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STUDIES

OF

NATURE.

VOL. V.

STUDIES

OF

N A TU R E.

BY

JAMES - HENRY- BERNARDIN

DE SAINT- PIERRE.

.MÏSERIS SUCCURERE DISCO.

TRANSLATED 1! Y

HENRY HUNTER, D. D.

MINISTER OF THE SCOTS CHURCH, LONDON-WALL.

IN FIFE FO LUMES.

VOL. V.

HonDon :

PRINTED FOR C. DILLY, IN THE POULTRY.

■Sa f\

Z'2^ fS^

MDCCXCVI.

CONTENTS

OF VOL V.

Page

DVERTISEMENT to vol. V. — — i

Paul and Virginia ■' «— — i

Fragment — — — 199

I>Jotes to the Fragment — — . 287

Arcadia, Book L — — — 290

Notes to Arcadia — — — - ' 417

A'

23(}^Q

ADVERTISEMENT

RESPECTING

THIS ADDITIONAL VOLUME OF MY WORK.

WHILE I was preparing for a re-publication
of this Work, I received, on the fubjed
of it, advices, criticifms, and compliments.

The advices related to it*â form. I have con-
ftantly adhered to that of izmo. in thefe three
fucceffive editions, becaufe it is more commodious,
an eafier purchafe to the Reader, and 'more bene-
ficial to the Author, becaufe Pirates find lefs pro-
fit in counterfeiting it. The fifhionable world,
however, fignified a preference in favour of an 8vo,
as being more genteel, and becaufe the fiage, hav-
ing a broader margin, and admitting of a larger
fpace between the lines, the impreffion would be
more beautiful. Men of letters exprefled a wifh
to have an Edition of the Book in 4(0. becaufe,
being in a larger type, it would be more pleafant
10 read, and the plates might then be engraved on
a larger fcale. In a word, I was expeélmg a fo*

VOL. v, a licitation.

11 ADVERTISEMENT.

licitation, from fome of the Literati^ to afpire after
the honours of a Folio, when an amiable Lady
propofed to me, very ferioufly, to give an Edition
in i8vo. " on purpofe," faid flie, with inimitable
grace, '* that I may never go without it in my
" pocket.'*

I feel myfelf fo highly honoured by the good
opinion of the Ladies, that I know not whether my
vanity would not be more agreeably flattered with
being in their pockets in the fize of a i8vo. than
in that of a huge atlas, in the library of the
Louvre. This (pecies of incognito has, belides, an
inexpreflible fomewhat in it which is fingularly
grateful to me. In the agreeable perplexity to
which I am reduced, and under an impoffibility of
giving four new Editions at once, to gratify the
tafte of all my Readers, a thought ftruck me, of
inviting thofe of them who diflike the izmo. fize,
to fend their inftruftions, free of pofti^e, to my
Bookfellers, containing fimply their addrefs, and
the form which they prefer. 1 (liall then be de-
termined by the plurality of fuffrages ; and as
foon as 1 fliall have five hundred of them in favour
of an O(ftavo or a Quarto, I fliall publiQi it by
fubfcription, on a fine paper, with new plates
drawn and engraved by Artifl:s of the firft ability.
But if there be only two hundred and fifty voices
in favour of the Decimo-odavo, I will give the

preference

ADVERTISEMENT. Ill

preference to this fize, for I have always eftimated
the fufFrage of one Lady as equal, at lead, to thofe
of two Gentlemen.

Some men of the world have enqnlred, whether
I intended to make any additions to this Edition ;
and, in this cafe, defired me to give a detached
fiipplement, for the accommodation of thofe who
have purchafed the preceding Editions, alleging
that Authors, who aéted otherwife, defrauded the
Public.

An Author who is difficult to pleafe with his
own performance, which I acknowledge to be the
cafe with myfelf, and who is frequently called
upon to review it, is fometimes reduced to the
neceffity of making a few flight additions, in order
to elucidate paffages which may feem to labour un-
der fome obfcurity. He is obliged, at leaft, to
change fome things in the notices, which mufl
needs vary in every different Edition, without ad-
mitting the poffibility of giving thefe variations, in
a detached fupplement, lb as to excite any in-
tereft. But, on the fuppolîtion of his thereby de-
frauding a part of the Public of fome part of his
performance, I aik, whether the Public, as a bod)'',
does not defraud him more completely, by pur-
chafing, without any fcruple, the fpurious Editions
of his Work ? The only method which an Author

a 2 can

IV ADVERTISEMENT.

can employ to bring tbcfe into difcredit, is to add
fomething new, to every new genuine Edition.

Thefe piracies have done, and are ftill doing, me
inconceivable mifchief. I do not fpeak of thofe of
my firft Edition, with which the fouthern pro-
vinces of France have been filled * ; but fcarcely
had the fécond appeared, when it was counter-
feited, with it's additions, approbations, privilege ;
nay, with the very titles containing the addrefs of
my bookfellers. Other plunderers have had the
audacity to announce, in the catalogue of books of

* M. Marin, fuperintendant of the prefs at Marfeilles, feized a
whole bale of thofe counterfeits, about a year and a half ago,
which, in defiance of all his remonftrances, was confifcated to the
benefit of the Syndical Chamber of that city, and not, as jufticc
required, to mine. M. de Chajfel, fuperintendant of the prefs at
Nancy, flopped there, about fix months ago, fome fpurious co-
pies of my fécond Edition, which M. Kidaud-de-la-Tour took
care to remit to me, conformably to the decifion of M. de La'
moignon, keeper of the feals. The Pirate had only retrenched, ia
the advertifement, what I there faid of the beauty of the charac-
ters of my fécond Edition j fimilarto thofe of the prefent, becaufe
the pitifulnefs of his own, would prefently have deteéled the
fraud. I have now reafon to expeél, from the vigilance of M.
Vidaud-de-la-Tour, whofe zeal for the interefts of literary pro-
^perty fo well fupports the jiiftice of M. de Laymignon, a name fo
dear to the i-epublic of letters, that we fliall fee at length repref-
fed, in the kingdom, the plundering committed by literary pi-
rates, in defiance of Royal authority, and fo injurious to the in-
tereft of Aiithors, efpecially of fuch as have no other property
^•xcept their Work?.

' Leipfic-fair,

ADVERTISEMENT^

JLeipfic-fair, for the month of Odober 1787, an
Edition of my Studies of Nature, publilhed at
Lyons, by Piejîre and de la Molière, though I ne-
ver had any thing printed except at Paris. A new
Edition of the Work has jufl been publiihed at
Bruflels, in four volumes. A Gentleman, with
whom my Printer is acquainted, faw at London,
in the month of September laft, four different Edi-
tions of it, without being able to procure the ge-
nuine one. It may, however, be very eafily dif-
tinguiOied by the beauty of it's charafters, from all
the ipurious Editions, which, befides, can never be
any thing more than bad copies of an original Edi-
tion, revifed and correfled by my own hand, wiih
all the attention of which I am capable. All this
has not prevented the Public from welcoming them
with avidity. After all, the point to be aimed at, is
not to have no ground of complaint againft Man-
kind, but to take care that the World have no jufl
ground of complaint againft us.

Suppofing it were not a matter of confcience with
me, to pradife juftice toward every individual, I
am under too many obligations to the Public, not
to ftudy their gratification, to the utmoft of my
ability. I have never enjoyed any other fteady de-
claration in my favour, but that of the public voice.
Qn the other hand, if the importance of the errors
which I have ventured to attack, and my perfonal
a 3 circymftances.

VI ADVERTISEMENT'.

circumftances, are taken into confidera "">n, I have
the prefumption to hope that the generofity of the
Public will, one day, rank me with the few in num-
ber, who have devoted thcmfelves to the interefls of
humanity, at the expencc of their own fortune.

I fliall not begin, at thefe years, to deviate from
the principles which have governed my life. I am
going to infert here, therefore, fome reflexions,
which would, perhaps, have come in more pro-
perly, in the advertifement prefixed to this third
Edition ; but I transfer them to this place, that
thofe who are difpofed to purchafe the fifth volume
feparately, may be informed of every thing which
1 have thought it neceflary to add, without being
obliged to buy the other four. I would have, in
like manner, annexed the additions which I made
to my firft Edition, on the fubjed of the elongation
of the Poles, and of the Currents of the Atlantic
Ocean, had not thefe additions been too confi-
derable in bulk. But if I do not introduce them
here, word for word, I repeat at leaft the fenfe of
them ; and to thefe I fubjoin new proofs, vvhich
demonflrate the certainty of thofe important truths.

I have firft correfted, in the titles of this third
Edition, an error which had llipt into thofe of the
other two. It is indeed a matter of the laft indif-
ference to iTiy Readers, being no more than a tranf-

pofition

ADVERTISEMENT. VU

pofition of my baptifmal names ; but it has given
occafion to feme miftakes.

I do not recolleâ: my having added any thing to
the text, except a fmgle obfervation refpefting the
counter-currents of the Ohio, which I have inferted
in the firft volume of this third Edition. But it
is of confiderable importance, for it conftitutes one
proof more in favour of the explanation which I
have given of the tides.

The Reader will pleafe to remember, that I ex-
plain the diredion of our tides in fummer, toward
the north, from the counter-currents, of the ge-
neral Current, of the Atlantic Ocean, which, at
that feafon, defcends from our Pole, the ices of
which are partly melted by the aftion of the Sun
which warms it during fix months. I fuppofed that
this general Current, which then runs toward the
South, being confined by the projedion of Cape-
Saint- Auguftin in America, and by the entrance of
the Gulf of Guinea in Africa, produced on each
fide counter-currents which give us our tides, re-
afcending to the north along our coafts. Thefe
counter-currents aduallyexift in thefe fame places,
and are always produced on the two fides of a ftrait
through which a current forces itfelf. But I had
no need to fuppofe the re-actions of Cape Saint-
Auguftin and of the entrance of the Gulf of Guinea,

a 4. in

Vlll ADVERTISEMENT.

in order to make our tides rc-afcend a very great
way toward the North. The fîmple aftion of the
general Current of the Atlantic, which defcends
from the North Pole and ruflhes toward the South,
difplacing by it's impetuofity a vaft mafs of water,
which it repels to the right and to the left, is fuffi-
cient to produce, through the whole length of it*s
courfe, thofe lateral re-adions which occafion our
tides, and make them flow to the North.

I had quoted, on this fubjed, two obfervations,
the firft of which is level to every capacity. It is
that of a fource which, on difcharging itlelf into a
bafon, produces, at the fides of that bafon, a back-
ward motion or counter- current, which carries
ftraws and other floating fubflances up toward the
fource.

The fécond obfervation is extraded from the
Tïiilory of New-France by Father Charlevoix. He
tells us that, though the wind was contrary, he
failed at the rate of eight good leagues a day up
lake Michigan, againft it's general Current, with
the afliftance of it's lateral counter- currents.

But M. de Crevecœwy Author of the Letters of
an American Farmer, goes fl.ill further; for he af-
fures us, (^Vol. III. page 433) that in failing up the
Ohio, along it's banks, he made 42a miles in four-
teen

ADVERTISEMENT. IX

teen days, which amounts to more than fix leagues,
a day, *' with the affiftance," fays he, *' of the
*' counter-currents, which have always a velocity
*' equal to the principal Current." This is the
only obfervation which I have added, on account
of it's importance, and out of the refpedt which I
bear to it's Author.

Thus the general effed of the tides is placed in
the cleared light, by the inftance of the lateral
counter-currents of our bafons, into which fources
difcharge themfelves, by thofe of the lakes which
receive rivers, and by thofe of rivers themfelves,
notwithflanding their confiderable declivities, with-
out any neceffity for a particular ftrait, to produce
thofe re-a6\ions along the whole extent of their
(hores, though ftraits confiderably increafe thefc
fame counter-currents, or eddies.

The courfe of our tides toward the North ia
winter, it mud be admitted, cannot be explained
as an effeft of the lateral counter-currents of the
Atlantic Ocean, which defcends from the North,
for at that feafon it's general Current comes from
the South-Pole, the ices of which are then in fu-
fion by the heat of the Sun. But the courfe of
thofe tides toward the North, may be conceived
flill more eafily, from the dired: effed of the ge-
neral Current of the South Pole, which runs ftraight

North»

X ADVERTISEMENT.

North. In this direélion, that fouthern Current
pafles, almoft throughout, from a wider fpace into
a narrower, being confined, firft of all, between
Cape Horn and the Cape of Good-Hope, and
forcing it's way upward, into the very bays and
mediterraneans of the North, it carries before it, at
once, the whole mafs of the waters of the Atlantic
Ocean, without permitting a fingle column of
them to efcape, to the right or to the left. At the
fame time, fhould it meet on it's road, a Cape or
Strait oppofing it's courfe, there can be no doubt
that it would there form a lateral counter-current,
or tides, which would run in the oppofite direélion.
This, accordingly, is the adual effedt which it pro-
duces at Cape Saint-Auguftin in America, and
above the Gulf of Guinea, toward the tenth de-
gree of northern Latitude, in Africa j that is, at
the two places where thefe two parts of the Globe
approach the neareft : for in the fummer of the
South-Pole, the Currents and the tides, fo far from
bearing northward below thefe two points, return
to the fouth on the American fide, and run eaft-
ward on the African fide, the whole length of the
Gulf of Guinea, in contradiftion to all the Laws
of the Lunar Syftem.

I could fill a Volume with new proofs, in fup-
port of the alternate fufion of the polar ices, and
of the elongation of the Earth at the Poles, which

are

ADVERTISEMENT. XI

are confequences cf each other; but I have pro-
duced, in the preceding Volumes of this Work,
more than were neceil'iry to eftabîifli the certainty
of thefe truths. The very filence of Academies,
refpeding objefts of fuch high importance, is a
demonftration that tliey have no objection to ftart
againft my hypothefis. Had I been in the wrong,
in refuting the unaccountable error which led them
to conclude that the Earth was flattened at the
Poles, from geometrical operations, which evi-
dently demonftrate it to be lengthened, Journals,
moft of which are at their difpofal, would not
have been wanting, to reprefs the voice of a foli-
tary individual. I have met with but a fingle one
who has had the hardinefs to fupport me with a
fuffrage. Among fo many literary Potentates, who
difpute with each other the Empire of opinion,
and who traverfe that ilormy ocean, determined to
fink to the bottom all who refufe to ferve under
their banner, a foreign Journalift has hoifted, in
my favour, the flag of infurreélion. It is that of
Deux- Ponts which T mean, conformably to my
ufual cufhom of acknowledging publicly the parti-
cular fervices done me ; though the one in quef-
tion was rather a tiibute prefented to truth, than a
compliment paid to me, who am perfonally un-
known to that Writer, but whom I highly honour
for his impartiality.

On

XU AD^^ERTISEMENT,

On the other hand, if Academics have not come
forward to explain themfelves, we mud take into
confideration the embarraffment to which they felt
themfelves reduced, that of retradling publicly acon-
clufion geometrically falfe, but rendered venerable
by age, and univerfally propagated. They could not
adopt my refults without condemning their own ;
and it was impoffible for them to condemn mine,
becaufe they were fupported by adual operations
performed by themfelves. I myfelf have been no
lefs embarrafled, when, on publilhing my obferva-
tions, I found myfelf reduced to the alternative of
chufing between their efteem and their friendlhip;
but I followed the impulfe of the fentiment of
truth, which ought to abforb every political con-
fideration. The intereft of my reputation, I con*
fefs, claimed fome fmall fliare, in deciding the
point, but it was very fmall indeed. Public utility
has been my leading objedl. I have employed
neither ridicule nor enthufiafm, againft men of ce-
lebrity detecled in an error. I am not elevated
into a ftate of intoxication on the fcore of my Rea-
fon. I approached them as I would have done to
Plato laid aficep on the brink of a precipice ; fear-
ing the moment of their awaking, and ftill more
the prolongation of their flumbers. I have not
imputed their blindnefs to any want of light, an
infinuation to which the learned are fo fenfibly
alive ; but to the glare of fyilems, and efpecially,

to

ADVERTISEMENT. Xlll

to the influence of education, and the power of
moral habits, which cloud ourreafon with To many
prejudices. I have given, in the advertifement to
my firft Volume, the origin of this error, which
was firft broached h^ Newton, and the geometrical
refutation of it, in the explanation of the plates at
the head of that Volume.

J have reafpn to apprehend that my moderation
and candor have not been imitated. There ap-
peared on the 2ift of laft November, in the Paris-
Journal, a very fevere anonymous criticiAn of the
Studies of Nature. It fets out, indeed, with
a general commendation of that Work ; but it
attempts to deftroy, in detail, all the good which
the public voice feems to have extorted from it^
Thefe ftridures had been preceded, a little while
before, by certain other anonymous letters, in
which my Book was not mentioned by name, but
a cold and fubtile poifon was fprinkled over it,
without any Teeming defign, very much calculated
to produce it's effed at the long-run. I was not a
little furprized to find this malked battery opened
by an unknown adverfary upon me; for I wascon-
fcious of having endeavoured to deferve well of all
mankind, and could not imagine that I ftood in
any one's way. But on being informed that feveral
of my friends had, to no purpofe, prefented to ths
Journal of Paris, copies of verfes and profe flric-

tures,

XIV ADVERTISEMENT.

tures, in my vindication ; that long before this they
had rejeded feme fmall literary pieces, in which I
was mentioned to advantage, I became convinced
that a party had been there formed againft me.
Upon this, I had recourfe to the General Journal
of France, the impartial Compiler of which had the
goodnefs to infert my defence and remonftrance,
in his paper of the 29th November, No. 143.

Here, then, is a copy of my reply to the critic
who thought proper to employ concealment and
farcafm againft phyfical truths, and who afliimed,
in making his attack upon me, the poft of the
coward, and the arms of the ruffian.

To the Compiler of the Joiirnal-General of France»

SIR,

*' A Writer who conceals himfelf under the
*' defcription of a 5c»///<2r>' (7/"/i?(? Pjr^^/é'Vj, jealous, I
*' fuppofe, of the gracious reception beftowed by
" the Public on my Studies of Nature, has got in-
" ferted into the Journal of Paris, of yefterday the
*' 2 1 ft, a very ill-natured criticifm of that Work.

" He feems to have taken particular offence at
" my having prefumed to accufe the Academicians
" of an error, in concluding from the increafe of
" quantity in the degrees of Latitude toward the
** Poles, that the Earth was flattened there ; at my

attributing

ADVERTISEMENT. X?

'' attributing the caufe of the tides to the melting

*' of the polar ices, &:c In order to weaken

** the force of my refults, he exhibits them without
•* the proofs. He carefully keeps out of fight my
" demonftration of the faft, fo fimple and fo evi-
*' dent, by which 1 have made it to appear, that
*' when the degrees of an arch of a circle lengthen,
** the arch of the circle itfelf likewife lengthens,
** and does not become flat. This is demonftrable
" from the poles of an egg, as well as from thofe
*' of the Globe. He has not told, that the ices of
" each pole, having a circumference of from five
*' to fix thoufand leagues, in their winter, and only
** from two to three thoufand in their fummer, I
** had good ground for concluding, from their al-
" ternate fufions, all the movements of the Seas.
" He has not faid a fingle word of the multitude
*' of proofs geometrical, nautical, geographical,
** botanical, and even academical, by which I have
*^ fupported thefe new and important truths. I
*' leave it to my Readers to judge how far they are
'' folid.

" As it is evident that this anonymous Writer
" has obferved Nature only in Syftematic books ;
" th^t he oppofes names merely, to fafts ; and au-
" thorities, to reafons ; that he there confide rs as
" decidedly certain, what 1 have completely re-
** futed ; that he makes me to fay in his critique

" what

XVI ADVERTISEMENT.

** what I never did fay j that fuchcnticifm is with-
** in the reach of every fuperficial, idle, and dif-
** honeft man, who can hold a pen ; that neither
** my health, my time, nor my tafte permit me to
•' confute fuch fpecies of differtation, even had the
" author the manlinefs to Qiew himfelf : I declare,
" therefore, that in future, I will not deign to repel
** fuch attacks, efpecially on the field of the public
** papers»

** At the fame time, if there be any friend of
" truth who (hall difcover errors in my Book,
*' which, undoubtedly, may eafily be done, and
** who Ihall have fo much friendQiip for me, as ad-
*' drefs himfelf diredly to me, I will take care to
.*' have them corrected, and will openly acknow-
*' ledge the obligation in terms of the higheft re-
** fpeâ: ; becaufe, like that man, I aim at nothing
" but truth, and honour thofe only who love it.

** I ftand, Sir, quite alone. As I belong to no
" party, I have no one literary Journal at my dif-
" pofal. It is long fmce I knew by experience,
*' that I had not the credit to get any thing in-
'* ferted in that of Paris, even in the fervice of the
" miferable. Permit me to intreat you, then, to
" find a place in your impartial paper, for this my
'* prefent reply, accompanied with my folemn
*' proteflation of filence for the future.

"One

ADVERTISEMENT. XVIl

** One word more, while I complain of the ano-
** nymous critic, who has attacked my Work with
'' fo much acrimony, I feel myfelf obliged to ac-
'* knowledge that he has pronounced an exceffively
'' fulfome elogium on my flyle. I know not,
** however, which way to account for it; but I
" feel myfelf ftill more humbled by his praife than
'* irritated by his fatire.

" I have the honour to be, &c.
*' Signed y

" DE SAINT-PIERRE.

" Paris, Nov. 22, 1787."

The anonymous Reviewer promifed to enter
more minutely into an examination of my Book in
fonie following fheets of the Paris- Journal ; but
the Public having expreffed fome difpleafure at
feeing me attacked rather indecently, on a field to
which my friends had no accefs, the Editor of that
J(»urnal, willing to make a fliow of impartiality,
foon after publilhed a fragment of an epiftle in
vcrfe, intended to do me honour. This elogium
is hkewife the produd:ion of an anonymous Au-
th^r; for the virtuous conceal themfelves to do
go(>d, as the malignant to do mifchief. The verfes
detached from the piece, and which contain my
panegyric, are exceedingly beautiful; but there
are fome others in the reft of the epiftle, in my
opinion, ftill more beautiful. I would have expa-
VOL. V. b tiated

XVlll ADVERTISEMENT.

dated much more cordially in praife of them, had
they not gone much too far in praife of me. Ne-
verthelefs, gratitude conftrains me to fay, that
they are the produdion of Mr. Therejfe, Counfellor
at Law, who favoured me a year ago, in the month
of January, with this particular teftimony of his
friendfliip, and of his fuperior talents.

Let us return to the point in which the Acade-
micians are principally interefted. In order to ac-
quire conviftion that the Poles of the Earth are
drawn out lengthwife, there is not the leaft occa-
lion for folving fome tranfcendant geometrical
problem, hedged round and round with equations,
fuch as the quadrature of the circle ; it is fufficient
to poflefs the moft trivial notions of geometry and
of phyfics. Before I proceed to coUeâ: the proofs
which have already been produced, and to confirm
thefe by the produdion of others altogether new, I
beg leave to fay a word or two on the means which
may be employed for afcertaining the truth, as
much for the fake of my own inftrudion, as for
that of my critics.

We are in the bofomof ignorance, like mariners
in the midft of a fea without (hores. We perceive
in it, here and there, fome truths fcattered about
like illands. In order to hit, and to diftinguifli,
iflands in the open Sea, it is not fufficient to know

their

ADVERTISEMENT. XlX

îheîr diftance from the North, or to the Eaft.
Their Latitude gives one complete circle, and their
Longitude another ; but the interfedion of thefe
two meafurements determines precifely the place
where they are. We are capable of afcertaining
truth, in like manner, only by confidering it under
a variety of relations. For this reafon it is, that
an objeâ: which it is in our power to fubjed to the
examination of all our fenfes, is much better
known to us than an objed to which we can apply
the teft of but one. Thus, we have a much more
exad knowledge of a tree than of a ftar, becaufe
we both fee and touch the tree : the flower of the
tree affords us dill more knowledge of it than the
trunk, becaufe we can farther apply to it the teft
of fmelling; and finally, our obfervations multiply,
when we examine it by the fruit, becaufe we can
now call in the evidence of the tafte, and have the
combined information of four fenfes at once. As
to objeâ:s toward which we are able to diréâ: but
one of our organs, fiy that of vifion, we can ac-
quire the knowledge of thefe only by confidering
them under difi^erent afpefts. That tower in the
horizon, you fay, is blue, fmall and round. Yoii
approach it, and find it to be white, lofty and an-»
gular. Upon this you conclude it to be fquare ;
but on walking round it, you fee that it is pen-
tagonal. You judge it to be impoffible to afcer-
tain it's height without the help of an inftrument,

b 2 for

XX ADVERTISEMENT.

for it is of a prodigious elevation. Take an accef-
fible objeâ: of comparifon, that of your own height,
and the length of your fliadow, and you will find
the felf-fame relation between thefe, as between
the fliadow of the tower and it's elevation, which
you deemed to be inaccefllble.

Thus the knowledge of any one truth is to be ac-
quired only by confidering it under different rela-
tions. This is the reafon why God alone is really
intelligent, becaufe He alone knows all the rela-
tions which exift among all beings; and farther,
why God alone is the mod univerfally known ot all
beings, becaufe the relations which He has efta-
bliflied among things, manifeft Him in all his
Works.

All truths run into one another, like the links of
à chain. We acquire the knowledge of them only
by comparing them to each other. Had our Aca-
demicians made the proper ufe of this principle,
they muft have difcovered that the flattening of
the Poles was an error. They had only to apply
the confequences of this do6lrine to the diflribu-
t ion of the Seas. If the Poles are flattened, their
radii being the fliorteft of the Globe, all the Seas
muft prefs thitherward, as being the moft deprefled
place of the Earth : on the other hand, if the
Equator were th€ moft elevated, all the Seas muft

retire

ADVERTISEMENT. XXI

retire from it, and the Torrid Zone would prefent,
through it's whole circumference, a Zone of dry
land, of fix leagues and a half of elevation, at it's
centre i as the radius of the Globe, at the Equator,
exceeds, by that quantity, the radius at the Poles,
according to the Academicians.

Now the configuration of the Globe prefents us
with precifely the contrary of all this : for the mod
extenfive and the mod profound Seas are diredly
over the Equator ; and, on the fide of our Pole,
the land ftretches prodigioufly forward to the
North, and the Seas which it contains are only me-
diterraneans, filled with high lands.

1 he South Pole is, indeed, furrojnded by a vaft
Ocean; but as Captain Cook could get no nearer to
it than a diftance of 475 leagues, we are entirely
ignorant whether there be any land in it's vicinity.
Befides, it is probable, as I have faid elfewhere,
that Nature, which contrafts and balances all
things, has compenfated the elevation in territory
of the North Pole, by an equivalent elevation in
ice, on the South Pole, Cook found, in fa6t, the
icy cupola of the South Pole, much more extenfive,
and more elevated, than that which covers the
North Pole, and he is againft inflituting any man-
ner of comparifon on the fubjeâ:. Hear what he
fays, in defcribing one of it's folid extremities,
h % which

XXll ADVERTISEMENT.

which prevented his penetrating beyond the 71ft
degree of South Latitude, and refembled a chain
of mountains, rifing one above another, and lofing
themfelves in the clouds. " There never were
*' feen, in my opinion, mountains of ice fuch as
** ihefe, in the Seas of Greenland ; at lead 1 have
*' never read or heard of the like : no comparifon,
*' therefore, can be flared between the ices of the
*' North, and thofe of the Latitudes which I ann
** mentioning." {Cook^s Voyage?, January, 1774.)

This prodigious elevation of ices, of which Cook
faw but one extremity, may, therefore, be a coun-
terpoife to the elevation of territory on the North
Pole, eftabliflied by the learned labours of the
Academicians themfelves. But though the frozen
Seas of the South Pole may repel the operations of
Geometry, we fhall fee prefently, by two authentic
obfervations, that the fluid Seas which furround it,
are more elevated than thofe at the Equator, and
are at the fame level with thofe of the North Pole.

Let us now proceed to verify the elongation of
the Poles, by the very method which has been
made to ferve for a demonftration of their being
flattened. This lad hypothefis has acquired a new
degree of error, from it's application to the diftri-
bution of land and water upon the Globe ; that of
the elongation of tlie PoleSj is going to acquire

new

ADVERTISEMENT. XXlll

new degrees of evidence, by it's extenfion to the
different harmonies of Nature.

Let us colled:, for this purpofe, the proofs which
lie fcattered about in the preceding Volumes.
Some of them are geometrical, fome geographical,
fome atmofpherical, fome nautical, and fome aftro-
nomical.

I. The firft proof, of the elongation of the
Earth at the Poles, is geometrical. I have infert-
ed it in the explanation of the plates, at the begin-
ning of Volume Firft ; it alone is fufficient to fet
the truth in queftion in the cleareft light of evi-
dence. There was no occafion even for a figure
in order to this. It is very eafy to conceive that
if, in a circle, the degrees of a portion of this
circle lengthen, the whole portion containing thefe
degrees, mud likewife lengthen. Now, the de-
grees of the Meridian do lengthen under the polar
Circle, as they are greater there than under the
Equator, according to the Academicians; there-
fore the polar arch of the Meridian, or, which is
the fame thing, the polar curve lengthens alfo.
I have already employed this argument, to which
no reply can be given, to prove that the pC'Ur
curve was not flattened ; I can eafily employ it
likewifç to prove that it is lengthened out.

b 4 II. The

XXIV ADVERTISEMENT.

II. The fécond proof of the elongation of the
Earth at the Poles is atmofpheric. It is well
known that the height of the Atmofphere dimi-
niflies, in proportion as we afcend upon a moun-
tain. Now this height diminifhes likewife, in
proportion as we advance toward the Pole. I am
furnidied, on this fubjeâi, with two barometncal
experiments. The firft for the Northern Hemi-
fphere j and the fécond for the Southern Hemi-
fphere. The mercury in the Barometer, at Paris,
iinks one line, at the height of eleven fathom ; and
it finks likewife one line in Sweden, on an elevation
of only ten fathom, one foot, fix inches, and four
lines. The Atmofphere of Sweden, thciefore, is
lower, or, what amounts to the very fame thing. it*s
Continent is more elevated than the Land at Paris.
The Earth, therefore, lengthens out as you proceed
northward. This experiment, and it's coife-
quences, cannot be rejedled by the Academicians ;
for they are extraded from the Hiftory of the Aca-
demy of Sciences, year 1712, page 4. Con fuit
the Explanation of the plates, Atlantic Hemi-
fpherc, beginning of Vol. I,

III. The fécond experiment, to prove the lower-
ing of the Atmofphere at the Poles, was made to-
ward the South Pole. It confifts of a feries of ba-
rometrical obfervations taken, from day to day, in
the Southern Hemifphere,, by Captain Cook, duiing

the

ADVERTISEMENT* XXV

the years 1773, 1774, and 1775, from which we
fee, that the mercury fcarcely ever rofe higher
than 29 inches EngliHi, beyond the 60th degree of
South Latitude, and mounted almoft always to 30
inches, and even higher, in the vicinity of the tor-
rid Zone, which is a proof that the barometer falls
as you advance toward the South Pole, as well as
toward the North Pole, and that, confequently,
both are elongated.

The Table of thefe barometrical obfervations
may be confulted ; it is given at the end of Captain
Cook's fécond Voyage. Thofe of the fame kind,
which have been coUedcd in the following Voyage,
exhibit no regular difi'erence from each other,
whatever be the Latitude of the veflel ; which is a
proof of their inaccuracy, occafioned, moft pro-
bably, by the irregularity which miift have arifen
from the fiicceffive death of the obfervers ; name*
ly, of the intelligent Anderfon^ furgeon of the (hip,
and Cook's particular friend; of that great man
himfelf J and of Captain Gierke his fucceffor ; and,
perhaps, likewife froma zealous partizan oîNewion,
who might have been difpofed to throw a cloud
over fads fo contrary to his fyllem of the flatten-
ing of the Poles.

IV. The fourth proof of the elongation of the
Polesj is nautical. It confifts of itx experiments

of

XXVI ADVERTISEMENT.

of three different fpecies. The two firil experi-
ments are taken from the annual defcent of the
ices of each Pole toward the Line ; the two fé-
cond, from the Currents which defcend from the
Poles during their fummer ; and the two laft, from
the rapidity and the extent of thefe fame Currents,
which perform the tour of the Globe alternately
during fix months : three are for the North Pole,
and three for the South Pole.

The firft experiment, that deduced from the
defcent of the ices of the North Pole, is detailed
in the Firfl Volume of this Work, Study Fourth.
I have there quoted the teftimonies of the mod ce-
lebrated Navigators of the North ; particularly of
Ellis of England, of Lift/choîtefî and Barents of Hol-
land, OÏ îilarlens of Hamburg, and of Denis the
French Governor of Canada, who atteft, that thefe
ices are of a prodigious height, and that they are
frequently met with in the fprirg, in temperate
Latitudes. Denis affures us, that they are loftier
than the turrets of Notre-Dame, that they fome-
times form floating chains of more than a day's
failing, and that they run aground as far fouth as
the great bank of Newfoundland. The moft nor-
therly part of this bank hardly extends beyond
the fiftieth degree ; and mariners engaged in the
whale-fifliery, do not fall in with the folid ices, in
fummer, till they approach the 73tb degree. But

oi\

ADVERTISEMENT. XXVll

on the fuppofition that thofe folid ices extend, in
winter, from the Pole to the 65th degree, the float-
ing ices detached from the icy Continent, perform
a courfeof 375 leagues, in the two firft months of
fpring. It is not the wind whicli drives them
fouthward, for the fiOiing veffels which meet them
have frequently fair winds ; variable winds would
carry them indifferently to the North, to the Eafl,
or to the Weft : but it is the Current, from the
North, which carries them conftantly, every year,
toward the Line, becaufe the Pole, from which
they take their departure, is more elevated,

V. The fécond experiment, of the fame kind, for
the South Pole, is extraded from Captain Cook's
Voyage, the loth December, 1772. '' The loth
"'December, 8 o'clock in the morning, we difco-
" vered ices to our North-Weft;" to which Mr,
Forjler adds : "and about two leagues to wind-
*' ward, another mafs, which refembled a point of
" white land. In the afternoon, we pafled clofe by
*' a third, which was cubical, and was two thou-
*' fand feet long, two hundred feet broad, and, at
*' leaft, two hundred feet in height." Cook was
then in the 51ft degree of South Latitude, and two
degrees weft Longitude from the Cape of Good-
Hope, He faw a great many more, up to the
17th January, 1773 5 but being at that epocha, in
the Latitude of 65 degrees, 13 minutes. South, he

was

XXVIU ADVERTISEMENT.

was flopped by a bank of broken ice, which pre-
vented his going farther foiuhward. Thus, oa
the fuppofition that the firft ice with which he
found himfelf entangled on the loth of December,
had taken it's departure from that point on the
loth of Oftober, the feafon at which it is fuppofed
that the adion of the Sun has begun to diflblve the
ices of the South Pole, it muft have advanced at
leaft 14 degrees, that is 350 leagues, toward the
Line, in two months : that is, muft have travelled
nearly the fame diftance, in the fame fpaceof time,
with the ices which defcend from the North Pole.
The South Pole, therefore, as well as the North
Pole, is more elevated than the Equator, feeing
it's ices defcend toward the torrid Zone.

VI. The third nautical experiment, demonftra-
tive of the elongation of the North Pole, is de-
duced from it's Currents themfelves, which iflue
diredly from the bays, and the ftraits of the North,
with the rapidity of fluices. I have quoted, to
this purpofe, the fame Navigators of the North ;
Linfchotien and Barents, employed by the States of
Holland, to difcover a North-weft paflage to
China ; and Ellis, entrufted WMth a commiflion
from England, to attempt a North-eaft paflage to
the South Sea, through the bottom of Hudfon's Bay.
They have difcovered at the extremity of thofe
Northern Seas, Currents which iflued from bays

and

ADVERTISEMENT. XXlX

and ftraits, running at the rate of from eight to ten
leagues an hour, hurrying along with them an in-
finite multitude of floating icy promontories, and
of tumultuous tides, which, as well as the Currents,
precipitated themfelves diredly from the North,
from the North- eaft, or from the North- weft, ac-
cording as the land lay. In conformity to thofc
invariable and multiplied fafts, I myfelf have de-
rived complete convidion, that the fufion of the
polar ices was the fécond caufe of the movement of
the Seas ; that the Sun was the primary caufe -, and
on this 1 founded my theory of the tides. See,
Vol. I. Explanation of the Plates, Atlantic Hcmi-
fphere.

VII. The Currents of the South-Sea, in like
manner, have their fource in the ices of the South
Pole. Hear what Cook fays on the fubjeft, in his
Journal, January 1774. *' Indeed the majority of
" us were of opinion, that this ice extended to the
*' Pole ; or that it might poffibly join fome land,
*' to which it has adhered, from the earlieft times :
** that to the South of this parallel, are formed all
'/ the ices which we found here and there to the
. ** North ; that they are afterwards detached by vio-
^ lent gufts of wind, or by other caufes, and thrown
** to the North by the Currents, which in high
" Latitudes, we always obferved to bear in that
" direaion.'*

This

XXX ADVERTISEMENT.

This fourth nautical experiment, accordingly,
proves that the South Pole is elongated, as well as
the North Pole ; for if both were flattened, the
Currents would fct in towards them, inftead of
flowing toward the Line.

Thofe Southern Currents, are not fo violent at
their fource as the Northern, becaufe they are not,
like them, coUeded in bays, and afterwards dif-
gorged by ftraits ; but we fhall fee prefently that
they extend quite as far.

VIII. The fifth nautical proof of the elevation
of the Poles above the Horizon of all Seas, is
founded on the rapidity, and the length of their
Currçnts, which perform the tour of the Globe.
The Reader may confult, on this fubjeél, the ex-
tent of my refearches, and of my proofs, at the be-
ginning of my firft Volume, in the explanation of
the plate, Atlantic Hemifphere. I quoted, firft,
the Current of the Indian Ocean, which flows fix
months toward the Eaft, and fix months toward
the Weft, according to the teftimony of all the
Navigators of India. I have demonftrated that
this alternate and half-yearly Current cannot pofli-
bly be afcribed, in any one refpe6t, to the courfe
of the Moon and of the Sun, which uniformly
move from Eaft to Weft, but to the combiried

heat

AÎ>VERTISEMENT. XXXI

heat of thofe luminaries, which melt, for fix
months alternately, ihe ices of each Pole.

I have afterwards adduced two very curious ob-
fervations, in proof of the exiftenceof a fimilar al-
ternate and half-yearly Current in the Atlantic
Ocean, in which, till now, no fuch thing had been
fufpeded. The firfi: is that of Rennefort, who
found, in the month of July 1666, on leaving the
Azores, the Sea covered with the wrecks of a na-
val engagement, which had taken place nine days
before, between the EngliOi and Dutch, off
Oftend. Thefe wrecks had been carried along,
in nine days, more than 275 leagues to the South,
which is confiderably above 30 leagues a day: and
this is a fifth nautical experiment, which proves,
from the rapidity of the Currents of the North,
the confiderable elevation of that Pole above the
Horizon of the Seas.

IX. My llxth nautical experiment demonftrates
particularly the elevation of the South-Pole, from
the extent of it's Currents, which, in winter, force
their way up to the extremities of the Atlantic. It
is the obfervation of Mr. Pennant, the celebrated
Englifli Naturalift, who relates, that the Sea threw
on the coafts of Scotland, the maft of the Tilbury-
man of war, which was burnt in the road of Ja-
maica j and that they every year pick up on the

Uiores

XXXII ADVERTISEMENT.

fhores of the northern iiles, the feeds of plants
which grow no where but in Jamaica. Cook hke-
wife aflures us, in the Journal of his Voyages, as
an undoubted faft, that there are found, every
year, on the coaft of Iceland, in great quantities,
large flat and round feeds called the ox-eye,
which grow only in America.

X. and XI. The aftronomical proofs, of the
(elongation of the Poles, are three in number. The
two firft are Lunar. I mean the two-fold obferva-
tion of Tycho-Brhaè and of Kepler, who faw, in
central eclipfes of the Moon, the fhadowofthe
Earth lengthened at the Poles. I have quoted it
Vol. I. Study IV. It is impoiTible to oppofe any
thing to the ocular teftimony of two Aftronomers
of fuch high reputation, whofe calculations, fo far
from being favoured, were deranged, by their ob-
fervations.

XII. The third aftronomical proof, of the elon-
gation of the Poles, is Solar, and refpeds the
North Pole. It is the obfervation oÇ Barents ^ who
perceived, in Nova Zembla, in the 76th degree of
North Latitude, the Sun in the Horizon, fifteen
days fooner than he expecfled. The Sun, in this
cafe, was two degrees and a half more elevated
than he ought to have been. Allowing one de-
gree for the refradion of the Atmofphere, in win-
ter,

ADVERTISEMENT. XXXllI

ter, at the 76th degree of North Latitude, or even
a degree and a half, which is a very confiderable
conceffion, there would remain one degree at leaft,
for the extraordinary elevation of the Obferver,
above the Horizon of Nova Zembla. I have, on
thisoccafion, detedied another miflake.of the Aca-
demician Bouguer, who fixes the greateft refradion
of the Sun at no more than 34 minutes, for all cli-
mates. It is eafy to fee that I do not avail myfelf
of all the advantages given me by the Gentlemen
whofe opinions I am combatting. See Vol. I. Ex-
planation of the plate, Atlantic Hemifphere.

All thefe twelve proofs, deduced from the dif-
ferent harmonies of Nature, mutually concur in
demonftrating that the Poles are elongated. They
are fupported by a multitude of fads, the number
of which it were eafy for me to increafe ; whereas
the Academicians are unable to apply to any one
phenomenon of the Earth, of the Sea, or of the
Atmofphere, their refult of the flattening of the
Poles, without inftantly discovering it to be a
miftake. Befides, Geometry alone is fufficient to
convince them of it.

They have, I admit, made the vibrations of the
pendulum to quadrate with it ; but that experiment
is liable to a thoufand errors. It is, at leaft, as
much to be fufpeded as that of the burning mir-

YOL. V. c ror.

XXXIV-^ . ADVERTISEMEiiT.

ror, which has fervedthem as a foundation to con-
clude that the rays of the Moon had no heat ;
whereas the contrary has been proved both at Rome
and at Paris,, by Profeffors of Phyfics. The pen-
dulum lengthens by heat, and contracts by cold. It
is very difficult to counterbalance it's variations, by
an: affemblage of rods of different metals. On the
Gthcr hand, it is very eafy for men, prejudiced
firomi infancy by zha dodtrine of attradion, to make
a miflake of fome lines in favour of it. Befides,
all thefe petty methods of Phyfics, fubjeâ: to fo
many mifreckonings, can in no refpeâ: whatever
contradiâ: the elongation of the Poles of the Earth,
of which Nature exhibits the fame refults on the
eheSea, in the Air, and in the Heavens.

The elongation of the Poles being demonftrated.,
the Current of the Stras and of the tides follows as
a natural confequence. Many perfons obferving
a co-incidence, between our tides, and the phafes
of the Moon, of the lame increafes and diminu-
tions, have concluded as certain, that this lumi-
nary, by means of her attraction, is the firft mov-
ing principle of thofc phenomena : but thefe co-
incidences exift only in one part of the Atlantic
Gcean. They proceed, not from the attraction of
the Moon adingupon the Seas, but from her heat,
reflefted from the Sun on' the polar ices, the effu-
fions of which llie increafes,. conformably to cer-
tain

Advertisement* îtxxv

tain Laws peculiar to our Continents. Every
where elfe, the number, the variety, the duration,
the regularity and the irregularity of the tides, have
no relation whatever to the phafes of the Moon,
and co-incide, on the contrary, with the effeds of
the Sun on the polar ices, and the configuration of
the Poles of the Earth. This we are now going to
demonftrate, by employing the fame principle of
comparifon which has enabled us to refute the er-
ror of the Academicians refpeding the flattening
of the Poles, and to prove the truth of my theory
refpefting their elongation.

If the Moon aded, by herattradion on the tides
of the Ocean, flie would extend the influence of it
to mediterranean feas and lakes. But, this is not
the cafe, as mediterranean feas and lakes have no
tides, at lead, no lunar tides ; for we haVe obferved
that the lakes, fituated at the foot of icy moun-
tains, have, in fummer, folar tides, or a flux like
the Ocean. Such is the lake of Geneva, which has
a regular afternoon's flux. This co-incidence, of
the flux of lakes in the vicinity of icy mountains,
with the heat of the Sun, gives, at once, a high
degree of probability to my theory of the tides ;
and, on the contrary, the difagreement of thofe
fame fluxes with the phafes of the Moon, as well
as the tranquility of mediterraneans, when that
flat pafl^es over their meridian, render, at firfl: fight,

c 2 her

XXXVl ADVERTISEMENT.

her attraflion more liable to fafpicion. But we
ftiall fee prelently, that in the vaft Ocean itfelf, the
greateft part of the tides have no manner of rela-
tion either to her attraction or to her courfe.

I have already quoted, in the explanation of the
plates, the Navigator JDampier, who informs us,
that the highefl: tide which he obferved, on the
coafts of New Holland, did not take place till three
days after the full Moon. He affirms, as well as
all the Navigators of the South, that the tides rife
very little, between the Tropics, and that they are,
at mofl, from four to five feet high, in the Eaft
Indies, and a foot and a half only, on the coafts of
the South Sea.

Let me now be permitted to afk. Why thofe
tides, between the Tropics, are fo feeble, and fo
much retarded, under the direâ; influence of the
Moon ? Wherefore the Moon, by her attradlion,
gives us two tides every twenty-four hours, in our
Atlantic Ocean, while (he produces but one in
many places of the South Sea, which is incompara-
bly broader ? Wherefore there are, in that fame
South Sea, diurnal and femidiurnal tides, that is of
twelve hours and of fix hours ? Wherefore the
greateft part of the tides take place there conftant-
]y at the fame hours, and rife to a regular height
almofl all the year round, whatever may be the ir-
regularities

ADVERTISEMENT. XXXviî

regularities of the phafes of the Moon ? Why there
are fome which rife at the quadratures, juft as at
the full and new Moons ? Wherefore are they al-
ways ftronger in proportion as you approach the
Poles, and frequently fet in towards the Line, con-
trary to the pretended principle of their impulfion ?

Thcfe problems, which it is impoffible to folve
by the theory of the Moon's attradion at the Equa-
tor, are of eafy folution, on the hypothefis of the
alternate adion of the Sun's heat on the ices of the
two Poles.

I am going, firfl:, to prove this diverfity of the
tides, even from the teftimony of Newton's compa-
triots, and zealous partifans of his fyftem. My
witneiTes are no obfcure men ; they are perfons of
fcience, naval officers of the King of Great Britain,
feledled, one after another, by the voice of their
Nation, and the appointment of their Prince, to
perform the tour of the Globe, and to derive from
their obfervaiions, information of importance to
the ftudy of Nature. They are men of no lefs
note than Captains Byron., Carteret^ Cooke, Clerke,
and the Aftronomer Mr. JVales. To thefe I (liall
fubjoin the teftimony of Nezvton himfelf. Let us,
firft of all examine what they relate refpeding the
tides of the fouthern part of the South Sea.

In

XXXVlll ADVERTISEMENT.

In the road of the ifland of Maflafuero, in 33
degrees, 46 minutes of South Latitude, and 80 de-
grees, 22 minutes,- Weft Longitude, from the Me-
ridian of London " The fea runs twelve

" hours to the North, and then flows back twelve
" hours to the South." (Captain Byron, April,
1765-)

As the iiland of Maflafuero is in the fouthern
part of the South Sea, it's tides, which fet in to the
North in April, run, therefore, toward the Line*
in contradidion to the lunar fyftem : befides, it*s
tides are of twelve hours duration ; another diffi-
culty.

At Englifh Creek, on the coaft of New Britain,
about the 5th degree of South Latitude, and 152
degrees of Longitude, " The tide has a flux and
*' reflux once in twenty four hours." (Captain
Carteret, Auguft, 1767,)

At the Bay of the Ifles, in New Zealand, toward
34 degrees, 59 minutes of South Latitude, and 185
degrees, 36 minutes. Weft Longitude: *' From the
" obfervations which I have been able to make
*' on the coaft, relatively to the tides, it appears,
^' that the flood fets in from the South." (Captain
Çoi?/^, December, 1769.)

HçTÇ

ADVERTISEMENT. XXX'IX

Here are ftill tides in the open Seas which run
toward tlie Line, againfl the impullion of the
Moon. They defcended, at that feafon, to New
Zealand, from the South Pole, the Currents of
which were then in a ftatc of aélivity, for it was
the fummer of that Pole, being t^e month of De-
cember. Thofe of Maffafuero, though obferved
in the month of April, by Captain Byron, had
likewife the fame origin, becaufe the Currents of
the North Pole, which do not commence till to-
ward the end of March, at the time of our vernal
Equinox, had not as yet begun to check the in-
fluence of the South Pole, in the Southern He»
mifphere.

At the mouth of River Endeavour, in New Hoi-
land, 15 degrees, 26 minutes of South Latitude,
and 214 degrees, 42 miriures Weft Longitude,
where Captain Cook refitted his veffel, after having
run aground; " Neither the flood tide, nor the
" ebb, were confîderable, except once in twenty-
*' four hours, juft as we found it while we were fall
" upon the rock." (Captain Cook^ June, 1770 )

At the entrance of Chriftmas harbour, in Ker-
guelen'sLand, about 48 degrees, 29 minutes South
latitude, and 68 degrees, 42 minutes Eaft Lon-
gitude; " While we were lying at anchor, we ob-
'^ ferved that the flood-tide came from the South-

c 4 " Eaft»

Xl ADVERTISEMENT.

*' Eaft, running two knots, at leaft, in an hour."
(Captain Cook, December, 1776.)

Here, accordingly, is another tide which de-
fcended diredly from the South Pole. It appears
that this tide was regular and diurnal, that is, a
tide of twelve hours ; for Cook adds, a few pages
afterwards : *' It is high-water here, at the full and
** change days, about ten o'clock j and the tide
*^ rifes and falls about four feet."

In the illands of O-Taiti, in 17 degrees, 29 mi-
nutes. South Latitude, and 149 degrees, 35 mi-
nutes Longitude ; and of Ulietea, in 16 degrees,
45 minutes, South Latitude : " Some obfcrvations
*' were alfo made on the tide ; particularly at Ota-
** heite and Ulietea ; with a view of afcertaining
" it's greatefh rife at the firft place. When we
" were there, in my fécond voyage, Mr. fVa/es
** thought he had difcovercd, that it rofe higher
*' than I had obferved it to do, when I firfl vifited
" Otaheite in 1769. But the obfervations we now
** made proved that it did not; that is, that it ne-
** ver rofe higher than twelve or fourteen inches
" at moft. And it was obferved, to be high-water
*' nearly at noon, as well at the quadratures, as at
" the full and change of the Moon." (Captain
Cook, December, 1777.

Cook

ADVERTISEMENT. xU

Cook gives, in this place of his Journal, a table
of the tides in thofe iflands, from the firft up to the
twenty- fixth of November; from which it is evi-
dent that they had but one tide a day, and this, dur-
ing the whole courfe of the month, was at it's
mean height, between eleven and one o'clock. It
is, accordingly, evident, that tides fo regular, at
epochs of the Moon fo different, could have no
relation whatever to the phafes of that luminary.

Cook was at Taïti, in 1 769, in the month of July,
that is, in the winter of the South Pole : He was
there a fécond time, in 1777, in the month of De-
cember, that is, in it's fummer ; it is accordingly
poffible, that the effufions of this Pole, being then
more copious, and nearer to Taïri, than thofe of
the North-Pole, the tides mJght be ftronger in that
ifland, in the month of December, than in July,
and that Mr. IVûks, the Aftronomer, was in the
right.

Let us now obferve the effeds of the tides, in the
northern part of the South Sea.

At the entrance of Nootka, on the coafl of Ame-
rica, in 49 degrees, 36 minutes, of North Latitude,
and 233 degrees, 17 minutes, Eaft Longitude :
** It is high-water on the days of the new and full
" Moon, at 12 hours, 20 minutes. The perpen-
dicular

Xliî ADVERTISEMENT.

*' dicular rife and fall, eight feet nine inches;
*•' which is to be underftood of the day-tides, and
*' thofe which happen two or three days after the
*' full and new Moon. The night-tides, at this
*' time, rife near two feet higher. This was very
" confpicuous during the fpring-tide of the full
** Moon, which happened foon after our arrival ;
*' and it was obvious, that it would be the fame in
*' thofe of the new Moon, though we did not re-
" main here long enough to fee the whole of it's
«^ eiFea:." (Captain Cook, April, 1778.)

Here, then, are two tides a day, or femi-diurnal,
on the other fide of our Hemifphere, as in our own;
whereas it appears that there is only one in the
fouthcrn Hemifphere, that is, in the South Sea
only. Farther, thofe femi-diurnal tides differ from
ours, in this, that they take place at the fame hour,
and that they exhibit no fenfible rife till the fécond
or third day after the full Moon. We fhall pre-
fently unfold the reafon of thefe phenomena, which
are totally inexplicable on the hypothefis of the
Lunar Syftem.

We fhall fee, in the two following obfervations,
thofe northern tides of the South Sea, remarked in
April, becoming, in higher Latitudes, on the fame
coaft, ftronger in May, and ftill ftronger in June,
which cannot, in any refpeft, be referred to the
courfe of the Moon, which paffes then into the

fouthern

ADVERTISEMENT, xVÙl

fouthern Hemifphere, but to the courfeof theSun,
which pafles into the northern Hemifphere, and
proceeds to warm, more and more, the ices of the
North Pole, the fulion of which increafes, in pro-
portion as the heat of the ftar of day increafes.
Befides, the diredion of thofe tides of the North
toward the Line, and other circumftances, willcon-
ftitute a complete confirmation that they derive
their origin from the Pole.

At the entrance of Cook's River, on the coaft: of
America, toward 57 degrees, and 51 minutes,
North Latitude : *' Here was a flrong tide fetting
** to the Southward out of the inlet. It was the
** ebb, and ran between three and four knots in
*' an hour ; and it was low water at ten o'clock.
** A good deal of fea-weed, and fome drift-wood,
** were carried out with the tide. The water too
*' had become thick like that in rivers ; but we
** were encouraged to proceed by finding it as fait
" at low water as the ocean. The ftrength of the
'* flood-tide was three knots ; and the ftream ran
** up till four in the afternoon." (Captain Cooky
May, 1778.)

By knoiSj the failors mean the divifions of the
log-rope ; and by /og, a fmall piece of wood which
they throw into the Sea tied to a rope, for meafur-
ing the courfeofa veflel. When in one minute,
three divifions^ or knots, of the rope run out from

the

xliv ADVERTISEMENT.

the fhip, they conclude that the veffel, or the cur-
rent, is making three miles an hour, or one league.

On falling up the fame inlet, at a place where it
was only four leagues broad ; " Through this
*' channel ran a prodigious tide. It looked fright-
** ful to us, who could not tell whether the agita-
" tion of the water was occafioned by the ftream,
" or by the breaking of the waves againft rocks er

*' fands Here we lay during the ebb, which

*' ran near five knots in the hour (one league two
" thirds). Until we got thus far, the water had
** retained the fame degree of faltnefs at low, as at
" high-water i and at both periods, was as fait as
** that in the Ocean. But now the marks of a Ri-
" ver difplayed themfelves. The water taken up
" this ebb, when at the lowefl, was found to be
*' very confiderably frefher, than any we had hi-
*' therto tafted , infomuch that I was convinced
*' we were in a large river, and not in a ftrart,
*' communicating with the Northern Seas." (Cap-
tain Cook, 30th May, 1778.)

What Ccok calls the inlet, to which the name of
Cook's great River has (ince been given, is, from
it's courfe, and it's brackifli waters, neither a ftrair,
nor a river, but a real northern fluice, through
which the effulions of the polar ices are difcharged
into the Ocean. We find othess of the fame kind

at

ADVERTISEMENT. xlv

at the bottom of Hudfon's Bay. Ellis was miftaken
in thefe, in taking them for (traits which had a
communication from the Northern Ocean to the
South Sea. It was in the view of diffiparing the
doubts which had remained on this fubjeâ:, that
Cook attempted the fame inveftigation, to the nortii
of the coafts of California.

Continuation of the difcovery of the interior of
the Inlet, or Cook's great River : " After we had
*^ entered the Bay, the flood fet ftrong into the ri-
" v€r Turnagain ; and ebb came out with flill
*' greater force ; the water falling, while we lay at
*' anchor, twenty feet upon a perpendicular."
(Captain Cooky June, 1778.)

That which Coo/è calls the ebb, or the reflux, ap-
pears to me to be the flood, or the flux itfelf, for
it was more tumultuous, and more rapid than what
he calls the flux ; for the re-adion never can be
more powerful than the adion. The falling tide,
even in, our rivers, is never fo ftrong as the rifing
tide. This laft generally produces a bar at the
mouth of the ftream, which the other does not.

Cook, prepoflefled in favour of the prevailing
opinion, that the caufe of the tides is between the
Tropics, could not afllime the refolution to con-
fider this flood, which came from the interior of

the

Xlvi ADVERTISEMENT.

the land, as a real tide. Neverthelefs, in the op-
pofite part of that fame Continent, I mean, at the
bottom of Hudfon's Bay, the flood, or the tide,
comes from the Weft, that is, from the interior of
the country.

The following is what we find related, on this
fubjeél, in the Introdudion to Cook's third Voyage.
" Middleton, who commanded the expedition in
*' 1741 and 1742, into Hudfon's Bay, had pro-
** ceeded farther North than any of his predecef-
*' fors in that navigation. He had, between the
" latitude of 65^ and 66^, found a very confider-
'* able inlet running VVeftward, into which he en-
" tered with his fhips; and, after repeated trials of
** the tides, and endeavours to difcover the nature
'^ and courfe of the opening, for three weeks fuc-
** ceffively, he found the flood conftantly to come
" from the Eaftward, and that it was a large river
*' he had got into, to which he gave the name of
*' Wager River.

*' The accuracy, or rather the fidelity of this re-
** port was denied by Mr. Dobbs, who contended
*' that this opening is a Strait, and not afre/Jj water
^' river, and that Middleton, if he had examined
*' it properly, would have found apaflage through
" it to the Weftern American Ocean. The failure
*' of this Voyage, therefore, only ferved to furnifii

*« out

ADVERTISEMENt. xlvU

" our zealous advocate for the difcovery, with new
** arguments for attempting it once more ; and he
" had the good fortune, after getting the reward
** of twenty thoufand pounds eftablilhed by adt of
*' parhament, to prevail upon a fociety of Gentle-
*' men and Merchants to fit out the Dobbs and
** Cahfornia ; which fliips, it was hoped, would be
*' able to find their way into the Pacific Ocean, by
" the very opening which Middleton's voyage had
*' pointed out, and which he was believed to have
*' mifreprefented.

*' This renovation of hope only produced frefli
** difappointment. For it is well known, that the
** Voyage of the Dobbs and California *, inflead of
** confuting, ftrongly confirmed all that Middleton
*' had afferted. The fuppofed ftrait was found to
** be nothing more than a frefh water river, and
** it's utmoft Weftern navigable boundaries were
" now afcertained, by accurate examination.'*

Wager s river, accordingly, produces a real tide
from the Weft, becaufe it is one of the flu ices
which open from the North into the Atlantic
Ocean : it is evident, therefore, that Cook's great
River produces, on it's fide, a real tide from the

* Mr. Ellis embarked in the Vo);age, and he it is who wrote
the relation of it, which I have repeatedly quoted.

Eaft,

Xlviii ADVERTISEMEIÏT.

Eaft, becaufe it is likevvife one ot thefluices of the
North into the South Sea.

Befides, the height and the tumult of thofe tides
of Cook's great River, fimilar to thofe of the bot-
tom of Hudfon's Bay, of Waigat's Strait, &c. the
diminution of their faltnefs, their general direflion
toward the Line, prove that they are formed in
fiimmer, in the north of the South Sea, as well as
in the north of the Atlantic Ocean, from the fufion
of the ices of the North Pole.

In thefequel of Cook's Voyage, finiQied by Cap-
tain Gierke, we fhall find two other obfervations, re-
fpeding the tides, which the lunar fyftem is equal-
ly incapable of accounting for.

At the Englifh obfervatory, Sandwieh-Iflands,
in the bay of Karakakoo, in 19 degrees, 28 mi-
nutes, North Latitude, and 204 degrees Eaft Lon-
gitude, *' The tides are very regular, flowing and
" ebbing fix hours each. The flood comes from
*^ the Eaftward; and it is high-water, at the full
*« and change of the moon, forty-five minutes pad
" three, apparent time." (Captain Clerke, March,

I779-)

At St. Peter and St. Paul's town, in Kamchatka,
in c^i degrees, 38 minutes North Latitude, and 1 58

degrees,

ADVERTISEMENT. xHx

degrees, 43 minutes, EaR Longitude, " it was
*' high-water, on the full and change of the Moon,
'* at thirty-fix minutes pad four, and the greateft rife
*' was five feet eight inches. The tides were very
" regular every twelve hours.'* (Captain Gierke,
Odober, 1779.)

Captain Gierke, prejudiced, as well as Gook^ in
favour of the fyftem of the Moon's aitradion, in
the torrid Zone, {trains, to no purpofe, to refer to
the irregular phafes of that ftar, the tides which
take place at regular hours in the South Sea, as
well as their other phenomena. Mr. IVales, the
Aftronomer, who accompanied Gook on his fécond
Voyage, is obliged to acknowledge, on this fubject,
the defedivenefs of Newton's theory. Hear what
he fays of it, in an extradt infertcd in the general
Introduftion to Gook's laft Voyage : " The num-
*^' ber of places, at which the rife and times of flow-
** ing of tides have been obfcrved, in thefe voyages,
" is very great ; and hence an important article of
*' ufeful knowledge is afforded. In thefe obferva-
*' tions, fome very curious, and even unexpected
** circumftances have offered themfelves to our
" confideration. It will be fufîicient to inflance
" the exceedingly fmall height to which the tide
" rifes, in the middle of the great Pacific Ocean ;
" where it falls fliort two-thirds, at leaft, of what
VOL. V. d " mighc

1 ADVERTISEMENT.

" might have been expedled from theory and cal-
** culation."

The partifans of the Newtonian fyftem would
find themfelves reduced to very great embarraff-
ment, were they called upon to explain, in a fatis-
fying manner, firft, Why there are, daily, two
tides of fix hours, in the Atlantic Ocean? then.
Why there is but one of twelve hours, in the fou-
thern part of the South Sea, as at the ifland of
Taïti, on the coaft of New Holland, on that of
New Britain, at the ifland of Maflafuero, &c. ?
Why, on the other hand, in the northern part of
that very fame South Sea, the two tides of fix hours
re-appear every day equal, at the Sandwich iilands;
unequal on the coaft of America, at the entrance of
Nootka ; and toward the fame Latitude, reduced
to a fingle tide of twelve hours, on the coaft of
Afia, at Kamchatka ?

I could quote odiers ftill more extraordinary.
On account of thofeftrongly marked, and very nu-
merous diflbnances, of the courfe of the tides, with
that of the Moon, with a fmall number of which
only, however, Nezvton was acquainted, he himfelf
was conftrained to admit, as I have mentioned in
another place, *' that there muft be, in the perio-
" dical return of the tides, fome other mixt caufe,

" hitherto

ADVERTISEMENT.

li

" hitherto unknown." (Neivtons Phllo/ophy, Chap.
18.)

This other caufe hitherto unknown, is the fufion
of the polar ices, which confift of a circumference
of from five to fix thoufand leagues, in their win-
ter, and from two to three thoufand, at moft, in
their fummer. Thofe ices, by flowing alternately
into the bofom of the Seas, produce all their various
phenomena. If, in our fummer, there be two
tides a day in the Atlantic Ocean, it is becaufe of
the alternate divergent effufions of the two Conti-
nents, the old and the new, which approach to-
ward the North, whereof the one pours out by day,
and the other by night, the waters from the ice,
which the Sun melts on the Eaft and on the Weft
fide of the Pole he encompafiTes every day with his
fires, and thaws for fix months together If there be
a retardation of 22 minutes of one tide, from that
which fucceeds it, it is becaufe the cupola of the
polar ices, in fufion, daily diminifhes, and becaufe
it's effluxes are retarded by the finuofities of the
Atlantic channel. If, in our winter, there are like-
wife two tides, undergoing a daily retardation on
our coafts, it is becaufe the effluxes of the South
Pole, entering into the channel of the Atlantic,
likewife undergo two divergent impulfions at it's
mouth i the one in America, at Cape Horn, and
the other in Africa, at the Cape of Good- Hope.

d 2 Thefe

lii

ADVERTISEMENT.

Thefe two alternate divergent effufions of the Cur-
rents of the South Pole, if I am not midaken, is
the very circumftance that renders thefe two Capes,
which receive their firft impulfion, fo tempefluous,
and the doubling of them fo difficult, during the
fummer of that Pole, to veflels going out of the
Atlantic Ocean ; for then they meet in the teeth
the Currents which are defcending from the South
Pole. For this reafon it is, that they find it ex-
tremely difficult to double the Cape of Good-
Hope, during the months of November, Decem-
ber, January, February, and March, on Voyages
to India, and that, on the contrary, they pafs it with
eafe in our fummer months, becaufe they are then
aflifted by the Currents of the North Pole, which
waft them out of the Atlantic. They experience
the contrary of this on their return from India,
during our winter months.

I am induced, from thefe confiderations, to be-
lieve that veffels on their way to the South Sea,
would encounter fewer obflacles in doubling Cape
Horn, during it's winter than during it's fummer;
for they would not be then driven back into the
Atlantic by the Currents of the South Pole, and
they would be affifled, on the contrary, in getting
out of it, by thofe of the North Pole. I could
fupport this conjeflure by the experience of many
Navigators. That of Admiral An/on will perhaps

be

ADVERTISEMENT. YÛÏ

be adduced as an objedion ; but he d,oubIed this
Cape only in the months of March and April, which
are, befides, two of the mod tempeftuous months
of the year, beca-afe of the general revolution of
the Atmofphere, and of the Ocean, which takes
place at the Equinox, when the Sun paffes from
the one Hemifphere to the other.

Let us now explain, upon the fame principles,
why the tides of the South Sea do not refemble
thofe of the Atlantic Ocean. The South Pole has
nor, as the North Pole has, a double Continent,
which feparates into two the divergent effufions,
which the Sun daily fets a flowing from it's ices.
Nay it has no Continent whatever : it has, confe-
quently, no channel, in paffing through which it's
effluxes fliould be retarded. It's effufions, accor-
dingly, flow diredly into the vaft Southern Ocean,
forming, on the half of that Pole, a feries of diver-
gent emanations which perform the tour of it in
twenty-four hours, like the rays of the Sun. When
a bundle of thefe effufions falls upon an iiland, it
produces there a tide of twelve hours, that is, of
the fame duration with that which the Sun employs
in heating the icy cupola, through which the Me-
ridian of that ifland pafles. Such are the tides of
the Iflands of Taiti, of Maffafuero, of New Hol-
land, of New Britain, &c. Each of thefe tides
kits as long as the courfe of the Sun above the Ho-

d 3 rizon.

liv ADVERTISEMENT.

rizon, and is regular like his courfe. Thus, while
the Sun is heating, for twelve hours together, with
his vertical fires, the fouthern iflands of the South
Sea, he cools ihem by a tide of twelve hours, which
he extrafts out of the ices of the South Pole, by his
horizontal fires. Contrary effecfts frequently pro-
ceed from the ilime caufe.

This order of tides is by no means the fame in
the northern part of the South Sea. In that oppo-
iîte part of our Hemifphere, the two Continents
flill approach toward the North. They pour,
therefore, by turns, in fummer, into the channel
which feparates them, the two femi-diurnal effu-
fions of their Pole, and there they colled, by turns,
in winter, thofe of the South Pole, which produces
two tides a day, as in the Atlantic Ocean. But as
this channel, formed to the north of the South Sea,
by the two Continents, is extremely widened to
below the 55th degree of North Latitude, or ra-
ther, as it ceafes to exifh by the almoft fudden re-
treating of the American and the Afiatic Conti-
nents, which go off divergently to the Eaft and to
the Weft, it comes to pafs, that thofe places only,
which are fituated in the point of divergence of the
northern part of thefe two Continents, experience
two tides a day. Such are the Sandwich Iflands,
fituated precifely in the confluence of thefe two
Currents, at proportional diftances from America

and

ADVERTISEMENT, Iv

and from Afia, toward the 21 ft degree of North
Latitude. When this place is more expofed to
the Current of the one Continent, than to that of
the other, it's two femi-diurnal tides are unequal,
as at the entrance of Nootka, on the coaft of Ame-
rica ; but when it is completely out of the influ-
ence of the one, and entirely under that of the
other, it receives only one tide a day, as at Kam-
chatka, on the coaft of Afia, and this tide is then
of twelve hours, as the adion of the Sun on the
half of the Pole, the effufions of which, in this cafe,
undergo no divifion.

Hence it is evident, that two harbours may be
fituated in the fame fea, and under the ûme pa-
rallel, and have, the one two tides a day, and the
other only one, and that the duration of thofe tides,
whether double or fingle, whether double equal, or
double unequal, whether regular or retarded, is al-
ways of twelve hours, every twenty-four hours;
that is, precifely the time which the Sun employs
in heating that half of the polar cupola from which
they flow ; which cannot poflibly be referred to the
unequal courfe of the Sun between the Tropics,
and ftill much lefs to that of the Moon, which is
frequently but a few hours above the Horizon of
fiich harbour.

d 4 I have

Ivi ADVERTISEMENT.

1 have edablifhed, then, by fads (impie, dear^
and numerous, the difagreement of the tides in
mod Seas, with the pretended adion of the Moon
on the Equator, and, on the contrary, their perfeâ:
co-incidence with the adion of the Sun on the ices
of the Poles,

I beg the Reader's pardon, but the importance
of thofe truths obliges me to recapitulate them.

ift. The attradion of the Moon, as ading on
the waters of the Ocean, is contradided by the in-
fenfibility to her influence of mediterraneans and
lakes, which never undergo any motion when that
luminary pafTes over their Meridian, and even over
their Zenith. On the contrary, the adion of the
heat of the Sun, which extrads from the ices of the
Poles, the Currents and the Tides of the Ocean, is
afcertained by his influence on the icy moun-
tains, out of which iflue, in fummer, currents and
fluxes which produce real tides in the lakes which
are at their feet, as is vifible in the lake of Geneva,
fituated at the bottom of the Rhetian Alps. The
Seas are the lakes of the Globe, and the Poles arc
the Alps of it.

2dly. The pretended attradion of the Moon on
the Ocean is totilly inapplicable either to the two
tides of fix hours, or femi-diuinal, of the Atlantic

Ocean,

ADVERTISEMENT. Ivîî

Ocean, becaufe that ftar pafles daily only over it's
Zenith; and equally (o to the tide of twelve hours,
or diurnal, of the fouthern part of the South Sea,
becaufe it pafles, every day, over both the Zenith
and Nadir of that vaft Ocean ; and to the tides
whether femi-diurnal or diurnal of the northern
part of that fame Ocean, and to the variety of it's
tides, which here increafe at the full * and new-
Moons, and there, feveral dnys after, which here
increafe at the quadratures, and there diminilh ;
and to their uniform equality at other places ; and
to the diredion of thofe which go toward the Line,
and to their elevation, which increafes toward the
Poles, and diminiflies under the very Zone of lunar
attradion, that is, under the Equator. On the
contrary, the aflion of the heat of the fun, on the
Poles of the World, perfedly explains the fuperior
height of the tides, near the Poles, and their de-
preffion, near the Equator : their divergence from

* I am of opinion, with P!in}', that the Moon by her heat
diflblves ice and fnow. Accordingly, when file is at the full, flie
muft contribute to the fufion of the polar ices, and confequently
to the rifing of the tides. But, if thefe increafe upon our coafts
at the new-moon likewife. I think that thofe fuperabundant
meltings have alfo been occafioned by the full Moon, and are re-
tarded in their courfe by fome particular configuration of one of
the two Continents. At any rate, this difficulty is not of harder
folution, on my theory, than on that of attraction, which, in other
refpeéls, is incapable of explaining the greateft part of the nautical
phenomena that I have juft i-elated.

the

Iviii ADVERTISEMENT.

the Pole whence they flow, and their perfeA con -
cordance with the Continents from which they de-
fcend ; being double in twenty-four hours, when
the Hemifphere which emits them, or which re-
ceives them, is feparated into two Continents;
double and unequal, when the divergency of the
two Continents is unequal ; fimple and fmgular,
when there is only one Continent which emits
them, or when there is no Continent at all,

3dly. The attradion of the Moon, which goes
always from Eaft to Weft, cannot in any refpeft be
applied to the courfe of the Indian Ocean, which
flows for fix months toward the Eaft, and fix
months toward the Weft ; nor to the courfe of the
Atlantic Ocean, which flows fix months to the
North, and fix months to the South. On the con-
trary, the aétion of the half-yearly and alternate
heat of the Sun, around each Pole, covered with a
Sea of ice, of five or fix thoufand leagues circum-
ference, in winter, and of two or three thoufand in
fummer, is in perfeâ: accord with the half-yearly
and alternate Current which defcends from this
Pole, in it's flux toward the oppofite Pole, con
formably to the diredion of the Continents, and of
the Archipelagoes, which ferve as fliores to it.

On this fubjed I beg leave to obferve, that
though the South Sea does not appear to prefent

any

ADVERTISEMENT. Hx

any channel to the courfe of the polar effluxes,
from the vaft divergence of America and Afia, we
may, however, catch a glance of one, fenfibly form-
ed by the projedlion of it's Archipelagoes, which are
in correfpondence with the two Continents. By
means of this channel it is, that the Sandwich
Illands, which are fituated in the northern part of
the South Sea, toward the 21ft degree of Latitude,
have two tides a day, from the divergent pofition
of America and of Afia, though the ftrait, which
feparates thefe two Continents, be in the 65th de-
gree of North Latitude. Not that thofe iilands
and this ftrait of the North are exadly under the
fame Meridian ; but the Sandwich iflands are placed
on a curve, correfponding to the finuous curve of
America, and whofe origin would be at the ftrait
of the North. That curve might be prolonged to
the moft remote Archipelagoes of the South Sea,
which are vifited with two tides a day ; and it
would there exprefs the Current formed by the
divergent feparation of America and Afia, as has
been faid in another place. All iflands are in the
midft of currents. On looking, therefore, at the
South Pole of the Globe, with a bird's-eye view
wc fhould fee a fucceffion of Archipelagoes, dif-
perfed in a fpiral line all the way to the Northern
Hemifphere, which indicates the Current of the
South Sea, juft as the projeélion of the two Conti-
nents, on the fide of the North Pole, indicates the

Current

Ix ADVERTISEMENT.

Current of the Atlantic. Thus the conrfe of the
Seas, from the one Pole to the other, is in a fpiral
line round the Globe, like the courfe of the Sun
from the one Tropic to the other.

This perception adds a new degree of probabi-
lity to the correfpondence of the movements of the
Sea with thofe of the Sun. I do not mean to aflert
that the chain of Archipelagoes, which projeâ: in a
fpiral direction in the South Sea, is not interrupted
in fome places ; but thofe interruptions, in my ap-
prehenfion, proceed only from the imperfection of
our difcoveries. We might, if I am not miftaken,
extend them much farther, by guiding ourfelvesin
the difcovery of the unknown iilands of that Sea,
upon the projedion of the iflands which are already
known. Such voyages ought not to be made, in
a direct progrefs from the Line toward the Pole,
or by defcribingthe fame parallel round the Globe,
as the practice has been ; but by purfuing the fpi-
ral diredion, of which I have been fpeaking, and
which is fufficiently indicated by the general Cur-
rent itfelf of the Ocean. Particular care ought to
be taken to obferve the nautical fruits which the
alternate Current of the Seas never fails to waft
from one Ifland to another, frequently at prodi-
gious diitances. It was by thofe fimple and na-
tural means, that the ancient Nations, of the South
of Afia, difcovered fo many iilands in the South

Sea,

ADVERTISEMENT. Ixl

Sea, where their manners, and their language are
diflinguifhable to this day. Thus, by abandoning
themfelves to Nature, who frequently féconds us
much better than our own ikill, they landed, with-
out the help of chart or inftrument, on a multitude
of iflands, of which they had never fo much as
heard the names.

I have indicated, in the beginning of the firft
Volume, thofe fimple methods of difcovery and of
communication between maritime Nations. It is
in the explanation of the plates, where I am fpeak-
ing of the Atlantic Hemifphere, and on the fubjed
of Chrijiopher Columbus^ who, on the point of pe-
rifliing at fea, on his firft return from America, put
the relation of his difcovery in a cafk, which he com-
mitted to the waves, in the hope that it might be
caft on fome fhore. On that occafion I obferved,
that " a limple glafs bottle might prefcrve fuch a
*' depofit for ages, on the furface of the Ocean,
** and convey it oftener than once, from the one
*' Pole to the other." This experiment has jufl
been realized, in part, on the coafts of Europe *.

The

* I would recommend it to Navigators, who take an intereft
in the progrefs of natural knowledge, frequently to repeat this ex-
periment, which is fo eafy, and attended with fo little expenfe.
There is no place where empty bottles are more common, and of
lefe ufe, than on board a Iliip. On leaving port, there are a great

number

I&ii ADVERTISEMENT*

The account of it is given in the Mercury of
France, of Saturday 12th January, 1788, No. 2,
pages 84 and 85^ political part.

*' In

number of bottles filled wine, beer, cider, and fpirits, the great
part of which are emptied in the courfe of a few weeks, without
the means of filling them again, during the whole voyage. In the
view of committing fome of them to the fea, there might be fitted
to them, perpendicularly, a little mafl with a bit of cloth, or tuft
of white feathers at the top. This fignal would detach it from
the azury ground of the Sea, and render it perceptible a great way
off. It would be proper to cafe it round with cordage, to pre-
vent it's being broken, on reaching a (liore, to which the Currents
and the Tides would infallibly carry it, fooner or later. Eflays
of this fort will appear mere children's play to our men of feience,
but they may be matters of the laft importance to fea-faring peo-
ple. They may ferve to indicate to them the direction and the
velocity of the Currents, in a manner much more infallible, and of
far greater extent, than the log which is thrown, on board of fliips,
or than the httle boats which are fet a-floating. This laft method,
thouoh frequently employed by the illuftrious Cook, never could
give any thing more than the relative velocity of the boat and of
the fhip, and not the intrinfic velocity of the Current. Finally,
fuch eflays, expofed to hazard as they are, may be employed by-
mariners at Sea, to convey intelligence of themfelves to their
friends, at immenfe diftances from land, as is evident in the expe-
riment of the Bay of Bifcay, and to obtain afliftance from them,
fliould they have the misfortune to be fliipwrecked on fome de-
fert ifland.

We do not repofe fufficient confidence in Nature. We might
employ, preferably to bottles, fome of the trajeftiles which flie
ufes, in different climates, to keep up the chain of her correfpon-
dences all over the Globe. One of the moft widely diffufed over

the

ADVERTISEMENT.

Ixiii

«' In the month of May of this year, fome
" fidiermen of Arromanches, near Bayeux, found

at

the tropical Seas, is the cocoa. This fruit frequently fails to
Ihores five or fix hundred leagues diftant from that on which it
grew. Nature formed it for croffing the Ocean. It is of an ob-
long, triangular, keel-fhaped form, fo that it floats away on one
of it's angles, as on a keel, and paffing through the fl:raits of rocks,
it runs afliore at length on the ftrand, where it quickly germi-
nates. It is fortified againfl: the fhock of driving aground by a
cafe called caire, which is an inch or two thick over the circumfe-
rence of the fruit, and three or four at it's pointed extremity,
which may be confidcred as it's prow, with fo much the more
reafon, that the other extremity is flattened like a poop. This
caire or hulk, is covered, externally, with a fmooth and coriaceous
membrane, on which characters might be traced ; and it is form-
ed, internally, of filaments interlaced, and mixed with a powder,
refembling faw-duft. By means of this elaftic cover, the cocoa
may be darted, by the violence of the billows, upon rocks, with-
out receiving any injury. Farther, it's interior fliell confifls of a
matter more flexible than {tone, and harder than wood, impe-
netrable to water, where it may remain a long time, without
rotting ; this is the cafe with it's hulk likewife, of which the In-
dians, for this very reafon, make excellent cordage for fhipping.
The fliell of the cocoa-nut is fo very hard, that the germ never
could force it's way out, had not Nature contrived, in it's pointed
extremity, where the caire is ftrongeft, three fmall holes, covered
with a fimple pellicle.

There are, befides, a great many other bulky vegetables, which
the Currents of the Ocean convey to prodigious diflances, fuch as
the firs and the birches of the North, the double cocoas of the
Sechelles iflands, the bamboo^ of the Ganges, the great bulruflics
of the Cape of Good-Hope, &c. It would be very eafy to write
on their ftems with a fliarp-pointed fliell, and to render them
diftinguifiiable at Sea, by fome apparent fignal.

Similar

Ixiv

ADVERTISEMENT.

*' at Sea a fmall bottle well corked np. Impatient
*' to know what it might contain, they broke it;
" it was a letter, the addrefs of which they could
" not read, conceived in the Englith Language.
•' They carried it to the Judge of the Admiralty,
*' who had it depofited in his regiftry. The in-
*' fcription announcing that it belonged to an

Similar refources might be found among amphibious animals,
fuch as tortoifes, which tranfport themfelves to inconceivable
diftances, by means of the Currents, I have read fomewhere in
the Hifl:ory of China, that one of it's ancient Kings, accompanied
by a ciowd of people, one day beheld a tortoife emerge from the
Sea, on the back of which were infcribed the Laws which, at this
day, conftitute the bafis of the Chinefe government. It is pro-
bable that this Legiflator had availed himfclf of the moment, when
this tortoife come on fliore, according to cuftom, to look out for a
place where to lay her eggs, to write upon her back the Laws which
he wiflied to eftablifli ; and that he, in like manner, took advan-
tage of the day following this arrangement, when that animal ne-
ver fails to return to the fame place, to depofit her eggs, to im-
prefs on a fimple People a refpeft for Laws which iflued out of
the bofom of the Ocean, and at light of the wonderful tablets on
M'hich they were infci ibed.

