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V*

TRAVELS

THROUGH

HOLLAND,

FLANDERS,

GERMANY,

DENMARK,

SWEDEN,

LAPLAND,

RUSSIA,

The U K R A I N E,

AND

POLAND,

IN THE

Years 1768, 1769, and 1770.

In which is particularly Minuted,

THE PRESENT STATE

O F

THOSE COUNTRIES,

RESPECTING THEIR

AGRICULTURE, POPULATION,

MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE,
The ARTS, and USEFUL UNDERTAKINGS,

By JOSEPH MARSHALL, Efq.

VOL.

II.

LONDON:

Printed for J. Almon, oppofite Burlington Houfe,
Piccadilly.

MDCCLXXIL

CONTENTS of Vol. II.

Travels through Flanders.

chap. r.

"Journey from Middleburgh to Bruges, and
thence to Dunkirk — Great Fertility of the
Country — St. Omers — Arras — Cambr ay-
Dow ay — Tour nay — Admirable Hujbandry
in this Country — Life — Manufactures —
Ghent — Rich manuring of their Fields in
Flanders — Brujfels — Converfation on the
prefent State of the Netherlands, Politicks,
Manufactures, Commerce* page 3

CHAP. II.

From Brujjels to Mechlin — Antwerp — Defcrip-
tion of that City, and of its fine Paintings—*
Journey to Rur emend — General Obfervations
€n Flanders — Number of Cities — Population

—-Trade

11

CONTENTS.

— %rade — fTanvfaffures — A^ : -**

Situation — Political Importance 33

Travels through Germany.

chap. 111.

From Rurenwnd to Grjogne — 23 m of that

Cit v — To A fa nftet ■ — 72 <? Country — H^
£/uu£ ■ v — j fJveninres — Bl/hopric.ofOfnaturgh
— Minden^—lVar in Germany — Hanover — ■
Prefe?it State of the E/etloratc — Agriculture
— }> lan:,- fa, *:/ i \s — R ei'-cnu es — T' Ha in cur gh
— Defer >pt:o;i of that City — State of its
Trade, C5c. ■ • 73

Travels through Denmark.

CHAP. IV.

Altena — huheck — Curious clock — Jaftrneyacrofi
Holftein and Slefwick — Defcription of the
Gauntry — Tjcnr.ia.--iz — Accidental mating
with a Dauifh ^i /■■: — His great Im-

frovvmenls . — Ma 1 fares — Com-

merce— _."v .culture — Hf ed views —

Journey

CONTENTS. m

yournsv through the Northern Parts of
Denmark — — . . 123

CHAP. V.

Defcription of the {[lands of Funen and Zea-
land— Copenhagen. — Prefent State of Den-
mark — Trade — Manufactures — Agriculture
— Population — Revenues — General Prof
perity — Manners ■ ■ ■ ■ 216

Travels through Sweden,

CHAP. VI.

From Copenhagen to Rlfineur — Journey to Got-
tenburg — Defcription of the Country and the
Hujbandry — Gotienburg — Lake Wener —
The State of the Country — To Upfal — Con-
verfations with Sir Charles Linnteus — State
of Agriculture in Sweden — Journey to
Stockholm ■■ ■ m — - - 205

CHAP. VII.

Stockholm — State of Agriculture — Arts — Com-
merce— Government — Faclions, &c. 330

C ,H A ?.

\v CONTENT S.

chap. virr.

yoiirney from Stockholm to Oregrond — Hcd:~

■ rra — D. the Country — Journey

thr -' rJ D a — De-

fir'fption cf the Country — Its People — Man-
ners— Hujbandiy — Employment 3 5 8

TRAVELS

Travels through Flanders.

Vol. IT. B

[ 3 3

C HAP. I.

'Journey from Middleburgh to Bruges, and
thence to Dunkirk — Great Fertility of the
Country — St. Omers — Arras — Cambray —
Dow ay — 'Tournay — Admirable Hujbandry
in this Country — Life — Manufactures —
Ghent — Rich manuring of their Fields in
Flanders — Brujjels — Converfation on the
prefent State of the Netherlands, Politicks,
Manufactures, Commerce.

FROM Middleburgh I fet out for Sluys,
the 27th of June; part of the way I
was forced to take a failing-boat. There
is nothing in that town which is worth the
fhorteff. ftay; I only dined there, and in
the afternoon reached Bruges, having palled
through a country pretty well cultivated.
I fixed my quarters by recommendation at
the Half Moon, where I found extreme
good accommodation, and much civility.

Bruges is an antient and extenfive city,
walled in, the circumference being near five
miles. There are near three hundred flreets

B 2 in

D. H. HILL LIBRARY
North Carolina State Coi!

4 TRAVELS, U:.

in it, and a vaft number of canals and rivers ;
but notwithstanding a degree of fpaciouf-
nefs, yet it is not an agreeable place; the
houles are in general very old, and extremely
ugly, and the whole place fhews evident
fis;ns of decav, and a lois of that trade and
manufacture for which it was once famous.
They reckon fix fquares, feven gates, eight
churches, and no lefs than fixty monafleries;
a woeful fort of population, inftead o£ the
induftrious manufacturers which once filled
the city; among the reft, there is a nunnery
of Englifh, which feverai Roman Catholic
families in England have contributed to
fill.

The churches of Bruges have not any
thing in them very remarkable; the be:t is
the Jefuits, which is an elegant edifice. In
the church of our Lady, there are two fine
monuments of Charles the Bold, Duke of
Burgundy, and his daughter and heirefs,
Mary of Burgundy; they are of brafs, with
much enamelling; the workmanfhip good.

V. hat makes this place have a very me-
lancholy air, are the vaft houfes {landing
empty in every part of the town, which
once were the refiderice of wealth and fplen-
dor. Among others, they have feventeen
palaces, which, in the times of their pro-

fperity,

TRAVELS, £*V. 5

fperity, were formerly the refidence of con-
luis from various kingdoms and ftates in
Europe. This town was famous for trade,
beiore Antwerp arofe, being the greaterr. mart
in Europe; England made it the ftaple for
her wool, and its cloth manufactories were
much more considerable than thofe of any
other place or country. Bruges, at
prefent, is not without trade. The Oilend
canal admits (hips of from 2 to 300 tons
up to the heart of the city, which makes
more trade here than in any other town in
Flanders. The merchandize imported by
the (Kipping on this canal, is fent to many
places from Bruges, particularly by the
Scheld to the city of Ghent, and from
thence, by other canals, to various cities j and
that river, with the Scarpe and the Lys,
reach to Tournay, Menin, Lille, and
Doway : they have likewife a communica-
tion with Antwerp, Louvaine, Mechlin,
and BrufTels. They have alfo fome manu-
factures, which employ many of their poor,
particularly in broad fays, bays, and other
fabricks.

From Bruges to Olrend, I took the treck-
fchuyt; the diftance is twelve miles, which
they perform in three hours. It parTes
through a level country, the foil inclinable

B 3 to

6 TRAVELS, &c.

to fand, but very fertile, and well cultivated.
That town is fmall, but well built, and clean,
and does not exhibit fo much decay of an-
tient greatnefs as Bruges. It is fituated in
the midfl of a fait marfh, with ditches into
which the fea is let 5 this fituation makes it
ftron°\ but the improvements in the modern
art of attacking places will not allow it the
fame of fuch another fiege as that which it
flood againft the Spaniards, which lafted
three years, and in which above an hundred
thoufand men on both fides fell ; the French,
in 1745? took it in eight days open trenches.
It has of late years been mofr. noted by the
Eaft India company, which the Emperor
eftabliihed here, and which the maritime
powers perliiled in bullying him out of. It
is fomewhat extraordinary, that thofe powers
ihould have the modefty to pufh that affair
in the manner they did; for why the Em-
peror mould not have the liberty to form
what eftablifhments he pleafed in a fea port,
in his own dominions, is much more than
any of the Englifh or Dutch memorials
fatisfy us in.

The 29th, I got to Newport, by a canal
from Oflend thither; this is a mod: pitiful
fifliing town, ill built, difagreeably fituated,
and has nothing to afford a traveller any

amufemsnt.

TRAVELS, &c. 7

amufement. After dinner, the landlord of
the inn, who is by birth an Iriihman,
brought me a bill, in which he had charged
a pair of foals at fixteen millings, though
they wrere of a moderate fize, and notwith-
flanding my reckoning, honefUy reckoned,
came to near a guinea : it was a piece of
impofition which I was determined not to
fufFer. Upon my refufal to pay the bill,
he was exceedingly impudent; he would
carry me before the Efchevin : " Very well,"
replied I, '" let us go to the Efchevin; I
" will attend you now." This eafe of
return difappointed him. I wanted much
to get to Dunkirk that night, which was
not more than four and twenty miles, and
had befpoke a chaife for myfelf, and a horfe
for my fervant; and the rafcal of a landlord,
hnding that I did not purpofe making any
fray at Furnes, took it for granted, that
time mull of all things be moil precious to
me, and therefore thought, that rather than
lofe any, I mould willingly iubmit to any
impofition ; but finding me refolute, he was
at a nonplus. He ottered to abate a mil-
ling: " No, no, Sir, that will not do, you
" mall go to the Efchevin with me." This
threat had its effect; the rafcal at once dropt
his fixteen millings to a crown, well fatis-

B 4 fied

S TRAVELS, fefft

fled, I have no doubt, with double what the
maeiftrate would have allowed him. Had
he gone to him, he would probably have
been more feverely mulcted. Here let me
take occafion to warn my countrymen, ill
travelling through any part of Holland or
Flanders, to avoid inns kept by any of their
own countrymen; I know very few excep-
tions to the rule of finding all the inns kept
by Engliih, Scotch, or Irifli, mere traps to
catch the unwary travellers.

Furnes is a little paltry place of no confe-
deration, but Dunkirk demands more at-
tention. This place, which has made fo
much noife in modern hiflory, is twenty-
four miles from Oftend, twenty from Calais,
and fifty from Dover. Trade, and privateer-
ing, with the King's bufinefs, wrhich is in
courfe executed here, makes it populous and
flourifhing. It is very well built; the ftreets
are broad, wide, and well paved. The for-
tifications before their demolition, I imagine,
were very good; what they are at prefent, I
know not, but mofl certainly not demolifhed ;
the harbour never was any thing formidable
to England, not admitting any larger I
than frigates; but the fituation is fo advan-
tageous to cruizers, that the King's frigates,
and a multitude of privateers, made an infi-
nity

TRAVELS, ISc. 9

nity of prizes, and it proved, in this manner,
one of the moll pernicious thorns that could
be in the fides of the trade of England.
There are five fquares in the town, all of
them planted with trees, but they have not
any thing very ftriking in them. The
method alfo of building is not favourable
to the beauty of the flreets, for all the belt
houfes have court-yards before them, and
great gates into the 'flreets. In one of the
churches there is a picture of St. George, by
Rubens, which has very great expreffion.
.The arfenal was once very well worth fee-
ing, but is fo no longer. Dunkirk carries
on a confiderable commerce, not only by
being a free port, but alfo from principally
fupplying Lille, and feveral other places of
importance, with every thing they import,
and fending forth whatever they export.
The whole way from Bruges to Dunkirk is
through a moil, rich foil, the grafs and corn
all as fine as ever I law.

The fecond of July I left Dunkirk, takin^
a chaife for St. Omer's; the diftance is twenty
miles, and through a country very richly
cultivated. I obferved great quantities of
clover in the fields, which was a fecond
growth, the firfl having been cut fome time
before} it was now thick, and of a luxurious

growth 5

n T R A V E L S, is':.

growth; the wheat crops were not at all
fuperior (judging by the eye) to what is often
id. Cole feed they cultivate
alfoj they were tranfplanting it on fmall
ridg . hi, if I recoiled right, is contrary

to the E - way of managing that crop;

we f ov/ it like ; the Flemings think

their ; and certainly it

clear man if all of it was

ib covered as to let the v . . I re-

marked .' Is of turnips, 1 bing

in them e Some tracis of

between tl . is is light and

but none in v the foil is bad.

St. Omer's is a large, and apparently a
populor. d regularly built, and

very ftrc fiedj but what moil con-

tribi. ;th is the fituation, which

is in the ;, io that by means

of fluices, (of ■ have an amazing

number) they can ' r>le neighbour-

under water. The
! . iebuiid-

-at num.-

n in the Britilli domi-

The r of St. Bertris is a fine

from the tower, the conductor

■ .' ; in a clear day, fee

the

TRAVEL S, ls\. ti

the coaft of England; but it is a falfhood.
There are feme very coniiderable manufac-
tories at St. Omer's, particularly of clothe
druggets, duroys, fhalloons, and {lockings.
which are flourifhing; thefe are moifly car-
ried on by means of wool fmuggled from
England.

The fame country and cultivation extends
from St. Omer's to Bethune, as from Dun-
kirk to St. Omer's, only the woods are more
frequent: it is but a fmall town, but neat;
the fortifications are very flrcng.

The fourth of July I reached Arras, which
is a coniiderable city, the capital of Artois;
it is a populous and induftrious place, fili-
ated upon a hill, at the foot of which runs
a branch of the river Scarpe. The fori
cations are reckoned very ftrong, efpecially
the citadel. The buildings are handfome,
the ftreets fpacious, and well paved. The
principal market-place is an oblong, with
piazzas round it, but they have a difagree-
able effect. Thev talk of having above an
hundred churches and chapels belonging to
this city, which founds very magnificently,
but they are moil of them too trivial for
notice, mean buildings, or crowded into
holes and corners. The edifice moft worth
feeing is the Benedictine abbey, which en-

jovs

12 TRAVELS, crV.

joys a revenue of thirty thoufand crowns a
year; the pictures, carving, and monu-
ments, are very well worth notice. Arras
pofTerTes a considerable trade in her own ma-
nufactures, particularly in linen and woollen
fabrics, and is very famous for tapeilry.

From hence I made a fmall excurilon to
Cambray, through a very fertile country,
that is extremely well cultivated; I was in-
formed that that city was as veil worth
viewing as mod in Flanders, but I cannot
fav it anfwered my expectations. The for-
tifications are curious, particularly the citadel
built by Charles V. which is a regular pen-
tagon, cut mcitdy out of a rock. The man-
ner in which the principal ftreets are laid
out, to point to the market- fqi are, like
the rays of a circle to the center, is linking:
that {quare is remarkably large, and the
Stadthcufe, which fronts it, is a fine build-
ing. In the great c

chiming clock, the work of a country fel-
low, which, as fuch ebferves notice, but has
not in 'any other refpect merit enough to
itrike a fpeclator ufed to iuch fort of w<
But my principal view in coming to Cam-
bray, was to fee the famous cambric manu-
factory, which has been eilablifhed here Co
long, and is fc They

certainly

T R A V E L S, tfd 13

certainly make that kind of linen to a per-
fection unknown at any other place in
Europe; pieces of a great length weigh but
a few ounces; they make it up to feventeen
(hillings an ell, but it is of an amazing fine-*
nefs. I made numerous enquiries into the
{late of this manufacture, and from feveral
perfons well informed, and they Teemed uni-
form in their opinions, that it is much upon
the decline: they attribute much of this
evil to the prohibition of it in England, to
which kingdom their exports ufed to be very
great; but now they are confined to the
fmuggling trade, which, though not trifling,
bears no proportion to what they once pof-
fefTed. The numbers of men, women, and
children, employed in Cambray, and ibme
adjacent villages, on the manufacture of
cambric, does not fall fhort of feventeen
hundred. The men earn at an average, at
the rate of five (hillings and fixpence a week,
Engliih; women, that are good hands, two
millings to three and fixpence; and children,
from a penny to fixpence a day; but thefe
prices are when the employment is full, for
at fome feafons they have much time with-
out being able to get work.

Returning to Arras, I took a chaife for
Doway the feventh, and found it a fine place,

ii mated

tj TRAVEL

T
remarkably ferth . :ior, I think, to any

I have - large, feems

I is ftroi - Cam-

the ftreets in it point regularly to the

market-pl he rown-houfe.

■erfity c burteen college:,

ion.
Foi rk l . Doway, (a

:es at
com i it can drown aU I ; Ijacent

country.

From Doway to Tournay the country is

fcry rich, and mach >f it cultivated in a

: the account " r.ich a far-

mer gave me of their m d of managing

their lands, is, I think, curious. Thejj

never s;ive what we in England call a fal-

low; that is, e to kill

all weeds and "tiiorate haufted foil.

Th - h a

loW is to x Is, at tl B foil

rec. tfrom it. That en

the contrary, th: r it with crops,

i will kill the weeds ec with any

fallow, and at th: feme ti chit:

this fo very d irable, that I

tencd to it v befe crops,

turnips, r 'ere, I

found,

TRAVELS, fcfr. ■ 15

found, the principal; what peculiarity they
may have in their management, I do not
know, but thefe plants are as common in
England as they are in Flanders, and yet
the hufbandry does not feem near fo good.
Rape they cultivate for the fake of the feed,
from which they extracl oil, for which pur-
pofe there are many mills through all this
part of Flanders. They prepare their lands
richly for it, both by tillage and manuring;
plough it into regular ridges, and then plant
on them: it muft be very expenfive; they
hand-hoe the plants carefully, to keep them
free from weeds. As to the produce, the
accounts they gave me were not very clear, but
from the bed computation I could make, it
amounts one year with another to fix or {even.
pounds an Englifh acre. Turnips they pre-
pare for in the fame manner as rape, but
tranfplant only a part of their crop ; fome
they fow where they are to remain : they
likewife hand- hoe their turnips as well as
the rape; ufe them chiefly for the winter-
food of cows and oxen, all which animals
are regularly houfed, and the turnips given
in mangers. They do not approve the
Englifh way of feeding turnips on the land;
but as I wanted to know their reafon for
this, I enquired their motives : they think

the

16 TRAVELS, fefr.

the land would parch and be damaged, and
the crop would not go near fo far: whether
they are right or wrong, I am no judge to*
decide, but what they urge Teems to have
reafon in it. An English acre of turnips
they reckon worth four pounds : fome crops
they leave for feed to make oil from, mixed
with rape feed ; and fuch crops pay as well,
and fometimes better, than rape.

But their principal fallow crops they
reckon the clovers, of which they have three
forts, bearing a red, a yellow, and a white
blorTom; the firft produces the greater! crops,
but will not laft more than two years; the
other forts yield a fweeter food for cattle,
and will laft rive or fix vears, but the red is
molt in ufe. They fow it with barley and
oats, in the fame manner that I believe is
common in fome parts of England : after
harveft, the field is covered with a full crop,
Which f imports a great number of cattle
Sthnbft till Chriftmas; and this pafturage
on their bed lands is fo great, that it fome-
times pays all the expences of the year's
crop, rrnci leaves the barley clear profit. The
following year they mow the clover for hay,
and get no lefs than three crops; and from
what I viewed, I fhould fuppofe each would
produce a ton and half on an Englifll acre,

and

TRAVELS, fSc. 17

and fometimes more. The next year, if
they leave it fo long, they ufually feed it:
and thefe crops of clover, though fo very
plentiful, they afiert, improve the land,
which is poffible, to be fure, but I cannot
eafily comprehend how fuch ample produc-
tions can do that benefit to the land; how-
ever, the Flemifh farmers have experience
on their fide; for, upon giving thefe clover
fields only one ploughing, they harrow in
wheat, and get very fine crops, and as clean,
I think, as any I ever faw in England: whe-
ther our management of clover is upon this
method, I am not acquainted, but if not, I
apprehend it would be worthy the imitation
of the Englifh farmers. This clover prepa-
ration for wheat is in geaeral on a pale red-
difli loam; here and there they have fields cf
clay, where it will not fucceed. Another
ufe to which they put their clover, is, I be-
lieve, quite unknown in thofe parts of Eng-
land with which I am acquainted j it is that
of mowing, and giving it green to cattle in
houfes, inftead of letting them eat it in die
field; they afTert, that in this mode of con-
fuming it, one acre goes as far as feveral :
certainly it merits a trial.

Their bean crops confift of many of the
large forts common in England, and whole

Vol. II. C ' fields

ifl TRAVELS, is:.

fields of the kidney fort, which we call
French beans : all thefe they fow in rows, and
keeping them very clean by hoeing, get great
crops, and fallow them with wheat or bar-
ley. Their wheat, I do not think, appear:-,
finer than what I have leen in England, but
their barley is much fuperior. They feem
to be :ive hufbandmen in the article

of manuring their lands: I obferved feveral
pit; in the country paved and roofed for
keeping mixture- of dungs in; the human
they eiteem the bell:.

There is a fine range of rich meadow land
about Toumay. That town is large and
well bui;:, and the river Schelde running
b it, has many bridges, with feveral
handfome quays planted in the Dutch man-
ner. It appears to be populous. In the
feireral monuments of brafs
and marble, that : well worth view-

ing. 1 iece of .;:. Martin's is of

marble, richly adorned, and is fine; but the
moil deferving of attention in this church, is
the picture by Rubens, of the crowning of
our Saviour; in which the defign, dignity
ofe: .-.nd colouring, are remarkably

The fortifications of Tournay are
fome of the fineft in Flanders; the citadel
bein see of Vauban;

all

TRAVEL S, ts?c. 19

all the works of it are undermined. There
are feveral flourishing linen manufactures
here, with fome of itockings and worried
pieces, but the former are the principal.

From Tournay to Liile, the country is all
fertile and rich : I faw fome fields planting
with colefeed, in which I counted more than
thirty hands to a field, and they feem to
execute it with great celerity. Lifle is the
principal city of all thefe parts, at the dif-
tance of fifteen miles from Tcarnay. Jt is
a large city, and more populous than any I
have been in fince I left Holland, to which,
isdeed, its garrifon does not a little contri-
bute, for it conlifts of ten thoufand of the
beft troops of France. The regularity and
fpacioumefs of the itreets, with many of the
buildings, make it really a very fine city: in
the center of it is a great fquare, to which
the principal itreets lead. La Rue Roy ale
extends above a mile, and is one of the fineil
I have any where feen.

The fortifications are among the moil
famous in Europe, not having been taken
fince the Duke of Marlborough took the
city, after three months open trenches. The
citadel is not regular, but very large, and
uncommonly itrong. In France, they

C 2 reckon

20 TRAVELS, is.':.

reckon this place, next to Paris, the mod
important in the kingdom.

They have a French opera, and a theatre
for comedies, but neither of them abound
•with capital performers ; the prices are
cheap, yet the company is often \ery good.
There are people enough in Lille to main-
tain a great number of hackney coaches.

They carry oxi fame very considerable
manufactures here, particularly of linens,
broad and narrow cloths, and druggets,
many forts of {tuffs and (rocking?, and more
than feven hundred looms are employed in
making camlets. Great numbers of cali-
mancoes, and other fluffs wrought of lilk and
mohair j thefe fabrics afe in general flourish-
ing, though not equal to what they were
above twenty years ago; there are, however,
many thoufands of hands employed in
them.

It may not be wrong to add here, that I
met with an excellent reception at the Palais
Royale, in St. Martin's -ftreet ; exc.
rooms, a good bed, and provisions and wine
unexceptionable; but, in return, the bill is
not moderate j I could not live there under a
guinea and half a d?.y, though I had no
horfes. Dearnefs, when every thing is good,
is to be fubmitted to, but when met with,

as

TRAVELS, fcfr. 21

as is often the cafe, where every thing is
bad, it is not a little grating.

July i ith, I took a chaife from Lifle to
Courtray, which is fifteen miles, moil of the
way through a country equally rich with the
preceding. It is a pretty town, and very
populous from the manufactures carried on
in it, particularly of woollen and linen goods;
for the latter of which, they are very famous :
none, however, are in fo ilcurithing a con-
dition as they were for feme years before the
laft war.

From Courtray to Ghent, the country
does not appear to be quite fo fertile as that
through which I have lately travelled, but
the hufbandry is very good. They are here
extremely attentive to manuring; I remarked
fome labourers carting out the comport from
a bricked ftercorary; upon enquiry, I found
it was filled with the riddance of privies from
Courtray, mixed with fine molds, and a
fmall quantity of aihes. It had been before
turned over to mix the ingredients well:
they informed me, that a large quantity of
earth mould be mixed with the dung, and
that this compoft is of all manures the moil
fertilizing. A lefibn which I mould appre-
hend very important to the farmers within
ten miles of all great cities.

C 7 Ghent

^2 T R A V ELS, Is'c.

Ghent is one of the Urged cities in
Europe, being near fifteen miles in circum-
nce. It is built on a large number of
little iilands, formed by four rivers, and
many canals, over which there are an hun-
dred bridges : but large and pompous as this
account is, I muil obierve, that the reality
bears no pre :ion to the defcription;
more than half the ground within the walls
being occupied by gardens, and there are
fome fields. As to the fortifications, they
are contemptible, being little more than lines
for an army to encamp within. Some of
th e ftreets are large, well paved, and tolerably
built. Among the public buildings, there
are none worthy of any attention but a few
In: have ■ ery rrourlihing linen
manufactures throughout all this country;
but they are nc . - to Ghent, though

tncre are many in iha: town, but allthevil-
. civ farm, is a flax manu-
:ory. Flax is a principal crop upon all
the fandv parts of this country, and tire far-
mers and labourers do not only grow it, but
alio drefs and weave it, and the women
children fpin it. i r has one

or two looms, . hem five or fix, and

'::.: feven or eight, according to th<
ber of hands in the family. This makes

the

TRAVELS, &c. 23

the whole race of country people remarkably
active andinduflrious; the fervants, and the
farmer, and his fons, will weave linen of
nights, and in wet days, when they have
not employment in the farm, and in this
manner contribute greatly to earning a bet-
ter income and maintainance for their fami-
lies, than in other countries where fuch time
is appropriated to idlenefs. Befides thefe
linen fabrics, they have at Ghent fome filk
and woollen manufactures.

The 13th, I took a chaife from Ghent for
Brufiels; the diftance is about thirty miles,
which I performed with eafe before dinner,
and made two or three flops to have fome
converfation with the country people. The
foil is middling, but not fo good as I have
feen in other parts of Flanders, but it is very
well cultivated. I faw many fields of flax,
which they keep remarkably clean from
weeds : the crops feemed good. I alio faw
much fine clover, and pretty good corn
crops.

I was drove directly to the Duke of Bra-
bant's inn, where I fixed my relidence,
defigning to ftay a few days; my intention
was to have hired private lodgings, but I
liked the inn fo well, and the treatment I
received, that I changed my mind, and deter-

C 4 mined

24 T R A V ELS, &c.

mined to remain at the inn. Brufkls is far
more beautiful, for the bombardment the
fufFered from Marfhal Viilcrcy ; for fince
1696, the mifchief he did has been all made
good by many new ftreets and public build-
ing?, in a much better tafte than they were
before. Many of 'he ftreets are well paved,
fome of them broad, and all the new houfes
large and well built.

Among the churches cf Braflels, there are
fome that well deferve a traveller's notice.
St. Gudula is a ver irkable Gothic pile,

highly ornamented with monuments, cha-
pels, pictures, Sec. The Jefuit's church has
alfo feveral objects deferving notice.

The great market fquare is one of the
fineii I have any where feen : one whole fide
of it is taken up with the Town Koufe,
which is certainly a ftuperidous building;
there is a very magnificent apartment in
which the States of Brabant meet; the hiftory
of Charles V. is wrought in the tapeftry
with a ftrength and brilliancy of colouring
that cannot be exceeded. There are other
apartments, which contain numerous ori-
ginal paintings by the beft Flemifh matters.
Other great advantages the market place
enjoys, is being furrounded with the corpo-
ration halls of different trades, the fronts of

which

TRAVELS, fcff. 25

which being uniform, and adorned, make a
fine circumference.

The regent's palace, though an old irre-
gular building, erected at different times,
ihould not be paffed over by any traveller.
It is a very large edifice, and the apartments
are extremely fpacicus and well furniihed.
Behind it, after croffing fome filly unmean-
ing parterres, you enter a large park, well
planted and flocked with deer. There are
many very agreeable walks in it. On one
fide of it is a fummer-houfe, built by the
Emperor Charles V.

Among the other edifices that are ufually
viewed, are the palaces of Orange, now be-
longing to the King of Pruilia ; the Princes
De Ligne, Epinoy, Rubengue, and Egmont;
and the Dukes of Aremberg, Arfchot, and
and Bournonville, In the gardens of the
latter, you have a very fine view of the
greatefl part of BrufTels, and much of the
adjacent country. I remarked, that the
only objects of much confideration in thefe
palaGes, were the paintings, among which,
and particularly in that of the Duke d'Arem-
berg's, are many very fine and capital pieces,
not only by the Flemifh, but alfo by the
Italian matters. A conncifFeur will find no

flight

36 TRAVELS, e\.

it entertainment among thefe col-
lections.

In reined: to the divenions of Bruflibls,
there is a large Opera Houle, and two
theatres, upon which French comedies are
reprefented. The Opera Houle is very large,
being more ipacious than that in the Hay-
market. Inftead of boxes, in the London
tafte, it has large elofets after the Italian
mer, which are hired for the ieafon by the
nobility and foreign minifters at a cheap
rate; they contain tables, chairs, a fire, &c.
fo that parties are formed for cards and con-
verfaticn during the performance. Bat the
prices of admiffian are too low to allow of
great entertainment; their performers are
but verv moderate, and bad mufic is certainly
an entertainment that will not be reliihed by
thofe, who have been the leaf!: acquainted
with the luxurious entertainment which the
Englifh and Italian operas yield.

The fountains, of which they have above
twenty, at the corners of the principal ftreets,
add much to the beauty of the city, and at
the fame time lupply it well with water.
They have a vail number of moaafteries,
nunneries, and hcfpitals, lbrne or which 1
viewed, but found nothing in any of them
remarkable.

The

TRAVELS, ifc. 27

The keeping up a court gives an air of
livelinefs to BruSFels, that is more agreeable
than what is found in moft of the other cities
in Flanders. What with the officers about
the peribn cf the governor-general ; the resi-
dence of a considerable military; the chief
courts of jultice; with no flight portion of
trade and manufacture, altogether render the
place the moft pleaiing and chearful refidence
in Flanders. They are famous for the ma-
nufactory of lace, which is in a nourifliing
Situation; and alfo that cf tapeitry, which is
known very well all over Europe.

I had a recommendatory letter to the
Baron de Walmode, who received me with a
politenels and affability which I cannot but
acknowledge : he invited me to his table fe-
veral days, and from his conversation, I
learned more important information than I
could otherwise have gained. His estates in
Brabant and Flanders are ccniiderable, and
he lives in a fplendid and elegant manner.
The Baron is a man of enlarged ideas, has
travelled through the principal countries of
Europe, and Seen much of the buiy world,
while he vyas in the Imperial fervice, but he
quitted it at fifty years of age, and retired to
BrufTels, dividing his time between the city
and his eftates in the country, wherein he

has

T S A V E L S,

houfes which he has fanrifticc! for
iclined to rural d:
fions, orre:; htcd

to be i political ftate of

a
. .: Aa&iia From flit
: . - 3ft - ^ :hefe

points, the Ihrcn gave me aco: ::ich

atfe much m jretc bt depended en than the

.'.: in the;
Gazettes, c: the age.

: it was a miftaken notion

mon in Several of the courts of Europe,.

- n- received fo "

:rom the poiTeffion of thofe provinces*

fcarcely worth keeping, from

the expences running a th all the

profit B this he remarked was a mii"-

. . as more regularity has been thrown

the gc ■ eat Of the pi •;•?, into

..e, and the expen-

: : : encouragement has been given

: and manufactures, and the effects

very beneficial. But iuppofe,

e ntinued the Baron, that profit was not

. ived in the tresfury at Vienna, ftrll the

1 confiderable body of troops

g paid and maintained, is one of the

rarer. The provinces pay

the

TRAVELS, cs':% »g

the troops in garrifon, and the forces of all
forts that are quartered here, which amount
at different times, from fix to twenty thou-
fand men, and the opportunity of advancing
numerous fubjecls to pofh of honour and
advantage, is valuable to any court.

Thefe provinces, continued he, are popu-
lous, and are found highly ferviceable in re-
cruiting regiments; and as they poiTefs muck
trade, and numerous thriving manufactures,
they are a body of fubjecls of undoubted im-
portance. However, thefe advantages are
not all, for it is very well known that con-
liderable remittances are made to Vienna,
notwithstanding the expences of maintaining
a court here.

Many fchemes of improving the trade and
manufactures of this country have been
ftarted, and laid before the council for the
provinces at Vienna; fome of them have
been approved of, and begun to be executed,
but fuch things do not proceed with any
very quick pace; yet fomething good will
probably refult from them by and by.

The acquifition of a mare in foreign trade,
by means of a good port on the ocean, pro-
mifes molt, and Ofrend would certainly
admit of very great exertions of this fort;
they have been confidered of at coi:;r. m6&

than

50 TRAVELS, &c.

than once; but the remembrance of the ill
iuccefs attending the Eaft India company
eftabliftied there, from the oppofition of the
Maritime Powers, prevented their execution.
All thele improvements, though only a
few of them are completed, have had afto-
nifhing tendency to raife the revenues of the
country, and alfo the population of it; the
Baron allured me, that in the laft war, the
Emprefs Queen drew considerable iums from
the revenues of thele provinces, and great
numbers of recruits. I obferved to him,
that there was in that war a report of her
Imperial Majefty's alienating them to France,
in confideration of afiiitance to recover
Sileiia. He replied, that the out-line of
that idea would have had a great appearance
of probability, if France had been in a fitu-
ation to undertake pofitively for the fuccefs
of a Silefian conquer! ; for that province,
from its fituation, was certainly more valu-
able to Auftria than Flanders : but the utter
inability of France was fo vifible and great,
that it was impoflible the Emprefs Queen
fhould be fo deceived in her politics: nor is
it clear, added he, whether fuch a revolution
would not have brought the Dutch into the
war againft France, in fpite of all their fear
and caution; for the Auftrian provinces, in

thfe

i R A V E L S, -ii

the hands ( France, would be death to
liberty of Holland, as all the ideas of a
rier would be thereby deltroyed, and .
Dutch provinces lie open to every fudden
inroad that might be attempted. What the
rulers in Holland would lay to it, i;
eafily conceived, but the populace, and lower
ranks, would drive them into oppontion.

The juftnefs of the Baron's obfen
I think, is clear; and I own he convinced
me, that there is no danger of feeing the Au-
strian Flanders in the hands of France,
which would be almofr. as dangerous an event
to England as it would to Holland.

Reipeciing the preient ftate of their ma-
nufactures, he informed me, that the govern-
ment had exerted itfelf greatly in t

O J

favour, and in feveral inftances with '
iucceis, but that it mult in general be little
further than preventing a greater dec'
that they had not one manufacture corn-
parable to what flour'iihed in Flanders many-
years ago; that of laces was flourishing, but
not near fo confiderable as formerly ; and the
fame obfervation was applicable to thofe of
nne linen and tapeitry: indeed the attention
g;iven to manufactures in even- country and
irate in Europe, cannot but have drawn
much from the old fabric Ion? eftabli

:

j 2 T R A V E L S, E#.

no article of manufacture is found in Flan-
ders, which is not ftrcngly rivalled by fome
neighbour or other. This, with the inter-
nal miichiefs refulting from freedoms of cor-
porate towns cramping the workmen, ere
very prejudicial to all induury in thefe pro-
vinces : the latter obftacle is much remedied
by new regulations, bat the former remains
in full force.

Notwithstanding thefe impediments, the
■ cs of the Auftriari provinces are by no
means inconfiderabie; the towns are thick,
and all of them have fome manufacture or
other: their linens, laces, flockings, caps,
cloths, druggets, carpets, <5jc. 6cc. are
all considerable, employing great numbers
of hands, and bringing much money into
the country.

It was not without pain that I took my
leave of the Baron on my quitting BrufTels ;
I found very few people who had attended
fo much to the funerior interefls of their
country, or that underftood them better.
He had an enlarged idea of the politics of
Europe, and feemed perfectly well to under-
stand the true conduct of every neighbour-
ing power.

CHAP.

T R A V E L

35

CHAP. II.

Fran Brujfek to Mechlin — Antwerp — Descrip-
tion of that City, and of its fine Paintings —
Journey to Ruremond — General Ob fervations
en Flanders — Number of Cities — Population
— Trade — Manufactures — Agriculture —
Situation — Political importance.

JULY 20th, I left Bruflels, taking the
road to Mechlin in my way to Antwerp;
the diitance is twelve miles, through a light
iandy country, not near ib rich as what I
. had lately travelled, but their management
of it ieemed very good; though fome of it
was not cultivated at all, yet all that was
under crops ieemed to yield very good ones.
Flax I obferved to grow very well on thefe
lands, but they manured them very richly
for the preceding crop. 1 law much clover
that was very fine, and many fields of bark-v
and oats that almoft rivalled the products of
much better foils; but I do not remember
feeing one crop of wheat. They plough
here with much greater dexterity than ever
Vol, II. D I law

3.1 T R A V- E L S, &e.

1 faw in England; for the ploughman h:
no driver, although they ufe four horfes at a
time; hehas-reins to all the horfes, and a
long coach-whip, which he flicks into a
focket made on purpofe to receive it in the
beam of his plough : they ufe only wheel-
ploughs, and the country people think that
no plough in the world can equal their true
Flemiih one. I remarked their furrows,
and found that they went very (hallow;
their motive for which, is keeping the good
foil at top, which has been manured, and
' not ploughing down to the {harp land, which
has never received any improvement. On
fome low foots, between little (andy emi-
nences, they plant hops, which, by means
of good manuring, and much cultivation,
they make a profitable crop.

Mechlin is a confiderable city, very well
fituated for communication and trade with
Antwerp, Bruiiels, and Lc ;.ns

of the rivers Dyle and Demer, which join
before they arrive at this place, and united,
run through it; there are befldes, feveral
canals, and a great many bridges thrown over
them. The are in general well built,

and the market-place is large. Mechlin is
famous for the inanufaclure of the lace that
eje*e s by its name. It is chiefly made in the

nunnery"

TRAVELS, &o. 35

nunnery cf the Beguines; a kind of nuns,
without thofc vows whieh bind the common
ones to the monaflic life, being at liberty at
any time to quit the confinement and marry;
there are generally icvcn cr eight hundred
young women in it employed upon the lace,
which brings a good price all over Europe.
They are alfo famous in this place for
founderies of bells, and great guns, and in an
inferior degree for brewing good beer, which
they export in confiderable quantities.
Mechlin is an agreeable place to relide at,
from the diverfions which are going on at
it; this is principally owing to the number
of nobility who make it their refidence.

From Mechlin to Antwerp the road runs
through a poor fandy country, much of it
wafte and covered with heath. That city is
iituated in a low fenny fpot; but it is feven
miles in circumference, far rounded with a
good wall, and many bafticiis faced with
flone. Thefe fortifications, however, are of
no other confequencethan to defend it againft
fud-ien incurfions, but they are very beauti-
ful, for the top of the wall is an hundred
feet broad, and doubly planted with rows cf
trees. The only (Irength of it is the citadel,
which is the famous oneerecled by the Duke
of Alva. It (lands clofe to the river Schelde",

D 2 on

t5 T X A V E L S. Eft.

on the South fide of the city; it is a regular
fortification, and very i"trcng, commanding
all the town, and the adjacent country for
fome diilance. There are five principal
baftions to it, which command each other,
and defended by two very deep and wide
ditches. It was the erection of this fortrefs
that gave the great blow to the vafl trade
which Antwerp once carried on. Here was
the itatue which the Duke of Alva earned to
be made, reprefenting himfelf ill a military
attitude, trampling the nobility and people
under fectj and which roufed the fpirit of the
populace lb much, that they broke into the
citadel on a holiday, and utterly demolished
the flame. Here are many considerable
magazines for military ftcres, and barracks
for a garrifon of four thouiand men.

The river at Antwerp is twenty feet deep,
and at high water riles twenty feet more,
ich makes it an excellent harbour, into
whk a of the greateil burthen may be

admitted to unload their cargoes at eight oi
the principal canals in the town. Thefe were
the advantages which carried their trade to
filch a height -, but the Dutch building Fort
Liilo, which totally commanded the approach,
and in confequence making all (hips that
railed pay toll, was a fatal ltrcke to their

:.ie,

TRAVEL S, &c, 37

trade, and drove the chief of it to Am-
lterdam.

Antwerp has many remains of its foimer
magnificence, particularly in the breadth,
length, and regularity of the principal
flreets, and many of the public buildings
and churches. It has twenty-two fquares,
two hundred and twelve flreets, and feven
gates, from each of which runs a ftreet,
terminating at the cathedral fquare. The
ilreet called La Mere is the fined in the city;
it is very well paved, and is fo wide, that five
coaches may pais in it abreail with great cafe;
it is alio very well built, and in general of
free ilone : ' many of the other ilreets alfo
make a very gcod appearance, being broad,
ilrait, and handfome. The better fort of
houfes throughout the city are in general
large, lofty, and contain gcod apartments.
From the decay of trade, many of them are
let at very low rates : moil: have court-yards
and gardens, which make them very agree-
able to live in; many of them are indeed in
the antient ilile of building, which is not fo
graceful in appearance.

The markets here are numerous, and moil

of them well iuppiied -, that for rilh is near

the river, and abounds with great plenty that

is excellent: and that for fruit and garden-

D 3 (luff,

j8 TRAVELS, ifc.

fluff is well fuppiied by numerous country
carts, in which the peafants bring the pro-
duce of their little farms; but much comes
by v/ater. One fquare is called the Friday
market-place, in which, of a market day,
are to be feen many i'ales by auction of fur-
niture, and fome of pictures, where are to be
picked up fometimes valuable pieces by
Flemiih matters.

Nothing can be more melancholy than
to view the houfe of the Hanfe towns, built
in 1468, (a time in which this city was fo
flouriihing) for the life of the merchants
trading to the Baltic. It is a fquare edi
cf 230 feet, and all of ftone: the upper floors
were ample magazines for ad forts of dry
merchandize, with van: cellars for the wet
goods, which are now converted to (tabling
for troopers horfes, and the magazines to
hay-lofts ; a fad fpeclacle of the building
which once was the refidence of wealth and
induflry, and fhews how miferable a fall any
place undergoes that lofes a once eflabliiLed
trade.

Very near the ftrcet La Mere is the Ex-
change, faid to be the firft buil - of the
kind railed in Europe; and from which Sir
Thomas Greiham is faid to have taken his
idea of that of London. Four ftreets meet

at

TRAVELS, Esfc. 39

at it, and it has four great gates anfwcrabte
to them : the parades are fupported by above
forty marble pillars -, the length of it is 180
feet, and the breadth 140. Beneath it are
vaults and magazines for goods, and over it
are the apartments of an academy of paint-
ing, fculpture, and architecture. The ex-
pence of this building is laid to have
amounted to three hundred thoufand crown?,
at a time when money was much dearer than
it L? at prefent.

The Stadthoufe is very well worth view-
ing ; it is ail of free flone, furrounding three
courts, with a very magnificent front, de-
corated with ftatues and a cupola. The
Dutch, from an obfervation that the trade of
Antwerp began to decline the year this
building was finifhed, have iuperiritiouily
delayed completing the Stadthoufe at Ani-
fterdam, leail the fame fate mould attend
the commerce of .that city; but their pre-
caution has been vain, for their trade has
greatly declined, notwithstanding the 1
mined ftate of their Town-hcuie.

Ill this edifice are feveral paintings much
rving the attention of the connoin".
in that art, and among ethers are the fol-
i ng :

D 4 The

4o TRAVELS, SV.

The virgin of Antwerp, by Abraham
JanfTens. This is a very capital piece, it is
naturally executed, yet with a minute
expreflion.

A holy family, by Gerard Zeghers.

Game and fowls, by Snyders; the figures
by Rubens. This is one of the fineft pic-
tures in the collection ; nothing can be
more exact than the imitation of the game*
and the figures are touched in Ruben's maf-
terly manner.

Three triumphal arches, by Rubens.

A whole chapel, painted by Henry Ver-
bruggen, and very well executed. The altar
and crucifix are the work of Michael Ver-
voort the elder; they are very fine.

Concord, by Abraham JanfTens.

An altar-piece admirably executed, by
Cornelius Schut.

The elders exercifing the bow, by Biget;
the arch itecTl ure by Herd en berg, and the
landfcape part by Himmetraet. This ap-
pears to be a very valuable piece.

Antwerp was once the grand emporium
of almofi: all the commerce in Europe,
which was owing to three principal caufes.
Firft, To the liberty which reigned here.
Second, To the advantages of its fituation*
and port, for above four thoufand fail of

fnips

TRAVELS, fcfr. 4,

Ihips could lay in perfect fafety in the canals
at a time. And thirdly, To the near neigh-
bourhood of the mod flourifhing manufac-
tures then in Europe, which were carried
on in all the Flemifh towns. Bruges pof-
feiied the greatefr. mare of trade before Ant-
werp arofe to fuch a height; but the wars
which broke out in Flanders in the besinnino-
of the iixteenth century, drove moil of the
merchants from the former place to the lat-
ter. They reckon the trade of the city at
its height about the year 1568, when they
computed the inhabitants at two hundred
thoufand: their harbour, at that time, con-
tained very often 2500 mips at a time, and
500 were commonly feen to go out, or come
in, in a day. The annals or' the city inform
us, that in the year 1550, the trade amounted
to one hundred and thirty- three millions,
exclusive 'of the bank. TheAntwerpers, to
this day, are fond of telling the ltory of
John Daens, their famous merchant, who
lent the Emperor, Charles V. a million of
gold, and afterwards entertained him moil:
magnificently ; had a fire of cinnamon, and,
in the Emperor's prefence, threw the bond
into it. But fuch a tale as little becomes
the modern city, as the action did the antient
one.

But

4& TRAVELS, Bfe

But ail their prcfpcrity
againrr. the tyranny of theii k m
Phiiip II. who I take to be a : -lore

detectable manlier than Tiberius, Nero,
Caligula, Domitian, or Heliogabalus, for he
had all their faults, (except low buffoonery)
without any of their good qualities : this
wretch of a monarch, and his blood-hound
the Duke of Alva, prefmtly drove all trade
from Antwerp, fo that the fall of the city
was much quicker than its rife. After being
twice facked, there was much of it burnt
down in 1576, and brought into fuch a
condition, as was utterly incompatible with
trade : the merchants therefore fled in whole
troops; the Dutch received them; they had
juft formed their infant republic. Amfter-
dam began to be a place of trade ; they
removed thither, and carried with them their
correspondence and induftry. At the fame
time the Dutch built Fort Lillo, in Zealand,
n tided the entry of the harbour,
and made all ihips pay toll; this gave the
Lg {broke to the trade cf Antwerp,
which afterwards retained but few m
of that amazing commerce me once pcf-
ieif

Upon the lofs ©f their trade, the inhabi-
tants gave their attention principally to

banking,

TRAVELS, gfe f3

banking, jewelling, and painting. In the
firft they have always been proficients, and
carried it to great extent, even in the prefent
times: during the Duke of Marlborough's
war, two brothers, the De Konnings, paid,
one the army of France, and the other that
of the Allies. Some of their painters were
of note in the Flemifli fchool before the
time of Rubens, but that great mailer laid
the principal foundation of their fame; he
elrablimed their fchool, and, under the influ-
ence of his genius, painting long flourifheA
here -y fo that Antwerp has produced more
good artifts in this way, than any other
town in the Netherlands. Antwerp has
likewife been famous for printing, the Plan-
tin editions being much efteemed in the
learned world. Planting printing-home
remains (though imperfect) at this time,
and is faid by the Antwerpers to be the bed
in Europe, having been iupplied with near
an hundred different forts of fonts of letters,
two of which were Syriac, forty-feven
Roman, nine Greek, and ten Hebrew.

But Antwerp, though fo much reduced
from its antient fplendor, is yet a plr.ee of
confequtnee: here is feme trade carried on,
for which it is yet well iituated, and has
behind it numerous cities in Flanders, 6c c.

to

44 T R A V ELS, L ' .

to fupply with foreign commodities: they
have alio feveral flourishing manufactures,
a confiderable lace trade, and a (hare of the
linen fabrics, ecc. It is alfo an agreeable place
to refide in, from the number of nobility
and pec pie of large fortune who live in it.
Through their patronage a theatre has been
rebuilt, and alfo an apartment for the per-
formance of concerts. The firft is a very
beautiful and well contrived edifice, well
furnifhed with fcenery and machines; it is
alfo richly ornamented with paintings by
D'heur and Michael Vervoort the younger.
A company of French comedians exhibit
here three times a week in winter. The
fame mailers ornamented the concert-room,
where a conceit is performed once a week,
for two months, in winter.

From my firft coming to Antwerp I was
made to expect much entertainment in
feveral of the churches; and I mould have
been better fatisfied, had not my expectation
been raifed too much: however, there are
numerous pictures in them of molt capital
merit, and they are indeed the richer! that
Antwerp has to beftow on itrangers.

In the church of the Dominican nuns is
an altar-piece representing a crucifixion; a
Jarge picture b e. It is a capital

performance

TRAVELS, fcf& 45

performance of that very capital painter,
and an inftance of that remarkable chaf-
tity of colouring in which he was lb ex-
cellent.

In the church of the nuns of the Annun-
ciation is a fmall altar-piece by Rubens,
reprefenting the holy child Jefus: there is
merit in it, but not equal to what is often
feen in the works of this matter. Here is
alfo a portrait of the founder of the Cloifter,
by Vandyke, which deferves much ad-
miration.

In the church of the Beguines is an altar-
piece reprefenting the defcent from the crofs,
by Vandyke, which is extremely capital;
the ideas are great, and the colouring pure.
Near it are two figures, finely executed in
white marble, by Scheemaeckers.

The refurrection, the annunciation of the
Virgin, and the afcenfion, all by Langen
Jan, done in Vandyke's manner, and equal
to many of the pieces of that celebrated
painter.

St. Francis, by Guido, but not com-
parable to the bell: works of that mafter.
A crucifixion, by Jcrdaens, which has merit.

In the church of St. James, an elevation
of the crofs, by Vervoort the elder, deferves
to be mentioned.

Another

4* T R A V E L S, is'c.

Another piece of the lafl flipper, by Otton
Van Veen, is finely done. Alio the ilatues
of St. Paul and St. Peter, executed by Wil-
li am lens and Verbrnggen, which will call
for attention from every one that fees
them.

An altar-piece, by Gerard Zegers.

A bais relief, by Scheemaeckers, excel-
lently done. Among the chapels in this
church, thcfe of Zumalos, Candoles, and
Rubens, are highly adorned. In the latter
is an altar-piece, painted by himfelf, in
which is his own portrait under the figure
of St. George. Alio the portrait of his firft
and fecond wives, executed better than in
moil ot the numerous pieces in which he
introduced them. Over one of them is a
ftatue of a virgin in white marble, brought
Aibens from Italy ; it is an exquiiite
piece, but the iculptcr unknown.

