will produce everywhere in proportion as society attains a general
polish. The most essential service, I presume, that authors could
render to society, would be to promote inquiry and discussion,
instead of making those dogmatical assertions which only appear
calculated to gird the human mind round with imaginary circles, like
the paper globe which represents the one he inhabits.

This spirit of inquiry is the characteristic of the present century,
from which the succeeding will, I am persuaded, receive a great
accumulation of knowledge; and doubtless its diffusion will in a
great measure destroy the factitious national characters which have
been supposed permanent, though only rendered so by the permanency
of ignorance.

Arriving at Fredericshall, at the siege of which Charles XII. lost
his life, we had only time to take a transient view of it whilst
they were preparing us some refreshment.

Poor Charles! I thought of him with respect. I have always felt
the same for Alexander, with whom he has been classed as a madman by
several writers, who have reasoned superficially, confounding the
morals of the day with the few grand principles on which
unchangeable morality rests. Making no allowance for the ignorance
and prejudices of the period, they do not perceive how much they
themselves are indebted to general improvement for the acquirements,
and even the virtues, which they would not have had the force of
mind to attain by their individual exertions in a less advanced
state of society.

The evening was fine, as is usual at this season, and the refreshing