to the Minotaur. He then proceeded with a part of his fleet off Genoa, which was in the poffeffion of the French under Maffena, and was befieged by the Auftrian General Melas. So clofely did he blockade the port, that at the end of about three months, the French, to avoid actual famine, capitulated.

On the first of January, 1801, Lord Keith was promoted to be Admiral of the Blue; and he this year commanded, in the Foudroyant, the naval force employed against the French on the coaft of Egypt; and on the furrender of the enemy's army there, his Lordship was created, Dec. 5, 1801, a Peer of Great Britain (by the title of Baron Keith, of Stonehaven Marifchal in Kincardinehire) received the thanks of both Houfes of Parliament, and was prefented by the city of London with a fword. of 100 guineas value. His fervices in Egypt were thus noticed in General (now Lord) Hutchinson's difpatches: "During the courfe of the long service on which we have been engaged, Lord Keith has,at all times, given me the moft able affittance and counfel. The labour and fatigue of the navy have been continued and exceffive; it has not been of one day or of one week, but for months together. In the bay of Aboukir, on the New Inundation, and on the Nile, for 160 miles, they have been employed without intermiffion, and have fubmitted to many privations with a cheerfulness and patience highly creditable to them, and advantageous to the public fervice." In a fubfequent dispatch the General recurs to the "many obligations" that he was under to Lord Keith. His Lordship's own difpatches, detailing the proceedings of the fleet on that memorable occafion, will be found in Vol. XL. p. 388, et feq.

When hoftilities recommenced with France, in 1803, Lord Keith was appointed to the chief naval command at Plymouth.

In the beginning of October of that year, his Lordship made an experiment on a fmall fcale, with a new mode of attack on the gun-veffels in Boulogne harbour, which to a certain degree fucceeded, and without any lofs being fuftained on our part. We refer for the particulars to our XLVIth Volume, page 306.

Since that time no opportunity of particularly diftinguishing himself has occurred to Lord Keith; but the retrofpect is, we think, an amply fuffi

cient pledge to the public, that no opportunity will offer to the noble Ad miral, of which he will not cheerfully avail himself, to add new fplendor to his corona navalis, and to chattife the foes of his country.

On the 9th of November, 1805, his Lord hip was raifed to the rank of Admiral of the White.

Lord Keith is grand nephew of George Keith Earl Marthal, and his brother Marthal Keith, and is uncle of the prefent Lord Elphinstone. His Lord hip is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Treasurer to the Duke of Clarence, and Chamberlain to the Prince of Wales.

The Barony is entailed (in default of male iffue) on his daughter Margaret and her heirs male.

To the Editor of the European Magazine.

SIR,

LETTER II.

London, August 1, 1806. AFTER thanking you for your ready infertion of my laft letter, I proceed to inform you how I have paffed a great part of my time, during the long interval that has elapfed fince I left Dublin; and when I reflect that I was once comfortably fettled there, and had, as I have already ftated in my letter to Mr. Harding the printer," plenty of gold and filver," though very little good copper, and a trade fo fnug as on week days to be scarcely visible, I do not think that I have changed much for the better; it seems to me like giving a good halfpenny for a Rap: but no matter. In fact, between ourfelves, I had no bulinefs to dabble in politics, or rather, as we now term it, political economy: but you know every man is apt to follow the bent of his own inclination, therefore I had not been long fettled at Chefter, and got into what we term a pretty tight business, in my old sway, before I began, as you must have gathered from my laft, to make, or renew my obfervations on the Copper Coin. This I was induced to do from noticing the vast quantities of bad halfpence circu❤ lated at our fairs and in our markets. We were inundated with Harps, as I faid before, but this was not the only griev ance of which the people complained; for although I had in Dublin faid every thing that was bad of them and their maker, they were, I found, a respect. able fpecies of coin to fome that foon after came into circulation. In fact, every week produced new patterns of thofe counters, or counterfeits, to which

