whole fcene before me might be likened to the reprefentation of a camera obfcura, where the reflected images of objects are exhibited with neatness and accuracy. In our wanderings onward, we ftooped down and plucked many a ripe whortle-berry from amidst the prickly furze which covered the ground, and the gathering of which affords to many poor perfons the means of maintenance. We at length came to the brow of the hill, and stopping at the beacon, we, for some time, furveyed with astonishment the divine prospect which burst upon us from every quarter of the horizon! Nor could it be pronounced altogether unlike the eminence whither Adam was led by the archangel Michael, to fhew him what lay hid in the dark womb of futurity:

A hill,

Of Paradife the highest, from whofe top
The hemifphere of earth, in clearest ken,

Stretch'd out to th' ampleft reach of profpect lay,

Before us, was ftretched the wide extended ocean, where, could our vifion have been fufficiently invigo rated, we should have fpied the islands of Guernsey, Jerfey, and Alderney, together with the oppofite coafts of France. On the left lay Sidmouth, whofe venerable tower alone was vifible to us, and beyond projected the Portland Ifle, reminding me of the unfortunate Halfewell East Indiaman, whofe fate is fresh in every mind. Behind, was feen a fine extent of country, from the centre of which the fmoke of Exeter afcended-thus enabling me to ascertain the fpot in which the western metropolis was fituated. Beneath us was a beautiful wood, whofe embrowned appearance imparted peculiar folemnity; and it feemed, indeed, fitted for our Druidical ancestors, who were enthufiaftically attached to thefe fylvan receffes. On the right, at the extremity of our profpect, TORBAY prefented itfelf; and we could plainly defcry the little rock by which its entrance is particularly characterised,

This charming group of objects, which from this eminence filled the eye and exhilarated the heart, I was unwilling to relinquith; it was the fineft fight that I had ever beheld, combining the fublime and beautiful in perfection! Descending from this point, therefore, with lingering ftep, I ftole many a farewell look, feeling, in a degree, the reproach fuggefted in the words of the poet

O how canft thou renounce the boundlefs ftore
Of charms, which nature to her vot'ry yields!
The warbling woodland, the refounding fhore,
The pomp of groves and garniture of fields!
All that the genial ray of morning gilds,
And all that echoes to the fong of Even!
All that the mountain's fhelt'ring bosom shields,
And all the dread magnificence of heav'n,

O! how canft thou renounce, and hope to be forgiv'n?

The view of TORBAY naturally called up to my mind the glorious revolution of 1688; for there the hero WILLIAM, with his followers, landed November the 5th, a day ever to be revered in the annals of Britith hiftory! The arrival of our illuftrious deliverer chafed away the fhades of popery and arbitrary power, which were at that period thickening faft around the inhabitants of this highly favoured ifland. James was a brutal bigot, and had justly forfeited the love and efteem of his fubjects. But this great event is fully detailed in all our hiftories. With its critical commencement, its pacific progress, and its happy termination, you are well acquainted. The many valuable improvements introduced at that time into the British conftitution, rendered it the object of admiration to the furrounding nations. Indeed the emendations which it then received, cannot be fufficiently estimated; and the memory of those individuals who hazarded their lives and fortunes in that grand patriotic undertaking, stands endeared to pofterity.

Hail, facred polity, by freedom rear'd!
Hail, facred freedom, when by law reftrain'd!
Without you, what were man? a groveling herd,
In darkness, wretchedness, and want enchain'd.
Sublim'd by you, the Greek and Roman reign'd
In arts unrival'd: O! to latest days

In ALBION, may your influence, unprofan'd,
To god-like worth the gen'rous bosom raise,
And prompt the fage's lore and fire the poet's lays!

There were feveral curious medals devised to perpetuate this ftupendous defcent. The moft expreffive that I have feen is the following. On one fide is a bust of the Prince, with this inscription, William III. by the grace of God, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Orange and Weft Friefland; and, about the edges, Non rapit Imperium is, fed tua Recepit-HE DOES NOT SEIZE YOUR EMPIRE BUT RECEIVES IT. On the reverfe is a fleet, and the Prince on horfeback, drawing up his landed troops. You have alfo, in the back ground, a female proftrate upon the earth, holding a sword in one hand and a pair of fcales in the other, hereby fhewing that juftice was oppreffed and trampled upon in England. A hero advancing towards her, relieves herwhilst above you read thefe words, terras Aftrea revifit, ASTREA REVISITS THE EARTH!

