the Nabob of Arcot in the moment of adulation was pleased to ftyle them, a nation of Kings; and which has acquired them among their neighbours the diftinctive appellation of les fiers infulaires; with refpect to this infirmity, we fay, and which involves in it a contempt of others, our author thinks it by no means reprehenfible in the proportion that many have done; but confiders it as the effect of the conftitution of the country, which places its members above the reach of any other power than that of the law.

To be in poffeffion of any particular advantage, and yet to fhew not a proper fenfe of it, is undoubtedly a mark of weakness; but then to evince a difdain of others, because they may not be in an equally fortunate fituation with ourselves, is fcarcely les fo. Our love of our country is highly commendable. The principle cannot be too warmly or too paffionately cherished. It will be our protection in the day of danger; in the day when the Spoilers fhall be let loose among us, and when the giant AUTHORITY, free and unfettered, fhall be feen in our streets and public places, alarming us by his mighty ftrides! But this our patriotism, as we have already faid, implics not a fcornfulness and contempt of the furrounding ftates: which would be illiberal and unmanly in the extreme.

After fome general remarks on the arts, manufactures, and commerce of England, M. D'ARCHENHOLZ proceeds to a defcription of London and its environs, interfperfed with occafional reflections on the manners and customs of the people, their feveral amusements, and particular employments. This part of the performance affords not, to the English reader, any thing new; and the obfervations, as we have already declared, are not, on every occafion, fufficiently important. We find this writer at one time in the ball-room of the court, and at another time in a cellar at St. Giles's: but even in the latter, perhaps, a real philofopher might employ his thoughts and obfervations with fome fuccefs. But enough of England. We must now direct our attention to a different clime.

In the contemplation of blooming Italy, we naturally feel the glow of fatisfaction and delight; but we muft, at the fame time, acknowlege, that this fatisfaction is not in the fame proportion with that which we have formerly experienced. But this may be partly occafioned by fatiety; for had we not before been glutted with the fruits of the "garden of the world," as it is fometimes ftyled, we might perhaps, at the prefent hour, have gathered its feveral productions with an eager hand.

M. D'ARCHENHOLZ has in this, as in the former part of his work, given a particular defcription of the country, and of its inhabitants. Our readers will fcarcely expect us, bowever, to enter into a detail of the pictures, buildings, and ftatues of

y, any more than of the ftate of letters and of arts: the le is fufficiently known.

With regard to the manners and principles of the people, as y fpring from the conftitution of the feveral ftates of which 3 country is compofed, they are neceffarily much diverfified; i this is very pointedly adverted to in the prefent performance. National characters, or the qualities of a people at large ys this writer), depend entirely on their form of government: it is an abfolute truth, that men conftantly receive from the vereign whatever impreffions he may think proper to give em. Hence the great diffimilarity which we discover between e inhabitants of Venice, Florence, Naples, and Rome, who ay not improperly be ftyled neighbours, but who are fepaitely governed by their own particular laws.' We acknowge the force of this pofition refpecting government, as far as depends on an established and regular mode of rule, in contraiftinction to that which has contended for the influence of limate on the manners of the people: but we cannot fubfcribe to he opinion with all the latitude which this author has given to t. The fentiment appears to be flavish (inafmuch as it makes not any ftipulation for the virtue of the prince), and is fo unlike o any thing which prefented itself in the former part of the work, that we think it must have fallen from the writer through inadvertency. But perhaps he does not mean to speak of these impreffions as a neceffary confequence, but rather that mankind are too apt, in all events, to receive and retain them. In such a cafe, the whole is fufficiently conâftent.

