1796.] On the Influence of Climate. ftances to defpair of the commonwealth." Dr. Robertfon conjectures, from the diftinction in character between the Caribs and the inhabitants of the larger iflands, and from an obfcure tradition among themfelves, that the former are quite a feparate race; that they were defcended from fome continental conquerors (probably from Florida, as there is an affinity between the language and hardy manners of thofe two countries); that the original iflanders were extermi nated, and that their lands and women were taken poffeffion of by the victorious invaders *. Indeed, it can hardly be difputed, that the warmer regions have naturally a tendency to enfeeble the frame of bodyt, and with an enfeebled frame of body, the fpirit is languid, and every effort of the mind proportionably weak. This confideration led me to fufpect that the moral caufes, fuch as government, religion, &c. which Mr. Hume confiders as alone influencing the national character, were themselves but effects flowing from the phyfical ones of air and climate. Where these are of a nature to induce on the favage fuch exceffive laffitude, fuch beatly indolence, that he will lie day after day ftretched under the fhade of his lofty trees, like a log of wood, is it to be expected that he will trouble himself to curtail the authority of his cazique, or oppose the ambition of any one more alive and active than himself? If he is fo unconquerably ftupid, fo grofsly carelefs, about futurity, that in the morning he will fell the hammoc which he has juft flept in, forgetting he fhall want it again at night, is it to be wondered at that he fhould not anticipate the confequences of an encroaching ufurpation; or that the forceries and incantations of his priest (for even among favages there are priests and governors to fupport each other) fhould be regarded with moft religious and unfearching credulity? This ftate of mind, then, may furely be confidered See note LXIX. to Vol. II. of Robertson's America. + Climate has a confiderable effect on the duration of life. In fultry regions, people rapidly arrive at maturity, and with equal rapidity decay. Buffon obferves, that in elevated countries are more old people than in low ones; the mountains of Scotland, Wales, Auvergne, Switzerland, abound with inftances of fuch extreme longevity, as are rarely furnifhed by the inhabitants of Holland, Flanders, Germany, or Poland. MONTHLY MAG. No. VII. 529 as phyfically arising from the state and temperature of the climate, and may rather be efteemed the cause of a moral effect, than the effect of any moral cause. But it is unneceffary to wander over the vast regions of America, for inftances illuftrative of the influence of climate on the nature and character of man in an uncivilized state. A most curious and interefting account has lately been publithed by Sir Richard Clayton *, of a fet of beings who inhabit a spot of ground (comprising about thirty miles in length, and about eight in breadth) of the Pays de Vallais, in the fouth-weft of Switzerland. The Cretins, by which name they are denominated, feem to be an intermediate fort of animals between the Ouran Outang and the Man; their stature is about four feet and a half in height, and every mark of mental imbelicity which a vacant eye and the dulleft phyfiognomy can betray, is printed on their countenance. Some, indeed, have a voice, but the deaf and dumb are extremely numerous; they die very young, and during their exiftence, one appetite only ranges among them with uncommon fury, that for the propagation of their fpecies; there have been several generations of them, "and what proves to a degree almoft of mathematical certitude," fays Sir Richard Clayton, in the Memoir before alluded to, "that there is fome phyfical reafon for the dreadful fingularity, is the fingle circumstance that a family coming from a distance to refide within the district, has, in a few years, occafion to lament, on its increase, that idiocy it was before a stranger to." The Cretins alfo, on removing from the Pays de Vallais, in a few generations, lofe the melancholy diftinction of their race. Government is now taking every precaution to prevent the diffufion of Cretinage, which feclufion from fociety, and the prohibition of fexual intercourse can effect; and an hospital is appropriated to the care and maintenance of them at Sion. For a more particular account of thefe people, I refer my readers to fir Richard Clayton's Paper on the subject, and fhall content myfelf with obferving, in the words of the ingenious baronet, refpecting their climate, that refide in a fort of vaft bafim, full of exceflive exhalations