Jike those that reckon their pounds before their fhillings and pence, of which they are made up. He efteems no customs but fuch as have outlived themselves, and are long fince out of ufe; as the Catholics allow of no faints, but fuch as are dead; and the Fanatics, in oppofition, of none but the living." The VISITOR. NUMB. XCIV. [From the PUBLIC LEDGER.] complaints are fo com- a chit chat or to hurry away to Matrimonial coelae little regarded; fome hot, auction, fight, walks, ar ahat but it does not follow from thence, that they are less afflicting. It is fome relief to unburthen the mind; and if I gain no other advantage, I fhall at least obtain that by your favourable admission of my cafe. I am a merchant of this respectable city, of no inconfiderable fortune and rank, and I am very willing to live in a manner fuitable to my station: I abhor meanness, but I love propriety. I have been honoured with my present wife's hand and heart (I hope) now near 15 years, and till within thefe two or three years paft, we lived de cently, pleasingly, and frugally. I faved money, and tho' I have four daughters, befides two fors, I can give them five thousand pounds a piece: But alas! what are five thousand pounds to fupport the manner of life, in which my good wife thinks fit to bring them up! For you must know, that having picked up fome acquaintance at the other end of the town, having gained a high goût for cards and gaiety, by an unfortunate journey to Bath, and having been much confulted and confidered in our merchants affembly, my poor wife's brain is turn'd, Sir; actually turn'd; and the has certain Jy forgotten, or at leaft no longer is able to difcharge the proper duties of wife, mother, mistress, neighbour, or friend. This is a heavy charge: but be patient a while, and I'll make it good. She is continually engaged; her acquaintance, as she expresses it, is immenfe: the can scarcely be civil to balf of them: the is for ever hurrying to routs and parries at cards, or making my houfe a place of everlasting rout and confufion. Nothing but drefs, pleafure, noife, cards, nonfenfe, and company run in ber head! She returns home, perhaps, at two, three, or four in the morning, from her nocturnal orgies; my fervants are kept up accordingly; I am disturbed, and the whole family difordered. She cannot rife very early, as you may imagine: if she is half dreifed by twelve, it is fcarce time enough to receive not: she makes a shift just to get in time enough to decorate her head for dinner, and then fits down, with a thousand apologies to any friends I happen to bring in .... "Really fhe has been fo immoderately hurried, and fuch a profufion of bufinefs to do, that he could not poffibly get quite dreft." However, fhe flies away foon after dinner to this work, in which two or three hours are generally spent upon herself, and her two eldest daughters. Two fine girls enough......But oh, Mr. Vifitor, it makes my heart ach to think what must be the end of this! Early initiated into pleasure, what a taste must they have for it! Early attached to the luxury and extravagance of drefs and gaiety, what fortune will be equal to their expences! Uncultivated in mind, what wretched wives and companions must they make! Who can wonder, that educated as our modern miffes are, men are afraid to marry them, and prefer a lefs honourable connection. I am fatisfied, that the intereft of the fortune I had proposed to give my daughters, will scarce be fufficient to fupply their heads only, with ornaments! Fifty guineas not long fince were paid for one garnet cap! And the mischief is, I cannot prevent this! Now you must difcern that I have no fatisfaction in the converse of such a wife, perpetually in a hurry herself, and endeavouring always to make me fo, by engaging me in every party where the can; and ever condemning my city and old-fashioned notions, (as the calls them) when I remonstrate either against her own manner of proceeding, or her method of educating my daughters. Now, Mr. Vifitor, as I am well convinced mine is no fingular cafe, I know that I ha e many fellow fufferers; and as this destructive love and pursuit of pleasure, is every day growing more and more predomi nant in our city, let me intreat you to inform the ladies, how unfeemingly and pernicious, how fatal to conjugal felicity, and every focial virtue this manner of living must needs be. Befides, let the ladies efpecially confider, that while the men obferve fuch uneafy confequences from the matrimonial alliance, they will not be very ready to engage in it; and should this principle greatly prevail, it would be not advantageous to the female part of the commonwealth. I will be very honeft, for my own part, and declare frankly, that if I was again happily freed from the yoke h A Letter from a Gentleman among the Dead to Lord Lyttleton. My LORD, AS your