opinion of English folly, and left his house. with telling him, I was forry we had taken up fo much of each other's time to fo little purpofe. He feemed to think so too, and dropping his vivacity and his courtesy at once, fuffer'd me to depart even without a bow. My friend, I beg pardon; and your's my good Reader: 1 dare fay you are nice, but I prefume alfo, you are wife;-the delicacies of your country, the graceful decency of its manners and cuftoms, deferve to be appreciated; but, inasmuch as they are brought into comparison and contraft with the difgufting freedoms of other nations, they will be yet more valued, and appear more amiable. In truth, people of both fexes, on this fide the water, have scarce an idea of thofe decencies, which by habit, if not by principle, difcover themselves even in the lowest domefticks of Great Britain. Throughout Holland, Pruffia, and the Empire, even more than in France, the men and women display almost oftentatiously thofe objects which we conceal with the greatest care. As if proud of the natural defects that are confidered as humiliating with us, you will fee them carrying to and fro, in open day, and as a fort of page, antry of difplay, all the arcana of the bedchamber; chamber; whether you are in fick nefs or in health it is the fame thing, and I have remarked that the fervants who prefide over thefe fhews (in England they would be mysteries, and difpofed of as if by magic)-the fervants, I fay, generally choose to exhibit their machines at breakfast, by paffing from one room to another, not fo much as fuppofing it poffible your delicacy can be diftreffed about the matter. Our fenfe of propriety on this occafion paffes for mauvaise honte. May it never be exchanged for either confident impudence, or habitual grofsnefs, which, though lefs culpable, is not lefs offenfive. In a word, may' that shamefacedness, which the holy writers have ufed to fignify one of the most lovely virtues in oppofition to the boldest vice, ever continue to be reckoned amongst the prejudices of British education! A prayer in which I am fure your own modeft nature, and chastened manners, will heartily join your affectionate friend. KETTER LETTER LXV. TO THE SAME. IN our firft fheaf I collected for you a Gleaning of the village fuperftitions of Wales. I will now offer you thofe of Germany, espe cially in the country of Juliers, Le Mark, &c. bordering on Weftphalia. The country people of thofe places have the most folemn faith in forceries and witches, who though in their proper shape are only a pack of very old women, can affume any form, either beftial or human; but are, it seems, most fond of appearing in the character of cats. Some of this witchery is carried to fuch excess, that many people in the country of Juliers will on no confideration intermarry with a person, who may be fuppofed of having a forcerer's blood in his veins; nay, the most advantageous matches have been refused, and the attractions of love itself been refifted, rather than a daughter fhould go to the arms of a man who has ever had a witch in his family, and the geneological tree was never more cautiously examined, and traced by a birth-proud noble to escape the difgrace of pollution, than it is to avoid an alliance with a forcerer or forcerefs. If there can be found in the hiftory of twenty genera. tions, only twigs fufficient to make up one hereditary befom, or broomstic, on which the witch by defcent might horse two of her fingers; not only the fhuddering parent, but the trembling lover, would confider it as strong a bar to his marriage, as if his miftrefs had been taken in inceft. They believe alfo in loup-garou's, or menwolves; a gentleman of the first character here, for learning and integrity, but who, unhappily for his country, is now no more, (Mr. Bauman, of the Privy Council of Cleves, and first pastor of the reformed church,) related to me the ftory of a man at Cologne who affumed the character of a loup-garou, and who lived by the pillage of whatever in that character he could lay his hands on for many years, infomuch that he had amaffed great wealth, as well in money as valuable moveables; but he was at jaft affaulted and taken, by a country man who. fwore he defied the devil and all his works, and who had been long marked with a general opprobium for this daring difbelief of evil fpirits. This man was encountered by the loup-garou, : on the day he was known to have fold a quantity of corn at the Cologne market, and to have. received the money; but fo far was he from... tamely tamely yielding up his honeft profits to either man or beast, that inftead of flying with terror before the wolf-man, or dropping his money bag; he held the faid bag at the extent of his arm, which was a powerful one, and felled the thief to the earth, with that very gold and filver which he would have purloined. When he fomewhat recovered the blow, our heroic farmer threw him like a stunned calf over his horfe, even in his wolves cloathing, and delivered him over to the magiftrate, who, after the due courfe of law, ordered him to be hanged in his loup-garou drefs, in the public market-place of Cologne. One would have thought this difafter would have opened the eyes of fuperftition; but, alas, eyes hath fhe, and feeth not! Neither are her votaries to be driven from the ftead faft faith that was in them by the detection of a fingle impoftor. On the contrary the Colognians believe, at least they have a tradition at this day, that the real loupgarou, being angry with the man that was hanged, got into him, and in order to be revenged, put it into the head of the farmer, that he might be taken up as a thief, and come to an untimely end; but that the inftant the halter was round the pretender's neck, the Spirit of the real wolf-man flipped out of him again, and enjoyed his triumph, to think how cleverly |