thefe various ftates, with many forcible touches of humour and pathos; and their effect is enhanced by incidents deferiptive of personal character, or of popular fuperftition. Among them may be particularly noticed Dick o' the Cow, Jock o' the Side, Hobie Noble, the Battle of the Redfwaire, Johnie Armstrong, &c.

"It was long before the ancient border customs could be wholly overcome; but they may now be faid to be like a tale that is told;' nay, the very tales of a tale, the ballads, the popular traditions, the memory of events attached to names and places, even the dialect itfelf is gradually wearing out. Still the peculiarity of situation muft neceffarily ftamp a peculiar character on the inhabitants. The whole country is divided into different tales, named from the waters flowing through them. This is fo univerfally the cafe, that the water' is here provincially ufed for the neighbourhood;' and a traveller afking for falt-fifh, or pickled herring, may, perhaps, be surprised at receiving for anfwer, that there is 'none in the water.' All the Borderers are capital horfemen; and to this day frequent fairs, and other public meetings, chiefly on horfeback. At fuch affemblages, which are ufually crowded, there are not often boxing-matches, cudgel-playing, &c. as in England; but in their ftead leaping, fair wreftling, and other contefts merely amicable. The profeflional pipers, formerly very common, are now rare: but young men, for their own amufement, play much on the Lowland bagpipe, fiddle, &c. Dancing alfo is a favourite diverfion; and there are fometimes fubfcription dances for the benefit of the poorer families. Superftitious notions have greatly decayed of late; yet there is ftill fome belief in witches and fpirits,

'Black, white, and grey, with all their

loud lamentations: it is, however, very dangerous, in cafes of contagion, and fhould be as much as pofiible discountenanced. I cannot omit one fingular, but obfolete cuftom, formerly prevalent here, called handfafting. There was a certain holm, where coupies met and joined hands: they then lived together a year, after which, repairing once more to the fame fpot, they either united for life, or thook hands, and feparatéd.

"Among the local curiofities in this neighbourhood, we may reckon the traces of the old market-town of Staple Gordon, now deftroyed; as well as thofe of many other places, which prove the country to have been much more populous than at prefent, fuch as Stanger's Wa's, &c. In the hills are frequent monuments of the Cameronians, and other fectaries, who were killed in the religious diffentions of former times. At a place, called the Shaw Rigg, a large one is ftanding upright, in memory, as is faid, of a Pictish king; and a place in the river is called King Pool, on account of his being drowned there. After all that has been written on the Picts, their origin, and even the language they fpoke, is very doubtful. The popular belief refpecting thefe Pechts (for fo they are called), is, that they were dwarfish, but wonderfully ftrong men, poffefling fomething like fupernatural power; and the authors of many ancient works, which we know from hif tory to have been Roman, Danish, &c. That this nation, if they were ever eftablished in Ekdale, fpoke the Gaelic language, is probable from many names of places, either exifting or recollected. The Efk itfelf is fo called, either from ek, an eel; or from uisge, water: and in fome inftances a Scoti-Saxon word is added to an original Gaelic term, as in Dou-glen-Cleugh, the two firft syllables fignifying a dark vale, in Gaelic, and the laft, a hollow, in Lowland Scotch.” Vol. ii. p. 268.

the Scottish army completely routed the English invaders. On reaching the banks of the Tweed, we once more paid our respects to the Earl of Buchan; and then proceeded by Drygrange to the Leader. Lauderdale, which takes its name from this river, is in this lower part prettily varied with plantations; but as we advanced, it became gradually more bare and uninterefting. The old houfe of Cowdenknows, now in part modernized, is a picturesque object, at the foot of the hill celebrated for its bonny broom.' In a little plain, a mile or two further, is the village of Earlftoun, with the tower of Thomas the Rhymer. This extraordinary character, who lived in the thirteenth century, obtained an influence over the minds of his countrymen, by uttering, in rude rhyme, fentences which were looked upon as prophetical. Many of his prophecies were preferved traditionally, and many fpurious ones have fince been published under his name. The common people believe, that he was a magician, and that he ftill exifts, practifing his fupernatural arts, in fome unknown retirement. The town of Lauder is fmall and poor. Near it is Lauder Castle, no bad specimen of the heavy turreted old refidences of the nobility. Beyond this, the country becomes more dreary, as we afcend the Soutra Hill; from whence defcending upon the plains of Lothian, the profpects gradually improve, until we reach Dalkeith, between which and Edinburgh, the fcenery has been already deferibed."Vol. ii. p. 285.

LXXIV. Hinckley's Translation of Link's Travels in Portugal, &c. (Concluded from p. 364.)

ON THE LITERATURE OF PORTUGAL.

