companion, who further told me that
+he was obliged to earn his livelihood, at some distance from home,
+and that he was now returning for the first time, for these two
+months, to his family.
+
+He showed me a row of trees near the town which he said his father
+had planted, and which, therefore, he never could look at but with
+emotion, though he passed them often as he went backwards and
+forwards on his little journeys to and from his birthplace.  His
+father, he added, had once been a rich man, but had expended all his
+fortune to support one son.  Unfortunately for himself as well as
+his family, his father had gone to America and left the rest of his
+children poor, notwithstanding which, his memory was still dear to
+him, and he was always affected by the sight of these trees.
+
+Tideswell consists of two rows of low houses, built of rough grey
+stone.  My guide, immediately on our entrance into the place, bade
+me take notice of the church, which was very handsome, and
+notwithstanding its age, had still some pretensions to be considered
+as an edifice built in the modern taste.
+
+He now asked me whether he should show me to a great inn or to a
+cheap one, and as I preferred the latter, he went with me himself to
+a small public-house, and very particularly recommended me to their
+care as his fellow-traveller, and a clever man not without learning.
+
+The people here also endeavoured to accommodate me most
+magnificently, and for this purpose gave me some toasted cheese,
+which was Cheshire cheese roasted and half melted at the fire.
+This, in England it seems, is reckoned good eating, but,
+unfortunately for me, I could not touch a bit of it; I therefore
+invited my landlord to partake of it, and he indeed seemed to feast
+on it.  As I neither drank brandy nor ale, he told me I lived far
+too sparingly for a foot traveller; he wondered how I had strength
+to walk so well and so far.
+
+I avail myself of this opportunity to observe that the English
+innkeepers are in general great ale drinkers, and for this reason
+most of them are gross and corpulent; in particular they are plump
+and rosy in their faces.  I once heard it said of one of them, that
+the extravasated claret in his phiz might well remind one, as
+Falstaff says of Bardolph, of hell-fire.
+
+The next morning my landlady did me the honour to drink coffee with
+me, but helped me very sparingly to milk and sugar.  It was Sunday,
+and I went with my landlord to a barber, on whose shop was written
+"Shaving for a penny."  There were a great many inhabitants
+assembled there, who took me for a gentleman, on account, I suppose,
+of my hat, which I had bought in London for a guinea, and which they
+all admired.  I considered this as a proof that pomp and finery had
+not yet become general thus far from London.
+
+You frequently find in England, at many of the houses of the common
+people, printed papers, with sundry apt and good moral maxims and
+rules fastened against the room door, just as we find them in
+Germany.  On such wretched paper some of the most delightful and the
+finest sentiments may be read, such as would do honour to any writer
+of any country.
+
+For instance, I read among other things this golden rule on such an
+ordinary printed paper stuck against a room door, "Make no
+comparisons;" and if you consider how many quarrels, and how much
+mischief arise in the world from odious comparisons of the merits of
+one with the merits of another, the most delightful lessons of
+morality are contained in the few words of the above-mentioned rule.
+
+A man to whom I gave sixpence conducted me out of the town to the
+road leading to Castleton, which was close to a wall of stones
+confusedly heaped one upon another, as I have before described.  The
+whole country was hilly and rough, and the ground covered with brown
+heath.  Here and there some sheep were feeding.
+
+I made a little digression to a hill to the left, where I had a
+prospect awfully beautiful, composed almost entirely of naked rocks,
+far and near, among which, those that were entirely covered with
+black heath made a most tremendous appearance.
+
+I was now a hundred and seventy miles from London, when I ascended
+one of the highest hills, and all at once perceived a beautiful vale
+below me, which was traversed by rivers and brooks and enclosed on
+all sides by hills.  In this vale lay Castleton, a small town with
+low houses, which takes its name from an old castle, whose ruins are
+still to be seen here.
+
+A narrow path, which wound itself down the side of the rock, led me
+through the vale into the street of Castleton, where I soon found an
+inn, and also soon dined.  After dinner I made the best of my way to
+the cavern.
+
+A little rivulet, which runs through the middle of the town, led me
+to its entrance.
+
+I stood here a few moments, full of wonder and astonishment at the
+amazing height of the steep rock before me, covered on each side
+with ivy and other shrubs.  At its summit are the decayed wall and
+towers of an ancient castle which formerly stood on this rock, and
+at its foot the monstrous aperture or mouth to the entrance of the
+cavern, where it is pitch dark when one looks down even at mid-day.
+
+As I was standing here full of admiration, I perceived, at the
+entrance of the cavern, a man of a rude and rough appearance, who
+asked me if I wished to see the Peak, and the echo strongly
+reverberated his coarse voice.
+
+Answering as I did in the affirmative, he next further asked me if I
+should want to be carried to the other side of the stream, telling
+me at the same time what the sum would be which I must pay for it.
+
+This man had, along with his black stringy hair and his dirty and
+tattered clothes, such a singularly wild and infernal look, that he
+actually struck me as a real Charon.  His voice, and the questions
+he asked me, were not of a kind to remove this notion, so that, far
+from its requiring any effort of imagination, I found it not easy to
+avoid believing that, at length, I had actually reached Avernus, was
+about to cross Acheron, and to be ferried by Charon.
+
+I had no sooner agreed to his demand, than he told me all I had to
+do was boldly to follow him, and thus we entered the cavern.
+
+To the left, in the entrance of the cavern, lay the trunk of a tree
+that had been cut down, on which several of the boys of the town
+were playing.
+
+Our way seemed to be altogether on a descent, though not steep, so
+that the light which came in at the mouth of the cavern near the
+entrance gradually forsook us, and when we had gone forward a few
+steps farther, I was astonished by a sight which, of all other, I
+here the least expected.  I perceived to the right, in the hollow of
+the cavern, a whole subterranean village, where the inhabitants, on
+account of its being Sunday, were resting from their work, and with
+happy and cheerful looks were sitting at the doors of their huts
+along with their children.
+
+We had scarcely passed these small subterranean houses when I
+perceived a number of large wheels, on which on week days these
+human moles, the inhabitants of the cavern, make ropes.
+
+I fancied I here saw the wheel of Ixion, and the incessant labour of
+the Danaides.
+
+The opening through which the light came seemed, as we descended,
+every moment to become less and less, and the darkness at every step
+to increase, till at length only a few rays appeared, as if darting
+through a crevice, and just tinging the small clouds of smoke which,
+at dusk, raised themselves to the mouth of the cavern.
+
+This gradual growth, or increase of darkness, awakens in a
+contemplative mind a soft melancholy.  As you go down the gentle
+descent of the cavern, you can hardly help fancying the moment is
+come when, without pain or grief, the thread of life is about to be
+snapped; and that you are now going thus quietly to that land of
+peace where trouble is no more.
+
+At length the great cavern in the rock closed itself, in the same
+manner as heaven and earth seem to join each other, when we came to
+a little door, where an old woman came out of one of the huts, and
+brought two candles, of which we each took one.
+
+My guide now opened the door, which completely shut out the faint
+glimmering of light, which, till then, it was still possible to
+perceive, and led us to the inmost centre of this dreary temple of
+old Chaos and Night, as if, till now, we had only been traversing
+the outer courts.  The rock was here so low, that we were obliged to
+stoop very much for some few steps in order to get through; but how
+great was my astonishment, when we had passed this narrow passage
+and again stood upright, at once to perceive, as well as the feeble
+light of our candles would permit, the amazing length, breadth, and
+height of the cavern; compared to which the monstrous opening
+through which we had already passed was nothing!
+
+After we had wandered here more than an hour, as beneath a dark and
+dusky sky, on a level, sandy soil, the rock gradually lowered
+itself, and we suddenly found ourselves on the edge of a broad
+river, which, from the glimmering of our candles amid the total
+darkness, suggested sundry interesting reflections.  To the side of
+this river a small boat was moored, with some straw in its bottom.
+Into this boat my guide desired me to step, and lay myself down in
+it quite flat; because, as he said, towards the middle of the river,
+the rock would almost touch the water.
+
+When I had laid myself down as directed, he himself jumped into the
+water, and drew the boat after him.
+
+All around us was one still, solemn, and deadly silence; and as the
+boat advanced, the rock seemed to stoop, and come nearer and nearer
+to us, till at length it nearly touched my face; and as I lay, I
+could hardly hold the candle upright.  I seemed to myself to be in a
+coffin rather than in a boat, as I had no room to stir hand or foot
+till we had passed this frightful strait, and the rock rose again on
+the other side, where my guide once more handed me ashore.
+
+The cavern was now become, all at once, broad and high:  and then
+suddenly it was again low and narrow.
+
+I observed on both sides as we passed along a prodigious number of
+great and small petrified plants and animals, which, however, we
+could not examine, unless we had been disposed to spend some days in
+the cavern.
+
+And thus we arrived at the opposite side, at the second river or
+stream, which, however, was not so broad as the first, as one may
+see across it to the other side; across this stream my guide carried
+me on his shoulders, because there was here no boat to carry us
+over.
+
+From thence we only went a few steps farther, when we came to a very
+small piece of water which extended itself lengthways, and led us to
+the end of the cavern.
+
+The path along the edge of this water was wet and slippery, and
+sometimes so very narrow, that one can hardly set one foot before
+the other.
+
+Notwithstanding, I wandered with pleasure on this subterranean
+shore, and was regaling myself with the interesting contemplation of
+all these various wonderful objects, in this land of darkness and
+shadow of death, when, all at once, something like music at a
+distance sounded in mine ears.
+
+I instantly stopped, full of astonishment, and eagerly asked my
+guide what this might mean?  He answered, "Only have patience, and
+you shall soon see."
+
+But as we advanced, the sounds of harmony seemed to die away; the
+noise became weaker and weaker; and at length it seemed to sink into
+a gentle hissing or hum, like distant drops of falling rain.
+
+And how great was my amazement when, ere long, I actually saw and
+felt a violent shower of rain falling from the rock, as from a thick
+cloud, whose drops, which now fell on our candles, had caused that
+same melancholy sound which I had heard at a distance.
+
+This was what is here called a mizzling rain, which fell from the
+ceiling or roof of the cavern, through the veins of the rock.
+
+We did not dare to approach too near with our candles, as they might
+easily have been extinguished by the falling drops; and so we
+perhaps have been forced to seek our way back in vain.
+
+We continued our march therefore along the side of the water, and
+often saw on the sides large apertures in the rock, which seemed to
+be new or subordinate caverns, all which we passed without looking
+into.  At length my guide prepared me for one of the finest sights
+we had yet seen, which we should now soon behold.
+
+And we had hardly gone on a few paces, when we entered what might
+easily have been taken for a majestic temple, with lofty arches,
+supported by beautiful pillars, formed by the plastic hand of some
+ingenious artist.
+
+This subterranean temple, in the structure of which no human hand
+had borne a part, appeared to me at that moment to surpass all the
+most stupendous buildings in the world, in point of regularity,
+magnificence, and beauty.
+
+Full of admiration and reverence, here, even in the inmost recesses
+of nature, I saw the majesty of the Creator displayed; and before I
+quitted this temple, here, in this solemn silence and holy gloom, I
+thought it would be a becoming act of true religion to adore, as I
+cordially did, the God of nature.
+
+We now drew near the end of our journey.  Our faithful companion,
+the water, guided us through the remainder of the cavern, where the
+rock is arched for the last time, and then sinks till it touches the
+water, which here forms a semicircle, and thus the cavern closes, so
+that no mortal can go one step farther.
+
+My guide here again jumped into the water, swam a little way under
+the rock, and then came back quite wet, to show me that it was
+impossible to go any further, unless this rock could be blown up
+with powder, and a second cavern opened.  I now thought all we had
+to do was to return the nearest way; but there were new difficulties
+still to encounter, and new scenes to behold still more beautiful
+than any I had yet seen.
+
+My guide now turned and went back towards the left, where I followed
+him through a large opening in the rock.
+
+And here he first asked me if I could determine to creep a
+considerable distance through the rock, where it nearly touched the
+ground.  Having consented to do so, he told me I had only to follow
+him, warning me at the same time to take great care of my candle.
+
+Thus we crept on our hands and feet, on the wet and muddy ground,
+through the opening in the rock, which was often scarcely large
+enough for us to get through with our bodies.
+
+When at length we had got through this troublesome passage, I saw in
+the cavern a steep hill, which was so high that it seemed to lose
+itself as in a cloud, in the summit of the rock.
+
+This hill was so wet and slippery, that as soon as I attempted to
+ascend, I fell down.  My guide, however, took hold of my hand and
+told me I had only resolutely to follow him.
+
+We now ascended such an amazing height, and there were such
+precipices on each side, that it makes me giddy even now when I
+think of it.
+
+When we at length had gained the summit, where the hill seemed to
+lose itself in the rock, my guide placed me where I could stand
+firm, and told me to stay there quietly.  In the meantime he himself
+went down the hill with his candle, and left me alone.
+
+I lost sight of him for some moments, but at length I perceived, not
+him, indeed, but his candle, quite in the bottom, from whence it
+seemed to shine like a bright and twinkling star.
+
+After I had enjoyed this indescribably beautiful sight for some
+time, my guide came back, and carried me safely down the hill again
+on his shoulders.  And as I now stood below, he went up and let his
+candle shine again through an opening of the rock, while I covered
+mine with my hand; and it was now as if on a dark night a bright
+star shone down upon me, a sight which, in point of beauty, far
+surpassed all that I had ever seen.
+
+Our journey was now ended, and we returned, not without trouble and
+difficulty, through the narrow passage.  We again entered the temple
+we had a short time before left; again heard the pattering of the
+rain, which sounded as rain when we were near it, but which at a
+distance seemed a sonorous, dull, and melancholy hum; and now again
+we returned across the quiet streams through the capacious entrance
+of the cavern to the little door, where we had before taken our
+leave of daylight, which, after so long a darkness, we now again
+hailed with joy.
+
+Before my guide opened the door, he told me I should now have a view
+of a sight that would surpass all the foregoing.  I found that he
+was in the right, for when he had only half opened the door, it
+really seemed as if I was looking into Elysium.
+
+The day seemed to be gradually breaking, and night and darkness to
+have vanished.  At a distance you again just saw the smoke of the
+cottages, and then the cottages themselves; and as we ascended we
+saw the boys still playing around the hewn trunk, till at length the
+reddish purple stripes in the sky faintly appeared through the mouth
+of the hole; yet, just as we came out, the sun was setting in the
+west.
+
+Thus had I spent nearly the whole afternoon till it was quite
+evening in the cavern; and when I looked at myself, I was, as to my
+dress, not much unlike my guide; my shoes scarcely hung to my feet,
+they were so soft and so torn by walking so long on the damp sand,
+and the hard pointed stones.
+
+I paid no more than half-a-crown for seeing all that I had seen,
+with a trifle to my guide; for it seems he does not get the half-
+crown, but is obliged to account for it to his master, who lives
+very comfortably on the revenue he derives from this cavern, and is
+able to keep a man to show it to strangers.
+
+When I came home I sent for a shoemaker.  There was one who lived
+just opposite; and he immediately came to examine my shoes.  He told
+me he could not sufficiently wonder at the badness of the work, for
+they were shoes I had brought from Germany.  Notwithstanding this,
+he undertook, as he had no new ones ready, to mend them for me as
+well as he could.  This led me to make a very agreeable acquaintance
+with this shoemaker; for when I expressed to him my admiration of
+the cavern, it pleased him greatly that in so insignificant a place
+as Castleton there should be anything which could inspire people
+with astonishment, who came from such distant countries; and
+thereupon offered to take a walk with me, to show me, at no great
+distance, the famous mountain called Mam Tor, which is reckoned
+among the things of most note in Derbyshire.
+
+This mountain is covered with verdure on its summit and sides; but
+at the end it is a steep precipice.  The middle part does not, like
+other mountains, consist of rock, but of a loose earth, which gives
+way, and either rolls from the top of the precipice in little
+pieces, or tears itself loose in large masses, and falls with a
+thundering crash, thus forming a hill on its side which is
+continually increasing.
+
+From these circumstances probably is derived the name of Mam Tor,
+which literally signifies Mother Hill; for Tor is either an
+abbreviation of, or the old word for, Tower, and means not only a
+lofty building, but any eminence.  Mam is a familiar term, that
+obtains in all languages, for Mother; and this mountain, like a
+mother, produces several other small hills.
+
+The inhabitants here have a superstitious notion that this mountain,
+notwithstanding its daily loss, never decreases, but always keeps
+its own, and remains the same.
+
+My companion told me a shocking history of an inhabitant of
+Castleton who laid a wager that he would ascend this steep
+precipice.
+
+As the lower part is not quite so steep, but rather slanting
+upwards, he could get good hold in this soft loose earth, and
+clambered up, without looking round.  At length he had gained more
+than half the ascent, and was just at the part where it projects and
+overlooks its basis.  From this astonishing height the unfortunate
+man cast down his eyes, whilst the threatening point of the rock
+hung over him, with tottering masses of earth.
+
+He trembled all over, and was just going to relinquish his hold, not
+daring to move backwards or forwards; in this manner he hung for
+some time between heaven and earth, surrounded by despair.  However,
+his sinews would bear it no longer, and therefore, in an effort of
+despair, he once more collected all his strength and got hold of
+first one loose stone, and then another, all of which would have
+failed him had he not immediately caught hold of another.  By these
+means, however, at length, to his own, as well as to the
+astonishment of all the spectators, he avoided almost instant and
+certain death, safely gained the summit of the hill, and won his
+wager.
+
+I trembled as I heard this relation, seeing the mountain and the
+precipice in question so near to me, I could not help figuring to
+myself the man clambering up it.
+
+Not far from hence is Elden Hole, a cavity or pit, or hole in the
+earth, of such a monstrous depth, that if you throw in a pebble
+stone, and lay your ear to the edge of the hole, you hear it falling
+for a long time.
+
+As soon as it comes to the bottom it emits a sound as if some one
+were uttering a loud sigh.  The first noise it makes on its being
+first parted with affects the ear like a subterranean thunder.  This
+rumbling or thundering noise continues for some time, and then
+decreases as the stone falls against first one hard rock and then
+another at a greater and a greater depth, and at length, when it has
+for some time been falling, the noise stops with a kind of whizzing
+or a hissing murmur.  The people have also a world of superstitious
+stories relating to this place, one of which is that some person
+once threw into it a goose, which appeared again at two miles'
+distance in the great cavern I have already mentioned, quite
+stripped of its feathers.  But I will not stuff my letters with many
+of these fabulous histories.
+
+They reckon that they have in Derbyshire seven wonders of nature, of
+which this Elden Hole, the hill of Mam Tor, and the great cavern I
+have been at are the principal.
+
+The remaining four wonders are Pool's Hole, which has some
+resemblance to this that I have seen, as I am told, for I did not
+see it; next St. Anne's Well, where there are two springs which rise
+close to each other, the one of which is boiling hot, the other as
+cold as ice; the next is Tide's Well, not far from the town of that
+name through which I passed.  It is a spring or well, which in
+general flows or runs underground imperceptibly, and then all at
+once rushes forth with a mighty rumbling or subterranean noise,
+which is said to have something musical in it, and overflows its
+banks; lastly Chatsworth, a palace or seat belonging to the Dukes of
+Devonshire, at the foot of a mountain whose summit is covered with
+eternal snow, and therefore always gives one the idea of winter, at
+the same time that the most delightful spring blooms at its foot.  I
+can give you no further description of these latter wonders, as I
+only know them by the account given me by others.  They were the
+subjects with which my guide, the shoemaker, entertained me during
+our walk.
+
+While this man was showing me everything within his knowledge that
+he thought most interesting, he often expressed his admiration on
+thinking how much of the world I had already seen; and the idea
+excited in him so lively a desire to travel, that I had much to do
+to reason him out of it.  He could not help talking of it the whole
+evening, and again and again protested that, had he not got a wife
+and child, he would set off in the morning at daybreak along with
+me; for here in Castleton there is but little to be earned by the
+hardest labour or even genius.  Provisions are not cheap, and in
+short, there is no scope for exertion.  This honest man was not yet
+thirty.
+
+As we returned, he wished yet to show me the lead mines, but it was
+too late.  Yet, late as it was, he mended my shoes the same evening,
+and I must do him the justice to add in a very masterly manner.
+
+But I am sorry to tell you I have brought a cough from the cavern
+that does not at all please me; indeed, it occasions me no little
+pain, which makes me suppose that one must needs breathe a very
+unwholesome damp air in this cavern.  But then, were that the case,
+I do not comprehend how my friend Charon should have held it out so
+long and so well as he has.
+
+This morning I was up very early in order to view the ruins, and to
+climb a high hill alongside of them.  The ruins are directly over
+the mouth of the hole on the hill, which extends itself some
+distance over the cavern beyond the ruins, and always widens, though
+here in front it is so narrow that the building takes up the whole.
+
+From the ruins all around there is nothing but steep rock, so that
+there is no access to it but from the town, where a crooked path
+from the foot of the hill is hewn in the rock, but is also
+prodigiously steep.
+
+The spot on which the ruins stand is now all overgrown with nettles
+and thistles.  Formerly, it is said, there was a bridge from this
+mountain to the opposite one, of which one may yet discover some
+traces, as in the vale which divides the two rocks we still find the
+remains of some of the arches on which the bridge rested.  This
+vale, which lies at the back of the ruins and probably over the
+cavern, is called the Cave's Way, and is one of the greatest
+thoroughfares to the town.  In the part at which, at some distance,
+it begins to descend between these two mountains, its descent is so
+gentle that one is not at all tired in going down it; but if you
+should happen to miss the way between the two rocks and continue on
+the heights, you are in great danger of falling from the rock, which
+every moment becomes steeper and steeper.
+
+The mountain on which the ruins stand is everywhere rocky.  The one
+on the left of it, which is separated by the vale, is perfectly
+verdant and fertile, and on its summit the pasture hands are divided
+by stones, piled up in the form of a wall.  This green mountain is
+at least three times as high as that on which the ruins stand.
+
+I began to clamber up the green mountain, which is also pretty
+steep; and when I had got more than half way up without having once
+looked back, I was nearly in the same situation as the adventurer
+who clambered up Mam Tor Hill, for when I looked round, I found my
+eye had not been trained to view, unmoved, so prodigious a height.
+Castleton with the surrounding country lay below me like a map, the
+roofs of the houses seemed almost close to the ground, and the
+mountain with the ruins itself seemed to be lying at my feet.
+
+I grew giddy at the prospect, and it required all my reason to
+convince me that I was in no danger, and that, at all events, I
+could only scramble down the green turf in the same manner as I had
+got up.  At length I seemed to grow accustomed to this view till it
+really gave me pleasure, and I now climbed quite to the summit and
+walked over the meadows, and at length reached the way which
+gradually descends between the two mountains.
+
+At the top of the green mountain I met with some neat country girls,
+who were milking their cows, and coming this same way with their
+milk-pails on their heads.
+
+This little rural party formed a beautiful group when some of them
+with their milk-pails took shelter, as it began to rain, under a
+part of the rock, beneath which they sat down on natural stone
+benches, and there, with pastoral innocence and glee, talked and
+laughed till the shower was over.
+
+My way led me into the town, from whence I now write, and which I
+intend leaving in order to begin my journey back to London, but I
+think I shall not now pursue quite the same road.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+
+Northampton.
+
+When I took my leave of the honest shoemaker in Castleton, who would
+have rejoiced to have accompanied me, I resolved to return, not by
+Tideswell, but by Wardlow, which is nearer.
+
+I there found but one single inn, and in it only a landlady, who
+told me that her husband was at work in the lead mines, and that the
+cavern at Castleton, and all that I had yet seen, was nothing to be
+compared to these lead mines.  Her husband, she said, would be happy
+to show them to me.
+
+When I came to offer to pay her for my dinner she made some
+difficulty about it, because, as I had neither drank ale or brandy,
+by the selling of which she chiefly made her livelihood, she said
+she could not well make out my bill.  On this I called for a mug of
+ale (which I did not drink) in order to enable me the better to
+settle her reckoning.
+
+At this same time I saw my innkeeper of Tideswell, who, however, had
+not, like me, come on foot, but prancing proudly on horseback.
+
+As I proceeded, and saw the hills rise before me, which were still
+fresh in my memory, having so recently become acquainted with them
+in my journey thither, I was just reading the passage in Milton
+relative to the creation, in which the Angel describes to Adam how
+the water subsided, and
+
+
+"Immediately the mountains huge appear
+Emergent, and their broad bare backs upheave
+Into the clouds, their tops ascend the sky."
+Book VII., 1. 285.
+
+
+It seemed to me, while reading this passage, as if everything around
+me were in the act of creating, and the mountains themselves
+appeared to emerge or rise, so animated was the scene.
+
+I had felt something not very unlike this on my journey hither, as I
+was sitting opposite to a hill, whose top was covered with trees,
+and was reading in Milton the sublime description of the combat of
+the angels, where the fallen angels are made, with but little regard
+to chronology, to attack their antagonists with artillery and
+cannon, as if it had been a battle on earth of the present age.  The
+better angels, however, defend themselves against their antagonists
+by each seizing on some hill by the tufts on its summit, tearing
+them up by the root, and thus bearing them in their hands to fling
+them at their enemy:
+
+
+"--they ran, they flew,
+From their foundation loos'ning to and fro,
+They pluck'd the seated hills with all their load,
+Rocks, waters, woods, and by the shaggy tops
+Uplifting bore them in their hands--."
+Book VI., 1. 642.
+
+
+I seemed to fancy to myself that I actually saw an angel there
+standing and plucking up a hill before me and shaking it in the air.
+
+When I came to the last village before I got to Matlock, as it was
+now evening and dark, I determined to spend the night there, and
+inquired for an inn, which, I was told, was at the end of the
+village; and so on I walked, and kept walking till near midnight
+before I found this same inn.  The place seemed to have no end.  On
+my journey to Castleton I must either not have passed through this
+village or not have noticed its length.  Much tired, and not a
+little indisposed, I at length arrived at the inn, where I sat
+myself down by the fire in the kitchen, and asked for something to
+eat.  As they told me I could not have a bed here, I replied I
+absolutely would not be driven away, for that if nothing better
+could be had I would sit all night by the fire.  This I actually
+prepared to do, and laid my head on the table in order to sleep.
+
+When the people in the kitchen thought that I was asleep, I heard
+them taking about me, and guessing who or what I might be.  One
+woman alone seemed to take my part, and said, "I daresay he is a
+well-bred gentleman;" another scouted that notion, merely because,
+as she said, "I had come on foot;" and "depend on it," said she, "he
+is some poor travelling creature!"  My ears yet ring with the
+contemptuous tone with which she uttered, "poor travelling
+creature!"  It seems to express all the wretchedness of one who
+neither has house nor home--a vagabond and outcast of society.
+
+At last, when these unfeeling people saw that I was determined, at
+all events, to stay there all night, they gave me a bed, but not
+till I had long given up all hopes of getting one.  And in the
+morning, when they asked me a shilling for it, I gave them half-a-
+crown, adding, with something of an air, that I would have no
+change.  This I did, though perhaps foolishly, to show them that I
+was not quite "A POOR CREATURE."  And now they took leave of me with
+great civility and many excuses; and I now continued my journey much
+at my ease.
+
+When I had passed Matlock I did not go again towards Derby, but took
+the road to the left towards Nottingham.  Here the hills gradually
+disappeared; and my journey now lay through meadow grounds and
+cultivated fields.
+
+I must here inform you that the word Peake, or Pike, in old English
+signifies a point or summit.  The Peak of Derbyshire, therefore,
+means that part of the country which is hilly, or where the
+mountains are highest.
+
+Towards noon I again came to an eminence, where I found but one
+single solitary inn, which had a singular inscription on its sign.
+It was in rhyme, and I remember only that it ended with these words,
+"Refresh, and then go on."  "Entertainment for man and horse."  This
+I have seen on several signs, but the most common, at all the lesser
+ale-houses, is, "A. B. C. or D. dealer in foreign spirituous
+liquors."
+
+I dined here on cold meat and salad.  This, or else eggs and salad,
+was my usual supper, and my dinner too, at the inns at which I
+stopped.  It was but seldom that I had the good fortune to get
+anything hot.  The salad, for which they brought me all the
+ingredients, I was always obliged to dress myself.  This, I believe,
+is always done in England.
+
+The road was now tolerably pleasant, but the country seemed here to
+be uniform and unvaried, even to dulness.  However, it was a very
+fine evening, and as I passed through a village just before sunset
+several people who met me accosted me with a phrase which, at first,
+I thought odd, but which I now think civil, if not polite.  As if I
+could possibly want information on such a point as they passed me,
+they all very courteously told me, "'Twas a fine evening," or "A
+pleasant night."
+
+I have also often met people who as they passed me obligingly and
+kindly asked:  "How do you do?"  To which unexpected question from
+total strangers I have now learned to answer, "Pretty well, I thank
+you; how do you do?"  This manner of address must needs appear very
+singular to a foreigner, who is all at once asked by a person whom
+he has never seen before how he does.
+
+After I had passed through this village I came to a green field, at
+the side of which I met with an ale-house.  The mistress was sitting
+at the window.  I asked her if I could stay the night there.  She
+said No!" and shut the window in my face.
+
+This unmannerliness recalled to my recollection the many receptions
+of this kind to which I have now so often been exposed, and I could
+not forbear uttering aloud my indignation at the inhospitality of
+the English.  This harsh sentiment I soon corrected, however, as I
+walked on, by recollecting, and placing in the opposite scale, the
+unbounded and unequalled generosity of this nation, and also the
+many acts of real and substantial kindness which I had myself
+experienced in it.
+
+I at last came to another inn, where there was written on the sign:
+"The Navigation Inn," because it is the depot, or storehouse, of the
+colliers of the Trent.
+
+A rougher or ruder kind of people I never saw than these colliers,
+whom I here met assembled in the kitchen, and in whose company I was
+obliged to spend the evening.
+
+Their language, their dress, their manners were, all of them,
+singularly vulgar and disagreeable, and their expressions still more
+so, for they hardly spoke a word, without adding "a G-d d-- me" to
+it, and thus cursing, quarrelling, drinking, singing, and fighting,
+they seemed to be pleased, and to enjoy the evening.  I must do them
+the justice to add, that none of them, however, at all molested me
+or did me any harm.  On the contrary, every one again and again
+drank my health, and I took care not to forget to drink theirs in
+return.  The treatment of my host at Matlock was still fresh in my
+memory, and so, as often as I drank, I never omitted saying, "Your
+healths, gentlemen all!"
+
+When two Englishmen quarrel, the fray is carried on, and decided,
+rather by actions than by words; though loud and boisterous, they do
+not say much, and frequently repeat the same thing over and over
+again, always clinching it with an additional "G-- d-- you!"  Their
+anger seems to overpower their utterance, and can vent only by
+coming to blows.
+
+The landlady, who sat in the kitchen along with all this goodly
+company, was nevertheless well dressed, and a remarkably well-
+looking woman.  As soon as I had supped I hastened to bed, but could
+not sleep; my quondam companions, the colliers, made such a noise
+the whole night through.  In the morning, when I got up, there was
+not cue to be seen nor heard.
+
+I was now only a few miles from Nottingham, where I arrived towards
+noon.
+
+This, of all the towns I have yet seen, except London, seemed to me
+to be one of the best, and is undoubtedly the cleanest.  Everything
+here wore a modern appearance, and a large place in the centre,
+scarcely yielded to a London square in point of beauty.
+
+From the town a charming footpath leads you across the meadows to
+the high-road, where there is a bridge over the Trent.  Not far from
+this bridge was an inn, where I dined, though I could get nothing
+but bread-and-butter, of which I desired to have a toast made.
+
+Nottingham lies high, and made a beautiful appearance at a distance,
+with its neat high houses, red roofs, and its lofty steeples.  I
+have not seen so fine a prospect in any other town in England.
+
+I now came through several villages, as Ruddington, Bradmore, and
+Buny, to Castol, where I stayed all night.
+
+This whole afternoon I heard the ringing of bells in many of the
+villages.  Probably it is some holiday which they thus celebrate.
+It was cloudy weather, and I felt myself not at all well, and in
+these circumstances this ringing discomposed me still more, and made
+me at length quite low-spirited and melancholy.
+
+At Castol there were three inns close to each other, in which, to
+judge only from the outside of the houses, little but poverty was to
+be expected.  In the one at which I at length stopped there was only
+a landlady, a sick butcher, and a sick carter, both of whom had come
+to stay the night.  This assemblage of sick persons gave me the idea
+of an hospital, and depressed me still more.  I felt some degree of
+fever, was very restless all night, and so I kept my bed very late
+the next morning, until the woman of the house came and aroused me
+by saying she had been uneasy on my account.  And now I formed the
+resolution to go to Leicester in the post-coach.
+
+I was now only four miles from Loughborough, a small, and I think,
+not a very handsome town, where I arrived late at noon, and dined at
+the last inn on the road that leads to Leicester.  Here again, far
+beyond expectation, the people treated me like a gentleman, and let
+me dine in the parlour.
+
+From Loughborough to Leicester was only ten miles, but the road was
+sandy and very unpleasant walking.
+
+I came through a village called Mountsorrel, which perhaps takes its
+name from a little hill at the end of it.  As for the rest, it was
+all one large plain, all the way to Leicester.
+
+Towards evening I came to a pleasant meadow just before I got to
+Leicester, through which a footpath led me to the town, which made a
+good appearance as I viewed it lengthways, and indeed much larger
+than it really is.
+
+I went up a long street before I got to the house from which the
+post-coaches set out, and which is also an inn.  I here learnt that
+the stage was to set out that evening for London, but that the
+inside was already full; some places were, however, still left on
+the outside.
+
+Being obliged to bestir myself to get back to London, as the time
+drew near when the Hamburg captain, with whom I intend to return,
+had fixed his departure, I determined to take a place as far as
+Northampton on the outside.
+
+But this ride from Leicester to Northampton I shall remember as long
+as I live.
+
+The coach drove from the yard through a part of the house.  The
+inside passengers got in in the yard, but we on the outside were
+obliged to clamber up in the public street, because we should have
+had no room for our heads to pass under the gateway.
+
+My companions on the top of the coach were a farmer, a young man
+very decently dressed, and a blackamoor.
+
+The getting up alone was at the risk of one's life, and when I was
+up I was obliged to sit just at the corner of the coach, with
+nothing to hold by but a sort of little handle fastened on the side.
+I sat nearest the wheel, and the moment that we set off I fancied
+that I saw certain death await me.  All I could do was to take still
+safer hold of the handle, and to be more and more careful to
+preserve my balance.
+
+The machine now rolled along with prodigious rapidity, over the
+stones through the town, and every moment we seemed to fly into the
+air, so that it was almost a miracle that we still stuck to the
+coach and did not fall.  We seemed to be thus on the wing, and to
+fly, as often as we passed through a village, or went down a hill.
+
+At last the being continually in fear of my life became
+insupportable, and as we were going up a hill, and consequently
+proceeding rather slower than usual, I crept from the top of the
+coach and got snug into the basket.
+
+"O, sir, sir, you will be shaken to death!" said the black, but I
+flattered myself he exaggerated the unpleasantness of my post.
+
+As long as we went up hill it was easy and pleasant.  And, having
+had little or no sleep the night before, I was almost asleep among
+the trunks and the packages; but how was the case altered when we
+came to go down hill! then all the trunks and parcels began, as it
+were, to dance around me, and everything in the basket seemed to be
+alive, and I every moment received from them such violent blows that
+I thought my last hour was come.  I now found that what the black
+had told me was no exaggeration, but all my complaints were useless.
+I was obliged to suffer this torture nearly an hour, till we came to
+another hill again, when quite shaken to pieces and sadly bruised, I
+again crept to the top of the coach, and took possession of my
+former seat.  "Ah, did not I tell you that you would be shaken to
+death?" said the black, as I was getting up, but I made him no
+reply.  Indeed, I was ashamed; and I now write this as a warning to
+all strangers to stage-coaches who may happen to take it into their
+heads, without being used to it, to take a place on the outside of
+an English post-coach, and still more, a place in the basket.
+
+About midnight we arrived at Harborough, where I could only rest
+myself a moment, before we were again called to set off, full drive,
+through a number of villages, so that a few hours before daybreak we
+had reached Northampton, which is, however, thirty-three miles from
+Leicester.
+
+From Harborough to Leicester I had a most dreadful journey, it
+rained incessantly; and as before we had been covered with dust, we
+now were soaked with rain.  My neighbour, the young man who sat next
+me in the middle, that my inconveniences might be complete, every
+now and then fell asleep; and as, when asleep, he perpetually bolted
+and rolled against me, with the whole weight of his body, more than
+once he was very near pushing me entirely off my seat.
+
+We at last reached Northampton, where I immediately went to bed, and
+have slept almost till noon.  To-morrow morning I intend to continue
+my journey to London in some other stage-coach.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+
+London, 15th July, 1782.
+
+The journey from Northampton to London I can again hardly call a
+journey, but rather a perpetual motion, or removal from one place to
+another, in a close box; during your conveyance you may, perhaps, if
+you are in luck, converse with two or three people shut up along
+with you.
+
+But I was not so fortunate, for my three travelling companions were
+all farmers, who slept so soundly that even the hearty knocks of the
+head with which they often saluted each other, did not awake them.
+
+Their faces, bloated and discoloured by their copious use of ale and
+brandy, looked, as they lay before me, like so many lumps of dead
+flesh.  When now and then they woke, sheep, in which they all dealt,
+was the first and last topic of their conversation.  One of the
+three, however, differed not a little from the other two; his face
+was sallow and thin, his eyes quite sunk and hollow, his long, lank
+fingers hung quite loose, and as if detached from his hands.  He
+was, in short, the picture of avarice and misanthropy.  The former
+he certainly was; for at every stage he refused to give the coachman
+the accustomed perquisite, which every body else paid; and every
+farthing he was forced to part with, forced a "G-d d--n" from his
+heart.  As he sat in the coach, he seemed anxious to shun the light;
+and so shut up every window that he could come at, except when now
+and then I opened them to take a slight view of the charms of the
+country through which we seemed to be flying, rather than driving.
+
+Our road lay through Newport Pagnell, Dunstable, St. Albans, Barnet,
+to Islington, or rather to London itself.  But these names are all I
+know of the different places.
+
+At Dunstable, if I do not mistake, we breakfasted; and here, as is
+usual, everything was paid for in common by all the passengers; as I
+did not know this, I ordered coffee separately; however, when it
+came, the three farmers also drank of it, and gave me some of their
+tea.
+
+They asked me what part of the world I came from; whereas we in
+Germany generally inquired what countryman a person is.
+
+When we had breakfasted, and were again seated in the coach, all the
+farmers, the lean one excepted, seemed quite alive again, and now
+began a conversation on religion and on politics.
+
+One of them brought the history of Samson on the carpet, which the
+clergyman of his parish, he said, had lately explained, I dare say
+very satisfactorily; though this honest farmer still had a great
+many doubts about the great gate which Samson carried away, and
+about the foxes with the firebrands between their tails.  In other
+respects, however, the man seemed not to be either uninformed or
+sceptical.
+
+They now proceeded to relate to each other various stories, chiefly
+out of the Bible; not merely as important facts, but as interesting
+narratives, which they would have told and listened to with equal
+satisfaction had they met them anywhere else.  One of them had only
+heard these stories from his minister in the church, not being able
+to read them himself.
+
+The one that sat next to him now began to talk about the Jews of the
+Old Testament, and assured us that the present race were all
+descended from those old ones.  "Ay, and they are all damned to all
+eternity!" said his companion, as coolly and as confidently as if at
+that moment he had seen them burning in the bottomless pit.
+
+We now frequently took up fresh passengers, who only rode a short
+distance with us, and then got out again.  Among others was a woman
+from London, whose business was the making of brandy.  She
+entertained us with a very circumstantial narrative of all the
+shocking scenes during the late riot in that city.  What
+particularly struck me was her saying that she saw a man, opposite
+to her house, who was so furious, that he stood on the wall of a
+house that was already half burnt down, and there, like a demon,
+with his own hands pulled down and tossed about the bricks which the
+fire had spared, till at length he was shot, and fell back among the
+flames.
+
+At length we arrived at London without any accident, in a hard rain,
+about one o'clock.  I had been obliged to pay sixteen shillings
+beforehand at Northampton, for the sixty miles to London.  This the
+coachman seemed not to know for certain, and therefore asked me more
+earnestly if I was sure I had paid:  I assured him I had, and he
+took my word.
+
+I looked like a crazy creature when I arrived in London;
+notwithstanding which, Mr. Pointer, with whom I left my trunk,
+received me in the most friendly manner, and desired me during
+dinner to relate to him my adventures.
+
+The same evening I called on Mr. Leonhardi, who, as I did not wish
+to hire a lodging for the few days I might be obliged to wait for a
+fair wind, got me into the Freemasons' Tavern.  And here I have been
+waiting these eight days, and the wind still continues contrary for
+Hambro'; though I do now most heartily wish for a fair wind, as I
+can no longer make any improvement by my stay, since I must keep
+myself in constant readiness to embark whenever the wind changes;
+and therefore I dare go no great distance.
+
+Everybody here is now full of the Marquis of Rockingham's death, and
+the change of the ministry in consequence of it.  They are much
+displeased that Fox has given up his seat; and yet it is singular,
+they still are much concerned, and interest themselves for him, as
+if whatever interested him were the interest of the nation.  On
+Tuesday there was a highly important debate in Parliament.  Fox was
+called on to assign the true reasons of his resignation before the
+nation.  At eleven o'clock the gallery was so full that nobody could
+get a place, and the debates only began at three, and lasted this
+evening till ten.
