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ny in the cities, he observes, have ruined themselves by aftempting, with unequal abilities, to imitate the splendor and expence of the English. Not to suppress a reflection on ourselves, he adds, tho' they imitate us in that, in being conceited, and having a great opinion of their own country and nation, [which his character of them, by the way, has little tendency to moderate] they are very unlike us with regard to friendship and hofpitality. Possibly our author may have picked up this farcasm from some of our own fatirists or papers, who are often lamenting the decay of old English hospitality : but we find in the sequel he acknowleges, that one reason why a traveller is seldom suffered to pay for his lodging there, proceeds from the small number that hat vifit them ; the very reverse of which being the case in England, will naturally account for a different conduct. Besides, as far as our experience and reflection have instructed us, those countries that are the most thinly fettled (supposing no want of the necessaries of life) are generally the most hofpitable, whatever people inhabit them; in short, entertainment, the price or condition of fociety, as in other things, is regulated by the plenty or scarcity of it. However, if there be any justice in the bishop's fatire, let us defeat it henceforward, as justly as we can, and so oblige him for shame to expunge it in his next edition. The truth is, our author is no Antigallican, as he treats our neighbours, more than once, with more complaisance than ourselves; but we should not forget, his nation is an ally or penfioner to that complaifant people.

There is nothing very extraordinary in the instances he gives of the Norwegians longevity, if we except that one of a bishop of Havanger, who is faid to have attained two hundred and ten years, which he does not think certain himself. He had faid before, he believed a greater number of them exceed a hundred years than of any other nation; but this belief concludes nothing, without his giving us some calculation of the number of the inhabitants. Their diseases are chiefly scorbutical, and leprous, and particularly that species of the Lepra called Elephantiafis. He says most people on the mountains die of old age, without having experienced sickness. But in the years 1630, and 1684, Christiana, situated in this fine air, was visited by the plague. They have no agues, nor tertian or quartan fevers; nor are the rickets known there. The smallpox, which is annual in Denmark, vifits them once in seven years at Bergen; further north, at Tronheim, every tenth or twelfth; in Nordland seldom more than every fixteenth, when it makes great havock with young and old. This flow northerly progression of this disease reminds us of some writer, who affirms, that it visits Iceland every twenty years, which we mention for the contemplation of our medical readers.

The farmers do not use rye in their bread but at weddings and entertainments, oats being their general corn; and in a scarcity of grain they add a little oatmeal to a greater quantity of the bark of fir powdered, which makes a bitterish and less nutritive bread; but which, however, they accustom themselves to in plentiful seasons, to be prepared against a time of scarcity. Indeed, in 1743, and 1744, they improved their bread by suftituting elm bark, which was better tasted. In parts where there were great fisheries, they attempted to mix codroes with oatmeal, but this gave some the bloody-flux. It seems odd to us, that they chuse to let their fish four before they falt it. They make a stock of strong ale against Christmas, chriftenings, &c. but at other times regale on Mungat, a very bad small-beer, milk and water, or water and four whey. Our grave author moralizes here with a Quæ virtus et quantadifcite; and doubtless it is very right and prudent to be content with the best we can get; but we are at a loss to discover that exalted virtue which is founded merely in necessity. They are great lovers of tobacco, expending annually feveral thoufand dollars in it, which makes our author, as a patriot, wish for its perfect production there; fnuff they properly enough call Nafe-meel. The Strile farmers have their breeches and stockings all of a piece; and the peasants of almost every parish in the province are known by the particular colours of their cloaths: the bishop is less acquainted with the womens domestic cloaths, but at church, &c. they have clofe laced jackets, and leather girdles ornamented with filver: they have a filver chain triple or quadruple round their necks, with a gold medal depending from it. Their handkerchiefs and caps are covered as thick with small plates of filver, brass, tin, and with buttons and rings, as we can suppose an Indian Squaw to be with beads and thells. To these rings they hang others, which jingle and glitter as they move; and a young bride, who is particularly loaded with them, is acknowledged to make a very grotesque figure.

Their houtes are commonly built of whole trunks of pine and fir-trees, chopped so as to make them lie close, and joined by mortifes. They are covered first with birch bark, and over that three or four inches thick with turf, wherein service-trees, and good grafs grows, whence many a farmer mows a pretty load of hay from the top of his house. They are often let to three, three, four, or five families; and have a Staubaret for all their provision at a distance, for fear of fire. Even the rich farmers have seldom any windows, but a sky-light, called Liur, at top of the house, over which they place the midriff (fays our author) of fome animal, in a frame, to keep out the rain. The membrane is strong and transparent as a bladder; it is called Siaa, and lifted on or off with a pole; which pole, every perfon, coming on important business, and especially on courtship, must touch before they utter a word. The smoke pafles through the Liur; and kings, till the eleventh century, lived in such houses. The master of the house, with all his politeness, always fits at the upper end of the table on the HoySædet, [high feat] where he has a little cupboard to lock up his valuable things. They burn the roots of those fir-trees that have been cut down feveral years, for tar. As a great part of their livelihood is obtained from the water, many spend half their time on that element, and die in it; and tho' their bodies are feldom found, they have a funeral ceremony and fermon, called Gravfastelse. A minifter at Karfund affirmed, that during fifty years of his refidence, there had not died above ten grown men on shore; and at Christiansand they fay moft of the women have had five or fix husbands. - Our author is very fond of fuppofing the Norwegians discovered the WestIndies some ages before the Spaniards, and prefumes very strongly, that the Eskimaux Indians are descended chiefly from a Norwegian colony. This, however, does not seem to us more probable, than the story in their Chronicles, of their difcovering land, without the compass, by taking ravens out with them, and letting them fly; as they supposed the raven always turns itself towards the nearest land, and returns not, like Noah's dove, if he finds it. - Every person is at liberty to pursue the game, especially in the mountains, which is no unfair presumption of the thinness of inhabitants, in proportion to the extent of the kingdom. In mentioning their nobility, of which few are left, he says a nobleman's estate has not the privileges belonging to the demesnes of the nobility, longer than he resides on it. An alphabetical lift follows of all the ancient and noble Norwegian families. A second contains the names of such Danish families as were sent and preferred there about the time of Frederic I. and the last list enumerates the names of the Norwegian families ennobled since the fovereignty of