Our Lady, with an accompaniment of
feints, by jordaer .

A ilatue of the Virgin, with two cherubs
ing, by Van Beycren, finely executed.

Two others of St. John and St. Paul, by
IHichael Vervoort,; thefe have great merit.

In the .Pcteer's monument, a picture of
eternity, by Vervoort; a frrange idea, but
diiplays the hand of a matter.

The

TRAVEL S, &?. 49

The cathedral of Antwerp is a va.t build-
ine. and full of ornaments of naintin?, fta-
tuary, and rich carving. Among other ob-
jects, which attracted my notice particularly,
are the following :

In the Grand Almoner's apartment, the
portrait of a burgom.ait.er, by Vandyke, an
excellent piece.

Two ladies, and a butcher with a broken

head, finely executed, by Cocberger- St.

Paul, a tinker, and a monkey, might be c

together with as much propriety: but the

painters of the Flemifh fchool, Rubens and

Vandyke, with a very few others excepted,

are utterly deititute of a chain of great ideas,

ever thrown into one piece -, you look in

to their works for an action complex i

i

nature, but rendered one by the genius of
the artift: good colouring, and a I
imitation of frill life, are their great excel-
lencies; minute fmiming is c.
to the higher! perfection.

The miracle of the loaves and fillies, by
Martin de Vos, is a finking piece.

Children turning a wine-prefs, a
by Quilljn, admirably performed.

ie fall of the rebellious an Fran-

cis Floris.

The lait (upper, by Otton Van Veen.

T R A V I L

Thfe :.-.:::. ; . ft □) :' - CJ

Rubens; one ox the fuie:l pieces I I
this mailer; it is a ven
:, with man] figi :. ail executed in

the higheft ftile of this | ainter: it has two
great folding cic g :^>re it, on c

is represented the :: the

: the purification of the Virgin. On
iniide of one of them is painted St.
Chriucpher carrying Jefus acrofs a river;
and on the infide of the other, a hermit
his eyes fixed on that Saint, ^he whole
executed by Rubens, and have fo much of
that famous mafter"s belt manner in them,
that they cannot fail of being highly ad-
mired by all lovers of painting. T.

nance was c pied in :-:-. by Ocftai, a
rift, for 1 |] de Y: a .

The marriage of the Virgin urith [ofephj
by V :k.

A very fine J by Momp :-.-.

A nativity, by I de Yos.

The renin .bens, no:

Then \$t I " - folding dc
before it, | the fame an

John on one, and St. Barbe on the
and an angel on the infi
lame b

T

TRAVELS, &c. 49

The day of judgment, by De Backer.
There is much accuracy in the defign of this
picture.

An altar-piece, reprefenting our Sa-
viour in the midft of the Doctors, by
Francis Francken the elder. The faces of
moft of the Doctors are portraits of many of
the principal reformers, fuch as Luther,
Calvin, &c. &c. On one of the folding doors
is St. Ambrofe baptizing St. Auguftine ; on
the other, the miracle of Elifha j both by the
fame artift.

A holy family, with two figures in a
pofture of adoration, finely executed by
Rubens.

The martyrdom of St. Crifpin and Crif-
pianus, by Ambrofe Francken ; it is a good
picture, notwithstanding many faults.

The marriage at Cana, by Martin de Vos.
The land of promife, by ditto.

The incredulous Thomas a Didymus, by
Martin de Vos. One of the folding doors
reprefents the baptifm of our Lord; and the
other, the decollation of St. John. Thefe
pieces have a very fuperior merit.

The painters drawing the Virgin, by
Martin de Vos. Not a bad piece, but infe-
rior to that lail mentioned.

Vol. II. E St.

cc TRAVELS, Ut.

St. John preaching in the wildernefs, by
Henry Van Balen. The picture has merit,
but the figure of St. John is totally wanting
in dignity.

The temptation of St. Anthony. One of
the folding doors reprefents St. Hubert; and
die other, St. Rock. All by Martin de Vos,
and equal to any thing I have feen of that
artift's performance.

Chrift's triumphant entry into Jerufalem.
On one folding door the baptifm of St. Con-
ftantine; on the other, the church of St. Peter
at Rome; on one fide St. George on horfe-
back, on the other St. Margaret .and a dra-
gon; with three other fmall pieces, all by
Martin de Vos.

The defcent from the crofs. On one of
the folding doors, St. John thrown into a
caldron of oil; on the other, Herodias dan-
cing, in order to procure the head of St.
John, byQuintin Matfis, the famous black-
fmith painter of Antwerp. In the trouble-
fome times of the city this piece was fold,
but the magiftrates of the city afterwards
redeemed it by the advice of Martin de Vos,
for the fum of fifteen hundred florins. There
is great force of imitation in it in that
painter's well-known lKle, with a minute
expreflion j but Herodias is void of all grace

and

TRAVELS, lie. 51

and elegance; indeed the difficulty of catch-
ing the grace of motion, which fcarcely
gives an attitude, is fome excufe for the
execution, though none for the attempt :
the great Italian matters understood their
art too well to attempt it, for I do not recol-
lect an instance of their giving the reprefen-
tation of a perlbn dancing.

The Virgin accompanied by angels, by
Cornelius Schut j excellently done in this (tile
of painting.

St. Anne, by Michael Coxie. The con-
ductor tells you that this piece always was
much efleemed by Rubens.

The nativity, by Francis Floris. One of
his lair, pieces.

A dead Chrift leaning on the bofom of
his mother. On one of the folding doors
is painted the Virgin with an infant Jefus;
and on the other, St. John the Evangeliit.
On the infide of the fame doors are painted
our Lord, and the Virgin his mother; the
whole by Rubens, but not in his fmeft
manner.

There is nothing finking in the monu-
ment of Quintin Matfis, but it is always
ihewn to ftrangers for the fingularity of his
hiftory. The iron work of the pump near
the monument, which is very curious, was
E 2 wrought

52 TRAVELS, lie.

wrought bv him, and onlv with a hammer:
he executed many fuch works, and it is ob-
fervable, that he never made ufe of a file in
the polifhing any piece of any iron work
whatibever.

This cathedral is upon the whole very
noblv ornamented, and its architecture in the
Gothic (tile is not inferior to any edifice in
all the Low Countries. It is five hundred
feet long, and two hundred and forty feet
broad. The height is three hundred and
fixty feet, and it is fupported by one hun-
dred and twenty-five large pillars. It was
erected in the thirteenth centurv. The firfl
flone of the choir was laid by the Emperor
Charles V. in the year 1521. In the year
1533, all was reduced to afhes by fire, except
the choir and the tower. The next year it
was rebuilt in a fuperior ftile. The tower
is a fine building, light and Banking: The
height is four hundred and fixty- fix feet
high; it was begun in 1422, and not com-
pletely finiuhed till 15 18. Strangers are
conducted, up to the height of four hundred
feet, by a flair-cafe of fix hundred and
twenty-two iteps. Nothing can well be
finer than the view exhibited from the top
of this fine fteeple, not only of a vail: tract of
country for many miles round, but of feveral

very

TRAVELS, tfr. 53

very considerable cities; fuch as Malines,
Bruffels, Louvaine, Liere, Ghent, &:c.
There is a mufical clock which plays chimes
every hour, half hour, quarter, and half
quarter, confuting of near eighty bells. The
largeft bell weighs fixteen thoufand pounds,
and was erected in the year 1440.

In the church of the Capuchins, among
other pictures, are a crucifixion, by Rubens,
which is fine.

St. Francis, by the fame mafter.

A deadChrift, greatly done, by Vandyke.

A defcent from the crofs, by Cocberger.

In the church of the Recollects I obferved
particularly a crucifixion, by Rubens, very
well done, with a brilliancy not always
found in the productions of his pencil

A crucifix, by the fame mafter; very fine.

Chrift mewing his wounds, and the por-
traits of burgomafter Rock and his wife, by
Rubens; a piece that does honour to the
genius of this great painter. .

A Virgin, with an infant Jefus on her lap,
by Holbein ; very fine.

A final! crucifix, by Rubens.

A defcent from the crofs, by ditto.

A St. Catharine, by Vandyke.

St. Francis, by Rubens. There are many
figures very nobly executed.

E 3 A large

54 TRAVELS, fcfr.

A large defcent from the crofs, by Van-
dyke; one of the fineft works I remember to
have feen by that great painter.

A portrait of Alexander Scaglia, by Van-
dyke. It is fine, and large as the life.

The Virgin in her glory, by Rubens.

We alio find in the church of the Domi-
nicans, feveral very fine pieces. Among
others, a Chrift threatening to puniih the
world, by Rubens; which is fine.

The altar-piece, executed in marble, by
Verbruggen, is finking. The flatue of St.
Paul, remarkably beautiful.

The Virgin distributing the rofary to the
world, by Michael Angelo Caravaggio.

Near it a flatue of St. Rofa in white
marble, by Quillin.

A large picture of the nativity, by Rubens.

St. Dominic, by Michael Angelo Bucno-
rotti.

Chrift bearing the crofs, by Vandyke.

A council, by Rubens; this piece is incom-
parably fine.

Jefus fcourged, by Rubens; admirably
executed.

The Jefuit's church is one of the mod
beautiful edifices to be {een in all Flanders;
the architecture has uncommon merit; the
workmanfhip is very mafterly, and it is full

of

TRAVELS, fcfr. 55

of fine paintings ; the fineft marble, inter-
mixed with jafper, porphyry, and gold;
nor can any thing be more magnificent
than the chapel adjoining. Among other
paintings, the following are particularly
admired :

The afiumption of the Virgin, by Rubens -,
finely done.

The holy family, by John Lievens. This
piece has merit.

Chrift's appearance after his refure&ion,
and St. John and the Virgin, both by Gerard
Zeghers.

The circumctnon, by Cornelius Schut.

A holy family, by Zeghers.

Angels, by Rubens; finely executed.

A holy family, by Rubens. The defign
excellent.

St. Ignatius exorcifing a perfon poiTeiled,
by Rubens. The defign and execution of
this picture are equally to be admirec ,

St. Xavier raifing a man from the dead.
This is alio by Rubens, and much admired.

The erection of the crofs, by Zeghers.
Boldly done in dark mailes of fnade.

A holy family, by Carrache.

Four large fiatues of St. Ignatius, St.

Francis, St. Xavier, and St. Staniflaus, all by

Quillin. There is merit in the execution,

E 7 but

56 TRAVELS, ISc.

not equal to the other works of this
artift.

St. Xavier on his knees before the Virgin,
by Zeghers.

In the library is feen a portrait of Rubens,
drawn in pen and ink by himfelf, and exe-
cuted in the moit. inimitable manner ; with
a minute exprefiion fo mixed with freedom,
that it is beyond the power of the graver to
equal it.

A holy family, with many figures, by Van-
dyke. A very fine picture.

The portrait of St. Herman Jofeph, by
the fame hand, and moft admirably exe-
cuted.

This apartment is ornamented with
twentv-feven cieiing-pieces, fome ot which
are very well executed ; they are by various
m?iters.

The little head of an angel in marble,
executed by Quillin, is much admired, and
with juftice.

The annunciation of the Virgin, by
Rubens.

A crucifixion, by Zeghers.

In the church of the bare-footed Carme-
lites, the marriage of St. Jofeph with the
Virgin, by Zeghers, is one of the fineft
pieces I have (ten of that mailer.

A defcent

T R A V E L S, fcte 57

A defcent from the crofs, by Rubens.

The Virgin with St. Anne, Sec. by ditto;
which is very fine.

Chriit. appearing to St. Therefa, by the
fame hand. This piece, they fay, is much
admired, but I'muft own it does not ifrike
me.

St. Therefa, by Zeghers.

In the church of the Grand Carmelites,
among other pieces, are,

The Virgin and St. Catharine, by Wille-
brots, has very great merit.

A portrait, by Vandyke.

A dead Chrill, by Rubens.

The adoration of the Magi, by Otton Van
Veen.

The chapel of the Virgin is remarkably
beautiful; it is entirely composed of whits
marble, defigned and executed by Schee-
maeckers; it is furrounded withbafs reliefs.
The altar is all of marble, with various de-
corations of filver, with a flatue of the Vir-
gin in that metal. The door of the chapel
is very neatly executed, and over it are three
bronzes of very fine workman iliip.

Chriit's interment, by Abraham janfiens.

In the church of the Friars of St. Auguilm
are,

A holy

5S TRAVELS, ISe.

A holy family, a very large picture, by
Rubens, with many figures -, it is one of his
fineil pieces.

St. Auguftin in a tranfport of devotion,
by Vandyke. He is lifting up his eyes to
heaven, where he is fuppofed to fee Jefus
Chrift. This their catalogue tells you is the
very bell: performance of that great painter:
it certainly has a wonderful merit ; there is
a ftrength and ma jelly of exprellion, with
an elegance and freedom of deiign, that is
feldom feen; the colours are chaite and.
agreeable, and, in a wcrd, the whole piece
ftrikingly fine.

The martyrdom of St. Apollonius, by
Jordaens. Very ftrongly executed.

A crucifix, by Vandyke; admirably fine.
Upon painting the above-mentioned capital
picture of St. Auguftin he demanded fix
hundred florins as his price ; but the monks
difputing with him, he infilled on his terms,
but let them have this crucifix very cheap.
Thev could now be fold for thirteen thoufand
guineas. Such is the fate of the moft inge-
genious part of mankind! they can fcarcely
live by the fale of their productions, but long
after they are dead and buried, the world
begins to find out their merit, and values

fingle

TRAVELS, Wfl 59

fmgle efforts of their genius at ten times more
than their whole fortune.

In the church of St. Michael's abbey, the
altar-piece, representing the adoration or the
Magi, is by Rubens, and exceeding1)' fine.

The portrait of an abbot, by the lame
matter.

St. Norbert, by Rubens.

St. Norbert, by Cornelius de Vos. It is
done in Vandyke's manner, but not equal to
the belt of his pieces, as the catalogue of the
monks tell you.

The hiitory of the fick man in the gofpel,
by Erafmus Quillin. What the fathers
mean by averting in their catalogue, that
this picture is not inferior to any perform-
ance of Paul Veronefe, I cannot conceive;
for I have feen many works of that mailer
infinitely fuperior.

In the Fort church, nothing is more
worthy of attention than the monument of
the Marquis del Pico, one of the governors
of the citadel. He is reprefented as Sud-
denly Starting from ileep, and in amazement
at the fight of two fkeletons Standing before
him. Over his head two cherubs weep, one
holding a Shield, and the other a helmet.
Between them Stands Fame, with the arms
of the Marquis in one hand, and her trum-
pet

60 TRAVEL S, fcsV.

pet in the others the whole decorated with
a great number of military infignia. It is
the work of Scheemaeckers, and is, I think,
one of his bell performances. In the year
1746, at the iiege, a bomb damaged it con-
siderably, but it is fince repaired very well.
The altar, by the fame artift, is alfo a moil
magnificent piece of fculpture.

In the church of St. Andrew, among other
pieces, are,

A guardian angel, by Quiliin.

The laft fupper, by Eyckens the elder.

Chriit fattened to the crofs, by Vandyke;
inferior to his heft, manner.

In the church of St. George:

A portrait of Velours, by Vandyke.

A lait fupper, by Martin de Vos.

The monument of the Van Delfts, by
Scheemaeckers, is a fine piece of fculpture.

A portrait of Smellinck, a painter, by
Vandyke.

In the church of St. Walburge:

A crucifixion, by Rubens. This picture
has very great merit, it is executed with great
force and fpirit.

St. Eloy, and St. Catharine, with two
others, all belonging to the above crucifixion,
by Rubens.

The

T R A V E L S, t&. 61

The Lord's fupper, by Martin de Vos.
This is well executed.

I may upon the whole remark, that thefe
churches at Antwerp afford the curious tra-
veller infinitely more entertainment, than
thofe of any three other cities in all the
Netherlands. It is for this reafon that I
have been fo particular in my notes ; they are
very little known in England, not having
been vilited by the travellers who have pub-
lifhed their remarks: and the only account I
have feen of them, is a little catalogue fold
at the inns at Antwerp, and by the bookfel-
lers there, written in French; but this is no
more than a catalogue, the author having
feldom ventured to make any remarks, and
thofe that have efcaped him are not always

juft.

July 27th, I left Antwerp, and enquiring
the beft way of getting to Cologne in Germa-
ny, which was the rout I intended taking, I
found the road ran thro' a country in general
fandy and wafte : the diftance to R uremond, the
firft place of any confideration, is eighty
three miles; that I mould meet with no town
by the way better than a large village;
Tournhout, Poftel, and Wert, were the only
ones I fhould fee. I agreed with mv land-
lord at Antwerp for a ch'afle and iaddie-

horfe

6* TRAVELS, &*,

hone to Ruremond, and he engaged that I
ihcuid perform it in two days. I was to pay
at the rate of fix and twenty fhillings Englith
a day, which I did not think high, as the
diftance was confiderable.

I found the road bad, and the country very
dreary: fo many miles of it was a deep fand,
that I doubted very much whether my
Antwerp landlord had give n horfes fumciently
good for anfwering his engagement, and my
fufpicions proved true : from that city to
Tournhcut is twenty miles, which took us
eight hours -, I made but a fhort flay at a very
bad inn, and pufhed on for Poftel, which is
twenty miles further. This place, however,
we could not reach that night, but were
forced to take up our lodging at a miferable
cabaret on the road, where I flcpt in a great
chair, wrapped up in a Huffar cloak. It was
eleven o'clock next day before I got to Pof-
tel: the country is all but indifferent; fome
of it is cultivated, but not by many degrees
fo well as the other parts of Flanders. The
country people were bufy in their harvefr,
and I obferved were fuch ilovens as to carry
in their wheat crops loofe, like barley and
oats, and not bound up in (heaves : the crops
of all forts appeared but indifferent. Much
of the foil I palled, would do as well for

flax,

TRAVELS, yv. 65

flax, 6cc. as any in the beft part of Flan-
ders, but they cultivate ncnc: much of this,
I iuppoie, is owing to a want of that popu-
loumefs, for the thick towns near the coaft
bring a market for fuch productions, and
indeed for all others, which thefe wafte tracts
do not enjoy: and it is moil certainly of the
higheft importance to the agriculture of any
.tract, that a market for every thing ihould
be ready and good. The manufactures in
Bruflels, Ghent, Antwerp,, Mechlin, Lou-
vaine, &c. enrich all the country around,
and induce the farmers to cultivate flax on
foils, which would not otherwife probably be
cultivated at all.

From Poftel I went to Wert, a little place,
but much fuperior to the former. The inn is
kept by a clean Dutch woman, who gave me
fome greens, a fowl, and a diih of eggs, fo
that I fared, all things confidered, very
decently : here I discharged my chaife and
horfes, finding, upon enquiry, that I could
get poft-horfes to Ruremond for myfelf and
iervant, and a conveyance the next day for
the baggage. This faved my time, and
enabled me to reach that town at night.

Ruremond is fituated on the Maefe, at its
junction with the Roer, from whence it takes
its name. It is a large and populous town,

and

6+ TRAVELS, &t.

and rich, from carrying on an advantageous
commerce on the rivers. The fortifications
are pretty ilrong, and might be much more
fo, with the addition of a few out-works.
There is a very rich monaftery of Carthu-
fiafrs here, but they have not any thing much
worthy of notice to ihew, except a chapel
richly adorned.

And here, as I take my leave of the pro-
vinces, which commonly go under the name
of Flanders, it will be proper to give a few
general remarks, which I made in paffing
through the country.

The mOft ftriking object, which muft
ftrongly catch the attention of a traveller, is
the number, greatnefs, and populoufnefs of
the cities and towns, and the beauty of many
of the public buildings. Thefe towns
abound with trade, manufactures, induftry,
amufement, and pleafure; and although
fome of them are vaftly declined from that
pitch of profperity in which they once
figured, yet they at prefent form, upon the
whole, a richer and more confiderable coun-
try for its fize, than any in Europe, the pro-
vince of Holland alone excepted ; and this
decree of prefent importance is a remarkable
iniiance of a country retaining its confidera-
tion, after it has loft the principal part of its

commerce;

TRAVELS, &e. 6$

commerce; this can be owing only to two
circumftances, which are the happinefsofits
fituation, and the great fertility of its foil.

Some writers have remarked, that the bcft
hufbandry is ufually found in the molt bar-
ren and flierile fpots, and have quoted Swit-
zerland, where agriculture flourifhes remark-
ably; but Flanders is a fircng exception to
this rule, which, it muft be confefled, has
much of philofophy in it; for this country
is cultivated in a degree of perfection not to
be found any where elfe, at the fame time
that the foil is eiteemed the richeft and raoft
fertile in Europe. They have the principal
effentials of good huibandry in their prac-
tice, keeping the land perfectly fixe from
weeds, and at the fame time cropping it per-
petually, fo that they hardly know what a
fallow is.

Another obfervation I have to make is,
that agriculture has here maintained its em-
pire for many ages ; for we learn from
hiftory, that thefe provinces were cultivated
in a manner much fuperior to the reft of
Europe, fo early as their being firft confider-
able for their woollen manufactures, which
is between fix and feven hundred years ago,
ever fmce the Fiander hufbandry has been
proverbial, and it is now as famous as when

Vol, II, F the

66 TRAVELS,

the reft, of Europe was almoft covered v
marfhes and fandy defarts: this great excel-
lency of their management has itood all the
attacks of the violent civil wars in the reigri
of*Philip the Second, it being the common
theatre of mofr. of the wars in Europe, from
the Duke of Parma's time, in 15S0, ccc. to
1748, which is one of the moft remarkable
inftances of the (lability :: good husbandry
that is to be met with in the annals of hii-
tory. Their trade and manufactures both
fled, but the induftry of their peafants pc
failed.

The fituation of thefe provinces renders
them, in the views of ambition, a very impor-
tant ob-]ecl in the politics cf Europe. T
is no other ipot of ground of the fame fize
that is of equal coniequence; a truth amaz-
ingly exemplified by the variety of fucce;
contefts and wars, which have for more I
two hundred years engaged all the ne:
bouring potentates to get porTeinon of them.
Had Philip the Second of Spain avoided the
long wars with the Dutch, which quite
.ed his firength, the entire polTeffion of
this territory, more complete than ever it
been to any Sovereign lince, would have
.led him to become much m:
midable to the reft of Europe. It was from

Flanders

TRAVELS, fcfr. 67

Flanders that he principally exerted his great
ftrength, as if from the feat of his empire.
Not only the war with Holland took its
direction from thence, but alfo his expedi-
tions into France; and a principal part of the
invincible Armada, indeed the moil impor-
tant of it, was the Duke of Parma's army
in Flanders. When Lewis XIV. became
the principal actor upon the theatre of Eu-
rope, he made great exertions to conquer the
Netherlands; he gained considerable pro-
vinces, and had he been able to mafter the
whole, there can be little doubt but his
power would have been fo folidly founded,
that the oppofition of the reft of Europe
would have been of but little confequence.
Holland would have been left utterly at his
mercy, and become at once dependant on his
will : England would have had a whole coaft
of Dunkirks extending to the verv mouth of
the Thames; and neither fhe, nor any other
power, would have been able to have made
a tract of country, the theatre of war againfl
the common enemy, that was equally open
to her and Germany for uniting their arms;
a point of fuch importance that nothing
could make amends for the want of it. In
whatever light the acquifmon of thefe pro-
vinces is viewed with relation to France,
F 2 while

63 TRAVELS, bV.

while her power was on the increafe, there
can be no doubt but they would have ren-
dered her too ftrong for all her neighbours.
The gaining a dominion {o full of people,
trade, manufactures, induftry, and cultiva-
tion, thronged with cities and towns, cut in
every part by navigable canals, commanding
a good extent cf coaft; this alone would
have been an object of very great confe-
quence; but when the peculiar circumftan-
ces cf ftrength and fituation are added, the
cafe become:- too clear for hefitation.

As the neighbours of France were for-
tunate enough to preferve the principal part
of the provinces from the rapacioufnefs of
her ambition, they therein fecured the liber-
ties of Europe ; and luckily there is no other
rinng power, whofe greatnefs gives reafon
to fear her aiming at univerfal monarchy :
the poilefiion of them in the Houfe of
Auftria can give umbrage to no part of Eu-
rope, unlefs fo itricl: an alliance was formed
between her and France, as to force the
Dutch into a war; and in fuch a cafe Hol-
land might be in danger. That republic
would for ever be fecure in her independency,
whatever ills befell her trade, if thefe pro-
vinces were added to her dominion by a
union as complete as that which binds the

Seven.

TRAVEL S, fite. 69

Seven. She would then, in all probability,
have never any thing to dread from the power
of France.

On the other hand, there might be a do-
minion formed by an union of the Auflrian
Netherlands with the bifhoprics of Liege,
Cologne, &c. and fome other German ter-
ritories, which, in many exigencies of the
affairs of Europe, might tend ftrongly to
preferve peace, by holding a balance between
the three powers that are rnofr. likely to break
it, France, Auflria, and Pruffia.

At any rate, thefe provinces are of fuch
importance, that the neighbouring powers
of Europe mould at all events make it a
Handing rule in their politics, not to furler
them, on any account, to fall into the hands
of France. That kingdom, it is true, is a
finking power, but no body knows what
confequences might attend, what renovation
might follow fuch an acquifitionj certainly
Holland, and all her trade, would be in the
moll: imminent danger ; and if a Prince of
real abilities mounted the throne of France,
fully bent upon refloring the luitre of that
monarchy; if he became an encourager of
trade, of manufactures, agriculture, and all
the ufeful arts, he would, with thefe pro-
vinces in his hands, carry his people to fuch

F 3 a height

7© TRAVELS, lie.

a height of power, that any fucceflbr of mo-
derate parts would find none able to oppofe
bim in feizing Holland, and fecuring the
pofTeffion of it. Of fuch vaft importance
are thefe Provinces !

Travels

Travels through Germany.

F 4

I 71 ]

CHAP. III.

From Hturanond to Cologne — Defcripticn of that

Cat v — ?o Mwnjler — The Country — Huf-
bandry — Adventures — BifiopricofOfr.aburgh
— Minden — War in Germany — Hantwer —
Prefeni State of the Electorate — Agrieutturt

Manufactures — Revenues — To Hamburgh

— Defcripticn of that City — State of its
Trade, &c.

FROM Ruremond to Cologne the road
leads firft to juliers, at the diftance of
eighteen miles : it is through a very indiffe-
rent country, being much of it wafte, and a
great deal a poor land. Some of this poor
foil is however cultivated, for they were
mowing feveral fields of buck wheat I paf-
fed, which feemed to be pretty good crops.
I ordered my fervant to make fome enquiries
into the advantages of applying thefe fands
to the culture of it; and he was told, that
they were too poor to produce any thing elfe,
but of this grain their crops were fometimes
confiderable. Their method was to take a

crop

74 T R A V E L S, fie.

crop-of buck wheat, and then leave the land
fallow for a year, but without giving it any
tillage : the year following, they take ano-
ther crop on one ploughing, and fo on, but
1 could not understand that they paid any
rent for this land; it feemed wafte, and no
body prevented the peafants from taking what
crops they pleafed from it. They applied
the buck wheat to feeding hogs and horfes,
and gave the flraw to their cows. But all
thefe fands, I apprehend, might be much
improved by fpreading their yellow clays
upon them, of which I law, in broken places
on the road, many foots.

The town of Juliers is not large, but it is
neatly built, and contains fevcral good ftreets,
which are broad and ftrait. The place is
well fortified, having a very ftrong citadel,
in which a^re the ruins of an antient palace,
once the refidcnce of the Dukes of Juliers.
They have a rich monaftery of Carthufians
in the fuburbs. At Juliers, and feveral other
places in the Duchy, there is a very advan-
tageous manufacture of woollen goods, and
a frill more considerable one of thofe linens,
called in England Gulic Hollands; thefe
manufactures fpread fomething of an in-
duftry through the country, and nrich it
much more than it would otherwife be.

From

TRAVELS, fcjfc 75

From Juliers to Cologne is twelve miles,
through a country rather better than that to
Juliers : towards the Rhine it improves
greatly, and is well fpread with fine mea-
dows, and other rich tracks. I arrived at
Cologne the 30th, at night, fixing my quar-
ters at the City of Amfterdam inn.

Cologne is a very large and well built city,
in the form of a crefcent, fituated in a fine
plain on the banks of the Rhine. There is
fome appearance of fortifications about it,
but it is a place of no ftrength, from its
great extent ; the walls incloiing much
ground, that is not built upon, and many
gardens and vineyards of more than three
hundred acres. There are four and twenty
gates, and a vait. number of public build-
ings \ they reckon twenty- feven churches,
thirty chapels, twelve monasteries, twenty-
two nunneries, and four large hofpitals.
Thefe public edifices are fo numerous in
proportion to the city, that moft of it is
taken up with them. Among the beft
houfes in the town are thofe belonging to
the Chapter, moft of which have handfome
gardens and vineyards. The itreets are
large and well paved, but there are only two
fquares or market-places. The cathedral is
a large building, but unfinimed, though

begun

76 TRAVELS, ffi

begun fo long ago as 1254; there is nothing
ftriking in it. The Jefuit's church is an
handfome building: 1 went to fee two mo-
nafleries, and the chapel of a nunnery, which
I was told were beft worth viewing ; but I
found fo little entertainment that I defined
from enquiring after any more.

I propofed croiiing Weftphalia in my way
to Hamburgh, which is a journey of near
two hundred miles, but I had fuch a defcrip-
tion of the roads, and the miferablenefs of
the inns and accommodations, that I deter-
mined to purchafe a chaife at Cologne, and
fo to depend on the road for nothing but
horfes and drivers. It was with much
trouble tha: 1 found one that had the conve-
niency of carrying plenty of baggage; at
lead I bought one with a large boot before,
and a ftill mere ample one behind: I pur-
chafed likewife feme meets, a matirafs, and
pillows, with a very large coverlid that
would go all over the bedding when made.

Auguft the iff, I fent my chaife acrofs
the Rhine, on its way to DufTeldorp, deter-
mining myfeif to go by the river, as much
the more agreeable way. I took my paiiage
in a large boat which plies upon the Rhine;
the voyage is extremely agreeable, for where-
ever the banks are high, which is the cafe in

many

TRAVELS, l?c. 77

many places, they are generally planted
with vines, which has a mighty pretty effect,
and the woods, intermixed with corn fields,
have a fine appearance. It was a good day's
journey to reach DuiTeldorp. That town is
a pretty place from the neatnefs of the build-
ings, and being well paved. The fortifica-
tions are of no great account; but there is a
well built citadel which commands the
Rhine. The Jefuit's college is a handfome
edifice. In the palace is the gallery, which
was once filled with the famous collection of
paintings ; I was greatly concerned to find
that they were removed, as I expected much
pleafure from feeing them.

Having entertained myfelf wTith walking
about the place, I again took boat the fecond
for Duyfburgh, and which I did not reach
till late in the afternoon; the vovag;e was ex-
tremely pleafant, the views picturefque, and
the country in general very fine and rich;
the cattle thev feed in the meadows on the
Rhine are the large Dutch fort, and they
feem to have a great plenty of them. Some
of thefe meadows are lett at very high prices,
but mofr. of them are farmed by the owners
by means of itewards and bailiffs. Duyf-
burgh is but-a poor infignificant place, with

notrung

7? TRAVELS, c\.

nothing worthy of attention. I walked to
fee an old caftle near it, but it is in ruins.

FromDuviDurgh to Munfter the diitance
is about fixty- eight miles; and I found by
the enquiries I made, that the principal part
of it was over barren heaths and waites;
that there were fcarcely any towns, uiileis I
turned much out of my way, and but a few
villages, with wretched accommodations:
however, as I had an inclination to crofs
Weftphalia, I determined to encounter this
dreary journey. I fet out in my chaife the
3d of Auguft, having loaded it with fome
loaves, cold fowls, ham, beef, and half a
dozen bottles of good wine. This precau-
tion they allured me at Duyfburgh was
very necefTary, for a flice of bacon, and a
piece of black barley bread, was the moil: I
could expect at any of the hedge ale-houfes I
mould meet with.

For fome miles from Duyfburgh the
country is tolerably fertile and pleaiant; but
as you advance northwards it grows worfe,
aod the foil poorer: about twenty miles
tance I paffed through a territory, where
the husbandry iurprized me from being fo
much better than in the country I had palled;
the foil is fandy and not rich, but the inha-
bitants cultivate it with fome degree of atten-
tion;

TRAVELS,^ 79

tion ; the fields are inclofed regularly with
neat and ftrong hedges of horn beam, and
appear to be pretty well cultivated; I ob-
ferved feveral entirely cropped with pota-
toes; this root they plant with great fuccefs
on fandy grounds, and ufe it for fattening
their hogs. I made many enquiries among
the peafants, concerning their methods of
managing their hogs, from knowing the ex-
cellence of their hams and bacon; and I
found, that their principal food was what
they got wild in the woods, where many
chemuts grow, and to which, I fuppofe, the,
fiefh is indebted for its fine flavour.

I flopped at night at a houfe here called
an inn, but which was in reality a fmall
farm houfc, (landing fingly in the fields,
with only a few fcattered inciofures about
it. I arrived at this manfion in the after-
noon about five o'clock, and immediately
took a furvey of the premiies : what I had
taken for a houfe, I found to be no more
than a large barn, which ferved for parlour,
kitchen, bed-chamber, flable, cow-houfe,
and hog-ftye: a man very readily came out,
and unharnefTmg the horfes, conducted them
to a rack and manger; but as to myfeif, no
body took the lead notice of me: I ordered
my ferv ant to find out fome detached build-
ing

So TRAVELS, Ifc,

ing or room to make my bed in, and, if it
was to be had, another to eat in 3 he went to
the landlord of the inn, who was bufy in the
field, and prefently came back to let me
know, that I muft do as other travellers did
at his inn, or I might, if I pleafed, go feek
a better : this anfwer let me fully into our
landlord's character, and convinced me that
I mutt make a virtue of neceffity, and fubmit
to do as other travellers did. I found,
however, that my requeft had been an un-
reasonable one, for the barn was the only
apartment in the poffefTion of the family.

We then fixed upon a part of it the lead
ofFeniive from unfavoury fmells, and fpread-
ing a napkin upon the ground, began to
devour a part of the provifions I had brought
from Duyiburgh; one table, which was the
ground, ferved both mafier and man, and
that ferved us alfo for chairs, for no others
were to be found at this Weftphalian inn :
a hearty repair, after almoft a day's hunger,
had its charms, though taken in fo homely
a manner: we difpatched a couple of fowls,
a piece of beef, and fome dices of ham, and
were emptying a bottle of Rhenifh when the
landlord came up, and with an appearance
of fome civility, addremng himfelf to me,

kid,

GERMANY. Si

faid, as I underftood by my fervant, who was
my interpreter:

Much good may do you, Sir; you have
taken care to lay in good ftore for your
journey.

Why, yes ; it feems to be rather neceffary
in this country.

Odds my life, Sir, we have fome nice
dried tongues, and I could give you a flag-
gon of as good brandy as any in Munfter.

Thinking it would be proper to lay out
fome money with him for myfelf as well as
for my horfes, I defired he would let me
tafte one of his dried tongues, and bring us
fome brandy ; and if he would affifr. us iri
difpatching both, I mould be obliged to him.
The German took the hint; he brought five
fmall tongues, and a piece of hung beef, all
excellent, fo that I was induced to eat a
fecond courfe; his brandy he drank himfelf,
as if it had been but fmall beer, and he was
not long in clearing the table of the tongues.
I took this opportunity to enquire into their
hufbandry, and afking him many quefrionsj
he anfwered me but coldly at flrft, but grow-
ing into better humour, as he fwigg'd the
brandy, he was more communicative, and
gave me the following accounts : I am not
farmer enough myfelf to difcriminate in his

Vol. II. G particulars,

S* TRAVELS THROUGH

particulars, but mufl take all on the fame
authority.

The hnds throughout thefe parts are in
general cultivated by peaiants, who are in a
ftate of villainage; but fome of them are lett
in the manner of our farms in England, and
thefe are much better managed than the
others; but it is only of late years that this
has been done, though from the fuccefs, and
the land yielding the owner a greater profit,
it is fuppofed that a greater freedom will be
dirfufed among the peaiants. The foil is in
general fandy, but it is not a barren fand,
for few tracts are fo bad but what will yield
fome advantages when managed with any
care. The plants they cultivate principally
are rye, oats, buck wheat, a little barley,
potatoes, fome turnips, and, of late years, a
plant between a turnip and a cabbage; but
they have no wheat: they depend much on
their cattle for the profit of their hufbandry:
their meadows, except on the banks of
brooks and rivers, are very indifferent; but
they feed their flocks on waftes, having
herdfmen to take care of them; they gene-
rally houfe them every night : the barn, in
which the family and cattle refide, is large
enough to hold all the flock. They have
very few horfes among them, all their work

being

G E R M A N V. i3

being performed by oxen or cows, for they
find no inconvenience in working the latter.
They are troubled very much in winter to
find provifions for their cattle; their ftraw
is all eaten, and they feed them alio with the
tender branches of feveral forts of trees;
their turnip leaves and cabbage leaves they
pluck feveral times, and boil them in a large
copper until the liquor is a kind of hodge-podge,
and this they give their oxen and cows warm,
and find that this method of giving it makes-
the materials go much farther; they alio
think it highly neceffary to give cows feme
warm food every day in winter ; their pota-
toes they ufe chiefly for their hogs. I made
enquiries concerning the fattening them, and
found that they are made fat chiefly by run-
ning in the woods, where they find plenty of
chefnuts; but in tracts where theie woods
are not within a farmer's right they pro-
cure chefnuts, and give them in flies: in the
laft flage of their fattening, which is after
their range abroad in the woods is over, they
give them potatoes baked. I exprefTed much
furprize at this intelligence, but it was re-
peated feveral times, and very feriqufly.
They have large ovens for baking potatoes ;
and they find, that thus prepared, they are
the moll fattening of all food, and that the

G 2 flavour

|4 TRAVELS THROUGH

flavour of their bacon is owing not to the
chefhuts, but to the baked potatoes; what
truth, or rather what propriety, there is in
this practice I am totally unable to afcer-
tain, it is a point that muft be referred to
the connohTeurs in hog-fattening; but I
much queftion whether the farmers in Eng-
land will ever give credit enough to this
account to try it in their practice. They
think it equally necefTary to give hogs their
food warm in winter as cows.

Buck wheat they think the mod profitable
grain they can fow on their fandy lands j
they ufe it principally for their own eating,
making bread, puddings, and pancakes of it,
and with the itraw they partly feed their
oxen in winter.

I before remarked, that the barn ferved
for every ufe of cattle, as well as the family :
they are univerfally attentive to houfe all
throughout the winter, and they fupply them
with litter in as great abundance as they are
able, either with ftraw, heath, fern, or other
fluff; and their dung, as cleaned away, is
formed into a great heap near the barn,
which they add to by all the family doing
their neceflities upon it, and which they
would on no account omit, being very fen-

fible

GERMANY, Ba-

uble how much they add to the virtues
of it.

It was with fome difficulty that I could
find a fpot in the barn on which I could
fubmit to fpread my bed : my man raifed a
floor of fern upon the ground, and laid on.
that a layer of ftraw, and then my bedding;
I had on one fide of me feven oxen ranged
to their racks and mangers, the neareit of
whom was within three feet of me, and I
was not a little difturbed with the idea of
his breaking or flipping his halter, and fa-
vouring me with his company in the night,
to the diflocation of all my bones: my neigh-
bour, on the other fide, was a cow, and near
her a large fow with a litter of pigs, whole
grunting ferved inflead of foft muiic to lull
me to fleep. This lodging among the cattle
I much preferred to the other end of the
barn, where the family, the pofl-boy, and
man, and another traveller repdfed them-
felves,- men and women all together: as I
was forced to have company, I chofe thofe
animals which I was fare were cleaned, and
would fend forth the feweft uniavoury
finells. Here it was I repofed myfelf for
deep, and much fooner facririced to Mor-
pheus than I expected: in other words, I
was prefently fait and comfortably afleep,
G 3 without

86 TRAVELS THROUGH

without dreaming either of cows, oxen, or
iwine; but, as if I was deitined to have the
Weftphalian barn prove as fertile of adven-
tures as any of Don Quixote's inns, I was in
the middle of the night fuddenly awaked
with a great weight dropping at once upon
me. I immediately fuppofed it was nothing
lefs than my friend the ox, and directly be-
laboured his bones with a large cane: a
voice, not lefs fonorous than that of an ox,
roar'd out in High Dutch as if the devil had
jufl caught him; the whole barn was pre-
fently in confufion,- oxen and cows bellow-
ing, the fows grunting, the horfes neighing,
the pigs fqueaking, the women fqualling,
and the landlord curling; nor was our theatre
of difcord quiet till the cafe was explained
by the wounded traveller, who viewing the
barn, thought my bed the moft promifing
part to take his reft upon.

After this adventure we once more ap-
plied to fleep, which met with no more dis-
turbance ; and by five o'clock in the morn-
ing, my chaife, Sec. being ready, I beat a
march from this very delectable inn, pur-
suing my journey towards Munfter.

The country was for many miles a wafte,
wild track, generally a heath, or ftraggling
woods ; in one part we travelled, I believe,

ten

GERMANY. 87

ten or eleven Englifli miles without feeing a
fingle houfe. About noon I flopped to reft
the horfes, and refrefh ourfelves on the banks
of a pretty ftream, which I thought far pre-
ferable to taking refuge in another country
inn : the place where I dined was not want-
ing in rural beauties ; the river was {qgti
winding through a fmall plain for about a
mile; the foil tolerable meadow, with fome
verdure; from the flat ground fome gentle
hiils rofe in a various manner, whofe tops
were prettily tufted with trees; it was a
charming day, which made this little pro-
fpect appear quite enchanting, after the
dreary wafte we had juft palfed. Here I got
a moft refrefhing dinner, and refting the
horfes an hour and half, fet forwards again
for Munfter, and arrived there late at night,
on the 4th. It is a miferable place, though
the capital of the bimopric. It is large and
populous, but a very ugly, ill built, and
dirty town.

Here I took frefli horfes, and fet forward
again next morning, after a walk through
the city, for Tecklenburgh ; the diftance
twenty three miles. The firft part of this
journey is pleaiant enough, for Munfter is
iituated in a large plain, which is the richeft
and beft cultivated part of the whole
G 4 bilhopric;

8g TRAVELS THROUGH

bifhopric; but the latter part of the journey
is through a country almolt waile, though
with ibme cultivated tracks; and the pea-
fants feem to be in a very rniierable flate.
Tecklenburgh is but a very iniignificant
place, without one object worth feeing:
there is an old caftle, which they talk of as
once a famous fortification, but it is a place
of no flrength. I met with fo miferable an
inn here, that I had my own bed made on the
floor of my room, and for provifions fared
very badly; but I would not touch my tra-
velling ftore, as we found it would be want-
ing the next day, though I had added pretty
considerably to it at Munfter.

From Tecklenburgh to Oihaburgh is
about twelve miles; the country rather im-
proves. The bifhopric of Oihaburgh is in
general a pretty good foil, far better culti-
vated than moll part of that of Munfter,
Through part of it, before I came to the
capital, I remarked that the enclofures were
very well made with horn-beam hedges, fet
in quincunx order, and neatly kept; the
peasants feemed to have confiderable herds
of cattle, and particularly hogs. The fitu-
ation of Olnaburgh on the river Oie is .
fant, and around it is a very fertile plain.
The ilreets in general are not very handibme

or

GERMAN Y. 5>

or regular, but they have fome very good
buildings. It is famous for its bread and
beer, being the bed in all Weftphalia; and I
allow their beer is tolerable, and their bread
middling, but neither of them comparable
to what is met with in every county of Eng-
land. The palace is a melancholy and dis-
agreeable place, from its being fortified in
the caftle flile.

From Cihaburgh I took the road to Mill-
den; the diilance is near forty miles, and
which took me a day and part of the n
to trav^f the country is much lhperior to
Munfter, the foil fertile, and tolerably culti-
vated; vail fields of corn are ipread over it to
the South, which in fome places would m
a very fine appearance before halved, but
the ilubbles pointed them out to me.
Throughout mod of this country the pof-
fefTors of the lands are nobles or e ..cics,

who farm them themfelves, under the
of bailiffs : the peafants are generally in a
Hate of villainage ; they find teams for
ploughing and carting on their Lord's land,
and do him much work be fides; in re
for which they are allowed cottages, with
fmall parcels of land, of which they cannot
make near the value, from the hard fervices
they are bound to perform. I palled ieveral

villages

90 TRAVELS THROUGH

villages newly built by order of the King of
Prufiia, who is Sovereign of Minden ; and I
was informed, that that very able Monarch
had made fome regulations relative to the
villainage of the peafants, which would be
attended with very good effects. Upon the
Ducal lands, which are in his porTefTion, he
has lett many farms in the Englifh way, and
the fuperiority of their culture and produce
proves fufficiently clear, that it is a moil wife
meafure.

The town of Minden is iitrWJlft on the
banks of the Wefer; it is a large *|fce, but
very poorly built; the flreets cmpked, and
the houfes but indifferent : the cathedral is a
very antient building. Early the next
morning I took a guide to mew me the plain
where the famous battle was fought: I
viewed the ground attentively, examining it
with a plan of the battle. The account of
feme woods, which I have read of more than
once, does not feem to be at all accurate.

The retreat of the French from Haflen-
bach, and this battle, were the only brilliant
touches we had for about forty millions of
money, moil vilely wailed in this country.
Of all the paradoxical arguments whichever
difgraced the head, or rather the heart, of a
man of abilities, that of urging the propriety,

and

GERMANY. 91

and even neceffity of renewing the laft Ger-
man war, was the moll humiliating to the
individual, and the moil unfortunate to Bri-
tain. The preiervation of the electorate of
Hanover, after it had been fleeced by Riche-
lieu, was not, nor could be, the real reafon,
the only apparent one was keeping a French
army from attacking Pruffia; but that was
not in the whole effected, witnefs the battle
of Rofbach : but, in the name of common
fenfe, would not fix or feven millions a year,
employed in attacking France upon her own
coaft, ^Bn an army as numerous as that we
kept up in Germany, with the addition of all
that was expended in our expedition thi-
ther; would not, I fay, fuch a plan of ope-
rations have called back all French armies
from Germany much more effectually than
our's could drive them? Would not the
French be far more alarmed, and have much
greater reafon to dread an enemy's army in
Normandy, than in M in den, Hefle, or Ha-
nover ? We mould have been able to fuppiy
all the wants of an army on the other fide
the channel two hundred per cent, cheaper
than one in Germany, with the infinite ad-
vantage of fo very considerable a part of all
the expence being laid out among ourfelves.
Thefe advantages would have been enjoyed

at

92 TRAVELS THROUGH

at the fame time that the war was transferred
into the enemy's county; a point of no flight
importance, and one which is ever the fureft
means of difabling any country. Eveiy ar-
gument of weight was againft the German
war ; none but weak or falfe ones for it.
The idea of our conquefts, in other parts of
the world, being made in confequence of the
diverfion in Germany, is fully anfwered by
fuppofing the fame diverlion in the provinces
of France. There can be no doubt but
eonqueftsin America, and the Eaft, from any
power, mufl be owing to a degrd^of their
wreakneis in, thofe places ; and that weaknefs
may be materially owing to a confuming
expensive diverlion elfe where. But why did
we make it in Germany under every difad-
vantage ? The diverfion confifts in the ex-
penditure of fix or kven millions annually,
in the maintainance of .a great army; but it
matters not the leaft whether it be on the
Rhine, the Rhone, or the Seine, if we look
no farther than the mere matter of diverfion;
but it is of infinite confequence that the
fum be expended where it will caufe the
greattit effects, and that moft affuredly will
be in the enemy's country. If it is laid,
that the fea is a bad country to retire to in
cafe of ill fortune, it may be replied, that it

was

GERMANY* $$

Was the fea that the Duke of Cumberland
Was driven to at Haftenbeck ; and it was the
fea that Duke Ferdinand would have been
driven to, had ill fuccefs attended him, un-
lefs he had fallen back on the King of Pruffia,
and therein counteracted the only pretended
purpofe of the war. But the argument is
falfe, nothing could be better to retire to
than ports on the Channel, which would, in
cafe of fuch a war, be mpft certainly ready
to receive any part of the army in cafe of
need. Cherburgh, Dieppe, Havre, St.
Maloes, &c. &c. not one of which could
hold out half an hour againft feventy thou-
fand men; but which would make mofr.
(ecure quarters for feventy thoufand to retreat
to, while a victorious fleet rode upon the
coaft. Had the lafl war been carried on
upon fuch principles, we mould have found
the French in no condition to fend armies to
Germany* a battle of Min den in Normandy,
if I may be allowed the Iricifm, would
have proved a little more fatal to the French
than in Weftphalia.

If it is faid, that the event of the lafl war
was as glorious as could be wifhed, and that
it is invidious to complain of, or regret the
conduct of any part of it ; I reply, that the
German part of it was highly inglorious, and

very

94 TRAVELS THROUGH

very far from reflecting any honour on the
author of it, or on this nation. Above forty
millions of money werefpent to fave Hano-
ver from the French armies, and even that
purpofe not effected : but if it had been ef-
fected, the whole electorate, in fee fimple
for ever, is not worth more than half the
fum; fo that never was fuch a vaft fum ex-
pended to fo poor a purpofe. And at the
fame time the fum might have been expended
to have anfwered numerous good and great
purpofes. highly for the honour and advan-
tage of England. Nor was this a fum in the
annual income of a nation that could well
fpare it; on the contrary, it ran up the ex-
pences of the war to fuch a height, and in-
creafed the national debt to fuch an enor-
mous degree, that it is very much to be quef-
tioned, whether any war of diverfion, with
all the fuccefs jthat couid be defired, could
pofiibly equal the ruin it occafioned : debts
may certainly increafe in a free government,
until they ruin the nation as much as any
unfuccefsful war, but certainly more than
any event that could have happened in con-
fluence of faving the money. This digref-
fion, I allow, has little to do with the fub-
ject of my travels, but the view of the field
of battle at Minden brought up thefe re-
flexions;

.GERMANY. 95

fiexionsj and I think, that on fubjects of
fuch importance, every good citizen iliould
ever .take fuch opportunities of arraigning
a public conduct fo reprehenfible.

From Minden to Hanover is about forty-
miles, and which journey I could not per-
form under two days, and flept a night in
my chaife, which I thought better than ano-
ther barn adventure: the country is in ge-
neral poor and fandy, or moors and forefts,
not well inhabited, and as badly cultivated,
thofe parts I mean that pretend to culture:
the hedges are not kept in fuch nice order
as in fome diftricls I have palled; and this
article of hedges has a remarkable effect, as
it is a criterion of their hufbandry in this
country; for I found, where they kept them
in good order, they feemed to be better huf-
bandmen than in thofe tracks where they
neglected them. I palled feveral turf moors,
from out of which the inhabitants of all the
adjacent parts have their firing, which, I
fuppofe, is a good thing for the poor, for
this climate in winter is much more fevere
than any thing we feel in England.

