The Phoenicians built Malaga; they planted colonies in Abdera and Carthage, and not content with the gold of Spain, they brought tin from the Cassiterides; they sunk in splendid ruin, and have not left even a' native poet or historian behind them. Tyre, the daughter of Zidon, is no more Tyre, that was situate at the entry of the sea," a merchant of the people for many isles," is sunk into oblivion :-her emeralds and broidered work are no more. This shews you the superior advantages of agriculture, and the happiness of an inland state, blessed with abundance, and good laws impartially administered. I am afraid, after what I have said, that these flowers and fruits will fade in your eye, and that you will one day exclaim, "It is not good for man to be alone." Author. On the contrary, those fruits and flowers appear brighter than ever in my eye; and if I even indulged an inclination to visit the world, you have cured me. all Stranger. Then let us be happy together; I have some books; they are written in Latin, but I'll teach you that language: I'll teach you that I know, and I'll tell you all that I know. Author. Then you 'll make me happy, indeed! This specimen will enable the reader to judge of the advantages which a willing mind might derive from the society of such an enlightened man. man. As I had, what is called in my language, a moist memory, susceptible of every impression, it should be matter rather of surprise than otherwise, if I did not make a rapid progress in the Latin language. I was not more charmed with the fables of Virgil than I was with those of Livy, the father of Roman history. I was enraptured with his harangues, and blessed the imagination of the historian that had penned them: they convinced me that the son of Padua had a perfect knowledge of the character of his countrymen, and that he was a master of his own language, which is more than every writer can boast; for language and music may be well compared, and the magical effects of one and the other cannot be described even on the coldest ear and the dullest heart. He also formed a globe, on which we traced all the flights of the Roman eagle, as well as the conquests of Attila, &c. I was young, and, of course, inexperienced: I followed these barbarous conquerors into the very heat of the battle, and as often as victory perched on their standard, I rejoiced. My friend saw this: he found a ready apology for it in my youth; he depicted those enemies of the human race in their proper colours, and taught me to detest the laurels that were stained with the blood of the innocent, and bedewed with the tears of the widow and the orphan. Though he was an excellent geographer, and had seen many places with his own eyes, yet I could not help perceiving, that as often as I touched on the situation, &c. of any country, he availed himself of the first opportunity to change the conversation. There are some that cannot bear even to reflect on past pleasures, and there are others who are never so happy as when they are talking of them. I recollect that I asked him one day if he had ever been in Bohemia; he paused, and with a sigh answered, that he had spent some happy days in that country. I expressed a wish to know something of it, when he gave me the following particulars, which I treasured up in my memory, that faithful recorder of all my joys and all my woes. "The first inhabitants of Bohemia were probably the Celts, who, in the earliest ages of antiquity, inhabited the north-west part of Europe. They were conquered by the Marcomanni, and these, in their turn, were obliged to yield to the arms of the Slavi, who have retained that kingdom ever since. The manners of the ancient inhabitants resembled those of other barbarous nations. The young women bote arms, and fought by the side of the men; they wore even the same dress; but after the death of Libusse, their first chief, they assumed a lighter garb of many colours, but would not acknow ledge ledge the superiority of man in war, or in the chase. Towards the latter end of the thirteenth century, the men wore their beards, and valued themselves not a little on the length of their hair, which generally flowed over their shoulders. The dress of the nobles consisted of a short strait coat or jacket, with a bonnet that ended in a point somewhat in the form of a cone. The peasants were vested in long cloaks and pantaloons. The priests wore bonnets in the form of a crown; and, what may appear a little extraordinary, never appeared in public without a sword by their side. They buried their dead in the woods: the ceremony of interment was immediately succeeded by a fête, which sometimes continued without interruption for a fortnight, nay, even longer, in proportion to the quality of the deceased. Their heathen ancestors were sunk in the grossest idolatry; nor has the light of Christianity, even at this day, entirely dissipated the dark clouds of Paganism. The present inhabitants are lusty, with bright eyes, and pale brown hair the women are very well made, fantastic in their dress, passionately fond of music and dancing, and, I may add, amorous. The peasantry are stupid-as stupid as those of Germany; but those whom fortune has released from the toils of the plough and the spade are lively, and even sometimes blunder out a witti VOL,' I. : cism. They consume large quantities of Hun garian and German wines; but their ordinary beverage is beer, which is lighter and less bitter than the malt liquors of Saxony, which are much esteemed. They speak German in many of the towns, but the Slavonian is their native language. Bohemia is a very fertile country, but little indebted to agriculture. You mentioned the other day something of Arabia, and you seemed to think the inhabitants of that country the happiest in the universe; I was almost going to say, that happiness is a relative term, and I believe, if every man was called on for his definition of that word, that we should have as many definitions as there are men. Happiness is not to be localized; the inhabitants of the frozen regions would not exchange their frosts and snows for all the golden treasures of the East. Their frosts and snows are their treasures; they glide over the one, and sleep on the other with as much pleasure as if they sunk on a bed of down; the cold strings their nerves, and fills their veins with health and activity. I think that history would bear me out if I asserted, that all the eastern and southern nations have been conquered by the hardy sons of the North: men and steel will penetrate the remotest corner of the globe. The Sacæ, Dai, Getæ, Goths, Heneti, and Sarmatians, flowed from the north-east of Asia; the Tartars |