year or two after this affair, Cheltenham laboured under a deplorable fcarcity of vifitors. Whimsical fashionables were afraid of becoming irrational, and blockheads trembled for their understanding. But the age of prejudice is feldom long. The best of men may for a time be deceived, and the worst may endeavour to keep up the bubble, fed magna eft veritas et prevalebit. Some well-timed information, and a little common-fenfe reflection foon convinced the public that the Cheltenham waters could have no more effect in producing the malady alluded to, than any other waters. People began to recover from their panic, and for the laft two feafons particularly, the place has been fo crowded with vifitors, as to occafion fpeculations in building to a confiderable extent. Some dealers in houfes projected a whole street, to lead from the principal street to the fpaw, with a colonnade, under the fhelter of which the company might walk fafely the whole way in the worst of weathers. But a few of thefe houfes only have been begun; the corner houfe to the street, a mere fhell, was offered for fale at 2000l.; but was obliged to be difpofed of for half the fum. The coDonnade walk is accordingly given up; but that the public may be at no lofs to understand what a very fine thing they have loft, proposals have been iffued for a print of it, as intended to be finished; and the modeft price of one guinea is afked for this print. I question whether the proprietors will be fo fuccefsful as Harry Fielding was when he advertised Eurydice,' a farce, as it was damned at the Theatre Royal, Drury-lane." I have always thought, that our proprietors of public places are guilty of a very great error in overlooking the whimsical and fickle cat of the public tatte. Becaufe a public place is occafionally crowded to a degree of inconvenience, and many perions cannot gain admittance, they immediately think of enlarging their pre mifes, I will venture to fay that inf most cases where this has been done, they will be unfuccefsful in the end. For, independent of the confideration that public liking is an uncertain thing, and lefs to be depended on than any thing I know, the wind not excepted, it would always be good policy to keep up the notion that fuch a place is fo amazingly crowded, as to disappoint thofe who have not been very early in their attendance, or in their application for places. The public, that is, the amateurs of amufements, like vafly to go to crowded places, whereas a thin affembly or playhouse, chills and damps their amufement, and even difpirits the performers. Cheltenham has at prefent the good fortune to please, and perhaps it may afford a few more lodging houfes, but no man can tell what may happen to create a change in the public tafte. Not to mention other caufes of ficklenefs and inconftancy; who can say whether in the courfe of a few years, men and women may not even become fo wife as to think that the time spent in a watering place, may be as profitably spent at home, or in travelling-But I only fuppofe this poffible; and I fubmit it as a conjecture to be examined, with the greatest deference to the majesty of fashion. Be this as it may, the company is at prefent more numerous than can be conveniently accommodated; ladies of ton have lodgings over barber's fhops; and lords and dukes can with difficulty procure temporary conveniencies at the inns. Every room, garret, and outhoufe is filled. In this ftate of affairs, the utmost that a ftranger can expect is a pair of fresh horfes to carry him fomewhere else. I muft obferve, however, that notwithstanding this flow of business, civility, and tolerably moderate charges are the order of the day. This is a circumftance which deferves to be mentioned, and I fhould deem it unpardonable to omit it, especially as [ am perhaps making too free with the genius and nature of watering places, or at least, it is very probable I fhall do fo before I close this letter. Cheltenham is a town of fome antiquity, although there occurs little remarkable in its history. It confifts principally of one street, about a mile in length, well sheltered from cold blafts by the neighbouring hills; a great many of the houses are built in a genteel ftile, and the fronts of moft of the public buildings being to the ftreet, is a circumftance which adds confiderably to its appearance. The church is built, as many churches are, in the form of a cross; the octagonal fpire is not only a capital decoration to it, but forms a beautiful object from many distant fpots, which will come to be mentioned hereafter. The churchyard is one of the most beautiful I ever faw, and is agreeably fhaded by double rows of lime trees. From this, by an eafy afcent, through an avenue of tall elms, you approach the fpaw, the waters of which have enjoyed confiderable reputation for many years. Above the fpaw is another walk, called the upper walk, fhaded by lime-trees, and well calculated for thofe unlaborious strolls which fine folks enjoy after drinking the waters. Thefe waters, on which feveral treatises have been written, are impregnated with falts, fulphur, fteel and calcareous earth, and their virtues are both purgative and restorative. In what degree, and in what cafes they are fuccefsful, we feldom learn. Anciently regifters of cures uled to be kept at fuch places, drawn up by the phyfician, and fubfcribed by the parties. This is a circumftance, Dr. Campbell fays, that ought to be remembered and revived, at every remarkable spring and bath in the kingdom, for reafons fo evident, that they need not be enumerated. You perceive, my dear fir, that the learned political furveyor, in the goodnefs of his heart, imagined that the majority of people come to fuch places for health. Alas! if this were the case, what occafion have we for ballrooms and theatres? For, if it be faid, that these are in fome respect medicinal, it may be answered, that, if fo, they may be taken in London to much better purpose, the ingredients being confeffedly of the fuperior kind, and, I think, generally better mixed. This medicinal spring was first difcovered in 1716, according to the accounts one reads; but I fhould fuppofe it may be traced farther back, from the following epitaph in the church: Francifcus Owen, Magifter. Hic mortale fuum depofuit, Oct. 9, 1702, Now, I cannot find that Cheltenham The amufements here are much the fame as at other places of fummer vifiting; balls, plays, card parties, &c. Public breakfafts have of late been difcontinued. The prefent company of players is much better in point of talents, than we meet with generally in the country, and the theatre is well frequented. I do not, however, mention this as a confequence of their merit, for if they were the vileft that ever nature's journeyman made,' the company could not refrain from going to the theatre. Time, that lively, perhaps I should fay, long-lived and irreconcileable enemy, hangs heavy in places of this kind; and the vifitors are obliged to a manager who will furnish them with a tolerable pretence for getting rid of it.