There is on^ circumftance which I mull
here remark, and that is, that from the banks
of the Rhine to Hanover, which is near two
hundred miles, I have not feen one chateau

in

5& TRAVELS THROUGH

in all the country; no caftle, the refidence of
fome old Baron; no country feat of a private
gentleman: in a word, nothing but mife-
rable villages, or fcattered cottages, the refi-
dence of poverty. What a contrail is this
to travelling in England, or even in Holland.
In our counties, even in the moll diftant
parts of the kingdom, we fee feats of all
ranks and degrees thickly ft.rewed over the
pari flies, with a flrong appearance of com-
fortablenefs and eafe among: the gentlemen
even of very moderate fortunes; our clergy
too are fpread over the whole kingdom, in-
ftead of being cooped up in cathedrals, mo-
nafteries, and towns: this diftufion of the
middling and higher ranks, as well as of the
lowefl, is infinitely advantageous to the
kingdom.

Hanover is the capital not only of the
Duchy of that name, but alio of all the
King's German dominions; it is fituated in
a plain more fruitful than mofr. that I have
parTed lately, and is a tolerably pleafant coun-
try. There is a wall, a ditch, and a few
other fortifications round it, but they are
objects rather of policy than itrength. Part
of the town, which they call the old city, is
lituated on one fide of the little river Leina,-
and is very poorly built; the ftreets are

crooked^

GERMANY. 97

crooked, and not well paved ; nor have they
any buildings which make amends for
thefe defects : but the new city, on the other
fide of the river, is much handfomer, being
tolerably well built, and porTerTes feveral
ftructures that ornament it greatly. The
churches are not remarkable for their ftruc-
ture, but the in fides are well decorated with
marble, and contain fome paintings by the
Flemifh mailers* which are in their (tile
fine, though not equal to what I have men-
tioned at Antwerp. The opera houfe is a
handfome edifice, and holds a great number
of fpectators ; but it is fcarcely ever full,
nor have operas been performed in it for
fome time. The elector's palace is an old
cattle, but not in the town -, it is near it ;
it is an irregular building, without any
beauties of architecture -, it is> however, a
building of considerable fize, has feveral
courts, and contains a vaft deal of room.
In one of the apartments are a great num-
ber of portraits of the Ducal family, fome of
which are admirably executed, four of them
have been Emperors. The library is a large
apartment, well filled with many fcarce
books, and the collection of manufcripts is
a valuable one. But what is much finer
than the palace are the flables, which in-
Vol. II. H finitely

*« TRAVELS THROUGH

finitely exceed thole which his Majefty ha5
at any of his palaces in England ; and though
he is never there, yet they are kept well
filled : the fame observation is to be made
refpecting the apartments in the palace, for
there is a Compleat court kept up, with
all the great offices of ftate and perfon, with
attendants, guards, &c. which makes Hano-
ver much more lively and agreeable than it
would otherwife be, and occafions more
diverfions than would be found under dif-
ferent circumftances : there is a theatre for
French comedians, on which a company
from Paris, containing feveral good perform-
ers, regularly exhibit : balls and concerts
are not uncommon, and afTemblies very nu-
merous, in which is much deep play.

I had an invitation to the public table,
kept at the King's expence, from the Great
Chamberlain; this is the cuftom of the prin-
cipal courts in Germany, and is indeed imi-
tated at many of the inferior ones : the
converfation is general and polite, and the
ftate of a court, in moft particulars, kept
up with regularity and decency, and in fome
inftances with magnificence.

Herenhaufen lies near this city ; it is fa-
mous only for a fmall hunting palace, with
very magnificent gardens, in which the wa-
terworks

Germany. $$

fefworks are particularly admired : but thefe
gardens, like all others I have feen on the
continent, are in the old tafte, of itrait lines
and compafs work ; water hedges, lawns,
walks, every thing regularly fatiguing; the.
jet-d'eau is, in its kind, fine; but the man
who has been in England, and can admire
a jet-d'eau, mult have a miferable tafte in-
deed : nothing in thefe gardens, which
are fituated on a fandy flat, will be admired,
or even endured by thofe who have viewed
the matter-pieces in this art, which are now
to be feen in England,

The 13th of Auguft I left Hanover*
taking the road to Zell, at the diriance of
about thirty miles, which was a day's jour-
ney. After travelling a few miles from Ha-
nover, I palled through fcarcely any thing
but a fandy waftej here and there are fpots
of cultivation, fufhcient to fhew that the
foil is highly capable of yielding very bene-
ficial produces, had it inhabitants for per-
forming the neceflary work; but the appear-
ance of moft of it is perfectly melancholy,
and the inhabitants have a lavage look and
manner, which I did not find even in the
deferts of Weftphalia. The inn at Zell was
fo indifferent, that I was forced to make
uie of my portable bed, which made it more

H 2 bearable

ico TRAVELS THROUGH

able than I mould otherwife have found

it. The fign is the Electoral Arms.

The 14th I entered en the road, if it
may be fo called, to Hamburgh; the dis-
tance is near fixty miles, and the whole way
nothing to be found but flight . .-. in

the mid it of one continued foreit, defiut,
or marfh : this v I defcriprion my

d at Zell gaw m€ ; and I took the
aution cf laying in a good ltore of cold
provificris and wine, as I found that bacon
and black bread were all I had to expect
on the road. I went the nrit day to V
zendorf, a paltry village, at ne. \ du-

rance cr miles, th. a cons

as wild as if it belonged to nobody, but
much of it J highly capable of cul-

tivation ; the foil rich and deep, and yet
. . At that village, I ilept in my
ife. The netft day's rout to Harbv.

between thirty and forty miles
further, the country rather improved. I
went through much foreil, but
fome cultivated country, in wh:.

a much eaiier and I
nces : I rcmaflked in

I
much refemblin
but with a root like a turnip ; .

tern

GERMANY. 101

them for their cattle, as it is hardy, and will
ftand their winter, which is very ievere :
thinking it might be of benefit to England,
where I have heard complaints of turnips
rotting, 1 bought a pound of the feed.
They have it in plenty. •

Harburgh is a fea port on the Elbe, di-
rectly oppofite to Hamburgh, and with
which a little good management might
make it a rival; but the trade carried on Jiere
at prefent is but inconfiderable : their har-
bour is as good for fhips, and the Elbe
opens all the interior part of Germany to
them, as well as to that city : but liberty,
and flocks already in trade, overbalance
all other advantages. Harburgh is in the
Electorate, where the government is abfo-
lute, and her merchants have not an hun-
dredth part of the flock in trade of thcie
at Hamburgh.

The 1 6th I paffed the river to that city;
but before I enter on a defcription of it, I
muft make a few remarks on the prefent
ftate of the Electorate of Hanover.

During my journey through it I had
been particular in my enquiries concerning
the damage which the French had commit-
ted in the laft war; after they had conquered
it. I received different accounts ; fome af-

H 3 . fur.ng

isi TRAVELS THROUGH

luring me, that they had almoft ruined it ;
and others, on the contrary, iniifting, that
the mifchiefs of all kinds, which they occa-
sioned, had been repaired in one year after
the peace : the latter intelligence I found to
be neareft the truth; and (Several perfons al-
lured me, that the Electorate, upon the
whole, gained more bv fupplying Duke Fer-
dinand's army, after the convention of Ciof-
terfeven was broken, than they had loft by
the French before. I cbftrved very few
buildings in ruin, but many that had been
rebuilt and repaired fince the peace ; nor
were there, in the parts of the country
through which I travelled, any ligns cf an,
enemy having been in it; and yet I paned
where the hotteit work had been.

Regarding the prefent if ate of the Electo-
rate, it is to be considered under the heads
of agriculture, manufacture?, commerce,
and revenue ; all which important divifions
are to be difpatched in a page or two. The
inhabitants poiVe.i many tracts of fertile
land, and fuch as would enrich any people
that applied with underibanding and induf-
t: v to its culture ; but thev are ^reatlv de-
ficient in both. The laws and cuttoms
of the country arc much againll it : in
moft parts the lands are cultivated by
j:he peafants, net for themfelves, but

for

GERMAN Y. 103

for the nobility, being in a ft ate of villain-
age. But if they would try the experiment
of letting lands on long leafes to farmers,
as in England, and expect no work or re^
turn but rent alone, paid in money, leav-
ing it to the farmer to cultivate his farm in
the manner he liked bell, they would foon
fee the advantages ; induftry would then fhew
itfelf. As to understanding and knowledge
in the bufinefs, it would be eafy for the King
to eftablifh one farm, cultivated in the En-
glifh way, in each diitrict in his dominions,
as a pattern for others to imitate.

There are not many manufactures in
the Electorate that are of any confe-
quence j they have a few fabrics of linen,
and fome of coarfe woollen cloths ; the fi-
tuation of the country is not unfavourable,
and it has feveral good ports for exporta-
tion and importation, which would allow
it an active commerce, if proper encourage-
ment was given ; and would confequently
carry off many manufactures, or at leait
animate them to fupply themfelves : there
is a fort of a council of trade, but its ope*
rations are very languid. The revenues of
the Electorate, before the laft war, were
reckoned at feven hundred thoufmd pounds
a year ; but while the war lafted they de-

H 4 clined

iP4 TRAVELS THROUGH

clined much, and for fome time they were
in the hands of the French -, fince that period
they have been rifing very quick, and are
now faid to be equal to what they were be-
fore the war ; this is a very confiderable in-
come, but out of it twenty thouiand troops
are paid.

The general aggregate of the interests of
the Electorate might be greatly advanced,
if agriculture met with encouragement
enough to produce an improvement of the
wails lands, if fabrics were eftablifhed in
the towns, and if commerce was fixed in
the ports ; I do not mean a flourishing ex-
tended commerce, but an eftablimment of
an infantine one, fuch as would increafe of
itfelf, and draw from foreigners that profit
which they, at prefent, make by exporting
and importing for the Hanoverians. This
policy, in thefe circumitances, would na*
turally raiie the revenues; but before a
great income can be drawn from a people,
the people muft be enriched, and nothing
can enrich any nation but agriculture, ma-
nufactures, or commerce : mines might be
added, but their wealth is more for enrich-
ing certain individuals, than fpreading a ge-
neral wealth through the flate.

While

GERMAN Y. ic$

While there are fuch numerous tracts of
of walte land, the hrft object ought to be
their firit improvement. This, I believe,
will, in all countries, hold good, even to
a maxim : if fifty thouiand pounds are ready
to be expended in the national encourage-
ment of fomething, it will yield more ge-
neral profit to a people, to employ it on
thofe waftes, rather than on any other ob-
ject ; for the foil mould always be fully cul-
tivated, before the attention of the Prince
is drawn to the encouragement of other
objects. There are two circumftances
which are favourable to the improvement of
the waftes in the Electorate -, ririt, the foil
is capable of it ; I palled feveral tracks, even
in Holland, and many in Weftphalia, that
are much more ileril in appearance ; and the
information I received concerning them
convinced me, that moft of the waftes in this
country might be improved, comparatively,
at a cheap rate. Secondly, the Germans
are a heavy, phlegmatic people, who are
conducted with no great difficulty in im-
provements and undertakings which do
not extend beyond the fphere of their ufual
practice, but are very ohftinate in their op-
pofition to thofe which are quite new :
novel eftabliihmcnts in arts, manufactures,
cr commerce, fcarcely ever fucceed .

unlefs

io6 TRAVELS THROUGH

unlefs the attention of the Sovereign is
accute and unremitted ; but the improve-
ment of wafles is but a line beyond the
practice they regularly purfue in common
agriculture, and would at once be under-
flood in the defign of the undertaking.
Molt, of the inhabitants of the empire, and
all in thofe countries that have not flourifh-
ing manufactures, fubfift entirely by agri-
culture ; and the nobility are, in general,
the cultivators of their own eftates ; where -
ever this is the cafe, it cannot be difficult
to perfuade them of the importance of
bringing all the waftes into culture.

Hamburgh is incomparably the finefr.
city I have feen fince I entered Germany ;
and it is well known to be the moft flou-
rifhing and populous in the whole Empire.
The fituation on the great river Elbe is
what has rajfed it to fo much wealth by
commerce; that river gives it a very good
harbour, and fpreads its merchandize
throughout a moft: extenfive part of the em-
pire , it ftands near feventy miles from the
ocean. The walls form nearly a circle
of five miles and an half circumference,
including feveral iflands in the river, on
which a part of it is built : the number
of inhabitants fluctuate, between one
hundred and ten and one hundred and

twenty

GERMANY. loy

twenty thoufand. A channel of the river
runs through the center of it, and confer
quently brings (hips moil advantageoufly
to the very merchants doors : there are alfo
fome canals, which, with the channels formed
by the river, fpread the trade through mod
parts of the city. The city is fortified by a
high wall and vaft ditch, with fome out-r
works of no great confequence ; they have
thrown up lines to encompafs them, and
united them with the Elbe ; and built a
ftrong fort near the river, which they call
the Star Fort. The ramparts are pleafant to
walk on, being covered with grai's, and
doubly planted : the garrifon never exceeds
two thoufand five hundred men, which are
too few by ten thoufand to defend the
town -, but Hamburgh does not depend fo
much on the ftrength of her walls and her
garrifon, as being a free city of the empire,
and being claimed by feveral neighbouring
Princes, who are wonderfully jealous of each
others defigns on it.

The town has fix gates towards the land,
and three to the river. It contains eighty-
four bridges thrown over the canals, and
the branches of the river : they have alfo in
the city forty water-mills, fix windmills,
fix fluices, and iix large market places.

The

»r? TRAVELS THROUGH

The ftreets are by no means pleafing ; they
are narrow, crooked, and badly paved •> and
the houfes being very high, many of them
are, at neon day, half dark; and what
makes them ftill moredeteftable,is the plant-
i hem with a row of trees on each fide.
The buildings are all of brick, and which are
not the bell coloured. Upon the whole,
the city, though much larger, does not ex-
ceed Briftol in elegance ; the principal houfes
■re thofe of the great merchants, which,
though they are thus deficient in agreeable-
nefs, are well contrived for the convenience
of trade, as they are generally fituated on
the water-fide, and a part of them are
warehouses with open doors and cranes ; fo
that their mips are unloaded at their doors,
which, in their bufmefs, is a circumftanceof
very great importance. The houfes of fome
of their warehoufes are from five to {even
ftorieshigh; this is owing, very much, to
a general want of cellaring in the city ; for
all vaults and cellars are rendered almofr
ufelefs by the annual floods, that rife the
Elbe fo much as to fill moil of them with
water : even their wines are kept two or
three itories high, which is a very great in-
convenience. A very inelegant cuitom
among the merchants, is to make their halls

into

GERMANY. !«

into warehoufes ; you enter the bed houfes
in town, and find yourfelf at once among
hogfheads and bales of goods ; and what is
full as bad, they ufe it alfo for a coach houfe
and harnefs room; and in ibme houfes
the ftables are under the fame roof with the
apartments.

The churches are the principal public
buildings, but they have not much to re-
commend them. St. Catharine's is a large
edifice, with a very lofty fteeple, and con-
tains a prodigious organ with fix thoufand
pipes ; but this, I fuppofe, was a lye of my
conductors, ufually told to ftrangers. St.
Michael is a modern building, light and
pleafing.

Hamburgh contains many well endowed
hofpitals, under admirable management.
Their Foundling holfpital has a revenue of
more than fix thoufand pounds a year, and
it is under fuch a wife regulation, that
great numbers of lives are faved by it; they
have another for poor travellers, and a
third for difabled feamen. Their work-
houfe is alfo a large building, wherein
they confine to hard labour all (Irolers and
vagabonds ; the effect of which [is fo great,
that I have not feen a beggar in the city.
Their town houfe is a very old and irregular
building, though it is the place where the

Senate

no TRAVELS THROUGH

Senate (which is the government of md
city) meets; where the Courts of Judicature
are held, and the feat of the two banks,
ccc. with thecu(tom-houfe,excife, admiralty,
6cc. The exchange is near it, and a poorer,
more paltry, and tumble-down building, I
do not remember to have feen; Another
ftrange place, to which they give the name
of a public building, is the Boom-houfe,
which was formerly a guard-houfe to the
booms which fecure the river : it is at
prefent a tavern, and has at the top of
the houfe a very large room for public en-
tertainments, being quite furrounded with
windows, which command all Hamburgh,
a large track of country on both fides
of the Elbe, the courfe of that river for a
great way, with a vaft number of mips in
it. This tavern is famous for the retale of
wines, and all forts of beer, that are to be
found in Germany.

But Hamburgh, though a city of no
elegance, makes ample amends by the pof-
feiiion of the greater! trade of any place in
Germany. For this commerce it is in-
debted to the Elbe, which opens a com-
munication with Upper and Lower Saxony,
Auftria, Bohemia; and by means of the
Havel and Spree, with the Electorate of
Brandenburgh ; and by the canal from the

Spree

GERMANY.

S!I

Spree to the Oder, with Sileiia, Moravia,
and Poland itfelf. By means of this very
extenfive inland navigation, Hamburgh
pofTeffes the great advantage of being the
-center of export to all theie countries, and
alfo furnifhes them with the principal part
of their foreign importations, linens, lawns,
&c. of feveral forts (lie receives from Silefia;
feveral linens of the flronger kind from Weft-
phalia, and Lower Saxony j great quan-
tities of linen yarn from Sileiia and Lu-
fattaj plates of tin, and wire of iron, brafs,
and fteel, from Upper Saxony 5 pipe and
hogmead ftaves, wainfcot plank, clap-
boards, oak plank, oak timber, with va-
rious ilcins from Brandenburgh and Saxony.
In return for thefe various articles, which
Germany exports by way of Hamburgh,
me receives by the fame channel, amon°-
other articles, various woollen manufactures
from England, particularly Yorkmire cloths,
to the amount, as they aiiert, of one hun-
dred thoufand pounds j alio Eaft-India
goods, fugar in great quantities from Eng-
land, andyet more from France, wines, bran-
dies, &c. and various manufactures from
England, France, and Holland. Two hun-
dred EnglifTi fhips annually enter the Elbe,
the chief of which come back freighted

from

Tiz TRAVELS THROUGH

from Spain, Portugal, and Italy. They
have t\vcntv-t\vo ihips, the largeir. belong-
ing to them are regularly employed in the
trade of London, making each one voyage
every year, there and back ; thefe mips
are the principal ones for this trade, for it
is found much more advantageous to em-
ploy them than Englifh mips. The Dutch
alio carry on a very considerable trade with
this city, in which they have great advan-
tages by means of their Eaft-India goods,
their monopoly of fpices, and their bar-
relled herrings. The French likewife come
in for a ihare ; their trade hither has much
increaied of late years, fo that they rival
England in feveral branches.

They have feveral confiderable manufac-
tures within the city, of which the molt
important is fugar-baking or refining ; this
bulinels is lb flouriihing as to employ no
lefs than three hundred iugar-bakers, for
they fupply all Germany, and the principal
markets of the North. This trade depen
very much on the commerce with Great
Britain, as from thence they have moil of
their Muicovado fugars. France fupplies
them with fome, and before the laft war
with more than at prefent; for the conquefl
of the French iilands throwing the trade

totally

GERMANY. 113

totally into the hands of the London mer-
chants, they made fo good a ufe of their en-
larged correfpondence, as to prefer ve a
greater mare at the peace than they en-
joyed before the war. This is one initance,
and a very ftriking one, that a correfpond-
ence once fixed, and fupported by frocks
in trade, is very difficult to be overthrown
by any nation.

The weaving velvets, brocade?, darriafks,
and other rich filks, forms another branch
of manufacture, which has much increafed
of late years. The fober Hamburghers
complain of the increafe of luxury in their
own city, and indeed it would be furprizing
if they efcaped entire from the contagion,
while they employed fo many hands in
feeding the luxury of the German cities,
and the North. Thefe rich filks find a vent
in the Baltic, and in the interior countries
of Germany.

The flocking manufactory is another fa-
brick which is highly beneficial to the city,
by employing great numbers of their poor
in knitting, who could not otherwife find a
fubfiftance. Another very conriderabje trade
is that of callico-printing, which h carried
on here to a very great amount; they rival
the Dutch in this article, and alfo the ,En-

Vol, II. I glifli

ii4 TRAVELS THROUGH

glilh in common goods ; but, for the ele-
gant patterns on very fine linens, no nation
equals the printers about London, whofe
works are fought after with fuch avidity,
through mofr parts of Europe, that the
Dutch fend over vaft quantities of linens to
be printed in England : the Hamburghers
fend great quantities of their printed goods
into Germany, and alfo to the North. Dy-
ing is another branch of their manufactures
which employs a great number of hands -,
thev are reckoned the beft dyers in Ger-
many. Whalebone is another manufacture
in which they excel ; nor is this an incon-
fiderable fabrick : they have entered largely,
of late year's, into the Greenland fimery,
and with pretty good fuccefs ; they reckon
themfelves the moit dangerous rivals in this
fnhery that the Dutch have -, and certainly
they have employed fuch flocks in the un-
dertaking, and conducted with fuch fpirit,
that they have conitantly fent a large num-
ber of mips, well built, fitted out, and man-
ned, to the fiihery ; this has increased their
trade in other articles, from an ability of
iup plying oil and manufactured whalebone
at the firft hand : fo true is it ever found,
that the poiieilion of a considerable com-
merce, is the bell foundation in the world

whereon

GERMANY. ii£

\vhereon to erect a frill greater ; and the ae->
quifition of one branch is generally fol-
lowed by that of another -, for a fixed cor-
refpondence, and large eflablifhed flocks,
have fuch weight in trade, that fcarce any
thing is able to oppofe them.

For the convenience of trade they have
long had a well eftabliihed bank of depofit,
which is generally reckoned to be one of
the beff. and moft fecure in Europe -, it is
under the direction of fome of the moft
confiderable merchants in the city, who are
appointed annually by the whole republic,
and the government is anfwerable for any
failure or deficiency.

The foreign commerce arid fhipping of
Hamburgh is rifen to a very extraordinary
height, confidering that the whole republic
coniifts only of the fingle city, with fcarcely
any territory : they allured me, that they
once pofleiled fix thoufand three hundred
iliips, great and fmall ; but at prefent the
number was not more than four thoufand
four hundred, though their burthen is
greater than formerly ; they annually fend
from fifty to eighty (hips to Greenland alone*
The larger!; vefTels that ufe the port cannot
come up to the city, but are forced to can:
anchor at New Mills, which is four miles
I 2 below

9ii TRAVELS THROUGH

below the town. The tide flows fixteen
miles higher up the river than Hamburgh,
which is in all about ninety miles from the
fea, and is thought to be as long a courfe as
in anv river in Europe.

Hamburgh is fo occupied by trade and ma-
nufacture, that fcarce any diversions are to
be met with in it, except billiards, coffee-
houies, and concerts. They are fond of
mufic, and are expeniive in their public efli-
blifhments in its favour. The principal mer-
chants have private concerts at their houfes,
at which one fometimes meets pretty good
company, that is with people who have fome
ideas bevond their countin^-houfes. I have
been introduced to fome of the moil consider-
able families in the city, and can aiiert,
that there are among them fome, who have
improved themfelves by the liberal converfe
of the world, in moil parts of Europe ; and
throughout the city are many perfons that
have travelled. In general, there is an in-
elegance runs through every thing here; but
we mull make an exception in favour of
fome of the moil wealthy inhabitants, in
whofe hcufes I have feen as n .. pear-

ance of tafte and luxury, as in any houfes of
perfons of equal fortune in London. But
amongft the inferior people, not the lower

chiles,

GERMANY. 117

clafTes, but merchants and manufacturers,
whofe circumftances are not great, the very-
contrary is the cafe; they are in nothing
equal to the fimilar ranks in the trading
towns in England,

There is one fpecies of luxury, in which,
however, none of the Hamburghers vie with
our Englifh merchants, I mean in the ex-
penfivenefs and elegance of their houfes, and
in their coftlv and ornamental furniture;
fome of the merchants houfes in London are
furnifhed like the palaces of Princes -, but
the houfes of the richeft people in this city
have nothing in them that even reaches me-
diocrity. When luxury is entered, it high-
ly behoves the government of a country, or
ftate, or city, to direcl: that luxury inta
fuch channels as may prove of moft fervice to,
the lower dalles of the people. In this re-
fpedt, the tafte of the Englifh traders* is of
an infinite advantage to their country, by
finding conftant employment to. great num-
bers of ufeful artizans and manufacturers j
and it cannot be doubted but this is far more
beneficial, than expending the fame money
in exceffive eating and drinking.

Thehigheft appearance of luxury at Ham-
burgh, or at leaft of unneceffary expence,
is in the entertainments which are given at
I 3 taverns*

n8 TRAVELS THROUGH

taverns, upon cccafion of weddings, chriften-
ings, name-days, &e* in theie many cf the
wealthy people expend as much as would
build houfes, and furniih them when they
had done.

The Kamburghers much afFecl the man-
ners of the French, particularly the women,
in their drefs and convention; but the imi^
tation is not that which will pleale any
other nation ; the men are full of French in
language, drefs, ceremony, and compliment.
Coaches at Hamburgh are not confidered
there as an article of luxury ; they are kept
by vafr numbers of tradefmen, from whom
one co\ild not expecl: fuch an exertion of ex^
pence.

I before remarked, that the Hamburghers
are veiy fond of mufic, and particularly of
giving concerts ; their tafte once carried
them to the maintenance of an Italian opera,
which in fuch a city was, I think, running
into luxury too far, and ib they found; for
they could not fupport it properly, and fo
it dropped. They have a theatre, en which
German and French comedies are exhibited
in the winter j and cf this amufement they
are very fond. Another diverfion, of which
they partake a good deal, is that of walking
dreifed on a mall, which they call the Mai-
den's

GERMANY. 119

den's Walk : it is a beautiful one, on the
banks of a bafon, formed by the river Alfter ;
it is a thoufand feet long, but not more than
thirty broad ; it is planted on each fide., and
nothing parts it from the water but a rail ;
and as there are flairs for taking boats and
barges, the whole is uncommonly chearful
and agreeable.

Notwithstanding the numerous markets
at Hamburgh, the city is not a place for
eating and drinking luxurioully : their but-
cher's meat is not excellent, and their fifli
is little of it of fine forts, nor have they
any oyflers ; the garden fluffs and poultry,
I think, is the beft fare: claret, that is good,
is rarely found ; but the old hock and rhe-
nifh they have is in good perfection. My
quarters were at the Keyzerhofr, where I
met with extreme good entertainment, a
good bed, rooms cleaner than in any inn I
have been at in Germany, and attentive
waiting, but the expence runs high ; I did.
not efcape under a guinea and half a day.

Upon the whole, this city is not a place
to which a ffranger mould refort for plea-
fure; the people are enveloped 'in trade,
from which they do not break forth, but to
fome great exertion of entertainment, fame.
chriftening, burial (for they entertain at the
I 4 death,

120 TRAVELS THROUGH,^'.

'.:, as well as the birth of their relations)
or wedding ; and then thefe times of luxury
and expence are not under the influence of
ance : the manners of the people
do not pleafe, for they are an aukward mix-
ture of German plainnefs with French
eclat; of German honefTy with French in-
fmcerity; and make in the whole but a mot-
ley figure. Their amufements do not de-
ferve the name, mafic excepted, and that
is often bad; and the places of reception
for Grangers vile, except one houfe, and
that is extravagantly dear 5 from whence it
eafily be judged, that Hamburgh is no
place for a traveller to ftay long at.

Travels

Travels through Denmark.

[ in ]

CHAP. IV.

Jilt en a Lubech— Curious clock — Journey acrofs

Holflein and Slefwick — Defcription of the
Country — Denmark •- — Accidental meeting
'with a Danifj Nobleman — His great Im-
provements described — Manufactures — Com-
merce— Agriculture — His enlarged views —
Journey through the Northern Parts of
Denmark,

I Left Hamburgh the 21ft of Auguft.
Falling down the Elbe to Aitena is
pleafant enough ; that town is the well
known rival to Hamburgh, built profeffediy
to fteal its trade ; and it mud be confefled,
that the fituation is very well adapted for the
pilfering deiign ; nor has it failed, for me
has proved a thief in earneft. The mer-
chants at this place have been encouraged h
much, by its being declared a free port, and
by the open liberty of confeience allowed
her, that they have made the town flourim :
there is more trade carried on here than the

Ham-

1=4 TRAVELS THROUGH

Hamburghers will own ; nor is this at all
fuprizing, for the city of Hamburgh has
done fo much mifchief to her own trade,
by cuftoms and excifes, whilft Altena, be-
ing free, hath taken immediate advantage
of any fuch errors. One great inftance of
this is in Silefia linens ; a fmall duty was
laid upon them at Hamburgh, which threw
at once the commiffion bufinefs in them
to the Altenefe. The Senate, feeling their
error, reverfed the duty, and gained fome
of their trade back again, but not alii
much of it remained with their rivals, and
has continued flowly increafing ever fince.
This mews, among a thoufand other in-
ftances, how dangerous a thing trade is to
meddle with; it cannot be burthened or
clogged ever fo little without danger of its
taking flight. With Hamburgh "the cafe
is particularly delicate, for Altena is on the
fame river, commands the fame inland na-
vigation, and has the great advantage cf be-
ing a free port ; fo that it is impoifible an
error ihouid be committed on one fide
of the water, without advantage being
taken of it on the other.

The buildings at Altena are better in ap-
pearance than thofe of Hamburgh ; the
:s are (trait and regularly built, wide,

and

DENMARK. 125

and well paved. There is a new Town-
Houfe erected, and feveral other public
buildings mew, that the place is on a flou-
rifhing and improving hand. The merchants
houfes, like thofe of Hamburgh, are on the
water-fide, fo that fhips unload and load at
their doors. The King of Denmark made
it the ftaple of the Daniih Eafl India com-
pany, which has been of very great im-
portance to the town : this meafure was an
admirable one ; for Altena, by means of her
fituation, diftributes the India goods where
no other town in Denmark could ; fhe fends
large quantities into moft parts of Germany,
and herein rivals the Hamburghers, who are
forced to buy theirs of the Dutch. In all
thefe points the interefl: of Denmark has
been very well coniidered for this lail cen-
tury, from a noble attention in their Kings
to promote whatever has been moil for the
interefl: of their fubjects.

But while I mention the advantages that
kingdom receives from the eftablifhment of
Alterna, and the considerable trade carried
on in it, I muit, at the fame time, obferye,
that the great freedom of reception which
reigns here, brings all forts of wretches
here ; even malefactors from Hamburgh
here find an alylum; nor does a merchant

or

126 TRAVELS THROUGH

or tradefman of any kind fail and defraud
their creditors, but he appears here again
on the ftage, and carries on a frefh trade,
as if nothing had happened : no flews or
flreet- walkers are allowed at Hamburgh,
but both abound at Altena in the greateil
plenty; and the place fwarms with Jews,
who are not of that advantage to its com-
merce which fome have thought.

The way from Altena to Lubec, which
was the route I propofed taking, is back
near Hamburgh, and then turning off to the
left, the diitance near forty miles ; and
there being no place on the road, at which
the accommodation for lying would be to-
lerable, 1 determined to flay the night at
Altena, and go off early next morning, fo
as to reach Lubec by night : my landlord,
who, by the way, is an impoiing rafcal, in-
troduced to me a gentleman, a profeffor, he
called himfelf, in one of the univerfities of
Saxony, who had travelled much in Hol-
flein and Denmark ; that he might give me
fome intelligence of the proper meafures to
be taken in a journey, I invited the man of
learning to dine with me: he proved a very
fenfible intelligent man : fortunately for me,
he fpoke French fluently, and I had much

con-

DENMARK. 127

converfation with him, which proved of
great ufe to me afterwards.

He allured me, that I mould not find
travelling in Holftein and Denmark near fo
difagreeable as in Weftphalia and the Elec-
torate of Hanover; that the people were
cleaner, and infinitely more civil ; but that
I mould by all means buy horfes, inftead of
depending on thofe at the poft town ; horfes,
he faid, were cheap at Altena, and I fhould
travel quicker with my own than with
hired. I followed his advice, and bought
three, a pair for ray chaife, and one for my
man ; I alfo hired a German poftillion to
drive me through Denmark, and alfo Sweden,
in cafe I mould go over thither. This man I
confidered as a treafure, for I could under-
fland him very well in French, and he could
fpeak German, Danifh, and Swedifh; this was
juft fuch an interpreter as I wanted. 1 made
fome enquiries of the worthy profefibr, con-
cerning the ftate of Holftein and Denmark, and
the tracks of country in them the raoft worth
feeing : he told me I mould find much en-
tei tainment in the great improvements made,
wherever 1 turned myfelf -, that government
had eftablifhed manufactures in various
places, which were of the greater!: fervicc to
the country; and that uncommon encou-
ragement

12% TRAVELS THROUGH

ragement had been given to agriculture,
which had been attended with valuable
effects. When I afked him concerning the
roads, he lhook his head ; upon that point
he could give me no fatisfaction : I found I
was to expect no good ones. He afked me,
in his turn, if I propofed travelling through
Saxony ? 1 replied, I believed I mould re-
turn to England through that part of Ger-
many, after having compleated the tour of
the northern kingdoms. He then afTured
me, I fhould find nothing in Germany
comparable to Saxony; I find, continued
he, you do not confine your obfervations to
the productions of fine arts, but take notice
of the ffate of agriculture, manufactures, and
trade ; that is a very ufeful way of travelling,
and believe me, vou will find full entertain-
ment in the Electorate and Duchies of
Saxony. I exprefTed fome furprize at this,
faying, that I ihculd have thought the mil-
chiefs occaiioned by the late war mult have
been too fevere yet to be recovered : he
faid they were by no means recovered, but
that I mould be pleafed to fee the quicknefs
and alacrity which the people applied them-
felves to remedv thofe feverities they had
iurfered ; in which they are much more af-
filed by the government than thev have

been

DENMARK. 129

been for an age before. The Profelfor fa-
voured me with his company for the bell
part of the evening, during which time
we had a very great variety of converfation
of the Hate of Germany, the progrefs of li-
terature, the events of the laft war, and the
profpecl of a new one.

The next morning I took chaife forLubeck.
The country is, in general, fandy, ftoney,
or woodland -y but I palled feveral tracks,
in which are meadows and paitures of a to-
lerable appearance. I could not perceive
any of thofe improvements, which my
friend, the Profeilbr, allured me I mould
fee very thickly ilrewed over the country.
I obierved fcarce anv inclofures, which
is alone a mark of a general bad manage-
ment. I baited at Schoenbar, and again at
Stenhorft, a village about twelve miles on
this fide Lubeck. I had no great reafon from
thefe flops to praife the cleanlinefs or the ci-
vility of the people ; and the country, for
moil of the way, till you get within a few-
miles of Lubeck, is poor and di (agreeable,
but there it begins to mend much.

Lubeck is pretty well iituated on a river

that falls into the Baltick, about eight miles

from it, at a village where the pert for mips

is, for only fmall craft can come up to the

Vol. II. K city.

130 TRAVELS THROUGH

city. It is odly built on two fides of a
hill, but is romantic to look at for that
reafon ; at the bottom of each declivity is
a river. The Streets are better laid out than
thofe of Hamburgh, broad and regular, and
the houfes in general pretty well built.
The city is kept very clean, by means of its
uneven fituation, for every fhower of rain
wafhes down all dirt, and leaves it in better
order than any fcavengers could. Here are
ibme public buildings, which they make a
parade of mewing to Strangers, but there is
very little remarkable in them ; it hath five
churches, a town-houfe, an arfenal,*aiidan
hofpital.

St. Mary's church is the moft considerable
in the place ; it is a lofty edifice, Standing in
the midSt of the city : it has a double fteeple,
two hundred and feventeen yards high,
built in 1304; the infide of it is profufely
ornamented with pillars, monuments, &c.
but there are few of them which deferve
much notice. The great; altar is very richly
executed in marble, by Quillin, who did io
many at Antwerp; near it is a famous clock,
which is the molt, remarkable object at Lu-
beck ; it exhibits the ecliptic, zodiac, equa-
tor, and tropics, and the planets in their fe-
veral courfes ; which are lb minutely done,

that

D E R M A R K. 131

that the ftation of any of them, is to be found
at every hour of the day : it fhews the regular
variations of the celefKal bodes, fun riling
and fetting, the eclipfes, feftivals, and other
remarkable days ; all which it will continue
to mew till the year 1875. Befides all
this, there are feveral automata ; among
others, a figure of Jefus Chrift, with a door
on its right hand, which opening at twelve
at noon, out come in order of procemon,
the Emperor and the feven eldefr. Electors,
and turning to the image, make a profound
obeifance -s this the figure returns, by a wave
of his hand ; after which the whole group
retires in the fame order, through a door on
the left, and both doors fhut directly. In
the tower is another piece of machinery, and
a much more agreeable one, the chimes ^
they play the hours with 3 mod pleafmg
melcdy, and minute exactnefs. Underthem.
is the bell, on which is ilruck the hour ; .
this is performed by a figure of Time,
whilfr. a leffer figure, reprefenting Mortality,
and Handing at the other fide of the bell,
turns afide its head at every ftroke. This
work, for its prefervation, is furrounded
with a frame of wire : by the infeription
it appears to have been erected in 1405.
K 2 The

13* TRAVELS THROUGH

The Dance of Death, a famous paining here,
as old as 1463, makes a great noife in thefe
parts of Germany ; it is curious, but will
not call for much attention.

The cathedral at Lubeck is a building of
very great antiquity, being erected in the
year 1170, by Duke Henry the Lion, an-
cefler of the prefent Elector of Hanover.
The occaiion of building it is mentioned
in an infcription on one of the wails, viz.
That Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony,
hunting in this part of the country, caught
a flag, with a gold collar and crofs about its
neck, on which was this infcription, Hoc mt
Ccefar dc containing the date of the

year, which was in the reign of Charlemain :
and the Duke, from furprize at this acci-
dent, erected this cathedral for commemora-
tion of it on the fame fpot, and endowed
it with an handlbme revenue. In the top of
the church is to be feen the figure of the
flag.

Hiftory tells us, that Lubeck was once the
head of the famous Hanieatick League. A
confederacy, which made for fo long a time
iuch a noife in Europe, had a very trifling
origin : it was nothing more than Lubecla
and Hamburgh making an agreement in
1241 to defend their property, jointly

againft

DENMARK. 13$

againit the banditti that much infefted the
roads. The good effects of the union were
fuch, that Wiimar, Roitock, and Grypfwald
joined it, for the fecurity of their commerce
by fea, as well as for clearing the roads of
robbers. The confederacy went on, in-
creafmg to the number of eighty-five in all;
thefe were divided into four claffes, at the
head of each of which were Lubeck, Co-
logne, Brunfwick, and Dantzick : bu.t
finding themfelves much more refpecled
from their union, and better able to keep
the fea free from pirates, and the roads from
robbers, they by degrees enlarged their views,
and took part in the quarrels of their neigh-
bours, fo as foon to arrive at a very con-
fiderable influence upon their affairs. They
alfo extended their union, to cementing the
trade of all the cities into one aggregate; and
for this purpofe thev erected four principal
magazines or ltaples for the better vending
their commodities, which proved the original
of factories fo well known fince in Europe.
Thefe were at Novogrod in Ruflia, after-
wards removed to Revel, and from thence
to Narva in Livonia ; another at Berghen
in Norway ; a third at Bruges in Flanders,
but removed, with the commerce of that
city, to Antwerp, to the famous houfe of
K 3 Eafterlingsi

r*4 TRAVELS THROUGH

Eafteringsj and the fourth at London, in
the Steel-yard. In the times of their moft
flourishing ftate, the Hanfe towns were for-
midable to all Europe ; they fitted out more
than once above two hundred mips of war,
and in their military expeditions committed
the fupreme direction to Lubeck ; this v.
the occafion of that city's having fo much
power and profperity. She governed the Bal-
tic a? if it had been her patrimony; fhe made
war upon the Dukes of Mecklenburgh, and
other German Princes, and even againil the
King's of Denmark and Sweden, making de-
fcents on their coafts ; putting every thing
they met to fire and ivvord -, burning and
plu: sat tracks of country. But it

was thi ads that proved the ruin of

the league ;■ for the neighbouring Princes
falling feparately on the towns in their do-
minions that were in it, forced them to
diiToive it; and with their confederacy their
trade fell by degrees, till it came at laft to
nothing. The only cities, at prefent, in the
league, and which have from it the leaft ap-
pearance of anv union, are Lubeck, Ham-
burgh, Bremen, Roftock, Dantzick and
Cologne.

Lubeck has yet a trade that is not defpi-
cable : her fituation and excellent port are

tremely

DENMARK. 135

extremely advantageous for the commerce of
the Baltick. She imports the products of
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Ruflia, and Po-
land ; and by her inland navigation diftri-
butes them through many parts of Germany.
They import from the fouth of Europe, and
from the countries on the Rhine, much
wine, which they fend into all the countries
on the Baltick ; and the places with which
ilie has moil: trade are, Riga, Revel, Narva,
and Peterlburgh.

In many particulars there is a refemblance
between the way of living, diverfions, and
manners of the people of Lubeck, with
thofe of Hamburgh : there is not much to
admire in either, but the former, I think,
are more cleanly, and their hoiifes better,
and much more agreeably furnifhed. Ano-
ther circumftance, I think right to mention,
is the goodnefs of the inns ; I found a good
houfe, extreme good proviiions, cieanlinefs,
and much civility, at the King of England's
Head, and, at the fame time, full as cheap
again as at the Keyzerhoff at Hamburgh.

The 24th I left Lubeck, and took the
road to Travemund, which is at the dif-
tance of about eight miles : it is properly the
port to Lubeck, for here the mips of great
burthen take in and deliver their cargoes :
K 4 the

136 TRAVELS THROUGH

the harbour is very fafe and convenient; and
and that and the town are well fortified at
the expence of the Lubeckers. Having
breakfafted, and been civilly entertained, I
took chaife again for Eutyn, at the diftance
of about fixteen miles. All the country from
Lubeck thither, except a few moory places,
is pretty well cultivated, and the foil rich ;
they feem fond of pafturage, and have large
droves of black cattle, and numerous herds
of fwine; and the bacon they make is, I
think, little, if any thing inferior to that of
Weftphalia. Eutyn is a little town in a low
fituation, iurrounded with fome rich mea-
dows. I dined there at a very indifferent
inn, but the landlady managed to get me a
very good dim of huh, which me drefTed to-
lerably well j a thing not common through
this country. From hence I again took
chaife for Ploen, where I lodged that night.
The country I paffed was various, but has
many marfhes, which feed numbers of cattle
at this feafon of the year ; but they are not
dry enough till June or July to turn into.
Ploen is very romantically fituated on the
fide of a hill, hanging to a very fine lake of
the fame name, which is in fome parts fur-
.rounded by hills, all one continued forefl
oi timber. From the window of my bed-
chamber

DENMARK. i37

chamber I looked down on a part of the
town beneath me, then over the lake,
which is a fine expanfe of water, agreeably-
varied by fiming boats, and the whole fur-
rounded, in the ampi theatre ftile, with hills
covered with wood : I was fortunate in a
very fine day, and fcarcely ever faw a more
ftriking landfcape. The town is ilrong,
from the neighbourhood of a marm behind
the hill, and it is further ftrengthened by a
cattle.

In the morning of the 25th I fet out for
Kiel, the diftance, as the crow files, is not
more than fifteen miles ; but the lakes fur-
round it fo, and interrupt the road, that I
made it twenty-four. The country is va-
rious, fome of it pretty well cultivated ;
much foreft, fome ftony tracks, and
others of land ; nor is it wanting in large
marines. I Mopped at fome of the cottages
for making enquiries into their hulbandry;
and I obferved, that they appeared very ealy
and chearful in their circumftances : the go-
vernment does not feem to be fevere. I
think the peafants are much more at their
eafe than they are in the Electorate of
Hanover, or in Weftphalia; they were fow-
jng wheat in their fields, which, upon exa-
mination, did not feem to be badly pre-
pared :

i33 TRAVELS THROUGH

pared : I remarked they fowed no land with
wheat bat what was well manured -3 for
which purpofe they ufe a comport, which
they are very attentive and careful in
making : it confifls in litter, the dung of
their cattle, earth dugout of bogs, and wood
aihes ; this they mix together, by turning
over feveral times, and once or twice a
week they water it well, by throwing up the
emptyings of a little refervoir near it, which
fills, with the drainings of the dunghill, from
rains : this fyflem appears to be very enlight-
ened i whether it was recommended by au-
thors who have written on hufbandry I do
not recoiled:, but it certainly deferves at-
tention.

Kiel is a town of fome note in this coun-
try, from its trade, which -is carried on by
means of a bay of the Baltick, that comes
up to it, and mixes its waters with thofe of
the lake. It is pretty well built, the ftreets
ftrait and wide, and has fome public build-
ings deferving of notice ; particularly a ducal
palace, an univerfity, a town-houfe where
the eftates of the Duchy ufed to meet, and
an hofpital, together with a caftle on a hill,
which once was ftrong ; a wall divides it
into an old and new town -, the new is the
bed built, but the befc ilreets in it are dif-
iigured by rows of trees, which Dutch cuf-

tom,

DENMARK. 139

torn, of rus in urbe, is deferrable . The rows
of trees on the harbour are better, and form
fome walks agreeable enough.

From Kiel I reached Rendfburgh by
night, through a country principally ad-
dicted to feeding cattle. I found the pea-
fants feemed to be eafy in their circum-
ftances -, moft of them are little farmers,
and matters of large herds of cattle and
hogs. I found in fome parts that they hired
little farms of the nobility, upon leafe, which
is what I had not {ecu. for a long while •>
and thefe people appear to profit by the
favour, though their farms are too fmall
to mew it much, and fome of them con-
lifting in nothing more than a regular
licence of turning a certain number of cat-
tle and hogs into certain woody tracks of
forefr. land. Rendfburgh is pretty ftrongly
fortified, but I do not think it within many
degrees of being impregnable, which the
inhabitants give out. I met with excellent
entertainment at the Lubeck Arms in this
place, and at a very reafonable rate : I had
wild fowl, lobfters. potted moor game, and
feveral other dimes for my iupper, with a
bottle of wine, which they called claret, but
refembled the port we drink in England
from Guerniey; and the whole reckoning,
for myfelf, two fervants, and three horfes,

cams

i±? TRAVELS THROUGH

came to no more than fifteen (hillings Eng-
lifh.

The 26th I took the firft ftage to Slef-
wick, which is the capital of the duchy of
the fame name; the distance is near twenty
miles, through a much better cultivated
country than any I had feen lince I left
Lubeck. It is fituated on the river Slev,
which falls into the Baltick within five miles
of it. It is fortified pretty ftronglv, well
built, the ltreets wide, and fome of them
well paved, and the place very populous for
rs ::ze. Among the public buildings is a
:-, which they (hew to Grangers :
it does not contain much that is worthy of
:e, except a library, which contains a
few antient manufcripts, and a cabinet of
:es in natural hiitorv, which has a few
things that are really curious. In the gar-
dens, are fome water-works, and many walks
in the old talte, which the poor people of
this country think great exertions of mag-
ic The principal church is antient,
and a very large fabric : it contains many
monuments of the ducal families, but none
that will yield much entertainment to a tra-
veller.

From Slefwick I reached Flenfburgh by
night, which is at the diitance of about fe-

v en teen

I

DENMARK. 141

Venteen miles. This ftase was through a
country, which, upon the whole, is pretty
well cultivated. I obferved in many of the
farms that they were fowing rye, the foil
being a light, fandy loam : upon enquiring
why they did not apply it to wheat, they
laid they had no comport for it ; from
whence I underltood that the diitin6lion
they make between thefe grains is, that
rye will do upon the fame land as wheat,
though no manure is fpread ; and that wheat
will do upon the rye land, if well manured.
The farms I flopped at were cultivated by
peafants, for a nobleman in the neighbour-
hood. It is a miftake to fuppofe, that the
peafants in Denmark are fold with the land,
like cattle; from what I obferved, they
feem to have fome degree of property in
the farms they cultivate; but I am fenfible,
that they owe much of this eafe, under
which they live, to fome new regulations
which have lately been inued by the miniftry
at Copenhagen. I obferved feveral fields of
turnips with cabbage leaves, of which I
made mention before ; thefe they cultivate
for their cattle in winter, and they find they
are hardy enough for the fevereft winters,
which is certainly a very valuable quality.
In fummer they have tolerable pafturage

• for

!4* TRAVELS THROUGH

for their cattle, but in winter they are often
much troubled to find food enough.

The town of Flenfburgh is very well fitu-
ated at the bottom of a bay of the Baltick.
It is very well built of brick; the ftreets be-
ing broad, itrait, and fome of them very well
paved ; but others very deep and miry.
The harbour is a good one, admitting mips
of four hundred tons burthen up to the
town ; this is fuch an advantage, that the
town carries on a pretty good trade. The
principal building in the town is St. John's
church, which is an handfome edifice : the
fituation of the town is romantic, being
nearly lurrounded with mountains, at a
fmall diilance. I found very decent accom-
modation here, at the fign of the Prince ;
and upon explaining to my landlord my
defign of travelling through the whole
Peninfula of Jutland, before I took the tour
of the iflands to Copenhagen, and that I
mould go firft to Rypen, he afiured me that
I mould find it but a diiagreeable journey;
that I had near forty miles to Rypen, with-
out one public accommodation at which I
could think of lodging ; that even for my
dinner he would recommend me to take
ibme cold fowl and ham, with a lobfter or
two, and fome wine : he told me, that I

mould

DENMARK. 143

mould find the people very civil, and that
my horfes would be taken good care of,
and well fed. This advice of my landlord
I thought very rational, and therefore de-
termined to purfue it ; and I had no reaibn
to repent of the precaution. I found the
country very well cultivated, much better
"than any I had been in fince I entered
Denmark. I paffed by very little wafte land;
moft of it was occupied by corn not yet
reaped, by ftubbles, by turnips, or by mea-
dows and paftures. There was an elfential
diiference, I found, between the Hate of the
countrymen in fome tracks, from what I
obfcrved in others ; for I paffed through
fome eftates in which they had no pro-
perty, but feemed to be as entirely depend-
ant on the will of the landlord as the cat-
tle in the fields ; and it was vifible, in the
mifery which I found in the cottages, that
this ftate of villainage is pernicious to the in-
terefts of the country. Another circum-
flance I remarked was, the country feats,
which are fpread, though thinly, over the
country : through Germany I took notice
fcarcely of one; but in this country I
reckoned five between Fienfhurgh and Ry-
pen. They have in general a melancholy,
iequeflered appearance, being ufually the

remain;

144- TRAVELS THROUGH

remains of old caflles, with large moats of
water around them ; and the whole half
furrounded witha thick wood. Thefe houies
belong either to nobles or gentlemen ; but
the latter have aim oft as many privileges as
the former : they are all occupied in cul-
tivating their eilates ; but it is very extra-
ordinary to fee, that the land thus managed
by the owner, is not better conducted than
the other tracks in the hands of the far-
mers and peafants.

