to be managed would increafe exactly in proportion to the means of managing them; and the means of managing, to the number of people to be managed. The monarchial and democratical parts of the conftitution would, after the union, stand exactly in the fame degree of relative force with regard to one another as they had done before

"The people on the other fide of the water are afraid left their distance from the feat of government might expofe them to many oppreffions. But their reprefentatives in parliament, of which the number ought from the first to be confiderable, would eafily be able to protect them from all oppreffion. The distance could notmuch weaken the dependency of the reprefentative upon the conftituent, and the former would ftill feel that he owed his feat in parliament and all the confequence which he derived from it to the good will of the latter. It would be the interest of the for mer, therefore, to cultivate that good-will by complaining with all the authority of a member of the legiflature, of every outrage which any civil or military officer might be guilty of in thofe remote parts of the empire. The diftance of America from the feat of government, befides, the nations of that country might flatter themselves, with fome appearance of reafon too, would not be of very long continuance. Such has hitherto been the rapid progrefs of that country in wealth, population and improvement, that in the courfe of little more than a century, perhaps, the produce of American might exceed that of British taxation. The feat of the empire would then naturally remove itself to that part of the empire which contributed moft to the general defence and fupport of the whole."

In this laft notion, our author agrees with thofe American writers, who feem willing only to accede to conciliatory measures on any terms with the mother-country, in hopes this prognofticated period might not be very diftant.

Book the fifth is divided into three chapters; the fubject of the firft of which is, the expences of the fovereign or commonwealth; the fubdivifions as follow.

Part. I. Of the Expence of Defence.-Part II. Of the Expence of Juftice.-Part III. Of the Expence of public Works and pub lic Institutions Article ft. Of the public Works and Inftitutions for facilitating the Commerce of the Society.-Article 2d. Of the Expence of the Inftitutions for the Education of the Youth.-Article 3d. Of the Expence of the Inftitutions for the Inftruction of People of all Ages.-Part IV. Of the Expence of fupporting the Dignity of the Sovereign.

Chap. II. Contains an Investigation "Of the Sources of the ge.neral or public Revenue of the Society.-Part I. Of the Funds or Sources of Revenue which may peculiarly belong to the Sovereign or Commonwealth.-Part II. Of Taxes.- Article ift. Taxes upon Rents. Taxes upon the Rent of Land.-Taxes which are proportioned, not to the Rent, but to the Produce of Land.-Taxes upon

he Rept of Houfes.-Article 2d. Taxes upon Profit, or upon the Revenue arifing from Srock.-Taxes upon the Profit of particular Employments.Appendix to Articles ift and zd. Taxes upon the Capital Value of Lands, Houfes, and Stock.-Article 3d. Taxes' upon the Wages of Labour.- Article 4th. Taxes which, it is intended, fhould fall indifferently upon every different Species of Revenue.-Capitation Taxes Taxes upon confumable Commodities. Chap. 3. treats of public debts; a fubject which the author manages with much plaufibility and great caution; but, as our limits will not permit us to enlarge on this article, we fhall take leave of the work, with his concluding paragraph; repecting the importance of our colonies, and of immediate coniequence to our country.

"If the colonies, notwithstanding their refufal to fubmit to British. taxes, are ftill to be confidered as provinces of the British empire, their defence in fome future war may coft Great Britain as great an expence as it ever hath done in any former war. The rulers of Great Britain have for more than a century paft amufed the people with the imagination that they poffeffed a great empire on the weft fide of the Atlantic. This empire, however, has hitherto exifted in imagination only. It has hitherto been, not an empire, but the project of an empire; not a gold mine, but the project of a gold mine; a project which has coft, which continues to coft, and which if pursued in the fame way as it has been hitherto, is likely to coft immenfe expence, without being likely to bring any profit; for the effects of the monopoly of the colony trade, it has been fhewn, are, to the great body of the people, mere lofs inftead of profit. It is furely now time that our rulers should either realize this golden dream, in which they have been indulging themselves, perhaps, as well as the people; or, that they should awake from it themfelves, and endeavour to awaken the people, If the project cannot be compleated, it ought to be given up. If any of the provinces of the British empire cannot be made to contribute towards the fupport of the whole empire, it is furely time that Great Britain thould free herself from the expence of defending thofe provinces in time of war, and of fupporting any part of their civil or military eftablishments in time of peace, and endeavour to accommodate her future views and deligns to the real mediocrity of her circumstances."

