from his sight by the Pyrenees. Fathers of families, when at the point of death, have been known to congratulate their children on their happiness in living in Madrid, and have taught them to consider that advantage as the greatest benefit of which they could leave them in possession.

Each province has its particular character. The Catalans are the most industrious, active, and laborious amongst the Spaniards; they consider themselves as a distinct people, are always ready to revolt, and have more than once formed the project of erecting their country into a republic. For some centuries past, Catalonia has been the nursery of the arts and trade of Spain; which have acquired there a degree of perfection, not found in any other part of the kingdom. The Catalan is rude, vulgar, jealous, and self-interested, but open

and friendly.

'The Valencian is subtile, false, and milder in his manners: he is the most idle and at the same time the most supple individual that exists. All the tumblers and mountebanks of Spain come from the kingdom of Valencia. The Andalusian has nothing of his own, not even his language, and may be compared to the Gascon for extravagant expressions, vivacity, and vain boasting: he is easily distinguished among an hundred Spaniards. Hyperbole is his favorite language; he embellishes, and exaggerates every thing, and offers you his purse and person, in as little time as he takes to repent of it. He is a bully, and idler, lively, jovial, attached to the ancient customs of his country; nimble, well made, extremely fond of women, and loves dancing, pleasure, and good cheer.

The Castilian is haughty, grave in his countenance, speaks but little, and seems wrapped in contemplation. His politeness is cold, but free from affectation; he is mistrustful, and gives not his friendship until he has long studied the character of the person, on whom it is to be conferred. He has genius, strength of mind, a profound and solid judgement, and is fit for the sciences. Whenever he is chearful it is almost the effect of deliberation.

The inhabitant of Galicia quits his country and is employed in the rest of Spain in the lower offices of life.

Most of the servants are Asturians; they are faithful; not very intelligent, but exact in the performance of their duty.

One of the most commendable qualities of the Spaniards is their never discharging a domestic by whom they have been well served; the son keeps those of his father with his own, also the women who served his mother, and they all die under the roof of their master.

For a character of the country of the Spanish provinces, vide Panorama, Vol. III. p. 829; for Biscay, vide Vol. III. p. 374.

In addition to what information is furnished by the foregoing articles, we have thought it our duty to procure further intelligence from among our friends and corres pondents, on the subject of the PASSES which afford communication between France and Spain. It is evident, that these are of the of affairs: the command of these entrances utinost importance in the present juncture gives a mighty advantage to the party who holds them, and could the Spanish patriots obtain them, would be able to prevent re inforcements of every description from strength. ening the French army in Spain: since the ders, by the activity and force of the British sea is effectually closed against those inva squadrons.

The following is a communication from the Chevalier J. de Correa, formerly Chargé des Affaires at the court of Sweden from the Portuguese government.

Prudence forbids

the publication of such materials, as being formed into military plans might give hints to the enemy, and thereby prove prejudicial to our friends. It may, however, be a satis faction to our readers to know that such plans are formed, and are advandag in execution, as in the opinion of competent judges 66 cannot fail of convincing the insolent victor over Europe of his precipitation and folly in attacking a country on one face only with the whole force of his army.”

Besides the advantage of a personal knowledge of the places described, the Chevalier is in possession of an exact copy of a map taken by brigadier-general Morais, chief of the Portuguese corps of engineers, in the years 1793, 94, 95, in Catalonia, under the command of Lieut. General Forbes, commander in chief of the Portuguese auxiliary forces in Spain; and this map has contributed assistance on the present occasion.

On the frontiers of Spain and France lie the high mountains called the Pyrenees. They form the limits of the four Spanish provinces of Guiapuiscoa, Navarre, Arragon, and Catalonia: they run northwest to south-east; from Fontarabia, in the bay of Biscay, to Colioure in the Mediterranean; the slope of these mountains, is at each point, almost impracticable; although the two provinces on the sea coast at each extremity, are the only ones that permit the passage of an army.

