From Madrid our traveller proceeded, by way of Badajoz, to Seville and Cadiz. In speaking of some Portuguese drivers whom he met on the road, he says, "their jargon had the same effect on Spaniards, as that of Lower Saxony upon the inhabitants of the Upper." But the word-jargon conveys a very unjust idea. The Portuguese and Spanish may be considered as the Ionic and Attic dialects of one language, both equally regular, and equally legitimate, the Portuguese the elder, and the more musical of the two. In his account of Badajoz, Mr. Fischer has inserted the following passage:

"It is well known, that at the commencement of the year 1797, England took into her pay several Portuguese regiments, formed of emigrants and Germans, calling themselves Swiss. These were sent Trieste, Ancona, Civita Vecchia, and Corsica, and, when that island was evacuated,

to

to Gibraltar and Lisbon. Desertion would have been impossible, had not the Portuguese assisted; but the husbandmen pointed out to the deserters the mountain-paths, and the frontier guards at Elvas suffer them to pass freely into Spain. They even do more; for, if they are musicians, or artists, they take them into their service. There were

several of these at Elvas, when the English

caused a demand to be made at Lisbon to

have them delivered up. Upon this they were instantly sent with recommendations to Badajoz, where they soon found employ

ment.

"It will therefore not seem matter of surprise, if I say, that they are seen to arrive here by dozens. The regiments were made up of vagabonds, of the common people, and of the wretched victims of fraud, who, from

various motives, seek to recover their liberty;

and they all join in complaining of the bir barous treatment of the English officers. As they arrive almost always nearly in a state of absolute wretchedness, a picket of walloon guards from Madrid, has been posted here, who, without difficulty, entice them into a new slavery for the most triffing com

pensation."

Mr. Fischer should not have reported this calumny, as ridiculous as it is false. That deserters should attempt to excite pity by inveighing against their officers is very probable, and, considering their situation, very excusable; but it is not excusable that an enlightened traveller should credit and publish their complaints; nor is it excusable that a German should libel English discipline. He might have given us a more authentic, and a more interesting military anecdote,

in the history of the Austrian soldiers taken in Italy, and sold by the French government to the Spaniards to work in the South American mines. This story a German ought to have related, and to have related with due indignation.

We have a yet heavier cause of complaint against this traveller.

effect of climate on the character and man"Those who disdain not to study the ners of mankind, observe very sensible gradations from the most northern parts of Spain, to the southern extremity of Andalu sia. The vivacity of the French on this side the Pyrenees is very remarkable; but the fire of the northern Spaniards changes in the south into a devouring flame. In Andalusia every thing bears the stamp of a burning tuous; every thing tends to extremes; every climate; every sensation is strong and impething is immoderate, and without restraint; and, above all, in what regards the sexes.

The beauty of the Andalusian women, their vivacity, their exalted fanaticism, their extreme sensibility, appear at Cadiz to exwhere do the sexes seek each other with ceed every thing observed elsewhere; but no equal eagerness; in no part do the pleasures of sense seem so indispensable; in no part does the influence of the climate so easily disarm the severest moralists.

"But it is when the solano blows, that

this impulse becomes most impetuous; for all the senses are involuntarily inebriated; then the very air they breathe is on fire, and sistible instinct becomes authorized by exthe imagination is bewildered, and an irreample, and is excited by solicitation."

These geographical philosophists, these wretched reasoners, who would make morality depend upon degrees of latitude, cannot be too severely reprobated. Were the physical fact true, it would overthrow the moral order of the uni

verse.

Upon his own system we earnestly recommend Mr. Fischer to try the effect of a Kamtschatka climate; his morals are evidently relaxed, and require bracing. The same unpardonable spirit appears in his description of the coloro. "How can such a dance," he

says,

"which refers so strongly to a passion that animates the whole of nature, and which alone can counterbalance the selfish principle, not be preferred to all other amusements?" The reader should be informed, for we will not transcribe Mr. Fischer's brothel-like description, that this dance is designed to pourtray what he calls the mysteries of love; that it is a relic of Moorish immorality, an invention of eastern lasciviousness, to sti

mulate the appetite of impotence and age. This is the object of Mr. Fischer's enthusiastic admiration; and, as if to prove that his metaphysics are as feeble as his morals, he tells us gravely, that lust, the most intensely selfish of all passions, alone can counterbalance the selfish principle. It is mortifying to meet with passages so detestable, and so mischievous, in a work which would else have merited the warmest and most unqualified approbation.

From Cadiz Mr. Fischer proceeded to Xeres and Cordova. He merely passes through this latter city, and scarcely mentions its magnificent cathedral. Of a place so famous, and so interesting, in history, we could have wished a fuller account. Crossing the Sierra Morena, he came to Guarda Romana, one of the German towns.