"IN old Portugueze books a pro

teftation follows the title, in which the author declares he has not intentionally faid any thing contrary to the Catholic church, and fome poets have thought it neceffary to declare they did not believe in the heathen gods. A verfe, pretended to be written by the great Camoens, is often quoted, in which he avers this; but the poem itfelf that contains it, is, like many others, falfely attributed to that writer.

Such declarations however have now ceafed, and it is unjust to reproach the Portugueze with thefe abfurdities. It fhould be remembered, that, in Italy, Jacquier and Le Seur, the worthy editors of Newton's Principia, were clliged, fo late as the year 1739, to declare they did not believe with Sir Ifant Newton, that the earth moves round the fun. Men have fo often laughed at the expenfe of the Portugueze, that it is but fair to remind them of the fol lies of other nations.

"The Inquifition was never very powerful in Portugal. During the laft reign it was quite infignificant; being confined to disorderly monks. The temper of the Queen certainly increased their power, and rendered them particularly formidable to an author. An auto da fe, or corporal punishment, it is true, are no longer practifed; but banishment ise more readily inflicted, being apparently confidered as a trifle, and therefore inflicted when it is doubtful whether the accufed is guilty or innocent.

"Only one political journal is pubifhed in Portugal, cailed the Gazeta de Lisboa, and all foreign newspapers are prohibited. Hence political news arrive fomewhat tardily, and fometimes very late; but then their authenticity may be relied on, except when the dubious phrase dizem (they fay) is added. Nor is any diftinction male in regard to delay between favore de news and the contrary; for the intchigence of the battle of Aboukir was equally late with the taking of Malta. It was alfo the fashion to be very im partial and difcreet; but whether it was fo always, or prudence at this time rendered it neceffary on account of the connexion of Portugal with Spain, I

will not determine.

"A court calendar is annually publifhed at Lisbon, which is by no means bad; but, in March 1799, I could not procure that of the current year. Befides this there is the Calendario des Santos, and some smaller. And Jose Maria Dantes Permira, published by order of the Academy, Efemerides naution, which are copied from the Engli ephemeris.

"In this country are no litery journals, reviews, &c. new works being only briefly announced in the Gazeta de Lisboa, and printed bills of them pofted up as in London and Paris.

At

At the univerfity of Coimbra, and the numerous literary inftitutions at Lifbon, no occafional publications appear. It is very customary, however, for a young man, who wishes to obtain a place that requires feientific knowledge, or to purfue his studies at the expenfe of the government, to write some fhort treatise or differtation. Thus a wretched fhort sketch of anatomy was publifhed, by a furgeon who wanted to be appointed lecturer in anatomy, in a new inftitution; and one Conftanço, who had ftudied phyfic at Edinburgh, and afterwards at Paris, at the expenfe of the government, wrote a fhort treatife on the culture of foda. Inftead of numerous eftablishments and regulations, the government fhould take care that more occafional works of this kind hould be published, in order to accustom the nation by degrees to reading of books of fcience and information.

“In a country where fo little attention is paid to literature, journals might not at first fucceed. In Lisbon, however, is published a weekly paper, called o Almocreve de Petas, which is very much read, and contains amufing anecdotes, incidents, poems, &c. Al mocreve in Portugueze, like arreiro in Spanish, fignifies a carrier or muledriver, who conveys goods from place to place, and peta is a bagatelle; the title therefore fignifies the poft of bagatelles. The incidents are generally flat, the anecdotes ill-chofen, and no better told; though it cannot be denied, that among a great number, fome few are very good. They are feldom without fome perfonal allufion; and I perceive the author even ventures to be pleafant on the monaftery here and there, and their trifling irregularities. The tales are nearly in the following manner: "A boy was fent by his mafter to the convent of Chelas (a convent fo called near Lisbon). The nuns gave him a bafket of fweetmeats, together with an unfealed letter, faying, "The prefent is for your criado" (a word fignify ing both a fervant and a fuitor). The boy being unfortunately able to read, thought the fweetmeats were for himfelf, and devoured them. His mafter flew in a paffion,' &c. Such are in general moft of the tales, which are rarely enriched with any happy ftroke of fatire. The poetry excels the profe, and fometimes is not bad.

VOL. V.-No. L.