Sea-birds might, farther, furnifli more expeditious methods of
communication, in as much as their flight is very rapid, and that
they were fo familiar on the defert fliores, that you may take them
by the hand, as I know from my own experience on the ifland of
Afcenfion. There might be affixed to them, together with a let-
ter of information, fome remarkable fignal ; and choice might be
made, in preference, of fuch birds as arrive regularly at different
(eafons, and which frequent particular fliores, nay of the land
birds of paflage, fuch as the wood-pigeon.

Englifll

ADVERTISEMENT. IxV;

*• EngliQi Lady, he took pains to inform himfelf
** whether fueh a perfon exifted, and employed the
" methods which prudence didated, to have the
" letter fafely conveyed to her. The hufband of
'* that Lady, a man of letters well known in hi$
** own country, by feveral valuable hterary pro-;
*' dudlions, has juft written in return ; and after
** exprefllng his gratitude to the Judge, in very
" flrong terms, informs him that the letter in quef-
" tion was from a brother of his wife's, on his way
*' to India. He wilhed to communicate to his
** fifter fome intelligence refpeding himfelf. A
*' veflel which he had feen in the Bay of Bifcay,
** and which feemed to be proceeding for England,
** had fuggefted the idea of it. He was in hopes
** that it might be in his power to get his letter put
*' on board of her, but (he having altered her
" courfe, the thought fl^ruck him of putting it
** into a bottle, and of throwing it into the Sea." -

At length, the journals *, by good fortune, flep
in to fupport my theory.

In

* While this advertiferaent was printing, the Journal of Paris
publifhed, without my knowledge, an extiaft of my letter to the
Editor of the General Journal of France, in anfwer to my anony-
mou? Critic. This inftance of candor difcovers, on the part of
the Compilers, a much higher degree of impartiality with refpeft
to me, than I fuppofed. It is worthy of men of letters who pof-
fefs an influence over the public opinion, and who do not wifh

VOL. V. e to

Ixvi ADVERTISEMENT.

In the view of procuring for a faâ: of fo much
importance, all the authenticity of which it is
fufceptible, I wrote to a L-ady of my friends, in
Normandy, who cultivates the ftudy of Nature
with fmgular tafte, in the bofom of her own family,
entreating her to apply to the Judge of the Admi-
ralty, for certain articles of information from Eng-
land, for which I had occafion, I even delayed,
in expeftation of her anfwer, the printing off thiâ
flieet, for almoft fix weeks. The following are the
particulars, which the Judge of the Admiralty of
Arromanches had the politenefs to communicate
to her, and which flie was fogood as to convey to
me, this 24th of February 1788.

" The bottle was found two leagues off at fea,
*' to the right of the parifh of Arromanches, which
** is itfelf two leagues diftant, to the North-eaft,
" from the city of Bayeux, on the 9th of May
'' 1787, and dcpofited in the Regiftry of the Ad-
•* miralty, the loth of the fame month.

** Mr. Elphinjîon^ the hufband of the Lady to
** whom the letter was addrefled, intimates, that

to incur the reproach, which they themfelves fometimes impute,
with fuch good reafon, to the corps who formerly oppofed the
difcpveries that militated agairift their fyftems. I take this op-
portunity of doing juftice to the impartiality of the Gentlemen
Compilers of the Journal of Paris, as I always did to their
taleftts,

*' he

ADVERTISEMENT. Ixvil

** he cannot pretend to affirm whether it was the
** author of the letter who bottled it up, in the Bay
" of Bifcay, the 1 7th of Auguft 1786, Latitude 45
*' degrees, 10 minutes North, Longitude 10 de-
" grees, 56 minutes Weft, as it is dated ; or whe-
'* ther fome perfon on board the veffel which pafTed
** them, committed it to the waves.

*' The veflel's name was Nacket, and the one on
** her voyage to Bengal was called the Intelligence,
** commanded by Captain Linjîon.

" The names of the fifhermen are Charles le Ro'
** main, mafter of the boat ; Nicholas Frefnel, Jean-
" Baptijle le Bas, and Charles T Ami, mariners, all of
" the pariQi of Arromanches.

" Signed,

" PHILIPPE-DE-DELLEVILLE."

The pariQ-j of Arromanches is about i degree
Weft Longitude from the Meridian of Greenwich,
and in 49 degrees, 5 minutes North Latitude.
Accordingly the bottle thrown into the Sea in 10
degrees, 56 minutes Weft Longitude, and 45 de-
grees, 10 minutes North Latitude^ floated nearly 10
degrees of Longitude, which, in that parallel, at
the rate of about 17 leagues to a degree, make

e 2 17©

Ixviii ADVERTISEMENT.

170 degrees toward the Eaft. Again, it advanced'
4 degrees northward, having been picked up two
leagues to the North of Arromanches, that is, in
49 degrees, 10 minutes Latitude, which makes
100 leagues toward the North, and in whole, 270
leagues. It employed 266 days in performing this
route, from the 17th Auguft 1786 to the 9th of
May 1787, which is lefs than a league a day. This
velocity, undoubtedly, is not to be compared to
that with which the wrecks of the battle of Oftend
defcended to the Azores, at the rate of more than'
• 35 leagues a day, as has been related in the begin-
ning of Vol. I. The Reader might be difpofed to
call in queftion the accuracy of Rennefort\ obferva-
tion, and at the fame time, the confequence which
I have deduced from it, to demonftrate the ve- •
locity of the general Current of the Ocean, had
1 not elfewheie proved it by many other nautical
fads, and were not the Journals of Navigators fil-
led with fimilar expériences, which attfeft, that the
Currents and Tides frequently carry veflels along,
at the rate of three and four miles an hour, nay
run with the rapidity oflluices, making from eight
to ten leagues an hour, in llraits contiguous to the
polar ices in fufion, conformably to the tellimony
of Ellh^ of Linfchotten and oï Barents. But 1 venture
to affirm, that the flowneis with which the letter;
thrown overboard in the entrance of the Bay of
i •'■: . , Bifcay;

ADTERTISEMENT. ixiX

Bifcay, arrived on the coafts of Normandy, is a
new proof of the exiilence and of the velocity of
the alternate and half-yearly Current of the Atlan-
tic Ocean, hitherto unknown, which I have affimi-
lated to that of the Indian Ocean, and afcribed to
the fame caufe.

It may be afcertained, by pricking the chart,
that the place where the Englifliman's bottle was
toffed into the Sea, is more than 80 leagues from
the Continent, and precifely in the direftionof the
middle of the opening of the Britilh Channel,
through which paffes one arm of the general Cur-
rent of the Atlantic, which carried, in fummer,
the wrecks of the battle of OAend as far as the
Azores. Now, this Current was likewife bearing
fouihward, when the Englifh traveller committed
to it a letter for his friends in the North, for it was
the I 7th of Auguft, that is, in the fummer of our
Pole, when the fufion of it's ices is flowing fouth-
ward. This bottle, therefore, failed toward the
Azores» and, undoubtedly, far beyond them, dur-
ing the remainder of the month of Auguft, and the
whole month of September, till the equinodial re-
volution, which fends backward the courfe of the
Atlantic, by the effufionr, of the South Pole, began
to -waft it again to the North.

e c» It's

IXX ADVERTISEMENT.

It's return, therefore, is to be calculated only
from the month of Oftober, when I fuppofe it to
be in the vicinity of the Line, the calms of which
may have flopped it, till it felt the influence of the
South Pole, which does not acquire aftivity, in our
Hemifphere, till toward the month of December.
At that epoch, the courfe of the Atlantic, which
goes to the North, being the fame with that of our
tides, it might have been brought near our fhores,
and there expofed to many retardations, by the
difgorging of the rivers which croffed it*s courfe,
as they threw themfelves into the Sea, but chiefly
by the re-adion of the tides : for if their flux fees
in toward the North, their reflux carries back to
the South.

It is of efi"eniial importance, therefore, to make
experiments of this kind in the open Sea, and efpe-
cially to pay attention to the diredion of the Cur-
rent of the Ocean, for fear of conveying fouthward
intelligence defigned for the North, At the feafon
when that Current is not favourable, advantage
might be taken of the tides, which frequently run in
the contrary diredion ; but as I have juft obferved,
there is this great inconveniency, that jf their flux
fets in northward, their reflux carries back again
teward the South.

The

ADVERTISEMENT. JXXI

The tides have, in their very flux and reflux,
a perfedl conibnance with the general Currents of
the Ocean, and the courfe of the Sun. They flow
during twelve hours in one day, whether they be
divided into two tides of fix hours, by the projec-
tion of the two Continents, as in the northern He-
rn ifphere ; or whether they flow for twelve hours
uninterruptedly, as in the fouthern Hemifphere :
juft as the general Current of one Pole flows fix
months of the year. Accordingly, the tides, which
confift of twelve hours, in all cafes, are of a dura-
tion precifely equal to that which the Sun employs
in warming the half of the polar Hemifphere from
which they flow, that is one half-day ; as the ge-
neral Current which iffues from that Pole, flows
precifely during the fame time that the Sun warms
that whole Hemifphere, namely, during half the
year. But as the tides, which are only the polar
effufions of half a day, have refluxes equal to their
flux, that is, of twelve hours, in like manner, the
general Currents, which are the half-yearly eflu-
fions of a whole Pole, have refluxes equal to their
flux, that is of fix months, when the Sun puts thofe
of the oppofite Pole in a fl:ate of adivity.

Did time and room permit, I could fliew how
thofe fame general Currents, which are the fecon-
dary moving principles of tiie tides, carry our Na-

e 4 vigators

Ixxii AUVÈRTISEMEi^T.

vigators fometimes fafter, and fometimes flower
than their calculation, according to the feafon of
each Pole, I could find a multitude of proofs of
this in Voyages round the World, among others,
in Captain Cook's fécond and thud Voyages. Thefe
Currents frequently interpole obftacles almoft in*-
furmountable to vefTel s making the land. For ex-
ample, when i'^ook left the ifland of Ta'iti, in De-
cember 1777, on his way to make difcoveries to-
ward the North, hedifcovered the Sandwich iflands
in purfuing that courfe, where he landed without
any difficulty, becaufe the Current of the South
Pole was in his favour; but when he returned
from the North, and wilhed to take in necelïary
refrefhments at thofe very iflands, he found the
Current from the South fo adverle, at the fame
feafon, that though he came within fight of them
on the 26th of November 1778, it took him more
than fix weeks tacking about, before he could find
proper anchoring ground, and could noi get to his
moorings, till the 17th January 1779. Accor-
dingly, the right feafon for landing on iflands which
areof ahigher Latitude than that from whence the
departure is taken, is the winter of it's Hemi-
fphere, as is evident from the example of his re-
turn to the fame iflands. 1 could multiply facts
in fupport of a theory fo important to Navigation,
were 1 not apprehenfive of encroaching on the

patience

ADVERTISEMENT. Ixxiii

patience of the Reader. I have the confidence,
then, to flatter myfelf with having placed in the
cleareft light, the coincidence of the movements
of the Ocean with thofe of the Sun, and their dif-
agreement with the phafes of the Moon.

I could produce more than one objeftion againfl
the fyftem of attradion itfelf, on which Newton ac-
counts for the motion of the planets in the Hea-
vens. Not that I deny, in general, the Law of
attraâiion, of which we fee the effefts on the Earth,
in the gravity of bodies, and in magnetifm ; but I
do not find that the application which has been
made of it, by Newton, and his partifans, to the
courfe of the planets, is accurate. According to
Newton, the Sun and the Planets reciprocally at-
traâ: each other with a force which is in the direft
proportion of their mafles, and the inverfe propor-
tion of the fquare of their diflance. A fécond
force blends itfelf with attradion, to preferve the
planets in their orbits. From thefe combined
forces there rcfults an ellipfe, for the curve de-
fcribed by each planet. This curve is continually
undergoing alteration, by the aflion exercifed by
the Planets over each other. By means of this
theory, the courfe of thofe ftars is traced in the
Heavens, with the utmoft precifion, according to
the Newtonians, The courfe of the Moon alone

had

Ix^lV ADVERTISEMENT.

had appeared refradory to it ; but, to employ the
terms ufed in an Introduâiion to the ftudy of
Aflronomy, an extradt of whicn was given in the
Mercury of the ift December 1787, No. 48,
*' This fatellite, which the celebrated Ualley called
*' an obftinate ftar, Siàiis pertimx, on account of
** the great difficulty of calculating the irregulari-
*.' ties of her courfe, has been, at lafl:, reduced to
" fubjediion, by the ingenious methods of MeflVs.
" Clairault, Ruler ^ .D'alembert, de la Grange, and dti
*' la Placer

Here, then, are the mod refradory fîars fub-
jeded to the Laws of attraction. 1 have but one
little objeclion to m.ak.e againft this domin ition,
and the learned methods, which have fubdued the
Moon's courfe. How comes it, that the recipro-
cal attrapions of the planets fhould have been cal-
culated with fo much precifion, by our Adrono-
mers, and that they fhould have fo exadly weighed
the mj-ifes of them, when the Planet difcovered a
tew years ago, by Herjchel, had not as yet been
put into their fcales ? Does this Planet, then,
at trad nothing, and does it feel itfeif no at-
traction ?

God forbid that I fliould mean to injure the re-
putation of JSeii-îoHj and of the ingenious En-
quirers

ADVERTISEMENT. IjfXV

quirers who have followed his fteps. If, on the
one hand, they have betrayed us into fome errors,
they have contributed, on the QLher, to enlarge the
field of human knowledge. Had Newton never
invented any thing except his telefcope, wefhould
have been under inexpreffible obligations to him.
He has extended to Man the fpherc of the Uni-
verfe, and the fentiment of the infinity of God.
Others have diffufed, through all ranks of Society,
a tafte for the ftudy of Nature, by the fuperb pic-
tures which they have exhibited of her. While I
was detedling their miftakes, I refpedled their vir-
tues, their talents, their difcoveries, and their pain-
ful labours. Men equally celebrated, fuch as
Plato, Arijiotle^ Pliny^ De/carles, and many others,

had, like them, given currency to great errors

The Philofophy of Ariftotle alone had been, for
ages, the moft infurmountable obftacle to the in-
veftigation of truth. Let us never forget that the
Republic of Letters, ought to be in reality a Re-
public, which acknowledges no other authority but
that of Reafon. Befides, Nature has placed each
of us in the World, to keep up an immediate cor-
refpondence with herfelf. Her intelligence irra-
diates all minds, as her Sun illuminates all eyes.
To ftudy her Works only in fyftems, is to obferve
them merely with the eyes of another perfon.

I(

Ixxvi

•APVER.T1SEMENÎ.

It was not my intention, then, to exalt myfelf on
the ruins of any one. I do not \vi(h to rear my
own pedeftal. A graffy turf is elevation fufficient
to him who afpires no longer after any thing but
repofe. Did I poflfefs the courage to prefent, my-
felf, the Hiftory of the weaknefs of my own mind,
rt would awaken the compaffion of thofe whofe
envy I may have perhaps provoked. Of how many
errors, from infancy upward, have I been the dupe f
By how many falfe perceptions, ill-founded con-
tempts, miftaken eftimations, treacherous friend-
fliips, have I praftifed illufion upon myfelf! Thofe
prejudices were not adopted by me on the faith of
another only, but on my own. It is not my ambi-
tion to attradl admirers, but to fecure indulgent
friends. I prize much more highly the man who
bears with my infirmities, than I do him who exag-
gerates my puny virtues. The one fuppo.its me in
my weaknefs, and the other fupports himfelf on my
ftrength ; the one loves me in my poverty, and the
other adheres to me in my pretended affluence.
Time was when I fought for friends among the
men of the world ; but of thefe I hardly found any
except perfonswho expeded from you unbounded
complailance ; proteftors, who lie heavy upon you,
inftead of fuftaining your weight, and who attempt
to cruQi you, if you prefume to aflert your own li-
berty. At prefent, I \vi(\\ for no friends but among

thofe

ADVERTISEMENT. Ixxvil

thofe whofe fouls are fimple, candid, gentle, inno-
cent, and endowed with fenfibility. They intereft me
much more, if ignorant rather than learned, fuffer-
ing rather than profperous, in cottages rather than
in palaces. They are the perfons for whom I com-
pofed my book, and they are the perfons who have
made it's fortune. They have done me more good
than I wiflied to them, for their repofe. I have
adminiftered to them fome confolations j and, in
return, they have conferred on me a tribute of
glory. I have prefented to them only the perfpec-
tives of hope ; and they, with emulous zeal, have
ftrained to accumulate upon me a thoufand real
benefits. My mind was engrofl'ed only with the
ills which they endure ; and they have reftlefsly
promoted my happinefs. It is in the view of ac-
quitting fome part of the obligations under which
I lie to them, in my turn, that I have compofed
this additional Volume. May it merit for me,
anew, fuffrages fopure, founbiafled, and (o affed:-,
ing ! They are the alone objedt of my wifhes.
Ambition difdains them, becaufe they are not pof-
feffed of power ; but time will one day refped
them, becaufe intrigue can neither give nor dcflroy
them.

This Volume confifts of two Hiftories, of which
i give fome account in the particular advercife-

ments

IxXviii ADVERTISEMENT.

ments which precede them. They are followed
by numerous and long Notes, which fometimes
deviate from their Text. But every thing is in
union with every thing, in Nature, and Studies ad-
mit of univerfal collection. 1 am, accordingly, in-
debted to the Title of my Book, for the advan-
tage, which is far from being inconfiderable to ta-
lents feeble and variable like mine, of going which
way I pleafe, of attaining where I can, and of flop-
ping Iliort when I feel my ftrength fail.

Some perfons to whom I read the Piece entitled
THE Gauls, exprefled a wifh that I would not
publilli it, till the Work, of which it is a part,
Ihould be completed : but I am uncertain whether
I ever (liall enjoy leifure to execute it, and whe-
ther this fpecies of antique compofition is likely to
pleafe the tafte of the prefent age. It is, I admit,
only a fragment ; bur fuch as it is, it conftirutes a
complete Work, for it prefents an entire pidure of
the manners of our Anceflors, during the domina-
tion of the Druids. Belldes, in the mod finiihed
labours of Man, What is to be found but frag-
ments ? The Hiftory of a King is only a fragment
of the Hiftory of his Dynafty ; that of his Dynafty,
a fragment of the Hiftory of his Kingdom j that of
his Kingdom, a fragment of the Hiftory of the
Human Race ; which is itfelf merely a fragment

of

ADVZRTISEMENT. Ixxlx

of the Hiftory of the beings which inhabit the
Globe ; the univeifai Hiftory of which would be
nothing, after all, but a very fliort Chapter of'the
Hiftory of the innumerable Stars which revolve
over our heads, at diftances which bid defiance to
all the powers of Calculation.

P.^L

PAUL

AND

VIRGINIA.

PREFACE.

1HAVE propofed to myfelf an objeA of no
mean importance, in compofing this little
Work. I have endeavoured to paint, in it, a foil,
and vegetables, different from thofe of Europe.
Our Poets have long enough compofed their lovers
to reft, on the banks of the rivulets, in the flowery
meads, and under the foliage of the beech-tree.
My wi(li is to feat mine on the (hore of the Sea,
at the foot of rocks, under the ftiade of cocoa-
trees, bananas, and citrons in bioffom. Nothing
is wanting to the other Hemifphere of the Globe,
but a Theocrilns, or a Firgily\n order to our having
pidures, at leaft, as interefting as thofe of our owa
Country.

I am aware, that travellers, of exquifite tafte,
have prefented us with enchanting defcriptions of
feveral of the iflands of the South-Sea; but the
planners of their inhabitants, and ftill more, thofe
of the Europeans which frequent them, frequently
mar the landfcapes. It was my defire to blend
with the beauty of Nature, between the Tropics,
the moral beauty of a fmall Society It was like-
wife my purpofe, to place in a ftrikiog light cer-

s 2 taia

4 STUDIES OF NATURE.

tain truths of high moment, and this one in par-
ticular : That human happinefs confifts in living
conformably to Nature and Virtue.

It was not necelTary for me, however, to com-
pofe a romance, in order to exhibit a reprefenta-
tion of happy families. I declare, in the moft fo-
lemn manner, that thofe which I am going to dif-
play, have actually exifted, and that their Hiflory
is ftridly true, as to the principal events of it.
They were authentically certified to me by many
refpeclable Planters, with whom I was acquainted,
in the Ifle of France. I have connefled with them
only a few indifferent circumftances ; but which,
being perfonal to myfelf, have, on that very ac-
count, the fame merit of reality.

When I had formed, fome years ago, a very
imperfed flietch of this fpecies of Paftoral, I be-
fought a fine Lady, who lived very much in the
Great World, and certain grave perfonages, who
mingle very little with it, to hear it read over, , in
order to acquire fome pre-fentiment of the effeét
which it might produce on Readers of a charader
fo very different : I had the fatisfadion of obferv-
ing, that it melted them all into tears. This was the
only judgment which I could form on the matter,
as, indeed, it was all that I wiQied to know. But, as
a great vice frequently walks in the train of medio-
crity

PREFACE.

crity of talents, this fuccefs infpired me with the
vanity of giving to my Work the title of, A Pic-
ture of Nature. Happily for me, I recolle6led to
what a degree the nature of the climate in which I
received my birth was ftrange to me ; to what a
degree, in countries where I have contemplated
the produdions of Nature merely as a paflenger,
Ihe is rich, various, lovely, magnificent, myfte-
rious ; and to what a degree, I am deftitute of fa-
gacity, of tafte, and of expreffion, to know, and
to paint her. On this I checked my vanity, and
came to myfelf again. I have therefore compre-
hended this feeble effay under the name, and
placed it in the train, of my Studies of Nature, to
which the Public has granted a reception fo gra-
cious, in order that this title, recalling to them my
incapacity, may likewife preferve an everlafting re»
colledion of their own induleence.

B 3 STUDIES

STUDIES

OF

N A T tJ R E,

PAUL AND VIRGINIA.

ON the eaftern declivity of the mountain which
rifes behind Port-Louis, in the Ifle of France,
are ftill to be feen, on a fpot of ground formerly-
cultivated, the ruins of two little cottages. They
are fituated almoft in the middle of a bafon, formed
by enormous rocks, which has only one opening
turned toward the North. From that opening,
you perceive, on the left, the mountain known by
the name of Mount-Difcovery, from which fignals
are repeated, of veffels fleering for the ifland ; and,
at the bottom of this mountain, the city of Port-
Louis ; to the right, the road which leads from
Port-Louis to the quarter of Pamplemoufles ; af-
terwards the church of that name, which rifes,
with it's avenues of bamboos, in the middle of a
great plain ; and, beyond it, a foreft which extends
to the fartheft extremities of the ifland. You have,
in front, on the brink of the Sea, a view of Tomb-

B 4 bay ;

8 STUDIES OF NATURE.

bay ; a little to the right, Cape-MisCortunc, and
beyond that, the boundlefs Ocean, in which appear,
on a level with the water's edge, fome uninhabited
little ifles, among others Mire-Point, which re-
fembles a baftion in the midft of the waves.

At the entrance of this bafon, from whence fo
many objeds are diftinguifhablc, the echos of the
mountain incelTantly repeat the noife of the winds
which agitate the neighbouring forefts, and the
roaring of the billows, which, break at a diftance,
upon the fhallows; but at the very foot of the cot-
tages, no noife is any longer to be heard, and no-
thing to be feen around, except great rocks, as fteep
as the wall of a houfe. Tufts of trees grow at their
bafes, in their clefts, and up to their very fum-
mits, on which the clouds fettle. The rains which
are attraâ:ed by their peaks, frequently paint the
colours of the rainbovv on their green and duflcy
fides, and conftantly fupply, at the bottom, the
fources of which the fmall river of the Lataniers is
formed. A profound filence reigns through this
enciofiire, where all is peace ; the air, the waters,
and the light. Scarcely does the echo there repeat
the murmuring found of the palmifts, which grow
on their elevated flalks, and whofe long arrow-
formed branches are fcen always balanced by the
winds. A mild light illuminates the cavity of this
i)afon, into which the rays of the Sun defcend only

at

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 9

at noon-day; but, from the dawning of Aurora,
they ftrike upon the brim of it, the peaks of which,
rifing above the fhadows of the mountain, prefent
the appearance of gold and purple on the azure of
the Heavens.

I took pleafure in retiring to this place, wher«
3'ou can enjoy, at once, an unbounded profped:,
and a profound folitude. One day, as I was fit-
ting by the platform of thefe cottages, and con-
templating their ruins, a man confiderably ad-
vanced into the vale of years, happened to pafs
that way. He was drefled, conformably to the
Guftom of the ancient inhabitants, in a lliort jacket
and long trowfers. He walked barefooted, and
fupported himfelf on a ftafF of ebony wood. His
hair was completely white, his phyfionomy fimple
and majeftic. I faluted him refpedlfully. He re-
turned my falute, and having eyed me for a mo-
ment, he approached, and fat down on the hillock
where I had taken my ftation. Encouraged by
this mark of confidence, I took the liberty of ad-
dreffing him in thefe words : " Can you inform
*' me, Father, to whom thefe two cottages be-
" longed ?" " My fon," replied he, " thefe ruins,
** and that now negle(5ted fpot of ground, were
*' inhabited, about twenty years ago, by two fa-
*' milies, which there found the means of happi-
" hefs. Their hiflory is affeding : but in this

" ifland.

JtÔ STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' ifland, fituated on the road to India, what Eu-
*' ropean will deign to take an intereft in the def-
" liny of a few obfcure individuals ? Nay, who
" would fubmit to live here, though in happinefs
** and content, if poor and unknown ? Men are
*' defirous of knowing only the hiftory of the
*' Great, and of Kings, which is of no ufe to
*' any one." ** Father," replied I, " it is eafy
*' to difcern from your air, and your ftyle of con-
•* verfation, that you muft have acquired very ex-
** tenfive experience. If your leifure permits,
" have the goodnefs to relate to me, I befeech you,
*' what you know of the ancient inhabitants of this
" defertj and be aflured, that there is no man,
" however depraved by the prejudices of the
** World, but who loves to hear of the felicity
** which Nature and Virtue beftow." Upon this,
like one who is trying to recolle-il certain particular
circumflances, after having applied his hands for
feme time to his forehead, the old m^n related
w^hat follows.

In ?he year 1735, a young man of Normandy,
called De la Tour, afcer having, to no purpofe, fo-
licited employment in France, and aflîftance from
his family, determined to come to this ifland, in
the view of making his fortune. He brought along
with him a young wife, whom he paffionately
loved, and who returned his affedion with mutual

ardor.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. II

ardor. She was defcended from an ancient and
opulent family of her Province; but he had mar-
ried her privately, and without a portion, becaufe
her relations oppofed their union, on account of
the obfcurity of his birth. He left her at Port-
Louis, in this illand, and embarked for Mada^
gafcar, in the hope of there purchafing fome ne-
groes, and of immediately returning to this place,
for the purpofe of fixing his refidence in it. He
difembarked at Madagafcar during the dangerous
feafon, which commences about the middle of Oc-
tober, and, foon after his arrival, died of the pefli-
lential fever, which rages there for fix months of
the year, and which always will prevent European
Nations from forming fettlements on that Ifland.

The effefts which he had carried with him were
embezzled after his death, as generally happens to
thofe who die in foreign countries. His wife,
who remained in the J fie of France, found herfelf
a widow, pregnant, and defhitute of every earthly
refource, except a negro woman, in a country
where (lie was entirely unknown. Being unwilling
to folicit affiftance from any man, after the death
of him who was the fole objed of her affeflion,
her misfortunes gave her courage. She refolved
to cultivate, with the help of her (lave, a fmall
fpot of ground, in order to procure the means of
fubfiflence.

In

12 STUDIES OF NATURE,

In an illand almoft a defert, the foil of which
was unappropriated, (lie did not chufe the moft
fertile diftrid of the country, nor that which was
the moft favourable for commerce ; but looking
about for fome lequeftered cove of the mountain,
fome hidden afylum, where flie might live fe-
cluded and unknown, (lie found her way from the
city to thefe rocks, into which flie flunk as into a
neft./lt is an inftind common to all beings pof-
feffed of fenfibility, under the preflure of calamity,
to feek Shelter in places, the w^ildeft and the moft
deferted ; as if rocks w^ere bulwarks againft mif-
fortune, or, as if the cilmnefs of Nature could
compofe the troubles of the foujyBut Providence,
which comes to our relief, when we aim only at
neceflary comforts, had in ftore for Madame de la
Tour, a bleffing which neither riches nor grandeur,
can purchafe ; and that bleffing was a friend.

f

In this place, for a year paft, had refided, a

fprightly, good, and fenfible woman, called Mar-

\garet. She was born in Brittany, of a plain family

jof peafants, by whom ftie was beloved, and who

Uvouldiiave rendered her happy, had ftie not been

' weak enough to repofe confidence in the profef-

fions of love, of a man of family in the neighbour-

iiood, who had promifed to marry her; but who,

|iaving gratified his paffion, abandoned her, and

even

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 12

^

even refufed to fecure to her the means of fubfift- \
ence for the child, with which he had left her preg-
nant. She immediately refolved, for ever to quit
the village where fhe was born, and to conceal her
fault in the Colonies, far from her country, where
flie had loft the only dowry of a poor and honeft I
young woman, reputation. An old black fellow, j
whom (lie had purchafed with a poor borrowed j
purfe, cultivated, with her, a fmall corner of this I
diftrid. ^

Madame de la Tour., attended by her black wo-
man, found Margaret in this place, who was fuck-
ling her child. She was delighted to meet with a (
female, in a fituation which (he accounted fimilar |
to her own. She unfolded, in a fevv words, her \
former condition, and her prefent wants. Marga- \
ret, on hearing Madame de la Tonr^s ftory, was i
moved with compafTion, and, wiQiing to merit her :.
confidence rather than her efteem, (lie confefifed to |
her, without referve, the imprudence of which (lie
had been guilty : " For my part," faid fhe, '^ I ;
*' have merited my deftiny, but you, Madam ;

*^ , Virtuous and unfortunate !'* Here, with '

tears in her eyes, (lie tendered to the ftranger the ;
accommodations of her cottage, and her friend- ].
fliip. Madame de la Tour, deeply affefted with a !
reception fo tender, folded her in her arms, ex- \
claiming, " I fee that God is going to put an \

" end ;

14 STUDIES OF NATURE.

•* end to my fufferings, fince he has infpired you
** with fentiments of greater kindnefs to me, an
** entire ftranger, than I ever received from my
*' own relations.'*

I had the felicity of Margaret^ acquaintance ;
and, though I live at the diftance of a league and
a half from hence, in the woods, behind the long
mountain, 1 looked upon myfelf as herneighbour.
In the cities of Europe, a flrcet, a fimple partition,
feparates the members of the fame family for years;
but in the new Colonies, we confider as neigh-
bours, thofe who are only feparated from us by
woods and by mountains. At that time particu-
larly, vvhen this ifland had little commerce with
Indiayneighbourhood alone was a title to friend-
Ihip, and hofpitality to ftrangers was confidered as
a duty, and a pleafure^
/

As foon as I learnt that my neighbour had got
a companion, 1 went to fee her, in order to offer
to both all the afliftance in my power. 1 found
in Madame de la lour a perfon of a very interefting
figure ; majeftic, and melancholy. She was then
very near her time. I faid to thefe two ladies,
that it would be better, for the fake of the inte-
rcfts of their children, and efpecially to prevent
the eftablhhment of any other inhabitant, to dir
vide between them the territory of this bafon,

which

PAUL A<ND VIRGINIA. I5

which contains about twenty acres. They entrufled
nie with making this divifion ; I formed it into \
two portions, nearly equal. The one contained /
the upper part of that enclolure, from yonder
point of the rock, covered with clouds, from i
whence iffues the fource of the river of the La- i
taniers, to that fteep opening which you fee at the \
top of the mountain, and which is called the Em-
brafure, becaufe it actually refembles the parapet \
of a battery. The bottom of this fpot of ground is
fo filled with rocks and gutters, that it is fcarcely
poffible to walk along. It, neverthelefs, produces
large trees, and abounds with fountains and little
rivulets. In the other portfon, I comprized all the
lower part of the enclofure, which extends along
the river of the LatanierSy to the opening where we
now are, from whence that river begins to flow be-
tween two hills toward the Sea. You there fee
fome ftripes of meadow- ground, and a foil tole-
rably fmooth and level, but which is very little
better than the other ; for in the rainy feafon it is
marlhy, and in drought, flifFas lead. When you
wilh, in that cafe, to open a trench, you arc
obhged to cut it with the hatchet.

After having made thefe two divifions, I per-
fuaded the ladies to fettle their refpedive poflef-
lîons by calling lots. The upper part fell to the
fhare of Madame de la T'our^ and the lower to Mar-
garet»

1$ STUDIES OF NATURE.

^aret. They were both perfedtly fatisfied ; but
requefted me not to feparate their habitation,
** in order/* faid they to me, " that we may al-
** ways have it in our power to fee, to converfe
" with, and to aflift each other.'* It was necef-
fary, however, that each of them fhould have a fe-
parate retreat. The cottage of Margaret was built
in the middle of the bafon, exaiflly upon the boun-.
dary of her own domain. I built clofe to it, upon
that of Madame de la Tour, another cottage ; fo
that thefe two friends were, at once, in the vici-
nity of each other, and on the property of their
families. I myfelf cut palifadoes in the mountain, ,
and brought the leaves of the Latanier from the
fea-fide, to conftru^ft thefe two cottages, which
now, no longer prefent either door or roof. Alas !
there ftill remains but too much for my recoUec-»
tion/ Time, which deftroys, with fo much rapi^
dity the monuments of empires, feems to refpeél,
in thefe deferis, thofe of fiiendfliip, in order to
perpetuate my afflidion to the laft hour of my:
life.

Scarcely was the fécond of the cottages com-,
pleted, when Madame de la Tour was delivered of a
daughter. I had been the god- father of Margaret^ s
child, who was called Paid. Madame de la Tour
begged me to name her daughter alfo, in coja-
jundion with her friend, who gave her the

name

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I7

name of Firginia. " She will be virtuous," faid
flie, *' and fhe will be happy : I knew calamity
** only in ceafing to be virtuous.

When Madame de la Tour was recovered of her
lying-in, thefe two little habitations began to wear
the appearance of comfort, with the affiftance of
the labour which I occafionally beftowed upon
themj but particularly, by the affiduous labour
of their flaves : that of Margaret, called Domingo,
was an lolof Black, flill robuft, though rather ad-
vanced in life. He pofTefled the advantage of ex-
perience, and good natural fenfe. He cultivated,
without diftindion, on the two diftrids, the foil
which appeared to him the moft fertile, and there
he fowed the feeds which he thought would thrive
the beft in it. He fowed fraall millet and Indian
corn, in places where the foil was of an inferior
quality, and a little wheat where the ground was
good. In marfliy places, he fowed rice, and
at the foot of the rocks were raifed Giraumonts,
gourds, and cucumbers, which delight in climbing
up their fides : in dry places, he planted potatoes,
which there acquire fingular fweetnefs; cotton-
trees on heights, fugar-canes on ftrong land ; cof-
fee plants on the hills, where their grains are fmall,
but of an excellent quality; along the river, and
around the cottages, he planted bananas, which, all
the year round, produce large fupplies of fruit, and

VOL, V. c form

l8 STUDIES OF NATURE.

form a beautiful (belter ; and, in a word, fon:ie plants
of tobacco, to foothe his own cares, and thofe of his
good miftreffes. He went to cut wood for fuel in
the mountain, and broke down pieces of rock,
here and there, in the plantation, to fmooth the
roads. He performed all thefe labours with intel-
ligence and aftivity, becaufe he performed them
with zeal. He was very much attached to Mar-
garet, and not much lefs fo to Madame de la Tour,
whofe flave he had married at the birth of Virginia.
He paffionately loved his wife, whofe name was
Mary. She was a native of Madagafcar, from
whence fhe had brought fome degree of fkill,
particularly, the art of making bafkets, and (luffs
called pavnes^ with the gKafs which grows in the
woods./ She was clever, cleanly, and, what was )
rabove all, incorruptibly faithful./ Her employ-
ment was to prepare the viduals, to take care of
fome poultry, and to go occafionally to Port-Louis,
to fell the fuperfluity of the two plantations ; this,
however, was very inconfiderable. If to thefe, you
add two goatSj brought up with the children, and
a great dog, that watched the dwellings during the
night, you will have an idea of all the pofleffions,
and of all the domeftic economy, of thefe two
little farms.

As for the two friends, they fpun cotton from
mornJng till night. This employment was fuffi-

cient

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. Ip

cient to maintain themfelves and their families ;
but, in other rerpe(fls, they were Co ill provided witU
foreign commodities, that they walked bare-footed
when at home, and never wore (hoes except on Sun-
days, when they went to mafs, early in the morning,
to the church of Pamplemouffes, which you fee in
the bottom. It is, neverthelefs, much farther than
to Port-Louis ; but they feldom vifited the city,
for fear of being treated with contempt, becaufe
they were drefled in the coarfe blue linen cloth of
Bengal, which is worn by flaves. /After all, is
public refpedability half fo valuable as domeftic
felicity ?/lf thcfe ladies were expofed to a little
fuffering vvhen abroad, they returned home with
fo much more additional fatisfadion. No fooner
had Mary and Domingo perceived them from this
eminence, on the road from FamplemoufTes, than
they flew to the bottom of the mountain, in order
to afTift them in re-afcending it. They read in the
eyes of their flaves, the joy which they felt at feeing
them again. They found in their habitation,
cleanlinefs and freedom, bleflings which they owed
entirely to their own induftry, and fervants ani-
mated with zeal and affedion. As for themfelves,
united by the fame wants, having experienced evils
almofl: (imilar, giving to each other the ttnder
names of friend, companion, and lifter, they had but
one will, one intereft, one table. They had every
thing in common. And if it fometimes happened,

c 2 that

20 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Ithat former fentiments, more ardent than thofe of
friendfliip, were re-kindled in their bofoms, a pure
and undefiled Religion, aflifled by chafte manners,
direfted them toward another life, like the flame
which flies off to Heaven, when it ceafes to find
nourifliment on the Earth.

The duties of nature were ftill an additional
fource of happinefs to their fociety. Their mutual
friendfhip redoubled at the fight of their children,
the fruits of a love equally unfortunate. They
took delight to put them into the fame bath, and
to lay them to fleep in the fame cradle. They fre-
quently exchanged their milk to the children ;
" My friend," faid Madame de la Tour, " each
*' of us will have two children, and each of our
*^ children will have two mothers." Like two
buds which remain upon two trees of the fame
fpecies, all the branches of which have been broken
by the tempeft, produce fruits more delicious, if
each of them, detached from the maternal flock,
is grafted on the neighbouring ftem ; thus, thefe
two little children, deprived of their relations, were
filled with fentiments toward each other, more
tender than thofe of fon and daughter, of brother
and filler, when they were exchanged at the breafl:,
by the two friends who had given them being.
Already their mothers talked of their marriage,
though they were yet in the cradle, and this prof-

ped

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 21

pea: of conjugal felicity, with which they foothed
their own woes to peace, frequently terminated in
a flood of tears ; the one, recoUeâiing the mi-
feries which (he had fuffered from having neglcdled
the forms of marriage, and the other, from having
fubmitted to it's laws; the one, from having been
raifed above her condition ; and the other, from
having defcended below her's ; but they confoled
themfelves with the thought, that the day would
come, when their children, more fortunate than
themfelves, would enjoy, at once, far from the
cruel prejudices of Europe, the pleafures of love,
and the happinefs of equality.

Nothing, indeed, was to be compared with the
attachment which the babes already testified for
each other : If Paul happened to complain, they
(hewed Firginia to him; at the fight of her, he
fmiled, and was pacified. If" Firginia fuffered, you
were informed of it by the lamentations of Paul;
but this amiable child immediately concealed her
pain, that her fufferings might not diftrefs him.
I never arrived here, that I did not fee them both,
entirely naked, according to the cuftom of the
country, fcarceiy able to walk, holding each other
by the hands, and under the arms, as the conflel-
lation of the Twins is reprefented. Night itfelf
had not the power of feparating them; it fre-
quently furprized them, laid in the fame cradle,

c q cheek

42 STUDIES OF NATURE.

cheek joined to cheek, bofom to bofom, their
hands mutually paffed around each other's neck,
and alleep in one another's arms.

When they were able to fpeak, the firfl names
which they learnt to pronounce were thofe of bro-
ther and fifter. / Infancy, which beftows carefles
more tender, knows of no names more fweet./
Their education only ferved to redouble their
friendHiip, by direâing it toward their reciprocal
wants. Very foon, every thing that concerned do-
medic economy, cleanlinefs, the care of preparing
a rural repaft, became the province of Firginia,
and her labours were always followed by the praifes
and carefles of Paul. As for him, ever in motion,
he digged in the garden with Domingo^ or with a
little hatchet in his hand, followed him into the
woods ; and if, in thefe rambles, a beautiful
flower, a dehcious fruit, or a ncft of birds, came
in his way, though at the top of the higheft tree,
he fcaled it, to bring them to his lifter.

When you chanced to meet the one of them,
you might be certain the other was not far off.
One day that I was defcending from the fummit of
this mountain, I perceived Virginia at the extre-
mity of the garden ; Ihe was running toward the
houfe, her head covered with her petticoat, which
file had raifed behind, to Ihelier her from a deluge

of

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 2^

of rain. At a diftance, I thought flie had been
alone ; and having advanced, in order to aflifl her,
I perceived that (lie held Paul by the arm, who
was aUnoft enveloped in the fame covering ; both
of them, delighted at finding themfelves (heltered
together under an umbrella of their own invention.
Thefe two charming heads, wrapt up in the fwel-
ling petticoat, reminded me of the children of
Leda, enclofed in the fame (hell.

All their ftudy was to pleafe, and to affift each
other; in every other refpeft, they were as igno-
rant as Creoles, and neither knew how to read or
write. They did not difturb themfelves about
what had happened in former times, and at a dif-
tance from them ; their curiofity did not extend
beyond that mountain. They believed that the
World ended at the extremity of their illand, and
they could not form an idea of any thing beautiful
where they were not. Their mutual affeftion, and
that of their mothers, engaged every feeling of
their hearts : never had ufelefs fcience caufed their
tears to flow : never had the leflbns of a gloom>y
morality oppreffed them with languor. They
knew not that it was unlawful to fleal, every thing
with them being in common ; nor to be intempe-
rate, having always at command, plenty of Ample
food ; nor to utter falfehood, having no truths that
it was neceflary to conceal. They had never been

c 4 terrified

24 STUDIES OF NATURE.

terrified with the idea, that God has in referve
dreadful piinifhments for ungrateful children ;
with them, filial duty was born of maternal affec-
tion : they had been taught no other religion than
that which inftrufts us to love one another; and,
if they did not offer up long prayers at church,
wherever they were, in the houfe, in the fields, or
in the woods, they raifed toward Heaven innocent
hands and pure hearts, filled with the love of their
parents.

Thus paffed their early infancy, like a beautiful
dawn, which feems to promife a flill more beauti-
ful day. They, already, divided with their mo-
thers the cares of the houfhold : as foon as the
crowing of the cock announced the return of Au-
rora, Firghiia rofe, went to draw water at a neigh-
bouring fountain, and returned to the houfe to
prepare breakfaft : foon after, when the fun had
gilded the peaks of that enclofure, Margaret and
her fon went to the dwelling of Madame delà l^our,
where they immediately began a prayer, v/hich was
followed by their fivfl repaft ; this they frequently
partook of, before the door, feated on the grafs,
under a bower of bananas, which furnifhed them,
at the fame time, with ready-prepared food, in
their fubflantial fruit, and table-linen in their long
and glittering leaves. .

Wholefome

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 25

Wholefome and plentiful nouriQiment rapidly
expanded the bodies of thefe young people, and a
mild education painted in their phyfionomies, the
purity and contentment of their fouls. Virginia
was only twelve years old ; already her perfon was
more than half formed ; a large quantity of beau-
tiful flaxen hair ornamented her head ; her blue
eyes and coral lips llione, with the mildefh lufcre,
on the bloom of her countenance : they always
fmiled in concert when fhe fpoke ; but when (he
was filent, their natural obliquity toward Heaven
gave them an expreffion of extreme fenfibility, and
even a iliglit tendency to melancholy As for Panl^
you might already fee in him, the charader of a
man, poffeiimg all the graces of youth ; his figure
was tailer than that of Firginia, his complexion
darker, and his nofe more aquiline : his eyes,
which were black, would have poireiTed a certain
degiee of haughtinefs, if the long eye laflies which
furrounded them, and which refembled the fine
flrokes of a pencil, had not given them the greateit
fweetnefs. Though he was ahnoft continually in
motion, the moment his filler appeared, he be-
came tranquil, and feated himfelf befide herj their
meal frequently pafled without a word being ut-
tered : their filence, the fimplicity of their atti-
tudes, the beauty of their naked feet, would have
tempted you to believe, that you beheld an antique
groupe of white marble, reprcfenting the children

of

26 STUDIES OF NATURE.

of Niobe : but, when you beheld their looks,
which feemed defirous to meet each other, their
fmiles, returned with fmiles ftill fweeter, you would
have taken them for thofe children of Heaven,
ihofe blefled fpirits, whofe nature is love; and who
have no need of thought to make their feelings
known, nor of words to exprefs their affedtion.

In the mean time, Madame de la Tour, perceiv-
ing that her daughter advanced in life, with fo
many charms, felt her uneafmefs increafe with her
tendernefs : (he ufed to fay fometimes to me, *' If
*' I fliould chance to die, what would become of
** Virginia f dowerlefs as (he is ?'*

She had an aunt in France, a woman of q-jality,
rich, old, and a devotee, who had refufed her af-
lifLance, in a manner fo unfeeling, when (lie mar-
ried De la Tour, that Œe refolved never to have re-
courfe to her again, to whatever extremity fhe
might be reduced. But, now that (he was become
a mother, fhe no longer dreaded the (liame of a re-
fufal : fhe acquainted her aunt with the unexpedled
death of her hufband, the birth of her daughter,
and the embarrafTment of her affairs j deftitute of
fupport, and burdened wàth a child. She, how-
ever, received no anfwer ; but, being a woman of
exalted charader, (he no longer feared humiliation,
nor to expofe herfelf to the reproaches of her rela-
tion.

i>AUL AND VIRGINIA. 2^

îîon, who had never forgiven her, for having mar-
ried a man of low birth, though virtuous. She
continued, therefore, to write to her aunt, by every
opportunity, in the hope of raifing in her breaft,
fome favourable emotions toward Virginia : many
years, however, elapfed, before fhe received from
her any token of remembrance.

At length, in the year 1746, on the arrival of
M. ile la Bourdonaye, Madame de la Tour was in-
formed that their new Governor had a letter to de-
liver to her from her aunt. She immediately ran
to Port-Louis, for this once, entirely indifferent
about appearing in her coarfe habit ; maternal love
raifing her above refpeâ: to the World. M. de la
Bourdonaye delivered her aunt's letter, which infinu-
ated that Che merited her condition, for having
married an adventurer, a libertine ; that the paf-
iions always carried their punifhment along with
them ; that the untimely death of her hufband was
a juft chaftifement of God j that fhe had done well
to remain in the Weft-India Iflands, inftead of dif-
honouring her family, by returning to France ;
and that, after ail, Ihe was in an excellent country,
where every body made fortunes, except the idle.
After having thus reproached her, (he concluded
with making her own elogium ; to avoid, (he faid,
the almoft inevitable evils which attend matri-
mony, (lie had always refufed to marry : the truth

was,

28 STUDIES OF NATURE.

was, that, being very ambitious, (he had refufed to
unite herfelf to any except a man of rank ; but,
ahhough (lie was very rich, and that, at Court,
every thing is a matter of indifference, fortune
excepted, yet no perfon was found, willing to form
an alliance with a woman, homely to the laft de-
gree, and, at the fame time,, poffefled of a mofl
unfeeling heart.

She added, by way of poftfcript, that every thing
confidered, (lie had ftrongly recommended her to
M. de la Bonrdonaye : fhe had, indeed, recommend-
ed her, but, conformably to a cuftom but too pre-
valent at this day, which renders a proteftor more
to be dreaded than a declared enemy, in order to
juflify to the Governor, her feverity to her niece,
in feigning to pity, (he had calumniated her.

Madame de la Tour, who could not be feen by
the moft indifferent perfon, without intercfl and
refpeâ:, was received with the greateft cool nefs by
M. dc la BQurdonayey already prejudiced againft
her* To the account which flie gave, of her own
lliuation, and that of her daughter, he anfwered
only by hardi monofyllables ; " I (hall enquire,"...
*' we (liall fee,"...." in time,"...." there are many

" unhappy people," " why offend fo rcfpedable

^* an aunt?"....** you are certainly to blame."

Madame

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. ip

Madame de la Tour returned to the plantation,
her heart opprefled with grief, and full of bitter-
nefs ; on her arrival fhe fat down, threw her aunt's
letter on the table, and faid to her friend, " Be-
" hold the fruits of eleven years patience." But
as no one of the fociety knew how to read, except
Madame de la Tonr^ (he took up the letter again,
and read it to all the family. Scarcely had fhe
concluded, than Margaret faid to her with viva
city, " What need have we of thy relations ? Has
*' God forfaken us ? He only is our father; have
*' we not lived.happily until this day ? Why, then,
** fhould you affli6t yourfelf ? You have no forti-
** tude." Perceiving that Madame de la Tour was
much afTeded, flie threw herfelf on her bofom,
folded her in her arms, and exclaimed, " My dear
*' friend, my dear friend 1" Her own fobs quite,
choked her voice. At this fight, FzV^/«i(2, melting into
tears, alternately prelTed the hands of her mother,
and of Margaret, to her lips, and to her heart j whilft
Paul, his eyes inflamed with rage, exclaimed aloud,
clenched his fifts, ftamped with his feet, not know-
ing how to vent his rage. At the noife which he
made, Domingo and Mary ran in, and nothing but
exclamations of diftrefs were heard in the cottage :

" Ah, Madam!" '' My good miftrefs !"

** My dear mother !"....*' Do not diftrefs your-
*' felf.'* Such tender marks of affeclion, foon dif-

fipated

^O STUDIES OF NATURE.

fîpated the anguifli of Madame de la Tour : fhc
embraced Paul and Virginia^ and faid to them, with
a look of fatisfaftion, " My dear children, you
" are the caufe of my tears, but you are alfo the
** fource of all the happinefs I enjoy : Oh, my
'* children, misfortune attacks me only from afar,
*' felicity is ever around me.'* Paul and rirginia
did not comprehend what fiie faid, but as foon as
they faw that fhe was compofed, they fmiled, and
careffed her. Thus was peace reftored, and the
pad fcene was only like a ftormy cloud in the
midft of Summer.

The good difpofitions of thefe children were un-
folding themfelves from day to day. One Sunday,
about fun-rife, their mothers having gone to the
iirft; mafs, at the church of Pamplemouffts, a fugi-
tive negro-woman made her appearance, under the
bananas which furrounded their plantation. She
was as meagre as a ikeleton, and without a bit of
clothing, except a fhred of tattered canvas about
her loins. She threw herfelf at Firginias feet,
who was preparing the family-breakfaft, and thus
addreffed her : " My dear young lady, take pity
*' on a miferable runaway Have: for more than
" a month pad, 1 have been wandering about
" thefe mountains, half dead with famine, and
'^ frequently purfued by the huntfmen and their

** dogs.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 3I

" dogs. I have fled from my mafter, who is a
" wealthy planter on the black river : he has
*' treated me in the manner you fee."

Tn faying thefe words, fhe fliewed her body,
deeply furrowed by the ftrokes of the whip which
fhe had received ; fhe added, *' I had thoughts of
" drowning myfelf, but knowing that you lived
*' here, I thus reflected ; perhaps there are ftill
** fome good white people in this country, I muft
" not die yet." Firginia^ much afFefted, replied,
** Take comfort, unfortunate creature ! eat, eat.'*
Upon which, fhe gave her the breakfafh which fhe
had prepared for the family. The flave, in a few-
moments, devoured the whole of it. Virginia,
feeing her refreflied, faid to her : " Poor wretch!
" I have a great defire to go to your mafler, and
*' implore your pardon : at the fight of you, he
*' mufl be touched with compaflion: will you con-
*' duâ; me to him ?" — " Angel of God !" replied
the negrefs, " I will follow you wherever you lead
" me." Virginia called her brother, and begged
him to accompany her : the fugitive flave con-
ducted them, by narrow paths, to the middle of
the woods, acrofs high mountains, over which
they fcrambled with difficulty, and great rivers,
which they forded. At length, toward the middle
of the day, they arrived at the bottom of a moun-
tain on the banks of the Black River. They there

perceived

^2 STUDIES OF NATURE,

perceived a well-built houfe, confiderable planta-
tions, and a great number of flaves engaged in dif-
ferent occupations. Their mafter was walking in
the midft of them, with a pipe in his mouth, and
a ratan in his hand. He was a very tall, lean man^
of an olive complexion, with his eyes funk in his
head, and his eye- brows black, and meeting each
other. Firginia, quite petrified, holding Paid by
the arm, approached the mafter, and entreated him,
for the love of God, to pardon his flave, who was
a few paces behind them. The mafler, at firfl,
did not pay much attention to thefe two children,
who were but meanly clad ; when, however, he
had remarked the elegant form of Firginia, her
beautiful flaxen hair, which appeared from under
a blue hood, and when he had heard the fweet
tones of her voice, which trembled, as well as her
body, while Ihe implored his forgivenefs, he took
the pipe from his mouth, and, raifing his ratan to-
ward Heaven, declared, with a terrible oath, that
he would pardon his flave, not for the love of
God, but for the love of her. Firginia immedi-
ately made a lîgn for the Have to advance toward
her mafter, and then ran away, while Paid followed
her.

They fcrambled, together, up the ftccp decli-
vity of the mountain, by which they had defcended
in the m.orning, and having arrived at it's fummir,

they

PAUL AND VIRGINIA» 3j

they feated tliemfelves under a tree, exhaufted with
fatigue, hunger, and thirft. They had travelied
from the rifing of the Sun, more than five leapiues,
without having tafted food : Paul addreffed Fir^
ginia thus : *' Sifter, it is pad mid-day, you are
*' hungry, you are thirfty ; we (hall find no re-
" frefhment here, let us again defcend the moun-*
** tain, and requefl: the mafter of the Have to give
" us fomething to eat." — " Oh, no ! my friend,"
replied rirginia, " he has terrified me too much
*' already : Do you not remember what mamma
*'' has often faid ; the bread of the wicked fills the
" mouth with gravel f'-^—^^ What fhall we do then?'*
faid Paul^ *' thefe trees produce only bad fruits î
'^ there is not fo much a« a tamarind, or a lemon,
*' to retreQi you." — *' God will have pity on us,'*
returned Virginia, " he hears the voices of the little
'* birds, which call to him for food." Scarcely
had file pronounced thefe words, when they heard
the bubblmg of a fountain, which fell from a neigh-
bouring rock : they immediately ran to it, and
after having quenched their thirfi^ with water, more
clear than the cry fiai, they gathered, and ate a few
of the crefles which grew upon it's banks. As
they were anxioufiy looking about, from fide to fide,
to fee if they could not find fome more fubfliantial
food, Virginia perceived, among the trees of the
forefl:, a young palm-tree. Ihe colewort!, which
is inclofed in the leaves that grow on the top of
VOL. V. D this

34 STUDIES OF NATURE.

this tree, is very good to eat j but though it's
trunk was not thicker than a man's leg, it was
more than fixty feet high. The wood of this tree,
indeed, is only foraicd of a bundle of filaments,
but it's pith is fo hard, that it refifls the edge of
the keeneft hatchet, and Paul had not fo much as
a knife. The idea occurred to him, of fetting fire
to the palm-tree, but here again he was at a lofs;
he had no fieel ; and befides, in this ifland, fo
covered with rock, I do not believe that a fmgle
flint (lone is to be found. Neceffity produces in-
duftry, and the mod ufeful inventions are fre-
quently to be afcribed to the moft miferable of
mankind. Pmd refolved to kindle a fire in the
fame manner that the blacks do. With the (harp
point of a ftone, he bored a little hole in the
branch of a tree that was very dry, which he maf-
tered by preiTing it under his feet : he then, with
the edge of this ftone, made a point to another
branch, equally dry, but of a different fpecies of
wood. Afterwards, he applied this piece of pointed
wood to the little hole of the branch which was
under his feet, and fpinning it round, with great
rapidity, between his hands, as you trundle round
the mill with which chocolate is frothed up, in a
few moments, he faw fmoke and fparks ifTue from
the point of contaét. He, then, gathered toge-
ther fome dry herbage, and other branches of
trees, and applied the fire to the root of the palm-
tree.

PAtTL AND VIRGINIA. 35

tree, which prefently fell with a terrible crafli.
The fire likewife affifted him in peeling off from
the colewort it's long, ligneous, and prickly leaves.
Firginia and he ate a part of this cabbage raWj
and the other part drelTed upon the aflîe?, and
found them equally favoury. They enjoyed this
frugal repaft with the higheft fatisfaélionj from the
recolledion of the good adion which they had
performed in the morning ; but their joy was
greatly damped, by the uneafmefs, which they had
not a doubt their long abfence muft have occa-
lioned to their parents. Virginia recurred fre-
quently to this fubjecl, while Paul, who now felt
his ftrength reftored, affured her, that it would not
be long before they got home, to quiet the anxiety
of their mothers.

After dinner, they found themfelves much em-
barraffed, for they had no longer a guide to direft
them homewards. Paulj who was difconcerted at
nothing, faid to Firginia, " Our cottage lo )ks to-
" ward the noon-day Sun, we muft, therefore, pafs
" as we did this morning, over that mountain
'* which you fee below, with it's three peaks.
" Come, let us walk on, my friend." This moun-
tain is called that of the Three Paps *, becaufe it's

* There are many mountains, the fummits of which are
rounded into the form of a woman's breaft, and bear that name
in all languages. They are, indeed, real paps ; for from them

D 2 iJlTue

36 STUDIES OF NATURE.

three peaks have that form. They defcended,
then, the gloomy declivity of the Black River, to-
ward the north, and arrived, after an hour's walk-
ing, at the banks of a confiderable river, which
barred their progrefs. That large portion of the
illand, entirely covered with forefts, is fo little
known, even at this day, that many of it's rivers
and mountains are flill without a name. The ri»
ver, upon the banks of which they were, flows impe-
tuoufly over a bed of rocks. The noife of it's wa-
ters terrified Virginia ; (he durft not venture to put
her feet into it, for the purpofe of fording over.
Paul, upon this, took Virginia on his back ; and,
thus laden, paifed over the flippery rocks of the
river, in fpite of the tumult of the waves. *' Be
" not afraid," faid he to her, *' I feel my ftrength
*' renewed, having the charge of you. If the plan-
" ter of the Black River had refufed to your en-
" treaties the pardon of his Have, I Ihould have
" fought with him." *' How !" exclaimed Fir •
giniûy " with that man, fo large, and fo wicked ?
" To what have I expofed you ? My God ! how

ifTue multitudes of brooks and rivers, which difFufe abundance
over the face of the Earth. They are the fources of the princi-
pal ftreams which water it, and furnifh them with a confiant
fupply, by continually attraéling the clouds around the peak of
the rock, which overtops them at the centre, like a nipple. We
have indicated thofe wonderful provifions of Nature, in the pre-
ceding Studies.

« difficult

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 37

" difficult a thing it is to aâ; properly ! Evil alone
** is performed with facility !"

When Paul had arrived on the farther fide, he
was defirous of continuing the journey, laden as
he was with the weight of his fifter, and he flat-
tered himfelf that he fliould be able thus to afcend
the mountain of the Three Paps, which he faw be-
fore him, at the diftance of a league and a half,
under the fame burden with which he had crofTed
the river; but his ftrength very foon failed him,
and he was obliged to fet her on the ground, and
repofe himfelf by her fide. Virginia then faid to
him, "Brother, the day is declining faft; you
'* have ftill fome ftrength remaining, and mine
'*■ entirely fails ; fuffer me to remain here, and do
" you return alone to our cottage, to reftore tran-
*' quillity to our mothers." " Oh no !" faid PW,
" I will never leave you. If the night Ihould fur-
'* prize us in thefe woods, I will light a fire, I
" will fell thefe palm-trees, you fhall eat the cole-
" wort, and I will make of it's leaves an ajoupa to
*' (helter you." Virginia, however, being a little
revived, gathered, from the trunk of an old tree
which grew upon the edge of the river, long leaves
of the fcolopendra, which hung down from it's
boughs. She made of thefe, a fpecies of fan-
dais, which (he put on her feet ; for they were
wounded to bleeding, by the (harp ftones which

D 3 covered

38 STUDIES OF NATURE.

covered the road ; for, in her eagernefs to do good,
{he had forgotten to put on her flioes. Feeling
herfelf reHeved by the freflinefs of thefe leaves, Ihe
broke off a branch of bamboo, and proceeded on
her journey, reding one hand on this reed, and
the other on her brother. They thus walked
flowly on through the woods ; but the height of
the trees, and the thicknefs of their foliage, foon
made them lofe fight of the mountain of the Three
Paps, to which they were direding their courfe,
and even of the Sun, which was near fetting. After
fome time, they ftrayed, without perceiving it,
from the beaten path which they had hitherto pur-
fued, and found themfelves in a labyrinth of trees
of lianes, and of rocks which had no outlet.

Pûîd made Virginia fit down, and ran about
quite diflraded, in queft of a road that would lead
them out of this maze, but he fatigued himfelf in
vain. He fcrambled to the top of a large tree,
with the hope of difcovering, at leaft, the moun-
tain of the Three Paps, but he could perceive no-
thing around him, except the fummits of trees,
fome of which were gilded by the laft rays of the
fetting Sun. In the mean time, the fliadow of the
mountains had already covered the forefts in the
vailles ; the wind was hufhed, as it ufually is at
the fetting of the Sun ; a profound filence reigned
in thefe folitudes, and no other found was to be

heard.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 39

heard, but the braying of the deer, which came to
feek a place of repofe, for the night, in thefe wild
retreats. Paid, in the hope that fome huntfman
might hear his voice, then called out with all his
might ; " Come^ come to the relief of Virginia :'*
but the only anfwer he received was from the foli-
tary echoes of the forcft., which repeated, at inter-
vals, ^^ Firginia ! Virginia P''

Paul, at length, defcended from the tree, op-
prefled with fatigue and vexation ; he medicated
on the means of paffing the night in this place;
but there was neither fountain, nor palm-tree, to
be found in it ; nor even fo much as branches of
dry wood, proper to kindle a fire. He then felt,
from experience, theinefficacy of his refources, and
began to weep. Virginia faid to him, " Do not
** diftrefs yourfelf, my friend, if you would not
" wifli to fee me overwhelmed with grief. It is I
*' who am the caufe of all your fufferings, and of
** thofe which our mothers now endure. We
'* fhould do nothing without confulting our pa-
*' rents, not even what is right. Oh ! I have been
" very imprudent !" Upon faying which, (he
burft into tears. In the mean time, flie faid to
Paul, " Let us pray to God, my brother, and he
** will take compaffion on us." Scarcely had they
finiflied their prayer, than they heard a dog bark.
^' It is," faid Paul, " the dog of fome huntfman,

D 4. *' who

40 STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' who comes of an evening to kill the deer in their
" retreat." A fhort time after, the barking of the
dog redoubled, " 1 have an idea," faid Firginiuy
** that it is Fidèle, our cottage dog ; yes, 1 recol-
*' lea: his voice : is it poflible that we fhould be
*' fo near our journey's end, and at the foot of our
'■mountain?" In trqth, a moment afterwards.
Fidèle was at their feet, barkings howling, groan-
ing, and loading them with careffes. Before they
had recovered from their furprize, they perceived
DomingOy who was running toward them. At the
fight of this worthy negro, who wept with joy,
they alfo (bed tears, without being able to fay one
word. When Domingo had a little recovered hina-
felf ; *' Oh, my young matters," faid he to them,
** what diftrefs your mothers are in! how aflo-
^' pilhed they were at not finding you, on their
** rpturn from mafs, whither 1 had accompanied
*^ them ! Mary, who was at work in a corner of
" the plantation, could not tell whither you were
*' gone : I wandered about the plantation, not
*' knowing myfelf where to feek you : At length,
*' I took the old clothes, which you ufedto wear*;
*' I made Fidèle fmell to them j and, as if the
*' poor anirpal had underftood me, he immedi-

* This trait of fagacity in the biack Domingo^ and his dog
Fidèle, very much refembles that pf the favage Tenuenifa^ and
his dog Oniah, mentioned by M. de Crevecœur^ in his humane
Work, entitled, Letters of an Anierium Farmer.

i* ately

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 4I

*' ately fet off to trace your fteps. He conduâied
*' me, always wagging his tail, to the Black River,
*^ There, I was informed by a planter, that you had
" brought a fugitive flave back to him, and that
** he had pardoned her at your interceffion. But
" what a pardon ! he fhevt/ed her to me, faftened,
** with a chain round her foot, to a log of wood,
** and an iron collar, with three rings, round her
** neck. From thence. Fidèle, following the fcent,
** conduded me to the Mount of the Black River,
*^ where he again flopped, and barked as loud as
** he was able. It was on the brink of a fountain,
" near a palm-tree, which had been levelled, and
" a fire not quite extinguifhed : at length, he con-
*' dudted me to this place. We are at the foot
" of the mountain of the Three Paps, and it is
** ftill four good leagues from our dwelling. Come
** on, eat, and recruit your ftrength." He then
prefented to them a cake, fome fruit, and a large
gourd bottle, filled with a liquor compounded of
water, wine, lemon-juice, fugar, and nutmeg,
which their mothers had prepared to ftrengthen
and revive them. Firginia fighed at the recollec-
tion of the poor Have, and at the diftrefs of their
mothers. She repeated feveral times, ** Oh, how
** difficult it is to do good !'*

While Paul and fhe were refrefhing themfelves,
J)omingo lighted a fire, and looking about among

the

4»- STtTDlES OF NATURE.

the rocks for a crooked billet, which we call round-
wood, and which burns even in the fap, throwing
out a very bright flame, he made a flambeau of
it, and fet it a-burning ; for it was now quite dark.
But he had to encounter a much greater difficulty;
when all was ready for proceeding forward, Paul
and Virginia were abfolutely incapable of walking
any farther ; their feet being fwelled, and raw all
over. Domingo was completely puzzled ; he could
not determine whether it would be more advifable
for him to ramble about in queft of affiftance, or
to prepare for paffing the night with them, where
they were. " Whither has the time fled,*' faid
he to them, *' when I carried you both at once in
*• my arms ? But now, you are increafed in fta-
" ture, and I am old." While he was reduced to
this ftate of perplexity, a company of runaway
negroes appeared, about twenty paces diftant. The
leader of the troop, approaching Paid and Firginia,.
thus addrefled them: '' Good little Whites, be not
" afraid: we faw you this morning paffing along, in
" company with a negrefs of the Black River; you
" were going to folicit her pardon of a cruel mailer;
** out of gratitude we will carry you home upon our
** fhoulders." Upon this he made a fign, and four
of the ftoutefl: black fellows immediately formed
a litter, with boughs of trees and lianes, placed
Paid and Virginia upon ir^ hoifted them upon their
ihoulders, and, Domingo marching before them,

with

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 43

with his flambeau, they took the road, amidfl the
joyful acclamations of the whole company, who
loaded them with benedidions. Fhginia, quite
overcome^ whifpered to Paul: " Oh, my dear
" friend ! God never permits a good adion to go
*' unrewarded."

About midnight, they arrived at the bottom of
their own mountain, the ridges of which were illu-
mined with various fires.. Scarcely had they got
to the top, when they heard voices calling aloud :
*' Is it you, my children ?" The blacks and they
replied together : " Yes, yes, here we are!" and
prefently they perceived their mothers and Alary
coming to meet them, with flaming torches.
** Unhappy children!" exclaimed Madame de la
Tour, " Whence come you ? Into what agonies
'' have you thrown us !" " We come," replied
Virginia, " from the Black River, whither we went
" this morning to implore the pardon of a poor
" fugitive negrefs, to whom 1 likewife gave the
" family breakfaft, for flie was juft perilhing with
" hunger ; and here, the black runaways have car-
'' ried us home again." Madame de la Tour ten-
derly embraced her daughter, utterly deprived of
the power of fpeech ; and Virginia, who felt her
own face moiftened with her mother's tears, faid
to her : " How you repay me for all that I have

*' fuffered!"

44 STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' fuffered !'* Margaret^ tranfported with delight,
locked Paul in her arms, laying : " And thou too,
" my fon, thou haft performed a good action !"
Being arrived at their cottage, with the children,
they gave a plentiful fupper to the black guides,
who returned to the woods, with a thoufand good
wifhes for their profperity.

Every fucceeding day was, to thefe families, a
day of happinefs and tranquillity. They were
ftrangers to the torments of envy and of ambition.
They coveted not, from abroad, that vain reputa-
tion which is purchafed by intrigue, and which the
breath of calumny deftroys. It was fufficient for
them to be in the place of witnefs and of judge to
each other. In this ifland, where, as in all the
European Colonies, no curiofity is exprefled, ex-
cept in hunting after malicious anecdotes, their
virtues, nay, their very names were unknown.
Only, when a paffenger happened to afk, on the
road to Pamplemouffes, of one of the inhabitants
of the plain : *' Who lives in yonder cottages on
** the top of the hill?" the anfwer returned, with-
out pretending to any farther knowledge of them,
was : " They are good people.'* Thus the violets,
from under the prickly (hrubbery, exhale at a dif-
tance their fragrant perfume, though they remain
unfeen.

They

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 45

They had banifhed from their cotiverfation the
praftice of evil-fpeaking, which, under an appear-
ance of juftice, neceflarily difpofes the heart to ha-
tred, or to falfehood ; for it is impoflible to refrain
from hating men, if we believe them to be wicked 5
and to live with the wicked, unlefs you conceal your
hatred of them, under falfe appearances of benevo-
lence. Evil fpeaking, accordingly, lays us under the
neceffity of being upon bad terms with others, or
with ourfelves. But without fitting in judgment on
men, in particular, they entertainedone another, only
in devifing the means of doing good to all in gene-
ral ; and, though they pofTefled not the power, they
had an invariable difpofition this way, which ani-
mated them with a benevolence at all times ready to
extend itfelf in an outward direiflion. By living,
therefore, in folitude, fo far from degenerating
into favages, they had become more humane. If
the fcandalous hiftory of Society did not fupply
them with matter of converfation, that of Nature
replenifhed their hearts with tranfports of wonder
and delight. They contemplated, with rapture,
the power of that Providence which, by their hands,
had difFufed amidft thefe barren rocks abundance,
gracefulnefs, pleafures pure, fimple, and perpetu-
ally renewing themfelves.

Pauly at the age of twelve, more vigorous, and
more intelligent, than Europeans, in general, are

at

46 STUDIES OF NATURE.

at fifteen, had embellifhed what the Negro Ùo-^
mhigo only cultivated. He went with him to the
adjoining woods, to take up by the roots the young
plants of lemon and orange-trees, of the tamarinds,
whofe round head is of fuch a beautiful green, and
of the attier, whofe fruit is ftored with a fugary
cream, which emits the perfume of the orange-
flower. He planted thefe trees, after they had at-
tained a confiderable ftature, all around this enclo-
fure. He had there fown the grains of fuch trees
as, from the fécond year, and upward, bear flowers,
or fruits, as the agathis^ from which depend cir-
cularly, like the cryftal pendants of a luftre, long
clufters of white flowers ; the Perfian lilach, which
raifes ftraight into the air it's gray, flaxen giran-
doles ; the papayer, whofe branchlefs trunk, formed
like a column, bridled all over with green melons,
carries aloft a chapiter of broad leaves, refembling
thofe of the fig-tree.

He had likewife planted in it the kernels and
the nuts of the badamier^ of the mango, of the avo-
catier, of the goyavier, of xkvz jacoj^ and of the jam-
rofe. Mod of thefe trees already yielded to their
young mafter, both fliade and fruit. His induf-
trious hand had diffufcd fecundity even over the
moft: fl:eril fpot of the enclofure. Aloes of various
kinds, the raquet, loaded with yellovv flowers fliriped
with red, the prickly tapers, arofe on the dufky

fummits

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 47

fummits of the rocks, and feemed defirous of
mounting up to the linneSy garnifhed with blue, or
fcarlet flowers, which hung down here and there,
along the precipices of the mountain.

He had difpofed thefe vegetables in fuch a man-
ner, that you could enjoy the fight of them, by a
llngle glance of the eye. He had planted in the
middle of the bafon, the herbage, which grows to
no great height, after that the flirubbery, then the
trees of fmall ftature, and laft of all the great trees,
which garnifhed it's circumference ; fo that this
vail enclofure appeared, from it's centre, like an
amphitheatre of verdure, of fruits, and flowers,
containing pot-herbs, ftripes of meadow-ground,
and fields of rice and corn. But in fubjefling thus
the vegetable kingdom to his plan, he had not de-
viated from the plans of Nature. Direfted by the
indications which flie vouchfafes to give, he had
placed in elevated fituations, the plants whofe feeds
are volatile, and by the fide of the waters thofe
whofe grains are adapted to floating. Thus, each
vegetable grew in it's proper fite, and each fite re-
ceived from it's vegetable it's natural drefs. The
flreams, which defcended from the fummit of thefe
rocks, formed below in the valley, here, fountains,
there, broad and capacious mirrors, which refleded,
in the m.idft of the verdure, the trees in bloom,
the rocks, and the azure of the Heavens.

Notwithilanding

48 STUDIES OF NATURE*

Notvvithilanding the great irregularity of thô
foil, all thefe plantations were, for the moft part,
as acceffible to the foot as to the eye. In truth,
we all afiifted him, with our advice, and with our
exertions, in order to accomplifh his purpofe. He
had traced a path which winded round the bâfon,
and of which feveral ramifications converged from
the circumference to meet at the centre. He had
availed himfelf of the mod rugged places of his
domain, and united, by a harmony the moft deli-
cious, facility of walking with the afperity of the
foil, and domeftic with foreft trees. Of that enor-
mous quantity of rolling ftones, which now ob-
ftrud thefe roads, as well as mar the greateft part
of the furface of this iiland, he had formed in va-
rious places, huge pyramids, in the layers of which
he had mixed with earth, and the roots of rofe-
trees, Û\ç. poincillade^ and other flirubs, which take
pleafure in the rocks. In a very fliort time, thefe
gloomy and inanimate piles were covered with ver-
dure, or with the dazzling luftre of the moft beau-
tiful flowers. The cavities worn by the torrent in
the fides of the mountain, bordered with aged
trees inclined toward each other, formed arched
fubterraneans, inacceffible to the heat, to which
they retired for coolnefs, during the fultry ardor
of the meridian Sun. A narrow path conduced
into a thicket of wild trees, at the centre of which
grew, flieltered from the winds, a houfehold-

tree.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 49

tree, loaded with fruit. There, was a corn-field
whitening to the harveft; here, an orchard.
Through this avenue, you could fee the houfes ;
through that, the inacceffible fummits of the moun-
tain. Under a tufted grove of tatamaques, inter-
laced with liafies, no one objed was diftinguidi-
able, even in the brightnefs of noon-day. On the
point of that great rock adjoining, which juts out
of the mountain, you could difcern all thofe con-
tained within the enclofure, with the Sea at a dif-
tance, on which fometimes appeared a veffel ar-
riving from Europe, or returning thither. On this
rock it was that the two families affembled of an
evening, and enjoyed, in filence, the coolnefs of the
air, the fragrance of the flowers, the bubbling of
the fountains, and the laft harmonies of light and
fhade.

Nothing could be more agreeable than the names
impofed on the greateft part of the charming re-
treats of this labyrinth. The rock of which I have
juft now been fpeaking, from whence they could
difcern my approach, at a confiderable diftance,
was called Friendship's Discovery. PûkI and
Virginia, in their fportivenefs, had planted a bam-
boo upon it, on the fummit of which they hoifted
a fmall white handkerchief, as a fîgnal of my ar-
rival as foon as they perceived me ; in imitation of
the flag which is difplayed on the neighbouring

VOL. V. E mountain.

50 STUDIES OF NATURE.

mountain, on feeing a vefiel at Sea. I took a fancy
to engrave an infcription on the flem of this reed.
Whatever pleafiire I may have enjoyed in the courfe
of my travels, in contemplating a ftatue, or a mo-
nument of Antiquity, I have enjoyed ftill more in
perufing a well-conceived inicription. It feems to
me, in that cafe, as if a human voice iffued out of
the flone, made itfelf audible through the mighty
void of ages, and, addreffing itfelf to Man, in the
midft of deferts, told him that he was not alone ;
and that other men, in thefe very places, had felt,
thought, and fuffered, like himfelf. Should it hap-
pen to be the infcription of fome ancient Nation,
which fubfifts no longer, it conveys our foul into
the regions of infinity, and communicates to it
the fentiment of it's own immortality, by fhewing,
that a thought has outlived the ruins even of an
Empire.

1 infcribed, then, on the little mafl which car-
ried the flag of Paul and Virginia, thefe verfes of

Horace :

Fratres Heienae, lucida fidera,

Ventorumque regat Pater,
Obftriftis aliis, practer lapyga*.

* Thus imitated :
May Hekn^i brothers, ftars fo bright,
And ^o/w guide your courfe aright,
That, fafe from every ruder gale.
Zephyrs alone may fwell the faiJ.

'' May

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 5I

'* May the brothers of Helen, flars radiant like
" yourfelves, and may the Ruler of the winds, di-
" reft your courfe; binding up every ruder blaft,
" and filling your fails only with the breath of the
" Zephyr."

I engraved the following line, from Firgi/, on
the rind of a tatamaque, under the fhade of which
Paul fometimes fat down, to contemplate, from
afar, the agitated Ocean :

Fortunatus & ille deos qui novit agrefles !

** Happy, too, is he, in knowing no deities but
thofe who make the plains their care 1"

And that other, over the door of Madame de la
Tour's cottage, which was the place of general ren-
dezvous :

At fecura quies, & nefcia fallere vita.
*' Peace undilturbed, and hearts devoid of guile.''

"^MX. Firginia à\i\ not approve of my Latin; (he
faid, that the infcription which I had placed be-
low her weathercock, was too long, and too learned.
I fhould have rather preferred this, added fhe ;

ALWAYS AGITATED, BUT EVER CONSTANT.

That device, replied I, is flill better adapted to

E a virtue.

5* STUDIES OF NATURE.

virtue. My obfervation excited a blufh in her
cheek.

Thefe happy families extended their benevolent
difpofitions to all that furrounded them. They
bcftovved the moft tender appellations on objeéls
apparently the moft indifferent. To an enclofure
of orange-trees, and bananas, planted in form of a
circle, round a portion of mofly ground, in the
middle of which Paid and Virginia fometimes ufed
to dance, they gave the name of, The Concord.
An ancient tree, under the fliade of which Ma-
dame de la Tour and Margaret related, to each
other, their misfortunes, was called. The Tears
WIPED AWAY. They gave the names of Brit-
tany and Normandy to fmall fpots of ground,
where they had planted corn, ftrawberries,and peafe.
Domingo and Mary, wifliing, after the example of
their miftreffes, to call to remembrance the places
of their birth in Africa, denominated two pieces
of ground, where that grafs grew of which they
made- bafkets, and where they had planted a great
gourd, Angola and Foullepointe, Thus, by
thefe produ6tions of their own climates, thefe ex-
iled families cheriQied fond ideas of their native
country, and foothed their forrows in a foreign
land. Alas ! I have feen the trees, the fountains,
the rocks, of this fpot, now fo changed, animated
by a thoufand charming appellations j but in

their

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 53

their prefent ftate, like a Grecian plain, they only
prefent to view, ruins, and heart- affeding infcrip-
tions.

Of the whole enclofure, however, no fpot was
more agreeable than that which went by the name of
Virginia's Rest. At the foot of the rock, named.
The Discovery of Friendship, is a hollow
place, whence iffues a fountain, which forms, from
it's fource, a little lake, in the middle of a mea-
dow of fine grafs. When Margaret had brought
Paid into the World, I made her a prefent of an
Indian cocoa-nut, which had been given me. She
planted this fruit on the borders of the lake, in-
tending that the tree which it fhould produce,
might ferve, one day, as an epocha of her fon's
birth. Madame de la Tour, after her example,
planted another there likcwife, with a fimilar inten-
tion, as foon as (he was delivered of Virginia. From
thefe nuts grew two cocoa-trees, which formed the
whole archives of the two families ; one was called
the tree of Paul, the other that of Virginia. They
both grew in the fame proportion as their young
mafter and miftrefs, of a height rather unequal,
but which furpaffed, at the end of twelve years,
that of the cottages. Already they interwove their
branches, and dropped their young clutters of co-
coas, over the bafon of the fountain,

E 3 This

54 STUDIES OF NATURE,

This plantation excepted, they had left the ca-»
vity of the rock juft as Nature had adorned it. On
it's brown and humid fides, radiated, in green and
dufky flars, large plants of maiden-hair, and
tufts of the fcolopendra, fufpended like long
ribands of a greenifli purple, waved at the plea-
fure of the winds. Near to that, grew long ftripes
of the periwinkle, the flowers of which nearly re-
femble thofe of the red gilly-flower, and pimentos,
whofe blood-coloured hufks are brighter than coral.
Round about thefe, the plants of balm, with their
leaves refembling a heart, and the bafilicons, with
a carnation fmell, exhaled the fweeteft of perfumes.
From the fummit of the rugged precipices of the
mountain hung the lianes, like floating drapery,
which formed, on the fides of the rocks, large fef-
toons of verdure. The fea-birds, attraded by thefe
peaceful retreats, flocked thither to pafs the night.
At fun-fet, you might fee the rook and the fea-
lark fly along the fliore of the Sea; and, high in
air, the black frigat and the white bird of the tro-
pics, which abandon, together with the orb of day,
the folitudes of the Indian Ocean.