from the Rhone, and the marshes on its fides; and the reflections of the fun from the furrounding 66 they mountains, which are almost vertical, form an atmosphere very fingular for its humidity and its heat." Whatever collateral caufes may contribute to produce Cretinage, climate muft furely be confidered as a principal one. To afcertain what, or whether any fuch collateral caufes really exifted, requires much more information on the origin, nature, hiftory, and perhaps anatomy of thefe people, than has yet been communicated to the public. If climate alone produces this melancholy degradation of the human fpecies, I acknowledge it to have much more penetrating and powerful effects than I had formed an idea of; and the circumftance mentioned by fir Richard, that in two or three generations, Cretinage may either be removed by emigration from the Pays de Vallais, or produced in the fame period of time, by emigration to it, feems to indicate, that fuch is really the cafe. Experiments highly interefting and important might furely be made on this fubject; and it is not a little extraordinary, that the Cretins fhould have fo long exifted, and been fo little known. The arguments of Mr. Hume againft the influence of phyfical caufes, I have already faid, appear to me rather plaufible than valid; they only prove, that fuch phyfical caufes may be counteracted by others, which, in civilized fociety, are more powerful than themfelves. If Cretinage be irrefiftable to the inhabitants, whether native or foreign, of the Lower Vallais, that climate ftamps a character on man, will hardly be again disputed. I HAVE juft perufed a Letter in your Magazine for July, figned G. D. on Topographical Hiftory. It contains fome good remarks, fuch as I thould naturally expect from G. D. whofe fignature I have obferved on many other occafions; but, I cannot altogether embrace his opinions on the "Caufe of the Prejudices againft Topographical Hiftory." He fpeaks of the "uninviting afpect that it too often affumes, and the aukward arrangement in which it is difpofed;" that we are detained by minute defcriptions of things, which, in themselves, are of no confequence, or which can only amufe a particular clafs of readers; by dry narratives, frequently erroneous, conveyed with taftelefs formality, from one compiler to another; with infipidities of private families, and tedious details of local antiquities, multy infcriptions, and mouldy reliques," &c. &c. What I have tranfcribed, is fufficient for my purpose, and muit fatisfy every genuine amateur of Topographical Hiftory, that G. D. has wholly mistaken the nature of that branch of science, and, as the readers of this Letter will perceive, has confounded the imagination of the painter, with the ancient lore of the antiquary; a fatal error! an error, which would ftrike at the root of thofe vaft labours and profound researches, in which our Topographers have been fo long and fo ufefully employed. What would become of infcriptions, fo defaced as to be unintelligible, and of letters upon monuments, fo fcattered as not to amount to words, if we were to turn our eyes to the picturefque fenery of a village? Where would be the ingenuity of conjecture, and the manufacture of probabilities? Where that promptitude of guefs-work, which makes fomething out of nothing? Where would curiofity explore for gratification? and where would indagation rove in queft of food? Before I faw G. D.'s letter, I had thoughts of, offering my fervices to your Magazine, as an inveftigator of topographical curiofities; but I am difheartened to fee the contempt that is poured on my induftrious researches into the hiftory of death and decay, in men and things. I tremble to think, that my vaft collection of epitaphs, initials on head-ftones, portraits of remarkable yewtrees, bon mots of eminent fextons, and repartees of facetious grave-diggers, must be denied a place among the works of the learned, if G. D.'s doctrines prevail ; and that the name of Patrick Pry muft defcend to pofterity without the preface of Dr., or the postscript of F. R. S. A.S.S. But I hope better things---I hope that I fhall be able, though not perhaps in one letter, to convince you, that Topographical Hiftory, as it always has been written, is a noble ftudy, and of vast utility to mankind in general. G. D. talks of its auk wand arrangement. The arrangement, as far as I have obferved of Topographical Antiquities, is alphabetical. Now, where is the aukwardness of that? G. D. may as well fay, that the alphabet itself is auk ward, becaufe, according to its present arrangement, it cannot make a word; or, he may infift upon it, that parishes were not