to prefent a woman to a traveller. It may be, there are women who dedicate themfelves to this fpecies of devotion as to an act of benevolence, for it is impoffible to defcribe all the varieties of opinion among men, or the whims to which the human fancy is fubject. The Moorish women who live in cities are, as in other nations, more addicted to fhew and finery in dress than thofe of the country; but, as they generally leave the house only one day in the week, they feldom drefs themfelves. Not allowed to receive male vifitors, they remain in their houfes employed in their families, and fo totally in difhabille, that they often wear only a fhift, and another coarfer fhift over the firft, tied round their waift, with their hair plaited, and fometimes with, though often without, a cap. When dreffed, they wear an ample and fine linen fhift, the bofom embroidered in gold; a rich caftan of cloth, ftuff, or velvet, worked in gold; and one or two folds of gauze, ftreaked with gold and filk, round the head, and tied behind fo as that the fringes, intermingled with their treffes, defcend as low as the waift; to which fome add a ribband of about two inches broad, worked in gold or pearls, that encircles the forehead in form of a diadem. Their caftan is bound round their waift by a crimson velvet girdle, embroidered in gold, with a buckle of gold or filver, or elfe a girdle of tamboured fluff, manufactured at Fez. The women have yellow flippers, and a custom of wearing a kind of flocking of fine cloth fomewhat large, which is tied below the knee and at the ancle, over which it fails in folds. This flocking is lefs calcu lated to fhew what we call a handfome leg, than to make it appear thick; for to be fat is one of the rules of beauty among the Moorish women. To obtain this quality, they take infinite pains, feed when they become nubile on a diet, fomewhat like forced-meat balls, a certain quantity of which is given them daily; and, in fine, the fame care is taken among the Moors to fatten young women, as is in Europe to fatten fowls. The reafon of a caftom like this may be found in the nature of the climate, and the quality of the aliments, which make the people naturally meagre. Our flender waifts, and fine-turned ancles, would be imperfections in this part of Africa, and, perhaps, over all that quarter of the globe; fo great is the contraft of taste, and fo various the prejudices of nations. The Moors present their wives with jewels of gold, filver, or pearl, but very few wear precious ftones; this is a luxury, of which they have little knowledge. They have rings in filver or gold, alfo ear-rings in the form of a crescent, five inches in circumference, and as thick as the end of the little finger. They firft pierce their ears, and introduce a fmall roll of paper, which they daily increafe in thicknefs, till at length they infert the kernel of the date, which is equal in fize to the ear-ring. They wear bracelets in gold and folid filver, and filver rings at the bottom of their legs, fome of which I have feen confiderbly heavy. There are youths among the sharifs, or nobility, who wear at one ear a gold or filver ring, from four to five inches in circumference; but this cuftom is more general among the black flaves belonging to people of fome diftinction. -All All these trinkets, which the women are exceedingly defirous to obtain, were originally figns of flavery, which men, to render its yoke, more fufferable, have thus infenfibly changed to ornaments. Europe received fuch tokens of dependence from Afia, embellifhed them with all the riches of nature, and the decorations of art, till at length earrings and bracelets, first worn as badges of fervitude, are now become the paraphernalia of the empire of beauty. The ufe of white paint is unknown among the Moorish women, and that of red but little. It is much more common to fee them dye their eyebrows and eyelashes; which dye does not add to the beauty of the countenance, but confiderably to the fire of the eyes. They trace regular figures with henna, of a faffron colour, on their feet, the palm of the hand, and the tip of their fingers. On their vifiting day, they wrap themselves in a clean fine haick, which comes over the head, and furrounds the face, fo as to let them fee without being feen. When they travel, they wear straw hats to keep off the fun, and in fome parts of the empire the women wear hats on their visits, which is a fashion peculiar to the tribes coming from the fouth, who have preferved their cuftoms; for the Moors do not change modes they have once adopted.* They are in no wife fufceptible of that continual change of fashions fo studied and so rapid in Europe, and ON porary with the ancient Chinese, to be able to fpeak with any certainty of their primitive character. That which they have at prefent, has been acquired, it is the fruit of long difcipline, and of four thousand years habitude. Montaigne has faid, that custom becomes a fecond nature; it is at least certain, that it impairs and greatly corrupts the firft. The following we confider as a ftriking example. If we take a furvey of all the different provinces of France, we shall find in each particular, features and marks of character, which diftinguifh their various inhabitants, and which even point out their difference of origin. It would be in vain to expect any information of this kind from rank or dignity. If, in the like manner, we caft our eye over the Chinese empire, a perfect uniformity will be obferved in the whole, and all will appear to have been caft in the fame mould. Hence it happens that the Chinese, in general, are a mild and affable people; polite even to excefs; circumfpect in all their actions, and always at The hat is common to men and women among the Moors who travel, and the cuftom of wearing it came from Africa to Europe. The Spaniards, because of the heat of their climate, ftill, as much as they can, wear it flapped, and have called it fombrero, or fhady. The French gave it the name of chappeau, because it fupplied the ufe of the cape or hood of their ancient drefs, which they called chapel. tentive to weigh the confequences of every thing they are about to attempt; more careful not to expofe their prudence to danger, than to preferve their reputation; as fufpicious of firangers, as they are ready to take advantage of them; too much prepoffeffed with a notion of their own importance, to be fenfible of their defects, and entertaining too high ideas of their own knowledge, to feek for inftruction from others. We mufi confider this nation as an ancient monument, refpectable by its duration; admirable in fome of its parts, defective in others; the immutable flability of which has, how. ever, been attefied by a duration of four thousand years. This bafe, fo folid, is fupported by one fingle pillar; that progreffive fubmiflion, which rifes gradually from the bofom of a family, even to the throne. In other retpects, the Chinele have their paftions and caprices, which even the law does not always attempt to reprets. They are naturally litigious, and in China, as well as in other countries, a man may, if he choofes, ruin himfelf by too often giving employment to the tribunals. They are fond of money, and what in France or England would be accounted ufury, is only a retribution, authorifed in China. A Chinese is vindictive, though not fond of purfuing violent means to fatiate his revenge; thefe are prohibited, but he generally gains his end by craftinels or fratagem, and confequently with impunity. Great crimes are very uncommon among the Chinese, vices much lefs fo, and the law neither fearches aber nor punishes them, but when they offend againft, and violate public decency. The manners of the Tartars, who fubdued China, differ confiderably from thofe of the conquered nation. They have borrowed its cuftoms, but they still retain their original character. A Tartar is obliging and liberal, an enemy to every fpecies of diffimulation, and more defirous of enjoying his fortune than of increafing it. In all affairs, even in thofe of the cabinet, he difcovers a penetration and acutenefs which greatly leffen their difficulties; and in tranfaétions of smaller moment, he difplays that expeditious activity which may be juftly called the foul of bufinefs. His ready and quick judgement accomplithes its purpose better, and more in feafon, than the profound and flow meditation of the Chinefe. In a word, the fuperiority which the Tartars have over the Chinese in point of arms, is not the only thing which diftinguithes them; they can even difpute the prize with them in other refpects. But if we are defirous of finding, among the Chinese, opennefs of temper, henevolence, friendship, and, lafily, virtue, we must not seek for it in cities, but in the bofom of the country, among that clafs of men who have devoted themfelves to labour and agriculture. A Chinefe ruftic often difcovers moral qualities, which would add a luftre to the characler of men of the most exalted rank. It appears that rural life naturally infpires fentiments of benevolence; by continually receiving the gifts of nature, the mind is enlarged, and men are infenfibly accufiomed to diffufe them to thofe around them. In fhort, one muft have very little knowledge of the Chinese annals to be ignorant that China has produced great men of every kind, and taken from all claf fes. When we travellers can be honeft enough to give you things as they firike us at fight, I fear that the faults will always fand firft. The foibles and defects of this people muft make the firft and frongeft impreflion. I believe there is no great danger of the two nations foon becoming very fond of each other. The one values itfelf on the kinds of merit which are neither efteemed nor wanted by the other. The French muft defpite