fents of butter, cheefe, eggs, dried or pickled rein-deer, or bear's-flesh, &c. and in return received each a glafs of brandy. All of them kiffed the hands of the Curate's wife, and fome of them even thofe of the Curate. During that day, all perfons who met fhook hands or embraced each other, in withing a good new year. The Curate told me, that in the towns and cities all claffes of people vifit or leave their cards on New Year's Day; and that a neglect of it is always regarded as an affront. Superiors diftribute pre. fents to their inferiors, who do the fame among themselves; and matters reward the zeal or fidelity of their fervants, as on the Christmas eve. In all coffeehoufes and taverns, a pewter-plate is placed upon the bar, where the cuftomers put fome money for the waiters, who, during the year, never demand or expect any thing from regular cuftomers. This laft ufage is followed and improved upon in France, Italy, and Germany, where the waiters, in ferving, offer each customer a cornet of paper containing fome fweetmeats or confectionary dainties, and expect in return a prefent in money.

It was the conftant custom of this good Curate, not to fuffer any body in his houfe to remain in bed after fix o'clock in the morning, or to begin any work before morning-prayers; the family, fervants, and vifitors, were all collected in the fame room, and remained upon their knees until prayers were over. After fupper every night, the fame ceremony took place with the evening prayers; and though this edifying devotion continued nearly halfan-hour each time, I never obferved any thing but attention even in the children. Prayers of a quarter of anhour were regularly faid before and after each repait; and the Curate often interrupted the innocent dance of the children, by asking them to pray and fing hymns, to which they fubmitted with a cheerfulness which proved they had been inftructed, that in doing their duty to their Creator, they enjoyed the first of all earthly pleasures.

The great diftance from all towns, and the few wants of the people, made every thing very cheap in this part of the country. The Curate's wife often told me, that the Collector must be rich, becaufe, with three children only, he had forty rix-dollars, or ten pounds VOL. XLV. JAN. 1804.

in the year, whilft her husband, with half that falary, could very well bring up feven children. This good woman, when I asked her what I could do for her family, for their hofpitality towards a ftranger, told me, with much fimplicity, that if I could afford it, and would fend her husband from Gottenburgh (diftant about 150 miles) a pound of good tobacco, I should make her husband as happy as a Prince.

In converfing with the pious Curate about the morality of his parishioners, he told me, with a groan, that three years ago a crime had been committed, which had excited alike the wrath of Heaven and the fcandal of the See; because the daughter of a peasant was feduced by a Danish Officer, and had a baftard child. But, added he, though he died in a short time, and very repentant, both myfelf, my wife, and our neighbours, have often feen the devil, fince the was buried, walk in the churchyard, fometimes under the figure of a white bear, and at other times as a black wolf with fire in his mouth and eyes; and we have been feveral times disturbed in the night by the rattling of chains, and complaints, in the very voice of the unfortunate girl, which only our fincere prayers caufed to cease. The croffes you obferve upon the infide and outside of every door, faid the Curate's wife, are there to prevent her evil fpirit or the devil from penetrating

our house!!

At last, on the tenth day, information arrived that the lakes were entirely frozen and fafe, and, by putting my carriages upon fledges, I might continue my journey.

During my travels, I have witnessed the grandeur of courts, the pride of rank, the vanity, the oftentation of riches. I have feen every where many rejoicings, artificial gaiety, and pleafures commanded, but not felt; but in the retirement amongst innocence and fimplicity, goodnefs and hofpitality, where I paffed this Christmas, I found what philofophers look for in vain in populous cities or crowded affemblies

virtue rewarded with true happines upon earth, undisturbed by the perverting fophiftry of reformers, the dangerous dogmas of innovators, and the abominable crimes with which the ferocious Corfican defolates fouthern Europe.

F

A TRAVELLER.

T affords us peculiar fatisfaction to

Budget for the New Year with a work of uncommon merit, in the first clafs of literature; and rendered remarkably interefting at this juncture. A complete History of Ireland, brought down nearly to the prefent time, has long been wanting, and at length is happily accomplished. It appears likewife at a moment when the attention of the public is naturally turned towards that ancient kingdom, now united with Great Britain, from the probability that the grand object of the French Government is the conqueft and detachment of fo valuable a jewel from the British Crown.