The town of Rvpen flands on the river
Nipfaw, which forms three channels, and di-
vides the place into as many parts : it falls
into the North fea about three miles below
the town, and forms one of the belt har-
bours in Denmark. This advantage occa-
fions trade here in fifheries, alfo fome to
Hamburgh, a little to Amilerdam; and they
have a few fmall mips which ufe the trade,
from Norway and the Baltick to England.
There is a university here, but it is not in a.
flourifhing fituation; it is likewife the fee of
a BifhoD ; and thev have for their defence
a fortified caille. Their church is built of
hewn ftone; the fteeple is fo high that it
ferves as a land-mark to failors on this coait,
which is generally eiteemed very dangerous.

The

DENMARK. 145

The 28th I dined at Warde, a little town
twenty miles from Rypen, on a river which
falls into the German ocean, and which main-
tains a few fifhermen. One merchant only
refides here, who carries on a tolerable trade,
with a few mailers of mips, who likewife
are in trade ; but the amount of all is very
inconfiderable. The twenty miles I tra-
velled to this place is through a country
containing very little wafte land : there is
much corn land in it, and plenty of good
pafture, with numerous herds of cattle -y yet
the inhabitants complain bitterly of the
murrain, which has ruined many farmers
here. I remarked feveral farms in this dif-
tricl:, which appeared to be in as good order
as moft I had feen in England, and managed
in a manner that made them much refemble
thofe of England, and 'particularly in the
enclofures : the fields were divided by hedges,
kept in excellent order, and fecured by deep
and well made ditches ; there were borders
ofgrafs around them, and the corn, tur-
nips, and ftubble, all fhewed a hufbandry
fuperior to the common run of the North.
Another cir6umflance alfo was, the tillage
being performed with only four oxen ;
whereas I have {een. many ploughs here
drawn by fix or eight, or by fix Holftein

Vol. II. L horfes:

i46 TRAVELS THROUGH

horfes : the peafants in all Denmark are
very cautious of working any more ploughs
than they can poffibly help, as they pay a
tax for every onej this appears to be as
great an inftance of impolicy in the govern-
ment as ever I met with in any country ;
there is not, in the circle of political ceconomy,
any object more important than that of the
proper method of impofing taxes : fuppofing
it was right, that the hufbandry of a coun-
try mould be faddled with a great propor-
tion of them, yet is it of vaft importance
to lay them on in fuch a manner that they
fhall not occafion evils greater than their be-
nefits, and be lofFes inftead of gains to a
government. Every milling that is laid
upon ploughs, weavers fhuttles, or mer-
chants mips, robs the ftate of pounds.

Advancing with fome expedition I got
to Ringfkopping, feven and twenty miles
from Warde, through a country part of
which is pretty well cultivated ; but it con-
tains much waftc. That town is a port,
which, by means of a long peninfula run-
ning before it, is very fecure from all winds;
they have a little trade here. I faw three or
• four mips in the harbour, which had been
in the Baltick, and at England : I find there
are many mips kept in thefe little ports, in

Den-

DENMARK. 147

Denmark, which are chiefly maintained by
carrying deals to London, and other parts
of England, principally from Norway; and
at theie little towns they are generally the
property of the captain, at lean: he has a
principal mare in them. There is nothing
worthy of note in Ringfkopping, and the inn
I took up at was a miferable one, but the
people were civil.

The 29 th in the morning I paffed on
towards Hodfedbrugh, the diflance is twenty
three miles ; part of the country is moun-
tainous, and has the appearance of a black
moor ; but the flat parts are pretty well
cultivated. I palled through two noble-
mens eltates, whofe caftles were within
fight ; and I found, on enquiry, that they
were all cultivators of their own lands, by
means of the peafants, who are generally in
a ftate of villainage. I had the accident of
my chaife breaking down on a ftoney piece
of road, near one of thefe caftles, which
would have been an unlucky circumftance,
for fmiths and wheel-wrights are wonder-
fully fcarce but in the larger villages ;
fortunately, however, the owner of the
caftle, Count Ronceilen, as they called him,
was on horfeback, in light of my diftrefs :
he rode up to us, and viewing the accident,
L 2 fpoke

148 TRAVELS THROUGH

fpoke to me in Danilh and German, but
my poftillion replying to him he addreffed
me in French, upon finding that I did not
understand thofe languages. He enquired
very politely from whence I came, and
where I was going ? I told him my bufineis
was a journey of curiofity, to view the dif-
ferent kingdoms of the North ; that I was
an Englishman, and came laft from Ham-
burgh. He then, in a very ealy and agree-
able manner, defired me to walk up to his
chateau, and he would take care to fend a
fmith, and other people, to repair my car-
riage for me. This adventure pleafed me
much, not only for its extricating me out
fuch a difficulty, but alfo for giving me an
opportunity to make enquiries into thofe
circumftances of the country, in which I
was defirous of gaining information. Ac-
cepting, therefore, his invitation, we moved
towards the caftle, and the Count alighting
from his horfe, walked with me, leading
him.

He made feveral enquiries into the mo-
tives of mv journey. This, fays he, is but
a wild neglected country, containing very
little to be feen, and fcarcely ever vificed by
travellers •> no body, I believe, comes into
Denmark, faid he, but fuch as go directly

to

DENMARK. 149

to Copenhagen ; and we, being out of that
route, are fcarcely ever vifited by travellers.
I replied, that I had, many -years ago, tra-
velled through France, Italy, and the beft
part of Germany ; but upon my return to
England, I found I had been the tour that
every body elfe goes, and which has been
defcribed a thoufand times; that I had a
great curiofity tor fee the Northern parts of
Europe, which are feldom vifited by tra-
vellers of my country ; and upon my re-
turn from Italy, I determined, whenever
I could eafily command the time, to exa-
mine them attentively j that I had this year
carried it into execution, having palled
through Holland, Flanders, Weftphalia,
Hanover, and was now on the tour of Den-
mark. The Count replied, that I might
meet with entertainment in Holland and
Flanders, but as to Weftphalia, the Elec-
torate of Hanover, and Holftein and Slef-
wick, they could afford very little enter-
ment to a man who had travelled in France
and Italy, and who had refided in England.
In anfwer, I faid that I did not come into the
North to fee pictures and ftatues, or to hear
operas, but to obferve the manners of the
people, the ftate of agriculture, the nature
of manufactures, and the general appear-
L 3 ance

150 TRAVELS THROUGH,

ance of the country. Oh ! Oh ! faid he,
you travel then philofophically ;I ran through
England, France, Italy, and all Germany,
but, unfortunately, not with the views that
you now make the objects of your journey.
This converfation held us till we got to
the cattle ; the Count carried me through
Several large rooms, to bqg h which the
Jfreakfaft equipage ^ fpread ; prefently, a
lady of middle age appeared, and alfo a
young gentlcrnan. the Count introduced
me to them £ t]ie one was nis filler, and the
other his^r;epneWj a young Lord, who was
jutt go^ng upon a journey of pleafure to
^netond, beins: related to the Baron de
r V.'rftentein, AmbarTador extraordinary from
*ienmark at the court of London. They
both received me very politely, and entered
into converfation in French upon my tra-
vels. Breakfaft was prefently ferved up, it
confirmed only of coffee, milk, and a bafon
of water gruel for the Count, which feemed
to be his regular diet. The young noble-
man, whofe name was Baron de Raden,
made many enquiries concerning England,
all which I replied to as well as I was able :
I found he intended making a refidence there
long enough to gain the language. The
Count aiked me fcveral particulars of my

ideas

D E 1ST M A R K. 151

ideas concerning Denmark : he faid I muft
fee a great difference in the country, in the
population, and the induftry of the inha-
bitants, between England and their country.
I obferved, that our peafants in England were
in much happier circumftances, and which
muft neceflarily occafion a greater populouf-
nefs j and that the cuftom in England, of
letting the lands in farms, was the reafon
that our agriculture made a fo much better
figure than in Denmark. That, replied
the Count, is very true, but we have the
advantage of you in other circumftances;
our nobility and gentry of large fortunes
cultivate their own eftates, though of great
extent; and certainly this makes the foil
yield a greater produce than if it was under
the management of a parcel of miferable
peafants. True, Sir, replied I, but our foil
is not managed by miferable peafants, but
by rich farmers, many of them men of con-
fiderable fubftance and independance ; if
they were all as poor as the peafants of Den-
mark, I mould agree with you at once.

The Count then obferved to me, that I
was in an error, in fuppofing that they had
no fanners in Denmark ; we do not call
them fo, continued he, but boors and pea-
fants indifcriminately, whether they hire
L 4 lands

iSz TRAVELS THROUGH

lands of us, or whether they are in a ftate of
villainage -, and to convince you of this, I
will, before dinner, fhew you fome farms
that I have let almoft in the Englifh man-
ner , and I will, at the fame time, have the
pleafure of mewing you a little manufactory,
which I have eftablifhed on my eftate, for
the employment of the poor. A fervant
foon after came in, to let me know that my
chaife was repaired, and ready to proceed.
I made a motion to take my leave , but the
Count, in a moil obliging manner, allured
me that I mould fpend the day with him ;
and not hearing any excufes, ordered the
hories to be taken oft, and put into his {ta-
bles, and the fervant and poftillion to be
taken care of. I thanked him for his ci-
. but he faid the pleafure would be all
his own. He then ordered hories to be got
ready for us, that he might {hew me fome of
his undertaken

As we rode along he expreffed himfelf
in general as follows : the trade and ma-
nufactures, Sir, that have been fpread through
moil parts of Europe, have lerTened every
where the value of money; this we have
found in Denmark, though perhaps not in
fuch a decree as you have in England y the
consequence has been, that the nobility, who

live

DENMARK. 153

live upon the Hated income of their eftates,
find themfelves every day poorer and poorer ;
this is occaiioned by the products of their
lands not felling at a price proportioned to
the rates of thofe commodities they chiefly
buy : this, I apprehend, is not the cafe
with you, as I hear, and indeed fee, by
fome of your news-papers, that there
are many complaints among you, on ac-
count of the high prices of the neceiTaries of
life ; this proves to me, that the value of
the eitates in England mud be greatly
raifed, which then throws your nobility
upon a par with thofe whofe incomes vary
with the variations of money : this, I fap-
pofe, is owing to the great number of ma-
nufactures among you, which occasions an'
increafe of population, and that brings
with it an increafe of the value of all the
articles confumed by manufacturers. Now
it is, in this particular, that Denmark is
unfortunate : it is true, our gracious King
is really the father of his people, and has
formed more eftabliihments in favour of
the arts and commerce than half the mo-
narchs of Europe : he has fixed manufac-
tures of feveral ibrts in various parts of his
dominions, but thefe are too inconiiderable
yet to have a general effect : they are,

however,

i r4 TRAVELS THROUGH

r, cf great utility to their refpecHve
neighbourhoods , and it is the cbfervation
of this that has induced me to attend to
the t nc sthods cf improving an extehfive

property around this caftfe, which yielded,
when I came to it, but an inconfiderable
income.

From what I have obferved, continued
the Count, in England, France, and Hol-
land, the value of land, that is the income
of it, depends exactly on the neighbour-
hood of manufactures ; for land no where
lets fo well as clofe to great cities. What
we want in Denmark is a market ; we
have had feveral edicts in favour of agricul-
ture, but giving us a market for our pro-
ducts would be better than a thoufand
edicts : with theie ideas it is that I have
been fo folicitous to increafe the number of
Ic on my eitate, and to add to their
)tion, being under the conviction,
n fire an induftrious colony ot ma-
nufacturers on it, I mall of courfe im-
prove the agriculture of it.

Here I obferved to him. that agriculture,
if left to itfelf, would not thus be fufficient-
roved .
I comprehend you, replied the Count;
old cuitoms will continue among the pea-
Ian t?,

DENMARK. i55

fans, however abfurd they may be ,- but I
did not mean that I had left them to them-
felves entirely, only that the providing a
market was the firft object, as all other
means or changes in the common practice
would, without that, do nothing: for of
what confequence is it that you teach your
people to be excellent hufbandmen, if th.y
do not find it eafy to get money for their
good crops ? I can further have the fatisfac-
tion of telling you, that I find from experi-
ence that thefe ideas are juft; for fince I
fu;ly entered into the fpirit of this conduct,
I have {ctn the truth of it exemplified on
my own eftate; for fince I have fixed fome
manufacturers here, and built a village for
them, the products which the farmers have
raifed have found a much better market,
and paid them better for their trouble than
ever was known before.

We had arrived by this time on the con-
fines of a little town, which made a very
agreeable figure, upon the fide of a hill, in
a fruitful fpot, with a river at the bottom of
the declivity.

Here, faid the Count, is a little town,
every houfe of which I have built myfelf,
and filled them with manufacturers. We
entered it j he fhewed me the fabrics which

he

1 56 TRAVELS THROUGH

he had eflablifhed ; they were chiefly of
wool : there were great numbers of fpinners,
combers, and weavers ; they made coarfe
cloth, worn by the poor people of all this
country. The manager of the works was an
Englishman from ElTex, who, I fuppofe,
the Count had brought with him when he
was upon his tour through England. I am
no judge of thefe fort of works, but the peo-
ple, native Danes, as well as the English-
men, carry on their work with quicknefs
and intelligence. The Count informed me
that he had four hundred hands employed
upon woollen goods alone; that he wrought
up all the forts of cloathing, which found
a ready market in this country, that is, fuch
as all the country men and women wore. I
aiked him how he fucceeded as to profit ?
He replied, very indifferently, if I ipeak as
a manufacturer ; for had I been a mere
mailer of it, I mould have been ruined.
What this is owing to I know not -, but I
fuppofe, to my not being able to give that
attention to the bufinefs which a man
would do who is to make his bread by it.
However, Sir, continued he, I make all I
wifh for by it ; I pay my expences, and
there is enough left to anfwer all the de-
mands which are made on me, on account

of

DENMARK. 157

of the buildings I have erected ; fo that I
am a clear gainer of the number of people
I have fixed on my eftate ; and I dare fay
you comprehend my meaning fufnciently
to fee, that this was the only profit I wifhed
to reap.

The Count mewed me another manufac-
tory, which was that of leather ; he had
erected feveral tanneries, which prepared
the hides for manufacturing into doublets,
breeches, boots, blockings, and fhoes ; of
thefe various artifts, he has to the number
of near three hundred ; and the products of
their labour find, like thofe of his woollen
manufacture, a free and quick fale in the
neighbouring country. M. le Count in-
formed me, that this manufacture was more
profitable " to him than that of woollen
goods. The next fabric he fhewed me,
was that of turners ware. He had laid in
large flocks of beech wood, elm, horn-beam,
holly, and feveral other forts ; and fixed
many artifts in this way to turn dimes*
plates, platters, cups, faucers, bowls,
fcoops, and various other articles, which
are in common ufe among the people in all
the adjacent towns and villages; of thefe
artifts, he reckons one hundred and twenty

perfons

i5? TRAVELS T H B 0 "

perfbns employed in preparing liking

up the raw materials.

He has alio a final! linen manufactory,
which employs above forty hands, and of
which the fuccefs is io advantageous, that
it increafes every day: they work Uf
only coarfc cloths for meets, fhirts, and
ether purpofes, among the lower ranks ot
people.

But none of his works kerned to pleale
this mofl patriotic nobleman equal to his
manufactories of iron ; of thefe he worked
all forts of implements in common ufe,
whether for the furniture of hou es, or do-
meftic utenfils ; the machines for ar tills,
luch as wheelwrights, carpenters, black-
fmiths -, the implements of hufbandry, fuch
as ploughs, harrows, rollers, carts, wag-
gons, fpades, (hovels, forks, rakes, axes,
&c. all thefe he worked in great numbers,
and found a ready vent for them. Thefe
fabrics employed above two hundred men.

All thefe undertakings employ above a
thoufand hands, and the fuccefs of them has
proved io great, as to fix above two thou-
fand inhabitants in the town he has built for
them. It confifts of about three hundred
Qoctfes, all of which the Count either built
at his own expence, or advanced pan

the

DENMARK. i-9

money towards them, or granted certain
privileges to thofe who made him proposals

of building. The flreets are laid out very
regularly, interfering each other at right
angles -, in the center is a large market-
place, and in the midft of it, a fma!l but
neat church ; all the town is well paved ;
the houfes are fmali, but all railed with
brick, and covered with tiles, and make a
very regular and agreeable appearance.

The bricks and tiles are all burnt in
kilns adjoining the town, belonging to the
Count, and the timber is cut in his foretts ;
fo that the expences were very fmall, com-
pared to what they would have been in dif-
ferent circumilances ; but notwithftandin?
thefe advantages, the Count afiured me, that
in three and twenty years, ilnce he began
thefe works, he has expended in them the
fum of above thirty three thoufand ducats,
which make near fixteen thoufand pounds.
This account includes the church, the pav-
ing the town, and the erecting the works
and buildings for the feverai manfactures
above mentioned, beiides the houfes and
fhares of houfes : exclufive of this expence,
he has been employed three years in erect-
ing a handfome bridge over the river, a
wharf on the banks of it, with warehoufes

for

iftj TRAVELS THROUGH

for merchandize, and dry and wet docks
for building barges, and decked Hoops on
the river : the tide flows up to the town,
though at a confiderable diftance from the
fea ; and the Count, among his noble plans,
has fchemed the fixing a trade at it. This
town is fituated between Pailifbsrg and
Wingaard : the river falls into the gulph
that Ringikopping {lands on, but he is at
prefent employed in cutting a canal, about
► two miles long, to gain a better naviga-
tion into a bay to the northward, near Wof-
borg. By this means, he hopes to be able
to navigate brigs of one hundred tons;
whereas he has at prefent only five floops,
each of fifty tons. Theie he employs all
kimfelf in bringing materials for his ma-
nufactures from the Baltick, England, and
Holland. His bridge, wharf, docks, and
vvarehoufes, he calculates will colt him
fixteen thoufand ducats, and his navigation
above three thoufand.

I do not remember ever receiving fo much
real pleafure, as from viewing thefe great
and noble exertions of princely magnifi-
cence, which infinitely exceed ail the coftly
ornaments which, in fome countries, are
given to the feats of the great. They re-
fled: immortal honour on the worthy

Count,

DENMARK; i6t

Count, who has the fpirit thus to profe-
cute the noblelt works which Europe can
exhibit. Other noblemen in Denmark have
fortunes equal to this illultrious Count ;
in England we have fortunes double and
treble to his ; but where are we to find
an expenditure of a great eftate, that reflects
equal luftre oh the owner ? I mult confefs,
I never yet met with an example comparable
to this, nor can I poilibly dwell on it in
the manner it moff. richly deferves.

It was the employment of the day for
the Count to carry me through all the ma^
nufactures, and the different parts of the
town ; he returned to the caftle to a late
dinner. I mentioned taking my leave of him,
but, with great politenefs, and in the moil
obliging manner, he defired me to defer
my journey, faying he had fne wn me only
his manufactures, but he had the effects of
them on agriculture yet to let me fee.
At dinner, and in the evening, we had abund-
ance of converfation concerning the ob-
jects I had feen in the day; and particu-
cularly on the means, by which the Count
had been able to effect the eftabliihment of
the manufactures I had feen.

The beginning of all my undertakings,
faid that illultrious nobleman, I found

Vol. II. M ever

l&i TRAVELS THROUGH

ever the moll difficult. In eftabliihins; the
woollen fabrick, I had infinite difficulties
at firftj in opening a regular channel by
which to receive the wool, for our own
was fo bad, that 1 could ufe fcarce any c-f
it ; and then to get people ufed to the dif-
ferent works, from picking and foiling for
the fpinners quite to the weavers, who
fin i:h ed the working of it. Moft of the
people I procured from Germany and
Flanders ; but a few, who proved more
ufefui to mc than all the red, from Scot-
■', and two or three from England.
To all thefe people I have been forced to
give great ialaries, to build them fine
houfes, and to put up with many irregu-
larities ; but I was indefatigable in making
mv own people learn of them what they
could perform ; and the belt way of doing
this, I found was to give a premium to the
foreigners for every hand they perfected in
every branch of work. Several of thefe
people are dead, and I have not taken
pains to recruit their number; for my
Danes are now, many of them, as expert
as their mailers. I have, however, very
often flraggling parties of Germans, who
come to alk work, which I never fail giving
them; and building houfes immediately

for

DENMARK, ,63

for them, if they continue in the mind of
fettling. This has in general been my con-
duct with every one of the fabrics except one,
which has hitherto been entirely conducted
and worked by native Danes ; but I medi-
tate attempting fome new manufactures,
for which I mufl have recourfe to other
countries for a few hands to inftruct us.
From the beginning of the undertaking,
I found the necefllty of uniting the charac-
ters of merchant and manufacturer; for
had it not been for the pofl'effion of a lit-
tle Shipping, which fupplied me with what-
ever materials were wanting, I mould never
have been able to bring my works to the
height at which they are now arrived.
My Hoops are ftrong and well built, and
run, without difficulty, wherever I fend
them, to the Baltic, to England, Scotland,
Holland, France, and even to the Mediter-
ranean ; with the advantage of coming up
into the heart of my town. I once had a
brig of two hundred tons, but I found too
much inconvenience and expence in fend-
ing fuch a ve/Tel for a cargo of not more
than forty or fifty tons, uniefs I turned
trader, and loft by the bufinefs ; befides
her being forced to lye in the gulph, in-
Jftead of coming up to the town, fp that I
M 2 fold

i£4 TRAVELS THROUGH

fold her in Holland, and have found my
floops far more convenient and profitable,
as with them I can always take a full cargo
of whatever they are fent for. I have a
Dutch fhip-carpenter, who builds them for
me, and he has fix Danes under him, two
of whom have worked in the King's yard
at Copenhagen. This eftablifhment is not
more than three years old, but I purpofe to
keep it regular, and even to increafe it :
they have built me five floops, each of fifty
tons, which have performed their bufinefs
exceedingly well, and are excellent failors.
You faw two more on the flocks, both
which are herring bufTes, built exactly on
the fame plan as thofe in Holland ; with
them I purpofe attempting the herring
fifhery ; for I have obferved in my travels,
and you certainly muft. have remarked the
fame thing, that nothing fpreads more in-
duftry, or maintains fo many people as
fisheries ; and at the fame time, the Danes
make excellent ones; and I hive no doubt
of fucceeding, as I have, though at a great
expence, got three Dutch fifhermen, ufed
to their art of barrelling; if I meet with
fuccefs, I mall increafe the bufTes ; and
when the canal I fhewed you is finiilied,
I (hall build fome larger floops, and a brig

or

DENMARK. 165

or two of an hundred tons, for carrying the
product of the fifhery up the S freights ; from
whence I hope to return home loaded with
fait, which, by that time, I mall have fixed
a market for.

My great objed is to make every part of
my general plan unite to form one whole,
by rendering each divinon cf it the fupport
of another: At firit, I was forced to fend
out my floops, wherever they went, empty -,
but as my manufactures have increafed, I
have fent out fome loads of them, which
have obtained a very good market; I have
loaded others with corn, having a perpetual
licence from the King for that purpofe -, if
my fifhery proceeds, I (hall never be oblig-
ed to go out empty, which is a very ellen-
tial object.

All thefe works I find have a wonderful
efficacy in increafmg the people on my eftate.
I before told you, that the town has above
two thoufand inhabitants in it, though not
a hut was (landing there three and twenty
years ago; my buildings increafe confide-
rably every year ; I have a great number of
brick and lime burners, mafons, fmiths, and
carpenters, that do nothing elfe but build
houfes for the new comers. This work re-
gulates all the reit, for it is the firft I pro-
M 3 vide

TRAVELS THROUGH

Tide cafli for, being the great object of all
the reil ; and what fum is fpared from this,
I expend upon the other works. I raifed
and thirty houfes laft year, and the
number this year will be near forty. From
the applications I have received, I appre-
hend, I ihall next year build more than
iixty; but the expence will be fo large,
I fhall be forced to retard my other un-
dertakings. You (hall to-morrow fee the
effect, which this population has had upon
dry.
We p s evening in converfation of

this fort, in 3iihg Baron joined

, and mewed, that he had a
prop. the great works which his

* on. The Count fhew-
..:- a map of his eflate, as it was when
' father left i: him. The extent is nine
miles one wajr, and more than four
then but fomewhat indented. It is a

of hill and dale,
. . .rains, well watered with

rivers, ftreams, and lakes; and part of
it biy . . ith exceeding tine timber.
Thi: ". ;.. the defcription he gave me of it on
expl . map.

hi the morning early, horfes were ready
for ---. and the Count, riding fome miles

from

DENMARK. 167

from his caftle, came into a track of culti-
vated country, all his own, at the extremity
of his eftate, oppofite to the part on which
the town is built. Here we rode through
many valleys, and iides of hills, ail culti-
vated, with great numbers of farm houfes
and cottages, the inhabitants of which
feemed as eafy, chearful, and happy, as if
they had been refident in England inftead
of Denmark; they all appeared to be pleaf-
ed with the prefence ol their lord, and I
have no doubt but they efleem him as their
father, as well as matter. This part of my
eftate, faid the Count, addrefimg himfelf to
me, was cultivated of old, and it is all that
was fo ; I found it farmed by my father's
bailiits and villains, and the appearance it
made was very uninviting, and the people
extremely miferablej I arranged it a-new,
formed inert, of the inciofures you fee, built
mod of thefe houfes -, and to all the people
that were induftricus and faving, I lett
farms according to their ability of living and
flocking ; and I found very foon that this
way of managing the land, brought me in
a better revenue than the cultivating it on
my own account ; for the bailiffs I trufted,
generally turned out gra*t rafcals, and
cheated me, at the fame time that they in-
M 4 finitely

168 TRAVELS THROUGH

finitely opprefled the peafants. In my tra-
vels through England, I had fixed the de-
fign of letting farms, from the great luc-
cefs I faw attending it there -, I liked the
plan every day better and better, and by
giving encouragements to fuch as tilled their
land well, and kept their farms in good or-
der, and by {hewing no favour to idle per-
fons and flovens, 1 brought them to be
wonderfully attentive, fo that at prefent I
do not think you have many eftates in Scot-
land, or Ireland, better cultivated than this
part of mine, and fome not better in Eng-
land. I fhould, however, tell you that I did
not leave them to the cuiloms of their own
country entirely, but procured workmen
and implements from Flanders, to inftruct
them in the practice of methods, to which
they were unaccuftomed. This I did not
find fo difficult a bufinefs as might be ex-
pected -, for very luckily, the people I pro-
cured were fenfible and intelligent, and
pointed out with great propriety the courfes
of management moil proper for the lands;
our foil they thought net good enough for
the Flemifh crops of colefeed, madder, Sec.
but ought rather to be applied to the pro-
ductions of wheat, barley, oats, peafe,
beans, turnips, clover, 6cc. I was entirely

of

DENMARK. 169

of the fame opinion, and rewarded them
for their advice, fending them home, after
they had fully inflrucled my Danes in the
ufe of their implements ; we have ftuck
very clofely to thefe ever lince, except the
introduction of fome others from England,
which have likewife been well approved by
them. I have given premiums for the befr
ploughmen ; others, more coniiderable, for
the beft crops cf all forts -, and have been
very attentive to fpread among them the cul-
ture of turnips and clover, as the moll: ad-
vantageous means of wintering their herds
of cattle.

The attention of this fort, which I have
given to their management, has been atten-
ded with great effects, for though I have
been all over Denmark more than once, I
know fcarceiy any fpot fo well cultivated as
this ; and you will readily allow, that I have
found the work profitable, when I tell you
that great tracks of this improved land yield
me a rent of a ducat and half for an Englifli
acre ; and fome of it two ducats, (which is
from fourteen to eighteen {hillings) but it
has not been fo high rented many years ; it
hath been fo only lince the increafe of my
town has been confiderable, which, by pro-
viding them the market they fo much want-
ed,

j-o TRAVEL? THROUGH

ed, has enriched them all, and is a ftrfcrig
proof of the juftnefs of the • jpon

which I firft undertook all my v

You cbferve, continued the Count, that
there are waite tracks en vonder hills, which
ioin the inclofures ; they are very exteniive,
ipreading for fonie miles ; but the inclofures
increafe every year, and in great numbers :
the wav i manage is this, I allow the
mers the expence cf inclofing what,
thev like to take contiguous to their farms,
never have more land than
ell cultivated, and ] take nc
. during the firft rive years ;
after I ;' them it half

:h continues as long as the
improver lives, but en his death, I ra'
to i. . ■ '

io reafonable, that there is net a

them, but what makes a (mail ad-
dition every year 5 and others, who get or
■, have frefti farms ccmpleat on

-. E

: of the i sxpei I in

I am .entive to :.

of cm land, to u

do not neglect them; for I never fuf-
fer an inclofure to continue uncultivated.
ed to :'. • the

DENMARK. 171

produce of thefe improvements, and it is
not eafy to be conceived what advantage I
find in them. The greateft expences, thofe
of the buildings, I at once enter upon inte-
reft for, and the rents, in rive years after the
firft beginnings, yield me an ample return
for the expences of the inclofure, {o that I
find no way of laying out money more be-
neficial than this. Thefe cultivated tracks
are feven miles from the town, which I
erected at a diftance, not only for the con-
venience of a port, (which originally did
not ftrike me as a matter of the greateft im-
portance) but chiefly on account of the
great extent of wafte land at that extremity
of my eftate. I built the town with a view
to force improvements there ; but the in-
creafe of inhabitants has made it a market
of -fuch confequence, that thefe farmers all
refort to it, and carry thither their pro-
duels ; and I find, from very minute enqui-
ries, that they never raife any commodity
which does not then bring them a ready-
price. While this is the cafe, I am per-
fectly fatisfied with my fuccefs, for it was
the grand object I had in view from the be-
ginning ; and nothing can hardly prevent
the improvements of the waftes I pofTefs,
while this continues the cafe ; nor have I

much

j72 TRAVELS THROUGH

much fear of it, for the town increafes fo
much that its demand will, on courfe, occa-
fion an improvement of fuch wade lands.

Another circumftance, obferved the Count,
is the nature of the foils around this culti-
vated part of my eftate. I made it a rule
fome years ago, that every peafant, who
wiflied to encreafe his farm, mould take the
wafte that was contiguous to him, without
any regard to the goodnefs or the badnefs of
the foil. This occafioned me fome difficul-
ty at firft, for fome of them came to por-
tions of hilly land that was very fhony, and
of a mofl unprofitable countenance; and
others to boggy places, which would,
through wetnefs, admit of no fort of ufe.
Such of them made reprefentations to me
upon this head, alierting that they were de-
firous of increafmg their farms, but the
lands that joined them were fo very flerrile
and unprofitable, that they could not ven-
ture on them, requeuing me to allow them
to pafs by fuch defert fpots, and take in
more promifing ones. Thefe petitions I
mads it a rule never to grant, as I was very
fennble, that if I once gave into the idea of
the real unprofitablenefs of thefe fpots, they
would never meet with any culture, and
confequently remain barren to eternity : I

therefore

DENMARK. 17$

therefore replied to them, that fuch pieces
of land, as they mentioned, were by no
means fterile, if once they were attempted
with becoming fpirit; that I mould look
with a very favourable eye on all fuch as
tried the culture of them with true induf-
try and perfeverance ; that as an encourage-
ment to them, I would, on the dry lands, be
at half the expence of removing the fcones ;
and on the bogs, I would be at half the ex-
pence of draining, and, at the fame time,
find them an engineer gratis, to mark out
their cuts, and overfee the execution of
them ; but that I would on no account have
one acre of wafte parled by.

This conduct, Sir, continued this excel-
lent nobleman, had its effect; they made
no more complaints of bad foils, but at-
tacked all they met with, and have been
every where victorious ; when fome of them
got into the bogs, the draining of half of
which was even too much for their ability,
I took care that the works mould not Hop,
but advanced money to them to enable them
to overcome all difficulties ; and fuch has
been my fuccefs, that feveral tracks of rich
meadow, now within our light in yonder
valley, worth two ducats an Englifh acre,
were a bog that yielded no fort of advan-
tage

174 TRAVELS THROUGH

tage to any one; and the peafants them-
felves allow, that no land theymeet with an-
fwers lb well as the boggy tracts, efpecially
for meadows ; and I find by various trials
which they have made, as well as by others
executed more immediately under my own
direction, in another part of my eftate, that
no foils are found in our waftes but what
will pay extremely well for improving. By
adhering ftricr.lv to the conduct I mention-
ed to you, feveral of thefe people have im-
proved fome pieces which you would have
pronounced irreclamable, but which are
now covered with very fine crops of corn
and graft.

During the time that this moft interefting
converfation lafted, the Count carried me
through feveral of their farms. I am no
connohTeur in hufbandry, but from the ob-
fervation which I have made in England and
in Flanders, which are, I think, gardens
compared with other countries, moft of
thefe farms appear to be under an excellent
management. The articles which the Count
pointed out particularly, were a freedom
from weeds, neat fences, large dunghills,
and plenty of winter food for cattle. In all
thefe circumftances, thefe farms are in high
order; the lands in general very clean, thofe

preparing

Denmark. i7S

preparing for wheat particularly fo, the corn
crops the fame. The fences are chiefly of
hornbeam and holly, and interlaced fo
frrongly as to be impenetrable, with deep
and well cut ditches to them every where.
As to dunghills, I never faw any track of
country where the hufbandmen feemed more
attentive to them. The men from Flanders
taught them the importance of comport
heaps, by which are meant mixtures of va-
rious forts of manures ; they form them
chiefly of earth, dung,and litter, burnt clay,
and peat afhes; the latter the Count inftruc-
ted them in from hints he had in England,
which furprifed me, as I do not remember to
have feen any thing of that fort in any of
our countries; it is a fine, foft, moory fort of
bog burnt : What ufe the burnt clay can be
of I know not, but they fay they find the
advantage of it. Thefe compoils they keep
two years before they ufe them, turning
them over feveral times, and uiua'ly fpread
them either for turnips or clover, generally
the latter. In refpe6t to winter food for
cattle, they cultivate much clover and na-
tural grafs, mowing both for hay ; and alio
many fields of turnips, generally the fort
that has cabbage leaves. Thefe are fecure
from damage by froits; and with their hay

and

176 TRAVELS THROUGH

and flraw enable them to winter-keep great:
flocks of cattle. In general, the farmers of
the country did not make fuch advantage by
cattle as they ought, for want of a market
for fuch as they fat, or for the butter and
cheefe of the dairies j but the Count's new
town has brought an entire remedy for this
evil to all his tenants, as the inhabitants of
it form a ready market for all fuch provi-
ficns, which proves a very great advantage
to the peafants* Formerly their cattle was
all fold lean to the Dutch drovers.

The viewing all thefe circumftances con-
fumed the day, and the hofpitabie Count in-
filled on my making a further flay with him,
faying, that I had not yet feen his own farm,
which he referved for the next day ; and I
mull own, I never parTed any time with grea-
ter fatisfaction ; for this very patriotic noble-
man appeared rather a being of romance, a
virion of perfection, than a real inflance of
lb many public and private virtues ; but I
confidered myfelf as peculiarly fortunate in
meeting with an object, that much more
than recompenced me for all the trouble
and expence I had beftowed on my travels,
had 1 ieen nothing elfe.

The next morning he conducted me a
different way, taking a rounding courfe to-
wards

Denmark, l?7

wards the town, at the diftance of three
miles from the cattle ; the principal part of
the way was through a territory extremely
well cultivated, fome of it was lett in farms
to the peafants, but we foon came into his
own farm, which is of a vail: extent, and
fpreads itfelf almofr. around the town. From
the riling grounds in this part, I could fee
no wafte land, but all the diftant views, for
two or three miles everyway, were all under
culture.

This part of myeftate, faid the Count,,was
once reckoned the very worft of it all, and
not an acre in cultivation ; this, I believe, I
told you was one inducement for placing
the town here. Nobody would even hire
farms here, fo bad an opinion had they of
the foil y but by building the town upon it,
I gave it a double value y firft, the conve-
nience of vicinity to a maiket; and fecondly,
the cafe of procuring manure; frill, however,
it continued in general wafle for feveral
years, except a few bogs near the town,
which they drained and improved for the
more convenience of keeping their horfes,
and a few cows. Finding this back ward -
nefs of the peafants, I undertook the work
myfelf, knowing, that in cafe I mcceeded,
of which I had very little doubt, they
Vol. II. N would

!7$ TRAVELS THROUGH

would be readv enough to take farms aftef
they were improved. The foil was in ge-
neral thrown into broad extending flats,
which were all either marili or bog ; and
the rifing grounds of confiderable extent
alio, and hills, were all fand, fome of it
red, and fome a black fand > none of the
fpontaneous growth at all promifing.

My firft bulinefs was to fix upon a fpot in
the center of very large track of thefe lands,
where I built a houfe for a bailiff, and put
into it one I had procured from Flanders.
This was not a wife choice, for the man
was much too full of a rich foil he had
been ufed to, and had not patience furricient
with this poor one -, but then I found him
a treafury in docility, and one on whom I
could ever depend for a punctual obedience
of my orders ; qualities which I have fince
found to be much better in fuch a mana-
ger than knowledge. I raifed fome large
barns, many houfes for cattle, granaries,
ftore rooms, and all conveniencies for a
very large farm, which I had any where
feen in my travels. While thefe edifices
were erecting, I made a found and firm
road directly from them to the town ; this
was a work of much expence in the bogs,
but I knew it to be indif.enfable. The

buildings

DENMARK. lfa

buildings I had railed in the center of a fmall
rifing ground, which were in the middle of
a very exteniive flat of marih and bog.
There, faid he, you fee it extends a great
durance. The fandy track in the middle
was about a mile over every way, and lying
neareft to the buildings, I improved it firft.
On my beginning this work, I turned over
all the writers on hufbandry in my porTeffion,
to fee what were their directions for the im-
provement of a poor, fandy foil. I found
nothing iatisfactory ; but they recommend-
ed marl, which totally depended on the
circumflance of having it ; nor did they give
any directions how to judge if marl was
likely to be found. The hufbandry of marl-
ing light land I had feen myfelf in your
country, in the province of Norfolk, but as
well as I remembered, the marl was fo near
thefurface as to be difcovered in every ditch;
however, as the object was important, I
bored in feveral places for marl, but found
nothing but fand, and under it, at a vaft
depth, flint, and then clay. I was there-
fore obliged to improve this land without
any marl. I formed the whole hill into in-
clofures, and my bailiff tilled, manured>
and lowed the fields with various crops,
which he had feen put into fandy grounds
N 2 in

iSfa TRAVELS THROUGH

in Flanders ; moft of thefe were very poor
and lofing produces except three, buck
wheat, carrots, and potatoes. Buck wheat
my bailiff defpifed, but we know it in Den-
mark to be a very valuable crop -3 and as to
the roots, they did not content him ; he
was for trying to force this fand, by means of
manure brought from the town, to produce
every thing he had feen in Flanders. This
rafhnefs I checked, and directed him to ex-
tend the above three crops to a large amount;
he did fo, and fucceeded well in the fame.
The buck wheat was of great ufe, both as
corn and ftraw for the cattle ; and the roots
were part of them fold to my manufacturers,
at a great profit, and the reft confumed by
all forts of cattle. The trials were again re-
peated on a yet larger fcale, and the fuccefs
the fame ; and on the fifth year from the
beginning, the whole fpace of fand about
the buildings was under thefe three crops in
fucceffion, fo as every year to be covered with
one or other of them : And they were raif-
ed with fuch fuccefs, as enabled us to win-
ter fuch vaft heads of cattle, that the Flan-
derkin -allowed we could never have more
profitably applied the land.

But while this bufinefswas going on, the
flats demanded attention, for the fuccefs of

the

D E X :.I A R K. iex

th$ winter roots mewed, that we mould
want meadow for fummer food, and all my
cattle had at firfc was what they picked up
on the eds-es of the marines. Nothing
therefore could be a more important object
than to drain and improve thefe marines
and bogs, which would enable me to keep
as many cattle in fummer as the land yield-
ed food for in winter -, keeping cattle I found
very profitable, for my town was a conilant
market for whatever quantities of butter,
milk, and cheefe, could be carried to it,
and alfo for every kind of fat meat that was
killed. The method I took with my cows
was to lett them to peafants, in dairies of
ten each, for which they gave me an an-
nual rent per cow ; and I found them in
conftant foud, winter and fummer. I pro-
fecuted the work of draining with unremit-
ted diligence, employing great numbers of
hands, and doing the work effectually as I
went ; and they were thrown, as foon as
drained, into a courfe of arable hufbandry,
to prepare for grafs j and my Flanders bai-
liff put me upon one crop for them which
proved far more beneficial than any, which
was cabbages ; the drained bogs anfwered
greatly in them. But as grafs was the ob-
ject they were all laid down to meadow as
N 3 foon

1 1 i TRAVELS THROUGH,

foon as in order; and this regular work of

draining and improving them I have

on ever (ince, having done all this extent of

flat that you lee, and am, at prefer.:, g :

en expeditiouilv with other tracks out of

fight, nor mail I flop while I have a

or a bog left. The improvement of the

fands went on at the fame time, with no

other variation than throwing into the

courfe of management of carrots, I

x, and potatoes, that of rve, which is
mv bailiff's addition, in order to be m.
of the mere ftraw. But in profecuting the
improvement of the hills, I made a c:
rery which proved of vail: confequence, as
the inciofures multiplied, for we came

g ground that had neve: been bored for
marl, and upon boring in it, we discover-
ed a-vaft llratum of iliells, almoit pov.
ed. I had no doubt of fuch an a :ub-

itance proving a gocd manure, and accord-
inglv tried them over a large field of poor
fand; the fertility it produced was amazi

b great that the crops of buck wheat,
Carrots, and potatoes, were doubled, and
even trebled. This was fuch an acqulfitJ
that I immediately fpread thefe powdered
(hells over all the lands within reach, which
amounted to mors than feven hundred

DENMARK. it3

your Englifh acres, and thefe have fince
been the moil fertile fields of my eftate.

This improvement has had a great effect $
inftead of rye, my bailiff introduces clover
on them, and lows wheat after it, which
adds greatly to the profit; and the {hells
have proved fo good a manure, that thefe
finds produce now more wheat than they
did before of rye. The tracks of land kept
in my own farm of grafs and arable, amount
to above three thoufand of your acres ; and
from the neighbourhood of the town, which
for feveral years has increafed very quickly*
the products are carried to fo good a market,
that my revenue from this farm alone is,,
clear of all expences, not lcfs on an average
than fix thoufand ducats a year, which is
much more than I could make of it if it
was lett. However* as that track is as much
as I can keep in regular order, and without
any lofs from confufion, I lett the neigh-
bouring ones as they are improved, and builds
ings raifed, to peafants who hire fmall farms
of from forty to two hundred acres each*
paying me a very good rent for the Hhd.

The increafe of the town, and that, of the-
improvements, anfwer to each other ex-
tremely well, but the latter goes on rather
with the greater celerity; but to keep up
N 4 the

TRAVELS THROUGH

the market price, and never fufrer provifions
to be too cheap, which, I think, for many
reaions, is eflential to the welfare of all fuch
undertakings as thefe, I export in lloops
corn, cheefe, butter, faked beef, &c. Sec. to
Holland, whenever the rates of my market
are lower than I think they ought to be; I do
not get fo good a price for fuch goods as I
ikould if the: all confumed at home,

but they yield enough to make it anfwer
well on the principles upon which I do it.

In all the improvements which I have
made on nay lands, bv ietti - to the

pedants, 1 have adhered fthct' te rule

c f proceeding on the very contrary conduct
which is common among nine tenths of the
nobility of the kingdom. The - their

peafants as poor, and as humble as poffibJe ;
I, on the contrary, do every thing to en-
able them to enrich themielves, and would
7i_ : them with the manly bold-

nefs oi --or in your count: th n keep

them in the flavery of our's. We have a
great power over them, and they are ban
to perform fo m: .vices to their Lc

in perfoa, and ' -:r cattle and teams,

if they have any, fo that they have very lit-
tle time to themielves, if they are fo un-
fortunate as to be iubjecl to an unpi tying

fuperior.

DENMARK. 185

fuperior. People in fuch a fituation are by
no means fit to ainfr. me in my general plan of
improvement, hence therefore, all that hire
land of me, or have rights of commonage
or cattle, pay me given rents, excluiive of
all fervices, without a particular bargain ;
as I make it a rule never to call on them for
any thing, and the fvveets of being left to
themfelves are fo great, that they are induced
to pay me the better rents, and make up
the furplus by a greater degree of indunxy ;
as they find, that whatever they make, is
to be for the advantage alone of themfelves
and families. I find every day the advan-
tage of this conduct : my peafants grow into
wealthy farmers, or, at leaft, are all in eafy
and happy circumftances ; they marry, and
beget numerous poflerities ; the population
of my eftate increafes, and with the people
the general markets for products, which I
have all along aimed at, and which is juft
fo much clear gain into my pocket. I have
not a man upon my eftate, that is not pro-
fitable to me, in fome way or other j and it
is incredible how quick they increafe.
There is not fuch a thine as a marriagable
man or woman upon it that are unmar-
ried j every man and woman that apply to
me for a houfe, are fare of having one

built

186 TRAVELS THROUGH

built for them, if I know them to be of
good characters, and induftrious -, and they
have all a fmall piece of land, and none but
what are chearful and contented. In fuch
a fituation, maarriages cannot but abound
and the people increaie, in a manner
which none of the countries in Europe have
any idea of. Among all my people, there
is not one that is burthenfome to the reft ;
no old peafant or labourer but what has
faved enough,, before he was in years, to
live happily in his latter days ; very few
but what become little farmers before they
are old, and in a ftate in which their rela-
tions would think it fhameful to let them
want their afliflance.

The Count having (hewn me this part of
his eftate, returned home by a circuit of
above five miles, all through an unculti-
vated wafte. You fee, faid he, addreffing him-
felf to me again, that I have yet a great deal
of work to do ; all this track of country,
with fome others almofl: as extenfive, are as
barren as I found them; but as my im-
provements advance very quick, I am not
without hopes of feeing the whole, fome
time or other, under culture -, in the mean
time, it is not totally ufelefs, for I have
many Shepherds, who attend very consider-
ably

DENMARK. 187

able flocks of fheep, which pafture here;
thefe are all of an improved breed, which
I effected by importing rams from Flanders
and from England, in order to provide
wooll for my manufactory : my flocks fully
anfwered that end fome years ago, but fince
I have increafed my fabrics fo much, I can-
not fupply them from my own lands with
all they work up, and am therefore obliged
to import from other countries; and what I
get I have chiefly from England, which I
freely confers to you. This is not, how-
ever, an object of real importance; for the
improvement of the land, to yield plenteous
crops of corn and roots, is a far more advan-
tageous application of it ; and here, by the
way, let me ftart a reflection, which has
(truck me more than once in the courfe of
my undertakings. In your country, fheep is
made the great object, even in improved
territories : Now this appears to me to be an
erroneous policy ; I have not yet found out
the means, nor do I think it poflible, to
make the utmoft value of improved land by
feeding it with -fheep ; and from all the ex-
perience which I have been able to gain, the
advantages which arife from the culture of
lands, improved in arable crops, much ex-
ceed any thing that fheep can yield, even

if

iS3 T K A V E L S THROUGH

if all the profits of the manufacture are ad-
ded it is made me ;r very much
at the conduct of England, in giving fuch
exclusive favour to every thing concerning
tat animal. I replied, that in England,
no exclusive favour was given to fheep, as
every man was left at liberty to keep and
feed whatever Hock bell pleafed him; but
that the fupport cf our growth of wool,
was in the paiturage of waite counties, or,
at leaft, of thofe which were fuch in com-
:ur bed ; that fuch counties,
:.t track: . were totally ap-
iheep, though the land was
as applicable to producing grain, Sec. as
:it oth; og to the indolence
I I . ix .:.
^turning the Count further dif-
co " implc of my o

: he, proves to me, that nothing is
torn a c mtry populous, and
confer ch, but giving the people

an fry to work upon;

'1, of themfelves, be con-
to induftry, if heir Lndoflry is bene-
ficial to them, an ij have no other de-
\ on it. I know no people na-
' common
le moil popu-
lous

DENMARK. i89

lous parts of Holland, they are not more
active and indubious than all the people
on my eilate ; which change has been ef-
fected merely by throwing them into the
purfuit of gain, and letting them quietly
enjoy it. The natural increafe of man-kind
is prodigious, when marriages are no bur-
then, but children riches ; and I am fo
ftrongly convinced of this truth, that I can-
not help considering, with fome degree of
furprize, the conduct of feveral potentates,
who feek to people their defarts by impor-
tations of foreigners, and, at the fame time,
continue to keep their peasants in an ab-
folute ftate of flaverv. Nothing: can effec-
tually people any country but the natural
increafe of its own inhabitants, accelerated
. by fuch good and wholefome laws and ih-
ftitutes as fecure their freedom and pro-
perty, and take off every idea of children
being burthenfome.

Another reflection, which I have made
from the progrefs and event of my own un-
dertakings, is on the balance, if I may fo
exprefs myfelf, of agriculture and com-
merce. My view in eirablifliin? manufac-
tures on my eflate, and opening fome de-
gree of trade, was to give a fubfhtance to
people, for whom I vvimed to form a mar-
ket,

i9o TRAVELS THROUGH

ket for the products of my lands. The
hands employed in cultivating them, even
in the higher! perfection to which hus-
bandry is capable of being carried, cannot
confume the product, the furplus mufl there-
fore be fold; but a regular market, at a
good price, was not to be had, and the
confequence of which is always an ob-
ftruction to all improvements ; to remedy
this, I faw clearly that nothing wrould be
effectual, but increafing the people, and
giving the new hands other means of em-
ployment than agriculture; becaufe, if I
employed them in raifing food alfo, I mould1
only be increafing the former evil; here
therefore, I called in commerce to my aid,
I eftablimed fome fabrics, and raifed a town
that provided no food, but was confequently
to be fed by the furrounding country;
this gave me the market I wanted for the
land products. Here now arifes the quef-
tion, mould the manufactures and trade be
pufhed on to as great a height as poflible,
or mould they be kept in the even propor-
tion to the market wanted by the farmers ?
In other words, mould the trade be made a
principal object, or mould it be kept en-
tirely fubfervient to agriculture ?

