a thorough contempt for every thing which I ought to admire, and a perfect admiration for every thing Ifhould defpife: like other young fellows, my education and my company have made me a heap of inconfiftencies, and taught me to act in oppofition to every duty which I know, and every principle which I have endeavoured to imbibe. I have learned to revere the excellence of virtue at the very time I have been labouring for its deftruction; have feen the monstrous abfurdity of duckling, at the very moment my fword was directed at the bosom of a friend; and knew the neceffity of worfhipping the Divine Power in the very inftant I was violating the moft rigid of his laws. But more materially to the purpose:

Of all the fashionable vices which my inclination prompted, or my circumftances enabled me to fupport, the ruin of unwary innocence gave me the most exquifite fatisfaction; and as it was impoffible for me to exift without a variety of amours, my days were conftantly spent in defign, and my evenings generally concluded in debauch: iny enjoyment rofe in proportion to the ruin which I fpread, and I was more or less fatisfied with myfelf in proportion to the number which I deftroyed.

Among the many who fell a victim to my defigns, the recollection of poor Sally Blandford, and the confequences which attended her feduction, cut me to the foul, and fill me with the moft inexpreffible regret Sally, Sir, was the daughter of a worthy clergyman to whom I owed my education, and for whom I entertained the most affectionate regard. I had prefented him with

a living of 400l. a year, which was in my own gift, and obtained a company of foot for his only fon, a moft deferving young fellow, just about my own age: thefe fervices, and the knowledge he had of me from my infancy, made the old gentleman look upon me with a paternal tenderness, mingled with refpect, and he never was fo happy as when I paffed a week at his houfe. One unhappy Whitfuntide I paid him a vifit, deftroyed his family, and loft my own peace of mind for ever!

Sally had been at a boardingschool at Salisbury for a long time, and I had not feen her for more than five years on my arrival at her father's, I found the unfortunate girl at home, and was not a little ftruck with the dignity of her manner, and the beauty of her perfon. Defcription, Sir, is needlefs and impoflible. She was now about feventeen, and had that commanding fomething in her air which befpoke the highest veneration, while the irrefiftable beauty of her face infpired the fofteft love. If I felt any extraordinary emotion at the appearance of Mifs Blandford, I had the fatisfaction of obferving fhe was not wholly unconcerned at mine. The obligations which the fuppofed I had conferred upon her family, created a refpect in her bofom, which the affiduity with which I treated herself, foon ripened into fomething more: in thort, Sir, her father never suspecting my intention, I had every op portunity I could with of preffing my fuit, and as I felt no compunction on account of her father, nor any anxiety on her own, in less than a fortnight I was in poffeffion of

manity, though my conduct in many points had caft a material ftigma on both. From that moment I bid adieu to all defigns of gallantry, and dropt every thought of any improper attempts upon the fex. My life has been fince one uninterrupted scene of penitence

and retirement, and I fend you this letter with a view, that the fashionable libertines of this age may be induced, by reflecting on the fatal confequences of my actions, to think of an immediate reformation in their own.

CHARLES TOWNLY.

SA

Altpetre is to be found in tobaccohouses, ftables, cow-houses, hen and pigeon-houses, and in any covered place where the influence of the fun feldom reaches. A fixty feet tobacco-houfe will yield upwards of fixteen C. wt. a year, and fo in proportion for larger or fmaller houses. In order to prepare the foors for attracting nitre, all dung and other trash must be removed; and if the floors are not level, they must be made fo by laying on marle, or any foil not too stiff, which muft be lightly trod down with their feet. The floor being thus prepared, fprinkle ftrong ambeer over it, made from tobacco trash, and cover it with wet ground leaves or other tobacco trash for a fortnight; then clean out the trash, and in a cool dry morning that fucceeds, you will find on the floor the nitre attracted and condenfed like hoar-froft; like hoar-froft; fweep this off lightly, and put it by in fome hogheads, or fafe place in your houfe, until you have leifure to go through the following procefs. This work you must carefully repeat as often as you obferve the above-mentioned appearance of nitre on your floors; by which means you will foon be furnished

with a competent quantity to employ a leifure day.

The Procefs.

Make a lye from this earth in the fame manner as is ufually done for foap, noting that the earth is not to be hard-packed on the straw in the bottom of your lye-veffel, which would retain the water to be poured upon it too long, and overcharge it with faline particles, to the great interruption of the procefs; place the earth hollow in the veffel, for the reception of the water; the first put to it must be warmer than new milk from the cow, afterwards add cold-water; fix a veffel to receive the lye as foon as you begin to put the water in, as it will not remain long upon the earth, but in a few minutes begin to drop into the receiver; if it runs foul, it must be returned upon the earth ; as foon as it has dropped a gallon, you may begin to boil it in a cast iron pot; every bushel of earth will require near eight gallons of water; continue to boil it gently until you have fully charged your pot with the lye, and you will find the watery particles evaporate until it is reduced to a thick oily confiftence, footing into fmall icy crystals, which you

will easily perceive by expofing the fuds in a spoon to a cold place; then put the liquor out of the pot into wetted wooden trays, and fet it by in a cool place for the first growth; if you accidentally boil it too thick, add a little cold water; when your trays have ftood with the fuds a few hours, you must raise one end to let the lye drain off from the petre-falt, which is the firft growth, and which, by boiling a fecond time, will yield you a fresh quantity. After it is thus drained and become dry, you may put it into cafes or tubs, until you have leifure, without prejudice to your crops, to refine it.

