E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
([http://www.pgdp.net])
from page images generously made available by
Internet Archive
([https://archive.org])

A
VIEW
OF
SOCIETY and MANNERS
IN
FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, AND GERMANY:

WITH
ANECDOTES relating to some EMINENT CHARACTERS.

BY JOHN MOORE, M.D.

VOL. II.

Strenua nos exercet inertia: navibus atque

Quadrigis petimus bene vivere. Quod petis, hic est.

Hor.

The FOURTH EDITION, Corrected.

LONDON:
Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, in the Strand,
MDCCLXXXI.

CONTENTS
OF THE
SECOND VOLUME.

A
VIEW
OF
SOCIETY and MANNERS
IN
France, Switzerland, and Germany.

LETTER L.

Frankfort.

DEAR SIR,

Since my return from Darmstadt, the weather has been so very bad, that I have passed the time mostly at home. That I may obey your injunctions to write regularly at the stated periods, I will send you the substance of a conversation I had within these few days with a foreigner, a man of letters, with whom I am in a considerable degree of intimacy.

This gentleman has never been in England, but he speaks the language a little, understands it very well, and has studied many of our best Authors. He said, that he had found in some English books, a solidity of reasoning, and a strength of expression, superior to any thing he had met with elsewhere;—that the English history furnished examples of patriotism and zeal for civil liberty, equal to what was recorded in the Greek or Roman story;—that English poetry displayed a sublimity of thought, and a knowledge of the human heart, which no writings, ancient or modern, could surpass; and in philosophy it was pretty generally allowed, that the English nation had no rival.—He then mentioned the improvements made by Englishmen in medicine and other arts, their superiority in navigation, commerce, and manufactures; and even hinted something in praise of a few English statesmen. He concluded his panegyric by saying, that these considerations had given him the highest idea of the English nation, and had led him to cultivate the acquaintance of many Englishmen whom he had occasionally met on their travels. But he frankly acknowledged, that his connection with these had not contributed to support the idea he had formed of their nation.

As I had heard sentiments of the same kind insinuated by others, I replied at some length, observing, that if he had lived in the most brilliant period of Roman grandeur, and had accidentally met with a few Romans in Greece or Asia, and had formed his opinion of that illustrious commonwealth from the conduct and conversation of these travellers, his ideas would, in all probability, have been very different from those which the writings of Livy, Cæsar, Cicero, and Virgil, had given him of the Roman people:—That the manners and behaviour of the few English he might have met abroad, so far from giving him a just view of the character of the whole nation, very possibly had led him to false conclusions with regard to the character of those very individuals. For that I myself had known many young Englishmen who, after having led a dissipated, insignificant kind of life while on their travels, and while the natural objects of their ambition were at a distance, had changed their conduct entirely upon their return, applied to business as eagerly as they had formerly launched into extravagance, and had at length become very useful members of the community.

But, continued I, throwing this consideration out of the question, the real character of a people can only be discovered by living among them on a familiar footing, and for a considerable time. This is necessary before we can form a just idea of any nation; but perhaps more so with respect to the English, than any other: for in no nation are the education, sentiments, and pursuits of those who travel, so different from those of the people who remain at home.

The first class is composed of a few invalids, a great many young men raw from the university, and some idle men of fortune, void of ambition, and incapable of application, who, every now and then, saunter through Europe, because they know not how to employ their time at home.

The second class is made up of younger brothers, who are bred to the army, navy, the law, and other professions;—all who follow commerce, are employed in manufactures, or farming;—and, in one word, all who, not being born to independent fortunes, endeavour to remedy that inconveniency by industry, and the cultivation of their talents.

England is the only country in Europe whose inhabitants never leave it in search of fortune. There are, moderately speaking, twenty Frenchmen in London for every Englishman at Paris. By far the greater part of those Frenchmen travel to get money, and almost all the English to spend it. But we should certainly be led into great errors, by forming an idea of the character of the French nation from that of the French fiddlers, dancing-masters, dentists, and valet-de-chambres to be met with in England, or other parts of Europe.

The gentleman acknowledged, that it would be unfair to decide on the French character from that of their fiddlers and dancing-masters; but added, that he did not perceive that the English could reasonably complain, should foreigners form an opinion of their national character from the men of fortune, rank, and the most liberal education of their island.

I answered, they certainly would, because young men of high rank and great fortune carry a set of ideas along with them from their infancy, which very often disappoint the purposes of the best education.—— Let a child of high rank be brought up with all the care and attention the most judicious parents and matters can give;—let him be told, that personal qualities alone can make him truly respectable;—that the fortuitous circumstances of birth and fortune afford no just foundation for esteem;—that knowledge and virtue are the true sources of honour and happiness;—that idleness produces vice and misery;—that without application he cannot acquire knowledge;—and that without knowledge he will dwindle into insignificance, in spite of rank and fortune:—— Let these things be inculcated with all the power of persuasion; let them be illustrated by example, and insinuated by fable and allegory;—yet, do we not daily see the effect of all this counteracted by the insinuations of servants and base sycophants, who give an importance to far different qualities, and preach a much more agreeable doctrine?——

They make eternal allusions in all their discourse and behaviour to the great estate the young spark is one day to have, and the great man he must be, independent of any effort of his own. They plainly insinuate, if they do not directly say it, that study and application, tho’ proper enough for hospital boys, is unnecessary, or perhaps unbecoming a man of fashion. They talk with rapture of the hounds, hunters, and race-horses of one great man; of the rich liveries and brilliant equipage of another; and how much both are loved and admired for their liberality to their servants. They tell their young master, that his rank and estate entitle him to have finer hounds, horses, liveries and equipage than either, and to be more liberal to his servants; and consequently a greater man in every respect. This kind of poison, being often poured upon the young sprouts of fortune and quality, gradually blasts the vigour of the plants, and renders all care and cultivation ineffectual.

If we suppose that domestics of another character could be placed about a boy of high rank, and every measure taken to inspire him with other sentiments; he cannot stir abroad, he cannot go into company without perceiving his own importance, and the attention that is paid to him. His childish pranks are called spirited actions; his pert speeches are converted into bon mots; and when reproved or punished by his parent or master, ten to one but some obsequious intermeddler will tell him that he has suffered great injustice.

The youth, improving all this to the purposes of indolence and vanity, arrives at length at the comfortable persuasion, that study or application of any kind would in him be superfluous;—that he ought only to seek amusement, for at the blessed age of twenty-one, distinction, deference, admiration, and all other good things will be added unto him.

A young man, on the other hand, who is born to no such expectations, has no sycophants around him to pervert his understanding;—when he behaves improperly, he instantly sees the marks of disapprobation on every countenance:—He daily meets with people who inform him of his faults without ceremony or circumlocution.—He perceives that nobody cares for his bad humour or caprice, and very naturally concludes that he had best correct his temper.—He finds that he is apt to be neglected in company, and that the only remedy for this inconveniency will be the rendering himself agreeable.—He loves affluence, distinction, and admiration, as well as the rich and great; but becomes fully convinced that he can never obtain even the shadow of them, otherwise than by useful and ornamental acquirements. The truth of those precepts, which is proved by rhetoric and syllogism to the boy of fortune, is experimentally felt by him who has no fortune; and the difference which this makes, is infinite.

So that the son of a gentleman of moderate fortune has a probability of knowing more of the world at the age of sixteen, and of having a juster notion of people’s sentiments of him, than a youth of very high rank at a much more advanced age; for it is very difficult for any person to find out that he is despised while he continues to be flattered.

So far, therefore, from being surprised that dissipation, weakness and ignorance, are so prevalent among those who are born to great fortunes and high rank, we ought to be astonished to see so great a number of men of virtue, diligence and genius among them as there is. And if the number be proportionably greater in England than in any other country, which I believe is the case, this must proceed from the impartial discipline of our public schools; and the equitable treatment which boys of the greatest rank receive from their comrades. Sometimes the natural, manly sentiments they acquire from their school companions, serve as an antidote against the childish, sophistical notions with which weak or designing men endeavour to inspire them in after-life.

The nature of the British constitution contributes also to form a greater number of men of talents among the wealthy and the great, than are to be found in other countries; because it opens a wider field for ambition than any other government;—and ambition excites those exertions which produce talents.

But, continued I, you must acknowledge that it would be improper to form a judgment of the English genius, by samples taken from men who have greater temptations to indolence, and fewer spurs to application than others.

My disputant still contested the point, and asserted that high birth gave a native dignity and elevation to the mind;—that distinctions and honours were originally introduced into families by eminent abilities and great virtues;—that when a man of illustrious birth came into a company, or even when his name was mentioned, this naturally raised a recollection of the great actions and shining qualities of the eminent person who had first acquired those honours;—that a consciousness of this must naturally stimulate the present possessor to imitate the virtues of his ancestors;—that his degenerating would subject him to the highest degree of censure, as the world could not, without indignation, behold indolence and vice adorned with the rewards of activity and virtue.