The doubts that prevail in the public mind refpecting the conduct of too many individuals who ftill entertain prejudices and harbour refentment against the British Government, under the probable event of a French invafion, will be removed by a careful perufal of the prefent work; the truly patriotic defign of the hiftorian being to place in a clear point of view the incalculable advantages of the late happy Union, which, by granting every thing to the Irish nation that could be reafonably expected on the part of the British Government, has enfured the loyalty, and established the permanent happinets, of a brave and grateful people.

Our author modeftly calls his work, an historical review; but after a candid examination, we have found it to

which probe a regular hiftory of Ireland, in

perly arranged and duly connected; and the fidelity of the narrative is fupported and confirmed by authentic documents-the appendices containing authentic copies of the principal records of the kingdom. In the preliminary Chapter to the firft Volume, fome general obfervations are introduced upon the nature and refources of Ireland, and the spirit and character of its native inhabitants; in order "that we may be enabled to judge impartially of the relative effects of that connexion which, through a long and intricate maze of national viciffitudes, has ultimately led to an incorporate union of the two kingdoms." In this view, the attention of the reader is drawn to fuch prominent events as have, in their time, order, and proportion, remotely and proximately led to the Union, which is the primary object of this publication.

To a clofe and impartial observer, the original natural character will manifeft itself, up to the remoteft antiquity, under the ftrongeft influence of improvement or debatement."

From Dr. Leland, whofe Hiftory of Ireland, in our Author's opinion, claims claffical pre-eminence amongst the modern productions upon this fubject, we have the following concife characteristic of the people of Ireland"A robuft frame of body, a vehemence of paffion, an elevated imaginationnoble inftances of valour, generous

effutions

effufions of benevolence, ardent refentments, defperate and vindictive outrages, abound in their annals. To verfe and mufic they are peculiarly addicted. They who are poffeffed of any fuperior degree of knowledge, they who operate on their fancies or paffions by the livelieft ftrains of poetry, are held in extraordinary veneration. The minifters of their religion are accounted more than human. To all these they fubmit their contests; they confider them as oracles of law and policy. But reflection and the gradual progrefs of refinement convince them of the neceflity of fettled laws. The principles of equity and independence implanted in the human breaft, they receive with delight; but the violence of paffion ftill proves fupe. rior to their restraint. Private injuries are revenged by force; and infolent, ambitious Chieftains ftill recur to arms." The outline and colouring of this portrait is admitted to be just; and by reference to the earlier parts of the Irish annals, Mr. Plowden has been enabled, with this guide, to trace and account for the origin, nature, and continuance of that national character, out of which arife the strongest reafons for the Union.

The curious reader is gratified in this part of the preliminary Chapter, with an account of the great antiquity of the Irith. The pride of ancestry, it is afferted, has a peculiar effect upon the Irish. Their ancestors were undoubtedly Scythians, or, as they were afterwards called, Phænicians; and it is a general belief, that a Scythian or Phoenician colony fettled in Ireland; and as the Carthaginians received the ufe of letters from the Phoenicians, the trongest proof of the origin of the Irish being derived from a colony of Scythians, is founded in the wonderful fimilarity, or rather in the identity, of the Phoenician and Irish languages. A fpecimen of the two languages is given at page 5.

"No nation, now upon the face of the globe, can boaft of fuch a certain and remote antiquity; none can trace inftances of fuch early civilization; none poffefs fuch irrefragable proofs of their origin, lineage, and duration of government.-The Irish have always prided themfelves upon having kept up a longer fucceffion of Monarchs than any other kingdom of the world. This

race of Kings the Irish call Milefian, all of them having defcended from Heber, Eremon, and Ith, the three fons of Milefus, who was the leader of the Scythian expedition from Spain; the first fettlers in Ireland. In the year of our Lord 1170, one of the Princes of Ulter boaited to Pope Alexander III. of an uninterrupted fucceffion of 197 Kings of Ireland down to his time. The moderate allowance of ten years to the reign of each of these Kings will fill the pace of 1970 years; 200 years being a moderate allowance for thofe reigns which exceeded that duration. This nearly correfponds with the time (viz. about 1000 years before the birth of Chrift), at which most of the Irish annalifts date the arrival of the Phoenician or Scythian colony from Spain under Milefius."

Giving all due credit to the accuracy of our Author's refearches, and keeping conftantly in view the national partiality of all annalifts and historians in their attempts to dignify the first origin of their refpective countries, the fallacy of the above cited claims of antiquity will still be apparent on the pages of the ancient part of univerfal history, where it will be found, that the Hebrew and the Chinefe nations claim an, origin of much higher date in antiquity than the Irish. The fuperiority may hold good with respect to the modern kingdoms of Europe; and may serve to account for an obfer. vation which, according to our Author, has been frequently and juftly made," that more family pride is retained by the Irith, even in extreme indigence, than by any other nation; and it is as remarkable, that we can difcover no period in the Irish history at which this family pride was not attended with mifchievous effects.