+
+About four Fox came.  Every one was full of expectation.  He spoke
+at first with great vehemence, but it was observed that he gradually
+became more and more moderate, and when at length he had vindicated
+the step he had taken, and showed it to be, in every point of view,
+just, wise, and honourable, he added, with great force and pathos,
+"and now I stand here once more as poor as ever I was."  It was
+impossible to hear such a speech and such declarations unmoved.
+
+General Conway then gave his reasons why he did not resign, though
+he was of the same political principles as Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke; he
+was of the same opinion with them in regard to the independency of
+America; the more equal representation of the people in Parliament,
+and the regulations necessary in Ireland; but he did not think the
+present minister, Lord Shelburne, would act contrary to those
+principles.  As soon as he did, he should likewise resign, but not
+before.
+
+Burke now stood up and made a most elegant though florid speech, in
+praise of the late Marquis of Rockingham.  As he did not meet with
+sufficient attention, and heard much talking and many murmurs, he
+said, with much vehemence and a sense of injured merit, "This is not
+treatment for so old a member of Parliament as I am, and I will be
+heard!"--on which there was immediately a most profound silence.
+After he had said much more in praise of Rockingham, he sub-joined,
+that with regard to General Conway's remaining in the ministry, it
+reminded him of a fable he had heard in his youth, of a wolf, who,
+on having clothed himself as a sheep, was let into the fold by a
+lamb, who indeed did say to him, "Where did you get those long
+nails, and those sharp teeth, mamma?"  But nevertheless let him in;
+the consequence of which was he murdered the whole flock.  Now with
+respect to General Conway, it appeared to him, just as though the
+lamb certainly did perceive the nails and teeth of the wolf, but
+notwithstanding, was so good-tempered to believe that the wolf would
+change his nature, and become a lamb.  By this, he did not mean to
+reflect on Lord Shelburne:  only of this he was certain, that the
+present administration was a thousand times worse than that under
+Lord North (who was present).
+
+When I heard Mr. Pitt speak for the first time, I was astonished
+that a man of so youthful an appearance should stand up at all; but
+I was still more astonished to see how, while he spoke, he engaged
+universal attention.  He seems to me not to be more than one-and-
+twenty.  This same Pitt is now minister, and even Chancellor of the
+Exchequer.
+
+It is shocking to a foreigner, to see what violent satires on men,
+rather than on things, daily appear in the newspapers, of which they
+tell me there are at least a dozen, if not more, published every
+day.  Some of them side with the Ministry, and still more I think
+with the Opposition.  A paper that should be quite impartial, if
+that were possible, I apprehend would be deemed so insipid as to
+find no readers.  No longer ago than yesterday, it was mentioned in
+one of these newspapers, that when Fox, who is fallen, saw so young
+a man as Pitt made the minister, he exclaimed with Satan, who, in
+"Paradise Lost," on perceiving the man approved by God, called out,
+"O hateful sight!"
+
+On Thursday the king went with the usual solemnity to prorogue the
+Parliament for a stated time.  But I pass this over as a matter that
+has already been so often described.
+
+I have also, during this period, become acquainted with Baron
+Grothaus, the famous walker, to whom I had also a letter of
+recommendation from Baron Groote of Hambro'.  He lives in
+Chesterfield House, not far from General Paoli, to whom he has
+promised to introduce me, if I have time to call on him again.
+
+I have suffered much this week from the violent cough I brought with
+me from the hole in Derbyshire, so that I could not for some days
+stir; during which time Messrs. Schonborn and Leonhardi have visited
+me very attentively, and contributed much to my amendment.
+
+I have been obliged to relate as much about my journey out of London
+here as I probably shall in Germany of all England in general.  To
+most people to whom I give an account of my journey, what I have
+seen is quite new.  I must, however, here insert a few remarks on
+the elocution, or manner of speaking, of this country, which I had
+forgot before to write to you.
+
+English eloquence appears to me not to be nearly so capable of so
+much variety and diffusion as ours is.  Add to this, in their
+Parliamentary speeches, in sermons in the pulpit, in the dialogues
+on the stage; nay, even in common conversation, their periods at the
+end of a sentence are always accompanied by a certain singular
+uniform fall of the voice, which, notwithstanding its monotony has
+in it something so peculiar, and so difficult, that I defy any
+foreigner ever completely to acquire it.  Mr. Leonhardi in
+particular seemed to me, in some passages which he repeated out of
+Hamlet, to have learnt to sink his voice in the true English manner;
+yet any one might know from his speaking that he is not an
+Englishman.  The English place the accent oftener on the adjectives
+than they do on the substantive, which, though undoubtedly the most
+significant word in any sentence, has frequently less stress laid on
+it than you hear laid on mere epithets.  On the stage they pronounce
+the syllables and words extremely distinct, so that at the theatres
+you may always gain most instruction in English elocution and
+pronunciation.
+
+This kingdom is remarkable for running into dialect:  even in London
+they are said to have one.  They say, for example, "it a'nt" instead
+of "it is not;" "I don't know," for "I do not know;" "I don't know
+him," for "I do not know him;" the latter of which phrases has often
+deceived me, as I mistook a negative for an affirmative.
+
+The word "sir," in English, has a great variety of significations.
+With the appellation of "sir," an Englishman addresses his king, his
+friend, his foe, his servant, and his dog; he makes use of it when
+asking a question politely; and a member of Parliament, merely to
+fill up a vacancy, when he happens to be at a loss.  "Sir?" in an
+inquiring tone of voice, signifies what is your desire?  "Sir!" in a
+humble tone--gracious Sovereign!--"Sir!" in surly tone, a box on the
+ear at your service!  To a dog it means a good beating.  And in a
+speech in Parliament, accompanied by a pause, it signifies, I cannot
+now recollect what it is I wish to say farther.
+
+I do not recollect to have heard any expression repeated oftener
+than this, "Never mind it!"  A porter one day fell down, and cut his
+head on the pavement:  "O, never mind it!" said an Englishman who
+happened to be passing by.  When I had my trunk fetched from the
+ship in a boat, the waterman rowed among the boats, and his boy, who
+stood at the head of his boat, got a sound drubbing, because the
+others would not let him pass:  "O, never mind it!" said the old
+one, and kept rowing on.
+
+The Germans who have been here any time almost constantly make use
+of Anglicisms, such as "es will nicht thun" (it will not do),
+instead of es ist nicht hinlanglich (it is not sufficient), and many
+such.  Nay, some even say, "Ich habe es nicht geminded" (I did not
+mind it), instead of ich habe mich nicht daran errinnert, oder daran
+gedacht (I did not recollect it, or I did not think of it).
+
+You can immediately distinguish Englishmen when they speak German,
+by their pronunciation according to the English manner; instead of
+Ich befinde mich wohl, they say Ich befirmich u'hol (I am very
+well), the w being as little noticed as u quickly sounded.
+
+I have often heard, when directing any one in the street, the
+phrase, "Go down the street as far as ever you can go, and ask
+anybody."  Just as we say, "Every child can direct you."
+
+I have already noticed in England they learn to write a much finer
+hand than with us.  This probably arises from their making use of
+only one kind of writing, in which the letters are all so exact that
+you would take it for print.
+
+In general, in speaking, reading, in their expressions, and in
+writing, they seem, in England, to have more decided rules than we
+have.  The lowest man expresses himself in proper phrases, and he
+who publishes a book, at least writes correctly, though the matter
+be ever so ordinary.  In point of style, when they write, they seem
+to be all of the same country, profession, rank, and station.
+
+The printed English sermons are beyond all question the best in the
+world; yet I have sometimes heard sad, miserable stuff from their
+pulpits.  I have been in some churches where the sermons seem to
+have been transcribed or compiled from essays and pamphlets; and the
+motley composition, after all, very badly put together.  It is said
+that there are a few in London, by whom some of the English clergy
+are supposed to get their sermons made for money.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+
+London, 18th July.
+
+I write to you now for the last time from London; and, what is still
+more, from St. Catherine's, one of the most execrable holes in all
+this great city, where I am obliged to stay, because the great ships
+arrive in the Thames here, and go from hence, and we shall sail as
+soon as the wind changes.  This it has just now done, yet still it
+seems we shall not sail till to-morrow.  To-day therefore I can
+still relate to you all the little that I have farther noticed.
+
+On Monday morning I moved from the Freemasons' Tavern to a public-
+house here, of which the master is a German; and where all the
+Hambro' captains lodge.  At the Freemasons' Tavern, the bill for
+eight days' lodging, breakfast, and dinner came to one guinea and
+nine shillings and nine pence.  Breakfast, dinner, and coffee were
+always, with distinction, reckoned a shilling each.  For my lodging
+I paid only twelve shillings a week, which was certainly cheap
+enough.
+
+At the German's house in St. Catherine's, on the contrary,
+everything is more reasonable, and you here eat, drink, and lodge
+for half-a-guinea a week.  Notwithstanding, however, I would not
+advise anybody who wishes to see London, to lodge here long; for St.
+Catherine's is one of the most out-of-the-way and inconvenient
+places in the whole town.
+
+He who lands here first sees this miserable, narrow, dirty street,
+and this mass of ill-built, old, ruinous houses; and of course
+forms, at first sight, no very favourable idea of this beautiful and
+renowned city.
+
+From Bullstrode Street, or Cavendish Square, to St. Catherine's, is
+little less than half a day's journey.  Nevertheless, Mr. Schonborn
+has daily visited me since I have lived here; and I have always
+walked back half-way with him.  This evening we took leave of each
+other near St. Paul's, and this separation cost me not a few tears.
+
+I have had a very agreeable visit this afternoon from Mr. Hansen,
+one of the assistants to the "Zollner book for all ranks of men" who
+brought me a letter from the Rev. Mr. Zollner at Berlin, and just
+arrived at London when I was going away.  He is going on business to
+Liverpool.  I have these few days past, for want of better
+employment, walked through several parts of London that I had not
+before seen.  Yesterday I endeavoured to reach the west end of the
+town; and I walked several miles, when finding it was grown quite
+dark, I turned back quite tired, without having accomplished my end.
+
+Nothing in London makes so disgusting an appearance to a foreigner,
+as the butchers' shops, especially in the environs of the Tower.
+Guts and all the nastiness are thrown into the middle of the street,
+and cause an insupportable stench.
+
+I have forgot to describe the 'Change to you; this beautiful
+building is a long square in the centre of which is an open area,
+where the merchants assemble.  All round, there are covered walks
+supported by pillars on which the name of the different commercial
+nations you may wish to find are written up, that among the crowd of
+people you may be able to find each other.  There are also stone
+benches made under the covered walks, which after a ramble from St.
+Catherine's, for example, hither, are very convenient to rest
+yourself.
+
+On the walls all kinds of handbills are stuck up.  Among others I
+read one of singular contents.  A clergyman exhorted the people not
+to assent to the shameful Act of Parliament for the toleration of
+Catholics, by suffering their children to their eternal ruin to be
+instructed and educated by them; but rather to give him, an orthodox
+clergyman of the Church of England, this employ and this emolument.
+
+In the middle of the area is a stone statue of Charles the Second.
+As I sat here on a bench, and gazed on the immense crowds that
+people London, I thought that, as to mere dress and outward
+appearance, these here did not seem to be materially different from
+our people at Berlin.
+
+Near the 'Change is a shop where, for a penny or even a halfpenny
+only, you may read as many newspapers as you will.  There are always
+a number of people about these shops, who run over the paper as they
+stand, pay their halfpenny, and then go on.
+
+Near the 'Change there is a little steeple with a set of bells which
+have a charming tone, but they only chime one or two lively tunes,
+though in this part of the City you constantly hear bells ringing in
+your ears.
+
+It has struck me that in London there is no occasion for any
+elementary works or prints, for the instruction of children.  One
+need only lead them into the City, and show them the things
+themselves as they really are.  For here it is contrived, as much as
+possible, to place in view for the public inspection every
+production of art, and every effort of industry.  Paintings,
+mechanisms, curiosities of all kinds, are here exhibited in the
+large and light shop windows, in the most advantageous manner; nor
+are spectators wanting, who here and there, in the middle of the
+street, stand still to observe any curious performance.  Such a
+street seemed to me to resemble a well regulated cabinet of
+curiosities.
+
+But the squares, where the finest houses are, disdain and reject all
+such shows and ornaments, which are adapted only to shopkeepers'
+houses.  The squares, moreover, are not nearly so crowded or so
+populous as the streets and the other parts of the city.  There is
+nearly as much difference between these squares and the Strand in
+London, in point of population and bustle, as there is between
+Millbank and Fredericksstadt in Berlin.
+
+I do not at present recollect anything further, my dear friend,
+worth your attention, which I can now write to you, except that
+everything is ready for our departure to-morrow.  I paid Captain
+Hilkes, with whom I came over from Hambro', four guineas for my
+passage and my board in the cabin.  But Captain Braunschweig, with
+whom I am to return, charges me five guineas; because provisions, he
+says, are dearer in London than at Hambro'.  I now have related to
+you all my adventures and all my history from the time that I took
+leave of you in the street, my voyage hither with Captain Hilkes
+excepted.  Of this, all that I think it necessary to mention is,
+that, to my great dissatisfaction, it lasted a fortnight, and three
+days I was sea-sick.  Of my voyage back I will give you a personal
+account.  And now remember me to Biester, and farewell till I see
+you again.
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TRAVELS IN ENGLAND IN 1782 ***
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+<a href="#startoftext">Travels in England in 1782, by Charles P. Moritz</a>
+</h2>
+<pre>
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in England in 1782, by Charles P. Moritz
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+Title: Travels in England in 1782
+
+Author: Charles P. Moritz
+
+Release Date: March, 2004  [EBook #5249]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on June 11, 2002]
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+<p>
+<a name="startoftext"></a>
+Transcribed from the 1886 Cassell &amp; Company edition by David Price,
+email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+TRAVELS IN ENGLAND IN 1782<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+INTRODUCTION<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Charles P. Moritz&rsquo;s &ldquo;Travels, chiefly on foot, through several
+parts of England in 1782, described in Letters to a Friend,&rdquo; were
+translated from the German by a lady, and published in 1795.&nbsp; John
+Pinkerton included them in the second volume of his Collection of Voyages
+and Travels.<br>
+<br>
+The writer of this account of England as it was about a hundred years
+ago, and seven years before the French Revolution, was a young Prussian
+clergyman, simply religious, calmly enthusiastic for the freer forms
+of citizenship, which he found in England and contrasted with the military
+system of Berlin.&nbsp; The touch of his times was upon him, with some
+of the feeling that caused Frenchmen, after the first outbreak of the
+Revolution, to hail Englishmen as &ldquo;their forerunners in the glorious
+race.&rdquo;&nbsp; He had learnt English at home, and read Milton, whose
+name was inscribed then in German literature on the banners of the free.<br>
+<br>
+In 1782 Charles Moritz came to England with little in his purse and
+&ldquo;Paradise Lost&rdquo; in his pocket, which he meant to read in
+the Land of Milton.&nbsp; He came ready to admire, and enthusiasm adds
+some colour to his earliest impressions; but when they were coloured
+again by hard experience, the quiet living sympathy remained.&nbsp;
+There is nothing small in the young Pastor Moritz, we feel a noble nature
+in his true simplicity of character.<br>
+<br>
+He stayed seven weeks with us, three of them in London.&nbsp; He travelled
+on foot to Richmond, Windsor, Oxford, Birmingham, and Matlock, with
+some experience of a stage coach on the way back; and when, in dread
+of being hurled from his perch on the top as the coach flew down hill,
+he tried a safer berth among the luggage in the basket, he had further
+experience.&nbsp; It was like that of Hood&rsquo;s old lady, in the
+same place of inviting shelter, who, when she crept out, had only breath
+enough left to murmur, &ldquo;Oh, them boxes!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Pastor Moritz&rsquo;s experience of inns was such as he hardly could
+pick up in these days of the free use of the feet.&nbsp; But in those
+days everybody who was anybody rode.&nbsp; And even now, there might
+be cold welcome to a shabby-looking pedestrian without a knapsack.&nbsp;
+Pastor Moritz had his Milton in one pocket and his change of linen in
+the other.&nbsp; From some inns he was turned away as a tramp, and in
+others he found cold comfort.&nbsp; Yet he could be proud of a bit of
+practical wisdom drawn by himself out of the &ldquo;Vicar of Wakefield,&rdquo;
+that taught him to conciliate the innkeeper by drinking with him; and
+the more the innkeeper drank of the ale ordered the better, because
+Pastor Moritz did not like it, and it did not like him.&nbsp; He also
+felt experienced in the ways of the world when, having taken example
+from the manners of a bar-maid, if he drank in a full room he did not
+omit to say, &ldquo;Your healths, gentlemen all.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Fielding&rsquo;s Parson Adams, with his &AElig;schylus in his pocket,
+and Parson Moritz with his Milton, have points of likeness that bear
+strong witness to Fielding&rsquo;s power of entering into the spirit
+of a true and gentle nature.&nbsp; After the first touches of enthusiastic
+sentiment, that represent real freshness of enjoyment, there is no reaction
+to excess in opposite extreme.&nbsp; The young foot traveller settles
+down to simple truth, retains his faith in English character, and reports
+ill-usage without a word of bitterness.<br>
+<br>
+The great charm of this book is its unconscious expression of the writer&rsquo;s
+character.&nbsp; His simple truthfulness presents to us of 1886 as much
+of the England of 1782 as he was able to see with eyes full of intelligence
+and a heart full of kindness.&nbsp; He heard Burke speak on the death
+of his friend and patron Lord Rockingham, with sudden rebuke to an indolent
+and inattentive house.&nbsp; He heard young Pitt, and saw how he could
+fix, boy as he looked, every man&rsquo;s attention.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Oh, wad some power the giftie gie us<br>
+To see oursels as others see us!<br>
+It wad frae many a blunder free us,<br>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And foolish notion.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+And when the power is so friendly as that of the Pastor Moritz, we may,
+if wise, know ourselves better than from a thousand satires, but if
+foolish we may let all run into self-praise.<br>
+<br>
+H. M.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER I.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>On the Thames, </i>31st <i>May.<br>
+<br>
+</i>At length, my dearest Gedike, I find myself safely landed on the
+happy shores of that country, a sight of which has, for many years,
+been my most earnest wish; and whither I have so often in imagination
+transported myself.&nbsp; A few hours ago the green hills of England
+yet swam imperfectly before our eyes, scarcely perceptible in the distant
+horizon: they now unfold themselves on either side, forming as it were
+a double amphitheatre.&nbsp; The sun bursts through the clouds, and
+gilds alternately the shrubs and meadows on the distant shores, and
+we now espy the tops of two masts of ships just peeping above the surface
+of the deep.&nbsp; What an awful warning to adventurous men!&nbsp; We
+now sail close by those very sands (the Goodwin) where so many unfortunate
+persons have found their graves.<br>
+<br>
+The shores now regularly draw nearer to each other: the danger of the
+voyage is over; and the season for enjoyment, unembittered by cares,
+commences.&nbsp; How do we feel ourselves, we, who have long been wandering
+as it were, in a boundless space, on having once more gained prospects
+that are not without limits!&nbsp; I should imagine our sensations as
+somewhat like those of the traveller who traverses the immeasurable
+deserts of America, when fortunately he obtains a hut wherein to shelter
+himself; in those moments he certainly enjoys himself; nor does he then
+complain of its being too small.&nbsp; It is indeed the lot of man to
+be always circumscribed to a narrow space, even when he wanders over
+the most extensive regions; even when the huge sea envelops him all
+around, and wraps him close to its bosom, in the act, as it were, of
+swallowing him up in a moment: still he is separated from all the circumjacent
+immensity of space only by one small part, or insignificant portion
+of that immensity.<br>
+<br>
+That portion of this space, which I now see surrounding me, is a most
+delightful selection from the whole of beautiful nature.&nbsp; Here
+is the Thames full of large and small ships and boats, dispersed here
+and there, which are either sailing on with us, or lying at anchor;
+and there the hills on either side, clad with so soft and mild a green,
+as I have nowhere else ever seen equalled.&nbsp; The charming banks
+of the Elbe, which I so lately quitted, are as much surpassed by these
+shores as autumn is by spring!&nbsp; I see everywhere nothing but fertile
+and cultivated lands; and those living hedges which in England more
+than in any other country, form the boundaries of the green cornfields,
+and give to the whole of the distant country the appearance of a large
+and majestic garden.&nbsp; The neat villages and small towns with sundry
+intermediate country seats, suggest ideas of prosperity and opulence
+which is not possible to describe.<br>
+<br>
+The prospect towards Gravesend is particularly beautiful.&nbsp; It is
+a clever little town, built on the side of a hill; about which there
+lie hill and dale and meadows, and arable land, intermixed with pleasure
+grounds and country seats; all diversified in the most agreeable manner.&nbsp;
+On one of the highest of these hills near Gravesend stands a windmill,
+which is a very good object, as you see it at some distance, as well
+as part of the country around it, on the windings of the Thames.&nbsp;
+But as few human pleasures are ever complete and perfect, we too, amidst
+the pleasing contemplation of all these beauties, found ourselves exposed
+on the quarter-deck to uncommonly cold and piercing weather.&nbsp; An
+unintermitting violent shower of rain has driven me into the cabin,
+where I am now endeavouring to divert a gloomy hour by giving you the
+description of a pleasing one.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER II.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>London,</i> <i>2nd June.<br>
+<br>
+</i>This morning those of us who were fellow passengers together in
+the great cabin, being six in number, requested to be set on shore in
+a boat, a little before the vessel got to Dartford, which is still sixteen
+miles from London.&nbsp; This expedient is generally adopted, instead
+of going up the Thames, towards London, where on account of the astonishing
+number of ships, which are always more crowded together the nearer you
+approach the city, it frequently requires many days before a ship can
+finish her passage.&nbsp; He therefore who wishes to lose no time unnecessarily,
+and wishes also to avoid other inconveniences, such as frequent stoppages,
+and perhaps, some alarming dashings against other ships, prefers travelling
+those few miles by land in a post-chaise, which is not very expensive,
+especially when three join together, as three passengers pay no more
+than one.&nbsp; This indulgence is allowed by act of parliament.<br>
+<br>
+As we left the vessel we were honoured with a general huzza, or in the
+English phrase with three cheers, echoed from the German sailors of
+our ship.&nbsp; This nautical style of bidding their friends farewell
+our Germans have learned from the English.&nbsp; The cliff where we
+landed was white and chalky, and as the distance was not great, nor
+other means of conveyance at hand, we resolved to go on foot to Dartford:
+immediately on landing we had a pretty steep hill to climb, and that
+gained, we arrived at the first English village, where an uncommon neatness
+in the structure of the houses, which in general are built with red
+bricks and flat roofs, struck me with a pleasing surprise, especially
+when I compared them with the long, rambling, inconvenient, and singularly
+mean cottages of our peasants.&nbsp; We now continued our way through
+the different villages, each furnished with his staff, and thus exhibited
+no remote resemblance of a caravan.&nbsp; Some few people who met us
+seemed to stare at us, struck, perhaps, by the singularity of our dress,
+or the peculiarity of our manner of travelling.&nbsp; On our route we
+passed a wood where a troop of gipsies had taken up their abode around
+a fire under a tree.&nbsp; The country, as we continued to advance,
+became more and more beautiful.&nbsp; Naturally, perhaps, the earth
+is everywhere pretty much alike, but how different is it rendered by
+art!&nbsp; How different is that on which I now tread from ours, and
+every other spot I have ever seen.&nbsp; The soil is rich even to exuberance,
+the verdure of the trees and hedges, in short the whole of this paradisaical
+region is without a parallel!&nbsp; The roads too are incomparable;
+I am astonished how they have got them so firm and solid; every step
+I took I felt, and was conscious it was English ground on which I trod.<br>
+<br>
+We breakfasted at Dartford.&nbsp; Here, for the first time, I saw an
+English soldier, in his red uniform, his hair cut short and combed back
+on his forehead, so as to afford a full view of his fine, broad, manly
+face.&nbsp; Here too I first saw (what I deemed a true English fight)
+in the street, two boys boxing.<br>
+<br>
+Our little party now separated, and got into two post-chaises, each
+of which hold three persons, though it must be owned three cannot sit
+quite so commodiously in these chaises as two: the hire of a post-chaise
+is a shilling for every English mile.&nbsp; They may be compared to
+our extra posts, because they are to be had at all times.&nbsp; But
+these carriages are very neat and lightly built, so that you hardly
+perceive their motion as they roll along these firm smooth roads; they
+have windows in front, and on both sides.&nbsp; The horses are generally
+good, and the postillions particularly smart and active, and always
+ride on a full trot.&nbsp; The one we had wore his hair cut short, a
+round hat, and a brown jacket of tolerable fine cloth, with a nosegay
+in his bosom.&nbsp; Now and then, when he drove very hard, he looked
+round, and with a smile seemed to solicit our approbation.&nbsp; A thousand
+charming spots, and beautiful landscapes, on which my eye would long
+have dwelt with rapture, were now rapidly passed with the speed of an
+arrow.<br>
+<br>
+Our road appeared to be undulatory, and our journey, like the journey
+of life, seemed to be a pretty regular alternation of up hill and down,
+and here and there it was diversified with copses and woods; the majestic
+Thames every now and then, like a little forest of masts, rising to
+our view, and anon losing itself among the delightful towns and villages.&nbsp;
+The amazing large signs which at the entrance of villages hang in the
+middle of the street, being fastened to large beams, which are extended
+across the street from one house to another opposite to it, particularly
+struck me; these sign-posts have the appearance of gates or of gateways,
+for which I at first took them, but the whole apparatus, unnecessarily
+large as it seems to be, is intended for nothing more than to tell the
+inquisitive traveller that there is an inn.&nbsp; At length, stunned
+as it were by this constant rapid succession of interesting objects
+to engage our attention, we arrived at Greenwich nearly in a state of
+stupefaction.<br>
+<br>
+<i>The Prospect of London.<br>
+<br>
+</i>We first descried it enveloped in a thick smoke or fog.&nbsp; St.
+Paul&rsquo;s arose like some huge mountain above the enormous mass of
+smaller buildings.&nbsp; The Monument, a very lofty column, erected
+in memory of the great fire of London, exhibited to us, perhaps, chiefly
+on account of its immense height, apparently so disproportioned to its
+other dimensions (for it actually struck us as resembling rather a slender
+mast, towering up in immeasurable height into the clouds, than as that
+it really is, a stately obelisk) an unusual and singular appearance.&nbsp;
+Still we went on, and drew nearer and nearer with amazing velocity,
+and the surrounding objects became every moment more distinct.&nbsp;
+Westminster Abbey, the Tower, a steeple, one church, and then another,
+presented themselves to our view; and we could now plainly distinguish
+the high round chimneys on the tops of the houses, which yet seemed
+to us to form an innumerable number of smaller spires, or steeples.<br>
+<br>
+The road from Greenwich to London is actually busier and far more alive
+than the most frequented streets in Berlin.&nbsp; At every step we met
+people on horseback, in carriages, and foot passengers; and everywhere
+also, and on each side of the road, well-built and noble houses, whilst
+all along, at proper distances, the road was lined with lamp-posts.&nbsp;
+One thing, in particular, struck and surprised me not a little.&nbsp;
+This was the number of people we met riding and walking with spectacles
+on, among whom were many who appeared stout, healthy, and young.&nbsp;
+We were stopped at least three times at barriers or gates, here called
+turnpikes, to pay a duty or toll which, however small, as being generally
+paid in their copper coinage, in the end amounted to some shillings.<br>
+<br>
+At length we arrived at the magnificent bridge of Westminster.&nbsp;
+The prospect from this bridge alone seems to afford one the epitome
+of a journey, or a voyage in miniature, as containing something of everything
+that mostly occurs on a journey.&nbsp; It is a little assemblage of
+contrasts and contrarieties.&nbsp; In contrast to the round, modern,
+and majestic cathedral of St. Paul&rsquo;s on your right, the venerable,
+old-fashioned, and hugely noble, long abbey of Westminster, with its
+enormous pointed roof, rises on the left.&nbsp; Down the Thames to the
+right you see Blackfriar&rsquo;s Bridge, which does not yield much,
+if at all, in beauty to that of Westminster; on the left bank of the
+Thames are delightful terraces, planted with trees, and those new tasteful
+buildings called the Adelphi.&nbsp; On the Thames itself are countless
+swarms of little boats passing and repassing, many with one mast and
+one sail, and many with none, in which persons of all ranks are carried
+over.&nbsp; Thus there is hardly less stir and bustle on this river,
+than there is in some of its own London&rsquo;s crowded streets.&nbsp;
+Here, indeed, you no longer see great ships, for they come no farther
+than London Bridge<br>
+<br>
+We now drove into the city by Charing Cross, and along the Strand, to
+those very Adelphi Buildings which had just afforded us so charming
+a prospect on Westminster Bridge.<br>
+<br>
+My two travelling companions, both in the ship and the post-chaise,
+were two young Englishmen, who living in this part of the town, obligingly
+offered me any assistance and services in their power, and in particular,
+to procure me a lodging the same day in their neighbourhood.<br>
+<br>
+In the streets through which we passed, I must own the houses in general
+struck me as if they were dark and gloomy, and yet at the same time
+they also struck me as prodigiously great and majestic.&nbsp; At that
+moment, I could not in my own mind compare the external view of London
+with that of any other city I had ever before seen.&nbsp; But I remember
+(and surely it is singular) that about five years ago, on my first entrance
+into Leipzig, I had the very same sensations I now felt.&nbsp; It is
+possible that the high houses, by which the streets at Leipzig are partly
+darkened, the great number of shops, and the crowd of people, such as
+till then I had never seen, might have some faint resemblance with the
+scene now surrounding me in London.<br>
+<br>
+There are everywhere leading from the Strand to the Thames, some well-built,
+lesser, or subordinate streets, of which the Adelphi Buildings are now
+by far the foremost.&nbsp; One district in this neighbourhood goes by
+the name of York Buildings, and in this lies George Street, where my
+two travelling companions lived.&nbsp; There reigns in those smaller
+streets towards the Thames so pleasing a calm, compared to the tumult
+and bustle of people, and carriages, and horses, that are constantly
+going up and down the Strand, that in going into one of them you can
+hardly help fancying yourself removed at a distance from the noise of
+the city, even whilst the noisiest part of it is still so near at hand.<br>
+<br>
+It might be about ten or eleven o&rsquo;clock when we arrived here.&nbsp;
+After the two Englishmen had first given me some breakfast at their
+lodgings, which consisted of tea and bread and butter, they went about
+with me themselves, in their own neighbourhood, in search of an apartment,
+which they at length procured for me for sixteen shillings a week, at
+the house of a tailor&rsquo;s widow who lived opposite to them.&nbsp;
+It was very fortunate, on other accounts, that they went with me, for
+equipped as I was, having neither brought clean linen nor change of
+clothes from my trunk, I might perhaps have found it difficult to obtain
+good lodgings.<br>
+<br>
+It was a very uncommon but pleasing sensation I experienced on being
+now, for the first time in my life, entirely among Englishmen: among
+people whose language was foreign, their manners foreign, and in a foreign
+climate, with whom, notwithstanding, I could converse as familiarly
+as though we had been educated together from our infancy.&nbsp; It is
+certainly an inestimable advantage to understand the language of the
+country through which you travel.&nbsp; I did not at first give the
+people I was with any reason to suspect I could speak English, but I
+soon found that the more I spoke, the more attention and regard I met
+with.&nbsp; I now occupy a large room in front on the ground floor,
+which has a carpet and mats, and is very neatly furnished; the chairs
+are covered with leather, and the tables are of mahogany.&nbsp; Adjoining
+to this I have another large room.&nbsp; I may do just as I please,
+and keep my own tea, coffee, bread and butter, for which purpose my
+landlady has given me a cupboard in my room, which locks up.<br>
+<br>
+The family consists of the mistress of the house, her maid, and her
+two sons, Jacky and Jerry; singular abbreviations for John and Jeremiah.&nbsp;
+The eldest, Jacky, about twelve years old, is a very lively boy, and
+often entertains me in the most pleasing manner by relating to me his
+different employments at school, and afterwards desiring me in my turn
+to relate to him all manner of things about Germany.&nbsp; He repeats
+his <i>amo</i>, <i>amas</i>, <i>amavi</i>, in the same singing tone
+as our common school-boys.&nbsp; As I happened once when he was by,
+to hum a lively tune, he stared at me with surprise, and then reminded
+me it was Sunday; and so, that I might not forfeit his good opinion
+by any appearance of levity, I gave him to understand that, in the hurry
+of my journey, I had forgotten the day.&nbsp; He has already shown me
+St. James&rsquo;s Park, which is not far from hence; and now let me
+give you some description of the renowned<br>
+<br>
+<i>St. James&rsquo;s Park.<br>
+<br>
+</i>The park is nothing more than a semicircle, formed of an alley of
+trees, which enclose a large green area in the middle of which is a
+marshy pond.<br>
+<br>
+The cows feed on this green turf, and their milk is sold here on the
+spot, quite new.<br>
+<br>
+In all the alleys or walks there are benches, where you may rest yourself.&nbsp;
+When you come through the Horse Guards (which is provided with several
+passages) into the park, on the right hand is St. James&rsquo;s Palace,
+or the king&rsquo;s place of residence, one of the meanest public buildings
+in London.&nbsp; At the lower end, quite at the extremity, is the queen&rsquo;s
+palace, a handsome and modern building, but very much resembling a private
+house.&nbsp; As for the rest, there are generally everywhere about St.
+James&rsquo;s Park very good houses, which is a great addition to it.&nbsp;
+There is also before the semicircle of the trees just mentioned a large
+vacant space, where the soldiers are exercised.<br>
+<br>
+How little this famous park is to be compared with our park at Berlin,
+I need not mention.&nbsp; And yet one cannot but form a high idea of
+St. James&rsquo;s Park and other public places in London; this arises,
+perhaps, from their having been oftener mentioned in romances and other
+books than ours have.&nbsp; Even the squares and streets of London are
+more noted and better known than many of our principal towns.<br>
+<br>
+But what again greatly compensates for the mediocrity of this park,
+is the astonishing number of people who, towards evening in fine weather,
+resort here; our finest walks are never so full even in the midst of
+summer.&nbsp; The exquisite pleasure of mixing freely with such a concourse
+of people, who are for the most part well-dressed and handsome, I have
+experienced this evening for the first time.<br>
+<br>
+Before I went to the park I took another walk with my little Jacky,
+which did not cost me much fatigue and yet was most uncommonly interesting.&nbsp;
+I went down the little street in which I live, to the Thames nearly
+at the end of it, towards the left, a few steps led me to a singularly
+pretty terrace, planted with trees, on the very brink of the river.<br>
+<br>
+Here I had the most delightful prospect you can possibly imagine.&nbsp;
+Before me was the Thames with all its windings, and the stately arches
+of its bridges; Westminster with its venerable abbey to the right, to
+the left again London, with St. Paul&rsquo;s, seemed to wind all along
+the windings of the Thames, and on the other side of the water lay Southwark,
+which is now also considered as part of London.&nbsp; Thus, from this
+single spot, I could nearly at one view see the whole city, at least
+that side of it towards the Thames.&nbsp; Not far from hence, in this
+charming quarter of the town, lived the renowned Garrick.&nbsp; Depend
+upon it I shall often visit this delightful walk during my stay in London.<br>
+<br>
+To-day my two Englishmen carried me to a neighbouring tavern, or rather
+an eating-house, where we paid a shilling each for some roast meat and
+a salad, giving at the same time nearly half as much to the waiter,
+and yet this is reckoned a cheap house, and a cheap style of living.&nbsp;
+But I believe, for the future, I shall pretty often dine at home; I
+have already begun this evening with my supper.&nbsp; I am now sitting
+by the fire in my own room in London.&nbsp; The day is nearly at an
+end, the first I have spent in England, and I hardly know whether I
+ought to call it only one day, when I reflect what a quick and varied
+succession of new and striking ideas have, in so short a time, passed
+in my mind.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER III.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>London, 5th June.<br>
+<br>
+</i>At length, dearest Gedike, I am again settled, as I have now got
+my trunk and all my things from the ship, which arrived only yesterday.&nbsp;
+Not wishing to have it taken to the Custom House, which occasions a
+great deal of trouble, I was obliged to give a douceur to the officers,
+and those who came on board the ship to search it.&nbsp; Having pacified,
+as I thought, one of them with a couple of shillings, another came forward
+and protested against the delivery of the trunk upon trust till I had
+given him as much.&nbsp; To him succeeded a third, so that it cost me
+six shillings, which I willingly paid, because it would have cost me
+still more at the Custom House.<br>
+<br>
+By the side of the Thames were several porters, one of whom took my
+huge heavy trunk on his shoulders with astonishing ease, and carried
+it till I met a hackney coach.&nbsp; This I hired for two shillings,
+immediately put the trunk into it, accompanying it myself without paying
+anything extra for my own seat.&nbsp; This is a great advantage in the
+English hackney coaches, that you are allowed to take with you whatever
+you please, for you thus save at least one half of what you must pay
+to a porter, and besides go with it yourself, and are better accommodated.&nbsp;
+The observations and the expressions of the common people here have
+often struck me as peculiar.&nbsp; They are generally laconic, but always
+much in earnest and significant.&nbsp; When I came home, my landlady
+kindly recommended it to the coachman not to ask more than was just,
+as I was a foreigner; to which he answered, &ldquo;Nay, if he were not
+a foreigner I should not overcharge him.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+My letters of recommendation to a merchant here, which I could not bring
+with me on account of my hasty departure from Hamburgh, are also arrived.&nbsp;
+These have saved me a great deal of trouble in the changing of my money.&nbsp;
+I can now take my German money back to Germany, and when I return thither
+myself, refund to the correspondent of the merchant here the sum which
+he here pays me in English money.&nbsp; I should otherwise have been
+obliged to sell my Prussian Fredericks-d&rsquo;or for what they weighed;
+for some few Dutch dollars which I was obliged to part with before I
+got this credit they only gave me eight shillings.<br>
+<br>
+A foreigner has here nothing to fear from being pressed as a sailor,
+unless, indeed, he should be found at any suspicious place.&nbsp; A
+singular invention for this purpose of pressing is a ship, which is
+placed on land not far from the Tower, on Tower Hill, furnished with
+masts and all the appurtenances of a ship.&nbsp; The persons attending
+this ship promise simple country people, who happen to be standing and
+staring at it, to show it to them for a trifle, and as soon as they
+are in, they are secured as in a trap, and according to circumstances
+made sailors of or let go again.<br>
+<br>
+The footway, paved with large stones on both sides of the street, appears
+to a foreigner exceedingly convenient and pleasant, as one may there
+walk in perfect safety, in no more danger from the prodigious crowd
+of carts and coaches, than if one was in one&rsquo;s own room, for no
+wheel dares come a finger&rsquo;s breadth upon the curb stone.&nbsp;
+However, politeness requires you to let a lady, or any one to whom you
+wish to show respect, pass, not, as we do, always to the right, but
+on the side next the houses or the wall, whether that happens to be
+on the right or on the left, being deemed the safest and most convenient.&nbsp;
+You seldom see a person of any understanding or common sense walk in
+the middle of the streets in London, excepting when they cross over,
+which at Charing Cross and other places, where several streets meet,
+is sometimes really dangerous.<br>
+<br>
+It has a strange appearance - especially in the Strand, where there
+is a constant succession of shop after shop, and where, not unfrequently,
+people of different trades inhabit the same house - to see their doors
+or the tops of their windows, or boards expressly for the purpose, all
+written over from top to bottom with large painted letters.&nbsp; Every
+person, of every trade or occupation, who owns ever so small a portion
+of a house, makes a parade with a sign at his door; and there is hardly
+a cobbler whose name and profession may not be read in large golden
+characters by every one that passes.&nbsp; It is here not at all uncommon
+to see on doors in one continued succession, &ldquo;Children educated
+here,&rdquo; &ldquo;Shoes mended here,&rdquo; &ldquo;Foreign spirituous
+liquors sold here,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Funerals furnished here;&rdquo;
+of all these inscriptions.&nbsp; I am sorry to observe that &ldquo;Dealer
+in foreign spirituous liquors&rdquo; is by far the most frequent.&nbsp;
+And indeed it is allowed by the English themselves, that the propensity
+of the common people to the drinking of brandy or gin is carried to
+a great excess; and I own it struck me as a peculiar phraseology, when,
+to tell you that a person is intoxicated or drunk, you hear them say,
+as they generally do, that he is in liquor.&nbsp; In the late riots,
+which even yet are hardly quite subsided, and which are still the general
+topic of conversation, more people have been found dead near empty brandy-casks
+in the streets, than were killed by the musket-balls of regiments that
+were called in.&nbsp; As much as I have seen of London within these
+two days, there are on the whole I think not very many fine streets
+and very fine houses, but I met everywhere a far greater number and
+handsomer people than one commonly meets in Berlin.&nbsp; It gives me
+much real pleasure when I walk from Charing Cross up the Strand, past
+St. Paul&rsquo;s to the Royal Exchange, to meet in the thickest crowd
+persons from the highest to the lowest ranks, almost all well-looking
+people, and cleanly and neatly dressed.&nbsp; I rarely see even a fellow
+with a wheel-barrow who has not a shirt on, and that, too, such a one
+as shows it has been washed; nor even a beggar without both a shirt
+and shoes and stockings.&nbsp; The English are certainly distinguished
+for cleanliness.<br>
+<br>
+It has a very uncommon appearance in this tumult of people, where every
+one, with hasty and eager step, seems to be pursuing either his business
+or his pleasure, and everywhere making his way through the crowd, to
+observe, as you often may, people pushing one against another, only
+perhaps to see a funeral pass.&nbsp; The English coffins are made very
+economically, according to the exact form of the body; they are flat,
+and broad at top; tapering gradually from the middle, and drawing to
+a point at the feet, not very unlike the case of a violin.<br>
+<br>
+A few dirty-looking men, who bear the coffin, endeavour to make their
+way through the crowd as well as they can; and some mourners follow.&nbsp;
+The people seem to pay as little attention to such a procession, as
+if a hay-cart were driving past.&nbsp; The funerals of people of distinction,
+and of the great, are, however, differently regarded.<br>
+<br>
+These funerals always appear to me the more indecent in a populous city,
+from the total indifference of the beholders, and the perfect unconcern
+with which they are beheld.&nbsp; The body of a fellow-creature is carried
+to his long home as though it had been utterly unconnected with the
+rest of mankind.&nbsp; And yet, in a small town or village, everyone
+knows everyone; and no one can be so insignificant as not to be missed
+when he is taken away.<br>
+<br>
+That same influenza which I left at Berlin, I have had the hard fortune
+again to find here; and many people die of it.&nbsp; It is as yet very
+cold for the time of the year, and I am obliged every day to have a
+fire.&nbsp; I must own that the heat or warmth given by sea-coal, burnt
+in the chimney, appears to me softer and milder than that given by our
+stoves.&nbsp; The sight of the fire has also a cheerful and pleasing
+effect.&nbsp; Only you must take care not to look at it steadily, and
+for a continuance, for this is probably the reason that there are so
+many young old men in England, who walk and ride in the public streets
+with their spectacles on; thus anticipating, in the bloom of youth,
+those conveniences and comforts which were intended for old age.<br>
+<br>
+I now constantly dine in my own lodgings; and I cannot but flatter myself
+that my meals are regulated with frugality.&nbsp; My usual dish at supper
+is some pickled salmon, which you eat in the liquor in which it is pickled,
+along with some oil and vinegar; and he must be prejudiced or fastidious
+who does not relish it as singularly well tasted and grateful food.<br>
+<br>
+I would always advise those who wish to drink coffee in England, to
+mention beforehand how many cups are to be made with half an ounce;
+or else the people will probably bring them a prodigious quantity of
+brown water; which (notwithstanding all my admonitions) I have not yet
+been able wholly to avoid.&nbsp; The fine wheaten bread which I find
+here, besides excellent butter and Cheshire-cheese, makes up for my
+scanty dinners.&nbsp; For an English dinner, to such lodgers as I am,
+generally consists of a piece of half-boiled, or half-roasted meat;
+and a few cabbage leaves boiled in plain water; on which they pour a
+sauce made of flour and butter.&nbsp; This, I assure you, is the usual
+method of dressing vegetables in England.<br>
+<br>
+The slices of bread and butter, which they give you with your tea, are
+as thin as poppy leaves.&nbsp; But there is another kind of bread and
+butter usually eaten with tea, which is toasted by the fire, and is
+incomparably good.&nbsp; You take one slice after the other and hold
+it to the fire on a fork till the butter is melted, so that it penetrates
+a number of slices at once: this is called toast.<br>
+<br>
+The custom of sleeping without a feather-bed for a covering particularly
+pleased me.&nbsp; You here lie between two sheets: underneath the bottom
+sheet is a fine blanket, which, without oppressing you, keeps you sufficiently
+warm.&nbsp; My shoes are not cleaned in the house, but by a person in
+the neighbourhood, whose trade it is; who fetches them every morning,
+and brings them back cleaned; for which she receives weekly so much.&nbsp;
+When the maid is displeased with me, I hear her sometimes at the door
+call me &ldquo;the German&rdquo;; otherwise in the family I go by the
+name of &ldquo;the Gentleman.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I have almost entirely laid aside riding in a coach, although it does
+not cost near so much as it does at Berlin; as I can go and return any
+distance not exceeding an English mile for a shilling, for which I should
+there at least pay a florin.&nbsp; But, moderate as English fares are,
+still you save a great deal, if you walk or go on foot, and know only
+how to ask your way.&nbsp; From my lodging to the Royal Exchange is
+about as far as from one end of Berlin to the other, and from the Tower
+and St. Catharine&rsquo;s, where the ships arrive in the Thames, as
+far again; and I have already walked this distance twice, when I went
+to look after my trunk before I got it out of the ship.&nbsp; As it
+was quite dark when I came back the first evening, I was astonished
+at the admirable manner in which the streets are lighted up; compared
+to which our streets in Berlin make a most miserable show.&nbsp; The
+lamps are lighted whilst it is still daylight, and are so near each
+other, that even on the most ordinary and common nights, the city has
+the appearance of a festive illumination, for which some German prince,
+who came to London for the first time, once, they say, actually took
+it, and seriously believed it to have been particularly ordered on account
+of his arrival.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER IV.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>The 9th June</i>, 1782.<br>
+<br>
+I preached this day at the German church on Ludgate Hill, for the Rev.