-The mafter of the ceremonies is fuppofed to clear 600l. a year by his place, and I hear him mentioned as a refpectable and deferving man. rather fingular, if any thing were fingular that depends on fashion, that here and at Bath, &c. &c. the master It is of the ceremonies fhould poffefs abfolute power over those who, in other places, will acknowledge no restraint whatsoever upon the nature or duration of their amufements. Beau Nash, if I remember right, was among the firft of this order of mafters, and no prevalence of democratic principles is likely to bring their fovereignty into contempt. I know not whether it would be practicable to remove this inftitution to the metropolis, but it is highly probable that a fovereign vefted with abfolute powers, would be of great fervice in regulating our public amufements, and prevent those infults and inconveniencies to which the reputable part of an audience are expofed by proftitutes and profligates. The life of thofe who vifit watering places is fo very uniform, that the journal of one day only may ferve for the whole feafon, at least, with very trifling variations. In the morning, the company affemble at the spaw, where they drink the waters, and converfe with their friends on the affairs of the preceding right, and form arrangements for the business of the day; a general faunter continues here until nine o'clock, when the company feparate for breakfast. While at the fpaw, the company are regaled by a band of mufic, confifting of five performers. The learned and inviting author of the Cheltenham guide has a note on this, worth tranfcribing, either for your ufe, or amusement, which ever you pleafe. This,' fays he, fpeaking of the mufic, is an entertainment which generally gives great delight to perfons of all ages, and it is highly probable, that fuch an addition to the natural beauties of the spot may contribute to the operation of the waters with greater fuccefs; for the fpirits being put into motion, and moft agreeably touched by the harmony of the inftruments, the fenfible fibres become more pliant, and the feveral organs better adapted to the free exercile of their different functions.' This is an addition to the various powers afcribed to mufic. It can cure the bite of a venomous infect, lead an army on to victory, footh the favage breast, soften rocks, bend the knotted oak, andaffift the operation of purgative waters. The latter effect, however, I am obliged to take for granted, as I made no experiments. A pofteriori, therefore, I have nothing to fay, but à priori, the talents of this band did not appear to me to touch the spirits moft agreeably.' After breakfaft, fome of the company ride out in their carriages, but the greater part affemble at the various goffipping fhops, circulating library, &c. or faunter up and down the ftreet until fatigue compells them to return home. There are no walks near town where one can enjoy the furrounding fcenery of the country. At length, drefs and dinner come opportunely to make away with three or four hours; and the affembly, or the theatre clofe the evening. The fame courfe is repeated to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow.' I leave you to judge of the mischief, which a day of rain muft occafion under fuch circumstances. The gloom of the metropolis in November is nothing to it. I have always thought, my dear fir, that there is far more of mortification than pleasure in the amufements of fashionable people. Idlenefs is in itself a punishment fo great, that it is wonderful fo many people voluntarily inflict it upon themfelves. I fcarcely know any life that is not preferable to that of perfect idleness, and fuch, with very few exceptions, is the life of thofe who frequent watering places. Nor is idlenefs the only mortification to which they fubject themfelves. They confent to every kind of inconvenience, paltry and expenfive lodgings, the groffeft impofitions, and, upon the whole, a waste of money, to which it is impoffible to look back with any fatisfaction. What, for example, can be fo ridiculous as to behold men and women of rank and fenfe, fupporting, with eager profufion, that most contemptible of all juggles, a raffle! and even talking talking with rapture of their fuccefswhen they have an opportunity. This morning, a young fprig of fashion has won a toy, and it forms the converfation of the whole place! What effects watering places produce on the health can be judged only by the fick, who bear a very small proportion indeed, unless perhaps at Bath or Briftol. Margate, Brighton and Cheltenham are merely places of amufement, and the propriety or impropriety of vifiting them can be feldom confidered unless with that view. As diffipation increases, and an imitation of fashionable life becomes more general, these places will be crowded in proportion, and the metropolis, for fome months in each year, muft lie under the imputation of being a pettilential place. Where time hangs heavy, little things will please. Trifles in themfelves contemptible are important to vacant minds. The company are at prefent prodigiously pleased to ftare at a woman of fashion, who diverts them in various ways. She dances, and every eye is fixed upon her; fhe walks to the fpaw, and all the world follows her. Her dress is