LETTER I. Hamburg, August 21, 1766.
Hamburg, August 21, 1766.
Dear Sir,
LITTLE did I imagine, when first I undertook to write the history of Meeklenburg, that this attempt would be produdive of a tour to Germany; and consequently expose me to a series of difficulties and perils: but so it seems to have been decreed: from a cause so very remote, by a strange combination of circumstances, an event has happened, which even at this time fills my own mind with amazement. You may remember, that upon a review of my materials for the second volume of the History of Vandalia, I found them a great deal too scanty and defecive; and from that time, I became sensible of the propriety, or rather expediency, of undertaking a journey to Mecklenburg, in order to explore new sources, and to carry on my inquiries at the fountain-head. Prius ex ip?o fonte bibuntur aquæ. I flattered myself, from the connexions I had already formed abroad, that upon my arriva1 in that country, the public archives and records would be open to me; and that I should, moreover, have frequent opportunities of conferring with the literati, and thereby acquiring such intelligence as might enable me to dispel the clouds of conjecture and fiction, and to fill up the spaces that I found vacant in some periods of my history. At the same time, I pleased myself with the idea of attaining a more accurate knowledge of the topography of that dutchy; as also of the customs and manners of the inhabitants, from my own observation and experience, and of rectifying any mistakes I might have committed in the description of a province which I had never visited, and concerning which my materials sometimes afforded me but a very imperfect and glimmering light.
This expedition, I must own, at the same time flattered my vanity, to think that I was conforming, in some measure, to the pradice of the ancients, whose earliest writings, and particularly their histories, consist chiefly of the relations of those who attained their knowledge by foreign travel: and perhaps, upon a strict examination, you will find, that among the historical relations of most countries, the greater part have been composed by foreigners. I should tire you with quotations (and this is not a place for such pedantry) were I to enter into a proof of this assertion; besides, you are too well acquainted with antiquity, to need any authority in support of the argument. I shall only take notice to you, that one of the greatest men of the last century, in a letter to a friend, concerning his manner of entering upon the study of the Roman history, advises him to peruse the Greek historians of that powerful state, in preference to the Latin; and the reason he assigns, is, that foreigners are infinitely more diligent in observing the manners, customs, laws, and ceremonies, of a distant nation, than the natives of the country.
Yet in acquainting you with the motive of my travels, I must be ingenuous, and not impute them intirely to the desire of instruction and knowledge. I have not the ambition of being ranked among the number of those great men, the Pythagoras's, the Solons, the Plato's, who travelled into remote parts in pursuit of science; and after a series of toilsome inquiries, enriched themselves with the spoils of philosophy, and the polite arts, by a frequent conversation with the sages, and the ingenious artists of foreign nations. The consideration of my health was a collateral inducement to embark in this hazardous voyage. You know I had contracted a disorder in my stomach, by a too close application, and by a sedentary life. I was likewise troubled with rheumatic pains, from frequent colds, the consequence of not exposing myself sufficiently to the open air. A seavoyage I hoped would be of great relief to me under these complaints; and indeed the event has already answered my most sanguine expectations.
I remember I promised you, at my departure, to write to you from time to time, and to give you such accounts of my travels as might serve at least as a mark of my friendship for you, if not contribute to your amusement. I intend to keep my word; if I should prove troublesome, blame yourself, as the correspondence is established at your own desire, or rather command, to comply with which I think it my duty. I cannot say how far you will be entertained, or whether you will be at all entertained with the account of my itinerary; but as I know that truth is your chief aim in reading, you may depend upon my conforming to it with the utmost exactness; and whatever may be wanting in the importance of the subject, will be compensated, I hope, by the fidelity of my intelligence. I shall furnish you with little more than facts, either falling within my own observation and knowledge, or such as I know to be properly attested. I shall endeavour to be acquainted with the customs and manners of the people; as well as to furvey the country, and to take an exact notice of its principa1 curiosities. The latter are generally the object of travellers; but the former are more worthy of their observation, as having a greater tendency to improve their manners, to remove the narrow prejudices of education, and to fill their minds with more generous and manly conceptions.