+Mr. Wendeborn.&nbsp; He is the author of &ldquo;Die statischen Beytr&auml;ge
+zur n&auml;hern Kentniss Grossbrittaniens.&rdquo;&nbsp; This valuable
+book has already been of uncommon service to me, and I cannot but recommend
+it to everyone who goes to England.&nbsp; It is the more useful, as
+you can with ease carry it in your pocket, and you find in it information
+on every subject.&nbsp; It is natural to suppose that Mr. Wendeborn,
+who has now been a length of time in England, must have been able more
+frequently, and with greater exactness to make his observations, than
+those who only pass through, or make a very short stay.&nbsp; It is
+almost impossible for anyone, who has this book always at hand, to omit
+anything worthy of notice in or about London; or not to learn all that
+is most material to know of the state and situation of the kingdom in
+general.<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Wendeborn lives in New Inn, near Temple Bar, in a philosophical,
+but not unimproving, retirement.&nbsp; He is almost become a native;
+and his library consists chiefly of English books.&nbsp; Before I proceed,
+I must just mention, that he has not hired, but bought his apartments
+in this great building, called New Inn: and this, I believe, is pretty
+generally the case with the lodgings in this place.&nbsp; A purchaser
+of any of these rooms is considered as a proprietor; and one who has
+got a house and home, and has a right, in parliamentary or other elections,
+to give his vote, if he is not a foreigner, which is the case with Mr.
+Wendeborn, who, nevertheless, was visited by Mr. Fox when he was to
+be chosen member for Westminster.<br>
+<br>
+I saw, for the first time, at Mr. Wendeborn&rsquo;s, a very useful machine,
+which is little known in Germany, or at least not much used.<br>
+<br>
+This is a press in which, by means of very strong iron springs, a written
+paper may be printed on another blank paper, and you thus save yourself
+the trouble of copying; and at the same time multiply your own handwriting.&nbsp;
+Mr. Wendeborn makes use of this machine every time he sends manuscripts
+abroad, of which he wishes to keep a copy.&nbsp; This machine was of
+mahogany, and cost pretty high.&nbsp; I suppose it is because the inhabitants
+of London rise so late, that divine service begin only at half-past
+ten o&rsquo;clock.&nbsp; I missed Mr. Wendeborn this morning, and was
+therefore obliged to enquire of the door-keeper at St. Paul&rsquo;s
+for a direction to the German church, where I was to preach.&nbsp; He
+did not know it.&nbsp; I then asked at another church, not far from
+thence.&nbsp; Here I was directed right, and after I had passed through
+an iron gate to the end of a long passage, I arrived just in time at
+the church, where, after the sermon, I was obliged to read a public
+thanksgiving for the safe arrival of our ship.&nbsp; The German clergy
+here dress exactly the same as the English clergy - <i>i.e</i>., in
+long robes with wide sleeves - in which I likewise was obliged to wrap
+myself.&nbsp; Mr. Wendeborn wears his own hair, which curls naturally,
+and the toupee is combed up.<br>
+<br>
+The other German clergymen whom I have seen wear wigs, as well as many
+of the English.<br>
+<br>
+I yesterday waited on our ambassador, Count Lucy, and was agreeably
+surprised at the simplicity of his manner of living.&nbsp; He lives
+in a small private house.&nbsp; His secretary lives upstairs, where
+also I met with the Prussian consul, who happened just then to be paying
+him a visit.&nbsp; Below, on the right hand, I was immediately shown
+into his Excellency&rsquo;s room, without being obliged to pass through
+an antechamber.&nbsp; He wore a blue coat, with a red collar and red
+facings.&nbsp; He conversed with me, as we drank a dish of coffee, on
+various learned topics; and when I told him of the great dispute now
+going on about the <i>tacismus </i>or <i>stacismus, </i>he declared
+himself, as a born Greek, for the <i>stacismus.<br>
+<br>
+</i>When I came to take my leave, he desired me to come and see him
+without ceremony whenever it suited me, as he should be always happy
+to see me.<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Leonhard, who has translated several celebrated English plays, such
+as &ldquo;The School for Scandal,&rdquo; and some others, lives here
+as a private person, instructing Germans in English, and Englishmen
+in German, with great ability.&nbsp; He also it is who writes the articles
+concerning England for the new Hamburgh newspaper, for which he is paid
+a stated yearly stipend.&nbsp; I may add also, that he is the master
+of a German Freemasons&rsquo; lodge in London, and representative of
+all the German lodges in England - an employment of far more trouble
+than profit to him, for all the world applies to him in all cases and
+emergencies.&nbsp; I also was recommended to him from Hamburgh.&nbsp;
+He is a very complaisant man, and has already shown me many civilities.&nbsp;
+He repeats English poetry with great propriety, and speaks the language
+nearly with the same facility as he does his mother language.&nbsp;
+He is married to an amiable Englishwoman.&nbsp; I wish him all possible
+happiness.&nbsp; And now let me tell you something of the so often imitated,
+but perhaps inimitable<br>
+<br>
+<i>Vauxhall.<br>
+<br>
+</i>I yesterday visited Vauxhall for the first time.&nbsp; I had not
+far to go from my lodgings, in the Adelphi Buildings, to Westminster
+Bridge, where you always find a great number of boats on the Thames,
+which are ready on the least signal to serve those who will pay them
+a shilling or sixpence, or according to the distance.<br>
+<br>
+From hence I went up the Thames to Vauxhall, and as I passed along I
+saw Lambeth; and the venerable old palace belonging to the archbishops
+of Canterbury lying on my left.<br>
+<br>
+Vauxhall is, properly speaking, the name of a little village in which
+the garden, now almost exclusively bearing the same name, is situated.&nbsp;
+You pay a shilling entrance.<br>
+<br>
+On entering it, I really found, or fancied I found, some resemblance
+to our Berlin Vauxhall, if, according to Virgil, I may be permitted
+to compare small things with great ones.&nbsp; The walks at least, with
+the paintings at the end, and the high trees, which, here and there
+form a beautiful grove, or wood, on either side, were so similar to
+those of Berlin, that often, as I walked along them, I seemed to transport
+myself, in imagination, once more to Berlin, and forgot for a moment
+that immense seas, and mountains, and kingdoms now lie between us.&nbsp;
+I was the more tempted to indulge in this reverie as I actually met
+with several gentlemen, inhabitants of Berlin, in particular Mr. S--r,
+and some others, with whom I spent the evening in the most agreeable
+manner.&nbsp; Here and there (particularly in one of the charming woods
+which art has formed in this garden) you are pleasingly surprised by
+the sudden appearance of the statues of the most renowned English poets
+and philosophers, such as Milton, Thomson, and others.&nbsp; But, what
+gave me most pleasure was the statue of the German composer Handel,
+which, on entering the garden, is not far distant from the orchestra.<br>
+<br>
+This orchestra is among a number of trees situated as in a little wood,
+and is an exceedingly handsome one.&nbsp; As you enter the garden, you
+immediately hear the sound of vocal and instrumental music.&nbsp; There
+are several female singers constantly hired here to sing in public.<br>
+<br>
+On each side of the orchestra are small boxes, with tables and benches,
+in which you sup.&nbsp; The walks before these, as well as in every
+other part of the garden, are crowded with people of all ranks.&nbsp;
+I supped here with Mr. S--r, and the secretary of the Prussian ambassador,
+besides a few other gentlemen from Berlin; but what most astonished
+me was the boldness of the women of the town, who often rushed in upon
+us by half dozens, and in the most shameless manner importuned us for
+wine, for themselves and their followers.&nbsp; Our gentlemen thought
+it either unwise, unkind, or unsafe, to refuse them so small a boon
+altogether.<br>
+<br>
+Latish in the evening we were entertained with a sight, that is indeed
+singularly curious and interesting.&nbsp; In a particular part of the
+garden a curtain was drawn up, and by means of some mechanism of extraordinary
+ingenuity, the eye and the ear are so completely deceived, that it is
+not easy to persuade one&rsquo;s self it is a deception, and that one
+does not actually see and hear a natural waterfall from a high rock.&nbsp;
+As everyone was flocking to this scene in crowds, there arose all at
+once a loud cry of &ldquo;Take care of your pockets.&rdquo;&nbsp; This
+informed us, but too clearly, that there were some pickpockets among
+the crowd, who had already made some fortunate strokes.<br>
+<br>
+The rotunda, a magnificent circular building in the garden, particularly
+engaged my attention.&nbsp; By means of beautiful chandeliers, and large
+mirrors, it was illuminated in the most superb manner; and everywhere
+decorated with delightful paintings, and statues, in the contemplation
+of which you may spend several hours very agreeably, when you are tired
+of the crowd and the bustle, in the walks of the garden.<br>
+<br>
+Among the paintings one represents the surrender of a besieged city.&nbsp;
+If you look at this painting with attention, for any length of time,
+it affects you so much that you even shed tears.&nbsp; The expression
+of the greatest distress, even bordering on despair, on the part of
+the besieged, the fearful expectation of the uncertain issue, and what
+the victor will determine concerning those unfortunate people, may all
+be read so plainly, and so naturally in the countenances of the inhabitants,
+who are imploring for mercy, from the hoary head to the suckling whom
+his mother holds up, that you quite forget yourself, and in the end
+scarcely believe it to be a painting before you.<br>
+<br>
+You also here find the busts of the best English authors, placed all
+round on the sides.&nbsp; Thus a Briton again meets with his Shakespeare,
+Locke, Milton, and Dryden in the public places of his amusements; and
+there also reveres their memory.&nbsp; Even the common people thus become
+familiar with the names of those who have done honour to their nation;
+and are taught to mention them with veneration.&nbsp; For this rotunda
+is also an orchestra in which the music is performed in rainy weather.&nbsp;
+But enough of Vauxhall!<br>
+<br>
+Certain it is that the English classical authors are read more generally,
+beyond all comparison, than the German; which in general are read only
+by the learned; or, at most, by the middle class of people.&nbsp; The
+English national authors are in all hands, and read by all people, of
+which the innumerable editions they have gone through are a sufficient
+proof.<br>
+<br>
+My landlady, who is only a tailor&rsquo;s widow, reads her Milton; and
+tells me, that her late husband first fell in love with her on this
+very account: because she read Milton with such proper emphasis.&nbsp;
+This single instance, perhaps, would prove but little; but I have conversed
+with several people of the lower class, who all knew their national
+authors, and who all have read many, if not all, of them.&nbsp; This
+elevates the lower ranks, and brings them nearer to the higher.&nbsp;
+There is hardly any argument or dispute in conversation, in the higher
+ranks, about which the lower cannot also converse or give their opinion.&nbsp;
+Now, in Germany, since Gellert, there has as yet been no poet&rsquo;s
+name familiar to the people.&nbsp; But the quick sale of the classical
+authors is here promoted also by cheap and convenient editions.&nbsp;
+They have them all bound in pocket volumes, as well as in a more pompous
+style.&nbsp; I myself bought Milton in duodecimo for two shillings,
+neatly bound; it is such a one as I can, with great convenience, carry
+in my pocket.&nbsp; It also appears to me to be a good fashion, which
+prevails here, and here only, that the books which are most read, are
+always to be had already well and neatly bound.&nbsp; At stalls, and
+in the streets, you every now and then meet with a sort of antiquarians,
+who sell single or odd volumes; sometimes perhaps of Shakespeare, etc.,
+so low as a penny; nay, even sometimes for a halfpenny a piece.&nbsp;
+Of one of these itinerant antiquarians I bought the two volumes of the
+Vicar of Wakefield for sixpence, <i>i.e. </i>for the half of an English
+shilling.&nbsp; In what estimation our German literature is held in
+England, I was enabled to judge, in some degree, by the printed proposals
+of a book which I saw.&nbsp; The title was, &ldquo;The Entertaining
+Museum, or Complete Circulating Library,&rdquo; which is to contain
+a list of all the English classical authors, as well as translations
+of the best French, Spanish, Italian, and even German novels.<br>
+<br>
+The moderate price of this book deserves also to be noticed; as by such
+means books in England come more within the reach of the people; and
+of course are more generally distributed among them.&nbsp; The advertisement
+mentions that in order that everyone may have it in his power to buy
+this work, and at once to furnish himself with a very valuable library,
+without perceiving the expense, a number will be sent out weekly, which,
+stitched, costs sixpence, and bound with the title on the back, ninepence.&nbsp;
+The twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth numbers contain the first and second
+volume of the Vicar of Wakefield, which I had just bought of the antiquarian
+above-mentioned.<br>
+<br>
+The only translation from the German which has been particularly successful
+in England, is Gesner&rsquo;s &ldquo;Death of Abel.&rdquo;&nbsp; The
+translation of that work has been oftener reprinted in England than
+ever the original was in Germany.&nbsp; I have actually seen the eighteenth
+edition of it; and if the English preface is to be regarded, it was
+written by a lady.&nbsp; &ldquo;Klopstock&rsquo;s Messiah,&rdquo; as
+is well known, has been here but ill received; to be sure, they say
+it is but indifferently translated.&nbsp; I have not yet been able to
+obtain a sight of it.&nbsp; The Rev. Mr. Wendeborn has written a grammar
+for the German language in English, for the use of Englishmen, which
+has met with much applause.<br>
+<br>
+I must not forget to mention, that the works of Mr. Jacob Boehmen are
+all translated into English.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER V.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>London</i>, <i>13th June.<br>
+<br>
+</i>Often as I had heard Ranelagh spoken of, I had yet formed only an
+imperfect idea of it.&nbsp; I supposed it to be a garden somewhat different
+from that of Vauxhall; but, in fact, I hardly knew what I thought of
+it.&nbsp; Yesterday evening I took a walk in order to visit this famous
+place of amusement; but I missed my way and got to Chelsea; where I
+met a man with a wheel-barrow, who not only very civilly showed me the
+right road, but also conversed with me the whole of the distance which
+we walked together.&nbsp; And finding, upon enquiry, that I was a subject
+of the King of Prussia, he desired me, with much eagerness, to relate
+to him some anecdotes concerning that mighty monarch.&nbsp; At length
+I arrived at Ranelagh; and having paid my half-crown on entrance, I
+soon enquired for the garden door, and it was readily shown to me; when,
+to my infinite astonishment, I found myself in a poor, mean-looking,
+and ill-lighted garden, where I met but few people.&nbsp; I had not
+been here long before I was accosted by a young lady, who also was walking
+there, and who, without ceremony, offered me her arm, asking me why
+I walked thus solitarily?&nbsp; I now concluded, this could not possibly
+be the splendid, much-boasted Ranelagh; and so, seeing not far from
+me a number of people entering a door, I followed them, in hopes either
+to get out again, or to vary the scene.<br>
+<br>
+But it is impossible to describe, or indeed to conceive, the effect
+it had on me, when, coming out of the gloom of the garden, I suddenly
+entered a round building, illuminated by many hundred lamps; the splendour
+and beauty of which surpassed everything of the kind I had ever seen
+before.&nbsp; Everything seemed here to be round; above, there was a
+gallery divided into boxes; and in one part of it an organ with a beautiful
+choir, from which issued both instrumental and vocal music.&nbsp; All
+around, under this gallery, are handsome painted boxes for those who
+wish to take refreshments: the floor was covered with mats, in the middle
+of which are four high black pillars; within which there are neat fire-places
+for preparing tea, coffee and punch; and all around, also, there are
+placed tables, set out with all kinds of refreshments.&nbsp; Within
+these four pillars, in a kind of magic rotundo, all the beau-monde of
+London move perpetually round and round.<br>
+<br>
+I at first mixed with this immense concourse of people, of all sexes,
+ages, countries, and characters; and I must confess, that the incessant
+change of faces, the far greater number of which were strikingly beautiful,
+together with the illumination, the extent and majestic splendour of
+the place, with the continued sound of the music, makes an inconceivably
+delightful impression on the imagination; and I take the liberty to
+add, that, on seeing it now for the first time, I felt pretty nearly
+the same sensations that I remember to have felt when, in early youth,
+I first read the Fairy Tales.<br>
+<br>
+Being, however, at length tired of the crowd, and being tired also with
+always moving round and round in a circle, I sat myself down in one
+of the boxes, in order to take some refreshment, and was now contemplating
+at my ease this prodigious collection and crowd of a happy, cheerful
+world, who were here enjoying themselves devoid of care, when a waiter
+very civilly asked me what refreshments I wished to have, and in a few
+moments returned with what I asked for.&nbsp; To my astonishment he
+would accept no money for these refreshments; which I could not comprehend,
+till he told me that everything was included in the half-crown I had
+paid at the door; and that I had only to command if I wished for anything
+more; but that if I pleased, I might give him as a present a trifling
+douceur.&nbsp; This I gave him with pleasure, as I could not help fancying
+I was hardly entitled to so much civility and good attention for one
+single half-crown.<br>
+<br>
+I now went up into the gallery, and seated myself in one of the boxes
+there; and from thence becoming all at once a grave and moralising spectator,
+I looked down on the concourse of people who were still moving round
+and round in the fairy circle; and then I could easily distinguish several
+stars and other orders of knighthood; French queues and bags contrasted
+with plain English heads of hair, or professional wigs; old age and
+youth, nobility and commonalty, all passing each other in the motley
+swarm.&nbsp; An Englishman who joined me during this my reverie, pointed
+out to me on my enquiring, princes and lords with their dazzling stars;
+with which they eclipsed the less brilliant part of the company.<br>
+<br>
+Here some moved round in an eternal circle to see and be seen; there
+a group of eager connoisseurs had placed themselves before the orchestra
+and were feasting their ears, while others at the well-supplied tables
+were regaling the parched roofs of their mouths in a more substantial
+manner, and again others, like myself, were sitting alone, in the corner
+of a box in the gallery, making their remarks and reflections on so
+interesting a scene.<br>
+<br>
+I now and then indulged myself in the pleasure of exchanging, for some
+minutes, all this magnificence and splendour for the gloom of the garden,
+in order to renew the pleasing surprise I experienced on my first entering
+the building.&nbsp; Thus I spent here some hours in the night in a continual
+variation of entertainment; when the crowd now all at once began to
+lessen, and I also took a coach and drove home.<br>
+<br>
+At Ranelagh the company appeared to me much better, and more select
+than at Vauxhall; for those of the lower class who go there, always
+dress themselves in their best, and thus endeavour to copy the great.&nbsp;
+Here I saw no one who had not silk stockings on.&nbsp; Even the poorest
+families are at the expense of a coach to go to Ranelagh, as my landlady
+assured me.&nbsp; She always fixed on some one day in the year, on which,
+without fail, she drove to Ranelagh.&nbsp; On the whole the expense
+at Ranelagh is nothing near so great as it is at Vauxhall, if you consider
+the refreshments; for any one who sups at Vauxhall, which most people
+do, is likely, for a very moderate supper, to pay at least half-a-guinea.<br>
+<br>
+<i>The Parliament.<br>
+<br>
+</i>I had almost forgotten to tell you that I have already been to the
+Parliament House; and yet this is of most importance.&nbsp; For, had
+I seen nothing else in England but this, I should have thought my journey
+thither amply rewarded.<br>
+<br>
+As little as I have hitherto troubled myself with politics, because
+indeed with us it is but little worth our while, I was however desirous
+of being present at a meeting of parliament - a wish that was soon amply
+gratified.<br>
+<br>
+One afternoon, about three o&rsquo;clock, at which hour, or thereabouts,
+the house most commonly meets, I enquired for Westminster Hall, and
+was very politely directed by an Englishman.&nbsp; These directions
+are always given with the utmost kindness.&nbsp; You may ask whom you
+please, if you can only make yourself tolerably well understood; and
+by thus asking every now and then, you may with the greatest ease find
+your way throughout all London.<br>
+<br>
+Westminster Hall is an enormous Gothic building, whose vaulted roof
+is supported, not by pillars, but instead of these there are, on each
+side, large unnatural heads of angels, carved in wood, which seem to
+support the roof.<br>
+<br>
+When you have passed through this long hall, you ascend a few steps
+at the end, and are led through a dark passage into the House of Commons,
+which, below, has a large double-door; and above, there is a small staircase,
+by which you go to the gallery, the place allotted for strangers.<br>
+<br>
+The first time I went up this small staircase, and had reached the rails,
+I saw a very genteel man in black standing there.&nbsp; I accosted him
+without any introduction, and I asked him whether I might be allowed
+to go into the gallery.&nbsp; He told me that I must be introduced by
+a member, or else I could not get admission there.&nbsp; Now, as I had
+not the honour to be acquainted with a member, I was under the mortifying
+necessity of retreating, and again going down-stairs, as I did much
+chagrined.&nbsp; And now, as I was sullenly marching back, I heard something
+said about a bottle of wine, which seemed to be addressed to me.<br>
+<br>
+I could not conceive what it could mean, till I got home, when my obliging
+landlady told me I should have given the well-dressed man half-a-crown,
+or a couple of shillings for a bottle of wine.&nbsp; Happy in this information,
+I went again the next day; when the same man who before had sent me
+away, after I had given him only two shillings, very politely opened
+the door for me, and himself recommended me to a good seat in the gallery.<br>
+<br>
+And thus I now, for the first time, saw the whole of the British nation
+assembled in its representatives, in rather a mean-looking building,
+that not a little resembles a chapel.&nbsp; The Speaker, an elderly
+man, with an enormous wig, with two knotted kind of tresses, or curls,
+behind, in a black cloak, his hat on his head, sat opposite to me on
+a lofty chair; which was not unlike a small pulpit, save only that in
+the front of there was no reading-desk.&nbsp; Before the Speaker&rsquo;s
+chair stands a table, which looks like an altar; and at this there sit
+two men, called clerks, dressed in black, with black cloaks.&nbsp; On
+the table, by the side of the great parchment acts, lies a huge gilt
+sceptre, which is always taken away, and placed in a conservatory under
+the table, as soon as ever the Speaker quits the chair; which he does
+as often as the House resolves itself into a committee.&nbsp; A committee
+means nothing more than that the House puts itself into a situation
+freely to discuss and debate any point of difficulty and moment, and,
+while it lasts, the Speaker partly lays aside his power as a legislator.&nbsp;
+As soon as this is over, some one tells the Speaker that he may now
+again be seated; and immediately on the Speaker being again in the chair,
+the sceptre is also replaced on the table before him.<br>
+<br>
+All round on the sides of the house, under the gallery, are benches
+for the members, covered with green cloth, always one above the other,
+like our choirs in churches, in order that he who is speaking may see
+over those who sit before him.&nbsp; The seats in the gallery are on
+the same plan.&nbsp; The members of parliament keep their hats on, but
+the spectators in the gallery are uncovered.<br>
+<br>
+The members of the House of Commons have nothing particular in their
+dress.&nbsp; They even come into the House in their great coats, and
+with boots and spurs.&nbsp; It is not at all uncommon to see a member
+lying stretched out on one of the benches while others are debating.&nbsp;
+Some crack nuts, others eat oranges, or whatever else is in season.&nbsp;
+There is no end to their going in and out; and as often as any one wishes
+to go out, he places himself before the Speaker, and makes him his bow,
+as if, like a schoolboy, he asked tutor&rsquo;s permission.<br>
+<br>
+Those who speak seem to deliver themselves with but little, perhaps
+not always with even a decorous, gravity.&nbsp; All that is necessary
+is to stand up in your place, take off your hat, turn to the Speaker
+(to whom all the speeches are addressed), to hold your hat and stick
+in one hand, and with the other to make any such motions as you fancy
+necessary to accompany your speech.<br>
+<br>
+If it happens that a member rises who is but a bad speaker, or if what
+he says is generally deemed not sufficiently interesting, so much noise
+is made, and such bursts of laughter are raised, that the member who
+is speaking can scarcely distinguish his own words.&nbsp; This must
+needs be a distressing situation; and it seems then to be particularly
+laughable, when the Speaker in his chair, like a tutor in a school,
+again and again endeavours to restore order, which he does by calling
+out &ldquo;<i>To order, to order</i>,&rdquo; apparently often without
+much attention being paid to it.<br>
+<br>
+On the contrary, when a favourite member, and one who speaks well and
+to the purpose, rises, the most perfect silence reigns, and his friends
+and admirers, one after another, make their approbation known by calling
+out, &ldquo;<i>Hear him</i>,&rdquo; which is often repeated by the whole
+House at once; and in this way so much noise is often made that the
+speaker is frequently interrupted by this same emphatic &ldquo;<i>Hear
+him</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; Notwithstanding which, this calling out is always
+regarded as a great encouragement; and I have often observed that one
+who began with some diffidence, and even somewhat inauspiciously, has
+in the end been so animated that he has spoken with a torrent of eloquence.<br>
+<br>
+As all speeches are directed to the Speaker, all the members always
+preface their speeches with &ldquo;<i>Sir</i>&rdquo; and he, on being
+thus addressed, generally moves his hat a little, but immediately puts
+it on again.&nbsp; This &ldquo;<i>Sir</i>&rdquo; is often introduced
+in the course of their speeches, and serves to connect what is said.&nbsp;
+It seems also to stand the orator in some stead when any one&rsquo;s
+memory fails him, or he is otherwise at a loss for matter.&nbsp; For
+while he is saying &ldquo;<i>Sir</i>,&rdquo; and has thus obtained a
+little pause, he recollects what is to follow.&nbsp; Yet I have sometimes
+seen some members draw a kind of memorandum-book out of their pockets,
+like a candidate who is at a loss in his sermon.&nbsp; This is the only
+instance in which a member of the British parliament seems to read his
+speeches.<br>
+<br>
+The first day that I was at the House of Commons an English gentleman
+who sat next to me in the gallery very obligingly pointed out to me
+the principal members, such as Fox, Burke, Rigby, etc., all of whom
+I heard speak.&nbsp; The debate happened to be whether, besides being
+made a peer, any other specific reward should be bestowed by the nation
+on their gallant admiral Rodney.&nbsp; In the course of the debate,
+I remember, Mr. Fox was very sharply reprimanded by young Lord Fielding
+for having, when minister, opposed the election of Admiral Hood as a
+member for Westminster.<br>
+<br>
+Fox was sitting to the right of the Speaker, not far from the table
+on which the gilt sceptre lay.&nbsp; He now took his place so near it
+that he could reach it with his hand, and, thus placed, he gave it many
+a violent and hearty thump, either to aid, or to show the energy with
+which he spoke.&nbsp; If the charge was vehement, his defence was no
+less so.&nbsp; He justified himself against Lord Fielding by maintaining
+that he had not opposed this election in the character of a minister,
+but as an individual, or private person; and that, as such, he had freely
+and honestly given his vote for another - namely, for Sir Cecil Wray,
+adding that the King, when he appointed him Secretary of State, had
+entered into no agreement with him by which he lost his vote as an individual;
+to such a requisition he never would have submitted.&nbsp; It is impossible
+for me to describe with what fire and persuasive eloquence he spoke,
+and how the Speaker in the chair incessantly nodded approbation from
+beneath his solemn wig, and innumerable voices incessantly called out,
+&ldquo;Hear him! hear him!&rdquo; and when there was the least sign
+that he intended to leave off speaking they no less vociferously exclaimed,
+&ldquo;Go on;&rdquo; and so he continued to speak in this manner for
+nearly two hours.&nbsp; Mr. Rigby, in reply, made a short but humorous
+speech, in which he mentioned of how little consequence the title of
+&ldquo;lord&rdquo; and &ldquo;lady&rdquo; was without money to support
+it, and finished with the Latin proverb, &ldquo;infelix paupertas -
+quia ridiculos miseros facit.&rdquo;&nbsp; After having first very judiciously
+observed that previous inquiry should be made whether Admiral Rodney
+had made any rich prizes or captures; because, if that should be the
+case, he would not stand in need of further reward in money.&nbsp; I
+have since been almost every day at the parliament house, and prefer
+the entertainment I there meet with to most other amusements.<br>
+<br>
+Fox is still much beloved by the people, notwithstanding that they are
+(and certainly with good reason) displeased at his being the cause of
+Admiral Rodney&rsquo;s recall, though even I have heard him again and
+again almost extravagant in his encomiums on this noble admiral.&nbsp;
+The same celebrated Charles Fox is a short, fat, and gross man, with
+a swarthy complexion, and dark; and in general he is badly dressed.&nbsp;
+There certainly is something Jewish in his looks.&nbsp; But upon the
+whole, he is not an ill-made nor an ill-looking man, and there are many
+strong marks of sagacity and fire in his eyes.&nbsp; I have frequently
+heard the people here say that this same Mr. Fox is as cunning as a
+fox.&nbsp; Burke is a well-made, tall, upright man, but looks elderly
+and broken.&nbsp; Rigby is excessively corpulent, and has a jolly rubicund
+face.<br>
+<br>
+The little less than downright open abuse, and the many really rude
+things which the members said to each other, struck me much.&nbsp; For
+example, when one has finished, another rises, and immediately taxes
+with absurdity all that the right honourable gentleman (for with this
+title the members of the House of Commons always honour each other)
+had just advanced.&nbsp; It would, indeed, be contrary to the rules
+of the House flatly to tell each other that what they have spoken is
+<i>false, </i>or even <i>foolish</i>.&nbsp; Instead of this, they turn
+themselves, as usual, to the Speaker, and so, whilst their address is
+directed to him, they fancy they violate neither the rules of parliament
+nor those of good breeding and decorum, whilst they utter the most cutting
+personal sarcasms against the member or the measure they oppose.<br>
+<br>
+It is quite laughable to see, as one sometimes does, one member speaking,
+and another accompanying the speech with his action.&nbsp; This I remarked
+more than once in a worthy old citizen, who was fearful of speaking
+himself, but when his neighbour spoke he accompanied every energetic
+sentence with a suitable gesticulation, by which means his whole body
+was sometimes in motion.<br>
+<br>
+It often happens that the jett, or principal point in the debate is
+lost in these personal contests and bickerings between each other.&nbsp;
+When they last so long as to become quite tedious and tiresome, and
+likely to do harm rather than good, the House takes upon itself to express
+its disapprobation; and then there arises a general cry of, &ldquo;The
+question! the question!&rdquo;&nbsp; This must sometimes be frequently
+repeated, as the contending members are both anxious to have the last
+word.&nbsp; At length, however, the question is put, and the votes taken,
+when the Speaker says, &ldquo;Those who are for the question are to
+say <i>aye, </i>and those who are against it <i>no</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+You then hear a confused cry of &ldquo;<i>aye</i>&rdquo; and &ldquo;<i>no</i>&rdquo;
+but at length the Speaker says, &ldquo;I think there are more <i>ayes
+</i>than <i>noes</i>, or more <i>noes </i>than <i>ayes</i>.&nbsp; The
+<i>ayes </i>have it; or the <i>noes </i>have it,&rdquo; as the case
+may be.&nbsp; But all the spectators must then retire from the gallery;
+for then, and not till then, the voting really commences.&nbsp; And
+now the members call aloud to the gallery, &ldquo;Withdraw! withdraw!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+On this the strangers withdraw, and are shut up in a small room at the
+foot of the stairs till the voting is over, when they are again permitted
+to take their places in the gallery.&nbsp; Here I could not help wondering
+at the impatience even of polished Englishmen.&nbsp; It is astonishing
+with what violence, and even rudeness, they push and jostle one another
+as soon as the room door is again opened, eager to gain the first and
+best seats in the gallery.&nbsp; In this manner we (the strangers) have
+sometimes been sent away two or three times in the course of one day,
+or rather evening, afterwards again permitted to return.&nbsp; Among
+these spectators are people of all ranks, and even, not unfrequently,
+ladies.&nbsp; Two shorthand writers have sat sometimes not far distant
+from me, who (though it is rather by stealth) endeavour to take down
+the words of the speaker; and thus all that is very remarkable in what
+is said in parliament may generally be read in print the next day.&nbsp;
+The shorthand writers, whom I noticed, are supposed to be employed and
+paid by the editors of the different newspapers.&nbsp; There are, it
+seems, some few persons who are constant attendants on the parliament;
+and so they pay the door-keeper beforehand a guinea for a whole session.&nbsp;
+I have now and then seen some of the members bring their sons, whilst
+quite little boys, and carry them to their seats along with themselves.<br>
+<br>
+A proposal was once made to erect a gallery in the House of Peers also
+for the accommodation of spectators.&nbsp; But this never was carried
+into effect.&nbsp; There appears to be much more politeness and more
+courteous behaviour in the members of the upper House.&nbsp; But he
+who wishes to observe mankind, and to contemplate the leading traits
+of the different characters most strongly marked, will do well to attend
+frequently the lower, rather than the other, House.<br>
+<br>
+Last Tuesday was (what is here called) hanging-day.&nbsp; There was
+also a parliamentary election.&nbsp; I could only see one of the two
+sights, and therefore naturally preferred the latter, while I only heard
+tolling at a distance the death-bell of the sacrifice to justice.&nbsp;
+I now, therefore, am going to describe to you, as well as can, an<br>
+<br>
+<i>Election for a Member of Parliament.<br>
+<br>
+</i>The cities of London and Westminster send, the one four, and the
+other two, members to parliament.&nbsp; Mr. Fox is one of the two members
+for Westminster.&nbsp; One seat was vacant, and that vacancy was now
+to be filled.&nbsp; And the same Sir Cecil Wray, whom Fox had before
+opposed to Lord Hood, was now publicly chosen.&nbsp; They tell me that
+at these elections, when there is a strong opposition party, there is
+often bloody work; but this election was, in the electioneering phrase,
+a &ldquo;hollow thing&rdquo; - <i>i.e. </i>quite sure, as those who
+had voted for Admiral Hood now withdrew, without standing a poll, as
+being convinced beforehand their chance to succeed was desperate.<br>
+<br>
+The election was held in Covent Garden, a large market-place in the
+open air.&nbsp; There was a scaffold erected just before the door of
+a very handsome church, which is also called St. Paul&rsquo;s, but which,
+however, is not to be compared to the cathedral.<br>
+<br>
+A temporary edifice, formed only of boards and wood nailed together,
+was erected on the occasion.&nbsp; It was called the hustings, and filled
+with benches; and at one end of it, where the benches ended, mats were
+laid, on which those who spoke to the people stood.&nbsp; In the area
+before the hustings immense multitudes of people were assembled, of
+whom the greatest part seemed to be of the lowest order.&nbsp; To this
+tumultuous crowd, however, the speakers often bowed very low, and always
+addressed them by the title of &ldquo;gentlemen.&rdquo;&nbsp; Sir Cecil
+Wray was obliged to step forward and promise these same gentlemen, with
+hand and heart, that he would faithfully fulfil his duties as their
+representative.&nbsp; He also made an apology because, on account of
+his long journey and ill-health, he had not been able to wait on them,
+as became him, at their respective houses.&nbsp; The moment that he
+began to speak, even this rude rabble became all as quiet as the raging
+sea after a storm, only every now and then rending the air with the
+parliamentary cry of &ldquo;Hear him! hear him!&rdquo; and as soon as
+he had done speaking, they again vociferated aloud an universal &ldquo;<i>huzza</i>,&rdquo;
+every one at the same time waving his hat.<br>
+<br>
+And now, being formally declared to have been legally chosen, he again
+bowed most profoundly, and returned thanks for the great honour done
+him, when a well-dressed man, whose name I could not learn, stepped
+forward, and in a well-indited speech congratulated both the chosen
+and the choosers.&nbsp; &ldquo;Upon my word,&rdquo; said a gruff carter
+who stood near me, &ldquo;that man speaks well.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Even little boys clambered up and hung on the rails and on the lamp-posts;
+and as if the speeches had also been addressed to them, they too listened
+with the utmost attention, and they too testified their approbation
+of it by joining lustily in the three cheers and waving their hats.<br>
+<br>
+All the enthusiasm of my earliest years kindled by the patriotism of
+the illustrious heroes of Rome.&nbsp; Coriolanus, Julius C&aelig;sar,
+and Antony were now revived in my mind; and though all I had just seen
+and heard be, in fact, but the semblance of liberty, and that, too,
+tribunitial liberty, yet at that moment I thought it charming, and it
+warmed my heart.&nbsp; Yes, depend on it, my friend, when you here see
+how, in the happy country, the lowest and meanest member of society
+thus unequivocally testifies the interest which he takes in everything
+of a public nature; when you see how even women and children bear a
+part in the great concerns of their country; in short, how high and
+low, rich and poor, all concur in declaring their feelings and their
+convictions that a carter, a common tar, or a scavenger, is still a
+man - nay, an Englishman, and as such has his rights and privileges
+defined and known as exactly and as well as his king, or as his king&rsquo;s
+minister - take my word for it, you will feel yourself very differently
+affected from what you are when staring at our soldiers in their exercises
+at Berlin.<br>
+<br>
+When Fox, who was among the voters, arrived at the beginning of the
+election, he too was received with an universal shout of joy.&nbsp;
+At length, when it was nearly over, the people took it into their heads
+to hear him speak, and every one called out, &ldquo;Fox!&nbsp; Fox!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+I know not why, but I seemed to catch some of the spirit of the place
+and time, and so I also bawled &ldquo;Fox!&nbsp; Fox!&rdquo; and he
+was obliged to come forward and speak, for no other reason that I could
+find but that the people wished to hear him speak.&nbsp; In this speech
+he again confirmed, in the presence of the people, his former declaration
+in parliament, that he by no means had any influence as minister of
+State in this election, but only and merely as a private person.<br>
+<br>
+When the whole was over, the rampant spirit of liberty and the wild
+impatience of a genuine English mob were exhibited in perfection.&nbsp;
+In a very few minutes the whole scaffolding, benches, and chairs, and
+everything else, was completely destroyed. and the mat with which it
+had been covered torn into ten thousand long strips, or pieces, or strings,
+with which they encircled or enclosed multitudes of people of all ranks.&nbsp;
+These they hurried along with them, and everything else that came in
+their way, as trophies of joy; and thus, in the midst of exultation
+and triumph, they paraded through many of the most populous streets
+of London.<br>
+<br>
+Whilst in Prussia poets only speak of the love of country as one of
+the dearest of all human affections, here there is no man who does not
+feel, and describe with rapture, how much he loves his country.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Yes, for my country I&rsquo;ll shed the last drop of my blood!&rdquo;
+often exclaims little Jacky, the fine boy here in the house where I
+live, who is yet only about twelve years old.&nbsp; The love of their
+country, and its unparalleled feats in war are, in general, the subject
+of their ballads and popular songs, which are sung about the streets
+by women, who sell them for a few farthings.&nbsp; It was only the other
+day our Jacky brought one home, in which the history of an admiral was
+celebrated who bravely continued to command, even after his two legs
+were shot off and he was obliged to be supported.&nbsp; I know not well
+by what means it has happened that the King of England, who is certainly
+one of the best the nation ever had, is become unpopular.&nbsp; I know
+not how many times I have heard people of all sorts object to their
+king at the same time that they praised the King of Prussia to the skies.&nbsp;
+Indeed, with some the veneration for our monarch went so far that they
+seriously wished he was their king.&nbsp; All that seems to shock and
+dishearten them is the prodigious armies he keeps up, and the immense
+number of soldiers quartered in Berlin alone.&nbsp; Whereas in London,
+at least in the city, not a single troop of soldiers of the King&rsquo;s
+guard dare make their appearance.<br>
+<br>
+A few days ago I saw what is here deemed a great sight - viz., a lord
+mayor&rsquo;s procession.&nbsp; The lord mayor was in an enormous large
+gilt coach, which was followed by an astonishing number of most showy
+carriages, in which the rest of the city magistrates, more properly
+called aldermen of London, were seated.&nbsp; But enough for the present.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER VI.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>London, June</i> 17<i>th, </i>1782.<br>
+<br>
+I have now been pretty nearly all over London, and, according to my
+own notions, have now seen most of the things I was most anxious to
+see.&nbsp; Hereafter, then, I propose to make an excursion into the
+country; and this purpose, by the blessing of God, I hope to be able
+to carry into effect in a very few days, for my curiosity is here almost
+satiated.&nbsp; I seem to be tired and sick of the smoke of these sea-coal
+fires, and I long, with almost childish impatience, once more to breathe
+a fresher and clearer air.<br>
+<br>
+It must, I think, be owned, that upon the whole, London is neither so
+handsomely nor so well built as Berlin is; but then it certainly has
+far more fine squares.&nbsp; Of these there are many that in real magnificence
+and beautiful symmetry far surpass our Gens d&rsquo;Armes Markt, our
+Denhoschen and William&rsquo;s Place.&nbsp; The squares or quadrangular
+places contain the best and most beautiful buildings of London; a spacious
+street, next to the houses, goes all round them, and within that there
+is generally a round grass-plot, railed in with iron rails, in the centre
+of which, in many of them, there is a statue, which statues most commonly
+are equestrian and gilt.&nbsp; In Grosvenor Square, instead of this
+green plot or area, there is a little circular wood, intended, no doubt,
+to give one the idea of <i>rus in urbe.<br>
+<br>
+</i>One of the longest and pleasantest walks I have yet taken is from
+Paddington to Islington; where to the left you have a fine prospect
+of the neighbouring hills, and in particular of the village of Hampstead,
+which is built on one of them; and to the right the streets of London
+furnish an endless variety of interesting views.&nbsp; It is true that
+it is dangerous to walk here alone, especially in the afternoon and
+in an evening, or at night, for it was only last week that a man was
+robbed and murdered on this very same road.&nbsp; But I now hasten to
+another and a more pleasing topic:<br>
+<br>
+<i>The British Museum.<br>
+<br>
+</i>I have had the happiness to become acquainted with the Rev. Mr.
