withstanding thefe advantages, the count affured me, that in three and-twenty years, fince he began thefe works, he has expended in them the fum of above thirty-three thousand ducats, which make near fixteen thousand pounds. This ac count includes the church, the pav ing the town, and the erecting the works and buildings for the feveral manufactures above mentioned, be fides the houses and shares of houfes: exclufive of this expence, he has been employed three years in erecting a handfome bridge over the river, a wharf on the banks of it, with warehouses for merchandize, and dry and wet docks for building barges, and decked floops on the river: the tide flows up to the town, though at a confiderable diftance from the fea; and the count, among his noble plans, has fchemed the fixing a trade at it. This town is fituated between Pallisberg and Wingaard: the river falls into the gulph that Ringfkopping ftands on, but he is at prefent employed in cutting a canal, about two miles long, to gain a better navigation into a bay to the northward, near Wofborg. By this means, he hopes to be able to navigate brigs of one hundred tons; whereas he has at prefent only five floops, each of fifty tons. Thefe he employs all himself in bringing materials for his manufactures from the Baltic, England, and Holland. His bridge, wharf, docks, and warehouses, he calculates will coft him fixteen thousand ducats, and his navigation above three thousand.

I do not remember ever receiving fo much real pleasure, as from viewing thefe great and noble exertions of princely magnificence, which infinitely exceed all the

coftly ornaments which, in fome countries, are given to the feats of the great. They reflect immortal honour on the worthy count, who has the fpirit thus to profecute the nobleft works which Europe can exhibit. Other noblemen in Denmark have fortunes equal to this illuftrious count; in England we have fortunes double and treble to his; but where are we to find an expenditure of a great eftate, that reflects equal luftre on the owner? I must confefs, I never yet met with an example comparable to this, nor can I poffibly dwell on it in the manner it most richly de-` ferves.

It was the employment of the day for the count to carry me through all the manufactures, and the different parts of the town; he returned to the caftle to a late dinner. I mentioned taking my leave of him, but, with great politeness, and in the most obliging manner, he defired me to defer my journey, faying he had hewn me only his manufactures, but he had the effects of them on agriculture yet to let me fee. At dinner, and in the evening, we had abundance of converfation concerning the objects I had feen in the day; and particu❤ larly on the means, by which the count had been able to effect the eftablishment of the manufactures I had seen.

The beginning of all my undertakings, faid that illuftrious nobleman, I found ever the most diftcult. In establishing the woollen fabric, I had infinite difficulties at firft, in opening a regular channel by which to receive the wool, for our own was fo bad, that I could ufe fcarce any of it; and then to get people ufed to the dif

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ferent works, from picking and forting for the fpinners, quite to the weavers, who finifhed the working of it. Most of the people I procured from Germany and Flanders; but a few, who proved more ufeful to me than all the reft, from Scotland, and two or three from England. To all thefe people I have been forced to give great falaries, to build them fine houfes, and to put up with many irregularities; but I was indefatigable in mak ng my own people learn of them what they could perform; and the best way of doing this, I found was to give a premium to the foreigners for every hand they perfected in every branch of work. Several of thefe people are dead, and I have not taken any pains to recruit their number; for my Danes are now, many of them, as expert as their mafters. I have, however, very often fraggling parties of Germans, who come to afk work, which I never fail giving them, and building houfes immediately for them, if they continue in the n ind of fettling. This has in gen ral been my conduct with every one of the fabrics, except one, which has hitherto been entirely conducted and worked by native Danes; but I meditate attempting fome new manufactures, for which In uft have recourfe to other countries for a few hands to inftruct us. Frm he beginning of the undertaking, I found the neceffity of uniting the characters of merchant and manufacturer; for had it not been fo the poffeffion of a little fhipping, which fupplied me with wha ever materials were wanting, I fhould never have been able to bring my works to the height at which they are now arrived." My

floops are ftrong and well built, and run, without difficulty, whereever I fend them, to the Baltic, to England, Scotland, Holland, France, and even to the Mediterranean; with the advantage of coming up into the heart of my town. I once had a brig of two hundred tons, but I found too much inconvenience and expence in fending fuch a veffel for a cargo of not more than forty or fifty tons, unlefs I turned trader, and loft by the bufinefs; befides her being forced to lye in the gulph, inftead of coming up to the town; fo that I fold her in Holland, and have found my floops far more convenient and profitable, as with them I can always take a full cargo of whatever they are fent for. I have a Dutch fhip-carpenter, who builds them for me, and he has fix Danes under him, two of whom have worked in the king's yard at Copenhagen. This establishment is not more than three years old, but I purpose to keep it regular, and even to increafe it: they have built me five floops, each of fifty tons, which have performed their business exceedingly well, and are excellent failers. You saw two more on the ftocks, both which are herring buffes, built exactly on the fame plan as thofe in Holland; with them 1 purpose attempting the herring fifhery; for I have obferved in my travels, and you certainly muft have remarked the fame thing, that nothing fpreads more industry, or maintains fo many people, as fifheries: and at the fame time, the Danes make excellent ones; and I have no doubt of fucceeding, as I have, though at a great expence, got three Dutch fishermen, used to their art of barrelling; if I meet

with fuccefs, I fhall increase the buffes; and when the canal I fhewed you is finished, I fhall build fome larger floops, and a brig or two of an hundred tons, for carrying the product of the fishery up the ftreights; from whence I hope to return home loaded with falt, which, by that time, I fhall have fixed a market for.

