"Another thing will appear very strange to you, and that is, the jockies, when they prepare for the races, find a method of reducing themselves so much, that they are little else than bones and skin; and this they effect by walking many nights, up and down, in some mountainous place, with a lantern in their hand, and many jackets and cloaks upon their backs. But the festival over, in which they frequently gain large sums of money, they eat and drink so much, that in a few days they recover their lost flesh, and acquire often still more than they had before their fasting.

"But how shall I find words to express the confusion and the noise made in this place, from the vociferations of the bystanders, and the universal clapping of hands, as applause, and from the running of many thousand persons on foot, and the riders on horseback, within and without the circuit, whilst the racers speed their way. Added to these, the invitations so many make to others to lay wagers. The ladies in this country, if I am well informed, are ashamed to pass for lovers of play, but there, they do not know how to restrain themselves, and resist the general mania of betting, and thus they wager amongst each other for a pot of coffee, so many pounds of tea, chocolate, or some other little thing; but it is done in a different manner by the men, many of whom bet round sums of money, by which they are at once either enriched or impoverished, each shaking in the air a purse full of gold, or lifting up his hand full of those notes which are called bank bills, each equivalent to the sum expressed upon them,

"The races finish as night approaches, when every one returns to his residence, and there all put on their best

attire, for they go to the races in dishabille, as the French say, whether gentlemen or ladies, and at an hour of the night they go to the ball, which is held in a public room, where the ladies do not pay on entering. There they begin minuets, as are used in our public balls, and then proceed with so much animation in the country dances, that the gentlemen, as well as the ladies, are quite in a heat. When fatigued with dancing, they are informed that supper is prepared in another large room, and each hastens to sit down at a very long table, composed of many tables of equal width, and placed one next another; there the men sit all in a row on one side, and the ladies all in a row on the other, so that each has his lady opposite to him; and some good priest, or one of the principal gentlemen, in default of a priest, sits at the top of the table, and blesses the victuals with a short prayer, to which all standing reply in chorus, Amen; and then every one eats and drinks, and chats, and laughs, and jokes, all with propriety and infinite modesty. He would be esteemed very clownish, who should offend, however slightly, female ears with any improper discourse, even with the lightest of those equivocations so much in use in our rude Vinezia.

"The agreeable supper over, the whole expense is divided, and all paid by the gentlemen. Then they return to dance or to look on, and when Aurora begins to dawn from the balcony of the east, as the poets fancy, all the party disperse and return home.

"This was my amusement for three days during the second week which I spent in Wisbech, and I may tell you it was very cheerfully passed; and do not be tired of my saying over and over again, that I was much

pleased with the elegant and most decorous manners of the English, who celebrate these noisy festivals in many parts of their kingdom almost all the year, without foolish flirtations, improper conversations, and without altercations and contentions, which would not perhaps be the case with us, should we adopt the plan of having similar races, and if we had them in every point like theirs, that is to say, with these balls and the suppers afterwards, men and women of various classes mixing together with the familiarity and friendship common here. I cannot say enough of the pleasing manners and elegant conversation, animated and always very modest, of these ladies and gentlemen, whether married or single; each speaks, is silent, smiles, or jokes, or dances, or any thing else, with a grace, sweetness, and a demeanour, which leaves no room for suspicion against their morals; and yet the mirth of each is great, and each does what she is able, to shew herself lively and agreeable, so as to contribute a little to the pleasure and delight of the festival.

"In the days when the horses did not run, the evening was spent in a wretched theatre, where certain poor devils of players represented some comedy or tragedy, very differently from those of London, but which, however, helped to make the time pass agreeably, collecting the company together, and causing perhaps still more laughter in tragedy than in comedy: nor were there wanting small games at cards to fill up a vacuum, without naming the morning and evening walks, which pleased me much, because they were taken with most amiable ladies and girls, into whose favour I succeeded in introducing myself, so that I was permitted to chat with them, and to make use of innocent stratagems, to which, in every country, a stranger has recourse, to

prove himself not unworthy to be on sociable terms with those whose society he seeks; and thus I passed this whole week without perceiving how it went.

"The races being over, and consequently the numerous company who came to attend them from the neighbourhood having departed, I soon took leave of my host to return, which I did leisurely, stopping in several places by the way. However, if I must tell you the truth, I did not see many objects to attract my observation. In Peterborough, an episcopal city, a few miles distant from Wisbech, is a church, very large, antique, and gothic, in which, among other things, are two mausoleums, or remarkable monuments; one contains the bones of Catherine of Portugal, first wife of Henry VIII. whom he repudiated after many years marriage to espouse Anna Boleyn; the other incloses those of Mary, queen of Scots, whom her rival Elizabeth perfidiously caused, after many years of shameful imprisonment, to be beheaded, more from jealousy of her beauty than of empire. Behind the sanctum sanctorum of this church, there is a large library for the use of the studious in that city. In the church, are perceived remains of sepulchres erected to certain former abbots, because in Peterborough, there was in those days an abbey, famous for its exceeding riches. At the entrance of the church, on the left hand, there is another monument consecrated to the ridiculous memory of a certain man named Scarlet, who died in the time of Cromwell. This Scarlet, as it appears, was many years keeper, or, as they say, sexton of this church, and upon the wall opposite to this monument, there is a picture of his short, spruce figure, with a legend underneath, which informs the reader of a circumstance most important to know, viz. that Mr. Sexton Scarlet,

on account of his alarming and driving idle and impertinent youths from the church, acquired the surname of bugbear of the babies; and it is certain, that if the picture has been faithfully drawn, the good old man has a countenance to frighten cats, but not to alarm little boys; and the inscription informs us that he died, after having lived ninety-eight years healthy and robust. Do you the same, if you can, my dear Signor Querini, although you are neither small nor ugly, nor a sexton, as this Scarlet was; and if a long story does not displease you, let me know, and you shall not fail of receiving others, before I take my departure from this island. In the mean time, salute for me your brother and nephews, and all friends separately, and let me hear of you and them. Adieu!"

LAND-TAX.

The land-tax in this kingdom succeeded to the place of the ancient fifteenths and subsidies. We meet with the payment of fifteenths as far back as the statute of Magna Charta, in the conclusion of which the parliament grant to the king, for the concessions therein by him made, a fifteenth part of all their moveable goods. In 8th Edward III. (1333) a certain sum was rated on every town, by commission appointed in the chancery for that purpose, in like manner as commissioners now appointed by the several land-tax acts. But as the necessities of government multiplied, and value of things increased, this fifteenth was insufficient for the occasions of the public, and thereupon the number of fifteenths was augmented to two or three fifteenths; which, still proving defective, another and quite different taxation was superadded, namely, a subsidy, which was an aid to