598 Jccount of the City of Mens. — Style of Dr. Danvin. [Dec. I, 



woniti be maintained by the alms of tlie 

 community, we the aforefaid ftierifFs de- 

 c?i)re, that thiy who fhall be appieher^ded 

 arid convicted of this impiety or want of 

 aftc8Jon, fiiall he whipped and banifhed, 

 or otherwilt punifiicd according to the exi- 

 genceof the cafe " In the prefent times, 

 when they have dropped the whipping, to 

 del'ert c . Idren goes unpuniflied. There 

 is DO 01 her means of preventing it but by 

 t?ep- ivin^ the parents who abandon their 

 children of all right in them and of all 

 conneStioij with them. The prefect of tlie 

 Ktsrth appears to rne to have very w/ie 

 ■»kws on i4;is poipt. He has in his de 

 panment houfss for the reception o*' the 

 defcrted in many towns, and he places the 

 children left on the public in one town in 

 the hofpital of another town. 



Wliet) the defcrted children are at the 

 bieaft, they fend t))em to be nurfcd in the 

 country, and fopply them with clothes, at 

 the expence of twenty- fix livres. 



The hofpital for orphan* has ninety 

 children of both fexes ; the boys are under 

 the direflion of a prieft ; the girls under 

 the care of a womsn ; the deeping- rooms 

 are large and airy. Here, and in many 

 ether holpitals of the neighbouring towns, 

 she bediicads are made of iron. Eight or 

 ten beds are conneiled together by one 

 frame, which faves the confumption of 

 Bietal, and forms a niafs which it is not 

 eafy to remove. The children lie two by 

 two together. 



The military hofpital was originally 

 eonftrucled by Marfhal Vauoan. Ir is 

 built on an extenlive fcale ; the rooms 

 ferge and lofty. The outfide has been in- 

 jured by a number of fmail buildings for 

 the accommodation of pei fens whom Vau- 

 ban probably never thought of; and the 

 inGde has been hurt by feparations and 

 partitions. Though there was very much 

 room, tiie ficlc are crowded together. — 

 The only circumftance which is favourable 

 is, that as there are empty chambers, thev, 

 two or three times a-year, remove the 

 lick intodifFeient rooms. 



The general hcijiital is known by the 

 name of St. Nicholas. The fieic are wei! 

 taken care of by a corporation of young 

 women. The men and the womtn are in 

 the fame ward, feparated by a p.rtition. 

 Many hofpitais in this part of Flanders 

 are difpofed on the fame plan. The beds 

 are made after the fame model : tley are 

 exactly boxes of joiner's work, inciofed at 

 the head and feet, on one fide and over, 

 and protefted by curtains on the only fide 



where they are left open. All this box- 

 work, ornamented with mou!dins;S; and 

 fometimes pillars with ^h■':.le^s n -.v;!!!- 

 traves, richly carved, iidke a fine Ihcvi of 

 architefVure, and is without douot what 

 the architefls defigned ■ but it is a bad 

 contrivance for the fick, about whom is 

 Culleifled all the duft and dirt, without be- 

 ing able tj klTsn or remove it, as they 

 cannot turn the beds about. Ttie iiok are 

 left to be incommoded by all the jni^iis 

 thit inhabit this old wainfcot. I" (me 

 hcfpitals they have had t.ie good I'enle to 

 dctacli the bedftcads from the niches, that 

 they rn<y be ible to dravi them forwHrd, 

 and remove the lick with rale But in 

 otner places they have another good con- 

 trivance. Inftead of curtains theie are 

 two oaken doors, bound wiihiion and fnr- 

 nidied with locks. Thefe are intended 

 for the (ick in a delirium. Tne doors are 

 fliut ; the patient finds himfelf inciofed in 

 a prefs ; only in the upper part there is a 

 fmali hole of three or four inches ; but 

 they do not forget to fix on the fides or 

 at the ends iron cramps, to faften the chains 

 wi;li which they fometimes tie him in hit 

 bed j nor do tiiey omit the gag, to pre- 

 vent his cries. 



The prifons are in general healihy and 

 fecure. The bridewell is near to a high 

 building, which is called the caftle ; but 

 it is only a tower, on which are placed a 

 clock, and the lodge of the town-watch- 

 man. The clock chimes remarkably well ; 

 the hours and half hours with a great 

 bell ; the quarters of hours with the ufual 

 chime ; and the half- quarters with a fmail 

 one. At the halt- hour the chimes give 

 the hour which will follow ; when the 

 clock ftrikes, it again repeats the hour.— 

 This is the cultcm through all the coun> 

 try, where chimes are very ufual. 



In the evening-parties they fometimes 

 offer a lemonade compofed of the juice of 

 the lemon and fugar, and wine mixed with 

 water, inltead of pure water. T. 



to the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



LLOW me to preface the following 

 ^ _^_ cimmunicition with expreiring my 

 admiration of the philof^-phical poetry of 

 Darwin. Ke does not indeed excel in pa- 

 thos i nor is he one of thofe children of 

 the Mufes who could have fung their 

 " wood-notes v.'ild j" but as much as a 

 rich philofophical fancy conilitates a poet, 

 the art of pottry was enlirely hi». No 



ont 



I 