My great object is to make every part of my general plan unite to form one whole, by rendering cach divifion of it the fupport of another: at first, I was forced to fend out my floops, wherever they went, empty; but as my manufactures have increased, I have fent out fome loads of them, which have obtained a very good market; I have loaded others with corn, having a perpetual licence from the king for that purpose; if my fishery proceeds, I shall never be obliged to go out empty, which is a very ef fential object.

All these works I find have a wonderful efficacy in increafing the people on my eftate. I before told you, that the town has above two thousand inhabitants in it, though not a hut was standing there threeand-twenty years ago; my buildings increafe, confiderably every year; I have a great number of brick and lime burners, mafons, fmiths, and carpenters, that do nothing else but build houfes for the new comers. This work regulates all the reft, for it is the firft I provide cath for, being the great object of all the reft; and what fum is fpared from this, I expend upon the other works. I raifed five-and-thirty houfes laft year, and the number this year will be near forty. From the applications I have received, I ap

prehend, I fhall next year build above fixty; but the expence will be fo large, that I fhall be forced to retard my other undertakings. You fhall to-morrow fee the effect, .` which this population has had upon my husbandry.

We paffed the evening in converfation of this fort.-The count thewed me a map of his eftate, as it was when his father left it him. The extent is nine English miles one way, and more than four another; but fomewhat indented. It is a fine variegated country of hill and dale, with fome mountains, well watered with rivers, ftreams, and lakes; and part of it nobly fpread with exceeding fine timber. This was the defcription he gave me of it on explaining the map.

In the morning carly, horfes were ready for us, and the count, riding fome miles from his cattle, came into a tract of cultivated country, all his own, at the extremity of his eftate, oppofite to the part on which the town is built. Here we rode through many valleys, and fides of hills, all cultivated, with great numbers of farmhoufes and cottages, the inhabitants of which feemed as eafy, chearful, and happy, as if they had been refident in England inftead of Denmark; they all appeared to be pleafed with the prefence of their lord, and I have no doubt but they efteem him as their father, as well as mafter. This part of my eftate, faid the count, addreifing himself to me, was cultivated of old, and it is all that was fo; I found it farmed by my father's bailiffs and villains, and the appearance it made was very uninviting, and the people extremely miferable; I arranged it R 3

a-new,

a-new, formed moft of the inclofures you fee, built most of these houses; and to all the people that were industrious and faving, I let farms according to their ability of living and ftocking; and I found very toon that this way of managing the land, brought me in a better revenue than the cultivating it on my own account; for the bailiffs I trufted, generally turned out great rafcals, and cheated me, at the fame time that they infinitely oppreffed the peasants. In my travels through England, I had fixed the defign of letting farms, from the great fuccefs I faw attending it there; I liked the plan every day better and better, and by giving encouragement to fuch as tilled their land well, and kept their farms in good order, and by fhewing no favour to idle perfons and flovens, I brought them to be wonderfully attentive, fo that at prefent I do not think you have many eftates in Scotland or Ireland better cultivated than this part of mine, and fome not better in England. Ifhould, however, tell you, that I did not leave them to the cuftoms of their own country entirely, but procured workmen and implements from Flanders, to inftruct them in the practice of methods, to which they were unaccustomed. This I did not find fo difficult a bufinefs as might be expected; for very luckily the people I procured were fenfible and intelligent, and pointed out with great propriety the courfes of management molt proper for the lands: our foil they thought not good nough for the Flemish crops of

colefeed, madder, &e. but ought rather to be applied to the productions of wheat, barley, oats, pease, beans, turnips, clover, &c. I was entirely of the fame opinion, and rewarded them for their advice, fending them home, after they had fully inftructed my Danes in the ufe of their implements; we have fuck very closely to thefe ever fince, except the introduction of fome others from England, which have been likewife well approved by them. I have given premiums for the beft ploughmen; others, more confiderable, for the best crops of all forts, and have been very attentive to fpread among them the culture of turnips and clover, as the moft advantageous means of wintering their herds of cattle.

The attention of this fort, which I have given to their management, has been attended with great effects, for though I have been all over Denmark more than once, I know fcarcely any spot fo well cultivated as this; and you will readily allow, that I have found the work profitable, when I tell you that great tracks of this improved land, yield me a rent of a ducat and half for an English acre; and fome of it two ducats, (which is from fourteen to eighteen fhillings) but it has not been fo high rented many years; it hath been fo only fince the increase of my town has been confiderable, which, by providing them the market they fo much wanted, has enriched them all, and is a strong proof of the juftness of the principles upon which I firft undertook all my works."

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