the English folid fenfe, and independent fpirit, perhaps as much as we do their prit, graces, agreements. They muft diflike our fullen, proud, awkard manner, as much as we do their conceit, vanity, -leur manieres avantageuses, l'envie de se faire valoir, leur ja'uité, &c. It requires fome time to difcover, through their politenels, how much they diflike us. Yet, if it were not for a war tow and then, I should fear our hoi They may hate us, while we defpife them, and contempt may be full as powerful in its effects as hatred. Yet, I believe, we fhall generally find many more English in France, than French in England. Perhaps fome of us come here in order to get rid of our ill-humour, or to vent it on them, like those who keep a humble dependant to fcold at. Although we may reciprocally improve by intercourfe, and it might be better for mankind were nations to mix more with each other, yet one would with each to retain their native character,that national flamp which diferiminates it from the reft. In order to this, it may be well to dwell on the faults we would wish to avoid, Ifball therefore go on as at firft propofed, picking up a few of them en paplant. Though the national or prevailing character here, like that of other human beings, is mixed, and made up of good, bad, and indifferent qualities; yet fuch parts predominate, as make the compofition of a Frenchman very diftinguishable from that of any other:--but to know him, you must live with him; reading about him is intufficient. will find, for example, qu'il ne fe fuffit pas à lui mene, but lives by the breath and opinion of others more than on his own. You He will facrifice every other comfort of life to the ornament of his perfon. The lodging of a very fine petit maitre here, is often too mean and dirty for a taylor's journeyman with you. In them, all is borrowed, pofliche, and very little natural; ils veulent toujours reprefenter-their life is a mere parade. Yet they only copy from each other (tres moutoniers), while we are always flying off into fingularity, hunting after nature. or reality, but perhaps with lefs fuccefs in our attempts than they in theirs. They feem ever changing, but are ftill the fame. It is only we, that really change, with all our apparent fteadiness and gravity, The Frenchman, though fociably difpofed, with all that enviable gaieté de cœur, and affected goodnefs and confideration for others; yet as he is not in the habit of doing any thing effential for the public, and but little for his neighbour, and it is, perhaps, the lot of that kind of vivacity and flow of fpirits, to be capable of but little feeling or humanity; he is probably, on the whole, therefore a more felfish being than the fulky Englishman. I think I fee here, inftances of the felfifh prevailing over the friendly qualities, rather more than with us; the economical, or parfimonious, over the generous, the cruel and unfeeling over the humane,l'etourderie over fentiment,-a falfe tafte, or gout poftiche, over that of nature, Befides particular inftances, one fees it in generals, as in the feverity, and negligent compofition of fome laws, and in the mode of execution: in the general preference given to liferents over any fixed future provifion for pofterity, or relations. Perhaps we might infer fome want of feeling or humanity, from their want of tafte for the fimple beauty of nature and of action; and we may perceive, in the different degrees of art, paffion, or mufic, that they feel nothing, till the expreffion is carried to an outrageous and vulgar extreme, certainly beyond our line of beauty. But they like it, and that is a fhort and fufficient anfwer to all our objections. It is needlefs to difpute about tafte. While they can relish only thofe degrees of violence and expreffion, they may laugh at our criticisms. The degree of expreffion in all the arts must be tempered to the tone of mind of the fpectators, more than to the true nature of the paffion to be expressed. In a state of ease and tranquillity, a refined audience will not readily admit of the violence of real paflion, not of any of its dif tortions, beyond a certain limit of the graceful and temperate. This li mit may be extended, but should never be broken, by previously warming up the mind by fucceffive or accumulating impreffions. The French will never probably underftand the natural repofe of true and graceful dignity. Without the constant force of fome foreign aid and intercourfe, national character and tafte must perhaps ge nerally revert into fome confined tract or circle. And when national pride, conceit, and ignorance, are planted, they readily fpread, and tend, like other evils, to perpetuate themfelves. Though many of the French are now liberal, and willing enough to get rid of the hackles of nationality in tafie and character; yet, after a certain age, it is perhaps more impracticable with them, than with thole |