bien ne seroit-il pas avantageux d'en diminuer considérablement le nombre! Il faudrait établir entre eux plusieurs classes, et indiquer au public quels sont reellement les meilleurs, ce qui empêcheroit les malades de placer souvent si mal leur confiance. Deux autres projets l'interessaient vivement, et eussent attiré un jour toute son attention. 1°. Débarrasser le pays petit à petit, autant que possible, des estropiés, bossus, rachitiques, et de tous les enfans malconformés, en facilitant leur établissement aux colonies. Empêcher les marriages entre de semblables gens, et empêcher l'etablissement de tels malheureux étrangers dans le royaume, et même leur séjour prolongé.

2o. S'entendre avec les autres pays pour extirper de l'Europe les maladies vénériennes, peste, fièvre jaune, petite vérole, &c.; établir pour cela des lazarets, et prendre des mesures analogues à celles que l'on prend contre la peste. La société n'est elle pas établie pour l'adoucissement du sort des malheureux mortels de cette race, visiblement dégénérée, et mise ici-bas comme dans un lieu d'épreuves et d'épuration ?-tom. i. p. 206. 10.

That part of the scheme which relates to sending off deformed subjects, seems to have been taken from the History of the Severites, or Severambés, a political romance written in the latter part of the 17th century. I know not who was the author. The first part was published in 1675, the second in 1679. The French edition (Amsterdam, 1702, in two vols.) does not profess to be a translation, and is moreover considerably altered and enlarged. It is more likely that the author should have thus treated his own work, than that a translator should have bestowed such supererogatory labour upon his task; and therefore I am inclined to think that it may originally have been written in French. There is a want of moral and religious feeling in the book, but it is no ordinary work.

Slavery. p. 71.

Berkley has expressed his opinion in favour of slavery as a punishment. He asks in his Querist, 381, " Whether other nations have not found great benefit from the use of slaves in repairing high roads, making rivers navigable, draining bogs, erecting public buildings, bridges, and manufactures? 382. Whether temporary servitude will not be the best cure for idleness and beggary? 384. Whether all sturdy beggars should not be seized and made slaves to the public for a certain term of years ? 385. Whether he who is chained in a jail or dungeon hath not for the time lost his liberty? and if so, whether temporary slavery be not already admitted among us?"

But in this country there is no kind of labour, however hard, unwholesome, or disgusting, for which willing labourers may not be found.

Feudal Slavery. p. 79.

About forty years after the dissolution of Sallay Abbey, and in the 22d year of Elizabeth's reign, the following petition was addressed

"To the Right Honourable George Earl of Cumberland. In most humble manner complaining, sheweth

Your poor suppliants of the town of Freer Staynforth. "That whereas we and our ancestors have at all times heretofore been under the rule of your Honour's ancestors in the time of service of the King or Queen's Majesty; and forasmuch as we are now tenants to one Edward Darcye, Esquire, attending at the Court, who offereth to sell us, but holdeth it at so unreasonable a price as we are never able to pay:..and for

that we are in choice to purchase it ourselves, or to chuse our landlord, so it is, Right Honourable, that we of one of our general assent are most heartily desirous that it would please your Honour to buy and purchase us, so as we might be wholly under your Honour's rule. And we will willingly give unto you towards the purchase all the goods that we have, moveable and immoveable, for good will, and the good report we hear of your Honour.

"For truth is, Right Honourable, we have offered to give unto our master, for leases of 21 years, 20 years' fine; or for the purchase threescore years' fine; or otherwise all the goods we have; and none of this will satisfy him. And now he taketh suit upon us, and meaneth to expulse us. And we are in number sevenscore people and above, and have no other living to go unto: so as without your Honour's goodness we know no way what to do.

"Your Honour's poor suppliants,

The Inhabitants of Freer Staynforth."

I am almost induced to believe, says Dr. Whitaker, from the language of this petition, that some remains of personal slavery subsisted among these poor people in the reign of Elizabeth. It is well known that this unhappy condition, though the subjects of it were treated with great gentleness, was suffered to continue among the tenants of the Religious Houses after it was abolished every where else. Whether there are any instances of it upon their domains after the dissolution, I do not recollect; but in this place, the terms, to sell, to buy, to purchase us, are scarcely capable of any other

sense.

The petition however had no effect, for George Earl of Cumberland was in circumstances which equally precluded him from doing a generous act, and accepting a good offer; and it seems, after all, that either the tenants grew richer, or

the lord reasonable, so as to enable them, according to their own expression, to buy themselves.-History of Craven, p. 136.

We sacrifice too much to prudence.-p. 83.

"Si le respect humain empêche l'eclat de bien des desordres, il n'empêche pas moins la profession de bien des vertues. La bienséance veut qu'on se retire des grands vices; elle defend qu'on embrasse les grandes vertus."—La Bruyere, vol. iv. p. 37.

Tenterden Steeple and Goodwin Sands.—p. 85.

Sir Thomas More tells the story thus, in the fourth book of his Dyaloge, fol. 145, edition 1530.

"And nowe where they laye for a profe that God were not contented with batayle made agaynst infydelys, the loss and mynyshment of Crystendome synce that guyse began, they fare as dyd onys an old sage father fole in Kent, at suche tyme as dyvers men of worshyppe assembled olde folke of the countre, to commune and devyse about the amendement of Sandwyche haven. At whyche tyme as they began fyrst to enserche by reason, and by the report of olde menne there about, what thynge had bene the occasyon that so good an haven was in so few yerys so sore decayed, and such sandys rysen, and such shalow flattys made therewith, that ryght small vessels had now moche worke to come in at dyvers tydys, where great shyppys were, wythin fewe yerys passed, accustumed to ryde wythout dyffycultye, and some layinge the faute to Goodwyn Sandys, some to the landys inned by dyvers owners in the Ile of Tenate out of the chanell, in whyche the

se was wont to compace the ile, and brynge the vessels rounde about it, whose course at the ebbe was wont to scoure the haven, whiche now the see excluded thense, for lacke of such course and scourynge is choked up with sande as they thus alleged, dyvers men dyvers causes, there starte up one good olde father and sayd, Ye maysters saye every manne what he wyll, cha marked this matter well as some other. And by God, I wote howe it waxed nought well ynoughe; for I knewe it good, and have marked, so chave, when it began to waxe worse.' And what hath hurte it, good father?' quod the gentyllmen. By my faythe, maysters,' quod he, 'yonder same Tenterden stepell, and nothing ellys, that by the masse cholde 'twere a fayre sysshe pole.' 'Why hath the stepell hurte the haven, good father?' quod they. Naye, byr Lady, maysters,' quod he, 'yah can not tell you well why, but chote well it hath. For by God, I knewe it a good haven tyll that stepell was bylded; and by the Mary masse, cha marked it well, it never throve synce.'

It is worth while to annex Latimer's version of the story, not merely as a specimen of his peculiar manner, but as an example of the rapid improvement which the English language had undergone in one generation.

"But here is now an argument to prove the matter against the preachers. Here was preaching against covetousness all the last yeare in Lent, and the next sommer followed rebellion ergo preaching against covetousness was the cause of the rebellion. A goodly argument! Here was, I remember, an argument of Maister More's, which he bringeth in a booke that he made against Bilney: and here, by the way, I will tell you a mery toy. Maister More was once sent in commission into Kent, to help to trie out (if it might be) what was the cause of Goodwin Sandes, and the shelfs that stopped up Sandwich haven. Thether commeth Maister More, and calleth the countrye afore him, such as were thought to be men of