the cafe requires it, of the figure of the perfon, that they may be able in any event to give an account to the police. They even carry their precaution fo far as to employ people, who follow and watch the borrower, when they have received pledges from him which appear to be unfuitable to his rank, or of greater value than he might be fuppofed able to purchase; but unlefs connivance be proved, the office never fuftains any lofs.

The ufual intereft of money in China is thirty per cent. which proves that coin is very fcarce in that country. At this rate money may be borrowed at Tangpou. Every pledge is marked with a number, when left at the office, and the office must be anfwerable for it; but it becomes its property the very day even after the term mentioned in the note of agreement is expired. The remaining conditions have fuch a perfect refemblance of thofe of our Mont de Pieté, that it would be fuperfluous to mention them

here.

Gaming and every diversion that tends to promote or encourage idleness is abfolutely forbidden to young people; the whole of their time is almoft employed in ftudy. Such a mode of education, attended with great restraint, would no doubt appear highly difgufting to our youth in Europe; but in a country where, merit and merit alone conducts to dignity and honour, and where ignorance is neglected and defpifed, encouragement overcomes difguft, and no application is confidered as a hardship.

The fecurity of travellers and an eafy mode of conveyance for paffengers and merchandize of every kind, are objects to which particular attention feems to have been paid by administration in China. The manner in which the public roads are managed great ly contributes to the former.

Thefe roads are in general very broad; they are paved in all the southern provinces, and in fome of the northern; when that is the cafe, neither horfes nor carriages país along them. Valleys have been filed up, and paffages have been cut through rocks and mountains, in order to make commodious highways, and to preferve them as nearly as poffible on a level. They are generally bordered with very lofty trees, and fometimes with walls eight or ten feet in height, to prevent travellers from entering into the fields. Openings are left in them at certain intervals, which give a paflage into crofs roads, that conduct to different villages: On all the great roads covered feats are erected at proper diftances, where the traveller may fhelter himself from the inclemency of winter, or the exceffive heats of fummer. Temples and pagods are alfo frequently to be met with, to which admittance is always granted in the day-time, though often refuf

ed in the night, The mandarins only have the right of refling in them as long as they think proper. They are received with every mark of diftinction, ferved with attention, and are lodged with their whole retinue.

There is no want of inns on the principal highways, and even on the cross roads. The former are very spacious, but they are badly fupplied with provifions; people are even obliged to carry beds with them, or to fleep on a plain mat. Government requires of thofe who inhabit them, to give lodging only to whoever afks and pays for it. Adminißration has been at great pains to publish an itinerary of the whole Chinese empire. This book, which is a directory for all travellers, comprehends every road and canal from the city of Pe-king, to the remoteft extremity of China. When a mandarin, or any other officer, makes a journey by order of the emperor, he is lodged and attended at the fovereign's expence.

On all the great roads of this vaft empire towers may be seen, on the tops of which watch-boxes are conflructed for the convenience of fentinels, and flag-staffs raifed in order that they may make certain fignals in cafe of any alarm. Thefe towers which are square, and generally built of brick, feldom exceed twelve feet in height. They however have battlements when they are built upon any of the roads which conduct to court, and they are allo provided with very large bells of cast iron.

The law requires that these towers fhould he erected at the distance of five lys from one another: there must be alfo alternately a large and a small, and the latter muff he defended by a ftrong guardhoufe. Five lys are equal to half a French league; we may therefore cafily perceive that the roads in China are well guarded, and robbers cannot long commit their depridations with impuni ty.

Poft-offices have been established in China, but they are not public: the couriers of the empire and officers charged with difpatches NO T E.

+ These towers are mentioned by Mr. Bell. Upon the road from Siang fou, a populous city, fays this traveller, we met with many turrets called post-houses, erectal at certain diftances one from another, with a flag-ftaff, on which is hoifted the imperial pendant. These 'places are guarded by foldiers, who run from one poft to another with great speed, carrying letters which concern the emperor. The turrets are in fight of one another, and by fignals they can convey intelligence of any remarkable event. By thefe ineans the court is informed in the fpeedief manner of whatever disturbance may happen in the molt remote part of the em pire.'

from

from court alone, have a right to use them. The latter are always attended by a guard.