lordship's Dialogues are a proof, that you hold a correfpondence with the Dead, and are obliged to them for intelligence of what paffes below, we think we have a right to enquire of your lordship, what is doing in the world above: and as I fee you are equally acquainted with the time paft and the prefent, I am more follicitous for your opinion upon what follows, than of any of my learned friends here at hand. I fhould be glad to learn of your lordfhip, what you think of our good old conflitution being so much altered from what it was in Edward the Third's time, when I had the honour of fitting in parliament. One of the honeft fellows, who came as drunk as he could wish, from your regions to ours the other day, faid he was obliged to an election mob for this journey. Upon talking with him, I found he had received fifty guineas for his vote, had been kept drunk for a week at the expence of his candidate, and that twenty thousand pounds had been spent at the election before he left it. How different is this, my lord, from what it was in my days? No pains were fpared with us to avoid what you court at any labour and cost. We used to make as strong interest to be excused ferving as a knight or a burgefs, as your country gentlemen do to efcape serving as fheriff. Your commoners may decline ftanding, when nominated at a general meeting of the county: we were obliged to ferve, if our freemen were defirous of electing us. The practice of chairing the candidate, which ftill, I find, obtains among you as an old cuftom, was well fupported by fense and reason with us. As our members were elected to ferve in parliament, whether they approved of it or not, the voters, as foon as the majority of voices Before an election for members, we It was very common in my days for the Your parliament, by making ftatutes All this feems strange to me in this my retirement from the world. If I was now upon earth, either a nobleman or a commoner, I should choose peace and quiet, both public and private; I should be happy in preferving religion and morality among my countrymen, instead of suborning them to take the oath falsely about bribery and corruption, debauching their minds by giving them money, that is of no use to their families, and keeping them in continued drunkenness, that makes them incapable for fome time of serving their country. against bribery and corruption, and requiring qualifications, fhews you want to exclude fome who defire to be admitted : our parliaments were follicitous to retain thofe, who would with to be exempt from attending. If the wages for attending parliament were encreafed, and even allow ing for the difference in the value of money, exceeded what they were in my days, I should not be much surprised at this alteration for as the time of your attendance, amounts to 220 or 230 days, a member's wages would come to 900 or 1000l. per annum: but, as I find your members expect no wages at all, their conduct is fomething extraordinary, I am told by a noble earl, who, while plain Sir Robert, had a principal hand in this change, that the many places and penfions, which your minifters have to difpofe of among the members of the houfe of commons, would, in his time, make every one willing to come in for a share. I cannot, however, imagine, that thefe places and pensions are fufficient to gratify 558 members; especially if we confider that fome of the 230 in your lordship's house would be naturally glad to put in their pretenfions. I will be bold to fay, that, if an account was taken of the number of perfons ruined, among those who gain their election, and those who lofe it, we fhould find, that all the places and penfions given among them, would not bring the ballance to be in their favour. Befides, we are told, that the times are changed from what they were, when the noble earl before mentioned was in power. Your prefent king has commanded his minifters not to interfere in elections, and his minifters with great readiness obey him; places and penfions will no longer be given to any one; because he is a member of parliament, because he can, or has ferved his country. Glorious change! yet I still find, as much money is fquandered, as many electors drunk, as many candidates ruined, and as many returning officers p....d in this general election, as any during the noble earl's administration and I hear, but I cannot believe it, that fome of the members of your lordship's house have been as bufy in canvaffing, bribing, and influencing electors, as if there was no act of parliament against it, To this, my lord, I attribute the lofs of what is found only in romances and novels among you, and what was common in my days....I mean, fimplicity of manners among the country people. Ruftic innocence was, in my time, as much among the men as among the women; but, there is fcarce any mode of vice or