Virginia delighted to repofe herfelf on the bor-
ders of this fountain, decorated with a pomp, at
once inagnificent and wild. Thither did flie often
refort, to wall) the linen of the family, under tho

fliade

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 55

fhade of the two cocoa-trees; and fometimes (he
led her goats to pafture there. While (lie prepared
cheefes of their milk, (he took delight to fee them
browfe on the maiden-hair, which grew on the
fteep fides of the rock, and fufpcnd themfelves in
the air, on one of it's cornices, as on a pedeftal.

Paul, perceiving this to be the favourite retreat
of Virginia i brought thither, from the neighbour-
ing foreft, the nefts of all kinds of birds. The pa-
rents of thefe birds followed their young ones, and
eflablilhed themfelves in this new colony. Virginia
fcattered among them, from time to time, grains
of rice, of maize, and of millet. As foon as (he
appeared, the whiftling blackbirds, the bengali,
whofe warbling is fo fweet, and the cardinal, with
his flame-coloured plumage, left the bulhes; the
parroquets, as green as the emerald, defcended
from the neighbouring lataniers ; the partridges
ran nimbly along the grafs : all haftened, in varie-
gated groups, to her very feet, like little chickens,
while P^;// and flieamufed themfelves, with tranfport,
at their playfulnefs, their appetites, and their loves.

Amiable children, thus did you pafs your early
days, in perfed innocence, and employ ingyourfelves
in afts of virtue! How many times, in that fpot,
did your mothers, folding you in their arms, pive
thanks to Keaven, for the confoiation which you.
E 4- - were

56 STUDIES OF NATURE.

were preparing for their old age, and at feeing you
enter into life under aufpicesfo happy! How many
times, under the fliade of thefe rocks, have I par-
taken with them, your rural repaft, by which no
animal was deprived of life ! Gourds filled with
milk, frefh eggs, cakes of rice ferved up on the
leaves of the banana tree, baikets filled with pota-
toes, mangoes, oranges, pomegranates, bananas,
atiés^ and pine-apples, prefented, at once, the moft
nourilhing aliment, the gayeft colours, and the
moll agreeable juices.

Their converfation was as fweet, and as innocent,
as the repalts. Paul frequently talked of the la-
bours of the day paft, and of thofe of to-morrow ;
he was always meditating fomething which would
be fubfervient to the general good : here, the
paths were not commodious ; there, they were in-
differently feated ; thefe young bowers did not
give a fulficient (hade j Firginia would be more
comfortable there.

In the rainy feafon, in the day-time, they af-
fembled all together, in the cottage, mafters and
fervants, and employed themfelves in weaving mats
of the herbage, and bafkets of bamboo. You faw
difplayed, in the moft perfed order, along the
boards of the wall, rakes, hatchets, fpades ; and
clofe by thefe inftruments of agriculture, the pro-

dudions

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 57

dudions which were the fruit of them, bags of
rice, (heaves of corn, and rows of bananas. De-
licacy was there ever blended with abundance.
Virginia, aflifted by the inftrudions; of Margareîy
and her mother, amufed herfelf with preparing
fherbets, and cordials, with the juice of the fugar*
cane, of citrons, and of cédrats.

When night arrived, they fupped by the glim-
mering light of a laQip ; after which Madame de
la 'Tour, or Mtzr^^r^/, related, the hiftories of tra-
vellers, who had loft their way by night, in the fo»
refts of Europe, infefted by robbers ; or of the
Ihipwreck of fome veflel, driven by the tempeft on
the rocks of a defert iiland. On hearing melan-
choly details of this kind, the hearts of thefe fen-
fible young folks caught fire. They implored of
Heaven, the grace, to put in praftice, one day,
the duties of hofpitality to unhappy perfons in fuch
circumftances. Meanwhile the two families fe-
parated, to enjoy the gift of ileep, but in the ar-
dor of impatience to meet again next morning.
Sometimes they were lulled to reft, by the noife of
the rain ruftiing down in torrents on the roof of
their cottages ; or by the roaring of the winds,
which conveyed to their ears, the diftant murmur-
ing of the billows which broke upon the fhore*
They united, in giving thanks to God for their

perfonal

58 STUDIES OF NATURE.

perfonal fecurity, the fentiment of which was
heightened by that of danger remote.

Madame de la Tour, from time to time, read
aloud to the company fome interefting portion of
the Hiftory of the Old or New Teftament. They
reafoned fparingly on the fubjedt of thofe Sacred
Books ; for their Theology confifted wholly in fen-
timent, like that of Nature; and their morality,
wholly in adive benevolence, like that of the Gof-
pel. They had no days deftined, fome to mirth,
others to melancholy. Every day was, to them,
a feafon of feftivity, and every thing that furrounded
• them a divine Temple, in which they inceflantly
admired an Intelligence infinite, omnipotent, and
gracioufly difpofed toward Man. This fentiment
of confidence in the Power Supreme, filled them
with confolation refpefting the paft, with fortitude
for the prefent, and with hope for the time to
come. Thus it was that thefe females, conftrained
by calamity to fall back into Nature, had unfolded
in themfelves, and in their children, thofe feelings
which are the gift of Nature, to prevent our fink-
ing under the preffure of calamity.

But as there fometimes arife, in the beft: regu-
lated fpirit, clouds to difturb it's ferenity, when
any member of this fociety had the appearance of

penfivenefs.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 59

penfivenefs, all the reft felt attraded toward that
one, and diflipated the bitternefs of thought, ra-
ther by feelings, than by reflexions. Each exerted,
to this effed, their particular charader : Margaret,
a lively gaiety ; Madame de la I'our, a mild theo-
logy ; Firginia, tender carelTes j Paul, frank nefs
and cordiality. Nay, Mary and Domingo^ contri-
buted their (hare of confolation. When they be-
held afflidion, they were afflided ; when they faw
tears flied, they wept. Thus the feeble plants in-
terlace their boughs, in order to refift the violence
of the hurricane.

When the weather was fine, they went every
Sunday to mafs. to the church of PamplemoufTes,
the tower of which you fee below in the plain.
The wealthy Planters reforted thither in their pa-
lanquins ; and made many efforts to form an ac-
quaintance with thefe happily united families, and
invited them to partake of their parties of pleafure.
But they uniformly declined accepting fuch ten-
ders, civilly and refpedfuUy, under the convidion,
that perfons of confequence court the obfcure,
only for the pleafure of having compliant hangers-
on, and that it is impoffible to be complaifant, but
by flattering the paffions of another, whether they
be good or bad. On the other hand, they fliun-
ned, with no lefs circumfpedion, all intimacy with

the

60 STUDIES OF NATURE,

the lower inhabitants, who are, for the moft part,
jealous, back-biters, and vulgar. They paffed, at
firft, with one of thofe fets, for timid ; and with
the other, for haughty ; but their referved beha-
Tiour was accompanied with marks of politenefs
fo obliging, efpecially to perfons in diftrefs, that
they imperceptibly acquired the refpeâ: of the rich,
and the confidence of the poor.

When mafs was over, they were frequently
fought unto, for the interpofition of fome gracious
office or another. It was a perfon in perplexity,
who applied to them for their kind advice ; or a
child, importuning them to vifit a fick mother, in
one of the adjoining hamlets. They always car-
ried about them fome receipts adapted to the dif-
cafes incident to the inhabitants, and they admini-
flered their prefcriptions with that good grace,
which communicates fuch a value to fmall fer-
vices. They fucceeded, particularly, in curing
the maladies of the mind, fo oppreflive, in a ftate
of folitude, and in an infirm ftate of body. Ma-
dame de la Tour fpoke with fo much confidence of
the Deity, that the fick perfon, liftening to her
difcourfe, felt the impreffion of his prefence.
From thefe vifits Virginia frequently returned with
her eyes bathed in tears, but her heart overflowing
with joy ; for flie had been blelTed with an oppor-
tunity

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 6t

tunity of doing good. She it was who prepared,
beforehand, the medicines neceflary to the fick,
and who prefented them with a grace ineffable.

After thofe vifits of humanity, they fometimes
extended their walk, by the valley of the long
mountain, as far as my habitation, where I expefted
them to dinner, on the banks of the little river,
which flows in my neighbourhood. I provided
myfelf, for fuch occafions, with fome bottles of old
wine, in order to enliven the gaiety of our Indian
repafts, by thofe pleafant and cordial produdiions
of Europe. At other times, we had our rendez-
vous on tke fliore of the Sea, at the mouth of fome
other fmall rivers, which, in this part of thé
World, can hardly be called any thing more than
a larger kind of brook. Thither we carried, from
the plantation, various kinds of vegetable provifion,
which we added to the abundant fuppHes furnilhed
by the Ocean. We fiflied along the fhore for ca-
bots, polypnfes, lobfters, roaches, flirimps, crabs,
urchins, oyfters, and fhell-filb of every kind. Si-
tuations the mod terrible frequently procured us
pleafures the mod tranquilizing. Sometimes,
feated on a rock, under the Ihade of a velvet-tree,
we contemplated the billows, from the main, rolling
on, and breaking under our feet, with a tremen-
dous roar. Paul, who, befide his other qualities,
could fwim like a fifli, now and then advanced

upon

62 STUDIES OF NATURE.

upon the (hallows, to meet the furge, then, as ft
approached, fled toward the fliore, purfued by it*s
vaft, foaming, and raging fwell, a confiderable way
up the ftrand. But Firginiay as often as flie faw
this, fcreamed aloud, and declared that fuch kind
of amufement terrified her exceedingly.

Our meals were followed up by the (inging and
dancing of thefe two young people. rirginia
chanted the felicity of a rural Hfe, and the wretch-
ednefs of fea-faring men, whom avarice prompts to
encounter a furious element, rather than cultivate
the earth, which confers fo many benefits, in peace
and tranquillity. Sometimes, after the manner of
the negroes. Paid and (he performed a pantomime.
Pantomime is the firft language of Man ; it is
pradifed among all Nations. It is fo natural, and
fo expre(rive, that the children of the whites
quickly learn it, from feeing thofe of the blacks
thus amufe thenifelves. Firginia, recolleding the
hiftories which her mother ufed to read, thofe efpe-
cially which had afFefted her the moft, exhibited
the principal events of them, with much natural
expreffion. Sometimes, to the found of Domingo\
tam-tam, (he made her appearance on the downy
ftage, bearing a pitcher on her head. She ad-
vanced, with timidity, to fill it with water at the
fource of a neighbouring fountain. Domingo and
Mary, reprefeating the (liepherds of Midian, ob-

ftruded

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 63

ftruéted her paflage, and feigned to repel her.
Paul flew to her affiftance, beat off the (hepherds,
filled the pitcher oiFirghiia^ and placing it upon her
head, at the fame time bound around it a garland
of the fcarlet flowers of the periwinkle, which
heightened the fairnefs of her complexion. Then,
taking a part in their innocent fports, I affumed
the charader of Ragiiel^ and beftowed on PavÀ^ my
daughter Zipporah in marriage.

At another time, fhe reprefented the unfortunate
Rutbj who returns to her country, a widow, and
in poverty, where flie finds herfelf treated as a
fl:ranger, after a long abfence. Domingo and Mary
afted the part of the reapers. ,Firgima appeared,
gleaning up and down after them, and picking up
the ears of corn. Paul, imitating the gravity of a
Patriarch, interrogated her; flie, trembling, replied
to his queftions. Moved with compaffion, he im-
mediately granted an afylum to innocence, and the
rights of hofpitality to misfortune. He filled Fir-
ginia*s apron with provifions of every kind, and
brought her before us, as before the elders of the
city, declaring that he took her to wife, notwith-
ftanding her extreme indigence. At this fcene,
Madame de la 'Tour y calling to remembrance the
ftate of defertion in which flie had been left by her
own relations, her widowhood^ the kind reception

which

64 STUDIES OF NATURE.

which Margaret had given her, now fucceeded by
the hope of a happy union between their children,
could not refrain from tears ; and this blended re-
colledion of good and evil, drew from the eyes of
us all, the tears of forrow and of joy.

Thefe dramas were exhibited with fuch a truth
of expreffion, that we aftually imagined ourfelves
tranfported to the plains of Syria, or of Paleftine.
There was no want of decorations, of illumina-
tions, and of orcheflras, fuitable to this fpedacle.
The place of the fcene ufually was at the crofs-
paths of a foreft, the openings of which formed
around us feveral arcades of foliage. We were at
their centre fheltered from the heat, all the day
long ; but when the Sun had defcended to the
horizon, his rays broken by the trunks of the trees,
diverged into the fhades of the foreft, in long, lu-
minous emanations, which produced the moft ma-
jeftic effe(ft. Sometimes, his complete difk ap-
peared at the extremity of an avenue, and rendered
it quite dazzling with a tide of light. The foliage
of the trees, illumined on the under fide with his
faffron-coloured rays, fparkled with the fires of the
topaz, and of the emerald. Their mofly and brown
•trunks feemed to be transformed into columns of
antique bronze, and the birds, already retired in
lilence, under the dark foliage, for the night, fur-
prized

PAUL AND VIRGINIA* 65

prized by the fight of a new Atfrora, faluted, all at
once, the luminary of day, by a thoufand and a
thoufand fongs.

The night very often furprized us regaling our-
felves with thefe rural feftivities ; but the purity
of the air, and the mildnefs of the climate, per-
mitted us to fleep under an ajoupa, in the midft of
the woods, free from all fear of thieves, either at
hand, or at a diftance. Every one returned, next
morning, to his own cottage, and found it in the
fame ftate in which it had been left. There reign-
ed, at that time, fo much honefty and fimplicity,
in this un-commercial iiland, that the doors of
many houfes did not faften by a key, and a lock
was an objeâ: of curiofity to many Creoles.

But there were certain days of the year cele-
brated by Paul and Firginia, as feafons of peculiar
rejoicing -, thefe were the birth-days of their mo-
thers. Firginia never failed, the evening before,
to bake and drefs cakes of the flour of wheat,
which (he fent to the poor families of whites, born
in the ifland, who had never tafted the bread of
Europe, and who, without any affiftance from the
blacks, reduced to live on maize, in the midft of
the woods, poffefled, toward the fupport of po-
verty, neither the ftupidity which is the concomi-

voL. V. p tant

66 STUDIES OF NATURE.

tant of flavery, nor the courage which education
infpires.

Thefe cakes were the only prefents which Vir-
ginia had it in her power to make, of the affluence
of the plantation ; but they were bellowed with a
grace which greatly enhanced their value. Firft,
P^w/himfelf was defired to undertake the charge
of prefenting them to thofe families, and they were
invited, on receiving them, to come on the mor-
row, and pafs the day at the habitation of Madame
de la 'Tour and Margaret, There arrived, accord-
ingly, a mother, with two or three miferable
daughters, yellow, meagre, and fo timid, that
they duril not lift up their eyes. Virginia prefently
fet them all at their eafe : flie ferved them with a
variety of refrefhments, the goodnefs of which (he
heightened by fome particular circumftances, that,
according to her, increafed it's relilh. That li-
quor had been prepared by Margaret ; this one by
her mother ; her brother himfelf had gathered that
fruit on the fummit of the tree. She prevailed on
Paul to lead them out to dance. She never gave
over till flie faw them content and happy. Jt was
her wifli that they iliould become joyful in the joy
of the family. " No one," faid llie, ** can find
** happinefs for himfelf, but in promoting the hap-
■*^ pinefs of another." On taking their leave, to

return

PikCTIi AND VIRGINIA»

retutn home, flie prefied them to carry away any
thing which feemed to have given them peculiar
fatisfaelion, veiling the neceffity of accepting her
prefents, under the pretext of their novelty, or of
their fingularity. If (he remarked their clothes to
be exceffively tattered, flie, with the confent of her
mother, feleded fome of her own, and charged
Paul to go by ftcalth, and depofit them at the door
of their cottages» Thus, flie did good, after the
manner of the Deity ; concealing the benefactrefs,
and fhewing the benefit.

You gentlemen of Europe, whofe minds are
tainted, from your early infancy, by fo many pre-
judices, incompatible with happinefs, you are un-
able to conceive, how Nature can beftow fo much
illumination, and fo many pleafures. Your (ouls,
circumfcribed within a fmall fphere of human
knowledge, foon attain the term of their artificial
enjoyments ; but nature and the heart are inex-
hauftible. Paid and Virgima had no time-pieces,
nor ahnanacks, nor books cf chronology, of hif-
tory, nor of philofophy : the periods of their lives
were regulated by thofe of Nature. They knew
the hour of the day by the (hadow of the trees j
the feafons, by the times when they produced their
flowers, or their fruits ; and yeais, by the number
of their harvefts. Thcfe delightful images dif-
fufed the greateft charms over thjeir converfation.

F 2 ** It

68 STUDIES OF KATUREi-

" It is dinner-time,*' faid Virginia to the family,
*' the fhadows of the bananas are at their feet;" or
elfe, " night approaches, for the tamarinds are
*' clofing their leaves." " When (hall we fee you ?"
faid fome of her companions of the vicinity to her;
*' at the time of the fugar-canes," replied Firgijiia;
*' your vifit will be flill fweeter and more agree-
*' able at that time," returned thefe young people.
When enquiries v/ere made refpefting her own
age, and that of Paul, *' My brother," faid fhe,
*' is of the fame age with the great cocoa-tree of
*' the fountain, and I, with that of the fmall one.
*' The mango-trees have yielded their fruit twelve
'* times, and the orange-trees have opened their
" bloffbms twenty-four times, fince I came into the
*' World. Like Fauns and Dryads, their lives
feemed to be attached to thofe of the trees. They
knew no other hiftorical epochs, but the lives of
their mothers ; no other chronology, but that of
their orchards ; and no other philofophy, but uni-
verfal beneficence, and refignation to the will of
God.

After all, what occafion had thefe young people
for fuch riches, and knowledge, as we have learnr
to prize ? Their ignorance and their wants, were
even a farther addition to their happinefs. Not a
day pafled, in which they did not communicate
to each other fome afliftance, or fome informa-
. tion ;

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 69

tion ; I repeat it, information ; and though it
might be mingled with fome error, yet man, in a
ftate of purity, has no dangerous error to fe^r.
Thus did thefe two children of Nature advance in
life : hitherto, no care had wrinkled their fore-
heads, no intemperance had corrupted their blood,
no unhappy paffion had depraved their hearts ;
love, innocence, piety, were daily unfolding the
beauties of their foul, in graces ineffable, in their
features, in their attitudes, and in their motions.
In the morning of life, they had all the freflinefs
of it : like our firft parents, in the garden of JEdcn,
when, proceeding from the hands of their Creator,
they faw, approached, and converfed with each
other, at firft, like brother and fifter. Firginiat
gentle, modeft, and confident, like Eve; Paul
like Adam, with the ftature of a man, and all the
fimplicity of a child.

He has a thoufand times told me, that fome-
times being alone with her, on his return from la-
bour, he had thus addrefled her : " When I am
" weary, the fight of thee revives me; when, from
" the mountain's height, I defcry thee at the bot-
*' tom of this valley, thou appeared like a rofe-
*' bud in the midft of our orchards ; when thou
*' walkeft toward the dweUing of our mothers, the
" partridge, which trips along to it's young ones,
" has a cheft lefs beautiful, and a gait lefs nimble^

F 3 *' than

fà STUDIES OF NATURE.

" than thou haft. Ahhough I lofe fight of thee,

** through the trees, there is no occafion for thy

" prefence, in order to find thee agiin ; fomething

" of thee, which I am unable to exprefs, remains

*' for me in the air through which thuu haft pafled,

"and on the grafs upon which thou haft been

*' feated. When I approach thee, all my fenfes

" are raviflied; the azure of the Heavens is lefs

" radiant than the blue of thine eyes ; the war*

** bling of the bengali is lefs fweet than the tone

*' of thy voice ; if I touch thee only with the tip

" of my finger, my whole body thrills with plea-

" fure. Doft thou remember that day, on which

" we piffed acrofs the pebbly bed of the river, of

*' the moUiTtain called the Thrte Paps ; when I

** arrived on it*s banks, I was very much fatigued,

" but as loon as I had ta.kçn thte on my back, it

** feemed as if 1 had got wings like a bird ; Tell

" me, by what charm thou haft been able thus

** to enchant me : is it by thy undtrftanding ?

" Our mothers have more than either of us : Is

** it by thy careifes ? Our mothers embrace me ftill

" oftener than thou doft : 1 believe it is by thy be-

*' nevolence ; I (hall never forget, that thou walk-

" edft, bare-foot, as far as the Black River, to fo-

*' licit the pardon of a wretched fugitive flave.

" Receive, my much-loved Virginia^ receive this

** flowery branch of the lemon-tree, which 1 have

*' gathered for thee m the foreft : place it, at night,

*' by

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 7I

** by thy pillow : eat this morfel of honey-comb,
** which I took for thee from the top of a rock.
" Firfl, however, repofe thyfelf upon my bofom,
** and I (hall be again revived."

f^irginia replied, " Oh, my brother ! the rays
" of the rifing Sun, on the fummits of thefe rocks,
" afford me lefs delight than thy prcfence : I love
" my own mother dearly ; I love thine ; but when
" they call thee, Son, 1 love them ftill more. The
" careffes which they beftow on thee, are fek more
*' fenfibly by me, than thofe which I myfelf receive
*' from them. Thou afkeft me, why thou loved
" me J but thofe that are reared together, always
" love each other : behold our birds, brought up
*' in the fame neft, they love like us, like us they
" are always together : hearken, how they call and
** reply to each other, from buQi to bufli : in like
*' manner, when the echoes bring to my ear the airs
" which thou playefl:, on thy flute, from the moun-
** tain- top, I repeat the words of them at the bot-
" torn of this valley : ihou art dear to me, but,
*' above all, fince that day on which thou wert de-
" termined to fight the malxer of the Have for my
*' fake : fince that period, I have faid to myfelf a
" thoufand times, Ah ! my brother has an excel-
*' lent heart; but for liim, I fhould have died with
" terror. I daily implore the blefiing of the Al-
" mighty on my own mother, and on thine, on

F 4 • "thyfelf.

7* STUDIES OF NATURE.

" thyfelf, and on our poor domeftics : but when
*' I pronounce thy name, my devotion feems to
" increafe, I To earneftly intreat the Almighty that
*' no evil may befal thee ! Why deft thou go fo far
*' off, and climb to fuch heights, to find me fruits
" and flowers ? Have we not enough in the gar-
" den ? How fatigued, and in what a heat, thou
" art jufl: now ?" Then, with her little white hand-
kerchief, fhe wiped his forehead and his cheeks,
and gave him a thoufand kifles.

Neverthclefs, for fome time paft, Virginia had
felt herfelf difturbed with an unknown malady.
Her fine blue eyes were tinged with black, her co-
lour faded, and an univerfal languor weakened her
body. Serenity no longer fat upon her forehead, nor
fmiles upon her lips : all at once might be feen in
her, gaiety without joy, and fadnefs without forrow.
She v/ithdrew herfelf from her innocent amufe-
ments, from her fweet occupations, and the fociety
of her much- loved family. She wandered here and
there, in the mofl folitary places of the plantation,
feeking reft, and finding none. Sometimes, at the
fight of Paul^ (lie ran up to him, in a playful man-
ner; when all of a fudden, as fhe was on the point
of coming in contaâ: with him, an unaccountable
embarraflhient feized her ; a lively red coloured
her pale cheeks, and her eyes no longer dared to
fix themfelves on his. Paul thus addrefl^ed her :

»' Thefe

PAUL AND VIRGINIA, 73

** Thefe rocks are covered with verdure, the birds
** warble when they fee thee : all is gay around thee,
" and thou alone art fad." Thus, with embraces,
did he endeavour to re-animate her; but flie, turn-
ing away her head, flew, trembling, to her mother.
The unhappy girl felt herfelf difcompofed by the
careffes of her brother. Paul was quite ignorant
of the caufe of caprices, fo new and fo ftrange.

Misfortunes feldom come fingly. One of thofe
Summers which defolate, from time to time, the
lands fituated between the Tropics, happened to
extend it's ravages here alfo. It was toward the
end of December, when the Sun, in Capricorn,
fcorches, with his vertical fires, the whole Ifle of
France, for three weeks together : the fouth-eaft
wind, which reigns there alrnoft all the year round,
now blew no longer. Huge whirlwinds of duft
raifed themfelves from the highways, and hung
fufpended in the air. The earth was cleft afunder
in all parts, the grafs entirely burnt up ; ardent
exhalations iffued from the fides of the mountains,
and moil of the rivulets were dried up. No cloud
arofe out of the fea; during the day-time, only,
red vapours afcended above it's furface, and ap-
peared, at fun-fet, lilce the flames of a great con-
flagration. Even the night feafon diffufed no cool-
nefs over the burning atmofphere. The bloody
difk of the moon rofe, of an enormous fize, in the

hazy

74 STUDIES OF NATURE.

hazy horizon ; the languid flocks, on the fides of
the mountains, with their necks ftrctched out to-
ward Heaven, and drawing in the air with diffi^
culty, made the vallies refound with their mourn-
ful cries : even the cafre, who conduded them,
lay along the ground, endeavouring to cool him-
felf, in that pofnion. Every where the foil was
fcorching hot, and the flifling air refounded with
the buzzing of infeds, which fought to quench
their thirll with the blood of men, and of animals:

One of thefe parching nights, Virginia felt all the
fymptoms of her malady redouble. She got up,
(he fat down, fhe returned to bed, but in no atti-
tude could (he find either lleep or repofe. She
rambled, by the light of the moon, toward the
fountain j flie perceived it's fource, which, in de-
fiance of the drought, dill flowed in filver fillets,
over the duiky fides of the rock. Without hefita-
tion, flie plunged herfelf into it's bafon; at firil, the
freflinefs re-animated her ; and a thoufand agree-
able recollerions prefented themfelves to her mind.
She remembered how, in the days of infancy, her
mother and Margaret amufed themfelves with
bathing Paul and her in that very ftream, and how
Pauk afterwards, appropriating this bath folely to
her ufe, had deepened it's bed, covered the bot-
tom with fand, and fowed aromatic herbs around
it's brink. On her naked arms, and on her bofom.

Hie

FAUL AND VIRGINIA. 75

She perceived the reflexes of the two palm-trees,
which had been planted at the birth of her bro-
ther, and at her own, and which now interwove
their green boughs, and their young cocoas, over
her head. She called to remembrance the friend-
fhip of Paul, fweeter than perfumes, purer than the
water of the fountain, ftronger than united palm-
trees, and fhe heaved a figh. She then refle<5led
that it was the night feafon, and that Qie was in foli-
tude; a confuming fire inflamed herbreaft. Imme-
diately, flie haftened, in difmay, from thefe dan-
gerous fhades, and from waters more ardent than
the funs of the Torrid Zone : flie hurried to her
mother, in order to feek refuge from herfelf. A
thoufand times, wifliing to difclofe her anguifli,
flie preflfed her hands between her own ; a thou-
fand times, (he was on the point of pronouncing
the name of Patd^ but her heart was fo full, as to
deprive her tongue of utterance, and, reclining her
head on the bofom of her mother, fhe bedewed it
with a rtiower of tears.

Madame de la Tour plainly perceived the caufe
of her daughter's diforder, but even flie herfelf had
not the courage to fpeak to her about it. " My
*' child," faid flie to her, *' addrefs yourfelf to
" the Almighty, who difpenfes health and life,
** accoraing^to his good pleafure. He makes trial
** of your virtue to-day,, only in order to recom-

** penfe

y6 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** penfe you to-morrow ; con'fider, that the chief
'' end of our being placed on the Earth is to prac-
" tife virtue.

In the mean time, thofe exceffive heats, raifed
out of the bofom of the Ocean, an aflemblage of
vapours, which, like a vaft parafol, covered the face
of the iiland. The fummits of the mountains col-
leded thefe around them, and long furrows of
flame, from time to time, ilTaed out of their cloud-
capt peaks. Prefently after, tremendous thunder-
claps made the woods, the plains, and the valleys,
reverberate the noife of their explofions. The rain,
in catarads, gufhed down from the Heavens.
Foaming torrents precipitated themfelves down the
(ides of this mountain ; the bottom of the bafon
was transformed into a Sea ; the platform on which
the cottages were raifed, into a iittle iiland ; and
the entrance into the valley, had become a fluice,
out of which rufhed, with awful impetuofity, by
the force of the roaring waters, the earth, the trees,
and the rocks.

The whole family, feized with trembling, ad-
dreffed their prayer to God, in Madame i^ /a Tour's
cottage, the roof of which cracked dreadfully by
the fury of the tempeft. Though the door, and the
outfide window-fhutters, were clofely barred, every
objedt was clearly diftinguiftiable within, through

the

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. j^j

the joinings of the boards, fo bright and fo fre-
quent were the flafhes of lightning. The intrepid
Pau/i attended by Domingo, went from the one cot-
tage to the other, notwithftanding the raging of
the elements, here fecuring a wall by a crofs beam,
and there by driving in a flake ; he went in, only
now and then, to comfort the family with the hope
of the fpeedy return of fine weather. In realit5%
towards evening the rain ceafed ; the Trade-wind
from the South-eaft refumed it's ufual current ;
the flormy clouds were driven to the North-well,
and the fetting Sun appeared in the horizon.

The firft wifh which Virginia exprefled, was to
re-vifit the place of her repofe : Paul approached
her, with a timid air, and offered her his arm, to
affifl her in walking thither. She accepted it, with
a fmile, and they fet out together from the cottage ;
the air was cool and fonorous : clouds of white
fmoke arofe on the ridges of the mountains, fur-
rowed here and there by the foam of the torrents,
which were now drying up on every fide. As for
the garden, it was entirely deflroyed by deep gut-
ters; moft of the fruit-trees were torn up by the
roots; immenfe heaps of land covered the flripes
of meadow-ground, and completely choked up
Virginia s, bath : the two cocoa-trees, however,
were flill ftanding, and in full verdure : the bowers
and the grafly turfs were no more, and the ear was

no

7? STUDIES OF NATURE,

no longer charmed with the warbling of the birds,
except a few bengalis, on the fummit of the neigh»-
bouring rocks, which deplored, with plaintive
notes, the lofs of their young.

At fight of this defolation, Virginia faid to Paul,
•* You brought the birds hither, and the hurricane
** has deftroyed them J you planted this garden,
** and it is now no more : every thing on earth
** perifhes; Heaven, alone, is unchangeable." Paul
replied : *' Oh ! then, that it were in my power
" to beftow fome gift of Heaven upon you ! But,
'* alas ! I poflefs nothing, now, even on the Earth.'*
Virginia f with a blulh, returned : *' You have,
** certainly, the portrait of St. Patd, that you can
" call your own." Scarcely had (lie pronounced
thefe words, than Paul ûcw to his mother's cottage,
to feek for it. This portrait was a fmall minia-
turCj reprefenting Paul the hermit. Margaret re-
garded it with fingular devotion : while a girl, Qie
wore it, long, round her own neck ; but when (be
became a mother, (lie fufpended it round that of
her child. It happened that, being pregnant of
him, and abandoned by all the World, from merely
contemplating the image of this blelfed Reclufe,
the fruit of her womb contracled a ftrong refem-
blance to it; this determined her to beftow the
fame name on him ; and, likewife, to give him for
a patron, a Saint that had pafTed his life far from

Man,

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. Jg

Man, who had firfl abufed, and then deferted
him. Virginia, on receiving this fmall portrait
from the hands of Paid, faid, with much emotion :
** My brother, while I live, this fhall never be
** taken from me, and I fhall always remember,
** that you gave me the only poffeffion you had
" in the World." On hearing thofe tones of cor-
diality, on this uncxpedcd return of familiarity
and tendernefs, Paul was going to clafp her in hij
arms ; but, as nimbly as a bird, fhe fprung away,
leaving him quite confounded, and totally unable
to account for a condu<5t fo extraordinary.

Meanwhile, Margaret faid to Madame de la
Tour : " Why ihould we not marry our children ?
** their paffion for each other is extreme; my fon,
** indeed, is not yet fenfible of it ; but, when Na-
" ture fhall have begun to fpeak to him, to no
** purpofe will we emplpy all our vigilance over
" them ; every thing is to be feared." Madame
de la l'ouï returned ; " They are too young, and
" too poor ; what anxiety would it coft us, Ihould
** Virginia bring into the World unhappy chil-
** dren, whom, perhaps, flie would not have
" ftrength to rear. Domingo is very much broken ;
" Mary is infirm ; I myfelf, my dear friend, for
*' thefe lafl fourteen years, feel my health very much
*' impaired. A perfon foon grows old in thefe
*' hot countries, efpecially when that period is Co

<c greatly

So. STUDIES OF NATURE.

" greatly accelerated by forrow. Paul is our only
" hope i let us wait till age has ftrengthened his
" conftitution, and till he is able to fupport us by
** the labour of his hands. At prefent, you well
" know, ^e have hardly any thing more, than a
" fcanty fupply from day to day. But, if we fend
** Paul to India, for a fliort fpace of time, com-
** merce will fupply him with the means of pur-
'-* chafing fome Haves. On his return hither,
** we will marry him to Virginia ; for I am well
" affured, that no one can make my beloved
" daughter fo happy as your fon Paul. Let us
** mention the matter to our neighbour."

Thefe ladies accordingly confulted me, and I ap-
proved of their plan. " The feas of India are delight-
*' ful," faid I to them ; '"^ if we chufe a favourable
" feafon for going from hence to that country, the
** voyage, outward, is but fix weeks, at mofl, and as
*' long to return ; we will make up a fmall aflbrt-
** ment of goods for Paul; for I have fome neigh-
** hours, who are very fond of him ; were we but to
'* provide him with a parcel of raw cotton, of which
*' we can here make no ufe, for want of mills to
*' drefs it ; fome ebony wood, which is fo com-
" mon here, that we ufe it for fuel ; and feveral
" forts of rofin, which go to wafte in thefe woods;
*• all of thofe commodiiies will find a market in
** India, though they are of no value at all here.'*

I took

î>AtJL AND VIRGINIA» 8l

I took upon myfelf the charge of obtaining M,
de la Bourdonayes permifîion for this embarkation j
but 1 thought it neceflary, beforehand, to open the
bufinefs to Paul: how was I aftoniflied, however,
when that young man faid to me, with a good fenfe
far above his years : *' Why would you have me
" quit my family for a vifionary projed of fortune ?
" Can there be a more advantageous commerce in
** the World, than the cultivation of a field, which
" fometimes yields fifty and a hundred fold ? If
" we wifli to engage in trade, can we not do fo,
** by carrying our fuperfiuities from hence to the
** city, without the neceflity of my rambling to the
*' Indies ? Our parents tell me that Domingo is old,
" and worn out ; but I am young, and daily ac-
" quiring frefli vigour. What if any accident
*' fhould befal them during my abfence, more efpe-
** cially Firginia, who, even now, fuffers very fe-
" verely ? Ah, no! no! I can never bring myfeif
" to the refolution of quitting them."

His anfwer greatly embarrafTed me j for Ma-
dame de la 'Tour had not concealed from me Fir-
ginia's condition, and the defire which flie herfelf
had of deferring their union till they were of a
more mature age, by feparaiing them from each
other. I durft not fo much as hint to Paul, that
fuch were her motives.

VOL. V. o Whilft

82 STUDIES OF NATURE

Whilft thefe tranfaâ:ions were going on, a veffel
newly arrived froLTi France, brought a letter to
Madame de la Tour, from her aunt. The fear of
death, without which the mod obdurate hearts
would never foften, had appalled her. She had
juft recovered from a dangerous diforder, vi'hich
produced, however, a deep melancholy, and which
age rendered incurable. She requefted her niece
to return to France : or, if the ftate of her health
was fuch, as to prevent her taking fo long a voy-
age, (lie enjoined her to fend Virginia thither, on
whom fhe intended to beftow a good education, a
place at Court, and a bequefl of all her pofleffions;
the return of her favour, the added, depended en-
tirely on compliance with thefe injundions.

Scarcely had this letter been read, than it fpread
univerfal confternation in the family; Domingo and
Mary began to weep ; Paul, motionlefs with afto-
nifliment, feemed ready to burfl: with rage ; Fir-
ginia, her eyes ftedfaftly fixed on her mother,
dared not to utter a fyllable. " Can you bring
** yourfelf to the refolution of quitting us ?'* faid
Margaret to Madame de la Tour. " No, my friend,
" no, my children," replied Madame de la Tour;
" 1 will never leave you ; with you I have lived,
*■* and with you I mean to die : I never knew what
*' happinefs was till I experienced your friendfhip:
" if my health is impaired, ancient forrows are the

" caufe Y

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 83

" caufe : my heart has been pierced by the harfli-
" nefs of my relations, and by the lofs of my beloved
" hufband : but, fince that period, I have enjoyed
" more confolation and felicity with you, in thefe
** poor cottages, than ever the riches of my family
*^ gave me reafon to expedl, even in my native
" country." At thefe words, tears of joy bedewed
the cheeks of the whole family : Paul^ folding
Madame de la Tour in his arms, exclaimed : " And
*' I will never, never quit you, nor go from hence
" to the Indies ; you fhall experience no want,
*' my dear mother, as long as we are able to work
" for you." Of all the fociety, howevsr^ the per-
fon who teftified the leaft joy, and who, never-
thelefs, felt it the mofl, was Firginia. A gentle
cheerfulnefs appeared in her the remainder of the
day, and the return of her tranquillity redoubled
the general fatisfadion.

Next morning, at fun-rife, as they were ofTering
up their accuftomed matin prayer, which pre-
ceded their breakfaft, Domingo informed them, that
a gentleman, on horfeback, was approaching the
plantation, followed by two Haves. It was M. de
la Boiirdonaye. He entered the cottage, where the
whole family were at table : Ftrginia was ferving
up, according to the cuftom of the country, coffee
and boiled rice; there were, likewite, hot potatoes
and freOi bananas : the only diflies which they bad

G 2 werç

84 STUDIES OF NATURE.

were the halves of a gourd ; and all their table-
linen confided of the leaves of the plantain. The
Governor, at firft, exprefled fome furprize at the
meannefs of their dwelling; then, addreffing him-
felf toiVladame de la Tour, he faid, that his public
fituation fometimes prevented him from paying
attention to individuals, but that flie, however,
had a title to claim his more immediate regard.
*' You have, madam," added he, *' an aunt at
" Paris, a lady of quality and very rich, who de-
** figns to beftow her fortune upon you, but, at
*' the fame time, expeds that you will attend her.'*
Madame de la Tour replied, that her unfettled flate
of health would not permit her to undertake fo
long a voyage. ** Surely, then," cried M. de la
Bourdonaye, " you cannot, without injuftice, de-
*' prive your young and beautiful daughter of fo
*' great an inheritance: 1 will not conceal from
*' you, that your aunt has employed authority, in
'^' order to fecure your daughter's compliance with
~-^. her wifh. The Minifter has written to me, on
" the fubjeâ', authorizing me, if there was ne-
** cefTity for it, to exercife the hand of power;
** but my only aim in employing that, is, tO^pro-
** mote the happinefs of the inhabitants of this
" colony; I expeâ:, therefore, that you will, with
*' cheerfulnefs, fubmit to the facrifice of a few
" years, on which depend the eftabliOiment of
" your daughter, and your own welfare, for the

. ** remainder

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 85

"^^ remainder of life. For what purpofe do people
" refort to thefe iflands ? Is it not in the view of
" making a fortune ? Surely, however, it is far
" more agreeable to return, and obtain one in our
" native country."

As he faid thefe vvords, he placed upon the table
a large bag of piaftres, which one of his Haves had
brought. " This," added he, *' is what your aunt
" has remitted, to make the neceflary preparations
" for the voyage of the young lady, your daugh-
** ter." He then concluded with gently reproach-
ing Madame Je la Tour, for not having applied to
him, in her neceffities ; at the fame time, applaud-
ing the noble firmnefs which (he had difplayed.
Pauly upon this, broke filence, and thus addreffed
the Governor : " Sir, my mother did apply to you,
** and your reception was unkind to the laft de-
" gree." " Have you, then, another child," faid
M. de la Bourdonaye to Madame de la Tour : '* No,
" Sir," replied Hie ; '* this is the fon of my friend;
** but he and Virginia are our common property,
" and equally beloved by both." " Young man,"
faid the Governor, addreffing himfelf to Paul^
*' when you (hall have acquired experience of the
" World, you will learn to what diftreffes people
" in place are expofed ; you will difcover how eafy
*' it is to prejudice them, and how often intriguing

03 *' vice

86 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" vice obtains from them what, in juftice, (hould
** be bellowed on concealed merit."

M. ^e la Bourdonayey on the invitation of Ma-
dame de la Tour^ feated himfelf by her, at the table.
He breakfafted, as the Creoles do, upon coffee,
mixed with boiled rice. He was charmed with
the order and neatnefs of the little cottage, with
the union of the two happy families, and even with
the zeal of their old domeftics. " Here," faid he,
*' is no furniture, but what the woods fupply,
*' but I fee countenances fercne, and hearts of
*' gold." Paul, delighted with the familiarity of
the new Governor, faid to him : " I defite your
*' frlendfliip, for you are an honeft man." M. de
la Bourdomye received this mark of infular cordia-
lity with pleafure. He embraced Paul, and pref-
ling him by the hand, affured him, that he might
rely upon his friend fiiip.

After breakfaft, he took Madame de la Tour
apart, and informed her, that a favourable oppor-
tunity juft now offered, of fending her daughter
into France, by means of a veffel on the point of
failing ; and, that he would recommend her to the
care of a lady, a relation of his own, who was going
paffenger in it; reprefenting, at the fame time,
that it would be very wrong to facrifice the prof-

pe6t

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 87

peét of an immenfe fortune, to the pleafure of her
daughter's company for a few years. *' Your
*' aunr," added he, as he was departing, " cannot
'' hold out more than two years longer; her friends
" have affured me of it : confider the matter,
" therefore, ferioufly, I pray you ; confult your
" own mind; furely, every perfon of common
" fenfe muft be of my opinion." Madame de la
Tour replied : " As I defire nothing, henceforward,
" but the welfare of my daughter, the voyage to
" France, (hall be left entirely to her own dif-
" pofal."

Madame de la Tour was not forry at finding an
opportunity of feparating Paul and Virginia for a
(hort time ; but, it was only in the view of fecur-
ing their mutual happinefs, at a future period.
She, accordingly, took her daughter afide, and faid
to her : " My dear child, our domeftics aregrow-
" ing old ; Paul is ftill very young ; age is dealing
" upon Margaret, and I myfelf am already infirm :
" fhould I happen to die, what will become of
" you in the midfl of thefe deferts ? You will be
" left entirely alone, with no perfon to afTift you,
«^ and you will be obliged to procure yourfelf a
*' liveHhood by labouring inceffantly in the ground,
" Hke a hireling : fuch an idea overwhelms me
*' with grief." Virginia thus replied : " God has
" doomed us to labour : you have taught me how

G 4 "to

88' STI^DIES OF NATURE.

*' to work, and to offer up daily thankfgiving to
** Him. Hitherto He has not abandoned us, nor
<' will He abandon us now. His providence
*' watches with peculiar care over the unhappy;
" you have told me fo a thoufand times, my dear
" mother ! Oh, I (hall never have refoluiion to
'* quit you." Madame de la Tour, much affe^fted,
returned, " I have no other intention than that of
** rendering you happy, and of uniting you one
*' day to Pûu/y who is not your brother : Confider,
*■' likewife, that his fortune now depends entirely
** on you."

A young girl, in love, thinks that every one is
ignorant of it. She fpreads the fame veil over her
eyes which fhe wears on her heart ; but, wben it
is removed by the hand of a beloved friend, imme-
diately the fecret torments of her love tranfpire, as
through an opened barrier, and the gentle expan-
fions of confidence fucceed to the myfterious re-
ferve in which fhe had enveloped herfelf. Fit"
ginia, fenfibly alive to the new teflimonies of her
mother's kindnefs, freely related the many flrug-
gles which flie had experienced with herfelf, and
of which, God alone had been the witnefs ; that
fhe perceived the hand of his providence, in the
confolation adminiftered by a tender mother, who
approved of her inclination, and who would direft
her by wholefome counfel , and that now, refting

entirely

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 8^

entirely on her fupport, every thing operated as an
inducement to remain where (he was, without un-
jeafinefs for the prefent, or anxiety for the future.

Madame de la "Tour, perceiving that her con-
fidence had produced an efFeâ:, entirely different
from what fhe had expecled, faid to her : " My
** dear child, I have no wilh to conftrain your in-
** clinations ; confider the matter at your leifure ;
*' but conceal your love from Paul : when the
*' heart of a young woman is gained, her lover has
*' nothing more to afk of her."

Toward the evening, while (he was alone with
Virginia, a tall man, drefled in a blue caflbck,
came in. He was an ecclefiaflical miffionary of the
ifland, and confeffor to Madame de la Tour and
and Virginia, and had been fent thither by the
Governor. *' My children," faid he, as he en-
tered, " there is wealth in ftore for you now,
" thank Heaven ! You have, at length, the means
*' of gratifying your benevolent feelings, by ad-
*' miniftering afiiftance to the wretched. I well
** know what the Governor has faid to you, and
'* your reply. My good madam, the ftate of your
*' health obliges you to remain here ; but as for
" you, young lady, you have no excufe. We
** muft obey the will of Providence, in refpeding
•* our old felations, however unjuft they may have

" been

9© STUDIES OF NATURE.

** been to us. It is a facrifice, I grant, but it is the
*' command of the Almighty. He devoted him-
** felf for us, and it is our duty to devote ourfelves
" for the welfare of our kindred. Your voyage
** into France will finally come to a happy iflue :
*' Can you poflibly, my dear child, have any ob-
** je(5lion to go thither ?" Firginia^ with her eyes
caft dov^n, and trembling as fhe fpake, replied :
" If it is the command of God, that I fliould go^
*' I have nothing to fay againft it; the will of
** God be done," faid (he, burfting into tears.

The mifllonary took his departure, and gave the
Governor an account of the fuccefs of his ernbafly.
Madame de la Tour, however, fent a meflage to
me, by Domingo^ intreating me to come over, and
confult about Virginians departure. It was my firm
opinion, that (he ought not to be permitted to go.
I maintain, as infallible principles of happinefs,
that the advantages of Nature ought always to be
preferred before thofe of foitune; and, that wc
fhould never feek from abroad, thofe bleffings
which we can find at home. I extend thefe maxims
to all cafes, without a fingle exception. But of
what avail could my moderate counfels prove,
againft the illufions of an immenfe fortune, and
and my natural reafon, againft the prejudices of
the world, and againft an authority held facred by
Madame de la Tour /* This lady confulficd rpe only

out

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 9I

out of politenefs, for (lie no longer deliberated in
her own mind, after the decifion of her confeflbr.
Even Margaret, who, in fpite of the advantages
which (he thought her Ton might derive from
^/>^/»i(2's -fortune, h'd warmly oppofed her depar-
ture, no long^^cr made any objedions. As for Paul,
entirely ignor;int of the refolutions which might
be formed, and alarmed at the fecret converfations
of Madatne de la Tour and her daughter, he aban-
doned himfelf to a gloomy fadnefs : *' Surely,"
faid he, " they are contriving fome mifchief
" againft me, from the myfterioufnefs of their con -
" dud toward me."

A report, meanwhile, being foon circulated in
the ifland, that fortune had vifited thefe folitudes,
merchants of every defcription might be feen fcram-
bhng up hither : they difplayed, amidft thefe poor
cottages, the richefl ftiifFs of India j the fuperfine
dimities of Goudelour; the handkerchiefs of Poul-
licat and Mazulipatam, and the muflins of Decca,
plain, ftriped, embroidered, and tranfparent as the
day ; the baftas of Surat, fo beautifully white, ^nd
chintzes of all colours, and of the rareft fort, with
a fable ground and green fprigs. They unrolled
the magnificent filks of China ; lampas pinked into
tranfparency ; fatiny-white damaiks; fome of a
meadow- green, others of a dazzling red; rofe-co-
loured taffetas, fatins in whole bales, Pekins foft as

wool,

^2 STUDIES OF NATURE.

wool, white and yellow nankeens, and even the
fluffs of Madagafcar.

Madame de la Tour gave her daughter permif-
fion to purchafe whatever pleafed her, carefully ex-
amining, however, the quality of the goods and
their prices, left the merchants (hould impofc
upon her. Virginia made choice of what fhe
thought would be agreeable to her mother, to
Margaret, and to Paul. " This," faid fhe, '* will
*' be ufeful for furniture, that for Domingo and
" Mary.*^ In fhort, the bag of piaftres was ex-
pended, before Ihe thought of her own wants. It
became neceflary to cull her portion out of the
prefents which (he had diftributed among the
houfehold.

Paid, overwhelmed with forrow, at the fight of
thefe gifts of fortune, which prefaged the depar-
ture of Virginia, came to my houfe, a few days
afterwards ; he faid to me, with a melancholy air:
" My fifter is going to leave us -, preparations are
" already made for her departure. Come over to
*' our habitation, I entreat you, and make ufe of
" your influence on the minds of her mother and
*^ of mine." I, accordingly, yielded to his impor-
tunity, though well afTured that my reprefentations
would be ineffeâiual.

If

i

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 93

If Firginia had appeared beautiful to me, in her
drefs of blue Bengal cloth, with a red handkerchief
tied round her head, how was (he improved when
I faw her habited like the ladies of this country !
She was drefled in white mullin, lined with rofe-
coloured taffeta : her flays difplayed to great advan-
tage, her elegant and majcflic (hape ; and her beau*
tiful flaxen hair, in long double trefl^es, adorned
her virgin head : her fine blue eyes had aflumed a
caft of melancholy, and the agitation which her
heart endured, by ftruggling with a fmothered
pafTion, gave a glowing tint to her complexion,
and tones, full of emotion, to her voice. The very
contraft of her elegant drefs, which Ihe feemed to
wear againft her will, rendered her languor flill
more afFeding. No one could fee or hear her,
without being moved. PauVs fadnefs was increafed
by it. Margaret y afflifted at her fon's fituation,
took him apart, and thus addrclTed him : " Why,
** my fon, do you feed yourfelf with falfe hopes,
*' which only ferves to render the difappointment
" of them more bitter ? It is now time to difclofe
" to you the fecret of your life, and of my own.
** Mademoifelle de la Tour is related, by her mo-
** therms iide, to a perfon of immenfe wealth, and
** of high rank. As to yourfelf, you are only the
** fon of a poor low-born woman ; and, what is
** flill worfe, you are a baflard."

The

94 STUDIES OF NATURE.

The word, baftard, greatly furprized Paul; he
had never heard it made ufe of before, and he
afked his mother the meaning of it : (he replied,
'* You had no legitimate fiither ; when I was a
** girl, love betrayed me into a folly, of which yoa
" are the fruit. My frailty deprived you of the
f^ family of your father, and my repentance of that
*' of your mother. Unfortunate boy 1 I am the
'* only relation you have in the World." She con-
cluded by burfling into a flood of tears. Paiily
folding her in his arms, exclaimed : ** Alas ! my
" mother, fince I have no other relation but you,
*' I will love you ftill the more ; but, what a fecret
" have you juft divulged to me ! I now plainly
*' perceive the reafon, why Mademoifelle de la
*' Tour has, for thefe two months, fhunned me, and
*' which has, at length, determined her to take
*' her departure. Alas ! without doubt, fhe de-
" fpifes me 1"

However, the hour of fupper came ; each of the
guefts took a place at table, agitated with different
paflions ; they ate little, and did not utter a fingle
fyllable. Virginia retired firft, and came and feated
herfelf on the fpot where we now are : Paul foon
followed, and placed himfelf by her fide ; a pro-
found filence enfued for fome time. It was one of
thofe delightful nights, fo common between the

Tropics,

PAUL AND. VIRGINIA. 95

Tropics, and whofe beauty baffles all defcription.
The moon appeared in the middle of the firma-
ment, enveloped with a cloudy curtain, which was
gradually diffipated by her rays. Her light infen-
iibly difFufed itfelf over the mountains of the ifland,
and over their peaks, which glittered with a filvery
verdure. Not a breath of wind was to be heard.
In the woods, at the bottom of the vallies, and at
the tops of thefe rocks, the foft warblings, and
gentle murmurings of the birds, which were ca-
refling each other in their nefts, delighted with the
beauty of the night, and the tranquillity of the air,
ftole on the ear. All, even to the very infedls,
were humming along the grafs; the ftars, twink-
ling in the Heavens, refle6led their trembling
images on the furface of the Ocean. As Virginia
was furveying, with wandering eyes, the vaft and
gloomy horizon, diftinguifhable from the (hores of
the illand, by the red fires of the filhermen, flie
perceived, at the entrance of the port, a light fixed
to a large dark body j it was the lanihorn on the
veflel in which Ihe was to embark for Europe, and
which, ready to fet fail, only lay at anchor till the
breeze (hould fpring up. At this fight, fhe was fo
deeply affeded, that fhe turned her head afide, left
Paul ihould perceive her tears.

Madame de la Tour^ Margaret ^ and I, were feated
a few paces from them, under the Ihade of the ba-
nana

96 STUDIES OF NATURE.

nana trees ; and, owing to the flillnefs of the nighty
we diftinâily heard their converfation, which I (hall
never forget.

Paul faid to her : ** I underftand, madam, that
*' you are to take your departure hence in three
" days : have you no apprehenfion, at the thought

** of expofing yourfelf to the dangers of the Sea

" the Sea, at which you ufed to be fo terrified."
"It is my duty, you know,'* replied Firginia,
" to obey the commands of my relations." " You
" are going, then," faid Paul, " to quit our fo-
** ciety for a female relation, who lives far from
*' hence, and whom you have never feen !"— — «
" Alasl" returned Virginia, "had 1 been permitted
" to follow my own inclinations, I fliould have re-
** mained here all my life long j but my mother is
*' of a contrary opinion, and my confeffor has told
** me it is the will of God, that I fhould depart;
•' that life is a ftate of probation... .Alas ! how fe*
/* vere that probation is 1"

" How," replied Patil, " fo many reafons tode-
" termine thee to leave us, and not one to induce
** thee to remain ! Ah ! of the former, there is ftill
" one, which you have notmentioaed : the attrac-
** tions which wealth holds out are powerful. You
" will foon find, in a world entirely new to you,
" another perfon on whom to beftow the name of

" brother.

PAUL AND. VIRGINIA. 97

'' brother, by which you now no longer addrefs
*' me ; you will find this brother among your
" equals, and fuch as have riches and high birth,
" which I can never offer you. But, whither can
" you go to be more happy than where you are ? On
" what land can you fet your foot, dearer to you
" than that which gave you being. ^ Where can you
** find a fociety more amiable, than one of which
" you are entirely beloved ? How can you exift
** without the carelTes of your mother, to which
*' you have been fo long accuftomed ? What will
" become of your mother herfelf, already far ad-
*' vanced in life, when (he no longer fees you by
*' her fide, at her table, in the houfe, and in her
" walks, where you ufed to be her fupport ? To
" what a flate will mine be reduced, who is as
" fondly attached to you as your own ? What can
** I fay to give them confolation, when I fee them
*' mourning your abfence ? Cruel girl! I fay no-
*' thing of myfelf ; but. What fliall become of me,
" when, in the morning, I no longer enjoy your
" company, and when night comes on, without
" bringing us together again: and when I fhall be-
** hold thefe palm trees, planted at our birth, and
" which, fo long, have been the witneffes of our
** mutual affedion. Ah ! fmce a new deftiny at-
" trads you ; lince you will feek other countries,
*' far from the fpot where you was born, and other
" pofTeffions than thofe which the labour of my
VOL. v. H ** hands

98 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** hands has procured for you, allow me to ac-
" company you in your voyage ; I will encou-
•* rage you during thofe tempefts, which caufed
'^ fuch apprehenfions in you while on Ihore. Thy
" head Qiall repofe upon my bofom j I will clafp
" thee to my bread; and, in France, where thou
*' art going, in quell of fortune and of greatnefs,
** 1 will follow ihee as thy Have; in the palaces,
" where I (liall behold thee ferved and adored, I
" will rejoice at thy happinefs; even then I fhall
" be rich enough to offer thee the greateft of facri-
*' fices, by dying at thy feet."

His voice was entirely ftifled with fobbing ; wc
prefently heard that of Firginia^ who addrefled him

in thefe words, frequently interrupted by fighs

*' It is for thy fake that I go away for thee,

" whom I have feen, daily, bowed down to
'* the ground, labouring to fupport two infirm
*' families. If I have embraced this opportunity
*' of acquiring wealth, it is only to return, a
*' thoufand fold, the good which thou haft done
" to us all. Can there be a fortune worthy of thy
*' friendfhip? Why mention thy birth to me? Ahl
*' were it even pofTible that another brother fhould
*' be offered to me, could I chufe any but thee ?
" Oh, Paid ! Paul! thou art far dearer to me than
" a brother. What a ftruggle hath it coft me to
" keep thee at a diftance ? I even wiQied thee to

** affift

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 99

" affill me in feparating me from myfelf, till Hea-
" ven could blefs our union. But now, I remain!
"I depart! I live! I die! Do what thou wilt
*' with me : Oh, irrefolute girl that I am ! I had
" fortitude to repel thy carefles, but thy forrow
*' quite overpowers me."

At thefe words, Paul took her in his arms, and
holding her clofely embraced, exclaimed with a
terrible voice : " I am refolvedto go with her, nor
'^ Ihall any thing (hake my refolution." We im-
mediately flew toward him, and Madame de la
Tour addreffed him in thefe words : *' My fon,
" fhould you go away, what is to become of us ?'*

He repeated thefe words, fhuddering : My fon I
my fon !....*' Doft thou," cried he, " ad the part
" of a mother, thou, who feparateft brother and
** fifter ? We both were nouriflied by thy milk;
" we both were nurfed upon thy knees; from thee,
*^ too, we learnt to love each other ; we have faid
** fo to each other a thoufand times ; yet, now, ^^ou
" are going to remove her from me ; you are not
" only fending her to Europe, that barbarous
** country which denied thyfelf fhelter, but even to
*' thofe cruel relations who abandoned you. You
" may fay to me. You have no authority over her,
*' fhe is not your fifter. Yes, (he is every thing to me,
*' my riches, my family, my birth, my all; 1 know

H 2 *' no

lOO STUDIES OF NATURE.

** no Other blcflîng ; we were brought up under
*' the fame roof, we repofed in the fame cradle, and
" the fame grave (hall contain us. If l"he goes,
** I am refolved to follow. The Governor will
" prevent me ! Can he prevent me from throwing
** myfelf into the Sea? I will fwim afcer her; the
** Sea cannot be more fatal to me than the dry
** land. As I cannot live near her, I flialj, at
" leaft, have the fatisfadlion of dying before her
" eyes, far, far from thee. Barbarous mother!
" pitilefs woman ! Oh, may that Ocean, to the
*' perils of which thou art going to expofe her,
*' never give her back to thy arms ! May thefe
*' billows bear my body back to thee, and calling
** it, together with her's, on this rocky Ihore,
*' caufe an eternal melancholy to fettle on thee, by
" prefenting to thy view, the unhappy fate of thy
** two children."

At thefe words, I feized him in my arms, for I
perceived that defpair had overpowered his reafon :
his eyes fparkled j large drops of fweat ran down
his inflamed countenance ; his knees trembled,
and I felt his heart beat, with redoubled violence,
in his burning bofom.

Virginia, terrified, faid to him : ** Oh, my friend,
*' 1 fwear, by the pleafures of our early age, by
" thy misfortunes and my own, and by all that

^* ever

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. lOl

" ever could unite two unfortunate wretches, that
'' if I remain here, I will only live for thee; and if
" I depart, I will one day return to be thine. I
** call you to witnefs, all ye, who have watched
" over my infants fleps, you, who have the dif-
" pofal of my life, and who now behold the tears
" which I fhed : I fwear it, by high Heaven,
«' which now hears me ; by that Ocean, which 1
" am going to brave : by the air which I breathe,
" and which, hitherto, I have never polluted
" with a falfehood."

In like manner as the heat of the Sun difTolves,
and precipitates, an icy rock from the fummit of
the Appenines, fo did the impetuous rage of this
young man fubfide, at the voice of the beloved
objeâ:. His lofiy head drooped down, and a tor-
rent of tears gulhed from his eyes. His mother,
mingling her own tears with his, held him, locked
in her arms, without the power of utterance.
Madame de la Tour, quite diftrafted, faid to me :
** I can contain myfelf no longer : my foul is torn
'^ with contending paiTions. This unfortunate
" voyage fliall not take place. Do, my dear
" neighbour, endeavour to perfuade my fon to
'* accompany you homewards : eight days have
" elapfcd, fince any of us have enjoyed a fmgle
" moment of lleep."

H 3 I, accord-

102 STUDIES OF NATURE.

I, accordingly^, faid to Paul: " My good friend,
'* yoiir fifter fhall remain with us j to-morrow, we
*' will mention the matter to the Governor; mean-
*' while, leave your family to repofe,and come and
" pafs the night at my habitation. It is late, it is
*• midnight : the crofs of the South is diredly over
^* the horizon."

He allowed me to conduâ: him, in lîlence. Af-
ter a very reftlefs night, he rofe at day-break, and
returned to his own home.

But, wherefore fliould I continue the recital
of this melancholy ftory to you any longer ? There
is only one agreeable fide to contemplate in human
life. Like the Globe on which we revolve, our
rapid career is only that of a day, and part of that
day cannot receive illumination, till the other be
involved in darknefs.

*' Father,'* faid I to him, " I mufl: entreat you
'* to finilh the account of what you have begun,
" in a manner fo affecting. Images of happinefs
" delight the fancy, but the recital of misfortunes
*' conveys inflruftion to the mind. I am anxious
*' to learn what became of the unfortunate Paul.'"

The firft objeâ; which ftruck Paul, on his return
to the plantation, was the negrefs Mary, who,

mounted

PAUL AND VIRGINIA.

103

mounted on a rock, had her eyes ftedfaftly fixed
on the main Ocean, The moment that he perceived
her, he exclaimed : " Where is Virginia /" Mary
turned her head toward her young mafter, and
burft into tears. Paul, in a delirium, turned
round, and flew to the port. He there learned,
that Virginia had embarked at day break, that the
vefTel had ftt fail immediately, and was now no
longer in fight. He direded his fteps back to his
place of habitation, and walked up and down, in
profound filence.

Although this enclofure of rocks appears almoft
perpendicular behind us, thofe green flats which,
fubdivide their heights, are fo many flages, by
which you arrive, by means of fome intricate
paths, at the foot of that inclining, and inacceffible
cone of rocks, which is called the Thumb. At
the bottom of this rock, is an efplanade, covered
with great trees, but fo lofty, and fofteep, that they
appear like a large foreft in the air, furrounded with
fearful precipices. The clouds, which the fummit of
the Thumb attrads continually around it, incef-
fantly feed feveral cafcades of water, which are preci-
pitated to fuch a depth into the bottom of the valley,
fituated at the back of this mountain, that when you
are at it's top, you no longer hear the noife of their
fall. From this place, a great part of the ifland is
perceptible, and the peaks of feveral of it's moun-

H 4 tains j

I04 STUDIES OF NATURE.

tains ; among others, thofe of Piterboth, and of
the Three Paps, and their vallies, covered with
forcfts ; then, the open Sea, and the Illand of
Bourbon, which is forty leagues to the weftward.
From this elevation, Paid perceived the veffel
which bare away Virginia. He defcried it at more
than ten leagues diflance, like a black fpeck, in
the middle of the vafl Ocean. He fpent a con-
liderable part of the day in contemplating it, and,
though it had actually difappeared from his fight, he
flill imagined that he perceived it; and when he had
entirely loft it in the thick vapour of the horizon,
he feared himfelf in this defolate fpot, always agi-
tated by the winds, which blow inceffantly on the
tops of the palm-trees, and of the tatamaques.
Their loud and hollow murmurs refemble the deep
tones of an organ, and infpirc a profound melan-
choly.

There, I found Panh his head leaning againft
the rock, and his eyes rivetted to the ground. Ï
had been feeking him fmce fun-rife, and it was
with much difficulty, that I could prevail on him
to defcend, and re-vifit his family. At length,
however, I brought him back to his habitation;
but the moment he caft his eyes on Madame de la
T^our, he began to reproach her bitterly, for having
fo cruelly deceived him. She informed us, that a
breeze having fprung up, about three in the morn-
ing,

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 10^

ing, and the vefTel being in full trim to depart, the
Governor, attended by his principal officers, and
the miffionary, came, in a palanquin, to carry off
Virginia ; and, in fpite of her expoftulations, her
tears, and thofe of Margaret ^ all of them exclaim-
ing, that it was for their intereft, had hurried away
her daughter, who was almoft expiring. *' Alas!"
exclaimed Paul y " if I had only enjoyed the fatis-
*' faction of bidding her farewel, I fhould now be
'* happy. I would have faid to her ; Virginia j if,
** during the time that we have lived together, I
** have made ufe of any one word, which may
*' have given you offence, tell me that I have your
** forgivenefs, before we part forever. I would have
" faid ; Smce Fate has decreed an eternal fepara-
" tion, adieu, my dear Virginia, adieu ; may you
" live, far from hence, contented, and happy."
Perceiving Madame de la, Tour, and his mother, to
weep. *' Go," faid he to them, " go, and feek
*' fome other hand than mine to wipe away your
*' tears." He then haflened from them, fighing
deeply, and wandered here and there, through the
plantation. He went over all thofe places, which
had been the moft favourite retreats of Virginia,
He faid to her goats, and the kids, which followed
him, bleating : " What do you aik of me ? Alas!
" you will never more fee, in my company, that
" perfon whofe hand ufed to feed you." He then
wandered to Virginia's Reft, and, at fight of the

birdsj

ia6 STUDIES OF NATURE.

birds, which fluttered around him, he exclaimed ;
** Unhappy fongflers ! No longer will you fly to
** meet her, from whom you received your nou-
" rifliment.*' Perceiving Fidèle following the
fccnt, up and down, and ranging around, he figh-
ed, and faid to him : " Alas ! thou wilt never find
" her more!" At length, he went, and feated him-
felf on the rock where he had fpoken to her the
evening before; and at fight of the Sea, where he
had perceived the veflel difappear, he wept bitterly.

We followed him, however, ftep by ftep, fearing
left the agitation of his mind fliould take feme fa-
tal turn. His mother, and Madame de la Tour,
entreated him, by the moft tender appellations,
not to aggravate their afflidion, by his defpair.
At length, the latter calmed him, in fome degree,
by lavilhing upon him the names which were moft
calculated to revive his hopes. She called him her
fon, her dear fon, her fon- in-law, the only perfon
on whom ftie intended to beftow her daughter.
She, at length, perfuaded him to return to the
houfe, and take fome nouriftiment. He feated
bimfelf at table, with us, near the fpot where the
companion of his infancy ufed to place herfelf ;
and, as if fhe had ftiil occupied it, he addrefled
himfelf to her, and tendered that food, which he
knew was moft agreeable to her ; but, perceiving
his error, he burft into, tears. For fome days fol-
lowing.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I07

lowing", he colleded every thing, which fhe was-
accuftomed to keep, for her particular ufe ; the laft
nofegay which (he had worn, and a cup made of
the cocoa-nut, out of which fhe ufually drank ;
and, as if thefe reliques of his friend had been the
mod precious treafures in the World, he kifled
them, and put them in his bofom. The amber-
gris does not flied fo fweet a perfume, as thofe
things which have been touched by a beloved ob-
jeâ:. But Paul, at length, perceiving that his de-
jeftion only augmented that of his mother, and of
Madame de la Tour^ and likewife obferving, that
the neceflities of the family called for continual
labour, he began with Domingo's help, to repair the
garden.

In a fliort time, this young man, before, as in-
different as a Creole about what was pafTmg in the
World, entreated m.e to teach him to read and to
write, that he might be able to keep up a corre-
fpondence with Virginia. He, afterwards, feemed
eager to be inflrucled in geography, in order to
form an idea of the country whither fhe was fleer-
ing, and in hiflory, that he might learn, what w^re
the manners of the people among whom fhe was
going to live. Thus did he attain to perfedlion in
agriculture, and in the art of difpofing in order,
the mod irregular fpot of ground, merely by the
fentiment of love. Doubtlefs, it is to the delights

of

I08 STUDIES OF NATURE.

of this ardent, and reftlefs paffion, that men mufl
afcribe the origin of the generality of arts and
fciences ; and, it is from it's privations, that the
philofophy derives it's birth, which teaches us to
confole ourfelves for every lofs. Thus, Nature»
having made love the bond of union to all created
beings, has rendered it the grand moving principle
of Society, and the principal fource of our illumi-
nations, and of our pleafures.

Paul did not greatly relifh the fludy of geo-
graphy, which, inftead of unfolding the nature of
each country, only prefents it's political divifions.
Hiflory, and efpecially modern hiftory, did not in-
terefb him much more. It only prefented to his
mind, general and periodical misfortunes, the rea-
fon of which, it was impoffible for him to pene-
trate ; wars without a caufe, and with no object in
view; contemptible intrigues ; nations, deftitute of
character, and fovereigns without a principle of
humanity. He even preferred, to fuch reading,
that of romance, which, having only in view, the
feelings, and the interefts of Man, fometimes dif-
played fituations fimilar to his own. Accordingly,
no book delighted him fo much as Telemachiis^
from the piftures which it delineates of a country
life, and of the paffions, which are natural to the
human heart. He read to his mother, and to
Madame de la Tour, thofe paffages which affedted

him

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. IO9

him the moft : at times, mournful recolledions
flriking his mind, he loft the power of utterance,
and tears guflied from his eyes. He thought he
could trace the dignity and the wifdom of Antiope,
together with the misfortunes and the tendernefs
of Eucbaris, in his beloved Virginia. On the other
hand, he was quite (hocked at reading our fafhion-
able romances, fo full of licentious maxims and
manners ; and when he underftood that thefe ro-
mances difplayed a real pi(5lure of European na-
tions, he feared, and not without reafon, that Fir-
gitiia might be there corrupted, and caft him from
her remembrance.

\n. truth, near two years had elapfed, before
Madame de la Tour heard any intelligence of her
aunt, or of her daughter : (he had only been in-
formed, by the report of a ftranger, that the latter
had arrived, fafely, in France. At length, how-
ever, fhe received, by a vefTel on her way to India,
a pacquet, together with a letter, in Virginia s own
hand-writing; and, notwithftanding the circum-
fpeiftion of her amiable and gentle daughter, (he
apprehended her to be very unhappy. This letter
fo well depided her fituation, and her charafler,
that I have retained it in my memory, almoft word
for word :

''My

no STUDIES OF NATURE,

" My dear and much- loved Mother,

" I have already written to you feveral letters,
" in my own hand j but, as I have received no an-
*' fwer, I muft fufpeâ; that they have never reached
*' you. 1 hope this will be more fortunate, both
*' from the precaution which 1 have taken, to fend
" you news of myfelf, and to receive your's in
" return.

** Many tears have I (bed fmce our feparation»
*' I, who fcarcely ever before wept, except at the
*' misfortunes of another ! On my arrival, my
*' grand-aunt was much furprized, when, on quef-
" tioning me concerning my attainments, I in-
" formed her, that I could neither read nor write.
" She afked me what I had been doing, then, fmce
" I came into the World j and when I told her, that
*' my whole ftudy had been the care of a family, and
.*' obedience to you, flie replied, that 1 had receiv-
•*' ed the education of a menial fervant. The day
*' following, fhe placed me, as a boarder, in a large
*' convent, near Paris, where 1 had mafters of every
*' defcription : among other things, they inftrufted
*' me in hiftory, in geography, in grammar, in
" mathematics, and in horfemanfliip ; but my in-
" clination for all thefe fciences was fo faint, that I

** profited

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. Ill

*^^ profited very little by the leffons of thofe gentle-
" men. 1 feel that I am a poor creature, and of
*' little fpirit, as they interpret the word here. My
" aunt's kindnefs, however, does not diminifh ;
*' file is continually giving me new drefles, ac-
*' cording to the feafon : 1 have two women to
" attend me, who are habited as elegantly as ladies
" of quality. She has, likewife, made me affume
*' the title of Countefs, but has obliged me to relin-
*' quilh the name of La Tour, which was as dear
" to me as to yourfelf, from the troubles which,
" you have told me, my poor father underwent,
** to obtain you in marriage. She has fubftituted
*' your family name in it's place, which I likewife
" efteem, becaufe it was your's, when a girl. As
" fhe has raifed me to a fituation fo exalted, I en-
*' treated her to fend you fome fupply : How can
** I repeat her anfwer ? You, however, have al-
" ways commanded me to fpeak the truth ; this,
*' then, was her reply, that a fmall matter would
" be of no ufe to you ; and, that, in the fimple
** ftyle of life which you lead, a great deal would
*' only embarrafs you.

** At firft, I attempted to communicate to you
*' tidings of my fituation, by the hand of another, as
1' 1 was incapable of writing myfelf ; but, not being
" able to find, fince my arrival here, a fingle per-
" fon, on whofe fidelity I could rely, I applied my-

*' felf

112 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** felf, night and day, to the means of learning
*' how to read and write ; and, by the affiftance of
** Heaven, I accompHfhed this in a very little
" time. I entrufted the ladies who attend me,
*' with the difpatch of my former letters, but I
" have reafon to fufpeâ:, that they delivered them
*' to my grand-aunt. On the prefent occafion, I
" have had recourfe to one of my friends, who is
*' a fellow-boarder; and, under her addrefs, which
" I have fubjoined, I muft beg you to convey an
" anfwer. My grand-aunt has prohibited all fo-
" reign correfpondence, which might, as (he al-
** leges, oppofe infurmountable obftacles to the
** fplendid views, which Ihe entertains with regard
" to me. The only perfon, befide herfelf, who
** vilits me at the grate, is an old nobleman of her
*' acquaintance, who, fhe informs me, has taken
*' a great liking to my perfon. To fay truth, I
** have not the leaft for him, even were it poffible
" I (hould conceive a partiality for any one what
" ever.

" I live in the midft of gaudy wealth, and have
*' not the difpofal of a (ingle farthing. They tell
** me, that if I had the command of money, it
** might lead to dangerous confequences. My
" very gowns are the property of my waiting-
*' women, who are difputing which (hall have
** them, even before 1 have left them off myfelf.

** In

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 11^

*' In the very bofom of riches, I am much poorer
** than when I was with you, for I have nothing
" to give away. When I found that the many
** magnificent accomplishments which I was def-
" tined to acquire, were not to procure me the
*' power of doing the fmallefl good, I hadrecourfe
** to my needle, in the ufe of which, by good for-
" tune, you had inftrufled me. I, accordingly,
** fend you fome pairs of ftockings, of my own
" manufacfture, for yourfelf, and my mama Mar-
" garet ; a cap for Domingo, and one of my red
*' handkerchiefs for Mary : I enclofe you, like-
*' wife, in this pacquet, the kernels of the fruits of
" which our deferts are compofed, together with
" the feeds of all kinds of trees, which 1 gathered,
** during my hours of recreation, in the garden of
** the convent. To thefe I alfo add, the feeds of
" the violet, the daify, the butter-flower, the poppy,
** the blue-bottle, and the fcabious, which I have
" picked up in the fields. In the meadows of this
'* country, the flowers are far more beautiful than
** in ours, but no one pays any regard to them. I
*' am very well aflured, that you, and my mama
" Margaret, will be much better pleafed with this
'* bag of feeds, than with the bag of piaflres,
** which was the caufe of our feparation, and of
** the tears which I have fince flied. I fhall feel the
** greateft pleafure, if, one day, you have the fa-
VOL. v. I *' tisfadion.

114 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** tisfadion of feeing apple-trees growing befide our
*' bananas, and beech-trees mixing their foliage
*' with that of the cocoas : you will fancy your-
*' felf in Normandy again, which you ftill love fo
** much.

"You enjoin me to communicate to you my
" joy, and my forrows: joy, I can never experience
** when at a diftance from you ; and, as for my
*^ forrows, I foothe them by reflefting, that I am
*' in a fituation where you thought proper to place
" me, in obedience to the will of Heaven. My
*' moil cruel mortification is, that not a fingle per-
" fon here mentions your name to me, and, that
*' I am not allowed to talk of you to any one. My
" -waiting women, or rather thofe of my grand-
" aunt, for they are her's more than mine, tell me,
" when I attempt to converfe about thofe objefts
*' which are fo dear to me : Madam, remember
^^ that you are now a Frenchwoman, and, that you
" mud forget the country of favages. Ah! I fliall
*' fooner forget myfelf, than forget the place where
** I was born, and where you ftill live ! It is the
" country where I am, which, to me, is the coun-
*' try of favages, for I live alone, without a fingle
*' perfon to whom I can communicate that love
** for you, which 1 Ihall carry with me to the

"grave.

Dear

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. II5

" Dear and much-loved mother, I remain your
** obedient and affeftionate daughter,

*' Virginia de la Tour."

*' I recommend to your kindeft regards, Mary
" and DomingOy who took fueh care of my infancy:
" flroke Fidèle for me, who fbund me again when
" I was loll in the woods."

Paul was much furprized that Firginia had not
made the leaft mention of him ; fhe, who had not
even forgotten the houfe-dog : he was entirely ig-
norant, that, be the letter of a female as long as it
may, the fondeft idea always comes in laft.

In a poftfcript, Virginia particularly recom-
mended to Paul, two kinds of feeds, thofe of the
violet and of the fcabious. She gave him fome in-
formation refpeding the charaders of thefe plants,
and about the places in which it was mod proper
to fow them. The violet, (he told him, produced
a fmall flower, of a deep purple hue, which de-
lights to hide itfelf under the bufhes, but is foon
difcovered by it's delicious perfume. She defirfd
him to plant it on the brink of the fountain, at the
foot of her cocoa-tree. ** The fcabious," added
fhe, " bears a pretty flower of a pale blue, and it's
" bottom is black, interfperfed with white fpots.
** One would think it to be in mourning : it is,

I 2 likewife.

Iî6 STUDIES OF NATURE*

** likewife, for this very reafon, called the widow's
** flower. It flourifhes bed in places rugged, and
*' agitated by the winds." She requefted him to
fow it on the rock, where flie had talked with him,
by night, for the kft time, and to give that rock,
for her fake, the name of Rock-Farewel.

She had inclofed thefe feeds, in a little purfe,
the embroidery of which was very fimple, but
which appeared ineftimable to Paul, when he per-
ceived a P and a V interwoven in it, and formed
of hair, which he knew, by it's beauty, to be that
of rirginia.

The letter of this fenfible and virtuous young
lady, drew tears from the whole family. Her mo-
ther replied, in the name of the whole fociety, de-
firing her either to remain, or return, as (lie thought
beft, but afluring her, that they had all loft the
greatcft portion of their happinefs fince her depar-
ture, and that, for herfelf in particular, flie was
quite inconfolable.

Paul wrote her a very long letter, in which, he
affured her, that he would render the garden wor-
thy to receive her ; and, in like manner as flîe had
interwoven their names in her purfe, fo would he
mingle tlie plants of Europe with thofe of Africa.
He fent her fome of the fruit of the cocoa-trees of

her

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. II7

her fountain, now arrived to perfed maturity. He
added, that he would not fend her any of the other
feeds of the ifland, in order that the defire of feeing
it's produftions once more, might determine her
to return thither immediately. He importuned her
to do this without delay, and thus gratify the ar-
dent wifhes of their family, and his own more par-
ticularly, as, henceforward, he could tafte no joy
at a diftance from her.

Paul planted, with the greateft care, thefe Euro-
pean grains, and above all, thofe of the violet and
of the fcabious, the flowers of which feemed to
have fome analogy with the charafter and the fitu-
ticn of Virginia^ who had fo particularly recom-
mended them to him : but whether they had been
corrupted on their paflage, or whether, which is
more probable, the climate of that part of Africa
was not favourable to them, only a very fmall
number of them fprung, and even thefe never at-
tained to a ftate of perfedion.

Envy, meanwhile, which frequently even out-
runs the happinefs of man,efpecially in the French
Colonies, foon circulated reports all over the
ifland, which gave Paul the greateft uneafmefs.
The people belonging to the velTel which had
brought Firginia\ letter, aflerted, that Qie was on
the point of marriage j they went fo far as to name

II the

Il8 STUDIES OF NATURE.

the nobleman who was to obtain her hand ; nay,
fome even declared, that the affair was over, and
that they had been witnefles of it. Panl^ at firfl:,
defpifed thefe rumors, conveyed by a trading-
veflel, which often brings falfe reports from th«
places which it touches at on it's paffage : but, as
many of the inhabitants of the ifland, from a per-
fidious pity, officioully interpofed to condole with
him on this event, he began to give fome credit to
it. Befide, in fome of the romances which he had
read, he faw treachery treated with pleafantry, àhd,
as he knew that thefe books exhibited a faithful
pifture of the manners of Europe, he was appre-
henfive that the daughter of Madame de la Tour
might have become corrupted, and have forgotten
her earlier engagements. The light which he had ac-
quired, made him anticipate mifery, and, what gave
a finifh to his fufpicions was, that feveral European
vefTels had arrived within the year, without bring-
ing any news whatever of Firgima,

That unfortunate young man, abandoned to all
the agitations of a heart in love, came frequently
to feç me, in order to confirm, or to diffipate, his
uneafmefs, by my experience of the World,

I live, as I have told you, about a league and a
half from hence j on the bank of a fmall river,
which flows by Long Mountain. There, I pafs

my

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. II9

my life, in folitude, without a wife, without chil-
dren, and without flaves.

