€C0 



Retrospect of French Literature — MisceUanies. 



trougbt frcwn China, and which, being 

 ea!;eiij multijilied, has fince fpreud over 

 all Europe. They ci.lrjviite with :ui equal 

 degree of care, a great uuniber of Afii- 

 CM\, y^fiatic, and American plants, which 

 are niituralifed in this countr;, and now 

 grow on obfcurt' fputs. In no ]>ortion of 

 the w.nld can tlit; botanilt difcover more 

 trcafuies, whether lie eagerly pant for 

 ■what is ihnple or what is curious : both 

 €(f tl.efe may be there readily accumu- 

 lated, and contempiuted at his leifuro. 



" The delightful climate of J.iibon is 

 veil known ; it is tfe Fdicittts Julia, 

 wii( re Julius Ctcfar meditated on thoie 

 great dehgns, nfter»ard.> carried into ex- 

 eeiAtiou by him. This city, the origin of 

 ■wliicli is loft, in tlie nigiit of time, is built 

 1)11 feven lulls, lei's celebrated iiuleed, 

 and alii) lefs terrible, than thofe of Home. 

 Although often lliook, and even over- 

 turned by eartliquiikes ; alti)oup,h daily 

 expofed to thole frightful i-evolutions 

 which diOurb the rcpofe of mankind ; 

 yet man llill perlilKs to refute in this <a- 

 pilal, on account of its advantageous fi- 

 tuation. 



" The flcy there is always pure, and 

 riie heal tempered by the winds from the 

 foa ; bill if, by any cliaiice, a little fiiow 

 fliould happen to fall in the winter, the 

 •whole city of Lilhon is inftar.tly afteried 

 by the cold; the trtinblini!; bu.'ifers, 

 with tlieir aHonidied families, alVembu' in 

 crowds around a miferable bra/ier, which 

 jrritates rather than cafes their coni- 

 plaint. They inhabit honles open to 

 every pale tlsat blows, us if they were 

 never to e>perienee the inclemency of 

 the feafons. 1 he fame want of forelijiht 

 j)Vodaces the f?nne inconvenitnces in iMa- 

 drid, in Home, and in Na)'. s. A Ruf- 

 fian nobleman wtis not, therefore, n.iich 

 in the wron^ when lie alVu^ueii, tJiat the 

 winter appeared cohhr in the lall of 

 thofe cities, than oi> liie frozen bordei-s 

 of the ^eva." 



We are ulfured that, of late years, 

 Lilbon has affiimed a ikw appearance. 

 Before the French I'evolution, the lireuts 

 are dt fcribed as fo many receptacles for 

 murderers. Atter f:\e o'clock at niLdil, 

 it became necelfarv to grope one's >. ay, 

 fn-ord in hand, atxl thcie was no aiiif- 

 tanee to be knped tiom the inliabitants, 

 who were srhid to take n fuge in the i;iner 

 apartinti.is of their hoi;ies: " th* i: hearts, 

 liisrd«ned by feor, excluiled every fenti- 

 iiK'iit of humanity." Ro! hers potted 

 tllemlelves in the long; and narrow aHeys; 

 crimes v,ere perpetrated in e\ery pari of 

 lhe*;iiy; and it mi^hl have been juiily 



fuppofed, that civilization diiappeared 

 with the day. 



A French emiirrant, protefted by the 

 government, at length made thi& noCtnr- 

 nal anarchy to ccafe in Lilbon. Lamps 

 were hi^hted in the fireets, and a police^ 

 active, vjfiilant, and formed on the mo- 

 del of that of Paris, fuperintended the 

 fafety of the inhabitants. It is not a 

 little extraordinary, that this fcene of 

 murder and vioienre w'as entireiy con- 

 iincd to the capitiil. At that very pe- 

 riod, the traveller might journey througb 

 the rell of Portugal in fafety ; for vaga- 

 bonds of all khuis were there more ri- 

 goronlly watched than in any ether coun- 

 try of Europe, 



" The Portuguefe," we are told, " love 

 to live in the country, where tlicy attain 

 a \cry extraordinary age. It proceeds 

 from this ))aluon, perhaps, that wc fee 

 but few tov\iis or cities in their domini- 

 ons ; and this is a dcfett that contubutos, 

 in a finciilar degree, to hurt the national 

 prolperity. 



" The earth is not generally curfcd' 

 with ilerility, as fome modern geogra- 

 phers have advanced without any know- 

 it^dge of the fubjciit. Tlic peafautry, in-, 

 deed, neir'ect to cultivate it, and car© 

 little whether it produces corn or not, 

 l)ecaufe they obtain but little fale for this 

 precious commodity. Tht country fitu- 

 ate between the Minho and the Douro, 

 includes more towns and cities that any 

 of the other provinces. 



" The mild and poliflicd demeanour of 

 the Portiigucfe, fully corrcf(.onds with 

 tlie beauties which nature has been fo 

 prodigal of in reloect tj them ; and all 

 enlightened travellers agree; t« reprefent 

 the iiihabit.ants as civil and complaifant, 

 in refpeCt to ftrangers. 



" They, on all occ.ifions, difplay a 

 martial difpolition. It is with pleafure 

 that one difcovers in this country the 

 blood of thofe brave warriors wiio, con- 

 ducted by Albuquerque, a fecond Alex- 

 ander, tilled both Africa and Afia with 

 his exploits ; founded an enijiirc that ex- 

 tended ii(,m the Perfian Gulph to the 

 "i ellow Sea ; for the fpace of two centu- 

 ries monopolized the commerce of the 

 whole world, and lendered every portion 

 of luirope tributary to their mdullry. 



" But at length the flame of ambition 

 coiifunied Portunal. The inhabitants croli- 

 ed the leas for the jjurpofe of el'ta'difliiii» 

 themfelves at Ormus, then the grand niu- 

 gaziiie of the Eail, as well as at Goa, 

 Ceylon, Malacca, Brazil, Mozambique, 

 Congo, and the illcs of the Atlantic 

 Occauk 