On the side of France are situated the frontier provinces of Biscay, French_Navarre, Bearne, the duchy of Foix, aud Rousillon.

lous transit for travellers. The other from

Bayonne to St. Jean in French Navarre, leads to Vittoria, and thence to Pampelune in Spanish Navarre. This, though a better road than the former, cannot be praised as a good marche route for an army; it offers difficulties at every league. From this part of the mountains the Pyrenees in their course begin to increase in height, and are inaccessible for carriages and horsemen. They continue so to be as far as Col da Porta, not distant from Artes, a small village; to this spot they do not afford any sort of transit for an army. There are several bye roads, and passes used by snugglers, which are not worth mentioning, as they can easily be de fended by armed peasants, or what the Spaniards call Blanquillos de Provincia. It is those roads I have mentioned which form the reciprocal communication between the frontier provinces of both nations. The best roads over the Pyrenees, are those on the East of the Pyrenees, that lead from Perpignan into Spain, on the side of the Mediteranean. The number of these is three; the first continues along the sea coast, conducts over the river Tech to Colioure, by the castle of St. Elme, unto Rosas in Catalonia. The second goes over the same river by the bridge of Ceret, to Junqueras, where two roads divide; one goes to Figueras, a strong fortress, the other to Campardone, and then to Pu ceria, along the mountains, and over their summits. The third goes from Perpignan along the river Tet to Villa Franca; from here to MontLewis; and then to Puicerda crossing the high mountains.

To defend these passes an army of 100 thousand men would be more than sufficient. Fifty thousand in Catalonia; thirty in Guiapuiscoa; and twenty in Navarre, and Arragon. The fortresses on the frontiers garrisoned by Paysanos de Provincia, (provincial volunteers,) who soon would learn the art of war, when the safety of their country, and the independance of their nation was at stake. Neither need the whole of these armies to be regular troops: for with much smaller bodies of regulars, these frontiers have been effectually defended. These four armies ought to be posted in a sort of echellon; so that when one corps was attacked, the smallest operation of changing front by the other corps, would defend the point attacked, and take the enemy in flank by an accelerated

movement.

gered, to escape by paths unknown to their invaders, and impracticable for an army, we consider the northern provinces of Spain under their present enthusiasm, and conducted by an ablé General, as fully adequate to the defence of their country, and, the prevention of the French forces from assisting their com rades now in Spain. These will all be cut off before fresh troops arrive to succour them : and if Buonaparte thinks his honour pledged to subdue Spain, he must withdraw such great bodies of troops from other countries, and abandon the affairs of the no 1 and of the cast, to such a degree, that there would be no wonder if those countries should avail themselves of the relief afforded by such an opportunity, and let him know that the oppressed can avenge themselves on their oppressors elsewhere than in the peninsula of Spain.

VINE-LEAF TEA.

To the Editor of the Literary Panorama.

Sir,-From the experiments I have tried, done in the shade, the leaves of the vine make I find that, on being dried, which should be an excellent and an extremely wholesome tea, though somewhat different, both in taste and flavour, from that commonly used. I have also found that, besides being admirably calculated for making vinegar, the prunings of the vine, on being bruised and put into a vat, or mashing tub, and boiling water poured on them, in the same way as is done with malt, produce a liquor of a fine vinous quality; which, on being fermented, forms a fine substitute for beer, and which, on being distilled produces a very fine spirit, of the nature of brandy. As this is the season for pruning the vine; many thousand cart loads of which are, year after year, thrown away, as useless, where there are not goats to eat them; and the idea here suggested is not only new, but of high importance to the inhabitants of this country, particularly at the present juncture, your inserting it in your highly useful and interesting work will oblige, Sir, your constant reader and most humble servant,

137, St. Martin's lane,
June 11th, 1808.

JAMES HALL.

are not included, then the number is about fifteen hundred more.

This is a fact, Gentlemen, which I perceive fills you with astonishment; and I confess that I could not have believed it my self, if I had not read it in an official docu

ment.

