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ed to the enrichment and prosperity of their country; who, after an absence of twenty months, hoped to reap the reward of their toils by returning to its bosom, were dragged reluctant victims to the infernal demon of power!

Nor are these the only monsters that infest the British coast.-Much apprehension is entertained by the seamen and passengers, for certain savages, called Custom-house Officers; who, it seems, are particularly ferocious towards those who come from the East.

PRAISE to the preserving Spirit!-Our watery pilgrimage begins to draw near its close. At ten this morning we cast our anchor at the distance of about one COSS from one of the principal naval ports in England. All on board is now hurry and confusion, every eye sparkles with the eager4 *

VOL. II.

ness of expectation, and every heart seems warm with the thoughts of once more beholding their friends and their native country; it is the tumult of delight; the dread of the custom-house officers is forgotten; I suppose our fleet was too formidable for these savages to dare to make any attack upon it. And now that we are within sight of an English port, we can have nothing to fear. Seeing every one making preparations for going ashore, I retired to spend an hour at my pen; but the increasing bustle renders it impossible for me to proceed further at present.

ON going upon deck, I was surprised to observe a number of strange faces, and anxiously inquired what kind friends had taken this early opportunity of greeting our arrival?-With astonishment I learned, that the strangers were no other than the dread

ed custom-house officers. In manners, dress, stature, and complexion, nay even in language, these savages bear so strong a resem· blance to the English, that they might at a slight view be mistaken for the same; but, on a more accurate examination of their countenances, evident traces of their savage origin may be easily discerned. They are less ferocious than the and seldom murder those who fall into their hands, unless in cases of resistance. This they did not meet with from any of us; but got leave to rifle, rob and plunder, without any hindrance or molestation. Their avidity for plunder, though eager beyond description, seems to be accompanied by the strangest caprice. On the commodities of Europe they seemed to set no value, but seized with savage rapacity on the more elegant productions of the East. In respect to these, the niece of the Dewan and myself have been the greatest sufferers. A beautiful piece of silver muslin, which the fair reader of Novels had treasured up as her choicest

ornament, and on which she set a tenfold value from its being of a similar description to that which was worn by the Right Hon. Lady Araminta Eleanora Bloomville on the day of her nuptials, was seized by these relentless barbarians without remorse. With a copious flood of tears she besought them to spare her favourite robe; but, alas! the supplications of beauty touched not the heart of these savage plunderers, who beheld unmoved the pearly drops which coursed each other down the fair one's cheek! My cabin afforded a still more ample share of plunder. The shawls, the muslins, which I intended to have presented to the sister of Percy, and the less costly, though in the eye of affection no less valuable presents, which the generosity of Grey had enabled young Morton to send to his family; all, all, were seized by the unhallowed hands of these ruthless spoilers! Had they taken my whole chest of gold Mhors, it would not have grieved me half so much! But as it is a misfortune for which I perceive there is

no remedy, I must have recourse to that only physick of the hopeless-Patience.

FROM the Queen of the ocean, the favoured Island of Great Britain, does the wandering Zaarmilla now address the most beloved of friends. Having taken leave of the Captain and officers, and returned well-merited thanks for their kind attention during our voyage, we went into a boat, which had been sent from the harbour for the conveyance of the passengers, and were quickly landed on one of the ghauts of Portsmouth; it is impossible to convey to your imagination any notion of the magnificence of the spectacle that presented itself to our view in this short sail. No idea of the sublimity of a fleet of floating fortresses can possibly be conceived by those who have not beheld the unequalled scene. The army of the most powerful Monarch of the East, though

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