Had we not known, that this town formed a part of the well known colony, and that it was inhabited in great measure by Germans, we should have immediately guessed it: the little gardens before the houses, the vines that adorned the entrance, the flower-pots at the windows, the arbours at the house doors, the spinning-wheels, the form of dress, the neatness of the whole, a superior cultivation, fields of oats and barley, in short, every thing characterised the labours and industry of Germans.

:

"The ground still rose more and more, and the views became more varied and romantic fields, olive plantations, and vineyards, were seen in all parts; the lands were irrigated by narrow streams of water, conveyed through wooden pipes; on all sides were plenteous meadows, full of cows, colts, horses, and young mules; and at length, by a broad and magnificent road, planted with poplars, aloes, fig trees, and olive trees, we arrived at Carolina, the metropolis of all the colonies on the Sierra Morena. In the neighbourhood of this place, the trees are separated from the road by stone fences. There are fountains, statues, and bridges, and we seemed approaching some great city: and, indeed, we were surprised to see these straight streets, and so farge a number of well built houses; yet a certain air of melancholy, in the general appearance, recalls some painful remembrances.

We met an old Alsacian, who was one of the first colony that came here thirty years ago. By his account, the wild appearance of the country at that period exceeded all that can be conceived, and the whole was covered with thick forests of fir, and infectious marshes. When the settlers perceived, that instead of the boasted land they were remised, they were to people a horrid desert, and instead of the abundance described,

did not even find tolerable water, manyɔ them died of grief within the first year or two, and a still greater number of epidemic diseases. The regret with which this ol he told us of his misfortunes, affected us man still spoke of his country, and the story much, and drew tears from our eyes."

La Mancha is in a wretched state, but every thing improved as the traveller approached the frontiers of Murcia.

"The olive plantations, the fertile fields cinity of the fine province that surround this place, announced the viich we here enter. From the summit of the mountain

we saw that charming valley, which displayed itself before our eyes like a té restrial paradise, and we hastened to arrive thun.

"Here the air seemed sofer, and the heavens more serene; the roads were bor

dered with gooseberry bushes, olive trees, vegetables, corn fields, melon grounds, gourds, and a great number of almond and mul erry trees. Every thing was in bloom, and luxtiriantly fertile. A vast number of little channels, made according to a certain system, irrigate the soil, the exuberant profusion of which produces flowers and strawberries without even requiring cultivation.

"The roads that lead through this immense, this enchanting garden, are the finest in Spain. Magnificent bridges, well situated ventas, beautiful houses on the road side, the variety of the landscape, the gaiety of the husbandmen, every thing combines to make the traveller forget the fatigue and distance of his journey. Add to this the animated manners of the inhabitants, which give life to this enchanting scene. We were charmed with their unaffected cordiality, their neatness, and comfortable appearance.

"The men only wear a white shirt, or smock-frock, Scotch filibegs of the same colour, packthreaded shoes (alpargatas), and bluish sandals, To complete their dress, they put on a small black or scarlet jacket, so that the sleeves remain loose. The wo

town had an extremely chearful appearance, and we fancied ourselves transported to Brigancieres, in Provence. All the inhabitants were sitting before their doors, and we heard people singing every where. We bought some oranges for a few quartos, but our purchase was unnecessary, for we might have gathered and eaten as many as we pleased beneath the trees themselves; though it is forbidden to take any away, that being considered as a theft."

In speaking of the popular ballads, one interesting and valuable fact is mentioned. For some time past, we are told, songs, at once moral and satirical, have been in circulation. It should seem as if some men of talents had attempted by these means to enlighten the common people. Mr. Fischer does Lot mention that pasquinades are by no

means uncommon in Spain; some of these, which were circulated during the war with England, were written with great severity, and considerable power.

From Valencia Mr. Fischer travelled

to Barcelona, and thence embarked for Genoa. An appendix is added on the mode of travelling in Spain. The advice which it contains is sensible, except where it relates to religion. He recommends the traveller to conform to whatever the established system may require; this is by no means necessary. Every man of sense will show due respect to the religion of the country wherein he is travelling; but he may travel in Spain, and feel no inconvenience from eating meat on fast-days, or from neglecting mass.

THIS party of pleasure were in Paris barely a fortnight: but whilst some persons travel with their eyes shut, there are others who catch, at a single glance, "the living manners as they rise." One man will penetrate deeper into the character of the Parisians by once crossing the Pont Neuf, by a single dinner at the table d'hôte, and a lounge in the evening at the Palais Royal or Frescati, than another Milord Anglois who for a month together spends his money, and goes to sleep at the magnificent Hotel Grange Bateliere. The present amusing journal shews how much may be seen in a few days, if a man is determined to make the most of his time and the most of his money: it contains some useful directions for the English traveller, and will put him on his guard against the many impositions to which he will be exposed on his journey.