This

DENMARK. i9i

This is a quefHon which involves in it
the whole circle of all the politics which have
fo long agitated the world. I am far enough
from being able to give a definition of the
direct line of propriety, but I will tell you,
what is my idea of conduct, for my own
little concerns, and you will be able to
judge whether it will be at all applicable to
the conduct of nations. I was ever of
opinion, that in all improvements of the
fort, which I have undertaken, permanency
is an object that is never to be loft fight of,
for ever fuch brilliant promifes, if they are
not evidently lafting; an improvement of
land, of manufacture, of trade, deferves
not the name, if it lafts but for a feafon :
hence it is, that the greateft immediate effect
is not always the moil inviting, if the per-
manency of fuccefs be not equal to it. My
firft motive of undertaking improvements,
was to increafe my revenue; and in reafoning
upon the effect, we ought to fuppofe, I have
never fince had any other motive, though,
in reality, the pleafure of beholding my
riling fuccefs, in making fo many people
happy, has been, by degrees, a much frronger
inducement; this, however, is to be thrown
out of the queftion, and the principal aim
of all the undertakings, fuppoled to be the

gaining

192 TRAVELS THROUGH,

gaining from ray eftate as great, clear, and
permanent revenue as pofiible.

In this view of the cafe, I am inclined to
believe, that trade and manufacture mould
be carried no further than the benefit of
land improvements require ; that they may
be made to bring in a great revenue, I have
not a doubt ; but I am equally clear, that
they become very precarious, the moment
you pufli them beyond their connection with
agriculture ; they are then open to the ri-
valfhip of other places and countries ; they
have no real foundation, depending upon
the fictitious amount of fobriety and mo-
deration, which are the efTentials of induftry;
and at the fame time, the quantity of wealth
gained, is a fure means of introducing a de-
gree of expence, commonly called luxury,
which muft inevitably deftroy both. Pufh-
ing fabrics and commerce as far as pofiible,
is the fure way to become immenfely rich ;
but my memory gives me no inftance, in
which oreat wealth has not accelerated the
ruin of every nation in which it has been
found. Another circumftance, tending to
the fame point, is, that manufactures in
their infancy, and the beginning of their
progrefs, have always for their objects
works of real and lafting utility works

which

DENMARK. i93

Which tivery where command a ready price;
but when they come to attain great fplen-
dor, they bufy themfelvesmore upon objects
of luxury and elegance, the confequence
of which is a precarious fale, and fpeedy
competition.

I have not a doubt but I could, by con^
centrating my attention to the fabrics I have
eftablimed, and increafing the trade of my
port to a great degree, make in houfe-rents
alone, and tolls, with a few other articles of
profit, a very great revenue ; but as reafon
teaches me to look to the permanency of
fuch a revenue, and as I am clear it would
not have that ample duration which I
covet, my prefent intention is to make both
fabrics and trade entirely fubfervient to my
hufbandry ; only with an intention to apply
that quantum of trade to the beft purpofe,
by having enough to freight my veflels in
as well as out, and out as well as in, and
to make every part be amftant to every
other part. With this view, when once
every acre of my efiate is fully improved,
and a market provided for all its products,
at a good price, not an high one (becaufe
extremes are not permanent) I mall then
ftop the increafe of the town, by raifing no
more buildings; and alfo build no more
Vol. II. O mips,

?94 TRAVELS THROUGH

fhips, than fuffkient to keep up the num-
ber, proper for that degree of trade which
the manufactures require. If I am content
with that degree of fuccels, I have no doubt
but it will be lading ; becaufe the agricul-
ture, manufactures, and commerce of my
territory, will be, what I efteem, balanced
and dependant on each other, exactly to the
refpective amount of each -, and as there
will be no fabrics wrought, but what are
of univerfal demand, and no commerce
pufhed on but what the fabrics employ,
and as all the people in each of thefe
branches will be dependant for their pro-
visions and other neceflaries on the track of
culture around them, and on no other;
hence, I think, all dangerous excefs is
guarded againit, and a regular induftry will
maintain itfelf, without being hurt by the
acquisition of great riches.

I have not a doubt of this being the moil
profitable conduct, relative to my own
eftate, and muft own myfelf equally clear
in its being the denrable balance even for a
whole kingdom \ and the benefit of it is fo
great, that I can conceive but one caufe
of its not being attended to by thofe na-
tions, who have made any progrefs in
trade. They are eager to keep all their

money

Denmark. 195

money at home, gold and filver fluffs are
worn at court : why, fays the manufactur-
ing minifler, mould not your Majefly's fub-
jecrts make thefe fluffs, if they wear them,
and keep the money at home, which we
have paid to foreigners for them ? Such is
the origin of the eflabliihment of fuch ma-
nufactures -, but furely miniflers fhould re-
flect, that there are few luxurious countries
in the world, and none in Europe, wherein
all things ufed can be made at home, and
the exportation of money confequently
flopped : it is a chimerical idea, and fearch-
ing for a phantom here. Look into the
richeft countries in the Eaft Indies ; are
they flourifhing in proportion to their
wealth ? Is it not almofl in the inverfe
proportion ? Why therefore feek for a de-
gree of riches which cannot be attained, but,
if once gained, would be ruinous ? Had I
the honour of being a minifler of flate,
therefore, I would recommend to my maf-
ter, to encourage none but manufactures
which work upon objects of the firfl utility,
and make them fubiervient to the highefl
improvement of the lands of which they
were capable of attaining. I fhould not
then leave a poflerity to fall into that un-
happy declenfion which all nations, ilates,
O 2 and

196 TRAVELS THROUGH

and cities experience, who drive their manu-
factures and trade to the utmoit bounds.

Upon this reaibning of the Count's,
which I thought, in general, as conclufive
as poflible, I made only one objection. I
replied, that there feemed to be one circum-
ftance of which he did not appear to be
guarded againit, and that was the impos-
sibility of rendering any thing permanent ;
that all human affairs were expofed to vicif-
fitudes, that nothing could be permanent,
not agriculture any more than manufac-
tures or commerce, and therefore, if he
founded his argument upon the permanency
alone of his eftablifhments, it might not
prove fo ftrongly againfl a great trade. To
this the Count returned as follows :

The want of inability, of which you
complain, has in all the inftances at pre-
fent in my memory, been owing to the ex-
cefs I fpoke of. The ruin of all the great
empires, kingdoms, ftates, and particular
cities, which have been famous in the
world, has been entirely owing to that ex-
cefs of luxury, which ever fprings from the
acquifition of vaft wealth. That there is
fuch a thing as permanency, is furely evi-
dent from thofe nations being now in be-
ing, who are the lineal defendants of the

people

DENMARK. t^f

people who overturned the Roman em-
pire ; and although fucceflive revolutions
happened, in the various kingdoms they
formed, yet the nations from which they
fprung, depending entirely on agricul-
ture, or other products of the earth, have
ever continued permanent on the fame
ground ; witnefs your own neighbours, the
highland Scots and the Welch; alfo the
Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes; from
whence I think it extremely evident, that
this want of liability is totally owing to
the dependence on trade, manufactures, and
the wealth which they procure. Another
initance to prove that agriculture is a very
different predicament from fabrics and com-
merce, is that of Flanders, which I take to
be the beft cultivated country in Europe ;
no part of the world has hen more nu-
merous revolutions, or become more often
the feat of inceffant wars, yet cultivation is,
at this day, in very high perfection j and
this, in a good meafure, I take to be owing
to manufactures and commerce having
maintained only a moderate footing there,
about fufficient to give the peafant a quick
and good market for all his products.

But it !£ time, Sir, faid he, to have dons

with national intereils, which to the moft

O 3 in-

198 TRAVELS THROUGH

ingenious and penetrating perfons are very
difficult to be underftood, and yet more
difficult to reduce to practical rules, I fhall
therefore a°:ain return to mvfelf. There is
one circumftance to be noted, which is the
levying the royal revenue. The King has
the tenth of all land products, and this, in
many parts of the kingdom, is gathered in
kind, and fold by his fuperintendants / but
landlords may compound, though the com-
pofition is generally high. I would not
have the real tenth taken from my peafants
on any confideration whatever, and there-
fore pay a pretty high compofition for the
part of my eftate in old culture ; as to all
the reft of it, by a late edict, which de-
ferves to be written in letters of gold, all
new improvements are exempted from all
taxes, for the life of thofe who effect them ■>
which is a meafure, that I am amazed does
not inftigate more of the nobility to im-
prove their waite tracks. I have remarked
in travelling through the kingdom, that the
peafants, in thofe parts where taxes are col-
lected in kind, through a miftaken avarice
in their landlords, are the moil: poor and
Hiiierable in the nation, and the leaft in-
clinable to make any efforts of improvement.
But, however, I muft remark another cir-

cumilance,

DENMARK. 199

cumftance, which is a mortal enemy to
all cultivation of wafle tracks, which is the
rage our nobility have for hunting; their
wild uncultivated eftates are fitter for this
diverfion than if the whole was covered
with corn and grafs; and this, I believe^
keeps many of them from any fuch thoughts;,
and even thofe, who do fmall matters in
hufbandry, will allow of no fences being
made to interrupt their hunting ; no won-
der, therefore, that they continue wafte.
Thank heaven, our laws confine every man
to his own land, unlefs he has licence from
his neighbours, which is common to give ;
but I have never had it from others, and.
have always refufed it ; the ravages com-
mitted by hunting in this country, much
exceed any thing you have any conception
qf in England. Had I followed this diver-
fion myfelf, or allowed it to others upon
my land, all my wifhed for improvements
would have been infinitely retarded, and al^
ways fubject to unbounded mifchiefs. I am
lucky in having no foreft of the King's conti-
guous to me ; though, if I had, I mould have
furrounded all my cultivated tracks, with
fences impenetrable to the deer and boars ;
but in general, no care is taken to keep them
O 4 out

aoo TRAVELS THROUGH

cut of the farms, and the mifchief they do
is prodigious.

I find from experience, that all thefe at-
tentions are necefiary to the encouragement
of agriculture; and nothing but fuch an
encouragement, can carry the eftates of in-
dividuals to that degree of improvement,
which will prove really advantageous to
their fortunes : nor fhould I have omitted
to have fhewn you a farm on my eftate,
which is pregnant with another lelTon of
fome confequence : it is a track of land,
managed by a younger brother of mine,
who pays me rent for it, on the principal
part of which I have built him fuch con-
veniences as he moll wants. It was a pro-
portion of his own -, he was bred to the
army, and ferved fome years, but meeting
with fome difappointimnts in promotion,
he obtained leave to fell out, and retiring
in difgud t3 my caftle, he lived a year
with me in idlenefs; but having a conflant
picture of an a&ive hufbandry before his
eyes, it by degrees attracted his attention,
and he mr.de the propofal himfelf to me,
faying, that he mould like to try a little
farm, to fee if practice would give him a
degree of knowledge in it, and at the fame
time increafe his inclination for it. I was

pleafed

.DENMARK. 201

pleaied with the thought, and immediately
told him, that he fhould have the choice of
all my farms : but he faid, he mould like
befr. a piece taken out of the foreft, in a re-
mote fpot, where he mould be by himfelf ;
and I accordingly built him a convenient
houfe, upon a plan of his own, with the
offices he defired, and inclofed for him fe-
veral fields, which he has increafed fince,
and which he cultivates and manages in a
whimficai manner, after his own fancy.
His houfe is fome miles out of the roads
where I carried you, or I mould have fhewn
you his farm; but he is at prefent in Flan-
ders, where he is gone to execute a commif-
fion for me.

The inftance has furnifhed me with many
reflections. In moil of the European mo-
narchies, the profeffion of arms has been
thought the only bufmefs worthy the at-
tention of a young nobleman ; and this has
been carried to fo great a pitch, that all
fuch, who do not inherit the family eflates,
and indeed mofl: that do, enter into the mi-
litary life -, the confequence of this is, that
the culture of the earth is abondoned to the
attention and the weak efforts of a poor,
exhauited, and cpprefTed race of peafants.
What can be expe&ed from fuch cultivators,

but

ozz TRAVELS THROUGH

but a husbandry that fcarcely ever rifes above
mediocrity ? Would our young nobility ap-
ply to agriculture, they furely would render
better fervice to their country, and would
find the life as agreeable as that of arms ;
for if we examine the beft fervices in Eu-
rope, we mall find that the pay is utterly
incompetent to the expenfive life they arc
thrown into ; and this is fo generally and to
fo great a degree the cafe, that three fourths
of all the officers in Europe are but a re-
move from beggars. Unlooked for pro-
motions make, upon the whole, very poor
amends for fuch a regular life of poverty.
But in the culture of the earth, the young
nobility and gentry would find, if they gave
an active attention to it, far better revenues,
with much lefs expenfive life than any fer-
vice can confer ; and, at the fame time, the
profeflion has nothing difhonourable in it,
and every exertion made, would tend to pro-
mote, in the higheft degree, the interefis of
their country -, for it muft certainly be of
great advantage to any calling or profeflion,
to throw into the practice of it the people
of the fiifl rank, greateft fortune, and beft
education in the ftate, inflead of leaving it
totally to the very loweft and pooreft ranks.
It would be amazing, if the latter made

any

DENMARK. 20j

any improvements in the courfe of centuries,
and it would be equally furprizing if the
other did not.

I fpent four days moft agreeably with the
Count, in being (hewn wonders of his own
creation, and liftening to fuch philofophi-
cal difcourfes as thefe. I thought his fen^
timents fo peculiarly juft, and his maxims
drawn fo judicially from experience, that I
failed not, when retired to my apartment,
to throw upon paper the conversations of
the day ; and I muft be allowed to remark,
that I think they would have done honour
to the brighteft genius of England, France,
or Italy, much more are they to be com-
mended when found among the waftes and
bogs of Denmark. The Count hearing
from me the route I was to go, gave me
letters of recommendation to the Count de
Smikelane, and the Baron Rofenburg, both
at Copenhagen ; adding at the fame time,
that they were men of underftanding and
reflection, and would give me fome infor-
mation on the prefent ftate of Denmark,
more valuable than I mould gain from a
minifter. He alfo gave me a letter to M. de
Verfpot, at his caftle in the mountains of
Middlepade Sweden ; a worthy patriot, he
iaid, who would fhew me many improve-
ments

2'-+ 7 R A V E L S THROUGH

merits more worthy of my attention than
:. , but! rej lied to the impoffibility
Then taking my leave of the Count,
. .riling his company in
Nor! ofhire, in cafe he ever came to

England again, I fet forward once more
irds H - :nd of Septem-

ber.

I go: to that place to dinner, and alight-
ing a: a very ::. Querent inn, I had reafon
enough to reg. ing the hofpitable ta-

ble of the Count ce Roncellen : The men-
tion of v .---.- however, reminds me to ob-
. thing, which is, that nobleman's
fortune is now, I apprehend as confidera-
ble as the greatefr. eftates in England, and
yet I ' o£ living in the cattle, is notfu-

r to that of an Englifh gentleman with
an e::a:e of two or three thoufand pounds a
le was always well fpreadwith
ing that was in feafon, but
. his own eftate produces every thing but
r, (pices, and wine j he has river and
fea fun in great perfection ; his foreft yields
fan and game, and other parts of
j [and plenty of wild fowl; all which,
the cultivated produces, afford ample
materials for a regular table. In his wines,
he is by no means bxj , and his drefs,

comparatively

DENMARK. 205

comparatively fpeaking, cofls him nothing.
All his revenue therefore, which increafes
much every year, is expended, as faft as it
comes in, in the noble undertakings of
which I have given an account. Such an
expenditure does as much benefit to the
rtate, as honour to himfelf, and is a way of
laying out a great income that can never be
fufficiently praifed.

Perhaps alfo it is as full of enjoyment as
any other difpofition of it can be : Let us
fuppofe an Englifh nobleman of thirty or
forty thoufand pounds a year living in the
ufual courfe of diflipation, electioneering, and
gaming, (which are the three channels that
ufually wafte the greatefl eltates,) and you
will ever fee in them a fpecies of remorfe and
difgulf. at the crampt fituation which fuc-
cefiive mortgages bring on ; but if the in-
come is not exceeded, the expenditure of it
gives but a momentary pleafure, and never
a lafting fatisfaclion, befides being through-
out life continually under the regret of in-
ceifant difappointments. • Such a life mud
furely be many degrees removed from an
happy or a chearful one ; but, on the con-
trary, let us figure to ourfelves, a noble-
man fpending fuch an income the year round
upon the fpct that ) ields it him ; in build-
ing,

so6 TRAVELS THROUGH

ing, planting, improving waftes, making
roads, cutting canals, fixing manufactures,
opening harbours, attracting commerce, in
a word, executing noble works as the Count
de Roncellen has employed fo much of his
time in. Is it poffible to doubt of fuch an
employment of a great fortune being infi-
nitely fuperior, in felf fatisf action and enjoy-
ment, to the other difpofition of it ? There is
fcarcely any other but what at leaft threa-
tens a waiting and decline of it. This alone
infures an increafe -, and adding every day
to a man's wealth, at the fame time that
every fhilling he makes is more beneficial
to the community than to himfelf. It
would befurprizing if every nobleman thus
laid out his fortune; but lure it is equally
furprizing, that out of fo many great eftates
in every kingdom, the examples of it fhould
be fo very rare. We mull attribute it to the
great power of a general luxury, which is
now lpread through all the kingdoms of
Europe ; which carries everything and every
body to the capital of each country ; it is
the deiertion of the country which occafions
this univerfal expence in vanity, diflipa-
tion, and gaming. It is the general herding
together in great cities, and fixing all eyes on
the Court, and the prince, that brings all

landlords

DENMARK. 207

landlords of great eftates among the pooreft
people in a kingdom, or at leaft the molt,
needy ; for they every day attempt to move
in a vortex, where the greateft eftates can-
not laft long. Throughout Europe, at
leaft through all the countries I have been
in, this is generally the cafe. Eftates in the
provinces are left to the management of lie-
wards and agents, who make an equal pro-
perty of the landlord and his tenants, fleece-
ing both unmercifully. While things are
in fuch a train, it is not at all to be won-
dered at, that improvements in agriculture
are rare.

Hodfedburg, is a little town, well fitua-
ted on a pretty river, upon which I ob-
ferved fome fmall craft, a fign that the in-
habitants carry on a trade ; I had good fifh
here. The country is tolerably well culti-
vated, except the marines which are all in
the ftate of nature, having never been at-
tempted to be drained. They cultivate
many of the turnips here with cabbage
leaves ; but none of the crops, nor the ap-
pearance of the culture, were any thincr
comparable to my friend the Count's.
Leaving this place, I reached Lemwijg by
night, the country continuing pretty good.
That town is oddly ntu?*ed on a fmall bav

within

3c3 TRAVELS THROUGH

within ten miles of the Tea, and is without
any trade or (hipping, butfmall riming craft;
the reafon is, that it has no communication
with the German ocean, the bay, on which
it {lands, being in the great lake, which ex-
tends quite acrofs Jutland, and falls into
the Baltick, if I may fo call the gulf which
leads to the Sound. There is nothing wor-
thy of obfervation in the town. I had the
misfortune of a dirty, difagreeable inn, where
I found my own bed a comfort -, I mould
have been in a bad plight had I been with-
out it.

The third of September was fully em-
ployed in reaching Nikiobing, at the dif-
tance of about four and twenty miles ; but
I was much detained by two ferries, the wa-
termen of which were lb aukward, and their
boats fo fmall, that I was very near lofmg a
horfe, and breaking my chaife in pieces.
Nikiobing is fituated on an ifland in the
Lake, which they call the gulf of Limford.
It is chiefly applied to paflurage; I faw fcarce-
ly any corn or ftubbles. The town is pretty
large, but feems very poor. I met again
with very bad accommodation, and the
people of the inn were not at all cleanly.
On the fourth I reached Aalburg, which is
on the gulf of Limford, and fituated

where

DENMARK. 209

"where it is contracted to the iize of a fine
river. This voyage is near forty miles, but
a rlne briile wind carried us along at a great
rate ; they made me pay five ducats for the
Hoop. It is a moll pleafant and romantic
voyage, the gulf running through a variety
of country, fome cultivated, but mod wade.
There are many hills, mountains, forefts,
and heaths, with feveral iflands in the gulf,
which are inhabited by flfhermen ; and the
fpots being woody, make a very agreeable
appearance. One or two of thefe iflands are
very beautiful.

Aalbourg" is the fee of a bifhop, and a
place of fome trade, and there are alfo a few
fabrics here of woollen goods, fixed at the
King's expence ; but they do not feem to be
in any flourifhing fituation, chiefly from
want of fupport and attention to the con-
duct of them. The introduction of any
thing of this fort is of but little confe-
quence, unlefs there is a Handing attention
to their increafe and welfare.

Leaving Aalburg, I fet cut on the fifth
for Wyburg, which I reached by night, the
diftance is thirty miles ; it was a hard day's
work for the extreme badnefs of the roads,
which run moft of the way through barren,
mountainous tracks, and boundlefs moors

Vol. II. P and

2io TRAVELS THROUGH,

and forefts ; a difmal dreary track, which
wants a Count de Roncellen for its pofTeffor;
fuch a man would prefently make it carry a
very different countenance. Thefe waftes
are all well watered with ftreams, and the
foil is in general very good, much of it deep
and free from itones, though fome tracks
are full of them, and rocky, but none that
might not be applied to many very ufeful
purpofes, were they in the hands of active,
and wealthy induftry. Wyburg is the fee of a
biihop, and alfo the refidence of a provin-
cial court of juftice ; but it is neverthelefs a
very inconfiderable place.

In the morning of the forth, I took the
road for Randers ; the diftance is fourteen
miles, and the road being tolerable, I got
there to breakfaft ; the road runs by the fide
of a pretty river moft of the way, upon the
banks of which are fome cultivated mea-
dows, and alio fome arable lands in culture.
All this country is thinly fcattered with lit-
tle ftraeslinsr villages, the refidence of the

CO o o

peafants ; but from Aalburg hither, which
is near fifty miles, I have {qqxi but two gen-
tlemens country feats, and thole make no
great figure. I dined at Arhus, a place of
tome trade, being a fea port, about twelve
miles from Randers, after which I had thir-
teen

DENMARK. in:

teen more to Horfens, where I got to flip-*
£>er. This is alio a fea port, and here I met
with very civil people at the inn, and clean-
ly, who gave me a dim of excellent fifh for
my fapper, and a bottle of as good claret
as I remember to have drank, which fur-
prized me much. The King has great de-
mcihs in the country I had parTed, and
upon which has been planted fome colonies
of poor Germans ; they had lands lett them
upon leafe, which they cultivate better than
their neighbours the Danes ; but thev do
not feem to be good hufbandmen, as they
fix only upon the dry lands, whereas the
marines drained would prove much the
richer of the two. Though this attention
had been given to peopling thefe wafles, yet
I found verv little care had fmce been taken
to increafe the numbers, or to give fuch
encouragement to them, as to enable them
to execute any thing confiderable in im-
provements.

Leaving Horfens, I breakfafted on the
feventh at Weile, which, though a fmali
place, is pretty well built. The itreets are
itrait and tolerably paved, and the houfes
well built of brick. It has a commodious
harbour, on a bay which fails into the Bal-
tic, by means of which, it carries on a
P 2 pretty

frt TRAVIlf THROUG H

pn .. But I ma

poft towns
fleem ranch : want encouragement in their

. they would all nouriih very tolerably,
if - ivated country, with lb.

Lern. Ma;: ar-

able tan ces mo ft unite in a port to

crea:; a trade, v. lifts ci

not ' .: ^ :".-.:;:■" ;:.:.::: c: mere natural

coi tties 3 trade confifts of Lepends

opon £x rocal to the impor-

;...;;:;; but the genera] misf in the

commerce or ports, is a failure of

the exportation part; ail of them, as far as
thf Lid r;a;':::: are free enough at bu-

nting. 7. rare trade to the mer-

chant, as mofl branches are. in which g
are the comm : hties exj :
ts and manufactures : . her
c..;r:r::. Inaeei the Danhri ro;:s have
the o-eneral n: i necrbe tin in-

land navigation, having nothing to depend
b at the mere ::cn or the tov b,

which i - in .■:::-: ". "• - :i. T.

dei .... ;. : a

little on a flourishing agriculture. ^

anon in Denmark \ we are
. . re to wonder, that the general
kingdom is confir.

From

DENMARK. 213

From Weile I reached Kolding by din-
ner ; the diftancc is twelve miles. This is
a very pretty town, beautifully fituated -, it
contains fome trade, and a royal palace;
but it has nothing in it that is worthy of a
traveller's notice, though the inhabitants
make a great matter of it, as if it was the
Verfailles of the North. The King has
fome conllderable demefns around this town,
and raifes a revenue by a toll upon all cattle
which pafs the bridge, and which amounts
to a confiderable fum ; for moil that are
driven from Jutland for the Dutch drovers,
which are very numerous, pay here half a
dollar a head. The country from Horfens
to Weile is tolerably well cultivated. The
peafants were carrying in part of their har-
vefts, as I palled, and I remarked that they
did not flow their corn in barns, but built it
on ilacks. This is not common in Den-
mark, which made me enquire into their
motives for it ; they told me, that the corn
which they flack, proved much fuperior in
quality to that which they laid up in barns,
it drying io much better. I had apprehend-
ed that it was through the landlord's being
fparing in the expence of their buildings,
but this was a reafon of which I was not at
all aware, but its jnftnefs I leave to the
P 3 judgment

2~i4 TRAVELS THROUGH

judgment of my readers. They allured me,
that not only the grain, but alfo the ft raw,
was much more valuable out of a ftack
than out of a barn.

From Kclding I got to Haderfheibe by
night, which was fourteen miles, through a
country much fupericr in cultivation to any
I had lately patted; moft of their wafte
tracks had been of late improved, and
manv acres, that not many years fince were
ail covered with forefts, are now in a ftate of
profit for their owners This has been to-
tally owing to an emancipation of the pea-
fants. It was found that the earth would
never be well cultivated by mere ilavcs, and
acting confiftently with this juft idea, has
had the deli red effect.

The eighth, I let out- in the morning for
Ferftede, a place on the Baltic, on the Lit-
tle Belt, within fight of the Ifle of Funen ;
the diftance about eleven miles, through a
country which continues all well cultivated;
part of it belongs to the King, and part to
a nobleman, who feems to have a notion of
good husbandry, from the appearance of the
inclofures near his houfe. At Ofby, near
the fea, I remarked, the peafants were ma-
nuring a large field, with fomething that
looked like areddifli marl ; but on enquiry,

i

DENMARK. 21$

I found it was a mixture of tea-weed, fliore-
mud, and fand, which they had laid in very
great heaps, and were now carting it into
a fallow for wheat. They informed me,
that the improvement brought by this fort
of manure was very great and lafting ; that
they reaped crops more abundant for it, as
five to three after feveral years, but at firfl:
doubly good. They were not however exe-
cuting this for themfelves, but their Lord^
who reiides in the neighbourhood,

P 4 CHAP.

tiO TRAVELS THROUGH

CHAP. V.

JOefcripiion of the I/lands of Fanen and Zea-
land— Copenhagen — Prefent Suite of Den-
mark— 'Trade — Manufactures — Agriculture
* — Population — Revenues — General Prof
p erity — Mann ers .

TT AVING breakfaftcd at Ferfted, and

jL X ordered the float, as they call it, to be

ready to carry us over, I left it, and was

ferried fafely to Affens, in the lile of Fanen,

by one o'clock, which is a little port town

of fome trade. Having made a dinner on

fifth, I reached Odenfee, in the center of the

iflsnd, at the diflance of nineteen miles, by

night. The country is much fuperior to

any part of Denmark I had yet feen, all I

viewed was as well cultivated as mofh of the

counties of England ; fome inclofed with

low neatly kept hedges, and what is open,

is all covered with crops -y the Hubbies of

this year's corn, and the crops yet in the

field, fhewed, that the land produced well.

They were very bufy the whole way in fow-

ing

DENMARK. 217

ing wheat ; and I obferved that it was all
on ploughed ground, and not on clover flub-
ble ; and all the wheat land was manuring.
Funen has no mountains or rocks, but con-
fills of gentle hills and declivities, with fine
fpreading vales ; fome of the higher grounds
are prettily topped with woods, and there
being many rivulets, the whole country is
beautiful, and refembles mmy agreeable
tracks in England. The peafants here are
in many parts free, but in others they con-
tinue in a ilate of villainage ; and it is very
eafy to fee, by the different appearance of the
lands, the bad effects of keeping them fo.
There is alfo plenty of good paftures and
meadows in this country, and numerous herds
of black cattle and hogs ; and the horfes I
think have a better appearance than eKe~
where. I obferved many colts marked,
which 1 found, on enquiry, were for the
King, who demands a certain number every
year at a fixed price -f and thefe are trained
for the cavalry.

Early on the 9th I went to Nuborg, be-
ing the port at which you take (hipping to
oofs the Great Belt into Zealand. It con-
tains a good port, and has a little trade; it
once was vci-y flrong, but now has nothing
but the ruins of its old Fortifications and

caflie.

2iS TRAVELS THROUGH

caftle. From delays, and the want of a
good wind, it was late in the afternoon be-
fore we reached the coaft of Zealand, and
I could get no further than Slagel that
night, which is a little iniignincant town,
where I met with very bad accomodation of
all forts.

On the morning of the ioth I fet out for
Roikild, on the way to Copenhagen, the
difbnce of twenty two miles. This country
is nearly equal to Funen ; it is all well
fpread with cultivation, and riling and
falling in pretty hills and dale's, with woods
and meadows, fome of which have late^
]v been marines, but drained; and their
hufc?,ndry feems to be very good. In
the great church here, I was fhewn the mo-
nutrients of many Kings of Denmark; this
being their burying place: here is one of
Harold VI. King of Denmark, England, and
Norway, who was the founder of this
church ; there is alfo one in black marble,
of the famous Queen Margaret. They
likewifc (how a great whetftone here, which,
fent to this Queen by Albert
King of Sweden, in deririon, intimating
thereby, that women mould fharp their
needles, inftead of aiming at war ; but the
is very poor., was better an-

sred

DENMARK. 219

fwered by her, that fhe fhould apply it to
the edges of her foldiers fvvords; and flie
was as good as her word ; fhe fought him
in a pitched battle, and gave him an entire
overthrow, and made him prifoner; in
which fituation fne kept him feven years,
and then did not reieafe him but under
very hard terms.

From Rofkild I reached Copenhagen by
dinner, the diftance fourteen miles, through
one of the fineft parts of Denmark ; an ex-
tremely agreeable and well cultivated coun-
try, in which all the peafants carry a much
more chearful countenance than any where
elfe I have fcen, except on my friend
Count Roncellen's territory; this, and the
goodnefs of the culture, with the general
appearance of the country, is owing to the
neighbourhood of the city, which acls upon
the Count's principles, as a market for them
to bring all their commodities to, and there-
by encourages them to that activity which is
feen more here than in other places.

I fixed my quarters at the King of Eng-
land inn, where I found as good entertain-
ment as in moif. of the cities in Europe.
Copenhagen is a fine place, and the ftrong-
eft town belonging to the King, it is fi-
Uiated in a low marfh, furrounded by the

country

auo TRAVELS THROUGH

country I have juft defcribed -, this m
it by nature ftrong, and the numer

works added to it, in the modern itile l>$

.cation, i: the ftrength gre.

The moil linking object, is the harbour and
the naval arfenal; it is capacious enough
to he hundred men of war, and yet

one (hip can come in at a time ;
entrance, fmall as it is, is defended by fe-
veral batteries of great guns ; and there are
ral platforms near it, with three forts.
There are no tides in the Baltick, but die
h of water in the harbour, renders it
perfectly fecure for the greateit (hips, fo
that it is juuly reckoned one of the belt ha-
vens in the world. The King's fleet (for this
is the principal port for his men of war, and
the only one for great ihips) lies regularly
arranged between booms, and againlt them
magazines, with the name of each lhip on
the doer cf the (tore rooms, belonging to her;
and every thing is kept in the compleateft
■ admiralty is on the haven, which
con. befides thefe magazines, nume-

; the arfenal is very well fur-
th cannon, and other military
(lores ; una adjoining to thefe buildings, is
a citadel, which commands the harbour.

The

DENMARK. 221

The King's palace is a fine building, very
fpacious, and fome of the apartments mag-
niiicent, but I had heard it reprefented in
luch a pompous manner, that I was much
difappointed. The court is as brilliant as
any I have ken ; it is a military one, for
the number of officers is great; the very
garrifon of Copenhagen alone amounts to
near ten thoufand men, befides the King's
guards, which are a very fine, fhewy, and
well difciplined fet of men. The Hand-
ing forces of the kingdom are about forty
thoufand men, fourteen thoufand of which
are cavalry, and the reft infantry ; a con-
fiderable number of thefe are militia, but
then the militia of this country is as re-
gularly and as well difciplined as the re-
gular troops ; and for about two months
in the year, they are embodied, and in ac-
tual difcipline ; a part of which time, they
form the garrifon of Copenhagen, and are
immediately under the eye of the Kin?.
This fyftem makes them as good troops
as any others in the fervice ; and by allow-
ing them to follow their refpeciive trades,
the kingdom does not receive quite fo much
mifchief, as if they were in arms all the
year round.

The

522 TRAVELS THROUGH

The troops of Denmark, have a verv g
character for bravery and obedience, the
two great effentials in a foldier; but the
number kept up is much greater than it
ought to be, fince Denmark furnilhes nine
tenths of them, Norway fupplying only fea-
ineii ; and their rocky, boifterous coaft
forms them fo bold and hardy, that none
are accounted better. None of the do-
minions, except partial diflricts, are well
peopled; and fuch a numerous body of
troops, many of whom are taken from
their own peafants, is doing a great mif-
.■:" to agriculture. Indeed the defpotifm
of the monarchy is fo great, that many of the
regiments are filled with foreigners, parti-
cuiarlv Germans and Poles ; and there are
great numbers of foreign officers in all
corps ; this is to keep the nation in
the more fevere obedience, a precaution
that does not feem very neceffary, for fince
the unaccountable revolution, which threw
the liberties of the people into the hands of
the crown, there has iearcely been the iha-
dow of a revolt; the Princes that have fat
upon the throne of Denmark have been,
fince that revolution, remarkable for I
abilities, and for purfuing the real intereils
df the country, as well as defpots can do

it j

DENMARK. 2*3

it ; which has probably been attended with
this great effect, in keeping the nobles from
aii thoughts of throwing off the yoke.

It has been common in many hiftorians
and political writers, to fpeak of the go-
vernment of Denmark, as an abfohue mo-
narchy, founded on the right and juftice of a
free gift, but nothing can be more prepoi-
terous: indeed there is nothing fo repugnant
to the common fenfe, and the rights of hu-
manity in a defpotic government, that no-
thing can be more contradictory to truth*
than a pretence to fix it upon inch founda-
tions. The account of the tranfaction, as
given us by the beft authors, fets forth,
that the commons, difguiled with the ty-
rannical behaviour of the nobles, went in a
pet to the palace, and made an offer of
their lives, liberties, and properties to the
King, without ever alking the concurrence
of the third eilate -, the nobles, which was
the principal of the three, and who were ut-
terly againft the meafure, as the moil un-
heard of msmfter in the world ; and though
they agreed in it at laft, yet every writer
is fufficiently clear, that it was by force
they came into the agreement, and not till
the gates of Copenhagen were fhut and
guarded, and troops ported all over the

town.

224 TRAVELS THROUGH

town. This was the free gift fo much
boafted of by fame of the flaviih hifto-
nans of this country. It is extremely evi-
dent, from the face of the tranfaction, that
the final and complete agreement, which
gave an appearance of validity to the act,
was forced, and confequently null and
void; but when once arbitrary power is
erected, however unjuftly, who is to over-
turn it ? who is to oppofe it ? who is to
ihew the rottennefs of the pretences, on
which the right to it is founded ? None but
fome bold, defperate, and enthuiiaftic lovers
of liberty, who, rifmg from the flavifh con-
dition of their brethren, dare to draw the
fword of liberty, by defpots mil-called that
of rebellion. The chance of fuch men be-
ing found, and of circumftances which may
give them fuccefs, is too great to be looked
for. But where is the right to that def-
potifm which the Kings of Denmark have
aiTumed? Not in the free gift of the States, I
think, is very clear; but even fuppofing the
nobles had agreed in the meafure, did it from
thence follow, that the States of the day,
have an unlimited power to make Haves of
all their pofterity ? I am very fenfible, that
there are more univerhties than one, who
would very readily give a decifion in the

affirmative ;

D E N M A R K. 225

affirmative ; but for the honour of huma-
nity, I hope there are numerous bodies of
men, who would difdain the reafoning ; but
the records of the originals of all govern-
ments tell us very plainly, that every coun-
try had originally freedom ; but in every
kind of government, there was at the origin
of it, a necefiity of granting a certain de-
gree of power to rulers ; and afterwards
chicanery, treachery, bribery, force, and a
thouiand efforts were iucceffively made ufe
of by them, to enlarge the power which was
originally granted arid entrufled to them,
for the good of the community, until by
a fucceffion of frauds, a moft limited mo-
narchy became a defpotifm -, fuch is the
turn of human affairs in general, that mif-
ehiefs will, and do abound in every confti-
tution ; but the greater! of all others, is
that of fuch changes in a government as
we have juft been fpeaking of; but why
iliould men give the fan£tion of right, to
what has not a pretence of demanding it ?
Why mould they not fubmit to the monfter
of defpotic authority, without reafoning,
like flaves, upon the right and property of
our being fo ? All the world muff, know,
that where thefe governments fubfiit, they
fubfift by force, and nothing but. force can
Vol. II. Q^ keep

■*i6 TRAVELS THROUGH

keep them from being overturned by the
united efforts of all the people, except a
few, who are kept in pay by the Sovereign :
the number of Sanding forces, iupported
by all abfolute monarchs, lhews plainly
wherein they think their fecurity lies. JBut
to return :

At Copenhagen are feveral new manu-
factories, called Royal ones, from being
eftabliihed at the King's expence; the
chief of thefe, are the woollen ones ;. here
are more than four hundred looms for
weaving molt forts of cloths, from the
fineit, for the wear of the King himfelf
and his Court, to coarfer forts for cloathing
the army. There are a great number of
hands employed in thefe, and fome late
meafures have been taken to increafe them,
and with fuch fuccefs, that feveral peribns
I converfed with, allured me, if they went
on with as good a progrefs in future, as
they have done hitherto, they would not
only cloath all the army, but completely
fupply the whole demand of Copenhagen,
and alio make all that was wanted to ex-
port to the Eaft-Indies, in their India fliips;
but I muft own, I doubt the truth of this
intelligence, but whatever degree of accu-
racy there may be in it, ftill I muft allow

that

DENMARK. 22?

that thefe eftablifhments are very princely,
and arifing from a real and commendable at-
tention to the interefts of the kingdom.

Having viewed whatever was worthy of
attention in the city of Copenhagen, I
waited upon the Count de Smikelane, and
the Baron de Rofenburg, with the letter
with which my good friend the Count de
Roncellon had favoured me. Accidentally
I met with them both at once, for the
Baron was at the former nobleman's when
I waited on him : upon reading the letters,
they received me with the utmoit, politenefs,
and allured me, that they mould efleem
themfelves very happy in giving me what-
ever information I deiired, that was in their
power, relative to the prefent ftate of Den-
mark. The Count deiired me to dine with
him, and the Baron faid he would be of
the party : I accepted the invitation readily,
and the converfation I had with thefe noble-
men proved very inflruClive to me.

I found the Count lived in a very mag-
nificent manner ; he eat on a very fuperb
fervice of plate, and the number of his gen-
tlemen and attendants, mewed that he made
an unufual figure. This is not the plan of
life that M. de Roncellon delights in, but
tins nobleman is rieverthelefs a very worthy
0^2 and

228 'TRAVELS THROUGH

and a very fenfible man, but without that
enthufiaitical love of improvements, which
has led the Count de Roncellou to fix his
residence entirely in the country. But al-
though this nobleman had not thus facri-
iked at the mrine of utility, he allowed
fall honour to his friend who had, and
fpoke of him in the warmer! terms of friend-
ship and approbation. In difcourfing on his
way of life, the Baron de Rofenburg faid,
I readily acknowledge, that M. de Roncel-
lon deferves all that both of you can fay
in his favour ^ but I think, there is an eflen-
tial fault in his fyftem; his plans are all ad-
mirably laid, and executed with a fpirit
that commands fuccefs, and fo they will
be as long as he lives ; had he ten lives, all
wrould be employed and exhaufted in an
eternal round oi bufinefs, but when is the
end to be anfwered ? When is he to enjoy
hirriielf ? When is he to fay the work is
done, and, with Pyrrhus,- we will now fet
down at our eaie and be happy ?

I did not think this, by any means, a juffc
idea of the Count and his great exertions ;
and therefore replied, that it appeared to
me a miilake, in thinking that the Count
ever fixed his happinefs in the conclufion or
completion of his undertakings/ but, on

the

DENMARK. zz9

the contrary, in the carrying them on ;
the greateit enjoyment he can poiieis, is to
view daily the progrefs he makes ; to at-
tend to the circumltances as they arife, and
from an increafe of income, regularly com-
ing in, to poffefs a power of as regularly in-
creafmg all his works. In a word, his hap-
pinefs lies in the work itfelf, and not in the
fuccefs of it ; and I have no doubt, but if
his whole e irate was fully cultivated, his
town full of manufactures, and his port of
commerce, that he would then buy more
wafte land, for the fatisfaclion of employ-
ing his money in the way which moft
conduces to his happinefs.

The Count de Smikelane acknowledged,
that this was the proper light to view his
friend in ; but the Baron did not feem to
think, that much happinefs could be en-
joyed fo very obfcurely. During the courfe
of the converfation, I made enquiries into,
the ftate of the Daniih trade and manufac-
tures, and into the policy refpecling them
of late years. The Count replying to me,
faid that their government had, for many
years, given great attention to every thing,
that feemed promlfing in favour of thofe
objects; that the means chiefly taken, were
to lower; and, in fome inllances, totally

^3 t*i

350 TRAVELS THROUGH

take off the duties upon exportation, which
in feveral material articles had been fo
high as much to cramp the indultry of the
people. Another means taken, added he,
has been to encourage the building of mips,
and the tranfport of ail commodities on
Paniih bottoms ; in this there has been
fome progrefs made in feveral towns
of Denmark, and a few in Norway; for
the government has a lift of every {hip,
belonging to the King's dominions, and
regular advice of every one that is built
or broken up. This intelligence, which is
had without any expence, is of the ut-
lnofl importance, as the miniftry fee at once
the variations in the (hipping ; if they in*
creafe at one place remarkably, they enquire,
and make themielves mailer of the reafon,
that the fame caufe may be rendered alike
active in other places. If they decreafe,
the fame knowledge is gained, and by dif-
covering the evil, the moment it is in being,
are able to provide a remedy ; when they
know why the fhipping decreafes, they can
properly apply their encouragement, ib as
to make it the mod effectual. The utility of
this meafure, has bell manifefleditfelfin the
effects j for I have been affured on very good
authority, that in the lait twelve years,
there has been an inereafe of above thirty

fail

D E N M A R K. 2ji

fail of fhips, and at the fame time, that
the general burthen of all is alfo much
higher. This is an extreme good fign, for
nothing marks fo well the ftate of com-
merce, as the increafe or decreafe of national
Shipping; no nations have ever made any
figure in trade, without great quantities of
fhippjng ; the thing, we know, is pofiible,
but Hill, all the fadfcs that hiftory gives us,
are againft it : that nation, that is carrier
to all the reft, will prefently be matter of
the trade of all the reft. He went on :

Denmark, it is true, porTeftes very few
commodities, to fend out to our neighbours -,
Norway, in this reipect however, is rich,
her timber is an inexhauftible ftore, for ex-
porting in her own fhips -, but this is not the
only object, for the Danifh miniftry have
juftly obferved, that the trade of no nation
is in proportion to its products, Your
commerce in England is infinitely beyond
what your products would, originally feem
to entitle you to; and what are the products.
of Holland ? yet the trade of the Dutch,
has been by far the greateft in the world.
We think, in general, in the North, that
the poor nations are to draw the trade to
themfelves from their rich neighbours, and
not upon very bad grounds ; for the greajt
Q^4 wealth,

232 TRAVELS THROUGH

wealth of thofe countries, which have long
been in pofiefiion of much commerce, ren-
ders every thing in it fo dear, that its ma-
nufactures cannot find a fale any where but
at home, the eonfequence of which is, that
their trade, by degrees, migrates to much
poorer countries. Upon thefe foundations
it is, I apprehend, that our Daniih politi-
cians look for a greater commerce, than the
mere line of our products at nrft fight en-
titles them to.

I replied, that I thought the efforts made
of late years in the northern kingdoms, in
favour of commerce, deferved the acknow-
ledgment of all their true patriots ; but that
if he would permit me, I would give him
mvreafons, why Denmark could not expect
the fame fuccefs in trade that the Engliih
and Dutch have had. The Count anfwered,
that he mould be happy in hearing my opi-
nion. 1 then obferved, that they had three
very material chcumftances much againit
them j government, climate, and a want
of products 5 I will mention the lait, firft,
as you have juft touched upon it. The
trade of England is, I believe, exactly re-
gula'ed bv her products, which are more
pbnfiderable and fortunate for commerce
than thofe of any other countries. The co-
lonies

DENMARK. ■255

lonies in America are, in this light, the
fame as if a part of our countries ; and if
you confider the immenfity of their product,
added to that which results from our Eaft
India trade, our Newfoundland fifhery, and.
the products of our land, which in corn,
wool, leather, metals, &c. are very great,
you will find the amount to be a very noble
and confiderable foundation whereon to
conftruct the great edifice of Britifh com-
merce. Then if we turn to Holland, we
fhall not find that nation to be wanting in
products ; for what are we to eiteem their
immenfe Eaft India trade, and pofTefiion of
fome of the richeft countries in the known
world, and the monopoly of fpices ? Alfo
their herring and whale fifheries, which
they carry on to fo great an amount? Thefe
are articles, with fome others which might
be named, that fhew plainly the Hollanders,
though they have not fuch materials as Eng-
land, have yet fome thing very folid where-
on they build their trade. The fame con-
cluiions will, I apprehend, be drawn, look
to whatever nation you pleafe. France
comes next in the commercial world, a
Jringdom whofe trade is minutely depen-
dent oil her products.

Now,

234 TRAVELS THROUGH

Now, Sir, the products of Denmark will
Xiot allow of fuch great commerce as thofe
which I have mentioned. It is not of
confequence to be minute, as you admitted
a want of products. The next reafon againft
vourponeffing a great commerce, is the cli-
mate. None of the finer manufactures can
be carried on, fo as to execute them in the
brilliancy now requiute, in very cold coun-
tries j hard frofls interrupt the workmen
even in England, what therefore mufl they
do in Denmark ? There is no fact clearer
than this. But the greatefl obftacle remains
to be fpoken. of, which is the government -,
you want to create a commerce without ma-
terials to conftruct it; and fuppoiing the
thing poflible, mould you think it fo in an
ablblute monarchy ? Such an active fpirit of
induitry and trade, as a people mufl: porlefs
who carry on fuch a commerce, could not
exift but in a government of perfect freedom
and equality. This is fo undoubtedly true,
that we feel the effects in England, even of
a limited monarchy. Wherever you have a
King, you will have a court, and ftrong dis-
tinctions in the ranks of fociety,- a nobility,
with privileges which let them above the
reft of the fubjects. Such poflefTors of land,
enjoying greater privileges, and meeting

with

DENMARK. 2*$

•with more refpect than the mere merchant
and manufacturer, is an obltade to trade
and commerce. Thefe are circumftances
that we feel in our trade. In England, we
icarce ever fee a merchant, or manufacturer,
raife an hundred thoufand pounds, but he
longs to be in the moll refpeclable clafs; he
purchafes land, and his counting-houie is
prefently filled with a couiin, or a nephew.
This keeps immenfe fums of money out of
trade. Now in Holland, a man never leaves
off trade, but the father keeps in it as long
as he lives, and his fon fucceeds him in it.
But go into France, an abfolute monarchy,
and you there find, that men enter into
commerce, not with a view to make very
great fortunes, but to gain enough to pur-
chafe fome eft-ate that mall take them out of
a clafs of people much defpifed, and rank
them among the noblefTe ; while a manufac-
turer or trader continues anions; the hour-
geois, he is generally regarded by the whole
body of the noblelfe with fome degree of
contempt. Howthen can commerce an dmanu-
faclures flourim ? If you fay they haveflour-
ifhed, I reply, the products are fo great in
that kingdom, that they flouriihed in fpite
of obftacles ; and that all the reft was the ef-
f^d of regulations and Colbert's encourage-
ment,

c:5 TRAVELS THROUGH

ment ; which were admirable for promot-
ing and increafing their commerce ; but his
creations were much fewer, than generally
Nor is it foreign to the argu-
ment, to obferve the hai :h
manufactures an. ierce. In j
were advanced to a great height, and on the
increaie; in 1714* all were in one general
n. After this, a wife conduct, and a
long peace, re-eftabiilhed by degrees, many
: in 17- ie fabrics and
e were iteuriiliing. In
_-fcu all were once more in ruin, and from
a fuccefsful war, fome of them again revi-
ved and carried an outfide fhew of fuccefs in
l j : .: a new war breaks out, and in
re again involved in a
ever. Th. e not again revi-
ved ; and I k, that every blow
1 : kingdom has received, hath done
it a re, for although it has foon
renovation, yet it has ever
teen but a partial one. Since the death of
Le e never pofTerTed either
the trade or fabrics they did in his reign ; and

:v mcceffive war did them a decree
mifchief, which has never been repairc
This has. not been the caie in free kingdoms

:-
ing

DENMARK. 237

thing but patience to remedy diemfelves,
England has been highly flouriihing for a
century and a half, and mews not a iign of
decay, and Holland for more than two cen-
turies ; and though fhe is not fo powerful in.
war as formerly, is yet in pofTeffion of a vafr.
trade. This great difference lies in the go-
vernments. In France, the reparation of
misfortunes, or the making any great exer-
tions, is done by a weight of taxes laid on
all the lower ranks of people, out of propor-
tion to the others. But in England and
Holland, all dalles bear an equal burthen ;
give whatever encouragement you will to
commerce, (till there will be evils inherent
in the administration of abfolute power,
which no care or attention can overcome.

Both the Count and the Baron heard me
with politenefs and attention. The Baron
declared himfelf of my opinion, and at once
condemned the idea of making Denmark a
great trading power. Our King, faid he,
keeps forty thoufand foldiers in pay, and
that is a degree of power inconfiitent with
trade and .commerce, for it is certainly
againft trade to keep fuch an army; but
what would become of Denmark, in the

prefent

238 TRAVELS THROUGH

prefent {late of the North, if fhe was not
armed ?