Letters from Italy, defcribing the Manners, Customs, Antiquities, Paintings, &c. of that Country, in the Years 1770 and 1771, to a Friend refiding in France. 3 vols. 8vo. 15s. in fheets. Dilly.

It has been obferved, by a writer, who affected fome time ago to amuse the world with "Something New," that "every

A publication, in two volumes, fo entitled,

one

one who goes abroad, now-a-days, whether for health or plea fure, for idleness or business, feems to think himself called upon by the public, to render it a minute account of his occupations, avocations, obfervations, and lucubrations, during his pilgrimage.

Nay fome, I have been informed, have fo well prepared themfelves for this work, before hand, that they have written half their book, before they fet out, in order to fave themfelves the trouble of lugging the one, they copied from, about with them, from ftage to ftage. One perfon, I was affured,' deferred his journey, for a twelve-month, 'till he had finished his travels. Thefe Gentlemen may well be faid to travel much, at home."

That this hath been the practice of many domeftic travellers is not to be doubted: indeed, its notoriety proves it to be nothing new. It does not feem to be the cafe, however, with our fair country-woman, the prefent writer; who, though the may have lugged (as our novellift elegantly expreffes it) her KEYSLER + along with her on her tour, has by no means explicitly taken him for her guide. On the contrary, her fuperior attention, tafte and good fenfe are frequently difplayed in correcting the mistakes of that learned Itinerant.

Of thefe letters being the genuine correfpondence of a real traveller, and of the female fex, as mentioned in the title-page, we are ourselves convinced as well from their internal evidence, as the affurance, given us by the editor, in his preface.

"The author of these letters," fays he, "made the tour of Italy with her husband in the years 1770 and 1771: her corref pondent, a near and much efteemed relation, had required from her at parting, circumftantial details (by letter) of whatever she should meet with during the period of their feparation, curious or inte refting; in the view of comparing her communications with the best modern travels of French or English publication.

"At the request of that relation they are now published, with little other caution or correction, than the difcharging them (in fome measure) from repetitions, and the fuppreffion of certain mat ters of meer private concern, by no means objects of information or entertainment to the public."

"Much," continues he, "of the matter now before us, was thrown on paper immediately after; and not a little of it whilst the recorded incidents were yet paffing; the greater part of it was wrote in the midft of fatigue, in moments unfavourable to preci fion and unfriendly to reflection, fave only to fuch reflections as naturally rofe out of the occurring events.

Nor is it only the credulity or inattention of that plodding German, which our ingenious Englifewoman occafionally corrects; but the detects the mifsakes of Richard Lalande and others, when they fall in her way.

"The

"The Editor, who cannot plead indifference to thefe Letters and their author, finds himself impelled to anticipate the reader's approbation of that spirit of tenderness and benevolence, that animated warmth fo honeftly avowed, and fo feelingly exerted in the defence of freedom and the interests of humanity, which abundantly difplay themselves in the pages now before us.

"The Author's declining to give her name to fo circumstantial narrative, as renders it fingularly improbable it fould long remain concealed, feems to call for fome apology; all the Editor has to fay in regard to this peculiarity is, that the utmost that could be obtained from her, was an acquiefcence in their anonymous pub. lication "

If we were at liberty to hazard a conjecture from circumftances, without doing any violence to the modefty and diffidence of the writer, we fhould guess the author of these letters to be well-known in the vicinity of BATH; and indeed among the literati throughout the whole kingdom, as the patronefs of a charitable inftitution that does honour at once to her taste and humanity ‡.

Of the ftile and manner of these friendly epiftles, as well as of the fpecies of information, contained in them, we fhall give our readers a few fpecimens.

LETTER VI. September 29, 1770.

