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rage against nature, and most destructive to health.

The burial-ground of the Trappists is part of the garden. An open grave is always awaiting its prey. When a member expires, and the grave has closed over him, another is dug by the whole fraternity. When a sick brother ceases to breathe, the cowl is drawn over his face, and he is laid upon a board, and interred in the presence of the assembled community.

The present abbot of La Trappe is Augustin de Lestrange. He is not only the general confessor, but absolute ruler of the Order. His motto is, La sainte volonté de Dieu.

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In the enumeration of the nunneries of this Order, we find one mentioned as existing at Pool in Dorsetshire, in which the mother of Viscount Chateaubriand died; and which is said to contain sixty nuns. The brother of the same statesman also died in 1802 at one of the convents of this Order at Alcanniz, in Spain, His letters to his brother, describing the rigid rules and severe penances inflicted on the monks, which brought upon him dropsy and a premature death, have been published. The Princess of Condé lived and died at another of these establishments near Sion, in Switzerland.

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Soon after I returned to Alexan- || Fitzherberts, their mother, and Mr. dria from my first introduction to the Ridley family, I made an excursion through some of the northern states with a gentleman named Adgate, with whom I had formed an acquaintance, and who was proceeding on business to Boston. This excursion afforded scarcely any materials for notice; and I have preserved but few memorandums of it in my journals. We travelled too quick to make much observation, either of men or things; and on our return to Alexandria, in February 1807, I was attacked by an illness which confined me to my bed for near a month, and to my room for three; and it was not till the middle of the summer that I recovered my wonted health and strength. During this long confinement I was treated most kindly and affectionately by the good people of the house where I lodged; the Misses Vol. IV. No. XXIII.

Mortimer were also very kind; and frequently some of the Ridleys came over from Washington to spend a day or two with the invalid. At length I recovered; and as I began to feel an inclination to revisit England, it was agreed, that as Mr. Ridley had nearly concluded the business on which he came over, I should join his family party, and travel with them to Charlestown, to see a little more eto of the country, and embark together from thence for England.

Just as I was becoming convalescent, an affair happened, that tended materially to embarrass the existing relations between the English and American governments, which were not before of the most amicable description. One of the great bones of contention between the two countries had been, as your readers are well aware, the disputes which arose Q Q

from the practice pursued by the || nounced; volunteer associations were Americans, of engaging British sail-formed; and nothing but war was ors on board their vessels, to whom breathed by the democratic party. they gave fictitious letters of citizen- The government was equally furious; ship; which sailors were impressed they interdicted British ships from whenever they were fallen in with entering the waters of the United by any of our cruisers, who claimed States, and took other steps equally and exercised the right of searching absurd and impotent. These, howAmerican merchant-vessels for them. ever, I pass over, as the relation of In the earlier part of this year, the political disputes will not afford much government of the United States had amusement to your fair readers; and fitted out the Chesapeake frigate (the I have only given this narrative as same which the brave Captain Broke introductory to one of my own adso gallantly captured in the late war) ventures. for a cruise in the Mediterranean; The latter end of June saw mé and Commodore Barron, her com- quite restored to the enjoyment of mander, most imprudently engaged health; and I did enjoy it so much some English deserters as seamen on the more from having felt the pain board of her. This circumstance and languor of sickness and debility: came to the ears of the British au- so true it is, that our greatest blessthorities, and the men were formally ings are never so duly appreciated, demanded by Mr. Erskine (now || nor so highly prized, as after we have Lord Erskine), our ambassador. been temporarily deprived of them. Every effort, however, to induce the Having been so long confined, I was American commander to give up the eager for novelty, and wanted but men failed; and on the 22d of June, little excitement to join in any party Captain Humphries of H. M. ship of fun or frolic, of pleasure or gaiety. Leopard, acting under the orders of Admiral Berkeley, who then commanded on the American station, fell in with the Chesapeake, in the bay of the same name, and the men being again formally demanded and refused, the British ship fired a broad-treasure had been lavishly expended side, when the Chesapeake struck her colours; and an officer with a select party was sent on board, who selected the British seamen from the crew; and then giving up the vessel to Commodore Barron, returned to the Leopard.