The Count did not carry matters thus far :
He faid, that I was certainly right in fome
of my principles, but that the kingdom we
were then in, proved againfl me in others.
He defired me to confider the difference m
the trade of England, or any other country
€tt different periods. You had more wool in
Henry the eighth's reign, than you have
now ; but what companion is there between
the benefit refulting to the kingdom in the
two periods ? Then look at your corn trade,
you had as many acres of land in the time
of the ancient Britons as now ; but proper
attention, and putting all the fprings of in-
duflry in motion, have changed the pofiibi-
lity in one cafe, to a certainty in the other.
You alfo beg the queflion, by flating as
products, what are received by different na-
tions from colonies or fiftieries. Such may,
for any thing you can afiert to the contrary,
be in the power of every nation that chufes
to accept of them. Why may not Den-
mark plant colonies in the Terra Auftralis ?
Why may (lie not gain a fpice trade in the
iflands of the ocean that bound the Philip-
pines ? Why may file not have her herring
and whale fifhery, as well as the Dutch ?

Moft

DENMARK. 239

Mofl certainly there wants little more than
an animated fpirit, in pufliing all thefe mat-
ters to the utmoft extent, in order to gain
porTefiion of many things, which at p relent
are thought far beyond the power of a na-
tion to attain to. The encouragement of
commerce, manufactures, the arts and agri-
culture, will effect every thing ; it is of lit-
tle confequence to afk, what government
a country is under. The moff. trading na-
tions in the world inhabit Ana, and live
under defpotic monarchs, and have not even
the advantage of any encouragement but
that of lucre. Look at France, when the
was a mixed government, and behold her
now j fee the amazing improvements, which
have taken place in Ruilia, and all effected
by the abfolute will of a monarch.

I replied, that this was all very true, and
that I believe, I might have uled expref-
fions rather too general ; the truth is, I did
not want arguments, fo much as informa-
tion, concerning the prefent ftate of Den-
mark ; and therefore dropping the prefent
fubjecl, by bringing the object of our con-
version nearer home, the Count gave me
the following account.

The attention which our two or three
laft Kings have given to the encouragement

of

■240 TRAVELS THROUGH

of every thing ufeful, but especially his late
, has had iuch a ftrong eiTecl as is
"vifible to all Denmark. The people are in-
creafed considerably, which I tike to be the
"bell figti of all others ; and this has been
pretty general through Norway, Jutland,
Sleiwie, Hclftein, and the ifles. An exact
fter of population has been kept for near
cars, by which it appears, that the
increafe is pretty regular id all thole coun-
tries, which mews that it is owing to a ge-
neral order, and attention in government,
which • equally over the kingdom ,-

nor is this increafe without another realbn,
and that not an impolitic one, it is the ac-
ceffion which the King's territories receive
from foreigners ; great encouragement has
for fome years been given to all who will
fettle iii any part of his dominions, which
has been iuch an inducement, that the num-
ber of Germans who have arrived is very
considerable. Many tracks cf the King's de-
nes in Slefwic and Holitein, are en-
tirely peopled with Germans, who have fet-
tled there for the fake of Lands being given
them to cultivate for many years, without
paying any rent. Some of the great king-
dims in Europe complain of a declining
population, and with reafon, according to

the

DENMARK. 241

the general accounts ; it is certain, that
France falls fhort four millions of people
from the number lhe had in the beft time
of Lewis XIV's reign. And this decline of
population in the richefl kingdoms, and the
increafe of it in Denmark, is certainly a hgn
that the affairs of this country are on the
fioUriming hand.

The next article I mail mention to you
is our commerce. There is no comparifon
between the prefent trade of Denmark, and
what it was thirty years ago -, fcarcely any
thing has been omitted by the government,
that could promote and enlarge the com-
merce of the kingdom. Befides the regis-
try of mips, and the increafe of the number
and tonnage of them, there have been nu-
merous advantages given to trade, which
fhew themfelves in moll of the branches of
the nation's dealings with other countries.
Thefe have had fuch an effect, as leaves no
room to be miftaken. After numerous ob-
ftacles were overcome, we fucceedcd in elta-
bliihing an Eafl India company; the com-
merce of which does not indeed make the
figure of fome others, but the affairs of it
are in good order, the trade increafing, and
the profit considerable and regular ; which
is more than can be averted of feveral others.
Vol. II. R Our

z42 TRAVELS THROUGH

Our colonies in the Weft Indies thrive
more than ever, though not very confidera-
ble ; and our general commerce of Europe
is greatly increafed, of which there cannot
be better proofs than a rife in the crown
revenues, and an increafe of population and
fhipping.

But our trade depends on, and Is much
connected with the manufactures of the
kingdom. I can mew you twenty books,
which ailert that the Danes have no fabrics ;
thofe who wrote fo fifty years ago, fpoke
truth -, but unfortunately they have been
copied by others, down to the very prefent
day, although the former truth is fuch no
longer. There has been a great turn in our
commerce from the change in this point; for
formerly, we imported every thing we uled,
even to the moft common articles of cloath-
ing, and the implements, inftruments, ma-
chines, furniture, &c. that we ufed. Thele
ruinous importations are not totally done
with yet, but many of them are cut oil, by
fupplying ourfelves through the excellent
means of eftablifhing manufactures, which
has been fet about with great and real fpirit,
and attended to with fo much care, that the
number increafes every day, fo that there is
the greateft reafon to expect a con ft ant di-
minution

DENMARK. 243

miftution in our expenfive imports, which
has been hitherto, and cannot fail of being
in future a circumitance infinitely advan-
tageous to the kingdom. You mud not
mifunderftand me, I am not aflerting, that
Denmark is become a manufacturing coun-
try ; on the contrary, what we yet make
hears no proportion to what we import, but
only that meafures have been fome time in
execution for lenening thofe imports ; and
that, from the fuccefs which attends them,
there is no doubt, but the kingdom is in
this inflance on the improving hand.

The improvements in agriculture, which
have been made with the fame attention and
care, are very great and confpicuous in di-
vers parts of all the King's dominions ; and
nothing can exceed the means, which have
been taken in this work to accomplish the
end. The former bad ftate of the kingdom
was greatly owing to the mifery under which
the peafants groaned. This has been every
where mollified ; they have had numerous
edicts in their favour, villainage is in many
dtftrids abolished, and the nobles and gen-
try prevented, by fevere law?, from tramp-
ling upon the lower clalfes, in the manner
they too commonly did formerly. The late
King lent feveral very able men to travel
R 2 through

244. TRAVELS THROUGH

through England, in order to report to him,
on their return, the peculiarities, laws, cut*
toms, and conduct, which in that kingdom
feemed mofl conducive to the well being of
hufbandry. Their journey was executed
with great ability, and from their memoirs
his Majefty and his minifters were enabled
to judge what was, and what was not, prac-
ticable in Denmark. The grand articles
were to give more freedom to the clafs of
cultivators, to fecure their property, to abo-
lifh multipliable taxes, and to lett farms on
long leafes with covenants of improvement.
Thefe were the great heads of the report, and
the points upon which they mofl iniifted, as
thofe which were of the greater!: benefit in
England. They offered numerous inferior
ones, upon the particular conduct of cer-
tain foils, upon draining, manuring, plough-
ing, &c. Implements were fent over as pat-
terns, and ibme ingenious men to inftruct
us in the ufe of them -, and the King, in
order to preierve the knowledge thus gain-
ed, fixed thefe, with handfome falaries, on
his crown lands, with their implements,
and directed each to manage a given quan-
tity of land according to the Engliih hus-
bandry. The men who worked under them
for three years, were then changed, and fent

DENMARK. 245

to other eftates, and frefh ones inftructed,
and the implements were on courfe multi-
plied with all of them -, fo that at this time
there are a vail number in conflant ufe in,
different parts of the kingdom. The ef-
fects of fuch meafures as thefe muft, in the
nature of them, be very flow, but (till they
are real and increafni2\ But the confe-
quences of the principal parts of the fcheme
have been rapid and great, particularly the
letting lands on leafes of improvement*
which the King put in execution upon the
crown lands immediately, and upon a large
fcale ; and by his recommendations to the
nobility, Sec. and granting privileges to ef-
tates, in this managements the method,
fpreads fo much, that if the fpirit which
now animates the kingdom, lafts but for half a.
century, I believe Denmark will be as well
cultivated as fome parts of England, and
thofe not the worft, Another encourage-
ment which his late Majeity gave to agri-
culture, was ordering the beft books on that
fubject in the French, Englilh, and German
languages, to be tranllated into Danifh, and
many complete fets of thefe he made pre-
fents to fuch of his fubjects, as made them-
felves at all known by any undertakings in
agriculture that were beyond the common
R 3 praclicq.

r45 TRAVELS THROUGH,

practice. He alfo publimed the offer of con-
siderable premiums, to be annually tfiftri-

buted among the tenants of the Royal de-
mefnes, who excelled the moil: in foch and
fuch' works.

Now, Sir, you muit once more allow me
to remind you, that I have mentioned none
of thefe instances, to mew that the agri-
culture, manufactures, or commerce of Den-
mark are nearly advanced to perfection, or
that great changes have already been effect-
ed, that is by no means the purport of my
difcourfe ; but the fact is, that we in all
thefe branches are undoubtedly improving,
and that not flowly ; and this I conceive is
all that any kingdom or people can wim for,
as fudden acquifitions are feldom lafting.
The improvement, which I mould appre-
hend a fenfible people would be molt de-
firous of feeing, is a filent, gradual increafe,
and induftry every where fpread and always
(though flowly) active; the happier! and
befl days feen by any nation, are not thofe
brilliant ones, when every undertaking is in
every view ripened into completion, for
then a thoufand evils are continually mew-
ing themfelves in dangerous confequences,
arifing from the pofTelTion of too much
wealth -, but this- has no being with a na-
tion

DENMARK. 347

tion that is only on the improving hand ;
there can be only wealth enough to animate
the induflry of the people, and to keep every
thing from languifhing. In a word, Sir, if
we could reduce all the interefts of a na-
tion, fuch as commerce, the arts, manu-
factures, agriculture, population, income,
Sec. to one aggregate, we mould then have
but one queftion to enquire and be fatisfied
in, whether fuch nation was to be efteemed
in a good fituation, and that is, does that
aggregate, improve, or decline ? While an
improvement goes on, however flow, the
nation muft be efteemed flourifhing; and
the contrary, the moment it flops increa-
sing-

In a fucceffive converfation I had with the

Count, he enlarged his information on cer-
tain points, upon which I took the liberty
to make enquiries. I had mentioned the
itate of their Eail India trade ; and he faid,
that feveral plans had been laid before the
miniitryfor increafing it, and among others,
there was one, which had actually been fo
much approved, as to be put partly in exe-
tion, and this was, to purchafe by treaty,
the port and territory of Mofambique, on the
coaft of Africa, from the Portuguefe; a
R 4 colony

24* TRAVELS THROUGH

colony which is of little national advantage
to that kingdom, fince the declenfion of
their affairs in the Eaft Indies, but which
would be of infinite importance to the
Danes, in cafe they fet heartily about an
increafe of their India commerce. The
Count further affured me, that, in fome ne-
gotiations with the Court of Lifbon, mat-
ters had gone fo far, as fixing the terms,
which though they were too high to con-
clude on, yet they brought on a further
treaty, relative to other fettlements in the
Indies, and which it was evident they
feemed ready enough to part with, in cafe
they could get high terms. Mofambique,
from its fituation, might be a port and co-
lony of as great importance even as the
Cape of Good Hope ; all our mips, going
and coming to and from the Indies, might
water and take in their refreshments there ;
behind it lie the richefl countries in Africa,
and it is open to the trade of the reft of that
vaft coaft, to Arabia, Perfia, &c. fo that
there can be no doubt but it would turn
out a place of infinite importance in the
hands of an active, induftrious nation. The
treaty upon this affair with Portugal is
broke off, without coming to any conclu-

fion,

DENMARK. 249

fton, but on what account is more than I
am able to tell you. f

There

* The idea of purchafing this fettiement, was cer-
tainly an admirable one ■> the following is the account
given of it by the very ingenious editor of the laft edition
pf Harris's Voyages and Travels. Vol.1, p. 697. "The
beft of all governments, that ftill belongs to the viceroy
of the Indies, is that of Mofambique, which is an iiland
fjtuated near the coaft of Africa, in the lat. of 150
fouth, within half a league of the continent. They have
a ftrong fort there, with four good baftions, which com-
mand the channel, and in which there are feventy
pieces of brafs cannon ; and here there is always kept u
good garrifon, and in tolerable order. The governor is
honoured with the title of General of the river Senna,
where he, has his Lieutenant, which employment was
worth to him ieveral hundred thoufand crowns a year;
there are but a few houfes about the fort, the inhabitants
keeping their effects on the neighbouring continent.
But notwithftanding the narrownefs of the place, there
there are monafteries of Jefuits, Dominicans of St. John
de Dios, befides the chief church, and that of Miferi-
cordia. The merchandize brought to this place, by
the mips of the company, are bought at a fet price by
the royal factory, which afterwards fends them to
Chelimani, the mouth of the river Senna, runni no-
three hundred miles along the coaft, in galliots and (mail
yeffels, becaufe of the flats from Chelimani ; the goods are
fent up the river, againft the ftream, in aim an dies, or
little boats, which are ten days going up, and about
five coming down. It is very difficult o-oinf up for
thofe who are not acquainted with the mallows and
findings of the river. Cafres and blacks refort to this

port,

250 TRAVELS THROUGH

There is no object in our trade that has
been more confidered of late years than the

Eaft

port, from provinces and kingdoms three or four
months journey dtitant, to buy and take up goods upon
truft, for fo much gold, which they never fail to bring
punctually the next year,'un!efs death prevents them.
This trade yields above cent per cent, fo that the Por-
tugueze may be faid to have another India in Africa.
Ser.na is a little town, on the right hand of the river,
inhabited by fifty Portuguese families, who make it po-
pulous enough by the great number of blacks they
keep. They till the ground, and dig the mines, and
bv that means maintain their matters, inttead of being
kept by them. About fifteen days journey from hence,
lies Scfala, where the Portugueze have likewife an etta-
blifhment, fubjec~t, however, to the General of Mofam-
bique -y and here a prodigious trade is driven on, of
which the Portugueze are or might be matters. It con-
fitts chiefly of gold, of which there are greater quanti-
ties here, than in any other country in the world, fince
the annual produce of this market is computed, by the
bed judges, at forty fix thoufand ounces. There are
vaft quantities of Spanifh and Canary wines, oil, filks,
linens, cottons, coral, and other European goods fold
here, which are carried by the inhabitants cf the little
kingdom of SofJa, through a!l the great empire of
Monomopata, which the Portugueze (tile the empire of
gold, from the prodigious quantities of that precious
metal which is brought to them from thence. There
are likewife fame very rich commodities brought hither
bv the negroes ; iuch as the moil excellent ebony in the
world j great quantities cf ivory] abundance of fine

mats.

D ,E N M A R K. 251

Eaft India commerce, for it muft certainly
ftrike you, that what we want to gain, is

a greater

mats, which are much efteemed in the Indies, and a
great number of flaves ; (o that Goa, and all the reft of
the Portugueze fettlements, are furnifhed from hence.
One may juftly wonder, that, confidering the value of
this fettlement, and its convenient fituation, the Dutch,
had not made themfelves mafters of it long ago, as well
as all the other places belonging to the crown of Por-
tugal, on this coaft. As for the {hare which the Por-
tugueze ftill retain, the gold obtained thereby is fent to
Goa and to Diu, where it is coined into fmall pieces,
called St. Thomas's, which are not worth above half a
crown of our money; and it is obferved, that this coin
is of a worfe touch, that is, of a bafer alloy than any
other in the Indies, which is another fign of a declining
trade ; for the Sarafins, which were formerly coined at
Ormuz, when in the Portugueze hands, were efteemed
the beft gold in the Indies, but they are now become
extremely fcarce; and the St. Thomas's are faid to be
coined m lefs quantities every year.

" Thefe pofTeflions are faid to produce fo little to the
Kim* of Portugal, that it has been more than once de-
bated, in the council of that Prince, whether it would
net be for the intereft of the crown to abandon them
all together, withdrawing their artillery and effecls ;
and we are likewife told, that it is not any political,
but purely a religious motive, that has hindered this
refolution from being taken, the priefts having fuggefted^
that, in that cafe, a multitude of fouls would be loft to
the church. We {hall the lefs wonder at this, if we
confider, that fuch as are bell acquainted with the Eaft

India

252 TRAVELS THROUGH

a greater plenty of commodities, to form 3
trade with in Europe, and nothing anfwers

better,

India trade, afTure us, that a fingle merchant, and a
Jingle (hip of a reafonable burthen, may carry on as
great a commerce as what at prefent fubfifts between
Lilbon and Goa ; this matter, however, deferves fome
explanation. There are yet a great many fhips employed
from Goa, Diu, and Daman, to the coalls of Periia,
Pegu, Manilla, and China, but they are moftly on ac-
count of Indian merchants, there being fcarce a Porta-
geeze trader at Goa able to furnifh a cargo of ten thou-
fand crowns ; and it is very much doubted, whether ia
the whole of their trade they employ above two hun-
dred thoufand crowns ; fo that it is not at all ftrange,
that one year with another, there are not above two
(hips fent directly from Goa to Lilbon, and thofe not a
foftrth part fo rich as when they annually fent twenty.

c* Yet there has been a late regulation made at Goa>
for the prefervation and promoting of trade, which
thofe, who underftood that fubjedi belt, agree,, com-
pleated its ruin.

" This is an exclufive company, which has the fote.
right to the commerce of Mofambique and Mocha,
.which company has taken upon itfelf the payment of the*
royal officers, who are alfo two thirds employed therein ;
which has given fuch a blow to the natural commerce of
Goa, that the befl part of the Indian merchants that
•were left, are now retired from thence. To fay the
truth, it was the great fhare the Viceroys, Governors,
and other officers, always took in commerce, without
contributing any thing thereto, except prots&iAg the
merchants, from the violence committed by them.felves,

021

DENMARK. r5j

better, in this refpeft, than good and great
aiTortments of Eafl India gcods : we have

re-

on fuch as did not admit them to a (hare of their trade,
that firft deftroyed the extenfive commerce they enjoyed.
And upon this fubjeef, the wits of the Indies have
framed a very pretty allegory : they fay, that when the
Portugueze came firft to them, they had a fword in one
hand, and a crucifix in the other ; but that they micht
fill their pockets the falter, they quickly difpenfed with
the heft, and foon after laid down the kit, by which
they have loft all. But though their power and their
commerce are fo much declined, their pride is as great
as ever, infomuch that they refufe the natives of the
country, who are called Canarins, the wearing of
irdekings, though they employ them as phyficians,
yers, and merchants ■> by which many of them are fo
rich, that they keep a dozen or fourteen ilaves, and are
in much better circumflances than the Posing
themleives.

" The revenues of the church have fuffered very
by this moft furprizing change in the frate; there is hard: v
a monaftery that doe6 not receive four or f.ve thoufand
crowns out of the treafury, at the fame time the fol-
diers frarve and mutiny far want of pav ; which is
fo much the harder upon the government, becaufc
the reverend fathers know very well how to take care z:
themfelves, infomuch, that it is affirmed, the Jefitits n
<3oa have a better revenue than the crown of Portugal.
It is not eafy to know what becomes of the money
church men raife; but it is very evident, that the wealth
they poflels, together with theeflablifhmentof theinqui-
fifion at Goa; is fuch a dead weigh: on the fettlement, ss

mull

254. TRAVELS THROUGH

remarked, not only in the trade of our
neighbours, but alio in the fmall fhare of

that

muft fooner or later deftroy it. The wifeft of the Por-
tuguese in Europe, understand this very well, and
would be glad to fee fome proper remedy applied, not
from a prejudice againft the church or churchmen,
which is far enough from being the vice of that nation,
but out of pure regard to the crown and to the nation ;
and one would think, that the clergy themfelves, inftead
of grafping at more, ought to be willing to part with
fome proportion of what is already in their hands, in
order to render the ftate more able to protect them in
the poiTeiTion of the remainder. Befides there is nothing
clearer, than that the erecting of religious houfes, is
directly oppollte to the very fcheme of planting, and
muft always ruin the fettlements where it prevails,
and confequently the religious houfes themfelves, which
is even an argument that ought to prevail with
Popiih Princes, to lay more reftraint on the miffionaries
that are fent abroad ; unlefs they prefer the reputatiorr
ofzeal, among fuch as are no competent judges, not
only to maxims of policy and good government, but to
the principles of true religion. For if there be any
piety in coverting pagans to the chriitian faith, it fol-
lows, that there is itill greater piety in doing this ef-
fectually, and in maintaining for ever the establishments
neceflary to fupport them, which reafon and experience
fhews, the building monasteries, and maintaining num-
bers of idle people in them, will not do; but on the
contrary, will bring on, in time, the destruction of thofe
colonies, in which this humour is fufrered to prevail.

« The

DENMARK. 255

that commerce which we poiTefs ourfelves,
that no other is a better introduction to

other

M The very laft advices from this part of the world in-
form us, that feveral Indian Princes were driven from
before Goa, which they had blocked up with a nu-
merous army, by the powerful i'uecours fent by the
King of Portugal, and by the excellent conduct of the
late viceroy, who was the Count de Laurical, and who,
if I miftake not, was twice in the Indies, and behaved
there with great reputation. Such expeditions, how-
ever, are to be ccnfidered as expedients only, which
may for a time preferve that fettlement, but can never
teftore it, or bring the affairs of the nation, in thefe
parts, into fo good order as to make them worth the
attention of a Prince, who has the honour of his crown,
and the good of his people at heart.

" It is morally certain, that the eftablifhments which
the crown of Portugal (till has in the Eaft Indies, might
m. the hands of an active, an induftrious nation, tuni°to
confiderable account ; for it has been long ago obferved
by Mr. Tawnier, that the port of Diu is zs well fitu-
aied for trade, and as capable of improvement, as any
in that part of the world, or more fo; and if put under
proper regulations, that is, if made in fome- meafure a
free port, it muft necciiariiy come in for a large fhare of
that commerce now carried on at Surat, and In all pro-
bability, retrieve much of the Arabian and Periian com-
merce, that has been fo long loft to the Portugueze • On
the other hand, as they have ftill fome factories a°t Bifna*ar
and other places on that coaft, it would be no difficult
matter to re-eftablifh their commerce in thcheaitof India
at the fame time, that the port of Macao would Turnip
them with the means of fuppJving the China market,

as

z55 TRAVELS THROUGH

other branches cf trade throughout thet
world; for that nation, which can bring

thcfe

as cheap, or cheaper than any other European nation ;
becaufe their colony at Mofambique is fo fituated, a$
to ferve them for the fame purpofe that the Cape of
Good Hope does the Dutch, or the'ifland of St. Helena,
does the Englifh.

" But all thefe advantges fignify nothing in the hands
of thofe, who are fo far from poffelling the virtues re-
quifite to fuch improvements, that, on the contrary,
thev are not only tainted with, but over-run by fuch
vices, as muft unqueftionably overturn the beft eftablifh-
m:;',; in the world. We may therefore fafely predict,
that the continuance, even of that {lender power which
the Portugueze have ftill left, cannot continue long,
and that for thefe two plain reafons ; firft, becaufe it
has been long, and is ftill in a declining condition ; fo
tha: its force being extremely decayed, and at the fame
time continually employed in refitting the efforts of it3
er.err.ies, it is impofiible, in the nature of things, that
it fhould fu. fift for any time : fecondlv, the manners of
the people are entirely ruined, fo that there is not the
leaft probability that any fuch reformation will ever be
affected, as might enable them to make fuch ufe of the
convenient ports, of which they are ftill pofftiTed, as is
necefury to revive and reftore their commerce in the
Indies. I venture therefore to pronounce, that in.
the compafs of twenty or thirty years, their eftablifh-
ments in thefe parts will be quite loft, and that, in all
likelihood, Goa, Diu, and Daman, will be loft firft;
which will necefTarily draw after them the defertion of
M.icao, which cannot long fubfift by its own force, and

lie*

DENMARK. 257

ihife to the be ft market, will generally have the
xrhoice of commerce among various nations.
Germany is without an Bail India company;
her neighbours fupply her and Poland,
Hungary, part of Ruflia, all Italy, Swit-
zerland, and part of Turkey. Thefe coun-
tries together, form a market for India
goods, of infinite confequence ; and it
highly behoves us, who lie extremely well
for the tranfportation of commodities to
many of thofe countries, to aim at coming:
in for a fhare of this profitable commerce :
what we have carried on for fome year?,
from Altena, has been of much fervice to
the kingdom, by opening an extenfive cor-
■refpondence into the heart of Germany, by
by means of the India warehoufcs there
-eftablifhed. The ftate of our trade is this,
we have never been able to exceed the fend-
Vox. II. S ing

lies at much too great a diftance to receive any effectual
fuccour or fupport from Portugal directly."

I have given this long quotation, for two very eflen-
iial reafons ; firft, the book is fcarce and dear, and of
too great a fize to be in every perfons hands ; and
ffecondly, becaufe the whole turn of the paiTage Chews,
that the idea of the Daniih ministry's purchasing Mo-
zambique, and the other fettlemcnts of the Poitugijeze,
is highly probable; fince it is evident, rhe pciL {Tors
-know not what to do vviih them.

z;S TRAVELS THROUGH

out more than four (hips to the Indies;,
and but once, have received lb many from
thence; we have had very often three, and
fometimes only two, though the (hips are
of great burthen. The fales are regular,
snd the profit that is made on the flock
very coofiderable; the point, therefore,
which is effected, is the (applying ourfeives
with commodities, which formerly we were
forced to take of other nations ; this a very
eflentlal object in every trade,- we have fur-
ther gained a fmall export to Germany,
but the amount of two or three mips makes
fo poor a figure, with what might, with
management, be effected, that the miiiiilry,
in entering into a treaty with Portugal,
certainly aimed at a much more exteiifive
commerce : had Mofarabique been ours,
we calculated to have lent 6x mips annually,
without any Other acquisitions j but had the
v been extended, and we had purchased
their fettlement? in the Indie-, we ihould
toon have had a more nourithmg India
trade than any nation in Eui .e Eng-

IHh and Dutch only excepted.

Here the Ccunt finifiung his diicou:
the Baron de Rofenburg continued the con-
veriation; his objecnon was ftated as fol-
lows. I have more than once heard this

India

DENMARK. i£

Iridia fcheme debated, and I remember an
argument not againft it, but againft preci-
pitation in it, which, I think, was never
clearly anfwered. In the India commerce,
you fend out filver, and bring home com-
modities *, with the filver, it is true, there
goes fome large aflbrtments of European ma-
nufactures, particularly fine cloths : now
the export of filver by the Eaft India com-
pany has nothing objeclable in it, to the
amount of fupplying the home confump-
tion with India commodities, becaufe if we
did not buy them of our own company, we
mould of the Dutch; and the amount in
iilver would certainly go out of the coun-
try the lame in either cafe; only in one,
we have the profit of the trade ourfelves,
and the employment of the mippirig and
feamen ; but in the other, thofe advantages
go to our neighbours. Thus far, I admit
there is no difpute ; but when this trade is
extended further, and you fupply other na-
tions with India goods, you mull fend out
greater quantities of filver, without any cer-
tainty that you will get it again ; you will
fell thofe goods to other nations, who molt
certainly will not pay all in money for them,
but, in the way of trade, .put oft many of
their own commodites in exchange, which
S 2 will

«6d TRAVELS THROUGH

will either be introduced into Denmark, to
the prejudice of our own, or elle the India
commerce decline as foon as raifed : but
there is another objection ; in the prefcnt
confined trade we carry on with the Indies,
we bay cloths of the Englifh, to fend out
in our fhips, our own manufacturers not
being yet able to fupply enough of the finer
forts for that export, or our own confump-
tion j what therefore would they be able to
do, if the trade was trebled or quadrupled ?
Why, this part of the profit of it, which is
one of the moft considerable, would go di-
rectly to England; lb you would confequently
pay filver in Europe, for an ability of paving
more filver in the Eaft, for goods, which,
when fold, would be paid for in manufac-
tures that rival our own. Such is my idea
of this fine fcheme : I am fenfible, that you
may quote the Englilh, Dutch, and French,
but the cafes are eilentially different; they
would be great trading nations, full of
manufactures, if they had no India com-
merce ; they fend out their own manu-
factures, and in 'the fale of fuch India
goods as they difpofe of to other nations,
their great trade enables them to form
univerfal cargoes, in which one afTortment
carries off another, and all pays well ;

befides

DENMARK. Z6t

beficles the home confumption of the Eng-
liih and French is immenfe; and the Dutch
monopoly of fpice gives them equal and
fuperior advantages, for which reafons, it
cannot be jufl to draw a*ny conclulions
from the Eaft India trade of thofe nations.

The Count to this replied, that he ac-
knowledged much of the truth of thefe
obfervations, but, at the fame time, there
were two anfwers, which would in general
remove the objections. Firil, the friends of
the Eaft India commerce in Denmark, never
thought of encouraging that commerce to
the prejudice of any other, and, in particular,
of their manufactures ; that they had always
propofed the India commerce, as a means
of promoting the manufactures of fine
cloths, camlets, ferges, &c. which are al-
ready eiiablifhed at Copenhagen, and other
places ; that thefe manufactures were on
the increafe, and if a quick demand was
raifed by the India company for their fa-
brics, it would be a great means of railing
thofe manufactures; that the proportion
was fuppofed to be dependant on this cir-
cumltance, viz. on the home manufacturers
being able to fupply all the goods carried
to the Indies ; that it was an error to fup-
pofe, they did not now work up fufficient
S 3 for

zSt TRAVELS THROUGH

for our prefent India commerce; that they
made, on the contrary, of many forts, as
much as they could vend ; that if they
wrought to twenty times their prefent amount,
full certain cloths, of a particular fabric,
would be imported from England ; and it
would anfwer better fo to import than to
make them, from the fuperior profit at-
tending other fqrts. Upon the whole, that
the fabrics of cloths, Sec. eflabliihed, were
in fo flourimina: a fituation, that there was
not a doubt of their fupplying any demand
wc could gain for them ; and that we con-
fequentiy ought to procure a demand, as
effential to their increafe and profperity.
Secondly, That the objection to the trade,
on the fcore of occaiioning an import of fo-
reign commodities to rival our own, is an-
fwered at once, by aiking if fuch importa-
tions cannot be prohibited, or obftrucled by
high duties r All the neighbours cf Den-
mark, plight pour in manufactures or pro-
ducts of fome fort or other, if permitted, to
the ruin of our own, but prohibitions, or
duties, are the means taken to prevent it;
and what has been already mentioned, is
proof fufficient, that the trade itfelf would
not fall in confequence of them.

Upon

DENMARK, 263

Upon this argument, I think the Count;
had much the beft lide, and {hewed, by his
manner of handling it, that he had not only-
great abilities, but alfo a deep knowledge in
the trade of the world.

In a fucceeding converfation, which I had
with the Count, at which the Baron de
Rofenburg was not prefent, he explained to
me another fcheme of trade, which had
been laid before the miniftrv, in the late
King's reign, and which was much approved
by them, but which, for fome reafon or
other that was never known, the King
would not come into; for when preffed upon
this head more than once, his only anfwer
was, I do not approve it, let me hear no
more of the matter 3 and this was the rea-
fon that no attempt was ever made. The
plan was, to open a commerce with the
great fouthern unknown continent, called
the Terra Auftralis; a memorial was de-
livered to the minifter, pointing out the ad-
vantages which would certainly accrue from
carrying on a commerce with numerous na-
tions, fituated in the richer! climates of the
world, and who are unknown to the traffick of
the world, and who would confequently give
their moft valuable products for our com-
modities of the leaft worth; ftating the pro-*
per means of making the requiiite difcoveries.
S 4 at

z64 TRAVELS THROC

at : :e, and . ttl ax

inerical in the | :

that every art of it was of" : . . . .■-
-.-....". . ul-

lage ve t fo it g

not :.. f its 1

: jgh feveral of the memhc lb--

cil of commerce, took er

it .
This " .1 thii ' :'.. I . ich

faireit, to throw Denmaj :i with

other i ions in commerce.
Dutch, French, Spaniards, and ?. .
h - i U fuch re col tle-

lat ti sy have c i tc

te, wit nt ..-

. I . / in
e countrk Is of new ex-

j _ i ionsj but h< evej
them, i: i

..."

trade and

want
gai revenues,

nor v.: are

yet fo {mail in the eyes . . ... _-

doms of

coveries, : g a fe ng

4

DENMARK. 26s

unknown to Europeans, and the carrying
on an extenfive commerce with them, would
not only pour in a flood of wealth upon this
kingdom, but, what is alfo of vail confe-
quence, keep numbers of flout mips and
hardy feamen in conflant employment ; not
the employment of fhort trips from Norway
to London or Amflerdam, but in long voy-
ages, which train up and breed a fpecies of
mariners, infinitely valuable to any nation
that pretends to the leaf! degree of naval
force. This point is, I think," of fuch im-
portance, that nothing can at any time be
more feafible than fuch long voyages, and
diftant expeditions for the difcovery of fet-
tlements, and planting of fertile and rich
countries ; and fuch expeditions ought, as
I before obferved, to be particularly un-
dertaken by thofe nations of inferior confe-
quence in trade, who want fpurs to animate
them to great undertakings.

And if I was not fearful that the conver-
fation would be tedious to you, I mould
more particularly infill: on the amazing dif-
ference between this and the lad century,
and that preceding, in re-entering on dif-
tant expeditions for the difcovery of un-
known countries. It is aftonifhing to think
ci fuch a bold and adventurous fpirit, as then

animated

266 TRAVELS THROUGH

animated fuch numbers of men to under-
takings, which would now he thought chi-
merical. The difcovery of the continent of
America was immediately followed by plant-
ing, trading, and conquering, with innu-
merable expeditions thither. But what a
difference is there between that age, and
thofe which have followed I There is at pre-
fent no doubt of a Terra Auftralis : a great
part of it, in thericheft climates in the world,
has been acuratedly coafted, and laid down
in maps. Other vafl difcoveries have been
made, at different times, in the South-Sea
of lands, yet it is unknown whether they be
iflands or a continent. Nothing is pur-
fued, no further notice taken of the greater!:
difcoveries, that could ever be made. Maps
have been made near two centuries of New
Guinea, New Holland, Carpentaria, and
other tracks, part of the Terra Auftralis, and
yet the world has been fatisried with feeing a
broken partial line of coaft minuted, with-
out any prince having the curiofity of mak-
ing further difcoveries, to aicertain the real
truth concerning the people, manners, pi-o-
ducts, &c. Never was there fuch a contrail
as is to be found in this conduct: from that
of the grea*- men, who, two hundred years
ago, made the mole glorious efforts with-
out

DENMARK. 267

out half the profpecl: of fuccefs. It is a mod:
certain fad:, that America contains not any
product, which thefe unknown countries do
not poffefs ; in fome, the latter are fuperior,
as for inftance in fpices. The bed judg-
ment to be formed of any country, is by
the latitudes ; indeed it is a criterion that is
in general decihve. Now the latitude of the
tracks already difcovered to the South, are
in the fame latitude with all the richer! cli-
mates in the reft of globe, extending to the
line. Who therefore can doubt, but that
all the products, for which the European
nations have been fo eager in their Ameri-
can views, are to be found here ? There,
they are already engrofled and monopolized
by two or three powerful nations, the nrir.
difcoverers of them ; but here, they arc
open to thofe who will take the trouble to
accept them. Colonies in America have been
attended with infinite advantages to the Eng-
lish and the French ; indeed they proved the
great fupport and foundation of the former's
power and opulence, and added infinitely
to thofe of the latter -3 why therefore fhould
not other nations, not yet poffeffing the fame
advantages, endeavour to attain them by
the fame means ? The only opportunity
left in the world, lies in the Great Conti-
nent

253 TRAVELS T H R O U G II

nent, or iflands to the Southward; the ;ia-
':o (hall now attempt their difco-
\ has not the difficulties to cncoi:
:h proved obftacies to Columbus; he
tioes not fail in purfuit only of an idea; on
the contrary, he lets forth under the com-
plete knowledge, that fuch a country, as he
{Seeks, really exiits ; and that he has no-
g to do, but to follow a route, already
chalked out, to bring him to the countries
he willies to vifit. If this plain irate of the
cafe does not (hew the expediency of the
meafure, I mud own myfelf utterly igno-
rant of all the principles of trade and navi-

gation.

Thefe ideas of the Count's, I had not the
leaft inclination to contradict, for I thought
them, and do yet think them, perfectly
found ; and thev mew, that their author has
. confidered thewjiole fubj€&; nor have
I the ieafi doubt, but that Denmark, or any
other country, would reap ail the advantages
here fet forth, by attempting a full difco-
very of thefe unknown regions, and of
iiig a trade with them. But let me remark,
that fuch a nobleman's complaint of the
it of that fpirit of enterprize, which fo
much diilinguiihed the laft age but one, is
the itrongelr. proof in the world of the truth

of

D E N M A R K. 269

of the afTeition. Every one now, who thinks
of, or mentions filch an idea, immediately
recurs to kings, miniiters, councils of
trade, or companies ; whereas the great
things that were done in the fifteenth cen-
tury, were all executed by private people,
almoit folely on their own ideas ; and with,
filch Mender means, that the ability of this
very nobleman exceeds, I apprehend, the
whole of what was executed by half a fcore
of the heroes of old. This was the true
fpirit of enterprize, which brought to light
f uch amazing difcoveries, and which occa-
fioned the mofr. heroical conduct in almoft
every commander employed. A (hip of an
hundred tons was, in that age, thought fuf-
ficient for an undertaking which would now
require an army and a fleet, futh is the dif-
ference between the genius that actuated
men then and now ; and that all this diffe-
rence lies only in the manners of the ages,
is certainly known, by the real objects of flich
expeditions being the fame now as then,
only much lefs hazardous, from the im-
provements that have been mads in the art
of navigation, and from the examples and ■
experience of fo many circumnavigators. The
difficulties and dangers are therefore lefs,
but the bold fpirit of enterprize is wanting,

which

tjo TRAVELS T H R O U G H

which was alone fufficient to level thoufand?
of diriiculties, and face every danger that
could arife.

And as the conversation with this worthy
nobleman, has brought me into thefe re-
flections, I fhall trefpafs on the reader's pa-
tience, in making another. The Count's
remark, that thefe attempts of new difcovery,
not being defirable to nations who have
already colonies and fettlements enough, I
do not think is juft. All experience tells
us, that when once a nation lets down con-
tented, and lays to herfelf we have induitry
enough, we have colonies fufficient, we
want no more trade, let us confine ourfelves
to make the moil of \\ hat we have already
gained. Whenever a nation acts (or rather
s to be active) on fuch principles, we
iafely venture to pronounce her decline
at hand. It is impoihble that indufTry and
commerce (hould be if ationary ; if it ceafes
to advance, it will go backward; activity,
iind motion, are the foul of its fuccefs >
trade never makes fuch gigantic {hides as in
the midft of wars, enterprjzes, and a conti-
nual buftle. The cafe of the Dutch is a

jng inftance of this ; for the moment
they were contented with their prefent pof-

sns, they began to decline; but their

progrefs

DENMARK. 2ji

progrefs had been incefTant from one hardy
enterprize to another. The Portugueze in
India are another very linking inftance of
this truth ; for after a great number of con-
quers made, fettlements eftablifhed, and
colonies planted, thinking they had ex-
tended themlelves fufficiently, and poffeiled
enough, they then gave over their perpe-
tual enterprises, and a luxurious effemi-
nacy presently came upon them. Every
one will allow they were right in thinking*
that they had conquered and fettled enough,
provided all that candour and fpirit, which
had gained the Indies, had been exerted to
improve them. But this was not the cafe,
aor ever can be, for the fpirit of adventure
brings acquifltions eternally, and the mo-
ment you ceafe to acquire, you begin to lofe ;
it being the general bent of human nature,
not to make great exertions when they are
unnecenary. Might I not fhew, that this
is not peculiar to forming fettlements of
trade, but that it is the fame in all the af-
fairs of life. Great fuccefs, in every walk, is
gained by the bold enthufiafm which at-
tends the activity of purfuit, but falls off
when a feries of fortunate events have blunt-
ed, the edge of this activity, and brought on
a flothful poffeflion. This is the ak m

common

2;2 TRAVELS THROUGH

common life, in war, in politicks, in com-
merce. Empires flouriih while they bold-
ly go on from one conqueft to another; but
decline inftantly when they fix bounds, and
feck only the quiet pofleffion of what they
have got. It is the nature of man to lofe
his powers and his faculties by reft and in-
activity; and on the contrary, a conitant
and harrafiing fatigue gives him the ability
of undertaking and executing, what, in a
it ate of reft, he would never have dreamed of
being able to effect. It is upon the folid
foundation of thefe reafons, that I am an
enemy to fentiments which I have often
heard in England, concerning the greatnefs
of our colonies and commerce ; that we
have colonies enough, and more than we
know what to do with j that commerce
will be our ruin ; that we mould content
ourfelves with lefs; that moderation is in
every thing a virtue. Thefe are moft erro-
neous doctrines, which can only arife from
taking a very fuperficial view of things. It
the men, who ftarted thefe ideas, and com-
plain of the extent of our colonies, and the
greatnefs of our commerce, had read the
hiltory of all colonies, and all the trade that
has been carried on in the world, and bad
reflected on What they read, they would have

made

DEN M A R K, 273

made very different deductions. They would
then have found, that the number of fettle-
ments are never burthenibme in themfelves,
but that all weaknefs muft be looked for at
home. When the Portuguefe fpread them-
felves, and built fortreffes and cities in every
corner of the Indies, they did not complain
of the burthen of their fettlements ; but now
they have, through a want of that fpirit,
made their acquifitions neglected, and
loft nine tenths of them, they find the re-
mainder fuch a weight, as to debate whe-
ther they fhould not abandon them. And if
ever England falls into the fame delation,
me will feel the fame confequences. Aie
Jamaica, Barbadoes, and Antigua btirthen-
fome to this nation ? Is the poileffion of Ca-
rolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Maryland,
too much for her ? Suppofe file gives up
fome of them, will me better preferve and
make the greater profit of the reft ? She
has found difficulties of many forts with her
colonies, but it has been with thofe which
are fituated in a climate like her own, and,
of courfe, have rivalled her; this was a
grand error in the firft fettling, but wife
and active meafures in transferring the in-
habitants would do much to remedy it.
Vol. II. T But

s;4 TRAVELS THROUG H,

But do the pofleffion of all thefe colonies,
and her fettlemeats in the Eaft Indies, pre-
clude die benefit and propriety of planting
others in all the nt regions of the world,

not yet None but men of :

row views will reply in the affirmative ;

,;s will, on the contrary, aiTert, that we
ough ure to incre lfe our

fcttlements, and extend 01 nerce, upon

the moil eflenti i, that ii

do not go forward, our motion will be re-

as it is impoffible L
ftilL Our great riches, and important co-
2S, will naturally make many people (ay,
thi enough, for what iliould we 1
; nt thej si .:: ity i

i h rufts
ich opens the door to iloth, and
.h is much furex to d-:.\ than the

a of att even

I
but if this was a proper opportunity of ex-

iore pa:

and them the ly, it would

be e to re;. bemj and to

Chew, tb tent of colony, no com-

ce, however immenfe, ought in L

i; but that ap
activity Ihoi I g cr be kept up, and every

meafure

DEN IvI ARK. 275

iucaiure followed, which promifed faireft
For continuing the fame conduct that railed
the trade. But to return :

Upon another occafion, in which I had
the honour of a converfation with the Count
de Smikelane, I ventured to enquire into the
motives of their King's journey to England,
where he was at this time 5 and the account
he gave me is as follows. There had been
feveral proportions made to the miriiiier for
farther improvements in agriculture and
manufactures, moil cf which were built on
the reports of fome perfons whom they had
feat, and on whole judgment they could re-
ly, into England. They were more than
once examined in the King's prefence, and
this is fuppofed to have been the caufe of his
journey.; for he foon after mentioned the
fcheme to M. d'Oriore, and laid, that utility
and pleafure might be very well intermixed
in fuch a plan. However, it was foon after
determined on, much againfl the inclina-
tion of the minilters. Certainly there may
be feveral good confequences rellilt from the
journey. He has feveral people with him,
who are very able to remark, in all the ufe-
ful arts, what will be moil fuitabie to Den-
mark ; and if his majefty's attendants are
careful to make the journey a lerTon to him
T 2 on

2;5 TRAVELS THROUGH

on the great importance of a high degree of
cultivation; of riou riming manufactures -, of
an equal liberty, lpringing from a mild go-
vernment ; and of the happinefs of the lo-
wer claries of a nation, there is no doubt,
but Denmark will be the better for the jour-
ney ; but if he hurries from place to place
without minutely attending to any thing ;
and if the plan, which had its origin in utili-
ty, ends only in a fcheme of pleafure, it
cannot but be attended with pernicious con-
fluences, for it will, in the nxft place, be
ve:v expenfive; and in the fecond, it will
introduce into his court many luxurious me-
thods of expence, of which he would other-
wife have remained in ignorance. But how
it will turn out, we fhall by and by fee.

During my flay at Copenhagen, which
was about three weeks, I had the uncom-
mon iatisfaftion of being much with this
excellent nobleman, and of converfmg with
him upon various fubjecb relative to the
prefent itate of Denmark ; and in all of
them I found him a man of very fuperior
knowledge and ideas. I gained abundance
of good information from him, which pro-
ved not a little entertaining to me, and I
hope not lets inuxuctive to the reader.

Before

DENMARK. 277

Before I conclude what I have to fay on
this kingdom, and its inhabitants, I muft
be"- leave to remark, that moft of the perfons
with whom I converfed concerning them,
generally ' quoted Mr. Molefworth, whole
book has been tranfcribed over and over
again by every author that has written any-
thing concerning Denmark; but almofl
every circumftance to be gathered from that
writer, is changed* effentially iincehis time;
infomuch, that although his book is a very
able performance, yet it is little more than
an old almanack for turning to, to gain in-
formation of the prefent times ; for I do
not apprehend, there is a kingdom in Eu-
rope in which greater changes have been
made. The reader is therefore defired not
to wonder at the accounts I have given, and
am about to give, being in many particu-
lars directly contrary to the affertions made
by that gentleman.

From all the opportunities I have had of
feeing and converting with the Danes, which
I have done with all ranks, they appear to
be a brave, courteous, and humane people.
The fuperior dalles are of an high fpirit,
and have as much vivacity in them as any
people in Europe, the French alone except-
ed. They are fhewy and fond of magni-
T 3 fkence,

TR A \ : L : THROUGH

b and the Germans, more

than the latter, but nc; ;e-

the -
*re 6f :' . In t'

th

al(q
. . long them. In the

th tec-

in the . : ing

in 1 . : . . Germans, but not equal-

ling tl

their 1 far better

na At their tal

:- ' . - - t for c _'.::v,

In
nrle rt will

halfj which in £ Jif-

patchedm -

the two, i i a .. : ..

tv

bat it is
they are
cm I in any £

t:fi -

r ta re ad - ferve

:\... particular] of i

-. tough not

DENMARK. 279

the beft forts. Wild fowl they abound great-
ly in, and have a greater variety than we in
England. Their venifon is excellent; but
their butcher's meat is not, on the whole, to
be compared to that of the Englifh. All the
rich nobility have hot houfes, and hot walls,
fronted with glafs, in their gardens ; yet for
want of a complete knowledge in the ma-
nagement of the plants, their fruit in gene-
ral is bad. In other forts of provifions, they
are upon a par with their neighbours ; and
their importations of various eatables of lux-
ury have much increafed of late years.

If an account is taken in all thefe parti-
culars of the next clafs of the people, the
gentry, there will appear a vaftly greater dif-
ference between them and the fame rank
in England, than between the Danifh and
the Englifh nobility. They are not fo com-
fortable in their circumftances, fcarce any
of them are the mailers of fuch effotes as to
carry them almofr. to a par with the nobles
which is fo common in our country. Con-
fidering that a great part of the nobility
make a very handfome figure, the gentry
do not proportionally equally them.

The lower claries are not comparable to

ours, in eafe and happinefs ; but they are

by no means in that llate of abfolute fla-

T 4 very,

28o TRAVELS THROUG II

very they were in Mr. Molefworth's time.
Several edicts and regulations have been
published by the crown for retraining the
antient villainage ; and a great number of
cafes fpccilied, in which they gain their free-
dom; and as to the lower inhabitants of
towns and cities, they have the fame free-
dom as in other abfolute countries.

Refpecti ng the peribns and manners of
the lower claifes, they are generally as well
made and as ftout as the Germans ; they
make good foldiers, and with any gentle
ufage, are very docile and tradable. Their
manners have nothing of difgufting bruta-
lity in them ; they are in the villages, igno-
rant and downifh ; but I have travelled
through feveral countries, where the poor
people are much more contemptible. With
proper inftruclion, I believe there are none
in Europe, would make better hufbandmen
and farmers ; for ail the peafants, whether
free or not, are little farmers \ and manv of
them manage their fmall fpots of ground in
fuch a manner, that there can be no doubt,
but under more favourable circumftances,
they would equal their neighbours in every
thing belonging to the culture of the earth.

The Daniih army finds employment for
many young men of fmall fortune, who

ferve

DENMARK. 28i

ferve in order to gain a genteel maintenance ;
and the employments about the court, of
the lower fort, provide for others ; fome ap-
ply themfelves to trade voluntarily, in order
to raife fortunes, and freely embark for the
Eaft and the Weft Indies, and in the pro-
fecution of thefe purfuits, they are remark-
ably diligent and indefatigable ; and very
many of iuch as feek their fortunes abroad,
return home with very good ones, efpecialiy
iince the late encouragement that has been
given to commerce ; for during thefe latter
reigns, there has been a regular attention to
every thing that could promote the intereils
of trade ; and no acts of injustice or oppref-
fion, againft thofe who have bettered their
circumiiances by any kind of induitry, have
been known in the crown, or fuffered in any
of the great men.

