upon his journey, and travelled through many a defart, and croffed many a river, high over hills, and down along vales, ftill reftlefs, ftill enquiring wherever he came; but no white moufe was to be found.

As one day, fatigued with his journey, he was fhading himself from the heat of the mid-day fun, under the arching branches of a banana tree, meditating on the object of his purfuit, he perceived an old woman, hideoufly deformed, approaching him; by her ftoop, and the wrinkles of her vifage, fhe feemed at leaft five hundred years old; and the fpotted toad was not more freckled than was her skin.

Ah! prince Bonbennin-bonbobbin-bonbobbinet, cried the fairy, what has led you so many thousand miles from your own kingdom; what is it you look for, and what induces you to travel into the kingdom of Emmets?" The prince, who was exceffively complaifant, told her the whole ftory three times over; for fhe was hard of hearing. "Well, fays the old fairy, for fuch fhe was, I promise to put you in poffeffion of the white moufe with green eyes, and that immediately too upon one condition.” One condition, cried the prince in a rapture, name a thousand; I shall undergo them all with pleasure.' Nay, interrupted the old fairy, I ask but one, and that not very mortifying neither; it is only that you instantly confent to marry me."

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66

It is impofible to exprefs the prince's confufion at this demand; he loved the moufe, but he detefted the bride; he hefitated; he defired time to think upon the propofal; he would have been glad to confult his friends on fuch an occafion. 66 Nay, nay, cried the odious fairy, if you demur, I retract my promife; I do not defire to force my favours on any man. Here, you my attendants, cried fhe, ftamping with her foot, let my machine be driven up;

Bar

Barbacela, Queen of Emmets, is not used to contemptuous treatment." She had no fooner spoken than her fiery chariot appeared in the air, drawn by two fnails; and fhe was juft going to ftep in, when the prince reflected, that now or never was the time to be poffeffed of the white moufe; and quite forgetting his lawful princefs Nanhoa, falling on his knees, he implored forgiveness for having rafhly rejected fo much beauty. This well-timed compliment inftantly appeafed the angry fairy. She affected an hideous leer of approbation, and, taking the young prince by the hand, conducted him to a neighbouring church, where they were married together in a moment. As foon as the ceremony was performed, the prince, who was to the laft degree defirous of feeing his favourite mouse, reminded the bride of her promife. "To confefs a truth, my prince, cried fhe, I myself am that very white mouse you faw on your wedding night in the royal apartment. I now therefore give you the choice, whether you would have me a moufe by day and a woman by night, or a moufe by night and a woman by day." Though the prince was an excellent cafuift, he was quite at a lofs how to determine, but at laft thought it most prudent to have recourse to a blue cat that had followed him from his own dominions, and frequently amufed him with its converfation, and affifted him with its advice; in fact this cat was no other than the faithful princess Nanhoa herself, who had shared with him all his hardships in this difguife.

By her inftructions he was determined in his choice, and returning to the old fairy, prudently obferved that as the must have been fenfible he had married her only for the fake of what the bad, and not for her perfonal qualifications, he thought it would for feve

ral

ral reasons be moft convenient, if she continued a woman by day and appeared a mouse by night.

The old fairy was a good deal mortified at her hufband's want of gallantry, though fhe was reluctantly obliged to comply; the day was therefore spent in the most polite amusements, the gentlemen talked fmut, the ladies laughed, and were angry. At last the happy night drew near, the blue cat ftill ftuck by the fide of its mafter, and even followed him to the bridal apartment. Barbacela entered the chamber, wearing a train fifteen yards long, fupported by porcupines, and all over befet with jewels, which ferved to render her more deteftable. She was juft ftepping into bed to the Prince, forgetting her promife, when he infifted upon feeing her in the fhape of a moufe. She had promifed, and no fairy can break her word; wherefore affuming the figure of the most beautiful moufe in the world the skipped and played about with an infinity of amufement. The prince in an agony of rapture, was defirous of seeing his pretty playfellow move a flow dance about the floor to his own finging; he began to fing, and the mouse immediately to perform with the most perfect knowledge of time, and the finest grace and greateft gravity imaginable; it only began, for Nanhoa, who had long waited for the opportunity in the fhape of a cat, flew upon it inftantly without remorse, and eating it up in the hundredth part of a moment, broke the charm, and then resumed her natural figure.

The Prince now found that he had all along been under the power of enchantment, that his paffion for the white moufe was entirely fictitious, and not the genuine complexion of his foul; he now faw that his earneftnefs after mice was an illiberal amufement, and much more becoming a ratcatcher than a prince.

prince. All his meanneffes now ftared him in the face, he begged the difcreet princefs's pardon an hundred times. The princefs very readily forgave him; and both returning to their palace in Bonbobbin, lived very happily together, and reigned many years with all that wifdom, which, by the ftory, they appear to have been poffeffed of. Perfectly convinced by their former adventures, that they who place their affections on trifles at first for amusement, will find thofe trifles at laft become their moft ferious Adieu.

Concern.

LETTER XLIX.

From Lien Chi Altangi, to Fum Hoam, first Prefident of the Ceremonial Academy at Pekin, in China.

ASK an Englishman what nation in the world enjoys moft freedom, and he immediately answers, his own. Afk him in what that freedom principally confifts, and he is inftantly filent. This happy preeminence does not arife from the people's enjoying a larger fhare in legiflation than elsewhere; for in this particular, feveral states in Europe excel them; nor does it arife from a greater exemption from taxes, for few countries pay more; it does not proceed from their being reftrained by fewer laws, for no people are burthened with fo many; nor does it particularly confift in the fecurity of their property, for property is pretty well fecured in every polite ftate of Europe.

VOL. III.

How

How then are the English more free (for more free they certainly are) than the people of any other country, or under any other form of government whatever. Their freedom confifts in their enjoying all the advantages of democracy with this fuperior prerogative borrowed from monarchy, that the feverity of their laws may be relaxed without endangering the conftitution.

In a monarchical ftate, in which the conftitution is ftrongeft, the laws may be relaxed without danger; for though the people should be unanimous in the breach of any one in particular, yet ftill there is an effective power fuperior to the people, capable of enforcing obedience, whenever it may be proper to inculcate the law either towards the fupport or welfare of the community.

But in all thofe governments, where laws derive their fanction from the people alone, tranfgreffions cannot be overlooked without bringing the conftitution into danger. They who tranfgrefs the law in fuch a cafe, are those who prefcribe it, by which means it lofes not only its influence but its fanction. In every republic the laws must be ftrong, because the conftitution is feeble, they must resemble an Afiatic hufband who is juftly jealous, because he knows himfelf impotent. Thus in Holland, Switzerland, and Genoa new laws are not frequently enacted, but the old ones are obferved with unremitting feverity. In fuch republics therefore the people are flaves to laws of their own making, little lefs than unmixed monarchies where they are flaves to the will of one subject to frailties like themselves.

In England, from a variety of happy accidents, their conftitution is juft ftrong enough, or if you will, monarchical enough, to permit a relaxation of the feverity of laws, and yet those laws still to remain fufficiently ftrong to govern the people. This