delicacy may confider as a ridiculous pride.

Though politically they are now of small confideration, except in their own ideas, and but little of their former national greatnefs or character may remain, befides their pride, yet individually the country ftill abounds in valuable characters, or rather in materials of which fuch characters may be readily formed when wanted. We meet with as excellent and amiable qualities of mind as in the most polifhed and enlightened nations: this is often, I believe, the cafe in rude and mifgoverened countries; virtues arife as they are wanted, where the foil and materials are good, and here they are excellent. Wife nature feems folicitous in bringing every condition of fociety nearly to a level of happiness. If you live any time among them, you will meet with fouls capable of every virtue, but may obferve how few occafions or motives there are to practise any, in this ftate of fociety and government. They are obviously made for generofity, probity, magnanimity, refolution, perfeverance, and ftill retain a certain cool and habitual equanimity of temper and found judgement, which we find in no other nation, joined to fuch warmth of heart and fancy. But, even on this foundation, you will too often find firucture of vice and ignorance; efpecially in the lower claffes, degrees of indolence, idleness, malevolence, depravity of tafte and difpofition, which exhibit at once to view the powers of habit and of a bad government, and the dregs or ruins of a moft refpectable national character. The Spaniards, though naturally deep and artful politicians, have itill fomething fo nobly

a

frank and honeft in their difpofition, that they are not, I think, in pros portion, politically infidious or trea cherous, unless the French make them fo. Of the modern national characters, I am inclined to place the Spanish and English fo nearly alike, among the first. I believe there is likewise something rather fuperior ftill perceptible in the modern Roman character, as well as in their language and manner; and alfo in the Mahinotes, or modern Lacedæmonions, and in the Macedonians.

The

The manners of the politer focieties here, and of the higher ranks, are already too closely copied from the French, who, you know, are not naturally delicate nor fentimental, but artificially refined by fashion. By means of the ladies in Spain, who readily adopt the liberty of French manners, which, engrafted on their own, they carry beyond the original, this nation will gradually be Frenchified, in fpight of all the old Dons and old antipathies. women being of late admitted to more freedom and society, and at a period of loofe manners, retaining all their old babits of art and intrigue, the freedom of intercourse between the fexes will probably be carried farther here than in the more polifhed countries, whofe vices they have acquired, without paffing through the fame media or degrees of civilization and arts of luxury, Vice, in various fhapes, feems already here to ftalk forth almoft naked and alone, unreftrained by habits and refinements, which ellewhere grow up with it. All leads to a courfe and unadorned kind of materialifm in pleasure, to degrees of depravity and fatiety, in which they will overtake their more re

fined neighbours, who began the fame career fo long before them. However, the fair fex, as ufual, are fill far more refined and fentimental than the men, and as they are gaining more influence in fociety, may retard or regulate the progrefs of depravity. Every ftranger, who ftays long enough to understand them, is captivated with the fpirit, grace, F and humour, of their conversation. You know fomething of the romantic force of their paffions, their ftrong and inviolable attachments, efpecially when heightened by the difficulties of intrigue. Though the jealoufy of hufbands feems now worn out of fashion, the fpirit of it is preferved among the lovers, and love is ftill an object of the first importance in Spain. Their numerous love-fongs have ftill many graces, and, though tinged with the hyperbolical falfe tafte of the times, are often highly expreffive, refined, and laconic.

There are, as elsewhere, more vices in their fea-ports and capital towns, than in the reft of the country, where their ancient character and diftinguishing manners have not yet entirely difappeared; and we English are generally pleafed and proud to cherish and to relish fuch remains, in oppofition to the French; while they, with a fneer of contempt, defpife both the Spaniards

beauty in France, we can readily conceive, that Monfieur cannot much admire that of this nation; nor relith or comprehend all the numerous Spanish graces of perfon, manner, language, nor the high expreffions of phyfiognomy, fo different from, and I think far fuperior to, thofe of his own nation. Among the fine faces here, confifting of features generally large and ftrongly expreffive, he finds nothing like the little round or rather fquare face, with the fnub nofe and pigeon's eye, which is the ftyle of beauty the most common and the most efteemed in France.

Where we find fuch fine abilities and natural good sense, joined to fo much ignorance and falle tafte, fuch loofe manners and unrestrained vices, with great inquifitorial feverity in religious obfervances, it is plain. that the church, their only fchool, aims not at the improvement of morals or of learning, but at power: nay, I think the moft fuperftitious nations are the most wicked and debauched, and we may almost meafure their degrees of vice by the apparent ardour of their devotion. There is, perhaps, more probity, though lefs appearance of religion, in London, than in any other great town in Europe."

the fame.

