countrymant believes, that confession and a mass, which cost fifteen pence, will wipe away the foulest sins. The country people join to their indolence and devotion a degree of ferocity, which frequently gives rise to bloody scenes.

Manners, &c. of the Hans Towns.*

LUBECK, once a free imperial city, is strongly fortified; the ram→ parts are planted with trees, and form an agreeable walk. The buildings are wholly of stone, and many of the streets are ornamented on each side with lime-trees, and have canals in the middle, resembling those of Holland. Lubeck contains also an orphan house, an hospital dedicated to the Holy Ghost, a house in which poor travellers are en tertained three days, and sent forward with a pass, or if they should happen to be taken ill, they are then provided with necessaries till they recover or die.

An alliance formerly subsisted between Lubeck, Hamburgh, and Bremen; and these cities, under the name of Hanse Towns, negotiate treaties of commerce with foreign powers. Here are manufac tures of various kinds, and the territory belonging to the city is about sixty miles in compass. Lubeck is a republic within itself, and makes as well as execute laws concerning matters civil and criminal.

HAMBURG is situated on the north side of the Elbe, which opposite to the city, is not less than four miles in breadth; it not only forms two spacious harbours, but runs through the greatest part of the city in canals. Over these there are many bridges, but they are not easily distinguished by strangers, on account of their being paved like streets, and having houses on them.

The trade of Hamburg exceeds that of any city in the world which has no kingdom or commonwealth annexed to it, and the exportations and importations of it are superior to those of many great kingdoms. In proportion to its bulk, this city is very populous; for though a person may easily walk round the ramparts in the space of two hours, the number of inhabitants, exclusively of Jews, is estimated at one hundred thousand. The streets, in general, are broad, but the houses are rendered more commodious by their inward conveniences, and the gardens by which they are interspersed, than by any external ornaments of architecture.

The inhabitants are not very cleanly, and they have a wildness in their appearance. As soon, however, as a man has made his way into the principal houses, he begins to form a more favourable opinion of what he sees. In the houses of the rich merchants, there are taste, cleanliness, and magnificence, even to profusion. Their tables are more sumptuously supplied than those of the other principal cities in Germany; nor is there a place in the world where they have so many refinements on the sensual pleasures as in this. They procure from all quarters what every country produces peculiar to itself, and is costly for the table. It is the custom in great houses, to give a particular wine with every dish. Burgundy is the standing vehiculum of green peas; oysters must necessarily swim in Champaign, and the costly salt meats admit of no other convoy than Port or Madeira.— Such is the daily food of the rich.

There are many charitable foundations in Hamburg, and persons detected begging in the streets are committed to the house of correc

*These are Hamburgh, Bremen, Frankfort on the Main, and Lueck. P.

fion, where they are employed in rasping Brazil and other kinds of wood; and those who do not perform their task are hoisted up in a basket over the table in the common hall, while the rest are at dinner, that they may be tantalized with the sight and smell of what they are not permitted to taste.

The established religion of Hamburg is Lutheran. The Calvinists and Roman Catholics go to the chapels of the ambassadors to celebrate divine service. The churches, which are large and handsome fabrics, are open thoroughfares all day long. A convent in the town holds its lands by this remarkable tenure, that they present a glass of wine to every malefactor who is carried to the place of execution.

One of the great pleasures of this city arises from the Alstersluss, which comes from the north, almost through the middle of the city, and forms a lake in it nearly eight hundred paces in circumference. In a summer evening this lake is almost covered with gondolas, which are filled with company, and have often boats attending them with music. The whole has an astonishingly good effect, which is still greater, from there being a much frequented public walk by the lake, the liveliness of which corresponds very pleasingly with that of the people on the water.

Of Dresden and Frankfort.

