1786.

ing to a lady whofe name beginning with an H, had induced the country round, who were well acquainted with her difpofition, to call her the Dutches of Hell. This was a convenience the had in conftant ufe, for bringing provifions for the family from London, and was (to defcribe it in a few words) a hearfe without the plumes.

Neceffity taught us to think this wretched machine a comfortable vehicle, and we prudently confidered that inflead of flanding there, wet to the fkin, we might be at once well theltered from the weather in this, and be carried all the while ftraight forward on our journey, without tiring our legs. We called to the driver, offered him fixpence to carry us as far as he was going, which was feven miles farther, and on his opening a fmall door, at the hinder end of the machine, we were let into the company of the Duches's Sunday dinner, which we found out in the Dark, to be a pheafant, two chickens, a neck of beef, and two legs of mutton, whole fmell declared them very

tender.

The fellow no fooner had put us in, but he let down the door, pegged it faft on the out-fide, and drove on his horfes at a terrible rate. It is not eafy to defcribe our wretched fituation; ftewed up in the dark amidst a thousand filthy finells, in a place where we had neither room to lie at length, nor width enough to be crooked in: we cried out, but in vain; the noife of the wheels drowned our bawling; and thus were we carried for an hour and half, jolted again the top and the bottom, and firft against one fide and then against the other, of this wooden cafe. At length we found our machine ftop on a fudden, and after a confufed buz, that we could not understand, we were let out of our pen, and received amidst a circle of about forty country fellows, with pitchforks, fpits, and what other weapons they could pick up, who all cried out at once, to lead us to the juftice, who would fend us to Newgate.

In short, the driver of this machine, feeing two people of our deplorable figure fkulking under a hedge, in fuch a terrible evening, had concluded that we were the foot-pads who had committed the robbery, and that we dared not to attempt to go into any houfe because we knew the whole country was up against us. Full of this opinion he had very readily admitted us into his cart, and then drove us away like another Jehu, till he brought us into the yard of the principal farmer of the place, and there let us out, after fummoning together all the males of parish. It was in vain for us to plead our innocence; we were hurried away to a drunken juftice who was going to commit us without examination, had I not prevailed with a

415 compaffionate hump-backed daughter of his worship's, to get him to have us searched ; when, upon finding no weapons, nor any money about us, and meeting with some letters in my pocket, which declared who I was, he prudently difmiffed us, with great cautions not to commit any thing of the like for the future, for we had a narrow escape this time.

Our limbs and bodies were now all over bruises, from the jolting of our wretched travelling machine, and our weariness, pain, and difappointment prevailed with us not to think travelling any farther in the dark but we, by joint confent, went to a hedge ale-house in the neighbourhood, where we got to bed immediately, and our landlord, according to the cuftom with foot travellers, making us pay for our ale and bread and cheese, before we went to bed, we had nothing to prevent us in the morning from continuing our journey early; which my companion's warm expectations of the happy event of fo miferable a journey, urged him to promote an hour before day light.

The affair of the juftice had happened to us not far from Southwell, where finding on enquiry, that a farrier was the only doctor of the place, and that he had lately fent the lady of the manor to the devil, for burning her cap, and a little of her cheek against the candle; we chose to bear some sore hurts we had on our knees and elbows, rather than difturb his reverence before his usual time of rifing. We were now within eight miles of our journey's end, and footing it haftily away, were got beyond Hays before day light. As the day began to break upon us, my companion began to ftare upon me strangely, and foon told me, with a smile, that I made much fuch a merry figure as the miller's wife muft have done, according to the old ballad, when her husband daubed her over with wet glue, and then rolled her in the feathers, and fold her to the devil for a ftrange creature that he had never seen in his life; for that he believed I had stripped our infernal dutchess's pheasant and chickens of all their feathers.