Thele two nations are, to be fure, as oppofite in almost every thing as nature could well make fuch near neighbours. Even the actual ftate and taste of female beauty is widely different in the two countries. After obferving the prevalent ftyle of

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NEW of the men, though often

of a good fquare make and active appearance, and poffeffing many other good qualities as men and foldiers, are capable of any great and continued exertions of ftrength, refolution, or perieverance. There is a kind of female levity,

weakness,

weakness, and fenfibility of character, which renders them more fubject to fudden fits of paffion than to lafting habits.-Peculiarly difpofed to love and devotion; with more fenfibility than wifdom; pocos y locos, the Spaniards fay of them, they refemble the French in many ways, and are very different from the Spaniards. I believe we rather confound thefe two neighbouring nations, and fancy a character of both which fuits neither.

Though the fame kind of government and religion, a fimilarity of manners and opinions, may have brought them to an apparent refemblance in the eyes of ftrangers; yet, on examination, they are obvioufly of a different race and character. The Portuguese is naturally the most docile and complaifant of all creatures, and the Spaniard the moft obftinate: the one feems to be moved by a kind of volatile feminine fpirit of fenfibility, and the other by one of a nature more mafculine, teady, obdurate, and determined: the one obfequious, obedient muy rendido hafa derriterfe; his manner and language the moft feeling and carinofa; generally defirous to please, ready enough to learn and receive impreffions, and may be formed to what you defire; though, by turns, equally carelefs and indolent, weak, changeable, fuperftitious, he forgets fooner than he had learned. Whereas the Spaniard is ever the fame proud, obftinate, lazy, but manly character, and, will not eafily receive or follow any impreffions or motives but his own: by his religion and loyalty he has been enflaved, which by any other means would have been very difficult with a high fenfibility, and a determined character, he may be

led to be vindictive and cruel; with ftrong nerves, and a perfevering mind, he may be very fit for a defperate enterprife and conqueft. But as fuch qualities are not now the chief requifites in the character of a foldier, nor fo well adapted to the ready obedience and activity of modern difcipline, I would perhaps now rather choose to recruit in Por tugal than in Spain. Indeed, we have lately feen a great officer, Count de la Lippe, form a very good little army of thefe people, in lefs time than could probably have been done with the people of almoft any other nation. But they will foon lofe their beft habits and difcipline, if the leaft neglected, and will relapfe into their ufual floth and indolence, of which there is already too much appearance: already lulled to fleep by falfe policy and religion, every thing feems now neglected except the church: their most devout fovereigns amufe them with religious proceffions, with building convents, and churches; while the army, the garrifons, the navy, are all neglec ed, and half the commiflions left vacant. If fuch measures are con tinued, they cannot long be fit for war, and hence not very long a nation.

In every country fomething of importance may be learned. To follow the ideas of that great officer, Count de la Lippe, and fee what he did, and intended, for the defence of this country, would be one of the fineft military leffons you could have. You fhould fee Elvas, which he fortified, and examine all his excellent ideas of fortification and ar tillery: his fafe flanks, parapets, refources, carriages, modes of economifing power and fpace, of making powder; in fhort, his excellent

ideas on almost every military fubject: and then his general plans of defending this frontier, and of attacking Spain."

Specimens of original Anecdotes of Czar Peter the Great; with a Letter of the Czar's, written immediately after the Battle of Pultowa. From M. Stæhlin's original Anecdotes of Peter the Great, collected from the Converfation of feveral Perfons of Diftinction at Petersburgh and Mofcow.- -N. B. At the Conclu-, fion of every Anecdote is the Name of the Relator of it to M. Stæhlin.

Anecdote refpealing the Czar's forging with his own Hands a Quantity of Iron in Bar.

"PET

ETER the Great, defirous of forming uteful eftablifhments in his dominions, and of encouraging, thofe already exifting, vifited the different work fhops and manufactories with much affiduity. Among others that he vifited frequently, were the forges of Muller, at Iftia, on the road to Kalouga, at ninety werfts distance from Mofcow., He once paffed a whole month there, during which time, he drank chalybeate waters; and after having given due attention to the affairs of the state, which he never neglected, he amufed himself not only with feeing and examining every thing in the most minute manner, but also with putting his hand to the work, and learning the bufinefs of a blackfmith. He fucceeded fo well, that one of the last days of this excurfion he forged alone eighteen poods of iron (the pood is equal to forty pounds) and put his own particular

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a workman as your majesty." But the emperor refufed them: "Take again your ducats," faid he, "and pay me the ufual price; I "have worked no better than ano"ther blackfmith; and this will "ferve to buy me a pair of fhoes, "of which I am in great want." At the fame time his majesty showed him thofe he wore, which had already been foled, and stood in need of another repair. He took the eigh teen altins, went directly to a shop, bought a pair of fhoes, and took great pleafure in flowing them on his feet, laying to thofe who were prefent; "I have earned them well, by the fweat, of my brow, with "hammer and anvil."

One of these bars of iron, forged by Peter the Great, and authenti cated by his mark, is ftill to be feen at Iftia, in the fame forge of Muller. Another, forged alfo with his own hand, is fhown in the cabinet of the Academy of Sciences at Peterfburgh: but this latter was forged

at