143 



I never saw him before ; he is an alert, active bota- 

 nist ; knows every thing at sight. We went toge- 

 ther to a friend's about ten miles off on the sea-side; 

 it came on a storm, and so tremendous a surf it was 

 impossible to walk on the beach. He picked up a 

 Chlora perfoliata withered, but with ripe seed ; it 

 don't grow in this country ; it seemed as much joy 

 as a good prize in the lottery. 



You hear, I suppose, of the project for a Union. 

 It occasions much agitation here ; the majority are 

 strongly against it, but the country appears totally 

 indifferent as yet, and to take no part.' A great deal 

 can be said for and against it ; future consequences 

 must be conjectural and uncertain; that is one ar- 

 gument against a change. " Better, perhaps, to bear 

 the ills we have, than fly to others that we know 

 not of." 



I must own, England appears in a desperate situ- 

 ation, notwithstanding the showy victories. The 

 worst of all, public spirit is gone ; the country has 

 not energy to make resistance; the Constitution is 

 no more than a fiction, but everybody has entered 

 into a tacit consent to suppose it a real existence. 

 The power of the Crown is become irresistible. The 

 new scheme of inquisition into every man's private 

 circumstances is beyond any attempt I ever heard 

 of under Louis XIV. 



The disturbances here are so far at an end, that 

 the people don't assemble in large bodies ; but the 

 roads are dangerous, and houses in the country are 

 repeatedly attacked. Discontent and disaffection 

 prevail as much as ever. 



