AN EXCURSION THROUGH THE COUNTY OF KENT," Made at different times, but concluded in the month of July, 1801, in Three Letters to a Pupil. By JOHN EVANS, A. M. NUMBER MASTER OF A SEMINARY FOR A LIMITED O famous Kent! What county hath this Isle that can compare with thee! That hath within thyself as much as thou canst wish Nor any thing doth want that any where is good. DRAYTON. LETTER 2d. I MY WORTHY YOUNG FRIEND, MUST begin the present epistle with calling your attention to a circumstance which ought to have been noticed in my description of Rochester, but which, at the moment of writing, escaped my recollection. It relates to a structure in the principal street of that city, remarkable for the following singular inscription— Richard Watts, Esq. by his will, dated 22d of August, 1579, for six poor travellers, who not being rogues, or proctors, and four In testimony of his munificence, and inducement to his example, Nathaniel Wood, Esq. the present Mayor, In this inscription, the putting of proctors, or lawyers, with rogues, has been the subject of much conversation. Some persons, who are favourable to the gentlemen of the law, deem it an insult, but others are of opinion, that their exorbitant charges entitle them to a place in such company. It has also been conjectured, that Mr. Watts had suffered by their chicanery, and had taken this mode of gratifying his resentment. Justice, however, requires it to be observed, that the term proctors is not exclusively applicable to lawyers-for it ap-. pears, from a passage in Strype's Annals, that in the time of Queen Elizabeth, there were a set of men called by the name of proctors, who, by begging briefs, collected money, and were a kind of debauched vagrants. This explication happily rescues the profession from an imputation of roguery; though the common reader of the inscription will be inclined to cherish this degrading sentiment. Ascending the hill from Chatham, on the road to Canterbury, we enjoy a beautiful view of the country. On every side interesting objects present themselves to our attention. Hills and dales, orchards and gardens, churches and farm houses, with the meanderings of the Medway, croud upon the eye, and delight the imagination. Ten miles onward we reach Milton and Sittingbourn; the former on the left, and the latter in the road, but both entitled to a distinct mention. Milton is a place of considerable antiquity, situated at the head of a creek that runs into the Swale, which separates the Isle of Sheepy from the German ocean.The church is neat; and the town is go 66 verned by a port-reeve, chosen on St. James's-day. Here is an oyster-fishery; and its productions are much esteemed in London. As the oyster is a curious and very nutritive kind of fish, a few particulars may be detailed respecting it. This delicious sea-fish, it has been justly remarked, occupies in the scale of nature, a degree the most remote from perfection; destitute of defensive weapons, and progressive motion, without art or industry, it is reduced to mere vegetation in perpetual imprisonment, though it every day appears regularly to enjoy the element necessary to its preservation. To use the words of an eminent natural historianOysters usually cast their spawn, or spat, in May, which at first appears like a drop of candlee-grease, and sticks to any substance it falls upon. It is covered with a shell in two or three days time, and in three years they are large enough to be brought to the market. These oysters they term natives, and they are incapable of moving from the places where they first fall, for which reason the dredgers make use of nets, which are fastened to a strong broad iron hook with a sharp edge, which they drag along the bottom of the sea, and so force the oysters into the nets. When they are thus taken, they are carried into different places, where they are laid in beds, or rills, of salt water, in order to salt them. When the spawn happens to stick to the rocks, they grow to a very large size, and are called rock oysters. Between the tropics there are millions of them to be seen, sticking at the roots of a sort of trees called Mangroves, at low-water." Sittingbourn is a post-town, consisting of one long street, embellished by several excellent inns. Being the great road from London to Dover, the landlords are not wanting of employ. A curious mode of advertising the Red Lion Inn, in one of the provincial papers, was had recourse to some years ago; I was favoured with the following copy of it, by my friend at Rochester, who had kept it by him as a curiosity : "Red Lion Inn, Sittingbourn. "William Whitaker having taken the above house, most respectfully solicits the custom and support of the nobility, gentry," &c. The antiquity of the above Inn, and the respectable character which it has in history, are recorded as under: "SITTINGBOURN, in Kent, is a considerable thoroughfare on the Dover road, where there are several good inns, particularly the RED LION; which is remarkable for an entertainment made by Mr. John Norwood, for KING HENRY the 5th, as he returned from the battle of Agincourt in France, in the year 1415, the whole amounting to no more than nine shillings and nine pence; wine being, at that time, only ONE PENNY a pint, and all other things proportionably cheap! "P.S. The same character, in a like proporti onate degree, W. WHITAKER hopes to obtain, by his moderate charges at the present time." Sittingbourn gave birth to Lewis Theobald, the son of an eminent attorney,. He was famous for his edition of Shakespeare, and his contests with Pope, from whom he received very sarcastic treatment. In the year 1720 he brought out a tragedy, called the Double Falsehood, most part of which he ascribed to the pen of Shakespeare. This circumstance, however, was warmly disputed. It was afterwards proved, by Dr. Farmer, that the immortal bard had no concern with this production. Quitting Sittingbourn, and travelling onwards seven miles, we perceive the town of Faversham on the left hand, a little way from the road; it consists of four long streets, and has about 2,000 inha bitants. It is of considerable antiquity; several Roman urns and medals having been dug up in its vicinity. The present church is neat, and its elegant steeple forms an embellishment in the landscape of the surrounding country. The town stands on an arm of the Swale, and in its neighbourhood are many powder-mills, belonging to government. In 1767, in 1781, and in 1793, some of these mills blew up, with the most tremendous explosions. Numerous lives were lost; and many buildings were damaged. One would imagine that few would engage in such a hazardous mode of livelihood; but Light labour, and constant pay, are found to be sufficiently strong inducements. With respect to the composition of gunpowder, if we suppose it to be divided into a hundred parts-seventy-f -five parts consist of nitre, fifteen of charcoal, and ten of sulphur. These ingredients are intimately blended together, by long pounding in wooden mortars, with wooden pestles, and a small quantity of water. The mixture is then formed into a stiff paste, which being forced through wire sieves, is broken into small grains, or becomes granulated. These grains being then shaken, or rolled in a barrel with some powdered black lead, are rounded by their mutual friction and are glazed by the powder of the lead. Its forc and explosion, when set on fire, are occasioned by the sudden expansion of the elastic aerial matter which it contains. Gunpowder is said to have been accidentally found out by Schwartz, a German monk, at Mentz, in the year 1330-pounding the materials in a mortar, a spark of fire fell into itan explosion immediately took place, and the mortar was thrown to some distance. Hence some kind of cannon are still called mortars; probably with a reference to its original invention. The discovery of gunpowder has wholly changed the military system of nations; and, though awfully destructive, yet it appears to have diminished the slaughter in |