fubject of the last seven sentences of our Saviour, as recorded in the Evangeliits. Thefe ftrains are fo truly -impatiioned and full of heart - felt grief and dignified forrow, that tho' the movements are all flow, the fubjects, keys, and effects are fo new and fo different, that a real lover of Mufic will feel no laffitude, or wifh for lighter ftrains to ftimulate attention. His innumerable fymphonies, quartets, and other inftrumental pieces, which are fo original and fo difficult, have the advantage of being rehearfed and performed at E erhafi under his own direction, by a band of his own forming, who have apartments in the palace and practice from morning to night, in the fame room, according to Fifcher's account, like the ftudents in the confervatorios of Naples. Ideas fo new and fo varied were not at first fo univerfally admired in Germany as at prefent. The critics in the northern parts of the empire were up in arms. And a friend at Hamburg wrote me word in 1772, that the genius, fine ideas, and fancy of Haydn, Ditters, and Filtz, were prailed, but their mixture of ferious and comic was difliked, particularly as there is more of the latter than the former in their works; and as for rules, they knew but little of them.' This is a cenfure which the admirable Haydn has long fince filenced: for he is now as

much refpected by profeffors for his fcience as invention. Indeed, his compofitions are in general fo new to the player and hearer, that they are equally unable, at first, to keep pace with his infpiration. But it may be laid down as an axiom in Mufic, that whatever is eafy is old, and what the hand, eye, and ear are accustomed to; and, on the contrary, what is new is of courfe diffi. cult, and not only scholars but profelfors have it to learn. The first exclamation of an embarraffed performer and a bewildered bearer is, that the Mufic is very odd, or very comical; but the queernefs and comicality ceafe, when, by frequent repition, the performer and hearer are at their eafe. There is a general chearfulness and good humour in Haydn's allegros, which exhilarate every hearer. But his adagios are often fo fublime in ideas and harmoBy in which they are clad, that though played by inarticulate inftruments, they have a more pathetic effect on my feelings, than the finest opera air united with the most exquifite poetry. He has likewife movements that are fportive, folatres, and even grotefque, for the fake of variety; but they are only the entre-mets, or rather intermezzi, between the ferious bufinefs of his other movements

T

HESE countries have been hitherto confidered by geographers as one country; whereas Caffraria is a diftinct region from that of the Hotentots, and is fituated up

wards of 1000 miles east-north-eaft beyond the Cape of Good Hope. Mr Paterfon is the firit European that ever vifited this country; and his account of the natives, and particularly

ceeds:

Seeing no poffibility of going farther with our waggon through the impenetrable woods, we agreed that Mr Van Renan fhould continue with it, while Mr Kock and I proceeded easterly toward the Caffres, being informed that we could reach their country in two or three days. Most of the arboreous plants in these parts were unknown to me, except the Euphorbia Antiquorum, Erythrina Corallodendron, and the Gardenia Stellata. We took with us a Hottentot who was perfectly acquainted with the language of the Caffres. In paffing thro' the thickets, on the banks of the Fish River, we encountered confiderable difficulties, till we fortunately got into an elephant's path, in which we continued till noon. We then croffed the river, and entered a fpacious plain, which afforded us great variety of the most beautiful evergreens I had ever feen; and feveral bulbous plants, fuch as Irifes and Crinums, many of which I found in flower. I particularly noticed one fpecies of this plant, the flowers of which were crimson, and in beauty and elegance far exceeded any I had ever met with. In the evening we encamped under a large Mimofa, and made fires during the night.

After paffing this extenfive plain, we entered a wood about eight miles broad. In many places the trees were thinly fcattered in thefe openings we discovered numerous herds of buffaloes, which had not the least appearance of shyness; one of them we wounded. Soon after this we

faw a herd of elephants, about 80 is number, which approached fo near to us, that we could obferve the length and thickness of their teeth. After leaving the wood, we afcended a steep mountain, where we had a view of the Indian Ocean to the fouthward, and to the northward, a hilly country covered with trees and evergreen shrubs, which extended about 30 miles. The profpect was bounded by a range of mountains, called the Bamboo Berg, on which grows a fpecies of bamboo. To the eaft we had a view of a pleasant country decorated with great varie ty of plants. The country is here well watered, and produces excellent pasture for cattle. Toward the evening of the feventh, we obferved a fire about ten miles to the eastward of us, upon the flope of a green hill. Our interpreter told us, this was at a Caffre village. At fun-fet we dif covered another much nearer, and faw feveral herds of cattle. About eight in the evening we met three of the Caffres, who were much furprifed at our appearance, as we were certainly the first Europeans they had ever feen. They speedily returned, and alarmed the whole village before we arrived; but on our arrival they received us kindly, brought us milk, and offered us a fat bullock agreeably to their ufual hofpitable cuftom. This village confifted of about 50 houses, fituate on the banks of a pleafant river, and called in the Caffre language Mugu Ranie; and it belongs to their Chief. It contained about 300 inhabitants, all of whom were fervants or foldiers of their Chief, who was likewife the proprietor of the numerous herds of cattle. These people fubfift on the milk of their cows, and on game, not being allowed to kill any of their cattle. The men milk the cows, and the women take care of the gardens and corn.

