fifted upon a whole nitch entirely to myfelf but I fhould break in upon the confines of the Vain Traveller, in wifh-ing to draw attention towards me, 'till I have fome better, grounds for it, than the mere Novelty of my Vehicle. It is fufficient for my reader, if he has been a Traveller himself, that with fudy and reflection hereupon he may be able to determine his own place and rank in the catalogue-it will be one ftep towards knowing himself, as it is great odds but he retains fome tincture and refemblance of what he imbibed or carried out, to the present hour.

The man who firft tranfplanted the grape of Burgundy to the Cape of Good Hope (obferve he was a Dutchman) never dreamt of drinking the fame wine at the Cape, that the fame grape produced upon the French mountains-he was too phlegmatic for that-but undoubtedly he expected to drink fome fort of vinous liquor; but whether good, bad, or indifferent-he knew enough of this world to know, that it did not depend

upon his choice, but that what is generally called chance was to decide his fuccefs: however, he hoped for the best: and in these hopes, by an intemperatę confidence in the fortitude of his head, and the depth of his discretion, Mynbeer might poffibly overfet both in his new vineyard; and by difcovering his nakedness, become a laughing-stock to his people.

Even fo it fares with the poor Traveller, failing and pofting through the politer kingdoms of the globe, in pursuit of knowledge and improvements.

Knowledge and improvements are to be got by failing and pofting for that purpose; but whether ufeful knowledge and real improvements, is all a lotteryand even where the adventurer is fuccefsful, the acquired stock must be used with caution and fobriety, to turn to any profit but as the chances run prodigioufly the other way, both as to the acquifition and application, I am of opinion, That a man would act as wifely, if he could prevail upon himself to live

contented without foreign knowledge or foreign improvements, especially if he lives in a country that has no abfolute, want of either-and indeed, much grief. of heart has it oft and many a time coft. me, when I have obferved how many a foul ftep the inquifitive Traveller has measured to fee fights and look into dif coveries; all which, as Sancho Pança faid to Don Quixote, they might have feen dry-fhod at home. It is an age fo full of light, that there is fcarce a country or corner of Europe, whose beams. are not croffed and interchanged with others-Knowledge in most of its branches, and in most affairs, is like music in an Italian street, whereof those may partake, who pay nothing-But there is no nation under heaven-and God is my record (before whofe tribunal I must one day come and give an account of this work)-that I do not speak it vauntingly-But there is no nation under heaven abounding with more variety of learning-where the sciences may be more fitly woo'd, or more furely

THROUGH FRANCE AND ITALY. 21.

won, than here where art is encouraged, and will foon rife high-where Nature (take her altogether) has fo little to answer for—and, to close all, where there is more wit and variety of charac-' ter to feed the mind with-Where then, my dear countrymen, are you going

-We are only looking at this chaife, faid they-Your most obedient servant, faid I, fkipping out of it, and pulling off my hat-We were wondering, faid one of them, who, I found, was an inquifitive Traveller,-what could occafion its motion.'Twas the agitation, faid I coolly, of writing a preface.-I never heard, faid the other, who was a fimple Traveller, of a preface wrote in a Defobligeant. It would have been better, faid I, in a Vis a Vis.

As an Englishman does not travel to fee Englishmen, I retired to my room.

I

CALAIS..

PERCEIVED that fomething darken'd the paffage more than myfelf, as I ftepp'd along it to my room; it was effectually Monf, Deffein, the master of the hôtel, who had just returned from vefpers, and, with his hat under his arm, was most complaifantly following me,, to put me in mind of my wants. I had wrote myself pretty well out of conceit with the Defobligeant; and Monf. Desfein fpeaking of it, with a fhrug, as if it would no way fuit me, it immediately ftruck my fancy that it belong'd to fome innocent Traveller, who, on his return. home, had left it to Monf. Deffein's honour to make the most of. Four months had elapfed fince it had finished its career of Europe in the corner of Monf. Deffein's coach-yard; and having fallied out from thence but a vamptup business at the first, though it had been twice taken to pieces on Mount Sennis, it had not profited much by its