the fhopkeepers gave the appellation of Brums, but the country folks emphatically diftinguished by the name of Brafs, though this was doing them too much honour, and holding them in too high eftimation; for, I believe, that there was very little of any metal fo valuable as brafs in their compofition. Some faid that they were sad stuff: now fluff was in my way of trade, therefore, painful as was the task, zeal for the fervice of my country induced me to collect and examine their various fpecies: but as it did not appear that any one had a PATENT for them, for many were indeed inimitable, I did not then write upon the fubject. While I was thus employed in collecting copper, you will readily believe that I lost many opportunities that offered for the exertion of my talents, by which I might again have procured plenty of gold and filver. I was confequently obliged once more to fhut my fhop: fo packing up the little cath and few pieces of goods that was and were left, I indulged myself in the profecution of a fcheme which I had long had in contemplation; and affuming the humble character of a pedlar, with my load on my back, and a staff in my hand, which I had a particular value for, because it continually put me in mind of Wood, I fet out, and travelled on towards MANCHESTER.

The Duke of Bridgewater had not then begun his canal, so that I was forced to make the journey on foot. This was, however, rather a matter of convenience, as I had opportunities of felling my goods, and collecting copper, or rather what should have been copper, at the fame time. It would little intereft either the public or yourself, if I were to inform you of the vaft variety of things that ought to have been half pence, that I collected in the courfe of this short journey. I had them of all forts and fizes, from a tolerably wellfinifhed reprefentation of his Majesty George the Second, (blefs his memory,) to a leaden dump which did not bear the resemblance of any thing in Heaven or on earth.

On the road I met with a travelling tinker. He had his kit flung over his fhoulder, and carried in his hand an old kettle, which contained fire, in the fame manner as I read in a book that my old mafter in Dublin lent me, fome wandering priests, I think they were called Gaurs, used to do in India.

This tinker proved a very agreeable

companion; he fell in exactly with my ideas of things, and, confequently, I thought him an intelligent clever fellow.

We immediately began a converfation about copper, a subject that it was my dear delight to talk upon, and he told me that he had many years before been at Dublin, in order to circulate a bafer fort of halfpence than WooD's, if any fuch were to be found, in order to make thofe of his relation, whom he afferted the faid WOOD to be, though very diftant, appear of more value.

This little anecdote made me prick up my ears: I therefore liftened with pleatalking to,) he informed me that the fure when (not knowing who he was Drapier was right when he termed his been brought up to that business, and kinfman a brazier; for he had actually ferved his apprenticeship, I think he faid, in Shoe-lane, London; but fo many years have elapfed fince, that of tive. the particular place I will not be pofi

"I was informed," he continued, "when I was laft in Dublin, that the poor DRAPIER had been dead fome years. Well, reft his foul, he was a weli meaning, but a violent man, and knew no more about copper, than you do, my friend." (I believe that I coloured.) "Politics, politics (he proceeded) were his hobby-horfes, and thofe he rode until their backs were fore, and they were, to ufe a term of my own art, quite foundered. He puzzled his head about the falvation of his country in a firange way, when he had better have fluck to his cloth. As an instance, I have been informed and believe, that when a gentleman came into his shop, and paid for any goods in haltpence, which was often the cafe, for filver was then fcarce, and gold till fcarcer, thefe metals being under fentence, he faid, of transportation: but no matter, when he got the halfpence fo tendered into his poffeffion, he used to look them carefully over, and dividing them into two parts, thofe that were coined in what he called better times, which were, I believe, the latter years of the reign of Charles the Second, he used to call Tories, and those which we were fo affiduously bent upon circulating, he used to denominate Whigs. And when he had amufed himself in letting them in ranks in oppofition to each other, he would fay, if I had here those twelve broad pieces

Street-lane, at a houfe to which many pedlars reforted, and judged that it was now high time to think of the business that I came about, which was to employ the money that I had brought from Chester, and had taken by the way, in the pur.

chafe of fresh articles.

