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is encompaffed with rocks, especially toward France, of which the most noted are the Needles in the western point; in other parts it is protected by cliffs of chalk and free-ftone, These render it in moft places inacceffible; and, where the hore is almost level, and lies expofed as it does toward the fouth-eaft, it is fortified by caftles, forts, and block-houses.

wefterly oppofite to Christchurch. It where. There is every where plenty of hares, rabbits, partridges, pheafants, lapwings, and variety of wildfowl; it has two parks ftocked with deer; but only one fmall foreft, fo that the inhabitants are obliged to fetch their wood from the neighbouring coafts. Through the middle of the island runs a long ridge of hills from east to weft, which afford pafture for fheep, whofe wool is remarkably fine. In the north part is very good pafturage and meadow-ground. The fouthern is in a manner all a corn country, inclofed with hedges and ditches. Here is found the best tobacco-pipe clay, and fine white cryitalline fand, of which great quantities are used in the manufacture of glass.

The air is very healthy; the prospects are rich, extenfive, and pleafingly variegated; and the foil is uncommonly fruitful, it producing corn enough in one year to ferve the inhabitants feven; and this enables them to export great quantities, particularly barley, to England and elfe

D

The BRETON: A curious Hiftory.

[From Defmond, a Novel, in 3 vol. by Mrs. Charlotte Smith.]

LETTER XIII.

To Mr. BETHEL.

Hauteville, in Auvergne, Oct. 2, 1790. ID I not name to you a Breton, who had fomething in his air and manner unlike others of the peafantry?-Whenever I have obferved him, he seemed to be the amusement of his fellow labourers; there was an odd quaint kind of pleasantry about him; and I wished to enter into conversation with him, which I had yefterday evening an opportunity of doing. You are not of this part of France, my friend?' faid I- No, monfieur-I am a Breton-And now, would return into my own country again, but that, in a fit of impatience, at the exceffive impofitions I laboured under, I fold my little property about four years ago, and now muft continue to courir le monde, & de vivre comme il plaroit à Dieu'Sterne has, I think, tranflated that to be upon nothing. My acquaintance did not appear to be fond of fuch

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I believe,' replied he, that I am naturally of a temper a little impatient; and it was not much qualified by making a campaign or two against the English; the firft was in a fhip of war, fitted out at St. Malo's—or, in other words, Monfieur, a privateer ; for though I was bred a failor, and loved fighting well enough, I was refufed even as Enfigne de vaiffeau*, on board a king's fhip, because I was not a gentleman-My father, however, had a pretty little eftate, which he inherited from his great, great grandfather-But he had an elder fon, and I was to fcramble through the world as well as I could-They wanted, indeed, to make me a monk; but I had a mortal averfion to that métier †, and thought it better to run the rifque of getting my head taken off by a cannon ball, than to fhave it-My first debut was not very fortunate+ Trade-profeffion.

Anfwering, I believe, to our midshipmen.

himself dying, he called to me to
come to him "Tis all over with
me, my friend,' faid he- N'importe
one muft die at fome time or other,
but I fhould have liked it better by a
cannon ball-Nothing, however, vexes
me more in this bufinefs, than that I
have been the means of bringing you
hither to die in this hole-(for, in
fast, it was' by his advice, I had en-
tered on board the privateer) how-
ever, it may be, you will out-live
this confounded place, and have ano-
ther touch at thele damned English.'
National hatred, that strange and ri-
diculous prej lice in which my poor
old friend had lived, was the lan fen-
fation he felt in death-He died
quietly enough, in a few moments
afterward, and the next day I saw him
tied up be ween two boards, by way
of the coffin, which was to be pro-
vided by contract; and depofited in
the foffe that furrounded our prifon,
in a grave, dug by contract, and of
courfe verv fhallow, in which he was
covered with about an inch of mold,
which was by contract alfo, put over
him, and feven other prisoners, who
died at the fame time--My youth,
and a great flow of animal fpirits,
carried me through this wretched
fcene-And a young officer, who was
a native of the fame part of Britany,
and who was a prifoner on parole, at
a neighbouring town, procured leave
to vifit the prifon at Winchefter, and
enquired me out-He gave me, though
he could command very little money
himself, all he had about him, to affift
me in procuring food, and promised
to try if he could obtain for me my
parole, as he knew my parents, and
was concerned for my fituation-But
his intentions, in my favour, were
foon fruftrated, for, on the appearance
of the combined fleets in the channel,
the French officers, who were thought
too near the coaft, were ordered away
to Northampton, while, very foon
afterward, a number of Spaniards, who
had among them a fever of a most
malignant fort, were fent to the pri-
fon already over-crowded, and death

