in America, this country is undone. I defire to be reckoned of the last age, and to be thought to have lived to be fuperannuated, preferving my fenfes only for myself and for the few I value. 1 cannot aspire to be traduced like Algernon Sydney, and content myself with facrificing to him amongit my lares. Unalterable in my principles, careless about most things below effentials, indulging myfelf in trifles by fyftem, annihilating myfelf by choice, but dreading folly at an unfeemly age, I contrive to pass my time agreeably enough, yet fee its termination approach without anxiety. This is a true picture of my mind and it must be true, because drawn for you, whom I would not deceive, and could not if I would. Your question on my being writing drew it forth, though with more ferioufnefs than the report deferved yet talking to one's deareft friend is neither wrong nor out of feafon. Nay, you are my best apology. I have always contented myself with your being perfect, or, if your modefty demands a mitigated term, I will fay unexceptionable. It is comical, to be fure, to have always been more folicitous about the virtue of one's friend than about one's own-yet I repeat it, you are my apology-though I never was fo unreasonable as to make you answerable for my faults in return: I take them wholly to myself-But enough of this. When I know my own mind, for hitherto I have fettled no plan for my fummer, I will come to you. Adieu." Vol. v. p. 191.

LETTER CIX.

" October 5, 1777. "MY difficulties about removing from home arife from the confcioufnefs of my own weakness. I make it a rule, as much as I can, to conform wherever I go. Though I am threefcore to-day, Ifhould not think that an age for giving every thing up; but it is for whatever one has not strength to perform. You, though not a vaft deal younger, are as healthy and strong, thank God, as ever you was: and you cannot have ideas of the mortification of being ftared at by ftrangers and fervants, when one hobbles, or cannot do as others do. I delight in being with you, and the Richmonds, and those I love and know; but the crowds of young people, and Chichester folks,

and officers, and strange fervants, makė me afraid of Goodwood, I own. My fpirits are never low, but they will feldom laft out the whole day; and though I dare to fay I appear to many capricious, and different from the rest of the world, there is more reafon in my behaviour than there feems. You know in London I feldom stir out in a morning, and always late; and it is because I want a great deal of reft. Exercife never did agree with me: and it is hard if I do not know myself by this time; and what has done fo well with me will probably fuit me beft for the rest of my life. It would be ridiculous to talk fo much of myself, and to enter into fuch trifling details, but you are the perfon in the world that I wish to convince that I do not act merely from humour or ill-humour; though I confefs at the fame time that I want your bonhommie, and have a difpofition not to care at all for people that I do not abfolutely like. I could fay a great deal more on this head, but it is not proper; though, when one has pretty much done with the world, I think with Lady Blandford that one may indulge one's felf in one's own whims and partialities in one's own houfe. I do not mean, ftill lefs to profefs, retirement, because it is lefs ridiculous to go on with the world to the laft, than to return to it: but in a quiet way it has long been my purpofe to drop a great deal of it.* Of all things I am farthest from not intending to come often to Park-place, whenever you have little company ; and I had rather be with you in November than in July, because I am so totally unable to walk farther than a fnail. I will never fay any more on these subjects, because there may be as much affectation in being over-old, as folly in being over-young. My idea of age is, that one has nothing really to do but what one ought, and what is reasonable. All affectations are pretenfions; and pretending to be any thing one is not, cannot deceive when one is known, as every body must be that has lived long. I do not mean that old folks may not have pleafures, if they can; but then I think thofe pleafures are confined to being comfortable, and to enjoying the few friends one has not outlived. I am fo fair as to own, that one's duties are not pleafures. I have given up a great deal of my time to nephews and

nicces,

all this, and you may have fome idea of Lord Rockingham's. Imagine a most extenfive and most beautiful modern front erected before the great Lord Strafford's old houfe, and this front almoft blocked up with hills, and every thing unfinished round it, nay within it. The great apartment, which is magnificent, is untouched: the chimney-pieces lie in boxes unopened. The park is traversed by a common road between two high hedges-not from necefhty-Oh! no; this lord loves nothing but horfes, and the enclosures for them take place of every thing. The bowling-green behind the houfe contains no less than four obelisks, and looks like a Brobdignag nine-pin-alley: on a hill near, you would think you faw the York-buildings water-works invited into the country. There are temples in corn-fields; and in the little wood, a window-frame mounted on a bunch of laurel, and intended for an hermitage. In the inhabited part of the house, the chimney-pieces are like tombs; and on that in the library is the figure of this lord's grandfather in a night gown of plafter and gold. Amidt all this litter and bad tafte, I adored the fine Vandyck of Lord Straf. ford and his fecretary, and could not help reverencing his bed-chamber. With all his faults and arbitrary behaviour one must worship his spirit and eloquence: where one efteems but a fingle royalift, one need not fear being too partial. When I vifited his tomb in the church (which is remarkably neat and pretty, and enriched with monuments) I was provoked to find a little mural cabinet, with his figure three feet high kneeling. Inftead of a ftern buft (and his head would furnish a nobler than Bernini's Brutus) one is peevish to fee a plaything that might have been bought at Chenevix's. There is a tender infcription to the fecond Lord Strafford's wife, written by himself but his genius was fitter to coo over his wife's memory, than to sacrifice to his father's.