"The tafte for poetry is not yet extinct in this country. Portugal juftly boafts of having produced the greateft pocts of the peninfula, and is without all doubt fuperior to Spain. For what is Ercilla, what are all the epic poets of Spain, compared to Camoens, who may rival the firft poets of Italy? Nor does Camoens ftand alone, though he fo far eclipfes the reft, that these are feldom named in foreign countries. The Ulyflipo, by De Soufa Macedo, may ftill be confidered as equal to Ercilla's Araucana. But this is not the place to defcribe the Portugueze poets, whom our literary men have too long neglected. Even now, half the works publifhed confift of books of moral and religious inftruction, and poems. Young people are very much addicted to poetry; and the fair fex love both poetry and poets. One, two, or three verfes are fometimes, by way of amufement, thrown out in company, to which an extempore compofition is to be made, concluding with thofe lines. The concluding verfes first produced are called mote, and the remainder gloza. Such motes and glozas are found in the collection of Camoens' poems. In the new they fometimes occupy one half of all the fonnets. Even perfons of condition are fond of poetry, and it will perhaps give my compatriots pleasure to learn, that the Dowager Countess of Oeynhaufen, daughter of the Marquis of Alorno, and a native of Portugal, has very happily tranflated feveral cantos of Wieland's Oberon into Portugueze. It is only to be lamented that the cannot yet be prevailed on to make them public.

"Epic, and in general all great poems, continually become more rare, and plays are fcarcely ever original, moft of them being imitations and tranflations from the French, and efpecially from the Italian. The English are lefs common and worfe executed. Neither are fatires frequent. Except a few fatirical fonnets, I know of no great poem of this claís. Modern lite rature has however produced a comicoheroic poem, entitled, Gaticanea, ou crueliffima guerra entre os caes e os gatos: Poema efcrito por Joao Jorge de Carvalho. Lib. 1794. 8vo. This poem was much approved, and has many comic paffages, but, as a whole, is too flat; nor are the points fuffi ciently delicate and striking. The most

common fpecies of poetry are fonnets, odes, fongs, and paftorals. The fonnet, however, as in Spain, is the kind of poetry chiefly in favour; moft occafional poems and all extempories being of that clafs. The firft artlefs expreffions of paflion, every ebullition of the heart, which leaves no time for coolly deliberating on regular plans, the Portugueze throws into this form; and a confiderable collection of excellent fonnets might indubitably be formed, as well from the new as from the old Portugueze poets.

"Bucolic poetry has ever been a favourite with this nation. Excellent examples of it may be feen in Camoens's collection; and with him are claffed fix other writers of eclogues, who, though they do not entirely equal him, have produced fome excellent fpecimens. Îndeed I cannot but think that great mafter has led his country into a tafte for this kind of poetry. Nothing is read but fuch amorous complaints as refemble thofe of Camoens; and the great uniformity, the conftant repetition of the fame or fimilar thoughts, render the readers infenfible to many a beautiful defcription of later poets. That fimplicity, which gives fuch charms to this fpecies of poetry, is here always wanting.

"Among the odes and fongs, efpecially the foft tender fonnets, are fome excellent pieces. Portugueze literature is alfo rich in blank-verse poems, and attempts are frequently made to imitate the metre of the ancients. In every collection, Alcaic and Sapphic odes are rarely wanting. The tranflations of the ancients, of which there is no want, are always in blank iambic verfe, owing to the reftraint of tranflating into rhyme. The metrical art, however, of the Portugueze poets is not very far advanced, nor have they at all attempted hexaineters. They mutilate the metre of the ancients, as did formerly our German poets, who imagined our language would not admit of a clofe imitation. Hence in their Sapphic odes they change the dactyl in the third cæfura into a trochee, and in the Alcaic make the fourth ftrophe fimilar to the third, and com, pofe it entirely of iambics.-The following is an example of the laft-mentioned metre:

Mas tu, ditofo, placido espirito, • Entre os rifonhos coros angelicos,

'N' um turbilhaō de luzes, 'Sobes aos aftros nitidos.'

"Thofe who would fcan Portugueze verfe muft recollect, that, like the Spanish and Italian, a final vowel is cut off when the next word begins with a vowel or an h. Thus aos, properly a os, forms but one fyllable in verfe.

"Another poet thinks to fucceed with mere iambics. He says, 'Ja fe transformaō em montanhas rigidas,

'Do vasto pelago as campinas cerulas, "In Neptuno fanhoso

Mil bocas abre por tragar a terra.'

"It alfo appears that odes are called Alcaic if the ftrophes have nearly the proper length; to the long or short fyllables no very ftrict attention is paid; the authors being fatisfied if they do not too much violate the pronunciation of the language." P. 476.