Ardent in every thing, I could not, when I walked out the next morning, help contemplating with furprife and pleasure, that this town feems fait rifing into that fate of opulence which it now exhibits. I had remembered it when I was a boy, and found that a great number of new buildings were erected, and that others were planned. Almost every one of the inhabitants was engaged in business, almost every one ufefully employed; this put me in mind of the claufe of an old act of parliament, which, as you know I used to dabble in thefe things, I intended to have quoted in my addrefs to the people of Ireland, in order to have shown the attention paid by the legislature, even in early times, to the rifing manufactures of woollen, linen, and cotton, and which I fhall ftill quote in the note t; because, as I intend to blend thefe fub

In a ftatute [8 Eliz. c. 12.] the articles manufactured are specified to be cottons, frizes, and rugs; and about the fame time Manchester was diftinguished for being hand fomer than the neighbouring towns. [Camdina Britan. p. 610.] The only manufacture mentioned by Camden is the Manchester cotton, which he exprefsly calls woollen cloth, (lancorum pannoram). The real cotton, (lays the author of the Annals of Commerce, was probably unknown in England as a raw material at that time: yet, furely our Oriental trade, however contra&ted, might have made us acquainted with it.

+ Before A. D. 1541 Manchester was esteemed a populous town, and "had many manufactures of cloths, as well of lynnen as of woollen, by which the inhabitants of the fayde towne have obteyned, and come unto riches and welthy lyvings, and have kepte and fet many artificers and poore folkes to work within the fayde towne, and by reafon of the great occupying, good order, ftrayte and true dealinge of the inhabitants of the fayde towne, many ftrangers, as wel of Ireland as other places within this realme, have reforted to this towne with lynnen yarne, wolles, and other neceffary wares for making of clothes." [A& 33 Hen. VIII, c. 15.]

jects with my obfervations upon copper, I fhall refume them in my next letter. I am, Sir, your obedient humble fervant, M. B. DRAPIER. M.

RYDE, IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT. [WITH A VIEW.]

THE Village of Ryde ftands in the

parish of New Church, two miles from Binstead, and palles under two divifions, Upper and Lower Ryde, from their relative fituations. Upper Ryde ftands on a pleafant eminence, in a falubrious air, contains fome good houíes, commands beautiful prospects toward Golport and Portsmouth, and is much reforted to by company during the bathing feafon. The accommodations are equal to those of molt added to which are the inducements of other watering-places in the island; good roads and pleafant rides, branching out from it in different directions. Lower Ryde is a ftraggling place, near the water's edge, under a fteep bank, at the extremity of a piece of land nearly twelve acres in extent, which feparates it from Upper Ryde. Its inhabitants are chiefly fishermen, or perfons engaged in the coafting trade. The paffage from hence to Portsmouth is the fhorteft from any point of the illand. Boats pafs regularly every morning at feven in the fummer, and nine in the winter, to Gofport and Portsmouth: the charge is only one hilling; but a perfon wanting to cross, is empowered by Act of Parliament, to command a boat to go off at any time of the tide on paying five thillings.

The chapel at Ryde was built in 1719, by Thomas Player, Efq. who charged the manor with an annual rent of iol. payable to the vicar of New-church, to officiate therein, or provide a minister.

Toward the western extremity of the village are the bathing houses, which are fufficiently commodious. The water here is very pure, and the coat, a beautiful fand, is thoal for nearly a mile. The channel here is about feven miles across to Portsmouth. In the neighbourhood of Ryde are several pretty villas; among which may be particularized Apley, the feat of Dr. Walker; St. John's, of Mr. Simeon ; and the Priory, of Sir Nash Grofe.

At low water, a boat cannot approach within a hundred yards of the quay; in confequence of which, paffengers from Portimouth and other places are landed in a cart.

VESTIGES