It is true I had my share of the cleanlinefs of our new-fashioned coach; but my companion was in fo fuperiorly ridiculou a cafe, that as the light grew upon us, and I was able to diftinguifh his figure, I forgot the drollery of my own. He had got into this precious machine in a black fuit, wet through, and confequently every thing, that it touched ftuck to it; and in the course of the journey, the hearty jolt of the coach had made it touch every part of the infide of it, fo that it was covered with ftains of blood, fcraps of raw meat, and the loose feathers of all the poultry, that had been carried

down

I would have affifted in picking my companion, but he refused, telling me it was now but two miles to Hillington, where he had a relation, at whofe houfe he could have his coat cleaned and mended; we foon reached this place, and knocked with fury at the gate. We got admittance, but alas, the good man was abroad, and his trufty houfekeeper having become a follower of White field, fince he had feen her, would do no work on a Sunday, and neither would brush or mend his coat herfelf, nor fuffer him to do it himself in their houfe. My friend curfed her cant: she offered him a breakfaft; but he was in too much hurry to be at his journey's end to accept of it; fo we trudg ed along. I fhould tell you as early as it now was, the oddity of our figure drew no fmall concourfe of people about us, and all the boys, old women, and dogs in the town followed us through this little village, with fhouts and great acclamations.

This was a fort of triumph that did not at all please us, and my companion obferving that we had the town of Uxbridge to pafs thro' in this pickle, which was much larger, and where every body would be up be fore we came, and our finances not füffering us to put up at a houfe of refreshment; after much deliberation, he recollected a footway over the meadows to Denham, with in a little way of which place our lady lived. It was with fome reluctance we marched back through a great part of the applauding town of lillington, to recover the entrance to his pals. We ran the gantlet with great chriftian patience, and in a quarter of an hour found ourfelves in the meadows: but what was our furprise here, to find, inftead of a verdant plain, a fea for us to crofs. The rains and the ftoppage of the adjoining river at a mill below, had floated all the low grounds. My friend was well acquainted with the place, and obferving to me that we faw the grafs all the way before us, and that it was no where knee deep, propofed to wade through it. I had not followed his misfortunes fo far, to forfake him here, fo we pulled off our shoes and stockings, tucked up the knees of our breeches, and boldly entered the flood.

The fun now rofe upon us, the water grew warm, and we walked thus two miles in great triumph; only one misfortune happened, occafioned by the precipitancy of my friend's temper, who, willing to cut fhort the way, had plunged up to the middle into a ditch, that parted two of the adows. The hopes of his fuccefs, howgave him patience, and we marched

on; at length we reached the fhore near Denham court, where fitting upon the grafs, and at once congratulating, and dreffing ourfelves, my friend had the misfortune to find that in his affair of the ditch, he had in the fright dropped one of his flockings from under his arm, where he carried thein in company with his fhoes.

This was a fenfible affliction, but he confidering what was his purfuit, difdained to turn back, and dreffing himself with his shoe and naked leg on that fide, told me we fhould foon reach the fwan in the town of Denham, where we knew the landlord, and fhould be accommodated with a bruth, a needle and thread, and a pair of stockings. I was linked to his fortune, and followed him: but alas! matters turned out very differently from his expectation. We entered the town of Denham by a back way, and arrived at the church-yard juftas all the people were going to church; we were foon crouded from behind, as well as before, and could neither advance nor retreat, and were obliged to ftand a gaze of a whole parish, and among the reft of them, the generous and kind Mifs G 's whom friend had the my mortification to fee handed into the church in great triumph by a spruce young fellow, and attended by half the better drefled people in the town.

This gay company food like the refl to take their full ftare at us, and I could perceive by the confufion in Mifs G that the knew her lover in his party-coloured coat, and one flocking, though he hid his face behind his hat as the came up. Happily for me I had nobody I knew there, and could brazen it out; I held up my head amongst them all, but my friend no more fhewed his face. When we had flood this gaze, we burst through the meaner herd, and were making our way to the Swan, whofe picture we faw now dancing in the air before us, when our hafte was ftopped by the very mafter of the ale houfe; whofe office being now that of constable in the parish, he was ordered by the magiftrates of the town to feize us our ftrange appearance on the Lord's day, giving him great reafon to fufpect we were the people who had committed the robbery mentioned in the beginning of this hiftory; the news of which had the night before reached this place.

My friend pleaded his old acquaintance with the conftable, but he was now a man in power, and befide few people know their friends in diftrefs; in fhort we were led in triumph to a fecond juftice, where my oppennefs was pleaded much in my favour by the mob, and my poor friend's hiding his face made a very fufpicious circumftance against him. We were put upon the former fhift of producing our letters, to fhew

whe

mountains of Saleva and Jura abound in petrifactions and the fituation of the town, almoft at an equal diftance from the Alps of Savoy, of Dauphiné, and of Switzerland, makes excurfions to these mountains as eafy as they are interesting. But to be more particular.