We were accompanied by all these people

high and well proportioned, and in geral evince great courage in attacking lions, or any beafts of prey. This nation is now divided into two parties; to the northward are a number of them commanded by one Chatha Bea, or Tambufhie, who has obtained the latter denomination from his mother, a woman of the tribe of Hotentots, called Tambukies. This man was the fon of a chief, called Pharroa, who died about three years before, and left two fons, Cha Cha Bea, and another named Dirka, who claimed the fupreme authority on account of his mother being of the Caffre nation. This occafioned a contest between the two brothers, in the courfe of which Cha Cha Bea was driven out of his territories, with a number of his adherents. The unfortunate chief travelled about an bundred miles to the northward of Khouta, where he now refides, and has entered into an alliance with the Bofhman Hottentots.

The colour of the Caffre is a jet black, their teeth white as ivory, and their eyes large. The cloathing of both fexes is nearly the fame, confifting entirely of the hides of oxen, which are as pliant as cloth. The men wear tails of different animals tied round their thighs, pieces of brafs in their hair, and large ivory rings on their arms; they are alfo adorned with the hair of lions, and feathers faftened on their heads, with many other fantaftical ornaments. When they are about nine years of age the yundergo the operation of being circumcifed, and afterwards wear a muzzle of leather which covers the extremity of the penis, and is fufpended by a leathern thong from their middle. This covering is in general ornamented with beads and brafs rings, which they purchase from the Hottentots for tobacco and dacka. They are extremely fond of dogs, which they exchange for

cattle, and to fuch a height do they carry this pallion, that if one parti cularly pleases them, they will give two bullocks in exchange for it. Their whole exercife through the day is hunting, fighting, or dancing. They are expert in throwing their lances, and in time of war ufe thields, made of the hides of oxen. The women are employed in the cultivation of their gardens and corn. They cultivate feveral vegetables, which are not indigenous to their country, fuch as tobacco, water-melons, a fmall fort of kidney-beans, and hemp, nonę of which I found growing spontaneoufly. The women make their bafkets, and the mats which they fleep

on.

The men have great pride in their cattle; they cut their horns in fuch a way as to be able to turn them into any fhape they please, and teach them how to answer a whistle. Some of them ufe an inftrument for this purpofe, fimilar to a boatswain's pipe. When they wish their cattle to return home, they go a little way from the houfe and blow this small instrument, which is made of ivory or bone, and fo conftructed as to be heard at a great diítance, and in this manneṛ bring all their cattle home without any difficulty. The foil of this country is a blackish loomy ground, and fo extremely fertile, that every vegetable fubitance, whether fown or planted, grows here with great luxuriance.

There are great variations in the climate: but I had no thermometer to obferve the degrees of heat. It feldom rains except in the fummer feafon, when it is accompanied with thunder and lightning. The country is, however, extremely well fupplied with water, not only from the high land to the north, which furnifhes abundance throughout the year, but from many fountains of excellent water, which are found in the woods. From what I obferved of

this country, I am induced to believe, that it is greatly fuperior to any other known part of Africa.

The woods produce variety of arboreous plants, and fome of a great fize; they are inhabited by elephants, buffaloes, &c. There were also variety of beautiful birds and butterflies: but they were fo fhy, that I

was able only to preferve two birds of that country.

When we returned to our waggon on the 9th of February, we were accompanied by the chief, and about 600 of his fervants or foldiers, who followed us till noon, when we took leave of them."

T has been generally said that the French Brit conceived the project of establishing a harbour at Cherbourg, in confequence of the deftruction of part of their fleet off that place, after the battle of La Hogue, in the glorious 1692; and this belief is not far from a right one; but it must not mislead us to think, that Cherbourg was not before that time of confiderable note-Froiffart speaks of it as-fort et noble lieu, lequel fonda premierement Jules Cæfar quand il conquit Angleterre ;-whence Froiffart derives his authority I know not, but none at prefent occurs to me which mentions Cæfar's having ever been in this part of Gaul.-In 1378 it was delivered up to the English by the king of Navarre, and confidered as a great acquifition; the English, by this means, having as eafy accefs into Normandy, as they had into Picardy by means of Calais-during the time it remained in the hands of the indolent and infignificant Richard II. it proved of no benefit to this country, and was in a few years after reftored to the king of Navarre.

Henry V. was befieging it for three or four months before he could obtain possession of it in 1418; nor can this be wondered at, as its fituation, before the use of cannon was general, muft have been immenfely ftrong ;Sir Thomas Kiriel landed here in 1450 with fuccours for the Duke of VOL. X. No. 58.

H

Somerfet's army, previous to the unfortunate defeat at Fourmigny, the lofs of which battle was followed by many fuccefsful operations on the part of the French, and the furrender of Cherbourg to Charles VII. after a confiderable refiftance, completed his re-conqueft of Normandy; not one town after this remaining in the hands of the English.

What was the particular inducement of Louis XIV. to fortify this place, I do not immediately recollect, nor the reafon of his ordering it to be dismantled about the year 1688; the fortifications were, however, then deftroyed, as likewife thofe which had been erected at Valogne, but not fo entirely as to prevent fome of the first-rate fhips, which ran into Cher. bourg in 1692, from receiving protection from the ftill-cxifting batteries, under the fire of which they were hauled up among the rocks into shoal water, and, on Sir Ralph Delaval's coming up with our feventy and fifty gun fhips, the latter, which food in clofeft to the fhore, were much annoyed by the fhot, as it is termed, though I fhould rather think they must have been fhells, for one of our fhips, in attempting the Soleil Royal, was by them fet on fire; and red hot flot was not then known.

After this defeat, the renewal of the fortifications, and the inclofing of the road, became an object of

great