344 A LETTER 22d there was prefented to the house and read, a petition of feveral cutting butchers of London, Westminster, and Southwark, fubfcribers thereunto, fetting forth the faid bill, and alledging,, that the farmer and grazier confign their fheep and lambs to their refpective falefmen in town, who fell the fame to another fet of men, called carcafe butchers, who are about twenty-eight in number; and that the carcate butchers have been long labouring to ingrofs to themfelves the whole power of fupplying the town with mutton and lamb; and each of them, upon an average, buy weekly of the fade men four hundred head a-piece, which they retail out to a numerous body of cutting butchers; the falefmen and carcafe butchers therefore have it in their power to comhine together, and buy and fell at what price they pleafe, and thereby fubject both the grazier and house-keeper to fuch price as they think fit; and reprefenting, that the great fource and principal caule of the then prefent dearness of provifions was chiefly owing to the carcafe-butchers having the fole power of fupplying the cutting butchers with mutton and lamb; and that if an opportunity was given to the numerous body of cutting butchers to buy in open market, the price of provifions would be reduced, and the graziers and farmers get a better price for their fheep and lambs; and therefore praying, that the prefent method of trade, in refpect to the fellirg fheep and lambs by one butcher to another as abovementioned, might be varied and altered for the benefit of the public, in fuch a manner as might he most agreeable to the house. [To be continued in our next.] The Hiftory of the Seffion of 1766, will be entered upon in our next. A Letter to Mr. T. Browne. Continued Alive in the July when found out, it is impoffible to fhew to the vulgar. On the contrary, I cannot help judging, that we are furnifhed with natural abilities of knowing God; and even children, when properly inftructed, are capable of forming rational fentiments of the one God and Father of all. Had men attended to the voice of reafon and common fenfe, they might eafily have preferved the familiar notion of one God, untainted by superstition and idolatry. But it is matter of lamentation to confider, how apt mankind have been in almost all ages and countries to depart from the right opinion of the God of nature, whom they may perpetually fee before their eyes, and to form to themselves imaginary deities. The state of the heathen world with regard to religion, as it existed before, and at our Saviour's time, demonftrates to my understanding the truth. of chriftianity, as the philofophers themselves, notwithstanding all their fine fpeculations of God, morality, and immortality of the foul, contributed their part by example and precept to the fupport of the groffeft fuperftition and idolatry, and which doubtless they heartily defpifed, and privately ridiculed. Behold the divine Plato and glórious Tully falling down. and worshipping a ftatue of wood or ftone, reprefenting a God that had no existence in nature, according to the cuftom of their respective countries! On the other hand, behold many of the common people, of whom these philofophers had fo low an opinion, refufing to caft even a little incenfe upon an altar dedicated to falfe Gods, and choosing rather to lay down their lives than be guilty of the leaft act of idolatrous worship! a very furprizing phenomenon this, effected by the doctrine of Chrift and his apofties! The letter writer obferves, in order to invalidate my remark relating to the unity of God being a plain and fano eafy matter to lay, wherein conlits miliar notion, that perhaps it may be the unity even of the things that are before us. A houfe is as truly an unite as a window, although many of the latter are contained in the former. But does not every one know what one house means though confisting of many windows; and what one window means, though confifting of many panes 1766. From the Author of the Appeal, &c. 345 panes of glass, without any particular hope it will prove fatisfa&tory, and explication? In whatever light we view the notion of an unite, it appears plain, clear, and diftin&t. One whole may confist of feveral parts, but each diftinct part cannot poffibly be the fame with the whole neither can the whole be the fame with each of the diftinct parts. Or to exprefs it by numbers: three bodies may form one complex body, but they cannot either of them be that one body, which this complex body is, neither can this complex body be that one body which either of them is. And the like holds true of perfons, agents, governors, or whatever you please. Three intelligent agents, I think, the gentleman allows, cannot be one intelligent agent. Three first causes, cannot be one first cause. Three fupreme lords cannot be one fupreme lord. Three fupreme Gods cannot be one fupreme God. It has been fometimes plaufibly argued, that we cannot form a clear notion of one God, because his nature is confeffedly incomprehenfible: But this tends to the fame effect as if we fhould conIclude, that we could have no clear notion what one man fignifies; for the most ingenious anatomist cannot comprehend the whole nature of man, who is wonderfully and fearfully made: He may understand