more observable among people in a state of comparative simplicity, than among nations in the highest state of cultivation. Among the former, imagination is stronger, or its activity is less damped by the sober reasonings of philosophy, the pursuits of commerce, or the views of ambition, and avarice; and the natural affections operate in their genuine force, undisguised, and undiminished by intercourse with the world. The hospitality almost universally prevalent throughout Wales, is an amiable characteristic of its inhabitants. Anciently the whole country scarcely afforded a single exception. Such are the singular, but amiable manners of a people, as little known to the eastern parts of Europe, as the sublime scenery of the country which they inhabit. It is also to be observed, that since making tours into Wales has become fashionable, the vestiges of ancient simplicity are gradually wearing out. The manners of London, and Dublin, are introduced into some of their towns, and a variety of refinements have found their way, even into some parts of the country. SCOTLAND. SCOTLAND, the Caledonia of Tacitus, is situated between 55° and 58° 40′ north latitude, and between 1° and 6o west longitude; being about 250 miles in length, from north to south, with a very irregular breadth, no where exceeding 160 miles. The contents of its surface have been computed at 27,793 square miles; the population being estimated at 1,600,000, the proportion of the inhabitants to the soil is only fifty-seven for a square mile. The face of the country is extremely diversified. The popular distinction of highlands, and lowlands, is expressive of the contrast between the mountainous and the level part. The highlands are strikingly picturesque; but one beautiful and interesting feature is almost universally wanting in the landscapes of Scotland. The almost total absence of wood gives to nature a kind of forlorn aspect. Masses of mountains, and extensive heaths, without a tree, or a shrub, to relieve the eye in ranging over the wide and desolate waste, excite the gloomy idea of hopeless sterility. The mountains, which occupy so great a part of its surface, are the principal distinctive feature of Scotland. The principal chains are the Grampian hills, running from east to west, almost the whole breadth of the country; the Pent land hills, and Lammer Muir. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain; its elevation being estimated at 1450 yards above the level of the sea. The savage scenery of the northwest of Scotland is thus described by an intelligent traveller: "A wide extent of country lay before us, and exhibited a most august picture of forlorn nature. The prospect was altogether immense, but wild and desolate beyond conception. The mountains presented nothing to view but heath, and rock between them; formless lakes, and pools dark with shades thrown from prodigious precipices, gave grandeur to the wilderness in its gloomy forms." These desolate regions yet remain unexplored by tourists, and unknown to geographical description. The three principal rivers of Scotland are the Forth, the Clyde, and the Tay. The Clyde, having the great mercantile city of Glasgow seated on its banks, claims a commercial preeminence over all the other rivers of Scotland. The number of vessels belonging to the Clyde, in 1790, was 476. Next in consequence to these is the Tweed. The Dee is a considerable and placid stream, which scarcely yields to the Tweed in pastoral celebrity. The canal which connects the Forth and the Clyde, is a masterpiece of inland navigation, the depth being seven feet, the width, at the surface, fifty-six feet, the locks seventy-five feet long, and their gates twenty feet wide. In a tract of ten miles, it is raised, by twenty locks, to the amazing height of 155 feet above the medium sea mark. In the fourth mile there are ten locks, and a fine aqueduct bridge, which crosses the great road leading from Edinburgh to Glasgow. The expense of this mile amounted to 18,000l. At Kirkintilloch, the canal is carried over the water of Logie on an aqueduct bridge, the arch of which is ninety feet wide, and is considered as a capital piece of masonry. In the whole extent of the canal there are eighteen draw-bridges, and fifteen aqueduct bridges of considerable size, besides smaller ones, and tunnels. One reservoir, for supplying it with water, is above twenty-four feet deep, and covers a surface of fifty acres: another occupies seventy acres, and is banked up at the sluice twenty-feet; the former of these is near Kilsyth, and the latter seven miles from Glasgow. The precise length of the canal is thirty-five miles. On the 28th of July, 1790, it was opened, and the communication from sea to sea completely effected. No work of the kind can be more ably finished. Among the lakes of Scotland, the chief, in extent and beauty, is Loch Lomond, studded with romantic islands, and adorned with picturesque scenery. Among the metals and minerals of Scotland, lead, iron, and coal, may be considered as the principal. Both gold and silver have been found, but in very small quantities. The coal mines have been worked through a succession of ages, and may be traced as far back as to the twelfth century. The mountains of Scotland consist of a great variety of materials. Many parts of the highlands contain white marble, and beautiful granite. The highlands, in general, present a picture of extreme sterility; but many parts of the lowlands yield abundant crops. In the eastern parts of Scotland, the atmosphere is less humid than that of England. On the other hand, the western counties are deluged with violent and long continued rains : an additional, and indeed, in many cases, an insuperable obstacle, to the advancement of agriculture. The winter is more remarkable for the abundance of rain and snow, than for the intenseness of the frost; but in summer, the solar rays are powerfully reflected in the vallies between the mountains. In Fifeshire and the Lothians, agriculture is well understood; and the farmers are in general well fed, clothed, and comfortably lodged. A very considerable part of Scotland, however, displays but little improvement, and the husbandman rather exists, than lives, on the scanty produce of his farm. In those places the cattle are lean and small, the houses |