"Well! you have had enough of magnificence; you fhall repofe in a defert. Old Wortley Montague lives on the very spot where the dragon of Wantley did-only I believe the latter was much better lodged.-You never faw fuch a wretched hovel, lean, unpainted, and half its nakedness barely haded with harateen ftretched till it cracks. Here the miser hoards health

and money, his only two objects: he has chronicles in behalf of the air; and battens on Tokay, his fingle in dulgence, as he has heard it is particularly falutary. But the favageness of the fcene would charm your Alpine tafte: it is tumbled with fragments of mountains, that look ready laid for building the world. One fcrambles over a huge terrafs, on which mountain afhes and various trees spring out of the very rocks; and at the brow is the den, but not fpacious enough for fuch an inmate. However, I am perfuaded it furnished Pope with this line, fo exactly it anfwers to the picture:

On rifted rocks, the dragon's late

abodes.

I wanted to ask if Pope had not vifited Lady Mary Wortley here during their intimacy-but could one put that quef tion to Avidien himself? There remains an ancient odd infcription here, which has fuch a whimfical mixture of devotion and romanticnefs that I muft tranfcribe it :

"Preye for the foul of Sir Thomas Wortley, knight of the body to the kings Edward IV. Richard III. Henry VII. Henry VIII. whofe faults God pardon. He caufed a lodge to be built on this crag, in the midst of Wharncliff (the old orthography), to hear the harts bell, in the year of our Lord 1510.'-It was a chafe, and what he meant to hear was the noife of the ftags.

During my refidence here I have made two little excurfions; and I af fure you it requires refolution: the roads are infufferable; they mend them-I fhould call it fpoil themwith large pieces of ftone. fret I faw the remains of that memorable caftle where Rivers, Vaughan, and Grey lay fhorter by the head;' and on which Gray fays

At Pom

ftone, which has nothing remarkable but a lofty terrace, a whole-length portrait of his grandfather in tapestry, and the having belonged to the great Lord Strafford. We faw that monument of part of poor Sir John's extravagance, his houfe, and garden, which he left orders to make without once looking at either plan. The houfe is a baftard Gothic, but of not near the extent I had heard. We lay at Leeds, a dingey large town; and through very bad black roads, for the whole country is a colliery, or a quarry, we went to Kirkstall Abbey, where are vaft Saxon ruins, in a moft picturefque fituation, on the banks of a river that falls in a cafcade among rich meadows, hills, and woods: it belongs to Lord Cardigan; his father pulled down a large houfe here, left it fhould interfere with the family feat, Deane. We returned through Wakefield, where is a pretty Gothic chapel on a bridge, erected by Edward IV. in memory of his father, who lived at Sandal Čaftle, juft by, and perithed in the battle here. There is fearce any thing of the caftle extint, but it commanded a rich profpect.

"By permiffion from their graces of Norfolk, who are at Tunbridge, Lord Strafford carried us to Work fop, where we paffed two days. The houfe is huge, and one of the magnificent works of old Befs of Hardwicke, who guarded the Queen of Scots here for fome time in a wretched little bedchamber within her own lofty one: there is a tolerable little picture of Mary's needle-work. The great apartment is vaft and trift, the whole leanly furnished: the great gallery, of above two hundred feet, at the top of the houfe, is divided into a library, and into nothing. The chapel is decent. There is no profpect, and the barren face of the country is richly furred with evergreen plantations, under the direction of the late Lord Petre.

"On our way we faw Kiveton, an ugly neglected feat of the Duke of Leeds, with noble apartments and feveral good portraits-Oh! portraits! -I went to Welbeck-It is impoffible