I might have disputed this assertion, that honours and titles are always the rewards of virtue; and could have produced abundance of instances of the opposite proposition. But I allowed that they often were so, and that hereditary honours in a family always ought to have, and sometimes had, the effect which he supposed: but these concessions being made in their fullest extent, still he would do injustice to the English, by forming a judgment of their national character from what he had observed of the temper, manners, and genius of those Englishmen with whom he had been acquainted in foreign countries; because three-fourths of them were, in all probability, men of fortune, without having family or high birth to boast of; so that they had the greatest inducements to indolence, without possessing the motives to virtuous exertions, which influence people of high rank.—For, though it rarely happened in other countries, it was very common in England for men of all the various professions and trades to accumulate very great fortunes, which, at their death, falling to their sons, these young men, without having had a suitable education, immediately set up for gentlemen, and run over Europe in the characters of Milords Anglois, game, purchase pictures, mutilated statues and mistresses, to the astonishment of all beholders: And, conscious of the blot in their escutcheon, they think it is incumbent on them to wash it out, and make up for the impurity of their blood, by plunging deeper into the ocean of extravagance than is necessary for a man of hereditary fashion.

Here our conversation ended, and the gentleman promised that he would abide by the idea he had formed of the English nation from the works of Milton, Locke and Newton, and the characters of Raleigh, Hambden, and Sidney.

LETTER LI.

Frankfort.

Among the remarkable things in Frankfort the inns may be reckoned. Two in particular, the Emperor and the Red House, for cleanliness, conveniency, and number of apartments, are superior to any I ever saw on the continent, and vie with our most magnificent inns in England.

At these, as at all other inns in Germany and Switzerland, there is an ordinary, at which the strangers may dine and sup. This is called the Table d’Hôte, from the circumstance of the landlord’s sitting at the bottom of the table and carving the victuals. The same name for an ordinary is still retained in France, tho’ the landlord does not sit at the table, which was the case formerly in that country, and still is the custom in Germany.

There are no private lodgings to be had here as in London, nor any hôtels garnis as in Paris. Strangers therefore retain apartments at the inn during the whole time of their residence in any of the towns. And travellers of every denomination in this country under the rank of sovereign princes, make no scruple of eating occasionally at the table d’Hôte of the inn where they lodge, which custom is universally followed by strangers from every country on the continent of Europe.

Many of our countrymen, however, who despise œconomy, and hate the company of strangers, prefer eating in their own apartments to the table d’Hôte, or any private table to which they may be invited.

It would be arrogance in any body to dispute the right which every free-born Englishman has to follow his own inclination in this particular: Yet when people wish to avoid the company of strangers, it strikes me, that they might indulge their fancy as completely at home as abroad; and while they continue in that humour, I cannot help thinking that they might save themselves the inconveniency and expence of travelling.

The manners and genius of nations, it is true, are not to be learnt at inns; nor is the most select company to be found at public ordinaries; yet a person of observation, and who is fond of the study of character, will sometimes find instruction and entertainment at both. He there sees the inhabitants of the country on a less ceremonious footing than he can elsewhere, and hears the remarks of travellers of every degree.

The first care of a traveller certainly should be, to form an acquaintance and some degree of intimacy with the principal people in every place where he intends to reside;—to accept invitations to their family parties, and attend their societies;—to entertain them at his apartments, when that can be conveniently done, and endeavour to acquire a just notion of their government, customs, sentiments, and manner of living.—Those who are fond of the study of man, which, with all due deference to the philosophers who prefer that of beasts, birds and butterflies, is also a pardonable amusement, will mix occasionally with all degrees of people, and, when not otherwise engaged, will not scruple to take a seat at the table d’Hôte.

It is said that low people are sometimes to be found at these ordinaries. This to be sure is a weighty objection; but then it should be remembered, that it is within the bounds of possibility that men even engaged in commerce, may have liberal minds, and may be able to give as distinct accounts of what is worthy of observation, as if they had been as idle as people of the highest fashion through the whole of their lives. A man must have a very turgid idea of his own grandeur, if he cannot submit, in a foreign country, to dine at table with a person of inferior rank; especially as he will meet, at the same time, with others of equal, or superior rank to himself: For all etiquette of this nature is waved even in Germany at the tables d’Hôtes.

A knowledge of the characters of men, as they appear varied in different situations and countries;—the study of human nature indeed in all its forms and modifications, is highly interesting to the mind, and worthy the attention of the greatest man. This is not to be perfectly attained in courts and palaces. The investigator of nature must visit her in humbler life, and put himself on a level with the men whom he wishes to know.

It is generally found, that those who possess real greatness of mind, never hesitate to overleap the obstacles, and despise the forms, which may stand in the way of their acquiring this useful knowledge.

The most powerful of all arguments against entirely declining to appear at the public table of the inn, is, that in this country it is customary for the ladies themselves, when on a journey, to eat there; and my partiality for the table d’Hôte may possibly be owing in some degree to my having met, at one of them, with two of the handsomest women that I have seen since I have been in this country, which abounds in female beauty.

There is more expression in the countenances of French women, but the ladies in Germany have the advantage in the fairness of their skin and the bloom of their complexion. They have a greater resemblance to English women than to French; yet they differ considerably from them both.—I do not know how to give an idea of the various shades of expression, which, if I mistake not, I can distinguish in the features of the sex in these three countries.

A handsome French woman, besides the ease of her manner, has commonly a look of cheerfulness and great vivacity.—She appears willing to be acquainted with you, and seems to expect that you should address her.

The manner of an English woman is not so devoid of restraint; and a stranger, especially if he be a foreigner, may observe a look which borders on disdain in her countenance. Even among the loveliest features, something of a sulky air often appears. While their beauty allures, this in some degree checks that freedom of address which you might use to the Frenchwoman, and interests your vanity more, by giving the idea of the difficulties you have to conquer.

A German beauty, without the smart air of the one, or the reserve of the other, has generally a more placid look than either.

LETTER LII.

Frankfort.

Several individuals here are fond of distinguishing themselves by their passion for the fine arts, and strangers are informed, that it is well worth while to visit certain private collections of paintings which are to be seen at Frankfort.

You know I am no connoisseur; and if I were, should not take up your time in describing them, or giving a criticism on their subject. For though I have seen them, you have not; and nothing, in my opinion, can be more unintelligible and tiresome to the Reader, than criticisms on paintings which he has not seen. I shall only observe, that as all these collections have acquired the esteem and approbation of the proprietors, which I presume was the chief end of their creation, they are certainly intitled to respect from every unconcerned spectator.—— One of them in particular must be very valuable, on account of the prodigious sum of money which the present possessor was offered for it, and which he refused as inadequate to its worth; though the sum offered would have at once made the gentleman easy in his circumstances, which, I am sorry to say, is far from being the case. This anecdote cannot be doubted, for I had it from his own mouth.

It is still more the fashion here to form cabinets of natural curiosities. Besides the repositories of this kind, which are to be seen at the courts of the princes, many individuals all over Germany have Museums in their houses, and strangers cannot pay their court better, than by requesting permission to see them. This would be an easy piece of politeness, if the stranger were allowed to take a view, and walk away when he thought proper. But the misfortune is, that the proprietor attends on these occasions, and gives the history of every piece of ore, petrifaction, fossil-wood, and monster that is in the collection. And as this lecture is given gratis, he assumes the right of making it as long as he pleases: so that requesting a sight of a private collection of natural curiosities, is a more serious matter than people are aware of.

The D—— of H—— has brought himself into a scrape, out of which I imagine it will be difficult to extricate him. Being unacquainted with the trouble which these gentlemen give themselves on such occasions, he has expressed an inclination to three or four virtuosi to see their cabinets. I attended him on his first visitation yesterday. The gentleman made an unusual exertion to please his Grace. He said, being fully convinced of his taste for natural philosophy, in which people of his high rank were never deficient, he would therefore take pleasure to explain every particular in the collection with the greatest deliberation. He had kept himself disengaged the whole forenoon on purpose, and had given orders not to be interrupted. He then descanted on each particular in the collection, with such minuteness and perseverance, as completely satiated His Grace’s curiosity, and gave him such a knowledge of earths, crystals, agates, pyrites, marcasites, petrifactions, metals, semi-metals, &c. &c. as will, I dare swear, serve him for the rest of his life.

Cassel.