+Woide; who, though well known all over Europe to be one of the most
+learned men of the age, is yet, if possible, less estimable for his
+learning than he is for his unaffected goodness of heart.&nbsp; He holds
+a respectable office in the museum, and was obliging enough to procure
+me permission to see it, luckily the day before it was shut up.&nbsp;
+In general you must give in your name a fortnight before you can he
+admitted.&nbsp; But after all, I am sorry to say, it was the rooms,
+the glass cases, the shelves, or the repository for the books in the
+British Museum which I saw, and not the museum itself, we were hurried
+on so rapidly through the apartments.&nbsp; The company, who saw it
+when and as I did, was various, and some of all sorts; some, I believe,
+of the very lowest classes of the people, of both sexes; for, as it
+is the property of the nation, every one has the same right (I use the
+term of the country) to see it that another has.&nbsp; I had Mr. Wendeborn&rsquo;s
+book in my pocket, and it, at least, enabled me to take a somewhat more
+particular notice of some of the principal things; such as the Egyptian
+mummy, a head of Homer, &amp;c.&nbsp; The rest of the company, observing
+that I had some assistance which they had not, soon gathered round me;
+I pointed out to them as we went along, from Mr. Wendeborn&rsquo;s German
+book, what there was most worth seeing here.&nbsp; The gentleman who
+conducted us took little pains to conceal the contempt which he felt
+for my communications when he found out that it was only a German description
+of the British Museum I had got.&nbsp; The rapidly passing through this
+vast suite of rooms, in a space of time little, if at all, exceeding
+an hour, with leisure just to cast one poor longing look of astonishment
+on all these stupendous treasures of natural curiosities, antiquities,
+and literature, in the contemplation of which you could with pleasure
+spend years, and a whole life might be employed in the study of them
+- quite confuses, stuns, and overpowers one.&nbsp; In some branches
+this collection is said to be far surpassed by some others; but taken
+altogether, and for size, it certainly is equalled by none.&nbsp; The
+few foreign divines who travel through England generally desire to have
+the Alexandrian manuscript shewn them, in order to be convinced with
+their own eyes whether the passage, &ldquo;These are the three that
+bear record, &amp;c.,&rdquo; is to be found there or not.<br>
+<br>
+The Rev. Mr. Woide lives at a place called Lisson Street, not far from
+Paddington; a very village-looking little town, at the west end of London.&nbsp;
+It is quite a rural and pleasant situation; for here I either do, or
+fancy I do, already breathe a purer and freer air than in the midst
+of the town.&nbsp; Of his great abilities, and particularly in oriental
+literature, I need not inform you; but it will give you pleasure to
+hear that he is actually meditating a fac-simile edition of the Alexandrian
+MS.&nbsp; I have already mentioned the infinite obligations I lie under
+to this excellent man for his extraordinary courtesy and kindness.<br>
+<br>
+<i>The Theatre in the Haymarket.<br>
+<br>
+</i>Last week I went twice to an English play-house.&nbsp; The first
+time &ldquo;The Nabob&rdquo; was represented, of which the late Mr.
+Foote was the author, and for the entertainment, a very pleasing and
+laughable musical farce, called &ldquo;The Agreeable Surprise.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+The second time I saw &ldquo;The English Merchant:&rdquo; which piece
+has been translated into German, and is known among us by the title
+of &ldquo;The Scotchwoman,&rdquo; or &ldquo;The Coffee-house.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+I have not yet seen the theatres of Covent Garden and Drury Lane, because
+they are not open in summer.&nbsp; The best actors also usually spend
+May and October in the country, and only perform in winter.<br>
+<br>
+A very few excepted, the comedians whom I saw were certainly nothing
+extraordinary.&nbsp; For a seat in the boxes you pay five shillings,
+in the pit three, in the first gallery two, and in the second or upper
+gallery, one shilling.&nbsp; And it is the tenants in this upper gallery
+who, for their shilling, make all that noise and uproar for which the
+English play-houses are so famous.&nbsp; I was in the pit, which gradually
+rises, amphitheatre-wise, from the orchestra, and is furnished with
+benches, one above another, from the top to the bottom.&nbsp; Often
+and often, whilst I sat there, did a rotten orange, or pieces of the
+peel of an orange, fly past me, or past some of my neighbours, and once
+one of them actually hit my hat, without my daring to look round, for
+fear another might then hit me on my face.<br>
+<br>
+All over London as one walks, one everywhere, in the season, sees oranges
+to sell; and they are in general sold tolerably cheap, one and even
+sometimes two for a halfpenny; or, in our money, threepence.&nbsp; At
+the play-house, however, they charged me sixpence for one orange, and
+that noways remarkably good.<br>
+<br>
+Besides this perpetual pelting from the gallery, which renders an English
+play-house so uncomfortable, there is no end to their calling out and
+knocking with their sticks till the curtain is drawn up.&nbsp; I saw
+a miller&rsquo;s, or a baker&rsquo;s boy, thus, like a huge booby, leaning
+over the rails and knocking again and again on the outside, with all
+his might, so that he was seen by everybody, without being in the least
+ashamed or abashed.&nbsp; I sometimes heard, too, the people in the
+lower or middle gallery quarrelling with those of the upper one.&nbsp;
+Behind me, in the pit, sat a young fop, who, in order to display his
+costly stone buckles with the utmost brilliancy, continually put his
+foot on my bench, and even sometimes upon my coat, which I could avoid
+only by sparing him as much space from my portion of the seat as would
+make him a footstool.&nbsp; In the boxes, quite in a corner, sat several
+servants, who were said to be placed there to keep the seats for the
+families they served till they should arrive; they seemed to sit remarkably
+close and still, the reason of which, I was told, was their apprehension
+of being pelted; for if one of them dares but to look out of the box,
+he is immediately saluted with a shower of orange peel from the gallery.<br>
+<br>
+In Foote&rsquo;s &ldquo;Nabob&rdquo; there are sundry local and personal
+satires which are entirely lost to a foreigner.&nbsp; The character
+of the Nabob was performed by a Mr. Palmer.&nbsp; The jett of the character
+is, this Nabob, with many affected airs and constant aims at gentility,
+is still but a silly fellow, unexpectedly come into the possession of
+immense riches, and therefore, of course, paid much court to by a society
+of natural philosophers, Quakers, and I do not know who besides.&nbsp;
+Being tempted to become one of their members, he is elected, and in
+order to ridicule these would-be philosophers, but real knaves, a fine
+flowery fustian speech is put into his mouth, which he delivers with
+prodigious pomp and importance, and is listened to by the philosophers
+with infinite complacency.&nbsp; The two scenes of the Quakers and philosophers,
+who, with countenances full of imaginary importance, were seated at
+a green table with their president at their head while the secretary,
+with the utmost care, was making an inventory of the ridiculous presents
+of the Nabob, were truly laughable.&nbsp; One of the last scenes was
+best received: it is that in which the Nabob&rsquo;s friend and school-fellow
+visit him, and address him without ceremony by his Christian name; but
+to all their questions of &ldquo;Whether he does not recollect them?&nbsp;
+Whether he does not remember such and such a play; or such and such
+a scrape into which they had fallen in their youth?&rdquo; he uniformly
+answers with a look of ineffable contempt, only, &ldquo;No sir!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Nothing can possibly be more ludicrous, nor more comic.<br>
+<br>
+The entertainment, &ldquo;The Agreeable Surprise,&rdquo; is really a
+very diverting farce.&nbsp; I observed that, in England also, they represent
+school-masters in ridiculous characters on the stage, which, though
+I am sorry for, I own I do not wonder at, as the pedantry of school-masters
+in England, they tell me, is carried at least as far as it is elsewhere.&nbsp;
+The same person who, in the play, performed the school-fellow of the
+Nabob with a great deal of nature and original humour, here acted the
+part of the school-master: his name is Edwin, and he is, without doubt,
+one of the best actors of all that I have seen.<br>
+<br>
+This school-master is in love with a certain country girl, whose name
+is Cowslip, to whom he makes a declaration of his passion in a strange
+mythological, grammatical style and manner, and to whom, among other
+fooleries, he sings, quite enraptured, the following air, and seems
+to work himself at least up to such a transport of passion as quite
+overpowers him.&nbsp; He begins, you will observe, with the conjugation,
+and ends with the declensions and the genders; the whole is inimitably
+droll:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Amo, amas,<br>
+I love a lass,<br>
+She is so sweet and tender,<br>
+It is sweet Cowslip&rsquo;s Grace<br>
+In the Nominative Case.<br>
+And in the feminine Gender.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Those two sentences in particular, &ldquo;in the Nominative Case,&rdquo;
+and &ldquo;in the feminine Gender,&rdquo; he affects to sing in a particularly
+languishing air, as if confident that it was irresistible.&nbsp; This
+Edwin, in all his comic characters, still preserves something so inexpressibly
+good-tempered in his countenance, that notwithstanding all his burlesques
+and even grotesque buffoonery, you cannot but be pleased with him.&nbsp;
+I own, I felt myself doubly interested for every character which he
+represented.&nbsp; Nothing could equal the tone and countenance of self-satisfaction
+with which he answered one who asked him whether he was a scholar?&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Why, I was a master of scholars.&rdquo;&nbsp; A Mrs. Webb represented
+a cheesemonger, and played the part of a woman of the lower class so
+naturally as I have nowhere else ever seen equalled.&nbsp; Her huge,
+fat, and lusty carcase, and the whole of her external appearance seemed
+quite to be cut out for it.<br>
+<br>
+Poor Edwin was obliged, as school-master, to sing himself almost hoarse,
+as he sometimes was called on to repeat his declension and conjugation
+songs two or three times, only because it pleased the upper gallery,
+or &ldquo;the gods,&rdquo; as the English call them, to roar out &ldquo;encore.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Add to all this, he was farther forced to thank them with a low bow
+for the great honour done him by their applause.<br>
+<br>
+One of the highest comic touches in the piece seemed to me to consist
+in a lie, which always became more and more enormous in the mouths of
+those who told it again, during the whole of the piece.&nbsp; This kept
+the audience in almost a continual fit of laughter.&nbsp; This farce
+is not yet printed, or I really think I should be tempted to venture
+to make a translation, or rather an imitation of it.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;The English Merchant, or the Scotchwoman,&rdquo; I have seen
+much better performed abroad than it was here.&nbsp; Mr. Fleck, at Hamburg,
+in particular, played the part of the English merchant with more interest,
+truth, and propriety than one Aickin did here.&nbsp; He seemed to me
+to fail totally in expressing the peculiar and original character of
+Freeport; instead of which, by his measured step and deliberate, affected
+manner of speaking, he converted him into a mere fine gentleman.<br>
+<br>
+The trusty old servant who wishes to give up his life for his master
+he, too, had the stately walk, or strut, of a minister.&nbsp; The character
+of the newspaper writer was performed by the same Mr. Palmer who acted
+the part of the Nabob, but every one said, what I thought, that he made
+him far too much of a gentleman.&nbsp; His person, and his dress also,
+were too handsome for the character.<br>
+<br>
+The character of Amelia was performed by an actress, who made her first
+appearance on the stage, and from a timidity natural on such an occasion,
+and not unbecoming, spoke rather low, so that she could not everywhere
+be heard; &ldquo;Speak louder! speak louder!&rdquo; cried out some rude
+fellow from the upper-gallery, and she immediately, with infinite condescension,
+did all she could, and not unsuccessfully, to please even an upper gallery
+critic.<br>
+<br>
+The persons near me, in the pit, were often extravagantly lavish of
+their applause.&nbsp; They sometimes clapped a single solitary sentiment,
+that was almost as unmeaning as it was short, if it happened to be pronounced
+only with some little emphasis, or to contain some little point, some
+popular doctrine, a singularly pathetic stroke, or turn of wit.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;The Agreeable Surprise&rdquo; was repeated, and I saw it a second
+time with unabated pleasure.&nbsp; It is become a favourite piece, and
+always announced with the addition of the favourite musical farce.&nbsp;
+The theatre appeared to me somewhat larger than the one at Hamburg,
+and the house was both times very full.&nbsp; Thus much for English
+plays, play-houses, and players.<br>
+<br>
+<i>English Customs and Education.<br>
+<br>
+</i>A few words more respecting pedantry.&nbsp; I have seen the regulation
+of one seminary of learning, here called an academy.&nbsp; Of these
+places of education, there is a prodigious number in London, though,
+notwithstanding their pompous names, they are in reality nothing more
+than small schools set up by private persons, for children and young
+people.<br>
+<br>
+One of the Englishmen who were my travelling companions, made me acquainted
+with a Dr. G-- who lives near P--, and keeps an academy for the education
+of twelve young people, which number is here, as well as at our Mr.
+Kumpe&rsquo;s, never exceeded, and the same plan has been adopted and
+followed by many others, both here and elsewhere.<br>
+<br>
+At the entrance I perceived over the door of the house a large board,
+and written on it, Dr. G--&rsquo;s Academy.&nbsp; Dr. G-- received me
+with great courtesy as a foreigner, and shewed me his school-room, which
+was furnished just in the same manner as the classes in our public schools
+are, with benches and a professor&rsquo;s chair or pulpit.<br>
+<br>
+The usher at Dr. G--&rsquo;s is a young clergyman, who, seated also
+in a chair or desk, instructs the boys in the Greek and Latin grammars.<br>
+<br>
+Such an under-teacher is called an usher, and by what I can learn, is
+commonly a tormented being, exactly answering the exquisite description
+given of him in the &ldquo;Vicar of Wakefield.&rdquo;&nbsp; We went
+in during the hours of attendance, and he was just hearing the boys
+decline their Latin, which he did in the old jog-trot way; and I own
+it had an odd sound to my ears, when instead of pronouncing, for example
+<i>viri veeree </i>I heard them say <i>viri, of the man, </i>exactly
+according to the English pronunciation, and <i>viro, to the man.&nbsp;
+</i>The case was just the same afterwards with the Greek.<br>
+<br>
+Mr. G-- invited us to dinner, when I became acquainted with his wife,
+a very genteel young woman, whose behaviour to the children was such
+that she might be said to contribute more to their education than any
+one else.&nbsp; The children drank nothing but water.&nbsp; For every
+boarder Dr. G-- receives yearly no more than thirty pounds sterling,
+which however, he complained of as being too little.&nbsp; From forty
+to fifty pounds is the most that is generally paid in these academies.<br>
+<br>
+I told him of our improvements in the manner of education, and also
+spoke to him of the apparent great worth of character of his usher.&nbsp;
+He listened very attentively, but seemed to have thought little himself
+on this subject.&nbsp; Before and after dinner the Lord&rsquo;s Prayer
+was repeated in French, which is done in several places, as if they
+were eager not to waste without some improvement, even this opportunity
+also, to practise the French, and thus at once accomplish two points.&nbsp;
+I afterwards told him my opinion of this species of prayer, which however,
+he did not take amiss.<br>
+<br>
+After dinner the boys had leave to play in a very small yard, which
+in most schools or academies, in the city of London, is the <i>ne</i>
+<i>plus ultra </i>of their playground in their hours of recreation.&nbsp;
+But Mr. G-- has another garden at the end of the town, where he sometimes
+takes them to walk.<br>
+<br>
+After dinner Mr. G-- himself instructed the children in writing, arithmetic,
+and French, all which seemed to be well taught here, especially writing,
+in which the young people in England far surpass, I believe, all others.&nbsp;
+This may perhaps be owing to their having occasion to learn only one
+sort of letters.&nbsp; As the midsummer holidays were now approaching
+(at which time the children in all the academies go home for four weeks),
+everyone was obliged with the utmost care to copy a written model, in
+order to show it to their parents, because this article is most particularly
+examined, as everybody can tell what is or is not good writing.&nbsp;
+The boys knew all the rules of syntax by heart.<br>
+<br>
+All these academies are in general called boarding-schools.&nbsp; Some
+few retain the old name of schools only, though it is possible that
+in real merit they may excel the so much-boasted of academies.<br>
+<br>
+It is in general the clergy, who have small incomes, who set up these
+schools both in town and country, and grown up people who are foreigners,
+are also admitted here to learn the English language.&nbsp; Mr. G--
+charged for board, lodging, and instruction in the English, two guineas
+a-week.&nbsp; He however, who is desirous of perfecting himself in the
+English, will do better to go some distance into the country, and board
+himself with any clergyman who takes scholars, where he will hear nothing
+but English spoken, and may at every opportunity be taught both by young
+and old.<br>
+<br>
+There are in England, besides the two universities, but few great schools
+or colleges.&nbsp; In London, there are only St. Paul&rsquo;s and Westminster
+schools; the rest are almost all private institutions, in which there
+reigns a kind of family education, which is certainly the most natural,
+if properly conducted.&nbsp; Some few grammar schools, or Latin schools,
+are notwithstanding here and there to be met with, where the master
+receives a fixed salary, besides the ordinary profits of the school
+paid by the scholars.<br>
+<br>
+You see in the streets of London, great and little boys running about
+in long blue coats, which, like robes, reach quite down to the feet,
+and little white bands, such as the clergy wear.&nbsp; These belong
+to a charitable institution, or school, which hears the name of the
+Blue Coat School.&nbsp; The singing of the choristers in the streets,
+so usual with us, is not at all customary here.&nbsp; Indeed, there
+is in England, or at least in London, such a constant walking, riding,
+and driving up and down in the streets, that it would not be very practicable.&nbsp;
+Parents here in general, nay even those of the lowest classes, seem
+to be kind and indulgent to their children, and do not, like our common
+people, break their spirits too much by blows and sharp language.&nbsp;
+Children should certainly be inured early to set a proper value on themselves;
+whereas with us, parents of the lower class bring up their children
+to the same slavery under which they themselves groan.<br>
+<br>
+Notwithstanding the constant new appetites and calls of fashion, they
+here remain faithful to nature - till a certain age.&nbsp; What a contrast,
+when I figure to myself our petted, pale-faced Berlin boys, at six years
+old, with a large bag, and all the parade of grown-up persons, nay even
+with laced coats; and here, on the contrary see nothing but fine, ruddy,
+slim, active boys, with their bosoms open, and their hair cut on their
+forehead, whilst behind it flows naturally in ringlets.&nbsp; It is
+something uncommon here to meet a young man, and more especially a boy,
+with a pale or sallow face, with deformed features, or disproportioned
+limbs.&nbsp; With us, alas! it is not to be concealed, the case is very
+much otherwise; if it were not, handsome people would hardly strike
+us so very much as they do in this country.<br>
+<br>
+This free, loose, and natural dress is worn till they are eighteen,
+or even till they are twenty.&nbsp; It is then, indeed, discontinued
+by the higher ranks, but with the common people it always remains the
+same.&nbsp; They then begin to have their hair dressed, and curled with
+irons, to give the head a large bushy appearance, and half their backs
+are covered with powder.&nbsp; I am obliged to remain still longer under
+the hands of an English, than I was under a German hair-dresser; and
+to sweat under his hot irons with which he curls my hair all over, in
+order that I may appear among Englishmen, somewhat English.&nbsp; I
+must here observe that the English hair-dressers are also barbers, an
+office however, which they perform very badly indeed; though I cannot
+but consider shaving as a far more proper employment for these petit
+ma&icirc;tres than it is for surgeons, who you know in our country are
+obliged to shave us.&nbsp; It is incredible how much the English at
+present Frenchify themselves; the only things yet wanting are bags and
+swords, with which at least I have seen no one walking publicly, but
+I am told they are worn at court.<br>
+<br>
+In the morning it is usual to walk out in a sort of neglig&eacute;e
+or morning dress, your hair not dressed, but merely rolled up in rollers,
+and in a frock and boots.&nbsp; In Westminster, the morning lasts till
+four or five o&rsquo;clock, at which time they dine, and supper and
+going to bed are regulated accordingly.&nbsp; They generally do not
+breakfast till ten o&rsquo;clock.&nbsp; The farther you go from the
+court into the city, the more regular and domestic the people become;
+and there they generally dine about three o&rsquo;clock, <i>i.e. </i>as
+soon as the business or &lsquo;Change is over.<br>
+<br>
+Trimmed suits are not yet worn, and the most usual dress is in summer,
+a short white waistcoat, black breeches, white silk stockings, and a
+frock, generally of very dark blue cloth, which looks like black; and
+the English seem in general to prefer dark colours.&nbsp; If you wish
+to be full dressed, you wear black.&nbsp; Officers rarely wear their
+uniforms, but dress like other people, and are to be known to be officers
+only by a cockade in their hats.<br>
+<br>
+It is a common observation, that the more solicitous any people are
+about dress, the more effeminate they are.&nbsp; I attribute it entirely
+to this idle adventitious passion for finery, that these people are
+become so over and above careful of their persons; they are for ever,
+and on every occasion, putting one another on their guard against catching
+cold; &ldquo;you&rsquo;ll certainly catch cold,&rdquo; they always tell
+you if you happen to be a little exposed to the draught of the air,
+or if you be not clad, as they think, sufficiently warm.&nbsp; The general
+topic of conversation in summer, is on the important objects of whether
+such and such an acquaintance be in town, or such a one in the country.&nbsp;
+Far from blaming it, I think it natural and commendable, that nearly
+one half of the inhabitants of this great city migrate into the country
+in summer.&nbsp; And into the country, I too, though not a Londoner,
+hope soon to wander.<br>
+<br>
+Electricity happens at present to be the puppet-show of the English.&nbsp;
+Whoever at all understands electricity is sure of being noticed and
+successful.&nbsp; This a certain Mr. Katterfelto experiences, who gives
+himself out for a Prussian, speaks bad English, and understands beside
+the usual electrical and philosophical experiments, some legerdemain
+tricks, with which (at least according to the papers) he sets the whole
+world in wonder.&nbsp; For in almost every newspaper that appears, there
+are some verses on the great Katterfelto, which some one or other of
+his hearers are said to have made extempore.&nbsp; Every sensible person
+considers Katterfelto as a puppy, an ignoramus, a braggadocio, and an
+impostor; notwithstanding which he has a number of followers.&nbsp;
+He has demonstrated to the people, that the influenza is occasioned
+by a small kind of insect, which poisons the air; and a nostrum, which
+he pretends to have found out to prevent or destroy it, is eagerly bought
+of him.&nbsp; A few days ago he put into the papers:<i> </i>&ldquo;It
+is true that Mr. Katterfelto has always wished for cold and rainy weather,
+in order to destroy the pernicious insects in the air; but now, on the
+contrary, he wishes for nothing more than for fair weather, as his majesty
+and the whole royal family have determined, the first fine day, to be
+eye-witnesses of the great wonder, which this learned philosopher will
+render visible to them.&rdquo;&nbsp; Yet all this while the royal family
+have not so much as even thought of seeing the wonders of Mr. Katterfelto.&nbsp;
+This kind of rhodomontade is very finely expressed in English by the
+word puff, which in its literal sense, signifies a blowing, or violent
+gust of wind, and in the metaphorical sense, a boasting or bragging.<br>
+<br>
+Of such puffs the English newspapers are daily full, particularly of
+quack medicines and empirics, by means of which many a one here (and
+among others a German who goes by the name of the German doctor) are
+become rich.&nbsp; An advertisement of a lottery in the papers begins
+with capitals in this manner, - &ldquo;Ten Thousand Pounds for a Sixpence!&nbsp;
+Yes, however astonishing it may seem, it is nevertheless undoubtedly
+true, that for the small stake of sixpence, ten thousand pounds, and
+other capital prizes, may be won, etc.&rdquo; - But enough for this
+time of the puffs of the English.<br>
+<br>
+I yesterday dined with the Rev. Mr. Schrader, son-in-law to Professor
+Foster of Halle.&nbsp; He is chaplain to the German chapel at St. James&rsquo;s;
+but besides himself he has a colleague or a reader, who is also in orders,
+but has only fifty pounds yearly salary.&nbsp; Mr. Schrader also instructs
+the younger princes and princesses of the royal family in their religion.&nbsp;
+At his house I saw the two chaplains, Mr. Lindeman and Mr. Kritter,
+who went with the Hanoverian troops to Minorca, and who were returned
+with the garrison.&nbsp; They were exposed to every danger along with
+the troops.&nbsp; The German clergy, as well as every other person in
+any public station immediately under Government, are obliged to pay
+a considerable tax out of their salaries.<br>
+<br>
+The English clergy (and I fear those still more particularly who live
+in London) are noticeable, and lamentably conspicuous, by a very free,
+secular, and irregular way of life.&nbsp; Since my residence in England,
+one has fought a duel in Hyde Park, and shot has antagonist.&nbsp; He
+was tried for the offence, and it was evident the judge thought him
+guilty of murder; but the jury declared him guilty only of manslaughter;
+and on this verdict he was burnt in the hand, if that may be called
+burning which is done with a cold iron; this being a privilege which
+the nobility and clergy enjoy above other murderers.<br>
+<br>
+Yesterday week, after I had preached for Mr. Wendeborne, we passed an
+English church in which, we understood the sermon was not yet quite
+finished.&nbsp; On this we went in, and then I heard a young man preaching,
+with a tolerable good voice, and a proper delivery; but, like the English
+in general, his manner was unimpassioned, and his tone monotonous.&nbsp;
+From the church we went to a coffee-house opposite to it, and there
+we dined.&nbsp; We had not been long there before the same clergyman
+whom we had just heard preaching, also came in.&nbsp; He called for
+pen and ink, and hastily wrote down a few pages on a long sheet of paper,
+which he put into his pocket; I suppose it was some rough sketch or
+memorandum that occurred to him at that moment, and which he thus reserved
+for some future sermon.&nbsp; He too ordered some dinner, which he had
+no sooner ate, than he returned immediately to the same church.&nbsp;
+We followed him, and he again mounted the pulpit, where he drew from
+his pocket a written paper, or book of notes, and delivered in all probability
+those very words which he had just before composed in our presence at
+the coffee-house.<br>
+<br>
+In these coffee-houses, however, there generally prevails a very decorous
+stillness and silence.&nbsp; Everyone speaks softly to those only who
+sit next him.&nbsp; The greater part read the newspapers, and no one
+ever disturbs another.&nbsp; The room is commonly on the ground floor,
+and you enter it immediately from the street; the seats are divided
+by wooden wainscot partitions.&nbsp; Many letters and projects are here
+written and planned, and many of those that you find in the papers are
+dated from some of these coffee-houses.&nbsp; There is, therefore, nothing
+incredible, nor very extraordinary, in a person&rsquo;s composing a
+sermon here, excepting that one would imagine it might have been done
+better at home, and certainly should not have thus been put off to the
+last minute.<br>
+<br>
+Another long walk that I have taken pretty often, is through Hanover
+Square and Cavendish Square, to Bulstrode Street, near Paddington, where
+the Danish ambassador lives, and where I have often visited the Danish
+<i>Charge d&rsquo;Affaires</i>, M. Schornborn.&nbsp; He is well known
+in Germany, as having attempted to translate Pindar into German.&nbsp;
+Besides this, and besides being known to be a man of genius, he is known
+to be a great proficient in most of the branches of natural philosophy.&nbsp;
+I have spent many very pleasant hours with him.<br>
+<br>
+Sublime poetry, and in particular odes, are his forte; there are indeed
+few departments of learning in which he has not extensive knowledge,
+and he is also well read in the Greek and Roman authors.&nbsp; Everything
+he studies, he studies merely from the love he bears to the science
+itself, and by no means for the love of fame.<br>
+<br>
+One could hardly help saying it is a pity that so excellent a man should
+be so little known, were it not generally the case with men of transcendent
+merit.&nbsp; But what makes him still more valuable is his pure and
+open soul, and his amiable unaffected simplicity of character, which
+has gained him the love and confidence of all who know him.&nbsp; He
+has heretofore been secretary to the ambassador at Algiers; and even
+here in London, when he is not occupied by the business arising from
+his public station, he lives exceedingly retired, and devotes his time
+almost entirely to the study of the sciences.&nbsp; The more agreeable
+I find such an acquaintance, the harder it will be for me to lose, as
+I soon must, his learned, his instructive, and his friendly conversation.<br>
+<br>
+I have seen the large Freemasons&rsquo; Hall here, at the tavern of
+the same name.&nbsp; This hall is of an astonishing height and breadth,
+and to me it looked almost like a church.&nbsp; The orchestra is very
+much raised, and from that you have a fine view of the whole hall, which
+makes a majestic appearance.&nbsp; The building is said to have cost
+an immense sum.&nbsp; But to that the lodges in Germany also contributed.&nbsp;
+Freemasonry seems to be held in but little estimation in England, perhaps
+because most of the lodges are now degenerated into mere drinking clubs;
+though I hope there still are some who assemble for nobler and more
+essential purposes.&nbsp; The Duke of Cumberland is now grand master.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER VII.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>London, 20th June, </i>1782.<br>
+<br>
+At length my determination of going into the country takes effect; and
+I am to set off this very afternoon in a stage; so that I now write
+to you my last letter from London, I mean till I return from my pilgrimage,
+for as soon as ever I have got beyond the dangerous neighbourhood of
+London, I shall certainly no longer suffer myself to be cooped up in
+a post-coach, but take my staff and pursue my journey on foot.&nbsp;
+In the meantime, however, I will relate to you what I may either have
+forgotten to write before, or what I have seen worth notice within these
+few days last past; among which the foremost is<br>
+<br>
+<i>St. Paul&rsquo;s.<br>
+<br>
+</i>I must own that on my entrance into this massy building, an uncommon
+vacancy, which seemed to reign in it, rather damped than raised an impression
+of anything majestic in me.&nbsp; All around me I could see nothing
+but immense bare walls and pillars.&nbsp; Above me, at an astonishing
+height, was the vaulted stone roof; and beneath me a plain, flat even
+floor, paved with marble.&nbsp; No altar was to be seen, or any other
+sign that this was a place where mankind assembled to adore the Almighty.&nbsp;
+For the church itself, or properly that part of it where they perform
+divine service, seems as it were a piece stuck on or added to the main
+edifice, and is separated from the large round empty space by an iron
+gate, or door.&nbsp; Did the great architects who adopted this style
+of building mean by this to say that such a temple is most proper for
+the adoration of the Almighty?&nbsp; If this was their aim, I can only
+say I admire the great temple of nature, the azure vaulted sky, and
+the green carpet with which the earth is spread.&nbsp; This is truly
+a large temple; but then there is in it no void, no spot unappropriated,
+or unfulfilled, but everywhere proofs in abundance of the presence of
+the Almighty.&nbsp; If, however, mankind, in their honest ambition to
+worship the great God of nature, in a style not wholly unsuitable to
+the great object of their reverence, and in their humble efforts at
+magnificence, aim in some degree to rival the magnificence of nature,
+particular pains should be taken to hit on something that might atone
+for the unavoidable loss of the animation and ampleness of nature; something
+in short that should clearly indicate the true and appropriated design
+and purpose of such a building.&nbsp; If, on the other hand, I could
+be contented to consider St. Paul&rsquo;s merely as a work of art, built
+as if merely to show the amazing extent of human powers, I should certainly
+gaze at it with admiration and astonishment, but then I wish rather
+to contemplate it with awe and veneration.&nbsp; But, I perceive, I
+am wandering out of my way.&nbsp; St. Paul&rsquo;s is here, as it is,
+a noble pile, and not unworthy of this great nation.&nbsp; And even
+if I were sure that I could, you would hardly thank me for showing you
+how it might have been still more worthy of this intelligent people.&nbsp;
+I make a conscience however of telling you always, with fidelity, what
+impression everything I see or hear makes on me at the time.&nbsp; For
+a small sum of money I was conducted all over the church by a man whose
+office it seemed to be, and he repeated to me, I dare say, exactly his
+lesson, which no doubt he has perfectly got by rote: of how many feet
+long and broad it was; how many years it was in building, and in what
+year built.&nbsp; Much of this rigmarole story, which, like a parrot,
+he repeated mechanically, I could willingly have dispensed with.&nbsp;
+In the part that was separated from the rest by the iron gate above
+mentioned, was what I call the church itself; furnished with benches,
+pews, pulpit, and an altar; and on each side seats for the choristers,
+as there are in our cathedrals.&nbsp; This church seemed to have been
+built purposely in such a way, that the bishop, or dean, or dignitary,
+who should preach there, might not be obliged to strain his voice too
+much.&nbsp; I was now conducted to that part which is called the whispering
+gallery, which is a circumference of prodigious extent, just below the
+cupola.&nbsp; Here I was directed to place myself in a part of it directly
+opposite to my conductor, on the other side of the gallery, so that
+we had the whole breadth of the church between us, and here as I stood,
+he, knowing his cue no doubt, flung to the door with all his force,
+which gave a sound that I could compare to nothing less than a peal
+of thunder.&nbsp; I was next desired to apply my ear to the wall, which,
+when I did, I heard the words of my conductor: &ldquo;Can you hear me?&rdquo;
+which he softly whispered quite on the other side, as plain and as loud
+as one commonly speaks to a deaf person.&nbsp; This scheme to condense
+and invigorate sound at so great a distance is really wonderful.&nbsp;
+I once noticed some sound of the same sort in the senatorial cellar
+at Bremen; but neither that, nor I believe any other in the world, can
+pretend to come in competition with this.<br>
+<br>
+I now ascended several steps to the great gallery, which runs on the
+outside of the great dome, and here I remained nearly two hours, as
+I could hardly, in less time, satisfy myself with the prospect of the
+various interesting objects that lay all round me, and which can no
+where be better seen, than from hence.<br>
+<br>
+Every view, and every object I studied attentively, by viewing them
+again and again on every side, for I was anxious to make a lasting impression
+of it on my imagination.<br>
+<br>
+Below me lay steeples, houses, and palaces in countless numbers; the
+squares with their grass plots in their middle that lay agreeably dispersed
+and intermixed, with all the huge clusters of buildings, forming meanwhile
+a pleasing contrast, and a relief to the jaded eye.<br>
+<br>
+At one end rose the Tower - itself a city - with a wood of masts behind
+it; and at the other Westminster Abbey with its steeples.&nbsp; There
+I beheld, clad in smiles, those beautiful green hills that skirt the
+environs of Paddington and Islington; here, on the opposite bank of
+the Thames, lay Southwark; the city itself it seems to be impossible
+for any eye to take in entirely, for with all my pains I found it impossible
+to ascertain either where it ended, or where the circumjacent villages
+began; far as the eye could reach, it seemed to be all one continued
+chain of buildings.<br>
+<br>
+I well remember how large I thought Berlin when first I saw it from
+the steeple of St. Mary, and from the Temple Yard Hills, but how did
+it now sink and fall in my imagination, when I compared it with London!<br>
+<br>
+It is, however, idle and vain to attempt giving you in words, any description,
+however faint and imperfect, of such a prospect as I have just been
+viewing.&nbsp; He who wishes at one view to see a world in miniature,
+must come to the dome of St Paul&rsquo;s.<br>
+<br>
+The roof of St. Paul&rsquo;s itself with its two lesser steeples lay
+below me, and as I fancied, looked something like the background of
+a small ridge of hills, which you look down upon when you have attained
+the summit of some huge rock or mountain.&nbsp; I should gladly have
+remained here sometime longer, but a gust of wind, which in this situation
+was so powerful that it was hardly possible to withstand it, drove me
+down.<br>
+<br>
+Notwithstanding that St. Paul&rsquo;s is itself very high, the elevation
+of the ground on which it stands contributes greatly to its elevation.<br>
+<br>
+The church of St. Peter at Berlin, notwithstanding the total difference
+between them in the style of building, appears in some respects to have
+a great resemblance to St. Paul&rsquo;s in London.&nbsp; At least its
+large high black roof rises above the other surrounding buildings just
+as St. Paul&rsquo;s does.<br>
+<br>
+What else I saw in this stately cathedral was only a wooden model of
+this very edifice, which was made before the church was built, and which
+suggests some not unpleasing reflections when one compares it with the
+enormous building itself.<br>
+<br>
+The churchyard is enclosed with an iron rail, and it appears a considerable
+distance if you go all round.<br>
+<br>
+Owing to some cause or other, the site of St. Paul&rsquo;s strikes you
+as being confined, and it is certain that this beautiful church is on
+every side closely surrounded by houses.<br>
+<br>
+A marble statue of Queen Anne in an enclosed piece of ground in the
+west front of the church is something of an ornament to that side.<br>
+<br>
+The size of the bell of St. Paul&rsquo;s is also worthy of notice, as
+it is reckoned one of those that are deemed the largest in Europe.&nbsp;
+It takes its place, they say, next to that at Vienna.<br>
+<br>
+Everything that I saw in St. Paul&rsquo;s cost me only a little more
+than a shilling, which I paid in pence and halfpence, according to a
+regulated price, fixed for every different curiosity.<br>
+<br>
+<i>Westminster Abbey.<br>
+<br>
+</i>On a very gloomy dismal day, just such a one as it ought to be,
+I went to see Westminster Abbey.<br>
+<br>
+I entered at a small door, which brought me immediately to the poets&rsquo;
+corner, where the monuments and busts of the principal poets, artists,
+generals, and great men, are placed.<br>
+<br>
+Not far from the door, immediately on my entrance, I perceived the statue
+of Shakespeare, as large as life; with a band, &amp;c., in the dress
+usual in his time.<br>
+<br>
+A passage out of one of Shakespeare&rsquo;s own plays (the <i>Tempest</i>),
+in which he describes in the most solemn and affecting manner, the end,
+or the dissolution of all things, is here, with great propriety, put
+up as his epitaph; as though none but Shakespeare could do justice to
+Shakespeare.<br>
+<br>
+Not far from this immortal bard is Rowe&rsquo;s monument, which, as
+it is intimated in the few lines that are inscribed as his epitaph,
+he himself had desired to be placed there.<br>
+<br>
+At no great distance I saw the bust of that amiable writer, Goldsmith:
+to whom, as well as to Butler, whose monument is in a distant part of
+the abbey, though they had scarcely necessary bread to eat during their
+life time, handsome monuments are now raised.&nbsp; Here, too you see,
+almost in a row, the monuments of Milton, Dryden, Gay, and Thomson.&nbsp;
+The inscription on Gay&rsquo;s tombstone is, if not actually immoral,
+yet futile and weak; though he is said to have written it himself:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Life is a jest, and all things shew it,<br>
+&lsquo;I thought so once but now I know it.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Our Handel has also a monument here, where he is represented as large
+as life.<br>
+<br>
+An actress, Pritchard, and Booth, an actor, have also very distinguished
+monuments erected here to their memories.<br>
+<br>
+For Newton, as was proper, there is a very costly one.&nbsp; It is above,
+at the entrance of the choir, and exactly opposite to this, at the end
+of the church, another is erected, which refers you to the former.<br>
+<br>
+As I passed along the side walls of Westminster Abbey, I hardly saw
+any thing but marble monuments of great admirals, but which were all
+too much loaded with finery and ornaments, to make on me at least, the
+intended impression.<br>
+<br>
+I always returned with most pleasure to the poets&rsquo; corner, where
+the most sensible, most able, and most learned men, of the different
+ages, were re-assembled; and particularly where the elegant simplicity
+of the monuments made an elevated and affecting impression on the mind,
+while a perfect recollection of some favourite passage, of a Shakespeare,
+or Milton, recurred to my idea, and seemed for a moment to re-animate
+and bring back the spirits of those truly great men.<br>
+<br>
+Of Addison and Pope I have found no monuments here.&nbsp; The vaults
+where the kings are buried, and some other things worth notice in the
+abbey, I have not yet seen; but perhaps I may at my return to London
+from the country.<br>
+<br>
+I have made every necessary preparation for this journey: In the first
+place, I have an accurate map of England in my pocket; besides an excellent
+book of the roads, which Mr. Pointer, the English merchant to whom I
+am recommended, has lent me.&nbsp; The title is &ldquo;A new and accurate
+description of all the direct and principal cross roads in Great Britain.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+This book, I hope, will be of great service to me in my ramblings.<br>
+<br>
+I was for a long time undecided which way I should go, whether to the
+Isle of Wight, to Portsmouth, or to Derbyshire, which is famous for
+its natural curiosities, and also for its romantic situation.&nbsp;
+At length I have determined on Derbyshire.<br>
+<br>
+During my absence I leave my trunk at Mr. Mulhausen&rsquo;s (one of
+Mr. Pointer&rsquo;s senior partners), that I may not be at the needless
+expense of paying for my lodging without making use of it.&nbsp; This
+Mr. Pointer lived long in Germany, and is politely partial to us and
+our language, and speaks it well.&nbsp; He is a well-bred and singularly
+obliging man; and one who possesses a vast fund of information, and
+a good taste.&nbsp; I cannot but feel myself happy in having obtained
+a recommendation to so accomplished a man.&nbsp; I got it from Messrs.