DRESDEN is by far the most magnificent city in Germany: it is built on both sides of the Elbe, and the manners and modes of living of the inhabitants are very different from what are to be seen in other parts of Germany. Fine shapes, animated countenances, easy and unconstrained motions, general courtesy, and universal cleanliness, are the features which immediately offer themselves to observation, and must strike every one who comes into this country. The king of Saxony's palace is a very magnificent structure: the rooms are noble, and splendidly furnished. The museum is divided into seven apartments, in the first of which is exhibited a great number of small brass models of the most famous statues and monuments extant, both ancient and modern; in the second, a variety of ingenious works in ivory; in the third, curious performances in silver; in the fourth, gilt silver plate, and vessels of pure gold; in the fifth, precious stones, and curiosities formed from many of them; in the sixth, the arms of the several Saxon countries, and the crown, sceptre, and imperial apple, which were formerly used at the coronation of the kings of Poland; and in the seventh, some valuable jewels. But Dresden is particularly famous for its gallery of pictures.

FRANKFORT on the Main is an imperial city, large, populous, rich, and one of the Hans towns. Here all religions are tolerated, under certain restrictions; but Lutheranism is the established faith, as the magistrates are of that communion. The principal church is in possession of the Roman Catholics, but no public procession of the host is permitted through the streets. All the ceremonies of their religion are confined to the houses of individuals, or performed within the walls of this church. The Calvinists are obliged to go to Bokhenheim, a town at a small distance, to perform their religious duties. The Jews have a synagogue here.

At Frankfort are held two fairs every year, one beginning fifteen days before Easter, and the other on the 15th of September, which are frequented by merchants with all sorts of commodities, particularly books, from many parts of Europe. The streets of Frankfort are spacious and well paved; the houses stately, clean, and convenient; and

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Manners, &e. of the Hungaridas.

the shops well furnished. Among the merchants there is a great appearance of affluence; the furniture of their houses, their gardens, equipage, dress, and female ornaments, exhibit marks of considerable magnificence.

Frankfort contains between thirty and forty thousand inhabitants; besides these, at the fairs, many strangers visit the city, among whom are frequently forty or fifty princes. During the fair here are playhouses, concerts, a Vauxhall, beautiful walks, and public dancing booths. In general, the inhabitants of this place are stiff in their carriage. There is, however, some excellent company to be met with among them. The number of Jews settled here is about six thousand, and some of them are supposed to be worth a million of money.

There is a custom at Frankfort, the origin of which is not known: two women appear every day at noon at the battlements of the principal church steeple, and play some solemn airs with trumpets. This music is accompanied by vocal psalmody, performed by men, who always attend the female trumpeters for that purpose. The people are remarkably fond of psalm-singing, and a considerable number of men and boys are brought up to this as a profession. They are engaged by some families to officiate two or three times in a week, in the morning, before the master and mistress of the family quit their bed.

When any person in tolerable circumstances dies, a band of these singers assemble in the street before the house, and chaunt an hour a day to the corpse, till it is interred. The same band accompanies the funeral, singing hymns all the way. Funerals are conducted with an uncommon degree of solemnity in this town: a man clothed in a black coat, and carrying a crucifix at the end of a long pole, leads the procession; a great number of hired mourners, in the same dress, and each with a lemon in his hand, march after him; then come the singers, followed by the corpse in a hearse; and lastly, the relations in mourning coaches.

The Jews are obliged to live all together in a single street, built up at one end; there is a large gate at the other, which is regularly shut up at a certain hour in the evening, after which no Jews are suffered to appear in the streets, but the whole herd must remain cooped and crowded together, like so many black cattle, till morning. As this street is narrow, the room allotted for each family is small; and as the children of Israel were never remarkable for cleanliness, the Jews' quarter is not the sweetest part of the town. They have several times offered considerable sums to the magistrates of Frankfort, for liberty to build or purchase another street for their accommodation; but all such proposals have hitherto been rejected. The Jews in Frankfort are obliged to fetch water when a fire happens in any part of the city and the magistrates, in return, permit them to choose judges out of their own body for deciding disputes among themselves.

Inhabitants of Bohemia and Hungary.

There are no where so many instances of religious superstition as at Prague, the capital of Bohemia. The corners of the streets, bridges, and public buildings, are all ornamented with crucifixes, images of the virgin, of all sizes and complexions, and statutes of saints of every country, condition, age and sex. People are seen on their knees before these statues, in every part of the city, but particularly on the bridge over the Moldau, where there is the greatest concourse of passengers. This bridge is so profusely adorned with statues of saints,