Our tourists took their own carriage over the water: a very expensive, inconvenient, and dangerous plan. The road from Calais to Paris, indeed, is very good, but the pavé is rough, and few English carriages are calculated to bear the fatigue even of this journey: if the intention is to proceed beyond Paris, and penetrate into the interior of the country, we do not hesitate to pronounce it absolutely impossible for an English carriage of the ordinary strength and

construction to complete the journey. Our "party of pleasure" found it ne cessary to repair cne of the wheels on the road; and were compelled to pay sixty livres for a job which an English smith would have thought himself well paid for by a crown! The party applied to the mayor, who, it was very obvious, had it not in his power to enforce any abatement. Smollet would have knocked the fellow down, and got off for thirty livres. Within the last twelvemonth we have ourselves travelled seve ral hundred leagues in France, and although the cane was never actually applied to the shoulders of an impudent or an imposing rascal, we have more than once found immediate redress from shaking it over his head. Experience taught us, that the best way was to agree before-hand for whatever repairs may be necessary. At every town where you stop, half a dozen smiths instantly beset your carriage, and, without any solicitation, examine it with astonishing keenness. You may almost make your own terms with any of them before the job is done; and if you do not, they will make their own terms with you afterwards.

The views to this little book are admirably sketched; and our recollection enables us to vouch for the exact similitude of most of them.

IT is somewhat honourable to the literature of our country, that an Italian should thus have published his travels in the English language. The lands which he has visited are interesting, and almost unknown to English readers. Mr. Coxe's volumes are statistic and historical, and must be read for profit, not pleasure; that gentleman has always contented himself with hewing in the quarries, and providing materials for some future architect. Whitelock's valuable journal is consulted chiefly as a work of historical reference. The most modern work that treats of Sweden, is the letters of Mrs. Wollstonecraft, a delightful work which derives its chief interest from the perpetual presence of the writer. Of Finland and Lapland still less is known: neither the travels of Maupertuis, we believe, nor the book of Leems the missionary, have been translated.

Travelling in Sweden appears to be exceedingly inconvenient. The roads are good, but the inns are very bad; and a Swedish writer, who says that you may travel as well, and be as well accommodated in Sweden as in England, or France, or Italy, advises the traveller to provide himself with a carriage, as well as with bread and wine, and other provisions. The horses are small and weak; strength, therefore, must be supplied by number. At one time Mr. Arcerbi had seven horses to his viennoise. Five or six peasants, who had each a horse in the number, attended, each flogging his neighbour's to spare his own, and quarrelling and fighting in consequence. The horses understood only the Swedish sounds, it seems, but Mr. Acerbi and his fellow travellers talked Italian to them, and, unluckily, the very sound which is used to quicken them in Italy, is the signal to halt in Sweden, so that this unhappy defect in the traveller's memory, and in the horses' education, occasioned some embarrassment and some danger. That Mr. Acerbi should not readily acquire the proper sound, is by no means surprising; it consists, he says, in so extraordinary a motion or vibration of the lips; and he spells it tpachruu.

From Helsingburg Mr. Acerbi took the load through Gottenberg and Trol

hatta to Stockholm. The canal at Trolhatta, he says, is as a work of art, and of bold and persevering design, the first in the world. The length is not quite three miles, the width thirty-six feet, the depth in some places above fifty. But this was wrought through the midst of rocks by means of gunpowder. Charles XII. began the work; happy had it been for Sweden, if his mighty enterprizes had been all as useful: but it was planned by a greater than Charles, by Gustavus Vasa, whose project was to make a communication between the Baltic and the North Sea. Some very trite and worthless remarks are introduced in this part of Mr. Acerbi's work, upon the utility of canals, and the origin of navigation. An Album is kept at this place.

"This book is one of the most curious miscellanies any where to be seen; and is, in my mind, of more value than many other books, for the light it throws on, the subject of human nature. Throughout the whole of this collection there reigns a particular humour; I mean a particular turn or temperament of mind, and what the French call

penchant; an affectation of wit and singu

larity, and, above all, an effort of self-love, or self-consequence, which unveils, not obscurely, the true character and weakness of

man.

Like those epitaphs which lose sight of the dead to speak of the living, almost all the inscriptions in this, as well as in other memorials of the same kind, are more characteristic of their authors than of the sub

jects to which they refer. One takes an opportunity to show that he can make verses; a second gives some account of his travels; a third exalts his own opinion on the ruin of that of others; a fourth sets down his name merely for the purpose of displaying his title; while another, from a vanity of an opposite nature, writes his name simply, and who tells you, that he went to see the catanothing more. There is one Englishman racts by candlelight: another traveller of the same nation says, that neither the cataract nor the labour by which the canal was accomplished, is good for any thing; that the Swedes are all slaves, crouching under the lusts of their masters; and, in order to express his contempt, subscribes these remarksby a very indecent name. A third Englishmian, more enlightened as well as candid, rejoices to see gunpowder applied to better purposes than those of war, though at the same time he is not of opinion, that the condition of the people is bettered by commerce. The Freich migrants recount all