"The government introduced by the first fettlers was of a peculiar caft. They divided the country into four provinces, viz. Ufter, Leinfler, Munfler, and Connaught, each of which had its King; and at the head of thefe four provincial Kings was placed a fupreme Monarch. To the fupreme they all paid tribute, as a mark of fubjection, though they were, in all other refpects, abfolute and independent. within their refpective provinces.

"Not only the throne, but all the pots of honour and profit under the itate were elective; not indeed out of

Catholic,) the reader will learn, that the native diffidence, jealousy, and hatred, which the Irifh fhewed, for fo many centuries, towards the English, originated not in the difference of religion which took place after the Reformation in the reign of Henry VIII. No! it was the ill-fated policy of the English Government in thofe times, not only not to coalefce and unite with the native Irish, but to go every poffible length in fomenting and perpetuating diffention, animofity, and hatred between the two nations, during the reigns of fixteen of our Monarchs. It would occupy too many pages in our mifcellany to enumerate the different oppreffions of the fervants of thofe Sovereigns intrufted with mili. tary and civil power in Ireland; let it fuffice to notice a few of the most defpotic. Although the English Government had not full poffeffion of one-third of the island, called the English Pale, they cantonized the whole country among ten English families, and called themfelves owners and lords of all: nothing was left to be granted to, or enjoyed by, the natives: nor is there a record, for the fpace of 300 years and upwards after the invafion, of any grant made to an Irish Lord of any land, except a grant from the Crown to the King of Thomond, of his land, during the minority of Henry III. As for the English grantees, they became a new fet of petty Sovereigns, and exercifed all manner of royal jurifdiction and authority within their petty kingdoms more arbitrarily than any English Monarch ever did over the whole kingdom.-By the laws of Edward III., alliances by marriage, nurture of infants, (there existed a cuftom peculiar to Ireland, of giving out their children to be nurfed by fofterers,) &c. was made high treafon. But the most wicked and mifchievous custom of all others, was that of coygne and livery, which confifted in taking man's meat, borse meat, and money, of all the inhabitants of the country, at the will and pleasure of the foldier: this oppreffion, fince called free quarters to the military, was exercifed by the Englith in Ireland with intolerable rigour." To clofe this period, the reader is referred to that remonttrance of grievances fet forth by the Irish, in an ap peal to Pope John XXII. (fee Appendix, No. 3.); which certainly is the

ftrongest picture of inveterate national hatred that has been handed down to poterity. It demonftrates that difference of religion did not produce those evils, and that Union alone is the effectual fecurity against their repetition.

Part II. relates the ftate of the Irish nation from the Reformation under Henry VIII. to the Revolution under James II. when William III. afcended the throne of England. This large portion of the Volume is divided into fix Chapters. The first contains the state of Ireland in the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Queen Mary. Such, fays Mr. Plowden, is the va riety, fuch the importance, and, at the fame time, fuch the peculiarity of the events which mark this period of the Irish history, that truth and candour are almost to be dreaded by the hifto rian who feeks the approbation of the existing generation. This apprehenfion feems to arife from his oppofition to an opinion "that has been too pre valent with moft writers fince the Reformation, to lay indifcriminately to the account of that great innovation in our national church, the various ftruggles, revolutions, and convulfions, that afterwards happened in Ireland. An error pregnant with incalculable mifchief! And what deviation from truth does not produce evil?"

To the administration of the Earl of Kildare, who was confirmed in the Lieutenancy of Ireland by Henry, beyond the power of opposition, the firit difalters in that kingdom immediately after the Reformation are attri buted. Being recalled to England, he entrusted the government of Ireland to his fon, Lord Thomas Fitzgerald,, who, upon receiving intelligence that his father, on his landing in England,, had been committed to the Tower, and a falfe report that he had been beheaded, broke out into open rebellion, and was joined by O'Neal and O'Connor, powerful Chieftains of the party of the Geraldines. This rebellion was fcarcely fuppreffed, when Henry took ample vengeance on the whole family of Kildare; Lord Thomas and his five uncles were seized and beheaded. A younger branch of the family, however, Lord Gerald, a youth of twelve years of age, was privately conveyed out of the kingdom to Italy, and placed under the protection of

Cardinal