an object of great importance, not from its fuperior elegance or tafte, but from its fingularity; habited as an Indian princess, fhe fmokes tobacco in the true eastern ftile. The beauty of her face, in pity to the beholders, is concealed under a thick layer of paint; and her delicate and well formed ancle may be gueffed at only from the tightness of her boots! They tell me that the leads the fashions, and that the place would be nothing without her, and that fhe is charitable and gives a great deal of money to the poor. This, indeed, is an amiable trait of character. Let us fay upon this account, Woman, thy fins are forgiven.' I fhall always allow that he who makes the poor happy, may be excufed when he makes himself a fool. I am afraid, my dear fir, that I have dwelt longer on this fubject, than certain friends of ours, to whom I know you will fhow this letter, may think just and proper. But I cannot easily get rid of certain habits of thinking. I am no enemy to amufement; I with, indeed, occafionally, to partake of most of our amufements. But I would have the amateurs of pleasurable life remember that they are rational creatures, and that time was given to us, not to teaze and torture it, as children do kittens, from sheer ignorance. I could not but obferve here, what, however, I have obferved at every watering-place, that young ladies are very apt to acquire a boldness of manner, which is ungraceful and unbecoming. Affociations between young people of both fexes are here made on the most familiar terms: for a young gentleman is, indeed, fo neceffary an appendage to a family party, that unlefs fomething very notorious is known of him, he is feldom uninvited, and unemployed. The feafon at Cheltenham lafts between four and five months, according to the state of the weather. The company generally exceed five hundred. The inhabitants of the town are about two thousand; fome new houses are building, for which very high rents are afked: the advantages of fuch speculations, as I have already remarked, muft depend on the quantity of fashion granted to the place from year to year. The increase of population in a place fupported chiefly by periodical fights from the metro polis, muft at last be ftationary: the advantages to be reaped from strangers, being precarious, are not always very defirable, nor always conducive to honesty in dealing. This remark must be understood generally. It has no particular reference to this place. The only manufacture here is that of cotton ftockings, and the women and children of the lower fort find employment in combing and fpinning woollen yarn for the clothiers. I am, &c. OBSERVA OBSERVATIONS on the ANCIENT and PRESENT STATE of ROME. 6 The following Article is felected from Letters during the Courfe of a Tour through Germany, Switzerland and Italy, in the Years 1791 and 1792; with Reflections on the Manners, Literature, and Religion of those Countries; by Robert Gray, M. A. Vicar of Farringdon, Berks.' In thefe Letters, Places that have been frequently defcribed by former Travellers are viewed in a Variety of new and interefting Lights; and the judicious Obfervations interspersed throughout, evince the Spirit of an intelligent and difcriminating Traveller. LETTER XXIX. works of ancient and modern times, and almoft impoffible to difcriminate Rome, Dec. 10. between the characters of ancient and BY what variety of features may modern fuperftition. Houses of re Rome be characterized! We are confufed with the unconnected diversity of objects which we have feen in a few days, under the direction of the abbé Andrè, a Cicerone, who attends us upon reasonable terms, and is an economist in difbursements; who is an abfolute walking map, and fufficiently intelligent in the hiftory of the antiquities to which he conducts We have already visited many of the fallen monuments of the heathen empire-the shattered columns of temples in which idolatry triumphed-the broken remains of aqueducts which conveyed whole rivers to Rome -the crumbling walls of theatres, where gladiators were fed to bleed freely, and taught to die gracefully for the amusement of unfeeling fpectators, females as well as males-the funk arches, through which captive fovereigns were led in chains and infulted dignity. Intermixed with thefe, we have feen the proud dominion of papal Rome-the palaces of its ambitious pontiffs-the museums, in which the works of ancient genius are collected together with the rival productions of modern times-the churches, in which the ornaments of heathen buildings are introduced with fplendid, though often incongruous application. It is vain to look for any features of Pagan or Chriftian Rome feparately they are ftrangely blended and incorporated together. It is fometimes difficult to afcertain the cent date exhibit the detached and fculptured fragments of Roman buildings. Chriftian churches are erected on the foundations, and conftructed with the materials of heathen temples. The ftatues of the apoftles are fupported by the columns of the em perors; and the remains of the puteoli, defigned for the reception of the vilest flaves, are loft in the labyrinth of the catacombs, now honoured as the fepulchre of the primitive martyrs. Could Rome, in its proud day, have forefeen that the profeffors of the despised religion of Jefus fhould, in future ages, thus have dominion over the ruins of its Pagan magnificence, how would its haughty creft have been lowered ? It is really interefting to confider, how papal Rome has rifen from the afhes, and invefted itself with the pomp of the Gentile city! The church of St. Theodore ftands on the ruins of a temple erected in honour of the infant founders of Rome, on the spot where they were fabulously reported to have been nurfed. The church of St. Cofmo and St. Damian unfolds the gates of a temple, dedicated to the fame reputed founders of the city. That of Santa Maria, fopra Minerva, befpeaks its own origin: and without going out of Rome to find the walls of the temple of Bacchus in the church of St. Urbino, we need only observe, that the Pantheon, dedicated by Agrippa to Jove and other deities, was confecrated by pope Bonniface the fourth, |