to defcribe the bales of Cavendishes, Harleys, Hollefes, Veres, and Ogles: every chamber is tapeftried with them; nay, and with ten thoufand other fat morfels; all their hiftories infcribed; all their arms, crests, devices, fculptured on chimmies of various English. marbles in ancient forms (and, to say truth, most of them ugly). Then fuch a Gothic hall, with pendent fret. work, in imitation of the old, and with a chimney-piece extremely like mine in the library! fuch water-colour pictures! fuch hiftoric frag ments! In fhort, fuch and fo much of every thing I like, that my party thought they should never get me away again. There is Prior's portrait, and the column and Varelft's flower on which he wrote; and the authores Duchefs of Newcastle in a theatric habit, which the generally wore, and, confequently, looking as mad as the prefent duchefs; and dukes of the fame name, looking as foolish as the prefent duke; and Lady Mary Wortfey, drawn as an authoress, with rather better pretenfions; and cabinets and glaffes wainscoted with the Greendale oak, which was fo large, that an old steward wifely cut a way through it to make a triumphal paffage for his lord and lady on their wedding, and only killed it!-But it is impoflible to tell you half what there is. The poor woman who is just dead, paffed her whole widowhood, except in doing ten thoufand right and just things, in collecting and monumenting the portraits and reliques of all the great families from which the defcended, and which centred in her. The Duke and Duchefs of Portland are expected there to-morrow; and we faw dozens of cabinets and coffers with the feals not yet taken off. What treasures to revel over! The horfeman duke's manege is converted into a lofty stable, and there is still a grove or two of magnificent oaks that have escaped all thefe great families, though the laft Lord Oxford cut down above an hundred thousand pounds worth. The place has little pretty, diftinct from all thefe reverend circumftances." Vd. v. p. 270.

(To be continued.)

LXXV. M. De la Péroufe's Voyage round the World. (Continued from p. 291.)

EXTRACTS.

MANNERS OF THE ISLANDERS OF MAOUNA.

(December 1787.) THE next morning, as the rifing of the fun announced a fair day, I refolved to avail myself of it, in order to reconnoitre the country, obferve the inhabitants at their own homes, fill water, and then get under way, prudence forbidding me to pafs a fecond night at that anchorage, which M. de Langle had alfo found too dangerous for a longer ftay. It was therefore agreed upon, that we fhould fail in the afternoon, and that the morning, which was very fine, fhould be in part employed in trading for hogs and fruit. As early as the dawn of day, the iflanders had furrounded the two frigates with two hundred canoes full of different kinds of provifion, which they would only exchange for beads-in their eftimation diamonds of the first water. Our axes, our cloth, and all our other articles of commerce, they difdained. While a part of the crew was occupied in keeping them in order, and in trading with them, the reft filled the boats with empty cafks, in order to go afhore to water. Our two boats, armed, and commanded by Mers. De Clonard and Colinet, and thofe of the Aftrolabe commanded by Meffrs. De Monti and Bellegarde, set off, with that intention, at five o'clock in the morning, for a bay about a league diftant, and a little way to windward; a convenient fituation, as it enabled them, when loaded with water, to come back with the wind large. I followed clofe after Meffrs. Clonard and Monti in my pinnace (bifcayenne), and landed at the fame time as they did. Unfortunately M. De Langle refolved to make an excurfion in his jolly-boat to another creek, about a league diftant from our wateringplace. This excurfion, whence he returned delighted with the beauty of the village he had vifited, was, as will be seen hereafter, the caufe of our misfortune. The creek, towards VOL. II.-No. IX.

which the long-boats fteered, was large and commodious; both they and the other boats remained afloat at low water, within half a pistol shot of the beach; and the water was both fine and eafily procured. Meffrs. De Clonard and De Monti preferved the best order poffible. A line of foldiers was posted between the beach and the Indians, who amounted to about two hundred, including a great many women and children. We prevailed upon them all to fit down under cocoatrees, that were not more than eight toifes diftant from our boats. Each of them had by him fowls, hogs, parrots, pigeons, or fruit, and all wished to fell them at once, which occafioned fome confufion.

"The women, fome of whom were very pretty, offered their favours, as well as their fowls and fruit, to all thofe who had beads to give them; and foon tried to pafs through the line of foldiers, who oppofed but a feeble refiftance to their attempts. Europeans who have made a voyage round the world, especially Frenchmen, have no arms to ward off fimilar attacks: accordingly, the fair favages found little difficulty in breaking the ranks; the men then approached, and the confufion was growing general, when Indians, whom we took for chiefs, made their appearance, with sticks in their hands, and reftored order, every one returning to his poft, and our traf. fick beginning anew, to the great fatisfaction of both buyers and fellers. In the mean time, a fcene had paffed in our long-boat, which was a real act of hoftility, and which I was defirous of repreffing without effufion of blood. An Indian had gotten upon the ftern of the boat, had laid hold of a mallet, and had aimed feveral blows at the arms and back of one of our failors. I ordered four of the ftrongest feamen to lay hold of him, and to throw him into the fea, which was immediately done. The other iflanders appearing to difapprove of the conduct of their countryman, this fquab. ble was attended with no bad confequences. Perhaps an example of feverity would have been neceffary to awe thefe people ftill more, by letting them know how much the force of our fire-arms was beyond their indi vidual ftrength; for their height of about five feet ten inches, and their mufcular limbs of colofal proportions,

Y y

gave