"There is no fcarcity of Portugueze tranflations, almost all the French works of merit in the belles lettres, where religion will permit, being tranflated, and fome not ill executed. Bocage, for inftance, has translated Gil Blas very well. Adelaide and Theodore, the panegyrics of Thomas, and many others, will certainly contribute to the improvement of Portugueze writing. Spanish works are rarely tranflated, the two languages being too nearly alike; perhaps alfo the irrecon cilable national hatred may have some influence, as it is utterly impoffible for a Portugueze to bestow praife on any thing Spanish. From the Italian they have nothing but plays, nor do they often tranflate English works, except a few dramas, a few books of travels (as for inftance Murphy's), and medical writings. I know of no books tranf lated immediately from the German. Through the medium of the French they have in Portugueze, as in almott all modern languages, two of our poems, one of the best and one of the worft. The reader will anticipate that I allude to Schonaich's Hermann, and Geffner's Death of Abel.

"Novels are ftill very poor, the Portugueze being in this refpect far inferior to the Spaniards. Of translations they have only the old and bad French novels, and a few English, which are alfo by no means the beft. There is a collection of novels, under the title of Lances da Ventura, Acafos de defgraça, e Heroiimos

e Heroismos da virtude; Novellas of fercidas a naçaō Portugueza para feu divertimento, 5 tom. 1794. The title is fufficient to fhow in what ftyle it is written, and with what ideas the collection has been made. The Hiftoria de Carlos Magno, ou dos doze pares de França, is a favourite novel both with the higher and lower claffes, and new editions of it conftantly appear. Burlesque bombaft appears to great advantage in this language, certainly as much and more than in Spanish, and the agreeable nonfenfe is perused with pleasure. The portraits of the twelve peers of France are always to be seen among the pictures fold about the streets for children, together with the formofiffima Floripes, the giant Ferabras, the Duque de Borgonha, Rinaldo, and the rest of the knights errant.

"The prints and pictures that are fold about the streets, remind me of the caricatures. What is the object of these? In London the miniftry and oppofition; at Paris gaming, fashions, and fashionable amufements; and at Lisbon affaffination: all which objects they are contrived to render laughable. I have one before me, where a man comes to another, with a ftiletto in his hand, and demands the money due to him; upon which the latter is going to anfwer with the ftiletto, and a third coming up, fays, Agora accomodamfe (Ah! now you are reconciled). Certainly a nation must be much depraved when affaffinations become an object of mirth and fatire.

"From this fhort digreffion I return to Portugueze literature. Even literary hiftory itself has been much neglected fince the celebrated work of Barbofa Machado; and the late Summario da Bibliotheca Lufitana is but a meagre extract from that work. In the Memorias da Litteratura Portugueza, in 7 vols. published by the academy, little or nothing is faid of literary hiftory; and a hiftory of bucolic poetry, contained in thefe treatifes, afterwards reprinted in the larger Memorias of the academy, is alfo extremely poor and

meagre.

"The Memorias da Litteratura Portugueza abound in papers on Portugueze hiftory, fome of them compofed with great induftry and accuracy.

Many ancient documents are there printed, and many elucidate the old and new conftitutions of the country. They are therefore indifpenfably neceffary to the hiftorian *. Except this, the new works on the hiftory of Por tugal are inconsiderable, nor is there one that contains an animated defcrip. tion.

"Philology is in a melancholy ftate. In Spain, from time to time, appear magnificent editions of the claffics; but in Portugal, only infignificant faulty impreffions for fchool-boys. The profe translations made with the fame view deserve no notice; the poetical versions are in part better, and here and there are paffages extremely well tranflated, which it was the more eafy to attain, because the Portugueze is closer to the Latin than any other language. Friar Joao de Soufa is a good Orientalist. His Veftigios da lingoa Arabica em Portugal, and his Documentos Arabicos, are, in the judgment of the learned and judicious counsellor Tychfen, very good works.

"The philofophy of the Portugueze was for a long time the mere obfcure cant of the fchools; but Pombal banifhed it from the learned inftitutions, nor do even the profefforships of logic and metaphyfics remain at Coimbra. Since that time I fcarcely know of a fingle publication in which any object of philofophy, properly fo called, is treated." P. 487.

"Mathematics, like all other abstrule fciences, that require clofe and continued application to firft principles, are at a very low ebb. Stockler, the author of an introduction to the Theory of Fluxions, is a good mathematician, though in that work he fays nothing that is new to our German profeffors. In the Memorias da Academia de Lisboa are fome good mathematical papers, though the academy, in propoling mathematical prize queftions too eafily anfwered, fomewhat expofed themfelves to a charge of ignorance. Steph. Cabral is a good practical geometrician; but aftronomy is totally neglected, nor have any obfervations been published, or perhaps made, fince thofe in the Memorias da Academia; and the Efemerides nauticas are copied. Their obfervatories are walls destitute

of