I set out from London on Thursday Morning, August 7, 1766, in company with my friend M. D. who was desirous of seeing the city of Hamburg. We reached Gravesend that same day, and there waited till Saturday in the afternoon for the arrival of a Hamburg ship, having agreed with the captain at London, for our passage. Sunday in the afternoon we fell down the river, the weather exceeding fine, but the wind contrary; fo that we were obliged to tide it to Oasley bay near Orford Ness, where we arrived on Tuesday about eight in the evening, and cast anchor. There we lay in expectation of a fair wind till Thursday Morning, when a westerly breeze springing up between three and four, our captain weighed anchor, and we soon came within sight of Leostoff, the last point of land on that coast; then leaving it at some distance on the left, we stood off to fea, and lost fight of the English shore about two in the afternoon, the 14th of August. The distance from Orford Ness to the first land on the German coast is 336 English miles. From Thursday the 14th, till Sunday the 17th, the wind proved variable. But early the 17th in the morning it blew full north; when we began to make a considerable progress, and between five and six in the evening, we espied Heilegeland, to my inexpressible satisfaction, who had not endured such long confinement at sea for many years, so that I could not forbear crying out, Italiam, Italiam. The pleasure a person feels on the fight of land, after a tedious navigation (and this was really such) brings to my mind these fine lines of Tasso, with which you have been so often charmed.
To sailors thus, who wand'ring on the main.
Have long explor’d some distant coasts in vain,
In seas unknown and foreign regions lost,
By stormy winds and faithless billows tost;
If chance at length th’ expected land appear,
With joyfu1 shouts they hail it from a-far;
They point with rapture to the wish'd-for shore,
And dream of former toils and fears no more *.
I set out from London on Thursday Morning, August 7, 1766, in company with my friend M. D. who was desirous of seeing the city of Hamburg. We reached Gravesend that same day, and there waited till Saturday in the afternoon for the arrival of a Hamburg ship, having agreed with the captain at London, for our passage. Sunday in the afternoon we fell down the river, the weather exceeding fine, but the wind contrary; fo that we were obliged to tide it to Oasley bay near Orford Ness, where we arrived on Tuesday about eight in the evening, and cast anchor. There we lay in expectation of a fair wind till Thursday Morning, when a westerly breeze springing up between three and four, our captain weighed anchor, and we soon came within sight of Leostoff, the last point of land on that coast; then leaving it at some distance on the left, we stood off to fea, and lost fight of the English shore about two in the afternoon, the 14th of August. The distance from Orford Ness to the first land on the German coast is 336 English miles. From Thursday the 14th, till Sunday the 17th, the wind proved variable. But early the 17th in the morning it blew full north; when we began to make a considerable progress, and between five and six in the evening, we espied Heilegeland, to my inexpressible satisfaction, who had not endured such long confinement at sea for many years, so that I could not forbear crying out, Italiam, Italiam. The pleasure a person feels on the fight of land, after a tedious navigation (and this was really such) brings to my mind these fine lines of Tasso, with which you have been so often charmed.
To sailors thus, who wand'ring on the main.
Have long explor’d some distant coasts in vain,
In seas unknown and foreign regions lost,
By stormy winds and faithless billows tost;
If chance at length th’ expected land appear,
With joyfu1 shouts they hail it from a-far;
They point with rapture to the wish'd-for shore,
And dream of former toils and fears no more *.
I set out from London on Thursday Morning, August 7, 1766, in company with my friend M. D. who was desirous of seeing the city of Hamburg. We reached Gravesend that same day, and there waited till Saturday in the afternoon for the arrival of a Hamburg ship, having agreed with the captain at London, for our passage. Sunday in the afternoon we fell down the river, the weather exceeding fine, but the wind contrary; fo that we were obliged to tide it to Oasley bay near Orford Ness, where we arrived on Tuesday about eight in the evening, and cast anchor. There we lay in expectation of a fair wind till Thursday Morning, when a westerly breeze springing up between three and four, our captain weighed anchor, and we soon came within sight of Leostoff, the last point of land on that coast; then leaving it at some distance on the left, we stood off to fea, and lost fight of the English shore about two in the afternoon, the 14th of August. The distance from Orford Ness to the first land on the German coast is 336 English miles. From Thursday the 14th, till Sunday the 17th, the wind proved variable. But early the 17th in the morning it blew full north; when we began to make a considerable progress, and between five and six in the evening, we espied Heilegeland, to my inexpressible satisfaction, who had not endured such long confinement at sea for many years, so that I could not forbear crying out, Italiam, Italiam. The pleasure a person feels on the fight of land, after a tedious navigation (and this was really such) brings to my mind these fine lines of Tasso, with which you have been so often charmed.
To sailors thus, who wand'ring on the main.
Have long explor’d some distant coasts in vain,
In seas unknown and foreign regions lost,
By stormy winds and faithless billows tost;
If chance at length th’ expected land appear,
With joyfu1 shouts they hail it from a-far;
They point with rapture to the wish'd-for shore,
And dream of former toils and fears no more *.
* Hoole's translatlon of Tasso, lib. iii.
