Hurry, Orrah, o'er the flood.
Bathe thy fword in Chriftian blood!
Whidah will thy fide protect;
Whidah will thy arm direct.".
Low'ring.frowned the burthened cloud,
Shrilly roar'd the whirlwind loud,
Livid lightnings gleam'd on high,
And big waves billowed to the sky.
Aftonished I, in wild affright,
Knew not 'twas vanished from my fight;
Whether on the ftorm it rode,

Or funk beneath the troubled flood.
Again! along the beam-gilt tide,
Ah! fee again the Spirit glide!
It joins our triumph! on the fight,
It bursts in majefty of light.

Mark! how it bows its wond'rous head,
And hails our deed! Ah! fee-'tis fled !

Now, now, ye cliffs, that frown around,
The echoes of our fhouts refound,
While around the votive fire!

-We've footh'd the spirit of our fire.

[Courier.]

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ALBIONITES.

A NEWLY DISCOVERED PEOPLE IN THE GERMAN OCEAN.

From the Travels of Launcelot Gulliver, Efq. F. R. S. a valuable manufcript in the British Museum. The author, who died lately, depofited it there, with a ftrict injunction that it fhould not be published entire. By he favour of one of the Curators, we have, however, obtained the following extract. Tere being no date to it, it is not easy to say at what time it was written, nor whether the people defcribed by the Author ftill exist, or whether, which we think more probable, they were not fwallowed up in that ocean which, nearly furrounded their coafts.

THE

HE conftitution of the Albionites is a very fingular one. It has been generally thought to have been conftructed upon magical principles; and

*The God whom the Africans on the Coaft of Guinea worship.

indeed, while I remainel among them, I had some reafon to think that this was the case. If viewed through one glafs, which they call theory, it appears full of beauty, order, and fecurity; but there is another glafs, called practis, pratique, or fome, fuch name, through which it appears disjointed, distorted, confufed, and tottering. Nor can we wonder at this; their mode of repairing it being fo curious, that perhaps there is nothing like it in the world. Their mode of propping it up, is to take fomething from the foundation, and whenever they apply a buttrefs, they undermine the wall it is meant to fupport. Some of their statesmen who fhewed us this phenomenon, feemed to wish we should understand that it was made by magic, although we saw nothing in their countenances to induce us to think that they had a conjuror among them. It appeared to me, that this conftitution, fupported as I have defcribed, is not of long ftanding, perhaps not more than four or five and thirty years old, but how long it may remain firm under fuch a novel scheme of architecture, it is impoffible to fay.

All European governments, it is well known, are either monarchy, ariftocracy, or democracy, abfolute or limited, or mixed. That of the Albionites differs from all these, being what they call a Pittarchy; a word, of which I never could procure the proper meaning. Pitt, in their language, means fomething deep, dark, and dangerous; but it has fo many other fignifications, that it is impoffible to guess at the one meant. Befides the above, it means an ambitious man, a fhallow politician, a proud look, an apostate, a lover of wine, an encourager of Spies, a weak minifter, and a wry nofe, things which are confeffedly of very oppofite natures. So that all the pains I took were infufficient to attain the proper meaning. There are many other inftances of this in their language, which greatly perplex ftrangers. The word by which they exprefs people means alfo fwine, and they have but one word to exprefs, to petition, to grant, to remonftrate, and to

X 2

Squeaks

fqueak. The answers to my queftions respecting Pittarchy were ridiculous enough. One faid, "I have a flice of the loan;" another," my brother is promised the lottery;" and a third, "my uncle has a contract.” Expreffions, which will not bear tranflating, there being no English idioms which correfpond with them.

