Se Member "'^ere we ^aY> as a place for fliips to anchor in is, its excellent
v — _ 1' bottom j in other refpects, the fituation is very bad, being very
much expofed to the winds ; but the inhabitants have an excellent
place dole to the town, for their own vefiels to lay in, wellfecured
againft any violent wind or weather whatfoever. Guernfey is
fituated on the fide of a pretty fteep hill, with a ftony, or rather
rocky bottom : it confifts of feveral ftreets, which are dark, narrow,
and inconvenient, but always dean, not only on account of
their hard bottom, but alfo their declivity; fo that any dirt or
filth is always walhed away by the laft Ihower of rain.
The houfes in general are built of a coarfe kind of free-ftone,
and feldom appear commodious, but never elegant : indeed convenience
alone feems to have been principally attended to, even in
the moll: modern ones. The illand, I believe, is not very populous,
and molt of the inhabitants are brought up to a fea-faring life;
fo that the place, not affording every neceffary of life in plenty,
may, perhaps, be owing to proper want of cultivation, more than
its natural fterility. This inconvenience is little felt, as the Guernfey
cruifers bdng always on the coaft of England, (whofe fertile
plains fo amply reward the careful farmer’s toil) bring back every
thing they want at a cheap rate.
The merchants who refide at Guernfey are pretty numerous,
and fome of them confiderable, In time of war, they fit out a
number of privateers, and, in general, are pretty fuccefsful; but I
am inclined to think, that a Jove o f gain prompts them to thefe
undertakings more than love of their country. In' regard to their
trade, it is chiefly o f the contraband kind, and that on a very exten-
five plan, not being confined to their neighbours, the French alone,
but extending to Spain, Portugal, and the Streights. In their religion
gion, (which is the Church of England) they are, I am told, very 17S5.
«xad, and pay a molt Ariel attention to the obfervance of the Sab-
bath: this thou wilt fay but ill agrees with their living in con-
ftant violation of laws both divine and human. I am rather óf
the fame opinion ; but I endeavour to reconcile thefe contradictions,
by fuppofing that the text of feripture about “ rendering unto
Casfar, &c.” is left out of their edition of the bible ; and that
liberty, property, and no excife, is the fundamental axiom of their
Magna Charta. One benefit which they reap from their encounters
with the myrmidons from the Englilh cuiloms is, that knowing
they are acting contrary to law, their men become totally callous
to the feelings o f humanity, and being thus entirely diverted
of the milk of human kindnefs, they fight like devils; and this
may, in a great meafure, account for the great fuccefs the Guernfey
privateers generally meet with. Wines, brandy, &c. See. are the
principal commodities they traffick in. Thefe articles, thou well
knoweft, pay heavy duties in England, therefore are beft worth
their attention. Till lately the article of tea was a kind of ftaple
commodity here, but Mr. Pitt’s late bill having fo greatly lowered
the duties, it is no longer an objedl worth their attention. What
few women I faw were very ordinary ; indeed it was no eafy matter
to tell what complexion they were of, fo liberally were they
bedaubed with paint and powder. Their language feems to be a
mixture of bad French, with a provincial dialedl, which renders it
unintelligible jargon to every body but themfelves 5 however, the
greater part of the people in town fpeak pretty good Englifh.
Our principal bufinefs here was to take fome articles from the
King George on board our vertel, and to lay in a flock of liquor
for the people during the voyage, both which are compleated, and
we only wait for a fair wind to weigh anchor, and proceed on our
voyage^