of Holland? [A loud cry of bear! bear!] Gentlemen may allude to the difpofition of feamen on board the captured feet. This, Mr. Tierney faid, he had already admitted; but he fpoke of the difpofition of the people at large; and he must beg that the two points may be kept perfectly diftin&t. Hitherto we had been joined by few of the Dutch; on the contrary, we had found them difputing the ground inch by inch. The lofs of between 1400 and 1500 Englishmen, almost in the firft ferting out, offered no ground on which this expedition could be juftified. Why then, after feven years of war, and after fo many atchievements on our native elements, was it deemed neceffary to embark our armies in a new rifque? The numbers now to be fent abroad tranfcended by much thofe engaged in any of our expeditions of modern date. We had already fent, 26,000 men to Holland; these were now to be followed by 22,coo; making in the whole 48,000 men. If to there were to be added the Ruffian troops taken into our pay, the whole would amount to an effective force little fhort of 100,000 men. What gain was to be fought by fuch an immenfe army, and on what ground could parliament fan@tion fuch an immenfe expenditure? Looking to our maritime exertions, we had forely done our parts; or we should at least be fatisfied with the co-operation lent to the allies by the 45,000 Ruffians in our pay. The expences of the prefent year would amount to little less than fixty millions; and yet parliament was now called together merely to be made a party in incurring a farther expendi ture, and to take all refponfibility off the thoulders of Minifters. After the capture of the Dutch veffels, he could fee nothing of a national object, no. thing like a profpect of encouragement. The avowed object of this war was, to overthrow the existing government in France; but, without faying whether the prefent form of government in France might be overthrown or not, this end could not farely be obtained by the killing of Dutchmen in Holland? [A laugh.] The Right Hon. gentlemen might fmile; but, in his opinion, there was nothing to provoke rifibility in what he had faid; and few who had read the laf Gazette Extraordinary could be induced to relax their mufcles on

the prefent topic, The immediate question was, whether Ruffia and England were able to bring their projects to bear, and to overthrow the ex ifting Government in France? He had ever entertained the wish that France fhould be driven within her antient limits; but he could not but remark, that the efforts of the allies, though directed to this end, had not very materially ferved the interest of religion or morality. They had, he was happy to fay, been greatly fuccefsful in Italy, and partially in Swit zerland. The latter had, however, only exchanged her conquerors; and, in the former, though the dominions of the King of Sardinia had been recovered from the French, it was obfervable that they had not been yet restored to that monarch. It muft, therefore, be to him a matter of indifference, whether his loft crown was in the hands of a Directory or of an Emperor. The House was now called upon to fay, whether they would fanction, by a fide-wind, the appli cation of an immenfe force, and to lend their countenance to a moft dangerous Crufade! [Mr. Pitt called, bear ! bear!] Mr. Tierney repeated the word Crufade-when properly de fined, he faid, it was ftrictly appli cable. On the prefent occafion, it might with fairnefs be ufed in defcribing "a vaft army, embarked on an extravagant project.”—He knew, however, that his argument and his remarks would be equally unavailing in the prefent inftance; but he fhould not difcharge his duty to his conflituents or himself, if he did not thus folemnly enter his protest against the measure.

The Secretary at War faid, the prefent bill had this obvious and general argument in its favour, that it was an advantage to have every force difpofable, even though you thould not difpofe of it in any of the expected modes. It was poffible that a force maintained in this country might yet threaten the enemy; but a militia force, fubject to the old law, could not produce that effect; for the ene my knew that, according to our Cone ftitution, they could not be fent out of the island. An army of such militiaupon the coast would, therefore, produce no uneafinefs in the enemy. Our means of defence were often spoken of, and we were recommended to rely folely upon them; but defenfive war

A

was

was in itself a misfortune; and it was true in public, as in private contefts, that the best way to prevent an enemy from attacking, was to attack or appear to attack them. In a defenfive war, the enemy could be hurt only when they chofe to expofe themselves. The talk of England locking herself up, and contributing only in a certain proportion to the defence of Europe, reminded him of a vulgar phrate, which, perhaps, gentlemen were not acquainted with; it was, cabbaging from your own coat. Every step we Book in a war of fuch general defence as the prefent was for ourselves; and to withhold any practicable effort against the enemy, was to cheat our felves, and to crib from our own means of defence. Even our favou rite and habitual command of the feas would not reftore Europe. Our fleets could not touch the enemy, except when they choose to come forth from their harbours. Mr. Windham fi nished his fpeech by reminding the Houfe, that, in confenting to the motion before them, they would not enter into an engagement as to the application of the force in queftion.

Mr. Tierney explained, that he had wished to afford Government a difpo fable force, provided he should not fufpect an improper application of it; but the very preamble of the bill prevented him from expecting any other than an objectionable application.

Mr. Secretary Dundas faid, that the preamble of the bill stated the application of the force already obtained, in purfuance of the act of laft feffion, to have been advantageous; but it by no means conditioned for a fimilar application of the force now required, or of any part of that force; it required only, that a certain body of troops, capable of acting offenfively against the enemy, but now reftrained by the law to a diftrict where their fervices might be of leaft avail, fhould be placed ander the difcretion of Govern

ment.