To refine Petre-falt.

Put into your pot about a third of the quantity your pot will hold of this first growth, and fet it over the fire; you are to be provided with an iron-rod, or poker, to ftir it; as foon as it begins to melt, you will fee it begin to boil furiously; keep it well tirred down, as at this time it is very apt to take fire, which will deftroy the whole; when you obferve it in the boiling to look of a dirty white, flacken your fire, and stir it briskly for a quarter of an hour: then increase your fire, and continue the ftirring, though the danger of burning it is now over; the pot, before it is fufficiently melted, will be at the bottom of a flaming red, and the matter will appear like bailed cream; and when it becomes whitish and liquid, pour it upon a ftone, or fome earthen-vetfel, or a hard well-rammed earthen floor, clean fwept. As foon as it is cold, it will become hard; and if you throw it upon ftone, will ring like broken china.

If you have not leifure immediately to clarify it, put it into a tub in a dry place until fome convenient opportunity.

To clarify coagulated Cream of Nitre.

To every pound of this matter put 6lb. of water, after you have broke it into small pieces; put your pot upon the fire, and ftir it until it is well diffolved; then make the fire all round the pot, which will caufe it to boil in the middle, and prevent any wafte by its drying and fticking on the fides of the pot; and as foon as the earthy matter begins to fettle in the pot, pour the liquid into a tray, or other open veffel, that its fediment may fettle; pour off the clear liquor, and evaporate it with a gentle fire, until in a spoon it will shoot into cryftals; then pour it into your tray, with dry fticks fixed across, fo as to be a little below the furface of the liquor; fet this by in a cool place, where it may ftand until it fhoots into clear tranfparent cryftals; then gently pour off the liquor, and fet the tray fo as to drain it off perfectly dry. Thus your faltpetre is completely made, and in a few days will be dry enough to remove out of your trays into cafks or veleis proportioned to the quantities. The liquor you laft poured off must be again evaporated over the fire, for it will yield faltpetre equally good as the former; and thus continue the operation, until all the watery particles are totally evaporated.

N. B. The earth from which you have extracted the faltpetre, and ail the washings of your veffels, if you lay it by, thinly fpread, in your houfe, will turn to profit, as it continues to be peculiarly proper to

altra

attract and abforb the nitre floating in the air; add alfo the earthy matter which fettles in the refining; and fhould you be in want of houfe-room, you may spread it upon the earth, covered in the man

ner that fodder-stacks are; it will produce faltpetre full as well as a tobacco-houfe, taking care that the north-end be always open, and that it be defended as much as poffible from rain.

I

Am now going to give you a picture of the queen of Portugal, as I took it at a review, though I fear I fhall do it fo unlike the original, that you will not be able to form a proper idea of it, unless Mr. Smith, my pilot, has told you of the girl he met on the Canterbury road going for a midwife. To begin, her majefty is, in fize, about two thirds bigger than your ladyfhip; fhe was that day dreffed in a man's fcarlet coat and waistcoat, laced with a broad gold-lace, and diamond buttons, a man's, hat on her head, edged with gold-lace, and having a diamond button, and her hair done up as our grenadier guards have theirs. She rode a very fine horse, fit for any general officer, with piftols before her, and a fword by her fide, fufpended by a broad laced belt. She rode aftride, was booted and fpurred, and in every respect fo like the king, that a ftranger could not know the difference, excepting by a kind of trowfers, or breeches, of fcarlet, that came down half-way her boots. She is an excellent horfe-woman; and, I am told by gentlemen that have feen it, that, when hunting, if fhe has any natural call, fhe will difmount and fettle it with as little concern, as a man in company of

his own fex. No ladies accompany her at fuch times. I had an opportunity of feeing her in another light, which was St. John's day, at one of their palaces, at a family entertainment: it began with a bull-feaft: I had often read in novels of bull-feafts, and was in expectation of being highly entertained, but was fadly disappointed, it not being, in my opinion, better than butchering fo many poor beafts, though in a much crueller manner than we do it. This tragedy lafted till feven or eight o'clock, from which we adjourned to the palace, the king having given orders, that all ftrangers fhould be admitted. After viewing all the apartments, which are upwards of a quarter of a mile in length, we were fummoned to a very elegant fupper. Neither the king nor family fupped in public; but count de la Lippe, the captain-general, with the fecretary of state, and all the Portuguefe nobility that were there, fupped at the fame table. From this we went to a very fine concert room, where we had the pleasure of hearing the queen and two princeffes fing, which were all the ladies prefent. Here the queen looked like a woman, with a very noble prefence, and much like Mifs

Chud