I began this letter at Frankfort, not suspecting that our departure would be so sudden. But as the day approached on which we had been promised the sight of another cabinet of curiosities, I found the D——’s impatience to be gone increase every moment. So sending our apology to the proprietors of two or three which he had asked permission to visit, we passed one day with Madame de Barkhause’s family, and another with Mr. Gogle’s, and then bidding a hasty adieu to our other acquaintances at Frankfort, we set out for this place. We slept the first night at Marburg, and on the second, about midnight, arrived at Cassel.

As the ground is quite covered with snow, the roads bad, and the posts long, we were obliged to take six horses for each chaise, which, after all, in some places moved no faster than a couple of hearses. The D—— bore this with wonderful serenity, contemplating the happy evasion he had made from the cabinets at Frankfort. A slave who had escaped from the mines could not have shown greater satisfaction. His good humour remained proof against all the phlegm and obstinacy of the German postillions, of which one who has not travelled in the extremity of the winter, and when the roads are covered with snow, through this country, can form no idea.

The contrast of character between the French and Germans is strongly illustrated in the behaviour of the postillions of the two countries.

A French postillion is generally either laughing, or fretting, or singing, or swearing, all the time he is on the road. If a hill or a bad road oblige him to go slow, he will of a sudden fall a cracking his whip above his head for a quarter of an hour together, without rhyme or reason; for he knows the horses cannot go a bit faster, and he does not intend they should. All this noise and emotion, therefore, means nothing; and proceeds entirely from that abhorrence of quiet which every Frenchman sucks in with his mother’s milk.

A German postillion, on the contrary, drives four horses with all possible tranquillity. He neither sings, nor frets, nor laughs: he only smokes;—and when he comes near a narrow defile, he sounds his trumpet to prevent any carriage from entering at the other end till he has got through. If you call to him to go faster, he turns about, looks you in the face, takes his pipe from his mouth, and says, Yaw, Mynher;—yaw, yaw; and then proceeds exactly in the same pace as before. He is no way affected whether the road be good or bad; whether it rains, or shines, or snows:—And he seems to be totally regardless of the people whom he drives, and equally callous to their reproach or applause. He has one object of which he never loses sight, which is, to conduct your chaise and the contents from one post to another, in the manner he thinks best for himself and the horses. And unless his pipe goes out (in which case he strikes his flint and rekindles it), he seems not to have another idea during the whole journey.

Your best course is to let him take his own way at first, for it will come to that at last.—All your noise and bluster are vain.

Non vultus instantis tyranni

Mente quatit solida, neque Auster

Dux inquieti turbidus Adriæ,

Nec fulminantis magna Jovis manus.

LETTER LIII.

Cassel.

The attention and civilities which are paid to the D—— of H—— by this court, have induced us to remain longer than we intended at our arrival.

As you seem curious to know how we pass our time, and the style of living here, I shall give you a sketch of one day, which, with little variation, may give you an idea of all the rest.

We generally employ the morning and forenoon in study. We go to the palace about half an hour before dinner is served, where we find all the officers who have been invited, assembled in a large room. The Landgrave soon appears, and continues conversing with the company till his consort arrives with the princess Charlotte, and such ladies as they have thought proper to invite.

The company then walk to the dining parlour, where there are about thirty covers every day, and the same number in a room adjoining. The doors being left open between these apartments, the whole forms in a manner but one company. The strangers, and such officers as are not under the rank of colonel, dine at their Highnesses table.

The repast continues about two hours, during which the conversation is carried on with some little appearance of constraint, and rather in a low voice, except when either of their Highnesses speaks to any person seated at a little distance.

After dinner the company returns to the room where they first assembled. In this they remain till the Landgrave retires, which he usually does within about a quarter of an hour. Soon after the company separates till seven in the evening, when they again assemble.

The Landgrave plays constantly at Cavaniolle, a kind of lottery, where no address or attention is requisite, and which needs hardly interrupt conversation. It requires about a dozen players to make his party.

The Landgravine plays at Quadrille, and chooses her own party every night.—Other card-tables are set in the adjoining rooms, for the conveniency of any who choose to play. The gaming continues about a couple of hours. The Landgrave then salutes her Highness on both cheeks, and retires to his own apartments, while she and the rest of the company go to supper. At this repast there is less formality, and of consequence more ease and gaiety, than at dinner.

When her Highness rises from table, most part of the company attend her up stairs to a spacious anti-chamber, where she remains conversing a few minutes, and then retires.

These general forms are sometimes varied by a concert in the Landgrave’s apartments. There are also certain days of Gala, which are only distinguished by the company’s being more numerous, and better dressed, than usual: two circumstances which do not add a vast deal to the pleasure of the entertainment.

During the Carnival, there were two or three masquerades. On these occasions the court assemble about six in the evening, the men being all in Dominos, and the ladies in their usual dress, or with the addition of a few fanciful ornaments, according to the particular taste of each.

They amuse themselves with cards and conversation till the hour of supper. During this interval, a gentleman of the court carries a parcel of tickets in his hat, equal to the number of men in company. These are presented to the ladies, each of whom draws one. Tickets in the same manner are presented to the men, who take one a-piece, which they keep till the card-playing is finished.

The officer then calls number One, upon which the couple who are possessed of that number come forward, and the gentleman leads the lady into the supper-room, sits by her, and is her partner for the rest of the evening. In the same manner every other Number is called.

After supper, all the company put on their masks. Her Highness is led into the masquerade room. The rest follow, each lady being handed by her partner. The Landgravine and her partner walk to the upper end of the room.—The next couple stop at a small distance below them;—the third, next to the second, and so on till this double file reaches from the top to the bottom of the hall. If there are any supernumeraries, they must retire to the sides.—From this arrangement you expect a country dance:—a minuet however is intended—the music begins, and all the maskers on the floor, consisting of twenty or thirty couple, walk a minuet together. This, which is rather a confused affair, being over, every body sits down, the Landgravine excepted, who generally dances nine or ten minuets successively with as many different gentlemen. She then takes her seat till the rest of the company have danced minuets, which being over, the cotillons and country-dances begin, and continue till four or five in the morning.

Her Highness is a very beautiful woman, graceful in her person, and of a gay and sprightly character. She is in danger of growing corpulent, an inconveniency not uncommon in Germany, but which she endeavours to retard by using a great deal of exercise.

Besides the company who sup at court, the rooms were generally crowded with masks from the town, some of whom are in fancy-dresses, and keep themselves concealed all the time. And although those who came from the court are known when they enter the masquerade rooms, many of them slip out afterwards, change their dress, and return to amuse themselves, by teasing their friends in their assumed characters, as is usual at masquerades.

The country-dances are composed of all persons promiscuously, who incline to join in them.—Two women of pleasure, who had come to pass the Carnival at Cassel in the exercise of their profession, and were well known to many of the officers, danced every masquerade night in the country-dance, which her Highness led down; for the mask annihilates ceremony, puts every body on a footing, and not unfrequently, while it conceals the face most effectually, serves so much the more to discover the real character and inclinations of the wearer.

LETTER LIV.

Cassel.

Next to the Electors of the Empire, the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel is one of the greatest Princes in Germany; and even of those, the electors of Bohemia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Hanover, only are richer and more powerful than he. His country is in general hilly, with a great deal of wood, but interspersed with fertile vallies and corn-fields. The large subsidies this court received from Britain during the two last wars, with what is given in the time of peace, by way of retaining fee, have greatly contributed to the present flourishing state of its finances.

The reigning Prince forsook the Protestant faith about twenty years ago, and made a public profession of the Roman Catholic religion, in the lifetime of the late Landgrave, his father. This gave great uneasiness to the old Prince, and alarmed his subjects, who are all Protestants.

The states of the Landgraviate were assembled on this important occasion, and such measures taken as were judged necessary to maintain the religion and constitution of the country, against any future attempt to subvert them. The Hereditary Prince was excluded from all share in the education of his sons, who were put under the tuition of the Princess Mary of Great Britain, his first wife, living at that time separate from her husband. The eldest son, upon his father’s accession to the Landgraviate, was put in possession of the county of Hanau; so that the inhabitants have felt no inconveniency from the change of their Prince’s religion. And as he himself has reaped no earthly advantage, either in point of honour or profit, by his conversion, it is presumable, that his Highness’s hopes are now limited to the rewards which may await him in another world.

This Prince keeps on foot 16000, men in time of peace, disciplined according to the Prussian plan, the Landgrave himself having the rank of Field Marshal in the Prussian army. The Prince is fond of exercising them; but not having a house on purpose, as the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt has, he takes that amusement when, the weather is very bad in the dining-room of his palace, where I have frequently seen two or three hundred of the first battalion of guards perform their manœuvres with all possible dexterity.