Next to the rare felicity of finding a female
partner perfeftly fuited to a man, the leaft unhappy
liruation in life is that of living alone. Every one
who has had much reafon to complain of Man-
kind, feeks for folitude. Nay, it is very remark-
able, that all Nations, rendered miferable by their
opinions, their manners, or by their governments,
have produced numerous claffes of citizens, en-
tirely devoted to folitude and to celibacy. Such
were the Egyptians in their decline, and the Greeks
of the Lower Empire ; and fuch are, in our own
days, the Indians, the Chinefe, the modern Greeks,
the Italians, and the greateft part of theeaftern and
fouthern Nations of Europe. Solitude, in fome
degree, brings Man back to his natural ftate of
happinefs, by removing the misfortunes of focial
life. In the midft of our focieties, torn afunder
by fo many prejudices, the foul is in a ftate of per-
petual agitation; it is continually revolving, within
itfelf, a thoufand turbulent and contradidory opi-
nions, by which the members of an ambitious and
miferable fociety are aiming at mutual fubjedion ;
but, in folitude, it lays afide thofe extraneous illi -
lions which difturb it, and refumes the fimple fen-
timent of itfelf, of Nature, and of it's Author.

I 4 Thus,

t20 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Thus, the muddy water of a torrent, which lays
wade the country, fpreading itfelf into fome little
bafon, remote from it's current, finks the miry par-
ticles to the bottom of it's bed, recovers it's former
limpidnefs, and, having again become tranfparent,
refleds, with it's own banks, the verdure of the
Earth, and the light of the Heavens.

Solitude reftores the harmony of the body, as
well as that of the foul. It is among folitary claffes
of people, that we find perfons who live to the
greateft age, as among the Bramins of India. In
fhoi t, I believe it fo necefTary to happinefs, even
in the commerce of the World, that I conceive it
impoffible to tafte a durable pleafure in it, be the
fentiment what it may, or, to regulate our conduâ:
by any eftablifhed principle, unlefs we form an in-
ternal folitude, from which our own opinion fel-
dom takes it's departure, and into which, that of
another never enters. I do not, however, mean
to affert, that it is the duty of man to live entirely
alone, for, by his necefiities, he is united to the
whole human race; he, for that reafon, owes his
labour to Mankind, but he owes himfelf, likewife,
to the reft of Nature. As God has given to each
of us, organs exadlly fuited to the elements of thç
Globe on which we live, feet to the foil, lungs ço
the air, eyes to the light, without the power of in-
terchanging

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 121

terchanging the ufe of thefe fenfes, He, who is the
author of life, has referved for himfelf alone, the
heart, which is it's principal organ.

I pafs my days, then, remote from men, whom
I have wilhed to ferve, and who have repaid me
with perfecution. After having travelled over a
great part of Europe, and feveral regions of Ame-
rica, and of Africa, I am now fettled in this ifland,
fo poorly inhabited, feduced by the mildnefsof the
air, and by it's enchanting folitudes. A cottage,
which I have built in the foreft, at the foot of a
tree, a little field, cleared for cultivation by my
own hands, and a river which flows before my
door, are fully adequate to all my wants, and ail
my pleafures. I add to thefe enjoyments, a few
good books, which teach me to become better :
they even make the World, which I have quitted,
flill contribute to my happinefs, by prefenting me
with pidures of thofe paflions which render it's
inhabitants fo miferable ; and, by the comparifon
which I make between their condition and my
own, they procure for me a negative felicity.
Like a man faved from fhipwreck, feated on a
rock, I contemplate, in my folitude, the ftorms
which are raging in the reft of the World; nay,
my tranquillity is increafed by the fury of the dif-
tant tempeft. Since men ftand no longer in my
way, and fmce I am no longer in theirs, I have

ceafed

122 STUDIES OF NATURE.

ceafed to hate, and now I pity them. If I meet
with any unfortunate wretch, I try to aflift him by
my counfels : as one, pafTmg along the brink of a
torrent, ftretches out his hand to an unhappy crea-
ture drowning in it. I, however, have found in-
nocence alone attentive to my voice. Nature, to
no purpofe, allures to herfelf the reft of mankind ;
each one forms, in his mind, an image of her,
which he invefts with -his own paffions. He pur-
fues, through the whole of life, the vain phantom
which ftill mifleads him ; and he then complains
to Heaven of the illufion which he had pradlifed
upon himfelf. Amongft a great number of unfor-
tunate wretches, whom I have fometimes endea-
voured to bring back to Nature, I have not found
a fingle one who was not intoxicated with his own
miferies. They liftened to me, at firft, with at-
tention, in hopes that I v^^as going to affift them in
acquiring either glory or fortune, but perceiving,
that I only meant to teach them to do without
thefe things, they looked upon me myfelf as a mi~
ferable wretch, becaufe I did not purfue their
wretched felicity : they condemned the folitary
ftyle of life which I led, pretended that they alone
were ufeful to Mankind, and endeavoured to draw
me into their vortex. But, though my heart is
open to all the World, my opinions are biafled by
no one. 1 frequently find enough within my own
brcaft to make me ferve as a leflbn to myfelf. In

my

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I23

my prefent calm, I make a fécond paflage through
the agitations of my own paft life, which I once
prized fo highly ; the protégions, the fortune, the
reputation, the pleafures, and the opinions, which
maintain a confiant conflid, all the World over.
I compare thole fucceffive tribes of Men, whom I
have feen contending with fo much fury, about
mere chimeras, and who are now no more, to the
little waves of my rivulet, which, foaming, dafh
themfelves againfb the rocks of it's bed, and then
difappear, never more to return. For my own
part, I quietly commit myfelf to the river of time,
to be borne down toward the ocean of futurity,
which is circumfcribed with no fhores, and, by
contemplating the adual harmonies of Nature, I
raife myfelf toward it's Author, and thus confole
myfelf, with the expeftation of a deftiny more
happy, in the World to come.

Although the multiplicity of objeds, which,
from this elevation, now ftrike our view, are not
perceptible from my hermitage, which is fituated
in the centré of a foreft, flill the harmonies of that
fpot are very interefting, efpecially for a man, who,
like me, prefers retiring into himfelf, to ranging
abroad. The river which flows before my door,
jpafles in a flraight line, acrofs the woods, fo that
my eye is {Iruck with a long canal, cverlhadowed

with

124 STUDIES OF NATURE

with trees of variegated foliage j tatamaques, the
ebony-tree, and what is here called apple- wood,
olive-wood, and the cinnamon ; groves of palm-
trees, here and there, raife their long and naked
columns, more than a hundred feet high ; on their
tops clufters of palms grow, while they appear
like one foreft piled above another. There are,
likewife, lianes of different coloured leaves, and
which, iTiooting their branches from one tree to
another, form, here, arcades of flowers, and there,
long fedoons of verdure. Aromatic odours iflue
from moft of thefe trees, and their perfumes attach
themfelves fo flrongly to the very clothes, that the
fmell adheres to a perfon who has crofled the foreft,
for feveral hours afterwards. In the feafon, when
their flowers are in full bloom, you would think
them half covered with fnow. At the end of Sum-
mer, feveral kinds of foreign birds come, by an un-
accountable Inftinâ:, from unknown regions, be-
yond the boundlefs Ocean, to pick up the feeds of
the vegetables which this ifland produces, and op-
pofe the brilliancy of their colours to the verdure
of the trees, embrowned by the Sun. Among
others, different kinds of parroquets, and blue pi-
geons, which are here called the pigeons of Hol-
land. Monkeys, the domefticated inhabitants of
thefe forefts, amufe themfelves among the duiky
branches, from which they detach themfelves by

their

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I25

their gray and greenifli hair, with their faces en-
tirely black ; fome fufpend themfelves by the tail,
balancing themfelves in the air ; others leap from
branch to branch, carrying their young ones in
their arms. Never has the murderous fiifil feared
thefe peaceful children of Nature. Here, nothing
is heard but founds of joy, the unknown warblings
and the chirping of fome fouthern birds, which
repeat the echos of thefe forefts from afar. The
river, which flows bubbling over a rocky bed,
through the trees, refleâis, here and there, in it's
limpid ftream, their venerable mafles of verdure
and of (hade, as well as the gambols of the happy
inhabitants : about a thoufand paces from hence,
it precipitates itfelf down different ftories of the
rock, and forms, in it's fall, a fmooth (beet of
water, as clear as cryftal, which rolling down,
breaks itfelf amidft billows of foam. A thoufand
confafed noifes proceed from thefe tumultuous
waters, and when difperfed by the winds of the
foreft, they fometimes fly to a diftance, and fome-
times they ru(h on the ear, all at once, and pro-
duce a fl:unning found, like that of the bells of a
cathedral. The air, continually refrefhed by the
motion of this fl;ream, keeps up, upon the banks
of the river, notwithftanding the burning heats of
Summer, a verdure, and a coolnefs, which is fel-
dom found in this ifland, even on the mountain
tops.

At

126 STUDIES OF NATURE.

At fome diftance from thence, there is a rock,
remote enough from the cafcade, to prevent your
being deafened with the noife of it's waters, and
yet fufEcienily near for you to enjoy the fight of
their fall, their frelhnefs, and their murmuring.
During the exceffive heats, Madame de la Tour,
Margaret, Firgirtia, Paul, and I, fometimes dined
under the fhade of this rock. As Virginia always
employed her minuteft adions for the benefit
of others, Ihe never ate a fruit in the country
without planting it's feed, or it's kernel, in the
earth. *' Trees," faid (he, " will fpring from
** thefe, which may, one day, give their fruits to
*' fome traveller, or, at leaft, to fome bird." Ac-
cordingly, once, when fhe had been eating part of
a papaya, at the foot of this rock, fhe planted the
feeds of that fruit ; there, foon afterwards, feveral
papayas grew up, among which was a female plant,
that is, one which bears fruit. This tree, at Fir^
ginids departure, was not fo high as her knee, but,
as it's growth is very rapid, it attained, three years
after, to the height of twenty feet, and the higher
part of it's trunk was furrounded with feveral rows
of ripe frUit. Paul, having, by chance, wandered
to this place, was greatly delighted at feeing fuch
a large tree, grown from a feed, which he had feen
planted by the hand of his friend ; but, at the fame
time, he funk into a profound melancholy, on ob-
ferving this teftimony of her long abfence. By ob-

jeds.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 11']

jefbs, which we habitually behold, we are unabls
to perceive with what rapidity our life paffes away;
they, as well as onrfelves, grow old, with an im-
perceptible decay : but thofe, which we fuddenly
fee again, after feveral years abfence, admonifli us
of the fwiftnefs with which the ftream of our days
flows on. Paul was as much furprized, and as for-
rowful, at the fight of this large papaya, loaded
with fruit, as a traveller is, who, on his return to
his native country, after a long abfence, finds thofe
who were his contemporaries to be no more, and
fees their children, whom he had left at the breaft,
themfelves become fathers of families. Sometimes
he was going to cut it down, as it made him too
fenfible of the length of time which had elapfed
fince Firginias departure; at other times, confider-
ing it as a monument of her beneficence, he kifled
it's trunk, and addrefled to it thefe words, didated
by love and regret : " Oh, tree, whofe pofterity'
** ftill exifts in our woods, I view thee with more
*' concern and veneration, than the triumphal
" arches of the Romans ! May Nature, which is
** daily deftroying the monuments of the ambition
*' of Kings, multiply, in thefe forefts, thofe of the
" beneficence of a young and unfortunate girl."

It was at the foot of this papaya-tree, that I was
certain of feeing Patily whenever he came to my

habitation.

128 STUDIES OF NATURE.

habitation. I, one day, found him there, plunged
in melancholy, and I held a converfation with him,
which I will repeat to you, unlefs I tire you by my
long digreffions ; they, however, are pardonable in
a perfon of my age, and more fo, as they have a re-
ference to my laft friendfhips. I will relate it, in
form of a dialogue, that you may judge of the ex-
cellent natural fenfe of this young man, and it will
be eafy for you to difcover who is the fpeaker, by
the meaning of his queftions, and by my anfwers.

He faid to me :

*' I am very low fpirited. Mademoifelle de la
*' Tour has been gone thefe three years and a half;
" and, for a year and a half pad, (he has not fent
*' us any news of herfelf. She is rich, and I am
" poor : (he has certainly forgotten me. My in-
« clination prompts me ftrongly to embark for
*' France; I will enter into the fervice of the
** King; I will make a fortune, and the grand-
** aunt of Mademoifelle de la Tour will give me
*' her niece in marriage, when 1 (hall have become
** a great Lord."

The Old Man.
" My good friend, have you not told me, that
•* your birth is ignoble ?"

Paul.

paul and virginia. i29

Paul.

** So my mother has told me j for my own part,
** I do not To much as know the meaning of the
** word. Birth. I never difcovered that i was more
** deficient there than another, or that any other
** perfon pofleffed it more than I do."

The Old Man.
" Deficiency in birth will, in France, effeâiually
** exclude you from any diftinguilhed employ-
** ment ; what is more, no corps of any diftinc-
" tion will admit you.'*

Paul.
" Yon have often informed me, that one of the
** chief caufes of the prefent greatnefs of France
"was, that the lowed fubjed might obtain the
'* higheft pofts ; and you have given me many in-
^' ftances of celebrated men, who, rifing from a
" low condition, had done honour to their coun-
** try. Do you mean to damp my courage ?"

The Old Man.

•' My fon, nothing is farther from my intention:
" I told you the truth, but it related to times pad.
*' The face of affairs, in France, is, at prefent,
*' greatly altered ; every thing there is now become
** venal ; all is the hereditary property of a fmall
** number of families, or is divided among incor-

voL. V. K " porated

130 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** porated aflbciations. The King is a luminary,
" furrounded by the nobihty, and by different
** corps, as by fo many clouds, and it is hardly
*^ poffible that one of his rays (hould fall upon
'* you. Formerly, in an adminiftration lefs com-
*' plicated, fuch phenomena were to be feen.
** Then, talents and merit were difclofed on every
*' fide, like as the frelh grounds, which have juft
*' been cleared, are productive with all their rich
** juices. But great Kings, who know Mankind,
'' and how to make choice among them, are very
*' rare. Kings, in general, allow themfelves to be
** biaffed by the grandees, and by the aflbciations
** which furround them."

Paul.
** But probably I (ball find one of thofe great
*' men, who will take me under his proteftion."

The Old Man.
" The proteflion of the great, is to be obtained
*' only by ferving either their ambition or their
** pleafure. You can never fucceed with them,
** for your birth is mean, and your probity is un-
" tainted."

Paul.
" But I will perform adlions fo daring, 1 will
" keep my promifes fo inviolate, I will fo punc-
tually

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I3I

^' tually fulfil the duties of my fituation, I will be
*' fo zealous and fo confiant in my friendfhips, as
*^ to merit adoption from fome of them, which I
" have feen frequently to be the cafe, in thofe an-
" cient hiflories which you gave me to read."

The Old Man.
" Ah, my good friend ! among the Greeks and
'* Romans, even in their decline, the higher orders
** of men always paid refped to virtue ; we have
** had, indeed, a great number of celebrated perfon-
^^ ages, of all defcriptions, ftarting up from among
** the common people, but I do not know of a
'' fingle one who has been adopted into a family of
*' rank. But for our Kings, Virtue would, in
*' France, be condemned to an eternal Plebeianifm.
" As I have often told you, they fometimes honour
'* virtue when they perceive it; but in the prefent
*' day, the diftindion which, in juftice, it fhould
** obtain, is to be purchafed only with money."

Paul.
" In cafe, then, I do not procure fupport from
" the Great, I will endeavour to render myfelf ufe-
" ful to fome corps. I will adopt it's fpirit, and
*' it's opinions, entirely; I will make myfelf be
" loved."

K 2 T^E

132 studies of nature.

The Old Man.
" You will aft, then, like other men ! you will
*' facrifice your integrity to purchafe fortune !'*

Paul.
" Oh, no \ the fearch of truth fhall be my only
** aim.

The Old Man.
" Inftead of making yourfelf be loved, you will,
** mod probably, expofe yourfelf to hatred. Be-
" fide, incorporated aflbciations intereft themfelves
*^ very little in the difcovery of truth. To the
** ambitious, every opinion is indifferent, provided
** they domineer."

Paul.
" How unfortunate am 1 ! I am difcouraged
*' on every fide. I am doomed to pafs my life in
" labour and obfcurity, far from Virginia." And
he heaved a deep figh.

The Old Man.
*' Let the Almighty be your only patron, and
*' the human race your corps; be firmly attached
" both to the one and to the other. Families, Af-
" fociations. Nations, and Kings, have their preju-
" dices and their paffions, and vice is often requi-
*' fitc, in order to ferve them as they defire. But

" to

PAUL ANP VIRGXNIA. J33

'' to ferve God and the human race, we have oc-
" cafion to exercife virtue only.

" But why do you wifh to be diftinguifhed from

" the reft of Mankind ? It is an unnatural fenti-

*' ment, for, if it were univerfal, every man would

" be at war with his neighbour. Satisfy yourfelt

" with fulfilling the duties of that ftation,in which

" Providence has placed you : rejoice in your def-

" tiny, which allows you to maintain your inte-

*' grity pure, and does not oblige you, in imitation

** of the Great, to place your happinefs in the opi-

" nion of the lower ranks; nor, in imitation of the

" lower, to cringe to their fuperiors, in order to

" procure the means of fubfiftence. You are in

" a country, and in a fituation, where you can

** find a living, without any occafion either to de-

" ceive, to flatter, or to debafe yourfelf, as the ge-

" nerahiy of thofe are obliged ta do, who purfue

" fortune in Europe; in a fituation, where your

*' condition does not prohibit your exercifing any

" virtue : where you can, with impunity, be good,

" faithful, fincere, intelligent, patient, temperate,

*' chafte, indulgent, pious : and where no malig-

*' nant fneer will interpofe t-o blaft your wifdom,

" which is ftill only in the bud. Heaven has be-

" ftowed on you, liberty, health, a good con-

*' fcience, and friends ; Kings, whofe favour you

K 3 *' are

134 STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' are fo ambitious of obtaining, are not near To
" happy."

Paul.
*' Alas ! Firginia is ftill wanting to me; without
" her, I have nothing ; with her, I (hould pofl'efs
« every thing. She, alone, is my birth, my glory,
" and my fortune : but her aunt muft, no doubt,
*' have bellowed her, in marriage, on a man of
*' high reputation ! By means of books and ftudy,
*' however, men may become learned and cele-
" brated : I will acquire knowledge, by dint of in-
*' tenfe application ; I will render a ufeful fervice
*' to my country, by my fuperior illumination, and
*' will neither offend any one, nor be dependent on
" him : my fame will be illuftrious, and the glory
** which I may obtain will be entirely my own."

The Old Man.
*' My fon, talents are ftill more rare than either
*' birth or riches j and, doubtlefs, they are the
*' moft invaluable poffeflîons, becaufe nothing can
** deprive us of them, and becaufe they univerfally
*' conciliate public efteem. But they colli a man
" dear; they are to be obtained only by privations
" of every kind; by an exquifite fenfibility, which
" renders us unhappy, both at home and abroad,
*' by the perfecution of our contemporaries. In
** France, the lawyer does not envy the glory of
" the Ibldier, nor the foldier, that of the failor, but

*' every

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I35

*"• every body will thwart you there, becaufe every
** body piques himfelf on his underftanding. You
" will ferve Mankind, fay you ? But the perfon
" who produces them a fingle (heaf of corn from
" the ground, does them a far more profitable fer-
** vice than he who gives them a book.**

Paul.
*' Oh ! (he who planted this papaya has given
" the inhabitants of thefe forefts, a much more
" ufeful and delightful prefent, than if (he had
*' given them a library :" and as he fpake, he took
the tree in his arms, and kiffed it with tranfport.

The Old Man.
** The beft book that ever was written, which
'* inculcates only thedodrinesof friendlhip, eqiia-
** lity, humanity, and concord, namely, the Gof-
** pel, has ferved, for many ages pad, as a pretext
" for the ravages of European cruelty. How many
" public and private tyrannies are daily pradtifed
" on the Earth, in it's name! After that, who can
*' flatter himfelf with the hope of being ufeful to
" Mankind by a book ? Call to mind what has
*' been the fate of moft of thofe Philofophers, who
*' preached up wifdom to Man. Horner^ who
** clothed it in verfes fo beautiful, was reduced to
•' beg his bread all his life long. SocrateSy who
" gave to the Athenians fuch excellent lelTons of

K 4 " it.

I3<3 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" it, both by his difcourfes and by his manners,
" was condemned by them to fwaliow poifon, con-
*' formably to the fentence of a court of juftice.
" His fublime difciple, Plato, was doomed to ila-
*' very, by order of the very Prince who protesfted
•' him ; and, before their time, PythagoraSy who
*' extended his humanity even to the brute crea-
** tion, was burnt alive by tlie Crotonians : what
*' do I fay ? The greateft part of thefe illuftrious
" names have defcended to us, disfigured by fome
*' traits of fatire, which charadierize them j for,
" human ingratitude dehghts to lay hold on thefe :
*' if, however, among the crowd, the glory of any
" hath reached our ears, pure and untainted, they
" are thofe who have lived far from the fociety of
♦* their contemporaries ; like thofe ftatues, which
*' are extraded entire, out of the fields of Greece
*' and Italy, and which, by being buried in the bo-
" fom of the earth, have efcaped the fury of the
*' barbarians.

*' You fee, then, that, in order to acquire the
** tempefluous glory of literary fame, it is neceffary
*' to exercife much virtue, and to be ready to fa-
*' crifice life itfelf. Befides, do you imagine, that
** this glory interefts wealthy people in France ?
*' They greatly carefs literary men^ vvhofe learning
*' does not raife them to any dignity in their coun-
*' try, or to any fituation under government, nor

'* procure

PAUL AND VIRGINIA, 13^

" procure them admiffion at Court. Perfecution
" is little praclifed in this age, fo indifferent to
'* every thing except fortune and pleafure ; but
*' knowledge and virtue feldom raife a petfon,
** there, to a diftingui filed rank, becaufe every
" thing in the State is to be procured with money.
** Formerly, thele qualities were fure of meeting
'* a recompenfe, by places either in the church, in
** the magiftracy, or in the adminiftration ; but,
** at prefent, they are only good for making books.
*' This fruit, however, fo little prized by the men
" of the World, is ever worthy of it's celeftial ori-
" gin. It is to thefe very books, that the honour
" is referved, of beftowing luftre on obfcure vir-
** tue, of confoling the unfortunate, of enlightening
** Nations, and of declaring the truth even to kings.
" It is, undoubtedly, the mod facred office with
" which Heaven can inveft a mortal on this Earth.
" Where is the man, who has it not in his power
" to confole himfelf for the injuflice, or the con-
** tempt of thofe who have the difpofal of fortune,
*' when he refîeâs, that his work will be handed
** down from age to age, from nation to nation,
" and will fcrve as a barrier againft error and ty-
*' ranny ; and that, from the bolom of obfcurity,
*' in which he has lived, a glory may iflue, which
** fliall eclipfe that of the greateft part of Kings,
" whofe monuments fink into oblivion, in fpite of
** the flatterers who reared, and who extol them ?

Paul.

13$ studies of nature.

Paul.
** Ah ! I (hould covet this glory, only to diffufc
*' it*s luftre over Firginiaj and to render her dear
*' to all the World. But you, who have fo much
** experience, tell me, whether we fhall ever marry ?
" I wifh to be a fcholar, at leaft to know what I
*' am to expeél in future.'*

The Old Man.
•' Who would wifli to live, my fon, if he knevr
" what was to befal him hereafter ? A fingle fore-
" feen calamity occafions a thoufand vain anxieties :
** the certain profpeét of a heavy afflidlion would
** embitter all the days which might precede it.
*' Indeed, it is not proper to enquire too deeply,
" even into furrounding objeds ; Heaven, which
•*-b€fl:ows refleftion upon us, in order that we may
*' forefee our neceffities, has alfo given us neceffi-
" ties, to fet bounds to our refledion.'*

Paul.
** You tell me, that, in Europe, dignities and
" honours are to be purchafed with money. I will
" go and acquire wealth in Bengal, and then dire(fl
" my courfe toward Paris, and efpoufe Virginia. I
*' will go and embark immediately."

The Old Man.
*' How ! will you leave her mother and your own ?**

Paul.

paul and virginia. 139

Paul.
** Why, you yourfelf advifed me to go to
** India."'

The Old Man.
'* When I gave you that advice, Firginia was
** here. But, at prefent, you are the only fupport
" of your mothers."

Paul.
" Firginia will fend them the means of fubfifl-
*' cnce, from the bounty of her rich relation."

The Old Man.
'* Rich people affift thofe only who pay homage
" to them in the World. They have relations
*' much more to be pitied than Madame de la
** Tour, and who, for want of fupport from them,
*' facrifice their liberty for the fake of bread, and
" pafs their lives (hut up in a convent."

Paul.
** What a dreadful country Europe is ! Oh !
** Virginia muft return hither. What occafion has
" fhe for a rich relation ? How happy (lie once
" was, under thefe lowly roofs, how beautiful, and
" how charming, when her head was adorned with
*' a red handkerchief, or a wreath of flowers. Oh,
" Firginia, return, leave thy palaces and thy great-

'^ nefs;

140 STUDIES OF NATURE»

" nefs; return to thefe rocks, to the (hade of thefe
*' woods, and to our cocoa-trees. Alas ! perhaps
*' at this very moment, thou art miferable.'*— —
Saying this, he burft into tears. *^ Father,"
cried he, ** conceal nothing from me ; if you are
*' unable to tell me whether I fhall ever marry
<« Virginia J inform me, at leaft, whether (he ftill
*' loves me, though furrounded by great men, who
" talk to the King, and who vifit her ?"

The Old Man.
** Yes, my friend, I am convinced, by many
** reafons, that (lie loves you, but principally by
" this, that (lie is virtuous." At thefe words, he
clafped me round the neck, tranfported with joy.
Paul.
" But do you believe European women to be fo
** inconftant as they are reprefented on the liage,
** and in thofe books which you have lent me ?"

The Old Man.
*' In thofe countries where men tyrannize, the
*' women are always inconftant. Violence ever
^' produces deceit."

Paul.
" How is ic poflfible for a man to exercife ty-
*' ranny over a woman?"

The

paul and virginia, i4î

The Old Man.
«* By forcing women into marriage, without any
" regard to their own inclinations ; a young girl
** to an old man, a woman of feeling to a man of
** infenfibillty."

Paul.
** Why do they not rather unite thole together,
" who are more fuitable to each other ; the young
*' with the young, and lovers with thofe on whom
** thfiiv affeâions are fixed ?'*

The Old Man.
'^ The reafon is, that, in France, the generality
*' of youngmen have Bot fufficient fcwrtune to en-
**at>lethem to marry, and tliat they fddom ac
*' quire a competency till they are advanced in
" years. In their youth, they feduce the wives of
*' their neighbours, and, when old, they are un-
*^ ^able to fecure the afFedions of their own wives.
*' When young, they deceived others, and when
*' old, are, in their turn, deceived themfelves. It
** is one of the re-aJtions of that univerfal jufticc
" which governs the World : in it, one excefs al-
** ways balances another. Thus, moft Europeans
*' pafs their lives in a twofold diforder, and uhis
** diforder is increafed in a fociety, proportionaibly
" as riches are accumulated on a fmaîler number
" of individuals. The State refembles a garden,

" in

I4i STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' in which fmall trees are unable to arrive at per-
** feftion, if others too great overQiadow them ;
*' but there is this manifeft difference, that the
** beauty of a garden may refult from a fmall num-
** ber of large trees, but the profperity of a State
** ever depends on the multitude and equality of
** the fubjeds, and not on a fmall number, who
" monopohze it's wealth.'*

Paul.
** But why is want of money a hindrance to
" marriage ?"

The Old Man.
** Becaufe after a man has entered into that ftate,
" he wilhes to pafs his days in abundance, without
" the neceffity of labouring."

Paul.
*' And why not labour? I myfelf work very
«' hard."

The Old Man.
" The reafon is, that, in Europe, manual la-
*' bour is deemed diQionourable. It is there called
** mechanical labour : nay, that of cultivating the
** ground is cftemed the moft defpicable of all.
" There the artifan holds a far higher rank than
" the peafant."

Paul.

f AUL AND VIRGINIA. I43

Paul.
'* How ! the art which fupplies man with food,
** defpifed in Europe I I do not underftand you."

The Old Man.
** Oh ! it is impoflible for a man educated in a
** ftate of Nature, to comprehend the depravity of
** a ftate of Society. Though fuch a one is able
*' to form, in his own mind, an exad: idea of or-
*' der, he cannot form one of diforder. Beauty,
" virtue, and happinefs, have proportions; defor-
** mity, vice, and mifery, have none."

Paul.
*' The rich, then, are very happy; no obftacles
*' lie in their way ; and on the objeds of their love,
" they can beftow pleafures without end."

The Old Man.
*' They are, for the moft parr, infenfibie to any
*' pleafure, becaufe the attainment of it cofts them
*' no trouble. Does not experience teach you, that
*' the enjoyment of repofe is purchafed by fatigue;
" that of eating, by hunger ; that of drinking, by
** thirft ? In like manner, that of loving, and of
" being beloved, is only to be obtained by a mul-
*^ titude of privations and facrifices. Their wealth
** deprives rich people of all thefe pleafures, by

" outrunning

144 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" outrunning their neceffities. Add, befîdes, to
" the difguft which always follows fatiety, that
*' pride, which fprings from their opulence, and
** which the leaft pîivation wounds, even when
*' the greateft enjoyments have ceafed to flatter
*' it. The perfume of a thoufand rofes only
** pleafes for a fingle moment j but the pain in-
" Aided by one of their thorns, lafts a long time
** after the wound is received. To the rich, one
*' misfortune, in the midft: of many enjoyments, is
" a thorn furrounded by flowers ; but, on the con-
** trary, to the poor, one pleafure, in the middle
" of many calamities, is a flower furrounded on
** every fide by thorns. They find a poignant re-
" lifh in their enjoyments. Every effcâ: is height-
" ened by it's contraft; Nature has balanced all
** things equally. Every thing confidered then,
" Which ftate do you conceive to be preferable, that
*' of having almoft nothing to hope for, and all
*' to fear, or, that of having nothing to fear,
" and every thing to hope for ? The firft of thefe
** fl:ates is that of the rich ; the fécond, that of
•* the poor. Thefe extremes, however, are equally
*' difficult to be fupported by Man, whofe happi-
" nefs confifts in mediocrity and virtue."

Paul.
** What do you underftand by the word virtue ?"

The

paul and virginia. i45

The Old Man.
** My Ton, you who fupport your parents by the
** labour of your hands, have no occafion for a de-
'' finition of it. Virtue is an effort made upon
" ourfelves, for the good of others, in the view of
" pleafing God only.'*

Paul.

** Oh, how virtuous then is Virginia ! Virtue
" was her aim, when fhe wi(hed to become rich,
** in order that fhe might exercife beneficence;
** virtue made her leave this ifland, and virtue will
'* reftore her to us.'* The idea of her fpeedy re-
turn, kindling the young man's imagination, all
his difquietude vanifhed in an inftant. Virginia
had not written, becaufe fhe was on the point of
returning in perfon : fo little time was neceflary to
return from Europe, with a fair wind. He enu-
merated inftances of vefTels, which had made this
voyage, of more than four thoufand five hundred
leagues, in lefs than three months. The vefî'el in
which (he had embarked would not take more
than two. The builders of the prefect day were fo
fkilful, and the mariners fo alert. He talked of the
arrangements which he would make for her recep-
tion ; of the new habitation which he intended to
build ; and of the pleafures and the agreeable fur-
prize which he would contrive for her every day,
when fhe became his wife; his wife The idea

VOL. v. l ravilhed

146 STUDIES OF NATURE.

ravifhed his fenfes. *' As for you, father," faid
he to me, " you, in future, (hall do nothing but
" enjoy yourfelf. Firginia poflcfles wealth, and
*' we can purchafe plenty of Negroes, who will
" work for you. You fliall be with us always, and
" nothing fliall employ your mind, but amufe-
*' ment and pleafure." Immediately, he flew, like
one diftracfted, to communicate to his family the
joy with which he himfelf was intoxicated.

Exceflive fears foon fucceed the mofl fanguine
hopes. Violent paffions always plunge the foul
into contrary extremes. Frequently, on the mor-
row, Paul came to fee me, overwhelmed with grief.
He faid to me, " Firginia has not written to me :
*' had flie left Europe, llie would certainly have
" mformed us of it. Ah ! the reports which have
" been fpread concerning her, are but too well
*' founded : her aunt has certainly married her to
" fome nobleman. The love of wealth has cor-
" rupted her, as is the cafe with fo many others,
" In thofe books, which fo well defcribe the cha-
*' rafter of the female fex, virtue is merely a fubjedt
" for romance. Had Virginia poflefTed virtue, flie
" would not have quitted her own mother and me.
" While I pafs my life, with my thoughts entirely
" fixed on her, flie has cad me from her remem-
** brance. I am tormenting myfelf, and flie is loft
" in diffipation. Ah I that thought plunges me

*' into

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I47

" into defpair. All labour difgnfts me, and fo-
" ciety is a burthen. Would to God, that war
*^ would break out in India, that I might haften
" thither, and throw myfelf into the jaws of
" death."

" My Ton," replied I, *' that courage which
** makes us rulh on to meet death, is the courage
** of only a fingle moment. It is often excited by
" the vain applaufe of man. There is a fpecies
" of courage more rare, and ftill more neceffary,
" which enables us daily to fupport the misfor-
" tunes of life, without a witnefs, and without
** praife ; what I mean is patience. It reds not
" on the opinion of another, nor on the impulfe
" of our own paffions, but on the will of God.
** Patience is the courage of virtue."

'* Ah, then," cried he, '"^ I have no virtue !
^' every thing overwhelms me, and finks me into
** defpair." *' Virtue," repUed I, *' always equal,
" confiant, and invariable, is not the portion of
** Mankind. In the conflift of fo many paffions
*' by which we are agitated, our reafon is troubled
*' and obfcured ; but there are pharofes by which
" we can rekindle the flame ; I mean Letters.

" Letters, my fon, are an affiftance fent to us
" from Heaven. They are rays of that Wifdom

L 2 ** which

148 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** which governs the Univerfe, and which Man,
'* infpired by a celeftial art, has learned to efta-
" blifli upon this Earth. Like the rays of the Sun,
** they enlighten, they comfort, they warm ; it is
** a flame altogether divine. Like fire, they direâ:
*' all Nature to our ufe. By means of them, we
" unite around us, men and things, times and
** places. By them, we feel ourfelves recalled to
'* the rules of human life. They calm the paf-
** fions ; they reprefs vice ; they roufe virtue, by
*' the facred example of thofe great men whom
" they celebrate, and whofe honoured images they
'* habitually prefent to us, crowned with refpeft.
" They are the daughters of Heaven, who defcend
" to Earth, in order to foothe the misfortunes of
*' the Human Race. The great Writers, whom
** they infpire, have always appeared in times the
" moft difficult for human Society to fubfift, the
*' times of barbarifm and of depravity. My dear
*' fon, letters have afforded confolation to an in-
" finite number of men, far more miferable than
*' you are ; Xemphon, baniflied from his country,
*' after having brought back to it ten thoufand
*' Greeks ; Scipio Africams, exhaufted with the re-
** lentlefs calumny of the Roman people j Luadhis,
** fickened with their cabals ^ and Caiinat, flung
" with the ingratitude of a French Court. The
** ingenious Greeks afîigned the feveral govern-
** ment of our various intelledual powers to the

** feveral

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I49

'* feveral Mufes, who prefide over Letters : We
*' ought, therefore, to refign to them the government
** of our paflions, in order that they may direâ:
" and curb them. They ought, with regard to the
*' faculties of the foul, to perform the fame func-
" tions with the Hours, which yoked, and guided
" the horfes of the Sun.

*' -Apply yourfelf, then, my fon, to the ftudy of
'* books. Thofe wife men, who have written be-
^' fore us, are travellers who have preceded us in
" the paths of calamity, who ftretch out the hand
*' toward us, and invite us to join their fociety,
" when every body elfe has abandoned us. A good
** book is a good friend."

" Ah 1" cried Paul, " I had no occafion to
" know how to read when Virginia was here : fhc
** had ftudied no more than I had done, but when
" fhe looked upon me, calling me her friend, it
" was impoffible for me to know what forrow
*' meant."

" Doubtlefs," faid I to him, '* there can be no
*' friend fo agreeable, as a miftrefs who loves reci-
" procally. There is, befides, in woman, a lively
*' gaiety, which diffipates the penfivenefs of man.
" Her graces make the dark phantoms of refleâ-jon
" to fly away. On her countenance are depided

L 3 the

150 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" the gentle attrapions of confidence. What joy
*• is not heightened by her joy ? What forehead
*' is not fmoothed when ihe fmiles ? What wrath
*' can repel he-r tears ? Virginia will return with
''more philofophy than you poffefs ; fhe will
*' be greatly furprized at not finding the gar-
*' den entirely reftored, fhe, whofe thoughts are
*' fixed on embellifhing it, in fpite of the perfecu-
*' tions of her relation, while far from her mother,
** and from vou.'*

The idea of the approaching return of Firginia^
renovated the courage of Paiil^ and brought hirii
back to his rural occupations. Happy in the
midft of his perturbation, in propofmg to his
exertions, an end congenial to his predominant
paffion.

One morning, at day-break, it was the 24th
of December, 1752, Paul, on rifing, perceived a
white flag hung out on Mount Difcovery. This
flag was the fignal that a veflel was defcried at fea.
He immediately flew to the city, in order to learn
if it brought any intelligence of Firginia. He re-
mained there till the return of the pilot of the port,
who, according to cuftom, bad gone out to recon-
noitre her. This man did not come back till the
evening. He reported to the Governor, that the
veflel which they had hailed was theSaint-Gerand,
"^ of

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 15I

of about feven hundred tons burthen, commanded
by a captain named M. Aubin; diat (he was four
leagues diftant at moft, and that (he could not
come to her moorings, off Port-Louis, till the
next day, in the afternoon, if the wind was fair!
It was then a dead calm. The pilot then delivered
to the Governor the letters which the veffel had
brought from France. Among others, there was
one in Virginian h and- writing for Madame de la
Tour. Paul k'lzed it immediately, and, having
kilTed it with tranfport, he put it in his bofom^
and flew to the plantation. As foon as he could
perceive the family, from afar, who were waiting
his return on Rock-Farewel, he raifed the letter
into the air, without the power of uttering a fyl-
lable : immediately, the whole family alTembled
round Madame de la Tour to hear it read.

Virginia informed her mother that flie had ex-
perienced very harlh treatment from her grand-
aunt, who had attempted to force her into mar-
riage, had afterwards difmherited her, and then
turned her away, at a time which would not per-
mit her to arrive at the Ifle of France, till the hur-
ricane feafon : that (he had, to no purpofe, endea-
voured to foften her, by reprefenting what flie
owed to her mother, and to the connexions of her
early life j that (he had been treated by her, as a
girl whofe head was turned with reading ro-

L 4 mances;

I^Z STUDIES OF NATURE.

mances; that, at prefent, her only wifh was, once
more, to fee and embrace her dear family, and that
ihe would have gratified this ardent wifh that very
day, if the captain would have allowed her to em-
bark in the pilot-boat, but that he had oppofed
her departure, on account of the diftance of the
fhore, and of a heavy fwell at fea, in the offing,
notwiihftanding the flillnefs of the wind.

Scarce was this letter read, thn the whole fa-
mily, tranfported with joy, cried out : " Virginia
** is arrived." Mailers and fervants embraced
each other by turns. Madame de la Tour faid to
Paul: ** My fon, go and inform our neighbour of
<< Virginia^ arrival." Domingo immediately lighted
a flambeau of round-wood, and then, in company
with Paul, direded his courfe toward my habi-
tation.

It might be about ten o'clock at night : T had
juft extinguiflied my lamp, and had lain down to
ileep, when I perceived, through the pallitades of
my cottage, a light in the woods. Soon after, I
heard the voice of Paul^ calling me by name. I
immediately arofe, and was fcarcely drelTed, when
Puuh almoll diftrafted, and breathlefs, clafped me
round the neck, faying : " Come, come along,
" Virginia is arrived. Let us haflen to the port,
" the vefTel will anchor there by day-break."

We

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I53

We immediately bent our courfe thither. As
we were croffing the woods of the Long-Moun-
tain, and already on the road which leads from
Pamplemouffes to the port, I heard the found of
fome one walking behind us. It was a negro hur-
rying on with his utmoft fpeed. As foon as he
had overtaken us, I afked him whence he came,
and whither he was going with fuch expedition :
He replied : "I come from that quarter of the
*' ifland which is called Gold-Duft, and am dif-
*' patched to inform the Governor, that a vefTel
" from France has juft caft anchor under Am-
*' ber Ifland. She is firing guns, in token of di-
" ftrefs, for the fea is very boifterous." The man,
having thus fpoken, immediately haflened for-
wards.

I thenfaid to Paul: ** Let us go toward Gold-
** Duft, to meet Firginia ; it is only three leagues
** from hence." We, accordingly, diieded our
ftcps toward the northern part of the ifland. The
heat was ftifling : the moon had juft arifen ; three
black circles furrounded her. A frightful dark-
nefs overlpread the whole face of Heaven. By the
frequent flalhes of lightning, we difcovered long
ftreamers of thick clouds, gloomy, and lowering
at no great height, piled one above another, to-
ward the middle of the ifland, which ruflied from
the fea with an amazing rapidity, although, on

land.

154 STUDIES OF NATURE.

land, not the leafl breath of wind was ftirrihg,
Haflcning onwards, we thought we heard the
roaring of thunder, but, on liftening more atten-
tively, we difcovered it to be the report of cannon,
reverberated by the echoes. The noile of the dif-
tant firing, joined to the tempeftuous appearance
of the Heavens, made me fhudder. 1 had no
doubt that it was a fignal of diftrefs from fome vef-
fel on the point of foundering. About half an
hour afterwards the firing ceafed, and this lîlence
ilruck me as much more awful than the mournful
founds which had preceded it.

We quickened our pace without faying a word,
or daring to communicate our uneafinefs to each
other. Toward midnight, we arrived, in a violent
heat, on the fea-fliore, at the quarter called Gold-
Duft. The waves dafhed themfelves againft it
with a fearful noife. The foam, of a dazzling
whitenefs, and fparkling like fire, covered the
rocks and fliores. Notwithftanding the darknefs,
we could diflinguifh, by thefe phofphoric lights,
the canoes of the fifhermen, which they had, long
before, drawn a great way up on the flrand.

At fome diftance from thence, at the entrance
of the wood, we defcried a fire, round which feve-
i\\\ of the planters were affembled. We went thither
to reft ourfelves, and to wait for the return of day.

Whilft

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I55

Whilft we fat by the fire, one of the planters told
us, that the preceding afternoon, he had feen a
veffel at fea, borne toward the ifland by the cur-
rents ; that the fhades of night had concealed her
from his view, and that two hours after fun-fet, he
had heard the firing of cannon, as a fignal calling
for affiftance, but that the fea ran fo high, no one
would fend out a boat to her relief: that foon after,
he could perceive their lanterns lighted up, and,
in that cafe, he was afraid, the veffel having come
fo near the fhore, might have paffed between the
main land and the little Ifle of Amber, miftaking
the latter for Mire-Point, near which, the veffels
arriving at Port-Louis are accuflomed to pafs ;
that if it were fo, which, however, he could not
abfolutely affirm, the vefîel mu ft be in the greateft
danger. Another planter then fpoke, and told us,
that he had feveral times pafîed through the chan-
nel which feparates the Ifle of Amber from the
coaft ; that he had founded it, and found that the
mooring and anchoring ground were excellent ;
and, that the veffel was as fafe there as in the moft
fecure harbour. *' I would riik my whole fortune
** in her," added he, *' and could Heep as foundly
" as if I were on dry land." A third planter af-
ferted, that it was impoffiblc for a veffel of that
fize to enter the channel, as even boats could with
difficulty navigate it. He faid, that he had {een.
her anchor beyond the Ifle of Amber, fo that if

the

156 STUDIES OF NATURE.

the breeze fprung up in the morning, (he would
have it in her power, either to put to fea again, or
to gain the harbour. Other planters delivered va^
rious opinions.

Whilft they were difputing among themfelves,
as is very cuftomary with idle Creoles, Paul and I
kept a profound filence. We remained there till
peep of dawn, but, then, there was too little light
in the Heavens, to admit of our diftinguilliing any
objeâ: at fea, which, befides, was covered with a
thick fog ; we could only defcry to windward, a
dufky cloud, which, they told us, was the Ifle of
Amber, fituated at a quarter of a league's diftance
from the coaft. We perceived no objed by this
gloomy light, but the point of land where we
were, and the peaks of fome of the mountains of
the interior of the illand, appearing, from time to
time, in the midft of the clouds which floated
around them.

About feven in the morning, we heard the
found of drums in the woods ; it was the Gover-
nor, M. de la Bourdonaye, who came on horfeback,
attended by a detachment of foldiers, armed with
niuikets, and by a great number of planters and
negroes. He drew up the foldiers on the beach,
and ordered them to fire a volley. Scarcely had
they done fo, when we perceived, on the fea, a

flafli

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I57

ûa(h of light, almoft immediately fucceeded by
the report of a cannon. We concluded that the
veflel was at no great diflance from us, and we all
flew to that quarter where we had feen her fignal.
We then difcerned, through the mift, the hull and
fail-yards of a large veffel. We were fo clofe to
her, that, notwithftanding the roaring of the fea,
we diftindly heard the boatfwain's whiftle, and the
voices of the failors, who gave three cheers of.
Long live the King : for this is the exclama-
tion of Frenchmen, when in extreme danger, as
well as amidft their greateft rejoicings ; as if they
meant to call their Prince to their afliftance, in
perilous feafons, or, as if they intended, even
then, to declare, that they were ready to meet death
for his fake.

From the moment that the Saint-Gerand per-
ceived we were within reach of giving her affill-
ance, fhe went on firing a gun every three minutes.
M. de la Bourdonaye ordered large fires to be kind-
led, here and there, along the flrand, and fent to
all the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, in quefl
of provifions, planks, cables, and empty cafks. A
multitude foon arrived, accompanied by their ne-
groes, loaded with provifions and cordage, who
came from the plantations of Gold-Dufl, the
quarter of the Marfli, and from Rampart River,
One of the oldefl of thefe planters approached the

Governor^

158 iSTUDIES OF NATURE.

Governof, and thus addrefled him ; " Sir, deep
" founds have, all night long, been heard in the
" mountain. In the woods, the leaves are vio-
" lently agitated, though there is not a breath of
*' wind flirring. The fea-birds are flocking, in
" crowds, to take refuge on the land ; furely, all
" thefe figns announce the approach of a hurri-
" cane." " Well, my friend," replied the Go-
vernor, " we are well prepared for it, and, furely,
" the velTcl is fo likewife."

In truth, the whole appearance of Nature pre-
faged an approaching tempeft. The clouds which
were diflinguifhable in the zenith, were, at their
centre, awfully black, and their edges of a copper
colour. The air refounded with the fcreams of
the paillencu, the frigat, the water-cutter, and a
multitude of other fowls, which, notwithftanding
the gloom of the atmofphere, flocked from all
points' of the horizon, to feek a flielter in the
ifland.

Toward nine o'clock in the morning, fearful
noifes were heard from the Sea, as if torrents of
water, mingled with the roaring thunder, were
rufhing from the mountain-tops. The whole com-
pany exclaimed : *' There's the hurricane 1" and,
at the fame moment, an awful whirlwind carried
off the fog, which overfpread the Ifle of Amber,

and

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I 59

and it's channel. The Saint-Gerand was then
plainly defcried, her deck crowded with people,
her yards and round -tops lowered, her flag hoifted,
four cables on her fore-caftle, and one to keep her
fafl a-ftern. She had anchored between the Ifle of
Amber and the main land, within the fhelvy en-
clofure, which furrounds the Ifle of France, and
which fhe had weathered through a channel that
no veflTel had ever pafTed before. She prefented
her bows to the billows, which rolled on from the
main Ocean ; and at every furge which forced it's
way into the channel, her prow was elevated to
fuch a height, that her keel was perceptible in the
airj but, by this motion, her ftern, plunging
downward, difappeared from view, to it's very
carved work, as if it had been entirely fwallowed
up. In this firuation, in which the winds and the
waves were driving her toward the fliore, it was
equally impoffible to return through the track by
which Ihe had entered, or, by cutting her cables,
to run a-ground upon the flaore, from which fhe
was feparated by a deep bottom, fown thick with
fhelving rocks. Every billow which broke againft
the coaft, ruflied on, roaring, to the very bottom
of the bay, and tolled the pebbles more than fifty
feet up the (hore ; then, retiring backwards, dif-
covered a great part of it's bed, the ftones of which
were dalhed backward and forward, with a rough:
and horrible noile. The fea,,fvvelled by the winds,;-

increafed

ï60 STUDIES OF NATURE-

increafed every moment, and the whole channel
between this illand and the Ifle of Amber, ap-
peared to be an immenfe (heet of white foam, hol-
lowed into deep and dufky waves. This foam
collected itfelf at the bottom of the creeks, to the
height of more than fix feet, and the winds, which
bruflied along it's furface, carried it beyond the
fteep cliffs of the fliore, more than half a league
into the illand. At fight of thefe innumerable
white flakes, which were driven, in a horizontal
diredion, to the very foot of the mountains, you
would have thought that hills of fnow were ruih-
ing from the Sea. The horizon prefented every
fymptom of a lengthened tempeft : the Heavens
and the Sea feemed to be confounded in it with
each other. There were inceffantly detached from
it, clouds of a fearful appearance, which flew
along the zenith, with the velocity of birds j whilft
others appeared in it immoveable, like enormous
rocks. Not a fingle fpot of azure was perceptible
in the whole firmament j a pale and olive-coloured
glare was all that illuminated the objeéts on the
Earth, on the Sea, and in the Heavens.

By the violent flraining of the veflel, what we
feared, at length took place. The cables on her
bows fnapped ; and as fhe then rode by a fingle
halfer, (he was dallied upon the rocks, half a
cable's length from the Ihore. One fcream of

grief

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. l6l

grief burft from every breafl. Paul was hadening
to throw himfelf into the fea, when I feized him
by the arm. *' My fon," faid I to him, " are you
** determined to deftroy yourfelf ?" " Oh, let me
*' go to her afliftance," cried he, " or let me die !"
As defpair had overpowered his reafon, Domingo
and I, in order to prevent his deftrudlion, tied
round his middle a long cord, one of the extre-
mities of which we held fall. Paul then advanced
toward the Saint-Gerand, fometimes fwimming,
fometimes walking on the fliallows. Sometimes,
he had the hope of getting on board, for the fea,
in thefe irregular movements, left the vefTel nearly
dry, fo that you might almofh walk round and
round her : but prefently, returning with reno-
vated fury, it covered her with enormous arches
of water, which carried away the whole fore-part
of her bottom, and daOied the unhappy Paul a
great way upon the fhore, his legs bleeding, his
cheft bruifed, and half-drowned. Scarcely had
this young man recovered the ufe of his fenfes,
than he got up again, and returned, with redoubled
ardor, toward the fliip, which the fea, meanwhile,
had torn afunder with unremitting attacks. Upon
this, the whole crew, defpairing of fafety, threw
themfelves, in crowds, into the fea; fome on
mafts, on planks, on hen-coops, on tables, and on
caiks. Then, appeared an objed worthy of eternal
regret ; a young lady was feen on the ftern-gal-
VOL. V. M lery

102 STUDIES OF NATURE.

ler)^ of the Saint-Gerand, flretching out her arms
toward him, who was making fo many fruitlefs ef-
forts to join her. It was Virginia. She foon dif-
covered her lover by his intrepidity. At fight of
this amiable girl, expofed to perils fo dreadful, we
were overwhelmed with forrow and defpair. As
for Firginia, with a noble and dignified air, flie
waved her hand to us, as if to bid us an eternal
farewel. The failors had all thrown themfelves
into the Ocean. One alone remained on the deck,
who was entirely naked, and ftrong as a Herades.
He approached Virginia refpeclfuUy ; we faw him
throw himfelf at her knees, and even endeavour to
perfiiade her to pull off her clothes ; but Ihe, re-
pelling him, with dignity, turned her face the
other way. The air refounded with thefe redoubled
cries of the fpeclators : *' Save her, oh, fave her;
*' do not, do not quit her." But, at the fame mo-
ment, a mountain of water, of an enormous fize,
engulphed itfelf between the lile of Amber and the
coaft, and advanced, roaring, toward the veffel,
which it menaced with it's dufky fides and foam-
ing fummits. At this awful fpeftacle, the failor
flung himfelf alone into the fea, and Virginia, per-
ceiving death inevitable, placed one hand on her
clothes, and the other on her heart ; then raifing
her placid eyes tovvard Heaven, (lie fcemed an an-
gel, going to take flight toward the celefiial re-
gions.

Oh,

PAUL AND VIRGINIA, 163

Oh, day of horror ! Alas ! all was fwallowed up.
The furge dathed far up the fliore, a part of the
fpeâ:ators, whom an emotion of humanity had
prompted to advance toward Firginia, as well as
the failor, who had attempted to preferve her by
fwimming. This man, efcaped from almoft cer-
tain death, kneeled down upon the ftrand, faying :
** Oh, my God, thou haft preferved my life ; but
** I would have facrificed it, willingly, to fave that
" of the excellent young lady, who, with all my
" perfuafion, would not be prevailed on to undrefs
" herfelf, as I did." Domingo and 1 drew out from
the waves the unfortunate Pauij entirely deprived
of recollecflion, whilft the blood gufhed from his
mouth and ears. The Governor put him under
the care of furgeons, while we traverfcd the fea-
fhore, to fee whether the billows had not borne
the body oï Virginia thither; but the wind having
fuddenly changed, as is very cuftomary in the cafe
of hurricanes, we had the mortification of refleâ:-
ing, that we {hould not have it in our power to
render to this unfortunate girl even the rites of fe-
pulture. We haftened from the fpot, overwhelmed
with forrow, our minds entirely engrofled with the
lofs of only one perfon, in a (hipwreck where fb
many had periflied ; the greater part doubting,
from an end fo difaftrous, befalling a young wo-
man of fuch exalted virtue, whether a Providence
exifted at all j for there are calamities, fo dreadful,

M z and

164 STUDIES OF NATURE.

and fo unmerited, that the confidence, even of
the wifeft, is frequently daggered.

Meanwhile, they had placed Paid, who now be-
gan to recover the ufe of his fenfes, in an adjoining
houfe, till his fituation permitted him to be car-
ried to his own home. As for me, 1 was returning
with Domingo, in order to prepare Virginians mo-
ther, and her friend, for this calamitous event,
when, on our arrival at the entrance of the valley
of the river of the Lataniers, fome negroes inform-
ed us, that the fea was driving a great deal of the
wreck of the veffel up the oppofire bay. We de-
fcended thither, and one of the firft objefls which
we defcried upon the fhore, was the body of Vir-
ginia. It vvas half covered with fand, and in the
very attitude in which we had feen her perifh.
There was no fenfible alteration in her features.
Her eyes were clofed, but ferenity ftill fat upon
her forehead ; only, the pale violet of death blend-
ed itfelf upon her cheeks, with the rofes of mo-
defty. One of her hands lay upon her clothes ;
the other, which clung to her heart, was firmly
clofed and ftiff. I difengaged from it, with much
difficulty, a little cafket ; but how was I aftoniOied,
when I perceived in it, the portrait which Paul
had given her, and which fhe had promifed him
never to pait with while (he lived. At this laft
tokeo of the conllancy, and the love of this un-
happy

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 165

happy girl, I wept bitterly. As for Domingo ,
beating his breaft, he pierced the air with his
mournful cries. We, then, carried the body to a
fifherman's hut, where we gave it in charge to fome
poor Malabar women, who walhed it carefully.

Whilft they were performing this fad office, we
afcended, trembling, toward the plantation. We
there found Madame de la Tour and Margaret at
prayer, in expeftation of news concerning the vef-
fel. As foon as the former perceived me, (he ex-
claimed : " Where is my daughter ? my beloved
" Firginia ? my child ?" As my filence, and my
tears, but too well informed her of the calamity
which had happened, (he wasfuddenly feized with
a fuflfocation, and agonizing fpafms ; her voice
could be diftinguifhed only in fighs and fobbing.
Margaret exclaimed : " Where is my fon ? I do
" not fee my fon i" and fainted away. We haf-
tened to her, and having brought her to herfelf, I
alTured her that Paul was alive, and that the Go-
vernor had taken proper care of him. She reco-
vered the ufe of her fenfes, oply to d.evpte her at-
tention to the affiflance of her friend» who, from
time to time, fell into long fainting firs. Madame
de la Tour pafTed the night in thefe cruel paroxyfms,
and, by the length of their duration, I have judged
that nothing equals the forrow of a mother. When
flie recovered her re^fon, (he fixed her mournful

M 3 eyes

l66 STUDIES OF NATURE.

eyes lledfaflly toward Heaven. In vain did Mar-
garet and I prefs her hands between ours, in vain
did we addrefs her by the moft tender appella-
tions ; to all thefe teftimonies of our ancient af-
fedlion, fhe appeared totally infenfible, and no-
thing but deep groans proceeded from her op-
preffed bofom.

The next morning, they brought Paul, flretch-
ed along in a palanquin. Reafon had refunied it's
empire, but his voice was entirely loft. His inter-
view with his mother and Madame de la Tour,
which, at firft, I had been apprehenfive of, pro-
duced a better efFed than all the care which I had
hitherto taken. A ray of comfort beamed on the
countenances of thefe two unhappy mothers. They
both approached him, clafped him in their arms,
kiffed him ; and thofe tears which had been, till
then, reftrained, through excefs of forrow, now
began to flow. Paul foon mingled his with theirs.
Nature, being thus difburdened in thefe three un-
happy beings, a languid oppreflion fucceeded to
the convulfions of their grief, and procured for
them a lethargic repofe, which bore, in truth, a
ftrong refemblance to death.

Meanwhile, M. de la Bourdomye Cent a melTenger
to me privately, informing me, that the body of
Virginia had, by his order, been conveyed to the

city.

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 167

city, and that from thence, he meant to have it
carried to the church of Pamplemouffes. I immedi-
ately went down to Port-Louis, where I found the
inhabitants affembled from all parts, to affift at her
funeral, as if the illand had loft, in her, the moft
precious treafure which it contained. Tn the port,
the fhips had their fail-yards laid acrofs, their flags
half hoifted up, and they were firing minute guns.
The grenadier company opened the funeral pro-
ceffion. They carried their arms inverted. Their
drums, covered with long pieces of crape, emitted
only founds of woe : grief fat ftrongly depidled on
the countenances of thofe warriors, who had, a
thoufand times, braved death in the field, with
undaunted courage. Eight young ladies, of the
moft confiderable rank in the ifland, clothed in
white, and holding palm-boughs in their hands,
bore the body of their virtuous companion, ftrewed
over with flowers. A choir of little children fol-
lowed it, chanting hymns : then, after them, the
officers of higher rank, and the principal inhabi-
tants of the ifland, and, laft of all, the Governor
himfelf, followed by a crowd of the common
people.

Thus far had Government interpofed, in order-
ing that fome honours might be rendered to the
virtues of Virginia. But when the body had ar-
rived at the foot of this mountain, at the fight of

M 4 thofe

l68 STUDIES OF NATURE.

thofe very huts, the happinefs of which flie had fo
lono; conftituted. and which her death had filled
with forrow, the whole funeral ceremony was de-
ranged ; the hymns and the chanting ceafed ; no-
thing was now to be heard in the plain, but fighs
and fobs. Crowds of young girls, belonging to
the neighbouring plantations, haftened to fpread
over the coffin of Virginia^ handkerchiefs, chap-
lets, and wreaths of flowers, invoking her as if
flie had been a faint. Mothers prayed Heaven
to beftow on them daughters like her ; the young
men, miflrefles as confiant -, the poor, a friend as
afFedionate, and the Haves, a miftrefs as kind.

When they had arrived at the place deftined for
her interment, the negreflfes of Madagafcar, and
the Cafres of Mofambique, placed baikets of fruit
around her body, and fufpended pieces of fluff on
the neighbouring trees, according to the cuflom
of their country. The Indians of Bengal, and thofe
of the coafl of Malabar, brought cages of birds,
which they fet at liberty over her corpfe ; to fuch
a degree does the lofs of a beloved objed interefl
all Nations, and fuch a power does unfortunate
virtue poffefs, feeing it attrads and unites all reli-
gions around it's tomb.

It was necefiliry to place a guard near her gravo,
in order to keep back fome of the daughters of the

poor

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 169

poor inhabitants, who were rulhing to throw them-
felves into it, declaring, that, in this World, their
forrow would admit of no confolation, and that
nothing now remained for them, but to die with
her, who had been their only benefaftrefs. She
was interred near the church of PamplemoufTes,
on it's weftern fide, at the foot of a tuft of bam-
boos, where, in going to mafs, with her mother
and Margaret, Ihe delighted to repofe, feated by
the fide of him, whom (he then ufed to call bro-
ther.

On returning from the funeral ceremony, M.
de la Bourdonaye afcended this mountain, followed
by a part of his numerous retinue. He tendered
to Madame de la Tour, and her friend, all the af-
liflance which lay in his power. He expreffed him-
felf m few words, but with great indignation,
againft her unnatural relation : approaching Paul,
he faid every thing which he thought could have a
tendency to confole him. " I was anxious to con-
** tribute to your happinefs, and that of your fa-
" mily," laid he ; *' Heaven is the witnefs of my
** fmcerity. My friend, you muft go to France ;
" I will procure you employment there. During
** your abfence, I will take as much care of your
** mother as if flie were my own." At the fame
time, he held out his hand to him j but Paul drew

back

lyo STUDIES OF NATURE,

back his, and turned his head alide, that he might
not fee him.

As for myfelf, I remained in the dwelling of
my unfortunate friends, to adminifter to them,
as well as to Paul, all the affiftance I could. At
the end of three weeks, the latter was able to
walk ; but mental depreffion feemed to increafe,
in proportion as his body grew ft ronger. He was
infenfible to every thing; his looks were languid,
and he did not anfwer a fyllable to all the quef-
tions which were put to him. Madame de la 'Tour,
who was in a dying condition, frequently faid to
him ; " My fon, fo long as I fee you, I think I
** behold my dear Virginia^ At the name of
Virginia, he ftarted up, and haftened from her, in
fpite of the entreaties of his mother, who called
him back to her friend. He wandered alone to
the garden, and feated himfclf at the foot of Vir-
ginia •=> cocoa-tree, with his eyes ftedfaftly fixed on
her fountain. The Governor's furgeon, who had
taken the greateft care of him, and of the ladies,
told us, that, in order to remove the gloomy me-
lancholy which had fettled on his mind, we ought
to allow him to do every thing that he pleafed,
without contradiding him in any refpeâ: ; for this
was the only means of vanquilhing that filence
which he fo obftinately preferved.

I refolved

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I7I

I refolved to follow his advice. As foon as Paul
felt his ftrength, in fome degree, reftored, the firft
ufe which he made of it, was to retire from the
plantation. As 1 did not wifh to lofe fight of him,
I walked behind, and defired Domingo to bring
fome provifions, and to accompany us. In propor-
tion as the young man defcended from this moun-
tain, his joy and his ftrength feemed to revive.
He, at firft, bent his courfe toward Pamplemoufles,
and when he had arrived at the church, in the
bamboo-alley, he went diredly to the fpot where
he faw the earth had been newly dug up : there,
he kneeled down, and raifing his eyes to Heaven,
he offered up a long prayer. This adtion appeared
to me a happy prefage of returning reafon, as this
mark of confidence in the Supreme Being, was a
proof that his foul began to refume it's natural
fundlions. Domingo and 1 fell down on our knees
after his example, and prayed with him. At
length, he arofe, and walked to the northern part
of the ifland, without paying much attention tous.
As I knew that he was entirely ignorant, not only
where the body of Virginia was depofited, but alfo,
whether or not it had been faved from the Sea, I
afked him, why he had been praying to God at
the foot of the bamboos ; he replied : " We have
*' been there together fo often !"

He

172 STCDIES OF NATURE.

He continued his journey to the entrance of the
foreft, where night overtook us. There, I per-
fuaded him, by my example, to take fome nou-
ridiment ; we then repofed ourfelves upon the
grafsj at the foot of a tree. The next day, I was
in expedation, that he would dired his fteps
homewards again. In truth, he fixed his eyes, for
fome time, from the plain, on the church of Pam-
plemoufles, with it'ç long rows of bamboos, and
made fome movements to return thither ; but he
fuddenly buried himfelf in the foreft, always di-
reeling his courfe toward the North. I penetrated
his intention, and in vain endeavoured to diffuade
him from it. We arrived, about mid-day, at the
quarter of Gold-Duft. He haftily defcended to
the fea-fhore, exaftly oppofite to the place where
the Saint-Gerand had periftied. At fight of the
Ifle of Amber, and it's channel, then as fmooth as
a mirror, he exclaimed : " Virginia ! oh, my
" beloved Virginia !'* and then fell down in a
fwoon. Domingo and I carried him to the in-
terior of the foreft, where we brought him to
himfelf, with much difficulty. When he had re-
covered his fenfes, he was preparing to return to
the fea-(hore ; but, having entreated him not to
renew his own grief and ours, by fuch cruel recol-
lerions, he took another road. In fhort, for eight
days together, he rambled to all thofe places which

he

PAUL AND VIRGINIA.

173

he was accuftomed to frequent, with the compa-
nion of his infancy. He wandered along the path,
through which (he had gone, to afk pardon for
the Have of the Black River : he then vifited the
borders of the river of the Three Paps, where (he
had fat down, when unable to walk any farther,
and that part of the wood, in which (he had been
loft. Every place that recalled to his mind, the
inquietudes, the fports, the repafts, and the bene-
ficence of his much-loved Firginia-, the river of
the Long-Mountain, my little habitation, the
neighbouring cafcade, the papaya which (lie had
planted, the moflTy ground where (he delighted to
run, and the crofs-paths of the foreft where (lie
loved to (ing, each, by turns, caufed his tears to
flow : the very echoes which had, fo often, re-
peated the founds of their mutual joy, now re-
founded with nothing but thefe mournful cries ;
** Firginia! Oh, my beloved Firginia T

In this wild and wandering way of life, his eyes
grew hollow, his colour faded, and his health, gra-
dually, but perceptibly, declined. Being firmly
perfuaded that the fentimcnt of our misfortunes is
redoubled by the remembrance of the pleafures
which we once enjoyed, and that folitude only
gives an edge to the pafîions, I refolved to remove
my unfortunate friend from the places which ex-
cited the recoUedion of his lofs, and to convey

him

174 STUDIES OF NATURE.

him to fome part of the iiland, where there were
objefls to diflipate his melancholy. For this pur-
pofe, I condufted him to the inhabited heights of
the quarter of Williams, where he had never been
before. Agriculture and commerce then fpread
much buflle and variety over this ifland. There
were many companies of carpenters, who fquaied
the trees into logs, and others who were fawing
them into planks : carriages came and went along
the roads : large flocks of oxen and horfes fed in
the extenlive paftures, and the fields were filled
with habitations. The elevation of the foil, in fe-
veral places, admitted of the cultivation of many
kinds of European vegetables. You might fee,
here and there, harvefts of corn in the plain, beds
of ftrawberries in the openings of the woods, and
hedges of rofe-trees along the highway. The cool-
nefs of the air, by giving tenfion to the nerves,
was even favourable to the health of the whites.
From thefe heights, fituated in the middle of the
ifland, and furrounded with thick woods, you can
difcover neither the Sea, nor Port-Louis, nor the
church of PamplemoufTes, nor any thing which
could recal to Paulas mind the remembrance of
Virginia. The very mountains, which prefent dif-
ferent branches on the fide of Port- Louis, offer
nothing to view on the fide of Williams-Plain, but
a long promontory, in a ftraight and perpendicular
line, out of which many lofty pyramids of rocks

elevate

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 1 75

elevate themfelves, and colle6t the clouds around
their peaks.

It was to thefe plains, accordingly, that I con-
duced Paul. I kept him continually in adion,
walking with him, in fun-fhine, and in rain, by
day and by night, leading him into the woods, and
over the frefh ploughed ground, and the fields, in
order to amufe his mind by the fatigue of his
body ; and to deceive his reflecflions by ignorance
of the place where we were, and of the road which
we had left. But the mind of a lover finds, every
where, traces of the beloved objeft. The night
and the day, the calm of folitude and the noife
of habitation, nay, time itfelf, which erafes fo
many recollerions, brought no relief to his mind.
Like the needle, touched by the magnet, which is
to no purpofe agitated, for as foon as it recovers
a flate of reft, it points to the Pole which attradls
it : fo when I alked Pan!, as we wandered about,
in William's-Plain, " Whither fnall we go now ?"
he turned toward the North, and faid : " Thefe
*' are our mountains, let us return thither."

I clearly perceived, that all the methods, by
which 1 had endeavoured to divert his mind, were
ineffecflual, and that the only refource now left,
was to attack the paffion in itfelf, by employing,
to this purpofe, the whole flrength of my feeble

reafon.

176 STUDIES OF NATURE.

reafon. I, accordingly, replied : '* Yes, thefe are
** the mountains, where your beloved Firginia once
" lived, and there is the portrait which you gave
" her, and which, in death, jfhe preffed to her
*' heart, the laft emotions of which were devoted
** to thee." I then prefented to Paul the little
portrait which he had given Firginia, on the banks
of the fountain of the cocoa-trees. At fight of
this, a gloomy joy overfpread his countenance.
He eagerly feized the portrait with his feeble
hands, and preffed it to his Hps. Immediately,
his breaft became oppreffed, and to his blood-Qiot
eyes the tears ftarted, but were unable to flow.

I faid to him : " My fon, attend to the words
*' of one who is your friend, who was fo to Firginia,
*' and who, in the ardor of your expedations, has
" frequently endeavoured to fortify your reafon
" againft the unforefeen calamities of human life.
" What is it you deplore with fo much bitternefs
" of foul ? Is it the misfortune which has befallen
" yourfelf ? Is it that which has befallen Firginia^"

" The misfortune which has befallen yourfelf?
" Yes, I grant you it has been very fevere. You
" have loft the mod amiable of young women,
*' who would have made the mod virtuous of
" wives. She had facrificed her own interefts to
" your's, and preferred you to fortune, as the only

" recompenfc

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 1/7

^^ recompenfe worthy of her virtue. But how do
^^ you know^ whether the objed:, from whom you
'* expeded happinefs fo pure, might not have
'' proved to you the fource of forrows innume-
" rable ? She was dowerlefs, and difmherited. You
** would have had nothing, in future, to (hare with
*' her, but what the labour of your hands pro-
" duced. Rendered more delicate by her educa-
" tion, and more courageous by her very misfor-
*' tunes, you would have feen her daily finking
*' under the weight of the fatigues which (lie ex-
*' erted herfelf to divide with you. In the event of
" bringing you children, her troubles and your
" own would have been greatly increafed by the
" difficulty of fupporting alone, with you, your
" aged parents, and a growing family.

'* You may tell mej the Governor would have
'^ affiiled us : but how do you know, whether, in
*' a colony which fo often changes it's rulers, you
*' would have always found fuch men as M. de la
'' Bonrdonaye ? Whether fome Governor might not
" have been fent hither, unpolilhcd and unprin-
*' cipled ? Or, whether your wife, in order to ob-
." tain fonie miterable pittance, would not have
" been obliged to cringe to fuch a man ? Either
'' (lie would have become frail, and you would
*' have been an objeâ: of pity, or (lie would have
*' maintained her honour, and you mud have re-

voL. V. N '' mained

1/5 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" mained under the preffure of poverty : liappy,
*' if, on account of her beauty and virtue, you had
•* not been pcrfecuted by thofe very perfons from
*' whom you folicited proteftion.

" You may fay, I might have enjoyed happinefs

*' independeiit of fortune, by protecting the be-

*' loved objed:, who was attached to me, in pro-

" portion to her very weaknefs j by confoling her

*' with my own inquietudes, by making her re-

" joice even in my dejeâ:ion, and thus caufing our

" love ta increafe by our mutual forrows. Doubt-

" lefs, virtue and love do delight in thefe bitter

*' pleafures. But the is now no more; there ftill

" remains to you, however, what, next to your-

** felf, file loved moft, namely, her own mother

" and your's, whom, by your inconfolable afflic-

" tion, you are bringing down to the grave. Make

" it your happinels to fuccour them, as it was

** her's. My fon, beneficence is the happinefs of

** virtue ; there is none greater, or more certain,

** on the Earth. Projets of'pleafures, of repofe,

** of enjoyments, of abundance, and of glory, are

" not made for feeble Man, who is only a traveller,

*' and a paflenger, through this World. Behold,

** how a fmgle flep toward fortune, has prccipi-

** tated us from one abyfs into another ! You op-

** pofed it, it is true ; but who of us did not

** believe, that the voyage of Virginia would

** terminate

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I79

" terminate in her own happinefs, and in your's.
" The invitations of a rich and old relation ; the
" advice of a fenfible Governor ; the approbation
" of a whole colony ; the exhortations and the au-
" thority of an ecclefiaftic, have all concurred in
** deciding the fate of Firginia. Thus, we rufh on
" to our own deftruétion, deceived by the very
*' prudence of thofe who govern us. It would,
** doubtlefs, have been better not to believe them,
*' nor to truft to the opinions and the expeftations
** of a deceitful World. But, after all, of fo many
" men, whom we fee thus bufily employed in thefe
" plains ; of fo many others, who go, in quefb of
** fortune, to the Indies, or who, without leaving
" their own homes, enjoy at their eafe, in Europe,
** the fruit of the labours of the people here, there
*' is not fo much as one, who is not deftined to
** lofe, fome day, that which he holds mod dear ;
*' greatnefs, fortune, wife, children, friends. The
** mod of them have fuperadded to their lofs, the
** reflection of their own imprudence. But as for
** you, when you retire within yourfelf, you find
** nothing to reproach yourfelf with. You have
" maintained unfliaken fidelity ; in the flower of
** youth, you have poffefled the prudence of a
** fage, in not departing from the fentiment of
*■* Nature. Your views, alone, were perfedly le-
** gitimate, becaufe they were pure, fimole, and
" difinterefted, and becaufe you had facred rights

N 2 " over

I So STUDIES OF NATURE.

** over Firginiuy which no fortune could compen-
" fate. You have loft her, and it is neither your
*' imprudence, nor your avarice, nor your falfe
'^ vvifdom, which occafioned that lofs, but God
** himfelf, who has employed thepaffions of another,
" to deprive you of the objeâ: of your love; God,
" from whom you receive every thing, who fees
" what is proper for you, and whofe wifdom has
" not left you any place for that repentance, and
*' defpair, which ever follow in the train of thofe
*' evils, that \vc have brought upon ourfelves.

** This is what you can fiy to yourfelf, under

* the preflure of your affliftion : I have not me-
^ rited it. Is it, then, the misfortunes of Firginiay
' her end, her prefent condition, that you de-
•^ plore ? She has fubmitted to the decifion re-
' ferved for birih, for beauty, and even for em-
' pires themfelves. The life of Pvlan, with all it's
' projeéts, rears itfelf like a little tower, to which

* death applies the finiOiing ftroke. The mo^
' ment fhe was born, flie was condemned to die.

* Happy, in having refigned her life before her

* mother, before your's, and before youj-felf ;

* that is, in not having fuffered many deaths be-
' fore the final one.

'* Death, my fon, is a bleffing to all Mankind.
*^ It is the evening of that reftlefs day which we

" call

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. lôl

*' call life. It is in the fleep of death, that the
" difeafes, the griefs, the vexations, and the fears,
*' which inceflantly agitate unhappy mortals, re-
" pofe for ever. Examine ihofe men who appear
" the moft happy, and you will find that they have
*' purchafed their pretended enjoyments very
"dearly; public refpeclability, by domeftic di-
*' ftreffes ; fortune, by the lofs of health; the
*' rare pleafure of being beloved, by continual fa-
*' crifices; and, often, at the clofe of a life de-
'* voted to the interefts of another, they fee no-
" thing around them but falfe friends, and un-
*' grateful relations. But Virginia was happy to
'* the laft moment of her's. She was fo, whilft'
*^ among us, by thofe bleffings which Nature be-
" flows ; at a diftance from us, by thofe of vir-
"^tue: even in that dreadful moment when we
" faw her perifh, (lie was ftill happy ; for, whe-
" ther (lie caft her eyes on a colony, in which Ihe
" was going to caufe univerfal defolation, er upon
" you, who rufhed, with fuch intrepidity, to her
*' affiftance, fhe clearly perceived how dear fhe
" was to us all. She was prepared to meet the
'^ future, by refleding on the innocence of her
" paft life, and (lie then received the reward,
" which Heaven referves for virtue, a courage fu-
" perior to danger. She encountered death with
" a ferene countenance.

N 3 " My

l82 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" My Ton, the Almighty has decreed to virtue,
** the power of fupporting all the events of hu-
*' man life, in order to let us fee that it alone can
" make the proper ufe of them, and find in them
** felicity and glory. When He referves for it an
*' illuftrious reputation, he elevates it on a great
" theatre, and fets it a-confli6ling with death: then,
*' it's courage ferves as an example, and the re-
*' membrance of it's misfortunes receives a tribute
*' of tears from pofterity, for ever. This is the
*' immortal monument referved for it, upon a
** globe where every thing pafles away, and where
** even the memory of the generality of Kings is
" fpeedily buried in everlafting oblivion.]

•' But Virginia exifts ftill. Obferve, my fon,
** how every thing on the Earth changes, and that
** nothing is loft ; no human {kill can annihilate
** the fmalleft particle of matter ; and could that
** which was rational, fenfible, fufceptible of love,
** virtuous, religious, have periOied, when the ele-
** menis with which it was invefted, are not liable
" to deftruclion : Ah \ if Firginia enjoyed happi-
" nefs once in our fociety, how much more does
*' fhe enjoy now 1 There is a God, my fon ; all
" Nature announces it ; there is no occafion to
" prove it to you. Nothing but the wickednefs
" of men could make them deny a juftice which
** they contemplate with terror. A fentiment of

" Him

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 183

" Him is in your heart, in like manner as his
" works are before your eyes. Can you believe,
" then, that He will leave Firginia without a re-
" compenfe ? Can you believe, that the fame
" Power, which clothed a foul fo noble, in a form
" fo beautiful, in which fuch divine fkill was clearly
*' perceptible, was not able to have faved her from
*' the waves ? that He, who has arranged the ac-
*' tual happinefs of Man, by laws of which you
** are entirely ignorant, could not prepare another
" for Firginia, by laws equally unknown to you ?
*' Before we were created, if we had pofleffed the
*' faculty of thinking, could we have formed any
** idea of our future being? And now that we are
" in this dark and fugitive exiftence, can we fore-
" fee what is beyond death, by which we mud
*' make our tranfition from it ? Has the Al-
*' mighty occafion, like man, for this Httle globe
" of Earth, to ferve as the theatre of his wifdom
*' and goodnefs, and is he capable of propagating
" human life only in the plains of death ? There
" is not a fingle drop of water in the Ocean, but
" what is filled with living creatures, which have
" all a reference to us ; and does nothing exift
** for us, among all thofe ftars which revolve over
** our heads ! What, is there no fupreme Intelli-
'* gence, and divine Goodnefs, in any fpot but
** precifely that where we are ; and in thofe ra-
" diant and innumerable globes, in thofe vaft

N 4 . ** plains

104 STUDIES OF NATURE,

*' plains of light which furround them, and which
" are never obfciired by dark nefs or tempeft, do
*' you believe there is nothing but emptv fpace,
*^ and an eternal non-exiftence ! If we, who could
" give nothing to ourfelves, durft fet bounds to
** that Power, from which we have received every
'' thing, we might believe ourfelves to beftationed
*•' here upon the limits of his empire, where life is
*' ever flruggling with death, and innocence with
" tyranny.

" Without doubt, there is fomewhere a place in
** which virtue receives it's reward. Firginia now
** is happy. Ah ! if, from the abode of angels,
" Ihe could communicate to you her thoughts,
** fhe would fay, as (lie did in her laft farewel :
" Oh, Paul, life is only a ftate of probation. I
*'. have been found faithful to the laws of Nature,
*' of love, and of virtue. I crofled the feas in
" obedience to my relations ^ I renounced riches
" to preferve my fidelity ; and 1 have preferred
'* death to the violation of modefty. Heaven has
" decreed, that the career of my earthly exiftence
*• has been fufficiently filled up. 1 have, for ever,
*' made my efcape from poverty, from calumny,
" from tcmpefts, and from the painful fpeftacle
*' of the woes of others. None of thofe ills which
*' terrify Mankind, can ever, in future, affect me;
" and yet you ftill pity me ! I am pure, and un-

" fufceptible

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 185

** fufceptible of change, as a particle of light ; and
*' you vvilh to recal me to the gloomy night of
«Mife! Oh, Paul/ Oh, my friend ! Call to mind
*' thofe days of happinefs, when, in the morning,
" we enjoyed the beauty of the, Heavens, rifing
*^ with the Sun, on the peaks of thefe rocks, and
*' dilfufing itfelf, with it's radiations, over the bo-
*' fom of our forefts. We experienced a felicity,
*' the caufe of which we were unable to compre-
" hend. In our innocent defires, we wiflied to be
** all eye, in order to enjoy the rich colours of
" Aurora ; all fmell, to inhale the perfume of our
** flowers ; all ear, to liften to the warbling of our
** birds ; all gratitude to acknowledge thefe blef-
" lings. Now, at the fource of beauty, whence
" flows all that is delightful on the Earth, my foul
" immediately taftes, hears, touches, what it could
" then perceive only through feeble organs. Ah!
" what language is capable of defcribing thefe re-
*' gions of an eternal morning, which I inhabit for
** ever. Every thing that Omnipotence, and ce-
*' leftial Goodnefs, could create, in order to admi-
*' nifter confolation to an unforfjnate being; all
^' the harmony, which the friend(hip of an in-
*' finite number of beings, partaking of the fame
" felicity, mingles in our common tranfports, I
** now experience without alloy. Support thyfelf,
'^ then, in thy flate of probation, that thou mayeft

*' increafe

It6 STUDIES OF NATURE.