Dear Sir,
LITTLE did I imagine, when first I undertook to write the history of Meeklenburg, that this attempt would be produdive of a tour to Germany; and consequently expose me to a series of difficulties and perils: but so it seems to have been decreed: from a cause so very remote, by a strange combination of circumstances, an event has happened, which even at this time fills my own mind with amazement. You may remember, that upon a review of my materials for the second volume of the History of Vandalia, I found them a great deal too scanty and defecive; and from that time, I became sensible of the propriety, or rather expediency, of undertaking a journey to Mecklenburg, in order to explore new sources, and to carry on my inquiries at the fountain-head. Prius ex ip?o fonte bibuntur aquæ. I flattered myself, from the connexions I had already formed abroad, that upon my arriva1 in that country, the public archives and records would be open to me; and that I should, moreover, have frequent opportunities of conferring with the literati, and thereby acquiring such intelligence as might enable me to dispel the clouds of conjecture and fiction, and to fill up the spaces that I found vacant in some periods of my history. At the same time, I pleased myself with the idea of attaining a more accurate knowledge of the topography of that dutchy; as also of the customs and manners of the inhabitants, from my own observation and experience, and of rectifying any mistakes I might have committed in the description of a province which I had never visited, and concerning which my materials sometimes afforded me but a very imperfect and glimmering light.
This expedition, I must own, at the same time flattered my vanity, to think that I was conforming, in some measure, to the pradice of the ancients, whose earliest writings, and particularly their histories, consist chiefly of the relations of those who attained their knowledge by foreign travel: and perhaps, upon a strict examination, you will find, that among the historical relations of most countries, the greater part have been composed by foreigners. I should tire you with quotations (and this is not a place for such pedantry) were I to enter into a proof of this assertion; besides, you are too well acquainted with antiquity, to need any authority in support of the argument. I shall only take notice to you, that one of the greatest men of the last century, in a letter to a friend, concerning his manner of entering upon the study of the Roman history, advises him to peruse the Greek historians of that powerful state, in preference to the Latin; and the reason he assigns, is, that foreigners are infinitely more diligent in observing the manners, customs, laws, and ceremonies, of a distant nation, than the natives of the country.
Yet in acquainting you with the motive of my travels, I must be ingenuous, and not impute them intirely to the desire of instruction and knowledge. I have not the ambition of being ranked among the number of those great men, the Pythagoras's, the Solons, the Plato's, who travelled into remote parts in pursuit of science; and after a series of toilsome inquiries, enriched themselves with the spoils of philosophy, and the polite arts, by a frequent conversation with the sages, and the ingenious artists of foreign nations. The consideration of my health was a collateral inducement to embark in this hazardous voyage. You know I had contracted a disorder in my stomach, by a too close application, and by a sedentary life. I was likewise troubled with rheumatic pains, from frequent colds, the consequence of not exposing myself sufficiently to the open air. A seavoyage I hoped would be of great relief to me under these complaints; and indeed the event has already answered my most sanguine expectations.
I remember I promised you, at my departure, to write to you from time to time, and to give you such accounts of my travels as might serve at least as a mark of my friendship for you, if not contribute to your amusement. I intend to keep my word; if I should prove troublesome, blame yourself, as the correspondence is established at your own desire, or rather command, to comply with which I think it my duty. I cannot say how far you will be entertained, or whether you will be at all entertained with the account of my itinerary; but as I know that truth is your chief aim in reading, you may depend upon my conforming to it with the utmost exactness; and whatever may be wanting in the importance of the subject, will be compensated, I hope, by the fidelity of my intelligence. I shall furnish you with little more than facts, either falling within my own observation and knowledge, or such as I know to be properly attested. I shall endeavour to be acquainted with the customs and manners of the people; as well as to furvey the country, and to take an exact notice of its principa1 curiosities. The latter are generally the object of travellers; but the former are more worthy of their observation, as having a greater tendency to improve their manners, to remove the narrow prejudices of education, and to fill their minds with more generous and manly conceptions.