The Prince of Saxe-Gotha, brother to the late Princess of Wales, has a regiment in the Landgrave’s service, and resides at Cassel.

The person who has the chief management in military affairs, is General Scliven, a man of an exceeding just and accurate understanding, which he has finely cultivated by reading and reflection.

I have the happiness to be intimately acquainted with many other officers in this service.—An open manner, and undesigning civility, distinguish the German character; qualities which naturally banish reserve, and inspire confidence. And what makes the conversation of these gentlemen still more agreeable and interesting to me, is the justice they seem fond of rendering to the bravery of the British troops with whom they served. They always mention the names of Granby, Waldgrave, and Kingsley, with the highest encomiums, and speak with affectionate regard of some officers with whom they were more intimately acquainted, particularly Mr. Keith, now at Vienna, and Colonel John Maxwell, whom they applaud as one of the bravest and most active officers that served in the allied army; and seem fond of mentioning instances of the amazing intrepidity of the British grenadiers whom he commanded.

Besides those actually in the Landgrave’s service, there are some other persons of note who reside at Cassel. I sometimes pass an afternoon with old General Zastrow, who had the command of the garrison of Schweidnitz, when it was surprised by the Austrian general Laudohn.

If you recollect, that important place had been taken from the Prussians in the year 1757, by Count Nadasti. It was blockaded by the King of Prussia in the winter of that same year, and surrendered to him in spring 1758, after one half of the garrison had fallen in defending the place. In the year 1761, Laudohn retook it almost in sight of the Prussian monarchy by the most brilliant coup-de-main that perhaps ever was struck.

The King’s army and Laudohn’s were both in the neighbourhood of Schweidnitz. The latter could not attempt a regular siege, while he was watched by such an enterprising enemy. But observing that the King had moved at a greater distance than usual from the town, and knowing that more than one half of the garrison had been drafted, he resolved on an enterprise as bold as it was sagacious. One morning early this vigilant commander, taking the advantage of a thick fog, marched his army to the town, of Schweidnitz in four divisions. Scaling-ladders were applied to the ramparts, and some of the Austrians had actually entered the town, before they were observed by the centinels.

The garrison, being at last roused, attacked the assailants in a furious manner.—The confusion was increased by the blowing up of a powder magazine, which destroyed great numbers on both sides. The Governor was taken prisoner, fighting sword in hand on the ramparts, and the town surrendered.

This exploit established the reputation of Laudohn, while poor Zastrow, according to the usual fate of the unfortunate, became a prey to the calumny of the unfeeling and ungenerous. He demanded a trial by a court martial.—The King said there was no occasion for that, as he did not accuse him of any crime.—But he did not judge it expedient to employ him in any command after this misfortune.

I have heard the old man relate all the particulars of that affair, and the account he gave has been confirmed to me by officers well informed, and unconnected with him.

A company of French comedians are lately arrived here, which forms a new resource for the court. They remain six weeks, or two months. The Landgrave pays them a stipulated sum for acting twice a week during that time; and they have scarcely any emolument beside; for the inhabitants of Cassel, who are Calvinists, shew no great passion for dramatic entertainments.

The playhouse is neat, though small. The front gallery, with a convenient room behind, is appropriated to the court. When the Prince or Princess stands up, whether between the acts, or in the time of the representation, all the audience, pit, box, and gallery, immediately arise; and remain in a standing posture till their sovereign sit down.

Since the arrival of these players, the court has been uncommonly brilliant, and the Gala days more frequent. Yesterday was a very splendid one. I then observed in the drawing-room, two persons, neither of whom is a Hessian, saluting each other with great politeness and apparent regard. A little after, one of them touched my shoulder, and, pointing to the other, whispered in my ear,—Prenez garde, Monsieur, de cet homme; c’est un grand coquin.

The other within a few minutes came to me, saying, Croyez vous, Monsieur, que vous puissiez reconnoitre un fou si je vous le montrois?—Le voilà, added he, showing the person who had whispered me before.

I have been since told, by those who know both, that each had hit exactly upon the other’s character.

This little trait I have mentioned merely on account of its singularity, and to show you how very different the manners of this court, and the sentiments of the courtiers here with regard to each other, are from those at St. James’s.

LETTER LV.

Cassel.

The city of Cassel is situated on the river Fulda. It consists of an old and new town. The former is the largest and most irregular. The new town is well built; and there, as you may believe, the nobility and officers of the court have their houses. The streets are beautiful, but not over-crowded with inhabitants.

Besides the large chateau in the town of Cassel, which is the Landgrave’s winter residence, he has several villas and castles in different parts of his dominions. Immediately without the town, there is a very beautiful building, in which he dwells for the most part of the summer The apartments there are neat and commodious, some of them adorned with antique statues of considerable value.

None of the rooms are spacious enough to admit of exercising any considerable number of the troops within their walls; but his Highness sometimes indulges in this favourite recreation on the top of this villa, which has a flat roof, most convenient for that purpose.

Around this are some noble parks and gardens, with a very complete orangery. There is also a menagerie, with a considerable collection of curious animals. I saw there a very fine lioness, which has lately lost her husband—an elephant—three camels in fine condition, one of them milk-white, the other two grey, and much taller than the elephant;—an African deer, a fierce and lively animal, with a skin beautifully spotted;—a very tall rain-deer—several leopards—a bear, and a great variety of monkies.—The collection of birds is still more complete, a great many of which are from the East Indies.

In the academy of arts, which is situated in the new town, are some valuable antiques, and other curiosities, among which is a St. John in Mosaic, done after a picture of Raphaël’s, with the following inscription below it:

IMAGINEM S. JOHANNES
EX ITALIA ADVENAM
IN RARUM RARÆ INDUSTRIÆ HUMANÆ MONUMENTUM
HANC COLLOCARI JUSSIT
FREDERICUS II. HASSIÆ LANDGR.
A. M. D. CCLXV.

But this art of copying paintings in Mosaic work, I understand has of late been brought to a much greater degree of perfection at Rome.

In the vestibule is placed the trunk of a laurel tree, with this inscription on the wall behind it.

QUÆ
PER OCTO PRINCIPUM CATTORUM ÆTATIS
IN AMÆNIS INCLYTI CASSEL.
VIRIDARII SPATIAM FLORUIT
LAURUS
ALT. CIRCITER LIV. LAT. IV. PED. RHENAN.
AD TEMPORA HEROUM
SERENISS. DOMUS HASSIÆ
CORONIS CINGENDA,
SENIO, SED NON IMPROLIS, EMORTUA EST
NE VERO TOTA PERIRET
ARBOR APOLLINI SACRA
TRUNCUM IN MUSEO SERVARI JUSSIT
FREDERICUS II. H. L.
A. M. D. CCLXIII.

They also show a sword, which was consecrated by the Pope, and sent to one of the Princes of this family at his setting out on an expedition to the Holy Land. What havoc this sacred weapon made among the infidels I cannot say.—It has a very venerable appearance for a sword, and yet seems little the worse for wear.

Near the old chateau, and a little to one side, is a colonade of small pillars lately built, and intended as an ornament to the ancient castle, though in a very different style of architecture. The slimness of their form appears the more remarkable on account of their vicinity to this Gothic structure.

Some time since, a mountebank came to Cassel, who, besides many other wonderful feats, pretended that he could swallow and digest stones. A Hessian officer walking before the chateau with an English gentleman, who then happened to be at Cassel, asked him, What he thought of the fine new colonade?—It is very fine indeed, replied the stranger; but if you wish it to be durable, you ought to take care not to allow the mountebank to walk this way before breakfast.

Nothing in the country of Hesse is more worthy the admiration of travellers, than the Gothic temple and cascade at Wasenstein. There was originally at this place an old building, which was used by the Princes of this family as a kind of hunting-house. It is situated near the bottom of a high mountain, and has been enlarged and improved at different times. But the present Landgrave’s grandfather, who was a Prince of equal taste and magnificence, formed, upon the face of the mountain opposite to this house, a series of artificial cataracts, cascades, and various kinds of water-works, in the noblest style that can be imagined.

The principal cascades are in the middle, and on each side are stairs of large black stones of a flinty texture, brought from a rock at a considerable distance. Each of these stairs consists of eight hundred steps, leading from the bottom to the summit of the mountain; and when the works are allowed to play, the water flowing over them forms two continued chains of smaller cascades. At convenient distances, as you ascend, are four platforms, with a spacious bason in each; also grottos and caves ornamented with shell-work, statues of Naiads, and sea divinities.—One grotto in particular, called the grotto of Neptune and Amphitrite, is happily imagined, and well executed.

