Ilf
.'■Rivers .-and
mountains.
GlM wl'n fands, off the coaft o f K ent, are ra th e r danger oik«' tOythe
# a rrn e r, than mvitmg1$ th e fi flier ; but b n the cdaft o f Holland there
are- m any banks which flipply excellent fifli, as tttrbcA, ^ ,^ t e l e V & r c .
Farther tb -th e ftorth'Ts the extenfive Dogger bank, . ftretching fouth-
eaft and north-weft,; bfeg&nimg abt^fc’twfelveflekgi^ froth Elambotetagh
fifead-, :and extending near 72 leagues towards the- coaft -of Jutland. Betw
e en th e Dogger and the Well Bank,' toltWTouth, are the Silverpits
o f the mariners, ■ whicli ffip p ^L o n d o n with *e5d ,1 a fifli which loves
th e deep water near the banks, while, the flat fifli delight in the fliallows.
Hear the Dogger Bank was' fought the noted engagement with the
Dutch in 1781. T h e Ore and the Lemon lie between thefe banks and
the Britifti ftioresi" T o the north eaft of the Dogger bank is the H o rn -
riff, a narrow ftrip extending to J u tla n d : "the Jutts-riff is- a Tand-
h an k feefchifig, "like a”c re fe e r tt5 * fe tjM fd ^
German lea. '
T h e fvlar BahkTe^ifs"oppofiteToUerwj.gk, biif only abduj "fifteen
miles in length! Further to*’the eaft' e x te n d ja h i* ^ ^
extern, from Buchan Nefs, l c | ^ e ^ f f f e 5| and £ f o i n |f p r l j ^ ^ # h u n -
ifiredfmales diftafit Ixotn tfiS fhore. ' jFrom the coa.^ u f Buchan a ^ a n k
,alfo reacfiePherofsThe G e h n an fea Towards "^he “Jutts-riff. What are
called the Montrofe Pits, as being‘in th d l ^ tu d e b j tljat‘' ^ h ; ^ u | h
to the eaft o f the j5>ng FpihyC, * are h b l o w l From‘?t h ^ lo T o h r‘'TOl’e l' in
diameter, from feventy to one h u n d r e d - d e e p , Wifera-^fott
mu&dy bottom, i'n a bank' o f graVel vabofit'Tfi:y ftiii'eis lo h |^m a le r fbrty
fathom o f iwater.
In the open Atlantic the largeft bank is Thap ^ . hTewfoundland^ fe-
ferved for the description of the American feas j h u t there is a cohfi-
derable "bank to thq wgfi o f the flebudes, abounding with co,d ^tid
other, fifli.-
T h e chief rivers o f Europe are defcribed under the refpe£tive countries
through which th e y flow. O f the-vaft Wolga, far the gre(ater ^art
is included j n Europe :_the Danube i§ th e next in fame'; . a n d ^ fol-
lowed by the Dnieper, or N ieper,; the R hine, and the Elbe. T h e ffioft
elevated mountains are the Alps, whicli are followed by the Pyrenees,
and th e extenfive ridge which divides Norway from Sweden. T h e
Carpathian
Carpathian mountains, and theichfum o f Emmeh, or Hæmu8,-are, with-
the Apennines,., of inferior extent and height. In the particular descriptions
thefe grand and immoveable .features o f -nature, which unaccountably
have Only attracted due attention within thefe few years,
will be found to be illultrafed as far as the materials would permit. .
The- kingdom's and liât es o f Europe may be eonfidered, 1. As defpolic
monarchies,, as thofe bf Ruffia and Turkey ; 2. Abfolute monarchies,
as Spain, Denmark,. &c. ; '-of, %. Limited monarchies,'• a s1 thé Empire
of Germany, kingdom of Great Britain, &c. Since the fall óf Venice,,
and the fiaSverfion of Switzerland and Holland, fearcely an example
occurs of permanent arid; fixed ariftocraicy, or the hereditary govern-)
ment of nobles. O f democracy, or more .ftriTly fpeaking, elective
ariftocracy, "a few cities^ and fome Swifs cantons, may- 'prefervfea.
femblance ; while Framce at the prefent bpur >isr,,a .miiitafyi defpotifm,
■under the name o f a democratical republic.
> --ÏAôborêmg to the plan of this work, already explained in* the Preface,’
the''v-âtious'fiâtes pfi'Europe-will ibdliarrahgedi'in thfeee divifions,' -göïi-
fiderringthem-afidoiding td their real tdfifëquèfldef as o f thèdAlSjTeëoiid^
OT’-thiffrerder ; ’and each will befrâStfed length"piôpOWàèneâ ft> 4tà
weight in the political fdri£,ghnd -tlih TéKûfeqùeht fnt-ereft ‘Which it in--
ïpirtes. -Â Email ftate’ may indfeed fometimes excite a more ju ft • euKo—
fity thaniyÖhe d f larger dimeofions; 'b u t fuch coofiderafittn^ ar4
fofeigmfö|'an, exa£t fyftem o f il^ o gM p h y y-/defsjîed iji amrecifc order
of arret e^tendéd"w ith impartial views ovtcr - the whole^ci/cle of
' hqman affairs.^ Foreigners may'objeéfc -that too much Ipacé is allotted
to the Britifh; dopa’inionsJ Jhyt'jhe Tarde objectidm' might'1, éxte'nd to»
■ every fyftem ancient and modern, as the authors have always enlarged
the description o f the countries in which they wrote. His nativuj
country. Ought alfp'to be thb chief fybj'edfe -ofi"every-reader ; nor can,
touch' ufeful knowledge, (for ourknowledgeL. chiefly Ipringâ from G om -
parifon,) be inftituted concerning foreign regions;- till after we have
formed an intimate acquaintance with -ournative land. It-will alfo be
Underftood that, though no point of fcience be more -fimple or clear
than the arrangement o f ftates; according- ito their feparate orders, at a
given period, yet it: w-ould be alike idle and prefumptuöus to decide the
precifa:
Gövera»
meats».
A rran ge m
e n t