We fell in with an English frigate,
with whom, though it was hopeless
encugh to contend, we exchanged a
few hot, for the honour of our coun-
try; and one of those we were fa-
voured with in return, tore off the flesh
from my right leg, without breaking
the bone-The wound was bad e-
nough, but the English furgeon fewed
it up, and before we landed, I was fo
well as to be fent with the rest of our
rew to the prifon at Winchefter--I
had heard a great deal of the humanity
of the English to their prifoners, and
fuppofed I might bear my fate with-
out much murmuring; but we were
not treated the better for belonging
to a privateer. I he prifon wa over-
crouded, and very unhealthy-The
provifions, I believe, might be libe-
rally allowed by your government, but
they were to pass through the hands
of 10 many people, every one of which
had their advantage out of them, that,
before they were diftributed in the
prifon, there was but little reafon to
boast of the generofity of your coun-
trymen. To be fure, the wifdom and
humanity of war is very remarkable
in a scene like this, where one nation
fhuts up five or fix thoufand of the
fubjects of another, to be fed by con-
tract while they live; and when they
die, which two-thirds of the number
feldom fail to do-to be buried by
contract - Yes! -out of nine-and
twenty of us poor devils, who were
taken in our little privateer, fourteen
died within three weeks; among
whom, was a relation of mine, a
gallant fellow, who had been in the
former wars with the English, and
ftood the hazards of many a bloody
day-He was an old man, but had a
conftitution fo enured to hardships,
and the changes of climate, that he
feemed likely to fee many more--A
vile fever that lurked in the prifon
feized him-My hammock (for we
were flung in hammocks, one above
another, in those great, miferable
rooms, which compofe, what they
fay is, an unfinished palace) was
hung above his, and when he found

began

began to make redoubled havock among its wretched inhabitants Of fo dire a nature was the difeale thus imported, that while the bodies, that were thrown over-board from the Spanish fleet, and driven down by the tide on the coafts of Cornwall and Devonshire, carried its fatal influence into thofe countries, the prifoners, who were fent up from Plymouth, diffeminated deftruction in their route, and among all who approached them; thus becoming the inftruments of greater mischief, than the fword and the bayonet could have executed. Not only the miferable prifoners of war, who were now a mixture of French, Spanish, and Dutch perished by dozens every day; but the foldiers who guarded them, the attendants of the prison, the phyfical men who were fent to adminifter medicines, and foon afterward, the inhabitants of the town, and even those of the neighbouring country began to fuffer- Then it was that your government perceiving this bleffing of war likely to extend itfelf rather too far, thought proper to give that attention to it, which the calamities of the prisoners would never have excited. A phyfician was fent down by parliament, to examine into the causes of this fcourge; and in confequence of the impoffibility of ftopping it while fuch numbers were crowded together, the greater part of the French, whom ficknefs had fpared, were dismissed, and I, among others, returned to my own country. I, foon after, not discouraged by what had befallen me, entered on board another privateer, which had the good fortune to capture two Weft-India ships, richly laden, and to bring them fafely into l'Orient, where we difpofed of their cargoes; and my fhare was fo confiderable, that I determined to quit the fea, and return to my friends When, in pursuance of this refolution, I arrived at home, I found my father and elder brother had died during my abfence; and I took poffeffion of the little estate to which I thus became heir, and began to think

myself a perfon of fome confequence. In commencing country gentleman, I fat myfelf down to reckon all the advantages of my fituation-An extenfive tract of waste land lay on one fide of my little domain-On the other, a forest My fields abounded with game-a river ran through them, on which I depended for a fupply of fish; and I determined to make a little warren, and to build a dove-cote. I had undergone hardships enough to give me a perfect relish for the good things now within my reach; and I resolved moft piously to enjoy them

But I was foon disturbed in this agreeable reverie-I took the liberty of firing one morning at a covey of partridges, that were feeding in my corn; and having the fame day caught a brace of trout, I was fitting down to regale myfelf on thefe dainties, when I received the following notice from the neighbouring seigneur, with whom I was not at all aware that I had any thing to do.

