Manner; and, befides very good home-brew'd Beer, a Glafs of excellent French and Rhenifh Wine: But what I moft admir'd at, was the Neatness and Fineness of the Table-Linen, and a vast Quantity of Plate of every Sort. After Dinner, I call'd for my Reckoning, the whole Amount of which was only 10 d. for my Horfes, and it was not without Difficulty, I perfuaded a Servant to accept of a Half-crown Piece. In my Way to Glückstadt, I enquir'd of the Waggoner (or Poftilion, as they are here call'd) whether all the Boors of this Country lived in that hofpitable Manner? His Answer was, they were all rich, and lived well; but that the Perfon in whofe Houfe I had din'd, might juftly be call'd the King of the Boors, and was fam'd for keeping a profufe Table, which, he added, he could very well afford: And upon my taking Notice, in particular, of his Table-Linen and Plate, he gave me the following Hiftory of it: "Some "Years fince (faid he) our moft gracious Sovereign (the King of Denmark) being in thefe Parts, did this Farmer the Honor to dine with "him, and let him know his Royal Intention fome "Days before-hand: The good Man, thinking he could never do enough to fhew his Zeal in entertaining his Prince, in the best Manner he "could, laid out a very confiderable Sum in Li"nen and Plate, befiting fuch a Gueft, and has "ever fince been very proud of fhewing it upon " all proper Occafions: But he paid dear for his Vanity; for tho' the King exprefs'd his Satis"faction in the moft gracious Manner, the Mini

66

ftry thought fit, the enfuing Year, to augment "his Contribution, in Proportion to the fplendid "Appearance he had made, on this Occafion.

GLUCKSTADT, (or the City of Fortune) where I now am, tho' but a small, is a confiderable City of Holftein, in Stormaria, belonging to the

King of Denmark, fituate on the North Banks of the Elb, at the Confluence of the Ryn with that River, about fix German Miles below Hamburg. King Chriftian IV of Denmark rais'd it, about the Begining of the 17th Century, at a great Expence, from the defolate State it was before in, and gave it the Name it now bears. It is now a regular Fortification, has fine Walls, and a broad Ditch, with a Mole runing into the Elb, and Block-houses, the Cannon of which command a good Part, and, if I miftake not, the Channel of the River: It has a small, but very good Harbour, which is, fometimes, of great Service to Ships coming out of the Sea, in the Winter-Seafon, when Drifts of Ice hinder their coming up to Hamburg: But when that City has been under the Displeasure of the King of Denmark, it has ferved as a Prifon for the Ships belonging to it, which have been feiz'd by Orders of that Monarch, coming up or going down the Elb.

I NO fooner came within the Gates of this City, than I faw feveral Perfons chain'd to little Carts, which they drew from Place to Place, and cleans'd the Streets as they went. Upon Enquiry, I found they were Thieves, who are condemn'd to this Slavery for Life. I am very much mistaken, if the Shame, Hardship and Duration of this Punishment would not have a better Effect with us, to prevent Thefts, Burglaries and Street-Robberies, than our Method of Tranfportation, and even Hanging itself. I obferved another Curiofity before I got to my Lodgings, which is, that the Women walk'd in the Streets here, tho' it was fine. Weather, with monstrous Straw-Hats, as broad, and almost as deep, as a middling Wafhing-Tub; fo that there is no fuch Thing as feing their Faces, without stooping as low as their Waifts.

ΙΑ
I A M

I AM lodg'd in a pleasant House, on the Market-Place, which is pretty much frequented by Officers and Gentlemen, who have the Appearance, at leaft, of being of fome Distinction; and as I begin to like the Place, I may, probably, fpend three or four Weeks here: I fhall, therefore, have Time enough to give you an Account of what farther Remarks I may poffibly make. In the mean Time, I can tell you, that I am very much diverted, in my Lodgings, with an amphibious Creature, a Kind of Hermophrodite in Appearance, and I cannot yet determine whether Man or Woman. As I have already heard fome very odd Stories of this extraordinary Perfon, I may, probably, against my next, have collected enough to give you a brief Account of her or his Life and Character, which, if I may judge by the Specimens I have already, cannot fail of being diverting. I am, &c.