It is impossible to conceive the rage and indignation of the American people, as soon as this affair was known in the United States. Meetings were held, at which the conduct of the British government was de

The 4th of July is a grand galaday in America: it is the anniversary of the day on which the rebellious Congress declared themselves, in 1776, independent of that mother country, whose blood and whose

in fostering and protecting the colo nies in their infancy and in their progress to maturity. It is generally celebrated by public dinners and rejoicings; and in most of the principal towns, some person or other of spouting notoriety is employed to make what they call an oration, în which he, of course, most lavishly praises the United States, and is equally lavish of his abuse of England. The language of these ora tors is, in general, particularly inflat

ed and bombastic, full of the most ri- || sailed in two packets about the same diculous metaphors and absurd con- time that we did, and were already ceits; affording frequent instances of landed. They were joined by the the bathos, and scarcely ever in good Washington and Georgetown voluntaste, or evincing the marks of a teers; and when all together, a most cultivated mind. All this, however, grotesque figure they cut, and cercould only excite a good-humoured tainly the whole was as unlike a mismile, did not the Americans claim litary spectacle as any thing I ever the supremacy in all things over the saw. I remember mentioning to old world, and arrogate to them- Adgate, who was telling me that the selves superlative excellence: it there- Canadas would be overrun in one. fore becomes necessary, at times, to month after a declaration of war, curb their ridiculous vanity, and to that if the Americans could send no treat with contempt their unfounded better soldiers, a troop of our schoolpretensions. But to return. boys, such as I remember were organized in 1803 and 1804, when the report was rife that Buonaparte would certainly invade England, would beat them. He was an American, and though not a democrat, vain of his country, and took my remarks in high dudgeon; but I soon rallied him into good-humour.

The 4th of July, 1807, following so soon after the affair of the Chesapeake, the Americans, of course, seized the opportunity to make some extra demonstrations of patriotism on that occasion. It was resolved by the volunteer corps of Alexandria to go to Washington, and make || an offer of their services to the President, in case of war with England; and other measures were determined upon, but I now forget their exact purport. It was the Washington excursion which interested me; and I resolved to go thither and witness the proceedings on that day.

As one o'clock was the hour fixed for the interview of the President and the apologies for soldiers, who were to make an offer of their servi ces to blow England out of the sea, we had time to look about us: we therefore called at my friend Mr. Ridley's, and engaged his daughters to be of our party. At the appointed hour we proceeded to the President's

The morning was ushered in with as bright a sun as ever shone out of the heavens, and the noise and bus-house, before which the troops were tle in the streets gave warning that something was going on out of the common way. I breakfasted with my friend Adgate, who was to accompany me; and at ten o'clock we embarked on board one of the Washington packets," with a fav'ring breeze," and a cargo of "live lumber all agog" for the sports of the day. The voyage was short, but pleasant; and we arrived at the great city about half-past eleven o'clock. The Alexandrian company of riflemen had

to defile, and where we saw Mr. Jefferson in all his glory. He was a venerable-looking old man; tall and erect; dressed in a plain suit of brown silk, with a close wig; and though a good deal prejudiced against him, I must do him the justice to say, that his manners were extremely affable and kind. He was quite unassuming, and took upon him very little of the pomp of office. When Congress was in session, he usually rode to the Capitol on horseback, on

forget, and it is of no consequenceit was a Mr. Hopkins, or a Mr. Tomkins, or a Mr. Wiggins, or something of that sort-made a speech, and the President replied; and there the affair ended. When it was over, we returned to Mr. Ridley's to dine, and refusing an invitation from him to remain till next day, as we had pledged ourselves to be at Alexandria that night, we again embarked on board the packet on our return. We found the rifle company were to be our compagnons du voyage; and having bid the ladies and their brother, who accompanied us to the water's edge, farewell, we set about searching for some amusement or other to pass away the time during our short trip.