many particulars relating to man; but he cannot comprehend in what manner life was at first produced, or is ftill continued ; how the feveral parts of this wonderful ftructure confpire to the fame grand defign. Upon the whole, the doctrine of one fupreme God and Father of all, from whom all beings derive their existence and powers, appears to my understanding fo extremely evident from the Old and New Teftament, as being directly and plainly declared in many important paffages, and inplied in thoufands; that if this be not the doctrine of Mofes and the prophets, of Chrift and his apoftles, I must defpair of understanding the cleareft notions delivered in the most precife and decifive language. Thus in compliance with your requeft, I have wrote an answer to the last letter of T. I. directed to me, and July, 1766. am, fir, Your most obedient ¡Humble fervant, 1 The Author of the Appeal. P.S. I fhould have juft reminded' the letter writer, that I have not contended that the Logos is a creature, but only have produced fome paffages, wherein, according to the ftrict propriety of the Greek, our Saviour is faid to be the first being produced, or created; the word creature I have never applied to him, as being unfcriptural; and if this term be rightly deduced from thofe paffages, the cenfure of it, if it deferves any, muft fall upon the feripture itself. As to the difagreeable imputation of having followers, I only profess to have been an humble inftrument in pointing out the light of fcripture to common chriftians, which, if they clearly difcern with their own underftandings, they are in this cafe, strictly fpeaking, not followers of me, but of Chrift and his apostles. Extracts from Smollet's Travels. R. Smollet, in his fourth and Dfifth letters, gives the following account of the inhabitants, &c. of Boulogne. "The inhabitants of Boulogne may be divided into three claffes; the nobleffe or gentry, the burghers, and the canaille. I don't mention the clergy, and the people belonging to the law, because I shall occafionally trouble you with my thoughts upon the religion and ecclefiaftics of this country; and as for the lawyers, exclufive of their profeffion, they may be confidered as belonging to one or other of these divifions. The nobleffe are vain, proud, poor, and flothful. Very few of them have above fix thousand livres a year, which may amount to about two hundred and fifty pounds fterling; and many of them have not half this revenue. I think there is one heiress, faid to be worth one hundred thousand livres, about four thoufand two hundred pounds; but then her jewels, her cloaths, and even her linen, are reckoned part of this fortune. The nobleffe have not the common sense to refide at their houses in the country, where, by farming Y y their EXTRACTS 346 their own grounds, they might live at a fmall expence, and improve their eftates at the fame time. They allow their country-houfes to go to decay, and their gardens and fields to wafte; and refide in dark holes in the Upper Town of Boulogne, without light, air, or convenience. There they ftarve within doors, that they may have wherewithal to purchase fine cloaths, and appear dreffed once a day in the church, or on the rampart. They have no education, no tafte for reading, no housewifery, nor indeed any earthly occupation, but that of dreffing their hair and adorning their bodies. They hate walking, and would never go abroad if they were not stimulated by the vanity of being feen. I ought to except indeed thofe who turn devotees, and spend the greatest part of their time with the prielt, either at church, or in their own houfes. Other amufements they have none in this place, except private parties of card-playing, which are far from being expenfive. Nothing can be more parfimonious than the conomy of these people: they live upon foupe and bouillé, fish and fallad: they never think of giving dinners, or entertaining their friends; they even fave the expence of coffee and tea, though both are very cheap at Boulogne. They prefume that every perfon drinks coffee at home, immediately after dinner, which is always over by one o'clock; and, in lieu of tea in the afternoon, they treat with a glass of fherbet, or capillaire. In a word, I know not a more infignificant fet of mortals then the noblefle of Boulogne; helpless in themselves, and ufelefs to the community; without dignity, fenfe, or fentiment; contemptible from pride, and ridiculous from vanity. They pretend to be jealous of their rank, and will entertain no cor refpondence with the merchants, whom they term plebeians. They likewise keep at a great distance from ftrangers, on pretence of a delicacy in the article cf punctilio: but, as I am informed, this ftateliness is in a great measure affected, in order to conceal their poverty, which would appear to greater diladvantage, if they admitted of a more familiar communication. Confidering the vivacity of the French people, one would imagine they could not poffibly lead fuch an infipid life, altogether unanimated by fociety, or diverfion. True it is, the only profane diverfions of this place are a puppet-fhow and a mountebank; but then their religion affords a perpetual comedy. Their high mafles, their feasts, their proceffions, their