their friendship and efteem. They bear hunger, cold, fatigue, and all the miferies of life without fhrinking; danger only calls forth their fortitude; they even exult in calamity; but contempt is what they cannot bear. An Englishman fears contempt more than death; he often flies to death as a refuge from its preffure; and dies when he fancies the world has ceased to esteem him.

Pride feems the fource not only of their national vices, but of their national virtues alfo. An Englifhman is taught to love his king as his friend, but to acknowledge no other mafter than the laws which himself has contributed to enact. He defpifes those nations, who, that one may be free, are all content to be flaves; who firft lift a tyrant into terror, and then shrink under his power as if delegated from heaven. Liberty is echoed in all their affemblies; and thousands, might be found ready to offer up their lives for the found, though perhaps not one of all the number underftands its meaning. The loweft mechanic however looks upon it as his duty to be a watchful guardian of his country's freedom, and often ufes a language that might feem haughty, even in the mouth of the great emperor who traces his ancestry to the moon.

A few days ago, paffing by one of their prifons, I could not avoid ftopping, in order to liften to a dialogue, which I thought might afford me fome entertainment. The converfation was carried on between a debtor through the grate of his prifon, a porter, who had ftopped to reft his burthen, and a foldier at the window. The fubject was upon a threatened invafion from France, and each feemed extremely anxious to refcue his country from the impending danger. "For my part," cries the prifoner, "the greatest of my apprehenfions is for our freedom; if the French fhould conquer, what would become of English liberty. My dear friends, liberty is

the

the Englishman's prerogative; we must preserve that at the expence of our lives; of that the French fhall never deprive us; it is not to be expected that men who are Naves themselves would preferve our freedom should they happen to conquer. Ay, flaves, cries the porter, they are all flaves, fit only to carry burthens, every one of them. Before I would ftoop to flavery, may this be my poifon (and he held the goblet in his hand), may this be my poifon-but I would fooner lift for a foldier."

The foldier, taking the goblet from his friend, with much awe fervently cried out, It is not fo much our liberties as our religion that would fuffer by such a change; ay, our religion, my lads. May the Devil fink me into flames (fuch was the folemnity of his adjuration), if the French fhould come over, but our religion would be utterly undone. So saying, instead of a libation, he applied the goblet to his lips, and confirmed his fentiments with a ceremony of the most persevering devotion.

In short, every man here pretends to be a politician; even the fair fex are fometimes found to mix the feverity of national altercation with the blandifhments of love, and often become conquerors by more weapons of deftruction than their eyes.

This univerfal paffion for politics is gratified by Daily Gazettes, as with us at China. But as in ours the emperor endeavours to inftruct his people, in theirs the people endeavour to inftruct the adminiftration. You must not, however, imagine, that they who compile thefe papers have any actual knowledge of the politics, or the government of a ftate; they only collect their materials from the oracle of fome coffee-houfe; which oracle has himfelf gathered them the night before from a beau at a gaming-table, who has pillaged his knowledge from a great man's porter, who has had his information from the great man's gentleman, who has invented

the

the whole ftory for his own amufement the night preceding.

The English in general feem fonder of gaining the esteem than the love of those they converfe with: this gives a formality to their amufements; their gayeft conversations have fomething too wife for innocent relaxation; though in company you are feldom difgufted with the abfurdity of a fool, you are feldom lifted into rapture by thofe ftrokes of vivacity which give inftant, though not permanent pleasure.

What they want, however, in gaiety, they make up in politenefs. You fmile at hearing me praise the English for their politenefs; you who have heard very different accounts from the miffionaries at Pekin, who have seen such a different behaviour in their merchants and feamen at home. But I muft ftill repeat it, the English feem more polite than any of their neighbours; their great art in this refpect lies in endeavouring, while they oblige, to leffen the force of the favour. Other countries are fond of obliging a stranger; but seem defirous that he fhould be fenfible of the obligation. The Englifh confer their kindness with an appearance of indifference, and give away benefits with an air as if they despised them.

Walking a few days ago between an English and a Frenchman into the fuburbs of the city, we were overtaken by a heavy fhower of rain. I was unprepared; but they had each large coats, which defended them from what feemed to be a perfect inundation. The Englishman feeing me fhrink from the weather, accofted me thus: "Pfha, man, what doft Shrink at? here, take this coat; I don't want it; I find it no way ufeful to me; I had as lief be without it." The Frenchman began to fhew his politeness in turn. My dear Friend," cries he, why wont you oblige me by making ufe of my coat you fee bow

66

well

well it defends me from the rain; I fhould not chufe to part with it to others, but to fuch a friend as you I could even part with my skin to do him fervice."

From fuch minute inftances as thefe, moft reverend Fum Hoam, I am fenfible your fagacity will collect inftruction. The volume of Nature is the book of knowledge; and he becomes moft wife who makes the most judicious selection. Farewell.

LETTER V.

TO THE SAME.

I HAVE already informed you of the fingular paffion of this nation for politics. An Englishman not fatisfied with finding, by his own profperity, the contending powers of Europe properly balanced, defires alfo to know the precife value of every weight in either scale. To gratify this curiofity, a leaf of political inftruction is ferved up every morning with tea: when our politician has feafted upon this, he repairs to a coffee-house, in order to ruminate upon what he has read, and encrease his collection; from thence he proceeds to the ordinary, enquires what news, and, treasuring up every acquifition there, hunts about all the evening in queft of more, and carefully adds it to the reft. Thus at night he retires home, full of the important advices of the day. When lo! awaking next morning, he finds the inftructions of yesterday a collection of abfurdity or palpable falfhood. This, one would think, a mortifying repulfe in the purfuit of wisdom; yet our politician, no way difcouraged, hunts on, in order

to

to collect fresh materials, and in order to be again disappointed.

I have often admired the commercial fpirit which prevails over Europe; have been furprised to fee them carry on a traffic with productions, that an Afiatic ftranger would deem entirely useless. It is a proverb in China, that an European fuffers not even his fpittle to be loft; the maxim, however, is not fufficiently ftrong; fince they fell even their Lies to great advantage. Every nation drives a confiderable trade in this commodity with their neigh

bours.

An English dealer in this way, for inftance, has only to afcend to his work-houfe, and manufacture a turbulent speech, averred to be spoken in the fenate; or a report supposed to be dropt at court; a piece of fcandal that ftrikes at a popular mandarine; or a fecret treaty between two neighbouring powers. When finished, these goods are baled up, and configned to a factor abroad, who fends in return two battles, three fieges, and a fhrewd letter filled with dafhes blanks and ftars **** of

great importance.

Thus you perceive, that a fingle gazette is the joint manufacture of Europe; and he who would peruse it with a philofophical eye might perceive in every paragraph fomething characteristick of the nation to which it belongs. A map does not exhibit a more diftinct view of the boundaries and fituation of every country, than its news does a picture of the genius and the morals of its inhabitants. The fuperftition and erroneous delicacy of Italy, the formality of Spain, the cruelty of Portugal, the fears of Auftria, the confidence of Pruffia, the levity of France, the avarice of Holland, the pride of England, the abfurdity of Ireland, and the national partiality of Scotland, are all confpicuous in every page.

But,