Notwithstanding the inability of the Albionites to explain Pittarchy, they are fo remarkably attached to it, that they never fail to punish any man who endeavours to speak against it. Their punishments are chiefly calling opprobrious names, burning houses, or threatening with the gallows; nay, if a man were to go fo far as to fay that it is not perfect, he would undoubtedly be accused of an intention to dethrone the king, murder all the lords and bifhops, burn towns and villages, ravish virgins, and rip up women with child. During our ftay in the island, therefore, we found it neceffary to be guarded in our communications with the atives; yet in spite of all precaution, my fervant had like to have got into a very ugly fcrape. The poor fellow had been drinking, and the drink getting up into his head, he began to fancy himself in a chriftian country, and drank peace on earth and good will towards men. This created no little confufion, as they maintained that he was a spy, but I had hopes the worft was over. Next night, however, when he went to fee a play, fome of his pot companions recognized him, and calling out Boo dammee boo, (which means, God fave the King,) they turned him neck and heels out of the house. Not that he fared worfe than fome of themselves, for we were told, that a poor clergyman who had made. a difcourfe on these very words was ferved in the fame manner by about twenty or thirty of the rabble, who had disguised themselves in the military uniform for the purpofe.

But let it not be thought that the blind attachment of the Albionites to their Pittarchy is fingular. We obferved them equally enthufiaftic in other matters. A Neighbouring nation, or at leaft fome of the people of

it, had amufed themselves for fome time in throwing loofe papers at fuch of the Albionites as they met with, upon which were written-" Neither God or devil," "Equality," and fome other ftrange words. The Albionites immediately took it in their heads that pittarchy, religion, and property were in danger. They immediately declared war, fhut up their fhops one day for three years, and eat nothing but fish and foups. But it fo happened that they were defeated in all their undertakings, and from the origin of the war, got the name of paper-fkulls. This ftory appeared to me fo incredible that I made many enquiries refpecting it, and although I found that it was literally true, I could not get any man to tell me what religion they were fighting for; and they expreffed an indignation approaching to abhorrence, when I put fuch questions as, "Whether any religión could be fupported by fighting? Whether a good religion did not forbid all wars that were not purely defenfive? Whether the author of the only good relgion was not in an efpecial manner termed the Prince of Peace, &c. &c.?"

In England, it is notorious, that in the choice of perfons to fill the highest stations either in the state, the church, or the army, no regard is paid to any recommendations of intereft. Ability, integrity, and industry are the only qualifications by which a man can rife in these great departments. But the cafe is the very reverse with the people whofe history I have attempted to sketch. Their ftatefmen are the most corrupt, weak, and idle, that can be fuppofed. For months together the public hear no more of them than that on fuch a day they dined together, or on fuch a day they went on a party of pleasure. Nay, if any of them, upon entering an office, happen to be poffeffed of any good qualities, he muft get rid of them as faft as poffible, which is faid to be no difficult matter, otherwife he is not deemed fit for his place. The more corrupt a statesman is, that is, the more perfons he can corrupt, the more popular he is; and so very popular,

popular does he become, that he may plunge the nation into the most dangerous of all poffible wars, and reduce the kingdom to the greateft diftrefs, by carrying on that war in a manner the most weak and wicked imaginable, and yet retain his fituation. Very lately, one of their ftatefmen, who was appointed to the government of a particular diftrict, bargained with his colleagues that he should grant the people certain privileges which they thought themfelves entitled to; but no fooner did he fhew an inclination to gratify them, than his colleagues came, and, as their custom is, ftuck his feat full of pins and needles, so that he was obliged to leave it. They feldom turn any man out, as is done in other countries, but they render his feat fo uneafy, that he cannot fit upon it with fafety; and fometimes they befmear it fo with filth, that he muft leave it, or be defiled.

The fame fyftem prevails in their appointment in the church and army. Hence their regiments are commanded by boys; but the lieutenants and inferior officers, it must be confeffed, are men of years, and might be useful, only that it is prefumption in them to offer their experience. In the church, they have a very curious plan. The man who does the moft duty, or bufinefs, rarely has more than from thirty to fifty quids a year. A quid is a coin nearly equal to our guinea. He who does fomewhat less has an hundred; and he who does yet lefs has two or three, and so on progreffively till we come to those who have thoufands, and who are not expected to do any duty. Living, as we are accustomed to do, in a land of wife men and philofophers, we do not grudge the opulence of the epifcopal order; but leaving them out of the queftion, furely, miferable and contemptible must be the ftate of religion in that kingdom where profit is in the inverfe ratio of merit and induftry; and where immenfe livings are frequently given to the most notorious fcoun. [There is part of this leaf fo much torn as to be illegible.]