sure, the author is too liberal minded to suppose that we wish to infringe on his rights and his

labours.

These travels are addressed, in the form of letters, to William Melmoth, Esq. a gentleman of equal distinction in the literary world; and were performed in company with Lord Herbert, now Earl Pembroke, and Colonel Floyd; and the same scenes were afterwards revisited with the present Mr. Whitbread, &c.

The first letter is dated from Doneschingen, July 21, 1776. This town is the principal residence of the prince of Furstenberg; and in the court yard of his palace the Danube takes its rise. Some small springs, bubbling from the ground, form a bason of about thirty feet square, and from this small beginning issues the mighty Danube, which soon after receives several tributary streams of greater consequence than the original.

Next day, they arrived at Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The cleanliness of the houses, and of the people, is peculiarly striking; and there are several other strong outlines which distinguish this happy race from the neighbouring nations.

Schaffhausen is situated on the northern bank of the Rhine. It is a tolerably well built town, and owes its origin to the interruption of the navigation of that river, by the cataract at Lauffen. It is the capital of a canton, and has been a member of the Helvetic confederacy ever since 1501. Though of small extent, its population is supposed to amount to thirty thousand souls.

The bridge over the Rhine, at this place is of singular architecture. The river here is extremely rapid, and several stone bridges had been car

ried away; when a carpenter of Appenzel offered to throw a wooden bridge across the stream, which is near four hundred feet wide. The distance of the middle pier from the shore towards the town is one hundred and seventy-two feet, and from the other side one hundred and ninety-three, apparently making two arches of surprising width, and forming a beautiful distant perspective. The weight of a man makes it vibrate under him, and yet waggons, heavily laden, pass without danger. Its mechanism, though simple, is most extraordinary; and is a proof of the abilities of the man who projected and executed it. This bridge was finished in less than three years, at an expence of about eight thousand pounds sterling.

Soon after their arrival, they set out to visit the fall of the Rhine at Lauffen. It is about a league distant, over a picturesque and agreeable country.

Having advanced to the edge of the precipice, they looked down on the cataract, and saw the river tumbling over the sides of the rock with amazing impetuosity. They then descended, and stood close to the fall. A scaffolding is erected in the very spray of this tremendous cataract, and upon the most sublime point of view. The scene exceeds description. About one hundred feet from the scaffolding, two crags rise in the middle of the fall, the nearest of which is perforated by the constant action of the water, and allows a vent for a part of the tumultuous waves.

Having crossed the river, at a place where it was extremely agitated, they enjoyed another perspective of this grand scene. The most striking objects are the castle of Lauffen, erected on the very edge of the precipice, a church and some cot

tages, and a cluster of the latter near the fall. In the back ground, are rocks skirted with vines, or tufted with pendent woods, a beautiful little hamlet, the great mass of water, and the two crags already mentioned, having their tops sprinkled with shrubs, and dividing the cataract into three principal parts.

Below the fall, the river widens considerably: at the spot of precipitation, it appears to be about three hundred feet broad. As to its perpendicular height, travellers vary much; but Mr. Coxe thinks, that between fifty and sixty feet may be near the truth.

It is certain, this astonishing cataract has undergone several important changes; and, it is proba ble, that in the lapse of years, the two crags, which now rise in the middle of the stream, will be undermined and carried away.

After quitting Schaffhausen, they crossed the Rhine at Diessenhoffen, and having continued their route to Stein, along the bank of that river, they hired a boat from thence to carry them to Constance.

A fine breeze wafted them to the island of Reicheneau, about three miles long and one broad; and containing about one thousand six hundred inhabitants, subject to the bishop of Constance. In the evening, they arrived at the last-named city, whose situation is most delightful, between the twa lakes on the Rhine.

Mr. Coxe says, he was much affected at the solitary appearance of a town, once so flourishing and celebrated. A dead stillness reigns throughout: grass grows in the principal streets; and, in a word, it is only the shadow of what it once was,

though it still contains about three thousand inhabitants.

They paid a visit to the chamber where the council of Constance was held in 1415; and gratified themselves by sitting down in the same chairs which were once occupied by Pope John XXIII. and the Emperor Sigismond. By a sentence of this council, that celebrated reformer, John Huss, was burnt as a heretic, though he had the emperor's safe conduct. The house is still shewn in which he was seized, on which is fixed his head, carved in stone, with a German inscription under, but now almost defaced. From the top of the cathedral is a superb view of the town, and of the two lakes, with the rugged Alps of Tyrol and Appenzel, topped with everlasting snow.

Our author thinks it probable, that Constance may again become a commercial town, from the permission, granted by the emperor, to the emigrants of Geneva, of settling there, with considerable privileges. He justly considers this as the triumph of reason and religion over bigotry and intolerance.

On the 25th, they set out from Constance. The Superior Lake, or Boden See, is about fifteen leagues in length, and six in its greatest breadth. The environs consist of gently rising hills, sprinkled with a variety of towns, villages, and monasteries. The form of the lake is somewhat oval, and the water has a greenish hue.

Some writers affirm, that the Rhine passes through the lake without mingling their waters; but Mr. Coxe sees no reason for the adoption of this opinion. This lake, like all others in Switzerland, is deeper in summer than in winter, a cir

cumstance originating from the melting of the snow on the neighbouring mountains. It abounds in various kinds of fish; some of which are very valuable, and of great magnitude.

Next day, they reached St. Gallen, and from thence walked to Appenzel. The country is singularly wild and romantic, consisting of a continued series of hills and dales, valleys, and mountains, the tops of which are crowned with luxuriant pasturage; and the whole track is populous to an inconceivable degree.

The abbot and town of St. Gallen are both allies of the Swiss cantons, and each enjoys the privilege of sending deputies to the general diet. The abbot has an extensive territory, chiefly peopled with Catholics; but the town, over which his influence once extended, is now entirely Protestant. It is in a flourishing state, from the industry of its inhabitants, and their successful application to trade and manufactures.

The library belonging to the abbey contains several valuable manuscripts, principally relative to the reformation in Germany and Switzerland. To this library we owe Petronius Arbiter, Silius Italicus, Valerius Flaccus, and Quintilian, copies of which were first discovered in 1413. It was formerly extremely rich in literary treasures; but many of them are now lost or removed.

Appenzel is an independent state, though formerly subject to St. Gallen. It was admitted into the Helvetic confederacy in 1513. Its inhabitants are partly Catholics, partly Protestants, under separate jurisdictions, but united for general purposes of policy and defence.