folly, that is not at this time equally known and practised by both sexes, and equally in the most obscure villages as the most populous cities. Let us confider, that a million of money was spent in treats and bribery at the last general election; and, if we take into the calculation the contefted elections, for which there are fome three, fome four candidates, and the money that is spent by their friends on these occaflons, we shall not find the. computation too high. What place then will not the influence of this immense sum extend to? Not even the smallest hamlet can escape; and you may as well look for purity of manners, innocence and fimplicity among the Capuaus of old, or in your Coyent-garden, as in any place that an election guinea, has found its way to. If I am too antiquated in my notions, if you difcover too much of the laudator temporis afli in me, I shall very readily kifs the rod of correction, from the hand of your Lordship. I am, my lord, Your lordship's Moft obedient humble servant, N. B. John Shordich in the reign of Edward III. fued the county of Mindlesex (for which he was returned to Parliament) to recover his wages. A fort Abort Account of the Factory of Bencoolen, and the Island of Carack. THE factory of Bencoolen is fituated on the island of Sumatra, in Afia, and produces fome drugs, but chiefly pepper. There has been lately fome new forts erected, but it was always in but an indifferent condition, in point of ftrength, both on account of the nature of the works, the fmall number of Europeans refiding there, and the natural timidity of the natives, who might occafionally affift in a defence. The island of Carack, being little known in Europe, and not at all remarked by travellers, fome fmall account of its present state by a perfon lately come from thence, may not be unacceptable to the public. About eight years ago Baron Kniphaufen being refident for the Dutch company at Bufforah, on fome trifling difpute with the Turkish government, was arrested and thrown into prison, and as it is very common among the Turks, had no way to procure his enlargement but by fubmitting to pay an exorbitant fine, to the amount of near 12000l. fterling, which he did, and there being two Dutch fhips in the river, he immediately fet fail with them for Batavia, where staying only a few days, he returned again into the Gulph with two fhips of force, landed here with a few workmen, fome timber, and other materials for building a fort, and fent his two fhips within the mouth of Bufforah river to make reprisals..........In the mean time two of the Turks ships, bound to Bufforah, ftopt at Carack (as was ufual) for pilots to carry them up the river.....The baron, not being able to detain them forcibly, amused the captains to stay till his two ships returned from the river, when he foized them both. When the Turks at Bufforah got advice of this, the mausoleem, or governor, fent people to offer to return the money, which the baron had been forced to pay, which was accepted, and the fhips released...At this time the baron got a grant of the island from the Perfians to the Dutch company, and he has built a tolerable good fort (garrifoned with 100 Europeans) a little town, and also has got together about 4000 inhabitants, and as the island is extremely well fituated for trade, being nearly in the middle channel between the shores of Perfia and Arabia Felix, and about 30 leagues from the mouth of Bufforah river, where all fhips bound to Bufforah, muft call for pilots; promifes in a little time to be a very flourishing place. The foil is rather fandy, but produces very good wheat. In feveral parts of the island are remains of Chriftian churches, by which it is conjectured, the Portuguese were once fettled here, tho' on the Dutch coming, it was only inhabited by a few poor. Persian fishermen, who were, and are still the pilots to Bufforah....Round the island are to be found fome fine pearls, but they lie in deep waters. Carack is about five miles in length and two in breadth, in the track of those who travel from our fettlements in India to Aleppo by the way of the Gulph. The military commanding officer at Carack, was, in 1758, a Scotch Hollander, and served as interpreter with the English who visited the place, Extract from the Memoirs of Ifaac Darkin, alias Dumas, who was lately executed at Oxford. HE was the son of a cork-cutter in Eastcheap, London, but being of a wild difpofition, he took to the road for money. In February 1758, he was tried at Chelmsford for robbing Capt. Cockburn, and received fentence of death; but, in confideration of his youth, was refpited, and remaining in gaol till the next affizes, the fentence was changed into transportation for 14 years. Not long after this, a scheme was formed by fome of the prifoners to escape, by murdering the keeper, turnkeys, &c. but Darkin, who