+Persent and Dorner, to whom I had the honour to be recommended by Mr.
+Von Taubenheim, Privy Counsellor at Berlin.&nbsp; These recommendations
+have been of infinite use to me.<br>
+<br>
+I propose to go to-day as far as Richmond; for which place a stage sets
+out about two o&rsquo;clock from some inn, not far from the new church
+in the Strand.&nbsp; Four guineas, some linen, my English book of the
+roads, and a map and pocket-book, together with Milton&rsquo;s Paradise
+Lost, which I must put in my pocket, compose the whole of my equipage;
+and I hope to walk very lightly with it.&nbsp; But it now strikes half-past
+one, and of course it is time for me to be at the stage.&nbsp; Farewell!&nbsp;
+I will write to you again from Richmond.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER VIII.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>Richmond, </i>21st <i>June, </i>1782.<br>
+<br>
+Yesterday afternoon I had the luxury for the first time of being driven
+in an English stage.&nbsp; These coaches are, at least in the eyes of
+a foreigner, quite elegant, lined in the inside; and with two seats
+large enough to accommodate six persons; but it must be owned, when
+the carriage is full, the company are rather crowded.<br>
+<br>
+At the White Hart from whence the coach sets out, there was, at first
+only an elderly lady who got in; but as we drove along, it was soon
+filled, and mostly by ladies, there being only one more gentleman and
+myself.&nbsp; The conversation of the ladies among themselves, who appeared
+to be a little acquainted with each other, seemed to me to be but very
+insipid and tiresome.&nbsp; All I could do was, I drew out my book of
+the roads, and marked the way we were going.<br>
+<br>
+Before you well know that you are out of London you are already in Kensington
+and Hammersmith; because there are all the way houses on both sides,
+after you are out of the city; just as you may remember the case is
+with us when you drive from Berlin to Schoneberg; although in point
+of prospect, houses and streets, the difference, no doubt, is prodigious.<br>
+<br>
+It was a fine day, and there were various delightful prospects on both
+sides, on which the eye would willingly have dwelt longer, had not our
+coach rolled on past them, so provokingly quick.&nbsp; It appeared somewhat
+singular to me, when at a few miles from London, I saw at a distance
+a beautiful white house; and perceived on the high road, on which we
+were driving, a direction post, on which were written these words: &ldquo;that
+great white house at a distance is a boarding-school!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+The man who was with us in the coach pointed out to us the country seats
+of the lords and great people by which we passed; and entertained us
+with all kind of stories of robberies which had been committed on travellers,
+hereabouts; so that the ladies at last began to be rather afraid; on
+which he began to stand up for the superior honour of the English robbers,
+when compared with the French: the former he said robbed only, the latter
+both robbed and murdered.<br>
+<br>
+Notwithstanding this there are in England another species of villains,
+who also murder, and that oftentimes for the merest trifle, of which
+they rob the person murdered.&nbsp; These are called footpads, and are
+the lowest class of English rogues; amongst whom in general there reigns
+something like some regard to character.<br>
+<br>
+The highest order of thieves are the pickpockets or cutpurses, whom
+you find everywhere; and sometimes even in the best companies.&nbsp;
+They are generally well and handsomely dressed, so that you take them
+to be persons of rank; as indeed may sometimes be the case: persons
+who by extravagance and excesses have reduced themselves to want, and
+find themselves obliged at last to have recourse to pilfering and thieving.<br>
+<br>
+Next to them come the highwaymen, who rob on horseback; and often, they
+say, even with unloaded pistols, they terrify travellers, in order to
+put themselves in possession of their purses.&nbsp; Among these persons,
+however, there are instances of true greatness of soul, there are numberless
+instances of their returning a part of their booty, where the party
+robbed has appeared to be particularly distressed; and they are seldom
+guilty of murder.<br>
+<br>
+Then comes the third and lowest, and worst of all thieves and rogues,
+the footpads before mentioned; who are on foot, and often murder in
+the most inhuman manner, for the sake of only a few shillings, any unfortunate
+people who happen to fall in their way.&nbsp; Of this several mournful
+instances may be read almost daily in the English papers.&nbsp; Probably
+they murder, because they cannot like highwaymen, aided by their horses,
+make a rapid flight: and therefore such pests are frequently pretty
+easily pursued and taken if the person robbed gives information of his
+robbery in time.<br>
+<br>
+But to return to our stage, I must observe, that they have here a curious
+way of riding, not in, but upon a stage-coach.&nbsp; Persons to whom
+it is not convenient to pay a full price, instead of the inside, sit
+on the top of the coach, without any seats or even a rail.&nbsp; By
+what means passengers thus fasten themselves securely on the roof of
+these vehicles, I know not; but you constantly see numbers seated there,
+apparently at their ease, and in perfect safety.<br>
+<br>
+This they call riding on the outside; for which they pay only half as
+much as those pay who are within: we had at present six of these passengers
+over our heads, who, when we alighted, frequently made such a noise
+and bustle, as sometimes almost frightened us.&nbsp; He who can properly
+balance himself, rides not incommodiously on the outside; and in summer
+time, in fine weather, on account of the prospects, it certainly is
+more pleasant than it is within: excepting that the company is generally
+low, and the dust is likewise more troublesome than in the inside, where,
+at any rate, you may draw up the windows according to your pleasure.<br>
+<br>
+In Kensington, where we stopped, a Jew applied for a place along with
+us; but as there was no seat vacant in the inside, he would not ride
+on the outside, which seemed not quite to please my travelling companions.&nbsp;
+They could not help thinking it somewhat preposterous that a Jew should
+be ashamed to ride on the outside, or on any side, and in any way; since
+as they added, he was nothing more than a Jew.&nbsp; This antipathy
+and prejudice against the Jews, I have noticed to be far more common
+here, than it is even with us, who certainly are not partial to them.<br>
+<br>
+Of the beautiful country seats and villas which we now passed, I could
+only through the windows of our coach gain a partial and indistinct
+prospect, which led me to wish, as I soon most earnestly did, to be
+released from this movable prison.&nbsp; Towards evening we arrived
+at Richmond.&nbsp; In London, before I set out, I had paid one shilling;
+another was now demanded, so that upon the whole, from London to Richmond,
+the passage in the stage costs just two shillings.<br>
+<br>
+As soon as I had alighted at an inn and had drunk my tea, I went out
+immediately to see the town and the circumjacent country.<br>
+<br>
+Even this town, though hardly out of sight of London, is more countrified,
+pleasanter, and more cheerful than London, and the houses do not seem
+to be so much blackened by smoke.&nbsp; The people also appeared to
+me here more sociable and more hospitable.&nbsp; I saw several sitting
+on benches before their doors, to enjoy the cool breeze of the evening.&nbsp;
+On a large green area in the middle of the town, a number of boys, and
+even young men, were enjoying themselves, and playing at trap-ball.&nbsp;
+In the streets there reigned here, compared to London, a pleasing rural
+tranquillity, and I breathed a purer and fresher air.<br>
+<br>
+I went now out of the town over a bridge, which lies across the Thames,
+and where you pay a penny as often as you pass over it.&nbsp; The bridge
+is lofty and built in the form of an arch, and from it you enter immediately
+into a most charming valley, that winds all along the banks of the Thames.<br>
+<br>
+It was evening.&nbsp; The sun was just shedding her last parting rays
+on the valley; but such an evening, and such a valley!&nbsp; Oh, it
+is impossible I should ever forget them.&nbsp; The terrace at Richmond
+does assuredly afford one of the finest prospects in the world.&nbsp;
+Whatever is charming in nature, or pleasing in art, is to be seen here.&nbsp;
+Nothing I had ever seen, or ever can see elsewhere, is to be compared
+to it.&nbsp; My feelings, during the few short enraptured minutes that
+I stood there, it is impossible for any pen to describe.<br>
+<br>
+One of my first sensations was chagrin and sorrow for the days and hours
+I had wasted in London, and I had vented a thousand bitter reproaches
+on my irresolution, that I had not long ago quitted that huge dungeon
+to come here and pass my time in paradise.<br>
+<br>
+Yes, my friend, whatever be your ideas of paradise, and how luxuriantly
+soever it may be depicted to your imagination, I venture to foretell
+that here you will be sure to find all those ideas realised.&nbsp; In
+every point of view, Richmond is assuredly one of the first situations
+in the world.&nbsp; Here it was that Thomson and Pope gleaned from nature
+all those beautiful passages with which their inimitable writings abound.<br>
+<br>
+Instead of the incessant distressing noise in London, I saw here at
+a distance, sundry little family parties walking arm in arm along the
+banks of the Thames.&nbsp; Everything breathed a soft and pleasing calm,
+which warmed my heart and filed it with some of the most pleasing sensations
+of which our nature is susceptible.<br>
+<br>
+Beneath I trod on that fresh, even, and soft verdure which is to be
+seen only in England.&nbsp; On one side of me lay a wood, than which
+nature cannot produce a finer, and on the other the Thames, with its
+shelvy bank and charming lawns rising like an amphitheatre, along which,
+here and there, one espies a picturesque white house, aspiring in majestic
+simplicity to pierce the dark foliage of the surrounding trees; thus
+studding, like stars in the galaxy, the rich expanse of this charming
+vale.<br>
+<br>
+Sweet Richmond! never, no, never, shall I forget that lovely evening,
+when from thy fairy hills thou didst so hospitably smile on me, a poor
+lonely, insignificant stranger!&nbsp; As I traversed to and fro thy
+meads, thy little swelling hills and flowery dells, and above all that
+queen of all rivers, thy own majestic Thames, I forgot all sublunary
+cares, and thought only of heaven and heavenly things.&nbsp; Happy,
+thrice happy am I, I again and again exclaimed, that I am no longer
+in yon gloomy city, but here in Elysium, in Richmond.<br>
+<br>
+O ye copsy hills, ye green meadows, and ye rich streams in this blessed
+country, how have ye enchanted me?&nbsp; Still, however, let me recollect
+and resolve, as I firmly do, that even ye shall not prevent my return
+to those barren and dusty lands where my, perhaps a less indulgent,
+destiny has placed me, and where, in the due discharge of all the arduous
+and important duties of that humble function to which providence has
+called me, I must and I will faithfully exert my best talents, and in
+that exertion find pleasure, and I trust, happiness.&nbsp; In every
+future moment of my life, however, the recollection of this scene, and
+the feelings it inspired, shall cheer my labours and invigorate my efforts.<br>
+<br>
+These were some of my reflections, my dearest friend, during my solitary
+walk.&nbsp; Of the evening I passed at Richmond, I speak feebly when
+I content myself with saying only, it was one of the pleasantest I ever
+spent in my life.<br>
+<br>
+I now resolved to go to bed early, with a firm purpose of also rising
+early the next day to revisit this charming walk; for I thought to myself,
+I have now seen this temple of the modern world imperfectly; I have
+seen it only by moonlight.&nbsp; How much more charming must it be when
+glistening with the morning dew!&nbsp; These fond hopes, alas, were
+all disappointed.&nbsp; In all great schemes of enjoyment, it is, I
+believe, no bad way always to figure to yourself some possible evil
+that may arise, and to anticipate a disappointment.&nbsp; If I had done
+so, I should not perhaps have felt the mortification I then experienced
+quite so pungent.&nbsp; By some means or other I stayed too long out,
+and so when I returned to Richmond, I had forgot the name and the sign
+of the inn where I had before stopped; it cost me no little trouble
+to find it again.<br>
+<br>
+When at last I got back, I told the people what a sweet walk I had had,
+and they then spoke much of a prospect from a neighbouring hill, known
+by the name of Richmond Hill, which was the very same hill from the
+top of which I had just been gazing at the houses in the vale, the preceding
+evening.&nbsp; From this same kill, therefore, I resolved the next morning
+to see the sun rise.<br>
+<br>
+The landlady of this house was a notable one, and talked so much and
+so loud to her servants, that I could not get to sleep till it was pretty
+late.&nbsp; However, I was up next morning at three o&rsquo;clock, and
+was now particularly sensible of the great inconveniences they sustain
+in England by their bad custom of rising so late, for as I was the only
+one in this family who was up, I could not get out of the house.&nbsp;
+This obliged me to spend three most irksome and heavy hours till six
+o&rsquo;clock; however, a servant at length opened the door, and I rushed
+out to climb Richmond Hill.&nbsp; To my infinite disappointment, within
+the space of an hour, the sky had become overcast, and it was now so
+cloudy that I could not even see, nor of course enjoy one half of the
+delightful prospect that lay before me.<br>
+<br>
+On the top of this hill is an alley of chestnut trees, under which here
+and there seats are placed.&nbsp; Behind the alley is a row of well-built
+gentlemen&rsquo;s country seats.&nbsp; One does not wonder to see it
+thus occupied; besides the pure air, the prospect exceeds everything
+else of the kind in the world.&nbsp; I never saw a palace which, if
+I were the owner of it, I would not give for any of the houses I now
+saw on Richmond Terrace.<br>
+<br>
+The descent of the hill to the Thames is covered with verdure, the Thames
+at the foot of it forms near a semicircle, in which it seems to embrace
+woody plains, with meadows and country seats in its bosom.&nbsp; On
+one side you see the town and its magnificent bridge, and on the other
+a dark wood.<br>
+<br>
+At a distance you could perceive, peeping out among the meadows and
+woods, sundry small villages, so that notwithstanding the dulness of
+the weather, this prospect even now was one of the finest I had ever
+seen.&nbsp; But what is the reason that yesterday evening my feelings
+were far more acute and lively, the impressions made on me much stronger,
+when from the vale I viewed the hill and fancied that there was in it
+every thing that was delightful, than they are this morning, when from
+the hill I overlooked the vale and knew pretty exactly what it contained?<br>
+<br>
+I have now finished my breakfast, and once more seize my staff, the
+only companion I have, and now again set out on this romantic journey
+on foot.&nbsp; From Windsor you shall hear more of me.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER IX.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>Windsor</i>, 23rd <i>June.<br>
+<br>
+</i>I have already, my dearest friend, now that I write to you from
+hence, experienced so many inconveniences as a traveller on foot, that
+I am at some loss to determine whether or no I shall go on with my journey
+in the same manner.<br>
+<br>
+A traveller on foot in this country seems to be considered as a sort
+of wild man or out-of-the way being, who is stared at, pitied, suspected,
+and shunned by everybody that meets him.&nbsp; At least this has hitherto
+been my case on the road from Richmond to Windsor.<br>
+<br>
+My host at Richmond, yesterday morning, could not sufficiently express
+his surprise that I intended to venture to walk as far as Oxford, and
+still farther.&nbsp; He however was so kind as to send his son, a clever
+little boy, to show me the road leading to Windsor.<br>
+<br>
+At first I walked along a very pleasant footway by the side of the Thames,
+where close to my right lay the king&rsquo;s garden.&nbsp; On the opposite
+bank of the Thames was Isleworth, a spot that seemed to be distinguished
+by some elegant gentlemen&rsquo;s country-seats and gardens.&nbsp; Here
+I was obliged to ferry the river in order to get into the Oxford Road,
+which also leads to Windsor.<br>
+<br>
+When I was on the other side of the water, I came to a house and asked
+a man who was standing at the door if I was on the right road to Oxford.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;but you want a carriage to carry
+you thither.&rdquo;&nbsp; When I answered him that I intended walking
+it, he looked at me significantly, shook his head, and went into the
+house again.<br>
+<br>
+I was now on the road to Oxford.&nbsp; It is a charming fine broad road,
+and I met on it carriages without number, which, however, on account
+of the heat, occasioned a dust that was extremely troublesome and disagreeable.&nbsp;
+The fine green hedges, which border the roads in England, contribute
+greatly to render them pleasant.&nbsp; This was the case in the road
+I now travelled, for when I was tired I sat down in the shade under
+one of these hedges and read Milton.&nbsp; But this relief was soon
+rendered disagreeable to me, for those who rode or drove past me, stared
+at me with astonishment, and made many significant gestures as if they
+thought my head deranged; so singular must it needs have appeared to
+them to see a man sitting along the side of a public road and reading.&nbsp;
+I therefore found myself obliged, when I wished to rest myself and read,
+to look out for a retired spot in some by-lane or crossroad.<br>
+<br>
+When I again walked, many of the coachmen who drove by called out to
+me, ever and anon, and asked if I would not ride on the outside; and
+when, every now and then, a farmer on horseback met me, he said, and
+seemingly with an air of pity for me, &ldquo;&rsquo;Tis warm walking,
+sir;&rdquo; and when I passed through a village, every old woman testified
+her pity by an exclamation of - &ldquo;Good God!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+As far as Hounslow the way was very pleasant; afterwards I thought it
+not quite so good.&nbsp; It lay across a common, which was of a considerable
+extent, and bare and naked, excepting that here and there I saw sheep
+feeding.<br>
+<br>
+I now began to be very tired, when, to my astonishment, I saw a tree
+in the middle of the common that stood quite solitary, and spread a
+shade like an arbour round it.&nbsp; At the bottom, round the trunk,
+a bench was placed, on which one may sit down.&nbsp; Beneath the shade
+of this tree I reposed myself a little, read some of Milton, and made
+a note in my memorandum-book that I would remember this tree, which
+had so charitably and hospitably received under its shade a weary traveller.&nbsp;
+This, you see, I have now done.<br>
+<br>
+The short English miles are delightful for walking.&nbsp; You are always
+pleased to find, every now and then, in how short a time you have walked
+a mile, though, no doubt, a mile is everywhere a mile, I walk but a
+moderate pace, and can accomplish four English miles in an hour.&nbsp;
+It used to take me pretty nearly the same time for one German mile.&nbsp;
+Now it is a pleasing exchange to find that in two hours I can walk eight
+miles.&nbsp; And now I fancy I was about seventeen miles from London,
+when I came to an inn, where, for a little wine and water, I was obliged
+to pay sixpence.&nbsp; An Englishman who happened to be sitting by the
+side of the innkeeper found out that I was a German, and, of course,
+from the country of his queen, in praise of whom he was quite lavish,
+observing more than once that England never had had such a queen, and
+would not easily get such another.<br>
+<br>
+It now began to grow hot.&nbsp; On the left hand, almost close to the
+high road, I met with a singularly clear rivulet.&nbsp; In this I bathed,
+and was much refreshed, and afterwards, with fresh alacrity, continued
+my journey.<br>
+<br>
+I had now got over the common, and was once more in a country rich and
+well cultivated beyond all conception.&nbsp; This continued to be the
+case as far as Slough, which is twenty miles and a half from London,
+on the way to Oxford, and from which to the left there is a road leading
+to Windsor, whose high white castle I have already seen at a distance.<br>
+<br>
+I made no stay here, but went directly to the right, along a very pleasant
+high road, between meadows and green hedges, towards Windsor, where
+I arrived about noon.<br>
+<br>
+It strikes a foreigner as something particular and unusual when, on
+passing through these fine English towns, he observed one of those circumstances
+by which the towns in Germany are distinguished from the villages -
+no walls, no gates, no sentries, nor garrisons.&nbsp; No stern examiner
+comes here to search and inspect us or our baggage; no imperious guard
+here demands a sight of our passports; perfectly free and unmolested,
+we here walk through villages and towns as unconcerned as we should
+through a house of our own.<br>
+<br>
+Just before I got to Windsor I passed Eton College, one of the first
+public schools in England, and perhaps in the world.&nbsp; I have before
+observed that there are in England fewer of these great schools than
+one might expect.&nbsp; It lay on my left; and on the right, directly
+opposite to it, was an inn, into which I went.<br>
+<br>
+I suppose it was during the hour of recreation, or in playtime, when
+I got to Eton, for I saw the boys in the yard before the college, which
+was enclosed by a low wall, in great numbers, walking and running up
+and down.<br>
+<br>
+Their dress struck me particularly.&nbsp; From the biggest to the least,
+they all wore black cloaks, or gowns, over coloured clothes, through
+which there was an aperture for their arms.&nbsp; They also wore besides
+a square hat or cap, that seemed to be covered with velvet, such as
+our clergymen in many places wear.<br>
+<br>
+They were differently employed - some talking together, some playing,
+and some had their books in their hands, and were reading; but I was
+soon obliged to get out of their sight, they stared at me so as I came
+along, all over dust, with my stick in my hand.<br>
+<br>
+As I entered the inn, and desired to have something to eat, the countenance
+of the waiter soon gave me to understand that I should there find no
+very friendly reception.&nbsp; Whatever I got they seemed to give me
+with such an air as showed too plainly how little they thought of me,
+and as if they considered me but as a beggar.&nbsp; I must do them the
+justice to own, however, that they suffered me to pay like a gentleman.&nbsp;
+No doubt this was the first time this pert, bepowdered puppy had ever
+been called on to wait on a poor devil who entered their place on foot.&nbsp;
+I was tired, and asked for a bedroom where I might sleep.&nbsp; They
+showed me into one that much resembled a prison for malefactors.&nbsp;
+I requested that I might have a better room at night; on which, without
+any apology, they told me that they had no intention of lodging me,
+as they had no room for such guests, but that I might go back to Slough,
+where very probably I might get a night&rsquo;s lodging.<br>
+<br>
+With money in my pocket, and a consciousness, moreover, that I was doing
+nothing that was either imprudent, unworthy, or really mean, I own it
+mortified and vexed me to find myself obliged to put up with this impudent
+ill-usage from people who ought to reflect that they are but the servants
+of the public, and little likely to recommend themselves to the high
+by being insolent to the low.&nbsp; They made me, however, pay them
+two shillings for my dinner and coffee, which I had just thrown down,
+and was preparing to shake off the dust from my shoes, and quit this
+inhospitable St. Christopher, when the green hills of Windsor smiled
+so friendly upon me, that they seemed to invite me first to visit them.<br>
+<br>
+And now trudging through the streets of Windsor, I at length mounted
+a sort of hill; a steep path led me on to its summit, close to the walls
+of the castle, where I had an uncommonly extensive and fine prospect,
+which so much raised my heart, that in a moment I forgot not only the
+insults of waiters and tavern-keepers, but the hardship of my lot in
+being obliged to travel in a manner that exposed me to the scorn of
+a people whom I wished to respect.&nbsp; Below me lay the most beautiful
+landscapes in the world - all the rich scenery that nature, in her best
+attire, can exhibit.&nbsp; Here were the spots that furnished those
+delightful themes of which the muse of Denham and Pope made choice.&nbsp;
+I seemed to view a whole world at once, rich and beautiful beyond conception.&nbsp;
+At that moment what more could I have wished for?<br>
+<br>
+And the venerable castle, that royal edifice which, in every part of
+it, has strong traces of antiquity, smiles through its green trees,
+like the serene countenance of some hoary sage, who, by the vigour of
+a happy constitution, still retains many of the charms of youth.<br>
+<br>
+Nothing inspired me with more veneration and awe than the fine old building
+St. George&rsquo;s Church, which, as you come down from the castle,
+is on your right.&nbsp; At the sight of it past centuries seemed to
+revive in my imagination.<br>
+<br>
+But I will see no more of those sights which are shown you by one of
+those venal praters, who ten times a day, parrot-wise, repeat over the
+same dull lesson they have got by heart.&nbsp; The surly fellow, who
+for a shilling conducted me round the church, had nearly, with his chattering,
+destroyed the finest impressions.&nbsp; Henry VIII., Charles I., and
+Edward IV. are buried here.&nbsp; After all, this church, both within
+and without, has a most melancholy and dismal appearance.<br>
+<br>
+They were building at what is called the queen&rsquo;s palace, and prodigious
+quantities of materials are provided for that purpose.<br>
+<br>
+I now went down a gentle declivity into the delightful park at Windsor,
+at the foot of which it looks so sombrous and gloomy that I could hardly
+help fancying it was some vast old Gothic temple.&nbsp; This forest
+certainly, in point of beauty, surpasses everything of the kind you
+can figure to yourself.&nbsp; To its own charms, when I saw it, there
+were added a most pleasing and philosophical solitude, the coolness
+of an evening breeze, all aided by the soft sounds of music, which,
+at this distance from the castle, from whence it issued, was inexpressibly
+sweet.&nbsp; It threw me into a sort of enthusiastic and pleasing reverie,
+which made me ample amends for the fatigues, discourtesies, and continued
+cross accidents I had encountered in the course of the day.<br>
+<br>
+I now left the forest; the clock struck six, and the workmen were going
+home from their work.<br>
+<br>
+I have forgot to mention the large round tower of the castle, which
+is also a very ancient building.&nbsp; The roads that lead to it are
+all along their sides planted with shrubs; these, being modern and lively,
+make a pleasing contrast to the fine old mossy walls.&nbsp; On the top
+of this tower the flag of Great Britain is usually displayed, which,
+however, as it was now late in the evening, was taken in.<br>
+<br>
+As I came down from the castle I saw the king driving up to it in a
+very plain, two-wheeled, open carriage.&nbsp; The people here were politer
+than I used to think they were in London, for I did not see a single
+person, high or low, who did not pull off their hats as their sovereign
+passed them.<br>
+<br>
+I was now again in Windsor, and found myself, not far from the castle,
+opposite to a very capital inn, where I saw many officers and several
+persons of consequence going in and out.&nbsp; And here at this inn,
+contrary to all expectation, I was received by the landlord with great
+civility, and even kindness - very contrary to the haughty and insolent
+airs which the upstart at the other, and his jackanapes of a waiter,
+there thought fit to give themselves.<br>
+<br>
+However, it seemed to be my fate to be still a scandal and an eyesore
+to all the waiters.&nbsp; The maid, by the order of her master, showed
+me a room where I might adjust my dress a little; but I could hear her
+mutter and grumble as she went along with me.&nbsp; Having put myself
+a little to rights, I went down into the coffee-room, which is immediately
+at the entrance of the house, and told the landlord that I thought I
+wished to have yet one more walk.&nbsp; On this he obligingly directed
+me to stroll down a pleasant field behind his house, at the foot of
+which, he said, I should find the Thames, and a good bathing place.<br>
+<br>
+I followed his advice; and this evening was, if possible, finer than
+the preceding.&nbsp; Here again, as I had been told I should, I found
+the Thames with all its gentle windings.&nbsp; Windsor shone nearly
+as bright over the green vale as those charming houses on Richmond Hill,
+and the verdure was not less soft and delicate.&nbsp; The field I was
+in seemed to slope a little towards the Thames.&nbsp; I seated myself
+near a bush, and there waited the going down of the sun.&nbsp; At a
+distance I saw a number of people bathing in the Thames.&nbsp; When,
+after sunset, they were a little dispersed, I drew near the spot I had
+been directed to; and here, for the first time, I sported in the cool
+tide of the Thames.&nbsp; The bank was steep, but my landlord had dug
+some steps that went down into the water, which is extremely convenient
+for those who cannot swim.&nbsp; Whilst I was there, a couple of smart
+lively apprentice boys came also from the town, who, with the greatest
+expedition, threw off their clothes and leathern aprons, and plunged
+themselves, head foremost, into the water, where they opposed the tide
+with their sinewy arms till they were tired.&nbsp; They advised me,
+with much natural civility, to untie my hair, and that then, like them,
+I might plunge into the stream head foremost.<br>
+<br>
+Refreshed and strengthened by this cool bath, I took a long walk by
+moonlight on the banks of the Thames.&nbsp; To my left were the towers
+of Windsor, before me a little village with a steeple, the top of which
+peeped out among the green trees, at a distance two inviting hills which
+I was to climb in the morning, and around me the green cornfields.&nbsp;
+Oh! how indescribably beautiful was this evening and this walk!&nbsp;
+At a distance among the houses I could easily descry the inn where I
+lodged, and where I seemed to myself at length to have found a place
+of refuge and a home; and I thought, if I could but stay there, I should
+not be very sorry if I were never to find another.<br>
+<br>
+How soon did all these pleasing dreams vanish!&nbsp; On my return the
+waiters (who, from my appearance, too probably expected but a trifling
+reward for their attentions to me) received me gruffly, and as if they
+were sorry to see me again.&nbsp; This was not all; I had the additional
+mortification to be again roughly accosted by the cross maid who had
+before shown me to the bed-chamber, and who, dropping a kind of half
+courtesy, with a suppressed laugh, sneeringly told me I might look out
+for another lodging, as I could not sleep there, since the room she
+had by mistake shown me was already engaged.&nbsp; It can hardly be
+necessary to tell you that I loudly protested against this sudden change.&nbsp;
+At length the landlord came, and I appealed to him; and he with great
+courtesy immediately desired another room to be shown me, in which,
+however, there were two beds, so that I was obliged to admit a companion.&nbsp;
+Thus was I very near being a second time turned out of an inn.<br>
+<br>
+Directly under my room was the tap-room, from which I could plainly
+hear too much of the conversation of some low people, who were drinking
+and singing songs, in which, as far as I could understand them, there
+were many passages at least as vulgar and nonsensical as ours.<br>
+<br>
+This company, I guessed, consisted chiefly of soldiers and low fellows.&nbsp;
+I was hardly well lulled to sleep by this hurly-burly, when my chum
+(probably one of the drinking party below) came stumbling into the room
+and against my bed.&nbsp; At length, though not without some difficulty,
+he found his own bed, into which he threw himself just as he was, without
+staying to pull off either clothes or boots.<br>
+<br>
+This morning I rose very early, as I had proposed, in order to climb
+the two hills which yesterday presented me with so inviting a prospect,
+and in particular that one of them on the summit of which a high white
+house appeared among the dark-green trees; the other was close by.<br>
+<br>
+I found no regular path leading to these hills, and therefore went straight
+forward, without minding roads, only keeping in view the object of my
+aim.&nbsp; This certainly created me some trouble.&nbsp; I had sometimes
+a hedge, and sometimes a hog to walk round; but at length I had attained
+the foot of the so earnestly wished-for hill with the high white house
+on its summit, when, just as I was going to ascend it, and was already
+pleasing myself in the idea with the prospect from the white house,
+behold I read these words on a board: &ldquo;Take care! there are steel
+traps and spring guns here.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+All my labour was lost, and I now went round to the other hill; but
+here were also steel traps and spring gnus, though probably never intended
+to annoy such a wanderer as myself, who wished only to enjoy the fine
+morning air from this eminence.<br>
+<br>
+Thus disappointed in my hopes, I returned to Windsor, much in the same
+temper and manner as I had yesterday morning from Richmond Hill; where
+my wishes had also been frustrated.<br>
+<br>
+When I got to my inn, I received from the ill-tempered maid, who seemed
+to have been stationed there on purpose to plague and vex me, the polite
+welcome, that on no account should I sleep another night there.&nbsp;
+Luckily, that was not my intention.&nbsp; I now write to you in the
+coffee room, where two Germans are talking together, who certainly little
+suspect how well I understand them; if I were to make myself known to
+them, as a German, most probably, even these fellows would not speak
+to me, because I travel on foot.&nbsp; I fancy they are Hanoverians!&nbsp;
+The weather is so fine that, notwithstanding the inconveniences I have
+hitherto experienced on this account, I think I shall continue my journey
+in the same manner.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER X.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>Oxford, June </i>25.<br>
+<br>
+To what various, singular, and unaccountable fatalities and adventures
+are not foot-travellers exposed, in this land of carriages and horses!&nbsp;
+But, I will begin my relation in form and order.<br>
+<br>
+In Windsor, I was obliged to pay for an old fowl I had for supper, for
+a bedroom which I procured with some difficulty, and not without murmurs,
+and in which, to complete my misadventures, I was disturbed by a drunken
+fellow; and for a couple of dishes of tea, nine shillings, of which
+the fowl alone was charged six shillings.<br>
+<br>
+As I was going away the waiter, who had served me with so very ill a
+grace, placed himself on the stairs and said, &ldquo;Pray remember the
+waiter.&rdquo;&nbsp; I gave him three halfpence, on which he saluted
+me with the heartiest &ldquo;G-d d-n you, sir!&rdquo; I had ever heard.&nbsp;
+At the door stood the cross maid, who also accosted me with, &ldquo;Pray
+remember the chambermaid.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Yes, yes,&rdquo; said
+I, &ldquo;I shall long remember your most ill-mannered behaviour and
+shameful incivility;&rdquo; and so I gave her nothing.&nbsp; I hope
+she was stung and nettled at my reproof; however, she strove to stifle
+her anger by a contemptuous, loud, hoarse laugh.&nbsp; Thus, as I left
+Windsor, I was literally followed by abuses and curses.<br>
+<br>
+I am very sorry to say that I rejoiced when I once more perceived the
+towers of Windsor behind me.&nbsp; It is not proper for wanderers to
+be prowling near the palaces of kings, and so I sat me down, philosophically,
+in the shade of a green hedge, and again read Milton, no friend of kings,
+though the first of poets.&nbsp; Whatever I may think of their inns,
+it is impossible not to admire and be charmed with this country.<br>
+<br>
+I took my way through Slough, by Salthill, to Maidenhead.&nbsp; At Salthill,
+which can hardly be called even a village, I saw a barber&rsquo;s shop,
+and so I resolved to get myself both shaved and dressed.&nbsp; For putting
+my hair a little in order, and shaving me, I was forced to pay him a
+shilling.&nbsp; Opposite to this shop there stands an elegant house
+and a neat garden.<br>
+<br>
+Between Salthill and Maidenhead, I met with the first very remarkable
+and alarming adventure that has occurred during my pilgrimage.<br>
+<br>
+Hitherto I had scarcely met a single foot passenger, whilst coaches
+without number every moment rolled past me, for there are few roads,
+even in England, more crowded than this western road, which leads to
+Bath and Bristol as well as to Oxford.&nbsp; I now also began to meet
+numbers of people on horseback, which is by no means an usual method
+of travelling.<br>
+<br>
+The road now led me along a low sunken piece of ground between high
+trees, so that I could not see far before me, when a fellow in a brown
+frock and round hat, with a stick in his hand a great deal stronger
+than mine, came up to me.&nbsp; His countenance immediately struck me
+as having in it something suspicious.&nbsp; He however passed me; but,
+before I was aware, he turned back and asked me for a halfpenny to buy,
+as he said, some bread, as he had eaten nothing that day.&nbsp; I felt
+in my pocket, and found that I had no halfpence: no, nor even a sixpence;
+in short, nothing but shillings.&nbsp; I told him the circumstance,
+which I hoped would excuse me; on which he said, with an air and manner
+the drift of which I could not understand, &ldquo;God bless my soul!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+This drew my attention still closer to the huge brawny fist, which grasped
+his stick, and that closer attention determined me immediately to put
+my hand in my pocket and give him a shilling.&nbsp; Meanwhile a coach
+came up.&nbsp; The fellow thanked me and went on.&nbsp; Had the coach
+come a moment sooner, I should not easily have given him the shilling,
+which, God knows, I could not well spare.&nbsp; Whether this was a footpad
+or not, I will not pretend to say, but he had every appearance of it.<br>
+<br>
+I now came to Maidenhead bridge, which is five-and-twenty English miles
+from London.<br>
+<br>
+The English milestones give me much pleasure, and they certainly are
+a great convenience to travellers.&nbsp; They have often seemed to ease
+me of half the distance of a journey merely by telling me how far I
+had already gone, and by assuring me that I was on the right road.&nbsp;
+For, besides the distance from London, every milestone informs you that
+to the next place is so many miles, and where there are cross-roads
+there are direction-posts, so that it is hardly possible to lose one&rsquo;s-self
+in walking.&nbsp; I must confess that all this journey has seemed but
+as it were one continued walk for pleasure.<br>
+<br>
+From Maidenhead bridge there is a delightful prospect towards a hill,
+which extends itself along the right bank of the Thames, and on the
+top of it there are two beautiful country seats, all surrounded with
+meadows and parks.&nbsp; The first is called Taplow, and belongs to
+the Earl of Inchiquin; and a little farther Cliefden, which also belongs
+to him.<br>
+<br>
+These villas seem all to be surrounded with green meadows, lying along
+thick woods, and, altogether, are most charming.<br>
+<br>
+From this bridge it is not far to Maidenhead, near which, on the left,
+is another prospect of a beautiful seat, belonging to Pennyston Powney,
+Esq.<br>
+<br>
+All this knowledge I have gained chiefly from my English guide; which
+I have constantly in my hand; and in which everything most worthy of
+notice in every mile is marked.&nbsp; These notices I get confirmed
+or refuted by the people at whose houses I stop; who wonder how I, who
+am a foreigner, have come to be so well acquainted with their country.<br>
+<br>
+Maidenhead is a place of little note; for some mulled ale, which I desired
+them to make me, I was obliged to pay ninepence.&nbsp; I fancy they
+did not take me to be either a great, or a very rich man, for I heard
+them say, as I passed on, &ldquo;A stout fellow!&rdquo;&nbsp; This,
+though perhaps not untrue, did not seem to sound in my ears as very
+respectful.<br>
+<br>
+At the end of the village was a shoemaker&rsquo;s shop, just as at the
+end of Salthill there was a barber&rsquo;s shop.<br>
+<br>
+From hence I went to Henley, which is eleven miles from Maidenhead,
+and thirty-six from London.<br>
+<br>
+Having walked pretty fast for six English miles together, and being
+now only five miles from Henley, I came to a rising ground where there
+just happened to be a milestone, near which I sat down, to enjoy one
+of the most delightful prospects, the contemplation of which I recommend
+to everyone who may ever happen to come to this spot.&nbsp; Close before
+me rose a soft hill, full of green cornfields, fenced with quick-hedges,
+and the top of it was encircled with a wood.<br>
+<br>
+At some little distance, in a large semicircle, one green hill rose
+after another, all around me, gently raising themselves aloft from the
+banks of the Thames, and on which woods, meadows, arable lands, and
+villages were interspersed in the greatest and most beautiful variety;
+whilst at their foot the Thames meandered, in most picturesque windings,
+among villages, gentlemen&rsquo;s seats, and green vales.<br>
+<br>
+The banks of the Thames are everywhere beautiful, everywhere charming;
+how delighted was I with the sight of it when, having lost it for a
+short time, I suddenly and unexpectedly saw it again with all its beautiful
+banks.&nbsp; In the vale below, flocks were feeding; and from the hills
+I heard the sweet chimes of distant bells.<br>
+<br>
+The circumstance that renders these English prospects so enchantingly
+beautiful, is a concurrence and union of the <i>tout ensemble</i>.&nbsp;
+Everything coincides and conspires to render them fine, moving pictures.&nbsp;
+It is impossible to name, or find a spot, on which the eye would not
+delight to dwell.&nbsp; Any of the least beautiful of any of these views
+that I have seen in England would, anywhere in Germany, be deemed a
+paradise.<br>
+<br>
+Reinforced, as it were, by this gratifying prospect, to support fresh
+fatigues, I now walked a quick pace, both up and down the hills, the
+five remaining miles to Henley, where I arrived about four in the afternoon.<br>
+<br>
+To the left, just before I got to Henley, on this side of the Thames,
+I saw on a hill a fine park and a magnificent country seat, at present
+occupied by General Conway.<br>
+<br>
+Just before my entrance into Henley, I walked a little directly on the
+banks of the Thames; and sat myself down in the high grass, whilst opposite
+to me, on the other side, lay the park on the hill.&nbsp; As I was a
+little tired, I fell asleep, and when I awoke the last rays of the setting
+sun just shone upon me.<br>
+<br>
+Invigorated by this sweet, though short, slumber, I walked on and entered
+the town.&nbsp; Its appearance, however, indicated that it was too fine
+a place for me, and so I determined to stop at an inn on the road-side,
+such a one as the Vicar of Wakefield well calls, &ldquo;the resort of
+indigence and frugality.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+The worst of it was, no one, even in these places of refuge, would take
+me in.&nbsp; Yet, on this road, I met two farmers, the first of whom
+I asked whether he thought I could get a night&rsquo;s lodging at a
+house which I saw at a distance, by the road side.&nbsp; &ldquo;Yes,
+sir, I daresay you may,&rdquo; he replied.&nbsp; But he was mistaken:
+when I came there, I was accosted with that same harsh salutation, which
+though, alas, no longer quite new to me, was still unpleasing to my
+ears; &ldquo;We have got no beds; you can&rsquo;t stay here to-night.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+ It was the same at the other inn on the road; I was therefore obliged
+to determine to walk on as far as Nettlebed, which was five miles farther,
+where I arrived rather late in the evening, when it was indeed quite
+dark.<br>
+<br>
+Everything seemed to be all alive in this little village; there was
+a party of militia soldiers who were dancing, singing, and making merry.&nbsp;
+Immediately on my entrance into the village, the first house that I
+saw, lying on my left, was an inn, from which, as usual in England,
+a large beam extended across the street to the opposite house, from
+which hung dangling an astonishing large sign, with the name of the
+proprietor.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;May I stay here to-night?&rdquo; I asked with eagerness.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Why, yes, you may;&rdquo; an answer which, however cold and surly,
+made me exceedingly happy.<br>
+<br>
+They showed me into the kitchen, and set me down to sup at the same
+table with some soldiers and the servants.&nbsp; I now, for the first
+time, found myself in one of those kitchens which I had so often read
+of in Fielding&rsquo;s fine novels; and which certainly give one, on
+the whole, a very accurate idea of English manners.<br>
+<br>
+The chimney in this kitchen, where they were roasting and boiling, seemed
+to be taken off from the rest of the room and enclosed by a wooden partition;
+the rest of the apartment was made use of as a sitting and eating-room.&nbsp;
+All round on the sides were shelves with pewter dishes and plates, and