The advantage of a regular poft excepted, conveyance of every kind is very eafy in China, and travellers find no great difficulty in getting their baggage tranfported from one place to another. In every city there are great numbers of porters affociated under a common chief, who regulates all their engagements, and fixes the price of their la bour; he receives their hire, and is refponfible for every thing they carry. When porters are wanted, he furnishes as many as may be neceffary, and gives the fame number of

tickets to the traveller, who returns one to each porter, when they have conveyed their loads to the appointed place. These tickets they carry back to their chief, who immedi

UCH is the picture fome of your Wife

advance.

This establishment is directed by the general police of the empire. On all the great roads the traveller finds in every city, from which he is about to depart, feveral offices of this kind, that have a fettled correfpondence with the next through which he intends to purfue his route. Before his departure, he carries to one of thefe offices a lift of fuch things as he is defirous of getting tranfport ed, which is immediately infcribed in a book; and if he has occafion for twe, three or four hundred porters, he may immediately find them. Every thing is weighed before the eyes of their chief, and their hire is five pence per hundred weight for one day's carriage. An exact register of every thing is kept in the office. The traveller pays the moncy in advance, after which he has no farther occafion to give himfell any trouble; on his arrival at the other city he finds his baggage at the corresponding office, where it is delivered to him with the moft fcrupulous fidelity.

It is the police alfo which regulates the custom-houfer; because in this empire every thing is managed on the emperor's account. The officers belonging to thefe cuftom-houfes are perhaps the civileft in the whole world: they have no concern with any clafs of people but merchants, whom they take care not to diftrefs by rigorous exactions. Tra-vellers are not ftopt here as in other countries, until their baggage be examined, although the officers are authorized to do fo; nor is the smalleft fee required from them.

Duties are paid, either by the piece, or by the load in the former cafe, credit is given to the merchant's book, and no farther inquiry is made.

The viceroy of every province appoints a mandarin, in whom he can repole confidence to inspect the custom-houses of the whole district. Those of the port of Canton and of the ports of Fo-kien, are each managed

young of the prefent age. These wife heads reprefent this life as only the dawn of endlefs exiftence; that it is, therefore, of importance to confider the deftiny of man!--that happiness, even here, muft refult from the confcioufnefs of a ufeful and well-fpent life;-and that, to have the stream run clear, care must be taken that the fountain be not polluted. But all this, like every thing else that is ferious, in this frolicfome age, fhould be ridiculed. These wife ones are weak enough to venture to contraft one of their fine fellows with one of mine; but in rea lity, there is no comparison. They paint a youth of innocence and fimplicity, with the feeds of virtue and piety early implanted, and gradually expanding-a defire of ufeful knowledge increafing, and, in time, raising the mind to elevation and fublimity, in the contemplation of the immenfity of the pow er, the wifdom, and goodnefs difplayed in the vifible creation; in tracing the nature of man, his powers, his duties, and his deftination; purfuing fources of delightful entertainment in the hiftory and afpect of mankind, in various periods and fituations. They exhibit their young man as poffefling. a heart warmed with benevolent and kind affections; his actions guided by juftice and reafon, and always pursuing the best means to obtain the worthieft ends; enjoying the bounties of Providence in moderation, with a chearful and thankful heart; —defpiling meannefs, selfishness, and deceit, and holding every breach of moral duty as unbe cong a gentleman. Thus educated, they reprefent him as a warm friend-an entertaining and inftructing companion,-perhaps poffeffing wit, but without groffness or indelicacy, and never with ill-nature, but to lafh vice-a ufeful member of fociety, amiable, and esteemed in all the relations of life,-regretted in death, but never dead in the affectionate remembrance of his friends!