was concerned, inform ed the keeper of it; who, for that favour, applied to Mr. Nugent, then a lord of the Treasury, in Darkin's behalf, and obtained the king's pardon, on condition of his ferving in Antigua. When he joined the regiment at Antigua, he found the life of a foldier very disagreeable, and therefore refolved to defert; and by infinuating himself into the good opinion of the Captain of a fhip lying there, and by large promifes of gratuity at his landing in England, he was taken on board, and stowed down in the hold; but he. he being miffed, the fhip was fufpected and fearched, but without fuccefs; ftill the was fufpected, and again searched, at which time Darkin appeared unnoticed among the crew in a failor's dress. When the ship arrived in England, he returned to his old course of robbing on the highway, particularly in the middle and weft of England; but being at length fo notorious, that he found it dangerous to continue much longer, he entered on board the Royal George man of war, and foon got rated as a midshipman. Under leave of abfence from his fhip, he vifited Bath several times, and committed robberies, particularly on lord Percival; of which the public has been already minutely informed. His character feems to be a medley of levity, compofed of virtues and vices; he had a large fhare of understanding, with lage a tolerable education; when in neceffity, he was daring beyond credibility, and his courage was frequently restrained by his high notion of honour, which he defined from detesting a mean appearance, and an abhorrence of cruelty; he poffeffed a foul which, in every hazardous enterprize, overlooked all dangers and difficulties, and which was fo firmly attached to his doxies, that his fhameful end must be imputed to his extravagance in their fupport; his converfation was agreeable, but rather trifling than fenfible; he was fond of an elegance in dress, and of being thought handsome; the character of Mackheath was his delight, and with which he diverted himself while in Oxford gaol. He fuffered before he arrived at the age of twenty-one, after a feries of robberies, by which he is faid to have gained no lefs than 600l. HISTORY OF CANADA. [Continued.] WHILE this miferable colony funk of St. Matthew, imputing, not without reafon, all their calamities to the new religion which fo many of their brethren had embraced, engaged in a confpiracy to affaffinate the miffionaries who should come to disturb their peace: but those fathers had, by this time, gained such an ascendency over these Indians, that when an opportunity happened, they had not refolution to execute their purpose; and not only allowed two travelling miffionaries to make converts among them, unmolest under fuch a complication of difafters, their brethren, the Tiononthates, fell a facrifice to their own temerity and infatuation. Their canton, or district, was extremely populous, the fingle village of St. John containing above fix hundred families. They received intelligence that three hundred Iroquois were in the field; and, in order to manifeft their contempt of fuch a body, all the warriors of the village took to their arms, and went in quest of the enemy. The Iroquois being ap-ed, but some of themselves came and deprised of their intention, refolved to destroy in their absence the village they had fo unwifely abandoned. With this view they changed their route, and fetching a compass, reached the town of St. John by day break. The first intimation that the wretched inhabitants received of their approach, was the hideous yell, or warwhoop, which was immediately followed with death and defolation. All the huts were burned to afhes, and all the inabitants put to the fword. Father Charles Garnier loft his life on this occafion, as he stood in the midst of slaughter, adminiftring the facrament of baptifm. His colleague, father Chabanel, who had been two days before this maffacre recalled from St. John, was murdered in the woods; in all probability, by one of his own attendants. Some of the Hurons, in the vile manded baptifm. The haplefs colony of St. Jofeph, being now reduced to an handful of people, intreated father Raguenau to lead them to Quebec, where they might cultivate fuch lands as fhould be allotted to them under the fecurity of the French fort, and the protection of their father Ononthio. There was no room for hefitation. They forthwith began their migration by the river of the Outawawas, and halted at Montreal, where no pains were spared to detain them: but there they did not think themselves fafe from the fury of the Iroquois. They, for that reafon, profecuted their voyage to Quebec, where they were humanely received by M. d'Allebout, the governor: but the colony was ftill fo poor, that it could not afford fubfiftence for all these guests, without exposing itself to the danger of famine. |