+the ceiling was well stored with provisions of various kinds, such as
+sugar-loaves, black-puddings, hams, sausages, flitches of bacon, &amp;c.<br>
+<br>
+While I was eating, a post-chaise drove up, and in a moment both the
+folding-doors were thrown open and the whole house set in motion, in
+order to receive, with all due respect, these guests, who, no doubt,
+were supposed to be persons of consequence.&nbsp; The gentlemen alighted,
+however, only for a moment, and called for nothing but a couple of pots
+of beer, and then drove away again.&nbsp; Notwithstanding, the people
+of the house behaved to them with all possible attention, for they came
+in a post-chaise.<br>
+<br>
+Though this was only an ordinary village, and they certainly did not
+take me for a person of consequence, they yet gave me a carpeted bedroom,
+and a very good bed.<br>
+<br>
+The next morning I put on clean linen, which I had along with me, and
+dressed myself as well as I could.&nbsp; And now, when I thus made my
+appearance, they did not, as they had the evening before, show me into
+the kitchen, but into the parlour, a room that seemed to be allotted
+for strangers, on the ground-floor.&nbsp; I was also now addressed by
+the most respectful term, &ldquo;sir;&rdquo; whereas the evening before
+I had been called only &ldquo;master&rdquo;: by this latter appellation,
+I believe, it is usual to address only farmers and quite common people.<br>
+<br>
+This was Sunday, and all the family were in their Sunday-clothes.&nbsp;
+I now began to be much pleased with this village, and so I resolved
+to stop at it for the day, and attend divine service.&nbsp; For this
+purpose I borrowed a prayer-book of my host.&nbsp; Mr. Illing was his
+name, which struck me the more, perhaps, because it is a very common
+name in Germany.&nbsp; During my breakfast I read over several parts
+of the English liturgy, and could not help being struck at the circumstance
+that every word in the whole service seems to be prescribed and dictated
+to the clergyman.&nbsp; They do not visit the sick but by a prescribed
+form; as, for instance, they must begin by saying, &ldquo;Peace be to
+this house,&rdquo; &amp;c.<br>
+<br>
+Its being called a prayer-book, rather than, like ours, a hymn-book,
+arises from the nature of the English service, which is composed very
+little of singing, and almost entirely of praying.&nbsp; The psalms
+of David, however, are here translated into English verse, and are generally
+printed at the end of English prayer-books.<br>
+<br>
+The prayer-book which my landlord lent me was quite a family piece,
+for all his children&rsquo;s births and names, and also his own wedding-day,
+were very carefully set down on it.&nbsp; Even on this account alone
+the book would not have been uninteresting to me.<br>
+<br>
+At half-past nine the service began.&nbsp; Directly opposite to our
+house, the boys of the village were all drawn up, as if they had been
+recruits to be drilled; all well-looking, healthy lads, neat and decently
+dressed, and with their hair cut short and combed on the forehead, according
+to the English fashion; their bosoms were open, and the white frills
+of their shirts turned back on each side.&nbsp; They seemed to be drawn
+up here at the entrance of the village merely to wait the arrival of
+the clergyman.<br>
+<br>
+I walked a little way out of the village, where, at some distance, I
+saw several people coming from another village, to attend divine service
+here at Nettlebed.<br>
+<br>
+At length came the parson on horseback.&nbsp; The boys pulled off their
+hats, and all made him very low bows.&nbsp; He appeared to be rather
+an elderly man, and wore his own hair round and decently dressed, or
+rather curled naturally.<br>
+<br>
+The bell now rung in, and so I too, with a sort of secret proud sensation,
+as if I also had been an Englishman, went with my prayer-book under
+my arm to church, along with the rest of the congregation; and when
+I got into the church, the clerk very civilly seated me close to the
+pulpit.<br>
+<br>
+Nothing can possibly be more simple, apt, and becoming than the few
+decorations of this church.<br>
+<br>
+Directly over the altar, on two tables in large letters, the ten commandments
+were written.&nbsp; There surely is much wisdom and propriety in thus
+placing, full in the view of the people, the sum and substance of all
+morality.<br>
+<br>
+Under the pulpit near the steps that led up to it, was a desk, from
+which the clergyman read the liturgy, the responses were all regularly
+made by the clerk; the whole congregation joining occasionally, though
+but in a low voice; as for instance, the minister said, &ldquo;Lord,
+have mercy upon us!&rdquo; the clerk and the congregation immediately
+subjoin, &ldquo;and forgive us all our sins.&rdquo;&nbsp; In general,
+when the clergyman offers up a prayer, the clerk and the whole congregation
+answer only, Amen!<br>
+<br>
+The English service must needs be exceedingly fatiguing to the officiating
+minister, inasmuch as besides a sermon, the greatest part of the liturgy
+falls to his share to read, besides the psalms and two lessons.<br>
+<br>
+The joining of the whole congregation in prayer has something exceedingly
+solemn and affecting in it.<br>
+<br>
+Two soldiers, who sat near me in the church, and who had probably been
+in London, seemed to wish to pass for philosophers, and wits; for they
+did not join in the prayers of the church.<br>
+<br>
+The service was now pretty well advanced, when I observed some little
+stir in the desk, the clerk was busy, and they seemed to be preparing
+for something new and solemn, and I also perceived several musical instruments.&nbsp;
+The clergyman now stopped, and the clerk then said in a loud voice,
+&ldquo;Let us sing to the praise and glory of God, the forty-seventh
+psalm.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I cannot well express how affecting and edifying it seemed to me, to
+hear this whole orderly and decent congregation, in this small country
+church, joining together with vocal and instrumental music, in the praise
+of their Maker.&nbsp; It was the more grateful, as having been performed,
+not by mercenary musicians, but by the peaceful and pious inhabitants
+of this sweet village.&nbsp; I can hardly figure to myself any offering
+more likely to be grateful to God.<br>
+<br>
+The congregation sang and prayed alternately several times, and the
+tunes of the psalms were particularly lively and cheerful, though at
+the same time sufficiently grave, and uncommonly interesting.&nbsp;
+I am a warm admirer of all sacred music, and I cannot but add that that
+of the Church of England is particularly calculated to raise the heart
+to devotion; I own it often affected me even to tears.<br>
+<br>
+The clergyman now stood up and made a short but very proper discourse
+on this text: &ldquo;Not all they who say, Lord, Lord! shall enter the
+kingdom of heaven.&rdquo;&nbsp; His language was particularly plain,
+though forcible; his arguments were no less plain, convincing, and earnest,
+but contained nothing that was particularly striking.&nbsp; I do not
+think the sermon lasted more than half an hour.<br>
+<br>
+This clergyman had not perhaps a very prepossessing appearance; I thought
+him also a little distant and reserved, and I did not quite like his
+returning the bows of the farmers with a very formal nod.<br>
+<br>
+I stayed till the service was quite over, and then went out of the church
+with the congregation, and amused myself with reading the inscriptions
+on the tombstones in the churchyard, which in general, are simpler,
+more pathetic, and better written than ours.<br>
+<br>
+There were some of them which, to be sure, were ludicrous and laughable
+enough.<br>
+<br>
+Among these is one on the tomb of a smith, which on account of its singularity,
+I here copy and send you.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;My sledge and anvil he declined,<br>
+My bellows too have lost their wind;<br>
+My fire&rsquo;s extinct, my forge decayed,<br>
+My coals are spent, my iron&rsquo;s gone,<br>
+My nails are drove: my work is done.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Many of these epitaphs closed with the following quaint rhymes:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Physicians were in vain;<br>
+God knew the best;<br>
+So here I rest.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+In the body of the church I saw a marble monument of a son of the celebrated
+Dr. Wallis, with the following simple and affecting inscription:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;The same good sense which qualified him for every public employment<br>
+Taught him to spend his life here in retirement.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+All the farmers whom I saw there were dressed, not as ours are, in coarse
+frocks, but with some taste, in fine good cloth; and were to be distinguished
+from the people of the town, not so much by their dress, as by the greater
+simplicity and modesty of their behaviour.<br>
+<br>
+Some soldiers, who probably were ambitious of being thought to know
+the world, and to be wits, joined me, as I was looking at the church,
+and seemed to be quite ashamed of it, as they said it was only a very
+miserable church.&nbsp; On which I took the liberty to inform them,
+that no church could be miserable which contained orderly and good people.<br>
+<br>
+I stayed here to dinner.&nbsp; In the afternoon there was no service;
+the young people however, went to church, and there sang some few psalms;
+others of the congregation were also present.&nbsp; This was conducted
+with so much decorum, that I could hardly help considering it as actually
+a kind of church-service.&nbsp; I stayed with great pleasure till this
+meeting also was over.<br>
+<br>
+I seemed indeed to be enchanted, and as if I could not leave this village.&nbsp;
+Three times did I get off, in order to go on farther, and as often returned,
+more than half resolved to spend a week, or more, in my favourite Nettlebed.<br>
+<br>
+But the recollection that I had but a few weeks to stay in England,
+and that I must see Derbyshire, at length drove me away.&nbsp; I cast
+many a longing, lingering look on the little church-steeple, and those
+hospitable friendly roofs, where, all that morning, I had found myself
+so perfectly at home.<br>
+<br>
+It was now nearly three o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon when I left this
+place, and I was still eighteen miles from Oxford.&nbsp; However, I
+seemed resolved to make more than one stage of it to Oxford, that seat
+of the muses, and so, by passing the night about five miles from it,
+to reach it in good time next morning.<br>
+<br>
+The road from Nettlebed seemed to me but as one long fine gravel walk
+in a neat garden.&nbsp; And my pace in it was varied, like that of one
+walking in a garden: I sometimes walked quick, then slow, and then sat
+down and read Milton.<br>
+<br>
+When I had got about eight miles from Nettlebed, and was now not far
+from Dorchester, I had the Thames at some distance on my left, and on
+the opposite side I saw an extensive hill, behind which a tall mast
+seemed to rise.&nbsp; This led me to suppose that on the other side
+of the hill there must needs also be a river.&nbsp; The prospect I promised
+myself from this hill could not possibly be passed, and so I went out
+of the road to the left over a bridge across the Thames, and mounted
+the hill, always keeping the mast in view.&nbsp; When I had attained
+the summit, I found (and not without some shame and chagrin) that it
+was all an illusion.&nbsp; There was, in fact, nothing before me but
+a great plain, and the mast had been fixed there, either as a maypole
+only, or to entice curious people out of their way.<br>
+<br>
+I therefore now again, slowly and sullenly, descended the hill, at the
+bottom of which was a house, where several people were looking out of
+the window, and, as I supposed, laughing at me.&nbsp; Even if it were
+so, it seemed to be but fair, and so it rather amused, than vexed me,
+and I continued to jog on, without much regretting my waste journey
+to the mast.<br>
+<br>
+Not far from Dorchester, I had another delightful view.&nbsp; The country
+here became so fine, that I positively could not prevail on myself to
+quit it, and so I laid myself down on the green turf, which was so fresh
+and sweet, that I could almost have been contented, like Nebuchadnezzar,
+to have grazed on it.&nbsp; The moon was at the full; the sun darted
+its last parting rays through the green hedges, to all which was added,
+the overpowering fragrance of the meadows, the diversified song of the
+birds, the hills that skirted the Thames, some of them of a light, and
+others of a dark-green hue, with the tufted tops of trees dispersed
+here and there among them.&nbsp; The contemplation of all these delightful
+circumstances well-nigh overcame me.<br>
+<br>
+I arrived rather late at Dorchester.&nbsp; This is only a small place,
+but there is in it a large and noble old church.&nbsp; As I was walking
+along, I saw several ladies with their heads dressed, leaning out of
+their windows, or standing before the houses, and this made me conclude
+that this was too fine a place for me, and so I determined to walk on
+three-quarters of a mile farther to Nuneham, which place is only five
+miles from Oxford.&nbsp; When I reached Nuneham, I was not a little
+tired, and it was also quite dark.<br>
+<br>
+The place consists of two rows of low, neat houses, built close to each
+other, and as regular and uniform as a London street.&nbsp; All the
+doors seemed to be shut, and even a light was to be seen only in a few
+of them.<br>
+<br>
+At length quite at the end of the place, I perceived a great sign hanging
+across the street, and the last house to the left was the inn, at which
+everything seemed to be still in motion.<br>
+<br>
+I entered without ceremony, and told them my errand, which was, that
+I intended to sleep there that night.&nbsp; &ldquo;By no means,&rdquo;
+was the answer, &ldquo;it was utterly impossible; the whole house was
+full, and all their beds engaged, and, as I had come so far, I might
+even as well walk on the remaining five miles to Oxford.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Being very hungry, I requested that, at least, they would give me something
+to eat.&nbsp; To this they answered that, as I could not stay all night
+there, it would be more proper for me to sup where I lodged, and so
+I might go on.<br>
+<br>
+At length, quite humbled by the untowardness of my circumstances, I
+asked for a pot of beer, and that they did vouchsafe to give me, for
+ready money only; but a bit of bread to eat with it (for which also
+I would willingly have paid) they peremptorily refused me.<br>
+<br>
+Such unparalleled inhospitality I really could not have expected in
+an English inn, but resolving, with a kind of spiteful indignation,
+to see how far their inhumanity would carry them, I begged that they
+would only let me sleep on a bench, and merely give me house-room, adding,
+that if they would grant me that boon only, I would pay them the same
+as for a bed, for, that I was so tired, I could not possibly go any
+farther.&nbsp; Even in the moment that I was thus humbly soliciting
+this humble boon, they banged the door to full in my face.<br>
+<br>
+As here, in a small village, they had refused to receive me, it seemed
+to be presumption to hope that I should gain admittance at Oxford.&nbsp;
+What could I do?&nbsp; I was much tired, and so, as it was not a very
+cold night, I resolved to pass it in the open air; in this resolution,
+bouncing from this rude inn, I went to look out for a convenient spot
+for that purpose in an adjoining field, beneath some friendly tree.&nbsp;
+Just as I had found a place, which I thought would do, and was going
+to pull off my great coat to lay under my head by way of pillow, I heard
+someone behind me, following me with a quick pace.&nbsp; At first I
+was alarmed, but my fears were soon dispelled by his calling after me,
+and asking &ldquo;if I would accept of company.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+As little as anyone is to be trusted who thus follows you into a field
+in a dark night, yet it was a pleasure to me to find that there were
+still some beings not quite inhuman, and at least one person who still
+interested himself about me, I therefore stopped, and as he came up
+to me he said that if I was a good walker, we might keep each other
+company, as he was also going to Oxford.&nbsp; I readily accepted of
+his proposal, and so we immediately set off together.<br>
+<br>
+Now, as I could not tell whether my travelling companion was to be trusted
+or not, I soon took an opportunity to let him know that I was poor,
+and much distressed.&nbsp; To confirm this, I told him of the inhumanity
+with which I had just been treated at the inn, where they refused a
+poor wanderer so much as a place to lay his head, or even a morsel of
+bread for his money.<br>
+<br>
+My companion somewhat excused the people by saying that the house was
+really full of people who had been at work in the neighbourhood, and
+now slept there.&nbsp; But that they had refused me a bit of bread he
+certainly could not justify.&nbsp; As we went along, other topics of
+conversation were started, and among other things he asked me where
+I came from that day.<br>
+<br>
+I answered from Nettlebed, and added, that I had attended divine service
+there that morning.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;As you probably passed through Dorchester this afternoon,&rdquo;
+said he, &ldquo;you might have heard me preach also, had you come into
+the church there, for that is my curacy, from which I am just come,
+and am now returning to Oxford.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;So you are a clergyman;&rdquo;
+said I, quite overjoyed that, in a dark night, I had met a companion
+on the road, who was of the same profession as myself.&nbsp; &ldquo;And
+I, also,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;am a preacher of the gospel, though not
+of this country.&rdquo;&nbsp; And now I thought it right to give him
+to understand, that it was not, as I had before intimated, out of absolute
+poverty, but with a view of becoming better acquainted with men and
+manners, that I thus travelled on foot.&nbsp; He was as much pleased
+with this agreeable meeting as myself, and before we took a step farther,
+we cordially shook hands.<br>
+<br>
+He now began to address me in Latin, and on my answering him in that
+language, which I attempted to pronounce according to the English manner
+of speaking it, he applauded me not a little for my correct pronunciation.&nbsp;
+He then told me, that some years ago, in the night also, and nearly
+at the same spot where he found me, he had met another German, who likewise
+spoke to him in Latin; but this unknown countryman of mine had pronounced
+it so very badly, that he said it was absolutely unintelligible.<br>
+<br>
+The conversation now turned on various theological matters; and among
+others on the novel notions of a Dr. Priestly, whom he roundly blamed.&nbsp;
+I was not at all disposed to dispute that point with him, and so, professing
+with great sincerity, a high esteem for the Church of England, and great
+respect and regard for its clergy, I seemed to gain his good opinion.<br>
+<br>
+Beguiling the tediousness of the road by such discourse, we were now
+got, almost without knowing it, quite to Oxford.<br>
+<br>
+He told me I should now see one of the finest and most beautiful cities,
+not only in England, but in all Europe.&nbsp; All he lamented, was,
+that on account of the darkness of the night, I should not immediately
+see it.<br>
+<br>
+This really was the case: &ldquo;And now,&rdquo; said he, as we entered
+the town, &ldquo;I introduce you into Oxford by one of the finest, the
+longest, and most beautiful streets, not only in this city, but in England,
+and I may safely add in all Europe.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+The beauty and the magnificence of the street I could not distinguish;
+but of its length I was perfectly sensible by my fatigue; for we still
+went on, and still through the longest, the finest, and most beautiful
+street in Europe, which seemed to have no end; nor had I any assurance
+that I should be able to find a bed for myself in all this famous street.&nbsp;
+At length my companion stopped to take leave of me, and said he should
+now go to his college.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;And I,&rdquo; said I, &ldquo;will seat myself for the night on
+this stone bench and await the morning, as it will be in vain for me,
+I imagine, to look for shelter in a house at this time of night.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Seat yourself on a stone!&rdquo; said my companion, and shook
+his head.&nbsp; &ldquo;No, no! come along with me to a neighbouring
+ale-house, where it is possible they mayn&rsquo;t be gone to bed, and
+we may yet find company.&rdquo;&nbsp; We went on a few houses further,
+and then knocked at a door.&nbsp; It was then nearly twelve.&nbsp; They
+readily let us in; but how great was my astonishment, when, on being
+shown into a room on the left, I saw a great number of clergymen, all
+with their gowns and bands on, sitting round a large table, each with
+his pot of beer before him.&nbsp; My travelling companion introduced
+me to them, as a German clergyman, whom he could not sufficiently praise
+for my correct pronunciation of the Latin, my orthodoxy, and my good
+walking.<br>
+<br>
+I now saw myself in a moment, as it were, all at once transported into
+the midst of a company, all apparently very respectable men, but all
+strangers to me.&nbsp; And it appeared to me extraordinary that I should,
+thus at midnight, be in Oxford, in a large company of Oxonian clergy,
+without well knowing how I had got there.&nbsp; Meanwhile, however,
+I took all the pains in my power to recommend myself to my company,
+and in the course of conversation, I gave them as good an account as
+I could of our German universities, neither denying nor concealing that,
+now and then, we had riots and disturbances.&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh, we are
+very unruly here, too,&rdquo; said one of the clergymen as he took a
+hearty draught out of his pot of beer, and knocked on the table with
+his hand.&nbsp; The conversation now became louder, more general, and
+a little confused; they enquired after Mr. Bruns, at present professor
+at Helmstadt, and who was known by many of them.<br>
+<br>
+Among these gentlemen there was one of the name of Clerk, who seemed
+ambitious to pass for a great wit, which he attempted by starting sundry
+objections to the Bible.&nbsp; I should have liked him better if he
+had confined himself to punning and playing on his own name, by telling
+us again and again, that he should still be at least a Clerk, even though
+he should never become a clergyman.&nbsp; Upon the whole, however, he
+was, in his way, a man of some humour, and an agreeable companion.<br>
+<br>
+Among other objections to the Scriptures, he started this one to my
+travelling companion, whose name I now learnt was Maud, that it was
+said in the Bible that God was a wine-bibber.&nbsp; On this Mr. Maud
+fell into a violent passion, and maintained that it was utterly impossible
+that any such passage should be found in the Bible.&nbsp; Another divine,
+a Mr. Caern referred us to his absent brother, who had already been
+forty years in the church, and must certainly know something of such
+a passage if it were in the Bible, but he would venture to lay any wager
+his brother knew nothing of it.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Waiter! fetch a Bible!&rdquo; called out Mr. Clerk, and a great
+family Bible was immediately brought in, and opened on the table among
+all the beer jugs.<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Clerk turned over a few leaves, and in the book of Judges, 9th chapter,
+verse xiii, he read, &ldquo;Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God
+and man?&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Maud and Mr. Caern, who had before been most violent, now sat as
+if struck dumb.&nbsp; A silence of some minutes prevailed, when all
+at once, the spirit of revelation seemed to come on me, and I said,
+&ldquo;Why, gentlemen, you must be sensible that it is but an allegorical
+expression;&rdquo; and I added, &ldquo;how often in the Bible are kings
+called gods!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Why, yes, to be sure,&rdquo; said Mr. Maud and Mr. Caern, &ldquo;it
+is an allegorical expression; nothing can be more clear; it is a metaphor,
+and therefore it is absurd to understand it in a literal sense.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+And now they, in their turn, triumphed over poor Clerk, and drank large
+draughts to my health in strong ale; which, as my company seemed to
+like so much, I was sorry I could not like.&nbsp; It either intoxicated
+or stupefied me; and I do think it overpowers one much sooner than so
+much wine would.&nbsp; The conversation now turned on many other different
+subjects.&nbsp; At last, when morning drew near, Mr. Maud suddenly exclaimed,
+&ldquo;D-n me, I must read prayers this morning at All-Souls!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+D-n me is an abbreviation of G-d d-n me; which, in England, does not
+seem to mean more mischief or harm than any of our or their common expletives
+in conversation, such as O gemini! or, The deuce take me!<br>
+<br>
+Before Mr. Maud went away, he invited me to go and see him in the morning,
+and very politely offered himself to show me the curiosities of Oxford.&nbsp;
+The rest of the company now also dispersed; and as I had once (though
+in so singular a manner) been introduced into so reputable a society,
+the people of the house made no difficulty of giving me lodging, but
+with great civility showed me a very decent bed-chamber.<br>
+<br>
+I am almost ashamed to own, that next morning, when I awoke, I had got
+so dreadful a headache, from the copious and numerous toasts of my jolly
+and reverend friends, that I could not possibly get up; still less could
+I wait on Mr. Maud at his college.<br>
+<br>
+The inn where I was goes by the name of the Mitre.&nbsp; Compared to
+Windsor, I here found prince-like attendance.&nbsp; Being, perhaps,
+a little elevated the preceding evening, I had in the gaiety, or perhaps
+in the vanity of my heart, told the waiter, that he must not think,
+because I came on foot, that therefore I should give him less than others
+gave.&nbsp; I assured him of the contrary.&nbsp; It was probably not
+a little owing to this assurance that I had so much attention shown
+to me.<br>
+<br>
+I now determined to stay at least a couple of days at Oxford; it was
+necessary and proper, if for no other reason, yet merely that I might
+have clean linen.&nbsp; No people are so cleanly as the English, nor
+so particular about neat and clean linen.&nbsp; For, one afternoon,
+my shirt not having been lately changed, as I was walking through a
+little street, I heard two women, who were standing at a door, call
+after me, &ldquo;Look at the gentleman there! a fine gentleman, indeed,
+who cannot afford even a clean shirt!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I dined below with the family, and a few other persons, and the conversation
+in general was agreeable enough.&nbsp; I was obliged to tell them many
+wonderful stories (for who are so illiterate or insensible as not to
+be delighted with the marvellous!) concerning Germany and the King of
+Prussia.&nbsp; They could not sufficiently admire my courage in determining
+to travel on foot, although they could not help approving of the motive.&nbsp;
+At length, however, it came out, and they candidly owned, that I should
+not have been received into their house, had I not been introduced as
+I was.<br>
+<br>
+I was now confirmed in my suspicions, that, in England, any person undertaking
+so long a journey on foot, is sure to be looked upon and considered
+as either a beggar or a vagabond, or some necessitous wretch, which
+is a character not much more popular than that of a rogue; so that I
+could now easily account for my reception in Windsor and at Nuneham.&nbsp;
+But, with all my partiality for this country, it is impossible even
+in theory, and much less so in practice, to approve of a system which
+confines all the pleasures and benefits of travel to the rich.&nbsp;
+A poor peripatetic is hardly allowed even the humble merit of being
+honest.<br>
+<br>
+As I still intended to pursue my journey to Derbyshire, I was advised
+(at least till I got further into the country) to take a place in a
+post-coach.&nbsp; They told me that the further I got from London, the
+more reasonable and humble I should find the people; everything would
+be cheaper, and everybody more hospitable.&nbsp; This determined me
+to go in the post-coach from Oxford to Birmingham; where Mr. Pointer,
+of London, had recommended me to a Mr. Fothergill, a merchant there;
+and from thence to continue my journey on foot.<br>
+<br>
+Monday I spent at Oxford, but rather unpleasantly, on account of my
+headache.&nbsp; Mr. Maud himself came to fetch me, as he had promised
+he would, but I found myself unable to go with him.<br>
+<br>
+Notwithstanding this, in the afternoon, I took a little walk up a hill,
+which lies to the north of Oxford; and from the top of which I could
+see the whole city; which did not, however, appear to me nearly so beautiful
+and magnificent as Mr. Maud had described it to me during our last night&rsquo;s
+walk.<br>
+<br>
+The colleges are mostly in the Gothic taste, and much overloaded with
+ornaments, and built with grey stone; which, perhaps, while it is new,
+looks pretty well, but it has now the most dingy, dirty, and disgusting
+appearance that you can possibly imagine.<br>
+<br>
+Only one of these colleges is in the modern style.&nbsp; The houses
+of the city are in general ordinary, in some parts quite miserable;
+in some streets they are only one story high, and have shingled roofs.&nbsp;
+To me Oxford seemed to have but a dull and gloomy look; and I cannot
+but wonder how it ever came to be considered as so fine a city, and
+next to London.<br>
+<br>
+I remained on the hill, on which there was a flight of steps that led
+to a subterraneous walk, till sunset, and saw several students walking
+here, who wore their black gowns over their coloured clothes, and flat
+square hats, just like those I had seen worn by the Eton scholars.&nbsp;
+This is the general dress of all those who belong to the universities,
+with the exception of a very trifling difference, by which persons of
+high birth and rank are distinguished.<br>
+<br>
+It is probably on account of these gowns that the members of the university
+are called Gownsmen, to distinguish them from the citizens, who are
+called Townsmen; and when you want to mention all the inhabitants of
+Oxford together, you say, &ldquo;the whole town, Gownsmen and Townsmen.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+This dress, I must own, pleases me far beyond the boots, cockades, and
+other frippery, of many of our students.&nbsp; Nor am I less delighted
+with the better behaviour and conduct which, in general, does so much
+credit to the students of Oxford.<br>
+<br>
+The next morning Mr. Maud, according to his promise, showed me some
+of the things most worthy of notice in Oxford.&nbsp; And first he took
+me to his own room in his own college, which was on the ground floor,
+very low and dark, and resembled a cell, at least as much as a place
+of study.&nbsp; The name of this college is Corpus Christi.&nbsp; He
+next conducted me to All Souls&rsquo; College, a very elegant building,
+in which the chapel is particularly beautiful.&nbsp; Mr. Maud also showed
+me, over the altar here, a fine painting of Mengs, at the sight of which
+he showed far more sensibility than I thought him possessed of.&nbsp;
+He said that notwithstanding he saw that painting almost daily, he never
+saw it without being much affected.<br>
+<br>
+The painting represented Mary Magdalene when she first suddenly sees
+Jesus standing before her, and falls at His feet.&nbsp; And in her countenance
+pain, joy, grief, in short almost all the strongest of our passions,
+are expressed in so masterly a manner, that no man of true taste was
+ever tired of contemplating it; the longer it is looked at the more
+it is admired.&nbsp; He now also showed me the library of this college,
+which is provided with a gallery round the top, and the whole is most
+admirably regulated and arranged.&nbsp; Among other things, I here saw
+a description of Oxford, with plates to illustrate it: and I cannot
+help observing what, though trite, is true, that all these places look
+much better, and are far more beautiful on paper, than they appeared
+to me to be as I looked at them where they actually stand.<br>
+<br>
+Afterwards Mr. Maud conducted me to the Bodleian Library, which is not
+unworthy of being compared to the Vatican at Rome; and next to the building
+which is called the Theatre, and where the public orations are delivered.&nbsp;
+This is a circular building with a gallery all round it, which is furnished
+with benches one above the other, on which the doctors, masters of arts,
+and students sit, and directly opposite to each other are erected two
+chairs, or pulpits, from which the disputants harangue and contend.<br>
+<br>
+Christ Church and Queen&rsquo;s College are the most modern, and, I
+think, indisputably the best built of all the colleges.&nbsp; Balliol
+College seems particularly to be distinguished on account of its antiquity,
+and its complete Gothic style of building.<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Maud told me that a good deal of money might be sometimes earned
+by preaching at Oxford; for all the members of a certain standing are
+obliged in their turn to preach in the church of the university; but
+many of them, when it comes to their turn, prefer the procuring a substitute;
+and so not unfrequently pay as high as five or six guineas for a sermon.<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Maud also told me he had been now eighteen years at this university,
+and might be made a doctor whenever he chose it: he was a master of
+arts, and according to his own account gave lectures in his college
+on the classics.&nbsp; He also did the duty and officiated as curate,
+occasionally, in some of the neighbouring villages.&nbsp; Going along
+the street we met the English poet laureate, Warton, now rather an elderly
+man; and yet he is still the fellow of a college.&nbsp; His greatest
+pleasure next to poetry is, as Mr. Maud told me, shooting wild ducks.<br>
+<br>
+Mr. Maud seemed upon the whole to be a most worthy and philanthropic
+man.&nbsp; He told me, that where he now officiated the clerk was dead,
+and had left a numerous family in the greatest distress; and that he
+was going to the place next day, on purpose to try if he could bring
+about the election of the son, a lad about sixteen years of age, in
+the place of his deceased father, as clerk, to support a necessitous
+family.<br>
+<br>
+At the Mitre, the inn where I lodged, there was hardly a minute in which
+some students or others did not call, either to drink, or to amuse themselves
+in conversation with the daughter of the landlord, who is not only handsome,
+but sensible, and well behaved.<br>
+<br>
+They often spoke to me much in praise of a German, of the name of Mitchel,
+at least they pronounced it so, who had for many years rendered himself
+famous as a musician.&nbsp; I was rejoiced to hear one of my countrymen
+thus praised by the English; and wished to have paid him a visit, but
+I had not the good fortune to find him at home.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER XI.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>Castleton</i>, <i>June</i> 30<i>th</i>.<br>
+<br>
+Before I tell you anything of the place where I now am, I will proceed
+regularly in my narrative, and so begin now where I left off in my last
+letter.&nbsp; On Tuesday afternoon Mr. Maud took me to the different
+walks about Oxford, and often remarked, that they were not only the
+finest in England, but he believed in Europe.&nbsp; I own I do not think
+he over-rated their merit.&nbsp; There is one in particular near the
+river, and close to some charming meadows, behind Corpus Christi College,
+which may fairly challenge the world.<br>
+<br>
+We here seated ourselves on a bench, and Mr. Maud drew a review from
+his pocket, where, among other things, a German book of Professor Beckman&rsquo;s
+was reviewed and applauded.&nbsp; Mr. Maud seemed, on this occasion,
+to show some respect for German literature.&nbsp; At length we parted.&nbsp;
+He went to fill up the vacancy of the clerk&rsquo;s place at Dorchester,
+and I to the Mitre, to prepare for my departure from Oxford, which took
+place on Wednesday morning at three o&rsquo;clock, in the post-coach.&nbsp;
+Considering the pleasing, if not kind attention shown me here, I own
+I thought my bill not unreasonable; though to be sure, it made a great
+hole in my little purse.<br>
+<br>
+Within this coach there was another young man, who, though dressed in
+black, yet to judge from the cockade in his hat might be an officer.&nbsp;
+The outside was quite full with soldiers and their wives.&nbsp; The
+women of the lower class here wear a kind of short cloak made of red
+cloth: but women in general, from the highest to the lowest, wear hats,
+which differ from each other less in fashion than they do in fineness.<br>
+<br>
+Fashion is so generally attended to among the English women, that the
+poorest maid-servant is careful to be in the fashion.&nbsp; They seem
+to be particularly so in their hats or bonnets, which they all wear:
+and they are in my opinion far more becoming than the very unsightly
+hoods and caps which our German women, of the rank of citizens, wear.&nbsp;
+There is, through all ranks here, not near so great a distinction between
+high and low as there is in Germany.<br>
+<br>
+I had, during this day, a little headache; which rendered me more silent
+and reserved to my company than is either usual in England or natural
+to me.&nbsp; The English are taxed, perhaps too hastily, with being
+shy and distant to strangers.&nbsp; I do not think this was, even formerly,
+their true character; or that any such sentiment is conveyed in Virgil&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;<i>Hospitibus feros</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; Be this as it may, the
+case was here reversed.&nbsp; The Englishman here spoke to me several
+times in a very friendly manner, while I testified not the least inclination
+to enter into conversation with him.<br>
+<br>
+He however owned afterwards that it was this very apparent reserve of
+mine that first gained me his good opinion.<br>
+<br>
+He said he had studied physic, but with no immediate view of practising
+it.&nbsp; His intention, he said, was to go to the East Indies, and
+there, first, to try his fortune as an officer.&nbsp; And he was now
+going to Birmingham, merely to take leave of his three sisters, whom
+he much loved, and who were at school there.<br>
+<br>
+I endeavoured to merit his confidence by telling him in my turn of my
+journey on foot through England; and by relating to him a few of the
+most remarkable of my adventures.&nbsp; He frankly told me he thought
+it was venturing a great deal, yet he applauded the design of my journey,
+and did not severely censure my plan.&nbsp; On my asking him why Englishmen,
+who were so remarkable for acting up to their own notions and ideas,
+did not, now and then, merely to see life in every point of view, travel
+on foot.&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;we are too rich, too
+lazy, and too proud.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+And most true it is, that the poorest Englishman one sees, is prouder
+and better pleased to expose himself to the danger of having his neck
+broken on the outside of a stage, than to walk any considerable distance,
+though he might walk ever so much at his ease.&nbsp; I own I was frightened
+and distressed when I saw the women, where we occasionally stopped,
+get down from the top of the coach.&nbsp; One of them was actually once
+in much danger of a terrible fall from the roof, because, just as she
+was going to alight, the horses all at once unexpectedly went on.&nbsp;
+From Oxford to Birmingham is sixty-two miles; but all that was to be
+seen between the two places was entirely lost to me, for I was again
+mewed up in a post-coach, and driven along with such velocity from one
+place to another, that I seemed to myself as doing nothing less than
+travelling.<br>
+<br>
+My companion, however, made me amends in some measure for this loss.&nbsp;
+He seemed to be an exceedingly good-tempered and intelligent man; and
+I felt in this short time a prepossession in his favour one does not
+easily form for an ordinary person.&nbsp; This, I flattered myself,
+was also the case with him, and it would mortify me not a little to
+think he had quite forgotten me, as I am sure I shall never forget him.<br>
+<br>
+Just as we had been sometime eagerly conversing about Shakespeare, we
+arrived, without either of us having thought of it, at Stratford-upon-Avon,
+Shakespeare&rsquo;s birthplace, where our coach stopped, that being
+the end of one stage.&nbsp; We were still two-and-twenty miles from
+Birmingham, and ninety-four from London.&nbsp; I need not tell you what
+our feelings were, on thus setting our feet on classic ground.<br>
+<br>
+It was here that perhaps the greatest genius nature ever produced was
+born.&nbsp; Here he first lisped his native tongue; here first conceived
+the embryos of those compositions which were afterwards to charm a listening
+world; and on these plains the young Hercules first played.&nbsp; And
+here, too, in this lowly hut, with a few friends, he happily spent the
+decline of his life, after having retired from the great theatre of
+that busy world whose manners he had so faithfully portrayed.<br>
+<br>
+The river Avon is here pretty broad, and a row of neat though humble
+cottages, only one storey high, with shingled roofs, are ranged all
+along its banks.&nbsp; These houses impressed me strongly with the idea
+of patriarchal simplicity and content.<br>
+<br>
+We went to see Shakespeare&rsquo;s own house, which, of all the houses
+at Stratford I think is now the worst, and one that made the least appearance.&nbsp;
+Yet, who would not be proud to be the owner of it?&nbsp; There now however
+lived in it only two old people, who show it to strangers for a trifle,
+and what little they earn thus is their chief income.<br>
+<br>
+Shakespeare&rsquo;s chair, in which he used to sit before the door,
+was so cut to pieces that it hardly looked like a chair; for every one
+that travels through Stratford cuts off a chip as a remembrance, which
+he carefully preserves, and deems a precious relic, I also cut myself
+a piece of it, but reverencing Shakespeare as I do, I am almost ashamed
+to own to you it was so small that I have lost it, and therefore you
+will not see it on my return.<br>
+<br>
+As we travelled, I observed every spot with attention, fancying to myself
+that such or such a spot might be the place where such a genius as Shakespeare&rsquo;s
+first dawned, and received those first impressions from surrounding
+nature which are so strongly marked in all his works.&nbsp; The first
+impressions of childhood, I knew, were strong and permanent; of course
+I made sure of seeing here some images at least of the wonderful conceptions
+of this wonderful man.&nbsp; But my imagination misled me, and I was
+disappointed; for I saw nothing in the country thereabouts at all striking,
+or in any respect particularly beautiful.&nbsp; It was not at all wild
+and romantic; but rather distinguished for an air of neatness and simplicity.<br>
+<br>
+We arrived at Birmingham about three o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon.&nbsp;
+I had already paid sixteen shillings at Stratford for my place in the
+coach from Oxford to Birmingham.&nbsp; At Oxford they had not asked
+anything of me, and indeed you are not obliged in general in England,
+as you are in Germany, to pay your passage beforehand.<br>
+<br>
+My companion and myself alighted at the inn where the coach stopped.&nbsp;
+We parted with some reluctance, and I was obliged to promise him that,
+on my return to London, I would certainly call on him, for which purpose
+he gave me his address.&nbsp; His father was Dr. Wilson, a celebrated
+author in his particular style of writing.<br>
+<br>
+I now inquired for the house of Mr. Fothergill, to whom I was recommended,
+and I was readily directed to it, but had the misfortune to learn, at
+the same time, that this very Mr. Fothergill had died about eight days
+before.&nbsp; As, therefore, under these circumstances, my recommendation
+to him was likely to be but of little use, I had the less desire to
+tarry long at Birmingham, and so, without staying a minute longer, I
+immediately inquired the road to Derby, and left Birmingham.&nbsp; Of
+this famous manufacturing town, therefore, I can give you no account.<br>
+<br>
+The road from Birmingham onwards is not very agreeable, being in general
+uncommonly sandy.&nbsp; Yet the same evening I reached a little place
+called Sutton, where everything, however, appeared to be too grand for
+me to hope to obtain lodgings in it, till quite at the end of it I came
+to a small inn with the sign of the Swan, under which was written Aulton,
+brickmaker.<br>
+<br>
+This seemed to have something in it that suited me, and therefore I
+boldly went into it; and when in I did not immediately, as heretofore,
+inquire if I could stay all night there, but asked for a pint of ale.&nbsp;
+I own I felt myself disheartened by their calling me nothing but master,
+and by their showing me into the kitchen, where the landlady was sitting
+at a table and complaining much of the toothache.&nbsp; The compassion
+I expressed for her on this account, as a stranger, seemed soon to recommend
+me to her favour, and she herself asked me if I would not stay the night
+there?&nbsp; To this I most readily assented; and thus I was again happy
+in a lodging for another night.<br>
+<br>
+The company I here met with consisted of a female chimney-sweeper and
+her children, who, on my sitting down in the kitchen, soon drank to