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The most high and most powerful feigneur, Monfeigneur Raoul-PhillippeJofeph-Alexandre-Cæfar Erifpoé, baron de Kermanfroi, fignifies to LouisJohn de Merville, that he the faid feigneur is in quality of lord Paramount, is to all intents and purposes invested with the fole right and property of the river running through his fief, together with all the fish therein; the ruines, reeds, and willows that grow in or near the faid river; all trees and plants that the faid river waters; and all the islands and aits within it-Of all and every one of which the high and mighty lord, Raoul - Phillippe - Jofeph-AlexanderCæfar Erifpoé, Baron de Kermanfroi, is abfolute and only proprietor-Also, of all the birds of whatfoever nature or fpecies, that have, fhall, or may, at any time fly on, or across, or upon, the faid fief or feigneury-And all the beasts of chafe, of whatfoever defcription, that have, fhall, or may be found upon it.'-In fhort, fir, it concluded with informing me, the faid Louis-Jean, that if I, at any time,

dared

dared to fish in the river, or to fhoot a bird upon the faid fief, of which it feems my little farm unluckily made part, I thould be delivered into the hands of juice, and dealt with according to the utmost rigour of the offended laws. To be fure, I could not help enquiring within myself, how it happened, that I had no right to the game thus fed in my fields, nor the nifh that swam in the river? and how it was, that heaven, in creating these animals, had been at work only for the great feigneurs!-What! is there nothing, faid I, but infects and reptiles, over which man, not born noble, may exercise dominion? From the wren to the eagle; from the rabbit to the wild boar; from the gudgeon to the pike-all, all, it teems, are the property of the great. "Twas hard to imagine where the power originated, that thus deprived all other men of their rights, to give to thofe nobles the empire of the clements, and the dominion over animated nature! -- However, I reflected, but I did not refiit; and fince I could no longer bring myself home a dinner with my gun, I thought to confole myfelf, as well as I could, with the produce of my farm-yard; and I contructed a small enclosed pigeon-house, from whence, without any offence to my noble neighbour, I hoped to derive fome fupply for my table - But, alas! the comfortable and retired ftate of my pigeons attracted the arikocratic envy of thofe of the fame fpecies, who inhabited the spacious manorial dove-cote of Monfeigneur; and they were so very unreasonable as to cover, in immenfe flocks, not only my fields of corn, where they committed infinite depredations, but to furround my farm-yard, and monopolize the food with which I fupplied my own little collection, in their enclofures. As if they were inftinctively affured of the protection they enjoyed as belonging to the feigneur RaoulPhillippe Jofeph - Alexander - Cæfar

Erifpoé, Baron de Kermanfroi; my menaces, and the fhouts of my fervants, were totally difregarded; till, at length, I yielded too haftily to my indignation, and threw a ftone at a flight of them, with fo much effect, that I broke the leg of one of these pigeons; the confequence of which was, that in half an hour, four of the gardes de chaffe* of Monfeigneur appeared, and fummoned me to declare, if I was not aware, that the wounded bird which they produced in evidence against me, was the property of the faid feigneur; and without giving me time either to acknowledge my crime, or apologize for it, they thot, by way of retaliation, the tame pigeons in my enclosures, and carried me away to the chateau of the most high and puiffant fegneur Raoul-Philippe-Jofeph-Alexandre-Cafar Erifpoé, Baron de Kermanfroi, to answer for the affault I had thus committed on the person of one of his pigeons-There I was interrogated by the Fifcal, who was making out a proces verbal; and reproved feverely for not knowing or attending to the fact, fo univerfally acknowledged by the laws of Britany, that pigeons and rabbits were creatures peculiarly dedicated to the fervice of the nobles; and that for a vaffal, as I was, to injure one of them, was an unpardonable offence against the rights of my lord, who might inflict any punishment he pleafed for my tranfgreffion-That indeed, the laws of Beauvoifis pronounced, that fuch an offence was to be punished with death; but that the milder laws of Britany condemned the offender only to corporal punishment, at the mercy of the lord-In fhort, fir, I got off this time by paying a heavy fine to Monfeigneur Raoul. Phillippe - Jofeph - Alexander - Cæfar Erifpoé Baron de Kermanfroi, who was extremely neceffitous, in the midst of his greatness. -Soon afterward, Monfeigneur difcovered that there was a certain fpot upon my eftate, where

