been brought, especially of late years, into England: And in the Phyfick-Gardens at Oxford and at Chelsea, we may at once fee Specimens of every known fort of the whole Vegetable Kingdom.

Now of all these things there is fuch a conftant continuance, by reafon of the Clemency of the Climate, that scarce the leaft Famine, which frequenteth other Countries, hath been felt in England these 400 Years.

Then for Raiment, England produceth generally very fine Wool, which makes our Cloth more lafting than other Country Cloth, and better condition'd against Wind and Weather; and in fuch abundance, that not only all forts, from the higheft to the loweft, are clothed therewith, but fo much hath been heretofore tranfported beyond the Seas, that in Honour of the English Wool, which then brought fuch plenty of Gold into the Territories of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, (where the Staple for English Wool was in thofe days kept) he inftituted that famous Military Order of the Golden Fleece, after the English Garter, the nobleft Order of Knighthood in Europe.

This Abundance and Cheapnefs of Wool in England proceeds not only from the Goodness of the Soil, but alfo from a Freedom from Wolves, and from exceffive Heats and Colds, which in other Countries create a charge of conftant guarding their Sheep, and houfing them by Night, and fometimes by Day alfo. And for advancing the Manufactures of Cloth, that neceffary Earth, call'd Fullers-Earth, is no where else produced in that abundance and excellency as in England.

It wants not I innen for all uses, at least not Ground to produce Flax and Hemp, and fine Paper made of Linnen, although there hath been much Linnen imported with much Pa per, to the fhame and damage of the Nation. But there are lately many Paper-Mills erected, and tolerable fine Paper made in feveral places of England:

Befides, there is in England great plenty of excellent Leather, for all forts of Ufes; infomuch that the poorest People in England wear good Shoes of Leather; whereas in our neighbouring Countries, the Poor generally wear either Shoes of Wood, or none at all.

For Building, it wants not Timber, nor Iron, Stone nor Slate, nor Ardoife or blue Slate, Brick nor Tiles, Marble nor Alabafter, Mortar or Lime, Lead nor Glass.

For Firing, either Wood, Sea-coal, or Pit-coal, is almost every where to be had at reasonable Rates; and alfo Turf.

For Shipping, no where better Oak, no where fuch KneeTimber, (as they call it) for which four Forefts are eminent and convenient likewife for Portage, viz. New-Foreft in Hampfhire, near the Sea, Shirewood on the Trent, Dean on the Severn,

and

and Windfor-Foreft on the Thames. We have likewise great store of Iron. For War, for Coach and Waggon, for Travelling Pads, Hunting and Racing, no where greater plenty of Horfes, alfo for Plough and Pack-Carriage; infomuch as Mules and Affes, fo generally made use of in France, Italy and Spain, are utterly deTpifed in England.

Here are Dogs of all forts, fizes and uses, as Maftiffs, Greyhounds, Spaniels for Land and Water, Hounds for Stag, Buck, Fox, Hare and Otter, Lurchers, Setting-Dogs, &c. The Bear and Bull-dog Mastiffs, feem to be the boldeft and strongest Creatures of their fize in the World; one of 'em will encounter fingly a Lion, Bear, Bull, or any Creature they are fet upon, and not give over to the laft Breath of Life. Our Game-Cocks likewife are fo ftout and hardy, that if two of 'em are well match'd, they both become dying Conquerors by flaying one another; but it is well known both of Englif Cocks and Dogs, that if they are carried into another Country, after fome confiderable time they degenerate.

Moreover, England produceth befides a mighty Quantity of Tin, Lead and Iron, fome Brafs and Copperas, Copper, and Lapis Calaminaris to make Brafs: Much Allum, Salt, Hops, Liquorice, Wax, Tallow, Coney-Furs, Salt-Petre, Madder, and Woad for Dying: All forts of Glafs, Flax, Hemp, &c. and divers other beneficial Commodities. It wants not Mines of Silver in Wales, Cornwal, Lancashire and the Bishoprick of Durham, which yield ordinarily fix or eight Ounces per Cent but most of these lying deep, are hard to come unto, and Workmen dear.

