neighbouring clergy, who were subscribers, besides some thousands of spectators. Such institutions are honourable to humanity. For charitable efforts to relieve human misery, this island has long been famous; and may Britain continue for ever thus to be distinguished among the nations of the earth!

An Apiarian Society, or a Society for the cultivation of BEES, had been just formed at Exeter with considerable success. An account of its proceedings was put into my hands; and I was much pleased with the anecdotes told of this wonderful little animal, at once distinguished for its economy and industry.

THOU cheerful BEE! come, freely come,
And travel round my woodbine bower!
Delight me with thy wandering hum,

And rouse me from my musing hour.
O! try no more those tedious fields,
Come taste the sweets my garden yields;
The treasures of each blooming mine,
The bud, the blossom-all are thine!

And, careless of the noon-tide heat,

I'll follow as thy ramble guides,
To watch thee, pause, and chafe thy feet,
And sweep them o'er thy downy sides.
Then in a flower's bell nestling lie,
And all thy envied ardour ply!
Then on the stem, though fair it grow,
With touch rejecting glance and go !—

O Nature kind! O Labourer wise!

That roam'st along the summer's ray,
Glean'st every bliss thy life supplies,
And meet'st prepar'd thy wintry day!

EXETER.

Go-envied, go-with crowded gates,
The hive thy rich return awaits,
Bear home thy store in triumph gay,
And shame each idler of the day!

SMITH.

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And, what is remarkable, these diminutive animals are actuated by the passions of fear, anger, and joy! Lesser tells us that, in 1525, during the confusion occasioned by a time of war, a mob of peasants assembling in Hohnstein, attempted to pillage the house of the minister of Elende; who, having in vain employed all his eloquence to dissuade them from their design, ordered his domestics to fetch his bee hives, and throw them in the middle of the furious mob! The effect was what might be expected; they were immediately put to flight, and happy if they escaped unstung on this memorable occasion.

The stories told of the evolutions of THE BEE are almost incredible; whilst the efforts of modern apiarians to secure the honey without the destruction of the animal, are highly honourable to their humanity.*

Exeter is remarkable for three things; that it has for its motto, Semper fidelis, ALWAYS FAITHFUL-that of its twenty churches in the city and suburbs, thirteen of them were, in the time of

* See an admirable account of Bees, under the chapter entitled, Perfect Societies of Insects, in an Introduction to ENTOMOLOGY, or Elements of the Natural History of Insects, with plates; by William Kirby, A.M. F.L.S. Rector of Barham; and William Spence, Esq., F.L.S. In three volumes. This wellwritten work yields a fund of instruction and entertainment.

Oliver Cromwell, exposed to sale by the common crier; and that it has given birth to Sir Thomas Bodley, the founder of the famous Bodleian Library, at Oxford.

Quitting Exeter, I reached Honiton, at the distance of fifteen miles, a pleasant town, being one long street, in which are to be found many good houses. In the midst of it, however, stands a row of tottering shambles, which, were they shouldered down, would heighten the beauty of the place. Through the town runs a stream of clear water, with a little square dipping place at every door. The first serge manufactory in Devonshire was in this town; but it is now employed in the manufacture of lace, which is made broader here than any where else in England; and of which great quantities are sent to London. A specimen of lace has been shewn, the thread of which it was fabricated cost the manufacturer upwards of ninety guineas a pound at Antwerp; also ladies' veils are made and sold from ten to seventy guineas! A dreadful fire happened here in 1747, by which three-fourths of the town were consumed. By this, and similar accidents, however, the place has been eventually benefited; for the houses which are rebuilt are said to be neater in their appear→ ance and more commodious to the inhabitants. This was the case, indeed, with London, which was nearly consumed in the terrible fire of 1666, -it rose like a fair and beautiful Phoenix out of its ashes!

The parish church of Honiton stands pleasantly

DR. WILLIAM HARRIS.

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on a hill above the town, whither I had an agreeable walk; the edifice presented an antique appearance, and there were tombs within the walls, which contained the bones of persons of distinction. Around one of the pillars was entwined the following sentence: Pray for the soul of—the name was almost obliterated. It had evidently been inscribed there in the days of Popery, previous to the period of the Reformation. The church-yard was crowded with graves; and at the entrance of one of the side-doors was shewn me the spot where lay the remains of the Rev. Dr. William Harris, (who died 1770,) author of the Lives of the Stuarts. He resided in Honiton for many years, and sustained a character of respectability. He published an Historical and Critical Account of the Life of James the First, of Charles the First, of Oliver Cromwell, of Hugh Peters, and of Charles the Second, in two volumes. He began the Life of James the Second; but the materials left behind him were too scanty for publication. I have thus enumerated his publications, because his Life of Charles the Second is omitted in the list of his productions, with which we are furnished, in the late new edition of the Biographical Dictionary. The plan of these lives is similar to that of Bayle's Dictionary, where the text is short, but accompanied with notes, including copious illustrations. Mr. Hollis, his munificent patron, has thus characterized his labours-" All his works have been well received, and those who differ from

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him in principle, still value him in point of indus try and faithfulness.”

This country church-yard seems to have been of that rustic cast which might have inspired the muse of a GRAY. In walking round it my eye was fixed on a row of graves, over which were raised the grassy turf, and on which the setting sun shone with splendour!

During my stay at Honiton, I had an opportunity of being present, one Sunday evening, at a meeting of itinerant Quakers. Curiosity drew together a crowd of people who poured into the General Baptist place of worship, which was lent the Friends for that purpose. Two women and a man, from America, held forth on this occasion. One of the women spoke well; indeed her countenance conciliated attention. Her features were marked by a pleasing solemnity, and her manner, though not free from the usual tone, was characterized by simplicity. The harangues of the two others were tedious, and the audience discovered signs of impatience by indecently beating their feet on the floor, long before the meeting came to a conclusion.

In spite of the eccentricities of the Quakers, we cannot but admire their hatred of war, and their detestation of Slavery:

The purest wreaths which hung on glory's shrine,
For empires founded, peaceful PENN! be thine;
No blood-stain'd laurels crown'd thy virtuous toil;
No slaughter'd natives drench'd thy fair-earn'd soil.