which occasions he would give a Negro-boy a fourpenny-bit to hold his horse; or would hitch the bridle to any holdfast that might be at hand, if no one was by to attend to the animal. His worst fault, next to his utter disregard of all religious feeling, for he never pretended to believe in any of the systems of faith into which the Christian world are divided, and said it was utterly immaterial whether a man believed in one God or twenty, as it would neither break his bones nor pick his pocket, was, his hatred to England. His partiality to France I can forgive him for; it was natural that he should feel it, as he was an old revolutionary partizan, and France had aided the States in achieving their independence: besides, he was cajoled and flattered and caressed, and had honours conferred upon him in France; all which operated upon his weak mind (and Mr. Jefferson is gifted with a very weak one): therefore it is not wonderful that he should like France, though it is a little ex-sphere to " waft a feather," nor agitraordinary that a votary of liberty should be an admirer of the greatest tyrants that the world ever saw: but so it was. With this, however, I had no business: but his manifest injustice towards England fretted and vexed me; and when invited to partake of the cold collation which he had prepared on the occasion, I turned away, and said, "No, I will neither eat nor drink at the cost of the United States or their President. It would certainly choke me if I did." The military ceremony was soon over. The men in soldiers' dresses defiled past the steps of the President's house, where Mr. Jefferson was standing. The person who had the command, whose name I really

It was now about four o'clock, and there was a light breeze as we put off from the shore. We had scarcely, however, proceeded half a mile, when the wind suddenly dropped, and the air became so calm, that there was neither motion enough in the atmo

tation sufficient in the waters "to drown a fly." Our packet lay like a log on the surface of the Potowmac; the little jolly-boat at her stern was ordered ahead, and an attempt was made to tow her along, in which perhaps they might have succeeded at the rate of something less than a knot an hour. That rate of progress, however, would not do; and a grand council of war being called, it was resolved, as we were nearest the Maryland shore, to pull for that quarter, and to walk home through the woods. We were accordingly, with some exertion, landed a little below Bladensburg-the scene of our triumph, and the disgrace of the Americans, when, in the late war,

hailed the sparkling prospect with real pleasure.

Whilst a table was setting out for us in another room, we dried our clothes, and enjoyed many a hearty laugh at the grotesque appearance which some of us presented. The riflemen were the best off: their dress was of cotton, consisting of a loose jacket and trowsers, of the co

about a thousand of our brave fellows defeated five times their number, advantageously posted too-and with light hearts set off on our excursion, the bugles of the corps leading the way, and by their no means unharmonious sounds they beguiled the route of half its tediousness. They had a band of drums and fifes too, which played occasionally; and we were in high glee and vastly merry.lour of dead leaves; being tight, the My friend and I marched with the captain, a good-humoured cheerful man, who laughed and joked and sung alternately; and we thought ourselves in high luck, and were in proportionately high spirits.

heat of the fire soon extracted the moisture, and they readily regained their natural appearance.

We had not lost our appetite in the storm, and when assembled round a board on which a fine large ham and Our disasters were not, however, various kinds of cold meat were yet an end. Hitherto the "firma- placed, with bowls of whiskey-toddy ment had been without a cloud;" and rum punch, we quickly forgot but it soon became overcast, and the perils of our march. The laugh gave ominous presage of an ap- and the song went gaily round; the proaching storm. This soon came glass was briskly pushed from hand on. The rain fell in torrents, the to hand; and it approached near the thunder roared dreadfully over our witching time of night before we heads, and the forked lightning thought of departing. The word played through the trees, altogether "Forward!" was, however, given at producing a scene, which, though at length by our commander, and we times appalling and terrific, possessed "gathered ourselves up," and marchmuch of the truly sublime. We had ed in no very soldier-like trim down no remedy but to press on, which we to the ferry, where a large boat, did, though we soon had every ap- which was used in general to take pearance of drowned rats; for the over horses and cattle and carriages, heavy rain penetrated our garments, was in waiting for us. It had been and ran from us in torrents. The raining for some time; the night was storm lasted in great violence for up-dark, and the river wide: we had wards of an hour, when the clouds dispersed; the sun again darted forth his rays, and we reached, without any other misadventure, the ferry-shore, when the most terrible storm house, which was situated nearly opposite to Alexandria. This was a large and rude building; and in the old hall, a square room, which held all our company, we found a bright fire blazing on the hearth; and though it was the height of summer, we

not therefore the prospect of a very pleasant voyage. We had gained about a quarter of a mile from the

which I ever encountered came on. The wind blew a hurricane; the rain fell in torrents; and the Potomac, which, in this part, was upwards of a mile and a quarter wide, agitated by the wind, rolled in black and boisterous waves against the boat. The

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