pilgrimages, confeffions, images, tapers, robes, incenfe, benedictions, fpectacles, reprefentations, and innumerable ceremonies, which revolve almost inces fantly, furnish a variety of entertainment from one end of the year to the other. If fuperftition implies fear, never was a word more mifapplied than it is to the mummery of the religion of Rome. The people are fo far from being impreffed with awe and religious terror by this fort of machinery, that it amufes their imaginations in the most agreeable manner, and keeps them always in good hu mour. A Roman catholic longs as impatiently for the feftival of St. Su aire, or St. Croix, or St. Veronique, as a school-boy in England for the reprefentation of punch and the devil; and there is generally as much laughing at one farce as at the other. Even when the defcent from the cross is acted, in the holy week, with all the circumftances that ought naturally to infpire the gravest sentiments, if you caft your eyes among the multitude. that croud the place, you will not difcover one melancholy face: all is prattling, tittering, or laughing; and ten to one but you perceive a number of them employed in hiffing the female who perfonates the Virgin Mary. And here it may not be amifs to obferve, that the Roman catholics, not content with the infinite number of faints who really existed, have not only perfonified the cross, but made two female faints out of a piece of linen. Veronique, or Veronica, is no other than a corruption of vera icon, or vera effigies, faid to be the exact reprefentation of our Saviour's face, impreffed upon a piece of linen, with which he wiped the fweat from his forehead in his way to the place of crucifixion. The fame is worshipped under the name of St. Suaire, from the Latin word fudarium. This fame handkerchief is faid to have had three folds, on on every one of which was the impreffion: one of these remains at Je. rufalem, a fecond was brought to Rome, and a third was conveyed to Spain. Baronius fays, there is a very ancient history of the fan&ta facies in the Vatican. Tillemont, however, looks upon the whole as a fable. Some fuppofe Veronica to be the fame with St. Hæmorrhoifla, the patronefs of those who are afflicted with the piles, who make their joint invocations to her and St. Fiacre, the fon of a Scotch king, who lived and died a hermit in France. The troops of Henry V. of England are faid to have pillaged the chapel of this Highland faint; who, in revenge, affifted his countrymen, in the French fervice, to defeat the English at Baugé, and afterwards afflicted Henry with the piles of which he died. This prince complained, that he was not only pla gued by the living Scots, but even perHecuted by thofe who were dead. I know not whether I may be allow ed to compare the Romish religion to comedy, and Calvinifm to tragedy. The first amufes the fenfes, and excites ideas of mirth and good-humour; the other, like tragedy, deals in the paffions of terror and pity. Step into a conventicle of diffenters, you will, ten to one, hear the minifter holding forth upon the sufferings of Chrift, or the torments of heil, and fee many marks of religious horror in the faces of the hearers. This is perhaps one -reason why the reformation did not -fucceed in France, among a volatile, giddy, unthinking people, fhocked at the mortified appearances of the Calvinifts; and accounts for its rapid progrefs among nations of a more melancholy turn of character and complexion: for, in the converfion of the multitude, reafon is generally out of the question. Even the penance impofed upon the catholics is little more than mock mortification: a murderer is often quit with his confeffor for faying three prayers extraordinary; and thefe eafy terms, on which abfolution : is obtained, certainly encourage, the repetition of the most enormous crimes. The pomp and ceremonies of this re-ligion, together with the great number of holidays they obferve, how foever they may keep up the fpirits of the commonalty, and help to diminish the fenfe of their own mifery, mut certainly, at the fame time, produce a frivolous tafte for frippery and fhew, and encourage a habit of idleness, towhich I, in a great measure, afcribe the extreme poverty of the lower people, Very near half of their time, which might be profitably employed in the exercife of induftry, is loft to themfelves and the community, in attendance upon the different exhibitions of religious mummery." The burghers here, as in other pla. ces, confift of merchants, fhop-keepers, and artifans. Soine of the 'mer. chants have got fortunes, by fitting out privateers during the war. A great many fingle fhips were taken from the English, notwithstanding the good look-out of our cruifers, who were fo alert, that the privateers from this coaft were often taken in four hours after they failed from the French harbour; and there is hardly a captain of an armateur, in Boulogne, who has not been prifoner in England five or fix times in the courfe of the war. They were fitted out at a very small expence, and used to run over, in the, night to the coast of England, where they hovered as English fishing fmacks, until they kidnapped fome coalter, with which they made the beft of their way across the Channel. If they fell in with a British cruizer, they furrendered