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to be laid under water, and that he would either give me a piece of ground of the fame value, or pay me for it according to the eftimation of two períons whom he would appoint; but, that in case I refufed this juft and liberal offer, he should, as lord Paramount, and of his own right and authority, make his pond by flooding my ground, according to law.

a pond might be made, for which he fine meadow was covered with water, found that he had great occafion; and and became the receptacle for the he very modeftly fignified to me, that carp, tench, and eels of Monfeigneur he fhould cause this piece of ground And remonftrances and complaints were in vain!-These were only part of the grievances I endured from my unfortunate neighbourhood to this powerful Baron, to whom, in his miferable and half furnished chateau, I was regularly fummoned to do homage upon faith and oath '—Till my oppreffions becoming more vexatious and infupportable, I took the defperate refolution of felling my eftate, and throwing myfelf again upon the wide world-Paris, whither I repaired with the money for which I fold it, was a theatre fo new, and fo agreeable to me, that I could not determine to leave it till I had no longer the means left of playing there a very brilliant part; when that unlucky hour arrived, I wandered into this country, and took up my abode with a relation, a farmer, who rents fome land of Monfeigneur the Count d'Hauteville, and here I have remained, at times, working, but oftener philofophifing, and not unfre quently regretting my dear cak, and the firft agreeable vilions that I indulged on taking poffeffion of my little farm, before I was aware of the confequences of being a vaffal of Monfeigneur Raoul-Phillippe-JofephAlexander-Cæfar Erifpoé, Baron de Kermanfroi, and indeed fometimes repenting that I did not wait a little longer, when the revolution would have protected me against the tyranny of my very illustrious neighbour.'

I felt this propofal to be inconfiftent with every principle of justice In this fpot was an old oak, planted. by the firit de Merville, who had bought the eftate-It was under its fhade that the happiest hours of my life had paffed, while I was yet a child, and it had been held in veneration by all my family-I determined then to defend this favourite fpot; and I hastened to a neighbouring magiftrate, learned in the law-He confidered my cafe, and then informed me, that, in this inftance, the laws of Britany were filent, and that therefore, their deficiency must be fupplied by the customs and laws of the neighbouring provinces-The laws of Maine and Anjou, faid he, decide, that the seigneur of the fief, may take the grounds of his vaffal to make ponds, or any thing elfe, only giving him another piece of ground, or paying what is equivalent in money -As precedent, therefore, decides, that the fame thing may be done in Britany, I advife you, Louis-Jean de Merville, to submit to the laws, and, on receiving payment, to give up your land to Monfeigneur RaoulPhillippe - Jofeph - Alexander - Cæfar Erifpoé, Baron de Kermanfroi.

It was in vain I reprefented that I had a particular tafte, or a fond attachment to this fpot. My man of law told me that a vaffal had no right to any taste or attachment, contrary to the fentiments of his lord-And, alas!-in a few hours, I heard the hatchet laid to my beloved oak-My

De Merville here ended his narrative, every word of which I found to be true; and I could not but marvel at the ignorance or effrontery of those who affert that the noblefe of France either poffeffed no powers inimical to the general rights of mankind, or poffeffing fuch, forbore to exert them. The former part of his life bears teftimony to the extreme benefits accruing from war, and cannot but raise a wish, that the power of doing fuch extenfive good to mankind, and re

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