music within, and the Elyfian Fields in view from the fine open temple on the fide of the hill; that I could not help of fanfying myfelf in the intermediat region of the bleffed. I thought I was arrived at the rest which remains for the people of God. It seemed as if I had travelled at last to the blissful region of the holy, the good and happy; that my wanderings through a world, made defolate by prevailing rage and malignity, were at an end, and I was become a member of that eternal fociety, which adores the high and lofty One, without ceafing, and for ever maintains an inviolable regard to truth and righteoufnefs. Such ideas naturally arofe from the scene before me. Do but imagine yourself in thofe fine fields, when I was firft there, and you will allow fome reason to be fanciful. You arrive at the most delightful rural spot in the world; and behold which ever way you turn, that kind of nature which rendered the garden of Eden a paradice of charms. You fee all round you the choiceft and moft excellent of the earth, in ftatues that seem to live; and at a distance perceive, within the fweep of a charming woody hill a beautiful rotunda, or open temple of Ionic pillars; which is filled with as perfect beauties as the eye of man hath feen; and on approaching it, you find, they are dreffed in`a man manner the most charming (a), and in their employment, and whole deportment, have an (a) The drefs of these ladies is a night-gown of the fineft holland, without a hoop; round mobs and short ruffles, both of the richeft lace; a blue filk capuchin, with the head of it hanging down, and the ftomacher decorated with blue ribbons; a blue filk petticoat next the gown, and a long apron of the fineft cambric; white ftockings, and blue filk fhoes, faftened with a role of blue ribbon. A large crofs of diamonds glitters on their breafts. This is their conftant drefs winter and fummer. They never vary, excepting that the blue capuchins are only worn in chapel, and when they march two and two, according to feniority, into church. At other times, on walking out, they put on white capuchins. The diamond-cross every member is obliged. to get, and wear continually. It is the badge of their order; but all are not bound to have it of the fame richnefs, tho the gold frame the diamonds are set in, must be all of the fame dimenfion. Some of those reclufes have croffes of great value. The ladies who board with them, do not dress in their manner: They may wear what they please, excepting that diabolical invention, that for ever-execrable enfign, the impious and unnatural hoop-petticoat. This dreadful machine is never to appear among those wise and amiable women. Under fixteen they take no Eleve among them, and every member admitted muft have fome notion of mufic, or a voice or tafte that may be improved to inftrumental or vocal harmony, as they incline. Mufic is the thing next to piety the most effential in their conftitution. They ftudy it very hard, and produce every wonder it is capable of working, when they play. The twelve feniors inftruct the twelve eleves or juniors, fo long as they want teaching in this fine art. The juniors may likewife learn to paint from the elder conftituents ; fome an appearance of beings that are more than mortal: No galloping eyes, or the least inat tention some of whom have the ideas of a Titian or a Raphael, and have painted feveral pieces that adorn their noble library, in which we fee the whole power of art fully exerted. The colours, the figures, the poftures, fhew notions that are confummat, and hands that can work up a picture to perfection. Painting however is notrequired of any member. In this they may do as their genius directs. A constituent, on admiffion, is to pay down five hundred pounds, which is to remain for ever in the treasury, towards a fund for the perpetuity and charitys of the feminary, if fuch conftituent continues a member for the space of five years: but if the leaves the houfe within that time, fhe has four hundred pounds of her money back: And for the five hundred pounds fo payed, they are provided with every thing the heart of women can wifh for in that fituation, cloaths excepted. They have an elegant table kept for them; the best meat and drink in plenty; and wine of every kind, tea, coffee, firing, and all that can be required: They have faddle horfes in ftable, to ride out every day, if they like riding; and for one month in a year, any member may be away, where the pleases; but there muft not be more than two of them out at one time: Nor are strangers allowed to vifit them, unless upon very extraordinary occafions. Every Saturday morning, each member is obliged to render a public account of her week's study, by reading an effay, obfervation, or poem of her compofing, on fome good fubject; morality, history, criticism, mathematics, or any ufeful topic they please ; and the best of fuch effays and obfervations, what are judged to be good, and of importance, are enterd in a large folio book by the eldeft of the twelve young women they keep on charity in their house ; and the name of the writer at the end of the paper. This book is called Didafkalia, and muft make many volumes, if the fociety continues in being. They had begun a fecond tention in their devotion; but a fervor in their piety, and a beauty in their worship, as near as it is poffible for mortals to come to the volume, when I payed my refpects to them last year, at their house, as I came down from the north, and so far as I read in the first volume during my ftay there, I faw fome excellent papers of folid and ufeful knowledge, that tend to enlarge the empire of nature and reafon beyond the land of fpectres, forms, and fancys. Yet thefe are not their only literary labors. Such things are but for the improvement of their minds in an agreeable way, and to furnish them with chat in their converfation hours; when they talk over the various fubjects in a manner eafy and free. Some of thofe ladies are deeply engaged in the investigation of caufes, principles, powers, and things. Thus do these reformed Reclufes, as they call themselves, live. Religion is their main employment; but they have the nobleft amusements, for many fpare hours, and a concert of vocal and inftrumental mufic enlivens the evenings of their every day. They are without all peradventure the happyeft fociety on this globe, and if I were a woman, born with talents and money enough, to fit me for this clauftral house, I had rather be a member of it, than reign a queen upon the greateft throne. I have already fayed, that they admit twelve boarders, at one hundred a year each boarder; and have only to add, that two of the twenty-four conftituents of which the house confifts, are always to be young ladies of great merit, that have no fortune to pay the fee at entring, or keep themselves in the drefs. They are fupported by the treasury of the houfe, and treated with as much refpect as the rich. They have diamond croffes beftowed on them, and differ in nothing from the twenty-two. Their cafe, and the twelve poor girls, who are cloathed inwhite dimity waftcoats and petticoats, and round coarse cambric caps, and educated and well fed, are as fine A reflexion on ortho doxy. the religion of angels. You fee they are alf mafters of mufic, and that in their divine fer inftances of rational humanity as can be met with in the whole world. I apprehend however, that notwithstanding this, and that they do as many other noble acts of charity as any fociety upon earth, for their number, and are as pious as the primitive chriftians were; yet, because they renounce the theology of a right reverend faint, and are unitarian chriftians, our orthodox bigots will treat them feverely; and as to their hiftorian, confign him to the pit that has no bottom, for recommending them as the brighteft patterns of true chriftianity, and every moral excellence, to the ladys of Great Britain. I fear, that notwithstanding thefe illuftrious reclufes are the most benevolent of mortals, and confider themfelves as created and redeemed for no other end, no other purpose, than to have their converfation in heaven, and live in the spirit of prayer: That they look upon regeneration as the true redemption, and think all that is great and aftonishing in the goodness of God, all that is glorious and happy with regard to man, is contained in it; that the divine example of our Savior's life, and the heavenly laws he left us, are all centred in this one point, that we must be in him new creatures ; created again unto righteousness, by the sanctifying fpirit, and the mere good-will of the everlafting Father; that they adore the goodnefs of God for the benefits of our Savior's miffion, and study the facred writings continually; live as perfons bound in spirit, and bent towards the new Jerufalem, and by prayer and fafting, by felf-denyal, and the moft abfolute and entire obedience to the laws of heaven, do all that it is poffible for human creatures to do, to keep the commandments in all the inftances of the whole duty of man; yet so great is the malignity of fome Athanafian churchmen, that they will have no bowels for fuch chriftians; will con fider thefe admirable women as fo many objects of their hatred, |