+my health, and began a conversation with me and the landlady.<br>
+<br>
+She related to us her history, which I am not ashamed to own I thought
+not uninteresting.&nbsp; She had married early, but had the hard luck
+to be soon deprived of her husband, by his being pressed as a soldier.&nbsp;
+She neither saw nor heard of him for many years, so concluded he was
+dead.&nbsp; Thus destitute, she lived seven years as a servant in Ireland,
+without any one&rsquo;s knowing that she was married.&nbsp; During this
+time her husband, who was a chimney-sweeper, came back to England and
+settled at Lichfield, resumed his old trade, and did well in it.&nbsp;
+As soon as he was in good circumstances, he everywhere made inquiry
+for his wife, and at last found out where she was, and immediately fetched
+her from Ireland.&nbsp; There surely is something pleasing in this constancy
+of affection in a chimney-sweeper.&nbsp; She told us, with tears in
+her eyes, in what a style of grandeur he had conducted her into Lichfield;
+and how, in honour to her, he made a splendid feast on the occasion.&nbsp;
+At this same Lichfield, which is only two miles from Sutton, and through
+which she said the road lay which I was to travel to-morrow, she still
+lived with this same excellent husband, where they were noted for their
+industry, where everybody respected them, and where, though in the lowest
+sphere, they are passing through life neither uselessly nor unhappily.<br>
+<br>
+The landlady, during her absence, told me as in confidence, that this
+chimney-sweeper&rsquo;s husband, as meanly as I might fancy she now
+appeared, was worth a thousand pounds, and that without reckoning in
+their plate and furniture, that he always wore his silver watch, and
+that when he passed through Sutton, and lodged there, he paid like a
+nobleman.<br>
+<br>
+She further remarked that the wife was indeed rather low-lived; but
+that the husband was one of the best-behaved, politest, and civilest
+men in the world.&nbsp; I had myself taken notice that this same dingy
+companion of mine had something singularly coarse and vulgar in her
+pronunciation.&nbsp; The word old, for example, she sounded like auld.&nbsp;
+In other respects, I had not yet remarked any striking variety or difference
+from the pronunciation of Oxford or London.<br>
+<br>
+To-morrow the chimney-sweeper, said she, her husband, would not be at
+home, but if I came back by the way of Lichfield, she would take the
+liberty to request the honour of a visit, and to this end she told me
+her name and the place of her abode.<br>
+<br>
+At night the rest of the family, a son and daughter of the landlady,
+came home, and paid all possible attention to their sick mother.&nbsp;
+I supped with the family, and they here behaved to me as if we had already
+lived many years together.<br>
+<br>
+Happening to mention that I was, if not a scholar, yet a student, the
+son told me there was at Sutton a celebrated grammar-school, where the
+school-master received two hundred pounds a year settled salary, besides
+the income arising from the scholars.<br>
+<br>
+And this was only in a village.&nbsp; I thought, and not without some
+shame and sorrow, of our grammar-schools in Germany, and the miserable
+pay of the masters.<br>
+<br>
+When I paid my reckoning the next morning, I observed the uncommon difference
+here and at Windsor, Nettlebed, and Oxford.&nbsp; At Oxford I was obliged
+to pay for my supper, bed, and breakfast at least three shillings, and
+one to the waiter.&nbsp; I here paid for my supper, bed, and breakfast
+only one shilling, and to the daughter, whom I was to consider as chambermaid,
+fourpence; for which she very civilly thanked me, and gave me a written
+recommendation to an inn at Lichfield, where I should be well lodged,
+as the people in Lichfield were, in general, she said, very proud.&nbsp;
+This written recommendation was a masterpiece of orthography, and showed
+that in England, as well as elsewhere, there are people who write entirely
+from the ear, and as they pronounce.&nbsp; In English, however, it seems
+to look particularly odd, but perhaps that may be the case in all languages
+that are not native.<br>
+<br>
+I took leave here, as one does of good friends, with a certain promise
+that on my return I would certainly call on them again.<br>
+<br>
+At noon I got to Lichfield, an old-fashioned town with narrow dirty
+streets, where for the first time I saw round panes of glass in the
+windows.&nbsp; The place to mime wore an unfriendly appearance; I therefore
+made no use of my recommendation, but went straight through, and only
+bought some bread at a baker&rsquo;s, which I took along with me.<br>
+<br>
+At night I reached Burton, where the famous Burton ale is brewed.&nbsp;
+By this time I felt myself pretty well tired, and therefore proposed
+to stay the night here.&nbsp; But my courage failed me, and I dropped
+the resolution immediately on my entering the town.&nbsp; The houses
+and everything else seemed to wear as grand an appearance, almost, as
+if I had been still in London.&nbsp; And yet the manners of some of
+its inhabitants were so thoroughly rustic and rude, that I saw them
+actually pointing at me with their fingers as a foreigner.&nbsp; And
+now, to complete my chagrin and mortification, I came to a long street,
+where everybody on both sides of the way were at their doors, and actually
+made me run the gauntlet through their inquiring looks.&nbsp; Some even
+hissed at me as I passed along.&nbsp; All my arguments to induce me
+to pluck up my courage, such as the certainty that I should never see
+these people again nor they me, were of no use.&nbsp; Burton became
+odious and almost insupportable to me; and the street appeared as long
+and tired me as much, as if I had walked a mile.&nbsp; This strongly-marked
+contemptuous treatment of a stranger, who was travelling through their
+country merely from the respect he bore it, I experienced nowhere but
+at Burton.<br>
+<br>
+How happy did I feel when I again found myself out of their town, although
+at that moment I did not know where I should find a lodging for the
+night, and was, besides, excessively tired.&nbsp; But I pursued my journey,
+and still kept in the road to Derby, along a footpath which I knew to
+be right.&nbsp; It led across a very pleasant mead, the hedges of which
+were separated by stiles, over which I was often obliged to clamber.&nbsp;
+When I had walked some distance without meeting with an inn on the road,
+and it had already begun to be dark, I at last sat me down near a small
+toll-house, or a turnpike-gate, in order to rest myself, and also to
+see whether the man at the turnpike could and would lodge me.<br>
+<br>
+After I had sat here a considerable time, a farmer came riding by, and
+asked me where I wanted to go?&nbsp; I told him I was so tired that
+I could go no farther.&nbsp; On this the good-natured and truly hospitable
+man, of his own accord and without the least distrust, offered to take
+me behind him on his horse and carry me to a neighbouring inn, where
+he said I might stay all night.<br>
+<br>
+The horse was a tall one, and I could not easily get up.&nbsp; The turnpike-man,
+who appeared to be quite decrepid and infirm, on this came out.&nbsp;
+I took it for granted, however, that he who appeared to have hardly
+sufficient strength to support himself could not help me.&nbsp; This
+poor looking, feeble old man, however, took hold of me with one arm,
+and lifted me with a single jerk upon the horse so quick and so alertly
+that it quite astonished me.<br>
+<br>
+And now I trotted on with my charming farmer, who did not ask me one
+single impertinent question, but set me down quietly at the inn, and
+immediately rode away to his own village, which lay to the left.<br>
+<br>
+This inn was called the Bear, and not improperly; for the landlord went
+about and growled at his people just like a bear, so that at first I
+expected no favourable reception.&nbsp; I endeavoured to gentle him
+a little by asking for a mug of ale, and once or twice drinking to him.&nbsp;
+This succeeded; he soon became so very civil and conversable, that I
+began to think him quite a pleasant fellow.&nbsp; This device I had
+learnt of the &ldquo;Vicar of Wakefield,&rdquo; who always made his
+hosts affable by inviting them to drink with him.&nbsp; It was an expedient
+that suited me also in another point of view, as the strong ale of England
+did not at all agree with me.<br>
+<br>
+This innkeeper called me sir; and he made his people lay a separate
+table for himself and me; for he said he could see plainly I was a gentleman.<br>
+<br>
+In our chat, we talked much of George the Second, who appeared to be
+his favourite king, much more so than George the Third.&nbsp; And among
+others things, we talked of the battle at Dettingen, of which he knew
+many particulars.&nbsp; I was obliged also in my turn to tell him stories
+of our great King of Prussia, and his numerous armies, and also what
+sheep sold for in Prussia.&nbsp; After we had been thus talking some
+time, chiefly on political matters, he all at once asked me if I could
+blow the French horn?&nbsp; This he supposed I could do, only because
+I came from Germany; for he said he remembered, when he was a boy, a
+German had once stopped at the inn with his parents who blew the French
+horn extremely well.&nbsp; He therefore fancied this was a talent peculiar
+to the Germans.<br>
+<br>
+I removed this error, and we resumed our political topics, while his
+children and servants at some distance listened with great respect to
+our conversation.<br>
+<br>
+Thus I again spent a very agreeable evening; and when I had breakfasted
+in the morning, my bill was not more than it had been at Sutton.&nbsp;
+I at length reached the common before Derby on Friday morning.&nbsp;
+The air was mild, and I seemed to feel myself uncommonly cheerful and
+happy.&nbsp; About noon the romantic part of the country began to open
+upon me.&nbsp; I came to a lofty eminence, where all at once I saw a
+boundless prospect of hills before me, behind which fresh hills seemed
+always to arise, and to be infinite.<br>
+<br>
+The ground now seemed undulatory, and to rise and fall like waves; when
+at the summit of the rise I seemed to be first raised aloft, and had
+an extensive view all around me, and the next moment, when I went down
+the hill, I lost it.<br>
+<br>
+In the afternoon I saw Derby in the vale before me, and I was now an
+hundred and twenty-six miles from London.&nbsp; Derby is but a small,
+and not very considerable town.&nbsp; It was market-day when I got there,
+and I was obliged to pass through a crowd of people: but there was here
+no such odious curiosity, no offensive staring, as at Burton.&nbsp;
+At this place too I took notice that I began to be always civilly bowed
+to by the children of the villages through which I passed.<br>
+<br>
+From Derby to the baths of Matlock, which is one of the most romantic
+situations, it was still fifteen miles.&nbsp; On my way thither, I came
+to a long and extensive village, which I believe was called Duffield.&nbsp;
+They here at least did not show me into the kitchen, but into the parlour;
+and I dined on cold victuals.<br>
+<br>
+The prints and pictures which I have generally seen at these inns are,
+I think, almost always prints of the royal family, oftentimes in a group,
+where the king, as the father of the family, assembles his children
+around him; or else I have found a map of London, and not seldom the
+portrait of the King of Prussia; I have met with it several times.&nbsp;
+You also sometimes see some of the droll prints of Hogarth.&nbsp; The
+heat being now very great, I several times in this village heard the
+commiserating exclamation of &ldquo;Good God Almighty!&rdquo; by which
+the people expressed their pity for me, as being a poor foot passenger.<br>
+<br>
+At night I again stopped at an inn on the road, about five miles from
+Matlock.&nbsp; I could easily have reached Matlock, but I wished rather
+to reserve the first view of the country till the next day than to get
+there when it was dark.<br>
+<br>
+But I was not equally fortunate in this inn, as in the two former.&nbsp;
+The kitchen was full of farmers, among whom I could not distinguish
+the landlord, whose health I should otherwise immediately have drank.&nbsp;
+It is true I heard a country girl who was also in the kitchen, as often
+as she drank say, &ldquo;Your health, gentlemen all!&rdquo;&nbsp; But
+I do not know how it was, I forgot to drink any one&rsquo;s health,
+which I afterwards found was taken much amiss.&nbsp; The landlord drank
+twice to my health sneeringly, as if to reprimand me for my incivility;
+and then began to join the rest in ridiculing me, who almost pointed
+at me with their fingers.&nbsp; I was thus obliged for a time to serve
+the farmers as a laughing-stock, till at length one of them compassionately
+said, &ldquo;Nay, nay, we must do him no harm, for he is a stranger.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+The landlord, I suppose, to excuse himself, as if he thought he had
+perhaps before gone too far said, &ldquo;Ay, God forbid we should hurt
+any stranger,&rdquo; and ceased his ridicule; but when I was going to
+drink his health, he slighted and refused my attention, and told me,
+with a sneer, all I had to do was to seat myself in the chimney-corner,
+and not trouble myself about the rest of the world.&nbsp; The landlady
+seemed to pity me, and so she led me into another room where I could
+be alone, saying, &ldquo;What wicked people!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I left this unfriendly roof early the next morning, and now quickly
+proceeded to Matlock.<br>
+<br>
+The extent of my journey I had now resolved should be the great cavern
+near Castleton, in the high Peak of Derbyshire.&nbsp; It was about twenty
+miles beyond Matlock.<br>
+<br>
+The country here had quite a different appearance from that at Windsor
+and Richmond.&nbsp; Instead of green meadows and pleasant hills, I now
+saw barren mountains and lofty rocks; instead of fine living hedges,
+the fields and pasture lands here were fenced with a wall of grey stone;
+and of this very same stone, which is here everywhere to be found in
+plenty, all the houses are built in a very uniform and patriarchal manner,
+inasmuch as the rough stones are almost without any preparation placed
+one upon another, and compose four walls, so that in case of necessity,
+a man might here without much trouble build himself a house.&nbsp; At
+Derby the houses seem to be built of the same stone.<br>
+<br>
+The situation of Matlock itself surpassed every idea I had formed of
+it.&nbsp; On the right were some elegant houses for the bathing company,
+and lesser cottages suspended like birds&rsquo; nests in a high rock;
+to the left, deep in the bottom, there was a fine bold river, which
+was almost hid from the eye by a majestic arch formed by high trees,
+which hung over it.&nbsp; A prodigious stone wall extended itself above
+a mile along its border, and all along there is a singularly romantic
+and beautiful secret walk, sheltered and adorned by many beautiful shrubs.<br>
+<br>
+The steep rock was covered at the top with green bushes, and now and
+then a sheep, or a cow, separated from the grazing flock, came to the
+edge of the precipice, and peeped over it.<br>
+<br>
+I have got, in Milton&rsquo;s &ldquo;Paradise Lost,&rdquo; which I am
+reading thoroughly through, just to the part where he describes Paradise,
+when I arrived here and the following passage, which I read at the brink
+of the river, had a most striking and pleasing effect on me.&nbsp; The
+landscape here described was as exactly similar to that I saw before
+me, as if the poet had taken it from hence<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo; - delicious Paradise,<br>
+Now nearer, crowns with her enclosure green,<br>
+As with a rural mound, the champion head<br>
+Of a steep wilderness, whose hairy sides<br>
+With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild,<br>
+Access denied.&rdquo; - <i>Book</i> IV. v. 132.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+From Matlock Baths you go over Matlock Bridge, to the little town of
+Matlock itself, which, in reality, scarcely deserves the name of a village,
+as it consists of but a few and miserable houses.&nbsp; There is here,
+on account of the baths, a number of horses and carriages, and a great
+thoroughfare.&nbsp; From hence I came through some villages to a small
+town of the name of Bakewell.&nbsp; The whole country in this part is
+hilly and romantic.&nbsp; Often my way led me, by small passes, over
+astonishing eminences, where, in the deep below me, I saw a few huts
+or cottages lying.&nbsp; The fencing of the fields with grey stone gave
+the whole a wild and not very promising appearance.&nbsp; The hills
+were in general not wooded, but naked and barren; and you saw the flocks
+at a distance grazing on their summit.<br>
+<br>
+As I was coming through one of the villages, I heard a great farmer&rsquo;s
+boy eagerly ask another if he did not think I was a Frenchman.&nbsp;
+It seemed as if he had been waiting some time to see the wonder; for,
+he spoke as though his wish was now accomplished.<br>
+<br>
+When I was past Bakewell, a place far inferior to Derby, I came by the
+side of a broad river, to a small eminence, where a fine cultivated
+field lay before me.&nbsp; This field, all at once, made an indescribable
+and very pleasing impression on me, which at first, I could not account
+for; till I recollected having seen, in my childhood, near the village
+where I was educated, a situation strikingly similar to that now before
+me here in England.<br>
+<br>
+This field, as if it had been in Germany, was not enclosed with hedges,
+but every spot in it was uninterruptedly diversified with all kinds
+of crops and growths of different green and yellowish colours, which
+gave the whole a most pleasing effect; but besides this large field,
+the general view of the country, and a thousand other little circumstances
+which I cannot now particularly enumerate, served to bring back to my
+recollection the years of my youth.<br>
+<br>
+Here I rested myself a while, and when I was going on again I thought
+of the place of my residence, on all my acquaintances, and not a little
+on you, my dearest friend, and imagined what you would think and say,
+if you were to see your friend thus wandering here all alone, totally
+unknown, and in a foreign land.&nbsp; And at that moment I first seriously
+felt the idea of distance, and the thought that I was now in England,
+so very far from all I loved, or who loved me, produced in me such sensations
+as I have not often felt.<br>
+<br>
+It was perhaps the same with you, my dearest friend, when on our journey
+to Hamburg we drove from Perlsbeg, to your birthplace, the village of
+Boberow; where, among the farmers, you again found your own playmates,
+one of whom was now become the bailiff of the place.&nbsp; On your asking
+them whether they knew you, one and all of them answered so heartily,
+&ldquo;O, yes, yes - why, your are Master Frederic.&rdquo;&nbsp; The
+pedantic school-master, you will remember, was not so frank.&nbsp; He
+expressed himself in the stiff town phrase of, &ldquo;He had not the
+honour of knowing you, as during your residence in that village, when
+a child, he had not been <i>in loco</i>.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I now came through a little place of the name of Ashford, and wished
+to reach the small village of Wardlow, which was only three miles distant,
+when two men came after me, at a distance, whom I had already seen at
+Matlock, who called to me to wait for them.&nbsp; These were the only
+foot passengers since Mr. Maud, who had offered to walk with me.<br>
+<br>
+The one was a saddler, and wore a short brown jacket and an apron, with
+a round hat.&nbsp; The other was very decently dressed, but a very silent
+man, whereas the saddler was quite talkative.<br>
+<br>
+I listened with astonishment when I heard him begin to speak of Homer,
+of Horace, and of Virgil; and still more when he quoted several passages,
+by memory, from each of these authors, pronouncing the words, and laying
+his emphasis, with as much propriety as I could possibly have expected,
+had he been educated at Cambridge or at Oxford.&nbsp; He advised me
+not to go to Wardlow, where I should find bad accommodations, but rather
+a few miles to Tideswell, where he lived.&nbsp; This name is, by a singular
+abbreviation, pronounced Tidsel, the same as Birmingham is called by
+the common people Brummidgeham.<br>
+<br>
+We halted at a small ale-house on the road-side, where the saddler stopped
+to drink and talk, and from whence he was in no haste to depart.&nbsp;
+He had the generosity and honour, however, to pay my share of the reckoning,
+because, as he said, he had brought me hither.<br>
+<br>
+At no great distance from the house we came to a rising ground, where
+my philosophical saddler made me observe a prospect, which was perhaps
+the only one of the kind in England.&nbsp; Below us was a hollow, not
+unlike a huge kettle, hollowed out of the surrounding mass of earth;
+and at the bottom of it a little valley, where the green meadow was
+divided by a small rivulet, that ran in serpentine windings, its banks
+graced with the most inviting walks; behind a small winding, there is
+just seen a house where one of the most distinguished inhabitants of
+this happy vale, a great philosopher, lives retired, dedicating almost
+all his time to his favourite studies.&nbsp; He has transplanted a number
+of foreign plants into his grounds.&nbsp; My guide fell into almost
+a poetic rapture as he pointed out to me the beauties of this vale,
+while our third companion, who grew tired, became impatient at our tediousness.<br>
+<br>
+We were now led by a steep road to the vale, through which we passed,
+and then ascended again among the hills on the other side.<br>
+<br>
+Not far from Tideswell our third companion left us, as he lived in a
+neighbouring place.&nbsp; As we now at length saw Tideswell lying before
+us in the vale, the saddler began to give me an account of his family,
+adding, by way of episode, that he never quarrelled with his wife, nor
+had ever once threatened her with his fist, much less, ever lifted it
+against her.&nbsp; For his own sake, he said, he never called her names,
+nor gave her the lie.&nbsp; I must here observe, that it is the greatest
+offence you can give any one in England to say to him, <i>you lie</i>.<br>
+<br>
+To be called a <i>liar </i>is a still greater affront, and you <i>are
+a damned liar</i>, is the very acme of vulgar abuse.<br>
+<br>
+Just as in Germany, no one will bear the name of a <i>scoundrel, </i>or
+<i>knave, </i>or as in all quarrels, the bestowing such epithets on
+our adversary is the signal for fighting, so the term of a <i>liar </i>in
+England is the most offensive, and is always resented by blows.&nbsp;
+A man would never forgive himself, nor be forgiven, who could bear to
+be called a <i>liar.<br>
+<br>
+</i>Our Jackey in London once looked at me with astonishment, on my
+happening to say to him in a joke, you <i>are a liar</i>.&nbsp; I assure
+you I had much to do before I could pacify him.<br>
+<br>
+If one may form a judgment of the character of the whole nation, from
+such little circumstances as this, I must say this rooted hatred of
+the word liar appears to me to be no bad trait in the English.<br>
+<br>
+But to return to my travelling companion, who further told me that he
+was obliged to earn his livelihood, at some distance from home, and
+that he was now returning for the first time, for these two months,
+to his family.<br>
+<br>
+He showed me a row of trees near the town which he said his father had
+planted, and which, therefore, he never could look at but with emotion,
+though he passed them often as he went backwards and forwards on his
+little journeys to and from his birthplace.&nbsp; His father, he added,
+had once been a rich man, but had expended all his fortune to support
+one son.&nbsp; Unfortunately for himself as well as his family, his
+father had gone to America and left the rest of his children poor, notwithstanding
+which, his memory was still dear to him, and he was always affected
+by the sight of these trees.<br>
+<br>
+Tideswell consists of two rows of low houses, built of rough grey stone.&nbsp;
+My guide, immediately on our entrance into the place, bade me take notice
+of the church, which was very handsome, and notwithstanding its age,
+had still some pretensions to be considered as an edifice built in the
+modern taste.<br>
+<br>
+He now asked me whether he should show me to a great inn or to a cheap
+one, and as I preferred the latter, he went with me himself to a small
+public-house, and very particularly recommended me to their care as
+his fellow-traveller, and a clever man not without learning.<br>
+<br>
+The people here also endeavoured to accommodate me most magnificently,
+and for this purpose gave me some toasted cheese, which was Cheshire
+cheese roasted and half melted at the fire.&nbsp; This, in England it
+seems, is reckoned good eating, but, unfortunately for me, I could not
+touch a bit of it; I therefore invited my landlord to partake of it,
+and he indeed seemed to feast on it.&nbsp; As I neither drank brandy
+nor ale, he told me I lived far too sparingly for a foot traveller;
+he wondered how I had strength to walk so well and so far.<br>
+<br>
+I avail myself of this opportunity to observe that the English innkeepers
+are in general great ale drinkers, and for this reason most of them
+are gross and corpulent; in particular they are plump and rosy in their
+faces.&nbsp; I once heard it said of one of them, that the extravasated
+claret in his phiz might well remind one, as Falstaff says of Bardolph,
+of hell-fire.<br>
+<br>
+The next morning my landlady did me the honour to drink coffee with
+me, but helped me very sparingly to milk and sugar.&nbsp; It was Sunday,
+and I went with my landlord to a barber, on whose shop was written &ldquo;Shaving
+for a penny.&rdquo;&nbsp; There were a great many inhabitants assembled
+there, who took me for a gentleman, on account, I suppose, of my hat,
+which I had bought in London for a guinea, and which they all admired.&nbsp;
+I considered this as a proof that pomp and finery had not yet become
+general thus far from London.<br>
+<br>
+You frequently find in England, at many of the houses of the common
+people, printed papers, with sundry apt and good moral maxims and rules
+fastened against the room door, just as we find them in Germany.&nbsp;
+On such wretched paper some of the most delightful and the finest sentiments
+may be read, such as would do honour to any writer of any country.<br>
+<br>
+For instance, I read among other things this golden rule on such an
+ordinary printed paper stuck against a room door, &ldquo;Make no comparisons;&rdquo;
+and if you consider how many quarrels, and how much mischief arise in
+the world from odious comparisons of the merits of one with the merits
+of another, the most delightful lessons of morality are contained in
+the few words of the above-mentioned rule.<br>
+<br>
+A man to whom I gave sixpence conducted me out of the town to the road
+leading to Castleton, which was close to a wall of stones confusedly
+heaped one upon another, as I have before described.&nbsp; The whole
+country was hilly and rough, and the ground covered with brown heath.&nbsp;
+Here and there some sheep were feeding.<br>
+<br>
+I made a little digression to a hill to the left, where I had a prospect
+awfully beautiful, composed almost entirely of naked rocks, far and
+near, among which, those that were entirely covered with black heath
+made a most tremendous appearance.<br>
+<br>
+I was now a hundred and seventy miles from London, when I ascended one
+of the highest hills, and all at once perceived a beautiful vale below
+me, which was traversed by rivers and brooks and enclosed on all sides
+by hills.&nbsp; In this vale lay Castleton, a small town with low houses,
+which takes its name from an old castle, whose ruins are still to be
+seen here.<br>
+<br>
+A narrow path, which wound itself down the side of the rock, led me
+through the vale into the street of Castleton, where I soon found an
+inn, and also soon dined.&nbsp; After dinner I made the best of my way
+to the cavern.<br>
+<br>
+A little rivulet, which runs through the middle of the town, led me
+to its entrance.<br>
+<br>
+I stood here a few moments, full of wonder and astonishment at the amazing
+height of the steep rock before me, covered on each side with ivy and
+other shrubs.&nbsp; At its summit are the decayed wall and towers of
+an ancient castle which formerly stood on this rock, and at its foot
+the monstrous aperture or mouth to the entrance of the cavern, where
+it is pitch dark when one looks down even at mid-day.<br>
+<br>
+As I was standing here full of admiration, I perceived, at the entrance
+of the cavern, a man of a rude and rough appearance, who asked me if
+I wished to see the Peak, and the echo strongly reverberated his coarse
+voice.<br>
+<br>
+Answering as I did in the affirmative, he next further asked me if I
+should want to be carried to the other side of the stream, telling me
+at the same time what the sum would be which I must pay for it.<br>
+<br>
+This man had, along with his black stringy hair and his dirty and tattered
+clothes, such a singularly wild and infernal look, that he actually
+struck me as a real Charon.&nbsp; His voice, and the questions he asked
+me, were not of a kind to remove this notion, so that, far from its
+requiring any effort of imagination, I found it not easy to avoid believing
+that, at length, I had actually reached Avernus, was about to cross
+Acheron, and to be ferried by Charon.<br>
+<br>
+I had no sooner agreed to his demand, than he told me all I had to do
+was boldly to follow him, and thus we entered the cavern.<br>
+<br>
+To the left, in the entrance of the cavern, lay the trunk of a tree
+that had been cut down, on which several of the boys of the town were
+playing.<br>
+<br>
+Our way seemed to be altogether on a descent, though not steep, so that
+the light which came in at the mouth of the cavern near the entrance
+gradually forsook us, and when we had gone forward a few steps farther,
+I was astonished by a sight which, of all other, I here the least expected.&nbsp;
+I perceived to the right, in the hollow of the cavern, a whole subterranean
+village, where the inhabitants, on account of its being Sunday, were
+resting from their work, and with happy and cheerful looks were sitting
+at the doors of their huts along with their children.<br>
+<br>
+We had scarcely passed these small subterranean houses when I perceived
+a number of large wheels, on which on week days these human moles, the
+inhabitants of the cavern, make ropes.<br>
+<br>
+I fancied I here saw the wheel of Ixion, and the incessant labour of
+the Danaides.<br>
+<br>
+The opening through which the light came seemed, as we descended, every
+moment to become less and less, and the darkness at every step to increase,
+till at length only a few rays appeared, as if darting through a crevice,
+and just tinging the small clouds of smoke which, at dusk, raised themselves
+to the mouth of the cavern.<br>
+<br>
+This gradual growth, or increase of darkness, awakens in a contemplative
+mind a soft melancholy.&nbsp; As you go down the gentle descent of the
+cavern, you can hardly help fancying the moment is come when, without
+pain or grief, the thread of life is about to be snapped; and that you
+are now going thus quietly to that land of peace where trouble is no
+more.<br>
+<br>
+At length the great cavern in the rock closed itself, in the same manner
+as heaven and earth seem to join each other, when we came to a little
+door, where an old woman came out of one of the huts, and brought two
+candles, of which we each took one.<br>
+<br>
+My guide now opened the door, which completely shut out the faint glimmering
+of light, which, till then, it was still possible to perceive, and led
+us to the inmost centre of this dreary temple of old Chaos and Night,
+as if, till now, we had only been traversing the outer courts.&nbsp;
+The rock was here so low, that we were obliged to stoop very much for
+some few steps in order to get through; but how great was my astonishment,
+when we had passed this narrow passage and again stood upright, at once
+to perceive, as well as the feeble light of our candles would permit,
+the amazing length, breadth, and height of the cavern; compared to which
+the monstrous opening through which we had already passed was nothing!<br>
+<br>
+After we had wandered here more than an hour, as beneath a dark and
+dusky sky, on a level, sandy soil, the rock gradually lowered itself,
+and we suddenly found ourselves on the edge of a broad river, which,
+from the glimmering of our candles amid the total darkness, suggested
+sundry interesting reflections.&nbsp; To the side of this river a small
+boat was moored, with some straw in its bottom.&nbsp; Into this boat
+my guide desired me to step, and lay myself down in it quite flat; because,
+as he said, towards the middle of the river, the rock would almost touch
+the water.<br>
+<br>
+When I had laid myself down as directed, he himself jumped into the
+water, and drew the boat after him.<br>
+<br>
+All around us was one still, solemn, and deadly silence; and as the
+boat advanced, the rock seemed to stoop, and come nearer and nearer
+to us, till at length it nearly touched my face; and as I lay, I could
+hardly hold the candle upright.&nbsp; I seemed to myself to be in a
+coffin rather than in a boat, as I had no room to stir hand or foot
+till we had passed this frightful strait, and the rock rose again on
+the other side, where my guide once more handed me ashore.<br>
+<br>
+The cavern was now become, all at once, broad and high: and then suddenly
+it was again low and narrow.<br>
+<br>
+I observed on both sides as we passed along a prodigious number of great
+and small petrified plants and animals, which, however, we could not
+examine, unless we had been disposed to spend some days in the cavern.<br>
+<br>
+And thus we arrived at the opposite side, at the second river or stream,
+which, however, was not so broad as the first, as one may see across
+it to the other side; across this stream my guide carried me on his
+shoulders, because there was here no boat to carry us over.<br>
+<br>
+From thence we only went a few steps farther, when we came to a very
+small piece of water which extended itself lengthways, and led us to
+the end of the cavern.<br>
+<br>
+The path along the edge of this water was wet and slippery, and sometimes
+so very narrow, that one can hardly set one foot before the other.<br>
+<br>
+Notwithstanding, I wandered with pleasure on this subterranean shore,
+and was regaling myself with the interesting contemplation of all these
+various wonderful objects, in this land of darkness and shadow of death,
+when, all at once, something like music at a distance sounded in mine
+ears.<br>
+<br>
+I instantly stopped, full of astonishment, and eagerly asked my guide
+what this might mean?&nbsp; He answered, &ldquo;Only have patience,
+and you shall soon see.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+But as we advanced, the sounds of harmony seemed to die away; the noise
+became weaker and weaker; and at length it seemed to sink into a gentle
+hissing or hum, like distant drops of falling rain.<br>
+<br>
+And how great was my amazement when, ere long, I actually saw and felt
+a violent shower of rain falling from the rock, as from a thick cloud,
+whose drops, which now fell on our candles, had caused that same melancholy
+sound which I had heard at a distance.<br>
+<br>
+This was what is here called a mizzling rain, which fell from the ceiling
+or roof of the cavern, through the veins of the rock.<br>
+<br>
+We did not dare to approach too near with our candles, as they might
+easily have been extinguished by the falling drops; and so we perhaps
+have been forced to seek our way back in vain.<br>
+<br>
+We continued our march therefore along the side of the water, and often
+saw on the sides large apertures in the rock, which seemed to be new
+or subordinate caverns, all which we passed without looking into.&nbsp;
+At length my guide prepared me for one of the finest sights we had yet
+seen, which we should now soon behold.<br>
+<br>
+And we had hardly gone on a few paces, when we entered what might easily
+have been taken for a majestic temple, with lofty arches, supported
+by beautiful pillars, formed by the plastic hand of some ingenious artist.<br>
+<br>
+This subterranean temple, in the structure of which no human hand had
+borne a part, appeared to me at that moment to surpass all the most
+stupendous buildings in the world, in point of regularity, magnificence,
+and beauty.<br>
+<br>
+Full of admiration and reverence, here, even in the inmost recesses
+of nature, I saw the majesty of the Creator displayed; and before I
+quitted this temple, here, in this solemn silence and holy gloom, I
+thought it would be a becoming act of true religion to adore, as I cordially
+did, the God of nature.<br>
+<br>
+We now drew near the end of our journey.&nbsp; Our faithful companion,
+the water, guided us through the remainder of the cavern, where the
+rock is arched for the last time, and then sinks till it touches the
+water, which here forms a semicircle, and thus the cavern closes, so
+that no mortal can go one step farther.<br>
+<br>
+My guide here again jumped into the water, swam a little way under the
+rock, and then came back quite wet, to show me that it was impossible
+to go any further, unless this rock could be blown up with powder, and
+a second cavern opened.&nbsp; I now thought all we had to do was to
+return the nearest way; but there were new difficulties still to encounter,
+and new scenes to behold still more beautiful than any I had yet seen.<br>
+<br>
+My guide now turned and went back towards the left, where I followed
+him through a large opening in the rock.<br>
+<br>
+And here he first asked me if I could determine to creep a considerable
+distance through the rock, where it nearly touched the ground.&nbsp;
+Having consented to do so, he told me I had only to follow him, warning
+me at the same time to take great care of my candle.<br>
+<br>
+Thus we crept on our hands and feet, on the wet and muddy ground, through
+the opening in the rock, which was often scarcely large enough for us
+to get through with our bodies.<br>
+<br>
+When at length we had got through this troublesome passage, I saw in
+the cavern a steep hill, which was so high that it seemed to lose itself
+as in a cloud, in the summit of the rock.<br>
+<br>
+This hill was so wet and slippery, that as soon as I attempted to ascend,
+I fell down.&nbsp; My guide, however, took hold of my hand and told
+me I had only resolutely to follow him.<br>
+<br>
+We now ascended such an amazing height, and there were such precipices
+on each side, that it makes me giddy even now when I think of it.<br>
+<br>
+When we at length had gained the summit, where the hill seemed to lose
+itself in the rock, my guide placed me where I could stand firm, and
+told me to stay there quietly.&nbsp; In the meantime he himself went
+down the hill with his candle, and left me alone.<br>
+<br>
+I lost sight of him for some moments, but at length I perceived, not
+him, indeed, but his candle, quite in the bottom, from whence it seemed
+to shine like a bright and twinkling star.<br>
+<br>
+After I had enjoyed this indescribably beautiful sight for some time,
+my guide came back, and carried me safely down the hill again on his
+shoulders.&nbsp; And as I now stood below, he went up and let his candle
+shine again through an opening of the rock, while I covered mine with
+my hand; and it was now as if on a dark night a bright star shone down
+upon me, a sight which, in point of beauty, far surpassed all that I
+had ever seen.<br>
+<br>
+Our journey was now ended, and we returned, not without trouble and
+difficulty, through the narrow passage.&nbsp; We again entered the temple
+we had a short time before left; again heard the pattering of the rain,
+which sounded as rain when we were near it, but which at a distance
+seemed a sonorous, dull, and melancholy hum; and now again we returned
+across the quiet streams through the capacious entrance of the cavern
+to the little door, where we had before taken our leave of daylight,
+which, after so long a darkness, we now again hailed with joy.<br>
+<br>
+Before my guide opened the door, he told me I should now have a view
+of a sight that would surpass all the foregoing.&nbsp; I found that
+he was in the right, for when he had only half opened the door, it really
+seemed as if I was looking into Elysium.<br>
+<br>
+The day seemed to be gradually breaking, and night and darkness to have
+vanished.&nbsp; At a distance you again just saw the smoke of the cottages,
+and then the cottages themselves; and as we ascended we saw the boys
+still playing around the hewn trunk, till at length the reddish purple
+stripes in the sky faintly appeared through the mouth of the hole; yet,
+just as we came out, the sun was setting in the west.<br>
+<br>
+Thus had I spent nearly the whole afternoon till it was quite evening
+in the cavern; and when I looked at myself, I was, as to my dress, not
+much unlike my guide; my shoes scarcely hung to my feet, they were so
+soft and so torn by walking so long on the damp sand, and the hard pointed
+stones.<br>
+<br>
+I paid no more than half-a-crown for seeing all that I had seen, with
+a trifle to my guide; for it seems he does not get the half-crown, but
+is obliged to account for it to his master, who lives very comfortably
+on the revenue he derives from this cavern, and is able to keep a man
+to show it to strangers.<br>
+<br>
+When I came home I sent for a shoemaker.&nbsp; There was one who lived
+just opposite; and he immediately came to examine my shoes.&nbsp; He
+told me he could not sufficiently wonder at the badness of the work,
+for they were shoes I had brought from Germany.&nbsp; Notwithstanding
+this, he undertook, as he had no new ones ready, to mend them for me
+as well as he could.&nbsp; This led me to make a very agreeable acquaintance
+with this shoemaker; for when I expressed to him my admiration of the
+cavern, it pleased him greatly that in so insignificant a place as Castleton
+there should be anything which could inspire people with astonishment,
+who came from such distant countries; and thereupon offered to take
+a walk with me, to show me, at no great distance, the famous mountain
+called Mam Tor, which is reckoned among the things of most note in Derbyshire.<br>
+<br>
+This mountain is covered with verdure on its summit and sides; but at
+the end it is a steep precipice.&nbsp; The middle part does not, like
+other mountains, consist of rock, but of a loose earth, which gives
+way, and either rolls from the top of the precipice in little pieces,
+or tears itself loose in large masses, and falls with a thundering crash,
+thus forming a hill on its side which is continually increasing.<br>
+<br>
+From these circumstances probably is derived the name of Mam Tor, which
+literally signifies Mother Hill; for Tor is either an abbreviation of,
+or the old word for, Tower, and means not only a lofty building, but
+any eminence.&nbsp; Mam is a familiar term, that obtains in all languages,
+for Mother; and this mountain, like a mother, produces several other
+small hills.<br>
+<br>
+The inhabitants here have a superstitious notion that this mountain,
+notwithstanding its daily loss, never decreases, but always keeps its
+own, and remains the same.<br>
+<br>
+My companion told me a shocking history of an inhabitant of Castleton
+who laid a wager that he would ascend this steep precipice.<br>
+<br>
+As the lower part is not quite so steep, but rather slanting upwards,
+he could get good hold in this soft loose earth, and clambered up, without
+looking round.&nbsp; At length he had gained more than half the ascent,
+and was just at the part where it projects and overlooks its basis.&nbsp;
+From this astonishing height the unfortunate man cast down his eyes,
+whilst the threatening point of the rock hung over him, with tottering
+masses of earth.<br>
+<br>
+He trembled all over, and was just going to relinquish his hold, not
+daring to move backwards or forwards; in this manner he hung for some
+time between heaven and earth, surrounded by despair.&nbsp; However,
+his sinews would bear it no longer, and therefore, in an effort of despair,
+he once more collected all his strength and got hold of first one loose
+stone, and then another, all of which would have failed him had he not
+immediately caught hold of another.&nbsp; By these means, however, at
+length, to his own, as well as to the astonishment of all the spectators,
+he avoided almost instant and certain death, safely gained the summit
+of the hill, and won his wager.<br>
+<br>
+I trembled as I heard this relation, seeing the mountain and the precipice
+in question so near to me, I could not help figuring to myself the man
+clambering up it.<br>
+<br>
+Not far from hence is Elden Hole, a cavity or pit, or hole in the earth,
+of such a monstrous depth, that if you throw in a pebble stone, and
+lay your ear to the edge of the hole, you hear it falling for a long
+time.<br>
+<br>
+As soon as it comes to the bottom it emits a sound as if some one were
+uttering a loud sigh.&nbsp; The first noise it makes on its being first
+parted with affects the ear like a subterranean thunder.&nbsp; This
+rumbling or thundering noise continues for some time, and then decreases
+as the stone falls against first one hard rock and then another at a
+greater and a greater depth, and at length, when it has for some time
+been falling, the noise stops with a kind of whizzing or a hissing murmur.&nbsp;
+The people have also a world of superstitious stories relating to this
+place, one of which is that some person once threw into it a goose,
+which appeared again at two miles&rsquo; distance in the great cavern
+I have already mentioned, quite stripped of its feathers.&nbsp; But
+I will not stuff my letters with many of these fabulous histories.<br>
+<br>
+They reckon that they have in Derbyshire seven wonders of nature, of
+which this Elden Hole, the hill of Mam Tor, and the great cavern I have
+been at are the principal.<br>
+<br>
+The remaining four wonders are Pool&rsquo;s Hole, which has some resemblance
+to this that I have seen, as I am told, for I did not see it; next St.