The picture which this gentleman has drawn of the modern Italian, will, by many, be declared a daub. He confiders him as the moft wretched and most despicable of human beings. Wretched, by reafon of the government under which he lives *; and defpicable from his want of virtue, and from the utter ftupidity (l'ignorance craffe) which uniformly marks his character. But the colouring, in the latter particular, is not in ftrict conformity with truth. Italy, even at the prefent day, can boast of fome truly ingenious men. M. D'ARCHENHOLZ, however, is fo greatly enamoured of English polity and English manners, that he feems unable to view any other nation with a tolerable degree of complacency. We muft at the fame time remark, that the accompanying obfervations on a state of vaffalage, are fuch as do him honour. On the whole, the prefent performance may be ranked among the ufeful and the agreeable in its clafs; although its partialities are frequently fo great, that it was impoffible for us to pafs them unnoticed. A.B.

We mean to offer a few observations on this fubject in our account of a volume now before us, intitled, The Temporal Government of the Pope's State.

ART.

ART. IV.

C. F. E. HAMMARDS Reife, &c. i. e. Travels in the Year 1 through Upper Silefia, and Part of Poland, to the Ruffian Ar in the Ukraine. By C. F. E. HAMMARD, Lieutenant of E gineers in the Pruffian Service. 8vo. Gotha. 1787.

HAMMARD's defign in undertaking this journey, w

M. to learn the art of war under the General Romanzor

Sadunaifkoy: and, if the volume now given fhould be favou ably received, he propofes to publish two more; the one com taining an account of the march of the Imperial army throug Ruffia, the other defcribing its route through Moldava and Walachia. He appears to be an attentive and intellige obferver; and his volume contains many interesting particula concerning the inhabitants, policy, cultivation, produce, an commerce of the countries through which he passed.

Upper Silefia does not, by M. HAMMARD's account, pear to have derived any great advantages from its being fubje to the King of Pruffia, with whom, when he took poffeffion the country, the nobles ftipulated for the prefervation of the: privileges. Hence the peafants are in a molt abject ftate of very; which, though fomewhat foftened by the attentions cij the fovereign and the equity of the ftates, cannot, fays our author, be entirely abolished, without ruining the nobles, by depriving them of hands for labour. How far this reafoning is juft or valid, we shall not, at prefent, examine. It is however certain, that before liberty can be a real bleffing, either to themselves or to the community, they ought to be a litt humanifed by inftruction; and to be, in fome degree, reformed from the habits of idleness and drunkennefs, to which they are here faid to be exceffively addicted. The Prince of Anbalt Coethen was at confiderable expence to provide for the inftruc ion, health, fubfiftence, and domeftic comfort of his vaffals in the feigniory of Pleffe; but these benevolent attentions made no other impreffion on them, than to occafion an infurrection in 1781. To fend their children to the fchools eftablished for them, they confidered as a hardship, which, under a variety of frivolous pretences, they contrived to elude; and they spent, in idleness and intemperance, thofe days which were allowed them to labour for their own fubfiftence. M. HAMMARD is of opinion, that if their clergy were lefs fuperftitious, and more careful to inftruct them in the principles and practice of religion; if divine fervice were performed in their own language, inftead of in Latin, and if good fchools were established, they might gradually be civilized and improved.

Though Upper Silefia is lefs fertile than the Lower, it is nevertheless well cultivated, and produces what would be fuffi

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eient, not only to fupply the inhabitants, but alfo to permit a. confiderable exportation of grain; but the distilleries, which, though they enrich the nobles, ruin the people, confume a great part of it. This bufinefs was at one time carried on by the Jews, who acquired large fortunes by it; for, no fooner was the corn fown, than they claimed the crop in return for the money which they had advanced; but, in 1781, thefe ufurious bargains were abolished by an order from the King.

The fouthern part of Poland, through which M. HAMMARD's route lay, exhibits a moft wretched fcene of defolation and poverty, the fad confequences of civil diffenfion, and of foreign and domeftic oppreffion. The cities, if they deserve this appellation, ferve only to vary the form of mifery: many of them are encumbered with ruins, and remarkable for the indigence of their inhabitants, who are chiefly Jews. Even in Lublin, which, when compared with the reft, is in a flourishing ftate, and diftinguished by its trade and manufactures, the ftreets are narrow and gloomy; of the houses, only the ground floor is habitable, while the upper ftories are nodding to their fall, and threaten the deftruction of the paffenger. Sometimes, in deed, a more pleafing profpect occurs, when the traveller enters the domains of a nobleman, who has fenfe enough to perceive that, by ameliorating the condition of his vaffals, he, in fact, promotes his own interests.