Hiftory informs us, that WILLIAM embarked at Helvoerluys, in Holland, on the first of November, 1688, the trumpets founding, the hautboys playing, the foldiers and feamen fhouting; and a crowd of fpectators on the fhore, breathing forth their good wifhes after him. The ufual fignal being given, the fleet, commanded by Admiral Herbert, weighed anchor with all poffible diligence, being divided into three fquadrons, on board of which were about 14,000 troops, of divers nations: the red flag was for the English and Scotch, commanded by Major General Mackay; the white for his Highness's guards and Brandenburghers, under the command

command of Count Solms; and the blue for the Dutch and French, under the Count of Naffau. On the 3d of November, being got within the North Foreland, and the wind favourable at caft, they made all the fail they could, fteering a channel courfe. The Prince, who led the van, tacked about to fee the rear well come up, and, having called a council of war between Dover and Calais, he ordered that his own ftandard fhould be fet up, and that the fleet should close up in a body; his Highnefs, with three men of war to attend him, one at fome diftance before the fhip he was in, and one on each fide of him, failed forwards before the fleet. Next failed the transports, victuallers, and tenders, with their decks covered with officers and foldiers; and the main body of the men of war brought up the rear, ready to receive the enemy, if, as it was expected, they had attempted to disturb their paffage. On the 4th of November, being Sunday, and the aufpicious birth-day of the Prince, moft people were of opinion that he would land either in the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, or fomewhere in that quarter. But herein they were mistaken, for they continued failing onwards; paffing by Dartmouth, the weather grew hazy, fo that they overfhot TORBAY, where the Prince defigned to land. The weather, however, clearing up about nine, and the wind almoft miraculously changing to the W. S. W. this gave them entrance into the BAY, for as foon as they were got in, and when it had executed its commiffion, it returned again to the fame quarter, it was before they wanted it. The people of Devonshire having difcovered the fleet, flocked to the fhore, not to oppofe the Prince's landing, but to welcome their deliverer with loud acclamations! An anecdote was told me, relative to the landing of William, by a gentleman with whom I had the pleasure of dining in the neighbourhood of Sidmouth. It is handed down in the family from his ancestors, who took an active part on this grand occafion. A Mr. John

Duke,

Duke, of Otterton, a man of confiderable wealth and influence in that part of the country, joined the hero, on his arrival at Torbay. Being introduced into his prefence, William immediately asked him to favour him with his name; he replied, with a timid hesitation, John-DUKE of Otterton. The Prince expreffed his furprize, and taking out a lift of the nobility from his pocket, which he had been led to fuppofe was correct, he looked over it, and then declared that no fuch Duke was to be found there! The gentleman, however, foon obviated the difficulty, by repeating his name with an accelerated pronunciation, John Duke of Otterton. Every embarraffment being thus removed, William fmiled at the mistake, and embraced him with joy.

At prefent TORBAY is a famous rendezvous for our fleets, and its little village Brixham (where it is faid the very ftone on which WILLIAM first stepped afhore is ftill preferved) can boast of many veffels which trade in its fishery.

You will not, my good friend, cenfure me for this digreffion. Could I have contemplated, though at some distance, this famous fpot, without fuch feelings, you might have juftly accufed me of a want of fenfibility. An indifference to the momentous events of our own hiftory, particularly, events in which the welfare and happiness of our fellow creatures were deeply involved, is not enjoined upon us either by the dictates of reason or by the injunctions of revelation. "To abftract the mind from all local emotion," fays the great Dr. Johnfon, would be impoffible if it were endeavoured, and would be foolish if it were poffible. Whatever withdraws us from the power of our fenfes; whatever makes the past, the diftant, or the future, predominate over the prefent, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings. Far from me and my friends be fuch frigid philofophy, as may conduct us indifferent and unmoved over any ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery,