RIESBECk’s TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY.

64

ftranger, who'happens to have no opportunity of feeing better company, with a veryfavourable opinion of the country.,

Remonftrances in general are but ill received here. The omnipotent flick is everready to anfvver interrogatories ; and a man foon perceives, in every occurrence, thathe is come into a military government, the foundation of which isabolute fubordination.

It is true, that perfons of a certain rank are not expofed to this ; but what then r. Itappears to me, that whatever be the condition, or ftation, man owes to man good willand civility. Amongft us the leaf! foldier is open to remonftrance, and anfwers it aswell as he is able. Every body feems eager to drew the ftranger that they take intereftin his fate, that they are glad to fee him in their country, and that they have a pride ingiving him as good an opinion of them as poffible. The reafon why we were treated withmore civility at Engelhaftzel, is, becaufe it is a frontier town, and there are no troops••quartered there, on account of the fear there is of defertion ; fo the civil officers are.obliged to give good words : but here, when the air refounds with the ftrokes of thecorporal’s flick, every look of the lowed; fervant mud be confidered as a command.—■Brother, in what regards politenefs and humanity, a Frenchman has a right to be proud.This is no prejudice. In the other nations of Europe , civility is confined within thevery fmall circle of the higher orders ; but we mull do our common people the honourto allow that it is by no means fo with us. As for the boalled freedom of fpeech offome of our neighbours, it is often no more than a ferocity, and wildnefs of manner,produced by a very bad education.

Our boat was built after the model of Noah’s ark; it had no windows to it, wasdecked all over, and the men, beafls, merchandize, and vermin, were packed up toge-ther in it without any diftinftion. The quarterdeck fupplied the place of a cabin.

A high pile of chefls of fugar formed the inner wall of this, and on one fide of itthere w’as a little opening left, which they called a window, but through which therehardly came light enough to fhew that it was day. There was another opening madeon the fide of the foredeck length-ways, about the middle of the veffel, not large enoughto let a dove fly in with an olive branch. Through this, with very imminent danger oflife, we were obliged to do our neceffities.

As there was no outlet to thefe cloacs, nor any cabin boys on board to clean them, youmay conceive what balfamic exhalations every now and then filled the boat, eipeciallyas it happened to be uncommonly full of paffengers. I lay for the greateft part of thetime ftretched out on the roof of this ark, but was forced to cling very clofe to the edgeof it, that I might not be plunged into the water, by the leaf! motion arifing from thechange of the rudder, or by running on ground. It is, I allure you, no fmall exercifeto fecure the feet properly in thefe expeditions. The beautiful prolpedl I enjoyed madethe journey tolerable. From Paffau hither, the banks of the Danube are covered withthe hills which furround the plains of Auftria. Thefe hills ftand in general fo neareach other, that it is only in a very few places that you can call the fpace between thema plain ; in many places they hang over the river like broken walls. Notwithflandingthis, the fhores are well inhabited and wonderfully cultivated. It is true, that betweenEintz and this place, which are dillant from each other twenty-eight German miles,you meet with no great cities, but there are many fmall ones, and a great number ofvillages and meadows, all which fhew that the inhabitants are much at their eafe.

What afforded me the greateft pleafure was the winding of the river; fometimes wecoafted along vallies encompaffed with hills, the Hopes of which were gentle enough toadmit of cultivation tp the very top. The fore-ground of the beautiful perfpe&ive ex-hibited