210 
" Jikewife in the thops of the Leipzig hook- 
fellers, anct dealers in works of art ; and 
in confequence of his reprefentations, the 
prohibitory ediét bad been fo iuddenly if- 
feed. Although every ont acknowledged 
the equity of this meature, as the eleétoral 
porcelaine is ftri€tly prohibited in France, 
“yet it gave rife to a deal of murmuring 
- among the Saxon manufacturers, who 
wifhed tp have a fimilar prohibition fulmi- 
nated againft theirFrench andEnglih rivals, 
‘- without configering that this would tend 
altogether to deftroy the fair. Several 
Saxon patriots, however, have publifhed 
an occafional-pamphlets their apprehenfions 
of the impending ruin of the manufaétures 
of the electorate. iP 
The French merchants did a good deal 
of bufine(s, efpeciaily in filks, points and 
fine cloth. The manufa&ures of Lyons 
tad indeed,on account of the dearnefs of the 
raw filk, rather rifen than fallen in price ; 
but the merchants from Ruffia and Poland, 
who attended in confiderable_ numbers, 
purchafed large quantities; and fome 
hovfes, as Farges from Lyons, and Gon- 
tard from Frankfort, had fo quick a fale 
that their ftorehoufes were emptied long 
before the end of the fatr. The Polith 
Jews veaited with impatience for the arrival 
ef Gontard, and feme of them even went 
to meet him. The influence of fafhion, 
however, which had for fome time paft 
been rather unfavourable to filk-fiuffs, was 
here likewile very perceptible. In Poland 
and Ruffia too the Jadies of fafhion now 
wear almoft nothing but muflins and cot- 
ton. The fineft book-muflins were pur- 
chafed for the coldeft regions of the North. 
But the general introduction of fhawls, 
which are made very thick and warm for 
the ufe of the Hyperboreans, has rendered 
- the thinneft linens and muflins fit articles 
of drefs even in the moft rigorous feafon. 
A Greek merchant, of the name Ginagos, 
brought fome real Oriental fhawls to the 
fair, Atlas, once generally ufed for win- 
ter-drefles, is now employed only for co- 
vers and ftate-cloaths. 
Bruffels-points and poznts d’ Alengon were 
in greater requeft, and, fetched higher 
prices than ever. Defportes, a French 
merchant, who is fettled at Weimar, fold 
a jace-veil of extraordinary beauty to a 
Ruffian princefs for one hundred pounds. 
f great number of dealers in fafhionable 
articles and milleners attended from Paris, 
who, from the fingvlarity of their drefs, 
might be called walking-journals of the 
fathions, and turned zo cultomer away un- 
fatisied. Thefe folks in particular at. 
tracted the notice of the northern birds of 
- 
Some Account of the Leipzig Michaelmas-fair. [ April a 
paffage, the travellers and ftrangers who 
were flocking to Paris. Every one was 
‘tempted to purchafe at leaft a tablier en - 
corfage, or a doliman a la Egyptienne. 
It is almoft incredible in what an end- 
lefs variety the effigy of Bonaparte made 
its appearance on fathionable trinkets, 
fnuffeboxes, medallions, bracelets ; ‘en- 
graven in precious ftones, caf ‘in metal, 
feulptured in ivory, blown in glafs, and 
even as a periwig-block. Next to Bona- 
‘parte, the Emperor Alexander of Ruffia 
was moft the order of the day: Baumgar- 
ten, of Leipzig, difpofed of fome hundreds 
of {nuff-boxes with his efigy, and engraved 
portraits of him every where met the eye: 
The Italian and Englifh merchants, how- 
ever, who, inftead of gazing at his pic- 
ture in Leipzig, had gone on direétly ta 
Mofcow with their copper- plates, cameos, 
and fafhionable articles of drefs and deco- 
ration, were much better rewarded for 
their homage. Indeed the coronation at 
Mofcow, in another re{pect, ‘likewife, af- 
fe&ted the Michaelmas-fair; for many 
traders from the interior parts of Ruffia 
did not vifit Leipzig, finding it mere to 
their advantage to attend with their mer- 
chandize in that capital during the cere- 
mony. Qn the other hand, great numbers 
of Jews from Brody, in Gallicia, again 
came to the Leipzig-fair. 
Among the fafhionable articles, we pars 
ticularly diftinguifhed the Englifh firaw- 
hats and chip-hats, which greatly furpafled 
any thing of the kind produced by the 
German manufaturers. Of Englith plated 
ware, too, valt-quantities were expoled for 
fale, at prices aftonifhingly low confider- 
ing the neatnefs and elegance of thefe 
articles. Sage, of Old Bond-ftreet, had 
fent a large aflortment of tranfparencies, 
varying in price from four pounds to 
four fhillings, which were exhibited in 
Peter-ftreet, and few fpectators could 
withftand the temptation to purchafe at ' 
leaft one of thefe prints. Befides thefe, 
indeed, many other proofs again occurred 
- how far the Englifh furpafs the Germans 
in a fpirit of {peculation. Mr. Macnab 
announced by handbills, and in the newf- 
papers, that he would purchafe filk rags - 
by the pound. And he actually obtained 
a confiderable quantity, which, a Ger- 
_Man patriot with vexation obferves, will - 
probably foon be fent back to the Conti- 
nent, manufactured into filk-paper. —- 
Frege, the banker, received firft, by a 
courier from Frankfort, the intelligence of 
the figning of the Preliminaries of Peace 
between England and France, and rejoiced: 
to be able to communicate nan 
this - 