LETTER

XXXVIII.

SIR,

GLUCKSTADT.

T

HE amphibious Animal, or Hermophrodite in Appearance, whom I just hinted at, in the Conclufion of my last

Letter, turns out a mere Woman; but withal a very Amazon, a Hero, in Petticoats, who has given herself the Romantic Name of Lucinda. She is, by Birth, a Holstein Lady, the only Daughter of a good Family, who was married at 15 Years of Age, to a Danish Baron, Captain of a Troop

of

of Horse, of that Nation. The Baron had been married to our Heroin, who follow'd him to the Field, not above 15 Months, before he had the Misfortune to be kill'd, at the famous Battle of Gadebusch, in the Duchy of Mecklenburg, fought between the Swedes and Danes, in the Year 1712, leaving her a young Widow, of little more than 16, with a Son about three Months old: But this Son, as well as her Parents, dying foon after, the was thereby put into the entire Poffeffion, as well of her Father's as her Hufband's Eftates, both of which were very confiderable. A young and beautiful Widow, with fo great a Fortune, and no Incumbrance, could not want Suitors; and fhe had, accordingly, very advantageous Offers; but, tho fhe was far from thewing any Aversion to the MaleSex, fhe rejected them all, and publicly declar'd, fhe was refolv'd to pass the Remainder of her Life in an unrestrained Liberty, and in the full Enjoyment of all the Pleafures her Inclinations could fuggeft, and her plentiful Eftate could procure. In Order to this, Lucinda reduced her whole Substance to ready Mony, and having fecur'd it in different Funds, fhe depofited her Securities in proper Hands, and took a Resolution (the most whimsical, fure,' ever Woman took) to make the Tour d' Italie in the Habit of a Cavalier. Among all her Suitors, she seem'd to give the greatest Encouragement to Cordelio, a young Foreign Nobleman, of the fame gay Temper with herself, like her, but lately come to his Eftate, and not many Years older: And tho' fhe openly declar'd she would never marry him, fhe, upon all Occafions, plainly discover'd, that she delighted in his Conversation. To this Nobleman, Lucinda first open'd her Intention of Travelling, and propos'd his accompanying her as a Brother. Whether she Whether she gave Cordelio Hopes of making him Master of her Person and

Fortune,

Fortune, at their Return, or whether they concur❜d in Opinion, to enjoy all the Sweets of Life, without tempering them with the bitter Pill of Matrimony, is a Secret; but he eagerly embraced her Propofal, and proper Equipages being prepar'd, fuitable to both their Fortunes, they left Hamburg together, towards the Conclufion of the Year 1714, for Holland; and, after fome Stay there, went to England, where they spent their Winter. The next Spring, they went to Paris, and from thence continued their Tour. They spent five whole Years on their Travels together, and, if I may believe her own Relation, lived always in a greater Harmony, than they probably might have done, had they actually been Brothers: But whether with that Continency fhe would have it believed, is what I very much queftion, and think my Incredulity, in that Refpect, fufficiently grounded on the many Circumftances and Paffages, fhe herfelf has told me, of their Gayeties and Gallantries, in feveral Parts of their Travels. I fhall, however, tho' fhe has, at Times, been pretty particular, in acquainting me with fuch of her Adventures as would well bear the relating, only tell you, that as both their Fortunes were equal to it,they were always at the Head of every Party of Pleafure, where-ever they came, and were generally diftinguished by the Denomination of the two wild German Brothers. It was not alone at Balls, Masquerades, Plays, and the like, that they fhone; they drank and gamed with the beft; and Declarations of Love and inviolable Conftancy, to the Beauties and Toafts of every Court and City they came to, were not wanting. I have always obferved a fecret Pleasure in her Countenance, when fhe has related fome of her Amours with her own Sex: What Difficulties fhe has fometimes met with to difengage herfelf, with any tolerable Repu

tation,