hope of discerning some majestic ship, and I watched the varied motion of the sea-gull, who in his oblique course endeavoured to contend against the wind, and then suddenly plunged into the sea with a cry of impatience. At length, however, I was compelled to pay the tribute; and it was not until we arrived within two miles of Dover, that I was enabled to raise my head, and recovering my strength resumed my taste for travelling.

Miss Hester's brother, who received us on our landing, conducted us to the Shakspeare Hotel, a very comfortable inn, where I write you this letter, before I pursue my journey to London. The Custom House officers did not detain us long, and the clerks of the Alien Office,* where we exchanged our passports for a certificate, were still more expeditious, so that we had time to visit a portion of the town.

We did not neglect to ascend Shakspeare Cliff, to enjoy the prospect so beautifully described in King Lear. It appears to me, however, that the poet has considerably augmented the height of the chalky masses, whence he says:

The fishermen that walk upon the beach,
Appear like mice.

* I must here once cast a reflection on the state of our police, and observe, that France is perhaps of all countries that in which travellers have the greatest difficulties to encounter, and have most frequently reason to deprecate official delays. Important business often depends on the expedition with which a journey is performed; and persons engaged in mercantile transactions may experience great pecuniary loss for the sake of a trifling formality.-I am also bound in justice to mention the politeness I experienced from the clerks of the Alien Office at Dover.

But I am not inclined to imitate the commentators, who quarrel with Homer for having exaggerated the width of the Hellespont.

The castle, with its terrific fortifications crowning the summit of Shakspeare Cliff, presents no very pleasing aspect. It seems to rise in the face of France as an everlasting monument of enmity and distrust. While we inspected the intrenchments, bastions, &c. I could read in Hester's eyes that her heart was inspired by a kind of Spartan sentiment, a feeling of heroic enthusiasm for her country, which she thus beheld armed in warlike terrors. I smiled at the fire which animated her soft blue eyes, while she contemplated the immense mass of military architecture. She wished me to share her admiration; but I could not enter into her feel ings so warmly as she would have wished. All my astonishment was reserved for Queen Anne's pocket pistol; a beautiful piece of cannon adorned with sculptured ornaments, which was presented by the states of Holland to Queen Anne, and which is said to be capable of firing a ball to the distance of seven miles. Pallas herself does not appear with attributes so formidable as this.

From the time of William the Conqueror, Dover has been regarded as the key and barrier of England. The foundation of its old Castle is even attributed to Julius Cæsar. Several of the towers are evidently of Norman origin; but works of recent date attest that the camp of Boulogne at least inspired prudent precautions against a

threatened invasion, which, as the Memorial of St. Helena informs us, was not merely an empty demonstration of hostilities. Dover Castle, though it has at all times been a formidable citadel, was, nevertheless, in the reign of Charles I. taken by twelve men. This was the nocturnal exploit of an ardent republican named Drake, who escaladed the rock, and so skilfully managed his attack, that the garrison, thinking they were assailed by a numerous force, surrendered at discretion. The forts which command Dover seem to threaten rather than defend the city, when it is considered that all its prosperity depends on peace. It is the interest both of Dover and Calais to remain on amicable terms with each other. Parents on either side of the channel readily exchange their children for a time, in order to familiarize them equally with both languages. These hostages present sufficient evidence of the community of interests. If in Calais we may fancy ourselves in England, we may also in some measure suppose ourselves in France when at Dover.

From Shakspeare Cliff we descended into the town by a curious flight of stairs, cut circularly in the rock, and I took a walk through some of the streets. The eye is naturally struck with the slightest peculiarities in the aspect of a foreign nation, which one visits for the first time. I certainly observed characteristic traits in the appearance of the innkeepers. The English novel writers who are so fond of painting these characters, copy

from a given model, which, though it admits of but little scope for variety, is nevertheless true to

nature.

The difference of dress is by no means remarkable. I was therefore immediately struck by the appearance of two quaker ladies, whose costume is as unlike that of the rest of the English population, as the dress of our nuns differs from that of the ladies of Paris.

This comparison occurs to me, because I thought I could trace a resemblance between the modest deportment and simple appearance of these quaker ladies, and the air of calm piety which our French nuns preserve, even amidst the tumult of crowded cities. There are indeed other traits of similitude between the forms of the society of friends and the rules of several catholic congregations; but as I hope to have an opportunity of making myself acquainted with the tenets of the different christian sects in England, I shall suspend my remarks on this subject, until I collect that degree of information which a foreigner cannot acquire, until after he has resided for some time in a country.

I hear the sound of a horn beneath my window: it is the signal for the departure of the stage in which we have engaged places. I have therefore only time to say adieu.

LETTER III.

To the same.

If you wish to form an idea of the vehicle which conveyed us from Dover to London, you must banish all thoughts of the heavy rolling machines which daily depart from the Rue NotreDame-des-Victoires. Picture to yourself a neat coach, drawn by four spirited horses, seemingly proud of their fleetness and the good harnesses with which they are provided, a well fed and well dressed coachman on the box, and a guard behind. Such was the equipage which I found waiting for me at the door of the Shakspeare Hotel.

I resigned my inside place to Miss Hester, who had to go only about half way to London, and mounted the roof of the coach, where a gentleman may take his place without compromising his dignity, and which indeed is preferred by those who wish to see the country.

Our Automedon smacked his whip, and we soon found ourselves on a fine road as smooth as the gravel walk of a park, along which our wheels rolled so softly that they scarcely left a trace behind them. More than thirty similar coaches proceed in the same direction. We outstripped some, and were ourselves outstripped by others. A spirit of rivalry animates both horses and