+Anne&rsquo;s Well, where there are two springs which rise close to each
+other, the one of which is boiling hot, the other as cold as ice; the
+next is Tide&rsquo;s Well, not far from the town of that name through
+which I passed.&nbsp; It is a spring or well, which in general flows
+or runs underground imperceptibly, and then all at once rushes forth
+with a mighty rumbling or subterranean noise, which is said to have
+something musical in it, and overflows its banks; lastly Chatsworth,
+a palace or seat belonging to the Dukes of Devonshire, at the foot of
+a mountain whose summit is covered with eternal snow, and therefore
+always gives one the idea of winter, at the same time that the most
+delightful spring blooms at its foot.&nbsp; I can give you no further
+description of these latter wonders, as I only know them by the account
+given me by others.&nbsp; They were the subjects with which my guide,
+the shoemaker, entertained me during our walk.<br>
+<br>
+While this man was showing me everything within his knowledge that he
+thought most interesting, he often expressed his admiration on thinking
+how much of the world I had already seen; and the idea excited in him
+so lively a desire to travel, that I had much to do to reason him out
+of it.&nbsp; He could not help talking of it the whole evening, and
+again and again protested that, had he not got a wife and child, he
+would set off in the morning at daybreak along with me; for here in
+Castleton there is but little to be earned by the hardest labour or
+even genius.&nbsp; Provisions are not cheap, and in short, there is
+no scope for exertion.&nbsp; This honest man was not yet thirty.<br>
+<br>
+As we returned, he wished yet to show me the lead mines, but it was
+too late.&nbsp; Yet, late as it was, he mended my shoes the same evening,
+and I must do him the justice to add in a very masterly manner.<br>
+<br>
+But I am sorry to tell you I have brought a cough from the cavern that
+does not at all please me; indeed, it occasions me no little pain, which
+makes me suppose that one must needs breathe a very unwholesome damp
+air in this cavern.&nbsp; But then, were that the case, I do not comprehend
+how my friend Charon should have held it out so long and so well as
+he has.<br>
+<br>
+This morning I was up very early in order to view the ruins, and to
+climb a high hill alongside of them.&nbsp; The ruins are directly over
+the mouth of the hole on the hill, which extends itself some distance
+over the cavern beyond the ruins, and always widens, though here in
+front it is so narrow that the building takes up the whole.<br>
+<br>
+From the ruins all around there is nothing but steep rock, so that there
+is no access to it but from the town, where a crooked path from the
+foot of the hill is hewn in the rock, but is also prodigiously steep.<br>
+<br>
+The spot on which the ruins stand is now all overgrown with nettles
+and thistles.&nbsp; Formerly, it is said, there was a bridge from this
+mountain to the opposite one, of which one may yet discover some traces,
+as in the vale which divides the two rocks we still find the remains
+of some of the arches on which the bridge rested.&nbsp; This vale, which
+lies at the back of the ruins and probably over the cavern, is called
+the Cave&rsquo;s Way, and is one of the greatest thoroughfares to the
+town.&nbsp; In the part at which, at some distance, it begins to descend
+between these two mountains, its descent is so gentle that one is not
+at all tired in going down it; but if you should happen to miss the
+way between the two rocks and continue on the heights, you are in great
+danger of falling from the rock, which every moment becomes steeper
+and steeper.<br>
+<br>
+The mountain on which the ruins stand is everywhere rocky.&nbsp; The
+one on the left of it, which is separated by the vale, is perfectly
+verdant and fertile, and on its summit the pasture hands are divided
+by stones, piled up in the form of a wall.&nbsp; This green mountain
+is at least three times as high as that on which the ruins stand.<br>
+<br>
+I began to clamber up the green mountain, which is also pretty steep;
+and when I had got more than half way up without having once looked
+back, I was nearly in the same situation as the adventurer who clambered
+up Mam Tor Hill, for when I looked round, I found my eye had not been
+trained to view, unmoved, so prodigious a height.&nbsp; Castleton with
+the surrounding country lay below me like a map, the roofs of the houses
+seemed almost close to the ground, and the mountain with the ruins itself
+seemed to be lying at my feet.<br>
+<br>
+I grew giddy at the prospect, and it required all my reason to convince
+me that I was in no danger, and that, at all events, I could only scramble
+down the green turf in the same manner as I had got up.&nbsp; At length
+I seemed to grow accustomed to this view till it really gave me pleasure,
+and I now climbed quite to the summit and walked over the meadows, and
+at length reached the way which gradually descends between the two mountains.<br>
+<br>
+At the top of the green mountain I met with some neat country girls,
+who were milking their cows, and coming this same way with their milk-pails
+on their heads.<br>
+<br>
+This little rural party formed a beautiful group when some of them with
+their milk-pails took shelter, as it began to rain, under a part of
+the rock, beneath which they sat down on natural stone benches, and
+there, with pastoral innocence and glee, talked and laughed till the
+shower was over.<br>
+<br>
+My way led me into the town, from whence I now write, and which I intend
+leaving in order to begin my journey back to London, but I think I shall
+not now pursue quite the same road.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER XII.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+Northampton.<br>
+<br>
+When I took my leave of the honest shoemaker in Castleton, who would
+have rejoiced to have accompanied me, I resolved to return, not by Tideswell,
+but by Wardlow, which is nearer.<br>
+<br>
+I there found but one single inn, and in it only a landlady, who told
+me that her husband was at work in the lead mines, and that the cavern
+at Castleton, and all that I had yet seen, was nothing to be compared
+to these lead mines.&nbsp; Her husband, she said, would be happy to
+show them to me.<br>
+<br>
+When I came to offer to pay her for my dinner she made some difficulty
+about it, because, as I had neither drank ale or brandy, by the selling
+of which she chiefly made her livelihood, she said she could not well
+make out my bill.&nbsp; On this I called for a mug of ale (which I did
+not drink) in order to enable me the better to settle her reckoning.<br>
+<br>
+At this same time I saw my innkeeper of Tideswell, who, however, had
+not, like me, come on foot, but prancing proudly on horseback.<br>
+<br>
+As I proceeded, and saw the hills rise before me, which were still fresh
+in my memory, having so recently become acquainted with them in my journey
+thither, I was just reading the passage in Milton relative to the creation,
+in which the Angel describes to Adam how the water subsided, and<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;Immediately the mountains huge appear<br>
+Emergent, and their broad bare backs upheave<br>
+Into the clouds, their tops ascend the sky.&rdquo;<br>
+<i>Book VII., </i>1. 285.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+It seemed to me, while reading this passage, as if everything around
+me were in the act of creating, and the mountains themselves appeared
+to emerge or rise, so animated was the scene.<br>
+<br>
+I had felt something not very unlike this on my journey hither, as I
+was sitting opposite to a hill, whose top was covered with trees, and
+was reading in Milton the sublime description of the combat of the angels,
+where the fallen angels are made, with but little regard to chronology,
+to attack their antagonists with artillery and cannon, as if it had
+been a battle on earth of the present age.&nbsp; The better angels,
+however, defend themselves against their antagonists by each seizing
+on some hill by the tufts on its summit, tearing them up by the root,
+and thus bearing them in their hands to fling them at their enemy:<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo; - they ran, they flew,<br>
+From their foundation loos&rsquo;ning to and fro,<br>
+They pluck&rsquo;d the seated hills with all their load,<br>
+Rocks, waters, woods, and by the shaggy tops<br>
+Uplifting bore them in their hands - .&rdquo;<br>
+Book <i>VI., </i>1. 642.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+I seemed to fancy to myself that I actually saw an angel there standing
+and plucking up a hill before me and shaking it in the air.<br>
+<br>
+When I came to the last village before I got to Matlock, as it was now
+evening and dark, I determined to spend the night there, and inquired
+for an inn, which, I was told, was at the end of the village; and so
+on I walked, and kept walking till near midnight before I found this
+same inn.&nbsp; The place seemed to have no end.&nbsp; On my journey
+to Castleton I must either not have passed through this village or not
+have noticed its length.&nbsp; Much tired, and not a little indisposed,
+I at length arrived at the inn, where I sat myself down by the fire
+in the kitchen, and asked for something to eat.&nbsp; As they told me
+I could not have a bed here, I replied I absolutely would not be driven
+away, for that if nothing better could be had I would sit all night
+by the fire.&nbsp; This I actually prepared to do, and laid my head
+on the table in order to sleep.<br>
+<br>
+When the people in the kitchen thought that I was asleep, I heard them
+taking about me, and guessing who or what I might be.&nbsp; One woman
+alone seemed to take my part, and said, &ldquo;I daresay he is a well-bred
+gentleman;&rdquo; another scouted that notion, merely because, as she
+said, &ldquo;I had come on foot;&rdquo; and &ldquo;depend on it,&rdquo;
+said she, &ldquo;he is some poor travelling creature!&rdquo;&nbsp; My
+ears yet ring with the contemptuous tone with which she uttered, &ldquo;poor
+travelling creature!&rdquo;&nbsp; It seems to express all the wretchedness
+of one who neither has house nor home - a vagabond and outcast of society.<br>
+<br>
+At last, when these unfeeling people saw that I was determined, at all
+events, to stay there all night, they gave me a bed, but not till I
+had long given up all hopes of getting one.&nbsp; And in the morning,
+when they asked me a shilling for it, I gave them half-a-crown, adding,
+with something of an air, that I would have no change.&nbsp; This I
+did, though perhaps foolishly, to show them that I was not quite &ldquo;<i>a
+poor creature</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; And now they took leave of me with great
+civility and many excuses; and I now continued my journey much at my
+ease.<br>
+<br>
+When I had passed Matlock I did not go again towards Derby, but took
+the road to the left towards Nottingham.&nbsp; Here the hills gradually
+disappeared; and my journey now lay through meadow grounds and cultivated
+fields.<br>
+<br>
+I must here inform you that the word <i>Peake, </i>or <i>Pike, </i>in
+old English signifies a point or summit.&nbsp; The <i>Peak </i>of Derbyshire,
+therefore, means that part of the country which is hilly, or where the
+mountains are highest.<br>
+<br>
+Towards noon I again came to an eminence, where I found but one single
+solitary inn, which had a singular inscription on its sign.&nbsp; It
+was in rhyme, and I remember only that it ended with these words, &ldquo;Refresh,
+and then go on.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Entertainment for man and horse.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+This I have seen on several signs, but the most common, at all the lesser
+ale-houses, is, &ldquo;A. B. C. or D. dealer in foreign spirituous liquors.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I dined here on cold meat and salad.&nbsp; This, or else eggs and salad,
+was my usual supper, and my dinner too, at the inns at which I stopped.&nbsp;
+It was but seldom that I had the good fortune to get anything hot.&nbsp;
+The salad, for which they brought me all the ingredients, I was always
+obliged to dress myself.&nbsp; This, I believe, is always done in England.<br>
+<br>
+The road was now tolerably pleasant, but the country seemed here to
+be uniform and unvaried, even to dulness.&nbsp; However, it was a very
+fine evening, and as I passed through a village just before sunset several
+people who met me accosted me with a phrase which, at first, I thought
+odd, but which I now think civil, if not polite.&nbsp; As if I could
+possibly want information on such a point as they passed me, they all
+very courteously told me, &ldquo;&rsquo;Twas a fine evening,&rdquo;
+or &ldquo;A pleasant night.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I have also often met people who as they passed me obligingly and kindly
+asked: &ldquo;How do you do?&rdquo;&nbsp; To which unexpected question
+from total strangers I have now learned to answer, &ldquo;Pretty well,
+I thank you; how do you do?&rdquo;&nbsp; This manner of address must
+needs appear very singular to a foreigner, who is all at once asked
+by a person whom he has never seen before how he does.<br>
+<br>
+After I had passed through this village I came to a green field, at
+the side of which I met with an ale-house.&nbsp; The mistress was sitting
+at the window.&nbsp; I asked her if I could stay the night there.&nbsp;
+She said No!&rdquo; and shut the window in my face.<br>
+<br>
+This unmannerliness recalled to my recollection the many receptions
+of this kind to which I have now so often been exposed, and I could
+not forbear uttering aloud my indignation at the inhospitality of the
+English.&nbsp; This harsh sentiment I soon corrected, however, as I
+walked on, by recollecting, and placing in the opposite scale, the unbounded
+and unequalled generosity of this nation, and also the many acts of
+real and substantial kindness which I had myself experienced in it.<br>
+<br>
+I at last came to another inn, where there was written on the sign:
+&ldquo;The Navigation Inn,&rdquo; because it is the depot, or storehouse,
+of the colliers of the Trent.<br>
+<br>
+A rougher or ruder kind of people I never saw than these colliers, whom
+I here met assembled in the kitchen, and in whose company I was obliged
+to spend the evening.<br>
+<br>
+Their language, their dress, their manners were, all of them, singularly
+vulgar and disagreeable, and their expressions still more so, for they
+hardly spoke a word, without adding &ldquo;a G-d d-- me&rdquo; to it,
+and thus cursing, quarrelling, drinking, singing, and fighting, they
+seemed to be pleased, and to enjoy the evening.&nbsp; I must do them
+the justice to add, that none of them, however, at all molested me or
+did me any harm.&nbsp; On the contrary, every one again and again drank
+my health, and I took care not to forget to drink theirs in return.&nbsp;
+The treatment of my host at Matlock was still fresh in my memory, and
+so, as often as I drank, I never omitted saying, &ldquo;Your healths,
+gentlemen all!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+When two Englishmen quarrel, the fray is carried on, and decided, rather
+by actions than by words; though loud and boisterous, they do not say
+much, and frequently repeat the same thing over and over again, always
+clinching it with an additional &ldquo;G-- d-- you!&rdquo;&nbsp; Their
+anger seems to overpower their utterance, and can vent only by coming
+to blows.<br>
+<br>
+The landlady, who sat in the kitchen along with all this goodly company,
+was nevertheless well dressed, and a remarkably well-looking woman.&nbsp;
+As soon as I had supped I hastened to bed, but could not sleep; my quondam
+companions, the colliers, made such a noise the whole night through.&nbsp;
+In the morning, when I got up, there was not cue to be seen nor heard.<br>
+<br>
+I was now only a few miles from Nottingham, where I arrived towards
+noon.<br>
+<br>
+This, of all the towns I have yet seen, except London, seemed to me
+to be one of the best, and is undoubtedly the cleanest.&nbsp; Everything
+here wore a modern appearance, and a large place in the centre, scarcely
+yielded to a London square in point of beauty.<br>
+<br>
+From the town a charming footpath leads you across the meadows to the
+high-road, where there is a bridge over the Trent.&nbsp; Not far from
+this bridge was an inn, where I dined, though I could get nothing but
+bread-and-butter, of which I desired to have a toast made.<br>
+<br>
+Nottingham lies high, and made a beautiful appearance at a distance,
+with its neat high houses, red roofs, and its lofty steeples.&nbsp;
+I have not seen so fine a prospect in any other town in England.<br>
+<br>
+I now came through several villages, as Ruddington, Bradmore, and Buny,
+to Castol, where I stayed all night.<br>
+<br>
+This whole afternoon I heard the ringing of bells in many of the villages.&nbsp;
+Probably it is some holiday which they thus celebrate.&nbsp; It was
+cloudy weather, and I felt myself not at all well, and in these circumstances
+this ringing discomposed me still more, and made me at length quite
+low-spirited and melancholy.<br>
+<br>
+At Castol there were three inns close to each other, in which, to judge
+only from the outside of the houses, little but poverty was to be expected.&nbsp;
+In the one at which I at length stopped there was only a landlady, a
+sick butcher, and a sick carter, both of whom had come to stay the night.&nbsp;
+This assemblage of sick persons gave me the idea of an hospital, and
+depressed me still more.&nbsp; I felt some degree of fever, was very
+restless all night, and so I kept my bed very late the next morning,
+until the woman of the house came and aroused me by saying she had been
+uneasy on my account.&nbsp; And now I formed the resolution to go to
+Leicester in the post-coach.<br>
+<br>
+I was now only four miles from Loughborough, a small, and I think, not
+a very handsome town, where I arrived late at noon, and dined at the
+last inn on the road that leads to Leicester.&nbsp; Here again, far
+beyond expectation, the people treated me like a gentleman, and let
+me dine in the parlour.<br>
+<br>
+From Loughborough to Leicester was only ten miles, but the road was
+sandy and very unpleasant walking.<br>
+<br>
+I came through a village called Mountsorrel, which perhaps takes its
+name from a little hill at the end of it.&nbsp; As for the rest, it
+was all one large plain, all the way to Leicester.<br>
+<br>
+Towards evening I came to a pleasant meadow just before I got to Leicester,
+through which a footpath led me to the town, which made a good appearance
+as I viewed it lengthways, and indeed much larger than it really is.<br>
+<br>
+I went up a long street before I got to the house from which the post-coaches
+set out, and which is also an inn.&nbsp; I here learnt that the stage
+was to set out that evening for London, but that the inside was already
+full; some places were, however, still left on the outside.<br>
+<br>
+Being obliged to bestir myself to get back to London, as the time drew
+near when the Hamburg captain, with whom I intend to return, had fixed
+his departure, I determined to take a place as far as Northampton on
+the outside.<br>
+<br>
+But this ride from Leicester to Northampton I shall remember as long
+as I live.<br>
+<br>
+The coach drove from the yard through a part of the house.&nbsp; The
+inside passengers got in in the yard, but we on the outside were obliged
+to clamber up in the public street, because we should have had no room
+for our heads to pass under the gateway.<br>
+<br>
+My companions on the top of the coach were a farmer, a young man very
+decently dressed, and a blackamoor.<br>
+<br>
+The getting up alone was at the risk of one&rsquo;s life, and when I
+was up I was obliged to sit just at the corner of the coach, with nothing
+to hold by but a sort of little handle fastened on the side.&nbsp; I
+sat nearest the wheel, and the moment that we set off I fancied that
+I saw certain death await me.&nbsp; All I could do was to take still
+safer hold of the handle, and to be more and more careful to preserve
+my balance.<br>
+<br>
+The machine now rolled along with prodigious rapidity, over the stones
+through the town, and every moment we seemed to fly into the air, so
+that it was almost a miracle that we still stuck to the coach and did
+not fall.&nbsp; We seemed to be thus on the wing, and to fly, as often
+as we passed through a village, or went down a hill.<br>
+<br>
+At last the being continually in fear of my life became insupportable,
+and as we were going up a hill, and consequently proceeding rather slower
+than usual, I crept from the top of the coach and got snug into the
+basket.<br>
+<br>
+&ldquo;O, sir, sir, you will be shaken to death!&rdquo; said the black,
+but I flattered myself he exaggerated the unpleasantness of my post.<br>
+<br>
+As long as we went up hill it was easy and pleasant.&nbsp; And, having
+had little or no sleep the night before, I was almost asleep among the
+trunks and the packages; but how was the case altered when we came to
+go down hill! then all the trunks and parcels began, as it were, to
+dance around me, and everything in the basket seemed to be alive, and
+I every moment received from them such violent blows that I thought
+my last hour was come.&nbsp; I now found that what the black had told
+me was no exaggeration, but all my complaints were useless.&nbsp; I
+was obliged to suffer this torture nearly an hour, till we came to another
+hill again, when quite shaken to pieces and sadly bruised, I again crept
+to the top of the coach, and took possession of my former seat.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ah, did not I tell you that you would be shaken to death?&rdquo;
+said the black, as I was getting up, but I made him no reply.&nbsp;
+Indeed, I was ashamed; and I now write this as a warning to all strangers
+to stage-coaches who may happen to take it into their heads, without
+being used to it, to take a place on the outside of an English post-coach,
+and still more, a place in the basket.<br>
+<br>
+About midnight we arrived at Harborough, where I could only rest myself
+a moment, before we were again called to set off, full drive, through
+a number of villages, so that a few hours before daybreak we had reached
+Northampton, which is, however, thirty-three miles from Leicester.<br>
+<br>
+From Harborough to Leicester I had a most dreadful journey, it rained
+incessantly; and as before we had been covered with dust, we now were
+soaked with rain.&nbsp; My neighbour, the young man who sat next me
+in the middle, that my inconveniences might be complete, every now and
+then fell asleep; and as, when asleep, he perpetually bolted and rolled
+against me, with the whole weight of his body, more than once he was
+very near pushing me entirely off my seat.<br>
+<br>
+We at last reached Northampton, where I immediately went to bed, and
+have slept almost till noon.&nbsp; To-morrow morning I intend to continue
+my journey to London in some other stage-coach.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER XIII.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+London, 15th <i>July, </i>1782.<br>
+<br>
+The journey from Northampton to London I can again hardly call a journey,
+but rather a perpetual motion, or removal from one place to another,
+in a close box; during your conveyance you may, perhaps, if you are
+in luck, converse with two or three people shut up along with you.<br>
+<br>
+But I was not so fortunate, for my three travelling companions were
+all farmers, who slept so soundly that even the hearty knocks of the
+head with which they often saluted each other, did not awake them.<br>
+<br>
+Their faces, bloated and discoloured by their copious use of ale and
+brandy, looked, as they lay before me, like so many lumps of dead flesh.&nbsp;
+When now and then they woke, sheep, in which they all dealt, was the
+first and last topic of their conversation.&nbsp; One of the three,
+however, differed not a little from the other two; his face was sallow
+and thin, his eyes quite sunk and hollow, his long, lank fingers hung
+quite loose, and as if detached from his hands.&nbsp; He was, in short,
+the picture of avarice and misanthropy.&nbsp; The former he certainly
+was; for at every stage he refused to give the coachman the accustomed
+perquisite, which every body else paid; and every farthing he was forced
+to part with, forced a &ldquo;G-d d--n&rdquo; from his heart.&nbsp;
+As he sat in the coach, he seemed anxious to shun the light; and so
+shut up every window that he could come at, except when now and then
+I opened them to take a slight view of the charms of the country through
+which we seemed to be flying, rather than driving.<br>
+<br>
+Our road lay through Newport Pagnell, Dunstable, St. Albans, Barnet,
+to Islington, or rather to London itself.&nbsp; But these names are
+all I know of the different places.<br>
+<br>
+At Dunstable, if I do not mistake, we breakfasted; and here, as is usual,
+everything was paid for in common by all the passengers; as I did not
+know this, I ordered coffee separately; however, when it came, the three
+farmers also drank of it, and gave me some of their tea.<br>
+<br>
+They asked me what part of the world I came from; whereas we in Germany
+generally inquired what countryman a person is.<br>
+<br>
+When we had breakfasted, and were again seated in the coach, all the
+farmers, the lean one excepted, seemed quite alive again, and now began
+a conversation on religion and on politics.<br>
+<br>
+One of them brought the history of Samson on the carpet, which the clergyman
+of his parish, he said, had lately explained, I dare say very satisfactorily;
+though this honest farmer still had a great many doubts about the great
+gate which Samson carried away, and about the foxes with the firebrands
+between their tails.&nbsp; In other respects, however, the man seemed
+not to be either uninformed or sceptical.<br>
+<br>
+They now proceeded to relate to each other various stories, chiefly
+out of the Bible; not merely as important facts, but as interesting
+narratives, which they would have told and listened to with equal satisfaction
+had they met them anywhere else.&nbsp; One of them had only heard these
+stories from his minister in the church, not being able to read them
+himself.<br>
+<br>
+The one that sat next to him now began to talk about the Jews of the
+Old Testament, and assured us that the present race were all descended
+from those old ones.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ay, and they are all damned to all
+eternity!&rdquo; said his companion, as coolly and as confidently as
+if at that moment he had seen them burning in the bottomless pit.<br>
+<br>
+We now frequently took up fresh passengers, who only rode a short distance
+with us, and then got out again.&nbsp; Among others was a woman from
+London, whose business was the making of brandy.&nbsp; She entertained
+us with a very circumstantial narrative of all the shocking scenes during
+the late riot in that city.&nbsp; What particularly struck me was her
+saying that she saw a man, opposite to her house, who was so furious,
+that he stood on the wall of a house that was already half burnt down,
+and there, like a demon, with his own hands pulled down and tossed about
+the bricks which the fire had spared, till at length he was shot, and
+fell back among the flames.<br>
+<br>
+At length we arrived at London without any accident, in a hard rain,
+about one o&rsquo;clock.&nbsp; I had been obliged to pay sixteen shillings
+beforehand at Northampton, for the sixty miles to London.&nbsp; This
+the coachman seemed not to know for certain, and therefore asked me
+more earnestly if I was sure I had paid: I assured him I had, and he
+took my word.<br>
+<br>
+I looked like a crazy creature when I arrived in London; notwithstanding
+which, Mr. Pointer, with whom I left my trunk, received me in the most
+friendly manner, and desired me during dinner to relate to him my adventures.<br>
+<br>
+The same evening I called on Mr. Leonhardi, who, as I did not wish to
+hire a lodging for the few days I might be obliged to wait for a fair
+wind, got me into the Freemasons&rsquo; Tavern.&nbsp; And here I have
+been waiting these eight days, and the wind still continues contrary
+for Hambro&rsquo;; though I do now most heartily wish for a fair wind,
+as I can no longer make any improvement by my stay, since I must keep
+myself in constant readiness to embark whenever the wind changes; and
+therefore I dare go no great distance.<br>
+<br>
+Everybody here is now full of the Marquis of Rockingham&rsquo;s death,
+and the change of the ministry in consequence of it.&nbsp; They are
+much displeased that Fox has given up his seat; and yet it is singular,
+they still are much concerned, and interest themselves for him, as if
+whatever interested him were the interest of the nation.&nbsp; On Tuesday
+there was a highly important debate in Parliament.&nbsp; Fox was called
+on to assign the true reasons of his resignation before the nation.&nbsp;
+At eleven o&rsquo;clock the gallery was so full that nobody could get
+a place, and the debates only began at three, and lasted this evening
+till ten.<br>
+<br>
+About four Fox came.&nbsp; Every one was full of expectation.&nbsp;
+He spoke at first with great vehemence, but it was observed that he
+gradually became more and more moderate, and when at length he had vindicated
+the step he had taken, and showed it to be, in every point of view,
+just, wise, and honourable, he added, with great force and pathos, &ldquo;and
+now I stand here once more as poor as ever I was.&rdquo;&nbsp; It was
+impossible to hear such a speech and such declarations unmoved.<br>
+<br>
+General Conway then gave his reasons why he did not resign, though he
+was of the same political principles as Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke; he was
+of the same opinion with them in regard to the independency of America;
+the more equal representation of the people in Parliament, and the regulations
+necessary in Ireland; but he did not think the present minister, Lord
+Shelburne, would act contrary to those principles.&nbsp; As soon as
+he did, he should likewise resign, but not before.<br>
+<br>
+Burke now stood up and made a most elegant though florid speech, in
+praise of the late Marquis of Rockingham.&nbsp; As he did not meet with
+sufficient attention, and heard much talking and many murmurs, he said,
+with much vehemence and a sense of injured merit, &ldquo;This is not
+treatment for so old a member of Parliament as I am, and I will be heard!&rdquo;
+- on which there was immediately a most profound silence.&nbsp; After
+he had said much more in praise of Rockingham, he sub-joined, that with
+regard to General Conway&rsquo;s remaining in the ministry, it reminded
+him of a fable he had heard in his youth, of a wolf, who, on having
+clothed himself as a sheep, was let into the fold by a lamb, who indeed
+did say to him, &ldquo;Where did you get those long nails, and those
+sharp teeth, mamma?&rdquo;&nbsp; But nevertheless let him in; the consequence
+of which was he murdered the whole flock.&nbsp; Now with respect to
+General Conway, it appeared to him, just as though the lamb certainly
+did perceive the nails and teeth of the wolf, but notwithstanding, was
+so good-tempered to believe that the wolf would change his nature, and
+become a lamb.&nbsp; By this, he did not mean to reflect on Lord Shelburne:
+only of this he was certain, that the present administration was a thousand
+times worse than that under Lord North (who was present).<br>
+<br>
+When I heard Mr. Pitt speak for the first time, I was astonished that
+a man of so youthful an appearance should stand up at all; but I was
+still more astonished to see how, while he spoke, he engaged universal
+attention.&nbsp; He seems to me not to be more than one-and-twenty.&nbsp;
+This same Pitt is now minister, and even Chancellor of the Exchequer.<br>
+<br>
+It is shocking to a foreigner, to see what violent satires on men, rather
+than on things, daily appear in the newspapers, of which they tell me
+there are at least a dozen, if not more, published every day.&nbsp;
+Some of them side with the Ministry, and still more I think with the
+Opposition.&nbsp; A paper that should be quite impartial, if that were
+possible, I apprehend would be deemed so insipid as to find no readers.&nbsp;
+No longer ago than yesterday, it was mentioned in one of these newspapers,
+that when Fox, who is fallen, saw so young a man as Pitt made the minister,
+he exclaimed with Satan, who, in &ldquo;Paradise Lost,&rdquo; on perceiving
+the man approved by God, called out, &ldquo;O hateful sight!&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+On Thursday the king went with the usual solemnity to prorogue the Parliament
+for a stated time.&nbsp; But I pass this over as a matter that has already
+been so often described.<br>
+<br>
+I have also, during this period, become acquainted with Baron Grothaus,
+the famous walker, to whom I had also a letter of recommendation from
+Baron Groote of Hambro&rsquo;.&nbsp; He lives in Chesterfield House,
+not far from General Paoli, to whom he has promised to introduce me,
+if I have time to call on him again.<br>
+<br>
+I have suffered much this week from the violent cough I brought with
+me from the hole in Derbyshire, so that I could not for some days stir;
+during which time Messrs. Schonborn and Leonhardi have visited me very
+attentively, and contributed much to my amendment.<br>
+<br>
+I have been obliged to relate as much about my journey out of London
+here as I probably shall in Germany of all England in general.&nbsp;
+To most people to whom I give an account of my journey, what I have
+seen is quite new.&nbsp; I must, however, here insert a few remarks
+on the elocution, or manner of speaking, of this country, which I had
+forgot before to write to you.<br>
+<br>
+English eloquence appears to me not to be nearly so capable of so much
+variety and diffusion as ours is.&nbsp; Add to this, in their Parliamentary
+speeches, in sermons in the pulpit, in the dialogues on the stage; nay,
+even in common conversation, their periods at the end of a sentence
+are always accompanied by a certain singular uniform fall of the voice,
+which, notwithstanding its monotony has in it something so peculiar,
+and so difficult, that I defy any foreigner ever completely to acquire
+it.&nbsp; Mr. Leonhardi in particular seemed to me, in some passages
+which he repeated out of <i>Hamlet, </i>to have learnt to sink his voice
+in the true English manner; yet any one might know from his speaking
+that he is not an Englishman.&nbsp; The English place the accent oftener
+on the adjectives than they do on the substantive, which, though undoubtedly
+the most significant word in any sentence, has frequently less stress
+laid on it than you hear laid on mere epithets.&nbsp; On the stage they
+pronounce the syllables and words extremely distinct, so that at the
+theatres you may always gain most instruction in English elocution and
+pronunciation.<br>
+<br>
+This kingdom is remarkable for running into dialect: even in London
+they are said to have one.&nbsp; They say, for example, &ldquo;it a&rsquo;nt&rdquo;
+instead of &ldquo;it is not;&rdquo; &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo;
+for &ldquo;I do not know;&rdquo; &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know him,&rdquo;
+for &ldquo;I do not know him;&rdquo; the latter of which phrases has
+often deceived me, as I mistook a negative for an affirmative.<br>
+<br>
+The word &ldquo;sir,&rdquo; in English, has a great variety of significations.&nbsp;
+With the appellation of &ldquo;sir,&rdquo; an Englishman addresses his
+king, his friend, his foe, his servant, and his dog; he makes use of
+it when asking a question politely; and a member of Parliament, merely
+to fill up a vacancy, when he happens to be at a loss.&nbsp; &ldquo;Sir?&rdquo;
+in an inquiring tone of voice, signifies what is your desire?&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Sir!&rdquo; in a humble tone - gracious Sovereign! - &ldquo;Sir!&rdquo;
+in surly tone, a box on the ear at your service!&nbsp; To a dog it means
+a good beating.&nbsp; And in a speech in Parliament, accompanied by
+a pause, it signifies, I cannot now recollect what it is I wish to say
+farther.<br>
+<br>
+I do not recollect to have heard any expression repeated oftener than
+this, &ldquo;Never mind it!&rdquo;&nbsp; A porter one day fell down,
+and cut his head on the pavement: &ldquo;O, never mind it!&rdquo; said
+an Englishman who happened to be passing by.&nbsp; When I had my trunk
+fetched from the ship in a boat, the waterman rowed among the boats,
+and his boy, who stood at the head of his boat, got a sound drubbing,
+because the others would not let him pass: &ldquo;O, never mind it!&rdquo;
+said the old one, and kept rowing on.<br>
+<br>
+The Germans who have been here any time almost constantly make use of
+Anglicisms, such as &ldquo;<i>es will nicht thun</i>&rdquo; (it will
+not do), instead of <i>es</i> <i>ist nicht hinl&auml;nglich </i>(it
+is not sufficient), and many such.&nbsp; Nay, some even say, &ldquo;<i>Ich
+habe es nicht geminded</i>&rdquo; (I did not mind it), instead of <i>ich
+habe mich nicht daran errinnert, </i>oder <i>daran gedacht </i>(I did
+not recollect it, or I did not think of it).<br>
+<br>
+You can immediately distinguish Englishmen when they speak German, by
+their pronunciation according to the English manner; instead of <i>Ich
+befinde mich wohl, </i>they say <i>Ich befirmich u&rsquo;hol </i>(I
+am very well), the <i>w </i>being as little noticed as <i>u</i> quickly
+sounded.<br>
+<br>
+I have often heard, when directing any one in the street, the phrase,
+&ldquo;Go down the street as far as ever you can go, and ask anybody.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Just as we say, &ldquo;Every child can direct you.&rdquo;<br>
+<br>
+I have already noticed in England they learn to write a much finer hand
+than with us.&nbsp; This probably arises from their making use of only
+one kind of writing, in which the letters are all so exact that you
+would take it for print.<br>
+<br>
+In general, in speaking, reading, in their expressions, and in writing,
+they seem, in England, to have more decided rules than we have.&nbsp;
+The lowest man expresses himself in proper phrases, and he who publishes
+a book, at least writes correctly, though the matter be ever so ordinary.&nbsp;
+In point of style, when they write, they seem to be all of the same
+country, profession, rank, and station.<br>
+<br>
+The printed English sermons are beyond all question the best in the
+world; yet I have sometimes heard sad, miserable stuff from their pulpits.&nbsp;
+I have been in some churches where the sermons seem to have been transcribed
+or compiled from essays and pamphlets; and the motley composition, after
+all, very badly put together.&nbsp; It is said that there are a few
+in London, by whom some of the English clergy are supposed to get their
+sermons made for money.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+CHAPTER XIV.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>London, </i>18th <i>July.<br>
+<br>
+</i>I write to you now for the last time from London; and, what is still
+more, from St. Catherine&rsquo;s, one of the most execrable holes in
+all this great city, where I am obliged to stay, because the great ships
+arrive in the Thames here, and go from hence, and we shall sail as soon
+as the wind changes.&nbsp; This it has just now done, yet still it seems
+we shall not sail till to-morrow.&nbsp; To-day therefore I can still
+relate to you all the little that I have farther noticed.<br>
+<br>
+On Monday morning I moved from the Freemasons&rsquo; Tavern to a public-house
+here, of which the master is a German; and where all the Hambro&rsquo;
+captains lodge.&nbsp; At the Freemasons&rsquo; Tavern, the bill for
+eight days&rsquo; lodging, breakfast, and dinner came to one guinea
+and nine shillings and nine pence.&nbsp; Breakfast, dinner, and coffee
+were always, with distinction, reckoned a shilling each.&nbsp; For my
+lodging I paid only twelve shillings a week, which was certainly cheap
+enough.<br>
+<br>
+At the German&rsquo;s house in St. Catherine&rsquo;s, on the contrary,
+everything is more reasonable, and you here eat, drink, and lodge for
+half-a-guinea a week.&nbsp; Notwithstanding, however, I would not advise
+anybody who wishes to see London, to lodge here long; for St. Catherine's
+is one of the most out-of-the-way and inconvenient places in the whole
+town.<br>
+<br>
+He who lands here first sees this miserable, narrow, dirty street, and
+this mass of ill-built, old, ruinous houses; and of course forms, at
+first sight, no very favourable idea of this beautiful and renowned
+city.<br>
+<br>
+From Bullstrode Street, or Cavendish Square, to St. Catherine&rsquo;s,
+is little less than half a day&rsquo;s journey.&nbsp; Nevertheless,
+Mr. Schonborn has daily visited me since I have lived here; and I have
+always walked back half-way with him.&nbsp; This evening we took leave
+of each other near St. Paul&rsquo;s, and this separation cost me not
+a few tears.<br>
+<br>
+I have had a very agreeable visit this afternoon from Mr. Hansen, one
+of the assistants to the &ldquo;Zollner book for all ranks of men&rdquo;
+who brought me a letter from the Rev. Mr. Zollner at Berlin, and just
+arrived at London when I was going away.&nbsp; He is going on business
+to Liverpool.&nbsp; I have these few days past, for want of better employment,
+walked through several parts of London that I had not before seen.&nbsp;
+Yesterday I endeavoured to reach the west end of the town; and I walked
+several miles, when finding it was grown quite dark, I turned back quite
+tired, without having accomplished my end.<br>
+<br>
+Nothing in London makes so disgusting an appearance to a foreigner,
+as the butchers&rsquo; shops, especially in the environs of the Tower.&nbsp;
+Guts and all the nastiness are thrown into the middle of the street,
+and cause an insupportable stench.<br>
+<br>
+I have forgot to describe the &rsquo;Change to you; this beautiful building
+is a long square in the centre of which is an open area, where the merchants
+assemble.&nbsp; All round, there are covered walks supported by pillars
+on which the name of the different commercial nations you may wish to
+find are written up, that among the crowd of people you may be able
+to find each other.&nbsp; There are also stone benches made under the
+covered walks, which after a ramble from St. Catherine&rsquo;s, for
+example, hither, are very convenient to rest yourself.<br>
+<br>
+On the walls all kinds of handbills are stuck up.&nbsp; Among others
+I read one of singular contents.&nbsp; A clergyman exhorted the people
+not to assent to the shameful Act of Parliament for the toleration of
+Catholics, by suffering their children to their eternal ruin to be instructed
+and educated by them; but rather to give him, an orthodox clergyman
+of the Church of England, this employ and this emolument.<br>
+<br>
+In the middle of the area is a stone statue of Charles the Second.&nbsp;
+As I sat here on a bench, and gazed on the immense crowds that people
+London, I thought that, as to mere dress and outward appearance, these
+here did not seem to be materially different from our people at Berlin.<br>
+<br>
+Near the &rsquo;Change is a shop where, for a penny or even a halfpenny
+only, you may read as many newspapers as you will.&nbsp; There are always
+a number of people about these shops, who run over the paper as they
+stand, pay their halfpenny, and then go on.<br>
+<br>
+Near the &rsquo;Change there is a little steeple with a set of bells
+which have a charming tone, but they only chime one or two lively tunes,
+though in this part of the City you constantly hear bells ringing in
+your ears.<br>
+<br>
+It has struck me that in London there is no occasion for any elementary
+works or prints, for the instruction of children.&nbsp; One need only
+lead them into the City, and show them the things themselves as they
+really are.&nbsp; For here it is contrived, as much as possible, to
+place in view for the public inspection every production of art, and
+every effort of industry.&nbsp; Paintings, mechanisms, curiosities of
+all kinds, are here exhibited in the large and light shop windows, in
+the most advantageous manner; nor are spectators wanting, who here and
+there, in the middle of the street, stand still to observe any curious
+performance.&nbsp; Such a street seemed to me to resemble a well regulated
+cabinet of curiosities.<br>
+<br>
+But the squares, where the finest houses are, disdain and reject all
+such shows and ornaments, which are adapted only to shopkeepers&rsquo;
+houses.&nbsp; The squares, moreover, are not nearly so crowded or so
+populous as the streets and the other parts of the city.&nbsp; There
+is nearly as much difference between these squares and the Strand in
+London, in point of population and bustle, as there is between Millbank
+and Fredericksstadt in Berlin.<br>
+<br>
+I do not at present recollect anything further, my dear friend, worth
+your attention, which I can now write to you, except that everything
+is ready for our departure to-morrow.&nbsp; I paid Captain Hilkes, with
+whom I came over from Hambro&rsquo;, four guineas for my passage and
+my board in the cabin.&nbsp; But Captain Braunschweig, with whom I am
+to return, charges me five guineas; because provisions, he says, are
+dearer in London than at Hambro&rsquo;.&nbsp; I now have related to
+you all my adventures and all my history from the time that I took leave
+of you in the street, my voyage hither with Captain Hilkes excepted.&nbsp;
+Of this, all that I think it necessary to mention is, that, to my great
+dissatisfaction, it lasted a fortnight, and three days I was sea-sick.&nbsp;
+Of my voyage back I will give you a personal account.&nbsp; And now
+remember me to Biester, and farewell till I see you again.<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TRAVELS IN ENGLAND IN 1782 ***<br>
+<pre>
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+</pre></body>
+</html>
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