In their diveriions, the Danes follow the
fafhions of the French and Engliih ; cards
make a greater progrefs than formerly, and
the wives of the nobility, and of fuch other
claries as c?.n afford it, have at Copenhagen
their aflemblies almoft as regularly as any
at London. The men are great chefs play-
ers ; it is a game they are very fond of, and
which is more commonly introduced at their
v:ilr; than in England; billiards and tennis

are

-

are alfo commc
treis Frenc

hed a Dai
ted from the E

have
made for an I. Ijai

Learning of all kind t at a lowel

aent, w]
>m the crc . hiring
the two laft reigns, hi ft exclu-

'our of
manufactures, and ve been

much mor,
tion of literature

an academy v\ not

betn vt ive. The

I
excillrncr,
tn almoft .
i - t

the information I ood au-

-
i diat off

tS ; I
.
their brevity leaves £ reaft of

Jiat he-ii lore th

DENMARK. 283

legate of defpotifm. I cannot by any means
agree with the abovementioned gentleman,
that this brevity, with fuch an attendant
circumftance, is at all enviable. The throne
of Denmark has, of Jate years, been filled
with three or four very able princes, who
have (hewn, in every department of the frate,
"fuch a fpirited conduct, with fo much atten-
tion to the welfare of their fubjecls, that I
have no doubt, but the laws have been well
and impartially executed ; and while fuch a
tight hand is held over all orders of the peo-
ple in power, of whatfoever kind, I can ea-
iily conceive many bleffings to flow from
tilde fhort laws -, but what would they be
under a weak or a wicked Prince, cr even
under a negligent Gne ? Is it not fufficiently
plain, that the weakeit would, in every in-
stance, go to the wall ; and that the power,
which neceflarily refts in the judge, would,
in very many inftances, be flagrantly abufed ?
The evils which flow from the voluminouf-
nefs of our laws, are certainly many and
very great, but they vanifh from one's ideas
when compared with the miferies that muft
remit from the Danifh fyftem j which ne-
verthefs is very well adapted for an abfolnte
monarchy, but utterly inconfiifent with real
liberty.

la

jsS4 TRAVELS T H R O U G H

In the fine arts, the Danes are no pro-
ficients ; I will not attribute this wholly
to climate, though there is certainly much
in that caufe, but they have not encourage-
ment enough to make any progreis ; the
kin. too poor to yield a market even

peat portrait painters; nothing can ever
can _:h, in fact, are the luxu-

rious arts, t 'eight, but a pe-

riod full of wealth; in which luxury abounds
to an high it \ and wherein the artifts

rind plenty of employment from th i
and rich, and be at the fame time verv

for it. The only art that makes any
decent figure at Copenhagen, is mufie,
which nouri flies pretty much at their con-
certs; I have heard feveral verv capital Ger-
man n performers there, who met
wit ouragement.

Coj Lgen principally flourUhes from

the refioence of the court: this is much

. . moft brilli .::: object in Denmark, by

accounts they gave me, for I had no

opportunity cf vie- i ; it myfelf. There

. - great cniceis cf ftate, with con-

. able appointments; thefe, with the

i\ is inferi i s, and the gu:.:

muft render the town very g The

Dani:h

D E N M A R K. 285

Danifli army is kept in very good order,
and well difciplined ; the men are picked,
and their cloathing is in general very neat.
I before mentioned, that thcv are not all
embodied at a time, but they could draw
together, at no long notice, about 40,00a
men, with a fine train of artillery, and all
it.ores proportioned. This renders the King
a refpectable monarch, in the military light,
among the powers of the North ; and has
certainly been one reafon for the long peace,
in which two or three very wife Kings
have kept their dominions. Denmark has
nothing to fear from any of its neighbours,
except Ruffia, with whom fhe cannot com-
pare in force; and the difputes that have
long fubfifted between the crown of Den-
mark and the Duke of Holirein, would have
brought her into no little trouble, had
Ruffia interfered, and called upon her for
an immediate fettlement of them : whether
this is likely to happen, cannot be afcer-
tained ; but certainly, the fituation will re-
main very difagreeable and precarious, un-
till it is compleatly decided. As the go-
vernment of Sweden is now modelled, Den-
mark is an over- match for her. But in anv
quarrel with the powers of the Baltick,
Denmark would find her fleet of thegreatefl:

ufe,

2;o TRAVELS THROUGH

ufe, in preferving her from the refentmerif

of Ruffia, for the navy of this kingdom
is much fuperior to that of the Ruffian
empire in every particular; in number and
goodnefs of the mips, in artillery, o:
feamen, magazines, 6cc. and the harbour of
Copenhagen is beyond companion better
than that of Peterfburgh, or any other port
belonging to the Ruffians on the Baltick;-
fo that it would be no eafy matter for that
empire, with all her ftrength, to bring it
to bear on Denmark ; nothing could effect
it but making herielf fuperior at fea ; and
the harbour and docks, Sec. at Peterfburgh,
are not at all calculated for that end j and
I am inclined to believe, from the informa-
tion I have received, that the crown of
Denmark is much better able to increafe its
navy than Ruffia, and is ill pofTeffion of
ten times the hardy, ready-bred feamen, lb
that an attentive care to keep himfelf mailer
upon the Baltick fea, will fecure the King
againft any attempts from Ruffia, much
better than any other means. By land, he
is very fecure, for no Ruffian army can get
at him.

m The revenues of Denmark have been in-
creafmg gradually for fii ? ; but the

two laft Kings, at the fame time that they

did

D E N M A R K# ££1

ivy great things for the good of their
inbjects, and the ornament of their kingdom,
-*md even aholiihed fome taxes, that were the
mod bi fome, greatly improved the roy-

al income. Mr. Molefvvorth computed them
at fix hundred and forty thoufand pounds
year) but they are now, upon the bed
computation I could procure, near one mil-
lion two hundred thoufand pounds ; and in
fome years much exceed that fum. This ap-
pears no great matter in England, but in
Denmark it is an iramenfe fum, from the
great cheapnefs of every commodity the
the crown can want to buy at home. His
army, if fubfidies be reckoned, and the
great numbers to whom he finds nothing
but arms, cofes him nothing, though there
have been fome years in which Denmark
has been without any treaties of fabfidy.
His navy is maintained at a very eafy rate,
the number in conftant pay, in times of
profound peace, is not considerable ; the
reft are retained by a month's pay in the
year, to be ready at a call, and which they
find a moil: excellent way ; fo that the ex-
pence of the navy is little more than the
building and rebuilding mips, and filling th#<
ftores and magazines: an army and navy-
moil certainly, is not to be kept for nothing,

or

2S3 TRAVELS THROUGH

or for a trifle. All I mean by thefe obferva-
tions is, that they coil the King of Den-
mark incomparably lefs than the ufual fum
' ted in other countries for thofe fervices ;
h makes his revenue, which, at firth
light, appeared but (mall, to be in reality
very a: ble : it is well known that

the two laft Kings faved confiderable fums
out of it, and one of them cleared off all the
debts of the crown befides. Such a circum-
flance is effential in the hiftory of the pre-
fent ilate of a country -, for it {hews in what
manner its affairs are conducted, and how
well its revenue is able to anfwer all the calls
of the thue ; which is, upon the whole, a
great proof that the country is flourifhing ;
and perhaps it is one that is not at all equi-
vocal; for I am doubtful, whether great
national debts, when they increafe to an
enormous amount, do not bring as much
mifchief with them, as they did fervice to
the ftate in contracting them.

It is alfo to be obferved here, that the
increafe of the royal revenue of Denmark,
has been almoft folely owing to a general
improvement in the riches and welfare of
the nation, and not, in a fingle inftance,
to the addition of taxes. The increafe of
trade, the eitablifhment of manufactures,

and

D E N M A R K. 289

and the improvement of lands, have all
added to the general income of the people, and
increaicd the number of the people themfelves j
and where taxes are at all general, as they
are in Denmark, and indeed in moft of the
countries of Europe, all increafe of income
immediately makes taxes more productive;
becaufe the fame taxes produce more in pro-
portion, as the wealth of the people increafes,
and as they, confequently, can afford to make
a more free ufe of the things and commodities
that are taxed. From hence it follows, chat
Denmark is not to be fuppofed poor, in
proportion to the increafe of the King's re-
venues, but, on the contrary, rich; and
while taxes continue without increafe or
alteration, the product of them marks very
exactly the general increafe or decreafe of
the national flock and revenue ; which is a
circumftance that fhould never be loft fight
of, by thofe who take any trouble in con-
fidering the ftate of Denmark.

I may from thefe particulars, which are
collected from fuch information as I had
very good reafon to truft to, venture to
draw this general deduction, that the ftate
of this kingdom is flourifhing, being in
every circumftaiice on the improvement.
The people increafe; they are richer; the
revenues of the crown is more than doubled,

Vol. II. U without

290 TRAVELS THROUGH

without the addition of frefh taxes ; nu-
merous manufactures are eftabliihed ; much
commerce acquired and encouraged; and, in
general, the people are in a far better ftate
and condition than fome years ago. Thefe
facts are of importance to be known ; for
every man, who wifhes to be well acquainted
with the tranfaclions and prefent ffate of the
world, ought to know how thefe circum-
ftances vary, particularly in the feveral
kingdoms of Europe, which, it is extremely
plain, cannot be learrit from books3 written
many years ago : all the affairs of a king-
dom are liable to change very much, and
it is only from frefh intelligence therefore
that a jufl idea can be carried on. Nor
mould the inhabitants of Britain, of France,
or of any other great kingdom or empire,
moft interefled on the theatre of Europe,
neglect the affairs of their fmaller neigh-
bours. The greater!: empires rife from
fmall beginnings, and the moft trifling
kingdoms fometimes meet with opportu-
nities for appearing with diflinguiflied eclat
in the affairs of the world. Denmark is no
trifling kingdom -, though not considerable,
when compared with fome others in Europe.
It is for thefe reafons, that I have dwelt the
longer on many particulars concerning it,

in

D E N M A R K. 291

in which the reader cannot gain any juft in-
telligence from former books j for old ones
are no longer true, and modern travellers
have, in general, flighted all the North.

Having finimed my enquiries at Copen-
hagen, I took my paffage for London, in
the Anna-Maria, a large fhip bound for
that port, in which I was accommodated
with the total ufe of an agreeable cabbin ;
and having laid in plenty of frefh provifions
for xmy voyage, made a very good one,
bringing over with me, in the fame fhip,
my new poftillion, as well as the fervant I
had carried from England : the former was
much pleafed with the idea of feeing that
country. The climate of Sweden is too
cold for winter travelling, I defigned to
flay therefore at London till May, and
then to return, and begin my travels through
that kingdom.

Tra

Travels through Sweden.

U

CHAP. VI.

From C igen to EJ/ineur — Journey to Got-

tenburg — Defc > the Country and the

Hufbandry — Got tenburg — Lake IVener —
The State of the Country — To Upfal—Con-
v Cations with Sir Charles Linnaeus — State
of Agriculture in Sweden — Journey to
Stockholm.

I Returned from England to Copenhagen,
in May 1769, landing at that city the
24th ; I waited the following day on.M. le
Count Smikelane, andafterwads called on the
Baron de Rofenburg, but the latter was ab-
fent at his eftate at Funen; the Count gave
me a letter of recommendation to the Baron
Militer at Stockholm. I fet off for Elfineur
the 26th, and hot getting out fo early in
the morning as I might have done, loft my
paifare for that day, and was forced to take
my t s lodging at a miferable inn. El-

iineur° is a fmall town, and vcrj poorly
built, and only remarkable for being the
U 4 place

z96 TRAVELS THROUGH

place where the Danes oblige (hips to flop,
in order to make them pay toll for paf-
fing the Sound. Near the town is the caftle
of Cronenburg, the cannon of which are
fuppofed, though very falfely, to command
the road ; for many are the ihips that have
bid defiance to the guns, and pafTed it toll
free.

I mould remark, that having fold my
old chaife at Copenhagen, upon embarking
laft year for London, I intended to pur-
chafe another at that place, for equipping
me on my Swedifh expedition; but my
friend the Count, advifed me to truft to
the chance of the road till I reached
Gottenburg, where I mould be able to pur-
chafe another, much better adapted to the
roads of Sweden, which are very iloney and
mountainous; and this advice I followed,
inftead of fupplying myfelf again at Copen-
hagen.

The 27th I crofTed the pafTage, and
landed at Elfmburg, a town in the Swedifh
province of Schonen, which is tolerably well
fortified ; the caftle is a handfome edifice,
but I do not take it to be very ltrong.
From Elfmburg I hired horfes to Laholm,
which is twenty-four miles diilance ; and
for my baggage I hired a cart, called here a

waggon.

SWEDEN. 297

waggon. This journey I performed very
well by night; it lies through a country
that is in general flat, of a rich foil, and well
cultivated; I think better than moil: parts in
Denmark. The people are evidently in a
very happy and contented fituation, and I
take it, they are more independent, and
more at their eafe, than the Danes, from
the plain fpirit of liberty, which actuates
them in their attention, or rather want of
attention to Grangers -, for you do not meet
with the fame civilities here, as on the other
fide of the water : I do not mean effential
attentions, but thofe little marks of obliging-
nefs, which every foreigner looks for in
vain in England, where every boor he
meets with thinks himfelf as good as a
French Duke. Wherever I meet with this,
I conclude at once, that I am in a very free
country. The peafants were ploughing
their lands, which are all open fields, with
oxen, two or three in a plough j and it
went, I thought, as deep as I have feen four
horfes in England, which (truck me very
much : they feem here to be very good hui-
frandmen,

Upon this firft. mention of the hufbandry
1H Sweden, let me remark, that during my

re£i-

298 TRAVELS THROUGH

refidence at London laft winter, I laid my
defign of a journey through Sweden, the
eniaing lummer, before my friend Mr.

Y , informing him that I had pafTed

through Holland, Flanders, part of Ger-
many, and all Denmark ; that I had made
minutes of the events of my journey, and
the cbfervations that had appeared moir. im-
portant to me; theie I begged of him to
look over; he approved much of my defign;
and I requefted him to point out thofe en-
quiries in agriculture, which would moft
probably turn to account, and give me the
belt information to be gained in my jour-
ney through Sweden, Mufcovy, and Poland.
That gentleman granted my requeil in the
moft obliging manner that was poiiible ;
and among other articles of enquiry, gave
me a paper of the following as important.
I fubmitted entirely to his knowledge and
judgment, in this matter, being myfelf ig-
norant of the practice of agriculture, and
obliged to repeated enquiries for the little
knowledge I have of it.

" Take notice of the foil, particularly as
to the grand diftinciions of clay, fend, and
rocky; of chalk, I believe they have none
in Sweden.

SWEDE N.

C{ The crops they cultivate &<t :rve no-
tice, and the iacceilion in which they caft
them.

" The product is always of confequence
to know.

" The fort and application of manures
fhould he attended to.

" The winter food of cattle, in that
cold climate, is of efTential confequence to
know.

'* I need not mention the general ftate of
farms, respecting the number of hands,
cattle, and products, proportioned to the
given quantities of land; this muft cer-
tainly itrike you, as an eiTential object of
enquiry ; but you will not often be able to
gain the intelligence you wiih in it.'*'

I was glad to find, that my friend had
pointed out feveral enquiries that I had
made the preceding year in Flanders, Ger-
many, and Denmark; had I been fortunate
enough to have made the practice of this
ufeful ilier.ee earlier my fludy, I lhould
have been able to have given much more
valuable and , \ ; but never-

^lefs, the enquiric i a perfon, ig-

norant as I am, in palling through a coun-
try whicp has icarcely ever been travelled,
except on bufinefs, muft have ict^ ufc in

them ;

300 TRAVELS THROUGH

them ; and accordingly I mall not fail
to make memorandums of the objects, which
appear mofl ftriking to me, and which
my ingenious friend's memorandums point
out.

Laholm has nothing in it worthy of the
lead notice : the next morning, viz. the
28th, I took horfes to Helmftadt, at the
diftance of twelve miles, ilill continuing
in a level country, which appeared very
fruitful -y all the country was in motion,
tillage was every where going on for barley
and oats, &c. Helmfladt is a port town,
where there feems to be fome trade by the
iliipping I faw in the harbour ; but it is
not a confiderable place. From hence I
reached Ragelin by dinner, the diftance of
fix and twenty miles, through a country
fimilar to the preceding ; it is near a coaft,
but there are fome higher grounds, which
are principally find banks, and which they
plough and fow with various forts of grain :
there are likewife fome marines of vail ex-
tent, which, I was informed, were applied
to fattening oxen, which are brought from
the breeding country of the mountains, and
having lived in general hardily, they fatten
very quickly in thefe marines ; from the
belt intelligence I could get, I found that

they

SWEDEN. 301

tliey turned the beafts into them about the
beginning of June, and they were generally
fat by the end of Auguft : an ox, that,
by my guefs would weigh forty it one Eng-
lifli weight, 141b. to the flone, requires
as much marm as amounts to the portion
of two Englifh acres to fatten him; but
then there will be a little food afterwards
for the farmers cows. The Swedifh far-
mers hire them at about twelve millings
Englifh an acre, and reckon them more
profitable than their arable lands.

It is twelve miles from Ragelin to Got-
tenburg, which I rode in the afternoon,
but my baggage was not to arrive till the
next day at night. In this journey, which
I have taken to Gottenburg, I have reafon
to praife the punctuality, civility, and clean-
linefs, of the Swedifh innkeepers. I have
not received, in any inftance, the lead, rea-
fon for complaint ; they are very expeditious
in getting ready poft-horfes, and poftillions,
who are never faucy or difobliging, although
thev live in a free country ; for in fuch ref-
peels, I have generally found it moft agree-
able travelling in kingdoms under an arbi-
trary government : our own country, how-
ever, is another exception, for in the world,
there is not fuch another to travel in.; and

befides,

jot TRAVELS THROUGH

bciides, the infinite liiperiority of our roads
to thofe of any other country, makes it,
beyond all comparifon, more delightful ;
from the little I have as yet feen of the
roads in Sweden, I doubt I mall not hr:
much reafon to praife them, they feem
to have fcarcely any repairs.

Gottenburg is a very confcderable fea port
town, and from its fituation much exceeds
other in Sweden for trade ; yet there is
not lb much commerce carried on here as
at Stockholm; formerly Nordkopping ex-
ceeded it, but the eftablimment of the Swe-
difh Eatl India company here has been of
Very gre^t advantage to it, by bringing
much other trade ; lb that now it is the fe-
cond port in Sweden. They have here
lar°;e magazines and warehoufes, with ;
exceeding good dock for building, repairii:
and careening their ihips. There are alio at
Gottenburg feveral tolerable churches ; and
among other buildings, the arfenal and the
town-houie are pretty confiderable. T
commerce of this place is very thriving, znd

. number of ihips belonging to it have,
for thefe twenty years l:fr. pari:, been much
upon the . e. Indeed, trade feems to

be getting much more amongft thefe north-
ern nations than formerly. At Gotten-
burg,

S W EDEN. 353

burg, I purchafcd a Swedifli chaife and a

pair of horfes 3 they told me, I fh ould find
four neceilary, but I thought I might as
well truft to poll: cnes for a pair, for the
fake of having a guide in the poftillion. The
30th, in the morn, I fet off and breakf ailed
at Bahus, about eight miles diftance, which
is lituated on an ifland in a river ; it is a ro-
mantic place, and pretty fortified well for
Sweden, which does not abound with very
regular fortifications.

From Bahus I expected to reach Lidkop-
ping by night, but was difappointed ; they
told me, the diftance was only feven and
thirty miles, but, inftead of which, it is more
than fifty; I was therefore forced to fet up
my bed at a village twenty miles iliortr
where I met with very civil, decent people ;.
but the landlord's chief dependance was on
his hunbandry, for he was a pretty consider-
able farmer : his houfe Hands on a rifino-
ground, commanding a good view of lake
Wener, which is a vait water, above four-
fcore miles long, and in fome places near
forty broad. He (hewed me from his door
all his farm, which is to be feen very dii-
tinctly on the fide of his hill ; with fome
difficulty, and with the help of my inter-
preter, I made a near guefs at the meaiure

of

504 TRAVELS TBROUG H

of it, and judge his farm about one hun-
dred acres Englith, and for which he pays
a rent of two and twenty pound;. He gene-
rally has twelve acies of wheat, and thrice
as many of oats, with twenty of the Swediih
turnip, which is a very large, hardy plant,
that grows under ground like a turnip,
broad fpreading leaves from it, of the co-
lour of cabbage leaves j this plant, my land-
lord informed me, never was hurt by the
marpefr. feverity of their winters, and they
depended on it principally for the winter
fuilenance of the cattle. I further found,
that one acre of it was (ufficient to carry
three head of cattle through the wintery
with the aillilance of fome ltraw and hay,
if the crop was very good ; but if only mo-
re, not more than two head, and that
rnanv acres would not ferve more than one.
That they made their land very tine, to re-
ceive the feed, and general! it wed ;
if the feed comes up too thick, th
plants; but if it conies up re
it mould, they then leave it. I aiked if
they bellowed no culture in hoeing or clc
ing, while the crop was he laid
only weeding by hand. The the
culture of it a good preparation tor oats, of
which they get fine crops ; and, as well as I

CO!

SWEDE N". j.^y.

could make out, about three quarters and
and half from an Englifh acre. Wheat
they have only attempted to cultivate of late
years, but have had much better fuccefs than
they had expected. He told me, all their
farmers now had every year a field of wheat,
provided their lands were not of a very infe-
rior fort : the crops generally yield about
two quarters an acre, feldom more. The
foil here is various, but in general, the fields
they plough, are of a reddim loam on clay
or flints, and in ploughing carries a good
countenance. Their favourite foil is a fort
of reddiiTi loam; when about eight inches
deep, on a. regular bed of rock, then they
lay they are lure of getting corn enougii ;
but what this is owing to, I cannot conjec-
ture. In refpecl to their cattle, they have
fmall oxen and cows, but the latter yield
well in milk, and they reckon them the
moil profitable animal they keep ; there are
fome fheep here, but not in great numbers ;
they do not think them advantageous, un-
lcfs they have a very large range for them to
wander about; their herds are fed in fum-
mer in meadows, which are generally the
bottom grounds between the hills, and fer-
tile enough.

Vol, II. X Th<?

305 TRAVELS THROUGH

The 3 1 ft, I reached Lidkopping by break-
faft -, the road was very bad, but this ugly
circurnltance was made amends for by the
amazing fine views I commanded, moil part
of the way, of Lake "Weiier; this count; v ;?>
in general, beautifully romantic; the hiils
are not awfully great, and the vales are nu-
merous, fo that the whole is well diyerfified.
From Lidkopping to Marie ibadt, is about
twenty miles, which I reached fo late in the
afternoon that I could not venture further
that night. This line of country is yet
more beautiful than the former, for the lake
enlarges itfelf all the wav, till vou can fcarcely
fee the oppofite more; and at Marieftadr,
there is one way in which nothing can be
difcerned with the naked eye but iky and
water. The creeks and promontories alfo,
which break the fhore of the lake in this
line, make it remarkably ftriking. In the
evening I repeated my enquiries, upon the
{abject of their hufbandry, and I found,
that in the neighbourhood of Ma: were

feveral gentlemens feats, who cultivated
conquerable tracks of land them . and

that (bine of them had to the amount of
fix hundred acres; that they did it by means
oi bailiffs, and paid the peafants for all the
woxkj except what was performed by fer-

vants,

SWEDEN, 307

vants kept in their houfes. Much wheat
is cultivated here, but all is fown in the
fpring; if it may be fo called, for fummer
fucceeds the winter fo quickly, that their
fpring is of very fhort duration; they are
equally fond of the Swedifh turnip here as
their neighbours with whom I lodged laffc
night ; but the account is fomething diffe-
rent, for they allot an acre of it to everjf
head of cattle they winter, but which feeds
their hogs befides. Swine is a principal ar-
ticle with them, they make a great prorit
by keeping large herds in the low grounds
on the banks of the lake, where they get
wild roots in fuch abundance, that great
numbers are maintained on them, without
any coil to their owners. The crop of oats
here is generally about three quarters and
an half per acre; wheat, in general, not more
than two ; but fome good lands have been
known to yield four; they know not of any
other husbandry here, than fallowing for
that grain.

June the firft, I fet out for Rufcog, at
thirty miles diftance, but from the badnefs
of the roads did not get there before night.
The country is much the fame as what I
had paiTed ; they were manuring many fields
in it for fowing with Swedifh turnips, which

*o8 TRAVELS THROUG K

are an article of culture that increafes much
-among them -, fome farmers, wi m I

convened, informed me, that they enal
them to keen large frocks of cattle win-
ter, which they fed in the rammer on the
marines ; a fyflem which is more
ble, thev aflert, than any other; keeping
great numbers of cattle, they think, is m
more advantageous than growing c
which I did not comprehend clearly, as grain
fells well among them j but the ained

i: very well to me by laying, that without the

;anceof their cattle in railing dung, I
fhould be able to grow but very poor crops
of corn ; that theii foil was not (b rich as
in feme provinces, where they could get
vf : had never

ed. Theii (peaking :: dunging reminded

me of enquiring ar ::'.;::

found d me is -, of

h thev lay real quantities or

it very oil
.;•• plentiful among them, that- it is of
yery fmall value ; . I .eir way of reduc

ind to corn land, is, to agree
their lai I for iiich a quantity

waod land,- then they cut it down, and grub
up all the roots, and reduce :g to

afhes, pf which they get fo vaft a qua: I

that

SWEDEN. 309

fhat one acre will yield enough to manure
hot only itielf, but alfo two others of their
old land ; and they efteem this method fo
much, that if the land is well covered with
wood, they will give from five to feven
pounds flerling per acre, for liberty to ufe
it in this manner ; and, after two years, a
regular rent per acre for the land beiides.

Rufcog is a fmail place, prettily fituated
upon the banks of a branch of Lake \Ye-
ner; but it has not any thing that is wor-
thy of notice. Here, as well as at all the
places I flopped at, near the lake, I feafted
on tench, which they have of a fine colour
and admirable flavour, weighing from one
pound to three -, the frefh water fiih of all
forts are fo good and plentiful in Sweden,
that they make travelling wonderfully agree-
able. It is like carrying a fine filh-pond
with us wherever we go.

The fecond I got to Orebro, the diitance
thirty fix miles, through a country that ap-
pears to be in general pretty good and fer-
tile. There are many tracks I palled which
are in cultivation, and the foil good 3 moit.
of the vales are either meadow or rich ara-
ble. Orebro is a fmall town, fituated on
another lake, which is a pretty one, and
hath feveral woody iflands in it. that make
X 3 a beau-

5io TRAVELS THROUGH,

a beautiful appearance. Here alfo I hid
fine fifh, and at'a very cheap rate- indeed
every thing is very low priced quite from
Bahus hither. All the line of country, from
Gottenburg to Orebro, is tolerably peo-
pled ; the villages are not thick, but I have
gone through many countries where they
are much thinner, and you pafs in no part
of it for many miles over continued tracks
of heaths and moors without any cultivation j
on the contrary, the vales between the hills
are generally in culture, and where the land
is tolerable, there are not many fpots with-
out iome farms and cottages near them.

On the third, I got to Arofia; the dis-
tance is forty feven miles, through a country
fimilar to that I had pafTed, but amazingly
interfered with branches and creeks of Lake
Meier. I dined at a little inn, ahngle houfe,
about half way, where I had, according to
cuftom, excellent filh ; you dine very well in
this country, wine included, for five mil-
lings, and upon dimes which would come
to fifteen cr twenty at the inns between
London and Bath, exclufive of wine. I
at firft troubled in this journey with their
cookery, for they fried the fifn in greafe, not
butter, and leemed to have an admirable
hand at converting a nood difh into a moll

beafiij

SWEDEN. jit

beriiilv one. My man Martin, who had

travelled with me through France and Ita-
ly, and had made four campaigns, was not
at a lofs in the fcience of cookery, and took
upon himfeif the direction of the kitchen,
while it was employed in providing for my~
table ; by which means, I was always fure
not only to find good fifh, but cookery equal-
ly excellent ; and this is a circumftanca
which I would advife every gentleman to re<>
member, who undertakes the tour of Swe*
den.

I arrived at Upfal on the fourth, the dif-
tance is 24 miles ; the country I palled was
much cut by branches of the Lake Meier,
but the huibandry was rather better than
what I had travelled through before. They
gain two quarters and an half of wheat per
acre, and four quarters of oats ; they low

' fome barley, which is a grain very little cul-
tivated in Sweden, and of which I had be-
fore received no intelligence; they fow it in-
itead of oats after their turnips, ploughing
twice for it, and the crops they get amount
ibmetimes to four quarters per acre, feldom
lefs than three ; but I ihould obierve, that
the foil, upon which they fow it, is their
bed, and at the feme time very well manu-

. red. Some peaiants, I converted with, laid,

Jk 4 they

3"i2 TRAVELS THROUGH

they did not like barley, they thought oat3
paid them much better; but they called it
a new fafhion, end faid, that fome of their
it farmers liked it for that reafon. But
the truth ieemed rather to be, that thcfe
peafants dunked it, becaufe it was not an old
one. Relative to the winter food of cattle,
they informed me, that the mod approved
method they had among them, was to take
tip their turnips in September, to cut off
the tops and the roots, and to flow them in
caverns in the fides of their hills, for win-
ter ufe. I faid, that the farmers, with
whom I had converfed on my journey from
Gottenburg, had not mentioned any fuch
practice. They replied, that they did not
ufe the method, but that it was nevertheless
much the beft. They allow two beads to
an acre of turnips, with affiftance from
ftraw, 6cc. They manure their meadows
■with wood aihes, gained in the manner I
mentioned above, and allured me, that they
found it much the molt advantageous Way :
Three acres of meadow will fatten a large
ox.

Upfal is a confiderable town, on a branch

of the Lake Meier ; there is nothing in it fo

•worthy of notice as the famous Sir Charles

Linnan he univexfity here ■%

and

SWEDEN. %v%

and whofe fame in natural hiftory is as great
as that of Charles the Twelfth for his vic-
tories. I had no letters of recommendation to
this celebrated profeflbr, and what was worfe,
I was no botanift. However, I thought he
would not flight my compliment, if I de-
signed to wrait on him, as a mere Engliili
gentleman, travelling in Sweden through
curioflty. Accordingly I wrote a card to
him, fignifying myfelf a gentleman from
England, on his travels through Sweden,
who was fo unfortunate as not to have any
letters of recommendation to him, but who
would be extremely happy in being admitted
to his converfation. I had a moft polite
and obliging anfvver, requeuing my com-
pany to fpend the evening that night at his
apartments in the college, which I obeyed
with very great readinefs. The old man re-
ceived me with much civility, and kindnefs;
he enquired my motives for vifiting Swe-
den ; a country, he faid, fo much flighted
by the generality of travellers. I told him*
that was the circumitance which had moll
engaged me in the deflgn of travelling
through it ; for 1 had palled through France,
Italy, and the heft part of Germany long
ago; but that finding the accounts of the
northern kindoms of Europe, fo very im-
perfect

;;* TRAVELS THROUGH

perfect and deficient in the moil: effential
parts, I had a itrong curiofity to make my-

perfbnaHy acquainted with them. He

leiided me for the idea, but faid, that
I iliould not find much matter of entai li-
ed en, if I travelled in purfuit of
";;: I dings, pictures, and ilatues. To which
I xafwered, that thefe were net the objects
of ray enquiries, nor of my curioiity ; that
1 found entertainment in making myfelf ac-
quainted with the agriculture of the coun-
tries I palled through, with the various prac-
tices of the peafants m the management of
their cattle and crops ; alfo in the itate of
res, and the faccels of commerce,
:. . that I thought the manners cf the peo-
ple of a country more worthy attention than

itatues ; and that their cufloms pleafed
me much better than pictures. Your fenti-
ments, Sir, faid he, are very rational; and
if luch objects can give you any pleafure,
too may find entertainment in Sweden. I
fuppofe you have made natural hiftory your
fttfdy ; This was a queition which hurt me
not a little; however, I owned my igno-
ith the bell grace I could, but re-
gretted it at the fame time. Sir Charles

ed himfeif by the fucceeding part of the
converfation, to be as polite as learned; for

finding

SWEDEN. 3,

finding that I was no naturalifl, he converg-
ed on fuch matters as he found I had made
enquiries after, and particularly of agricul-
ture. He gave me feverai opportunities of
making enquiries of him, concerning fome
points in the hufbandry of the country,
about which I want to be informed. I afked
him concerning the advantages of the Swe-
dish turnip* and the account he gave ms
was as follows : It is a plant that came to
us originally from Lapland j obferve faid
he, I mean relative to common cultivation,
for if I fpeak of it botanically, I fhouid
name it as the production of many other
countries ; our farmers had it from thence ?
from thence it fpread by degrees through
the northern provinces of the kingdom, and
was found of more ufe than all other winter
plants put together ; the great property of
it, is refitting the iharpeiland moll continu-
ed frofts, which wc have in this country ; fo
that I have myfelf known the foil of a field
of them, frozen a yard deep, and yet the
crop not to fuffer the leaii damage. Befoles
this, cattle are remarkably fond of them*
and will thrive on them better than on any
other winter plant with which our farmers
are acquainted. It is further a very hardy
plant, refpeding cultivation, not requiring

acy

«6 travels Through

any attention that is bevond the ability or
the common farmers to give. It loves a?
deep, rich foil, and pays the farmer well for
: ; the crops of it are fometimes very
confiderable. I have feen crops of them;
even in the mountains of Dalecarlia, in which
the plants, one with another, weighed four
pounds, and fome fingle plants rofe up fo
high as twelve pounds ; and I have no doubt,
if the farmers would give better tillagewhile
they are growing, but thfey would rife on an
average to eight or nine pounds. They rec-
kon an acre to be fufheient to maintain, du-
ring winter, from one to four head of cat-
tle ; but you fhould obferve, that this vari-
ation is not fo much from difference of pro-
duce, as that of management ; many of the
farmers giving their cattle but a certain al-
lowance of the turnip a day, and the other part
cf their food is either ftrawor hay ; and fome
of the moll judicious among them, have af-
fured me, that the cattle do not thrive or
keep themfelves fat and well, in proportion
to the quantity of green meat they have, for
very many will do as well with a ltated al-
lowance, made up with eating as much ftraw
as they like, as if they had nothing but tur-
nips j and which is a point very material to
be known among them, and, indeed, in all

other

SWEDEN. V7

jjther countries, where a fimilar ceconomy
is carried on. One of the greateil advan-
tages of the culture of this root is, its being
as good a preparation for corn as a fallow
of mere ploughing, which is an object of
infinite importance; but the farmers do not
give it fuch fair play as they ought, for the
culture they bellow, while it is growing, is
only to pluck out the weeds by hand ; where-
as they ought to hoe them, as they do tur-
nips in England ; but a better plan would
be on your countryman Tull's principle,
to horfe hoe them in rows, by which means
the ground would be much better pulve-
rized.

The memoirs of the times have certainly
told you, Sir, that not many years ago, Swe-
den produced no wheat, and it might al-
mofl be faid with truth, that the quantity
in her belt provinces was fo fmall, that Li-
vonia and Poland nearly fapplied her ; and
much came alio in fome years even from
England. Seeing this conflant importa-
tion, I, among others, made reprefentations
to the government, to mew that it was en-
tirely through ignorance in our farmers, that
they did not raife wheat enough for us, with-
put the kingdom fuffering fuch a continual
drain of money. I was applied to for the

means.

ji'S TRAVELS THROUGH

means of bringing in the culture, and I re-
commended particularly, the reducing the
importation of it by degrees, till it cams to
nothing, snd which might be done by pro-
portioning duties upon it, and laft of all, a
prohibition ; that fmail bounties mould be
distributed through all the provinces to thofe
farmers, who entered moil: into the culture
of it ; and inftruciions fent them for con-
ducting themfelves. All this was executed
at a very imall expence ; nor is it eafily to
be believed, how quickly they took, to the
culture of wheat ; for having once found it
more profitable to them than any other
Train, and of a much readier market, they
never afterwards failed of having a portion of
their arable land under this crop. I mould
not have met with fo ready a compliance
with the method I propofed, had it not been
for an accidental event, which happened
juft before I made the reprefentations. Li-
vonia and Poland had almoft loft their crops
for two fucceffive years, which made this
kingdom principally depend on England ;
and from whence our import had been very
jegular, but in the laft of thofe years, you
laid an embargo upon your corn, and we
were ccmpleatly left in the lurch, infbmuch
that the Dutch brought us wheat over from

Ike;

SWEDEN. fff

the Mediterranean. Seeing that we had no
regular dependancy even on England, gave a
greater weight to my memorials than they
would otherwise have had, and I queftion if
I fhould have fucceeded, at leaft of many
years, if the prohibition of exportation had
pot happened as in England it did.

But at prefent, Sir, we experience very few-
years, in which we do not raife wheat enough
for our own confumption ; and the farmers
find it as profitable to them as it is in other
countries, though our crops are not fo plen-
tiful in general as in warmer climates. Upon
our beft lands, and in fheltered fituations, we
have fometimes very fine crops ; and I be-
lieve you will, in moil places, find, that
they raife from one and an half to three
quarters upon an acre ; but they never fow
it, except in the bed fields of a farm ; and
our farms have not all of them land fuita-
ble to the culture of it, oats are with us the
mofc general crop, though there are large
products of peafe, but efpecially of beans,
gained in fome of the provinces.

The article, in which you will find them
moft deficient, is grailes ; very few of the
farmers know any thing of the artificial
graffes, except clover, and not a twentieth
part of the kingdom know even that -, in

their

$zo TRAVELS THROUGH

their meadows they are extremely carelefs of
the herbage, not knowing it to be a mat-
ter of any confequence ; but are very well
Satisfied if they rind a large growth, no mat-
ter of what. F£ence remits many lofTes to
them, their cattle underfrand the point much
better ; and if they could choofe, would, but
unfortunately they muft eat what they are
turned into or flarve ; in fome inftances,
however, they will freely eat of herbs very
pernicious to them. For want of better
imderitanding this part of their bufinefs, our
peafants very often find their herd deceive
them, and yield very little milk, when they
expect a great deal ; or prove lean at a time
that they ought to have been fat. The low
grounds in Sweden are generally converted to
pafturage, and many of them are little bet-
ter than bogs and marfhes ; but which, pro-
perly drained and cultivated, would turn out
jnoft advantageous meadow, and yet yen
will fee great tracks of fuch in a very waite
condition.

To this I remarked, that it was no ways
furprizing, when there were fuch numer-
ous, unimproved waftes even in my own;
country -y more frill in France, and nume-
rous ones in the heft climates, rich-eft foils,
and freefv governments in Europe. This, I

cbfervedj

S W E "D E N. 321

obferved, was a moil remarkable fact, and
well worthy of his rejection.

It is not 10 remarkable, replied this gen-
tleman, as at firH fight it appears. Improve-
ments of waile lands make but a very flow
progrefs in any country, where they are the
property of private perfons ; but what an
amazing figure do luch works make in Ame-
rica, where the waite is open for every man
to take as much as he pleafes in fee Ample,
paying only moderate fines ? But where
wafles belong to private perfons, and make
part of the eilates of princes, nobles, and
gentlemen, improvements mult be flow for
many reafons ; luch perfons have generally
methods enough of fpending their fortunes,
without doing any good; they cannot afford,
or at lead thev will not afford the neceflarv
expenditure in buildings, inciofures, and
other previous works, neceiTary to convert a
wafte into farms for whoever will hire them.
This method of doing the bufmefs mlift
therefore necefiarily be very flow. Befldes
fuch perfons are extremely tenacious of
the rights, properties, jurisdiction, &c.
of their wailes, and will very feldom give a
man leave to do all thefe works for hkni
with a perpetual leaie, that he and his heirs
for ever may be the better for his labours,
Vol. II. Y io

$zz TRAVELS THROUGH

fo that how, and by whom are walks to be
improved ? It is evident they can be done
but very fiowly ; now and then a landlord,
who happens to be a faving man, forms a
new farm ; accidentally too a farmer will be
at the expence of improvement with a te-
nure of but a moderate length; and fome
gentlemen, that have wafbes very near their
refidence, are induced to improve them, be-
caufe of their vicinity; it is thus that, by
flow degrees, waftes are improved ; and it
mull ftrike every perfon that thefe caufes are
very weak, compared with the vaft extent of
them in moil countries. Great progrefs will
no where be made, without laws being par-
ticularly enacted, to force proprietors to grant
leafes of waftes to whoever will be at the ex-
pence of improving them.

The way in which Sir Charles account-
ed for the exiflence of fo much wafte land
in. every country, pleafed me much 5 as it is
the only one in which I ever heard a fatis-
faCtory account given. Upon my aildng
aim concerning the general if ate of hufban-
dry at prefent in Sweden, whether it was in
an improving way in moft particulars. He
replied :

The bed, and indeed, the only way of
judging of that, with any degree of preci-

iion,

SWEDEN. 325

fion, is by attending to the variations in the
value of land ; we have found that in Swe-
den, land in general has increafed in price
gradually for above forty years, and for the
larl: twenty years, in a more rapid manner
than before; this has been owing to our
railing many commodities at home, which
we formerly bought of our neighbours ;
among which wheat (as I mentioned before)
is the chief; and it is alfo owing verymuch to the
wife encouragement, that trade and manufac-
tures have received of late years, which has
brought much money into the country, and
given a new value to every thing. Now,
Sir, land could not fell better than former-
ly, without money being more plenty, or
our hufbandry being better; for the value of
the foil depends not only on the quantity of
money in the country, but alfo on the value
of the products, and they are affected only
by variations in cultivation. But at the
fame time that I am clear, our agriculture
is in general much improved, I am alio
clear, that we are many, very many degrees
from the perfection to which we might ea-
fily with a fpirited attention arrive : and this
we mould do, if we attended more to certain
points of encouragement, which would be
eafy to give our hulbandry.

Y 2 Upon

J24 TRAVELS T H R O U G II

Upon my mentioning the pleafure it would
give me to hear his fentiments upon this
head, he very readily went on in the fol-
lowing manner :

Inclofmg is pretty well known in Sweden,
but not practiced lb much by any means as
it ought to be. In this our bell hufhand-
men agree, and the practice of England con-
firms the idea, to be the only means of hav-
ing any valuable improvements carried on
effectively j but our landlords and farmers
are equally averfe to any expences beyond
thofe certain ones of the day, which they
cannot efcape ; now this can only be reme-
died by the legiilative power, which ought
to oblige all proprietors to indole their fields
in fome fubftantial manner, and to enable
them, at the fame time, to raife their rents
upon their tenants furnciently to pay good in-
terefls for the fums expended ; and I would
have them limited, not to make larger in-
clofures than one hundred acres. This mea-
fure would very much promote the good
hufbandry of the kingdom.

Another, which I think would alfobe necef-
fary, would be to appoint infpectors of the huf-
bandryof the kingdom. One might be appoint-
ed to every large province, and one might in-
fpeci: two or three fmall ones ; whofe bufmefs

mould

SWEDEN. 325

mould be merely the Viewing the lands of
ever}' diftintt farmer in his province, taking
an account of his crops under every deno-
mination, the number of a::es, the manure,
the cattle of every fort, the woods, forefts,
waftes, and to whom they all belong, with
the number of inhabitants of all claries and
ao-es. Memorandums mould be made of
thofe farmers who feemed to excel in any
branch of their art, and alfo of the compa-
rative degree of fuch excellence. In con-
fequence of thefe accounts, I would have
premiums distributed to all farmers who ex-
celled; and the beft that could be devifed,
would be fums of money given, or in cafes
where larger fums were requilite, to lend it
at low intereft. It is furely of very great
confequence that an induih*iouspeafant,who
would cultivate his lands better, and in lar-
ger quantity, had he more money ; it is fure-
ly, I fay, of great confequence to the nation,
that fuch a man mould have the money he
wants, even if it was railed by a general tax

to give it mm.

But further, finall fums fo difpofed of,
would have greater effects, than to the mere
amount of the good they did to the indivi-
duals, for they would ibon raife a great emu-
lation among'all the farmers and peaiaots in
y 3 the

•

3z6 TRAVELS THROUGH

the kingdom ; moft of them would ufe their
utmoft endeavours to gain the like premi-
ums, and, as many would be diftributed
every year, the whole kingdom would, in a
few years, reap the good confequences of
them.

By this means alfo, the government would
difcover the real ftate and condition of every
province in the kingdom ; it would know
the degree of merit its hufbandry poiTefTed,
the proportion of the cultivated to the un-
cultivated lands, the increafe or decreafe of
the farmer, the caufes to which fuch varia-
tions could be attributed, and, in a word,
every circumftance of real importance in the
domefric ceconomy of the nation. I need
notfurelyobferve, that fuch knowledge would
be of infinite ufe to a ftatefman, or an ad-
miniftration, in guiding them to fuch mea-
fures as were certain of remedying what-
ever evil was difcovered. In moft of the
kingdoms of Europe we fee laws, ordinances,
edicts, 6vX. promulgated, with an intention
of favouring agriculture and population •
but how few of them are attended with any
ftriking efTecl ? This is owing to their ber
ginning at the wrong end 5 they attempt the
x-ure before they know the difeafe ; which
jn politicks, as well as medicine, is acting

diametrically

SWEDEN. 3*7

diametrically contrary to the fyftem of
experience. Such an annual furvey of the
kingdom as I have mentioned, would give
them a clear infight into every evil, its na-
ture, and its caufe ; the remedy then would
be cafy and fure, and they would further dif*
cover where improvements were poiiible, and
practicable ; where they would pay the na-
tion nobly for the expence, and in what
manner they would be mod advantageouily
undertaken. If the benefits of fuch a plan
are compared with the expences, they will
be found of infinite fuperiority. Is it not
aitonifhing, therefore, that we fhould not
fee fomething of this performed in fome of
the enlightened nations of Europe, who,
from manv circumflances in their conduct,
evidently think in general, that too much
care cannot be taken to encourage agricul-
ture and the ufeful arts ?

This difcourfe of the learned profefTor
charmed me, his fentiments were fo ftrong-
ly juft, fo extremely appoiite; and, at the
fame time, I think I may add original, at
leart as far as my reading carries me, that
it appears to me aitonifhing, that there fhould
be fo many nations in Europe in the predi-
cament here defcribed, and yet none of them
ia which fuch a meafure has been executed*
Y 4 or

3*8 TRAVELS THROUGH

or even propofed. Which mews how much
the objects of the greateft importance are
neglected; while merfures, fo eaiily execu-"
ted, would put any government readily in
the way of difcovering all the evils which
afreet the agriculture of a country, and at
cnce enable them to apply the requifite re-
medies ; and let them, at the fame time, into
the proper method of applying encourage-
ments, fo as they may have the greateft ef-
fect ; is it not aftoniihing that all this fhould
remain everywhere unexecuted !

This great man gave his opinion alfo of
feveral other points, which would be of great
efLct in promoting the agriculture of Swe-
den ; all of which appeared to be ftrictly
founded in a deep and comprehenfive know-
ledge of the flate andinterefts of his country;
but fome of them being rather refined, and
the converfation not being in Englifh, but
in French, I did not fufficiently recollect
the train of his argument, io as to venture a
repetition of them. Upon the whole, I
never had a more agreeable or initructive
evening ; for, befides our converfation, Sir
Charles Linnaeus fhewed me part of his ca-
binet of natural hiftory, to which every part
of the world has contributed amply. It was
not without reluctance that I took my leave

of

SWEDEN. 329

of him ; nor had Upfal much worthy of no-
tice befides.

I left Upfal the 5th, and arrived at Stock-
holm the lame day, the diftance is five and
thirty miles -, the road runs on the banks of
the Lake Meier, and, from the high grounds,
commands fome very beautiful views of the
innumerable illands which are thickly fcat-
tered through that lake. The country I
palled is in general very well cultivated,
there are many enclofures, and much arable
land. Near the city, the land appears to be
very rich, and the country very populous 5
for the villages, farms, and gentlemens feats
are very numerous. I remarked they chooie
their fituations for fuch, upon the fides of
hills facing the fouth, and, with much talte,
feem in general fond of a view of the
lake.

CHAP.

33o T R A V E JL 3 THROUGH

CHAP. VII.

Stockholm — State cf Agriculture — Arts— -Com*
merct — Government — Factions, He.

fTOCKHOLM, which is the capital of
the kingdom, is a finer city than I ex-
pected to fee from the defcriptions I had re-
ceived of it. The fituation is very beauti-
ful and picturefque, being built on feven or
eight iflands and rocks in the great Lake
Meier, which gives it fome refemblance of
Venice -, and this fituation, like that of Ve-
nice, is fuch a fecurity to it, that no other
fortifications have been thought necefTary,
It is very well built, the ftreets in general
are broad, flrait, and regular ; and the pub-
lic buildings are many of them great orna-
ments to the place. Among thefe, the King's
palace demands the nrft attention ; this is
an old building, and therefore irregular in
parts, but it forms a fquare, and is all rail-
ed of ftone. It is within a citadel, but the
fortifications could not do much in defence
of the town ; and it is befides commanded

by

SWEDEN. 33i

by an adjoining hill. Confidering that the
palace ferves for many public ufes, befides
the King's residence, it is not only mean but
fmall ; all the rooms of the firft and fecond
floor, are ufed for private meetings of the
Senate, and the Courts of Judicature; fo
that the apartments of the ro) al family are
three pair flairs high, and fome of them
four.

The Senate-houfe, where the public meet-
ings are, is a very regular and fine edifice,
making the belt figure of any in the town.

The houfes of the nobility are not very
magnificent, but fome of them are hand-
fome, others large and commodious. The
Arfenal is a large building, but by no means
kept well ftored : the royal {tables, and the
great hofpital, alio make fome figure; the
the bridge of boats, which is 1 o© yards long,
and which they lhew with fome degree of
vanity, is a paltry fubflitute. Among the
churches, the principal are St. Nicholas, St.
Mary's, St. Catharine's, St. Clare's, St. John's,
and St. Olaus's. The King's chapel is
more decorated than any of them.

The city carries on the chief trade of
the kingdom ; the harbour will admit of
four hundred great fhips, and above five
Jiundrcd fmall ones at the fame time, which

might

332 TRAVELS THROUGH

might all ride in the utmcir fafetyj and they
have a quay for the delivery and taking in
of goods, near a mile long; and this, I
think, is thz pleafantell and moil chearful
part of Stockholm. There is a face of bu-
linefs and activity upon the public quav,
which, in a town, is far mere lively than
the perpetual rattle of coaches. But not-
withstanding it is a place 01 great trade,,
and the harbour perfectly fecure, yet there
are difficulties in getting in and out, which
are a cramp upon their commerce. There
are numerous iilands in the lake between
Stockholm and the fea, and thefe make the
courfe fc zigzag, that feveral winds are ne-
ceffary to carry them in and out; and which
is much the worfe for their having no tides,
which would grealy afiifr the navigation ^
befides this, they are quite i topped up with
ice four months in the year.

Having fpent a couple of days in viewing-
<he city (being quartered at the Crown inn,
which I found a very good and reafonable
one) I thought it time to wait upon Baron
Miftler, fc'ith the letter which the Count de
Smikelane gave me. Accordingly, on t
7th, I paid my devoirs to him; I found him
a middle aged man, remarkably lively and
chenrful, very well acquainted with the diffe-
rent

SWEDEN. 335

rent courts of Europe, having {pent many
years in travelling ; he converges fluently in
Engliih, and almoft without hesitation, but
explains himfelf, in cafe of it, in French.
He has a large houfe, extremely well fur-
nilhed in the French and Englifli manner ;
indeed, moil: of the things either for ufe
or ornament, came from England, France,
or Italy. He complained that the Swedifli
artiils were not yet formed, but hoped they
would, by and by, be equal £9 their neigh-
bours.

