300 CONTINENTAL 



CHAP. XXVI. 



hundred and fifty-seven thousand two hundred 

 and twenty-one pounds annually. 



The view here taken of the consumption of the 

 precious metals in England receives some corro- 

 boration from the best accounts that can be col- 

 lected from the other parts of Europe. The 

 general peace which prevailed in the greater part 

 of the twenty years here under consideration 

 seems to have had the gradual effects of extending 

 indulgence in articles of ornament and luxury of 

 every kind. This has been so marked that no 

 traveller who has visited the Netherlands, France, 

 Italy, or Germany, at intervals, with a few years 

 between, could have failed to remark the progress? 

 from one date to another, of the greater applica- 

 tion of gold and silver to purposes of personal or- 

 naments, and to the higher class of domestic uten- 

 sils. This has been strikingly obvious in most of 

 the capitals of the several countries, in all the com- 

 mercial cities, and even among the middle classes, 

 including the inns and hotels. Even in the towns 

 of inferior consequence, it has been remarked that 

 the silversmiths, the watchmakers, and the jew- 

 ellers, have increased greatly in their numbers, 

 and have found the demand for their goods keep 

 at least equal pace with the increase of their popu- 

 lation. 



In France, the portion of gold and silver con- 

 verted into articles of luxury approaches the 

 nearest to that of England. A person who con- 