Denmark.

This hiftory concludes with some political observations on the freeholds and freeholders of Norway, called Odels-gaard and Odels-mand, the word Odel implying property; a fignification very fimilar to our Anglo-Saxon, Eadel, signifying noble, at a time when almost all real property, not in the crown, was confined to the nobility. And this is the more probable, as their freeholders are very proud of this tenure, and reckon themse'ves as good as noble by Odel, or right of inheritance. The author, indeed, exprefly acknowleges it preferable to the freehold of Denmark, both as it is better secured to their families by right of redemption, and as they poffefs with it the privileges of a nobleman in Denmark, the Odels-gaard being fubject only to the crown.-How may an English freeholder exult then, whose freehold is not fubject to the crown, but to the laws he concurs to make, and to the arbitrement of his fellow freeholders!

Thus have we made a connected and regular kind of abridgment of this work; tho' a selection of the most exotic appearances, and the most novel relations it contains, requires considerable freedom in the execution of it. The author appears to have a strong propensity to natural history, which, from its graphical descriptive nature, may prove more amufing; while a relation of the great events and revolutions, occurring to any neighbouring people, may impress us more. His qualifications for the work are confiderable, his purpose in it very good, and his great industry is at least equal to his genius. He is no stranger to some of our good physiological writers, but, on the whole, appears rather more converfant with the French. When we observe, that several particulars in the book, at large, appear fufficiently minute and trivial to ourselves, we are to make allowance for the natives of that country he describes; to whom he must design to render it agreeable and useful; and this will, in a great measure, qualify his heightening such advantages, and extenuating such defects, either of the place, or of the people, as an intelligent reader must difcern to be oftner implied than affirmed. As it is tranflated from the Danish, and probably by a gentleman better acquainted with that language than our own, candor will pardon a little incorrectness in some places, since the whole is very intelligible; and the frequent furprize and imagery occurring in the performance may well atone for lesser inaccuracies of idiom or language, especially as the subject does not require its highest embellishment. This circumstance reminds us, that the bishop says nothing professedly concerning the language of Norway, which he, or his tranflator, terms a dialect, [of the Danish, we suppose]. It is easy, however, to difcern in those words of both, which we have purposely retained in our abridgment that they often differ from each other; and that both are shoots

from the old German or Teutonic stocka

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ART. VI. Conversations on Polite Life. Exemplified and illuftrated with eastern and other stories; tending to form in the minds of youth fentiments becoming that station of life which gentlemen are educated to adorn. Translated from the French. 12m0. 3s. L. Davis.

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HAT Horace * has observed ought to be the principal aim of every good writer, our author appears to have attempted in this performance; wherein entertainment and instruction are so intimately blended, that there are few readers, except those of the most refined taste, but may, we apprehend, receive some pleasure from the perufal of it. With respect to the form of this work, it confifts of twelve dialogues, between an uncle and his nephew, a young gentleman of family and fortune, and destined to a military life: the former undertakes to instruct the latter in the duties of that profeffion, and the qualifications necessary to the attainment of folid glory; their conversations therefore are turned on topics suitable to this purpose. The ist dialogue treats of heroism and heroes. -2. Of virtue and vice.-3. Of inclinations and paffions.4. and 5. Of the prejudices of infancy and of education.-6. Of studies and exercises.-7. Of entering upon the world, and of love.-8. Of the virtues and qualities of a subaltern officer. 9. Of the virtues and qualities of a general.-10. and 11. Of riches, their acquisition and use.-12. Of the hero's reward. The strict philosopher, or severe critic, may not, perhaps, be pleased with the manner in which several of these sub⚫jects are confidered; but our preceptor professes himself an old foldier: as fuch his maxims appear in character; they are delivered with a manly freedom; his sentiments are often just, and fuch as might be, to no little advantage, frequently carried into practice. His documents are enforced by exemplary tales, apposite to their respective intentions, and not difagreeably told: the reason why he has not taken his examples • from the history of his own country, he acquaints his pupil, is, 'that it would be dangerous to prejudice him against ⚫ names borne by persons whom he must respect, who really • deserve his esteem: the tender relation,' he continues, 'who ' with respect to you [the disciple) often supposes himself a • man of another age, will endeavour to amuse you in observ⚫ing on persons of another world.'

* Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile dulci,
Lectorem dele&ando pariterque monendo.

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