•* increafe the happinefs of thy Virginia^ by a love
** which knows no bounds, and by a marriage, the
** torches of which can never be extinguifhed.
** There, I will calm thy forrows ; there, I will
** wipe away thy tears. Oh, my friend ! my young
*' hufband ! elevate thy foul toward infinity, in
*' order to fupport the miferies of a moment.'*

My own emotion entirely ftifled my voice. As
for Pauly regarding me ftedfaftly, he exclaimed :
*' She is no more 1 (he is no morel" A long, lan-
guid oppreffion fucceeded thefe mournful words ;
then, returning to himfelf, he faid : *^ Since death
*' is a bleffing, and Virginia is happy, I will die
** alfo, that I may again be united to her." Thus
the confolation which I endeavoured to adminifher,
only ferved to aggravate his defpair. I was like a
perfon, who wifhcs to fave his friend, when finking
to the bottom of a river, without his making any
effort to fwim. Sorrow had entirely overwhelmed
him. Alas 1 the misfortunes of our early age pre-
pare Man for entering into life, and Paul had never
experienced them.

I conducled him back to his habitation, and I
there found his mother, and Madame ds la Tour,
in a languid ftate, which had greatly increafed fince
I left them. Margaret was the moft broken down.

Lively

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 187

Lively charadlers, over whom flight troubles Aide
eafily away, are the ieaft able to withftand heavy
calamities.

She faid to me : ** Oh, my kind neighbour! I
** dreamt to-night, that I faw Firginiay clothed in
** white, in themidft of bowers and delicious gar-
** dens. She faid to me : I enjoy a felicity greatly
*' to be envied. Then, fhe approached Pau/y
** with a joyful air, and carried him away with her.
** As I was endeavouring to retain my fon, I felt
** as if 1 was quitting the Earth myfelf, and that I
" followed him withapleafureinexpreffible. Upon
** that, 1 wilhed to bid farewel to my friend, but I
** perceived her coming after us, accompanied by
" Mary and Domingo. But what is ftill more fin-
** gular, Madame de la Tour has had, this very
** night, a dream, attended with exaAly fimiiar
** circumftances."

I replied : *• My friend, I believe that nothing
*' happens in the World, without the permiflion
*' of God. Dreams fometimes announce truth."

Madame de la Tom related to me a dream en-
tirely refembling this, which (he had that fame
night. I never obferved that thefe two ladies
were in the lead inclined to fuperftition. I was,
therefore, ftruck with the co-incidence of their

dreams^

l8S STUDIES OF NATURE.

dreams, and I had not the leaft doubt in my own
mind, that they would foon be realized. The opi-
nion, that truth is fometimes conveyed to us in
fleep, is univerfally propagated over all the Na-
tions of the Earth. The greateft men of antiquity
have adopted it ; among others, Alexander, Cejar,
the Scipios, the two Catos, and Brutus, who were
none of them men of weak minds. The Old and
New Teflament have furnilhed us with many in-
ftances of dreams which were verified. For my
own part, I have no occafion for any higher proof
on the fubjeâ: than my own experience; and I
have foundj more than once, that dreams are
fometimes warnings, which give us information
very interefting to ourfelves. But if any perfon
fiiall pretend to attack or defend by argument,
things which tranfcend the powers of human un-
derftanding, he undertakes an impoffibility. How-
ever, if the reafon of Man is only an image of that
of the Almighty ; fince Man is capable of con-
veying his thoughts to the extremities of the World
by fecrct and concealed means, why fhould not
that Intelligence which governs the World, em-
ploy fimilar methods in accomplifliing the fame
purpofe ? One friend confoles another by a letter,
which travels through a multitude of kingdoms,
which circulates amidft the hatred of Nations, and
communicates joy and hope to one fingle indivi-
dual ; Why then may not the Sovereign Protedor of

innocence

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 189

innocence come, by fome fecret means, to the relief
of a virtuous foul, which repofes confidence in
him alone ? Has he occafion to employ any exte-
rior fign to execute his will ; He who ads con-
tinually, in all his works, by an internal impulfe ?

Why, then, doubt the reality of dreams ? Life,
filled with fo many vain and tranfitory projeéts,
what is it but a dream ?

However that may be, thofe of my unfortunate
friends were foon realized. Paul died two months
after his beloved Firginia^ whofe name he repeated
incefTantly. Margaret expired eight days after her
fon, with a joy which it is bellowed only on vir-
tue to tafte. She took the mofl tender farevvel of
Madame de la Tour, " in the hope," faid flie,
*' of a fweet and eternal re-union. Death is the
" greatefl of blefhngs," added fne; " it is highly
" defirable. If life be a punifhment, we ought to
** wilh for it's termination ; if it be a ftate of pro-
" bation, we ought to wifh it fhortened."

Government took care of Domingo and Mary,
who were no longer in a condition for fervice, and
who did not long furvive their miftrefs. As for
poor Fidèle, he drooped to death nearly about the
fame time with his mafler.

I condu(fled

190 STUDIES OF NATURE.

1 conducted Madame de la 'Tour to my ha-
bitation ; flie fupported herfelf, in the midft of
lofles fo terrible, with a greatnefs of foul altoge-
ther incredible. She adminiflered confolation to
Paul and Margaret to the very laft moment, as if
fhe had no diftrefs but theirs to fupport. When
they were no more, (lie fpoke to me of them every
day, as if they had been beloved friends, ftill in
the neighbourhood. She furvived them, however,
only a month. As to her aunt, far from reproach-
ing her with thefc misfortunes, fhe prayed God
to forgive her, and to appeafe the dreadful horrors
of mind with which, we heard, (he had been feized,
immediately after Ihe had difmiffed Virginia^ with
fo much barbarity.

This unnatural relation foon met with the pn-
nilhment due to her cruelty. 1 heard, by the fuc-
ceffive arrival of feveral vefTels, that fhe was tor-
mented by the vapours, which rendered life and
death equally infupportable. Sometimes, (he re-
proached herfelf with the premature death of her
charming grand-niece, and with ihat of her mo-
ther, which foon followed it. Sometimes, (lie ap-
plauded herfelf for having difcarded two unhappy
wretches, who had difgraced her fimily by the
meannefs of their inclinations. Frequently flying
into a paflTion at fight of the great number of mi-
ferable people, with which Paris is filled, (lie ex-
claimed :

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. 19I

claimed: "Why do they not fend thefe idle
" wretches to perifli in our Colonies?" She added,
that the ideas of virtue, of humanity, and of reli-
gion, adopted by all Nations, were nothing but the
political inventions of their Princes. Then, fud-
denly plunging into the oppofile extreme, (he aban-
doned herlelf to fuperftitious terrors,which filled
her with mortal appréhendons. She ran about,
carrying with her vaft fums, which (he beftowed
on the rich monks, who were her ghoftly direflors,
and entreated them to appeafe the Deity, by the
facrifice of her fortune; as if that wealth, which
fhe had denied to the miferable, could be accept-
able to the Father of Mankind ! Her imagination
was frequently haunted by deluges of fire, burning
mountains, or hideous fpcd:res wandering before
her, and calling her by name, with horrible fcreams.
She threw herfelf at the feet of her diredlors, and
formed, in her own mind, tortures and punifh-
ments preparing for her ; for Heaven, juft Hea-
ven, fends fearful vifions to harrow up the fouls of
the unmerciful.

Thus (he paiTed feveral years, by turns an atheift
and a devotee, equally in horror of life and of
death. But what terminated an exiftence fo de-
plorable, was the very thing to which fhe had fa-
crificed the fentiments of Nature. She had the
mortification to refled, that her riches would, after

her

192 STUDIES OF KATURE.

her death, go to relations whom flie hated. In
order to prevent this, rtie endeavoured to aHenate
the greatefl part of her fortune ; but they, availing
themfelves of the frequent paroxyfms of fpleen to
which (lie was fubjeâ;, had her fhut up as a hina-
tic, and her eflates put in truft for her heirs. Thus,
her very riches put the finifhing ftroke to her de-
ftruction ; and as they had hardened the heart of
her who pofleffed them, fo they, in Hke manner,
extinguiflied natural afFedlion in the breads of
thofe who coveted them. She, accordingly, died;
and, what filled up the meafure of her woe, with
fo much ufe of her reafon left, as to know that (he
had been plundered and defpifed, by thofe very
perfons whofc opinion had direded her all her life
long.

By the fide of Virginia, and at the foot of the
fame bamboos, her friend Paul was laid ; around
them, their tender mothers and their faithful fer-
vants. No marble raifes itfelf over their humble
graves ; no engraved infcriptions, recording their
virtues: but their memory wi!l never be effaced
from the hearts of thofe who lay under obligations
to them. Their Ihades have no need of that luftre,
which they fliunned all their life-time; but if
they ftill intereft themfelves in what is paffing on
the Earth, they, doubtlefs, delight in wandering
under the ftraw-covercd roofs, where indufliious

virtue

PAUL AND VIRGINIA. I93

virtue refides ; in confoling poverty difcontented
with it's lot ; in encouraging, in youthful lovers,
a lading flame, a relilh for the bleffings of Nature,
ia. love of labour, and a dread of riches.

The voice of the people, which is filent refpe^l-
ing the monuments reared to the glory of Kings,
has beftowed on feveral parts of this ifland, names,
which will eternalize the lofs of Virginia. You may
fee, near the Tile of Amber, in the middle of the
Ihelves, a place called. The Saint-Gerand's
Pass, from the name of the veflel which perifhed
there, in returning from Europe, The extremity
of that long point of land, which you fee about
three leagues from hence, half-covered with the
waves of the Sea, which the Saint-Gerand could
not double, the evening of the hurricane, in order
to make the harbour, is named Cape-Misfor-
TUNE ; there, juft before you, at the bottom of
this valley, is Tomb-Bay, where the body of
Firginia was found, buried in the fand, as if the fea
had intended to bear her back to her family, and
to render the lad duties to her modefty, upon the
fame fhores which fhe had honoured with her in-
nocence.

Young people fo tenderly united ! Unfortunate
mothers ! Dearly beloved family ! Thefe woods
which gave you Qiade, thefe fountains, which

VOL. V. o flowed

194 STUDIES OF NATURE.

flowed for you, thofe rocks upon which you re-
pofed together, ftill lament your lofs. No one,
fince you, has dared to cultivate this defolate fpot,
nor rear again thefe humble cottages. Your goats
have become wild ; your orchards are deftroyed ;
your birds have flown away ; nothing is now to
be heard but the cries of the hawk, flying around
the top of this bafon of rocks. For my part, fmcc
I behold you no longer, I am like a friend flirip-
ped of his friends, like a father who has lofl; his
children, like a traveller wandering along the
Earth, where I remain in gloomy folitude.

As he uttered thefe words, the good old man
walked away, melting into tears, and mine had
flowed, more than once, during this melancholy
relation.

END OF PAUL AND VIRGINIA,

ARCADIA.

C A D I A.

[ 197 ]

AS there are Notes of confiderable length in
the two following Fragments, I have thought
it advifable to transfer them to the end of their re-
fpeâ:ive articles. The ufe of Notes, fo common
in modern Books, arifes, on the one hand, from
the unfkilfulnefs of Authors, who feel themfelves
at a lofs how to introduce into their Works, ob-
fervations which they conceive to be interefting;
and on the other, from the exceffive delicacy of
Readers, who do not like to have their progrefs
interrupted by digrefïions.

The Ancients, who wrote better than we do,
never fubjoined Notes to their text; but they ftep-
ped afide from it, to the right and to the left, ac-
cording as occafion required. In this manner
wrote the moft celebrated Philofophers and H:fto-
rians of Antiquity, fuch as Herodotus, Plato, Xeno^
pboUy Tacitus, the good Plutarch Their digref-
ïions, if 1 may be permitted to judge, diffufe a
very pleafing variety over their Works. They .liew
you a great deal of the country in a little time;
and condud; you by the lakes, over the moun-»
tains, through the forefts ; but never fail to lead

o 3 you

198 STUDIES OF NATURE.

you to the mark, and that is no eafy matter. This
mode of travelling, however, does not fuit the
Authors, nor the Readers, of our times, who are
difpofed to find their way only through the plains.
In order to fave others, and efpecially myfelf, fome
part of the intricacies of the road, I have compofed
Notes, and feparated them from the Text. This
arrangement prefents a farther accommodation to
the Reader; he will be fpared the trouble of pe-
rufing the Notes, if he grows tired of the Text.

FRAGMENT,

FRAGMENT. I^)^

FRAGMENT,

BY WAY OF PREAMBLE

TO

THE ARCADIA.

A:

S foon as they perceived that, after
an experience of Mankind Co vexa-
tious, my heart panted only for a life of folitude;
that I had embraced principles from which I would
not depart ; that my opinions refpefting Nature
were contrary to their fyftems ; that I was not a
perfon difpofed to be either their puffer, or to
court their protedion ; and that, in a word, they
had embroiled me with my patron, whom they
frequently abufed to me, in the view of alienating
me from him, and to whom they affiduoufly paid
their court ; they then became my enemies. A
great many vices are imputed to the Great; but I
have always found many more in the Little, who
ftudy to pleafe them.

Thefe laft were too cunning to attack me
openly., with a Perfonage to whom I had given, in

o 4 the

200 STUDIES OF NATURE.

the very height of my misfortunes, proofs of africnd-
fliip fo difmterefted. On the contrary, in prefence
of that gentleman, as well as before myfelf, they
pafled high encomiums on my principles, and on
fome very fimple afts of moderation, which had
refuited from them ; but they employed terms fo
artfully exagger:ited, and appeared fo uneafy about
the opinion which the World would entertain of
the matter, that it was eafy to difcern their great
objedt was to induce me to renounce it, and that
they commended my patience fo extravagantly,
only to make me lofe it. Thus they calumniated
me under the guife of panegyric, and deftroyed
my reputation in feigning to pity me ; like thofe
forcereffes of Theffaly, mentioned by PUtty, who
blafted the harvefts, the flocks, and the hufband-
men, by fpeaking good of them.

I feparated myfelf, therefore, from thofe artful
men, who continued to juftify themfelves at my
expenfe, in reprefenting me as a perfon of a mif-
truftful difpofition, after having abufed my con-
fidence in fo many different ways.

Not but that I confider myfelf as reprehenfible
for a fenfibility, too acute, to pain, whether phy-
fical or moral. A fingle prickle gives me more
uneafmefs than the fmell of a hundred rofes gives
pleafure. The bell company in the World appears

to

FRAGMENT. 201

to me intolerable, if I meet in it a fingle felf-im-
portant, envious, evil-fpeaking, malignant, per-
fidious perfon. I am well aware, that people of
very great worth aflbciate, every day, with perfons
of all thefe defcriptions, fupport them, nay, flatter
them, and turn them to their own account ; but I
am well aware, at the fame time, that thefe fame
people of worth bring into Society nothing but the
jargon of the World ; whereas I, for my part, al-
ways pour out my heart ; that they pay deceivers
in their own coin, and I with all I have, that is to
fay, with my fentiments. Though my enemies
may reprefent me as of a miftruftful charader, the
greateft part of the errors of my hfe, efpecially as
far as they are concerned, arofe from an excefs of
confidence; and, after all, I would much rather
have them complain, that I miftrufted them with-
out a caufe, than that they fliould have had,
themfelves, any reafon to be miftruftful of me.

I endeavoured to make friends of the men of an
oppofite party, who had expreffed an ardent incli-
nation to attraâ; me thither, before I joined it, but
who, the moment 1 came over, no longer put any
value on my pretended merit. When they per-
ceived that I did not adopt all their prejudices;
that 1 aimed at nothing but the difcovery of truth;
that, difpofed to malign neither their enemies nor
my own, I was not a fit perfon to be employed in

cabal

202 STUDIES OF NATURE.

cabal and intrigue ; that my feeble virtues, which
they once fo highly extolled, had procured me no-
thing lucrative ; and that they were incapable of
doing harm to any one ; in a word, that I no more
belonged to their fide, than to that of their anta-
gonifts j they negleded me entirely, and even per-
fecuted me in their turn. Thus I found, by ex-
perience, that in a felfith and corrupted age, our
friends meafure their confideration of us only by
that which their own enemies entertain refpefting
us, and that they court us, juft in proportion as
we can be ufeful, or render ourfelves formidable,
to them. 1 have every where feen confederacies of
various forts, and I have always found in them the
fame fpecies of men. They march, it is true, un-
der ftandards of different colours; but they are al-
ways thofe of ambition. They have but one and
the fame objeâ: in view, namely, to domineer.
Neverthelefs, the interefl of their corps excepted,
I never met with two of them, whofe opinions did
not diifer as much as their faces. What is a fource
of joy to the one, fmks the other into defpair : to
the one, evidence appears to be abfurdity ; to the
other, downright abfurdity is evidence. What do
I fay ? In the exact ftudy which 1 have made of
men, in the view of finding a comforter among
them, I have iccn perfons the moft renowned, dif-
fer completely from themfelves, according as it
was morning or night, as it was before or after

dinner.

FRAGMENT.

203

dinner, as they were in public or in private. Books,
even thofe which are moll eagerly cried up,
abound with contradidions. Thus, I was made
fenfible, that the difeafes of the mind were no lefs
reduced to fyfteLnatic methods of cure, than thofe
of the body, and that I had afted very impru-
dently, in adding the unikilfulnefs of the phyficians
to my own infirmities, as there are more patients,
of every defcription, killed by remedies than by
difeafes.

While all this was going on, my calamities had
not yet attained their final period. The ingrati-
tude of men, of whom 1 had deferved better
things ; unexpedled family mortifications ; the to-
tal annihilation of my flender patrimony, fcattered
abroad to the four winds of Heaven, in enterprizes
undertaken for the fervice of my Country ; the
debts under which I lay oppreffed, by engage-
ments of this kind ; all my hopes of fortune blafted
thefe combined calamities, made dreadful in-
roads at once upon my health and my reafon. I
was attacked by a malady to which I had hitherto
been a (Iranger. Fires, fimilar to thofe of light-
ning, affefted the organs of vifion. Every ohjedl
prefented itfelf to me double, and in motion. Like
ŒdipuSy I faw two Suns. My heart was not lefs
dillurbed than my head. In the fined day of Sum-
mer, I could not crofs the Seine, in a boar, with-
out

204 STUDIES OF NATURE.

out undergoing anxieties unutterable ; even I, who
had preferved my foul in tranquillity, amidft a
temped off the Cape of Good-Hope, on board a
veflel flruck with lightning. If I happened to pafs
fimply through a public garden, by the fide of a
bafon full of water, I underwent fpafmodic affec-
tions of extreme horror. There were particular
moments, in which I imagined myfelf bitten,
without knowing how, or when, by a mad dog.
Much worfe than this had adually befallen me j I
had been bitten by the tooth of calumny.

One thing is abfolutely certain, theparoxyfms of
this malady overtook me only when in the fociety of
men. I found it intolerable to continue in an apart-
ment where there was company, efpecially if the
doors were (hut. 1 could not even crofs an alley in
a public garden, if feveral perfons had got together
in it. 1 derived no relief from the circumftance
of their being unknown to me j 1 recolledled, that
I had been calumniated by my own friends, and
for the mod honourable adions of my life. When
I was alone, my malady fubfided : I felt myfelf
likewife at my eafe in places where 1 faw children
only. I frequently went, for this purpofe, and
feated myfelf by the box of the horfe-lhoe, in the
Tuileries, to look at the children playing on the
graffy parterre, with the little dogs which friiked
about them. Thefe were my fpedacles, and my

tournaments.

FRAGMEKT. 205

tournaments. Their innocence reconciled me to
the human fpecies, much better than all the wit
of our dramas, and than all the fentences of our
Philofophers. But at fight of any one walking up
to the place where 1 was, I felt my whole frame
agitated, and retired. 1 often faid to myfelf : My
fole ftudy has been to merit well of Mankind ;
Wherefore, then, am I fhocked, as often as I fee
them ? To no purpofe did I call in reafon to my
aid : my reafon could do nothing againft a ma-
lady which was enfeebling all its powers (i). The
very efforts which reafon made to furmount it,
ferved only to exhauft her ftill more, becaufe (he
employed them againft herfelf. Reafon called,
not for vigorous exertion, but for repofe.

Medicine, it is true, did offer me her afTift-
ance. She informed me that the focus of my dif-
order was in the nerves. I felt it much better
than fhe was able to define it to me. But fuppof-
ing 1 had not been too poor to avail myfelf of her
prefcriptions, I had too much experience to put
any faith in them. Three gentlemen, of my ac-
quaintance, tormented with the fame fpecies of in-
difpofition, died in a ^ort time of three different
remedies, and thefe, pretended fpecifics for the cure
of the nervous diforder. The firft, by bathing and
bleeding ; the fécond, by the ufe of opium -, and

the

2q6 studies of nature.

the third, by that of ether. Thefe two laft, were
both celebrated Phyficians (2), of the Faculty, at
Paris, both of high reputation for their medical
writings, and particularly on the fubjedt of nervous
afFedlions.

I difcovered afrefh, but for this once by the ex-
perience of another, what an illufion I had prac-
lifed upon myfelf, in expedihg the cure of my
complaints from men ; I difcovered how vain their
opinions and their dodrines were, and what a lilly
part I had been ading through the whole courfe
of my life, in rendering myfelf miferable, while I
exerted myfelf to promote their happinefs, and in
maiming myfelf to procure eafe for others.

Neverthelefs, from the multitude of the calami-
ties which opprefTed me, I derived a powerful mo-
tive to refignation. On comparing the good and
the ill with which our fleeting days are fo (trangely
variegated, 1 caught a glimpfe of a mofl: important
truth, not generally known : namely, that Nature
produces nothing which deferves to be hated , and
that her Author, having placed us in a career
which mud, of neceflity, terminate in death, has
furnidied us vvith as many reafons for being re-
conciled to the thoughts of dillolution, as for che-

riihing the love of life.

All

FRAGMENT. 207

. All the branches of human life are mortal, like
the trunk. Our fortunes, our reputation, our
friendlhips, our loves, all the moft endeared ob-
je(51:s of our affeélion, perifli oftener than once be-
fore we ourfelves die ; and if ihe mod fortunate
deftinies were difplayed, with all the calamities
which have attended them, they would appear to
us like thofe ftately oaks which embellilh the
earth with their fpreading branches, but which
rear others, of ftill greater fize, toward Heaven,
ftruck with the lightning.

For my t)wii part, a feeble fhrub, fhattered by
fo many tempefts, nothing more remained to. me
that could be loft. Perceiving, befides, that I had
henceforth nothing to hope, either from others,
or from myfelf, 1 committed myfelf to God alone,
and engaged my promife to Him, never to expeft
any thing effential to my happinefs, from any one
man in particular, to whatever extremity 1 might
chance to be reduced, and of whatever kind it
might be.

My confidence was acceptable to Him, of whom
no one ever implored affiftance in vain. The firft-
fruit of my refignation, was the calming of my
woes. My folicitudes were lulled to reft, as foon
as I ceafed to ftruggle againft them. Very foon
after, there dropped into my lap, without the

Highteft

4o8 STUDIES OF NATURE.

flightefl: folicitation, by the credit of a perfon whom
I did not know (3), and in the department of a
Minifter to whom 1 had never been ufeful, an an-
nual gratuity from his Majefty. Like Virgil, I
partook of the bread of AugnJIns. The benefit was
of moderate value; it was given from year to year;
it was uncertain ; depending on the pleafure of a
Minifter, very liable himfelf to fudden revolutions,
on the caprice of intermediate perfons, and on the
malignity of my enemies, who might, fooner or
later, get it intercepted by their intrigues. But
having refleded on the fubjeâ: for a little, 1 found
that providence was treating me precifely in the
fame way in which the Human Race, in general,
is treated, on whom Heaven beftows, fince the be-
ginning of the World, in the crops of the harveft,
only an annual fubfiftence, uncertain, borne on
herbage continually battered by the winds, and
expofed to the depredations of birds and infeds.
But it diftinguilhed me, in a very advantageous
manner, from the greateft part of Mankind, in
that my crop coft me no fweating nor labour, and
left me the complete exercife of my liberty.

The firft ufe I made of it was to withdraw from
perfidious men, whom I no longer needed to im-
portune. As foon as I faw them no more, my foul
was redored to tranquillity. Solitude is a lofty
mountain, from whence they appear of a very di-
minutive

FRAGMENT. 2Ù^

minutive fizô. Solitude, however, was rather ini-
mical to my condition, in difpofing the mind too
intenfely to meditation. To J; 7- Roujeau I fland
indebted for the re-eftablifhment of my health. I
had read in his immortal productions, among
other natural truths, that Man was made to adt,
and not to meditate» Hitherto, 1 h id exercifed
my mind, and fuffered my body to reft; I now
inverted the order of that regimen t I exei cifed the
body, and gave repofe to the mind. 1 renounced
the greareft part of books. I threw my eyes
upon the Works of Nature, which fpake, to all my
fenfes, à language which neither time rlor nations
have it in their power to alter. My Hiftory, and
my Journals, were the herbage of the fields and
meadows. My thoughts did not painfully go
forth in queft of them, as in the cafe of human
fyftems; but their thoughts quietly fought out
me, under a thoufand engaging forms. In thefe 1
ftudied, without effort, the laws of that univerfal
Wifdom, with which I had been furrounded from
the cradle, and on which 1 had hitherto beftowed
a very fuperficial attention. I purfued the trace^
of them in every part of the World, by reading
books of Travels. Thefe were the only modern,
books for which I retained a relifh, becaufe they
tranfported me into other focieties than that in
which 1 was unhappy, and, efpecially, becaufe thejr
fpake to me of the various Works of Nature.
VOL. V. ? By

2IO STUDIES OF NATURE.

By means of them I was taught, that there is,
in every part of the Earth, a portion of happinefs
for all men, of which, almoft univerfally, ihey are
deprived ; and that though in a ftate of war, from
our political order which difunites them, they were
in a ftate of peace, in the order of Nature, who
invites them to approximation. Thefe confolatory
meditations re-condu6led me, infenfibly, to my
ancient projecfls of public felicity ; not to execute
them in perfon, as formerly, but, at leaft, to com-
pofe an interefting pidure of it. The fpeculation
limply, of a general happinefs, was now fufficient
for my individual felicity. I likewife refleâied,
that my imaginary plans might one day be realized
by men more fortunate than myfelf. This defire
redoubled in me, at fight of the miferable beings
of which our focieties confift. I felt, above all,
from the privations which I myfelf had undergone,
the neceffity of a political order conformable to
the order of Nature. In a word, I compofed one
after the inftinft, and the demands, of my own
heart.

Enabled by my own travels, and Rill more by
reading thofe of others, to feled on the furface of
the Globe, a fituation proper for tracing the plan
of a happy ftate of Society, 1 fixed it in the bofom
of South-America, on the rich and defert Ihores
of the river of the Amazons.

I extended

FRAGMENT. 2H

I extended myfelf, in imagination, over the flice
of thofe immenfe forefts. There I condruded
forts ; I cleared large tracks of land ; I covered
them with copious harvefts, and with orchards pre-
fenting overflowing crops of all the fruits foreign
to Europe. There I offered an afylum to the men
of all Nations, the individuals of which I had feen
in diftrefs. There 1 planted the men of Holland
and of Switzerland, who have no territory' in their
own Country; and Ruffians deftitute of the means
of eftablifhing themfelves in their vafb folitudes
at home; Englifhmen tired of the convulfions of
their popular liberty, and Italians, of the lethargy
of their ariflocratical governments j P ruffians
fick of their military defpotifm, and Poles, of their
republican anarchy ; Spaniards, of the intolerance
of religious opinions, and Frenchmen, of the le-
vity of theirs; Knights of Malta and Algerines;
thepeafantry of Bohemia, Poland, Ruffia, Franche-
Comté, Lower Brittany, efcaped from the tyranny
of their compatriots; the runaway Negro Haves of
our barbarous colonies ; the protedors, and the pro-
tedted, of all Nations; courtiers, gownmen, fcho-
Urs, foldiers, merchants, financiers ; every un-
fortunate wretch tormented with the maladies of
European, African, and Afiatic opinions, all of
them, with very few exceptions, aiming at mutual
oppreffion, and re-aifling upon each other, by vio-
lence or cunning, impiety or fuperftitioij.

p 2 They

21,2 STUDIES OF NATURE,

They abjured the national prejudices which had
rendered them, from the womb, the enemies of
otlier men ; and efpecially that which is the fource
of all the animofities of the Humm Race, and
which Europe inftils, with the mother's milk, into
each of her fons — the defire of being the firfl.
They adopted, under the immediate protedtion of
the Author of Nature, the principles of univerfal
toleration ; and by that aâ: of general juftice, they
fell back, without interruption, into the uncon-
ftrained exercife of their particular charafter. The
Dutchman there purfued agriculture and com-
merce, into the very bofom of the morafles ; the
Swifs, up to the fummit of the rocks, and the Ruf-
fian, dexterous in managing the hatchet, into the
very centre of the thickeft forefts. The Englifh-
man there addided himfelf to navigation, and to the
Lifeful arts, which conftitute the ftrength of States;
the Italian, to the liberal arts, which raife them to
a ilourilhing condition; the Pruflian, to military
exercifes ; the Poles to thofe of horfemanfhip ; the
referved Spaniard, to the talents which require
firmnefs; the Frenchman, to thoie which render
life "agreeable, and to the focial inftinft, which qua-
lifies him to be the bond of union among all Na-
tions. All thefe men, of opinions fo very diffe-
rent, enjoyed, through the medium of toleration,
an inter-communication of every thing that was
t>eft in their feveral characters, and tempered the

defeds

FRAGMENT.

213

defeds of one, by the redundancies of another.
Thence refulted, from education, from laws, and
from habit, a combination of arts, of talents, of
virtues, and of religious principles, which formed,
of the whole, but one fingle people, difpofed to
exift, internally, in the moft perfeâ: harmony, to
re-Tift every external invader, and to amalgamate
with all the reft of the Human Race.

I committed, then, to writing, all the fpecula-
tions which I had purfued on this fubjed j but
when I attempted to put them together, in order
to form to myfelf, and to convey to others, the
idea of a republic, modelled conformably to the
Laws of Nature, I perceived that, after all the la-
bour I had beftowed, I never could make the illu=
fion pafs on any one reafonable being.

Plato^ it is true, in his Atlantis, Xenophon in his
Cyropedia, Fcnelon in his Telemachus, have de-
pided the felicity of various political Societies,
which have, perhaps, never exifled^ but by means
of blending tlieir fidions, with hiftorical tradi-
tions, and throwing them back into ages remote,
they have beftowed on them a fufficient air of pro-
bability, to induce a Reader poflefled of indul-
gence, to receive as realities, recitals which he has
no longer the power of fupporting by fads. This
was by no means the cafe with my Work. I there

p 3 went

214 STUDIES OF NATURE.

went on the fuppofition, in modern times, and in
a well-known part of the Globe, of the exiftence of
a very confiderable People, formed almoft entirely
of the miferable refufe of the European Nations,
exalted, all at once, to the higheft degree of feli-
city ; and this rare phenomenon, fo worthy of, at
leaft, the cnriofity of Europe, ceafed to produce
any illufion, as foon as it was certain that it had
no real exiftence. Befides, the fcantinefs of theory
which I had procured, refpeâiing a country fo dif-
ferent from ours, and fo fuperficially defcribed by
travellers, could have furniflied to my pidures
only a falfe colouring, and very indiftinâ: features.

I relinqu idled, then, my political veflel, though
I had laboured upon her for feveral years, with
unwearied perleverance. Like the canoe of Ro-
bhjfon Cmfoet 1 left her in the forefl where I had
moulded her, for want of power to put her in
motion, and to carry her along the tide of human
opinions.

To no purpofç did my imagination perform the
tour of the Globe. Amidft; fo many fues prefented,
for the happinefs of Man, by Nature, I could not
fo much as find vvhere to put down the illufory
habitation of a People, happy in conformity to
her Laws : for neither the republic of St. Paul,
near to Brafil^ formed of banditti who made war

upon

FRAGMENT. 215

upon the whole World ; nor the evangelical affb-
ciation of William Penn, in North-America, which
goes not even fo far as to aâ; upon the defenfive,
againft their enemies ; nor the conventual redemp-
tions (4) of the Jefuits in Paraguay ; nor the vo-
luptuous inlanders of the South-Sea, who, in the
very lap of fenfuality, offer up human facrifices(5),
appeared to me the proper reprefentatives of a'
People making a right ufe, in the ftate of Nature,
of all their faculties, phyfical and moral.

Befides, though thefe fraternities prefented to
me certain republican images, the firft was a ftate
of downright anarchy; the fécond, fimply an af-
fociation, under the protedion of the State in
which it was contained; and the other two formed
hereditary ariftocracies merely, under which a par-
ticular clafs of citizens, having referved all power
to itfelf, even to the difpofal of the national fub-
fiftence, kept the People at large in a ftate of per-
petual tutelage, without the poffibility of their
ever emerging from the clafs of Neophytes, or of
Toutous (6).

My foul, finding no complacency in ages pre-
fent, \yinged it's way toward the ages of Antiquity,
and alighted, firft of all, among the Nations of

Arcadia.

p 4 This

2rl6 STUDIES OF NATURE.

This happy portion of Greece, prefented to me
climates and fituations fimilar to thofe which are
difperfed over the reft of Europe. I could falhion
them, at leaft, into pidures variegaied, and pofef-
iing the advantage of refemblance. It was filled
with mountains of confiderable elevation, fome of
which, fuch as that of Phoé, covered with fnow all
the year round, rendered it fimilar to Switzerland.
On the other hand, it's moraffes, fuch as that of
Stymphale, gave it, in this part of it's territory, a
refemblance to Holland. It's vegetables, 'and it's
animals, were the fame with thofe which are fcatter-
ed over the foil of Italy, of France, and of the North
of Europe. It produced olive-trees, vines, apple-
trees, corn of all kinds, pafturej fo refis of oaks,
of pines, and of firs ; oxen, horfes, (heep, goats,

wolves The occupations of the Arcadians were

the fame with thofe of our peafantry. They were
clafled into hufbandmen, fhepherds, vine-dreflers,
huntfmen. But in this they differed widely from
ours, they were very warlike externally, and very
peaceable at home. As foon as the State was me-
naced with war, they voluntarily appeared for it's
defence, every man at his proper charge. There
was a confiderable proportion of Arcadians among
the ten thoufand Greeks, who, under the com-
mand of XenophoH, ejTecle:d the famous retreat out
pf Perfia, They were much dçyoted to religion;

for

FRAGMENT. 21^

for mofl: of the Gods of Greece were natives of
their Country ; Mercury, on Mount Cyllene ; Ju-
piter, on Mount Lyceum ; Pan, on Mount Mcna-
lus, or, according to others, amidft the forefts of
Mount Lyceum, where he was worlliipped with
lingular devotion. Arcadia, too, was the theatre
on which Hercules exhibited the moft aflonifhing
of his laborious atchievements.

With thofe fentiments of patriotifm and of reli-
gion, tl e Arcadians blended that of love, which
has, at length, acquired the afcendant, as the prin-
cipal idea which that People have left us of them-
felves. For, political and religious inftitutions
vary, in every Country, with the lapfe of ages, and
are peculiar to it ; but the Laws of Nature are of
all periods of time, and intereft all Nations. Hence
it has come to pafs, that the Poets, ancient and
modern, have reprefented the Arcadians as a Na-
tion of amorous fliepherds, who excelled in Poetry
and Mufic, which are, in all countries, the expref-
five languages of love. Virgil, in particular, fre-
quently celebrates their talents, and their rural fe-
licity. In his ninth Eclogue, which breathes the
gentleft melancholy, he thus introduces Gallus,
the fon of Pollio, inviting the Arcadian fwains, to
deplore with him the lofs of his miftrefs Lycoris :

Cantabitis,

2l8 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Cantabitis, Arcades, inquit,
Montibus hasc veftris. Soli cantare periti,
Arcades. O ir.ihi turn quàm moUiter ofla quiefcent,
Veftra meos olim fi fiftula dicat amores !
Atque utinam ex vobis unus, veftrique fuiffèm
Aut cuflos giegis, aut maturae vinitor uvae * !

** You fliall fing," fays he, " O ye Arcadians,
** thefe plaintive flrains of mine, on your own
" mountains. Arcadians, you alone are ikilled in
" fong. O, how foftly (hall my bones repofe, if
*' your pipe (hall one day immortalize my unfor-
** tunate loves ! And would to Heaven I had been
*' one of you, though in the humble ftation of a
** fliepherd's boy, or of a grape- gatherer in the
" vineyard.'*

Gal/us, the fon of a Roman Conful, in the age
of ÂitgiiJîiiSy confiders the condition of the Arca-
dian fwains as fo enviable, that he prefumes not
to afpire to the felicity of being among them a

* To your lov'd mountains, and your verdant plains.
Repeat, Arcadians, thefe my love-lorn ftrains.
In magic numbers you alone excel.
LuU'd to foft reft my Iifelefs limbs fhall dweU,
Should your fweet notes immortalize my flame,
And give, to Galhis dead, a deathlefs name.
Oh, had I been, of you, fome fhepherd's fwain ! »

Or cuU'd the grape j or reaped the golden grain Î

proprietary

FRAGMENT. 219

proprietary fhepherd, or the drefler of a vineyard
which he could call his own, but only to that of a
limple keeper of cattle : cnjîos gregis ; or of one
of ihofe hireling labourers, whom they accidentally
picked up, as they went on their way, to affift in
treading out the ripened clufters : Mature viniior
uva.

Firgil abounds in fuch delicate (hades of fenti-
ment, which totally difappear in tranllations, and
elpecially in mine.

Although the Arcadians pafled a confiderable
part of their life in finging, and in making love,
Firgil does not reprefent them as an effeminate
race of men. On the contrary, he affigns to them
fimple manners, and a particular charader of force,
of piety, and virtue, which is confirmed by all the
Hiftorians who have made mention of them. He
introduces them as aâ:ing a very diftinguiQied
and important part, in the origin of the Roman
empire J for when ^/i^-^j failed up the Tiber, in
the view of forming alliances with the Nations
who inhabited the fhores of that river, he found,
at the place of his difembarkation, a fmall city,
called Pallanteum, after the name oï Pallas, fon to
Evander, King of the Arcadians, who had built it.
This city was afterwards enclofed within the pre-
cind of the city of Rome, to which it ferved as

it's

i20 STUDIES OF NATURE.

it*s firft fortrefs. For this reafon it is, that Virgil
denominates King Evander the Founder of the
Roman fortrefs ;

Rex Evandrus^ Romans Conditor arcis.

EnjiiD. Lib. viii. Vlr. 313.

I feel an irrefiftible propenfity to infert, in this
place, feme paffages of the Eneid, which have a
direft relation to the manners of the Arcadians,
and which difcover, at the fame time, their in*
fluence on thofe of the Roman People. I am
abundantly fenfible, that I ftiall give but a very
indifferent tranflation of thofe paflages, as I have
done of all the Latin quotations already introduced
into my Book ; but the delicious poefy of Virgil
will indemnify the Reader for my bad profe, and
gratify the tafte which it will infpire into myfelf,
of what is natural to me. This digreffion, befides,
is by no means foreign to the general plan of this
Work. I fhall produce in it, various examples
of the powerful effefts arifing from confonances
and contrails, which I have confidered, in my pre-
ceding Studies, as the firft moving principles of
Nature. We (liall fee that, after her example,
Virgil abounds with them, and that they alone are
the caufe of the harmony of his ftyle, and of the
magic of his pidures,

Firft,

FRAGMENT. 221

Firft, EtteaSy by command of the God of the
Tiber, Who had appeared to him in a dream,
comes to foliclt the alHance of Evander, in order to
his making good an eftabli(hment in Italy. He
avails himfelt of the anciently allied origin of their
families, which both defcended from Jtias ; the
one by Eieâîra; the other by Afaia, Evander
makes no reply on the fubjed of this genealogy ;
but at fight of EneaSy he recollées, with delight,
the features, the voice, and the addrefs of Anchifes,
whom he had, fo long before, entertained in his
palace, within the wails of Pheneum, when that
Prince, on his way to Salamis, with Priam, who
was going to vifit his fifter HeJIone, took the cold
mountains of Arcadia in his road :

Ut te fortiflime Teucrûm
Accîpio agnofcoque libens ! ut verba parentis
Et vocem Anch'tfa magni vultumque recorder !
Nam memini Hefiones vifentem regna fororis
Laomedontiadem Priamum^ Salamina pètentem
Protinus Arcadise gelidos invifere fines *.

iENEiD. B. viii. L. 154 — i$g.

* On all thy features how I dwell with joy !
Welcome, thrice welcome, glorious Prince of Troy !
How in thy face, my ancient friend I fee !
Anchifes looks, and lives, and fpeaks in thee !
Well I recall great Priam'^ ftately port.
When once he fought his royal filter's court
On Salaminian Ihores, with all his train ;
And took his way through our Arcadian plain.

PXTT.

Î22 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Evander was then in the flower of his age ; he
felt an ardent defire to join his hand in friendlhip
to that of Anchifes : dextrâ conjungere dextram. He
calls to mind the tokens of friendlhip which he
had received of him, and his prefents, among which
were two bridles, bitted with gold, now made over
to his fon PallaSy as fymbols, no doubt, of the pru-
dence fo neceffary to a young Prince :

Fraenaque bina, meus quae nunc habet, aurea, Pallas *.

iENEiD, B. viii. L. i6S.

And he immediately adds :

Ergo et quam petitis, jun£la eft mihi fœdere dextra :
Et lux cum primum terris fe craftina reddet,
Auxilio Isetos dimittam, opibufque juvabo f ,

JEneid, B. viii. L. i6g — 171,

** My right hand, then, has fealed, from that
*' day, the alliance which you now folicit; and

* On me, at parting, generous he beftow'd
Two golden bridles, that refulgent glow'd,
(A. glorious prefent, by my fon pofleft ;)
With a rich quiver and embroider'd veft.

Pitt.

t The peace you afk, we give ; our fr iendfhip plight.

And, foon as morn reveals the purple light.

With our confederate troops, a martial train.

Safe I'll difmifs thee from thefe walls again.

Pitt.

FRAGMENT. 2,23

*' as foon as to-morrow's dawn (hall re-vifit the
** Earth, I will joyfully difmifs you to the field,
** with the fuccours which you afk, and will fiip-
" port you to the utmofl extent of my ability."

Thus Evander, though a Greek, and, confe-
quently, a natural enemy to the Trojans, gives his
aid to EneaSy purely from the recolledion of the
friendfhip which he entertained for his ancient
gueft Anchifes. The hofpitality which he had for-
merly exprefled to the father, determines him now
to fupport the fon.

It is not foreign to my fubje£t to remark in this
place, to the honour of Firgil, and of his heroes.
That as often as Eneas, under the preflure of cala-
mity, is reduced to the neceffity of having recourfe
to the affiftance of ftranffers, he never fails to remind
them of either the glory of Troy, or of ancient fa-
mily alliances, or to urge fome other political rea-
fon, calculated to intereft them in his favour; but
thofe who tender him their fervices, are always
induced to adl thus from motives of virtue. When
thrown by the tempefl on the Lybian fliore, Dido
is determined to afford him an afylum, by a fenti-
ment fl^ill more fublime than the recolledion of any
particular hofpitality, highly refpeded as it was
among the ancients ; but by the general intereft
which we take in the miferable. In order to ren-
der

224 STUDIES OF NATURE.

dcr the effeâ: of this more dignified, and more af-
feding, (he apphes to herfelf the need of it, and
reverberates from her own heart, on the Trojan
Prince, only the fame degree of fympathy which
(he demands for herfelf. Thefe are her words :

Me quoque per multos fimilis fortuna labores
Jaftatam, hâc demum voluit confiflere terra.
Non ignara mali, miieris fuccurere difco *.

JEkeid. B. i. L. 632 — 634.

** A fortune fimilar to thine, after having pur-
*' fued me too, through diftrefles innumerable, per-
" mitted me, at length, to form a fettlement on
" thefe (hores. Nurtured myfelf in the fchool of
*' adverfity, I am inftruded to fuccour the mi-
" ferable."

rir^^il uniformly prefers natural to political rea-
fons, and the intereft of Mankind to national in-
terefts. Hence it comes to pafs that his Poem,
though compofed to difFufe the particular glory of
the Roman People, interefts the men of all ages,
and of all Nations.

* My wanderings and my fate refembling yours.

At length I fettled on thefe Lybian fhores ;

And, touch'd with miferies myfelf have known,

I view, with pity, woes fo like my own.

Pitt.

To

FRAGMENT. 225

To return to King Evander : He was employed
in offering a facrifice to Hercules^ at the iiead of
his Arcadian Colony, at the time Eneas landed.
After having engaged the Trojan Chief, and his
attendants, to partake of the facred banquet, which
his arrival had interrupted, he inftrufts his gueft
in the origin of this facrifice, by relating to him
the hiilory of the robber Cacus, whom Hercules
put to death, in a cavern adjoining to the Aven-
tine Mount. He prefents him with a tremendous
pidure of the combat of the fon of Jupiter, with
that flame-vomiting monfter ; he then adds :

* Ex illo celebratus honos, Isetique minores
Servavere diem : primufque Pctitius auétor,
Et domus Herculei cuftos Pinaria facri,
Hanc aram luco flatuit : quae maxima Temper
Dicetur nobis, et erit quae maxima Temper.

Quare agite, O juvenes, tantarum in munere laudiim,
« Cingite fronde comas, e£ pocula porgite dextris ;
Communemque vocate deum, et data vina vokntes.

Dixerat :

* From that bleft hour th* Arcadian tribes befbow'd-
Thefe folemn honours on their guardian God.
Potititts firft, his gratitude to prove,

Ador'd Alcides in the fhady grove ;
And with the old Pinarian facred line,
Thefe altars rais'd, and paid the rites divine,
Rites, which our fons for ever IhalJ maintain ;
And ever facred fhall the grove remain.
Come then, with us to great JÊcides pray.
And crt)wn your heads, and folemnize the day,
VOL. V, Q^ Invoke:

226 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Dixerat ; Heratkd bicolor cum popukis umbra
Velavitque comas, foliifque innexa pependit:
Et facer implevit dextram fcyphus. Ociùs omnes
In menfam lasti libant, divofqiie precantur.

Devexo interea proprior fit vefper Olympo :
Jamque facerdotes, primufque Pothius, ibant.
Pellibus in morem cincli, flammafque ferebant.
Inftaurant epulas, et menfae grata fecundse
Dona ferunt : cumulantque oneratis lancibus aras.
Turn Salii ad cantus, incenfa altaria circum,
Populeis adfunt evindi tempora ramis.

iENEiD. B. viii. L. 268—286.

'* From that period this facred feftival has been
'* celebrated, and exulting poflerity hails the re-

Invoke our common God with hymns divine.
And from the goblet pour the generous wine.
He faid, and with the poplar's facred boughs,
J^ike great Aïeules^ binds his hoary brows ;
Rais'd the crown'd goblet high, in open view ;
With him, the guefts the holy rite purfue,
And on the boaril the rich hbation threw.

Now from before the rifing fliades of night,
RoU'd down the fteep of Heav'n, the beamy hght.
Clad in the fleecy fpoils of fheep, proceed
The holy priefts ; Pothius at their head.
With flaming brands and offerings, march the train.
And bid the hallow'd altars blaze again;
With care the copious viands they difpofc ;
And for their guefls a fécond banquet rofe.
1 he fires curl high ; the Salii dance around
To facred ftraius, with fhady poplars crown'd.

}

Pitt.
turn

FRAGMENT* 227

** turn of the annual day. Potitius has the honour

" of having firft inftituted it, and the Pinarian

*' Family, to whom belongs the dire6lion of this

** folenin fervice, in honour of Hercules, reared

*' this altar in the hallowed grove: which ever

" fhall be called, and, in my efteem, ever fliall be,

" the moft Venerable of Altars. Come on, then,

** my young friends from Troy, in grateful re-

** membrance of merit fo exalted, crown your

" brows with the foliage of his favourite tree, put

" your right-hand to the goblet ; invoke a deity

*' who fliall be our common protedlor, and pour

*' out your joyful libations of the juice of the

*^ grape. He faid, and inflantly a poplar-branch

" of double-coloured foliage, from the Herculeaa

*' tree, fliaded his hoary locks, and, in twifted

'' fprigs, hung gracefully down from his temples :

" The facred bowl filled his right-hand. With

" holy ardor every one immediately poured his

"^ libation on the table, and preferred his prayer.

** Meanwhile, the Star of Evening began to ap-
^' pear, the harbinger of approaching night : and
" now a proceffion of Piiefts, Potitius led the
*' train, moved along, drefled, as the order of the
*' feall required, in the fleecy fkins of the flock,
" and with flaming torches in their hands. The
" banquet is renewed, and the grateful delicacies

Q^ 2 " gf

228 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** of a fécond table are ferved up : while the altars
*' are loaded with piles of rich offerings. The Sa-
" Hans advance, their brows adorned with boughs
" of poplar, and furround the blazing altars, with
" fcftive fongs and dances.'*

Every circumftance, here detailed by the Poet,
is far from being a mere poetical fidion, but a real
tradition of the Roman Hiftory. According to
Titus Lhiusy in the firft Book of his Hiftory, Po-
iitius and Pinarhis were the Chiefs of two illuftrious
Roman Families. Evander inflrufled them in the
ritual of the worfliip to be paid to Herades, and
committed the conduâ: of it to their charge. Their
pofterity enjoyed the dignity of this prieflhood,
down to the cenforfliip of Appius Claudius. The-
altar of Hercules , Ara Maxima^ was at Rome, be=-
tween the Aventine and the Palatine mountains,
in the open place called, forum Boarium. The Sa-
lians were the Priefts of Mars, inftituted by Numa,
to the number of twelve. Firgil proceeds on the
fqppofition, according to feme commentators,
that they bad exifted ever fince the days of King
Evander, and that they fung in the facrifices of
Hercules, But there is a great appearance of pro-
bability, that Firgil in this, likewife, followed the
Hiftorical tradition ; for we know how carefully
he coUedled, with a kind of religious ardor, even

the

FRAGMENT.

229

the flighteft prognoRics, and the mofl: frivolous
predidions, to which he afligned a firft-rate im-
portance, the moment that they appeared in any
refpefl conneded with the foundation of the Ro-
man Empire.

Rome was indebted, then, to the Arcadians,
for her principal reHgious ufages. She was ftill
farther indebted to them for others, much more
interefting to humanity ; for Plutarch derives one
of the etymologies of the name Patricians^ an order
eftablifhed by RonnihiSy from the word " Patroci-
*' niiimy which means patronage, or protedion ;
*' and this word is ufed, to this day, in the fame
** fenfe, becaufe one of the leading men who ac-
" companied Evander into Italy was named Pa-
*' tronus, who, being a perfon noted for a charader
*^ of beneficence, and for granting fupport to the
** poorer and more opprefled clafs of Mankind,
*^ communicated his name to that office of hu-
*' manity."

The facrifice and the banquet of Evander, ter-
minated in a hymn to the honour of Hercides. I
cannot refift the inclination which I feel to infert
it here, in order to make it appear, that the fame
people who fung fo melodioufly the loves of (hep-
herds, wete equally capable of celebrating the vir-

CL 3 tucs

2^0 STUDIES OF NATURE.

tucs of Heroes ; and that the fame Poet, who, in
his Eclogues, tunes fo fweetly the rural pipe, can
blow as vigoroufly the epic trumpet.

* Hie juvenum chorus, ille fenum, qui carmine laudes
Herculeas et fafta ferunt : ut primum novercae
Monflra manu geminofque premens eliferit angues :
Ut beUo egregias idem disjecerit urbes,
Trojamque, vEchaliamque : ut duros mille labores
Rege fub Euryftheo, fatis Junonis iniqux,
Pertulerit. Tu nubigenas invifte bimembres,
Hylaeumque, Pholumque manu : tu Creflia madas
Prodigia, et vaftum Nemeâ fub rupe Leonem.
Te Stygii tremuere lacus : te janitor Orci,
Ofla fuper recubans, antro feme|£i cruentp.

Nee

* The choirs of old and young, in lofty lays,
Refound great Hercules' immortal praife.
How firft, his infant hands the fnakes o'erthrew,
That Jiino fent ; and the dire monfters Hew.
What mighty cities next his ai'ms deflrpy,
Th' ^chalian walls, and ftately towers of Troy.
The thoufand labours of the hero's hands,
Enjoin'd by proud Eitryftbeus' ftern commands,
And Jovi's revengeful Queen. Thy matchlefs might
O'ercame the cloud-born Centaurs in the fight ;
Hylaus, Pholus, funk beneath thy feet,
And the grim bull, whofe rage difpeopled Crete.
Beneath thy arm, the Nemean monfter fell ;
Thy arm, with terror fiU'd the realms of Hell ;
Ev'n Hell's grim porter fliook with dire difmay,
Shrunk back, and trembled o'er his mangled prey.

No

FRAGMENT. 23I

Nee te ullae faciès, non terruit ipfe Typhaeus
Arduus, arma tenens : non te rationis egentem
Lernasus turbâ capitum circumftetit anguis.
Salve, vera Jovis proies, decus addite Divis :
Et nos, et tua dexter adi pede facra fecundo.
Talia carminibus celebrant : fuper omnia Caci
Speluncam adjiciunt, fpirantemque ignibus ipfum.
Confonat omne nemus ftrepitu, coUefque refultant.

jEneid. B. viii. L. 287 — 305.

'' On this hand were arranged a choir of youth,
'^ on that, a venerable band of old men, to cele-
" brate the praifes, and the mighty atchievements
" of Hercules : How, with the preffure of his po-
*' tent fingers, he ftifled to death two fearful
*' fnakes, the firfl monfters armed againfl him by
" his cruel ftep-mother : how he humbled the '
" two proud cities, Troy and ^chalia : how hç

No fliapes of danger could thy foul affright,
Nor huge Typhaus^ towering to the fight,
Nor Lerna's fiend thy courage could confound,
With all her hundred heads, that hifs'd around.
Hail, mighty Chief, advanc'd to Heav'n's abodes !
Hail, fon of Jo^ve ; a God among the Gods !
Be prefent to the vows thy fuppliants pay.
And with a fmile thefe grateful rites furvey.
Thus they — but Cacus' cavern crowns the ftrain.
Where the grim monfter breath 'd his flames in vain.
To the glad fong, the vales, the woods rebound.

The lofty hills reply, and echo to the found.

Pitt.

0^4 " triumphantly

t^Z STUDIES OF NATURE.

" triumphantly furmounted a thoufand painful la-
*' hours, under King Eiiryfihem:^ impofed by the
'* refentment of unrelenting Juno: Thou, invin-
'[ cible Hero, thou, by thine arm, fubduedft the
** double-hmbed, cloud-born Centaurs, Hyl^em
*' and Pholtts ; the monfters of Cfete fell by thy
" ftroke, and the formidable lion under the Ne-
** mean rock ; the Stygian lakes trembled at thy
** approach ; as did the janitor of Hell, as he lay
" reclined on a heap of half- gnawed bones, in his
** bloody den : No appearance of danger appalled
** thee, not even the gigantic Typhaiis himfelf,
** rufliing . upon thee tremendous in arms : Thou
** wert not difmayed, though enclofed on every
** fide by the many-headed fnake of Lerna. Hail,
** undoubted offspring of mighty Jove ! add new
*' luftre to the ikies : Gracioufly bend down to
*' hear our vows, and to accept our facrifices."

*' Such was the lofty fubjedl of their fong : above
*' all the reft they exahed the prodigies of the
** fearful den of Cactts, and the monfter himfelf
*' vomiting forth ftreams of fire. The fpacious
** grove was filled with the harmony, and the noife
*' rebounded from hill to hill."

Thefe are drains worthy of the manly breads of
Arcadians : We feem to hear them filling the am-
bient

FRAGMENT. 2^3

bient air in the échos of the Woods and of the
mountains :

Confonat omne nemus ftrepitu, coUefque refGltant.

Virgil always exprefies natural confonances.
They redouble the effeâ: of his pidlures, and in-
fufe into them the fublime fentiment of infinity,
Confonances are in poetry, what reflexes are m
painting.

This hymn will fland a comparifon with the
finefl odes of Horace. Though compofed in re-
gular Alexandrine verfes, it has all the elegant
turn, and the movements, of a lyric compofition,
efpecially in it's tranfitions.

Evander afterwards relates, to Eneas, the hiflory
of the antiquities of the Country, beginning with
Saturn, who, dethroned by Jupiter, retired thither,
and there eftabh(hed the Golden Age. He in-
forms his guefts that the Tiber, anciently called
Albula, had acquired it's prefent name from
the Giant Tibris, who made a conqueft of the
fhores of that river. He fliews him the altar
and the gate, fince called Carmentalis by the
Romans, in honour of the nymph Carmenta, his
mother, by whofe advice he had come to form a
fettlement in that place, after having been baniflied

from

234 STUDIES OF NATURE.

from Arcadia, his native Country. He points out
to him an extenfive wood, of which Romidus, in
after times, availed himfelf as an afylum ; and, at
the bottom of a rock, the grotto of Pan-Lupercal,
fo called, he tells him, in imitation of that of the
Arcadians of Mount Lyceum.

Nee non et facri monflrat nemus Argileti :
Teftaturque locum, et lethum docet hofpitis Argi.
Hinc ad Tarpeiam fedem et Capitolia ducit,
Aurea nunc, olim fylveftribus horrida dumis.
Jam turn religio pavidos terrebat agreftes
Pira loci, jam turn fylvam faxumque tremebant.
Hoc nemus, hunc, inquit, fiondofo vertice collem,
(Quis Deus incertum eft) habitat Deus, Arcades ipfum
Credunt fe vidifle Jovem ; cum faspe nigrantem
jEgrda concuteret dextra, nipbofque ciei'et.

Haec

* Here, Pan^ beneath the rocks thy temple flood ;
There, the renown'd afyhim, in the wood.
Now points the monarch, where, by vengeful fteel
His murder'd gueft, poor haplefs Jrgus fell !
Next, to the capitol their courfe they hold.
Then roof d with reeds, but blazing now with gold.
Ev'n then her awful fanftity appear'd ;
The fwains the local majefty rever'd.
All pale with facred horror, they furvey'd
The folemn mountain and the reverend fhade.
Some God, the monarch faid, fome latent God
Dwells in that gloom, and haunts the frowning wood.
Oft our Arcadians deem, their wondering eyes
Have feen great Jav^^ dread fovereign of the Ikies;

Hish

FRAGMENT. 235

Haec duo prasterea disjedis oppida mûris,
Relliquias veterumqne vides monumenta virorum.
Hanc Janus pater, hanc Saturnus condidit urbem :
Janiculum huic, illi fuerat Saturnia nomen.

JEneiv. B. viii. L. 345—358.

*' He next ftievvs him the facred grove of Argî-
" letum : makes a folemn appeal to that awful
*' fpot, and relates the flory of his murdered gueft
" Argus. Then he condufts him to the Tarpeian
*' rock ; and to the Capitol, now fliining with
" burnifhed gold, once clothed all over with wild
*' flirubbery. Even then the gloomy religious
*' horror of this fpot terrified the trembling ruf-
" tics; even then they ihuddered, as they ap-
*' proached the rocky precipice and the wood.
*' Some God, fays he, but which of the celeftial
*' Powers we know not, inhabits this grove, and
** this fliaggy-topped eminence. Our Arcadians
** imagine they have had aglimpfe oî Jupiter him-
*' felf, from time to time fhaking the heart-ap-
" palling JEgis with his formidable right-hand,.

High o'er their heads, the God his aegis held.
And blackenM Heav'n with clouds, and fliook th' immor-
tal fliield !
Tn ruins there two mighty towns, behold,
Rais'd by our fires ; huge monuments of old !
Janus' and Saturn's name they proudly bore,
Their two great fotmders !...,but are now no more !

Pitt.

*' and

2.36 STUDIES OF NAtURE.

** and roufing into fury the thunder-impregnated
*' clouds. You farther fee thefe two ruinous ci-
*' ties, with walls crumbling into duft, the fad re-
*' mains and venerable monuments of perfonages
*' who flourifhed in ages long fmce pall. Jamts
" founded the one, and Saturn the other : hence,
^' this obtained the name of Janiculum, and that,
^' of Saturnia."

Here are the principal monuments of Rome, as
well as the earlieft religious eftablifhments, afcribed
to the Arcadians. The Romans celebrated the
feaft of Saturn in the month of December. During
that period of feftivity, the mafters and the flaves
fat down at the fame table ; and thefe laft theft
enjoyed the liberty of faying, and of doing, what-
ever they pleafed, in memory of the ancient equa-
lity of Mankind, which prevailed in the reign of
Saturn. The altar, and the gate, CarnientaliSy long
fubfifted at Rome, as well as the grotto of Pant-
Lupercal, which was under Mount Palatine.

firgil oppofes, with the ability of a great Mafter,
the ruflicity of the ancient Sites, which furrounded
the fmall Arcadian city of Pallanteum, to the mag-
nificence of thofe very places within the precindts
of Rome J and their rude altar, with their venerable
and religious traditions, ufider Evander, to the
gilded temples of a city, in which nothing vene-
rable

FRAGMENT. Z^J

rable or religious was any longer to be feen, undçr.

AuguJ}us,

There is herç, likewife, another moral contraft,
which produces a more powerful efFeâ: than all the
phyfical contrails, and which admirably paints the
fimplicity, and the uncorrupted integrity of the
King of Arcadia, It is when that Prince juftifies
himfelf, without being called upon to do fo, from
the fufpicion of having caufçd the dçath of his
gueft Argus, and appeals, as a witnefs of his inno«
cence, to the wood which he had confecrated to
him. This Argus, or this Argian, had infmuatecj
himfelf into his houfe, with an intention to mur?
d^r him : but, having been detected, was con^
demned to die. Evander had a tomb reared to his
memory, and here folemnly protefts, that he had
not violated, in his cafe, the facred rights of hof-
pitality. The piety of this good King, and the
proteftation which he makes of his innocence, re-
fpefting a ftranger, who was deeply criminal
againft himfelf, and juftly condemned by the laws,
forms a wonderfully fine contraft to the illegal
profcriptions of gucfts, of parents, of friends, of
patrons, of which Rome had been the theatre
for an age before, and which had excited in no
one citizen either fcruple or remorfe. The quar-
ter of Argiletum ejftended, in Rome, along the
banks of the Tiber. The town Japiculum had

been

2jS STUDIES OF ifATURE.

been built on the mount of that name, aud SatOr-'
nia on the rock firft called the Tarpeian, and af-
terwards the Capitol, the place of Jnpiters refi-
dence. This ancient tradition, of Jupiter'' s fre-
quently colleâ:ing the clouds on the fummit of
this foreft- cove red rock, and there brandifliing his
dark segis, confirms what has been faid in my pre-
ceding Studies of the hydraulic attradlion of the
fummits of mountains, and of their forefts, which
are the fources of rivers. This was the cafe, like-
wife, with Olympus, frequently involved in clouds,
on which the Greeks fixed the habitation of the
Gods. In the ages of ignorance, religious fenti-
ments explained phyfical effedls : in ages of illu-
mination, phyfical effeâis bring men back to re-
ligious fentiments. Nature, at all times, fpeaks to
Man the fame language, in different dialedls.

Virgil completes the contraft of the ancient mo-
numents of Rome, by prefenting a pifture of the
poor and fimple habitation of the good King Evan-
der, in the very place where fo many fumptuous
palaces were afterwards reared.

* Talibus inter fe di£lis ad tefta fubibant

Pauperis Evandri : paffimque armenta videbant
Roraanoque Foro et lautis mugii-e Carinis.

* Thus they convers'd on works of ancient fame,
Till to the Monarch's humble coui-ts they came ;

There

FRAGMENT. 239

tJt ventum ad fedes : Hsec, inquit, limina viclor

Alcides fubiit : haec illum regia cepit.

Aude, hofpes, contemnere opes, et te quoque dignum

Finge Deo, rebufque veni non afper egenis.

Dixit ; et angufti fubter faftigia teéli

Ingentem >^neam duxit : ftratifque locavit,

EfFultum foliis et pelle Libyftidis urfae.

^NEiD. B. viii. L. 359 — 368.

" While thus converfing, they drew nigh to the
'' lowly roof of the poor Evander : and favv the
" cattle ftroiling up and down, and heard their
" lowing, in what is now the Roman Forum, and
" the fplendid quarter of the Roftra. Being ar-
** rived, This threfliold, fays he, received the vic-
'' torious Alcides ; this humble palace entertained
'^ a gueft fo illuftrious. Dare, like him, my be-
*' loved gueft, to look down on wealth, and thus
" approve thy celeftial origin, and kindly accept
5* the hofpitality of this poor manfion. He fpake.

There oxen ftalk'd, where palaces are rais'd,

And bellowing herds in the proud forum graz'd.

Lo ! faid the good old King, this poor abode

Receiv'd great Hercules, the viftor God !

Thou, too, as nobly, raife thy foul above

All pomps, and emulate the feed of Jove.

With that, the hero's hands the Monarch preft.

And to the manfion led his godlike guefi.

There on a bear's rough fpoils his limbs he laid,

And fwelling foliage heap'd the homely bed.

Pitt.

'' and

240 STUDIES OF MATURE,

•' and conduded the mighty Eneas through the
*' narrow portal ; and placed him on a couch of
*' fohage, covered with the fkin of a Lybian
*' bear."

It is here evident, how deeply Virgil is pene-
trated with the (implicity of Arcadian manners,»
and with what delight he fets Evander's cattle
a-lowing in the Forum Romanumy and makes them
pafture in the proud quarter of the city diftin-
guifhed by the name of Caritiie, thus called, be-
caufe Pompey had there built a palace, ornamented
with the prows of Ihips in bronze. This rural
contraft produces the moft agreeable effeâ:. The
author of the Eclogues recollefted, affuredly, in
this place, the (hepherd's pipe. Now, he is going
to lay down the trumpet, and to aflume the flute.
He proceeds to oppofe to his picflureof the dread-
ful conflid with Caais, to the hymn of Hercules, to
the religious traditions of the Roman monuments,
and to the auftere manners of Evander, the moft
voluptuous epifode of his whole Work. It is that
of Fenus, coming to folicit Fulcan to make a fuit of
armour for Eneas.

* Nox riait, et fufcis tellurem ampleftitur alis ;
At Venus baud animo nequicquam exterrita mater.

* Now awful Night her folemn darknefs brings,
And ilretches o'er the World her dulky wings j

When

FRAGMENT. 24!

LauFentùmque minis et duro mota tumultu,

V<tksnttm alloquitiTT, thalamoque hsec conjugis aure»

Jncipit, et diéVis diviniim afpirat amorem :

Dum bello Argolici vaftabant Pergama reges

Débita, cafurafque inimicis ignibus arces :

Non ullum auxilium miferis, non arma rogavi

Artis opifque tuae ; nec te, cariffime conjux,

IncafFumve tuos volui exercefe labores,

Quamvis et Priami deberem plurima natis,

Et durum JEneae fleviflèm fepe laboremé

Nunc,

When Venus, (trembling at the dire alarms
Of hoftile Latium, and her fons in arms,)
In thofe ftill moments, thus to Vulcan faid,
Reclin'd and leaning on the golden bed :
(Her thrilling words her melting confort move>
And every accent fans the flames of love :)

When cruel Greece and unrelenting Fate
Confpir'd to fink in duft the Trojan flate,
As Ilion's doom was feal'd, I ne'er implor'd
In thofe long wars, the labours of my lord ;
Nor urg'd my dear, dear confort to impart,
For a loft empire, his immortal art ;
Tho' Priam\ royal offspring claim'd my care,
Tho' much I forrow'd for my godlike heir.
Now as the Chief, by Jcve's fupreme command,
Has reach'd, at length, the deftin'd Latian land j
To thee, my guardian power, for aid I run ;
A Goddefs begs; a mother for a fon.
Oh ! guard the hero from thefe dire alarms,
Forge, for the Chief, impenetrable arms.
See, what proud cities every hand employ.
To arm new holts againfl the fons of Troy ;
■VOL. v. & On

242 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Nunc, Jovis imperils, Rutulorum conftitit oris :
Ergo eadem fupplex venio, et fanftum mihi numea
Arma rogo, genitrix nato. Te filia Nerei,
Te potuit lachrymisTithonia fle£iere conjux.
Afpice qui coeant populi quae maenia claufis
Ferrum acuant portis, in me excidiumque meorum,
Dixerat J et niveis hinc atque hinc diva lacertis
Cunftantem amplexu molli fovet : ille repente
Accepit folitam flammam, notufque medullas
Intravit calor, et iabefada per ofla cucurrit :
Non fecus atque olim tonitru cum rupta corufco
Ignea rima micans percurrit lumine nimbos.
Senfit laeta dolis, et formae confcia conjux.
Tum pater seterno fatur deviftus amore :
Quid caufas petis ex alto ? Fiducia ceffit

Qu«

On me and all my people, from afar
See what aflembled nations pour to war 1
Yet not in vain her forrows Thetis flied.
Nor the fair part'ner of Tithonus' bed,
When they, of old, implor'd my Lord to grace
With arms immortal, an inferior race.
Hear then, nor let thy Queen in vain implore
The gift, thofe Goddefles obtain'd before.

This faid, her arms, that match the Winter fnows.
Around her unrefolving Lord, ilie throws ;
When lo ! more rapid than the lightning flies,
That gilds with momentary beams the Ikies,
The thrilling flames of love, without controul.
Flew thro' the footy God, and fii'd his foul.
With confcious jey her conqueft flie dcfcry'd ;
When, by her chartns fubdu'd, her Lord reply "d :

Why all thefe reufons urg'd, my mind to move ;
When fuch your beauties, and fo fierce my love !

LoHjf

FRAGMENT. 243

Quo tibi, Diva, mei ? fnnilis fi cura fuiflet,
Tum quoque fas nobis Teucros armare fuiflet.
Nec pater omnipotens Trqjam, nec fata vetabant
Stare, decemque alios Priamum fuperefie per annos.
Et nunc, fi bellare paras, atque hgec tibi mens eft :
Quicquid in arte meâ pofluin promittere cur2e,
Quod fieri ferro, liquidove potefi: ele6lro.
Quantum ignés animaeque valent : abfifte, precando,
Viribus indubitare tuis. Ea verba locutus,
Optatos dédit amplexus . placidumque petivit
Conjugis infufus gremio, per membra foporem.

^NEiD. B. viii. L. 369—406.

" Night haftens on, and encircles the Earth with
dufky wings. But Fenm, whofe maternal breaft

Long fince, at your requeft, my ready care,

in Troy's fam'd fields, had arjn'd your fons for war.

Nor did the high decrees of Jove and Fate

Doom to fo fwift a fall the Dardan State.

But, ten years more, old Priam might enjoy

Th' Hïiperial fceptre and the throne of Troy.

Yet, if bur Queen is bent the war to wage.

Her facred caufe fliall all our art engage.

The noblert arms our potent fkill can frame,

With breathing bellows, or the forming fiame,

Or polifti'd fteel, refulgent to behold,

Or mingled metals, damafk'd o'er with gold.

Shall grace the Chief: thy anxious fears give o'er,

And doubt thy intereft in my love no more.

He fpoke ; and fir'd with tranfport by her charms,

Clafp'd the fair Goddefs in his eager arms ;

Then, pleas'd, and panting on her bofom, lay,

Sunk in repofe, and all dilFolv'd away.

Pitt.

R 2 ** was

244 STUDIES ©F NATURE.

*' was agitated with well-grounded apprehenfions,
*' alarmed at the threats of the Laurentian Chief,
" and the dire preparations of approaching war,
" addreffes herfelf to Fnkany and, reclined on her
*' fpoufe's golden bed, thus begins, while love ce-
" leftial flowed from her lips : All the time that
" the Grecian Princes were ravaging the plains of
*' ill-fated Troy, and aflailing her lofty turrets,
" doomed to fall by hoftile fires ; I claimed no
*' affiftance for that wretched People ; I aiked no
** arms, the produdion of thy matchlefs ikill ;
** nor could I think, my dearly beloved hufband,
*^ of employing thee in a fruitlefs labour, though
" I both lay under manifold obligations to the
** family of Priam, and had frequent occafion to
*' flied tears over the perilous exertions of Eneas»
*' Now, by Jov'c's fupreme command, he has landed
" on the Rutulian lliore. In the fame ilate of
*' anxiety, 1 have now recourfe to thee as a fup-
*' pliant, and implore a protection ever facred in
" my eyes. Armour I aflv of thee, a mother for a
** fon. The daughter of Nereiis, and the fpoufe
*' of Thhofjus, had the art of prevailing on thee, by
*' their tears, to grant a fimilar favour. Behold,
*' what Nations are combined, what cities have
*' Quit their gates, and are whetting the fword, for
" the deftrudion of me and mine.

She

FRAGMENT. 245

" She fpake, and, as he hefitated, fhe flung her
fnowy arms around him, and cherilhed him in
her foft embrace : he in dandy catches the well-
known flame, and the acciiftomed fire penetrated
his very marrow, and flew like lightning through
his melting frame : juft as when a fiery ftream
ilTues from the bofom of a thundery cloud, and
fkiris it's edge with tremulous light. His fair
fjpoufe, confcious of beauty's power, joyfully
perceived the influence of her wily charms : and
thus the good-natured Parent of Arts, fubdued
by the irrefiftible magic of mighty love, replies:
Why go (o far in queft of arguments-? Whether,
my Goddefs, has thy confidence in me fled ?
Hadfl thou expreffed a fimilar anxiety before,
I would then have fabricated arms for thy fa-
vourite Trojans. Neither almighty ^ove, nor
Fate, forbad Troy to ftand, nor Priam to furr
vive for ten years more. Now, then, if for war
thou art preparing, and if fuch is thy refolve,
whatever my fkill can perform, I folemnly pro-
mife to efFeâ: ; whatever can be produced from
iron, or liquid mixtures of the finer metals ; as
far as the fiery element, and the breathing bel-
lows, have power to fafliion : Ceafe, by conti-
nuing your entreaties, to exprefs a doubt of
your empire over me. Having thus fpoken, he
returned the expedted carefies, and melted away
R 3 " in

246 STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' in the foft bofom of his fair confort, while gentle
*' fleep ftole upon every limb."

Virgil always employs conformities in the midd
of contrafls. He chufes the night feafon for in-
troducing Venus to pradlife her bewitching arts on
Vulcan, becaufe the power of Venus is greateft in
the night. It was impoffible for me to convey, in
a feeble profe verfion, all the graces of the lan-
guage of the Goddefs of Beauty. There is in her
didiion, a delightful mixture of elegance, of ne-
gligence^ of addrefs, and of timidity. I fhall con-
fine myfelf to only a few ftrokes of her charafter,
which appear to me capable of being moft eafily
hit. At firft, flie lays great ftrefs on the obligations
which fhe was under to Pn'aw's faipily. The chief,
and, I believe, the only one, was the apple, ad-
judged in her favour, by Paris, one of the fons of
Priam, in prejudice of juno and Minerva. But
that apple, which had declared her the molt beau-
tiful of the three, and which had, moreover, hum-
bled her rivals, was every thing to Venus : Ilie,
accordingly, calls it Plurima, and extends her gra-
titude on that account, not to Paris only, but to
Jill the fons of Priam :

Quatnvis et Priami deberefnrLpsiMA mtis.

As

FRAGMENT. 247

As to EnenSy her Ton by Anchifes, though he be
here the grand objedl of her enterprize, flie fpeaks
only of the tears which fhe has fhed over his calami-
ties, and even thefe (he difpatches in a Tingle line.
She names him only once, and in the verfe fol-
lowing, defcribes him with fo much ambiguity,
that what flie fays of Enms might be referred to
Priam^ fo fearful is (he of repeating the name of
the fon of Anchifes in pre fen ce of her hu(band 1
As to Vulcan, (he flatters him, fupplicates, im-
plores, wheedles him. She calls his (kill, " her
" facred protedion :" fan^um numen. But when
flie comes to her great point, the armour for
Eneas, (he expre(res herfelf literally in four words;
" Arms I beg ; a mother for a fon ;" Arma rogo'y
*' genetrix nato. She does not fay, *' For her fon ;"
but conveys her meaning in general terms, to avoid
explanations of a nature too particular. As the
ground was flippery, (he fupports herfelf by the
example of two faithful wives, that of Thetis, and
oi Aurora, who had obtained, from Vulcan, armour
for their fons ; the firft, for Achilles, the fécond,
for Memnon. The children of thefe Godde(res
were, indeed, legitimate, but they were mortal,
hke Eneas, which was fufEcient for the moment.
She next attempts to alarm her hufband for her
own perfonal fafety. She fuggefts, that (he flood
expofed to incredible danger. *' Combined Na-
** tions," fays (he, *' and formidable cities whet

R 4 *' Uie

248 STUDIES OP NATURE.

*' the fword againfl me." Vulcan is ftaggered, yet
ftill hefitates ; (he fixes his determination by a
rnafter-ftroke ; die folds him in her beautiful arms,
and earefles him. Let who can, render the force
of; Cun5îantem amplexu molli fovet.,..fenJit lata dolts

and, above all, /orw^ confcia, which defies all

the powers of tranflation.

Vukans reply prefents perfed adaptations, to the
fituation into which he had been thrown, by the

careffes of Mentis,

Firgil gives him, firft, the title of Father :
Turn Patev asterno fatur deviclus amore,

I have tranflated the word Pater y *' Father of
Arts," but improperly. That epithet belongs
more jiiftly to Apollo than to Fiilcan : it here
imports, the good Vulcan, Virgil frequently em-
ploys the word, father, as fynonymous with good.
He often appHes it to Eneas, and to Jupiter him-
felf : Tater Eneas, Pater omnipotens. The principal
charader of a father being good nefs, he quaUfies,
by this riame, his hero, and the Sovereign of the
Gods. The word, father, in this paflage, lignifies,
in the moft literal fenfe of the words, good man ;
for Vulcan fpeaks and aâ:s with lingular goodnefs
of dirpofition. But the word, father, taken apart,

is

FRAGMENT. 249

is not fufficiently dignified in our language, in
which it conveys the fame meaning, in a trivial
manner. The commonalty addrefs it, in familiar
difcourfe, to old men, and to good-natured per-
fons.

Some commentators have obferved, that in thefe
words :

Fiducia ceffit quo tibi Diva mei,

There is an inverfion of grammatical conftruflion;
and they have thought proper to afcribe this to a
poetical licenfe. They have not perceived, that
the irregularity of Fulcatis didion proceeds from
the diforder of his head; and that Virgil reprefents
him, not only as tranfgreffing againft the rules of
grammar, but trefpafling againft the laws even of
common-fenfe, in making him fay, that had Fenus
exprefled a fimilar anxiety before, it would have
been in his power to fabricate armour for the
Trojans ; that Jupiter, and the Fates, did not for-
bid Troy to ftand, nor Priam to reign ten years
longer :

Similis fi cura fuifTet ;
Turn quoque fas nobis Teucros armare fuifTet ;
Nee Pater omnipotens Trojam, nee Fata vetabant
Stare, decemque alios Priamum fuperefle per annos.

It was decidedly clear, that Fate had deftined
Troy to fall in the eleventh year of the fiege, and

that

250 STUDIES OF NATURE.

that this irrevocable decree had been declared l^
many oracles and prognoftics, among others, by
the prefage of a ferpent, which devoured ten little
birds in the neft, with their mother. There is in
Vttlcan^s difcourfe a great deal of fwaggering, to
fay no worfe of it, for he infinuates, that there
were arms which he could have made, in complai-
fance to Feniis, capable of counteracting the courfe
of Fate, and the will of Jupiter himfelf, to whom
he gives the epithet of omnipotent, by way of de-
fiance. Obferve, farther, by the wa,y, the rhime
of thefe two verfes, in which the fame word is
twice repeated^ fucceflively, without any apparent
neceflity.

.fi cura fiiiflet
.annare fuiflèt.

Vtdcaity intoxicated with love, knows neither
what he fays, nor what he does. He is completely
deranged in his expreffion, in his thoughts, and
in his adions, for he forms the rtfolution of fabri-
cating magnificent armour for the illegitimate fon
of his faithlefs fpoufe. It is true, he avoids naming
him. She has pronounced his name but once,
out of difcretion J and he fuppreffes it altogether,
out of jealoufy. To Feniis alone the fervice is to
be rendered. It appears as if he believed flie was
going perfonally to engage in combat : "If for

" war

FRAGMENT. 251

*' war thou art preparing,'* fays he to her, " and
•* if fuch is thy refolve :"

Si bellare paras, atque hasc tibi mens eft.

The total diforder of his frame terminates that
of his addrefs. Heated with the fire of love in the
arms of Fenus, he diflblves hke metal in the fur-
nace :

Conjugis infufus gremio.

Remark the accuracy of that metaphorical con-
fonance, infufus^ " difTolved," fo perfedlly adapted
to the God of the forges of Lemnos. At length,
he becomes completely infenfible.

..placidumque petivit
.per membra ioporem.

Sopor means a great deal more than ileep. It
farther prefents a confonance of the (late of metals
after their fufion, a total ftagnation.

But in order to weaken the effeft, of what is li-
centious in this pidlure, and inconfiftent with con-
jugal manners, the fage Virgil oppofes, immedi-
ately after, to the Goddefs of voluptuoufnefs, re-
quefting, of her hufband, armour for her natural
fon, a matron chafte and poor, employed in the
arts of Minerva to rear her young ones ; and he

applies

252 STUDIES OF NATURE.

applies that afFefting image, to the felf-fame hours
of the night, in the view of prefenting a new con-
traft, of the different ufes which vice and virtue
make of the fame time.

