■ A remark made by the excellent Mr. Ray in his Tour of Europe
at once furprifes us, and corroborates what has been advanced
above; for we find him obferving, fo late as his days, that “ the
*5 Italians ufe feveral herbs for fallets, which are not yet or have
not been but lately ufed in England, viz. felleri (celery) which is
“ nothing elfe but the fweet fmallage; the young (hoots whereof,
“ with a little of the head of the root cut off, they eat raw with
“ oil and pepper.” and farther he adds “ curled endive blanched
“ is much ufed beyond feas; and, for a raw fallet, feemed to excel
“ lettuce itfelf.” Now this journey was undertaken no longer ago
than in the year 1663.
I am, See.
L E T T E R XXXVIII.
TO T H E S AM E .
j|| Fortè paer, comitum feduélas ab agmine fido,
“ Dixerat, ecquis adeit ? et, adeft, refponderat echo«
f‘ Hie ftupet ; utque aciem partes divifit in omnes ;
“ Voce, veni, clamat magnâ. Vocat ilia vocantem.”
D E A R S IR , Selborne, Feb. 12, 177S.
I n a didrid fo diverfified as this, fo full of-hollow vales and
hanging woods, it is no wonder that echoes (hould abound. Many
we have difeovered that return the cry of a pack of dogs, the notes
of a hunting-horn, a tunable ring of bells, or the melody of birds,
very agreeably: but we were dill at a lofs for a polyfyllabical,
articulate
articulate echo, till a young gentleman, who had parted front his
company in a fumrner evening walk, and was calling after them,
(tumbled upon a very, curious one in a lpot where it might lead be
expeded.* At firft lie was much furprifed, and could not be per-
fuaded but that he was mocked by fome boy; but, repeating his
trials in feveral languages, and finding his refpondent to be a very
adroit polyglot, he then difeerned the deception.
This echo in an evening, before rural noifes ceafe, would repeat
ten fyllables mod articulately and didindly, .efp.ecially if
quick dactyls were chafen. The lad fyllables of
“ Tityre, tu patuîæ recubans - - -**
were as audibly and intelligibly returned as the fird : and there is
no doubt, could trial have been made, but that at midnight,
when the air is very eladic, and a dead dillnefs prevails, one or
two fyllables more might have been obtained ; but the diftanee
rendered fo late an experiment very inconvenient.
Quick dadyls, we obferved, fucceeded bed; for when we came
to try it’s powers in flow, heavy, embarafled fpondees of the
fame number of fyllables,
(i Monftrum horrendum, informe, ingens - - -**
we could perceive a return but o f four or five.
All echoes have fome one place to which they are returned /
dronger and more didind than to any other ; and that is always
the place that lies, at right angles with the objed of repercuflion,
and is not too near, nor too far off. Buildings', or naked rocks7re-2V/>- //,
echo much more articulately than hanging wood or vales; becaufe'*'-^"
in the latter the voice is as it were entangled, and embarafled in
the covert, and weakened in the rebound.
G g The
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