Mr. Sheridan would gladly have avoided delivering his opinion at a moment of fuch anxiety as the prefent, when very important intelligence was expected, the tendency of which might materially affect the queftion. He had not wished to touch upon the circumftances of the expedition to Holland; for he was fo far from approving the bill, that, even though the militia

were not intended to be fent there, he could not adopt his hon. friend (Mr. Tierney's) opinion, upon the fubject of converting that force into a regular army. If Minifters had not recei ved farther inftances than the furrender of the fleet of the good difpofition of the Dutch towards us; if they already began to doubt that difpofition ; if they knew of any difficulties more than they had expected; if they knew of any, to retract their scheme; and he hoped, that no falfe pride, no fear of reproach or fhame, would prevent them from fulfilling it. Mr. Sheridan warned the house not to encourage the plan by confenting to the prefent bill, in fome future ftage of which he would deliver his opinion more at length.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid, he was ready to affure the Houfe, that the expedition, on its present scale, was planned without any reference to the power of Pruffia, without depend ing in any degree upon the interfe rence of that court for fuccess. A cooperation of the Pruffian monarch, if he should chufe to depart from his neutrality, would doubtless be highly beneficial, but it was not judged essential. The difpofition of the people of Holland, on the contrary, was material; but hon. gent'emen, when they were looking for the demonftrations of it, fhould recollect the habits, and confider the prefent condition, of that nation. The great body of the people had yet no opportunity of affifting us. They were compelled to wait in filence for the fuccefs of our operations. It was already known, however, that we had in Holland great numbers of zealous friends; and it might be expected that we should have fuch, even if nothing was known of the peculiar oppreffions of that people, and if only the general feeling of human nature were confidered and relied upon. Cou'd any people who had felt the grasp of French rapacity, who had writhed under their extortions, and detected their perfidy, feel otherwife than moft earnestly for the fuccefs of an enterprife to deliver them? We muft know that we had friends, if not in the arms, in the hearts, the feelings, the fecret wishes, of every honeft man in that country. The fact was, that in that part of Holland, in which the people had an opportunity of acting, they had received us not merely with acquiefcence, or confent,

but

proofs of its former fertility and pleafantnels. He contradi&s the account of the cameleon living on air.

Chap. II. is taken up with afcertain ing the properties of the Jerbo, and fettling the difputes of Naturalis about that fingular animal, which is here fta. ted to be the first link of the connexion between quadrupeds and birds, as the laft is the bat. He determines them not to be the animals mentioned, Prov. xxx. 25, as rabbits, which, he thinks, are the fcbajan, or daman Ifrael, or Jamb of Ifrael; yet, as both they and the jerbo burrow in the rocks, the diftinction feems needlets; and he anfwers Michaelis's queftion about ruminating in the negative, by the inspection of one jerbo's ftomach. The ftatue of the woman feated, with a child by her fide, Jarge as life, in the French conful's houfe at Alexandria (p. 119), was probably that of Ifis and Ofiris. Mr. S. got admiflion into a mofque to fee a tomb covered with hieroglyphics, and which formerly had a capital [cover], and is now used for ablution. He reprefents the navigation of the canals as increasing in danger. Refetta as a very pleafant quiet place, but Cairo always turbulent and disturbed. The ruins of Heracleum are on the coaft beyond Maadit. He treats of the culture and dreffing of rice, which, no more than L'Arciver, he does not admit to be the olyra of Herodotus; and he speaks very Tightly of Maillet's imperfect information, impofed upon, and not digefted in his life. He defcribes the Turkish pipes and indulgence of fmoking; the more abominable induigences of both fexes, which in another place he almost by the climate vindicates. Like a true Frenchman, he intrigued with the Egyptian ladies, and was only prevented from fucceeding by a musket ball whizzing clofe to his ears. (p. 167.) "I fhall be afked," fays he, "perhaps, how I could know what paffes in the barems, fince all approach to them is fo frictly forbidden. The means that employed are very fimpie, but I muß be permitted to pass them over in filence. It is enough to affure the reader, that be may rely on the truth and accuracy of the particulars I have fared." The blackening the eyes, and yellowing the palms of the hands and nails, are characteristic of Eastern beauty; and the bennè, or Egyptian privet, is the fhrub

* Mr. Belve does not notice this

which adminifters thereto, and which would ferve for dying if it could be cultivated in Europe. The rufma, ot depilatory mixture ufed by the men, is a mixture of arfenic, or crpiment, and quick lime; but the women ufe a more violent plafter, boiled honey and gum. Solid embonpoint is another characteris tic of female beauty here; and, as the most perfect cleanliness is joined to it, "no where are the women more uni. formly beautiful, no where do they poffels more the talent of affifting Na ture, no where are they better skilled or more practifed in the art of arrefting or repairing the ravages of time; an art which has its principles, and a great variety of practical receipts." (p. 181.) With thefe our traveller returned well furnished; and there is no country where they are so much needed as his cwn. Few towns in the world contain fo many dogs as thofe of Egypt, or, at leaft, there are none that appear to con tain more, becaufe they are conftantly affembled in the streets, their only ha bitation, feeding on what they can get, ftudioufly neglected by the Mahometans, beat and butchered without mercy, lean and mangy, yet never mad. Mr. S's account of them and of cats may ferve as a fpecimen of his ftyle. The dogs of Egypt are a race of large greyhounds, which would be very handfome if they were taken care of, or even if they were lef's cruelly treated. In lofing the elegance of their make, they should, methinks, no longer poffefs even the impreffion of thofe qualities which every where elfe render them fo worthy of notice. Nevertheless, their inftinct, though perhaps decayed, is not de ftroyed. They are feen going and coming in the most frequented streets, and avoiding to touch the clothes of the paffengers with an attention truly cu rious, and far more interefting than that of the imbecile Muffulman, who, at their approach, turns afide his robe. They even watch over the fafety of their executioners during the night They are the terror of thieves upon the wharfs, boats, and timber; and in the interior of the town goods are in trufled to their vigilance. An admi rable inftinct, a natural inclination to make themselves ufeful to man, induces them to affume a fuperintendance which nobody confides to them, no body points out to them; and it would be impoffible to approach the charge that is furrounded by these voluntary guardians