* Inde ubi prima quies medio jam no£lis abadse

CuiTiculo expulerat fomnum ; cum fcemina, primùm
Cui tolerare colo vitam tenuique Minerva,
Impofitum cinerem et fopitos fufcitat ignes,
Koftem addens operi, famulafque ad lumina longo
Exercet penfo ; caflum ut fervare cubile
Conjugis, et poffit parvos educere natos.

^NEiD. B. viii. L. 407 — 41 5„

" At the hour which terminates the firft ileep,
*' when the car of Night had as yet performed but
*' half it's courfe ; that feafon when firfl the careful
*' houfewife, accuftomed to earn her living by the
** labours of the diftaff, and the feeble indufbry of
*' the arts of Minerva, blows away the gathered
" afhes, and roufes up the Numbering flame,
«* making night itfelf contribute to her thrift, and

* But rofe refrefii'd, impatient, from the bed.

When half the filent hours of night were fled.

What time the poor, laborious, frugal dame,

Ir"* J Who plies the dillafF, ftirs the dying flame;

Employs her handmaids by the winking light.

And lengthens out their taflc with half the night ;

Thus to her children flie divides the bread,

And guards the honours of her homely bed.

Pitt.

'f inures

, FRAGMENT. 253

" inures her maidens to lengthened tafks by a
'' glimmering light ; to fave herfelf from the temp-
" tation of infidelity to her hiifband's bed, and to
*' fupply the means of rearing her tender off-
" fpring."

Ftrgil goes on to deduce new and fublime con-
trails, from the humble occupations of this vir-
tuous matron. He oppofes, in clofe fucceffion, to
her feeble induftry, ieiiui Minerva, the ingenious
Vulcan ; to her dying embers, which fhe re- kind les,
fopitos ignes, the continually flaming crater of a
volcano ; to her maidens, among whom flie diftri-
butes balls of wool, longo exercet penfo^ the tremen-
dous Cyclopes forging a thunder-bolt for Jupter,
a car for MarSy an segis for Minerva, and who, at
the command of their mafter, interrupt their celef-
tial engagements, to undertake a fuit of armour for
Eneas, on the buckler of which were to be en-
graved the principal events of the Roman Hiftory.

■^ Haud fecus Ignipotens, nee tempore fegnior illo,
Mollibus è flratis opera ad fabrilia.furgit.
Tnfula Sicanium juxta latus iEoliamque
Erigitur Liparen, fumantibus ardua faxis j

* So to his tafk, before the dawn, retires
From foft repofe, the father of the fires.
Amid th' Hefperian and Sicilian flood.
All black with fmoke, a rocky iiland flood,
The dark Vulcanian land, the region of the God.

Here

}

254 STUDIES OF KAtURE.

Qiiam fubter fpecus et Cyclopum exefa caminis
Antra iEtnea tonant : validique incudibus iftus
Auditi referunt gemitum, ftriduntque cavernis
Strifturae Chal^bum, et fornacibus ignis anhelat :
Vulcani domus, et Vulcania nomine tellus.
Hue tunc Ignipotens coelo defcendit ab alto.
Ferrum exercebant vafto Cyclopes in antro,
Brontefque, Steropefque et nudus membra Pyracmon.
His informatum manibus, jam parte polita,
Fulmen erat, toto Genitor que plurima coelo
Dejicit in terras ; pars împerfefta manebat.
Très imbris torti radios, très nubis aquofae
Addiderant : rutili très ignis, et alitis Auftrl.
Fulgores nunc terrificos, fonitumque, metumquc
Mifcebant operi, flammifque fequacibus iras.

Parte

Here the grim Cyclops ply, in vaults profound,
The huge ^olian forge, that thunders round.
Th' eternal anvils ring, the dungeon o'er ;
From fide to fide the fiery caverns roar.
Loud groans the mafs beneath their pond'rous blows,
Fierce burns the flame, and the full furnace glows.
To this dark region, from the bright abode,
With fpeed impetuous flew the fiery God.
Th' alternate blows the brawny brethren deal ;
Thick burft the fparkles from the tortur'd fteel.
Huge ftrokes, rough S f erodes and Bronte! gave.
And ftrong Pyracymn fhook the gloomy cave :
Before their Sovereign came, the Cyclops ftrove.
With eager fpeed, to forge a bolt for Jove.
Such as by Heaven's almighty Lord are hurl'd.
All charg'd with vengeance, on a guilty World.
Beneath their hands, tremendous to furvey ! »

Half rough, half form'd, the dreadful engine lay ;

Three

FRAGMENT. I55

Parte alia Marti a:rrumque rotafque volueres
Inftabant, quibus ille viros, quibus excitât wbes:
jïgidaque horrificam, turbataî Palladis arma
Certatim fquamis ferpentum au roque polibant :
Connexofque angues, ipfamque in peélore Divae
Gorgona, defetlo vertentem lumina collo.
Tollite cunéla, inquit, cœptofque auferte laborcs,
iEtnei Cyclopes, et hue advertiîe mentem.
Arma acri facienda viro : nunc viribus uûis,
Nunc manibus rapidis, omni nunc arte magiftrâ;
Praecipitate moras. Nec plura efiFatus : at illi
Ocius incubuere omnes, pariterque laborem
Sortit! : Fluit aes rivis, aurique metallum :

Vulnificufquc

Three points of rain ; three forks of hail confpire ;

*rhree arm'd with wind ; and three were barb'd with firç.

The màfe they temper'd thick with livid ray?,

Fear, Wrath, and Terror, and the lightning's blaze.

With equal fpeed, a fécond train prepare

The rapid chariot for the God of War ;

The thund'ring wheels and axles, that excite

The madding nations to the rage of fight..

Some, in a fringe, the burnifli'd ferpents roU'd,

Round the dread aegis, bright with fcalesof gold ;

The horrid asgis, great Minerva's fhield.

When, in her wrath, flie takes the fatal field.

All chai'g'd with curling fnakes the bofs they rais'd,

And the grim Gorgon's head tremendous blaz'd.

In agonizing pains the monfl:er frown'd,

And roird, in death, her fiery eyes around.

Throw, throw your tafkc afide, the Sovereign faid ;
Arms for a godlike Hero muft be made.
Fly to the work before the dawn of day ;
Yoyr fpeed, your ftrength, and all your Ikili difplay.

Swift

256 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Vulnificufque chalybs vaftà fornace liquefcit.
Ingentem clypeum informant, unum omnia contra
Tela Latinorum : feptenofque orbibus orbes
Impediunt : alii ventofis follibus auras
Accipiunt, redduntque : alii ftridentia tingunt
JEra. lacu : gemit impofitis incudibus antrum.
Illi inter fefe multa vi brachia tollunt
In numerum, verfantque tenaci forcipe maflam.

^Eneid. B. viii. L. 447—453.

«« Not lefs vigilant, nor lefsdifpofed to induftry,
" at that early hour, the God who rules the fire,
** uprofe from his foft couch, and addreffed him-
** felf to his plaftic labours.

** Not far from the Sicilian fhore, and Molhn
*^ Lipari, an illand arifes out of the deep, forming

Swift as the word, (his orders to purfue,)
To the black labours of the forge they flew ;
Vaft heaps of fteel in the deep furnace roU'd,
And bubbling ftreams of brafs, and floods of melted gold.

The brethren firft a glorious fliield prepare,
Capacious of the whole Rutulian war.
Some, orb in orb, the blazing buckfer frame ;
Some with huge bellows rouze the i^oaring flame :
Some in the ftream the hifling metals drown'd,
From vault to vault the thund'ring ftrokes rebound,
And the deep cave re-bellows to the found.
Exaft in time each ponderous hammer plays ;
In time their arms the giant brethren raife,
And turn the glowing mafs a thoufand ways.

Pitt.

}

:tt.
a huge

FRAGMENT. 2^J

** a huge mafs of lofty and ever-fmoking rocks :
** in the burning entrails of which, a fpacious ca-
** vern, and the fire-confumed ^Etnean vaults, in-
** ceflantly thunder with the fultry labours of the
** Cyclopian brothers : the anvils reverberate the
** thumping of their fturdy (Irokes : the hammer-
*' ing of flaming fteel refounds from cave to cave,
** while flreams of fire afcend from the foaming
" furnaces : fuch is the dread domain of Fulca?îy
" and from his name the ifland has obtained the
** appellation of Vulcania. Hither it was that the
*' fiery God, from the heights of Olympus, now
*' repaired.

'* The Cyclopes there he found plying their
** irony labours in the capacious cavern, BronteSy
" and SteropeSy and the naked-limbed Pyracmon.
'^ They had in hand a dread thunderbolt, one of
** thofe which father j^ove fo frequently hurls from
" flaming Heaven upon the Earth : it was, as yet,
** but half reduced to form, partly polilhed, and
*' partly in a rude imperfe(ft ftate. They had
" blended in it, three rays of rain, congealed into
** hail ; three of the watery cloud ; three of ruddy
*' fire, and three of the winged South-wind. They
** were now infufing into the compofition the ter-
** rific flafii, and noife, and difmay, and anger min-
" gling with the rapid flame. In another forge,
** they were ardently fini 111 ing a warlike car, and

VOL. V. i " fwifc

233 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" fvvift-flying wheels for Mars, in which he roufes
** hoftile armies and cities to the fierce combat.
" Others were employed in burnifhing, with emu-
** lous ikill, a horrific œgis, the armour oï Pallas
" when moved to vengeance, with fcaly ferpents
" wrought in gold ; exhibiting the intertwifted
** fnakes, and the dire head of the Gorgon herfelf,
** a covering for the bread of the Goddefs, cut off
'*- by the neck, and rolling about her deadly eyes.

*' Children of ^tna, fays he, Cyclopian bro-
*^ thers, defift ; remove thefe unfiniQied labours
*^ out of the way, and attend to what I am going
** to give in charge. We have to fabricate armour
" for a redoubted mortal : now exert your utmoft
" ftrength, now ply your bufy hands, now call
'*• forth all vour mafterly Ikill : let not a fingle
" inftant be loft. He faid no more : they all,
*'^ with the quicknefs of thought, engaged in the
** work, and affign to each his (l:iare, in the mighty
i\ taik, by lot. The golden and the brazen metals
<^ flow in rivulets -, and the death-fraught fteel
*' difTolves in the enormous furnace. The vaft
<' and ponderous fliield they falhion, itfelf alone a
" bulwark againft all the weapons of the Latins :
*' a fevenfold texture of impenetrable orb upon
'* orb. Some draw in, and expel, the air, with
" the breathing bellows ; fome temper the hiffing
*' brafs in the cooling furge ; the hollow cave re-

** bellows

FRAGMENT. 259

*' bellows with the ftrokes thundering on innume-
'* rable anvils. They, in regular time and order,
" elevate the brawny arm to the lufty blow, and
" turn round and round the flaming mafs with the
** tenacious tongs."

You think you fee thofe gigantic Tons of .^tna
at work, and hear the noife of their ponderous
hammers ; fo imitative is the harmony of Firpl's
verfification 1

The compofition of the thunder is well worthy
of attention. It is replete with genius, that is,
with obfervations of Nature entirely new. Fir^i^
introduces into it the four elements all at once,
and places them in contraft : the earth and the
water, the fire and the air.

Tres imbris torti radios, très nubis aquofse
Addiderant, nituli tres ignis, & alitis Auftri.

There is, indeed, in the compofition, no earth
properly fo called, but he gives folidity to the wa-
ter, to fupply it's place ; ïres imbris torti radios,
literally, " three rays of crifped rain," to denote
hail. This metaphorical expreffion is ingenious ;
it fuppofes the Cyclopes to have crifped the drops
of the rain, in order to form them into hail-ftones.
Remark, likevvife, the appropriate correfpondence
of the expreffion alitis Aujlri^ " the winged Auf-

s z '' ter."

26o STUDIES OF NATURE.

** ter." Aufler is the Wind of the South, which
almoft always occafions thundery weather in Eu-
rope.

The Poet has afterwards had the boldnefs to
place metaphyfical fenfations on the anvil of the
Cyclopes: metuniy "fear;'* iraSy "wrath." He
amalgamates them with the thunder. Thus he
Ihakes, at once, the phyfical fyftem, by the con-
trail of the elements ; and the moral fyftem, by
the confonance of the foul, and the perfpedive of
Deity.

Flammifque fequacibus iras.

He fets the thunder a-roUing, and fhews Jupiter
in the cloud,

Firgilj farther, oppofes to the head of Pal/as,
that oi Medufa ; but this is a contrail in common
to him with all the Poets. But here is one pecu-
liar to himfelf. Vulcan commands his Cyclopian
workmen to lay afide their operations defigned for
the ufe of deities, and to give undivided attention
to the armour of a mortal. Thus he puts in the
fame balance, on the one hand, the thunder of
Jupiter y the car of Aijr.f, the œgis and cuirafs-of
Pallas J and on the other, the deilinies of the Ro-
man Empire, which were to be engraven on the
buckler of a man. But if he gives the preference

to

FRAGMENT. iSt

to this new work, it is wholly out of love to Venus,
nor from any regard to the glory of Eneas, Obferve,
that the jealous God ftill avoids naming the fon of
Anchifes, though he feems here reduced to the necef-
fity of doing it. He fatisfies himfelf with faying
vaguely to the Cyclopes : Arma acri facienda viro.
The epithet, acer, is fufceptible of both a favour-
able and an unfavourable fenfe. It may import
keen, wickedly fevere, and can hardly, with pro-
priety, be applied to a perfon of fo much fenfibi-
lity as Eneas^ to whom Virgil fo frequently appro-
priates the charader of the Pious.

Finally, Virgil, after the tumultuous pidure of
the Eolian forges, conveys us back, by a new con-
traft, to the peaceful habitation of good King
Evander, who is almoft as early a rifer as the good
houfewife, or as the God of fire,

* H«c pater iEoliis properat dum Lemnius oris,
Evandrum ex humili tefto lux fufcitat alma

* Et matutini volucrum fub culmine cantus.

Confurgit fenior, lunicâque inducitur artus,

Et Tyrrhena pedum circumdat vincula plantis ;

Turn

* Thefe cares employ the father of the fires j
Meantime Evander from his couch retires,
Call'd by the purple beams of morn away.
And tuneful birds, that hail'd the dawning day,
Firft the warm tunic round his limbs he threw ;
Next on his feet the Ihining fandals drew,

6 3 Around

262 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Tum lateri atque humeris Tegeasum fubligat enfem,
DemifTa ab lasva pantherae terga retorquens.
Nernon et gemini cuftodes limine ab alto
Procedunt, greflumque canes comitantur herilem.
Hofpitis JEnsx fedem et fecreta petebat,
Sermonum memor et promifli muneris heros.
Nee minus JEneas fe matutinus agebat.
Filius huic Pallas, olli comes ibat Achates.

uEneid. B. viii. L. 454 — 466.

'* While the Lemnian God was difpatching this
** weighty bufinefs on the (hores of JEoVm, the ge-
*' niai rays of returning Aurora, and the matin
" fong of the birds under his ftraw-clad roof,
** fummoned Evander from his lowly bed. The
** venerable fire arofe : he alTumes the tunic, fitted
*' to his ancient limbs, and binds the Tufcan fan-
** dais upon his feet ; next he fits to his Ihoulders
** and fide the Arcadian fwordj a panther's hide,
*' thrown carelefsly backward, depended over his
*^ left arm. Two faithful guardian dogs leave
** their dation at the threlhold, and, well-pleafed.

Around his fhoulders flow'd the panther's hide,

And the bright fword hung glittering at his fide.

Two mighty dogs, domeftic at his board,

(A faithful guard) attend their aged Lord.

The promis'd aid revolving in his breaft.

The careful Monarch fought his Godlike guefl,

Who with Achates rofe at dawn of day,

And join'd the King and F alias on the way.

Pitt.

«* attend

FRAGMENT. 263

" attend their mafler's footlleps. Tlie hero, well
*' recolleding the converfation of the night before,
" and the aid which he had promifed, was bend-
** ing his courfe toward the apartment, and fecret
** retreat, of his refpected gueft. Eneas, too, had
" been up with the dawn : they met ; the one
'* attended by his youthful heir, the other, by his
*' confidential friend Achates"

Here is a very interefting moral contrail.

The good King Evander, without any body-
guards except two dogs, which likewife ferved to
watch the houfe, walks forth, at day- break, to
converfe on bufinefs with his gueft. And do not
imagine, that under his ftraw-covered roof mere
trifles are negotiated. No lefs a fubjefl is difcufled
than the re-eftab!illiment of the Empire of Troy,
in the perfon of Eneas, or rather, the foundation
of the Roman Empire. The point in queftion is
the diffolution of a formidable confederacy of Na-
tions. To affift in affetling this, King Evander
offers to Eneas a re-inforcement of four hundred
cavaliers. They are, indeed, feleded, and to be
commanded by Pallas, his only fon. I muft here
obferve one of thofe delicate correfpondencies, by
which Virgil conveys important lefTons of virtue
£0 Kings, as well as to other men, in feigning ac-

s 4 tions

264 STUDIES OF NATURE.

tions apparently indifferent : I mean the confidence
Tepofed by Evandcr in his fon. Though this
young Prince was, as yet, but in the bloflbm of
life, his father admits him to a conference of the
higheft irnportancç, as his companion : Comes that.
He had given the name of Pallanteum, in honour
of his fon, to the city which he himfelf had found-
ed. Finally, of the four hundred cavaliers whom
he promifes to the Trojan Prince, to be under the
command of Pallas, two hundred he himfelf is to
feled out of the Arcadian youth, and the other
two hundred are to be furnilhed by his fon, in his
own name.

* Arcadas huic équités bis centum, robora pubis
Lefta, dabo ; totidemque fuo tibi nomine Pallas.

/Eneid. B. viii. L. 518— 519.

Inftances of paternal confidence are rare among
Sovereigns, who frequently confider their fuccef-
fors as their enemies. Thefe traits ftrongly depid
the candor, and the fimplicity of manners, of the
King of Arcadia.

* Beneath his flandard rang'd, a chofen force
1 fend, two hundred brave Arcadian horfe;
And, to fupport the gathering war, my fon
Shajl lead an equal fquadron of his own,

That

FRAGMENT. 263

That good Prince might, perhaps, be cenfured
for indifference about his only fon, in removing
him from his perfoa, and expofmg him to the
dangers of war : but he adls thus for a reafon dia-
metrically oppofite ; his objeâ: is to form the
young man to virtue, by making him ferve his
firft campaigns under a hero fuch as Eneas,

* Hunc tibi praeterea, fpes et folatia noftri
PalJanta adjungatn. Sub te tolerare magiftro
Militiam, et grave Martis opus, tua cernere fada
Afluefcat ; primis et te mu-etur ab annis.

jEneid. B. viii. L. 514 — 517.

** I will likewlfe fend my fon P alias \i\m(ç\.î with
'* thee ; Pallas, my hope and my dehght. Let him
** accuftom himfelf to endure the painful toils of
*' war under fuch a mafter, form his mind to glory
*' by the fight of thy gallant deeds, and learn to
** admire thee from his earlieft years."

The important part aded by this young Prince
may be feen in the fequel of the Eneid. Firgil has
cxtradted many exquifite beauties out of it : fuch are,

* And let my Pallas by thy fide engage,
Pallas^ the joy of my declining age.
Beneath fo great a mailer's forming care,
Let the dear youth learn every work of war j
In every field thy matchlefs toils admire,

h^à emulate thy deeds, and catch the glorious fire,

Pitt,

among

266 STUDIES OF NATURE.

among others, the affeding leave which his father
takes of him ; the regret exprefled by the good
old man, that age permitted him not to accompany
his fon to the field ; after that, the imprudent va-
lour of the young man, who, forgetting the leflbn
conveyed by the two bridles of Ancbifes, ventured
to attack the formidable Turms, and received from
his hand the mortal blow ; the high feats in arms
performed by Eneas, to avenge the death of the
fon of his h oft and ally ; his profound forrow at
fight of the youthful Pal/as, cut off in the flower of
his age, and the very firft day that he had engaged
in the fight ; finally, the honours conferred on the
lifelefs body, when he fent it to the afflided Father.

Here it is we may remark one of thofe touching
comparifons (7), by which Firgil, in imitation of
Homer, diminifiies the horror of his battle-pieces,
and heightens their effed, by eftablilhing, in them,
confonances with beings of another order. It is in
reprefenting the beauty of the young Pallas, the
luftre of which death has not yet entirely effaced.

* Qu^lem virgineo demenum pollice florem
Seu mollis violce, feu languentls hyacinthi ;
Cui neque fulgor adhuc, jiec dum fua forma recefïït :
Non jam mater alit tellus, virefque miniftrat.

/Enkid. B. xi. L. 68 — 71.

* There, like a flower he lay, with beauty crown'd,
Pluck'd by fome lovely virgin from the ground :

The

FRAGMENT. 26.7

^* Like a tender violet, or knguifhîng hyacinth,
*' cropped by the fingers of a virgin ; which have
'* not yet loft their beauty and their radiance ; but
** their parent Earth fuftains them no more, no
*' more fupplies them with nourifliment."

Mark another confonance with the death of
V alias. In order to exprefs the idea that thefe
flowers have not fuffered in being feparated from
the parent ftem, Virgil reprefents them as gathered
by a young maiden : Virgineo demejftm pollice i li-
terally, '* reaped by a virgin finger," and from
that gentle image, there refults a terrible contraft
with the javelin of Turms, which had nailed the
buckler of Pallas to his breaft, and killed him by
a lingle blow.

Finally, Virgil, after having reprefented the
grief of Evander, on beholding the dead body of
his fon, and the defpair of that unhappy father,
imploring the vengeance of Eneas, derives, from
the very death of Pallas, the termination of the
war, and the clofe of the Eneid ; for Turnus, over-
come in fingle combat by Eneas, refigns to him
the vidory, the empire, the Princefs Lavinia, and

The root no more the mother earth fupplies.
Yet ftill th' unfaded colour charms the eyes !

Vim

fupplicates

1Ô8 STUDIES OF NATURE*

fupplicates him to reft fatisfied with facrificcs fo
ample J but the Trojan hero, on the point of
granting him his life, perceiving the belt of Pallas,
which Turmts had afllimed, after having (lain that
young Prince, plunges his fword into his body^
as he pronounces thefe words :

Pallas te hoc vulnerc, Pallas
Immolât, et pœnam fcelerato ex fanguine fumit *.

jEneid. B. xii. 948 — 94g,

*' It is Pallas, Pallas, who, by this blow, exads
** atonement, and takes vengeance on thy criminal
*' blood."

Thus it is that the Arcadians have exercifed an
influence, in every poflible refpedt, over the hifto-
rical monuments, the religious traditions, the ear-
lieft wars, and the political origin of the Roman
Empire.

It is evident, that the age in which I exhibit the
Arcadians, is by no means an age of fidtion. I
colleâ:ed, therefore, refpeding them, and their
country, the delicious images which the Poets
have tranfmitted to us of thefe, together with the

* 'Tis Pallas, Pallas, gives the fatal hlow.

Thus is bis ghoft aton'd,

Pitt.

moft

FRAGMENT. 269

moft authentic traditions of Hiftorians, which I
found, in great numbers, in the Voyage oiPaufanias
into Greece, the Works of Plutarch, and the Re-
treat of the ten thoufand by Xenophon ; (o that I
collefted, on the fubjeâ: of Arcadia, all that Na-
ture prefents moft lovely in our climates, and
Hiftory, moft probable in Antiquity.

While I was engaged in thofe agreeable re-
fearches, I had the good fortune to form a per-
fonal acquaintance with John-James Roujfeau, We
very frequently went out a-walking, in the Sum-
mer time, in every diredion round Paris. I de-
rived inexpreffible fatisfadlion from his fociety»
He had nothing of the vanity of moft hterary cha-
radlers, who are continually difpofed to draw the
attention of other men to their ideas ; and ftill
lefs that of the men of the World, who imagine
tliat a man of letters is good for nothing but to
relieve their languor, by prattling to them. He
took his fliare of both the benefit, and the burthen
of converfation, talking in his turn, and atten-
tively liftening when others talked. Nay, he left
to thofe with whom he aflbciated, the fubjeâ: of
the converfation, regulating himfelf according to
their ftandard, with fo little arrogance of preten-
fion, that among thofe who did not know him,
perfons of moderate difcernment took him for an
ordinary man, and thofe who aflumed the lead,

confidered

270 STUDIES OF NATURE.

confidered him as much inferior to themfelves^
for with them he fpoke very little, or on very few
fubjefts. He has been fometimes accufed of pride,
on that account, by men of the fafhionable world,
who impute their own vices to perfons who have
not the advantage of fortune, but poflefs an inde-
pendent fpirit, that fcorns to bend the neck to
their yoke. But, among many other anecdotes
which I could produce, in fupport of what I juft
now faid, namely, that fimple people took him for
an ordinary man, here is one which muft convince
the Reader of his habitual modefty.

The very day that we went to look for a dinner
with the hermits of Mount Valerian, as I have re-
lated in a note, toward the conclufion of the fourth
Volume, on our return to Paris in the evening,
we were caught in a fliower, not far from the Bois
de Boulogne, oppofite to the Gate Maillot. We
went in to take fhelter, under the great Cheftnut-
trees, which had now begun to put out leaves ; for
it was during the Eafter-holidays. Under thofe
trees we found a great deal of company, who, like
ourfelves, had crowded thither for covert. One
of the Svvifs's lads having perceived John-James^
came running up to him, in a tranfport of joy, and
thus accofted him : " How now, my good man,
" whence do you come? It is an age fmce we have
** had the pleafure of feeing you !" Ronjfeau mildly

replied ;

FRAGMENT. 271

replied : ^* My wife has had a long fit of illnefs, and
" I myfelf have been confiderably out of order.'*
'' Oh ! my poor good man,'* replied the lad,
** you are not comfortable here : come, come ; I
" will find you a place within doors.**

In fa6t, he exerted himfelf fo zealoufly, that he
procured us an apartment above flairs, where, not-
withftanding the crowd, he contrived to accom-
modate us with chairs, a table, and fome bread
and wine. While he was fhcwing us the way, I
faid to John-James : *' This young man fcems to
** be very familiar with you ; furely he does not
*' know who you are ?" " Oh ! yes,'* replied he,
•^^ we have been acquainted thefe feveral years. My
** wife and I ufed frequently to come hither, in
*' fine weather, to eat a cutlet of an evening.**

The appellation of ^' good man," fo frankly
beftowed on him by the tavern-boy, who had, un-
doubtedly, long miftaken John- James for fome
honeft mechanic ; the joy which he exprefled at
feeing him again, and the zeal with which he
ferved him, conveyed to me, completely, an idea
of the good -nature which the fublime Author of
Emilius difplayed in his moft trivial anions.

So far from feeking to fhine in the eyes of any
one whatever, he himfelf acknowledged, with a

fentiment

272 STUDIES OF NATURE.

fèntiment of humility not often to be found, and^
in my opinion, altogether unfounded, that he was
not fit to take part in converfation of a fuperior
ftyle. *^ The leaft appearance of argument," faid
he to me one day, " is fufEcient to overfet me.
** My underftanding comes to my affiftance, half
** an hour later than to other men. I know what
" the reply ought to be, precifely when it is out
« of time."

That tardinefs of refledion did not proceed
from '* a maxillary depreffion," as is alleged, in
the " Profpedtus of a new Edition of the Works
" of John-James^* by a Writer, in other refpefts
highly eftimable : but from his ftrong fenfe of na-
tural equity, which permitted him not to give a
decifion on the moft trifling fubjedl, till he had
examined it; from his genius, which turned it
round and round, to get a view of it in every di-
redion; and, finally, from his modefty, which
reprefTed in him the theatrical tone, and the ora-
cular fententioufnefs (8) of our converfations. He
was in the midfl of a company of wits, with his
fimplicity, what a young girl, in the glow of natu-
ral colours, is amidft women who put on arti-
ficial red and white. Still lefs would he have fub-
mitted to exhibit himfelf as a fpedacle among the
Great; but in a tête-à-tête^ in the freedom of in-
timacy, and on fubjeds which were familiar to

him.

FRAGMENT. 2^^

him, thofe efpecially in which the happinefs of
Mankind was interefted, his foul foared alofc, his
fentiments became impreffive, his ideas profound,
his images fubUme, and his fpoken, as ardent as
his written, expreffion.

But what I prized ftill more highly than even
his genius, was his probity. He was one of the
few hterary charaders, tried in the furnace of af-
fiiftion, to whom you might, with perfed: fecurity^
communicate your moft fecret thoughts. You
had nothing to fear from his malignity, if he
deemed them to be wrong, nor from his perfidy,
if they appeared to him to be right.

One afternoon, then, that we were enjoying our
repofe, in the Bois de Boulogne, I led the conver-
fation to a fubjeél which I have had much at heart,
ever fin ce I came to the ufe of reafon. We had
jufb been fpeaking of Plittarch's lives of eminent
men, of Amy ot' s Tranflation, a Work which he
very highly prized, in which he had been taught
to read when a child, and which, if I am not mif-
taken, has been the germ of his eloquence, and of
his antique virtues ; fo much influence does the
firft education exercife over the reft of life i I faid
to him then :

VOL. Y, T I could

274 STUDIES OF NATURE.

I could have wiflied very much to fee a Hiftory
of your compofing.

y. y, " I once felt a powerful propenfity to
" vv^rite that of Co/mo de Medic is (9). He was a
*' fimple individual, who became the fovereign of
*' his fellow-citizens, by rendering them more
*' happy. He raifed, and maintained his fuperiority
*' merely by the benefits which he conferred. I
" had made a rough fketch of that fubjedt : but I
" have relinquilhed it : I pofîefs not the talents
" requifite to the compofition of Hiftory."

Why have not you yourfelf, with all your ardent
zeal for the happinefs of Mankind, made fome at-
tempt to form a happy Republic ? I know a great
many men of all Countries, and of every condi-
tion, who would have followed you.

*' Oh Î I have had too much experience of
" Mankind !" Then looking at me, after a mo-
ment's filence, he added, v/ith an air of fome dif-
pleafure : *' I have feveral times entreated you
"- never to introduce that fubjccl."

But wherefore might you not have formed, with
an aflemblage of Europeans, deftitute of fortune,
and of a Country, in fome uninhabited ifland of

the

FRAGMENT. IJ^^

the South-Sea, an eftabli (liment fimilar to that
which IVilliam Penn founded in North-America,
in the mid ft of favages ?

*' What a difference between the age in which
** he lived, and ours ! In Penn s time, there was a
*' rehgious belief; now-a-days, men no longer
" believe in any thing." Then, foftenmg his
tone : " I Ihould have liked very well to live in a
*' fociety, fuch as 1 figure it to myfelf, in the.ca-
" pacity of a private member ; but on no confide-
" ration whatever would I have undertaken any
*' charge ; leaft of all that of ruler in chief. It is
" long fince I became fenfible of my own incapa*
" city : I was unfit for the fmalleft employment."

You would have found perfons in abundance,
difpofed to execute your ideas.

" Oh ! I befeech you, let us call another fub-
" jed."

I have fome thoughts of writing the Hiftory o£
the Nations of Arcadia. They are not indolent
fhepherds like thole of the Lignon.

His features foftened into a fmile. " Talking,"

fays he to me, *' of the fliepherds of the Lignon,

** I once undertook a journey to Forez, for the^

T 2 " exprefs

276 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** exprefs purpofe of viewing the country ot Cela-
" don and Aflrea, of which Urfeius has prefented
*' us with pictures fo enchanting. Inftead of
*' amorous (liepherds, I faw, along the banks of
" the Lignon, nothing but fmiths, founders, and
*' iron mongers."

How ! in a country fo dehghtful 1

''It is a country merely of forges. It was
" this journey to Forez which diffolved my illu-
*' fion. Till then, never a year pafled that I did
*' not read the Aflrea from end to end: I had
*' become quite familiarized with all the per-
*' fonages of it. Thus Science robs us of our
" pleafures."

Oh ! my Arcadians have no manner of refem-
blance to your blackfmiths, nor to the ideal fliep-
herds of Urfeius, who pafied the days and nights
in no other occupation but that of making love,
expofed internally to all the pernicious confe-
quences of idlenefs, and from without, to the in-
vafions of iurrounding Nations. Mine pradtife all
the arts of rural life. There are among them fliep-
herds, hufbandmen, fifliermen, vine-drefiers. They
have availed themfelvcs of all the fîtes of their
country, diverfified as it is with mountains, plains,
lakes and rocks. Their manners are patriarchal,

\ as

FRAGMENT. 277

as in the early ages of the World. There are in
this Republic, no priefts, no foldiers, no flaves ;
for they are fo religious, that every Head of a fa-
mily is the pontiff of it ; fo warlike, that every
individual inhabitant is at all times prepared to
take ijp arms in defence of his Country, without
the inducement of pay ; and in fuch a ftate of
equality, that there are not fo much as domeftic
fervants among them. The children are there
brought up in the habit of ferving their parents.

The utmoft care is taken to avoid infpiring
them, under the name of emulation, with the poi-
fon of ambition, and no fuch leflbn is taught as
that of furpaffing each other; but, on the contrary,
they are inured, betimes, to prevent one another,
by good offices of every kind ; to obey their pa-
rents ; to prefer their father, their mother, a
friend, a miftrels, to themfelves; and their Coun-
try to every thing. In this (late of Society, there
is no quarrelling among the young people, unlefs
it be fome difputes among lovers, like thofe of
the Devin du Village. But virtue there frequently
convokes the citizens to national afl'emblies, to
concert together meafures conducive to the gene-
ral welfare. They eled:, by a plurality of voices,
their Magiftrates, who govern the State as if it
were one family, being cntrufted, at once, witk
the fundions of peace, of war, and of religion.

T 3 From

2.78 STUDIES OF NATURE.

From their union fuch a force refults, that they
have ever been enabled to repel all the Powers
who prefumed to encroach on their liberties.

No ufelefs, infolent, difguflful, or terrifying
monument, is to be feen in their Country ; no co-
lonnades, triumphal arches, hofpitals, or prifons ;
no frightful gibbets on the hills, as you enter their
towns : but a bridge over a torrent, a well in the
midft of an arid plain, a grove of fruit-trees on an
uncultivated mountain, round a fmall temple, the
periftyle of which ferves.as a place of (helter for
travellers, announce, in fituations the mod de-
ferted, the humanity of the inhabitants. Simple
infcriptions on the bark of a beech-tree, or on a
rude unpolifhed rock, perpetuate, to pofterity, the
memory of illuftrious citizens, and of great adions.
In the midll of manners fo beneficent, Religion
fpeaks to all hearts, in a language that knows no
change. There is not a fingle mountain, nor a
river, but what is confecratcd to fome God, and
is called by his name ; not a fountain but what
has it*s Naiad ; not a flower, nor a bird, but what
is the refult of fome ancient and affeéling meta-
morphofis. The whole of Phyfics is there con«
veyed in religious fentiments, and all religion in
the monuments of Nature. Death itfelf, which
empoifons fo many pleafures, there prefents per-
fpedives only of confolation. The tombs of an-

ceflors

FRAGMENT. 279

ceftors are raifed amidft groves of myrtle, of cy-
prefs, and of fir. Their defcendants, to whom
they endeared themfelves in life, refort thither in
their hours of pleafure, or of pain, to decorate
them with flowers, and to invoke their fhades,
perfuaded that they continually prefide over their
deftinies. The pad, the prefent, and the future,
link together all the members of this Society with
the bands of the Law of Nature, fo that, there, to
live and to die is equally an objeâ: of délire.

Such was the vague idea which I gave of the
Plan of my Work to John-James. He was de-
lighted with it. We made it, oftener than once,
on our walking excurfions, the fubjecl of much
pleafant converfation. He fometimes imagined
incidents of a poignant fimplicity, of which I
availed myfelf. Nay, one day, he perfuaded me
to change my Plan entirely. *' You mud," faid
he to me, ^' fuppofe a principal aftion in your
" Hiftory, fuch as that of a man on his travels, to
" improve himfelf in the knowledge of Mankind.
*' Out of this will fpring up incidents varied and
*' agreeable. Befides, it will be neceflary to op-
" pofe to the ftate of Nature of the Nations of
" Arcadia, the ftate of corruption of fome other
" People, in order to give relief to your pidures
" by means of contrails."

T 4 This

î8q studies of nature.

This advice was to me a rav of light, which pro-
duced another : this wa?, nrll of ail, to oppofe to
thefe two pidlures, that of the barbarifm of a third
people, in order to reprefent the three fucceffive
fiâtes through which moft Nations pafs ; that of
barbarifm, that of Nature, and that of corruption.
I thus had a complete harmony of three periods
ufual to human Societies.

In the view of reprefenting a ftate of barbarifm,
I made choice of Gaul, as a country, the com-
mencements of which, in every refped, ought to
intereft us the moft, becaufe the firfl: ftate of a
People communicates an influence to all the pe-
riods of it's duration, and makes itfclffelt evenina
flate of decline, juft as the education which a man
receives on the breaft, extends it's influence even
to the age of decrepitude. Nay, it feems as if at
this lafl: epocha, the habits of infancy re-appeared
with more force than thofe of the reft of life, as has
been obferved in the preceding Studies. The firft
impreflions efface the laft. The charafter of Na-
tions is formed from the cradle, as well as that of
Man. Rome, in her decline, preferved the fpirit
cf univerfal domination, which flie had from her

I found the principal charafters of the manners,
^nd of the religion of the Gauls, completely traced

in

FRAGMENT. 28l

in Cefar's Commentaries, in Plutarch, in Tacitus
on the Manners of the Germans, and in feveral
modern Treatifes on the Mythology of the Nations
of the North.

I have taken up the ftate of the Gauls feveral
ages prior to the time of yiilius Cejar, in order to
have an opportunity of painting a more marked
charaéler of barbarifm, and approaching to that
which we have found among the favage tribes of
North- America. I fixed the commencement of
the civilization of our Anceflors, -at the deftruc-
tion of Troy ; which was l-ikewife the epocha, and,
undoubtedly, the caufe of feveral important revo-
lutions, all over the Globe. The Nations of
which the Human Race is compofed, however di-
vided they may appear to be, in refpeâ: of lan-
guage, of religions, of cuftoms, and of climate,
are in equilibrium among themfelves, as the diffe-
rent Seas which compofe the Ocean under diffe-
rent Latitudes. No extraordinary movement can
be excited in any one of thofe Seas, but uhat mufb
communicate itfelf, more or lefs, to each of the
others. They have all a tendency to find their
level. A Nation is, farther, with refped: to the
Human Race, what a man is with refped to his
own Nation. If that man dies in it, another is
born there within the fame compafs of time. In
Jike manner, if one State on the Globe is deltroyed,

another

282 STUDIES OF NATURE.

another is regenerated at the fame epocha : this is
what we have feen happen in our own times, when
the greateft part of the Republic of Poland, hav-
ing been difmembered in the North of Europe,
to be confounded in the three adjoining States,
Ruffia, Pruffia, and Auftria, very foon after the
greateft part of the Britifli Colonies of North-
America, was difunited from the three States of
England, Scotland, and Ireland, to form one Re-
public ; and as there was in Europe, a portion of
Poland not difmembered, there was, in like man-
ner, in America, a portion of the Colonies that
did not feparate from Great-Britain.

The fame political re-aflions are to be found in
all Countries, and in all ages. When the Empire
of the Greeks was fubverted on the banks of the
Euxine-Sea, in 1453, that of the Turks imme-
diately replaced it i and when that of Troy was
deftroyed in Afia, under Priam, that of Rome re-
ceived it's birth in Italy, under Eneas.

But, from that total fubverfion of Troy, there
enfued a great many revolutions of inferior mo-
ment in the reft of the Human Race, and efpe-
cially in the Nations of Europe.

1 oppofed to the ftate of barbarifm of the Gauls,
that of the corruption of Egypt, which was then

at

FRAGMENT. 2$^

at it's higheft degree of civilization. To the
epocha of the fiege of Troy, it is that n>any learned
men have affigned the brilliant reign of Sefojîris.
Befidts, this opinion, being adopted by Fenelon m
his Telemachns, was a fufficient authority for my
Work. I likevvife feleifled my traveller from
Egypt, by the advice of John-James^ in as much
as, in Antiquity, a great many political and reli-
gious eftablifliments were communicated by reflux
from Egypt, to Greece, to Italy, and even di-
re6lly to the Gauls, as the Hiftory of many of our
ancient ufages fufcciently evinces. This, too, is
a confequeace of political re aiflions. Whenever
a State has attained it's hig^heft deorree of eleva-
tion, it is come to it's firfl: (lage of decay ; becaufe
all human things begin to fade as foon as they
have reached the point of perfedion. Then it is
that the Arts, the Sciences, Manners, Languages,
begin to undergo a reflux from civilized to bar-
barous States, as is demonftrated by the age of
Alexander among th'e Greeks, of Augvftm among
the Romans, and oï Louis XIV. among ourfelves.

I had, accordingly, oppofitions of characler in
the Gauls, the Arcadians, and the Egyptians.
But Arcadia alone prefented me with a great num-
ber of contrafts to the other parts of Greece, which
were but then emerging out of barbarifm j be-
tween the peaceful manners of it's induftrious in-
habitants,

284 STUDIES OP NATURE.

habitants, and the boifterous difcordant charaders
of the heroes of Pylos, of Aljcen^j and of Jrgos ;
between the gentle adventures of it's fimple and
innocent Ihepherdefles, and the awful cataflrophes
of Iphigeniaj of Eledra, and of Clytemnejira,

I divided the materials of my Work into twelve
Books, and conftrud;ed a kind of Epic Poem of
them ; not conformably to the rules laid down by
Arijlotle, and to thofe of our modern Critics, who
pretend, after him, that an Epic Poem ought to
exhibit only one principal adlion of the life of a
hero ; but conformably to the Laws of Nature,
and after the manner of the Chinefe, who fre-
quently comprehend in it, the whole life of a hero,
which, in my judgment, is much more fatisfadory.
Befides, I have not, in this, deviated from the ex-
ample of Homer ; for, if I have not adopted the
plan of his Iliad, I have nearly copied that of his
Odyffey.

But, while I was devifing plans for the happinefs
of Mankind, my own was diflurbed by new cala-
mities.

My flate of health, and my experience, permit-
ted me no longer to folicit, in my native Country,
the flender refources, which I was on the point of
lofing there, nor to go abroad in queft of them.

Befides,

FRAGMENT. 285

Befides, the nature of the labours in which I had
engaged, could not poffibly intereft any Minifter
in my favour. I thought of prefenting to public
view, fuch of them as I deemed moft calculated to
merit the proteftion of Government. I publiflied
my Studies of Nature. I have the confolation
of believing that 1 have, in that Work, confuted
fundry dangerous errors, and demonftrated fome
important truths. Their fuccefs has procured for
me, without folicitation, a great many compli-
ments on the part of the Public, and fome annual
marks of favour from the Court, but of fo little fo-
lidity, that a flight revolution in an adminiftration,
has ftripped me of moft of them, and together with
them, what is much more vexatious, fome others
of ftill higher confideration, which I had enjoyed
for fourteen years. Court favour had the fem-
blance of doing me good : the benevolence of the
Public has given a more fteady fupport to me and
my Work. To it I am indebted for a tranfient
tranquillity and repofe ; and under thefe aufpices
I fend into the World this firft Book, entitled The
Gauls, to ferve as an Introduâiion to the Arcadia.
I have not enjoyed the fatisfaâiion of talking on
the fubjcd: of it to John-James. It was rather too
rude for the placidnefs of our converfations. But,
rough and wild as it may be, it is an opening in
the rocks, from whence there is a glimple of the
valley in which he fometimes lepofed. Nay, when

he

286 STUDIES OF NATURE.

he fet out, without bidding me farewel, for Er-
menonville, where he clofed his days, I tried to
recal myfelf to him, by the image of Arcadia, and
the recoiled ion of our ancient intercourfe^ in con-
cluding the letter which I wrote to him, with thefe
two verfes from Virgil, changing only a fingle
word.

Atquc utinam ex vobis unus tecumqnt fuiflem
^ut cuftos gregis, aut maturae vinitor uvae !

NOTES.

[ ^87 ]

NOTES.

( I ) il^ reafon could do nothings &c. God has beftowed on me
this diflinguiflied mark of his favour, that whatever diforder my
reafon may have undergone, I have never loft the ufe of it, in
my own apprehenfion, and efpecially in the eyes of other men.
As foon as I felt the fymptoms of my indifpofition, I retired into
folitude. What was, then, that extraordinary reafon, which in-
timated to me that my ordinary reafon was difturbed ? I am
tempted to believe, that there is in our foul an unchangeable fo-
cus of intelleélual light, which no darknefs is able entirely to
overpower. It is, I am of opinion, this fevforium which admo>
nifties the drunk man that his reafon is over-elevated, and the
failing old man, that his underftanding is enfeebled. In order
to behold the fliining of that candle within us, a man rauft have
his paffions ftilled, he muft be in folitude, and, above all, he mufl
be in the habit of retiring into himfelf. I confider this intimate
fentiment of our intelleftual funélions, as the very elTence of our
foul, and a proof of it's immateriality.

(2) T--WO celebrated Phyficions. Doctor Roux^ Author of the
Journal of Medicine, and Dodor Buqitet, Profeflbr of the Fa-
culty of Medicine at Paris : who both died, in the very prime of
life, of their own remedies againft the nervous diforder.

( 3 ) The credit of a perfon ivhom I did not kfioixi. Though I am
accuftomed, when occafion requires, to mention by name, in my
writings, the perfons who have rendered me any fervice, and to
whom I am under eflential obligations, this is neither the time
nor the place for it. I am introducing here no memoirs of my
life, but thofe which may ferve as a preamble to my Work on
Arcadia.

(.4) The

288 NOTES.

(4) The Convejitual Redemptions. There were, in my opinionj
many defefts in the eftablifhments of the Jefuits in Paraguay. As
thefe monaftic orders do not marry, that they had not within them-
fe Ives, the independent principle ofexiftence; that they always
recruited the fraternity with Europeans, and, that they formed,
even in their Redemptions, one Nation within another Nation ;
hence it came to pafs, that the deftru6lion of their Order in Eu-
rope, involved in it that of their eftablifliments in America. Be-
fides, the conventual regularity, and the multiplied ceremonies
which they had introduced into their political adminiftration,
could fuit only an infant People, who inuft be inceflantly kept up
by the leading-ftring, and led by the eyes. They are not the lefs,
on that account, deferving of immortal honour, for having col-
Ie£led, and fubjefted to humane Laws, a multitude of barbarians,
and for having inftrucled them in the Arts ufeful to human life,
by preferving them from the corruption of civilized Nations.

(5) Offer jip human facr'ifice s . They likewife eat dogs, thofe
natural friends of Man. I have remarked, that every People
among whom this is praftifed, were not difpofed to fpare human
flefli when occafion prompted : to eat the flefli of dogs is a flep
toward anthropophagy.

(6) Toutous, The name of a clafs of men of the commonalty
in the Ifland of Tai'ty, and in the other ifland's of that Archi-
pelago. They are not permitted to eat Ywines-flefti, which is
there of an excellent quality, and exceedingly common. It is re-
ferved for the E-Arrés, who are the chiefs. The Toutous bring
up the fvvine, and the E-Arrés feed upon them. Confult Cap-
tain Cook's Voyages.

(7) One (f thofe touching comparifons. Thofe comparifons arc
beauties which feem appropriate to poetry. But I think paint-
ing might adopt them to advantage, and derive powerful eifeéls
from them. For example, when a painter is reprefenting on the
fore-ground of a battle-piece, a young man of an interefting cha-
racter,

NOTES. 28^

rafter, killed, and ftretched along the grafs, he might introduce
near him, fome beautiful wild plant, analogous to his character,
with drooping flowers, and the ftalks half cut down. If it were
in a pidure of a modern battle, he might mutilate, and, if I may
venture on the expreflion, kill, in it, the vegetables of a higher
order, fuch as a fruit-tree, or even an oak j for our cannon bul-
lets commit ravages of a very different kind in the plains, from
thofe produced by the arrows and javelins of the Ancients. They
plow up the turf of the hills, mow down the forefts, cleave afun-
der the young trees, and tear off huge fragments from the trunks
of the moft venerable oaks. I do not recolieft that I ever faw
any of thefe effects reprefented in piAures of our modern battles.
They are, however, very common in the real fcenes of war, and
redouble the impreffions of terror which Painters intend to ex-
cite, by the reprefentation of fuch fubjes^s. The defolation of
a country has a ftill more powerful expreffion than groups of the
dead, and of the dying. It's groves levelled, the black furrows of
it's up-torn meadows, and it's rocks maimed, awfully difplay the
efFefts of human fury, extending even to the ancient monuments
of Nature. We difcern in them the wrath of Kings, which is
their final argument, and is accordingly infcribed on their can-
non : Ultima ratio Regum. Nay, there might be exprefTed
through the whole extent of a battle-piece, the detonations of the
difcharge of artillery, repeated by the valleys to feveral leagues
diftance, bv reprefenting, in the back-grounds, the terrified fliep-
lierds driving off their charge, flocks of birds flying away toward
the horizon, and the wild beafls abandoning the woods.

rhyfical confonances heighten moral fenfations, efpecially
when there is a tranfition from one kingdom of Nature to an-
other kingdom.

(8) ^nd,. finally, from his niodejly, ivhich reprejjed in him the
theatrical ioiie^ and the oracular feûtentiovfnefs of our convex Jaticns.
Thefe are the perfonal reafons which he might have for talking
fparingly in company; but I have no doubt that he had others
much more weighty, arifing from the chara6ler of our Societies

VOL. V. u themfelves.

290 NOTES.

themfelves. I find thofe general rcafons fo happily detailed, in
the excellent Chapter of Montaigne's Eflays, On the Art of Con-
verjation^ that I cannot reprefs my inclination to infert a fhort
extract from it, in hope that the Reader may be induced to pe-
rufe the whole.

" As the mind acquires new vigour from communication
*' with vigorous and well regulated minds, it is impoffible to ex-
*' prefs how much it lofes and degenerates by the continual
*' commerce and intimacy of grovelling and puny characters.
" There is no contagion that fpreads fo rapidly as this. I have
" paid very dear for my experience on this fubjeft. I am fond
" of arguing, and of difcuflion ; but with few men, and in my
" own way : for to ferve as a fhow to the Great, and to make
** an emulous parade of wit and prattle, I confider as a moft dc-
*' grading employment for a man of honour."

So much for the aftive converfation of a gentleman, among
men of the World, and now, a few pages farther down, for the
paffive converfation.

*' The gravity, the robe, and the fortune of the perfon who
** fpeaks, frequently give currency to infipid and trifling tittle-
*• tattle. It is prefumable that a Gentleman fo followed, fo aw-
*' fal, muil poflefs within himfelf a fund very fuperior to one of
*' the herd ; and that a perfon entrufled with fo many employ-
" ments and commiflions of importance, fo difdainful and fo
" felf-fufficient, muft poflefs much greater ability than that
*' other who falutes him at fuch a refpeétful diflance, and whom
" no one employs. Not only the words, but the very grimaces
*' of thofe confequential perfonages, attraci confideration, and
" turn to account, every one vying with another to put fome
*' flattering and fignificant glofs upon them. If they let them-
" felves down fo far as to converfe with ordinary men, and meet
" with any thing from them except approbation and reverence,
" you are fare to be levelled to the dull by the authoi ity of their
" expérience. They have heard, they have I'een, they have
" done : you are quite overwhelmed by an accumulation of ia-
" ftances."

What,

. NOTES. 291

What, then, would Montaigne have faid, in an age when fo
many of the Little imagine themfelves to be Great ; when every
one has two, three, four titles to fet himfelf off ; when thofe
who have none, entrench themfelves under the patronage of
thofe who have ? The greater part, in truth, begin with placing
themfelves on the knees of a man who is making a noife ; but
they never reft till they get upon his (boulders. I do not fpeak
of thofe felf-important gentlemen, who, taking poffeffion of an
Author, that they may put on the air of ferving him, interpofe
themfelves between him and the fources of public favour, in or-
der to reduce him to a particular dépendance on them, and who
become his declared enemies, if he has the fpirit to rejeél the in-
felicity of being protected by them. The happy Montaigne had
no need of fortune. But what would he have faid of thofe un-
feeling fellows, fo common in all ranks, who, to get rid of their
lethargy, court the acquaintance of a Writer of reputation, and
wait in filence for his letting off, at every turn, fentences newly
coined, or fallies of wit ; who have not fo much as the fenfe to
take them in, nor the faculty of retaining them, unlefs they are
delivered in an impofing tone, or puffed off in the columns of a
Journal ; and who, in a word, if by chance they happen to be
flruck, have frequently the malignity to affix to them'an indiffe-
rent, or a dangerous meaning, in order to lower a reputation
which gives them umbrage. Affuredly, had Montaigne himfelf
appeared in our circles, as nothing more than plain Michael, not-
withftanding his exquifite judgment, an eloquence fo natural,
erudition fo vaft, and which he underflood fo happily to apply,
he would have found himfelf every where reduced to filence,
like John-James. I have been fomewhat diffufe on this chapter,
in honour of the two Authors, ot Emilius, and of the Effays.
They have both been accufed of referve, and of making no great
figure in converfation ; and, likewife, of being both egotifts in
their writings, but with very little juftice on either fcore. It is
Man whom they are ever defcribing in their own perfon ; and
I always find that when they talk of themfelves, tiiey talk like-
wife of me.

v% To

up* NOTES. .

To return to John-James : he was moft fincere in denying
himfelf to the gratification of vanity ; he referred his reputation
not to his perfon, but to certain natural truths, difFiifed over
hià writings ; but, in other refpecls, fetting no extraordinary
value on himfelf. I told him, one day, that a young lady had
faid to me, fhe would think hcrfelf happy in attending him
as his fervant. "Yes," replied he, " in order to hear me talk
*' fix or feven hours on the fubjeèt of the Emilius." I have
oftener than once taken the liberty to combat fome of his opi-
nions; fo far from being offended, he with pleafure acknow-
ledged his miftake, the moment that he was made fenfible of it.

Of this, I beg leave to quote one inftance, which reflefts fome
credit on myfelf, though it may favour of vanity ; but, in fin-
cerity, my fole intention in producing it, is to vindicate his cha-
raéler from that charge. Wherefore, faid I to him, once that the
fubjeft happened to come in the way, have you, in your Emi-
lius, reprefented the ferpent in Pou[firC% Deluge, as the principal
objeél of that Painting ? It is not fo, but the infant, which it's
mother is ftraining to place on a rock. He meditated for a mo-
ment, and faid to me : " Yes. ...yes, you are in the right : I was
" miftaken. It is the child ; undoubtedly, it is the child;" and
he appeared to be perfectly overjoyed that I had fuggefled the
remark. But he flood in no need of my fuperficial obfervations,
to bring him to the acknowledgment of the little flips which had
efcaped him. He faid to me one day : " Were I to undertake
" a new Edition of my Works, I would certainly foften what I
" have written on the fubje6l of Phyficians. There is no one
*' profeflion which requires fo much clofe Ihidy and application
*' as theirs. In all Countries, they are really the men of the
" moft cuhivated underftanding." Upon another occafion, he
faid to me : "I mingled in my quarrel with Mr. Hume too
" ftrong an infufion of fpleen. But the dull climate of England,
*' the ftate of my fortune, and the perfecutions which I had juft
" been enduring in France, all contributed to plunge me into
" melancholy." He has faid to me oftener than once, " I am
'• fond of celebriry ; I acknowledge it ; but," added he, with

a figh.

NOTES. 293

a figh, " GoD has puniflied me in the point where I had of-
« fended."

At the fame time, perfons of high refpeflability have cen-
fured him for acknowledging fo much evil of himfelf in his Con-
feffions. What would they have faid, then, if, like fo many
others, he had, in thefe, indirectly pronounced his own eulo-
gium ? The more humiliating that the failings are, of which he
there accufes himfelf, the more fublime is his candor in expofing
them. There are, it muft be admitted, fome paflages, in which
he is chargeable with indifcretion in fpeaking out too plainly,
where another perfon is concerned j particularly where he dif-
clofes the not over-delicate attachments of his inconftant bene-
faftrefs, Madame de Warens. But I have reafon to believe,
that his pofthu mous Works have been falfified in more than one
place. It is pollible that he did not name her in his manu-
fcript ; and if he did mention her by name, he thought he might
do this without hurting any one, becaufe flie left no pofterity. Be-
fides, he fpeaks of her every where with a warmth of intereft.
He uniformly fixes the attention of the Reader, in the midfl: of
her irregularities, on the qualities of her mind. In a word, he
confidered it as his duty to tell the good and the bad of the per-
fonages of his Hiftory, after the example of the mofl celebrated
Hiflorians of Antiquity. Tacitus fays exprefsly, in the opening
of his Hiftory, Book firll, *' I have no reafon either to love or
" to hate Otho^ Galba, or Vitellius. \i is true, I owe my fortune
" to Vef[)ajian, as I owe the progrefs and prefervation of it to
" his children ; but when a man is going to write Hiftory, he
** ought to forget benefits as well as injuries." In truth, Tacitus
taxes Kefpajïan^ his benefaftor, with avarice, and other faults.
John-James^ who had afTumed for his motto, Vitam impemkre
vera, (to devote life to truth) may have valued himfelf as much
on his love for truth, in writing his own Hiftory, as Tacitys did
in writing that of the Roman Emperors.

Not that I by any means approve the unreferved franknefs of
John-James^ in a ftate of Society like that in which we live, and

u 3 that

294 NOTES.

that I have not reafon to complain, befides, of the inequality of
his temper, of inconciufivenefs in his Writings, and of fome er-
rors in conduél, as he himfelf has publiihed thefe for the pur-
pofe of condemning them. But, vvhere is the man, where is the
Writer, where is, efpecialiy, the unfortunate Author, who has
no fault to reproach himfelf with. John- James has difcufled
queftions fo fufceptible of being argued on either fide ; he was
confcious of polîèffiiig, at once, a mind fo great, and of being
fubjefted to a fortune fo deplorable : he had to encounter wants
fo preffing, and friends fo perfidious, that he was frequently
forced out of the common road. But even when he deviates,
-and becomes the vidim of others, or of himfelf, you fee him for
ever forgetting his own miferies, that he may devote his undi-
vided atfention to thofe of Mankind. He is uniformly the de-
fender of their rights, and the advocate of the miferable. There
might be infcribed on his tomb thofe afFeding words from a
Book on which he pronounces an elogium fo fublime, and of
which he carried always about him fome feleft paflages, during
the laft years of his life : His Sins, which are many, are for-
given; FOR HE LOVED MUCH.

(9) Cofmo de Medicis- Here is the decifiqn pronounced upon
him by Philip d& Comminesy the Plutarch of his age, in refpefl of
native fimplicity.

" Cofm6.de Medicis, who was the chief of that houfe, and, in-
" deed, founded it, a man v/orthy of being named among the
*' greateft of the Great, efpecialiy when his condition in life is
" taken into the account, namely, that of a merchant, has cort-
♦* veyed his name to a family the moft illuftrious, I think, that
"ever was in the Wojld. For their very fervants, under the
*' fan(ftion of that name of Meùicis^ pofTcfTed fo much credit,
" that I fliould hardly be believed, were I to relate the inftances-

" which I have feen of it in France, and in England I knew

*' one of their fervants, Gcra>d ^annefe by name, who was
" ahnoft the only inllrument of fuppôrting King Ediuard IV.

NOTES. 295

" on the throne of England, during the Civil Wars of that
•' Kingdom." And a little lower : " The authority of his pre-
♦* deceflbrs was injurious to this Peter de Médias , in as much as
" that of Co/moy who had been the founder of the Family, was
" gentle and amiable, and fuch as was neceffary to a city poC
" fefled of liberty." {Bookvii.)

u 4 ARCADIA.

ARCADIA.

BOOK FIRST,

THE GAULS.

A LITTLE before the autumnal Equinox,
TirteuSj a (hepherd of Arcadia, was feeding
his flock on one of the heights of Mount Ly-
ceum, which projeds along the gulph of Mef-
fenia. He was feated under the (hade of fome
pine-trees, at the foot of a rock, from whence he
contemplated, at a diftance, the Sea agitated by
the winds of the South. It's olive-coloured waves
were whitened with foam, which fell back, in
girandoles, the whole length of the ftrand. The
fifhing boats, appearing and difappearing alter-
nately, between the fwelling furges, ventured, at
the riik of running a-ground on the beach, to
truft their fafety to their infignificance ; whereas
large veflels, in full fail, under the violent prefiure
of the winds, kept at a cautious diftance, in the
dread of being fliipvvrecked. At the bottom of
the gulph, crowds of women and children raifed

their

2C)8 STUDIES OF NATURE.

their hands to Heaven, and uttered the cries of
folicitude, at fight of the danger which threatened
thefe poor mariners, and of the fuccefllon of bil-
lows which rolled from the Sea, and broke, with
a noife like thunder, on the rocks of Sieniclaros.
The echoes of Mount Lyceum reverberated their
hoarfe and confufed roarings, from all quarters,
with fo much exaftnefs, that Tirteus, at times,
turned round his head, imagining that the tempeft
was behind him, and that the Sea was breaking
on the top of the mountain. But the cries of the
coots and the fca -gulls, which came, flapping their
wings, to feek refuge there, and the flaOies of
lightning which furrowed the Horizon, foon made
him fenfible, that fafety was on the dry land, and
that the tempeft was ftill more dreadful, at a dif-
tance, than it appeared to his view.

Tirteus compaflionated the deftiny of feamen,
and pronounced that of fhepherds to be blefled,
as it, in fome degree, refembled that of the Gods,
by placing tranquillity in his heart, and the tem-
peft under his feet.

While he was exprefling his gratitude to Hea-
ven, two men of a noble deportment appeared on
the great road, which winded below, toward the
bafe of the mountain. One of them was in the
full vigor of life, and the other ftill in the bloom

of

ARCADIA.

299

of youth. They were walking with great fpeed,
like travel'ers impatient to reach their objed. As
foon as they were within hearing, the elder of the
two, called to lirteus^ afking if they were not on
the road to Argos, But the noife of the wind
among the pines, preventing his voice from being
heard, tlie yoonger afcended toward the fhepherd,
and criet! aloud to him : *' Father, are we not
" upon the road to Argos ?" *' My fon," replied
Tirteus, " I do njt know where Argos lies. You
" are in Arcadia, upon the road to Tegeum, and
** thole towers which you fee before you are the
" tov ers of Belleminé." While they were talking,
a fhagged dog, young and frojicfome, which ac-
companied the ftranger, having perceived in the
flock a the-goat entirely white, ran up to play
with her J but the goat, terrified at the fight of
this animal, whole eyes were covered all over with
hair, fled toward the top of the mountain, whither
the dog purfued her. The young man recalled
his dog, which immediately returned to his feet,
lowering his head, and wagging his tail. He then
flipped a leafh round the dog's neck, and begging
the fhepherd to hold him faft, he ran after the
goat, which ftiil continued to flee before him ;
his dog, however, feeing him ready to dilappear,
gave fo violent a jerk to Tirtens, that he made his
cfcape with the ieafli about his neck, and ran with

fuch

30O STUDIES OF NATURE.

fuch fpeed, that, in a {hort time, neither goat, tra-
veller, nor dog, were to be feen.

The traveller, who had remained on the high-
way, was preparing to follow his companion, when
the (hepherd thus addrefied him : " Sir, the wea-
" ther is boifterous, night approaches, the foreft
** and the mountain are full of quagmires, where
*' you may be in danger of lofing yourfelf. Come
'* and repofe yourfelf a while in my cottage, which
" is not far from hence. I am perfectly fure that
** my goat, which is very tame, will return of her-
" felf, and bring back your friend to us, provided
** he does not lofe fight of her.'* In faying thefe
words, he applied his pipe to his mouth, and the
flock, immediately, began to file off, by a path,
toward the fummit of the mountain. A large ram
marched at the head of this little flock ; he was
followed by fix (he goats, whofe dugs almoft
touched the ground ; twelve ewes, accompanied
by their lambs, which were already confiderably
grown, came next ; a llie-afs and her colt clofed
the proceiTion.

The flranger followed 'Tir tens in filence. They
afcended about fiX hundred paces, along an open
down, planted, here and there, with broom and
rofemary : as they were entering the foreft of oaks,

which

ARCADIA. 301

which covers the top of Mount Lyceum, they
heard the barking of a dog ; foon after, they de-
fcried the young man's fliock running toward
them, followed by his mailer, who carried the
white goat on his fhoulders. Tirteus faid to him:
*' My fon, though this goat is dearer to me than
" any other of the whole flock, I would rather
" have loft her, than that you lliould have endured
" fo much fatigue in recovering her ; but, if you
" pleafe, you fliall this night repofe in my cot-
" tage j and to morrow, if you are refolved to
" continue your journey, I will condud you to
*• Tegeum, where you may be informed of the
*'^ road to Argos. Notwithftanding, Sirs, if I may
*' be permitted to advife, you will not depart from
" hence to-morrow. It is the feaft of Jupiter, on
*' Mount Lyceum, and people affemble here, in
" multitudes, from all Arcadia, and from a great
" part of Greece. If 3'ou are fo good as to accompany
" me thither, when I prefent myfelf at the altar of
" jfitpitery I fliall be rendered more acceptable, by
" adoring him in company with my guefts." The
young ftranger replied : *' Oh, good Ihepherd :
" we accept, with cheerfulnefs, your hofpitality for
" this night, but to-morrow, with the dawn, we
'* mull purfue our journey toward Argos. We
** have, for a long time, been contending with the
" waves, in order to reach that city, celebrated
*' over the whole Earth, for it's temples, for it's

*' palaces,

$GZ STUDIES OF NATURE.

" palaces, and from it's being the refidence of the
*' great Agamemnon.**

After he had thus fpoken, they crofled a part of
the forefl of Mount Lyceunn, toward the Eaft,
and defcended into a little valley, flieltered from
the winds. Afrefh and downy herbage covered the
fides of it's hills. At the bottom flowed a rivulet
called Achelous(i), which falls into the river AN
pheus, whofe iilands, covered with alders and lin-
den trees, are perceptible at a diftance from the
plain. The trunk of an old willow, laid low by
the hand of time, ferved as a bridge to the Ache-
lous; this bridge had no ledging, except fome
large reeds, which grew on each fide of it ; but
the brook, the bottom of which was paved with
rocks, was fo eafily forded over, and fo little ufe
had been made of the bridge, that the convol-
volus almoft entirely covered it with it's heart-
(haped foliage, and with flowers refembling white
fpires.

At a little diftance from this bridge ftood the
dwelling of tirteus. It was a fmall houfe, co-
vered with thatch, built in the middle of a moflTy
ground. Two poplars formed a ihade for it to the
Weft. On the South- fide, a vine furrounded the
doors and windows, with it's purple clufters, and
with it's leaves, already of the colour of fire. An

old

ARCADIA. 303

old ivy (heltered it from the North, and covered,
with it's ever-green foliage, a part of the flair -cafe,
which led, on the oiufide, to the upper ftory.

As foon as the flock approached the houfe, they
began to bleat, according to cuftom. Immedi-
ately, a young girl appeared, defcending the flair-
cafe, and carrying under her arm a velfel to re-
ceive the milk which Ihe was going to draw. Her
robe was of white wool ; her cheftnut locks were
turned up under a hat, formed of the rind of the
linden-tree ; her arms and feet were naked, and for
fhoes, (he wore focks, as is the falliion of the
young women of Arcadia. From her fhape, you
would have thought her one of the nymphs of
Diana y from her vafe, that Ihe was the Naiad of
the fountain ; but her timidity foon difcovered her
to be a fliepherdefs. As foon as (he perceived the
ftrangers, fhe cad down her eyes, and bkiflied.

Th'ieus faid to her : " Cyanea^ my daughter,
" make hafte to milk your goats, and to prepare
" fomething for fupper, while I warm fome water
*' to wafh the ïtQt of thefe travellers, whom Jn-
" piter has fent to us." In the mean while, he
entreated the ftrangers to repofe themfelves on a
grafs-plat, at the foot of the vine. Cyanea, having
kneeled down on the turf, milked the goats, which
had alfembled around her 3 and, having finilhed,

flie

304 STUDIES OF NATURE.

fhe led the flock into the flieep-fold, which flood
at one end of the houfe. TirleuSy in the mean
time, warmed water, and waQied the feet of his
guefts, after which, he invited them to walk in.

Night was already advanced ; but a lamp, fuf-
pended from the cieling, and the blaze of the
hearth, which was placed, after the manner of the
Greeks, in the middle of the habitation, fufE-
ciently illuminated the interior of it. There were
feen, hanging round the walls, flutes, fliepherd's
crooks, fcrips, moulds for making cheefe ; baf-
kets of fruit, and earthen pans full of milk, ftood
upon flielves faftened to the joifts. Over the door
by which they had entered, there was a fmall fl:a-
tue of the good Ceres, and over that of the fheep-
fold, the figure of the God Pan, formed from a,
root of an olive-tree.

As foon as the ftrangers were introduced, Cya~
nea covered the table, and ferved up cabbages
with bacon, fome wheaten bread, a pot filled with
wine, a cream cheefe, frefii eggSj and fome of the
fécond figs of the year, white and violet- coloured.
She placed by^ the board four feats, made of oak
wood. She covered that of her father with the
ikin of a wolf, which he himfelf had killed in
hunting. Afterwards, having afcended to the
upper (lory, flie returned again, with the fleeces

of

ARCADIA. 305

of two flieep ,• but whilft (he fpread them on the
feats of the travellers, fhe burft into tears. Her
father faid to her : " My dear daughter, will yoii
*' remain for ever inconfolable about the lofs of
" your mother ? And can you never touch any
** thing which (lie was accuftomed to ufe, without
" (hedding tears ?" Cyanea made no reply, buc
turning her head toward the wall, fhe wiped her
eyes. Tirtetis addreffed a prayer, and offered a li-
bation to Jiipter^ the patron of hofpitality; then,
having invited his guefls to fit down, they all be-
gan to eat in profound filence.

When the meal was finiHied, 'Tirteus faid to the
two travellers; " My dear guefts, had you chanced
" to enter the habitation of fome other inhabitant
" of Arcadia, or had you pafTed this way, fome
*' years ago", you would have been much better
" received. But the hand of Jupiler has fmitten
** me. I once poiTeffed, upon the neighbouring
** hill, a garden, which fupp'.ied me, at all leafons,
" with pulfe, and excellent fruit : It is fwallowed
" up in the foreft. This folitary valley once re-
** founded with the lowing of my oxen. Nothing
*' was to be heard, from morn to eve, in my dwel-
'^ ling, but fongs of mirth, and founds of joy. I
" have ïttn around ihis table three fons and four
*' daughters. The youngeft fon was arrived at an
" age capable of tending a flock of (heep. My

VOL. v. X " daughter

306 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" daughter Cyanea drefled her little fiRers, and al-

*^ ready fupplied the place of a mother to them.

*' My wife, induflrious, and ftill yoimg, main-

*' tained, all the year round, gaiety, peace, and

'* abundance in my habitation. But the lofs of

'^ my eldeft fon has been followed by that of al-

'* moft my whole family. Like other young men,

" he was defirous of (hewing his agility, by climb-

" ing up the higheft trees. His mother, to whom

** fuch exercifes caufed the greateft dread, had

** frequently entreated him to abftain from amufe-

" ments of this kind. I had often predided that

" fome misfortune would be the confequence.

*' Alas! the Gods have puniQied my unwarrant-

** able prédirions, by accomplifhing them. One

*' Summer's day, in which my fon was in the fo-

** reft, keeping the flocks with his brothers, the

" youngeft of them took a fancy to eat fome of

*' the fruit of a wild cherry-tree. The eldeft im-

*' mediately climbed it, in order to gather them ;

*' and when he had reached the fummit, which

** was very elevated, he perceived his mother at a

** little diftance, who, feeing him in her turn,

** uttered a loud fcream, and fainted. At this

" fight, terror, or repentance, feized my unhappy

*' fon ; he fell. His m.other, being brought to

** herfelf by the cries of her children, ran toward

*' him, but in vain attempted to re-animate him

" in her arms : the unfortunate youth turned his

*' eyes

ARCADrIA, 307

''^ eyes toward her, pronounced her name and
** mine, and expired. The grief with which my
'* wife was ovetvvhelmed, carried her in a few
" days to the grave. The moft tender union
*' reigned amongft. my children, and equalled
" their afifedion for their mother. They, however,
" all died, through forrow for her lofs, and for
" that of each other. How much anxiety has it

" coft me to preferve this poor girl!" Thus

fpake Tirteus, and, in fpite of his efforts, the tears
ruflied to his eyes. Cyanea threw herfelf on the
bofom of her father, and mixing her tears with
his, (he preffed him in her arms, unable to utter a
fyllable. Tirteus faid to her : *' Cyanea^ my dear
** daughter, my fole confolation, ceafe to afflid:
" thyfelf. We (hall one day fee them again ♦
" they are with the Gods." Thus he fpoke, and
ferenity once more appeared on his countenance,
and on that of his daughter. With the greateft
compofure, iTie poured out fome wine into each of
the cups ; then, taking a fpindle and a diftaff,
furnilhed with wool, (lie featcd herfelf by her fa-
ther, and began to fpin, looking at him, and fup-
porting herfelf on his knees.

The travellers, in the mean time, were m-elted
into tears. At length, the younger of the two,
refuming the converfation, faid to Tirteus: '* Had
" v/e been received into the palace, and at the

X 2 " table

308 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** table of Jgamemnon, at that inflant when, co-
" vered with glory, he was reflored to his daugh-
*' ter Iphigenia, and to his wife Clytemnejîra, who
** had languifhed for his return fo long, we could
" neither have feen nor heard any thing fo affeding
*' as what we have juft witnefled. — Oh 1 my good
" fliepherd ! it mufl be acknowledged, that you
*' have experienced fevere trials ; but if Cephas^
*' whom you fee here, would relate to you thofe
*' which overwhelm men, in every quarter of the
*' Globe, you would fpend this whole night in
" liftening to him, and in bleffing your own lot :
" how many fources of diftrefs are unknown to
*' you, in the midfl: of this peaceful retreat ! You
*' here live in perfeâ; freedom; Nature fupplies
*' all your wants; paternal love renders you happy,
*' and a mild religion confoles you under all your
" griefs."

Cephas^ taking up the converfation, faid to his
young friend : " My fon, relate to us your own
*' misfortunes : Tirteits will lillen to you with more
** intereft than he would to me. In mature age,
*' virtue is generally the fruit of reafon ; in youth,
" it is always that of feeling."

Tirleiis, addreffing himfelf to the young ftranger,
faid : " Perfons of my age do not fleep much. If
*' you are not over opprelFed with fatigue, I fhall

*' receive

ARCADIA. 309

" receive great pleafure from hearing you. I have
" never quitted my own country, but I love and
'* honour travellers. They are under the protec-
" tion of Mercury and of Jupiter. Something ufe-
*' ful may always be gathered from them. As for
** yourfelf, you mud certainly have experienced
" great diftrefs in your own country, having, at fo
*' early an age, feparated from your parents, with
'* whom it is fo pleafant to live and to die."

*' Though it is difficult," replied the young
man, *' to fpeak always of ourfelves with fincerity,
" yet, as you have given us fo kind a reception,
** I fhall candidly relate to you all my adventures,
*' both good and bad."

My name is Amafis. I was born at Thebes, in
Egypt, the fon of an opulent father. He had me
educated by the priells of the Temple of Oliris.
They inftrufted me in all the Sciences upon which
Egypt values hcrlelf: the facred language by
which you may converfe with ages paft, and that
of the Greeks, which enables us to hold converfe
with all the Nations of Europe. But vvhat is in-
finitely fuperior to Sciences and Languages, they
taught me to be jufl, to fpeak the truth, to fear
the Gods only, and to prefer before every thing
eUe, that glory which is acquired by virtue.

X 3 <* This

31© STUDIES OF NATURE.

This lafl fentiment incteafed in me as I grew

up. Nothing had been fpok.cn of in Egypt, for

fome time pad, but the Trojan war. The names

OÏ Achilles, of Hedor, and of other heroes, dif-

turbed my fleep. I would have purchafed a fingle

day of their renown, by the facnfice of my whole

life. I thought the deftiny of my countryman

Memnon was enviable, who had periflied on the

wallb of I'roy, and in honour of whom a fuperb

monument was reared at Thebes (2). What do

I fay ? I would willingly have given my body to

be changed into the ftatue of a hero, provided

they had expofed me, on a pillar, to the veneration

of Nations. 1 relolved, then, to tear myfelf from

the delights of Egypt, and from the endearments of

my paternal manfion, in order to acquire an illuf-

trious reputation. Every time that I prefented my-

felf before my father, '* Send me to the fiege of

*' Troy," f.iid I to him, " that I may purchafe for

*' myfelf a name renowned among men. You

*' have my elder brother with you, who is fuffi-

** cient to fecure the continuance of your pofte-

" rity : If you always oppofe my inclinations,

*' through the diead of lofmg me, know, that if

*' I efcape the fword, I fliall not efcape the more

*' painful death of chagrin/' In truth, 1 was vi-

fibly declining; 1 avoided all fociety, and was fo

reclufe, that they gave me the firname of Moneros.

To

ARCADIA. 311

To no purpofe did my father attempt to combat
a fentiment, which was the fruit of the education
he had given me. -

One day he introduced me to Cephas, exhorting
me to follow his counfels. Though 1 had never
feen Cephas before, a fecret fympathy attached
me to him, the moment I beheld him. This
refpe(5lable friend did not endeavour to oppofe
my favourite paffion, but, in order to weaken
it, he changed the objeâ: : ** You third after
*' giory," faid he to me ; " it is, undoubtedly, the
*' mod dcfirable thing in the World, fince the
" Gods referve it for themfelves as their pecu-
*' liar portion. But how can you reckon upon
" obtaining it at the fiege of Troy ? Which fide
" would you take ; that of the Greeks or of the
" Trojans? Juftice declares for Greece ; compaf-
" fion and duty for Troy. You are an Afiatic(3) ;
" would you, then, combat in favour of Europe
** againftAfia? Would you bear arms againfl:Pr/<7w,
" that father, and that King fo unfortunate, ready
*' to fink, with his family and empire, under the
'* arms of Greece ? On the other hand, Would you
*' undertake the defence of the ravillier Paris, and
" of the adulterels Helen, againft Menelaus, her
*' hufband ? There is no true glory independent
" of juftice. But, even though a ftee man were
*' able to afcertain, in the quarrels of Kings, on
X 4 ** which

$12 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" which fide juftice laj'-, Do you conceive that, in
*' following it, would confift the greateft pofiible
" glory that can be acquired? Whatever applaufes
^' conquerors may receive from their compa-
*^ triots, truft me, Mankind know well how to
*' place them, one day, in their proper fituation.
*' They have given only the rank of heroes and
^' of demi-gods to thofe who have merely prac-
" tifcd juftice, fuch as Thefeus, Hercules, Piritb'hs.
♦* But they have raifed to the fupreme order of
*' Deity, thofe who have been beneficent ; fuch as
*' If. s J who gave Laws to men j Ofiris^ who taught
*' them tl'.e Arts, and Navigation ; Apollo, Mufic;
** Merany, Commerce ; Pan, the art of breeding
** cattle ; Bacchus, the cultivation of the vine ;
'^ Ceres, that of corn. I am a native of Gaul,'*
continued Cephas ; *' it is a Country naturally rich
*' and fertile, but which, for want of civilization,
*' is deftitute of the greater part of thofe things
** which minifter to happineis. Let us go, and
^' carry thither the arts, and the ufeful plants of
*' Egypt; a humane Religion, and fecial Laws :
^' we may, perhaps, bring back fome commodities
*^ ufeful to your own Country. There does not
** exift a Nation, however favage it may be, that
•* docs not poffefs fome ingenuity, from which a
*' poli (bed People may derive benefit; fome an-
^* cient tradition, fome rare production, which is
♦* peculiar to it's own climate. It is thus that

Jupiter^

ARCADIA. 313

'^* Jupiter, the Father of Mankind, was defirous of
" uniting, by a reciprocal interchange of benefits,
** all the Nations of the Earth ; poor or rich,
** barbarian or civilized. Even if we (hould be
" tin ible to find in Gaul any thing that can be
** uieful in Egypt, or were we, by fome accident,
'* to lole the fruit of our voyage, fbill there will
*' remain for us one thing, of which neither death
** nor lemptfls can deprive us; I mean the fatis-
*' faftion of having done good."

This difcourfe, fuddenly, illuminated my mind
with a ray of divine hght. I embraced Cephas,
with tears in my eyes : " Let us depart," faid I
to him, " let us do good to Mankind, and imitate
the Gods r

My father approved of our projeft; when I
took my leave of him, he folded me in his
arms, faying : '* My fon, you are going to under-
" take the mod difficult tafk in the World, for
*' you are going to engage in labour for the bene-
** fit of Mankind. But if you can, by fuch means,
** promote your own happinefs, reft afTured, that
** you will render mine complete."

After having taken leave of our friends, Cephas
and I embarked at Canopus, on board a Pheni-
cian velTel, which was going to Gaul for a cargo

of

514 STUDIES OF NATURE.

of furs, and for pewter, to the Britifh Iflands.
We carried with us linen-cloths, models of wag-
gons, ploughs, and various looms ; pitchers of
wine, muficai inftruments, and grains of different
fpecies ; among others, thofe of hemp and flax.
We caufed to be faflened in chefts, round the
poop of the fhip, on the deck, and even along
the cordage, flips of the vine, which were in blof-
fom, and fruit-trees of various forts. You might
have taken our veflel, covered with vine-branches
and foliage, for that of Bacchus fetting out on the
conqueft of the Indies.