I had not time, and indeed it would have been a work of great labour, to make an accurate inquiry and comparison; but, to hazard a guess, I should be disposed to say, that, setting aside our two rebellions, the above number of criminal trials in England, in one year, is nearly equal to the whole number which has occurred in Scotland since the Union.

Supposing this calculation to be accurate, or in any remote degree accurate, it calls upon us for very serious reflections, and to consider, if we can discover the causes of this proud inferiority. Allowance must, no doubt, be made for a difference which has always existed in the population of the two countries; for it would be unreasonable to suppose that the number of crimes must not, in a great degree, be in proportion to the number of people in any two countries.

It may be said also, that commerce and manufactures hardly existed in this country during the earlier period of the last century. True; but now, at least in those respects, we are treading fast on the heels of England, and yet, thank God, the same consequences do not follow. In this very city and district where I now sit, commerce and manufactures of all kinds have been long introduced, to an extent equal to any place or district of the kingdom, the capital alone excepted; and yet it was stated by a political writer, but a few years ago, that one quarter sessions at Manchester sends more criminals to transportation than all Scotland in a year.

We must, therefore, look to other causes for the good order and morality of our people, and I think we have not far to look. In my opinion, that cause is to be found chiefly in our Institutions for the education of Youth and for the maintenance of Religion.

The institution of Parochial Shools, in the manner and to the extent in which they are established in Scotland, is, I believe, peculiar to ourselves; and it is an institution to which, however simple in its nature and unobtrusive in its operation, I am persuaded we are chiefly to ascribe the regularity of conduct by which we are distinguished. The child of the meanest peasant, of the lowest mechanic in this country, may (and most of them do) receive a virtuous education from their earliest youth. At our Parochial Schools, they are not only early initiated in the principles of our holy religion, and in the soundest doctrines of morality; but most of them receive different degrees of education in other respects,

which qualify them to earn their bread in life in various ways, and which, independent even of religious instruction, by enlarging the understanding, necessarily raises a man in his own estimation, and sets him above the mean and dirty crimes to which the temptations and hardships of life might other wise expose him.

But this is not all: the children of our poor no sooner leave the Parochial School, than their improvement and confirmation in every virtuous and religious principle is taken up by the clergyman of the parish. Here, to be sure, we cannot boast of the same superiority over England as in the article of Parochial Schools; for England has also the same holy religion, and a most learned, pious, and respectable body of Clergy. But even here, I think, we have reason to pride ourselves in the comparison. God forbid that I should say, that our Clergy, in piety, in learning, and in general respectability, are superior to the Clergy of England. I neither say so, nor do I think so; but this, at least, I may say, that in every quality which can adorn the character of a clergyman, and qualify him to be useful to his flock, the Clergy of Scotland never have been surpassed by any order of priesthood since the world began.

But where I think our superiority over England in this respect consists, is this that, holding our form of church government, our mode of worship, the respectability of our Clergy, to be respectively equal-we have the advantage in this, that every Clergyman here must, by the most indispensable provi sions of the law, reside within his own parish, and discharge the duties of his sacred function in person. This must necessarily create a parental affection in a Minister towards his flock, a respectful attachment in the people towards their Minister, which, in the nature of things, cannot exist, where non-residence to any considerable degree is indulged to the principal Minister, and where frequent removals happen among the Curates, and, of course, but a precarious connexion can subsist between them and their people. Between two orders of Clergy, thus differently constituted, however equal in other respects, it is not difficult to see which of their labours are most likely to be successful.

Let us, then, Gentlemen, be thankful for the blessings we enjoy. While we venerate the general Constitution of England, by our union with which our liberties have been secured on a surer basis than by the old Constitution of Scotland; let us not undervalue our own local laws and institutions, by which essential advantages are given to us, and which we ought not rashly to endanger by attempting violent innovations, the full beare ing of which it is impossible to foresee,