C 534 ] 
bon, the Hans-Towns, Antwerp, and Hol- 
land. We shall there find, that the prospe- 
rity and the wealth of each declined when a 
rival arose ; and in proportion as other states 
became their own carriers, the tides of these 
ebbed in succession, to flow no more. Their 
great opulence, on which alone depended 
their existence, excited other nations to their ^ 
conquest ; while the consequent luxury and 
dissipation of the inhabitants, by weakening 
their attachments and enfeebling their cha- 
ra61ers, hastened and facilitated their final 
destru6tion. Agricultural pursuits, on the 
contrary, not only invigorate the body and 
mind, but foster and preserve local attach- 
ments, and incite gratitude to that soil to 
which we are taught to trust for the comforts 
of life. 
In illustration of this subjedl, we shall 
\ • ^ 
content ourselves with citing one instance 
from the history of the latter nation, as being 
more recent, and consequently more within 
the recolle61ion of our readers. 
The Dutch are recorded by Roman and 