But, in our fashionable language, this is all a dd bore-it is mere twaddle. My gay fine fellows laugh at all this kind of ftuff. Such a fellow has no foul- -no fpunk -they would not get drunk with him,-he is not enough of the ton. Indeed, if any one appears fuperior to his neighbours, in point of knowledge or principle, my friends very properly run him down,-or, if he is young, they foon laugh him out of his notions; and do not many philofophers maintain, That ridicule is the teft of truth and the many instances that happen of the kind I have mentioned, prove the juftnefs of their doctrine. A very few, indeed, affect to pity and defpife my friends; but they gain no thing by this: for the pity and contempt are reciprocal, and I have at least ten to one in my favour. My young friends make the moft of life. They make use of what is fet before them, and think not of to-morrow. They are tired fometimes, no doubt, for they try their conftitutions, to be fure, pret ty freely; and vacant hours will happen. But if á tædium vitæ fhould at last apprefs them, that is (to explain to thofe who have not learned Latin), if they should have no more relish for eating and drinking, dancing, playing at cards, gallantry, gambling, and diverfions, there being no other refources of entertainment worth notice, they very properly have the manlinefs to put an end to life, that is become wearifome; and thus they boldly extinguish their fpunk, when it will no longer fhine with its ufual brightness. Left fome of my young friends, however, should mistake the road, by falling in with bad company, or bad example, I fhall point out the broad way.

I am to fuppofe, that my directions for educating your fon in early life, without mo ral or religious principles, to have been followed, and that now he is upon his entrance into life, without a tafte for knowledge.

Any little attention your fon has hitherto been obliged to give to books has been tirefome and irkfome. The fatigue of reading or thinking is intolerable. But he will prefently fit up whole nights in a tavern, or gallop from fun-rife to fun-fet after a pack of hounds, without reckoning it any fatigue. He will hate to liften to people of good fense and delicate manners. By the educa tion he has received, he will think himfel a

man long before Nature intended he fold be, and loofe (that is free) converfation will, with him, be the harbinger of fimilar conduct.

Some moral writers reprefent, that "few know how to be idle and innocent, or have relish for any pleasures not criminal;-every diverion they take is at the expence of fome virtue; and the first step from neceflary employment, or bufinefs, is into vice or folly."

To prevent this, thefe odd fort of people recommend the forming a young perfon's tafte for letters-the fine arts-manly exercifes and accomplishments, &c. I have no objection more than they, in my plan of education, to fill up my vacant hours by reading. It gives a ftimulus and zeft to active employment- My plan of reading. however, is far more light, eafy, and agreeable than theirs. No regular plan is exqui-. fite, and it may be refumed at any time, with equal improvement.

What I recommend to your fon's perufal are, modern novels-magazines-comedics and farces -trials for divorce, which this kingdom fo amply furnishes now-a-days, and which are always published. Indeed, there are now, luckily, publishers who will print and fell any thing that does not endanger their ears. Some of them, for the good they have done to my interest, by their total difregard of decency and propriety, fhould be rewarded with the dignified title of Moft Excellent Printers to his infernal Majcy,

If your fon can read French, there is alfo ample ftore in that language for his amule ment and improvement.

The novels of the laft age were of the grand and heroic kind. They were not a picture of life indeed, but had a tendency ta infufe a ftately dignity of character, which now is laughed at. The prefent, with a few exceptions, are more warm and inflammatory, and more fuited to life and manners; which, to fay the truth, are much indebted to these compofitions for the liberal progrefs that is made, and ftill making, towards what I reckon perfection. To the honour of the country, a Scottinan was one of the first and the ableft writer in this delightful fpecies of compofition; and moft rapidly did his labours increase the number of my votaries, many of whom are now reaping the fruits of the inftruction, De Vergy, an Anglo-Frenchman, followed next; and then a thousand of my kind friends after him. It. has been said, that

Fontaine and Chaucer, dying, wish'd un