My friend the Count had let him very
well into the defign of my journey ; he in-
formed him, that I was on my travels through
the nothern kingdoms, with defign to gain
a better knowledge of their commerce, ma-
nufactures, agriculture, and arts, than books
could give me ; alio to view the face of the
country, and that I had a curiofity to become
acquainted with the manners of the inhabi-
tants ; that I had fome years ago travelled
through the fonthern parts of Europe, but was
now defirous of going to fee, what very few
travellers ever thought worth their notice ;
and .laitly, that he had recommended me to
him, as a perfon as proper as any in Swe-
den to do honour to chat kingdom.

The

334- TRAVELS THROUGH

The Baron read the letter with much at-
tention with me, after having run it over
before I faw him. He afked me fignificantly
if I came in any public capacity or bufingfs.
I understood him, and replied, by no means ;
that I was a private gentleman in England,
totally unconnected with government, and
was travelling merely to fatisfy my own cu-
riofity; that the objects of my enquiries
might make him fuppofe fuch a thing, but
it ieemed a fatire upon the general aim of
travellers, that none mould be fuppofed to>
make uleful objects their entertainment, as
well as frivolous ones. This, he replied,
was a very jufl: remark, and afked my par-
don for putting the queftion. He then en-
tered very freely and liberally into a conver-
sation, on the prefent ftate of his country ;
in which, however, we were interrupted by
fome vifitors, to whom he introduced me.
Afterwards I waited on him thrice, and he
gave me feveral accounts, fome of them in
writing, which I found valuable, as they
let me into a pretty confident idea of the
prefent trade, manufactures, &c. of Swe-
den. From thefe authorities I have drawn
up the following account -, which, I believe,
will be found much nearer the truth of the

prefent

SWEDEN. &S

prefent ftate of that kingdom, than any that
are to be met with in books.

The trade of Sweden, and indeed every
thing elfe in the kingdom, was left in a moft
miferable condition at the concluiion of the
war with Mufcovy, immediately after the
death of Charles XII. Such a languor fuc-
ceeded, that had not much attention been
given to improvement, and a change in the
conftitution enfued, it would have taken at
lean: a century to have recovered, and per-
haps much more. Many of the wounds then
received, are not yet healed ; there are tracks
of country, in many of the provinces, which
once were well peopled, that are at this day
defartsj and the ravages of the Ruffians de-
ftroyed fome valuable copper mines, which
are not yet recovered. Within thefe twenty
years, much has been done to fpread im-
provements ; fo that the country wears a
fine face ; but all this is not to be called a
creation of new induitry, much of it is only
a renovation of that which we long ago en-
joyed.

The modern improvers, who have pufhed
moft of the advantageous laws which have
been made of late years in favour of com-
merce, ccc. had one principal aim, which
was certainly very meritorious; it was to

force

>55 T R A V £ L S T H R O U G H

force the Swede*, either to manufacture for
themielves, or to go without the commodi-
ties formerly imported from abroad ; many
laws were made with this view; and which,
at laft, ended in an almoit general prohibi-
tion to foreign fabrics. This was very well
meant, but it was driving too fait, and has
had fome coniequences of a complexion by
no means agreeable. It is true, feveral ma-
nufactories were eiiabihhed in different parts
of the kingdom, to enable the people to per-
form for themielves, and -fome of them Suc-
ceeded well, but it is a builneis of much
longer time to make a people a manufactur-
ing nation. The attempt to do it at once,
was not only uniuccefsful, but was attended
with feveral evils to the whole kingdom.
Sweden imported, it is true, large quanti-
ties of manufactures, but then (he paid for
all of them, or at leaft for much the
greater! part, with the products of her foil;
fuch as copper, iron, timber, mips, :
hemp, pitch, tar, furs, flans, Szc. fo that
the nobleman who drelfed hi rnfelf in French
or Engliih cloths ; his wife, who wore
French and Italian filks ; and all who ex-
pended their revenue in any foreign import,
did, at the fame time, encourage the lower
claiies of the people, and indeed alhlt the

whole

S W E D E N. 537

whole flate, by exporting the above products,
in proportion to the goods fo imported and
worn. The legislature falfely imagined,
that foreigners could not do without thole
products they bought of Sweden, and paid
for with their manufactures.; they fuppofed
they would buy in the fame proportion, and
pay for them with money; but this was at
beit a deluiion, for other nations knew
their intereft as well as the Swedes, and im-
mediately transferred a vail portion of their
trade to Norway and Ruffia; the confequence
of which has been, that the copper and iron
works, in every province in the kingdom, are
difcoritinued, for want of the old demand ;
and a great number of hands, once em-
ployed in the timber trade, have ever fince
flood Hill. That this reprefentation has
much truth in it, appears from feveral arti-
cles of the prohibition being -taken off;
which lhews that the legiilature themfelves
tli ought they had gone too far, when they
began in their private eftates to feel the ill ef-
fects of it ; but the act was done, and the mif-
chief was irremediable , the trade was gone,
fo that the partial revocation was of no ufe.
This has made them redouble their activity
in eltablifhing manufactures, which may, in
time, recover the blow, by varying the for-
_ Vol. II. Z mer

3f* TRAVELS THROUGH

rner advantage -, but it mufl be a work of
fome years.

Upon the whole, however, when we read
in fome modern treatifes, what great things
are doing in encouraging all forts of ufeful
undertakings, we mufl not carry the amount
to the account of an addition, as in the cafe
of Denmark, and fome other countries, but,
on the contrary, confider much of them as
regaining lofl ground.

Trade now flouri fries in Sweden, the peo-
ple are very attentive to it, and fome of the '
laws that have been made to encourage it
have had good effect. The (hipping, be-
longing to the kingdom, is much increafed
in the lafl thirty years ; they export more of
their commodities in their own bottoms
than formerly -, which has, in every refpect,
proved a very advantageous thing to them.
All their fhipping, and every article of naval
ftores, are their own product; fo that an
increafe of it is gaining one of the moll
advantageous markets in the world. Indeed,
a very confiderable article of trade with them,
is building (hips for fale ; in which articles
the French and Dutch are the befl pur-
chafers. The former, it is well known, once
bought a fleet of nine fail of men of war of
the line of them, at one time : and the

Dutch

SWEDEN. 339

Dutch are regular purchafers of fome mer-
chant fhips; but the chief increafe of their
fhip building has been for themfelves, hi
consequence of an increafe of their foreign
trade, which, it is fuppofed, is now, on com-
parifon with what it was thirty years ago, as
rive to three, tonnage reckoned.

The eftabliihment of the Earl India Com-
merce has been of much confequence to
them, in this article of fhip building, and
^ndeed to all the other branches of com-
merce in the kingdom ; for Earl: India goods
were b-fore bought with caili, without
bringing; in any advantages bv min build-
ing, or the employment of feamen ; but
now the government has obliged the com-
pany to export to the Indies a given quan-
tity of Swedifh manufactures -, all which ex-
portation is clear profit, befides the Circum-
stances mentioned above. This eftabliih-
ment of an Eaft India company in Sweden,
employed the fpeculation of all the trading
part of Europe, who pronounced it a
vifionary fcheme, and one which could not
poffibly anfvver •> but experience has now
told them, that nothing was lets juft than
this condemnation, for the whole kingdom
of Sweden is fupplied by it, and there is a
pretty confiderable quantity of India goods
Z 2 ex-

34« TRAVELS THROUGH

exported to Poland, alio ibme to Gemianv,
and a few to Rum a; all which are very great
and considerable advantages, compared with
the time when they themfelves bought their
whole home coniumption of the Englifh and
Dutch,

Another fcheme of trade, which has been
partly executed, though not entirely, is to
import all their Weft India commodities in
their own bottoms -, this was not an ea
matter to execute, for it is contrary to the
laws of all the nations, that have colonies
in that part cf the world j but certain it is,
that in fpite of ail obftacles of this fort, they
do purchafe large quantities of fugar, rum,
6cc. in the Weil India iflands -, and another
channel, through which they do this buii-
nefs, is through the Bahama iflands, where
they buy from the account of Boilon mer-
chants, goods which come from the Engliili
iflands. Thi is not brought fully to

bear, but if tl it to be quite fuccejfsful,

it will make a conilderable deduction from
the navigation of England, and add it to that
of Sweden.

Building mips for foreigners has lately
received a very laudable bounty of ten mil-
lings a ton, which is one of the beit con-
fidered meafures that could have been exe-
cuted ;

SWEDE N. 341

cuted ; and if this bounty was to be railed fa
high, as to enable the Swedifh fhip carpen-
ters to underfell the Englifh and Dutch ones
by many per cent, in their own yards, it
would be a moil political meafure, and per-
haps give the kingdom a more advantageous
market, for mofl of her ftaple commodities,
than all their other methods put together.

Among the manufactures which they
have been eager to eftabiih, the principal is
the woollen. They have in coarfe cloths
made fome progrefs, and begin to work
fome that are fine -y an improvement, which
has been much owing to their gaining a bet-
ter breed of fheep from England, and which
have been dilperied with much affiduity over
mod parts of the kingdom. Their own,
wool was a great impediment in their way ;
for it was of fo bad and coarfe a texture.,,
that it would not do, even for coarfe cloth,
without being mixed with that of Poland ;
for thefe purpoies, they import great quan-
tities from that kingdom ; and it is very
well for them that they have a nighbour fo
little knowing in her own mterefc, as to per-
mit the exportation of her raw producls, to
be wrought up by other nations ; not, how-
ever, that the Poles do not imderitand their
own interefts, but they have the cuife of

Z 2 luch

j4* TRAVELS THROUGH,

fuch a conftitution, that nothing for the
real advantage of the country can go forward
for half an hour. By means of Pclifh wool,
mixed with the wcrit of their own, the
Swedes make tolerable coarfe cloths, and
other fabricks ; and the bell they import
from Poland, mixed with the bell of their
own, makes a finer cloth, that fells well at
home, and precludes the import of any but
the fineit of all, worn by the nobility and
gentry7 of connderable fortunes. Their ma-
nufacture of the coarfe forts is fo enlarged
by degrees, that they have, for fome years,
exported fmall quantities of it to Poland ;
which mews how far they have been able
to carry their point.

Befides thefe woollen fabrics, which are
in a way of proving confiderable enough to
flop totally all importation in time, they
have alio eftablifhed fome of linen, but thefe
are not yet advanced fo far as the former ;
they make large quantities of a coarfe fort,
which fells well among the common people;
but all the higher claiTes of inhabitants ufe
that which comes from England, Holland,
or Germany. Preventing this importation
is a favourite object with them at prefent,
J>ut the beft judges of their trade think they
V- ill never be able to effect it.

Much

SWEDEN. 343

Much the greateft manufactories in Swe-
den are thole of hard ware. They work and •
carl their copper and iron into many forms;
and make of them a great variety of imple-
ments, utenfils, and materials for manu-
facturing, fuch as bars and plates of cop-
per and iron, various forts of wire, great
guns, and numerous other articles in the
foundery way. The number of mines of
copper and iron in the kingdom is very great,
and the forges that work conftantly, not-
withstanding the decreafe explained above,
form the molt confiderable employment of
this fort in the nation. They export vaft quan-
tities of iron annually, for which England,
Holland and France are their belt cuftomers ;
but the Engliih pay them a balance of trade,
amounting to fome hundred thoufand pounds
annually> of which iron and timber are the
principal articles they take; whereas the
French pay them in nothing but wines,
brandies, and manufactures. Formerly Ihe
brought great quantities of paper ; but the
Swedes now fupply themfelves nearly with
all they ufe, except of the finer forts. Of
all the articles of their trade, iron and tim-
ber are the mod: confiderable j and the bed
politicians among them are (trongly of opi-
nion, that thefe articles being of the molt
Z 4 certain

TRAVELS THROUGH

certain dependance, fuch as foreign natj
can leail do without, and fuch as are muil
natural in all the operations concerning them
to their own people, that, for theie reafons,
thev ought principally to be encouraged.
Much has of late years been done in favour
of theie branches ; for all the ranks of
owners of lands have found, that the proi-
perity of them has the fame influence in raif-
ing the rental and value of their eilates, as
improvements in agriculture itklf -} and for
which reafon, it is to be expected that they
will never neglect this part of their domei-
tic ceconomy.

Respecting the improvements which have
been made in their nummary, tak-.ii at large,
the grand article has been the preventing the
importation of corn from abroad ; high du-
ties at firit, and then a prohibition, have, in
this inilance, been attended v _:v eifect

theycou b. By quick degrees, thev in-

troduced the culture of wheat in manv pro-
eSj which before h?.d never thought of
fuch an article of cultivation j and by tak-
ing feveral proper meafures for encouraging
the peafants, the point has been fo tho-
roughly carried, that Sweden, at prefent,
raiies as much corn as fne conilimes, and

in

- - SWEDEN. 3t5

in-fome years more ; fo that a imall expor-
tation has taken place more than once.
. In the debates which have ariien at diffe-
rent times, among the members of the le-
giilature, on this point of the advancement
of hufbandry, they have had, what may be
called two parties among them ; one who
were for eftablifhing many rules for the par-
ticular inrtruction of peafants ; premiums
for their good conduct, for the procuring
good farmers from other parts of Europe,
t-o fet examples ; alio the belt implements
and breeds of cattle \ with fome good work-
men for draining of bogs, and bringing
waftes into culture, at the expence of the
legiflature, by way of (hewing in what man-
ner fuch works ought to be done. On die
contrary, the other party ftrenuouily urged,
that the execution of all thefe minute ideas
would prove very expeniive, and particularly
from being obliged to truft them to man v
people, and aimoit without controul. That
beiides this ftrong objection, the erfefts re-
sulting could not be great or genera', but
would be confined to fmali ipots, from
which it might be a century before they.
would travel over half the kingdom ; for
this reafon, they propofed to omit all fuch
attempts, and confine them lei ves to general

laws,

346 TRAVELS THROUGH

laws, which mould affect the whole king-
dom i luch, for inftance, as the prohibition
of the importation of all foreign commodi-
ties that could be raifed at home, and par-
ticularly corn y that when this law had
taken full effect, then to give the improve-
ment of another, offering bounties upon
the exportation of various forts of corn, and
ether commodities, to infure a quick fale at
a good price, which would be of all other
meafures the moll likely to induce the far-
mers to enlarge the culture of them. Other
general laws fhould alfo be brought in aid,
to exempt the improvers of wafte lands from
all taxes, tithes and public charges for life.
Alfo to introduce leaies, in the tenures of
lands, of long duration, with feveral other
fchemes of management that had reference
to the kingdom at large.

The legislature verv wiklv followed nei-
ther of theie propofals in excluiion of the
other, but gradually took from both what
appeared prudent and likely to be erficaci^
cus. They prohibited the importation of
corn, upon the plan of one party ; and they
attended to the minutiae of agriculture, pur-
fuant to the ideas of the other. Some laws
were alfo made concerning leafes, and im-
provers were exempted from taxes; but

whether

SWEDEN. 347

whether they will ever give a bounty on ex-
portation is yet a queflion. It is the o-ene-
ral opinion, that the plan is not dropped,
and that the meafure will be executed, when-
ever the quantity of corn railed at home
(ufjiciently reduces the price. They feem to
have this meafure in idea, ready to apply as
a remedy for the price of corn falling too
low, in cafe it fhould fo happen. This
whole meafure of prohibition, and a bountv
on exportation, is copied fromEngland; but
if I may here fpeak in my own perfon, I do
not perfectly comprehend the merit of fuch
bounties, either in England or in Sweden ;
for theie nations do not fo much want to
raife corn for an article of trade, as to enable
them to feed a numerous people ; and iure-
ly, it is of much more advantage to them to
apply their corn to that neceifary purpofe,
than to export it. The riches arifing from
an increafmg population, which is always the
confequence of cheapnefs of provifions, rnufr
be of far mere importance to thefe king-
dom? than the money received for the corn.
Indeed the payment of bounties is not of
any great moment, as they are paid by the
fubjecls of the government.

I think, it cannot be doubted, but the
molt advantageous confumption of corn is

that

ft* TRAVELS THROUGH

that at home ; for the people mult increafe
pretty much in proportion to the low price
of necefTaries ; we fee that the increafe of
population is prodigious in North America,
and which mud be attributed to- the great
eafe of gaining land, which produces the ne-
cerTaries of life; for which reafon a govern-
ment, it mould feem, ought to encourage
the growth of corn as much as porlible, and
alfo take every other ilep to render it as
cheap as pofiible, for then the people will
increafe in proportion to -it; an aim much
fuperior to the fums of money which any
trade can bring in. I remember to have
read in tracts printed in England fome
years ago, that the bounty, by giving a mar-
ket, encouraged the farmers to raife more
corn than they would otherwife do ; and
this is the idea which they have got in Swe-
den. But fuppofing it ever fo true, will
not an increafing people caufe a greater con-
fumption, and confequently make a market
equally as good ? Of what confequence is it
to the farmer, whether he fells his wheat to
a merchant at five millings a bufhel, or to
a miller at the fame price ? So that this ar-
gument appears to me to be begging the
qutilion.

if

S W E D E N, 3^

If the progrefs of agriculture in England,
is quoted as a proof of the benefits which
have refulted from the bounty, it might
have been replied, that that progrefs may
not have been owing fo much to this mea-
fure as to the increafe of people, proceed-
ing from the great commerce and manu-
factories which have been eftablifhed, and
which have been perpetually on the increafe.
It is for thefe reafons, that I am inclined to
believe, the legiflature of Sweden would acl
more for the benefit of their country, if they
firff. encouraged the growth of corn, and
then the consumption of it at home, which.
is beft done by a collateral encouragement
of arts, manufactures, commerce, and all
other means of enriching the people; for the
richer they are, the more numerous will they
be, and at the fame time the better able to
purchafe the farmer's corn. But this a fub-
ject of too much confequence to be decided
on from fo flight an examination, it well de-
ferves the attention of the moll finiihed po-
liticians. To return :

Encouragement has alfo been given in
■Sweden to feveral other things, particularly
in the making great roads, in improving
fome inland navigation, and alfo to the body
of artifls in the kingdom. R expecting roads,

there

: ;* TRAVELS THROUGH

there 2re few kingdoms in Europe where
they are fo bad, nor have the inhabitants
been able, in anv one Drovince.even with the:
ai "fi fiance they have received from the iegii-
lature, in enabling them to raife provincial
taxes for that purpofe, to do the work ef-
fect ually. I am told there are one or two
great roads, pretty tolerably made, but it
has been done by concentrating the whole
expence of the province on that fingle point,
and totally neglecting all others within it.
Wherever I hare travelled, except dole to
the metropolis, they are dangeroufly bad.
Indeed, the good part? hold but a very little
way out of Stockholm. There have been
many deliberations in the Senate upon this
evil ; but the general opinion is, that it will
never be remedied to any erTccl.

There are ibme rivers in different parts of
the kingdom, which wanted only fmall ob-
structions to be removed, and which the
government have enabled the people to ren-
der navigable by provincial taxes. There
have been many propoials for increafing the
number, but they go on very fiowly in it,
and never will make any great figure in this
branch of improvement. Indeed Sweden
wants exertions of this fort lefs than any
country I know, for the whole kingdom is

cut

SWEDEN. 3Si

cut and interfered in an amazing degree
with lakes and rivers, and they have a fea
coaft prodigioufly extenfive, fo that there
can fcarcely be a production which is not
within reach of a navigation.

The encouragement given to artifts of va-
rious forts, is much better adapted to the
improvement and advantage of the nation.
The Swedifh artifts, except in working-
rough timber and iron, are furprizingly de-
ficient. The means hitherto taken to re-
medy this evil, have been by offering pre-
miums, by regulating apprentice/hips, and
by procuring workmen from feveral coun-
tries 5 but hitherto they have not perform-
ed much.

At the fame time that I procured this in-
formation, I made enquiries into the ftate of
their public revenues and military power.
The revenues of the kingdom are not at all
improved, a piece of information which
much furprized me ; for I conceived, that
all the improvements, of which I have been
giving an account, muft have much increa-
fed the revenue of individuals, and confe-
quently that of the public ; but the contrary
is the cafe, and which is moftly owing to
the evil which I before noticed, attending
the fudden prohibition of foreign manufac-
tures ;

3 3 1 TRAVELS THROUGH

tures j for as I there fet forth the ill confe-
quences of depriving a vaft number of peo-
ple of an old market for their wood, iron,
&c. the mifchief was felt by the public in-
come, as well as by thcfe individuals ; for
the manufactures, which were then prohibi-
ted, paid coniiderable cufloms on importa-
tion, moll of which were loft, by that mea-
lure ; io that the revenue, which, all taken
together, amounted before that meaiure to
about twelve hundred thoufand pounds a
vear, fcarcely reaches that fuin at preient,
although feveral new taxes upon articles of
luxury have been fince laid on . Several per-
fons .much experienced in the revenue af-
fcrt, that it will be many years before it re-
covers thefe ftrokes -, that all the late im-
provements mud have time to ripen into
perfection, and fpread a free and confidera-
ble circulation through the kingdom, be-
fore the national coffers will fill from
them.

As to the military power of the Swedes,
the change in the constitution upon the
death of Charles XII. funk it entirely to the
militia, except a few guards for the King's
perfon ; the former is entirely upon the old
iyifem, they are maintained by the farmers ;
but the number, which was once 6o,coo

men,

SWEDEN'. |cj

iHert, is not at prefent more than 42,000;
however they are very well difciplined, and
fufficient for the defence of the kingdom
againft any force that is likely to march
againft it. Sweden has nothing to fear but
from Ruflia ; and whilft me leaves the con-
quered provinces peaceably in the hands of
the Mofcovites, which undoubtedly me will
do, there is not any danger of their difturb-
ing her poifeffion of the remainder. The
fleet of Sweden was once pretty confidera-
ble> amounting to forty good mips of war ;
but it is much declined. They could not
fend out to fea twenty fail of the line in good
order, fo that their power is not equal to
that of Denmark by fea; nor that of Ruflia.
Thefe are circumftances in which Sweden
has been very remifs ; it is faving money to
a very bad purpofe ; for a nation that wiihes
to be pofTefTed of a confiderable trade and
commerce, fhould never neglect her ma-
rine, which ever was, and ever muft be, ef-
fential to the prefervation and well being of
trade; and this fhews, that the ideas of na-
tional improvement inSvveden are but crude,
and not near brought to that degree of pro-
priety as to produce thofe new and great ad-
vantages they want. Nothing is of fo much
importance to a trading powei'j as a mari-
Vol. II. A a time

354 TRAVELS THROUGH

time force ; for all commerce without it, &
precarious. France has made for a century
immenfe efforts for railing a great trade, but
all of them have been nearly unfuccefsful,
from her being more folicitous in the fame
period to keep up a formidable army, than a
ftrong and well regulated navy, fufhcient to
guard her commerce in times of war. No-
thine is fo difficult to rear as a trade that has
been once ruined. It is a great miftake to
iuppoie, that the prefent ft ate of France
contradicts this maxim ; on the contrary, it
confirms it -, for France once polIeHed a
nouriming trade, but it hath never arofe
again to its former profperity, after once
being demolifhed by a fuperior force at fea.
The bringing home the producl of colonies
can fcarcely be called trade, which may be
done as well almoft without a navy as with
it ; and which is evident in the courfe of the
communication between France and her co-
lonies, after the total destruction of her {hip-
ping by the Englifh, in every war from King
William's time to the prefent.

But to return to Sweden, I muft acknow-
ledge, that hitherto I have given the moft
favourable view of all the internal affairs of
this kingdom. I have been minutely exact
in fpecifying the information I have received,

but

SWEDEN. 355

but then it came from fome noblemen, who
have been among many others very deep in
political convuliions, that have harrafTed the
legillature of Sweden. All Europe welL
knows the political fquabbles, which have
much difgraced that country j accounts have
been publiihed in numberlefs Gazettees,
which feem to have been defigned merely to
reprefent the kingdom in the mofr. deplora^
ble fituation. Whatever is circulated by a
party, ever carries marks of prejudice and
unfair reprefentation ; it may be replied.,
that I have my intelligence from a party, and
therefore, that it equally wants the flamp of
impartiality j and I agree that this is in fome
rneafure the fact. Bat then, in extenuation, I
fay, that what I have principally reported,
concerns facts alone j I have kept clear from
giving party, or even national reflections,
which always attend them j and another
ftrong motive for my giving a reprefentation
of the affairs, or rather facts, concerning the
prefent itate of Sweden, from the informa-
tion I received from fome very refpectable
noblemen, is, that all the accounts which
I have lately read> feem to have been dictated
by the oppofite party, and to which I was
the more inclined, from my letting out
through the paflage of the Sound quite to
A a z Stockholm.

356 TRAVELS THROUGH

Stockholm. But the appearances of things
carried no fuch marks of ruin and defla-
tion, as foreign prints had given me to ex-
pect ; I looked for nothing but falling houfes
and neglected lands, deferted by emigrating
inhabitants ; but found nothing of this ;
from whence I was lead to think that thel©
reprefentations were fomething of the nature
of thofe, which are fo common in my own
country, which even in the moft flourinY-
ing times, attempt to prove the kingdom
in the high road to ruin. But let the rea-
der carry with him the authority, on which
I give my report, and remember, that, in
thefe cafes, which are certainly of real im-
portance to be known by other powers, it
is of confequence to be informed of the
truth, and which can never be nearly guef-
fed at, while only one fide of the queftion is
heard.

I have with all the attention of which I
am mailer, avoided giving any particulars
relative to the prefent ftate of parties and
politicks in this country, I think them to
be no objects of an inquifitive traveller ; they
change every day ; there is nothing (table in
them; all intelligence that concerns them is
full of prejudice and misinformation; no-
thing is fo iniipid to foreign readers, no-
thing

SWEDEN. 35;

thing carries with it fo little ufeful intelli-
gence, of which truth we have in England
many inftances fufficiently flrong ; for how
few fpeeches are made in the Houfe of Com-
mons, which would convey any ufeful fa£ts
to foreigners ? Are not our news-paper and
our pamphleteer complaints, which denounce
immediate ruin upon the kingdom, with
half the clamours of corTee-houie politi-
cians, are they not, I fay, perfectly fenfelefc arid
forgotten fquabbles in a very few years ?
This, 1 think, mould guard every writer from,
venturing to mix fuch temporary politicks
with matters of lafting duration and real im-
portance. Trade, manufactures, arts, and
agriculture are interesting to all the world,
but the fphere of perfonal politicks \s ex-
tremely fmall.

It is for thefe reafons, that I pafs entirely
over the difmal factions, which, at prefent
difgrace the government of Sweden. I fin-
cerely hope, that in a few years ail parties
will be indued with more moderation, and
a general harmony ariie from the experience
of thole evils, which faction caufes to them
all.

A a 2 C II A r\

ijS TRAVELS THROUGH

CHAP. VIII.

Journey from Stockholm to Oregrond — HeJe~

mora — Thfoription of the Country — Journey

through the Province of D. . .: — Dc*

fcripikn of the Country — Its Pe:ple — Mjji^

ners — Hufwidry — ILmployni- it .

IL E F T Stockholm the nth, taking the
road for Oregrond, the diilance forty
feven miles ; which, with fome difficulty, I
reached by night, through a country which
ranks among the heft I have feen in Sweden,
and in which I obferved feveral feats of the
nobility and gentry very well built, with a
good appearance of iuperior cultivation a-
round them. Oregrond is a fea port on the
guiph of Bothnia, tolerably well fuuated for
trade, elpecially that of timber. From a
hill near the town, is a moft beautiful
view of the gulph, with a great part of Fin-
land on the other fide ; the iflands of Aland
(pot the fea in a mod piclurefque manner.
There were (even mips in the harbour, load-
ing deals for Holland ; they told me the
trade of this place has been but lately ac-
quired

SWEDEN. 359

acquired, but that it increafes, and will foon
be confiderable. From Oregrond, I fet out
the 1 2th for Hedemora, the distance of one
hundred miles ; and which, from the rocky-
nefs and dangeroufnefs of the roads, took me
up four days, {o that I did not arrive there
before the 15th at night. The three firft
nights I fet up my bed in the houfes of
peafants, in fmall vilages, not paffing through
any towns : the country is very wild and
various, hills and dales, mountains and
rocks, bogs, rivers and lakes, all mixed
thickly with a fmall quantity of cultivated
and profitable land. All the peafants here are
farmers, and moft of them own the lands
they cultivate ; their houfes are very well
built of wood, and covered with fhingles, the
materials being to be had in the utmoft plenty ;
they are much better, and more comfort-
able dwellings, than the cottages of mud,
covered with thatch, which are fb common
in England. Their furniture is of their own
manufacturing, confuting of very little more
than what they make of their friendly pines .
All of them handle the faw and the axe with
as much agility as our peafants ufe the
fpade and the pickaxe, nor do they make
bad or clumfy work; for their chairs, tables,
beds, &c. are very decently cut and put to-
Aa 4 gether.

-,6c TRAVELS THROUGH

gether. They feem to be a very happy and
contented people -, each has his farm divided
into regular inclofures around his houfe, and
which the women almoft totally cultivate,
while the men are employed in cutting tim-
ber in the forefts, for they have a confider-
able river, down which they float van: quan-
tities. In their hufbandry, thefe women
feemed to be tolerably underftanding ; they
do all the ploughing, which is not indeed
laborious work, for I faw feveral ploughs
going with a fingle ox in them, and others
with a fingle cow, and not of a large breed.
Thev always fix their houfes in the midif of
a vale of dry foil, upon a rock, if they can
choofe, fo that all the works of tillage are
performed with great eafe. They cultivate
but verv little wheat, though their land ap-
pears to be good enough for any product ;
oats, and a little barley, with a good many
beans, are their chief crops j but thefe feem
to bear no proportion to their fields of Swe-
difh turnips, and alio another fort, which, they
informed me, does very well in the fevereir.
climates, and is more generally cultivated in
the northern parts of the kingdom: upon thefe
turnips I found they principally depend.
for their own diet, as well as that of their
cattle •, and their horfes in winter have no

other

SWEDEN, 361

other food ; their breed is fmall, but very
ftrong, uncommonly hardy, and very fure
footed, going down the moil rocky moun-
tain's fides . If the roads continue, as I expect,
to grow worfe and worfe, as I advance
northward, I mall not know what to do
with my chaife and fouth country nags ;
for I muft have recourfe to thefe little moun-
tain ponies, which will enable me to travel
forty miles a day, in the worft roads ;
whereas five and twenty is now a hard day's
work for me. In the preparation they make
for their crops, they plough four or five
times, and manure richly with a compoft of
of the dung they raife in winter with vaft quan-
tities of wood afhesj they feldom fow a crop
without previoufly making a vaft pile of offal
wood as near as they can, and fetting fire to it
for the fake of the afhes ; and their crops are
very good, raifing to an equality of four quar-
ters an acre Englifh, of whatever corn or
pulfe they fow ; and which crops they at-
tribute entirely, and I fuppofe very juftiy, to
the manuring of the wood-aihes and dung.
Their turnips yield a very confiderable pro-
duce ', one acre is fufficient to winter two
head of cattle. They have fome meadows,
which are artificial, having been improved
by them from the wafte, and with good

effea ;

-M TRAVELS THROUGH

o

effect -, where they were too wet, they dug
ditches, and fpread the earth that came
out upon the land ; and then they finilli
the improvement by manuring plentifully
with wood-afhes, which bring up confider-
able crops of good grais ; nor do they think
the expence of thefe works great. But I
mould remark, that they have an advantage,
and a prodigious one, which is of the wo-
men labouring almcft as hard as the men;
fo that their indultry is in effect doubled.

Hedemora is a little town, well fituated on
a confiderable river, down which they carry
large quanties of timber and iron for expor-
tation. The 1 6th I got to Jahtun, inliiiln
which was all I could do, though the dis-
tance is little more than twenty miles. This
fixed me in the determination of changing
my way of travelling, and the rather, as I
had found the climate regularly fine, fince
I landed in Sweden. It was abfolutely ne-
cerlary, for the landlord, at a very neat
and agreeable inn here, told me, that no car-
riage could carry me among the mountains
of Delacarlia, which has been reprefented
to me as a part of Sweden extremely well
worth viewing. From hence, therefore, I
difpatched my chaiie for Stockholm, with a
letter to Baron Miitier, informing him of my

error,

S W E B E N. 363

error, and begging he would order the
chaiie and horfes to be fold, and remit me
the money to M. de Verfpot, in Middelpade.
I directed the man to buy a Swedifh. moun-
taineer, for bringing him back, appointing
him to come to Jahtun, and follow me with
all expedition into Dalecarlia ; and in cafe
I mould have been too quick to be over-
taken, appointed Hudwickfwald, upon the
fea coaft, for the rendezvous. Having dif-
patched this bufinefs, I made enquiries after
fome horfes, and was prefently fupplied by
the peafants, with one for myfelf, another
for my interpreter, and three for my bed
and baggage, which, they alfured me, would
require no driving, but would follow re-
gularly, according to their conftant habit,
go where we would. Thefe five horfes coft
* me but fixteen pounds Englifh j it took me
up a day at Jahtun to get faddles, bridles,
packs, and other accoutrements fitted.

The iSth in the morning, I began my
march towards Grenge, a little village in
Dalecarlia, at forty miles difrance ; and this
I performed in one day, with much more
eaie and pleafure than I mould have done
in my chaife in two, although I flopped
fome hours to view a very large copper work.
They told me, that no ftrangers ever came

into

364 TRAVELS THROUGH

into that country, without going down into
the mine, but I had been at the bottom of
fo many, that I had not the lean: curiofity
to enter this. The village of Grenge (lands
in a little romantic valley, at the foot of a
ridge of mountains, with a beautiful lake
in front of it. All the hills here, and nine
tenths of the country in general, are covered
with wood -, but the people have farms in
the vales, on a very fine, light, black foil,
which, I fuppofe, is entirely formed of rot-
ten vegetables, which time has warned down
from the mountains. Their crops, I found,
upon enquiry, were very great, and all of
them had many fields of turnips 3 and a white
fort of carrot was here cultivated for their
cattle and themfeives ; it has a root like a
parfnip, with a carrot top ; they mewed
me fome remaining of laft years crop, which
were ftanding for feed. They eat it boiled,
in the fame manner as turnips, and generally
with buck wheat flower made into pottage ;
and their cattle of all forts are as fond of
them as of turnips. The crops are not, how-
ever, fo great, as of that root; but then they
have, in another refpect, a fuperiority, which
is thriving well on their woril lands, and
without any manure. Buck wheat is a com-
mon crop, and they often fow and reap it in

lev en

SWEDEN. 365

feven weeks j it yields well with them on
their worft lands, if tolerably flickered.

The 19th, I continued my journey to Ep«
lebode, another little village, three and
forty miles from Grenge, through a mofr.
mountainous and wild country, chiefly co-
vered with forefts ; but here and there you
pafs little villages in the hollow vales, fur-
rounded with cultivation enough for their
fupport. In two or three places, I faw
plains of greater extent, which feemed to be
all well cultivated -, the corn was up high
and green, and appeared as good as any I
remember to have feen in England. Let
me remark, that the peafants do not culti-
vate as much as they could, but all feem to
confine their endeavours to fmall farms,
furficient for the full maintenance of their
families. I am convinced, that vaft. tracks
of country, among thefe mountains, might
be rendered very profitable farms ; for the
foil is in many places equally good, accord-
to the accounts they gave me, as what they
had under culture ; but there is a want of
people, as well as of an attention in the pea-
fants, to make the culture of the earth their
dependance equally with their forefts -3 but
they are fo bred to cutting, chopping, and
fa wing of trees, that they never think of

huf-

366 TRAVELS THROUGH

trtifbahdry: but leave the management of
their farms to their wives and daughters.

The zcth I propofed reaching Malun, a
village between thirty and forty miles from
Eplebode, but in croffing a river at Jerna,
or rather a torrent, which pours raging over
a clift of rocks, a horfe that carried part of
my baggage, by a falfe ftep, fell down a
iinall precipice, and was killed, and his load
was driven by the ftream, frcm a girth
breaking, fome way down the river, into
lb wild a nlace that it was with fome difri-
culty I could periuade the peafants to at-
tempt the recovering it : by a connderable
bribe, however, three of them were induced
to follow the' torrent, on the edge of the
precipice, until they met with it, flopped
by the recks or broken trees, and which I
was clear, from the appearance of the fcene,
could not be far. This obliged me to fix my
lodging at Jerna, and it was noon the next
day before thev returned ; they brought,
however, the cloak-bags, with no other da«*
mage than being very wet ; which was
fortunate for me, as 1 fhould, in the re*
maindcr of my journey, have been much
difconcerted bv the lofs. Waiting upon ac-
count of this accident, gave me a longer op -
portunity than I fhould otherwifc have had,

to

SWEDEN. 367

to make enquiries into the domefric ceco-
nomy of thofe peafants. The whole coun-
try looks as if there was not any private pro-
perty in it ; but I found that thefe forefts
and wilds had owners, as well as more cul-
tivated provinces. There are fome gentle-
mens feats in Dalecarlia, as I was informed,
though I faw none ; and their flewards and
agents employ the peafants in cutting tim-
ber, in drawing pitch and tar, and in
making charcoal, on their accounts, paying
them, in general, by meafure and tale;
their rates of labour are not high, few of
them earning more than four pence or five
pence a day, Englifh, though they are in-
duftrious and ufed to hard labour > but this
pay is fufficient for maintaining them very
well, with the help of their farms, as their
wives dung them, and very old men do the
principal bufmefs of them. All the pur-
chafes they have to make with money are
fome -parts of their cloathing, which is
extremely coarfe and cheap, and alio uten-
fils and implements, all which are bought
of travelling pedlars, for I do not appre-
hend there are three ihops for buying them
in this immenfe province. As their money
is fufficient therefore to their wants, thefe
being all the ufes of it, except fome very

llight

;■

6t TRAVELS THROUGH

flight taxes, they have very few inftances
among them of imhappinefs on account of
the want of money ; nor do I any where re-
member feeing a people, that had more ap-
pearances of perfect content and happinefs
among them. They are blefled with an al-
rnoit uninterrupted flow of health, which
is owing to the hardinefs of their lives, at-
tended with wholfome diet : a bolder, braver,
hardier race of men, I apprehend, do not
exiit than the Delacarlians ; indeed, man-
hood, in all the active vigour of undaunted
courage, attended with a proportionable de-
gree of flrength, is never found but among
the mountaineers •> the inhabitants of fer-
tile plains are effeminate, compared to them.
This idea is finely ilarted and illuftrated by
Montefquieu ; and had he travelled through
this province, he would have had abundance
of reafon, in every peafant he met, to have
been convinced of the truth of his obferva-
tion, and the deductions, which he has
drawn from the hiftories of ib many na-
tions.

The Dalecarlians that I have hitherto met
with, appear to be a very honeft, fimple,
but plainly fenfible people; they are as hof-
pitable as can well be conceived, infomuch,
that had I been eager and attentive to take

advan-

SWEDEN. 359

advantage of this good difpofition, I mould
have travelled through their province, fpead-
ing nothing but good words : indeed, money
is fo fcarce here, that paying them what thev
demanded, without the lead: hefitation, and
forcing money upon fome of them, liill my
expences in travelling were low beyond
conception. I have feveral days travelled
forty miles, and paid for myfelf, man, and
five hones, with two or three meals, and
a night's lodging, only the value of three
millings Englifli. Indeed I took up with
the food of thepeafmts, fat at their board, and
was particular in nothing but fetting up my
own bed. This was a mode of travelling ex-
tremely defirable in fo wild a country,
where the peafants are the only people in
it, that demand the leaft attention ; and
whoever is fond of feeing the llrong varia-
tions of human life and manners, would,
with the utmoil pleafure, accept the com-
pany of Dakcaiiian peafants : .but I had
another nron£ motive for reliihing this me-
thod of travelling, which was the opportu-
nity it gave me of making enquiries into the
domefhc ceconomy of the country through
which I patTed; and by habituating myfeif
to look with fome degree of curiolity upon
every piece of cultivated land, and by afking
Vol. II. B b many

**o TRAVELS THROUGH

many queftions concerning their manage-
ment and fuccefs, I came at length to find
real entertainment in the bulinefs, and
gained a {mattering of knowledge in the
art of agriculture. Indeed I have reafon to
to regfet, that this knowledge is merely
theoretical, for it is my misfortune, though
I refided long in the countiy, to have none
practical, not having then any idea that
hufbandry could yield entertainment to
any but uncultivated minds, or admit of
fuch variations as I have lince experienced.
In theie, as in other things, we are apt to
be the children of cuftom ; and he, who
lets out from home, with a painter's idea,
will run with frefh pleafure from picture
to picture, through the longer! journey;
it is the fame with the other arts ; and I
feel, at prefent, in the enquiries I take all
occaiions of making into the ftate of agri-
culture, arts, manufactures, and commerce,
an increasing pleafure, as I proceed in gain-
ing more intelligence of them.

The 2 1 ft I reached Lyma, the diftance
of near forty miles, having bought another
horfe at Jerna. The country, as I advanced,
grew amazingly romantic ; the view, as far
as the eye can command, from the tops of
the mountains, is one vail range of moun-
tain

S W EDEN. j-f

tain beyond mountain, till you fee the ridge
that parts Sweden from Norway, riling far
above the common clouds. The whole
profpect is a thick woodland ; and, in many
places, very considerable lakes, of fome
miles long and broad, break upon the eye;
nothing can be more awful or more fublime
than thefe wonderful fcenes. The fitua-
tion of the village of Lyma is greatly
uncommon; it lies within the bend of a
river, which is in fact a continual water-
fall, pouring over one ridge of rocks the
moment it has palled another, and making
fuch a continual roar as almofl to flun the
whole village; immediately behind it riles
a ridge of mountains, whofe tops are, in.
cloudy weather, far above the clouds ; but
fortunately for me, the weather has been
uniformly clear. The appearance of thefe
dreadful heights, with the torrent pouring
down at their feet, is magnificent in the
highcil degree. I have viewed mountains,
rocks, waterfalls, and lakes, in the north
of England, and yet more in Scotland, but
they are pigmies compared with theie.
There is an impreilion in thefe fcenes that
flakes the fpectator with a far fuperior de-
gree of awe.

B b 2 Th«

TRAVELS THROUGH

The villages here have a very near re-
fembiance to one another, only the quan-
tities of cultivated land vary; there are a
good many farms at Lyma, and I think,
in general, larger than at the villages I have
vet come to ; here are many that reach fixty
and feventy Engliih acres ; and one, which
is extraordinary in this country, where the
farmer depends alone upon his hufbandry.
Hearing of fuch a one, made me defirous
of feeing him, lb that in the morning of
the 22d, I paid him a viiit; his farm is
more than three hundred Engliih acres, and
he employs five peafants in the culture of it
regular! v ; befides three Ions, himfelf, his
wife, and a daughter. 1 rode over his
whole farm, and was much entertained -,
for he is a fenfible and very intelligent fel-
low, giving me not only plain facis, but
*he*reaibn for them. -Jiis farm is fituated
partly in the vale, and partly on the fide of
a mountain, but not fteep-.j it is all divided
into inclofures ; thofe in the vale by ditches,
with hedges of various woods ; and thole
on the hill with pines, fet lb clofe as almoit.
to touch in the bodies, and the branches, cut
regularly, form a very fine fence. A moil
lingular circumftance attended this man
(hl« name is Peter Sligweihurit) all that

part

SWEDE N. 373

part of his farm, which lies on the fide of
the mountain, is of his own improving ; it
was a wafte, where the peafants had burned
the trees and rubbifh, and carried away all
the allies ; but lying handily for his vale
lands, he attempted to cultivate a part of it,
but without any fuccefs : in a few years
after, he remarked, that a little rill of
water, which had broken from a fmall
itream, and came down from the moun-
tain fide, had fpread itfelf over a part of this
neglected land ; and in a year after this ac-
cident, which happened from the fhiyering
of a rock, he took notice, that the land,
over which this little water went, was of
a fine verdure, from a full growth of
grafs ; he examined it, and found the land
quite found, and no bog formed ; he cut
the grafs for hay, it made what was very
good, and was confumed by the cattle with
eagernefs. He had fenfe enough to efteem
this as an ufeful difcovery, as it pointed out
to him a method of improving this waftq
track, and making it very profitable. He
immediately inclofed a field of ten acres,
and cut little channels to bring the water
all over it, ard the effect was equal .,-, he
gained by it the belt piece of grafs of
any in his term : this encouraged him tq
B b 3 talw

fT$ TRAVELS THROUGH

take in another field of as many acres, over
which he alio brought the water, and it
proved equally beneficial with the pre-
ceding j and in this manner he proceeded,
every year taking in ten acres of land, which
he has continued to the prefent time, gain-
ing in the whole, one hundred and thirty
acres bv this method; but there is not above
ten acres mere ever which he can throw
the water. He has been forced to vary his
flooding, flopping the water in fome fields,
while he throws it over ethers; and this
has proved better for the land than keep-
ing it conifantlv on one. He ftops it time
-enough in fammcr -for a growth of hay $
and while that is growing, he throws it over
thofe fields that areieu, and contrives to feed
and mow interchange: ;;-

This difeovefy of irnprjving wafte land,
bv water running over it, and converting it
to be profitable, may, I aoprehend, turn
out of great utility in every country -, for
there are, in all mountainous ones, very
numerous tracks that would admit fuch a
watering as this with the greater! eafe, and,
Comparatively ipeaking, atnoexpence; but
for want of the facl being known, fuch
trials have not been made. The fuccefs of
this feniible farmer, convinced the neigh-
bouring

SWEDEN, 375

#ouring pedants of the benefit of it, before
he had got half through his improvements j,
all of them, that had wafte lands adjoining
the mountains, and over which they could
carry little rills of water, immediately did
it, and their fuccefs has bsen anfwerable to
his ; which fhews, that it is not any thing
peculiar in his foil or water, but common
to all. And fome of thefe peafants have
undertaken this improvement about three
miles off, where there is a large Ihelving plain,
with feveral broken ftreams, that come
down from the tops of the hills, and are
profecuting their watering and inclofures
very brifkly. It has alio reached the vil-
lage of Lynftone, eight miles off, where
feveral peafants have praciifed it with fuc-
cefs.

Farmer Sligwelhurft is not a good huf-
bandman in this inflance only, I viewed his
arable lands with much pleafure ; they are
well tilled, very free from weeds, and his
crops make a moil promifing appearance.
He grows wheat, barley, oats, peafe,
beans, turnips, white carrots, and a fort of
potatoe which I had not fcen before -, it is
of a greeniih cad, grows to a large fize,
and is much relilhed by the peafants. He
manures with the common compoft of
Bb 4 wood

TRAVELS T H K O V G H

wood afhes and dung; and as he ploughs his
land often and we'd, gets fine crops ; of
at he has up to three quarters an acre ;
of barlev, two and an half; of oats and
peafe, four quarters j and of a dwarf fort of
hardy bean, five quarters not unnequentlv.
An acre of his turnips, with good manage-
fecrs three head of cattle ; an
acre of carrots as many; and the potatoes
yield fo confiderabiy, that he keeps many
hogs entirely on them.

I enquired of him where he found a
dor the products of his farm, as al-
moft every : □ ily, I had obferved, had a
little farm of their own ; he laid, that his
principal commodities for fale, were but-
ter and cheeie, and faked pork, beef, and
mutton, with fome wool; and which he
fends in panniers on holies, to a river about
fixteen miles from him, which is navigable
for boats to Lake Silia, where there are
fa£toi j purchafe all forts of commo-

hich they refell to the miners of
. :ia: and this he reckoned a very ad-
m i bet to go tc, as it was ccn-
_n to take off much greater

tl all Dalecarliacoul iuce,

ing principally fupplied acrois the
. from Finland, &c.

Thefe

SWEDEN. 377

Thefe are circumftances, which, I own,
make me wonder very much, that greater
quantities of the lands of this country are
not cultivated. I mould apprehend, in-
deed the fact is as plain as any can be, that
they would admit it ; for this farmer, who
is acquainted with all the country around
for many miles, told me, that he knows
many plains that contain thoufands of
acres, and innumerable fpots on the fides of
hills, from one to two or three hundred
acres each, which would admit of every im-
provement and culture which he has prac-
tifed ; fo that it is a miflaken idea to ima-
gine, that becaufe a country is extremely
mountainous, that therefore it will admit
of very little culture. Delacarlia, they told
me at Stockholm, was a country but little
Superior to Lapland, and arTured me, that
I mould fee nothing but rugged mountains,
and boundlefs forefts -, the face of it in ge-
neral is fo; but the fpots that are in fertility
are equal to any plains, are very numerous,
and would of themfelves make a very finepro-
vince. They want nothing but people, pro-
perly convinced of the importance cf agricul-
ture; and fuch a people, a government in har-
mony, and really zealous to cultivate a coun-
try, could prefently get. I am perfuaded,

from

37* TRAVELS THROUGH

from what I have feen of the Dalecarlians,
that if an exemption from the poll-tax was
allowed to every farmer who inclofed and
improved fifty acres of wafte land, it would,
give a new face to abundance of the terri-
tory. This tax is not fcvere, but they think
it difgraceful, becaufe the province was once
exempted from it.

In the morning of the 23d, I took my
leave of the induftrious Sligwelhurft, and
went to Serna, which is two and thirty
miles ; where I met with nothing worthy
of obfervation. It is a little village, the pea-
(ants of which have nothing more than gar-
dens. The whole country is, however,
amazingly magnificent, as the eye com-
mands fuch ranges of thick wood as to be
almoft unbounded.

From Serna, I turned full Eaft to Her-
dala, the dirtance near fixty miles, which
took me up two days ; through a country,
in which there is a very broad and connder-
ble fiat track of land, with a river in the
middle of it. It is, as I guefs, twenty miles
acrofs, and of a far greater length. I fup-
pofe, Sweden does not contain a richer track
of land, yet very little of it is cultivated ;
much of it is bog, ibme marfh, but moft of
it a dry, deep, rich, found loam. At Her-

dala5

SWEDEN. 379

dak, my fervant overtook me from Stock-
holm, having traced me by the informa-
tion of the peafants.

From thence I fet oft the 26th, for
Linfdal, a village at the diilance of four-
score miles, in the province of Helfmgia ;
and which proved a journey of three days,
through a more romantic, wild, and moun-
tainous country than any I had yet feen.

Here therefore ends my travels through
Dalecarlia, in which, I mull own, I hive
met with very great fatisfaction. The ho-
ned plainnefs of the inhabitants, confining
totally of a race of peafants, gave me as much
pleafure as the awful fublimity of the coun-
try raifed my ailcniihment. Nature may
be laid to reign in full majefh* in thefc
wild and almofr. defart tracks ; but what-
ever may be their character, a view of them
is molt certainly worthy the attention of
the moll cultivated minds, for they may
here read lefibns as itriking, and as in-
terefling, as any in the moil refined and
nolifhed countries.

End of the Second Volume*

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