I set out from London on Thursday Morning, August 7, 1766, in company with my friend M. D. who was desirous of seeing the city of Hamburg. We reached Gravesend that same day, and there waited till Saturday in the afternoon for the arrival of a Hamburg ship, having agreed with the captain at London, for our passage. Sunday in the afternoon we fell down the river, the weather exceeding fine, but the wind contrary; fo that we were obliged to tide it to Oasley bay near Orford Ness, where we arrived on Tuesday about eight in the evening, and cast anchor. There we lay in expectation of a fair wind till Thursday Morning, when a westerly breeze springing up between three and four, our captain weighed anchor, and we soon came within sight of Leostoff, the last point of land on that coast; then leaving it at some distance on the left, we stood off to fea, and lost fight of the English shore about two in the afternoon, the 14th of August. The distance from Orford Ness to the first land on the German coast is 336 English miles. From Thursday the 14th, till Sunday the 17th, the wind proved variable. But early the 17th in the morning it blew full north; when we began to make a considerable progress, and between five and six in the evening, we espied Heilegeland, to my inexpressible satisfaction, who had not endured such long confinement at sea for many years, so that I could not forbear crying out, Italiam, Italiam. The pleasure a person feels on the fight of land, after a tedious navigation (and this was really such) brings to my mind these fine lines of Tasso, with which you have been so often charmed.
To sailors thus, who wand'ring on the main.
Have long explor’d some distant coasts in vain,
In seas unknown and foreign regions lost,
By stormy winds and faithless billows tost;
If chance at length th’ expected land appear,
With joyfu1 shouts they hail it from a-far;
They point with rapture to the wish'd-for shore,
And dream of former toils and fears no more *.
I set out from London on Thursday Morning, August 7, 1766, in company with my friend M. D. who was desirous of seeing the city of Hamburg. We reached Gravesend that same day, and there waited till Saturday in the afternoon for the arrival of a Hamburg ship, having agreed with the captain at London, for our passage. Sunday in the afternoon we fell down the river, the weather exceeding fine, but the wind contrary; fo that we were obliged to tide it to Oasley bay near Orford Ness, where we arrived on Tuesday about eight in the evening, and cast anchor. There we lay in expectation of a fair wind till Thursday Morning, when a westerly breeze springing up between three and four, our captain weighed anchor, and we soon came within sight of Leostoff, the last point of land on that coast; then leaving it at some distance on the left, we stood off to fea, and lost fight of the English shore about two in the afternoon, the 14th of August. The distance from Orford Ness to the first land on the German coast is 336 English miles. From Thursday the 14th, till Sunday the 17th, the wind proved variable. But early the 17th in the morning it blew full north; when we began to make a considerable progress, and between five and six in the evening, we espied Heilegeland, to my inexpressible satisfaction, who had not endured such long confinement at sea for many years, so that I could not forbear crying out, Italiam, Italiam. The pleasure a person feels on the fight of land, after a tedious navigation (and this was really such) brings to my mind these fine lines of Tasso, with which you have been so often charmed.
To sailors thus, who wand'ring on the main.
Have long explor’d some distant coasts in vain,
In seas unknown and foreign regions lost,
By stormy winds and faithless billows tost;
If chance at length th’ expected land appear,
With joyfu1 shouts they hail it from a-far;
They point with rapture to the wish'd-for shore,
And dream of former toils and fears no more *.
I set out from London on Thursday Morning, August 7, 1766, in company with my friend M. D. who was desirous of seeing the city of Hamburg. We reached Gravesend that same day, and there waited till Saturday in the afternoon for the arrival of a Hamburg ship, having agreed with the captain at London, for our passage. Sunday in the afternoon we fell down the river, the weather exceeding fine, but the wind contrary; fo that we were obliged to tide it to Oasley bay near Orford Ness, where we arrived on Tuesday about eight in the evening, and cast anchor. There we lay in expectation of a fair wind till Thursday Morning, when a westerly breeze springing up between three and four, our captain weighed anchor, and we soon came within sight of Leostoff, the last point of land on that coast; then leaving it at some distance on the left, we stood off to fea, and lost fight of the English shore about two in the afternoon, the 14th of August. The distance from Orford Ness to the first land on the German coast is 336 English miles. From Thursday the 14th, till Sunday the 17th, the wind proved variable. But early the 17th in the morning it blew full north; when we began to make a considerable progress, and between five and six in the evening, we espied Heilegeland, to my inexpressible satisfaction, who had not endured such long confinement at sea for many years, so that I could not forbear crying out, Italiam, Italiam. The pleasure a person feels on the fight of land, after a tedious navigation (and this was really such) brings to my mind these fine lines of Tasso, with which you have been so often charmed.
To sailors thus, who wand'ring on the main.
Have long explor’d some distant coasts in vain,
In seas unknown and foreign regions lost,
By stormy winds and faithless billows tost;
If chance at length th’ expected land appear,
With joyfu1 shouts they hail it from a-far;
They point with rapture to the wish'd-for shore,
And dream of former toils and fears no more *.
* Hoole's translatlon of Tasso, lib. iii.
Dieses Kapitel ist Teil des Buches TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY. Vol. 1