We anchored, firft, on the coafl of the Ifland
Crete, in order to take in feme plants whicli were
fuitable to the cHmate of Gaul. This ifland pro-
duces a greater quantity of vegetables than Egypt,
in die vicinity of which it is fituated, from the
variety of it's temperatures, extending from the
burning fands of it's (hores, up to the fnowy
region of Mount Ida, the fummit of which is
loft in the clouds. But, what ought to render it
fliill more valuable to it's inhabitants, is, it's having
been governed by the fage laws of Minos.

A favourable wind afterwards drove us from
Crete to iht hei2,ht of Melita (4). This is a
fmall ifland, the hills of which, being formed of
white ftone, appear, at a diftance, on the Sea,

like

ARCADIA. ' 315

like cloth fpread out to bleach in the Sun. We
caft anchor here, to lay in water, which is pre-
ferved in great purity, in ciflerns. In vain (liould
wc have fought, in this place, for any other fpecies
of fupply : the ifland is deflitute of every thing,
though, from it's fituation between Sicily and
Afica, and from the vaft extent of it's port,
which is divided into feveral arms, it ought to be
the centre of commerce for all the Nations of Eu-
rope, of Africa, and even of Afia. It's inhabitants
fubiift en irely by plunder. We prefented them
with fome feeds of the melon, and of the xylon (5).
This is an herb which thrives in the driefl places,
and the wx)ol of which ferves for the manufadlure
of cloths extremely white and delicate. Though
Melita, which is an entire rock, produces almoft
nothing fit for the fubfifience of men and animals,
yet there is taken annually, about the autumnal
Equipox, a prodigious quantity of quails (6),
which repofe there, on their paflage from Europe
to Africa. It is an amufmg fpedlacle to fee them,
fattened as they are, crofs the Sea, in quantities
inciedible. They wait till the wind blows from
the North, when, raifing one of their wings in
the air, like a fail, and beating with the other
like an oar, they graze along the waves, having
their rumps kmded with fat. When they arrive
at this iiland, they are fo fatigued, that they may

be

3l6 STUDIES OF NATURE.

be caught with the hand. A man can gather more
in one day than he can make ufe of in a year.

From Melita, we were wafted by the gale as far
as the Illes of Enofis (7), which are fitualed at the
fouthern extremity of Sardinia. There the winds
became contrary, and obliged us to anchor. Thefc
iflands confift of fandy rocks, which produce no-
thing J but, by a wonderful interpofition of the
providence of the Gods, who, in places the moft
unprodu(flive, find the means of fupporting Man
in a thoufand different ways; tunnies are given to
thefe iflands, as quails are to the rock of Melita.
In Spring, the tunnies, which make their way from
the Ocean into the Mediterranean, pafs in fuch
great quantities, between Sardinia and the Iflands
of Enofis, that their inhabitants are occupied, night
and day, in fifliing for them, in faking them, and
in extraifling their oil. I have feen, upon their
Ihores, heaps of the burnt bones of thefe fifhes,
which were higher than this houfe. But this gift
of Nature does not render the inhabitants affluent.
They fi(li for the benefit of the inhabitants of Sar-
dinia. Thus, we faw flaves only in the Iflands of
Enofis, and tyrants alone at Meiita.

The wind becoming favourable, we departed,
after having prefented the inhabitants with fome

flips

ARCADIA. 317

flips of vine, and received from them fome young
plants of the cheftnut-tree, which they import
from Sardinia, where the fruit of thefe trees
grows to a confiderable fize.

During the voyage, Cephas pointed out to me
the variegated afpeds of the land, not one of which
Nature has made fimilar to another, in quality and
in form; in order that divers plants and animals
may find, in the fame climate, different tempera-
tures. When nothing was to be perceived but the
Heavens and the water, he called my attention to
men. ** Obferve," faid he to me, *' thefe feafaring
** people, how robuft they are ! you might take
** them for tritons. Bodily exercife is the aliment
** of health (8). It diffipates an infinite number
" of difeafes and paffions, which fpring out of the
*' repofe of cities. The Gods have planted human
*' life in the fame manner as the oaks of my coun-
** try. The more they are buffeted by the winds,
*' the more vigorous they become. The Sea,"
continued he, " is the fchool of every virtue :
" there, you live in privations, and dangers of
*' every fort. You are there, under the neceffity
'' of being courageous, fober, chafte, prudent, pa-
*' tient, vigilant, religious." But, anfwered T,
** How comes it that the greater part of the com-
** panions of our voyage, poffcfs none of thefe qua-
*' lities ? They are, almofl all of them, intempe-

*' rate,

3l8 STUDIES OF NATURE^

** rate, violent, impious, commending and blam-
" ing, without difcernment, whatever they iee per-
" formed."

** It is not the Sea which has corrupted them,"
replied Cephas; " they have brought with them
the paffions of the land. It is the love of riches,
idlenefs, and the defire of giving themfelves up
to all manner of irregularities, when on (hore,
which determines a great number of men to
enter into the fea-fervice, for the purpofe of en-
riching themfelves; and, as thev cannot acquire,
without a great deal of trouble, the means of
gratification on this element, you always fee
them reftlefs, fullen, and impatient, becaufe
there is nothing fo difcontented as vice, when
it finds itfelf in the road of virtue. A fliip is
the crucible in which morals are put to the teft.
There, the wicked degenerate more and more,
and the good become better. Virtue, however,
can derive advantage from every fituation. Pro-
fiting by their defeats, you may here leain
equally to defpife abufe, and idle applaufe ; to
aâ: fo as to merit your own approbation, and to
have no other witnefs of your aflions but the
Gods. He who is defirous of doing good to
Mankind, muft inure himfelf betimes to fubmit
to unkind treatment from them. It is by the
labour of the body, and the injufliee of men,

** that

ARCADIA. 319

** that you are enabled to fortify, at once, both
" your body and your foul. It was by fuch means
" that Hercules acquired that courage, and that
" invincible ftrength, which have raifed his glory
" to the ftars."

I followed, then, as far as I was able, the advice
of my friend, notwithftanding my extreme youth.
I exerted myfelf in raifing the unwieldy fail-yards,
and in managing the fails. But the lead raillery
from my companions, who ridiculed my inexpc
rience, entirely difconcerted me. It would have
been eafier for me to contend with the boifteroiis
elements than with the contempt of men : fuch
fenlibility to the opinions of others had my educa-
tion infpired.

We pafTed the ftrait which feparates Africa from
Europe, and faw, on the right and on the kft, the
two mountains, Calpe and Abila, which fortify the
entrance. Our Phenician failors did not fail to
inform us, that their Nation was the firft of all
thofe of the Earth, which had dared to penetrate
into the vaft Ocean, and coaft along it's Ibores,
even as far as the Frozen Zone. They placed
their own reputation far above that of Hercules,
who ereded, as they faid, two pillars at this paf-
fage, with theinfcription. Beyond this you can-
not PASS, as if the termination of his labours

were

520 STUDIES OF NATURE.

were alfo to be that of the refearches of Man-
kind. Cephas, who neglefted no opportunity of
recalling men to a fenfe of juftice, and of ren-
dering homage to the memory of heroes, faid to
them : " I have always heard it faid, that the an-
" cients ought to be refpefted. The inventors
** of a fcience are the moft worthy of commen-
" dation, becaufe they open the career to other
** men. It is lefs difficult afterwards for thofe
*' who follow them to extend their progrefs. A
*' child, mounted on the (boulders of a tall man,
" fees farther than the perfon who fupports him.'*
Cephas^ however, fpoke to them without effeâ: j
they would not deign to render the flighteft ho-
mage to the fon of Alcmena. As for ourfelves, we
revered the very fhores of Spain, where he had
killed the three-bodied Geryon. We crowned our
heads with branches of poplar, and, in honour
of him, poured out fome wine of Thafos on the
waves.

We foon difcovered the profound and verdant
forefts which cover Celtic Gaul. It was a fon
of Hercules, called Galate, who gave to it's inha-
bitants the fir-name of Galatians, or Gauls. His
mother, the daughter of one of the Kings of
Celtes, was of a prodigious ftature. She fcorned,
to take a hufband from among her father's fub-
jeds ; but when Hercules palled jhrough Gaul,

after

ARCADIA. 321

after the defeat of Gcryon, flie could not refufe her'
heart and hand to the conqueror of a tyrant. We
afterwards entered the channel which feparates
Gaul from the Britifh Iflands, and, in a few days,
we reached the mouth of the Seine, the green
waters of which may, at all times, be dillinguiihed
from the azure waves of the Sea.

My joy was complete. We were upon the
point of arriving. Our trees were frefli, and covered
with leaves. Several of them, and, among others,
the flips of the vine were already loaded with ripe
fruit : I pidured to myfelf the joyful reception
which we were going to receive from a people
deftitiue of the principal gifts of Nature, when
they (hould fee us difembark upon their fliores,
with the delicate produAions of Egypt and of
Crete. The labours of agriculture are alone fuffi-
cient to fix wandering and unfettled Nations, and
to deprive them of the inclination of fupporting
by violence, that life which Nature fuftains with
fo many bleffings. Nothing more than a grain of
corn is requifite, faid I to myfelf, in order to po-
lilli the whole Gallic Nation, by thofe arts which
fpring from agriculture. This fingle grain of flax
is fufEcient, at fome future period, to afford them
clothing. This flip of the vine may ferve to
diffufe gaiety and joy over their feftivals, to the
lateft poflerity. I then felt how far fuperior the

VOL. v. y Works

322 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Works of Nature are to thofe of Man. Thefe laft
begin to decay the moment that they appear ; the
others, on the contrary, carry in themfelves the
fpirit of life which propagates them. Time, which
deflroys the monuments of Art, ferves only to
multiply thofe of Nature. I perceived more real
benefits inclofed in a fmgle grain of feed, than is to
be found in Egypt in the treafuries of her Kings.

I gave myfelf up to thefe divine and humane
fpeculations, and, in the tranfports of my joy, I
embraced Cephas^ who had given me fo juft an idea
of the real wealth of Nations, and of true glory.
My friend, at the fame time, obferved, that the
pilot was preparing to ftem the current of the
Seine, at the entrance of which v/e now were.
Night was approaching ; the wind blew from the
Weft, and the Horizon was overcaft. Cephas faid
to the pilot : " I would advife you not to enter
" into the river, but rather to caft anchor in that
*' port, beloved of Amphitrite, which you fee upon
** the left. Liften to what I have heard related,
" on this fubjeâ:, by our ancient feers.~

" Seine^ the daughter of BacchnSy and a nymph
" of Ceres^ had followed into Gaul, the Goddefs
*' of Agriculture, at the time when (lie was feeking
" her loft daughter, Pro/erpine^ over the whole
** Earth, When Ceres had finilhed her career,

** Seine

ARCADIA. 323

•* Seine afked, as a reward for her fervices, thofe
** meadows which 3'ou fee below. The God-
'' defs confented, and granted, befides, to the
" daughter of Bacchus^ the power of making corn
** fpring up wherever (he fet her foot. She then
** left Seine upon her fhores, and gave her, for a
" companion and attendant, the nymph Heva,
'' who was charged to keep Uriel watch over her,
** left Ihe fliould be carried off by fome Sea-god,
** as her daughter Proferpine had been, by the
*' Prince of the infernal regions. One day, while
** Seine was amufing herfelf, by running along the
" fands, to feek for (hells, and as fhe fled, uttering
" loud fcreams before the waves of the Sea, which
** fometimes wet the foles of her feet, and fome-
** times reached even to her knees, her compa-
*' nion Heva perceived, under the billows, the
*' hoary locks, the empurpled vifage, and the
" azure robe of Neptune. This God was returning
" from the Orcades, after a terrible earthquake,
" and was furveying the fhores of the Ocean, with
*' his trident, to examine whether their founda-
*' tions had not been convulfed. At fight of him,
*' Heva uttered a (hriek, and v^'arned Seiney who
*' immediately tripped toward the meadows. But
** the God of the Seas, having perceived the
** nymph of Ceres^ and being ftruck with the grace-
*' fulnefs of her figure, and her agility, drove
" his fea-horfes along the flrand, in purfuit of her.
** He hadalmoil overtaken her, when fiie implored

Ï 2 ** affiltance

3^4 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" affiftance from her father Bacchus, and from Ce-
" res, her niiftrefs. They both Hftened to her pe-
*' tition. At the moment that Neptune was ex-
*' tending his arms to catch her, the whole body
*' of Seine n\t\x.Qà into water; her veil, and her
" green robes, which the wind wafted before her,
*' became waves of an emerald colour. She was
" transformed into a river of that hue, which ftill
/* delights to ramble over the places ir^ which (lie
*' delighted while a nymph. What renders this
** more remarkable is, that Neptune, notwithftand-
*' ing her metamorphofis, has not ceafed to be
*' enamoured of her, as it is faid, the river Al-
" pheus, in Sicily, ftill continues to be, of the
•' fountain Arethufa. But, if the Sea-god has pre-
** ferved his afîeétion for Seine, flie ftill continues
*' to retain heraverfion for him. Twice every day
" he purfues her, with a loud and roaring noife,
"^ and asofte^i Seine fxies to the meadows, afcending
'^ toward her fource, contrary to the natural courfe
" of rivers. At all feafons (he feparates her green
*' waves from the azure billows of Neptune.

^^ Heva died with regret for the lofs of her mif-
*' trefs ; but the Nereids, as a reward to her fide-
■*Mity, erefted to her memory, upon the (liore,
*' a monument compofed of black and white ftones,
, *' which may be perceived at a very great diftance.
" By w (kill divine, they have even enclofed in it
" an echo, in order that Hcz:û, after her death,

" might

ARCADIA. 325

" might warn mariners, both by the eye and the
" ear, of the dangers of the land, as fhe had,
" during her hfe, cautioned the nymph of Ceres
" a-gainft thofe of the Sea. You fee her tomb
*' from hence. It is that deep mountain, formed
" of difmal bedsof black and white ftones. It
'' always bears the name of Heva (9). You
*' perceive, by thofe piles of fiint-flones with which
** it's bafis is covered, the efforts ufed by the en-
" raged Neptune to undermine the foundation ;
** and you may hear, from hence, the roaring of
*' the mountain, which warns mariners to take
" care of themfelves. As to Amphitrite^ deeply
" affeâied by the misfortune of Seine^ and the in-
" fidelity oi Neptune ^ fhe intreated the Nereids to
" hollow out that little bay, which you fee upon
*' your left, at the mouth of the river ; and it was
*' her intention that it (hould be, at all times, a
" fecure harbour againft the fury of her hufband.
" Enter into it, then, at this time, if you will be
" ruled by me, while day-light remains, I can af-
" fure you that I have, frequently, feen the God
'* of the Seas purfue Seine far up the country, and
" overturn every thing which he encountered in
" his paffage. Be on your guard, therefore, againft
" meeting a God whom love has rendered furious.'*

*' You mufl, furely," anfwered the Pilot to Ce-
phas y '* take me for a very ignorant fellow, when

Y 3 " you

Ù

26 STUDIES OF NATURE.

' you relate fuch ftories to a perfon of my age. It
' is now forty years fince I have followed a fea-

* life. 1 have anchored, night and day, in fhe

* Thames, which is full of fands, and in the Ta-
' gus, which flows with fuch rapidity ; I have (ten

* the cataraâis of the Nile, which make a roaring

* fo dreadful, but never have I fcen or heard any
' thing fimilar to what you have now been relat-
' ing. I fball hardly be fimple enough to remain
' here at anchor, while the wind is favourable for

* going up the river. I Qiall pafs the night in it'â

* channel, and exped to fleep very foundly."

He fpoke, and, in concert with the failors,
raifed a hooting, as ignorant and prefumptuous
men are accuftomed to do, when advice is given
them which they do not underftand.

Cephas then approached me, and enquired if I
knew how to fwim. *' No," anfwered I ; " I
** have learnt, in Egypt, every thing that could
" render me refpedable among men, and almofl
** nothing which could be ufeful to myfelf.'' He
then faid to me : " Let us not feparate from each
** other; we will keep clofe to this bench of the
** rowers, and repofe all our truft in the Gods."

In the mean time the veffel, driven by the
>vinds, and, undoubtedly, by the vengeance of

Hercules

ARCADIA. 327

Hercules alfo, entered the river in full fail. We
avoided, at firft, three fand-banks which are fitu-
ated at it's mouth ; afterwards, being fairly in-
volved in the channel, we could fee nothing
around us, but a vaft foreft, which extended
down to the very banks of the river. The only
evidence we had of a country inhabited, was fome
frnoke, which appeared rifing, here and there,
above the trees. We proceeded in this manner
till night prevented us from diftinguifhing any ob-
jedl ; then the pilot thought proper to caft anchor.

The veffel, driven on one fide by a frefh
breeze, and on the other by the current of the
river, was forced into a crofs poficion in the chan-
nel. But, notwithftanding this dangerous fitua-
tion, our failors began to drink and make merry,
believing themfelves fecure from all danger, be-
caufe they were furrounded with land on every
lide. They afterwards went 10 reft, and not a
lingle man remained on deck, to watch the mo-
tions of the lliip.

Cephas and I ftaid above, feated on one of the
rowers' benches. We banifhea Heep from our
eyes, by converfing on the majeftic appearance of
the ftars which rolled over our heads. Already
had the conftellation of the Bear reached the
middle of it's courfe, when we heard, atadiftance,

Y 4 a deep

328 STUDIES OF NATURE.

a deep, roaring noife, like that of a catarad. I
imprudently rofe up to fee what it could be. I
perceived, (10) by the whitenefs of it's foam, a
mountain of water, which approached us from the
Sea, rolling itfelf over and over. It occupied the
whole breadth of the river, and, rufhing above it's
banks, to the right-hand, and to the left, broke,
with a horrible cradi, among the trunks of the
trees of the foreft. In the fame inftant, it came
upon our vefTel, and taking her fide- ways, fairly
overfet her. This movement tofled me into the
water. A moment afterwards, a fécond furge, flill
more elevated than the former, turned the veflel
keel upward. I recollecl that I then heard ilTue
from the inverted wreck, a multitude of hollow
and flifled fcreamings ; but, being deiirous of cal-
ling my friend to my affidance. my mouth filled
w'nh Lit water; I felt a murmuring noife in my
ears ; I found myfelf carried away with inconceiv-
able rapidity, and foon after I loft all recolleâ;ion,

I am not fenfible how long I might have re-
mained in the water, but when I recovered my
fenfes, I perceived, toward the Weft, the bow of
Iris in the Heavens, and to the Eaft, the firft fires
OÏ Aurora, which tinged the clouds with filver and
Vermillion. A company of young girls, extremely
fair, half clad in fkins, furrounded me : fome oi
them prefented me with liquors in fliells, others

wiped

ARCADIA. 329

■wiped me dry with moffes, and others fupported
my head with their hands. Their flaxen hair,
their vermiUion cheeks, their azure eyes, and that
celeftial fomewhat, which compaflion always por-
trays on thi countenance of woman, made me be-
lieve that I was in Heaven, and that I was at-
tended by the Hours, who open the gates of it,
day by day, for the admiffion of unfortunate mor-
tals. The firft emotion of my heart was to look
for you, and the fécond to enquire after you.
Oh, Cephas ! I could not have felt my happinefs
complete, even in Olympus, without your pre-
lence. But the illufion was foon over, when I
heard a language, barbarous and unknown to me,
iflue from the rofy lips of thefe young females.
I then recolleâ:ed, by degrees, the circumftances
of my fhipwreck. I arofe ; I wilhed to feek for
you, but knew not where to find you again. I
wandered about in the midtl of the woods. I was
ignorant whether the river, in which we had been
fhipwrecked, was near, or at a difhance, on my
rigiit hand, or on my left 3 and, to increafe my
embarraffment, there was no perfon of whom I
could enquire it's fituation. ,

After having reflefled a (hort time, I obferved
that the grafs was wet, and the foliage of the trees
of a bright green, from which I concluded that it
rnuft have rained abundantly the preceding night.

I was

33° STUDIES OF NATURE.

I was confirmed in this idea by the fight of the
water, which ftill flowed, in yellow currents, along
tlie roads. I farther concluded, that thefe waters
muft, of neccffity, empty themfelves into fome
brook, and this brook into the river. I was about
to follow thefe indications, when fome men, who
came out of an adjoining cottage, compelled me,
with a threatening tone, to enter. I then perceived
that I was free no longer, and that I had become
the flave of a people, who, I once flattered myfelf,
would have honoured me as a God.

I call Jupiter to witnefs, oh, Cephas ! that the
affliction of having been fhipwrecked in port, of
feeing myfelf reduced to fervitude by thofe, for
whofe benefit I had travelled fo far, of being rele-
gated to a barbarous country, where I could make
myfelf underftood by no perfon, far from the de-
lightful country of Egypt, and from my relations,
did not equal the diftrefs which I felt in having loft
you. I called to remembrance the wifdom of your
counfels ; your confidence in the Gods, of whofe
providence you taught me to be fenfible, even in
the midft of the greateft calamities ; your obfer-
vations on the Works of Nature, which repleniflied
her to me, with life and benevolence ; the tran-
quillity in which you fo well knew how to main-
tain all my paffions : and I felt, by the gloom
which was gathering around my heart, that I had

loft,

ARCADIA, 331

loft, in yon, the firft of bleffings, and that a pru-
dent friend is the moft valuable gift which the
bounty of the Gods can beftow upon Man.

Thus, I thought of nothing, but of the means
of regaining you once more, and I flattered myfelf
that I Ihould fucceed, by making my efcape in the
middle of the night, if I could only reach the fea-
coaft. I was perfuaded that I could not be far
diftant from it, but I was entirely ignorant on
which fide it lay. There was no eminence near
me from whence I could difcover it. Sometimes,
I mounted to the fummit of the moft lofty trees,
but 1 could perceive nothing except the furface of
the foreft, which extended as far as the Horizon.
Often did I watch the flight of the birds, to fee if
I could difcover fome fea-fowl coming on (hore to
build her neft in the foreft ; or fome wild pigeon
going to pilfer fait from the fliores of the Ocean,
I would, a thoufand times, have preferred the
found of the piercing cries of the fea-thrufli, when
(he comes, during a tempeft, to flicker herfelf
among the rocks, to the melodious voice of the
red -breaft, which already announced, in the yellow
foliage of the woods, the termination of the fine
weather.

One night, after I had retired to reft, I thought
I heard, at a diftance, the noife which the waves

of

332 STUDIES OF NATURE.

of the Sea make, when they break, upon it's fliores;
that I could even dillinguifh the tumult of the
waters of the Seine purfued by Neptune. Their
roarings, which had formerly chilled me with hor-
ror, at that time tranfported me with joy. I arofe:
I went out of the cottage, and liftened attentively;
but the founds, which feemed to iflbe from various
parts of the Horizon, foon perplexed my under-
ftanding : 1 began to difcover that it was the mur-
murings of the winds, which agitated at a diftance
the foliage of the oaks, and of the beech-trees.

Sometimes, I endeavoured to make the favages
of my cottage comprehend that I had loft a friend.
1 applied my hand to my eyes, to my tiîouth, and
to my heart ; 1 pointed to the Horizon , I raifed
my hands, clafped, to Heaven, and Ihed tears.
They underftood this dumb language, by which I
expreffed my afflidion, for they wept with me ;
but, by a contradiftion, for which I could not ac-
count, they redoubled their precautions, in order
to prevent me from making my efcape.

I applied myfelf, therefore, to learn their lan-
guage, that I might inform them of my condition,
and in order to intereft them in it. They were
themfelves eagerly difpofed to teach me the names
of the objefts which I pointed out to them. Sla-
very is very mild among thefe Nations. My life,

liberty

ARCADIA. 333

liberty excepted, differed, in nothing, from that
of my mafters. Every thing was in comtnon be-
tween us, provifxon, habitation, and the earth upon
which we flept, wrapped up in ikins. They had
even fo much confideration for my youth, as to
give me the eafieft part of their labours to perform.
In a (liort time, 1 was able to converfe with them.
This is what I learnt of their government and cha-
raâ:er.

Gaul is peopled with a great number of petty
Nations, fome of which are governed by Kings,
others by Chiefs, called larles ; but all fubjefted
to the power of the Druids, who unite them all
under the fame religion, and govern them with fo
much the greater facility, that they are divided by
a thoufand different cuftoms. The Druids have
perfuaded thefe Nations that they are defcended
from P/«/o, the God of the Infernal Regions,
whom they call Hxder, or the Blind. This is the
reafon that the Gauls reckon by nights, and not
by days, and that they reckon the hours of the day
from the middle of the night, contrary to the prac-
tice of all other Nations. They adore feveral other
Gods, as terrible as Hœder ; fuch as Niorder, the
mailer of the winds, who daflies veffcls on their
coafts, in order, they fay, to procure ihem plun-
der. They, accordingly, believe, that every (hip
which is wrecked upon their Ihores, is fent ihem

by

^34 STUDIES OF NATURE.

by Niorder. They have, befides, Thor, or T'heu-
tates, the God of War, armed with a club, which
he darts from the upper regions of the air; they
give him gloves of iron, and a belt, which re-
doubles his fury when it is girded around him.
57r, equally cruel ; the lilcnt Vidar^ who wears
fhoes of confiderable thicknefs, by means of which
he can walk through the air, and upon the water,
without making any noife j Hemdal^ with the gol-
den tooth, who fees day and night : he can hear
the flighteft found, even that which the grafs or
the wool makes as they grow : Oiiller^ the God of
the Ice, Qiod with ikates ; Loke , who had three
children by the giantefs Angherbode : the meffenger
of grief, namely, the wolf Fenris, the ferpent of
Midgardy and the mercilefs Hela. Hela is death.
They fay, that his palace is mifery ; his table, fa-
mine ; his door, the precipice ; his porch, lan-
guor; and his bed, confumption. They have,
befides, feveial other Gods, whofe exploits are as
ferocious as their names, Herian^ Rijîindi, Svidur,
Svidrer, Sa/Jk; which, tranflated, mean the war-
rior, the thunderer, the deftroyer, the incendiary,
the father of carnage. The Druids honour thefe
Divinities, (ii) with funereal ceremonies, lamen-
table ditties, and human facrifices. This horrible
mode of worfhip gives them fo much power over
the terrified fpirits of the Gauls, that they prefide
in all their counfels, and decide upon all their af-
fairs.

ARCADIA. 335

fairs. If any one prefumes to oppofe their judg-
ment, he is excluded from the communion of their
myfteries (12) ;' and, from that moment, he is
abandoned by every one, not excepting his own
wife and children ^ but it feldom happens that any
one ventures to refift them ; for they arrogate to
themfelves, exclufively, the charge of educating
youth, that they may imprefs upon their minds
early in life, and in a manner never to be effaced,
thefe horrible opinions.

As for the larles, or Nobles, they have the
power of life and death over their own vaflals,
Thofe who live under Kings pay them the half of
the tribute which is levied upon the commonalty.
Others govern them entirely to their own advan-
tage. The richer fort give feafts to the poor of
their own particular clafs, who accompany them to
the wars, and make it a point of honour to die by
their fide. They are extremely brave. If, in
hunting, they encounter a bear, the Chief amongft
them lays afide his arrows, attacks the animal
alone, and kills him with one ftroke of his cutlafs.
If the fire catches their habitation, they never quit
it till they fee the burning joifts ready to fall upon
them. Others, on the brink of the Ocean, with
lance or fword in hand, oppofe themfelves to the
waves which dalh upon the fliore. They fuppofe
valour to confift, not only in refilling their enemies

of

336 STUDIES OF NATURE.

of the human fpecies, and ferocious animals, but
even the elements themfelves. Valour, with them,
fupplies the place of juilice. They always decide
their differences by force of arms, and confider rea-
fon as the refource of thofe only who are deftitute
of courage. Thefe two clafles of citizens, one of
which employs cunning, and the other force, to
make themfelves feared, completely balance each
other; but they unite in tyrannizing over the
people, whom they treat with fovereign contempt.
Never can a plebeian, among the Gauls, arrive at
the honour of filling any public ftation. It would
appear, that this Nation exifts only for it's Priefts
and it's Nobles, Inftead of being confoled by the
one, and protedled by the other, as juflice requires,
the Druids terrify them, only in order that the
larles may opprefs them.

Notwithftandingall this, there is no race of men
polTelTed of better qualities than the Gauls. They
are very ingenious, and excel in feveral fpecies of
ufeful arts, which are to be found no where elfe.
They overlay plates of iron with tin, (13) fo art-
fully, that it might pafs for filver. They com-
patfl pieces of wood with fo much exadlnefs, that
they form of them vafes capable of containing all
forts of liquors. What is dill more wonderful, they
have a method of boiling water in them, without
their being confumed. They make flmt ftones

red-

ARCADIA. 337

red-hot, and throw them into the wuter contained
in the wooden vafe, till it acquires the degree of
heat which they willi to give it. They alfo know
how to kindle fire without making ufe either
offteel or of flint, by the fridion of the wood
of the ivy and of the laurel. The qualities of their
heart are ftiil fuperior to thofe of their under-
ftanding. They are extremely hofpitable. He
who has little, divides that little, cheerfully, with
him who has nothing. They are fo paffionately
fond of their children, that they never treat them
unkindly. They are contented with bringing
them back to a fenfe of their duty by remonftrance.
The refult from this condud is, that, at all times,
the moft tender affedion unites all the members
of their families, and that the young people there
liften, with the greateft refped, to the counfels of
aged.

Neverthelef?, this People would be fpeedily de-
ftroyed by the tyranny of it's Chieftains, did they
not oppofe their own paffions to themfelves. When
quarrels arife among the Nobility, they are fo
much under the perfualion that arms muft decide
the controverfy, and that reafon has no voice in
the decihon, that they are obliged, in order to me-
rit popular efteem, to follow up their refcntments
to the death. This vulgar prejudice is fatal to a
great number of the larlcs. On the other hand,

VOL. v. z they

33^ STUDIES OF NATURE.

they give fuch credit to the dreadful ftories retailed
by the Druids, refpedling their Divinities, and fear,
as is generally the cafe, aflbciates with thefe tra-
ditions circumflances fo terrifying, that the Priefts
frequently tremble much more than the people,
before the idols which they themfelves had fabri-
cated. I am, thence, thoroughly convinced of the
truth of the maxim of our facred books, which
fays, — Jupiter has ordained, that the evil which
a man does to his fellow-creature, fhould recoil,
with feven-fold vengeance, upon himfelf, in order
that no one may find his own happinefs in the mi-
fery of another.

There are, here and there, among fome of the
Gallic Nations, Kings who cftablifh their own au-
thority, by undertaking the defence of the weak ;
but it is the women who preferve the Nation from
ruin. Equally opprefled by the Laws of the
Druids, and by the ferocious manners of the
larles, they are doomed to the moft painful of-
fices, fuch as cultivating the ground, beating about
in the woods, to ftart game for their huntfmen,
and carrying the baggage of the men on their
journies. They are, befides, fubjefted, all their
life long, to the imperious governance of their
own children. Every hufband has the power of
life and death over his wife, and when he dies, if
there arifes the llighteft fufpicion that his death

was

ARCADIA. 331

was not natural, they put his wife to the torture :
If, through the violence of her torments, (he
pleads guilty, (he is condemned to the flames (14).

This unfortunate fex triumphs over it's tyrants
by their own opinions. As vanity is their domi-
neering paffion, the women turn them into ridi-
cule. A fong limply is, in their hands, fufficient
to deftroy the refult of their graved aflemblies.
The lower clafTes, and efpecially the young people,
always devoted to their fervice, fet this fong into
circulation, through the villages and hamlets. It
is fung day and night : he who is the fubje(5l of
it, be he who he may, dares to fliew his face no
more. Hence it comes to pafs, that the women,
fo weak as individuals, enjoy, colledively, the
moft unlimited power. Whether it be the fear of
ridicule, or, that they have experienced the fu-
perior difcernment of their women, but certain it
is, the Chieftains undertake nothing of import-
ance, without confuking them. Their voice de-
cides, whether it is to be peace or war. As they
are obliged, by the mifcries of Society, to re-
nounce their own opinions, and to take refuge in
the arms of Nature, they are neither blinded, nor
hardened, by the prejudices of the men. Hence it
happens, that they judge more clearly than the
other fex, of public affairs, and forefee future events
with fuch fuperior difcernment. The common

z z people.

34© STUDIES OF NATURE.

people, wbofe calamities they folace. flruck, at
frequently finding in them, a more difcriminating
underftanding than in their Chiefs, without pene-
trating into the caufes of it, take a pleafure in
afcribing to them fomething divine (15).

Thus, the Gauls pafs fucceffively and rapidly
from forrow to fear, and from fear to joy. The
Druids terrify them, the larles abufe them, and
the women make them laugh, dance, and ling.
Their religion, their laws, and their manners, be-
ing perpetually at variance, they live in a ftate of
continual fluctuation, which conftitutes their prin-
cipal charaâ:er. Hence, alfo, may be derived the
reafon why they are fo very curious about news,
and fo defirous of knowing what pafTes among flran-
gers. It is for this reafon, that fo many are to be
found in foreign countries, which they are fond of
vifiting, like all men who are unhappy at home.

They defpife hufbandmen, and, of confeqnence,
neglect agriculture, which is the bafis of public
profperity. . When v/e landed in their country,
they cultivated only thofe grains which come to
perfedion in the fpace of a Summer, fuch as
beans, lentiles, oats, fmall millet, rye, and bar-
ley. Very little wheat is to be feen there. Ne-
verihelcfs, the earth abounds with natural produc-
tions. There is a profufion of excellent pafture by

the

ARCADIA. 341

the fide of the rivers. The forefls are lofty, and
filled with fruit-trees of all kinds. As they were
frequently in want of provifions, they employed
me in feeking it for them, in the fields and in the
woods. I found, in the meadows, cloves of garlic,
the roots of the daucus, and of the drop-wort, I
fometimes returned, loaded with myrtle-berries,
beech-mad, plumbs, pears, and apples, which I
had gathered in the foreft. They drefled thefe
fruits, the greater part of which cannot be eaten
raw, on account of their harflinefs. But they have
trees there, which produce fruit of an exquifite
flavour. I have often admired the apple-trees,,
loaded with fruits of a colour fo brilliant, that they
might have been miftaken for the moft beautiful
flowers.

This is what they related, refpeding the origin
of thofe apple-trees, which grow there in fuch
abundance, and of the greateft beauty. They tell
you, that the beautiful Thelis, whom they call
Friga, jealous of this circumftance, that, at her
nuptials, Venus, whom they denominate Siofne, had
carried away the apple, which was the prize of
beauty, without putting it in her power to conteft it
with the three Goddefl'es, refolved to avenge herfelf.

Accordingl}'', one day that Fenus had defcended
on this part of the Gallic fliore, in quefl of pearls

z 'I for

34* STUDIES OF NATURE

for her drefs, and of the fhells called the knife-
handle, for her fon Sijone (ib), a triton ftole away
her apple, which flie had depoficed upon a rock,
and carried it to the Goddefs of the Seas. Tbefis
immediately planted it's feeds in the neighbouring
country, in order to perpetuate the memory of her
revenge, and of her triumph. This is the reafon,
fay the Celtic Gauls, of the great number of apple-
trees which grow in their Country, and of the lin-
gular beauty of their young women (17).

Winter came on, and 1 am unable to exprefs my
aftoniQiment to you, when I beheld, for the firft
time, the Heavens diifolve into white plumage,
refembling that of birds, the water of the fountains
become hard as ftone, and the trees entirely flrip-
ped of their foliage. 1 had never feen the like in
Egypt. I had no doubt but that the Gauls would
immediately expire, like the plants, and the ele-
ments, of their Country; and, undoubtedly, the
rigour of the climate would foon have put an end
to my career, had they not taken the greateft
care to clothe me with furs. But how eafy it is
for a perfon, without experience, to be deceived !
I was entirely ignorant of the refources of Nature;
for every feafon, as well as for every climate.
Winter is, to tbofe Northern Nations, a time of
fcftivity, and of abundance. The river-birds, the
elks, the bufialos, the hares^ the deer, and the

wild-

ARCADIA. 343

wild-boars, abound, at that feafon, in the forefts,
and approach their habitations. They killed thefc
in prodigious quantities,

I was not lefs furprized, when I beheld the re-
turn of Spring, which difplayed, in thofe defolate
regions, a magnificence which I had never feen be-
fore, even on the banks of the Nile : the bramble,
the rafpberry, the fweet-briar, the ftrawberry, the
primrofe, the violet, and a great many other flow-
ers, unknown in Egypt, adorned the verdant bor-
ders of the forefts. Some, fuch as the honey-fuckle,
entwined themfelves round the trunks of the oaks,
and fufpended from the boughs their perfumed
garlands. The fliores, the rocks, the woods, and
the mountains, were all clothed in a pomp, at once
magnificent and wild. A fpedlacle fo affeding,
redoubled my melancholy : " Happy," faid I to
myfelf, " if I could perceive among fo many
" plants, a fingle one of thofe which I brought
** with mc from Egypt 1 Were it only the humble
*' flax, it would recal the memory of my
*' Country, during my whole life-time ; in dying,
** I would feleâ: it for the place of my grave :
*' it would, one day, tell Cephas where the bones
*' of his friend repofe, and inform the Gauls of the
^* name and of the travels of Amajts'*

% 4 One

344 STUDIES OF NATURE.

One day, as I was endeavouring to diffipate my
melancholy, by looking at the young girls dancing
on the frefh grafs, one of them quitted the dan-
cers, and came and wept over me : then, on a
fudden, fhe again joined her companions, and con-
tinued to dance, friiking about, and amufing her-
felf with them. I took the fudden tranfition from
joy to grief, and from grief to joy, in this young
girl, to be the efFeâ; of the natural levity of the
people, and 1 did not give myfelf much trouble
about it ; when I faw an old man iffue from the
foreft, with a red beard, clothed in a robe made
of the ikins of weafels. He bore a branch of mif-
tletoe in his hand, and at his girdle hung a knife
of flint. He was followed by a company of young
perfons, in the flower of their age, who had girdles
of the fame fort of fkins, and holding in their
hands empty gourds, pipes of iron, bullocks'
horns, and other inftruments of their barbarous
mulic.

As foon as this old man appeared, the dancing
ceafed, every countenance became fad, and the
whole company removed to a diftance from me.
Even my mafter and his family retired to their
cottage. The wicked old man tlien approached
me, and faftened a leathern cord round my neckj
then^ his fatellites, forcing me to follow him, drag-

ge4

ARCADIA.

!45

ged me along, in a (late of ftupefadion, in the
fame manner as wolves would carry off a flieep.
They conducted me acrofs the foreft to the very
borders of the Seine : there, their Chief fprinkled
me with the water of the river ; he then made me
enter a large boat, conftrudied of the bark of the
birch-tree, into which he likewife embarked with
all his train.

We failed up the Seine for eight days together,
during which all kept a profound filence. On
the ninth, we arrived at a little town, built in the
middle of an ifland. They here made me difem-
bark on the oppofite fliore, on the right hand bank
of the river, and they conduced me into a large
hut, without windows, which was illuminated by
torches of fir. They tied me to a flake, in the
middle of the hut, and thofe young men, who
watched over me night and day, armed widi hat-
chets of flint, never ceafed to dance around me,
blov/ing, with all their ffcrength, through the bulls'
horns and iron pipes. They accompanied this de-
teftable mufic with thefe horrible words, which
they fung in chorus.

<* Oh, Ni order! Oh, Rijîindi ! Oh, Svidrer !
*' Oh, He/a ! Oh, He/a ! God of Carnage and of
" Storms, we bring thee flefli. Receive the blood

"of

54^ STUDIES OF NATURE.

** of this vidim, of this child of death. Oh, Nior-
^'der! Oh, Rijlindi ! Oh, Svidrer ! Oh, Hela t
•* Oh, Hela r

Whilft they pronounced thefe awful words,, their
eyes rolled about in their heads, and their mouths
foamed. At length thofe fanatics, overwhelmed
with fatigue, fell afleep, except one of them, wha
was called Omji. This name, in the Celtic tongue,
iignifies beneficent. Omji, moved with compaf-
fion, approached me: " Unfortunate young man,'*
faid he, *' a cruel war has broken out between the
** Nations of Great-Britain and thofe of Gaul.
*' The Britons pretend to be the maflers of the Sea
*' which feparates their ifland from us. We have al-
** ready been defeated in two naval engagements
" with them. The College of the Druids of Chartres
*' has determined, that human vidims are necef-
** fary, to render Mars favourable, whofe temple
*' is jnft by this place. The Chief of the Druids,
** who has fpies over all the Gauls, has difcovered
** that the lempefts had caft you upon our coafts :
*' he went himfelf to find you out. He is old and
" pitilefs. He bears the name of two of our moft
*' formidable Deities. He is called Tor-Tir (iS).
^' Repofe thy confidence, then, in the Gods of
1' thy own Country, for thofe of Gaul demand thy.
V blood!"

I was

ARCADIA. 347

I was feized with fuch terror, that 1 was unable
to make the leaft reply to Omfi : I only thanked
him, by an inclination of my head, and he imme-
diately haftened from me, left he (hould be per-
ceived by any of his companions.

At that moment, I called to mind the reafon
which induced the Gauls, who had made me their
ilave, to hinder me from removing from their ha-
bitation ; they were apprehenfive thm I might fall
into the hands of the Druids ; but I had not the
power of efcaping my cruel deftiny. My deftruc-
tion now appeared fo inevitable in my own eyes,
that I did not believe Jupiter himfelf was able to
deliver me from the jaws of thofe tygers, who were
thirfting for my blood. I recolleded no more,
oh, Cephas ! what you have fo frequently told me.
That the Gods never abandon innocence. I did
not even remember their having faved rne from
fhipwreck, Prefent danger totally obhterates paft
deliverance from the mind. Sometimes, I imagined
that they had preferved me from the waves, only
to give me up to a death a thoufand times more
painful.

Neverthelefs, I was addrefling my fupplicafions
to Jupiter, and I enjoyed a kind of repofe, in re-
lying entirely on that Providence which governs
the World, when, all cf a fudden, the doors of

th€^

348 STUDIES OF NATURE.

the cottage opened, and a numerous company of
Priefts entered, with Tor-Tir at their head, always
bearing in his hand a branch of miftletoe from the
oak. Immediately, the young barbarians who fur-
rounded me awoke, and began their funereal fongs
and dances. Tor-Tir approached me ; he placed
upon my head a crown of the yew-tree, and a
handful of the meal of beans ; afterwards, he put
a gag in my mouth, and having untied me from
my ftake, he faftened my hands behind my back.
Then, all his retinue began to march to the found
of their doleful inftruments, and two Druids, fup-
porting me by the arms, conduced me to the
place of facrifice.

Here, Tyrteits, perceiving that the fpindie felt
from the hands of C>'<3«r^, and that fhe turned pale,
faid to her : " My daughter, it is time for you to
" go to reft. Remember that you muft rife to-
** morrow before the dawn, to go to Mount Ly-
** ceum, where you have to prefent, with your
" companions, the fhepherd's offering on the al-
*' tar of Jupiter.'''' Cyanea^ trembling all over,
replied : " My father, every thing is ready againft
'* the feftival of to-morrow. The wreaths of
** flovv^ers, the wheaten cakes, the veffels of milk,
*' are all prepared. But it is not late : the moon,
" as yet, has not illuminated the bottom of the
♦' valley, nor have the cocks yet crowed ; it is nor

" midnight.

ARCADIA. 349

" midnight, Allow mc, I entreat you, to flay
" here till the end of this ftory. My father, I am
'^* near you, and I fhall apprehend no danger."

Tyrteus looked at his daughter, with afmile;
and, having made an apology to Amafis for inter-
rupting him, entreated he would proceed.

We went out of the hut, replied Amafts^ in the
middle of a dark night, by the fmoky light of fir-
torches. We traverfed, at firft, a vaft field of
ftones ; we faw, here and there, the ikeletons of
horfes and of dogs, fixed upon flakes. From thence
we arrived at the entrance of a large cavern, hol-
lowed in the fide of a rock all over white (19).
The lumps of black clotted blood, which had been
ihed around, exhaled an infedious fmell, and an-
nounced this to be the Temple of Mars. In the
interior of this frightful den, along the walls, were
ranged human heads and bones ; and, in the
middle of it, upon a piece of rock, a ftatue of
iron reared itfelf to the fummit of the cavern, re-
prefenting the God Mars. It was fo mif-fliapen,
that it had more refemblance to a block of rufty
iron than to the God of War. We could diltin-
guilh, however, his club, fct thick with piercing
points, his gloves ftudded with the heads of nails,
and his horrible girdle, on which was portrayed
tlie image of Death. At his feet was feated the

King

J50 STUDIES OF NATURE.

King of the Country, having around him the prin-
cipal perfonages of his State. An immenfe crowd
of people were colleded within and without the
cavern, who preferved a melancholy lilence, im-
prefled with refpeâ:, religion, and terror.

Tor-Tir, addrefling himfelf to the whole aflem-

bly, faid to them : " Oh King, and you larles

*' affembled for the defence of the Gauls, do not

** believe that you ever can triumph over your

** enemies, without the afTiftance of the God of

** Battles. Your lofTes have demonftrated what

** is the confequence of negleding his awful wor-

*' fhip. Blood offered up to the Gods, faves the

** effufion of that which mortals (hed. The Gods

*• ordain men to be born, only that they may die.

*' Oh ! how happy are you, that the feleftion of

** the vidimhas not fallen upon one of yourfelves!

** Whilft I was confidering, within myfelf, whofe

*' life among us would be acceptable to the Gods,

** and ready to offer up my own for the good of

** my Country, Niorder, the God of the Seas,

** appeared to me in the gloomy forefts of Char-

**tres; he was dripping all over with fea-water.

" He faid to me, with a voice thundering like the

** tempeft ; I fend to you, for the falvation of the

*' Gauls, a flranger, without relations, and without

*' friends. I myfelf daflied him upon the wcftern

" fliores. His blood will be acceptable to the

." Gods

ARCADIA. 3^1

*^ Gods of the infernal regions. Thus fpâke
** Niorder. Niorder loves you, oh, ye children of

""' Pluto r

Scarcely had Tor -fir made an end of this ter-
rible addrefs, when a Gaul, who was feated by the
King, ruQied toward me : it was Cephas. " Oh,
'' Amafis ! oh, my dear Amafn T cried he. "Oh,
** my barbarous compatriots ! are you going to
** facrifice a man, who has come from the banks
** of the Nile to bring you the moft precious blef-
** fings of Greece and of Egypt ? You fliall begin,
** then, with me, who firft infpired him with this
** defire, and who touched his heart with pity for
" perfons fo cruel to him." As he pronounced
thefe words, he preffed me in his arms, and bathed
me with his tears. For my part, I wept and fob-
bed, without the power of expreffing to him, in
any other way, the tranfports of my joy. Imme-
diately the cavern refounded with the voice of
murmurs and of groans. The young Druids wept,
and let fall from their hands the inftruments of my
facrifice; for Religion becomes mute, whenever
Nature fpeaks. Neverthelefs, no one in the af-
fembly durft, even now, deliver me from the
hands of the butchering priefts, when the women,
rufhing into the midft of the aflembly, tore afun-
der my chains, and removed my gag and funereal

crown.

35* STUDIES OF KATURE.

crown. Thus, for the fécond time, did I owe my
Hfe to the women of Gaul.

The King, taking me in his arms, faid to me :
" What, is it you, unhappy flranger, whom Ce-
" phas has been inceffantly regretting ! Oh, ye
" Gods, the enemies of my Country, do you fend
" benefaftors hither, only that they may be im-
*' molated." Then, addreffing himfelf to the
Chiefs of the Nations, he fpoke to them,, with fo
much energy, of the rights of humanity, that,
with one accord, they all fwore, that they would
never more reduce to flavery thofe whom the tern-
pefts might cad upon their fhores ; never to facri-
fice, in future, any one innocent man, and to offer
to Mars only the blood of the criminal. Tor-Tir,
in a rage, endeavoured, in vain, to oppofe this
law : he retired, menacing the King, and all the
Gauls, with the approaching vengeance of the
Gods.

Neverthelefs, the King, accompanied by my
friend, conduced me, amidft the acclamations of
the People, into his city, which was fituated in the
neighbouring ifland.- Till the moment oF our ar-
rival in this ifland, I had been fo much difcom-
pofcd, that I was incapable of a lingle rational re-
'fiedion. Every fpecies of new reprefentation of

my

ARCADIA. ^ 353

my misfortunes contraded my heart, andobfcured
my underrtandlng. But as foon as I recovered
the ufe of my reafoning powers, and began to re-
fled on the extreme danger which I had juft
efcaped, I fainted away. Oh, how weak is man,
in a paroxyfm of joy ! He is ftrong, only to en-
counter wo. Cephas brought me to myfelf, after
the manner of the Gauls, by fliaking about my
head, and blowing on my face.

When I had recovered my fenfes, he took
my hands in his, and faid to me : " Oh, my
" friend, how many tears you have coft me !
'* When the waves of the Ocean, which overfet
*' our vetfel, had feparated us, I found myfelf
** caft, I know not how, upon the right-hand
** bank of the Seine. My firfl; care was to feek
*' for you. I kindled fires upon the (hore ; I cal-
" led you by name ; I employed feveral of my
" compatriots, who had gathered together on
** hearing my cries, to reconnoitre, in their boats,
" the banks of the river, to fee if they could not
" find you : all our refearches were inefFedaal.
" The day reappeared, and prefented to my view
" our veffel overturned, and her keel in the air,
'* clofe to the fhore where I was. It never occur-
" red to my thoughts that you might have landed
*' on the oppofite fhore, in my own country, Bel-
** gium. It was not till the third day, that, be-

voL. V. A a '* lieving

(54 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Hevlng you had perifhed, I refolved to pdfs over
to it, to vifit my relations. The greateft part of
them had paid the debt of Nature, during my
abfence : thofe who remained overwhelmed mc
with kindnefs ; but not even a brother can
compenfate for the lofs of a friend. I returned
almoft immediately to the other fide of the ri-
ver. There they unloaded our unfortunate vef-
fel, of which nothing had been loft but the men.
I fought your body along the fea-fhore, and I
repeated my demand of it evening, morning,
and in the middle of the night, from the n-ympbs
of the Ocean, that I might rear you a monu-
ment near to that of Heva. I fhould have pafled
all my life, I believe, in thefe vain refearches,
had not the King, who reign.s on the banks of
this river, informed îhat a Plifcnician veflcl was
wrecked on his domains, claimed the pFoperty
which, according to the laws of the Gauls, be-
longed to him. I colkcled, accordingly, every
thing which we had brought from Egypt, even
to the very trees, which had not been damaged
by tlie water; and 1 prefented myfelf, with
thefe wretched fragments, before that Prince.
Let us blefs, then, the providence of the Gods,
which has united us again, and which has ren-
dered your misfortunes more ufeful to my Coun-
try than even your prefents. If you had not
made fliipwreck on our coafts, the barbarous

*♦ cuftom

ARCADIA. 355

" cuftom of condemning to llavery thofe who en-
" dure that calamity, would not have been abo-
'Mifhed; and, if you had not been condemned
" to be facrificed, I fhould, mod probably, never
*' have feen you more, and the blood of the inno-
** cent would ftill have fmoked upon the altars of
« the God of War."

Thus fpake Cephas. As for the King, he omit-
ted nothing which he thought would tend to make
me lofe the recolleélion of my misfortunes. He
was called Bardus, He was already confiderably
advanced in years, and he wore, according to the
cuftom of his people, his beard and hair very
long. His palace vvas built of the trunks of firs,
laid in rows one upon another. It had no other
door (20), except large bullocks hides, which
clofe up the apertures. No perfon was there, on
guard, for he had nothing to fear from his fub-
jeds ; but he had employed all his fkill and in-
duftry, to fortify his city againft enemies from
without. He had furrounded it with walls, formed
of the trunks of trees, intermixed with fods of
turf, with towers of ftone at the angles, and at the
gates. Sentinels were ftationed on the top of thefe
towers, who watched day and night. King Bardus
had received this ifland from the nymph Lutetia,
his mother, and it bore her name. It vvas, at firft,
covered with nothing but trees, and Bardus had
A a 2 not

55^ STUDIES OF NATURE.

not a fingle fubjed. He employed himfelf in
twifting, upon the banks of the illand, ropes of
the bark of the lime-tree, and in hollowing alders
to make boats. He fold thefe produdions of his
own hands to the manners who failed up or down
the Seine. While he worked, he fung the advan-
tages of induHry and of commerce, which unite
together all mankind. The boatmen frequently
flopped to liften to his fongs. They were repeated,
and fpread throughout all the Gauls, among whom
they were known under the name of the verfes of
the Bards. Soon after, a great number of people
came to eftablifli themfelves in this ifland, in order
to hear him fing, and to live in greater fecurity.
His riches accumulated with his fubjeds. The
illand was covered with habitations, the neigh-
bouring forefls were cleared, and, in a fliort
time, numerous flocks covered both the adjacent
Ihores. It was in this manner that the good King
formed an empire without violence. But while,
as-yet, his ifland was not furrounded by walls, and
while he was already planning to make it the
centre of commerce for all the Nations of Gaul,
war was on the point of exterminating all it's in-
habitants.

.One day, a great number of warriors, who were

failing up the Seine, in canoes made of the bark,

of the elm, difembarkcd upon it's northern fliore,

^ diredly

0- ARCADIA. 357

diredly oppofite to Lutetia. They were under
the command of the larle Carniit^ third fon of
Tendal^ Prince of the North. Carnut was on his
return from laying wafte all the coafts of the Hy-
perborean Sea, over which he had fpread horror
and devaftation. He was fecretly favoured in Gaul
by the Druids, who, like all weak men, take the
fide of thofe who have rendered themfelves formi-
dable. As foon as Carnut had landed, he went ia
fearch of ,'King BarduSy and faid to him : " Let us
** fight, thou and 1, at the head of our warriors :
" the weakeft (hall obey the ftrongeft; for it is
'* the firft Law of Nature, that every thing fhould
" yield to force." King Bardiis replied : " Oh,
" Carnut ! If the point in difpute were the hazard-
*' ing of my own life, for the defence of my
*' people, I would, without hefitation, expofe it.
*' But I will not expofe the lives of my people,
** were it even to lave my own. It is goodnefs,
" and not force, which ought to be the choice of
*' Kings. It is goodnefs only, which governs the
*' World, and it employs, for that purpofe, intel-
** ligence and flrength, which are fubordinate to
" it, as are all the other Powers of the Univerfe.
*' Valiant fon of Tendal^ fince thou.wifliefl: to go-
" vern men, let us try whether of the two, you or
*' I, is the mod capable of doing them good. Be-
*' hold thefe poor Qauls entirely naked. Without
*' making ofFenfivc dbmparifons, I have feveral
A a 3 ** times

358 STUDIES OF NATURE. '>f

*' times clothed and fed them, even to the de-
** nying myfelf clothes and food. Let us fee what
*' provifion thou wilt make for their wants."

Carmtt accepted the challenge. It was now Au-
tumn. He went to the chace with his warriors ;
he killed a great number of birds, ftags, elks, and
wild boars. He afterwards, with the flelh of thefe
animals, gave a great feaft to the inhabitants of
Lutetia, and clothed in their fkins thofe who were
naked. King Bardiis faid to him: "Son of Tendal,
** thou art a mighty huntfman : thou wilt be able
** to fnpport the people, during the h\mting fea-
** fon ; but in Spring, and during Summer time,
** they will peiidi with hunger. For my part,
** with my corn, the fleeces of my (heep, and the
** milk of my flocks, I can maintain them through-
** out the whole year."

Gamut made no reply; but he remained en-
camped, with his warriors, upon the banks of the
river, and relufed to withdraw.

BarduSy perceiving his obftinacy, went to feek
him in his turn, and propofed a fécond challenge
to him ; " Valour," faid he, " is the quality of a
" warlike Chief, but patience is ftill more necef-
** fary to Kings. Since thou wiflieft to reign, let
** us try which of us can carry this ponderous log,

« the

ARCADIA. 259

** the longed." It w,is the trunk of an oak of
thirty years old. Gamut took it on his back, but
(bon lofing patience, haftily threw it down again.
Bardus laid it acrofs his flioulders, and bore it
without moving, till after fun-fet, and even till
the night was far advanced.

Neverthelefs, Carniit and his warriors would not
depart. They thus pafled the whole Winter, em-
ployed in hunting. The Spring returned, and
they threatened to dellroy a rifing city, which re-
fufed to do them homage ; and they became Hill
greater objeâ:s of terror, as they began to be in to-
tal want of food. Bardus did not know how to
rid himfelf of them, for they were the moft power-
ful. In vain did he confult the moft aged of his
people ; no one could give him any advice. At
iaft, he laid his diftrefs before his mother Lutetia,
who was now very old, but who ftill polTelTed an
excellent underftanding.

Lutetia faid to him ; " My fon, you are ac-
*^ quainted with a great number of ancient and
** curious hiftories, which I taught you, in your
'* infancy ; you excel in fmging : Challenge the
" fon of I'endal to a competition in fong with
" you.'*

A a 4 Bardus

aéO STUpIES OF NATURE.

Bardus went, and found out Carnut, and faid to
him : " Son. of Tendais it is not fufBcient for a
" King to maintain his fubjeâis, and to be firm
" and confiant in his labours : he ought to know,
** likewife, how to banifli from their minds thofe
*' miferies of opinion which.render them unhappy :
" for, it is opinion which exercifes influence over
'^ Mankind, and renders them good or bad. Let
" us fee, whether of the two, thou or I, can exert
*f the greateft power over their minds. It was not
*' by fighting merely that Hercules attracted fol-
*' lowers in Gaul, but by divine fongs, which
*' flowed from his mouth like chains of gold,
*' charmed the ears of thofe who liflened,and con-r
*' flrained them to follow him.'*

Carnut^ with joy, accepted this third challenge.
He fung the combats of the Gods of the North on
the icy mountains ; the tempefts of Niorder upon
the Seas ; the tricks of Fidar in the air ; the ra-
vages of Tho7- on the Earth ; and the empire of
Hoeder in the dark regions of Hell. To thefe he
added the rehearfal of his own viélories, and his
tremendous ftrains transfufed the emotions of fury
into the heart of his warriors, who were on tip-
toe to fpread univerfal deftrudion.

As to King Bardus i the following were his milder
itrains: i

" I fmg

ARCADIA.^j^ 361

'* I lîng the dawn of the morning ; the earlieft
*' rays of Juror a, which have arifen on the Gauls,
*' the empire of P/ulo ; the blefTmgs of Ceres, and
** the misfortune of the infant ZoirV. Liften to
*' my fongs, ye fpirits of the rivers, and repeat
** them to the fpirits of the azure mountains.

" Ceres came from feeking her daughter Profir-
" pine over the face of the whole Earth. She was
*' on her return to Sicily, where grateful myriads
•* adored her. She traverfed the favage Gauls,
** their tracklefs mountains, their defert valleys,
*' and their gloomy fcjrefts, when fhe found her
*' progrefs flopped by the waters of Seine^ her own
" nymph, transformed into a river.

*' On the oppofite bank of the Seine, there hap-
" pened, at that time, to be a beautiful boy, with
*' flaxen hair, named Lois, bathing himfelf in the
*' ftream. He took delight to fwim in the tran-
" fparent waters, and to run about naked on the
*' folitary verdant downs. The moment that he
** perceived a female, he flew to hide himfelf
" amidft a tuft of reeds,

" My lovely child ! cried Ceres to him, with a
** figh ; come to me, my lovely child ! On hearing
*' the voice of a woman in difl:refs, Lois left his
** retreat among the reeds. He puts on, with

" blulhes.

^62 5TUl>%ES OF NATURE.

" blufhes, his robe of lamb's fkin, which was fuf-
** pended on a willow. He crofles the Seine on a
*' bank of fand, and prefenting his hand to Ceres,
'* fhcws her a path through the naidft of the waters.

** Ceres having paffed the river, gives the boy
** Lois a cake, a fheaf of corn, and a kifs ; (he then
*' informs him how bread was made from the
** corn, and how corn grows in the fields. Thanks,
** beauteous ftranger, returned Lois ; 1 will carry
'* to my mother thy leflbns, and thy welcome
** preients.

** The mother of Loh divides with her child
'* and hufband the cake and the kifs. The en-
*' raptured father cultivates a field, and fows the
" grain. By and by the Earth is clothed with a
** golden harveft, and a report is diffufed over the
'* Gauls, that a Goddefs had prefented a celeftial
** plant to their fortunate inhabitants.

** Near to that place lived a Druid. He was
" entrufted with the infpeétion of the forefts. He
" meafured out to the Gauls, for food, beech-
" maft, and acorns from the oak. When he be-
" held a field cultivated, and a rich harveft :
•* What becomes of my power, fays he, if men
** learn to live on corn ?

He

ARCADIA. 363

** He calls Lois, My pretty little friend, fays
** he to him, where wert thou when thou beheldefl
** the lUanger, who gave ihee the fine ears of corn.
** Lo'is, ap;irehending no evil, condufts him to the
" banks of the Seine. I was, fays he, under that
*^ filvcr- leaved willow; i wns running about over
" thole fnowy daifies: 1 flew to hide myfelf under
** thefe reeds, becaufe I was naked. The treache-
" rous Druid fmiled : he feizes Lois, and plunges
*5 him into the depths of the ftreani.

** The mother of Lo'is faw her beloved child no
** more. She wanders thro igh the woods, calling
** aloud; Lois I where art thou ? my darling child,
" Lois ! The echoes alone repeat, Lois, my dar-
** ling child Lois ! She runs like one diftraded
** along the hinks of the Seine. She perceives
" fbmething white by the edge of the water: He
" cannot be far off, faid (he; there are his beloved
** flowers, there are his (nowy daifies. Alas ! it
" was Lois, her darling child Lois !

" She weeps, fhe groans, (he fighs ; (he takes
*' up in her trembling arms the clay-cold body of
*' Lois ; fhe fondly tries to re-animate him in her
** bofom ; but the heart of the mother has no lon-
'* ger the power of communicating warmth to the
" body of the fon ; and the clay-cold body of
" the fon is already freezing the heart of a mo-

" ther ;

364 STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' ther : fhe is on the point of expiring. The
*/ Druid, mounted on an adjoining rock, exults
** in his vengeance.

" The Gods do not always appear at the cry of
'* the miferable ; but the voice of a forlorn mo-
" ther attraded the attention of Ceres. The God-
** defs appeared. Lois, fays {ha, Be thou the mod
** beautiful flower of the Gauls. Immediately the
*' pale cheeks of Lois expanded into a calix more
** white than the fnow : his flaxen hairs were
** transformed into filaments of gold, the fweetefl:
" of perfumes exhales from it. It's limber ftem
** rifes toward Heaven, but it's head ftill droops
*' on the banks of the river which he loved. Lcïîs
*' is changed into a lily.

*' The prieft of P/uio beholds this prodigy un-
*' moved. He raifes to the fuperior Gods, a-n in-
" flamed countenance, and eyes fparkling \yith
" rage. He blafphemes, he threatens Ceres : he
" was going to aflault her with an impious hand ;
*' when flie cries to him aloud : Gloomy and cruel
** tyrant. Remain.

*' At the voice of the Goddefs, he becomes im-

" moveable. But the rock feels the powerful com-

*/ mand, it opens into a cleft ; the legs of the

** Druid fmk into it ; his vifage, bearded all oyer,

. . " and

ARCADIA. 365

** and empurpled with rage, rifes toward Heaven
** in divergent crimfon radiationsj and the garment
'* which covered his murderous arms, is bridled
" into prickles. The Druid is transformed into a
« thiftle.

'* Thou, faid the Goddefs of the Harvefts, who
wouldft perfevere in feeding men like beafts, be-
" come thyfelf food for animals. Continue to be
the enemy of the harvefts after thy death, as thou
*' wert during thy life. As for thee, beautiful
" flower of Lets, be thou the ornament of the
*' Seine, and may thy vidorious flower, in the
*' hand of her Kings, one day prevail triumphantly
" over the miftletoe of the Druids.

*' Gallant followers of Gamut, come and dwell
** in my city. The flower of Lc'is perfumes my
** gardens ; the virgins, night and day, chant his
** adventure in my plains. Every one there en-
" gages in eafy and cheerful labour : and my gra-
*' naries, beloved by Ceres, overflow with piles of
" grain."

Scarcely had Bardus finirtied his fong, when the
warriors of the North, who were perifliing with
hunger, abandoned the fon of Tendal, and fixed
their refidence in Liitetia. This good King fre-
quently faid to me ; *' Ah ! why have I not here

*' fome

366 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** fome illuftrious bard of Greece, or of Egypt, to
•' poliQi the minds of my fubjeâis ? Nothing tends
*' fo much to humanize the heart, as the melody
** of fweet fongs. With the capacity of com-
" pofing fine verfes, and ingenious fidions, there
'* is no need of a fceptre to maintain authority."

He carried Cephas and me to vifit the fpot where
he had planted tiie trees and the grains recovered
from our (bipwreck. It was on the declivity of a
hill expofed to the South. I was tranfported with
delight, when I faw the trees which we had im-
ported, repleniflicd with juices and vigor. I firft
diftinguilhed the quince tree of Crete, from it's
cottony and fragrant fruit ; the walnut-tree of j^u-
piier, of a glofly green ; the filbert ; tlie fig-tree j
the poplar : the pear-tree of Mount Ida, with it*s
pyramidical fruit. All thefe trees were from the
Ifland of Crete. There were befides the vines of
Thafos, and young cheftnut-trees of the llland of
Sardinia. I faw a vaft country within the com-
pafs of a fmall garden. Among thofe plants ap-
peared fome which were my compatriots, fuch
as, the hemp and the flax. Thcfe were the
vegetables which pleated the King moft, becaufe
of their utility. He had admired the ftuffs into
which they are manufadured in Egypt, more
durable and more pliant than the fkins in which
moft of the Gauls are habited. The King took

delight

ARCADIA. 367

delight in watering thofe plants with his own hand,
and in clearing them of weeds. Already the hemp
of a beautiful green, carried all it*s heads equal
to the ftature of a Man, and the iiax, in bloflbm,
clothed the ground with a (hade of azure.

While Cephas and I were inwardly exulting in
the refledion of having done good, information
was received that the Britons, elated with their
recent fuccefs, not content to difpute with the
Gauls the empire of the Sea which feparates them,
were preparing to attack them by land, and to fail
up the Seine, with an intention to carry fteel and
flame into the very bofom of the Country. They
had taken their departure in boats innumerable,
from a promontory of their iiland^ feparated from
the Continent by only a narrow ftrait. They coafted
along the (hore of the Gauls, and were ready to
enter the Seine, the dangers of which they knew
how to avoid, by running into the creeks, which
are Iheltered from the rage of Neptune. The in-
tended invafion of the Britons was noifed abroad
over all the Gauls, from the moment that they be-
gan to put it into execution j for the Gauls kindle
fires on the mountains, and by the number of
thefe fires, and the thicknefs of their fmoke, con-
vey intelligence much more promptly than by the
flight of a bird.

On

368 STUDIES OF NATURE.

On receiving news that the Britons had embark-
ed, the confederated troops of the Gauls began to
march to defend the mouth of the Seine. They
were ranged under the ftandards of their feveral
Chieftains : thefe confided of the ikins of the wolf,
the bear, the vulture, the eagle, or of fome other
mifchievous animal, fjfpended at the extremity of a
long pole. That of King Bardus, and of his iiland,
prefented the figure of a fliip, the fymbol of com-
merce. Cephas and I accompanied the King on this
expedition. In a few days, all the united force of
the Gauls was coUeded on the ihore of the Sea.

Three opinions were ftarted, refpeding the
mode of defence. The firfl: was, to drive piles
along the coaft, to prevent the debarkation of the
Britons; a plan of eafy execution, confidering that
our numbers were inconceivable, and the forefts
at hand. The fécond was, to give them battle the
moment that they landed : the third, not to ex-
pofe the troops to the open attack of the advancing
enemy, but to aflault them when landed, and after
they were entangled in the woods and valleys. No
one of thefe opinions was followed up ; for dif-
cord prevailed among the Chieftains of Gaul.
Every one was for commanding, while no one was
difpofed to obey. While they were wafting time
in dehbcration, the enemy appeared, and dilem-

barked.

ARCADIA. 369

barked, while we were fettling the arrangement of
our plan.

But for Cephas, we had been undone. Before
the arrival of the Britons, he had advifed King
Bardîis to divide his force into two, compofed of
the inhabitants of Lutetia, to place himfelf in am-
bufh, with the better part, in the woods which
covered the oppofite fide of the Mountain of
Heva ; while Cephas himfelf Ihould eng ige the
enemy with the other party, joined to the reft of
the Gauls. I entreated Cephas to detach from his
divifion, the young foldiers, who panted, like
myfelf, to come to clofe adion, and to entruft me
with the command. 1 have no fear of danger,
faid I. Through all the proofs which the Pricfts
of Thebes prefcribe to the initiated, I paiTed, and
knew not what fear was. Cephas helitated a few
moments. At laft he committed the young men
of his divifion to my charge, recommending to
them, as well as to me, not to feparate too far from
the main body.

The enemy, meanwhile, had made good their
landing. At fight of this, many of the Gauls ad-
vanced to attack them, rending the air with loud
cries ; but as they charged in fmall parties, they
were eafily repulfed ; and it would have been im-
poiTible to rally a fingle man of them, had not our

VOL. V. B b rear

37® STUDIES OF NATURE.

rear afforded them an opportunity of recovering
from their confufion. We prefently perceived thé
Britons in full march to attack us. The youthful
band which I commanded was inftantly in motion*
and advanced toward the Britons, unconcerned
whether we were fupported by the reft of the Gallic
force or not. When we got within bow-fliot,
we faw that the enemy formed only one fingle co-
lumn, long, broad, and clofely embattled, advan-
cing flowly upon us, while their barks were forcing
their way up the river, to get upon our rear. I
was daggered, I confefs, at fight of that multitude
of half- naked barbarians, painted with red and
blue, marching along in profound filence, and
with the moft perfeA order. But when all at once
there iûbed, from their noifelefs phalanx, clouds of
darts, of arrows, of pebbles, and leaden balls,
which brought down many of us, piercing fome:
through and through, my furviving companions
betook themfelves to flight. I myfelf was going
to forget that it was my duty to fet them an ex-
ample of refolution, when I beheld Cephas by ray
fide ; he was followed by the whole army. " Let
*' us invoke Hercules^* cried he, '^ and advance
** to the charge." The prefence of my friend re-
animated all my courage. I refumed my flation, and
we made the attack with our pikes levelled. The
firfb enemy whom I encountered, was a native of
the Hebrides, a man of a gigantic ftature. The

afpe(5l

ARCADIA, 37^

afpeél of his arms infpired horror : his head and
fhoulders were clad in the fkin of a prickly thorn-
back ; he wore around his neck a collar of human
jaw-bones, and he bore for a lance, the trunk of a
young fir, armed with the tooth of a whale.
" What demanded thou of Hercules F' faid he to
me, " here he is to attend thee." At the fame
time, he aimed at me a ftroke of his enormous
lance, with fo much fury, that if it had hit the
mark, I muft have been nailed by it to the ground,
which it penetrated to a great depth. While he
was ftruggling to difengage it, I pierced him
through the throat with the fpear which was in my
hand : there immediately iflued from the wound a
ftream of black and thick blood ; and down fell
the {lately Briton, biting the ground, and biaf-
pheming the Gods.

Mean while our troops, collefted into one firm
body, were clofely engaged with the column of the
enemy. Clubs clalhed with clubs, buckler prefled
on buckler, lance crofled lance. Thus two fierce
bulls difpute the empire of the meadows : their
horns entwine ; their foreheads rattle againft each
other : bellowing, they prefs in oppofite direc-
tions ; and whether they gain or lofe ground, nei-
ther feparates from his rival. Thus we maintained
the combat, body to body. Neverthelefs, that co-
lumn, which exceeded us in numbers, was bearing

£ b 2 ns

37^ STUDIES OF NATURE.

US down with fuperior force, when King Bardus
came up, and affauked their rear with his troops,
who came into adion with a (hout which rended
the air. Upon this a panic terror feized thefe bar-
barians, who had been fluflied with the hope of fur-
rounding us, but: were themfelves furrounded.
They deferted*^ their ranks in confufion, and fled
toward the fhore of the Sea, in the hope of regain-
ing their barks, which had now confiderably ad-
vanced up the ftream. A dreadful carnage enfued,
and many prifoners were taken.

The combat being finifhed, I faid to Cephas :
The Gauls are indebted for their vidory, to the
counfel which you gave the King; for my parr, to
you I owe the prefervation of my honour. I had
folicited a pod which I knew not how to fill ; I
o'ught to have exhibited an example of valour to
thofe who were under my command ; but was in-
capable of doing it, when your prefence re-kindled
a fenfe of duty. I ima'gined that the initiations of
Egypt had fortified me againft all apprehenfion of
danger; but it is eafy to be brave amidft con-
Aids, out of which you are fure of efcaping. Ce-
phas thus replied : " O Amafis I there is more for-
** titude in confeffing a fault, than there is weak-
" nefs in committing it. It is Hercules who has
*' given us the vidory ; but, aUcr him, it was fur-
*' prize which robbed our enemies of courage, and

" which

ARCADIA.

373

'* which had fliaken your's. Military valour, like
*' every other virtue, is to be acquired only by ex-
*' ercife. We ought, on all occafions, to be difFi-
*' dent of ourfelves. In vain do we truft to our
*' own experience ; in the aid of Heaven alone our
" confidence fliould be placed. «Xyhile we are
'* buckling on our armour to defend us before,
" fortune ftrikes at us from behind. Confidence
*^ in the Gods alone, is a defence on every
** fide."

To Hercules we confecrated part of the fpoils
taken from the Britons. The Druids advifed to
burn the prifoners, becaufe the Britons were in ufe
to treat thofe whom they took in battle from the
Gauls in this manner. But I prefented myfelf in
the aflembly of the Gauls, and thus addrefied
them : *' O ye Nations ! you fee from my example,
" whether the Gods delight in human facrifices.
*' They have depofited the vidVory in your gene-
" rous hands : Will you ftain them with the blood
*' of the miferable ? Has there not enough of blood
*' been flied in the rage of battle ? Can you now
** fpill it, without paffion, and in the joy of tri-
" umph ? Your enemies immolate their prifoners.
" Surpafs them in generofity, as you furpafs them
'^ in courage." The larles, and all the warriors,
r£ceived this advice with loud applaufe : and it
B b 3 was

374 STUDIES OF nature'

was decreed that the prifoners of war fliould be
<ifarmed, and reduced to llavery.

I was the caufe, therefore, of the abolition of the
Law which condemned them to the flames. I
likewife proved the occafion of abrogating the cuf-
tom of facrificing innocents to Mars, and of re-
ducing the fhipwrecked to fervitude. Thus was I
thrice ufeful to Mankind in the Gauls j once by
my fuccefs, and twice by my misfortunes : fo true it
is that the Gods can, when they pleafe, bring good
out of evil.

We returned to Lutetia, loaded with the accla-
mations and applaufe of the People. The firil
anxiety exprefled by the King, on his arrival, was
to carry us with him to vifit his garden. The
greateft part of our trees were in great forvvardnefs.
He admired, firft, how Nature had preferved their
fruits from the attack of the birds. The cheftnut,
flill in a milky flate, was covered with leather, and
with a prickly (liell. The tender walnut was pro-
teâ:ed by a hard fliell, and a bitter outward cafe.
The foft fruits were defended, previous to their
maturity, by their roughnefs, their acidity, or
their verdure. Thofe which were ripe invited the
hand to gather them. The gold-coloured apricot,
the velvet peach, and the cottony quince, exhaled

the

ARCADIA. 375

^he fweeteft of perfumes. The boughs of the plumb-
tree were covered with violet fruits, befprinkled
with a white powder. The grapes, already of a
vermilion hue, hung in clufters from the vine ;
and over the broad leaves of the fig-tree, the half-
opened fig diftilled it's juice in drops of honey and
cryftal. " It is eafy to fee," faid the King, "that
*' thefe fruits are prefents fent from Heaven. They
** are not, like the feeds of our foreft-trees, at a
*' height which we cannot reach (21). They pre-
" fent themfelves to the hand. Their fmiling co-
** lours allure the eye, their fweet perfumes the or-
^* gans of fmelling, and they feem formed for the
** mouth, from their fize and roiindnefs." But
when that good King had caught the flavour of
them by his palate: ** O real gift of Jupiter T*
exclaimed he, " no aliment prepared by human
" fkill is once to be compared to them ! They ex-
** eel in fweetnefs the honey and the cream. O,
^* my dear friends, my much refpeded guefts, you
** have beftowed on me a prefent of much higher
" value than my kingdom 1 You have introduced
^* into favage Gaul a portion of delicious Egypt.
" I prefer a fingle one of thefe trees to all the
** mines of tin which render the Britons fo rich
*^ and fo haugluy."

He fent for the principal inhabitants of the city,
and made each of them tafte thofe wondrous fruits.

B b 4 He

37^ STUDIES OF NATURE.

He recommended to them carefully to prefervc
the feeds, and to put ihem in the ground at the
proper feafon. From the joy expreffed by this ex-
cellent Prince, and by his People, I was made fen-
fible that Man's highefh delight confifts in doing
good to his fellow-creatures.

Cephas faid to me : *' Now is the time to (hew
** to my compatriots the ufe of the Arts of Egypt.
^* I have faved from the Ihipwrecked veffel the
*' greateft part of our machines; but hitherto
^' they have remained unemployed ; nay, 1 durft
*' not fo much as look at them; for they reminded
*' me too affeélingly of the lofs of you. The mo-
*' ment is come for turning them to account.
** Thofe fields of corn are now ripe ; that hemp,
** and thofe flaxes, are haftening to be fo."

Having gathered thofe plants, we taught the
King, and his People, the ufe of mills, for re-
ducing corn to flower, and the different procelTes
of preparing dough, in order to make bread of
it (22). Previous to our arrival, the Gauls peeled
wheat, oats, and barley, by pounding them with
wooden mallets in the trunk of a tree hollowed
out, and fatisfied themfelves with boiling the grain
in this flate for food. We afterwards fhewed them
the method of fteeping hemp in water, to feparate
.the filaments frqm the fl.raWj of drying it, of beat-

ARCADIA. 377

îng it, of dreffing it, of fpinning it, nnd of twilling
feveral threads together, for the purpofe of miking
cordage. We made them obferve how thofe cords,
by their ftrength and pliancy, ^are adapted to aft
as the nerves of every fpecies of machinery. We
taught them the art of diftending the threads of
flax on looms, to weave into cloth by means of the
(buttle ; and how thcfe gentle and ufcful labours
might employ the young people, innocently and
agreeably, during the long nights of Winter.

We inftrufled them in the ufe of the auger, of
the gimlet, of the plane, and of the faw, invented
by the ingenious Dedalus ; as thefe tools fui ni (h
Man with additional hands, and falhion to his ufe
a multitude of trees, the timber of which would
have gone to wafte in the forefls. We taughtth m
to extrad from their knotty trunk powerful fcrcws,
and ponderous prcfles, fit for fqueezng out the
juice of an infinite number of fruits, and for for-
cing oils out of the hardeft nuts. They did not
gather many grapes from our vines ; but we in-
fpired them with an ardent defire of multiplying
the flips, not only by the excellence of the truit
from the bough, but by letting them tafte the
wines of Crete, and of the Ifle ofThafos, which we
had preferved in urns.

After

378 STUDIES OF NATURE.

After having difclofed to them the ufe of an \nr
finity of benefits, which Nature has placed on the
face of the Earth, obvious to. the eye of Man, wc
aided them in difccJvering thofe which (he has de-
pofited under their feet ; how water may be found
in places the moft remote from rivers, by means of
wells invented by Danàus ; in what manner metals
are difcovered, though buried in the bowels of the
Earth; how, after having them melted into bars,^
they could be hammered upon the anvil, to pre-
pare them for being divided into tablets and
plates; in what manner, by a procefs the moft
fimple, clay may be fafhioned, on the potter's
wheel, into figures and vafes of every form, Wc
furprized them much more, by (hewing them bot-
tles of glafs, made with fand and flint. They were
delighted to extafy, to fee the liquor which they
contained manifeft to the eye, but fecured from,
the touch.

But when we read to them the books of Mercur
rhis Trifmegijlus, which treat of the liberal Arts,
and of the natural Sciences, then it was that their
admiration exceeded all bounds. At firft they were
incapable of comprehending how fpeech could if-
fue from a dumb book, and how the thoughts of
the earlieft Egyptians could pofTibly have been
tranfmitted to them, on the frail leaves of the pa-

pyius.

ARCADIA. 2,79,

pyrus. When they afterwards heard the recital of
our difcoveries ; when they faw the prodigies ef-
fecfted by the mechanical powers, which move the
heavieft bodies by means of fmall levers, and thofe
of Geometry, which can meaftire diftances the mod
inacceffible, they became perfectly tranfported.
The wonders of chemiftry and of magic, and the
various phenomena of phyfics hurried them from
rapture to rapture. But wlien we predi6ted to
them an eclipfe of the Moon, which, prior to our
arrival, they confidered as an accidental failure of
that planet, and when they faw, at the very mo-
ment which we had indicated, the orb of night
become dark in the midft of a ferene iky, they
fell at our feet, faying: " Afîuredly, ye are Godsl"

Omji, that young Druid who had difcovered fo
much fenfibility to my affligions, attended all our
leffons of inftru(flion. *' From your intelligence,'*
faid he to us, " and from your beneficence, I am
" tempted to believe you fome of the fuperior
*' Gods ; but from the ills which you have endur-
** ed, I perceive that you are only men like our-
" felves. You muft, undoubtedly, have contrived
" the means of climbing up into Heaven ; or the
'' inhabitants of the celeftial regions muft have de-
" fcended into highly favoured Egypt, to comniu-
" nicatc to you fo many benefits, and fo much il-
*' lumination. Your Arts and Sciences furpafs

*< our

380 STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' our underftanding, and can be the effects only
" of a power divine. You are the darling chil-
** dren of the fuperior Gods : as for us, we are
" abandoned of Jupiter to the infernal deities.
" Our country is covered with unproduflive fo-
*' refts, inhabited by maleficent genii, who difle-
** minate through the whole of our exiftence, dif-
" cord, civil broils, terrors, ignorance, and mif-
** chievous opinions. Our lot is a thoufand times
** more deplorable than that of the beafis, which,
** clothed, lodged, and fed by the hand of Nature,
** follow undeviatingly their inftind, without being
*' tormented by the fears of Hell."