The water rushes from the summit of this mountain in various shapes:—Sometimes in detached cascades, sometimes in large sheets like broad crystalline mirrors; at one place, it is broken by a rock consisting of huge stones, artificially placed for that purpose.—There are also fountains, which eject the water in columns of five or six inches diameter to a considerable height.

All this must have a very brilliant effect when viewed from the bottom. This sight, however, I did not enjoy; for there has been a continued frost ever since we have been at Cassel; and when I visited Wasenstein, the fields were covered with snow, which did not prevent my going to the top, though it made the ascent by the flairs exceedingly difficult.

On the highest part of the mountain, a Gothic temple is built, and upon the top of that an obelisk, which is crowned by a colossal statue of Hercules leaning on his club, in the attitude of the Farnese Hercules. This figure is of copper, and thirty feet in height. There is a staircase within the club by which a man may ascend, and have a view of the country from a window at the top.

Wasenstein, upon the whole, is infinitely the noblest work of the kind I ever saw. I have been allured, there is nothing equal to it in Europe. It has not the air of a modern work, but rather conveys the idea of Roman magnificence.

We think of leaving this within a few days for Brunswick.—I shall not close my letter till we get to Gottingen, where we may probably stay a short time.

P. S. The D. and I took our leave of the Court and our friends yesterday, and actually set out from Cassel this morning; but finding the roads entirely overflowed by the extraordinary swelling of the Fulda, we were obliged to return. A great thaw for some days past dissolving the snow and ice, has occasioned this swelling, and rendered the roads impassable.

After taking leave we could not appear again at court, but dined at one of the messes with the officers.—From this party I am just returned, and finding it uncertain when we may get to Gottingen, I send this to-night.

Adieu.

LETTER LVI.

Brunswick.

As soon as the roads were passable, we left Cassel, and arrived, not without difficulty and some risk, at Munden, a town situated in a vale, where the Fulda, being joined by another river, takes the name of the Weser.

This town seems to run some danger from inundations. The road, for a considerable way before we entered it, and the streets nearest the river, were still overflowed when we passed.

We went on the same night to Gottingen, an exceedingly neat and well-built town, situated in a beautiful country. The university founded here by George the Second has a considerable reputation. We made but a short stay at Gottingen, and arrived about a month since at Brunswick.

The D—— of H—— had been expected here for some time, and was received by this court with every mark of attention and regard. He was pressed to accept of apartments within the palace, which he thought proper to decline. We sleep every night at private lodgings, but may be said to live at court, as we constantly dine, pass the evening, and sup there, except two days in every week that we dine with the Hereditary Prince and Princess at their apartments.

The family of Brunswick Wolfenbuttle derives not greater lustre from its antiquity, from having given empresses to Germany, and from having a younger branch on the throne of Britain, than from some living characters now belonging to it.

The reigning Duke has that style of conversation, those manners and dispositions, which, in an inferior station of life, would acquire him the character of a sensible, worthy gentleman.

The Duchess is the favourite sister of the King of Prussia. She is fond of study, and particularly addicted to metaphysical inquiries, which, happily, have not shaken, but confirmed her belief in Christianity.

The military fame and public character of Duke Ferdinand are known to all Europe.—In private life, he is of a ceremonious politeness, splendid in his manner of living, attentive even to the minutiæ of his toilet, and fond of variety and magnificence in dress.

He has lived constantly at his brother’s court since the D—— of H—— came to Brunswick; but he generally passes the summer in the country.

The Hereditary Prince served under his uncle during the last war, and commanded detached parties of the army with various success. His activity, courage, and thirst of glory, were always conspicuous; but his youthful ardour has been since mellowed by time, study, and reflection; and if he should again appear in the field as a general, it is imagined that he will be as much distinguished for prudence, policy, and judgment, as he ever was for spirit and enterprize. He has at present the rank of Lieutenant-General in the King of Prussia’s service, and the command of the garrison at Halberstadt.

I say nothing of his Princess:—Her open cheerful character is well known in England, and her affection for her native country is in no degree diminished by absence.

The Prince Leopold is a very amiable young man. He seems much attached to the D—— of H——, with whom he lives on an intimate and friendly footing.

His sister, the Princess Augusta, is greatly beloved by every body, on account of her obliging temper and excellent disposition.

These illustrious persons always dine and sup together, except two days in the week, as I have already said. With them the officers of the court, and the strangers who are invited, make a company of about twenty or thirty at table.

In the evening the assembly is more numerous. There is a large table for Vingt-un, the Dutchess preferring this game, because a great number of people may be engaged in it together. The reigning Duke and Prince Ferdinand always join in this game.

The Hereditary Princess forms a Quadrille party for herself: Her husband never plays at all. The whole is intended merely for pastime, all kinds of gaming being discouraged. The Dutchess in particular always puts a very moderate stake on her cards.—A man must have very bad luck to lose above twenty pistoles in an evening; so we are in no danger from gaming while at this court.

One wing of the palace is occupied by the Hereditary Prince’s family. He has at present three sons and as many daughters, all of the fair complexion, which distinguishes every branch of the Brunswick line.

A few days ago, I accompanied Prince Leopold and the D—— of H—— on a visit to Duke Ferdinand, who was then at his house in the country, about six miles from this place. In that retreat he passes the greatest part of his time. He is fond of gardening, and is now employed in laying out and dressing the ground, in what is called the English taste.

His Serene Highness conducted the D—— round all his park, and shewed him his plans and improvements. The greatest obstacle to the completely beautifying this place, arises from the surface of the country being a dead flat, and incapable of great variety.

The house is surrounded by a Fossé, and contains a great number of apartments. The walls of every room are hung with prints, from the roof to within two feet of the floor. Perhaps there is not so complete a collection of framed ones in any private house or palace in the world. While Prince Ferdinand played at Billiards with the D—— of H——, I continued with Prince Leopold examining these prints, and could scarcely recollect a good one that I did not find here.

His Highness said it was equally difficult and expensive to have a collection of good paintings, and nothing could be more paltry than a bad one: he had therefore taken the resolution to adorn his house with what he certainly could have good of its kind; and next to fine pictures, he thought fine prints the most amusing of all ornaments. But, added he, with a smile, every tolerable room is now perfectly covered, and I have lately received a reinforcement of prints from England, which will oblige me to build new apartments to place them in, puisque je suis toujours accoutumé à donner un poste honorable aux Anglois.

The company had been invited to breakfast; but the repast was a very magnificent dinner, served a little earlier than usual. There was only six persons at table; but the number of attendants might without difficulty have served a company of thirty. The Prince, who is always in the utmost degree polite, was on this occasion remarkably affable and gay. He called toasts after the English custom, and began himself by naming General Conway; he afterwards gave Sir H. Clinton, and continued to toast some British officer as often as it came to his turn.—You may believe it afforded me satisfaction to have had an opportunity of observing a little of the private life of a person who has acted so conspicuous a part on the theatre of Europe.

As he has not returned to the Prussian service, and seems to enjoy rural amusements, and the conversation of a few friends, it is thought he will not again take a part in public affairs, but for the rest of his life repose, in this retreat, on the laurels he gathered in such abundance during the last war.

LETTER LVII.

Brunswick.

The town of Brunswick is situated in a plain, on the banks of the Ocker. The houses in general are old, but many new buildings have been erected of late, and the city acquires fresh beauty every day.

Fortifications have been the cause of much calamity to many towns in Germany, having served not to defend them, but rather to attract the vengeance of enemies. For this reason, Cassel, and some other towns, which were formerly fortified, are now dismantled. But the fortifications at Brunswick were of great utility last war, and on one occasion they saved the town from being pillaged, and afforded Prince Frederick, who is now in the Prussian service, an opportunity of performing an action, which, I imagine, gave him more joy than twenty victories. This happened in the year 1761, soon after the battle of Kirch Denkern, when Duke Ferdinand protected Hanover, not by conducting his army into that country, and defending it directly, as the enemy seemed to expert, and probably wished; but by diversion, attacking with strong detachments, commanded by the Hereditary Prince, their magazines in Hesse, and thus drawing their attention from Hanover to that quarter.

While the Duke lay encamped at Willhemsthall, watching the motions of Broglio’s army, the Marechal being greatly superior in numbers, sent a body of 20,000 men under Prince Xavier of Saxony, who took possession of Wolfenbuttle, and soon after invested Brunswick.

Prince Ferdinand, anxious to save his native city, ventured to detach 5000 of his army, small as it was, under his nephew, Frederick, assisted by General Luckener, with orders to harass the enemy, and endeavour to raise the siege. The young Prince, while on his march, sent a soldier with a letter to the Governor, which was wrapped round a bullet, and which the soldier was to swallow in case of his being taken by the enemy.—He had the good fortune to get safe into the town.—The letter apprised the commander of the garrison of the Prince’s approach, and particularised the night and hour when he expected to be at a certain place near the town, requiring him to favour his entrance.

