Of Britain.
If ruminating upon antiquities at home be commendable, travelling at home for that purpose can want no defence; it is still coming nearer the lucid springs of truth. The satisfaction of viewing realities has led infinite numbers of its admirers through the labours and dangers of strange countries, through oceans, immoderate heats and colds, over rugged mountains, barren sands and deserts, savage inhabitants, and a million of perils; and the world is filled with accounts of them. We export yearly our own treasures into foreign parts, by the genteel and fashionable tours of France and Italy, and import ship-loads of books relating to their antiquities and history (it is well if we bring back nothing worse) whilst our own country lies like a neglected province. Like untoward children, we look back with contempt upon our own mother. The antient Albion, the valiant Britain, the renowned England, big with all the blessings of indulgent nature, fruitful in strengths of genius, in the great, the wise, the magnanimous, the learned and the fair, is postponed to all nations. Her immense wealth, traffic, industry; her flowing streams, her fertile plains, her delightful elevations, pleasant prospects, curious antiquities, flourishing cities, commodious inns, courteous inhabitants, her temperate air, her glorious show of liberty, every gift of providence that can make her the envy and the desirable mistress of the whole earth, is slighted and disregarded.
You, Sir, to whom I pretend not to talk in this manner, well know that I had a desire by this present work, however mean, to rouse up the spirit of the Curious among us, to look about them and admire their native furniture: to show them we have rarities of domestic growth. What I offer them is an account of my journeyings hitherto, but little indeed, and with expedition enough, with accuracy no more than may be expected from a traveller; for truth in every particular, I can vouch only for my own share, strangers must owe somewhat to informations. I can assure you I endeavoured as much as possible not to be deceived, nor to deceive the reader. It was ever my opinion that a more intimate knowledge of Britain more becomes us, is more useful and as worthy a part of education for our young nobility and gentry as the view of any transmarine parts. And if I have learnt by seeing some places, men and manners, or have any judgment in things, it is not impossible to make a classic journey on this side the streights of Dover.
Thus much at least I thought fit to premise in favour of the study of antiquities. And with particular deference to the society of British Antiquaries in London, to whom I remember with pleasure you first introduced me: since for some time I have had the honour of being their secretary; to them I beg leave to consecrate the following work. To the right honourable the Earl of Hartford the illustrious and worthy President, the right honourable the Earl of Winchelsea, Peter le Neve, esq; Roger Gale, esq; the illustrious and worthy Vice-presidents, and to the learned Members thereof. Then, lest I should fall under my own censure passed upon others, that know least of things nearest them, I shall deliver my thoughts about the history of Holland before mentioned, which may serve as a short comment upon the map of this country which I published last year, with a purpose of assisting the gentlemen that are commissioners of sewers there, though it is of such a bulk as cannot conveniently be inserted into this volume.
If we cast our eyes upon the geography of England, we must observe that much of the eastern shore is flat, low ground, whilst the western is steep and rocky. This holds generally true throughout the globe as to its great parts, countries or islands, and likewise particularly as to its little ones, mountains and plains. I mean, that mountains are steep and abrupt to the west,[2] especially the north-west, and have a gentle declivity eastward or to the south-east, and that plains ever descend eastward. I wonder very much that this remark has never been made. I took notice of it in our own country, almost before I had ever been out of it, in the universal declivity of that level eastward, in those parts where it did not by that means regard the ocean; particularly in South Holland, or the wapentake of Elho: the natural descent of water therein is not to the sea, as the rivers run, but directly eastward, and that very considerable. Beside, the current of every river is lower as more eastward: thus the Welland is higher in level than the Nen, the Nen than the Ouse; and probably at first both emptied themselves by the Ouse or Lyn river as most eastward. I observed in June 1732, that the Peterborough river Nen would willingly discharge itself into Whitlesea mere, and so to the Ouse at Lyn, if it were not hindered by the sluice at Horsey bridge by the river Nen. I see no difficulty to attribute the reason of it to the rotation of the globe. Those that have gone about to demonstrate to us that famous problem of the earth’s motion, have found out many mathematical and abstracted proofs for that purpose, but neglected this which is most sensible and before our eyes every minute. It is a property of matter, that when whirled round upon an axis, it endeavours to fly from the axis, as we see in the motion of a wheel, the dirt and loose parts are thrown the contrary way in a tangent line. This is owing to the natural inactivity of matter, which is not easily susceptible of motion. Now at the time that the body of the earth was in a mixt state between solid and fluid, before its present form of land and sea was perfectly determined, the almighty Artist gave it its great diurnal motion. By this means the elevated parts or mountainous tracts, as they consolidated whilst yet soft and yielding, flew somewhat westward, and spread forth a long declivity to the east: the same is to be said of the plains, their natural descent tending that way, and, as I doubt not, of the superfice of the earth below the ocean. This critical minute is sublimely described by the admirable poet and observer of nature,
Namque canebat, uti magnum per inane coacta
Semina terrarumque, animæque, marisque fuissent,
Et liquidi simul ignis. Ut his exordia primis
Omnia, & ipse tener mundi concreverit orbis.
Tum durare solum & discludere nerea ponto