700 Retrospect of French Literature— Miscellaneous. 
repair to ¢ourt, on :purpose to obtain 
the consent of the emperor. Accord- 
angly, one of the :petty officers of ‘the 
victorious rebel was dressed up as the 
pageant ef royalty, received throughout 
Chima with the honours due to sove- 
reignty, and on his return to his native 
country, ‘was restored to his former 
oliice without any further. ceremony. 
M. De Guignes has viewed China with 
a less favourable eye than any of his 
precursors.. We have already noticed 
his doubts as to the antiquity of the 
nation, and alluded ‘to his own ideas 
respecting the population. He, is of 
opinion, indeed, that it does not exceed 
that of other countries; for between 
Quantong (Canton) and Nankiang, for 
a space of 105 leagues, he only saw five 
large towns Or cities, at the distance of 
about 20 leagues from each other. Ki- 
ang-nan, more | especially towards its 
eastern extremity, is considered to be 
the best portion of all China; and the 
borders of the dike, or parapet wall 
which is raised along the sides of the 
Yellow River, abounds with towns and 
villages: this, according to his account, 
deceived the English, and led them to 
a most exaggeratéd calculation of the 
inhabitants, as well as the riches and 
prosperity of the empire. . 
Even the flourishing state of agricul- 
ture there, is now for the first time de- 
nied. The peasants, instead of-exer- 
cising their industry under the protec- 
tion of a well-regulated governmient, are 
frequently plundered of their harvests, 
and are obliged to live either in villages 
er towns, for the sake of protection; so 
that alarge portion of the country is a mere 
waste. The spade and hoe are the com- 
mon instruments of husbandry, and as 
to their plough, it is but little calculated 
for the business of a farm: it never pe- 
nétrates beyond five or six inches deep 
into the rice grounds, and not near so 
far m many of the northern provinces. 
He denies, also, those efforts of human 
wndustry, by which the mowtntains of 
China were supposed to have been cul- 
tivated to their very summits. A few of 
the slopes and rising grounds have, ins 
déed, terraces, and the enthusiasm of 
M. Van Braam converted these into 
wonderful: undertakings, although simi- 
ler ones are to be met with, even in 
Barbarous countries. In point of me= 
¢hanism, too; the inhabitants are con- 
sidered infinitely inferior to the Euro- 
peans, as ail their instruments are rade, 
élumsy, and: im general but ill adapted 
4 
to the purposes for which'they have been 
constructed. In nothing, indeed, if we 
are to give credit to M. De Guignes, do 
they surpass even some barbarous nations, 
except in the art of ornamental'garden- 
ing, 1n which they are acknowledged to 
excel. Yet, after all, this inpliesa cer- 
tain degree of taste, as wellas of sci- 
ence; and we must still suspend our 
o}inions, until future travellers shall 
have produced a series of facts, calcu- 
lated to enable us, cither to reject or 
confirm the statements of the author 
now under consideration. te 
“ Feurschirme, &c.”” ¥ire Screens, or 
our Country; being Memoirs to serve 
for the -History of the Times, 8vo. Ber- 
lin, 1808, 1809. | 
This work is undoubtedly published 
under the auspices of the court. It 
commences with an examination of 
the question, ~whether the reproaches 
uttered by certain foreign cabinets 
against the Prussian government, be 
well founded? Part II. Contaims.2 va-_ 
riety of anecdotes relative to distin- 
guished personages, who during the un- 
fortunate epoch of 1606, have distin- 
guished themselves by an attachment to. 
their country. To this is added, a me- 
moir relative -to the system of credit 
adopted for the benefit of noble pro- 
prietors. . 
Part IIT. Consists of a continuation 
of the memorrs relative to different per- 
sonages. This is followed by a memoir 
on the physiocratic system, and the 
-whole is terminated by a criticism of 
the work entitled ( LettresConfidentialles) 
Confidential Letters. These three parts 
constitute the whole of the first vo- 
lume. ’ | 
“« Statitische Ueberischts Tabellen; &c.” 
Statistical Tables of Europe in general, 
and of some States in other Parts of the 
Globe; accompanied with a List of the 
Population of 5000 Cities and Places in 
Europe, which contain more that 2060 
Inhabitants ; with the Number of thé 
Houses, and also the Geographical Po- 
sition: By Ch. Hassel. Goettingen; 
1808. ak bomelo 
We here find the powers of the first 
rank, arranged as follows: | 
1. The French Empire ; 
2. Russia; 
3. Austria; and, 
4. Great Britain. 
Powers of the second rank : 
1. The Turkish Empire; ~ 
2. Prussia; . 
3, Sweden ; Dit 
4, Den- 