** The Gods,'* replied Cephas, " have not been
*' unjuft to any Country, nor to any one individual,
'' Every Country poffefles bleffings peculiar to it-
" felf, and which ferve to keep up a communica-
" tion among all Nations, by a reciprocal inter-
*' change of commodities. Gaul contains the
*' metals which Egypt wants; her forefts are more
*' beautiful ; her cattle yield milk in greater abun-
** dance ; and, the fleeces of her fheep are greater
*' in quantity, and give a finer wool. But wherefo-
<* ever the habitation of Man is fixed, his portion is
** always far fuperior to that of the beafis, becaufe
*' he is endowed with a reafon which expands in
** proportion to the obflacles which it furmounts,
<* and becaufe he alone oî animals is capable of

*' applying

ARCADIA. 3S1

" applying to his own ufe means which nothing
" can refift, fuch as fire. Thus, Jupiter has be-
" flowed upon him empire over the Earth, by il-
" luminating his reafon with the inteUigence of
*' Nature herfelf, and by confiding to him alone
** that element which is her prime moving prin-
*« ciple."

Cephas afterwards talked to Omji, and to the
Gauls, of the reward* prepared, in the World to
come, for virtue and beneficence, and the punifti-
ments laid up in flore for vice and tyranny ; of the
metempfychofis, and the other myfleries of the re-
ligion of Egypt, as far as a ftranger is permitted to
be inftruifted in them. The Gauls, confoled by
his Difcourfe, and enriched by our prefents, called
us their benefaflors, their fathers, the true inter-
preters of the Gods. King Bardtis thus addrefTed
us : *' I will adore Jupiter alone. As Jupiter loves
** Mankind, he mufl afford particular protedion
*' to Kings, to whom the felicity of whole Nations
*' is entrufted. I will likewife pay homage to Ifts,
" who has brought down his benefits to the Earth,
** that flie may prefent the vows of my People to
*' the Sovereign of the Gods." At the fame time,
he gave orders to rear a temple to IJis (23), at
fome diftance from the city, in the midfl of the
forefl ; to ereâ: her ftatue in it, with the infant

Qria

38^. STUDIES OF NATURE.

Orus in her arms, fuch as we had brought it with
us in our veflel ; to honour her with all the facred
ceremonies of Egypt ; and that her prieftefles,
clothed in linen, fliould night and day adore her
with fongs, and by a life of purity, which exalts
Man to the Gods. '

He afterwards expreffed a wifli to be inftrufted
in reading and tracing the Ionic charaâ:ers. He
was fo firuck with the utility of letters, that,
tranfported with delight, he fung the following
flrains.

*^ Behold the magic characters which have power
" to recal the dead from the dark receffes of the
" tomb. They inform us what our fathers thought
" a thoufand years ago j and a thoufand years
*' hence, they will be inftrudling our children what
" we think at this day. There is^no arrow that flies
*' fo far, neither is there any lance fo ftrong.
** They can reach a man* though entrenched on the
*' fummit of a mountain j they penetrate into the
'' head though fortified with the helmer, and force
" their way to the heart in defiance of the cuirafs.
" They calm feditions, they adminifter fage coun-
'* fels, they conciliate affedion, they comfort, they
*' (Irengthen ; but in the hands of a wicked man>
** they produce quite an oppofite elTeâ;."

*' My

ARCADIA. 38^

" My fon," faid this good King to me, one day,
*' Are the moons of thy country more beautiful
*' than ours ? Haft thou remaining in Egypt any
*' objeâ: of regret ? Thou haft brought to us from
** thence all the beft of human bleffings : plants,
^"^ arts and fciences. All Egypt ought to be here
" for thy fake. Continue to live with us. After
*' my death thou fhalt reign over the Gauls. I
** have no child, except an only daughter named
" Gotha : to thee I will give her in marriage. A
** whole People, believe me, is of more value than
** one family, and a good wife than the land of
*' one's nativity. Gotha's refidence is in that illand
" below, the trees of which are vilible from this
" fpot ; for it is proper that a young woman Ihould
" be brought up remote from men, and efpecially
** at a diftance from the Courts of Kings."

The defire of making a Nation happy fufpended
in me the love of Country. I confuked Cephas on
the fubjeâ:, who adopted the views of the King.
I befought that Prince, therefore, to permit me to
be conduced to the place of his daughter's habi-
tation, that, in conformity to the cuftom of the
Egyptians, I might endeavour to render myfelf
agreeable to the perfon who was one day to be th«
partner of m.y pains and of my pleafures. The
King gave orders to an aged female, who caatle
every day to the palace for provifions to Gorha,

to

384 STUDIES OF NATURE.

to condud me to her prefence. The ancient lady
made me embark with her in a barge loaded with
neceflaries; and committing ourfelves to the courfc
of the flream, we landed, in a very little while, on
the ifland where the daughter of King Bardus re-
iided. This ifland was called the Ifle of Swans,
becaufe the birds of that name reforted thither
in the Spring, to make their nefts among the
reeds that, furround ii's lliores, and which, at
all feafons, fed on the anjerina -potentilla (24) pro-
duced there in great abundance. On our land-
ing, we perceived the Princefs feated under a
clump of alder-trees, in the midft of a down, yel-
lowed all over with the flowers of the anferina.
She was encompafled with fwans, which fhe called
to her, by fcattering among them the grains of
oats. Though fhe was under the fliade of the
trees, flie furpafled thofe birds in whitenefs, from
the purity of her complexion, and the fairnefs of
her ermine robe. Her hair was of the mofl beau-
tiful black ; and fhe wore it encircled, as well as
her robe, with a red-coloured ribband. Two wo-
men, who attended her at fome diftance, advanced
to meet us. The one tied our barge to the
branches of a willow ; and the other, taking me
by the hand, prefented me to her miilrefs. The
young Princefs made me fit down by her on the
grafs ; after which fhe invited me to partake with
lier of fome flower of millet boiled, of a duck

roafled

ARCADIA. 385

roafted on the bark of the birch-tree, with goat
milk in the horn of an elk. She then waited, in
modeft filence, till I (liould explain to her the in-
tention of my vifit.

Having tafted, in compliance with the cuftom,
the difhes prefented to me, I addrefled her thus :
" O beautiful Gotha, I afpire to the honour of
** being fon-in-law to the King, your father, and
" I vifit you with his confent, to know whether my
" fuit will be agreeable to you ?"

The daughter of King Bardus, with downcaft
looks, replied : " O ftranger ! 1 have been de-
** manded in marriage by many larles, who are,
** from day to day, making my father magnificent
*' prefents, in the hope of obtaining my hand ; but
*' no one of them pofleffes my afFedtion. Fighting
** is the only art which they underftand. As for
** thee, I believe, if thou becomeft my hufband,
*' thou wilt make my happinefs thy ftudy, fince
** thou already haft devoted thyfelf to the happi-
" nefs of my People. Thou wilt inft; uâ: me in the
*' arts of Egypt, and I fliall become like unto the
*' good IJÎS of thy Country, vvhofe name is men-
*' tioned with fuch profound refped all over
" Gaul."

VOL. V, c Ç After

386 STUDIES OF NATURE.

After flie had thus fpokcn, (he attentively con-
fidered the different parts of my habit, admired
the finenefs of their texture, and made her women
examine them, who Hfted up their eyes to Heaven
in aftonifhment. After a fhort paufe, looking at
me, fhe thus proceeded : " Though thou comeft
*' from a Country replenilhed with every fpecies
** of wealth, and every produftion of ingenuity,
" do not imagine that 1 am in want of any thing,
" and that I myfelf am deftitute of intelligence.
*' My father has trained me up in the love of la-
** hour, and he caufes me to live in the greateft
'* abundance of all things.'*

At the fame time, fhe introduced me into her
palace, where twenty of her women were employed
in plucking river-fowls, to make, for her, ornaments
and robes of their plumage. She lliewed me baf-
kets and mats of very delicate rulhes, woven by
her own hand ; vefl'els of fine pewter in great
quantities ; a hundred fkins of wolves, martens,
and foxes, with twenty bear-fkins. " All this
** treafjre," faid fhe to me, " fhall be thine, if thou
** efpoufeft me ; but upon thefe conditions, that
" thou takeft no other wife but me ; that thou
*' Qialt not oblige me to labour the ground, nor
** to go in queft of the fkins of the deer and of the
*' buffaloes which thou mayefl kill in hunting in

" the

ARCADIA. 387

" the forefts ; for fuch tafks are impofed by huf-
" bands on their wives, in thefe countries, but
** which I do not at all like; and that, if at length
*' thou becomefl: tired of living with -me, thou
*' flialt replace me in this ifle, whither thou haft
" come to woo me, and where my pleafure con-
" fifts in feeding the fwans, and in chanting the
*' praifes of Seine, the nymph of Ceres."

I fmiled within myfelf at the fimplicity of
the daughter of King Bardus, and at fight of what
flie denominated treafure j but as the true riches
of a wife confift in the love of indufhry, candor,
franknefs, gentlenefs, and that there is no dowry
once to be compared to thefe virtues, 1 replied to
her : '' O beautiful Goiha, marriage among the
" Egyptians is a legal union, a mutual interchange
'« of pofleffions, and of forrows ; thou fhalt be
" dear to me as the better half of myfelf." I then
made her a prefent of a fkein of flax, which grew,
and was prepared in the gardens of the Kmg, her
father. She received it with delight, and faid to
me : " My friend, I will fpin this flax, and have
*^ it weaved into a robe for the day of my efpou-
" fais." She prefented me, in her turn, with this
little dog which you fee, fo covered over with hair,
that his eyes are fcarcely difccrnible. She faid to
me : " 1 he name of this dog is Gallus ; he is-de-
" fcended from a race remarkable for their fide-
c c 2 '* lity.

388 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** lity. He will follow ihee wherefoever thou goefl,
•* over the land, over the fnow, and into the wa-
" ter. He will acccmpany thee in the chace, nay,
** to the field of battle. He will be to thee, at
** all feafons, a faithful companion, and a fymbol
** of my afFedion." As the day was drawing to a
clofe, fhe reminded me that it was time to retire,
defiring me, in future, not to come down along the
current of the river, but to travel by land on the
banks, till I came oppofite to her ifland, where
her women fliould be in waiting to ferry me over,
and thus conceal our mutual felicity from jealous
eyes. 1 took my leave of her, and returned to my
home, forming in my own mind., as I went on
my way, a thoufand agreeable projeds.

One day as I was going to vifit her, through
a path cut out in the foreft, in compliance with
the advice which fne had given me, 1 met one of
the principal larles, attended by a great number
of his vaflals. They were armed as if they had
been in a ftate of Vv'ar. For my part, 1 wore no
armour, like a man who was at peace with all the
World, and whofe mind was occupied only wiih
the reveries of love. The larle advanced toward
me with a haughty air, and thus accofted me:
" What feeked thou in this country of warriors,
*' with thefe womanifh arts <-f thine ? Meaneft
*' thou to teach us how to Ipin ilax, and ex-

**pe(5teft

ARCADIA. 389

*• pedeft thou to obtain the beauteous Gotha as
" thy recompenfe ? My name is Toijian. I was
" one of the companions of dvmit» I have been
" engaged in twenty-two battles by Sea, and have
** come off vidorious in thirty fingle combats.
" Thrice have I fought with Vittiking^ that re-
" nowned Prince of the North. 1 am going to
** carry thy hairy fcalp, and lay it at the feet of
*' the God Mars^ from whom thou madeft thy
" efcape, and to quaff from thy fcuU the milk
** of my flocks." .

After an addrefs {o brutal, I appréhende^ tha;t
the barbarian was about to aflaffinate me j but
uniting magnanimity to ferocioufnefs, he took off
his head piece and cuirafs, which were of bull's
hide, and prefenting to me two naked fwords, de-
fired me to make my choice.

It was ufelefs to think of reafoning with a man
under the influence of jealoufy and ro.adnefs. I
fecretly invoked the aid of Jupiter^ the protedor
of flrangers ; and having chofen the (hotter, but
the lighter of the two fwords, though 1 had fcarcely
ftrength to wield it : a dreadful combat eniued,
while his vallals furrounded us as witneffes, txped-
ing to fee the earth reddened ether with the blood
of their chieftain, or with that of their gueil.

c c 3 My

SgO STUDIES OF NATURE.

My intention at firft was to difarm my enemy,
in the view of faving his life, but he did not leave
this in my option. Rage tranfported him beyond
all the bounds of prudence. The firft blow which
he aimed at me, carried off a huge fplinter from a
neighbouring oak, I fhunned the blow, by ftoop-
ing down my head. This movement redoubled his
infolence. *' Wert thou," exclaimed he, " to
" ftoop down to hell, thou fhouldeft not efcape
** me." Then, taking his fword in both hands,
he fell furioufiy upon me ; but Jupiter preferving
my fenfes in complete tranquillity, I parried with
the back of my fword the ftroke with which he
was going to fell me to the ground, and prefenting
to him the point, he violently rulhed upon it, and
run himfelf throu^h the breaft. Two ftreams of
blood iffued at once from the wound and from his
mouth ; he fell backward, the fword dropped from
his hands, he raifed his eyes to Heaven, and ex-
pired. His vaflals immediately encompaffed his
body, uttering loud and horrid cries. But they
fuffered me to depart without the leaft molefta-
tion ; for generofity is a prominent charader in
thofe barbarians. I retired to the city, fadly de-
ploring my vidory.

I gave an account of what had happened, to
Cephas and to the King. " Thofe larles," faid the
King, ** give me much uneafinefs. They tyran-

*' nize

ARCADIA. 391

" nize over my People. Every profligate in the
** Country, on whom they can lay their hands,
** they take care to wheedle over, in order to
" ftrengthen their party. They fometimes render
*' themfelves formidable even to myfelf. But
" the Druids are ftill much more fo. No one
*' dares to do any thing here without their confent.
*' Which way fhall I go to work to enfeeble thofe
" two powers ? 1 imagined that, by increafing the
*^ influence of the larles, I fliould raife a bulwark
'* to oppofe that of the Druids. But the contrary
** has taken place, The power of the Druids is in-
" creafed. It appears as if there were an under-
** (landing between them, for the purpofe of ex-
" tending their oppreflion over the People, nay,
" even over my guefts. O flranger," faid he to
me, '* you have had but too much experience of
" this!" Then, turning to Cephas^ "O my friend,'*
added he, *' you who, in the courfe of your travels,
" have acquired the knowledge neceflary to the
** government of Mankind, give fome inflrudion,
'* on this fubjeét, to a King, who never was be-
*' yond the limits of his own Country. Oh ! how
" fenfible I am of the benefit which Kings might
" derive from travelling."

" I will unfold to you, O King," replied Cephas^

" fome part of the Policy and Philofophy of

*' Egypt. One of the fundamental Laws of Na-

*' ture is, that every thing mud be governed by

c c 4 " contraries.

39^ STUDIES OF NATURE.

" contraries. From contraries the harmony of the
" Univerfe refaits. The fame thing holds good
" with refped to that of Nations. The power of
*' arms, and that of Religion, are at variance in
** every Country. Thefe two powers are neceflary
** to the prefervation of the State. When the
*' People are opprefled by their Chieftains, they
" flee for refuge to the Prieftsj and when oppref-
*' fed by their Priefts, they feek refuge in the
" Chieftains. The power of the Druids has in-
** creafed, therefore, with you, by that very in-
" creafe of the power of the larles ; for thefe two
" powers univerfally counterbalance eacli other. If
*' you wifh, ihen, to diminifli one of the two, (6
" far from augmenting it's counterpoife, as you
** have done, you ought, on the contrar}'', to re-
*' duce it.

" But there is a method flill more fimple, and
** more infallible, of diminifhing, at once, both
** the powers whi^h are fo ofFenfive to you. It is,
** to render your People happy ; for they will no
" longer ramble in queft of protedion out of your-
*' felf, and thefe two powers will be fpeedily anni-
*' hilated, as they are indebted, for the whole of
" their influence, only to the opinion of that very
" People. In this you will fucceed, by furnifliing
** the Gai>ls with ample means of fubfiftence, by
** the eftablilhment of the arts which fweeten hu-
" man life, and efpecially by honouring and en-

" couraging

ARCADIA. 393

** couraging agriculture, which is it's main fup-
" port. While the People thus live in the enjoy-
" ment of abundance, the larles and the Druids
" will find themfelves in the fame (late. When-
*' ever thefe two corps (hall have learned to be con-
*' tent with their condition, they will no longer
** think of difturbing the repofe of others ; they
" will no longer have at their difpofal that crowd
*' of miferable wretches, half-ftarving with cold
*' and hunger, who, for a morfel of bread, arc
'* ever ready to abet the violence of the one, or
** the fuperftition of the other. The refult of this
*' humane policy will be, that your own power,
** fupported by that of a People whom your exer-
** tions are rendering happy, muft completely ab-
*' forb that of the larles and of the Druids. In
*' every well regulated Monarchy, the power of
" the King is in the People, and that of the People
*' in the King. You will then reduce your nobi-
*' lity and the priedhood to their natural func-
*' tions. ^he larles will defend the Nation againft
** foreign invafion, and will be no longer oppref-
** fors at home : and the Druids will no longer
** govern the Gauls by terror; but will comfort
** them, and, by their fuperior illumination, and
*' compaffionate counfels, will affilT: them in bear-
** ing the ills of life, as the minifters of every Re-
" ligion ought to do.

" By

394 STUDIES OF NATURE.

** By fuch a policy it is that Egypt has attained
*' a degree of power, and of felicity, which renders
** her the centre of the Nations, and that the wif-
** dom of her priefthood commands fo much re-
" fpeâ; over the face of the whole Earth. Keep
*' this maxim, therefore, conftantly in view : That
*' every excefs of power, in a religious or military
" corps, arifes out of the wretchednefs of the
" People, becaufe all power is derived from them.
** There is no other way of curbing that excefs,
** but by rendering the People happy.

" When once your authority fliall be completely
** eflablilhed, communicate a (hare of it to Magif-
** trates feledled from among perfons of the mofi:
** diftinguiflied goodnefs. Bend your chief atten-
** lion to the education of the children of the com-
*' monalty : but take care not to entruft it to the
** firft adventurer who may be difpofed to under-
" take it, and ftill lefs to any one particular corps,
" fuch as that of the Druids, the interefts of which
** are always different from thofe of the State.
" Confider the education of the children of your
*' People, as the mod valuable part of your admi-
*' niftration. It alone can form citizens. With-
*' out it the beft Laws are good for nothing.

*' While you wait for the means and an oppor-
" tunity, of laying a folid foundation whereon to

" rear

ARCADIA.

395

" rear the fabric of Gallic felicity, oppofe fome
** barriers to the ills which they endure, Inftitute
" a variety of feftivals, to diffipate th'eir thoughts
" by the charm of mufic and dancing. Counter-
" balance the united influence of the larles and
** Druids, by that of the women. Afllft thefe in
*' emerging out of their domeftic flavery. Let
" them afiift at the feilive meetings and alîèmblies,
" nay, at the religious feafts. Their natural gen-
** tlenefs will gradually foften the ferocity of bodi
'* manners and religion."

" Your obfervations," replied the King to Ce-
phas, ** are replece with truth, and your maxims
*' with wifdoni. I mean to profit by them. It is
" my determination to render this city illuftrious
" for it's indufcry. In the mean while, my People
*' afk for nothing better than to ling and mak-e
*' merry; I myfelf will compofe fongs for their ufe.
** as for the women I am fully perfuaded that their
" aid will be of high importance to me. By their
" means, I ihall begin the work, of rendering my
" People happy ; at ieaft by the influence of Man-
** ners, if I cannot by that of Laws."

While this good King was fpeakmg, we per-
ceived, on the oppofite bank of the Seine, the
body of Torjan. It was fl:ripped naked, and ap-
peared on the grafs like a hillock of fnow. His

friends

39^ STUDIES OF NATURE.

fi iehds and vaflals moved folemnly around it, and,
from time to time, rent the air with fearful ci ies.
One of his kindred crofTed the river in a boar, and
addrefl'cd the King in thefe words: " Blood calls
*' for blood ; the Egyptian muft be put to death !'*
The King made no reply to this perfon ; but as
foon as he had retired, accofted me in thefe words :
" Your defence of yourfelf was perfedlly warrant-
*' able and legal ; but were this my perfonal quar-
** rel, I iliould be under the neceflity of withdraw-
" ing from the confequences. If you remain, you
*' will be obliged, by the Laws, to fight, one after
" another, with all the kindred of Tor/fan^ who are
'' very numerous, and fooner or later fail you muft..
" On the other hand, if I defend you againft them,
•* as I mean to do, this rifing city mufi: be in-
*' volved in your deftru(5lion; for the relations, the
*' friends, and the vaffals of Torjlan^ will afluredly
" come and lay fiege to it ; and they will be joined
*' by multitudes of the Gauls whom the Druids, ir-
*' ritated as they are againft you, are already excit-
*' ing to vengeance. Neverthelefs, be confident of
" this, you will here find men determined not to
" abandon you, be the danger ever fo threatening,'*

He immediately iflued his orders to provide for
the fecurity of the city ; and inftantly the inhabi-
tants were feen in motion along the ramparts, re-
folved, to a man, to ftand a fiege in my defence.

Here

ARCADIA.

Î9..7

Here, they colleded a huoe pile of flint-ftones ;
there, they planted prodigious crofs-bows, and
long beams, armed widi prongs of iron. Mean-
while, we perceived innumerable tribes of men
marching along the banks of the Seine, in martial
array. They were the friends, the kinfmen, the
vaflals of TorJIan, with their flaves, the partifans of
the Druids, fuch as were jealous of the King's
eftablilhment, and thofe who, from levity of
mind, afFeâ: novelties. Some floated down the
river in boats; others crofied the foreft in length-
ened colums. They took dieir ftation as one man
on the banks adjoining to Luteîia^ and their num-
bers furpaffed the powers of reckoning. It was
abfolutely impoffible I ever fliould efcape them.
In vain would it have been to make the attempt
under favour of the darknefs ; for as foon as night
fet in, the befiegers kindled innumerable fires,
with which the river was illumined to the very
bottom of it's channel.

Reduced to this perplexity, I formed in my
own mind a refolution which was well-pleafing to
Jupiter. As I no longer expeded any thing good
at the hands of men, 1 refolved to throw myfelf
into the arms of Virtue, and to fave this inf.inc
city, by a voluntary furrender of myfelf to the
enemy. Scarcely had I repcfed my confidence in
the Cods, when they appeared f^^r my deliverance.

0>nfi

398 STUDIES OF NATURE.

Omfi prefented himfelf before us, holding in his
hand an oaken bough, on which had grown a fprig
of the miftletoe. At fight of this little (hrub,
which had almoft proved fo fatal to me, T (hud-
dered with horror ; but I was not aware, that we
are frequently indebted for fafety to that which
menaced us with deftru6lion, as we likewife fre-
quently meet deftru<flion in what promifed us
fafety. *'OKing!" faid Omfi, "O Cephas I be
" compofed ; I bear in my hand the means of
*' faving your friend. Young ftranger," faid he
to me, " were all the Nations of Gaul combined
*' againft thee, armed with this, thou may eft pafs
*' through the thickeft of their hofts, while not one
*' of thy numerous foes durft fo much as look thee
** in the face. It is a fprig of the miftletoe,
" which grew on this oaken branch. Permit me
*' to inform you from whence proceeds the power
" of this plant, equally formidable to the Gods
*' and to the men of this Country (25), Balder ,
" one day, informed his mother Friga, that he
*' had dreamed he was going to die. Friga con-
"jured the fire, the metals, the ftones, difeafes,
*' the water, animals, ferpents, that they (hould
** not hurt her fon ; and the incantations of Friga
" were fo powerful, that nothing could refift them.
" Balder mingled, therefore, in the combats of
•' the Gods, undaunted amidft ftiowers of arrows.
*' hoke^ his enemy, was eagerly defirous of dilco-

<* vering

ARCADIA. 399

** vering the caufe of it. He affumed the form
" of an old woman, and threw himfelf in the way
** 0Î Friga» Flights of arrows, and Jhowers of majjy
** rock^ faid he to her, fall upon thy Jon Balder, but
*' hurt him not. I know it well, faid Friga\ all

* * thefe things have ■pledged unto me their oath. No-
** thing in Nature has the power of doing him harm,

* ' This grace have I obtained of every being pofjejfed of
** power. Of one little florub alone I afked it not,
" becaufe it appeared to me too feeble to excite appre-
*' ben/ion. It adhered to the bark of an oak -, and
*^ fcarcely bad the advantage of a roof. It lived with-
" out earth . The name of it is Mijileteiyu Thus
" fpake Friga. Loke went inftantly in queft of
** this little ihriib ; and mixing in the hofts of the
" Gods, while thcv were engaged in combat with
" the invulnerable Balder^ for battles are their
*' fports, he approached the blind Hœder. Where-
^^ fore, faid he to him, levelleji thou not likezvife
'^ weapons againfi Balder P I am blind, replied Hœ-
** der, neither am I provided with arms. Loke pre-
" fented to him the miftletoe of the oak, and faid
" to him : Balder is juji before thee. The blind
" Rœder let fly the fatal fliaft : Balder falls trans-
<* fixed and lifelefs. Thus the invulnerable fon of
*' a Goddefs was flain by a twig of miftletoe,
*' launched from the hand of one blind. This is
" the origin of the refped paid in the Gauls to

f-^ this (hrub.

** CompafTionate,

400 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" Compaflionate, O ftranger ! a People go-
" verned by terror, becaufe the voice of reafon is
** not heard among them. I flattered myfelf, on
" thy arrival, vvich the hope that thou wert def-
" tined to found, and to extend her empire, by
** introducing the Arts of Egypt; and that I (hould
** behold the accomplifhment of an ancient oracle
" univerfally received among us, by which a def-
** tiny the moft fublime is affigned to this city;
" that it's temples fliall rear their heads above the
** tops of the forefts ; that it fhall affemble, within
" it's precinds, the men of all Nations; that the
** ignorant (liould refort hither for inftruftion, the
•* miferable for confolation ; and that there the
** Gods fhould communicate themfelves to men,
•' as in highly favoured Egypt. But, ah, thefe
" happy times are ftill removed to an awful dif-
" tance.'*

The King thus addreffed Cephas and myfelf:
** O my friends, avail yourfelves, without a mo-
** ment's delay, of the fuccour which Omf. brings
" you." At the fame time he gave orders to pre-
pare a barge for us, provided with excellent rowers.
He prefented us with two alhen half-pikes, mount-
ed with fteel by his own hand, and two ingots of
gold, the firfl fruits of his commerce. He next
employed fome of his confidential fervants, to con-
du(5t us to the territory of the Veneti. ** They

" are ''

ARCADIA. 401

" are," faid he to us, " the beft Navigators of all
*' the G^ls. They will furniOi you with the
** means of returning into your own Country, for
*^ their veffels traffick up the Mediterranean. They
*' are, befides, a People of fingular goodnefs. As
** for you, O my Friends ! your names ihall be
*' ever held in honour, all over the Gauls. Cephas
** and Jtnafts lliall be the burden of my fongs^ and
** fo long as I live, their names (hall frequently re-
** found along thefe Ihores."

We accordingly took leave of this good King,
and of Omjî, my deliverer. They accompanied us
to the brink of the Seine, diffolved into tears, a$
we ourfelves likewife were. As we pafled through'
the city, crowds of People followed us, exhibiting
the tendered marks of afFedion. The women car-
ried their infants aloft in their arms, and upon their
flioulders, difplaying to us, with tears in their eyes,
the linen garments in which they were clothed.
We bid adieu to King Bardiis and Omfi, who could
hardly fummon up fufficient refolution to meet the
moment of feparation. We perceived them, for a
long time, on the moft elevated pinnacle of the
city, waving their hands in token of faying fareweU

Scarcely had we put off from the illand, when
the friends of Torjian crowded into boats innume-
rable, and rufliejd gut to attack us, with tremen-

VOL. V. p d dou8

402 STUDIES OF NATURE.

dous fliouts. But at fight of the hallowed fhrulj
which I carried in my hands, and which I raifed
into the air, they fell proftrate on the bottom of
their barges, as if they had been ftruck with a
power divine ; fuch is the power of fuperftition
over minds enflaved. We, accordingly, paflcd
through the midft of them, without fuftaining the
flighteli injury.

We forced our way up the river during the
courfe of a day. After this, having gone aQiore,
we bent our courfe toward the Weft, acrofs forefts
almoft impraticable. Their foil was here and
there covered with trees, laid low by the hand of
Time. It had throughout a carpeting of mofs,
thick and fpongy, into which we fometimes funk
up to the knees. The roads which divide thofe
forefts, and which ferve as boundaries to different
Nations of the Gauls, were (o little frequented,
that trees of confiderable fize had fhot up in the
midft of them. The tribes which inhabited them
were ftill more favage than their Country. They
had no other temples except fome thunder-ftruck
yew-tree, or an aged oak, in the branches of
which fome Druid had planted an ox- head with
the horns. When, in the night-time, the foliage
of thofe trees was agitated by the Winds, and il-
Jumined by the light of the Moon, they imagined
' that' they ùw the Spirits and the Gods of their fo-
".-■ " refts.

ARCADIA. 403

refts. Upon this, feized with a religious horror,
they proftrated themfelves to the ground, and
adored, with trembling, thofe vain phantoms of
their own imagination. Our guides themfelves
never durft have traverfed thofe awful regions,
which religion had rendered formidable in their
eyes, had not their confidence bçen fupported
much more by the branch of miftletoe with which
J was armed, than by all our reafonings.

We did not find, in the courfe of our progrefà
through the Gauls, any appearance of a rational
worfliip of the Deity, excepting that one even-
ing, on our arrival at thefpmmit of a fnow-covered
jnouncain, we perceived there a fire, in the midfl:
of a grove of beech-trees and firs. A mofs-grown
rock, hewn out in form of an altar, ferved as a
hearth to it. It was furronnded with large piles of
dry wood, and with a large alTprtmcnt of bear and
wolf-fkins, fufpended on the boughs of the neigh-
bouring trees. In every other refped, there was
not perceptible all around this folitude, through
the whole extent of the Horizon, any one trace of
human habitation. Our guides infprrued us, that
this fpot was coniccrated to t\\ç God who prefides
over travellers. The word conjecraïed made mç
fliudder. " Let us removed hence," faid I to
Cephas. *' Every altar in the Gauls excites a thou-
f' fand fufpicions in my bread. I will hencefor-

p d 2 ward

404 STUDIES OF NATURE.

" ward pay homage to the Deity, only in the
" temples of Egypt." Cephas replied : *' Rejeft
** every religion which fubjefts one man to an-
*' other man in the name of the Divinity, were it
*' even in Egypt ; but in every place where the
" good of Man is ftudied, God is acceptably wor-
** ihipped, were it even in Gaul. In every place,
" the happinefs of Men conllitutes the glory of
" God. For my part, I facrifice at every altar,
" where the miferies of the Human Race are re-
*' lieved." As he faid thefe words, he proftrated
himfelf, and put up his prayer : he then threw into
the fire a log of fir, and fome branches of the ju-
niper-tree, which perfumed the air, as the fparks
with a crackling noife afcended upward. I imi-
tated his example ; after which, we went and feated
ourfelves at the foot of the rock, in a place car-
petted over with mofs, and (laeltered from the
North-wind; and having covered ourfelves with
the flcins vv'hich were fufpended on the trees, not-
withftanding the feverity of the cold, we pafled
Vhe night in a comfortable degree of warmth. On
the return of the morning, our guides informed
lis, that we had to march all the day long over
fimilar heights, without finding wood, or fire, or
habitation. We prefented our acknowledgments
a fécond time to Providence, for the afylum fo fea-
fonably afforded us ; we replaced the Ikins on
the trees, with a religious exadnefs; we threw frefli

wood

ARCADIA. 495

wood upon the fire ; and before we proceeded on
our way, I engraved the following words on the
bark of a beech- tree.

CEPHAS and JMJSIS,

IN THJS PLACE PRESENTED ADORATION

TO

THE DEITY

WHO PRESIDES OVER TRAVELLERS. .

^' We paffed fucceffively through the territories
of the Carnutes (26), the Cenomanes, the Dia-
■blintes, the Redons, the Curiofolites, the inhabi-
tants of Dariorigum, and, at length, we arrived on
the Weftern extremity of Gaul, among the Veneti.
The Veneti are the moft expert navigators of thofe
Seas. They have even founded a colony, which
bears their name, at the bottom of the Adriatic
Gulf. As foon as they were informed of our being
the friends of King Bardus^ they loaded us with in-
numerable demonftrations of kindnefs. They prof-
fered to carry us direftly to Egypt, as far as which
they have extended their commerce ; but as they
like wife trade to Greece, Cephas faid to me: " Let
" us vifit Greece J we (liall there find frequent op-
" portunities of returning into thy Country. The
" Greeks are the friends of the Egyptians. To
" Egypt they are indebted for the mod illuftrious
" of the founders of their cities. Cecvops it was

p d -; *' who

40^ STUDIES OF NATURE.

*' who gave Laws to Athens, and Inachus to Ar-
*' gos. At Argos it is that Agamemnon reigns,
** whofe renown is diffufed over the face of the
" whole Earth. There fhall we behold him
*' crowned with glory, in the bofom of his family,
*' and encompafled with Kings and Heroes. If
** he is ftill engaged in the fiege of Troy, his
*' (hips will eafily convey us to thy Country. Thou
*' haft feen the moft refined ftate of civilization in
** Egypt, and the grofl'eft barbarifm in the Gauls ;
*■' thou wilt find in Greece, a politenefs and an
** elegance which will charm thee. Thou wilt
" thus have had the fpedtacle of the three periods
** through which moft Nations pafs. In the firft,
'' they a|"e below Nature ; they come up to her,
" in the fécond -, and in the third, they go beyond
** her."

The views of Cephas were too congenial with
my paffion for glory, to admit of my neglefting
an opportunity of forming an acquaintance with
men fo illuftrious as the Greeks, and efpecially
fo renowned as Agnmemnon. I waited with impa-
tience for the return of a fcafon favourable to
navigation; for we had reached the Veneti in
Winter. We pafled that feafon in an inceflant
round of feafting, conformably to the cuftom of
thofe Nations. As foon as Spring returned, we
prepared to embark for j\rgos. Before we took

our

ARCADIA. 407

ourdeparture from the Gauls, we learned that our
difappearing from Lutetia had reftored tranquiruy
to the States of King Bardus j but that his daugh-
ter-, the beautiful Gotha^ had retired, with her wo-
men, into the Temple of Ifis^ to whom (he had
confecratcd herfelf; and that, night and day, flie
made the forell refound with her melodious fongs.

I fenfibly felt the mortification of this excellent
Prince, who loft his daughter from the very cir-
cumftance of our arrival in his Country, an event
which was one day to crown him with immortal
honour; and I myfelf experienced the truth of the
ancient maxim. That public confideration is to be
acquired only at the expenfe of domefcic felicity.

After a navigation fomewhat tedious, we pafled
the Straits of /■/i.'rrw/é'j". I felt myfelf tranfported
with joy at the fight of the fky of Africa, which
recalled to my thoughts the climate of my native
Country. We defcried the lofty mountains of
Mauritania, Abila, fituated in the mouth of the
Strait of Hdrcu/es, and th' ^fe which are called the
Seven Brothers, becaufe they are of the fame ele-
vation. They are covered from their fummit,
down to the very water's edge, w'iih palm-trees
loaded with dates. We difcovercd the fertile hills
of Numidia, which clothe themfelves twice a year,
'ivitli harvefts that rife under the ihade of the olivc-

p d 4 trees ;

4^8 STUDIES OF NATURE.

trees ; while finds of magnificent courfers, pafture
at all feafons in the ever- green vallies. We coafted
along the fliores of Syrtis, where the delicious fruit
of the Lotos is produced, which, as we are told,
make ftrangers who eat it to forget their Country.
We foon came in fight of the fands of Libya, in
the midfl: of which are fituated the enchanted gar-
dens of the Hefperides ; as if Nature took delight
in making Countries the moft unprodudive to ex-
hibit a contrail with the moft fertile. We heard,
by night, the roaring of tygers and lions, which
came to bathe themfelves in the Sea; and by the
dawning light of Aurora^ we could perceive them
retiring toward the mountains.

But the ferocity of thofe animals comes not up
to that of the men who inhabit that region of the
Globe. Some of them immolate their children to
Saturn; others bury their women alive in the
tombs of their huibands. There are fome who,
on the death of their Kings, cut the throats of all
who ferved them when alive. Others endeavour
to allure flrangers to their fliores, that they may
devour them. We had, one day, nearly fallen a
prey to thofe abominable men-eaters ; for while we
were alhore, and peaceably exchanging with them
fome tin and iron, for different forts of the excel-
lent fruits which their Country produces, they had
contrived an ambufh to intercept our getting on

board.

ARCADIA. 409

feoârd, which with no fmall difficulty we efcaped.
After running fiich a dreadful rifk, we durft not
venture again to difembark on fuch inhofpitable
fliores, which Nature has to no purpofe placed
under a ïky fo ferene.

I was fo irritated at the crofs accidents of an
expedition undertaken for the fervice of Man-
kind, and efpecially at this laft inftance of perfidy,
that I faid to Cephas i " The whole Earth, I be-
*' lieve, Egypt excepted, is peopled with barbar
*' rians. I am perfuaded that abfurd opinions, in
*^ human religions, and ferocious manners, are the
*' natural portion of all Nations ; and it is, un-
" doubtedly, the will of Jupiter, that they fliould
*' be for ever abandoned to thefe ; for he has fub-
*' divided them by fo many different languages,
** that the mod beneficent of Mankind, fo far
** from having it in his power to reform ihem, is
*' not capable of fo much as making himfelf under-
" ftood by them."

Cephas thus replied : *' Let us not accufe Jit-
" piter of the ills which infeft Mankind. The
** human mind is fo contraded, that though we
*' fometimes feel ourfelves much incommoded, it
*' is impoflible for us to imagine how we could
** mend our condition. If we remove a fingle one
** of the natural evils of which we fo bitterly com-

" plain,

410 STUDIES OF NATURE.

'' plain, we (hould behold flarting up out of itV
** abfence, a thoufand other evils of much more
" dangerous confequence. Nations do not under-
** ftand each other ; this, you allege, is an evil :
** but if all fpake the fame language, the impof-
'* tures, the errors, the prejudices, the cruel opi-
" nions peculiar to each Nation, would be diffufed
" all over the Earth. The general confufion which
" is now in the words, would, in that cafe, be in
** the thoughts." He pointed to a bunch of
grapes : " Jupiter ^^ faid he, " has divided the
" Human Race into various languages, as he has
*' divided that clufter into various berries, contain-
" ing a great number of feeds, that if one part of
'■^ thefe feeds fliould become a prey to corruption,
*' the other might be preferved (27).

^' Jupiter has divided the languages of men,
** only for this end, that they might always be en-
*' abled to underftand that of Nature. Nature
" univerfally fpeaks to their heart, illumines rea-
*^ fon, and difclofes happinefs to diem, in a mu-
" tual commerce of kind offices. The paffions of
" Mankind, on the contrary, as univerfally, cor-
** rupt their hearts, darken their underftanding,-
*' generate hatreds, wars, difcords, and fuperfti-'
*' tions, by difclofing happinefs to them only in
** their perfonal intereft, and in the depreflion of
** another.

The

ARCADIA, 411

" The divifion of languages prevents thefe par-
'* ticuiar evils from becoming univerfal ; and if
** they are permanent in a Nation, it is becaufe
** there are ambitious corps who make an advan-
" tage of them ; for error and vice are foreign to
*' Man. It is the office of virtue to deftroy thofe
** evils. Were it not for vice, there would be little
** room for the exercife of virtue on the Earth.
" You are on your way to vifit the Greeks. If
** what is faid of them be tnie, you will find in
" their manners a politenefs and an elegance
*=* which will delight you. Nothing (hould be
** comparable to the virtue of their heroes, having
*' paffed through the teil of long and fevere cala-
" mities."

All T had hitherto exferienced of thebarbarifm
of Nations, ftimulated the ardor which I felt to
reach Argos, and to fee the mighty Agamemnon
happy in the midft of his family. By this time we
dclcried the Cape of Tenarus, and had almoft
doubled it, when a furious gale of wind, blowiiig
from the coaft of Africa, drove us upon the Stro-
phadcs. We perceived the Sea breaking againft
the rocks which furround thofe Iflands. Some-
times, as the billows retired, we had a view of
their cavernous foundations : anon, fwelling again,
the furge covered them, trcmendoufly roaring,
with a vafl (heet of foam. Nevcrthelefs, our mi-

rincrsj

412 STUDIES OF NATURE.

riners perfevered, in defiance of the tempefl, in
attempting to make Cape Tenarus, when a violent
guft of wind tore our fails to pieces. Upon this,
we were reduced to the neccflity of flopping (hort
at Steniclaros.

From this port, we took the road, refolving to
travel to Argos by land. It was on our way to
this refidence of the King of Kings, my good (hep-
herd ! that we had the good fortune to meet with
you. At prefent, we feel an inclination to accom-
pany you to Mount Lyceum, for the purpofe of
beholding the aflembly of a People, whofe Ihep-
herds difplay manners fo hofpitable and fo polite.
As he pronounced thefe laft words, Amafis looked
at Cephas^ who expreffed his approbation of them
by an inclination of the head,

Tirteiis faid to Amajis : *' My fon, your relation
*' has deeply affedled us ; of this you have had a
" proof in the tears which we have Ihed. The
" Arcadians once were more miferable than the
" Gauls (28). We fliall never forget the reign of
" Lycaon, formerly changed into a wolf, as a pu -
** nifliment of his cruelty. But this fubjed would,
*' circumftanced as we now are, carry us too far.
*' 1 give thanks to Jupiter, for having difpofed
*' you, as well as your friend, to pafs the ap-
" proaching day with us on Mount Lyceum.

" You

ARCADIA. 413

'^ You will there behold no palace, no Imperial
** city ; but ftill lefs will you fee Savages and
*' Druids : you will behold enamelled verdure,
** groves, brooks, and (hepherds vying with each
** other in giving you a cordial welcome. May
*' Heaven incline you to make a longer abode
** among us 1 You will meet to-morrow, at the
" feaft of Jupiter, multitudes of men from all parts
'* of Greece, and Arcadians much better informed
*^ than 1 am, who are undoubtedly acquainted
*' with the city of Argos. For my own part, I
*' frankly acknowledge, I never heard mention
" made either of the fiege of Troy, nor of the
" glory of Jgamemnon, celebrated, as you tell me,
*' over all the Earth. I have employed myfelf
*' wholly in promoting the happinefs of my fa-
" mily, and that of my neighbours. I have no
*' knowledge except of meadows and flocks. I
'* never extended my curiofity beyond the limits
'^ of my own Country. Your's, which has carried
*' you, fo early in life, into the heart of foreign
*' Nations, is worthy of a God, or of a King."

Upon this, Tirtens turning to his daughter, faid
to her ; " Cyanea, bring hither the cup of Her-
*^ cilles.''* Cyanea immediately arofe, haftened to
fetch it, and, with a fmile, prefented it to her fa-
ther. Tirtens repleniihed it with wine ; then, ad-
drelTing himrelf to the two ilrangers, faid : " Her-

" cu/eSy

4'4 STUDIES OF NATURE.

■' culeSy like you, my dear guefts, was a great trsr
** veller. Into this hut he deigned to enter; here
** he repofed, while he was purfuing, for a year
*' together, the brazen-footed hind of Mount Eri"
** mant-hus. Out of this cup he drank : you are
** worthy of drinking from it after him. I ufe it
^' only on high feftivals, and never prefent it to
** any but my friends. No ftranger ever drank
" from it before you." He faid, and tendered the
cup to Cephas. It was made of the wood of the
beech-tree, and held a cyathiis of wine. Hsnuhs
emptied it at a Ungle draught; but Cephas^ Ama/iSy
and Tirîeus, could hardly matter it, by drinking
twice round.

Tirieus afterwards conduced his guefts to an
adjoining chamber. It was lighted by a window,
fhut by a texture of rulhes, through the interftices
of which might be perceived, by the luftre of the
Moon, in the plain below, the iflands of the Al-
pheus. , There were m this chamber two excellent
beds, with coverlets of a warm and light wool.
Then Tirteus took leave of his guefts, wiQiing that
Morpheus might pour the balm of his gcatleft
poppy upon their eye lids.

As foon as Amafis was Icfc alone with Cephas^
he fpake with tranfports of delight, of the tranquil-
lity of this valley, of the goodnefs of the Ihepherd,
- "of

ARCADIA. 415

of the fenfibility and the graces of his youthful
daughter, to whom he had never feen any thing
once to be compared, and of the pleafure which
he promifed himfelf the next day, at the feaft of
Jupiter, in beholding a whole People as happy as
this fequeftered family. Converfation fo delight-
ful might have fvveetened the remainder of the
night, to both the one and the other, fatigued as
they were with travelling, without the aid of fleep,
had they not been invited to repofe, by the mild
light of the Moon, fhining through the window,
by the murmuring of the wind in the foliage of
the poplars, and by the diftant noife of the Ache-
IÔUS, the fource of which precipitates itfelf, roaring,
from the fummit of Mount Lyceum.

NOTES.

C 417 ]

NOTES.

( Î ) At the bottom flowed a rivulet called Achelous. There were
til Greece feveral rivers and rivulets which bare this name.
Care mull be taken not to confound the brook, which iflued from
Mount Lyceum, with the River of that name, which defcended
from Mount Pindus, and feparated Etolia from Acarnania.
This River Achelous, as the fable goes, changed himfelf into a
Bull, in order to difpute, with Hercuks, the pofleffion of D'éianira^
daughter of Oeneus, King of Etolia. But Hercules, having feized
him by one of his horns, broke it off; and the difarmed River
was obliged to replace the loft horn, by affiiming one taken from
the head of the goat Amalthea. The Greeks were accuftomed to
veil natural truths under ingenious fiftions. The meaning of the
fable in q«eftion is this. The Greeks gave the name of Ache-
lous to feveral rivers, from the word AyiX'o, which fignifies herd
of oxen, either on account of the bellowing noife of their waters,
or, rather, becaufe their heads ufually feparated, like thofe of
oxen, into horns, or branches, which facilitate their confluence
into each other, or into the Sea, as has been obferved in the pre-
ceding Studies. Now, the Achelous being liable to inundations,
Hercules^ the friend of Oeneus, King of Etolia, formed a canal for
receiving the fuperflux of that river, according to Straèo's ac-
count, which weakened one of it's ftreams, and gave birth to the
fabulous idea, that Hercules had broken off one of his horns.
But as, on the other hand, there refulted from this canal a fource
of abundant fertility to the adjacent country, the Greeks added^
that Achelous, in place of his bull's horn, had taken in exchange
that of the goat Amalthea, which, as iï well known, was the
fymbol of plenty.

VOt, V. EC ^2) M'-.mnon,

4lS NOTES.

(2) MemMon, in honour of njchom afuperb monument ^was reared at
Thebes, Memnon^ the foil of Tithonus and Aurora, was killed at the
fiege of Troy by Achilles. A magnificent tomb was erefted to
his memoiy, at Thebes, in Egypt, the ruins of vvhirh rtill fubfift
on the banks of the Nile, in a place called by the Ancients, Man-
mnium ; and in modern times, by the Arabians, Medinet Habou ;
that is, City of the Father. Here are ftill to be fcen coloffal frag-
ments of his ftatiie, out of which, in fcn-mer times, harmonious
founds iffued at the rifing of Aurora.

I propofe to make, in this place, fome obfervations on the
fubje6l of the found which that ftatue produced, becaufe it is
particularly interefring to the ftudy of Nature. In the firft
place, it is impoflible to call the faél in queftion. The Englifli
Traveller Richard Pocock who, in the year 1738, vifited the re-
mains of the Memnonium, of which he has given a defcription as
minute as the prefent ilate of things admits of, quotes, on the
fubjeél of the marvellous effect of Memnon\ ftatue, feveral autho-
rities of the Ancients, of which I here prefent an abridgment.

Strabo tells us, that there were. in the Memnoiâum., among other
roloflal figures, two ftatues at a fmali diftance from each other ;
that the upper part of one of them had been thri)wn down, and
that there ifTued, once a day, from it's pedeilal, a noife fimilar
to that produced by ftriking upon a hard body. He himfelf
heard the noife, having been on the fpotwith j-Ellus Gallus ; but
he pretends not to affirm, whether it proceeded from the bafis, or
from the ftatue, or from the by-ftanders.

Pliuy the Naturalift, a man more fcrupulouily exact than is
generally imagined, when an extraordinary fact is to be attefted,
fatisfies himfelf w ith relating the one in queftion, on the public
faith, employing fuch terms of doubt as thefe ; Narratnr, ut pu-
tajit, (lu-iint., of which he makes fuch frequent ufe in his Work.
It is when he is mentioning the ftone called b-ifaltes, Hiji. Nat.
hi. 36, cap. 7,

lu-venii cadi m Egyptm in Eihiopia qucm vacant ia/alten, ferrei

cohris at'^ae dur it ice

Kon.

NOTESi 4^9

■ ^K ahjîmiîis illi narratur in 77jcb.'s, deJitbio Serapis, ut putant,
JMemmms Jîatuâ dioatus ; queen quotidiano folis ortu contailum radiis
cxpare diainî.

** The Egyptiam likewife founci, in Ethiopia, a ftone called
*' bafaiteS) of the colour and hardnefs of iron

*' One not unlike it, is faid to be the ftone of which the ftatue
** of Me.mnon is made, at Thebes, in the Temple of Serapis, from
** whence, as the report goes, a found ifllies every morning, on
*' it's being ftcuck with the rays of the rifmg Sun."

Jimenal^ io carefully on his guaid againft fuperftition, efpe-
eially the fuperftitions of Egypt, adopts this fad in his fifteenth
■Satire, which is levelled at thefe very fuperftitions.

Effigies Jaeri nitet anrea cercopithfct^

Dimidio magics refonant ubi Memnwie chords ^

Jltgue vctus Thebce ceiiîum jacet obruta partis.

'■'• Tliere fiiines the gilded image of a confecrated monke}',
*"' where the magic chords refound from the mutilated ftatue of
" Ikmncn, and ancient Thebes lies buried under the ruins of her
" hundred gates,"

Paufanias relates, that it was Cambyfes who broke this ftatue ;
that half of the trunk was fallen to the ground ; that the other
half emitted everyday, at fun-rifing, a found fimilar to that of a
bow-ftring liiapping from over-tenfion.

Philoftratus fpeaks of it from his own knowledge. He fays, in
the life oï Jpollcmus of Tyana, that the ISIcmmnium was not only a
Temple, but a forum ; that is^ a place of very confiderable extent,
containing it's public fqnares, it's private buildings, &c. For
temples, in ancient times, had a great many exterior dependen-
cies ; the groves which were confecrated to them, apartments
for the priefts, enclofares for the viftims, and accommodations
ibr the entcrtaiament of ftrangers. Philojlratus afiures us, that
ht' faw the ftatue of il4f;;;;;o/^ entire, which fuppofes that the upper

E e J part

420 KOTES.

part of it had been repaired in his time. He reprefents it under
the form of a young man fitting, with his eyes turned toward the
rifing Sun. It was of a black-coloured ftone. Both feet were
in a line, as was the cafe with all the ancient ftatues, up to the
time of Dednlus, who was the firft, it is faid, that made the li:a-
tues to advance, the one before the other. It's liands refted on
the thighs, as if he were goiîig to rife.

On looking at the eyes and mouth, you would have thought it
was going to fpeak. Philojîratus^ and his travelling companions,
were not furprized at the attitude of this flatue, becaufe they
were ignorant of it's vii tue: but when the- rays of the rifing
Sun firft darted on it's head, they no fooner reached the mouth,
than it did actually fpeak, which appeared to them a prodigy.

Here is, accordingly, a feries of grave Authors, from Strctbo^
who lived under Augujîus, down to Philo/lrafus, who lived under
the reigns of Caracalla and Geta^ that is, during a period of two
hundred years, who affirm, that the ftatue of Memnoji emitted a
found at the rifing of Aurora.

As to Richmd Pocock, who faw only the half of it in 1738, he
found it in the fame ftate that i'/m/^o had feen it, about 1738
years before, except that it emitted no found. He fays it is of a~
particular fort of granite, hard and porous, fuch as he had never
feen before, and which a good deal refembles the eagle-ftone»
At the dilknce of thirty feet from, it, to the North, there is, as
in the time of ^'/rrt^o, another coloflal flatue entire, built of five
layers of ftones, the pedeftal of which is 30 feet long, and 17
broad. But the pedeftal of the mutilated ftatue, which is that of
Memmn, is 33 feet long by 19 broad. It confifts of a fingle piece,
though cleft about 10 feet behind the back of the ftatue. Pocock
fays nothing of the height of thefe pedeftals, undoubtedly, becaufe
rhcy are encumbered with faiid ; or, rather, becaufe the perpe-
tual and infenfible aflion of gravity muft have made them fink
into the Earth, as may be remarked of all the ancient monu-
ments vvhirh are not founded on the folid rork. This effeft is
obf rvable, in like manner, \\x the cafe of heavy cannon, and

piles

NOTES. 421

piles of balls, laid on the ground in our arfenals, which imper-
ceptibly fink in the courfe of a few years, unlefs fupported by
ftrong platforms.

As to the reft of the ftatue of Mtmnon, the following are the
dimenfions given by Pocock.

Feet. In.
From the fole of the foot to the ankle-bone — a 6

From ditto to the inftep — 4 o

From ditto up to the top of the knee — 190

The foot is 5 feet broad, and the leg 4 feet thick.

Pocock apparently refers thefe meafiirements to the Englifh
flandard, which reduces them nearly by the eleventh part. He
found, befides, on the pedeftal, the legs and the feet of the ftatue,
feveral infcriptions in unknown charaélers ; others of great an-
tiquity, Greek and Latin, very indifferently engraved, which aie
the atteftations of the perfons who had heard the found which it
emitted.

The remains of the Memmnium prefcnt all around, to a very
great diftance, ruins of an immenfe and uncouth architecture,
excavations in the fplid rock, which form part of a temple, pro-
digious fragments of walls tumbled down, and reduced to rub-
bi(h, and others ftanding ; a pyramidical gate, avenues, fquare
pillars, furmounted by ftatues with the head broken off, holding
in one hand a iitufit, and a whip in the other, as that of OJiris.
At a ftill greater diftance, fragments of gigantic figures fcattered
along the ground, heads of fix feet diameter, and 1 1 feet in
length, flioulders 2 1 feet broad, hxunan ears three feet long and
16 inches broad; other figures which feem to iffue out pf the
earth, of which the Phrygian bonnets only are to be feen. All
thefe gigantic productions are made of the mpft precious mate-
rials, of black and white marble, of marble entirely black, of
marble with red fpots, of black granite, of yellow granite ; and
they aie, for the moft part, loaded with hieroglyphics. What
fentiments of refpeft and admiration muft have been produced
in the minds of thofe fuperftitious people, by fuch enormous and
fpyfterious fabrics, efpecially, when in, their lolemnly filent

16 3 courts,

422 NOTES.

Courts, plaintive founds were heard iffuingfrom a breaft of ftone,
at the firft rays of Aum-a, and the coloflal Memmn fighing at fight
of his mother.

The faél is too well attefled, and is of too long duration, to
admit of being called in queftion. Neverthelefs, many of the
learned have thought proper to afcribe it to fome exterior and
momentaneous artifice of the priefts of Thebes. Nay, it appears
that Sirabo, who witnefled the noife made by the ftatue7 hints
this fufpicion. We know, in reality, that ventriloquifts are able,
without moving the lips, to utter words and foundb which feem
to come from a conûderable diftancc, though they are produced
clofe by your fide. For my own part, however durable the mar-
vellous efFeâ: of Memnori's ftatue may be fuppofed, I can conceive
it produced by the Aurora, and eafily imitable, without being un-
der the neceffity of renewing the artifice of it, till after the lapfe
of ages. It is well known that the priefts of Egypt made a par-
ticular ftudy of Nature ; that they had formed of it a Science
known by the name of Magic, the pofleffion of which they re-
ferved to themfelves. They were not ignorant, afluredly, of the
effect of the dilatation of metals, and among others of iron,
-which is contrafted by cold, and lengthened by heat. They might
have placed, in the great bafis oï Mamion'à ftatue, a long iron rod
in a fpiral line, and fufceptible, from it's extenfion, of contrac-
tion and dilatation, by the flighted aftion of cold and of heat.

This medium was fufficient for extraéling found from fome
metallic compofition. Their colofTal ftatues being partly hol-
low, as may be ken in the fphinx, near the pyramids of Grand
Cairo, they could difpofe in them machinery of ever}' kind.
The ftone itfeU cï the ilatue of Memnon being, according to P//«y,
a bafaltes, which poffefTes the hardnefs and the colour of iron,
may very well have the power of contracting and of dilating it-
ielf, like this metal, of which it is apparently compofed. It is
certainly of a nature different from other ftones, as Pocock, who
had made obfervation of all forts of thefe, affirms that be had
never ktn the like of it. He afcribes to it a particular charaéler
of hardnefs and porofity, which arc, in general, attributes of fer-
ruginous

NOTES. 423

nigmous flones. It might, therefore, be fufceptible of contrac-
tion and dilatation, and thus poffefs within itfelf a principle of
motion, efpecially at the rifing of ^«rcrrt, when the contraft of
the cold night, and of the firfl rays of the rifing Sun, has moft
aélion.

This effed muft have been infallible, under a Iky like that of
Upper Egypt, where it fcarcely ever rains. The founds tniitted
from the ftatue of Me?nnon^ at the moment when the Sun ap-
peared over the Horizon of Thebes, had, thereforç, nothing
more marvellous in it, than the explofion of the cannon of the
Palais Royal, and that of the mortar of the King's-Garden, as the
Sun pafles over the meridian of Paris. With a burning glafs, a
bit of match, and fome gun-powder, it would be eafily poffible
to make a ttatue of Jupiter thunder, in the midft of a defert,
on fuch a day of the year, and even at fuch an hour of the day and
of the night, as might be refolved on. This would appear fo
much the more marvellous, that it would thunder only in clear
weather, like the highly ominous thunder-claps among the
Ancients.

What prodigies are operated at this day on perfons labouring
under the prejudices of fuperlHtion, by means of ele<^ricity,
which, through the medium of a rod of iron, or copper, ftrikes
in an invifible manner, is capable of killing a man at a fingle
blow, calls down tlie thunder from the bofom of the cloud, and
direfts it at pleafure as it falls ? What effefts might not be pro-
duced by means gf aëroftation, that art ftill in it's infancy,
which, through the medium of a globe of taffeta, glazed over
with an elaftic gum, and filled with a putrid air, eight or ten
times lighter than that which we breathe, raifes feveral men at
once above the clouds, where the winds tranfport them to in-
credible diftances, at the rate of nine or ten leagues an hour,
without the lead iatigue ? Our acroftats, it is true, are of no
manner of ufe to us, becaufe they are carried along at the mercy
Qf the winds, as they have not yet difcovered the means of con-
ducing their machinery ; but I am perfuaded they will one day
attain this point of perfe(5lion. There is, on the fubjeâ: of this
E e 4 invention,

424 NOTES.

invention, a very curious paflage in the Hiftory of China, which
proves that the Chinefe were in ancient times acquainted with
aëroftatinn, and that they knew the method of conduifting the
machine which way they pleafed, by night and by day. This
need not excite furprize, on the part of a Nation which has in-
vented, before us, the Art of Printing, the Mariner's Compafs,
and Gun-powder.

I fhall give this faA complete, from the Chinefe annals, in the
view of rendering our incredulous Readers fomewhat more re-
ferved, when they treat as fabulous what they do not comprehend
in the Hiftory of Antiquity J and credulous Readers, not quite
fo eafy of belief, when they afcribe to miracles, or to magic,
cffeéls which modern phyiics imitate publicly in our own days.

It is on the fubjeél of the Emperor Ki, according to Father
k Comte, or K/eu, conformable to the pronunciation of Father
Martini, who has given us a Hlftory of the earli'^rt Emperors of
China, after the annals of the Country. This Prince, who
reigned about three thoufand fix hundred years ago, gave himfelf
lip to the commiflion of cruelties fo barbarous, and to irregula-
rities fo abominable, that the name is, to this day, held in detef-
lation all over China, and that when they mean to defcribea man
difhonoured by every fpecies of criminality, they give him the
appellation of Kieu. In order to enjoy the delights of a volup-
tuous life without diftrac^ion, he retired, with his lady and fa-
vourites, into a magnificent palace, from which the light of the
Sun was excluded on every fide. He fupplied it's place by an
infinite number of fupcrb lamp?, the lufire of which feemed, tq
him, preferable to that Orb of Day, becaufe it was ever uniform,
and did not recal to his imagination, by the viciffitudes of day
and night, the rapid courfe of human life. Thus, in the midfl
ol fplendid apartments always illuminated, he renounced the go-
vernment of Erxipire, to put on the yoke of his own paffions.
But the Nations, whofe iaterefts he had abandoned, having re-
volted, chaced him from his infamous retreat, and fent him
out a «vagabond for his life, having, by his mifconduét, deprived
his pofterity of ths fucceffion to the Crown, .\yhich wa? tiansfer-

red

NOTES, 42 q

red to another family, and leaving a memory loaded with fuch
execration, that the Chinefe Hillorians never give him any other
name but the Robber, without once beftovving on him the title
of Empei"or.

" At the fame time," fays Father le Ccmte, *' they deftroyed
' his palace ; and, in order to tranfmit to pofterity the memory
' of worthlefTnefs fo eminent, they fufpended the lamps of it in
' all the quarters of the city. Thisruftom was repeated annually,
' and became, from that time, a remarkable feftivity all over the
' Empire. It is celebrated at Yamt-Cheou, with more magni-

* ficence than any where elfe, and it is faid that, formerly, the
' illuminations on this occafion were fo beautiful, that one Em-
' peror, not daring avowedly to quit his Court, and refort thither
' to enjoy the fpeftacle, put himfelf, the Queen, and feveral
' Princefles of the Blood, into the hands of a magician, who
' engaged to convey them to it in a very fiiort time. He made
' them mount, in the night- time, on fuperb thrones, which were
' carried aloft by fwans, and which, in a moment, arrived at
' Yamt-Cheou.

" The Emperor, wafted through the air, on olouds which gra-
' dually defcended over the city, contemplated the whole feftival
' at his leifure : he afterwards returned thence, with the famé
' velocity, and by the fame vehicle, without it's being perceived
' at Court that he had been at all abfent. This is is not the
' only fable which the Chinefe relate. They have hiftories rela-

* tive to every fubjefl, for they are fuperftitious to an excefs,
' and on the fubjeft of magic, in particular, whether feigned or

* real, there is not a People in the World to be compared with
' them." Memoirs of the Prefcnt State of China^ by Father le

Comte. Letter FI.

rn-iis Emperor, who was thus.tranfported through the air, ac-
cording to Father Magaillans, was called Taw, and this event
took place two thoufand years after the reign of Kieu ; that is
about fixteen hundred years ago. Father Magaillans, who ex-
prelTes no doubt refpefting the truth of the event, though he ftip-
pofes it to have been performed by magic, adds, after the Chi-
nefe,

426 NOTES,

nefe, that the Emperor Tam caufed a concert of vocal and in-
ftrumental mufic to be played by his band, in the air, over Yamt-
Cheou, which greatly furpri zed the inhabitants of that city. It's
diftance from Nankin, where the Emperor might be then fup-
pofed to refide, is about eighteen leagues. However, if he was
at Fekin, as JMagnillans gires us to underhand, when he fays, that
the Courieif from Yamt-Cbeou was a month on the road, in car-
rying him the news of that extraordinary mufic, which they
afcribed to the inhabitants of Heaven,, the alVial journey was
175 leagues in a ftraight line.

But without departing from tlie faft as it fiands, if Father le
Comte had ittn at noon-day, as was done by the whole inhabitants
of Paris, of London, and of the other moll confiderable cities of
Europe, Philofophers fufpendcd by globes above the clouds, car-
ried 40, nay, 50 leagues from the point of their departure, ami
on{;,of-them croffing, thi'ough the air, the arm of the Sea which
feparates England from France, he would not fo haftily have
treated the Chi nefe tradition as a fable. I find, befides, a great
analogy of forms, between thofe magnificent tbrmes, and thofe
tlcuds ^ix'hich gradually defcendeJ o-ver the city of 1 amt-CheoUy and
our aëroftatic globes, to which it is fo eaJily poMible to give thole
voluminous decorations. The conducting fwans alone feem to
prefent a dilîiculty in the managenK'nt of this aerial navigation.
But wherefore ihould it be deemed impoffibie tor the Chinefe to
have trained fwans to flight limply, herbivorous birds, fo eafily
tamed to the purpofesof domefticliie, when it isconlidbred, that
we have inftrufted the falcon, a bird vat prey ahva) s wild, to purfue
the oame, and afterwards to return to the wrift of the fowler r
The Chinefe, living under a much better police, more ancient
and more pacific than we, have acquired an infight intp Nature
which our perpetual dil'cords permitted not us to attain till a
much later period : and, undoubtedly, it is this profound infight
into Nature which Father k Cotnte, otherwile a man of under-
{landing, confiders as iruigic, pretendeil or real^ in which he ac-
knowledges the Chinefe furpalfed all Nations. For my own,
part, Ij who am no magician, think I h-^ve a glimpfe, conform-

abls

NOTES, 427»

ably to fome of the Works of Nature, of an etifv meihocî wheiebyt
aërofhts may direct their courfe even againft the wind ; but Î
would not publifli it were I ever fo certain of it's fuccefs. What '
mjferies have not the perfecting of the compafs, an<i of gun-
powder, brought upon the Human Race ! The dcfn-able object
of refearch is not, M'hat is to render us n^ore intelligent, but
what is, to render us better. Science, in the hand of. Wifdom,
is a torch which illuminates, but brandi flied by the hand of
wickednefs, fets the World on fire.

(3) Tou are an j^fiatic. Amajïs 'W&.s an Egyptian, and Egvpt
was in Africa ,- but the Ancients affigned it to Alia. The Nile"
ferved as a boundary to Alia on the Weft. Confult p/rV.y, and
the ancient Geographers.

(4) To the height of Melita, This is the ifland now called
Malta.

(5) Of the xylon. This is the cotton on a herb : it is originally
a native of Egypt. They now manufafture at Malta very beau-
tiful fluffs of it, which is the principal fource of fuppoit to the
commonalty of that ifland, who are miferably indigent. Theie
is a fécond fpecies produced on a flirub, which is cultivated in
Afia and the Weft-India iflands. Nay, I believe there is a third
fpecies that grows in America, on a tail prickly tjee; fuch cai'C
has Nature taken to diffufe a vegetable fo ufefuj over all the warm
regions of the Globe ! This much is certain, that the Savages of
the parts of America which are fituated between the Tropics;,
made for themfelves garments and hammocks of cotton» when
Columbus landed on that Country.

(6) A prodigious quantity of quails. The quails ftill take Malta
in their way, and appear on a day nameid and marked in the al-
manacks of the country. The cuftoms of the animal creatron
do not vary ; but thole of the human fpecies have undergone

collude r able

428 NOTES.

ronfiderable changes in that ifland. Some Grand-Mafters of th<^
Order of Saint John^ to whom the ifland belongs, have there en-
gaged in projets of pubhc utihty ; among others, they have con-
veyed the vyater of a rivulet into the very harbour. Many other
undertakings are ftill behind, undoubtedly, which fo'ncern the
happinefs of the Human R^ce.

(7) As far as the TJIer of Enofis. Thefe are at this time called
the Hands of Saint Peter and of St. Antiochus. They are very
fmall ; but th€y have great fifliery for thunnies^ and they manu-
fadure great quantities of fait.

(8) Badily exerdfe is the alimeni of health. Certain Philofo-
phers have carried matters much farther. They have pretended
that bodily exercife was the aliment of the foul. Exercife of
body is good only for the prefervation of health ; the foul has
it's own apart. Nothing is more cominon, than to fee men of
delicate health pofleffed oi exalted virtue, and robuft perfons
very defeâive there. Virtue is no more the refuit of phy-
fical qualities, than ftrength of body is the eiFeél of moral
qualities. All temperaments ai-e equally pre-difpofcd to vice
and to virtue.

(g) It alnvrys bears the name of Hsva. Thçre is, rn fa^, at
the mouth of the Seine, on it's left fide bank, a mountain formed;
of layers of black and white ftones, which is called the Heve.
ït ferves as a land-mark for mariners, and there is a flag erected,
upon it, for giving hgnals to fhips at Sea*

(10) / perceit'cil by the 'whiteuefs of it's foam a mount cnn of
ivatcr. This mountain of water is produced by the tides, which
force their way, from the Sea, up the Seine, and make it to flow
backward againft it's courfe. It is heard coming from a very
great diftance, efpecially in the night-time. They call it the
Bar, becaufe it obflru£ls the whole courfe pf the Sjeine. This

Bar

NOTES. 429

Bar is ufually followed by a fécond Bar, ftîll more elevated,
^'hîch purfues it at the diftance of about a hundred fathom.
They run much fafter than a horfe at full fpeed.

(11) The Druids fxnour thefe Dhlnities. Refpefting the man-
Tiers and mythology of the ancient Nations of the North, Hero-
dotus may be confulted, the Commentaries of Cefar^ Suetoviusf,
Tacitus, the Eda of Mr. Mallet, and the Swedifh Colleftions,
tranflated by the Chevalier de Keralio.

(12) He is excluded from the communion of their myjle^ies. Cefar
fays precifely the fame thing in his Commentaries.

(13) They oroerlay plates of iron luith tin. The Laplanders un~
derftand the art of wire-drawing tin to a very high degree of per-
feftion. There is, in general, an extreme ingenuity diftinguifh-
able in all the arts pradifed by favage Nations, The canoes and
the raquettes of the Efquimaux ; the pros of the illanders of the
South-Sea ; the nets, the lines, the hooks, the bows, the arrows,
the ftone hatchets, the habits, and the head-dreflès of moft of
thofe Nations, have the moft exa<^ conformity with their necef-
iities. Pliny afcribes the invention of calks to the Gauls. He
praifes their tin-ware, their dying in wood, &c.

(14) She is cmdemned to the flames. See Cefars Commentaries.

(15) Afcrihe to theîufomething divine. Confiilt Tl/ci/aj on the
manners of the Germans.

(16) For her- fon Sfvne. The Gauls, as well as the Nations
of the North, called y'enus, Siofnc, and Cupid, Sifone. Confult
the Eda. The moft formidable weapon among the Celtse, was
neither the bow, nor the fword, but the cmlafs. They armed the
Dwarfs with if; who, thus equipped, triumphed over the fword
of the Giants. The enchantment made with a dagger was inca-
pable of being dilTolved. It was fit, therefore, that the Gaulifli

Cu^id

43^ ÎÎ0TE9.

Cupid flioti}d be armed, not with a bow and à quiver, but wivri
a dagger. The dagger-handles in queftion, are two-valved fifh-
lliells, lengthened out into the form of a dagger-handle, the
name of which they bear. They are found in great abundance
along the ftiores of Isiormandy, where they bury themfelves in
the fand.

(t^) Of thie fngvlar h faufv of their young 'Women. And perhaps
of the law-fuits, for which Normandy is famous, as that apple
was, originally, a preleiit of difcord. It might be pofiible to find
out a caufe Jefs remote of thefe fuits at Law, in the prodigious
number of petty jurifdiÔions, with which that province is filled,
in their litigious ufages, and efpecially in the European fpirit of
education, which fays to every man, fromi his childhood upward:
Bethefirfl.

It v.-ould not be fo eafy to difcover the moral or phyfical
caufes of the fingularly remarkable beauty of the women of the
Pays de Caux, efpecially among the country girls. They have
blue eyes, a delicacy of features, a freftmefs of complexion, and
a fliape, which would do honour to the fineft ladies about Court.
I know but of one other canton in the whole kingdom, in which
the women of the lower chifies are equally beautiful. It is at
Avignon. Beauty there, however, prefents a ditfcrent charac-
ter. They have large, black, and foft eyes, aquiline nofes, and
the heads of Angelica Kctuffman. Till modern Philofophy think
proper to take up the queftion, we may allow the mythology ol
the Gauls to alligh a reafoh for the beauty of their young wo-
men, by a fable which the Greeks would not, perhaps, have
rejefted.

(18) Tor-Tir. Perhaps it may be from the names of thofe
two cruel Gods of the North, that the word toruae is derived.-

(ig) Inthejidcofarociallover-jih'.te. IMontmartre is meant,
Mms Marùs. It is well known that this rifing ground, dedi-
C'ited to Mats, whofe name it bears, is formed of a rocîc of

plafter.

NOTES; 431

pîafîer. Others, it is true, derive the name of Montmaitre from
3Iofi< Marty, um. Thefe two etymologies may be very eafily re-
co)iciied. If there were, in ancient times, a great many martyrs
on this mountain, it was probably owing to it's being the refi-
dence of fome celebrated idol, to which they were there offered
in facrifice.

(20) /> hciiî no other door except large bullochs-hides. Gates were
a matter of very difficult conftruâ:ion to favage tribes, who did
not underftand the ufe of the faw, w -rhout which it was almofc
impoffible to reduce a tree into planks. Accordingly, whea
they abandoned a Country, thofe who had gates carried them off
with them. A Norwegian hero, whofe name I do not at prefent
recoiled, he who difcovered Greenland, threw his into the Sea,
in order to difcover where the Defiinies intended to fix his refi-
dence ; and he made a fettiement good on that part of Green-
land to which they were wafted. Gates and their threfhold were,
and ftill are, facred in the Eafl.

(21) At a height 'which ive cannot reach. The walnut and
cheftnut grow at a great height ; but thefe fruits fall to the
ground when they are ripe, and do not break in falling, like the
foft fruits, which, befides, grow on trees which are eafiiy fcaled.

(22) In order to make bread of it. The Gauls lived, as did al)
other favage tribes, on pap, or frumenty. The Romans them-
felves were, for three hundred years, ignorant of the ufe of
bread, according to Pliny, boiled grain, or frumenty, conftituted
the greateft part of their aliment.

(23) To rear a Temple to TJis. It is pretended that th's is the
ancient Church of Saint-Genevieve, reared to ^.j, prior to the
introduélion of Chriftianity among the Gauls.

(24) They fed upon //6f anferlna potentilla. Tlvt nnferina po-.
untilla is found in ^reat abund:.nce on the banks of the Seine,

4^1 KOTES.

in the vicinity of Paris. It fometimes renders them (Tomplelciy
yellow, toward the clofe of Summer, by the colour of it's flowers.
This flower is rofe-formed, about the fize of a fliilling, without
rifing upon a flem. It enamels the ground, as does likewife it's
foliage, which fpreads very far, in form of net- work. Geefc
are very fond of this plant. It's leaves, in form of a goofe-foot,
adhering clofely to the ground, admit of the water-fowl'a walking
over them ss upon a carpet, and the yellow colour of it's flowers
forms a very beautiful contraft with the azure of the river, and
the verdure of the trees ; but efpecially with the marbled colour
of the geefe, which are perceptible on this ground at a great
ëiftance.

(25) Formidable to the GoJs and to the Men of this Country. See
the Volofpa of the Irifli. This hiftory of Balder has a lingular
refemblance to that of Achilles plunged, by his mother Thetis, in
the river Styx, as far as the heel, in order to render him invulne-
rable, and, after all, killed by a wound in that part of the body
which had not been dipped, from an arrow difcharged by the
hand of the effeminate Paris. Thefe two ficlions of the Greeks,
and of the Savage Nations of the North, convey a moral meaning
founded in truth ; namely, that the powerful ought never to de-
ipife the feeble.

(26) We -faffed fuccejjïvely through the territories of the Carnviesy
^^c. The Carnutes were die inhabitants of the Pays Chartrain,
the Cenomanes, thofe of Mans, and the Diablintes, thofe of the
adjacent country. The Redons, who inhabited the city of Ren-
nes, had the Curiofolites in their vicinity ; and the tribes of Da-
rlorigum were neighbours to the Veneti, who inhabited Vannes,
in Britanny. It is alleged that the Venetians of the Adriatic
Gulf, who bear the fame name in Latin, derive their origin from
them. Confult C^r, Stiabc^ and X)rt«i'r7/t''j- Geography.

(27) The ether might be preferred. Moft fruits which contain
an aggregation of iteds, as pomegranates, apples, pears, oranges,

and

NOTES. 433

and even the produflions of the gramineous plants, fiich as the
ear of corn, bear them divided by fmooth fkins, under frail
capfules ; but the fruits which contain only a fingle feed, or
rarely two,, as the walnut, the hafel-nut, the almond, the cheft-
nut, the cocoa, and all the kernel fruits, fuch as the cherry, the
plumb, the apricot, the peach, bear it invelopped in veiy hard
capfules, of wood, of ftone, or of leather, conftrufted with admi-
rable art. Nature has fecured the prefervation of aggregated
feeds, by multiplying their little cells, and that of folitary feeds,
by fortifying their cafes.

(28) 7^1? Arcadians 'were once more 7nifcrahle than the Gauls. It
would appear that the firft flate of Nations is the ftate of barbs-
rifm. We are almoft tempted to believe it, from the example
of the Greeks, prior to Orpheus ; of the Arcadians, under Ly-
caon ; of the Gauls, under the Druids : of the Romans, prior
to Numa ; and of almoft all the favage tribes of America.

I am perfuaded that barbarifm is a malady incident to the in-
fancy of Nations, and that it is foreign to the nature of Man. It is
frequently a re-aftion merely of the ills which rifing Nations en
dure on the part of their enemies. Thefe ills infpire them with
a vengeance fo much the more fierce, in proportion as the Con-
ftitution of their State is more liable to fubverfion. Accordingly,
the fmall favage hordes of the New World, reciprocally eat the
prifoners taken in war, though the families of the fame clan live
together in the moft perfect union. For a fimilar reafon it is
that the feebler animals are much more vindiftive than the
powerful. The bee darts her lling into the hand of any one
who comes near her hive ; but the elephant fees the arrow of
the huntfman fly clofe to him, v.ithout turning afide out of hit.
I'oad.

Barbarifm is, fometimes, introduced into a growing State, by
the individuals who join the afTociation. Such was, in it's firft
beginnings, that of the Roman People, partly formed of the ban-
ditti col lefted by i?o/KK/«j, and who did not begin to civilize till
the times of JVawza. In other cafes, it communicates itfelf, likc-
TOL. V. F f fhs

434 KOTES.

the peftilence, to a People already under regular government,
merely from their coming into contact with their neighbours.
Such was that of the Jews, who, notwithftandinj; the feverity of
their Laws, facrificed their children to idols, after the example of
the Canaanites. It mofl frequently incorporates itfelf with the
legiflation of a People, through the tyranny of a defpot, as in
Arcadia, under Lycaon, and ftiJl more dangeroufly, through the
influence of an ariflocratical corps, which perpetuates it, in fa-
vour of their own authority, even through the ages of civiliza-
tion. Such are, in our own days, the ferocious prejudices of
Religion, inflilled into the Indians, in other refpe«3^s fo gentle,
by their Bramins ; and thofe of honour inftilled into the Japa-
nefe, fo polifhed, by their Nobles.

I repeat it, for the confolarion of the Human Race : moral
evil is foreign to Man, as well as phyfical evil. Both the one and
the other fpring up out of deviations from the Law of Nature.
Nature has made Man good. Had fhe made him wicked, flie,
who is fo uniformly confequential in her Works, would have
furniflied him with claws, with fangs, with poifon, with fome
offenfive weapon, as fhe has done to thofe of the beafts, whofe
charaAer is defigned to be ferocious. She has not fo much as
provided him with defenfive armour, like other animals; but
has created him the mofl: naked, and the moft miferable, un-
doubtedly in the view of conftraining him to have confiant re-
courfe to the humanity of his fellow-creatutes, and to extend it
to them in his turn. Nature no more makes v hole Nations of
men jealous, envious, malignant, eager to furprfs each other, am-
bitious, conquerors, cannibals, than Hie forms Nations continu-
ally labouring under the leprofy, the purples, the fever, the fmall-
pox. If yon ineet even an individual, fubjeft to thefe phvfical
evils, impute them, without hefitation, to fomeunwholefome ali-
ment on which he feeds, or to a putrid air which infefts the
neighbourhood. In like manner, when vou find barbarifm in a
rifing Nation, refer it foitiy to the errors of it's policy, or to the
influence of it's neighbours, jv.û as you would the mifchievouf-
nefs of a child, to the vices of hjs education, or to bad example.

The

NOTES. 435

Thecourfe of the life of a People is fimilar to the courfe of
the life of a man, as the port of a tree refembles that of it's
branches.

I had devoted my attention, in the text, to the moral progrefs
of political focieties, barbarifm, civilization, and corruption. I
had in this note caft a glance, no lefs important, on the natural
progrefs of Man ; childhood, youth, maturity, old-age ; hut
thefe approximations have been extended far beyond the proper
bounds of a fimple note.

Befides, in order to enlarge his Horizon, a man muft fcramblc
up mountains, which are but too frequently involved in flormy
clouds. Let us re-defcend into the peaceful valleys. Let us
repofe between the declivities of Mount Lyceum, on the banks
of the Acheldus. If Time, the Mufes, and the Reader, Ihall
be propitious to thefe new Studies, it will be fufficient for my
pencil, and for my ambition, to have painted the meadows, the
groves, and the flicpherdefles of bleft Arcadia.

THE END.

f^ A " ; ■ '.''^'^