In the middle of the night appointed, the Prince fell suddenly on the enemy’s cavalry, who, unsuspicious of his approach, were encamped carelessly within a mile of the town. They were immediately dispersed, and spread such an alarm among the infantry, that they also retreated with considerable loss.

Early in the morning, the young Prince entered Brunswick, amidst the acclamations of his fellow-citizens, whom he had relieved from the horrors of a siege.—The Hereditary Prince having destroyed the French magazines in Hesse, had been recalled by his uncle, and ordered to attempt the relief of Brunswick. While he was advancing with all possible speed, and had got within a few leagues of the town, he received the news of the siege being raised. On his arrival at his father’s palace, he found his brother Frederick at table, entertaining the French officers, who had been taken prisoners the preceding night.

The academy of Brunswick has been new-modelled, and the plan of education improved, by the attention, and under the patronage, of the Hereditary Prince. Students now resort to this academy from many parts of Germany; and there are generally some young gentlemen from Britain, who are sent to be educated here.

Such of them as are intended for a military life, will not find so many advantages united at any other place on the continent, as at the academy of Brunswick. They will here be under the protection of a family partial to the British nation;—every branch of science is taught by matters of known abilities;—the young students will see garrison-duty regularly performed, and may, by the interest of the Prince, obtain liberty to attend the reviews of the Prussian troops at Magdeburg and Berlin:—They will have few temptations to expence, in a town where they can see no examples of extravagance,—have few opportunities of dissipation, and none of gross debauchery.

I passed a day lately at Wolfenbuttle, which is also a fortified city, the ancient residence of this family.—The public library here is reckoned one of the most complete in Germany, and contains many curious manuscripts. They showed us some letters of Luther, and other original pieces in that reformer’s own handwriting.

Having dined with Colonel Riedesel, who commands a regiment of cavalry in this town, I returned by Saltzdahlen. This is the only palace I ever saw built almost entirely of wood. There are, nevertheless, some very magnificent apartments in it, and a great gallery of pictures, some of which are allowed by the connoisseurs to be excellent. I will not invade the province of these gentlemen, by presuming to give my opinion of the merits or defects of the pictures, though I have often heard those who are as ignorant as myself, decide upon the interesting subject of painting, in the most dogmatic manner. The terms Contour, Attitude, Casting of Draperies, Charging, Costumé, Passion, Manner, Groupe, Out-line, Chiaro Scuro, Harmony, and Repose, flowed from their tongues, with a volubility that commanded the admiration of all those who could not discover, that in the liberal use of these terms consisted all those gentlemen’s taste and knowledge of the fine arts.

Conscious of my ignorance in the mysteries of connoisseurship, I say nothing of the pictures, and presume only to give my opinion, that the gallery which contains them is a very noble room, being two hundred feet long, fifty broad, and forty high.

In this palace there is also a cabinet of china porcelain, containing, as we were told, seven or eight thousand pieces;—and in another smaller cabinet, we were shewn a collection of coarse plates, valuable only on account of their having been painted after designs of Raphaël.

The country about Brunswick is agreeable. I was particularly pleased to see some gentlemen’s seats near this town; a sight very rare in Germany, where, if you avoid towns and courts, you may travel over a great extent of country, without perceiving houses for any order of men between the Prince and the Peasant.

I spent yesterday very agreeably fourteen miles from Brunswick, at the house of Mr. de Westphalen. This gentleman attended Duke Ferdinand during the late war in the character of his private secretary; an office which he executed entirely to the satisfaction of that Prince, whose friendship and confidence he still retains.

Mr. de Westphalen has written the history of those memorable campaigns, in which his patron had the command of the allied army, and baffled all the efforts of France in Westphalia. Though this work has been finished long since, the publication has hitherto been delayed for political reasons. It is to appear however at some future period, and is said to be a masterly performance. Indeed, one would naturally suppose this from the remarkable acuteness and sagacity of the author, who was present at the scenes he describes, and knew the secret intentions of the General, whose assistance he has probably had in finishing the work.

LETTER LVIII.

Brunswick.

We have had some masquerade balls here of late.—The Court do not go in procession to these as at Cassel.—Those who chuse to attend, go separately when they find it convenient.

There is a gallery in the masquerade room for the reigning family, where they sometimes sit without masks, and amuse themselves by looking at the dancers. But in general they go masked, and mix in an easy and familiar manner with the company.

I am not surprised that the Germans, especially those of high rank, are fond of masquerades, being so much harassed with ceremony and form, and cramped by the distance which birth throws between people who may have a mutual regard for each other. I imagine they are glad to seize every opportunity of assuming the mask and domino, that they may taste the pleasures of familiar conversation and social mirth.—— In company with the D—— of H——, I once had the honour of dining at the house of a general officer. His sister did the honours of the table; and on the Duke’s expressing his surprise that he never had seen her at court, he was told she could not possibly appear there, because she was not noble. This lady, however, was visited at home by the Sovereign, and every family of distinction, all of whom regretted, that the established custom of their country deprived the court of a person whose character they valued so highly.

The General’s rank in the army was a sufficient passport for him, but was of no service to his sister; for this etiquette is observed very rigidly with respect to the natives of Germany, though it is greatly relaxed to strangers, particularly the English, who they imagine have less regard for birth and title than any other nation.

Public diversions of every kind are now over for some time, and the Court is at present very thin.—Duke Ferdinand resides in the country. The Hereditary Prince went a few days since to Halberstadt, where he will remain at least a month, to prepare the garrison, and his own regiment in particular, for the grand reviews which are soon to take place. Diligence in duty, and application to the disciplining of the forces, are indispensable in this service. Without these, not all the King’s partiality to this Prince, or his consanguinity, could secure to him his uncle’s favour for one day, personal talents and vigorous exertion being the sole means of acquiring and retaining the favour of this steady and discerning monarch.

The Hereditary Princess has left Brunswick, and is gone to Zell, and will remain during the absence of her husband with her sister the Queen of Denmark.

The young Prince, Leopold, has also left the Court. He goes directly to Vienna, and it is thought he intends to offer his services to the Emperor. If proper encouragement be given, he will go entirely into the Austrian service. In this case, he will probably, when a war happens, find himself in opposition to his two brothers; a circumstance not much regarded in Germany, where brothers go into different services, with as little hesitation as into different regiments with us.

The strictest friendship has always subsisted between this young man and his sister, who has been crying almost without intermission since he went away.

His mother bears this with more composure, yet her uneasiness is easily perceived. Independent of the absence of her son, she is distressed at the idea of his going into a service, where he may be obliged to act in opposition to her brother, for whom I find she has the greatest affection, as well as the highest admiration.

I was not surprised to hear her speak of him as the greatest man alive; but she extends her eulogium to the qualities of his heart, in which she is not joined by the opinion of all the world.—She, however, dwells particularly on this, calling him the worthiest of men, the firmest friend, and the kindest of brothers:—and as she founds her opinion on her own experience alone, she has the greatest reason to think as she does; for, by every account, the King has always behaved with high regard and undeviating tenderness to her.

The departure of Prince Leopold has revived this Princess’s affliction for the untimely fate of two of her sons. One died in the Russian camp at the end of the campaign of 1769, in which he had served with great distinction as a volunteer; the other was killed in a skirmish towards the end of the last war; having received a shot in his throat, he died of the wound fifteen days after, much regretted by the army, who had formed a high idea of the rising merit of this gallant youth.

He wrote a letter to his mother in the morning of the day on which he died. In this letter he regrets, that he should be stopped so soon in the course of honour, and laments that he had not been killed in some memorable action, which would have saved his name from oblivion, or in achieving something worthy of the martial spirit of his family. He expresses satisfaction, however, that his memory would at least be dear to some friends, and that he was certain of living in his mother’s affections while she should exist. He then declares his gratitude to her for all her care and tenderness, and concludes with these expressions, which I translate as near as I can remember—I wished the Dutchess to repeat them; but it was with difficulty, and eyes overflowing, that she pronounced them once:—“My eyes grow dim—I can see no longer—happy to have employed their last light in expressing my duty to my mother.”

LETTER LIX.

Hanover.

The D—— of H—— having determined to pay his respects to the Queen of Denmark, before he left this country, chose to make his visit while the Hereditary Princess was with her sister.

I accompanied him to Zell, and next day waited on the Count and Countess Dean, to let them know of the D——’s arrival, and to be informed when we could have the honour of being presented to the Queen. They both belong to the Princess of Brunswick’s family, and while I was at breakfast with them, her Royal Highness entered the room, and gave me the information I wanted.

