}822.] 
and virtue for which they were re- 
nowned and distinguished in the field 
and.in the senate. 
Can any one inhabitant of this earth, 
erect in posture, feel indifferent to the 
fate of the heroes of the Morea. Strug- 
gling for more than life, because to 
their life, were they to succumb, sla- 
very would be attached: slavery of the 
worst kind; since they would not be 
put on a level with the ordinary sub- 
jects, or rather slaves, of the empire. 
The epithet of Christian, in its dero- 
gatory and contemning sense, would 
be added to dog, and they would be 
chastised more severely than any 
brute-master ever chastised that ge- 
nerous animal. 
It is not easy to conjecture how 
great a space of time the benign prin- 
ciple of regeneration may require to 
accomplish its end. A philosopher 
has nothing to do with dates of time 
and place: he beholds the progress 
with great interest, but is not uncon- 
scions, that while some small portions 
of avast empire at this moment are 
warming and illuminating by the sun 
of reason, there are others, larger and 
more remote, which are not yet pene- 
trated by even one single ray. He 
nevertheless comforts himself with the 
sentiments inspired by an English poet, 
in the following verse of his admired 
Ode to Liberty :— 
The angel Freedom, from celestial wing, 
er ev'ry clime new bliss shall fling, 
Dissolve the mental frost that reigns 
On silent Lapland’s dark domains, 
Cheer the black natives of the burning 
zone, 
And bid to all the rights of all be known. 
October 9. YRREP. 
— 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
DESCRIPTION of the ISLE of RHE, on 
the COssT of GASCONY. 
(From the Journal des Voyages of Aug. 1822.) 
HIS island is interesting from its 
geographical position, the variety 
of its productions, and the active in- 
dustry of the inhabitants: also to 
Englishmen from historical recollec- 
tions. 
Familiarised from their earliest 
years with the sea that surrounds 
them, the islanders form excellent 
mariners; habitual exercise inures 
them to labours the most toilsome. Of 
20,000 inhabitants that compose the 
population, 4000 are seamen. 
The west coast of the island is lofty, 
Description of the Isle of Rhé. 
399 
steep, and inaccessible, destitute of 
every sort of road or haven; this be- 
ing the outer side, and towards the 
ocean, it becomes a natural rampart 
against the waves and enemies. ‘The 
interior coast, towards the main land, 
is, on the contrary, indented with nu- 
merous creeks, roads, and havens, 
that afford excellent shelter where the 
navigation is often dangerous. The 
best and principal roads are those of 
St. Martin, Lafloite, and Arche. 
In point of extent, the island is five 
leagues in length, by one in breadth. 
Within this compass, which will allow 
1600 inhabitants te every square 
league, are reckoned eight communes, 
one of which includes St. Martin, a 
small neat town, with about 4000 in- 
habitants. Here reside tle consuls 
and foreign agents, and there are se- 
veral mereantile houses and capitalists 
of respectability. Next to St. Martin 
is Lallotte ; tie population of the town 
is about 3000; its harbour and road 
are excellent. 
The soil of the island, though not in 
general elevated, is uneven and hilly ; 
it is very well cultivated, and covered 
with vineyards, though nearly desti- 
tute of trees and umbrage. Its chief 
productions are wines, brandies, vine- 
gar, and salt. 
The product of wines amounts, one 
year with another, to 60,000 tons; of 
which 10,000 are red wines, and the 
rest white. They mostly have a taste 
of the soil, but are preferred to the 
wines of Saintonge and Aunis, as they 
will keep and improve in sea-voyages, 
They find aready market in the United 
States, in Norway, Prussia, Holland, 
and in the ports of Britanny, Nor- 
mandy, and Picardy. 1 
About 10,000 tons of white vinegar 
are made annually, which is preter- 
red io all others, from its superior 
qualities. They dispose of it at 
Marans, Bourdeaux, Rochefort, Nor- 
mandy, and the North. Prices vary 
from 120 to 130 francs the ton. 
Their brandies amount to 20,000 
hogsheads, vendible at the same mar- 
kets as their wines; they are highly 
esteemed for their excellent taste, and 
the facility that attends their expor- 
tation. 
Salt also constitutes a source of pro- 
fit: the product amounts to about 
40,000 quintals of a fine grey salt, 
which goes to Ostend, Bremen, Ber- 
gen, the cod-fishery, &c. These are 
collected 