The lake is fufficiently known by the name of Lac Leman; Cæfar in his Commentaries calls it Lacas Lemannus.

It deferves the reputation it enjoys, on account of its extent, the beauty of its waters, and the varied form of its banks, which are covered with the most beautiful verdure; by the agreeable fhape of the hills that furround it, and the delightful views they prefent; while the greater part of the Italian lakes are bounded by precipitous mountains, which give them a wild and dismal appear

ance.

The lake of Geneva is fituated nearly in the middle of a large valley which feparates the Alps from Mount Jura. The Rhone, when it leaves the Alps of the Valais, at the extremity of which it takes its rife, comes to cross this valley, where it finds an ample bafon excavated by nature; its waters fill this bafon, and fo form the lake Lemannus. There the Rhone reposes itfelf for a while, and depofits the mud with which it was charged. It afterwards iffues brilliant and pure from this grand reservoir, and comes with its limpid and azure wave to wash the city of Geneva.

The length of the lake is about fifteen leagues, and its greatest breadth is three leagues and a quarter. Its waters are perfectly clear in its whole extent, except at the mouth of the Rhone, where that rapid river is impregnated with the spoils it has received from the mountains and places it has paffed in its courfe. These spoils are depofited near the mouth of the river; and thus the fhore towards Villeneux acquires ●very year a confiderable increase.

The Rhone being perfectly limpid when it iffues from the lake, the fand and foil which it has brought from the Alps muft gradually fill up the bafon of the lake.It is not difficult to determine the time that this will require. We have only to calculate the number of cubic feet of water which the Rhone pours into the lake at different feasons, and the quantity of fediment which at these seafous a cubic foot of water contains, which will give the amount of the fediment which is depofited in a year. If again we knew by repeated foundings the extend or capacity of the bason, we might afcertain the number of years it will take to

The height of the waters of the lake is not conftantly the fame; they rife from April to Auguft, and fall from September to

December. The difference in the height is generally from five to fix feet. This depends on the quantity of water which the Rhone pours into the lake. This river, and all the others that lose themselves in the lake, have their fource in the Alps.Now on the fummits of the Alps, it never rains in winter; the water which then falls defcends in form of fnow, and rests upon the declivities of the fummits or in the high valles.But in fummer, the rivers are fwelled, not folely by the rains which deluge the whole extent of the mountains, but by the melting of the fnows which have been accumulated upon them during winter.

The Rhone does not long preserve its purity after leaving the lake. A quarter of a league from Geneva, after this noble river hath washed with its clear waves the gardens below the city, the river or rather torrent of Ava, which defcends from the high Alps in the neighbourhood of Mount Blanc, mixes its muddy waters with thofe of the Rhone; which feems defirous to avoid this conjunction, for it rages along the oppofite fhore, and is feen to roll its pure and blue stream in the fame channel, though separated from the grey and troubled waters of the Arva.

The Arva is fubject to fudden and confiderable fwellings. It has now four times been known to increase fo fuddenly, that, not being able to pass through the little hills which confine it below its junction, with the Rhone, the waters of the torrent recoiled into the bed of the river, forcing it also to flow back against the lake, and made the mills turn about the contrary way. This fingular phenomenon happens but rarely, and only at those times when the waters of the Arva are exceedingly high and thofe of the Rhone low; which is very feldom the cafe; for as both rivers draw their fource from the fame chain of mountains, the fame general caufes influence the plenty or fearcity of their ftreams in the fame feafons.It requires fome very extraordinary circumftance to produce this phenomenon; for inftance, a very warm fouth wind blowing in the middle of winter upon the mountains in the neigbourhood of the Arva, which fuddenly melts a quantity of fnow, or which pours a torrent of rain on thefe mountains, which commonly receive at that time nothing but fnow.

The water of the Arva, after it has depofited the mud which it carries along with it in its courfe, is one of the pureft river wa ters I know. Thofe of the lake and of the Rhone, though purer than the best fountain-water in our neighbourhood, are ftäl lefs fo than that of the Arva, of which I have been convinced by chemical trials.The bottom of this river is alfo interefting to

the