"Here we are at Aiguebelle, and here are we to fleep. We quitted Chamberry this morning, and had purpofed leaving that town yesterday, but were obliged to poftpone our departure, not having been able to procure what is called, a good chaife and horfes, to convey us to Turin, until this morning when a voiturin prefented himself with his horfes and chaife for our approbation. It feems we were particularly lucky, for this voiturin is supposed to have one of the best chaifes and the best horfes at Chamberry ;— but after thofe of England, or even of France, it is no eafy matter to reconcile one's felt to a machine, which feems constructed for the purpose of overturning. It is fo extremely high and narrow, that it totters on plain ground; it has but two wheels; the shafts are tied over the back of the horse, the two extremities having been forced as near to each other as cords can brace them. The confequence of these shafts being raised up fo high is, that the body of the chaife leans back; fo judge of the, eafy fituation of thofe who are thus conveyed. Nothing like a fpring to mitigate one's fufferings; but jolt upon jolt-now, by the unevennefs of the road, lofing the equilibrium on one fide, till by a fudden rife one trembles for fear of being turned topfy-turvy on the other. The horfe the poftilion rides, is tied on with ropes to the fide of the chaife, the shafts occupying the whole breadth. By the frequent breaking of thefe ropes, the

‡ Mrs. M. of Bath-Easton-See our Account of Poetical Amusements, at a Villa near Bath, vol. I. page 51. If we are mistaken, we beg the lady's pardou for what, otherwife, we conceive there needs no apology.

chaife

chaife must as frequently stop to tie them up again. For this ma chine and three horfes, including one for our courier, we are to pay fix louis and an half; and the voiturin is to convey our baggage and his chaife and horfes over the mountain*; (I certainly need not tell you, there is no putting more than a pair of horfes to a carriage in thefe roads )-From Chamberry to Montmelian the the road is narrow, but not dangerous; and the country fertile. The town and citadel of Montmelian (which latter is now in ruins) are fituated upon a high and very fleep mountain, on the fides of which the vine is cultivated which yields that wine fo much eftcemed, and fo frequently mentioned by the Italian voyage writers t. The inn is not in the town, it is half a league on this fide; it was formerly a nobleman's chateau. But poor and humble must have been the times, when noblemen occupied fuch houses. An Eng. lifh farmer would not be thought unreasonable, were he loudly to complain of his landlord for having destined him fuch an habitation on his estate.

"There is fo fteep an afcent from the inn, that we walked it up. Having gained the top, the country we had left behind appeared very charming; the river Ifere washing the feet of the mountains,, which from the bottom to the town of Montmelian are entirely covered with vines. The town is crowned by the citadel, which is fufficiently in ruins to be a fine object of view. Higher again, and on all fides, rife up mountains, fome quite bare and barren, others clothed with wood; and great beds of fnow in the clefts of rocks, form a ftrong contraft with the green pines. From Montinelian to Aiguebelle, after having paffed the mountain above-mentioned, the road lies in a very narrow valley, which winds inceffantly; there is no room in many places, but for the road and the river, the mountains on each fide approach fo near to each other. The courfe of the river is frequently turned by the ftones that have fallen into it, and the road is in many places rendered difficult by vaft fragments of rock that have rolled down from the adjacent mountains. Within a league or two of Alguebelle the profpect opens, the country is well cultivated and peopled, and feveral villages appear on both fides, half hid in trees; the fpires of their churches, covered all over with tin, gliften amidft the forefts of firs. Several ruined towers, moftly of a fquare form, crowning the brows of the mountains, feem placed there on purpofe for the

view.

66

Aiguebelle lies in a bottom clofely furrounded by mountains, whofe tops are covered with eternal fnows, which the peafants firmly believe have never melted fince the firft fnow that fell after the creation of the world. This is but a poor ftraggling fort of village. The water here is delicious; it is clear, light, and fparkles in the glafs like Champaign. The inhabitants pretend,

Mount Cenis.

It is remarkable, that these vines have fearce any earth to grow out of. I I do not believe that 12 cart loads could be collected from 15 acres of mountain on the western fide of Montmelian,