Before dinner, I returned with the Duke to the castle, where we remained till late in the evening. There was a concert of music between dinner and supper, and the Queen seemed in better spirits than could have been expected.

Zell is a small town, without trade or manufactures; the houses are old, and of a mean appearance, yet the high courts of appeal for all the territories of the Electoral House of Brunswick Lunenburg are held here; the inhabitants derive their principal means of subsistence from this circumstance.

This town was severely harassed by the French army at the beginning of the late war, and was afterwards pillaged, in revenge for the supposed infraction of the treaty of Closter-Seven. The Duke de Richlieu had his head-quarters here, when Duke Ferdinand re-assembled the troops who had been disarmed, and dispersed, immediately after that convention.

The castle is a stately building, surrounded by a moat, and strongly fortified. It was formerly the residence of the Dukes of Zell, and was repaired lately by order of the King of Great Britain for the reception of his unfortunate sister. The apartments are spacious and convenient, and now handsomely furnished.

The officers of the Court, the Queen’s maids of honour, and other attendants, have a very genteel appearance, and retain the most respectful attachment to their ill-fated mistress. The few days we remained at Zell, were spent entirely at Court, where every thing seemed to be arranged in the style of the other small German courts, and nothing wanting to render the Queen’s situation as comfortable as circumstances would admit. But by far her greatest consolation is the company and conversation of her sister. Some degree of satisfaction appears in her countenance while the Princess remains at Zell; but the moment she goes away, the Queen, as we were informed, becomes a prey to dejection and despondency. The Princess exerts herself to prevent this, and devotes to her sister all the time she can spare from the duties she owes to her own family. Unlike those who take the first pretext of breaking connections which can no longer be of advantage, this humane Princess has displayed even more attachment to her sister since her misfortunes, than she ever did while the Queen was in the meridian of her prosperity.

The youth, the agreeable countenance, and obliging manners of the Queen, have conciliated the minds of every one in this country. Though she was in perfect health, and appeared cheerful, yet, convinced that her gaiety was assumed, and the effect of a strong effort, I felt an impression of melancholy, which it was not in my power to overcome all the time we remained at Zell.

From Zell we went to Hanover, and on the evening of our arrival, had the pleasure of hearing Handel’s Messiah performed. Some of the best company of this place were assembled on the occasion, and we were here made acquainted with old Field-Marshal Sporken, and other people of distinction. Hanover is a neat, thriving and agreeable city. It has more the air of an English town than any other I have seen in Germany, and the English manners and customs gain ground every day among the inhabitants. The genial influence of freedom has extended from England to this place. Tyranny is not felt, and ease and satisfaction appear in the countenances of the citizens.

This town is regularly fortified, and all the works are in exceeding good order. The troops are sober and regular, and perform every essential part of duty well, though the discipline is not so rigid as in some other parts of Germany. Marshal Sporken, who is the head of the army, is a man of humanity; and though the soldiers are severely punished for real crimes, by the sentence of a court martial, he does not permit his officers to order them to be caned for trifles. Caprice is too apt to blend itself with this method of punishing, and men of cruel dispositions are prone to indulge this diabolical propensity, under the pretence of zeal for discipline.

The Hanoverian infantry are not so tall as some of the other German troops, owing to this, that nobody is forced into the service, the soldiers are all volunteers; whereas, in other parts of Germany, the Prince picks the stoutest and tallest of the peasants, and obliges them to become soldiers. It is allowed, that in action no troops can behave better than the Hanoverians; and it is certain, that desertion is not so frequent among them as among other German troops, which can only be accounted for by their not being pressed into the service, and their being more gently used when in it.

It is not the mode here at present, to lay so much stress on the tricks of the exercise as formerly. The officers in general seem to despise many minutiæ, which are thought of the highest importance in some other services. It is incredible to what a ridiculous length this matter is pushed by some.

At a certain parade, where the Sovereign himself was present, and many officers assembled, I once saw a corpulent general-officer start suddenly, as if he had seen something preternatural. He immediately waddled towards the ranks with all the expedition of a terrified gander. I could not conceive what had put his Excellency into a commotion so little suitable to his years and habit of body. While all the spectators were a-tiptoe to observe the issue of this phenomenon, he arrived at the ranks, and in great wrath, which probably had been augmented by the heat acquired in his course, he pulled off one of the soldier’s hats, which it seems had not been properly cocked, and adjusted it to his mind. Having regulated the military discipline in this important particular, he returned to the Prince’s right-hand, with a strut expressive of the highest self-approbation.

Two days after our arrival here, I walked to Hernhausen, along a magnificent avenue, as broad, and about double the length of the mall at St. James’s. The house itself has nothing extraordinary in its appearance; but the gardens are as fine as gardens planned in the Dutch taste, and formed on ground perfectly level, can be. The orangery is reckoned equal to any in Europe. Here is a kind of rural theatre, where plays may be acted during the fine weather. There is a spacious amphitheatre cut out in green seats for the spectators; a stage in the same taste, with rows of trees for side-scenes, and a great number of arbours and summer-rooms, surrounded by lofty hedges, for the actors to retire and dress in.

When the theatre is illuminated, which is always done when masquerades are given, it must have a very fine effect. The groves, arbours, and labyrinths, seem admirably calculated for all the purpose of this amusement.

In these gardens are several large reservoirs and fountains, and on one side, a canal above a quarter of a mile in length. I have not seen the famous jet d’eau, as the water-works have not been played off since I came to Hanover. On the whole, we pass our time very agreeably here. We have dined twice with Baron de Lenth, who has the chief direction of the affairs of this electorate, and at his house have met with the principal inhabitants. I make one of Marshal Sporken’s party every night at Whist, and pass most of my time in the society at his house.

The D—— of H—— having promised to meet some company at Brunswick by a certain day, we shall set out for that place to-morrow—but have engaged to pay another visit to Hanover before we go to Berlin.—My next therefore will be from Brunswick, or possibly from this place after our return.

LETTER LX.

Hanover.

We remained a week at Brunswick, and returned to this town about ten days ago. None of the family are there at present, except the Duke and Duchess, and the young Princess, their daughter.

The character of the Sovereign, at every court, has great influence in forming the taste and manners of courtiers. This must operate with increased force in the little courts of Germany, where the parties are brought nearer to each other, and spend the most part of their time together. The pleasure which the Duchess of Brunswick takes in study, has made reading very fashionable among the ladies of that Court: of this her Royal Highness gave me a curious instance the last time I had the honour of seeing her.

A lady, whose education had been neglected in her youth, and who had arrived at a very ripe age without perceiving any inconveniency from the accident, had obtained, by the interest of some of her relations, a place at the Court of Brunswick. She had not been long there, till she perceived that the conversation in the Duchess’s apartments frequently turned on subjects of which she was entirely ignorant, and that those ladies had most of her Royal Highness’s ear, who were best acquainted with books. She regretted, for the first time, the neglect of her own education; and although she had hitherto considered that kind of knowledge, which is derived from reading, as unbecoming a woman of quality, yet, as it was now fashionable at Court, she resolved to study hard, that she might get to the top of the mode as fast as possible.

She mentioned this resolution to the Duchess, desiring, at the same time, that her Highness would lend her a book to begin. The Duchess applauded her design, and promised to send her one of the usefullest books in her library—it was a French and German dictionary. Some days after, her Highness enquired how she relished the book. Infinitely, replied this studious lady.—It is the most delightful book I ever saw.—The sentences are all short, and easily understood, and the letters charmingly arranged in ranks, like soldiers on the parade; whereas, in some other books which I have seen, they are mingled together in a confused manner, like a mere mob, so that it is no pleasure to look at them, and very difficult to know what they mean. But I am no longer surprised, added she, at the satisfaction your Royal Highness takes in study.

Since our return to Hanover, we have dined twice at the Palace. There is a household established with officers and servants, and the guard is regularly mounted, as at the time when the Electors resided here constantly. The liveries of the pages and servants are the same with those worn by the King’s domestic servants at St. James’s. Strangers of distinction are entertained at the Palace in a very magnificent manner. The first of the entertainments I saw was given to the D—— of H——, and the other to young Prince George of Hesse Darmstadt, who arrived here a few days since, with Prince Ernest and Prince Charles of Mecklenburg, brothers to the Queen of Great Britain, both of whom are in the Hanoverian service.

