n of the pen will doubtless imprint
an idea on the mind as well as on the paper: but I much question whether
the benefits of this laborious method are adequate to the waste of time;
and I must agree with Dr. Johnson, (Idler, No. 74.) "that what is twice
read, is commonly better remembered, than what is transcribed."

During two years, if I forget some boyish excursions of a day or a week,
I was fixed at Lausanne; but at the end of the third summer, my father
consented that I should make the tour of Switzerland with Pavilliard:
and our short absence of one month (Sept. 21st--Oct. 20th, 1755) was a
reward and relaxation of my assiduous studies. The fashion of climbing
the mountains and reviewing the Glaciers, had not yet been introduced
by foreign travellers, who seek the sublime beauties of nature. But the
political face of the country is not less diversified by the forms and
spirit of so many various republics, from the jealous government of the
few to the licentious freedom of the many. I contemplated with pleasure
the new prospects of men and manners; though my conversation with the
natives would have been more free and instructive, had I possessed the
German, as well as the French language. We passed through most of the
principal towns of Switzerland; Neufchatel, Bienne, Soleurre, Arau,
Baden, Zurich, Basil, and Berne. In every place we visited the churches,
arsenals, libraries, and all the most eminent persons; and after my
return, I digested my notes in fourteen or fifteen sheets of a French
journal, which I dispatched to my father, as a proof that my time and
his money had not been mis-spent. Had I found this journal among his
papers, I might be tempted to select some passages; but I will not
transcribe the printed accounts, and it may be sufficient to notice a
remarkable spot, which left a deep and lasting impression on my memory.
From Zurich we proceeded to the Benedictine Abbey of Einfidlen, snore
commonly styled Our Lady of the Hermits. I was astonished by the profuse
ostentation of riches in the poorest corner of Europe; amidst a savage
scene of woods and mountains, a palace appears to have been erected by
magic; and it was erected by the potent magic of religion. A crowd
of palmers and votaries was prostrate before the altar. The title and
worship of the Mother of God provoked my indignation; and the lively
naked image of superstition suggested to me, as in the same place it had
done to Zuinglius, the most pr