'The inha

Through these scenes, an amazing mixture of the terrible and the beautiful, we proceeded from five in the morning till one in the afternoon, when we arrived at a vast water-fall, which defcended from a precipice near two hundred yards high, into a deep lake, that emptied itself into a swallow fifty yards from the catadure or fall, and went I fuppofe to the abyfs. The land from this head-long river, for half a mile in length and breadth, till it ended at vaft mountains again, was a fine piece of ground, beautifully flowered with various perennials, the acanthus, the aconus, the adonis or pheafant's eye, the purple biftorta, the blue borago, the yellow bupthalmum, the white cacalia, the blue campanula, and the sweetfmelling caffia, the pretty double daify, the crimson dianthus, the white dictamnus, the red fruximella, and many other wild flowers. They make the green valley look charming; and as here and there ftood two or three ever-green trees, the cyprefs, the larix, the balm of Gilead, and the Swedish juniper, the whole spot has a fine and delightful effect. On my arrival here, I was at a lofs which way to turn.

bitants of §. 2. I could not however be long in this fine fufpenfe how to proceed, as I faw near the fociety of water-fall a pretty thatched manfion, and

valley, a

married friars.

I

feveral

ift volume,

will find a

Labadie

inhabitants in it. I found they were a religious fociety of married people, ten friars and their ten wives, who had agreed to retire to this still retreat, and form a holy house on the plan of the famous Ivon, the difciple of Labadie, fo celebrated on account of his connection with Mrs. Schurman, and his many fanatical writings.* A book called the * See my Marriage Chretien, written by this Ivon, P. 347. was their directory, and from it they formed where you a proteftant La Trappe; with this difference particular from the Catholic religious men, that the account of friars of the reformed monaftery were to and I-von. have wives in their convent; the better to enable them to obtain Chriftian perfection in the religious life. Thefe Regulars, men and women, were a moft induftrious people, never idle; but between their hours of prayer always at work: the men were employed in a garden of ten acres, to provide vegetables and fruit, on which they chiefly lived or in cutting down old trees, and fitting them for their fire: and the women were knitting, fpinning, or twisting what they had fpun into thread, which they fold for three fhillings a pound: they were all together in a large, handsome room: they fat quite filent, kept their eyes on their work, and feemed more attentive to fome inward meditations, than to any thing that appeared, or paffed by them. They looked

;

on the in

married

regulars.

as if they were contented and happy. They were all extremely handfome, and quite clean their linen fine and white: their gowns a black ftuff. The women dined at one table: the men at another; but all fat in the fame room.

The whole house was

in bed by ten, and up by four in the morning, winter and fummer. What they faid at their table I could not hear, as they spoke low and little, and were at a distance from me, in a large apartment: but the converfation of the men, at table, was very agreeable, rational and improving. I obferved they had a great many children, and kept four women-fervants to attend them, and do the work of the house. The whole pleased me very greatly. I thought it a happy inftitution.

Some §. 3. As to the marriage of the friars thoughts in this cloyftral house, their founder, Ivon, ftitution of in my opinion, was quite right in this notion. Chafte junction cannot have the leaft imperfection in it, as it is the appointment of God, and the inclination to a coit is fo ftrongly impreffed on the machine by the author of it; and fince it is quite pure and perfect; fince it was wifely intended as the only best expedient to keep man for ever innocent, it must certainly be much better for a regular or retreating priest, to have a law

ful female companion with him; and fo the woman, who chufes a convent, and diflikes the fashions of the world, to have her good and lawful monk every night in her arms; to love and procreate legally, when they have performed all the holy offices of the day; and then, from love and holy generation, return again to prayer, and all the heavenly duties of the cloystered life; than to live, against the inftitution of nature and providence, a burning, tortured nun, and a burning, tortured friar; locked up in walls they can never pass, and under the government of fome old, cross, impotent fuperior. There is fome sense in such a marriage chretien in a convent. Ivon's convent is well enough. A cloyster may do upon his plan, with the dear creature by ones fide, after the daily labours of the monk are over. It had been better, if that infallible man, the Pope, had come into this scheme. How comfortable has Ivon made it to the human race, who renounce the dress and pageantry, and all the vanities of time. Their days are spent in piety and usefulness; and at night, after the completorium, they lie down together in the most heavenly charity, and according to the first great hail, endeavour to increafe and multiply. This is a divine life. I am for a cloyfter on these terms. It pleafed me so much

to

to fee thefe monks march off with their fmiling partners, after the last pfalm, that I could not help wifhing for a charmer there, that I might commence the Married Regular, and add to the stock of children in this holy houfe. It is really a fine thing to monk it on this plan. It is a divine inftitution: gentle and generous, ufeful and pious.

On the contrary, how cruel is the Roman church, to make perfection consist in celibacy, and cause so many millions of men and women to live at an eternal distance from each other, without the leaft regard to the given points of contact! How unfriendly to fociety! This is abufing chriftianity, and perverting it to the most pernicious purposes; under a pretence of raifing piety, by giving more time and leisure for devotion. For it never can be pious either in design or practice, to cancel any moral obligation, or to make void any command of God: and as to prayer, it may go along with every other duty, and be performed in every ftate. All ftates have their intermiffions; and if it fhould be otherwife fometimes, I can then, while discharg ing any duty, or performing any office, pray as well in my heart, O God be merciful to me a finner, and bless me with the bleffing of thy grace and providence, as if I was proftrate before an altar. What Martha was reproved

for,