O Liberty! thou goddess heavenly bright, And Poverty looks chearful in thy fight; Thou mak'ft the gloomy face of nature gay, Giv'ft beauty to the fun, and pleasure to the day. After a fhort ftay to view this encampment, we quitted the melancholy fcene, and turned into the road to Travemunde, which being planted with trees, forms an agreeable avenue. The diftance is not above eight miles, and through a pleasant fruitful country. We got to Travemunde by noon, and went to a pretty good inn famous for dreffing of fish. After we had ordered dinner, we took a view of the town, which is very small, but neatly built. Count Albert of Orlamund, deputy of Waldemar, king of Denmark, erected a ftrong tower here in 1217, the command of which was held in 1262, by Willekinus of Stade; and my reason for mentioning him, is, because the writers of thofe times called him, Advocatus in turri Travenemunde. The tower was become a great nuifance to the Lubeckers, as it commanded the mouth of the river; fo that they could not reft, till they made themselves. mafters mafters of this place; which was effected at length by purchase in 1320, when they gave four thousand marks for it, to John, count of Holftein. They levelled the tower to the ground, but furrounded the town with walls; and new fortifications have been fince added, which render Travemunde a place of fome ftrength. The harbour is fafe and commodious, and has the conveniency of a lighthouse to direct the mariners by night. We faw a great number of veffels; thofe of the largest fize are obliged to unload here, the river being too fhallow up to Lubeck. Travemunde, in German, fignifies the mouth of the Trave. This river is of no great breadth, but of confiderable depth: it has its fource in the territory of Wagria, and dutchy of Holstein, about four German miles from Lubeck, at the village of Gieselrade, and not far from that of Sarau; from thence it fteers its course weftward to Travenhorst, and joins the little ftream of Swogelbecke, coming from Arenfbocke and Gniffow; after which it runs by Wenfin, into the lake of Werder; from thence it emerges not far from the village of Werder; and after it has received, near a hamlet called Ronnow, a rivulet of the fame name, iffuing from the lake of Segeberg, it turns its course fouthward towards Oldefloe, where it begins to be navigable, and runs northwards the length of fix German miles, till it reaches Lubeck; above K 4 above this city it receives the Steckenitz, and below the Swartowe; then continuing its course four German miles farther, it empties itself into the Baltic at Travemunde. After we had furveyed the place, we returned to our inn, where we found our dinner ready, and the fish anfwered our expectation. We came away time enough to get back to Lubeck, before the gates were fhut, and repaired directly to our quarters at the King of England. We fupped with feveral ftrangers, fome of whom were agreeable company. Among others, there was a foreign officer in the English service, who is here upon a recruiting party, to raife men for the English troops in America. Colonel Prevot is upon the fame errand at Hamburg, and I hear that they have both been very fuccefsful. Thus you fee that Germany is ftill the officina gentium, the great nursery of the North, from whence fuch fwarms of men have been drawn in all ages, fometimes to people, and fometimes to defolate, diftant provinces. I forgot to mention to you, when I wrote from Hamburg, that I had been to vifit colonel Prevot, in company with Mr. Matthias. There was alfo a genteel youth, lately come from Bremen, fon of Mr. Groote, a merchant in London. But the principal character was M. K. who had been many years refident in this city, from the court of Denmark. He is a jolly handfome man, turned of fifty, a lover of good good cheer, and not without a great fhare of vanity. He says he is retired now from business, and has purchased an estate at a place called Hindenberg, in the dutchy of Mecklenburg. He was born in Upper Saxony, yet chose the latter country to live in, because of the privileges enjoyed by the nobility. I am furprized that a person so long invefted with a public character, should not speak French, especially in a commercial city; and I fancy his function was not of the firft order: it is common here for merchants and others to take upon them the name of ministers, upon being honoured by a crowned head with a few commiffions or agencies. M. K. has invited me to come and fee him at his country feat, which is at no great distance from hence; but it is out of my road, and I am not fond of paying visits to gentlemen whofe converfation is intirely confined to their wines, their horses, their dogs, their lands, and their buildings. This Danish minifter knows not a word of hiftory, or of the ftate of Europe; in fhort, he is a mere country-fquire. However, he is merry and good-humoured; fo that we enjoyed one another's company, in the best manner poffible. M. Oeder seasoned the converfation with an account of his travels in England; and the night being far fpent, we retired to our refpective apartments. I have now seen almost every thing that is curious in this city, and the neighbourhood, and must think of fetting out from hence in a day or two for the dutchy of Mecklenburg. Captain H. called upon me to-day, to take his leave of me, and to know whether I had any commands for Copenhagen. He proposes taking his passage in the packet-boat, which fails once a fortnight for that capital; and preffes me very much to be of the party. I own that if it was earlier in the feafon, and the captain was not fo intolerably vociferous, I fhould have liked the proposal, were it only to have the pleafure of paying my respects to count Bothmar, who gave me an invitation to come and spend a month or two in Denmark, before I returned to London. But as it will be fometime before the count can be in Copenhagen (for you know he is to attend the queen of Denmark from England) I should be too late in the year, and be obliged to spend my winter in Denmark or Germany. My good friend M. Oeder proposes leaving this city in a day or two, and after he has vifited a few more places in Holftein, he expects to reach Copenhagen before the beginning of winter. He has alfo tempted me very much to take a trip to the Danish capital; flattering me with the hopes of finding fome MS in the king's li brary, which would illuftrate my defign; but this is all an uncertainty, fo that I cannot with any reafon or prudence think of altering my original |