HINTS of OCCURRENCES ,

&c.

49

There is hardly any circumftance on the Continent fo mortifying to the pride of an Englishman, as a compa-rison of the general tafte for mulic in England, and that of almoft every other country. Our ftreet-performersand ballad-fingers, not only diftrefs our humanity, but torture our ears. It is not fo in Germany. If they aredeftitute of civil and religious liberty, and poor to the extremity of mifery, mufic is often- their confolation anddelight. In a houfe adjoining our inn, we were daily amufed by the performance of chorus-fingers, who oftenextorted our warmeft admiration.

But if we fubfcribed to the Superiority of their art, I found the people at Coblentz were not infenfible to thefuperiority of our manufadtures. The books I had taken with me from England, being filled, I fent twenty Sheetsof large drawing-paper to be bound up at a Stationer’s. The man feemed highly delighted with the Englilhpaper; and propofed to exchange it for fome of his own: and when I refufed him, he took away one half, andbound up the other. I fent Several meffages; but having paid him for his trouble, I could obtain no redrefs bynegociation : and my (lay at Coblentz, perhaps happily, would not admit of my application to a magiftrate,and acquiring any experience in the mode of adminiftering juftice. Having reconciled ourfelves to this mortifica-tion and inconvenience, with the philofophy of experienced travellers, we hired a boat for Andernach, which welearnt to be at the diftance of three German leagues.

As we departed from Coblentz, the river became lefs rapid ; being lefs confined by mountains, which graduallyretired to the diftance of two miles, and formed very extenfive, woody, beautiful valleys.

Though our objedt was Andernach, our attention was firft attradled by a town newly and regularly built, andSituated on the oppofite Shore. I was tempted to take a view of it; but the houfes being all white, with blacktops or coverings, I defifted for reafons I need not explain to the artift or the man of tafte. This town haspeculiarities, the origin of which we could not trace by Such enquiries as we had opportunities of making.The inhabitants enjoy a freedom of religion, and exemption from taxes, which are unaccountable on the fuppo-fition that they are fubjedt to a German power. The privileges may poflibly be decoys for the eftablifhment of anew colony; and when the purpofes are anfwered, the privileges will be gradually circumfcribed and withdrawn,or the government muft forget its principles. Among the tolerated fedts, the Moravians are the moft numerous,and the moft remarkable. It is wonderful the moral difcipline and regulations of this people, the effedts of whichare fo obvious in every quarter of the world, are not enforced by law on all receptacles of the poor in England.This would Silence all complaints on the inefficacy of all the prefent liberal provifions for the poor; and render

B b unneceflary