Ladrone iflands: Magellan, and other voyagers, fay, that they are addicted to thieving; and their teftimony occafioned these iflands to be called Ladrones. Pere le Gobien, on the contrary, fays, that, far from being addicted to thieving, they leave every thing open, having no diftruft one of another. These accounts differ in appearance, not in reality. Magellan was a stranger; and he talks only of their stealing from him and from his companions. Father Gobien lived long among them, and talks of their fidelity to each other. Plan Carpin, who vifited Tartary in the

year 1246, obferves of the Tartars, that, tho' full of veracity to their neighbours, they thought themselves not bound to fpeak truth to strangers. The Greeks anciently were held to be pirates: but not properly; for they committed depredations upon ftrangers only. Cæfar, speaking of the Germans (a), fays, " Latroci"nia nullam habent infamiam quæ ex

* "They hold it not infamous to rob without the "bounds of their canton."

(a) Lib. 6. c. 23. de bello Gallico.

This

This was precifely the cafe of our highlanders, till they were brought under due fubjection after the rebellion 1745. Bou-, gainville obferves, that the inhabitants of Otaheite, named by the English King George's ifland, made no difficulty of stealing from his people; and yet never steal from one another, having neither locks nor bars in their houses. The people of Benin in Negroland, are good-natured, gentle, and civilized; and fo generous, that if they receive a prefent, they are not at ease till they return it double. They have unbounded confidence in their own people; but are jealous of strangers, tho' they politely hide their jealousy. The different tribes of Negroes, fpeaking each a different language, have a rooted averfion at each other. This averfion is carried along with them to Jamaica; and they will rather fuffer death from the Englifh, than join with those of a different tribe in a plot for liberty. Ruffian peafants think it a greater fin to eat meat in Lent, than to murder one of another country. Among the Koriacs, bordering on Kamfkatka, murder within the tribe is feverely punished: but to murder a stran

ger

ger is not minded. While Rome continued a fmall ftate, neighbour and enemy

were expreffed by the fame word (a). In England of old, a foreigner was not admitted to be a witnefs. Hence it is, that in ancient hiftory, we read of wars without intermiffion among small states in close neighbourhood. It was fo in Greece; it was fo in Italy during the infancy of the Roman republic; it was fo in Gaul, when Cæfar commenced hoftilities against that country (b); and it was fo all the world over. Many islands in the South fea, and in other remote parts, have been difcovered by Europeans; who commonly found the natives with arms in their hands, refolute to prevent the ftrangers from landing. Orellana, lieutenant to Gonzales Pifarro, was the first European who failed down the river Amazon to the fea. In his paffage, he was continually affaulted by the natives with arrows from the banks of the river and fome even ventured to attack him in their canoes.

Nor does fuch averfion wear away even (a) Hoftis.

(4) Lib. 6. c. 15. de bello Gallico.

among

An ingenious

among polished people. writer (a) remarks, that almost every nation hate their neighbours, without knowing why. I once heard a Frenchman fwear, fays that writer, that he hated the English, parce qu'ils verfent du beurre fondu fur leur veau roti *. The populace of Portugal have to this day an uncommon averfion to ftrangers: even thofe of Lisbon, tho' a trading town frequented by many different nations, muft not be excepted, Travellers report, that the people of the duchy of Milan, remarkable for good-nature, are the only Italians who are not hated by their neighbours. The Piedmontefe and Genoefe have an averfion to each other, and agree only in their antipathy to the Tufcans. The Tufcans dislike the Venetians; and the Romans abound not with good-will to the Tufcans, Venetians, or Neapolitans. Very different is the cafe with refpect to diftant nations: instead of being objects of averfion, their manners,

*"Because they pour melted butter upon their roaft veal."

(a) Baretti.

customs,

cuftoms, and fingularities, amufe us great

ly *.

Infants differ from each other in averfion to ftrangers; fome being extremely fhy, others lefs fo; and the like difference is obfervable in whole tribes. The people of Milan cannot have any averfion to their neighbours, when they are fuch favourites of all around them. The inhabitants of fome South-fea iflands, mentioned above (a), appear to have little or no averfion to frangers. But that is a rare inftance, and has fcarce a parallel in any o ther part of the globe. It holds alfo true, that nations the moft remarkable for patriotifm, are equally remarkable for averfion to ftrangers. The Jews, the Greeks,

* Voltaire, (Universal History, ch. 40.), obferving, rightly, that jealoufy among petty princes is productive of more crimes than among great monarchs, gives a very unfatisfactory reafon," That

having little force, they must employ fraud, poi

fon, and other fecret crimes;" not adverting, that power may be equally distributed among fma!! princes as well as among great. It is antipathy that inftigates fuch crimes, which is always the most violent among the nearest neighbours.

(a) Preliminary Difcourfe.

VOL. II.

A a

the