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them it had cost him five shillings, reminding them at the same time, that they had only two editions of the Bible in Spanish, one of which costs fifteen pounds, and the other fifty pounds sterling per copy. They replied, he must submit unconditionally, or. He did so, gave them his Bible, and walked out."
SKETCHES OF FOREIGN SCENERY AND MANNERS.
MR. EDITOR,
In your first Number I observed a communication, being the first of an intended series of a similar nature, from a correspondent, who entitles himself a "View-Hunter." I have often thought it a pity, that the remarks of tourists, whether descriptive or meditative, and however rapidly sketched, should, during a period like the present, when the travelling mania appears to rage so generally, and with such violence, be entirely lost to the more sober part of the community, who remain in peace at home, decently prosecuting their several avocations, or, at furthest, be confined to the wondering ears of the friends and relatives of the much-admired traveller. I am aware, that many men have thought and written, that we are at present completely overstocked with tours, journals, sketches, travels, and recollections,—and that the scribbling propensity of the existing generation is sufficient to deter the more highly gifted of the sons of men from favouring the world with their lucubrations, through the fear of being associated, in succeeding times, with the flippant ebullitions of the present day. I have, however, long been of opinion, that the unconnected observations of the passing traveller may, sometimes accidentally, throw light on a subject which has remained in obscurity, notwithstanding the laboured investigations of the professed tourist; and the unaffected narrative of a journey, however unskilled the author may be in the delineation of character, or the description of external scenery, may occasionally present us with a picture of nature, bearing a closer resemblance to the original than that which more accustomed hands have been able to convey.
These observations have been suggested, by reflecting on the vast concourse of the natives of this country who arc now travelling on the continent of Europe, to which access had been so long denied, and on the mass of amusement and information which might be collected, if every one who was in any degree interested in his jovrney would furnish his notes, however circumscribed, on the different towns and countries through which he had passed. The greater proportion of our tourists are no doubt careless of what is going on around them, and travel either for the sake of making the time hang less heavily on their hands (on account of their having nothing else to do), or that they may talk of having been in such places, and of having seen certain sights, although the situations in which they have been placed, and the objects which they may have beheld, are not in any wise interesting to them, except in as far as they form the fashionable topics of conversation in those circles in which they are anxious to shine. The observations of such men would be of little value, and if communicated to the public, would experience an existence as ephemeral as the impression which a contemplation of the sublimest scenes in nature, or the most curious traits of character, made on the minds from which they emanated.
But I would fain hope, that there are many thousands at this moment journeying through the land of strangers, under different impressions, and with other views,—men who are careful to remark the singularities of nature and of art,—and on whom the wonders of this green earth are not bestowed in vain. The remarks of such men, however devoid of literary excellence, could not fail of being in some degree interesting, as affording a view of the most characteristic traits in the scenery and manners of different countries, and would be amusing from the contrast which might be observed in the descriptions of tourists, and in the objects which excited attention, according to the peculiar bias of the observer's mind, as well as in relation to the difference in the impression, which the same objects produced on the mind of different individuals.
It is probable that most men are in the habit of occasionally writing down such ideas as suggest themselves in the course of a tour, and particularly during a first visit to a foreign country, when every thing is new, and many things are strange. From the long period which has elapsed since the Continent was open to the visits of