It wants not Hot Baths, as in Somersetshire, Derbyshire; and abounds in Medicinal Springs, working either by Stool or Urine; as at Tunbridge, Ebfham, Scarborough, Aftrop, Alton, Barnet, NorthHall, Dullidge, Ilington, Sellenge, Cobham, Shooters-hill, Richmond and Hamfted.

Though fome Countries excel England in fome things, yet generally there is no one Country which hath greater Abundance of all things neceffary for Man's Life, and more efpecially for all kind of Food; infomuch that it hath been judg'd, that there is yearly as much Flesh and Beer confum'd in England by over-plentiful Tables, as would ferve three times the Number of People. Add to all this, that being encompaffed with the Sea, and well furnish'd with Ships, and abundance of commodious and excellent Havens and Ports, it excels for Safety and Security all the neighbouring Coun tries.

1

CHAP. V.

Of its Inhabitants, their Number, Language, Character.

Inhabitants.] THE first Inhabitants in England were Bri

tains, defcended from the Gauls, whofe Language was once almoft the fame; fubdued after by the Romans, who by reason of their Troubles nearer home, were conftrain'd to abandon this Country about 400 Years after Christ whereupon the Extra-provincial Britains, then call'd Pits (from retaining the Custom of painting their Bodies, once in common to the Inhabitants of the whole Ifland) invading the Britains, they call'd to their Aid the Saxons, who chafing away the Pias, foon made themfelves Mafters of the Britains: But these not able to endure the heavy Yoke of the Saxons, after many Battels and Attempts to recover their loft Liberties and Country, re tired or were driven, some of them into Bretagne in France, but moft of them into the two utmost Western barren and mountainous Parts of this Country, called afterwards by the Saxons Walifhland, as the Germans ftill call Italy Welfbland, because inhabited by the Cifalpine Gauls; and the French call our Country of Britons, Le Pais de Galles.

The Saxons folely poffeffed of all the beft Parts of this Ile, were for a long time infefted, and for fome time almost fubdued by the Danes, and afterwards wholly by the Normans, who drove not out the Saxons, but mixed with them; fo that the Exglish Blood at this Day is a Mixture chiefly of Norman and Saxon, not without a Tincture of Danish, Romish and British Blood.

Number of inhabitants. To give the Reader an exact Account of the Number of People in England, will be very difficult, but a near Conjecture may be thus made.

England contains, according to the Calculation of Mr. Hough ton, in his Account of the Acres and Houfes, with the proportional Tax of each County of England and Wales, printed Anno 1693. 1,175,951 Houses. Now allowing to each Houfe, one with another, 6. Perfons, there will be found in all 7,055,706 Souls, and amongst them 1,000000 of Fighting-men. All the Souls in France are computed at 13,500,000, or at the most 15,000000, of which 270,000 are Church-men, befides Nuns; the Clergy of England are not 15000.

Their Language.] The English Tongue is a Mixture, chiefly of the Old Saxon (a Dialect of the Teutonick) and the Old Norman, (which was part French, part Danish) with a large Mixture of the British, Roman, and Danish Languages.

The

The Names of Shires, Cities, Towns and Villages, Places and Men in England, are generally Saxon; and fo are moft Nouns Appellative, and a great Part of the Verbs.

In French, or rather Norman, are still written the Common Laws, and learnt by young Students thereof; all Reports,Pleadings, all Moots and Law-Excercifes, are wholly French; fome old Statutes are ftill in that Tongue: In Parliament the Affent or Diffent to Bills, made by the King, Lords or Commons, is in French: Almoft all our Terms in Hunting, Hawking, Cookery, Dicing, Dancing, Singing, Heraldry, &c. are ftill French.