What M. HAMMARD fays of the Polish nobility, appears to be just and candid. After obferving that pride forms the bafis of their character, and is the fource of many ridiculous prejudices, as well as of much vice and folly, he allows that it also produces and fofters many good qualities, particularly courage, magnanimity, generofity, and bofpitality; the latter is common to the Poles of every rank, and may be found in the cottage as well as in the palace.

Of the Polish ladies, our traveller fpeaks highly; and informs us, that, in general, their natural attractions are improved by an excellent education, which renders their company very agreeable. They apply themfelves, from their infancy, to the ftudy of foreign languages, and few affairs of any importance are tranfacted, in which they are not concerned they have much more felf-command and penetration than their countrymen; and many a foreign minifter has found his political fagacity foiled by their management.

As the traveller enters Volhinia, the fcene improves; the country is fertile and well cultivated; the inhabitants, though ftill flaves, are lefs degenerate than their neighbours, and feem to poffefs a fpirit and abilities fuperior to their condition. One of the largest cities of Volhinia, is Dubno, belonging to Prince Michael Lubomiríky. It is a place of confiderable commerce,

and

and during the fair, which is held in the month of January, fuppofed to contain from twenty-five to thirty thousand perfons, as it is the refort of traders from Turkey, Germany, and Swit zerland; the little fhops which the Prince has erected in the market-place, for those who frequent the fair, are neat and con venient; and there is a theatre built in the modern ftyle, which, at this feafon, is occupied by a company of Polish actors.

In Podolia, we are told, the venereal disease prevails to . great a degree, that whole villages are infected by it. This fays M. HAMMARD, the inhabitants afcribe to the Ruffians, whom they attribute all their calamities, without reflecting the the French, who were there with the confederates, may alío bar: contributed to its propagation. It is afferted, that many of the Ruffian officers look upon a flight touch of it, to be the be prefervative against the plague.

The cities in the Ukraine are poor and ill-built, except Ni merow and Czudnow, in which the people are employed in th manufacture of cotton, in the making of glafs and earthen ware and in the bleaching of wax: Mihilow and Berdiezow are al enriched by the fairs held in them, and the commerce which the latter encourage. The foil is remarkably fertile, but ill culti vated; because the spirit and industry of the peasants are de preffed by flavery. The Coffacs, however, who inhabit th borders of the Ukraine, are more free, and retain fome trace of that liberty, which, till the reign of Sigifmond III. they e joyed as a democratic ftate under the protection of Poland. I war, they are bold, but cruel, neither giving nor taking quarter, and knowing no medium between death and victory. They have a remarkable talent of imitating any model of workmanfhip that is given them, and, with proper inftruction, migt: eafily be made to excel in arts and manufactures.

The Zaporoguian Coffacs inhabit one of the most pleafar: and fertile districts of the Ukraine, and preferve a kind of de mocratic government under an elective chief, who is ftyled At taman, or Hætman, and who refides at Setfcha; but, fince their laft invafion of Poland, their number is greatly dimi nifhed, and the court of Ruffia feems refolved to extirpate ther.

This invafion happened in the year 1770, when they penetrated as far as Volhinia. Gouda, their chief, had been in the fervice of the Way wode, Count Potocki, but, conceiving himfelf injured, he determined on revenge. For this purpose, he went over to the Zaporoguians, whom he inftigated to take up arms in favour of the Ukraine Coffacs. No fooner had the Ruffian army retired into quarters, than he attacked the territory of the Waywode; and, in the district of Braxlaw, put to the (word all who were not of his party. Thofe, in the adjacent country, who had time to efcape, fed to Human, a fmall town in the neighbourhood;