without refiftance: the captor was foon exchanged, and the loss of the proprietor was not great: if they brought their prize fafe into the harbour, the advantage was confiderable. In time of peace the merchants of Boulogne deal in wine, brandies, and oil, imported from the South, and export fish, with the manufactures of France, to Portugal, and other countries; but the trade is not great. Here are two or three confiderable houfes of wine merchants from Britain, who deal in Bourdeaux wine, with which they ferve London and other parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The fishery of mackerel and herring is fo confiderable on this coaft, that it is faid to yield annually eight or nine hundred thousand livres, about thirtyfive thousand pounds sterling. The fhop-keepers, here drive a confiderable traffic with the English fmugglers, whofe cutters are almost the only veffels one fees in the harbour of Y y z Boulogne, FRENCH FURNITURE 248 Boulogne, if we except about a dozen of thofe flat-bottomed boats, which raifed fuch alarms in England, in the courfe of the war. Indeed they feem to be good for nothing elfe, and perhaps they were built for this purpose only. The finugglers from the coaft of Kent and Suflex pay Englith gold for great quantities of French brandy, tea, coffee, and fmall wine, which they run from this country. They likewife buy glafs trinkets, toys, and coloured prints which fell in Eng land, for no other reafon, but that they come from France, as they may be had as cheap, and much better finished, of our own manufacture. They likewife take off ribbons, laces, linnen, and cambrics, though this branch of trade is chiefly in the hands of traders that come from London, and make their purchases at Dunkirk, where they pay no duties. It is certainly worth while for any traveller to Jay in a ftock of linen either at Dunkirk or Boulogne; the difference of the price at thefe two places is not great. Even here I have made a provifion of fhirts for one half of the money they would have coft in London. Undoubtedly the practice of fmuggling is very detrimental to the fair trader, and carries confiderable fums of money out of the kingdom, to enrich our rivals and enemies. The cuftom houfe officers are very watchful, and make a great number of feizures nevertheless, the fmugglers find their account in continuing this contraband commerce; and are faid to indemnify themselves, if they fave one cargo out of three. After all, the best way to prevent fmuggling, is to lower the duties upon the commodities which are thus introduced. I have been told, that the revenue upon tea has encreafed ever fince the duty upon it was diminished By the bye, the tea fmuggled upon the coaft of Suffex is most execrable ftuff. While I ftayed at Haftings for the conveniency of bathing, muft have changed my breakfast, if I had not luckily brought tea with me from London; yet we have as good tea at Boulogne for nine livres a pound, as that which fells at fourteen hillings at London. The bourgeois of this place feem to live at their eafe, probably in confe July The quence of their trade with the English. Their houfes confift of the groundfloor, one story above, and garrets. In thofe which are well furnished, you fee pier glaffes and marble slabs; but the chairs are either paultry things, made with ftraw bottoms, which coft about a fhilling a-piece, or old-fashioned, high-backed feats of needle-work stuffed, very clumsey and incommodious: The tables are square fir boards, that stand on edge in a corner, except when they are used, and then they are fet upon crofs legs that open and that occafionally. The king of France dines off a board of this kind. Here is plenty of table linen however. pooreft tradefman in Boulogne has a napkin on every cover, and filver forks with four prongs, which are used with the right hand, there being very little occafion for knives; for the meat is boiled or roafted to rags. The French beds are fo high that one is obliged to mount them by the help of steps; and this is alfo the cafe in Flanders. They very feldom ufe feather-beds; but they lie upon a paillasse, or bag of ftraw, over which are laid two, and fometimes three mattraffes. Their tefters are high and old-fashioned, and their curtains generally of thin bays, red, or green, laced with tawdry yel low in imitation of gold. In fome houfes, however, one meets with furniture of stamped linnen; but there is no fuch thing as a carpet to be seen, and the floors are in a very dirty con dition. They have not even the implements of cleanliness in this country. Every chamber is furnished with an armoire, or clothes-prefs, and a cheft of drawers of very clumley workmanship. Every thing fhews a deficiency in the mechanic arts. There is not a door nor a window, that shuts clofe. The hinges, locks, and latches, are iron, coarfely made, and ill contrived. The very chimnies are built fo open, that they admit both rain and fun, and all of them fmoke intolerably. If there is no cleanliness among these people, much lefs fhall we find delicacy, which is the cleanliness of the mind. Indeed they are utter strangers to what we call common decency; and I could give you fome highflavoured inftances, at which even a native of Edinburgh would stop his nose. |