Charader.] The Natives of England, are generally of a middle Stature: They are fair, especially the Women: The Men are strong, couragious, warlike, refolute, enterprizing, liberal to Prodigality, open-hearted, eafie to be provoked, yet, when exafperated, ftomachful till Satisfaction be given, and then eafie to be reconciled: Sumptuous and fplendid, great Lovers of Hofpitality, magnanimous and beneficent, learned: They are thought to be wanting in Industry, (excepting Mechanicks, wherein they are, of all Nations, the greatest Improvers) Caution, Sufpicion, Craft, Obfequioufness and which is moft of all to be deplored, Content: But these Wants are fupplied by many eminent Qualifications, as Dexterity, Sagacity, Eloquence, Fidelity, Friendship, Publickfpiritedness.

The Daringness of the Soldier, the Profoundness of the Scholar, the Magnificence of the Gentry, and the Robustness of the Labourer, are not furpaffed, if equalled, by any People in the World.

The Women have not without Vanity, Pretenfions to Satyr, Raillery, and the like; which Vices they have borrow'd from their Neighbours the French: But no Women out-do 'em in Modefty, Patience, Charity, Providential Care, Temperance, Wit, Good Humour, Cleanliness, and that which crowns all the reft, in the Sincerity and Zeal of Religious Devotion.

Good Nature is a Qualification peculiar to the English, fa peculiar, that as a noble Writer obferves, there is no Word for it in any other Language.

The Inhabitants are generally of folid Parts, apprehenfive and fubtile; fuccefsful in finding out new Difcoveries; but moft of all in improving of old, fpecially Mechanicks; there being few Curiofities of Art brought over from beyond Sea but are here improved to a greater Height.

Here are the best Clocks, Watches, Locks, Barometers, Thermometers, Air-Pumps, &c. in the World. The late Queen Mary had a Clock inade by Mr. Watfon, late of Coventry, worth at thoufand Pound, in which are all the Motions of the Celestial Bodies. Locks are here made of Iron and Brafs, of fifty

C 3

Pound

Pound a Lock. Watches fo curious, that one Part of the Move. ment of a Repeating-Watch comes to ten Pound, which makes them ordinarily fifty or fixty Pound a Watch; and yet these prove profitable Merchandife when we fend them into foreign Countries, fo valuable, and fo inimitable is the Work. Curious Telescopes, Microfcopes, Perspectives, Mirrors, Spheres, Globes, Charts, Maps, and all forts of Mathematical Inftruments, Dials, Ballances, Sea-Compaffes, &c. The late great Improvements in making Glafs; of polishing the Infides of great Iron Guns; of weighing up Ships that are funk to the Bottom of the Sea; in Fishing, as they call it, for Money, loft it may be too Years ago: And many other noble Inventions and Improvements; as weaving Silk-Stockings, Mills of Copper, Gunpowder, Polishing Glafs, &c. Mortlack Tapestry, Earthen-Ware of Fulham, Speaking-Trumpets, making of Luftring, Engines for raifing of Glafs, fpinning of Glafs, cutting of Tobacco, printing Stuffs, Linnen, Paper; making Damask-Linnen, watering Silks; the Way of feparating Gold from Silver; Boulting-Mills, Lanthorns of divers forts, CaneChairs, making Horn Ware, &c. All these Inftances fhew how excellently the English Nation is turned for all manner of Mechanical Arts.

The Common People will endure long and hard Labour, infomuch that after 12 Hours hard Work, they will go in the Evening to Foot-ball, Stool-ball, Cricket, Prifon-base, Wreftling, Cudgel-playing, or fome fuch like vehement Exercise for their Recreation.

They are as long-liv'd generally as the People of any Nation in the World. In the Reign of King James the First, & old Men danced a Morice-Dance, all living in one Mannor in the Weft of England, whofe Ages put together made 800 Years and in the Year 1635, died old Parr, aged 152: And in the Year 1671, died Henry Jenkins of Yorkshire, aged 168 Years: But on the other fide, by reafon of Intemperance, there is no Part of the World wherein People are more fubject to die fuddenly.

Cri

CHAP. VI.

of Religion.

Hriftianity was very early planted in England; but when, or by whom, is very uncertain; probably in the latter end of the first, or the beginning of the fecond Century. In Tertullians Time, even that Part of Britain which did not own the Re