built alphabetically, or, that men do I 796.] Importance of Topographical Hiftories." do not die in alphabetical order. But, fir, that an alphabet is neceffary, in order to find them out after they are dead, you may be convinced of, if you will only look into that grand depot of berely and fchifm, Bunhill-fields burial ground. There the walls have degrees marked upon them, like a map; and if you with to fet fail for your ancestor, you must find out his parallel of latitude in a cemeterical grammar, kept on purpose. So much for arrangement. His more important objection feems to be infipidities of private families, and tedious details of local antiquities." Now, fir, let me only afk you, how, and in what manner, we can make a folio volume, without the hiftories of private families, and details of local antiquities? And unless we make a folio volume, how can we pretend to rank with illuftrious topographers? He calls them infipidities. Alas! fir, what is infipid to one man, is marvellously favory to another. De guftibus non difputandum. Why does the poet fing fo pathetically, Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen, &c. and yet, when we Topographers endeavour to raife this flower into notice, we are, forfouth, to be called infipid and tedious? No, fir; how can we render the History of a Parish complete, without tracing it as far back as hiftory will enable us? and history, with the aid of conjecture, will do much. If both fail, we frequently have tradition on our fide, and a more fertile refource I know nor. When we have finished its ancient hiftory, we come to the modern; and here we give an account of all the large manfions in the parish, ftate where the roads are now, and where they were formerly, and enter into a detail of agricultural curiofities. Is it nothing, fir, to know, who first planted potatoes, and who first made a cucumber-bed? and having found this, fhall we neglect to make honourable mention of fuch benefactors? Suppofe we difcover, that the first person who drank tea in this parish, was John Tomlinfon, farmer; William Sparks, fon to the parish clerk; Humphrey Sparks, a parish clerk himfelf; and Dorothy Rogers, widow; and that tradition informs us, that this memorable event took place anno domini 1703: Now, fir, confider what G. D. would call being tedious in this cafe. Why, fir, what he calls tedious, is nothing more than the anxious and indefatigable attention which we pay to the real state of a 531 fact. I fhall give you this very circumftance as a fact, which I find in my manufcript hiftory of the parish of Bromley, near Bow, co. Middlesex, which I am about to publish in two volumes folio. It occurs p. 2493, vol. ii. "Of a fact thus decifively related, it would become me to fpeak with respect, had I not too frequently found, that the vanity of a villager is prolific in circumftances of celebrity, and that the avidity of relation is feldom curious after the origion of tradition. That John Tomlinfon might drink tea, as an abstract fact, may be allowed; but the concomitant circumftances are either involved in obfcurity, or may be eclipfed by fufpicion. If he was a farmer, as here stated, how many acres of ground did he cultivate? what rent did he pay? and what produce did they afford? In the reign of queen Ann, we know that the villages in the vicinity of London were obscure, and that the Eaft India company was young. That tea was expenfive, will not be doubted: for it was confidered, for many years, as a fuitable prefent for men of opulence, who must be complimented by excefs, and for men of power, who must be courted by what is fcarce. It affords an argument, that fuch a măn as John Tomlinfon exifted. Of his exiftence, I have diffipated all fufpicion, by proving (Vol. 1. p. 1978) at confiderable length, that 1. T. on a head-ftone, near the north-west corner of the church, belongs to him; that Jane Burroughs, fpinfter, was his fift wife, by whom he had fix fons, and two daugh ters; [here follows a biographical notice of thele, particularly of Richard, the fecond fon, who rofe from a barber's boy, to be twice churchwarden, and once was candidate for the office of common councilman of the ward of Portfoken.] Thefe difficulties, therefore, being obviated, we must still doubt the general fact. "It would, however, ill become an hiftorian to leave his readers in the dark, as to a matter of fo confiderable importance. Fidelity ought unquestionably to be the first object, but information is of as high importance. My researches on this fubject have been unremitting, and I hope not unfuccessful. At moft, indeed, what I have obtained, amounts but to conjecture; but it is fuch