Most of my time is spent as formerly, at Marshal Sporken’s. The conversation of a man of sense, who has been fifty years in the service, and in high rank during a considerable part of that time, which led him into an intimacy with some of the most celebrated characters of the age, you may be sure is highly interesting. It affords me satisfaction to be informed from such authority, of many transactions in the last war, the common accounts of which are often different, and sometimes contradictory. The Marshal’s observations are sensible and candid, and his manner of converting unreserved. He served with the late Marshal Daun in the allied army, opposed to Marshal Saxe, in the war 1741, and has many curious anecdotes illustrating the characters of some of the commanders who conducted the armies during that memorable period. He has a very high opinion of Duke Ferdinand’s military character, and declares, that of all the Generals he ever served under, that Prince seemed to him to have the best talents for conducting an army. He says, that as Prince Ferdinand had seldom held councils of war, or communicated to the Generals of his army, any more of his plans than they were to execute, it was difficult for them to form a just opinion of his capacity, while they remained with the army immediately under his command; but that he (Marshal Sporken) had sometimes commanded a detached army, which obliged the Prince to be more communicative, and afforded the Marshal the strongest proofs of the depth of his judgment. Above all things, he admired the perspicuity of his written instructions.—— These, he said, were always accompanied with the most accurate and minute description of the country through which he was to march, every village, rivulet, hollow, wood, or hill on the route, being distinctly particularised, and the most judicious conjectures concerning the enemy’s designs added, with directions how to act in various probable emergencies.

Upon the whole, Marshal Sporken seemed convinced that great part of the success of the allies, during the late war in Westphalia, was owing to the foresight, prudence, and sagacity of their General. One memorable event, however, which has been cited as the most striking proof of all these, he imagined was not so much owing to any of them, as to the personal valour of a few regiments, and the good conduct of some inferior officers. The Marshal added, that his praises of Duke Ferdinand’s military abilities did not proceed from private attachment, for he could claim no share in his friendship; on the contrary, a misunderstanding had happened between them, on account of an incident at the siege of Cassel, the particulars of which he recapitulated, and this misunderstanding was of a nature never to be made up.

The liberal, candid sentiments of this venerable man carry conviction, and command esteem. He is respected by people of all ranks, and listened to like an oracle. In the society generally to be found at the Marshal’s, there are some nearly of his own age, who formed the private parties of George the Second, as often as he came to visit his native country. The memory of that monarch is greatly venerated here. I have heard his contemporaries of this society relate a thousand little anecdotes concerning him, which at once evinced the good disposition of the King, and their own gratitude. From these accounts it appeared, that he was naturally of a very sociable temper, and entirely laid aside, when at Hanover, the state and reserve which he retained in England, living in that familiar and confidential manner which Princes, as well as peasants, will assume in the company of those they love, and who love them.

Not only the personal friends of that monarch speak of him with regard, the same sentiments prevail among all ranks of people in the Electorate. Nothing does more honour to his character, or can be a less equivocal proof of his equity, than his having governed these subjects, over whom he had an unlimited power, with as much justice and moderation as those whose rights are guarded by law, and a jealous constitution.

The two visits I have made to Hanover, have confirmed the favourable impression I had before received of the German character. One of the most disagreeable circumstances which attend travelling is, the being obliged to leave acquaintances after you have discovered their worth, and acquired some degree of their friendship. As the season for the Prussian reviews now approaches, we have already taken leave of our friends, and are to set out to-morrow morning on our return to Brunswick, that after remaining a few days there, we may still get to Potsdam in proper time.

I shall not leave behind me every valuable acquaintance I have acquired since I came to Hanover.—We met, on our last arrival here, with Mr. F——, son of Lord F——. He has been of our parties ever since, and will accompany us to Brunswick and Potsdam.

LETTER LXI.

Potsdam.

On returning to Brunswick, we found the Hereditary Princess had come from Zell a few days before, having left the Queen of Denmark in perfect health. The Princess resided with her children at Antonettenruche, a villa a few miles from Brunswick. She invited the D—— of H——, Mr. F——, and me, to dine with her the day before we were to set out for Potsdam. That morning I chanced to take a very early walk in the gardens of the palace.—The Duke of Brunswick was there.—He informed me, that an express had arrived with news of the Queen of Denmark’s death.—They had received accounts a few days before that she had been seized with a putrid fever.—He said that nobody in the town or court knew of this, except his own family, and desired that I would not mention it to the Princess, who, he knew, would be greatly affected; for he intended to send a person, after her company should be gone, who would inform her of this event, with all its circumstances.

When we went, we found the Princess in some anxiety about her sister;—yet rather elated with the accounts she had received that day by the post. She showed us her letters.—They contained a general description of the symptoms, and conveyed some hopes of the Queen’s recovery. Unable to bear the idea of her sister’s death, she wrested every expression into the most favourable sense, and the company met her wishes, by confirming the interpretation she gave. To me, who knew the truth, this scene was affecting and painful.

As we returned to Brunswick in the evening, we met the gentleman who was commissioned by the Duke to impart the news of the Queen’s death to her sister.—We supped the same night at court, and took leave of this illustrious family.—The Duchess gave me a letter to her son, Prince Frederick, at Berlin, which she said would secure me a good reception at that capital.

On coming to the inn, we found a very numerous company, and the whole house resounded with music and dancing. It is customary all over Germany, after a marriage of citizens, to give the wedding-feast at an inn. As there was no great chance of our being much refreshed by sleep that night, instead of going to bed, we ordered post-horses, and left Brunswick about three in the morning.

We arrived the same afternoon at Magdeburg. The country all the way is perfectly level. The Duchy of Magdeburg produces fine cattle, and a considerable quantity of corn, those parts which are not marshy, and over-grown with wood, being very fertile. I have seen few or no inclosures in this, or any part of Germany, except such as surround the gardens or parks of Princes.

The King of Prussia has a seat in the diet of the empire, as Duke of Magdeburg. The capital, which bears the same name with the duchy, is a very considerable town, well built and strongly fortified. There are manufactories here of cotton and linen goods, of stockings, gloves, and tobacco; but the principal are those of woollen and silk.

The German woollen cloths are, in general, much inferior to the English and French. The Prussian officers, however, assert, that the dark blue cloth made here, and in other parts of the King of Prussia’s dominions, though coarser, wears better, and has a more decent appearance when long worn, than the finest cloth manufactured in England or France.—Thus much is certain, that the Prussian blue is preferable to any other cloth made in Germany.—The town of Magdeburg is happily situated for trade, having an easy communication with Hamburg by the Elbe, and lying on the road between Upper and Lower Germany. It is also the strongest place belonging to his Prussian Majesty, and where his principal magazines and foundries are established. In time of war, it is the repository of whatever he finds necessary to place out of the reach of sudden insult.

Places where any extraordinary event has happened, even though they should have nothing else to distinguish them, interest me more than the most flourishing country, or finest town which has never been the scene of any thing memorable. Fancy, awakened by the view of the former, instantly gives shape and features to men we have never seen.—We hear them speak, and see them act; the passions are excited, the mind amused; the houses, the rivers, the fields around supplying the absence of the poet and historian, and restoring with new energy the whole scene to the mind.

While crossing the Elbe at this town with the D—— of H——, I recalled to his memory the dreadful tragedy which was acted here by the Austrian General Tilly, who having taken this town by storm, delivered up the citizens, without distinction of age or sex, to the barbarity and lust of his soldiers. Besides the general massacre, they exhibited such acts of wanton cruelty, as disgrace human nature. We viewed with a lively sympathy, that part of the river where three or four hundred of the inhabitants got over and made their escape:—all that were saved out of twenty thousand citizens!

This sad catastrophe supplied us with conversation for great part of this day’s journey. It is unnecessary to comment on an event of this kind to a person of the D——’s sensibility.—Proper reflections arise spontaneously in a well-formed mind from the simple narrative.

The country is well cultivated, and fertile for about two leagues beyond Magdeburg; afterwards it becomes more barren, and within a few leagues of Brandenburg, it is as naked and sandy as the deserts of Arabia.

Brandenburg, from which the whole Electorate takes its name, is but a small town, divided into Old and New by a river, which separates the fort from both. The principal trade is carried on by some French woollen manufacturers, whom the King has encouraged to reside at this town. The whole number of inhabitants does not amount to more than 1500.

On entering the Prussian garrison towns, you are stopped at the gate; the officer of the guard asks your name, whence you come, whither you are going, and takes your answers down in writing. This is done in the French garrisons also, but not with the same degree of form and accuracy.

When the title of Duke is given, the guard generally turns out under arms. As for Milord, it is a title treated with very little ceremony, either in France or Germany. It is often assumed in foreign countries by those who have no right to it, and given to every Englishman of a decent appearance. But Duke, in Germany, implies a Sovereign, and is more respectable than Prince. Every son of a Duke in this country, is called Prince, although he had as many as old King Priam.

We arrived last night at Potsdam, which important piece of news, you will please to observe, I have taken the earliest opportunity of communicating.