conjecture, as future hiftorians may improve into certainty. It appears to me, therefore, that the difficulty may be folved in two ways. First, I suspect, from looking 3 Y 2 more humble inftrument of throwing any light upon this fubject, it will afford me the moft heartfelt confolation, being, dear fir, with great refpect, &c. &c." So much, Mr. Editor, for a fpecimen of Your very humble fervant, To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. SIR, YOUR ingenious Correfpondent, the more and more attentively into the book, ENQUIRER, in his elegant difcuffion of the Queftion, "Whether Verse be effential to Poetry?" appears conscious, that the debate may to fome appear a merely verbal one, and endeavours to fhow, that its object is of a higher kind, namely, to rectify our ideas concerning the honour due to thofe, who are, in common language, exclufively termed poets, and to diftinguish true poetry, from the practice of a mechanical art. I own, however, after all the confideration I can beftow upon the matter, than I can regard it in no other light than that of a verbal enquiry; and it would feem, that the writer himself, in his conclufion, has the fame idea of it; fince all he deduces from his investigation, is the impropriety of making the terms poetry and profe oppofites to each other; inftead of which, he would have verfe and profe, and poetry and philofophy, ufed as the refpective contraries. But, though it be impoflible not to agree with the writer in moft of his obfervations, concerning the incompetent definitions that have been given of poetry, and the diftinction between the matter and flyle of a compofition, and its rhythm, or measure, yet the meaning impreffed upon a word by long ufe, has always fome foundation; and an attempt to fet it afide, for want of perfect accuracy, is apt to produce more ambiguity than it prevents. In the prefent inftance, we obviously require a word, to distinguish between the writer, whofe language is modelled upon that of common fpeech, and though, perhaps, more ftudied in terms and ordonnance, flows, like that, loofe and un I fhackled 1796.] On the Characteristics of Poetry. 533 Were the difficulties started by the Enquirer, admitted in their full extent, it would be impoffible to ufe the words poet and poetry at all; for if they refer only to ftyle and fubject, it is certain that every conceivable fhade of difference, in these points, exifts between the compiler of a Newspaper advertisement, and the inventor of the fublimeft piece of fiction, decorated with all the brilliance of metaphorical language. As to the oppofition he fuggefts between poet and philofopher, it will apply but in very few inftances. Under which fhall the hiftorian be claffed, who may be as dry as Rapin or Tindal, without a grain of Philofophy; or as eloquent as Tacitus and Hume, with a full portion of it? If Pope were not a poet by his verfe, he would often be a philofopher by his fenfe; though I acknowledge his philofophical character is in general fubordinate to his poetical one. I profefs myself to be one of those who would make the diftinction between poetry and profe as clear and diftinct as poffible; and therefore, I do not feel inclined to decorate with the name of poet, one, who through indolence, or incapacity, excufes himself from employing what is undoubtedly a very pleafing and impreffive part of poetical compofition, and has been a favourite of all nations, favage and civilized-the art of verfification. No reafon can be affigned for the omiffion of fo graceful a decoration, where it is manifeftly fuited to the nature and purpofe of the piece, except à reason which ought to have no weight with the reader-the cafe of the writer. I look upon, therefore, as fpurious and defective, all fuch attempts to ally the high poetical ftyle with profe, as we have feen from Macpherson, and the modern Germans and their imitators. The half-meafured periods and artificial ordonnance which they fubftitute to real verse give only, to my perceptions, laboured and monotonous stiffness; while a confcioufnefs of wanting the characteristic of poetry, tempts the writers to compensate the deficiency by extravagance and bombaft; a fault alfo common among the writers of that fpecies of verfe, which is fcarcely able to maintain a distinction from profe-English blank-verse. As to poetical tranflations in profe, fuch as those of the Hebrew fcriptures, as long as it is acknowledged, that the originals were written in measure, it is of little confequence under what head, thefe " wrong fides of tapestry" are placed. Their merit and value are of fo peculiar a kind, fhackled-and the writer, who mea- that |